An ultra-low noise two-stage LNA design for cellular basestations using CMOS is proposed in this thesis work.  This thesis is divided into three parts. First, a literature survey which intends to bring an idea on the types of LNAs available and their respective outcomes in performances, thereby analyze how each design provides different results and is used for different applications. In the second part, technology comparison for 0.12µm, 0.18µm, and 0.25µm technologies transistors using the IBM foundry PDKs are made to analyze which device has the best noise performance. Finally, in the third phase bipolar and CMOS-based two-stage LNAs are designed using IBM 0.12µm technology node, decided from the technology comparison. In this thesis a two-stage architecture is used to obtain low noise figure, high linearity, high gain, and stability for the LNA. For the bipolar design, noise figure of 0.6dB, OIP3 of 40.3dBm and gain of 26.8dB were obtained. For the CMOS design, noise figure of 0.25dB, OIP3 of 46dBm and gain of 26dB were obtained. Thus, the purpose of this thesis is to analyze the LNA circuit in terms of design, performance, application and various other parameters. Both designs were able to fulfill the design goals of noise figure < 1 dB, OIP3 > 40 dBm, and gain >18 dB.

Ad hoc wireless networks are constructed by several mobile hosts and have a property that its topology is changed as mobile hosts moved. There is no stationary infrastructure or based station to coordinate packets transmissions and advertise the information of network topology or something important. The special networks are used in temporal wireless networks, such as battlefield, disease rescue place, and so on. So without any stationary infrastructure supported, mobile hosts can communicate with others immediately or indirectly. Because topology is often changed while mobile hosts moving, mobile hosts must exchange information to deal with the changed conditions. Mobile hosts often utilize broadcasting to exchange information with their neighbor hosts, but there is high bit error ratio in wireless networks, packet corruption occurs frequently, so that mobile host might lost some important information sent from its neighboring host. In 802.11 standard, lack of acknowledgement, broadcasting is an unreliable transmission, because sender host do not know whether all of it neighboring hosts received broadcasting packets correctly or no. Many proposed papers of reliable broadcast assumed that links between mobile hosts are bidirectional links, but bidirectional link is an ideal assumption. In real environment, links are unidirectional, so host A could send packets to host B immediately, but host B could not because of their transmission range are different. In this paper, we propose a new reliable broadcast scheme, Highly Reliable Broadcast Scheme with Directional Antennas (HRBSDA). HRBSDA can reduce the influence of unidirectional links and reach for highly reliable broadcasting. HRBSDA uses directional antennas and concept of Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)-like. HRBSDA divide DCF Inter-Frame Space (DIFS) into several minislots, and mobile hosts use these minislots to ask sender for retransmission of lost packets. By the way, HRBSDA can not only reach for highly reliable broadcasting, but also reduce Packet Loss Recovery Time, and avoid causing extra overhead. Using directional antennas HRBSDA can reduce collision, so that improving throughput and channel utilization.

Social science research has been slow to incorporate the international migration of skilled and educated women, and the impacts of their return migration. At the same time, Turkish female migrants have been negatively stereotyped in the literature. This exploratory and descriptive study aims to address these gaps by examining the impacts of emigration and return migration on the social and work lives of educated Turkish women who have returned to Turkey from Canada. Oral history interviews were conducted with six working-age, educated female returnees in Istanbul and Ankara between February and April 2007. Aside from some common features, the six women in this study differ greatly in terms of age, marital status, field of study and work, length of time in Canada and Turkey, and the opportunities and resources available to them throughout their migrations. From the interpretive examination of the women&amp / #8217 / s narratives, patterns in their subjective social and work life experiences emerged. The issue of gender was found to pervade all aspects of the women&amp / #8217 / s lives at all stages of their migrations as they negotiated their often contradictory social roles as mothers, wives, daughters, and professionals. This study also reveals that none of the women migrated as an individual actor. Rather, contextual and stratification factors such as marital status, family configuration, language skills, prior exposure to different cultures, socio-economic background, education and labour force participation were found to shape and influence their initial potential for migration, as well as the processes and outcomes of their migrations.

In dieser Arbeit wird die Erzeugung permanenter Nanostrukturen durch den Beschuss mit langsamen (v < 5x105m/s) hochgeladenen (q < 40) Ionen auf den Oberflächen der Ionenkristalle CaF2 sowie KBr untersucht. Die systematische Analyse der Probenoberfläche mittels Raster-Kraft-Mikroskopie liefert detaillierte Informationen über den Einfluss von potentieller und kinetischer Projektilenergie auf den Prozess der Strukturerzeugung. Der individuelle Einfall hochgeladener Ionen auf der KBr(001)-Oberfläche kann die Erzeugung monoatomar tiefer, lochartiger Strukturen -Nanopits- mit einer lateralen Ausdehnung von wenigen 10nm initiieren. Das Volumen dieser Löcher und damit die Anzahl gesputterter Sekundärteilchen zeigt eine lineare Abhängigkeit von der potentiellen Energie der Projektile. Für das Einsetzen der Locherzeugung konnte ein von der Projektilgeschwindigkeit abhängiger Grenzwert der potentiellen Energie E_grenz^pot (Ekin) gefunden werden. Auf der Basis der defekt-induzierten Desorption durch Elektronen wurde unter Einbeziehung von Effekten der Defektagglomeration ein konsistentes mikroskopisches Modell für den Prozess der Locherzeugung konzipiert. Für die CaF2(111)-Oberfläche kann die aus jüngsten Studien bekannte, individuelle Erzeugung hügelartiger Nanostrukturen -Nanohillocks- durch hochgeladene Ionen in dieser Arbeit auch für kleinste kinetische Energien (E_kin < 150eVxq) verifiziert werden. Die potentielle Energie der einfallenden Ionen wird damit erstmalig zweifelsfrei als alleinige Ursache der Nanostrukturerzeugung identifiziert. Zudem zeigt sich bei geringer Projektilgeschwindigkeit eine Verschiebung der potentiellen Grenzenergie zur Hillock-Erzeugung. Im Rahmen einer Kooperation an der Technischen Universität Wien durchgeführte Simulationsrechnungen auf der Grundlage des inelastischen thermal spike-Modells zeigen, dass die individuelle Hillock-Erzeugung durch hochgeladene Ionen mit einer lokalen Schmelze des Ionenkristalls verknüpft werden kann. Dem essentiellen Einfluss der Elektronenemission während der Wechselwirkung des hochgeladenen Ions mit der Oberfläche auf den Prozess der Nanostrukturerzeugung wird in komplementären Untersuchungen zur Sekundärelektronenstatistik Rechnung getragen. Erstmalig werden dabei Gesamtelektronenausbeuten für Isolatoroberflächen bei kleinsten Projektilgeschwindigkeiten (v < 1x10^5 m/s) bestimmt. Für Geschwindigkeiten v < 5x10^4 m/s findet sich für die Isolatoroberfläche in starkem Kontrast zu Metallen ein signifikanter Abfall der Elektronenausbeute mit sinkender kinetischer Energie. Mögliche Ursachen dieses Effektes werden auf der Grundlage unterschiedlicher Modelle diskutiert.

Background: Since the beginning of 21st century, several Asian countries started implementing their national free antiretroviral therapy (ART) programs to tackle one of the most striking public health issues in Asia – HIV/AIDS. Despite the efforts being made, the treatment coverage remains as low as 44% in 2010. Previous studies have identified financial constraint is a major barrier in accessing ART and an important reason of poor ART adherence in Asia. The purpose of this literature review is to explore the extent of financial burden experienced by people living with HIV (PLHIV) where free ART policy is implemented, and to provide valuable information for policy-making in reducing financial barriers and improve uptake of ART. Methods: Literature search was performed by entering keywords in PubMed and Medline. Articles were screened and selected for in-depth review according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. A process on data synthesis was performed on the final eligible papers. Results: Five studies from four Asian countries describing the out-of-pocket health expenditure incurred by PLHIV during the delivery of ART were included in this review. Findings: Out of all direct medical costs, the cost of drug was most important in contributing to the total costs for patients without health insurance, while the cost of transportation was more important for patients covered by health insurance. Direct medical costs increased with advancing stage of disease. Rural patients would have spent up to 1,173% of their monthly income per capita, or more than 100% of their total household expenditure even when ART was provided free-of-charge. Patients have also highlighted free ARV drugs were sometimes not available in the health facility and they had to turn to the private market. Hence, the extent of financial burden in this review might be underestimated. Conclusion: Based on the data available, we concluded that increased accessibility of free ART should be accompanied with sustained ARV drugs supply and increased financial support for PLHIV. / published_or_final_version / Community Medicine / Master / Master of Public Health

This study was designed to collect data to determine the specific characteristics (gender, level and area of degree status, certification status, pedagogical training, gender, number of years of teaching experience, number of years teaching at the current school, and courses currently taught) of language arts teachers at Florida's low-performing pubic high schools and compare these characteristics to teachers' sense of efficacy (the extent to which teachers' believe they have the ability to bring about changes in student achievement independent of the student's background, behaviors, or motivation level). A total of 615 teachers representing 84 schools in 36 districts participated in the study. Teachers completed a researcher-created survey questionnaire and the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale Long (Tschannen-Moran and Hoy, 2001). The data were collected and analyzed using descriptive and multiple regression statistics.The majority of the respondents meet the minimum re quirements of highly qualified teachers as defined by NCLB. However, only 37% of responding language arts teachers at Florida's low-performing public high schools have degrees in English education, and only 15% of responding reading teachers have degrees in reading or reading education. Additionally, the majority of the responding teachers have been only been teaching at the school site for five or fewer years.Although the majority of responding teachers reported moderate to high sense of classroom management and instructional practice efficacy, over 43% reported low sense of student engagement efficacy, suggesting the teachers do not believe they possess the skills or knowledge necessary to engage students in learning. The study suggests that improving student achievement for our lowest-performing students may require more than providing students with highly qualified teachers defined by NCLB. Districts and schools must examine more closely the characteristics of highly effective teac hers in order to recruit and retain teachers who can truly impact student achievement for students who have previously demonstrated a lack of success. Additionally, schools would benefit from professional development designed to provide teachers with classroom strategies that engage students in learning and which helps develop a school-wide literacy culture reflecting high expectations for student achievement.

Developing innovative ideas as part of engineering design can be limited by the field of technology and the engineer's or design team's understanding of the field. Without sufficient understanding of an emerging technical field, ideation may be hampered by reinventing the proverbial wheel or by a lack of knowledge of the underlying physical principles and state of technology. The research presented here seeks to develop a tool and methodology intended to strengthen a designer’s or design team’s understanding of a field and relevant technologies in order to foster creative and innovative solutions. The presented inductive methodology consists of conducting a thorough review of existing relevant developing or commercially available technologies in order to obtain characteristic property data to be used as a basis of understanding. Analysis of the plotted data may lead to understanding existing trends, identifying voids where opportunities exist to expand the design space and general insights into the field. The effectiveness of using empirical data to look for innovation is investigated in the domain of highly mobile robots. Senior cadets from USAFA and UT Austin perform concept generation sessions before and after utilizing the proposed methodology to validate the effectiveness of the approach. The study at UT Austin validates the proposed methodology by measuring the quantity, quality, and novelty of the concepts generated before and after exposure to the methodology. These experiments demonstrate that state-of-technology design tools provide an effective foundation and platform for designers to generate a larger quantity of concepts. To further investigate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology, it is used to develop a device within the field of highly mobile robotics. There exist applications of highly mobile robots which require innovative solutions with regard to overcoming obstacles, payload capacity, energy storage and minimizing power requirements. The methodology allows for the development of innovative concepts, and the embodiment and manufacture of a particular solution. The mechanical design solutions to multiple design challenges are presented, and the prototyped device proves capable of expanding the existing design space in terms of its performance with respect to the metrics mentioned above. / text

HIV/AIDS remains one of the most pressing challenges facing South African society. South Africa has the highest number of people living with HIV as well as the highest number of people on HIV treatment globally, yet only 37% of persons eligible for treatment have access to treatment. The advent of HAART ushered in a new era in the treatment of HIV infection. HIV infection was no longer a life threatening terminal illness, HIV/AIDS became a chronic manageable disease. The full clinical benefit of HAART can only be achieved with near perfect adherence i.e. > 95%. This means taking the medication exactly as prescribed; on time, no missed doses, every day, lifelong. No other chronic medication requires such stringent adherence rates for optimal therapeutic benefit, which may mean the choice between life and death. Achieving near perfect adherence poses a serious challenge to health service providers and persons on treatment as typical adherence rates for medication prescribed over long periods are in the 50 – 75 % range. Persons on HAART live with the additional burden of drug resistance and limited treatment options if near perfect adherence rates are not achieved. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the factors that influence adherence to HAART. These factors may be related to the person, the health care team and system, the treatment regimen, the social and economic environment or to the effects of HIV disease. Factors may either negatively or positively influence a person’s ability to adhere optimally to their prescribed treatment. A small sample of thirteen participants were purposefully selected for this study. Data was collected using in-depth interviews which were tape recorded and transcribed for thematic analysis. The value of this study is that it may assist health care providers, persons on treatment and the health care system to better comprehend the challenges of lifelong optimal adherence to HAART. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

The theoretical part of the paper discusses the experience of educating extremely capable children in Lithuania and abroad, it also analyses the aspects of capable children‘s perception. In the research section of the paper the artistic – creative and perceptive – sociocultural competences of an 5 – 7 year old child are analysed. The study of the sources of referente has revealed that a highly capable child is likely to display the following qualities: curiousity, liveliness, keenness for exploration, creativity and sensitivity for beauty. The results of the research support the hypothesis that capable children have notable pecularities of perceptive – sociocultural competence: they tend to be intenested in technologies, they are originali n their way of thinking, have broad interests and are especialy good in logical thinking; they also quickly understand new information and use it skillfully.

In this study, the expression of HA, a key immunogenic protein of influenza viruses, in insect cells was compared using three baculovirus expression strategies: protein over-expression, surface (GP64) display, and capsid (VP39) display. Further, a recombinant virus expressing NA, another immunogenic influenza virus protein, was generated and fused to an HA epitope-tag. Western immunoblot using various antibodies, including those against HA, demonstrated the expression of HA and NA for all recombinant viruses. HA showed stronger expression when fused to the C-terminus of VP39 than the N-terminus, but unlike other expression methods, there was no observable cleavage of HA in VP39-displayed viruses. Cells infected with only over-expressed and surfaced-displayed HA were biologically active, and capable of hemadsorption and hemagglutination of chicken red blood cells. These results suggest that GP64 display or over-expression are the most efficacious modes of HA-expression for use as antigen to detect anti-HA antibodies in poultry. / NSERC, OGS, OMAFRA, CPRC