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No / This paper presents an investigation into the challenges in implementing a hard real-time optimal non-stationary system using general regression neural network (GRNN). This includes investigation into the dynamics of the problem domain, discretisation of the problem domain to reduce the computational complexity, parameters selection of the optimization algorithm, convergence guarantee for real-time solution and off-line optimization for real-time solution. In order to demonstrate these challenges, this investigation considers a real-time optimal missile guidance algorithm using GRNN to achieve an accurate interception of the maneuvering targets in three-dimension. Evolutionary Genetic Algorithms (GAs) are used to generate optimal guidance training data set for a large missile defense space to train the GRNN. The Navigation, Constant of the Proportional Navigation Guidance and the target position at launching are considered for optimization using GAs. This is achieved by minimizing the. miss distance and missile flight time. Finally, the merits of the proposed schemes for real-time accurate interception are presented and discussed through a set of experiments. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

This dissertation aims to present a detailed analysis of the grid voltage disturbance in frequency domain for the current control design in the grid-tie inverter applications and to propose current control techniques in order to minimize its impact and maximize feasibility of the power conditioning system in distributed generations. Because the grid voltage is constantly changing, the inverter must be able to response to it. If the inverter is unable to respond properly, then the grid voltage power comes back to the system and damages the fuel cell power conditioning systems. A closed-loop dynamic model for the current control loop of the grid-tie inverter has been developed. The model explains the structure of the inverter admittance terms. The disturbance of the grid voltages has been analyzed in frequency domain. The admittance compensator has been proposed to prevent the grid voltage effect. The proposed lead-lag current control with admittance compensator transfers current properly without system failure. In order to get rid of the steady-state error of the feedback current, a proportional-resonant controller (PR) has been adopted. A PR control with admittance compensation provides great performance from zero power to full power operation. In addition, active and reactive power flow controller has been proposed based on the PR controller with admittance compensation. The proposed active and reactive power flow control scheme shows a wide range power flow control from pure leading power to pure lagging power. Finally, the proposed controller scheme has been verified its feasibility in three phase grid-tie inverter applications. First of all, a half-bridge grid-tie inverter has been designed with PR controller and admittance compensation. Then three individual grid-tie inverters has been combined and produced three phase current to the three phase grid in either balanced condition or unbalanced condition. The proposed control scheme can be applied not only single phase grid-tie inverter application, but also three phase grid-tie inverter application. This research can be applicable to the photovoltaic PCS as well. This technology makes renewable energy source more plausible for distributed generations. / Ph. D.

Accurate prediction of mortality is an important component of forest growth and yield prediction systems, yet mortality remains one of the least understood components of the system. Whole-stand and individual-tree mortality models were developed for loblolly pine plantations throughout its geographic range in the United States. The model for predicting stand mortality were developed using stand characteristics and biophysical variables. The models were constructed using two modeling approaches. In the first approach, mortality functions for directly predicting tree number reduction were developed using algebraic difference equation method. In the second approach, a two-step modeling strategy was used where a model predicting the probability of tree death occurring over a period was developed in the first step and a function that estimates the reduction in tree number was developed in the second step. Individual-tree mortality models were developed using multilevel logistic regression and survival analysis techniques. Multilevel data structure inherent in permanent sample plots data i.e. measurement occasions nested within trees (e.g., repeated measurements) and trees nested within plots, is often ignored in modeling tree mortality in forestry applications. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression takes into account the full hierarchical structure of the data. Multilevel mixed-effects models gave better predictions than the fixed effects model; however, the model fits and predictions were further improved by taking into account the full hierarchical structure of the data. Semiparametric proportional hazards regression was also used to develop model for individual-tree mortality. Shared frailty model, mixed model extension of Cox proportional hazards model, was used to account for unobserved heterogeneity not explained by the observed covariates in the Cox model. / Ph. D.

Recently, there has been a massive growth in the number of mobile users and their traffic. The data traffic volume almost doubles every year. Mobile users are currently running multiple applications that require higher bandwidth which makes users so limited to the service providers' resources. Increasing the utilization of the existing spectrum can significantly improve network capacity, data rates and user experience. Spectrum sharing enables wireless systems to harvest under-utilized swathes of spectrum, which would vastly increase the efficiency of spectrum usage. Making more spectrum available can provide significant gain in mobile broadband capacity only if those resources can be aggregated efficiently with the existing commercial mobile system resources. Carrier aggregation (CA) is one of the most distinct features of 4G systems including Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-Advanced). In this dissertation, a resource allocation with carrier aggregation framework is proposed to allocate multiple carriers resources optimally among users with elastic and inelastic traffic in cellular networks. We use utility proportional fairness allocation policy, where the fairness among users is in utility percentage of the application running on the user equipment (UE). A resource allocation (RA) with CA is proposed to allocate single or multiple carriers resources optimally among users subscribing for mobile services. Each user is guaranteed a minimum quality of service (QoS) that varies based on the user's application type. In addition, a resource allocation with user discrimination framework is proposed to allocate single or multiple carriers resources among users running multiple applications. Furthermore, an application-aware resource block (RB) scheduling with CA is proposed to assign RBs of multiple component carriers to users' applications based on a utility proportional fairness scheduling policy. We believe that secure spectrum auctions can revolutionize the spectrum utilization of cellular networks and satisfy the ever increasing demand for resources. Therefore, a framework for multi-tier dynamic spectrum sharing system is proposed to provide an efficient sharing of spectrum with commercial wireless system providers (WSPs) with an emphasis on federal spectrum sharing. The proposed spectrum sharing system (SSS) provides an efficient usage of spectrum resources, manages intra-WSP and inter-WSP interference and provides essential level of security, privacy, and obfuscation to enable the most efficient and reliable usage of the shared spectrum. It features an intermediate spectrum auctioneer responsible for allocating resources to commercial WSPs' base stations (BS)s by running secure spectrum auctions. In order to insure truthfulness in the proposed spectrum auction, an optimal bidding mechanism is proposed to enable BSs (bidders) to determine their true bidding values. We also present a resource allocation based on CA approach to determine the BS's optimal aggregated rate allocated to each UE from both the BS's permanent resources and winning auctioned spectrum resources. / Ph. D.

Maintenance of medical equipment plays an important role in ensuring the healthcare quality so that the care can be conducted with minimal risk. Preventive maintenance is performed to maintain the equipment in satisfactory operating condition, while corrective maintenance is made when there is an unpredicted maintenance requirement. This study aims to determine what effect preventive maintenance has on corrective maintenance. A correlation analysis, regression analysis and survival analysis are performed on work-order data from 2000-2021. The results obtained indicate that increasing the number of preventive maintenances made to medical equipment will decrease the number of corrective maintenances required for the medical equipment.

Le problème principalement étudié dans ce manuscrit est la stabilisation d’orbites périodiques de systèmes dynamiques non linéaires à l’aide d’une commande de rétroaction (feedback). Le but des méthodes de contrôle proposées ici est d’obtenir une oscillation périodique stable. Ces méthodes de contrôle sont appliquées à des systèmes présentant des orbites périodiques instables dans l’espace d’état, et ces dernières sont les orbites destinées à être stabilisées.Les méthodes proposées ici sont telles que l’oscillation stable qui en résulte est obtenue avec un effort de contrôle faible, et que la valeur de la commande tend vers zéro lorsque la trajectoire tend vers l’orbite stabilisée. La stabilité locale des orbites périodiques est analysée par l’étude de la stabilité des systèmes linéaires périodiques à l’aide de la théorie de Floquet. Ces systèmes linéaires sont obtenus par linéarisation des trajectoires au voisinage de l’orbite périodique.Les méthodes de contrôle utilisées ici pour la stabilisation des orbites périodiques sont une loi de commande proportionnelle, une loi de commande de rétroaction retardée et une loi de commande de rétroaction basée sur une prédiction. Ces méthodes sont appliquées aux systèmes en temps discret et aux systèmes en temps continu avec les modifications nécessaires. Les contributions principales de cette thèse sont associées à ces méthodes, proposant une méthode alternative de design de gain, une nouvelle loi de commande et des résultats associés. / The main problem evaluated in this manuscript is the stabilization of periodic orbits of non-linear dynamical systems by use of feedback control. The goal of the control methods proposed in this work is to achieve a stable periodic oscillation. These control methods are applied to systems that present unstable periodic orbits in the state space, and the latter are the orbits to be stabilized.The methods proposed here are such that the resulting stable oscillation is obtained with low control effort, and the control signal is designed to converge to zero when the trajectory tends to the stabilized orbit. Local stability of the periodic orbits is analyzed by studying the stability of some linear time-periodic systems, using the Floquet stability theory. These linear systems are obtained by linearizing the trajectories in the vicinity of the periodic orbits.The control methods used for stabilization of periodic orbits here are the proportional feedback control, the delayed feedback control and the prediction-based feedback control. These methods are applied to discrete and continuous-time systems with the necessary modifications. The main contributions of the thesis are related to these methods, proposing an alternative control gain design, a new control law and related results. / O principal problema avaliado neste manuscrito é a estabilização de órbitas periódicas em sistemas dinâmicos não-lineares utilizando controle por realimentação. O objetivo dos métodos de controle propostos neste trabalho é obter uma oscilação periódica estável. Estes métodos de controle são aplicados a sistemas que apresentam órbitas periódicas instáveis no espaço de estados, estas são as órbitas a serem estabilizadas.Os métodos propostos aqui são tais que a oscilação periódica estável resultante é obtida utilizando um baixo esforço de controle, e o sinal de controle é projetado de forma a convergir para zero quanto a trajetória tende à órbita estabilizada. A estabilidade local de órbitas periódicas é analisada através do estudo da estabilidade de alguns sistemas lineares periódicos no tempo, utilizando a teoria de estabilidade de Floquet. Estes sistemas lineares são obtidos por linearização das trajetórias na vizinhança da órbita periódica.Os métodos de controle utilizados aqui para estabilização de órbitas periódicas são o proportional feedback control, o delayed feedback control e o prediction-based feedback control (controle por realimentação baseado em predição). Estes métodos são aplicados a sistemas de tempo discreto e de tempo contínuo, com as modificações necessárias. As principais contribuições da tese são relacionadas a esses métodos, propondo um projeto de ganho de controle alternativo, uma nova lei de controle e resultados relacionados.

The intervention in Libya is the best example to date to judge the implementation of the Responsibility to Protect. In 2011, public demonstrations started in Libya seeking political and economic reforms in the country. In return, the Libyan President Maummar Al-Qaddafi threatened mass atrocities in Libya. This allowed the UNSC to sanction the use of force against Qaddafi’s regime in order to protect civilians. First, under resolution 1970 (2011), the UNSC referred the case to the International Criminal Court and applied sanctions. Second, via resolution 1973 (2011), the application of force was approved for the express purpose of “protecting civilians.” This thesis assess whether the military intervention in Libya in 2011 was R2P case. This question is answered by an analysis based upon the UNSC’s Resolutions, Council’s proceedings, and other official documents. / May 2016

Countries with proportional representation are increasingly introducing an electoral threshold to stop smaller parties from entering their parliaments. In this paper, I’m focusing on the  proportional electoral system and mainly why some countries choose to impose a barrier to their parliaments and others do not. First I did a survey to see which countries that are using it and after that I decided to do three case studies including: Sweden, The Netherlands and Turkey. I used Carles Boix theory on proportional electoral systems. The main variable in his theory is that the “threat” from the social democratic parties has an affect on the enforcement of a PRsystem. I wanted to examine whether it was possible to apply this theory on the implementation of thresholds. Finally, it is possible to conclude that Boix theory can be used even when studying the emergence of electoral barriers. Boix theory suggests that any "threat" from new parties makes the old, larger and established parties or other government organizations want to impose a threshold to secure their positions. This was the case in Sweden and in Turkey. In countries where this situation does not exist, it seems to be no need for an electoral barrier, as shown in the Netherlands.