The aim of this diploma thesis is to evaluate two selected wastewater treatment plants and to propose appropriate measures related to optimization of operation. Wastewater treatment plants are from the Jihomoravský and Zlínský regions and both come under the category 2 001 - 10 000 equivalent inhabitants. In the diploma thesis there is an assessment of construction objects, machinery, cleaning efficiency and energy performance of both WWTPs. The calculations are based on the real measured values for the last three years and on the basic parameters of individual objects and equipment. The present state of the two wastewater treatment plants is summarized and optimization proposals are sorted by importance.

The diploma thesis is focused on the features description of electronics switches for digital switching arrays and on the design of program for optimal calculation of switching points and the figure of switches in digital switching arrays investigation. The electronics switches types, used for time circuit separation, are described in the preamble. These switches are the base of digital switching arrays and in principal two types are defined: the switch S and switch T. The switch S allows the interconnection only of the same channel intervals from incoming circuit with random outgoing circuit. The switch S is being used in multistage switching arrays in combination with the switches T because it can not be used separately. The switch T allows exchanging the time position of incoming circuit to different time position of outgoing circuit depending on connection needs. The time switch can substitute the space switch under specific work conditions. In practice, the time switch with controlled reading and writing is used. The following part of diploma thesis is focused on the designs and calculations of optimal switching points of digital switching array which is the executive unit of switching systems. These systems directly interconnect the signals from digital multiplexes and make the basic assumptions for telecommunication networks integration. The digital switching array means the equipment which is able to connect the channels of digital multiplexes carrying the information in encoding form. The multiplexes are the most often with pulse coded modulation or adaptive delta modulation. The digital switching arrays are divided into the time and space one. The switching arrays of digital switching systems can be made by time switching array T whose realization is limited to specific capacity or by the connection of multistage arrays. Single stages sequenced one behind each other are made by the switches T and S. The space array S does not allow making the digital switching array of switching centre. The program which determines possible proposals of switching arrays from defined figure of inputs and calculates the optimal figure of switching points and switches is a part of diploma thesis.

The aim of the presented work is to demonstrate and evaluate the contribution of computing system SIMD especially units MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3 and SSE4 from Intel company, by creation of demostrating applications with using Intel Integrated Performance Primitives library. At first, possibilities of SIMD programming using intrinsic function, vektorization and libraries Intel Integrated Performance Primitives are presented, as next are descibed options of evaluation of particular algorithms. Finally procedure of programing by using Intel Integrated Performance Primitives library are ilustrated.

The diploma thesis is focused on optimizing of tax burden of taxpayers via relocation of their headquarters into tax havens. It contains comparison of tax burdens of model taxpayers in different variations of change of their tax residence. It suggests recommended process for deciding about choice of suitable tax haven.

The diploma is focused on optimizing of rating during the process of painting by means of experimental methods and statistic analysis. Description of the study of the present state of painting process, result analysis and the project of optimal pre-set in practice.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) system uses vehicle’s on-board sensors such as radar, LIDAR, camera, infrared, etc. to detect the potential collisions, alert the driver and make safety braking decision to avoid a potential collision. Its limitation is that it requires clear line-of-sight to detect what is in front of the vehicle. Whereas, in current V2V (vehicle-to-vehicle communication) systems, vehicles communicate with each other over a wireless network and share information about their states. Thus the safety of a V2V system is limited to the vehicles with communication capabilities. Our idea is to integrate the complementary capabilities of V2V and AEB systems together to overcome the limitations of V2V and AEB systems. In a V2V-AEB system, vehicles exchange data about the objects information detected by their onboard sensors along with their locations, speeds, and movements. The object information detected by a vehicle and the information received through the V2V network is processed by the AEB system of the subject vehicle. If there is an imminent crash, the AEB system alerts the driver or applies the brake automatically in critical conditions to prevent the collision. To make V2V-AEB system advance, we have developed an intelligent heart Monitoring system and integrated it with the V2V-AEB system of the vehicle. The advancement of wearable and implantable sensors enables them to communicate driver’s health conditions with PC’s and handheld devices. Part of this thesis work concentrates on monitoring the driver’s heart status in real time by using fitness tracker. In the case of a critical health condition such as the cardiac arrest of a driver, the system informs the vehicle to take an appropriate operation decision and broadcast emergency messages over the V2V network. Thus making other vehicles and emergency services aware of the emergency condition, which can help a driver to get immediate medical attention and prevent accident casualties. To ensure that the effectiveness of the V2V-AEB system is not reduced by a time delay, it is necessary to study the effect of delay thoroughly and to handle them properly. One common practice to control the delayed vehicle trajectory information is to extrapolate trajectory to the current time. We have put forward a dynamic system that can help to reduce the effect of delay in different environments without extrapolating trajectory of the pedestrian. This method dynamically controls the AEB start braking time according to the estimated delay time in the scenario. This thesis also addresses the problem of communication overload caused by V2V-AEB system. If there are n vehicles in a V2V network and each vehicle detects m objects, the message density in the V2V network will be n*m. Processing these many messages by the receiving vehicle will take considerable computation power and cause a delay in making the braking decision. To prevent flooding of messages in V2V-AEB system, some approaches are suggested to reduce the number of messages in the V2V network that include not sending information of objects that do not cause a potential collision and grouping the object information in messages.

A characteristic challenge of software development is the management of omnipresent change. Classically, this constant change is driven by customers changing their requirements. The wish to optimally leverage available resources opens another source of change: the software systems environment. Software is tailored to specific platforms (e.g., hardware architectures) resulting in many variants of the same software optimized for different environments. If the environment changes, a different variant is to be used, i.e., the system has to reconfigure to the variant optimized for the arisen situation. The automation of such adjustments is subject to the research community of self-adaptive systems. The basic principle is a control loop, as known from control theory. The system (and environment) is continuously monitored, the collected data is analyzed and decisions for or against a reconfiguration are computed and realized. Central problems in this field, which are addressed in this thesis, are the management of interdependencies between non-functional properties of the system, the handling of multiple criteria subject to decision making and the scalability. In this thesis, a novel approach to self-adaptive software--Multi-Quality Auto-Tuning (MQuAT)--is presented, which provides design and operation principles for software systems which automatically provide the best possible utility to the user while producing the least possible cost. For this purpose, a component model has been developed, enabling the software developer to design and implement self-optimizing software systems in a model-driven way. This component model allows for the specification of the structure as well as the behavior of the system and is capable of covering the runtime state of the system. The notion of quality contracts is utilized to cover the non-functional behavior and, especially, the dependencies between non-functional properties of the system. At runtime the component model covers the runtime state of the system. This runtime model is used in combination with the contracts to generate optimization problems in different formalisms (Integer Linear Programming (ILP), Pseudo-Boolean Optimization (PBO), Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) and Multi-Objective Integer Linear Programming (MOILP)). Standard solvers are applied to derive solutions to these problems, which represent reconfiguration decisions, if the identified configuration differs from the current. Each approach is empirically evaluated in terms of its scalability showing the feasibility of all approaches, except for ACO, the superiority of ILP over PBO and the limits of all approaches: 100 component types for ILP, 30 for PBO, 10 for ACO and 30 for 2-objective MOILP. In presence of more than two objective functions the MOILP approach is shown to be infeasible.

With the rise of computationally expensive application domains such as machine learning, genomics, and fluids simulation, the quest for performance and energy-efficient computing has gained unprecedented momentum. The significant increase in computing and memory devices in modern systems has resulted in an unsustainable surge in energy consumption, a substantial portion of which is attributed to the memory system. The scaling of conventional memory technologies and their suitability for the next-generation system is also questionable. This has led to the emergence and rise of nonvolatile memory ( NVM ) technologies. Today, in different development stages, several NVM technologies are competing for their rapid access to the market. Racetrack memory ( RTM ) is one such nonvolatile memory technology that promises SRAM -comparable latency, reduced energy consumption, and unprecedented density compared to other technologies. However, racetrack memory ( RTM ) is sequential in nature, i.e., data in an RTM cell needs to be shifted to an access port before it can be accessed. These shift operations incur performance and energy penalties. An ideal RTM , requiring at most one shift per access, can easily outperform SRAM . However, in the worst-cast shifting scenario, RTM can be an order of magnitude slower than SRAM . This thesis presents an overview of the RTM device physics, its evolution, strengths and challenges, and its application in the memory subsystem. We develop tools that allow the programmability and modeling of RTM -based systems. For shifts minimization, we propose a set of techniques including optimal, near-optimal, and evolutionary algorithms for efficient scalar and instruction placement in RTMs . For array accesses, we explore schedule and layout transformations that eliminate the longer overhead shifts in RTMs . We present an automatic compilation framework that analyzes static control flow programs and transforms the loop traversal order and memory layout to maximize accesses to consecutive RTM locations and minimize shifts. We develop a simulation framework called RTSim that models various RTM parameters and enables accurate architectural level simulation. Finally, to demonstrate the RTM potential in non-Von-Neumann in-memory computing paradigms, we exploit its device attributes to implement logic and arithmetic operations. As a concrete use-case, we implement an entire hyperdimensional computing framework in RTM to accelerate the language recognition problem. Our evaluation shows considerable performance and energy improvements compared to conventional Von-Neumann models and state-of-the-art accelerators.

Optimizing meaningful engagement of older adults with multimorbidity and their caregivers as partners in health care research / Background: The importance of engaging older adults (> 65 years) with multimorbidity and their caregivers as partners in health care research has been widely recognized. Inclusion of patients as research partners has resulted in largely positive effects. However, little is known about how best to engage and support them in this role. The objective of this study was to examine how to optimize meaningful engagement of older adults with multimorbidity and their caregivers as research partners. Methods: The research objective was addressed using the persona-scenario method. Study participants were older adults with previous experience as a research partner or a research participant. Participants worked in pairs to create a persona and a scenario about how their persona(s) was involved on the research team. Analysis was conducted in two phases: (a) identification of themes, subthemes, and codes using a qualitative descriptive approach, and (b) interpretation of themes and subthemes into design specifications (actions and products). Results: Four persona-scenario sessions were held with 8 patient participants. Three major themes emerged from the data: (a) recruitment of patient or caregiver research partners (PCRPs); (b) planning for meaningful engagement; and (c) establishing collaborative relationships. These major themes contained 15 corresponding subthemes, and design specifications (52 actions and 37 products). Findings highlight key factors influencing the engagement of older adults with multimorbidity and their caregivers as research partners, such as the need for: early engagement of PCRPs; clarification of PCRPs’ roles and responsibilities; a flexible patient-centred approach to PCRP involvement; identifying and addressing barriers to their engagement (e.g., caregiving support, transportation); training about research; and continued dialogue and feedback to clarify roles and manage expectations. The results are important for identifying ways to promote greater patient engagement in research and ensure that the research reflects the needs of the patients it strives to serve. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / The importance of engaging patients with multimorbidity and their caregivers as partners in health care research has been widely recognized. However, little is known about how to best engage and support them in this role. The objective of this study was to examine how researchers can best engage and support older adults with multimorbidity and their caregivers as research partners in health care research teams. The persona-scenario method was used for participants to create fictional stories. These stories were analyzed to shed light on specific strategies that can support older adults and their caregivers as partners on health care research teams, such as a patient-centred approach, identifying and addressing barriers to engagement, and clarifying roles and responsibilities on the research team. The results from this study can be used to inform research, policy, and education on supporting older adults with multimorbidity and their caregivers as research partners.

This study used discourse analysis (Gee, 2011; 2005; 1999) in order to explore a socio-situated view of how teachers created learning opportunities for the participation of immigrant learners when learning linear programming in a Grade 11 mathematics classroom in South Africa. The aim was to explore that which mathematics teachers do in classrooms with immigrant learners that they will not do if there were no immigrants. A discourse analysis approach was used in order to view the opportunities created through language use not as a tool for communication only but also as a tool for building reality. The study reported in this thesis was conducted in three different settings which are in; urban, township and rural environments. The urban environment focuses on immigrant learners who were born in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and started schooling there, in the township and rural environment it focuses on immigrant learners born in South Africa with parents born in the Republic of Mozambique or Angola. Three different mathematics classrooms were observed in their natural environment during lessons focusing on linear programming. Data was collected through a learner questionnaire issued before lesson observations. The aim of the learner questionnaire was to understand the language background of the learners in the mathematics classrooms selected for the study. The second method included lesson observation for at most five consecutive days at each setting. It involved observing teachers and immigrant learners during teaching sessions of linear programming activities. The activities included reading, writing, speaking and participating in mathematical activities. These activities were then analysed to understand how teachers created learning opportunities for the immigrant learners. The study contextualised the results from lesson observations by conducting clinical interviews with three immigrant learners, one from each site, to provide insights into the explanations on immigrant learners approaches when solving a linear programming task. The main conclusion in this study is that immigrant learners were successful in linear programming when teachers’ created learning opportunities by using code switching to support them. The main contribution of this study is that it focuses on multilingual mathematics classrooms of immigrant learners in South Africa – a context that has not yet been researched in South African vi mathematics education. Exploring language practices in multilingual mathematics classrooms of immigrant learners provides a different gaze into teaching and learning mathematics in multilingual classrooms in South Africa. Equally important is the extent to which immigrant learners are distinct to multilingual learners in the teaching and learning of linear programming. / Mathematics Education / D. Phil. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education)