Thesis (Ph.D.(Electronic engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Summary in English. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2006. / Bertrand Boussert, Committee Member ; Douglas B. Williams, Committee Member ; William T. Rhodes, Committee Member ; Yves Berthelot, Committee Member ; David S. Citrin, Committee Chair.

Thesis (D.Eng.)--University of Delaware, 2007. / Principal faculty advisor: Guang R. Gao, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Includes bibliographical references.

In this thesis, I propose an algorithm for optimizing the cost involved with synchronizing the data contained in mobile wireless devices, named Expedient Trickle Sync (ETS). In this thesis, I focus on two significant cost factors: firstly, that of the cost of transmitting information across the network, and secondly, the cost associated with user access to out-of-date information. The ETS algorithm attempts to balance these two cost factors via a simple set of heuristics which calculate at regular intervals a test value, based on a variety of observations, and a threshold value which is recalculated on a daily basis. Additionally, the ETS algorithm will prioritize records based on their probability of access and the cost associated with synchronizing them, thus possibly deferring the synchronization of records with a low probability of access until it is possible to resolve their replication in a lower-cost network environment. This thesis evaluates the ETS algorithm alongside other optimistic replication algorithms in a custom developed simulation environment, the results of which show that in many use scenarios, the ETS algorithm can indeed reduce the cost of data synchronization.

Σκοπός της παρούσας διπλωματικής εργασίας είναι η μελέτη του συγχρονισμού των ηλεκτροεγκεφαλικών σημάτων ως μέθοδος διάγνωσης των μαθησιακών δυσκολιών. Τα δεδομένα που χρησιμοποιήθηκαν είναι ηλεκτροεγκεφαλογραφήματα ηρεμίας και εγκεφαλικά προκλητικά δυναμικά υγιών και ατόμων με μαθησιακές δυσκολίες. Η μεθοδολογία που εξετάζεται βασίζεται στον υπολογισμό γραμμικών και μη γραμμικών μεγεθών. Τα γραμμικά μεγέθη περιλαμβάνουν την ετεροσυσχέτιση (cross-correlation) και τη συνοχή (coherence). Τα μη γραμμικά μεγέθη περιλαμβάνουν πέντε μεγέθη που προκύπτουν από την ανακατασκευή του σήματος στο χώρο των καταστάσεων, και δύο μεγέθη που προκύπτουν από το μετασχηματισμό Hilbert. Τα αποτελέσματα της ανάλυσης δείχνουν ότι ο συγχρονισμός στα άτομα με μαθησιακές δυσκολίες είναι σημαντικά ελαττωμένος σε σχέση με τους υγιείς στο σύνολο των ηλεκτροδίων και των εγκεφαλικών ρυθμών. / The aim of the present thesis is the analysis of the synchronization of the electroencephalogram as a method for the diagnosis of learning difficulties. The utilized data are electroencephalogram and evoked potentials of healthy subjects and subjects with learning difficulties. The method includes the estimation of linear and non linear measures. Two linear measures are used, namely cross-correlation and coherence. Five non linear measures are based on the reconstruction of the state space, and two non linear measures are based on the Hilbert transform. Driver synchronization is observed in subjects with learning difficulties as demonstrated by all the studied measures.

Cette étude démontre une nouvelle forme de synchronisation des investisseurs sur les marchés des changes qui résulte de deux phénomènes psychologiques : La forme de synchronisation examinée ici est un effet des actions spontanées et décentralisées des individus qui prennent leurs propres décisions basées sur leur compréhension interne du marché qui est, en l'occurrence, une "interprétation commune". Dans ce cas, le comportement des investisseurs n'est pas guidé par de quelconques informations « objectives » concernant le marché ni par leurs interactions sociales intentionnelles qui peuvent naturellement faciliter la synchronisation. Dans la première étude, j'ai étudié l'influence des émotions sur le choix des stratégies d'investissement qui peuvent avoir une incidence sur le schéma dominant de la politique des prix. J'ai découvert qu'il existait un effet d'interaction significative de la valence affective et de la stimulation sur le choix de la stratégie d'investissement. Les émotions positives qui occasionnent un niveau élevé d'excitation peuvent faciliter l'émergence d'une synchronisation dans une tendance haussière. Dans la deuxième étude, j'ai utilisé une combinaison de deux techniques expérimentales : des expériences avec des sujets humains et des simulations par ordinateur, pour étudier la dynamique d'une prise de décision collective dans un modèle simple de marchés financiers. Les expériences montrent à quel point l'interaction de l'historique des prix et de certains mécanismes d'apprentissage peut conduire à l'émergence de préjugés collectifs spontanés. De plus, le fait d'appliquer des simulations par ordinateur sur des données générées par des humains permet d'effectuer une prévision de la synchronisation. Les expériences et le cadre théorique suggèrent de nouvelles voies permettant d'aborder la constitution collective d'un comportement spéculatif. / This work shows a new way of synchronization of investors on exchange markets, which results from two psychological phenomena: 1) emotions and 2) cognitive mechanisms. The way of synchronization considered here is an effect of spontaneous and decentralized actions of individuals, who make their own decisions based on their internal understanding of the market which happens to be “shared interpretation”. In such case, the behavior of investors is not guided by any kind of 'objective' market information or their intentional social interactions, which may naturally facilitate synchronization. In the first study I investigated the influence of emotions on choice of investment strategies that may impact a dominant pattern of the price behavior. I found that there is a significant interaction effect of affective valence and arousal on the selection of investment strategy. Positive emotions, which cause high arousal, may facilitate emergence of synchronization in the direction of uptrend. In the second study, I used a combination of two experimental techniques: experiments with human subjects and computer simulations, to study the dynamics of collective decision-making in a simple financial markets' model. The experiments show how interplay of certain price history and learning mechanisms can lead to the emergence of spontaneous collective biases. Additionally, applying computer simulations to the data generated by the humans enables prediction of synchronization. The experiments and a theoretical framework suggest new ways to access the pathways involved in a collective formation of speculative behavior.

Orientador: Wilter Ricardo Russiano Vicente / Resumo: RESUMO - O objetivo deste trabalho foi desenvolver um recurso videocirúrgico para inseminação artificial (IA) transcervical em ovinos. Foram utilizadas 30 ovelhas da raça Santa Inês com idades entre 2 a 5 anos todas pluríparas, divididas em três grupos experimentais: 1) IA por técnica convencional com tração cervical (GC); 2) IA por vídeo-vaginoscopia com insuflação (GVS) e; 3) IA videoassistida com fixação cervical (GVF). Durante o procedimento foi registrado o tipo do óstio cervical, número de anéis transpassados, local de deposição do sêmen no trato reprodutivo, tempo de manipulação cervical, taxa de passagem e fibrinogênio plasmáticos como marcador de reação inflamatória entre as técnicas. O diagnóstico gestacional foi realizado 21 dias após a inseminação artificial. Todos os dados foram submetidos a teste de normalidade seguido de um pós-teste, utilizando o programa estatístico R versão 3.2.5. Para o GVF a técnica não permitiu a entrada ao interior do útero com o aparelho, devido a ausência de expansão cervical associado à presença de muco no canal cervical, dificultaram a visualização. A insuflação da cavidade vaginal do GVS possibilitou a visualização da entrada do óstio cervical com facilidade, com a deposição do sêmen no interior do útero sem a fixação cervical em 10% dos animais (1/10). O número de anéis transpassados diferiu de acordo com o grupo experimental. Para o tempo de procedimento o GVF apresentou maior tempo de manipulação, quando comparado com os demais g... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Mestre

Protection and Control (P&C) devices requiring accurate timing within a power transmission substation are commonly synchronized by distributed Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers. However, utilities now request a timing system that is less dependent on the direct use of distributed GPS receivers, because of the reliability issue of GPS receivers. In addition, to reduce device-to-device cabling and enable interoperability among devices from multiple vendors, utilities are looking to adopt the Ethernet based IEC 61850 protocol suites to complement or replace a conventional hardwired secondary P&C system. The IEEE 1588-2008 synchronization protocol is a network based time synchronization technique which can co-exist with the IEC 61850 applications and deliver sub-microsecond timing accuracy. A number of IEC 61850 applications require seamless communication redundancy, whilst existing technologies used in a substation only recover communications tens of milliseconds after a communication failure. Alternatively, the newly released IEC 62439-3 Parallel Redundancy Protocol (PRP) and High-availability Seamless Redundancy (HSR) can achieve seamless redundancy by transmitting duplicate data packets simultaneously in various networks and this can satisfy the extremely high reliability requirements of transmission substations. Considering the benefits, a unified network integrating IEEE 1588 and IEC 62439 PRP/HSR can be foreseen in future substations, but utilities need confidence in these technologies before real deployment. Hence, it is necessary to conduct comprehensive tests on such a timing system so that better insight into the performance and limitation can be obtained. This thesis first investigates the feasibility to integrate IEEE 1588 and IEC 62439 PRP into a single Ethernet network using a simulation tool and subsequently presents how the hardware testbed is established. Meanwhile, although GPS receivers are commonly used for time synchronization in the power industry, their performance might not be fully investigated before deployment. Hence, this thesis also proposes a procedure to assess the performance in terms of long term stability and transient behaviour of a timing system merely based on GPS receivers and one based on a mixture of GPS receivers and IEEE 1588 devices. Test results indicate whichever system is used, careful design of equipment, proper installation and appropriate engineering are required to satisfy the stringent accuracy requirements for critical automation applications in power system.

Este trabalho apresenta estratégias de controle para a sincronização de dois sistemas não-lineares do tipo Lur'e sob controle saturante. O objetivo no uso de controlador e para que os estados de um sistema escravo sigam a referência dos estados do sistema mestre. Resultados teóricos para a síntese de controladores são propostos considerando diferentes hipóteses sobre a não-linearidade do sistema Lur'e. Primeiramente esta e tratada como uma função genérica que satisfaz globalmente uma condição de setor, enquanto que posteriormente assume-se que a função não-linear e uma função linear por partes e um modelo equivalente baseado em funções saturação e empregado para descrever os efeitos da mesma no comportamento dinâmico do sistema. São considerados, ainda, duas estrat egias de controle: realimentação estática dos estados dos sistemas e realimentação dinâmica da saída dos sistemas, incluindo neste ultimo caso elementos referentes as não-linearidades inerentes do sistema Lur'e e um elemento anti-windup. O projeto dos parâmetros de cada controlador e feito através de problemas de otimização convexa com restrições na forma de desigualdades matriciais lineares (LMI s) tendo como objetivo maximizar o conjunto de estados inicias nos quais a sincronização e assegurada. A formulação dos problemas de otimização e obtida através de inequações matriciais lineares, utilizando-se a teoria de estabilidade de Lyapunov juntamente com métodos baseados em condições de setor para assegurar a convergência assintótica do erro de sincronização para zero, i.e. garantir que os estados do sistema mestre são seguidos pelos do escravo. Os métodos propostos são ilustrados por meio de exemplos numéricos tendo como objetivo a sincronização de dois circuitos de Chua. / This work presents control strategies for the synchronization of two nonlinear Lur'e systems subject to control saturation. The objective of the use of controllers is so that the states of a slave system follow the reference of the states of the master system. Theoretical results for the synthesis of controllers are proposed considering di erent hypothesis about the nonlinearity of the Lur'e system. Initially it is considered as being a generic function that satis es globally a sector condition, while afterwards it is assumed that the non-linear function is a piecewise-linear function and an equivalent saturation function model is employed in order to describe its effect on the system's dynamic behaviour. Two controller strategies are considered: a static feedback of the system's states and a dynamic feedback of the system's output, coupled, in the last case, with elements based on the system's non-linearities and an anti-windup element is considered. The design of the parameters of each controller is generated by convex optimization problems with restrictions in the form of linear matriz inequalities (LMI) having as objective maximizing the set of initial conditions for which synchronization is guaranteed. The optimization problems are formulated by the means of linear matrix inequalities based on Lyapunov's stability theory and a sector-based approach to ensure null synchronization error, i.e. to ensure the local asymptotic convergence of the slave state to the master one. The proposed methods are illustrated by numerical examples with the objective of the synchronization of two Chua's circuits.

abstract: Interictal spikes, together with seizures, have been recognized as the two hallmarks of epilepsy, a brain disorder that 1% of the world's population suffers from. Even though the presence of spikes in brain's electromagnetic activity has diagnostic value, their dynamics are still elusive. It was an objective of this dissertation to formulate a mathematical framework within which the dynamics of interictal spikes could be thoroughly investigated. A new epileptic spike detection algorithm was developed by employing data adaptive morphological filters. The performance of the spike detection algorithm was favorably compared with others in the literature. A novel spike spatial synchronization measure was developed and tested on coupled spiking neuron models. Application of this measure to individual epileptic spikes in EEG from patients with temporal lobe epilepsy revealed long-term trends of increase in synchronization between pairs of brain sites before seizures and desynchronization after seizures, in the same patient as well as across patients, thus supporting the hypothesis that seizures may occur to break (reset) the abnormal spike synchronization in the brain network. Furthermore, based on these results, a separate spatial analysis of spike rates was conducted that shed light onto conflicting results in the literature about variability of spike rate before and after seizure. The ability to automatically classify seizures into clinical and subclinical was a result of the above findings. A novel method for epileptogenic focus localization from interictal periods based on spike occurrences was also devised, combining concepts from graph theory, like eigenvector centrality, and the developed spike synchronization measure, and tested very favorably against the utilized gold rule in clinical practice for focus localization from seizures onset. Finally, in another application of resetting of brain dynamics at seizures, it was shown that it is possible to differentiate with a high accuracy between patients with epileptic seizures (ES) and patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES). The above studies of spike dynamics have elucidated many unknown aspects of ictogenesis and it is expected to significantly contribute to further understanding of the basic mechanisms that lead to seizures, the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Electrical Engineering 2012