In this thesis, we propose different CORDIC architectures which solve the problems of long-latency in traditional pipeline CORDIC and the large-area cost in table-based CORDIC. The original table-based CORDIC can be divided into two stages, coarse stage and fine stage. We also propose the three-stage architectures, composed of traditional pipeline CORDIC, Rom/Multiplier architecture and linear approximation. Detailed analysis and estimation in area and latency of these different two-stage and three-stage architectures with different bit accuracy are given in order to determine the best architecture design for a particular precision. Finally, we choose one of the architectures to implement, compare the results, and show its applications.

Acute hypotensive episodes (AHE) is a critical event that can lead to irreversible organ damage and death in intensive care units (ICU). The goal of the 10 th annual PhysioNet/Computers in Cardiology Challenge is to predict which ICU patients will experience AHE within a forecast window of one hour. In tackling this problem, most of the previous studies extract their features for AHE prediction from the time history of MAP, diastolic ABP and systolic ABP. In contrast, by exploring the interaction within the cardiovascular system, this work employs frequency domain approach. Toward this goal, this work proposes two feature sets: degree of concentration and energy from the spectrogram of the ECG and ABP signals. The mulstiscale entropy of these features have also been studied. The effectiveness of these features is statically investigated by comparing their means between the AHE and non AHI patient groups.

American cities have a combination of policies that both provide emergency services and restrict the movements and activities of homeless people. These policies are the product of active public debates that construct narratives that explain the causes of homelessness and characterize homeless people. I identify both the policy opportunities and limits created by the way interest groups talk about homelessness by weaving together framing theory with analysis of discursive units employed in the public discussions about homelessness published in the St. Petersburg Times, in Pinellas County, Florida. This county is representative of other metropolitan regions that experienced rapid growth, gentrification, and are now seeing skyrocketing rates of foreclosures. I situate this local debate within the nationally circulated publications referring to homelessness to identify underlying assumptions that shape the outcomes in Pinellas County and set the stage for similar discussions across the United States. I examine how these narratives function in collective action frames of homelessness, the resulting opposing views of who should respond, and how the issue of homelessness should be treated given the legal division between public and private property in our capitalistic society. Frames must be considered rhetoric because they are employed to advance persuasive arguments. The various issue and collective action frames used to shape city policies each form an argument about homelessness. Discursive units are the building blocks of these arguments. Hence, I examine the place of the discursive units of thematic values, anecdotal narratives, and characterizations within these frames. I find that the city council responds to the competing interest group frames by selectively adopting different discursive units from each group in order to frame the situation of homelessness in the region as a crisis. While maintaining the use of the same thematic values and anecdotal narratives, the government is able to transcend competing characterizations of the homeless, creating space for their new policies to pass and succeed with the support of constituents from opposed interest groups.

Empirical models of airflow and power consumption were developed for series and parallel variable air volume fan powered terminal units (FPTUs). An experimental setup and test procedure were developed to test the terminal units over typical operating ranges. The terminal units in this study used either an 8 in. (20.32 cm) or a 12 in. (30.48 cm) primary air inlet. All terminal units utilized electronically commutated motor (ECM) controllers. Data collected were compared against previous data collected for silicon controlled rectifier (SCR) units. Generalized models were developed for both series and parallel units, and compared against models developed for SCR units. In addition to the performance modeling, power factor and power quality data were also collected for each terminal unit. The power quality analysis included recording and analyzing harmonic distortion for current, voltage, and power up to the 25th harmonic. The total harmonic distortion (THD) was also recorded and presented. For the series terminal units, models were developed for fan airflow, fan power, and primary airflow. The models for fan airflow all had R2 values above 0.987. The models for fan power all had R2 values above 0.968. The models for primary airflow all had R2 values above 0.895. For the parallel terminal units, models were developed for leakage, fan airflow, fan power, and primary airflow. All of the leakage models had R2 values above 0.826. All of the fan airflow models had R2 values above 0.955. All of the fan power models had R2 values above 0.922. All of the primary airflow models had R2 values above 0.872. The real power THD was below 1.5 percent for both series and parallel FPTUs. The current THD ranged from 84 percent to 172 percent for series FPTUs and from 83 percent to 183 percent for parallel FPTUs. The voltage THD was below 1.4 percent for both series and parallel FPTUs. The performance models developed will help improve the accuracy of building energy simulation programs for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems utilizing ECM controlled FPTUs. Increasing the accuracy of these simulations will allow HVAC system designers to better optimize their designs for specific building types in a wide variety of climates.

Semi-empirical models for series fan-powered variable air volume terminal units (FPTUs) were developed based on models of the primary, plenum, fan airflow and the fan power consumption. The experimental setups and test procedures were developed respectively for primary, plenum and fan airflow to test each component of the FPTUs at typical design pressures and airflows. Two sizes of the terminal units from three manufacturers were used in this study. All of the FPTUs were equipped with electronically commutated motors (ECM). Data provided by the models were compared against the data from previous experiments to prove the models’ validity. Regression modeling was performed by using SigmaStat. The model of primary airflow had an R2 above 0.948 for all the terminal units evaluated while the plenum airflow model had an R2 above 0.99. For all the terminal units, the R2 of the fan airflow model was ranged from 0.973 to 0.998. Except for one fan, the fan power consumption model was able to characterize the power performance and had an R2 above 0.986. By combining the airflow and power models, the model for series FPTU was developed. Verification was made to prove the FPTU model’s validity by comparing the measured and predicted data of airflow and power consumption. Correction factors were used in the primary airflow model to compensate for the difference caused by large measurement errors and the system effects. The predicted values were consistent with measurements and no offset was needed in the primary airflow model. Generally, the newly established model was able to describe the airflow performance as well as power consumption of series FPTUs without adding complexity.

In the recent years most of the studies related to the hospital efficiency focus on the issues of the ownership, size, physician team work, and clinical performance. It is certain that nursing units are the major profit centers for hospitals. However, the relative efficiency of nursing units regarding the resource use and outputs is seldom investigated. Therefore the aim of this study is to investigate the influence of each input and output item on the relative efficiency using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The research samples included 44 units of two government owned hospital accredited as medical centers in 2002. The research samples are divided into 5 groups. The inputs items include full time nurse, continuous education hours, cost expand, specialties, patient care hours and workload. The output items are length of stay, number of admission, occupancy rate and total patient days. Every nursing unit is considered as a Decision Making Unit (DMU). The data were collected from Jan. to Dec. 2002 to evaluate the overall efficiency, technical efficiency and scale efficiency. Efficiency reference sets were found to be reference for inefficiency nursing units. The ways to improve the resources inputs or outputs of those inefficient nursing units were suggested using scale variable analysis. The influence of each input and output variable on the relative efficiency were assessed using sensitivity analysis. The results are summarized as follows:. 1. Overall inefficiency nursing units: A hospital has 4 (20%), B hospital has 5 (20%), both A and B hospitals have 9 (21%), medical nursing units have 5(17%)and surgical nursing units have 7 (47%). 2. Technical inefficiency nursing units: A hospital has 2 (10%), B hospital has 2 (8%), both A and B hospital have 3(6%), medical nursing units has one (3%)and surgical nursing units have 4(27%). 3. Scale inefficiency nursing units: A hospital has 4(20%), B hospital has 5 (20%), both A and B hospital have 9 (21%), medical nursing units have 5 (17%)and surgical nursing units have 7(47%). 4. Relative inefficiency nursing units with overall efficiency value between 0.9-1 belong to the marginal inefficiency units. The overall inefficiency of nursing units due to scale inefficiency. 5. From slack variable analysis the first three inputs needed to reduced are continue education hours, patient care hours and number of full time nurse. The outputs needed to increase are the number of admission and the length of stay. In this study, the input items to evaluate the efficiency of nursing units are mainly based on the data of clinical productivity. However, the quality of nursing care, the index of patient satisfaction, the number of medical equipments and the standard on patient care activities are not considered. It is highly suggested that service index and equipment allocation should be considered while evaluating efficiency.

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Thesis--Columbia University. / Photocopy of typescript. Ann Arbor, Mich. : University Microfilms International, 1977. -- 21 cm. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 160-168).

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