Co-channel interference limits the capacity of cellular systems, reduces the throughput of wireless local area networks, and is the major hurdle in deployment of high altitude communication platforms. It is also a problem for systems operating in unlicensed bands such as the 2.4 GHz ISM band and for narrowband systems that have been overlaid with spread spectrum systems. In this work we have developed model-based techniques for the demodulation of co-channel MSK signals. It is shown that MSK signals can be written in the linear model form, hence a minimum variance unbiased (MVU) estimator exists that satisfies the Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) with equality. This framework allows us to derive the best estimators for a single-user and a two-user case. These concepts can also be extended to wideband signals and it is shown that the MVU estimator for Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum signals is in fact a decorrelator-based multiuser detector. However, this simple linear representation does not always exist for continuous phase modulations. Furthermore, these linear estimators require perfect channel state information and phase synchronization at the receiver, which is not always implemented in wireless communication systems. To overcome these shortcomings of the linear estimation techniques, we employed an autoregressive modeling approach. It is well known that the AR model can accurately represent peaks in the spectrum and therefore can be used as a general FM demodulator. It does not require knowledge of the exact signal model or phase synchronization at the receiver. Since it is a non-coherent reception technique, its performance is compared to that of the limiter discriminator. Simulation results have shown that model-based demodulators can give significant gains for certain phase and frequency offsets between the desired signal and an interferer. / Master of Science

Yes / A green approach has been used for co-crystallization of non-congruent co-crystal pair of caffeine – maleic acid using water. Ultrasound is known to affect crystallization hence the effect of high power ultrasound on the ternary phase diagram has been investigated in detail using a slurry co-crystallization approach. A systematic investigation was performed to understand how the accelerated conditions during ultrasound assisted co-crystallization will affect different regions of the ternary phase diagram. Application of ultrasound showed considerable effect on the ternary phase diagram; principally on caffeine/maleic acid 2:1 (disappeared) and 1:1 co-crystal (narrowed) regions. Also, the stability regions for pure caffeine and maleic acid in water were narrowed in the presence of ultrasound, expanding the solution region. The observed effect of ultrasound on the phase diagram was correlated with solubility of caffeine and maleic acid and stability of co-crystal forms in water.

Yes / The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs mefenamic acid (MFA) and tolfenamic acid (TFA) have a close resemblance in their molecular scaffold, whereby a methyl group in MFA is substituted by a chloro group in TFA. The present study demonstrates the isomorphous nature of these compounds in a series of their multicomponent solids. Furthermore, the unique nature of MFA and TFA has been demonstrated while excavating their alternate solid forms in that, by varying the drug (MFA or TFA) to coformer [4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP)] stoichiometric ratio, both drugs have produced three different types of multicomponent crystals, viz. salt (1:1; API to coformer ratio), salt hydrate (1:1:1) and cocrystal salt (2:1). Interestingly, as anticipated from the close similarity of TFA and MFA structures, these multicomponent solids have shown an isomorphous relation. A thorough characterization and structural investigation of the new multicomponent forms of MFA and TFA revealed their similarity in terms of space group and structural packing with isomorphic nature among the pairs. Herein, the experimental results are generalized in a broader perspective for predictably identifying any possible new forms of comparable compounds by mapping their crystal structure landscapes. The utility of such an approach is evident from the identification of polymorph VI of TFA from hetero-seeding with isomorphous MFA form I from acetone–methanol (1:1) solution. That aside, a pseudopolymorph of TFA with dimethylformamide (DMF) was obtained, which also has some structural similarity to that of the solvate MFA:DMF. These new isostructural pairs are discussed in the context of solid form screening using structural landscape similarity / Department of Science and Technology (DST/SJF/CSA-02/2014–15); Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain for seed corn funding (2018–19); INSPIRE fellowship from Department of Science and Technology, Government of India; IISER-Kolkata (instrumental facilities and fellowships)

No description available.

För en stad är det viktigt att sticka ut, att göra sig hörd bland andra städer som konkurrerar om besöksnäring och nya invånare. Hur kan en medelstor stad sticka ut från mängden? Kanske genom att marknadsföra sig tillsammans med en idrottsförening. Studien undersöker hur en stad tillsammans med det lokala elitishockeylaget och destinationsbolaget arbetar för att skapa en positiv bild av staden. Tidigare forskning har fokuserat på hur städer arbetat med stora mästerskap, såsom Olympiska spelen och världsmästerskap. Ingen relevant forskning som vi har tagit del av har behandlat samarbetet mellan ett lokalt elitlag i ishockey, destinationsbolag samt kommun. De teorier som använts är place branding och co-branding. Dessa teorier består av flera aspekter som kan appliceras på en studie, place branding har ”the five Rs of place branding” och co-branding har ”5C co-branding strategy”. Den metod som använts är kvalitativa intervjuer. Dessa intervjuer var strukturerade med öppna frågor för att få så informationsrika svar som möjligt. Orsaken till att kvalitativa intervjuer genomfördes var att få reda på om det fanns något samarbete mellan organisationerna. Resultatet visar att det inte finns något utbrett samarbete mellan dessa tre organisationer. Samtliga organisationer var positiva till ett framtida samarbete men i dagsläget finns inga planer från någon av organisationerna att inleda ett samarbete med någon av de andra. / It is important for a city to stand out, to make itself heard among other cities that are competing for the same tourism income<img src="https://cdncache-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png" /> and new citizens. How can an medium-sized city stand out from the crowd? Perhaps by marketing itself together with a sports club. This study investigates how a city together with the local elite ice hockey team and the visitors bureau work to create a positive image of the city. Previous research has focused on how cities work with big events, such as the Olympic games and world championships. No relevant research that we have come across has looked at the cooperation between a local elite ice hockey team, the visitors bureau and the local government. The theories that have been used are place branding and co-branding. These theories are composed of multiple aspects that can be applied to a study, place branding has ”the five Rs of place branding” and co-branding has the ”5C co-branding strategy”. The method that has been used is qualitative interviews. The interviews that have been carried out were structured with open question to get as much information from the answers as possible. The reason that qualitative interviews were carried out was to find out if there was any cooperation between these organizations. The results show that there is no widespread cooperation between these organizations. All of the organizations were positive to the idea of future cooperation, but as of now there are no plans from any of the organizations to commence a cooperation initiative with any of the others.

Customers play an active role throughout the marketing process. This dissertation concerns itself with customer's co-creation of value for self (co-production) and for other customers (co-consumption) during service production and delivery. With the servuction system as its overarching framework, this study explains how changes in the customer's perceived co-production and co-consumption, caused by a service innovation, influence her perceptions of service innovation characteristics and modify her adoption behavior. It draws on a multidisciplinary body of knowledge and develops a conceptual framework and a set of substantive propositions. The empirical research was contextualized in three services: self check-out at grocery stores, Build-A-Bear stores, and meal assembly centers. It focused on members of Generations X and Y who were familiar with these services. The qualitative investigations and pilot study helped adapt the extant scales and construct new scales. In line with prior works, the focal service encounters were simulated through a series of consumption scenarios. The exploratory factor analysis in the pilot study and the confirmatory factor analysis in the main study indicated that the instruments were culturally informed, internally reliable, and construct-wise valid. The results indicate that co-production and co-consumption play important roles in explaining innovation characteristics and adoption decisions. More specifically, the focal customer's co-production of the service for self (CPS), other customers' co-production of the service for the focal customer (OCP), the number and the nature of other customers (crowding and homophily) can help to explain the focal customer's evaluation of service innovation characteristics as well as her adoption decision. The focal customer's disposition to participate (DTP) and its interaction with CPS are also useful explanatory constructs. Focal customer's co-production of the service for other customers (CPO) and its interaction with DTP emerged as non-significant. In comparing the high- and low-DTP groups, it was found that the former was more convenience-prone in two service contexts, and the latter in the third context.

Concevoir un système embarqué implique de trouver un compromis algorithme/architecture en fonction des contraintes temps-réel. Thèse : pour un MPSoC et plus particulièrement avec les circuits reconfigurables qui permettent de modifier le support d'exécution en cours de fonctionnement, l'évaluation préalable des comportements fluctuants d'un système réactif devient une nécessité. Il faut donc valider par simulation (de haut niveau) tout en permettant l'exploration de l'espace de conception architectural, matériel et logiciel. Le point de vue du gestionnaire de la plateforme est choisi pour explorer à haut niveau les réactions du système aux choix de partitionnement et surtout l'influence de l'algorithmique des services du système d'exploitation et de leurs implémentations possibles. Pour cela un modèle de services d'OS modulaire permet de simuler fonctionnellement et conjointement, en SystemC, le matériel, les tâches logicielles et le système d'exploitation, répartis sur plusieurs nœuds d'exécution hétérogènes communicants. Le modèle a permis d'évaluer l'architecture temps-réel idéale d'une application dynamique de vision robotique conjointement à l'exploration des services de gestion de zone reconfigurable modélisé. Par ailleurs, ce modèle d'OS à été intégré dans un simulateur de MPSoC hétérogène d'une puissance estimé à un Tera opérations par seconde. / Designing an embedded system implies to look for the right algorithm/architecture compromise depending on the real-time constraints. For MPSoC an especially with reconfigurable devices which enable to modify the running executing support, the preliminary evaluation of the variable behaviors of a reactive system becomes necessary.This could be done by a high level simulation allowing to explore the architectural design space, hardware and software. The platform manager point of view is used to explore the systems reactions to the partitioning choices and also the influence of the various algorithms and the impact of implementations of the operating system's services refined in hardware or software. For that, a SystemC model composed of modular OS services allow to jointly and functionally simulate hardware, software tasks and the operating system, distributed on heterogeneous communicating execution nodes. To evaluate the perfect real-time reconfigurable architecture of a dynamical robot vision application, we explored its partitioning and the useful OS services accordingly. This model has been integrated in a big simulator of an heterogeneous chip designed to provide a Tera operations per second power.

<p>U doktorskoj disertaciji je vršeno ispitivanje uticaja kontekstualnih faktora na sprovođenje &bdquo;co-benefits&ldquo; politika u urbanim sredinama zemalja u razvoju. Posmatrajući razvoj biciklističkog saobraćaja kao vrstu jedne takve politike, vršena je analiza uticaja političkih, društveno-ekonomskih, institucionalnih i organizacionih faktora na procese planiranja i implementacije &bdquo;co-benefits&ldquo; politika. Takođe, u sklopu istraživačkih aktivnosti sproveden je konkretan infrastrukturni &bdquo;co-benefits&ldquo; projekat i razvijen je okvir za evaluaciju ekoloških i drugih benefita.</p> / <p>Doctoral dissertation investigates influence of contextual factors on<br />implementation of &bdquo;co-benefits&ldquo; policies within urban areas of developing<br />countries. Taking bicycle traffic as one of such policies, the influences of<br />political, socio-economic, institutional and organisational factors on planning<br />and implementation of &ldquo;co-benefits&rdquo; policies had been analysed. Also, an<br />infrastructure &ldquo;co-benefits&rdquo; project and framework for evaluation of ecological<br />and other benefits have been developed.</p>

L'infarctus du myocarde (IDM) est l'une des principales causes de morbi-mortalité dans le monde et ce malgré une revascularisation rapide de l’artère coronaire occlue. L'obésité est un facteur de risque majeur pour l’IDM, et concerne 15 % de la population française (enquête ObEpi-Roche/INSERM, 2012). L'objectif de notre étude a été d'étudier l'efficacité de stratégies cardioprotectrices comme l’exercice physique chronique ou l’administration d’un donneur de CO (CORM-3) dans un contexte d’obésité. Un effet cardioprotecteur de l'exercice physique chronique a été démontré sur un modèle d’ischémie-reperfusion chez la souris ob/ob (génétiquement dépourvu en leptine). Cet effet implique l’activation de la voie de signalisation cardioprotectrice RISK associée à une diminution des taux cytosoliques des protéines phosphatases inhibitrices correspondantes PTEN et MK3P ce qui aboutit à une amélioration des fonctions mitochondriales. Ce travail montre la capacité différentielle de stratégies à réduire la taille de l’infarctus en cas d’obésité. Par ailleurs, il souligne l’importance du rôle des mécanismes HCO3- dépendants dans le contrôle du pH intracellulaire à la reperfusion. Ils pourraient représenter une étape clef dans la cardioprotection. / Myocardial infarction (MI) remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the developing countries despite significant therapeutic advances over the last years. Obesity is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease and concern 15% of the French population (ObEpi-Roche/INSERM survey, 2012). The aim of our studie was to investigate the efficacy of cardioprotective strategies such as regular treadmill exercice or CO donor administration (CORM-3) against MI during obesity. In ob/ob mice, regular exercise induces a robust cardioprotection by increasing kinase phosphorylation of RISK pathway, decreasing levels of corresponding phosphatases and improving the resistance of mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening. The present study shows differential capabilities of cardioprotective strategies at reducing myocardial infarct size with obesity. In addition, it underlines the role of HCO3- dependent mechanisms in the control of intracellular pH at reperfusion. They could represent a key step for mediating cardioprotection.

La réponse immunitaires est régulée par des molécules de co-signalisation, qui, en apportant des signaux inhibiteurs ou activateurs, modulent les fonctions lymphocytaires. Nous avons focalisé notre étude sur deux co-effecteurs et membres de la famille CD28/B7 : PD-1 (Programmed Death 1) et BTLA (B and T Lymphocyte Attenuator), tous deux décrits, à l’image de CTLA-4, comme inhibitrices de l’activation lymphocytaire T. Au cours de ma thèse, nous avons pu évaluer l’expression et le rôle de PD-1 et BTLA sur les lymphocytes B normaux et pathologiques. Dans une première partie, nos travaux ont montré que ces molécules sont exprimées à la surface des sous populations B du sang périphérique et des tissus et qu’elles sont également finement régulées au cours de l’activation B. Par la suite nous avons démontré pour la première fois que BTLA et PD-1, à l’image des cellules T, sont recrutées, après activation, au niveau du récepteur de la cellule B et qu’elles exercent un rôle inhibiteur sur l’activation de ces mêmes cellules. Dans une seconde partie, grâce au développement d’un outil en cytométrie multicouleurs, nous avons analysé, dans une cohorte de 72 lymphomes B, l’infiltrat immunitaire ainsi que l’expression de PD-1, BTLA et leurs ligands. Ce travail, par son analyse de la physiologie B d’une part et de pathologies tumorales B d’autre part, donne un nouvel éclairage sur les rôles complexes des co-récepteurs BTLA et PD-1. / The immune response is regulated by co-signaling molecules, which, by providing signals inhibitors or activators, modulate lymphocyte functions. We focused our study on two co-effectors and CD28/B7 family members: PD-1 (Programmed Death 1) and BTLA (B and T Lymphocyte Attenuator), both described, like CTLA-4, as inhibitors of T lymphocyte activation. This work allowed us to evaluate the expression and the role of BTLA and PD-1 on normal and tumoral B lymphocytes. In the first part, our work has shown that these molecules are expressed on B cell subsets of peripheral blood and tissues and are also finely regulated during the B cell activation. Subsequently, we have demonstrated for the first time that BTLA and PD-1, like T cells, are recruited after activation at the B cell receptor, and they exert an inhibitory role on the activation of these cells. In the second part, through the development of a multicolor cytometry tool, we analyzed the immune infiltrate and the expression of PD-1, BTLA and their ligands in a cohort of 72 B-cell lymphomas. Taken together, these results, by his analysis of the physiology of B cell from B cell malignancies, give a new insight into the complex roles of BTLA and PD-1 co-receptors.