This thesis is focused on the design and implementation of binary low-density parity-check (LDPC) code decoders for high-speed modern communication systems. The basic of LDPC codes and the performance and bottlenecks, in terms of complexity and hardware efficiency, of the main soft-decision and hard-decision decoding algorithms (such as Min-Sum, Optimized 2-bit Min-Sum and Reliability-based iterative Majority-Logic) are analyzed. The complexity and performance of those algorithms are improved to allow efficient hardware architectures. A new decoding algorithm called One-Minimum Min-Sum is proposed. It reduces considerably the complexity of the check node update equations of the Min-Sum algorithm. The second minimum is estimated from the first minimum value by a means of a linear approximation that allows a dynamic adjustment. The Optimized 2-bit Min-Sum algorithm is modified to initialize it with the complete LLR values and to introduce the extrinsic information in the messages sent from the variable nodes. Its variable node equation is reformulated to reduce its complexity. Both algorithms were tested for the (2048,1723) RS-based LDPC code and (16129,15372) LDPC code using an FPGA-based hardware emulator. They exhibit BER performance very close to Min-Sum algorithm and do not introduce early error-floor. In order to show the hardware advantages of the proposed algorithms, hardware decoders were implemented in a 90 nm CMOS process and FPGA devices based on two types of architectures: full-parallel and partial-parallel one with horizontal layered schedule. The results show that the decoders are more area-time efficient than other published decoders and that the low-complexity of the Modified Optimized 2-bit Min-Sum allows the implementation of 10 Gbps decoders in current FPGA devices. Finally, a new hard-decision decoding algorithm, the Historical-Extrinsic Reliability-Based Iterative Decoder, is presented. This algorithm introduces the new idea of considering hard-decision votes as soft-decision to compute the extrinsic information of previous iterations. It is suitable for high-rate codes and improves the BER performance of the previous RBI-MLGD algorithms, with similar complexity. / Esta tesis se ha centrado en el diseño e implementación de decodificadores binarios basados en códigos de comprobación de paridad de baja densidad (LDPC) válidos para los sistemas de comunicación modernos de alta velocidad. Los conceptos básicos de códigos LDPC, sus prestaciones y cuellos de botella, en términos de complejidad y eficiencia hardware, fueron analizados para los principales algoritmos de decisión soft y decisión hard (como Min-Sum, Optimized 2-bit Min-Sum y Reliability-based iterative Majority-Logic). La complejidad y prestaciones de estos algoritmos se han mejorado para conseguir arquitecturas hardware eficientes. Se ha propuesto un nuevo algoritmo de decodificación llamado One-Minimum Min-Sum. Éste reduce considerablemente la complejidad de las ecuaciones de actualización del nodo de comprobación del algoritmo Min-Sum. El segundo mínimo se ha estimado a partir del valor del primer mínimo por medio de una aproximación lineal, la cuál permite un ajuste dinámico. El algoritmo Optimized 2-bit Min-Sum se ha modificado para ser inicializado con los valores LLR e introducir la información extrínseca en los mensajes enviados desde los nodos variables. La ecuación del nodo variable de este algoritmo ha sido reformulada para reducir su complejidad. Ambos algoritmos fueron probados para el código (2048,1723) RS-based LDPC y para el código (16129,15372) LDPC utilizando un emulador hardware implementado en un dispositivo FPGA. Éstos han alcanzado unas prestaciones de BER muy cercanas a las del algoritmo Min-Sum evitando, además, la aparición temprana del fenómeno denominado suelo del error. Con el objetivo de mostrar las ventajas hardware de los algoritmos propuestos, los decodificadores se implementaron en hardware utilizando tecnología CMOS de 90 nm y en dispositivos FPGA basados en dos tipos de arquitecturas: completamente paralela y parcialmente paralela utilizando el método de actualización por capas horizontales. Los resultados muestran que los decodificadores propuestos e implementados son más eficientes en área-tiempo que otros decodificadores publicados y que la baja complejidad del algoritmo Modified Optimized 2-bit Min-Sum permite la implementación de decodificadores en los dispositivos FPGA actuales consiguiendo una tasa de 10 Gbps. Finalmente, se ha presentado un nuevo algoritmo de decodificación de decisión hard, el Historical-Extrinsic Reliability-Based Iterative Decoder. Este algoritmo introduce la nueva idea de considerar los votos de decisión hard como decisión soft para calcular la información extrínseca de iteracions anteriores. Este algoritmo es adecuado para códigos de alta velocidad y mejora el rendimiento BER de los algoritmos RBI-MLGD anteriores, con una complejidad similar. / Aquesta tesi s'ha centrat en el disseny i implementació de descodificadors binaris basats en codis de comprovació de paritat de baixa densitat (LDPC) vàlids per als sistemes de comunicació moderns d'alta velocitat. Els conceptes bàsics de codis LDPC, les seues prestacions i colls de botella, en termes de complexitat i eficiència hardware, van ser analitzats pels principals algoritmes de decisió soft i decisió hard (com el Min-Sum, Optimized 2-bit Min-Sum y Reliability-based iterative Majority-Logic). La complexitat i prestacions d'aquests algoritmes s'han millorat per aconseguir arquitectures hardware eficients. S'ha proposat un nou algoritme de descodificació anomenat One-Minimum Min-Sum. Aquest redueix considerablement la complexitat de les equacions d'actualització del node de comprovació del algoritme Min-Sum. El segon mínim s'ha estimat a partir del valor del primer mínim per mitjà d'una aproximació lineal, la qual permet un ajust dinàmic. L'algoritme Optimized 2-bit Min-Sum s'ha modificat per ser inicialitzat amb els valors LLR i introduir la informació extrínseca en els missatges enviats des dels nodes variables. L'equació del node variable d'aquest algoritme ha sigut reformulada per reduir la seva complexitat. Tots dos algoritmes van ser provats per al codi (2048,1723) RS-based LDPC i per al codi (16129,15372) LDPC utilitzant un emulador hardware implementat en un dispositiu FPGA. Aquests han aconseguit unes prestacions BER molt properes a les del algoritme Min-Sum evitant, a més, l'aparició primerenca del fenomen denominat sòl de l'error. Per tal de mostrar els avantatges hardware dels algoritmes proposats, els descodificadors es varen implementar en hardware utilitzan una tecnologia CMOS d'uns 90 nm i en dispositius FPGA basats en dos tipus d'arquitectures: completament paral·lela i parcialment paral·lela utilitzant el mètode d'actualització per capes horitzontals. Els resultats mostren que els descodificadors proposats i implementats són més eficients en àrea-temps que altres descodificadors publicats i que la baixa complexitat del algoritme Modified Optimized 2-bit Min-Sum permet la implementació de decodificadors en els dispositius FPGA actuals obtenint una taxa de 10 Gbps. Finalment, s'ha presentat un nou algoritme de descodificació de decisió hard, el Historical-Extrinsic Reliability-Based Iterative Decoder. Aquest algoritme presenta la nova idea de considerar els vots de decisió hard com decisió soft per calcular la informació extrínseca d'iteracions anteriors. Aquest algoritme és adequat per als codis d'alta taxa i millora el rendiment BER dels algoritmes RBI-MLGD anteriors, amb una complexitat similar. / Català Pérez, JM. (2017). Design and implementation of decoders for error correction in high-speed communication systems [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/86152 / TESIS

Introduction: Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is a serious public health concern globally especially in developing countries like South Africa. The main source from which infants acquire the causative bacteria - Mutans Streptococci (MS) is their mothers. The mothers with high levels of MS have a greater chance of transmitting the bacteria, particularly if they are involved in practices such as tasting the infant’s food and/or sharing eating utensils. Current research indicates that dental public health programmes fail to prevent ECC because of late intervention. Objective: This study sought to determine the existing knowledge, attitudes and perceptions (KAP) of pregnant women about ECC in a population in Tshwane district, Gauteng province, South Africa and to compare these KAP across socio-economic groups (SES). Methodology: A cross-sectional analytical study involving consenting pregnant women recruited from selected private and public antenatal healthcare facilities in the Tshwane District area was conducted. This study involved the use of a validated self-administered structured questionnaire and an oral epidemiological clinical examination (modified by WHO Oral Health Assessment 1997 Guidelines). One calibrated examiner using a dental explorer and a mouth mirror under natural light carried out the oral examination. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, principal component analysis to obtain a composite score for participant’s attitude towards ECC; and chi-square and independent student’s T-test to compare different groups. Significance level was set at p<0.05. Results: Response rate was 88.9% (n=353). Respondents’ age ranged from 18-44years (Mean age=31years). Only 18.7% of the respondents had complete knowledge of the cause of dental caries i.e. both sugar (diet) and biologic agent (bacterial plaque) whilst over half of the respondents (55.5%) mentioned only one factor. The participants’ knowledge of the cause of ECC was significantly associated with SES. A few mothers-to-be (13.9%) believed in the caries transmission from mother to child. Reported mean age for the child’s first dental visit was 2 years and 8 months. Only a quarter of respondents received oral health education for their unborn child during the antenatal visits. The majority of the pregnant women (93.8%) expressed the desire to receive information during the antenatal visit. The participants’ attitudes towards ECC was significantly associated with SES. The caries prevalence of the pregnant women was high at 64.3%, with mean DMFT of 2.97(SD 3.20). High participant DMFT was significantly associated with reports of ‘rotten teeth’ in their other children. Only 19.3% mothers-to-be had visited a dental care provider in the last 6-months. Conclusion: The knowledge of the pregnant women studied on ECC is incomplete and limited, while their attitudes and perceptions towards ECC was satisfactory. Therefore there is a need for the integration of oral health education with maternal and child health activities in both antenatal and post-natal clinics. There is a need for the oral health professionals to collaborate with other health works to reduce the prevalence of ECC. / Dissertation (MSc Dent)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Community Dentistry / MSc Dent / Unrestricted

Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is a burden worldwide which has a negative impact on children’s wellbeing and affects aesthetics, speech and mastication. It may lead to loss of space, creating problems that are difficult and expensive to manage in future. The International Association of Paediatric Dentistry (IAPD) declared that more than 600 million children worldwide are affected by ECC. Caries is a multifactorial disease and frequent excessive sugar consumption is noted as a major risk factor in the development of caries. It also contributes to other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease. The well-established link between dental caries and dietary sugar, specifically sucrose, can be explained due to the fact that it can be fermented by microorganisms. The use of sugar substitutes may be justified as an effective way to prevent dental caries by modifying the metabolism of microorganisms which will lead to a reduction in lactic acid production in the mouth. This study explored the cariogenic potential of sugar substitutes. The aim of the study was to determine and compare the cariogenic potential of commercially available sugar substitutes namely: xylitol, erythritol and stevia. The data collected could be useful in finding a suitable substitute for sucrose, one of the main causative factors of ECC. A total of 52 enamel slabs were prepared from the surfaces of extracted primary teeth and placed in growth media before being inoculated with Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans). The enamel slabs and growth media were used to determine the Colony Forming Units (CFUs) of S. mutans after exposure to xylitol, erythritol and stevia and to determine the acid production of S. mutans in the presence of these sugar substitutes by measuring the acidity (pH) of the growth media. Biofilm formation in the presence of sucrose, xylitol, erythritol and stevia was confirmed by means of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Considering the CFUs, pH and SEM analysis, this study suggests that xylitol, erythritol and stevia are all less cariogenic alternatives to sucrose. Stevia has been shown to have the lowest cariogenic potential, followed by erythritol and then xylitol. These substitutes should however be used with caution as they still produced a drop in pH close to the critical demineralization level. From the literature studied, it is clear that ECC is a preventable disease. It is the dental professional’s duty to raise awareness with parents, caregivers, other health care professionals and all relevant stakeholders. Parents and patients should be educated to limit sugar intake and to substitute sugar with healthier alternatives such as xylitol, erythritol or stevia, which all proved to be less cariogenic than sucrose. / Dissertation (MSc Dent)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Community Dentistry / MSc Dent / Unrestricted

La Cryptographie sur les Courbes Elliptiques (abréviée ECC de l'anglais Elliptic Curve Cryptography) est devenue très importante dans les cartes à puces car elle présente de meilleures performances en temps et en mémoire comparée à d'autres cryptosystèmes asymétriques comme RSA. ECC est présumé incassable dans le modèle dit « Boite Noire », où le cryptanalyste a uniquement accès aux entrées et aux sorties. Cependant, ce n'est pas suffisant si le cryptosystème est embarqué dans un appareil qui est physiquement accessible à de potentiels attaquants. En plus des entrés et des sorties, l'attaquant peut étudier le comportement physique de l'appareil. Ce nouveau type de cryptanalyse est appelé cryptanalyse physique. Cette thèse porte sur les attaques physiques sur ECC. La première partie fournit les pré-requis sur ECC. Du niveau le plus bas au plus élevé, ECC nécessite les outils suivants : l'arithmétique sur les corps finis, l'arithmétique sur courbes elliptiques, la multiplication scalaire sur courbes elliptiques et enfin les protocoles cryptographiques. La deuxième partie expose un état de l'art des différentes attaques physiques et contremesures sur ECC. Pour chaque attaque, nous donnons le contexte dans lequel elle est applicable. Pour chaque contremesure, nous estimons son coût en temps et en mémoire. Nous proposons de nouvelles attaques et de nouvelles contremesures. Ensuite, nous donnons une synthèse claire des attaques suivant le contexte. Cette synthèse est utile pendant la tâche du choix des contremesures. Enfin, une synthèse claire de l'efficacité de chaque contremesure sur les attaques est donnée. / Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) has gained much importance in smart cards because of its higher speed and lower memory needs compared with other asymmetric cryptosystems such as RSA. ECC is believed to be unbreakable in the black box model, where the cryptanalyst has access to inputs and outputs only. However, it is not enough if the cryptosystem is embedded on a device that is physically accessible to potential attackers. In addition to inputs and outputs, the attacker can study the physical behaviour of the device. This new kind of cryptanalysis is called Physical Cryptanalysis. This thesis focuses on physical cryptanalysis of ECC. The first part gives the background on ECC. From the lowest to the highest level, ECC involves a hierarchy of tools: Finite Field Arithmetic, Elliptic Curve Arithmetic, Elliptic Curve Scalar Multiplication and Cryptographie Protocol. The second part exhibits a state-of-the-art of the different physical attacks and countermeasures on ECC.For each attack, the context on which it can be applied is given while, for each countermeasure, we estimate the lime and memory cost. We propose new attacks and new countermeasures. We then give a clear synthesis of the attacks depending on the context. This is useful during the task of selecting the countermeasures. Finally, we give a clear synthesis of the efficiency of each countermeasure against the attacks.

Studien syftet är att undersöka om barn som har ammats längre än ett år har ökad risk för karies före sex års ålder. Metoden är en systematisk litteraturstudie där databaserna Cinahl, Cocharane och PubMed har sökts. Resultatet baserades på fyra kohortstudier och tio tvärsnittsstudier. Resultatet av dessa fjorton studier kan indelas i två riktningar, studier som visar att amning längre än ett år ökar kariesrisken och studier som indikerar att amning inte ökar risken för karies. Slutsatser: Utifrån resultatet av artiklarna får det anses att det vetenskapliga underlaget är otillräckligt för att hävda att amning ökar risken för kariesutveckling. / The purpose of this study is to investigate whether children who are breastfed longer than one year have increased risk of caries before the age of six. The method is a systematic literature review in which databases Cinahl, Cocharane and PubMED will be searched. The results were based on four cohort studies and ten cross-sectional studies. The findings of this fourteen studies can be divided in two directions, studies which indicates that breastfeeding increase the caries risk in children who are breastfed longer than one year and other studies indicates that there are no connection. Conclusions: Based on the results from the articles, it is considered inadequate to argue that breastfeeding increases the risk of caries development.

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yes / In order to study the mechanical behaviors of engineered cementitious composites (ECC) reinforced with various types of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers and different fiber volume fractions after the freeze-thaw cycles, the rapid freeze-thaw method was used to test the mass loss ratios, longitudinal relative dynamic elastic modulus, compressive strength and flexural strength. The results showed that specimens incurred more serious damage with the increasing of freeze-thaw cycles; however their performance would be improved by fiber type and dosage. Mass loss rate of JPA (specimen with 2% volume content of JP fiber) was lower than JPB (specimen with 1% volume content of JP fiber). Furthermore, the mass loss rate of JPB was lower than that of CPB (specimen with 1% volume content of CP fiber). The longitudinal relative dynamic elastic modulus of JPA was higher than that of JPB while the longitudinal relative dynamic elastic modulus of JPB was higher than that of CPB. In addition, the compressive strength and flexural strength decreased with the increasing of freeze-thaw cycles. Mechanical behaviors of specimens with fiber exhibited better strength than specimens without fiber. Based on the SL 211-2006 code for the design of hydraulic structures against ice and freezing action, JPA and JPB specimens are adequate for use in severe cold regions, while specimen CPA and CPB can be used in cold regions, specimen JPC only can be used in warm regions.

While 5G energy harvesting makes 5G smart dust possible, stretching computation across power cycles affects cryptographic algorithms. This effect may lead to new security issues that make the system vulnerable to adversary attacks. Therefore, security measures are needed to protect data at rest and in transit across the network. In this paper, we identify the security requirements of existing 5G networks and the best-of-breed cryptographic algorithms for ultra-low SWaP devices in an energy harvesting context. To do this, we quantify the performance vs. energy tradespace, investigate the device features that impact the tradespace the most, and assess the security impact when the attacker has access to intermediate results. Our open-source energy-harvesting-tolerant versions of the cryptographic algorithms provide algorithm and device recommendations and ultra-low SWaP energy-harvesting-device-optimized versions of the cryptographic algorithms. / Master of Science / Smart dust is a network of tiny and energy-efficient devices that can gather data from the environment using various sensors, such as temperature, pressure, and humidity sensors. These devices are extremely small, often as small as a grain of sand or smaller, and have numerous applications, including environmental monitoring, structural health monitoring, and military surveillance. One of the main challenges of smart dust is its small size and limited energy resources, making it challenging to power and process the collected data. However, advancements in energy harvesting and low-power computing are being developed to overcome these challenges. In the case of 5G, energy harvesting technologies can be used to power small sensors and devices that are part of the 5G network, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Examples of IoT devices are wearable fitness trackers, smart thermostats, security cameras, home automation systems, and industrial sensors. Since 5G energy harvesting impacts the daily lives of people using the relevant devices, our research seeks to find out what kind of measures are necessary to guarantee their security.

Les réseaux de capteurs sans fil (RCSF) sont devenus un thème porteur aussi bien pour la recherche académique que pour les activités des services de R&D en raison de leur simplicité de déploiement et de leur potentiel applicatif dans des domaines très variés (militaire, environnemental, industriel). Un RCSF est composé d'un ensemble de noeuds devant être opérationnels et autonomes énergétiquement pour de longues périodes. De ce fait ils sont limités en capacité mémoire et de calcul, et contraint à exploiter une faible puissance de transmission, ce qui en limite leur portée et rend leur débit modeste. Le besoin de sécuriser les communications dans un RCSF dépend de la criticité des données échangées pour l'application supportée. La solution doit reposer sur des échanges sûrs, confidentiels et fiables. Pour assurer la sécurisation des échanges, des techniques de cryptographie existent dans la littérature. Conçues à l'origine pour des réseaux informatiques majoritairement câblés, elles se basent généralement sur des algorithmes complexes et gourmands en ressource. Dans le cadre de cette thèse, nous avons proposé, implémenté et évalué une architecture sécurisée et dynamique adaptée aux communications des RCSF. Elle permet de garantir et de maintenir la sécurité des communications durant toute la durée de vie d'un réseau multi-saut. Nous avons utilisé et adapté des algorithmes standards de cryptographie, tels que AES-CTR et la suite d'algorithmes basée sur ECC, qui permettent à notre architecture de résister à la majorité d'attaques. Nous avons quantifié le surcoût en temps de calcul et en occupation mémoire de notre solution. Les résultats d’implémentation de notre proposition sont issus de mesures réelles faites sur une maquette réalisée à partir de cartes TelosB. / Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have become an attractive topic for both academic research and the activity of R&D services due to their simple deployment and their potential of application in varied fields (military, environmental, industrial). A WSN is composed of a set of nodes that are supposed to operate and to be energetically autonomous for long durations. Thus, they are limited in memory and computing capacities, and constrained to function in a low-power transmission mode which limit their communication range and leave them with low data rates.The need to secure communications in a WSN depends on the criticality of the exchanged data for the supported application. The solution must be based on safe, confidential and reliable exchanges. To ensure the security of exchanges, cryptographic techniques exist in the literature. Originally designed for mostly wired computer networks, they are usually based on complex and resource-consuming algorithms. In this thesis, we have proposed, implemented and evaluated a secure and dynamic architecture suitable for WSNs communications. It ensures and maintains secured communications throughout the lifetime of a multi-hop network. We have used and adapted standard cryptographic algorithms, such as AES-CTR and algorithms based on ECC cipher suites, which allow our architecture to resist against most attacks. We have quantified the overhead of our solution in terms of computation time and memory occupancy. The results of implementation of our proposal are obtained through real measurements on testbeds using TelosB motes.