M.Phil. / The advantages offered by power line communications (hereon after called PLC) cannot be over-emphasized neither can the inherent problems affecting its commercial takeover be underestimated. This research work creates a background study for experimental measurement and eventual implementations on power lines. It explains those salient aspects of commercially available communication modules that are rather not straight forward to understand from reading the Comblocks user manual. Especially, addressing those shortcomings of Comblocks that were not indicated in the documentation, we o er solutions to those we could nd our way around. M-ary frequency shift keying was implemented. This implementation tested the ro- bustness of the scheme against noises, attenuation and other power line channel char- acteristics as encountered practically. Based on our results, we nally recommend an optimal set of frequencies; we believe to be good for use in most PLC application pur- poses. Pseudo random bits of information were generated, encoded and modulated; the signals were transmitted over power line channels. The impact of noise sources, impulse noise especially was observed at di erent distances along the channel. Coupling and decoupling circuits used for this research, with associated issues sur- rounding the use of coupling circuitry are also presented. The CENELEC norm for PLC communication was adhered to, hence only frequencies that fall within the CENELEC speci cation for low voltage power distribution network were considered for MFSK use. Signal-to-noise ratio and other factors that a ect signal transmission over PLC was also measured. A complete communication system comprises of the transmitter, the channel and the receiver. This work however did not cover the receiver part of the system. Future work can now be done on this aspect which amongst others can take care of synchronization issues, in which a coding system as well as bit error rates can be determined.

The importance of consumer preference in transportation as a key to the forecasting of modal choice has received a growing recognition in the last ten years among transportation researchers in North America. Numerous studies of consumer attitudes toward transportation systems have been conducted in order to disclose the motivation underlying transportation consumer behavior. In Hong Kong the situation is different. In the last decade, several city-wide transportation studies have been conducted, with detailed description of aggregate travel characteristics such as trip purpose, income, and origin-destination. Yet, relatively little is known about consumer values relevant to transportation mode selection decisions. There is a scarcity of information concerning the factors that affect consumer behavior in transport, and the relative importance of these factors. The need for research designed to find information which will help fill this void of information is substantial. The objective of this thesis is to analyze, by means of an interview survey, the travelling behavior of the Tunnel-Bus passengers, and thereby to establish the relative importance of the different factors which lead to their mode selection decision. Two pieces of analysis have been undertaken. First, an analysis of the personal, socio-economic and trip characteristics of the passengers is performed. Secondly, an analysis of the passengers' mode-choice decision is made. The passengers' mode-choice decision is related to their personal, socio-economic and trip characteristics. In the light of the findings of these two steps, an appraisal of the predictions of patronage made by the government before the Tunnel Bus was introduced is undertaken. It is found that convenience and time-saving are the most important determinants that cause the passengers to use the Tunnel Bus. People are generally willing to pay more for a better, faster, more convenient transport mode for their cross-harbor journeys. Their grounds for choice of mode, however, vary with different groups of personal, socio-economic and trip characteristics such as, personal income, sex, trip purpose, frequency of use and previous transport mode. The implications of the findings are that more refined estimates of both time and convenience are needed in the transportation analysis in Hong Kong, and that modal split models should be made sensitive to mode convenience, users' age and work characteristics as well as time and cost. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第21574号 / 理博第4481号 / 新制||理||1643(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院理学研究科物理学・宇宙物理学専攻 / (主査)教授 嶺重 慎, 教授 太田 耕司, 准教授 栗田 光樹夫 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

The aim of this thesis is to acquaint with the various types of the planar transmission lines and discuss their properties. Subsequently, the development of the real models of selected lines and verification their properties by simulations using COMSOL Multiphysics. The second part deals with the modeling of the semiconductor substrate, which replacing the dielectric substrate used for the transmission lines in the first part. The final part deals with the verification of calculation results in a specialized program TiberCAD.

Acute myeloid leukemia(AML) is the most common acute leukemia among adults in the United states with approximately 19,940 people being diagnosed of this disease in 2020 and 11,180 deaths. It is a heterogenous group of malignancy characterized by clonal expansion of blast with myeloid lineage in the bone marrow, peripheral blood and/or other tissues. Our patient is a 79-year-old male who presented to the hospital with reports of sharp, throbbing low back pain for one month, moderately controlled with pain medications. He reported 5 lb. weight loss with decreased appetite over one month but denied other constitutional symptoms. MRI Lumbar spine revealed multiple foci of marrow signal abnormality compatible with extensive metastatic disease. CT chest, abdomen and pelvis did not show any lesions concerning for primary or metastatic malignancy. CBC revealed normal WBC count, platelet count and hemoglobin level (with macrocytosis, MCV 104.7). Initial work up including Vitamin B12 and folic acid level, TSH, SPEP/IFE, serum light chain ratio and quantitative immunoglobulins were within normal limits. Pathology from a CT guided bone biopsy of the L spine lesion was concerning for high grade myeloid neoplasm. Patient had a bone marrow biopsy done at another hospital which was read as most consistent with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with monocytic differentiation, with findings of hypocellular marrow, extensive fibrosis with focal areas of large clusters of immature cells, positive for MPO, CD33, CD43 and CD 56, Ki-67 of 60-80%. Cytogenetics showed an abnormal male karyotype with trisomy 8. FISH was negative for other AML or MDS related abnormalities. Given the above findings of AML and advanced age, patient was started on treatment with hypomethylating agent Decitabine along with BCL-2 inhibitor, Venetoclax. A repeat bone marrow biopsy after two cycles of the above regimen revealed progressive disease with extensive fibrosis and 80-90% blast on a core biopsy sample. Due to poor response to above regimen, lack of effective treatment options in older patients with AML and declining functional status, decision was made to pursue best supportive care. AML usually presents with symptoms of fevers, fatigue, dyspnea or bleeding. Skeletal lesions are usually associated with a diagnosis of multiple myeloma, or other solid organ malignancies and rare in AML. Extra medullary involvement of AML is known to happen in 2.5%-9% of patients and is termed as Myeloid Sarcoma. Due to the low incidence, prospective study data is limited. This entity is treated similarly to AML, depending on risk stratification by cytogenetics, age and targetable mutations which also govern its prognosis. This case highlights the importance of increased awareness and high index of suspicion among medical providers regarding this atypical presentation of AML since if missed or misdiagnosed could delay treatment and lead to poor outcomes.

Charles University Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology Student: Zuzana Miškovčíková Supervisor: RNDr. Jana Maixnerová, PhD. Title of diploma thesis: Determination of organ toxicity of BRAF inhibitors in vitro. Malignant melanoma is one of the most serious skin diseases today. Therapy of advanced melanoma is difficult and often ineffective. BRAF inhibitors (dabrafenib and vemurafenib) have dramatically changed the results of melanoma treatment in the last few years. BRAF inhibitors are one of the most effective drugs against melanoma, but their clinical application is largely limited by drug resistance. Available clinical studies have shown an adverse nephrotoxic effect of BRAF inhibitors, but information on its mechanism is limited. Published studies further suggest that the toxic effect of BRAF inhibitors is primarily directed to podocytes located in the glomerular membrane. Thus, the aim of our study was to assess the cytotoxic effect of BRAF inhibitors on selected model renal cells in vitro in order to confirm the renal target toxicity. The main objective of the study was to analyse whether the nephrotoxic effect of BRAF inhibitors is specifically limited to podocytes or whether it can damage other renal cells. The experiments were performed on human cell lines...

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The astronomical size of spectral data cubes that will result from the SKA pathfinders planned large HI surveys such as LADUMA; Fornax HI survey; DINGO; WALLABY; etc. necessitate fully automated three-dimensional (3D) source finding and parametrization tools. A fraction of the percentage difference in the performance of these automated tools corresponds to a significant number of galaxies being detected or undetected. Failure or success to resolve satellites around big spirals will affect both the low and the high mass end of the HI mass function. As a result, the performance and efficiency of these automated tools are of great importance, especially in the epoch of big data. Here I present the comprehensive comparison of performance between the fully automated source identification and parametrization software: SOFIA, the visual galaxy identification method and the semi-automated galaxy identification method. Each galaxy identification method has been applied to the same ∼ 35 gigabytes 3D HI data cube. The data cube results from the blind HI imaging survey conducted using the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT). The survey mapped the overdensity corresponding to the Perseus-Pisces Supercluster filament crossing the Zone-of-Avoidance (ZoA), at (`, b) ≈ (160◦ , 0.5◦ ). A total of 211 galaxies detected using the semi-automated method by Ramatsoku et al. [2016]. In this work, I detected 194 galaxies (using the visual identification method) of which 89.7% (174) have cross-matches/counterparts on the galaxy catalogue produced through semi-automated identification method. A total of 130 detections were made using SOFIA of which 89 were also identified by the two other methods. I used the sample of 174 visual detections with semi-automated counterparts as a Testbed to calculate the reliability and completeness achieved by SOFIA. The achieved reliability is ∼ 0.68 whereas completeness is ∼ 0.51. Further parameter fine-tuning is necessary to have a better handle on all SOFIA parameters and achieve higher reliability and completeness values.

Thesis. 1978. M.S.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Meteorology. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Science. / Bibliography: leaves 159-160. / M.S.

The chromosome substitution (CS) lines constitute an important genetic and breeding resources, increasing the genetic diversity of Upland cotton from other alien tetraploid species. Two experiments were conducted to quantify low temperature and drought stress effects during early growth stages in 21 cotton CS-lines with parent, Texas Marker (TM)-1. In Experiment I, plants were grown at optimum (30/22°C) and low (22/14°C) temperatures under optimum water and nutrient conditions. In Experiment II, plants were grown at optimum water and drought conditions. Above- and below-ground growth parameters including several root traits were assessed at 25 days after seeding. CS-lines varied significantly varied for many traits measured. Combined low temperature and drought response indices, derived from all measured parameters, showed CS-T04 and CSB08sh showed significantly higher and lower tolerance to low temperature, respectively, while CS-T04 and CS-B22sh showed significantly higher and lower tolerance to drought condition compared to TM-1.