Many digital signal processing and real-time streaming systems are modeled using dataflow graphs, such as Synchronous Dataflow (SDF) and Cyclo-static Dataflow (CSDF) graphs that allow static analysis and optimization techniques. However, mapping of such descriptions into tightly constrained real-time implementations requires optimization of resource sharing, buffering and scheduling across a multi-dimensional latency-throughput-area objective space. This requires techniques that can find the Pareto-optimal set of implementations for the designer to choose from. In this work, we address the problem of multi-objective mapping and scheduling of SDF and CSDF graphs onto heterogeneous multi-processor platforms. Building on previous work, this thesis extends existing two-stage hybrid heuristics that combine an evolutionary algorithm with an integer linear programming (ILP) model to jointly optimize throughput, area and latency for SDF graphs. The primary contributions of this work include: (1) extension of the ILP model to support CSDFGs with additional buffer size optimizations; (2) a further optimization in the ILP-based scheduling model to achieve a runtime speedup of almost a factor of 10 compared to the existing SDFG formulation; (3) a list scheduling heuristic that replaces the ILP model in the hybrid heuristic to generate Pareto-optimal solutions at significantly decreased runtime while maintaining near-optimality of the solutions within an acceptable gap of 10% when compared to its ILP counterparts. The list scheduling heuristic presented in this work is based on existing modulo scheduling approaches for software pipelining in the compiler domain, but has been extended by introducing a new concept of mobility-based rescheduling before resorting to backtracking. It has been proved in this work that if mobility-based rescheduling is performed, the number of required backtrackings and hence overall complexity and runtime is less. / text

Increasing health care costs is an international problem from which South Africa is not excluded. Prescription medication contributes most to these high health care costs, and methods to reduce their costs to society are implemented worldwide. In South Africa, such a method is a managed care reference medicine price list, as introduced by a PBM (pharmacy benefit management) company. This step had some cost implications in the private health sector in South Africa, and these implications were investigated in this study. Central nervous system (CNS) medicine items are among the top ten medicine items claimed and represent a substantial amount of the costs of all medicine items claimed during the study period. Antidepressants, a subdivision of the CNS agents, comprise the largest share of CNS agents claimed and CNS costs, and were therefore investigated more closely. The objective of this study was to analyse the usage patterns and costs of central nervous system medicine items, and more specifically, the antidepressants, against the background of the implementation of a managed care reference medicine price list in the private sector of South Africa. This study was conducted as a retrospective, non-experimental quantitative research project. The study population consisted of all medicine items claimed as observed on the database over the two-year study period of May 2001 to April 2002 (pre-MPL) and May 2002 to April 2003 (post-MPL). Data were provided by MedschemeTM/lnterpharm, and the Statistical Analysis System® SAS 8.2® was used to extract the data from the database. The central nervous system agents had a prevalence of 8.10% (N=49098736) and a total cost of R757576976.72 over the two-year study period. The cost per CNS item increased by 5.98% or R11.50 per CNS item in the year after MPL implementation, and the cost per prescription containing CNS medicine items increased by 4.09% or R9.07 per prescription. CNS agents are classified into ten sub-pharmacological groups, according to the MIMSC3 (Snyman, 2003:13a). One of these sub-pharmacological groups, antidepressants, comprised 33.97% of all CNS medicine items claimed (N=3978364) and 45.53% of all costs associated with CNS medicine items (N=R757576976.72) over the study period. The number one antidepressant claimed was amitriptyline, a tricyclic antidepressant. Of the antidepressants with generic substitutes, all with the exception of clomipramine, were prescribed at generic substitution rates of more than 50%. After the MPL implementation, generic antidepressant products were more frequently prescribed (16.48% increase, N=617190), although patient co-payments did not decrease immediately. Some innovator products had price reductions after the implementation of the MPL. This study indicates that cost minimisation analyses and retrospective drug utilisation reviews are valuable tools in the evaluation of managed care medicine price lists. / Thesis (M. Pharm. (Pharmacy Practice))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

This study has presented an analytic comparison of interactivity between CNN and YTN. In the circumstance that traditional media are suffering difficulty in attracting audience, CNN and YTN adopted a timely relief to break through a slump. It was interactivity. The most authoritative and oldest news networks in each country, America and Korea, CNN and YTN began the first interactive news shows at similar time. CNN’s Rick’s List and YTN’s Topic News did interactivity with audiences in real-time. Viewer’s texting messages to specific topics were on screen and anchors responded to them. The first interactive news shows gained steady popularity even under the decreasing rating period of CNN and YTN While Rick’s List has advanced, Topic News stopped after twenty months. This study analyzed why the different results and dissimilarities have been generated in terms of culture, inveterate media custom and business circumstance. / Department of Telecommunications

Many mobile robot applications require robots to act safely and intelligently in complex unfamiliarenvironments with little structure and limited or unavailable human supervision. As arobot is forced to operate in an environment that it was not engineered or trained for, various aspectsof its performance will inevitably degrade. Roboticists equip robots with powerful sensorsand data sources to deal with uncertainty, only to discover that the robots are able to make onlyminimal use of this data and still find themselves in trouble. Similarly, roboticists develop andtrain their robots in representative areas, only to discover that they encounter new situations thatare not in their experience base. Small problems resulting in mildly sub-optimal performance areoften tolerable, but major failures resulting in vehicle loss or compromised human safety are not.This thesis presents a series of online algorithms to enable a mobile robot to better deal withuncertainty in unfamiliar domains in order to improve its navigational abilities, better utilizeavailable data and resources and reduce risk to the vehicle. We validate these algorithms throughextensive testing onboard large mobile robot systems and argue how such approaches can increasethe reliability and robustness of mobile robots, bringing them closer to the capabilitiesrequired for many real-world applications.

In Sachsen sind bisher 212 Arten Grabwespen nachgewiesen. In der Artenliste und Roten Liste sind sie zusammengestellt und bewertet. Die Rote Liste informiert über die Gefährdungssituation der Arten und Lebensräume und stellt eine Grundlage für die Fachplanung im Naturschutz dar. Rote Listen werden regelmäßig aktualisiert. Eine Rote Liste Grabwespen erschien zuletzt 1995.

Increasing health care costs is an international problem from which South Africa is not excluded. Prescription medication contributes most to these high health care costs, and methods to reduce their costs to society are implemented worldwide. In South Africa, such a method is a managed care reference medicine price list, as introduced by a PBM (pharmacy benefit management) company. This step had some cost implications in the private health sector in South Africa, and these implications were investigated in this study. Central nervous system (CNS) medicine items are among the top ten medicine items claimed and represent a substantial amount of the costs of all medicine items claimed during the study period. Antidepressants, a subdivision of the CNS agents, comprise the largest share of CNS agents claimed and CNS costs, and were therefore investigated more closely. The objective of this study was to analyse the usage patterns and costs of central nervous system medicine items, and more specifically, the antidepressants, against the background of the implementation of a managed care reference medicine price list in the private sector of South Africa. This study was conducted as a retrospective, non-experimental quantitative research project. The study population consisted of all medicine items claimed as observed on the database over the two-year study period of May 2001 to April 2002 (pre-MPL) and May 2002 to April 2003 (post-MPL). Data were provided by MedschemeTM/lnterpharm, and the Statistical Analysis System® SAS 8.2® was used to extract the data from the database. The central nervous system agents had a prevalence of 8.10% (N=49098736) and a total cost of R757576976.72 over the two-year study period. The cost per CNS item increased by 5.98% or R11.50 per CNS item in the year after MPL implementation, and the cost per prescription containing CNS medicine items increased by 4.09% or R9.07 per prescription. CNS agents are classified into ten sub-pharmacological groups, according to the MIMSC3 (Snyman, 2003:13a). One of these sub-pharmacological groups, antidepressants, comprised 33.97% of all CNS medicine items claimed (N=3978364) and 45.53% of all costs associated with CNS medicine items (N=R757576976.72) over the study period. The number one antidepressant claimed was amitriptyline, a tricyclic antidepressant. Of the antidepressants with generic substitutes, all with the exception of clomipramine, were prescribed at generic substitution rates of more than 50%. After the MPL implementation, generic antidepressant products were more frequently prescribed (16.48% increase, N=617190), although patient co-payments did not decrease immediately. Some innovator products had price reductions after the implementation of the MPL. This study indicates that cost minimisation analyses and retrospective drug utilisation reviews are valuable tools in the evaluation of managed care medicine price lists. / Thesis (M. Pharm. (Pharmacy Practice))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

The South African national drug policy (NDP) was implemented in 1994 to ensure the availability and accessibility of essential drugs to all citizens. The NDP also hoped to ensure the safety, efficacy and quality of drugs as well as to promote the concepts of individual responsibility for health, preventative care and informed decision making. However, drug utilisation studies performed after the implementation of the national drug policy showed that South Africa's pharmaceutical sector was characterised by indiscriminate and irrational drug use, high drug prices and polypharmacy. A retrospective study that was done in 2001 in the clinics supplied by Evander Hospital showed that only 11.9% of prescriptions for acid-related disorders complied with the standard treatment guidelines (STG). It became evident that there was need for an intervention. The general objective of this study was to determine the effect of an education intervention, implemented in 2003, on the prescribing patterns of drugs for acid-related disorders in the Govan Mbeki municipal clinics serviced by Evander Hospital. An empirical pre-intervention and post-intervention study using primary data obtained from patient files at the clinics was done. A quantitative survey of the use of the drugs included in the study (magnesium trisilicate, aluminium hydroxide/magnesium trisilicate combination tablets, cimetidine or omeprazole) was conducted. To determine a baseline, all prescriptions where the drugs selected for this study were prescribed from 1 July 2001 to 31 December 2001 were collected. For the period I January 2002 to 31 December 2002 retrospective data was collected in the form of all prescriptions where the relevant drugs were prescribed. Additional retrospective data was collected for the period January 2002 to 30 June 2003 to determine the outcome of treatment given. The phi coefficient was calculated, and although statistical correlation could not be proven, important tendencies could be detected in the data. Only 8% of the prescriptions adhered to the STG before the presentation of the face to face education intervention. In the first six months following the intervention, STG compliance increased to 15.2%. In the following six-month period, the STG compliance decreased to 14.1 %. The assumption was made that patients were cured if they did not return with the same complaint. Based on this assumption the conclusion was drawn that, before the intervention, 50.2% of the patients were cured. In the first six months after the intervention had taken place the percentage patients who did not return increased from 50.2% to 60.6%. In the second six months after the intervention the percentage of patients who did not return increased to 70.7%. It may be concluded that compliance with the STG improved as a result of the face to face education intervention. Moreover, it was found that cost efficiency improved in parallel and the cure rate seemed to be positively affected by the intervention. / Thesis (M.Pharm. (Pharmacy Practice))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

During the past two decades, panicle-feeding Hemiptera have become pests of sorghum in West and Central Africa, and particularly in Mali, where this is a staple food crop. Of the more than 100 sorghum insect pests reported in Africa, 42 species were found to be panicle-feeding pests. Prior to this study, no research had been done on the paniclefeeding Hemiptera in South Africa. The objectives of the study were to determine the abundance and diversity of panicle-feeding Hemiptera on sorghum. A check list was compiled and the temporal distribution of different Hemiptera species determined during the different panicle stages of development. In addition, the effect of insecticide application on Hemiptera numbers was evaluated and the correlation between grain mould severity and Hemiptera feeding damage was investigated. To determine the abundance and diversity of Hemiptera on sorghum panicles, surveys were conducted between November 2004 and June 2006 at 26 sites in four provinces of South Africa. Two methods of collection were used viz. the plastic bag and D-Vac methods. The total number of the adults and nymphs collected during this study was 23 798. Forty-three different herbivorous Hemiptera species were collected. The most abundant family was the Miridae (41 %), followed by the Lygaeidae (17 %). Eurystylus spp., Calidea dregii, Campylomma sp., Creontiades pallidus, Nysius natalensis and Nezara viridula were the most abundant species and also occurred widely in the sorghum production area. Infestation levels of these species were low compared to that in other parts of Africa and it cannot be concluded that they have pest status in South Africa. There was no clear distinction between the stages during which panicles were infested by different species. The general tendency was that nearly all species were present from the flowering stage onwards and that numbers declined when grain hardened. In general, Campylomma sp. and C. pallidus numbers peaked during the flowering stage and Eurystylus spp. and N. natalensis during the milk stage. Hemiptera feeding damage resulted in an increase in incidence of seeds with discoloured germ, therefore contributing significantly to reduction in grain quality. / Thesis (M. Environmental Science (Plant Protection))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

During the past two decades, panicle-feeding Hemiptera have become pests of sorghum in West and Central Africa, and particularly in Mali, where this is a staple food crop. Of the more than 100 sorghum insect pests reported in Africa, 42 species were found to be panicle-feeding pests. Prior to this study, no research had been done on the paniclefeeding Hemiptera in South Africa. The objectives of the study were to determine the abundance and diversity of panicle-feeding Hemiptera on sorghum. A check list was compiled and the temporal distribution of different Hemiptera species determined during the different panicle stages of development. In addition, the effect of insecticide application on Hemiptera numbers was evaluated and the correlation between grain mould severity and Hemiptera feeding damage was investigated. To determine the abundance and diversity of Hemiptera on sorghum panicles, surveys were conducted between November 2004 and June 2006 at 26 sites in four provinces of South Africa. Two methods of collection were used viz. the plastic bag and D-Vac methods. The total number of the adults and nymphs collected during this study was 23 798. Forty-three different herbivorous Hemiptera species were collected. The most abundant family was the Miridae (41 %), followed by the Lygaeidae (17 %). Eurystylus spp., Calidea dregii, Campylomma sp., Creontiades pallidus, Nysius natalensis and Nezara viridula were the most abundant species and also occurred widely in the sorghum production area. Infestation levels of these species were low compared to that in other parts of Africa and it cannot be concluded that they have pest status in South Africa. There was no clear distinction between the stages during which panicles were infested by different species. The general tendency was that nearly all species were present from the flowering stage onwards and that numbers declined when grain hardened. In general, Campylomma sp. and C. pallidus numbers peaked during the flowering stage and Eurystylus spp. and N. natalensis during the milk stage. Hemiptera feeding damage resulted in an increase in incidence of seeds with discoloured germ, therefore contributing significantly to reduction in grain quality. / Thesis (M. Environmental Science (Plant Protection))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Modern Internet technologies open new possibilities in a wide spectrum of traditional methods, used in mathematical education. One of the areas, where these technologies can be efficiently used, is an organization of mathematical competitions. Contestants can stay in their schools or universities in different cities and even different countries and try to solve as many mathematical problems as possible and then submit their solutions to organizers through the Internet. Simple Internet technologies supply audio and video connection between participants and organizers in a time of the competitions.