Every graph G contains a minimum vertex-coloring with the property that at least one color class of the coloring is a maximal independent set (equivalently, a dominating set) in G. Among all such minimum vertex-colorings of the vertices of G, a coloring with the maximum number of color classes that are dominating sets in G is called a dominating-χ-coloring of G. The number of color classes that are dominating sets in a dominating-χ-coloring of G is defined to be the dominating-χ-color number of G. In this paper, we continue to investigate the dominating-χ-color number of a graph first defined and studied in [1].

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / While optimization techniques have been studied since 300 B.C. when Euclid first considered the minimal distance between a point and a line, it wasn’t until 1966 that location optimization was first applied to a problem in healthcare. Location optimization techniques are capable of increasing efficiency and equity in the placement of many types of services, including those within the healthcare industry, thus enhancing quality of life. Medical imaging is a healthcare service which helps to determine medical diagnoses in acute and preventive care settings. It provides physicians with information guiding treatment and returning a patient back to optimal health. In this study, a retrospective analysis of the locations of current medical imaging centers in central Indiana is performed, and alternate placement as determined using optimization techniques is considered and compared. This study focuses on reducing the drive time experienced by the population within the study area to their nearest imaging facility. Location optimization models such as the P-Median model, the Maximum Covering model, and Clustering and Partitioning are often used in the field of operations research to solve location problems, but are lesser known within the discipline of Geographic Information Science. This study was intended to demonstrate the capabilities of these powerful algorithms and to increase understanding of how they may be applied to problems within healthcare. While the P-Median model is effective at reducing the overall drive time for a given network set, individuals within the network may experience lengthy drive times. The results further indicate that while the Maximum Covering model is more equitable than the P-Median model, it produces large sets of assigned individuals overwhelming the capacity of one imaging center. Finally, the Clustering and Partitioning method is effective at limiting the number of individuals assigned to a given imaging center, but it does not provide information regarding average drive time for those individuals. In the end, it is determined that a capacitated Maximal Covering model would be the preferred method for solving this particular location problem.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of nonexercise (N-EX) data, specifically, the Perceived Functional Ability (PFA) and Physical Activity Rating (PA-R) questionnaires, with the treadmill walk-jog-run protocol to estimate VO2max in 12 to 17 year old boys and girls. Ninety-one participants (49 males and 42 females) took part in this study. Data were collected via PFA and PA-R questionnaires, a walk-jog-run submaximal treadmill test, and a maximal graded exercise test (GXT). Data collected included gender, age, height, weight, PFA and PA-R scores, heart rate (HR), treadmill speed, maximal treadmill grade, respiratory exchange ratio (RER), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and VO2max. Regression analysis resulted in the development of two valid and reliable models to predict VO2max. Nonexercise and submaximal exercise test data were used to build the following model: VO2max (mL∙kg-¹∙min-¹) = 11.201 + (6.877 x Gender; 0 = female; 1 = male) + (3.573 x treadmill speed; mph) – (0.174 x kg) + (0.405 x PFA score) + (0.653 x PA-R score) + (1.019 x age). The model resulted in an R2 = 0.69 and a SEE = 5.16 mL∙kg-¹∙min-¹. Maximal exercise test data were used to build the following model: VO2max (mL∙kg-¹∙min-¹) = -3.264 + (3.359 x Gender; 0 = female; 1 = male) – (0.082 x kg) + (7.351 x treadmill speed; mph) + (1.750 x maximal treadmill grade). The model resulted in an R2 = 0.88 and a SEE = 3.16 mL∙ kg-¹∙min-¹. The cross-validation PRESS statistics for both models demonstrated minimal shrinkage in the accuracy of the regression model. The results of this study demonstrate, for the first time, that N-EX data can be used to accurately predict VO2max in youth. The submaximal and maximal exercise tests validated in this study can be used to assess cardiorespiratory fitness of youth having a wide range on interests and fitness levels. In addition, the use of PFA and PA-R questionnaires enforces initiatives to increase physical activity among youth. Both exercise tests use a self-selected treadmill speed that elicits a steady-state HR of 70% of the participants age-predicted maximal HR. The use of a self-selected walking, jogging, or running speed accommodates youth with different levels of physical fitness, motivation, and interests. The exercise test protocol presented in this study is practical for use in schools, athletic facilities, and community fitness centers. The equipment required to administer the exercise test presented in this study is limited to a treadmill and a HR monitor. Together with the use of PFA and PA-R questionnaires, the submaximal and maximal exercise tests are efficacious to coaches, fitness professionals, and physical educators in a variety of settings.

Before major athletic events, a taper is often prescribed to facilitate recovery and enhance performance. However, it is unknown which taper model is most effective for peaking maximal strength and positively augmenting skeletal muscle. Thus, the purpose of this study was to compare performance outcomes and skeletal muscle adaptations following a step vs. an exponential taper in strength athletes. Sixteen powerlifters (24.0 ± 4.0 years, 174.4 ± 8.2 cm, 89.8 ± 21.4 kg) participated in a 6-week training program aimed at peaking maximal strength on back squat [initial 1-repetition-maximum (1RM): 174.7 ± 33.4 kg], bench press (118.5 ± 29.9 kg), and deadlift (189.9 ± 41.2 kg). Powerlifters were matched based on relative maximal strength, and randomly assigned to either (a) 1-week overreach and 1-week step taper or (b) 1-week overreach and 3-week exponential taper. Athletes were tested pre- and post-training on measures of body composition, jumping performance, isometric squat, and 1RM. Whole muscle size was assessed at the proximal, middle, and distal vastus lateralis using ultrasonography and microbiopsies at the middle vastus lateralis site. Muscle samples ( = 15) were analyzed for fiber size, fiber type [myosin-heavy chain (MHC)-I, -IIA, -IIX, hybrid-I/IIA] using whole muscle immunohistochemistry and single fiber dot blots, gene expression, and microRNA abundance. There were significant main time effects for 1RM squat ( < 0.001), bench press ( < 0.001), and deadlift, ( = 0.024), powerlifting total ( < 0.001), Wilks Score ( < 0.001), squat jump peak-power scaled to body mass ( = 0.001), body mass ( = 0.005), fat mass ( = 0.002), and fat mass index ( = 0.002). There were significant main time effects for medial whole muscle cross-sectional area (mCSA) ( = 0.006) and averaged sites ( < 0.001). There was also a significant interaction for MHC-IIA fiber cross-sectional area (fCSA) ( = 0.014) with comparisons revealing increases following the step-taper only ( = 0.002). There were significant main time effects for single-fiber MHC-I% ( = 0.015) and MHC-IIA% ( = 0.033), as well as for MyoD ( = 0.002), MyoG ( = 0.037), and miR-499a ( = 0.033). Overall, increases in whole mCSA, fCSA, MHC-IIA fCSA, and MHC transitions appeared to favor the step taper group. An overreach followed by a step taper appears to produce a myocellular environment that enhances skeletal muscle adaptations, whereas an exponential taper may favor neuromuscular performance.

With a growing interest in technical specifications among consumers, there is a need for accessible measurement tools that enable individuals to evaluate the performance of their equipment, including common speakers and car audio systems, beyond what the manufacturer provides. However, the existing measurement systems are often geared towards professionals. This thesis aims to address this gap by designing and developing a user-friendly measurement tool that empowers individuals to easily measure and evaluate the performance of their devices. The work started with identifying the key technical specifications that users are interested in, and three parameters were selected for estimation: the maximum sound pressure level the system can provide, the corresponding multi-tone distortion and total harmonic distortion. Each parameter's measurement method varies, particularly in the choice of test stimuli and data processing. The methods in this thesis were determined after comparing existing standards for acoustical output-based measurement. Furthermore, some problems in terms of measurement capabilities and accuracy when implementing measurements within the defined application scenarios were also discussed. Ideally, the tool can finally provide users with detailed insights into chosen technical specifications, allowing them to know their audio systems better and make informed decisions. The automatic control of playback and recording as well as the processing afterwards was implemented in Python with the help of some existing packages. A graphic user interface based on PyQt was also developed to improve the manipulation of the measurement. Thus, the functionality that the tool is supposed to have is initially fulfilled, although its accuracy needs further verifying and improvement and the scope of the tool can be extended. / Med ett växande intresse för tekniska specifikationer bland konsumenter finns det ett behov av tillgängliga mätverktyg som gör det möjligt för privatpersoner att utvärdera prestandan hos sin utrustning, inklusive vanliga högtalare och bilstereosystem, utöver vad tillverkaren tillhandahåller. De befintliga mätsystemen är dock ofta inriktade på professionella användare. Denna avhandling syftar till att åtgärda denna brist genom att utforma och utveckla ett användarvänligt mätverktyg som gör det möjligt för privatpersoner att enkelt mäta och utvärdera prestandan hos sina enheter. Arbetet inleddes med att identifiera de viktigaste tekniska specifikationerna som användarna är intresserade av, och tre parametrar valdes ut för uppskattning: den maximala ljudtrycksnivå som systemet kan ge, motsvarande multitondistorsion och total harmonisk distorsion. Mätmetoden för varje parameter varierar, särskilt när det gäller valet av teststimuli och databehandling. Metoderna i denna avhandling fastställdes efter jämförelse av befintliga standarder för akustisk effektbaserad mätning. Dessutom diskuterades vissa problem när det gäller mätkapacitet och noggrannhet vid implementering av mätningar inom de definierade tillämpningsscenarierna. I bästa fall kan verktyget slutligen ge användarna detaljerade insikter i valda tekniska specifikationer, så att de kan lära känna sina ljudsystem bättre och fatta välgrundade beslut. Den automatiska styrningen av uppspelning och inspelning samt bearbetningen i efterhand implementerades i Python med hjälp av några befintliga paket. Ett grafiskt användargränssnitt baserat på PyQt utvecklades också för att förbättra hanteringen av mätningen. Den funktionalitet som verktyget är tänkt att ha är således initialt uppfylld, även om dess noggrannhet behöver verifieras och förbättras ytterligare och verktygets omfattning kan utökas.

The rise of cryptocurrencies has brought with it new math problems with new sets of constraints. The MEV problem entails solving for the ordering of pending trades that maximizes a block creator's profit. In decentralized finance, time is a big constraint, so an exhaustive search of all possible orderings is impossible. I propose a solution to the MEV problem that gives a near optimal result that can be solved in a reasonable amount of time. I layout the method and the formulas required for my solution. Additionally, I test my solution on synthesized data to show that it works as desired.

This retrospective cross-sectional study aimed to explore interactions between signs of periodontal inflammation and systemic parameters in athletes. Members of German squads with available data on sports medical and oral examination were included. Groups were divided by gingival inflammation (median of papillary bleeding index, PBI median) and signs of periodontitis (Periodontal Screening Index, PSI 3). Age, gender, anthropometry, blood parameters, echocardiography, sports performance on ergometer, and maximal aerobic capacity (VO2max) were evaluated. Eighty-five athletes (f = 51%, 20.6 3.5 years) were included (PBI < 0.42: 45%; PSI 3: 38%). Most associations were not statistically significant. Significant group differences were found for body fat percentage and body mass index. All blood parameters were in reference ranges. Minor differences in hematocrit, hemoglobin, basophils, erythrocyte sedimentation rates, urea, and HDL cholesterol were found for PBI, in uric acid for PSI. Echocardiographic parameters (n = 40) did not show any associations. Athletes with PSI 3 had lower VO2max values (55.9 6.7 mL/min/kg vs. 59.3 7.0 mL/min/kg; p = 0.03). In exercise tests (n = 30), athletes with PBI < 0.42 achieved higher relative maximal load on the cycling ergometer (5.0 0.5 W/kg vs. 4.4 0.3 W/kg; p = 0.03). Despite the limitations of this study, potential associations between signs of periodontal inflammation and body composition, blood parameters, and performance were identified. Further studies on the systemic impact of oral inflammation in athletes, especially regarding performance, are necessary.

Logic-based Benders decomposition (LBBD) is a strategy for solving discrete optimisation problems. In LBBD, the optimisation problem is divided into a master problem and a subproblem and each part is solved separately. LBBD methods that combine mixed-integer programming and constraint programming have been successfully applied to solve large-scale scheduling and resource allocation problems. Such combinations typically solve an assignment-type master problem and a scheduling-type subproblem. However, a challenge with LBBD methods that have feasibility subproblems are that they do not provide a feasible solution until an optimal solution is found.  In this thesis, we show that feasible solutions can be obtained by finding and combining feasible parts of an infeasible master problem assignment. We use these insights to develop an acceleration technique for LBBD that solves a series of subproblems, according to algorithms for constructing a maximal feasible subset of constraints (MaFS). Using a multiprocessor scheduling problem as a benchmark, we study the computational impact from using this technique. We evaluate three variants of LBBD schemes. The first uses MaFS, the second uses irreducible subset of constraints (IIS) and the third combines MaFS with IIS. Computational tests were performed on an instance set of multiprocessor scheduling problems. In total, 83 instances were tested, and their number of tasks varied between 2794 and 10,661. The results showed that when applying our acceleration technique in the decomposition scheme, the pessimistic bounds were strong, but the convergence was slow. The decomposition scheme combining our acceleration technique with the acceleration technique using IIS showed potential to accelerate the method.

Recently multiple antenna systems have received significant attention from researchers as a means to improve the energy and spectral efficiency of wireless systems. Among many classes of schemes, Space-Time Block codes (STBC) and Space-Time Trellis codes (STTC) have been the subject of many investigations. Both techniques provide a means for combatting the effects of multipath fading without adding much complexity to the receiver. This is especially useful in the downlink of wireless systems. In this thesis we investigate the impact of channel estimation error on the performance of both STBC and STTC. Channel estimation is especially important to consider in multiple antenna systems since (A) for coherent systems there are more channels to estimate due to multiple antennas and (B) the decoupling of data streams relies on correct channel estimation. The latter effect is due to the intentional cross-talk introduced into STBC. / Master of Science

Mobile arrays employing diversity combining and adaptive beamforming techniques overcome multipath fading, improve coverage, and increase capacity in wireless communications systems. In this thesis, diversity combining and adaptive beamforming performance of different four element arrays for mobile (vehicular speed) and portable (pedestrian speed) terminals is investigated. The performance of four element arrays with different configurations and with different element patterns is compared using the square array of four half-wave dipole elements as the baseline. Results from diversity and beamforming measurements, performed in urban and suburban environments for both line-of-sight (LOS) and obstructed multipath channels are used to analyze and compare the performances of different four element arrays. At cumulative probabilities of 10%, 1% and 0.1%, diversity gain and improvement in signal-to-interference-plus-noise-ratio (SINR) are calculated from the diversity combining measurements and interference rejection measurements respectively. Experimental results illustrating the dependence of diversity gain on power imbalance, envelope correlation and diversity-combining scheme are presented. Measurements were performed at 2.05 GHz using the handheld antenna array testbed (HAAT). Low profile linear arrays are shown to provide diversity gain values of 5 to 8 dB and 11 to 16 dB, respectively for switched and maximal ratio combining at the 99% reliability level in non-line-of-sight urban channel. Interference cancellation of 24 to 28 dB was recorded in urban and suburban line-of-sight (LOS) channels for the sectorized square array. Results of vehicular measurements with the arrays mounted on a ground plane supported above the vehicle roof are also reported. / Master of Science