<div>The interplay between network topology and traffic dynamics in road networks impacts various performance measures. There are extensive existing researches focusing on link-level fundamental diagrams, traffic assignments under route choice assumptions. However, the underlying coupling of structure and dynamic makes network-level traffic not fully investigated. In this thesis, we build structural and dynamic models to deal with three challenges: 1) describing road network topology and understanding the difference between cities; 2) quantifying network congestion considering both road network topology and traffic flow information; 3) allocating transportation management resources to optimize the road network connectivity.</div><div><br></div><div>The first part of the thesis focuses on structural models for complex road networks. Online road map data platforms, like OpenStreetMap, provide us with reliable road network data of the world. To solve the duplicate node problem, an O(n) time complexity node merging algorithm is designed to pre-process the raw road network with n nodes. Hereafter, we define unweighted and weighted node degree distribution for</div><div>road networks. Numerical experiments present the heterogeneity in node degree distribution for Beijing and Shanghai road network. Additionally, we find that the power law distribution fits the weighted road network under certain parameter settings, extending the current knowledge that degree distribution for the primal road network is not power law.</div><div><br></div><div>In the second part, we develop a road network congestion analysis and management framework. Different from previous methods, our framework incorporates both network structure and dynamics. Moreover, it relies on link speed data only, which is more accessible than previously used link density data. Specifically, we start from the existing traffic percolation theory and critical relative speed to describe network-level traffic congestion level. Based on traffic component curves, we construct Aij for two road segments i and j to quantify the necessity of considering the two road segments in the same traffic zone. Finally, we apply the Louvain algorithm on defined road segment networks to generate road network partition candidates. These candidate partitions will help transportation engineers to control regional traffic.</div><div><br></div><div>The last part formulates and solves a road network management resource allocation optimization. The objective is to maximize critical relative speed, which is defined from traffic component curves and is closely related to personal driving comfort. Budget upper bound serves as one of the constraints. To solve the simulation-based nonlinear optimization problem, we propose a simple allocation and a meta-heuristic method based on the genetic algorithm. Three applications demonstrate that the meta-heuristic method finds better solutions than simple allocation. The results will inform the optimal allocation of resources at each road segment in metropolitan cities to enhance the connectivity of road networks.</div>

Ziel einer Definition der Resektabilität von Pankreaskarzinomen ist die Beschreibung von Kriterien, welche eine potentielle R0-Resektion ermöglichen. Wenngleich es zur Frage der Resektion bei positiven regionären Lymphknoten keine kontrollierten Studien gibt, ist weltweit die Resektion bei regionären Lymphknotenmetastasen Standard. Positive interaortokavale Lymphknoten stellen trotz Klassifikation als Fernmetastasen (M1) keine absolute Kontraindikation zur Resektion dar. Die mesenteriko-portale Venenresektion bei Verdacht auf Tumorinfiltration ist ein sicheres Verfahren. Sie hat keinen negativen Einfluss auf Morbidität, Mortalität und Überleben. Die En-bloc-Resektion der Arteria hepatica und der Arteria mesenterica superior wird sehr kontrovers diskutiert und sollte nur in Einzelfällen erwogen werden. Bei den meist fortgeschrittenen Karzinomen des Pankreaskorpus und -schwanzes kann durch eine En-bloc-Resektion des Truncus coeliacus eine höhere R0-Resektionsrate erreicht werden. / Pancreatic Cancer: Criteria and Limits of Resectability The aim of defining the resectability of pancreatic cancer is to determine the indication for potential R0 resection. Despite the absence of controlled trials, tumor resection in patients with regional lymph node involvement is a standard procedure worldwide. The involvement of interaortocaval lymph nodes is not an absolute contraindication for resection, although they are classified as distant metastasis (M1). Major pancreatic surgery can be safely combined with en-bloc resection of mesenteric, portal and splenic veins. Postoperative morbidity and mortality and long-term survival in patients with vein resection are comparable with those of patients without vein resection. The role of arterial en-bloc resection of the hepatic artery and the superior mesenteric artery is highly controversial and should be considered only in selected patients. For patients with locally advanced cancer of the body and tail of the pancreas distal pancreatectomy with en-bloc celiac axis resection offers an improved R0 resection rate. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

In this two-part study, developments in finite element technology and the application thereof to topology optimization are investigated. Ultimately, the developed finite elements and corresponding topology optimization procedures are aimed at, but not restricted to, aiding the design of piezoelectrically driven compliant mechanisms for micropositioning applications. The objective is to identify and exploit existing, or to develop new, finite element technologies to alleviate the numerical instabilities encountered in topology optimization. Checkerboarding and one-node connected hinges are two commonly encountered examples which can directly be attributed to inadequacies or deficiencies in the finite element solution of structural problems using 4-node bilinear isoparametric finite elements (denoted Q4). The numerical behaviour leading to checkerboard layouts stems from an over-stiff estimation of a checkerboard patch of Q4 elements. The numerical model of a one-node connected hinge using Q4 elements, on the other hand, possesses no (or very little) stiffness in rotation about the common node. In the first part of the study, planar finite elements with in-plane rotational (drilling) degrees of freedom are investigated. It is shown that the skew-symmetric part of the stress tensor can directly be used to quantitatively assess the validity of the penalty parameter ã, which relates the in-plane translations to the rotations. Thereafter, the variational formulations used to develop these planar finite elements with drilling degrees of freedom are extended to account for the piezoelectric effect. Several new piezoelectric elements that include in-plane rotational degrees of freedom (with and without assumed stress and electric flux density) are implemented, evaluated and shown to be accurate and stable. Furthermore, the application of alternative reduced order integration schemes to quadratic serendipity (Q8) and Lagrangian (Q9) elements is investigated. Reduced or selective reduced integration schemes are often used to enhance element accuracy by `softening' higher order deformation modes. However, application of reduced integration schemes to Q8 and Q9 elements is usually accompanied by element rank deficiencies. It is shown how the application of five and eight point modified integration schemes preserve the accuracy benefits of reduced integration, while preventing element rank deficiencies. In the second part of the investigation, the salient features of elements with drilling degrees are utilized in two schemes to prevent, or improve the modelling of, one-node connected hinges. In principle, the first scheme uses the rotations computed at interior nodes to detect excessive rotations at suspect nodes. The second scheme essentially replaces planar elements forming a one-node hinge, where appropriate, with a more realistic beam model of the material layout while other elements in the mesh are modelled using planar elements as usual. Next, the dependence of optimal topologies on element formulation is demonstrated. Attention is especially paid to plate and shell applications. It is shown that Mindlin-Reissner based elements, which employ selective reduced integration on shear terms, are not reliable in topology optimization problems. Conversely, elements based on an assumed natural strain formulation are shown to be stable and capable of reproducing thin plate topology results computed using shear-rigid elements. Furthermore, it is shown that an ad hoc treatment of rotational degrees of freedom in shell problems is sensitive to the related adjustable parameter, whereas optimal topologies, using a proper treatment of drilling degrees of freedom are not. Finally, the use of reduced order integration schemes as a strategy to reduce the stiffness of a checkerboard patch of elements is considered. It is demonstrated that employing the five and eight point integration schemes, used to enhance the accuracy of Q8 and Q9 elements, also significantly reduce the stiffness of a checkerboard patch of elements, thereby reducing the probability of observing checkerboard layouts in optimal topologies. / Thesis (PhD (Mechanical Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering / PhD / unrestricted

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) continues to be the most accepted approach for the treatment of addictions in the United States. However, due to recent evidence questioning the effectiveness of AA, the need for alternative approaches to the treatment of addictions has become clear. The following research addresses the efficacy of one such alternative, Rational Recovery (RR). Node-Link Mapping (NLM), a graphic communication technique which uses links and nodes as building blocs to facilitate and enhance communication of information as well as awareness in a counseling environment, was implemented to enhance the recovery process. Three groups of ten (10), chemically dependent, adjudicated subjects were exposed to three different treatment approaches at an outpatient counseling center. The Experimental group received RR with NLM, the Comparison group was exposed only to RR, and the Control group continued in treatment according to the protocol of the counseling agency. All subjects were given the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory-2 (SASSI-2) as a measurement of symptoms associated with chemical dependency. The subjects were also administered the Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control Scale (Rotter I-E Scale) to determine locus of control prior to treatment and any change after treatment.

Introduction Axillary dissection has little diagnostic and therapeutic benefit in the node-positive breast cancer patients in whom axillary disease has been completely eradicated after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (ypN0). We sought to assess the efficacy of an algorithm used for the identification of the ypN0 patients consisting of intraoperative evaluation of sentinel and tattooed (initially positive) lymph nodes. Methods Included were T1 and T2 breast cancer patients with one to three positive axillary lymph nodes marked with carbon who were referred for neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by a surgery. Axillary dissection was performed only in the patients with residual axillary disease after neoadjuvant chemotherapy on ultrasound or with metastases described in the sentinel or tattooed lymph nodes either intraoperatively or in the final histology. Results Out of 62 included initially node-positive patients, 15 (24%) were spared axillary dissection. The detection rate of tattooed lymph node after neoadjuvant chemotherapy was 81%. The ypN0 patients were identified with 91% sensitivity and 38% specificity using ultrasound and intraoperative assessment of both sentinel and tattooed lymph node according to the final histology. Discussion/Conclusion Lymph node marking with carbon dye is a useful and...

Context: Data compression is the technique that is used for the fast transmission of the data and also to reduce the storage size of the transmitted data. Data compression is the massive and ubiquitous technology where almost every communication company make use of data compression. Data compression is categorized mainly into lossy and lossless data compression. Ericsson is the telecommunication company that deals with millions of user data and, all these data get compressed using the Deflate compression algorithm. Due to the compression ratio and compression speed, the deflate algorithm is not optimal for the present use case(compress twice and decompress once) of Ericsson. This research is all about finding the best alternate algorithm which suits the current use case so that the deflate algorithm can replace it. Objectives: The objective of the research is to replace the Deflate algorithm with the algorithm, which is useful for compressing the Serving GPRS Support Node-Mobility Management Entity(SGSN-MME) user data effectively. The main objectives to achieve this goal are: Investigating the better algorithm which fits the SGSN-MME compression patterns, investigating the few alternate algorithms for Deflate algorithm, the SGSN- MME dataset used to perform experimentation, the experiment should perform by using all selected algorithms on the dataset, the results of the experiment were compared based on the compression factors, based on the performance of algorithm the Deflate algorithm will get replaced with the suitable algorithm. Methods: In this research, a literature review performed to investigate the alternate algorithms for the Deflate algorithm. After selecting the algorithm, an experiment conducted on the data which was provided by Ericsson AB, Gothenburg and based on the compression factors like compression ratio, compression speed the performance of the algorithm evaluated. Results: By analyzing the results of the experiment, Z-standard is the better performance algorithm with the optimal compression sizes, compression ratio, and compression speed. Conclusions: This research concludes by identifying an alternate algorithm that can replace the Deflate algorithm and also which is suitable for the present Use case.

The scope of the thesis is to design a roof substructure bus station in the area of Vysoké Mýto. The structure is designed of steel S355. This is the platform on the roof of two islands. The thesis has been processed by solving two variants, each variant were considered the main structural elements and then comparison was made between the two variants. Of these, one variant was selected for further processing. The first variant has a plan shape of a triangle with maximum dimensions of 58.00 m x 26,75 m. The main load-bearing structure consists of steel columns and girders of rolled sections, or HEB of castellated beams. The girders is the roof structure from rolled I profiles. Covering the roof is designed from the glass with supporting substructure of aluminum profiles. Rigidity is ensured in two ways braces of steel bars. The second option (which was selected for further processing) is L - shaped ground plan with maximum dimensions of 55,25 m x 33.40 m. The main supporting structure is made of rolled steel frames, HEB profiles and rods of steel bars. Supporting roof structure is designed of steel rolled I profiles. Roofing is again solved using the glass structure of aluminum profiles. Rigidity is ensured in two ways braces of steel bars.

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The increased quality and quantity of sensors provide an ever-increasing capability to collect large quantities of high-quality data in the field. Research devoted to translating that data is progressing rapidly; however, translating field data into usable information can require high performance computing capabilities. While high performance computing (HPC) resources are available in centralized facilities, bandwidth, latency, security and other limitations inherent to edge location in field sensor applications may prevent HPC resources from being used in a timely fashion necessary for potential United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) field applications. To address these limitations, the design requirements for RECON are established and derived from a review of edge computing, in order to develop and evaluate a novel high-power, field-deployable HPC platform capable of operating in austere environments at the edge.