Time Average Fourier Telescopy (TAFT) has been proposed as a means for obtaining high-resolution, diffraction-limited images over large distances through ground-level horizontal-path atmospheric turbulence. Image data is collected in the spatial-frequency, or Fourier, domain by means of Fourier Telescopy; an inverse two dimensional Fourier transform yields the actual image. TAFT requires active illumination of the distant object by moving interference fringe patterns. Light reflected from the object is collected by a “light-bucket” detector, and the resulting electrical signal is digitized and subjected to a series of signal processing operations, including an all-critical averaging of the amplitude and phase of a number of narrow-band signals. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Demonstramos na fase crônica da hipertensão por coarctação, depressão acentuada do controle reflexo da freqüência cardíaca (Michelini et al, Hypertension, 1992; 19:II159-II163) e que o tratamento crônico com losartan, embora não reverta os elevados níveis de pressão, normaliza o controle reflexo da freqüência cardíaca (Santos et al, Am. J. Physiol, 1995; 269:H812-H818). No presente estudo investigamos em ratos hipertensos e seus controles normotensos os efeitos do bloqueio crônico dos receptores AT1 sobre a atividade aferente do nervo depressor aórtico (NDA, protocolo I) e sobre a atividade simpática esplâncnica (ASE, protocolo II) na situação basal e após estimulação por hipotensões e hipertensões transitórias. Ratos Wistar adultos machos (180-300g) foram tratados cronicamente com veículo (VEH=água destilada, 0,1ml/100g/dia, po.) ou losartan (LOS= 10mg/kg/dia, po.) por 8 dias. No 4º dia após a determinação da pressão de cauda, foram submetidos à coarctação subdiafragmática da aorta (CH) ou à cirurgia fictícia (SHAM) e ao final do 7º dia, instrumentados com cânula arterial para registro direto da pressão arterial, realizada no 8º dia, com os animais acordados. Foram a seguir anestesiados para isolamento do nervo depressor aórtico ou do simpático esplâncnico, que foram registrados simultaneamente à pressão arterial em duas situações distintas: a) durante a situação basal (registro da atividade espontânea por 10-15 minutos), b) durante estimulação dos pressorreceptores por variações transitórias da pressão arterial (infusões/retiradas de sangue e injeções/infusões de fenilefrina e nitroprussiato de sódio iv.). Os registros da atividade neural foram retificados, integrados e aquisitados simultaneamente aos registros de pressão arterial em computador (programa de aquisição de dados Codas - Windaq DI-200, Ohio, USA). Tratamento com LOS determinou queda significante da pressão de cauda (104+-3 vs. 117+-3 mmHg nos grupos VEH). Em ambos os grupos VEH e LOS, CH determinou aumento significativo e similar da pressão arterial (em média 29%) que foi acompanhada, nos grupos tratados com VEH, por significativo aumento da variabilidade associada à depressão no ganho da correlação da atividade do NDA com a pressão arterial (CHVEH=1,04+-0,11 vs. SHAMVEH=1,63+-0,14 %/ciclo/mmHg, p<0,05, protocolo I) e por facilitação da resposta da ASE (CHVEH=-10,36+-1,05 vs. SHAMVEH=-5,81+-0,60 %/ciclo/mmHg, p<0,05, protocolo II). Nos grupos tratados com LOS, o estabelecimento da hipertensão foi acompanhado por redução da variabilidade e significativa melhora no ganho do NDA, uma vez que na faixa fisiológica de variações da pressão a depressão da atividade do NDA foi significativamente menor (CHLOS=3,30+-0,33 vs. CHVEH=2,18+-0,37 %/ciclo/mmHg, p<0,05, uma recuperação de 40% quando comparado aos respectivos controles ~5,01+-0,33 %/ciclo/mmHg). Houve ainda nos CHLOS normalização do ganho de resposta de ASE (CHLOS=-6,58+-0,62 %/ciclo/mmHg que não diferia dos SHAMLOS e SHAMVEH). O tratamento crônico com LOS determinou ainda correção parcial da atividade basal do NDA, mas não alterou a descarga espontânea da ASE. As alterações de atividade do NDA e ASE observadas nos CHLOS ocorreram simultaneamente, mas foram independentes da redução da pressão arterial pelo LOS. Nossos dados sugerem que a Ang II, ativada durante o desenvolvimento da CH, deprime a sinalização aferente pelo NDA, sendo responsável pela facilitação da resposta simpática durante alterações transitórias da pressão arterial. Nossos dados permitem ainda discriminar entre o efeito pressor e o efeito modulatório da Ang II, indicando restauração parcial do ganho da NDA e normalização da resposta simpática após o bloqueio crônico dos receptores AT1, mesmo na presença da hipertensão. / In the chronic phase of coarctation hypertension (CH) we have shown both marked depression of baroreceptor reflex control of heart rate (Michelini et al, Hypertension, 1992, 19: II159-II163) and normalization of the depressed reflex control even with the persistence of hypertension in losartan-treated animals (Santos et al, Am. J. Physiol, 1995, 269: H812-H818). In the present study we analyzed the effects of chronic AT1tors blockade on the both the afferent aortic nerve activity (AON, protocol I) and splanchnic sympathetic nerve activity (SSNA, protocol II) of CH and sham operated controls in two conditions: spontaneous activity (basal condition) and stimulated discharge during transient increases/decreases in arterial pressure. Male Wistar rats (180-300g aged 2-3 months) were chronically treated with vehicle (VEH=distilled water, 1ml/kg/day, po.) or losartan (LOS=10mg/kg/day, po.) during 8 days. Tail pressure was measured at the beginning and on the 4th day, before subdiaphragmatic aortic coarctation (CH) or sham surgery (SHAM). On day 7 the rats were instrumented with a catheter to record arterial pressure in conscious freely moving rats on day 8. Rats were then anesthetized to record AON or SSNA simultaneously with pressure during 10-15 min (basal or spontaneous activity) and during baroreceptor loading/unloading (infusion/withdrawal of blood or injections/infusions of phenylephrine and sodium nitroprusside iv.). Nerve activity was rectified and integrated and acquired simultaneously with pressure in a computer (Windaq DI-200, Ohio, USA). Losartan-treatment caused a significant decrease in tail pressure (104+-3 vs. 117+-3 mmHg in VEH groups). In both LOS- and VEH-treated groups, CH caused significant and similar increases in arterial pressure (mean of 29%) that was accompanied in the VEH groups by both significant increase in variability and depression of the AON/activity/pressure relationship (CHVEH=1,04+-0,11 vs. SHAMVEH=1,63+-0,14 %/cycle/mmHg, p<0,05, protocol I) and by potentiation of SSNA responses (CHVEH=-10,36+-1,05 vs. SHAMVEH=-5,81+-0,60 %/cycle/mmHg, p<0,05, protocol II). In the LOS-treated groups, establishment of CH was accompanied by smaller variability and marked improvement in AON gain: in the physiological range of pressure changes, depression of AON activity was significantly smaller (CHLOS=3,30+-0,33 vs. CHVEH=2,18+-0,37 %/cycle/mmHg, p<0,05, a recovery of 40% when compared to respective controls of ~5,01+-0,33 %/cycle/mmHg). CHLOS showed also normalization of SSNA responses: gain in the CHLOS=-6,58+-0,62 %/cycle/mmHg, that was not different from SHAMLOS and SHAMVEH groups. In addition chronic treatment with LOS caused partial correction of spontaneous AON activity but did not change spontaneous SSNA discharge. Both AON and SSNA responses observed in CHLOS occurred simultaneously but were independent from pressure reductions observed in these groups. The date suggested that Ang II, activated during development of hypertension, depresses the afferent signaling by aortic receptors and is factor responsible for the facilitation of SSNA during pressure changes. The date permits to discriminate between pressor and a modulatory effects of Ang II and indicates that after chronic AT1 receptors blockade hypertension persists, but there is a partial restoration of AON gain accompanied by normalization of the sympathetic response.

"The Precision Personnel Locator project is an ongoing research project funded by the Department of Justice, the goal of which is to provide sub-meter accuracy tracking and location of first responders inside of buildings with no pre-existing infrastructure, especially in emergency situations. The PPL system consists of wearable, battery-powered Locator devices that transmit a multi-carrier “ranging signal” waveform and Reference Units that receive this ranging signal and relay the information to a Base Station for location estimation processing and display. This thesis describes the design and implementation of a subset of the Locator devices’ functionality, including: the digital generation of the ranging signal waveform; the coordination of the transmissions of many Locator devices using time-sharing methods to prevent overlap of the signals; and finally, the gathering of environmental data such as temperature and movement of the wearer and the relaying of this data back to the Base Station. To perform these tasks, two subsystems were designed and implemented as printed circuit boards. The first of these is the Data Channel, which is a low power, general-purpose communications platform that is capable of controlling the transmissions of the Locator devices with support for up to 100 Locators transmitting every second, and it can control the power of the Locator devices by switching portions of the system off when they are not in use. It also includes sensors to measure the ambient temperature, movement of the device, and a “distress button” that a first responder can press to trigger a distress signal to be transmitted to the outside of the building. The second subsystem is the Digital Waveform Generator, which consists of a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) that are capable of generating waveforms of up to 200 MHz bandwidth. The new Locator hardware can operate on battery power for many days. The two subsystems were successfully tested and will serve as an important step towards the goal of developing a deployable location and tracking system."

De nos jours, les liaisons par fibres optiques monomode ou multimodes équipent de plus en plus de bâtiments, de lieux et sites de transports publics (gares, aéroports, autoroutes, ports ou plateformes multimodales). Ceci est dû au débit important qu’offre la fibre optique et à son atténuation très faible sur de longues distances. Afin de gérer au mieux la transmission au sein de la fibre optique, les performances de divers codes à une dimension 1D OOC et PC et deux dimensions 2D-MWOOC sur les récepteurs conventionnels ont été étudiées. Cependant, les performances obtenues restent limitées lorsque le nombre d’utilisateurs croit significativement. En ne tenant pas compte du bruit causé par les composants du système, la dégradation des performances est principalement due aux interférences d’accès multiples (IAM). De ce fait, nous proposons dans le cadre de cette thèse d’optimiser les performances du récepteur PIC en ajoutant un facteur de compensation qui permet de réduire au mieux les interférences d’accès multiples. Ceci est étudié avec les codes optiques à deux dimensions 2D-PC/PC que nous générons. Des expérimentations sur un banc d’essai optique en laboratoire sont effectuées pour illustrer la mise en oeuvre de multiservices. Une validation de certains résultats théoriques est également menée sur un simulateur dédié. / Nowadays, public transport spaces (train stations, airports, highways, ports or multimodal platforms) and buildings are being more and more equipped by single mode or multimode optical fibers. The high throughput offered and the very low attenuation over long distances proposed by optical fiber are indeed very promising. For a better management of optical fiber transmissions, the performance of various one-dimensional 1D OOC and PC codes, and twodimensional2D- MWOOC codes on conventional receivers have been previously studied.These studies show that a good level of performance is only available to a restricted number of users. Assuming noiseless components in the system, the performance degradation is mainly due to multiple access interference (MAI). Therefore, we propose in this thesis to optimize the performance of PIC receivers by adding a compensation factor that can best reduce the MAI. This is studied with two-dimensional optical codes 2D-PC/PC that we have generated. Experiments on a laboratory test bench were made to implement multiple services. The theoretical studies and the channel optical transmission simulations were also validated by using a dedicated simulator tool.

<p>Our aim with this essay is to examine if social work in the care of elderly tends to be salutogenetic or patogenetic oriented. A salutogenetic oriented activity means that the social workers focuses on the elderly peoples individual possibilities, and collaborate with the receiver of care in order to offer him or her aid and resources for meaningful living conditions. A patogenetic oriented activity on the other hand means that the social workers focuses on the elderly peoples most primary needs, their illnesses and to introduce adequate treatment. We also examine if social workers in the care of elderly tend to prefer male or female characteristic features in the receivers of care. Finally we wanted to find out if there were any gender distinctions, if the appraisal of aid were more affected by a male or female receiver of care. We also considered that gender might not have any affect on their appraisal at all.</p><p>Our theoretical framework is mainly based on three already existing theories. These gave us a general list of salutogenetic/patogenetic statements and typical male/female characteristic features. Because of time shortage the material includes only one empirical method, which is a questionnaire to the employees in the care of the elderly. The method of analysis is mostly quantitative, but since the questionnaire also contained some opened questions, our study is partly qualitative. A total of 101 persons participated in our questionnaire poll. The results of our study brought about unexpected results. To our surprise, the social workers in the care of elderly tend to prefer male characteristic features in the receivers of care. We also found that what requires of a good apraisal of aid is a salutogenetic perspective, but that the social workers thought it was difficult to apply in practice.</p>

<p>This paper is a case study of a local labour market project. The aim of the study is to investigate the staff’s way of working with unemployed people, receiving social assistance, in order to reduce the payment of social assistance in four adjacent city districts of Stockholm. Other objectives of the study are to investigate which criteria the staff uses when selecting participants for the project, in which way the participants’ background affects the measures taken by the staff and how the staff experiences working as part of a project. A short summary of the social services development during the twentieth century and urban politics in the 1990’s in Sweden is used as a background for the local labour market project. The theories used deal with the social services strategies concerning unemployed receivers of social assistance, the participants’ background with particular emphasis on ethnicity and gender, project work and the special case of public projects. The study is based on interviews with four employees. Some of the conclusions are that the selection criteria are put up as criteria for not being selected as a participant and that the staff combines previously developed methods in order to reduce the payment of social assistance. The participants’ background is evaluated individually and the staff shows a certain reluctance to categorize the participants according to ethnicity and gender. The staff communicates an ambiguous image of working in a project by describing it partly as an inspiring challenge but also as involving some uncertainties regarding the terms of employment.</p> / <p>Uppsatsen är en fallstudie av ett kommunalt arbetsmarknadsprojekt och syftar till att undersöka hur personalen arbetar med arbetslösa socialbidragstagare för att minska socialbidragsuttaget i fyra närliggande stadsdelar i Stockholm. Syftet är därutöver att undersöka vilka kriterier personalen använder för urval av deltagare till projektet och hur deltagarnas bakgrund påverkar de åtgärder som personalen sätter in samt hur personalen uppfattar projektformen som arbetssätt. Det kommunala arbetsmarknadsprojektet förankras i socialtjänstens och storstadspolitikens historiska utveckling. De teoretiska utgångspunkterna tar fasta på socialtjänstens strategi gällande arbetslösa socialbidragstagare, deltagarnas etniska bakgrund och kön samt projekt som arbetsform och offentliga projekts speciella drag. I analysen används utsagor från djupintervjuer med fyra anställda. Några av slutsatserna är att urvalskriterierna formuleras som hinder för deltagande i projektet och att personalen kombinerar olika tidigare utvecklade metoder i sitt arbete för att minska socialbidragstagandet. Deltagarnas bakgrund bedöms individuellt och personalen visar en viss ovilja att kategorisera deltagarna efter etnicitet och kön. Personalen ger en ambivalent bild av projekt som arbetsform. Dels beskrivs arbetet i projektet som utmanande samtidigt som den tidsbegränsade projektanställningen upplevs som osäker.</p>

Cobalamin (vitamin B12) is one of several essential micronutrients needed by the human organism. Other important micronutritients, which interplay with vitamin B12, are folate and iron. During the last ten years, the attention has been drawn to different forms of neurological disorders supposed to be caused by vitamin B12 deficiency. Vitamin B12 deficiency states are common among elderly patients in primary health care and sometimes in hospital care, especially in geriatric practice. This is a study to define the cobalamin treatment traditions, among Swedish physicians in the period 1990 – 2000. The period was distinguished by an intense debate on the issue by the physicians, an increase of cobalamin consumption, and a shift from parenteral therapy towards oral high-dose therapy. It had been known that symptoms of cobalamin deficiency could start in the nervous system. This knowledge was reinforced by the application of homocysteine and methyl-malonic acid (MMA) in deficiency diagnosis. Introduction of homocysteine and MMA in deficiency diagnosis changed the view on deficiency prevalence, by identifying persons at risk to develop B12 deficiency prior to established symptoms. In this study, Swedish physicians are regarded mainly as receivers of communication about the markers homocysteine and MMA, and deficiency states of cobalamin and folate. The main senders were scientists from North America, Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. This study sets the senders and the receivers of cobalamin communication on a collegial level and quantifies and evaluates the feed-back from the receivers. The receivers, gen¬eral practitioners and geriatricians, appeared to be familiar with old knowledge and frontier concepts in the field. Thus, it is suggested that the increase of B12 prescriptions in Sweden 1990 – 2000 reflected an increased awareness of B12-associated clinical problems among the physicians managing the majority of deficiency patients, although a possible overconsumption of pharmaceutical drugs must be kept in mind.

This paper is a case study of a local labour market project. The aim of the study is to investigate the staff’s way of working with unemployed people, receiving social assistance, in order to reduce the payment of social assistance in four adjacent city districts of Stockholm. Other objectives of the study are to investigate which criteria the staff uses when selecting participants for the project, in which way the participants’ background affects the measures taken by the staff and how the staff experiences working as part of a project. A short summary of the social services development during the twentieth century and urban politics in the 1990’s in Sweden is used as a background for the local labour market project. The theories used deal with the social services strategies concerning unemployed receivers of social assistance, the participants’ background with particular emphasis on ethnicity and gender, project work and the special case of public projects. The study is based on interviews with four employees. Some of the conclusions are that the selection criteria are put up as criteria for not being selected as a participant and that the staff combines previously developed methods in order to reduce the payment of social assistance. The participants’ background is evaluated individually and the staff shows a certain reluctance to categorize the participants according to ethnicity and gender. The staff communicates an ambiguous image of working in a project by describing it partly as an inspiring challenge but also as involving some uncertainties regarding the terms of employment. / Uppsatsen är en fallstudie av ett kommunalt arbetsmarknadsprojekt och syftar till att undersöka hur personalen arbetar med arbetslösa socialbidragstagare för att minska socialbidragsuttaget i fyra närliggande stadsdelar i Stockholm. Syftet är därutöver att undersöka vilka kriterier personalen använder för urval av deltagare till projektet och hur deltagarnas bakgrund påverkar de åtgärder som personalen sätter in samt hur personalen uppfattar projektformen som arbetssätt. Det kommunala arbetsmarknadsprojektet förankras i socialtjänstens och storstadspolitikens historiska utveckling. De teoretiska utgångspunkterna tar fasta på socialtjänstens strategi gällande arbetslösa socialbidragstagare, deltagarnas etniska bakgrund och kön samt projekt som arbetsform och offentliga projekts speciella drag. I analysen används utsagor från djupintervjuer med fyra anställda. Några av slutsatserna är att urvalskriterierna formuleras som hinder för deltagande i projektet och att personalen kombinerar olika tidigare utvecklade metoder i sitt arbete för att minska socialbidragstagandet. Deltagarnas bakgrund bedöms individuellt och personalen visar en viss ovilja att kategorisera deltagarna efter etnicitet och kön. Personalen ger en ambivalent bild av projekt som arbetsform. Dels beskrivs arbetet i projektet som utmanande samtidigt som den tidsbegränsade projektanställningen upplevs som osäker.

Wireless sensor networks are becoming important in several monitoring and sensing applications. Ultra low power consumption in the sensor nodes is important for extending the battery life of the nodes. In this dissertation, two low power BFSK receiver architectures are proposed and verified with prototype implementations in silicion. A 2.4 GHz 1 Mb/s polyphase filter (PPF) BFSK receiver demonstrates ±180 ppm frequency offset tolerance (FOT) and 40 dB adjacent channel rejection (ACR) at a modulation index (MI) of 2, with a power consumption of 1.9 mW. High FOT at low MI is achieved by a frequency-to-energy conversion architecture using PPFs without any frequency correction. The proposed hybrid topology of the PPF provides an improved ACR at reduced power. To further improve the energy efficiency, a low energy 900 MHz mixer-less BFSK receiver is designed. High gain frequency-to-amplitude conversion and better sensitivity is achieved by a linear amplifier with Q-enhanced LC tank, eliminating the need for local oscillators and mixers. With a power consumption of 500 μW, the receiver achieves sensitivities of -90 dBm and -76 dBm for data rates of 0.5 Mb/s and 6 Mb/s, respectively. The energy efficiency is 80 pJ/b when operating at 6 Mb/s. / Graduation date: 2013 / Access restricted to the OSU Community at author's request from March 25, 2013 - March 25, 2014

This Master’s Thesis is an evaluation of the software Xilinx System Generator (XSG) and blockset for Matlab. XSG is a module to simulink developed by Xilinx in order to generate VHDL code directly from functions implemented in Matlab. The evaluation was made at Saab Avionics AB in Järfälla, north of Stockholm. In order to investigate the performance of this new module XSG to simulink, a model of a frequency estimator often used in digital radar receivers were implemented in Matlab using XSG. Engineers working at SAAB Avionics implemented the same application directly in VHDL, without using Matlab and the XSG. After generating code the results were synthesised, analysed and compared. The frequency estimator basically contains an FFT, a windowing function and a sorting algorithm used to enable analyse of two real signals simultaneously. There were however problems during generation of the VHDL code and the model had to be broken into smaller parts containing only a 16-point FFT. The results of comparison in this report are based on models containing only this 16-point FFT and they show a small advantage for the System Generator according to the resource usage report generated during synthesis. Designing models for generation using Xilinx Blockset can create a lot of wiring between components. The reason for this is that the System Generator and Xilinx Blockset today is a new tool, not completely developed. There are many components found in simulink, Matlab that could not be found in Xilinx Blockset, this is however being improved. Another problem is long time for simulation and errors during generation. My opinion is that when used for smaller systems and with further development the System Generator can be a useful facility in designing digital electronics.