This dissertation proposes an alternative FPGA design compilation flow to reduce the back-end time required to implement an FPGA design to below the level at which the user's attention is lost. To do so, this flow focuses on enforcing modular design for both productivity and code reuse, while minimizing reliance on standard tools. This can be achieved by using a library of precompiled modules and associated meta-data to enable bitstream-level assembly of desired designs. In so doing, assembly would occur in a fraction of the time of traditional back-end tools. Modules could be bound, placed, and routed using custom bitstream assembly with the primary objective of rapid compilation while preserving performance. This turbo flow (TFlow) aims to enable software-like turn-around time for faster prototyping by leveraging precompiled components. As a result, large device compilations would be assembled in seconds, within the deadline imposed by the human attention span. / Ph. D.

No description available.

Siekiant pagaminti stabilias smulkiadispersines emulsines sistemas, naudojant mažas emulsiklių koncentracijas (0,1-0,4%), optimizuojant technologinį procesą, tiriamos naujų emulsiklių panaudojimo galimybės. Poliakrilo rūgšties polimerai (Pemulen™ TR-1 ir TR-2 )-universalūs a/v emulsijų emulsikliai, nepasižymintys toksiškumu aplinkai bei žmogui, kuriuos naudojant mažomis koncentracijomis – 0,1-0,4% - gali būti pagamintos įvairių formų stabilios emulsijos. Šio darbo tikslas ištirti ir įvertinti poliakrilo rūgšties polimerų Pemulen™ TR-1 ir Pemulen™ TR-2 bei pagalbinių medžiagų, nejonogeninio emulsiklio Span 80 ir Carbopol® Ultrez 20, įtaką emulsijų a/v stabilumui, tyrimo rezultatus panaudoti, kuriant pusiau kietų preparatų receptūras. / In order to prepare stable dispersive emulsion systems using low concentration of emulsifiers (0,1-0,4%) optimizing technological process, the use of new emulsifiers is investigated. Different kinds of stable emulsions can be prepared using polyacrylic acid polymers (Pemulen™ TR-1 and TR-2) while using low concentrations - 0,1-0,4% – environmentally non-toxic and human friendly universal o/w emulsion emulsifiers. Goal of this thesis - to analyse and evaluate the influence of polyacrylic acid polymer Pemulen™ TR-1 and Pemulen™ TR-2 and auxiliary substances nonionic surfactant Span 80 and Carbopol® Ultrez 20 for o/w emulsion stability and to use results of analysis in designing semi-solid formulas.

It is well established that repeated testing is more beneficial for durable learning than repeated studying of the same material, a phenomenon known as the testing effect. This study sought to investigate the role of working memory capacity (WMC) in relation to the learning process and the difficulty of the material to be learned when using a test-enhanced learning method. As between subject manipulation, participants (n = 99, M = 25.62 years of age) were divided into two groups, one using repeated studying and one using alternated testing and studying. A material of two difficulty levels, as well as immediate and delayed retention tests, was used in each condition as within subject manipulation. Further, an n-back task was used to measure WMC. Results from mixed model ANOVAs showed no significant impact of WMC on either the learning process or retention in relation to the difficulty of the material. The testing condition performed significantly higher than the studying condition on the retention tests. The testing effect is further cemented as a promising method for practical application in the educational sector regardless of both WMC and difficulty level. / Det är väl etablerat att upprepad testning är mer fördelaktigt för hållbar inlärning än upprepad instudering av samma material, ett fenomen känt som testeffekten. Denna studie ämnade undersöka arbetsminnets roll i relation till inlärningsprocessen och svårighetsgrad av material med testbaserat lärande som metod. Som mellangruppsmanipulation delades deltagare (n = 99, M = 25.62 år gamla) in i två grupper, en som upprepade gånger studerade materialet och en som alternerade studerande med tester. Ett material med två svårighetsgrader och ett direkt samt fördröjda retentionstester användes som inomgruppsmanipulation. Vidare användes ett n-backtest som mått på arbetsminneskapacitet. Resultat visade ingen signifikant inverkan av arbetsminne på varken inlärningsprocessen eller retention i relation till svårighetsgrad av material. Testbetingelsen presterade signifikant högre på retentionstest än studiebetingelsen. Testeffekten fastställs ytterligare som lovande metodik för praktisk applikation i utbildningssektorn oberoende av både arbetsminneskapacitet och svårighetsgrad.

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The subject of this diploma thesis is static verification steel structure of exist railway bridge in accordance with the valid standards. The bridge have three simple spans with a span of 25; 98 and 25 meters, outer fields are simple beams, the middle field is the beam reinforced with an arch with vertical rods. Steel orthotropic deck with longitudinal stiffeners and crossbeams. Further were designed and analyse other possible options super structure of the middle field, and the resulting variant as a circle span with radial rods was detail solved and made documentation.

The academic environment in higher education institutions has changed over the last years due to certain factors, which in turn, have influenced the way in which higher education institutions are governed. This has resulted in a shift in the way management and leadership are approached to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in higher education institutions. The role of teams in the academic environment is crucial to assist the institution in meeting institutional goals and adhering to national educational objectives, which in turn assumes that leadership is a key element in the development of successful teams. However, it is necessary to distinguish between leadership and management as these concepts are not synonyms and have different operational functions. The focus of this study is to ascertain what the leadership role of School Directors in the Faculty of Arts of the Potchefstroom Campus of North-West University (NWU), is in team development. As the NWU is a higher education institution, it is important to place the focus of the study in this context and, therefore, a description is given of the higher education environment in South Africa. Tuckman and Jensen’s (1977) five-stage model of team development is used to ascertain whether the academic teams in the Faculty of Arts are functioning optimally and whether there is, in fact, team development. This model is furthermore important for this study as it ascertains whether the School Director assists and plays an active role in the development of the team. The study furthermore aims to establish whether a transformational or transactional leadership style, or both, is portrayed by School Directors and which of these styles, or a presence of both styles, enhances the leadership role of School Directors in team development. The empirical findings were obtained by means of a qualitative research method. Semi-structured questionnaires were distributed to academics in all five Schools in the Faculty of Arts, as well as to the School Directors and the high return rate of 91% increase the validity of the study. The questionnaires explored and described how the academics, as well as the School Directors, perceived their leadership roles in team development. The findings from the questionnaires indicated that there were instances when the perception of School Directors differed from the perceptions of academics pertaining to the effectiveness of the team and the leadership style portrayed by School Directors. The analysis of the results from the questionnaires indicated that both transactional and transformational leadership styles were portrayed by School Directors, and that effective team development warranted a combination of these two leadership styles. Recommendations were made accordingly and a strategy proposed to enhance the role of School Directors in the development of academic teams. / M Development and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The academic environment in higher education institutions has changed over the last years due to certain factors, which in turn, have influenced the way in which higher education institutions are governed. This has resulted in a shift in the way management and leadership are approached to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in higher education institutions. The role of teams in the academic environment is crucial to assist the institution in meeting institutional goals and adhering to national educational objectives, which in turn assumes that leadership is a key element in the development of successful teams. However, it is necessary to distinguish between leadership and management as these concepts are not synonyms and have different operational functions. The focus of this study is to ascertain what the leadership role of School Directors in the Faculty of Arts of the Potchefstroom Campus of North-West University (NWU), is in team development. As the NWU is a higher education institution, it is important to place the focus of the study in this context and, therefore, a description is given of the higher education environment in South Africa. Tuckman and Jensen’s (1977) five-stage model of team development is used to ascertain whether the academic teams in the Faculty of Arts are functioning optimally and whether there is, in fact, team development. This model is furthermore important for this study as it ascertains whether the School Director assists and plays an active role in the development of the team. The study furthermore aims to establish whether a transformational or transactional leadership style, or both, is portrayed by School Directors and which of these styles, or a presence of both styles, enhances the leadership role of School Directors in team development. The empirical findings were obtained by means of a qualitative research method. Semi-structured questionnaires were distributed to academics in all five Schools in the Faculty of Arts, as well as to the School Directors and the high return rate of 91% increase the validity of the study. The questionnaires explored and described how the academics, as well as the School Directors, perceived their leadership roles in team development. The findings from the questionnaires indicated that there were instances when the perception of School Directors differed from the perceptions of academics pertaining to the effectiveness of the team and the leadership style portrayed by School Directors. The analysis of the results from the questionnaires indicated that both transactional and transformational leadership styles were portrayed by School Directors, and that effective team development warranted a combination of these two leadership styles. Recommendations were made accordingly and a strategy proposed to enhance the role of School Directors in the development of academic teams. / M Development and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Structural fire design represents one important aspect of the design of reinforced concrete buildings. The work presented in this thesis seeks to elucidate the structural behaviour of reinforced concrete slabs during exposure to heating from below, as would occur in the case of a building fire, with a particular focus on structural fire modelling using finite element analysis. The focus in on validating finite element models against experimental results and quantifying the sensitivity of model outputs to relevant thermal and mechanical input parameters. A primary goal of the work is to provide recommendations to structural fire engineering analysts and designers considering the performance-based design of reinforced concrete slabs for structural fire resistance using available finite element software. A critical review of the available knowledge of the structural fire response of reinforced concrete structures in general and concrete slabs in particular is presented, along with an awareness as to the importance of understanding structural response of concrete structures exposed to fires. Current techniques for structural fire design of concrete structures are reviewed, and shortcomings highlighted. Available experimental data are presented, and various finite element models of these slabs are developed and interrogated to identify important aspects for understanding, as well as for future improvement of similar studies (both experimental and numerical) with the intention of supporting future progress in structural fire engineering, in particular as regards performance based structural fire design of concrete slabs. A range of thermal and mechanical parameters that are potentially important and influential in the structural fire design of reinforced concrete slabs is then studied, including: fire scenario, thermal properties of materials (thermal conductivity and specific heat), heat transfer parameters (coefficient of convection and emissivity) and assumptions, restraint conditions at the supports, variations of span-to-depth ratio, reinforcement detailing, as well as plan aspect ratio are all investigated; their influence on the structural fire response of reinforced concrete slabs is studied and discussed. A key issue in validating finite element models against experimental results lies in defining the temperature inputs to the structural finite element models correctly. Variation of available thermal and mechanical input parameters, as recommended in Eurocodes, influences the predictive performance of thermal and structural finite element models, however these are not the main contributing factors in obtaining a credible prediction of response from the finite element models. The most challenging aspect in performing heat transfer analysis for fire furnace tested reinforced concrete slabs lies in defining the correct thermal boundary condition. For simply supported one-way spanning and two-way spanning slabs, increasing slab's thickness (lowering span-depth ratio) does not improve fire resistance rating for the slabs when both limiting deflection criteria and limiting tensile plastic strain are set as acceptance criteria. Two-way slabs with higher span-depth ratio have better fire resistance ratings, judging from the overall trends and magnitudes of mid-span deflections. The formation of plastic hinges is likely to occur for one-way spanning slabs modelled with finite rotational spring stiffness at supports, but not for two-way spanning slabs. A yield line mechanism in two-way slabs means that the behaviour is more complex as compared to the simple flexural mechanism for one-way slabs. In one-way slabs, plastic hinges potentially occur at the location where top reinforcement is curtailed, highlighting the importance of properly understanding the nuances in response of concrete slabs in fire. Investigation of the influence of aspect ratio in two-way spanning slabs confirms that slabs with lower aspect ratios have better structural fire resistance than slabs with higher aspect ratios when both limiting deflection criteria and limiting tensile strain in reinforcing steel were used as the performance indicators. A combination of both limiting mid-span deflection criteria as well as limiting tensile plastic strain is recommended for specifying acceptance criteria for both one-way and two-way slabs, since it gives more accurate and comprehensive assessment on the structural response of the slabs under exposure to severe heating from below.

Following up on research suggesting an age-related reduction in the rightward extent of the perceptual span during reading (Rayner, Castelhano, & Yang, 2009), we compared old and young adults in an N+2-boundary paradigm in which a nonword preview of word N+2 or word N+2 itself is replaced by the target word once the eyes cross an invisible boundary located after word N. The intermediate word N+1 was always three letters long. Gaze durations on word N+2 were significantly shorter for identical than nonword N+2 preview both for young and for old adults with no significant difference in this preview benefit. Young adults, however, did modulate their gaze duration on word N more strongly than old adults in response to the difficulty of the parafoveal word N+1. Taken together, the results suggest a dissociation of preview benefit and parafoveal-on-foveal effect. Results are discussed in terms of age-related decline in resilience towards distributed processing while simultaneously preserving the ability to integrate parafoveal information into foveal processing. As such, the present results relate to proposals of regulatory compensation strategies older adults use to secure an overall reading speed very similar to that of young adults.