Multipath mitigation in time-delay estimation via tensorbased techniques for antenna array-based gnss receivers

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Tecnologia, Departamento de Engenharia Elétrica, 2017.Clientes de Sistemas Globais de Navegação por Satélites, do inglês Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), dependem da estimação do atraso para estimar a posição do usuário. [1] Isto é feito fazendo a correlação do sinal recebido com sequências-réplicas para separar o sinal de cada satélite e estimar o atraso. Como componentes de multipercurso são cópias atrasadas do sinal original, estes alteram a função de correlação cruzada, assim gerando erros na estimação de atraso. Nesta dissertação estudamos um algoritmo estado-da-arte em mitigação de multipercursos para estimação de atraso baseado no autofiltro da decomposição em valores singular de alta ordem, do inglês Higher-Order Singular Value Decomposition (HOSVD), de posto unitário, [2] e propomos dois esquemas tensoriais para mitigação de multipercurso e estimação de atraso, para qual o esquema baseado em HOSVD é usado para comparação. O primeiro esquema tensorial é um método em três etapas que aplica estimação da direção de chegada, do inglês Direction of Arrival (DoA), e fatorização Khatri-Rao, do inglês Khatri-Rao factorization (KRF), para separar o código de cada componente incidente de forma fechada. O segundo esquema calcula uma matrix de covariância multimodo como aproximação do desdobramento Hermitian duplamente simétrico [3] com qual, alternando entre a solução do problema ortogonal de Procrustes, do inglês Orthogonal Procrustes Problem (OPP), [4] e fatorização Khatri-Rao de mínimos quadrados, do inglês Least Squares Khatri-Rao Factorization (LSKRF), [5] se estima iterativamente as matrizes-fator do canal, que são então usadas para separar o código de cada componente incidente. Ambos esquemas geram resultados melhores que o estado-da-arte baseado no autofiltro de alta ordem.Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) clients rely on time-delay estimation to estimate a user’s position. [1] This is done by correlating the incoming signal with replica sequences to separate each satellite and perform time-delay estimation. Since multipath components are delayed copies of the original signal, this affects the cross-correlation function, thus impacting time-delay estimation. 1 In this thesis, we study a state-of-the-art approach for multipath mitigation time-delay estimation algorithm based on the rank-one Higher-Order Singular Value Decomposition (HOSVD) eigenfilter, [2] and propose two tensorbased schemes for multipath mitigation and time-delay estimation, for which the HOSVD-based scheme is a basis of comparison. The first scheme is a three step tensor-based approach applying direction of arrival (DoA) estimation and Khatri-Rao factorization (KRF) to separate the code for each impinging component in a closed fashion. The second approach calculates a multimode covariance matrix as an approximation of the dualsymmetric Hermitian unfolding [3] with which, by alternating between a solution to the orthogonal Procrustes problem (OPP) [4] and least squares Khatri-Rao factorization, [5] iteratively estimates the channel factor matrices which are then used to separate the code of each impinging component. Both our schemes outperforms the HOSVD-based eigenfilter state-of-the-art solution

Aportes da análise econômica no estudo da judicialização da saúde e o risco da promoção desigual de direitos

O presente artigo pretende demonstrar a importância de aportes da análise econômica do direito para o fenômeno conhecido por “judicialização da saúde”, nos casos de ajuizamento de ações individuais que, a pretexto da consagração do direito fundamental à saúde, culminam por desconsiderar políticas públicas específicas destinadas ao atendimento do maior número possível de pacientes, materializadas pelos Protocolos Clínicos e Diretrizes Terapêuticas – PCDT. Nesse contexto, entende-se que a judicialização dos conflitos gerados ocasiona a formação de políticas públicas anômalas, na medida em que decorrem do Poder Judiciário. A análise cita levantamento realizado pela Secretaria de Estado da Saúde do Paraná – SESA/PR durante os anos de 2010 e 2014 e evidencia o impacto monetário das decisões judiciais sobre o orçamento público destinado à saúde pública. Após breve apresentação de julgados que demonstram a forte interferência judicial em casos de medicamentos, os argumentos expendidos buscam ressaltar a importância da análise econômica do direito para a promoção efetiva do acesso ao direito fundamental à saúde, em contraposição ao cenário desigual hodierno

Tensor-Based Methods for Blind Spatial Signature Estimation in Multidimensional Sensor Arrays

The estimation of spatial signatures and spatial frequencies is crucial for several practical applications such as radar, sonar, and wireless communications. In this paper, we propose two generalized iterative estimation algorithms to the case in which a multidimensional (R-D) sensor array is used at the receiver. The first tensor-based algorithm is an R-D blind spatial signature estimator that operates in scenarios where the source’s covariance matrix is nondiagonal and unknown. The second tensor-based algorithm is formulated for the case in which the sources are uncorrelated and exploits the dual-symmetry of the covariance tensor. Additionally, a new tensor-based formulation is proposed for an L-shaped array configuration. Simulation results show that our proposed schemes outperform the state-of-the-art matrix-based and tensor-based techniques

Rarity of monodominance in hyperdiverse Amazonian forests.

Tropical forests are known for their high diversity. Yet, forest patches do occur in the tropics where a single tree species is dominant. Such "monodominant" forests are known from all of the main tropical regions. For Amazonia, we sampled the occurrence of monodominance in a massive, basin-wide database of forest-inventory plots from the Amazon Tree Diversity Network (ATDN). Utilizing a simple defining metric of at least half of the trees ≥ 10 cm diameter belonging to one species, we found only a few occurrences of monodominance in Amazonia, and the phenomenon was not significantly linked to previously hypothesized life history traits such wood density, seed mass, ectomycorrhizal associations, or Rhizobium nodulation. In our analysis, coppicing (the formation of sprouts at the base of the tree or on roots) was the only trait significantly linked to monodominance. While at specific locales coppicing or ectomycorrhizal associations may confer a considerable advantage to a tree species and lead to its monodominance, very few species have these traits. Mining of the ATDN dataset suggests that monodominance is quite rare in Amazonia, and may be linked primarily to edaphic factors

Colorectal cancer genetic variants are also associated with serrated polyposis syndrome susceptibility

Background: Serrated polyposis syndrome (SPS) is a clinical entity characterised by large and/ormultiple serrated polyps throughout the colon and increased risk for colorectal cancer (CRC). The basis for SPS genetic predisposition is largely unknown. Common, low-penetrance genetic variants have been consistently associated with CRC susceptibility, however, their role in SPS genetic predisposition has not been yet explored. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate if common, low-penetrance genetic variants for CRC risk are also implicated in SPS genetic susceptibility. Methods: A case-control study was performed in 219 SPS patients and 548 asymptomatic controls analysing 65 CRC susceptibility variants. A risk prediction model for SPS predisposition was developed. Results: Statistically significant associations with SPS were found for seven genetic variants (rs4779584-GREM1, rs16892766-EIF3H, rs3217810-CCND2, rs992157-PNKD1/TMBIM1, rs704017-ZMIZ1, rs11196172-TCF7L2, rs6061231-LAMA5). The GREM1 risk allele was remarkably over-represented in SPS cases compared with controls (OR=1.573, 1.21-2.04, p value=0.0006). A fourfold increase in SPS risk was observed when comparing subjects within the highest decile of variants (≥65) with those in the first decile (≤50). Conclusions: Genetic variants for CRC risk are also involved in SPS susceptibility, being the most relevant ones rs4779584-GREM1, rs16892766-EIF3H and rs3217810-CCND2

Geographic patterns of tree dispersal modes in Amazonia and their ecological correlates

Aim: To investigate the geographic patterns and ecological correlates in the geographic distribution of the most common tree dispersal modes in Amazonia (endozoochory, synzoochory, anemochory and hydrochory). We examined if the proportional abundance of these dispersal modes could be explained by the availability of dispersal agents (disperser-availability hypothesis) and/or the availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits (resource-availability hypothesis). Time period: Tree-inventory plots established between 1934 and 2019. Major taxa studied: Trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 9.55 cm. Location: Amazonia, here defined as the lowland rain forests of the Amazon River basin and the Guiana Shield. Methods: We assigned dispersal modes to a total of 5433 species and morphospecies within 1877 tree-inventory plots across terra-firme, seasonally flooded, and permanently flooded forests. We investigated geographic patterns in the proportional abundance of dispersal modes. We performed an abundance-weighted mean pairwise distance (MPD) test and fit generalized linear models (GLMs) to explain the geographic distribution of dispersal modes. Results: Anemochory was significantly, positively associated with mean annual wind speed, and hydrochory was significantly higher in flooded forests. Dispersal modes did not consistently show significant associations with the availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits. A lower dissimilarity in dispersal modes, resulting from a higher dominance of endozoochory, occurred in terra-firme forests (excluding podzols) compared to flooded forests. Main conclusions: The disperser-availability hypothesis was well supported for abiotic dispersal modes (anemochory and hydrochory). The availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits seems an unlikely explanation for the distribution of dispersal modes in Amazonia. The association between frugivores and the proportional abundance of zoochory requires further research, as tree recruitment not only depends on dispersal vectors but also on conditions that favour or limit seedling recruitment across forest types

Local hydrological conditions influence tree diversity and composition across the Amazon basin

Tree diversity and composition in Amazonia are known to be strongly determined by the water supplied by precipitation. Nevertheless, within the same climatic regime, water availability is modulated by local topography and soil characteristics (hereafter referred to as local hydrological conditions), varying from saturated and poorly drained to well-drained and potentially dry areas. While these conditions may be expected to influence species distribution, the impacts of local hydrological conditions on tree diversity and composition remain poorly understood at the whole Amazon basin scale. Using a dataset of 443 1-ha non-flooded forest plots distributed across the basin, we investigate how local hydrological conditions influence 1) tree alpha diversity, 2) the community-weighted wood density mean (CWM-wd) – a proxy for hydraulic resistance and 3) tree species composition. We find that the effect of local hydrological conditions on tree diversity depends on climate, being more evident in wetter forests, where diversity increases towards locations with well-drained soils. CWM-wd increased towards better drained soils in Southern and Western Amazonia. Tree species composition changed along local soil hydrological gradients in Central-Eastern, Western and Southern Amazonia, and those changes were correlated with changes in the mean wood density of plots. Our results suggest that local hydrological gradients filter species, influencing the diversity and composition of Amazonian forests. Overall, this study shows that the effect of local hydrological conditions is pervasive, extending over wide Amazonian regions, and reinforces the importance of accounting for local topography and hydrology to better understand the likely response and resilience of forests to increased frequency of extreme climate events and rising temperatures