Ultra-wideband Impulse-based Radar Signals for Through-the-wall Imaging

Ultra-wideband (UWB) is the promising technology for localization of the objects behind the walls. Recent terrorist activities and law-enforcement situations underscore the need for effective through-wall detection. The approval of UWB technology made by federal communications commission (FCC) in 2002 makes the researchers to have a look on this technology. UWB radar signals has extremely large frequency spectrum and since low frequencies has more penetration capabilities through dielectric materials it is best suitable for through-the-wall radar imaging (TWRI). Signal processing in TWRI has a greater impact in getting the information of the scanned area. This paper uses impulse signals in TWRI, examines the factors impacting in TWRI and obtains the two dimensional information of the scanned scene. Electromagnetic simulation software is used to generate the room like structure, and to obtain the raw radar data.Defence Science Journal, 2012, 62(1), pp.187-192, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.62.84

A Scale to Measure the Attitude of farmers towards Kisan Call Centre

Kisan call centre is one of the active services provided by the Government of India exploiting the area of ICT to support the farmers in their day to day farming activities. Since the service is free of cost and can be accessed from any part of the state from 6 AM to 10 PM, it is assumed to be utilized by majority of the farmers in India. Hence the present study was undertaken to develop a scale that would help to measure the attitude of farmers towards Kisan call centre.  Thirty statements expressing the attitude of farmers towards KCC to be included in the scale reflecting both favourable and unfavourable attitude towards KCC was collected through review of literature and discussion with experts in the field of extension and was carefully edited using the criteria suggested by Edwards (1957). S-value and Q- value for the statements were found and that statement whose S-value was spread throughout the continuum and had small Q- value was selected. Finally twenty three statements were selected to form Thurston and Chaves (1928) equal appearing scale to measure the attitude of farmers on KCC. The reliability and validity of the scale was also found in order to ensure the scales usability.

Macroeconomic and bank specific determinants of non-performing loans in UAE conventional bank

This paper uses panel data methodology including Random Effects model to identify the bank-specific determinants and macroeconomic determinants of non-performing loans in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) conventional banks for the period 2008-2015. Among the bank-specific determinants, non-performing loans (NPL, t-1) indicate a significant positive relationship with NPL and liquidity ratio indicate a significant negative relationship with NPL, whereas capital adequacy ratio and return on assets was found to have an insignificant relationship due to the robust banking regulations in UAE. All the macroeconomic determinants, namely, gross domestic product, growth, inflation, domestic credit to private sector, unemployment and government debt appeared to be insignificant in determining the level of NPLs, suggesting that the crisis is more intrinsic to internal issues within the corporates and not related to macroeconomic factors

Vizualizace provozních hodnot elektromobilu

The car's dashboard has become an important part of every car over the last century. In the contemporary world, political, environmental, energetic and social conditions electric vehicles will play an immportant role in the future of transportation. The latest information technology enables the use of mobile technology to communicate with the electric car. Communication bus connection and in-vehicle wireless communication play an important role. The user and driver of the electric vehicle need to have an overview of the vehicle's operating parameters but also the traction system parameters at the time of charging and parking. The diploma thesis deals with the display of operational and other parameters in the electric car, the possibility of using mobile devices. It proposes solutions for communication links in an electric car. It informs about experimental design for displaying operating variables using CAN bus and BT wireless connection. Solutions are summarized and the vision of a small electric car solution for suburban traffic is outlined.Přístrojová deska automobilu se v rpůběhu minulého století stala důležitou součástí každého doravního prostředku. V současných světových politických, environmentálních, energetických a sociálních podmínkách budou hrát elektrická vozidla významnou roli. Nejnovější informační technologie umožňují využití mobilních technologií pro komunikaci s elektromobilem. Významné je napojení komunikačních sběrnice a bezdrátová komunikace ve vozidle. Uživatel a řidič elektrického vozidla musí mít přehled o provozních parametrech vozidla, ale také o parametrech jeho trakčního systému v době nabíjení a parkování. Diplomová práce se zabývá zobrazením provozních a dalších parametrů v elektromobilu, možností využití mobilních zařízení. Navrhuje řešení komunikačních propojení v elektromobilu. Informuje o experimentálních zapojeních pro zobrazení provozních veličin pomocí sběrnice CAN a bezdrátového spojení BT. Jsou shrnuta řešení a nastíněna vize řešení pro malé elektromobily pro příměstský provoz.450 - Katedra kybernetiky a biomedicínského inženýrstvídobř

Measuring Environmental Efficiency of Industry: A Case Study of Thermal Power Generation in India

Technical and environmental efficiency of some coal-fired thermal power plants in India is estimated using a methodology that accounts for firm’s efforts to increase the production of good output and reduce pollution with the given resources and technology. The methodology used is directional output distance function. Estimates of firm-specific shadow prices of pollutants (bad outputs), and elasticity of substitution between good and bad outputs are also obtained. The technical and environmental inefficiency of a representative firm is estimated as 0.10 implying that the thermal power generating industry in Andhra Pradesh state of India could increase production of electricity by 10 per cent while decreasing generation of pollution by 10 percent. This result shows that there are incentives or win-win opportunities for the firms to voluntarily comply with the environmental regulation. It is found that there is a significant variation in marginal cost of pollution abatement or shadow prices of bad outputs across the firms and an increasing marginal cost of pollution abatement with respect to pollution reduction by the firms. The variation in marginal cost of pollution abatement and compliance to regulation across firms could be reduced by having economic instruments like emission tax.environmental and technical efficiency; shadow prices of bad outputs; air pollution

Carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in insulin resistant states and the development of in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopic techniques for the analysis of gluconeogenesis and glycogen synthesis

PhDThis thesis will provide new information on carbohydrate and lipid metabolic control in various related physiological states both in vitro and in vivo in the rat model. Pregnancy is one such state which elicits many complex changes both physiologically and metabolically, one major consequence of which is the development of insulin resistance/glucose intolerance by the mother. The aim was to evaluate the mother's capacity to utilise glucose during the various stages of pregnancy. For the first time, an unrestrained, unanaesthetised rat model was used to produce indices of glucose utilisation (GUI) in a wide range of tissue types ranging from non-working postural muscles to continually contracting muscles like the heart. In the various fed conditions investigated, significant reductions in the GUI of up to 80% were seen during late pregnancy in some tissues. A method of feeding was also applied to the pregnant model producing results contrary to normal pregnant glucose utilisation values ie. increasing the GUI up to 90% of normal pregnancy values in some tissues. Lipogenic rates in five major tissue sites were concurrently investigated which showed increases of between 2.2 and 4 fold during late pregnancy compared with virgin controls. Analysis of glycogen levels and an attempt to probe the pyruvate dehydrogenase activities of the heart and diaphragm in the various physiological states are also discussed. To obtain further insight into glycogen synthesis/non-oxidated disposal of glucose in the liver, a less invasive approach was then followed to explore, by non-invasive techniques, the extent to which insulin resistant states, like pregnancy, can be explained by in vivo hepatic glucose metabolic studies. For this, carbon-13 magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) was employed to determine the fate of 1-13C glucose in the liver of rats in the same physiological states as those studied in the above methodology. Bolus infusions of 13C-glucose were administered into the hepatic portal vein of the rats under investigation. The incorporation or degradation of the glucose was followed in real time by observing rapid proton-decoupled carbon spectra. From this methodology, continuous real time glucose utilisation rates together with glycogen synthesis rates were measured. 13C incorporation into the glycogen macromolecule was seen to be negligible in 20 day pregnant ad libitum fed rats however in routine meal fed (RMF - allowed free access to food for 2h per 24h day) 20 day pregnant rats, incorporation reached a level 2.3 fold higher than the former. Maximal increases of 13C incorporation were shown by the 10 day pregnant RMF rats which attained levels 2.4 fold higher than the 20 day pregnant RMF group. Results indicate an enhancement of the direct route for glycogen deposition during RMF regimes in pregnancy. A consequence to the above MRS study led an investigation into gluconeogenic control in the rat model. Gluconeogenesis is a major metabolic pathway which may be perturbed in insulin resistant states like non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. In this study 13P MRS was employed as a tool to look at the relative changes in vivo of the hepatic phosphorus spectrum. This study involved external manipulation of hepatic gluconeogenesis by the infusion of alanine. Large increases in the phosphomonoester region of the phosphorous spectrum were seen both in vivo and in vitro which was secondary to increases in 3-phosphoglycerate. The inorganic phosphates also increased dramatically together with concomitant declines in ATP both of which recovered to pre-infusion values. This study shows many promising features which could be applied to clinical studies in humans