Trade-off between power and bandwidth consumption in a reconfigurable xhaul network architecture

The increasing number of wireless devices, the high required traffic bandwidth, and power consumption will lead to a revolution of mobile access networks, which is not a simple evolution of traditional ones. Cloud radio access network technologies are seen as promising solution in order to deal with the heavy requirements defined for 5G mobile networks. The introduction of the common public radio interface (CPRI) technology allows for a centralization in BaseBand unit (BBU) of some access functions with advantages in terms of power consumption saving when switching off algorithms are implemented. Unfortunately, the advantages of the CPRI technology are to be paid with an increase in required bandwidth to carry the traffic between the BBU and the radio remote unit (RRU), in which only the radio functions are implemented. For this reason, a tradeoff solution between power and bandwidth consumption is proposed and evaluated. The proposed solution consists of: 1) handling the traffic generated by the users through both RRU and traditional radio base stations (RBS) and 2) carrying the traffic generated by the RRU and RBS (CPRI and Ethernet flows) with a reconfigurable network. The proposed solution is investigated under the lognormal spatial traffic distribution assumption. After proposing resource dimensioning analytical models validated by simulation, we show how the sum of the bandwidth and power consumption may be minimized with the deployment of a given percentage of RRU. For instance we show how in 5G traffic scenarios this percentage can vary from 30% to 50% according to total traffic amount handled by a switching node of the reconfigurable network

Womersley Number-Based Estimates of Blood Flow Rate in Doppler Analysis: In Vivo Validation by Means of Phase-Contrast MRI

The aim of this paper, was to present an in vivo validation of the Womersley number-based formula, by means of 2-D cine phase-contrast MRI (PCMRI)

The significance of house and home in China's rural to urban migration

Building on previous work that focuses on rural to urban migration and class formation among urban Chinese youth, this thesis explores ideas of middle-class consolidation dynamics centered on the house, as well as on changes in perceptions of home that come with the migration experience. My research shows that, in contemporary China, the house stands at the center of a hierarchy of privileges in middle-class consolidation processes, especially for the middle-class rural migrant group. With this dissertation, I contribute to research that studies rural to urban migration in China by looking at a social group that has been widely overlooked, i.e. middle-class migrants with rural origins and who are employed in high-end industries of the service sector, and to research that examines class distinction by placing homeownership at the center of class-related hierarchies of privilege. I argue that house, as well as ideas of home, is key in middle-class consolidation and reproduction processes, as it is the principal asset that confers class-related legitimation and power, and that it is able to provide both inter-class and intra-class distinction. As a theoretical basis to support my argument, I avail myself of the Bourdieusian approach, which provides an effective categorization model based on the relational aspects of class membership, as well as the concepts of distinction and class symbolic boundaries, both of which are key to understanding class-related dynamics in contemporary China. The present project is composed of three empirical chapters that present and analyze the significance of house and home in rural to urban migration from three different perspectives: the effects of migration and class status on perceptions of home; the effects of homeownership on ideas of class and status; and the effects of education on migrant families’ housing strategies

Mnemonic Discrimination and Social Anxiety: The Role of State Anxiety

The Mnemonic Similarity Task (MST) measures mnemonic discrimination, or the ability to correctly identify new stimuli from highly similar, old stimuli. Neuroscientific and theoretical suppositions suggest that poor mnemonic discrimination may represent a potential risk or maintenance factor for anxious individuals. However, state affect appears to moderate the relation between mnemonic discrimination abilities and trait anxiety. The current study aimed to elucidate the nascent research on mnemonic discrimination and anxiety by evaluating the MST in a specific subtype of anxiety (i.e., social anxiety) and utilizing a clinically relevant stressor task (i.e., knowledge of a future speech). Participants (N = 131) were recruited based on their high or low-levels of social anxiety and were randomly assigned to a stressor condition (i.e., learning about the delivery of a future speech) or a control condition prior to the MST. Participants’ levels of self-reported state anxiety were measured throughout the study. Results did not indicate any significant effects related to social anxiety group (high vs. low social anxiety) or condition (stressor vs. control) on mnemonic discrimination abilities. However, this may have been due to the instability of the stressor manipulation or generally low levels of state anxiety across timepoints. Implications or results and future directions are discussed

Star Architecture as Socio-Material Assemblage

Taking inspiration from new materialism and assemblage, the chapter deals with star architects and iconic buildings as socio-material network effects that do not pre-exist action, but are enacted in practice, in the materiality of design crafting and city building. Star architects are here conceptualized as part of broader assemblages of actors and practices ‘making star architecture’ a reality, and the buildings they design are considered not just as unique and iconic objects, but dis-articulated as complex crafts mobilizing skills, technologies, materials, and forms of knowledge not necessarily ascribable to architecture. Overcoming narrow criticism focusing on the symbolic order of icons as unique creations and alienated repetitions of capitalist development, the chapter’s main aim is to widen the scope of critique by bridging culture and economy, symbolism and practicality, making star architecture available to a broad, fragmented arena of (potential) critics, unevenly equipped with critical tools and differentiated experiences

Understanding and Evaluating Stereotypes towards Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Symptom Subtypes

Public stigma has detrimental impacts on those with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Yet, stereotypes associated with OCD are poorly understood. Given the heterogeneity of OCD symptom presentations, a conceptualization of stereotypes associated with symptom subtypes is warranted to inform stigma reduction efforts. In Study 1 (N = 60), participants read one of five vignettes on OCD subtypes (Symmetry/Just Right, Contamination, Sexual, Harm/Aggression, or Scrupulous) prior to responding to Internet-delivered open-ended questions. Study 1 methods followed the qualitative description framework, such that data were derived from participant responses and findings were presented using participant language. Prior to final coding and theme evaluation, all qualitative codes were validated by a subset (n = 23) of participants (i.e., Study 1 member check). An inductive content analysis was used to allow qualitative themes to emerge from Study 1 data. These methods followed the systematic, empirical approach of the postpositivist conceptual framework. In Study 2, (N = 698) participants completed an Internet-delivered quantitative survey in which they were randomized to read one of seven vignettes (OCD subtypes, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Schizophrenia) prior to completing previously established stigma measures and an OCD stigma measure developed from Study 1 themes. In Study 1, a total of fifteen themes and two subthemes emerged across conditions. Stereotypes associated with anxiety-relevant stigma (e.g., trivial symptoms, social awkwardness) most commonly emerged for Symmetry/Just Right and Contamination, while stereotypes associated with serious mental illness stigma (SMI; e.g., dangerous, disturbed) emerged for Harm/Aggression and Sexual Vignettes. The Scrupulous vignette was associated with both anxiety-relevant and SMI stereotypes. Additionally, unique themes (e.g., odd, nuisance, and withdrawn) that are not typically associated with anxiety or SMI-stigma also emerged. For Study 2, data suggested that the Sexual and Harm/Aggression vignettes appeared to be associated with the greatest stigma across measures compared to all other vignettes. However, the Scrupulous vignette was associated with the greatest stigma on the anxiety-relevant subscale of the OCD stigma measure. Across measures, the Sexual, Harm/Aggression, and Schizophrenia vignettes demonstrated similar stigma endorsements, which were often greater than the Symmetry/Just Right, Contamination, and GAD vignettes. Like Study 1, the Scrupulous vignette was associated with both groupings; that is, of autogenous (i.e., repugnant/unacceptable thoughts; Sexual and Harm/Aggression) and reactive obsessions (i.e., thought content perceived as rational; Contamination and Symmetry/Just Right). Further, and aligned with hypotheses, prior mental health treatment and more frequent contact with symptomatic individuals were associated with lower stigma across assessments. Across studies, results suggested that OCD stigma shares stereotypes with anxiety-relevant and SMI stigma. Though stereotypes emerged for specific OCD subtypes (e.g., withdrawn, nuisance), these do not appear to be unique to OCD (given their shared occurrence for Schizophrenia and GAD on the OCD stigma measure). In general, these studies support groupings of autogenous and reactive obsessions with regards to their SMI and anxiety-relevant stigma endorsement. However, the Scrupulous vignette appears to be strongly associated with both SMI and anxiety-relevant stigma (and thus, both autogenous and reactive groupings). Stigma reduction interventions for OCD should focus on macro-level stereotypes (i.e., stereotypes that exist across symptom groupings, such as perceptions of blame or a social outcast). Moreover, interventions should include psychoeducation about obsessional content and be targeted to address contextual factors (e.g., sociodemographic characteristics, cultural considerations, symptom presentations) relevant to the population of interest to allow for frequent contact, and thus, stigma reduction