Amplification of the Signal-to-Noise Ratio in Cosmic Ray Maps Using the Mexican Hat Wavelet Family

In this work we analyze the effect of smoothing maps containing arrival directions of cosmic rays with a gaussian kernel and kernels of the mexican hat wavelets of orders 1, 2 and 3. The analysis is performed by calculating the amplification of the signal-to-noise ratio for several background patterns (noise) and different number of events coming from a simulated source (signal) for an ideal detector capable of observing the full sky with uniform coverage. We extend this analysis for a virtual observatory with two sites, one in the northern hemisphere, the other in the southern, considering an acceptance law.Comment: Contributions to the 32nd International Cosmic Ray Conference, Beijing, China, August 201

ELECTROMAGNETIC LOG SHIELD FOR ROADS IDE APPLICATION

In this dissertation, a highly sustainable barrier made of circular section timber of low industrial processing, is presented. This wooden structure allows the control of electromagnetic (EM) spectrum by fine-tuning the barrier’s intrinsic parameters to shape shielding effectiveness (SE) in order to improve either EM shielding or transparency. An algorithm is developed in MATLAB to design and generate the desired structural geometry within a simulation environment (CST MW), with the implementation of surface roughness and bending on the trunks. Simulations are performed at the frequency range of 0.3 to 10 GHz with the parametrisations such as the spacing between centre of poles, radius and moisture content (MC). The proposed real scale barrier prototype is assembled in the anechoic chamber and measurements are then performed at different transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) antenna angles with both vertical and horizontal polarisation to better understand this structure’s impact on radio propagation. From this work, it was demonstrated that the wooden barrier’s simulation and measurement results present a good agreement and how the shielding efficiency can be tailored by optimising the radius and spacing at frequencies of commercial interest

Optimizing vaccine procurement for affordability and profits

This thesis presents methods to increase savings in the global vaccine market without compromising its sustainability. Considering a hypothetically coordinated vaccine market (HCVM), where one or more coordinating entities are responsible for negotiating quantities and prices of vaccines on behalf of countries with different purchasing powers, this work explores four different and complementary issues related to market configurations impacting global affordability and profits: (1) the level of cooperation among coordinating entities; (2) optimal country assignment to coordinating entities; (3) benefits in procuring vaccines through tenders of formularies rather than purchasing doses individually; and (4) the value of a dollar saved in different countries. Additionally, these studies incorporate prescriptive and descriptive analytics with economic theory exploring the incentives that could bring the global vaccine market closer to the HCVM. The findings presented in this thesis contribute both to the literature and to the sustainability of the global vaccine market with specific recommendations to improve affordability for low-income countries with minimal impact to other market segments or to the vaccine producers

Architecture and negotiation protocols for a smart parking system

Mestrado de dupla diplomação com a UTFPR - Universidade Tecnológica Federal do ParanáSmart City uses emerging technologies to improve citizens’ quality of life. A branch of this topic is the Smart Parking, where the parking system implements intelligent mechanisms to simplify to the searching of parking spots and consequently decrease the traffic of cars. This work proposes an architecture using Multi-Agent System (MAS), enhanced with some holonic systems principles, that is capable to be applied to different range of parking systems, e.g., considering trucks, cars, or bicycles. Being a distributed architecture, a special attention is devoted to study the negotiation protocols that will regulate the behavior of autonomous and cooperative actors in the system, namely drivers and parking spots, during allocation process of parking spots to drivers. For this purpose, the Contract Net Protocol (CNP), English Auction, Dutch Auction and Faratin Auction were the tested, being the CNP the selected protocol for this problem. Also addressing the distributed nature of the system, some efforts were focused on the security of the messages exchanged between the agents was proposed using Secure Socket Layer (SSL). The proposed multi-agent systems architecture was implemented using JADE (Java Agent DEvelopment Framework), which is a FIPA-compliant agent development framework that simplifies the development of agent-based applications. The exchange of messages follows the FIPA-ACL protocol using the CNP protocol for the negotiation. The communication between the agents and the User Interface is performed through the use of Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) protocol

Yahoo! : the end of the banner years

Yahoo! was in the late nineties the most profitable and successful internet company on the web. However, after the burst of the dotcom bubble, its competitive position changed dramatically as the banner advertising format, the center of its advertising-based business model, entered in decline. This dissertation uses dynamic capabilities to explain the failure of Yahoo! to respond to that change in the environment. For that purpose, we develop and analyze in detail a teaching case covering Yahoo!’s history from 1994 to 2007. As we succeed to explain the failure of Yahoo! as caused by a low level of dynamic capabilities, we conclude that the company had a low propensity to sense opportunities and threats, to make timely decisions and to make market-oriented decisions. We further identify problems in Yahoo!’s propensity to change its resource base that we classify as medium-low. Its low level of dynamic capabilities led Yahoo! to ignore the potential of search as a business and the emergence of keywords advertising as the dominant format of online advertising. Yahoo! reacted late and failed to transform its resource base in an effective manner to respond to those changes. These events still impact Yahoo!’s performance today

The Water System of Tall Jalul

The Problem Components of the water system of Tall Jalul have been discovered since 2009 in Fields G and W. Although articles and reports have been written, no comprehensive study has been conducted. Therefore, this thesis will present and discuss the water system of Jalul from 2009 to 2016 and look for comparisons with similar Iron Age structures in the Ancient Near East. The Method For this project, the ruins from Fields G and W were analyzed. First, selected water systems in Palestine were introduced, followed by a review of preliminary reports and personal observations on the site of Tall Jalul. Second, a literature review was done to find similar structures in the Ancient Near East. Finally, a comparison between these structures was made. The Results Parallels to the water system of Jalul were found in the literature review, and a comparison between them was done, helping to understand their function as well as the function of the structures at Jalul with the evidence so far available. Conclusions It was possible to conclude that the Tall Jalul water system was unique in its size and function; however, not so developed in storage and water protection, as was the case with similar Iron Age water systems in the Ancient Near East

Milk fatty acid composition and associated rumen lipolysis and fatty acid hydrogenation when feeding forages from intensively managed or semi-natural grasslands

In order to evaluate the effect of replacing intensive forage by semi-natural grassland products on rumen lipid metabolism and milk fatty acid composition, four lactating and rumen canulated Holstein cows were used in a 4×4 Latin square design. Four different diets were fed: diet 100 IM - 100% intensively managed silage (IM), diet 20 SPP - 80% IM plus 20% semi-natural but species poor silage (SPP), diet 60 SPP - 40% IM plus 60% SPP and diet 60 SPR - 40% IM plus 60% semi-natural species rich silage (SPR). The silages showed significant differences in total fat content and in proportions of C18:2 n-6 and C18:3 n-3. Despite the reduced dietary supply of C18:3 n-3 with diets 60 SPP and 60 SPR, differences in milk C18:3 n-3 were small, suggesting higher recoveries of C18:3 n-3. Presumably, the latter are related to a higher transfer efficiency of C18:3 n-3 from the duodenum to the mammary gland, since rumen biohydrogenation, estimated from rumen pool size and first order rumen clearance kinetics, were similar among diets. CLA c9t11 in milk from cows fed diet 60 SPR were almost doubled compared to feeding one of the other diets. This has been related to the partial inhibition of rumen biohydrogenation of C18:3 n-3 and/or C18:2 n-6, as suggested by the increased proportions of hydrogenation isomers and reduced stearic acid proportions in rumen pool samples. In conclusion, the results suggest that the use of semi-natural grasslands in the diet of the animals reduce to some extent complete rumen biohydrogenation, which leads to an increase in milk CLA

Detection of Point Sources in Cosmic Ray Maps using the Mexican Hat Wavelet Family

An analysis of the sensitivity of gaussian and mexican hat wavelet family filters to the detection of point sources of ultra-high energy cosmic rays was performed. A source embedded in a background was simulated and the number of events and amplitude of this source was varied aiming to check the sensitivity of the method to detect faint sources with low statistic of events.Comment: Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Strong Electromagnetic Fields and Neutron Stars (Havana, Cuba, 2011). 6 pages, 4 figure