Investigation of Parameters Affecting Underwater Communication Channel

Underwater communication has become a widely studied area in recent years and showed great potential to be an area of research. Acoustic communication is often preferred in underwater communication due to its suitability for an underwater diffusion environment. However, in underwater communication, the physical and chemical properties of the water environment affect sound propagation. Therefore, determining and examining parameters affecting channel performance in underwater communication plays an essential role in inefficient communication. In this study, the effects of salinity, depth, noise, temperature, and frequency parameters for the underwater channel model are examined. By determining the effects of these parameters on spherical and cylindrical propagation, suitable propagation geometry and parameter values for an efficient channel are investigated. In light of the results obtained, in case of studying in a limited area, the path and absorption losses can be reduced by selecting cylindrical propagation as a geometrical propagation model, thereby an efficient channel model can be formed

Biohybrid swimmers at low Reynolds number powered by tissue-engineered neuromuscular units

Biohybrid machines are engineered systems which are built by integrating biological cells with synthetic materials and components. Development of biohybrid machines utilizes the classical engineering modalities of design, modeling, prototype fabrication, testing, and iteration, but also draws from a toolbox that includes biological cells and materials. This enables a range of exciting possibilities since biological systems can develop via self-organization, function autonomously, and monitor and adapt to their environments. Pioneering studies on biohybrid machines have demonstrated the development of devices powered by muscle cells, capable of locomotion, pumping, and micromanipulation. A currently emerging frontier in the field is the integration of neuronal control. A wide range of complex animal behaviors are orchestrated by the nervous system which interfaces the body with the environment through sensing, information processing, and coordinating motor activity. Hence, the integration of neurons may enable the development of autonomous biohybrid machines capable of higher-level functionalities such as sensing, memory, and adaptation. The focus of this dissertation is on the implementation of neuronal actuation in muscle powered biohybrid machines. Firstly, we develop an experimental bioactuator platform to study the in vitro development of neuromuscular units. Engineered skeletal muscle tissues, anchored to compliant pillars, are co-cultured on the platform with optogenetic stem cell-derived neuronal clusters containing motor neurons. The motor neurons extend axons and innervate the muscle fibers, forming functional neuromuscular units. Our study illustrates several outcomes of synergistic interactions between the muscles and neurons. Muscles co-cultured with neurons exhibit significantly higher contraction force and cytoskeletal maturation compared to muscles cultured alone. Neurons self-organize into networks which generate synchronous bursting patterns, the development of which is facilitated by muscle-secreted soluble factors. Next, we implement our neuron-muscle co-culture approach on a free-standing compliant scaffold containing slender flagella, to demonstrate the first example of a biohybrid swimmer powered by neuromuscular units. Optogenetic stimulation of motor neurons evokes periodic muscle contractions, and the swimmer is driven by the resulting time-irreversible deformations of the flagella, a common mechanism of propulsion at low Reynolds number. Lastly, we investigate potential design strategies for improving swimming performance, assisted by analytical and computational models. Our models predict that the swimming speed of our initial prototype can be improved by up to two orders of magnitude by redesigning the swimmer scaffold to reduce drag and increase actuation amplitude

Content arrangement on large high-resolution displays: a PDF-reader

The advent of Large High Resolution Displays (LHRDs) enables new visualisation methods for data analysis. This allows users to replace virtual navigation with spatial navigation which leads to further challenges in arranging the content appropriately. Conventional applications are developed without considering these novel issues; thus they may have deficiencies to be used on LHRDs efficiently. For this purpose, we conduct this thesis with a focus on the content arrangement of PDF documents. The aim of this thesis is to design, implement and evaluate an interface for viewing PDF documents on LHRDs. After an extensive literature review, we conducted design workshops to elicit design concepts and received various inspiring suggestions. The most promising design ideas were implemented as a working prototype by using an existing open source PDF renderer. Finally, we evaluated our implementation in a collaborative sensemaking user study in terms of usability and performance. We examine the result of the evaluation study and present key influencing factors which might be useful for future applications on LHRDs

The effects of contract mechanisms between the government and private hospitals on the social utility

In this work, we deal with a real healthcare system, in which public and private hospitals with different characteristics co-exist. While public hospitals have lower costs, they also suffer from long waiting times, diminishing the perceived quality of care for patients. Conversely, private hospitals, with their higher fees, offer shorter waiting periods, resulting in a more favorable perception of quality. A balanced healthcare system could offer societal benefits. Pricing strategies greatly influence a patient's hospital selection. For instance, reduced fees in private hospitals attract more patients, consequently reducing overcrowding in public facilities and elevating the overall quality of services provided. This study aims to develop pricing models to foster a balanced and socially advantageous healthcare system. Within this system, private hospital pricing is determined through contract mechanisms with the government. Thus, we delve into the ramifications of various contract models between the government and private hospitals on social utility. Our findings underscore the communal advantages of contract mechanisms. Furthermore, we generalize the proposed models to be applicable to similar systems.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Efficient hardware implementations of high throughput SHA-3 candidates keccak, luffa and blue midnight wish for single- and multi-message hashing

In November 2007 NIST announced that it would organize the SHA-3 competition to select a new cryptographic hash function family by 2012. In the selection process, hardware performances of the candidates will play an important role. Our analysis of previously proposed hardware implementations shows that three SHA-3 candidate algorithms can provide superior performance in hardware: Keccak, Luffa and Blue Midnight Wish (BMW). In this paper, we provide efficient and fast hardware implementations of these three algorithms. Considering both single- and multi-message hashing applications with an emphasis on both speed and efficiency, our work presents more comprehensive analysis of their hardware performances by providing different performance figures for different target devices. To our best knowledge, this is the first work that provides a comparative analysis of SHA-3 candidates in multi-message applications. We discover that BMW algorithm can provide much higher throughput than previously reported if used in multi-message hashing. We also show that better utilization of resources can increase speed via different configurations. We implement our designs using Verilog HDL, and map to both ASIC and FPGA devices (Spartan3, Virtex2, and Virtex 4) to give a better comparison with those in the literature. We report total area, maximum frequency, maximum throughput and throughput/area of the designs for all target devices. Given that the selection process for SHA3 is still open; our results will be instrumental to evaluate the hardware performance of the candidates

Deep Learning Based Detection on RIS Assisted RSM and RSSK Techniques

The reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) is considered a crucial technology for the future of wireless communication. Recently, there has been significant interest in combining RIS with spatial modulation (SM) or space shift keying (SSK) to achieve a balance between spectral and energy efficiency. In this paper, we have investigated the use of deep learning techniques for detection in RIS-aided received SM (RSM)/received-SSK (RSSK) systems over Weibull fading channels, specifically by extending the RIS-aided SM/SSK system to a specific case of the conventional SM system. By employing the concept of neural networks, the study focuses on model-driven deep learning detection namely block deep neural networks (B-DNN) for RIS-aided SM systems and compares its performance against maximum likelihood (ML) and greedy detectors. Finally, it has been demonstrated by Monte Carlo simulation that while B-DNN achieved a bit error rate (BER) performance close to that of ML, it gave better results than the Greedy detector.Comment: Accepted to be published in GlobeComm 2023 Worksho

Karakterizacija svježeg sira tipa Quark proizvedenog od mješavine mlijeka bivolice i kravljeg mlijeka

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the potential application of buffalo milk in the production of Quark-like cheese enriched with probiotic cultures of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus. Compositional, physicochemical, textural, aromatic, and sensory attributes of the cheese samples prepared using different ratios of buffalo milk and cow milk were investigated. The results revealed significant differences among the analysed cheese samples with respect to the dry matter, fat and protein content. The cheese samples prepared using only buffalo milk had the highest contents of dry matter, fat, and protein compared to the cheese samples prepared using only cow milk. Titratable acidity of the cheese samples was in the range of 0.91 to 1.52 (lactic acid %), while the water-soluble nitrogen content varied between 7.88% and 11.22% during storage. Increasing the proportion of cow milk in cheese caused an increase in the L* and Hue colour values. The cheese samples prepared from buffalo milk showed the highest value for hardness, while the lowest hardness value was observed for cheese samples prepared using cow milk. All cheese samples had higher levels of acetic acid, butanoic acid, 3-methyl butanoic acid, and hexanoic acid compared to other volatile compounds. L. acidophilus and L. rhamnosus counts during storage were in the range of 9.02-9.18 log CFU/g and 9.12-9.30 log CFU/g, respectively. The sour taste was determined to be dominant in all cheese samples, followed by the sweet taste. Creamy, cooked, and fermented flavours were the most prominent flavours in all cheese samples.Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitati mogućnost primjene mlijeka bivolice u proizvodnji svježeg sira tipa Quark obogaćenog dodatkom probiotičkih sojeva Lactobacillus acidophilus i Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus. Pritom su proizvedeni uzorci sira od mješavine mlijeka bivolice i kravljeg mlijeka u različitim omjerima te je određen sastav, fizikalno-kemijska i senzorska svojstva, parametri teksture i aromatski profil. Iz dobivenih rezultata vidljive su značajne razlike među proizvedenim uzorcima sireva s obzirom na udio suhe tvari, mliječne masti i proteina. Uzorci sireva koji su proizvedeni isključivo od mlijeka bivolice imali su veći udio suhe tvari i proteina u usporedbi sa uzorcima proizvedenim isključivo od kravljeg mlijeka. Titracijska kiselost sireva kretala se u rasponu od 0,91 do 1,52 % mliječne kiseline, dok je udio topljivog dušika iznosio između 7,88 % i 11.22 % tijekom skladištenja. Povećanjem udjela kravljeg mlijeka rasle su i L* i Hue vrijednosti prilikom određivanja parametara boje. Određivanje parametara teksture pokazalo je kako su uzorci sireva proizvedeni isključivo od mlijeka bivolice bili najtvrđi, dok je suprotno utvrđeno za sireve proizvedene isključivo od kravljeg mlijeka. Najzastupljeniji hlapljivi aromatski spojevi u svim uzorcima bili su octena, butanska, 3-metil butanska i heksanska kiselina. Broj živih stanica probiotičkih sojeva L. acidophilus i L. rhamnosus tijekom skladištenja kretao se u rasponu 9,02-9,18 log CFU/g odnosno 9,12-9,30 log CFU/g. Senzorskom je analizom utvrđeno da su prije svega kiselo, a onda i slatko dominantni okusi u svim uzorcima sira. Osim toga, dominantnim su se također pokazale arome koje asociraju na kremasto, kuhano i fermentirano

Microscopic and molecular detection of Nosema spp. in honeybees of Turkey

International audienceAbstractIn this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence of Nosema spp. in honeybees of Turkey. For this aim, adult honeybee (Apis mellifera) samples were collected from 1621 colonies within 95 apiaries located in 22 provinces of Turkey. Samples were examined microscopically. In case of positivity, spore identification was done by multiplex PCR. At the end of microscopic examination, Nosema spp. spores were detected in 7 out of 22 provinces (31.8 %), and 16 out of 95 colonies (16.8 %) that represent 1621 colonies. According to PCR results, 1 out of 16 isolates (6.25 %) was Nosema apis, and 15 out of 16 isolates (93.75 %) were Nosema ceranae. The result of our study indicated that N.ceranae is the dominant species in Turkey

MDP based Decision Support for Earthquake Damaged Distribution System Restoration

As the society becomes more dependent on the presence of electricity, the resilience of the power systems gains more importance. This paper develops a decision support method for distribution system operators to restore electricity after an earthquake to the maximum number of customers in the minimum expected duration. The proposed method employs Markov Decision Process (MDP) to determine the optimal restoration scheme. In order to determine the probability of the field component damage due to the earthquake, the Probability of Failure ($P_f$) of structures are calculated using the Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) values recorded by observatories and earthquake research centers during the earthquake