TheiaVision: ultrasonic glasses for people with visual impairment

There are a lot of people living in the world, whose eyesight is either very poor or who cannot see at all. People with visual impairment have a wide variety of tools and other resources available to them. The exact choice depends on the specific needs and vision remainder of the individual. However, most of these devices have some form of disadvantage to them, whether it is high price or the fact that they are mostly seer-oriented, with only some applications to expand their capabilities to also make them helpful to the blind and visually impaired community. TheiaVision is a system that was developed in the course of this thesis, which actively monitors the immediate surroundings of the individual with the help of ultrasonic sensors. Based on the measurements obtained, the system warns the user of obstacles that are in a too close proximity, thus helping people with vision disorders navigate the environment a bit easier. The system can be developed further by adding various features, such as GPS navigation and voice commands, to further simplify the life of the user

Towards Proactive Mobility-Aware Fog Computing

Paljude värkvõrk- ja ärirakenduste tavapäraseks osaks on sõltuvus kaugete pilveteenuste poolt pakutavast andmetöötlusvõimekusest. Arvestatav hulk seesugustest rakendustest koguvad andmeid mitmetelt ümbritsevatelt heterogeensetelt seadmetelt, et pakkuda reaalajal põhinevaid teenuseid oma kasutajatele. Taolise lahenduse negatiivseks küljeks on aga kõrge viiteaeg, mis muutub eriti problemaatiliseks, kui vastava rakenduse efektiivne töö on väleda vastuse saamisega otseses sõltuvuses. Taolise olukorra puhul on viiteaja vähendamiseks välja pakutud uduandmetöötlusel põhinev arhitektuur, mis kujutab endast arvutusmahukate andmetöötlusühikute jaotamist andmeallikate ja lõppkasutajatele lähedal asuvatele arvutusseadmetele. Vaatamata sellele, et uduandmetöötlusel põhinev arhitektuur on paljutõotav, toob see kaasa uusi väljakutseid seoses kvaliteetse uduandmetöötlusteenuse pakkumisega mobiilsetele kasutajatele. Käesolev magistritöö käsitleb proaktiivset lähenemist uduandmetöötlusele, kasutades selleks lähedalasuvatel kasutajatel baseeruvat mobiilset ad hoc võrgustikku, mis võimaldab uduteenusetuvastust ja juurdepääsu ilma pilveteenuse abi kasutamata. Proaktiivset lähenemist kasutatakse nii teenusetuvastuse ja arvutuse migratsiooni kui ka otsese uduteenuse pakkumise käigus, kiirendades arvutusühikute jaotusprotsessi ning parendadades arvutuste jaotust vastavalt käitusaegsele kontekstiinfole (nt. arvutusseadmete hetkevõimekus). Lisaks uuriti uduarvutuse rakendusviisi mobiilses sotsiaal–silmusvõrgustikus, tehes andmeedastuseks optimaalseima valiku vastavalt kuluefektiivsuse indeksile. Lähtudes katsetest nii päris seadmete kui simulaatoritega, viidi läbi käesoleva magistritöö komponentide kontseptuaalsete prototüüpide testhindamine.A common approach for many Internet of Things (IoT) and business applications is to rely on distant Cloud services for the processing of data. Several of these applications collect data from a multitude of proximity-based ubiquitous resources to provide various real-time services for their users. However, this has the downside of resulting in explicit latency of the result, being especially problematic when the application requires a rapid response in the edge network. Therefore, researchers have proposed the Fog computing architecture that distributes the computational data processing tasks to the edge network nodes located in the vicinity of the data sources and end-users, to reduce the latency. Although the Fog computing architecture is promising, it still faces challenges in many areas, especially when dealing with support for mobile users. Utilizing Fog for real-time mobile applications faces the new challenge of ensuring the seamless accessibility of Fog services on the move. Further, Fog computing also faces a challenge in mobility when the tasks originate from mobile ubiquitous applications in which the data sources are moving objects. In this thesis, a proactive approach for Fog computing is proposed, which supports proactive Fog service discovery and process migration using Mobile Ad hoc Social Network in proximity, enabling Fog-assisted ubiquitous service provisioning in proximity without distant Cloud services. Moreover, a proactive approach is also applied for the Fog service provisioning itself, in order to hasten the task distribution process in Mobile Fog use cases and provide an optimization scheme based on runtime context information. In addition, a case study regarding the usage of Fog Computing for the enhancement of Mobile Mesh Social Network was presented, along with a resource-aware Cost-Performance Index scheme to assist choosing the approach to be used for transmission of data. The proposed elements have been evaluated by utilizing a combination of real devices and simulators in order to provide proof-of-concept

GaN Nanopore Arrays: Fabrication and Characterization

GaN nanopore arrays with pore diameters of approximately 75 nm were fabricated by inductively coupled plasma etching (ICP) using anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) films as etch masks. Nanoporous AAO films were formed on the GaN surface by evaporating an Al film onto a GaN epilayer and subsequently anodizing the aluminum. To minimize plasma-induced damage, the template was exposed to CF4-based plasma conditions. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis shows that the diameter and the periodicity of the nanopores in the GaN were directly transferred from the original anodic alumina template. The pore diameter in the AAO film can be easily controlled by tuning the anodization conditions. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), photoluminescence (PL) and micro-Raman techniques were employed to assess the quality of the etched GaN nanopore surface. Such a cost-effective method to produce nano-patterned GaN template would be useful for growth and fabrication of III-Nitrides based nanostructures and photonic band gap materials.Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA

GaN Based Nanomaterials Fabrication with Anodic Aluminium Oxide by MOCVD

A highly self-ordered hexagonal array of cylindrical pores has been fabricated by anodizing a thin film of Al on substrate and subsequent growth of GaN and InGaN in these nanoholes has been performed. This AAO template-based synthesis method provides a low cost process to fabricate GaN-based nanomaterials fabrication.Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA

Risk Factors of Voiding Dysfunction and Patient Satisfaction After Tension-free Vaginal Tape Procedure

This study was undertaken to identify risk factors for postoperative voiding dysfunction and factors having impact on patient global satisfaction after a tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) procedure. Two hundred and eighty-five women who underwent the TVT procedure for stress urinary incontinence were analyzed to identify risk factors predictive of voiding dysfunction. Postoperative voiding dysfunction was defined as a peak urinary flow rate (PFR) <10 mL/sec (straining voiding, n=17) or residual urine volume >30% of bladder capacity (incomplete emptying, n=13). The global satisfaction rate was 91.6%. Voiding dysfunction developed in 29 (10.2%) patients. Among the factors, PFR was only factor of significance for voiding dysfunction. There was no significant difference between patients with and without voiding dysfunction in terms of their satisfaction. But postoperative PFR <10 mL/sec significantly compromised global satisfaction after the surgery. In those patients with a preoperative PFR <20 mL/sec, there were more patients with postoperative PFR <10 mL/sec. Peak urinary flow rate is an important factor for the postoperative voiding dysfunction. The inevitable decline in PFR can compromise patients' satisfaction with the procedure, when their postoperative PFR was <10 mL/sec

Targeted genome engineering via zinc finger nucleases

With the development of next-generation sequencing technology, ever-expanding databases of genetic information from various organisms are available to researchers. However, our ability to study the biological meaning of genetic information and to apply our genetic knowledge to produce genetically modified crops and animals is limited, largely due to the lack of molecular tools to manipulate genomes. Recently, targeted cleavage of the genome using engineered DNA scissors called zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) has successfully supported the precise manipulation of genetic information in various cells, animals, and plants. In this review, we will discuss the development and applications of ZFN technology for genome engineering and highlight recent reports on its use in plants