A Suboptimal Receiver with Turbo Block Coding for Ultra-Wideband Communications

In this paper, the performance of adaptive equalization and turbo product coding is investigated for pulse-based UWB communications in short-range indoor environments. The sensitivity of adaptive LMS linear and nonlinear (decision-feedback) equalizers with respect to the number of training symbols and number of taps is considered. To reduce the error performance variation with respect to changing channel conditions, a turbo product code (TPC) with two component (31,26,3) Hamming codes is proposed. We report simulation results showing that channel coding not only improves error performance, but also reduces significantly the sensitivity of UWB systems in short-range indoor wireless communications

En la tierra de Irás y no volverás... : using Spanish-language folktales as a foundation for lasting biliteracy

Many dual language teachers struggle to find the Spanish-language resources they need to foster true biliteracy. This project begins to address this problem by offering an annotated bibliography of some appropriate Spanish language literature for the dual language classroom. It also includes a rationale and bibliography and provides suggestions for using the texts to teach students to identify the literary theme and to analyze the language structures used

A Model for Blue Crab Population in the Chesapeake Bay

We model the population of the Blue Crab in the Chesapeake Bay by using differential equations. Blue crabs are inherently cannibalistic of juveniles, while also in competition with juvenile blue crabs for resources. These differential equations describe the intraguild predation consistent in the blue crab food web, as well as the cannibalistic nature of the blue crab. We introduce an aging and birth rate to alter an intraguild predation model to fit the cannibalistic nature

STABILIZATION OF UPLAND RICE PRODUCTION UNDER SHORTENED FALLOW IN WEST AFRICA: RESEARCH PRIORITY SETTING IN A DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC CLIMATE

This paper presents a dynamic model of land resource degradation and shifting rice cultivation in West Africa based upon Boserup and Dvorak. The model indicates the ex ante impact of research strategies to maximize the economic benefits of host plant resistance and land resource management and thereby stabilize yield decline and reduce land degradation.Land Economics/Use, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Extracting Radial Velocities of A- and B-type Stars from Echelle Spectrograph Calibration Spectra

We present a technique to extract radial velocity measurements from echelle spectrograph observations of rapidly rotating stars ($V\sin{i} \gtrsim 50$ km s$^{-1}$). This type of measurement is difficult because the line widths of such stars are often comparable to the width of a single echelle order. To compensate for the scarcity of lines and Doppler information content, we have developed a process that forward-models the observations, fitting the radial velocity shift of the star for all echelle orders simultaneously with the echelle blaze function. We use our technique to extract radial velocity measurements from a sample of rapidly rotating A- and B-type stars used as calibrator stars observed by the California Planet Survey observations. We measure absolute radial velocities with a precision ranging from 0.5-2.0 km s$^{-1}$ per epoch for more than 100 A- and B-type stars. In our sample of 10 well-sampled stars with radial velocity scatter in excess of their measurement uncertainties, three of these are single-lined binaries with long observational baselines. From this subsample, we present detections of two previously unknown spectroscopic binaries and one known astrometric system. Our technique will be useful in measuring or placing upper limits on the masses of sub-stellar companions discovered by wide-field transit surveys, and conducting future spectroscopic binarity surveys and Galactic space-motion studies of massive and/or young, rapidly-rotating stars.Comment: Accepted to ApJ

Digital urban nature

Within policy and research debates on the smart city, the urban environment has become an arena of contestation. Claims that digitalisation will render the city more resource-efficient are countered by criticism of the tensions between smart and sustainability practices. Little attention has been paid, however, to the role of nature in digitally mediated urban environments. The flora, fauna and habitats of a city are a void in research and policy on digital urbanism. This paper provides one of the first conceptually grounded, empirical studies of ‘digital urban nature’ in practice. Taking the empirical example of Berlin, the paper demonstrates how a single city can spawn a rich variety of digital nature schemes, develops from this a typology to guide future research and analyses two schemes in depth to illustrate the aspirations and limitations of digital technologies targeting urban nature. The empirical findings are interpreted by bringing into dialogue pertinent strands of urban research: first, between smart environments and urban nature to explore ways of representing nature through digital technologies and, second, between digital and urban commons to interpret changes in the collective and individual use of urban nature. The paper reveals that digital platforms and apps are creating new ways of seeing and experiencing nature in the city, but often cling to conventional, anthropocentric notions of urban nature, with sometimes detrimental effects. More broadly, it suggests that exploring practices of digitalisation beyond the remit of conventional smart city policy can enrich scholarship on digitally mediated human-nature relations in the city.Peer Reviewe

The Effects of "Flipped Classroom" Concept on the Effectiveness of Teaching

A lesson study project is carried out to examine various teaching methodologies on the students’ learning through support from the Office of Professional and Instructional Development (OPID) of University of Wisconsin System. The study involves a diverse body of faculty and students affiliated with three different programs on campus. One of the methodologies of interest is the “flipped classroom” concept in the teaching community. In this work, flipped classroom activities are conducted in teaching one engineering and technology course titled with “Fundamentals of Plastics Materials and Processing” (MFGT‐251). Particularly, the concept is incorporated in two series of lectures on injection molding, blow molding and thermoforming. Student’s performance is evaluated through laboratory assignments, quizzes, and exams. Results on students’ learning and the feedbacks from the students are presented. The implication of the results will also be discussed

Suing an Electronic Address: In Rem Domain Name Actions Under the ACPA

The following Article briefly examines the legal tools originally available to trademark owners (under federal law and an alternate dispute resolution procedure) and the deficiencies of each tool in anti-cybersquatting litigation. This Article presents an overview of the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) and examines how it addresses some of the failures of prior legal tools, with particular emphasis on the ACPA\u27s in rem jurisdiction provision

Bilevel Clique Interdiction and Related Problems

I introduce a formulation of the bilevel clique interdiction problem. Interdiction, a military term, describes the removal of enemy resources. The single level clique interdiction problem describes the attempt of an attacker to interdict a maximum number of cliques. The bilevel form of the problem introduces a defender who attempts to minimize the number of cliques interdicted by the attacker. An algorithm and formulation for the bilevel clique interdiction problem has not previously been investigated. I start by introducing a formulation and a column-generation algorithm to solve the problem of bilevel interdiction of a minimum clique transversal and move forward to the creation of a delayed row-and-column generation algorithm for bilevel clique interdiction. Next, I introduce a formulation and algorithm to solve the bilevel interdiction of a maximum stable set problem. Bilevel interdiction of a maximum stable set is choosing a maximum stable set, but with a defender who is attempting to minimize the maximum stable set that can be chosen by the interdictor. I introduce a deterministic formulation and a delayed column generation algorithm. Additionally, I introduce a stochastic formulation of the problem. I solve this problem using a cross-decomposition method that involves L-shaped cuts into a master problem as well as new ``clique" cuts for the inner problem. Lastly, I define new classes of valid inequalities and facets for the clique transversal polytope. The valid inequalities come from two graph structures who have a closed form for their vertex cover number, which we use as a specific case for finding a minimum clique transversal. The first class of facets are just the maximal clique constraints of the clique transversal polytope. The next class contains an odd hole with distinct cliques on each edge of the hole. Another similar class contains an odd clique with distinct maximal cliques on the edges of one of its spanning cycles. The fourth class contains a clique with distinct maximal cliques on every edge of the initial clique, while the last class is a prism graph with distinct maximal cliques on every edge of the prism