Accurate vehicle classification including motorcycles using piezoelectric sensors

Thesis (M.S. ECE)--University of Oklahoma, 2012.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-90).State and federal departments of transportation are charged with classifying vehicles and monitoring mileage traveled. Accurate data reporting enables suitable roadway design for safety and capacity. Vehicle classifier devices currently employ inductive loops, piezoelectric sensors, or some combination of both, to aid in the identification of 13 Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) classifications. However, systems using inductive loops have proven unable to accurately classify motorcycles and record pertinent data. Previous investigations undertaken to overcome this problem have focused on classification techniques utilizing inductive loops signal output, magnetic sensor output with neural networks, or the fusion of several sensor outputs. Most were off-line classification studies with results not directly intended for product development. Vision, infrared, and acoustic classification systems among others have also been explored as possible solutions. This thesis presents a novel vehicle classification setup that uses a single piezoelectric sensor placed diagonally on the roadway to accurately identify motorcycles from among other vehicles, as well as identify vehicles in the remaining 12 FHWA classifications. An algorithm was formulated and deployed in an embedded system for field testing. Both single element and multi-element piezoelectric sensors were investigated for use as part of the vehicle classification system. The piezoelectric sensors and vehicle classification system reported in this thesis were subsequently tested at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa campus. Various vehicle types traveling at limited vehicle speeds were investigated. The newly developed vehicle classification system demonstrated results that met expectation for accurately identifying motorcycles

TOWARD ENHANCED WIRELESS COEXISTENCE IN THE 2.4GHZ ISM BAND VIA TEMPORAL CHARACTERIZATION AND EMPIRICAL MODELING OF 802.11B/G/N NETWORKS A DISSERTATION

This dissertation presents an extensive experimental characterization and empirical modelling of 802.11 temporal behavior. A detailed characterization of 802.11b/g/n homogeneous and heterogeneous network traffic patterns is featured, including idle time distribution and channel utilization. Duty cycle serves as a measure for spectrum busyness. Higher duty cycle levels directly impact transceivers using the spectrum, which either refrain from transmission or suffer from increased errors. Duty cycle results are provided for 802.11b, g and n Wi-Fi technologies at various throughput levels. Lower values are observed for 802.11b and g networks. Spectrum occupancy measurements are essential for wireless networks planning and deployment. Detailed characterization of 802.11g/n homogeneous and heterogeneous network traffic patterns, including activity and idle time distribution are presented. Distributions were obtained from time domain measurements and represent time fragment distributions for active and inactive periods during a specific test. This information can assist other wireless technologies in using the crowded ISM band more efficiently and achieve enhanced wireless coexistence. Empirical models of 802.11 networks in the 2.4 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band are also presented. This information can assist other wireless technologies aiming to utilize the crowded ISM band more efficiently and achieve enhanced wireless coexistence. In this work models are derived for both homogeneous and heterogeneous 802.11 network idle time distribution. Additionally, two applications of 802.11 networks temporal characterization are presented. The first application investigates a novel method for identifying wireless technologies through the use of simple energy detection techniques to measure the channel temporal characteristics including activity and idle time probability distributions. In this work, a wireless technology identification algorithm was assessed experimentally. Temporal traffic pattern for 802.11b/g/n homogeneous and heterogeneous networks were measured and used as algorithm input. Identification accuracies of up to 96.83% and 85.9% are achieved for homogeneous and heterogeneous networks, respectively. The second application provides a case study using 802.15.4 ZigBee transmitter packet size on-line adjustments is also presented. Packet size is adaptively modified based on channel idle time distribution obtained using simple channel power measurements. Results demonstrate improved ZigBee performance and significant enhancement in throughput as a result of using adaptive packet size transmissions

DSRC Versus LTE-V2X: Empirical Performance Analysis of Direct Vehicular Communication Technologies

Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication systems have an eminence potential to improve road safety and optimize traffic flow by broadcasting Basic Safety Messages (BSMs). Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC) and LTE Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) are two candidate technologies to enable V2V communication. DSRC relies on the IEEE 802.11p standard for its PHY and MAC layer while LTE-V2X is based on 3GPP’s Release 14 and operates in a distributed manner in the absence of cellular infrastructure. There has been considerable debate over the relative advantages and disadvantages of DSRC and LTE-V2X, aiming to answer the fundamental question of which technology is most effective in real-world scenarios for various road safety and traffic efficiency applications. In this paper, we present a comprehensive survey of these two technologies (i.e., DSRC and LTE-V2X) and related works. More specifically, we study the PHY and MAC layer of both technologies in the survey study and compare the PHY layer performance using a variety of field tests. First, we provide a summary of each technology and highlight the limitations of each in supporting V2X applications. Then, we examine their performance based on different metrics

Pardon for Al-Yasir according to the Shafi’is in Prayer

The research aims to clarify the simple matters that occur in the prayer that the Islamic religion pardons, through the Shafi’i jurisprudence, which independently came into existence, and extracting it from among the papers and lines of books, searching for it according to Sharia and making. It is a comparative jurisprudence study. The study examines the ruling on small movements during the prayers, and the ruling on pardoning a few words inadvertently in the prayer. Then the research concluded with a set of results and recommendations

Pardon for Al-Yasir according to the Shafi’is in Worship

The research summarizes the amnesty for the easy according to the Shari’s in the chapter on worship, a comparative jurisprudential study in which I spoke in the first section about the meaning of forgiveness and the easy in the language and idiomatically, and in the second topic I talked about the forgiveness of the easy when the Shari’s in the section of worship and divided into two main demands, then concluded the research with a set of results. and recommendations

Experimental assessment of wireless coexistence for 802.15.4 in the presence of 802.11g/n

AbstractWireless coexistence is a growing concern, giventhe ubiquity of wireless technology. Although IEEE Standardshave started to address this problem in an analytical framework,a standard experimental setup and process to evaluate wirelesscoexistence is lacking. Literature that reports experimentalassessment of wireless coexistence places little emphasis onseparation distance of wireless nodes under test or the spectrumoccupancy of the interfering network, making comparisonsdifficult. This paper provides an extensive literature survey of802.15.4 and 802.11 b/g/n wireless coexistence and demonstratesthat in a higher wireless channel occupancy environment, ZigBeecoexists with 802.11n better than with 802.11g. A reproducible,versatile, and practical test setup is presented to serve as astarting point toward establishing standard practice for wirelesscoexistence testing of wireless systems in general and wirelessmedical devices in particular. Experimental evaluationsdemonstrated consistency with results reported in the literatur

Surgical Outcomes of Thyroid Nodules Positive for Gene Expression Alterations Using ThyroSeq V3 Genomic Classifier

ThyroSeq V3 (TsV3) tests for various genetic alterations, including gene expression alterations (GEAs), to improve diagnostic accuracy and clinical decision-making for indeterminate thyroid nodules. This study aimed to clarify the clinico-pathological features and outcomes of GEA-positive thyroid nodules, which have not yet been well-described in the literature. A retrospective chart review was performed whereby patients were included if they underwent thyroid surgery between January 2018 and May 2022 at two McGill University teaching hospitals and their surgery was preceded by pre-operative molecular TsV3 testing. In total, 75 of the 328 patients with thyroid nodules (22.9%) who underwent molecular testing and surgery were GEA-positive. On surgical pathology, GEA-positive nodules showed a significantly higher malignancy rate compared to their GEA-negative counterparts (90.7% vs. 77.7%, respectively, p = 0.011). Among those that were malignant, 48.5% had at least one aggressive pathological feature, including histological subtype, extra-thyroidal extension, or lymph node metastasis. BRAF V600E mutation had a significantly greater association with aggressive malignant GEA-positive nodules compared to non-aggressive ones (p < 0.001). This study demonstrates that GEA may be an effective diagnostic and prognostic tool for thyroid nodule management. However, further investigation is needed to characterize the clinico-pathological features of GEA in isolation and in association with other gene alterations

Creating an automated and emulated 802.11g wireless interfering network for wireless coexistence testing

Abstrack Although the proliferation of wireless medical devices is mounting-partially due to benefits of wireless technology-associated risks must be evaluated. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is asking medical device manufacturers to quantify these by testing their wireless medical devices for coexistence. This can be a tedious and complicated chore. To streamline the process and to disseminate information about wireless coexistence testing, we are undertaking the task of automating the process. One of the most difficult steps in coexistence testing is setting up an interfering network. A major source of interference in the 2.4 GHz ISM band is Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n). This paper informs about tools developed to accurately characterize 802.11g and then emulate an 802.11g access point. Our previous work has shown that by employing a similar period and duty cycle, a signal generator can emulate an interfering 802.11g wireless network during wireless coexistence; however, the outcome performance of the wireless network under test is drastically different. An emulated interfering network must mimic channel characteristics of an actual network, as well as its influence on the wireless network under test. In response to previous findings, we performed wireless coexistence testing and compared the influence of an actual 802.11g wireless network with an emulated interfering 802.11g wireless network. A ZigBee network acted as the wireless network under test.6 Halama

Surgical Outcomes of Thyroid Nodules Positive for Gene Expression Alterations Using ThyroSeq V3 Genomic Classifier

ThyroSeq V3 (TsV3) tests for various genetic alterations, including gene expression alterations (GEAs), to improve diagnostic accuracy and clinical decision-making for indeterminate thyroid nodules. This study aimed to clarify the clinico-pathological features and outcomes of GEA-positive thyroid nodules, which have not yet been well-described in the literature. A retrospective chart review was performed whereby patients were included if they underwent thyroid surgery between January 2018 and May 2022 at two McGill University teaching hospitals and their surgery was preceded by pre-operative molecular TsV3 testing. In total, 75 of the 328 patients with thyroid nodules (22.9%) who underwent molecular testing and surgery were GEA-positive. On surgical pathology, GEA-positive nodules showed a significantly higher malignancy rate compared to their GEA-negative counterparts (90.7% vs. 77.7%, respectively, p = 0.011). Among those that were malignant, 48.5% had at least one aggressive pathological feature, including histological subtype, extra-thyroidal extension, or lymph node metastasis. BRAF V600E mutation had a significantly greater association with aggressive malignant GEA-positive nodules compared to non-aggressive ones (p < 0.001). This study demonstrates that GEA may be an effective diagnostic and prognostic tool for thyroid nodule management. However, further investigation is needed to characterize the clinico-pathological features of GEA in isolation and in association with other gene alterations