Cognitive amplify-and-forward relay networks with beamforming under primary user power constraint over Nakagami-m fading channels

In this paper, we analyze the performance of cognitive amplify-and-forward (AF) relay networks with beamforming under the peak interference power constraint of the primary user (PU). We focus on the scenario that beamforming is applied at the multi-antenna secondary transmitter and receiver. Also, the secondary relay network operates in channel state information-assisted AF mode, and the signals undergo independent Nakagami-m fading. In particular, closed-form expressions for the outage probability and symbol error rate (SER) of the considered network over Nakagami-m fading are presented. More importantly, asymptotic closed-form expressions for the outage probability and SER are derived. These tractable closed-form expressions for the network performance readily enable us to evaluate and examine the impact of network parameters on the system performance. Specifically, the impact of the number of antennas, the fading severity parameters, the channel mean powers, and the peak interference power is addressed. The asymptotic analysis manifests that the peak interference power constraint imposed on the secondary relay network has no effect on the diversity gain. However, the coding gain is affected by the fading parameters of the links from the primary receiver to the secondary relay network

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms.

Genetic studies of body mass index yield new insights for obesity biology

Obesity is heritable and predisposes to many diseases. To understand the genetic basis of obesity better, here we conduct a genome-wide association study and Metabochip meta-analysis of body mass index (BMI), a measure commonly used to define obesity and assess adiposity, in up to 339,224 individuals. This analysis identifies 97 BMI-associated loci (P < 5 × 10(-8)), 56 of which are novel. Five loci demonstrate clear evidence of several independent association signals, and many loci have significant effects on other metabolic phenotypes. The 97 loci account for ∼2.7% of BMI variation, and genome-wide estimates suggest that common variation accounts for >20% of BMI variation. Pathway analyses provide strong support for a role of the central nervous system in obesity susceptibility and implicate new genes and pathways, including those related to synaptic function, glutamate signalling, insulin secretion/action, energy metabolism, lipid biology and adipogenesis.

Dublin’s ephemeral and imaginary architectures

In 1989, the Irish architectural practice O’Donnell and Tuomey were commissioned to build a temporary pavilion to represent Ireland at the 11 Cities/11 Nations exhibition at Leeuwarden in the Netherlands. Citing Peter Smithson, John Tuomey suggested the pavilion, which drew inspirations from the forms and materials of the modern Irish barn, embodied an intention ‘not just to build but to communicate’. Its subsequent reassembly for the inauguration of the Irish Museum of Modern Art in the courtyard of the seventeenth-century Royal Hospital Kilmainham in Dublin in 1991, drew comparisons between the urban sophistication of this colonial building, its svelte new refit, and the rural expression of O’Donnell + Tuomey’s barn. It was, one critic recently noted, as if ‘a wedding had been crashed by a country cousin who had forgotten to clean his boots’.
It has been argued that temporary or ephemeral pieces of architecture, unburdened by the traditional constraints of firmitas or utilitas, have the ability to offer a concise distillation of meaning and intention. Approaching the qualities of rhetoric, such architectures share similarities with the monument and yet differ in fundamental ways. Their rapid construction in lightweight materials can allow for an almost instantaneous negotiation of zeitgeist. And, unlike the monument, from the outset the space and form of these installations is designed to disappear.
This paper analyses the ephemeral architectures of Dublin in the modern period contextualising their qualities and intentions as they manifest themselves across colonial, post-colonial and contemporary epochs. It finds origins in the theatrical sets of the late eighteenth century and traces their movements into the semi-public sphere of the pleasure garden and finally into the theatre of the streets. It is here that temporary architecture in the city has been at its most potent, allowing the amplification or subversion of the meanings of much larger spaces. Historically, much of Dublin’s most conspicuous instances of ephemeral architecture have been realised as a means of articulating mass spectacle in political, religious or nationalistic events. And while much of this has sought to confirm dominant ideologies, it has also been possible to discern moments of opposition.
The contemporary period, however, has arguably witnessed a shift in ephemeral architectures from explicitly representing ‘positive ideologies’ towards something more oblique or nebulous. This turn towards abstraction in form and space has rendered an especially communicative form of architecture particularly elusive. By examining continuities within the apparent disjuncture between historical and contemporary examples, this paper begins to unpick the language of recent ephemeral architecture in Dublin and situate it within wider global trends where political and economic imperatives are often simultaneously obscured and expressed in public space by a vocabulary of universality. As Jurgen Habermas has suggested, the contemporary value given to the transitory and the ephemeral ‘discloses a longing for an undefiled, immaculate and stable present’.

Dissection of the early steps in the assembly of the 20S proteasome in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Tese de dout., Bioquímica (Biologia Celular e Molecular), Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Univ. do Algarve, 2010

Evaluation an der FH Bund - Konzepte und Ergebnisse aus den Fachbereichen

Dulisch, Linssen und Reiter (2001) legten ein umfassendes Evaluationskonzept für die FH Bund vor. In den zehn Fachbereichen und im Zentralbereich der FH Bund erfolgt/e eine Diskussion, Modifikation und konkrete Anpassung an die Belange vor Ort. Dieser Prozess wurde in einer Evaluationtagung an der FH Bund im Juni 2003 gebündelt. Die Tagung zeigte, dass alle Fachbereiche und der Zentralbereich Fortschritte machen, wenn auch in unterschiedlichem Tempo. Dieser Band dokumentiert den Status Quo der Evaluation in den Fachbereichen und dem Zentralbereich und folgt damit § 6 Hochschulrahmengesetz (HRG), wonach die Arbeit der Hochschulen bewertet und das Ergebnis der Bewertung veröffentlicht werden soll. Inhaltsübersicht: - Evaluation an Fachhochschulen - Überblick - Empfehlungen des Benchmarking Clubs - Evaluationstagung der FH Bund 2003 - Zentralbereich - Allgemeine und Innere Verwaltung - Arbeitsverwaltung - Auswärtige Angelegenheiten - Bundesgrenzschutz - Bundeswehrverwaltung - Finanzen - Landwirtschaftliche Sozialversicherung - Öffentliche Sicherheit - Gesamtkonzept - Öffentliche Sicherheit - Abteilung Kriminalpolizei - Sozialversicherung - Wetterdienst

Modellierung und Analyse lastinduzierter Speicherfehler

Ein sehr großer Anteil der in Rechensystemen auftretenden Fehler ereignet sich im Speicher. In dieser Arbeit wird ein zerlegungsorientiertes Modell entwickelt, das die Wechselwirkungen zwischen Speicherfehlern und Systemleistung untersucht. Zunächst wird das Speicherverhalten eines Auftrags durch ein mehrphasiges Independent-Reference-Modell charakterisiert. Dies dient als Grundlage eines Modells zum Auftreten von Störungen, in das Lastcharakteristika wie die Auftrags-Verweildauer, die Seitenzugriffs-Rate und die Paging-Rate eingehen. Anschließend kann die Wahrscheinlichkeit, mit der ein Speicherfehler entdeckt wird, berechnet werden. Die zur Behandlung von Speicherfehlern erforderlichen Maßnahmen bestimmen die mittlere durch Fehler induzierte Last. Die Wechselwirkungen zwischen Fehler- und Leistungsverhalten werden durch ein System nichtlinearer Gleichung beschrieben, für dessen Lösung ein iteratives Verfahren abgeleitet wird. Abschließend wird mit ausführlichen Beispielen das Modell erläutert und der Einfluß einiger Modell-Parameter auf Leistungs- und Zuverlässigkeitskenngrößen untersucht.

Speicher- und Prozessverwaltung

Das Kapitel (aus dem Buch "Mikrorechner-Systeme : Mikroprozessoren, Speicher, Peripherie", siehe Quelle) behandelt verschiedene Konzepte der Speicherverwaltung und stellt Bausteine vor, die diese Verwaltung hardwaremäßig durchführen. Außerdem werden verschiedene Maßnahmen zur Hardware-Unterstützung von Mikroprozessor-Betriebssystemen beschrieben.

Leitfaden zur strukturierten Anhörung von Kindern im forensischen Kontext

Der Leitfaden dient als Wegweiser für eine strukturierte Anhörung von Kindern im Alter von drei bis 14 Jahren im forensischen Kontext. Ziel soll es sein, kindgerecht möglichst umfangreiche und zuverlässige Informationen zu erhalten. Er gliedert sich in 1) Beispielformulierungen und prägnante Informationen sowie Erklärungen zur praktischen Befragung von Kindern, die in Form von einzelnen, aufeinanderfolgenden Karten präsentiert werden und 2) einen theoretischen Teil, der entwicklungspsychologische Aspekte, rechtliche Rahmenbedingungen, sowie Lösungsansätze für häufig aufkommende Fragen und Probleme bei der Anhörung von Kindern beinhaltet. Die Karten folgen dem typischen Verlauf einer strukturierten Anhörung: Belehrung, Themenneutrales Training zur Befragung, Tatrelevante Anhörung, Verständnisfragen. Sie können am Bildschirm eingeblendet, oder in ausgedruckter Form verwendet werden. Zu jeder Karte finden sich entsprechende Erklärungen zur Vertiefung. Der gesamte Leitfaden orientiert sich an neuesten wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnissen aus dem Bereich der Vernehmungs‐ und Entwicklungspsychologie sowie an relevanten gesetzlichen Grundlagen. Er eignet sich für Polizeibeamte, Richter, Staatsanwälte, Anwälte, forensische Gutachter und andere Personen, die Befragungen von Kindern im forensischen Kontext durchführen.

O Consenso no Discurso Pedagógico Oficial em Governos Monopartidários e de Coligação

Dissertação apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciências da Educação, na área de especialização em Análise e Intervenção em Educação

The Course of Conflict. A Study in the Thought of Paul Ricoeur

Esta tese leva a cabo uma clarificação conceptual e uma reconstrução histórica da noção de conflito, tal como ela aparece na filosofia. Num primeiro momento, analisa-se o fenómeno do conflito na fonte Grega (em Homero, Heraclito, Platão, nas tragédias gregas e nas formas de interação agonística no espaço público) e na filosofia moderna (principalmente em Kant, Hegel e Marx). Num segundo momento, estabelece-se, nos seus traços gerais, uma cartografia da recuperação desta noção na contemporaneidade através da discussão das contribuições provenientes da teoria crítica (Habermas, Honneth, Hunyadi), da sociologia pragmática (Boltanski, Thévenot) e da filosofia política anglo-saxónica (Rawls, Walzer, Taylor), entre outras. Estas partes iniciais da tese desembocam numa análise aprofundada da obra do filósofo francês Paul Ricoeur e das muitas instanciações do conflito nessa obra, naquilo a que chamo o “percurso do conflito” no pensamento de Ricoeur. Neste “percurso do conflito” o objetivo é duplo: por um lado, provar que o conflito é a pedra de toque não só da filosofia de Ricoeur, mas também de um grande conjunto de outros autores; por outro lado, que é necessário reavaliar o papel desta noção no debate contemporâneo e que nesse contexto a filosofia de Ricoeur e as suas análises finas e plurais podem ser de uma grande utilidade. Assim sendo, este “percurso do conflito” divide-se em três partes, as quais lidam com diferentes tipos de conflito: conflitos “existenciais”, “hermenêuticos” e “práticos”. Ao longo destas partes, várias disciplinas são chamadas à colação, como a hermenêutica, a psicanálise e a filosofia prática (ética, filosofia política e filosofia social), numa tentativa de esclarecer os diferentes fenómenos em causa. Em última instância, chega-se à conclusão que o conflito é inevitável em filosofia, tal como na vida, mas que este não é (pelo menos não em todas as suas formas e instanciações) um fenómeno estritamente negativo; por vezes, os conflitos podem ser criativos e positivos. Porém, aceitar este facto implica igualmente consentir que o reconhecimento dos conflitos está intrinsecamente ligado à busca de soluções para eles, formas de lidar com eles e torná-los criativos e positivos. Para que possa ser compreendido, em traços gerais, como é que estes procedimentos funcionam, esta tese elabora uma tipologia de diferentes tipos de conflito e respetivas formas de lidar com eles, mediando-os, conciliando-os ou, nalguns casos, apenas aceitando a sua existência e mesmo multiplicando-os. A busca da melhor solução tem sempre de ser operada caso a caso. Nas partes finais da tese, e partindo das análises de Ricoeur e dos outro autores apresentadas ao longo da mesma, delineia-se o projeto de uma filosofia social hermenêutica e argumenta-se que aquilo de que precisamos hoje em dia é de uma nova crítica da razão, uma “crítica da razão miserável” que possa repensar o mundo social em novos termos e que, ao fazê-lo, possa evitar os perigos do reducionismo nas suas múltiplas formas.

The association of faculty's teaching philosophy and teaching behaviour, and critical thinking and self- direction in learning

The intent in this study was to investigate in what ways teachers· beliefs about education and teaching are expressed in the specific teaching behaviours they employ, and whether teaching behaviours, as perceived by their students, are correlated with students· critical thinking and self-directed learning. To this end the relationships studied were: among faCUlty members· philosophy of teaching, locus of control orientation, psychological type, and observed teaching behaviour; and among students· psychological type, perceptions of teaching behaviour, self-directed learning readiness, and critical thinking. The overall purpose of the study was to investigate whether the implicit goals of higher education, critical thinking and self-direction, were actually accounted for in the university classroom. The research was set within the context of path-goal theory, adapted from the leadership literature. Within this framework, Mezirow·s work on transformative learning, including the influences of Habermas· writings, was integrated to develop a theoretical perspective upon which to base the research methodology. Both qualitative and quantitative methodologies were incorporated. Four faCUlty and a total of 142 students participated in the study. Philosophy of teaching was described through faCUlty interviews and completion of a repertory grid. Faculty completed a descriptive locus of control scale, and a psychological type test. Observations of their teaching behaviour were conducted. Students completed a Teaching Behaviour Assessment Scale, the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale, a psychological type test, and the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal. A small sample of students were interviewed. Follow-up discussions with faculty were used to validate the interview, observation, teaching behaviour, and repertory grid data. Results indicated that some discrepancies existed between faculty's espoused philosophy of teaching and their observed teaching behaviour. Instructors' teaching behaviour, however, was a function of their personal theory of practice. Relationships were found between perceived teaching behaviour and students· self-directed learning and critical thinking, but these varied across situations, as would be predicted from path-goal theory. Psychological type of students and instructor also accounted for some of the variability in the relationships studied. Student psychological type could be shown as a partial predictor of self-directed learning readiness. The results were discussed in terms of theory development and implications for further research and practice.

Depopulating the Political Sidelines: CBC News Online Forum and Public Spheres in Canada

The subject of the Internet's potential to foster a public sphere has become a growing area of research in the social sciences in the last two decades. My research explores comments made by participants on the CBC News online politics forum during the May 2011 federal election in Canada. Based on conditions proposed by Jurgen Habermas in his concept of the public sphere and operationalized by Lincoln Dahlberg in his pioneering study of the Minnesota e-Democracy listserv, my thesis explores the potential for the CBC News online forum to foster a public sphere for Canadians. While examining the CBC News online forum against the criteria of the public sphere, I also interrogate Habermas' concept of a universal public sphere using the works of Nancy Fraser and other scholars, who argue for multiple public spheres.

Wirklichkeit und Fiktion : Alfred Döblins „Tatsachenphantasie“ in seinem historischen Roman „November 1918“

Thèse réalisée en co-tutelle avec l'Université Libre de Berlin, Institut für Deutsche und Niederländische Philologie