| 1. |
- Ahani, Ghafour
(författare)
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Optimal Scheduling for Timely Information in Communication Systems
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The explosive growth of data in information society poses significant challenges in the timely delivery of information in the context of communication networks. Hence, optimal utilization of scarce network resources is crucial. This dissertation contributes to several aspects related to the timely delivery of information, including scheduling of data flows between sources and destinations in a network, scheduling of content caching in a base station of mobile networks, and scheduling of information collection. Two important metrics, namely, delivery deadline and information freshness, are accounted for. Mathematical models and tailored solution approaches are developed via tools from optimization.Five research papers are included in the dissertation. Paper I studies a flow routing and scheduling problem with delivery deadline. This type of problem arises in many applications such as data exchange in scientific projects or data replication in data centers where large amounts of data need to be timely distributed across the globe. Papers II, III, and IV investigate content caching along time in a base station. Content caching at the network’s edge has recently been considered a costefficient way of providing users with their requested information. In Paper II, the schedule for updating the cache is optimized with respect to the content requests of users and the popularity of contents over time. Paper III, as an extension of Paper II, addresses the question of how to keep the cache information fresh, as all contents can not be updated due to the limited capacity of the backhaul link. The freshness of information is quantified via the notion of age of information (AoI). Paper IV investigates joint optimization of content caching as well as recommendation; the latter contributes to satisfying content requests in case of a cache miss. Paper V studies optimal scheduling of information collection from a set of sensor nodes via an unmanned aerial vehicle. The objective is to keep the overall AoI as small as possible.In these studies, analysis of problem complexity is provided, and timeefficient solution algorithms based on column generation, Lagrangian decomposition, and graph labeling are developed. The algorithms also yield a bound of global optimum, that can be used to assess the performance of any given solution. The effectiveness of the algorithms in obtaining nearoptimal solutions is demonstrated via extensive simulations.
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| 2. |
- Aihara, Aya, 1989-
(författare)
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Aeroacoustic Prediction for Vertical Axis Wind Turbines
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis investigates the aerodynamic and aeroacoustic prediction of vertical axis wind turbines, using computational fluid dynamics simulations. Noise pollution from wind turbines is one of the disadvantages of wind energy, calling for strategies to reduce noise levels. Yet for vertical axis wind turbines in particular, there is insufficient knowledge of how to identify sound sources and mitigate the sound level. The aim of this study is to predict aerodynamic noise, using large eddy simulation and acoustic analogy, so as to better understand the mechanism of sound generation for vertical axis wind turbines. First, the prediction method is validated for a static single blade in stall. This model is able to capture the dominant frequency, but it does not well reproduce the broadband characteristics. Next, the aerodynamic behavior of the 12 kW H-rotor vertical axis wind turbine is studied, whereby the focus is on the importance of properly modeling the strut influence for an accurate prediction of the blade forces. To achieve this, the flow field is solved for three different tip speed ratios. The results show that the struts significantly affect on the force distribution along the blade. The reduction of the blade force is observed to occur not only at the attachment points of the struts, but also over a large area of the blade section in the downwind side where the blade interacts with the wake created in the upwind. Finally, the noise radiated from the vertical axis wind turbine operating at high tip speed ratio is predicted. Measurements are conducted to validate the prediction, with the experimental data representing the broadband noise characteristics dominant at around 800 Hz. The prediction reproduces the sound pressure level observed at a radial distance of 1.4 rotor diameter, with a few decibels difference. However, these discrepancies become more pronounced at double distance, which can be considered to arise due to the effect of the ground reflection being ignored. The simulation furthermore indicates, that the main sound sources are emitted when the blade rotates in the downwind. It is suggested that future work should properly consider the atmospheric turbulence for more accurate predictions.
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| 3. |
- Andersson, Matilda L.
(författare)
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Fish population responses to climate change : Causes and consequences
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Lake environments are heterogeneous, and animals show a variety of adaptations to deal with this heterogeneity. Fish often show intraspecific variation in diet, metabolism, and behavior, corresponding to their habitat use. Studies on climate change often ignore this heterogeneity and its importance in determining population-level responses to climate change. This thesis can be broken into two interacting pieces. First, my goal was to assess how water color and temperature changes impact the size, number, and distribution of a common predator, Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis), in Swedish lakes. Second, I aimed to examine whether metabolism and resource use differed between lake habitats, corresponding with documented patterns of polymorphism and whether diet differences were maintained along a thermal and water color gradient. By combining the information gleaned from these studies, the overarching goal of my thesis is to better understand how climate change will impact fish populations and how intraspecific variance in these responses will impact ecosystem functioning. I found that warming and browning will likely decrease fish biomass but via different mechanisms. Warming reduces average fish size through its impact on metabolism and energy requirements. Browning decreases fish abundance likely due to its negative effects on resource abundance, increasing mortality, and decreasing reproductive effort. Though warming decreases biomass at the lake level, pelagic perch abundance increases. I found that these pelagic perch have higher metabolic rates and, especially in darker lakes, rely heavily on pelagic resources. As more fish shift into the pelagic habitat, this will increase top-down pressure on pelagic resources and decrease energy transfer from littoral to pelagic habitats altering energy flow within lakes. Variation in metabolic phenotype across habitats, combined with the positive scaling of metabolic rates with temperature, will likely determine which fish can persist under climate change scenarios. Studies that measure this variation rely heavily on respirometry to measure fish metabolism. I found that current respirometry methods underestimate maximum metabolic rate and suggest an updated method to improve the accuracy of future studies. Overall, I conclude that habitats should be examined separately to better understand population-level responses to climate change. Perch caught in different habitats have different energy requirements and respond differently to warming and browning. These differences will affect the distribution of top-down pressure and habitat coupling within lake ecosystems, with implications for broader ecosystem functioning in the future.
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| 4. |
- Artemov, Anton G., 1990-
(författare)
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Parallelization of dynamic algorithms for electronic structure calculations
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of electronic structure calculations is to simulate behavior of complex materials by resolving interactions between electrons and nuclei in atoms at the level of quantum mechanics. Progress in the field allows to reduce the computational complexity of the solution methods to linear so that the computational time scales proportionally to the size of the physical system. To solve large scale problems one uses parallel computers and scalable codes. Often the scalability is limited by the data distribution.This thesis focuses on a number of problems arising in electronic structure calculations, such as inverse factorization of Hermitian positive definite matrices, approximate sparse matrix multiplication, and density matrix purification methods. No assumptions are made about the data distribution, instead, it is explored dynamically.The thesis consists of an introduction and five papers. Particularly, in Paper I we present a new theoretical framework for localized matrices with exponential decay of elements. We describe a new localized method for inverse factorization of Hermitian positive definite matrices. We show that it has reduced communication costs compared to other widely used parallel methods. In Paper II we present a parallel implementation of the method within the Chunks and Tasks programming model and do a scalability analysis based on critical path length estimation.We focus on the density matrix purification technique and its core operation, sparse matrix-matrix multiplication, in Papers III and IV. We analyze the sparse approximate matrix multiplication algorithm with the proposed localization framework, add a prior truncation step, and derive the asymptotic behavior of the Frobenius norm of the error. We employ the sparse approximate multiplication algorithm in the density matrix purification process and propose a method to control the error norm by choosing the right truncation threshold value. We present a new version of the Chunks and Tasks matrix library in Paper V. The library functionality and architecture are described and discussed. The efficiency of the library is demonstrated in a few computational experiments.
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| 5. |
- Aziz, Imran
(författare)
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Ultra-wideband Millimeter-wave Antenna Arrays and Front-end Systems : For high data rate 5G and high energy physics applications
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The demand for wireless data communications is rapidly increasing due to several factors including increased internet access, increasingly growing number of mobile users and services, implementation of the Internet of Things (IoT), high-definition (HD) video streaming and video calling. To meet the bandwidth requirement of new and emerging applications, it is necessary to move from the existing microwave bands towards millimeter-wave bands. This thesis presents different antenna arrays at 60 GHz and 28 GHz that are integrated with the front-end RFIC to steer the beam in ≈ ±50° in the azimuth plane. The 5G antenna arrays at 28 GHz are designed to provide broadband high data rate services to the end users. In order to transport this high-volume data to the core network, a fixed wireless access (FWA) link demands the implementation of a broadband, high gain and steerable narrow-beam array. The 60 GHz antenna arrays, presented in this thesis, are good candidates for both FWA as well as backhaul communications. The two proposed arrays at 60 GHz (57-66 GHz) are i) a stacked patches array and ii) a connected slots array feeding a high gain lens antenna. The 2×16 stacked patches antenna array shows more than 20 dBi realized gain. The array is integrated with the front-end RFIC and the resulting module shows > 40 dBm measured effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP). The other 60 GHz antenna array is designed as linear connected slots with sixteen equidistant feeding points. The latest is then used as a feeder of a high gain dielectric lens. Peak measured gain of 25.4 dBi is achieved with this antenna. Moreover, instead of experiencing scan loss, the lens is designed to get higher gain when the beam is steered away from the broadside direction.Furthermore, two compact antenna arrays are designed at 28 GHz (24.25 - 29.50 GHz). A linear polarized (LP) and a circular polarized (CP) array are realized in the fan-out embedded wafer level ball-grid-array (eWLB) package. In comparison with the PCB arrays, this antenna in package (AiP) solution is not only cost-effective but it also reduces the integration losses because of shorter feed lines and no geometrical discontinuity. The LP array is realized as a dipole antenna array feeding a novel horn-shaped heatsink. The RF module gives 34 dBm peak EIRP with beam-steering in ±35°. Besides, the CP antenna array is realized with the help of crossed dipoles and the RF module provides 31 dBm peak EIRP with beam-steering in ±50°.The data demands are not limited to the telecom industry as the upgradation of accelerators and experiments at the large hadron collider (LHC) at CERN will result in increased event rate thus demanding higher data rate front-end readout systems. This work thus investigates the feasibility of 60 GHz wireless links for the data readout at CERN. For this purpose, the 60 GHz wireless chips are irradiated with 17 MeV protons [dose 7.4 Mrad (RX) & 4.2 Mrad (TX)] and 200 MeV electrons [dose 270 Mrad (RX) & 314 Mrad (TX)] in different episodes. The chips have been found operational in the post-irradiation investigations with some performance degradation. The encouraging results motivate to move forward and investigate the realization of wireless links in such a complex environment.
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| 6. |
- Begnini, Fabio
(författare)
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Discovery of Novel Macrocyclic Ligands for Difficult Targets : Applications to Natural Product Derived Keap1 Inhibitors
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The development of small-molecule ligands for biological targets that possess large, featureless or highly polar binding sites is a challenging task. This thesis is focused on a novel lead generation strategy to identify macrocyclic ligands for difficult-to-drug targets, as well as on the relationship between cell permeability and the conformations of macrocycles.A database of natural products was investigated to compile a set of macrocyclic cores to be used for in silico screening on difficult-to-drug targets. Docking of this set on Keap1, a target considered challenging due to its large and polar binding site, identified the core of the natural product cyclothialidine as a starting point for lead generation. Synthesis and evaluation of a small number of analogues provided a novel macrocyclic Keap1 inhibitor with potency in the low micromolar range that displayed cellular activity. Investigation of the structure-activity relationship of the lead inhibitor identified two positions amenable for optimization. In silico libraries were constructed at both positions using structure-based design to improve the affinity for Keap1. Subsequent synthesis of approximately 100 compounds led to an optimized lead series with potency in the low nanomolar range, providing a 100-fold improvement from the starting point. Additionally, the difference in passive cell permeability for a pair of diastereoisomeric macrocycles was rationalized on the basis of differences in their solution-phase conformations, that were determined by NMR spectroscopy. Moreover, for two sets of moderately flexible isomeric macrocycles, it was shown that the molecular descriptors predicted from conformational sampling correlated with cell permeability. This method may find use for prioritization of macrocycles prior to embarking on demanding synthetic routes.
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| 7. |
- Berg, Camilla
(författare)
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Ceramic Core–Shell Particles : Synthesis and Use within Dentistry
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Dentin hypersensitivity is one of the most prevalent conditions related to oral health, affecting a large share of the adult population. Shortcomings with the available treatment options are related to non-ideal particle sizes and degradation properties. An improved clinical outcome could possibly be obtained using a bioactive occluding agent that can offer a high, continuous release of ions, as well as having a particle size that allows for penetration into the dentin tubules. The work in this thesis focused on the development and investigation of a synthesis approach for calcium phosphate core–shell particles and the use of those in the treatment of dentin hypersensitivity. The overall aim was to increase the knowledge about the synthesis and to evaluate the in vitro performance of amorphous calcium magnesium phosphate (ACMP) particles when used as an occluding agent. The synthesis of the core-shell particles was based on precipitation reactions in aqueous solutions and the synthesized materials were studied in terms of morphological, structural, and compositional aspects. Resulting particles had diameters ranging from 400 nm–1. 5 µm (depending on reaction conditions), with morphologies and structures that were shown to correlate with the ionic radius and the concentration of the substituting ion. This insight resulted in the possibility to control the outcome of the reaction and to extend the synthesis to other alkaline earth phosphates. The mechanism of formation was suggested to be the simultaneous precipitation of primary nanoparticles (NPs) and the formation of gas bubbles that could function as soft templates.A study of the degradation properties together with a series of in vitro studies, using a dentin-disc model, indicated that the ACMP particles may be a promising candidate for clinical use. The material was shown to offer a rapid and continuous release of Ca2+, Mg2+, and phosphate, aiding surface, as well as intratubular occlusion and mineralization. Additional use of a fluoride toothpaste resulted in incorporation of F– in the mineralized material. This could enhance the in vivo performance due to the known benefits of including F– in dental tissues, e.g. decreased solubility. The ACMP particles were, furthermore, shown to be more efficient in terms of degree of occlusion when compared to other similar products available on the market. The intratubular mineralization was additionally mitigating the effect of an acid attack, which is of importance for a long-lasting effect in clinical use.
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| 8. |
- Billhardt, Anja
(författare)
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Functional analyses of growth and development in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Land plants developed from a freshwater charophycean algae about 500 million years ago. Today, they consist of two main clades, the vascular plants and the non-vascular bryophytes including hornworts, liverworts and mosses. To adapt to challenges within a terrestrial habitat, the first land plants evolved a diversity of hormonal and genetic pathways regulating growth and development. Analyses regarding these networks are mainly based on the angiosperm Arabidopsis thaliana. Genes of other land plant lineages that are inexistent in Arabidopsis are often not considered in functional studies, resulting in an incomplete picture of land plant evolution. The remarkable phylogenetic position of bryophytes makes them interesting for studies of gene function as they might carry different characteristics compared to e.g. angiosperms. In difference to vascular plants, the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha harbors a small, low genetic redundant genome containing most gene families present in Arabidopsis. Thus making it an advantageous model organism to determining specific gene function. This thesis focuses on describing how dormancy and the circadian clock regulate growth in Marchantia. To avoid growth during unfavorable environmental, plants apply dormancy programs. Marchantia applies dormancy in gemmae, small asexual propagules produced by the shoot in a cup. Gemmae are dormant in the cup until they are dispersed by rain and subsequently germinating. I show that high levels of absisic acid (ABA), inhibits gemmae germination within the cup. Gemmae with a manipulated MpCYP707A, a gene involved in catabolism of ABA and seed dormancy regulation in Arabidopsis, showed altering dormancy suggesting that ABA homeostasis is fundamental for regulation of gemmae dormancy. Because dormant gemmae are not physically attached to the cup it has been speculated that the signal maintaining dormancy of gemmae is a gas. I found that gemmae mutated in positive and negative regulators of the ethylene signaling pathway showed decreased and increased dormancy respectively, suggesting that ethylene regulates dormancy through ABA.I also found that the circadian clock in Marchantia regulates growth of the thallus, possibly by affecting auxin levels. The circadian clock in land plants appears in structural differences between species. I showed that the gene MpDET1 has a conserved structure but harbors a different function compared to Arabidopsis. In Arabidopsis, growth is regulated by the clock through PIF genes, but in Marchantia, this pathway appears independent of PIF. Although the clock mechanism appear well conserved in land plants, its structure and function has evolved, creating diversity between land plant groups.
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| 9. |
- Binggeli, Christian, 1989-
(författare)
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Galaxies in the epoch of reionization : Investigating the high-redshift galaxy population through simulations and observations
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The cosmic reionization is the last major gas phase transition in cosmic history, yet it remains poorly understood. Current constraints indicate that early star-forming galaxies drove the reionization process through producing and releasing large numbers of ionizing photons into the intergalactic medium. However, our understanding of the ionizing escape fraction (fesc) and the general properties of high-redshift galaxies is still limited.In this thesis, simulated galaxies and observations are used to investigate epoch-of-reionization galaxies and to explore methods that can aid future investigations of such objects. Using simulations, we have shown that it may be possible to constrain fesc in epoch-of-reionization galaxies using quite simple diagnostics that should be observable with the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). We also show that variations in star formation activity larger than those predicted in our simulations may lead to a possible degeneracy with high fesc. However, auxiliary information obtained with the JWST may allow us to disentangle variations in the star formation activity from high fesc.We compare galaxies from several simulations to the recently spectroscopically confirmed z=9.1096 galaxy MACS1149-JD1. We find that none of the simulations are able to reproduce the large Balmer break observed in MACS1149-JD1, and argue that unless it represents an outlier in the high-redshift galaxy population, this may indicate that the simulations fail to capture some key physics. Finally, we present ALMA observations of the z=7.6637 galaxy z7_GSD_3811. This object remains undetected in several commonly detected FIR emission lines and FIR dust emission. Using SED-fitting and by comparing our observations to models and low-redshift observations, we show that our non-detections could indicate that the object is poor in metals and dust.Our findings could help future observers to further constrain the nature of high-redshift galaxies and their role in reionization.
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| 10. |
- Boniolo, Manuel
(författare)
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Structural, Electronic and Reactive Properties of Pentapyridyl - Base Metal Complexes : Relevance for Water Oxidation Catalysis
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The rationalization of chemical-physical proprieties of transition metal complexes is fundamental in order to understand and tune their reactivity. In this thesis, a systematic investigation of the geometrical and electronic properties of [M(Py5OH)Cl]+ complexes (M= Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) has been performed, and their ability to act as molecular water oxidation catalysts has been probed. Through this scientific journey, new insights into their chemical and physical properties have been revealed. The spin crossover behavior of the ferrous chloride complex ([Fe(Py5OH)Cl]PF6) is the first example of a molecular Fe(II) complex coordinated to a weak-field ligand that can be thermodynamically stable in a low-spin electron configuration (Chapter 3). The spin state also dictates the electrochemical proprieties of the one-electron oxidized state of all the metal complexes investigated in our study (Chapter 4). The atypical rhombicity of the manganese complex ([Mn(Py5OH)Cl]PF6) gives an unusual anisotropic EPR signal for a Mn(II, S = 5/2) complex. This is compared with the analog [Mn(Py5OMe)Cl]PF6 complex providing, in combination with DFT calculations, insight into how the magnetic parameters (i.e., zero field splitting) are affected by small structural changes (Chapter 5). Finally, I investigated the role of water as substrate for water oxidation catalysis with the [M(Py5OH)Cl]+ complexes. The addition of small amounts of water into a non-aqueous medium allowed trapping possible water-bound intermediates for the Fe complex in the M(III) oxidation state but not for the other complexes. Nevertheless, all Py5OH-metal complexes are not particularly active catalysts with a maximum turnover number (TON) of 2. By introducing two methoxy functional groups, we obtained [Fe(Py5OMe)Cl]+ that turns out to facilitate water oxidation catalysis with a TON = 133 in a light-driven experiment. Further electrochemical experiments and post-catalytic solution analysis reveals that the oxygen evolution is generated by iron oxo/hydroxo species formed from the degradation of the methoxy-substituted Fe complex. This study highlights the difficulty of obtaining a stable base metal molecular catalyst and the importance of conducting a multi-technique analysis to attest firmly the nature of the catalysis (Chapter 6).
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