Orientador: Silvia Cristina Mangini Bocchi / Resumo: Introdução. Verifica-se eficácia no uso da laserterapia transcutânea (Intravenous Laser Irradiation of Blood – ILIB) na saúde dos indivíduos, entretanto, existem escassas evidências científicas para tratamento dos efeitos colaterais de quimioterápicos citotóxicos. Objetivo. Avaliar a eficácia dos protocolos ILIB 30’ e 60’ com comprimento de onda de 660nm sobre os efeitos colaterais no trato gastrointestinal (náuseas, vômitos, diarreias e constipação) e no tecido hematopoiético (plaquetopenias, neutropenias e alterações da hemoglobina), em pacientes oncológicos recebendo tratamento quimioterápico endovenoso. Método. Ensaio clínico, randomizado, unicego e aprovado por Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa (CAE 82323318.90000.5411, Parecer 2.512.164) e pelo Registro Brasileiro de Ensaios Clínicos (RBR – 7y8rtz). Estudo realizado em serviço ambulatorial de quimioterapia de hospital público do estado de São Paulo, Brasil. A amostra constituiu de 55 pacientes ³ 18 anos, com tumores sólidos, a partir do segundo ciclo de tratamento quimioterápico com fármacos endovenosos citotóxicos para o trato gastrointestinal e tecido hematopoiético, assim alocados nos grupos de seguimentos: 21 no controle, 21 no ILIB 30’ e 13 no ILIB 60’. A aplicação deu-se por via transcutânea sobre a artéria radial, utilizando-se aparelho de laser de baixa intensidade com comprimento de onda de 660nm. Considerou-se eficácia a manutenção ou aumento dos parâmetros mínimos hematológicos (hemoglobina, plaquetas e neutrófilos... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Mestre

The extensive and sometimes incorrect and noncompliant use of various types of antimicrobial agents has accelerated the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In fact, AMR has become one of the greatest global threat to human health in this era. The broad-spectrum antibiotics aminoglycosides (AGs) display excellent potency against most Gram-negative bacteria, mycobacteria, and some Gram-positive bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus. The AG antibiotics amikacin, gentamicin, kanamycin, and tobramycin are still commonly prescribed in the U.S.A. for the treatment of serious infections. Unfortunately, bacteria evolve to acquire resistance to AGs via four different mechanisms: i) changing in membrane permeability to resist drugs from entering, ii) upregulating efflux pumps for active removal of intracellular AGs, iii) modifying the antimicrobial target(s) to prevent drugs binding to their targets, and iv) acquiring resistance enzymes to chemically inactivate the compounds. Amongst all, the acquisition of resistance enzymes, AG-modifying enzymes (AMEs), is the most common resistance mechanism identified. Depending on the chemistry each enzyme catalyzes, AMEs can be further divided into AG N-acetyltransferases (AACs), AG O-phosphotransferases (APHs), and AG O-nucleotidyltransferases. To overcome AME-related resistance, we need to better understand these resistance enzymes and further seek ways to either escape or inhibit their actions. In this dissertation, I summarized my efforts to characterize the AAC(6') domain and its mutant enzymes from a bifunctional AME, AAC(6')-Ie/APH(2")-Ia as well as another common AME, APH(3')-IIa. I also explained my attempt to inhibit the action of various AAC enzymes using metal salts. In an effort to explore the current resistance epidemic, I evaluated the resistance against carbapenem and AG antibiotics and the correlation between the resistance profiles and the AME genes in a collection of 122 Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates obtained from the University of Kentucky Hospital System. Besides tackling the resistance mechanisms in bacteria, I have also attempted to explore a new antifungal option by repurposing an existing antipsychotic drug, bromperidol, and a panel of its derivatives into a combination therapy with the azole antifungals against a variety of pathogenic yeasts and filamentous fungi.

Dans le cadre d’un projet d’aménagement, la reconnaissance du sous-sol est une étape prépondérante pour la construction d’un bâtiment. Le géotechnicien se doit de définir le comportement mécanique des sols à partir d’un nombre limité de sondages. La problématique soulevée par les prospections géotechniques est qu’il est difficile d’une part d’étendre une information ponctuelle dans l’environnement proche des sondages, et d’autre part d’estimer la variabilité latérale des matériaux. Dans cette optique, cette thèse développe une approche novatrice de combinaison de méthodes géophysiques aidant à la quantification de la variabilité spatiale des structures géoélectriques du sous-sol. Dans un second temps, au regard des limites rencontrées dans la modélisation 3D des structures géoélectriques du sous-sol, nous avons mis au point un processus innovant de modélisation 3D des propriétés physiques du sous-sol par combinaison de méthodes géophysiques. Les travaux menés ont permis de caractériser les paramètres régissant le positionnement et la quantité de données sources nécessaires.Enfin, un dispositif innovant de mesure de Tomographie de Résistivité Electrique en Cinématique (TREC) a été développé. La validation du dispositif sur trois sites différents a permis de mettre en évidence sa capacité à détecter les structures géoélectriques des sols sur un linéaire de plusieurs centaines de mètres. Ce dispositif constitue un outil précieux pour l’étude des structures géoélectriques du sous-sol dans le cadre de prospections géophysiques à grand rendement. / The geotechnical study of a building project is a decisive step for the construction of it. The geotechnical engineer must define the mechanical behavior of soils from a limited number of drills. The problem of the geotechnical surveys is, on the one hand that difficult to extend a punctual data in the near space to the drills,and on the other hand to estimate the lateral variability of materials. In this context, this thesis develops an innovative approach by combination of geophysical methods to quantify the spatial variability of geoelectrical structures. In asecond time, against the known limits of the 3D modeling of soil geoelectrical structures, we have developed an innovative process of 3D modeling of the physical properties of soil by geophysical methods combination. These works allow characterizing the parameters who governing the positioning and the number of necessary primary data.Finally, an innovative measuring device of Kinematic Electrical Resistivity Tomography (KERT) has been developed. The validation of the device on three different site has allowed to highlight its ability to detect the soil geoelectrical structures within a linear of hundreds meters. This device is a valuable tool for studying soil geoelectrical structures in the context of high yield geophysical prospection.

En segmentation d’images, les informations de couleur et de texture sont très utilisées. Le premier apport de cette thèse se situe au niveau de l’utilisation conjointe de ces deux sources d’informations. Nous proposons alors une méthode de combinaison couleur/texture, adaptative et non paramétrique, qui consiste à combiner un (ou plus) gradient couleur et un (ou plus) gradient texture pour ensuite générer un gradient structurel utilisé comme image de potentiel dans l’algorithme de croissance de régions par LPE. L’originalité de notre méthode réside dans l’étude de la dispersion d’un nuage de point 3D dans l’espace, en utilisant une étude comparative des valeurs propres obtenues par une analyse des composantes principales de la matrice de covariance de ce nuage de points. L’approche de combinaison couleur/texture proposée est d’abord testée sur deux bases d’images, à savoir la base générique d’images couleur de BERKELEY et la base d’images de texture VISTEX. Cette thèse s’inscrivant dans le cadre des projets ViLoc (RFC) et CAPLOC (PREDIT), le deuxième apport de celle-ci se situe au niveau de la caractérisation de l’environnement de réception des signaux GNSS pour améliorer le calcul de la position d’un mobile en milieu urbain. Dans ce cadre, nous proposons d’exclure certains satellites (NLOS dont les signaux sont reçus par réflexion voir totalement bloqués par les obstacles environnants) dans le calcul de la position d’un mobile. Deux approches de caractérisation, basées sur le traitement d’images, sont alors proposées. La première approche consiste à appliquer la méthode de combinaison couleur/texture proposée sur deux bases d’images réelles acquises en mobilité, à l’aide d’une caméra fisheye installée sur le toit du véhicule de laboratoire, suivie d’une classification binaire permettant d’obtenir les deux classes d’intérêt « ciel » (signaux LOS) et « non ciel » (signaux NLOS). Afin de satisfaire la contrainte temps réel exigée par le projet CAPLOC, nous avons proposé une deuxième approche basée sur une simplification de l’image couplée à une classification pixellaire adaptée. Le principe d’exclusion des satellites NLOS permet d’améliorer la précision de la position estimée, mais uniquement lorsque les satellites LOS (dont les signaux sont reçus de manière direct) sont géométriquement bien distribués dans l’espace. Dans le but de prendre en compte cette connaissance relative à la distribution des satellites, et par conséquent, améliorer la précision de localisation, nous avons proposé une nouvelle stratégie pour l’estimation de position, basée sur l’exclusion des satellites NLOS (identifiés par le traitement d’images), conditionnée par l’information DOP, contenue dans les trames GPS. / Color and texture are two main information used in image segmentation. The first contribution of this thesis focuses on the joint use of color and texture information by developing a robust and non parametric method combining color and texture gradients. The proposed color/texture combination allows defining a structural gradient that is used as potential image in watershed algorithm. The originality of the proposed method consists in studying a 3D points cloud generated by color and texture descriptors, followed by an eigenvalue analysis. The color/texture combination method is firstly tested and compared with well known methods in the literature, using two databases (generic BERKELEY database of color images and the VISTEX database of texture images). The applied part of the thesis is within ViLoc project (funded by RFC regional council) and CAPLOC project (funded by PREDIT). In this framework, the second contribution of the thesis concerns the characterization of the environment of GNSS signals reception. In this part, we aim to improve estimated position of a mobile in urban environment by excluding NLOS satellites (for which the signal is masked or received after reflections on obstacles surrounding the antenna environment). For that, we propose two approaches to characterize the environment of GNSS signals reception using image processing. The first one consists in applying the proposed color/texture combination on images acquired in mobility with a fisheye camera located on the roof of a vehicle and oriented toward the sky. The segmentation step is followed by a binary classification to extract two classes « sky » (LOS signals) and « not sky » (NLOS signals). The second approach is proposed in order to satisfy the real-time constraint required by the application. This approach is based on image simplification and adaptive pixel classification. The NLOS satellites exclusion principle is interesting, in terms of improving precision of position, when the LOS satellites (for which the signals are received directly) are well geometrically distributed in space. To take into account the knowledge of satellite distribution and then increase the precision of position, we propose a new strategy of position estimation, based on the exclusion of NLOS satellites (identified by the image processing step), conditioned by DOP information, which is provided by GPS data.

This thesis is broadly concerned with the future of the Human Resources function within organisations. The nature of these concerns is two-fold: first, how can Human Resources deal effectively with the challenges of organisational life today; second, how can Human Resources convince senior management that it is both relevant, and necessary, to the economic success of the enterprise, and so assure its future as an internal organisational function. This thesis posits that not only does an involvement in the knowledge management process hold considerable benefits for an organisation through a direct and positive influence on the �bottom-line�, but that such an involvement takes on a specialised set of aims and objectives within the human resource perspective that should not be ignored. The argument is that Human Resources, with its own knowledge-awareness and overview of the structures, manpower, performance and reward systems, and training and development programs, is uniquely placed to be instrumental in creating the open, unselfish culture required to make a success of Knowledge Management, and secure its own future as a trusted and valued strategic partner, fully contributing to the enhancement of organisational performance, and ultimately, the organisation�s place in the world. The thesis commences with an overview of how Human Resources has defined its role within organisations since the 1980s. The challenges and concerns of human resources professionals are discussed, and the opportunity for them to take the lead in developing the social networks that are vital to the capture and transfer of knowledge is foreshadowed. An examination of knowledge and knowledge management concepts and principles, and a discussion of the specialised aims and objectives that a knowledge management system can be argued to have within a human resources management perspective in the 21st century is discussed next. As learning from experience with the aim of improving business performance is one of the uses of knowledge management, a discussion of �learning� and the concepts of the �learning organisation� follows. The chapters in the first part of the thesis contain the theoretical material concerning knowledge and knowledge management, learning and the Learning Organisation, and the argument that Human Resources is in a position to play a major role in moving the organisation's culture to one of value creation and valuable strategic decision-making capability, through its awareness of the concept of knowledge and its implementation of knowledge systems, policies, and practices. The second part of the thesis is more empirically based, and reports the results of recent research by the author into the levels of awareness of the knowledge concept, and the degree to which knowledge management systems, policies, and practices are being implemented. The purpose of the study was to test a number of hypotheses about knowledge and knowledge management and the role of the Human Resources function vis-a-vis these issues. The results and their implications are subsequently discussed. The thesis concludes with some reflections on the concepts of knowledge and learning, and the specialised role that the Human Resources professional can play in knowledge work.

Automatic verification of personal identity using facial images is the central topic of the thesis. This problem can be stated as follows. Given two face images, it must be determined automatically whether they are images of the same person or of different persons. Due to many factors such as variability of facial appearance, sensitivity to noise, template aging, etc., the problem is difficult. We can overcome some of these difficulties by combining different information sources for the classification/recognition task. In this thesis we propose strategies on how to combine the different information sources, i.e. fusion strategies, in order to improve the verification accuracy. We have designed and thoroughly optimised a number of face verification algorithms. Their individual properties such as how their accuracy depends on algorithm parameters, image size, or sensitivity to mis-registrations have been studied. We have also studied how to combine the outputs of the different algorithms in order to reduce the verification error rates. Another decision fusion aspect considered in this thesis is the fusion of confidences obtained sequentially on several video frames of the same person's face. Finally multimodal fusion has been studied. In this case, the speech and face of the same subject are recorded and processed by different algorithms which output separate opinions. These two opinions are then conciliated at the fusion stage. It is shown that in all cases, information fusion allows a considerable performance improvement if the fusion stage is carefully designed.

<p>Malaria is a health, social and economic burden in Nigeria and consistently ranks amongst the four most common causes of childhood deaths. Treatment of malaria is usually started at home / care is only sought from the health facility when the treatment is ineffective (McCombie, 1996). Patent medicine vendors (PMVs) have been identified as a widely patronized source for drugs used in the home treatment of malaria (Breiger et al, 2001 / Goodman, et al, 2007 / Salako et al, 2001). Inadequate or poor knowledge and practices in the use of anti-malaria drugs (AMDs) increases morbidity and mortality, undermines therapeutic efficacy, and promotes the emergence and spread of drugresistant malaria. Aim: The aim of the study was to describe and quantify the knowledge and self-reported practices of PMVs in the use of antimalarials, particularly artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), in a poor urban community in Lagos state, Nigeria.</p>

Combination therapy has proven to be a popular treatment strategy for tighter diabetes control. Since the preliminary evidence is suggestive of complementary actions of American (AG) and Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) in improving glycemia, this project was designed to investigate the therapeutic potential of AG and KRG in combination. Following a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel design in a population with diabetes at two centres, the combined use of AG and KRG for 12 weeks was safe, but did not significantly affect glycemic control, blood lipids or blood pressure. However, there was a trend toward lower glycated hemoglobin by 0.7% (p=0.1) and office systolic blood pressure by 5 mm Hg (p=0.052) compared to placebo. These findings encourage further investigation of the mechanism and roles of AG, KRG and their effective components. They also highlight limitations in ginseng research and the need to impose strict regulations to facilitate its standardization.

Combination therapy has proven to be a popular treatment strategy for tighter diabetes control. Since the preliminary evidence is suggestive of complementary actions of American (AG) and Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) in improving glycemia, this project was designed to investigate the therapeutic potential of AG and KRG in combination. Following a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel design in a population with diabetes at two centres, the combined use of AG and KRG for 12 weeks was safe, but did not significantly affect glycemic control, blood lipids or blood pressure. However, there was a trend toward lower glycated hemoglobin by 0.7% (p=0.1) and office systolic blood pressure by 5 mm Hg (p=0.052) compared to placebo. These findings encourage further investigation of the mechanism and roles of AG, KRG and their effective components. They also highlight limitations in ginseng research and the need to impose strict regulations to facilitate its standardization.

With the proliferation of smart devices that require Internet connectivity anytime, anywhere, and the recent technological advances that make it possible, current networked systems will have to provide a various range of services, such as content distribution, in a wide range of settings, including wireless environments. Wireless links may experience temporary losses, however, TCP, the de facto protocol for robust unicast communications, reacts by reducing the congestion window drastically and injecting less traffic in the network. Consequently the wireless links are underutilized and the overall performance of the TCP protocol in wireless environments is poor. As content delivery (i.e. multicasting) services, such as BBC iPlayer, become popular, the network needs to support the reliable transport of the data at high rates, and with specific delay constraints. A typical approach to deliver content in a scalable way is to rely on peer-to-peer technology (used by BitTorrent, Spotify and PPLive), where users share their resources, including bandwidth, storage space, and processing power. Still, these systems suffer from the lack of incentives for resource sharing and cooperation, and this problem is exacerbated in the presence of heterogenous users, where a tit-for-tat scheme is difficult to implement. Due to the issues highlighted above, current network architectures need to be changed in order to accommodate the users¿ demands for reliable and quality communications. In other words, the emergent need for advanced modes of information transport requires revisiting and improving network components at various levels of the network stack. The innovative paradigm of network coding has been shown as a promising technique to change the design of networked systems, by providing a shift from how data flows traditionally move through the network. This shift implies that data flows are no longer kept separate, according to the ¿store-and-forward¿ model, but they are also processed and mixed in the network. By appropriately combining data by means of network coding, it is expected to obtain significant benefits in several areas of network design and architecture. In this thesis, we set out to show the benefits of including network coding into three communication paradigms, namely point-topoint communications (e.g. unicast), point-to-multipoint communications (e.g. multicast), and multipoint-to-multipoint communications (e.g. peer-to-peer networks). For the first direction, we propose a network coding-based multipath scheme and show that TCP unicast sessions are feasible in highly volatile wireless environments. For point-to-multipoint communications, we give an algorithm to optimally achieve all the rate pairs from the rate region in the case of degraded multicast over the combination network. We also propose a system for live streaming that ensures reliability and quality of service to heterogenous users, even if data transmissions occur over lossy wireless links. Finally, for multipoint-to-multipoint communications, we design a system to provide incentives for live streaming in a peer-to-peer setting, where users have subscribed to different levels of quality. Our work shows that network coding enables a reliable transport of data, even in highly volatile environments, or in delay sensitive scenarios such as live streaming, and facilitates the implementation of an efficient incentive system, even in the presence of heterogenous users. Thus, network coding can solve the challenges faced by next generation networks in order to support advanced information transport.