Les enquêtes par sondage sont utiles pour estimer des caractéristiques d'une populationtelles que le total ou la moyenne. Cette thèse s'intéresse à l'étude detechniques permettant de prendre en compte un grand nombre de variables auxiliairespour l'estimation d'un total.Le premier chapitre rappelle quelques définitions et propriétés utiles pour lasuite du manuscrit : l'estimateur de Horvitz-Thompson, qui est présenté commeun estimateur n'utilisant pas l'information auxiliaire ainsi que les techniques decalage qui permettent de modifier les poids de sondage de facon à prendre encompte l'information auxiliaire en restituant exactement dans l'échantillon leurstotaux sur la population.Le deuxième chapitre, qui est une partie d'un article de synthèse accepté pourpublication, présente les méthodes de régression ridge comme un remède possibleau problème de colinéarité des variables auxiliaires, et donc de mauvais conditionnement.Nous étudions les points de vue "model-based" et "model-assisted" dela ridge regression. Cette technique qui fournit de meilleurs résultats en termed'erreur quadratique en comparaison avec les moindres carrés ordinaires peutégalement s'interpréter comme un calage pénalisé. Des simulations permettentd'illustrer l'intérêt de cette technique par compar[a]ison avec l'estimateur de Horvitz-Thompson.Le chapitre trois présente une autre manière de traiter les problèmes de colinéaritévia une réduction de la dimension basée sur les composantes principales. Nousétudions la régression sur composantes principales dans le contexte des sondages.Nous explorons également le calage sur les moments d'ordre deux des composantesprincipales ainsi que le calage partiel et le calage sur les composantes principalesestimées. Une illustration sur des données de l'entreprise Médiamétrie permet deconfirmer l'intérêt des ces techniques basées sur la réduction de la dimension pourl'estimation d'un total en présence d'un grand nombre de variables auxiliaires

Cette thèse a pour objet la construction, la calibration et l'étude d'estimateurs multi-tâches, dans un cadre fréquentiste non paramétrique et non asymptotique. Nous nous plaçons dans le cadre de la régression ridge à noyau et y étendons les méthodes existantes de régression multi-tâches. La question clef est la calibration d'un paramètre de régularisation matriciel, qui encode la similarité entre les tâches. Nous proposons une méthode de calibration de ce paramètre, fondée sur l'estimation de la matrice de covariance du bruit entre les tâches. Nous donnons ensuite pour l'estimateur obtenu des garanties d'optimalité, via une inégalité oracle, puis vérifions son comportement sur des exemples simulés. Nous obtenons par ailleurs un encadrement précis des risques des estimateurs oracles multi-tâches et mono-tâche dans certains cas. Cela nous permet de dégager plusieurs situations intéressantes, où l'oracle multi-tâches est plus efficace que l'oracle mono-tâche, ou vice versa. Cela nous permet aussi de nous assurer que l'inégalité oracle force l'estimateur multi-tâches à avoir un risque inférieur à l'estimateur mono-tâche dans les cas étudiés. Le comportement des oracles multi-tâches et mono-tâche est vérifié sur des exemples simulés.

Across the globe, both developed and developing countries strive to continuously increase economic growth. Many strategies have been developed to guide these countries towards achieving growth and development in a sustainable manner. For many of these countries, cites have become the hubs with regards to the various socio-economic activities taking place within countries. This has in turn subjected cities to tremendous growth. The increased growth of cities has been characterized by radial expansion, wherein development spreads out from the city center to the fringes. The radial expansion of cities has not always been under control or properly managed by government or the private sector as well as the relevant role playing stakeholders. Many socio-economic and environmental challenges have been associated with the rapid urban development that spreads into urban fringes. This dissertation focuses on assessing the sustainability of urban fringes and their developments. It presents a conceptual framework that tackles multiple urban fringe challenges and their various causes as well as the possible solutions thereof. It also focuses on empirically assessing the sustainability of the Cato Ridge urban fringe development in eThekwini Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal Province. The study discovers that the challenges of urban fringe development are economic, social and environmental. It concludes with recommendations for addressing policies of urban fringe developments in order to ensure sustainability. / M.T.R.P. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2013.

Limb outgrowth is controlled by a specialized group of cells called the apical ectodermal ridge (AER), a thickening of the limb epithelium, at its distal tip. This specialized thickening of ectodermal cells is responsible for maintaining the underlying mesenchymal cells in an undifferentiated and proliferative state, and its structure is preserved through a fine-tuned balance between proliferation and apoptosis. This equilibrium is genetically controlled but little is known about the molecules involved in this process. Several authors have been shown that both fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and Erk pathway activation are crucial for AER function. Recently, FLRT3, a transmembrane protein able to interact with FGF receptors, has been implicated in the triggering of ERK activity by FGFs. In this thesis, we show that flrt3 expression is restricted to the AER, co-localizing its expression with fgf8 and pERK activity. Loss-of-function studies demonstrate that silencing of flrt3 affects the integrity of the AER and, subsequently, its proper function during limb bud outgrowth. Our data also indicate that flrt3 expression is not regulated by FGF activity in the AER, whereas ectopic WNT3A is able to induce flrt3 expression. Overall, our findings confirm flrt3 as a key player during chicken limb development, being necessary but not sufficient for proper AER formation and maintenance under the control of BMP and WNT signalling. During limb bud development, AER structure is maintained through a fine-tuned balance between proliferation and programmed cell death and this equilibrium is genetically controlled, although little is known about the molecules involved in that process. In this thesis we present evidences involving oct4, required to establish and maintain the pluripotent cell population necessary for embryogenesis in mouse and human, in the control of the proliferative balance within the AER cells. Overexpression of otc4 in the limb ectoderm disrupts the ratio apoptosis/proliferation and, moreover, oct4 expression is under the control of wnt-canonical pathway. We also describe a special localization and behaviour of proliferating cells in the AER in response to oct4 activity. We, therefore, describe a role for oct4 as a factor able to maintain a niche of cells that is responsible for the renewal of the AER. / El crecimiento del esbozo de la extremidad está controlado por un grupo especializado de células denominado Cresta Ectodérmica Apical (CEA), un engrosamiento del epitelio del miembro en su borde más distal. Este engrosamiento es responsable del mantenimiento de las células del mesodermo distal en un estado indiferenciado y proliferativo. Diferentes estudios muestran que la actividad de los factores de crecimiento fibroblástico (FCF) y de la vía Erk son cruciales para la correcta funcionalidad de la CEA. Recientemente se ha implicado a FLRT3, una proteína transmembranal capaz de interaccionar con los receptores de los FCF, en la activación de la vía Erk por los mismos. En esta tesis describimos cómo la expresión de flrt3 se restringe a la CEA, colocalizándose su expresión con fgf8 y la actividad de la vía Erk. Los experimentos de pérdida de función demuestran que la inhibición de flrt3 afecta la integridad de la CEA y, consecuentemente, a su función durante el desarrollo del esbozo del miembro. Nuestros datos también indican que la expresión de flrt3 no está regulada a través de los FCF en la CEA, sin embargo, la activación ectópica de WNT3A es capaz de inducir la expresión de flrt3. En conjunto, nuestros resultados demuestran que flrt3 es una molécula clave durante el desarrollo de las extremidades de pollo, siendo necesaria, pero no suficiente, para la correcta formación y mantenimiento de la CEA bajo el control de la señalización a través de BMP y WNT. Durante el desarrollo de las extremidades, la estructura de la CEA se mantiene a través de un fino control del balance entre la proliferación y apoptosis. Este equilibrio se encuentra genéticamente controlado aunque se sabe muy poco acerca de las moléculas involucradas en este proceso. En esta tesis presentamos evidencias en las que oct4, molécula necesaria para establecer y mantener la población de células pluripotentes necesarias durante la embriogénesis en ratón y humanos, controla la tasa de proliferación en las células de la CEA. La expresión ectópica de oct4 en el ectodermo del esbozo de la extremidad perturba la razón entre la apoptosis y la proliferación y, además, su expresión está controlada por la actividad de la vía canónica de los Wnt. También describimos en este trabajo la localización y comportamiento especiales de las células de la CEA en proliferación como respuesta a la actividad de oct4. Por consiguiente, podemos inferir que el rol de oct4 será el de un factor necesario para mantener un nicho celular responsable por la renovación de la CEA.

This thesis examines the Australia Army???s campaign on Papua from July 1942 to January 1943 with the focus on logistic support of the fighting arms and the relation of logistics to the tactics of tropical jungle warfare. It begins by examining the traditional approach to logistics in the military profession - the experience of Australian officers and forces in particular - from the First World War until May 1942, when the Australian territory of Papua was invaded. It establishes that the Army was poorly prepared because, as well as having never anticipated a prolonged land campaign in Papua-New Guinea, it lacked the logistic resources and knowledge of logistics as applicable to tropical jungle warfare. It then proceeds to examine the retreat over the Kokoda Track and the turning-point battles for Milne Bay and Imita Ridge. It demonstrates that the principal factor in the Australian retreat was logistic failure, as geography and lack of logistic resources prevented adequate supply of the fighting arms at least until lines of communication had been shortened; even then, difficulties remained. The thesis is rounded off by assessing the counter-attack across the territory of Papua for the capture of the enemy???s beachheads at Buna, Gona and Sanananda. It concludes that, as the island???s geography and tropical environment so dominated operations and since shortages of logistic equipment and units persisted, the Army could not perfect its logistic organisation by the end of this first phase of the New Guinea campaign. It fell back on improvisation and the fortitude of troops to triumph over the Japanese.

Thesis (M.A.)--Indiana University, 2008. / Title from screen (viewed on June 2, 2009). Department of English, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Karen Kovacik, Jane E. Schultz, Thomas F. Marvin. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 57-61).

Cette thèse a deux objectifs principaux: (i) la reconstruction de l'évolution des plaines côtières autour des baies de Chabahar et de Pozm et (ii) L'évaluation des risques côtiers (tsunamis et tempêtes extrêmes) par l'étude des dépôts de haute énergie. Vastes plaines côtières et paleo-rivages protégées par des terrasses marines soulevées sont présents autour des baies de Chabahar et Pozm. Nous avons mise en évidence des changements du niveau marin relatif le long de quatre profils. L'architecture interne des paleo-rivages a été imagée en utilisant le géoradar (GPR). Des analyses sédimentologiques et stratigraphiques des séquences côtières ont été examinées par carottages et tranchées. Les paleo-rivages sont datées entre 4800 et 270 ans BP à des distances respectives de 5 km et de 670 m du rivage actuel. La position spatiale des paléo-rivages montre une chute du niveau relatif de la mer de 15 m au cours des 4800 derniers années. Nous insistons aussi sur le rôle de contrôle des structures géologiques. Les dépôts d'événements (tsunami et tempêtes) ont été étudiés en contexte de côte meuble par Les sédiments sableux et coquilliers d'origine marine, et sur les côtes rocheuses par les dépôt des blocs déplacés. Nous avons appliqué des modèles hydrologiques pour évaluer et comparer la hauteur des vagues et la distance d'inondation. Nos résultats montrent qu'aucun événement de tempête, connu ou potentiel, n'est capable de transporter les blocs observés. Des vagues de tsunamis de l'ordre de 4 m de hauteur sont suffisantes pour transporter les blocs. La côte de Makran a enregistré des indices de paléo-tsunamis probablement générés par de grands séismes dans la zone de subduction. / In this thesis we have two main goals: (i) to reconstruct the Holocene coastal evolution and relative sea-level changes using strandplains around the Chabahar and Pozm bays; and (ii) to evaluate coastal hazards (tsunami and extreme storms) along the Iranian coast of Makran using high-energy deposits. Since the mid-Holocene, the shoreline rimming the bays of Chabahar and Pozm has prograded ~5 km and formed extensive strandplains. We documented relative sea-level changes along four coast-normal profiles. Internal architecture of strandplain imaged using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). The sedimentology and stratigraphy of the coastal sequence were studied by coring and trenching. The highest paleo-coastline is located about 5 km inland and stands approximately 15 m above present sea level. Paleo-shorelines date back between 4800 and 270 years BP at respective distances of 5 km to 670 m from the active shoreline. The spatial position of the palaeo-coastlines demonstrates a fall in local sea level of around 15 m during the last ~4800 years. Event deposits attesting to high-energy waves have been studied in low-lying coast by study of Over-washed sandy and shelly marine sediment and on the rocky shore by study of displaced boulder deposits. We applied hydrologic models to estimate the height and inundation distance of exceptional waves. Our results demonstrate that no known or probable storm is capable of detaching and transporting the boulders. Tsunami waves 4 m in height are enough to transport the boulders. We conclude the Makran coast has archived evidence of palaeo-tsunami events generated in the Makran subduction zone.

Abstract In this Ph.D. thesis sediment cores from the central Arctic Ocean, southwestern Barents Sea and sediment exposures from the Kola Peninsula were investigated in order to reveal interactions between the late middle Pleistocene and late Pleistocene Arctic ice sheets, between Marine Isotope Stages 6 and 1 (MIS 6 and MIS 1). One of the main objectives of this work is to establish provenance areas for the sediments studied in the central Arctic, the southwestern (SW) Barents Sea and the Kola Peninsula, their transport mechanisms and through that their relationship to glaciations in the Arctic and to development in the Kola Peninsula during the late middle and late Pleistocene. Mineralogical and geochemical data from the core 96/12-1pc on the Lomonosov Ridge, central Arctic Ocean was studied to evaluate ice transport from circum-Arctic ice sheets and variability in sediment drainage systems associated with their decay. SW Barents Sea sediments contain important information on Late Glacial and Holocene sediment provenance characteristics in relation to ice flow patterns and ice rafting from different regional sectors. The studied SW Barents Sea sediment cores show that sediments were most likely derived from a combination of far-field Fennoscandian sources, local subcropping Mesozoic strata below the seafloor and sea ice transport. The investigation carried out on the Kola Peninsula indicates that the Eemian (MIS 5e) marine environment in the White Sea Basin and onshore coastal areas gradually changed into a glaciolacustrine environment during MIS 5d to MIS 5a. Subsequently, the Scandinavian Ice Sheet (SIS) covered the Kola Peninsula, most probably during MIS 4. The final deglaciation of the SIS on the Kola Peninsula took place, however, during the late Weichselian (MIS 2) between 16–12 ka. / Tiivistelmä Tässä väitöstutkimuksessa tutkittiin sedimenttikairanäytteitä keskeiseltä Jäämereltä ja Lounais-Barentsinmereltä sekä tarkasteltiin sedimenttiseurantoja Kuolan niemimaalla tarkoituksena selvittää myöhäisen keskipleistoseeni- ja myöhäispleistoseeniajan Arktisten jääkenttien keskinäiset vuorovaikutukset erityisesti merellisten isotooppivaiheiden 6 ja 1 (MIS 6 ja MIS 1) välillä. Tämän työn yhtenä päätavoitteena on määritellä sedimenttien lähdealueet keskeisellä Arktiksella, lounaisella Barentsinmerellä ja Kuolan niemimaalla, sedimenttien kuljetusmekanismit ja näiden perusteella riippuvuudet Arktisiin jäätiköihin ja Kuolan niemimaalla tapahtuneeseen myöhäiskeski- ja myöhäispleistoseenin kehitykseen. Mineraloginen ja geokemiallinen tieto Lomonosovin harjanteen kairauksesta 96/12-1pc, keskeisellä Jäämerellä on perusta arvioitaessa jääkuljetusmekanismeja ympäröiviltä sirkum-Arktisilta jäätiköiltä ja arvioitaessa valuma-alueiden osuutta suhteessa näiden jäätiköiden häviämiseen. Lounaisen Barentsinmeren sedimentit sisältävät tärkeätä tietoja viimeisen jäätiköitymisen loppuvaiheen ja holoseeni-ajan sedimenttien lähdealueista ja suhteista jäävirtauksiin ja jääkuljetukseen eri aluesektoreilta. Tutkitut Lounais-Barentsinmeren sedimentit osoittavat, että sedimentit olivat todennäköisimmin peräisin suhteellisen kaukaisilta Fennoscandian lähdealueilta, paikallisista mesotsoosista merenpohjan kerrostumista ja merijään kuljettamasta materiaalista. Kuolan niemimaalla tehty tutkimus osoittaa, että Eem-kauden (MIS 5e) meriympäristö Vienanmeren altaassa ja rannikkoalueilla vähitellen muuttui glaciolakustriseksi ympäristöksi MIS 5d:n ja MIS 5a:n välisenä aikana. Sen jälkeen Skandinavian jääkenttä (SIS) peitti Kuolan niemimaan, todennäköisimmin koko MIS:n 4 ajanjakson. SIS:n lopullinen deglasiaatio alkoi Kuolan niemimaalla kuitenkin myöhäisen Veiksel-jääkauden (MIS 2) aikana noin 16–12 ka sitten.

Trigger core 07, is a 53 cm long sediment core that was collected during the Danish-Swedish expedition “Lomonosov Ridge off Greenland 2012” on the slope of the Lomonosov Ridge in the Arctic Ocean at a depth of 2522 m. This part of the world has experienced critical environmental changes during the Quaternary. Ice-sheets have advanced and retreated, and deposited sediments through all the Arctic Ocean. Glacial sediments contain coarser material and are gray, whereas interglacial sediments are brown, because of high amounts of manganese, and consist of fine-grained material.  The aim of this project is to make grain size analysis on TC 07 with the purpose to make an interpretation of the grain size data in relation to glaciation history and paleo-oceanography. For that, a correlation with piston core 07 has been made, and also a correlation between piston core 07 and the Arctic Coring Expedition, ACEX. The results showed that fine-grained material is more abundant in the top brown unit down to 32 cm, suggesting an interglacial period. This is followed by a gray-beige unit that goes down to 49 cm, and consist of coarser material, indicating glacial deposits. This unit can be linked to the Marine Isotope Stage 2, MIS 2, which began approximately 29000 years ago and ended about 14000 years ago / ”Trigger core 07” är en 53 cm lång sedimentkärna som togs upp på ett djup av 2522 m från Lomonosovryggen i Arktisk under en dansk-svensk expedition kallad ”Lomonosov Ridge off Greenland 2012”. Den här delen av världen har genomgått kraftiga klimatförändringar under kvartär. Istäcken har vuxit fram och dragit sig tillbaka och avsatt sediment över hela Arktis. Sediment avsatta under istider, kännetecknas av att vara gråa med mycket grovt material, medan sediment avsatta under mellanistider är bruna, vilket är på grund av de höga halterna av mangan och består av finkornigt material. Målet med denna uppsats är att göra en kornstorleksanalys på sedimentkärnan, med syfte i åtanke på att göra en tolkning av informationen i förhållande till istidshistorik och paleo-oceanografi. För att kunna gå tillväga med det, har en korrelation gjorts mellan kärnan och ”piston core 07”, samt en korrelation mellan ”piston core 07” och ”Arctic Coring Expedition, ACEX”. Resultaten visar en brun enhet rik på finkornigt material ned till 32 cm, vilket är typiskt för mellanistider. Den följs av en grå-beige enhet som sträcker sig ned till 49 cm och består av grovkornigt material vilket tyder på istid. Den här enheten kan kopplas till ”Marine Isotope Stage 2, MIS ”, som varade mellan 14000 och 29000 år sedan.

This dissertation focused on developing a numerical model of spatial and temporal changes in bed morphology of ridge and slough features in wetlands with respect to hydrology and sediment transport when a sudden change in hydrologic condition occurs. The specific objectives of this research were: (1) developing a two-dimensional hydrology model to simulate the spatial distribution of flow depth and velocity over time when a pulsed flow condition is applied, (2) developing a process-based numerical model of sediment transport coupled with flow depth and velocity in wetland ecosystems, and (3) use the developed model to explore how sediment transport may affect the changes in bed elevation of ridge and slough landscape patterns observed in wetlands when a conditional pulsed flow was applied. The results revealed the areas within deep sloughs where flow velocities and directions change continuously. This caused enhanced mixing areas within the deep slough. These mixing areas may have had the potential to affect processes such as sediment redistribution and nutrient transport. The simulation results of solute/sediment transport model also supported the existence of areas within the domain where the mixing processes happened. These areas may have caused that nutrients and suspended particles stay longer time rather than entraining toward downstream and exiting the system. The results of bed simulation have shown very small magnitude of change in bed elevation inside deep slough and no changes on the ridge portion of the study area, when a conditional pulsed flow is applied. These findings may suggest that implementing pulsed flow condition did not increase suspended sediment concentration, which results in insignificant changes in bed morphology of a ridge and slough landscape. Therefore sediment transport may not play an important role in wetland bed morphology and ridge and slough stability. Results from the model development and numerical simulations from this research will provide an improved understanding of how wetland features such as ridge may have formed and degraded by changes in water management that resulted from increasing human activity in wetlands such as The Florida Everglades, over the past decades.