Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and other odontocete cetaceans rely on sound for communication, navigation, and foraging. Therefore, hearing is one of their primary sensory modalities. Both natural and anthropogenic noise in the marine environment could mask the ability of free-ranging dolphins to detect sounds, and chronic noise exposure could cause permanent hearing losses. In addition, several mass strandings of odontocete cetaceans, especially beaked whales, have been correlated with military exercises involving mid-frequency sonar, highlighting unknowns regarding hearing sensitivity in these animals.Auditory evoked potential (AEP) methods are attractive over traditional behavioral methods for measuring the hearing of marine mammals because they allow rapid assessments of hearing sensitivity and can be used on untrained animals. The goals of this study were to 1.) investigate the differences among underwater AEP, in-air AEP, and underwater behavioral heari ng measurements using two captive bottlenose dolphins, 2.) investigate the hearing abilities of a population of free-ranging bottlenose dolphins in Sarasota Bay, Florida, using AEP techniques, and 3.) report the hearing abilities of a stranded juvenile beaked whale (Mesoplodon europaeus) measured using AEP techniques.For the two captive dolphins, there was generally good agreement among the hearing thresholds determined by the three test methods at frequencies above 20 kHz. At 10 and 20 kHz, in-air AEP audiograms were substantially higher (about 15 dB) than underwater behavioral and underwater AEP audiograms.For the free-ranging dolphins of Sarasota Bay, Florida, there was considerable individual variation, up to 80 dB between individuals, in hearing abilities. There was no relationship between age, gender, or PCB load and hearing sensitivities. Hearing measured in a 52-year-old captive-born bottlenose dolphin showed similar hearing thresholds to the Sarasota dolphins up to 80 kHz, but exhibited a 50 dB drop in sensitivity at 120 kHz.Finally, the beaked whale was most sensitive to high frequency signals between 40 and 80 kHz, but produced smaller evoked potentials to 5 kHz, the lowest frequency tested. The beaked whale hearing range and sensitivity were similar to other odontocetes that have been measured.

Virtual three-dimensional auditory displays (V3DADs) use digital signal processing to deliver sounds (typically through headphones) that seem to originate from specific external spatial locations. This set of studies investigates the delivery of V3DADs through bone-conduction transducers (BCTs) in addition to conventional headphones. Although previous research has shown that spatial separation can be induced through BCTs, some additional signal adjustments are required for optimization of V3DADs, due to the difference in hearing pathways. The present studies tested a bone-conduction adjustment function (BAF) derived from equal-loudness judgments on pure tones whose frequencies were spaced one critical band apart. Localization performance was assessed through conventional air-conduction headphones, BCTs with only transducer correction, and BCTs with a BAF. The results showed that in the elevation plane, the BAF was effective in restoring the spectral cues altered by the bone-conduction pathway. No evidence for increased percept variability or decreased lateralization in the bone-conduction conditions was found. These findings indicate that a V3DAD can be implemented on a BCT and that a BAF will improve performance, but that there is an apparent performance cost that cannot be addressed with BAFs measured using the methodology in the present studies.

The ongoing merger of the digital and optical components of the modern microscope is creating opportunities for new measurement techniques, along with new challenges for optical modelling. This thesis investigates several such opportunities and challenges which are particularly relevant to biomedical imaging. Fourier optics is used throughout the thesis as the underlying conceptual model, with a particular emphasis on three--dimensional Fourier optics. A new challenge for optical modelling provided by digital microscopy is the relaxation of traditional symmetry constraints on optical design. An extension of optical transfer function theory to deal with arbitrary lens pupil functions is presented in this thesis. This is used to chart the 3D vectorial structure of the spatial frequency spectrum of the intensity in the focal region of a high aperture lens when illuminated by linearly polarised beam. Wavefront coding has been used successfully in paraxial imaging systems to extend the depth of field. This is achieved by controlling the pupil phase with a cubic phase mask, and thereby balancing optical behaviour with digital processing. In this thesis I present a high aperture vectorial model for focusing with a cubic phase mask, and compare it with results calculated using the paraxial approximation. The effect of a refractive index change is also explored. High aperture measurements of the point spread function are reported, along with experimental confirmation of high aperture extended depth of field imaging of a biological specimen. Differential interference contrast is a popular method for imaging phase changes in otherwise transparent biological specimens. In this thesis I report on a new isotropic algorithm for retrieving the phase from differential interference contrast images of the phase gradient, using phase shifting, two directions of shear, and non--iterative Fourier phase integration incorporating a modified spiral phase transform. This method does not assume that the specimen has a constant amplitude. A simulation is presented which demonstrates good agreement between the retrieved phase and the phase of the simulated object, with excellent immunity to imaging noise.

Population projection matrix (PPM) models are a central tool in ecology and evolution. They are widely used for devising population management practises for conservation, pest control, and harvesting. They are frequently employed in comparative analyses that seek to explain demographic patterns in natural populations. They are also a key tool in calculating measures of fitness for evolutionary studies. Yet, demographic analyses using projection matrices have, in some ways, failed to keep up with prevailing ecological paradigms. A common focus on long-term and equilibrium dynamics when analysing projection matrix models fits better with the outmoded view of ecosystems as stable and immutable. The more current view of ecosystems as dynamic and subject to constant extrinsic disturbances has bred new theoretical advances in the study of short-term "transient" dynamics. Transient dynamics can be very different to long-term trends, and given that ecological studies are often conducted over short timescales, they may be more relevant to research. This thesis focuses on the study of transient dynamics using population projection matrix models. The first section presents theoretical, methodological and computational advances in the study of transient dynamics. These are designed to enhance the predictive power of models, whilst keeping data requirements to a minimum, and borrow from the fields of engineering and systems control. Case studies in this section provide support for consideration of transient dynamics in population management. The second section applies some of these new methods to answer pertinent questions surrounding the ecology and evolution of transient dynamics in plants. Results show that transient dynamics exhibit patterns according to life form and phylogenetic history. Evidence suggests that this can be linked to the stage-structuring of life cycles, which opens up the possibility for new avenues of research considering the evolution of transient dynamics in nature.

This thesis describes an experimental investigation of the response of lean turbulent swirling flames with different degrees of premixedness (i.e. different mixture patterns) to acoustic forcing using the same burner configuration and varying only the fuel injection strategy. Special emphasis was placed on the amplitude dependence of their response. Also, the behaviour of self-excited fully premixed flames was examined. kHz OH* chemiluminescence was used to study qualitatively the heat release response of the flames, while kHz OH Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence (PLIF) was employed to understand the response of the flame structure and the behaviour of the various parts of the flame. The Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) method was used to extract the dominant structures of the flame and their periodicity. In the first part of the thesis, self-excited oscillations were induced by extending the length of the duct downstream of the bluff body. It was found that the longer the duct length and the higher the equivalence ratio, the stronger the self-excited oscillations were, with the effect of duct length being much stronger. The dominant frequencies of the system were found to increase with equivalence ratio and bulk velocity and decrease with duct length. For some conditions, three simultaneous periodic motions were observed, where the third motion oscillated at a frequency equal to the difference of the other two frequencies. A novel application of the POD method was proposed to estimate the convection velocity from the most dominant reaction zone structures detected by OH* chemiluminescence imaging. For a range of conditions, the convection velocity was found to be in the range of 1.4-1.7 bulk flow velocities at the inlet of the combustor. In the second part, the response of fully premixed, non-premixed with radial fuel injection (NPR) and axial fuel injection (NPA) flames was investigated and compared. All systems exhibited a nonlinear response to acoustic forcing. The highest response was observed by the NPR flame, followed by the fully premixed and the non-premixed with axial fuel injection flame. The proximity of forced flames to blow-off was found to be critical in their heat release response, as close to blow-off the flame response was significantly lower than that farther from blow-off. In the NPR and NPA systems, it was shown that the acoustic forcing reduced the stability of the flame and the stability decreased with the increase in forcing amplitude. In the fully premixed system, the flame area modulations constituted an important mechanism of the system, while in the NPR system both flame area and equivalence ratio modulations were important mechanisms of the heat release modulations. The quantification of the local response of the various parts of the flame at the forcing frequency showed that the ratio RL (OH fluctuation at 160 Hz to the total variance of OH) was greater in the inner shear layer region than in the other parts in the case of NPR and NPA flames. In fully premixed flames, greater RL values were observed in large regions on the downstream side of the flame than those in the ISL region close to the bluff body. The ratio of the convection velocity to the bulk velocity was estimated to be 0.54 for the NPR flame, while it was found to be unity for the respective fully premixed flame. In the last part of the thesis, the response of ethanol spray flames to acoustic oscillations was investigated. The nonlinear response was very low, which was reduced closer to blow-off. The ratio RL was the highest in the spray outer cone region, downstream of the annular air passage, while RL values were very low in the inner cone region, downstream of the bluff body. Unlike NPR and fully premixed flames, in case of spray and NPA systems, it was found that forcing did not affect greatly the flame structure. The understanding of the nonlinear response of flames with different degrees of premixedness in a configuration relevant to industrial systems contributes to the development of reliable flame response models and lean-burn devices, because the degree of premixedness affects greatly the flame response. Also, the understanding of the behaviour of forced spray flames is of great interest for industrial applications, contributing to the development of thermoacoustic models for liquid fuelled combustors. Finally, the estimation of the convection velocity is of importance in the modelling of self-excited flames and flame response models, since the convection velocity affects the flame response significantly.

Les instabilités thermo-acoustiques se rencontrent fréquemment au sein des chambres de combustion de toute taille, de la petite chaudière au moteur de fusée. Ces instabilités sont causées par le couplage entre ondes acoustiques et dégagement de chaleur instationnaire. En effet, le passage d'une onde acoustique au travers d'une flamme va moduler son dégagement de chaleur qui, en retour, va générer de nouvelles ondes acoustiques. Lorsqu'une chambre de combustion entre en instabilité, d'importantes variations de pression sont observées ; ces fluctuations peuvent user prématurément le système ou altérer ses performances. L'étude des instabilités thermo-acoustiques a pour but d'améliorer notre compréhension de ces phénomènes complexes afin de les prévenir. L'objectif de ce travail est d'obtenir et d'intégrer au sein de modèles réduits des descriptions précises de la dissipation acoustique – effet stabilisant - et d'interaction flamme/acoustique – effet déstabilisant. Cette étude se décompose en trois axes : La première partie développe le concept de « modèle acoustique réduit » qui permet de prédire les modes acoustiques d'une chambre de combustion. Pour cela, sont prises en compte les dissipations inhérentes à certaines pièces(diaphragmes, injecteurs, ...) ainsi que le couplage flamme/acoustique. Une fois le modèle établi, il convient d'en chercher les solutions à l'aide d'un solveur numérique spécialement conçu pour cette tâche. Dans une deuxième partie, un banc expérimental est utilisé pour caractériser le lien entre perte de charge et dissipation acoustique. Il est montré de manière théorique et expérimentale que la connaissance des pertes de charge au travers d'un élément permet de prédire son comportement acoustique à basse fréquence. La dernière partie concerne le couplage flamme/acoustique et plus spécifiquement l'influence de la température de l'accroche-flamme :une flamme pauvre pré-mélangée air/méthane est stabilisée sur un cylindre dont la température peut être contrôlée. Ainsi, il est montré que l'influence de la température du cylindre sur la flamme – position d'équilibre, dynamique et stabilité - est remarquable. / From small scale energy systems such as domestic boilers up to rocket motors, combustion chambers are often prone to combustion instabilities. These instabilities stem from the coupling of unsteady heat release rate and acoustic waves. This coupling is two sided: flame front perturbations generate acoustic waves while acoustic waves impinging on flame holders can disturb flames attached on them. Important pressure and velocity oscillations can be reached during unstable regimes, that can alter its efficiency or even damage the entire combustion chamber. One major challenge is to understand, predict, and prevent from these combustion instabilities. The objectives of this thesis are twofold: (1) take into account acoustic dissipation and (2)analyze flame/acoustic coupling to obtain Reduced Order Model (ROM) for combustion instabilities. This work is divided into three parts. First, the concept of ROM that gives the acoustic modes of a combustion chamber is introduced. This modeling strategy is based on the acoustic network theory and may take into account flame/acoustic coupling as well as acoustic dissipation. An efficient numerical algorithm dedicated to solve ROMs was designed on purpose and validated on several academical configurations. Second, an experimental rig was commissioned to study mean and acoustic pressure losses across a diaphragm and two swirl injectors. Results show that these two phenomena are linked and can be simply incorporated into ROMs. Finally, flame/acoustic coupling is investigated by using both direct numerical simulations and experiments: a lean premixed V-shaped laminar flame is anchored on a cylindrical bluff-body and we show that its temperature greatly influences the flame mean shape as well as its dynamics.

Esta tese propõe um método de avaliação de sistemas de obtenção de imagem radiológica através das Funções de Transferência simuladas para qualquer região do campo de radiação. Esse processo de simulação reflete as mudanças sofridas pelo ponto focal e, portanto, pela Função de Espalhamento de Ponto (FEP) ao longo do campo. A avaliação utiliza informações obtidas de Funções de Transferência ótica bi-dimensionais calculadas através da aplicação de Transformadas de Fourier sobre as Funções de Espalhamento de Ponto simuladas. O método permite realizar um mapeamento da resposta em freqüências espaciais dos sistemas radio1ógicos para todo o campo de radiação, comparar a nitidez da imagem de sistemas distintos com relação a regiões equivalentes e estudar uma região especifica para prever as distorções que serão inseridas na imagem. / In this work a method of evaluation for the radiological imaging systems performance by simulated transfer functions for any X-ray field region is proposed. The simulation procedures provide information of the changes of the focal spot sizes and, therefore, of the Point Spread Function (PSF) along the field. The evaluation yields the bi-dimensional optical Transfer Functions calculated from Fourier Transformation of the simulated PSFs. This method provides: the spatial frequency response for the entire radiation field of the radiological systems; comparisons of the image sharpness relative to equivalent field regions for different systems; and the study of a singular region in order to predict image distortions.

Orientador: Edson Bim / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Eletrica e de Computação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-09T08:39:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 SguareziFilho_AlfeuJoaozinho_M.pdf: 4747025 bytes, checksum: 077f211f88c422646414f234628ad798 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / Resumo: Este trabalho visa o estudo de métodos de projeto de controladores mediante o emprego da função de transferência complexa; o controle em baixas velocidades de um motor de indução trifásico orientado no fluxo do rotor, bem como no do estator, é o objetivo a ser alcançado. A formulação do modelo vetorial do motor de indução com emprego da função de transferência complexa e do controle vetorial são apresentados. Para validar a proposta, um controlador de ganho proporcional complexo é realizado. Resultados de simulação e de experimentos são obtidos / Abstract: This work aims the study of tunning methods for controllers on vector control using the complex transfer function; low speed control by using the rotor or stator flux orientation on the induction motor is the objetctive. The complex transfer function formulation, its aplication on induction machine model and vector control are presented. To validate the proposal, a proportional complex gains is proposed. Simulation and experimentally results are presented. / Mestrado / Energia Eletrica / Mestre em Engenharia Elétrica

Ultra wideband (UWB) technology plays a significant role in wireless communication. The complex antenna transfer function (CATF) of an UWB antenna provides important information required for better channel designs and communication systems. In this dissertation the CATF of a Double ridge guide horn (DRGH) antenna is determined and used as a standard antenna for UWB measurements. Two methods were used: the two antenna method in an anechoic chamber and a modified gain-transfer method in a compact antenna test range (CATR). Measurements were performed with a vector network analyser (VNA) in the frequency domain, in the anechoic chamber and the CATR. The distance measurements required to calculate the CATF from the S-parameter measurements were performed in the time domain. The CATF of the standard antenna was determined using two identical antennas and then it was shown that a modified gain-transfer method can be used to determine the CATF of any unknown antenna in a CATR, using the standard antenna as a reference. Some of the challenges were to obtain the correct equations and measurement method to obtain the CATF in a CATR. The standard antenna was used to investigate uncertainty contributions for the measurements in the CATR. / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering / unrestricted

L’utilisation des coquilles carbonatées de foraminifères planctoniques comme marqueurs paléocéanographiques repose sur l’hypothèse fondamentale que chaque espèce morphologique correspond à une espèce biologique caractéristique d’un habitat spécifique. Cette relation empirique a été récemment remise en cause par des analyses moléculaires qui ont révélé la présence systématique de plusieurs espèces génétiques (espèces cryptiques) au sein des morpho-espèces actuelles. Il a été suggéré que ces espèces cryptiques ou génotypes, présentaient (1) des préférences biogéographiques et écologiques restreintes par rapport à leur morpho-espèce respective et (2) des différences morphologiques. Dans ce travail, nous avons caractérisé la diversité génétique, morphologique et écologique de 4 morpho-espèces clefs de la paléocéanographie, i.e. Orbulina universa, Truncorotalia truncatulinoides, Globoconella inflata et Globigerina bulloides. Cette étude repose sur le développement d’un protocole d’extraction ADN non destructif pour la coquille calcaire, permettant l’analyse conjointe de la variabilité génétique et morphologique d’un même individu. Les variations de forme ou de porosité de chacun des génotypes des morphoespèces ont été quantifiées. Il apparaît que le fort degré de plasticité morphologique largement documenté chez les foraminifères planctonique et jusqu’alors interprété comme écophénotypique, est au moins en partie la conséquence du regroupement de plusieurs génotypes présentant des morphologies et préférences écologique particulières. Sur la base de ces observations, des modèles de reconnaissance morphologique permettant d’identifier les génotypes à partir de la morphologie de la coquille, utilisables à l’échelle populationnelle, ont été développés. Afin de quantifier l’impact de l’intégration de la diversité cryptique dans les reconstitutions paléocéanographiques basées sur les assemblages de foraminifères planctoniques, les fonctions de transfert couramment utilisées ont été re-calibrées en intégrant les distributions restreintes des génotypes d’O. universa, T. truncatulinoides, G. inflata et G. bulloides. Ces re-calibrations conduisent à un degré de précision jusqu’alors jamais atteint dans les reconstructions paléocéanographiques basées sur les assemblages de foraminifères planctoniques. / The usefulness of calcareous shells of planktonic foraminifera as a paleoceanographic proxy relies on the key hypothesis that each morphospecies corresponds to a biological species with a specific habitat. This empirical relationship has been challenged since molecular analyses have revealed a significant level of cryptic genetic diversity among modern morphospecies of planktonic foraminifera. Previous workers have suggested that the cryptic species or genotypes (1) display narrower biogeographic and ecological ranges than their related morphospecies, and (2) exhibit shell morphological differences. In this work, we have characterized the genetic, morphological and ecological diversity among four planktonic foraminiferal morphospecies of significance in paleoceanography, i.e. Orbulina universa, Truncorotalia truncatulinoides, Globoconella inflata and Globigerina bulloides. Our study relies on the development of a new single-cell DNA extraction protocol that retains the shell, allowing direct morpho-genetic comparisons. Shape or porosity variations within each genotype have been quantified. It appears that the high degree of morphological plasticity widely documented in planktonic foraminifera and classically seen as ecophenotypy, is at least partly the spurious consequence of lumping several genotypes that display morphological and environmental preferences. Based on these observations, we developed several population-scale models, which allow recognition of the cryptic species based on their shell morphology. Finally, in order to quantify the impact of integrating cryptic diversity in assemblage-based aleoceanographic reconstructions, we have re-calibrated transfer functions based on the ecological ranges of the genotypes of O. universa, T. truncatulinoides, G. inflata and G. bulloides in the southern oceans. Such recalibrations led to a great, previously never reached improvement in the accuracy of the assemblage-based paleoceanographic reconstructions.