The National Scientific Balloon Facility (NSBF) conducts scientific balloon flights. Scientific payloads ranging from a few hundred up to several thousand pounds suspended weight are flown over the southern United States. People living in these areas are subject to risk from these operations. A model has been developed to predict the risk associated with the ascent phase of a balloon operation. This model includes all of the significant factors that affect ascent phase risk. The model is automated in a computer program whose input contains all of the parameters and factors for a particular mission. The results of this model can be used to advise management personnel of the risk level for a particular balloon mission. This model can be used as a long range planning tool or on the day of launch to determine whether the mission risk level is acceptable. / Master of Science

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No / A description of the ab initio quantum chemistry package GAMESS-UK is presented. The package offers a wide range of quantum mechanical wavefunctions, capable of treating systems ranging from closed-shell molecules through to the species involved in complex reaction mechanisms. The availability of a wide variety of correlation methods provides the necessary functionality to tackle a number of chemically important tasks, ranging from geometry optimization and transition-state location to the treatment of solvation effects and the prediction of excited state spectra. With the availability of relativistic ECPs and the development of ZORA, such calculations may be performed on the entire Periodic Table, including the lanthanides. Emphasis is given to the DFT module, which has been extensively developed in recent years, and a number of other, novel features of the program. The parallelization strategy used in the program is outlined, and detailed speedup results are given. Applications of the code in the areas of enzyme and zeolite catalysis and in spectroscopy are described.

Yes / The web environment has been developing remarkably, and much work has been done towards improving web based notification systems, where servers act smartly by notifying and feeding clients with subscribed data. In this paper we have reviewed some of the problems with current solutions to real-time updates of multi user web applications; we introduce a new concept “adaptive polling” based on one AJAX technique “Polling” to reduce the high volume of redundant server connections with reasonable latency, we demonstrated a prototype implementation of the new concept which is then evaluated against the existing one; the positive results clearly indicated more efficiency in terms of client-server bandwidth.

Ce travail est principalement lié aux différentes difficultés liées à la découverte de nouvelles musiques. Cette étude examine de près les alternatives les plus populaires pour la consommation de musique aujourd'hui face au défi de proposer de la nouvelle musique à l'utilisateur ou à l'auditeur. Par exemple, les alternatives telles que la radio, les magasins de musique, les spectacles en direct, les sites web, les applications mobiles, les algorithmes de suggestion des plateformes musicales et les réseaux sociaux. Par conséquent, ce travail est basé sur l'hypothèse que toutes les alternatives actuelles offrent aux clients un accès médiocre à la musique qui, en particulier, n'est pas célèbre ou ne bénéficie pas d'investissements pour sa promotion. Cette hypothèse convient également que ce biais peut fortement influencer les goûts et/ou les préférences d'une population par le biais de la publicité. L'objectif de cette étude est de proposer la conception d'un système alternatif de stockage et d'accès aux fichiers musicaux sous la forme d'une page web, cette conception devant se différencier des autres puisque, par essence, elle est conçue pour être aussi imperméable que possible au phénomène des « lumières et des ombres ». Pour contextualiser ce projet basé sur la recherche et la création, une explication est donnée sur la façon dont le développement de la thèse partage les mêmes étapes importantes qui doivent être prises en compte pour réaliser le design d'une application web pour ses prochaines étapes de développement. Il est nécessaire de prendre en compte que ces étapes ont été planifiées en suivant les lignes directrices recommandées par la Faculté de génie logiciel et informatique de l'Université nationale de Colombie. La conclusion de cette étude, élaborée au fil de la conception de l'alternative proposée, est présentée à la conclusion du projet. / This work is mainly related to the difficulties of discovering new music to listen to. This study carefully analyzes the most popular music consumption alternatives today in the face of the challenge of offering new music to the user or listener. For example, alternatives such as radio, music stores, live performances, websites, mobile applications, suggestion algorithms of music platforms and virtual social networks . Consequently, this work is based on the hypothesis that all current alternatives offer poor customer access to music that in particular is not famous or does not enjoy investment to be promoted. This hypothesis also agrees that this bias can strongly influence the tastes and/or preferences of a population through advertising. A phenomenon is pointed out by the researcher, called in this work as "lights and shadows", which directly connects this hypothesis with the problem and also with the questions of access and classification of music files. The objective of this study is to propose the design of an alternative for storage and access to music files as a web page, this design will have the intention of differentiating itself from the rest since from its essence it is manufactured to be as impervious as possible to the phenomenon "light and shadow." An approach will be made to topics related to metadata, social networks, use of GPS and geographic location as important tools for this proposal. To contextualize this project based on research and creation, it is an explanation of how the development of the thesis shares the same important steps that must be taken into account to carry out the design of a web application for its following stages of development. developing. It is necessary to take into account that these steps were planned following guidelines recommended by the Faculty of Software and Computing Engineering of the National University of Colombia. The conclusion of this investigation that is discovered and developed through the design of the proposed alternative is shared at the end of the work.

Health disparities are a recognized public health concern and the need to address these disparities remains worthy of bringing new methods that assist in closing the gap. This research examined the effectiveness of data science to highlight health disparities, and to convey the value of data science applications in related health care applications. The goal of this research was accomplished by undertaking a multi-phased and multi-method approach, best represented in three individual essays. In essay one, a systematic literature review assessed the state in current academic literature of data science applications used to explore health disparities and to determine its applicability. The systematic review was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Essay two assessed the capacity of data science software to address the effectiveness of these data science technologies in examining health disparities data. This was conducted using KDnuggets data pertaining to analytics, data science, and machine-learning software. The research in this essay demonstrated the potential utility of leading software to perform the kinds of data science operations that can achieve improved care in healthcare networks by addressing health disparities. Essay three provided an appropriate case study to showcase the value data science brings to the healthcare space. This study used a geographic information system to create and analyze choropleth maps to determine the distribution of prostate cancer in Texas. SPSS software was used to assess the social determinants of health that may explain prostate cancer mortality.

Ce mémoire présente le développement de systèmes de traitement de surface au laser qui seront utilisés pour des applications de robotique. Ce mémoire vise à résoudre un problème présent dans l'entreprise Laserax, une entreprise qui implante des solutions de traitement laser dans des industries. Le principal problème est que leur système laser montés sur le robot n'est pas optimal pour répondre au besoin de Laserax car il limite les zones accessibles pour effectuer un travail laser. En effet, l'entreprise veut une solution laser plus versatile pour leur bras robotisé afin de pouvoir mieux répondre aux besoins de leurs clients. L'objectif de ce projet de maîtrise est de développer deux nouveaux systèmes lasers monté sur le bras robotisé pour maximiser l'espace atteignable du robot. Le mémoire débute avec une revue des technologies existantes dans l'industrie. Ensuite on présente une description des logiciels utilisés pour la réalisation du projet. Le laboratoire robot laser présent chez Laserax est ensuite présenté. Enfin, on présente le développement de deux systèmes lasers dans la longueur d'onde 1064nm, l'un monomode et l'autre multimode. Le système laser monomode est un laser 3D qui va permettre d'être plus versatile sur le traitement des pièces comparativement au son prédécesseur qui lui était seulement un laser 2D. Pour ce qui est du système laser multimode, c'est aussi un laser 2D, mais celui-ci possède une très grande profondeur de champ ainsi qu'une très haute puissance qui va permettre de mieux répondre au besoin grandissant du marché. Il est donc nécessaire de concevoir deux nouveaux boitiers de têtes laser à poser sur le bras robotisé. / This thesis presents the development of two fiber optic laser systems that will be used for robotic laser surface treatment applications. This thesis aims to solve a problem present in the company Laserax, a company that implements laser treatment solutions in the industry. The main problem is that their laser system mounted on the robot is not optimized to meet their needs because it restricts the areas available for performing laser work. In fact, the company is looking for a more versatile laser solution on its robotic arm to better meet its customers' needs. The objective of this project is therefore to develop two new fiber optic laser systems to be mounted on the robotic arm. This thesis begins with an analysis of what is available in the industry. It continues with a description of the software used for the realization of the project. A presentation of the laser robot laboratory present at Laserax follows. Finally, it presents the development of two fiber optic laser systems in the 1064 wavelength, one single-mode and the other multi-mode. The single-mode laser system is a 3D laser that is more versatile to process parts compared to its predecessor which was only a 2D laser. As for the multimode laser system, it is also a 2D laser, but it has a very large depth of field as well as a very high power which will make it possible to better meet the growing need of the market. It is therefore necessary to design two new housings for the laser heads than can be mounted to the robotic arm.

Ce mémoire porte sur un laser modulable temporellement et accordable en longueur d'onde dans l'infrarouge moyen pour répondre à une application de contre-mesure pour la protection des plateformes aériennes. Il est constitué d'une source délivrant des impulsions femtosecondes (fs) à une longueur d'onde d'environ 2.8 micromètres (µm) et d'un système d'autodécalage en longueur d'onde par effet Raman. Ce dernier est l'objet à concevoir dans le cadre du présent projet de maîtrise. Le chapitre 1 décrit ainsi le fonctionnement de quatre générations d'auto-directeur (AD) infrarouge, dont trois étaient assujettis à des simulations des effets lasers en laboratoire, tel que présenté au chapitre 4. Le chapitre 2 couvre la théorie essentielle et certaines astuces qui ont permis de concevoir le laser présenté au chapitre 3. La physionomie du système d'autodécalage conçu permet l'amplification des impulsions fs de la source laser, grâce à une fibre optique de verre fluoré dopée à l'erbium, en plus de l'autodécalage en longueur d'onde jusqu'à 4.8 µm à l'aide d'une fibre optique de fluoroindate. De plus, le système d'autodécalage est entièrement fibré pour des raisons de robustesse, il est opérable à des taux de répétition de plus de 100 hertz et il permet une émission jusqu'à 1.1 watts de puissance laser sur toute la plage de longueurs d'onde. Ces performances étaient nécessaires pour contrecarrer efficacement trois émulateurs d'AD : un à balayage conique, un à double-bande spectrale et un imageant. / This dissertation focuses on a mid-infrared modulated and wavelength-tunable laser for countermeasure applications. This laser source is based on a seed laser, which emits femtoseconds (fs) pulses at a central wavelength of 2.8 microns (µm), and a soliton self-frequency shift (SSFS) system. The conception of the latter is the goal of the project. Chapter 1 then introduces four generations of infrared seekers, three of which were emulated and tested in laboratories, as presented in chapter 4. Chapter 2 develops fundamental concepts as well as conception tips that helped build the laser presented in chapter 3. The SSFS system amplifies fs pulses from the seed laser, with the help of an erbium doped fluoride optical fibre, and shifts their wavelengths up to 4.8 µm using a fluoroindate fiber. The SSFS system is all-fibre for better robustness, it can be operated beyond 100 hertz and it allows for delivering a laser power up to 1.1 watts for the whole emission spectrum. These performances were mandatories for sufficiently neutralizing the three following IR seeker emulators: a conical scanner, a dual band scanner and an imaging system.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries