Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1975. / Typpescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Universiẗat, Diss., 2005--Karlsruhe.

abstract: Silicon nanowires were grown epitaxially on Si (100) and (111) surfaces using the Vapor-Liquid-Solid (VLS) mechanism under both thermal and plasma enhanced growth conditions. Nanowire morphology was investigated as a function of temperature, time, disilane partial pressure and substrate preparation. Silicon nanowires synthesized in low temperature plasma typically curved compared to the linear nanowires grown under simple thermal conditions. The nanowires tended bend more with increasing disilane partial gas pressure up to 25 x10-3 mTorr. The nanowire curvature measured geometrically is correlated with the shift of the main silicon peak obtained in Raman spectroscopy. A mechanistic hypothesis was proposed to explain the bending during plasma activated growth. Additional driving forces related to electrostatic and Van der Waals forces were also discussed. Deduced from a systematic variation of a three-step experimental protocol, the mechanism for bending was associated with asymmetric deposition rate along the outer and inner wall of nanowire. The conditions leading to nanowire branching were also examined using a two-step growth process. Branching morphologies were examined as a function of plasma powers between 1.5 W and 3.5 W. Post-annealing thermal and plasma-assisted treatments in hydrogen were compared to understand the influences in the absence of an external silicon source (otherwise supplied by disilane). Longer and thicker nanowires were associated with longer annealing times due to an Ostwald-like ripening effect. The roles of surface diffusion, gas diffusion, etching and deposition rates were examined. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Materials Science and Engineering 2011

El objetivo general del presente trabajo de título es realizar, mediante la aplicación de criterios técnicos de ingeniería, una evaluación técnica del desempeño de los algoritmos de Relajación Lagrangeana (RL) y Branch and Bound (B&B) en la búsqueda de soluciones para el problema de optimización de corto plazo en el sistema eléctrico interconectado del norte grande (SING). En la primera parte de la memoria se muestra el planteamiento general del problema de optimización de la operación de corto plazo, el cual corresponde a un problema de optimización entero-mixto y un conjunto de restricciones lineales mediante las cuales se establecen las características técnicas del sistema. Por otra parte, la función objetivo de dicho problema de optimización corresponde a la minimización de los costos asociados a la operación de las unidades en el horizonte de tiempo evaluado. Posteriormente, se muestra una revisión del estado del arte presentando algunas de las principales técnicas utilizadas para resolver este tipo de problema: Lista de Prioridad, Programación Dinámica, Unit Decommitment, RL, Método de Benders, B&B y Algoritmos Genéticos. Para realizar la evaluación sobre los algoritmos de RL y B&B, se realizan programas en Matlab de dichos métodos con el objeto de realizar pruebas que permitan efectuar un análisis comparativo de los rendimientos de ambos algoritmos. Se aplican dichos programas para resolver problemas de predespacho en un modelo reducido del SING. De esta forma se puede observar el rendimiento de cada algoritmo respecto de su capacidad de obtener soluciones factibles, calidad de las soluciones, uso de heurística para generar soluciones y tiempos de ejecución requeridos. Adicionalmente, se puede estudiar la flexibilidad de ambos algoritmos para considerar restricciones de mayor complejidad y sus limitaciones para resolver predespacho en sistemas de dimensiones reales. Se concluye que el algoritmo que presenta un rendimiento que permite resolver de manera más eficiente el problema de predespacho en el SING corresponde al algoritmo RL, lo anterior debido principalmente a los tiempos de ejecución requeridos para su aplicación en sistemas de dimensiones reales y a que las soluciones generadas presentan una precisión del orden del 99% respecto a las soluciones generadas por el otro algoritmo. Adicionalmente, se puede acotar que las actuales políticas de operación aplicadas en el SING no representan una gran complejidad de programación y por lo tanto, la heurística requerida no presenta una complejidad adicional.

This study identifies the success and failure factors of foreign direct investment in transnational education. With western tertiary education markets becoming more saturated, it becomes essential for higher education institutions (HEI) to pursue new and lucrative opportunities internationally. One approach to internationalisation is the establishment of international branch campuses (IBC). This method provides the highest level of control but incurs the most risk, and failure can result in irrecoverable damage to reputation and substantial loss of resources. A review of the literature shows that numerous facets should be considered when establishing an IBC, but there are limited studies that holistically address what makes them successful or how success can be measured. Three research questions were devised to address the gaps in the extant literature. A three-stage exploratory mixed methodology is implemented consisting of expert surveys, case studies and a quantitative survey. The results show five factors that contribute to the success of an IBC. Additionally, eight classifications of success measures and a framework for establishing an IBC were identified. A key finding is the importance of the HEI factor; the remaining factors should be considered once it has been established that the HEI is able to open and operate an IBC efficiently. Furthermore, this study is one of few that presents a holistic view of how to operate an IBC successfully. The results of this thesis present HEI managers with the key considerations when developing an IBC and academicians with scope to further understand what makes IBCs successful.

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No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseMGSF.pdf: 2372267 bytes, checksum: 33d2a1fb8316befd39ea4c2aa4e6a69e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-04-01 / Outra / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / The object of this study is the routing and scheduling problem of vessels with pickup and delivery and time windows in the oil industry. A case study was performed in a Brazilian oil industry that produces crude oil in o shore platforms, that is, located in the ocean, and transports to the terminals located in the Brazilian coast. Then, it was proposed a mixed integer model to represent the problem adequately and for this, a detailed analysis of the real problem in order to know all its characteristics and consider some simplifying assumptions. Therefore, to the pickup and delivery problem with time windows present in the literature were aggregated other speci c restrictions of the case study, for example, multiple depots, ship mooring restrictions, exible draft and dynamic positioning. Besides that, the eet is heterogeneous related to capacity, LOA (length overall), dynamic positioning and velocity. In practice, in general there are no identical vessels. This problem can be represented as a combinatorial optimization model, which belongs to the NP-hard class and its solution is a challenging in practice depending on the size of the real problems. Then, were proposed several exact branch-and-cut methods based on models with 2 and 3-index variables for routing problems with pickup and delivery and time windows to solve speci cally the Brazilian oil industry problem. Finally, we proposed a branch-and-price method, which includes all characteristics of the problem in oil industry. In summary, the main contributions of this thesis are related to the study and modeling of this problem in practice, and the proposal and development of exact solution methods to solve it, based on branch-and-cut and branch-and-price. The performance of the mathematical model in optimization software and the exact methods were veri ed using a real data set provided by the company. Results show that these approaches may be e ective to solve problems of moderate size in real situations. / O objeto de estudo deste trabalho é o problema de roteamento e programação de navios com coleta e entrega e janelas de tempo na indústria petrolífera. Foi realizado um estudo de caso com uma empresa petrolífera brasileira que produz óleo cru em plataformas o shore, isto é, localizadas no oceano e os transporta até os terminais localizados na costa brasileira. Então, foi proposto um modelo de programação inteira mista para representar o problema adequadamente e para isso, foi necessária uma análise detalhada do problema real, com o intuito de conhecer todas as suas características e considerar hipóteses simpli cadoras. Desta maneira, ao problema de coleta e entrega e janelas de tempo da literatura foram agregadas outras restrições especí cas do problema do estudo de caso como, por exemplo, múltiplos depósitos, restrições de atracação dos navios, calado exível e posicionamento dinâmico. Além disso, a frota de navios é heterogênea em relação à capacidade, LOA (length overall ), posicionamento dinâmico e velocidade. Na prática, em geral não existem navios iguais. Este problema pode ser representado como um modelo de otimização combinatória que pertence à classe NP-difícil e sua solução é bastante desa adora na prática em função do tamanho dos problemas reais. Depois, foram propostos vários métodos do tipo branch-and-cut baseados em modelos com variáveis de 2 e 3-índices para problemas de roteamento com coleta e entrega e janelas de tempo para resolver especi camente o problema da empresa brasileira. E por m, foi proposto um método do tipo branch-and-price, o qual abrange todas as características do problema da indústria petrolífera. Em síntese, as principais contribuições desta tese referem-se ao estudo e modelagem deste problema na prática, e a proposta e desenvolvimento de métodos de solução exatos para resolvê-lo, baseados em branch-and-cut e branch-and-price. O desempenho do modelo matemático em softwares de otimização e também dos métodos exatos propostos foi veri cado usando-se exemplares reais fornecidos pela empresa. Os resultados mostram que essas abordagens podem ser efetivas para resolver problemas de tamanho moderado em situações reais.

The caudal fin of zebrafish (danio rerio) is often used to study regeneration thanks to its extraordinary regenerative ability, easy access, and relative simplicity in structure. Branching morphogenesis is observed in many organs, including lungs and salivary glands in mammals, as well as the fin rays in zebrafish and is thought to follow unifying principles. An important developmental gene, sonic hedgehog a (shha), has been shown in other studies to play an essential role in the branch formation. Previous studies in our lab have shown that the transient depletion of the shha-expressing cells following laser ablation of the shha-expressing cells in the regenerating caudal fin results in a delay of fin rays branch formation. In order to study the long-term effect of ablating the shha-expressing cells, I generated a new zebrafish transgenic line (Tg)(2.4shha:CFP-NTR-ABC) to perform a conditional cell ablation using the Metronidazole/Nitroreductase (Mtz/NTR) system. Preliminary data suggest that cell ablation using the Mtz/NTR system is successful in the Tg(2.4shha:CFP-NTR-ABC) embryos. In addition, short-term ablation of the shha-expressing cells through Mtz/NTR system delays branch formation during caudal fin regeneration of the Tg(2.4shha:CFP-NTR-ABC) adult fish. Further work will involve the analysis of the effects of the long-term ablation of the shha-expressing cells and the involvement of other signaling pathways in the ray branching formation during zebrafish caudal fin regeneration. This study can provide insights into understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying branching morphogenesis in various organs. During the course of the above project, I have observed an organ-wide response to local injury in the zebrafish caudal fin. In this study, I have shown, for the first time, an immediate organ-wide response to partial fin amputation characterized by the damage of blood vessels, nerve fibers and the activation of inflammatory response in the non-amputated tissues. I established that the adult zebrafish caudal fin serves as an excellent model for the study of the organ-wide response to local injury, and such study may provide new insights into the field of regenerative medicine in which stimulating regeneration locally may trigger responses in unintended locations.   Résumé La nageoire caudale du poisson zèbre (danio rerio) est souvent utilisée pour étudier les mécanismes de régénération à cause de son extraordinaire capacité de régénération, son accès facile, et sa relative simplicité structurale. La morphogenèse de branches est observée dans plusieurs organes incluant les poumons et les glandes salivaires chez les mammifères ainsi que les rayons des nageoires du poisson zèbre et est supposée suivre des principes communs. Un important gène de développement, sonic hedgehog a (shha), joue un rôle essentiel dans la formation des branches. Des études précédentes effectuées dans notre laboratoire ont montré que l’absence transitoire des cellules exprimant shha dans des expériences d’ablation au rayon laser induit un délai de la formation des branches dans les rayons au cours de la régénération de la nageoire caudale. Afin d’étudier les effets de l’ablation à long terme des cellules exprimant shha, j’ai fait un nouvelle lignée transgénique de poisson zèbre Tg(2.4shha:CFP-NTR-ABC) pour effectuer une ablation cellulaire conditionnelle à l’aide du système Métronidazole / Nitroréductase (Mtz/NTR). Mes données préliminaires suggèrent que l’ablation cellulaire à l’aide du système Mtz/NTR fonctionne sur les embryons Tg(2.4shha:CFP-NTR-ABC). De plus, l’ablation à court terme des cellules exprimant shha à l’aide du système Mtz/NTR induit un délai de la formation des branches au cours de la régénération des rayons la nageoire caudale des poissons adultes Tg(2.4shha:CFP-NTR-ABC). Des études supplémentaires incluront l’analyse des effets de l’ablation à long terme des cellules exprimant shha et le rôle d’autres cascades de signalisation dans la formation des branches des rayons au cours de la régénération de la nageoire caudale du poisson zèbre. Cette étude pourrait fournir des informations concernant la compréhension des mécanismes moléculaires sous-jacents à la formation de branches dans des organes variés. Au cours de l’étude décrite ci-dessus, j’ai fait l’observation d’une réponse globale de toute la nageoire caudale à une blessure locale. Dans cette étude, j’ai montré pour la première fois, une réponse immédiate et globale après amputation partielle de la nageoire. Cette réponse est caractérisée par des lésions des vaisseaux sanguins, des fibres nerveuses et par l’activation d’une réponse inflammatoire dans les tissus non-amputés. J’ai établi que la nageoire caudale du poisson zèbre adulte est un excellent modèle pour l’étude de la réponse globale d’un organe à une lésion locale. Une telle étude pourrait fournir de nouvelles informations pertinentes à la médecine régénérative qui, en visant à stimuler la régénération de façon locale, peut entraîner des réponses dans des domaines non voulus.

Les algorithmes Branch-and-Bound (B&B) font partie des méthodes exactes pour la résolution de problèmes d’optimisation combinatoire. Les calculs induits par un algorithme B&B sont extrêmement couteux surtout lorsque des instances de grande tailles sont considérées. Un algorithme B&B peut être vu comme une exploration implicite d’un espace représenté sous la forme d’un arbre qui a pour spécificité d’être hautement irrégulier. Pour accélérer l’exploration de cet espace, les calculs parallèles et distribués à très large échelle sont souvent utilisés. Cependant, atteindre des performances parallèles optimales est un objectif difficile et jalonné de plusieurs défis, qui découlent essentiellement de deux facteurs: (i) l’irrégularité des calculs inhérents à l’arbre B&B et (ii) l’hétérogénéité inhérente aux environnements de calcul large échelle. Dans cette thèse, nous nous intéressons spécifiquement à la résolution de ces deux défis. Nous nous concentrons sur la conception d’algorithmes distribués pour l’équilibrage de charge afin de garantir qu’aucune entité de calcul n’est surchargée ou sous-utilisée. Nous montrons comment résoudre l’irrégularité des calculs sur différents type d’environnements, et nous comparons les approches proposées par rapport aux approches de références existantes. En particulier, nous proposons un ensemble de protocoles spécifiques à des contextes homogènes, hétérogène en terme de puissance de calcul (muti-coeurs, CPU et GPU), et hétérogènes en terme de qualité des lien réseaux. Nous montrons à chaque fois la supériorité de nos protocoles à travers des études expérimentales extensives et rigoureuses. / Branch and Bound (B&B) algorithms are exact methods used to solve combinatorial optimization problems (COPs). The computation process of B&B is extremely time-intensive when solving large problem instances since the algorithm must explore a very large space which can be viewed as a highly irregular tree. Consequently, B&B algorithms are usually parallelized on large scale distributed computing environments in order to speedup their execution time. Large scale distributed computing environments, such as Grids and Clouds, can provide a huge amount of computing resources so that very large B&B instances can be tackled. However achieving high performance is very challenging mainly because of (i) the irregular characteristics of B&B workload and (ii) the heterogeneity exposed by large scale computing environments. This thesis addresses and deals with the above issues in order to design high performance parallel B&B on large scale heterogeneous computing environments. We focus on dynamic load balancing techniques which are to guarantee that no computing resources are underloaded or overloaded during execution time. We also show how to tackle the irregularity of B&B while running on different computing environments, and consider to compare our proposed solutions with the state-of-the-art algorithms. In particular, we propose several dynamic load balancing algorithms for homogeneous, node-heterogeneous and link-heterogeneous computing platforms. In each context, our approach is shown to perform much better than the state-of-the-art approaches.

Traditionellt fokuserar algoritmanalys på tidskomplexitet där alla individuella instruktioner förmodas ta likvärdig “konstant” tid. Men med modern hårdvara går det att både kasta om ordningen på instruktioner (out-of-order-exekvering) och utföra dem parallellt (pipelining) vilket ändrar förutsättningarna för vad som kan betraktas som effektiv kod.I rapporten identifieras bitvisa operationer och conditional moves som två möjliga förgreningsfria tekniker. Möjligheterna att nå prestandaförbättringar genom att använda dessa tekniker undersöks med experiment där förgreningsfri kod jämförs med traditionell kod. Experimenten utförs på både enkla rutiner och sorteringsalgoritmer för att ta reda på om det blir någon skillnad i exekveringstid med de olika teknikerna.Resultatet tyder att man kan finna vissa vinster i exekveringstid med rätt förutsättningar. Vilken typ av data som rutinerna arbetar med, branch predictors förmåga att göra kvalificerade gissningar och kostnaden för de extra instruktioner som förgreningsfria kod innebär är avgörande faktorer. Dessutom är det avgörande att kompilatorn faktiskt lyckas utföra de optimeringar som conditional moves förlitar sig på. / Traditionally, algorithmic analysis focuses on time complexity where all individual instructions are assumed to take equal "constant" time. But with modern hardware it is possible to both reorder instructions (out-of-order execution) and execute them in parallel (pipelining) which changes the conditions for what can be regarded as effective code.The report identifies bitwise operations and conditional moves as two possible branch-free techniques. The possibilities of achieving improved performance through these techniques is investigated by experiments comparing branch-free code with traditional code. The experiments are performed on both simple routines and more advanced sorting algorithms to evaluate if these techniques will lead to a difference in execution-time. The results suggest that certain performance gains can be found in execution time with the right conditions. The type of data that the routines work with, the branch predictor's ability to make qualified guesses, and the cost of the extra instructions that branch-free code entails, are crucial factors. In addition, it is crucial that the compiler actually succeeds in performing the optimizations that conditional moves rely on.

Influence diagrams (ID) are graphical frameworks for decision making in stochastic situations with mathematical models embedded in them. The goal of an optimal algorithm for an ID is to find a strategy that would maximize the expected utility. We will explain a few algorithms for influence diagrams in this thesis. There exists an obvious temporal ordering among decisions in an ID; and any information used in the past will always be available in the future: these two properties are respectively called the “regularity” and “noforgetting” assumptions. A limited memory influence diagram (LIMID) does not follow these two properties. The existing state-of-art depthirst-branch-and-bound (DFBnB) algorithm for solving influence diagrams does not scale very well due to the exponential increase of nodes proportional to the depth of the search (or total stages in the ID). In this paper, we propose and implement an algorithm that combines two widely used methods, depth first branch-andbound search (DFBnB) and value iteration with incremental pruning, for solving IDs and POMDPs, respectively. We describe an algorithm to convert the strategy tree to a strategy graph. Experiments show the effectiveness of these approaches. Algorithms for solving traditional influence diagrams are not easily generalized to solve LIMIDs, however, and only recently have exact algorithms for solving LIMIDs been developed. In this thesis, we provide an exact algorithm for solving LIMIDs that is based on branch-and-bound search. Our approach is related to the approach of solving an influence diagram by converting it to an equivalent decision tree, with the difference that the LIMID is converted to a much smaller decision graph that can be searched more efficiently.