Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist es, den Einsatz der konfokalen Laser-Scanning-Mikroskopie (LSM) für die Beurteilung von humanen Osteoblasten auf experimentellen Implantatoberflächen zu prüfen. Die acht Probekörper besaßen anodische Konversionsoberflächen, die aus den Elektrolyten Zirkoniumsulfat, Phosphorsäure und Kaliumfluorid sowie deren Kombinationen hergestellt waren. Als Positivstandard dienten TICER® und Cercon®, als Negativstandard commercial pure Titan (CPT/Reintitan). Diese Probekörper wurden in Chamber Slides mit einer humanen Osteoblastenkultur inkubiert. Am 3., 5., 7. und 10. Versuchstag erfolgte die immunhistochemische Darstellung von Bone-Sialoprotein (BSP). Anschließend wurden im LSM fluoreszenzmikroskopisch 3D-Bildstapel aufgenommen und mit dem 2D-mikroskopischen Verfahren verglichen. Es zeigte sich, dass das Bone-Sialoprotein einen Hinweis auf aktive Osteoblasten darstellt. Die BSP-exprimierenden Strukturen, die sich zu Volumina zusammenfügen, variieren an den verschiedenen Versuchstagen und bei den unterschiedlichen Oberflächenstrukturen. Eine deutlich erhöhte BSP-Expressionsrate wurde bei den elektrolytisch beschichteten Probekörpern aus Zirkoniumsulfat, Kaliumfluorid und Phosphorsäure erfasst. Ein eindeutiger Unterschied zwischen der 2D-Mikroskopie und der LSM ergab sich jedoch nicht. Die LSM erlaubt aber zusätzlich Aussagen über absorbierte Proteine an den Probekörperoberflächen durch eine um 90°-gedrehte Projektion der 3D-Bildstapel.

Baigiamajame magistro darbe nagrinėjamos OpenMP, UPC, MPI ir BSP lygiagrečiojo programavimo technologijos sprendžiant dvimatį šilumos laidumo uždavinį lygiagrečiuoju Jakobio iteraciniu metodu. Kiekvienai technologijai sudaromi lygiagretieji algoritmai, aptariamas jų realizacijos sudėtingumas programuotojo požiūriu ir efektyvumas skirtingose kompiuterių architektūrose. Dabą sudaro 6 dalys: įvadas, technologijų apžvalga, šilumos laidumo uždavinys, programų realizacija, rezultatų palyginimas, išvados, literatūra. Darbo apimtis – 38 p. teksto be priedų, 9 paveikslėliai, 3 lentelės, 10 bibliografinių šaltinių. / In this thesis, we consider OpenMP, UPC, MPI and BSP parallel programming technologies - solving two dimensional heat equation, using parallel Jacobi iterative method. Parallel algorithms are constructed and implemented for each technology. Their effectiveness in different computer architectures is discussed as well as the complexity of different implementations from programmer’s point of view. Thesis consists of 6 parts: introduction, technology overview, heat conduction problem, program implementations, comparison of the results, conclusions and references. Thesis consist of: 38 p. text without appendixes, 9 pictures, 3 tables, 10 bibliographical entries.

Στα πλαίσια αυτής της διπλωματικής αναπτύχθηκε ένα σύνολο συναρτήσεων και κλάσεων το οποίο αποσκοπεί στην διευκόλυνση της συγγραφής προγραμμάτων τρισδιάστατων γραφικών. Σκοπός είναι η δημιουργία ενός API το οποίο να μην απαιτεί από τον χρήστη – προγραμματιστή βαθειά γνώση των τρισδιάστατων γραφικών αλλά μόνο ορισμένες θεμελιώδεις έννοιες και μια επιφανειακή γνώση του OpenGL προκειμένου να στήσει και να σχεδιάσει μια τρισδιάστατη σκηνή γρήγορα και εύκολα. Παράλληλα μπορεί να φανεί χρήσιμο εργαλείο και στον έμπειρο προγραμματιστή ο οποίος χρειάζεται ένα περιβάλλον που να τον απαλλάσσει από τετριμμένες και επαναλαμβανόμενες διαδικασίες που αποτελούν τροχοπέδη στην μελέτη και ανάπτυξη νέων αλγορίθμων και τεχνικών. Όλα αυτά έχουν γίνει με κύριο γνώμονα την αποδοτική σχεδίαση και την απόρριψη μη ορατής γεωμετρίας έτσι ώστε να είναι δυνατή η σχεδίαση πολυπλοκότερων σκηνών. / -

A common type of problems that exist in both industrial and scientific spaces are optimization problems. These problems can be found in among other things manufacturing, pathfinding, network routing and more. Because of the wide area of application, optimization is well a studied area. One solution to these types of problems is the Ant Colony Optimization algorithm that has been around since 1991 and has undergone a lot of developments over the years. This algorithm draws inspiration from real ant colonies and their procedure for foraging. However, a common criticism of this algorithm is its poor scalability. To tackle the scalability problem this thesis will combine the concept of binary space partitioning with the Ant Colony Optimization algorithm. The goal is to examine the algorithms convergence times and lengths of the paths produced. The results are measured in intervals by calculating the best possible path found at every interval. The findings showed that given an unlimited execution time the original Ant Colony Optimization algorithm produced shorter paths. But when a limit on execution time was introduced and the problem sizes grew the performance began to favor the partitioned versions. These findings could be useful in areas where complex optimization problems need to be solved within a limited timeframe. / <p>The presentation took place via an online conference call using the software "Zoom"</p>

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

La famille des protéines SIBLINGs comprend la sialoprotéine osseuse (BSP), lostéopontine (OPN), la sialophosphoprotéine de dentine (DSPP), la protéine de matrice de dentine 1 (DMP1), la phosphoglycoprotéine de matrice extracellulaire (MEPE) et lénameline (ENAM). Comme leur nom lindique, ces protéines ont dabord été identifiées au niveau de la matrice minéralisée de los et de la dent. Durant la dernière décennie, notre Laboratoire et dautres équipes ont démontré que cette famille de protéines est également exprimée par un certain nombre de tissus tumoraux. Nous avons entrepris ce doctorat dans la continuité des projets de recherche menés au Laboratoire sintéressant à létude des SIBLINGs au cours de la progression tumorale et métastatique. La première partie de notre projet a consisté à investiguer les mécanismes de régulation de lexpression du gène de la BSP humaine au niveau de cellules ostéoblastiques. Le facteur de transcription Runx2 est un facteur clé de la régulation des gènes osseux. Dès lors, nous avons émis lhypothèse selon laquelle linduction de lexpression du gène de la BSP observée au cours de la différenciation ostéoblastique pourrait être sous la dépendance de ce facteur. Nous avons ensuite étudié la régulation du gène de la BSP au niveau de cellules cancéreuses mammaires. En effet, nous avons voulu déterminer si lexpression de la BSP était sous la dépendance de mécanismes de régulation transcriptionnelle différents de ceux observés au niveau de cellules dorigine osseuse. Lobjectif final étant de bloquer spécifiquement lexpression de la BSP au niveau des tumeurs. Notre stratégie a dabord consisté à identifier les principaux facteurs transcriptionnels impliqués dans cette régulation puis à en étudier limpact sur lactivité du promoteur de la BSP au niveau des deux types cellulaires considérés. Dans la deuxième partie de ce projet, nous nous sommes consacrés à létude dun autre membre de la famille des SIBLINGs, lOPN, afin den identifier le rôle au niveau des gliomes humains. Précédemment, il a été démontré que lOPN est surexprimée dans les gliomes et ce, en corrélation avec le grade de la tumeur. Cependant, il ny a que peu détudes décrivant le rôle de lOPN dans les gliomes. Dès lors, nous avons voulu vérifier limportance de lOPN au cours du développement des gliomes en utilisant la technique dinterférence à lARN.

A nation of one billion people, India is often recognized as the world’s largest democracy. The ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity in India creates a unique collection of voters whose divisions are not only brought about due to differences in ideological preferences, but also as a result of various caste and ethnic divisions that remain strongly ingrained in modern Indian society. Indian political parties must not only be able to gain voter confidence through the production and presentation of sound ideology, but also must struggle to help relate this ideology to a much divided and ethnically stratified voter base. This social construct has led to the rise of various political parties in India whose political agenda is to cater specifically to unique ethnic groups and minorities, while at times having to form political alliances gain power (Jana & Sarmah, 2002, 1). This study will analyze the rise of one such Indian political party formally established as the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in the state of Uttar Pradesh. More specifically, it will address the following question: Has engaging in party coalitions caused the BSP to sacrifice its ideology in the arena of Uttar Pradesh Politics?

A etapa de broad-phase para a detecção de colisão em cenas compostas de n objetos que se movimentam é um problema desafiador, pois enumerar os pares de colisão revela uma complexidade quadrática. Estruturas de dados espaciais são desenvolvidas para acelerar o processo, mas muitas vezes a natureza estática dessas estruturas dificulta o manejo de cenas dinâmicas. Nesse trabalho, é proposta uma nova estrutura chamada de árvore BSP semi-ajustável para representar cenas compostas de milhares de objetos dinâmicos. Um algoritmo de agendamento avalia onde a árvore BSP torna-se desbalanceada, usa várias estratégias para alterar os planos de corte e atualizações preguiçosas para reduzir os custos de reconstrução. É mostrado que a árvore não precisa uma total reconstrução mesmo em cenas altamente dinâmicas, ajustando-se e mantendo propriedades desejáveis de balanceamento e profundidade. / The broad-phase step of collision detection in scenes composed of n moving objects is a challenging problem because enumerating collision pairs has an inherent O(n²) complexity. Spatial data structures are designed to accelerate this process, but often their static nature makes it difficult to handle dynamic scenes. In this work we propose a new structure called Semi-Adjusting BSP-tree for representing scenes composed of thousands of moving objects. A scheduling algorithm evaluates locations where the BSP-tree becomes unbalanced, uses several strategies to alter cutting planes, and defers updates based on their re-structuring cost. We show that the tree does not require a complete re-structuring even in highly dynamic scenes, but adjusts itself while maintaining desirable balancing and height properties.

A etapa de broad-phase para a detecção de colisão em cenas compostas de n objetos que se movimentam é um problema desafiador, pois enumerar os pares de colisão revela uma complexidade quadrática. Estruturas de dados espaciais são desenvolvidas para acelerar o processo, mas muitas vezes a natureza estática dessas estruturas dificulta o manejo de cenas dinâmicas. Nesse trabalho, é proposta uma nova estrutura chamada de árvore BSP semi-ajustável para representar cenas compostas de milhares de objetos dinâmicos. Um algoritmo de agendamento avalia onde a árvore BSP torna-se desbalanceada, usa várias estratégias para alterar os planos de corte e atualizações preguiçosas para reduzir os custos de reconstrução. É mostrado que a árvore não precisa uma total reconstrução mesmo em cenas altamente dinâmicas, ajustando-se e mantendo propriedades desejáveis de balanceamento e profundidade. / The broad-phase step of collision detection in scenes composed of n moving objects is a challenging problem because enumerating collision pairs has an inherent O(n²) complexity. Spatial data structures are designed to accelerate this process, but often their static nature makes it difficult to handle dynamic scenes. In this work we propose a new structure called Semi-Adjusting BSP-tree for representing scenes composed of thousands of moving objects. A scheduling algorithm evaluates locations where the BSP-tree becomes unbalanced, uses several strategies to alter cutting planes, and defers updates based on their re-structuring cost. We show that the tree does not require a complete re-structuring even in highly dynamic scenes, but adjusts itself while maintaining desirable balancing and height properties.

A etapa de broad-phase para a detecção de colisão em cenas compostas de n objetos que se movimentam é um problema desafiador, pois enumerar os pares de colisão revela uma complexidade quadrática. Estruturas de dados espaciais são desenvolvidas para acelerar o processo, mas muitas vezes a natureza estática dessas estruturas dificulta o manejo de cenas dinâmicas. Nesse trabalho, é proposta uma nova estrutura chamada de árvore BSP semi-ajustável para representar cenas compostas de milhares de objetos dinâmicos. Um algoritmo de agendamento avalia onde a árvore BSP torna-se desbalanceada, usa várias estratégias para alterar os planos de corte e atualizações preguiçosas para reduzir os custos de reconstrução. É mostrado que a árvore não precisa uma total reconstrução mesmo em cenas altamente dinâmicas, ajustando-se e mantendo propriedades desejáveis de balanceamento e profundidade. / The broad-phase step of collision detection in scenes composed of n moving objects is a challenging problem because enumerating collision pairs has an inherent O(n²) complexity. Spatial data structures are designed to accelerate this process, but often their static nature makes it difficult to handle dynamic scenes. In this work we propose a new structure called Semi-Adjusting BSP-tree for representing scenes composed of thousands of moving objects. A scheduling algorithm evaluates locations where the BSP-tree becomes unbalanced, uses several strategies to alter cutting planes, and defers updates based on their re-structuring cost. We show that the tree does not require a complete re-structuring even in highly dynamic scenes, but adjusts itself while maintaining desirable balancing and height properties.