La vérification automatique du locuteur est une tâche de classification qui vise à confirmer ou infirmer l'identité d'un individu d'après une étude des caractéristiques spécifiques de sa voix. L'intégration de systèmes de vérification du locuteur sur des appareils embarqués impose de respecter deux types de contraintes, liées à cet environnement : - les contraintes matérielles, qui limitent fortement les ressources disponibles en termes de mémoire de stockage et de puissance de calcul disponibles ; - les contraintes ergonomiques, qui limitent la durée et le nombre des sessions d'entraînement ainsi que la durée des sessions de test. En reconnaissance du locuteur, la structure temporelle du signal de parole n'est pas exploitée par les approches état-de-l'art. Nous proposons d'utiliser cette information, à travers l'utilisation de mots de passe personnels, afin de compenser le manque de données d'apprentissage et de test. Une première étude nous a permis d'évaluer l'influence de la dépendance au texte sur l'approche état-de-l'art GMM/UBM (Gaussian Mixture Model/ Universal Background Model). Nous avons montré qu'une contrainte lexicale imposée à cette approche, généralement utilisée pour la reconnaissance du locuteur indépendante du texte, permet de réduire de près de 30% (en relatif) le taux d'erreurs obtenu dans le cas où les imposteurs ne connaissent pas le mot de passe des clients. Dans ce document, nous présentons une architecture acoustique spécifique qui permet d'exploiter à moindre coût la structure temporelle des mots de passe choisis par les clients. Cette architecture hiérarchique à trois niveaux permet une spécialisation progressive des modèles acoustiques. Un modèle générique représente l'ensemble de l'espace acoustique. Chaque locuteur est représenté par une mixture de Gaussiennes qui dérive du modèle du monde générique du premier niveau. Le troisième niveau de notre architecture est formé de modèles de Markov semi-continus (SCHMM), qui permettent de modéliser la structure temporelle des mots de passe tout en intégrant l'information spécifique au locuteur, modélisée par le modèle GMM du deuxième niveau. Chaque état du modèle SCHMM d'un mot de passe est estimé, relativement au modèle indépendant du texte de ce locuteur, par adaptation des paramètres de poids des distributions Gaussiennes de ce GMM. Cette prise en compte de la structure temporelle des mots de passe permet de réduire de 60% le taux d'égales erreurs obtenu lorsque les imposteurs prononcent un énoncé différent du mot de passe des clients. Pour renforcer la modélisation de la structure temporelle des mots de passe, nous proposons d'intégrer une information issue d'un processus externe au sein de notre architecture acoustique hiérarchique. Des points de synchronisation forts, extraits du signal de parole, sont utilisés pour contraindre l'apprentissage des modèles de mots de passe durant la phase d'enrôlement. Les points de synchronisation obtenus lors de la phase de test, selon le même procédé, permettent de contraindre le décodage Viterbi utilisé, afin de faire correspondre la structure de la séquence avec celle du modèle testé. Cette approche a été évaluée sur la base de données audio-vidéo MyIdea grâce à une information issue d'un alignement phonétique. Nous avons montré que l'ajout d'une contrainte de synchronisation au sein de notre approche acoustique permet de dégrader les scores imposteurs et ainsi de diminuer le taux d'égales erreurs de 20% (en relatif) dans le cas où les imposteurs ignorent le mot de passe des clients tout en assurant des performances équivalentes à celles des approches état-de-l'art dans le cas où les imposteurs connaissent les mots de passe. L'usage de la modalité vidéo nous apparaît difficilement conciliable avec la limitation des ressources imposée par le contexte embarqué. Nous avons proposé un traitement simple du flux vidéo, respectant ces contraintes, qui n'a cependant pas permis d'extraire une information pertinente. L'usage d'une modalité supplémentaire permettrait néanmoins d'utiliser les différentes informations structurelles pour déjouer d'éventuelles impostures par play-back. Ce travail ouvre ainsi de nombreuses perspectives, relatives à l'utilisation d'information structurelle dans le cadre de la vérification du locuteur et aux approches de reconnaissance du locuteur assistée par la modalité vidéo

In the Permian Basin, strata of Leonardian age typically consist of interbedded carbonates and siliciclastics interpreted to be turbidite deposits. Happy Spraberry Field produces from a 100-foot thick carbonate section in the Lower Clear Fork Formation (Lower Leonardian) on the Eastern Shelf of the Midland Basin. Reservoir facies include oolitic- to-skeletal grainstones and packstones, rudstones and in situ Tubiphytes bindstones. Depositional environments vary from open marine reefs to shallow marine oolitic shoal mounds. Best reservoir rocks are found in the oolitic-skeletal packstones. Diagenesis occurred in several phases and includes (1) micritization, (2) stabilization of skeletal fragments, (3) recrystallization of lime mud, (4) intense and selective dissolution, (5) precipitation of four different stages of calcite cement, (6) mechanical compaction, (7) late formation of anhydrite and (8) saddle dolomite and (9) replacement by chalcedony. Oomoldic porosity is the dominant pore type in oolitic grainstones and packstones. Incomplete dissolution of some ooids left ring-shaped structures that indicate ooids were originally bi-mineralic. Bacterial sulfate reduction is suggested by the presence of (1) dissolved anhydrite, (2) saddle dolomite, (3) late-stage coarse-calcite cement and (4) small clusters of pyrite. Diagenetic overprinting on depositional porosity is clearly evident in all reservoir facies and is especially important in the less-cemented parts of the oolitic grainstones where partially-dissolved ooids were subjected to mechanical compaction resulting in "eggshell" remnants. Pore filling by late anhydrite is most extensive in zones where dissolution and compaction were intense. Finally, a porosity-permeability model was constructed to present variations in oolitic packstone- rudstone-bindstone reservoir rocks. The poroperm model could not be applied to oolitic grainstone intervals because no consistent trends in the spatial distribution of porosity and permeability were identified. Routine core analysis did not produce any reliable value of water saturation (Sw). An attempt to take advantage of wireline log data indicates that the saturation exponent (n) may be variable in this reservoir.

Le management de la chaîne logistique concerne un large éventail d'activités. Nombreuses ceux qui ont un caractère incertain apportant souvent des conséquences inattendues. Malgré cela, l'incertitude est fréquemment non considérée dans la gestion de la chaîne logistique traditionnelle. En plus de l'incertitude, l'indisponibilité des ressources augmentera la complexité du problème. En prenons en compte les contraintes d'incertitude et de disponibilité nous étudions le management de la chaîne logistique selon différents aspects. Cette thèse représente une tentative de recherche afin d'aborder ce problème d'une façon systématique et complète et nous espérons que notre travail contribuera aux futurs travaux de recherche et sera utile aux gestionnaires de la chaîne logistique. Nous nous concentrons sur trois sources classiques de l'incertitude ; celle de la demande, celle la fabrication et celle liée à la distribution. Pour chaque source d'incertitude, nous analysons ses causes et ses impacts sur les performances de la chaîne logistique. L'incertitude est spécifiée dans des problèmes classiques concrets et des approches sont proposées pour les résoudre. Nous nous sommes également focalisés sur le problème bi-niveau de vendeur de journaux qui représente une chaîne logistique miniature, concerné par une double incertitude. Les méthodes utilisées offrent une bonne démonstration du traitement des variables incertaines dans les problèmes de décision.

High-frequency dc-dc converters are nowadays widely used in a diversity of power electronic applications. High operating frequencies entail a reduction in size of the passive components, such as inductors, capacitors and power transformers. By operating the converter at higher frequencies with conventional hard-switching topologies, the transistor switching losses increase at both turn-on and turn-off. High-voltage converters in the power range of 1-10MW will therefore have excessive switching losses if the switching frequency is higher than 4 kHz. In order to achieve a high-frequency operation with moderate switching losses a number of soft-switched topologies have been studied in [Dem1]. The favourable DC-DC converter was found to be the Dual-Active Bridge when a bi-directional power flow is demanded. Additionally, the Single-Active Bridge (SAB) topology was introduced for the first time. In this thesis the two topologies are thoroughly studied. The dynamic small-signal models are presented and the dynamic behaviour of the converters is discussed in deep. Different control strategies are presented concerning the two converters and the advantages and the disadvantages of the different control strategies are stated. Critical issues as efficiency and stability are presented separately for the two converters. / QC 20101005

Failure of bi-material interfaces is studied with the aim to quantify the influence of the induced stress concentrations on the strength of the interfaces. A simple point-stress criterion, used in conjunction with finite element calculations, is evaluated to provide strength predictions for bi-material bonded joints and inserts in polymer foam. The influence of local stress concentrations on the initiation of fracture at open and closed wedge bi-material interfaces is investigated. The joint combinations are analysed numerically and the strength predictions obtained from the point-stress criterion are verified in experiments. The predictions are made using a simple point-stress criterion in combination with highly accurate finite element calculations. The point-stress criterion was known from earlier work to give accurate predictions of failure at cracks and notches but had to be slightly modified to become applicable for the studied configurations. The criterion showed to be generally applicable to the bi-material interfaces studied herein. Sensible predictions for the tendentious strength behaviour could be made with reasonable accuracy, including the prediction of crossover from local, joint-induced failure to global failure. To study the micromechanical properties of a cellular solid with arbitrary topology, various models of a closed-cell foam are created on the basis of random Voronoi tessellations. The foam models are analysed using the finite element method and the effective elastic properties of the model cellular solids are determined. The calculated moduli are compared to the properties of a real reference foam and the numerical results show to be in very good agreement. The mechanical properties of closed-cell, low-density cellular solids are governed by the stiffnesses of the cell edges and the cell faces. Models of idealised foam models with planar cell faces, cannot account for the curved faces found on some metal and polymer foams. Finite element models of closed-cell foams were created to analyse the influence of cell face curvature on the stiffness of the foam. By determining the elastic modulus for foams with non-planar cell faces, the effect of cell face curvature could be analysed as a function of the relative density and the distribution of solid material between cell edges and faces. Foam models were generated from disturbed point distribution lattices and compared to models obtained from random distributions. The aim was to analyse if and how the geometry of the cells and their spatial arrangement influences the mechanical properties of a foam. The results suggest that the spatial arrangement and the geometry of the cells have significant influence on the properties of a foam. The elastic properties calculated for models from disturbed foam structures underestimated the elastic moduli of the foam, whereas models from random structures provided results which were in very good agreement with a reference foam. / QC 20101011

L'intestin assure l'absorption des lipides alimentaires et doit faire face aux variations d'apport en lipides, entre les périodes inter-prandiales et post-prandiales. J'ai donc étudié dans les cellules Caco-2/TC7, la réponse des entérocytes à différents modes d'apports en lipides. Par une approche transcriptomique, j'ai montré que les lipides modulent l'expression de nombreux gènes entérocytaires. Les profils géniques obtenus diffèrent entre l'apport luminal ou sérique en lipides. La comparaison des apports apicaux de micelles inter- ou post-prandiales (MPP) a montré que les MPP modulent spécifiquement l'expression de 46 gènes majoritairement impliqués dans la transduction de signaux, le métabolisme lipidique, et l'architecture cellulaire. Ces résultats, s'ajoutant aux effets spécifiques des MPP obtenus dans l'équipe, suggéraient une détection entérocytaire des lipides alimentaires apportés par ces MPP. J'ai alors montré que les MPP se lient à une protéine dont le poids moléculaire correspond à celui du récepteur SR-BI, induisant sa clusterisation à la membrane apicale et son adressage vers les rafts. Seules les MPP induisent, le trafic de l'apoB, de la membrane apicale vers les compartiments sécrétoires et l'activation de kinases. Ces effets sont abolis quand SR-BI est bloqué par un de ses ligands ou invalidé par ARN interférence. Ces travaux montrent pour la première fois que les entérocytes sont capables de détecter spécifiquement les lipides alimentaires sous forme micellaire. Cette détection implique SR-BI et induit des voies de signalisation aboutissant à la mise en place de paramètres morphologiques et fonctionnels nécessaires au transfert des lipides alimentaires.

The question of how to design a congestion pricing scheme is difficult to answer and involves a number of complex decisions. This thesis is devoted to the quantitative parts of designing a congestion pricing scheme with link tolls in an urban car traffic network. The problem involves finding the number of tolled links, the link toll locations and their corresponding toll level. The road users are modeled in a static framework, with elastic travel demand. Assuming the toll locations to be fixed, we recognize a level setting problem as to find toll levels which maximize the social surplus. A heuristic procedure based on sensitivity analysis is developed to solve this optimization problem. In the numerical examples the heuristic is shown to converge towards the optimum for cases when all links are tollable, and when only some links are tollable. We formulate a combined toll location and level setting problem as to find both toll locations and toll levels which maximize the net social surplus, which is the social surplus minus the cost of collecting the tolls. The collection cost is assumed to be given for each possible toll location, and to be independent of toll level and traffic flow. We develop a new heuristic method which is based on repeated solutions of an approximation to the combined toll location and level setting problem. Also, a known heuristic method for locating a fixed number of toll facilities is extended, to find the optimal number of facilities to locate. Both heuristics are evaluated on two small networks, where our approximation procedure shows the best results. Our approximation procedure is also employed on the Sioux Falls network. The result is compared with different judgmental closed cordon structures, and the solution suggested by our method clearly improves the net social surplus more than any of the judgmental cordons.

Simplified methods of analysis described in codes and specifications for seismically isolated structures are always used either directly in special cases or for checking the results of nonlinear response history analysis (RHA). Important predictions for seismically isolated structures by simplified methods are the maximum displacements and base shears of the isolation system. In this study, the maximum isolator displacements and base shears determined by nonlinear RHA are compared with those determined by the equivalent lateral force (ELF) procedure in order to assess the accuracy of the simplified method in the case of bi-directional excitations with near-field characteristics. However, although there are currently many methods for ground motion selection and scaling, little guidance is available to classify which method is more appropriate than the others in any applications. Features of this study are that the ground motions used in analysis are selected and scaled using contemporary concepts and that the ground excitation is considered biv directional. The variations in response of isolated structures due to application of ground motions uni-directionally and bi-directionally are also studied by employing a scaling procedure that is appropriate for the bi-directional analysis. The proposed new scaling methodology is an amplitude scaling method that is capable of preserving the horizontal orthogonal components and it is developed especially for dynamic analysis of isolated structures. Analyses are conducted for two different symmetric reinforced concrete isolated structure for two different soil conditions in structural analysis program SAP2000. Effect of asymmetry in superstructure on isolator displacement is also investigated with further analyses considering 5% mass eccentricity at each floor level. Furthermore, once the significance of the orthogonal horizontal component on the response of isolation system is shown, the biaxial interaction of hysteretic behavior of lead rubber bearings is implemented in OpenSees by developing a subroutine which was not readily available.

Two well-known types of water waves are shallow water waves and the solitary waves. The former waves are those waves which have larger wavelength than the local water depth and the latter waves are used for the ones which retain their shape and speed after colliding with each other. The most well known of the latter waves are Korteweg de Vries (KdV) equations, which are widely used in many branches of physics and engineering. These equations are nonlinear long waves and mathematically represented by partial differential equations (PDEs). For solving the KdV and KdV-type equations, several numerical methods were developed in the recent years which preserve their geometric structure, i.e. the Hamiltonian form, symplecticity and the integrals. All these methods are classified as symplectic and multisymplectic integrators. They produce stable solutions in long term integration, but they do not preserve the Hamiltonian and the symplectic structure at the same time. This thesis concerns the application of energy preserving average vector field integrator(AVF) to nonlinear Hamiltonian partial differential equations (PDEs) in canonical and non-canonical forms. Among the PDEs, Korteweg de Vries (KdV) equation, modified KdV equation, the Ito&rsquo / s system and the KdV-KdV systems are discetrized in space by preserving the skew-symmetry of the Hamiltonian structure. The resulting ordinary differential equations (ODEs) are solved with the AVF method. Numerical examples confirm that the energy is preserved in long term integration and the other integrals are well preserved too. Soliton and traveling wave solutions for the KdV type equations are accurate as those solved by other methods. The preservation of the dispersive properties of the AVF method is also shown for each PDE.

Excessive use of fossil fuels shall result in the significant energy problems in the coming century and causes global warming by CO2 emission. Use of petroleum in transportation constitutes the dominant part of total petroleum use. Researches on non-petroleum based, environmentally friendly alternative fuels have been ascended in last decades. Among the alternative fuels, DME has been considered as an attractive fuel alternate due to high cetane number, low PM (particulate matter) and low NOx emission. Synthesis of DME is possible with gasification of biowastes or coal and steam reforming of natural gas. DME is produced in two different methods. In the first method, methanol is formed from the synthesis gas, followed by methanol dehydration to DME. In the second method, called as direct synthesis of DME from synthesis gas, methanol formation and dehydration occurs simultaneously at the same location within the reactor. For the direct synthesis of DME, bi-functional catalysts must be used / one site is responsible for methanol synthesis and other site is responsible for methanol dehydration. Throughout this thesis work, several catalysts were prepared to be used as methanol synthesis component or methanol dehydration component of bi-functional direct DME synthesis catalyst and bi-functional catalysts were also prepared for the direct synthesis of DME from synthesis gas. Materials were characterized by XRD, EDS, SEM, N2 physisorption, and DRIFTS characterization techniques. Activity tests were conducted in a high pressure, fixed bed flow reactor at 50 bar and for the feed gas compositions of H2:CO=50:50 and H2:CO: CO2=50:40:10. Addition of zirconia and alumina promoters, long aging time, calcination temperature of 550 &deg / C and reduction at 250 &deg / C were found to be beneficial in methanol synthesis from the equimolar composition of CO and H2. Precipitated catalysts were usually active and selective to methanol. However, bi-functional co-precipitated catalyst was not successful in situ conversion of methanol into dimethyl ether. Furthermore, tungstosilisic acid impregnated SBA-15 was physically mixed with commercial methanol reforming catalyst and activity results revealed that high DME yield and selectivity were obtained. By physically mixing commercial methanol synthesis and reforming catalysts with &gamma / -Al2O3 and TRC-75(L) in appropriate proportions or by preparing the reactor bed in a sequential arrangement, very high DME yields were obtained and superiority of direct synthesis to conventional two step synthesis was proven. Presence of CO2 in the feed stream not only enhanced the catalytic activity but also utilization of the most important greenhouse gas was accomplished. It was seen that synthesized catalysts are very promising in the direct synthesis of dimethyl ether from synthesis gas.