Les dystrophies héréditaires vitelliformes de transmission autosomique dominante représentent la 2ème cause de maculopathie après la maladie de Stargardt, maladie récessive monogénique (ABCA4). BEST1 et PRPH2 sont les deux gènes connus associés aux dépôts vitellins. L'étude d'une large cohorte de 88 patients ayant une dystrophie vitelliforme juvénile ou de l'adulte avec un criblage systématique des deux gènes BEST1 et PRPH2 nous a permis d'établir des recommandations en fonction des trois critères : l'âge, l'histoire familiale et le rapport d'Arden. Nous avons ensuite recherché de larges réarrangements (délétions, insertions) dans les familles négatives par MLPA. Deux cas de délétion exonique ont été retrouvés (délétion de l'exon 4 du gène BEST1, délétion de l'exon 2 du gène PRPH2). L'étude de l'exome d'une grande famille (3 générations, 10 sujets atteints) n'ayant pas de mutations exoniques ou de réarrangements, a permis de démontrer l'implication du gène IMPG1 qui code pour une glycoprotéine de la matrice interphotoréceptrice. La même mutation faux-sens hétérozygote a été retrouvée dans deux autres familles. Nous avons ensuite testé son paralogue IMPG2 qui code également une protéine de la matrice interphotoréceptrice. Une seule famille avec une forme modérée de dystrophie vitelliforme a une mutation faux-sens hétérozygote dans ce second gène. IMPG1 et IMPG2, deux gènes de la matrice interphotoréceptrice sont désormais à ajouter à la liste des gènes des dystrophies vitelliformes après BEST1 le gène majeur et PRPH2. / Vitelliform dystrophies represent the second cause of inherited macular dystrophies after Stargardt disease (monogenic disease linked to ABCA4). To date, BEST1 and PRPH2 are the only known genes involved in vitellin deposits. Considering a large cohort of 88 unrelated patients with juvenile or adult form of vitelliform dystrophy and after a systematic screening of both genes, we propose a rational for BEST1 and PRPH2 analysis according to age of onset, positive family history and Arden ratio. The second step was to consider large deletions or insertions in these genes in patients negative for BEST1 and PRPH2. Exonic deletions are rare: one exon 4 deletion of BEST1 and one exon 2 deletion of PRPH2. Whole exome sequencing in a large family (3 generations, 10 affected patients) revealed a hetezogygous missense variation in IMPG1 an interphotoreceptor matrix gene. IMPG1 was the causal gene in two additionnal families. In the same way, its paralog IMPG2 have been tested : only one family with an heterozygous missense mutation was found. IMPG1 and IMPG2 are two new genes involved in vitelliform dystrophies after BEST1 the main gene and PRPH2.

Chaque cadre doit contenir un résumé de 1700 caractères maximum, espaces compris. En cas de dépassement, lacoupure sera automatique.Le doctorant adresse son texte sous forme électronique selon les recommandations de la bibliothèqueLes dermocorticoïdes (DC) sont des anti-inflammatoires topiques largement prescrits pour traiter de nombreuses dermatoses. Actuellement, leur puissance, classée en quatre groupes, est déterminée par leur effet vasoconstricteur basé sur un test empirique obsolète, subjectif et réducteur vis-à-vis des nombreux autres effets des DC. L'objectif de ce travail était de comparer la puissance des DC dans trois de leurs indications et de la confronter à la classification actuelle:• Anti-inflammatoire. Une étude clinique randomisée contrôlée en double aveugle a été réalisée sur 21 patients allergiques aunickel traités par quatre DC. Les différents paramètres de l'inflammation ont été mesurés objectivement par des outils debiométrologie. La hiérarchisation de la puissance des DC variait en fonction du temps et des paramètres de l'inflammationétudiés. Sur ce modèle, la classification peut être simplifiée en trois groupes.• Antiprolifératif. L'efficacité de six DC sur la prolifération, le cycle cellulaire et l'apoptose de kératinocytes hyperproliféranten culture a été comparée. La classification de la puissance antiproliférative divergeait de la classification actuelle.• Antiprurigineux à médiation histaminique. L'effet anti-histaminolibérateur de huit DC a été comparé sur des explants depeau à l'aide d'un dosage par microdialyse sous-cutanée. La classification de la puissance anti-histaminolibératrice divergeaitde la classification actuelle.Nous avons démontré que la classification actuelle des DC n'est pas exactement corrélée à leur effet anti-inflammatoire dansl'allergie de contact, à leur effet antiprolifératif ainsi qu'à leur effet sur la libération d'histamine. Notre nouvelle approche est deparler des puissances DC au pluriel. Une classification multimodale adaptée à la situation clinique permettrait une prescriptionplus efficiente et limiterait les échecs et effets indésirables. / Topical corticosteroids (TCS) are topical anti-inflammatory widely prescribed to treat many skin diseases. Currently, their potency, ranged into four groups, is determined by their vasoconstrictor effect based on an empirical, outdated, subjective and too restrictive test. The aim of this work was to compare specifically the potency of TCS in three situations and to compare it to the current classification:• Anti-inflammatory. A randomized controlled double-blind clinical study was performed on 21 nickel-sensitive patientstreated by four TCS. Different inflammation parameters were objectively assessed with bioengineering tools. The ranking ofTCS potency varied according to time and parameters of the inflammation studied. According to this model, the classificationmay be simplified into three groups.• Antiproliferative. The efficacy of six TCS on immortal keratinocytes proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis was compared. Theclassification of the antiproliferative potency differed from the current classification.• Antipruritic histamine-mediated. The histamine-release inhibition of eight TCS was compared on skin explants by asubcutaneous microdialysis dosage. The classification of the histamine-release inhibition potency differed from the currentclassification.We have demonstrated that the current classification of TCS potency is not strictly correlated to their anti-inflammatory effect in the context of allergie contact dermatitis, to their antiproliferative effect and to their histamine-release inhibitor effect. Our new approach is to talk about TCS potencies in the plural. A specifie classification adapted to the therapeutic target is needed to be more efficient and reduce side effects.

[ES] La sociedad moderna se ha visto afectada por los acelerados avances de la tecnología. La aplicación de la inteligencia artificial se puede encontrar en todas partes, desde la televisión inteligente hasta los coches autónomos. Una tarea esencial del aprendizaje automático es la clasificación. A pesar de la cantidad de técnicas y algoritmos de clasificación que existen, es un campo que sigue siendo relevante por todas sus aplicaciones. Así, frente a la clasificación tradicional multiclase en la que a cada instancia se le asigna una única etiqueta de clase, se han propuesto otros métodos como la clasificación jerárquica y la clasificación multietiqueta. Esta tesis tiene como objetivo resolver la clasificación multiclase mediante una descomposición jerárquica. Asimismo, se exploran diferentes métodos de extender la aproximación definida para su aplicación en contextos cambiantes. La clasificación jerárquica es una tarea de aprendizaje automático en la que el problema de clasificación original se divide en pequeños subproblemas. Esta división se realiza teniendo en cuenta una estructura jerárquica que representa las relaciones entre las clases objetivo. Como resultado el clasificador jerárquico es a su vez una estructura (un árbol o un grafo) compuesta por clasificadores de base. Hasta ahora, en la literatura, la clasificación jerárquica se ha aplicado a dominios jerárquicos, independientemente que la estructura jerárquica sea proporcionada explícitamente o se asume implícita (en cuyo caso se hace necesario inferir primero dicha estructura jerárquica). La clasificación jerárquica ha demostrado un mejor rendimiento en dominios jerárquicos en comparación con la clasificación plana (que no tiene en cuenta la estructura jerárquica del dominio). En esta tesis, proponemos resolver los problemas de clasificación multiclase descomponiéndolo jerárquicamente de acuerdo a una jerarquía de clases inferida por un clasificador plano. Planteamos dos escenarios dependiendo del tipo de clasificador usado en la jerarquía de clasificadores: clasificadores duros (crisp) y clasificadores suaves (soft). Por otra parte, un problema de clasificación puede sufrir cambios una vez los modelos han sido entrenados. Un cambio frecuente es la aparición de una nueva clase objetivo. Dado que los clasificadores no han sido entrenados con datos pertenecientes a la nueva clase, no podrán encontrar predicciones correctas para las nuevas instancias, lo que afectará negativamente en el rendimiento de los clasificadores. Este problema se puede resolver mediante dos alternativas: el reentrenamiento de todo el modelo o la adaptación del modelo para responder a esta nueva situación. Como parte del estudio de los algoritmos de clasificación jerárquica se presentan varios métodos para adaptar el modelo a los cambios en las clases objetivo. Los métodos y aproximaciones definidas en la tesis se han evaluado experimentalmente con una amplia colección de conjuntos de datos que presentan diferentes características, usando diferentes técnicas de aprendizaje para generar los clasificadores de base. En general, los resultados muestran que los métodos propuestos pueden ser una alternativa a métodos tradicionales y otras técnicas presentadas en la literatura para abordar las situaciones específicas planteadas. / [CA] La societat moderna s'ha vist afectada pels accelerats avenços de la tecnologia. L'aplicació de la intel·ligència artificial es pot trobar a tot arreu, des de la televisió intel·ligent fins als cotxes autònoms. Una tasca essencial de l'aprenentatge automàtic és la classificació. Tot i la quantitat de tècniques i algoritmes de classificació que existeixen, és un camp que segueix sent rellevant per totes les seves aplicacions. Així, enfront de la classificació tradicional multiclase en la qual a cada instància se li assigna una única etiqueta de classe, s'han proposat altres mètodes com la classificació jeràrquica i la classificació multietiqueta. Aquesta tesi té com a objectiu resoldre la classificació multiclase mitjançant una descomposició jeràrquica. Així mateix, s'exploren diferents mètodes d'estendre l'aproximació definida per a la seva aplicació en contextos canviants. La classificació jeràrquica és una tasca d'aprenentatge automàtic en la qual el problema de classificació original es divideix en petits subproblemes. Aquesta divisió es realitza tenint en compte una estructura jeràrquica que representa les relacions entre les classes objectiu. Com a resultat el classificador jeràrquic és al seu torn una estructura (un arbre o un graf) composta per classificadors de base. Fins ara, en la literatura, la classificació jeràrquica s'ha aplicat a dominis jeràrquics, independentment que l'estructura jeràrquica sigui proporcionada explícitament o s'assumeix implícita (en aquest cas es fa necessari inferir primer aquesta estructura jeràrquica). La classificació jeràrquica ha demostrat un millor rendiment en dominis jeràrquics en comparació amb la classificació plana (que no té en compte l'estructura jeràrquica de l'domini). En aquesta tesi, proposem resoldre els problemes de classificació multiclasse descomponent jeràrquicament d'acord a una jerarquia de classes inferida per un classificador pla. Plantegem dos escenaris depenent de el tipus de classificador usat en la jerarquia de classificadors: classificadors durs (crisp) i classificadors suaus (soft). D'altra banda, un problema de classificació pot patir canvis una vegada els models han estat entrenats. Un canvi freqüent és l'aparició d'una nova classe objectiu. Atès que els classificadors no han estat entrenats amb dades pertanyents a la nova classe, no podran trobar prediccions correctes per a les noves instàncies, el que afectarà negativament en el rendiment dels classificadors. Aquest problema es pot resoldre mitjançant dues alternatives: el reentrenament de tot el model o l'adaptació de el model per respondre a aquesta nova situació. Com a part de l'estudi dels algoritmes de classificació jeràrquica es presenten diversos mètodes per adaptar el model als canvis en les classes objectiu. Els mètodes i aproximacions definides en la tesi s'han avaluat experimentalment amb una àmplia col·lecció de conjunts de dades que presenten diferents característiques, usant diferents tècniques d'aprenentatge per generar els classificadors de base. En general, els resultats mostren que els mètodes proposats poden ser una alternativa a mètodes tradicionals i altres tècniques presentades en la literatura per abordar les situacions específiques plantejades. / [EN] The modern society has been affected by rapid advances in technology. The application of artificial intelligence can be found everywhere, from intelligent television to autonomous cars. An essential task of machine learning is classification. Despite the number of classification techniques and algorithms that exist, it is a field that remains relevant for all its applications. Thus, as opposed to the traditional multiclass classification in which each instance is assigned a single class label, other methods such as hierarchical classification and multi-label classification have been proposed. This thesis aims to solve multiclass classification by means of a hierarchical decomposition. Also, different methods of extending the defined approach are explored for application in changing contexts. Hierarchical classification is an automatic learning task in which the original classification problem is divided into small sub-problems. This division is made taking into account a hierarchical structure that represents the relationships between the target classes. As a result the hierarchical classifier is itself a structure (a tree or a graph) composed of base classifiers. Up to now, in the literature, hierarchical classification has been applied to hierarchical domains, regardless of whether the hierarchical structure is explicitly provided or assumed to be implicit (in which case it becomes necessary to first infer the hierarchical structure). Hierarchical classification has demonstrated better performance in hierarchical domains compared to flat classification (which does not take into account the hierarchical structure of the domain). In this thesis, we propose to solve the problems of multiclass classification by breaking it down hierarchically according to a class hierarchy inferred by a plane classifier. We propose two scenarios depending on the type of classifier used in the classifier hierarchy: hard classifiers (crisp) and soft classifiers (soft). On the other hand, a classification problem may change once the models have been trained. A frequent change is the appearance of a new target class. Since the existing classifiers have not been trained with data belonging to the new class, they will not be able to find correct predictions for the new instances, which will negatively affect the performance of the classifiers. This problem can be solved by two alternatives: retraining the entire model or adapting the model to respond to this new situation. As part of the study of hierarchical classification algorithms, several methods are presented to adapt the model to changes in target classes. The methods and approaches defined in the thesis have been evaluated experimentally with a large collection of data sets that have different characteristics, using different learning techniques to generate the base classifiers. In general, the results show that the proposed methods can be an alternative to traditional methods and other techniques presented in the literature to address the specific situations raised. / Silva Palacios, DA. (2021). Clasificación Jerárquica Multiclase [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/167015 / TESIS

Esta dissertação apresenta as controvérsias que envolvem músicos, produtores e públicos apreciadores no que diz respeito ao forró, seus bailes, danças e músicas. A partir das denominações que se atribuem aos estilos desse gênero musical (como forró eletrônico, pé-deserra e universitário), este trabalho visa a discorrer sobre os significados atribuídos a tais termos em diferentes contextos e por atores distintos na disputa pela definição e legitimação da maneira de se tocar o forró. Mais do que distinguir um tipo específico de fazer musical, essas classificações ajudam a configurar gostos, opiniões e a organizar os bailes de forró presentes na cidade de São Paulo, local privilegiado da pesquisa. Esses bailes ocorrem em vários bairros da metrópole e abrangem diferentes circuitos e classes sociais. As classificações dadas ao forró ajudam também a delimitar os significados dessas classes sociais em contextos distintos e relacionar o que se faz no Sudeste do País ao que é produzido no Nordeste, local tido como origem do gênero. Assim, tenta-se compreender como e por que se configura essa associação entre um gênero de música popular, uma forma de lazer e a hierarquização dos espaços onde ocorrem suas práticas, a partir do ponto de vista da distinção social. O principal objetivo da pesquisa, portanto, é compreender como se dá, a partir da confluência dos três elementos (música, dança e baile) e das distintas representações de sua origem, a produção social da diferença que separa músicos, públicos e demais apreciadores em espaços e circuitos diversos. / This dissertation presents the controversies in which musicians, producers and publics are involved with in what concerns forró, its parties, dances and music. In view of the denominations given to the styles of forró as a musical genre (such as electronic forró, pé-deserra and universitário), this work aims at exposing the meanings comprised by those words in different contexts, by different actors in the dispute over the definition and authentication of how to play the forró. More than to distinguish a specific kind of music making, those assortments of forró help form tastes, opinions and organize forró parties in São Paulo, the site focused on on the research. The parties occur in several neighborhoods of the metropolis and embrace different social classes and circuits. The classifications attributed to the forró also help to delimit the meanings of these social classes in different contexts and connect what is made in the Southeast of the country to what is produced in the Northeast, place know as the point of origin of forró. Thus, this dissertation asks how and why there is, from the point of view of the social distinction, an association among a popular musical genre, a source of leisure and the hierarchy of the spaces where forró parties take place. The main objective of this research, therefore, is, from the confluence of these three elements (music, dance and party) and from the distinct representations of the forró\'s origin, understand how the social production of difference that separates musicians, producers, publics and any other appraisers in various places and social circuits is made.

A Organização Mundial de Saúde tem hoje duas classificações de referência para a descrição dos estados de saúde: a CID-10 (Classificação Estatística Internacional de Doenças e Problemas Relacionados à Saúde) e a CIF (Classificação Internacional de Funcionalidade, Incapacidade e Saúde). A utilização da CIF vem sendo aguardada com grande expectativa pelas organizações de pessoas com deficiências e instituições relacionadas. A falta de definição clara de “deficiência" ou “incapacidade" tem sido apontada como um impedimento para a promoção de saúde de pessoas com deficiência. Este trabalho tem como objetivo apresentar definições de deficiência, discutindo a utilização da CID-10 e da CIF e a contribuição da CIF para melhorar a compreensão sobre definições de deficiência a partir do conceito de funcionalidade e dos fatores contextuais. Foram revisados alguns diferentes conceitos/definições de deficiência, bem como publicações envolvendo a aplicação da CIF. São apresentadas algumas categorias de diagnósticos de estados de saúde da CID-10 hoje utilizadas em alguns sistemas, além de elementos da recém-apresentada CIF, que podem contribuir para diferentes campos de aplicabilidade no que diz respeito ao entendimento das definições de deficiência ou incapacidade. / The World Health Organization has nowadays two reference classifications for description of health conditions: ICD-10 (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Health Related Problems) and ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health). Organizations of people with disabilities and related institutions are waiting with high expectation for the ICF utilization. Lack of clear definition of “disability" is being pointed out as a deterrent for promoting the health of people with disabilities. The objective of this work is to evaluate definitions of disability, and discuss the use of ICD-10 and ICF and the contribution of ICF to improve understanding of definitions of disability through functioning and contextual factors. Some different definitions of disability have been reviewed, as well as publications involving ICF application. Diagnostic categories of health conditions of ICD-10 used in some systems are presented, as well as ICF components that could contribute for different fields of applicability regarding the understanding of definitions of disability.

O procedimento de controle on-line de processos por atributos, proposto por Taguchi et al. (1989), consiste em amostrar um item a cada m produzidos e decidir, a cada inspeção, se houve ou não aumento na fração de itens não-conformes produzidos. Caso o item inspecionado seja não-conforme, pára-se o processo para ajuste supondo-se que tenha ocorrido uma mudança para a condição fora de controle. Como i) o sistema de inspeção pode estar sujeito a erros de classificação e o item inspecionado ser submetido à classificações repetidas; ii) a fração de itens não-conformes no estado fora de controle pode variar em função do número de itens produzidos (x) segundo uma função y (x); iii) e a decisão de parar o processo pode ser tomada com base no resultado das últimas h inspeções, desenvolve-se um modelo que engloba estes pontos. Utilizando-se as propriedades de uma cadeia de Markov ergódica, obtém-se a expressão do custo médio do sistema de controle, que é minimizada por parâmetros que vão além do intervalo de inspeção m: o número de classificações repetidas r; o número mínimo de classificações conformes para declarar um item como conforme s, o comprimento do histórico de inspeções considerado h e o critério de parada para ajuste u. Os resultados obtidos mostram que: o uso de classificações repetidas pode ser uma alternativa econômica quando apenas um item é considerado na decisão sobre o ajuste do processo; uma cadeia da Markov finita pode ser utilizada para representar o sistema de controle na presença de uma função y (x) não-constante; tomar a decisão de ajuste com base na observação de uma seqüência de itens inspecionados é a alternativa de maior impacto sobre o custo de controle do processo. / The quality control procedure for attributes, proposed by Taguchi et al. (1989), consists in inspecting a single item at every m produced items and, based on the result of each inspection, deciding weather the non-conforming fraction has increased or not. If an inspected item is declared non-conforming, the process is stopped and adjusted, assuming that it has changed to out-of-control condition. Once: i) the inspection system is subject to misclassification and it is possible to carry out repetitive classifications in the inspected item; ii) the non-conforming fraction, when the process is out-of-control, can be described by y(x); iii) the decision about stopping the process can be based on last h inspections, a model which considers those points is developed. Using properties of ergodic Markov chains, the average cost expression is calculated and can be minimized by parameters beyond m: number of repetitive classifications (r); minimum number of classifications as conforming to declare an item as conforming (s); number of inspections taken into account (h) and stopping criteria (u). The results obtained show that: repetitive classifications of the inspected item can be a viable option if only one item is used to decide about the process condition; a finite Markov chain can be used to represent the control procedure in presence of a function y(x); deciding about the process condition based on last h inspections has a significant impact on the average cost.

Nesta tese avaliei a relação entre a classificação de riachos em tipos de rios baseados nas suas características abióticas com a comunidade de macroinvertebrados. Especificamente, avaliei as seguintes questões: 1) Como as escalas de trecho de rio (local) e de bacia hidrográfica (regional) influenciam as comunidades? 2) As classificações de rios baseadas em variáveis abióticas são concordantes com aquelas baseadas em macroinvertebrados? 3) As respostas das comunidades de macroinvertebrados são similares quando diferentes abordagens de classificação são usadas? Por fim, 4) De que forma a resolução taxonômica e o tratamento dos dados influenciam as perguntas 2 e 3? Este estudo foi realizado em 38 riachos, numa área de 282 mil km2 no Rio Grande do Sul. As distâncias entre os riachos variaram entre 15 a 670 km. As variáveis físicas e químicas dos rios foram obtidas em trechos de 50 metros de extensão. A bacia hidrográfica de cada trecho foi delimitada e o uso da terra, tipo de solo e o relevo foram obtidos por meio de SIG. A tese traz uma “Apresentação geral” como Introdução. O capítulo 1 cobre a revisão da literatura e foi publicado na revista Ciência e Ambiente. O capítulo 2 apresenta a relação das variáveis ambientais e do espaço (distância geográfica) com a comunidade de macroinvertebrados. Como principal resultado, observou-se que o ambiente explica a maior parte da variação da distribuição na comunidade de macroinvertebrados, sendo que o efeito do ambiente é dependente da resolução taxonômica utilizada. No capítulo 3 avaliei a concordância entre classificações bióticas e abióticas. Avaliamos concomitantemente o efeito da resolução taxonômica, tipo de dado e da escala (trecho de rio x bacia hidrográfica). Tanto o tipo de dado quanto a resolução taxonômica influenciaram os resultados, sendo a classificação baseada nos dados no nível de família o único concordante com a classificação baseada em dados abióticos (duas escalas juntas). Outro importante resultado obtido foi a observação de que em uso de diferentes escalas, separadamente, verifica-se que a concordância se deu apenas para a escala de bacia hidrográfica, desde que para abundância no nível de gênero e presença/ausência no nível de família. No capítulo 4 verifiquei a relação da comunidade de macroinvertebrados com cinco sistemas de classificações de rios. As duas primeiras são baseadas em hidrorregiões, a terceira, em ecorregiões aquáticas da FEOW, a quarta deriva das ordens dos rios e a quinta é resultado do agrupamento de variáveis ambientais medidas localmente e regionalmente. Os resultados demonstram que a classificação baseada em variáveis ambientais se apresentou como o melhor sistema de classificação dos rios amostrados. Também avaliamos o tipo de dado e resolução taxonômica. Novamente a resolução taxonômica foi importante para os resultados obtidos e os dados de gênero obtiveram os melhores resultados. Por fim, na última parte da tese são apresentadas as considerações finais. / This thesis evaluated the relationships between stream classifications according to their abiotic characteristics and macroinvertebrate stream assemblages. Specifically, I asked the following questions: 1) How the macroinvertebrate communities are related with stream reach and catchment scales ? 2) Are the streams classifications with biotic and abiotic approach congruent? 3) Are there similar responses of macroinvertebrate assemblages when different classification approaches are used? 4) Can the taxonomic resolution and data type (abundance and presence/absence) to influence the results? This study was conducted in 38 streams, with distances among streams ranged from 15 to 670 km at an area of 282.000 km2 in Rio Grande do Sul state. The chemical and physical variables were obtained at a 50 m reach in each stream. The catchment was delimited and land use, soil coverage and relief were obtained using GIS tools. The thesis includes an “overview” as introduction. Chapter 1 covers the literature review and was published on Ciência e Ambiente. The Chapter 2 shows the relationship of environmental variables and space (distance among streams) with macroinvertebrate assemblages. The main result was that the environment accounted for most of the variation on the distribution of macroinvertebrate assemblages and this effect was dependent of the taxonomic resolution. In chapter 3 I evaluated the concordance between the abiotic and biotic classifications as well as the effect of the numerical and taxonomic resolution and the scale (stream reach x catchment). The results are dependent of the taxonomic resolution and dada type. The most important result was the effect of taxonomic resolution on the concordance between biotic and abiotic classifications. The classification based on macroinvertebrate family data was the only biotic classification concordant with the classification based on abiotic data. Another important result is that different scales, when used separately, only catchment classification was concordant with biotic one, and this result was dependent of both taxonomic and dada type. In chapter 4 we assessed the relationship of macroinvertebrate assemblages with five stream classifications. The first two is based on catchments grouped in hydrologic units, the third is based in freshwater ecoregions of FEOW, the fourth is based on stream orders and the fifth is result by cluster of environmental variables get on stream reach and catchment scales. That classification based on environmental variables had the higher scores than others classification by Classification Strength approach. The taxonomic and numeric resolutions were also evaluated. The taxonomic resolution was important to the results obtained, and genera data show the best scores. In the last part of the thesis are presented the conclusion remarks.

<p>This thesis investigates fraud and the situation on Internet with e-commerce today, to point on some potential threats and needed countermeasures. The work reviews several state of the art e-fraud schemes, techniques used in the schemes and statistics on the extent of e-fraud. This part shows that e-frauds are today both sophisticated and widespread. </p><p>Since real world frauds are deemed impossible to fully cover in order to predict potential new e-frauds, the thesis adopts a different approach. It suggests two abstraction models for fraud cases, a protocol model and a functional model. These are used to perform analysis on case studies on both telecom frauds and e-frauds. The analysis presents characteristics for both types of frauds. Using one of the abstraction models, the functional model, conceptually similar cases among telecom frauds as well as e-fraud cases are identified. The similar cases in each category are then compared, using the other abstraction model, the protocol model. The study shows that concepts from telecom frauds already exist in e-frauds. </p><p>Several challenges and some possibilities in e-fraud prevention and detection are also extracted in the comparative study of the different categories. The major consequence of the challenges is e-frauds’ higher scalability compared to telecom frauds. </p><p>Finally, this thesis covers several existing countermeasures in e-commerce along with specific countermeasures against auction fraud, phishing and spam. However, it is shown that these countermeasures do not address the challenges in e-fraud prevention and detection to a satisfactory extent. Therefore, this thesis proposes several high-level countermeasures in order to address the challenges.</p>

Foredunes are formed and developed in association with vegetation. A bare sand area has been viewed as a measure of dune mobility or activity and researched in association with climate controls: particularly wind power, annual mean precipitation, and temperature, expressed in annual mean potential evapotranspiration. There has been no research that utilized the patterns of bare sand areas to classify foredune areas in coastal dune systems and investigated climate controls related to sand patch patterns, or “foredune textures” such as size, number, and distribution of sand patches Four foredune types were classified based on four landscape metrics (PLAND: percentage of bare sand area, PLADJ: proportion of like-adjacencies, NLSI: normalized landscape shape index, and ENN_RA: range of Euclidean nearest neighbor), by applying the concepts and methodologies of landscape ecology. Four climate variables (annual mean precipitation, annual mean potential evapotranspiration, Lancaster’s mobility index, and the standard deviation of annual mean precipitation) were found to affect the foredune types and help in distinguishing one foredune type from another. The amount of bare sand area on coastal foredune areas can be explained by annual mean precipitation (R^2 is 0.52 at the 99 % confidence level), standard deviation of precipitation (R^2 is 0.51 at the 99 % confidence level), and Lancaster’s mobility index (R^2 is 0.37 at the 99 % confidence level) but wind variables such as drift potential do not explain much (R^2 is 0.04 at maximum). This suggests that dune activity or stabilization in coastal dune systems is mainly controlled by vegetation cover, which is in turn affected by precipitation. Foredune textures can be a useful tool to predict foredune types in association with future climate change, and the optimal averaging period of precipitation for each bare sand area was seven years.

This study analyses translation strategies applied for translation of cultural realia. Besides, the problems of cultural 'vulnerability' and preservation of cultural identity are emphasized. Therefore, the concepts of culture and cultural identity are defined. Analysing translation strategies applied for translation of Lithuanian cultural realia two translations of Kristijonas Donelaitis' "Metai" ("The Seasons") are contrasted, juxtoposing the examples of cultural realia. The results of the analysis reveal that the strategies of generalisation and description/explanation are employed for the translation of the majority of cultural realia. The most suitable translation strategies for cultural realia should be determined by a variety of factors: the type of the text, the type of realia, its significance in the context, the degree of acceptance of unusual collocations in receiving culture, the model reader and his/her world knowledge, and desired effect.