Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alberta, 2010. / Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on Jan. 15, 2010). A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering and Medical Sciences, Departments of Chemical and Materials Engineering and Medical Sciences - Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Institute of Paper Chemistry, 1960. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-73).

ITC/USA 2012 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Eighth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 22-25, 2012 / Town and Country Resort & Convention Center, San Diego, California / In this paper, a novel zigzag scanning concept of quantized coefficients for H.264/AVC is introduced. In order to scan the quantized coefficients efficiently, the statistical occurrence values of the quantized coefficients after the final mode decision are utilized. We develop a zigzag scanning pattern by reordering the statistical occurrence values in descending order. In addition, we consider the temporal and spatial correlation among the frames to classify the zigzag scanning pattern. In particular, we focus on the macroblock level zigzag scanning so that the proposed method will have the different zigzag scanning pattern based on the macroblock. Experimental results show that the proposed scheme reduces the total bits up to 4.05% and 3.67% while introducing either negligible loss of video quality for intra- and inter mode, respectively.

Ökad växthuseffekt har länge varit i fokus för dess inverkan på framtida klimat. Det är i huvudsak mänskliga utsläpp som är orsaken till ökade mängder växthusgaser i atmosfären och stora ansträngningar görs för att utsläppen på sikt ska minska. I klimatmodeller beskrivs växthusgasbalansen utifrån både mänsklig och naturlig påverkan. Förståelsen för naturlig påverkan har länge varit begränsad och mer forskning behövs inom området. Flera studier visar på att sötvattensystem (sjöar, vattendrag osv.) avger växthusgaser som koldioxid, CO2 och metan, CH4, i större proportioner än vad som tidigare varit känt. Denna studie syftade till att undersöka CO2 och CH4-flöden från Erssjön i Skogaryd, Västergötland (en typisk svensk skogssjö) och få förståelse för hur den omgivande skogen påverkar såväl flöden som turbulens (utbyteskoefficienter) över sjön. Dessa resultat skulle jämföras med tidigare studier från den betydligt större sjön Tämnaren i norra Uppland. Resultaten visar på ett upptag av CO2 som en följd av fotosyntes hos skogen under dagtid, vilket leder till slutsatsen att omgivande skog påverkar växthusgasflödena. En ökning av både CO2 och CH4-flöden över sjön var tydlig nattetid, vilket enligt tidigare studier beror på konvektion i vattnet (liknande resultat för Tämnaren). Ökningen är speciellt utmärkande för CH4-flöden, vilket tros bero på att konvektionen ökar omblandningen och därmed löser upp sedimenterat CH4 och inducerar flerCH4-bubblor. Det sistnämnda kan styrkas med denna studie eftersom svaga vindar (1-2 m/s) varit dominerande i nattmätningarna och därmed har vindpåverkan på flödena varit låg. Resultaten visade likt Tämnaren att omgivningen påverkar turbulensen över sjön. Turbulensen uppstår troligen till följd av friktion vid skogskanten snarare än inverkan från hela skogsomgivningen, då beräknade utbyteskoefficienter inte visade på några större skillnader i spridning när endast data från sjön fanns representerade. Sammanfattningsvis är det intressant att i vidarestudier göra turbulensmätningar runt sjön för att sedan undersöka eventuella samband med utbyteskoefficienter och växthusgasflöden. / Increasing amounts greenhouse gases and its impacts on future climate has been in focus quite some time. The increase is mainly due human sources, and hugh efforts to decrease the emissions are made continuously. Climate models describe the greenhouse gas balance including both human and natural sources. In contrast to human sources, knowledge about natural sources is limited and requires further investigations. Recent studies show that greenhouse gases, such as Carbon dioxid, CO2, and methane, CH4, are emitted from freshwater systems (lakes, rivers etc.) in much larger proportions than what has been estimated earlier. The purpose of this study was to analyze CO2 and CH4 fluxes from a small lake with forest surroundings in southwestern Sweden, and also investigate if the forest affects both fluxes and turbulence (exchange coefficients) above the lake. The results from this study were to be compared with studies of a much larger lake (in eastern Sweden) but with similar surroundings. Results from the present study show an uptake of CO2 due to photosynthesis in the forest during daytime, leading to the conclusion that the surrounding forest affects the greenhouse gas fluxes. Both CO2 and CH4 fluxes increased above the lake during nighttime. According to similar studies (e.g. the larger lake in eastern Sweden), increased nighttime fluxes is an effect of increased convection in the water. The diurnal differences is most distinctive for CH4 fluxes. As suggested in earlier studies, the convection increases mixing in the water, dissoliving sedimented CH4 and inducing ebullition. In this study, low windspeed (1-2 m/s) dominated the nighttime measurements suggesting that ebullition is the main source of increased CH4 fluxes since wind-effects on the fluxes were low. Like the larger lake in eastern Sweden, results in this study indicate that the surroundings affect the turbulence above the lake. A large distribution in the calculated exchange coefficients that doesn’t decrease when only data above the lake is represented, suggests that turbulence above the lake is induced by friction at the forest edge, rather than the whole forest surroundings. Additional turbulence measurements around the lake for comparing with exchange coefficients and greenhouse gas fluxes could be of interest for future studies.

Many bulk properties of gases depend linearly on the gas density at lower densities, but as the density increases departures from linearity are observed. The density dependence of a bulk property Q may often be discussed systematically by expanding Q as a power series in l/Vm, to yield: Q=Aq+Bq/Vm+Cq/V2m+..., where Bq is known as the second virial coefficient of the property Q. Aq is the ideal gas value of Q, and Bq describes the contribution of molecular pair interactions to Q. Theories of Q may be regarded as having two main components, one describing how the presence of a neighbour of a given molecule can enhance or detract from its contribution to Q, and the other the molecular interaction energy which determines the average geometry of a pair encounter. The latter component is common to all theories, and the former requires detailed derivations for each specific bulk property Q. In this work we consider the second virial coefficients of five effects, namely the second pressure virial coefficient B(T), and also the second dielectric, refractivity, Kerr-effect and light-scattering virial coefficients, Be, Br, Bk, and Bp, respectively. Using a powerful computer algebraic manipulation package we have extended the existing dipole-induced-dipole (DID) theories of the second dielectric, refractivity and Kerr-effect virial coefficients to sufficiently high order to establish convergence in the treatment of both linear and non-linear gases. Together with the established linear theory of the second pressure virial coefficient, the extended theory of the second light- scattering virial coefficient developed by Couling and Graham, and their new non-linear theory of the second pressure and light-scattering virial coefficients, our new theories provide a comprehensive base from which to calculate numerical values for the various effects for comparison with experiment. We have collected as much experimental data of the various second virial coefficients as possible, for a wide range of gases. The ten gases chosen for detailed study comprise a selection of polar and non-polar, linear and non-linear gases: the linear polar gases fluoromethane, trifluoromethane, chloromethane and hydrogen chloride; the non-polar linear gases nitrogen, carbon dioxide and ethane; the non-linear polar gases sulphur dioxide and dimethyl ether; and the non-linear non-polar gas ethene. Using the best available measured or calculated molecular parameter data for these gases, together with the complete theories for the second virial coefficients, we have attempted to find unique sets of molecular parameters for each gas which explain all the available experimental data. In general, reliable measured or calculated molecular properties are regarded as fixed, and only the Lennard-Jones and shape parameters in the molecular interaction energy are treated as best-fit parameters within the constraints of being physically reasonable. Many of the apparent failures of second virial coefficient theories have been due to the lack of convergence in the series of terms evaluated. It is essential to work to sufficiently high orders in the polarizabilities and various multipole moments to ensure convergence for meaningful comparison with experiment. This often requires the manipulation of extremely long and complicated expressions, not possible by the manual methods of our recent past. The advent of computer manipulation packages and fast processors for numerical integration have now enabled calculation to high orders, where the degree of convergence can be sensibly followed. Our efforts to describe all of the effects for which data is available met with mixed success. For four of the gases, fluoromethane, chloromethane, dimethyl ether and ethene, a unique parameter set was found for each which described all of the available effects reasonably well. For the three gases, trifluoromethane, nitrogen and sulphur dioxide, one interaction parameter set explained all but one of the effects for which data was available to within experimental uncertainty. For trifluoromethane the parameter set which yielded good agreement for B(T), Be, and Bk could not explain the observed values of Br, while for nitrogen one parameter set produced reasonable agreement for all of the effects except Bp and a different set, which yielded good agreement for Bp, did not explain the remaining four effects as well as the first set. The parameter set which explained B(T), Bk and Bp very well for sulphur dioxide, yielded a value for Be, which was much larger than the experimental value, although of the correct sign and order of magnitude. Hydrogen chloride posed a special problem as data was only available for two of the effects, B(T) and Be. It was possible to find a set of interaction parameters in good agreement with the measured values of B(T), but the experimental data for Be was an order of magnitude larger than the largest calculated values. Since the remaining effects have not been measured for this gas it was not possible to test the theory more rigorously. For the remaining gases carbon dioxide and ethane, it was impossible, based on the existing measured values, to select a unique parameter set which explained all of the effects. In many of the cases where definite conclusions could not be drawn, it was not possible to decide whether the disagreement between theory and experiment was due to the large scatter and uncertainty of the experimental data or failure of the theory. However, there were very few instances of complete failure of the theory to explain experiment, and no one effect showed consistent disagreement, so that in general it may be said that the mechanisms of the second virial coefficients under study are reasonably well understood. It would require more precise measurements of the various effects, as well as more measured or calculated molecular property tensor components, such as the hyperpolarizability and the A- and C-tensors , to test the DID molecular interaction model more stringently. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1997.

Acoustic features of sound such as pitch, loudness, perceived duration and timbre have been shown to be related to emotion in regard to sound, demonstrating that an important connection between the perceived emotions and their timbres is lacking. This study investigates the relationship between acoustic features of sound and emotion in regard to timbre. In two experiments we investigated whether particular acoustic components of sound can predict timbre, and particular categories of emotion, and how these attributes are related. Two behavioral experiments related perceived emotion ratings with synthetically created sounds and International Affective Digitized Sounds (Bradley & Lang, 2007) sounds. Also, two timbre experiments found acoustic components of synthetically created sounds, and IADS. Regression analyses uncovered some relationships between emotion, timbre, and acoustic features of sound. Results indicate that emotion is perceived differently for synthetic instrumental sounds and IADS. Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients were a strong predictor of perceived emotion of instrumental sounds; however, this was not the case for the IADS. This difference lends itself to the idea that there is a strong relationship between emotion and timbre for instrumental sounds, perhaps in part because of their relationship to speech and the way these different sounds are processed.

Une des évolutions récentes de la conception parasismique des ponts est la prise en compte de la performance des ouvrages durant les tremblements de terre, et de lier cette performance à des objectifs opérationnels et économiques. Ainsi, les propriétaires d’ouvrages peuvent choisir a priori les performances attendues pour un ouvrage en fonction de leur besoin en cas d’un tremblement de terre (service complet maintenu, service limité, pas de service) et optimiser ce niveau pour un coût total sur la durée de vie de l’ouvrage et un service postsismique suffisant. Une partie importante du travail de recherche porte donc en ce moment sur la détermination de la performance des ouvrages sous charges sismiques. Cela permet de mieux optimiser les coûts de construction et totaux sur la durée de vie de l’ouvrage, ainsi que d’assurer une fonctionnalité suffisante lors d'un tremblement de terre. Toutefois, les règles de conception parasismique selon le Code canadien sur le calcul des ponts routiers (CCCPR) reposent en grande partie sur des principes de conception basés sur la force. Même si un ensemble de critères de performance (objectifs de rendement) sont spécifiés pour différentes périodes de récurrence sismique, il n’existe aucune obligation explicite quant à l’atteinte de ces objectifs de performance multiples pour les ponts. De plus, selon [Sheikh et Legeron, 2010], les règles de conception actuelles du Code canadien sur le calcul des ponts routiers ne garantissent pas nécessairement la rencontre des critères de performance futurs des ponts. L’objet de ce projet est de mettre en place des méthodes de conception adaptées aux ouvrages simples dans le cadre d'une approche performantielle. Pour cela, le formalisme existant dans le code canadien des ponts S6-06 est utilisé. Les coefficients de modification de réponse et la demande en ductilité en fonction des différents types d'ouvrages sont alors évalués. Des cas types de ponts simples de deux travées en variant les paramètres tels que la hauteur des piles, leurs dimensions en plan, le taux d'armature longitudinal, le poids du tablier, le type de sismicité (est ou ouest du Canada) et de condition de sol sont étudiés. Pour ces différents cas, le calcul de la réponse par la méthode statique non linéaire et dynamique non linéaire sont effectuées et la performance de ces ponts sous charge scénario sismique est prédite. En fonction des résultats, des diagrammes montrant l’évolution du coefficient de modification de réponse et le besoin en ductilité sont déterminés. Finalement, des recommandations pour l’atteinte d'une performance sismique optimale sont fournies.

Estimation procedures and optimal designs for estimation of the individual parameters and of the global parameters are discussed under various conditions of prior knowledge. The extension to nonlinear parametrization of the response function ís based on the asymptotical validity of the results for the linear parametrization. For the case where the error variance and the dispersion matrix are unknown, an iterative estimation procedure is suggested. An example based on dental plaque pH profiles demonstrates the improvement that is achieved (a) through using the optimal design or a design that ís close to the optimal, and (b) through taking into account prior information. (author's abstract) / Series: Forschungsberichte / Institut für Statistik

No description available.

A prototype point absorber style wave energy converter has been proposed for deployment off the West coast of Vancouver Island near the remote village of Hotsprings Cove in Hesquiaht Sound; a site identified as having significant wave energy potential. The proposed design consists of two components, a long unique cylindrical spar and a concentric toroid float. To serve ongoing wave energy converter (WEC) dynamics modelling and control research in support of that project, an experimental facility for small scale physical model testing is desired at UVIC. In the immediate term, the facility could be used to determine the hydrodynamic coefficients over a range of wave frequencies. Refined estimates of the hydrodynamic coefficients would be exploited in the optimisation of the WEC geometry. To date, WEC research at UVIC has neglected the frequency dependence of the hydrodynamic coefficients, relying on limited experimental results to provide a single frequency invariant set of coefficient estimates. / Graduate / 0791 / 0547 / 0548 / mercedes.baylis@hotmail.com