Tomografia por Coerência Óptica, ou simplesmente OCT (acrônimo do inglês: Optical Coherence Tomography), é uma técnica para geração de imagens de seções transversais de meios espalhadores ao comprimento de onda utilizado. A OCT é baseada em interferometria óptica e gera imagens comumente correlacionadas às imagens geradas exames histológicos com a vantagem de ser indolor, não invasiva e não utilizar radiação ionizante. Este estudo dividiu-se em dois objetivos distintos, um refere-se à aplicação de sinais interferométricos de autocorrelação para a formação de imagens de amostras com estruturas complexas. O segundo objetivo foi o estudo das estruturas denominadas de harmônicos e sua aplicação no aumento da resolução axial de um sistema OCT. Com relação à primeira parte, constatou-se que o sinal interferométrico de autocorrelação é muitas vezes ignorado ou descartado pela OCT tradicional. Análises mais profundas da teoria de interferometria, juntamente com alguns estudos anteriores, apontaram para a possibilidade de gerar imagens de maior complexidade morfológica utilizando o sinal de autocorrelação, com a vantagem de se utilizar um arranjo óptico mais simples e também possibilitar imagens estáticas de amostras em movimento axial. Para testar os benefícios e as limitações da técnica de autocorrelação (Au-OCT) foi montado em laboratório e foram realizadas imagens de amostras no repouso e em movimento e confrontadas com imagens geradas no sistema OCT convencional. O sistema de Au-OCT foi capaz de gerar imagens de estruturas diversas (dentes, filmes plásticos entre outros), e apesar de possuir uma qualidade de imagem inferior à OCT, ela apresentou vantagens quando a amostra sofre deslocamentos axiais. Já em relação as características harmônicas, que se apresentam em amostras de alta refletividade óptica como falsas estruturas em imagens OCT, todo um estudo para o entendimento do fenômeno foi desenvolvido. Demonstrou-se também a possibilidade de utilização dessas estruturas para aprimorar a resolução axial diferencial (entre estruturas da própria amostra) através de um estudo numérico e experimental. Para isso padrões dimensionais do tipo degrau foram mensurados e os resultados tratados de acordo com procedimentos metrológicos, mostrando que os harmônicos podem ser utilizados para promover o aumento de resolução axial de um fator de aproximadamente dois. Por fim uma análise crítica sobre os resultados e uma discussão sobre perspectivas dos temas abordados, foram realizada. / Optical Coherence Tomography also largely known as the acronym OCT, is a technique developed to generate transversal sections images of light scattering media. Based on optical interferometry, it provides images correlated to histological images with the advantages of being not invasive, painless besides and does not use ionizing radiation. This study was divided into two separate goals; one refers to the application of interferometric autocorrelation signals for forming images of samples with complex structures. The second objective was the study of structures called harmonics and its application in increasing the axial resolution of an OCT system. Regarding the first part, it was found that the interferometric autocorrelation signal is often ignored or discarded by traditional OCT. Further analysis of the theory of interferometry, along with some previous studies have pointed to the possibility of generating images of greater morphological complexity using the signal autocorrelation, with the advantage of using a simplest optical arrangement and also allow static images of samples in axial movement. To test the benefits and limitations of the autocorrelation technique (Au-OCT) a setup was assembled in and images of samples were performed at rest and in motion and compared with images generated in conventional OCT system. The system Au-OCT was able to generate images of several structures (teeth, plastic films etc.), and despite having a lower image quality to the OCT, it presented advantages when the sample undergoes axial motion. Regarding the harmonic characteristics that are present in samples of high optical reflectivity as false structures in OCT images, a whole study to the understanding of the phenomenon was developed. Also demonstrated the possibility of using these structures to enhance the differential axial resolution (structures between the sample itself) using a numerical and experimental study. Dimensional standards step height like were measured and results handled according to metrological procedures, showing that the harmonics can be used to promote the increase of axial resolution by a factor of about two. Finally a critical analysis of the results and a discussion of perspectives of the topics discussed were performed.

Este trabalho desenvolve uma investigação sobre as noções de coerência e comunidade nas obras de Bento de Espinosa (1632-1677), em especial na Ética demonstrada em ordem geométrica. A noção de coerência, entendida como modo pelo qual as partes da natureza se relacionam para compor o todo do universo, é um problema central em toda a história da filosofia. Espinosa também se posicionou em relação a essa questão, formulando uma teoria que procura explicar a relação entre as partes do universo sem recorrer a nenhuma causa exterior a ele, configurando assim uma filosofia da imanência. Nessa perspectiva, o objetivo da pesquisa consiste em mostrar como o problema da coerência apareceu em diferentes campos da obra espinosana, sendo sempre solucionado através de uma mesma explicação imanente da natureza, que se estabeleceu definitivamente com a introdução da noção de comum na cadeia dedutiva da Ética. Para isso, partimos de uma perspectiva histórica e examinamos inicialmente algumas cartas de Espinosa, verificando como a pergunta sobre a coerência da natureza foi ali respondida. Posteriormente, ao analisar a Ética, apresentamos como, em cada de uma de suas cinco partes, a ideia de comunidade se faz presente, emergindo tanto no campo especulativo quanto no campo prático. / This work develops and investigation about the notions of coherence and community in Baruch Spinozas (1632-1677) works, especially in the Ethics Demonstrated in Geometrical Order. The notion of coherence, understood as mode through which the parts of nature relate to each other to compose the whole of the universe, is a central problem to the whole history of philosophy. Spinoza also took a stand on this issue, formulating a theory that tries to explain the relation among the parts of the universe without resorting to any cause external to it, thus configuring a philosophy of immanence. In this perspective, the aim of the thesis consists in showing how the problem of coherence appeared in different fields of Spinozas works, always being solved by the same immanent explanation of nature, which was definitely established by the introduction of the notion of common into the deductive chain of the Ethics. For this purpose, we start from a historical perspective and initially examine some of Spinozas letters, verifying how the question concerning the coherence of nature was answered. Afterwards, analyzing the Ethics, we show how the idea of community is present in each of its five parts, emerging both in the speculative field and in the field of practice.

Parents’ capacity to represent and sensitively respond to their children as individuals, is a particularly pertinent ability during infancy. This thesis contributes to theoretical understanding of the nature of parental sensitivity during infancy. In particular, it examined whether parental mind-mindedness and coherence, dimensions theoretically related to sensitivity, are (i) measurable during pregnancy, (ii) conceptually distinct, and (iii) meaningfully associated with observed sensitivity. Results from two studies are presented. The first, a prospective longitudinal study, involved interviews with and observations of 201 first-time parents during late pregnancy and at 4 and 14 months postpartum. Drawing on this data, I established that both expectant mothers and fathers can construct mind-minded and coherent descriptions of their unborn infants during pregnancy. However, there was no evidence that these prenatal constructs had a direct or indirect effect on parents’ sensitivity during infancy. These results were added to the second meta-analytic study that showed expectant mothers’ (but not fathers’) thoughts and feelings about their unborn infant were related to their observed parenting in the postnatal period. In line with the gendered meta-analytic results, further differences emerged between mothers’ and fathers’ talk and behaviour within the prospective longitudinal study. Specifically, mind-mindedness was more stable than sensitivity for mothers whilst the reverse was evident for fathers. Compared with mothers, fathers’ talk and behaviour was more susceptible to influence from other members of the family system. Couple relationship quality influenced both fathers’ prenatal coherence and gains in their mind-mindedness over time. Infant affective responses were also important for fathers’ mind-mindedness, whilst maternal parental efficacy alongside infants’ receptive vocabulary were associated with fathers’ sensitivity. Unexpectedly, infant gender was an important influence on parents’ behaviour: mothers’ sensitivity at 4 months appeared to stimulate fathers’ sensitivity towards their daughters at 14 months. By following both mothers and fathers and in line with family systems theory, assessing whether partners contribute to the emergence of their co-parents’ sensitivity, this thesis provides a rich portrayal of the transition to parenthood in the 21st century.

Tidigare forskning som undersökt relationen mellan alkoholkonsumtion, Big Five personlighetsfaktorerna samt känsla av sammanhang utfördes med fokus på riskbruk eller på populationer utanför Sverige. Därför testade denna studie samband mellan alkoholkonsumtion och (a) Big Five personlighetsfaktorerna, (b) KASAM, (c) utbildning samt demografiska variablerna (d) kön och ålder bland högskolestudenter i Sverige. Resultatet kan bidra till forskning om alkoholkonsumtion samt vara av intresse för initiativ som försöker begränsa alkoholkonsumtion. Urvalet bestod av 115 deltagare (64 kvinnor, 50 män och 1 ospecificerad. M = 24.64 år SD 4.27 år). Alkoholkonsumtion mättes med AUDIT-C, Big Five mättes med BFM och KASAM mättes med SOC-13. Alkoholkonsumtion korrelerade signifikant endast med en variabel, extravertion. Negativa korrelationer fanns mellan variabeln riskbruk av alkohol och variablerna KASAM och kön, i riskgruppen fanns fler kvinnor än män. Eftersom urvalet i riskgruppen var lågt hade det varit intressant för framtida forskning att undersöka denna relation igen med högre deltagarantal.

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is an imaging technique that uses near infra-red light to non-invasively form cross-sectional images of specimens, in a similar way to ultrasound and RADAR. A number of research groups have used OCT to study natural and artificial carious lesions and to some extent erosive lesions. For this, a variety of in vitro models have been used. However, the exact mechanism by which these demineralised enamel lesions affect the OCT measurements is not fully understood. This remains a barrier to its adoption as both an analytical laboratory tool and a widespread technique in clinical dentistry. Therefore, the aim of this thesis was to develop an understanding of how different demineralised enamel lesions manifest in OCT measurements. This is necessary for the technique to become useful as an in vivo clinical measurement and imaging system. Consequently, this study was carried out in a controlled laboratory environment for which a novel specimen holder was designed. This mitigated against specimen movement and maintained specimen hydration, which can be a source of uncertainty in the measurements. A custom-built OCT microscope was used for this work, which enabled automation of experiments and continuous time-lapse OCT imaging over time periods of hours to several days. This enabled bovine enamel demineralisation dynamics to be captured during in vitro caries and erosion formation. The stability of the system also enabled direct comparison between the OCT measurements of the optical properties of different demineralisation models. To achieve these measurements, the OCT system was carefully characterised and compared to established profilometry measurements. Interestingly, this revealed that the experimental protocol used to obtain lesions for profilometry was not to be representative of the lesions formed and measured by OCT. This is an important point when interpreting OCT data in light of other techniques. A novel method of analysis was developed that uses longitudinal OCT image correlation to quantify early stage surface softening during erosion. By using OCT volumetric data, this technique was able to measure sub-resolution changes at the specimen surface. Early results also indicate sensitivity to remineralisation. This thesis shows that OCT is sensitive to different demineralisation models produced and measured under controlled conditions. New method of handling the data can observe changes not previously seen in OCT. However, further work is still required to understand the underlying physical changes that lead to this sensitivity in OCT.

O conceito de precedente judicial é fundamental não apenas nos países de common law, mas também nos de civil law. Essa dicotomia está enfraquecida, de modo que os precedentes, na condição de normas jurídicas construídas de casos concretos, devem ser tidos como vinculantes em ambos os sistemas. Precedente não se confunde com uma decisão judicial proferida no passado, mas, sim, com razões de decidir extraídas de decisões colegiadas pretéritas. Não são todas as Cortes do Brasil competentes para a produção de precedentes, mas apenas os tribunais com a atribuição de dar a última palavra sobre a interpretação do Direito. A produção contínua de precedentes pelas Cortes competentes dá origem a sistemas normativos. Os precedentes extraídos de acórdãos do Supremo Tribunal Federal e do Superior Tribunal de Justiça formam o sistema nacional de precedentes. Nos estados e regiões (Justiça Federal) formam-se subsistemas de jurisprudência vinculante e de definição de sentido do “direito local”. Existe uma relação inexorável entre sistemas normativos e a ideia de coerência. Os sistemas devem ser coerentes. Coerência não se limita à imposição de que sejam evitadas contradições entre as normas. É preciso que critérios de coerência sejam construídos com o objetivo de impor deveres relacionados à fundamentação de cada nova norma que ingressa no sistema. As decisões judiciais devem apresentar justificação interna e justificação externa. Os fundamentos dos precedentes encontram-se na justificação externa da decisão. A coerência impõe, portanto, limites ao intérprete no que se refere a determinadas escolhas relacionadas à justificação externa. A eleição dos argumentos interpretativos utilizados na construção de um novo precedente deve ter como parâmetro o sistema de precedentes. Da mesma forma, os conceitos jurídicos utilizados na formação da normaprecedente devem ter o sistema de precedentes como referência. Por uma imposição de coerência normativa, os conteúdos atribuídos pelo Supremo Tribunal Federal aos princípios constitucionais devem, necessariamente, ser observados. A coerência consta em texto de lei federal brasileira (novo Código de Processo Civil), tendo, assim, status de norma federal, mais especificamente, de um postulado hermenêutico (norma de segundo grau). Diante do caráter normativo, deve ser observada fielmente pelas Cortes competentes para a elaboração de precedentes. Sua inobservância pode ser enfrentada pelas partes imediatamente interessadas, por meio da interposição de recurso de embargos de divergência ou, ainda, por meio de recurso especial quando o desrespeito se der pelas Cortes de Justiça. O controle ainda deve ocorrer de ofício pelas próprias Cortes de precedentes, haja vista o caráter cogente da norma, o que poderá ensejar o overruling. / The concept of precedent is fundamental not only in common law systems but also in civil law systems. This dichotomy is dimmed, since, as legal rules built on concrete cases, precedents must be considered binding on in both systems. Precedents do not relate to the decisions issued in the past, but rather to the reasoning extracted from previous Court decisions. In Brazil, only the Courts with the attribution of giving the last word on the interpretation of the Law have competence to rule precedents. The continuous making of precedents by competent Courts gives rise to normative systems. The precedents resultant from judgments of the Federal Supreme Court and the Superior Court of Justice form the national system of precedents. At local level, it is the States (State Tribunals) and in the Federal Regions (Federal Regional Tribunals) that form the binding jurisprudence systems and the definition of "local law". There is an indispensable bond between normative systems and the idea of coherence. Normative systems must be coherent. Coherence is not limited to avoiding contradictions between legal standards. Coherence criteria shall be developed on the purpose of guiding the reasoning of every new legal standard that enters the system. Judicial decisions must present internal and external justification. Grounds for precedents are found in the external justification of the decision. Coherence therefore requires the interpreter limits to adopt reasons for external justification. The arguments chosen to substantiate new precedent must be ground on the system of precedents. Likewise, the legal concepts used to holdup precedents also should stand on the precedent system. By imposition of normative coherence, the contents attributed by the Federal Supreme Court to the constitutional principles must be observed. Coherence is provided by the Brazilian federal law (new Code of Civil Procedure) and therefore has the status of a federal rule and, specifically, a hermeneutical postulate (second degree rule). As formal law, coherence is required to be observed by competent Courts while issuing precedents. The affected parties by the noncompliance with coherence can challenge it through a Motion for Resolution of Conflict in Decision or a Special Appeal, in its case when the disregard comes from Courts of Justice. Given that coherence is mandatory, the Courts with competence to issue precedent must examine its compliance ex officio, which may lead to overruling.

Cette thèse s'inscrit dans le thème du rendu expressif qui vise à définir des outils de création et de traitement d'images ou d'animations stylisées. Les applications concernent tous les métiers nécessitant une représentation visuelle plus stylisée qu'une photographie : création artistique (jeux vidéo, film d'animation, dessins animés), restitution archéologique, documentation technique, etc. Un critère fondamental de qualité d'une image est l'absence d'artefacts visuels. Cette considération a toujours existé, mais elle est particulièrement importante dans le cas de l'informatique graphique. En effet, la nature même de l'image – des pixels discrets – est source d'artefacts. Les artefacts sont encore plus visibles lorsque l'on s'intéresse aux animations, des artefacts temporels s'ajoutant aux artefacts spatiaux. L'objectif de cette thèse est d'une part de formaliser et mesurer ces artefacts en tenant compte de la perception humaine, et d'autre part de proposer de nouvelles méthodes de stylisation interactive d'animations 3D. Nous présentons tout d'abord un ensemble de techniques pour créer et assurer la cohérence de dessins au trait extraits de scènes 3D animées. Nous proposons ensuite deux méthodes de stylisation des régions de couleur permettant la créations d'un grand nombre de motifs. Le point commun à toutes ces approches est la représentation du médium simulé (pigment d'aquarelle, coup de crayon ou de pinceau...) par une texture évoluant au cours de l'animation. Nous décrivons enfin deux expériences utilisateurs visant à évaluer perceptuellement la qualité des résultats produits par ce type de techniques. / This PhD thesis deals with expressive rendering, a sub-field of computer graphics which aims at defining creation and processing tools to stylize images and animations. It has applications in all the fields that need depictions more stylized than photographs, such as entertainment (e.g., video games, animated films, cartoons), virtual heritage, technical illustration, etc. A crucial criterion to assert the quality of an image is the absence of visual artifacts. While already true for traditional art, this consideration is especially important in computer graphics. Indeed the intrinsic discrete nature of an image can lead to artifacts. This is even more noticeable during animations, as temporal artifacts are added to spatial ones. The goal of this thesis is twofold: (1) To formalize and measure these artifacts by taking into account human perception; (2) To propose new interactive methods to stylize 3D animations. First we present a set of techniques to ensure the coherence of line drawings extracted form 3D animated scenes. Then we propose two methods to stylize shaded regions, which allow to create a wide variety of patterns. The shared ground layer of all these approaches is the use of temporally varying textures to represent the simulated media (e.g., watercolor pigments, brush strokes). Finally we describe two user studies aiming at evaluating the quality of the results produced by such techniques.

La santé du dirigeant de PME, en tant que premier actif immatériel de l’entrepreneur, fait l’objet depuis une dizaine d’années d’un courant de recherche qui tend à démontrer que l’entrepreneuriat est vecteur de bonne santé bien que cette santé soit soumise à une plus forte amplitude d’émotions que celle des salariés. Ce travail doctoral s’inscrit dans ce courant de recherche en opérant une focalisation sur les entrepreneurs en situation du handicap. Cette thèse pluridisciplinaire adopte une posture épistémologique de type interprétative de nature inductive. Vingt entrepreneurs en situation de handicap qui ont opéré une transition entrepreneuriale (passage du salariat à l’entrepreneuriat) ont été interrogés. Afin d’avoir une compréhension globale de cette population, le type de handicap, la date de la survenance du handicap et le secteur d’activité n’ont pas été retenus comme critères de sélection pour appréhender une grande variété d’entrepreneurs en situation de handicap. Deux aspects ont été ainsi étudiés dans ce travail doctoral : les entrepreneurs en situation de handicap et la transition entrepreneuriale des personnes handicapées. Au niveau conceptuel, ce travail de recherche doctoral a appliqué les théories des motivations entrepreneuriales et de la salutogénèse entrepreneuriale. Les résultats de cette thèse mettent en avant deux constats : le caractère central du handicap dans la vie de l’entrepreneur et la difficile alliance entre l’entrepreneuriat et le handicap. / The health of the SMEs owner, as the first intangible asset of the entrepreneur, has been the subject of a trend of research for ten years, which tends to show that entrepreneurship is a vector of good health, although this health is subject to a greater range of emotions than that of employees. This doctoral work is part of this research by focusing on entrepreneurs with disabilities. This multidisciplinary thesis adopts an epistemological posture of interpretative type of inductive nature. Twenty entrepreneurs with disabilities who made an entrepreneurial transition (transition from wage-earning to entrepreneurship) were interviewed. In order to have a global understanding of this population, the type of disability, the date of the onset of the disability and the sector of activity were not selected as selection criteria to apprehend a wide variety of entrepreneurs in disability. Two aspects were studied in this doctoral work: entrepreneurs with disabilities and the entrepreneurial transition of people with disabilities.At the conceptual level, this doctoral research work has applied theories of entrepreneurial motivations and entrepreneurial salutogenesis. The results of this thesis highlight two findings: the centrality of disability in the life of the entrepreneur and the difficult alliance between entrepreneurship and disability.

Tomografia por Coerência Óptica, ou simplesmente OCT (acrônimo do inglês: Optical Coherence Tomography), é uma técnica para geração de imagens de seções transversais de meios espalhadores ao comprimento de onda utilizado. A OCT é baseada em interferometria óptica e gera imagens comumente correlacionadas às imagens geradas exames histológicos com a vantagem de ser indolor, não invasiva e não utilizar radiação ionizante. Este estudo dividiu-se em dois objetivos distintos, um refere-se à aplicação de sinais interferométricos de autocorrelação para a formação de imagens de amostras com estruturas complexas. O segundo objetivo foi o estudo das estruturas denominadas de harmônicos e sua aplicação no aumento da resolução axial de um sistema OCT. Com relação à primeira parte, constatou-se que o sinal interferométrico de autocorrelação é muitas vezes ignorado ou descartado pela OCT tradicional. Análises mais profundas da teoria de interferometria, juntamente com alguns estudos anteriores, apontaram para a possibilidade de gerar imagens de maior complexidade morfológica utilizando o sinal de autocorrelação, com a vantagem de se utilizar um arranjo óptico mais simples e também possibilitar imagens estáticas de amostras em movimento axial. Para testar os benefícios e as limitações da técnica de autocorrelação (Au-OCT) foi montado em laboratório e foram realizadas imagens de amostras no repouso e em movimento e confrontadas com imagens geradas no sistema OCT convencional. O sistema de Au-OCT foi capaz de gerar imagens de estruturas diversas (dentes, filmes plásticos entre outros), e apesar de possuir uma qualidade de imagem inferior à OCT, ela apresentou vantagens quando a amostra sofre deslocamentos axiais. Já em relação as características harmônicas, que se apresentam em amostras de alta refletividade óptica como falsas estruturas em imagens OCT, todo um estudo para o entendimento do fenômeno foi desenvolvido. Demonstrou-se também a possibilidade de utilização dessas estruturas para aprimorar a resolução axial diferencial (entre estruturas da própria amostra) através de um estudo numérico e experimental. Para isso padrões dimensionais do tipo degrau foram mensurados e os resultados tratados de acordo com procedimentos metrológicos, mostrando que os harmônicos podem ser utilizados para promover o aumento de resolução axial de um fator de aproximadamente dois. Por fim uma análise crítica sobre os resultados e uma discussão sobre perspectivas dos temas abordados, foram realizada. / Optical Coherence Tomography also largely known as the acronym OCT, is a technique developed to generate transversal sections images of light scattering media. Based on optical interferometry, it provides images correlated to histological images with the advantages of being not invasive, painless besides and does not use ionizing radiation. This study was divided into two separate goals; one refers to the application of interferometric autocorrelation signals for forming images of samples with complex structures. The second objective was the study of structures called harmonics and its application in increasing the axial resolution of an OCT system. Regarding the first part, it was found that the interferometric autocorrelation signal is often ignored or discarded by traditional OCT. Further analysis of the theory of interferometry, along with some previous studies have pointed to the possibility of generating images of greater morphological complexity using the signal autocorrelation, with the advantage of using a simplest optical arrangement and also allow static images of samples in axial movement. To test the benefits and limitations of the autocorrelation technique (Au-OCT) a setup was assembled in and images of samples were performed at rest and in motion and compared with images generated in conventional OCT system. The system Au-OCT was able to generate images of several structures (teeth, plastic films etc.), and despite having a lower image quality to the OCT, it presented advantages when the sample undergoes axial motion. Regarding the harmonic characteristics that are present in samples of high optical reflectivity as false structures in OCT images, a whole study to the understanding of the phenomenon was developed. Also demonstrated the possibility of using these structures to enhance the differential axial resolution (structures between the sample itself) using a numerical and experimental study. Dimensional standards step height like were measured and results handled according to metrological procedures, showing that the harmonics can be used to promote the increase of axial resolution by a factor of about two. Finally a critical analysis of the results and a discussion of perspectives of the topics discussed were performed.

With current needs to better understand the interaction between atrial tissue microstructure and atrial fibrillation dynamics, micrometer scale imaging with optical coherence tomography has significant potential to provide further insight on arrhythmia mechanisms and improve treatment guidance. However, optical coherence tomography imaging of cardiac tissue in humans is largely unexplored, and the ability of optical coherence tomography to identify the structural substrate of atrial fibrillation has not yet been investigated. Therefore, the objective of this thesis was to develop an optical coherence tomography imaging atlas of the human heart, study the utility of optical coherence tomography in providing useful features of human left atrial tissues, and develop a framework for optical coherence tomography-informed cardiac modeling that could be used to probe dynamics between electrophysiology and tissue structure. Human left atrial tissues were comprehensively imaged by optical coherence tomography for the first time, providing an imaging atlas that can guide identification of left atrial tissue features from optical coherence tomography imaging. Optical coherence tomography image features corresponding to myofiber and collagen fiber orientation, adipose tissue, endocardial thickness and composition, and venous media were established. Varying collagen fiber distributions in the myocardial sleeves were identified within the pulmonary veins. A scheme for mapping optical coherence tomography data of dissected left atrial tissues to a three-dimensional, anatomical model of the human left atrium was also developed, enabling the mapping of distributions of imaged adipose tissue and fiber orientation to the whole left atrial geometry. These results inform future applications of structural substrate mapping in the human left atrium using optical coherence tomography-integrated catheters, as well as potential directions of ex vivo optical coherence tomography atrial imaging studies. Additionally, we developed a workflow for creating optical mapping models of atrial tissue as informed by optical coherence tomography. Tissue geometry, fiber orientation, ablation lesion geometry, and heterogeneous tissue types were extracted from optical coherence tomography images and incorporated into tissue-specific meshes. Electrophysiological propagation was simulated and combined with photon scattering simulations to evaluate the influence of tissue-specific structure on electrical and optical mapping signals. Through tissue-specific modeling of myofiber orientation, ablation lesions, and heterogeneous tissue types, the influence of myofiber orientation on transmural activation, the relationship between fluorescent signals and lesion geometry, and the blurring of optical mapping signals in the presence of heterogeneous tissue types were investigated. By providing a comprehensive optical coherence tomography image database of the human left atrium and a workflow for developing optical coherence tomography-informed cardiac tissue models, this work establishes the foundation for utilizing optical coherence tomography to improve the structural substrate characterization of atrial fibrillation. Future developments include analysis of optical coherence tomography imaged tissue structure with respect to clinical presentation, development of automated processing to better leverage the large amount of imaging data, enhancements and validation of the modeling scheme, and in vivo evaluation of the left atrial structural substrate through optical coherence tomography-integrated catheters