“Smart” surveillance systems require a visual tracking system that is able to detect and follow a moving target in the field of view of a camera. Visual tracking systems have been traditionally developed either as application specific hardware or as software written for parallel architectures because of the large number of computations that have to be performed at very high speeds. This thesis describes the implementations of two visual tracking systems on a custom computing machine based on Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). The implementations apply a coarse-to-fine search on Gaussian pyramids constructed from the images generated by a camera. One system tracks a target of size 16x16 in an image sequence with output images of size 256x256. This system is capable of operating at 30 pyramids per second. The second system tracks a target of size 16x16 in an image sequence with output images of size 512x512. This system is capable of operating at 15 pyramids per second. Both systems are designed with pipelined architectures and numerical computations are handled using a SIMD approach. / Master of Science

The cryptographic algorithms are designed to be mathematically secure; however, side-channel analysis attacks go beyond mathematics by taking measurements of the device’s electrical activity to reveal the secret data of a cipher. These attacks also go hand in hand with fault analysis techniques to disclose the secret key used in cryptographic ciphers with even fewer measurements. This is of practical concern due to the ubiquity of embedded systems that allow physical access to the adversary such as smart cards, ATMs, etc.. Researchers through the years have come up with techniques to block physical attacks to the hardware or make such attacks less likely to succeed. Most of the conducted research consider one or the other of side-channel analysis and fault injection attacks whereas, in a real setting, the adversary can simultaneously take advantage of both to retrieve the secret data with less effort. Furthermore, very little work considers a software implementation of these ciphers although, with the availability of small and affordable or free microarchitectures, and flexibility and simplicity of software implementations, it is at times more practical to have a software implementation of ciphers instead of dedicated hardware chips. In this project, we come up with a modular presentation, suitable for software implementation of ciphers, to allow having simultaneous resistance against side-channel and fault analysis attacks. We also present an extension at the microarchitecture level to make our proposed countermeasures more intact and efficient. / M.S. / Ciphers are algorithms designed by mathematicians. They protect data by encrypting them. In one of the main categories of these ciphers, called symmetric-key ciphers, a secret key is used to both encrypt and decrypt the data. Once the secret key of a cipher is retrieved, anyone can find the decoded data and thereby access the original data. Cryptographers traditionally sought to design ciphers in such a way that no adversary could reveal the secret key by finding holes in the algorithm. However, this has been shown insufficient for a specific implementation of a cryptographic algorithm to be considered as “unbreakable” since the physical properties of the implementation, can help an adversary find the secret key and break the encryption. Analyzing these physical properties can be either active; by making controlled changes in the normal progress of its execution, or passive; by merely measuring the physical properties during normal execution. Designers try to take these analyses into account when implementing a cryptographic function and so, in this project, we aim to present architectural support for a combination of some of the countermeasures.

Slay the Spire is a roguelike deckbuilding game and this genre is fairly new with the first game in this genre called Dream Quest came out in 2014. Since the genre is so new there are not many tools that can help in the creation of games in the genre. Slay the Spire offers an extensive modding API which lets users create new content for the game. This would require the designer to have both programming knowledge and API knowledge which takes a lot of time to learn. This is why Design science as a methodology was chosen to create a UI to make it easier for designers without the required knowledge to still be able to create content for the game. A user study was then conducted to evaluate the usability of the UI. Experiments were also used to test the artifact to make sure content is created correctly.

Upper extremity splinting is a popular treatment method for a range of conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis. The intent of this treatment approach is multifaceted, but fundamentally, the provision of tools to enable and encourage patients to carry out everyday activities and to improve their quality of life is paramount. However, the aesthetic and functional limitations of wrist immobilisation splints demonstrate various weaknesses in terms of wear duration and frequency. Patient compliance is often compromised due to a number of factors, including the perceived stigma associated with assistive devices. Additive Manufacturing (AM) has proved its worth in a number of applications relating to the design of assistive devices; builds of complex, bespoke fitting geometries make AM an ideal fabrication method for upper extremity splints. However, recent advances in system technology to enable multi-material builds have been limited in this field, and a distinct need for a specialised three-dimensional (3D) Computer Aided Design (CAD) software approach is required to allow therapists to design splints for AM. Furthermore, the intent to keep practising therapists at the forefront of splint prescription is of utmost importance. This research proposes a digitised splinting approach, specifically through development of a 3D CAD software strategy to allow therapists to capture their design intent without compromising creativity. Furthermore, the approach proposes the exploration of AM build capabilities by allowing the integration of more creative features, such as aesthetically pleasing lattice structures for increased skin ventilation. The approach also proposes the integration of multiple materials to replicate and improve upon current splint design and fabrication practises. The approach therefore explores an exciting new paradigm for upper extremity splinting, the driving characteristics of which have not been proposed before as a collective medium. This research describes the feasibility of capturing therapists design intent in a 3D CAD virtual environment, whilst capturing therapists opinions of the approach with suggestions for future research and development. Results concluded that therapists were excited by the proposed transition in AM splinting, but that significant development is required elsewhere to establish a supporting infrastructure in order to make the approach a viable option in future upper extremity splinting.

近年，Harris and Todaro 發展出一種要素扭曲的移動，設有鄉村及城市兩部門，城 市部門沒有最低工資。鄉村部門真實工資等於城市真實工資乘以就業率。因此城市部 門有失業存在。 而後Corden and Findlay 把上述H-T模型修正，成為一小國，資本於部門間完全移動 的長期模型。近年來開發中國家的關稅保護政策逐漸成為主張自由貿易者的攻訐口實 ，各國不得不逐漸降低其關稅稅率。 值此關稅自由化之際，本文研究目的，便是以Corden and Findlay 修正之類似模型 ，探討工資扭曲下，有失業存在時，關稅自由化的效果。 全文共分五章，第一章：緒論；第二章：相關理論的評介；第三章：供給面模型的分 析；第四章：需求面模型的分析；第五章：結論。

Le Livre Roisin est l'un des rares coutumiers français du XIIIe siècle. Il contient les coutumes de la ville de Lille, mises par écrit en 1267, puis recopiées et enrichies en 1297, en 1349 et enfin de façon continue jusqu'au XVIe siècle. Une dernière copie officielle fut faite en 1618-1619. L'analyse approfondie du plus ancien manuscrit du Livre Roisin qui nous soit parvenu, celui de 1349, révèle les secrets de son élaboration. Les nombreuses chartes, actes, arrêts et bans joints au coutumier à proprement parler durant plus de deux siècles donnent une vue d'ensemble des lois qui régissaient les Lillois du Moyen Âge. Au passage, les producteurs du recueil, les clercs de ville, ont laissé des traces de leur travail, de telle sorte qu'il est possible de dresser l'inventaire de leurs responsabilités et comprendre l'importance de ces officiers tant dans la perspective des institutions municipales médiévales que dans celle de l'historien, pour qui ils font partie de la chaîne de transmission des textes. De leur côté, les récepteurs, tout aussi discrets mais présents, se manifestent dans le détail de la procédure judiciaire que contient le document. L'utilisation qu'ils en ont faite, tantôt pratique, tantôt mémorielle surgit. Il en ressort que le recueil fût à la fois un aide-mémoire et un outil de défense de l'identité urbaine et même picarde. Enfin, le Livre Roisin est un outil privilégié pour l'étude de l'histoire de la ville, puisque sa rédaction et chacune de ses copies sont ancrées dans des événements politiques aux conséquences majeures pour la ville de Lille. / The Livre Roisin is one of the rare french customary of the XIIIth century. It contains the customs of the city of Lille, written down in 1267, then copied and expanded in 1297, 1349 and from then continuously until the XVIth century. One last manuscript copy was made in 1618-1619. Thorough analysis of the oldest manuscript of the Livre Roisin to have survived, that of 1349, reveals the secrets of its development. Numerous charter, acts, bans, and judgments that have been added to the customary for more than two centuries give an overview of the laws that governed the medieval Lillois. Incidentally, the producers of the collection, the clerks of town, have left traces of their work, so it is possible to take stock of their work and understand the importance of these officers both in view of municipal institutions and the medieval historian, for whom they are part of the chain of transmission of the texts. On the other hand, the receivers, just as discreet but nonetheless present, are evident in the detail of the proceedings contained in the document. Thus, the document was both practical and memorial. It was used as a reminder and as a powerful instrument to preserve urban and picard identities. Finally, the Livre Roisin is a tool for studying the history of the city, as his writing and each of its copies are rooted in political events with major consequences for the city of Lille.

The problem of this study was subsidy ("vanity") publishing among college and university faculty. The purpose of the study was to estimate the extent to which postsecondary faculty use subsidy presses for the publication of their scholarly writings and the professional reasons for which academicians choose these presses to publish their works, viz., tenure, promotion, or salary increase. An additional purpose was to compare the subsidy publication experiences of faculty according to the types of institutions which employ them. The study involved 11 national subsidy publishers and 1,124 subsidy-published authors throughout the United States. Subsidy-published authors were identified occupationally as faculty by their appearance in the 1990 edition of The National Faculty Directory. The subjects in this study consisted of (a) faculty members listed in The National Faculty Directory. 1990 who are (b) known to have used subsidy presses for publishing their writings. A major finding of the study was that the proportion of vanity-published authors who are college and university faculty was small. Twenty-seven percent of the faculty whose books had been published by subsidy presses indicated that they had written and published in order to earn salary increases. Another 23% indicated that they had their books published to obtain promotions. Seventeen percent had their books published for the purpose of gaining tenure. Finally, one-third of the faculty surveyed identified miscellaneous other reasons for publishing their books through subsidy presses. More than two-thirds of the faculty who had used vanity presses (69%) claimed that their subsidy-published books had been effective in helping them achieve their purposes for publishing. Thirty percent judged their subsidy-produced books as ineffective. The majority of the subsidy-published faculty in the study were employed either by research universities or community/junior colleges. Only 26% of those surveyed indicated that they would choose a subsidy publisher if they had it to do again.

Custom software development agreement is a very actual topic. Nowadays, the increasing demand for IT services puts greater demands on quality of legal services. Development of IT services in the Czech Republic also causes that more and more cases end up in court. One of important parts of IT services is the custom software development and the legal regulation of this phenomenon is the subject of this master's thesis. Custom software development agreement as a legal topic is a very specific topic, because it contains not only problematic issues from the field of law but also from more technical fields. To fully understand content of this work, it is necessary to have at least basic knowledge in the field of software development. Basic computer skills are then taken for granted. The topic of this thesis is very actual also because of the recodification of private law in the Czech Republic, which came into force during the elaboration of this thesis. Thesis will operate with the Czech law, because comparison with foreign legislation would require much larger scope of the paper, than the given one. This thesis aims to provide the most complex view of the custom software development agreement as possible, considering defined scope of this paper. Articles regarding this subject are mostly focused on the...

Les syndromes myélodysplasiques (SMD) sont des hémopathies myéloïdes clonales évoluant vers une leucémie aiguë (LA). Les SMD et LA secondaires, survenant après traitement par chimiothérapie et/ou radiothérapie, ont un pronostic très péjoratif. Cependant seule une partie des sujets exposés aux traitements cytotoxiques développent un SMD secondaire, ce qui suggère une composante génétique dans la susceptibilité individuelle au risque de développer un SMD secondaire. Les objectifs de ce travail ont été d’identifier des polymorphismes génétiques de type SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) significativement associés à des caractères cliniques et biologiques des SMD tel leur caractère secondaire. Une « puce » à façon a sélectionné 384 SNP de fréquence allélique supérieure à 10 % impliqués dans la réparation de l’ADN, le métabolisme, le transport et la détoxication des xénobiotiques. L’ADN constitutionnel de 65 patients atteints de SMD primaire et secondaire a été recueilli et génotypé pour ces 384 SNP. La seule association significative par test exact de Fisher (p = 0,009 après correction de Benjamini-Hochberg) a été observée pour le caractère secondaire des SMD et la présence de l’allèle variant de MGMT (MéthylGuanine MéthylTransférase) sur deux SNP en déséquilibre de liaison, rs2308321 (Ile143Val) et rs2308327 (Lys178Arg). Nous avons recherché le caractère prédictif de la présence de l’allèle variant de MGMT pour le risque de SMD/LA secondaire chez des patientes ayant reçu un traitement cytotoxique pour un cancer du sein, et ayant développé une LA secondaire. Enfin, nous avons construit des lignées cellulaires stables, isogéniques, exprimant soit la forme sauvage soit la forme variante de MGMT. Les études fonctionnelles par tests de cytotoxicité, co-cultures à long terme et étude des demi-vies des protéines, sous traitement alkylant, montrent respectivement des différences de sensibilité, de prolifération ou de dégradation entre les formes variante et sauvage de MGMT. / Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are clonal hematopoietic disorders evolving toward acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Therapy-related MDS and AML occur after chemo- and/or radiotherapy for previous cancer and have a very poor outcome. However, only a minimal proportion of patients exposed to anticancer drugs develop secondary MDS, suggesting a genetic component in individual susceptibility. The aim of our study was to identify gene polymorphisms significantly associated with MDS in patients. We have selected 384 SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) with allele frequency >10% in genes involved in DNA repair and drug metabolism and transport. DNA extracts were obtained from blood and cheek samples from a population of 65 MDS patients, and the 384 SNPs were genotyped. We analysed the associations existing between each genotype and several pathological features, especially the treatment-related character of MDS. The Fisher exact test with Benjamini-Hochberg correction for multiple testing was applied for statistical analysis. The only significant association (p = 0.009 after correction) was observed for the treatment-related character of MDS and the presence of a variant allele in MGMT (methylguanine methyltransferase, a gene involved in DNA repair), characterised by two SNPs in complete linkage disequilibrium: rs2308321 (Ile143Val) and rs2308327 (Lys178Arg). An epidemiological study was performed to assess the predictive value of the variant allele in MGMT for the development of secondary acute leukaemia among patients treated for breast cancer. We have constructed isogenic stable cell lines expressing either the wild-type or the variant allele of MGMT. Functional studies (analysis of response to alkylating agents, allele quantification of mixed cultures of wild-type and variant cells and half-lives study of the proteins) show differences in sensitivity to DNA-damaging agents, proliferative capacity and MGMT rate of degradation between the wild-type and the variant MGMT.

Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Bob Burton / The purpose of this thesis is to compare the net income and risk associated with custom farming, cash rent, and crop-share. This analysis will help provide insight on the best option for my 40 acres of farm land, which I recently was given from my mother. The 40 acres is located in Codington County, SD and has been previously in a corn, soybean, and wheat rotation. Another goal of the thesis is to create a business plan for Hauger Farm, which will lay out the activities involved for custom farming. The 40 acres will continue to be in a corn, soybean, and wheat rotation. A 12-year analysis was developed to determine the net income and risk associated with custom farming, cash rent, and crop-share. The analysis consisted of historical data from the past nine years while predicting the next three years. After creating the net income statement, the option providing the most income over the long-run was to have the land custom farmed. Custom farming also brought the most income variability or risk; while cash rent showed to have the lowest risk with the least variable income.