In this thesis, an algorithm for visual detecting and tracking of very low SNR targets, i.e. dim targets, is developed. Image processing of single frame in time cannot be used for this aim due to the closeness of intensity spectrums of the background and target. Therefore / change detection of super pixels, a group of pixels that has sufficient statistics for likelihood ratio testing, is proposed. Super pixels that are determined as transition points are signed on a binary difference matrix and grouped by 4-Connected Labeling method. Each label is processed to find its vector movement in the next frame by Label Destruction and Centroids Mapping techniques. Candidate centroids are put into Distribution Density Function Maximization and Maximum Histogram Size Filtering methods to find the target related motion vectors. Noise related mappings are eliminated by Range and Maneuver Filtering. Geometrical centroids obtained on each frame are used as the observed target path which is put into Optimum Decoding Based Smoothing Algorithm to smooth and estimate the real target path. Optimum Decoding Based Smoothing Algorithm is based on quantization of possible states, i.e. observed target path centroids, and Viterbi Algorithm. According to the system and observation models, metric values of all possible target paths are computed using observation and transition probabilities. The path which results in maximum metric value at the last frame is decided as the estimated target path.

Problématique : Certaines personnes souffrent d'avoir un horaire de sommeil trop tardif qu'elles n'arrivent pas à modifier pour satisfaire les exigences liées à leur emploi ou à leurs études. Ces individus souffrent de privation de sommeil et de somnolence lorsqu'ils doivent se conformer à un horaire socialement acceptable. Malgré sa prévalence importante, l’étiologie d’un horaire trop tardif reste méconnue. Objectif: Évaluer des facteurs pouvant contribuer au maintien d’un horaire de sommeil tardif chez des jeunes adultes. Méthodes : Quatorze jeunes adultes se plaignant d’un horaire de sommeil trop tardif ont été comparés à des sujets appariés qui avaient un horaire de sommeil adapté. L’heure de coucher (HC) était après minuit pour les sujets tardifs et avant minuit pour les sujets adaptés. Les sujets étaient admis au laboratoire 5h avant l’HC et garder en obscurité pour 6h. Ils étaient ensuite exposés à 1,5h de lumière bleue. La mélatonine salivaire et la vigilance subjective étaient mesurées aux 30 minutes. La suppression de mélatonine a été utilisée pour déterminer la sensibilité circadienne à la lumière. Le dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) a été utilisé pour déterminer la phase circadienne. Résultats : Le DLMO survenait plus tard dans le groupe tardif que dans le groupe adapté. Il n’y avait pas de différence de suppression de mélatonine après 1,5h d’exposition à la lumière. Néanmoins, une corrélation entre la sensibilité à la lumière et la phase circadienne a été trouvée dans le groupe tardif. Les sujets tardifs présentaient aussi une augmentation plus lente de la somnolence subjective en soirée. Conclusion : Nos résultats suggèrent qu’une phase circadienne en délai, une augmentation plus lente du besoin de dormir et une sensibilité circadienne à la lumière accrue contribuent à la plainte d’un horaire de sommeil trop tardif. / Problem: Some people suffer from having a delayed sleep schedule that they can’t modify to satisfy school/work requirements. These individuals suffer from sleep deprivation and sleepiness when they have to comply with a socially acceptable schedule. Despite its high prevalence, the etiology of a delayed schedule remains unknown. Objective: This study aims to elucidate factors that might contribute to the maintenance of a delayed sleep schedule in young adults. Methods: Fourteen young adults (8 women) complaining of delayed sleep schedule were compared to matched subjects with an adapted sleep schedule. Habitual bedtime (HB) was after midnight in all delayed subjects and before midnight in all adapted subjects. Subjects were admitted 5h before HB and kept in dim light for 6h. They were then exposed for 1.5h to blue light. Salivary melatonin and subjective sleepiness were assessed every 30 min. Melatonin suppression was used to measure circadian sensitivity to light. Dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) was used to estimate circadian phase. Results: DLMO was later in the delayed than in the adapted group. There was no difference for melatonin suppression over the 1.5h of light exposure. However, in the delayed group, there was a significant correlation between DLMO and melatonin suppression. There was a smaller increase of subjective sleepiness in the delayed subjects than in the adapted subjects before HB. Conclusions: Our results suggest that a delayed circadian phase, a slower build-up of sleep propensity and an enhanced circadian sensitivity to evening light contribute to the complaint of a delayed sleep schedule.

Известно, что любой строительный проект является успешным при условии своей экономической целесообразности на каждом из этапов своего жизненного цикла для этого должны быть налажены процессы автоматизации работы. Современные технологии информационного моделирования открывают новые возможности в оценке эффективности управления объектом. Рассмотрим возможности применения BIM-технологий для автоматизации процессов работы с цифровой информационной моделью (ЦИМ) на этапе подготовки и во время самого строительства, также этапы реализации методики мониторинга и контроля строительного производства на основе современных инновационных технологий и цифровой модели проекта здания. Данный подход позволяет решать улучшение экономических показателей, уменьшая при этом затраты и себестоимость, также возможность объедения данных и участников процесса строительства, сокращение сроков выполнения работ и снижение проектных рисков. Описание метода синхронизации задач календарного графика с элементами модели, а также способ сравнения плановых показателей строительного проекта и фактически выполненных работ. В качестве инструмента использованы программные продукты Autodesk и MS Project. / It is known that any construction project is successful, provided that it is economically feasible at each stage of its life cycle, for this, work automation processes must be established. Modern information modeling technologies open up new opportunities in evaluating the effectiveness of facility management. Consider the possibilities of using BIM technologies to automate the processes of working with a digital information model (DIM) at the stage of preparation and during the construction itself, as well as the stages of implementing a methodology for monitoring and controlling construction production based on modern innovative technologies and a digital model of a building project. This approach allows you to solve the improvement of economic indicators, while reducing costs and costs, as well as the possibility of combining data and participants in the construction process, reducing the time of work and reducing project risks. Description of the method for synchronizing schedule tasks with model elements, as well as a method for comparing the planned indicators of a construction project and the actual work performed. Autodesk and MS Project software products were used as a tool.

Автором диссертации был проведен анализ требований ГАУ СО «Управление государственной экспертизы» к трехмерным моделям архитектурных и объемно-планировочных, конструктивных решений необходимых для прохождения экспертизы при использовании технологий информационного моделирования. Создана модель жилого здания раздела архитектурных и объемно-планировочных решений, конструктивных решений, описана технология информационного наполнения модели. Разработаны методические рекомендаций по подготовке цифровой информационной модели к проверке в ГАУ СО «Управление государственной экспертизы». / The author of the dissertation analyzed the requirements of the State Autonomous Institution of the Sverdlovsk Region «Office of State Expertise» for three-dimensional models of architectural and spatial planning, constructive solutions necessary for passing an examination using information modeling technologies. A model of a residential building has been created for the section of architectural and spatial planning solutions, constructive solutions, and the technology of information filling of the model is described. Methodological recommendations have been developed for the preparation of a digital information model for verification in the State Autonomous Institution of the Sverdlovsk Region «Office of State Expertise».

This essay aims to understand how meaning and materiality work in four picture books from the 00s and 10s; Gittan och gråvargarna by Pija Lindenbaum, I skogen by Eva Lindström, Vem ser Dim? by Maria Nilsson Thore and Vi blåste bort ibland by Viveka Sjögren. The essay uses two theoretical works about picture books: Bilderbokens pusselbitar by Maria Nikolajeva and Modernismens bilder – Den moderna bilderboken i Norden by Elina Druker. Questions to lead the analysis are: How can text and picture be understood as materiality? How can meaning be understood as a material-discursive phenomenon? How can reading and meaning be understood as performative processes? The chapter “Diffractions: Differences, Contingencies, and Entanglements That Matter” from Karen Barad’s book Meeting the Universe Halfway – Quantum Physics and the Entanglement of Matter and Meaning provides help to understand diffraction as a metaphor and methodological attitude. Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick’s understanding of knowledge as performative in the book Touching Feeling – Affect, Pedagogy, Performativity is used to understand the picture book as an act of knowledge and meaning, and reading as a performative process where human involvement cannot be overlooked. The essay problematizes the theoretical texts about picture books by taking on different parts of the picture book’s form and drawing examples from the four chosen picture books. Parts that are examined are divisions of signs in semiotics (and in the picture book theory), the picture book’s limits between for instance framework and content, fiction and reality, and book and reader, mimesis and the analytical problems with looking for truth, the impact of the picture book’s size and shape, and lastly illustration techniques and the influence that illustrator, materiality and reader have on the book. The essay shows how different involvements affect the meaning that is created in the picture book, how solid delimitations of different kinds can be problematic, and how words such as picture, text, paratext and content should be treated gently and consciously. Different ways of breaking with methods and thoughts of habit are presented, for instance by using Barad’s concept of diffraction. The essay ends by emphasizing the complexity that follows meaning, materiality and reading, the responsibility it demands of us and how picture book theory sometimes simplifies analysis. This essay stresses the importance of questioning how the methods and words we use affect what is possible to understand, but not in the sense that we should read in a paranoid and closed way, but rather open minded and with room for failures, reconsiderations and other ways forward. / Syftet med denna uppsats är att förstå hur mening och materialitet hänger ihop i fyra bilderböcker från 00- och 10-tal; Gittan och gråvargarna av Pija Lindenbaum, I skogen av Eva Lindström, Vem ser Dim? av Maria Nilsson Thore och Vi blåste bort ibland av Viveka Sjögren. Uppsatsen går i dialog med de bilderboksteoretiska verken Bilderbokens pusselbitar av Maria Nikolajeva och Modernismens bilder – Den moderna bilderboken i Norden av Elina Druker. Frågor för att leda undersökningen är som följer: På vilket sätt är text och bild materialitet? Hur kan mening förstås som materiellt-diskursivt fenomen i bilderböckerna? Hur kan läsning och mening förstås som performativa processer? Avsnittet ”Diffractions: Differences, Contingencies, and Entanglements That Matter” ur Karen Barads verk Meeting the Universe Halfway – Quantum Physics and the Entanglement of Matter and Meaning fungerar som hjälp för att förstå diffraktion som metafor och metodologisk hållning. Eve Kosofsky Sedgwicks förståelse av kunskap som performativ i verket Touching Feeling – Affect, Pedagogy, Performativity används för att förstå bilderboken som ett görande, och läsningen som en performativ process där mänsklig inblandning inte kan förbises. Uppsatsen problematiserar de bilderboksteoretiska verken genom att ta sig an olika aspekter av bilderbokens form samt exemplifiera detta med hjälp av det skönlitterära materialet. Områden som vidrörs är semiotikens (och bilderboksteoretikernas) indelning av tecken, bilderbokens gränser mellan bland annat ramar och innehåll, fiktion och verklighet samt verk och läsare, mimesis och sanningssökandets analytiska problem, bilderbokens påverkan av storlek och format, samt slutligen illustrationstekniker och den inverkan illustratör, materialitet och läsare har på verket. Uppsatsen visar på hur olika inblandningar påverkar den mening som skapas i bilderboken, hur fasta gränsdragningar av olika slag kan anses problematiska, samt hur begrepp som till exempel bild, text, paratext och innehåll bör behandlas varsamt och medvetet. Olika sätt att komma runt upptrampade metodologiska tillvägagångssätt och tankespår presenteras, bland annat med hjälp av Barads diffraktionsbegrepp. Uppsatsen avslutas med att betona den komplexitet som följer med mening, materialitet och läsning, det ansvar detta avkräver oss och hur bilderboksteorin ibland fungerar förenklande i analyser. Denna uppsats lyfter vikten av att ifrågasätta vad de metoder och ord vi använder egentligen gör med vad som är möjligt att förstå, men inte i den mening att vi bör läsa misstänksamt och stängt, utan snarare öppensinnat och med utrymme för misslyckanden, omprövningar och andra vägar vidare.

Visual pigments are light sensitive receptors in the eye that form the basis of sensory visual transduction. This thesis presents three studies that explore visual pigment proteins in vertebrates using a number of computational and experimental methods in an evolutionary framework. The objective is not only to identify, but also to experimentally investigate the functional consequences of genetic variation in vertebrate visual pigments. The focus is on great bowerbirds (Chlamydera nuchalis), which are a model system in visual ecology due to their spectacular behaviour of building and decorating courtship bowers. There are 4 chapters: Chapter 1 introduces background information on visual pigments and vision in birds. Among visual pigment types, the short-wavelength-sensitive (SWS1) pigments have garnered particular interest due to the broad spectral range among vertebrates and the importance of UV signals in communication. Chapter 2 investigates the evolutionary history of SWS1 in vertebrates with a view toward its utility as a phylogenetic marker. Chapter 3 investigates SWS1 evolution and short-wavelength vision in birds, with particular focus on C. nuchalis and its SWS1. The evolution of spectral tuning mechanisms mediating UV/violet vision in passerines and parrots is elucidated in this chapter using site-directed mutagenesis, protein expression, and phylogenetic recreation of ancestral opsins. While cone opsins mediate colour vision in bright light, the rhodopsin visual pigment contained in rod photoreceptors is critical for dim light vision. Detailed characterization of rhodopsin function has only been conducted on a few model systems. Chapter 4 examines C. nuchalis RH1 using a number of functional assays in addition to absorbance spectra, including hydroxylamine sensitivity and the rate of retinal release. This chapter includes an investigation into the role of amino acid mutations typical of dim-light adapted vertebrates, D83N and A292S, in regulating functional properties of bovine and avian RH1s using site-directed mutagenesis. Together these chapters describe naturally occurring mutations in visual pigments and explore the way they can influence visual perception. These represent one of the few investigations of visual pigments from a species that is not a model lab organism and form a significant contribution to the field of visual pigment biochemistry and evolution.

Visual pigments are light sensitive receptors in the eye that form the basis of sensory visual transduction. This thesis presents three studies that explore visual pigment proteins in vertebrates using a number of computational and experimental methods in an evolutionary framework. The objective is not only to identify, but also to experimentally investigate the functional consequences of genetic variation in vertebrate visual pigments. The focus is on great bowerbirds (Chlamydera nuchalis), which are a model system in visual ecology due to their spectacular behaviour of building and decorating courtship bowers. There are 4 chapters: Chapter 1 introduces background information on visual pigments and vision in birds. Among visual pigment types, the short-wavelength-sensitive (SWS1) pigments have garnered particular interest due to the broad spectral range among vertebrates and the importance of UV signals in communication. Chapter 2 investigates the evolutionary history of SWS1 in vertebrates with a view toward its utility as a phylogenetic marker. Chapter 3 investigates SWS1 evolution and short-wavelength vision in birds, with particular focus on C. nuchalis and its SWS1. The evolution of spectral tuning mechanisms mediating UV/violet vision in passerines and parrots is elucidated in this chapter using site-directed mutagenesis, protein expression, and phylogenetic recreation of ancestral opsins. While cone opsins mediate colour vision in bright light, the rhodopsin visual pigment contained in rod photoreceptors is critical for dim light vision. Detailed characterization of rhodopsin function has only been conducted on a few model systems. Chapter 4 examines C. nuchalis RH1 using a number of functional assays in addition to absorbance spectra, including hydroxylamine sensitivity and the rate of retinal release. This chapter includes an investigation into the role of amino acid mutations typical of dim-light adapted vertebrates, D83N and A292S, in regulating functional properties of bovine and avian RH1s using site-directed mutagenesis. Together these chapters describe naturally occurring mutations in visual pigments and explore the way they can influence visual perception. These represent one of the few investigations of visual pigments from a species that is not a model lab organism and form a significant contribution to the field of visual pigment biochemistry and evolution.

The aim of the workshop is to present and discuss several ideas which relate to technology as well as to creative teaching. Educational experience, common sense and educational research have all proven how important for comprehensive understanding different cognitive representations are. We will present and discuss several elementary mathematical ideas of which mechanical realisations mean ingenius technological inventions (for example: ‘car differential’ and ‘digital sound technology’). Technological insights can provide deep intuitive understanding of otherwise abstract mathematical concepts and therefore yield also better comprehension of mathematics. Besides that we will use and present the technology in the form of dynamic geometry programs to show, provoke and motivate rethinking and deeper understanding of several elementary mathematical concepts.

The aim of the workshop is to present and discuss several ideas which relate to technology as well as to creative teaching. Educational experience, common sense and educational research have all proven how important for comprehensive understanding different cognitive representations are. We will present and discuss several elementary mathematical ideas of which mechanical realisations mean ingenius technological inventions (for example: ‘car differential’ and ‘digital sound technology’). Technological insights can provide deep intuitive understanding of otherwise abstract mathematical concepts and therefore yield also better comprehension of mathematics. Besides that we will use and present the technology in the form of dynamic geometry programs to show, provoke and motivate rethinking and deeper understanding of several elementary mathematical concepts.