Synopsis My research work is focused on: (i) development of novel Fast NMR methods in solution state and their application to metabolomics and small molecules. (ii) NMR based metabolic study of human IVF to assess embryo viability for implantation. The major components of the embryo growth media were identified for evaluating the embryo quality. Described below are the projects carried out towards the dissertation of my PhD. Chapter 1 describes NMR methods which are the foundation stones for new Fast NMR methods developed. Typical 1D and 2D NMR experiments used in metabolomics and statistical methods for analysis are described. A few applications of metabolomics are also covered in the chapter. Chapter 2 describes a new Fast NMR method based on polarization sharing and parallel acquisition using the dual receiver system. The method developed helps in acquiring simultaneously three 2D NMR spectra: 2D [13C-1H] HETCOR, 2D [1H-1H] TOCSY and 2D [13C-1H] HSQC-TOCSY in a single data set. This method achieves a time saving of about two fold. All the experiments are acquired on molecules with natural abundance of 13C. The method was used to assign the side chain atoms (1H and 13C) of two important peptides. i) 12 amino acid residue peptide, which is a part of central linker domain of Human Insulin like Growth Factor Binding Protein-2 known to play a vital role in the IGF system and ii) a 18 amino acid residue peptide which acts as an antimicrobial agent. Chapter 3 describes extension of the Fast NMR method described in chapter 2. The method is combined with G-matrix Fourier Transform NMR spectroscopy. In this method we have acquire simultaneously two 2D NMR experiments and one reduced dimensional 3D experiment. The three experiments are 2D [13C-1H] HETCOR, 2D [1H-1H] TOCSY and GFT (3,2)D [13C-1H] HSQC-TOCSY, which provide complementary information for rapid assignments. GFT (3,2)D [13C-1H] HSQC-TOCSY gives 3D correlations in a 2D manner facilitating high resolution and unambiguous assignments. The experiments were applied for complete assignment of 21 unlabeled metabolite mixtures corresponding to the Innovative Sequential medium (ISM1) used for culturing human embryos for IVF. Further, a 13C multiplicity edition block is added to the method to simplify the resonances assignment in GFT (3,2)D [13C-1H] HSQC-TOCSY. Taken together, experiments provide time gain of order of magnitudes compared to conventional data acquisition. Chapter 4 of the thesis describes a metabolomics study of Human in-vitro fertilization to assess viable embryos of implantation potential using NMR as non-invasive tool. NMR study included the analysis of 127 embryo culture media (Innovative Sequential Media-1) and 29 controls (culture media without embryo) of both day-2 and day-3 transferred. The embryos were divided into 3 categories 1) implanted (successful) 2) transferred not-implanted (unsuccessful) 3) not transferred based on morphological studies. All NMR experiments were acquired with CPMG (T2 filter) incorporated in 1D 1H presaturation pulse scheme. The study was based on estimation of lactate, pyruvate and alanine levels in the embryo culture media (ISM1). The study reveals higher uptake of pyruvate and high pyruvate/alanine ratios in case of implanted embryos compared to one which failed to implant. Present study provides pyruvate/alanine ratio as a biomarker to select the embryos with high implantation potential. The method combined with morphology based assessment or with other biomarkers can be serve as a powerful tool to assess the embryo quality. Chapter 5 describes a novel NMR method for rapid characterization of translation diffusion of molecules in solution either in mixture or pure form. Unlike acquisition of several 2D [13C-1H] HSQC experiments with varying gradients to get diffusion measurement, a single 2D [13C-1H] HSQC is sufficient to measure the diffusion coefficients which is in the linewidths of peaks. The method uses the idea of accordion NMR spectroscopy, wherein gradients are linearly co-incremented with 13C chemical shift evolution period during t1. The methodology speeds up the acquisition by replacing series of 2D [13C-1H] HSQC with single 2D constant time [13C-1H] HSQC. The method was used to monitor the diffusion of metabolites in a time-resolved manner during polymerization of SDS-PAGE gel. Using this method, it was possible to detect the presence of oligomers of diphenylalanine (FF) during its self assembly to form nanotubular structures.

SCADA-system (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) har under de senaste decennierna använts i stor utsträckning, med utmärkta resultat för nätverksdrift och -förvaltning. Kunder ställer emellertid krav på att SCADA-system ska kunna integrera externa komponenter för att möjliggöra utveckling av befintliga och nya affärsprocesser. Det innebär att dessa system utvecklas från en monolitisk infrastruktur till en löst kopplad och flexibel arkitektur. Således har nya behov uppstått för att förbättra systemets interoperabilitet, minska komplexiteten och förbättra underhållet. Föreliggande masterprojekt presenterar ett ramverk för att förutsäga systems interoperabilitetet (IPF); ett ramverk som stöder arkitekturprocessen under de tidiga stadierna av produktutveckling. Vidare har arbetet undersökt några alternativa arkitekturer, vilka har modellerats och verifierats med hjälp av ovannämnda ramverk. En första konceptuell arkitektur har utvecklats för att förbättra interoperabiliteten hos interna system, för att reducera kopplingen mellan det grundläggande SCADA-systemet och Energy Management-systemet (EMS). Därefter genererades en andra arkitektur som möjliggör integration av externa komponenter för att främja den externa interoperabiliteten. Resultat visar att de föreslagna arkitekturerna är korrekta (enligt IPF) och systemets driftskompatibilitet förbättras. Vidare förefaller den slutligt föreslagna lösningen vara mindre komplex än den nuvarande arkitekturen på lång sikt, men det skulle behövas en större insats och väsentliga förändringar för att uppgradera systemarkitekturen. / SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems have been widely used during the last decades delivering excellent results for the power network operation and management. However, some current customer requirements are for SCADA systems to integrate external components in order to perform advanced power network studies and develop both existing and new business processes. This novel viewpoint will make these systems evolve from a monolithic infrastructure towards a loosely coupled and flexible architecture. Hence, new needs have arisen with the aim of improving the system interoperability, reducing the complexity and enhancing the maintainability. This master´s thesis project presents an Interoperability Prediction Framework (IPF), that supports the architecture design process during the early stages of product development. In addition, this work has also investigated some alternative architectures, which have been modelled and verified using the previously mentioned framework. A first conceptual architecture has been designed to improve the internal system interoperability, reducing the coupling between the basic SCADA and the Energy Management System (EMS). Later, a second architecture that allows the integration of external components has been introduced to promote the external interoperability. Results show that the proposed architectures are correct (according to the IPF) and the interoperability of the system is improved. Furthermore, initial conclusions suggest that the final proposed solution would be less complex than the current architecture in the long term, although a large effort and substantial changes would be needed to upgrade the system architecture.

Calcium imaging has been used as a promising technique to monitor the dynamic activity of neuronal populations. However, the calcium trace is temporally smeared which restricts the extraction of quantities of interest such as spike trains of individual neurons. To address this issue, spike reconstruction algorithms have been introduced. One limitation of such reconstructions is that the underlying models are not informed about the biophysics of spike and burst generations. Such existing prior knowledge might be useful for constraining the possible solutions of spikes. Here we describe, in a novel Bayesian approach, how principled knowledge about neuronal dynamics can be employed to infer biophysical variables and parameters from fluorescence traces. By using both synthetic and in vitro recorded fluorescence traces, we demonstrate that the new approach is able to reconstruct different repetitive spiking and/or bursting patterns with accurate single spike resolution. Furthermore, we show that the high inference precision of the new approach is preserved even if the fluorescence trace is rather noisy or if the fluorescence transients show slow rise kinetics lasting several hundred milliseconds, and inhomogeneous rise and decay times. In addition, we discuss the use of the new approach for inferring parameter changes, e.g. due to a pharmacological intervention, as well as for inferring complex characteristics of immature neuronal circuits.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 25-28, 1999 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / Upgrading or replacing production systems is always a very resource-consuming task, in particular if the systems being replaced are quite specialized, such as those serving any Flight Test Ground Station. In the recent past a large number of Ground Station systems were based in Digital’s VAX/VMS architecture. The computer industry then expanded very fast and by 1990 realtime PCM data processing systems totally dependent on hardware and software designed for IBM-PC compatible micro-computers were becoming available. A complete system replacement in a typical Ground Station can take from one to several years to become a reality. It depends on how complex the original system is, how complex the resulting system needs to be, how much resources are available to support the operation, how soon the organization needs it, etc. This paper intends to review the main concerns encountered during the replacement of a typical VAX/VMS-based by an Intel-Windows NT-based Ground Station. It covers the transition from original requirements to totally new requirements, from mini-computers to micro-computers, from DMA to high-speed LAN data transfers, while conserving some key architectural features. This 8-month development effort will expand EMBRAER’s capability in acquiring, processing and archiving PCM data in the next few years at a lower cost, while preserving compatibility with old legacy flight test data.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 25-28, 1999 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / Today’s telemetry systems can reduce spectrum demand and maintain secure voice by encoding analog voice into digital data using; Continuously Variable Slope Delta Modulation ( CVSD ) format and imbedding it into a telemetry stream. The model CSC-0390 DvD system is an excellent choice in decoding digital voice, designed with flexibility, efficiency, and simplicity in mind. Flexibility in design brings forth a capability of operating on a wide variety of telemetry systems and data formats without any specialized interfaces. The utilization of 74HC series circuit technology makes this DvD system efficient in design, low cost, and lower power consumption. In addition the front panel display and control function is also is an example of Simplicity in design and operation.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 27-30, 1997 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / For many years VME has been the platform of choice for high-performance, real-time data acquisition systems. VME’s longevity has been made possible in part by timely enhancements which have expanded system bandwidth and allowed systems to support ever increasing throughput. One of the most recent ANSI-standard extensions of the VME specification defines RACEway, a system of dynamically switched, 160 Mbyte/second board-to-board interconnects. In typical systems RACEway increases the internal bandwidth of a VME system by an order of magnitude. Since this bandwidth is both scaleable and deterministic, it is particularly well suited to high-performance, real-time systems. The potential of RACEway for very high-performance (200 Mbps to 1 Gbps) real-time systems has been recognized by both the VME industry and a growing number of system integrators. This recognition has yielded many new RACEway-ready VME products from more than a dozen vendors. In fact many significant real-time data acquisition systems that consist entirely of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) RACEway products are being developed and fielded today. This paper provides an overview of RACEway technology, identifies the types of RACEway equipment currently available, discusses how RACEway can be applied in high-performance data acquisition systems, and briefly describes two systems that acquiring and capturing real-time data streams at rates from 200 Mbps to 1 Gbps using RACEway.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 22-25, 2001 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / The US Government originally funded the development of the Common Airborne Instrumentation System (CAIS) to address industry-wide compatibility, maintenance, and commonality issues. Although initially targeted for US Department of Defense (DoD) programs, CAIS is also being used throughout the world in many commercial applications. This paper provides a fresh look at the evolution of the CAIS concept starting with some historical background of the CAIS Program, an overview of the CAIS System Architecture and recent trends in the use of “Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS)” products and technology.

L'efficacité globale du procédé de vaporeformage du gaz naturel est affectée par la limitation au transfert thermique au sein du lit catalytique et la génération d'un excès de vapeur d'eau non valorisable. Une des clés possibles pour le rentabiliser davantage consiste à optimiser les transferts thermiques en faisant évoluer le design du réacteur. Un échangeur-réacteur microstructuré a ainsi été retenu. Cet appareil de par la taille submillimétrique de ses canaux permet d'intensifier les transferts de chaleur et de matière. Cependant, la modification de l'architecture traditionnelle oblige à développer de nouveaux catalyseurs (MgAl2O4) déposables dans les microcanaux et permettant d'atteindre conversion élevées (80%, 20 bar, 850°C) à faibles temps de passage (150 ms). La faisabilité du concept et la performance des catalyseurs ont été validées sur un canal dans les conditions industrielles du procédé. Un modèle de réacteur piston hétérogène a été utilisé pour estimer la cinétique de la réaction de reformage. Pour le design de l'échangeur-réacteur, deux approches de modélisation ont été développées en considérant l'équilibre thermodynamique à la surface du catalyseur ou en tenant compte du couplage entre la réaction et les transferts de chaleur et de matière. La simulation de ces modèles a permis de proposer la géométrie des canaux qui correspond au design optimal. Deux méthodologies de design ont été développées ainsi qu'un modèle permettant d'interpréter les résultats expérimentaux en tenant compte de la possibilité du bouchage des canaux. L'échangeur-réacteur fabriqué permet de réduire le coût de production pour une unité fonctionnant sans export de vapeur / Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) of natural gas is characterized by generation of an excess of steam and their low thermal efficiency resulting in a very large device with important heat losses. One of the possible keys to make this process more profitable is to optimize heat transfer by changing the reactor design. A microstructured heat exchanger reactor has been retained. It enables to have fast heat and mass transfers and therefore allow increasing catalytic activity. However, this change in production technology must be accompanied by the development of highly active catalysts (MgAl2O4) that enable to reach high methane conversion (80%, 20 bar, 850°C) at low residence time (150 ms). The concept feasibility and catalysts performance have been validated on one channel in industrial process conditions. Then, a detailed model for acquisition of reaction kinetics has been developed and validated from experimental catalytic tests. For heat exchanger reactor design, two modeling approaches have been developed: by considering that the catalyst is highly active and enables to reach instantaneous equilibrium conversion on the coated catalytic walls of the reactor and by tacking the measured kinetics. Simulation of these models by considering technical constraints on the design enabled to find channel characteristic dimensions, heat power needed and the optimum number of channel which determine the heat exchanger reactor volume. Two fast methods for preliminary design of heat-exchanger reactors have been developed. By using heat exchanger reactor, it is possible to suppress steam excess generation and to reduce syngas production cost

Diese Arbeit beschreibt die Entdeckung von hochenergetischer Gammastrahlung aus Richtung des Binaersystems PSR B1259-63 / SS 2883. Die Beobachtungen dieses Systems von einem Radio-Pulsar, der sich auf einer stark exzentrischen Umlaufbahn um einen schweren und hellen Stern befindet, wurden mit dem High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.), einem System von abbildenden atmosphaerischen Cherenkov-Teleskopen, in der ersten Haelfte des Jahres 2004 durchgefuehrt. Kosmische Gammastrahlen im Energiebereich zwischen 0.1 und 100 TeV erzeugen in der oberen Atmosphaere Luftschauer von relativistischen Sekundaerteilchen, deren Cherenkov-Emission von den Teleskopen des Systems nachgewiesen werden kann. Vor der Entdeckung von TeV-Gammastrahlung aus Richtung von PSR B1259-63 galt dieses System als ein aussichtsreicher Kandidat fuer die Beschleunigung von geladenen Teilchen auf Energien oberhalb von 1 TeV. Es wurde angenommen, dass die Wechselwirkung des relativistischen Pulsarwindes mit dem Sternenwind des Begleitsterns massive Plasmaschocks erzeugt, in denen die Beschleunigung erfolgt. Durch die H.E.S.S. Beobachtungen wurde ein Signal von Photonen im TeV-Bereich mit einer statistischen Signifikanz von ueber 13 sigma gemessen und somit wurde die Beschleunigung von Teilchen auf TeV-Energien innerhalb des Binaersystems erstmalig zweifelsfrei nachgewiesen. Das gemessene Energiespektrum kann im zeitlichen Mittel mit einem Potenzgesetz mit dem Photonenindex 2.7 +- 0.3 beschrieben werden. Diese Form des Spektrums weist auf eine Erzeugung der Gammastrahlung durch inverse Compton-Streuung von schock-beschleunigten Elektronen und Positronen mit den Photonen der thermischen Strahlung von SS 2883 hin. Die gemessene Variation des Flusses der Gammastrahlung auf einer Zeitskala von Tagen ist bisher einmalig fuer eine galaktische Quelle von TeV Photonen und ermoeglicht erstmalig Einblicke in die Dynamik der Wechselwirkung eines Pulsarwindes mit einer sich aendernden Umgebung. / This work reports on the discovery of very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray emission of the binary system PSR B1259-63 / SS 2883, consisting of a radio pulsar orbiting a massive, luminous star in a highly eccentric orbit. The observations of the binary system in the first half of 2004 were performed with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.), a system of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, recently installed in Namibia and in full operation since December 2003. The instrument collects the Cherenkov light emitted by air showers which are induced by the interaction of cosmic gamma-rays with the upper atmosphere. This technique allows to detect gamma-rays with energies ranging from 10^11 to 10^14 electron Volts, and to reconstruct their direction and energy with an angular resolution of less than 0.1° and energy resolution of better than 20%, respectively. Prior to the detection of VHE gamma-rays from PSR B1259-63, the system served as a candidate for the acceleration of particles to TeV energies. The acceleration is believed to take place in plasma shocks produced by the interaction of the relativistic pulsar wind with the massive stellar winds of the companion star. The VHE gamma-ray signal from the binary system was detected with a total significance above 13 sigma. This detection provides the first unambiguous evidence for particle acceleration to multi-TeV energies in this binary system. The measured time-averaged energy spectrum can be described by a power law with a photon index 2.7 +- 0.3 suggesting that the emission is produced by inverse Compton scattering of shock-accelerated electrons and positrons on the thermal photons emitted by SS 2883. The gamma-ray flux was found to vary significantly on timescales of days which makes PSR B1259-63 the first variable galactic source of VHE gamma-rays observed so far and gives valuable insights into the dynamics of pulsar winds interacting with a changing environment.

Submitted by Andrea Pereira (andrea.pereira@unipampa.edu.br) on 2017-03-13T17:30:03Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Dissertacao_Adriane_Hirdes.pdf: 3848000 bytes, checksum: 348043b553a30ed8d618cbdbf91a99d3 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Andrea Pereira (andrea.pereira@unipampa.edu.br) on 2017-03-13T17:30:23Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Dissertacao_Adriane_Hirdes.pdf: 3848000 bytes, checksum: 348043b553a30ed8d618cbdbf91a99d3 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-13T17:30:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Dissertacao_Adriane_Hirdes.pdf: 3848000 bytes, checksum: 348043b553a30ed8d618cbdbf91a99d3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-07-24 / Este estudo se insere no âmbito do ensino superior de química por meio do laboratório investigativo com o uso de projetos abertos de equipamentos para aquisição automática de dados. O estudo tem como objetivo projetar, construir e avaliar um instrumento de medida de temperatura com aquisição automática de dados utilizando um transdutor do tipo termistor e sua aplicação em atividades experimentais investigativas de físicoquímica. O estudo teve como objetivos o projeto, desenvolvimento e avaliação de um termômetro eletrônico com termistor para aquisição automática de dados de temperatura em tempo real, e o seu uso em atividades práticas experimentais. O projeto do termômetro eletrônico incluiu um transdutor de temperatura do tipo termistor, um circuito de condicionamento de sinal, a plataforma Arduino e uma planilha para o Excel que permite apresentar os dados numéricos e atualizar a representação gráfica em tempo real da temperatura em função do tempo. Os resultados obtidos indicam que o termômetro construído apresentou erro de medição de 0,07 oC na faixa de -10 oC a 100 oC. Esse instrumento foi utilizado como recurso para viabilizar o planejamento e implementação de práticas experimentais investigativas de físico-química experimental. As atividades envolveram a determinação de entalpia de reação de decomposição do peróxido de hidrogênio e o levantamento da curva de resfriamento do ácido esteárico (atividade de termometria). A organização da atividade experimental de termometria seguiu o modelo de argumentação de Lawson, e foi elaborado em três momentos: predição, experimentação e verificação. Nessa atividade, o momento da experimentação seguiu o modelo de laboratório aberto. Os objetivos de aprendizagem das atividades foram organizados em níveis de cognição de acordo com a Taxonomia de Bloom revisada de Objetivos Educacionais. A implementação ocorreu com uma turma de acadêmicos de Físico-Química Experimental I no 1o semestre de 2015, nos meses de março e abril, de uma universidade pública do interior do estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Os instrumentos de coleta de dados foram guias de atividades práticas experimentais utilizados pelos participantes durante a implementação das atividades, um teste de conhecimentos de múltipla escolha e um teste de motivação para aprender, aplicados antes e após a implementação, e as observações da professora pesquisadora. O teste de conhecimento foi analisado avaliando sua fidedignidade e índices de dificuldade e discriminação de cada item. Testes de hipóteses não-paramétricos de Wilcoxon pareado unilateral indicam uma melhoria no desempenho dos participantes no teste de conhecimento (valor-p=0,009) e no teste de motivação para aprender (valor-p=0,006). A análise das respostas dos participantes aos guias de atividades envolveu a categorização dos itens dos guias em níveis de cognição proposto por Zoller. Itens com nível LOCS de desenvolvimento cognitivo foi contemplado por grande parte dos participantes, enquanto o nível HOCS, relacionado ao desenvolvimento de hipóteses, não foi atingido por qualquer participante. O protótipo do termômetro eletrônico com aquisição de dados e as atividades experimentais de termometria e calorimetria constituem produtos educacionais resultantes do presente estudo, e poderão ser utilizados e/ou modificados para atender às necessidades do planejamento didático do professor. / This study falls within the scope of undergraduate chemistry teaching through inquirybased laboratory using open projects of automatic data acquisition systems. This work studied a thermistor-based temperature-measuring instrument with automatic data acquisition and applications in investigative experimental activities in physical chemistry. The study aimed to the design, development and evaluation of an electronic thermometer with thermistor for automatic acquisition of temperature data in real time and its use in experimental practice activities. The project of the electronic thermometer includes a thermistor type temperature transducer, a signal conditioning circuit, an Arduino platform and an Excel spreadsheet for real-time data representation of temperature versus time data. The results indicate that the thermometer built has a measurement uncertainty of 0,07 °C in the range of -10 °C to 100 °C. This instrument was used as a resource to facilitate the planning and implementation of investigative experimental practices of experimental physical chemistry. The activities involved the determination of enthalpy of decomposition of hydrogen peroxide and the cooling curve of stearic acid (thermometry activity). The organization of thermometry experimental activity followed the pattern of Lawson's argumentation, and was developed in three phases: prediction, experimentation and verification. The experimentation phase followed the open laboratory model. The learning objectives of the activities were organized in cognition levels in accordance with the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. The implementation took place with a group of Experimental Physical Chemistry I students in the first semester of 2015, in March and April, at a public university in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The data collection instruments were the guides for experimental practical activities used by the participants during the implementation of activities, a multiplechoice test of knowledge and a test for motivation to learn, applied before and after implementation, and the observations of teacher researcher. The knowledge test was analyzed evaluating their reliability and levels of difficulty and discrimination of each item. Non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank tests indicate an improvement in the performance of participants for knowledge test (p-value=0,009) and motivation to learn (pvalue = 0,006). The analyses of participants’ responses to activity guides were carried out categorizing items of the guides in cognitive levels proposed by Zoller. Items with cognitive development LOCS level was reached by most of the participants, while the HOCS level, related to the development of hypotheses, was not reached by any participant. The prototype of the electronic thermometer with data acquisition and the experimental activities of thermometry and calorimetry are educational products resulting from this study, and may be used and/or modified to meet the needs of the didactic planning of the chemistry teacher.