Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) systems have become essential to modern industries that require continuous power supply to manage critical operations. Since a failure of a single battery will affect the entire backup system, UPS systems providers must replace any battery before it runs dead. In this regard, automated monitoring tools are required to determine when a battery needs replacement. Nowadays, a primitive method for monitoring the battery backup system is being used for this task. This thesis presents a classification model that uses data mining cleansing and processing techniques to remove useless information from the data obtained from the sensors installed in the batteries in order to improve the quality of the data and determine at a given moment in time if a battery should be replaced or not. This prediction model will help UPS systems providers increase the efficiency of battery monitoring procedures. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013.

Due to the eyes’ different positions on the human head, binocular viewing of a scene creates two slightly different images of the scene. Human binocular vision can fuse two images with disparity into a single percept, up to a certain limit. This is known as binocular single vision. The use of two eyes is advantageous because it provide one more display channels. One major advantage of binocular vision is creating the feeling of depth (stereopsis). Besides stereopsis, it has recently been shown that the visual system of human eye can even fuse the color, contrast, and/or contour differences between the left and the right views (dichoptic viewing), in a non-linear fashion. Human eyes can perceive more visual information via binocular single vision. / The popularity of virtual reality and 3D movies leads to the wide availability of binocular display devices. There exists some methods to utilize binocular device to present more visual content via binocular single vision. However, they do not support motion pictures. In this thesis, we propose a method to synthesize temporal consistent and binocularly fusible dichoptic videos. Our resultant videos significantly enhance the visual richness of the original input monocular or stereoscopic videos. It is the first attempt to explore the possibility of utilizing LDR binocular display to present dichoptic videos besides the traditional stereoscopic videos (disparity only). We evaluate our method with several challenging videos, and validate its effectiveness in raising visual richness via user studies. / The second application we explore on binocular single vision is enhancing color discrimination for colorblind individuals. Approximately 250 million people suffer from colorblindness, or color vision deficiency (CVD). They are usually not able to clearly discriminate certain colors. The losing of color information leads to misunderstanding, inconvenience, or even danger in daily life. In this thesis, we propose a new framework to synthesis binocularly fused image pair for CVD individuals. The binocular single percept maximizes the color discrimination and minimizes the binocular discomfort. Note that different CVD individuals can be substantially different in terms of the type and the severity of color blindness. We also propose a new calibration method to measure the severity of different CVD individuals. Our tailor-made color discrimination solution for CVD individual has been evaluated via qualitative experiments and convincing effect is obtained in all cases. / Color vision deficiencies can hardly share the same visual content with normal-vision audiences. Our last work makes effort in proposing the first system that allows CVD and normal-vision audiences to share the same visual content simultaneously. The key that we can achieve this is because the ordinary stereoscopic display (non-autostereoscopic ones) offers users two visual experiences (with and without wearing stereoscopic glasses). By allocating one experience to CVD audiences and another to normalvision audiences, we allow them to share. The core problem is to synthesize an image pair so that when they are presented binocularly, CVD audiences can distinguish the originally indistinguishable colors; and when it is in monocular presentation, normal-vision audiences wouldn’t notice any difference from the original image. We solve the image-pair recoloring problem by optimizing an objective function that minimizes the color deviation for normal-vision audiences while maximizes the color distinguishability and binocular fusibility for CVD audiences. Our method is extensively evaluated via multiple quantitative experiments and user studies. Convincing results are obtained in all our test cases. / 由於人類的雙眼在頭部的位置特點，左右兩眼看到的內容有所差異。人類的雙目視覺能將兩幅稍微不同的圖像合成一個單一的視界。這就是雙目單視（Binocular Single Vision）現象。雙目的同時使用使人類可感知更多的視覺信息，比如深度信息（立體感）。除此之外，最近的生理學研究表明，雙目單視可以在一定範圍內融合左右眼所看到的不同顏色，對比度，甚至內容。這種非線性的融合可以給人類帶來更多的視覺信息。 / 虛擬現實以及3D電影的流行使得雙目立體顯示設備在生活中普遍存在。前沿的研究已開始關注如何通過立體設備和雙目單視現象來提高視覺效果。然而，現有工作都集中在圖片的研究而無法應用於電影視頻之中。本畢業論文提出了一個新穎的基於連續幀的雙目視頻對生成方法。本方法所生成的視頻對將使人們感知到更多的視覺內容。通過應用雙目單視現象，低動態範圍（Low-Dynamic Range）的立體顯示設備將不再局限於提供深度視覺信息。為了驗證所提方法的有效性，我們在一些比較有挑戰性的視頻上驗證了其豐富的視覺感知體驗。 / 本論文對雙目單視的第二個探索是在色覺補償方面。全球大約有2億五千個色盲（或色覺缺陷）人士，他們難以區分某些色彩。色彩區分能力的缺失使得他們在生活中有理解和溝通困難，甚至會有潛在的安全問題。本論文提出了一個新穎的利用雙目單視的色覺補償框架。該框架生成的圖片對將能幫助色覺缺陷人士更好地區分顏色而又沒有任何視覺感知方面的不適。色覺缺陷有不同的種類和程度。為了提高色覺補償效果，本論文進一步提出了一個新的色覺測量方法。通過精準的色覺測量和計算，本文所提的色覺補償框架在所有的測試實驗中取得了顯著的效果。 / 在同時觀看同一內容的時候，色盲人士所理解的視覺信息與色覺正常人士是不一樣的。本論文的最後一項工作是提出了一個同步色覺補償系統。該系統可以在色覺正常人士察覺不到色彩改變的前提下，對色盲人士提供色覺補償。這個系統的關鍵突破在於利用了立體顯示設備（非裸眼立體設備）中的不同觀看模式（戴立體眼鏡與不戴立體眼鏡）。我們將戴立體眼鏡的觀看模式分配給色盲人士用於色覺補償，而色覺正常人士則不戴立體眼鏡直接觀看屏幕上線性合成的圖片對。同步色覺補償系統的關鍵問題在於如何根據一張輸入圖片生成一對輸出圖片（一張對應色盲人士的左眼，另一張對應色盲人士右眼）。輸出的圖片對需要在最大化色盲人士的色覺補償和雙目單視舒適度的同時，最小化對原圖色彩的改變。我們建立了一個數學優化模型來解決這個關鍵問題。通過一些列的實驗和用戶調查，同步色覺補償系統的有效性得到了驗證。 / Shen, Wuyao. / Thesis Ph.D. Chinese University of Hong Kong 2016. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 135-152). / Abstracts also in Chinese. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on 24, October, 2016). / Shen, Wuyao. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only.

by Yim Fu Cheong, Terence. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-67). / abstract --- p.ii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iv / LIST OF EXHIBITS --- p.vi / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT --- p.vii / CHAPTER / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Svedala Industri AB --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Svedala Products --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2.1 --- Civil Engineering Sector --- p.2 / Chapter 1.2.2 --- Mineral Processing Sector --- p.3 / Chapter 1.2.3 --- Bulk Material Handling Sector --- p.4 / Chapter 1.3 --- Svedala Customers --- p.5 / Chapter 1.4 --- Svedala's Mission in China --- p.5 / Chapter 1.5 --- Methodology --- p.7 / Chapter II. --- FUTURE DEVELOPMENT IN CHINA --- p.10 / Chapter 2.1 --- Economic Situation --- p.10 / Chapter 2.2 --- Major Technology Introducing Projects --- p.12 / Chapter 2.3 --- What are the Bottlenecks? --- p.12 / Chapter 2 .4 --- Energy Projects --- p.19 / Chapter 2.5 --- Coal Mining Projects --- p.20 / Chapter 2.6 --- Transport Projects --- p.21 / Chapter 2.7 --- Other Construction Projects of Interest to Svedala --- p.24 / Chapter III. --- OPPORTUNITIES FOR SVEDALA --- p.25 / Chapter 3.1 --- Crushing & Screening Division --- p.25 / Chapter 3.2 --- Compaction Division --- p.26 / Chapter 3.3 --- Grinding Division --- p.27 / Chapter 3.4 --- Bulk Material Handling Division --- p.28 / Chapter IV. --- SUMMARIES OF INTERVIEWS AND IMPLICATIONS --- p.31 / Chapter 4.1 --- Crushing & Screening Division --- p.31 / Chapter 4.2 --- Compaction and Bulk Material Handling Division --- p.32 / Chapter V. --- STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF SVEDALA --- p.35 / Chapter 5.1 --- Crushing & Screening Division --- p.35 / Chapter 5.2 --- Compaction Division --- p.36 / Chapter 5.3 --- Grinding Division --- p.37 / Chapter 5.4 --- Bulk Material Handling Division --- p.38 / Chapter VI. --- THREATS TO SVEDALA --- p.40 / Chapter 6.1 --- Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) Trade Status --- p.40 / Chapter 6.2 --- Drastic Policy Changes --- p.41 / Chapter 6.3 --- Land Appreciation Tax --- p.42 / Chapter 6.4 --- Skyrocketing Costs of Operations --- p.43 / Chapter 6.5 --- Upward Trend of Interest Rates --- p.44 / Chapter 6.6 --- Government Regulations --- p.45 / Chapter VII. --- RECOMMENDED STRATEGY FOR SVEDALA --- p.46 / Chapter 7.1 --- Business Strategy for China --- p.46 / Chapter 7.2 --- Product Strategy --- p.46 / Chapter 7.3 --- Pricing Strategy --- p.49 / Chapter 7.4 --- Distribution Strategy --- p.49 / Chapter 7.5 --- Promotion Strategy --- p.51 / Chapter 7.6 --- Research & Development Strategy --- p.51 / Chapter 7.7 --- Human Resources Strategy --- p.52 / Chapter 7.8 --- Finance Strategy --- p.53 / Chapter VIII. --- CONCLUSION --- p.54 / APPENDICES --- p.57 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.63 / REFERENCES --- p.66

Xiang Xiaoyan. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Background of Hypertension --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1.1 --- Definition of Blood Pressure --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1.2 --- Hypertension and Its Prevalence --- p.2 / Chapter 1.2 --- Blood Pressure Measurement Techniques --- p.5 / Chapter 1.2.1 --- Invasive Blood Pressure Measurement Techniques --- p.5 / Chapter 1.2.2 --- Non-invasive Blood Pressure Measurement Techniques --- p.6 / Chapter 1.3 --- Accurate BP Measurements --- p.12 / Chapter 1.3.1 --- Error Source for BP Measurement by Conventional Techniques --- p.12 / Chapter 1.3.2 --- Accurate BP Measurement --- p.13 / Chapter 1.4 --- Objectives of the Thesis --- p.15 / Chapter 1.5 --- Organization of the Thesis --- p.16 / References --- p.17 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Current Standards for the Conventional Blood Pressure Measurement Devices --- p.20 / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.20 / Chapter 2.2 --- Current Standards for the Cuff-based BP Measurement Devices --- p.21 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- AAMI Standard --- p.21 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- BHS Protocol --- p.22 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Other Protocols --- p.23 / Chapter 2.3 --- Comparison of the 2002 AAMI and 1993 BHS Protocols - Protocol Setup --- p.25 / Chapter 2.4 --- Comparison of the 2002 AAMI and 1993 BHS Protocols 一 Accuracy Criteria --- p.29 / Chapter 2.5 --- Relationship between the AAMI Accuracy Criteria and the BHS Grading System --- p.31 / Chapter 2.5.1 --- Theoretical Mapping Relationship --- p.31 / Chapter 2.5.2 --- Application of the Mapping Model: Estimate the BHS Grades from the Reported Sample ME and SD --- p.34 / Chapter 2.5.3 --- Application of the Mapping Model: Explain the Evaluation of the Results from the Clinical Survey by the ESH --- p.36 / Chapter 2.6 --- Discussion --- p.36 / References --- p.40 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Distribution Analysis of the Blood Pressure Measurement Errors --- p.42 / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.42 / Chapter 3.2 --- Error Distribution Estimated from the Published Data --- p.43 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Methodology --- p.43 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Data Analysis --- p.44 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Session Summary --- p.46 / Chapter 3.3 --- Error Distribution Estimated from the Experimental Data --- p.46 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- BP Measurement Error Obtained from Automatic BP Meter --- p.46 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Distribution Analysis by the Normal Quantile-Quantile Plot --- p.47 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Background of Student's t Distribution --- p.48 / Chapter 3.3.4 --- Parameter Estimation - Maximum Likelihood Method --- p.50 / Chapter 3.3.5 --- Goodness-of-fit Test - Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test --- p.53 / Chapter 3.3.6 --- Goodness-of-fit Test ´ؤ Chi-Square Test --- p.56 / Chapter 3.4 --- Discussion --- p.63 / References --- p.65 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- A Model Based Study of the Parameters Used by Existing Standards --- p.67 / Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.67 / Chapter 4.2 --- Background of Method Comparison Study --- p.68 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Four Areas in Method Comparison Study --- p.68 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Analysis of Previous Methodology and Statistical Parameters --- p.70 / Chapter 4.3 --- Theoretical Mapping Relationship: Based on the General t Distribution --- p.72 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- "Relationship among CP5, CP10 and CP15 in Each Grade for the 1993 BHS Protocol" --- p.76 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Relationships between the Criteria in Each Grade for the 1993 BHS Protocol and the AAMI Standard --- p.77 / Chapter 4.3.3 --- Comparison of Parameters --- p.80 / Chapter 4.4 --- Mean of the Absolute Errors (MAE) and Its Estimation --- p.81 / Chapter 4.4.1 --- The Relationship between MAE and Other Parameters --- p.81 / Chapter 4.4.2 --- Analysis of the Example Data --- p.84 / Chapter 4.4.3 --- Estimation of MAEt --- p.84 / Chapter 4.5 --- Discussion --- p.88 / References --- p.90 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Experimental Study and an Evaluation Protocol Proposed for the Wearable BP Measurement Devices --- p.92 / Chapter 5.1 --- Introduction --- p.92 / Chapter 5.2 --- Description of the Experiment --- p.93 / Chapter 5.3 --- Data Analysis --- p.95 / Chapter 5.3.1 --- Data Used for the Study --- p.95 / Chapter 5.3.2 --- Error Distribution Analysis --- p.96 / Chapter 5.3.3 --- Evaluation of the Automatic BP Meter and the PTT-Based BP Measurement Device by AAMI and 1993 BHS Standards --- p.99 / Chapter 5.3.4 --- Evaluation the Automatic BP Meter and the PTT-Based BP Measurement Device by the Proposed Parameter --- p.101 / Chapter 5.4 --- Proposed Evaluation Procedure --- p.101 / Chapter 5.4.1 --- Introduction --- p.101 / Chapter 5.4.2 --- Determination of Parameters and Criteria --- p.102 / Chapter 5.4.3 --- Proposed Evaluation Procedure --- p.103 / Chapter 5.5 --- Discussion --- p.105 / References --- p.108 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- Conclusion and Future Work --- p.110 / Chapter 6.1 --- Conclusion and Major Contributions --- p.110 / Chapter 6.2 --- Future Works --- p.113 / References --- p.115 / Appendix A Deviation of Some Equations --- p.116 / Chapter A.1 --- CP for Certain Limit of L as a Function of ME and SD --- p.116 / Chapter A.2 --- MAE as a Function of Location and Scale Parameters --- p.119 / Chapter A.3 --- "Relationship between ME, MAE and Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) if the error distribution is unknown" --- p.121 / Appendix B List of Publications and Awards Related to This Study --- p.123

Fleissner Sebastian. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-95). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstract --- p.i / Acknowledgement --- p.iii / Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- The Legend of Hercules --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Background --- p.2 / Chapter 1.3 --- Research Purpose --- p.2 / Chapter 1.4 --- Research Overview --- p.3 / Chapter 1.5 --- Thesis Organization --- p.4 / Chapter 2 --- Background and Definitions --- p.6 / Chapter 2.1 --- General Purpose GPU Computing --- p.6 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- Four Generations of GPU Hardware --- p.6 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- GPU Architecture & Terms --- p.7 / Chapter 2.1.3 --- General Purpose GPU Programming --- p.9 / Chapter 2.1.4 --- Shader Programming Languages --- p.12 / Chapter 2.2 --- Cryptography Overview --- p.13 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- "Alice, Bob, and Friends" --- p.14 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Cryptographic Hash Functions --- p.14 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Secret Key Ciphers --- p.15 / Chapter 2.2.4 --- Public Key Encryption --- p.16 / Chapter 2.2.5 --- Digital Signatures --- p.17 / Chapter 2.3 --- The Montgomery Method --- p.18 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Pre-computation Step --- p.19 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Obtaining the Montgomery Representation --- p.19 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- Calculating the Montgomery Product(s) --- p.19 / Chapter 2.3.4 --- Calculating final result --- p.20 / Chapter 2.3.5 --- The Montgomery Exponentiation Algorithm . . --- p.20 / Chapter 2.4 --- Elliptic Curve Cryptography --- p.21 / Chapter 2.4.1 --- Introduction --- p.21 / Chapter 2.4.2 --- Recommended Elliptic Curves --- p.22 / Chapter 2.4.3 --- Coordinate Systems --- p.23 / Chapter 2.4.4 --- Point Doubling --- p.23 / Chapter 2.4.5 --- Point Addition --- p.24 / Chapter 2.4.6 --- Double and Add --- p.25 / Chapter 2.4.7 --- Elliptic Curve Encryption --- p.26 / Chapter 2.5 --- Related Research --- p.28 / Chapter 2.5.1 --- Secret Key Cryptography on GPUs --- p.28 / Chapter 2.5.2 --- Remotely Keyed Cryptographics --- p.29 / Chapter 3 --- Proposed Algorithms --- p.30 / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.30 / Chapter 3.2 --- Chapter Organization --- p.31 / Chapter 3.3 --- Algorithm Design Issues --- p.31 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Arithmetic Density and GPU Memory Access . --- p.31 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Encoding Large Integers with Floating Point Numbers --- p.33 / Chapter 3.4 --- GPU Montgomery Algorithms --- p.34 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Introduction --- p.34 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- GPU-FlexM-Prod Specification --- p.37 / Chapter 3.4.3 --- GPU-FlexM-Mul Specification --- p.43 / Chapter 3.4.4 --- GPU-FlexM-Exp Specification --- p.45 / Chapter 3.4.5 --- GPU-FixM-Prod Specification --- p.46 / Chapter 3.4.6 --- GPU-FixM-Mul Specification --- p.50 / Chapter 3.4.7 --- GPU-FixM-Exp Specification --- p.52 / Chapter 3.5 --- GPU Elliptic Curve Algorithms --- p.54 / Chapter 3.5.1 --- GPU-EC-Double Specification --- p.55 / Chapter 3.5.2 --- GPU-EC-Add Specification --- p.59 / Chapter 3.5.3 --- GPU-EC-DoubleAdd Specification --- p.64 / Chapter 4 --- Analysis of Proposed Algorithms --- p.67 / Chapter 4.1 --- Performance Analysis --- p.67 / Chapter 4.1.1 --- GPU-FlexM Algorithms --- p.69 / Chapter 4.1.2 --- GPU-FixM Algorithms --- p.72 / Chapter 4.1.3 --- GPU-EC Algorithms --- p.77 / Chapter 4.1.4 --- Summary --- p.82 / Chapter 4.2 --- Usability of Proposed Algorithms --- p.83 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Signcryption --- p.84 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Pure Asymmetric Encryption and Decryption --- p.85 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Simultaneous Signing of Multiple Messages --- p.86 / Chapter 4.2.4 --- Relieving the Main Processor --- p.87 / Chapter 5 --- Conclusions --- p.88 / Chapter 5.1 --- Research Results --- p.88 / Chapter 5.2 --- Future Research --- p.89 / Bibliography --- p.91

心血管疾病持續成為世界上第一大死亡原因。在眾多危險因素中，動脈血壓，尤其是夜間血壓和血壓變化率，是心血管疾病發病率和死亡率的關鍵指標。 / 由於需要用到充氣式袖帶，現有的血壓測量技術只能提供瞬時血壓，並且使用起來極不舒適。因此，本文致力於研究另一種無袖帶式血壓測量方法。此方法的原理基於血壓波在血管上的傳導速度，即脈搏波傳導速度（PWV）取決於血壓作用下的血管力學特性。因此，血壓可以從脈搏波傳導速度，或者其倒數：脈搏波傳輸時間（PTT）估計得到。由於脈搏波傳導時間可以方便的從心電信號及光電容積描記信號獲取，這種新型的無袖帶式血壓測量技術近年來備受關注。 / 現有的基於脈搏波傳輸時間的血壓估計方法建立於一個被動的，薄壁的和均質的血管模型。但是，真實的血管卻是由彈性蛋白，膠原纖維和平滑肌共同組成的具有特殊層次結構的管道。事實上，以往許多研究已經表明了血管緊張度（VSM tone），即血管壁平滑肌細胞的激活程度，能顯著改變血管力學特性進而使脈搏波傳輸時間與血壓的關係惡化。特別地，血管緊張度主要受控于自主神經系統，尤其是交感神經系統。因此，本論文的目的在於研究自主神經系統對基於脈搏波傳輸時間的血壓估計的影響。 / 首先，基於血管微結構力學模型和Bramwell-Hill公式，本文建立了一個基於血管組分的脈搏波傳輸時間-血壓模型。并在此基礎上，推導出一個融合了血管結構和功能特性的解析數學公式來表徵脈搏波傳導時間和血壓的關係。仿真結果顯示，隨著血管緊張度增高，脈搏波傳輸時間-血壓曲綫會移向右上方，造成滯變現象（hysteresis）。 / 其次，爲了研究自主神經系統對血壓，脈搏波傳輸時間及心率的調節機制，本文利用時頻分析技術，對來自9個健康測試者跑步運動前後的實驗數據進行了分析。結果顯示，僅心率這一參數表現出運動中首先迷走神經活動減弱，然後交感神經增強的機制。此外，分析結果表明脈搏波傳輸時間與血壓的關係是頻率相關的。 / 爲了進一步研究自主神經系統在吞咽動作過程中對心血管參數的調控作用，本文設計了喝水實驗。對32個健康測試者的實驗數據分析結果表明，在喝水過程中，心率和血壓顯著上升，脈搏波傳輸時間顯著下降。另一方面，基於之前脈搏波傳輸時間與血壓的頻變關係的研究發現，本文設計了一種新的基於脈搏波傳輸時間，利用頻段特定的序列技術，來估計壓力反射敏感性（BRS）的新方法，並利用喝水實驗數據進行了驗證。結果顯示，利用此方法估計和利用傳統的利用血壓計算出的壓力反射敏感性具有高相關性（喝水前，中，后過程中，相關係數分別為0.90，0.70和0.81）。 / 最後，爲了驗證自主神經系統調控下的血管緊張度對脈搏波傳輸時間和血壓關係的影響，本文對來自46名測試者，其中包括17名心血管疾病患者，在人體仰臥姿態下的漸進式腳踏車運動實驗中的數據進行了分析。結果證實了仿真實驗中顯示的脈搏波傳輸時間和血壓的滯變現象。另外，本文提出了兩個新型量化指標衡量此滯變現象，即AreaN和ΔSBP20。結果顯示，相比于健康人，心血管疾病患者的滯變現象幅度顯著減弱，這與此類患者通常伴隨有交感神經系統過度活躍相關。基於以上發現，本文進一步提出利用AreaN和ΔSBP20來評估交感神經系統功能的建議。 / 綜上所述，本論文從理論和實驗的雙重角度研究了自主神經系統對脈搏波傳輸時間和血壓關係的影響。此工作將有利於提高基於脈搏波傳輸時間的血壓估計技術的準確度，并進一步對控制心血管疾病做出貢獻。 / Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the number one cause of death worldwide. Amongst various risk factors, arterial blood pressure (BP), especially BP measured during nighttime, and BP variability are major indicators of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. / Most of the state-of-the-art BP meters are designed with an inflatable cuff, which provide snapshots of BP and are uncomfortable during measurements. An alternative cuffless BP measurement approach is therefore studied in this work. The estimation principle is derived based on the fact that velocity of a pressure wave propagating along an artery, i.e., pulse wave velocity (PWV) is related to the pressure-dependent mechanical property of the artery. Thus, BP can be possibly estimated from PWV, or its reciprocal, pulse transit time (PTT), which can be conveniently acquired from electrocardiogram and photoplethysmogram without using an inflatable cuff. / The current PTT-based BP estimation was built on a model that assumes the artery to be a passive, thin-wall and homogeneous tube. However, arterial wall in reality exhibits a specific layered structure and consists of elastin, collagen fibers and smooth muscles. In fact, the PTT-BP relationship was found by many studies to be easily deteriorated by vasoconstriction/dilation, which reflects the vascular smooth muscle (VSM) activation level, i.e., VSM tone. In particular, innervating most blood vessels, the autonomic nervous system (ANS), primarily sympathetic nervous system, plays an important role in determining the arterial mechanical behavior thus PTT-BP relationship via regulating the VSM tone. It is therefore the aim of this thesis to investigate the effects of ANS on the PTT-based BP estimation. / Firstly, a constituent-based PTT-BP model was developed in the thesis, based on the micro-structurally motivated arterial mechanical model and Bramwell-Hill equation. Specifically, analytic PTT-BP relationship incorporating arterial structural and functional properties was deduced. Theoretical effects of various arterial properties on the relationship have been evaluated by simulation. The results revealed that PTT-BP curve will shift to the top right when VSM tone elevates, producing PTT-BP hysteresis. / Next, the mechanism of regulation of BP, PTT as well as heart rate (HR) by ANS was evaluated in 9 normotensive subjects in treadmill exercise by using time-frequency technique. Vagal withdrawal and subsequent sympathetic activity enhancement by exercise have been observed in only HR. In addition, the results indicate a frequency-dependent PTT-BP relationship. / Then we conducted water drinking experiments in a total of 32 healthy subjects to investigate the ANS controlled cardiovascular responses by the act of swallowing. Significant increment in HR and BP, and decrease in PTT were observed during drinking. On the other hand, considering the frequency-dependent nature of PTT-BP relationship, a novel method that estimates baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) from PTT based on the band-specified sequence technique has been proposed. The results showed high correlations between BRS estimated from BP and PTT. (γ=0.90, 0.70 and 0.81 before, during and after drinking respectively). / Lastly, the effects of ANS mediated VSM tone on the PTT-BP relationship were validated in 46 subjects including 17 patients with CVDs in graded bicycle exercise stress test in supine position. The results demonstrated PTT-BP hysteresis as predicted by the simulation. Furthermore, two novel parameters, i.e., AreaN and ΔSBP20 were proposed to evaluate the hysteresis phenomenon. Significant attenuation was observed in CVD patients with sympathetic overactivity. The two quantifications were proposed accordingly to be indices for assessing sympathetic function. / To conclude, this work addressed the effects of ANS on the PTT-BP relationship from both theoretical and experimental aspects. The work can help to improve the accuracy of PTT-based BP estimation and CVD control. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Liu, Qing. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013. / Includes bibliographical references. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts also in Chinese. / Abstract --- p.i / Acknowledgement --- p.v / List of figures --- p.vi / List of tables --- p.x / List of abbreviations --- p.xi / Chapter Chapter 1. --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1. --- Current Status of Blood Pressure Management --- p.1 / Prevalence of Cardiovascular Diseases --- p.1 / Healthcare System Transformation --- p.2 / Blood Pressure A Crucial Role in CVD Control --- p.4 / Chapter 1.2. --- Overview of Blood Pressure Measurement Techniques --- p.7 / Chapter 1.3. --- Motivations and Objectives of the Thesis --- p.15 / Chapter 1.4. --- Organization of the Thesis --- p.16 / References: --- p.17 / Chapter Chapter 2. --- Basics of Cardiovascular System, Autonomic Nervous System and PTT-BP Relationship --- p.20 / Chapter 2.1. --- Cardiovascular System --- p.20 / Heart Physiology --- p.20 / Arterial Physiology --- p.24 / Chapter 2.2. --- Autonomic Nervous System --- p.35 / Autonomic Histology and Pharmacology --- p.35 / Autonomic Nervous Control of Cardiovascular System --- p.37 / Assessment of ANS Activity --- p.41 / Chapter 2.3. --- PWV and Its Relationship with BP --- p.43 / Pulse Wave Velocity --- p.44 / PWV-BP Relationship --- p.50 / Chapter 2.4. --- Section Summary --- p.54 / References: --- p.55 / Chapter Chapter 3. --- A Model-based Study on the Effects of Arterial Properties on the Relationship between Pulse Transit Time and Blood Pressure --- p.62 / Chapter 3.1. --- Introduction to Constitutive Modeling of Arteries --- p.62 / Experimental Methods --- p.63 / Modeling of Mechanical Behavior: Pressure-Radius Relationship --- p.64 / Chapter 3.2. --- A Novel Constitutive Model of the Relationship between PTT and BP --- p.76 / Chapter 3.3. --- Simulation Study of Effects of Arterial Properties on the PTT-BP Relationship --- p.82 / Chapter 3.4. --- Section Summary --- p.93 / References: --- p.94 / Chapter Chapter 4. --- Evaluation Study on the Autonomic Nervous System Control of Heart Rate, Blood Pressure and Pulse Transit Time Before and After Dynamic Exercise --- p.96 / Chapter 4.1. --- Introduction --- p.96 / Chapter 4.2. --- Methodology --- p.98 / Experiment Protocol --- p.98 / Signal Processing and Spectral Estimation --- p.99 / Chapter 4.3. --- Results --- p.101 / Chapter 4.4. --- Discussion --- p.104 / Chapter 4.5. --- Section Summary --- p.108 / References: --- p.110 / Chapter Chapter 5. --- Investigation on Autonomic Nervous System Control of Heart Rate, Blood Pressure and Pulse Transit Time During Water Drinking --- p.113 / Chapter 5.1. --- Responses of HR, BP and PTT during Water Drinking --- p.113 / Chapter 5.1.1. --- Introduction --- p.113 / Chapter 5.1.2. --- Methodology and Results --- p.115 / Chapter 5.1.3. --- Discussion and Conclusion --- p.118 / Chapter 5.2. --- Potential Application of PTT in Baroreflex Sensitivity Assessment --- p.121 / Chapter 5.2.1. --- Introduction --- p.121 / Chapter 5.2.2. --- Methodology --- p.122 / Chapter 5.2.3. --- Discussion and Conclusion --- p.125 / Chapter 5.3. --- Section Summary --- p.127 / References: --- p.129 / Chapter Chapter 6. --- Experimental Validation of the ANS Effects on the Relationship between Pulse Transit Time and Blood Pressure in Human Stress Test --- p.131 / Chapter 6.1. --- Introduction --- p.131 / Chapter 6.2. --- Methodology --- p.133 / Chapter 6.3. --- Results --- p.137 / Chapter 6.4. --- Discussion and Conclusion --- p.139 / Chapter 6.5. --- Section Summary --- p.144 / References: --- p.145 / Chapter Chapter 7. --- Conclusions and Suggestions for Future Work --- p.148 / Chapter 7.1. --- Summary --- p.148 / Chapter 7.1.1. --- A model-based study on the effects of arterial properties on the PTT-BP relationship --- p.148 / Chapter 7.1.2. --- Evaluation study on the ANS control of HR, BP and PTT before and after dynamic exercise --- p.149 / Chapter 7.1.3. --- Investigation on ANS control of HR, BP and PTT during water drinking --- p.150 / Chapter 7.1.4. --- Experimental validation of the ANS mediated VSM tone on the PTT-BP relationship --- p.151 / Chapter 7.2. --- Suggestions for Future Work --- p.152 / Chapter 7.2.1. --- Modifications on the constituent-based PTT-BP model --- p.152 / Chapter 7.2.2. --- Improvement of PTT-based BP estimation by considering VSM tone effects --- p.153 / Chapter 7.2.3. --- Improvement of PTT-based BP estimation by considering the frequency-dependent PTT-BP relationship --- p.154 / Chapter 7.2.4. --- Validation of the PTT-BP hysteresis quantifications to be indicators of sympathetic function --- p.154 / References: --- p.155 / Appendix --- p.156 / List of Publications --- p.156

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1980. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Lori F. Lamel. / M.S.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Alfred P. Sloan School of Management, 1980. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND DEWEY. / Includes bibliographies. / by Randall Richard Reyff. / M.S.

Includes photographs of project. / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

This thesis focuses on the study of nanotechnology and its applications in immunology and mechanosensing using micro- and nano-scale topographies, such as gratings, grids, and pillar substrates. In the past five years, we have developed three types of platforms and explored the influence of nano-patterned substrates on cell morphology, proliferation, protein secretion, and mechanosensing. I will introduce the three generations of Integrated Mechanobiology Platform (IMP) for T cell study, including the fabrication process of each generation of IMP, their advantages and disadvantages, and the comparison with existing High Throughput Screening System (HTSS). For the applications of IMP, I will focus on grating and grid topographies with IMP generation 3 format, and study how these nano-patterned substrates affect T cell morphology, expansion, cytokine secretion, drug-topography combination effects on T cells and long-term expansion for adoptive immunotherapy. I will demonstrate how IMP enables such studies in a high throughput manner. I also will discuss how Multiple Stiffness Pillar Platform (MSPP) facilitates the study of mechanosensing in cells spanning across different rigidities. First, I will talk about how MSPP is different from existing dual stiffness platforms. Differences include flexibility in distribution of different rigidities, consistency in pillar dimensions and ease of controlling the stiffness fold increase. In the sections of MSPP fabrication and characterization, I will focus on measurements of stiffness change and surface chemistry uniformity. I will then discuss the Mouse Embryonic Fibroblast (MEF) mechanosensing study on dual stiffness pillar substrates, including the preferential localization of rigidity sensing associated proteins (myosin IIA, phosph-myosin, paxillin, and p130CAS), MEFs actomyosin network building, and adhesion formation. These studies revealed previously undiscovered results in MEF mechanosensing, and demonstrate the great potential of MSPP in this research discipline. In the last part of this thesis, I will present on the mass production of thermoplastic nanopatterned molds. The demonstrated technology can produce large batches of nanostructured molds with decreased fabrication time and expense. In this chapter, I will discuss the necessity of developing such a technology and platform, as well as the design, fabrication, and characterization of the thermoplastic nano-patterned molds.