Nous avons utilisé la décomposition par séparateurs minimaux complets. Pour décomposer un graphe G, il est nécessaire de trouver les séparateurs minimaux dans le graphe triangulé H correspondant. Dans ce contexte, nos premiers efforts se sont tournés vers la détection de séparateurs minimaux dans un graphe triangulé. Nous avons défini une structure, que nous avons nommée 'atom tree'. Cette dernière est inspirée du 'clique tree' et permet d'obtenir et de représenter les atomes qui sont les produits de la décomposition. Lors de la manipulation de données à l'aide de treillis de Galois, nous avons remarqué que la décomposition par séparateurs minimaux permettait une approche de type `Diviser pour régner' pour les treillis de Galois. La détection des gènes fusionnés, qui est une étape importante pour la compréhension de l'évolution des espèces, nous a permis d'appliquer nos algorithmes de détection de séparateurs minimaux complets, qui nous a permis de détecter et regrouper de manière efficace les gènes fusionnés. Une autre application biologique fut la détection de familles de gènes d'intérêts à partir de données de niveaux d'expression de gènes. La structure de `l'atom tree' nous a permis d'avoir un bon outils de visualisation et de gérer des volumes de données importantes. / We worked on clique minimal separator decomposition. In order to compute this decomposition on a graph G we need to compute the minimal separators of its triangulation H. In this context, the first efforts were on finding a clique minimal separators in a chordal graph. We defined a structure called atom tree inspired from the clique tree to compute and represent the final products of the decomposition, called atoms. The purpose of this thesis was to apply this technique on biological data. While we were manipulating this data using Galois lattices, we noticed that the clique minimal separator decomposition allows a divide and conquer approach on Galois lattices. One biological application of this thesis was the detection of fused genes which are important evolutionary events. Using algorithms we produced in the course of along our work we implemented a program called MosaicFinder that allows an efficient detection of this fusion event and their pooling. Another biological application was the extraction of genes of interest using expression level data. The atom tree structure allowed us to have a good visualization of the data and to be able to compute large datasets.

A introdução de separações cromatográficas expandiu a aplicabilidade de sistemas de análises em fluxo. No entanto, a seletividade e sensibilidade de procedimentos são restritos devido à escassa disponibilidade de fases estacionárias que operam a baixas pressões. Sendo assim, foram desenvolvidos quatro procedimentos analíticos visando a melhoria destes aspectos. A primeira proposta explorou pioneiramente colunas de núcleo fundido em sistemas de análises por injeção em fluxo. A separação de metil, etil e propil parabenos foi selecionada com aplicação. As eficiências cromatográficas de quatro colunas (C18, RPamida, F5 e fenil-hexil) foram avaliadas criticamente. Acetonitrila e uma solução de ácido fosfórico pH 2,5 foram utilizadas como fase móvel. A fase RP-amida apresentou melhor desempenho com a separação dos três analitos em 8,0 min, com resoluções > 1,72, simetrias de pico < 1,66, LOD entre 0,12 e 0,39 mg L-1, resposta linear até 5,0 mg L-1 (r > 0,996) e CV para altura dos picos < 3,5 % (n=10). O procedimento foi aplicado à determinação de parabenos em produtos de cuidados pessoais e os resultados concordaram com o procedimento de referência a 95% de confiança. Um procedimento envolvendo o acoplamento de extração em fase sólida (SPE) a um sistema de cromatografia por injeção sequencial (SIC) foi proposto para pré-concentração e separação de oito sulfonamidas. A fase estacionária pentafluorofenilpropil foi selecionada após comparação crítica da eficiência apresentada por três colunas de núcleo fundido e duas colunas de fases monolíticas. Acetonitrila e tampão fosfato (pH 5,0) foram utilizados como fase. Fatores de enriquecimento de até 39,2 foram alcançados com volume de amostra de 500 ?L. O procedimento apresentou tempo de análise < 10,5 min, resoluções > 1,83 com simetrias de pico <= 1,52, LOD entre 4,9 e 27 ?g L-1, faixa de resposta linear entre 30,0 e 1000,0 ?g L-1 (r > 0,997) e CV da altura dos picos, 2,9% (n=6). Um procedimento empregando fase estacionária micelar foi desenvolvido para determinação de melamina em leite. A fase móvel foi composta por uma solução aquosa de dodecil sulfato de sódio (SDS) e 1-propanol (92,5:7,5 v/v). O procedimento de preparo de amostra foi implementado em linha pela diluição da amostra com SDS. Resposta linear foi observada entre 2,0 e 6,0 mg L-1 de melamina com LOD estimado em 0,6 mg L-1 e CV da altura dos picos de 2,9% (n=6). Os resultados para diferentes amostras de leite foram concordantes com aqueles obtidos pelo procedimento cromatográfico de referência em um nível de 95% de confiança. Uma estratégia envolvendo pré-concentração on-column de parabenos em um sistema SIC foi proposta. Resposta linear foi observada entre 0,25 e 1,00 ?g mL-1 (r >= 0,999) e LODs estimados entre 40 e 60 ng mL-1. Tempos de retenção e altura dos picos apresentaram CV < 2,1%. Fatores de enriquecimento entre 30,0 e 34,8 foram alcançados. As estratégias propostas são viáveis para melhoria de seletividade e sensibilidade de separações cromatográficas em sistemas de análises em fluxo, além de apresentarem vantagens frente a procedimentos análogos na literatura / The introduction of chromatographic separations expanded the applicability of flow systems. However, selectivity and sensitivity of the procedures are limited due the poor options of stationary phases available for low-pressure. Therefore, four procedures were developed aiming the improvement of these aspects. The first proposal exploited pioneered fused-core columns in a flow injection analysis system. The separation of methyl, ethyl and propel parabens was selected as an application. The chromatographic efficiency of four columns (C18, RP-amide, F5 and fenyl-hexyl) were crítically evaluated. Acetonitrile and a phosphoric acid solution at pH 2.5 were used as mobile phase at different proportions for each column. The RP-amide phase presented the best performance by separating the analytes in 8.0 min with resolution > 1.72, peak symmetry < 1.66, LOD between 0.12-0.39 mg L-1, linear response range up to 5.0 mg L-1 (r > 0.996) and coefficients of variation of peak heights < 3.5% (n=10). The procedure was applied to parabens determination in personal care products and the results agreed with the HPLC reference procedure at the 95% confidence level. A procedure coupling solid phase extraction (SPE) to a sequential injection chromatography (SIC) was proposed for preconcentration and separation of eight sulfonamides. The pentafluorophenylpropyl (F5) phase was selected after a critical comparison of the performance achieved by three fused-core columns and two monolithic columns. Acetonitrile and acetate buffer pH 5.0 were used as mobile phase. Enrichment factors up to 39.2 were achieved with a 500 ?L sample volume. The developed procedure showed analysis time < 10.5 min, resolutions > 1.83 with peak symmetry <= 1.52, LODs between 4.9 and 27 ?g L-1, linear response ranges from 30.0 to 1000.0 ?g L-1 (r > 0.997) and CV of peak heights < 2.9% (n=6). Micelar chromatography was for the first time exploited in SIC and the performance was demonstrated by determination of melamine in milk. Mobile phase was composed by a sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solution and propanol (92.5:7.5). The sample pretreatment procedure was on-line implemented by dilution of the sample with SDS. A linear response was observed within 2.0 and 6.0 mg L-1 of melamine with a LOD estimated at 0.6 mg L-1 and coefficients of variation at 2.9% (n=6). Results for different milk samples agreed with those obtained by high performance liquid chromatography at the 95% confidence level. A procedure involved on-column preconcentration of parabens in a SIC system was based on the injection of relatively high volume of an aqueous sample in a reversed-phase column. After preconcentration, a suitable mobile phase was inserted to perform chromatographic separation (acetonitrile/phosphoric acid pH 2.5 (75:25, v/v)). A linear response was achieved from 0.25 to 1.00 ?g mL-1 (r > 0.999) and LOD estimated within 40 and 80 ng mL-1. Coefficients of variation for retention time and peak heights were below 2.1%. Enrichment factors within 30.0 and 34.8 were achieved. The proposed strategies are feasible for improving selectivity and sensitivity of chromatographic separations in flow analysis systems, besides having advantages compared to similar procedures in the literature

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2017-04-27T12:33:46Z No. of bitstreams: 1 fernandoantoniosimasvaz.pdf: 40063052 bytes, checksum: f272ddc4d930b7d243c50223436e02b2 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-05-13T13:00:49Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 fernandoantoniosimasvaz.pdf: 40063052 bytes, checksum: f272ddc4d930b7d243c50223436e02b2 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-13T13:00:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 fernandoantoniosimasvaz.pdf: 40063052 bytes, checksum: f272ddc4d930b7d243c50223436e02b2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-07-22 / FAPEMIG - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais / Nesta tese é descrita a preparação de novas fases estacionárias monolíticas (FEM) polimerizadas por fotoiniciação, através do método sol-gel, em capilares de sílica fundida revestidos com poliacrilato, para aplicação em eletrocromatografia capilar (ECC). Dentre as principais técnicas de separação em Química Analítica, a ECC tem despertado grande interesse no meio acadêmico, pelo fato desta combinar as vantagens tanto da cromatografia a líquido de alta eficiência quanto da eletroforese capilar. Grande parte do desenvolvimento da ECC se deve ao uso das FEM, as quais são semelhantemente aplicadas em outras técnicas cromatográficas. Ao contrário do revestimento de poliimida, amplamente empregado, o revestimento de poliacrilato, transparente acima de 370 nm e à luz visível, facilita a visualização da solução de sol no interior do capilar, o que permite controlar a injeção desta e de outras soluções, bem como observar a formação in situ da FEM. Além disso, é possível que seja feita a polimerização fotoiniciada sem a necessidade de remoção do revestimento polimérico que protege a coluna. O objetivo central deste trabalho foi entender e aprimorar o processo de fabricação das FEM para aplicações em ECC. Para isso, foram feitas modificações da câmara fotorreatora homemade utilizada para a polimerização das FEM, como uma correção na faixa espectral de trabalho de 350 a 700 nm para 350 a 400 nm; e instalação de dispositivos de segurança tanto para o operador quanto para o sistema elétrico. Para que fosse alcançado um melhor controle de injeção de fases líquidas no interior de tubos com dimensões capilares, a construção de um dispositivo de alta pressurização (DAP) que forneceu, além da pressão, grande precisão foi indispensável. O DAP, além de simples, teve ótima relação custo-benefício, comparado a modelos comerciais. O preparo das FEM foi otimizado mediante auxílio de planejamento fatorial fracionário 24-1, onde se buscou analisar propriedades eletrocromatográficas frente diferentes proporções dos reagentes empregados e tempo de incidência de luz ultravioleta (UV). Este último fator não apresentou significância e foi desconsiderado, de forma que o planejamento fosse devidamente reduzido para um planejamento fatorial completo 23, o que possibilitou uma análise mais apurada dos efeitos significativos. O fator mais influente foi a proporção de porogênio (tolueno), sendo que a melhor condição obtida foi utilizando 80,0 % (v/v) de solução porogênica; 3,5 % (m/m) de fotoiniciador óxido de bis(2,4,6-trimetilbenzoil)-fenilfosfino (Irgacure 819); razão molar água/ metacriloxipropiltrimetoxisilano (MPTMS) igual a 4 e tempo de incidência de luz UV de 10 minutos. As características morfológicas, espectroscópicas e porosidade foram avaliadas através de microscopia eletrônica de varredura, infravermelho e porosimetria por adsorção de nitrogênio, respectivamente. As FEM foram testadas em ECC pela separação de hidrocarbonetos policíclicos aromáticos (naftaleno, acenafteno, fluoreno, fenantreno e antraceno) e alquilbenzenos (etilbenzeno, propilbenzeno, butilbenzeno e hexilbenzeno), todos compostos eletricamente neutros, diluídos em metanol (1 mmol L-1 cada), utilizando tiouréia como marcador de fluxo. Como fase móvel foi utilizada a mistura de acetato de amônio 16,7 mmol L-1 pH 7,0 (60 %) e acetonitrila (40 %). A voltagem aplicada foi -20 kV; a temperatura de análise foi 20 ºC; a injeção dos analitos foi -25 mbar por 5 s; e a detecção no UV foram nos comprimentos de onda de 220 nm e 250 nm. Foi utilizado o modo ECC-rápida, que consiste na inversão do sentido de análise e injeção de padrões pela extremidade curta do capilar. Este modo se mostrou muito mais rápido, repetitivo e eficiente do que o modo normal, fornecendo em pouco mais de 12 minutos de análise, mais de 51400 pratos/m de coluna e desvios padrão relativos em tempo de migração/retenção entre 0,09 e 3,3 % e em área de pico relativa entre 0,14 e 1,6 %. Os perfis de separação em ECC corroboraram com os resultados de porosidade e morfologia obtidos. / This thesis describes the preparation of new monolithic stationary phases (MSP) polymerized by photoinitiation through sol-gel approach in polyacrylate-coated fused silica capillary, for application in capillary electrochromatography (CEC). CEC has been concentrated much attention among the major separation techniques in analytical chemistry because it combines the advantages of both high performance liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis. Much of the CEC development is due to the use of MSP, which are similarly applied to other chromatographic techniques. Unlike polyimide-coating, widely used, the polyacrylate-coating, which is transparent above 370 nm and visible, enables the visualization of the sol solution within the capillary, allowing one to control the injection of sol and other solutions, in addition to observe the in situ formation of the MSP. Furthermore, it is possible to perform the photoinitiated polymerization without removing this polymeric coating that protects the capillary. The main purpose of this work was to comprehend and improve the fabrication process of MSP, for CEC applications. For this, some changes were set in the homemade photo reactor chamber, used for the MSP polymerization, like correction in the work range from 350 – 700 nm to 350 – 400 nm; and installation of security devices for both operator and electric system safeties. For better control of liquid phases injection within tubes with capillary dimensions, the build of a high-pressure device (HPD) that provides a great precision, in addition to the high-pressure, was essential. HPD is simpler and relatively cheaper when compared to commercial models. The preparation of the MSP has been optimized through assistance of a 24-1 fractional factorial design, with the intention to investigate electrochromatographic properties with different amounts of employed reagents and ultraviolet (UV) light incidence time. The later factor did not show significance and was unconsidered, making the design possible to be reduced to a 23 complete factorial design, which allowed analyzing the significant effects accurately. The most influent factor was the porogen (toluene) proportion, and the best condition was obtained using 80.0 % (v/v) of porogenic solution; 3.5 % of photoinitiator bis(2,4,6 trimetylbenzoyl)-phenylphosphine oxide (Irgacure 819); water to metacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS) molar ratio equal to 4 and 10 minutes of UV light incidence time. The MSP morphological, spectroscopic characteristics and porosity were evaluated through scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy and nitrogen adsorption porosimetry, respectively. The MSP has been tested in CEC through the separation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (naphthalene, acenaphthene, fluorene, phenanthrene and anthracene) and alkylbenzenes (ethylbenzene, propylbenzene, butylbenzene and hexylbenzene), which are electrically neutral compounds, after dilution in methanol (1 mmol L-1 each), using thiourea as the flow marker. As mobile phase a mixture of ammonium acetate 16.7 mmol L-1 at pH 7.0 (60.0 %) and acetonitrile (40.0 %) was used. The applied voltage was -20 kV, the temperature of analysis was 20 °C, the analyte injection was -25 mbar for 5 s, and UV detection was done at 220 and 250 nm. A fast-CEC mode, which consists to reverse the analysis direction and to introduce the analyte by capillary short-end injection, was performed. This mode was much more fast, repetitive and efficient than the normal one, providing in a little more than 12 minutes over than 51400 plates per meter of column and relative standard deviations ranging from 0.09 to 3.3 % for migration/retention time and from 0.14 to 1.6 % for relative peak area. The separation profiles in CEC corroborate with the porosity and morphology results.

Le collage par adhérence moléculaire est un collage basé sur la mise en contact de deux surfaces sans l'utilisation de colle ou matériaux additionnels. Ce procédé de collage est utilisé dans de nombreuses applications, notamment dans les domaines de l'optique terrestre et spatiale. Bien qu'un prototype ait déjà passé avec succès l'environnement spatial - où les contraintes d'utilisations sont différentes de celles rencontrées sur Terre - la spatialisation de cette technologie nécessite une caractérisation plus fine du procédé ainsi qu'une amélioration de la tenue mécanique des interfaces adhérées afin de valider les normes de l'Agence spatiale Européenne. Pour répondre à cette problématique de spatialisation de la technologie, des essais mécaniques ainsi que des analyses chimiques ont été réalisés dans le but d'étudier l'influence de certains paramètres du procédé ) sur la tenue mécanique et l'énergie de collage. Ces essais ont également été réalisés afin de comparer les deux matériaux étudiés : le verre de silice et le Zérodur vis-à-vis de l'adhésion. A l'issue de ces essais, les paramètres à appliquer permettant de doubler la tenue mécanique des interfaces adhérées ont été déterminés. Parallèlement, une loi phénoménologique reliant l'énergie de collage aux précédents paramètres du procédé a été développée ainsi qu'un modèle macroscopique visant à décrire l'intensité d'adhésion. Ces deux modèles une fois couplés permettent de modéliser le comportement normal de l'interface en fonction des paramètres du procédé. Enfin, ces deux lois sont implémentées dans un code éléments finis afin de simuler la propagation de la fissure lors de l'essai de clivage au coin. / Direct bonding consists in joining two surfaces without the use of any adhesive or additional material. This process is used in several applications, particularly in terrestrial and spatial optics. Although a prototype passed with success spatial environment - where constraints involved are very different from those encountered on Earth - this technology requires a more detailed characterization and an improvement of the mechanical strength of bonded interfaces in order to validate the European Space Agency standards. To address this issue, mechanical tests (double shear tests, cleavage tests and wedge tests) and chemical analysis (wetting tests and XPS spectroscopy) were performed in order to study the influence of some process parameters (roughness, relative air humidity during room temperature bonding, the annealing temperature and time) on the mechanical strength and the bonding energy. These tests compared the two materials used: fused silica glass and Zerodur glass. As a result of these tests, optimal parameters doubling the mechanical strength were also obtained. In the same time, a phenomenological law relating the bonding energy to the previous parameters is developed as well as a macroscopic model to describe the adhesion intensity. Both models when coupled describe the normal behavior of the bonded interface depending on the process parameters. Then, the both laws are implemented in a finite elements model in order to simulate the crack propagation during the wedge test.

Cette thèse porte sur le codage prédictif comme principe général pour la perception et vise à en étayer les mécanismes computationnels et neurophysiologiques dans la modalité auditive. Ce codage repose sur des erreurs de prédictions se propageant dans une hiérarchie, et qui pourraient se refléter dans des réponses cérébrales au changement (ou déviance) telles que la Négativité de discordance (mismatch negativity, MMN). Nous avons manipulé la prédictibilité de sons déviants et utilisé des approches de modélisation computationnelle et dynamique causale (DCM) appliquées à des enregistrements électrophysiologiques (EEG, MEG) simultanés.Une modulation des réponses à la déviance par la prédictibilité a été observée, permettant d'établir un lien avec les erreurs de prédictions. Cet effet implique un apprentissage implicite des régularités acoustiques, dont l'influence sur le traitement auditif a pu être caractérisée par notre approche de modélisation. Sur le plan computationnel, un apprentissage a été mis en évidence au cours de ce traitement auditif, reposant sur une fenêtre d'intégration temporelle dont la taille varie avec la prédictibilité des déviants. Cet effet pourrait également moduler la connectivité synaptique sous-tendant le traitement auditif, comme le suggère l'analyse DCM.Nos résultats mettent en évidence la mise en œuvre d'un apprentissage perceptif au sein d'une hiérarchie auditive soumis à une modulation par la prédictibilité du contexte acoustique, conformément aux prédictions du codage prédictif. Ils soulignent également l'intérêt de ce cadre théorique pour émettre et tester expérimentalement des hypothèses mécanistiques précises / This thesis aims at testing the predictive coding account of auditory perception. This framework rests on precision-weighted prediction errors elicited by unexpected sounds that propagate along a hierarchical organization in order to maintain the brain adapted to a varying acoustic environment. Using the mismatch negativity (MMN), a brain response to unexpected stimuli (deviants) that could reflect such errors, we could address the computational and neurophysiological underpinnings of predictive coding. Precisely, we manipulated the predictability of deviants and applied computational learning models and dynamic causal models (DCM) to electrophysiological responses (EEG, MEG) measured simultaneously. Deviant predictability was found to modulate deviance responses, a result supporting their interpretation as prediction errors. Such effect might involve the (high-level) implicit learning of sound sequence regularities that would in turn influence auditory processing in lower hierarchical levels. Computational modeling revealed the perceptual learning of sounds, resting on temporal integration exhibiting differences induced by our predictability manipulation. In addition, DCM analysis indicated predictability changes in the synaptic connectivity established by deviance processing. These results conform predictive coding predictions regarding both deviance processing and its modulation by deviant predictability and strongly support perceptual learning of auditory regularities achieved within an auditory hierarchy. Our findings also highlight the power of this mechanistic framework to elaborate and test new hypothesis enabling to improve our understanding of auditory processing

Organic conjugated systems are attractive because of wide range of applications, which includes stimulated emission from -conjugated polymers, optical switches, organic solar cells and organic light emitting diodes, to name a few. They have the advantage of low cost, ease of processing and tunability of their linear and nonlinear optical properties by functionalization with donor or acceptor groups. In chapter 1, we provide an introduction to the π-conjugated systems and various interesting phenomena observed in these systems, This is followed by a brief description of the application of the above mentioned -conjugated systems for organic light emitting diodes, and organic photovoltaic cells. In the last section of this chapter, we give an introduction to magnetism due to π-electron systems. In chapter 2, we begin with energy band theory in one-dimension and its drawbacks. We introduce various model Hamiltonians which incorporate electron-electron inter-actions like Hubbard model, and Pariser-Parr-Pople (PPP) model. We present numerical techniques like valence-bond (VB) and constant MS techniques that are used to exactly solve the above model Hamiltonian. This is followed by an introduction to density matrix renormalization group method (DMRG) employed for the above model Hamiltonian for larger system in one-dimension and quasi-one-dimension. We give description of linear and nonlinear optical properties followed by the oriented gas model for ensemble of molecules. Various methods for computing polarizabilities and hyperpolarizibilities of molecules includes such as Finite-Field method, Sum-Over-State Method, and Correction Vector (CV) Methods are described in detail. In chapter 3, we look into fused azulene systems as a possible organic multiferroics. Azulene molecule with fused five and seven membered π-conjugated rings has a dipole moment, and the π-framework has geometric frustration. Hence in fused azulenes we can expect both ferroelectric and magnetic ground state. To explore this, we study low-lying correlated electronic states of fused azulenes using the long-range interacting PPP model and the finite DMRG method. The ground state is a singlet for oligomers up to 5 azulene units. For oligomers with more than 5 azulene units and up to 11 azulene units the oligomers have a triplet ground state. From the excitation gaps between the lowest MS = 0 state and the lowest states in MS=1, 2, and 3 sectors we predict that the ground-state spin of the fused azulene increases with the number of azulene units. In the thermodynamic limit, we expect the fused azulene to be a ferromagnet. Charge density calculations show that the ground state of the system has ferroelectric alignment of the dipoles of the monomeric units. Thus, a fused azulene system could be the first example of an organic molecule which is both ferromagnetic and ferroelectric, in the ground state. In chapter 4, we study the linear and nonlinear optical properties of diradical systems. We have studied linear and non-linear optical properties of π-conjugated diradicals because they are expected to exhibit large non-linear responses. The system studied are oligomers of dicyclopenta-fused acenes (DPA) and the s-indaceno[1,2,3-cd;5,6,7-c'd']diphenalene (IDPL) molecule. Spin-spin correlation functions within a correlated PPP model Hamiltonian, using exact diagonalization method, are used to characterize the diradical nature of DPA-2 and similar calculations on Anthracene have been performed to contrast this with a singlet character. The diradical character of DPA-2 is also manifest as low optical gap, low spin gap and large THG coefficients compared to Anthracene molecule. Larger DPA-k, k > 2, oligomers as well as the IDPL molecule have been studied within the DMRG technique. In the DPA-4, we nd a very small spin gap (0.04 eV), while in the oligomers with k > 4, we nd that the ground state is degenerate with the lowest triplet state. The energy of the second excited triplet state decreases with increasing size k and seems to saturate at ~0.36 eV in the thermodynamic limit. The lowest optical gap in DPA-4 is at 1.94 eV and has large transition dipoles, while for DPA-k, 4 < k ≥ 28, we have not been able to access states with large transition dipoles. The weak low-energy excitations seem to saturate at 0.5 eV and the two-photon gap also seems to be saturating at~ 0.3 eV in the thermodynamic limit. These polymers will not be IR uorescent by Kasha rule. The dominant component of the THG coefficient, γxxxx, is highest for DPA-4 which reduces almost by an order of magnitude in DPA-8; for k > 8 it increases up to the largest system with k=20 for which we have computed the coe cient. The variation of the charge gap of DPA oligomer with the increase in system size is small and in the polymer limit the charge gap is 4:24 eV. For IDPL molecule spin gap is 0.20 eV and next excited triplet state is at 1.48 eV. Two lowest singlet states in B space are nearly degenerate and have large transition dipole moments. Optical gaps to the above states are 2.20 eV and 2.22 eV. Two-photon gap in this system is 1.29 eV, hence this system is also non- uorescent. We calculated the dispersion of the major component of the THG coefficient, γxxxx, over a wide frequency range for this molecule, and we observe resonances corresponding to the 21Ag and 11Bu states. Extrapolated value of γxxxx at zero frequency is 15:58 x 106 a.u which is very large and the system does not have any donor or acceptor substituent groups. In chapter 5, we study absorption spectra and two photon absorption coefficient of expanded porphyrins (EPs). We nd that in the 4n+2 EPs there are two prominent low-lying one-photon excitations while in 4n systems there is only one such excitation. The two-photon gaps in both these types of systems are at energies close to the one-photon excitations. The spin gap in 4n+2 EPs are very small although the spin-1/2 Heisenberg calculations show that a pure spin system in this geometry will not have vanishing spin-gap. The charge density rearrangement in the one-photon excited state is most at the aza nitrogen site and at the meso carbon sites. In the two-photon states also the charge density rearrangement occurs mostly at the aza-ring sites. The bond order changes in these states is much more striking. In the one-photon state, the C-C bond length in the aza rings show a tendency to become uniform. Similar qualitative trend is also observed for the two-photon state. In chapter 6, we study linear and nonlinear optical properties of two push-pull polyenes stacked in head to head (HtH) and head to tail con gurations (HtT), at different stacking angles, exactly within the PPP model. Varying the stacking angle between polyenes, we nd that the optical gap varies slightly, but transition dipoles show large variation. The dominant component of first-order hyperpolarizability, βxxx for HtH and βyyy for HtT arrangement strongly depend on the distance between molecules. The βxxx for HtH configuration shows a maximum at a nonzero stacking angle, which varies with inter polyene distance. ZINDO study on two monomers, (4-hydroxy-40-nitro-azobenzene) connected by a conjugated bridge shows that βav is more than twice the monomer value and with a red-shift in the optical gap. In chapter 7, we have calculated the shifts in optical gaps and band edges as a function of the distance between two monomers within a correlated PPP model Hamiltonian for various stacking geometries. We have used as model monomers, both unsubstituted polyenes and push-pull substituted polyenes. We have carried out calculations with and without inter-chain hopping between sites on different molecules. We note that in the absence of inter-chain hopping, the energy level shifts are almost independent of the distances between the chains in all stacking geometries. It is also interesting to note that only electron-electron interactions yield a blue shift in the optical gaps for parallel stacking, but red shift in the gap for all other stacking geometries. We note that most of the shift in the gap is due to shifts in the excited state energy and the ground-state energy remains almost the same. With interchain transfer the shift in the optical gap increases with decrease in the interchain distance. We observe red-shifts in parallel stacking geometry when inter-chain electron hopping is turned on, at small interchain separations. In general interchain hopping increases significantly the red shift in the optical gaps for all geometries. Even for push-pull polyenes of | e| =2.0 eV, we observe the same trend in the shift in the optical gap for various stacking geometries. In this case the shift in optical gap is an order of magnitude higher when interchain hopping is turned on compared to that in the absence of interchain hopping. We find that the optical gap shifts are largest for the parallel stacking geometry, and it also shows stronger distance dependence. This is in close conformity with experimental observation of red-shift in absorption maxima when hydrostatic pressure is applied on the system. The shift in the HOMO (LUMO) level is small in the absence of t?, and the largest shift is in the case of parallel stacking compared to other stacking geometries. The distance dependence of the HOMO shifts is also rather weak. When t? is turned on, the level shifts become large by a factor of five or more. When we have push-pull groups electron-hole symmetry is broken and the shift is different for the HOMO and the LUMO level. Depending upon stacking geometry, the HOMO shifts vary from 0:1 ~ eV to 0.3 eV, which is larger than the shifts observed in unsubstituted polyenes. This large shift in the LUMO reduces the efficiency of exciton dissociation.

This project was a test of concept for an external heating system for Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 3D printers. To goal of the heating system was to prevent or mitigate delamination and warping in BAAM FDM prints by propelling warm air onto printed layers while not interfering with prior functions of the 3D printer.

Dans le domaine du spatial, des sources laser à forte puissance sont déjà employées dans le cadre d’activités scientifiques. On peut citer par exemple l’analyse à distance de la composition chimique des roches sur Mars par LIBS (Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) et le sondage atmosphérique par Lidar (Light Detection And Ranging) pour l’amélioration des prédictions météorologiques. Cependant l’endommagement laser (LID) et la contamination induite par laser (LIC) sur les composants optiques des systèmes demeurent des risques difficiles à anticiper. En ce qui concerne la LIC, l’interaction du flux laser avec les optiques de l’instrument en orbite peut provoquer des dégradations irréversibles, liées à la création de dépôts organiques absorbants qui peuvent induire des endommagements laser dans le temps. L’effet LIC reste donc aujourd’hui un obstacle au développement de sources laser de puissance pour les applications sans maintenance possible et possédant des durées de vie raisonnables. Une étude paramétrique de l’effet LIC est proposée dans cette thèse afin de progresser dans la compréhension des mécanismes mis en jeu / Since their first implementation in satellite systems, lasers have proven to be very versatile devices in space applications. They are key components of a variety of space-based instruments performing altimetry, light detection and ranging, laser sensing, and laser communication. However, laser induced damage (LID) and laser-induced contamination (LIC) of optical surfaces are a major failure risk for space-bound laser instruments. Regarding the LIC effect, the interaction of the laser with slight traces of organic compounds on the optical surface leads to the formation of a highly absorbing nanometric deposit on the laser footprint. Under certain conditions, this deposit may cause laser induced damage. Today, mainly the LIC effect remains an obstacle for the development of reliable and long-living spaceborne lasers. A parametric study concerning this effect was carried out in this work in order to enhance our understanding of the various mechanisms involved

<div>The work discussed in this document seeks to integrate conductive additives with energetic material systems to offer an alternative source of ignition for the energetic material. By utilizing the conductive properties of the additives, ohmic heating may serve as a method for preheating and igniting an energetic material. This would allow for controlled ignition of the energetic material without the use of a traditional ignition source, and could also result in easier system fabrication.</div><div>For ohmic heating to be a viable method of preheating or igniting these conductive energetic materials, there cannot be significant impact on the energetic properties of the energetic materials. Various mass solids loadings of graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) were mixed with a reactive mixture of aluminum (Al)/polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) to test if ohmic heating ignition was feasible and to inspect the impact that these loadings had on the energetic properties of the Al/PVDF. Results showed that while ohmic heating was a plausible method for igniting the conductive energetic samples, the addition of GNPs degraded the energetic properties of the Al/PVDF. The severity of this degradation was minimized at lower solids loadings of GNPs, but this consequently resulted in larger voltage input requirements to ignite the conductive energetic material. This was attributable to the decreased conductivities of the samples at lower solids loading of GNPs.</div><div>In hopes of conserving the energetic properties of the Al/PVDF while integrating the conductive additives, additive manufacturing techniques, more specifically fused filament fabrication, was used to print two distinct materials, Al/PVDF and a conductive composite, into singular parts. A CraftBot 3 was used to selectively deposit Conductive Graphene PLA (Black Magic) filament with a reactive filament comprised of a PVDF binder with 20% mass solids loadings of aluminum. Various amounts of voltage were applied to these conductive energetic samples to quantify the time to ignition of the Al/PVDF as the applied voltage increased. A negative correlation was discovered between the applied voltage and time to ignition. This result was imperative for demonstrating that the reaction rate could be influenced with the application of higher applied voltages.</div><div>Fused filament fabrication was also used to demonstrate the scalability of the dual printed conductive energetic materials. A flexural test specimen made of the Al/PVDF was printed with an embedded strain gauge made of the Black Magic filament. This printed strain gauge was tested for dual purposes: as an igniter and as a strain sensor, demonstrating the multi-functional use of integrating conductive additives with energetic materials.</div><div>In all, the experiments in this document lay a foundation for utilizing conductive additives with energetic materials to offer an alternative form of ignition. Going forward, ohmic heating ignition may serve as a replacement to current, outdated methods of ignition for heat sensitive energetic materials.</div>

The goal of the present dissertation is to develop and apply novel and systematic data-driven optimization approaches that can efficiently optimize Additive Manufacturing (AM) systems with respect to targeted properties of final parts. The proposed approaches are capable of achieving sets of process parameters that result in the satisfactory level of part quality in an accelerated manner. First, an Accelerated Process Optimization (APO) methodology is developed to optimize an individual scalar property of parts. The APO leverages data from similar—but non-identical—prior studies to accelerate sequential experimentation for optimizing the AM system in the current study. Using Bayesian updating, the APO characterizes and updates the difference between prior and current experimental studies. The APO accounts for the differences in experimental conditions and utilizes prior data to facilitate the optimization procedure in the current study. The efficiency and robustness of the APO is tested against an extensive simulation studies and a real-world case study for optimizing relative density of stainless steel parts fabricated by a Selective Laser Melting (SLM) system. Then, we extend the idea behind the APO in order to handle multi-objective process optimization problems in which some of the characteristics of the AMabricated parts are uncorrelated. The proposed Multi-objective Process Optimization (m-APO) breaks down the master multi-objective optimization problem into a series of convex combinations of single-objective sub-problems. The m-APO maps and scales experimental data from previous sub-problems to guide remaining sub-problems that improve the solutions while reducing the number of experiments required. The robustness and efficiency of the m-APO is verified by conducting a series of challenging simulation studies and a real-world case study to minimize geometric inaccuracy of parts fabricated by a Fused Filament Fabrication () system. At the end, we apply the proposed m-APO to maximize the mechanical properties of AMabricated parts that show conflicting behavior in the optimal window, namely relative density and elongation-toailure. Numerical studies show that the m-APO can achieve the best trade-off among conflicting mechanical properties while significantly reducing the number of experimental runs compared with existing methods.