In this thesis, two FPGA testbeds to demonstrate low-latency deterministic Guaranteed- Rate (GR) connections in packet switched networks such as the Internet of Things are developed. Each FPGA testbed consists of multiple simple Input Queued (IQ) switches or routers, interconnected in a given topology to form a forwarding-plane. Each switch has an associated switch controller with several programmable Lookup- Tables (LUTs). A Software Defined Networking (SDN) control plane can configure the switch controllers to establish the GR connections in the forwarding-plane of IP routers or layer- 2 packet switches. According to a recent paper in the IEEE Transactions on Networking; (1) The use of very low jitter GR connections can reduce queuing delays to negligible values, so that the end-to-end delays can be reduced to the buffer latency. (2) The routers, switches and links can operate at 100% loads, while simultaneously guaranteeing very low end- to-end latencies. The goal of the thesis is to evaluate these properties in real hardware clocked at MegaHertz clock rates. In the first testbed, a network of 8 simple IQ switches organized in a linear array is synthesized on an Altera Cyclone IV FPGA. 128 GR traffic flows were routed through the testbed to effectively saturate the switches and links. In the second testbed, a USA backbone topology with 26 simple IQ switches and 88 links is synthesized on the FPGA. Over 300 GR traffic flows were routed through the USA network to achieve utilizations exceeding 90%. In both testbeds, packets move through the forwarding plane at a clock rate of 65 MHz, transferring millions of packets per second, and statistics are recorded. Both testbeds con rm that traffic flows achieve deterministic GR service with minimum buffering, where end-to-end delays are effectively reduced to the fiber latency. These hardware testbeds demonstrate the technical feasibility of achieving deterministic GR services in a packet-switched network such as Internet of Things using simple FPGA switch controllers working with an SDN control plane. The technology also applies to networks of simple optical packet switches with minimal buffering. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

Customers are placing ever increasing demands on automotive part manufacturers for high quality parts at low cost. Increasingly, the demand is for zero defects or defect rates in the less than one part per billion. This creates a significant challenge for manufacturers as to how to achieve these low defect levels economically while producing large volumes of parts. Importantly, the presence of infrequent process and measurement (gauge) events can adversely affect product quality. This thesis uses a statistical mixture model that allows one to assume a main production process that occurs most of the time, and secondary rogue events that occur infrequently. Often the rogue events correspond to necessary operator activity, like equipment repairs and tooling replacement. The mixture model predicts that some gauge observations will be influenced by combinations of these rogue events. Certain production applications, like those involving feedback or high-reliability gauging, are heavily influenced by rogue events and combinations of rogue events. A special runtime software profiler was created to collect information about rogue events, and statistical techniques (rogue event analysis) were used to estimate the waste generated by these rogue events. The value of these techniques was successfully demonstrated in three different industrial automotive part production applications. Two of these systems involve an automated feedback application with Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) machining centers and Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM) gauges. The third application involves a high-reliability inspection system that used optical, camera-based, machine-vision technology. The original system accepted reject parts at a rate of 98.7 part per million (ppm), despite multiple levels of redundancy. The final system showed no outgoing defects on a 1 million part factory data sample, and a 100 million part simulated data sample. It is expected that the final system reliability will meet the 0.001 ppm specification, which represents a huge improvement. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This study analyses the ways in which gender relations are expressed and articulated through the use of folk proverbs amongst Pashto-speaking people of Pakistan. Previous work on Pashto proverbs have romanticised proverbs as a cultural asset and a source of Pashtun pride and ethnic identity, and most studies have aimed to promote or preserve folk proverbs. However, there is little recognition in previous literature of the sexist and gendered role of proverbs in Pashtun society. This study argues that Pashto proverbs encode and promote a patriarchal view and sexist ideology, demonstrating this with the help of proverbs as text as well as proverbs performance in context by Pashto speakers. The analysis is based on more than 500 proverbs relating to gender, collected from both published sources and through ethnographic fieldwork in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Qualitative data was collected through 40 interviews conducted with Pashto-speaking men and women of various ages and class/educational backgrounds, along with informal discussions with local people and the personal observations of the researcher. The study is informed by a combination of theoretical approaches including folkloristics, feminist sociology and sociolinguistics. While establishing that patriarchal structures and values are transmitted through proverbs, the study also reveals that proverbs’ meanings and messages are context-bound and women may, therefore, use proverbs in order to discuss, contest and (sometimes) undermine gender ideologies. More specifically, it is argued that: (1) Proverbs as ‘wisdom texts’ represent the viewpoint of those having the authority to define proper and improper behaviour, and as such, rather than objective reality represent a partial and partisan reality which, in the context of the present research, is sexist and misogynist. (2) While proverbs as ‘texts’ seem to present a more fixed view of reality, proverbs as ‘performance in context’ suggest that different speakers may use proverbs for different strategic purposes, such as to establish and negotiate ethnic and gendered identities and power which varies on the basis of gender, age, ethnicity, and class of the interlocutors. The thesis concludes that, rather than considering folk proverbs as ‘factual’ and ‘valuable’ sources of cultural expression, scholars should pay more attention to their ‘performatory’, ‘derogatory’ and ‘declaratory’ aspects as these often relegate women (and ‘other’, weaker groups) to a lesser position in society.

This doctoral submission represents over ten years of focused research that has resulted in a unique collection of academic and professional articles. The epithet "unique" is adopted to reflect that over those years this area of study has been relatively untouched by other academic researchers. This submission presents a total of eight academic and seven professional journal publications that chronicle the major output of numerous research projects undertaken between 1992 and 2002. The publications adhere to a central aim - to investigate the practical use and complex interactions between stakeholders of the individual insolvency rescue vehicle the Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA). The research projects employed a variety of relevant methodologies to populate an emerging conceptual model of the prime factors affecting the incidence, usage and outcomes of IVA cases. The first five articles report and develop the data collected during the various projects. The articles build on each other, analysing results and comparing these with previous studies to underline reliability in the data. The final three articles draw threads from the research data and develop the conceptual model further. As a research progression this submission contains all of the necessary ingredients of a doctoral thesis. It focuses on a discrete body of knowledge, builds on a conceptual model, gathers valuable data and tests it, draws strong conclusions and, finally, establishes and contributes new theory in this area of study.

L'axe hypothalamo-hypophyso-surrénalien (HPA) permet de maintenir l'homéostasie de l'organisme face à divers stress. Qu'ils soient de nature psychologique, physique ou inflammatoire/infectieux, les stress provoquent la synthèse et la libération de CRH par l'hypothalamus. Les cellules corticotropes hypophysaires perçoivent ce signal et en réaction, produisent et sécrètent l'ACTH. Ceci induit la synthèse des glucocorticoïdes (Gc) par le cortex surrénalien; ces stéroïdes mettent le système métabolique en état d’alerte pour la réponse au stress et à l’agression. Les Gc ont le rôle essentiel de contrôler les défenses de l'organisme, en plus d'exercer une rétro-inhibition sur l'axe HPA. L'ACTH est une petite hormone peptidique produite par le clivage d'un précurseur: la pro-opiomélanocortine (POMC). À cause de sa position critique dans la normalisation de l'homéostasie, le contrôle transcriptionnel du gène Pomc a fait l'objet d'études approfondies au cours des dernières décennies. Nous savons maintenant que la région promotrice du gène Pomc permet une expression ciblée dans les cellules POMC hypophysaires. L'étude du locus Pomc par des technologies génomiques m'a permis de découvrir un nouvel élément de régulation qui est conservé à travers l'évolution des mammifères. La caractérisation de cet enhancer a démontré qu'il dirige une expression restreinte à l'hypophyse, et plus particulièrement dans les cellules corticotropes. De façon intéressante, l'activité de cet élément dépend d'un nouveau site de liaison recrutant un homodimère du facteur de transcription Tpit, dont l'expression est également limitée aux cellules POMC de l'hypophyse. La découverte de cet enhancer ajoute une toute nouvelle dimension à la régulation de l'expression de POMC. Les cytokines pro-inflammatoires IL6/LIF et les Gc sont connus pour leur antagonisme sur la réaction inflammatoire et sur le promoteur Pomc via l'action des facteurs de transcription Stat3 et GR respectivement. L'analyse génomique des sites liés ii par ces deux facteurs nous a révélé une interrelation complexe et a permis de définir un code transcriptionnel entre ces voies de signalisation. En plus de leur action par interaction directe avec l’ADN au niveau des séquences régulatrices, ces facteurs interagissent directement entre eux avec des résultats transcriptionnels différents. Ainsi, le recrutement de GR par contact protéine:protéine (tethering) sur Stat3 étant lié à l'ADN provoque un antagonisme transcriptionnel. Inversement, le tethering de Stat3 sur GR supporte une action synergique, tout comme leur co-recrutement à l'ADN sur des sites contigus ou composites. Lors d'une activation soutenue, ce synergisme entre les voies IL6/LIF et Gc induit une réponse innée de défense cellulaire. Ainsi lors d'un stress majeur, ce mécanisme de défense est mis en branle dans toutes les cellules et tissus. En somme, les travaux présentés dans cette thèse définissent les mécanismes transcriptionnels engagés dans le combat de l'organisme contre les stress. Plus particulièrement, ces mécanismes ont été décrits au niveau de la réponse globale des corticotropes et du gène Pomc. Il est essentiel pour l'organisme d'induire adéquatement ces mécanismes afin de faire face aux stress et d'éviter des dérèglements comme les maladies inflammatoires et métaboliques. / The hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis regulates homeostasis in various conditions of stress contributing to both the stress response and its termination. Psychological, physical or inflammatory/infectious stresses all prompt the synthesis and secretion of hypothalamic CRH. The pituitary corticotrope cells receive this signal and in turn, secrete ACTH which triggers the synthesis of glucocorticoids (Gc) by the adrenal cortex; these steroids induce a general state of alertness in order to fight or flight aggressions and stresses. Glucocorticoids have the critical role to restrict the stress response by exerting a negative feedback on the HPA axis. ACTH is a small peptidic hormone produced after cleavage of a precursor protein: pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC). Due to its critical role in homeostasis, transcriptional control of the Pomc gene has been intensely studied during the last decades. Previous investigations identified a promoter region that is sufficient for expression of Pomc in the appropriate pituitary cells. Genome-wide studies of the Pomc locus led me to discover a novel regulatory element that is conserved throughout mammalian evolution. The activity of this enhancer is restricted to the pituitary, and more precisely to the corticotrope lineage. Interestingly, its activity depends on a novel transcription factor binding motif that binds homodimers of Tpit, a transcription factor that is only found in pituitary POMC cells. The discovery of this enhancer adds a new dimension in the control of pituitary Pomc expression. The IL6/LIF pro-inflammatory cytokines and the glucocorticoids are well known for their antagonism in control of the inflammatory response; at the Pomc promoter, their action is mediated by the transcription factors Stat3 and GR, respectively. The analysis of genomic sites bound by these two factors revealed a complex relationship and led us to define a transcription regulatory code linking these signalling pathways. In addition to their direct DNA interaction with cognate regulatory sequences, these factors iv interact with each other with different outcomes. Thus, the recruitment of GR on DNAbound Stat3 through protein:protein contacts (tethering) results in transcriptional antagonism. Conversely, Stat3 tethering to GR produces synergism; this is also the case when the two factors are co-recruited to DNA on contiguous or composite binding sites. Prolonged activation of the IL6/LIF and Gc pathways elicits a synergistic innate cell defense response in all cells and tissues. In summary, this doctoral work has defined transcriptional mechanisms that mediate and control the stress response. In particular, pituitary components of the stress response were defined at the level of the Pomc gene and as a global response of corticotrope cells. This response is critical for appropriate organism defense during stresses such as those produced in inflammatory and metabolic diseases.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-14T13:47:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 422098.pdf: 5873789 bytes, checksum: a4b97d85a9bdfa827978c4ffedf7530b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-03-04 / A presente disserta??o pretende tecer considera??es sobre a coluna Garotas (1938-1964) da revista O Cruzeiro (1928-1974) no per?odo compreendido entre 1950 e 1964. Pretende, em especial, tecer suas tramas narrativas sob a quest?o da civilidade e da imagem na coluna estudada. A coluna, assinada pelo ilustrador e figurinista mineiro Alceu de Paula Penna, circulou em uma das revistas brasileiras mais emblem?ticas de meados do s?culo XX. Foram 2 p?ginas que ocuparam a revista semanal de Assis Chateaubriand por ininterruptos 28 anos, de 1938 at? 1964. O presente estudo se prop?e analisar como atrav?s da arte gr?fica da coluna Garotas se viabiliza a circula??o de normas e preceitos de civilidade para jovens mulheres consideradas urbanas, modernas e ousadas no Brasil das d?cadas de 1950 e 1960.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-14T13:48:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 456950.pdf: 3815036 bytes, checksum: b2d507a041671d2b24cf76d29e8ee1c5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-26 / Before becoming the most practiced sport of the present day, football experienced a broad and complex process of spatial diffusion, coming from Victorian England towards the most diverse regions of the planet. Characterized as a sport of the elite, it arrives in Brazil in this same condition, however it experiences in Rio Grande do Sul a unique "appropriation". Pointing out the differences in origin in comparison with the rest of the country, this work focuses on the particularity that was historically translated as a "construction of national identity," which in the south of Brazil also emerges by the hands of the elite, who was composed of teutos immigrants. At the same time the sport is rapidly absorbed by a portion of the city s black community. The outcome of this research unveiled the importance of the black ethnicity, which combined with the elite and the large number of immigrants, introduces a type of football to Porto Alegre with an important role in the process of ideological identification. This process turns football players into representative symbols of social groups. It has also been concluded as a historical product, that there has been a new existent relationship of identification between the spectators and their clubs, giving birth to supporters. In this sphere, Gremio and Internacional are born, an event which will later be appropriated by the capitalist system, taking this "passion" and turning it into a commodity. For its feasibility the research points to the necessity of a broad debate about the suitability of football in the business world, while suggesting in this context the role of historians. This role should not be to legitimize fabricated traditions, but rather to provoke a critical analysis of this highly popular sport, avoiding the subterfuge of shallow narratives and allowing the chronicle to exceed its limits. / Antes de tornar-se a modalidade esportiva mais praticada na atualidade, o futebol vivenciou um amplo e complexo processo de difus?o espacial, partindo da Inglaterra vitoriana em dire??o ?s mais diversas regi?es do planeta. Caracterizado como atividade da elite, chega ao Brasil nessa mesma condi??o, todavia experimenta no Rio Grande do Sul uma apropria??o singular. Pontuando as diferen?as de origem com o resto do pa?s, o trabalho privilegia a especificidade que se traduziu historicamente como uma constru??o de identidade nacional, e que, no sul, chega tamb?m pelas m?os da elite, que, por sua vez, era composta por imigrantes teutos, ao mesmo tempo em que a modalidade ? rapidamente absorvida por uma parcela da comunidade negra da cidade. Os resultados que emergiram, desvelaram a import?ncia da etnia negra, que agregada ? elite e ao grande contingente de imigrantes, inaugura um futebol em Porto Alegre com important?ssimo papel no processo de identifica??o ideol?gica, que transforma jogadores em representantes simb?licos de grupos sociais. Tamb?m concluiu-se existir, como produto hist?rico, uma rela??o nascente de identifica??o dos espectadores com os clubes nascendo portanto os torcedores. Neste universo, emergem Gr?mio e Internacional, fato que ser? apropriado pelo sistema capitalista, tomando essa paix?o e mercantilizando suas express?es. Para sua viabilidade, a pesquisa aponta para a necessidade de um amplo debate sobre uma adequa??o do futebol ao mundo dos neg?cios, ao mesmo tempo em que sugere, nesse contexto, o papel de vigil?ncia do historiador para n?o legitimar mais tradi??es inventadas. Antes disso, deve provocar uma reflex?o cr?tica desse esporte t?o popular, escapando do subterf?gio, da cr?nica, possibilitando a ultrapassagem dos limites da narra??o.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-14T14:12:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 410371.pdf: 291609 bytes, checksum: 9db05db9800f5fe52adc6510de664a34 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-01-06 / A presente pesquisa tem por objetivo investigar a constru??o do conceito de fun??o e as perspectivas atuais para a aprendizagem desse conte?do. A investiga??o ? feita por meio de uma an?lise da constru??o hist?rica do conceito, analisando a import?ncia das representa??es nesse processo, para, a seguir, serem investigadas concep??es atuais em Educa??o Matem?tica que abordam a aprendizagem de fun??es. S?o estudados, nesse sentido, conceitos relacionados ? Did?tica Francesa, em especial, a Teoria dos Registros de Representa??o Semi?tica, desenvolvida por Raymond Duval, e as id?ias propostas por estudiosos oriundos do grupo de pesquisa de Psicologia da Educa??o Matem?tica, relacionadas ao Sentido das Representa??es, com aten??o destacada ao Sentido do S?mbolo e ao Sentido do Gr?fico. A partir dessas an?lises, s?o discutidas as concep??es emergentes da investiga??o, confrontando as teorias das diferentes vertentes estudadas e as informa??es hist?ricas levantadas, para, ent?o, propor id?ias para o ensino e aprendizagem do conceito de fun??o, fundamentadas nas suas diversas formas de representa??o e suas implica??es

Submitted by Jadson Francisco de Jesus SILVA (jadson@uefs.br) on 2018-07-11T22:03:00Z No. of bitstreams: 1 MARIANA CHAVES - Dissertacao Mariana Chaves_ DEFINITIVA.pdf: 1571122 bytes, checksum: 655c891bef9d1aa8432a75b67d4a75e7 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-11T22:03:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MARIANA CHAVES - Dissertacao Mariana Chaves_ DEFINITIVA.pdf: 1571122 bytes, checksum: 655c891bef9d1aa8432a75b67d4a75e7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-09-29 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior - CAPES / Physalis angulata L. (Solanaceae) is a traditional medicinal species that can be found all over Brazil. The medicinal utility attributed derives from the production of complex substances of pharmacological interest as: vitaesteroids, fisalinas, flavonoids, steroids, fatty acids, carotenoids, ascorbic acid and alkaloids. For pharmaceutical production, the pharmaceutical industry requires a large amount of raw material, which would be very expensive and would generate significant impacts on the natural environment. In this way, it is necessary to develop breeding programs aimed at medicinal plants, in order to ensure the industrial production of special metabolites. In order to initiate the genetic improvement of a species it is necessary to obtain accurate information on several fundamental questions and one of them is the reproductive system. In this sense, the objective of this work was to carry out a study on the reproductive system of Physalis angulata, identifying the preferential crossing system through experiments of controlled pollinations, viability tests and pollen grain germination and floral visitors observations. All variables evaluated to estimate the preferential cross-breeding system of P. angulata indicated that this is a self-compatible species, and according to the egg pollen ratio it presents a facultative autogamous system. The dyes used to estimate pollen viability did not differ statistically. The pollen viability was high using the colorimetric method, however, there was no germination of the pollen tubes using the in vitro germination method, and further studies and adjustments of the culture medium were necessary. The hour factor influenced the viability of the pollen grains and reached 96% at 14 hours using the tetrazolium dye. The anthesis of the flowers of P. angulata lasted on average two days, they began the opening at 6 in the morning and the closure began at 14 o'clock in the field conditions; on the second day they reopen and close at the same time. In a greenhouse, the flowers opened at the same time, but the closure occurred around 5 pm and reopened the next day. The most frequent insects were of the order Hymenoptera (Apis mell?fera). / Physalis angulata L. (Solanaceae) ? uma esp?cie medicinal tradicional podendo ser encontrada em todo o territ?rio brasileiro. A utilidade medicinal atribu?da decorre da produ??o de subst?ncias complexas de interesse farmacol?gico como: vitaester?ides, fisalinas, flavon?ides, ester?ides, ?cidos graxos, caroten?ides, ?cido asc?rbico e alcal?ides. Para a produ??o de f?rmacos, a ind?stria farmac?utica requer uma grande quantidade de mat?ria-prima, o que seria muito dispendioso e geraria impactos expressivos no ambiente natural. Desse modo, faz-se necess?rio o desenvolvimento de programas de melhoramento voltados para plantas medicinais, visando assegurar a produ??o industrial de metab?licos especiais. Para iniciar o melhoramento gen?tico de uma esp?cie ? necess?rio obter informa??es precisas sobre v?rias quest?es fundamentais e uma delas ? o sistema reprodutivo. Nesse sentido, o objetivo desse trabalho foi realizar um estudo sobre o sistema reprodutivo de Physalis angulata, identificando o sistema de cruzamento preferencial por meio de experimentos de poliniza??es controladas, testes de viabilidade e germinabilidade dos gr?os de p?len e observa??es dos visitantes florais. Todas as vari?veis avaliadas para estimar o sistema preferencial de cruzamento de P. angulata indicaram que se trata de uma esp?cie auto-compat?vel, e segundo a rela??o p?len ?vulo apresenta um sistema aut?gamo facultativo. Os corantes utilizados para estimar a viabilidade pol?nica n?o diferiram estatisticamente. A viabilidade pol?nica foi alta utilizando o m?todo colorim?trico, entretanto n?o houve germina??o dos tubos pol?nicos utilizando o m?todo de germina??o in vitro, sendo necess?rios mais estudos e ajustes dos meios de cultura. O fator hora influenciou a viabilidade dos gr?os de p?len e alcan?ou 96% ?s 14 horas utilizando o corante tetraz?lio. A antese das flores de P. angulata durou em m?dia dois dias, iniciaram a abertura ?s 6 da manh? e o encerramento iniciou ?s 14 horas em condi??es de campo; no segundo dia reabrem e fecham no mesmo hor?rio. Em casa de vegeta??o, as flores abriram no mesmo hor?rio, mas o fechamento ocorreu por volta das 17 horas e reabriram no dia seguinte. Os insetos visitantes mais frequentes foram da ordem Hymenoptera (Apis mell?fera).

The thesis regards the extraordinary power of Sappho in the 1860s as resulting in a form of “Sapphic Possession” which laid hold on Swinburne, shaped his verse, produced a provocative new poetics, and which accounted for a critical reception of his work that was both hostile and enthralled. Using biographical material and Freudian psychology, I show how Swinburne became attracted to Sappho and came to rely on her as a substitute mistress and particular kind of muse, and I demonstrate the pre-eminence of the Sapphic presence in Poems and Ballads: 1, as a dominant female muse who exacts peculiar sacrifices from the poet of subjection, necrophilia, and even a form of “death” in the loss of his own personality; as a result, he is finally reduced to acting as the muse’s mouthpiece, a state akin to that of Pythia or Sibyl. Verse written under such duress instigates a new poetics where the demands and constructs of the muse produce a sublime composed of aberrance, fracture and the darkness of myth. To explicate this argument I read Poems and Ballads: 1 through carnival, a form of Bacchanal or Sapphic Komos which has the effect of blurring the boundaries between life and lyric, and which demands a joyous and reciprocal response from its readers, in which they must acknowledge their own attraction to the Sapphic sublime.