Η διάδοση της χρήσης των υπολογιστών σε όλο και περισσότερους τομείς της καθημερινής μας ζωής, καθώς και η τεχνολογική εξέλιξη στην επιστήμη των υπολογιστών είχε σαν φυσικό επακόλουθο τη δημιουργία αλγορίθμων που έχουν στόχο την ανίχνευση και την αναγνώριση ανθρώπων με ακρίβεια καθώς και την παρακολούθηση τους. Τέτοιοι αλγόριθμοι εφαρμόζονται κυρίως σε συστήματα οπτικής επιτήρησης που είναι ζωτικής σημασίας σε διάφορους τομείς της καθημερινότητας. Αντικείμενο της παρούσας διπλωματικής εργασίας είναι η υλοποίηση ενός συστήματος ανίχνευσης, με τη χρήση του αλγόριθμου Histogram of Oriented Gradient (HOG), ταξινόμησης με χρήση Supported Vector Machines και παρακολούθησης ανθρώπου σε ακολουθία εικόνων, με χρήση αλγορίθμων υπολογιστικής όρασης όπως είναι ο αλγόριθμος φιλτραρίσματος σωματιδίων (Particle Filtering). / The widespread use of computers in more and more areas of our everyday life and the technological development in computer science as a natural consequence was the creation of algorithms that aim to detect and identify people accurately and monitor them. Such algorithms, are applied mainly in visual surveillance systems and is of vital importance in various areas of everyday life. The subject of this thesis is to implement a detection system using the algorithm Histogram of Oriented Gradient (HOG) as well, sort using Supported Vector Machines and the human tracking in image sequence, using computer vision algorithms such as Particle Filtering algorithm.

Freshwater lake ecosystems often exhibit strong oxygen, and temperature gradients across which many zooplankton species live. Daphnia sp. vary in their ability to up-regulate hemoglobin in response to low oxygen environments. However; the role that hemoglobin up-regulation plays in diel vertical migration, and how it might mediate coexistence of Daphnia within lakes is still unclear. Using an oligotrophic lake in Ontario, I studied three distinct phenotypes of Daphnia pulicaria, which differed in the ability to up-regulate hemoglobin (classified as red, pink, and pale). Twenty-four hour surveys were conducted during the fall of 2012 and samples were drawn at 1m intervals to monitor changes in diel vertical migration. At each 1m interval Daphnia were color indexed, photographed, and preserved for genetic analysis using cellulose acetate electrophoresis. Red and pink Daphnia showed little change in distribution over the water column through time, suggesting individuals experienced little vertical migration. Pale individuals showed strong changes in vertical distribution through time suggesting vertical migration. The phenotypes are strongly correlated with multi-locus genotypes, suggesting genetic differences in migration behavior. Mesocosm experiments were used to manipulate migration over heterogeneous environments to test the hypothesis that vertical migration impacts genetic and phenotypic diversity in Daphnia pulicaria. The first mesocosm experiment contained two treatment groups; a migrating and non-migrating treatment containing the three phenotypes. The migrating treatment permitted unrestricted movement throughout the water column, and the non-migrating treatment restricted Daphnia to discrete 1m intervals. The second mesocosm experiment comprised two non-migrating treatments; red non-migrating and pale non-migrating. Results from the first set of mesocosm experiments indicate decreased genetic and phenotypic diversity in the migrating treatment. Shifts in hemoglobin up-regulation between pales and reds in the second mesocosm experiments suggest hemoglobin up-regulation is plastic, whereby pale, pink, and red individuals have the ability to up and down regulate hemoglobin. The differences in Daphnia migration patterns and the plastic response in hemoglobin up-regulation permits migrating genotypes to withstand low oxygen conditions. Overall implications of this study suggest that migration over a strong environmental gradient plays a key role in fostering phenotypic plasticity and genetic diversity in organisms living in heterogeneous environments. / Thesis (Master, Biology) -- Queen's University, 2014-04-08 12:07:42.757

Internal instability of a widely graded cohesionless soil refers to a phenomenon in which its finer particles migrate within the void network of its coarser particles, as a result of seepage flow. Onset of internal instability of a soil is governed by a combination of geometric and hydromechanical constraints. Much concern exists for embankment dams and levees built using soils with a potential for internal instability. Migration of finer particles to a boundary where they can exit, by washing out, may cause erosion or piping failure and, occasionally, induce collapse of these soil structures. There is a need, in professional practice, to better understand the phenomenon and to develop improved methods to evaluate the susceptibility of a soil. A series of permeameter tests was performed on six widely-graded cohesionless materials. The objectives are to assess the geometric indices proposed for evaluation of susceptibility, and examine hydromechanical factors influence the onset of internal instability. A modified slurry mixing technique, with discrete deposition, was found satisfactory for reconstitution of the homogeneous saturated test specimens. The onset of internal instability was founded to be triggered by a combination of effective stress and hydraulic gradient. The finding yields a hydromechanical envelope, unique for a particular gradation shape, at which internal instability initiated. Three commonly used geometric criteria were comprehensively evaluated with reference to these experimental data and also a database compiled from the literature. The relative conservatism of each criterion was examined and a modified semi-empirical geometric rule then proposed based on the capillary tube model. A theoretical framework for plotting the hydromechanical envelope was established based on an extension of the α concept of Skempton and Brogan, and subsequently verified by test data. Finally, a novel unified approach was proposed to assess the onset of internal instability, based on combining geometric and hydromechanical indices of a soil.

Prediction of contaminant transport and fate relies on robust delineation of hydrogeologic units (HGUs), which serve as the framework for all conceptual and numerical models. In layered sedimentary rock systems, contrasts in bulk vertical hydraulic conductivity (Kv) are expected to refract groundwater flow lines and be indicative of distinct HGUs. However, HGU delineation typically relies on data indirectly related to hydraulic properties or hydraulic data insensitive to contrasts in Kv. Flow system theory shows that the distribution of hydraulic head reflects contrasts in Kv. Therefore, depth-discrete and detailed (i.e. high resolution) hydraulic head profiles should identify contrasts in Kv in layered systems. This research develops, applies, and tests a high resolution head/vertical gradient profile approach to HGU delineation for sedimentary rock groundwater systems. First, the repeatability and characteristics of head profiles in sedimentary rocks were evaluated by collecting data from three contaminated field sites with contrasting geologic and flow system conditions. The shapes of the head profiles were reproducible in time and geometric in nature. The head profiles displayed thick zones with no or minimal vertical gradient separated by thinner zones with large vertical gradient indicating contrasts in Kv that did not coincide with lithostratigraphic units. Next, the method was applied at the plume scale to a site in Wisconsin with seven vertical gradient profiles collected along two cross-sections. The vertical gradient cross-sections revealed nine laterally extensive zones with contrasting Kv. The contrasts in Kv were closely associated with key sequence stratigraphic units and integration of the two data sets resulted in delineation of eight HGUs for the site. Last, comparison of these HGUs to the site contaminant mass and phase distributions, including detailed rock core contaminant profiles, provided additional verification for the HGU delineation and added insight regarding important flow and contaminant migration pathways. Application of the high resolution head/vertical gradient profile method at the Wisconsin site resulted in hydraulic measurement based, geologically integrated, and more accurately delineated HGUs. The revised hydrogeologic unit conceptual model will improve predictions of contaminant transport and fate and evaluation of remediation system designs.

No description available.

No description available.

Thèse numérisée par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

This project investigated the diagnosis and psychostimulant treatment rates of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Manitoba children. These rates were considered according to sex, age, socioeconomic status (SES), geographical region, and comorbidity with learning disabilities (LD) and behavioral disturbances (BD). Data came from the Manitoba Population Health Research Data Repository, a comprehensive collection of administrative, registry, survey and other databases. The research population included all children aged 0 to 19 years in Manitoba (n = 319,506) with a diagnosis of ADHD (n= 9,233), during two Fiscal years (2003/2004 and 2004/2005). The term “gradient” refers to the relationship between SES and health and emphasizes the idea that the change in outcomes is gradual and occurs across the full range of SES. Results from this study indicate that region of residence (urban versus rural) and comorbid BD moderate the SES gradient, as low income, urban dwelling children with a comorbid diagnosis of BD had the highest rates of ADHD diagnoses and prescriptions. Furthermore, whereas age did not moderate the SES gradient, the crude rates indicated that the SES gradient for ADHD diagnoses and prescriptions was most pronounced in urban children 0 to 13 years of age. Otherwise, all main effects tested (sex, age, socioeconomic status, geographical region, and comorbid BD and LD) were significant in both the diagnosis and prescription models for ADHD. Policy considerations that arise out of this study include more stringent diagnostic and prescription treatment practices, additional support resources for children who are most at risk of having ADHD, and increased information about alternate treatment implementation for ADHD.

Studies have shown that including perennial forages in cropping rotations can increase soil carbon (C) and lower nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions when compared to continuous annual cropping. Research is needed to evaluate the inclusion of a perennial forage in an annual crop rotation on net carbon dioxide (CO2) and N2O fluxes, natural and agronomic drivers of seasonal greenhouse gases (GHGs), and the possibility of using forages as a C sequestration-CO2 mitigation tool. A long-term field experiment site to determine GHG budgets for Red River Valley cropping systems in Manitoba, Canada was used. The site consisted of four plots with the same annual rotation management history. A perennial legume, alfalfa, was grown in 2008 and 2009 on two plots and spring wheat and industrial oilseed-rapeseed grown on the other two plots in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Nitrous oxide and CO2 fluxes were measured continuously using the flux gradient micrometeorological method. For the net study period, the perennial phase sequestered twice the atmospheric CO2 (2070 kg C ha-1) compared to the annual crops. The annual rotation emitted 3.5 times more N2O than the perennial legume phase. When accounting for harvest C removals and considering GHGs in CO2-equivalent (eq.), the perennial legume phase was a net sink of 5440 kg CO2-eq. ha-1 and the annual rotation was a net source of 4500 kg CO2-eq. ha-1 for the two year study period. Information gathered will help bridge missing data gaps in national emission trends and enhance development of Canadian GHG mitigation models.