Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) and Electric Vehicles (EVs) are crucial technologies for the automotive industry to meet society’s demands for cleaner, more energy efficient transportation. Meeting the need to provide power which sustains HEVs and EVs is an immediate area of concern that research and development within the automotive community must address. Electric batteries and electrical motors are the key components in HEV and EV power generation and transmission, and their performance plays very important role in the overall performance of the modern high efficiency vehicles. Therefore, in this dissertation, we are motivated to study the electric batteries, interior permanent motor (IPM), in the context of modern hybrid electric/electric drive systems, from both multi-physics and system level perspectives. Electrical circuit theory, electromagnetic Finite Element Analysis (FEA), and Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) finite volume method will be used primarily in this work. The work has total of five parts, and they are introduced in the following. Firstly, Battery thermal management design is critical in HEV and EV development. Accurate temperature distribution of the battery cells during vehicle operation is required for achieving optimized design. We propose a novel electrical-thermal battery modeling technique that couples a temperature dependent battery circuit model and a physics-based CFD model to meet this need. The electrical circuit model serves as a heat generation mechanism for the CFD model, and the CFD model provides the temperature distribution of the battery cells, which can also impact the heat generation of the electrical battery model. In this part of work, simulation data has been derived from the model respective to electrical performance of the battery as well iv as the temperature distribution simultaneously in consideration of the physical dimensions, material properties, and cooling conditions. The proposed model is validated against a battery model that couples the same electrical model with a known equivalent thermal model. Secondly, we propose an accurate system level Foster network thermal model. The parameters of the model are extracted from step responses of the CFD battery thermal model. The Foster network model and the CFD model give the same results. The Foster network can couple with battery circuit model to form an electric-thermal battery model for system simulation. Thirdly, IPM electric machines are important in high performance drive systems. During normal operations, irreversible demagnetization can occur due to temperature rise and various loading conditions. We investigate the performance of an IPM using 3d time stepping electromagnetic FEA considering magnet’s temperature dependency. Torque, flux linkage, induced voltage, inductance and saliency of the IPM will be studied in details. Finally, we use CFD to predict the non-uniform temperature distribution of the IPM machine and the impact of this distribution on motor performance. Fourthly, we will switch gear to investigate the IPM motor on the system level. A reduced order IPM model is proposed to consider the effect of demagnetization of permanent magnet due to temperature effect. The proposed model is validated by comparing its results to the FEA results. Finally, a HEV is a vehicle that has both conventional mechanical (i.e. internal combustion engine) and electrical propulsion systems. The electrical powertrain is used to work with the conventional powertrain to achieve higher fuel economy and lower emissions. v Computer based modeling and simulation techniques are therefore essential to help reduce the design cost and optimize system performance. Due to the complexity of hybrid vehicles, multidomain modeling ability is preferred for both component modeling and system simulation. We present a HEV library developed using VHDL-AMS.

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A decision support system for preventive integrated pest management (IPM) and nonpoint source (NPS) pollution control was designed, implemented and evaluated. The objective of the system was to generate plans at the farm level to satisfy economic and production goals while limiting risks of insect pest outbreaks, nitrate and pesticide leaching and runoff, and soil erosion. The system is composed of a constraint satisfaction planner (CROPS-LT), a modified version of CROPS (Stone, 1995), a farm-level resource management system (FLAME), an NPS module, which includes a weather generator, CLIGEN (Nicks et al. 1995), and an NPS distributed-parameter model, ANSWERS (Bouraoui, 1994), databases, a database engine and utility programs. The performance of the system was analyzed and performance enhancing features were added to increase the planner's ability to find near-optimal plans within a limited planning time. Using heuristics to sort potential crop rotations based on profit generally improved the planner's performance, as did removal of fields that were not suitable for growing target crops. Not surprisingly, the planner was best able to find plans for crops that can be grown in a variety of rotational systems. Throughout, the ability to apply environmental constraints selectively to individual fields greatly improved the planner's ability to find acceptable plans. Preventive IPM (PIPM) heuristics to control corn rootworms CRW (<I>Diabrotica virgifera virgifera</I> and <I>D. barberi</I>) were added to the planner. The model was represented and solved as a constraint satisfaction problem. Results indicated that plans obtained using PIPM heuristics had less risk of CRW damage, reduced chemical control costs, higher profit and reduced soil erosion as compared to a control plan. Linking the planner to the NPS model in a feedback control loop improved the planner's ability to reduce soil losses while preserving economic and production goals. / Ph. D.

Integrated pest management (IPM) is defined as an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices. Integrated pest management programs use current, comprehensive information on the life cycles of pests and their interactions with host plants and the environment. This information, in combination with available pest control methods, is used to manage pest populations by the most economical means, and with the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment. True IPM takes advantage of all appropriate pest management options including, as appropriate, the judicious use of pesticides. It is currently estimated the IPM in its full capacity is being practiced on less than ten percent of the agricultural land in the U.S. The primary objective of this research was to evaluate land management decisions and create new tools to promote a true IPM approach and encourage growers to reevaluate their method of insect control. To accomplish this I developed new predictive tools to reduce or eliminate unnecessary insecticide application intended to target cereal leaf beetle in wheat, and assessed a conservation biological control technique, farmscaping, to determine its true impact on lepidopteran pest suppression in collards. / Ph. D.

Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) of the genera Metarhizium and Beauveria are able to endophytically colonize a wide variety of plant species, providing protection against arthropod pests; besides increasing the plant development; and act as phytopathogen antagonists. The main objective of the present project was to evaluate the potential of entomopathogenic fungi as plant inoculants against the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae and the effects on plant growth promotion. Tritrophic effects were also studied, by evaluating prey consumption and feeding behavior of the predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis. The evaluated strategy has several potential benefits compared to the sole use of EPF as contact biocontrol agents, as it may control both pests and phytopathogens; be compatible with other natural enemies; provide limited exposure of fungal propagules to adverse environmental conditions, and accelerate seed emergence and plant growth. Considering this, the effects of seed inoculation using two isolates of Metarhizium robertsii and Beauveria bassiana were evaluated at University of Copenhagen, Denmark, on plant development (i.e. biomass and yield) and T. urticae population growth in a model system with bean plants under greenhouse conditions. Effects on feeding performance of P. persimilis were also studied in laboratory conditions. In Brazil, inoculation studies with EPF were conducted at ESALQ/USP with strawberry plants in greenhouse conditions and in the field in four commercial production areas of strawberries in Atibaia-SP and Senador Amaral-MG. In greenhouse studies, the effects of 15 isolates of Metarhizium spp., 5 isolates of B. bassiana and 5 of Cordyceps (= Isaria) fumosorosea were studied, whereas in the commercial area one isolate of Metarhizium and Beauveria was used. Strawberry roots were inoculated by submersion in fungal suspensions, and the population growth of spider mites, while plants development was assessed by measuring root lengths, biomass of roots and leaves, and the strawberry fruit weight. The results showed a significant reduction in T. urticae population and in general better plant development in both crops. The production of string beans and strawberry fruits were higher in inoculated plants than in non-inoculated plants. There was no difference in predation rate and feeding behavior of the predator mite P. persimilis towards T. urticae from fungal inoculated and uninoculated plants. In the commercial strawberry production areas there were significantly lower populations of T. urticae and fewer symptoms of plant diseases on plants in the fungal treated beds compared to plants in untreated beds. The results of this project bring a new perspective on the use of Metarhizium and Beauveria as plant protecting agents revealing that the use of entomopathogenic fungi as plant inoculants may be a promising strategy. / Fungos entomopatogênicos dos gêneros Metarhizium e Beauveria são capazes de colonizar endofiticamente uma ampla variedade de espécies de plantas e conferir à estas, proteção contra artrópodes pragas; além de acelerar o seu desenvolvimento; e atuar como antagonistas de fitopatógenos. O objetivo geral deste projeto foi avaliar o potencial de fungos entomopatogênicos como inoculantes contra o ácaro rajado Tetranychus urticae e seus efeitos na promoção de crescimento de plantas. O efeito tri-trófico no consumo e comportamento alimentar do ácaro predador Phytoseiulus persimilis também foi estudado. A estratégia avaliada traz vários potenciais benefícios comparado ao uso exclusivo de fungos entomopatogênicos como agentes de controle biológico de contato, como o controle duplo de pragas e fitopatógenos; compatibilidade com outros inimigos naturais; menor exposição de propágulos às condições ambientais adversas, além de acelerar a emergência de sementes e o crescimento de plantas. Diante disso, os efeitos da inoculação de sementes usando dois isolados de Metarhizium robertsii e Beauveria bassiana foram avaliados na Universidade de Copenhagen, Dinamarca, na promoção de crescimento das plantas (biomassa e produção) e no crescimento populacional de T. urticae em um sistema modelo com plantas de feijão em casa-de-vegetação. Efeitos no comportamento alimentar de P. persimilis foram também estudados em condições de laboratório. No Brasil, estudos foram conduzidos na ESALQ/USP com plantas de morangueiro em casa-de-vegetação e em quatro áreas de produção comercial de morangueiro em Atibaia-SP e Senador Amaral-MG. Nos estudos em casa-de-vegetação, os efeitos de 15 isolados de Metarhizium spp., 5 de B. bassiana e 5 de Cordyceps (= Isaria) fumosorosea foram estudados, enquanto em área comercial um isolado de Metarhizium e Beauveria foram utilizados. Raízes de morangueiro foram inoculadas por imersão em suspensões fúngicas, e foram avaliados o crescimento populacional do ácaro rajado e o desenvolvimento das plantas, quantificando o comprimento de raiz, biomassa de raiz e de parte aérea, e massa de frutos de morango. Os resultados mostraram redução significativa na população de T. urticae e em geral melhor desenvolvimento das plantas nas duas culturas. A produção de vagens em plantas de feijão e de frutos de morango foram superiores nas plantas inoculadas em relação às não inoculadas. Não se observou diferenças na taxa de predação e comportamento alimentar do ácaro predador P. persimilis quando oferecidos T. urticae provenientes de plantas inoculadas e não inoculadas. Em campo foram observadas populações significativamente menores de T. urticae e menos sintomas de doenças nas plantas inoculadas com os fungos, comparado às plantas não inoculadas. Os resultados obtidos por este projeto trazem uma nova perspectiva do uso de Metarhizium e Beauveria como agentes protetores de plantas revelando que a utilização de fungos entomopatogênicos como inoculantes pode ser uma estratégia promissora.

En raison de l'augmentation du volume et de la complexité des systèmes de transport, de nouveaux systèmes avancés d'assistance à la conduite (ADAS) sont étudiés dans de nombreuses entreprises, laboratoires et universités. Ces systèmes comprennent des algorithmes avec des techniques qui ont été étudiés au cours des dernières décennies, comme la localisation et cartographie simultanées (SLAM), détection d'obstacles, la vision stéréoscopique, etc. Grâce aux progrès de l'électronique, de la robotique et de plusieurs autres domaines, de nouveaux systèmes embarqués sont développés pour garantir la sécurité des utilisateurs de ces systèmes critiques. Pour la plupart de ces systèmes, une faible consommation d'énergie ainsi qu'une taille réduite sont nécessaires. Cela crée la contrainte d'exécuter les algorithmes sur les systèmes embarqués avec des ressources limitées. Dans la plupart des algorithmes, en particulier pour la vision par ordinateur, une grande quantité de données doivent être traitées à des fréquences élevées, ce qui exige des ressources informatiques importantes. Un FPGA satisfait cette exigence, son architecture parallèle combinée à sa faible consommation d'énergie et la souplesse pour les programmer permet de développer et d'exécuter des algorithmes plus efficacement que sur d'autres plateformes de traitement. Les composants virtuels développés dans cette thèse ont été utilisés dans trois différents projets: PICASSO (vision stéréoscopique), COMMROB (détection d'obstacles à partir d'une système multicaméra) et SART (Système d'Aide au Roulage tous Temps). / Due to the increase of traffic volume and complexity of new transport systems, new Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are a subject of research of many companies, laboratories and universities. These systems include algorithms with techniques that have been studied during the last decades like Simultaneous Lo- calization and Mapping (SLAM), obstacle detection, stereo vision, etc. Thanks to the advances in electronics, robotics and other domains, new embedded systems are being developed to guarantee the safety of the users of these critical systems. For most of these systems a low power consumption as well as reduced size is required. It creates the constraint of execute the algorithms in embedded devices with limited resources. In most of algorithms, moreover for computer vision ones, a big amount of data must be processed at high frequencies, this amount of data demands strong computing resources. FPGAs satisfy this requirement; its parallel architecture combined with its low power consumption and exibility allows developing and executing some algorithms more efficiently than any other processing platforms. In this thesis different embedded computer vision architectures intended to be used in ADAS using FPGAs are presented such as: We present the implementation of a distortion correction architecture operating at 100 Hz in two cameras simultaneously. The correction module allows also to rectify two images for implementation of stereo vision. Obstacle detection algorithms based on Inverse Perspective Mapping (IPM) and classiffication based on Color/Texture attributes are presented. The IPM transform is based in the perspective effect of a scene perceived from two different points of view. Moreover results of the detection algorithms from color/texture attributes applied on a multi-cameras system, are fused in an occupancy grid. An accelerator to apply homographies on images, is presented; this accelerator can be used for different applications like the generation of Bird's eye view or Side view. Multispectral vision is studied using both infrared images and color ones. Syn- thetic images are generated from information acquired from visible and infrared sources to provide a visual aid to the driver. Image enhancement specific for infrared images is also implemented and evaluated, based on the Contrast Lim- ited Adaptive Histogram Equalization (CLAHE). An embedded SLAM algorithm is presented with different hardware acceler- ators (point detection, landmark tracking, active search, correlation, matrix operations). All the algorithms were simulated, implemented and verified using as target FPGAs. The validation was done using development kits. A custom board integrating all the presented algorithms is presented. Virtual components developed in this thesis were used in three different projects: PICASSO (stereo vision), COMMROB (obstacle detection from a multi-cameras system) and SART (multispectral vision).

Les nanoémulsions huile dans eau (H/E) sont utilisées depuis plus de 50 ans en clinique humaine comme source de lipides en nutrition parentérale. Si cette dernière décennie a vu émerger la mise à profit de cette forme comme véhicule de substances actives lipophiles, l’utilisation des nanoémulsions comme vecteur d'agents thérapeutique ou diagnostique reste encore sous-exploitée. L’objectif de cette thèse a été le développement d'une plateforme de nanoémulsions comme vecteur alternatif aux nanosystèmes classiquement utilisés. Deux applications ont été visées : le diagnostic de la plaque vulnérable d'athérosclérose et le traitement de la maladie de Parkinson. Les nanoémulsions ont été fonctionnalisées avec des anticorps humanisés dirigés contre l’athérome et chargées avec des particules magnétiques pour servir d’agent de contraste moléculaire pour l’imagerie par résonance magnétique (IRM) et pour une nouvelle technique : l’imagerie par particules magnétique (IPM). L'efficacité du nanosystème pour le ciblage de la plaque a été démontré sur des souris athéromateuses. L’inclusion de chromophores lipophiles originaux et ultrabrillants ainsi que la possibilité d'incorporer des substances actives ont permis d’ouvrir la voie vers le développement de formulations multimodales et théranostiques. Les nanoémulsions thérapeutiques contre Parkinson ont été développées pour rétablir le pH lysosomal des neurones dopaminergiques par l'encapsulation d'un polymère (PLGA). Ce défaut d’acidification favorise la mort cellulaire par l’accumulation de déchets dans les neurones. La formulation a été optimisée pour le passage intracérébral par voie intraveineuse ou intranasale. Les résultats montrent un passage cérébral in vivo par voie intraveineuse avec une confirmation in vitro de la régénération du pH. Les perspectives de ce travail sont la poursuite de la plateforme et l'ouverture vers de nouvelles applications comme l'hyperthermie magnétique dans les cancers. / Oil in water (O/W) nanoemulsions have been used for over 50 years in human clinics as a lipids source in parenteral nutrition. Even if nanoemulsions have recently emerged as vehicles for lipophilic active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) their use as a therapeutic or diagnostic agent is still under-exploited. The objective of this Ph.D thesis was to develop an nanoemulsions platform as an alternative to conventionally used nanosystems. In this work, 2 applications have been studied: the diagnosis of vulnerable plaque in atherosclerosis, and the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Nanoemulsions have been functionalized with humanized antibody targeting atheroma and loaded with magnetic particles as molecular contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and an emerging technique: magnetic particle imaging (MPI). The successful plaque targeting has been demonstrated in atheromatous mice. The inclusion of original and ultra-bright lipophilic chromophores as well as the loading of API have paved the way to the development of multimodal and theranostic formulations. Therapeutic nanoemulsions against Parkinson’s disease have been developed to restore lysosomal pH of dopaminergic neurons with acidic polymer (PLGA). Acidification dysfunction leads to cell death due to the accumulation of waste inside neurons. The formulation has been optimized for brain delivery through intravenous or intranasal administration. The results show brain delivery in vivo trough intravenous injection associated with a pH rescue in vitro. The perspectives will focus on optimizing this platform and use it for new applications such as magnetic hyperthermia in cancers.

The New Zealand pipfruit industry has changed dramatically over the past fifteen years due to major industry restructuring and deregulation, and also due to the adoption of more environmentally sustainable growing strategies. This thesis traces the socio-political context of pesticide use in the pipfruit industry over the past ten years (couched within a hundred year trajectory), through a content and discourse analysis of appropriate print and electronic material. The content analysis addresses the ways in which pesticide use has been framed in New Zealand's fruit journal entitled The Orchardist, and tracks its promotion of the ENZA Integrated Fruit Production program that was introduced to New Zealand pipfruit growers during the summer of 1997/98. The Foucauldian discourse analysis explores how print media reflects and produces knowledge, and how such knowledge causes transformation within the pipfruit industry. Identified in the print media are several central ideologies and themes that frequently serve as conceptual frameworks for interpreting issues that arise in the pipfruit industry, the most prominent of which, is risk. Therefore, risk is the key discourse explored in this thesis. The combined content and discourse analysis signal ways in which power operates through discourse to influence ideologies, world-making and modes of production.

The rock outcrop plants are neglected group of plants, even though they include endangered or endemic species. Despite this fact, there is only a few of studies focusing at this topic. The aim of this thesis is to focus on this group of plants in terms of its population dynamics. Aurinia saxatilis ssp. saxatilis was chosen as a model species. It is a species of the Czech thermophyticum. Three populations were chosen and studied over three years. The population dynamics was compared between the populations by integral projection modelling (IPM) and matrix population modelling (MPM). The results of these two analytical approaches were compared to one another, too. The population growth rate (λ) predicts that one of the populations is stable, whereas the other two populations are declining. The highest elasticity is mostly for the seeds survival in the seed bank. The population growth rate does not differ distinctly between the two statistical approaches, IPM and MPM. In all cases the IPM λ is lower than the MPM λ. Within the IPM analysis, the influence of the substrate type was also studied. The analyses, however, did not indicate any major differences between the substrates. For maintaining the populations, it is necessary to protect the new seeds and seedling recruitment and to create the new space...