In this thesis, new methods that address some current limitations in nanoelectrospray mass spectrometry (nESI-MS) analysis are presented. One of the major objectives is the potential gain in sensitivity that can be obtained when employing the proposed techniques. In the first part of this thesis, a new emitter, based on the generation of electrospray from a spray orifice with variable size, is presented. Electrospray is generated from an open gap between the edges of two individually mounted, pointed tips. The fabrication and evaluation of two different types of such emitters is presented; an ESI emitter fabricated from polyethylene terephtalate (Paper I), and a high-precision silicon device (Paper II). Both emitters were surface-treated in a selective way for an improved wetting of the gap and to confine the sample solution into the gap. In the second part of this thesis, different methods for improved sensitivity of nESI-MS analysis have been developed. In Paper III, a method for nESI-MS analysis from discrete sample volumes down to 1.5 nL is presented, using commercially available nESI needles. When analyzing attomole amounts of analyte in such a small volume of sample, an increased sensitivity was obtained, compared to when analyzing equal amounts in conventional nESI-MS analysis. To be able to analyze smaller sample volumes, needles with a narrower orifice and a higher flow resistance were needed. This triggered the development of a new method for fabrication of fused silica nESI needles (Paper IV). The fabrication is based on melting of a fused silica capillary by means of a rotating plasma, prior to pulling the capillary into a fine tip. Using the described technique, needles with sub-micrometer orifices could be fabricated. Such needles enabled the analysis of sample volumes down to 275 pL, and a further improvement of the sensitivity was obtained. In a final project (Paper V), nESI-MS was used to study the aggregation behavior of Aβ peptides, related to Alzheimer’s disease. An immunoprecipitation followed by nESI-MS was employed. This technique was also utilized to study the selectivity of the antibodies utilized. / QC 20101112

In some classification problems where human judgments, qualitative and imprecise data exist, uncertainty comes from fuzziness rather than randomness. Limited number of fuzzy classification approaches is available for use for these classification problems to capture the effect of fuzzy uncertainty imbedded in data. The scope of this study mainly comprises two parts: new fuzzy classification approaches based on Tanaka&rsquo / s Fuzzy Linear Regression (FLR) approach, and an improvement of an existing one, Improved Fuzzy Classifier Functions (IFCF). Tanaka&rsquo / s FLR approach is a well known fuzzy regression technique used for the prediction problems including fuzzy type of uncertainty. In the first part of the study, three alternative approaches are presented, which utilize the FLR approach for a particular customer satisfaction classification problem. A comparison of their performances and their applicability in other cases are discussed. In the second part of the study, the improved IFCF method, Nonparametric Improved Fuzzy Classifier Functions (NIFCF), is presented, which proposes to use a nonparametric method, Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS), in clustering phase of the IFCF method. NIFCF method is applied on three data sets, and compared with Fuzzy Classifier Function (FCF) and Logistic Regression (LR) methods.

The conception of turbo codes by Berrou et al. has created a renewed interest in modern graph-based codes. Several encouraging results that have come to light since then have fortified the role these codes shall play as potential solutions for present and future communication problems. This work focuses on both practical and theoretical aspects of graph-based codes. The thesis can be broadly categorized into three parts. The first part of the thesis focuses on the design of practical graph-based codes of short lengths. While both low-density parity-check codes and rateless codes have been shown to be asymptotically optimal under the message-passing (MP) decoder, the performance of short-length codes from these families under MP decoding is starkly sub-optimal. This work first addresses the structural characterization of stopping sets to understand this sub-optimality. Using this characterization, a novel improved decoder that offers several orders of magnitude improvement in bit-error rates is introduced. Next, a novel scheme for the design of a good rate-compatible family of punctured codes is proposed. The second part of the thesis aims at establishing these codes as a good tool to develop reliable, energy-efficient and low-latency data dissemination schemes in networks. The problems of broadcasting in wireless multihop networks and that of unicast in delay-tolerant networks are investigated. In both cases, rateless coding is seen to offer an elegant means of achieving the goals of the chosen communication protocols. It was noticed that the ratelessness and the randomness in encoding process make this scheme specifically suited to such network applications. The final part of the thesis investigates an application of a specific class of codes called network codes to finite-buffer wired networks. This part of the work aims at establishing a framework for the theoretical study and understanding of finite-buffer networks. The proposed Markov chain-based method extends existing results to develop an iterative Markov chain-based technique for general acyclic wired networks. The framework not only estimates the capacity of such networks, but also provides a means to monitor network traffic and packet drop rates on various links of the network.

This thesis concerns with the recognition of music instruments from isolated notes. Music instrument recognition is a relatively nascent problem fast gaining importance not only because of the academic value the problem provides, but also for the potential it has in being able to realize applications like music content analysis, music transcription etc. Line spectral frequencies are proposed as features for music instrument recognition and shown to perform better than Mel filtered cepstral coefficients and linear prediction cepstral coefficients. Assuming a linear model of sound production, features based on the prediction residual, which represents the excitation signal, is proposed. Four improvements are proposed for classification using Gaussian mixture model (GMM) based classifiers. One of them involves characterizing the regions of overlap between classes in the feature space to improve classification. Applications to music instrument recognition and speaker recognition are shown. An experiment is proposed for discovering the hierarchy in music instrument in a data-driven manner. The hierarchy thus discovered closely corresponds to the hierarchy defined by musicians and experts and therefore shows that the feature space has successfully captured the required features for music instrument characterization.

This paper establishes Low-Tension-Gas (LTG) as a method for sub-miscible tertiary recovery in tight sandstone and carbonate reservoirs. The LTG process involves the use of a low foam quality surfactant-gas solution to mobilize and then displace residual crude after waterflood. It replicates the existing Alkali-Surfactant-Polymer (ASP) process in its creation of an ultra-low oil-water interfacial tension (IFT) environment for oil mobilization, but instead supplements the use of foam over polymer for mobility control. By replacing polymer with foam, chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) methods can be expanded into sub-30 mD formations where polymer is impractical due to plugging, shear, or the requirement to use a low molecular weight polymer. Overall results indicate favorable mobilization and displacement of residual crude oil in both tight carbonate and tight sandstone reservoirs. Tertiary recovery of 75-95% ROIP was achieved for cores with 2-15 mD permeability, with similar oil bank and other ASP analogous process attributes observed. Moreover, similar recovery was achieved during testing at high initial oil saturation (56%), indicating high process tolerance to oil saturation and potential application for implementation at secondary recovery. In addition, a number of tools and relations were developed to improve the predictive relationship between observed coreflood properties and actual mobilization or displacement mechanisms which impact reservoir-scale flooding. These relations include qualitative dispersion comparison and calculation of in-situ gas saturation, macroscopic mobility ratio at the displacement fronts, and apparent viscosity of injected fluids. These tools were validated through use of reference gas and surfactant floods and indicate that stable macroscopic displacement can be achieved through LTG flooding in tight formations. Furthermore, to better reflect actual reservoir conditions where localized fractional flow of gas can vary substantially depending on mixing or gravity phenomenon, two additional sets of data were developed to empirically model behavior. Through testing of LTG co-injection at a number of discrete fractional flow values over a wide range, recovery was shown to achieve a relative maximum at 50% gas fractional flow which also corresponded with optimal observed mobility control as measured by the previously established tools. Likewise, through testing of surfactant-alternating-gas (SAG) injection cycling, displacement and overall recovery were shown to be improved versus reference co-injection flooding. Finally, by comparing the observed displacement and mobility data among co-injection and surfactant-alternating-gas floods, a new displacement mechanism is introduced to better relate actual displacement conditions with observed macroscopic mobility data. This mechanism emphasizes the role of liquid rate in actual displacement processes and a mostly static gas saturation (independent of gas rate) in altering liquid relative permeability and diverting injected liquid into lower permeability zones. / text

EFI Colorproof XF was found to be more convenient from a user’s aspect, and had features which are covered in the ISO 12647-7 standard (e.g. the ability to simulate screening and print margin information), which Photoshop CS3 lacked. None of the proofing systems distinguished itself in a clear way from the other; sometimes, on certain substrates, Photoshop CS3 produced most accurate colours, sometimes EFI Colorproof XF did. Further investigations need to be carried out to tell more exactly which system produce most accurate colours. Only 6 out of 34 simulation-combinations had colours within the tolerances in the standard. The result also shows that the production substrates should not be used as proofing substrates. Instead the proofing papers especially made for ink jet should be used to obtain more colour-accurate prints.

No description available.

Une des méthodes les plus populaires et largement utilisée pour l’amélioration des sols compressibles est la technique d'inclusions rigides verticales qui constitue une alternative intéressante aux techniques plus traditionnelles telles que le pré-chargement, la mise en place de drains verticaux, le remplacement du sol en place, etc.Le Projet National ASIRI (Amélioration du Sol par Inclusions Rigides) a permis d’apporter des réponses sur le comportement de cette technique de renforcement et d’établir des recommandations de dimensionnement et de réalisation. Celui-ci comprend un volet expérimental (expérimentations en vraie grandeur, modèles physiques réduits à 1g, études en chambre d’étalonnage) et un volet numérique. Cependant, les recommandations publiées par ASIRI sont limitées aux cas de chargement monotone. Pourtant, différents cas de structures sous chargement cyclique sont couramment rencontrés dans la pratique: chargement des vagues sur les structures offshore, force du vent, charge sismique, la charge de trafic, remplissage et vidange de réservoirs, chargement et déchargement des zones de stockage… Cela nécessite alors de comprendre le comportement sous chargement cyclique et/ou dynamique de ces ouvrages.Ce travail de thèse constitue une contribution à la compréhension du comportement de ce type d’ouvrage, et s’intéresse plus particulièrement à la modélisation des mécanismes qui se développent dans le matelas de transfert de charge lors d’un chargement cyclique vertical quasi-statique. Il se fait suivant deux approches complémentaires : Expérimentale : par des essais sur un nouveau modèle physique réduit tridimensionnel à 1g et à l’échelle 1/10ème, Numérique : par la modélisation numérique tridimensionnelle en milieu continu utilisant le logiciel FLAC3D.Dans un premier temps, le travail expérimental réalisé nous a permis d’étudier le comportement de cette technique de renforcement sous chargement monotone et cyclique mettant en œuvre la méthode de corrélations d’images. La modélisation physique réalisée nous a permis d’étudier l’influence de l’épaisseur de la plateforme de transfert de charge granulaire et des conditions aux limites (cas remblai/cas dallage).Dans un deuxième temps, les résultats expérimentaux nous ont servi comme une base de données pour la validation d’un modèle numérique en milieu continu. La première étape de la modélisation numérique consiste à valider un modèle numérique à la même échelle réduite du modèle physique. La validation de l’approche de modélisation numérique à échelle réduite nous a permis, dans une deuxième étape, de réaliser une étude paramétrique afin de déterminer l’influence des différents paramètres sur le comportement du système. / One of the most popular and widely used methods for soft soil improvement is the reinforcement using vertical rigid inclusions. It constitutes an interesting alternative to the other traditional techniques such as preloading, vertical drains, replacing soil etc...The national French project ASIRI (Amélioration du Sol par Inclusions Rigides) allowed to provide answers about the behavior of this technique and to establish recommendations for design and construction. It included an experimental part (full-scale, 1g physical model experiments and calibration chamber studies) and a numerical part. However, the recommendations established by ASIRI are limited to the case of monotonic loading. Yet, various cases of structures under cyclic loading are commonly encountered in practice: waves loading on offshore structures, wind strength, seismic load, traffic load, filling and emptying of tanks, loading and unloading of storage areas... This then requires the understanding of the behavior of this technique under cyclic and/or dynamic loading.The work done in this thesis constitutes a contribution to understanding the behavior of this type of structures, and is particularly interested in modeling the mechanisms that develop in the load transfer mattress under a quasi-static vertical cyclic loading . Two complementary approaches have been followed: Experimental: by performing experimental tests using a new 1g tridimensional physical model with a scale factor of 1/10, Numerical: by performing numerical tridimensional simulations in a continuous media using the software FLAC3D.At first, the experimental work has allowed us to study the behavior of this reinforcement technique under monotonic and cyclic loading implementing the digital image correlation method. A parametric study performed with the physical modeling allowed us to study the influence of the granular load transfer platform (LTP) and the boundary conditions (presence of a rigid slab at the surface of the LTP).Secondly, the experimental results have served as a database for the validation of a numerical model in continuous medium. The first step of the numerical modeling is to validate a numerical model at the same reduced scale of the physical model. The validation of the numerical modeling approach at the reduced scale allowed us in a second step to perform a parametric study in order to determine the influence of different parameters on the behavior of the system.

La place primordiale accordée à l’apparence physique dans la société actuelle, qui est une société de «l’image», a fait de la chirurgie esthétique la pratique chirurgicale la plus répandue et réclamée. Cette pratique, d’abord considérée illicite, puis exclusivement liée à des fins thérapeutiques, fut reconnue par la jurisprudence française à la suite d’une évolution prétorienne en 1936. Les raisons d’un tel retard de reconnaissance résident dans la spécificité qui distingue la chirurgie esthétique des autres branches de la médecine chirurgicale : en effet, la chirurgie esthétique se caractérise d’une part par sa nature qui est dépourvue de toute finalité curative et qui est réalisée sur une personne jouissant d’une bonne santé et, d’autre part, par sa finalité puisqu’elle vise à réaliser une amélioration de l’apparence physique et de la morphologie de la personne concernée. Cette double spécificité distingue également la chirurgie esthétique de la chirurgie reconstructrice et réparatrice. Ces caractéristiques mêmes de la chirurgie esthétique ont exigé, de la jurisprudence, mais également du législateur français, un traitement juridique spécial du chirurgien esthétique en vue d’éviter que ce dernier ne profite de la fragilité, aussi bien physique que psychique, de la personne ayant une obsession de beauté et de perfectionnement physique dans un domaine non curatif. C’est ainsi que nous avons abordé, dans la présente étude, les points spécifiques du traitement juridique du chirurgien esthétique, tant au regard de ses obligations que de sa responsabilité. Relativement aux obligations, la spécificité de la chirurgie esthétique exige tout d’abord un devoir d’information rigoureuse de la part du praticien afin d’aboutir à un consentement préalable éclairé du patient, ce qui suppose un devis écrit contenant tous les renseignements relatifs à l’intervention. Elle exige, d’autre part, un processus préalable en trois étapes […] Pour ce qui est de la responsabilité du chirurgien esthétique, elle est également spécifique, et ce sur les plans civil et pénal : Sur le plan civil, sa spécificité a poussé la jurisprudence française, qui a réalisé son approche du point de vue de la nature de l’obligation du chirurgien esthétique, à procéder à une démarche de « mutation » des règles applicables en droit commun dans une tentative de les adapter à la spécificité de l’intervention chirurgicale esthétique et de la responsabilité du praticien qui en découle. Cependant, la démarche jurisprudentielle était inadaptée à la spécificité de la chirurgie esthétique, et a entrainé une large confusion au sein de la jurisprudence et de la doctrine ; elle est donc critiquable. C’est ainsi que la présente étude propose un régime spécifique à la responsabilité civile du chirurgien esthétique à trois facettes : La détermination du cadre juridique de la responsabilité contractuelle du chirurgien esthétique liée à la spécificité du contrat de chirurgie esthétique ayant pour objet unique l’amélioration de morphologie et pour objectif la réalisation du résultat attendu qui a justifié l’intervention esthétique ; ainsi le chirurgien garantit le résultat esthétique de l’intervention. Le maintien de la responsabilité extracontractuelle en ce qui concerne les dommages qui surviennent à l’occasion de l’exécution de l’obligation contractuelle. L’institution d’un régime spécifique prenant en considération l’éventualité des dommages survenus en raison des aléas thérapeutiques et des risques exceptionnels, en envisageant un régime d’indemnisation automatique lié à des cas spécifiques qui se place en dehors du régime de la responsabilité civile. Quant à la responsabilité pénale du chirurgien esthétique, une incrimination spéciale et strictement adaptée à la nature de la chirurgie esthétique s’applique essentiellement dans trois circonstances : le remodelage sexuel, la publicité mensongère et l’expérimentation scientifique. / The prominent place given to physical appearance in the current society qualified as the society of the “image”, has made cosmetic surgery, the most common surgical practice and claimed. This practice which was deemed illegal at one time and was then linked to the only therapeutic purposes has been recognized by the French courts following a change praetorian in 1936. The reasons supporting such a delay of recognition result from the specificity that distinguishes cosmetic surgery of the other surgical branches, it’s characterized by its very nature which is devoid of any curative purposes and is performed on a healthy person and its purpose is to achieve an improvement in the physical appearance and the morphology of the person concerned. This dual specificity also distinguishes cosmetic surgery from reconstructive and restorative surgeries. The specifications of cosmetic surgery required a special legal treatment of the cosmetic surgeon so it does not take advantage of the physical and mental fragility that has an obsession with beauty and physical development. Thus, we approached in this study the specific features of the legal treatment of the cosmetic surgeon in terms of obligations and responsibility.Regarding obligations, the specificity of cosmetic surgery requires a rigorous information obligation of the cosmetic surgeon to lead to a prior informed consent of the patient contained also on a written quotation. It requires a three-step process prior […] As for the cosmetic surgeon’s responsibility, it is also specific regarding its civil and criminal responsibilities : Specificity of its liability has led the French courts which made its approach towards the nature of the cosmetic surgeon’s obligation to conduct a process of «changing» the rules of common law in an attempt to adapt to specificity of cosmetic surgery and the resulting liability. However, the judicial process was not adapted to the specificity of cosmetic surgery, it led to a significantly wider confusion in the jurisprudence and doctrine, it is therefore questionable. Thus, we propose in this paper a specific regime for civil liability cosmetic surgeon three-sided : The contractual liability of the cosmetic surgeon linked to the specific contract cosmetic surgery that aims to improve morphology and has the objective of achieving the expected result which has justified the intervention. Thus, the cosmetic surgeon provides the aesthetic result of the intervention. Maintaining liability regarding damages that occur during the execution of the contractual obligation. The establishment of a special regime taking into account the case of damage due to therapeutic hazards and exceptional risks considering a compensation scheme automatically linked to specific cases that are placed outside the regime of civil liability. As to the criminal responsibility of the cosmetic surgeon, a special incrimination is strictly adapted to the nature of the surgery mainly applies in three situations : sexual remodeling, false advertising and scientific experimentation.

Submitted by João Victor Rojas Luiz (jvluiz@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-08-19T12:40:24Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - João Victor Rojas Luiz.pdf: 1893584 bytes, checksum: b5735ccc426246b01b09995e22459954 (MD5) / Rejected by Ana Paula Grisoto (grisotoana@reitoria.unesp.br), reason: Solicitamos que realize uma nova submissão seguindo as orientações abaixo: Informe o nome do orientador e coorientador na capa do trabalho. Corrija esta informação no arquivo PDF e realize uma nova submissão contendo o arquivo correto. Agradecemos a compreensão. on 2016-08-22T19:10:21Z (GMT) / Submitted by João Victor Rojas Luiz (jvluiz@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-08-22T19:27:57Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - João Victor Rojas Luiz.pdf: 1894494 bytes, checksum: 29dd2e656d58474d4ce9ecfe2615c4be (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Juliano Benedito Ferreira (julianoferreira@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2016-08-22T20:49:41Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 luiz_jvr_me_bauru.pdf: 1894494 bytes, checksum: 29dd2e656d58474d4ce9ecfe2615c4be (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-22T20:49:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 luiz_jvr_me_bauru.pdf: 1894494 bytes, checksum: 29dd2e656d58474d4ce9ecfe2615c4be (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-07-21 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Um conjunto de atributos de projeto que vem se destacando nas últimas décadas, no que se refere ao desenvolvimento de produtos ambientalmente melhorados, é o relacionado ao conceito de Design for Environment ou Ecodesign. O emprego de métodos e ferramentas relacionados a esse conceito tem potencial para orientar as empresas nas escolhas associadas a projetos de novos produtos de menor impacto em termos ambientais. Este trabalho teve como objetivo geral identificar e analisar a adoção do desenvolvimento de produtos ambientalmente melhorados e sua influência nas práticas tradicionais de gestão de portfólio de produtos e no seu desempenho. Para isso, foi realizada pesquisa de levantamento tipo survey em empresas com atividade de desenvolvimento de produtos. Dentre os principais resultados em uma amostra de 79 empresas inovadoras, que desenvolvem produtos e que atuam no Brasil, pôde-se constatar que há intensa aplicação de métodos de gestão de portfólio e de desenvolvimento de produtos ambientalmente melhorados. Observou-se também que o uso de práticas ambientais voltadas ao desenvolvimento do produto influencia significativamente o desempenho de portfólio e na geração de oportunidades de mercado e tecnológicas. Por outro lado, não se verificou influências entre o emprego das práticas ambientais com os resultados do programa de desenvolvimento de novos produtos. Também houve indicações de que a obtenção de certificação de sistema de gestão ambiental (ISO 14001) não influencia o nível de adoção de práticas ambientais relacionadas ao desenvolvimento de novos produtos. / A set of product attributes that has been highlighted in recent decades, with regard to environmentally improved product development, is related to the concept of Design for Environment or Ecodesign. The use of methods and tools of ecodesign has the potential to guide companies in the choices associated with new product designs. This research had as main objective to identify and analyze the relations of influence between traditional product portfolio management practices and those related to environmentally friendly product development with product portfolio performance. Among the main results in a sample of 79 innovative companies that develop products and operate in Brazil, it could be seen that there is intense application of portfolio management methods and of development of environmentally improved products practices, such as checklists, financial techniques and product development with a focus on reducing resource consumption/waste generation. It was also noted that the use of environmental practices aimed at product development significantly influences the portfolio performance and the generation of market opportunities and technology. On the other hand, no influence was verified between the use of environmental practices and the results of new product development program. There have also been indications that obtaining environmental management system certification (ISO 14001) does not influence the level of adoption of environmental practices related to the development of new products. / FAPESP: 2015/00110-6