This thesis investigated the phytochemistry and pharmacology of immunomodulatory medicinal plant species used traditionally by the Q’eqchi’ Maya Healers Association (QMHA) of Belize, and the Cree of Eeyou Istchee (CEI) of northern Quebec. Using quantitative ethnobotanical methodology, we identified 107 plant species belonging to 49 families used by Q’eqchi’ healers in the treatment of symptoms from 14 usage categories related to inflammation. Regression analysis revealed that the Piperaceae, Araceae, and Begoniaceae are preferentially selected by the Maya. Healer consensus for plant species was high, with 56 species (52%) being used by all the healers, and consensus for usage categories was also high, as informant consensus factor (FIC) values for each category were greater than 0.4. Fifty-two Belizean species were evaluated for their TNF-α inhibitory activity in an LPS-stimulated THP-1 monocyte model. Twenty-one species (40%) demonstrated significant TNF-α inhibition when assayed at 100 µg/mL, 8 of which had greater than 50% of the activity of the parthenolide positive control (10 µg/mL). Significant regressions were found between the anti-inflammatory activity and total healer frequency of use (Fuse) and the use reports for 3 usage categories, which indicated that ethnobotanical parameters can in part predict the activity of traditionally used species. Five sesquiterpene lactones were isolated from the leaves of Neurolaena lobata, one of the most active species tested, all of which demonstrated anti-inflammatory activity greater than that of parthenolide (IC50 = 4.79 µM), with IC50s ranging from 0.17-2.32 µM. Lobatin B was the most active isolate tested. Ethanolic and water extracts of 17 species used by Cree healers were evaluated for their immunomodulatory activity. In general, the average anti-inflammatory activity of ethanolic extracts was 1.8 times greater than that of water extracts, and the pro-inflammatory activity of water extracts was 3.7 times greater than ethanolic extracts. Picea mariana and Pinus banksiana were the most anti-inflammatory ethanolic and water extracts, while the water extract of Sarracenia purpurea was the most pro-inflammatory. Picea marina cones, the most anti-inflammatory Cree medicine, were subjected to bioassay guided isolation. This led to the isolation of the anti-inflammatory lignan (+)-lariciresinol-9’-p-coumarate, which had an IC50 of 28.4 µM. Together, these results validate the traditional knowledge shared by our Q’eqchi’ and Cree collaborators, and draw attention to the therapeutic potential of subtropical and boreal plants as culturally appropriate complements to modern medicine. - Cette thèse porte sur la phytochimie et la pharmacologie des espèces de plantes médicinales immunomodulatrices utilisées traditionnellement par le Q’eqchi’ Maya Healers Association (QMHA) du Belize, et les Cris d'Eeyou Istchee (CEI) du nord du Québec. En utilisant une méthodologie ethnobotanique quantitative, nous avons identifié 107 espèces végétales appartenant à 49 familles utilisées par les guérisseurs Q'eqchi’ dans le traitement de symptômes appartenant à 14 catégories d'utilisation liées à l'inflammation. Une analyse de régression a révélé que les familles Piperaceae, Araceae, et Begoniaceae sont préférentiellement choisis par les Mayas. Le consensus entre guérisseurs pour les espèces végétales était élevé, avec 56 espèces (52%) étant utilisés par tous les guérisseurs, et le consensus pour les catégories d'utilisation était également élevé, car les valeurs de facteur de consensus des informants (FIC) pour chaque catégorie étaient supérieurs à 0,4. Cinquante-deux espèces du Belize ont été évaluées pour leur activité inhibitrice de TNF-α dans un modèle de THP-1 monocytes stimulés par le LPS. Vingt-et-une espèces (40%) ont montré une inhibition significative de TNF-α lorsque dosés à 100 µg/mL, dont 8 d’entre elles ont démontrées plus de 50% de l'activité du contrôle positif parthénolide (10 µg/mL). Des régressions significatives ont été observées entre l'activité anti-inflammatoire et la fréquence d'utilisation de guérisseurs totale (Fuse) et les rapports d'utilisation pour 3 catégories d'utilisation, ce qui indique que les paramètres ethnobotaniques peuvent en partie prédire l'activité des espèces traditionnellement utilisées. Cinq lactones sesquiterpéniques ont été isolés à partir des feuilles de Neurolaena lobata, l'une des espèces les plus actives testées, qui a démontré une activité anti-inflammatoire supérieure à celle du parthénolide (CI50 = 4,79 µM), avec des CI50 allant de 0,17 à 2,32 µM. Lobatin B était l’isolât le plus actif testé. Des extraits éthanoliques et aqueux de 17 espèces utilisées par les guérisseurs Cris ont été évalués pour leur activité immunomodulatrice. En général, l'activité anti-inflammatoire moyenne des extraits éthanoliques était 1,8 fois supérieure à celle des extraits d'eau, et l'activité pro-inflammatoire des extraits d'eau était de 3,7 fois supérieure à celle des extraits éthanoliques. Picea mariana et Pinus banksiana étaient les extraits éthanoliques et aqueux avec le plus d’activité anti-inflammatoire, tandis que l'extrait aqueux de Sarracenia purpurea était le plus pro-inflammatoire. Le cône de Picea marina, le médicament traditionnelle Cris le plus anti-inflammatoire, a été soumis à une isolation guidée par essais biologiques. Cela a mené à l'isolement du lignane anti-inflammatoire (+)-lariciresinol-9'-p-coumarate, qui avait une CI50 de 28,4 µM. Ensemble, ces résultats valident les connaissances traditionnelles partagées par nos collaborateurs Q'eqchi' et Cris, et mettent en évidence le potentiel thérapeutique des plantes subtropicales et boréales comme des compléments à la médecine moderne qui sont culturellement appropriées.

In 1938, the Carnegie Institution of Washington published the results of ethnoarchaeological research conducted in Guatemala and southern Mexico by North American archaeologist Robert Wauchope. This seminal work, titled Modern Maya Houses: A Study of Their Archaeological Significance, aimed to understand the significance of traditional Maya houses (known in the study region as casas de paja) for the identification and interpretation of ancient dwelling remains in archaeological excavations. At the time, Wauchope documented only ten distinct house types among six of the 28 Maya language (cultural) groups. Due to its narrow scope, Wauchope’s investigation focused more on the physical properties of house construction and less on the social behaviours and beliefs generating the architectural forms. In recognition of Wauchope’s survey remaining incomplete, the primary aim of this dissertation has been to ethnographically record and comparatively analyse the remaining casas de paja in contributing to a greater cross-cultural understanding and theory of the entire repertoire of Maya house architectures. In combining both architectural and anthropological method, the author was able to make a number of important research findings; most notably that a pan-Maya, and pre-Columbian, semantic relationship existed between individual house types, indexing a shared cultural history and proto-Maya house architecture that possibly originated as early as 4,000 years prior to present times. In addition to the architectural documentation of house traditions, the author also investigated the processes of house transformation and change in the 70 years since Wauchope’s original survey. The rapid rate of built environment transformation in both Guatemala and Mexico over those intervening years underscores the importance of recording these cultural traditions before they pass. In contemporary times the few remaining chozas or casas de paja stand as historical reminders to a time past but not forgotten and embody traditional knowledge related to cultural beliefs and behaviours, which are intimately linked to the land, materials and climate of the region. Chapter 1 of the dissertation introduces the study region and establishes the primary aims and objectives of the research. Chapters 2 and 3 present the theoretical background and methodological approach governing the research project while Chapter 4 gives an historical overview of Maya house traditions. Chapters 5 and 6 are devoted to the ethnographic findings of the regional survey and Chapter 7 discusses Maya house change in the years since Wauchope’s 1930s investigation. Chapter 8 details the contribution which the ethnographic investigation makes to Euromerican architectural theory in relation to non-Euromerican material and cultural histories in contributing to a world cross-cultural architectural canon and scholarship. In coming to a greater understanding of a past (pre-Columbian) and present (Maya casas de paja) subject, the thesis calls for an understanding, appreciation and acceptance of non-Euromerican architectural forms by Euromerican academics and practitioners in moving toward a greater acceptance of a diversity of human needs in the creation of social, cultural and built environments. The overall significance of this thesis lies in the position that the sustainability of lifestyle practices, and allocation of wisdom, skills, and the fulfilment of human needs, as embodied in building ‘traditions’, are of major relevance to current and future generations.

Thesis--Universität Tübingen, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [169]-176) and index. "Liste der in der Tattvaprakāśavṛtti zitierten Texte"-p. 180.

Mediante una descripción vivencial de la construcción de la Universidad Intercultural Maya de Quintana Roo, este trabajo presenta importantes decisiones tomadas y caminos andados para la implementación de un modelo educativo, intercultural, en un contexto de alto rezago y pobreza de los indígenas mayas en Quintana Roo. Sin descuidar las normas y políticas que aplican a instituciones públicas en México, los esquemas de financiamiento, arreglo institucional y pedagogía intercultural, desarrollados en la UIMQRoo, tomaron en cuenta elementos de aprendizaje/transmisión y de construcción/ innovación de conocimiento que combinan aspectos de la cultura local con la educación convencional. Altos indicadores de retención, titulación, empleabilidad y calidad de los programas educativos, así como opiniones de egresados, alcanzados de febrero 2007 a febrero 2015, hacen pensar que las decisiones condujeron hacia la dirección correcta. / This work presents important decisions made during the implementationof the intercultural educational model at the UniversidadIntercultural Maya de Quintana Roo, Mexico, in a context of povertyand conditions of lagging behind the rest of the society of theindigenous Yucatec Maya population. Within the legal frameworkof public universities in Mexico, the financing of projects, thedeveloping of intercultural pedagogy and designing the institutionalsettings, rested on elements that included learning/transmission andconstruction/innovation of knowledge that combined aspects of thelocal culture with conventional education. High figures on indicatorssuch as retention, graduation rate, employability, and quality ofthe academic programs, along with opinions from alumni, achievedduring the period of February 2007 to February 2015, indicate thatthe decisions and actions taken in the beginning of the constructionof the intercultural model at UIMQRoo, were in the right direction.

The different mapping techniques that are used increases the details on surfaces without increasing the number of polygons. Image Based Sculpting tools in the program Modo and Z-Brush is used to create folds and wrinkles from photographs of actual fabrics instead of trying to create these shapes by modeling them. This method makes it easier to achieve photorealistic renderings and produce as realistic fabric dynamics as possible when they are applied on objects.

Det började faktiskt redan hösten 2004, när jag satt och arbetade med ett av de otaliga projekt man gör under sin skolgång. Projektet gick ut på att skapa en hemsida med en digital katalog, och voilá, där föddes idén. Sedan fortsatte jag att fundera, vända och vrida på idén, ett system för att skapa digitala kataloger och mindre presentationer som vemsomhelst skulle kunna använda. Just detta att inte exkludera de som inte kan ”Flash” från de som skall kunna redigera systemet har varit en av mina stora grundpelare, ett slags digital demokratitanke. För att skapa systemet har jag använt ”Macromedia Flash MX” och dess inbyggda programmeringsspråk ”ActionScript”. Programmeringsspråket är inte ursprungligen tänkt att användas för att göra system, men jag tycker personligen att jag lyckats bevisa att det fungerar även för det ändamålet. Jag har även använt 3d- modelleringsprogrammet ”Alias Wavefront Maya 6.0” för att skapa viss grafik i en av systemets demonstratorer, detta för att visa på systemets potential. Under projektet har jag försökt att hela tiden tänka enkelt och utveckla ett stabilt system med stor potential. Slutprodukten har blivit mycket mer än bara ett system, det är lika mycket en vision om en framtid där fler kan använda sig av den digitala teknologin för att synas. / Detta är en reflektionsdel till en digital medieproduktion.

In 3D and 2D animations walk cycles of characters appear very frequently and are an important way of expressing various aspects of the story told. However walk cycles are tedious and time consuming to animate. In this work an Autodesk MAYA plug-in has been developed, that aims at automating this process. The walk cycle plug-in can be highly beneficial for animators when creating convincing walk cycles in a fast and simple way. The plug-in calculates the right values for each phase in the walk cycle. The GUI of the plug-in makes it easy to provide the required input parameters. In addition, the plug-in allows the animation of a character to walk along a chosen path.

In this thesis, a new improved V-Ray subsurface scattering shader based on the improved diffusion theory is proposed. The new shader supports the better dipole and the quantized diffusion reflectance model for layered translucent materials. These new implemented models build on previous diffusion BSSRDFs and in the case of quantized diffusion uses an extended source function for the material layer. One of the main contributions and significant improvement over V-Ray’s existing subsurface scattering shader is the front and back subsurface scattering separation. This was achieved by dividing the illumination map that is used to calculate each shading’s point color, in two parts: the front part that comes of front lighting and the back one that comes of back lighting. Thus, the subsurface scattering layer can be divided in its consisting parts and each of them can be controlled, weighted and used independently. Finally, the project’s outcome is a new V-Ray material that provides all the above improvements in an intuitive, practical and efficient shader with several intuitive algorithm and light map controls, where artists can create subsurface scattering effects through three subsurface scattering layers.

Nya filmer som skapas innehåller mer och mer datorgenererade bilder och många filmer skapas även helt den digitala vägen, detta innebär att det krävs en rad olika dyra licenser för program och verktyg för att kunna skapa bra filmer. Genom ett projekt där en kortfilm skapas helt i 3D med en så låg budget som möjligt och som dessutom ska använda sig av Motion Capture som animerings-teknik så krävs det ett bra alternativ till att tillverka ett eget Motion Capture system för att så lite pengar som möjligt ska spenderas. Genom använding av Playstation kameror och lånade material kan ett billigt Motion Capture system tillverkas, samtidigt som kostnaden för kortfilmen hålls så låg som möjligt. Hur många timmar som lagts ned på modellering av objekt till filmen kan jämföras med ett uppskattat pris för anställning av professionell hjälp och dessutom se om detta verkligen är ett lönsamt alternativ istället för att skapa sina egna modeller till filmen.

For years, game companies have been using different programs for the creation of the newest most inspiring games. A short presentation about different programs used for game art is provided with key aspects in developing art for games in character production. One aim is to showcase the potential of open-source programs. Two projects with two different characters were created for games testing the workflow between open-source, free application and also commercial programs. The results of the projects are discussed and then the document focuses on explaining what the negative side of open-source programs is and why they should not be used. After the discussion, a conclusion is made explaining the similarities and differences between open-source and commercial programs.