Yes / This review paper addresses the structure of the mean flow and key turbulence quantities in free-surface flows with emergent vegetation. Emergent vegetation in open channel flow affects turbulence, flow patterns, flow resistance, sediment transport, and morphological changes. The last 15 years have witnessed significant advances in field, laboratory, and numerical investigations of turbulent flows within reaches of different types of emergent vegetation, such as rigid stems, flexible stems, with foliage or without foliage, and combinations of these. The influence of stem diameter, volume fraction, frontal area of stems, staggered and non-staggered arrangements of stems, and arrangement of stems in patches on mean flow and turbulence has been quantified in different research contexts using different instrumentation and numerical strategies. In this paper, a summary of key findings on emergent vegetation flows is offered, with particular emphasis on: (1) vertical structure of flow field, (2) velocity distribution, 2nd order moments, and distribution of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) in horizontal plane, (3) horizontal structures which includes wake and shear flows and, (4) drag effect of emergent vegetation on the flow. It can be concluded that the drag coefficient of an emergent vegetation patch is proportional to the solid volume fraction and average drag of an individual vegetation stem is a linear function of the stem Reynolds number. The distribution of TKE in a horizontal plane demonstrates that the production of TKE is mostly associated with vortex shedding from individual stems. Production and dissipation of TKE are not in equilibrium, resulting in strong fluxes of TKE directed outward the near wake of each stem. In addition to Kelvin–Helmholtz and von Kármán vortices, the ejections and sweeps have profound influence on sediment dynamics in the emergent vegetated flows.

Yes / The performance of buried rigid pipes underneath geogrid-reinforced soil while applying incrementally increased cyclic loading was assessed using a fully instrumented laboratory rig. The influence of varying two parameters of practical importance was investigated; the pipe burial depth and the number of geogrid-layers. Measurements were taken for pipe deformation, footing settlement, strain in pipe and reinforcing layers, and pressure/soil stress on the pipe crown during various stages of cyclic loading. The research outcomes demonstrated a rapid increase in the rate of deformation of the pipe and the footing, and the rate of generated strain in the pipe and the geogrid-layers during the first 300 cycles. While applying further cycles, those rates were significantly decreased. Increasing the pipe burial depth and number of geogrid-layers resulted in reductions in the footing and the pipe deformations, the pressure on pipe crown, and the pipe strains. Redistribution of stresses, due to the inclusion of reinforcing layers, formed a confined zone surrounding the pipe providing it with additional lateral support. The pipe invert experienced a rebound, which was found to be dependent on pressure around the pipe and the degree of densification of the bedding layer. Data for strains measured in the geogrid-layers showed that despite the applied loading value and the pipe burial depth, the tensile strain in the lower geogrid-layer was usually higher than that measured in the upper layer.

L'analyse quantitative de la fonction contractile myocardique constitue un enjeu majeur pour le dépistage, le traitement et le suivi des maladies cardio-vasculaires, première cause de mortalité dans les pays développés. Dans ce contexte, l'Imagerie par Résonance Magnétique (IRM) s'impose comme une modalité privilégiée pour l'exploration dynamique du coeur, renseignant, d'une part, sur l'évolution des parois (ciné IRM), et permettant, d'autre part, d'accéder à des informations cinématiques au sein du myocarde (IRM de marquage). L'exploitation quantitative de ces données est néanmoins actuellement limitée par la quasi-absence de méthodologies fiables, robustes et reproductibles d'estimation de mouvement non rigide à partir de séquences d'images acquises dans cette modalité.<br /><br />Cette thèse se propose de démontrer que les techniques de recalage non rigide statistique constituent un cadre approprié pour l'estimation des déformations myocardiques en IRM, leur quantification à des fins diagnostiques, et leur modélisation en vue d'établir une référence numérique de normalité. Ses contributions concernent :<br /><br /> 1. l'élaboration d'une méthode robuste non supervisée d'estimation des déplacements myocardiques à partir de séquences d'IRM de marquage. Elle permet l'obtention de mesures de mouvement fiables en tout point du myocarde, à tout instant du cycle cardiaque et sous incidence de coupe arbitraire.<br /><br /> 2. le développement d'un outil de quantification dynamique des déformations à l'échelle du pixel et du segment myocardique, intégrant un étape de segmentation automatique du coeur par recalage d'images ciné IRM acquises conjointement aux données de marquage. Pour le coeur sain, la comparaison des mesures obtenues à des valeurs de référence issues d'une synthèse approfondie de la littérature médicale démontre une excellente corrélation. Pour des coeurs pathologiques, les expériences menées ont montré la pertinence d'une analyse quantitative multiparamétrique pour localiser et caractériser les zones atteintes.<br /><br /> 3. la construction d'un modèle statistique (atlas) de contraction d'un coeur sain. Cet atlas fournit des modèles quantitatifs de référence locaux et segmentaires pour les paramètres de déformation. Son intégration, en tant que modèle de mouvement, au processus de recalage des données d'IRM de marquage conduit en outre à une description très compacte des déplacements myocardiques sans perte de précision notable.

Eine Quantengruppe ist eine nichtkommutative und nichtkokommutative Hopfalgebra. In dieser Arbeit konstruieren wir eine Deformation der lokalkonvexen Hopfalgebra der lokalanalytischen Funktionen auf GL(2,O), wobei O hier der Bewertungsring einer endlichen Erweiterung der p-adischen Zahlen ist. Wir zeigen, dass diese Deformation eine nichtkommutative, nichtkokommutative lokalkonvexe Hopfalgebra, also eine p-adische Quantengruppe, ist. Unser Hauptresultat ist, dass das starke Dual dieser Deformation eine Fréchet-Stein Algebra ist. Dies bedeutet, dass das starke Dual ein projektiver Limes von noetherschen Banachalgebren unter rechtsflachen Übergangsabbildungen ist. Im kommutativen Fall wurde dies von P. Schneider und J. Teitelbaum gezeigt. Unser Beweis im nichtkommutativen Fall benutzt Ideen von M. Emerton, der einen alternativen Beweis im kommutativen Fall gefunden hat. Für unseren Beweis beschreiben wir gewisse Vervollständigungen der quanten-einhüllenden Algebra und benutzen die Technik der partiell dividierten Potenzen. Eine wichtige Klasse lokalanalytischer Darstellungen von GL(2,K) wird mithilfe globaler Schnitte von Linienbündeln auf der p-adischen oberen Halbebene konstruiert. Wir konstruieren ein nichtkommutatives Analogon der p-adischen oberen Halbebene, von dem wir erwarten, dass es interessante Darstellungen unserer p-adischen Quantengruppe induziert. Die wichtigsten Hilfsmittel der Konstruktion sind die Maninsche Quantenebene, der Bruhat-Tits Baum für PGL(2,K) und die Theorie der algebraischen Mikrolokalisierung. / A quantum group is a noncommutative noncocommutative Hopf algebra. In this thesis we deform the locally convex Hopf algebra of locally analytic functions on GL(2,O), where O is the valuation ring of a finite extension of the p-adic numbers. We show that this deformation is a noncommutative noncocommutative locally convex Hopf algebra, i.e. a p-adic quantum group. Our main result is that the strong dual of our deformation is a Fréchet Stein algebra, i.e. a projective limit of Noetherian Banach algebras with right flat transition maps. This was shown in the commutative case by P. Schneider and J. Teitelbaum. For our proof in the noncommutative case we use ideas of M. Emerton, who gave an alternative proof of the Fréchet Stein property in the commutative case. For the proof we describe completions of the quantum enveloping algebra and use partial divided powers. An important class of locally analytic representations of GL(2,K) is constructed from global sections of line bundles on the p-adic upper half plane. We construct a noncommutative analogue of an affine version of the p-adic upper half plane which we expect to give rise to interesting representations of our p-adic quantum group. We construct this space by using the Manin quantum plane, the Bruhat-Tits tree for PGL(2,K) and the theory of algebraic microlocalization.

Image registration is a fundamental problem that can be found in a diverse range of fields within the research community. It is used in areas such as engineering, science, medicine, robotics, computer vision and image processing, which often require the process of developing a spatial mapping between sets of data. Registration plays a crucial role in the medical imaging field where continual advances in imaging modalities, including MRI, CT and PET, allow the generation of 3D images that explicitly outline detailed in vivo information of not only human anatomy, but also human function. Mutual Information (MI) is a popular entropy-based similarity measure which has found use in a large number of image registration applications. Stemming from information theory, this measure generally outperforms most other intensity-based measures in multimodal applications as it does not assume the existence of any specific relationship between image intensities. It only assumes a statistical dependence. The basic concept behind any approach using MI is to find a transformation, which when applied to an image, will maximise the MI between two images. This thesis presents research using MI in three major topics encompassed by the computer vision and medical imaging field: rigid image registration, stereo vision, and non-rigid image registration. In the rigid domain, a novel gradient-based registration algorithm (MIGH) is proposed that uses Parzen windows to estimate image density functions and Gauss-Hermite quadrature to estimate the image entropies. The use of this quadrature technique provides an effective and efficient way of estimating entropy while bypassing the need to draw a second sample of image intensities (a procedure required in previous Parzen-based MI registration approaches). It is possible to achieve identical results with the MIGH algorithm when compared to current state of the art MI-based techniques. These results are achieved using half the previously required sample sizes, thus doubling the statistical power of the registration algorithm. Furthermore, the MIGH technique improves algorithm complexity by up to an order of N, where N represents the number of samples extracted from the images. In stereo vision, a popular passive method of depth perception, new extensions have been pro- posed in order to increase the robustness of MI-based stereo matching algorithms. Firstly, prior probabilities are incorporated into the MI measure to considerably increase the statistical power of the matching windows. The statistical power, directly related to the number of samples, can become too low when small matching windows are utilised. These priors, which are calculated from the global joint histogram, are tuned to a two level hierarchical approach. A 2D match surface, in which the match score is computed for every possible combination of template and matching windows, is also utilised to enforce left-right consistency and uniqueness constraints. These additions to MI-based stereo matching significantly enhance the algorithms ability to detect correct matches while decreasing computation time and improving the accuracy, particularly when matching across multi-spectra stereo pairs. MI has also recently found use in the non-rigid domain due to a need to compute multimodal non-rigid transformations. The viscous fluid algorithm is perhaps the best method for re- covering large local mis-registrations between two images. However, this model can only be used on images from the same modality as it assumes similar intensity values between images. Consequently, a hybrid MI-Fluid algorithm is proposed to compute a multimodal non-rigid registration technique. MI is incorporated via the use of a block matching procedure to generate a sparse deformation field which drives the viscous fluid algorithm, This algorithm is also compared to two other popular local registration techniques, namely Gaussian convolution and the thin-plate spline warp, and is shown to produce comparable results. An improved block matching procedure is also proposed whereby a Reversible Jump Markov Chain Monte Carlo (RJMCMC) sampler is used to optimally locate grid points of interest. These grid points have a larger concentration in regions of high information and a lower concentration in regions of small information. Previous methods utilise only a uniform distribution of grid points throughout the image.

Les technologies de reconstruction multi-vues permettent de réaliser un clone virtuel d'un acteur à partir d'une simple acquisition vidéo réalisée par un ensemble de caméras à partir de multiples points de vue. Cette approche offre de nouvelles opportunités dans le domaine de la composition de scènes hybrides mélangeant les images réelles et virtuelles. Cette thèse a été réalisée dans le cadre du projet RECOVER 3D dont l'objectif est de développer une chaîne de production TV complète, de l'acquisition jusqu'à la diffusion, autour de la reconstruction multi-vues. Cependant la technologie utilisée dans ce contexte est mal adaptée à la reconstruction de scènes dynamiques. En effet, la performance d'un acteur est reproduite sous la forme d'une séquence d'objets 3D statiques qui correspondent aux poses successives du personnage au cours de la capture vidéo. L'objectif de cette thèse est de développer une méthode pour transformer ces séquences de poses en un modèle animé unique. Les travaux de recherches menés dans ce cadre sont répartis en deux étapes principales. La première a pour but de calculer un champ de déplacements qui décrit les mouvements de l'acteur entre deux poses consécutives. La seconde étape consiste à animer un maillage suivant les trajectoires décrites par le champ de mouvements, de manière à le déplacer vers la pose suivante. En répétant ce processus tout au long la séquence, nous parvenons ainsi à reproduire un maillage animé qui adopte les poses successives de l'acteur. Les résultats obtenus montrent que notre méthode peut générer un modèle temporellement cohérent à partir d'une séquence d'enveloppes visuelles. / 4D multi-view reconstruction technologies are more and more used in media production due to their abilities to produce a virtual clone of an actor from a simple video acquisition performed by a set of multi-viewpoint cameras. This approach is a major advance for the composition of animations which mix virtual and real images, and also offers new possibilities for the rendering of such complex hybrid scenes. The work described in this thesis takes parts in the RECOVER 3D project which aims at developing an innovative industrial framework for TV production, based on multi-view reconstruction, from studio acquisition to broadcasting. The major drawback of the methods used in this context is that they are not adapted to the reconstruction of dynamic scenes. The output are time series which describe the successive poses of the actor, figured as a sequence of static objects. The goal of this thesis is to transform these initial results into a dynamic 3D object where the actor is figured as an animated character. The research detailed in this manuscript presents two main contributions. The first one is centered on the computation of a motion flow which represents the displacements occurring in the reconstructed scene between two consecutive poses. The second one presents a mesh animation process that leads to the animation of a 3D model from one pose to another, following the motion flow. This two-step operation is repeated throughout the entire pose sequence to finally obtain a single animated mesh that matches the evolving shape of the reconstructed actor. Results show that our method is able to produce a temporally consistent mesh animation from various sequences of visual hulls.

[pt] As ligações viga-pilar desempenham uma função fundamental para a determinação do comportamento real de estruturas de aço. Portanto torna-se necessária uma avaliação muito criteriosa das reais características geométricas e mecânicas destas ligações, substituindo as tradicionais considerações idealizadas, rígida e flexível, pela modelagem semi-rígida.Atualmente um dos métodos mais utilizados para caracterização de ligações semi-rígidas se fundamenta no método das componentes, descrito pelo Eurocode 3, que consiste na determinação da resistência e rigidez dos elementos de maior influência no comportamento de uma ligação. Com a intenção de se desenvolver um estudo sobre as ligações semi-rígidas, inicialmente foi implementado computacionalmente um sistema de análise e dimensionamento capaz de avaliar o comportamento estrutural destas ligações a partir da informação das propriedades geométricas de ligações viga- pilar executadas com placa de extremidade, produzindo uma base de dados para um projeto estrutural mais seguro. Adicionalmente também foi executado um estudo sobre a otimização do dimensionamento de ligações semi-rígidas, através da criação de um sistema para determinação do modelo ótimo, utilizando-se algoritmos genéticos. Neste sistema, através da variação de parâmetros geométricos, determinados de acordo com a necessidade do usuário, obtém- se o modelo ideal de comportamento dentro de uma gama de soluções possíveis. Finalizando o presente estudo sobre ligações semi-rígidas, apresenta-se uma nova metodologia para consideração de ligações aparafusadas com placa de extremidade de altura variável, (header plate), que tradicionalmente são consideradas como flexíveis. Estas ligações foram analisadas através do método das componentes, determinando suas limitações de resistência à flexão e ao corte, juntamente com sua rigidez rotacional, efetuando-se modificações nas componentes apresentadas no Eurocode 3. / [en] The beam-to-column connections play fundamental role in the determination of the real behavior of steel structures. Therefore it is imperative to proper evaluate and consider the real geometric and mechanical properties of these connections, substituting the traditional idealized considerations, rigid and flexible, for the semi-rigid modelling approach. Nowadays one of the most used methods in the semi-rigid connection design is named the components method, described in the Eurocode 3. This method is based on the determination of the connection bending capacity and initial stiffness from the most relevant structural element parts. The main objective of this investigation was to evaluate the semi-rigid connection structural response. This was made by the development of a computer system capable to properly evaluate the behaviour of these connections. This program used the end plate beam-to-column connection material and geometric properties to fulfil this objective, producing a comprehensive database later to be used for more reliable structural project. Additionally an optimisation module was also implemented on the semi-rigid connection program, using genetic algorithms, where through the variation of certain geometric parameters, chosen in accordance to the user's requirements, the ideal connection structural behaviour could be determined from a range of pertinent solutions. Concluding the present study an alternative procedure is proposed for header plate connections where traditionally only shear was assumed to be transmitted. These connections were analysed according to the component method, to determine their bending and shear resistance, initial stiffness and rotation capacity, through modifications made on the relevant structural components presented in Eurocode 3 standard.

Photosystem I (PSI) aus dem thermophilen Cyanobakterium Thermosynechococcus elongatus ist ein transmembraner Protein-Pigment-Superkomplex der photosynthetischen Elektronentransportkette. Er wandelt die Energie des Lichts in elektrische Energie mit einer Quanteneffizienz von nahezu 100 % um. Dazu uberträgt PSI Elektronen von Plastocyanin bzw. Cytochrom c6 (Cyt c6) auf Ferredoxin. Die Struktur des PSI wurde bereits 2001 mit einer Auflösung von 2,5 Å beschrieben (Jordan et al. 2001). Es lässt sich zur Generierung von Photoströmen auf Elektrodenoberflächen assemblieren und zur Produktion von Biokraftstoffen mit Enzymen koppeln. Die elektrische Kontaktierung des PSI mit Elektrodenoberflächen kann durch Komplexierung mit dem mitochondrialem Cytochrom c aus Pferdeherz (Cyt cHH) erhöht werden. Aufgrund der Nutzbarkeit dieses Proteinkomplexes sollte geklärt werden, wie PSI und Cyt cHH wechselwirken und wie sich die Interaktion von der des nativen PSI-Cyt c6-Komplexes unterscheidet. Deshalb lag der Fokus meiner Arbeit darauf, die Bindung des Cyt c6 und seines Analogons Cyt cHH an PSI mit kinetischen, kalorimetrischen, theoretischen und strukturellen Methoden zu untersuchen. Das Cyt c6 bindet im reduzierten Zustand an PSI und verringert nach erfolgtem Elektronentransfer seine Affinität. Das Cyt cHH bindet dagegen sowohl im reduzierten als auch im oxidierten Zustand an PSI. Mit Hilfe der kinetischen Messungen habe ich Bedingungen identifiziert, unter denen PSI mit dem jeweiligen Cytochrom c einen stabilen Komplex eingeht. Mit Hilfe eines rigid-body dockings wurden potenzielle Bindungsstellen der beiden Cytochrome berechnet. Fur Cyt c6 ergab sich eine spezifische Bindungsstelle, die eine gute Übereinstimmung mit den von mir gemessenen Kinetiken sowie mit weiteren Literaturdaten zeigt. Diese Bindungsstelle korreliert mit der veröffentlichten Kostruktur des bakteriellen Reaktionszentrums mit Cyt c2 aus Rhodobacter sphaeroides. Demgegenüber sind mehrere Cyt cHH-Bindungsstellen ... / Photosystem I (PSI) from the thermophilic cyanobacterium Thermosynechococcus elongatus is a membrane-bound, multipigment protein supercomplex. It converts light to electrochemical energy with a quantum efficiency of almost 100 %. It reduces the luminal proteins plastocyanin and cytochrome c6 (Cyt c6) to oxidize the stromal protein Ferredoxin. The structure of PSI has been solved in 2001 at a resolution of 2,5 Å (Jordan et al. 2001). PSI can be assembled on an electrode surface to produce photocurrents and the generated electrons can be used for the production of biofuels. The mitochondrial cytochrome c from horse heart (Cyt cHH) binds strongly to both, PSI and the electrode surface, and can therefore be applied to improve the electrical coupling. Due to the practical use of the PSI-Cyt c complex, the aim of my thesis is to characterize the interaction of PSI with Cyt c6 and the analog Cyt cHH. To this end, the binding of both cytochromes to PSI was analyzed by kinetic, calorimetric, theory-based and structural methods. Cyt c6 binds to PSI while being reduced and decreases its affinity after transferring its electron. In contrast, Cyt cHH binds to PSI in both oxidation states, reduced and oxidized, with identical affinity. By means of kinetic measurements, I identified conditions in which PSI forms a stable complex with either of the two cytochromes. The positions of the cytochrome binding sites at PSI were calculated by a rigid-body docking. For the calculation with Cyt c6, the majority of the potential binding sites are located at the luminal side of PSI, close to P700. The theoretic properties of one of these binding sites are in good agreement with my own kinetic measurements and literature data. The position and orientation of Cyt c6 in this theoretic binding site is almost identical to the localization of Cyt c2 in cocrystals with the bacterial reaction center from Rhodobacter sphaeroides. The potential Cyt cHH binding sites are uniformly distributed over ...

Electronics miniaturization is an ever-important subject in the industry of consumer electronics, where smaller, lighter and more powerful electronics is expected. This thesis investigates the miniaturization challenge in the EU-funded project SOMIRO, that aims to construct an energy autonomous swimming millirobot for remote sensing in in agriculture. The current prototype Generation 1 (G1) prototype design is used as a base and a smaller version with additional features is constructed to evaluate possible performance differences. The Printed Circuit Board (PCB) that is produced is of a folding flex-rigid construction that sandwiches several layers of components to fit all components required. The performance of the new Generation 2 (G2) prototype is very similar to the existing G1 prototype in all electrical performance tests with the notable exception being the current draw for actuation of the swimming platform. The G2 prototype consumes significantly less current in this case, which is beneficial for the limited energy availability the millirobot will be operating in. There is still room for improving the PCB design with additional advanced PCB manufacturing techniques. Some of the external parts for the final version of the millirobot still needs to be finalized, for which this PCB may need additional changes, but this is not part of this thesis. / Miniatyrisering av elektronik är ett ständigt aktuellt problem i industrin för konsumentelektronik, där mindre, lättare och mer kraftfulla produkter förväntas. Detta mastersarbete undersöker miniatyriseringsutmaningen i EU-projektet SOMIRO som ska utveckla en energiautonom simmande millirobot för distribuerad mätning inom vattenbaserade jordbruk. Den nuvarande prototypen, Generation 1 (G1), lägger grunden till detta arbete som producerar en mindre version som dessutom innehåller fler funktioner. Den nya prototypen, Generation 2 (G2), utvärderas och jämförs med G1-versionen för att se om det är någon skillnad i elektrisk prestanda. Kretskortet som konstrueras är hopvikbart för att få plats med alla komponenter. Det nya kortet presterar mycket likt G1-versionen, förutom i testet för drivningen av aktuatorplattformen, där det nya kortet drog mindre ström. Det är en fördel då en mycket begränsad mängd energi kommer finnas tillgänglig i de tänkta miljöerna för milliroboten. Det finns fortfarande förbättringsmöjligheter då ytterligare avancerade konstruktionstekniker kan användas i design och tillverkning av kretskortet för att minska storleken ytterligare. Vissa förändringar kan också krävas för att kretskortet ska kunna monteras ihop med de externa delarna som ingår i den kompletta milliroboten, vilket dock inte är del av detta arbete.

This thesis explores the dynamics of a heteronuclear diatomic molecular ion, possessing a permanent electric dipole moment, µ, which is trapped in a linear Paul trap and can interact with an off-resonance laser field. To build our model we use the rigid-rotor approximation, where the dynamics of the molecular ion are limited to its translational and rotational motions of the center-of-mass. These dynamics are investigated by carrying out suitable numerical calculations. To introduce our numerical methods, we divide our research topic into two different subjects. First, we ignore the rotational dynamics of the ion by assuming µ = 0. By this assumption, the system resembles an atomic ion, which mainly exhibits translational motion for its center of the mass when exposed to an external trapping field. To study this translational behavior, we implement full-quantum numerical simulations, in which a wave function is attributed to the ion. Finally, we study the quantum dynamics of the mentioned wave packet and we compare our results with those obtained classically. In the latter case, we keep the permanent dipole moment of the ion and we study the probable effects of the interaction between the dipole moment and the trapping electric field, on both the translational and the rotational dynamics of the trapped molecular ion. In order to study these dynamics, we implement both classical and semi-classical numerical simulations. In the classical method, the rotational and the translational motions of the center of mass of the ion are obtained via classical equations of motion. On the other hand, in the semi-classical method, while the translational motion of the center-of-mass is still obtained classically, the rotation is treated full-quantum mechanically by considering the rotational wave function of the ion. In the semi-classical approach, we mainly study the probable couplings between the rotational states of the molecular ion, due to the interaction of the permanent dipole moment with the trapping electric field. In the end, we also present a semi-classical model, where the trapped molecular ion interacts with an off-resonance laser field.