Characteristics of the electromagnetic calorimeter of PANDA (anti-Proton ANnihilations at DArmstadt), one of the key experiments at FAIR, have been measured at the tagged photon beam facility at MAX-lab for 61 energies in the range 12-63 MeV. The tested detector array consisted of 5x5 PbWO4 (lead tungstate) crystals designed for the forward end-cap. The array was cooled to -25 ºC and read out with conventional photomultiplier tubes. The measured energy resolution, σ/E, (for example 6 % at 20 MeV) shows that the current design meets the criterion of PANDA. The array is now ready to be equipped with vacuum phototriods designed for the forward end-cap.         As a part of the experiment, characteristics of the tagging spectrometer at MAX-lab were measured. This revealed a lowered performance in terms of resolution for low energies. A discrepancy between the nominal and the measured tagged energies was also discovered. Possible explanations to these observations are presented.

Giant pandas in captivity are typically fed discrete amounts of highly concentrated food on a fixed time schedule, in addition to limited amounts of fresh bamboo throughout the day. In response to informal observations that these animals engage in a number of undesirable behaviors just prior to the predictable feeding of concentrated meals, we examined the existing feeding regime at the Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu, Peoples Republic of China. We sought to determine whether undesirable behaviors were occurring more frequently before the delivery of meals than at other times of day and whether modified feeding regimes would result in a more species-appropriate activity budget overall. As predicted, female giant pandas spent significantly more time engaged in door-directed/human-oriented behavior, stereotypic behavior, and non-stereotypic locomotion in the 30-minute periods prior to the feeding of concentrated meals. When placed on a modified feeding schedule in which frequency of bamboo provisioning was increased (total amount was held constant), significant differences were not found between study phases for the above-mentioned behaviors of interest, though a visual trend towards a decline in stereotypic behavior during the experimental phase was noted. Male pandas, when placed on a less predictable feeding schedule, did not exhibit significant behavioral differences in behaviors of interest between experimental phases or observation periods. These findings may be attributable in part to the low power inherent in the small sample size. However, visual trends that may be indicative of feeding anticipatory activity (FAA) were apparent. It appears that giant pandas, like many other animal species cited in the literature, are sensitive to periodic feeding regimes, though it is less clear as to which regime modifications will prove most beneficial.

The PANDA experiment is planned as part of the extended GSI facility FAIR to investigate hadronic reactions in antiproton-proton annihilations. An excellent beam quality and high luminosity is expected which allows the investigation of hadronic reactions such as the spectroscopy of the charmonium system. To ensure different studies of hadronic systems an universal detector is being designed, the PANDA detector. A high resolution Micro Vertex Detector (MVD), as part of the whole setup, is an important component of the track and vertex reconstruction. A mayor part of this work were simulation studies to investigate the resolution ability of the vertex detector. For this the development and implementation of reconstruction algorithms and their integration to the track and vertex reconstruction were an essential part to allow the detailed study of the resolution of the MVD and the whole apparatus under realistic assumptions. The track and vertex reconstruction ability of the detector is shown exemplarily for the channels antiproton-proton into two charged pions and into J/psi and photon. The expected hadronic background for physics observables requires a high selection power of the experimental setup, especially for the investigation of the charmonium system above the DD(bar) threshold. For this particular energy region no experimental data exist and the PANDA experiment can contribute to understand the binding of charmed mesonic systems. Charmonium states can decay to open-charm channels which provide a clear signature in the detector from the charged D-Meson decays. In this work the high selection ability of the experimental setup was investigated for two reaction channels. Under the assumption of an expected low reaction cross section the clear identification of the DD(bar) decay channel was shown, even for the presence of a huge hadronic background. This allows a clear identification of the DD(bar) decay channel and mayor background resources for this channel were discussed. / Das PANDA Experiment wird Teil der geplanten Ausbaustufe FAIR als Erweiterung zur GSI und wird die Untersuchung von hadronischen Reaktionen in Antiproton-Proton Annihilationen ermöglichen. Durch die zu erwartende exzellente Strahlqualität und hohe Luminosität ergeben sich vielfältige Möglichkeiten zur Untersuchung von Hadronenwechselwirkungen, wie beispielsweise die genaue Spektroskopie des Charmoniumsystems. Um vielfältige Untersuchungen verschiedenster hadronischer Systeme zu gewährleisten, wurde der Aufbau eines universellen Detektors geplant, des PANDA Detektors. Dazu ist ein hochauflösender Vertexdetektor (MVD) eine wichtige Komponente, um im Zusammenspiel mit weiteren Detektorkomponenten zur Spur- und Vertexrekonstruktion beitragen zu können. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurden detaillierte Simulationen durchgeführt, die das Auflösungsvermögen des Vertexdetektors charakterisieren, ganz besonders im Hinblick auf die Rekonstruktion verschiedener physikalischer Kanäle. Dafür war die Entwicklung und Implementierung von Algorithmen zur Rekonstruktion der zu erwartenden Detektordaten und deren Integration in den Spurfit zur Teilchenrekonstruktion eine Grundvoraussetzung. Dadurch ist es möglich das Auflösungsvermögen des MVD und des gesamten experimentellen Aufbaus unter realistischen Bedingungen zu testen und zu optimieren. Die Spur- und Vertexrekonstruktion wird anhand der Kanäle Antiproton-Proton nach zwei geladenen Pionen und nach J/Psi Photon evaluiert. Der zu erwartende hadronische Untergrund stellt hohe Anforderungen an die Selektionskraft des experimentellen Aufbaus, bezüglich der physikalischen Observablen, dar. Dies ist besonders für die Untersuchung des Charmoniumsystems oberhalb der DD(quer)-Schwelle von Bedeutung, wofür kaum experimentelle Untersuchungen vorliegen und der PANDA Detektor zukünftig einen entscheidenden Beitrag zum Verständnis gebundener mesonischer Systeme beitragen kann. Zuständen im Charmoniumsystem ist es erlaubt in Open-Charm-Kanäle zu zerfallen, die eine eindeutige experimentelle Signatur mittels der D-Zerfälle in geladene Teilchen im Detektor erlauben. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit konnte anhand zweier grundlegender Reaktionen gezeigt werden, dass selbst unter ungünstigen Annahmen über den zu erwartenden Wirkungsquerschnitt, der noch nicht schwellennah vermessen wurde, das stark unterdrückte Signal gegenüber Untergrundereignissen hinreichend angereichert werden kann. Dies erlaubt eine klare Identifizierung des DD(quer)-Ausgangskanales, wobei die wesentlichen Untergrundbeiträge identifiziert und diskutiert werden.

Le multi-détecteur PANDA (antiProton ANnihilation at DArmstadt) équipera l’anneau de stockage d’antiprotons du complexe d’accélérateurs FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research), en construction à Darmstadt et dont les premiers faisceaux sont prévus en 2019. L’expérience cible fixe PANDA est un outil du futur pour la physique hadronique. Avec PANDA, on peut étudier par exemple la spectroscopie des mésons, rechercher de nouveaux états de la matière, comme les boules de glue et les hybrides, étudier la spectroscopie des baryons charmés et multi-étranges, les hypernoyaux, les hadrons dans la matière nucléaire. Les réactions d’annihilation antiproton-proton permettent aussi d’étudier la structure du nucléon, en particulier en utilisant les canaux électromagnétiques de production de paires électron-positron, qui constituent l’objet d’étude de cette thèse. Un problème majeur de l’étude des canaux électromagnétiques, est le bruit de fond hadronique, qui est au moins six ordres de grandeur plus grand que le signal et qui nécessite une excellente identification de particules et une bonne résolution en impulsion. Or, la reconstruction de l’impulsion des électrons et positrons est dégradée par l’émission de photons de Bremsstrahlung le long de leur trace. Dans la première partie de la thèse, j’ai étudié ce problème et développé une méthode, basée sur une correction de l’impulsion des électrons et positrons événement par événement, en utilisant la détection des photons de Bremsstrahlung dans le calorimètre électromagnétique. Cette méthode, qui a été intégrée dans le code de reconstruction officiel de PANDA, PANDAroot, permet une amélioration très significative de la résolution en impulsion des électrons dont peuvent bénéficier toutes les études de canaux de production de paires électron-positron.Dans la deuxième partie, j’ai effectué une étude de faisabilité de la mesure de la réaction antiproton proton → J/Ψ π⁰ dans un modèle utilisant des TDAs (Transition Distribution Amplitudes) pion-nucléon. Les TDAs sont des objets non-perturbatifs qui décrivent la transition entre deux particules différentes. Par exemple, les TDAs pion-nucléon donnent des informations sur les composantes pioniques dans la fonction d’onde du nucléon. Pour cette étude, j’ai utilisé le modèle de TDA pour créer un générateur d’événements, puis j’ai étudié les capacités de réjection du bruit de fond hadronique. L’amélioration de l’efficacité du signal, due à la méthode de correction de Bremsstrahlung a pu aussi être quantifiée. Cette étude pourra être utilisée pour une proposition d’expérience pour PANDA. / The multi-purpose detector PANDA (antiProton Annihilation at Darmstadt) will be built at the antiproton storage ring of the FAIR accelerator complex that is under construction in Darmstadt and is expected to provide its first beam in 2019. The fixed target experiment PANDA is a state of the art hadronic physics detector. With PANDA, one can explore a wide range of topics including meson spectroscopy, search for new states of matter such as glue balls and hybrids, charmed and multi-strange baryon spectroscopy, hyper-nuclei, and properties of hadrons in nuclei. Proton antiproton annihilation reactions will also allow to study the structure of nucleons, in particular by exploiting the electromagnetic channel of electron-positron pair production which is the subject of this thesis.One major problem with studies of electromagnetic channels is the hadronic background with cross-sections at least six orders of magnitude larger than the signal, requiring excellent particle identification and good momentum resolution. However the momentum reconstruction for electrons and positrons is degraded due to the emission of Bremsstrahlung photons along their path. In the first part of this thesis, I studied this problem and developed a method based on the correction of the momentum of electrons and positrons event by event, using Bremsstrahlung photons detected in the electromagnetic calorimeter. This method, which has been integrated into PANDAroot, the official PANDA reconstruction code, provides a significant improvement of momentum resolution for electrons, and will be exploitable by any measurement with electron-positron pair in the exit channel.In the second part, I performed a feasibility study of measuring the reaction antiproton p →J/Ψ π⁰ using predictions from a model based on pion-nucleon TDAs (Transition Distribution Amplitudes). TDAs are non-perturbative objects that describe the transition between two particles of different nature. For example, pion-nucleon TDAs contain information about the pionic components in the nucleon's wave function. For this study, I relied on the TDA model to create an event generator, and studied the capability to reject hadronic background. The improvement of the efficiency for the signal due to the Bremsstrahlung correction method was quantified. This study can be used as basis for a proposal of an experiment with PANDA.

The PANDA experiment is planned as part of the extended GSI facility FAIR to investigate hadronic reactions in antiproton-proton annihilations. An excellent beam quality and high luminosity is expected which allows the investigation of hadronic reactions such as the spectroscopy of the charmonium system. To ensure different studies of hadronic systems an universal detector is being designed, the PANDA detector. A high resolution Micro Vertex Detector (MVD), as part of the whole setup, is an important component of the track and vertex reconstruction. A mayor part of this work were simulation studies to investigate the resolution ability of the vertex detector. For this the development and implementation of reconstruction algorithms and their integration to the track and vertex reconstruction were an essential part to allow the detailed study of the resolution of the MVD and the whole apparatus under realistic assumptions. The track and vertex reconstruction ability of the detector is shown exemplarily for the channels antiproton-proton into two charged pions and into J/psi and photon. The expected hadronic background for physics observables requires a high selection power of the experimental setup, especially for the investigation of the charmonium system above the DD(bar) threshold. For this particular energy region no experimental data exist and the PANDA experiment can contribute to understand the binding of charmed mesonic systems. Charmonium states can decay to open-charm channels which provide a clear signature in the detector from the charged D-Meson decays. In this work the high selection ability of the experimental setup was investigated for two reaction channels. Under the assumption of an expected low reaction cross section the clear identification of the DD(bar) decay channel was shown, even for the presence of a huge hadronic background. This allows a clear identification of the DD(bar) decay channel and mayor background resources for this channel were discussed. / Das PANDA Experiment wird Teil der geplanten Ausbaustufe FAIR als Erweiterung zur GSI und wird die Untersuchung von hadronischen Reaktionen in Antiproton-Proton Annihilationen ermöglichen. Durch die zu erwartende exzellente Strahlqualität und hohe Luminosität ergeben sich vielfältige Möglichkeiten zur Untersuchung von Hadronenwechselwirkungen, wie beispielsweise die genaue Spektroskopie des Charmoniumsystems. Um vielfältige Untersuchungen verschiedenster hadronischer Systeme zu gewährleisten, wurde der Aufbau eines universellen Detektors geplant, des PANDA Detektors. Dazu ist ein hochauflösender Vertexdetektor (MVD) eine wichtige Komponente, um im Zusammenspiel mit weiteren Detektorkomponenten zur Spur- und Vertexrekonstruktion beitragen zu können. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurden detaillierte Simulationen durchgeführt, die das Auflösungsvermögen des Vertexdetektors charakterisieren, ganz besonders im Hinblick auf die Rekonstruktion verschiedener physikalischer Kanäle. Dafür war die Entwicklung und Implementierung von Algorithmen zur Rekonstruktion der zu erwartenden Detektordaten und deren Integration in den Spurfit zur Teilchenrekonstruktion eine Grundvoraussetzung. Dadurch ist es möglich das Auflösungsvermögen des MVD und des gesamten experimentellen Aufbaus unter realistischen Bedingungen zu testen und zu optimieren. Die Spur- und Vertexrekonstruktion wird anhand der Kanäle Antiproton-Proton nach zwei geladenen Pionen und nach J/Psi Photon evaluiert. Der zu erwartende hadronische Untergrund stellt hohe Anforderungen an die Selektionskraft des experimentellen Aufbaus, bezüglich der physikalischen Observablen, dar. Dies ist besonders für die Untersuchung des Charmoniumsystems oberhalb der DD(quer)-Schwelle von Bedeutung, wofür kaum experimentelle Untersuchungen vorliegen und der PANDA Detektor zukünftig einen entscheidenden Beitrag zum Verständnis gebundener mesonischer Systeme beitragen kann. Zuständen im Charmoniumsystem ist es erlaubt in Open-Charm-Kanäle zu zerfallen, die eine eindeutige experimentelle Signatur mittels der D-Zerfälle in geladene Teilchen im Detektor erlauben. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit konnte anhand zweier grundlegender Reaktionen gezeigt werden, dass selbst unter ungünstigen Annahmen über den zu erwartenden Wirkungsquerschnitt, der noch nicht schwellennah vermessen wurde, das stark unterdrückte Signal gegenüber Untergrundereignissen hinreichend angereichert werden kann. Dies erlaubt eine klare Identifizierung des DD(quer)-Ausgangskanales, wobei die wesentlichen Untergrundbeiträge identifiziert und diskutiert werden.

Öppen droghandel har sedan tidigare varit ett känt problem globalt och under senare år har det även börjat att uppmärksammas i Sverige. Den öppna droghandeln tenderar att återfinnas i områden som klassas som särskilt utsatta, där den socioekonomiska statusen är låg och där kriminella har en stor inverkan på området. Syftet med studien har varit att kartlägga förekomsten av öppen droghandel i bostadsområdet Gullviksborg i Malmö. För att besvara studiens frågeställningar har det genomförts intervjuer med relevanta aktörer i området och deras svar har sedan analyserats med en tematisk analys. Resultaten från studien visar att Gullviksborg har problem med öppen droghandel och att det främst är ungdomsgäng som står för försäljningen. Merparten av ungdomarna som är involverade i droghandeln bor även i området. Det har visat sig att försäljarna ofta rör sig nära sina bostäder för att snabbt kunna söka skydd om det uppstår en risk att bli upptäckt. Fortsättningsvis har det visat sig finnas flera platser där det frekvent förekommer öppen droghandel i området, däribland i parken och i vändplatserna. Dessa platser används flitigt då det är lätt för såväl köpare som säljare att ta sig dit och det går snabbt att köra därifrån. Vidare finns det mycket buskage och växtlighet i parken där det går att gömma sig men även gömma narkotika. Resultaten från studien har sedermera använts för att ta fram åtgärdsförslag. Åtgärdsförslagen har utformats med hjälp av Panda modellen och checklistan VIPER. Det främsta åtgärdsförslaget som ges är samverkan mellan olika aktörer. Problematiken i Gullviksborg är komplex och det krävs således att aktörer såsom polisen, fastighetsägare, Malmö stad samt andra aktörer av betydelse samarbetar för att önskat resultat skall uppnås. / Open drug markets has previously been a global problem and in recent years it has also begun to receive some attention in Sweden. Open drug markets tend to be found in areas classified as particularly vulnerable, where the socio-economic status is low and where criminals have a major impact on the area. The purpose of this study has been to locate the occurrence of open drug trade in the residential area Gullviksborg in Malmö. To answer the study's questions, interviews were conducted with relevant actors in the area and their answers were then analyzed with a thematic analysis. The results from the study suggest that open drug trade is a problem in Gullviksborg and that it is mainly juveniles who handle the drug sales. Most of the juveniles involved in the drug trade also live in the area. It has been shown that the sellers often stay close to their homes in order to be able to quickly seek protection if there is a risk of being discovered. Furthermore it has turned out that there are several places where there is frequent open drug trade in the area, including the park and in the turning points of the streets. These places are used extensively as it is easy and quick to leave the place by car. Furthermore there is a lot of shrubbert and vegetation in the park where it is possible to hide but also to hide drugs. The results from the study have been used to produce proposals for actions. The proposals for actions have been designed using the Panda model and the Viper checklist. The main proposed action is collaboration between different actors and agencies. The problem in Gullviksborg is complex and it is thus required that actors such as the police, property owners, the city of Malmö and other important actors work together to achieve the desired results.

Appropriate conservation decisions and efforts must be based on real−time and accurate information about wildlife populations. However, it is extremely challenging to monitor the population demography and physiological traits of many threatened and secretive animal species through direct observation and capture. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has the potential to be a remote tool to address questions concerning wildlife physiology and demography by analyzing “signs” of animals without seeing or capturing them. In this dissertation, two species, the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and red panda (Ailurus fulgens) are used as a case study, to demonstrate NIRS’ feasibility in studying their physiological properties. The aim of this study is to test NIRS’ potential as a real−time analytical tool for in the nutritional foodscape and demographic analysis using less processed or non−processed field fecal and forage samples with the help of the mode−cloning technique to transfer the master model (dry and ground samples) under laboratory conditions to satellite modes (wet or dry but unground) in field conditions. Mode−cloning is conducted using either slope and bias correction (SBC) or two spectral correction methods, piecewise direct standardization (PDS) and external parameter orthogonalization (EPO). The following four hypotheses are tested this dissertation: (1) by using mode−cloning with both SBC and PDS, unprocessed wet or unground dry bamboo leaves (pandas’ food) can be used to determine the crude protein contents; (2) machine learning−based classification models using less processed field feces after mode−cloning with spectral correction approaches (PDS and EPO) can differentiate between sexes of the giant panda; (3) mode−cloned machine learning classification models using field feces can detect pregnancy of female giant pandas; (4) with the application of mode−cloning, field fecal samples can provide sex differentiation of the red panda. This dissertation demonstrates that NIRS coupled with mode−cloning and machine learning has the potential to provide real−time and accurate prediction to determine bamboo foodscape quality and reproductive status of the giant panda and red panda using minimally processed biological samples, thus allowing quick decision-making for both in situ population monitoring of these two species and ex situ husbandry preparations for pregnant female giant pandas.

Successful captive-breeding and re-introduction programs must have the ability to breed a surplus of genetically suitable animals for release into the wild. Unfortunately, many individuals in captive breeding programs often do not reproduce even when they are apparently healthy and presented with genetically appropriate mates. Mate choice can affect multiple parameters of reproductive sperformance, including mating success, offspring production, survival, and fecundity. We investigated the role of mate preference and personality on the reproductive performance of male and female giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) as measured by intromission success and litter production. We conducted these studies on giant pandas at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (Bifengxia, Sichuan, China.) from February-May 2011, 2012, and 2013. In Chapter 2, we compared reproductive performance between individuals mated with preferred and nonpreferred males of the focal female (female preference), the focal male (male preference), and mutual mate choice perspective. There were four types of reproductive pairings in our mutual mate choice analyses: females and males that preferred each other (P-P), females that preferred the male but the male did not prefer the female (P-NP), females that did not prefer the male but the male preferred the female (NP-P), and females and males that did not prefer each other (NP-NP). Pairing giant pandas with a preferred partner increased the probability of intromission success and producing a cub. Of the 25 females mated to a preferred partner, 72% had successful intromission, 64% produced cubs, and 52% reared their own cubs versus 31%, 12%, 12% for females mated to their nonpreferred partner (N = 16). Male giant panda mate preference showed similar results. Of the 24 males that were mated with their preferred females, 75% had successful intromission, 77.8% produced cubs, and 92.9% produced cubs that were maternally reared versus 31%, 60%, 66.7% for males mated with their nonpreferred females (N = 16). There was a statistically significant difference in intromission success and cub production for P-P pairings versus NP-NP pairings. Of the twelve P-P mate dyads 83% had successful intromission, 90% produced cubs, and 88.9% had mothers rear their cubs. Of the four P-NP mate dyads 50% had successful intromission, 50% produced cubs, and 100% had the mother rear their cub. Of the seven NP-P mate dyads 57% had successful intromission, 50% produced cubs, and 100% had the mothers rear their cubs. Of the three NP-NP mate dyads 0% had successful intromission resulting in 0% producing cubs and having mother-rear cubs. In addition, we took into account various life and breeding history factors that may have affected reproductive performance such as birth location, rearing, previous sexual history with the opposite sex and familiarity status directly prior to breeding. Mate pairings that were familiar with each other as measured by successfully producing a cub in the past, had increased intromission success. Females mated to heavier males had more intromissions and produced more cubs than females mated to smaller males. In Chapter 3 and 4, we investigated the effect of personality on reproductive performance measurements. Recently, personality of individual animals has been implicated in the failure or success of captive management and breeding of threatened and endangered species. Measurements of personality included novel object tests (where behaviors of individual giant pandas were scored toward a novel object for one hour) and keeper surveys (where the primary keeper rated giant pandas on 23 adjectives describing personality); both measures significantly correlated with variation in long-term and specific mating dyad reproductive performance. In Chapter 3 we evaluated the effect of personality on long-term reproductive performance. Our results show that for both male and female giant pandas, `fearful' individuals had lower natural mating success and cub production. In addition, `aggressive' female giant pandas had increased natural mating success but decreased cub production. Males did not show these relationships between `aggressive' personality types and reproductive performance. Female giant pandas that were labeled as `aggressive' had higher frequencies of positive mating behaviors but `fearful of conspecifics' females had lower frequencies. Males labeled `fearful of conspecifics' and with high `playful-clever' component scores had a lower frequency of positive mating behaviors. In Chapter 4 we further investigated the effects of personality within a specific mating dyad. Recent studies suggest that mate compatibility within personality types can improve reproductive performance measurements such as mating success, offspring survivorship, and offspring quality. We investigated the effect of personality compatibility on reproductive performance through analyzing mate dyad similarity in personality (similar versus dissimilar), specific personality combinations, and relative personality scores (male scores higher or lower than female scores). The specific personality combinations were: females and males that were both low on the personality component (L_L), females were low but males were high (L_H), females were high but males were low (H_L), and females and males were both high (H_H). Our results suggest that giant pandas appear to be assortatively mating based on aggressive, fearful, and stereotypical-excitable personality traits. Mate dyads that were dissimilar on the stereotypical-excitable component score were more likely to have successful intromission than pairs that were similar. L_H mate dyads on the aggressive and stereotypical-excitable personality traits had increased intromission success and cub production than all other possible personality combinations. L_L on fearfulness had higher intromission success but not higher cub production than all other possible personality combinations. Mate dyads composed of males ranked high on the aggressive component relative to the female resulted in higher reproductive performance and cub production. In captive breeding programs, mates are traditionally selected solely on the basis of genetic parameters to minimize loss of genetic diversity and inbreeding coefficients. Our results suggest that integrating genetic with behavioral measures of preference, breeding history factors, and personality would increase the reproductive output of the giant panda captive-breeding program. We stress the importance of considering husbandry practices to accommodate personality traits and ultimately increase reproductive performance in the captive population while simultaneously maintaining both genetic and behavioral diversity.

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is often accompanied by non-motor complications, such as dementia, depression, and psychotic symptoms, which worsen the prognosis and increase the personal and socioeconomic burden of disease. Prevalence estimates of these complications are quite variable and are lacking for the outpatient care sector. Methods: As part of a larger, nationwide, cross-sectional epidemiological study in n=315 neurological outpatient settings in Germany, this paper estimates the frequency of dementia and cognitive impairment in n=873 outpatients meeting the UK Brain Bank criteria for idiopathic PD. Assessments were based on a clinical interview and neuropsychological assessments, including the Hoehn & Yahr rating and Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). Cognitive impairment was assessed by the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE), Clock Drawing Test (CDT) and the Parkinson Neuropsychometric Dementia Assessment (PANDA) and the clinician’s diagnosis of dementia was based on the diagnostic criteria of DSMIV. Results Using standardized cutoff scores, the prevalence of cognitive impairment in the study sample as measured by various methods was 17.5% by MMSE (≤ 24), 41.8% by CDT (≥ 3), 43.6% by PANDA (≤ 14), and 28.6% met the DSM-IV criteria for dementia. All estimates increased with age and PD severity. Gender was an inconsistent contributor while illness duration had no significant impact on cognition. Multiple regression analyses revealed PD severity to be the strongest predictor of dementia risk (OR=4.3; 95 % CI: 2.1–9.1), while neuropsychiatric syndromes had independent, although modest additional contributions (OR=2.5, 95% CI: 1.6–3.8). Conclusion: Estimates of cognitive impairment and dementia in PD patients are largely dependent on the diagnostic measure used. Using established clinical diagnostic standards for dementia the overall rate on routine outpatient neurological care is 28.6%, but using more sensitive neuropsychological measures, rates for cognitive impairment might be up to 2-fold higher. The MMSE revealed strikingly low sensitivity. Neuropsychiatric syndromes, in addition to PD severity and age, have an independent – although modest – additional contribution to patients’ risk for cognitive impairment and dementia.

La dégradation géométrique de la voie ferrée sur les Lignes à Grande Vitesse (LGV) est un phénomène qui entraîne des coûts de maintenance importants pour assurer une qualité de circulation et de sécurité. Cette dégradation géométrique est imputable, en partie au tassement de la couche de ballast qui constitue l'une des parties de la voie ferrée.Le tassement du ballast est un phénomène difficile à estimer et à prédire car sa nature granulaire et ses caractéristiques particulières entraînent des variabilités de ses propriétés mécaniques. Ce travail de thèse est consacré à l'étude du comportement mécanique du ballast, pour le développement d'un modèle prédictif du tassement sur voie ferrée à partir de la caractérisation mécanique initiale du matériau (grâce à l'utilisation du pénétromètre léger Panda) et des sollicitations auxquelles la voie est soumise. Grâce à l'étude paramétrique développée sur un banc d'essais à échelle réelle, nous avons constitué et validé un modèle de prédiction qui est basé sur une loi de relaxation logarithmique.La modélisation numérique par éléments discrets en utilisant la méthode de la Dynamique des Contacts permet d'étudier les propriétés mécaniques du matériau ballast à l'échelle des grains. L'analyse des déformations transitoires montre une dépendance claire de la déformation moyenne par rapport à la contrainte appliquée et au rapport d'aspect en raison de l'action du frottement aux frontières. Les fluctuations de ces déformations, sont très importantes et semblent évoluer avec la déformation moyenne. Finalement, la pertinence de la caractérisation du ballast à partir de l'essai Panda a été vérifiée à partir d'une étude paramétrique sur les mécanismes d'enfoncement grâce à l'utilisation de cette approche numérique discrète. / Railway track degradation on high-speed lines is a phenomenon which causes high maintenance costs to ensure quality traffic and safety.This geometric degradation is due in part to the vertical strain (settlement) of the ballast layer, which compose the track.The ballast settlement is a difficult phenomenon to estimate and predict because its granular nature and characteristics of this layer induces variability of its mechanical properties.This work is devoted to the study of the mechanical behavior of ballast, to develop a predictive model of track settlement from the initial mechanical characterization of the material (by means a light penetrometer Panda) and the loading on track. By means several test on a full-scale model of railway track, we established and validated a predictive model based on a logarithmic relaxation law. Numerical modeling by discrete element method using the Dynamic Contacts allows to study the mechanical properties of ballast at grain-scale.Transient deformation analysis shows a clear dependence of the average deformation with respect to the stress and aspect ratio as a result of the frictional feedback at the boundaries. Fluctuations of these deformations are significant and seem to evolve with the average deformation. Finally, the relevance of the ballast characterization using the Panda test has been verified by means a parametric study on mechanisms during the penetration process by discrete element method.