This master thesis will cover the prestudy, hardware selection, design and implementation of a PCI Express bridge in the M.2 form factor. The thesis subject was proposed by WISI Norden who wished to extend the functionality of their hardware using an M.2 module. The bridge fits an M-Key M.2 slot and has the dimensions 80x22 mm. It is able to communicate at speeds up to 8 Gb/s over PCI Express and 200 Mbit/s on any of the 20 LVDS/CMOS pins. The prestudy determined that an FPGA should be used and a Xilinx Artix-7 device was chosen. A PCB was designed that hosts the FPGA as well as any power, debugging and other required systems. Associated proof-of-concept software was designed to verify that the bridge operated as expected. The software proves that the bridge works but requires improvement before the bridge can be used to translate sophisticated protocols. The bridge works, with minor hardware modifications, as expected. It fulfills all design requirements set in the master thesis and the FPGA firmware uses a well-established protocol, making further development easier.

This thesis contains two parts. The first part concerns the research work on free molecules using synchrotron-radiation-related techniques. Auger electron spectra of two free open-shell molecules, O2 and NO, were studied experimentally and theoretically. Photoionization experimental technique with tunable synchrotron radiation source was used to induce core-level electron ionization and obtain the KVV normal Auger electron spectra. A quantitative assignment of O2 normal Auger spectrum was obtained by applying ab initio CI calculations and LVI Auger line shape simulations including the bond length dependence of Auger transition rates. The photon energy dependence of normal Auger electron spectra was focused on with photon energies in the vicinities of core-ionization threshold energies. Consequently, the MAPCI (Molecular Auger Post Collision Interaction) theory was developed. Taking the near-threshold O2 normal Auger spectrum as an example, the two extreme cases of MAPCI effect, “atomic-like PCI” and “molecular PCI”, were discovered and discussed. The effect of shape resonance on near-threshold molecular normal Auger spectrum was discussed taking NO near threshold normal Auger spectra as example. The second part deals with research work on the chemisorption of small epoxy organic molecules, ethylene oxide, methyl oxirane, on Si (100) surfaces. Synchrotron radiation related techniques, UPS, XPS and NEXAFS, were applied. Based on the valence photoemission spectra, C 1s and Si 2p XPS spectra, the epoxy ring opening reactions of these molecules in chemisorption process were proved. Further tentative search for the surface-adsorbate CDAD effect was performed, and no evident circular dichroism was confirmed.

In this work we report that potato carboxypeptidase inhibitor suppresses the growth of several human and mouse pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell lines. The inhibitor also reduces the growth of solid tumors obtained by subcutaneous injection of human adenocarcinoma cell line in nude mice and the appearance of metastasis in mice injected intraesplenically with B16H10 melanoma cells. A transgenic line has been characterized, mice develop choroid plexus carcicomas and insulinomas. Lifespan of animals immunized with PCI I s significantly higher than control mice. To further characterize the effects of PCI on tumor cell growth, analyses of cell cycle phase distribution have been performed. A significant increase in the G0/G1 phase is also detected. This finding is correlated with an increase in the mRNA expression of p53. Moreover, we have demonstrated that PCI is easily internalized by the cells and the inhibitor remain altered after the internalization / En el presente trabajo se ha demostrado que el inhibidor de carboxipeptidasa de patata (PCI) tiene un efecto inhibitorio sobre el crecimiento tumoral tanto in vitro como in vivo, y se ha estudiado su mecanismo de acción, lo que ha llevado a descubrir que el PCI es un antagonista del EGF. Con dicho fin se han utilizado técnicas de cultivo celular en conjunción con técnicas bioquímicas, de biología molecular, de análisis computacional y ensayos con modelos animales / En el present treball s’ha demostrat que l’inhibidor de carboxipeptidasa de patata (PCI) té un efecte inhibitori sobre el creixement tumoral tant in vitro com in vivo i s’ha estudiat el seu mecanisme d’acció, que ha permès descobrir que el PCI és un antagonista de l’EGF. Amb aquest fi s’han utilitzat tècniques de cultiu cel·lular amb tècniques bioquímiques, de biologia molecular, d’anàlisi computacional i assajos amb models animals

Background: This study will be beneficial for Swedish companies that wish to enter the French market and will also benefit companies in France that have something to do with Sweden or that are playing on the Swedish origin. The outcome of this study will give a perspective on Swedishness in Swedish companies, brands and products with French consumers.References to places and countries such as French wine, Hollywood movies, and Russian roulette are examples of how the origin of countries can create associations influencing consumers' product evaluation and buying behaviour. In the process of understanding French consumers' product country image in relation to Sweden, it is important to map their buying behaviour and associations to Swedish companies, brands and products. The consumer perception of the country of origin can together with other attributes add brand equity to a company, brand or a product. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to understand how Swedishness in Swedish brands and products influences the perception of quality and to assist companies in their decision making on how to market in France. Conclusion: French consumers are influenced by global and national perceptions of countries of origin. Swedishness and Scandinavia have a particularly good reputation with French consumers. This influence is high and influences the consumers' quality-perception process through various influencers. Presentation of figures that can be used as generic figures when considering the influencers of your country's image when marketing cross-nationally.

<p><strong>Background: </strong>This study will be beneficial for Swedish companies that wish to enter the French market and will also benefit companies in France that have something to do with Sweden or that are playing on the Swedish origin. The outcome of this study will give a perspective on Swedishness in Swedish companies, brands and products with French consumers.References to places and countries such as French wine, Hollywood movies, and Russian roulette are examples of how the origin of countries can create associations influencing consumers' product evaluation and buying behaviour. In the process of understanding French consumers' product country image in relation to Sweden, it is important to map their buying behaviour and associations to Swedish companies, brands and products. The consumer perception of the country of origin can together with other attributes add brand equity to a company, brand or a product.</p><p><strong>Purpose</strong>: The purpose of this study is to understand how Swedishness in Swedish brands and products influences the perception of quality and to assist companies in their decision making on how to market in France.</p><p><strong>Conclusion</strong>: French consumers are influenced by global and national perceptions of countries of origin. Swedishness and Scandinavia have a particularly good reputation with French consumers. This influence is high and influences the consumers' quality-perception process through various influencers. Presentation of figures that can be used as generic figures when considering the influencers of your country's image when marketing cross-nationally.</p>

L’énergie solaire concentrée est utilisée comme source de chaleur dans le but de mener des réactions de pyrolyse de la biomasse. Cela permet d’améliorer l’énergie contenue dans la matière première en stockant l’énergie solaire sous une forme chimique. Grâce à de hautes températures et à des vitesses de chauffe élevées, d’avantage de gaz pyrolytiques, avec un produit calorifique inférieur (PCI) élevé, peuvent être produit par la pyrolyse solaire directe.Les expériences effectuées dans ce travail montrent l’effet des paramètres de la pyrolyse solaire sur les quantités de produits, leur composition et leurs propriétés. Le PCI total des gaz augmente fortement (il est multiplié par 5) lorsque la température augmente (de 600°C à 1200°C), et lorsque la vitesse de chauffe augmente (de 5°C/s à 50°C/s. L’association de la température et de la vitesse de chauffe amplifie leurs effets lorsqu’ils sont tous deux à de hautes valeurs. Le charbon et le goudron collectés ont été analysés et caractérisés. Le facteur d’augmentation énergétique obtenu est d’environ 1.5 quelle que soit la température. Dans un second temps, un modèle non linéaire, en deux dimensions, et utilisant la CFD pour résoudre les bilans de masse et de chaleur, a été développé pour la pyrolyse solaire. Les coefficients stœchiométriques, déterminant la fraction massique du goudron primaire convertie par la réaction en gaz et en goudron secondaire, ont été déterminés à différentes températures et à différentes vitesses de chauffe. Les évolutions des produits finaux et des pertes de masse de la biomasse sont amplifiées par la température et par la vitesse de chauffe. / Concentrated solar energy provides heat to drive biomass pyrolysis reactions, which upgrades the feedstock energy by storing solar energy in chemical forms (bio-gas, bio-oil and bio-char). Thanks to high temperature and fast heating rate, more pyrolytic gas with high lower heating value (LHV) can be produced by direct solar pyrolysis. Experiments have highlighted the effect of solar pyrolysis parameters on products yields, composition and properties. The total gas LHV dramatically increases (5-fold) with increasing temperature (from 600°C to 1200°C) and sample heating rate (from 5°C/s to 50°C/s), which is mainly due to variations in the CO and H2 yields. The interaction between temperature and heating rate enhances at both high ranges. The maximum gas products LHV (14 589 kJ/kg of beech wood) was obtained at 2000°C and 450°C/s heating rate. The collected char and tar were analyzed and characterized, which emphasizes the temperature and heating rate effects. And the energy upgrade factor is determined as about 1.5 independent of temperature. At the same time, a 2D unsteady CFD particle model (simplified assumption using first-order Arrhenius type reactions) with heat and mass transfers was developed for solar pyrolysis. Numerical model predictions are in good agreement with experimental observations. Stoichiometric coefficients about the mass fraction of primary tar converted by the reaction to gas and secondary tar were determined at different temperatures and heating rates for the first time. The evolution of the final products and mass losses of biomass are enhanced with temperature and heating rate increase.

This work deals with the design and implementation of high-speed communication interfaces into FPGA chip and their utilizing for image transmission and processing. In the implementation part has been created PCI Express endpoint device, which provides data transfers between the FPGA chip and computer RAM memory. As a source of image data for further processing was connected the Unicam M621 camera throught the Ethernet interface to FPGA chip. The project was implemented on the Xilinx SP605 development board. Using both of the the interfaces were demonstrated on the application of edge detection using Sobel operator. The PCI Express endpoint device driver for the Linux operating system and a simple application interface in C language was also created within this project.

L’activité plaquettaire joue un rôle clé dans la physiopathologie de l’infarctus du myocarde avec sus-décalage du segment ST (IDM ST+). La réactivité plaquettaire est augmentée lors d’un IDM ST+, traité par angioplastie primaire ou par fibrinolyse avec succès. La relation entre la réactivité plaquettaire résiduelle après un pré-traitement, la charge athérothrombotique et la qualité de la reperfusion myocardique reste peu décrite dans le cadre des IDM ST+. La tomographie par cohérence optique et celle plus récente par domaine de fréquence offrent une imagerie de haute résolution permettant l’identification et la quantification précise de la charge athérothrombotique intracoronaire (CAT). La CAT résiduelle intra-stent peut aider à mieux comprendre la relation entre la réactivité plaquettaire et la reperfusion. Dans un premier temps, nous avons évalué la précision des tests VerifyNow et PFA en comparaison à l’agrégométrie optique pour la détection de l’hyperréactivité plaquettaire dans le contexte particulier des IDM ST+ traités par fibrinolyse avec succès. Nous avons aussi décrit les caractéristiques de la CAT avant et après angioplastie selon la présence d’une rupture de plaque ou d’une érosion coronaire chez des patients traités par fibrinolyse avec succès. Ensuite, nous avons étudié la relation entre la réactivité plaquettaire résiduelle (en réponse au ticagrelor et à l’aspirine) mesurée par VerifyNow et la reperfusion myocardique chez des patients traités par angioplastie primaire. En parallèle, nous avons décrit la relation entre la reperfusion myocardique et la CAT résiduelle intra-stent dans la même cohorte. / Platelet activity plays a key role in the pathophysiology of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Platelet reactivity is enhanced after STEMI treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or successful thrombolysis. The relationship between residual platelet reactivity after pre-treatment, the atherothrombotic burden and the quality of reperfusion remains poorly described in STEMI. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and optical frequency domain imaging (OFDI) provide high resolution imaging allowing identification and accurate quantification of intracoronary atherothrombotic burden (ATB). Residual in-stent ATB may help to better understand the relation between platelet reactivity and reperfusion. First, we assessed the accuracy of the point-of-care tests VerifyNow and PFA in comparison to light transmittance aggregometry to detect high on-treatment platelet reactivity (HPR) in the particular setting of STEMI successfully treated with fibrinolysis. We also described the characteristics of ATB before and after PCI according to the underlying presence of rupture or erosion in patients successfully treated with fibrinolysis. Then, we assessed the relationship between residual platelet reactivity (in response to ticagrelor and aspirin) using VerifyNow and myocardial reperfusion in primary PCI patients. In parallel, we studied the relationship between myocardial reperfusion and residual in-stent ATB in the same cohort.

When it comes to cloud services, security has many a times been the hot topic. This has been especially relevant within the payment card industry and the secure handling of payment card data. The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (the council) was formed in order to ensure a global enhancement of payment card data. The council has issued requirements that all companies that handle payment card data are obliged to follow. However, the council has become much more strict as of recently, creating an urgency to become compliant. Thus, cloud service providers (CSP) have constructed standardized, PCI DSS compliant products so as to relief such customers. Since this emerging market is somewhat new, this thesis has researched how CSPs should relate to products within that market and the potential customer base. The case study for this research was conducted at Tieto, an IT service company, and its standardized, PCI DSS compliant product TiCC. The study collected empirical data in the form of qualitative interviews as well as quantitative telephone interviews with companies within the payment card industry. The study came to the conclusion that there is a demand that is not being met within the payment card industry related to products that aid organizations to become PCI DSS compliant. Standardized products have been constructed so as to fit financial customers while overlooking the demand of another large customer base, retail. Additionally, the products are being tweaked and features are being added, thus providing customization. CSPs are striving for both standardization as well as customization, something that has been considered counterproductive. The existing demand is thus not met with the current supply in the market, which has both multiple competitors and heterogeneity in market demand. The above mentioned thus leaves room for market seizure, to create own rules and thus making all competitors irrelevant. A potential way of doing that is through mass customization by standardizing higher levels of cloud computing.

<p>  </p> <p>Polymer bonded explosives (PBX) are a particle reinforced composite containing a high solids loading of explosive particulates bound in a polymer matrix. Commercially produced energetic particulates contain some percentage of flaws in the form of contaminants, porosity, and preexisting fractures. Additional large-scale porosity within the composite is generated during PBX formulation. The introduction of novel additive manufacturing techniques to the energetics field alters the known composite structure and introduces a porosity variable that has not been fully characterized. Porosity collapse during deformation is believed to be a predominant mechanism for hotspot formation, which dominates shock initiation behaviors. These phenomena are difficult to experimentally characterize due to inherent small spectral and temporal scales, and as such numerical and computational models are relied upon to inform fundamental physics. Experimental characterization of the behaviors of energetic materials during deformation is necessary to better inform computational studies and improve our understanding of hotspot formation mechanisms. </p> <p>This dissertation experimentally evaluates the high-rate deformation of porosity in individual explosive particulates and within the overall composite structure. This has included the development of a novel micromachining technique for pore generation in energetic single crystals using the focused ion beam (FIB), resulting in precise and controllable porosity generation that is easily reproducible in collaboration with computational studies. FIB was shown to be an effective pore generation technique, verified by assessing surface roughness and pore quality compared to contemporary manufacturing methods. Three experimental subsets are evaluated: surface cracks in HMX single crystals, polygonal pores in HMX single crystals, and large-scale porosity variations in mock vibration assisted print (VAP) produced composites of borosilicate glass beads and Sylgard 184® binder. A single stage light gas gun was used to impact the samples at 400 m/s and the impact event and resultant material response were observed in real time using x-ray phase contrast imaging (PCI). Machined surface cracks were shown to have negligible effect on the final fracture behaviors of HMX crystals. In polygonal pores fractures were shown to originate due to stress concentration during impact followed by otherwise expected brittle fracture behaviors. For wedge-like pores, the shockwave culminates on the front face of the pore and contributed to early fracture in some samples as well as a consistent open fracture opposite the impact along the shockwave direction in later stages of impact. For the blunt rectangular-like pores two differing behaviors were observed, wherein either the pore condensed and fracture at the pore was not seen during the impact event or large open fractures formed at the pore corners opposite the shockwave. The variance in response is attributed to the energy of fracture dissipating somewhere else in the material bulk, like the behaviors observed in the milled slot samples. Finally, additively manufactured PBX deformation behaviors were observed to be dominated by the collapse of the existing ordered porosity in the bulk which occurred at an increased rate relative to the bulk material compression. This resulted in a three-stage progression of deformation, consisting of a rapid collapse of large-scale ordered porosity, followed by the densification of the remaining features, and ultimately ending in compaction of the bulk as the impact projectile fully compressed the samples. Future work includes exploration of further FIB produced pore effects on dynamic fractures, evaluation of printed material deformation behaviors at additional rates, as well as application and evaluation of additional VAP printed material formulations.  </p>