This thesis investigates a set of non-classical visual receptive field properties observed in the primate brain. Two main phenomena were explored. The first phenomenon was neurons with head-centered visual receptive fields, in which a neuron responds maximally to a visual stimulus in the same head-centered location across all eye positions. The second phenomenon was perisaccadic receptive field dynamics, which involves a range of experimentally observed response behaviours of an eye-centered neuron associated with the advent of a saccade that relocates the neuron's receptive field. For each of these two phenomena, a hypothesis was proposed for how a neural circuit with a suitable initial architecture and synaptic learning rules could, when subjected to visually-guided training, develop the receptive field properties in question. Corresponding neural network models were first trained as hypothesized, and subsequently tested in conditions similar to experimental tasks used to interrogate the physiology of the relevant primate neural circuits. The behaviour of the models was compared to neurophysiological observations as a metric for their explanatory power. In both cases the neural network models were in broad agreement with experimental observations, and the operation of these models was studied to shed light on the neural processing behind these neural phenomena in the brain.

The U.S. Navy is developing through-water acoustic communications capability for undersea, distributed systems. These wireless communication links form a wide-area network of fixed nodes consistent with future autonomous sensors on the seafloor. Mobile nodes may operate in the domain of the grid using the fixed nodes as both navigation reference points and communication access points. This thesis evaluates the experimental performance of such networked communications between an undersea vehicle and a ship. Physical-layer considerations include refraction, wind-induced ambient noise, and vehicle aspect angle.

There is a demand for video quality measurements in modern video applications specifically in wireless and mobile communication. In real time video streaming it is experienced that the quality of video becomes low due to different factors such as encoder and transmission errors. HEVC/H.265 is considered as one of the promising codecs for compression of ultra-high definition videos. In this research, full reference based video quality assessment is performed. The raw format reference videos have been taken from Texas database to make test videos data set. The videos are encoded using HM9 reference software in HEVC format. Encoding errors has been set during the encoding process by adjusting the QP values. To introduce packet loss in the video, the real-time environment has been created. Videos are sent from one system to another system over UDP protocol in NETCAT software. Packet loss is induced with different packet loss ratios into the video using NETEM software. After the compilation of video data set, to assess the video quality two kind of analysis has been performed on them. Subjective analysis has been carried on different human subjects. Objective analysis has been achieved by applying five quality matrices PSNR, SSIM, UIQI, VFI and VSNR. The comparison is conducted on the objective measurement scores with the subjective and in the end results deduce from classical correlation methods.

In this paper we first show that the gains achievable by integrating pricing and inventory control are usually small for classical demand functions. We then introduce reference price models and demonstrate that for this class of demand functions the benefits of integration with inventory control are substantially increased due to the price dynamics. We also provide some analytical results for this more complex model. We thus conclude that integrated pricing/inventory models could repeat the success of revenue management in practice if reference price effects are included in the demand model and the properties of this new model are better understood. (authors' abstract)

Cette étude est consacrée aux procédés narratifs du récit de voyage de Nerval, du point de vue de l’intertextualité et de l’autobiographie. Dans la première partie, nous abordons le récit de voyage en général, en centrant l’attention sur le voyage littéraire subjectif et autobiographique : son statut spécifique en tant que genre littéraire, son évolution chronologique, ses formes, son intertextualité et son caractère autobiographique. Dans la deuxième partie, nous étudions la spécificité du récit de voyage de Nerval sur le plan narratif, sur celui de l’intertextualité et sur celui de l’écriture autobiographique, selon les différents types des voyages nervaliens : voyage réaliste (Voyage en Orient, Lorely), voyage excentrique (Les Faux Saulniers), voyage parodique (Les Nuits d’octobre), voyage autobiographique (Promenades et Souvenirs) et voyage intérieur (Aurélia). Enfin, dans la troisième partie, nous analysons la poétique du voyage littéraire de Nerval dans la perspective de la modernité de son écriture, en considérant le mélange des formes, les pratiques intertextuelles (référence, réécriture et recomposition), l’originalité du voyageur fantaisiste, le récit poétique et dialogique et l’écriture réaliste. / This study focuses on the narrative processes of travel story of Nerval, in terms of intertextuality and autobiography. In the first part, we discuss of the travel story in general, with a focus on the subjective and autobiographical literary travel : its special status as literary genre, its chronological develpment, its forms, its intertextuality and its autobiographical nature. In the second part, we study specificity of the travel story of Nerval on the narrative level, that of intertextuality and that of autobiographical writing, according to diffrents types of Nerval’s travels : realistic travel (Voyage en Orient, Lorely), eccentric travel (Les Faux Saulniers), parodic travel (Les Nuits d’octobre), autobiographical travel (Promenades et Souvenirs) and interior travel (Aurélia). Finally, in the third part, we analyse the poetics of travel writing of Nerval in the context of the modernity of his writing, considering the mixture of forms, the intertextual practices (reference, rewriting and reorganzation), the originality of fanciful traveler, the poetic and dialogic stroy and realistic writing.

Com o objetivo de estudar o processo de referência de pacientes que procuram um Hospital Universitário, pela primeira vez e analisar algumas características destes pacientes e as inter relações entre a localização do domicílio, a utilização de outros serviços, as dificuldades e facilidades apresentadas pelos pacientes, para procurar o Hospital, foram investigados todos os pacientes que procuraram um Hospital Universitário. O trabalho foi realizado no período de cinco semanas de outubro e novembro de 1983, a saber: de 3 a 7, 17 a 21 e 24 a 27 de outubro e de 7 a 11 e 21 a 25 de novembro. Através de entrevistas foi preenchido um formulário com questões sobre características do paciente tais como: sexo, idade, nível de instrução; ocupação, local de residência, gravidade dos sinais e sintomas que os levaram a procurar o Hospital, motivo da demanda, distância do domicílio ao Hospital, utilização de outros serviços, tipos de encaminhamento. A hipótese diagnóstica foi obtida do prontuário do paciente, após a consulta. Foram estudados 1.601 pacientes, sendo 59,53 por cento do sexo feminino e 40,47 por cento do sexo masculino. A maior concentração de pacientes pertence ao grupo etário de 15 a 24 anos (24,49 por cento ), seguido pelo de 25 a 34 anos (17,86 por cento ). O nível de instrução mostrou-se bastante baixo, uma vez que, 54,63 por cento tinha o primeiro grau incompleto e 30 por cento analfabetos. A ocupação que apareceu com maior freqüência foi as donas de casa (43,94 por cento ), seguida pelos agricultores (15,51 por cento ), trabalhadores dos serviços dos desportos e das diversões (13, 64 por cento ). Como Hospital Regional 46,34 por cento dos pacientes procedem da região de Ribeirão Preto e 37,48 por cento do próprio município, onde está localizado. A procedência de pacientes na zona rural aumenta proporcionalmente, em relação à urbana a medida que se afasta do município de Ribeirão Preto. De maneira geral, os pacientes da zona urbana procuram mais precocemente o Hospital, quando residem mais próximo dele. A maioria dos pacientes que residem próximo e procuram o Hospital é portador de sinais e sintomas considerado leve, aumentando a proporção de sinais e sintomas graves entre os pacientes que residem mais distantes do Hospital. 32,57 por cento dos pacientes portadores de sinais e sintomas leves e 25,12 por cento dos portadores de sinais e sintomas graves não procuraram outro serviço, antes de demandarem ao Hospital e informaram não ter procurado outro serviço, por falta de recursos para pagar assistência médica e não confiar no Centro de Saúde. Dentre os pacientes que procuram outros serviços antes, apenas 54,4 O por cento foram referidos para o Hospital e 87,36 por cento destes não receberam orientação para, após o atendimento no Hospital, retornarem a seu serviço de origem. O fluxo de pacientes ao Hospital diminuiu paulatinamente, no decorrer da semana. As doenças do sistema nervoso e dos órgãos dos sentidos ocupam o primeiro lugar entre as hipóteses diagnósticas dos pacientes que procuram o Hospital, pela primeira vez. Dos 1601 pacientes atendidos, 14,74 por cento não foram registrados, conforme rotina estabelecida pelo Hospital, podendo gerar estatísticas imperfeitas. O estudo do processo de referência ao Hospital mostrou-se importante para o conhecimento das características dos pacientes, das inter relações com os outros serviços e das peculiaridades própria do Hospital, como subsídio para organização da assistência à saúde. / With the objective to study the process of referral of patients who look for a University Hospital for the first time and to analyze some characteristics of these patients and the interrelationships between the location of their homes, the use of other services and the difficulties or the facilitation met by the patient to contact the hospital, all the patients who looked for a University Hospital were investigated. The study was conducted over a period of five weeks from October 3 to 7, 17 to 21 and 24 to 27 and from November 7 to 11 and 21 to 25, 1983. Each patient was interviewed and a form was filled out with answers to questions of the characteristics of the patient such as sex, age, level of education, occupation, place of residence, seriousness of the signs and symptoms that led him to look for the Hospital, reason for the demand, distance of the residence from the Hospital, type of referrals. The diagnostic hypothesis was taken from the patient\'s medical record after his medical visit. A total of 1601 patients were studied; 59.53 per cent were women and 40.43 per cent were males. Most patient were concentrated in the 15 to 24 year age range (24.49 per cent ), followed by the 25 to 34 year age range (17.86 per cent ). The level of education was quite low, since 54.63 per cent had not completed elementary school and 30 per cent were illiterate. The most frequent types of occupation were: housewife (43.94 per cent ), followed by rural workers (15.51 per cent ) and by workers in suports and amusement services (13.64 per cent ). Since this is a Regional Hospital, 46.34 per cent of the patients were from the Ribeirão Preto region and 37.48 per cent from the town itself in which the Hospital is located. The origin of patients from the rural zone increased proportionally in relation to the urban zone with the distance from Ribeirão Preto. In general, the patients from the urban zone look earlier for the Hospital when they live closer to it. Most of the patients living close to the Hospital had signs and symptoms considered mild, with an increase in the proportion of serious signs and symptans anong the patients who live farther away from the Hospital. 32.57 per cent of the patients with mild signs and symptoms and 25.12 per cent of the patients with serious signs and symptoms did not look for any other service before contacting the Hospital and informed that they had not lookes for other services because of lack of money to pay for medical assistance and because they did not trust the health center. Among the patients who had previously looked for other services, 54.40 per cent were referred to the Hospital and 87.36 per cent of these did not receive guidance to return to the original service after being attended at the Hospital. The flow of patients to the Hospital decreased little by little with each passing week. Diseases of the nervous system and of the sensory organs occupied first place among the diagnostic hypotheses for the patients who looked for the Hospital for the first time. Of 1601 patients attended, l4.74 per cent were not registered according to the routine established by the Hospital, a fact that may give rise to imperfet statistics. The study of the process of referral to the Hospital proved to be important in terms of learning about the characteristics of the patients, the interrelationships with the other services and the peculiarities of the Hospital, as an aid in organizing health assistance.

Thesis advisor: Richard Cobb-Stevens / This essay addresses the problems posed by proper names in regards to their relationship to that which they name (their "reference"). This relation of a name to its reference serves as a model for how language in general relates to the world as it actually is, making the question of what a name names of vital epistemological importance. The main problem posed by proper names is whether they simply denote, or whether they connote (i.e. have some informational content), and if they connote, what picture should we give of that content? This essay critiques a variety of theories about proper names, including those of Frege, Russell, Kripke, Searle, Evans, and Sainsbury. It concludes that names of unique entities do have informational content, in the form of a yet unspecified family of definite descriptions that rigidly designate an individual, which arises out of various causal chains of communication in a community. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2007. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Philosophy. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

O Ecodesign visa desenvolver produtos inovadores e competitivos que causem menos impactos ambientais (produtos ecoeficientes) e implica na introdução sistemática de requisitos ambientais ao Processo de Desenvolvimento de Produtos (PDP). O objetivo geral desse trabalho é propor um modelo genérico para a gestão do processo de desenvolvimento de produtos que contemple o Ecodesign. Esse modelo, por hipótese, poderia auxiliar empresas tanto na construção de um modelo padrão de PDP como também para a realização de benchmarking em modelos existentes. Exceção feita à definição de estratégias de produtos e geração de ideias de novos produtos, para o que foi adotado o modelo proposto por Crawford e Benedetto (2006), esse trabalho foi construído tendo-se como base o Modelo Unificado proposto por Rozenfeld et al. (2006). A introdução do Ecodesign ao modelo unificado foi suportada por práticas de Ecodesign e promoveu, principalmente, alterações em tarefas já existentes no modelo original. Somente a hipótese de que o modelo proposto pode ser utilizado como benchmarking foi testada por meio da realização de um estudo de caso, cujos resultados comprovaram essa hipótese. Também como resultado do estudo de caso, pode-se comprovar a necessidade de orientação estratégia em Ecodesign em complemento à sua dimensão operacional de projeto de produto. Esse trabalho espera ter contribuído também com a sistematização de práticas de Ecodesign existentes bem como com o estabelecimento de diretrizes estratégicas para que empresas se iniciem junto ao tema do Ecodesign. Dessa forma, espera-se auxiliar a adoção do Ecodesign por um número maior de empresas, o que aumentaria a oferta de produtos ecoeficientes, auxiliando, assim, na redução dos impactos ambientais causados pelos produtos. / Ecodesign aims to develop innovative and competitive products that cause less environmental impacts (eco-efficient products) and involves the systematic introduction of environmental requirements to the Product Development Process (PDP). The aim of this study is to propose a generic model for managing the product development process that addresses the Ecodesign. In theory this model could help companies both in the construction of a standard model of PDP as well as for benchmarking the existing ones. Except for the definition of product strategy and generating ideas for new products, for which the model proposed by Crawford and Benedetto (2006) was adopted this study was built based on the Unified Model proposed by Rozenfeld et al. (2006). The introduction of Ecodesign to the unified model was supported by Ecodesign practices and promoted mainly changes in the original´s model existing tasks. Only the hypothesis that the proposed model can be used as a benchmark was tested by conducting a case study, whose results confirmed this hypothesis. Also as a result of the case study, one can prove the need for strategic guidance in Ecodesign to complement their technical dimension of product design. This study also hopes to have contributed to the systematization of existing eco-design practices as well as the establishment of strategic guidelines for companies to begin with the theme of Ecodesign. Thus, it is expected facilitate adoption of Ecodesign for a larger number of companies, which would increase the supply of eco-efficient products, helping thus to reduce the environmental impacts caused by products.

Sistemas embarcados, inclusive para eletrônica de consumo, vêm se tornando cada vez mais complexos, requerendo a utilização de novas tecnologias, bem como novas abordagens para o seu desenvolvimento. Em particular, o desenvolvimento de aplicações para TV Digital interativa têm requerido crescente aplicação de novas técnicas de programação e engenharia de software, visando facilitar o desenvolvimento e manutenção desses sistemas. Em paralelo, arquiteturas de referência, um tipo especial de arquitetura de software, têm sido proposta para diversos domínios de aplicação e têm contribudo efetivamente para o desenvolvimento, padronização e evolução de sistemas de software de tais domínios. Contudo, o uso de arquiteturas de referência ainda não foi explorado em profundidade no desenvolvimento de aplicações para o domínio de TV Digital. Nesse contexto, o principal objetivo desse trabalho e propor uma arquitetura de referência para o domínio de TV Digital interativa, que facilite o desenvolvimento de aplicações para o ambiente procedural do middleware para o receptor digital. Como principais resultados alcançados neste trabalho, têm-se a contribuição para a área de TV Digital, buscando promover essa área que têm se destacado consideravelmente nos últimos anos / Embedded systems, especially in consumer electronics, are becoming increasingly complex, requiring the use of new technologies and approaches for their development. In particular, the development of interactive applications for digital TV requires new programming techniques and software engineering practices in order to facilitate the reliability and maintenance of these systems. In a parallel perspective, reference architectures, an special type of software architecture, have been proposed for several applications domain and have effectively contributed to the development, standardization, and evolution of software systems on such domains. However, the use of reference architectures has not been in depth explored in the digital TV domain. In this context, this work proposes a reference architecture for this domain. This architecture enables the development of applications for the procedural middleware environment for the digital TV receiver. The main result achieved in this work is the contribution to the development of interactive TV middleware-based applications, aiming at promoting this area that has been substantially explored in recent years

Software architectures have played an essential role in determining the quality of software systems. In this scenario, reference architectures is a special type of software architecture that has successfully supported the development, standardization, and evolution of a set of systems. Considering their relevance, many reference architectures are established for diverse domains, such as health, automotive, robotics, and transportation systems. These application domains continually evolve and their reference architectures also need to evolve to continue to be efficient for such domains. However, many of them have not been adequately evolved. Diverse elements, such as design decisions and adherence to good design practices, influence the ability of reference architectures to support continuous changes while maintaining their efficiency; therefore, a major challenge is to ensure the sustainability in reference architectures. Hence, it is quite interesting to be able to analyze the sustainability of these architectures. The main objective of this Masters project is to establish a model concerning factors for analyze sustainability in reference architectures. In order to evaluate our proposal, a survey was conducted with experts to validate such model. 90% of experts agree that the model can be useful to indicate whether a reference architecture is sustainable or not, and 80% of experts think that our model can be useful for building newly sustainable reference architectures. / Arquiteturas de software desempenham um papel essencial na determinação da qualidade de sistemas de software. Nesse cenário, arquitetura de referência é um tipo especial de arquitetura de software que tem apoiado com êxito o desenvolvimento, padronização e evolução dos sistemas. Considerando sua relevância, muitas arquiteturas de referência foram estabelecidas para diversos domínios, tais como saúde, automotivo e robótica. No entanto, esses domínios de aplicações continuamente evoluem e suas arquiteturas de referência também precisam evoluir para continuar apoiando tais domínios. Diversos elementos, tais como as decisões do projeto e aderência às boas práticas de projeto, influenciam a capacidade das arquiteturas de referência para suportar mudanças contínuas, mantendo sua eficiência. Portanto, um grande desafio é garantir a sustentabilidade em arquiteturas de referência. Assim, o objetivo principal deste projeto de Mestrado é estabelecer um modelo com fatores para analisar a sustentabilidade em arquiteturas de referência. Para avaliar nossa proposta, um survey com especialistas foi conduzido vala validar tal modelo. 90% dos especialistas concordam que o modelo pode ser usado para indicar se uma arquitetura de referência é sustentável ou não, e 80% dos especialistas consideram que nosso modelo pode ser útil para projetar novas arquiteturas de referências sustentáveis.