Color has been widely used in content-based image retrieval (CBIR) applications. In such applications the color properties of an image are usually characterized by the probability distribution of the colors in the image. A distance measure is then used to measure the (dis-)similarity between images based on the descriptions of their color distributions in order to quickly find relevant images. The development and investigation of statistical methods for robust representations of such distributions, the construction of distance measures between them and their applications in efficient retrieval, browsing, and structuring of very large image databases are the main contributions of the thesis. In particular we have addressed the following problems in CBIR. Firstly, different non-parametric density estimators are used to describe color information for CBIR applications. Kernel-based methods using nonorthogonal bases together with a Gram-Schmidt procedure and the application of the Fourier transform are introduced and compared to previously used histogram-based methods. Our experiments show that efficient use of kernel density estimators improves the retrieval performance of CBIR. The practical problem of how to choose an optimal smoothing parameter for such density estimators as well as the selection of the histogram bin-width for CBIR applications are also discussed. Distance measures between color distributions are then described in a differential geometry-based framework. This allows the incorporation of geometrical features of the underlying color space into the distance measure between the probability distributions. The general framework is illustrated with two examples: Normal distributions and linear representations of distributions. The linear representation of color distributions is then used to derive new compact descriptors for color-based image retrieval. These descriptors are based on the combination of two ideas: Incorporating information from the structure of the color space with information from images and application of projection methods in the space of color distribution and the space of differences between neighboring color distributions. In our experiments we used several image databases containing more than 1,300,000 images. The experiments show that the method developed in this thesis is very fast and that the retrieval performance chievedcompares favorably with existing methods. A CBIR system has been developed and is currently available at http://www.media.itn.liu.se/cse. We also describe color invariant descriptors that can be used to retrieve images of objects independent of geometrical factors and the illumination conditions under which these images were taken. Both statistics- and physics-based methods are proposed and examined. We investigated the interaction between light and material using different physical models and applied the theory of transformation groups to derive geometry color invariants. Using the proposed framework, we are able to construct all independent invariants for a given physical model. The dichromatic reflection model and the Kubelka-Munk model are used as examples for the framework. The proposed color invariant descriptors are then applied to both CBIR, color image segmentation, and color correction applications. In the last chapter of the thesis we describe an industrial application where different color correction methods are used to optimize the layout of a newspaper page. / <p>A search engine based, on the methodes discribed in this thesis, can be found at http://pub.ep.liu.se/cse/db/?. Note that the question mark must be included in the address.</p>

North-eastern part of Frýdlantský Spur is situated at the northern foothills of the Jizera Mountains. It represents an area, which was at least twice covered by North-European ice sheet during the Middle Pleistocene. At the same time, it is the region whose hills have the summits around the expected altitudinal limit of the maximum ice sheet extent. Therefore, it is a suitable area to study glacial trimline altitude. Schmidt hammer testing was applied to determine different state of rock surface weathering. Obtained R-values were taken as the most relevant data for glacial trimline determination. Nevertheless, other approaches (GIS analysis, outcrops, block fields and erratics mapping) were also incorporated. Interpretation of these approaches gave the altitudinal limit of ice sheets in the north-eastern part of the Frýdlantský Spur at 500 m a. s. l. ± 20 m.

iv Summary Schmidt hammer is the instrument which is used for the assessment of rock mechanical properties and this instrument is classified as the indirect method. This method is based on the assessment of rebound value (R) of the Schmidt hammer, which is measurred by the amount of rebound of the impact plunger from the surface of tested rock. Schmidt hammer is called as the non-destructive method of rock assessment and it is called as in situ testing method as well. The main objective of this work is provement, that Schmidt hammer testing is destructive method and define degree of damage which is caused in the rock mass. Sedimentary rocks were used for the testing, mostly sandstones and arkose sandstones with different types of cement. This made it possible to test the fraction of the rock mass and the relation between fraction and type of cement. The clasts of the rocks had different properties than it was possible to find the relation between grain size and fraction of the rock. Already in procedure of the testing by Schmidt hammer it was obvious, that this metod is definitely destructive. Rock surface after hitting by plunger of Schmidt hammer gains macroscopically observeable destruction. On the surface is the circular track of the plunger and the surface is grinded. It is possible to wipe the small...

Sara Payson Willis Eldredge Farrington Parton, more famously known as the elusive Fanny Fern, employs three autobiographical personae mediated by fiction in her debut novel, Ruth Hall: (1) Ruth Hall, the novel's protagonist; (2) Floy, the fictional Ruth's pseudonym; and (3) Fanny Fern, Parton's real-life pseudonym and the name under which Ruth Hall was published. Together these personae assert a fragmented presence that incorporates various voices and lives, allowing for exploration, growth, and interactivity.Philippe Lejeune's autobiographical contract outlines three specific guidelines for autobiography—that it be a narrative, that it explore personal history, and that it link author and protagonist. Ruth Hall participates in two-thirds of Lejeune's contract, though Parton's conscious fictionalization demands a revisiting of the autobiographical contract, revealing the impossibility of recording truth as well as the impracticality of a unitary self.Through her use of autobiographical personae in Ruth Hall and in her personal life, Parton succeeds in rewriting the narrative of domesticity for the nineteenth-century American woman. Her self-conceptualization embraces multiplicity as she demands to be seen as "more than."

Le point de départ de cette thèse est un problème posé par le groupe électromagnétisme de EADS-CCR : comment résoudre plusieurs systèmes linéaires avec la même matrice mais différents seconds membres ? Pour l'application voulue, les matrices sont complexes, denses et de grande taille. Un problème standard comporte environ quelques millions d'inconnues. Comme de telles matrices ne peuvent être ni calculées, ni stockées dans un processus industriel, l'utilisation d'un produit matrice-vecteur approché est la seule alternative. En l'occurrence, le produit matrice-vecteur est effectué en utilisant la méthode multipôle rapide. Dans ce contexte, le but de cette thèse est d'adapter les méthodes itératives de type Krylov de telle sorte qu'elles traitent efficacement les nombreux seconds membres. Des travaux préliminaires avec un seul second membre ont montré que la méthode GMRES est particulièrement efficace et robuste pour cette application. En conséquence dans cette thèse nous abordons uniquement les variantes de GMRES. Les schémas d'orthogonalisation que nous avons implantés dans GMRES sont des variantes de l'algorithme de Gram-Schmidt. <br /><br />Dans une première partie, nous nous intéressons à l'influence des erreurs d'arrondi dans les algorithmes de Gram-Schmidt. Nos résultats répondent à des questions vieilles de vingt-cinq ans. Nous donnons l'explication théorique de ce qui était communément observé et accepté : <br /><br /> - l'algorithme de Gram-Schmidt modifié génère un ensemble de vecteurs bien conditionné ;<br /> - l'algorithme de Gram-Schmidt itéré deux fois fabrique un ensemble de vecteurs orthonormé.<br /><br />Ces deux propositions reposent sur l'hypothèse que la matrice de départ est "numériquement non singulière" en un sens qui est clairement défini. D'autre part, quand l'algorithme de Gram-Schmidt est itéré avec un critère de réorthogonalisation, nous proposons un nouveau critère. Nous montrons que l'algorithme obtenu est robuste alors que le critère communément utilisé est mis en défaut dans certains cas. Finalement, nous généralisons des résultats standards sur les normes en terme de valeurs singulières pour l'algorithme de Gram-Schmidt modifié. Ceci nous permet de dériver un schéma de réorthogonalisation a posteriori utilisant une matrice de rang faible. Ces résultats ont plusieurs applications directes. Nous en donnons des exemples avec les méthodes de Krylov pour résoudre des problèmes linéaires avec plusieurs seconds membres.<br /><br />Dans la deuxième partie, nous avons implémenté des variantes de la méthode GMRES pour les arithmétiques réelle et complexe, simple et double précisions. Cette implémentation convient pour des ordinateurs classiques, à mémoire partagée ou distribuée. Le code en résultant satisfait aux critères de qualité des librairies standards et son implémentation est largement détaillée. Pour des besoins de simplicité, flexibilité et efficacité, les solveurs utilisent un mécanisme de reverse communication pour les produits matrice-vecteur, les étapes de préconditionnement et les produits scalaires. Différents schémas d'orthogonalisation sont implémentés pour réduire le coût de calcul des produits scalaires, un point particulièrement important pour l'efficacité des méthodes de Krylov dans un environnement parallèle distribué. Le critère d'arrêt implémenté est basé sur l'erreur inverse normalisée. Les variantes disponibles sont GMRES-DR, seed-GMRES et block-GMRES. Ces codes s'ajoutent aux variantes déjà existantes (GMRES, flexible GMRES et SQMR). Un produit matrice-vecteur avec une décomposition LU est utilisé dans GMRES-DR de telle sorte que le stockage des approximations des vecteurs propres se fasse sur les premiers vecteurs de l'espace de Krylov. Un restart implicite et une étape de préconditionnement implicite ont été implémentés dans seed-GMRES. Nous supprimons ainsi un produit matrice-vecteur et une étape de préconditionnement par second membre et par cycle de GMRES. La version de block-GMRES permet à l'utilisateur de sélectionner différents modes de déflation. Pour terminer, des résultats reliant la norme du résidu de GMRES à la plus petite valeur singulière de l'espace construit par la méthode de Krylov ont été généralisés à la méthode block-GMRES.<br /><br />La troisième partie est consacrée à l'amélioration des techniques standards pour la résolution des systèmes linéaires dans le cadre des problèmes électromagnétiques. Après une présentation approfondie du code, nous étudions l'influence de la non-symétrie sur la convergence de l'algorithme SQMR. Nous étudions aussi le comportement de GMRES-DR sur nos problèmes. Ceci correspond à deux méthodes avec un seul second membre, le reste de cette partie concerne les cas comportant plusieurs seconds membres. Tout d'abord, nous examinons en détail les techniques qui permettent d'adapter les méthodes utilisées pour un second membre unique aux cas comportant plusieurs seconds membres. Par exemple, on peut améliorer la qualité du préconditionneur, avoir une stratégie de solution initiale, grouper les opérations de plusieurs résolutions ou encore paralléliser plusieurs résolutions. Dans le contexte du calcul de surface équivalente radar monostatique, nous avons montré que l'espace des seconds membres du problème continu était de dimension finie. La dimension donnée par notre théorie est proche de celle que nous observons en pratique. Cette propriété nous permet de réduire considérablement le nombre de systèmes linéaires à résoudre. Dans ce contexte, une version de la méthode block-GMRES est donnée. Ensuite, nous abordons certains problèmes spécifiques des méthodes seed-GMRES et block-GMRES pour lesquels nous proposons des solutions. Pour finir, des résultats plus prospectifs sont donnés. Plusieurs stratégies pour extraire et ajouter de l'information spectrale d'un cycle de GMRES à l'autre sont proposées et comparées. Puis nous utilisons le fait que la méthode multipôle rapide est un produit matrice-vecteur inexact dont la précision est réglable. Moins précis est le produit matrice-vecteur, plus rapide il est. Nous montrons comment tirer partie de cette propriété en utilisant un schéma relâché (méthode de Krylov inexacte) ou des itérations emboîtées (flexible GMRES). Enfin, le critère d'arrêt basé sur l'erreur inverse normalisée dans le cadre du calcul d'une surface équivalente radar est remis en question.

The diploma thesis deals with German historiography in South Bohemia in the late 19th and 20th century. The main subjects of the research are four semi-professional regional historians; native German who studied south-bohemian history. The first one was a teacher and city archivist Reinhold Huyer (1850-1928), the second was a governor archivist Karl Köpl (1851-1932), then a Cistercian priest Valentin Schmidt (1863-1927) and a teacher and politician Franz Engelbert Vollgruber (1847-1917). The first chapter discusses the development of German historiography in the Czech lands. Then, the chapter analyses the definition, progression and the representatives of Czech and German regional history, mainly in South Bohemia. The second chapter portrays private and public life of these authors. The third chapter maps their work, whose primal concern was the history of south-bohemian region, their aims, topics they dealt with, their used primal sources and literature, editorial work and their contribution to the knowledge of the local history. The last chapter shows the bibliography of the work of Huyer, Köpl, Schmidt and Vollgruber. The conclusion sums achieved results of the research. After the conclusion, there is a list of used primal sources, literature and appendixes. The thesis is mainly based on the study of personal collection of German historians, their independent publications and regional newspapers, where their most often contribution concerned the local history.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T12:14:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Arquivototal.pdf: 2897753 bytes, checksum: dcf36c9ad33420797b30ee420d027633 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-07-29 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Recently, tapered granular chains have been studied for the development of impact-absorbing devices (shock waves). The characteristic of this system to mitigate shock waves (pulses of linear momentum), makes this material an excellent candidate for such absorbers. Therefore, many studies have been conducted in this direction, but most are numeric character, and some analytical. However, the analytical approximations presented do not show good fits with numerical solutions. In this work we study analytically the propagation of linear momentum and kinetic energy in one-dimensional tapered chains of spherical grains that interact according to the Hertz potential. We apply the binary approximation, based on the supposition that the energy transferred along the chain occurs through successive collisions between two particles. Four settings taper were studied: forward linear, forward exponential, backward linear and backward exponential. With the Binary Theory, we correctly anticipate the trends of increase and decrease the propagation of linear momentum and kinetic energy. However, to capture the correct values of the amplitudes of the pulses of these quantities we developed a numericalanalytic correction to the velocities of particles. Compared the results with numerical solutions of the equations of motion, where we use the Runge-Kutta fourth order. The results show: good agreement between the analytical and numerical theories; forward exponentially tapered chains are the most suitable in the design of absorbers (present exponential decay of linear momentum); a weaker scenario for the propagation of kinetic energy (due to quadratic dependence with the velocity), but the linear momentum is the quantity relevant in the context of impacts.Furthermore, we found good agreement with experimental results presented by F. Melo et al (2006). Thus, we present analytical expressions that capture correctly the propagation of linear momentum and kinetic energy in tapered granular chains. These systems actually demonstrate be excellent for absorbing shock waves, attenuating pulses of linear momentum and saturating kinetic energy. An extension of this work is to study tapered decorated chains and with precompression, allowing the absorption in chains composed of a number smaller grains (short chains). / Recentemente, cadeias granulares afiladas tem sido objeto de estudo para o desenvolvimento de dispositivos absorvedores de impacto (ondas de choque). A caracterıstica deste sistema em atenuar ondas de choque (pulsos de momento linear), torna este material um excelente candidato para tais absorvedores. Assim, vários estudos neste sentido foram realizados, por´em a maioria são de caráter numérico e, alguns, anal´ıticos. Todavia, as aproximaçoes analıticas apresentadas não demonstram bons ajustes com soluções numericas. Neste trabalho estudamos analiticamente a propagação do momento linear e energia cinetica em cadeias afiladas unidimensionais de graos esfericos que interagem segundo o potencial de Hertz. Aplicamos a aproximaçao binaria, baseada na suposiçao que a energia transferida ao longo da cadeia ocorre atraves de colis oes sucessivas entre duas part´ıculas. Estudamos quatro configuraçoes de afilamento: linear para frente, exponencial para frente, linear para tras e exponencial para tras. Com a Teoria Binaria, prevemos corretamente as tendencias de aumento e diminuiçao das propagaçoes do momento linear e energia cinetica. Contudo, para capturarmos os valores corretos das amplitudes dos pulsos dessas grandezas desenvolvemos uma correçao numerico-analıtica para as velocidades das partıculas. Confrontamos os resultados com soluçoes numericas das equaçoes de movimento, onde utilizamos o metodo de Runge-Kutta de quarta ordem. Os resultados demonstram: bom acordo entre as teorias analıtica e numerica; as cadeias afiladas exponencialmente para frente são as mais indicadas nos projetos de absorvedores (apresentam decaimento exponencial do momento linear); um cen´ario mais fraco para a propagação da energia cinetica (devido a dependencia quadratica com a velocidade), porem o momento linear e a grandeza relevante no contexto de impactos. Alem disso, obtivemos bom acordo com resultados experimentais apresentados por F. Melo e colaboradores (2006). Dessa forma, apresentamos expressoes analıticas que capturam corretamente as propagaçoes de momento linear e energia cinetica em cadeias granulares afiladas. Estes sistemas, realmente demonstram serem excelentes para absorver ondas de choque, atenuando pulsos de momento linear e saturando pulsos de energia cin´etica.Uma extensao deste trabalho sera estudar cadeias decoradas afiladas com pre-compressao, que permitem a absorçao de ondas de choque com numero menor de graos nas cadeias (cadeias curtas).

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / Este trabalho apresenta estudos sobre sistemas de comunicaÃÃo cujos sinais utilizados para a transmissÃo das informaÃÃes sÃo nÃo-ortogonais, superpostos em frequÃncia, e com espaÃamento entre portadoras menor do que a taxa de sÃmbolo. As pesquisas estÃo direcionadas na obtenÃÃo de estruturas de transmissor e receptor Ãtimos e sub-Ãtimos, na modelagem e anÃlise matemÃtica dos sistemas incluindo o canal, em propostas de estratÃgias para detecÃÃo de sÃmbolo, e na avaliaÃÃo de desempenho. SÃo propostas sete estratÃgias de recepÃÃo de N sinais m-QAM nÃo-ortogonais atravÃs do canal AWGN. Dentre as estratÃgias de detecÃÃo duas sÃo Ãtimas e as outras cinco sÃo subÃtimas. As duas estruturas de receptores Ãtimos apresentados neste trabalho sÃo: o receptor de mÃxima verossimilhanÃa (ML) clÃssico e o receptor de mÃxima verossimilhanÃa com base na decomposiÃÃo de Gram-Schmidt. Os receptores sub-Ãtimos desenvolvidos neste trabalho sÃo de dois tipos: receptores com equalizaÃÃo linear e receptores com equalizaÃÃo nÃo-linear. O primeiro tipo de receptor à desenvolvido com base nos critÃrios de erro quadrÃtico mÃdio mÃnimo (MMSE) e o de forÃagem a zero (ZF). à apresentado o desenvolvimento analÃtico do projeto de cada uma das arquiteturas de receptores lineares, assim como à determinado o erro dos estimadores. Os receptores com equalizaÃÃo nÃo-linear sÃo baseados no cancelamento de interferÃncia sucessiva (SIC). Neste trabalho, à proposta uma modificaÃÃo no algoritmo do SIC original, resultando em uma nova arquitetura de equalizaÃÃo. O desempenho dos receptores propostos à avaliado em diferentes condiÃÃes de nÃmero de portadoras e de grau de superposiÃÃo espectral atravÃs de simulaÃÃo computacional. Por fim, sÃo apresentados as conlusÃes e as perspectivas futuras de pesquisa. / This work presents studies on communication systems, whose signals used for transmission of information are non-orthogonal, overlapping in frequency and carrier spacing less than the rate of symbols. The research is aimed to obtain structures of transmitter, optimal and sub-optimal receivers using modeling and mathematical analysis of systems including the channel. Furthermore, propose strategies for symbol detection and performance evaluation. Seven strategies of reception to N signals m-QAM non-orthogonal through the AWGN channel. Among the strategies of detection two are optimal and the others five are suboptimal. The two optimal receivers structures presented in this paper are: the classical receiver maximum likelihood (ML) receiver and maximum likelihood based on the Gram-Schmidt decomposition. The suboptimal receivers in this work are of two types: receivers with linear and nonlinear equalization. The first type of receiver is developed based on the criteria of minimum mean square error (MMSE) and the zero forcing (ZF). It is presented the development of analytical design of each linear receiver architectures, as well as determined the error of the estimators. The receivers with nonlinear equalization are based on successive interference cancellation (SIC). In this paper, we propose a modification to the original algorithm of SIC, resulting in a new architecture of equalization. The performance of the proposed receivers is evaluated under different number of carriers and the degree of spectral overlap using computer simulation. Finally, we present the conclusions of this work and future prospects of the research.

This dissertation about the Stirling engine deals with the history and formation of the heat engine. At the beginning of this work, fundamental parts and their functions are described, elucidating the principle of operation explained by the thermodynamic cycle and subsequently comparing the ideal and the real Stirling cycle and last but not least provides various modifications whilst describing their differences. The mathematical model of the Stirling engine is processed by Schmidth’s theoretical analysis and thereafter is created in PScad v46. The process of creating a model is shown in one of the chapters of this dissertation. The results were taken into account in the design of 3D models in Inventor Professional by Autodesk. The work concludes with the evaluation of the computational model and its functionality as well as the documentation of the 3D model.

Das Ziel dieser Diplomarbeit ist ein Modell für die Plattendeformationen unter Beachtung großer Verzerrungen sowie die Implementierung einer entsprechenden FE-Simulation. Durch Einsetzen der Kirchhoff-Hypothese in die nichtlineare statische dreidimensionale Elastizitätstheorie wird die Gesamtenergie einer deformierten Platte einzig und allein durch die Verschiebungen ihrer Mittelfläche beschrieben. Minimieren dieser Energie führt auf ein nichtlineares Variationsproblem, welches mit Hilfe des Newton-Verfahrens und der Finiten-Elemente-Methode numerisch gelöst werden kann. Dafür werden die Formeln des Energiefunktionals sowie der notwendigen zwei Linearisierungen angegeben. Mit der weiteren Annahme, dass sich die Normale der Mittelfläche nicht ändert, wird eine FE-Implementierung mit bilinearen Elementfunktionen in der Plattenebene und bikubischen Elementfunktionen, vom Bogner-Fox-Schmidt-Element, in Dickenrichtung hergeleitet. / The aim of this thesis is a model for the plate deformations, under consideration of large strains, and the implementation of a suitable FE simulation. Starting from nonlinear static 3D elasticity theory and introducing the Kirchhoff assumptions, the total energy of a deformed plate is described solely by the displacements of its midsurface. Minimizing this energy leads to a nonlinear variational problem, which can be solved numerically, using Newton's method and the finite element method. For this purpose, the formulae of the energy functional and its necessary two linearizations are provided. With the further assumption that the normal of the midsurface does not change, an FE implementation is derived, with bilinear element functions in the in-plane-direction and bicubic element functions, from the Bogner-Fox-Schmidt-element, in the out-of-plane-direction.