Medical imaging is critical for the detection and diagnosis of disease, guided biopsies, assessment of therapies, and administration of treatment. While computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and ultra-sound (US) are the more familiar modalities, interest in yet other modalities continues to grow. Among the motivations are reduction of cost, avoidance of ionizing radiation, and the search for new information, including biochemical and molecular processes. Fluorescence Molecular Tomography (FMT) is one such emerging technique and, like other techniques, has its advantages and limitations. FMT can reconstruct the distribution of fluorescent molecules in vivo using near-infrared radiation or visible band light to illuminate the subject. FMT is very safe since non-ionizing radiation is used, and inexpensive due to the comparatively low cost of the imaging system. This should make it particularly well suited for small animal studies for research. A broad range of cell activity can be identified by FMT, making it a potentially valuable tool for cancer screening, drug discovery and gene therapy. Since FMT imaging is scattering dominated, reconstruction of volume images is significantly more computationally intensive than for CT. For instance, to reconstruct a 32x32x32 image, a flattened matrix with approximately 10¹°, or 10 billion, elements must be dealt with in the inverse problem, while requiring more than 100 GB of memory. To reduce the error introduced by noisy measurements, significantly more measurements are needed, leading to a proportionally larger matrix. The computational complexity of reconstructing FMT images, along with inaccuracies in photon propagation models, has heretofore limited the resolution and accuracy of FMT. To surmount the problems stated above, we decompose the forward problem into a Khatri-Rao product. Inversion of this model is shown to lead to a novel reconstruction method that significantly reduces the computational complexity and memory requirements for overdetermined datasets. Compared to the well known SVD approach, this new reconstruction method decreases computation time by a factor of up to 25, while simultaneously reducing the memory requirement by up to three orders of magnitude. Using this method, we have reconstructed images up to 32x32x32. Also outlined is a two step approach which would enable imaging larger volumes. However, it remains a topic for future research. In achieving the above, the author studied the physics of FMT, developed an extensive set of original computer programs, performed COMSOL simulations on photon diffusion, and unavoidably, developed visual displays.

The purpose of this study is to introduce the methods of the deconvolution and to programme some of them. For the simulation, the tissue homogeneity model and the model of arterial input fiction were used. These models were engaged as the test procedures with the aim of verify the functionality and utility of the Wiener filter, the Lucy-Richardson algorithm and the Singular value decomposition.

Information retrieval is much more challenging than traditional small document collection retrieval. The main difference is the importance of correlations between related concepts in complex data structures. These structures have been studied by several information retrieval systems. This research began by performing a comprehensive review and comparison of several techniques of matrix dimensionality estimation and their respective effects on enhancing retrieval performance using singular value decomposition and latent semantic analysis. Two novel techniques have been introduced in this research to enhance intrinsic dimensionality estimation, the Multi-criteria Decision Weighted model to estimate matrix intrinsic dimensionality for large document collections and the Average Standard Estimator (ASE) for estimating data intrinsic dimensionality based on the singular value decomposition (SVD). ASE estimates the level of significance for singular values resulting from the singular value decomposition. ASE assumes that those variables with deep relations have sufficient correlation and that only those relationships with high singular values are significant and should be maintained. Experimental results over all possible dimensions indicated that ASE improved matrix intrinsic dimensionality estimation by including the effect of both singular values magnitude of decrease and random noise distracters. Analysis based on selected performance measures indicates that for each document collection there is a region of lower dimensionalities associated with improved retrieval performance. However, there was clear disagreement between the various performance measures on the model associated with best performance. The introduction of the multi-weighted model and Analytical Hierarchy Processing (AHP) analysis helped in ranking dimensionality estimation techniques and facilitates satisfying overall model goals by leveraging contradicting constrains and satisfying information retrieval priorities. ASE provided the best estimate for MEDLINE intrinsic dimensionality among all other dimensionality estimation techniques, and further, ASE improved precision and relative relevance by 10.2% and 7.4% respectively. AHP analysis indicates that ASE and the weighted model ranked the best among other methods with 30.3% and 20.3% in satisfying overall model goals in MEDLINE and 22.6% and 25.1% for CRANFIELD. The weighted model improved MEDLINE relative relevance by 4.4%, while the scree plot, weighted model, and ASE provided better estimation of data intrinsic dimensionality for CRANFIELD collection than Kaiser-Guttman and Percentage of variance. ASE dimensionality estimation technique provided a better estimation of CISI intrinsic dimensionality than all other tested methods since all methods except ASE tend to underestimate CISI document collection intrinsic dimensionality. ASE improved CISI average relative relevance and average search length by 28.4% and 22.0% respectively. This research provided evidence supporting a system using a weighted multi-criteria performance evaluation technique resulting in better overall performance than a single criteria ranking model. Thus, the weighted multi-criteria model with dimensionality reduction provides a more efficient implementation for information retrieval than using a full rank model.

Heat flux and heat conductance at the metal mold interface plays a key role in controlling the final metal casting strength. It is difficult to obtain these parameters through direct measurement because of the required placement of sensors, however they can be obtained through inverse heat conduction calculations. Existing inverse heat conduction methods are analyzed and classified into three categories, i.e., direct inverse methods, observer-based methods and optimization methods. The solution of the direct inverse methods is based on the linear relationship between heat flux and temperature (either in the time domain or in the frequency domain) and is calculated in batch mode. The observer-based method consists on the application of observer theory to the inverse heat conduction problem. The prominent characteristic in this category is online estimation, but the methods in this category show weak robustness. Transforming estimation problems into optimization problems forms the methods in the third category. The methods in third category show very good robustness property and can be easily extended to multidimensional and nonlinear problems. The unknown parameters in some inverse heat conduction methods can be obtained by a proposed calibration procedure. A two-index property evaluation (accuracy and robustness) is also proposed to evaluate inverse heat conduction methods and thus determine which method is suitable for a given situation. The thermocouple dynamics effect on inverse calculation is also analyzed. If the thermocouple dynamics is omitted in the inverse calculation, the time constant of thermocouple should be as small as possible. Finally, a simple model is provided simulating the temperature measurement using a thermocouple. FEA (Finite Element Analysis) is employed to simulate temperature measurement.

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Este trabalho tem como objetivo o desenvolvimento de uma metodologia de monitoramento a partir da alocação de medidores voltada para a estimação de estado harmônico trifásica em sistemas de distribuição de energia elétrica desequilibrados. O algoritmo de estimação de estado harmônico desenvolvido tem como entrada os fasores de tensão e de corrente em pontos pré-definidos de medição sobre os alimentadores em análise. Para a alocação dos medidores, verificou-se a necessidade de a mesma ser realizada e direcionada para este problema, e um algoritmo de otimização em específico foi desenvolvido utilizando algoritmos genéticos. Para a estimação de estado harmônico, a técnica de Decomposição em Valores Singulares foi utilizada, por ser adequada a sistemas não completamente observáveis. Em relação às simulações, cargas não lineares (ou perturbadoras) foram conectadas ao longo dos alimentadores testes do IEEE de 13, 34 e 37 barras, considerando configuração trifásica assimétrica para as linhas e cargas desbalanceadas. Todas as simulações computacionais foram realizadas dispondo do programa DIgSILENT PowerFactory. Os resultados satisfatórios encontrados denotam que o desempenho do estimador desenvolvido é dependente dos pontos de medição pré-definidos a partir da alocação dos medidores realizada. Pela metodologia implementada e aplicada, o algoritmo de estimação de estado harmônico veio a corretamente calcular todas as variáveis de estado e, consequentemente, os sistemas testes em análise tornaram-se completamente observáveis para todas as fases e ordens harmônicas caracterizadas. / This research aims for the development of a monitoring methodology through the allo-cation of meters in order to perform a three-phase harmonic state estimation in unbalanced distribution systems. The harmonic state estimation algorithm developed has voltage and current phasors as inputs at predefined measurement points on the feeders about analysis. For an allocation of the meters, there was a need for it to be performed and directed to this problem, and a specific optimization algorithm was developed using Genetic Algorithms. For a harmonic state estimation, the Singular Value Decomposition technique was made, because it is suitable for systems that are not completely observable. Regarding the simulations, the non-linear (or disturbing) loads were connected along the test feeders of the IEEE of 13, 34 and 37 bus, considering the three-phase asymmetric configuration for lines and loads. All computational simulations were performed in the DIgSILENT PowerFactory software. The satisfactory results found note that the performance of the developed estimator depends on the pre-defined measurement points from the allocation of the realized meters. By the applied methodology, the harmonic state estimation algorithm came to correctly calculate all the state variables and, consequently, the test systems about analysis became fully observable for all phases and harmonic orders characterized.

A tomografia por sensoriamento térmico é muito utilizada em diferentes aplicações industriais, tais como a determinação de propriedades térmicas de novos materiais, o controle da produção de calor e a temperatura no processo de manufatura. Entretanto, o emprego de técnicas tomográficas em processos industriais envolvendo transferência de calor ainda carece de métodos robustos e computacionalmente eficientes. Nesse contexto, o principal objetivo deste trabalho é contribuir para o desenvolvimento de uma técnica não intrusiva de medição do coeficiente de convecção a partir de medidas externas de temperatura e fluxo de calor baseada na solução do problema térmico inverso. Para tanto é necessário resolver um problema de condução acoplado a um problema de convecção de calor. Este acoplamento ocorre através do coeficiente de convecção no interior do domínio do problema, cuja determinação pode ser feita através da aplicação de um fluxo de calor e medição das temperaturas resultantes na superfície externa. A tomografia térmica é tratada como um problema de minimização global, cuja função objetivo é um funcional de erro que quantifica a diferença entre as medidas externas não intrusivas (temperatura real) e as medidas calculadas no modelo numérico (temperatura aproximada). A natureza mal condicionada do problema assim formulado se manifesta na superfície de minimização por produzir topologias problemáticas tais como múltiplos mínimos locais, pontos de sela, vales ao redor da solução, platôs, etc. Desse modo, uma técnica bastante sofisticada, capaz de convergir para a solução correta mesmo na presença dessas patologias é necessária para obtenção da solução. Neste trabalho optou-se pelo método de Newton para a minimização deste funcional em que a inversa da matriz Hessiana é substituída por uma pseudo-inversa construída a partir da técnica de Decomposição em Valores Singulares Truncados. Os resultados mostram que a técnica proposta foi capaz de superar os problemas de convergência associados à natureza intrínseca mal condicionada do problema inverso e o coeficiente de convecção foi reconstruído com precisão razoável. / Tomography by thermal sensing is widely used in different industrial applications, such as the determination of thermal properties of new materials, the control of heat production and the temperature in manufacturing processes. However, the application of tomographic techniques in industrial processes involving heat transfer still lacks robust and computationally efficient methods. In this context, the main objective of this thesis is to contribute to the development of a non-intrusive technique for measuring of the convection coefficient from external temperature and heat flow measurements based on the solution of the inverse thermal problem. This requires solving a conduction problem coupled with a heat convection problem, which is coupled through an internal convection coefficient, determined by applying a heat flux and measuring the resulting temperatures on the external boundary. The thermal tomography is treated as a global minimization problem in which the fitness function is an error functional that quantifies the difference between non-intrusive external measurements (actual temperature) and measurements calculated in a numerical model (approximate temperature). The ill-conditioned nature of the problem manifests itself in the minimization problem for producing problematic topologies, such as multiple local minima, saddle points, valleys around the solution, plateaus, etc. Thus, a very sophisticated technique that can converge to the correct solution even in the presence of these pathologies is necessary to obtain the solution. In this thesis the Newton\'s method was used for the minimization of this functional in which the inverse Hessian matrix was replaced by a pseudo-inverse built from the truncated singular value decomposition technique. Results show that the proposed technique was capable of overcoming the convergence problems associated with the intrinsic ill-conditioned nature of the inverse problem and the convection coefficient was reconstructed within reasonable precision.

As análises biplot que utilizam os modelos de efeitos principais aditivos com inter- ação multiplicativa (AMMI) requerem matrizes de dados completas, mas, frequentemente os ensaios multiambientais apresentam dados faltantes. Nesta tese são propostas novas metodologias de imputação simples e múltipla que podem ser usadas para analisar da- dos desbalanceados em experimentos com interação genótipo por ambiente (G×E). A primeira, é uma nova extensão do método de validação cruzada por autovetor (Bro et al, 2008). A segunda, corresponde a um novo algoritmo não-paramétrico obtido por meio de modificações no método de imputação simples desenvolvido por Yan (2013). Também é incluído um estudo que considera sistemas de imputação recentemente relatados na literatura e os compara com o procedimento clássico recomendado para imputação em ensaios (G×E), ou seja, a combinação do algoritmo de Esperança-Maximização com os modelos AMMI ou EM-AMMI. Por último, são fornecidas generalizações da imputação simples descrita por Arciniegas-Alarcón et al. (2010) que mistura regressão com aproximação de posto inferior de uma matriz. Todas as metodologias têm como base a decomposição por valores singulares (DVS), portanto, são livres de pressuposições distribucionais ou estruturais. Para determinar o desempenho dos novos esquemas de imputação foram realizadas simulações baseadas em conjuntos de dados reais de diferentes espécies, com valores re- tirados aleatoriamente em diferentes porcentagens e a qualidade das imputações avaliada com distintas estatísticas. Concluiu-se que a DVS constitui uma ferramenta útil e flexível na construção de técnicas eficientes que contornem o problema de perda de informação em matrizes experimentais. / The biplot analysis using the additive main effects and multiplicative interaction models (AMMI) require complete data matrix, but often multi-environments trials have missing values. This thesis proposed new methods of single and multiple imputation that can be used to analyze unbalanced data in experiments with genotype by environment interaction (G×E). The first is a new extension of the cross-validation method by eigenvector (Bro et al., 2008). The second, corresponds to a new non-parametric algorithm obtained through modifications of the simple imputation method developed by Yan (2013). Also is included a study that considers imputation systems recently reported in the literature and compares them with the classic procedure recommended for imputation in trials (G×E), it means, the combination of the Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm with the additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) model or EM-AMMI. Finally, are supplied generalizations of simple imputation described by Arciniegas-Alarcón et al. (2010) that combines regression with lower-rank approximation of a matrix. All methodologies are based on singular value decomposition (SVD), so, are free of any distributional or structural assumptions. In order to determine the performance of the new imputation schemes were performed simulations based on real data set of different species, with values deleted randomly at different percentages and the quality of the imputations was evaluated using different statistics. It was concluded that SVD provides a useful and flexible tool for the construction of efficient techniques that circumvent the problem of missing data in experimental matrices.

Analisar fenômenos aeroelásticos não-lineares através de dados experimentais é uma poderosa ferramenta para a identificação e controle de comportamentos aeroelásticos adversos. A modelagem matemática de sistemas aeroelásticos não-lineares não é trivial, fato que muitas vezes leva a admissão de simplificações, afastando o modelo da realidade. Desta forma, a análise de sistemas dinâmicos sem a necessidade de um modelo, feita através da análise de séries temporais obtidas de experimentos, pode fornecer melhores resultados. Alguns métodos de análise de séries temporais, como o método da defasagem, para reconstrução do espaço de estados, são sensíveis ao ruído, inevitavelmente presente em qualquer série temporal experimental. Este trabalho apresenta a técnica da decomposição em valores singulares (SVD), que reconstrói o espaço de estados eliminando o ruído presente na série temporal em um único processo. O método SVD é aplicado em séries temporais aeroelásticas, obtidas experimentalmente de um modelo de asa ensaiado em túnel de vento. Com os espaços de estados reconstruídos, é feita uma análise qualitativa do sistema aeroelástico, a evolução dos atratores obtidos com a variação de alguns parâmetros é apresentada. Comparações com o método da defasagem são realizadas com a aplicação dos métodos a uma série temporal aeroelástica do experimento. Os resultados mostram que a técnica (SVD) é mais confiável que o método da defasagem, os atratores obtidos revelam a ocorrência de bifurcações e comportamentos complexos, possivelmente caóticos. / Nonlinear aeroelastic phenomena analysis by using experimental data is a powerful tool for identification and control of adverse aeroelastic behaviors. Mathematical models for nonlinear aeroelastic systems are not trivial, by this, simplifications are assumed, thereby deviating from reality. Then, the analysis of dynamic systems without the need of a mathematical model, done by the analysis of experimental time series, may provide better results. However, methods of time series analysis, like the method of delays, for state space reconstruction are sensitive to noise, unavoidably present in experimental data. This work presents the application of singular value decomposition (SVD) that reconstructs the state space, eliminating noise present in the time series. The SVD method is applied in experimental aeroelastic time series, obtained from a wind tunnel wing model. With the reconstructed state spaces, qualitative analyses are done and the evolutions of the obtained attractors with parametric variation are presented. Comparisons with the method of delays are realized by applying MOD and SVD in a same experimental aeroelastic time series. The results show that the SVD method is more reliable than MOD and the obtained attractors reveal the occurrence of bifurcations and complex behavior, possibly chaotic.

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo desenvolver novas alternativas de identificação modal para estruturas sob excitações em condição de operação baseadas em funções de transmissibilidade. Recentes metodologias formuladas sobre conceitos de transmissibilidade têm surgido como alternativa para a identificação de parâmetros modais de estruturas. A identificação nestas metodologias é independente do espectro da excitação, sendo uma vantagem importante com respeito a metodologias anteriores no domínio da frequência que supõem a excitação como ruído branco. Dessa forma, aproveitando os diferentes trabalhos dirigidos a avaliar parâmetros modais com uso da transmissibilidade, são propostas três novas alternativas. A primeira delas propõe a decomposição de valores singulares sobre matrizes de funções de transmissibilidade escalar com densidade espectral para estimar frequências naturais e modos de vibração. A segunda alternativa propõe o conceito de funções de transmissibilidade multivariável com diferente referência para a identificação modal. E a terceira introduz uma melhora na primeira alternativa incluindo a possibilidade da estimação de taxas de amortecimento. Uma ferramenta computacional para a análise modal é desenvolvida como apoio para as simulações numéricas de verificação das metodologias de identificação modal propostas. Diferentes exemplos numéricos com uma viga submetida a excitações de ruído colorido mostram que os métodos propostos são capazes de identificar parâmetros modais sem a introdução das frequências adicionais devido às excitações de ruído colorida utilizadas. Além disso, os dados de um teste de vibrações sobre uma ponte em operação foram utilizados para verificar os métodos. / This research aims to develop new alternatives of modal identification for structures under excitation in operation condition based on transmissibility functions. Latest methodologies based on transmissibility concepts have been arising as alternatives for modal parameter identification of structures. Modal parameter identification in this type methodology is input spectrum independent being an important advantage with respect previous frequency domain methods that assumes white noise excitation. Different alternatives of modal identification based on transmissibility functions are proposed in this work. The first of them proposes singular value decomposition on scalar transmissibility functions matrices with spectral density to estimate natural frequencies and vibration modes (PSDTM-SVD method). A second alternative proposes the concept of multivariable transmissibility functions with different transferring outputs for modal parameter identification. And the third alternative proposes an enhanced PSDTM-SVD method, which permits to identify modal damping. Computational tool for modal analysis is developed as a support for the numerical simulations of verification of modal identification methodologies proposed. Different numerical examples of a beam model subjected to colored noise excitations show that the proposed methods are capable of identifying modal parameters without the introduction of the additional frequencies due to the excitations used. Furthermore, data from an operational vibration bridge test were used to verify the methods.