Quenching and partitioning (Q&P) steels show a good balance between strength and ductility due to a special heat treatment that allows to adjust a microstructure of martensite with a fraction of stabilized retained austenite. The final heat treatment step is performed at low temperatures. Therefore, joining of Q&P steels is a big challenge. On the one hand, a low joining temperature is necessary in order not to influence the adjusted microstructure; on the other hand, high joint strengths are required. In this study, joining of Q&P steels with Ag nanoparticles is investigated. Due to the nano-effect, high-strength and temperature-resistant joints can be produced at low temperatures with nanoparticles, which meets the contradictory requirements for joining of Q&P steels. In addition to the Ag nanoparticles, activating materials (SnAg and Sn) are used at the interface to achieve an improved bonding to the steel substrate. The results show that the activating materials play an important role in the successful formation of joints. Only with the activating materials, can joints be produced. Due to the low joining temperature (max. 237 °C), the microstructure of the Q&P steel is hardly influenced.

At present there are different reliability standards that are being used for carrying out reliability prediction. They take into consideration different factors, environments and data sources to give reliability data for a wide range of electronic components. However, the users are not aware of the differences between the different reliability standards due to the absence of benchmarks of the reliability standards that would help classify and compare between them. This lack of benchmark denies the users the opportunity to have a top-down view of these different standards and choose the appropriate standard based on qualitative judgement in performing reliability prediction for a specific system. To addres this issue, the benchmark of a set of reliability standards are developed in this dissertation. The benchmark helps the users of the selected reliability standards understand the similarities and differences between them and based on the evaluation criterion defined can easily choose the appropriate standard for reliability prediction in different scenarios. Theoretical reliability prediction of two electronic products in Bombardier is performed using the standards that have been benchmarked. One of the products is matured with available incident report from the field while the other is a new product that is under development and yet to enter in service. The field failure data analysis of the matured product is then compared and correlated to the theoretical prediction. Adjustment factors are then derived to help bridge the gap between the theoretical reliability prediction and the reliability of the product in field conditions. Since the theoretical prediction of the product under development could not be used to compare and correlate any data due to unavailability, instead, the accelerated life test is used to find out the product reliability during its lifetime and find out any failure modes intrinsic to the board. A crucial objective is realized as an appropriate algorithm/model is found in order to correlate accelerated test temperature-cycles to real product temperature-cycles. The PUT has lead-free solder joints, hence, to see if any failures occurring due to solder joint fatigue has also been of interest. Additionally, reliability testing simulation is a performed in order to verify and validate the performance of the product under development during ALT. Finally, the goal of the thesis is achieved as separate models are proposed to predict product reliability for both matured products and products under development. This will assist the organization in realizing the goal of predicting their product reliability with better accuracy and confidence. / För närvarande finns det olika tillförlitlighetsstandarder som används för att utföra tillförlitlighet förutsägelse. De tar hänsyn till olika faktorer, miljöer och datakällor för att ge tillförlitlighetsdata för ett brett spektrum av elektronikkomponenter. Men användarna inte är medvetna om skillnaderna mellan de olika tillförlitlighetsstandarder på grund av avsaknaden av riktmärken för tillförlitlighetsstandarder som skulle hjälpa klassificera och jämföra mellan dem. Denna brist på jämförelse förnekar användarna möjlighet att få en top-down bakgrund av dessa olika standarder och välja lämplig standard baserad på kvalitativ bedömning att utföra tillförlitlighet prognos för ett specifikt system. För att lösa detta problem, är riktmärket en uppsättning av tillförlitlighetsstandarder som utvecklats i denna avhandling. Riktmärket hjälper användarna av de utvalda tillförlitlighetsstandarder förstå likheter och skillnader mellan dem och på grundval av bedömningskriteriet definieras kan enkelt välja lämplig standard för pålitlighet förutsägelse i olika scenarier. Teoretisk tillförlitlighet förutsäga två elektroniska produkter i Bombardier utförs med hjälp av standarder som har benchmarking. En av produkterna är mognat med tillgängliga incidentrapport från fältet, medan den andra är en ny produkt som är under utveckling och ännu inte gå in i tjänsten. Analysen av den mognade produkten fält feldata jämförs sedan och korreleras till den teoretiska förutsägelsen. Justeringsfaktorer sedan härledas för att överbrygga klyftan mellan den teoretiska tillförlitlighet förutsägelse och tillförlitligheten av produkten i fältmässiga förhållanden. Eftersom den teoretiska förutsägelsen av produkt under utveckling inte kan användas för att jämföra och korrelera alla data på grund av otillgängligheten, i stället är det accelererade livslängdstest som används för att ta reda på produktens tillförlitlighet under dess livstid och reda ut eventuella felmoder inneboende till styrelsen . Ett viktigt mål realiseras som en lämplig algoritm /modell finns i syfte att korrelera accelererade provningen temperaturcykler på verkliga produkttemperatur cykler. PUT har blyfria lödfogar därmed att se om några fel inträffar på grund av löda gemensam trötthet har också varit av intresse. Dessutom är tillförlitlighet testning simulering en utförs för att verifiera och validera produktens prestanda under utveckling under ALT. Slutligen är målet med avhandlingen uppnås som separata modeller föreslås att förutsäga produktens tillförlitlighet för både förfallna och produkter under utveckling. Detta kommer att hjälpa organisationen att förverkliga målet att förutsäga deras tillförlitlighet med bättre noggrannhet och förtroende.

O presente trabalho ocupa-se no desenvolvimento de um sistema computacional de gerenciamento da informação para auxiliar os estudos científicos sobre o sistema nervoso de chagásicos crônicos não-cardíacos. O objetivo é desenvolver o sistema requerido, pelo pressuposto de praticidade nas análises decorrentes da investigação. O método utilizado para desenvolver este sistema computacional, dedicado ao gerenciamento das informações da pesquisa sobre as alterações neurológicas de seus sujeitos, foi; compor o arquétipo de metas e a matriz de levantamento de requisitos das variantes do sistema; listar os atributos, domínios e qualificações das suas variáveis; elaborar o quadro de escolha de equipamentos e aplicativos necessários para sua implantação física e lógica e; implantá-lo mediante uma modelagem de base de dados, e uma programação lógica de algoritmos. Como resultado o sistema foi desenvolvido. A discussão de análise é; a saber, que a informatização pode tornar mais eficaz as operações de cadastro, consulta e validação de campo, além da formatação e exportação de tabelas pré-tratadas para análises estatísticas, atuando assim como uma ferramenta do método científico. Ora, a argumentação lógica é que a confiabilidade das informações computacionalmente registradas é aumentada porque o erro humano é diminuído na maioria dos processamentos. Como discussão de cerramento, estudos dotados de razoável volume de variáveis e sujeitos de pesquisa são mais bem geridos caso possuam um sistema dedicado ao gerenciamento de suas informações. / This is the development of a computer information management system to support scientific studies about the nervous system of non-cardiac chronic chagasic patients. The goal is to develop the required system, by assumption of the convenience in the analysis of research results. The method used to develop this computer system, dedicated to information management of research about the neurological disorders of their human subject research, were; compose the archetypal matrix of targets and requirements elicitation of the system variants; list the attributes, qualifications and domains of its variables; draw up the choice framework of equipment and required applications for its physical and logic implementation, and; deploying it through a data modeling, an adapted entity-relationship diagram and programmable logic algorithms. As a result the required system was developed. The analytical discussion is that the computerization makes the data processing faster and safer. The more practical information management processes are: the operations of registration, queries and fields\' validations, as well as the advanced and basic queries of records, in addition to table formatting and exporting of pre-treated for statistical analysis. The logical argument is that the reliability of the recorded computationally information is increased because is insured that bias of human error is absent from most of the steps, including several the data processing operations. As end discussion, scientific studies with reasonable amount of variables and research subjects are better managed if they have a dedicated system to managing their information.

Afin d'améliorer la compréhension de la corrosion atmosphérique des bronzes, nous avons mis en oeuvre : - La caractérisation des composés d'étain, susceptibles d'être formés en corrosion atmosphérique, par une approche multi-analytique, la spectroscopie Mössbauer joue un rôle central (analyse sélective et quantitative). Les paramètres hyperfins et les facteurs Lamb-Mössbauer de plusieurs oxydes, sulfates et chlorures d'étain ont été déterminés. Les facteurs f sont dispersés et dépendants de température, montrant la nécessité de l'analyse à basse température. - Le développement d'un détecteur CEMS associant basse température et analyse non-destructive de surface : le dispositif a été mis en point entre 41 et 300 K. Les principaux paramètres affectant ses performances ont été étudiés et optimisés. - La réalisation d'une campagne d'exposition de 2 ans en site urbain de CuSn9, CuSn3Zn9, CuZn33 et leurs métaux purs. Les vitesses de corrosion ont été déterminées ainsi que les quantités de métaux entraînés par les eaux de pluie du fait de la solubilisation des produits de corrosion.

Le Domaine Schisteux de Galice Centrale (DSGC) se situe dans le NW de l'Espagne (Galice) et appartient à la zone<br />interne de la chaîne hercynienne. Durant son évolution tardi-orogénique, il est affecté par la mise en place de quatre<br />générations de granites nommés G1 (335 Ma), G2 (322 Ma), G3 (318 Ma) et G4 (303 Ma). Des dykes et sills de<br />granite et pegmatite associés à des filons à Au et Sn-W se rencontrent autour de ces massifs. Les filons aurifères sont<br />spatialement associés aux granites G3 et les filons Sn-W sont associés aux G2. L'étude structurale démontre<br />l'existence d'un continuum de déformation depuis l'emplacement des granites jusqu'à la formation des<br />minéralisations. Les études minéralogiques montrent que les systèmes Au et Sn-W présentent des similitudes quant à<br />la déformation et l'évolution du remplissage des filons. L'étude des inclusions fluides montre la présence dominante<br />de fluides aquo-carboniques, même si des saumures ont été identifiées. Les datations Ar/Ar des granites et des<br />minéralisations (ca. 300 Ma) sont interprétées comme résultant d'un resetting thermique ou bien comme étant l'âge de<br />passage aux températures de 300-400°C de l'ensemble. L'âge des minéralisations reste inconnu même si nos données<br />pétro-structurales sont en faveur d'un âge proche du granite hôte pour chacun des systèmes.<br />Un modèle général est proposé dans lequel l'ensemble des granites se met en place au cours d'une phase de<br />déformation complexe associant un serrage E-W et une déformation cisaillante à vergence nord. Cet évènement est<br />interprété en terme d'extrusion latérale en réponse à la poursuite de la convergence EW. Il se localise dans une demicuillère limitée à l'Est par une zone de cisaillement dextre (alignement en échelon dextre des granites G3) et vers l'Ouest par la zone de cisaillement senestre de Couso. Les minéralisations se forment à la faveur d'instabilités mécaniques formées au toit des plutons. Ainsi, le rôle des granites serait à la fois thermique, rhéologique mais aussi chimique puisque la nature des minéralisations (Sn-W ou Au) dépend de la nature des granites.

<p>The developing nervous system depends largely on extracellular cues to shape its complex network of neurons. Classically, neurotrophins are known to be important mediators in this process. More recently, Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs), belonging to the Transforming Growth Factor beta (TGFβ) superfamily of secreted cytokines, have been shown to exert a wide range of effects, such as cellular growth, differentiation, survival and apoptosis, both in the developing and adult nervous system. They signal via serine/threonine kinase receptor essentially to the Smad pathway, which carries the signal to the nucleus where the transcription of target genes is regulated.</p><p>This thesis investigates the functions of BMPs in the nervous system, using a set of different models. Firstly, a targeted deletion of GDF10 (BMP3b) in the mouse was established to evaluate the role of this growth/differentiation factor in the hippocampal formation, a brain area known to be involved in memory processing. Other members of the TGFβ superfamily likely compensate for the lack of GDF10, since no detectable alterations in hippocampal function or gene transcription profile have been found. Secondly, a mouse model was set up, with the aim to study impaired BMP-signalling in dopaminergic neurons. The tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) locus was used to drive the expression of dominant negative BMP receptors by means of bicistronic mRNAs. TH is the rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of catecholamine and the mice described, show a graded decrease of TH-activity resulting in severe to mild dopamine deficiency. The contribution of the dominant negative BMP receptors to the phenotype is however secondary to the apparent TH hypomorphism. The final theme of this thesis is the potentiating effects of BMPs on neurotrophin-induced neurite outgrowth as studied in explanted ganglia from chick embryos and in the rat phaeochromocytoma cell line PC12. A number of pharmacological inhibitors of intracellular signalling kinases were applied to the cultures in order to reveal the contribution of different pathways to the enhanced neurite outgrowth. We made the unexpected finding that inhibition of MEK signalling mimicked the potentiating effects of BMP stimulation in the chick system. The underlying mechanisms for the synergistic effects, however, are still an enigma.</p>

The developing nervous system depends largely on extracellular cues to shape its complex network of neurons. Classically, neurotrophins are known to be important mediators in this process. More recently, Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs), belonging to the Transforming Growth Factor beta (TGFβ) superfamily of secreted cytokines, have been shown to exert a wide range of effects, such as cellular growth, differentiation, survival and apoptosis, both in the developing and adult nervous system. They signal via serine/threonine kinase receptor essentially to the Smad pathway, which carries the signal to the nucleus where the transcription of target genes is regulated. This thesis investigates the functions of BMPs in the nervous system, using a set of different models. Firstly, a targeted deletion of GDF10 (BMP3b) in the mouse was established to evaluate the role of this growth/differentiation factor in the hippocampal formation, a brain area known to be involved in memory processing. Other members of the TGFβ superfamily likely compensate for the lack of GDF10, since no detectable alterations in hippocampal function or gene transcription profile have been found. Secondly, a mouse model was set up, with the aim to study impaired BMP-signalling in dopaminergic neurons. The tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) locus was used to drive the expression of dominant negative BMP receptors by means of bicistronic mRNAs. TH is the rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of catecholamine and the mice described, show a graded decrease of TH-activity resulting in severe to mild dopamine deficiency. The contribution of the dominant negative BMP receptors to the phenotype is however secondary to the apparent TH hypomorphism. The final theme of this thesis is the potentiating effects of BMPs on neurotrophin-induced neurite outgrowth as studied in explanted ganglia from chick embryos and in the rat phaeochromocytoma cell line PC12. A number of pharmacological inhibitors of intracellular signalling kinases were applied to the cultures in order to reveal the contribution of different pathways to the enhanced neurite outgrowth. We made the unexpected finding that inhibition of MEK signalling mimicked the potentiating effects of BMP stimulation in the chick system. The underlying mechanisms for the synergistic effects, however, are still an enigma.

Ce travail s'inscrit dans les grandes problématiques actuelles traitant des interactions environnement-santé en contexte minier. L'objectif est de décrire l'origine et l'impact sur l'environnement et la santé des pollutions liées aux activités d'extraction et de fonte polymétalliques (Ag, Au, Cd, Cu, Pb, Sb, Sn, Zn) dans la ville minière d'Oruro, en Bolivie. Des échantillons d'eaux de consommation et de surface, de sols, de poussières de sol, d'aérosols (PM2,5 et PM10) et de bioaccumulateurs de la contamination atmosphérique (Tillandsias capillaris) ont été caractérisés géochimiquement (ICP-MS) et minéralogiquement (DRX, MEB). L'ensemble des compartiments " eaux ", " sols " et " atmosphère " de la zone urbaine est contaminé en Eléments Trace Métalliques (ETM), notamment à proximité des mines et des fonderies (atteignant 16000 µ/g de Pb dans les sols ou 200 ng/m3 d'As dans les PM10 prés de la fonderie). Les différentes sources de contamination atmosphérique (érosion des terrils miniers, émissions des fonderies, transport de minerais) et leurs zones d'influence sont identifiées à l'aide d'études statistiques et d'interpolations spatiales. L'étude des sols et des poussières indique d'autres sources de contamination plus locales, comme une ancienne zone de stockage de minerais. Les séparations granulométriques des poussières montrent que les ETM sont globalement plus concentrés dans les fractions fines, mais pas nécessairement dans la fraction argileuse (< 2µm), généralement considérée comme étant la fraction la plus contaminée. La bioaccessibilité des poussières, mesurée par la méthode UBM, est globalement plus faible prés de la mine que de la fonderie, et varie en fonction de la fraction granulométrique et de l'élément considéré (jusqu'à 90% pour As et inférieure à 5% pour Sb et Sn). Le bilan d'exposition aux ETM des enfants selon leur quartier d'habitation (" centre ville ", " mine " et " fonderie ") est réalisé en prenant en compte l'ingestion et l'inhalation des poussières de sol et des aérosols. La prise en compte de la granulométrie et de la bioaccessibilité par fraction influe fortement sur les calculs de doses absorbées par l'organisme. Les doses absorbées calculées et les concentrations précédemment mesurées dans les cheveux des enfants sont corrélées. Dans cette étude, le Pb présente un comportement particulier : il présente des tenenurs très hautes dans les sols mais très faibles dans l'atmosphère. L'exposition est donc particulièrement liée au type et au lieu d'activité du sujet considéré et expliquerait la variabilité observée dans une étude épidémiologique antérieure.

Ce manuscrit est dédié à l'approximation numérique de plusieurs modèles du transfert radiatif. Dans un premier temps, l'attention est portée sur le modèle cinétique d'ordonnées discrètes. Dans le but de coupler ce modèle avec d'autres phénomènes plus lents, il est nécessaire d'avoir des méthodes numériques performantes et précises sur des temps longs. À partir d'une double approximation polynomiale de la solution en temps et en espace, on développe un schéma de type GRP d'ordre élevé sans restriction sur le pas de temps pour un système hyperbolique linéaire sur des maillages non structurés. Ce schéma est ensuite étendu pour le modèle d'ordonnées discrètes. Dans un second temps, on s'intéresse à des modèles aux moments issus du transfert radiatif. En effet, dans certaines applications, les modèles aux moments de type M1 conservent de nombreuses propriétés de l'ETR et fournissent une approximation suffisante de la solution. Après avoir résolu le problème de Riemann associé au modèle M1 gris, on considère l'approximation numérique du modèle M1 multigroupe. Une attention particulière est portée sur le calcul des moyennes d'opacités et des lois de fermeture. Un algorithme de précalculs est alors mis en place. La dernière application traitée dans ce mémoire porte sur une extension du transfert radiatif pour estimer des doses de radiothérapie. À la différence du M1 gris usuel, les flux dépendent ici de fonctions peu régulières en espace. Grâce à des changements de variables, un schéma HLL rétrograde est développé. De nombreux exemples numériques illustrent l'intérêt des schémas obtenus dans cette étude.

In this dissertation, we develop Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) techniques for the steady-state multigroup SN neutron transport equation using a higher-order Discontinuous Galerkin Finite Element Method (DGFEM). We propose two error estimations, a projection-based estimator and a jump-based indicator, both of which are shown to reliably drive the spatial discretization error down using h-type AMR. Algorithms to treat the mesh irregularity resulting from the local refinement are implemented in a matrix-free fashion. The DGFEM spatial discretization scheme employed in this research allows the easy use of adapted meshes and can, therefore, follow the physics tightly by generating group-dependent adapted meshes. Indeed, the spatial discretization error is controlled with AMR for the entire multigroup SNtransport simulation, resulting in group-dependent AMR meshes. The computing efforts, both in memory and CPU-time, are significantly reduced. While the convergence rates obtained using uniform mesh refinement are limited by the singularity index of transport solution (3/2 when the solution is continuous, 1/2 when it is discontinuous), the convergence rates achieved with mesh adaptivity are superior. The accuracy in the AMR solution reaches a level where the solution angular error (or ray effects) are highlighted by the mesh adaptivity process. The superiority of higherorder calculations based on a matrix-free scheme is verified on modern computing architectures. A stable symmetric positive definite Diffusion Synthetic Acceleration (DSA) scheme is devised for the DGFEM-discretized transport equation using a variational argument. The Modified Interior Penalty (MIP) diffusion form used to accelerate the SN transport solves has been obtained directly from the DGFEM variational form of the SN equations. This MIP form is stable and compatible with AMR meshes. Because this MIP form is based on a DGFEM formulation as well, it avoids the costly continuity requirements of continuous finite elements. It has been used as a preconditioner for both the standard source iteration and the GMRes solution technique employed when solving the transport equation. The variational argument used in devising transport acceleration schemes is a powerful tool for obtaining transportconforming diffusion schemes. xuthus, a 2-D AMR transport code implementing these findings, has been developed for unstructured triangular meshes.