The following thesis regards the use of small aperture telescopes for space domain awareness efforts. The rapidly populating space domain was motivation for the development of a new operation scheme to conduct space domain awareness feasibility studies using small telescopes. Two 14-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescopes at the California Polytechnic State University and the Air Force Research Lab in Kirtland AFB, NM, in conjunction with a dedicated CCD camera and a commercial DSLR camera, were utilized to conduct optical observations on satellites in Earth orbit. Satellites were imaged during August 2019, and from January 2020 to March 2020, resulting in the collection of 77 valid images of 16 unique satellites. These images were used to obtain celestial spherical coordinates, which were used in Gauss and Double-R angles-only initial orbit determination methods. Initial orbit determination methods successfully produced valid results, reaffirming the feasibility of using small aperture telescopes for such methods. These orbit determinations were used to propagate orbit states forward in time to determine the feasibility of future imaging of the targets with the same apparatus. Propagation results demonstrated that initial orbit determinations rapidly decayed in accuracy over distant times and are most accurate for immediate satellite passes. In addition, an attempt to combine multiple initial orbit determinations using Lambert’s problem solutions was made. Combination of these multiple initial orbit determinations resulted in either no orbit state accuracy improvement compared to individual initial orbit determinations, or a decrease in accuracy compared to these methods. Ultimately, efforts demonstrated that small telescope usage is feasible for orbit determination operations, however there may be a need for hardware and operational revisions to improve the ability of the apparatus.

<p dir="ltr">Characterizing unknown space objects is an important component of robust space situational awareness. Estimating the shape of an object allows analysts to perform more accurate orbit propagation, probability of collision, and inference analysis about the object’s origin. Due to the sheer distance from the camera combined with diffraction and atmospheric ef- fects, most resident space objects of interest are unresolved when observed from the ground with electro-optical sensors. State of the art techniques for object characterization often rely on light curves — the time history of the object’s observed brightness. The brightness of the object is a function of the object’s shape, material properties, attitude profile, as well as the observation geometry. The process of measuring real light curves is complex, involv- ing the physics of the object, the sensor, and the background environment. The process of recovering shape information from brightness measurements is known as the light curve shape inversion problem. This problem is ill-posed without further assumptions: modern direct shape inversion methods require that the attitude profile and material properties of the object is known, or at least can be hypothesized. This work describes improvements to light curve simulation that faithfully model the environmental and sensor effects present in true light curves, yielding synthetic measurements with more accurate noise characteris- tics. Having access to more accurate light curves is important for developing and validating light curve inversion methods. This work also presents new methods for direct shape inver- sion for convex and nonconvex objects with realistic measurement noise. In particular, this work finds that improvements to the convex shape inversion process produce more accurate, sparser geometry in less time. The proposed nonconvex shape inversion method is effective at resolving singular large concave feature.</p>

<p dir="ltr">With the increase in planned space missions in cislunar space, it is necessary to study the ability of observers to observe and track objects in this regime. This thesis focuses on creating a sensor tasking algorithm for constellations of optical observers to efficiently observe cislunar objects. The circular restricted three body problem is used for the dynamics of the objects while the bi-circular restricted four body problem is used to approximate the position of the sun.</p><p dir="ltr">A new way of discretizing the field of regard is proposed that respects the observers field of view on the unit sphere. A method for providing feedback to the observer in a delayed feedback environment is applied to mean state, single Gaussian, and particle representations of uncertainty. The method of determining a scaling coefficient for Sanson’s probability of detection is recorded. Sanson’s probability of detection is studied for determining the correct effective aperture dimensions of an optical observer. An approximation is presented for expediting calculations of Sanson’s probability of detection. An uncertainty propagation analysis shows there is an efficient number of particles to use for particle uncertainty far below the required number for a full Monte Carlo particle uncertainty representation. </p><p dir="ltr">Mean state, single Gaussian and particle methods of uncertainty characterization are compared in a cislunar simulation showing the benefits of the particles solution over other forms of uncertainty characterization. Particles are not only an effective uncertainty representation in a delayed feedback environment, they are computationally feasible for the sensor tasking problem. The performance of the particle algorithm for a constellation of observers is evaluated in a simulated small satellite breakup in a Lyapunov orbit and a simulated breakup of the proposed Lunar Gateway. The performance of observers in direct retrograde, low lunar, geosynchronous, and northern Halo orbits are evaluated in the breakup simulations. Results from these simulations show that observers in low lunar and Halo orbits can be valuable observation standpoints in breakups around the near-Moon region of cislunar space.</p>

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Forskning visar att andraspråkselever har ökat i klassrummen den senaste tiden. Detta sätter press pålärarna, då de måste ge alla elever lika möjligheter till en bra utbildning.Det här är en kvalitativ studie med fokus på att undersöka hur lärare undervisar inom ämnet svenska i enflerspråkig klass. Vi intervjuade samt observerade fyra lärare från två olika skolor. Vi samtalade även medtvå specialpedagoger från samma skolor.Resultaten visade att de vanligaste undervisningsmetoderna var bildstöd och kroppsspråk. Dessa metoderanvändes av alla lärarna i vår studie för att inkludera andraspråkseleverna sociokulturellt samtkunskapsmässigt. Vår studie visade även att lärarna försöker inkludera andraspråkelever i undervisningen,men att det kan uppstå språkliga svårigheter.Slutligen föreslås olika typer av material samt annat stöd som kan gynnas både för lärarna ochandraspråkelever.

An accelerated pace of discovery in biological sciences is made possible by a new generation of computational biology and bioinformatics tools. In this dissertation we develop novel computational, analytical, and high performance simulation techniques for biological problems, with applications to the yeast cell division cycle, and to the RNA-Sequencing of the yellow fever mosquito. Cell cycle system evolves stochastic effects when there are a small number of molecules react each other. Consequently, the stochastic effects of the cell cycle are important, and the evolution of cells is best described statistically. Stochastic simulation algorithm (SSA), the standard stochastic method for chemical kinetics, is often slow because it accounts for every individual reaction event. This work develops a stochastic version of a deterministic cell cycle model, in order to capture the stochastic aspects of the evolution of the budding yeast wild-type and mutant strain cells. In order to efficiently run large ensembles to compute statistics of cell evolution, the dissertation investigates parallel simulation strategies, and presents a new probabilistic framework to analyze the performance of dynamic load balancing algorithms. This work also proposes new accelerated stochastic simulation algorithms based on a fully implicit approach and on stochastic Taylor expansions. Next Generation RNA-Sequencing, a high-throughput technology to sequence cDNA in order to get information about a sample's RNA content, is becoming an efficient genomic approach to uncover new genes and to study gene expression and alternative splicing. This dissertation develops efficient algorithms and strategies to find new genes in Aedes aegypti, which is the most important vector of dengue fever and yellow fever. We report the discovery of a large number of new gene transcripts, and the identification and characterization of genes that showed male-biased expression profiles. This basic information may open important avenues to control mosquito borne infectious diseases. / Ph. D.

La prolongation de l’intervalle électrocardiographique QT est un facteur de risque d’arythmie ventriculaire et de mort subite. Cette anomalie, retrouvée chez certains patients atteints de lupus érythémateux disséminé, pourrait contribuer à la mortalité cardiovasculaire élevée dans cette population. L’anti-Ro/SSA, un auto-anticorps retrouvé chez environ 30% des patients atteints de lupus, est associé à la présence de blocs cardiaques chez le nouveau-né et pourrait aussi augmenter le risque de prolongation pathologique de l’intervalle QT chez l’adulte. Le présent mémoire est constitué de cinq chapitres traitant de l’association potentielle entre l’anticorps anti-Ro/SSA et la prolongation de l’intervalle QT. Le premier chapitre constitue une introduction permettant de mettre en contexte les éléments essentiels à la compréhension du projet d’étude. Le deuxième chapitre constitue une revue de l’état des connaissances actuelles sur le lien potentiel entre anti-Ro/SSA et intervalle QT. Le troisième chapitre présente le projet d’étude par l’intermédiaire d’un article publié dans Arthritis Care and Research. Dans cette étude, les patients de la cohorte de lupiques du Centre Universitaire de santé McGill ont subi des électrocardiogrammes dans l’objectif d’estimer l’association entre l’anti-Ro/SSA et les anomalies électrocardiographiques, en tenant compte d’autres facteurs démographiques et cliniques. L’association entre la prolongation de l’intervalle QT et la présence de l’anti-Ro/SSA a été démontrée (rapports de cotes ajustés de 5.1 à 12.6) et les patients porteurs de l’anti-Ro/SSA pourraient donc bénéficier de dépistage électrocardiographique systématique. Les points faibles et forts de cet article sont discutés dans le quatrième chapitre et des perspectives de recherches futures sont finalement abordées. / QT interval prolongation on the electrocardiogram is a risk factor for ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. This abnormality is found in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and could contribute to the high cardiovascular mortality rate in this population. Anti-Ro/SSA is an auto-antibody presents in about 30% of lupus patients and is associated with congenital cardiac block. This auto-antibody could also increase the risk of pathologic prolongation of the QT interval in adults. This master’s thesis is comprised of five chapters discussing the potential association between anti-Ro/SSA antibody and QT interval prolongation. The first chapter is an introduction to the essential elements for the understanding of the study project. The second chapter is a literature review of the potential link between anti-Ro/SSA and QT interval prolongation. The third chapter presents the study project through an article published in Arthritis Care and Research. In this study, patients from the McGill lupus cohort were invited to undergo electrocardiograms in order to estimate the association between anti-Ro/SSA antibody and electrocardiographic abnormalities, while taking into account the other potentially associated demographic and clinical factors. This study shows an association between anti-Ro/SSA and prolonged QT interval (Odds ratios: 5.1 to 12.6) and patients positive for anti-Ro/SSA may thus benefit from electrocardiographic testing. Strengths and weaknesses of this article are discussed in the fourth chapter and future research areas are finally explored.

La prolongation de l’intervalle électrocardiographique QT est un facteur de risque d’arythmie ventriculaire et de mort subite. Cette anomalie, retrouvée chez certains patients atteints de lupus érythémateux disséminé, pourrait contribuer à la mortalité cardiovasculaire élevée dans cette population. L’anti-Ro/SSA, un auto-anticorps retrouvé chez environ 30% des patients atteints de lupus, est associé à la présence de blocs cardiaques chez le nouveau-né et pourrait aussi augmenter le risque de prolongation pathologique de l’intervalle QT chez l’adulte. Le présent mémoire est constitué de cinq chapitres traitant de l’association potentielle entre l’anticorps anti-Ro/SSA et la prolongation de l’intervalle QT. Le premier chapitre constitue une introduction permettant de mettre en contexte les éléments essentiels à la compréhension du projet d’étude. Le deuxième chapitre constitue une revue de l’état des connaissances actuelles sur le lien potentiel entre anti-Ro/SSA et intervalle QT. Le troisième chapitre présente le projet d’étude par l’intermédiaire d’un article publié dans Arthritis Care and Research. Dans cette étude, les patients de la cohorte de lupiques du Centre Universitaire de santé McGill ont subi des électrocardiogrammes dans l’objectif d’estimer l’association entre l’anti-Ro/SSA et les anomalies électrocardiographiques, en tenant compte d’autres facteurs démographiques et cliniques. L’association entre la prolongation de l’intervalle QT et la présence de l’anti-Ro/SSA a été démontrée (rapports de cotes ajustés de 5.1 à 12.6) et les patients porteurs de l’anti-Ro/SSA pourraient donc bénéficier de dépistage électrocardiographique systématique. Les points faibles et forts de cet article sont discutés dans le quatrième chapitre et des perspectives de recherches futures sont finalement abordées. / QT interval prolongation on the electrocardiogram is a risk factor for ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. This abnormality is found in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and could contribute to the high cardiovascular mortality rate in this population. Anti-Ro/SSA is an auto-antibody presents in about 30% of lupus patients and is associated with congenital cardiac block. This auto-antibody could also increase the risk of pathologic prolongation of the QT interval in adults. This master’s thesis is comprised of five chapters discussing the potential association between anti-Ro/SSA antibody and QT interval prolongation. The first chapter is an introduction to the essential elements for the understanding of the study project. The second chapter is a literature review of the potential link between anti-Ro/SSA and QT interval prolongation. The third chapter presents the study project through an article published in Arthritis Care and Research. In this study, patients from the McGill lupus cohort were invited to undergo electrocardiograms in order to estimate the association between anti-Ro/SSA antibody and electrocardiographic abnormalities, while taking into account the other potentially associated demographic and clinical factors. This study shows an association between anti-Ro/SSA and prolonged QT interval (Odds ratios: 5.1 to 12.6) and patients positive for anti-Ro/SSA may thus benefit from electrocardiographic testing. Strengths and weaknesses of this article are discussed in the fourth chapter and future research areas are finally explored.

Certains environnements ont besoin de plusieurs compilateurs, par exemple un pour le système d'exploitation, supportant la norme C/C++ complète, et l'autre pour les applications, qui supporte éventuellement un sous-ensemble de la norme, mais capable de fournir plus de performance. Le maintien de plusieurs compilateurs pour une plateforme cible représente un effort considérable. Il est donc plus facile d'implémenter et de maintenir un seul outil responsable des optimisations particulières au processeur ciblé. Il nous faut alors un moyen de relier ces compilateurs à l'optimiseur, de préférence, en gardant au passage certaines structures de données internes aux compilateurs qui, soit prendraient du temps, soit seraient impossible à reconstruire à partir du code assembleur par exemple. Dans cette thèse, nous introduisons Tirex, une représentation textuelle intermédiaire pour échanger des informations de bas niveau, déjà dépendantes de la cible, entre les compilateurs, les optimiseurs et les autres outils de la chaîne de compilation. Notre représentation contient un flot d'instructions du processeur cible, mais garde également la structure explicite du programme et supporte la forme SSA (Static Single Assignment). Elle est facilement extensible et très flexible, ce qui permet de transmettre toute donnée jugée importante à l'optimiseur. Nous construisons Tirex par extension de MinIR, une représentation intermédiaire elle-même basée sur un encodage YAML des structures du compilateur. Nos extensions de Tirex comprennent: l'abaissement de la représentation au niveau du processeur cible, la conservation du flot de données du programme, ainsi que l'ajout d'informations sur les structures de boucles et les dépendances de données. Nous montrons que Tirex est polyvalent et peut être utilisé dans une variété d'applications différentes, comme par exemple un environnement d'exécution virtuel (VEE),et fournit une base forte pour un environnement d'analyse du programme. Dans le cadre d'un VEE, nous présentons un interprèteur de la forme SSA et un compilateur just-in-time (JIT). Nous montrons comment l'interprétation d'une représentation au niveau du processeur cible élimine la plupart des problèmes liés à l'exécution en mode mixte. Nous explorons également les questions liées à l'interprétation efficace d'une représentation de programme sous la forme SSA.

Orientador: Anna Diva Plasencia Lotufo / Resumo: A maior inserção de tecnologias da informação nas redes de distribuição de energia elétrica vem permitindo que maiores volumes de dados de consumo sejam capturados em níveis cada vez mais detalhados, menos agregados e com maiores resoluções. Com a evolução dos mercados de energia elétrica, esses tipos de dados alcançam maior importância, uma vez que a comercialização de energia também passa a considerar estes níveis de consumo. Diversas técnicas têm sido aplicadas para previsão de cargas elétricas, como modelos estatísticos, de inteligência computacional e híbridos. Na literatura especializada é possível encontrar trabalhos que aplicam a rede neural artificial ARTMAP Fuzzy para tarefas de previsão de cargas elétricas, no entanto, a técnica ainda é pouco explorada em cenários de consumo menos agregados, e com maiores níveis de detalhe. Neste trabalho a rede ARTMAP Fuzzy é aplicada em tarefas de previsão multi-step de cargas elétricas reais com distintos níveis de agregação. Considerando o impacto do ruído sobre os previsores, sobretudo na capacidade de generalização das redes neurais artificiais, a técnica singular spectrum analysis é aplicada na tarefa de remoção de ruído. Os resultados de previsão permitiram analisar desempenho da rede ARTMAP Fuzzy, que foi comparada com outros dois previsores utilizados como benchmark, a saber, seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average e a rede neural multiLayer perceptron. A remoção de ruído permitiu melhora nos níveis de generaliz... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The increased insertion of information technologies in electricity distribution networks has allowed larger volumes of consumption data to be captured at increasingly detailed, less aggregated and higher resolution levels. With the evolution of electric energy markets, these types of data become more important, since the commercialization of energy also begins to consider these levels of consumption. Several techniques have been applied to predict electrical loads, such as statistical, computational intelligence and hybrids models. In the specialized literature it is possible to find works that apply the artificial neural network ARTMAP Fuzzy for tasks of prediction of electric charges, however, the technique is still little explored in less aggregated consumption scenarios, and with greater levels of detail. In this work the ARTMAP Fuzzy network is applied in multi-step forecasting tasks of real electric loads with different levels of aggregation. Considering the impact of noise on predictors, especially in the generalization capacity of artificial neural networks, the singular spectrum analysis technique is applied in the noise removal task. The prediction results allowed to analyze the performance of the ARTMAP Fuzzy network, which was compared with other two predictors used as benchmark, namely seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average and the multiLayer perceptron neural network. The noise removal allowed an improvement in the levels of network generalization, po... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor