A técnica de eco de fótons com luz temporalmente incoerente (EFLI) foi utilizada neste trabalho para a medida do tempo de relaxação transversal T2 do Iodeto de 3-3´-Dietiloxadicarbonocianina (DODCI) como função da temperatura. Nestes experimentos foi utilizado um laser de corante de banda larga, bombeado pelo 2&#176 harmônico de um laser de Nd+3 : YAG Q-switched. Este laser operou com os corantes Kiton Red 620 e rodamina 640, cujos máximos do espectro de emissão estão respectivamente em 598 e 610 nm. O tempo de relaxação T2, que é proporcional ao inverso da largura de linha homogênea, segue uma dependência funcional com a temperatura do tipo T-1,9. Encontramos o valor de T2 entre 0 e 30fs para &#955 = 598nm e entre 30 e 590fs para &#955 = 610nm, no intervalo de temperatura entre 300 e 60k. Os perfis das medidas de EFLI podem ser descritos por um modelo baseado num sistema quântico de dois níveis / The photon echo with incoherent light technique (EFLI) has been used in this work for the measurement of the transverse relaxation time T2 in 3-3´-Dietiloxadicarboncyanine Iodide (DODCI) as a function of the temperature. A broad-band dye laser, pumped by the second harmonic of a Q-switched Nd+3 : YAG laser, was used in this experiment. The laser used Kiton Red 620 and rodamine 640 dyes, whose maxima output power are respectively around 598 and 610nm. The relaxation time T2 , which is inversely proportional to the homogeneous linewidth, depends on the temperature according to a T-1,9 Law. We found the value of T2 ranging from 0 to 30fs at 598nm and from 30 to 590fs at 610nm in the temperature range between 300 and 60K. The EFLI profiles can be described by means of a two-level quantum system model

Neste trabalho são analisados os campos acústicos gerados por transdutores ultrassônicos planos e circulares, do tipo pistão plano, no modo pulso-eco, trabalhando como emissor e receptor de ondas, com freqüências de 1,6 MHz, 2,25 MHz e 5 MHz. As ondas emitidas por esses transdutores interagem com interfaces denominadas alvos, com diversas geometrias de superfícies, como planas e circulares, planas com cavidade do tipo alvéolo circular, e cone reto, todas compostas de alumínio e imersas em tanque com água. O campo acústico refletido varia de acordo com o tipo de geometria do alvo. Para essas analises foram produzidas e comparadas modelagens do campo acústico no software Matlab, por meio de dois modelos teóricos: método da resposta impulsiva e método da representação discreta. Foram analisados o tempo de computação produzido pelo método numérico com relação a discretização dos elementos de área do transdutor e do alvo, alem da influencia da conversão de modo nas respostas impulsivas simuladas para essas superfícies. Os resultados mostraram uma boa correlação entre os dois métodos teóricos, porem o de representação discreta possibilita o estudo em transdutores com geometria diferente do pistão plano, sem o uso de integrais complexas. As diferenças dos resultados experimentais e teóricos podem ser minimizadas por meio de uma escolha adequada da relação entre a discretização e comprimento de onda (Dx/), em que foi considerado um valor aceitável de erro relativo de 15% para Dx/ 0,68. Foi observado que o uso da conversão de modo na interface refletora influi apenas na amplitude do sinal de eco (atenuação) e não na forma do sinal. / This work deals with acoustic fields generated by ultrasonic broadband transducers as a planar circular piston, operating in pulse-echo mode, with frequencies of 1.6 MHz, 2.25 MHz and 5 MHz. The waves emitted by transducers interact with water-immersed aluminum targets of different geometries such as planar circular surfaces, concave circular cavity on plane surfaces, and right circular conical surfaces. The impulse response and the discrete representation methods were applied to model the echo responses, using the Matlab software. The influence of mode conversion over the simulated impulse responses for these surfaces was analyzed. The results show a good correlation between the two theoretical methods, but the discrete representation enables the study of arbitrary aperture transducers, with no need to solve complex integrals. The computational times of the discrete representation method was analyzed were respect to the spatial discretization of both the transducer aperture and the target. Experimental tests were carried out to validate the simulated results. Differences in experimental and theoretical results can be minimized by an appropriate choice of the discretization/wavelength ratio (Dx / ). A relative error of 15% was considered acceptable for Dx / 0,68. It was observed that the use of mode conversion at the reflected interface modifies only the amplitude of the echo signal (attenuation), but not its shape.

Satellite communication system designers are continuously struggling to improve the channel capacity. A critical challenge results from the limited power available aboard the satellite.Because of this constraint, the onboard power amplifier must work with a small power supply which limits its maximum output power. To ensure a sufficient Signal-to-Noise power Ratio (SNR) on the receiver side, the power amplifier must work close to its saturation point. This is power efficient but unfortunately adds non-linear distortions to the communication channel. The latters are very penalizing for high order modulations.In the literature, several equalization algorithms have been proposed to cope with the resulting non-linear communication channel. The most popular solution consists in using baseband Volterra series in order to build non-linear equalization filters. On the other hand, the Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs), which come from the artificial neural network field, are also interesting candidates to generate such non-linear filters. But they are difficult to implement in practice due to the high complexity of their training. To simplify this task, the Echo State Network (ESN) paradigm has been proposed. It has the advantage of offering performances similar to classical RNNs but with a reduced complexity.The purpose of this work is, first, to compare this solution to the state-of-the-art baseband Volterra filters. We show that the classical ESN is able to reach the same performances, evaluated in terms of Bit Error Rate (BER), and has similar complexity. Secondly, we propose a new design for the ESN which achieves a strong reduction in complexity while conserving a similar BER.To compensate for the channel, the literature proposes to adapt the coefficients of these equalizers with the help of a training sequence in order to recover the transmitted constellation points. We show that, in such a case, the usual symbol detection criterion, based on Euclidean distances, is no longer optimal. For this reason, we first propose a new detection criterion which meets the Maximum Likelihood (ML) criterion. Secondly, we propose a modification of the equalizers training reference points in order to improve their performances and make the detection based on Euclidean distances optimal again. This last solution can offer a significant reduction of the BER without increasing the equalization and detection complexity. Only the new training reference points must be evaluated.In this work, we also explore the field of analog equalizers as different papers showed that the ESN is an interesting candidate for this purpose. It is a promising approach to reduce the equalizer complexity as the digital implementation is very challenging and power-hungry, in particular for high bandwidth communications. We numerically demonstrate that a dedicated analog optoelectronic implementation of the ESN can reach the state-of-the-art performance of digital equalizers. In addition, we show that it can reduce the required resolution of the Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADCs).Finally, a hardware demonstration of the digital solutions is proposed. For this purpose, we build a physical layer test bench which depicts a non-linear communication between two radios. We show that if we drive the transmitter power amplifier close to its saturation point, we can improve the communication range if the non-linear distortions are compensated for at the receiver. The transmitter and the receiver are implemented with Software Defined Radios (SDRs). / Doctorat en Sciences de l'ingénieur et technologie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

In this essay, the published ELT coursebook ECHO 6 is critically examined. The focus of the examination is the communicative opportunities within ECHO 6. These opportunities are analyzed and concretized with help from the Swedish Curriculum for English 6. In the results section, the communicative opportunities within five selected chapters are explored in depth. Later, these chapters are discussed and contrasted with relevant literature about English teaching in general as well as communicative language teaching. Our conclusion is that ECHO 6 does provide students with several opportunities to communicate and develop communicative skills in English. However, there are essential parts missing in order for the textbook to be completely communicative.   Key words: Language teaching, ECHO 6, communication, communicative language teaching (CLT), students, teacher, language skills and language systems.

Vår studie undersöker fenomenet ekokammare och hur den manifesterar sig på svenska nyhetsmediers Facebooksidor. Vårt material består av fem opinionsartiklar från fem olika dagstidningar, samt kommentarsfält tillhörande dessa opinionsartiklar. Studiens teoretiska ramverk består av två huvudteorier: selektiv exponering och Faircloughs kritisk diskursanalytiska teori. Faircloughs kritiska diskursanalys utgör också vår huvudmetod, som vi använder för att analysera den diskursiva praktiken som sker i opinionsartiklarna och dess tillhörande kommentarsfält. Resultatet visar att en ekokammare går att tyda på nästan alla kommentarsfält, vilket kan tyda på en politisk polarisering i hur läsare konsumerar svenska nyhetsmedier. / Our study examines the phenomenon echo chamber and how it manifests itself on Facebook pages of Swedish news media. Our material consists of five opinion articles from five different Swedish newspapers, as well as the comments section connected to the opinion articles. The study’s theoretical framework consists of two main theories: selective exposure and Fairclough’s theory of critical discourse analysis. Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis also constitute as our main method, which we use to analyse the discursive practice used in opinion articles and comments sections connected to them. The result shows that an echo chamber is observable in almost all of the comment sections, which indicates a political polarization in how readers consume Swedish news media.

Echo state networks represent a special type of recurrent neural networks. Recent papers stated that the echo state networks maximize their computational performance on the transition between order and chaos, the so-called edge of chaos. This work confirms this statement in a comprehensive set of experiments. Afterwards, the best performing echo state network is compared to a network evolved via neuroevolution. The evolved network outperforms the best echo state network, however, the evolution consumes significant computational resources. By combining the best of both worlds, the simplicity of echo state networks and the performance of evolved networks, a new model called locally connected echo state networks is proposed. The results of this thesis may have an impact on future designs of echo state networks and efficiency of their implementation. Furthermore, the findings may improve the understanding of biological brain tissue. 1

Att välja vilken eller vilka röststyrningstjänster man som företag vill stödja kan i dagens läge vara ett svårt val att göra. Det kan även var så att man inte har resurser att göra två olika implementationer. I den här undersökningen tittar vi på om det finns ett bra sätt att göra en implementation som kan hantera fler än en röststyrningstjänst. Tjänsterna vi har fokuserat på i undersökningen är Amazon Alexa och Google Assistant.

This thesis describes the theory for static and dynamic magnetic-resonance imaging using contrast agents affecting T1 relaxation time. The available acquisition methods in the specified facility of Masaryk Oncological Institute in Brno are described. The sequences for subsequent experimental measurements are selected. The used phantoms are described. Acquisition protocol for measuring is described briefly and the evaluation method for the measured data is suggested. The best acquisition sequence and a method of measurements is chosen influenced by estimation of relaxation time T1, sensitivity and signal to noise ratio. Perfusion analysis is executed and perfusion parameters are calculated. The work was supported by the European Regional Development Fund and the State Budget of the Czech Republic (RECAMO, CZ.1.05/2.1.00/03.0101).

The main purpose of this research was to develop improved methods for RF coil characterisation, and for non-invasive spatio-temporal mapping of temperature in the living body, in order to utilise the full potential of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at high magnetic fields by ensuring radiofrequency (RF) safety. Current RF power limits are often overly conservative, unnecessarily limiting the full potential of MRI, especially at high field. Thus it is useful to monitor tissue temperature while running MR imaging sequences which may deposit high RF power. Proton resonance frequency (PRF) MR thermometry can employ the phase of the complex MR signal to estimate temperature change over time. However, the shift of the water PRF with temperature is relatively small, making phase-based MR thermometry inherently sensitive to any extraneously caused changes of local frequency or MR phase. A potential source of error to PRF MR thermometry is a change in surround air susceptibility. The considerable impact of air susceptibility changes on PRF MR thermometry was demonstrated and quantified in experiments and magnetic field simulations. One way of correcting MR thermometry is to use a chemically shifted reference substance, in combination with a phase-sensitive chemical shift-selective MR thermometry sequence. The requirement of having a reliable separation of substances based on their resonance frequency was met by a novel frequency-selective phase-sensitive spin-echo (SE) MR thermometry sequence. This sequence was thoroughly tested in phantom and in-vivo experiments as well as in extensive Bloch simulations. The sequence limitations and advantages are discussed in detail. This technique acquires unsaturated water and fat images in rapid succession at the same position in space. The acquisition of a water and fat slice in less than 100 ms allows the correction of rapid field fluctuations in the brain caused by breathing and heartbeat, while still ensuring the correction of long term drift. With no assumptions required regarding temperature distribution in the tissue, this novel MR thermometry technique can measure brain temperature within a single (1.5 mm)3 voxel with a very low standard deviation (SD) of 0.3 K. Using an MRI phantom with a dimethyl sulfoxide reference, heating experiments achieved a MR temperature measurement with an SD of approximately 0.1 K in a single (1.5 mm)3 voxel. In conclusion, the work presented in this thesis assists the development of a real-time in-vivo temperature monitoring system that guarantees patient RF safety at high field.

Aux basses températures, les matrices dopées aux ions terre-rare sont des systèmes prometteurs pour la réalisation de mémoires quantiques. Parmi elles, le système Er³⁺:Y₂SiO₅ a l'avantage de posséder une transition aux longueurs d'onde Télécom, adaptée aux réseaux de communication actuels. Cependant, aucun stockage quantique n'a pu être réalisé de manière efficace durant un temps suffisamment long dans ce matériau. L'objectif de cette thèse est de mieux comprendre les interactions limitant la cohérence du système aux faibles champs magnétiques. Dans ce cadre là, les interactions dominantes sont les basculements réciproques entre deux spins électroniques opposés des ions erbium et l'interaction super-hyperfine entre ces spins et les spins nucléaires des ligands yttrium. J'ai calculé la force et les caractéristiques de ces deux couplages dipolaires en incluant la grande anisotropie de la matrice Y₂SiO₅. J'ai alors pu vérifier l'effet de cette anisotropie sur les basculements réciproques des spins des ions erbium à l'aide de deux techniques optiques, le creusement de trou spectral et l'excitation transitoire. Le taux de ces basculements est maximisé lorsque le champ magnétique est orienté perpendiculairement à l'axe principal du tenseur caractérisant le spin effectif. Il augmente globalement comme le carré de la concentration en ions dopants et diminue avec le champ magnétique. Enfin, j'ai pu mesurer les caractéristiques des interactions super-hyperfines par le biais des modulations d'une décroissance d'écho de photon qu'elles provoquent. Il existe une configuration particulière où un couplage sélectif intervient entre les ions erbium et un unique yttrium de leurs environnements. Au contraire, le couplage à un nombre important d'ions ligands est responsable de la chute du temps de cohérence pour des champs magnétiques inférieurs à la dizaine de mT. / At low temperatures, rare-earth doped matrices are promising supports for the development of quantum memories. Among them, Er³⁺:Y₂SiO₅ is well adapted to the current communication networks because of its transition at Telecom wavelength. However, quantum storage has a very limited efficiency and a short duration in this material. In this thesis, I study the interactions that hinder the coherence at low magnetic fields. In this regime, the dominant processes are flip-flops between opposite electronic spins of erbium ions and the super-hyperfine interaction with nuclear spins of yttrium ligands. I have included the strong anisotropy of the Y₂SiO₅ matrix in the calculation of these two dipolar interactions. In order to check the anisotropy of the flip-flops between erbium spins, I have used two different optical techniques : spectral hole-burning and transient excitation. I have showed that their rate is maximum when the magnetic field is perpendicular to the principal axis of the effective spin tensor. Moreover, the flip-flop probability globally increases as the square of the doping concentration and as the inverse of the field. Then I have also checked the calculations of super-hyperfine interactions by measuring photon echo modulations. I have found a particular situation where an erbium ion is strongly coupled to a single yttrium. On the contrary, the coupling to several ligands at very low magnetic fields drastically reduces the coherence time.