L'analyse de séries temporelles biomédicales chaotiques tirées de systèmes dynamiques non-linéaires est toujours un challenge difficile à relever puisque dans certains cas bien spécifiques les techniques existantes basées sur les multi-fractales, les entropies et les graphes de récurrence échouent. Pour contourner les limitations des invariants précédents, de nouveaux descripteurs peuvent être proposés. Dans ce travail de recherche nos contributions ont porté à la fois sur l’amélioration d’indicateurs multifractaux (basés sur une fonction de structure) et entropiques (approchées) mais aussi sur des indicateurs de récurrences (non biaisés). Ces différents indicateurs ont été développés avec pour objectif majeur d’améliorer la discrimination entre des signaux de complexité différente ou d’améliorer la détection de transitions ou de changements de régime du système étudié. Ces changements agissant directement sur l’irrégularité du signal, des mouvements browniens fractionnaires et des signaux tirés du système du Lorenz ont été testés. Ces nouveaux descripteurs ont aussi été validés pour discriminer des fœtus en souffrance de fœtus sains durant le troisième trimestre de grossesse. Des mesures statistiques telles que l’erreur relative, l’écart type, la spécificité, la sensibilité ou la précision ont été utilisées pour évaluer les performances de la détection ou de la classification. Le fort potentiel de ces nouveaux invariants nous laisse penser qu’ils pourraient constituer une forte valeur ajoutée dans l’aide au diagnostic s’ils étaient implémentés dans des logiciels de post-traitement ou dans des dispositifs biomédicaux. Enfin, bien que ces différentes méthodes aient été validées exclusivement sur des signaux fœtaux, une future étude incluant des signaux tirés d’autres systèmes dynamiques nonlinéaires sera réalisée pour confirmer leurs bonnes performances. / The analysis of biomedical time series derived from nonlinear dynamic systems is challenging due to the chaotic nature of these time series. Only few classical parameters can be detected by clinicians to opt the state of patients and fetuses. Though there exist valuable complexity invariants such as multi-fractal parameters, entropies and recurrence plot, they were unsatisfactory in certain cases. To overcome this limitation, we propose in this dissertation new entropy invariants, we contributed to multi-fractal analysis and we developed signal-based (unbiased) recurrence plots based on the dynamic transitions of time series. Principally, we aim to improve the discrimination between healthy and distressed biomedical systems, particularly fetuses by processing the time series using our techniques. These techniques were either validated on Lorenz system, logistic maps or fractional Brownian motions modeling chaotic and random time series. Then the techniques were applied to real fetus heart rate signals recorded in the third trimester of pregnancy. Statistical measures comprising the relative errors, standard deviation, sensitivity, specificity, precision or accuracy were employed to evaluate the performance of detection. Elevated discernment outcomes were realized by the high-order entropy invariants. Multi-fractal analysis using a structure function enhances the detection of medical fetal states. Unbiased cross-determinism invariant amended the discrimination process. The significance of our techniques lies behind their post-processing codes which could build up cutting-edge portable machines offering advanced discrimination and detection of Intrauterine Growth Restriction prior to fetal death. This work was devoted to Fetal Heart Rates but time series generated by alternative nonlinear dynamic systems should be further considered.

Early modern English Catholic eschatology, the belief that the present was the last age and an associated concern with mankind’s destiny, has been overlooked in the historiography. Historians have established that early modern Protestants had an eschatological understanding of the present. This thesis seeks to balance the picture and the sources indicate that there was an early modern English Catholic counter narrative. This thesis suggests that the Catholic eschatological understanding of contemporary events affected political action. It investigates early modern English Catholic eschatology in the context of proscription and persecution of Catholicism between 1558 and 1603. Devotional eschatology was the corner stone of individual Catholic eschatology and placed earthly life in an apocalyptic time-frame. Catholic devotional works challenged the regime and questioned Protestantism. Devotional eschatology is suggestive of a worldview which expected an impending apocalypse but there was a reluctance to date the End. With an eschatological outlook normalised by daily devotional eschatology the Reformation and contemporary events were interpreted apocalyptically. An apocalyptic understanding of the break with Rome was not exclusively Protestant. Indeed, the identification of Antichrist was not just a Protestant concern but rather the linchpin of Reformation debates between Catholics and Protestants. Some identified Elizabeth as Jezebel, the Whore of Babylon. The Bull of Excommunication of 1570 and its language provided papal authority for identifications of Elizabeth as the Whore. The execution of Mary Queen of Scots was a flashpoint which enabled previously hidden ideas to burst into public discourse. This was dangerous as eschatology and apocalypticism was a language of political action. An eschatological understanding of contemporary events encouraged conspiracy. The divine plan required human agents. Catholic prophecy and conspiracy show that eschatology did not just affect how the future was thought about but also had implications for the present. This thesis raises questions about Catholic loyalism which other scholars have also begun to challenge. Yet attempts to depose or murder the monarch was not the only response which could be adopted. Belief that one was living in the End also supported what this thesis terms ‘militant passivity’. Martyrs understood their suffering as a form of eschatological agency which revealed and confirmed the identities of the Antichrist and the Whore. The Book of the Apocalypse promised that they would be rewarded at God’s approaching Judgement and the debates of the Reformation would be settled by the ultimate Judge. As martyrs came to symbolise the English Catholic community, it came to understand itself eschatologically. This thesis argues that acknowledging the eschatological dimensions of Catholic perception and action helps us to re-think the nature of early modern English Catholicism.

Diversos estudos têm sido feitos para verificar quais as relações entre a lagarta do cartucho-do-milho, Spodoptera frugiperda, bem como o curuquerê-do-algodoeiro, Alabama argillacea, e potenciais agentes de controle biológico, visto que são importantes pragas de diversas culturas. Pesquisas com parasitoides e predadores de diferentes ordens têm sido desenvolvidas, com esse propósito. A tesourinha Euborellia annulipes apresenta grande potencial, assim como o pentatomídeo Podisus nigrispinus, por serem inimigos naturais desses insetos-praga. O parasitoide Campoletis flavicincta é, também, considerado um potencial agente controlador de S. frugiperda, no campo. Quatro experimentos foram instalados e conduzidos para estudar as relações ecológicas entre as espécies citadas: i) competição entre os predadores por larvas de S. frugiperda; ii) competição entre os predadores por larvas de A. argillacea; iii) competição intraespecífica entre as ninfas dos predadores; iv) teste de preferência por larvas de S. frugiperda previamente parasitadas, ou não, por C. flavicincta. Modelos estatísticos de diferentes tipos foram ajustados aos dados obtidos. Foram utilizados modelos lineares generalizados para dados discretos univariados (contagens e proporções), modelos de análise de sobrevivência para dados de tempo até ocorrência de um determinado evento, modelos aditivos generalizados e modelos multinomiais ordinais para dados de taxas de mortalidade observadas ao longo do tempo. Para verificar a qualidade do ajuste de modelos lineares generalizados, funções que produzem gráficos meio-normais com envelope de simulação foram implementadas no software estatístico gratuito R. Observou-se que as fêmeas de E. annulipes são mais agressivas e a espécie tem vantagem competitiva sobre P. nigrispinus, podendo atuar como predadora intraguilda. Além disso, os predadores têm a capacidade de discriminar entre larvas de S. frugiperda parasitadas ou não por C. flavicincta, sendo que há evidências de que os machos evitam consumir larvas parasitadas. Já as fêmeas não têm preferência e podem consumir o parasitoide, indiretamente, ao predar uma larva parasitada, sendo que isso pode ser um fator estabilizador do sistema. Adicionalmente, a coexistência entre a praga, os predadores e o parasitoide é mais provável quando as taxas de ataque dos predadores são mais altas e a do parasitoide é mais baixa. / Several studies have verified the relations among the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, as well as the cotton leafworm, Alabama argillacea, and potential biological control agents, as they are important pests of several crops. Research with parasitoids and predators of different orders has been developed with this purpose. The ring-legged earwig (Euborellia annulipes) shows great potential, as well as the Neotrpical stink bug (Podisus nigrispinus), as they are natural enemies of these pests. The parasitoid wasp Campoletis flavicincta is also considered a biological control agent of S. frugiperda. Four experiments were set up and conducted to characterize the ecological relations among the described species: i) competition between the predators for S. frugiperda larvae; ii) competition between the predators for A. argillacea larvae; iii) intraspecific competition among the predators\' nymphs; iv) choice tests between S. frugiperda larvae that were previously parasitised by C. flavicincta and larvae that were not. Statistical models of different types were fit to the data. Generalized linear models were used to analyse univariate discrete data (counts and proportions), survival analysis models were used to analyse time-until-event data, generalized additive models and ordered multinomial logistic models were used to analyse mortality rates through time. To assess goodness-of-fit, functions that produce half-normal plots with a simulation envelope were implemented for the open-source software R. It was observed that females of E. annulipes are less aggressive and this species has a competitive advantage over P. nigrispinus, and may act as an intraguild predator. Besides that, the predators are able to distinguish parasitised from non-parasitised S. frugiperda larvae, and there are evidence that show that males tend to avoid feeding on larvae parasitised by C. flavicincta. Females, however, have no prefference and may indirectly feed on the parasitoid when predating a parasitised larva, and this might be a stabilizing factor in this system. In addition, coexistence among the pest, predators and parasitoid is most likely when predation rates are high and parasitism rates are low.

Due to the finite speed of light and a vast, expanding universe, telescopes are just now receiving the light emitted by galaxies as they were forming in the very early universe. The light from these galaxies has been redshifted (stretched to longer, redder wavelengths) as a result of its journey through expanding space. Using sophisticated techniques and exceptional multi-wavelength optical and infrared data, we isolate a population of 378 galaxies in the process of formation when the Universe was only two billion years old. By matching the distinctive properties of the light spectra of these galaxies to models, the redshift, age, dust content, star formation rate and total stellar mass of each galaxy are determined. Comparing our results to similar surveys of galaxy populations at other redshifts, a picture emerges of the growth and evolution of massive, star-forming galaxies over the course of billions of years.

Due to the finite speed of light and a vast, expanding universe, telescopes are just now receiving the light emitted by galaxies as they were forming in the very early universe. The light from these galaxies has been redshifted (stretched to longer, redder wavelengths) as a result of its journey through expanding space. Using sophisticated techniques and exceptional multi-wavelength optical and infrared data, we isolate a population of 378 galaxies in the process of formation when the Universe was only two billion years old. By matching the distinctive properties of the light spectra of these galaxies to models, the redshift, age, dust content, star formation rate and total stellar mass of each galaxy are determined. Comparing our results to similar surveys of galaxy populations at other redshifts, a picture emerges of the growth and evolution of massive, star-forming galaxies over the course of billions of years.

No description available.

Due to the finite speed of light and a vast, expanding universe, telescopes are just now receiving the light emitted by galaxies as they were forming in the very early universe. The light from these galaxies has been redshifted (stretched to longer, redder wavelengths) as a result of its journey through expanding space. Using sophisticated techniques and exceptional multi-wavelength optical and infrared data, we isolate a population of 378 galaxies in the process of formation when the Universe was only two billion years old. By matching the distinctive properties of the light spectra of these galaxies to models, the redshift, age, dust content, star formation rate and total stellar mass of each galaxy are determined. Comparing our results to similar surveys of galaxy populations at other redshifts, a picture emerges of the growth and evolution of massive, star-forming galaxies over the course of billions of years.

Two surface wave testing methods, namely, (i) the spectral analysis of surface waves (SASW), and (ii) the multi-channel analysis of surface waves (MASW), form non-destructive and non-intrusive techniques for predicting the shear wave velocity profile of different layers of ground and pavement. These field testing tools are based on the dispersive characteristics of Rayleigh waves, that is, different frequency components of the surface wave travel at different velocities in layered media. The SASW and MASW testing procedure basically comprises of three different components: (i) field measurements by employing geophones/accelerometers, (ii) generating dispersion plots, and (iii) predicting the shear wave velocity profile based on an inversion analysis. For generating the field dispersion plot, the complexities involved while doing the phase unwrapping calculations for the SASW technique, while performing the spectral calculations on the basis of two receivers’ data, makes it difficult to automate since it requires frequent manual judgment. In the present thesis, a new method, based on the sliding Fourier transform, has been introduced. The proposed method has been noted to be quite accurate, computationally economical and it generally overcomes the difficulties associated with the unwrapping of the phase difference between the two sensors’ data. In this approach, the unwrapping of the phase can be carried out without any manual intervention. As a result, an automation of the entire computational process to generate the dispersion plot becomes feasible. The method has been thoroughly validated by including a number of examples on the basis of surface wave field tests as well as synthetic test data. While obtaining the dispersion image by using the MASW method, three different transformation techniques, namely, (i) the Park’s wavefield transform, (ii) the frequency (f) -wavenumber ( ) transform and (iii) the time intercept ( -phase slowness (p) transform have been utilized for generating the multimodal dispersion plots. The performance of these three different methods has been assessed by using synthetic as well as field data records obtained from a ground site by means of 48 geophones. Two-dimensional as well as three-dimensional dispersion plots were generated. The Park’s wavefield transformation method has been found to be especially advantageous since it neither requires a very high sampling rate nor an inclusion of the zero padding of the data in a wavenumber (distance) domain. In the case of an irregular dispersive media, a proper analysis of the higher modes existing in the dispersion plots becomes essential for predicting the shear wave velocity profile of ground on the basis of surface wave tests. In such cases, the establishment of the predominant mode becomes quite significant. In the current investigation for Rayleigh wave propagation, the predominant mode has been computed by maximizing the normalized vertical displacements along the free surface. Eigenvectors computed from the thin layer approach (TLM) approach are analyzed to predict the corresponding predominant mode. It is noted that the establishment of the predominant mode becomes quite important where only two to six sensors are employed and the governing (predominant) modal dispersion curve is usually observed rather than several multiple modes which can otherwise be identified by using around 24 to 48 multiple sensors. By using the TLM, it is, however, not possible to account for the exact contribution of the elastic half space in the dynamic stiffness matrix (DSM) approach. A method is suggested to incorporate the exact contribution of the elastic half space in the TLM. The numerical formulation is finally framed as a quadratic eigenvalue problem which can be easily solved by using the subroutine polyeig in MATLAB. The dispersion plots were generated for several chosen different ground profiles. The numerical results were found to match quite well with the data available from literature. In order to address all the three different aspects of SASW and MASW techniques, a series of field tests were performed on five different ground sites. The ground vibrations were induced by means of (i) a 65 kg mass dropped freely from a height of 5 m, and (ii) by using a 20 pound sledge hammer. It was found that by using a 65 kg mass dropped from a height of 5 m, for stiffer sites, ground exploration becomes feasible even up to a depth of 50-80 m whereas for the softer sites the exploration depth is reduced to about 30 m. By using a 20 lb sledge hammer, the exploration depth is restricted to only 8-10 m due to its low impact energy. Overall, it is expected that the work reported in the thesis will furnish useful guidelines for (i) performing the SASW and MASW field tests, (ii) generating dispersion plots/images, and (iii) predicting the shear wave velocity profile of the site based on an inversion analysis.

Diversos estudos têm sido feitos para verificar quais as relações entre a lagarta do cartucho-do-milho, Spodoptera frugiperda, bem como o curuquerê-do-algodoeiro, Alabama argillacea, e potenciais agentes de controle biológico, visto que são importantes pragas de diversas culturas. Pesquisas com parasitoides e predadores de diferentes ordens têm sido desenvolvidas, com esse propósito. A tesourinha Euborellia annulipes apresenta grande potencial, assim como o pentatomídeo Podisus nigrispinus, por serem inimigos naturais desses insetos-praga. O parasitoide Campoletis flavicincta é, também, considerado um potencial agente controlador de S. frugiperda, no campo. Quatro experimentos foram instalados e conduzidos para estudar as relações ecológicas entre as espécies citadas: i) competição entre os predadores por larvas de S. frugiperda; ii) competição entre os predadores por larvas de A. argillacea; iii) competição intraespecífica entre as ninfas dos predadores; iv) teste de preferência por larvas de S. frugiperda previamente parasitadas, ou não, por C. flavicincta. Modelos estatísticos de diferentes tipos foram ajustados aos dados obtidos. Foram utilizados modelos lineares generalizados para dados discretos univariados (contagens e proporções), modelos de análise de sobrevivência para dados de tempo até ocorrência de um determinado evento, modelos aditivos generalizados e modelos multinomiais ordinais para dados de taxas de mortalidade observadas ao longo do tempo. Para verificar a qualidade do ajuste de modelos lineares generalizados, funções que produzem gráficos meio-normais com envelope de simulação foram implementadas no software estatístico gratuito R. Observou-se que as fêmeas de E. annulipes são mais agressivas e a espécie tem vantagem competitiva sobre P. nigrispinus, podendo atuar como predadora intraguilda. Além disso, os predadores têm a capacidade de discriminar entre larvas de S. frugiperda parasitadas ou não por C. flavicincta, sendo que há evidências de que os machos evitam consumir larvas parasitadas. Já as fêmeas não têm preferência e podem consumir o parasitoide, indiretamente, ao predar uma larva parasitada, sendo que isso pode ser um fator estabilizador do sistema. Adicionalmente, a coexistência entre a praga, os predadores e o parasitoide é mais provável quando as taxas de ataque dos predadores são mais altas e a do parasitoide é mais baixa. / Several studies have verified the relations among the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, as well as the cotton leafworm, Alabama argillacea, and potential biological control agents, as they are important pests of several crops. Research with parasitoids and predators of different orders has been developed with this purpose. The ring-legged earwig (Euborellia annulipes) shows great potential, as well as the Neotrpical stink bug (Podisus nigrispinus), as they are natural enemies of these pests. The parasitoid wasp Campoletis flavicincta is also considered a biological control agent of S. frugiperda. Four experiments were set up and conducted to characterize the ecological relations among the described species: i) competition between the predators for S. frugiperda larvae; ii) competition between the predators for A. argillacea larvae; iii) intraspecific competition among the predators\' nymphs; iv) choice tests between S. frugiperda larvae that were previously parasitised by C. flavicincta and larvae that were not. Statistical models of different types were fit to the data. Generalized linear models were used to analyse univariate discrete data (counts and proportions), survival analysis models were used to analyse time-until-event data, generalized additive models and ordered multinomial logistic models were used to analyse mortality rates through time. To assess goodness-of-fit, functions that produce half-normal plots with a simulation envelope were implemented for the open-source software R. It was observed that females of E. annulipes are less aggressive and this species has a competitive advantage over P. nigrispinus, and may act as an intraguild predator. Besides that, the predators are able to distinguish parasitised from non-parasitised S. frugiperda larvae, and there are evidence that show that males tend to avoid feeding on larvae parasitised by C. flavicincta. Females, however, have no prefference and may indirectly feed on the parasitoid when predating a parasitised larva, and this might be a stabilizing factor in this system. In addition, coexistence among the pest, predators and parasitoid is most likely when predation rates are high and parasitism rates are low.

This study discusses the extent to which Charles Sturridge's Where Angels Fear to Tread, Merchant Ivory's Howards End, and David Lean's A Passage to India have aimed at, and succeeded in, exploring the thematic concerns of E.M. Forster's novels. A brief introductory chapter explains the motivation behind this research, and the choice of critical methodologies used. It concludes with an outline of some of the problems confronting film-makers wishing to explore the concerns of novels. The first chapter, which is devoted to Where Angels Fear to Tread, reveals that while Sturridge is "faithful" to Forster's novel at a superficial level, basing most of his scenes on, and taking most of his dialogue directly from, the text, he does not explore Forster's themes. The facility with which film tells stories proves to be a treacherous trap for Sturridge. His version of Where Angels Fear to Tread is totally vacuous because he failed to develop anything beyond the story -- Forster's "tapeworm" of time (Aspects of the NoyeI41). The causality that Forster calls plot seemed beyond Sturridge's comprehension, leaving his film little more than an endless progression of "and then[s]" (Forster, Aspects 87). Characters are not given their full weight; symbols and leitmotifs are overlooked; the allegorical elements he did recognize, he failed to understand, and thus misplaced, so that the epiphanic moments of the novel are lost. There is no possibility of thematic concerns emerging from a film in which plot, characterization, symbol and rhythm are ignored. Sturridge's apparent inability to understand his source is in stark contrast to Merchant Ivory's sensitivity to Howards End, and their evident familiarity with literary criticism on the work. Chapter two explores the way in which their adaptation smooths out putative flaws in characterization and plot, and uses filmic rhythm and camera work to suggest comments made by the novel's narrator. Almost wholly successful in developing the novel's themes, Merchant Ivory's Howards End does not, however, successfully explore the spiritual dimensions of Forster's novel. Film is a medium capable of great subtlety, but its strength lies in its ability to capture the seen; the unseen tends to evade its grasp. It is in dealing with the unseen that Lean's A Passage to India misses greatness, for in virtually every other respect his version of Forster's masterpiece is superb. Chapter three explores Lean's creative and flexible approach to adaptation, his acute sensitivity to the differing demands of film and novel, and his confident technical mastery. It also explores, however, the emptiness at the heart of his film, an emptiness that is the result of his trivialization of the spiritual concerns of Forster's novel.