In this dissertation, I use seismic imaging techniques to constrain the physical state of the upper mantle beneath regions of young oceanic lithosphere. Mantle convection is investigated beneath the Galápagos Archipelago and then beneath the Juan de Fuca (JdF) plate, with a focus on the JdF and Gorda Ridges before turning to the off-axis asthenosphere. In the Galápagos Archipelago, S-to-p receiver functions reveal a discontinuity in seismic velocity that is attributed to the dehydration of the upper mantle. The depth at which dehydration occurs is shown to be consistent with prior constraints on mantle temperature. A comparison between results from receiver functions, seismic tomography and petrology shows that mantle upwelling and melt generation occur shallower than the depth of the discontinuity, despite the expectation of high viscosities in the dehydrated layer. Beneath the JdF and Gorda Ridge, low Vs anomalies are too large to be explained by the cooling of the lithosphere and are attributed to partial melt. The asymmetry, large Vs gradients, and sinuosity of the anomalies beneath the JdF Ridge are consistent with models of buoyancy-driven upwelling. However, deformation zone processes appear to dominate mantle flow over seafloor spreading beneath the Explorer and Gorda diffuse plate boundaries. Finally, S-to-p receiver functions reveal a seismic discontinuity beneath the JdF plate that can only be attributed to seismic anisotropy. Synthesis of the receiver function results with prior SKS splitting results requires heterogeneous anisotropy between the crust and the discontinuity. Models of anisotropy feature increasing anisotropy before the decrease at the discontinuity, but well below the base of the lithosphere, and a clockwise rotation of the fast direction with increasing depth. In these results and even in the SKS splitting results, additional driving mechanisms for mantle flow such as density or pressure anomalies are required.

In this dissertation, I use seismic imaging methods to constrain the evolution of the oceanic upper mantle across the Juan de Fuca (JdF) and Gorda plates. This work begins by studying the geometry of the mantle magmatic system and patterns of mantle flow beneath the northern JdF ridge in relation to ridge-parallel changes in accretionary processes. I find that the dynamics of lithospheric rifting exert the primary control on the distribution of shallow mantle melts and variations in crustal thickness and composition. The orientation of mantle divergence beneath the JdF ridge, as inferred from seismic anisotropy, is oblique to the overlying plate divergence direction. Similar observations made at the East Pacific Rise and Mid-Atlantic ridge suggest plate motions alone do not control mantle flow patterns. On the contrary, stresses exerted at the base of the plate by the asthenospheric flow field may contribute to changes in plate motion prompting a reorientation of oceanic spreading segments. The mantle anisotropic fabric of the JdF plate interior is then investigated to identify whether the rotated mantle flow field observed beneath the JdF ridge persisted throughout the recent geologic past. However, observations suggest that the anisotropic structure created at the ridge partially reorganizes off-axis obscuring the paleo-flow geometry. Next, I focus on how the physical state of the oceanic lithosphere evolves with time. Using local earthquake arrival times I test whether the seismic velocity structure of the upper mantle lithosphere is thermally controlled or dominated by heterogeneities introduced upon accretion at the ridge or by subsequent deformation off axis. Despite extensive surficial evidence of faulting across the Gorda plate, deformation appears to be restricted to crustal depths and mantle velocities are explained by conductive cooling. In contrast, the velocity structure of the JdF plate is inconsistent with conductively-cooled mantle. Hydration of the mantle lithosphere associated with tectonic discontinuities is invoked to explain anomalously slow P-wave speeds. Lastly, a joint inversion of teleseismic body and surface wave data is proposed to image the geometry of mantle upwelling and melt production beneath the JdF and Gorda Ridges. This dissertation includes previously published and unpublished coauthored material.

University of Macau / Faculty of Health Sciences

Electron tomography allows visualization of objects in a form of reconstructed 3D virtual volumes with resolution power of electron microscopy. The thesis is focused primarily on biological applications of electron tomography applied on tilt series images acquired in transmission electron microscope at room temperature. Specifically, the interaction of tick-borne encephalitis virus with neural cells and 3D ultrastructure of the central electron-dense part of the flagellum 9 + 1 (Caryophyllaeides fennica) were investigated. Finally, electron tomography was combined and correlated with atomic force microscopy to allow repetitive examination of ultrathin sections on electron microscopy grids.

The North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) in Turkey is a major continental strike-slip fault, 1200 km long and with a current slip rate of 25 mm/yr. Historical records show that the NAFZ is capable of producing high-magnitude earthquakes, activating different segments of the fault in a westward progression. Currently, the NAFZ poses a major seismic hazard for the city of Istanbul, which is situated close to one of the two strands into which the fault splays in northwestern Turkey. Understanding of fault zone structure and properties at depth is essential to constrain where deformation occurs within the lithosphere and how strain localises with depth. In fact, geodynamic models explaining surface deformation require knowledge of the width and depth extent of the fault zone in both the crust and upper mantle. In this framework, this thesis aims to provide better constraints on fault zone geometry within the lithosphere. To achieve this objective P and S wave teleseismic tomography have been applied to the data recorded by a dense array of broadband seismic stations (DANA, Dense Array for Northern Anatolia); through teleseismic tomography it was possible to image the NAFZ structure in both the crust and uppermost mantle. In addition, joint inversion i of P-wave teleseismic data and local earthquake data collected using the same array provided a greatly improved resolution within the upper 20 km of the crust. Results from this work highlighted the presence of a shear zone associated to the northern branch of the NAFZ in the study area. The fault zone appears to be 15 km wide within the upper crust and narrows to < 10 km within the lower crust and to Moho depth. In the uppermost mantle its width is constrained to be 30 to 50 km.

O presente projeto consistiu no estudo e aplicação do algoritmo FDK (Feldkamp-Davis-Kress) para a reconstrução de imagens tomográficas utilizando a geometria de feixe cônico, resultando na implementação de um sistema adaptado de tomografia computadorizada multicortes (TCMC). Para a aquisição das projeções, utilizou-se uma plataforma giratória com goniômetro acoplado, um equipamento de raios X e um detector digital, tipo CCD. Para processar a reconstrução das imagens, foi utilizado um PC, no qual foi implementado o algoritmo FDK. Inicialmente foi aplicado o algoritmo FDK original, no qual se assume o caso físico ideal no processo de medições. Em seguida, foram incorporadas ao algoritmo, algumas correções de artefatos relacionados ao processo de medição das projeções. Para testar o funcionamento do algoritmo implementado, foram feitas reconstruções a partir de projeções simuladas computacionalmente. Foram montados e testados três sistemas de aquisição de projeções, nos quais foram usados diferentes equipamentos de raios X, detectores, metodologias e técnicas radiográficas, a fim de garantir que fossem coletados os melhores conjuntos possíveis de projeções. Realizou-se a calibração do sistema de TCMC implementado. Para isso, utilizou-se um objeto com uma distribuição de coeficientes de atenuação linear conhecida, que foi projetado e fabricado especificamente para isto. Por fim, o sistema de TCMC implementado foi utilizado na reconstrução tomográfica de um objeto não homogêneo, cuja distribuição volumétrica do coeficiente de atenuação linear é desconhecida. As imagens reconstruídas foram analisadas a fim de avaliar o desempenho do sistema de TCMC implementado. / This work consisted on the study and application of the FDK (Feldkamp-Davis-Kress) algorithm for tomographic image reconstruction using cone-beam geometry, resulting on the implementation of an adapted multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) system. For the acquisition of the projections, a rotating platform coupled to a goniometer, an x-ray equipment and a CCD type digital detector were used. The FDK algorithm was implemented on a PC which was used for the reconstruction process. Initially, the original FDK algorithm was applied considering only the ideal physical conditions in the measurement process. Then some artifacts corrections related to the projections measurement process were incorporated. Computational simulations were performed to test the functioning of the implemented algorithm. Three projections acquisition systems, which used different x-ray equipments, detectors, methodologies and radiographic techniques, were assembled and tested in order to ensure that the best possible set of data was collected. The implemented MSCT system was calibrated. A specially designed and manufactured object with a known linear attenuation coefficient distribution was used for this purpose. Finally, the implemented MSCT system was used for multi-slice tomographic reconstruction of an inhomogeneous object, whose attenuation coefficient distribution was unknown. The reconstructed images were analyzed to assess the performance of the TCMC system that was implemented.

INTRODUÇÃO: A doença de Chagas (DCh) representa um grave problema de saúde pública na maioria dos países da América Latina. Sintomatologia frequente, a dor torácica ou precordial em pacientes com DCh pode assemelhar-se àquela observada na doença arterial coronária (DAC), constituindo-se, dessa forma, em desafio diagnóstico para os clínicos. A frequência da DAC em pacientes com DCh continua indefinida na literatura, permanecendo a hipótese de que pacientes com DCh possam apresentar menor proporção de DAC. A angiografia coronária por tomografia computadorizada (ATC), em aparelho de múltiplas colunas de detectores, é um método não invasivo de alta acurácia que permite o diagnóstico precoce de placas ateromatosas, obstrutivas ou não, e que poderia detectar a frequência de DAC neste grupo de pacientes. OBJETIVO: Investigar a presença de aterosclerose coronária em pacientes com DCh, comparando com um grupo controle de indivíduos assintomáticos e sem doença coronária conhecida, utilizando a angiografia coronária por tomografia computadorizada. MÉTODOS: Foram estudados 43 pacientes portadores da DCh, sendo 16 (37,2%) homens. O grupo controle foi composto por 66 indivíduos não portadores da DCh, sendo 28 (42,4%) homens. Os grupos foram pareados pelo escore de risco de Framingham, respeitando-se a mesma faixa de risco (baixo, intermediário e alto), além do pareamento por sexo e faixa etária. Os exames foram realizados em tomografia computadorizada de 320 colunas de detectores e o diagnóstico de DAC foi definido pela presença de placa aterosclerótica, mesmo sem causar obstrução luminal. DAC obstrutiva significativa foi considerada pela presença de ao menos uma placa causando redução maior do que 50% do diâmetro da luz arterial. RESULTADOS: Foram observadas diferenças significativas nos parâmetros relacionados à DAC, sendo sua frequência significativamente menor nos pacientes portadores da DCh. A presença de DAC foi observada em 9 indivíduos (20,9%) portadores da DCh e em 32 indivíduos do grupo controle (48,5%), com p=0,004. A magnitude da estenose coronária foi significativamente menor nos pacientes com DCh que nos controles na análise por paciente, por território e por segmentos coronários (p<0,001, p=0,012 e p=0,045, respectivamente). CONCLUSÕES: Os pacientes portadores da DCh apresentam baixa frequência de DAC definida pela tomografia computadorizada de artérias coronárias. A frequência de DAC, obstrutiva ou não, em pacientes com DCh foi significativamente menor que a observada no grupo controle de pacientes sem DAC prévia conhecida / INTRODUCTION: Chagas disease (CD) is a serious public health problem in most of Latin American countries. Precordial or chest pain in patients with CD is a frequent symptom and can be similar to that observed in coronary artery disease (CAD), what represents a diagnostic challenge to the physicians. The frequency of CAD in patients with CD continues undefined in the literature, remaining the hypothesis that patients with CD could present a lower proportion of CAD. Computed tomography angiography (CTA) is a high accuracy and non-invasive method that allows an early diagnostic of atherosclerotic plaque, obstructive or not, and that could detect the frequency of CAD in this group of patients. OBJECTIVE: Investigate coronary atherosclerosis by CTA in patients with CD, comparing with an asymptomatic control group without known CAD. METHODS: 43 patients with CD were studied and 16 (37.2%) were men. The control group was composed by 66 non-carriers of CD and 28 (42.4%) were men. The groups were matched for Framingham risk score (low, medium and high) as well as sex and age. The exams were performed in 320-multidetector rows CT and the CAD diagnostic was defined as the presence of atherosclerotic plaques, even without luminal obstruction. Significant obstructive CAD was considered if at least one plaque was present causing more than 50% of reduction in the arterial lumen diameter. RESULTS: Significant differences were observed in parameters related to CAD, showing lower frequency of CAD in patients with CD. The presence of CAD was observed in 9 patients (20.9%) with CD and in 32 patients (48.5%) from the control group, with p=0.004. The magnitude of coronary stenosis was significantly lower in patients with CD than in controls, in a per patient, per territory and per segment coronary analyses (p<0.001, p=0.012 e p=0.045, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with CD have a low frequency of CAD defined by coronary CTA. The CAD frequency, obstructive or not, in patients with CD was significantly lower than the observed in the control group without known CAD

O objetivo deste estudo foi comparar, por meio de tomografia computadorizada de feixe cônico, a inclinação axial dos dentes posteriores e a morfologia óssea alveolar mandibular entre indivíduos com diferentes padrões faciais. Para isso, foram utilizadas 58 tomografias de indivíduos maiores de 14 anos de idade não tratados ortodonticamente. Os indivíduos foram divididos em 3 grupos de acordo com o padrão facial avaliado pelo índice VERT de Ricketts: Grupo 1: composto por 18 indivíduos com padrão braquifacial, com idade média de 21,58 anos (d.p.=7,43); Grupo 2: composto por 23 indivíduos com padrão mesofacial, com idade média de 19,14 anos (d.p.=5,19); e Grupo 3: composto por 17 indivíduos com padrão dolicofacial, com idade média de 19,09 anos (d.p.=6,89). Foi realizada uma avaliação quantitativa das tábuas ósseas vestibular e lingual dos dentes pósteroinferiores, em tomografias de feixe cônico. As medidas utilizadas foram: altura do osso mandibular vestibular e lingual, largura mandibular cervical e média, inclinação mandibular, inclinação da face vestibular, largura do molar, angulação do molar e ângulo dente/osso. A comparação intergrupos foi realizada com a utilização do teste ANOVA a um critério de seleção e teste de Tukey quando necessário. Para verificar se existe correlação entre o padrão facial e as variáveis estudadas foi utilizado o teste de correlação de Pearson. Os resultados demonstraram que os indivíduos braquifaciais apresentaram uma menor inclinação mandibular quando comparados aos indivíduos mesofaciais e dolicofaciais. Houve diferença significante da altura mandibular vestibular entre os três grupos avaliados, sendo que esta foi menor no grupo braquifacial, intermediária no grupo mesofacial e maior no grupo dolicofacial. A altura mandibular lingual foi menor no grupo braquifacial em comparação aos grupos mesofacial e dolicofacial. A largura mandibular média foi maior nos indivíduos braquifaciais em relação aos mesofaciais. / The aim of this study was to compare, with cone beam computed tomography, the axial inclination of posterior teeth and mandibular alveolar bone morphology among individuals with different facial patterns. For this, 58 CT scans of untreated individuals orthodontically aged more than 14 years were used. The subjects were divided into 3 groups according to the facial pattern evaluated by the VERT index by Ricketts: Group 1 comprised 18 individuals with brachyfacial pattern, with a mean age of 21.58 years (s.d.=7.43); Group 2 comprised 23 individuals with mesofacial pattern, with a mean age of 19.14 years (s.d.=5.19); and Group 3 comprised 17 individuals with dolichofacial pattern, with a mean age of 19.09 years (s.d.=6.89). A quantitative assessment of the buccal and lingual bone plates of the mandibular posterior teeth were made in cone beam CT scans. The variables measured were: buccal and lingual mandibular height, cervical and middle mandibular width, mandibular inclination, inclination of the buccal surface, molar width, molar angle and tooth/bone angle. The intergroup comparison was performed by one-way ANOVA and Tukey test when necessary. To check whether there is a correlation between facial pattern and the variables studied, the Pearson correlation test was used. The results showed that the brachyfacial subjects had a smaller mandibular angle when compared to mesofacial and dolichofacial individuals. There was significant difference in the buccal mandibular height between the three groups, and this was smaller in the brachyfacial group, intermediate in the mesofacial group and larger in the dolichofacial group. Lingual mandibular height was smaller in brachyfacial group when compared to mesofacial and dolichofacial groups. The mean mandibular width was greater in brachyfacial than in mesofacial subjects.

Este trabalho diz respeito ao desenvolvimento de uma nova estratégia de Sensoriamento adaptada ao imageamento de escoamento bifásico por tomografia de impedância elétrica. Sua motivação básica vem do fato que a maioria dos algoritmos de reconstrução numérica foram desenvolvidos para campos de sensoriamento do tipo \'\'duro\", isto é, eles têm a hipótese subjacente de que o campo de sensoriamento é bidimensional e paralelo. Quando usam campos de sensoriamento do tipo \"mole\", tais como em tomografia capacitiva elétrica de escoamentos bifásicos, estas condições são marginalmente satisfeitas, a menos na situação de um menor contraste entre as propriedades elétricas do escoamento bifásico, para o qual a natureza mal condicionada do problema será de qualquer modo muito mais crítica. O desenvolvimento de um método menos restritivo pode ser alcançado pelo refinamento da qualidade da imagem produzida por uma sonda de imagem direta, por meio da minimização de um convenientemente definido erro funcional refletindo as diferenças entre valores experimentais e numéricos calculados na fronteira do volume de sensibilidade. De qualquer modo, é requerido que estes valores de fronteira sejam suficientemente sensíveis às mudanças na distribuição das propriedades elétricas do escoamento. Este trabalho apresenta a análise da sensibilidade de diferentes estratégias de excitação e sua aplicabilidade no algoritmo de reconstrução tomográfica descrito acima. Dois perfis de excitação clássica são comparados a fim de propor um no qual observa-se a sensibilidade dos resultados do perfil medido na fronteira às mudanças nas posições das inclusões no volume de sensibilidade. Os resultados confirmam que a estratégia clássica é prejudicada devido a falta de sensibilidade e que novas possibilidades devem ser desenvolvidas baseadas na otimização do perfil de excitação ou sob técnicas multi-sensitivas. / This work concerns the development of a new sensing strategy adapted to two-phase flow imaging by electrical impedance tomography. Its basic motivation comes from the fact that most of the numerical reconstruction algorithms were developed for hard sensing fields, i.e. they have the underlying assumptions that the sensing field is two-dimensional and parallel. When using soft sensing fields, such as in electrical capacitance tomography of two-phase flows, these conditions are barely satisfied, unless in the situation of a poor contrast between the electrical properties of the flowing phases, for which the ill-conditioned nature of the problem will be much more critical anyway. The development of a less restrictive method can be achieved by refining the qualitative images produced by a direct imaging probe, by means of the minimization of a conveniently defined error functional reflecting the difference between experimental and numerical values calculated at the boundary of the sensing volume. However, in order to do this, it is required that these boundary values be sufficiently sensitive to changes in the distribution of the electrical properties of the flow. This work presents a sensitivity analysis of different excitation strategies and their applicability in a tomographic reconstruction algorithm such as described above. Two classical excitation profiles are compared to a proposed one in what regards the sensitivity of the resulting measured profile at the boundary to changes in the positions of inclusions in the sensing volume. The results confirm that classical strategies suffer from a major lack of sensitivity and that new ones must be developed possibly based optimization of the excitation profiles or on multi-sensing techniques.

A técnica de perfilagem gama de colunas de destilação já está no mercado há pelo menos 30 anos. Acompanhando o desenvolvimento tecnológico mundial, a técnica e a indústria prosperaram e se difundiu, podendo ser encontrada em diversos países e sendo implementada por diversas empresas comerciais e centros de pesquisa. Todavia, apesar das melhorias na qualidade dos resultados bem como na rapidez e praticidade da tomada de dados; o conceito básico da técnica permaneceu inalterado. Este trabalho condensa como o aprendizado de 20 anos, em gamma scan e tomografia industrial, propiciou fundamentos para uma técnica inovadora, testada em laboratório e depois efetivamente aplicada em condições reais de campo, que permitiu obter resultados nunca antes obtidos numa perfilagem de coluna. / Distillation column gamma scanning has been in the market for more than 30 years. Following world\'s technology development the industry grew and spread worldwide. Nowadays gamma scanning can be found in many countries performed by commercial companies and research centers either. However, in spite of all development achieved, resulting in high quality data and easy data sampling; the technology concepts remains the same. This works condense how 20 years apprentice ship in gamma scanning and industrial tomography, rise up fundaments for an innovative technique, tested in laboratory scale and effectively applied in real field conditions; culminated in results that have never been obtained with a gamma scan.