Depth information of tissue surfaces and laparoscope poses are crucial for accurate surgical guidance and navigation in Computer Assisted Surgeries (CAS). Intra-operative Three Dimensional (3D) reconstruction and laparoscope localization are therefore two fundamental tasks in CAS. This dissertation focuses on the abdominal Minimally Invasive Surgeries (MIS) and presents laparoscopic-video-based methods for these two tasks. Different kinds of methods have been presented to recover 3D surface structures of surgical scenes in MIS. Those methods are mainly based on laser, structured light, time-of-flight cameras, and video cameras. Among them, laparoscopic-video-based surface reconstruction techniques have many significant advantages. Specifically, they are non-invasive, provide intra-operative information, and do not introduce extra-hardware to the current surgical platform. On the other side, laparoscopic-video-based 3D reconstruction and laparoscope localization are challenging tasks due to the specialties of the abdominal imaging environment. The well-known difficulties include: low texture, homogeneous areas, tissue deformations, and so on. The goal of this dissertation is to design novel 3D reconstruction and laparoscope localization methods and overcome those challenges from the abdominal imaging environment. Two novel methods are proposed to achieve accurate 3D reconstruction for MIS. The first method is based on the detection of distinctive image features, which is difficult in MIS images due to the low-texture and homogeneous tissue surfaces. To overcome this problem, this dissertation first introduces new types of image features for MIS images based on blood vessels on tissue surfaces and designs novel methods to efficiently detect them. After vessel features have been detected, novel methods are presented to match them in stereo images and 3D vessels can be recovered for each frame. Those 3D vessels from different views are integrated together to obtain a global 3D vessel network and Poisson reconstruction is applied to achieve large-area dense surface reconstruction. The second method is texture-independent and does not rely on the detection of image features. Instead, it proposes to mount a single-point light source on the abdominal wall. Shadows are cast on tissue surfaces when surgical instruments are waving in front of the light. Shadow boundaries are detected and matched in stereo images to recover the depth information. The recovered 3D shadow curves are interpolated to achieve dense reconstruction of tissue surfaces. One novel stereoscope localization method is designed specifically for the abdominal environment. The method relies on RANdom SAmple Consensus (RANSAC) to differentiate rigid points and deforming points. Since no assumption is made on the tissue deformations, the proposed methods is able to handle general tissue deformations and achieve accurate laparoscope localization results in the abdominal MIS environment. With the stereoscope localization results and the large-area dense surface reconstruction, a new scene visualization system, periphery augmented system, is designed to augment the peripheral areas of the original video so that surgeons can have a larger field of view. A user-evaluation system is designed to compare the periphery augmented system with the original MIS video. 30 subjects including 4 surgeons specialized in abdominal MIS participate the evaluation and a numerical measure is defined to represent their understanding of surgical scenes. T-test is performed on the numerical errors and the null hypothesis that the periphery augmented system and the original video have the same mean of errors is rejected. In other words, the results validate that the periphery augmented system improves users' understanding and awareness of surgical scenes.

Det här arbetet bygger på en litteraturstudie från föregående arbeten som handlar om biobränslet HVO och dess funktion vid drift av flera olika typer av dieselmotorer. Författarna till arbetet har tittat på de för- och nackdelar som föreligger vid drift på HVO och gjort jämförelser med diesel och HFO vilka dominerar inom sjöfarten idag. Arbetet har gjorts med fokus på teknisk drift samt miljöaspekter vid användning och vi har bortsett från annat som tillgång, framställning och distribution. Vi har även tagit upp kommande utsläppskrav inom sjöfarten och diskuterat vad som kan behöva göras för att klara av dessa. Skillnader i utsläpp vad gäller koldioxid, kväveoxider, svaveloxider och partiklar behandlas tillsammans med driftsaspekter som prestanda, bränsleförbrukning och lagringsstabilitet. Sett till sin helhet har resultaten visat sig vara goda för HVO vid jämförelser mot diesel och HFO, särskilt ur ett miljöperspektiv. Det största dilemmat i dagsläget är huruvida man ska kunna tillgodose de enorma behoven som råder på bränsle, då råvarutillgången är begränsad och framställningsmetoderna kostsamma. / This work is based on a literature study from previous work regarding the biofuel HVO and its function in the operation of several different types of diesel engines. The authors of this work have looked at the pros and cons of operating at HVO and made comparisons with diesel and HFO which dominate in shipping today. The work has been done with a focus on technical operations and environmental aspects in use and we have not taken availability, production and distribution into consideration. We have also raised future emission requirements in shipping and discussed what may be needed to cope with these. Differences in carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides and particulate emissions are treated together with operational aspects such as performance, fuel consumption and storage stability. In summary, the results have proven to be in favor for HVO in comparison to diesel and HFO, especially from an environmental perspective. The biggest dilemma at present is whether to meet the enormous needs of fuel, as raw materials are limited and the production methods costly.

Coral reefs provide economic and environmental services to millions of people as areas for recreation, sources of food, jobs, and shoreline protection; and are now under threat from multiple stresses (NOAA 2002). Anthropogenic impact from acute physical events such as commercial vessel grounding and anchor drags have been well documented throughout the world and southeast Florida. However little data exist on the chronic effects of large commercial vessels anchoring on reef resources. The Port Miami commercial anchorage was designated circa 1927 and was delineated over approximately 700 acres of reef resources. Anchorage use, benthic resources, and substrate composition were surveyed to understand the impact commercial vessel anchoring activities have had. Survey sites included both random sites within the anchorage to understand the cumulative chronic effect of anchoring activity, as well as targeted surveys at recently anchored sites to understand the immediate impacts of those anchoring events. Survey data were also compared to anchorage use data to understand how vessel traffic patterns influenced impact. Results indicated that there was both significant differences at acute recent impact sites and chronic impact sites. Generally, Outer Reef chronic impact sites had more evidence of chronic impacts both in the benthic community and substrate composition than Inner Reef sites. Significant differences on Outer Reef included an increase in the percent cover of small rubble, a decrease in octocoral percent cover, and a decrease in the density of larger octocoral size classes. Significant differences on Inner Reef included a decrease in the number of scleractinian species present compared to control sites.

Approximately 65 vessel reefs have been deployed intentionally in Broward County, Florida since 1982. The purpose of these deployments was to enhance fish stocks for recreational fisheries and sport divers. The other main goal was to reduce pressure on heavily exploited natural reefs. Several studies have been conducted at both artificial and natural reef sites in the area; however, none of these have focused on nocturnal fish assemblages (Ferro et al., 2005; Arena et al., 2007). The goal of our study was to characterize nocturnal fish assemblages on vessel and natural reefs in Broward County. This data, in addition to the existing diurnal data, will provide a more comprehensive understanding of fish assemblage structure on artificial and natural reefs. Comparisons among vessel and natural nocturnal fish assemblages and previous diurnal studies were made. Abundance was greater on diurnal natural and vessel reefs when compared to nocturnal. Abundance was also greater on nocturnal vessel reefs than nocturnal natural reefs. The twilight period on vessel reefs was characterized by high abundance of piscivores and a significantly greater abundance of grunts than during the nocturnal period. The abundance of grunts supports their movement during this time to surrounding sand flats to feed. The vertical relief of the vessel reefs seemed to appeal to an abundance of pelagic fishes as well as planktivores. Distinctly different fish assemblages were seen between nocturnal natural and vessel reefs, as well as between diurnal and nocturnal natural reefs and vessel reefs. Fisheries-important fishes were more abundant during the day, but also more abundant on vessel reefs than natural reefs. Although vessel reefs do not mimic the natural reefs studied or support the same fish assemblages, they are providing habitat for diverse nocturnal fish assemblages.

A system for vessel characterization aimed at detecting deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in the lower limbs has been developed and evaluated using ultrasound image processing, location and force sensors measurements, blood flow information and a protocol based on the current clinical standard, compression ultrasound. The goal is to provide an objective and repeatable system to measure DVT in a rapid and standardized manner, as this has been suggested in the literature as an approach to improve overall detection of the disease. The system uses a spatial Kalman filter-based algorithm with an elliptical model in the measurement equation to detect vessel contours in transverse ultrasound images and estimate ellipse parameters, and temporal constant velocity Kalman filters for tracking vessel location in real-time. The vessel characterization also comprises building a 3-D vessel model and performing compression and blood flow assessments to calculate measures that indicate the possibility of DVT in a vessel. A user interface designed for assessing a vessel for DVT was also developed. The system and components were implemented and tested in simulations, laboratory settings, and clinical settings. Contour detection results are good, with mean and rms errors ranging from 1.47-3.64 and 3.69-9.67 pixels, respectively, in simulated and patient images, and parameter estimation errors of 5%. Experiments showed errors of 3-5 pixels for the tracking approaches. The measures for DVT were evaluated, independently and integrated in the system. The complete system was evaluated, with sensitivity of 67-100% and specificity of 50-89.5%. System learnability and memorability were evaluated in a separate user study, with good results. Contributions include a segmentation approach using a full parameter ellipse model in an extended Kalman filter, incorporating multiple measurements, an alternate sampling method for faster parameter convergence and application-specific initialization, and a tracking approach that includes a sub-sampled sum of absolutes similarity calculation and a method to detect vessel bifurcations using flow data. Further contributions include an integrated system for DVT detection that can combine ultrasound B-mode, colour flow and elastography images for vessel characterization, a system interface design focusing on usability that was evaluated with medical professionals, and system evaluations through multiple patient studies. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Electrical and Computer Engineering, Department of / Graduate

Cerebral small vessel pathology is now known to be associated with the development of cognitive impairment and mild motor impairments such as gait disturbance in a variety of neurodegenerative diseases. This dissertation explores the hypothesis that blood brain barrier dysfunction is an early event in cerebral ischemia and contributes to the development of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). A common rodent model of CSVD is permanent bilateral common carotid artery occlusion in the rat. This model was used to study several aspects of the progression of CSVD including the timecourse of blood brain barrier permeability changes following the onset of ischemia, gait disturbance, the expression of tight junction proteins and cytokine expression. It was determined that BBB permeability was elevated for 2 weeks following BCCAO and ischemic rats displayed lower gait velocity. There was no change in expression of TJ proteins. However, ischemic rats had higher levels of some proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines in brain tissue with no obvious changes in plasma levels. The mechanisms underlying the increase in BBB permeability were studied in vitro using artificial barriers made of confluent rat brain microvascular endothelial cells. Cerebral ischemia has been reported to cause an increase in plasma toxicity, likely by elevating the numbers of circulating microparticles (MPs). MPs isolated from the plasma of ischemic rats were applied to artificial barriers where it was found that they act mainly as vectors of TNF-α signaling. MPs induce activation of caspase-3 and the Rho/Rho kinase pathways. It is concluded that most of the increase in barrier permeability is due to apoptosis and disassembly of actin cytoskeleton and disruption of adherens junctions IV and not an increase in transcellular transport. The effects of treatment with the type III phosphodiesterase inhibitor cilostazol on dye extravasation in the brain, glial activation, white matter damage and motor performance were evaluated. It was determined that cilostazol could improve the increased BBB permeability and gait disturbance and microglial activation in optic tract following BCCAO. Also, the effects of treatment with cilostazol on plasma toxicity in vivo (24h and 14d following BCCAO) and artificial barriers (in vitro) were assessed. It was found that cilostazol could reduce plasma toxicity at 24h and improve increased endothelial barrier permeability that is induced by MP treatment respectively. In summary BBB dysfunction occurs in the rat model of chronic cerebral hypoperfusion with no differences in expression of TJ proteins. There is a mild motor disturbance in the form of lower gait velocity following BCCAO. Cytokines released in brain tissue may be associated with pathological consequences following BCCAO while there is no significant difference in plasma levels and circulating MPs may play a role in BBB dysfunction.

Nuclear Reactor Pressure Vessels (RPV) are manufactured from medium strength low alloy ferritic steel, specifically selected for its high toughness and good weldability. The ability of the RPV material to resist crack growth is crucial given that it is one of the fundamental containment safety systems of nuclear power plants. For most of their lifetime, the RPV operates at sufficiently elevated temperatures to ensure the material is ductile. However, the development of ductile damage, in the form of voids, and the ability to predict ductile tearing in RPV materials using a mechanistically-based model remains difficult. The Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman (GTN) model of ductile tearing provides one such tool for predicting ductile damage development in RPV materials. The difficulty in using the GTN model lies in the ability to calibrate the model parameters in a robust manner. The parameters are typically calibrated data, derived from fracture tests and relying on an iterative “trial and error” procedure of numerical simulations and comparison with test data until the model reproduces the experimental behaviour with sufficient accuracy. This research has addressed the development of a mechanistically-based approach to the calibration of the GTN model by developing a new understanding of the ductile fracture mechanism in RPV material through conventional metallography and 3D X-ray computed tomography to image the initiation, growth and coalescence of ductile voids. The metallographic and tomographic data were analysed in a quantitative manner to establish a direct link between the microstructural features and void evolution and the key parameters of the GTN model. This approach has established a more robust mechanistically based method for the calibration of the GTN model that will enhance the conventional iterative calibration procedure. The calibrated model was applied to predict ductile tearing behaviour in compact-tension and notched-tensile specimens. The results showed good agreement with test data and also reproduced the morphology and branching of crack extension observed in practise. Whilst these observations were due, in part, to the numerical solving procedure, they enabled new insights to be gained regarding the development of non-uniform void volume fraction distributions in tested specimensThe results from this research will strengthen the guidance provided to structural integrity engineers in industry regarding the calibration and application of ductile damage mechanics models such as the GTN model for predicting ductile initiation and growth in RPV materials.

The ductus arteriosi (DA) are two blood vessels connecting the pulmonary arteries to the descending aorta in the avian embryo. Following hatching, the DA closes, separation of the systemic and pulmonary circulation. I present the morphological changes that occur in the chicken DA during prepipping, internal pipping, external pipping, and hatching. The avian DA consists of two distinct tissue types, a proximal and a distal portion. Histological examination shows developmental differences between the proximal and distal portions of the DA with regard to lumen occlusion, endothelial cells, smooth muscle and elastin. Endothelial cell proliferation begins to occur as early as external pipping, with the lumen almost completely occluded by the 3rd day of post-hatching life. Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) increases in avian endothelial cells during hatching. I provide a morphological timeline of changes in the DA as the chicken develops from embryo to hatchling.

Esta dissertação apresenta o desenvolvimento e avaliação de um método para a segmentação de vasos sangüíneos em imagens de retina, em que se usa a transformada wavelet contínua bidimensional combinada com classificação supervisionada. A segmentação dos vasos é a etapa inicial para a análise automática das imagens, cujo objetivo é auxiliar a comunidade médica na detecção de doenças. Entre outras doenças, as imagens podem revelar sinais da retinopatia diabética, uma das principais causas de cegueira em adultos, que pode ser prevenida se detectada em um diagnóstico precoce. A abordagem apresentada consiste na geração de segmentações pela classificação supervisionada de pixels nas classes \"vaso\" e \"não vaso\". As características usadas para classificação são obtidas através da transformada wavelet contínua bidimensional usando a wavelet de Gabor. Resultados são avaliados nos bancos públicos DRIVE e STARE de imagens coloridas através da análise ROC (\"receiver operating characteristic\", ou característica de operação do receptor). O método atinge áreas sob curvas ROC de 0.9614 e 0.9671 nos bancos DRIVE e STARE, respectivamente, ligeiramente superiores àquelas apresentadas por outros métodos do estado da arte. Apesar de bons resultados ROC, a análise visual revela algumas dificuldades do método, como falsos positivos ao redor do disco óptico e de patologias. A wavelet de Gabor mostra-se eficiente na detecção dos vasos, superando outros filtros lineares. Bons resultados e uma classificação rápida são obtidos usando o classificador bayesiano em que as funções de densidade de probabilidade condicionais às classes são descritas por misturas de gaussianas. A implementação do método está disponível na forma de \"scripts\" código aberto em MATLAB para pesquisadores interessados em detalhes de implementação, avaliação ou desenvolvimento de métodos. / This dissertation presents the development and evaluation of a method for blood vessel segmentation in retinal images which combines the use of the two-dimensional continuous wavelet transform with supervised classification. Segmentation of the retinal vasculature is the first step towards automatic analysis of the images, aiming at helping the medical community in detecting diseases. Among other diseases, the images may reveal signs of diabetic retinopathy, a leading cause of adult blindness, which can be prevented if identified early enough. The presented approach produces segmentations by supervised classification of each image pixel as \"vessel\" or \"nonvessel\", with pixel features derived using the two-dimensional continuous Gabor wavelet transform. Results are evaluated on publicly available DRIVE and STARE color image databases using ROC (receiver operating characteristic) analysis. The method achieves areas under ROC curves of 0.9614 and 0.9671 on the DRIVE and STARE databases, respectively, being slightly superior than that presented by state-of-the-art approaches. Though good ROC results are presented, visual inspection shows some typical difficulties of the method, such as false positives on the borders of the optic disc and pathologies. The Gabor wavelet shows itself efficient for vessel enhancement, outperforming other linear filters. Good segmentation results and a fast classification phase are obtained using the Bayesian classifier with class-conditional probability density functions described as Gaussian mixtures. The method\'s implementation is available as open source MATLAB scripts for researchers interested in implementation details, evaluation, or development of methods.

Målet med detta examensarbete var att utforma ett koncept för friktionsmätning i trycksatt ångmiljö mellan materialparen trä/metall och metall/metall. Krav på konstruktionen var att hastigheten skulle kunna regleras mellan 0-100 meter per sekund under sex bars övertryck i 100 % luftfuktighet vid temperatur upptill 180 grader Celsius till uppdragsgivaren Mittuniversitetet i Sundsvall. Arbetets utförande redovisas i denna rapport, målet är att utforma ett koncept, utforma en 3D modell av konceptet, utföra hållfasthetsberäkning som stöder att konceptet kan utstå specificerad belastning och undersöka om formförändringar av trycksatts anordning har en inverkan på de spänningar som uppstår. För att uppnå målet att utforma ett koncept användes en designprocess innehållande funktionsanalys, idégenerering enligt brainstorming och konceptutvärdering med beslutsmatris som resulterade i ett koncept för friktionsmätning där vissa komponenter definierades med krav och dimensionering av drivlina utfördes med programmet Gates Design flex Pro. Som metod för att konstruera en 3D-modell användes programmet Solidworks, för att undersöka konceptets hållfasthet utfördes dimensionering till en början med beräkningsprogrammet Matlab där materialet EN 1.4571 användes, därefter utfördes simuleringar med Solidworks för att undersöka egenfrekvenser hos utvalda komponenter av konstruktionen och hållfasthetsberäkningar. Hållfasthetsberäkningarna och undersökning av inverkan av formförändringar av inre hörn utfördes i Solidworks där tryck och temperatur tillsattes på tryckkärlets insida. Resultatet var att konceptet inte riskerar att hamna i egenfrekvens, konceptet kan i teorin producera hastigheten 101,64 meter per sekund. Maximal spänning enligt beräkningar i Matlab var 40,02 MPa, motsvarande värde vid simulering i Solidworks var 38,16 MPa. Vid undersökning av formförändring av inre hörn hos trycksatt anordning blev resultatet att en radie på 25 millimeter vid de inre hörnen hos tryckkärl gav en spänningsreducering på 29,5% och en minskning av utböjning med 12.5%. Projektet har lyckats med att uppfylla sina mål och kan i teorin producera den hastighet som efterfrågades, utstå de förhållanden som efterfrågas och utföra friktionstest med både materialen metall och trä.