Balancing trade-offs between production cost and holding cost is critical for production and operations management. Utilization of an operating room affects production cost, which relates to makespan, and patient flowtime affects holding cost. There are trade-offs between two objectives, to minimize makespan and to minimize flowtime. However, most existing constructive heuristics focus only on single-objective optimization. In the current literature, NEH is the best constructive heuristic to minimize makespan, and LR heuristic is the best to minimize flowtime. In this thesis, we propose a current and future deviation (CFD) heuristic to balance trade-offs between makespan and flowtime minimizations. Based on 5400 randomly generated instances and 120 instances in Taillard’s benchmarks, our CFD heuristic outperforms NEH and LR heuristics on trade-off balancing, and achieves the most stable performances from the perspective of statistical process control.

Community detection (or clustering) in large-scale graph is an important problem in graph mining. Communities reveal interesting characteristics of a network. Louvain is an efficient sequential algorithm but fails to scale emerging large-scale data. Developing distributed-memory parallel algorithms is challenging because of inter-process communication and load-balancing issues. In this work, we design a shared memory-based algorithm using OpenMP, which shows a 4-fold speedup but is limited to available physical cores. Our second algorithm is an MPI-based parallel algorithm that scales to a moderate number of processors. We also implement a hybrid algorithm combining both. Finally, we incorporate dynamic load-balancing in our final algorithm DPLAL (Distributed Parallel Louvain Algorithm with Load-balancing). DPLAL overcomes the performance bottleneck of the previous algorithms, shows around 12-fold speedup scaling to a larger number of processors. Overall, we present the challenges, our solutions, and the empirical performance of our algorithms for several large real-world networks.

Ce mémoire traite de nouveaux principes de conception qui sont inspirés par le couplage de deux unités représentant les différentes structures mécaniques. Les critères de conception optimale et les types d'unités combinées sont différents. Cependant, toutes les tâches sont considérées dans le couplage de ces unités. L'examen critique présenté dans le premier chapitre est divisé en trois sections en raison de la nature des problèmes traités: les robots marcheurs, les compensateurs de gravité et les robots collaboratifs. Le deuxième chapitre traite du développement de robots marcheurs à actionneur unique, conçus par couplage de deux mécanismes ayant les fonctionnants de jambe. Basée sur l'algorithme génétique, la synthèse proposée permet d'assurer la reproduction de la trajectoire obtenue à partir de la marche humaine. Par l'ajustement des paramètres géométriques des unités conçues, il devient possible non seulement d'assurer une marche du robot à des pas variables, mais également de monter les escaliers. Ensuite la conception et la synthèse des équilibreurs pour les robots sont considérés. Un costume robotisé type exosquelette permettant d'aider aux personnes transportant des charges lourdes est examiné dans le chapitre suivant La conception proposée présente une symbiose d'un support rigide et léger et d'un système de câbles monté sur ce support. L'étude et l'optimisation statique et dynamique ont conduit aux tests sur un mannequin. Le dernier chapitre propose l'étude et 'optimisation d'un système couplé, comprenant un manipulateur équilibré à commande manuelle et un robot collaboratif. Le but d'une telle coopération est de manipuler de lourdes charges avec un cobot. / This thesis deals with the design principles, which arc based on the coupling of two mechanical structures. The criteria for optimal design and the types of combined units are different. However, all the tasks are considered in coupling of given mechanical units. The critical review given in the first chapter is divided into three sections due to the nature of the examined problems: legged walking robots, gravity compensators used in robots and collaborative robots. Chapter two deals with the development of single actuator walking robots designed by coupling of two mechanisms. Based on the Genetic Algorithm, the synthesis allows one to ensure the reproduction of prescribed points of the given trajectory obtained from the walking gait. By adjusting the geometric parameters of the designed units, it becomes possible not only to operate the robot at variable steps, but also to climb the stairs. The next chapter deals with the design and synthesis of gravity balancers. A robotic exosuit that can help people carrying heavy load is the subject of chapter four. The proposed exosuit presents a symbiosis of two systems: rigid lightweight support and cable system. Static and dynamic studies and optimization are considered. Experiments are also carried out on a mannequin test bench. The last chapter presents a coupled system including a hand-operated balanced manipulator and a collaborative robot. The aim of such a cooperation is to manipulate heavy payloads with less powerful robots. Dynamic analysis of the coupled system is perfonned and methods for reducing the oscillation of the HOBM at the final phase of the prescribed trajectories are proposed.

L'équilibrage de charge est une étape importante conditionnant les performances des applications parallèles. Dans le cas où la charge varie au cours de la simulation, il est important de redistribuer régulièrement la charge entre les différents processeurs. Dans ce contexte, il peut s'avérer pertinent d'adapter le nombre de processeurs au cours d'une simulation afin d'obtenir une meilleure efficacité, ou de continuer l'exécution quand toute la mémoire des ressources courantes est utilisée. Contrairement au cas où le nombre de processeurs ne varie pas, le rééquilibrage dynamique avec un nombre variable de processeurs est un problème peu étudié que nous abordons ici.Cette thèse propose différentes méthodes basées sur le repartitionnement de graphe pour rééquilibrer la charge tout en changeant le nombre de processeurs. Nous appelons ce problème « repartitionnement M x N ». Ces méthodes se décomposent en deux grandes étapes. Dans un premier temps, nous étudions la phase de migration et nous construisons une « bonne » matrice de migration minimisant plusieurs critères objectifs comme le volume total de migration et le nombre total de messages échangés. Puis, dans un second temps, nous utilisons des heuristiques de partitionnement de graphe pour calculer une nouvelle distribution optimisant la migration en s'appuyant sur les résultats de l'étape précédente. En outre, nous proposons un algorithme de partitionnement k-aire direct permettant d'améliorer le partitionnement biaisé. Finalement, nous validons cette thèse par une étude expérimentale en comparant nos méthodes aux partitionneursactuels. / Load balancing is an important step conditioning the performance of parallel programs. If the workload varies drastically during the simulation, the load must be redistributed regularly among the processors. Dynamic load balancing is a well studied subject but most studies are limited to an initially fixed number of processors. Adjusting the number of processors at runtime allows to preserve the parallel code efficiency or to keep running the simulation when the memory of the current resources is exceeded.In this thesis, we propose some methods based on graph repartitioning in order to rebalance the load while changing the number of processors. We call this problem \M x N repartitioning". These methods are split in two main steps. Firstly, we study the migration phase and we build a \good" migration matrix minimizing several metrics like the migration volume or the number of exchanged messages. Secondly, we use graph partitioning heuristics to compute a new distribution optimizing the migration according to the previous step results. Besides, we propose a direct k-way partitioning algorithm that allows us to improve our biased partitioning. Finally, an experimental study validates our algorithms against state-of-the-art partitioning tools.

<p>Lattice Boltzmann-based (LB) simulations are well suited to the simulation of fluid flows in complex structures encountered in chemical engineering like porous media or structured packing used in distillation and reactive distillation columns. These simulations require large amounts of memory (around 10 gigabytes) and would require very long execution times (around 2 years) if executed on a single powerful desktop computer.</p> <p>The execution of LB simulations in a distributed way (for example, using cluster computing) can decrease the execution time and reduces the memory requirements for each computer. Dynamic Heterogeneous Clusters (DHC) is a class of clusters involving computers inter-connected by a local area network; these computers are potentially unreliable and do not share the same architecture, operating system, computational power, etc. However, DHCs are easy to setup and extend, and are made of affordable computers.</p> <p>The design and development of a software system which organizes large scale DHCs in an efficient, scalable and robust way for implementing very large scale LB simulations is challenging. In order to avoid that some computers are overloaded and slow down the overall execution, the heterogeneity of computational power should be taken into account. In addition, the failure of one or several computers during the execution of a simulation should not prevent its completion.</p> <p>In the context of this thesis, a simulation tool called LaBoGrid was designed. It uses existing static load balancing tools and implements an original dynamic load balancing method in order to distribute the simulation in a way that minimizes its execution time. In addition, a distributed and scalable fault-tolerance mechanism based on the regular saving of simulation's state is proposed. Finally, LaBoGrid is based on a distributed master-slave model that is robust and potentially scalable.</p> <br/> <p>Les simulations basées sur les méthodes de Lattice Boltzmann sont bien adaptées aux simulations d'écoulements de fluides à l'intérieur de structures complexes rencontrées en génie chimique, telles que les milieux poreux ou les empilements structurés utilisés dans des colonnes de distillation et de distillation réactive. Elles requièrent toutefois de grandes quantités de mémoire (environ 10 gigaoctets). Par ailleurs, leur exécution sur un seul ordinateur de bureau puissant nécessiterait un temps très long (environ deux ans).</p> <p>Il est possible de réduire à la fois le temps d'exécution et la quantité de mémoire requise par ordinateur en exécutant les simulations LB de manière distribuée, par exemple en utilisant un cluster. Un Cluster Hétérogène Dynamique (CHD) est une classe de clusters impliquant des ordinateurs qui sont interconnectés au moyen d'un réseau local, qui ne sont pas nécessairement fiables et qui ne partagent pas la même architecture, le même système d'exploitation, la même puissance de calcul, etc. En revanche, les CHD sont faciles à installer, à étendre et peu coûteux.</p> <p>Concevoir et développer un logiciel capable de gérer des CHD à grande échelle de façon efficace, extensible et robuste et capable d'effectuer des simulations LB à très grande échelle constitue un défi. L'hétérogénéité de la puissance de calcul doit être prise en compte afin d'éviter que certains ordinateurs soient débordés et ralentissent le temps global d'exécution. En outre, une panne d'un ou de plusieurs ordinateurs pendant l'exécution d'une simulation ne devrait pas empêcher son achèvement.</p> <p>Dans le contexte de cette thèse, un outil de simulation appelé LaBoGrid a été conçu. LaBoGrid utilise des outils existants de répartition statique de la charge et implémente une méthode originale de répartition dynamique de la charge, ce qui lui permet de distribuer une simulation LB de manière à minimiser son temps d'exécution. De plus, un mécanisme distribué et extensible de tolérance aux pannes, fondé sur une sauvegarde régulière de l'état de simulation, est proposé. Enfin, LaBoGrid se base sur un modèle distribué de type « maître-esclaves » qui est robuste et potentiellement extensible.</p>

The overall aim of the present thesis was to explore and describe the health experiences of men and women with musculoskeletal problems. The specific aims of the four papers were: (I) to explore the experience of illness and wellness among ambulance personnel with musculoskeletal symptoms; (II) to explore the experience of illness and wellness among female health care personnel with musculoskeletal symptoms; (III) to explore the experience of bodily illness among people with musculoskeletal problems in the neck-shoulder region, and; (IV) to investigate the symptoms described by people with non-specific neck-shoulder problems, to investigate the method of development of neck-shoulder questionnaires that assesses pain and other symptoms, to analyse the content and items of these questionnaires, and to compare the findings. The overall findings show that the occupationally active men and women with MSDs were “striving for balance” (I-II), that the disease course of chronic neck-shoulder disorders was characterised by “uncontrollable fluctuations” (III), and that most neck-shoulder questionnaires had a low correspondence to the variety of symptoms experienced during this course (IV). In the process of striving for balance (I-II), the informants’ health experiences were not a state of either wellness or illness, but of both, in varying degrees at different times. The balancing started when illness became too intrusive, and was a process of minimising the impact of illness by accepting and handling it, while attaining and maintaining wellness to feel well enough. When striving for balance, the interviewees kept on working to continue being nurtured at the same time as they made different efforts directed at minimising the impact of their illness. For both men and women, illness was characterised by disembodiment, vulnerability, and exhaustion. The illness experiences were counterbalanced by wellness, where some differences could be recognised between the men and the women. Study III further explored the experiences of bodily illness, focusing on people with chronic musculoskeletal disorders in the neck-shoulder region. The course of the disorder was described as characterised by uncontrollable fluctuations, and it usually developed from insidious symptoms to a state of constant discomfort. The participants experienced calmer periods during the course, but intermittent events of increasing illness were always lying in wait, with periodic moments of consuming intensity. In the interviews included in study IV a variety of symptoms were expressed, which indicated a bodily, mental, and emotional engagement, which included more general and more severe symptoms than are usually related to neck-shoulder disorders. Few of the questionnaires were developed using the experiences of the affected. Taken as a whole, did the questionnaires cover many of the symptoms of the interviewees, but each individual questionnaire only included a few. The fluctuations and nuances of symptoms were rarely considered. The correspondence between individual questionnaires and the experiences of those affected was most often low. This thesis reveals other aspects of health than just bodily experiences as important among occupationally active people with MSDs. It also provides a description of the disease course, and an indication of possibilities for improvement of neck-shoulder questionnaires.

In addition to demonstrating the judiciary’s role in constitutional adjudication and an application of the federal trade and commerce power, judicial determination of Parliament’s constitutional jurisdiction to enact securities legislation is noteworthy also due to the vast policy debates that are involved. Though such determinations routinely invite a process removed from the contemplation of desirable policy, the ‘General Motors test’ used to define and apply the relevant constitutional power here seems to implicitly allow it. The choice between ‘categorization’ and ‘balancing’ in constitutional analysis is therefore significant, in terms of its juxtaposed tolerance for policy considerations. With these analytical options in mind, this thesis considers Parliament’s proposal, so to identify a reasonable process for determining its constitutionality. It argues that balancing relevant policy concerns is necessary and justifiable in the application of the legal norms in question. Crucial, however, is lending the process structure, so that its shortcomings are mitigated.

In addition to demonstrating the judiciary’s role in constitutional adjudication and an application of the federal trade and commerce power, judicial determination of Parliament’s constitutional jurisdiction to enact securities legislation is noteworthy also due to the vast policy debates that are involved. Though such determinations routinely invite a process removed from the contemplation of desirable policy, the ‘General Motors test’ used to define and apply the relevant constitutional power here seems to implicitly allow it. The choice between ‘categorization’ and ‘balancing’ in constitutional analysis is therefore significant, in terms of its juxtaposed tolerance for policy considerations. With these analytical options in mind, this thesis considers Parliament’s proposal, so to identify a reasonable process for determining its constitutionality. It argues that balancing relevant policy concerns is necessary and justifiable in the application of the legal norms in question. Crucial, however, is lending the process structure, so that its shortcomings are mitigated.

The main objective of this thesis focuses on the design of an adaptive algorithm for admission control and content-aware load balancing for Web traffic. In order to set the context of this work, several reviews are included to introduce the reader in the background concepts of Web load balancing, admission control and the Internet traffic characteristics that may affect the good performance of a Web site. The admission control and load balancing algorithm described in this thesis manages the distribution of traffic to a Web cluster based on QoS requirements. The goal of the proposed scheduling algorithm is to avoid situations in which the system provides a lower performance than desired due to servers' congestion. This is achieved through the implementation of forecasting calculations. Obviously, the increase of the computational cost of the algorithm results in some overhead. This is the reason for designing an adaptive time slot scheduling that sets the execution times of the algorithm depending on the burstiness that is arriving to the system. Therefore, the predictive scheduling algorithm proposed includes an adaptive overhead control.Once defined the scheduling of the algorithm, we design the admission control module based on throughput predictions. The results obtained by several throughput predictors are compared and one of them is selected to be included in our algorithm. The utilisation level that the Web servers will have in the near future is also forecasted and reserved for each service depending on the Service Level Agreement (SLA). Our load balancing strategy is based on a classical policy. Hence, a comparison of several classical load balancing policies is also included in order to know which of them better fits our algorithm. A simulation model has been designed to obtain the results presented in this thesis.

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