The Cartesian Cubic lattice is known to be sub optimal when consideringband-limited signals but is still used as standard in three-dimensional medical magneticresonance imaging. The optimal sampling lattices are the body-centered cubic latticeand the face-centered cubic lattice. This report discusses the possible use of thesesampling lattices in MRI and presents verification of the non standard Fouriertransform method that is required for MR image creation for these sampling lattices.The results show that the Fourier transform is consistent with analytical models.

A complete methodology has been proposed to model and evaluate IC packages in the high-speed digital and radio-frequency applications. The package types that are studied in this dissertation include BGAs, TSSOPs and BCCs. In characterization of BGAs, both frequency-domain and time-domain techniques have been applied and compared to each other. It was found that the best strategy was to find a rough coupled transmission-line model in the time domain and refine it through the optimization scheme in the frequency domain. Equivalent lumped model has been further derived from the coupled transmission-line model using the concept of distributed parameters. For RFIC applications, the electrical model of BCC, one type of lead-frame CSP, has been established based on the frequency-domain technique. To evaluate the package performance, an on-chip 50-ohm microstrip line housed in the package has been investigated. The insertion and return losses were analyzed and measured. Excellent agreement has been observed up to Ku band. The package acts as a low-pass filter to cause a cut off for the line above a certain frequency, which was predicted successfully from the established package model. The simulation results also show that BCC exhibits higher cut-off frequency and lower insertion loss in the passband when compared to TSSOP, one of the currently most popular RFIC packages.

This thesis summarizes a series of studies of how image quality is affected by the choice of sampling pattern in 3D. Our comparison includes the Cartesian cubic (CC) lattice, the body-centered cubic (BCC) lattice, and the face-centered cubic (FCC) lattice. Our studies of the lattice Brillouin zones of lattices of equal density show that, while the CC lattice is suitable for functions with elongated spectra, the FCC lattice offers the least variation in resolution with respect to direction. The BCC lattice, however, offers the highest global cutoff frequency. The difference in behavior between the BCC and FCC lattices is negligible for a natural spectrum. We also present a study of pre-aliasing errors on anisotropic versions of the CC, BCC, and FCC sampling lattices, revealing that the optimal choice of sampling lattice is highly dependent on lattice orientation and anisotropy. We suggest a new reference function for studies of aliasing errors on alternative sampling lattices. This function has a spherical spectrum, and a frequency content proportional to the distance from the origin, facilitating studies of pre-aliasing in spatial domain. The accuracy of anti-aliased Euclidean distance transform is improved by application of more sofisticated methods for computing the sub-spel precision term. We find that both accuracy and precision are higher on the BCC and FCC lattices than on the CC lattice. We compare the performance of several intensity-weighted distance transforms on MRI data, and find that the derived segmentation result, with respect to relative error in segmented volume, depends neither on the sampling lattice, nor on the sampling density. Lastly, we present LatticeLibrary, a open source C++ library for processing of sampled data, supporting a number of common image processing methods for CC, BCC, and FCC lattices. We also introduce BccFccRaycaster, a tool for visualizing data sampled on CC, BCC, and FCC lattices. We believe that the work summarized in this thesis provide both the motivation and the tools for continuing research on application of the BCC and FCC lattices in image processing and analysis.

nÃo hà / Este trabalho analisarà a eficiÃncia tÃcnica dos cursos de mestrado acadÃmico e de doutorado ofertados pela Universidade Federal do Cearà durante os anos de 2010, 2011 e 2012, tendo como base de dados os indicadores adotados pela CAPES para a consolidaÃÃo de sua avaliaÃÃo periÃdica dos cursos de pÃs-graduaÃÃo prescrita em lei. Como ferramenta de decisÃo, optou-se pelo uso da tÃcnica matemÃtica da AnÃlise EnvoltÃria de Dados â DEA, com orientaÃÃo ao produto e sob a perspectiva dos mÃtodos CCR e BCC, onde cada curso ou programa de pÃs-graduaÃÃo foi considerado uma DMU. No comparativo das inferÃncias apresentadas pelos dois modelos, pode-se observar uma tendÃncia de queda na eficiÃncia dos cursos ao longo do perÃodo investigado, apesar da alavancagem na quantidade de insumos durante esse mesmo tempo, evidenciando, pois, algumas desproporÃÃes entre as variÃveis, sobretudo no que concerne Ãs especificidades acadÃmicas inerentes a cada DMU, somadas ainda à ausÃncia de oferta para os cursos de doutorado em alguns programas. / This research will analyze the technical efficiency on academic master and doctorate courses offered by the Cearà Federal University in the years of 2010, 2011 and 2012, having as data base the indicators adopted by CAPES for the consolidation of its periodic evaluation prescribed by laws on post-graduate courses. As decision making tool, was chosen the mathematic technique of Data Envelopment Analysis â DEA, output oriented and under the perspectives of CCR and BBC models where every post-graduate program / course was considered a DMU. Comparing the inferences presented by both models, it could be observed a decreasing tendency of efficiency on courses throughout the investigation period, despite the input growth during this very same period, evidencing therefore, some discrepancies between the variants, mainly concerning academic specifications related to each DMU, also adding the lack of provision for doctoral courses in some study programs.

Les mécanismes de déformation plastique des matériaux cubiques à corps centré sont étudiés depuis plus d’un demi-siècle. Il est maintenant bien établi que les dislocations vis contrôlent la plasticité de ces matériaux. Ceci est dû à une structure non-plane du cœur de ces dislocations, qui induit une forte friction de réseau communément appelée ‘pseudo-Peierls’. Le mécanisme supposé est la nucléation thermiquement activée de paires de décrochements. Cette structure de cœur particulière limite également les plans de glissement possibles. Les traces de glissement aux échelles méso et microscopiques apparaissent ‘ondulées’, ce qui a amené à proposer toute une variété de plans de glissement.Dans ce contexte, nous avons analysé à une échelle plus fine, i .e. à l’échelle atomique, les traces de glissement obtenues par déformation en compression de monocristaux de niobium à des températures situées dans le régime de température thermiquement activé: 293 K, 200 K et 90 K. L’analyse par microscopie à effet tunnel sous environnement ultra vide indique qu’à la résolution atomique chaque trace de glissement peut être décomposée en segments associés à des plans de type {112} et {110}. De manière surprenante, il est mis en évidence qu’à 293 K et 200 K du glissement se produit à la fois dans le sens maclage et antimaclage. De plus, toutes les traces de glissement impliquent du glissement sur des plans de type {110}, étayant ainsi la structure de cœur compact prévue par simulations atomistiques ab initio.L’étude in situ de la surface sous contrainte, à T = 293 K et 200 K, a aussi mis en évidence des réorganisations, voire des disparitions, de terrasses atomiques au voisinage de dislocations émergentes. Le calcul des forces d’interaction en élasticité linéaire isotrope montre que les dislocations proches de ces terrasses ne jouent pas de rôle prépondérant sur la position d’équilibre des terrasses. En revanche, celles-ci modifient localement le potentiel chimique de surface, favorisant la diffusion atomique à l’origine des réorganisations de surface constatées expérimentalement. / The plastic deformation of body-centred cubic metals is the subject of extensive studies since more than half a century. It is now well established that the screw dislocations control the plasticity of these metallic metals. The reason for this is attributed to a non-planar configuration of the core of these dislocations, which induces a high friction force usually referred to as ‘pseudo-Peierls’. The underlying elementary mechanism is the thermally activated nucleation of kink pairs. While perfect screw dislocations do not have specific glide plane, the non-planar core configuration limits the number of possible slip planes. The slip traces observed at the meso and microscopic scales are wavy, which has leaded to the proposal of several possible slip planes.In this context, we propose an analysis at a finer scale, i.e. the atomic scale, of the slip traces produced by compressive stress on niobium single crystals at three temperatures in the thermally activated temperature regime, namely: 293 K, 200 K and 90 K. The analyses were carried out using a scanning tunnelling microscope under ultra-high vacuum environment. At this scale of observation, the slip traces are made up of crystallographic segments that can be associated with {011} and {112} planes. It is also noticeable that at 200 K and 293 K dislocation glide is observed in both the twinning and the anti-twinning directions. More importantly, all slip traces include segments that belong to {011} planes strongly supporting the latest ab initio atomistic simulations predicting a compact core configuration for screw dislocation.In this study, we also established that, at T = 293 K and 200 K, the sample surface may undergo drastic changes of its vicinal terraces, when they are close to emerging dislocations. The calculation of interaction forces, in the frame of isotropic linear elasticity, indicates that dislocations close to vicinal terraces do not play a major role regarding the stable positions of the vicinal terraces. However, they locally modify the chemical potential of the surface, thus enhancing atomic diffusion which is at the origin of the surface reorganisations experimentally observed.

Το βασικοκυτταρικό καρκίνωμα του δέματος αποτελεί τον συχνότερο τύπο καρκίνου του δέρματος. Η επιθήλιο-μεσεγχυματική μετάβαση (ΕΜΤ) είναι η διαδικασία κατά την οποία τα επιθηλιακά κύτταρα χάνουν τις μεσοκυττάριες εξειδικευμένες συνάψεις αναδιοργανώνουν τον κυτταροσκελετό τους και αποκτούν μεσεγχυματικό φαινότυπο και αυξημένη ικανότητα μετανάστευσης. Το φαινόμενο της ΕΜΤ παίζει σημαντικό ρόλο τόσο στην εμβρυική ανάπτυξη όσο και στην διήθηση και μετάσταση του καρκίνου. Κύρια χαρακτηριστικά της διεργασίας της επιθήλιο-μεσεγχυματικής μετάβασης είναι απώλεια των ζωνών πρόσφυσης λόγω μείωσης της έκφρασης της Ε-κατχερίνης, καθώς και η αναδιοργάνωση του κυτταροσκελετού η οποία συμβάλλει στην αυξημένη ικανότητα μετανάστευσης και μεταξύ των άλλων χαρακτηρίζεται από την υπερέκφραση μεσεγχυματικών συστατικών του κυτταροσκελετού όπως η βιμεντίνη και η ακτίνη των λείων μυϊκών ινών. Η ενεργοποίηση επίσης του μονοπατιού Wnt/β-catenin και η υπερέκφραση της ILK είναι γνωστό ότι παίζουν σημαντικό ρόλο στην επιθήλιο-μεσεγχυματική μετάβαση. Στην παρούσα μελέτη εξετάσαμε ανοσοϊστοχημικά την έκφραση των μεσεγχυματικών δεικτών βιμεντίνης και a-SMA, την έκφραση του επιθηλιακού δείκτη Ε-κατχερίνη καθώς και την έκφραση της β-κατενίνης και της ILK σε 100 βασικοκυτταρικά καρκινώματα Επιπλέον, εξετάσαμε την πιθανή συσχέτιση μεταξύ των μορίων αυτών αλλά και την σχέση της έκφρασης τους με κλινικο-παθολογοανατομικές παραμέτρους της νόσου όπως ο ιστολογικός τύπος και το βάθος διήθησης. Οι μεσεγχυματικοί δείκτες βιμεντίνη και α- SMA εκφράστηκαν σε 99% και 97% των περιπτώσεων αντίστοιχα και η έκφραση τους ήταν σημαντικά μεγαλύτερη στα διηθητικού τύπου βασικοκυτταρικά καρκινώματα και επιπλέον συσχετίστηκε στατιστικώς σημαντικά με το βάθος διήθησης των όγκων. Απώλεια της Ε-κατχερίνης από τις μεμβράνες παρατηρήθηκε σε 71% των όγκων ενώ σε 92% και 90% των περιπτώσεων αντίστοιχα παρατηρήθηκε κυτταροπλασματική και πυρηνική εντόπιση της Ε-κατχερίνης. Το προφίλ αυτό έκφρασης της Ε-κατχερίνης συσχετίστηκε τόσο με το διηθητικό ιστολογικό τύπο όσο και με το βάθος διήθησης των όγκων. Πυρηνική εντόπιση της β-κατενίνης ενδεικτική ενεργοποίησης του μονοπατιού αναδείχθηκε επίσης σε 99% των περιπτώσεων και συσχετίστηκε με το αυξανόμενο βάθος διήθησης των όγκων. Σε αντίθεση με το φυσιολογική επιδερμίδα όπου η έκφραση της ήταν αρνητική θετική έκφραση ILK διαπιστώθηκε σε 100% των βασικοκυτταρικών καρκινωμάτων και συσχετίστηκε τόσο με το διηθητικό ιστολογικό τύπο όσο και με το βάθος διήθησης των όγκων. Επιπλέον η έκφραση της ILK συσχετίστηκε με την έκφραση των βιμεντίνης, α-SMA πυρηνικής β-κατενίνης και πυρηνικής Ε-κατχερίνης Συμπερασματικά τα ευρήματα αυτά υποστηρίζουν ότι η διεργασία της επιθηλιο-μεσεγχυματικής μετάβασης παρατηρείται στο βασικοκυτταρικό καρκίνωμα και φαίνεται να παίζει σημαντικό ρόλο στην διηθητική του ικανότητα και επιθετική βιολογική του συμπεριφορά. Επιπλέον η υπερέκφραση της ILK φαίνεται να παίζει σημαντικό ρόλο στην επιθετική συμπεριφορά των βασικοκυτταρικών καρκινωμάτων και στο φαινόμενο της επιθηλιομεσεγχυματικης μετάβασης. Τέλος η πυρηνική εντόπιση της Ε-κατχερίνης στα βασικοκυτταρικά αποτέλεσε ένα πρωτότυπο εύρημα με πιθανή προγνωστική σημασία. / The process of EMT has been known to play a significant role during embryonic development and tumour progression. Integrin-linked kinases (ILK) has been recently added to the growing list of EMT regulators that control some aspect of oncogenesis. However the expression of ILK and its relevance to EMT markers has not been previously studied in human basal cell carcinoma (BCC). In this study, we examined the expression pattern of EMT related markers in a series of cutaneus BCC. Formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissue sections from 100 cases of BCC were processed by immunohistochemistry for the expression of vimentin a-SMA, E-cadherin, b-catenin and ILK. Expression of mesenchymal markers vimentin and a-SMA in tumour cells was observed in 99% and 97% of cases. In several cases vimentin and a-sma expressing tumour cells excibited a spindle shaped mesenchymal like phenotype. Downregulation of membranous E-cadherin was found in 71% while nuclear b-catenin and ilk overexpression was observed in 99% and 100% of cases respectively. Interestingly nuclear E-cadherin was also observed in 90% cases and it was significantly higher in infiltrative/sclerosing BCC variant. ILK expression correlated significantly with vimentin, a-sma nuclear b-catenin, loss of membranous E-cadherin as well as with nuclear E-cadherin. ILK overexpression was also significantly higher in infiltrative/morphaic variant of BCC and correlated with increased depth of invasion. EMT seems to underlie invasive and locally aggressive features of BCC. ILK overexpression correlates with EMT markers and highly invasive aggressive features of human BCC. Nuclear localization of E-cadherin probably suggests novel nuclear fuctions of E-cadherin in BCC.

Kommunikation genom att använda människokroppen som  överföringsmedium, med kapacitiv koppling mellan hud och sensor, har varit ett pågående forskningsområde för PAN (Personal Area Network) sedan Thomas Guthrie Zimmerman introducerade tekniken 1995. Anledningen till detta är att undersöka fördelar och användningsområden för en kommunikationsmetod som ej sänder ut RF-signaler och därmed minska risken för obehörig avlyssning. Denna rapport beskriver ett examensarbete som undersöker möjligheten till eliminering av USB- till UART-konverterare på Microchip BodyCom genom mjukvaru-USB-stack och kombinera denna med Body Coupled Communication funktionalitet i en gemensam mikrokontroller. Vidare studeras om programkoden i Body Coupled Communication sändare kan modifieras för att utöka funktionaliteten. Det var givet i förutsättningarna att mikrokontroller från Microchip skulle användas, vidare var lågt pris respektive låg strömförbrukning viktigt, särskilt för sändaren. Metoden för att uppnå detta har varit användning av Microchip BodyCom development kit tillsammans med Microchip USB low pin count development kit och Microchip USB firmwareframework. Resultatet blev att USB- till UART-omvandlare kunde integreras med Microchip BodyCom genom att använda mjukvaru-USB-stack och en modifierad programkod för BodyCom i en gemensam mikrokontroller. Endast fantasin sätter gränsen för vad Body Coupled Communication kan användas till. Det skulle t.ex. vara möjligt att utbyta elektroniska visitkort genom en handskakning eller öppna en låst dörr endast genom att ta i handtaget. / Communication using the human body as a transmission medium, the capacitive coupling between the skin and sensor, has been an active research area for PAN (Personal Area Network) since Thomas Guthrie Zimmerman introduced the technique in 1995. The reason for this is to examine the benefits and uses of a communication method that does not emit RF signals and thus reduce the risk of unauthorized interception. This report describes a thesis that examines the possibility of elimination of USB to UART converter on Microchip BodyCom through software USB-stack and combine this with Body Coupled Communication functionality in a single microcontroller. Furthermore, studies on if the application code in Body Coupled Communication transmitters can be modified to extend functionality. It was given in the conditions that microcontrollers from Microchip should be used, furthermore, low price and low power consumption were important, especially for the transmitter. The method for achieving this has been the use of Microchip BodyCom development kit with USB Microchip low pin count development kit and Microchip USB firmware framework. The result was that the USB- to UART-converter could be integrated with Microchip BodyCom, using software USB-stack and a modified program code for BodyCom in a single microcontroller. Only your imagination sets the limits for Body Coupled Communication can be used for. For example, it would be possible to exchange electronic business cards by a handshake or open a locked door only by using the handle.

One of the key processes in the carbon cycle on our planet is the degradation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in aquatic environments. The use of organic matter by bacteria links energy from DOM to higher trophic levels of the ecosystem when bacteria are consumed by other organisms. This is referred to as the microbial loop. In this thesis I examined if the communities were functionally redundant in their ability to utilize organic matter, or if variation in bacterial composition and richness is of importance. To test this overarching question several experiments were conducted that include methods such as illumina sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene for taxonomic identification of bacterial communities, flow cytometry to follow the growth of communities and spectroscopic measurement to describe the composition of the organic matter pool. Initially we demonstrated how to optimally sterilize organic matter for experimental studies in order to preserve its natural complexity. In further experiments we found that bacterial communities are redundant in their utilization of organic matter and can maintain optimal performance towards a range of organic matter pools. Related to this we found that pre-adaptation to organic matter played a small role as communities performed equally well regardless of their environmental history. We saw a small effect of richness and composition of bacterial communities on the efficiency of organic matter use, but conclude that this is of minor importance relative to abiotic factors. Still, we also show that organic matter can put strong selection pressure on bacterial communities with regards to richness and composition. Additionally we found that the supply rate of a carbon compound greatly influenced the energy utilization of the compound, i.e. a higher growth rate can be maintained if substrate is delivered in pulses relative to a continuous flow. Finally we conclude that the variation in bacterial communities is unlikely to have a major influence on carbon cycling in boreal lakes, but to enable a finer understanding, the genetics underlying the carbon utilization needs to be further explored.

This diploma thesis is focused on evaluation of efficiency of domestic bank branch site using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The branch site belongs to Československá obchodní banka (ČSOB). Theoretic part is focused on explanation of basic definitions related to DEA. I concentrate on basic models which are applicated in practical part of the thesis. Practical part of the thesis is focused on computation, using particulary BCC a CCR model. General information about bank market in the Czech Republic, ČSOB and using DEA in bank sector are included too.

The aim of this diploma thesis is to analyze the efficiency of teams that have participated in the last season of Major League of Baseball. To measure this efficiency Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) models are used. Theoretic part is focused on explanation of basic definitions related to DEA. The emphasis in this part is concentrated on basic models which are applied in the second part of the thesis. Application study is focused on computation of attack and defence efficiency using BCC a CCR model. In the end the efficiency given by DEA models is compared to the position of teams in the final table.