L'enjeu des travaux contenus dans cette thèse est la caractérisation rhéologique de suspensions concentrées d'objets viscoplastiques suspendus dans une matrice viscoplastique. Trois contraintes physiques se présentent : l'hétérogénéité des objets, la taille des objets au regard de la taille du système étudié, et la proximité entre la consistance de la phase suspendante et celle des objets. Dans notre contexte alimentaire, il faut ajouter des contraintes d'ordre biologique : les faibles durées de vie des produits, les prélèvements in vivo et la conservation des conditions de températures et d'humidité. L'ensemble de ces contraintes aboutit à une rhéométrie spécifique, aux frontières de la mécanique des milieux continues, avec pour objectif de mesurer des propriétés rhéologiques pertinentes. Pour cela, deux instrumentations originales ont été construites pour effectuer la caractérisation rhéologique le plus vite et au plus près de la génération des échantillons.Appliquée aux bols alimentaires issus de fromage, leur rhéologie vient gouverner les écoulements en bouche et induire la création de surface d'échange en bouche, au travers de la mastication. Au travers de ces interfaces, les arômes et les sapides sont libérés et transportés vers les récepteurs sensoriels. Les résultats montrent le lien entre le seuil de contrainte à l'écoulement du bol et la libération d'arômes de différents hydrophobicités, fonction de la fermeté et du taux de matières grasses du fromage. Plus particulièrement, la phase suspendante fluide, semble jouer un rôle majeur dans la création et la persistance des surfaces d'échanges. Appliquée aux jus gastriques issus de pain, l'enjeu est de savoir si des modifications des contenus en glucides pouvaient impacter la rhéologie des jus gastriques, modifier les cinétiques de vidange en sortie d'estomac, et diminuer l'excursion glycémique. Les résultats montrent l'effet d'un ajout d'amylose sur l'augmentation de la viscosité aux temps de digestion longs, lorsque la rhéologie n'est plus gouvernée par l'encombrement des particules de pain gonflées d'eau. Cependant, l'amylose ne semble pas avoir d'impact sur les cinétiques de vidange, ce qui vient conforter que le débit en sortie d'estomac est régulé par la charge énergétique contenue dans le repas. / The challenge of this work is to carry out the rheological characterization of concentrated suspensions of viscoplastic objects suspended in a viscoelastic matrix. Three structural constraints are faced: the heterogeneity of the particles, the size of particle in relation to the size of the whole system studied, and the proximity between the consistency of the suspending phase and that the consistency of the particles. In the food context, some biological constraints are added: small lifetimes of bolus, in vivo sampling and test conditions of temperature and humidity. All these constraints lead to a compromise in rheometry, at the edge of continuum mechanics, aiming to measure useful rheological properties. To carry out the rheological characterizations quickly and efficiently, two original devices has been designed trough this work. Applied to food bolus from cheese, rheology comes to govern flows in the mouth and induce the creation of exchange area in the mouth, during the chewing process. Through these interfaces, the savors and flavors are released and transported to the sensory receptors. The results show the relationship between the yield stress of the bolus and flavors release of different hydrophobic aromas, depending on the firmness and fat content of the cheeses. Specifically, fluid suspending matrix appears to play a major role in the creation and persistence of exchange area.Applied to gastric juice from bread, the issue is whether changes in carbohydrate content could impact the rheology of gastric juice, modify the kinetics of stomach flow rate, and decrease the glycemic excursion. The results show the effect of amylose addition on increasing the viscosity for long digestion time, when the rheology is no longer governed by the jamming effect of the particles made of water-swollen bread. However, amylose does not seem to have any impact on the kinetics of emptying, which reinforces that the stomach flow rate is regulated by the caloric charge contained in the meal.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an auto-immune disease characterized by insulin-deficiency. Insulin is a metabolic hormone that is involved in lowering blood glucose (BG) levels in order to control BG level to a tight range. In T1D this glycemic control is lost, causing chronic hyperglycemia (excess glucose in blood stream). Chronic hyperglycemia damages vital tissues. Therefore, glycemic control must be restored. A common therapy for restoring glycemic control is intensive insulin therapy, where the missing insulin is replaced with regular insulin injections. When dosing this compensatory insulin many factors that affect glucose metabolism must be considered. Linkura is a company that has developed tools for monitoring the most important factors, which are meals and exercise. In the Linkura meal and exercise tools, the nutrition content in meals and the calorie consumption during exercise are estimated. Another tool designed to aid control of BG is the bolus calculator. Bolus calculators use input of BG level, carbohydrate intake, and insulin history to estimate insulin need. The accuracy of these insulin bolus calculations suffer from two problems. First, errors occur when users inaccurately estimate the carbohydrate content in meals. Second, exercise is not included in bolus calculations. To reduce these problems, it was suggested that the Linkura web tools could be utilized in combination with a bolus calculator. For this purpose, a bolus calculator was developed. The bolus calculator was based on existing models that utilize clinical parameters to relate changes in BG levels to meals, insulin, and exercise stimulations. The bolus calculator was evaluated using data collected from Linkura's web tools. The collected data showed some inconsistencies which cannot be explained by any model.  The performance of the bolus calculator in predicting BG levels using general equations to derive the clinical parameters was inadequate. Performance was increased by adopting an update-algorithm where the clinical parameters were updated daily using previous data. Still, better model performance is prefered for use in a bolus calculator.   The results show potential in developing bolus calculator tools combined with the Linkura tools. For such bolus calculator, further evaluation on modeling long-term exercise and additional safety features minimizing risk of hypoglycemia are required.

The correct administration of insulin is a constant challenge for type 1 diabetics. The correct insulin regime leads to fewer complications and an easier way of life. The amount of insulin administered must take into account the meals eaten, previous administered insulin, exercise etc. A rapid process for determining insulin regimes that is accessible to type 1 diabetics will greatly reduce diabetic complications later in life. This study researches such a process. Software is developed to use the ets-concept to simulate blood glucose levels. From these simulations blood glucose characterisation can be done to propose insulin regimes. Data gathered in previous studies is used to verify the results of this process. These results are compared to factors that describe the accuracy of a person's blood glucose control. The effects the new regimes will have are used to make recommendations to the end-user. Accurate characterisation leads to insulin regImes that will Improve the control performance of type 1 diabetes. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Electronical Engineering)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

The correct administration of insulin is a constant challenge for type 1 diabetics. The correct insulin regime leads to fewer complications and an easier way of life. The amount of insulin administered must take into account the meals eaten, previous administered insulin, exercise etc. A rapid process for determining insulin regimes that is accessible to type 1 diabetics will greatly reduce diabetic complications later in life. This study researches such a process. Software is developed to use the ets-concept to simulate blood glucose levels. From these simulations blood glucose characterisation can be done to propose insulin regimes. Data gathered in previous studies is used to verify the results of this process. These results are compared to factors that describe the accuracy of a person's blood glucose control. The effects the new regimes will have are used to make recommendations to the end-user. Accurate characterisation leads to insulin regImes that will Improve the control performance of type 1 diabetes. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Electronical Engineering)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / The aim of this work was to study the use of whole dry white oat grain (Avena sativa), soybean hulls (Glycine max L.), and the mixture of these ingredients (1:1), provided in two ways: with or without a roughage source on the diet. Sixty- eight male castrated steers, Charolais x Nelore crossbred, with initial average age of 20 months were used, distributed in a factorial scheme 3 x 2, with three energetic sources on the concentrate (white oat grain; soybean hulls and the mixture of these ingredients) and two ways of provision (with or without roughage). The roughage used was sorghum silage (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench), with roughage: concentrate of 50:50, based on DM. The ingestive behavior characteristics and the animal's performance response were measured and compared. The final weights of the steers did not differ statistically. The daily average gain of the mixture source (1.167 kg) was superior (P<0.05) to the soybean hulls (0.940 kg), being the oat grain intermediate (1.061 kg). It was observed higher (P<0.05) intake of dry matter and neutral and acid detergent fiber on the diets that contained roughage. Animals fed without roughage presented in the average better (P<0.05) feed conversion (6.291 kg) in relation to the animals fed with roughage (8.578 kg). Independently of the energetic source tested, steers fed with roughage remained more time (P<0.05) eating (4.23 h) and ruminating (7.88 h), compared to the ones fed without roughage (2.68 and 3.52 h, respectively). Steers fed with the energetic sources of oat grain and mixture, were more efficient in the dry matter intake (DM) when fed without roughage. On the average, steers fed without roughage were more efficient in the intake of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and more efficient in the rumination of NDF. Steers fed with or without roughage presented difference (P<0.05) for the total chewing time (13.13 and 6.19h), for the number of ruminal bolus per day (502 and 184), and for the number of rumination chews (30,774 and 11,637, respectively). Steers from the soybean hulls energetic source chewed a few (P<0.05) number of times per ruminal bolus when fed without roughage (41.63), compared to the ones fed with roughage (62.66). / Objetivou-se neste trabalho, estudar a utilização do grão de aveia branca (Avena sativa) na forma inteiro seco, e a casca do grão de soja (Glycine max L.), e a mistura desses ingredientes (1:1), fornecidos de duas formas: com ou sem a fonte de volumoso na dieta. Foram utilizados 68 novilhos cruzas Charolês x Nelore, machos castrados, com idade média inicial de 20 meses, distribuídos em um esquema fatorial 3 x 2, com três fontes energéticas no concentrado (grão de aveia branca; casca do grão de soja e a mistura desses ingredientes) e duas formas de fornecimento (com ou sem volumoso). O volumoso utilizado foi silagem de sorgo (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench), com uma relação volumoso:concentrado de 50:50, com base na MS. Foram mensuradas e comparadas as características do comportamento ingestivo e respostas de desempenho dos animais. Os pesos finais dos novilhos não diferiram estatisticamente. O ganho médio diário da fonte energética Mistura (1,167 kg) foi superior (P<0,05) a Casca de Soja (0,940 kg), sendo Grão de Aveia intermediária (1,061 kg). Observou-se maiores (P<0,05) consumos de matéria seca e fibra em detergente neutro e ácido nas dietas que apresentavam volumoso. Animais alimentados sem volumoso apresentaram melhor (P<0,05) conversão alimentar (6,291 kg) em relação aos animais alimentados com volumoso (8,578 kg). Independente da fonte energética testada, novilhos alimentados com volumoso desprenderam mais tempo (P<0,05) se alimentando (4,23 h) e ruminando (7,88 h), comparados aos sem volumoso (2,68 e 3,52 h, respectivamente). Novilhos alimentados com as fontes energéticas Grão de Aveia e Mistura foram mais eficientes nos consumos de matéria seca (MS) quando alimentados sem volumoso. Na média os novilhos alimentados sem volumoso foram mais eficientes no consumo de fibra em detergente neutro (FDN), e mais eficientes na ruminação da FDN. Novilhos alimentados com e sem volumoso apresentaram diferença (P<0,05) para o tempo de mastigação total (13,13 e 6,19h), no número de bolos ruminais por dia (502 e 184), e no número de mastigadas merícicas (30.774 e 11.637, respectivamente). Novilhos da fonte energética Casca de Soja mastigam em menor (P<0,05) número de vezes por bolo ruminal quando alimentados sem volumoso (41,63), em comparação aos alimentados com volumoso (62,66).

This master´s thesis is focused on the application of evolutionary algorithms for interleaving data obtained by ultrasound scanning of tissue. The interleaved curve serves to estimate perfusion parameters, thus allowing to detect possible pathophysiology in the scanned area. The theoretical introduction is devoted to perfusion and its parameters, contrast agents for ultrasonic application, ultrasonic modality scanning, optimization, evolutionary algorithms in general and two selected evolutionary algorithms - genetic algorithm and bee algorithm. These algorithms were tested on noisy data obtained from clinical images of mice with tumor. The final part summarizes the results of the practical part and provides suggestions and recommendations for further possible development.

This diploma thesis deals with DCE-MRI (Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging) thus one of the contrast magnetic resonance imaging methods. It describes the principle of conventional continuous DCE-MRI, which uses single bolus of contrast agent and further it focuses on the dual bolus contrast agent techniques, especially the interleaved acquisition. The graphical interface for processing Bruker systems data was made. Synthetic data were used to evaluate the influence of this method on the perfusion parameters estimation. Simulations proved that the further the second bolus is from the first one, the better results are. Simulations of acquisition interruption did not lead to the clear result. However, two statements, which are expected to lead to as good estimation of perfusion parameters as possible, were formulated

This master thesis deals with the contrast agents and their application in the ultrasound perfusion analysis. It is focused on Bolus & Burst method which, as a combination of two approaches that have been used so far, allows an absolute quantification of perfusion parameters in the region of interest. Contrast agent concentration time sequence is modeled as a convolution of the parametrically defined arterial input function and the tissue residual funkction. Thesis discusses different mathematical models of these functions as well as the methods of the parameters estimation. The methods functionality is validated on simulated and also preclinical data.

The dependence of cardiac output measurement precision on ambient temperature and cardiac output stability was assessed by concurrent continuous and bolus thermodilution methods in postoperative cardiac surgery patients. The degree of agreement between the two methods was depended on room temperature (0.1 L/min for each degree below 25 degrees C). The agreement was also closer in trials where cardiac output was stable (< 10% variation). The continuous thermodilution method shows sufficient agreement with the bolus method for use in critical care; however, improved precision of cardiac output thermodilution measurements can be achieved by use of correction factors for cardiac instability and for ambient temperature.

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