Tree series transformations computed by bottom-up and top-down tree series transducers are called bottom-up and top-down tree series transformations, respectively. (Functional) compositions of such transformations are investigated. It turns out that the class of bottomup tree series transformations over a commutative and complete semiring is closed under left-composition with linear bottom-up tree series transformations and right-composition with boolean deterministic bottom-up tree series transformations. Moreover, it is shown that the class of top-down tree series transformations over a commutative and complete semiring is closed under right-composition with linear, nondeleting top-down tree series transformations. Finally, the composition of a boolean, deterministic, total top-down tree series transformation with a linear top-down tree series transformation is shown to be a top-down tree series transformation.

The prevalent view in computer vision since Marr is that visual perception is a data-driven bottom-up process. In this view, image data is processed in a feed-forward fashion where a sequence of independent visual modules transforms simple low-level cues into more complex abstract perceptual units. Over the years, a variety of techniques has been developed using this paradigm. Yet an important realization is that low-level visual cues are generally so ambiguous that they could make purely bottom-up methods quite unsuccessful. These ambiguities cannot be resolved without taking account of high-level contextual information. In this thesis, we explore different ways of enriching early and mid-level computer vision modules with a capacity to extract and use contextual knowledge. Mainly, we integrate low-level image features with contextual information within uni&amp / #64257 / ed formulations where bottom-up and top-down processing take place simultaneously.

Cette thèse a pour objectif d'éprouver la pertinence d'une approche hybride top-down / bottom-up pour évaluer les projets miniers dans l'optique du développement durable. Avec l'avènement des concepts de responsabilité sociale d'entreprise et de développement durable, de nouvelles attentes sociétales pèsent en effet sur les entreprises qui vont au-delà d'une simple exigence de rentabilité économique. Des réponses doivent être apportées par les entreprises, au risque de perdre leur légitimité sociale. Traditionnellement associée à des risques et des impacts sociaux, environnementaux, économiques et politiques jugés traditionnellement comme importants, l'activité minière est particulièrement concernée par ces nouveaux enjeux. Alors que les besoins en ressources minérales n'ont jamais été aussi élevés, on attend désormais des entreprises qu'elles limitent leurs effets négatifs et prennent en compte les préoccupations de leurs différents publics afin de définir ensemble les termes d'un accord conférant à l'entreprise sa légitimité. Au vu de la diversité des enjeux, des échelles, des contextes et des acteurs concernés, le défi est de taille et nécessite des outils visant à mieux cerner les enjeux et structurer les dialogues. Basé sur l'étude de cas des mines d'uranium d'Arlit au Niger, ce travail montre qu'associer des démarches participatives à des outils de structuration et des propositions issus de la littérature apparaît comme une formule efficace pour mieux organiser la diversité des enjeux associés au projet et construire une négociation structurée entre les entreprises minières et leurs parties prenantes. La Première Partie, (Cadrages), a pour objectif de présenter les contextes théoriques, institutionnels et sectoriels dans lesquels s'ancre la thèse. La Deuxième Partie, (Application de la démarche sur les mines d'Arlit), expose les travaux et les résultats de l'évaluation réalisée au Niger. Enfin, la Troisième Partie, (Recadrages), dresse le bilan des enseignements et des conclusions que l'on peut tirer de ce travail de recherche et présente une proposition de démarche potentiellement applicable à d'autres sites miniers.

This thesis describes an investigation of a model of support for students with emotional/behavioural disorder (EBD) that involves neurologically based behaviour (NBB). Students with EBD that may involve NBB do not consistently respond to the behavioural interventions typically offered in schools. Organic neurological differences and executive functioning deficits may be implicated in neurologically based behaviour. Students who present with neurologically based behaviour characteristics often are said to have a developmentally delayed or undeveloped recognition of cause and effect. Thus, logical consequences and school wide behaviour support systems tend to be ineffective. Some direct service providers now advocate “working from the bottom up” (Nunley, 2005; Deak, 2005; Solomon & Heide, 2005) to address students with violent or aggressive behaviour. In this study, such a bottom up approach involved the use of environmental modification, body awareness, somatic understanding, and various calming techniques and meditative strategies to quiet the physiological responses, triggered from the bottom and mid areas of the brain (Nunley, 2005; Deak, 2005; Solomon & Heide, 2005). Once the midbrain is calmed, higher order interventions, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, conflict resolution, mediation, and others were used to help students process information, put appropriate language to behavioural events, and reframe and redefine their needs in more acceptable terms (Garbarino, 2001, Nunley, 2005; Charles, 2008a). The education system has a legal obligation to educate students with neurologically based behaviour despite the extreme behavioural issues they raise. Educators need to develop additional strategies and techniques to address students with severe behaviour. This thesis highlights a theoretical framework for a model of support for students with emotional/behavioural disorder that involves neurologically based behaviour.

This thesis describes an investigation of a model of support for students with emotional/behavioural disorder (EBD) that involves neurologically based behaviour (NBB). Students with EBD that may involve NBB do not consistently respond to the behavioural interventions typically offered in schools. Organic neurological differences and executive functioning deficits may be implicated in neurologically based behaviour. Students who present with neurologically based behaviour characteristics often are said to have a developmentally delayed or undeveloped recognition of cause and effect. Thus, logical consequences and school wide behaviour support systems tend to be ineffective. Some direct service providers now advocate “working from the bottom up” (Nunley, 2005; Deak, 2005; Solomon & Heide, 2005) to address students with violent or aggressive behaviour. In this study, such a bottom up approach involved the use of environmental modification, body awareness, somatic understanding, and various calming techniques and meditative strategies to quiet the physiological responses, triggered from the bottom and mid areas of the brain (Nunley, 2005; Deak, 2005; Solomon & Heide, 2005). Once the midbrain is calmed, higher order interventions, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, conflict resolution, mediation, and others were used to help students process information, put appropriate language to behavioural events, and reframe and redefine their needs in more acceptable terms (Garbarino, 2001, Nunley, 2005; Charles, 2008a). The education system has a legal obligation to educate students with neurologically based behaviour despite the extreme behavioural issues they raise. Educators need to develop additional strategies and techniques to address students with severe behaviour. This thesis highlights a theoretical framework for a model of support for students with emotional/behavioural disorder that involves neurologically based behaviour.

<p>The aim of this thesis is to study the risk for two Swedish companies, Axfood and Volvo. To test the required return on equity, a bottom-up beta approach and a CAPM regression beta are used. This thesis concludes that the bottom-up beta gives a truer reflection and a more updated beta value than a CAPM regression beta on the firm’s current business mix, the CAPM beta takes only the past stock prices into consideration. The empirical results for Volvo conclude that the levered bottom-up beta is 1.09 and the CAPM β is 0.52 for Volvo. The empirical results for Axfood which is categorized as consumer goods sector implies that the levered bottom-up beta is 0.87 while the CAPM regression beta is 0.29.</p>

Le système « plante-ravageur-ennemi naturel » fournit un modèle de base idéal pour comprendre comment les communautés d'arthropodes sont structurées et comment les interactions (directes et indirectes) entre les différents acteurs contribuent à façonner la structure des communautés. Dans les agroécosystèmes, les forces "top-down" correspondent aux effets de contrôle que les organismes arthropodes des niveaux trophiques supérieurs (par exemple, les prédateurs) ont sur les espèces des niveaux inférieurs (par exemple, leurs proies). Les communautés d'arthropodes peuvent également être influencées par des forces "bottom-up" induites par des variations dans les régimes de fertilisation ou d'irrigation ou par des variations de certains traits des plantes (résistance aux herbivores ou adaptations aux stress environnementaux). De plus, les forces "bottom-up" peuvent affecter l'impact "top-down" des ennemis naturels sur les herbivores soit directement (par exemple, les effets sur prédateur omnivore) ou médiées par les insectes herbivores intermédiaires. Dans ce contexte, les objectifs de cette thèse ont été de comprendre comment les variations de l'apport des ressources dans les agroecoécosytsèmes (disponibilité en azote et en eau) peuvent influencer les interactions entre les plantes, les herbivores et les ennemis naturels. Cette question a été étudiée aussi bien à l'échelle individuelle (traits d'histoire de vie des insectes) que populationnelle (dynamique des populations). Les études ont été réalisées sur deux agroécosystèmes basés sur les cultures de la tomate et du coton. / The “Plant-herbivorous insect-natural enemy” system provides an ideal basic model to understand how the plant-inhabiting arthropod communities are structured and how various mechanisms (i.e. direct and indirect interactions) contribute to shape the community structure. In agro-ecosystems, top-down forces encompass the controlling effects that arthropod organisms of the higher trophic level (e.g., predators) have on species at the next lower level (e.g., prey). Arthropod communities may also be influenced by bottom-up forces induced by environmental variations (e.g. fertilization or irrigation regimes) or plant traits (plant insect-resistance or plant-adaptive traits). Furthermore, bottom-up forces may affect top-down forces on herbivores either directly (e.g., effects on omnivorous predator) or mediated by the intermediate herbivorous insects. In this context, the aims of the PhD study were to disentangle how variations in resource inputs (i.e. nitrogen and water availability) affect interactions among plant, herbivores and their natural enemies at both the individual (life-history traits) and population (population dynamic) levels. The studies were carried out on two agrosystems based on tomato and cotton. On tomato, the system 'Solanum lycopersicum L - leafminer Tuta absoluta - omnivorous predator Macrolphis pygmaeus' was used under laboratory and greenhouse conditions in France. We found strong evidence of bottom-up effects of nitrogen and/or water inputs on the herbivore and the omnivorous predator. Feeding ecology of the predator was also strongly influenced by water availability.

Oil is the world’s largest primary energy source. It dominates the transportation sector which underpins the world economy. Yet, oil is a nonrenewable resource, destined not to last forever. In the mid-2000s global conventional oil production stagnated, leading to rising oil prices and fears of permanent oil scarcity. These fears, together with the high prices, receded with the unforeseen emergence of a new supply source: tight oil. This licentiate thesis investigates unconventional tight oil production and its impacts on world oil supply in terms of resource availability and oil market dynamics, and in turn briefly discusses some possible wider economic, political and environmental implications of these impacts. The thesis is based on three papers. The first investigates the usefulness of bottom-up modelling by a retrospective study of past oil projections. The second looks at how unconventional tight oil production can be modelled on the well level using decline curve analysis. The third derives typical production parameters for conventional offshore oil fields, a growing segment of conventional production and a useful comparison to tight oil. The results show that tight oil production has increased resource availability significantly, as well as introduced a fast responding marginal supply source operating on market principles rather than political ones. The emergence of tight oil production has altered OPEC’s strategic options and led to a period of lower and less volatile oil prices. However, this condition of world oil supply can only last as long as the unconventional resource base allows, and, at the same time, total fossil fuel consumption will have to fall to limit climate change. It is concluded that this breathing space with lower oil prices could be used as an opportunity to develop and implement policy for an efficient managed decline of global oil use in order to achieve the dual goals of increased human economic welfare and limited climate change, and in the process preempt any future oil supply shortage. Unconventional tight oil production can both help and hinder in this endeavor. Accurate models and analyses of oil production dynamics and impacts are therefore crucial when maneuvering towards this preferred future.

O bacterioplâncton é um dos grupos de organismos responsáveis pela remineralização de nutrientes em ecossistemas aquáticos, bem como produtor de biomassa através da alça microbiana. Compreender a dinâmica dessa comunidade em função da variação térmica, disponibilidade de recursos e pressão de predação pode fornecer elementos que auxiliem no gerenciamento dos recursos hídricos, através da aplicação direta desse conhecimento ou como subsídios na interpretação do resultado de simulações através de modelos ecológicos. Este trabalho teve como objetivo verificar a existência de heterogeneidade espacial e temporal na estrutura da comunidade bacteriana, densidade, biomassa e riqueza de morfotipos, na Lagoa Mangueira, bem como identificar as variáveis limnológicas que direcionam esses padrões. Foi evidenciada presença de heterogeneidade temporal, sazonal, e espacial do bacterioplâncton associada a dinâmica das variáveis limnológicas. A temperatura e a disponibilidade de nutrientes foram as principais variáveis que regularam as comunidades planctônicas, biomassa algal, bacterioplâncton e zooplâncton. Observou-se controle lateral, competição por nutrientes, entre as comunidades produtoras. O controle descendente, predação, mostrou ter importante efeito sobre o bacterioplâncton, mais especificamente sobre o morfotipo coccus, durante o verão e o inverno, sendo essa comunidade controlada de forma ascendente durante o outono e a primavera, principalmente por nitrogênio. Durante o inverno, a comunidade bacteriana apresentou significativa redução de densidade e biomassa, sendo que essa resposta pode estar relacionada às baixas temperaturas da água. A forma coccus foi o principal morfotipo produtor de biomassa e de maior densidade na lagoa. Importante heterogeneidade espacial foi observada na Lagoa Mangueira para as variáveis abióticas, visto que as regiões norte e sul apresentaram a maior diferenciação espacial, influenciada pela dimensão da lagoa. Fósforo total e carbono orgânico total regularam a comunidade bacteriana no norte da lagoa, especialmente os morfotipos coccus, curved e outros. Entre as zonas da lagoa, a margem oeste e leste foram as mais distintas em função da disponibilidade de nutrientes, destacando-se o carbono inorgânico total. A densidade bacteriana foi maior durante o verão, outono e inverno na região pelágica e durante a primavera na margem oeste da lagoa. A comunidade fitoplanctônica apresentou uma distribuição espacial caracterizada por maiores densidades nas regiões norte e centro da lagoa e na zona pelágica. O fósforo foi a principal variável limitante para as comunidades produtoras, fitoplâncton e bacterioplâncton, sendo o controle ascendente o principal regulador dessas comunidades, visto que o controle descendente não foi observado. Quanto à dinâmica dos organismos planctônicos e das variáveis limnológicas associados ao perfil de profundidade, a Lagoa Mangueira não apresentou estratificação das variáveis e consequentemente das comunidades planctônicas, resultado relacionado a uma possível característica de mistura completa da massa d’água, mesmo com ventos de baixa intensidade. As comunidades planctônicas apresentaram maior densidade durante o inverno, direcionadas pela maior disponibilidade de nitrogênio e fósforo. / Bacterioplankton is one of the groups of organisms responsible for the remineralization of nutrients in aquatic ecosystems, as well as a producer of biomass through the microbial loop. Understanding the dynamics of this community due to the thermal variation, resource availability and predation pressure may provide data to assist in the management of water resources through the application of that knowledge or direct subsidies in the interpretation of the results of simulations using ecological models. This work aimed to verify the existence of spatial and temporal heterogeneity in bacterial community structure, density, biomass and richness of morphotypes in Mangueira Lake, as well as identify the limnological variables that drive these patterns. We evidenced the presence of temporal heterogeneity, seasonal and spatial dynamics of bacterioplankton associated with limnological characteristics. The temperature and nutrient availability were the main variables that regulated the planktonic communities, algal biomass, bacterioplankton and zooplankton. There was lateral control, competition for nutrients, between the producing communities. The top down control, predation, was shown to have important effects on the bacterioplankton, more specifically on the coccus morphotype during the summer and winter, and this controlled community in bottom up controled during the fall and spring, mainly nitrogen. During the winter, the community had a significant reduction in bacterial density and biomass, and this response may be related to low water temperatures. Morphotype coccus was the main producing biomass and higher density in the lake. Important spatial heterogeneity was observed at Mangueira Lake for the abiotic variables, whereas the northern and southern regions had the highest spatial differentiation, influenced by the size of the lake. Total phosphorus and total organic carbon regulated bacterial community in the north of the lagoon, especially coccus morphotypes, curved and ‘others’. Among the areas of the lake, the west border and east were the most different depending on the availability of nutrients, especially if the total inorganic carbon. The bacterial density was higher during the summer, autumn and winter in the pelagic region and during the spring on the west border of the lake. The phytoplankton community showed a spatial distribution characterized by higher densities in the north and center of the lake and the pelagic zone. Phosphorus was the main variable limiting communities producing, phytoplankton and bacterioplankton, and bottom up control of these communities, since the top down control was not observed. Considering the dynamics of planktonic organisms and limnological variables associated with the depth profile, the Mangueira Lake did not show stratification of variables and consequently the planktonic communities, the result can be related to a characteristic of complete mixing of water mass, even with low wind intensity. The planktonic communities showed higher densities during the winter, driven by increased availability of nitrogen and phosphorus.

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