In 1972, professor Grigore Moisil, the most famous Romanian academician for Mathematics, said about Combinatorics, that it is “an opportunity of a renewed gladness”, because “each problem in the domain asks for its solving, an expenditure without any economy of the human intelligence”. More, the research methods, used in Combinatorics, are different from a problem to the other! This is the explanation for the existence of my actual paper, in which I propose to teach Combinatorics, using selected problems. MS classification: 05A05, 97D50.

Development of the advanced, real-time methods for monitoring of bioaerosols is becoming increasingly important. At present, the Ultraviolet Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (UVAPS, Model 3312, TSI, St. Paul., MN) is the only commercially available method for in-situ, continuous measurements of viable airborne microorganisms. Research included in this thesis aimed towards comprehensive evaluation of the method over a wide range of operating conditions, linking the experimental results to the theoretical basis of its design and operation, and to developing a scientific basis for its application to real-time monitoring of bioaerosols. Specifically, due to a growing concern in the general community about the environmental and health aspects of biological aerosols originated from various types of agricultural operations including animal farming, this research was focussed on developing a research methodology/strategy for applying the method to the investigation of bioaerosols in the swine confinement buildings (SCB). Investigations under controlled laboratory conditions were primarily concerned with selectivity, sensitivity, counting efficiency, and detection limits of the spectrometer. This study also examined the effect of physiological state (metabolic activity) of bacteria on the performance characteristics of the method. The practical implications of the research findings are discussed in this thesis. Further field investigations undertaken on a pig farm advanced understanding of the UVAPS performance in the real-life environmental settings. The research also provided a new insight on the particle size distribution and the effect of on-farm-activities on aerosol load inside the SCBs, for both biological and non-biological aerosols. This study has proved that the UVAPS is a powerful tool for investigation of viable bioaerosols in the environment. However, this method is limited to detection of active metabolising bacteria that excludes dormant bacterial spores. In addition, the method is very sensitive to physiological state of bacteria and to the effect of adverse environmental conditions on metabolic activity of airborne bacteria, which may decrease the amount of the intrinsic fluorophores in the cells below sensitivity level iv of the monitor. Possible limitations of this technology include also the lack of selectivity and thus interferences from the non-microbial organic components of airborne particles. In addition, the sensitivity of the method is insufficient for monitoring viable bacteria in the environments with relatively low concentrations of bioaerosols. In order to increase sensitivity of the method, it would be desirable to concentrate the bioaerosols into a smaller volume with the aim of high-volume virtual impactors (aerosol concentrators) prior to the monitoring. Therefore, in the indoor environments where an application of the concentrator is not feasible, the utilisation of the UVAPS may be problematic. Due to the intrinsic limitations, the method is not recommended for the direct measurements of viable bioaerosols and should be used in conjunction with the conventional biosamplers for obtaining more realistic insights into the microbial air quality. Nevertheless, the UVAPS has been found to be an adequate method for the investigation of the dynamics of biological aerosols in real-time. Overall, this thesis contributes to the advancing of the understanding of the method and may assist in developing new, more advanced technologies for the real-time monitoring of viable bioaerosols, as well as in developing sampling strategies for the application of the method to various bioaerosol studies.

Mémoire (M.Sc.A.)--Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 1985. / Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

Submitted by Alison Vanceto (alison-vanceto@hotmail.com) on 2017-09-13T18:23:58Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissWML.pdf: 4207155 bytes, checksum: 5811f047e7b65dbd43f52f60e16255ba (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-09-20T13:58:00Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissWML.pdf: 4207155 bytes, checksum: 5811f047e7b65dbd43f52f60e16255ba (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-09-20T13:58:07Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissWML.pdf: 4207155 bytes, checksum: 5811f047e7b65dbd43f52f60e16255ba (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-20T14:05:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissWML.pdf: 4207155 bytes, checksum: 5811f047e7b65dbd43f52f60e16255ba (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-06-29 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / This research was started because of concerns regarding the teaching and learning of Counting Problems in Elementary School. With the intent of contributing to the construction of basic Combinatorial concepts, we elaborated exploratory-investigative tasks and we tried through these tasks, to analyze the answers that were made by students of an 8th grade of Elementary School, in order to answer the following investigative question: what learning occurs with the mobilization of registers of semiotic representation theory to do counting in a scenario of exploratory- investigative tasks in an 8th grade of Elementary School? The theoretical and methodological reference is constituted by the registers of semiotic representation theory propounded by Duval; by the theory of Mathematical Investigations, Ponte et al. Besides that the research also had the collaboration of Pessoa and Borba. We present a brief historical retrospective on the subject, besides a previous analysis of other works in the area and official documents aimed at teaching and learning of Mathematics subject regarding to contents of Counting Problems in Elementary School. The research was developed with a group of 25 students of the 8th grade Elementary School in a public school in São Paulo state, in the year 2016. The data collection was done through field notes (logbook), and from the records written by the students during the development of the sequence of tasks. Through this investigation, we could verify that the study of Counting Problems through exploratory-investigative tasks allows the articulation of different registers of semiotic representation, leading to a better understanding of this topic. / Esta pesquisa originou-se a partir de inquietações relacionadas ao ensino e aprendizagem de Problemas de Contagem no Ensino Fundamental. Com a intenção de contribuir para a construção de conceitos básicos de Combinatória, elaboramos tarefas de natureza exploratório-investigativas e procuramos por meio destas, analisar as respostas produzidas por estudantes de um 8o ano do Ensino Fundamental, com o intuito de responder a seguinte questão de investigação: que aprendizagem ocorre com a mobilização de registros de representação semiótica para a realização de contagens em um cenário de tarefas exploratório-investigativas num 8o ano do Ensino Fundamental? O referencial teórico e metodológico é constituído pela teoria dos registros de representação semiótica proposta por Duval e pela teoria das Investigações Matemáticas, proposta Ponte et al. Além disso o trabalho também contou com a colaboração de Pessoa e Borba. Realizamos um breve retrospecto histórico sobre o tema, além de uma análise previa de outros trabalhos na área, e documentos oficiais voltados para o ensino e aprendizagem da Matemática no que diz respeito a conteúdos relacionados a Problemas de Contagem no Ensino Fundamental. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida em uma turma de 25 alunos do 8o ano Ensino Fundamental de uma escola da rede pública de ensino do estado de São Paulo, no ano de 2016. A coleta de dados se deu por meio de notas de campo (diário de bordo), e dos registros produzidos pelos estudantes ao logo do desenvolvimento da sequência de tarefas. Através desta investigação, pudemos verificar que o estudo de Problemas de Contagem por meio de tarefas exploratório- investigativas possibilita a articulação entre diferentes registros de representação semiótica, o que leva a um melhor entendimento desse tema.

Le problème du cercle de Gauss consiste à compter le nombre de points entiers de longueur bornée dans le plan. Autrement dit, compter le nombre de géodésiques fermées de longueur bornée sur un tore plat bidimensionnel. De très nombreux problèmes de comptage en systèmes dynamiques se sont inspirés de ce problème. Depuis 30 ans, on cherche à comprendre l’asymptotique de géodésiques fermées dans les surfaces de translation. H. Masur a montré que ce nombre a une croissance quadratique. Calculer l’asymptotique quadratique (constante de Siegel–Veech) est un sujet de recherches très actif aujourd’hui. L’objet d’étude de cette thèse est le modèle de windtree, un modèle de billard non compact. Dans le cas classique, on place des obstacles rectangulaires identiques dans le plan en chaque point entier. On joue au billard sur le complémentaire. Nous montrons que le nombre de trajectoires périodiques a une croissance asymptotique quadratique et calculons la constante de Siegel–Veech pour le windtree classique ainsi que pour la généralisation de Delecroix– Zorich. Nous prouvons que, pour le windtree classique, cette constante ne dépend pas des tailles des obstacles (phénomène “non varying” analogue aux résultats de Chen–Möller). Enfin, lorsque la surface de translation compacte sous-jacente est une surface de Veech, nous donnons une version quantitative du comptage. / The Gauss circle problem consists in counting the number of integer points of bounded length in the plane. In other words, counting the number of closed geodesics of bounded length on a flat two dimensional torus. Many counting problems in dynamical systems have been inspired by this problem. For 30 years, the experts try to understand the asymptotic behavior of closed geodesics in translation surfaces. H. Masur proved that this number has quadratic growth rate. Compute the quadratic asymptotic (Siegel–Veech constant) is a very active research domain these days. The object of study in this thesis is the wind-tree model, a non-compact billiard model. In the classical setting, we place identical rectangular obstacles in the plane at each integer point. We play billiard on the complement. We show that the number of periodic trajectories has quadratic asymptotic growth rate and we compute the Siegel–Veech constant for the classical wind-tree model as well as for the Delecroix–Zorich variant. We prove that, for the classical wind-tree model, this constant does not depend on the dimensions of the obstacles (non-varying phenomenon, analogous to results of Chen–Möller). Finally, when the underlying compact translation surface is a Veech surface, we give a quantitative version of the counting.

This diploma thesis deals with teaching of place-value systems in secondary school with use of created computer program. The theoretical part of the thesis deals, apart from other things, with some good reasons to teach non-base ten systems. The main part of the thesis deals with created computer program that contains teaching of binary number system and with created computer model of a counting device. These programs are also accessible from the internet. Results of experimental teaching that took place in two secondary schools are included in the thesis as well.

L'objectif de la thèse est de proposer une solution pour un circuit intégré matriciel pour l'imagerie de rayons X fonctionnant, soit en mode spectrométrique où l'énergie de chaque photon X est mesurée, soit en mode d'intégration de charges où l'énergie totale déposée par les rayons X pendant une image est mesurée, la solution devant être à terme compatible avec un détecteur de grande surface typiquement de 20 cm x 20 cm. Un circuit de test (ASIC), ‘Sphinx' de 20 x 20 pixels au pas de 200 µm x 200 µm, en technologie CMOS 0.13 µm a été conçu pour servir de preuve du concept proposé. L'architecture de pixel retenue permet la quantification de la charge incidente par des paquets de contre-charges aussi bas que 100 électrons, ces contre-charges étant comptabilisées, soit pour chaque photon X (mode spectrométrique), soit pour la totalité des photons détectés pendant une image (mode intégration). Les premières mesures de caractérisation prouvent la validité du concept avec de bonnes performances en termes de consommation, bruit et linéarité. Une partie des pixels est dédiée à la détection directe des rayons X, ceux-ci étant alors convertis en charges électriques dans un semi-conducteur, tel que CdZnTe par exemple, lequel semiconducteur est couplé pixel à pixel à l'ASIC. Une autre partie des pixels est dédiée à la détection indirecte des rayons X, ceux-ci étant alors convertis en photons visibles dans une couche scintillatrice, telle CsI : Tl par exemple, et chaque pixel de l'ASIC possédant alors une photodiode. Pour ce dernier mode, de nouvelles formes de photodiodes rapides et peu capacitives ont de plus été conçues, simulées, et fabriquées en technologie CMOS 0.13 µm sur un autre ASIC. Enfin, la thèse se conclut en proposant des idées d'amélioration de performances à réaliser potentiellement dans un futur prototype. / The objective of the thesis is to propose a solution for a 2D integrated circuit X-ray imager working, either in spectrometric mode where each X photon energy is measured, or in charge integration mode where the total energy deposited by X-ray during an image is measured, the solution being compatible with large area detectors typically of 20 cm x 20 cm. A proof of concept prototype ASIC 'Sphinx' was designed and fabricated in CMOS 0.13 µm technology; the ASIC being formed of a matrix of 20 x 20 pixels with a 200 µm pixel pitch. The designed architecture allows the quantification of the incoming charge through the use of counter-charge packets as low as 100 electrons. The injected packets are counted for each X photon (in the spectrometric photon counting mode), or for all charges integrated during the image period (in charge integration mode). First characterization measurements prove the validity of the concept with good performance in terms of power consumption, noise, and linearity. A first part of the ASIC is dedicated to X-ray direct detection where a semiconductor, e.g. CdZnTe, hybridized to the ASIC's pixels converts X-photons to electrical charge. Another part of the ASIC is dedicated indirect X-ray detection where a scintillator, e.g. CsI:Tl, is used to convert X-photons to visible photons which are then detected by in-pixel photodiodes. For the latter mode, new forms of photodiodes characterized by fast detection and low capacity were designed, simulated, and fabricated in CMOS 0.13 µm technology on a different ASIC. Finally, the thesis concludes with proposing performance enhancing ideas to be potentially implemented in a future prototype.

The purpose of this study was observing the Mealy Parrot (Amazona farinose virenticeps) in the open air nature, also the study found out their eating and nesting habits. Description of behavior in their natural environment and a description of the habitat in the study area. Monitoring, which took place at the census was made 3 weeks in September 2015. Other investigations in which observation was focused on finding nesting cavities and bird watching in the stream and this was performed three weeks in February 2016. Observation was carried out in Costa Rica on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea in the nature reserve Gandoca Manzanillo. Part of the observations was the liner census of Mealy Parrots with the use of the Passau methods to chart a path along the road leading from the village of Manzanillo to Puerto Vijejo. Length of the strip to the census was fixed at 2.1km about the width of 250m. At the counting was found out how Mealy Parrots was fed and what type of food. Also there was observe at what time Mealy Parrots swoop for food, and what trees were occupying them and in which part of tree crowns they were sitting in. Other research showed their behavior in the presence of other birds and other animals and how they were behaving in danger of predators. In another part of observing, that took place in February 2016 was searched two nests in tree hollows (Manilkara zapota) and (Pterocarpus officinalis). Only in one of the nesting cavity was found one egg, which was measured.

As dificuldades de aprendizagem matemática constituem um campo bastante complexo e ainda relativamente pouco explorado. Pesquisas com síndromes associadas ao baixo desempenho matemático indicam que há diferentes perfis cognitivos subjacentes às dificuldades na matemática e nos mostram que nem toda dificuldade de aprendizagem matemática é originada da mesma maneira. Esta dissertação de mestrado apresenta dois estudos de caso: um realizado com estudante com Síndrome do X-Frágil e o outro com estudante com Síndrome de Prader-Willi. O objetivo foi investigar e compreender a aquisição dos princípios e procedimentos de contagem numérica e recuperação de fatos aditivos da memória em cada estudante. Os dados foram obtidos a partir de análise documental, observações em sala de aula e no espaço escolar e aplicação de tarefas para investigação do senso numérico, dos princípios e procedimentos de contagem e da recuperação de fatos aditivos da memória. Os resultados obtidos indicaram que os sujeitos pesquisados apresentam lentidão no processo de aprendizagem, especialmente na construção dos princípios da contagem numérica, falhas no desenvolvimento do senso numérico e não utilizaram recuperação dos fatos aditivos da memória. As implicações educacionais resultantes deste estudo, principalmente no que diz respeito à educação inclusiva, determinam a necessidade de um novo olhar para o processo de inclusão de estudantes com diferentes síndromes em salas de aulas regulares, pois suas características cognitivas e comportamentais indicam que a inclusão por si só não garante o sucesso escolar. / The difficulties in learning mathematics are a very complex field and still relatively unexplored. Researches of syndromes associated with low mathematical performance indicates that different cognitive profiles underlie math learning difficulties and show us that not all of these difficulties have the same origins. This dissertation presents two case studies: one with Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) and another with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS). The objective was to investigate and understand the acquisition of the principles and procedures of numerical count and recovery additive facts from memory in each student. The data obtained were from documental analysis, observations in the classroom and in the school playground and applying tasks to investigate the number sense, the principles and procedures of numerical count and recovery additive facts from memory. The results indicated that the subjects studied show slow learning process, especially in the construction of the principles of counting, flawed development of number sense and did not recovery additive facts from memory. The educational implications, particularly in inclusive educations, determine a new look at the process of students with different syndromes in regular classrooms because their cognitive behavioral characteristics indicate that the inclusion only does not guarantee school success.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:30:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 4480.pdf: 1010573 bytes, checksum: 16ea349649171cd73774c5b9714ea8c7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-03-15 / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais / Abstract Although the studies regarding the role of counting in the acquisition of the numeric conceptual behavior has grown and developed in the past few decades, results available in the literature still show experimental and theoretical disagreements. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of training on oral counting in the acquisition of numeric conceptual behavior through the comparison to the performance of children who were not exposed to the training on counting. Participants consisted of eight children, between three and four years old, from a private elementary school in Araraquara city, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The battery of numeric tasks used for this purpose consisted of the following stimuli, all them ranging from 1 to 9: arabic digits (A); sets of pictures of objects and animals with a random spatial distribution (B); printed number-words (C), spoken numbers (D) and naming (E). Participants in both groups were submitted to the following initial tests: oral counting, identity matching (AA, BB, CC), symbolic relations (AB, AC, BA, CA, BC, CB), auditive-visual matching (DA, DB, DC) and naming (EA, EB, EC). Equivalence relations between numbers and quantities (AB, AC and DA) were trained on both groups, experimental (EG) and control (CG), and oral counting was taught to the EG only. Training on counting consisted of the following steps: verification, training and production of the numeric verbal sequence repertoire, and establishment of oneto- one correspondence between numbers and names of elements in a set. The emergence of the BA, BC, CA, CB, DB, DC, EA and EB relations was observed with the EG participants. By the other hand, subsequent tests of training on relations (same as the initial tests) showed the emergence of the BA, DB, DC, EA and EB relations with the CG. In general, EG participants presented better overall scores compared to the CG. The results presented herein point to oral counting as a facilitator for the numerical equivalence. / Ultimamente tem crescido o número de estudos acerca do papel da contagem na aquisição do comportamento conceitual numérico. Os resultados disponíveis dessas pesquisas demonstram controvérsias teóricas e experimentais. O presente estudo teve por objetivo analisar o efeito do treino da contagem oral sobre a aquisição do comportamento conceitual numérico e comparar esse efeito com o desempenho de crianças que não foram expostas ao treino da contagem. Participaram oito crianças pré-escolares, entre três e quatro anos de idade de uma rede privada de ensino de Araraquara/SP. Aplicou-se uma bateria de tarefas que envolveram valores de 1 a 9 e os estímulos: algarismos (A); conjuntos de figuras de objetos e animais, cuja distribuição espacial era aleatória (B); nome escrito dos números (C); ditado (D); e nomeação (E). Os participantes de ambos os grupos foram submetidos a testes iniciais, apresentados na ordem que se segue: contagem de desenhos de objetos e animais, pareamento por identidade (AA, BB, CC), relações simbólicas (AB, AC, BA, CA, BC, CB), auditivovisual (DA, DB, DC) e nomeação (EA, EB, EC). Nos dois grupos, experimental (GE) controle (GC) foram treinadas as relações AB, AC e DA, porém a contagem oral foi ensinada apenas ao GE. O treino de contagem consistiu das seguintes etapas: verificação, treino e produção do repertório de sequência verbal numérica e estabelecimento da correspondência termo a termo entre nomes de números e elementos de um conjunto. Nos testes posteriores ao treino das relações (os mesmos dos iniciais), os participantes do GE apresentaram a emergência das relações BA, BC, CA, CB, DB, DC, EA e EB. Já os participantes do GC apresentaram emergência das relações BA, DB, DC, EA e EB. O desempenho dos participantes do GE foi superior ao dos participantes do GC. Os resultados obtidos neste estudo apontam para a contagem como facilitadora para a equivalência numérica.