Optical spectroscopy and modeling are applied to four independent problems related to the structure and evolution of galaxies. The problems cover a broad range of look-back time and galaxy mass. Integral field spectroscopy with low surface brightness sensitivity is the tool employed to advance our understanding of the distribution, interplay, and evolution of the stars, dark matter, and gas. First, I review development and commissioning work done on the VIRUS-P instrument. I then present a large sample of galaxies over redshifts 1.9<z<3.8 selected solely through their Lyman-alpha flux. This work is done as a pilot survey to the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy eXperiment (HETDEX). I create a redshift catalog of 397 galaxies discovered over 169 square arcsecs taken over 113 nights. Second, I study a high redshift (z=3.4) radio galaxy halo by mapping the Lyman-alpha velocity field. The signal extends far beyond the optical and radio extents of the system. Plausible, but non-unique, models are made to explain the Lyman-alpha signal that require a very large reservoir of neutral hydrogen (>= 10E12 solar masses). Third, I study the dark matter halo profile in a nearby late-type dwarf galaxy in the context of the "core-cusp" controversy. N-body simulations predict such galaxies to have cuspy dark matter halos, while HI rotation curves and more recent hydrodynamical simulations indicate that such halos may instead be strongly cored. I measure the spatially resolved stellar velocity field and fit with two-integral Jeans models. A cuspy halo is preferred from the stellar kinematics. The mass models from stellar and gaseous kinematics disagree. The gas models assume circular motion in an infinitely thin disk which is likely unrealistic. The stellar kinematics presented are the first measurements of a collision-less tracer in such galaxies. Fourth, I attempt to measure diffuse H-alpha emission, fluoresced by the metagalactic UV background, in the outskirts of a nearby gas rich galaxy. I do not make a detection, but the deep flux limit over a large field-of-view places the most sensitive limit to-date on the UV background's photoionization rate of Gamma(z=0)<1.7x10E-14 1/s at 5 sigma certainty. / text

Dynamic assessment of three-dimensional (3D) joint kinematics is essential for understanding normal joint function as well as the effects of injury or disease. The knowledge of one or two series of bi-dimensional fluoroscopic projections of the joint in motion (mono-planar or bi-planar fluoroscopy), and the 3D model of the joint segments, were claimed to be sufficient to reconstruct the absolute and relative 6 Degrees Of Freedom (DOFs) pose of bones or prostheses in the 3D space. The software MultiTrack was developed at the Health Sciences and Technologies - Interdepartmental Center for Industrial Research (HST - ICIR) for the joint kinematics estimation with 3D Video Fluoroscopy (3DF) [1] using C++ language with ITK [2] segmentation & registration toolkit and VTK [3] visualization toolkit. An optimization procedure finds the 6 degrees of freedom pose that optimizes a metric quantifying the matching of the 3D model and its relevant projections. The metric, currently implemented in the software, is based on the contour segmentation of the object to be tracked and on the use of 3D adaptive distance maps (ADM) [4,5]. However, the contour extraction is a time consuming procedure for the user. Different methods were proposed in the literature to reduce the user interaction, each with its proper pros and cons. In the current thesis a few of the for-mentioned methods are discussed in order to evaluate each of them in terms of accuracy, speed and user dependency. At the final step the algorithm proposed by Mafhouz et al. [6], initially proposed for prostheses, is implemented inside the MultiTrack framework. To be properly characterized, the above method is tested on in vivo datasets and under various sources of error. / Η δυναμική αξιολόγηση της τρισδιάστατης (3D) κινηματικής των αρθρώσεων είναι απαραίτητη για την κατανόηση της φυσιολογικής λειτουργία των αρθρώσεων, καθώς και τις επιπτώσεις της κακώσεων ή παθήσεων . Η γνώση μιας ή δύο σειρών δυσδιάστατων ακτινοσκοπικών προβολών των αρθρώσεων σε κίνηση ( μονο - επίπεδη ή δι- επίπεδη ακτινοσκόπηση), και ενός τρισδιάστατου (3D) μοντέλου των επιμέρους τμημάτων των αρθρώσεων , κρίνεται επαρκής για να ανακατασκευαστούν τόσο οι απόλυτοι όσο και οι σχετικοί 6 βαθμοί ελευθερίας της θέσης των οστών ή των προσθετικών τμημάτων στον τρισδιάστατο χώρο. Το λογισμικό “MultiTrack” αναπτύχθηκε στις Επιστήμες Υγείας και Τεχνολογίες - Διατμηματικό Κέντρο Βιομηχανικών Ερευνών (HST-ICIR) έτσι ώστε να επιτευχθεί με ακρίβεια η εκτίμηση της κινηματικς των αρθρώσεων με τρισδιάστατη ακτινοσκόπηση (φθοροσκοπία) με βιντεοκαρέ (3DF) [1] χρησιμοποιώντας C++ γλώσσα προγραμματισμού σε συνδυασμό με τα εργαλεία κατακερματισμού & καταγραφής (segmentation & registration) ITK [2] και οπτικοποίησης (visualization) VTK [3]. Μια διαδικασία βελτιστοποίησης βρίσκει τους 6 βαθμούς ελευθερίας της θέσης που βελτιστοποιεί τη συνάρτηση ποσοτικοποίησης της συνάφειας του 3D μοντέλου και των σχετικών προβολών του. Η συνάρτηση ποσοτικοποίησης, έτσι όπως έχει υλοποιηθεί στο λογισμικό, βασίζεται στην κατάτμηση του περιγράμματος (contour segmentation) του υπό εξέταση αντικειμένου και στη χρήση τρισδιάστατων προσαρμοστικών χαρτών απόστασης (Adaptive Distance Map-ADM) [4,5]. Ωστόσο, η εξαγωγή του περιγράμματος είναι μια χρονοβόρα διαδικασία για το χρήστη. Διαφορετικές μέθοδοι έχουν προταθεί στη βιβλιογραφία για τη μείωση της αλληλεπίδρασης του χρήστη, η καθεμία με τα πλεονεκτήματα και τα μειονεκτήματα της. Στην παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία, αναλύονται μερικές από τις προαναφερθείσες μέθοδοι προκειμένου να αξιολογηθεί καθεμία από αυτές όσον αφορά την ακρίβεια, την ταχύτητα και την εξάρτηση της από το χρήστη. Στο τελικό στάδιο, ο αλγόριθμος που προτείνεται από τον Mafhouz [6] και χρησιμοποιήθηκε αρχικά για προθέσεις, υλοποιείται εντός του λογισμικού “MultiTrack”. Η παραπάνω μέθοδος για να χαρακτηριστεί πλήρως, έχει δοκιμαστεί σε in-νίνο δεδομένα και κάτω από διάφορες πηγές σφάλματος.

Total knee replacement is the gold standard treatment for restoring mobility and relieving pain associated with osteoarthritis when other medical therapy has failed. Revision surgery is necessary when the replaced knee fails, which is often a result of implant damage (such as wear) or poor kinematics. Design optimization is a method for finding the best shape for a component using an optimization approach considering one or multiple performance metrics. The shape of a parametric candidate design can be manipulated by an optimization algorithm, which seeks to minimize an objective function subject to performance constraints and design space limitations. During multiobjective design optimization, multiple performance measures are minimized simultaneously, the relative importance of each determined using a weighted sum. This approach can also be used to derive a Pareto curve or frontier which graphically describes the relationships (or trade-offs) between the performance measures. It was hypothesized that a trade-off exists between wear and kinematics performance in total knee replacements. The objective of this research was to test this hypothesis by using multiobjective design optimization to describe this relationship with a Pareto curve. It was first necessary to develop and validate numerical frameworks for wear and kinematics simulations, using models constructed using a parametric modeller. The Pareto curve was then generated using a combination of single objective and multiobjective design optimizations considering these two performance measures. Single objective optimization for wear yielded a theoretical design with superior wear resistance when compared to a typical commercially available knee design. Single objective optimization for kinematics yielded a theoretical design capable of higher flexion, as well as more natural laxity characteristics. After performing multiobjective design optimization, the resulting Pareto curve showed that there is, in fact, a trade-off between wear and kinematics performance. When considering optimum designs, in order to improve the wear performance it was necessary to sacrifice kinematics performance, and vice-versa. This previously suspected but never verified nor quantified relationship can be used to improve total knee replacement designs, as well as help healthcare providers select the best implants for their patients. / Thesis (Ph.D, Mechanical and Materials Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2010-04-14 13:43:42.639

Total knee arthroplasty has been effective in reducing pain, but less so in restoring function, especially for activities requiring deep knee flexion. The philosophy of this dissertation was that more functionally effective and optimally designed artificial knees could be created for high flexion activities, if the knee joint kinematics and joint contact forces applied during finite element testing, knee simulator testing, and fatigue testing were more physiologically accurate. The objective of this work was to determine knee joint kinematics and contact forces that could be used in high flexion total knee replacement design and pre-clinical testing. Knee kinematics were determined during high flexion activities for total knee replacement patients and asymptomatic subjects by tracking the motion of skin-mounted sensors. In addition, a protocol was developed to determine the effect of soft tissue artefact on the accuracy of the skin-mounted sensor system in high flexion. The ranges of motion determined for the studied activities can be used as a benchmark to measure the functional success of high flexion total knee replacements. Tibiofemoral joint contact forces were estimated during high flexion activities of daily living using a simple, non-invasive, inverse dynamics based model. The accuracy of the joint contact force estimates was investigated by comparing the estimated forces to in vivo forces measured directly using implanted instrumented tibial components. The comparison showed that the model underestimates the measured axial joint contact force, most likely because the model neglects antagonistic muscle co-contraction. The measured and modeled joint contact forces and the measured knee kinematics could be used to form industry standards for knee simulator and fatigue testing to ensure that the implants are being tested physiologically. Healthy target populations can be studied using the methods outlined in this thesis to define testing standards for target populations: Kinematics can be determined as they were in this work for a group of Middle Eastern subjects, and the non-invasive inverse dynamics based model (with some consideration for the underestimation of forces) could be used to determine the tibiofemoral joint contact forces that the implant might be subjected to during activities of daily living. / Thesis (Ph.D, Mechanical and Materials Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2010-10-25 11:33:06.162

The portability, ease of use and improved accuracy of miniature inertial sensors brought by current microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology has inspired researchers to develop human movement monitoring system with body-fixed sensors. Although a large number of studies have attempted to explore the use of miniature inertial sensors in estimating walking speed for the past two decades, there still remain some questions regarding applying inertial sensors in estimating walking speed under different walking conditions and for different subject populations. In this thesis, I focus on evaluating and improving the performance of a shank-mounted mounted inertial measurement unit (IMU) based walking speed estimation method. My research can be divided into four parts. The first part was a systematic review regarding the state of the art of current development of the inertial sensor based walking speed estimation method. A total of 16 articles were fully reviewed in terms of sensor specification, sensor attachment location, experimental design and spatial parameter estimation algorithm. In the second part, a comprehensive performance evaluation was conducted, which included the treadmill and overground walking experiments with constraint on the walking speed, stride length and stride frequency. A systematic error was observed in the error analysis of this study, which was adjusted by subtracting the bias by linear regression. In the third part, a post-stroke subject overground walking experiment was carried out with an improved walking speed estimation method that reduced the systematic error caused by previous false initial speed assumption. In addition to walking speed estimation, the gait asymmetry for post-stroke hemiparetic gait was also evaluated with the proposed method. The last part was the sensor error model analysis. We elaborately analyzed and discussed the estimation errors involved in this method in order to completely understand the sensor error compensation in walking speed estimation algorithm design. Two existing sensor error models and one newly developed sensor error model were compared with the treadmill walking experiment, which demonstrated the effect of each sensor error component on the estimation result and the importance of the sensor error model selection. / Thesis (Master, Mechanical and Materials Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2011-08-23 19:38:16.965

No description available.

Industrial robot arms are an essential part of automated manufacturing, and perform tasks such as component assembly, welding, light machining, spray painting, etc. They are highly repeatable, can be calibrated to be sufficiently accurate and they eliminate human error. The serial robot architecture is by far the most ubiquitous in modern day manufacturing, as the technology is highly refined in its current state; the machine architecture provides great dexterity and it has a large useful workspace. This architecture however does have some problems, one of which is a large machine moving mass. The primary reason for this lies in the location of its motors and gearboxes. Due to the robot's significant inertia it utilizes a large amount of energy. This thesis focused on the mechanical design, mathematical modelling and simulation of 2 robotic arm designs which had a hybrid nature. They were classified as hybrid due to the fact that their architectures departed from both the classic definitions of serial kinematics manipulators/machines (SKMs) and parallel kinematics manipulators/machines (PKMs). The primary design goal was to merge some of the advantages of both architectures, i.e. a large workspace to footprint ratio and high end-effector dexterity which was found in serial robots, combined with the low inertia of a parallel robot for improved dynamics. Serial and parallel robots were complementary, and these design goals could not co-exist in a single purist robot architecture. The designs had a full complement of 6 DOFs (degrees of freedom), 3 DOFs for spatial position of the wrist and 3 DOFs for orientation of that wrist. They also had a lower machine moving mass, a fact that was thought to improve speed and energy usage. A major contribution of this research PhD project was a comparative energy usage study, which was performed against the serial robot as a measure. This was done for both hybrid designs as well as another model which represented 2 existing patented designs. The purpose of that was to determine if lowering the machine moving mass would improve energy efficiency, and to determine which design was best. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate manual asymmetries in the reach-to-grasp movement based on two hypotheses: 1) manual asymmetries are resultant from asymmetries in the dorsal vision-for-action system; and 2) manual asymmetries are contingent on task difficulty. Participants grasped glasses of water under different visual-feedback conditions. Demand was manipulated by varying the level of the water contained in the glass. Hand asymmetries of the reach-to-grasp movement were studied through kinematic analyses. Visual feedback availability and task demand affected all kinematic measures. Manual asymmetries were found in peak velocity, movement time, and variability of maximum grip aperture. Consistent with reach-to-point literature, reach-to-grasp actions were faster and more accurate when performed with the right hand and when guided by the dorsal vision-for-action system. The results of the thesis provide support for a theory of left-hemisphere specialization for the visual control of actions. / xiv, 121 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm

A novel technology, the Magneto-articulography for the Assessment of Speech Kinematics (MASK) system, which measures brain activity and oromotor movement simultaneously, was validated for its speech tracking capabilities. MASK has not been systematically tested, so its movement tracking accuracy and practicality for research was still unknown. An error testing and mapping protocol is developed to validate MASK accuracy against established electromagnetic articulography (EMA) speech tracking systems. Data from human speech experiments are also compared. MASK exhibited higher positional error and fluctuation than EMA, and more inconsistent distribution of errors. Error mapping and potential error correction protocols were also developed. MASK spatial and temporal resolutions were found insufficient for precise tracking of small and quick articulatory movements. MASK requires much improvement to reach the capabilities of EMA. Further investigation into numerical instabilities of the position calculation algorithms is encouraged. This project provides the first assessment of MASK, which may advance speech research for future applications.