The rapid developments in the sensor and its related technology have made automation possible in many processes in diverse fields. Also sensor-based fault diagnosis and quality improvements have been made possible. These tasks depend highly on the sensor network for the accurate measurements. The two major problems that affect the reliability of the sensor system/network are sensor failures and sensor anomalies. The usage of redundant sensors offers some tolerance against these two problems. Hence the redundancy analysis of the sensor system is essential in order to clearly know the robustness of the system against these two problems. The degree of sensor redundancy defined in this thesis is closely tied with the fault-tolerance of the sensor network and can be viewed as a parameter related to the effectiveness of the sensor system design. In this thesis, an efficient algorithm to determine the degree of sensor redundancy for linear sensor systems is developed. First the redundancy structure is linked with the matroid structure, developed from the design matrix, using the matroid theory. The matroid problem equivalent to the degree of sensor redundancy is developed and the mathematical formulation for it is established. The solution is obtained by solving a series of l1-norm minimization problems. For many problems tested, the proposed algorithm is more efficient than other known alternatives such as basic exhaustive search and bound and decomposition method. The proposed algorithm is tested on problem instances from the literature and wide range of simulated problems. The results show that the algorithm determines the degree of redundancy more accurately when the design matrix is dense than when it is sparse. The algorithm provided accurate results for most problems in relatively short computation times.

The present body of research examined adult bilinguals who acquired a second language (L2) from an early age and who subsequently developed language dominance in that language. The question investigated is whether such "early L2-dominant bilinguals" attain a native level of proficiency in their second language. This possibility was explored by comparing bilinguals who had Cantonese L1 (logographic, morphosyllabic), Vietnamese L1 (alphabetic, morphosyllabic) or some "Other" L1 (alphabetic, non-morphosyllabic) to English monolinguals on various tasks in English (L2). The ability to process spoken stimuli was examined using phoneme deletion, spelling-to-dictation, and auditory comprehension tasks. The results showed that bilinguals from all backgrounds had greater difficulty than monolinguals on tasks that required sublexical skills, with the morphosyllabic groups performing the most poorly. The processing of print was investigated using reading aloud and reading comprehension tasks. In contrast to the auditory tasks, only Cantonese L1 bilinguals displayed any discernable difference from monolinguals on reading. Cantonese L1 bilinguals did, however, outperform monolinguals on orthographic memory tasks, such as the spelling of idiosyncratic L2 words. The findings therefore indicated that L1 linguistic structure influences L2 processing in adulthood, despite the former having become subordinate. In order to elucidate whether transfer effects arise solely from early exposure to L1, or whether L1 maintenance also plays a role, the L1 and L2 proficiency of a separate sample of Cantonese L1 bilinguals was examined. However, no meaningful relationship between L1 and L2 proficiency was found. Finally, a sample of late bilinguals were also tested in order to determine whether the L1-specific effects observed in early bilinguals are simply an attenuated version of those in late bilinguals,. The results revealed that the development of language dominance in L2 does lead to qualitatively different outcomes in L2 for early bilinguals. The findings from the present research are most consistent with the Competition Model (e.g., Hernandez, Li, & MacWhinney, 2005), which espouses the notions of L1 transfer and entrenchment to explain second language acquisition. Overall, the research indicates that native attainment in L2 is not assured for all early L2-dominant bilinguals.

En TAO des ondes sont transmises dans le milieu marin conduisant à l'observation de plusieurs versions du signal émis diversement atténuées et retardées. On s'intéresse ici au problème de l'estimation de ces temps de retard. Les méthodes de type maximum de vraisemblance présentent l'inconvénient de nécessiter la connaissance a priori du nombre de trajets et sont sensibles à une mauvaise initialisation des paramètres. Afin de s'affranchir de ces limitations, on propose une approche bayésienne basée sur la prise en compte d'une information a priori concernant les amplitudes des trajets reçus. On propose alors 2 méthodes différentes de déconvolution. La première utilise comme information la sortie d'un récepteur quadratique et conduit à la minimisation d'un critère simple et de faible complexité. Dans la seconde méthode proposée, le signal est observé après le filtrage adapté. On introduit un modèle Bernoulli Gaussien et le problème est résolu en utilisant des simulations de Monte-Carlo. La mise en œuvre de ces deux méthodes sur des données réelles impose de prendre en compte les distorsions subies par le signal au niveau des transducteurs d'émission et de réception et éventuellement lors de la propagation. On indique comment cette méconnaissance de la forme d'onde peut être résolue et on met en évidence l'amélioration des résultats obtenus par cette prise en compte. Enfin, l'évolution modérée des temps de retard du canal de propagation entre des mesures successives permet d'envisager après la déconvolution trace par trace un traitement bidimensionnel de l'image obtenue en juxtaposant les traces déconvoluées successives. L'intérêt principal de la méthode ainsi obtenue est de ne pas considérer le nombre de trajets de la propagation constant. L'ensemble des méthodes développées est testé sur des données synthétiques, puis sur 2 types de données réelles.

Les modèles de turbulence de type Navier-Stokes en moyenne de Reynolds (RANS) au premier ordre sont étudiés dans cette thèse. Ils sont constitués des équations de Navier-Stokes, auxquelles on adjoint un système d'équations de bilan pour des échelles scalaires caractéristiques de la turbulence. L'évaluation de celles-ci permet, grâce à une relation algébrique, de calculer une viscosité additionnelle dite "turbulente", modélisant la contribution de l'agitation turbulente dans les équations de Navier-Stokes. Les problèmes d'analyse numérique abordés se placent dans le contexte d'un algorithme à pas fractionnaire constitué d'une approximation, sur un maillage régulier, des équations de Navier-Stokes par éléments finis non-conformes de Crouzeix-Raviart, ainsi que d'un ensemble d'équations de bilan de la turbulence de type convection-diffusion, discrétisées par la méthode de volumes finis standard. Un schéma numérique basé sur une discrétisation de volumes finis, permettant de préserver la positivité des échelles turbulentes telles que l'énergie cinétique turbulente (k) et son taux de dissipation (ε), est ainsi proposé dans le cas des modèles k − ε standard, k − ε RNG et leur extension k − ε − v2 − f. La convergence du schéma numérique proposé est ensuite étudiée sur un problème modèle constitué des équations de Stokes incompressibles et d'une équation de convection-diffusion stationnaires, couplées par les viscosités et le terme de production turbulente. Il permet d'aborder la difficulté principale de l'analyse d'un tel problème : l'expression du terme de production turbulente amène à considérer, pour les équations de bilan de la turbulence, un problème de convection-diffusion avec second membre appartenant à L1. Enfin, afin d'aborder le problème instationnaire, on montre la convergence du schéma de volumes finis pour une équation de convection-diffusion modèle avec second membre appartenant à L1. Les estimations a priori de la solution et de sa dérivée en temps sont obtenues dans des normes discrètes dont les espaces correspondants ne sont pas duaux. Un résultat de compacité plus général que le théorème de Kolmogorov usuel, qui se pose comme un équivalent discret du Lemme d'Aubin-Simon, est alors proposé et permet de conclure à la convergence dans L1 d'une suite de solutions discrètes.

<p>Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur väl tvåspråkiga elever i årskurs 9 behärskade vanligt förekommande idiomatiska uttryck i skrivet språk. Tre faktorer som enligt tidigare studier visat sig påverka idiomförståelse är; semantisk transparens, om uttrycket står i en kontext samt tidigare kännedom om uttrycket. Läsförmågan kontrollerades med ett standardiserat avkodnings- och läsförståelsetest, och idiomförståelsen testades utifrån ett test med 45, främst transparenta frekventa idiomatiska uttryck, isolerade respektive i en kontext. Resultaten visade att typ av tvåspråkighet och nivå på läskunnighet påverkade idiomförståelsen. De successivt tvåspråkiga med svenska som andraspråk klarade inte av att använda kontexten vid tolkningen i lika hög grad som de simultant tvåspråkiga och successivt tvåspråkiga med svenska som förstaspråk. Däremot presterade båda grupperna bäst vid tolkningen av idiomatiska uttryck som de hade kännedom om sedan tidigare. Enligt utvecklingsmodellen, global elaboration model (GEM) börjar utvecklingsprocessen för figurativ kompetens i 8 årsåldern hos enspråkiga barn. Enligt resultaten i denna studie kunde successivt tvåspråkiga med svenska som andraspråk i årskurs 9 jämföras med enspråkiga barn i 7-8 årsåldern, medan gruppen med simultant tvåspråkiga och successivt tvåspråkiga med svenska som förstaspråk, kunde jämföras med enspråkiga barn mellan 9-12 år.</p>

<p>El presente estudio versa sobre el análisis de errores de un grupo de suecos aprendientes de español como segunda lengua. El análisis trata de explorar si el tiempo de estadía en el país de la lengua meta, juega un papel significativo en la frecuencia de errores lingüísticos. Para este efecto, se analizaron las transcripciones de un ejercicio narrativo hecho por los aprendientes, para luego determinar los errores gramaticales y léxicos más frecuentes. Además de los aprendientes también se constó de un grupo de nativos monolingües de español quienes también hicieron el mismo ejercicio narrativo. El método de análisis en este trabajo es de tipo cuantitativo y como herramienta de análisis se utilizaron el t-test y el test correlacional Pearson. El t-test ayuda a determinar si la diferencia entre los dos grupos es suficientemente grande y significativa. El test correlacional Pearson ayuda a determinar la correlación entre el total de errores y el tiempo de estadía.</p><p>Las preguntas de investigación responden a dos preguntas: las diferencias entre nativos y aprendientes en lo que se refiere a los errores lingüísticos que comente y el papel que desempeña el tiempo de estadía en la frecuencia de errores cometidos. Seguido a estas preguntas se plantean dos hipótesis: los aprendientes cometen más errores que los nativos, y el tiempo de estadía juega un papel importante en este comportamiento en el sentido de que mientras más tiempo se lleva en el ámbito L2 menos errores lingüísticos se deben cometer.</p><p>Los resultados del análisis indican que el tiempo de estadía no presenta mayor efecto en la frecuencia de errores que los aprendientes cometen.</p>

<p>L1 syndrome is an X-linked recessive disorder, characterised by congenital hydrocephalus, adducted thumbs, spastic paraplegia, agenesis of the corpus callosum and mental retardation. The disease is caused by mutations in the L1CAM gene, encoding a protein predominantly expressed in the nervous system. This protein has been implicated in a variety of processes including neuronal migration, neurite outgrowth and fasciculation, myelination, and long-term memory formation.</p><p>L1 syndrome was suspected at genetic counselling of a family with a boy suffering from congenital hydrocephalus and mental retardation. Complete sequencing of L1CAM, performed by an external laboratory, revealed a novel mutation in the family, including a boy, affected with L1 syndrome, his sister, his mother and his maternal grandmother.</p><p>To verify this mutation and to be able to detect mutations in the L1CAM gene locally in the future, a method for mutational analysis of this gene was set up using PCR optimisation and cycle sequencing.</p><p>Sequencing of L1CAM was then performed on DNA samples from the four family members and the mutation was verified. A point mutation (c.3458-1G>C) in the 5’ splice site of exon 26 was detected in all of them. This new, not previously described, mutation is supposed to cause a deletion of the 26th exon and a frameshift in the part of the protein encoded by exons 27 and 28. This means that almost the entire cytoplasmic domain of the protein would have a loss of function, explaining the symptoms affecting the boy.</p>

<p>Abstract: This paper is based on a qualitative investigation concerning the effect of errors on the intelligibility of learner texts and whether there are some errors that can be considered graver than others. The investigation was based on five student texts that were collected at an upper secondary school in the Swedish province of Värmland. The texts were sent to five native speaker evaluators in Britain and the United States of America. The errors represented were categorized as followed: substance, grammar, word choice, transfer errors and other errors.The results indicate that errors concerning substance, word choice, other errors and grammar were not considered grave. Concerning the grammatical errors, there were only a small number of cases that were considered grave. Therefore, the conclusion was drawn that grammatical errors do not affect the intelligibility of any of the five texts. However, the results from the investigation show that transfer errors, i.e. when the writer has transferred characteristics from the first language to the target language, were considered affecting the intelligibility to a larger extent than errors belonging to the other categories.</p>

The role of the first language (L1) has been generally acknowledged as having important implications for young immigrants linguistic, educational, socio-cultural, intellectual, career, and identity development (e.g., Cummins, 2001; Guardado, 2002; Kim 2006; Kouritzin, 1999). In this case study I investigated the first language maintenance and attrition of three young adults who had immigrated to Canada as children from mainland China and Taiwan. Two questions were addressed: (a) What linguistic elements were maintained and eroded in the participants heritage language? and (b) What social and psychological factors contributed to the participants L1 maintenance and attrition? The data were collected through self-evaluation questionnaires, translation tasks and open-ended interviews both in English and Mandarin. Using a combination of life stories describing the participants personal linguistic and social experiences in Canada and the results of linguistic assessments through different tasks, the study provides a detailed examination of the phenomenon of L1 maintenance and attrition among young adult immigrants from China. The findings of this study indicate that the three participants took distinct routes resulting in differential outcomes in their first language maintenance and attrition. Ethnic and cultural identity, and language attitudes and beliefs were identified as important internal factors. School discourse including teachers attitudes towards immigrants L1, peer influences and access to planned L1 educational activities both at home and in the school system were important external factors affecting the participants L1 maintenance and attrition. The results provide support for the view that a collaborative, inclusive approach to education that involves not only immigrant students, but also their families, educational systems, and society in general facilitates young immigrants bilingualism and acculturation.

This thesis investigates the computation of piecewise polynomial solutions to ill- conditioned linear systems of equations when noise on the linear measurements is observed. Specifically, we enhance our understanding of and provide qualifications on when such ill-conditioned systems of equations can be solved to a satisfactory accuracy. We show that the conventional condition number of the coefficient matrix is not sufficiently informative in this regard and propose a more relevant conditioning measure that takes into account the decay rate of singular values. We also discuss interactions of several factors affecting the solvability of such systems, including the number of discontinuities in solutions, as well as the distribution of nonzero entries in sparse matrices. In addition, we construct and test an approach for computing piecewise polynomial solutions of highly ill-conditioned linear systems using a randomized, SVD-based truncation, and L1-norm regularization. The randomized truncation is a stabilization technique that helps reduce the cost of the traditional SVD truncation for large and severely ill-conditioned matrices. For L1-minimization, we apply a solver based on the Alternating Direction Method. Numerical results are presented to compare our approach that is faster and can solve larger problems, called RTL1 (randomized truncation L1-minimization), with a well-known solver PP-TSVD.