Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:36:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CrhistianeAS.pdf: 3837481 bytes, checksum: 1e934fe40afea6283d1a23747a0954ea (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-09-06 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / The principal zeitgeber for most of species is the light-dark photocycle (LD), though other environment factors as food availability, temperature and social cues may act. Daily adjustment of the circadian pacemaker may result from integration of environmental photic and non-photic cues with homeostatic cues. Characterization of non-photic effects on circadian timing system in diurnal mammals is scarce in relation to nocturnal, especially for ecologically significant cues. Thus, we analyzed the effect of conspecific vocalizations and darkness on circadian activity rhythm (CAR) in the diurnal primate Callithirx jacchus. With this objective 7 male adults were isolated in a room with controlled illumination, temperature (26,8 ? 0,2?C) and humidity (81,6 ? 3,6%), and partial acoustic isolation. Initially they were under LD 12:12 (~300:2 lux), and subsequently under constant illumination (~2 lux). Two pulses of conspecific vocalizations were applied in total darkness, separated by 22 days, at 7:30 h (external time) during 1 h. They induced phase delays at circadian times (CTs) 1 and 10 and predominantly phase advances at CTs 9 and 15. After that, two dark pulses were applied, separated by 14 days, during 1 h at 7:30 h (external time). These pulses induced phase delays at CTs 2, 3 and 18, predominantly phase advances at CTs 8, 10 and 19, and no change at CT 14. However, marmosets CAR showed oscillations in endogenous period and active phase duration influenced by vocalizations from animals outside the experimental room, which interfered on the phase responses to pulses. Furthermore, social masking and relative coordination with colony were observed. Therefore, phase responses obtained in this work cannot be attributed only to pulses. Afterwards, pulses of conspecific vocalizations were applied in total darkness at 19:00 h (external time), during 1 h for 5 consecutive days, and after 21 days, for 30 consecutive days, on attempt to synchronize the CAR. No animal was synchronized by these daily pulses, although oscillations in endogenous period were observed for all. This result may be due to habituation. Other possibility is the absence of social significance of the vocalizations for the animals due to random reproduction, since each vocalization has a function that could be lost by a mixture of sounds. In conclusion, conspecific vocalizations induce social masking and relative coordination in marmosets CAR, acting as weak zeitgeber / O principal zeitgeber para a maioria das esp?cies ? o ciclo claro-escuro (CE), por?m outros fatores ambientais como disponibilidade de alimento, temperatura e pistas sociais podem atuar. O ajuste di?rio do marcapasso circadiano deve resultar da integra??o de pistas ambientais, f?ticas e n?o-f?ticas, com pistas homeost?ticas. Como a caracteriza??o do efeito de est?mulos n?o-f?ticos sobre o sistema de temporiza??o circadiano em mam?feros diurnos ? escassa em rela??o aos noturnos, principalmente em rela??o a pistas com significado ecol?gico, analisamos o efeito de vocaliza??es de co-espec?ficos e do escuro sobre o ritmo circadiano de atividade motora (RCA) do primata diurno Callithrix jacchus. Com esse objetivo, foram isolados 7 machos adultos em uma sala com ilumina??o, temperatura (26,8 ? 0,2?C) e umidade (81,6 ? 3,6%) controladas e isolamento ac?stico parcial. Inicialmente os animais ficaram sob CE 12:12 (~300:2 lux) e posteriormente sob claro constante (~2 lux). Foram aplicados dois pulsos de vocaliza??es de co-espec?ficos em escuro total, com um intervalo de 22 dias, ?s 7:30 h (hor?rio local) durante 1 h. Esses pulsos desencadearam atrasos de fase nas horas circadianas (HCs) 1 e 10 e predominantemente avan?os de fase nas HCs 9 e 15. Depois foram aplicados dois pulsos de escuro, com um intervalo de 14 dias, ?s 7:30 h (hor?rio local) durante 1 h. Esses pulsos desencadearam atrasos de fase nas HCs 2, 3 e 18, predominantemente avan?os de fase nas HCs 8, 10 e 19, e nenhuma resposta na HC 14. Contudo, o RCA dos sag?is apresentou modula??es no per?odo end?geno e na dura??o da fase ativa por influ?ncia de vocaliza??es emitidas pelos animais de fora da sala, que interferiram nas respostas aos pulsos. Inclusive, foram observados mascaramento social positivo e coordena??o relativa com a col?nia. Portanto, as respostas de fase obtidas nesse trabalho n?o podem ser atribu?das apenas aos pulsos. Posteriormente foram aplicados pulsos de vocaliza??es de co-espec?ficos em escuro total ?s 19 h (hor?rio local), durante 1 h por 5 dias consecutivos, e ap?s 21 dias, por 30 dias consecutivos, para sincronizar o RCA. Nenhum animal sincronizou o RCA aos pulsos di?rios, embora tenham ocorrido modula??es no per?odo end?geno de todos. Esse resultado pode ter sido decorrente de habitua??o ao est?mulo. Outra possibilidade ? a falta de significado social para os animais devido ? reprodu??o aleat?ria das vocaliza??es, visto que cada vocaliza??o tem uma fun??o que pode ter sido perdida com a mistura dos sons. Concluindo, vocaliza??es de co-espec?ficos induzem mascaramento social e coordena??o relativa no RCA de sag?is, atuando como zeitgebers fracos

A utilização do mascaramento contralateral durante a pesquisa do potencial evocado auditivo de tronco encefálico é uma temática bastante discutida, visto a inexistência de um consenso na literatura acerca de sua necessidade. O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar a necessidade do uso do mascaramento contralateral no potencial evocado auditivo de tronco encefálico com estímulo tone burst apresentado com fone de inserção 3A e propor a aplicabilidade do ruído mascarador white noise na perda auditiva sensorioneural unilateral de graus severo ou profundo. Foram avaliados 15 indivíduos, de ambos os sexos, com o diagnóstico audiológico prévio de perda auditiva sensorioneural unilateral de graus severo ou profundo, com idades entre 2 a 40 anos. Para tanto, foi pesquisada a resposta neural definida pela presença da onda V na orelha com perda auditiva, nas frequências de 500, 1000, 2000 e 4000 Hz. Nos casos em que houve o registro, a pesquisa foi repetida com mascaramento white noise na orelha contralateral. Os registros foram analisados por dois juízes experientes em eletrofisiologia, a fim de verificar a concordância entre as análises. O Coeficiente Kappa (1,00) apresentou força de concordância quase perfeita e o de Correlação Intraclasse (1,00) foi excelente, entre as duas avaliadoras, em todas as análises. Como resultado, foi observada a audição cruzada, ao menos uma vez, em todas as frequências analisadas. Os níveis de mascaramento contralateral mínimos necessários para eliminar a participação da orelha não testada variaram de 10 a 20 dBnNA acima do limiar eletrofisiológico da orelha sem perda auditiva. Não foi possível realizar a análise para a frequência de 500 Hz devido à presença de artefato e ruído elétricos. Conclui-se que o uso do mascaramento contralateral no potencial evocado auditivo de tronco encefálico com estímulo tone burst apresentado com fone de inserção 3A é necessário nas frequências de 1000, 2000 e 4000 Hz em indivíduos com perda auditiva sensorioneural unilateral de graus severo ou profundo, nas intensidades de 15, 20 e 10 dB acima dos limiares eletrofisiológicos, respectivamente. / The use of contralateral masking on the investigation of auditory brainstem response is a topic widely discussed, however there is no consensus in literature about its necessity. The aim of this study was to verify the need of using masking in auditory brainstem response with tone burst stimulus presented with 3A insert earphones and to propose the applicability of white noise masking in severe or profound unilateral sensorineural hearing loss. Fifteen individuals of both genders with previous audiological diagnosis of severe or profound unilateral sensorineural hearing loss, aged between 2 to 40 years, were evaluated. For this, the neural response, which is defined by the presence of the V wave in the ear with hearing loss, was investigated in frequencies of 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz. In cases where there was a record, the search was repeated using white noise masking in the contralateral ear. The records were analyzed by two judges experienced in electrophysiology, in order to verify the concordance between the analyses. The Kappa coefficient (1.00) had almost perfect agreement strength and the Intraclass Correlation (1.00) was excellent between the two evaluators in all analyses. As a result, cross-audition was observed at least once in all analyzed frequencies. The minimum contralateral masking levels required to eliminate the untested ear involvement varied from 10 to 20 dBnNA above the electrophysiological threshold of the ear without hearing loss. It was not possible to perform the analysis for the frequency of 500 Hz due to the presence of electrical artifact and noise. It is concluded that the use of contralateral masking in the auditory brainstem response with tone burst stimulus presented with 3A insert earphone is necessary in frequencies of 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz in individuals with severe or profound unilateral sensorineural hearing loss in intensities of 15, 20 and 10 dB above the electrophysiological thresholds, respectively.

Este trabalho apresenta uma metodologia de classificação de imagens multiespectrais aplicada a análise e mapeamento da evolução do uso da terra/cobertura vegetal em São Félix do Xingu, Sul do Pará. Imagens frações representando as proporções de sombra, vegetação e solo foram estimadas a partir das bandas 1 a 5 e 7 do Landsat-5 TM e relacionadas com as estruturas das classes de uso da terra/cobertura vegetal. As imagens frações geradas do modelo linear de mistura espectral foram importantes para reduzir a massa de dados e ao mesmo tempo realçar alvos de interesse na imagem. A banda do infravermelho próximo (TM-4) foi importante para realçar áreas de queimadas. A classificação adotada foi divida em etapas combinando técnica de segmentação por crescimento de regiões e uso de máscaras. Por meio da máscara foi possível restringir o processo de segmentação em regiões pré-estabelecidas com o intuito de adquirir um melhor particionamento da imagem. Adotando este procedimento, ao invés de realizar uma única segmentação para mapear todas as classes em uma única vez, foram realizadas várias segmentações ao longo das etapas. As regiões segmentadas foram agrupadas com um classificador não-supervionado batizado de ISOSEG. Os resultados mostram que a metodologia é bastante eficiente. A matriz de erro gerada para a classificação de 2008 apontou que as confusões mais freqüentes ocorreram entre as classes que apresentaram em certas localidades proporções de misturas parecidas: Capoeira e Campo/Pastagem-2; Campo/Pastagem-1 e Campo/Pastagem-2; Queimada-1 e Queimada-2; Solo Exposto e Campo/Pastagem-1. Considerando nove classes, o índice Kappa atingiu 0,58, o que representa um valor de concordância classificada como moderada. Quando o numero de classes foi reduzido para 6, agrupando as classes que apresentaram as maiores confusões, o índice Kappa subiu para 0,80, atingindo um valor de concordância quase perfeita. A comparação dos resultados das classificações de 1987, 1992, 2000 e 2008 juntamente com a analise de dados auxiliares permitiu traçar um modelo de evolução do desmatamento e do uso da terra para São Félix do Xingu. O intenso desmatamento observado principalmente a partir de 2000 foi relacionado com o incremento da atividade pecuária, sendo São Félix do Xingu o município que detém atualmente o segundo maior rebanho bovino do País. / In this work we present a methodological procedure for multi-spectral images classification to evaluate and map land-use and land-cover changes in São Félix do Xingu, Southern Pará (Brazilian Amazon). Fraction images representing shade, vegetation and soil abundance at the pixel scale were estimated using all six reflective bands of Thematic Mapper sensor (TM-1 to TM-5 and TM-7) and related to different types of land-use and land-cover classes. The linear spectral mixing analysis method was an alternative approach adopted to reduce the data-dimensionality while at the same time enhancing targets of interest. Also, the near-infrared band (TM-4) was employed to separate areas affected by burns (Queimadas in Portuguese). The classification routines were performed in stages by combining region-growing segmentation and use of masking techniques. For each stage, the segmentation process was directed to preselected areas by masking techniques in order to obtain a better image partitioning. This procedure resulted in more than one segmentation thereby reducing confusing errors during the classification routine. An unsupervised classifier by region named ISOSEG was employed to classify the segmented images. The analysis of classification results was mainly qualitative and visual except for the 2008 classification which was assessed through an error matrix. According to the error matrix analysis, misclassifications arose more frequently when a set of classes with similar mixture proportions were involved, such as: Capoeira and Campo/Pastagem-2; Campo/Pastagem-1 and Campo/Pastagem- 2; Queimada-1 and Queimada-2, and finally Bare Soil and Campo/Pastagem-1. As a robust measure of concordance for dichotomous data, the kappa statistic reached a value of 0.62 by considering nine land types of classes and it rose to 0.80 when the mapping classes were diminished to six. Theses kappa values represent moderate and strong agreements between the remotely sensed classification and the reference data, respectively. Making use of the classification results from 1987, 1992, 2000 and 2008 and auxiliary data, we tried to design a simple land evolution model to São Félix do Xingu. The deforestation process notably intensified since 2000 has been driven mainly by a continuous increase in cattle breeding, for wich São Félix do Xingu has the second-largest cattle herd of all Brazilian municipalities.

Dans la dernière décennie, les autorités de santé ont promulgué une réglementation pédiatrique orientée sur le développement et la disponibilité des formulations adaptées à l'âge, la taille, l'état physiologique et les besoins de la population pédiatrique. Généralement, l'administration de médicaments par la voie orale est toujours préférée aux autres voies d'administration car elle est pratique, économique et bien acceptée. Au cours des dernières années, de nouvelles formulations solides ont été développés comme par exemple les comprimés orodispersibles car ils sont faciles à administrer, ne nécessitent pas d'eau et, dès lors que la dispersion est rapide, la biodisponibilité du médicament peut être significativement supérieure à celle observée avec les comprimés classiques offrant ainsi des solutions alternatives pour les enfants. D’autre part, les mini-granules présentent de nombreux avantages par rapport aux formes galéniques solides unitaires car ils se dispersent à travers le tractus gastro-intestinal, réduisant ainsi l'irritation locale du principe actif, et permettent l'amélioration de l'absorption du médicament ainsi que la diminution des fluctuations de concentration plasmatique. De plus, avec ces formes multiparticulaires, il est possible de contrôler la vitesse de libération du médicament, ce qui réduit les effets indésirables. Quelques études ont porté sur la compression des mini-granules non enrobés, ce qui pourraient limiter les problèmes pendant la compression comparativement aux mini-granules enrobés pour lesquels l’enrobage pourrait être détruit.L'objectif global de ce travail était de développer un comprimé multiparticulaire orodispersible (MUP-ODT) qui permet la libération contrôlée d'acétaminophène (APAP), utilisé comme principe actif modèle, contenue dans les mini-granules des comprimés orodispersibles.La première partie a déterminé les propriétés mécaniques des mini-granules d’APAP obtenus par la technique d’extrusion-sphéronisation en contenant différents types d'excipients et différents pourcentages de principe actif pour produire un système matriciel à libération contrôlée.La seconde partie de cette étude a examiné la faisabilité de comprimer des mini-granules non enrobés à base de cellulose microcristalline (MCC) dans différentes formulations orodispersibles et d’étudier l'influence du pourcentage de mini-granules, le type de désagrégant et la force de compression.La troisième partie a été dédiée à la production des MUP-ODTs qui permettent la libération contrôlée d’APAP en utilisant différents pourcentages d’Eudragit® pour créer un système matriciel sans changement significatif dans le profil de libération après la compression.Enfin, dans la dernière partie, un plan d'expérience a été effectué pour déterminer les paramètres optimaux pour produire les MUP-ODTs. L'évaluation du masquage de goût a été réalisée par la langue électronique et la méthode de dissolution à l'aide d'une pompe à seringues qui utilise de fiables volumes de milieu afin de simuler le comportement dans la bouche d’un enfant. Plusieurs polymères ont été utilisés avec succès pour produire des mini-granules d’APAP de type matriciel avec différents pourcentages de principe actif. Les MUP-ODTs ont été obtenus en montrant la faisabilité de leur production et l’obtention de bonnes propriétés mécaniques. Ils permettent la désagrégation très rapide et la possibilité de libération modifiée, tout en offrant une déglutition facile pour un enfant et une flexibilité de posologie. / In the last decade, medical agencies have promoted a pediatric regulatory focusing on the development and availability of age-appropriate formulations suitable for age, size, physiological condition and treatment requirements for the pediatric population. In general, oral drug delivery is still preferred over the other drug delivery routes since it is convenient, economical and user friendly. In recent years, a number of new solid oral drug delivery platforms such as orodispersible tablets have been developed as they are easy to administer, do not require additional water and, as long as dispersion is rapid, the bioavailability of the drug can be significantly greater than those observed in conventional tablet dosage forms offering a potential alternative for pediatric patients. In parallel, multiparticulate products present many advantages compared to single-unit dosage forms as they distribute fast through the gastrointestinal tract, thus reducing local irritation caused by the active ingredient, enhancing drug absorption and decreasing fluctuation of plasma peaks. Moreover, it is possible to control the drug release rate, resulting in fewer adverse effects. Only few studies have dealt with the compaction of uncoated pellets, which potentially could provide fewer problems during compaction than coated pellets, in particular by reducing damages on the coating.The overall objective of this study was to develop a Multiple-Unit Pellet Orodispersible Tablet (MUP-ODT) allowing for the controlled release of acetaminophen (APAP), used as a model drug, which is contained in the pellets of the orodispersible tablets.The first part determined the mechanical properties of APAP pellets produced by the extrusion-spheronization technique containing different types of excipients and different drug load percentages to produce a controlled release matrix system.The second part of this study examined the feasibility to compress uncoated free drug MCC pellets with different orodispersible formulations to assess the influence of the percentage of pellets, type of disintegrants and compression force.The third part was dedicated to produce MUP-ODTs which allowing for controlled-release of APAP using different percentages of Eudragit® to create the matrix system without significant changes in the release profile after compression.Finally, a design of experiments was carried out to determinate the optimal parameters to produce MUP-ODTs.Taste-masking evaluation was realized using the electronic tongue. Dissolution test was performed using a syringe pump and small volumes of aqueous medium at low flow rates to mimic the behavior in the mouth of the child.Different polymers were successfully used to produce APAP matrix pellets with different drug loadings. MUP-ODTs were successfully obtained demonstrating their feasible production with good mechanical properties. They enable very fast disintegration and modified release properties, but also offer easy swallowing for children and dose flexibility.

Human hearing is to collect information from the outside world and is one of the basic human senses. Part of this thesis is devoted to acoustics, properties of the human ear in terms of perception of sounds and methods, which human ears are investigating. Audiometer is an instrument which is most often used in healthcare. The main content of this thesis is to design pure tone audiometer, which is important for the subjective tests of human hearing non-invasive method.

This thesis deals with the principles of network traffic obfuscation, in order to avoid its detection by the Intrusion Detection System installed in the network. At the beginning of the work, reader is familiarized with the fundamental principle of the basic types of IDS and introduced into the matter of obfuscation techniques, that serve as stepping stone in order to create our own library, whose design is described in the last part of the work. The outcome of the work is represented by a library, that provides all the implemented techniques for further use. The library can be well utilized in penetration testing of the new systems or used by the attacker.

Background. The awareness of cyber attacks in businesses is increasing with the rising number of cyber incidents for businesses. With nearly 350 000 new malware detected per day, there is a big incentive to allocate resources to company infrastructure to mitigate malware. These solutions require scalability not to become bottlenecks and expensive. Therefore, to combat malware, automated solutions have been developed. The automated solutions comprises isolated virtual environments (sandbox), automated analysis, and reports. As a response from malware developers, malware has evolved to become aware of its environment, which has led to an arms race between malware developers and analysts. Objectives. In this thesis, we study how malware can identify sandbox environments and attempt to find appropriate values for masking system information (features). Methods. First, we research previous techniques to identify sandbox environments and consult with Windows environment experts from Truesec. We found 179 features to examine. Then, we gather a dataset of 2448 non-sandbox samples and 77 sandbox samples with a probing method. We use the statistical test Mann-Whitney U-test to identify features that differ between the dataset's groups. We conduct masking on a dataset level and evaluate it with a method similar to k-fold cross-validation using a random forest classifier. Furthermore, we analyze each feature's ability to detect sandboxes with the feature importance calculated by the Mean Decrease in Impurity (MDI). Results. We found 156 out of 179 features that reveal sandbox environments. Which seven out of those features could independently expose sandboxes, i.e., it was possible to classify all sandboxes and non-sandboxes with only one of them. The masking evaluation indicates that our proposed methods are effective at masking the sandboxes. The results of the feature importance showed that Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) is an ideal source of information when it comes to exposing sandbox environments. Conclusions. Based on the result, we conclude that various values can expose a sandbox. Furthermore, we conclude that our method to find masking values is adequate and the proposed masking methods successfully masks sandbox samples. Lastly, we conclude that there needs to be a change of focus from evasion techniques to masking implementations in the research field. / Bakgrund. Medvetenheten om cyberattacker i företag ökar med det ökande antalet cyberincidenter mot företag. Med nästan 350 000 nya skadliga program som upptäcks per dag, finns det ett stort incitament att allokera resurser till företagets infrastruktur för att motarbeta denna typ av attack. Dessa lösningar kräver skalbarhet för att inte bli flaskhalsar och dyra. Därför har automatiserade lösningar utvecklats för att bekämpa skadlig programvara. De automatiserade lösningarna omfattar isolerade virtuella miljöer (sandlådor), automatiserad analys och rapporter. Som ett svar från utvecklare av skadlig programvara har skadlig programvara utvecklats till att bli medveten om sin miljö, vilket har lett till en kapprustning mellan utvecklare av skadlig programvara och analytiker. Syfte. I den här artikeln studerar vi hur skadlig programvara kan identifiera sandlådemiljöer och försöka hitta lämpliga värden för att maskera systeminformation (parametrar). Metod. Först undersöker vi tidigare tekniker för att identifiera sandlådemiljöer och rådgör med Windows-miljöexperter från Truesec. Vi hittade 179 parametrar att undersöka. Sedan samlar vi en datauppsättning med 2448 icke-sandlådeprover och 77 sandlådeprover med en sonderingsmetod. Vi använder det statistiska testet Mann-Whitney U-test för att identifiera parametrar som skiljer sig åt mellan datamängdens grupper. Vi utför maskering på datauppsättningsnivå och utvärderar den med en metod som liknar k-faldig korsvalidering med hjälp av en random forest klassificerare. Vidare analyserar vi hur viktig varje parameter är för klassificeraren för att utvärdera parametrarnas förmåga att avslöja sandlådor. Resultat. Vi hittade 156 av 179 parametrar som avslöjar sandlådemiljöer. Vilka sju av dessa parametrar kunde oberoende avslöja sandlådor, det vill säga det var möjligt att klassificera alla sandlådor och icke-sandlådor med endast en av dem. Maskeringsutvärderingen indikerar att våra föreslagna metoder är effektiva för att maskera sandlådorna. Resultaten av viktigheten för parametrarna visade att Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) är en ideal informationskälla när det gäller att exponera sandlådemiljöer. Slutsatser. Baserat på resultatet drar vi slutsatsen att olika värden kan exponera en sandlåda. Dessutom drar vi slutsatsen att vår metod för att hitta maskeringsvärden är adekvat och de föreslagna maskeringsmetoderna maskerar framgångsrikt sandlådeprover. Slutligen drar vi slutsatsen att det måste ske en förändring av fokus från undanflyktstekniker till maskeringsimplementeringar inom forskningsfältet.

Cette thèse a pour ambition d’explorer d’un point de vue théorique et applicatif le paradigme de l’in-band enrichment. Emergence de la société des connaissances, le concept de média enrichi renvoie à toute association de métadonnée (textuelle, audiovisuelle, code exécutable) avec un média d’origine. Un tel principe peut être déployé dans une large variété d’applications comme la TVNi - Télévision Numérique interactive, les jeux ou la fouille des données. Le concept de l’inband enrichement conçu et développé par M. Mitrea et son équipe au Département ARTEMIS de Télécom SudParis, suppose que les données d’enrichissement sont insérées dans le contenu même à enrichir. Ainsi, un tel concept peut-il tirer parti de techniques de tatouage, dès lors que celles-ci démontrent qu’elles ont la capacité d’insérer la quantité d’information requise par ce nouveau type d’application : i.e. 10 à 1000 fois plus grande que celle nécessaire pour les enjeux d’authentification ou de protection de droit d’auteur. Si par tradition la marque est insérée dans le domaine non compressé, les contraintes relatives aux nombreuses applications émergentes (comme la VoD – Vidéo à la Demande ou la TVNi) font du tatouage en temps réel dans le domaine compressé un important défi théorique et applicatif. Cependant, le tatouage dans le domaine compressé est une alliance de mots contradictoires puisque la compression (élimination de la redondance) rend l’hôte plus sensible aux modifications et l’association hôte/marque, plus fragile / The present thesis, developed at Institut Télécom Télécom SudParis under the “Futur et Rupture” framework, takes the challenge of exploring from both theoretical and applicative points of views the in band enrichment paradigm. Emerged with the knowledge society, the enriched media refers to any type of association which may be established between some metadata (textual, audio, video, exe codes...) and a given original media. Such a concept is currently deployed in a large variety of applications like the iDTV (interactive Digital TV), games, data mining... The incremental notion of in band enrichment advanced at the ARTEMIS Department assumes that the enrichment data are directly inserted into the very original media to be enriched. In real life, in band enrichment can be supported by the watermarking technologies, assuming they afford a very large data payload, i.e. 10 to 1000 larger than the traditional copyright applications. The nowadays advent of the ubiquous media computing and storage applications imposes an additional constraint on the watermarking techniques: the enrichment data should be inserted into some compressed original media. A priori, such a requirement is a contradiction in terms, as compression eliminates the visual redundancy while the watermarking exploits the visual redundancy in order to imperceptibly insert the mark

L'entrée visuelle rétinienne est discontinue. D'une part les saccades causent un énorme mouvement de l'image sur la rétine 3 à 4 fois par seconde, qui devrait résulter en un floutage des hautes fréquences spatiales et une forte impression de mouvement. D'autre part, les clignements des yeux induisent une diminution temporaire drastique de la luminance toutes les 3 à 4 secondes. Dans des conditions de vision écologiques, ces conséquences visuelles des saccades et des clignements des yeux ne sont pas consciemment perçues et le monde extérieur semble continu et net : deux phénomènes que l'on peut désigner sous le terme d'omission saccadique et d'omission des clignements des yeux. Dans cette thèse, nous avons voulu mieux comprendre comment le système visuel s'accommode de ces interruptions et quels sont les mécanismes qui contribuent à la continuité perceptive autour des saccades et des clignements des yeux. Deux principaux éléments pourraient contribuer à ces omissions : l'entrée visuelle elle-même et un mécanisme extra-rétinien qui informerait le cerveau de l'interruption à venir qui agirait en modifiant le traitement de l'information autour des saccades et des clignements des yeux. Dans une première série d'expériences, nous avons étudié les caractéristiques du masquage du smear saccadique, c'est à dire dans quelle mesure la présence d'images pré et post saccadiques nettes permet de rendre compte de l'omission du smear saccadique. Plus précisément, nous avons élaboré une méthode de mesure objective du masquage du smear et examiné son étendue spatiale et son origine périphérique ou centrale. A l'aide de cette nouvelle méthode, nous avons répliqué les résultats de masquage du smear et mis en évidence que ce masquage a lieu après le site d'interaction binoculaire et résiste à des séparations spatiales entre smear et masque jusqu'à 6 deg. Dans une deuxième étude nous avons comparé la sensibilité à des réseaux sinusoïdaux de basse fréquence spatiale autour des saccades et en fixation lorsque l'entrée visuelle simule les conséquences visuelles des saccades. De plus, nous avons cherché à établir si la plus importante diminution de la sensibilité observée pour de vraies saccades en comparaison des saccades simulées peut être expliquée par les propriétés cinématiques des mouvements oculaires. L'objectif de la troisième étude était de déterminer si le masquage est suffisant pour rendre compte de l'absence de percept de mouvement autour des saccades. Pour ce faire, nous avons présenté en fixation, un stimulus dont le contenu fréquentiel est similaire à celui des scènes naturelles. Ce stimulus était présenté en mouvement avec un profil similaire à celui d'une saccade. Il pouvait être précédé et suivi de l'image statique avant et après le mouvement. Les résultats indiquent que l'amplitude du mouvement perçu diminue considérablement en présence des masques, sans toutefois annuler totalement tout percept de mouvement pour des longues durées de masques. Dans une dernière série d'études nous nous sommes intéressés à la perception de la durée autour des clignements des yeux. Dans la première expérience nous avons quantifié la contribution de la durée d'un clignement des yeux à la durée d'une période d'obscurité plus longue et dans la seconde expérience, nous avons étudié la perception de la durée d'un objet interrompu ou non par un clignement des yeux. Les résultats de ces deux expériences suggèrent l'implication d'un mécanisme extra-rétinien qui supprime la durée perçue de la période d'obscurité causée par les clignements des yeux mais pas la durée des objets visuels chevauchés par le clignement. Pris dans leur ensemble ces résultats précisent notre compréhension des contributions relatives des mécanismes rétiniens et extra-rétiniens à l'omission saccadique et l'omission des clignements des yeux. / The retinal input is discontinuous. On the one hand saccades, that occur 3-4 times a minute, cause a huge motion of the image on the retina that should result in smearing of the high frequencies of the image and perceived motion. On the other hand eye blinks induce drastic transient decreases in luminance every 3-4 seconds. Under real-world conditions, those visual consequences of saccades and blinks are barely noticed and the world appears continuous and sharp: two phenomena that can be referred to as saccadic and blink omission. In this thesis we were interested in understanding how the visual system deals with these interruptions and which mechanisms contribute to perceived continuity around saccades and blinks. Two main elements could contribute to those omissions: the visual input itself and an extra-retinal mechanism informing the brain of the impending interruption that would affect information processing around saccades and blinks. In a first series of experiments we studied the characteristics of masking of the saccadic smear, the extent to which clear and still pre- and post-saccadic images are responsible for the perceptual omission of saccadic smear. In particular, we designed an objective method to measure smear masking and studied its spatial extent and whether it is of peripheral or central origin. We replicated previous results of saccadic masking with this new method and found that smear masking seems to take place after the site of binocular interaction and survives separations between smear and mask as much as 6 deg. In a second study we compared sensitivity to low-frequency gratings around saccades and in fixation when the visual input simulates the visual consequences of saccades. Moreover we tried to determine whether the greater decrease in sensitivity around real, as compared to simulated, saccades that we found could be accounted for by the cinematic properties of the eye movement. The goal of the third study was to determine if masking was sufficient to explain the lack of perceived motion during saccades. To do that we presented, during fixation, a natural scene-like stimulus moving at saccadic speeds that could be preceded and followed by the initial or final static image. Results indicate that the amplitude of perceived motion considerably decreased in the presence of pre- and post-masks, even though motion was still perceived for long mask durations. In a final series of studies, we probed duration perception around blinks. In a first experiment we quantified the contribution of the duration of a blink to a longer period of darkness and in a second experiment we tested the perceived duration of an object interrupted or not by a blink. Results suggest the involvement of an extra-retinal mechanism that suppresses the perceived duration of the darkness caused by the blink, but not the duration of visual objects that straddle the blink. Taken together these results refine our understanding of the relative contributions of retinal and extra-retinal mechanisms to saccadic and blink omission.

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