This thesis presents an inspection method based on RGB-D profiling for the rail industry. The proposed approach uses inexpensive RGB-D cameras to generate color and geometrical information of the observations, and stitches each consecutive scan from the sensor to form a map, provided that the two scans contain the information from the same observation. Using a technique known as pairwise registration, the errors between these consecutive scans are minimized using error minimization algorithms such as Iterative Closest Point and Normal Distributions Transform. Once the error between each consecutive scan is minimized, the scans are then converted into a global co-ordinate frame work to form a global map of all the added scans. The proposed approach could be used as a map-based identification technique by comparing the past global map to newly acquired scans while also reducing computation time effectively. The effectiveness of this approach is demonstrated by developing a system that uses multiple RGB-D cameras to detect railway defects such as spikes. The applicability of the proposed approach to other applications is then evaluated by profiling long lengths of road. / Master of Science

Yes / With the increasing complexity of problems in the construction industry, researchers are investigating computationally rigorous intelligent systems with the aim of seeking intelligent solutions. The purpose of this paper is therefore to analyse the research published on ‘intelligent systems in the construction industry’ over the past two decades. This is achieved to observe and understand the historical trends and current patterns in the use of different types of intelligent systems and to exhibit potential directions of further research. Thus, to trace the applications of intelligent systems to research in the construction industry, a profiling approach is employed to analyse 514 publications extracted from the Scopus database. The prime value and uniqueness of this paper lies in analysing and compiling the existing published material by examining variables (such as yearly publications, geographic location of each publication, etc.). This has been achieved by synthesising existing publications using 14 keywords2 ‘Intelligent Systems’, ‘Artificial Intelligence’, ‘Expert Systems’, ‘Fuzzy Systems’, ‘Genetic Algorithms’, ‘Knowledge-Based Systems’, ‘Neural Networks’, ‘Context Aware Applications’, ‘Embedded Systems’, ‘Human–Machine Interface’, ‘Sensing and Multiple Sensor Fusion’, ‘Ubiquitous and Physical Computing’, ‘Case-based Reasoning’ and ‘Construction Industry’. The prime contributions of this research are identified by associating (a) yearly publication and geographic location, (b) yearly publication and the type of intelligent systems employed/discussed, (c) geographic location and the type of research methods employed, and (d) geographic location and the types of intelligent systems employed. These contributions provide a comparison between the two decades and offer insights into the trends in using different intelligent systems types in the construction industry. The analysis presented in this paper has identified intelligent systems studies that have contributed to the development and accumulation of intellectual wealth to the intelligent systems area in the construction industry. This research has implications for researchers, journal editors, practitioners, universities and research institutions. Moreover, it is likely to form the basis and motivation for profiling other database resources and specific types of intelligent systems journals in this area.

No / This study explores the progress of social innovation research in a public sector context by systematically analyzing its existing body of knowledge to identify areas of societal impact and reveal areas of limitations and potential further research. The findings revealed that most of the studies on social innovation in the public sector are conceptual in nature. The article presents propositions based on the diagnosed limitations of research in the area.

Data analysis is the process of inspecting, cleaning, extract, and modeling data with the intention of extracting useful information in order to support users in their decisions. With the advent of Big Data, data analysis was becoming more complicated due to the volume and variety of data. This process begins with the acquisition of the data and the selection of the data that is useful for the desiderata analysis. With such amount of data, also expert users are not able to inspect the data and understand if a dataset is suitable or not for their purposes. In this dissertation, we focus on five problems in the broad data analysis process to help users find insights from the data when they do not have enough knowledge about its data. First, we analyze the data description problem, where the user is looking for a description of the input dataset. We introduce data descriptions: a compact, readable and insightful formula of boolean predicates that represents a set of data records. Finding the best description for a dataset is computationally expensive and task-specific; we, therefore, introduce a set of metrics and heuristics for generating meaningful descriptions at an interactive performance. Secondly, we look at the problem of order dependency discovery, which discovers another kind of metadata that may help the user in the understanding of characteristics of a dataset. Our approach leverages the observation that discovering order dependencies can be guided by the discovery of a more specific form of dependencies called order compatibility dependencies. Thirdly, textual data encodes much hidden information. To allow this data to reach its full potential, there has been an increasing interest in extracting structural information from it. In this regard, we propose a novel approach for extracting events that are based on temporal co-reference among entities. We consider an event to be a set of entities that collectively experience relationships between them in a specific period of time. We developed a distributed strategy that is able to scale with the largest on-line encyclopedia available, Wikipedia. Then, we deal with the evolving nature of the data by focusing on the problem of finding synonymous attributes in evolving Wikipedia Infoboxes. Over time, several attributes have been used to indicate the same characteristic of an entity. This provides several issues when we are trying to analyze the content of different time periods. To solve it, we propose a clustering strategy that combines two contrasting distance metrics. We developed an approximate solution that we assess over 13 years of Wikipedia history by proving its flexibility and accuracy. Finally, we tackle the problem of identifying movements of attributes in evolving datasets. In an evolving environment, entities not only change their characteristics, but they sometimes exchange them over time. We proposed a strategy where we are able to discover those cases, and we also test our strategy on real datasets. We formally present the five problems that we validate both in terms of theoretical results and experimental evaluation, and we demonstrate that the proposed approaches efficiently scale with a large amount of data.

La traduction est considérée comme une étape clé de l'expression des gènes permettant à la cellule de s'adapter aux variations de son environnement en réponse aux signaux internes ou externes. Des études bioinformatiques ont montrés que la moitié des ARN messagers chez l'homme portent, en amont de leur phase codante, des éléments régulateurs appelés uORF. Le laboratoire a montré qu'un défaut de terminaison de la traduction par déplétion du facteur de terminaison eRF3 modifie l'expression de gènes dont l'ARNm contient des uORF comme le gène ATF4. Cette modification se fait soit par un mécanisme de réinitiation après traduction de l'uORF soit par une augmentation de la stabilité de l'ARNm résultant d'un défaut de sa dégradation par la voie du "Nonsense-mediated mRNA Decay" (NMD). A travers leur association dans le même complexe et leur implication dans la terminaison de la traduction et la NMD, eRF3 et Upf1 contribuent à la régulation fine de l'expression des gènes. Cependant, on ne sait pas dans quelle mesure ces deux facteurs affectent la traduction et la stabilité des ARNm. Nous avons évalué la traduction par ribosome profiling et le taux de transcrits par RNA-seq dans les cellules humaines déplétées en eRF3 ou en Upf1. Ces analyses nous ont permis de dresser une carte des uORF traduites dans le transcriptome des cellules humaines HCT116. Nous avons également observé que peu de gènes cibles sont communs entre la déplétion en eRF3 ou en Upf1. Nos résultats appuient fortement l'hypothèse qu'il y a au moins deux classes de transcrits portant des uORF, l'une dont la régulation implique la terminaison de la traduction et l'autre dont la régulation implique la NMD. / Regulation of gene expression at the translational level is increasingly being recognized as a key mechanism by which cells can rapidly change their gene expression pattern in response to internal or external stimuli. Bioinformatic studies revealed that half of human transcripts present at least one expression regulatory element uORF in the 5’ leader sequence preceding the main ORF. We have previously shown that translation termination disruption caused by eRF3a depletion induces upregulation of the transcriptional activator ATF4 and its targeted genes partly by a translational control at uORFs, and partly in relation to a defect in Nonsense-mediated mRNA Decay activation, increasing ATF4 mRNA stability. Through their physical association and their involvement in translation termination and NMD, eRF3 and Upf1 are regulating the protein and mRNA levels of a significant number of genes and thus contribute to the fine-tuning of their expression. It is not known yet, in what extent both of these factors affect translational control and what is the subset of genes that are regulated by these factors. In this study, we evaluated translation by ribosome profiling and mRNA level by RNA-seq in human cells subjected to either eRF3a or Upf1 depletion. These analyses allowed us to draw a transcriptome-wide map of uORFs and obtained a list of functional uORFs in our reference HCT116 transcriptome. We also observe that only a small fraction of these are common targets for both eRF3a and Upf1. Our results provide strong support for the notion that different classes of transcripts bearing uORFs are regulated either by translational processes involving translation termination or by NMD.

Submitted by PPG Direito (ppgdir@pucrs.br) on 2018-04-19T13:11:55Z No. of bitstreams: 1 FERNANDO_ INGLEZ_DE_ SOUZA_ MACHADO_DIS.pdf: 1618591 bytes, checksum: 0d335e9f36d6f5985dc6c8b50f83f0ec (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Caroline Xavier (caroline.xavier@pucrs.br) on 2018-05-08T14:27:57Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 FERNANDO_ INGLEZ_DE_ SOUZA_ MACHADO_DIS.pdf: 1618591 bytes, checksum: 0d335e9f36d6f5985dc6c8b50f83f0ec (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-05-08T14:31:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 FERNANDO_ INGLEZ_DE_ SOUZA_ MACHADO_DIS.pdf: 1618591 bytes, checksum: 0d335e9f36d6f5985dc6c8b50f83f0ec (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-02-28 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico - CNPq / The present paper seeks to face the thematic of the right to personal data protection on the scope of the Brazilian legal system, emphasizing on the profiling figure. The paper starts on the construction of the right to privacy and its mutations in face of technological advances, especially on the information and communication technologies. With that it faces from the firsts formulations of the right to privacy, as a right to be let alone, until it?s most recent formulations, as a right of each individual to control its own private information. After that, it analyses the north-american personal data protection system, housed on the figure of right to privacy, as well as the European personal data protection system, based on laws of European Union level. This analysis suits so that both systems can be used as reference for the study of the thematic on the Brazilian legal system, observed the due alterations to fit this legal system. In the end, the present paper faces the thematic of personal data protection on the Brazilian legal system, focusing on the profiling, with consists in a personal data treatment tool that figures between the ones that offers the hirer risk. Recognizing the fundamental character of the right to personal data protection, including in the Brazilian juridical system, the paper demonstrates the importance of the observation of personal data protection principles ? as the transparency, the purpose and the consent ? on the utilization of profiling mechanisms. Only this way it?s possible to conform the treatment of personal data with the rights of the data subject. / O presente trabalho busca enfrentar a tem?tica do direito ? prote??o de dados pessoais no ?mbito do ordenamento jur?dico brasileiro, enfocando a figura do profiling. O trabalho inicia na constru??o do direito ? privacidade e nas suas muta??es em raz?o dos incrementos tecnol?gicos, notadamente no que toca ?s tecnologias da informa??o e da comunica??o. Com isso, ele enfrenta desde as primeiras formula??es do direito ? privacidade, enquanto um direito a ser deixado s?, at? suas formula??es mais recentes, enquanto um direito de cada indiv?duo controlar suas pr?prias informa??es privadas. Depois, ele analisa o sistema norte-americano de prote??o de dados pessoais, albergado pela figura do right to privacy, bem como o sistema europeu de prote??o de dados pessoais a partir das normativas em n?vel de Uni?o Europeia. Tal an?lise serve para que ambos os sistemas sirvam de amparo para o estudo do tema no ordenamento jur?dico brasileiro, observadas as devidas adequa??es para este sistema jur?dico. Por fim, o presente trabalho enfrenta a tem?tica da prote??o de dados pessoais no ordenamento jur?dico brasileiro sob o prisma do profiling, o qual consiste em uma ferramenta de tratamento de dados pessoais que figura entre as que ostentam o maior potencial lesivo. Reconhecendo o car?ter fundamental do direito ? prote??o de dados pessoais, inclusive no sistema jur?dico brasileiro, o trabalho evidencia a import?ncia da observ?ncia dos princ?pios da prote??o de dados pessoais ? como o da transpar?ncia, o da finalidade e o do consentimento ? na utiliza??o de mecanismos de profiling. Somente assim ? poss?vel conciliar o tratamento de dados pessoais com o respeito aos direitos do titular dos dados.

Prior literature on racial profiling indicates that African Americans have been mistreated, harassed, and discriminated against by law enforcement because of this controversial policing strategy. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to bridge the gap in knowledge by analyzing the impact of racial profiling on African American adults and discover whether it contributed to unintentional violence in racial and ethnic minority communities. The theoretical framework for this research study was critical race theory. The research question for this study was: How does racial profiling impact African Americans' perception of the police? This phenomenological research study used purposeful sampling to locate 7 African American participants that were interviewed regarding their lived experience with racial profiling. The data collected from the interviews were organized, sorted, and coded to reveal patterns and themes. The findings revealed that the participants believed that they were discriminated against, harassed, treated like criminals, and profiled by the police because of the color of their skin without just cause. Themes that were identified from the data collected and analyzed revealed that the perceptions of the police contributed to African Americans resentment of the police, which frequently results in violence and loss of human life. The implications for positive social change for this study includes the potential redesign of policing and the criminal justice system, the development of new crime fighting strategies that do not involve racial profiling, the creation of new federal and state laws prohibiting racial profiling, cultural awareness and cultural competency education for all police officers, and improved relationships between police and the African American community.

Swedish national statistics suggest that the number of reported stranger rapes is steadily increasing. Stranger rape is one of the most difficult types of crime for the police to investigate because there is no natural tie between the victim and offender. As a result, there is a need for more knowledge about how crime scene features could be used to make inferences of likely offender characteristics that could help investigators narrow down the pool of suspects. The aim in Study I was to examine how offender behaviors interact with contextual features, victim behaviors, and the assault outcome. Results suggest that the stranger rapes could be distinguished by five different dynamic rape pattern themes, which mainly differed on two dimensions: level of violence to control the victim, and level of impulsivity/premeditation characterizing the rapes. The results also highlight the importance of including contextual features when studying offender behaviors. The aim in Study II was to examine how single-victim rapists and serial rapists can be differentiated by the actions at their first stranger rape. Results suggest that three behaviors in conjunction: kissed victim, controlled victim, and offender drank alcohol before the offense, could be used to predict whether the offender was a single-victim rapist or serial rapist with a classification accuracy of 80.4 %. The aim in Study III was to examine how stranger rapists could be differentiated from a normative sample on background characteristics, and if stranger rapists’ pre-assault and initial-attack behaviors could be used to predict likely offender characteristics. Results showed that the strongest predictions could be made for previous criminal convictions, offender age, and the distance traveled by the offender to offend. Overall, the present thesis has found some scientific support for the use of crime scene behaviors to make inferences of likely offender characteristics that could be useful for profiling purposes. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Submitted. Paper 3: Submitted.</p>

Beam profile monitors provide position and ux distribution information to facilitate the configuration of an experimental apparatus and are an important component of any accelerator facilities beam diagnostic system. Nuclear physics experiments typically involve the incidence of high energy particles or gamma-rays on some target material and the detection of the products of the ensuing interactions. Therefore, knowing the profile of the incident radiation beam is desirable. To address the need for a profile monitor for the High-Intensity Gamma-Ray Source, development of a CCD-based gamma-ray beam profiler was undertaken. The profiler consisted of plastic scintillator, a lens system and a Starlight Express MX5 CCD camera, all contained within a light tight box. The scintillation pattern, created by the interaction between the incident gamma-rays and the scintillator, could be focused onto the CCD. Simulations were used to determine the amount of power that would be absorbed for different beam energies and scintillator thicknesses. The use of a converter material, placed directly against the scintillator to improve power deposition, was also investigated. The system was tested in order to and the camera noise characteristics, the optical resolution and magnification and the systems responsivity to power absorption in the scintillator. Using a 137Cs source, preliminary beam proles were obtained. By combining the results of the testing and simulation, predictions of the required length of exposure were made. It was determined that a beam with a flux of 10^6/s and a diameter of 2.5 cm could be profiled, using 6.0 mm of plastic scintillator and 0.6 mm of iron converter, to within 5% error per 0.64 mm x 0.91 mm resolving unit, in less than 1 minute.

Beam profile monitors provide position and ux distribution information to facilitate the configuration of an experimental apparatus and are an important component of any accelerator facilities beam diagnostic system. Nuclear physics experiments typically involve the incidence of high energy particles or gamma-rays on some target material and the detection of the products of the ensuing interactions. Therefore, knowing the profile of the incident radiation beam is desirable. To address the need for a profile monitor for the High-Intensity Gamma-Ray Source, development of a CCD-based gamma-ray beam profiler was undertaken. The profiler consisted of plastic scintillator, a lens system and a Starlight Express MX5 CCD camera, all contained within a light tight box. The scintillation pattern, created by the interaction between the incident gamma-rays and the scintillator, could be focused onto the CCD. Simulations were used to determine the amount of power that would be absorbed for different beam energies and scintillator thicknesses. The use of a converter material, placed directly against the scintillator to improve power deposition, was also investigated. The system was tested in order to and the camera noise characteristics, the optical resolution and magnification and the systems responsivity to power absorption in the scintillator. Using a 137Cs source, preliminary beam proles were obtained. By combining the results of the testing and simulation, predictions of the required length of exposure were made. It was determined that a beam with a flux of 10^6/s and a diameter of 2.5 cm could be profiled, using 6.0 mm of plastic scintillator and 0.6 mm of iron converter, to within 5% error per 0.64 mm x 0.91 mm resolving unit, in less than 1 minute.