Es erfolgt eine Knochenstrukturanalyse der proximalen Tibia unter Berücksichtigung verschiedenster radiologischer, biomechanischer und histomorphometrischer Aspekte. Die regionen-, alters- und geschlechtsspezifischen Aspekte dieser Problemregion werden herausgearbeitet. Der eindeutige Nachweis einer regionen-abhängigen Verteilung der Knochendichte und der biomechanischen Eigenschaften in der proximalen Tibia ist eines der Hauptergebnisse der vorliegenden Studie. In der proximalen Tibia besteht eine signifikante Abnahme der Knochendichte von proximal nach distal. Im zentralen Bereich der proximalen Tibia besteht in allen Sektionen im Vergleich zu den anterior/posterior und medial/lateral liegenden Gebieten die niedrigste Knochendichte. In der vorliegenden Studie wurde die proximale Tibia in 3 Etagen (von proximal nach distal) unterteilt. Beim Vergleich der auf diesen Etagen aufgebrachten ROIs (region of interest,jeweils 5 in den beiden proximalen Etagen und 4 im distalen Abschnitt) zeigte sich in den beiden proximalen Etagen lateral (Ebene I anterolateral/ Ebene II posterolateral) die höchste Knochendichte. Im Gegensatz dazu zeigte sich in der distalen Etage anteromedial die höchste Knochendichte. Weiterhin wurden die 3 gängigen Stabilisierungsverfahren für diese Region einer umfangreichen biomechanischen Testung unterzogen. Es zeigte sich, dass der Ilizarov Fixateur bei den verschiedensten Lastfällen meist das instabilste Implantat war. Trotz der biomechanischen Defizite konnten die in der klinischen Studie mit Composite Fixateur versorgten Frakturen trotz erheblichem Weichteilschaden und instabiler Fraktursituation zur Ausheilung gebracht werden. Das LIS-System erwies sich gegenüber der konventionellen Abstützplatte hinsichtlich der biomechanischen Steifigkeit sowohl in der statischen als auch in der zyklischen Testung als gleichwertiges oder sogar biomechanisch günstigeres Implantat. Diese positiven klinischen wie biomechanischen Erfahrungen führen auch zur Förderung der Entwicklung anderer winkelstabiler Fixateur interne-Systeme in den verschiedensten Problemregionen (Pilon tibiale, proximaler und distaler Humerus, distaler Radius). Als wesentliche neue Therapieansätze für das operative Vorgehen in der Problemregion der proximalen Tibia lassen sich die folgenden Gesichtspunkte herausarbeiten: 1) Knochendichteadaptierte Implantat- und Schraubenpositionierung bei der konventionellen Osteosynthese, 2) Knochendichteadaptierte Pin- und Olivendrahtpositionierung bei externen Fixationsverfahren (Ilizarovringfixateur, Fixateur externe) im Bereich der proximalen Tibia, 3) Implantatverbesserungen (LISS-Schraubenkonfiguration und -positionierung, Plattendesign, Umstellungsplatte, Verriegelungsbolzen bei Marknägeln wie UTN, PTN), 4) Prothesenverbesserung (knochendichteadaptiertes Zapfendesign mit 3 Zapfen für die tibiale Komponente). / In this study an analysis of the bone structure of the proximal tibia was performed with special attention paid to the different radiological, biomechanical and histomorphometrical aspects. Region-, age- and gender-specific attributes of the localised bone were also examined. Evidence of a region related variation of bone density and biomechanical behaviour is one of the main results of this study. In the proximal tibia, a significant reduction in the bone density exists from proximal to distal. In comparison to the anterior/posterior or medial/lateral areas, the lowest bone mineral densities were found in the central region. In this study the proximal tibia was divided into 3 different levels (from proximal to distal). When comparing the different regions of interest (ROIs) 5 each in the two proximal levels and 4 in the most distal level), the lateral regions (level 1 anterolateral/ level 2 posterolateral) presented the highest bone mineral density. In contrast, the highest bone density in the distal- level was detected in the anteromedial region. Furthermore, complex biomechanical testing of- 3 common fixation techniques for fracture situations of the proximal tibia was performed. It was shown that the Ilizarov fixator was the most unstable implant in several load tests. Despite this biomechanical deficit fractures treated by composite- fixators in different clinical trails healed uneventfully, even with severe soft tissue damage or an unstable fracture situation. In comparison to the conventional buttress plate, the LIS-System was an equal or superior implant, both in static and cyclic stiffness testing. These clinical and biomechanical experiences lead to the development of other angle stable internal fixator systems for different problematic regions (tibial plafond, proximal and distal humerus, distal radius). The following new therapeutic aspects were developed for the surgical treatment of the proximal tibia: 1) Bone mineral density adapted implant-and screw placement in conventional plating. 2) Bone density adapted pin- and olive wire placement during external fixation (ilizarov ring fixator, external fixator) techniques of the proximal tibia. 3) Improvement of implant design (LISS screw configuration and- placement, plate design, locking bolt configuration in nails). 4) Improvement of prosthetic design (bone density adapted design of the tibial components)

Background: To ensure adequate function after orthopedic tumor reconstruction, it is important to reattach the remaining soft tissue to the implant. This study aimed at obtaining mechanical properties of textile muscle-implant and muscle-bone connections in a preliminary test. Methods: Two groups of soft-tissue attachment were mechanically tested and compared: Native bone-muscle samples obtained from human femora and muscles attached to a prosthetic implant by means of Trevira® attachment tubes. Additionally, muscle samples were tested with muscle fibers aligned parallel and perpendicular to the tension load. A uniaxial load was exerted upon all samples. Results: Failure loads of 26.7 ± 8.8 N were observed for the native bone-muscle group and of 18.1 ± 9.9 N for the Trevira® group. Elongations of 94.8 ± 36.2 % were observed for the native bone-muscle group and 79.3 ± 51.8 % for the Trevira® group. The location of failure was mainly observed in the central area of the muscle fibers. Muscle fibers with parallel fiber orientation (47.6 ± 11.5 N) yielded higher tensile strength than those with perpendicular fiber orientation (14.8 ± 4.1 N). Conclusions: Our experiments showed that higher forces were transmitted in the origin and insertion areas than in areas of flat soft tissue reconstruction using attachment tubes. The data indicate that the tested material allows reattaching muscles, but without reinforcing the insertion site. Therefore, attachment tubes with region-dependent and potentially anisotropic material behavior might be advantageous to optimize muscle-bone load transmission after surgery, which may allow lower complication rates and shorter physical recovery.

The past decade has seen a significant increase in the emergence of English Language Learners (ELLs) in the United States. Nationally, a disparity in achievement exists between ELLs and non-ELLs. Relatedly, this problem was evident in a northeastern school district, where ELLs had not made Adequate Yearly Progress 2 years in a row. The purpose of this study was to examine how much time English as Second Language (ESL) teachers spend on a variety of best instructional practices. Constructivism, Vygotsky's zone of proximal development, and Tomilinson's differentiated instruction were the frameworks used to guide this research. A within-group design was utilized to identify how much time 25 ESL educators spent on 5 types of instructional practices. The Survey of Instructional Practices for ESL/ELD Teachers for Grades K-12 was used to collect data. A 1-way analysis of variance revealed statistically significant differences between the amounts of time ESL teachers spent on the 5 instructional practices. The greatest time was spent on individualized instructional activities and a variety of educational tasks. Less time was spent on small group activities, and the least amount of time was spent on inquiry-based activities and technology activities. Findings supported the creation of a professional development for ESL teachers at the local site focusing on (a) best instructional practices for teaching ESL students, (b) professional learning community network of support, and (c) resources to support educators in their lesson planning of instructional activities. The study findings and culminating project may positively affect social change by improving ESL instruction at the local site and ultimately decreasing the disparity in achievement between ELL and non-ELL students.

L'objectif de cette thèse est de proposer des méthodes fiables, efficaces et rapides pour minimiser des critères convexes apparaissant dans la résolution de problèmes inverses en imagerie. Ainsi, nous nous intéresserons à des problèmes de restauration/reconstruction lorsque les données sont dégradées par un opérateur linéaire et un bruit qui peut être non additif. La fiabilité de la méthode sera assurée par l'utilisation d'algorithmes proximaux dont la convergence est garantie lorsqu'il s'agit de minimiser des critères convexes. La quête d'efficacité impliquera le choix d'un critère adapté aux caractéristiques du bruit, à l'opérateur linéaire et au type d'image à reconstruire. En particulier, nous utiliserons des termes de régularisation basés sur la variation totale et/ou favorisant la parcimonie des coefficients du signal recherché dans une trame. L'utilisation de trames nous amènera à considérer deux approches : une formulation du critère à l'analyse et une formulation du critère à la synthèse. De plus, nous étendrons les algorithmes proximaux et leurs preuves de convergence aux cas de problèmes inverses multicomposantes. La recherche de la rapidité de traitement se traduira par l'utilisation d'algorithmes proximaux parallélisables. Les résultats théoriques obtenus seront illustrés sur différents types de problèmes inverses de grandes tailles comme la restauration d'images mais aussi la stéréoscopie, l'imagerie multispectrale, la décomposition en composantes de texture et de géométrie. Une application attirera plus particulièrement notre attention ; il s'agit de la reconstruction de l'activité dynamique en Tomographie par Emission de Positrons (TEP) qui constitue un problème inverse difficile mettant en jeu un opérateur de projection et un bruit de Poisson dégradant fortement les données observées. Pour optimiser la qualité de reconstruction, nous exploiterons les caractéristiques spatio-temporelles de l'activité dans les tissus / The objective of this work is to propose reliable, efficient and fast methods for minimizing convex criteria, that are found in inverse problems for imagery. We focus on restoration/reconstruction problems when data is degraded with both a linear operator and noise, where the latter is not assumed to be necessarily additive.The methods reliability is ensured through the use of proximal algorithms, the convergence of which is guaranteed when a convex criterion is considered. Efficiency is sought through the choice of criteria adapted to the noise characteristics, the linear operators and the image specificities. Of particular interest are regularization terms based on total variation and/or sparsity of signal frame coefficients. As a consequence of the use of frames, two approaches are investigated, depending on whether the analysis or the synthesis formulation is chosen. Fast processing requirements lead us to consider proximal algorithms with a parallel structure. Theoretical results are illustrated on several large size inverse problems arising in image restoration, stereoscopy, multi-spectral imagery and decomposition into texture and geometry components. We focus on a particular application, namely Positron Emission Tomography (PET), which is particularly difficult because of the presence of a projection operator combined with Poisson noise, leading to highly corrupted data. To optimize the quality of the reconstruction, we make use of the spatio-temporal characteristics of brain tissue activity

Advancements in computational capabilities have allowed researchers to turn towards modeling as an efficient tool to replicate and predict outcomes of complex systems. Computational models of the musculoskeletal system have gone through various iterations with early versions employing dramatic simplifications. In this work, a three-dimensional computational model of the wrist joint was developed. It accurately recreated the skeletal structures of the hand and wrist and represented the constraints imposed by soft tissue structures like ligaments, tendons, and other surrounding tissues. It was developed to function as a tool to investigate the biomechanical contributions of structures and the kinematic response of the wrist joint. The model was created with the use of a commercially available computer-aided design software employing the rigid body modeling methodology. It was validated against three different cadaveric experimental studies which investigated changes in biomechanical response following radioscapholunate fusion and proximal row carpectomy procedures. The kinematic simulations performed by the model demonstrated quantitatively accurate responses for the range of motions for both surgical procedures. It also provided some understanding to the trends in carpal bone contact force changes observed in surgically altered specimens. The model provided additional insight into the importance of structures like the triangular fibrocartilage and the capsular retinacular structures, both of which are currently not very well understood. As better understanding of components of the wrist joint is achieved, this model could function as an important tool in preoperative planning and generating individualized treatment regiments.

The present study examines the relationship between the practices of schooling and classroom teaching and learning on the one hand and learners’ cognitive development and functioning on the other. The study uses innovative system of ideas in developmental and educational psychology, originally formulated by Lev Vygotsky to investigate the interrelations between learning, instruction and development. Carried out in a rapidly changing socio-cultural context of Venda, South Africa, the study examines the realities of schooling practices that exhibit both continuity with the past practices of society and some profound transformations that together lead to a multi-dimensional and a complex picture of cognitive development in learners. By examining the relations between the cultural practices of schooling and its socio-historical context on the one hand, and the consequent psychological process on the other hand, the present study offers an opportunity for exploring processes that may be more opaque in relatively stable socio-cultural contexts of schooling. The observations on the history of schooling in South Africa in general, and in Venda in particular, support the theoretical formulation that particular practices of schooling, themselves originating from and continuing larger social-historical processes, represent contexts in which learning and development take place and are shaped. The empirical investigations revealed that even the socio-cultural contexts of schooling characterized by strong ruptures, such as in South Africa, nonetheless carry on some vestiges of their past practices that affect today’s learning and development of learners. The study concludes, extending the prevailing theoretical formulation, that the social and cultural setting of schooling in Venda is multifaceted; manifesting xvi. instances of indigenous practices, the traditions of past missionary practices, as well as the traditions of the past, apartheid schooling. By taking into account these socio-cultural influences, the study provides crucial insights into the regularities of cognitive and conceptual developmental processes taking place in conditions of rapid social change in the course of the schooling of today’s children in Venda. The study furthers our understanding about the regularities of the socio-cultural and historical processes of schooling in conditions of rapid social change, and concludes by proposing ways of improving contemporary educational practice in South Africa, grounded in sound psychological knowledge and research about school transformation and classroom teaching and learning improvement.

Given the recent advances within a subfield of machine learning called reinforcement learning, several papers have shown that it is possible to create self-learning digital agents, agents that take actions and pursue strategies in complex environments without any prior knowledge. This thesis investigates the performance of the state-of-the-art reinforcement learning algorithm proximal policy optimization, when trained on a task with nondeterministic state transitions. The agent’s policy was constructed using a convolutional neural network and the game Candy Crush Friends Saga, a single-player match-three tile game, was used as the environment. The purpose of this research was to evaluate if the described agent could achieve a higher win rate than average human performance when playing the game of Candy Crush Friends Saga. The research also analyzed the algorithm's generalization capabilities on this task. The results showed that all trained models perform better than a random policy baseline, thus showing it is possible to use the proximal policy optimization algorithm to learn tasks in an environment with nondeterministic state transitions. It also showed that, given the hyperparameters chosen, it was not able to perform better than average human performance.

The purpose of this study is to examine whether pupils ' understanding of spoken factual texts is different if you teach using digital tools compared to analogue teaching material. The background to the survey is that Digitalisation has gained an increasingly large place in the Swedish school after changes in the curriculum. The survey's collected material has been received after a survey where 48 students in Grade 1 have been asked to answer questions for two spoken texts, one with digital tools and one using analog teaching material. The answers have since been compiled and analysed from a socio perspective with Vygotskijs thoughts as a basis. The results of my study show that students ' listening comprehension of spoken factual texts is proving to be a little better when teaching is done using digital tools. The reasons for this result I discuss from the idea that digital tools in themselves are not the reason in itself but are an aid and need to interact with several other components to achieve positive results. / Syftet med denna undersökning är att undersöka om elevers förståelse av upplästa faktatexter skiljer sig åt om man undervisar med hjälp av digitala verktyg jämfört med analogt undervisningsmaterial. Bakgrunden till undersökningen är att digitaliseringen har fått en allt större plats i den svenska skolan efter förändringar i läroplanen. Undersökningens insamlade material har inkommit efter en enkätstudie där 48 elever i årskurs 1 har fått svara på frågor till två upplästa texter, en med digitala verktyg och en med hjälp av analogt undervisningsmaterial. Svaren har sedan sammanställts och analyserats utifrån ett sociokulturellt perspektiv med Vygotskijs tankar som grund. Resultatet i min undersökning visar att elevernas hörförståelse för upplästa faktatexter visar sig vara aningen bättre när undervisningen sker med hjälp av digitala verktyg. Orsakerna till detta resultat diskuterar jag utifrån tanken att digitala verktyg i sig inte är anledningen i sig utan är ett hjälpmedel och behöver samverka med flera andra komponenter för att uppnå positiva resultat.

O arroz (Oryza sativa L.) é um dos cereais mais produzidos e consumidos no mundo, caracterizando como principal alimento para mais da metade da população mundial. Sua importância é destacada principalmente em países em desenvolvimento, tais como o Brasil, desempenhando papel estratégico em níveis econômico e social. Atualmente, é crescente o número de pesquisas que integram desde o melhoramento vegetal e o manejo da adubação até o aproveitamento dos nutrientes pelo organismo humano. O melhoramento de plantas pode ajudar a melhorar a dieta humana, com o desenvolvimento de plantas com maiores teores de vitaminas e micronutrientes. A introdução de produtos agrícolas biofortificados como o arroz, complementará as intervenções em nutrição existentes. Sendo assim, tornase imprescindível conhecer como as condições de cultivo influenciam na qualidade do grão e na importância para obtenção de um alimento com maior valor biológico e nutricional e com menores concentrações de antinutricionais. O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar as características físico-químicas e nutricionais do arroz (Oryza sativa L.) integral, promovidas por diferentes adubações (experimento I) e aos grãos biofortificados (experimento II). Foram realizadas análises de composição centesimal, composição mineral, diálise in vitro de minerais, vitaminas do complexo B, conteúdo de compostos fenólicos e fitatos em grão, além das análises de parâmetros de qualidade em arroz como conteúdo de amilose aparente, propriedade de pasta e análise instrumental de cor. Os resultados obtidos no estudo assemelham-se aos citados nas literaturas quanto á composição centesimal e mineral, enfatizando a influência da cocção na composição nutricional do grão e em seus compostos como fenólicos e fitatos. Para o dialisado de cálcio e zinco no arroz biofortificado, a variação nos valores foi em média de 1,14% a 3,26% para cálcio e 0,80% a 3,43% para zinco. No experimento II, as perdas de vitaminas para o arroz integral biofortificado após o cozimento foi em torno de 33,4%, 52,17% e 76% para vitamina B1, vitamina B2 e vitamina B6, respectivamente. Por fim, conclui-se que a produção de variedades melhoradas seja através de adubações ou da escolha de melhores cultivares, que apresentam maior teor de minerais e vitaminas, foram eficientes para a melhora da disponibilidade nutricional dos grãos. / Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of most cereals produced and consumed in the world, characterized as the primary food for more than half the world population. Its importance is highlighted especially in developing countries such as Brazil, playing a strategic role in economic and social levels. There is increasing the number of studies since that integrate plant breeding and fertilizer management to use the nutrients the human body. Plant breeding can help improve the human diet, with the development of plants with higher levels of vitamins and micronutrients. The introduction of biofortified crops like rice, will complement existing nutrition interventions. Thus, it becomes essential to know as the cultivation conditions influence the quality of grain and the importance to obtain a food with higher nutritional and biological value and with lower concentrations of antinutritional. Threfore, the aim of this study was to analyze the pshycochemical and nutritional properties of rice (Oryza sativa L.) in full, caused by different fertilization (experiment I) and subjected to biofortification (experiment II). Were performed to analyze chemical composition, mineral, dialysis in vitro of minerals, vitamins B, content of phenolic compounds and phytates in grain, in addition to the analysis of quality parameters in rice as apparent amylase content, folder property and instrumental analysis of color. The results obtained in this study are similar to those cited in other literature as to the mineral and chemical composition, emphasizing the influence of cooking on the nutritional composition of grain and as phenolic compounds and phytates. For the dialysate calcium and zinc in rice biofortified crops, the variation in the values averaged 1.14% to 3.26% for calcium and 0.80% to 3.43% for zinc. Losses of vitamins to the rice after cooking was around 33.4%, 52.17% and 76% for vitamin B1, vitamin B2 and vitamin B6, respectively. Finally, we conclude that the production of improved varieties is through fertilization or the best choice of cultivars, that have a higher content of minerals and vitamins, were effective to improve the availability of nutrients of the grains.

As restaurações metalocerâmicas apresentam relatos de sucesso clínico a longo prazo e as características de reforço (cinta lingual e poste proximal) das infra-estruturas metálicas parecem ser de grande importância para este sucesso. Estes reforços freqüentemente estão ausentes nas infraestruturas das restaurações ceramocerâmicas. O objetivo deste estudo foi testar a hipótese nula de que coroas confeccionadas com infra-estruturas cerâmicas com desenho com e sem reforço não resultam em valores de resistência à fratura diferentes de coroas com infra-estruturas metálicas confeccionadas com os mesmos desenhos. Para a realização deste trabalho foram fabricadas 40 coroas, dividas em quatro grupos (n=10): (1) coroas metalocerâmicas - infra-estrutura com reforço; (2) coroas metalocerâmicas - infra-estrutura sem reforço; (3) coroas ceramocerâmicas - infra-estrutura com reforço; e (4) coroas ceramocerâmicas - infra-estrutura sem reforço. Os corpos de prova foram cimentados com ionômero de vidro modificado por resina nos troquéis metálicos e submetidos à análise de resistência à fratura usando uma máquina de teste universal Kratos, a uma velocidade de 0,5 mm/min. Todos os corpos de prova foram mantidos sob pressão até a fratura. Os resultados de resistência à fratura (kgf) foram submetidos à análise de variância (ANOVA) a dois critérios e ao teste de Tukey. O nível de significância considerado em todas as análises foi de 5% (p<0,05). Os valores médios de resistência à fratura foram de 237,637 kgf para as coroas metalocerâmicas com infraestruturas com reforço, 171,738 kgf para as coroas metalocerâmicas com infraestruturas com reforço, 127,588 kgf para as coroas ceramocerâmicas com infra-estruturas com reforço e 93,914 kgf para as coroas ceramocerâmicas com infra-estruturas sem reforço, com diferença estatisticamente significante (p<0,05), entre os quatro grupos. As coroas metalocerâmicas com reforço (Grupo 1) apresentaram o maior valor de resistência à fratura e estatisticamente significante, entre todos os grupos. As coroas confeccionadas com infra-estruturas com reforço apresentaram maior resistência à fratura do que as confeccionadas sem reforço, tanto nas coroas metalocerâmicas como nas ceramocerâmicas. / Metal-ceramic restorations present reports of long-term clinical success, and the characteristics of reinforcement coping (lingual collar and buttressing shoulder) seem to be of great importance for this success. These reinforcements are often absent in all-ceramic coping restorations. The aim of the current study was to evaluate and compare the in vitro fracture resistance of metal-ceramic and In-Ceram Alumina all-ceramic crowns, with and without reinforced coping design. Forty crowns were fabricated and divided into four groups (n=10): group 1, metal-ceramic crown with reinforced coping design; group 2, metal-ceramic crown without reinforced coping design; group 3, allceramic crown with reinforced coping design and group 4, all-ceramic crown with out reinforced coping design. The forty crowns were cemented on stainless steel dies and axially loaded in a universal testing machine until fracture occurred, and the maximum load (kgf) was recorded. Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey test (p<0.05) The results showed a statistical significant superiority (p<0.05) of the reinforcement coping groups (237.637 kgf for metalo-ceramic crowns and 127.588 kgf for all-ceramic crowns), regarding to non reinforcement coping groups (171.738 kgf for metalo ceramic crowns and 93.914 kgf for all-ceramic crowns). These founds denote that: (1) crowns made with reinforcement coping had presented greater fracture resistance than those confectioned without it and (2) metal-ceramic crowns had presented greater fracture resistance than all-ceramic crowns.