This paper uses Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) to find robust determinants of economic growth in a new dataset of 255 European regions between 1995 and 2005. The paper finds that income convergence between countries is dominated by the catching-up of regions in new member states in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), whereas convergence within countries is driven by regions in old EU member states. Regions containing capital cities are growing faster, particularly in CEE countries, as do regions with a large share of workers with higher education. The results are robust to allowing for spatial spillovers among European regions.

The Dukat laboratory developed 2-amino-6-chloro-3,4-dihydroquinazoline (A6CDQ) as a 5-HT3 receptor ligand. A6CDQ and one of its positional isomers, the 7-chloro analog A7CDQ, produced antidepressant-like effects in the mouse tail suspension test (TST). We investigated and systematically ruled out a solely 5-HT3 receptor or hSERT mediated mechanism of antidepressant-like effect for both A6CDQ and A7CDQ. The role of organic cation transporter 3 (OCT3) as an alternative mechanism in the regulation of neurotransmitters including serotonin (5-HT) and the therapeutic potential of targeting hOCT3 to achieve antidepressant effects has been established. By virtue of possessing protonatable nitrogen atoms, 2-aminodihyroquinazolines could potentially exhibit activity at OCT3. A major goal of our present study was to explore the non-serotonergic mechanism of antidepressant-like effects and to study the as yet unexplored structure-activity-relationships (SARs) at OCT3. We examined the role of i) the chloro group, ii) the methylene bridge and iii) electronic/lipophilic effects at the 6-position. We developed the first 3-D homology models of both the human and mouse orthologs of OCT3, conducted docking studies and HINT analysis, and identified critical amino acid residues interacting with 2-aminodihydroquinazoline analogs at hOCT3 and mOCT3. Retention of antidepressant-like activity in the mouse and potential locomotor stimulant effects for TST-active doses were thoroughly investigated. We have successfully investigated initial SAR of 2-aminodihydroquinazolines at hOCT3 and generated the first 3-D homology models of hOCT3 and mOCT3. Highly potent and selective compounds could potentially be developed as radioligands to probe the binding site of OCT3 and as a mechanistically novel class of antidepressants.

Augmented reality visualization of spatial data Abstract The thesis deals with issues of visualization of spatial data using augmented reality technology. The main goal of the thesis was to develop certain visualization rules and functions, based on proposed visualization parameters. The approach was based on developing of the augmented reality data layer of ATMs and then applying the developed functions of object selection, indexed data filtering and transformation functions for map symbols on the following layer. The work also deals with graphical solutions of the map symbols for augmented reality environment. The testing of the developed layer and the visualization rules system was held in the test sites on the territory of three municipal districts of Prague. Visualization outcomes from different test sites are evaluated in the thesis conclusion. The thesis proposes an approach for improving the quality of virtual elements visualization in augmented reality with the emphasis on overlap reducing, perspective perception and depth of virtual elements. Keywords: augmented reality, Layar, visualization, POI, mobile applications, web cartography, SAR.

L'imagerie Radar à Synthèse d'Ouverture (RSO) est une technique bien connue dans les domaines de télédétection, de surveillance aérienne, de géologie et de cartographie. Obtenir des images de haute résolution malgré la présence de bruit, tout en prenant en compte les caractéristiques des cibles dans la scène observée, les différents incertitudes de mesure et les erreurs resultantes de la modélisation, devient un axe de recherche très important.Les méthodes classiques, souvent fondées sur i) la modélisation simplifiée de la scène ; ii) la linéarisation de la modélisation directe (relations mathématiques liant les signaux reçus, les signaux transmis et les cibles) simplifiée ; et iii) l'utilisation de méthodes d'inversion simplifiées comme la Transformée de Fourier Inverse (TFI) rapide, produisent des images avec une résolution spatiale faible, peu robustes au bruit et peu quantifiables (effets des lobes secondaires et bruit du speckle).Dans cette thèse, nous proposons d'utiliser une approche bayésienne pour l'inversion. Elle permettrais de surmonter les inconvénients mentionnés des méthodes classiques, afin d'obtenir des images stables de haute résolution ainsi qu'une estimation plus précise des paramètres liés à la reconnaissance de cibles se trouvant dans la scène observée.L'approche proposée est destinée aux problèmes inverses de l'imagerie RSO mono-, bi-, et multi- statique ainsi que l'imagerie des cibles à micromouvement. Les a priori appropriés de modélisation permettant d'améliorer les caractéristiques des cibles pour des scènes de diverses natures seront présentées. Des méthodes d'estimation rapides et efficaces utilistant des a priori simples ou hiérarchiques seront développées. Le problème de l'estimation des hyperparameters sera galement traité dans le cadre bayésin. Les résultats relatifs aux données synthétiques, expérimentales et réelles démontrent l'efficacité de l'approche proposée. / Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging is a well-known technique in the domain of remote sensing, aerospace surveillance, geography and mapping. To obtain images of high resolution under noise, taking into account of the characteristics of targets in the observed scene, the different uncertainties of measure and the modeling errors becomes very important.Conventional imaging methods are based on i) over-simplified scene models, ii) a simplified linear forward modeling (mathematical relations between the transmitted signals, the received signals and the targets) and iii) using a very simplified Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) to do the inversion, resulting in low resolution and noisy images with unsuppressed speckles and high side lobe artifacts.In this thesis, we propose to use a Bayesian approach to SAR imaging, which overcomes many drawbacks of classical methods and brings high resolution, more stable images and more accurate parameter estimation for target recognition.The proposed unifying approach is used for inverse problems in Mono-, Bi- and Multi-static SAR imaging, as well as for micromotion target imaging. Appropriate priors for modeling different target scenes in terms of target features enhancement during imaging are proposed. Fast and effective estimation methods with simple and hierarchical priors are developed. The problem of hyperparameter estimation is also handled in this Bayesian approach framework. Results on synthetic, experimental and real data demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Les systèmes radar à synthèse d’ouverture (RSO) sont utilisés depuis de nombreuses années pour des applications militaires telles que la détection des cibles cachées. L’amélioration constante de la résolution de ces capteurs permet aujourd’hui d’accéder à un niveau de détail élevé dans la scène imagée. Cependant, l’interprétation de ces images demeure particulièrement compliquée dans le cas des milieux urbains. En effet, ces milieux particuliers sont sièges de nombreux phénomènes physiques et d’interactions multiples qui rendent la tâche de détection difficile et parfois erronée. C’est dans ce contexte que s’inscrit cette thèse. L’objectif est d’étudier la faisabilité de détection d’une cible en non visée directe du capteur à l’intérieur d’une scène simple et représentative du milieu urbain: le canyon urbain. Une étude sur la phénoménologie de propagation électromagnétique à l’intérieur des canyons urbains est menée à l’aide de mesures en environnement contrôlé à échelle réduite. Ces mesures ont permis la validation d’un outil électromagnétique commercial pour l’étude de la propagation d’une configuration à échelle réelle. Se basant sur les résultats de simulation du code électromagnétique validé, un outil maison, dédié à la prédiction des zones de détection d’une cible à l’intérieur d’un canyon urbain et à l’analyse de la signature électromagnétique correspondante, a été développé et validé. En outre, ce code contribue à l’interprétation complète de données radiométriques et interférométriques d’une scène urbaine réelle. / Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems have been used since many years for military applications such as the detection of hidden targets. With improved resolutions of these systems, high level of details can be distinguished in the corresponding images. However, some difficulties are encountered when analyzing the SAR images of urban areas. In particular, in these areas, many physical phenomena and interactions occur that make the detection of a target a challenging task. In this framework, the goal of the thesis is to investigate the feasibility of detecting Non Line Of Sight targets inside a simple and representative scene: the urban canyon. A study of the electromagnetic (EM) phenomenology of propagation inside urban canyons has been performed using indoor data at a reduced scale. These data allowed the validation of an EM commercial tool that studies the EM propagation at a real scale. Based on the results of simulation of this code, an in-house code was developed dedicated to predict the detection of a target inside an urban canyon and to analyze the corresponding EM signature. Moreover, this code contributed to a full interpretation of InSAR data of a real complex urban scene with targets.

Tuberculosis (TB) and fungal infections are two of the most lethal infectious diseases worldwide due to the emergence of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and fungal strains that can resist the most potent antimicrobial drugs currently employed. Due to the rise of these drug resistant strains, effective treatment options for these two infections are limited. This dissertation aims at exploring novel drug scaffolds to help combat drug resistance in TB and fungal infections. TB caused by the pathogenic Mtb is, alongside with human immunodeficiency virus acquired immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the deadliest infectious disease worldwide with approximately 2-3 billion people infected yearly. The situation has become increasingly intensified due to the emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Mtb strains.Aminoglycoside (AG) antibiotics such as amikacin and kanamycin A (KAN) are heavily relied upon for the treatment of MDR- and XDR-Mtb strains. However, the success rate for the treatment of these MDR- and XDR-TB cases is decreasing as a result of increased KAN resistance. It was reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that upregulation of the enhanced intracellular survival (eis) gene was the cause of resistance to KAN in a large portion of Mtb clinical isolates. Our lab previously demonstrated that Eis is an AG acetyltransferase that can inactivate AGs via chemoenzymatic modification of the AG scaffolds. As Eis has been shown to acetylate a wide variety of AG scaffolds, the development of novel AGs that can completely escape the action of Eis remains highly challenging. Therefore, we suggested an alternative therapeutic approach involving inhibiting Eis enzyme and still employing the current FDA-approved KAN. As exemplified by the clinically successful combination of penicillin and b-lactamase inhibitors, we hypothesized that an Eis inhibitor may be used as adjuvant therapy in combination with KAN to treat MDR- and XDR-tuberculosis. Using high-throughput screening, we were able to identify several small-molecule scaffolds capable of inhibiting Eis. We performed structure activity relationship (SAR) studies using purified Eis enzyme and optimized lead compounds. Additionally, we also showed that co-administration of Eis lead inhibitors with KAN led to recovery of KAN activity against a KAN-resistant Mtb cell line that overexpressed Ei Invasive fungal infections are on the rise due to an increased population of critically ill patients as a result of HIV infections, chemotherapies, and organ transplantations. Unlike antibiotics that are greatly diverse in categories and mechanisms of action, our current antifungal drug repertoire is greatly limited and insufficient in addressing the problem of drug-resistant fungal infections. Thus, there is a growing need for novel antimycotics that are safe and effective. We report a number of lead compounds with potent antifungal activitiy. The MIC values of these compounds were as low as 0.02 mg/mL against the fungal strains tested. Our compounds are derived from the ebselen core structure, which has been shown to be safe in multicenter clinical trials. Notably, fungal cells treated with our compounds showed the accumulation of ROS, which may further contribute to the growth inhibitory effect against fungi. This study provides new lead compounds for the development of antimycotic agents.

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is a type of remote sensor that provides its own illumination and is capable of forming high resolution images of the reflectivity of a scene. The reflectivity of the scene that is measured is dependent on the choice of carrier frequency; different carrier frequencies will yield different images of the same scene. There are different modes for SAR sensors; two common modes are spotlight mode and stripmap mode. Furthermore, SAR sensors can either be continuously transmitting a signal, or they can transmit a pulse at some pulse repetition frequency (PRF). The work in this dissertation is for pulsed stripmap SAR sensors. The resolvable limit of closely spaced reflectors in range is determined by the bandwidth of the transmitted signal and the resolvable limit in azimuth is determined by the bandwidth of the induced azimuth signal, which is strongly dependent on the length of the physical antenna on the SAR sensor. The point-spread function (PSF) of a SAR system is determined by these resolvable limits and is limited by the physical attributes of the SAR sensor. The PSF of a SAR system can be defined in different ways. For example, it can be defined in terms of the SAR system including the image processing algorithm. By using this definition, the PSF is an algorithm-specific sinc-like function and produces the bright, star-like artifacts that are noticeable around strong reflectors in the focused image. The PSF can also be defined in terms of just the SAR system before any image processing algorithm is applied. This second definition of the PSF will be used in this dissertation. Using this definition, the bright, algorithm-specific, star-like artifacts will be denoted as the inter-pixel interference (IPI) of the algorithm. To be specific, the combined effect of the second definition of PSF and the algorithm-dependent IPI is a decomposition of the first definition of PSF. A new comprehensive forward model for stripmap SAR is derived in this dissertation. New image formation methods are derived in this dissertation that invert this forward model and it is shown that the IPI that corrupts traditionally processed stripmap SAR images can be removed. The removal of the IPI can increase the resolvability to the resolution limit, thus making image analysis much easier. SAR data is inherently corrupted by uncompensated phase errors. These phase errors lower the contrast of the image and corrupt the azimuth processing which inhibits proper focusing (to the point of the reconstructed image being unusable). If these phase errors are not compensated for, the images formed by system inversion are useless, as well. A model-based autofocus method is also derived in this dissertation that complements the forward model and corrects these phase errors before system inversion.

Estimation of biomass has high importance for economic, ecologic and climatic reasons due to the multiple ecosystem services offered by forested landscapes. Measurements that are taken in the field incur personal and economic costs. Nevertheless, biomass surveying based on remote sensing techniques offer efficiency thanks to covering large areas. The European Space Agency (ESA) Sentinel-1 satellite offers promising capabilities for above-ground biomass (AGB) estimation through synthetic aperture radar (SAR) based microwave remote sensing. In this study, experimental AGB estimations based on Sentinel-1 C-band data were produced over the Remingstorp estate (Västergötland County, Sweden) to analyze its performance over boreal productive forests. The obtained measurements were compared against reference values obtained by combining photogrammetric, aerial laser scanning (ALS) and field measurements. Thus, a reference high-resolution canopy height model (CHM) was produced from the difference between photogrammetric digital surface model (DSM) values and ALS digital terrain model (DTM) values. The comparison of CHM observations against diameter at breast height (DBH) field measurements revealed the existence of a vegetation height - vegetation volume relationship for the study species (Pinus Sylvestris and Picea Abbies), which allowed bole volume estimation based on vegetation height values. SAR-based AGB estimates were produced by defining statistical relationships between backscatter intensity and interferometric coherence measurements against reference CHM values. Additionally, evaluation of biomass estimation through interferometric (InSAR) height was possible by comparing against reference photogrammetric DSM. Backscatter signal saturation of C-band at low biomass volumes prevented quantification of biomass but permitted differentiation between forested and non-forested surfaces. Estimation of AGB through interferometric coherence was possible through modeling volumetric decorrelation, which on the contrary prevented biomass retrieval from InSAR height. Due to the given frequency properties at C-band, HV cross-polarized channel was used in all cases for better detection of the canopy layer. Image acquisition under stable conditions was a priority to avoid noise derived from variable dielectric properties, acquisition geometry effects and temporal decorrelation. Hence, image acquisitions under stable hydrometeorological conditions (i. e. stable frozen or dry) and for the lowest repeat-pass interval (i. e. 6-days) were prioritized.

Ce travail est consacré à l'étude de la complémentarité polarimétrie / interférométrie pour la détection et la caractérisation de cibles en utilisant des données SAR. La télédétection polarimétrique concerne l'étude du comportement de l'onde interagissant avec une scène et renseigne sur la nature physique de la zone étudiée. L'interférométrie informe sur la nature topographique de la scène ou sur les déformations de celle-ci. L'interférométrie et la polarimétrie sont des outils très performants en télédétection SAR qui sont généralement appliqués séparément.<br />La notion de complémentarité polarimétrie/interférométrie consiste à relier une phase interférométrique avec un mécanisme de diffusion. Les approches exposées introduisent les méthodes à haute résolution, principalement la méthode ESPRIT, dans l'imagerie SAR. Elles permettent ainsi de distinguer la phase d'un sol de celle de la canopée, dans une zone forestière et d'isoler la phase d'un bâtiment du reste de son environnement.<br />Un autre concept de la complémentarité est proposé : la superrésolution. Il s'agit d'utiliser des données interférométriques afin d'améliorer la résolution d'une image SAR. Les résultats d'analyses polarimétriques en appliquant le principe de la superrésolution permettent une meilleure caractérisation de la nature des cibles, comme la détection des contours de bâtiments.<br />Les différentes méthodes exposées ont été appliquées sur des données SAR polarimétriques interférométriques en bande L afin d'améliorer l'estimation et la caractérisation des zones urbaines, par rapport à l'utilisation de la polarimétrie ou de l'interférométrie de façon séparée.

Ce travail porte sur l'analyse et la caractérisation de la texture spatiale non stationnaire dans les images SAR. <br />La plupart des études considérant la texture dans les images SAR utilisent les hypothèses de stationnarité statistique et d'isotropie spatiale. Cependant, l'observation des images montre que des orientations spatiales privilégiées peuvent être présentes. De plus, la mesure à différentes positions de la fonction d'autocorrélation suggère l'emploi de modèles non stationnaires. On introduit ici un modèle paramétrique basé sur des noyaux gaussiens anisotropes pour les statistiques d'ordre deux des images d'intensité SAR. Ce modèle prend à la fois en compte le caractère non stationnaire, ainsi que la présence d'anisotropie spatiale. Ensuite, différentes méthodes d'estimation relatives à l'orientation locale dans les images SAR sont proposées, puis l'une de ces méthodes est appliquée au filtrage du speckle.