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<p> The effect of surface active on the rate of gas absorption into water was investigated. Pure oxygen was absorbed into quiescent de-gasified distilled water through-adsorbed monomolecular films of alkylbenzene Sulphonate (ABS) or sodium lauryl sulphate (NaLS).</p> <p> The rate of absorption was characterized by effective diffusivity as measured in detergent solutions up to 20 mg/1 and temperatures between 10 and 30°C.</p> <p> Gas transfer mechanistic models plus physical and chemical properties of surface films were reviewed in order to understand the fundamental processes of interfacial interference which would account for anomolies in results reported in the literature.</p> / Thesis / Master of Engineering (MEngr)

Osteoarthritis and osteochondral defects are ailments that are increasing in frequency as the lifespan of the population increases and sedentary lifestyle becomes more common. Osteoarthritis is an inflammatory disease that causes the progressive degeneration of articular surfaces and the underlying bone. Accidents and injuries can cause osteochondral defects similar to osteoarthritis. In both cases the structure of the articular cartilage fails, leading to pain and disability. Articular cartilage has a naturally poor ability to regenerate since there is no vasculature and it is aneural. The sparse chondrocytes mainly act to maintain the healthy extracellular matrix. Once the defect is severe enough, a surgical intervention becomes necessary. For small defects and young patients, a cell-based treatment can be used, whereas for larger defects and severe osteoarthritis a partial or whole joint arthroplasty is performed. Methods to repair osteochondral defects have been improving over the years as the inter-disciplinary understanding of joints, and what is required to repair them, has increased. However, there are still issues to solve in order to achieve consistently good results in both joint replacement and repair of cartilage. The main issue faced with current techniques used for joint replacement is poor integration of the artificial joint, leading to loosening at the bone interface over time, while cartilage repair techniques face the problem of generating mechanically inferior fibrocartilage. It is known that surface chemistry and structures at micro- and nanoscale influence cell behaviour, which can be utilised to guide their attachment, proliferation and phenotype. Scaffold-free approaches and mechanical stimulation have previously given promising results in generating articular neocartilage. This thesis aims at exploring tools and solutions to the problems involved in implant integration, chondrocyte expansion and neocartilage tissue engineering. We hypothesised that 1) ultra-short pulsed laser deposition can be used to create biocompatible coatings; 2) micropillars with nanoscale features can improve the maintenance of the chondrocyte phenotype in culture and 3) hypergravity can aid in the production of more native-like neocartilage constructs. Our studies showed that ultra-short pulsed laser ablation can be used to create various surfaces for studying cell behaviour. Cell viability was slightly higher on a rough titanium oxide, whereas the cell area was significantly smaller on rough titanium oxide, indicating a lower amount of focal adhesions. Nanopatterned microstructures were not capable of maintaining the chondrocyte phenotype in culture, but they were not disadvantageous either. Hypergravity might help in creating a native-like distribution of collagen and proteoglycans. The constructs were more uniform in shape, but biomechanically the constructs were not different from non-centrifuged controls.

La connaissance des matériaux de surface est essentielle pour l’aménagement et la gestion des villes. Avec les avancées en télédétection, particulièrement en imagerie de haute résolution spatiale et spectrale, l’identification et la cartographie détaillée des matériaux de surface en milieu urbain sont maintenant envisageables. Les signatures spectrales décrivent les interactions entre les objets au sol et le rayonnement solaire, et elles sont supposées uniques pour chaque type de matériau de surface. Dans ce projet de recherche nous avons utilisé des images hyperspectrales aériennes du capteur CASI, avec une résolution de 1 m2 et 96 bandes contigües entre 380nm et 1040nm. Ces images couvrant l’île de Montréal (QC, Canada), acquises en 2016, ont été analysées pour identifier les matériaux de surfaces. Pour atteindre ces objectifs, notre méthode d’analyse est fondée sur la comparaison des signatures spectrales d’un pixel quelconque à celles des objets typiques contenues dans des bibliothèques spectrales (matériaux inertes et végétation). Pour mesurer la correspondance entre la signature spectrale d’un objet et la signature spectrale de référence nous avons utilisé deux métriques. La première métrique tient compte de la forme d’une signature spectrale et la seconde, de la différence des valeurs de réflectance entre la signature spectrale observée et celle de référence. Un classificateur flou utilisant ces deux métriques est alors appliqué afin de reconnaître le type de matériau de surface sur la base du pixel. Des signatures spectrales typiques ont été extraites des deux librairies spectrales (ASTER et HYPERCUBE). Des signatures spectrales des objets typiques à Montréal mesurées sur le terrain (spectroradiomètre ASD) ont été aussi utilisées comme références. Trois grandes catégories de matériaux ont été identifiées dans les images pour faciliter la comparaison entre les classifications par source de références spectrales : l’asphalte, le béton et la végétation. La classification utilisant ASTER comme bibliothèque de référence a eu le plus grand taux de réussite avec 92%, suivi par ASD à 88% et finalement HYPERCUBE avec 80%. Nous 5 n’avons pas trouvé de différences significatives entre les trois résultats, ce qui indique que la classification est indépendante de la source des signatures spectrales de référence. / Knowledge of surface cover materials is crucial for urban planning and management. With advances in remote sensing, especially in high spatial and spectral resolution imagery, the identification and detailed mapping of surface materials in urban areas based on spectral signatures are now feasible. Spectral signatures describe the interactions between ground objects and solar radiation and are assumed unique for each type of material. In this research, we use airborne CASI images with 1 m2 spatial resolution, with 96 contiguous bands in a spectral range between 367 nm and 1044 nm. These images covering the island of Montreal (Quebec, Canada), obtained in 2016, were analyzed to identify urban surface materials. The objectives of the project were first to find a correspondence between the physical and chemical characteristic of typical surface materials, present in the Montreal scenes, and the spectral signatures within the images. Second, to develop a sound methodology for identifying these surface materials in urban landscapes. To reach these objectives, our method of analysis is based on a comparison of pixel spectral signatures to those contained in a reference spectral library that describe typical surface covering materials (inert materials and vegetation). Two metrics were used in order to measure the correspondence of pixel spectral signatures and reference spectral signature. The first metric considers the shape of a spectral signature and the second the difference of reflectance values between the observed and reference spectral signature. A fuzzy classifier using these two metrics is then applied to recognize the type of material on a pixel basis. Typical spectral signatures were extracted from two spectral libraries (ASTER and HYPERCUBE). Spectral signatures of typical objects in Montreal measured on the ground (ASD spectroradiometer) were also used as reference spectra. Three general types of surface materials (asphalt, concrete, and vegetation) were used to ease the comparison between classifications using these spectral libraries. The classification using ASTER as a reference library had the highest success rate reaching 92%, followed by the field spectra at 88%, and finally with HYPERCUBE at 80%. There were no significant differences in the classification results indicating that the methodology works independently of the source of reference spectral signatures.

Following work deals with subject matter of digital modelling and animation of biological structures. Software tools for computer generated images (CGI), well proven in common practice, are evaluated, as well as tools for specific activities, available inside chosen software environment. Among vast pool of modelling approaches are discussed tools suitable for creation and representation of selected structures, along with tools essential for their consequent animation. Possible rendering approaches and their parameters in relation to qualities of resulting computer-generated images are discussed as well. Above-mentioned approaches will be consequently utilized for modelling, physical simulation and animation of erythrocyte’s flow throughout blood vessel in following project. Resulting output of that work will be based on series of digital images, suitable for creating video-sequence containing abovementioned animation in end-user digestible form.

Following work deals with subject matter of digital modelling and animation of biological structures. Software tools for computer generated images (CGI), well proven in common practice, are evaluated, as well as tools for specific activities, available inside chosen software environment. Among vast pool of modelling approaches are discussed tools suitable for creation and representation of selected structures, along with tools essential for their consequent animation. Possible rendering approaches and their parameters in relation to qualities of resulting computer-generated images are discussed as well. Above-mentioned approaches will be consequently utilized for modelling, physical simulation and animation of erythrocyte’s flow throughout blood vessel in following project. Resulting output of that work will be based on series of digital images, suitable for creating video-sequence containing abovementioned animation in end-user digestible form.