Os testes utilizados rotineiramente na avaliação de danos mecânicos, danos causados por insetos e danos por deterioração de tecidos em sementes de soja e de milho são destrutivos, impossibilitando a associação dos resultados obtidos com os testes fisiológicos (germinação e vigor). Dessa forma, a avaliação da qualidade de sementes por meio de análise de imagens tem despertado interesse da pesquisa, devido ao fato de serem técnicas rápidas e não destrutivas, permitindo tal associação. Dentre as técnicas de análise de imagens existentes, as técnicas de microtomografia computadorizada de raios X (micro-TC) e imagem por ressonância magnética (IRM) tem se mostrado promissoras na pesquisa com sementes, por gerarem imagens tridimensionais, que permitem verificar, com precisão, a localização dos danos internos nas sementes. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi utilizar as técnicas de micro-TC e IRM para avaliar danos internos em sementes de milho e de soja, verificar suas relações com a germinação e compará-las a técnica de raios X, que vem sendo utilizada na pesquisa com sementes. Para tanto foram selecionadas previamente, 32 sementes de soja e 30 sementes de milho, que foram submetidas aos testes de raios X, micro-TC e IRM, para obtenção das imagens e, posteriormente, ao teste de germinação, para associar os resultados obtidos com o desempenho das sementes. Pode-se concluir para as sementes de soja que as três técnicas se mostraram eficientes na detecção de danos nas sementes. Por outro lado, para as sementes de milho, pode-se haver necessidade de utilização das técnicas de micro-TC e IRM para avaliar, com maior precisão, a morfologia interna das sementes. / The current tests used in the evaluation of mechanical, insect, and tissue damage in soybean and corn seeds are destructive, making it impossible to associate those with the results obtained with physiological tests (germination and vigor).Therefore, evaluation of the seed quality by imaging analysis techniques aroused interest in seed research for being fast and non-destructive techniques, allowing association with physiological tests. X-ray computerized microtomography (micro-CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) seem promising techniques due to the fact they generate three-dimensional imagens allowing more accurately evaluation of the seed\'s internal morphology. The objective of this study was to use the micro-CT and MRI techniques to evaluate internal morphology of soybean and corn seeds, correlate their relationship with the physiological test (germination test) and to compare them with the X-ray technique, which has been used in seed research. For that 32 soybena seeds and 30 corn seeds were selected. Seeds were tested with X-ray, micro-CT, MRI, to obtain the images. Then germination test was conducted to associate the results obtained with the performance of the seeds. Overall, the three techniques were efficient in detecting damage in soybean seeds. On the other hand for corn, it may be necessary to use the micro-CT and MRI techniques to evaluate more accurately the internal morphology of the seeds.

Using time-resolved photo-induced reflectivity, we reported for the first time a systematic work on the ultrafast response of Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+δ (BSCCO-2212) and Tl₂Ba₂CuO_6+δ (TBCO-2201), measurements of detwinned YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ (YBCO-123) single crystal with the electric field ̲E parallel to the a and b-axis and high-resolution measurements of the rising edge dynamics of YBCO-123 thin films. We identified similar photo-induced responses for BSCCO, TBCO and for YBCO with ̲E ⊥ ̲b, which indicates that we observed a universal response of HTSC coming from the CuO2 superconducting planes. This latter dynamics is composed of three different components corresponding to the superconducting, pseudogap and normal state. A bi-molecular model has been put forward to explain the linear temperature dependence of the decay rate; the model implies that the re-formation of the condensate is limited by the rate at which quasiparticle interact. Moreover, we observed superconducting fluctuations up to 13K above T_c and a divergence of the long-lived component magnitude at very low temperature, which is explained by a cw heating model. In the pseudogap state, we have several indications that the negative peak observed between T_c and T* has a different origin from that of the superconducting signal below T_c. We argued that the probe mechanism of the pseudogap signal is electronic excitations of the pseudogap correlations. In the normal state, the observed dynamics is similar to that of simple metals. In the second part of this thesis, the rising edge dynamics of YBCO has been resolved in time. The model developed to interpret the results implies that the hot quasiparticles relaxation time down to the Fermi energy is 55fs. In this context, we proved that the Mazin model cannot explain both the oscillatory and the non-oscillatory part of the dynamics in YBCO. Finally, in YBCO-123, a new response has been observed with ̲E ∥ ̲b. We argued that the origin of this component is intraband transitions. This dynamics is solely responsive to the pseudogap, coming from the difference in scattering rate between pre-formed pairs and quasiparticles in the Drude reflectivity. The response with ̲E ⊥ ̲b exhibits a strong a-b plane anisotropy in its long-lived component, which can be interpreted as a d-wave gap symmetry using the thermally-activated model.

Multiphase flow is the simultaneous flow of two or more phases, in direct contact, and is important in the oil industry, e.g. in production wells, in sub-sea pipelines and during the drilling of wells. The behaviour of the flow will depend on the properties of the constituent phases, the flow velocities and volume fractions of the phases and the geometry of the system. In solids-in-liquid flows, measurement of the local solids volume fraction distribution and the local axial solids velocity distribution in the flow cross section is important for many reasons including health and safety and economic reasons, particularly in oil well drilling operations. However upward inclined solidsliquid flows which are frequently encountered during oil well drilling operations are not well understood. Inclined solids-liquid flows result in non- uniform profiles of the solids volume fraction and axial solids velocity in the flow cross- section. In order to measure the solids volumetric flow rate in these situations it is necessary to measure the distributions of the local solids volume fraction and the local axial solids velocity and then to integrate the product of these local properties in the flow cross section. This thesis describes the development of a non-intrusive Impedance Cross-Correlation (ICC) device to measure the local solids volume fraction distribution and the local solids axial solids velocity distribution in upward inclined solids-water flows in which these distributions are highly non-uniform. The ICC device comprises a non-conductive pipe section of 80mm internal diameter fitted with two arrays of electrodes, denoted „array A‟ and „array B‟, separated by an axial distance of 50mm. At each array, eight electrodes are equispaced over the internal circumference of the pipe. A control system consisting of a microcontroller and analogue switches is used such that, for arrays A and B, any of the eight electrodes can be configured as an "excitation electrode" (V+), a "virtual earth measurement electrode" (Ve) or an "earth electrode" (E) thus enabling the local mixture conductance in different regions of the flow cross-section to be measured and thereby allowing the local solids volume fraction in each region to be deduced. The conductance signals from arrays A and B are also cross-correlated to yield the local solids axial velocity in the regions of flow under interrogation. A number of experiments were carried out in solids-in-water flows in a flow loop with an 80 mm inner diameter, 1.68m long Perspex test section which was inclined at three different inclination angle to the vertical ( o 0 , o 15 and o 30 ). The obtained results show good quantitative agreement with previous work carried out using intrusive local probes. Integration of the flow profiles in the cross section also yielded excellent quantitative agreement with reference measurements of the mean solids volume fraction, the mean solids velocity and the solids volumetric flow rate. Furthermore, this study also showed good qualitative agreement with high speed film of the flow. It is believed that the method of velocity and volume fraction profile measurement described in this thesis is much simpler to implement, more accurate and less expensive than the currently very popular technique of dual-plane Electrical Resistance Tomography (ERT). Finally, the thesis describes a mathematical model for predicting the axial velocity distribution of inclined solids-water flows using the solids volume fraction profiles measured by the ICC device. Good agreement was obtained between the predicted velocity profiles and the velocity profiles measured using the ICC device.

Optimal cut plans for cutter suction dredgers aim to maximize operational efficiency. Maximizing operational efficiency involves minimization of stoppage time resulting from non-productive dredger movements. To automate a systematic search for optimal twodimensional cut plans for cutter suction dredgers two models with an adaptive simulated annealing-based solution approach were developed. The first model, the dredge cut nesting model, optimizes irregular stock cutting problems where stencils represent dredge cuts and sheets represent dredging areas. Stencils are collections of unit dredge cuts with dimensions related to an effective cutting width which can be achieved with the cutter suction dredger considered. The objectives of the dredge cut nesting model are to maximize sheet coverage and to minimize stencil overlap. Centroids of unit dredge cuts of final nest layouts are extracted and used as grid nodes in the second model. The second model, the dredger routing model, optimizes asymmetric travelling salesperson problems with turning costs. The objectives of the dredger routing model are to minimize total route length and sum of turning angles, and to maximize average link length. A link consists of two or more route edges which are aligned with each other to within specified limits. A significant result of this research is that an engineering application of both models showed that two-dimensional cut plans for cutter suction dredgers can be systematically optimized and that dredger routes with minimum turning costs can be found. However, results also showed that the dredger routing model is not yet sophisticated enough to find cut plans for cutter suction dredgers for which overall project execution time is minimal.

The purpose of dissertation is to examine whether the understandings of subject indexing processes conducted by human indexers have a positive impact on the effectiveness of automatic subject term assignment through text categorization (TC). More specifically, human indexers' subject indexing approaches or conceptions in conjunction with semantic sources were explored in the context of a typical scientific journal article data set. Based on the premise that subject indexing approaches or conceptions with semantic sources are important for automatic subject term assignment through TC, this study proposed an indexing conception-based framework. For the purpose of this study, three hypotheses were tested: 1) the effectiveness of semantic sources, 2) the effectiveness of an indexing conception-based framework, and 3) the effectiveness of each of three indexing conception-based approaches (the content-oriented, the document-oriented, and the domain-oriented approaches). The experiments were conducted using a support vector machine implementation in WEKA (Witten, & Frank, 2000). The experiment results pointed out that cited works, source title, and title were as effective as the full text, while keyword was found more effective than the full text. In addition, the findings showed that an indexing conception-based framework was more effective than the full text. Especially, the content-oriented and the document-oriented indexing approaches were found more effective than the full text. Among three indexing conception-based approaches, the content-oriented approach and the document-oriented approach were more effective than the domain-oriented approach. In other words, in the context of a typical scientific journal article data set, the objective contents and authors' intentions were more focused that the possible users' needs. The research findings of this study support that incorporation of human indexers' indexing approaches or conception in conjunction with semantic sources has a positive impact on the effectiveness of automatic subject term assignment.

Diplomová práca sa zaoberá vývojom emulátoru prenosových parametrov dátovych sietí nad protokolovou sadou TCP/IP. Práca opisuje špecifiká sieťovej časti Linuxového jadra ako aj realizáciu emulátoru pomocou userspace programov ako tc, netem, ifb a iptables ovládajúcich jadro. Program pre emuláciu je realizovaný v jazyku Python a je ovládaný cez grafické rozhranie vytvorené s PyQt5. Aplikácia bola otestovaná a verifikovaná, že je dostatočne presnou reprezentáciou špecifikovanej WAN siete a že taktiež využíva prostriedky efektívne.

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Выпускная квалификационная работа состоит из введения, трех частей, заключения, библиографического списка и приложений. Представлена теоретическая часть: Используя такие теории, как иерархия потребностей Маслоу, двухфакторная теория Герцберга и теория справедливости Адамса, в исследовании рассматриваются основные факторы, способствующие текучести кадров. Практическая часть включает в себя углубленный анализ организационной структуры компании, удовлетворенности сотрудников и существующих методов управления с помощью анализа литературы, количественных опросов и качественных оценок. Полученные данные свидетельствуют о том, что основными причинами текучести кадров в компании TC Company являются неадекватная система оплаты труда, ограниченные возможности карьерного роста и неоптимальные условия труда. Содержание проектной части: предложены рекомендации по предотвращению текучести кадров. Для решения этих проблем в диссертации рекомендуется усовершенствовать структуру заработной платы и льгот, создать четкую и справедливую систему служебной аттестации, улучшить возможности карьерного роста и продвижения по службе, а также создать благоприятную рабочую среду. Внедряя эти стратегии, компания TC Company может повысить удовлетворенность сотрудников, снизить текучесть кадров и, в конечном счете, укрепить свои конкурентные преимущества в технологическом секторе. Результаты исследования являются ценным руководством для аналогичных предприятий, сталкивающихся с проблемами управления человеческими ресурсами и удержания сотрудников. В заключение подводятся итоги в соответствии с поставленными задачами. / The final qualifying work consists of an introduction, three parts, a conclusion, a bibliographic list, and appendixes. The theoretical part presents (description of the essence). Utilizing theories such as Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory, and Adams' Equity Theory, the study explores the underlying factors contributing to employee turnover. The practical part analyzes (description of the essence). The research includes an in-depth analysis of TC Company's organizational structure, employee satisfaction, and existing management practices through a combination of literature review, quantitative surveys, and qualitative assessments. Project part contents (description of the essence). The findings indicate that the primary causes of turnover at TC Company include an inadequate compensation system, limited career development opportunities, and suboptimal working conditions. In conclusion, the results are summed up in accordance with the tasks set. To address these issues, the thesis recommends enhancing the salary and benefits structure, establishing a clear and fair performance appraisal system, improving career development and promotion pathways, and fostering a supportive work environment. By implementing these strategies, TC Company can enhance employee satisfaction, reduce turnover rates, and ultimately strengthen its competitive edge in the technology sector. The study's insights provide valuable guidance for similar enterprises facing challenges in human resource management and employee retention.

The MHC class I status of tumour cells during immunotherapy is often underestimated. It represents one of important tumour escape mechanisms and thus can contribute to the failure of most of the cancer clinical trials that are usually based on the induction of cytotoxic T cell responses. Epigenetic changes in the promoters of genes involved in the MHC class I Ag presentation can result in decreased expression of the cell surface MHC molecules on tumour cells. Thus, epigenetic modifiers can restore an expression of the MHC class I molecules and make tumours visible to the CD8+ effector cells. Besides the epigenetic changes on the tumour cells, epigenetic modulators affect cells of the immune system such as dendritic cells (DC). Tumour cells can escape from the immune response not only by changes in the cancer cells, but also by influencing, expanding and/or activating immunoregulatory cell populations, such as regulatory T cells (Treg). This thesis focuses on the potential of the DC-based vaccines against HPV-16-associated tumours with a different MHC class I expression, on the combination of cancer immunotherapy with the treatment using epigenetic modifiers, with special attention paid to their effects on DC, and, finally, on the impacts of the anti-CD25 antibody (used for Treg elimination) on Treg and NKT...