Thermal sensitivity has been of scientific interest for almost a century. Despite this, several research questions within this field remain unanswered, particularly regarding the specific distribution of thermal sensitivity to cold across the human body. Additionally, while exercise is known to cause a cold stimulus to be perceived as less unpleasant according to the principle of thermal alliesthesia, less has been reported on the effects of exercise on thermal sensitivity to cold. With applications mainly related to clothing insulation and design in mind, the present research project aimed to investigate thermal sensitivity to cold at whole body segments, as well as within body segments, at rest and during exercise. Additionally, a comparison of thermal sensitivity to cold between genders and between ethnic groups was also performed.

Damage detection in mechanical and aerospace structures is critical to maintaining safe and optimal performance. The early detection of damage increases safety and reduces cost of maintenance and repair. Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) integrates sensor networks and structures to autonomously interrogate the structure and detect damage. The development of robust SHM systems is becoming more vital as aerospace structures are becoming more complex. New SHM methods that can determine the health of the structure without using traditional non-destructive evaluation techniques will decrease the cost and time associated with these investigations. The primary SHM method uses the signals recorded on a pristine structure as a reference and compares operational signals to the baseline measurement. One of the current limitations of baseline SHM is that environmental factors, such as temperature and stress, can change the system response so the algorithm indicates damage when there is none. Many structures which can benefit from SHM have multiple components and often have connections and interfaces that also can change under environmental conditions, thus changing the dynamics of the system. This dissertation addresses some of the current limitations of SHM. First the changes that temperature variations and applied stress create on Lamb wave propagation velocity in plates is analytically modeled and validated. Two methods are developed for the analytical derivative of the Lamb wave velocity; the first uses assumes a thermoelastic material while the second expands thermoelastic theory to include thermal expansion and the associated stresses. A model is developed so the baseline measurement can be compensated to eliminate the false positives due to environmental conditions without storage of dispersion curves or baseline signals at each environmental state. Next, a wave based instantaneous baseline method is presented which uses the comparison of simultaneously captured real time signals and can be used to eliminate the influence of environmental effects on damage detection. Finally, wave transmission and conversion across interfaces in prestressed bars is modeled to provide a better understanding of how the coupled axial and flexural dynamics of a non-ideal preloaded interface change with applied load. / Ph. D.

La détection de la température externe par la peau est le point de départ de nombreuses adaptations cellulaires et comportementales permettant de maintenir notre température interne constante. Selon ce concept, les fibres sensorielles cutanées sont les seuls récepteurs sensoriels de la peau pour la détection de la température. Plusieurs canaux ioniques activés directement par des températures chaudes ou froides ont été identifiés, ce sont les canaux TRPs. Le froid peut-il modifier le fonctionnement des organes du toucher?Nous montrons chez l’homme et la souris que les cellules de Merkel (CMs), qui sont les cellules tactiles des complexes de Merkel, peuvent être activées par le froid. Chez les souris dépourvues du canal TRPM8 (KO M8) la réponse au froid des CMs diminue. Le BCTC et le M8B, 2 bloqueurs du canal TRPM8, diminuent également la réponse au froid des CMs. Pour déterminer l’impact de cette sensibilité au froid sur la performance tactile, nous avons enregistré les variations de l’activité nerveuse des récepteurs de Merkel chez les souris WT et KO M8. Un froid modéré (20°C) appliqué sur la peau diminue le train de potentiels d’action issu d’un récepteur de Merkel stimulé mécaniquement. A 20°C ni le seuil de déclenchement des potentiels d’action, ni le train de potentiels d’action en réponse à une stimulation électrique ne sont modifiés. En revanche chez les souris KO M8 cette réponse mécanique tactile n’est plus diminuée. Ce résultat montre pour la première fois qu’une cellule non nerveuse de la peau, la cellule de Merkel, contient un récepteur au froid, le canal TRPM8, qui ajuste l’activité des récepteurs de Merkel lors d’une stimulation tactile. / In the skin, Merkel cells (Mcs) are connected to keratinocytes and A sensory nerve fibers and the complexes works as a slow adaptive mechanoreceptor (SA1 receptor). We observe that cooling human and mouse Merkel cells to 15°C increases intracellular Ca2+ ions concentration. The TRPM8 agonist’s provoke intracellular Ca2+ increases. The responses to cooling and TRPM8 agonist’s are reduced in absence of extracellular Ca2+ ions, by the TRPM8 antagonist’s and in KO M8 mouse. These results show that MCs sense cooling through TRPM8 channels. We hypothesize that cooling sensitivity modulate mechano-transduction and we investigate the modulation of SA1 response using the skin nerve and microneurography techniques in mouse and human, respectively. In mouse, cooling the skin at 22°C reduces the frequency of the SA1 discharge, without modifying the nerve conduction. This reduction disappeared in KO M8 mouse. These results suggest that MCs activity reduced the discharge of SA1 receptor at mild fresh temperature, anticipating effect of lower temperature on A nerve fiber excitability.This study is the first report about the sensitivity of MCs to cold temperature and its consequences on the SA1 receptor activity in mouse and human. We conclude that cold sensitivity of Merkel cells mediated by TRPM8 regulates the SA1 mechanical response, particularly at mild fresh temperature, when the nerve conduction is not significantly modified by cold. This is the first description of an active inhibitory process, driven by a TRP channel, during sensory transduction in the skin.

Understanding how temperature affects biological systems is a central question in ecology and evolutionary biology. Anthropogenic climate change adds urgency to this topic, as the demise or success of species under climate change is expected to depend on how temperature affects important aspects of organismal performance, such as growth, development, survival and reproduction. Rates of biological processes generally increase with increasing temperature up to some maximal temperature. Variation in the slope of the initial, rising phase has attracted considerable interest and forms the focus of this thesis. I explore variation in growth rate-temperature relationships over several levels of biological organization, both between and within species, over individuals’ lifetime, depending on the ecological context and in relation to important life history characteristics such as generation length and winter dormancy.       Specifically, I examine how a clade of temperate damselflies have adapted to their thermal environment along a 3,600 km long latitudinal transect spanning from Southern Spain to Northern Sweden. For each of six species, I sampled populations from close to the northern and southern range margin, as well from the center of the latitudinal range. I reared larvae in the laboratory at several temperatures in order to measure indiviudal growth rates. Very few studies of thermal adaptation have employed such an extensive sampling approach, and my finding reveal variation in temperature responses at several levels of organization.       My main finding was that temperature responses became steeper with increasing latitude, both between species but also between latitudinal populations of the same species. Additional genetic studies revealed that this trend was maintained despite strong gene flow. I highlight the need to use more refined characterizations of latitudinal temperature clines in order to explain these findings. I also show that species differ in their ability to acclimate to novel conditions during ontogeny, and propose that this may reflect a cost-benefit trade-off driven by whether seasonal transitions occur rapidly or gradually during ontogeny.       I also carried out a microcosm experiment, where two of the six species were reared either separately or together, to determine the interacting effects of temperature and competition on larval growth rates and population size structure. The results revealed that the effects of competition can be strong enough to completely overcome the rate-depressing effects of low temperatures. I also found that competition had stronger effects on the amount of variation in growth rates than on the average value.       In summary, my thesis offers several novel insights into how temperature affects biological systems, from individuals to populations and across species’ ranges. I also show how it is possible to refine our hypotheses about thermal adaptation by considering the interacting effects of ecology, life history and environmental variation.

La température est le paramètre abiotique qui influence de façon majoritaire les traits d’histoire de vie des espèces ectothermes. Pour appréhender les relations entre physiologie, environnement et histoire évolutive et leur influence respective sur la délimitation des aires de distribution des espèces, ce travail exploite les caractéristiques thermiques du milieu souterrain. Les résultats réfutent l’hypothèse de sténothermie des deux organismes hypogés étudiés Niphargus rhenorhodanensis et Proasellus valdensis et prouvent que l’histoire évolutive, la dispersion ou la compétition sont des paramètres importants dans l’établissement des aires de distribution des espèces souterraines. En outre, ce travail caractérise pour la première fois chez des organismes souterrains, un gène codant pour des protéines de choc thermique et montre l’importante sensibilité cellulaire de N. rhenorhodanensis face à une augmentation de température / Temperature is the abiotic factor that most influences the life-history traits of ectothermic organisms. In order to study the relationships between physiology, environment and evolutionary history and their respective role in the determination of species distribution areas, this work takes advantage of the thermal caracteristics of subterranean aquatic biotopes. Our results refuted stenothermy in both studied hypogean organisms Niphargus rhenorhodanensis and Proasellus valdensis and they showed that evolutionary history, dispersal and competition are important factors that determine the distribution of subterranean species. Moreover, this work characterized for the first time in subterranean organisms a gene encoding heat shock proteins and demonstrated the high cellular sensitivity of N. rhenorhodanensis to increased water temperature

Les changements climatiques ont un impact sur quasiment toutes formes de vie. Des augmentations des moyennes de température ainsi que desfluctuations peuvent causer un stress, particulièrement chez les ectothermes aquatiques sessiles tels que les moules d’eau douce. Cependant, certaines espèces semblent mieux faire face à ces températures stressantes que d’autres. La tolérance au stress thermique peut par exemple expliquer le succès de certaines espèces envahissantes. Il est connu que les mitochondries peuvent jouer un rôle clé dans l’établissement de la thermo-tolérance des ectothermes. Dans cette étude, nous avons visé à caractériser la thermo-tolérance mitochondriale chez des moules d’eau douce endémiques et invasives. À travers l’utilisation de la respirométrie à haute résolution, nous avons analysé la respiration mitochondriale de deux espèces de moules d’eau douce exposées à plusieurs températures différentes. Nous avons remarqué que la moule invasive Dreissena bugensis possédait un métabolisme mitochondrial moins thermo-tolérant que la moule endémique Elliptio complanata. Cette lacune au niveau de la tolérance a été liée à une dépression métabolique aérobique plus marquée à des températures élevées. Ces résultats pourraient potentiellement être associées avec les traits de caractéristiques de vie de ces espèces, car D. bugensis est plus adaptée à des environnements instables dans lesquels les pressions de sélection pour des adaptations de résistance sont réduites. Nos résultats s’ajoutent à la littérature grandissante qui caractérise le métabolisme mitochondrial de plusieurs espèces aquatiques face aux changements climatiques / Climate change is impacting many, if not all, forms of life. Increases in extreme temperature fluctuations and average temperatures can cause stress, particularly in aquatic sessile ectotherms such as freshwater mussels. However, some species seem to thrive more than others in face of temperature-related stressors. Thermal tolerance may for example explain invasive species success. It is also known that mitochondria can play a key role in setting an ectothermic species’ thermal tolerance. In this study, we aimed to characterize the mitochondrial thermo-tolerance in invasive and endemic freshwater mussels. With the use of high-resolution respirometry, we analyzed the mitochondrial respiration of two freshwater bivalve species exposed to a broad range of temperatures. We noticed that the invasive dreissenid Dreissena bugensis displayed a less thermo-tolerant mitochondrial metabolism than the endemic unionid Elliptio complanata. This lack of tolerance was linked with a more noticeable depression of aerobic metabolism at elevated temperatures. These findings may be associated with the life history traits of both species, as D. bugensis is more adapted to unstable habitats, where selection pressures for resistance adaptations are reduced. Our findings add to the growing body of literature characterizing the mitochondrial metabolism of many aquatic ectotherms in the context of climate change.

Les modèles actuels de prédiction de la sensation thermique et du confort thermique ainsi que les solutions visant à améliorer l’état de bien-être thermique des occupants d’un bâtiment sont insuffisants. Ils ne prennent pas assez en compte les différences interindividuelles de jugement thermosensoriel. Pourtant, ces différences, souvent associées à la sensibilité thermique de chaque individu, existent mais restent inexpliquées sur le plan physiologique. Ces travaux de thèse, qui se sont déroulés en deux étapes, ont pour objectif d'identifier les causes physiologiques potentielles des différences interindividuelles du ressenti thermique, à travers des expérimentations multiparamétriques basées sur des mesurées cutanées. Toutes les mesures ont été réalisées après 30 minutes d’acclimatation en environnement thermique contrôlé. La première étape, exploratoire, a permis d’analyser à la fois l’activité neurosensorielle, les propriétés thermo-vasculaires et les propriétés du film hydrolipidique cutané de deux groupes présentant des sensibilités au froid distinctes (selon leur sensation thermique déclarée). Ainsi, les expérimentations ont montré qu’il était plus pertinent d’analyser davantage les propriétés cutanées thermiques et hydriques (reliées aux mécanismes de thermorégulation) plutôt que l’activité neurosensorielle des volontaires pour caractériser les différences interindividuelles de jugement thermosensoriel. Elles ont également mis en évidence la nécessité de contrôler les facteurs non thermiques des environnements et de sélectionner rigoureusement les sujets. La deuxième étape s’est focalisée sur l’analyse des propriétés thermo-vasculaires et des propriétés du film hydrolipidique de deux groupes de sensibilité au froid. Pour cela, 13 femmes ont été confrontées à 6 environnements de températures modérées comprises entre 17°C et 30°C (avec 2 transitions chaudes et 2 transitions froides) et les groupes ont été construits à partir du degré de frilosité déclaré par les sujets. Des différences sur les paramètres cutanées ont alors pu être relevées entre les deux groupes. Le résultat le plus significatif est que les individus dits « frileux » présentent une activité microcirculatoire plus intense sur les joues avec une vasoconstriction plus forte au froid et une vasodilatation plus forte au chaud que l’autre groupe « non sensible au froid » (p=0,002 d’après le test de l’ANCOVA pour l’effet des groupes). De plus, il a été montré que l’approche multiparamétrique (introduction de variables non thermiques comme variables prédictives) ainsi que la prise en compte des sensibilités thermiques individuelles améliorent la prédiction du confort thermique surtout pour le groupe « frileux » (+ 6,4 %). / Current models for predicting thermal sensation and thermal comfort as well as the solutions to improve the state of thermal well-being of the occupants of a building are insufficient. They do not sufficiently take into account interindividual differences of thermosensory judgment. However, these differences, often associated with thermal sensitivity of each person, exist but remain unexplained physiologically. This work, divided into two stages, is intended to identify the potential physiological causes of interindividual differences of thermal feeling through multiparametric experiments based on skin measurements. All measurements were performed after 30 minutes of acclimatization in controlled environment. The exploratory phase allowed to analyze both neurosensory activity, thermo-vascular properties and properties of the skin hydrolipidic film of two groups with different cold sensitivities (depending on their declared thermal sensation). For example, experiments have shown that it was more appropriate to analyse thermal and hydric skin properties (related to thermoregulation mechanisms) rather than neurosensory activity of volunteers to characterize interindividual differences of thermosensory judgment. They have also highlighted the need to control the non-thermal factors of environments and rigorously select subjects. The second step focused on the analysis of thermo-vascular properties and properties of the hydrolipidic film of two groups of different cold sensitivity. Thirteen women have faced in 6 environments of moderate temperatures between 17 ° C and 30 ° C (with 2 warm transitions and 2 cold transitions). Groups were built according to their degree of cold sensitivity. Differences in skin parameters have been found between the two groups. The most significant result is that cold-sensitive individuals have a more intense microcirculatory activity on cheeks with a stronger vasoconstriction in cold environments and a stronger vasodilation in warm environement than the non cold-sensitive group (p = 0. 002 according to ANCOVA test for groups effect). In addition, it has been shown that the multi-parametric approach (introduction of non-thermal parameters as predictors) as well as taking into account individual thermal sensitivities improve the prediction of thermal comfort especially for the cold-sensitive group (+ 6.4%).

This report employs advanced Raman spectroscopy techniques to investigate the fundamental properties of 9-AGNRs comprehensively. It is divided into two main sections addressing distinct aspects of 9-AGNR behavior. In the first section, Polarization Raman spectroscopy (PRS) probes phonon mode symmetries in 9-AGNRs. Our analysis reveals deviations from predicted symmetries, suggesting the presence of lattice defects. We also investigate specific phonon modes (G, D, and RBLM), providing insights into lattice integrity. The second section employs temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy to explore the thermal properties of 9-AGNRs. This dynamic analysis quantifies vibrational mode responsiveness to temperature variations using the Grüneisen parameter (χ). Comparisons across various carbon-based materials uncover distinct sensitivities and stabilities. This research advances our understanding of 9-AGNR properties, with implications for nanomaterial science and potential applications. / Denna rapport använder avancerade Raman spektroskopitekniker för att på ett omfattande sätt undersöka de grundläggande egenskaperna hos 9-AGNRs. Den är uppdelad i två huvudsektioner som tar upp distinkta aspekter av 9-AGNR beteende. I det första avsnittet sonderar Polarisation Raman spektroskopi (PRS) fononlägessymmetrier i 9-AGNRs. Vår analys avslöjar avvikelser från förutsagda symmetrier, vilket tyder på närvaron av gitterdefekter. Vi undersöker också specifika fononlägen (G, D och RBLM), vilket ger insikter om gitterintegritet. Den andra sektionen använder temperaturberoende Raman-spektroskopi för att utforska de termiska egenskaperna hos 9-AGNRs. Denna dynamiska analys kvantifierar vibrationslägets känslighet för temperaturvariationer med hjälp av Grüneisen-parametern (χ). Jämförelser mellan olika kolbaserade material avslöjar distinkta känsligheter och stabiliteter. Denna forskning främjar vår förståelse av 9-AGNR-egenskaper, med implikationer för nanomaterialvetenskap och potentiella tillämpningar.