The aim of the diploma thesis "Optimization of collection routes in a selected region" was to develop a method of evaluation of efficiency of current routes used for garbage collection in urban region and, if these are found inefficient, design more efficient ones. The analysis was performed on a data set pertaining to separated refuse in the city of České Budějovice.

This work deals with two optimization problems, traveling salesman problem and cluster analysis. Solution of these optimization problems are applied on INVEA-TECH company needs. It shortly describes questions of optimization and some optimization techniques. Closely deals with swarm intelligence, strictly speaking particle swarm intelligence. Part of this work is recherché of variants of particle swarm optimization algorithm. The second part describes PSO algorithms solving clustering problem and traveling salesman problem and their implementation in Matlab language.

Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) uses behaviour observed in real-life ant colonies in order to solve shortest path problems. Short paths are found with the use of pheromones, which allow ants to communicate indirectly. There are numerous pheromone distribution techniques for virtual ant systems and this thesis studies two of the most well known, Elitist and Max-Min. Implementations of Elitist and Max-Min ACO algorithms were tested using instances of the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP). The performance of the different techniques are compared with respect to runtime, iterations and approximation quality when the optimal solution could not be found. It was found that the Elitist strategy performs better on small TSP instances where the number of possible paths are reduced. However, Max-Min proved to be more reliable and better performing when more paths could be chosen or size of the instances increased. When approximating solutions for large instances, Elitist was able to achieve high quality approximations faster than Max-Min. On the other hand, the overall quality of the approximations were better when Max-Min was studied after a slightly longer runtime, compared to Elitist. / Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) drar lärdom av beteende observerat hos riktiga myror för att lösa kortaste vägen problem. Korta vägar hittas med hjälp av feromoner, som tillåter myror att kommunicera indirekt. Det finns flera tekniker för att distribuera feromoner i virtuella myr-system och denna rapport kommer studera två av de mest kända, Elitist och Max-Min. Implementationer av Elitist och Max-Min ACO algoritmer testades med instanser av Handelsresandeproblemet (TSP). Prestandan hos de olika teknikerna jämförs med avseende på körtid, iterationer och approximeringskvalité när den optimala lösningen inte kunde hittas. Det konstaterades att Elitist strategin fungerar bättre på små TSP instanser där antalet möjliga stigar är begränsade. Däremot visade det sig Max-Min vara bättre och mer pålitlig när instansernas storlek ökades eller när fler stigar kunde väljas. När lösningar approximerades för stora instanser kunde Elitist uppnå approximationer med god kvalité snabbare än Max-Min. Däremot var den generella kvalitén hos approximationerna bättre när Max-Min studerades efter en lite längre körtid, jämfört med Elitist.

Luminescent coating measurement system is a relatively new technology for quantitative pressure and temperature measurement. Usually referred to as Pressure Sensitive Paint (PSP) and Temperature Sensitive Paint (TSP), luminescent coatings contain sensor molecules, which undergoes a luminescent transition when excited with light of proper wavelength. The reaction is pressure and/or temperature sensitive. The image of TSP or PSP coated model surface can be captured with a scientific grade camera and then processed to obtain full field temperature and pressure distribution with very high fidelity. The preparation time of the technique is short. The measurement system offers an economic alternative to conventional testing methods using large number of pressure taps and thermocouples. The purpose of the experiment in this thesis is to take the benefits of the TSP and PSP technique, develop a well-controlled process and then apply the technique for a fundamental study on jet impingement heat transfer. First, Uni-Coat TSP and Binary-FIB PSP purchased from ISSI Inc. are calibrated to high accuracy. The calibration uncertainty of TSP and PSP are found to be ±0.93 °C and ±0.12 psi over temperature and pressure ranges of 22 to 90 ° C and 5 to 14.7 psia, respectively. The photodegradation of TSP is then investigated with the same calibration system. The photodegradation refers to the phenomenon of decreasing emission intensity as the luminescent paint is exposed to the illumination light during testing. It was found that photodegradation rate is a strong function of temperature and the optical power of illumination lighting. The correlation developed in this work is expected to compensate the degradation of TSP to achieve high measurement accuracy. Both TSP and PSP were then applied in the flow and heat transfer measurement of single round impinging air jet. Various separation distance (Z/D) and jet Reynolds number are tested. Pressure measurement on the jet impinged target surface using PSP clearly shows the boundary of jet impingement zone, which broadens with separation distance. In heat transfer experiment using TSP, the "second peak" in local heat transfer occurring at radial distance r/D around 2 is clearly observed when the separation distance Z/D is shorter than the length of jet potential core. The slight variation in radial location and the amplitude of the "second peak" are captured as Z/D and jet Reynolds number change. The optimum Z/D of stagnation point heat transfer is found to be around 5. The effect of jet nozzle configuration is investigated. It is found that the heat transfer rate associated with "tube jet" is generally higher than that of "plate jet". The difference in heat transfer between the two jet configurations is related to the weaker entrainment effect associated with "plate jet", where the entrainment of surrounding air is confined by the injection plate, especially under small Z/D circumstances. When compared with the benchmark data in the literature, the averaged heat transfer data of "tube jet" matches the empirical data better than those of "plate jet". The maximum difference is 3.3% for tube jet versus 15.4% for plate jet at Reynolds number of 60000 and Z/D of 5. The effect of surface roughness on jet impingement heat transfer is also studied. Heat transfer can be significantly increased by the enhanced roughness of the target surface. The largest roughness effect is achieved near stagnation point at high jet Reynolds number. Compared to the heat transfer to a smooth plate, as high as 30.9% increase in area-averaged Nusselt number is observed over a rough surface at r/D=1.5 and jet Reynolds number of 60000. The most significant advance of the present work is that both temperature and pressure measurement be obtained with the same measurement system and with accuracy comparable to traditional testing methods. The procedures that were employed in this work should be easy to apply in any university or industrial testing facility. It provides a rapid testing tool that can help solve complex problems in aerodynamics and heat transfer

A segment of transpiring wall is installed near a row of unshaped film holes. The effects on the aerodynamic performance and cooling downstream of the row of cylindrical holes in the presence of transpiration is studied numerically. The changes in behavior of the film due to relative positioning of the injection sources and blowing ratios are predicted to understand the sensitivity of cooling and aerodynamic losses on the relative positioning of the two sources and each blowing ratio. The results indicate that a coupling of the two sources allows a more efficient use of coolant by generating a more uniform initial film resulting in improved component durability through reduction of hot- streaks. With careful optimization the discrete holes can be placed farther apart laterally operating at a lower blowing ratio with a transpiration segment making the large deficits in cooling effectiveness mid-pitch less severe, overall minimizing coolant usage. Addition of transpiration increases the aerodynamic losses associated with injection. This effect can be arguably small compared to corresponding thermal benefits seen by coupling the two. Comparisons of linear superposition predictions of the two independent sources with the corresponding coupled scenario indicate the two films positively influence one another and outperform predictions. The interaction between the two films is dependent upon the relative placement of the transpiration; all relative placements have an overall beneficial effect on the cooling seen by the protected wall. An increase in area-averaged film cooling effectiveness of 300% is seen along with only a 50% increase in loss coefficient by injecting an additional 10% coolant. In this study the downstream placement of transpiration is found to perform best of the three geometries tested while considering cooling, aerodynamic losses, local uniformity and manufacturing feasibility. With further study and optimization this technique can potentially provide more effective thermal protection at a lower cost of aerodynamic losses and spent coolant. A method of measuring the local temperature of a porous wall is also discussed. Measurements are taken with temperature sensitive paint applied in thin coats to the wall. This technique was validated on a 40PPI, 7% relative density aluminum porous coupon. Measurements of discharge coefficients as well as downstream effectiveness data are included to verify the flow through the porous wall was unaltered by applying the paint. A maximum deviation in film-cooling effectiveness of 9% between the two cases with the majority of data falling within 4% was found, very similar to the experimental uncertainty of the rig. This excellent agreement between the repeated tests showed that by applying thermal paint to a wall of such porosity does not significantly affect the flow exiting the wall and hence the measurement technique can readily be applied to transpiration cooling studies at this scale. Methods of filtering the temperature sensitive paint on the porous wall are presented.

No description available.

O vírus linfotrópico de células T humanas do tipo 1 (HTLV-1) é o agente etiológico de duas principais manifestações clínicas, a mielopatia associada ao HTLV-1/paraparesia espástica tropical (HAM/TSP) e a leucemia/linfoma de células T do adulto (ATLL). O desenvolvimento de HAM/TSP, uma doença neuroinflamatória crônica é relacionada a uma complexa interação entre vírus e resposta imunológica do hospedeiro. A expressão do gene viral tax desempenha um papel importante na patogênese da HAM/TSP pela ativação de diversos genes celulares, incluindo genes das citocinas inflamatórias IFN-? e TNF- Recentemente, os exossomos surgiram como um importante fator na comunicação célula-célula contribuindo em diversos processos celulares, inclusive na modulação do sistema imunológico. Considerando o potencial papel dos exossomos na imunomodulação e no processo inflamatório, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar se os exossomos produzidos por células infectadas pelo HTLV-1 carreiam moléculas virais e se poderiam participar dos processos de imunomodulação e inflamação crônica observados na HAM/TSP. Os exossomos foram isolados de células infectadas pelo HTLV-1 da linhagem celular C8166, avaliados quanto à presença de RNAm viral tax e testados quanto à capacidade de ativar células mononucleares do sangue periférico (PBMC) à indução de resposta inflamatória. Neste trabalho, foi observado que, após a exposição de PBMC aos exossomos contendo RNAm viral tax, a expressão da citocina inflamatória IFN-? foi aumentada em linfócitos T CD4+ e CD8+ quando comparado ao grupo não exposto aos exossomos. Foi observado um pequeno aumento de TNF-? no grupo exposto aos exossomos. Não houve diferença na expressão das citocinas IL-4, perforina e granzima B. Tomados em conjunto, estes resultados sugerem que exossomos contendo tax isolados de células infectadas pelo HTLV-1 induzem a produção de citocinas inflamatórias ativam a resposta imunológica de padrão Th1, e não Th2. Estes achados podem contribuir na elucidação do papel dos exossomos na infecção pelo HTLV-1 e nos estudos relacionados à patogênese da HAM/TSP e à resposta inflamatória envolvendo a apresentação clínica desta doença. / Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is the etiological agent of HTLV-1 associated myelopathy/tropical paraparesis spastic (HAM/TSP) and adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL). The development of HAM/TSP, a chronic neuroinflammatory disease, is correlated to a complex host-virus dynamic immune response interaction. Tax expression plays an important role in HAM/TSP pathogenesis by activating various cellular genes, including the cytokines IFN-? and TNF-?. Exosomes have emerged as an important factor of cell-to-cell communication contributing to diverse cellular processes, including immune modulation. Considering the potential role of exosomes in modulating the immune response and inflammation, the main objective of this study was to examine if HTLV-1-infected cells produce exosomes can carry viral tax mRNA, and if they can can participate in the chronic inflammation observed in patients with HAM/TSP. Exosomes were isolated from HTLV-1-infected cell line culture, evaluated for the tax mRNA presence and tested for the ability to activate peripheral mononuclear cells (PBMC) in inducing an inflammatory immune response. We observed that the proinflammatory cytokine IFN-? was upregulated in CD4 and CD8 T-cells after treatment of the PBMC with Tax carrying exosomes compared to the negative control. The expression of TNF-? was slightly upregulated. IL-4, Granzyme B and Perforin did not show alterations. Taken together, these results suggest that exosomes carrying Tax isolated from HTLV-1-infected cells might induce the production of proinflammatory cytokines and activate T helper (Th)1, and not Th2, immune response. This study may have important impact on the studies involving the pathogenesis of HAM-TSP and the inflammatory response involved in the clinical presentation of the disease.

Parallèlement au rôle central du récepteur aux androgènes, l’environnement tumoral immédiat exerce aussi une action majeure sur la progression du cancer de la prostate. L’hypoxie locale, par le biais de régulations multiples, serait impliquée dans la migration cellulaire et la dissémination tumorale. L’objectif de ma thèse a été d’identifier de nouvelles cibles thérapeutiques et de nouveaux marqueurs pronostiques pour ces cancers. J’ai tout d’abord participé à l’identification d’un partenaire du récepteur aux androgènes, la protéine CAD, enzyme clé de la synthèse des pyrimidines. Parallèlement, nous nous sommes intéressés au rôle d’un anti-angiogénique endogène dans la progression du cancer de la prostate, la thrombospondine-1 (TSP-1). Bien que l’activité anti angiogénique soit souvent considérée comme anti-tumorale, nous avons mis en évidence le caractère protumoral de la TSP-1, par son action promigratoire sur les cellules tumorales. Ces travaux m’ont conduits à étudier l’axe CXCR4/SDF-1, régulé en partie par l’hypoxie et stimulant la migration cellulaire. Nous avons montré sur tissu humain que CXCR4 était exprimé principalement au niveau du front tumoral des cancers localisés et localement avancés, et que son expression était associée à une transition épithélio-mésenchymateuse. SDF-1 était surexprimée selon un gradient croissant allant du centre des tumeurs vers le tissu péritumoral distant, exerçant possiblement un chimiotactisme sur les cellules du front tumoral. La surexpression de CXCR4 au front tumoral ainsi que le gradient de SDF1 étaient associés au pronostic. / In addition to the pivotal role of the androgen receptor, the immediate tumor microenvironment plays an essential role in prostate cancer progression. Local hypoxia, through multiple regulation mechanisms, may be implicated in the migration of tumor cells and dissemination. The aim of my thesis was to identify new therapeutic targets and prognostic markers for these cancers. I first participated in the identification of a new partner of the androgen receptor, the protein CAD that is a key enzyme of pyrimidine synthesis. We also studied the role of the endogenous anti-angiogenic thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) in prostate cancer progression. Although anti-angiogenic activity is usually matched with tumor inhibition, we showed that TSP-1 exerted protumoral effects by stimulating cell migration. These observations led me to study the hypoxia-induced CXCR4/SDF-1 axis that is known to promote cell migration through the extra-cellular matrix. We showed on human tissue that CXCR4 was overexpressed in the tumor front of localized and locally advanced prostate cancers, and that its expression was associated with an epithelial mesenchymal transition. An increasing gradient of SDF-1 was observed from the tumor center to the distant peritumoral tissue, potentially attracting CXCR4-expressing tumor cells of the tumor front. CXCR4 overexpression in the tumor front, as well as SDF1 gradient, were associated with prognosis.

O HTLV-1 (human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1) foi o primeiro retrovírus humano a ser identificado. É comprovadamente o agente etiológico da leucemia/linfoma de células T no adulto (ATLL) e da paraparesia espástica tropical ou mielopatia associada ao HTLV (HAM/TSP). Porém se evidencia que o vírus possa estar relacionado a várias outras manifestações sistêmicas. A Síndrome de Sjögren (SS) é uma das desordens que têm sido associada ao HTLV-1. Embora a infecção pelo HTLV seja reconhecidamente endêmica no Brasil, não há informações sobre essa associação na população brasileira. Este trabalho propõe-se a investigar a prevalência de SS em pacientes infectados pelo HTLV e a prevalência de HTLV em pacientes diagnosticados com SS. Exames sorológicos para investigação do HTLV foram realizados em 50 pacientes da Irmandade da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo (ISCMSP) que apresentavam queixas compatíveis com a SS (grupo 1). No Instituto de Infectologia Emílio Ribas foram avaliados 129 pacientes HTLV+ que passaram pelo processo diagnóstico para a SS (grupo 2). Nenhum dos pacientes do grupo 1 apresentou soropositividade para o HTLV. No grupo 2, 46 (35,7%) apresentaram algum grau de xerostomia, 18 (13,95%) apresentaram xeroftalmia, 8 (6,2%) apresentaram hipossalivação, 2 (1,55%) apresentaram fluxo lacrimal alterado e 1 paciente (0,77%) apresentou autoanticorpos reagentes (anti-SSB). Foram executadas biópsias incisionais de glândulas salivares menores em 5 pacientes do grupo 2. Apenas 2 pacientes (1,55%) HTLV+ completaram os critérios para o diagnóstico de SS. A SS mostrou ser três vezes mais prevalente em pacientes HTLV+ do IIER do que nos pacientes que buscaram atendimento no serviço de Otorrinolaringologia da ISCMSP. / HTLV-1 (human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1) was the first human retrovirus identified. It is proven to be the etiological agent of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) and of a neurological disease known as HTLV-1 associated myelopathy or tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). However, there is the evidence that the virus could be related to several other systemic manifestations. Sjögren\'s Syndrome (SS) is one of the disorders that have been associated with HTLV-1. Although HTLV infection is known to be endemic in Brazil, there is no information about this association in Brazilian population. This study proposes to investigate the prevalence of SS among patients infected with HTLV and the prevalence of HTLV among patients diagnosed with SS. Serological tests for HTLV were performed in 50 patients from Irmandade da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo (ISCMSP) with complaints compatible with the SS (group 1). At Institute of Infectious Diseases Emilio Ribas (IIER), 129 HTLV+ patients were evaluated and the diagnostic process for SS was performed (group 2). None of the patients in group 1 was positive for HTLV. In group 2, 46 (35.7%) reported any degree of xerostomia, 18 (13.95%) had xerophtalmia, hyposalivation was present in 8 (6.2%) patients and decrease in tear secretion, in only one patient (0.77%) the auto-antibodies was positive ( Anti-SSB). Incisional biopsies of labial minor salivary glands were executed in 5 patients in group 2. Only 2 HTLV+ patients (1.55%) have fulfilled the classification criteria for SS. SS proved to be three times more prevalent in HTLV patients from IIER than in patients who sought care in the service of Otorhinolaryngology at ISCMSP.

O HTLV-1 (human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1) foi o primeiro retrovírus humano a ser identificado. É comprovadamente o agente etiológico da leucemia/linfoma de células T no adulto (ATLL) e da paraparesia espástica tropical ou mielopatia associada ao HTLV (HAM/TSP). Porém se evidencia que o vírus possa estar relacionado a várias outras manifestações sistêmicas. A Síndrome de Sjögren (SS) é uma das desordens que têm sido associada ao HTLV-1. Embora a infecção pelo HTLV seja reconhecidamente endêmica no Brasil, não há informações sobre essa associação na população brasileira. Este trabalho propõe-se a investigar a prevalência de SS em pacientes infectados pelo HTLV e a prevalência de HTLV em pacientes diagnosticados com SS. Exames sorológicos para investigação do HTLV foram realizados em 50 pacientes da Irmandade da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo (ISCMSP) que apresentavam queixas compatíveis com a SS (grupo 1). No Instituto de Infectologia Emílio Ribas foram avaliados 129 pacientes HTLV+ que passaram pelo processo diagnóstico para a SS (grupo 2). Nenhum dos pacientes do grupo 1 apresentou soropositividade para o HTLV. No grupo 2, 46 (35,7%) apresentaram algum grau de xerostomia, 18 (13,95%) apresentaram xeroftalmia, 8 (6,2%) apresentaram hipossalivação, 2 (1,55%) apresentaram fluxo lacrimal alterado e 1 paciente (0,77%) apresentou autoanticorpos reagentes (anti-SSB). Foram executadas biópsias incisionais de glândulas salivares menores em 5 pacientes do grupo 2. Apenas 2 pacientes (1,55%) HTLV+ completaram os critérios para o diagnóstico de SS. A SS mostrou ser três vezes mais prevalente em pacientes HTLV+ do IIER do que nos pacientes que buscaram atendimento no serviço de Otorrinolaringologia da ISCMSP. / HTLV-1 (human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1) was the first human retrovirus identified. It is proven to be the etiological agent of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) and of a neurological disease known as HTLV-1 associated myelopathy or tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). However, there is the evidence that the virus could be related to several other systemic manifestations. Sjögren\'s Syndrome (SS) is one of the disorders that have been associated with HTLV-1. Although HTLV infection is known to be endemic in Brazil, there is no information about this association in Brazilian population. This study proposes to investigate the prevalence of SS among patients infected with HTLV and the prevalence of HTLV among patients diagnosed with SS. Serological tests for HTLV were performed in 50 patients from Irmandade da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo (ISCMSP) with complaints compatible with the SS (group 1). At Institute of Infectious Diseases Emilio Ribas (IIER), 129 HTLV+ patients were evaluated and the diagnostic process for SS was performed (group 2). None of the patients in group 1 was positive for HTLV. In group 2, 46 (35.7%) reported any degree of xerostomia, 18 (13.95%) had xerophtalmia, hyposalivation was present in 8 (6.2%) patients and decrease in tear secretion, in only one patient (0.77%) the auto-antibodies was positive ( Anti-SSB). Incisional biopsies of labial minor salivary glands were executed in 5 patients in group 2. Only 2 HTLV+ patients (1.55%) have fulfilled the classification criteria for SS. SS proved to be three times more prevalent in HTLV patients from IIER than in patients who sought care in the service of Otorhinolaryngology at ISCMSP.