Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Analyse multidisciplinaire'

L'hospitalisation d'office en psychiatrie (sur l'initiative du préfet, loi de 1990) ne garantit pas la présence médicale lors de l'acheminement forcé du patient, laissé à la seule maîtrise des policiers, pompiers ou infirmiers psychiatriques. Ces acheminements n'ont jamais fait l'objet d'études différenciées. La construction de l'objet de recherche, d'inspiration d'ethno-anthropologique et transculturelle, sonde ces pratiques d'acheminement. L'observation participante évalue stress et richesse du matériel thérapeutique à travers deux écrits et trois vidéos. L'hypothèse est que la situation d'acheminement forcé est vécue comme une violence non contrôlée, du fait de l'abandon médical, et qu'elle préfigure la résistance aux soins du patient contraint. La méthode mobilise une mosaïque anthropologique : - L'analyse de l'expression, de la relation thématique et de la structure des discours écrits, selon les méthodes de Dollard, Osgood et Bardin - L'analyse des représentations des prélèvements vidéo selon les grilles de Coccula. La recherche confirme que les patients vivent l'acheminement comme une situation traumatisante évoquant, au plan ethno-anthropologique, les grands abandons primordiaux avec opposition, épuisement et répétition compulsive, d'où les ré-hospitalisations contraintes itératives des patients devenus véritablement carriéristes, négociant, mieux que les soignants, les chausse-trappes de cette loi toujours en chantier. Les implications pratiques, une fois acquise la présence incontournable, d'emblée et en première ligne du psychiatre, sont les attentes thérapeutiques débarrassées du contrôle social, de la labélisation iatrogène et de la déresponsabilisation chronicisante, lorsque : - Une architecture idéale de soins d'office distinguera soin et enfermement, laissera les patients pleinement responsables des actes de la vie civile, grâce à un accompagnement thérapeutique dans la cité et maintiendra, par une vie communautaire riche et un espace délibérément orienté vers la rencontre, suffisamment de liens familiaux et sociaux pour restaurer le sens social au message fou. - Une prévention dans la vie quotidienne pour laquelle, d'un saut épistémologique décisif, la psychiatrie, schizoïde tant qu'elle ne s'adressait qu'aux individus en contestation radicale avec l'ordre social, se tournera enfin vers nous-mêmes

Une approche multidisciplinaire est nécessaire pour traiter le problème, devenu urgent, de renforcement du bâti existant, dans le but de limiter les endommagements face aux séismes probables. De telles approches, spécifiques de chaque bâti existant, comme la méthodologie PBEE, « Performance Based Earthquake Engineering » développée au laboratoire PEER, « Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center », ont plus de chance à être implémentées car elles considèrent autre que les domaines du génie civil et sismique, les domaines d'analyse de décision et de management du risque. Dans ce but, nous avons choisi, au niveau de l'analyse de structure, à étudier un hôtel spécifique dans la région de Californie, face aux séismes de probabilité d'occurrence de 10% dans 50ans. Nous avons étudié la structure en utilisant des modélisations innovantes (analyse de pushover statique et adaptative, analyse dynamique et analyse dynamique incrémentale, etc. . . ) qui considèrent le comportement inélastique de la structure. Nous avons proposé une solution de renforcement, nous avons élaboré des études comparatives avant et après le renforcement, et des comparaisons du comportement de la structure modélisée avec celui réel lors du séisme de Northridge. Nous avons déduit que la structure renforcée a un bon comportement face aux séismes d'occurrence de 10% dans 50 ans et que la modélisation offre une bonne prédiction du comportement réel de la structure face au séisme de Northridge. Nous avons proposé ensuite au niveau de l'analyse de décision, d'améliorer le modèle de décision utilisé dans PEER PBEE, en utilisant une approche multicritère qui intègre les préférences du décideur. Dans ce but nous avons innover en élaborant par une méthode non paramétrique capable d'éliciter dans l'incertain une fonction de croyance jointe qui est associée à la fonction d'utilité multicritère élicitée. Finalement nous avons proposé une stratégie managériale plus adoucie, qui pourra être appliquée au le cas de la France, qui aide à implémenter les projets de renforcement des structures. Nous proposons la possibilité d'utiliser une Réhabilitation Sismique Incrémentale au cas par cas, selon les capacités financières du propriétaire, dépendant de la sismicité de la région et de la classe des bâtiments
A multidisciplinary approach is needed to solve the urgent problem of strengthening existing buildings, in order to limit damages due to likely earthquakes. Such approaches, specific to each existing building, as the methodology PBEE, « Performance Based Earthquake Engineering » developed at PEER, « Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center », have greater chance to be implemented, because it considers in addition to civil and seismic engineering fields, decision analysis and risk management fields. For this purpose, we have chosen, referring to the structure analysis field to study a specific hotel in California, with respect to earthquakes threats of 10% in 50 years hazard level. We have studied the structure using innovative simulations (using static and adaptive pushover analysis, dynamic analysis and incremental dynamic analysis, etc. . . ) that consider the inelastic analysis of the structure. We have proposed a solution to strengthen the building, we have compared the structure behavior before and after the strengthening, and we compared the model to the real behavior of the building while facing Northridge earthquake. We have deduced that the strengthened structure behave well facing earthquakes threats of 10% in 50 years hazard level, and the proposed model have predicted well the real behavior of the structure while facing Northridge earthquake. Then we have proposed referring to the decision analysis field to improve the decision analysis model used in PEER PBEE, using a multiattribute approach, considering the preferences of the decision maker. For this purpose we have innovated by elaborating a non parametric method to elicit, under uncertainty, a probability weighting function associated to the elicited multiattribute utility function. Finally we have proposed a more flexible management strategy that can be applied in France, it helps implement projects of strengthening structures. We propose the possibility to use an Incremental Seismic Rehabilitation on a case by case basis, based on the financial capacities of the owner, depending on the regions seismicity and buildings classes

La conception de lanceurs est un problème d’optimisation multidisciplinaire dont l’objectif est de trouverl’architecture du lanceur qui garantit une performance optimale tout en assurant un niveau de fiabilité requis.En vue de l’obtention de la solution optimale, les phases d’avant-projet sont cruciales pour le processus deconception et se caractérisent par la présence d’incertitudes dues aux phénomènes physiques impliqués etaux méconnaissances existantes sur les modèles employés. Cette thèse s’intéresse aux méthodes d’analyse et d’optimisation multidisciplinaire en présence d’incertitudes afin d’améliorer le processus de conception de lanceurs. Trois sujets complémentaires sont abordés. Tout d’abord, deux nouvelles formulations du problème de conception ont été proposées afin d’améliorer la prise en compte des interactions disciplinaires. Ensuite, deux nouvelles méthodes d’analyse de fiabilité, permettant de tenir compte d’incertitudes de natures variées, ont été proposées, impliquant des techniques d’échantillonnage préférentiel et des modèles de substitution. Enfin, une nouvelle technique de gestion des contraintes pour l’algorithme d’optimisation ”Covariance Matrix Adaptation - Evolutionary Strategy” a été développée, visant à assurer la faisabilité de la solution optimale. Les approches développées ont été comparées aux techniques proposées dans la littérature sur des cas tests d’analyse et de conception de lanceurs. Les résultats montrent que les approches proposées permettent d’améliorer l’efficacité du processus d’optimisation et la fiabilité de la solution obtenue
Launch vehicle design is a Multidisciplinary Design Optimization problem whose objective is to find the launch vehicle architecture providing the optimal performance while ensuring the required reliability. In order to obtain an optimal solution, the early design phases are essential for the design process and are characterized by the presence of uncertainty due to the involved physical phenomena and the lack of knowledge on the used models. This thesis is focused on methodologies for multidisciplinary analysis and optimization under uncertainty for launch vehicle design. Three complementary topics are tackled. First, two new formulations have been developed in order to ensure adequate interdisciplinary coupling handling. Then, two new reliability techniques have been proposed in order to take into account the various natures of uncertainty, involving surrogate models and efficient sampling methods. Eventually, a new approach of constraint handling for optimization algorithm ”Covariance Matrix Adaptation - Evolutionary Strategy” has been developed to ensure the feasibility of the optimal solution. All the proposed methods have been compared to existing techniques in literature on analysis and design test cases of launch vehicles. The results illustrate that the proposed approaches allow the improvement of the efficiency of the design process and of the reliability of the found solution

Cette thèse se concentre sur l'optimisation multidisciplinaire sous incertitude (U-MDO), un domaine important dans la conception d’ingénierie moderne, en particulier pour des systèmes complexes comme les avions. Contrairement aux méthodes traditionnelles, l’U-MDO intègre simultanément plusieurs disciplines pour optimiser la performance globale tout en tenant compte des incertitudes dues à des hypothèses simplifiées ou des facteurs stochastiques.Contributions méthodologiques :- Problème dimensionnable pour évaluer les algorithmes U-MDO : Un problème "scalable" a été développé pour tester les algorithmes U-MDO.- Transformation générique pour les problèmes multidisciplinaires : Une méthode pour convertir des problèmes d’optimisation standard en problèmes multidisciplinaires a été proposée, en modélisant les fonctions d'objectif et de contrainte pour refléter les interactions disciplinaires.- Nouvelle formulation bi-niveau U-MDO : Inspirée des besoins industriels, une approche intégrant des sous-optimisations aléatoires a été développée, permettant de réutiliser les processus d’optimisation disciplinaire existants.- Améliorations de la bibliothèque Python GEMSEO : Intégration d'outils pour résoudre les problèmes U-MDO, facilitant ainsi l'optimisation robuste dans des contextes industriels.Résultats applicatifs :La méthodologie a été testée sur deux cas pratiques :- Un jet supersonique d’affaires.- Une étude de réingénierie à l'aide d'une configuration générique d'avion de recherche.Ces contributions renforcent la capacité à gérer les incertitudes dans les systèmes complexes tout en réduisant les coûts et en améliorant la fiabilité
This thesis addresses multidisciplinary design optimization under uncertainty (U-MDO), a useful approach in modern engineering for optimizing complex systems like aircraft. Unlike traditional methods, U-MDO integrates multiple disciplines to optimize overall performance while accounting for uncertainties from simplified assumptions or stochastic factors.Methodological Contributions:- Scalable Problem for U-MDO Algorithm Testing: A theoretical framework was developed to benchmark U-MDO algorithms.- Generic Transformation for Multidisciplinary Problems: A method to transform standard optimization problems into multidisciplinary ones was proposed, modeling objective and constraint functions to reflect disciplinary interactions.- New Bi-Level U-MDO Formulation: Inspired by industrial needs, an approach using random sub-optimizations was developed, enabling the reuse of existing disciplinary optimization processes.- Enhancements to GEMSEO Library: Tools were integrated to solve U-MDO problems, facilitating robust optimization in industrial settings.Applicative Results:The methodology was tested on two practical cases:- A supersonic business jet.- A re-engineering study using a generic research aircraft configuration.These contributions enhance the ability to manage uncertainties in complex systems while reducing costs and improving reliability

Durant ces dernières années, le terme terrorisme djihadiste est devenu un vocable des plus récurrents au niveau international. Il est fortement présent dans le discours académique, ce particulièrement depuis l'apparition de ce qu'on appelle l'organisation de l'État islamique (Daesh) et également des attaques terroristes qui se sont succédé. Notre étude aborde, en première partie, les approches qui traitent du terrorisme ainsi que les facteurs qui ont été à l’origine de la propagation de ce phénomène et de l'extrémisme. La seconde partie est consacrée à l’analyse des discours académiques ayant traité des attentats terroristes en France en 2015/2016. Notre thèse tend à mettre en avant une approche analytique opérationnelle à travers l'utilisation de méthodes quantitatives. Nous nous proposons ainsi de prolonger la recherche actuelle en abordant plusieurs innovations méthodologiques relatives à l’analyse du discours universitaire sur le djihad afin d’en déterminer les similitudes et les différences, selon une approche multidisciplinaire et par une enquête analytique dans l’objectif d’en caractériser les relations et d’en expliquer la conjoncture. Il sera alors question de se demander s’il s’agit d’éléments spécifiques ou de la combinaison d’un ensemble d’éléments, présents dans une structure particulière, qui marginalisent ou criminalisent certains types de discours classés dans la catégorie du discours universitaire sur le djihad
In recent years, the term jihadist terrorism has become a term of recurrent at the international level. He is present in the academic discourse, this particularly since the appearance of what is called the Organization of the Islamic state (Daech) and the successive terrorist attacks. Our study first addresses the approaches that deal with terrorism as well as the factors that have led to the spread of this phenomenon and extremism. The second part is dedicated to the analysis of academic discourses dealing with terrorist attacks in France in 2015/2016. Our thesis tends to put forward an operational analytical approach through the use of quantitative methods. We propose to extend the current research by addressing several methodological innovations related to the analysis of the academic jihad discourse in order to determine the similarities and differences, using a multidisciplinary approach and an analytical survey with the aim of characterize the relationships and explain the situation. It will therefore be a question of whether they are specific elements or the combination of a set of elements in a particular structure that marginalizes or criminalizes certain types of discourse classed as academic discourse about jihad

L'ibrutinib, premier inhibiteur de la Bruton Tyrosine Kinase, est indiqué dans le traitement de la leucémie lymphoïde chronique (LLC). La LLC se caractérise par l'accumulation de lymphocytes B anormaux dans la moelle osseuse, les organes lymphoïdes et le sang. C'est un médicament présentant une pharmacocinétique (PK) très variable et une biodisponibilité très faible. Ses effets sur les lymphocytes sont : la diminution de la prolifération, la stimulation du relargage depuis les ganglions vers la circulation sanguine, l'inhibition du homing, et la stimulation de leur mort. Dans la LLC, différents profils de l'évolution du taux de lymphocytes circulants ont été identifiés, avec l'observation d'une hyperlymphocytose en début de traitement pour certains patients. Les données de l'étude PK-E3i incluant 89 patients traités par ibrutinib pour différentes hémopathies malignes ont été analysées. Un modèle PK de population décrivant l'évolution des concentrations d'ibrutinib et de son principal métabolite a été développé et validé. Ce modèle a permis de quantifier la variabilité inter- et intra-individuelle de la PK de l'ibrutinib et de son métabolite. Il a été montré que les patients ayant arrêté leur traitement par ibrutinib pour cause de toxicité au cours de la première année de suivi avaient une exposition plasmatique significativement plus élevée que les autres. Aucune différence n'a été observée chez les patients ayant arrêté leur traitement pour cause de progression de leur maladie. Ce modèle PK a ensuite été utilisé pour construire un modèle PK-PD décrivant l'évolution du taux de lymphocytes circulants au cours du temps chez des patients atteints de LLC traités par ibrutinib. Ce modèle a permis de quantifier l'impact de la concentration plasmatique d'ibrutinib sur cette évolution. Le modèle final décrit les différents profils de réponse et quantifie les principaux effets de l'ibrutinib que sont la stimulation du relargage des lymphocytes depuis les ganglions vers la circulation et la stimulation de la mort des lymphocytes circulants. Enfin, nous avons également développé un modèle PK de population de l'idelalisib, un autre inhibiteur de kinase indiqué dans le traitement de la LLC. Ce modèle développé sur des données de vie réelle est en accord avec des résultats précédemment publiés
Ibrutinib, the first-in-class Bruton Tyrosine Kinase inhibitor, is indicated for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). CLL is characterized by the accumulation of abnormal B cells in the bone marrow, lymphoid organs and blood. Ibrutinib's pharmacokinetics (PK) is highly variable between patients and its bioavailability is very low. Ibrutinib has several effects on lymphocytes: reduction of proliferation, stimulation of release from the lymph nodes into the circulation, inhibition of the homing phenomenon and stimulation of death. In CLL, different profiles of circulating lymphocyte dynamics have been observed. In particular, some patients show hyperlymphocytosis at the beginning of treatment. Data from the PK-E3i study including 89 patients treated with ibrutinib for various hematological malignancies were analyzed. A population PK model describing plasmatic concentrations of ibrutinib and its major metabolite, dihydrodiol ibrutinib, was developed and validated. Patients who stopped ibrutinib due to toxicity during the first year of follow-up were shown to have significantly higher ibrutinib plasmatic exposure than those who did not. No difference was observed in patients who stopped treatment due to disease progression. This PK model was then used to develop a PK-PD model describing circulating lymphocyte dynamics in CLL patients treated with ibrutinib. The final model quantifies the impact of ibrutinib plasmatic concentrations on this dynamic. The model was able to capture the different response profiles and quantify the main effects of ibrutinib, which are the stimulation of lymphocyte release from the lymph nodes into the circulation and the stimulation of lymphocyte death. Finally, we also developed a population PK model for idelalisib, another kinase inhibitor indicated for the treatment of CLL. This model was developed on real-life data and was consistent with previously published results

L’archipel des Comores héberge une diversité biologique exceptionnelle avec un taux d’endémisme élevé au sein de chaque groupe taxonomique. Cette richesse fait cependant face aux effets alarmants de la perte d’habitats naturels et de leur fragmentation causées par les pressions anthropiques mal planifiées. Les mammifères sauvages sont parmi la faune la plus touchée par la perte d’habitats dans ces îles. Ces espèces sont souvent caractérisées par des tailles de populations faibles qui les rendent sensibles aux perturbations. De plus, ces petites tailles de populations peuvent amplifier les menaces à travers des mécanismes de consanguinités et/ou d’effet Allee, ce qui conduit à la réduction de leur potentiel évolutive et de leur viabilité dans le long terme. Pour mieux appréhender l’effet des actions anthropiques sur la faune des Comores, j’ai étudié deux Mégachiroptères endémiques et menacées d’extinction des Comores (Pteropus livingstonii dont la taille de la population est estimée à 1300 individus et P. seychellensis comorensis dont la taille de la population est estimée à plusieurs milliers d’individus). Je me suis appuyé sur des approches génétiques, d’écologie spatiale, de démographie mais aussi sur une étude socio-économique. Une telle approche intégrée est cruciale pour identifier les causes des déclins et proposer des mesures de conservation efficaces. Dans le premier volet de ma thèse, j’ai modélisé l’utilisation de l’espace par les deux espèces ainsi que leur distribution géographique à travers des modèles de niches, plus spécifiquement la méthode de « Species Distribution Modeling » à travers l’approche « Ensemble of Small Models » spécifiquement adaptés aux espèces rares. Ce premier axe m’a permis de déterminer quelles sont les variables écologiques et/ou les pressions anthropiques qui déterminent la distribution des deux espèces dans l’archipel. Cela m’a permis aussi de caractériser le degré de menace subi par ces deux espèces. Dans le deuxième volet de ma thèse, j’ai étudié la diversité génétique et la structuration des populations des deux espèces entre les quatre îles des Comores afin de détecter d’éventuels ruptures des flux géniques entre les différentes populations d’une même espèce et d’identifier les populations à risque d’extinction. Cette étude montre que les deux espèces, pourtant proches phylogénétiquement et morphologiquement, ne présentent pas du tout le même patron de structuration des populations. Dans un troisième volet, j’ai exploré la faisabilité et le coût de la mise en place d’un éventuel suivi individuel à long terme des paramètres démographiques des populations de P. livingstonii à travers un échantillonnage non-invasif combiné à l’approche capture-marquage-recapture (NIGS-CMR). En effet, la sensibilité à la capture et le degré de menace sur cette espèce ne permettent pas d’adopter les méthodes traditionnelles de suivi basées sur la capture physique et le marquage des individus. Cet axe montre que l’approche NIGS-CMR est réaliste mais induit des coûts qui paraissent peu compatibles avec les budgets disponibles pour le moment pour la conservation et le suivi de cette espèce aux Comores. Enfin, dans un quatrième volet, j’ai caractérisé les pressions anthropiques subies par ces populations en lien avec les caractéristiques socio-économiques de l’archipel (exploitation des forêts, pressions de chasse…) et cela à travers des interviews classiques et d’un dispositif original d’étude sociologique (Q-sort). Ces approches permettent de mieux comprendre quelles représentations ont les populations locales de ces espèces afin de mieux interpréter l’évolution de la forêt naturelle et prédire son avenir. Dans une dernière partie je mets en regard les résultats des différentes approches complémentaires pour discuter d’un plan de gestion et de conservation approprié pour ces espèces à fortes valeurs patrimoniales
The Comoros Islands are known for their important biodiversity with a high endemism rate for each taxonomic group. This natural richness face huge anthropogenic pressures due to a high rate of habitat loss and fragmentation estimated to be the highest in the word. Wild endemic mammals are the most threatened fauna in these islands. These species are often characterized by small population sizes making them highly vulnerable to disturbances. Indeed, small population size makes populations prone to allee effect, genetic drift or inbreeding depression, which subsequently conducts to a decrease of species’ evolutionary potential, thus diminishing their long term viability. In order to understand the effect of habitat disturbance on the Comoros Islands natural fauna, I studied two endemic and highly threatened flying fox species (Pteropus livingstonii with a population size estimated of 1300 individuals and P.seychellensis comorensis whose population is estimated to few thousands of individuals). For that, I combined different approaches including spatial distribution and ecological niche modeling, as well as population demography and socio-economic approaches. This integrated approach is crucial to identify the different causes of mammals’ population loss and propose relevant conservation measures. In a first part of this thesis, I show the results of the spatial distribution modeling and habitat selection of the two flying fox species as well as their geographic distribution ranges using Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) and Ensemble of Small Models approach specifically adapted to rare and threatened species. This first part allowed me to assess which ecological variables and anthropogenic pressures are determinant for the distribution of both species as well to characterize the degree of threat of the two species. In the second part of this thesis, I studied the genetic diversity and genetic population structure of both species among the four islands of Comoros with the aim to look for possible gene flow breaks between sub-populations but also to uncover which species face a high risk of extinction. This study highlights that these two phylogenetic and morphologically related species show different genetic structures among islands. In a third part, I explored the feasibility and costs of a non-invasive genetic monitoring protocol to obtain accurate population size, demographic parameters and develop a long-term monitoring of P. livingstonii. Due to the sensitivity of this species to capture and handling but also because of its rareness, a direct monitoring using classical capture-recapture method was not possible. This study showed that this approach is realistic but involves a high cost that seems to be unsuitable with the budgets available for conservation of the species in the Comoros Islands. In a fourth part of my thesis, I characterized the anthropogenic pressures that impacts both species using a socio-economic characterization of these islands (forest exploitation and hunting pressures among others) by using semi-structured interviews and a Q-methodology approach. This allows me to understand the relationship of local communities with the local biodiversity as well as to interpret the ongoing natural habitat evolution and to predict its future. In the last chapter (fifth), I combined the results of all the different but complementary approaches used along the thesis with the aim to propose a management plan appropriate for these two species

Les drones ont connu un développement intensif ces dernières années. En raison de leur rentabilité et de leur polyvalence, ces véhicules devraient gagner en popularité dans un large éventail d'applications, telles que la livraison de colis, la surveillance de lignes électriques et l'agriculture de précision. Parallèlement, le développement de nouvelles technologies et leur intégration sur diverses architectures de drones élargissent les possibilités de conception. Il en résulte un besoin accru pour des approches de conception holistiques permettant une meilleure intégration des technologies, un temps de développement plus court et une plus grande modularité. Cette thèse développe et met en application une méthodologie pour la conception de drones électriques multirotors, à voilure fixe et hybrides à décollage et atterrissage verticaux (VTOL). La plateforme ainsi développée permet le dimensionnement optimal d'un drone à partir de spécifications arbitraires sur la mission, les choix technologiques et l'architecture, en utilisant une approche multidisciplinaire.À partir d'un ensemble de modèles analytiques comprenant des lois d'échelle et des régressions, une méthodologie générique de dimensionnement est proposée. La méthodologie repose sur une formulation multidisciplinaire et optimale de conception (MDO) qui permet une convergence rapide vers la solution présentant les meilleures performances. En particulier, l'application de cette approche permet d'évaluer rapidement les effets d’une modification du cahier des charges. Dans un deuxième temps, les incertitudes relatives aux modèles et à la disponibilité des composants optimaux sur le marché sont évaluées. Pour atténuer les incertitudes critiques en matière de performances des drones, la méthodologie de dimensionnement est étendue pour permettre l'optimisation de la conception à partir de catalogues de composants existants en lieu et place de modèles physiques. Enfin, la thèse aborde deux aspects spécifiques de la conception des drones liés à la réglementation et aux enjeux sociétaux. D'une part, les récentes réglementations émises par l'Agence européenne de la sécurité aérienne (AESA) imposent un certain niveau de sûreté pour l'opération des drones. Dans cette optique, une approche est proposée pour évaluer la contrôlabilité de diverses architectures en cas de défaillance d’un rotor ou d’une surface de contrôle. L'évaluation est notamment reliée à la méthodologie de conception précédemment développée afin d’assurer un dimensionnement avec un certain niveau de tolérance aux pannes. D'autre part, l'acceptation sociétale des drones est étroitement liée aux préoccupations environnementales, incluant, entre autres, le changement climatique et la consommation de ressources. Cette problématique est abordée par le développement et l'intégration d'une discipline environnementale dans l’outil de conception. Cette approche permet d'évaluer la sensibilité des impacts environnementaux aux exigences de la mission et aux hypothèses technologiques, ainsi que de minimiser les impacts environnementaux dès les premières phases du processus de conception.La thèse contribue ainsi au développement d'un cadre de référence pour optimiser la conception des drones électriques avec une approche multidisciplinaire. De ce fait, les contributions de la thèse sont particulièrement adaptées pour la conception de futurs drones dont le déploiement sera soumis à des problématiques de marché, de sûreté et de contraintes environnementales
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have undergone intensive development in recent years. Owing to their cost-effectiveness and versatility, UAVs are expected to gain popularity in a wide range of applications, such as parcel delivery, power line monitoring and precision farming. Concurrently, the development of new technologies and their integration into various drone concepts is expanding the range of design alternatives. This is driving the need for holistic design approaches with better technology integration, faster development time and greater modularity.The thesis develops and implements a methodology for the conceptual design of electric multirotor, fixed-wing and hybrid vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAVs. The framework enables the optimal sizing of a UAV from arbitrary specifications on the mission, technological choices and architecture, using a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach.Starting from a set of analytical models including scaling laws and regressions, a generic sizing methodology is developed. The proposed methodology relies on an efficient multidisciplinary design and optimization (MDO) formulation, which enables fast convergence to the UAV candidate with best performances. In particular, the application of this approach enables to rapidly assess the effects of changes in the requirements. Next, the uncertainties surrounding the models and the availability of optimal components on the market are assessed. To mitigate critical uncertainties in UAV performance, the sizing methodology is extended to allow the design to be optimized using catalogues of existing components instead of models. Finally, the thesis develops two specific aspects of UAV design related to regulatory and societal challenges. On the one hand, recent regulations issued by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) impose a level of safety for specific categories of UAVs. To this end, an approach is proposed to assess the controllability of various architectures in the event of failures. The assessment is further linked to the design framework to achieve fault-tolerance sizing of the rotors and control surfaces. On the other hand, societal acceptance of UAVs is strongly related to environmental concerns, including but not limited to climate change and resource consumption. This challenge is addressed by developing and integrating an environmental discipline into the design framework. The novel approach enables to assess the sensitivity of environmental impacts to mission requirements and technological assumptions, as well as minimizing environmental burdens at the earliest design stages.The thesis contributes to the development of a unified framework for optimizing the design of electric UAVs with a holistic approach. As such, it is relevant to future UAVs designed for applications subject to market, regulatory and environmental issues

L’ouverture de la canopée présente des avantages (disponibilité des ressources) mais aussi de nouvelles contraintes (vent, demande évaporative, etc.). Souvent étudié chez les semis, la dynamique de réponses est peu renseignée chez les grands arbres. Cette thèse vise à identifier les dynamiques de réponses à l’ouverture de la canopée chez des perches de hêtre dominées durant de longues périodes. L’approche adoptée est multidisciplinaire et multi-échelle, basée sur une analyse rétrospective de la croissance radiale et axiale, d’anatomie et de traits biomécaniques. Sous couvert, la compétition pour la lumière fait que les perches favorisent la croissance axiale devant la croissance radiale résultant en un élancement important. Par ailleurs, un tiers des perches s’affaisse. Après ouverture, l’élancement des perches présente un risque biomécanique : 15 sur 36 perches libérées ont été cassées par le vent deux ans après l’éclaircie. Pour se stabiliser face au vent, la croissance axiale des perches est diminuée pendant quatre ans après l’éclaircie tandis que la croissance radiale augmente et atteint un plateau après deux ans probablement à cause des limitations liées à la taille et à l’accès aux ressources. Les perches ayant une inclinaison initiale supérieure à 6° se redressent après l’éclaircie. La conductivité hydraulique potentielle du cerne augmente et se stabilise elle aussi après deux ans. Les dynamiques de réponses sont donc clairement spécifiques du trait étudié. Par ailleurs, l’approche intégrative a permis de mettre en évidence l’importance de la taille des individus dans les mécanismes de réponses : tandis que les semis modifient et la croissance et les propriétés des tissus, les perches se reposent sur l’ajustement de leur géométrie
Opening of the canopy exhibits advantages (resources availability) but also new constraints (wind, higher evaporative demand). Rather well documented in saplings, response dynamics to canopy opening is less known in large trees. The thesis aims to identify the dynamics of responses to canopy opening in beech trees suppressed during long periods. Adopted approach is multi-disciplinary and multi-scale, based on a retrospective analysis of axial and radial growth, anatomy and biomechanical traits. For suppressed trees, the competition for light results in preferential allocation of biomass to axial growth in comparison with radial growth resulting in trees with high slenderness. Moreover, one third of suppressed trees are sagging. After the release, high slenderness presents a biomechanical risk: 15 from 36 trees are broken by the wind two years after the release. To increase their safety against the wind-break, trees reduce their axial growth during four years after the release and boost their radial growth reaching a stabilisation plateau after two years likely due to the size and resources limitations. Trees with lean angle higher than 6° up-right after the release. The tree ring hydraulic conductivity increases and stabilises after two years also. The dynamics of responses to canopy opening are therefore clearly trait dependent. Moreover, integrative approach highlighted the importance of size in the responses to canopy opening: while saplings adjust both wood tissue properties and tree geometry, large trees rely only on geometry adjustments

La chute des prix des technologies de séquençage de nouvelle génération (NGS) s'est accompagnée de leur utilisation accrue, en recherche et en clinique. L'interprétation toujours meilleure des génomes humains peut permettre le développement de meilleures stratégies de prévention, de diagnostic et de traitement des maladies. Des investissements significatifs ont vu le jour dans de nombreux pays industrialisés en vue de réaliser les promesses de la médecine personnalisée. Cependant, le séquençage du génome complet de patients n'est offert en tant que test clinique que dans un nombre très limité d'établissements de santé dans le monde. La France et le Québec ont investi de manière considérable dans la recherche en génomique. Cependant, des décisions stratégiques doivent encore être prises quant à l'implémentation clinique des technologies NGS dans ces deux juridictions. Dès lors, l'objectif de ce projet est de contribuer à l'ensemble des preuves et faits à la disposition des décideurs publics. Nous avons focalisé notre attention sur deux technologies, le séquençage de l'exome (whole-exome sequencing, WES) et du génome complet (whole-genome sequencing, WGS). Notre objectif était d'établir si l'utilisation efficace et responsable du WES/WGS pouvait être mise en péril par des lacunes dans les politiques publiques ou cadres règlementaires et normatifs applicables. A l'heure actuelle, l'interprétation clinique de la séquence génomique ou exomique d'un patient nécessite l'intervention de nombreuses parties prenantes, y compris des chercheurs qui utilisent des outils, procédés et normes développés dans le cadre de la recherche pour analyser les données NGS. En parallèle, les cadres normatifs existants ont été construits pour accommoder les données génétiques, mais n'abordent pas la question des données génomiques. Notre hypothèse est que ces éléments créent un besoin de standardisation, qui pourrait requérir des adaptations du cadre normatif. Nous avons répondu à trois questions de recherches: (1) Quels enjeux les utilisateurs de technologies NGS soulèvent-il à propos de leur utilisation en clinique ? Pour répondre nous avons fait une étude systématique de la littérature. (2) Comment les données NGS de patients sont-elles à l'heure actuelle par des institutions de santé en France et au Québec ? Pour répondre nous avons réalisé une étude de cas multiples. (3) Y a-t-il des lacunes dans les cadres normatifs qui devraient être comblées pour assurer l'utilisation responsable, efficace et standardisée des données NGS en clinique ? [...]
The decreasing cost of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies has resulted in their increased use in research, and in the clinical context. Indeed, the correct interpretation of a human genome can enable better prevention, diagnosis and treatment strategies. Significant public investments in NGS have been made in various developed nations to realise the promise of personalized medicine. Yet, today the sequencing and analysis of a patient’s exome or genome is only offered as a clinical test in a limited number of clinics around the world. France and Quebec have made sizable investments in genomics research, and France announced the launch of a genomic medicine plan in 2016. However, policy decisions still have to be made on the nation-wide clinical implementation of NGS technologies in both jurisdictions. Therefore, this project’s objective was to contribute to the body of evidence available to policymakers in France and Quebec on the clinical implementation of NGS technologies. We focused our attention on two specific NGS technologies, namely Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS), and Whole Exome Sequencing (WES). We specifically aimed to assess if the responsible and efficient use of WES/WGS data in the context of clinical care could be impeded by policy gaps. Currently, the clinical interpretation of a patient’s genome sequence data is done through the intervention of many stakeholders including basic science researchers. These researchers use bioinformatics tools, processes and norms developed for research to filter and analyse patients NGS data. In parallel, existing regulatory and normative frameworks have been developed for the use of genetic data, and include no clear definition of genomic data or genomic technologies. We hypothesised that these elements create a strong need for standardization of practices, and may require adaptations of current regulatory and normative frameworks to the context of NGS. We therefore aimed to answer three research questions: (1) What issues do technology users experience and foresee when using WES data to inform patient care? To answer this, we performed a systematic review of the literature. (2) How are patients’ NGS data currently managed (produced, analysed, interpreted and shared) in clinical institutions in Quebec and in France? We answered this by performing a case studies analysis, interrogating key stakeholders directly involved in managing patients’ NGS data in France and Quebec. (3) Are there gaps in the current regulatory and normative frameworks which should be addressed to enable a responsible and efficient standardized use of NGS data in the clinic? [...]

Une méthodologie multidisciplinaire de caractérisation des aquifères fracturés est élaborée en s'appuyant sur deux exemples d'aquifères : un milieu cristallin à Plancoët et un milieu carbonaté à Quézac. Elle consiste d'abord à analyser le contexte géologique et construire un modèle géométrique de l'aquifère à différentes échelles sur la base d'analyses d'images, de cartographie de terrain et de prospections géophysiques. Les modèles géométriques effectués sur les deux sites tiennent compte des particularités de chacun. Une analyse des caractéristiques hydrologiques, hydrogéologiques et géochimiques de l'aquifère est ensuite réalisée à Plancoët, ce qui permet enfin de construire un modèle hydrogéologique qui confirme la structure géologique et conduit à proposer un emplacement de forage. La pluridisciplinarité des méthodes utilisées dans ce travail permet d'avoir une compréhension assez complète des aquifères étudiés.

Des travaux récents indiquent que l’état de santé des individus localisés dans une zone géographique est influencé par l’environnement de voisinage de ses habitants. A travers une démarche multidisciplinaire, cette thèse a pour objectif l’analyse de l’environnement de voisinage pour contribuer à une meilleure compréhension des inégalités sociales de santé (ISS) sur l’agglomération de la Communauté Urbaine de Strasbourg (CUS). Nous avons, tout d’abord, cherché à définir une nouvelle mesure contextuelle de la défaveur au-delà du niveau socio-économique. Ainsi, à partir des différentes variables recueillies auprès des institutions locales et régionales de la CUS, notre approche multidimensionnelle nous a permis de développer une nouvelle mesure de la défaveur contextuelle inédite en France. Ensuite, nous avons construit un nouveau découpage de la CUS afin d’obtenir une délimitation spatiale de l’environnement de voisinage. L'évaluation de l'effet de l'environnement de voisinage sur l'impact de la pollution atmosphérique a été mise en oeuvre à l’aide d’analyse cas-croisé. Les deux cas d’étude mis en place pour analyser le risque de survenue d’infarctus du myocarde et d’appel aux urgences pour asthme ont conclue que les caractéristiques des profils, autre que le niveau socioéconomique, pourraient nous permettre de mieux comprendre les ISS. Ces travaux se sont révélés intéressants et innovants à plusieurs titres: i) le mode d’approche des variables contextuelles, ii) les concepts SIG adoptés et mis en place, iii) l’approche stratégique de l’analyse statistique choisie, iV) et V) définition spatiale et la conception d’un environnement de voisinage
Recent work indicates that the individual’s health is influenced by their neighborhood. Through a multidisciplinary approach, this thesis aims at analyzing how the neighborhood may contribute to a better understanding of social inequalities in health on the Strasbourg metropolitan area (CUS). We first sought to define a new measure of neighborhood deprivation beyond the socioeconomic level. Thus, from all variables collected from local and regional institutions of the CUS, our multidimensional approach allowed us to develop a highly innovative neighborhood Deprivation Index (NDI). This measure unique to France described 3 domains: i) socioeconomic environment; ii) social cohesion; and iii) community resources. Then, using zone design algorithms, we have developed an experimental approach for the automated design of neighborhoods using a small tessellated cell as a basic building block. The assessing of the role of neighborhood on the impact of air pollution has been explored using case-crossover analysis. The two case studies developed to analyze the risk of occurrence of myocardial infarction and emergency calls for asthma highlighted that the characteristics of neighborhood profiles other than the socio-economic level may enable us to better understand the health inequalities. The originality of this thesis can be summed up in four points: (i) the mode of approach to neighborhood contextual variables (choices and regrouping into three domains), (ii) the GIS concepts that we adopted and implemented, (iii) the statistical analysis strategy chosen to deal with the multidimensional data, and (iv) spatial definition and design of synthetic homogeneous neighborhoods

Ces travaux portent sur la conception multidisciplinaire de systèmes intégrés. Ces systèmes sont soumis à un nombre d’exigences toujours croissant, entraînant des besoins en termes d’intégration fonctionnelle et spatiale. Ces différents types d’intégration relative au produit sont également la source d’une complexité organisationnelle, provenant à la fois de la multitude d’acteurs réalisant différentes activités d’ingénierie, mais également de la diversité des domaines impliqués, désignée dans ce manuscrit par « intégration multidisciplinaire ». Pour favoriser cette intégration multidisciplinaire, les phases de « conception préliminaire » et de « conception détaillée » ont été identifiées comme déterminantes, notamment car elles se caractérisent par la collaboration de nombreux experts, manipulant un grand nombre de données techniques de définition. Les systèmes conçus lors de conceptions multidisciplinaires restent faiblement intégrés. Cela est en partie dû au cloisonnement entre les disciplines et à un mode d’organisation projet basé sur une planification prédominante, caractérisé notamment par une diffusion de l’information principalement descendante (top-down). Afin d’assurer une meilleure collaboration entre ces différentes disciplines, de permettre des prises de décision éclairées par des indicateurs opérationnels et de pouvoir analyser et mieux comprendre les phénomènes d’intégration des expertises, l’introduction d’une méthode inspirée des principes fondateurs des méthodes agiles est proposée pour la conception collaborative de systèmes intégrés.La contribution de ces travaux s’appuie sur trois concepts complémentaires. Le premier, intitulé Collaborative Actions Framework correspond à un cadre de collaboration opérationnelle autour d’actions. Un des objectifs de ce framework est de faciliter la collaboration des acteurs des projets de conception, quelle que soit leur origine disciplinaire, mais également d’assurer une traçabilité entre les prises de décision et les corrections/modifications apportées sur les données techniques. Cette traçabilité est rendue possible grâce aux liens existants avec le second concept intitulé Workspace. Apportant un nouvel éclairage sur les possibilités offertes par la collaboration autour de ces espaces de collaboration, ce concept offre un certain nombre de possibilités,notamment la mise en commun continue des travaux, l’intégration multidisciplinaire et la validation des modifications. Les échanges de données techniques entre les workspaces, ou le travail simultané sur les mêmes données techniques, s’appuient quant à eux sur la possibilité de pouvoir gérer de façon parallèle différentes versions d’une même donnée technique. Ces possibilités sont proposées par le troisième concept, intitulé branch & merge, qui permet également à différents acteurs de travailler simultanément sur les mêmes données. Enfin, ces trois concepts sont ensuite illustrés par l’intermédiaire d’un démonstrateur composé d’un scénario et d’un prototype informatique. Un produit mécatronique, combinaison synergique et systémique de la mécanique, de l'électronique et de l'informatique temps réel, est utilisé afin d’illustrer les possibilités offertes par nos travaux en termes d'intégration multidisciplinaire lors de la conception collaborative
This work focuses on the multidisciplinary and collaborative design of integrated systems. These systems are subject to an ever increasing number of requirements, leading to the need for more comprehensive functional and spatial integration. These different types of product integration are also at the origin of organizational complexity. This complexity arises not only from the great number of actors performing various engineering activities but also from the diversity of disciplines involved (designated in this manuscript as “multidisciplinary integration”). To encourage this multidisciplinary integration, “preliminary design” and “detailed design” have been identified as the most significant steps, especially since they are characterized by the collaboration of multiple experts handling a large number of product definition’ technical data. Systems that have been designed thanks to multidisciplinary approaches are generally poorly integrated. This is partially due to the compartmentalization of disciplines, as well as to the “project-planned” method, where project planning is predominant and information is mainly spread out “top-down”. To ensure better cooperation between the various disciplines, to enable decision making based on operational indicators and to analyze and understand the multidisciplinary integration processes, a method inspired by the founding principles of agile methods (the agile manifesto) is proposed for the collaborative design of integrated systems. This work is based on three complementary concepts. The first is, the Collaborative Actions Framework, an operational framework for collaboration around actions. One objective of this framework is to improve the collaboration among designers, whatever their disciplinary origin. It also ensures traceability between decision making and corrections/changes made to technical data. This traceability is made possible by the useof the second concept, called Workspace. Even if this term is already well known, we propose a new definition/usage to transform it into collaboration spaces. This concept offers great possibilities, including the continuous delivering/sharing of experts’ contributions, multidisciplinary integration and change validation. The exchange of technical data between workspaces, or simultaneous work on the same data, relies on the ability to manage several parallel versions of the same item into a single datamanagement system. These opportunities are offered by the third concept, called Branch & Merge. Finally, these three concepts are illustrated through a scenario and a computer prototype. A mechatronic product, “the synergistic combination of mechanical and electrical engineering, computer science, and information technology” (Harashima et al., 1996), is used to illustrate the opportunities offered by our work in terms of multidisciplinary integration during collaborative design

Cette thèse traite de la question de la conservation des villes historiques du centre de l'Iran, majoritairement construites en terre crue, désormais moins adaptées à l'évolution des modes de vie et insérées dans un tissu urbain moderne, étendu et éclaté. La thèse révèle les rapports étroits entre la ville historique, son architecture domestique, la société traditionnelle, sa structure sociale et familiale, les usages comme les cérémonies et rites festifs qui traversent la vie de la population urbaine. Le patrimoine est ici clairement étudié au prisme de son histoire et des valeurs de la société traditionnelle qui aspire à la fois à la modernité et à la conservation de son héritage culturel, ayant ainsi à affronter des enjeux antagonistes et complexes pour intégrer son héritage dans un processus d'évolution culturelle et sociale. Face aux enjeux du développement de la ville moderne, de l'industrie du tourisme et de la mondialisation, la préservation des valeurs culturelles, sociales, économiques et scientifiques des villes historiques iraniennes, pour transmettre un héritage exposé à un haut risque de dégradation du fait de grandes mutations, à des évolutions qui induisent une requalification à différentes échelles (architecture, ville et territoire), constitue un défi majeur pour la société iranienne. De ce fait, la recherche analyse les qualités propres d'un patrimoine qui a défini ses caractères dans une relation étroite et harmonieuse avec un environnement désertique. Elle démontre qu'il conviendrait de s'appuyer sur des savoirs et savoir-faire d'une grande intelligence éprouvée mais aujourd'hui menacés d'extinction alors qu'ils demeurent pleinement pertinents face aux enjeux du développement durable. En illustration concrète, la thèse se saisit de l'étude de cas de la ville de Yazd, particulièrement représentative des enjeux couverts par la recherche et au coeur du paradoxe entre développement urbain et conservation. Elle met en lumière la nécessité d'une approche intégrée, holistique et multidisciplinaire, pour la conservation des villes historiques du centre iranien
This thesis addresses the issue of the conservation of historic towns in central Iran, mostly built with raw earth materials. These have become ill-adapted to the evolution of society and inserted into a vast and dispersed modern urban fabric. The thesis reveals the close relationship between the historic town and its domestic architecture with the traditional society, family and social structure matters as well as the customs, ceremonies and festive rites that define the lives of urban populations. Heritage is clearly studied through the prism of history and the values of traditional society that aspires both to modernity and the preservation of its cultural heritage, thus dealing with conflicting and complex issues in the quest to incorporate heritage in a process of cultural and social evolution. Facing the development challenges posed by the modern city, the tourism industry and globalization, the preservation of cultural, social, economic, scientific and historic values in Iran and the transmission of a heritage that is highly exposed to degradation due to large mutations at different scales (architecture, city and territory), represent major challenges for today's Iranian society. Thus, the research analyzes the qualities of a heritage that has defined its character in a close and harmonious relationship with a desert environment. It demonstrates that it would be beneficial to take into full consideration a knowledge and know-how of proven high intelligence but now at risk of extinction, even though they remain fully relevant in view of the challenges of sustainable development today. This thesis illustrates the case of the city of Yazd, particularly representative of the issues covered by the research and at the heart of the paradox between urban development and conservation; it highlights the need for an integrated, holistic and multidisciplinary approach to the conservation of the historic towns of central Iran

Ce document est la synthèse d'un parcours de recherche en mécanique étalé sur plus de dix ans et intéressant différents secteurs de la mécanique. La thèse se compose de trois parties principales. La première partie concerne les activités rattachées à la thèse de doctorat, portant sur l'optimisation des dimensions de la coque d'une plate-forme pétrolière de type TLP. Les deux thèmes traités dans la recherche sont rapidement présentés: la simplification des solutions pour le calcul des actions de la houle en théorie de la diffraction et la mise au point du procédé pour la détermination des dimensions de la coque de poids minimal. La deuxième partie porte sur une recherche de mécanique non linéaire: l'application de la Méthode Asymptotique Numérique (MAN) à la détection des points de bifurcation de l'équilibre d'une structure élastique et au suivi des branches de réponse post-critique. Après un bref rappel de la MAN, on montre la formulation théorique de la recherche et des exemples numériques traités, avec une discussion des résultats obtenus. La troisième partie concerne une série de travaux dans le domaine des matériaux composites, ayant pour fil conducteur l'utilisation de la méthode polaire en analyse, conception et identification des stratifiés en composite. Après une présentation détaillée et complète de la méthode polaire, les recherches développées dans ce domaine sont présentées, en les distinguant en quatre parties. Le chapitre 8 porte sur les stratifiés découplés ou quasi-homogènes, dont on met en évidence la découverte des solutions de type quasi-trivial, en soulignant leurs propriétés. Ensuite, on aborde la conception de stratifiés isotropes, totalement ou en partie, ainsi que celle des stratifiés formés de couches à symétrie carrée. Le point commun à ces travaux est l'approche entièrement analytique, qui a permis de dégager des solutions exactes pour chacun des problèmes cités. Dans le chapitre 9 on présente une formulation unique, sous forme d'un problème classique de l'optimisation structurale non convexe, d'un grand nombre de problèmes de conception des stratifiés, tandis que le chapitre 10 porte sur la mise au point d'un algorithme génétique de nouvelle conception, BIANCA, pour la conception et optimisation des stratifiés. Toujours en thème d'optimisation, le chapitre 11 porte sur une étude, théorique et numérique, de sensibilité de certaines solutions aux défauts d'orientation des couches. Le chapitre 12 concerne la découverte d'un cas particulier d'orthotropie plane, dite orthotropie R0, dont les caractéristiques assez singulières seront mises en évidence, ainsi que la façon d'obtenir un tel type de lamina et l'intérêt à son utilisation. Finalement, le dernier chapitre concerne certaines applications de la méthode polaire à l'identification des propriétés élastiques et de rupture des composites.

Ce travail de thèse trouve son origine dans une intervention menée auprès du collectif d’ergothérapeutes du centre de rééducation François Gallouedec. Il prend pour objet les dilemmes de métier de ces professionnels lorsqu’ils sont confrontés à la question du travail des patients. L’intervention s’est déployée en suivant une méthodologie développementale propre à la clinique de l’activité. Elle a permis aux ergothérapeutes de prendre pour objet d’analyse leur propre travail lors de programmes de restauration fonctionnelle. La littérature sur ces programmes confirme le choix de s’intéresser aux ergothérapeutes comme principaux destinataires des questions professionnelles des patients. Cependant, les recherches dans le domaine tendent à éluder la question du travail des professionnels de santé et à résumer celui des patients au simple retour à l’emploi.C’est justement pourquoi il nous a semblé intéressant de renverser la question en nous intéressant au travail de ceux qui s’intéressent au travail. Nous avons émis l’hypothèse que ce point difficile confrontait les ergothérapeutes du centre François Gallouedec à des dilemmes de métier notamment lors de la réalisation d’un « atelier geste professionnel ». Les résultats de cette recherche montrent toute l’importance de s’intéresser au travail des professionnels de santé, ce qui est fait mais aussi ce qui n’est pas fait ou ce qu’on aurait voulu faire, pour le développement des modèles de prise en charge des patients. Le réel du travail des rééducateurs peut ainsi devenir une ressource dans la mise en place de programmes de rééducation qui souhaitent s’intéresser à la question du travail du patient
This thesis work originated in an intervention conducted with the collective of occupational therapists of the rehabilitation center François Gallouedec. It focuses on the job dilemmas of these professionals when confronted with the issue of patient’s work.The intervention was deployed following a developmental methodology specific to the clinic of the activity. It allowed occupational therapists to take their own work as an object of analysis during functional restoration programs. The literature on these programs confirms the choice to focus on occupational therapists as the primary addressee for patients' professional issues. However, research in the field tends to evade the question of the work of health professionals and to summarize that of patients simply returning to employment. This is why we felt it necessary to focus on the work of those who are interested in work. We hypothesized that this difficult point confronted the occupational therapists of the François Gallouedec center with job dilemmas, particularly during the realization of a "professional gesture workshop". The results of this research show the importance of taking an interest in the work of health professionals, which is done but also what is not done or what we would have liked to do, for the development of models of patient care. The real work of there educators can thus become a resource in the implementation of rehabilitation programs that wish to be interested in the question of the work of the patient

Les maladies les plus fréquentes prédisposant au cancer colorectal sont le Syndrome de Lynch et la Polypose Adénomateuse Familiale. Les gènes du système MMR, le gène APC et le gène MUTYH sont respectivement responsables. Le conseil génétique est primordial pour une prise en charge optimale des patients et des familles. Les Comités d'Oncogénétique aident les professionnels de santé à décider d'une indication d'analyse génétique et au suivi des familles. Nous souhaitons évaluer et améliorer a qualité décision prise pour une famille à risque. Des décisions très disparates d'un cas familial à un autre équivalent ont été suspectées. A Lyon, nous avons créé une base de données pour analyser et contribuer cela. Résultat : 100% (33/33) des centres français de consultations principales d'oncogénétique ont décrit l'organisation de leurs COG: 76% développent un COG spécifique, 24% utilisent une concertation standard. Environ 3.75 spécialités médicales sont rassemblées par COG, dont des oncogénéticiens (100%), gastro-entérologues (76%), conseillers en génétiques (84%), chirurgiens (32%), et biologistes/anatomopathologistes (36%). Vingt pourcent des centres ayant une COG spécifique discutent tous leurs cas familiaux, 80% sélectionnent leurs dossiers. Dans notre région, un outil informatique a été élaboré et sera largement diffusé. Notre but étant de standardiser nos décisions et, catégoriser des groupes de patients/familles, pour standardiser la surveillance proposée chez les familles équivalentes. Une meilleure rationalisation de la prise en charge, du suivi des familles, et de la prévention est ici ciblée
The most common diseases that predispose for colorectal cancers are Lynch Syndrome and Familial Adenomatous Polyposis. The genes of MMR system, the APC gene and the MUTYH gene are respectively responsible. Genetic counselling is imperative for an optimal care making for patients and at-risk families. Multidisciplinary committees (MDC) are organized so as to help healthcare professionals for gene analysis decision and families' follow-up. Our aim is evaluation and improvement of quality decision-making for at-risk families. A disparate distribution of decisions from one familial case to another equivalent one has been suspected and observed. In Lyon region we created a database to analyse that and contribute to harmonize the different participants' work in MDC. Results: the 33 French oncogenetic main consultation centers described the organization of their MDC. Answering rate reached 100%. Among these centers, 76% developed a specific MDC, whereas 24% used standard consultation. About 3.75 different medical specialities are gathered by MDC. Among them, there are oncogeneticists (100%), gastroenterologists (76%), genetic counsellors (84%), surgeons (32%), and biologists (36%). Twenty percent of centers having a specific MDC evaluate all their patient cases, whereas 80% select them. In Lyon region, a computerized tool has been elaborated and will be widely disseminated to every collaborating partners of our MDC. It will enable us to standardize our decision-making and, by comparing decisions through quality criteria, to differentiate and categorize some patients/families groups. A better rationalization of care management, families' follow-up and prevention is targeted

As aglomerações de empresas têm despertado o interesse de pesquisadores e formuladores de políticas, dadas as suas particularidades, em comparação com os negócios que não se localizam em aglomerações, pois têm havido desempenhos satisfatórios que são obtidos pelas empresas participantes das aglomerações, e desenvolvimento nas localidades em que os aglomerados se instalam. O desenvolvimento local é contribuinte da melhoria da qualidade de vida das regiões, a partir do impacto que é gerado em várias dimensões, quais sejam: espacial, cultural, política, institucional, social, econômica e ambiental. O Arranjo Produtivo Local (APL) é um tipo de aglomerado empresarial que se constitui em um sistema formador de ações coletivas e resultados promissores para determinada região. Assim, é um agente para o desenvolvimento dessa localidade, dada sua capacidade de impactar as dimensões do desenvolvimento local por meio de ações potencializadoras e/ou inibidoras. A proposta deste estudo foi estudar quais, e como, fatores presentes em três arranjos produtivos locais, situados nas regiões Sudeste e Centro-Oeste do Brasil, contribuem ou inibem o desenvolvimento local das regiões em que estão inseridos, a partir das inter-relações entre as dimensões ambiental, cultural, econômica, espacial, institucional, política e social. Os objetivos específicos foram: i) identificar os atores, as dimensões e os fatores presentes nos arranjos produtivos locais, considerando a possível interferência no desenvolvimento local; ii) alocar os fatores conforme as categorias de análise; iii) entender o conjunto dos fatores, das relações e das interações, presentes entre os atores/agentes e as dimensões do desenvolvimento local; iv) compreender os fatores que contribuem para o desenvolvimento local; v) compreender os fatores que inibem o desenvolvimento local. A pesquisa foi de natureza aplicada, abordagem qualitativa e descritiva. A estratégia utilizada para alcançar o objetivo proposto foi o estudo multicasos. As técnicas de coleta de dados foram: entrevistas, observação não participante e análise documental. Para interpretação dos dados foi utilizada a análise de conteúdo a partir das categorias, aspectos: ambientais, culturais, econômicos, espaciais, institucionais, políticos e sociais. Os resultados apontaram que houve desenvolvimento local nos três arranjos estudados, porém com diferenças de impacto entre os fatores formadores de cada dimensão, assim como entre a contribuição de cada dimensão ao desenvolvimento local. Vários fatores apresentaram tanto potencializar quanto inibir o desenvolvimento. Verificou-se que o fator Cooperação, Coletividade é chave para as práticas de desenvolvimento, assim como a dimensão institucional, por ser coordenadora e disseminadora potencial de ações para esse fim. A dimensão econômica ainda é a que mais motiva as ações e estratégias dos arranjos, e a dimensão ambiental tem tido menor motivação, o que tem comprometido, e muito, o desenvolvimento das regiões analisadas. É necessário contemplar visão de maior envolvimento e transformação cultural entre os agentes/atores dos locais. Como sugestões práticas, as políticas (públicas e privadas) devem considerar aspectos imprescindíveis ao desenvolvimento local, quais sejam: a formação da autonomia do arranjo; a flexibilidade quanto as fronteiras espaciais para definição de variados problemas e variadas soluções; a perspectiva de longo prazo; a inovação e o profissionalismo, por uma visão ampla, além da dimensão financeira.
The agglomerations of companies attracted the interest of researchers and policymakers, given their particularities, compared to companies not located in agglomerations, because occurred satisfactory performances by the companies participating in the agglomerations, and development in the localities where the agglomerates settle. The local development contributes to the improvement of the quality of life of the regions, by the impact generated in several dimensions, such as: spatial, cultural, political, institutional, social, economic and environmental. The cluster is a type of industrial agglomerated composed of a system of collective actions and promising results for a given region. Thus, it is an agent for the development of this locality, given its capacity to affect the dimensions of local development through actions that contribute to or inhibit in this development. The research was the purpose of studying which, and how, factors present in three clusters, situated in the Southeast and Center-West regions of Brazil, contribute or inhibit the local development of the regions in which they belong, based on the interrelations between the dimensions: environmental, cultural, economic, spatial, institutional, political and social. The specific objectives were: i) identify the actors, dimensions, and factors present in the clusters, considering the possible interference in local development; ii) allocate the factors according to the categories of analysis; iii) understand the set of factors, relationships and interactions, present between the actors/agents and the dimensions of local development; iv) understand the factors that contribute to local development; v) understand the factors that inhibit local development. The research considered a study of an applied nature, qualitative approach and descriptive. The strategy used to reach the proposed goal was the multi-case study. The techniques of data collection were interviews, non-participant observation, and documentary analysis. For the interpretation of the data, was used the content analysis according to the categories, aspects: environmental, cultural, economic, spatial, institutional, political and social. The results showed that there was local development in the three arrangements studied, but with differences of impact between the factors forming each dimension, as well as between the contribution of each dimension to local development. Several factors have both potentialized and inhibited development. The factor Cooperation, Collectivity was indicated as fundamental for the development practices, as well as the institutional dimension, for having a potential coordinator and disseminator of actions for this purpose. The economic dimension is still the one that most motivates the actions and strategies in the arrangements, and the environmental dimension has less motivation, which has greatly committed the development of the analyzed regions. It is necessary to contemplate a vision of greater involvement and cultural transformation among the agents/actors from locals. As practical suggestions, the policies (public and private) should consider aspects essential to local development, such as: the formation of the autonomy of the arrangement; the flexibility of spatial frontier to define varied problems and solutions; the long-term perspective; the innovation and the professionalism, for a broad vision, beyond the financial dimension.

Modern military aircraft employ weapon bays for carriage and release of stores. The clearance of these stores for release from aircraft may require several flight tests at a range of conditions where the trajectories of released stores are obtained through accelerometers located on the store. Although effective, this is expensive and time consuming and only limited flight tests can be accomplished at critical conditions. Predictions made using store release analysis through wind tunnels and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) have the potential to reduce the number of flight tests required for store clearance. The motivation for the current work, stems from the need to investigate carriage and release of a store from a weapon bay, idealised as a rectangular cavity, through a unique blend of disciplines comprising Computational Fluid Dynamics, Computational Structural Dynamics (CSD), Computational Aero- Aeroacoustics (CAA) and High Performance Computing (HPC). Detached-Eddy Simulations (DES) of flow in clean cavities were carried out to compare two cavities of different aspect ratios for configurations with doors-off and doors-on. Both cavities had similar acoustic signatures and the addition of doors channelled the flow causing acoustic waves to propagate further away from the cavity. DES computations were carried out for a store at different positions relative to a cavity that showed that a store at carriage position pacified the cavity acoustics the most. Fin tip displacements were small for a store at carriage position and exhibited buzzing characteristics. This was similar to the case where a store was positioned at the shear layer of a cavity but with slightly larger displacements. While fin displacements were not large, the results highlighted concerns for fin fatigue life. Comparisons between rigid and elastic fins showed small differences in loads, however, aeroelastic simulations showed that where resonance of structural and cavity modes occurred, large amplitude fin oscillations were predicted. Scale-Adaptive Simulations (SAS) were validated against experimental data for clean cavities and were found to be similar to DES results and could be run at a larger time-step. The cost savings and similarities of SAS to DES encouraged its use for store release computations. Store release computations from a cavity were conducted and the variability of a stores trajectory due to the unsteady cavity flow-field was investigated. Visualisations using Q-criteria highlighted instantaneous structures that were in contact with the store fins causing the trajectory to vary for different release times. Overall, the thesis suggests the use of SAS as an affordable method for analysing store release computations from a cavity and highlights the need for a stochastic evaluation of trajectories from transonic cavities. A study comparing different signal lengths for post-processing unsteady pressure data revealed that, the minimum CFD signal length required to capture all dominant tones was around 0.05s. Different post-processing methods for spectral content were compared and the use of Maximum Entropy Methods (MEMs), based on Burgs Estimator, was suggested as it not only captured dominant tones but also predicted the highest Sound Pressure Levels (SPLs), that could be used to produce the maximum boundary of a given signal.

L'augmentation des exigences environnementales et d'efficacité dans l'aviation nécessite l'exploration de nouvelles configurations d'aéronefs et de méthodologies de conception avancées. Les configurations à aile haubanée à fort allongement (HARSBW) constituent une solution prometteuse permettant de réduire la consommation de carburant et la traînée aérodynamique. Cependant, ces configurations induisent des interactions complexes entre l'aérodynamique et la structure qui requièrent des méthodologies adaptées d'Analyse Multi-Disciplinaire (MDA) et d'Analyse et d'Optimisation Multi-Disciplinaire (MDAO). Cette thèse propose une méthodologie de couplage aéro-structure multi-fidélité combinant la modélisation par modèles de substitution et les techniques de réduction de dimension afin d'améliorer l'efficacité computationnelle tout en préservant la précision. Ce manuscrit propose une revue bibliographique décrivant les défis de la conception des aéronefs et le potentiel des techniques MDAO pour les surmonter. Un enjeu clé réside dans le coût calculatoire élevé des simulations haute fidélité nécessaires à une MDA précise, justifiant ainsi l'adoption d'approches basées sur la modélisation par modèles de substitution. Pour répondre à cette problématique, la thèse développe d'abord des modèles paramétriques pour les simulations aérodynamiques et structurales adaptées aux HARSBW. Ces modèles incluent un modèle de fluide potentiel basse fidélité et un solveur aérodynamique résolvant les équations d'Euler compressibles en haute fidélité, ainsi qu'un modèle de structure linéaire élastique. Ensuite, une méthodologie d'analyse multidisciplinaire (MDA) basée sur un solveur direct est construite et ses performances sont analysées à différents niveaux de fidélité. Les compromis entre coût de calcul et précision sont évalués afin d'établir une référence pour la modélisation par modèle de substitution. À partir des schémas MDA couplés aux solveurs directs en basse et haute fidélité, sont développés des schémas MDA basés sur des modèles de substitution avec réduction de dimension en mono- et en multi-fidélité, combinant la Décomposition Orthogonale aux Valeurs Propres (POD) et la régression par Processus Gaussiens (GP). La méthodologie mise en œuvre permet de modéliser efficacement les variables de couplage de grande dimension, réduisant considérablement la dépendance aux solveurs haute fidélité coûteux. Le raffinement du modèle de substitution multi-fidélité avec réduction de dimension est ensuite réalisé via un algorithme d'apprentissage actif, qui sélectionne de manière ciblée les données additionnelles dans les régions de forte incertitude pour l'apprentissage de la base POD et des modèles de substitution GP. Cet algorithme garantit que le modèle de substitution reste à la fois efficace en temps de calculs et précis, en adaptant dynamiquement les niveaux de fidélité de l'enrichissement. L'application des algorithmes développés à la configuration HARSBW démontre l'efficacité de la méthodologie proposée pour réduire les coûts de calculs tout en maintenant une précision de haute fidélité
The increasing environmental and efficiency demands in aviation necessitate the exploration of novel aircraft configurations and advanced design methodologies. High Aspect Ratio Strut-Braced Wing (HARSBW) configurations present a promising solution by reducing fuel consumption and aerodynamic drag. However, their complex aero-structural interactions require sophisticated Multi-Disciplinary Analysis (MDA) and Multi-Disciplinary Analysis and Optimization (MDAO) methodologies. This thesis develops an aero-structural multi-fidelity coupling methodology that integrates surrogate modeling and dimension reduction techniques to enhance computational efficiency without sacrificing accuracy. The research begins with a bibliographical review outlining the challenges in aircraft design and the potential of MDAO to overcome them. A key issue is the high computational cost of high-fidelity simulations required for accurate MDA, motivating the need for surrogate-based modeling approaches. One of the challenges regarding a surrogate-based approach is to deal with high dimensional coupling variables corresponding to the vector of aerodynamic forces and structural displacements. To address this, the thesis first develops the parametric models for aerodynamic and structural simulations tailored to HARSBW. These models include low-fidelity potential fluid and high-fidelity compressible Euler aerodynamic solvers, as well as a linear elastic structural model. Next, a direct solver-based MDA framework is constructed and analyzed at different fidelity levels. The trade-offs between computational cost and accuracy are assessed. Based on the low and high-fidelity direct solver-coupled MDA schemes, this research constructs single and multi-fidelity dimension-reduced surrogate model-based MDA schemes, combining Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) and Gaussian Process (GP) regression. This framework captures high-dimensional coupling variables efficiently, significantly reducing reliance on expensive high-fidelity solvers. A first attempt of further refinement of the multi-fidelity dimension-reduced surrogate model is carried out through an iterative enrichment algorithm that selectively incorporates additional data in high-uncertainty regions for the training of the POD basis and the GP surrogate models. Application of the developed algorithms on the HARSBW configuration illustrate the interest of such a proposed methodology in reducing computational costs while maintaining high-fidelity accuracy

La conception d'un système électrique est une tâche très complexe qui relève d’expertises dans différents domaines de compétence. Dans un contexte compétitif où l’avance technologique est un facteur déterminant, l’industrie cherche à réduire les temps d'étude et à fiabiliser les solutions trouvées par une approche méthodologique rigoureuse fournissant une solution optimale systémique.Il est alors nécessaire de construire des modèles et de mettre au point des méthodes d'optimisation compatibles avec ces préoccupations. En effet, l’optimisation unitaire de sous-systèmes sans prendre en compte les interactions ne permet pas d'obtenir un système optimal. Plus le système est complexe plus le travail est difficile et le temps de développement est important car il est difficile pour le concepteur d'appréhender le système dans toute sa globalité. Il est donc nécessaire d'intégrer la conception des composants dans une démarche systémique et globale qui prenne en compte à la fois les spécificités d’un composant et ses relations avec le système qui l’emploie.Analytical Target Cascading est une méthode d'optimisation multi niveaux de systèmes complexes. Cette approche hiérarchique consiste à décomposer un système complexe en sous-systèmes, jusqu’au niveau composant dont la conception relève d’algorithmes d'optimisation classiques. La solution optimale est alors trouvée par une technique de coordination qui assure la cohérence de tous les sous-systèmes. Une première partie est consacrée à l'optimisation de composants électriques. L'optimisation multi niveaux de systèmes complexes est étudiée dans la deuxième partie où une chaîne de traction électrique est choisie comme exemple
The design of an electrical system is a very complex task which needs experts from various fields of competence. In a competitive environment, where technological advance is a key factor, industry seeks to reduce study time and to make solutions reliable by way of a rigorous methodology providing a systemic solution.Then, it is necessary to build models and to develop optimization methods which are suitable with these concerns. Indeed, the optimization of sub-systems without taking into account the interaction does not allow to achieve an optimal system. More complex the system is more the work is difficult and the development time is important because it is difficult for the designer to understand and deal with the system in its complexity. Therefore, it is necessary to integrate the design components in a systemic and holistic approach to take into account, in the same time, the characteristics of a component and its relationship with the system it belongs to.Analytical Target Cascading is a multi-level optimization method for handling complex systems. This hierarchical approach consists on the breaking-down of a complex system into sub-systems, and component where their optimal design is ensured by way of classical optimization algorithms. The optimal solution of the system must be composed of the component's solutions. Then a coordination strategy is needed to ensure consistency of all sub-systems. First, the studied and proposed optimization algorithms are tested and compared on the optimization of electrical components. The second part focuses on the multi-level optimization of complex systems. The optimization of railway traction system is taken as a test case

This thesis report presents the work of analysing current challenges in Multidisciplinary Analysis systems. Exemplary the system of an aerospace supplier, GKN Aerospace Sweden AB, is examined and several suggestions for improve- ment are implemented. The Multidisciplinary Analysis system, with company internal name Engineering Workbench, employs a set-based approach in exploring the design-space for jet engine components. A number of design cases with varied geometrical and environmental parameters is generated using Design of Experiment sampling methods. Each design case is then subjected to a set of analyses. Using the analyses results, a surrogate model of the parts behaviour in relation to the input parameters is created. This enables the product developer to get a general view of the model’s behaviour and also to react to changes in product requirements. Design research methodology is applied to further develop the Engineering Workbench into a versatile design support system and expand the functionality to include producibility assessment. In its original state, the execution of a study requires explicit domain knowledge and programming skills in several disciplines. The execution of a study is often halted by minor process errors. Several methods to improve this status are suggested and tested. Among those are the introduction of an interface to improve the usability and expand the range of possible users. Further the integration of a four level system architecture supporting a modular structure. Producibility assessment is enabled by developing an expert system where geometrical and simulation results can be caught, analysed and evaluated to produce producibility metrics. Evaluation of the implemented solutions indicate a step in the right direction. Further development towards Multidisciplinary Optimisation, involving experts in information technologies as well as case- based reasoning techniques is suggested and discussed.

I denti rappresentano un organo molto complesso, il cui studio comprende numerosi aspetti, tra cui la morfologia, la composizione chimica e elementare, le proprietà meccaniche e fisiche, e anche l’interazione con i diversi biomateriali. Negli ultimi anni si è verificato un incremento delle richieste da parte dei pazienti di trattamenti restaurativi estetici, grazie anche alla maggiore sensibilità delle persone in questo campo e alla fondamentale importanza sociale di un bel sorriso. Ciò ha portato alla necessità di sviluppare biomateriali sempre più estetici e tecniche cliniche più innovative e, di conseguenza, ad una continua implementazione della ricerca scientifica. A tutt’oggi, diverse tecniche analitiche, fra cui la Microscopia a Scansione Elettronica, la Diffrattometria a raggi X e la spettroscopia EDS, sono state applicate singolarmente per analizzare specifiche problematiche odontoiatriche. Purtroppo, tutte queste tecniche comportano la distruzione del campione durante le fasi di preparazione e/o analisi, e ciò può influenzare il risultato finale. Recentemente, sono state introdotte nuove tecniche ad alta risoluzione, fra cui le spettroscopie IR e Raman e la Microtomografia Computerizzata. Queste tecniche hanno il vantaggio di preservare l’integrità del campione, poiché non richiedono specifiche procedure preparatorie. Inoltre, gli spettrometri IR e Raman di ultima generazione sono accoppiati con microscopi ottici, e permettono, quindi, di ottenere sullo stesso campione e con una singola misura informazioni oggettive e affidabili sia sulla composizione chimica del campione che sulla sua struttura, semplificando l’acquisizione dei dati e riducendo i costi dell’analisi. Sulla base di questi presupposti, si può affermare che l'accoppiamento di tutte queste tecniche ad alta risoluzione in un approccio multidisciplinare rappresenta un valido strumento per ottenere informazioni affidabili e complete a livello molecolare sulla micro e macrostruttura dei tessuti dentali e sulle proprietà strutturali dei biomateriali di nuova generazione. I dati ottenuti rappresentano inoltre una preziosa base di partenza sia per migliorare la diagnosi e il trattamento di diverse patologie dentali, che per sviluppare nuovi biomateriali più performanti e, infine, per fornire protocolli clinici semplificati non invasivi e più appropriati.
Human teeth can be considered a very complex and multi-faceted organ, the study of which comprises the elucidation of several aspects, including morphology, macromolecular and chemical composition, mechanical and functional properties, as well as interaction with different biomaterials. In the last years, the demand for restorative and esthetic purposes has undergone a significant increase, also thanks to a major sensitivity of people and to the fundamental role of a healthy smile in the society. Hence, the need for more innovative materials and clinical techniques has consequently led to the implementation of scientific research in this field. Several analytical techniques, including Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy, have been individually applied to elucidate specific issues in dentistry. Unfortunately, all these techniques have the inconvenience to destroy the sample during the preparation phase. Recently, new high-resolution techniques, including IR and Raman spectroscopies and Microcomputed Tomography (μ-CT), have been introduced. These latter analytical tools have the advantage to preserve the sample without destroying it, since they do not require fixing procedures before measurements, which could influence the final analysis. Moreover, last generation IR and Raman spectrometers are coupled with optical microscopes, letting obtain on the same samples and at the same time, reliable and objective information both on the chemical composition and the structure of the sample, simplifying data acquisition and reducing times of analysis. On these bases, it appears evident that the coupling of all these high-resolution techniques in a multidisciplinary approach represents a valuable tool to obtain reliable and comprehensive information at a molecular level on the micro- and macro- structure of dental tissues and on the structural properties of new generation biomaterials. This could be precious to improve diagnosis and treatment of several dental pathologies. Furthermore, shedding new light on the design and development of innovative dental materials will allow elucidating their interaction with hard dental tissues, thus suggesting non-invasive and more appropriate simplified clinical protocols.

In this thesis, the structural design, structural analysis and producibility analysis of an unmanned aerial vehicle wing were performed. Three different wing models, made of different materials, were designed. The wings were aluminum wing model and composite wing models
made of prepreg and wet lay-up. All wings have the same aerodynamic geometry and structural configuration under the same flight conditions. The structural designs of three wings were done by using Unigraphics NX. The finite element modeling of the wings were built by using MSC Patran package program. After the application of the loads on models, structural analyses were performed by MSC Nastran. Finally, the producibility analysis of prepreg wing model was conducted by using FiberSIM package program. The prepreg wing model was selected as optimum design with studies conducted in the study considering weight, producibility, cruise and gust stress and displacement conditions.

Thesis (D.A.)--Illinois State University, 1994.
Title from title page screen, viewed April 17, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Ronald J. Fortune (chair), Lucia C. Getsi, Douglas Hesse. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 206-212) and abstract. Also available in print.

Optimisation is one of the most important and challenging part of any engineering design. In real world design problems one faces multiobjective optimisation under constraints. The optimal solution in these cases is not unique because the objectives can contradict each other. In such cases, a set of optimal solutions which forms a Pareto frontier in the objective space is considered. There are many algorithms to generate the Pareto frontier. However, only a few of them are potentially capable of providing an evenly distributed set of the solutions. Such a property is especially important in real-life design because a decision maker is usually able to analyse only a very limited quantity of solutions. This thesis consists of two main parts. At first, it develops and gives the detailed description of two different algorithms that are able to generate an evenly distributed Pareto set in a general formulation. One is a classical approach and called Directed Search Domain (DSD) and the other, the cylindrical constraint evolutionary algorithm (CCEA), is a hybrid population based method. The efficiency of the algorithms are demonstrated by a number of challenging test cases and the comparisons with the results of the other existing methods. It is shown that the proposed methods are successful in generating the Pareto solutions even when some existing methods fail. In real world design problems, deterministic approaches cannot provide a reliable solution as in the event of uncertainty, deterministic optimal solution would be infeasible in many instances. Therefore a solution less sensitive to problem perturbation is desirable. This leads to the robust solution which is the focus of the second part of the thesis. In the literature, there are some techniques tailored for robust optimisation. However, most of them are either computationally expensive or do not systematically articulate the designer preferences into a robust solution. In this thesis, by introducing a measure for robustness in multiobjective context, a tunable robust function (TRF) is presented. Including the TRF in the problem formulation, it is demonstrated that the desirable robust solution based on designer preferences can be obtained. This not only provides the robust solution but also gives a control over the robustness level. The method is efficient as it only increases the dimension of the problem by one irrespective of the dimension of the original problem.

Cette thèse explore le concept, l’état de la littérature, et les implications commerciales de la bouche-a-oreille électronique (eWOM). Elle est basée sur un article conceptuel et deux articles empiriques. Dans le premier essai, j’apporte une clarification conceptuelle en mettant en évidence la multidimensionnalité du concept qui comporte cinq aspects (qui, quoi, où, quand et comment). Dans le second essai, le modèle résultant du premier essai est suivi d'une analyse historique des dimensions, terminologies équivalentes, théories et méthodes utilisées dans la recherche existante pour étudier l’eWOM.Utilisant l'analyse de réseau de citations, j’identifie des lacunes dans la littérature scientifique afin de faciliter la construction progressive de connaissances dans ce domaine. Enfin, dans le troisième essai, j'utilise une méta-analyse pour tester empiriquement les effets modérateurs de quatre des cinq dimensions de l’eWOM sur l'efficacité des ventes. J’observe que l’eWOM est corrélé positivement avec les ventes (.091), mais que son efficacité diffère grandement en fonction de la plateforme, du produit considéré et des mesures utilisées. Les implications théoriques et managériales, ainsi que des pistes de futures recherches, sont discutées
This dissertation explores the construct, prior scientific inquiry, and market implications of electronic word of mouth (eWOM), and it is based upon one conceptual and two empirical papers. In the first essay, I provide conceptual clarity by dimensionalizing the construct according to five aspects (the Who, What, Where, When, and How of eWOM). In the second essay, the resulting organizing framework is followed up with a historical analysis of eWOM dimensions, aliases, theories, and methodologies used in prior research.Additionally, I employ citation network analysis in order to identify gaps in scholarly communication and facilitate progressive knowledge building in this area. Finally, in the third essay, I use meta-analysis to empirically test the moderating impact of four of the five eWOM dimensions on sales effectiveness. I find that eWOM is positively correlated with sales (.091), but its effectiveness differs across platform, product, and metric factors. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as avenues for further research are discussed

A formal framework is developed and implemented in this research for preliminary rotorcraft design using IPPD methodology. All the technical aspects of design are considered including the vehicle engineering, dynamic analysis, stability and control, aerodynamic performance, propulsion, transmission design, weight and balance, noise analysis and economic analysis. The design loop starts with a detailed analysis of requirements. A baseline is selected and upgrade targets are identified depending on the mission requirements. An Overall Evaluation Criterion (OEC) is developed that is used to measure the goodness of the design or to compare the design with competitors. The requirements analysis and baseline upgrade targets lead to the initial sizing and performance estimation of the new design. The digital information is then passed to disciplinary experts. This is where the detailed disciplinary analyses are performed. Information is transferred from one discipline to another as the design loop is iterated. To coordinate all the disciplines in the product development cycle, Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) techniques e.g. All At Once (AAO) and Collaborative Optimization (CO) are suggested. The methodology is implemented on a Light Turbine Training Helicopter (LTTH) design. Detailed disciplinary analyses are integrated through a common platform for efficient and centralized transfer of design information from one discipline to another in a collaborative manner. Several disciplinary and system level optimization problems are solved. After all the constraints of a multidisciplinary problem have been satisfied and an optimal design has been obtained, it is compared with the initial baseline, using the earlier developed OEC, to measure the level of improvement achieved. Finally a digital preliminary design is proposed. The proposed design methodology provides an automated design framework, facilitates parallel design by removing disciplinary interdependency, current and updated information is made available to all disciplines at all times of the design through a central collaborative repository, overall design time is reduced and an optimized design is achieved.

The purpose of this research is to develop and architect a preliminary multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) tool that creates multiple types of generalized rocket fairing models. These models are sized relative to input geometric models and are analyzed and optimized, taking into account the primary objectives, namely the structural, thermal, and aerodynamic aspects of standard rocket flights. A variety of standard nose cone shapes is used as optimization proof of concept examples, being sized and compared to determine optimal choices based on the input specifications, such as the rocket body geometry and the specified trajectory paths. Any input models can be optimized to their respective best nose cone style or optimized to each of the cone styles individually, depending on the desired constraints. Two proof of concept example rocket model studies are included with varying sizes and speeds. Both have been optimized using the processes described to provide delineative instances into how results are improved and time saved. This is done by optimizing shape and thickness of the fairings while ascertaining if the remaining length downstream on the designated rocket model remains within specified stress and temperature ranges. The first optimized example exhibits a region of high stress downstream on the rocket body model that champions how these tools can be used to catch weaknesses and improve the overall integrity of a rocket design. The second example demonstrates how more established rocket designs can decrease their weight and drag through optimization of the fairing design.

A Bayesian adaptive sampling method is developed for highly coupled multidisciplinary design problems. The method addresses a major challenge in aerospace design: exploration of a design space with computationally expensive analysis tools such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD) or finite element analysis. With a limited analysis budget, it is often impossible to optimize directly or to explore a design space with off-line design of experiments (DoE) and surrogate models. This difficulty is magnified in multidisciplinary problems with feedbacks between disciplines because each design point may require iterative analyses to converge on a compatible solution between different disciplines. Bayesian Collaborative Sampling (BCS) is a bi-level architecture for adaptive sampling that simulataneously - concentrates disciplinary analyses in regions of a design space that are favorable to a system-level objective - guides analyses to regions where interdisciplinary coupling variables are probably compatible BCS uses Bayesian models and sequential sampling techniques along with elements of the collaborative optimization (CO) architecture for multidisciplinary optimization. The method is tested with the aero-structural design of a glider wing and the aero-propulsion design of a turbojet engine nacelle.

Thesis (MMus (Music))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009
Violin vibrato is the action by which a violinist periodically changes the frequency of a sustained note by moving the finger on the string, rapidly backwards and forwards. If it is artistically applied, it adds life, character and warmth to an otherwise dull sounding note. Although it has been used since the sixteenth century, very little research has been done on the reason why humankind would experience such periodic fluctuations as an object of beauty in violin performance. In answering the question, this study explores a variety of angles of approach in order to understand the phenomenon in its full context. The history, development and geographical origin of the technique are firstly discussed in a diachronic fashion and provide the background for the subsequent synchronic research on the physical nature of violin sound and violin vibrato. The vibrato rates and widths of four virtuosi are measured and compared to highlight the differences and individuality which are argued to be a contributing factor to the perception of beauty of the technique. It is established in the final chapter that the brain is stimulated more by sounds with periodic changes than those that are presented in the steady-state which cast some light on why vibrato may be experienced as an appreciated addition to sound. The thesis aims to present a unique view on the possibilities of interdisciplinary research of the phenomenon of violin vibrato. It further aims to present the research findings in a concise, logical, and systematic manner that could be of interest to both musician and scientist.

A general multidisciplinary design problem features coupling and feedback between contributing analyses. This feedback may lead to convergence issues requiring significant iteration in order to obtain a feasible design. This work casts the multidisciplinary design problem as a dynamical system in order to leverage the benefits of dynamical systems theory in a new domain. Three areas from dynamical system theory are chosen for investigation: stability analysis, optimal control, and estimation theory. Stability analysis is used to investigate the existence of a solution to the design problem and how that solution can be found. Optimal control techniques allow consideration of contributing analysis output and design variables constraints at the same level of the optimization hierarchy. Finally, estimation methods are employed to rapidly evaluate the robustness of the multidisciplinary design. These three dynamical system techniques are then combined in a methodology for the rapid robust design of linear multidisciplinary systems. While inherently linear, the developed robust design methodology is shown to be extensible to nonlinear systems. The applicability and performance of the developed technique is demonstrated through linear and nonlinear test problems including the design of a hypersonic aerodynamic surface for a system in which an increase in range or improvement in landed accuracy is sought. In addition, it is shown that the developed robust design methodology scales well compared to other methods.

The Ph.D. program has been focused on the development of a multidisciplinary integrated environment for the design of wing for which large changes in shape are expected to be allowed during the flight in order to be better adapted for the different flight segments. The first phase of study has been dedicated to the investigation of the proper Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) architecture for the integrated management of the design process and a multilevel solution has been proposed and implemented. Such framework involves several disciplinary analysis and optimization loops: in particular aerodynamic analysis, structural analysis, material optimization and mission and performance evaluation are the main components considered for the preliminary design development for such a “morphing” wing. This stage addressed basically the multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity issues. The second phase has been dedicated to the investigation of possible techniques for the reduction of the computational burden that characterizes typically this kind of integrated design processes. For this purpose multi-fidelity analysis techniques have been considered involving the use of surrogate models. In particular the attention has been focused on the study of a proper methodology to build an approximated model for the estimation of aerodynamic coefficients to be used for performance evaluation in the mission optimization stage. In this case a procedure involving variables screening phase, data-fit surrogate models evaluation and assessment phase and a final crucial global correction phase of the best surrogate model has been proposed.

La malnutrition est un problème majeur en Afrique du Sud (AS), en particulier dans les provinces du Cap-Oriental et du Limpopo, qui sont à prédominance noire et historiquement défavorisées. Cette thèse vise à évaluer le potentiel de la Moringa oleifera (MO) comme source d'amélioration nutritionnelle dans l'alimentation des mères et de leurs enfants dans ces provinces. Connue pour ses bienfaits nutritionnels, la MO est une plante originaire de l'Inde, aujourd'hui cultivée en AS mais peu utilisée pour l'alimentation humaine. Une démarche organisée en deux parties a été suivie dans cette thèse. La première partie vise à comprendre la perception du MO par les consommateurs et comment il peut être intégré dans le répertoire alimentaire Sud-Africain. Une étude des connaissances, croyances et habitudes de consommation de MO nous a permis de contraster deux cultures, l’Inde et l’Afrique (Nigeria, Ghana et AS). Elle a révélé une différence en terme de connaissances et d’usages, en revanche, aucune différence n‘a été observée en terme de croyances. Cela suggère qu'une attitude positive envers le MO ne suffit pas à promouvoir sa consommation. Cette étude a également montré que le MO est aussi moins ancré dans les habitudes alimentaires des Sud-Africains que dans les habitudes des deux autres pays d’Afrique. L’observation des habitudes alimentaires des étudiantes mamans sud-africaines et de leurs enfants a montré un décalage entre leur niveau de connaissance et ce qu’elles font concrètement. Bien qu’elles aient conscience de l’importance des apports nutritionnels, elles préfèrent donner à leurs enfants des aliments qu’ils aiment même s’ils ne sont pas bons pour la santé. Ces étudiantes percoivent le MO davantage comme un médicament qu’un aliment mais ne sont pas opposées à son ajout comme apport nutritionnel dans l’alimentation de base à condition que les aliments proposés soient bons, disponibles et faciles à préparer. L’objectif de la deuxième partie de cette thèse est d’étudier les apports nutritionnels du MO et le développement d’un aliment supplémenté en feuilles de MO. La caractérisation nutritionnelle de la poudre de feuilles de MO a montré un pourcentage de digestibilité de 75,95%. Un prétraitement de la poudre de MO par des procédés de hautes pressions, d’ultrasons et de micro-ondes n’a pas permis d’améliorer ce taux de digestibilité. De plus, des biscuits supplémentés avec des feuilles de MO (0 à 30 %) ont été évalués. Le biscuit de 10% a été caractérisé par la meilleure digestibilité des protéines, tandis que la vitamine A dérivée de MO a été dénaturée pendant la cuisson. Le résultat du test hédonique a regroupé les consommateurs en deux groupes. Les consommateurs du premier groupe ont rejeté tous les biscuits supplémentés en raison de leur couleur verte et de leur texture dure. Ceux du second groupe, plus jeunes, acceptent jusqu’à 20% de suplémentation et sont attirés par l’originalité des biscuits supplémentés. Les quatre études présentées dans la thèse ont conduit à la proposition d’un aliment constitué de bouillie de maïs (pap) supplémenté en feuilles de MO séchées au soleil. Cette méthode de séchage préserve davantage les protéines (18,06%) que le séchage à l'ombre et au four (respectivement 17,44% et 17,56%). Le pap a l’avantage de faire partie du répertoire alimentaire de notre population cible, et il est largement apprécié, bien satisfaisant, largement disponible et facile à préparer. Des proportions de poudre MO de 0, 5 et 10% seront ajoutées au pap après cuisson et lorsque la température descend à 40°C. Une analyse des propriétés nutritionnelles et sensorielles auront lieu afin de déterminer la meilleure proportion
Malnutrition is a major challenge in South Africa (SA), particularly in Eastern Cape and Limpopo provinces, which are predominantly black and historically disadvantaged. This thesis aims to assess the potential of Moringa oleifera (MO) as a source of nutritional improvement in the diets of mothers and their children in these provinces. Known for its nutritional benefits, MO is a plant native to India, now cultivated in SA but not widely used for human nutrition. A two-part approach was followed in this thesis. The first part aims to understand how MO is perceived by consumers and how it can be integrated into the South African food repertory. A study of the knowledge, beliefs and consumption habits of MO allowed us to contrast two cultures, India and Africa (Nigeria, Ghana and SA). Findings from the first part revealed a difference in consumer knowledge and uses, however, no difference was observed in terms of beliefs. This implies that a positive attitude towards MO is not enough to promote its consumption. This study also showed that MO is also less embedded in the eating habits of South Africans than in the habits of the other two African countries. Observation of the eating habits of South African student mothers and their children showed a shift between their level of knowledge and what they actually do. Although they are aware of the importance of nutritional intake, they prefer to give their children foods they like even if they are not healthy. These students perceive MO more as a medicine than a food, but are not opposed to adding it as a nutrient supplement in their basic diet as long as the foods offered are good, available and easy to prepare. The objective of the second part of this thesis is to study the nutritional intakes of MO and the development of a food supplemented with MO leaves. The nutritional characterization of the MO leaf powder showed a digestibility of 75.95%. Pretreatment of the MO powder with high pressure, ultrasound and microwave processes did not improve this digestibility rate. Moreover, biscuits supplemented with MO leaves (0% to 30%) were evaluated. The 10% biscuit was characterized by the best protein digestibility while the vitamin A derived from MO was denatured during baking. The hedonic test result clustered consumers into two groups. Consumers in the first group rejected all supplemented biscuits because of the green color and hard texture. Those in the second group who are much younger compared to the first group accepted biscuits that are supplemented with MDL up to 20% and are attracted by the novelty of the supplemented biscuits. The four studies presented in the thesis led to the proposal of a snack recipe made from maize porridge (pap) and powdered MO leaves dried in the sun. This drying method preserves more protein (18.06%) than shade and oven drying (17.44% and 17.56% respectively). Pap has the advantage to be a major ingredient in the food repertory of our target population, and it is widely appreciated, well satisfying, broadly available and easy to prepare. MO powder proportions of 0, 5, and 10% will be added to the pap after cooking and when the temperature drops to 40 ° C. The analysis of the nutritional and sensory properties will take place in order to determine the best proportion

Scale is an essential notion in geography and geographic information science (GIScience). However, the complex concepts of scale and traditional Euclidean geometric thinking have created tremendous confusion and uncertainty. Traditional Euclidean geometry uses absolute size, regular shape and direction to describe our surrounding geographic features. In this context, different measuring scales will affect the results of geospatial analysis. For example, if we want to measure the length of a coastline, its length will be different using different measuring scales. Fractal geometry indicates that most geographic features are not measurable because of their fractal nature. In order to deal with such scale issues, the topological and scaling analyses are introduced. They focus on the relationships between geographic features instead of geometric measurements such as length, area and slope. The scale change will affect the geometric measurements such as length and area but will not affect the topological measurements such as connectivity.   This study uses three case studies to demonstrate the scale issues of geographic features though fractal analyses. The first case illustrates that the length of the British coastline is fractal and scale-dependent. The length of the British coastline increases with the decreased measuring scale. The yardstick fractal dimension of the British coastline was also calculated. The second case demonstrates that the areal geographic features such as British island are also scale-dependent in terms of area. The box-counting fractal dimension, as an important parameter in fractal analysis, was also calculated. The third case focuses on the scale effects on elevation and the slope of the terrain surface. The relationship between slope value and resolution in this case is not as simple as in the other two cases. The flat and fluctuated areas generate different results. These three cases all show the fractal nature of the geographic features and indicate the fallacies of scale existing in geography. Accordingly, the fourth case tries to exemplify how topological and scaling analyses can be used to deal with such unsolvable scale issues. The fourth case analyzes the London OpenStreetMap (OSM) streets in a topological approach to reveal the scaling or fractal property of street networks. The fourth case further investigates the ability of the topological metric to predict Twitter user’s presence. The correlation between number of tweets and connectivity of London named natural streets is relatively high and the coefficient of determination r2 is 0.5083.   Regarding scale issues in geography, the specific technology or method to handle the scale issues arising from the fractal essence of the geographic features does not matter. Instead, the mindset of shifting from traditional Euclidean thinking to novel fractal thinking in the field of GIScience is more important. The first three cases revealed the scale issues of geographic features under the Euclidean thinking. The fourth case proved that topological analysis can deal with such scale issues under fractal way of thinking. With development of data acquisition technologies, the data itself becomes more complex than ever before. Fractal thinking effectively describes the characteristics of geographic big data across all scales. It also overcomes the drawbacks of traditional Euclidean thinking and provides deeper insights for GIScience research in the big data era.

The first two steps in the development of an integrated multidisciplinary design optimization procedure capable of analyzing the nonlinear fluid flow about geometrically complex aeroelastic configurations have been accomplished in the present work. For the first step, a three-dimenstional unstructured grid approach to earodynamic shape sensitivity analysis and design optimization has been developed. The advantage of unstructured grids, when compared with a structured-grid approach, is their inherent ability to discretize irregularly shaped domains with greater efficiency and less effort. Hence, this approach is ideally suited fro geometrically complex configurations of practical interest. In this work the time-dependent, nonlinear Euler equations are solved using an upwind, cell-centered, finite-volume scheme. The descrete, linearized systems which result from this scheme are solved iteratively by a preconditioned conjugate-gradient-like algorithm known as GMRES for the two-dimensional cases and a Gauss-Seidel algorithm for the three-dimensional; at steady-state, similar procedures are used to solve the accompanying linear aerodynamic sensitivitiy equations in incremental iterative form. As shown, this particular form of the sensitivity equation makes large-scale gradient-based aerodynamic optimization possible bytaking advantage of memory efficient methods to construct exact Jacobian matrix-vector products. Various surface parameterization techniques have been employed in the current study to control the shape of the design surface. Once this surface has been deformed, the interior volume of the unstructured grid is adapted by considering the mesh as a system of interconnected tension springs. Grid sensitivities are obtained by differentiating the surface parameterization and the grid adaptiation algorithms with ADIFOR, an advanced automatic-differentiation software tool. To demonstrate the ability of this procedure to analyze and design complex configurations of practical interest, the sensitivity analysis and shape optimization has been performaed for several two- and three-dimensional cases. In two-dimensions, an initially symmetric NACA-0012 airfoil and a high-lift multielement airfoil were examined. For the three-dimensional configurations, an initially rectangular wing with uniform NACA-0012 cross-scetions was optimized; in additions, a complete Boeing 747-200 aircraft was studied. Furthermore, the current study also examines the effect of inconsistency in the order of spatial accuracy between the nonlinear fluid and linear shape sensitivity equations.

The second step was to develop a computationally efficient, high-fidelity, integrated static aeroelastic analysis procedure. To accomplish this, a structural analysis code was coupled with the aforementioned unstructured grid aerodynamic analysis solver. The use of an unstructured grid scheme for the aerodynamic analysis enhances the interactions compatibility with the wing structure. The structural analysis utilizes finite elements to model the wing so that accurate structural deflections may be obtained. In the current work, paramenters have been introduced to control the interaction of the computational fluid dynamics and structural analyses; these control parameters permit extremely efficient static aeroelastic computations. To demonstrate and evaluate this procedure, static aeroelastic analysis results for a flexible wing in low subsonic, high subsonic (subcritical), transonic (supercritical), and supersonic flow conditions are presented.
Ph. D.

Scaling properties are among the most important quantifiers of complexity in many real systems, including chaotic dynamical systems, biological systems and financial markets. The presence of scaling usually points out a non-trivial self-organizing behavior and temporal correlations. This thesis reports on a nontrivial use of the Detrended Fluctuation Analysis and its generalizations, like the Generalized Hurst Exponent and its weighted version. We discussed about their practical applicability to datasets originating from completely different fields of research, from economics to physiology. The innovative features of this thesis are twofold: on one side it has been possible to verify that the DFA turned out to be a successful technique even when the dataset is not equally temporally spaced; on the other side, it has been possible to obtain - after the combination of the DFA with a complementary tool of investigation - a discriminating procedure and a classification instrument, well suited for diagnostic and clinical purposes. Moreover the same procedures, once extended to GHE analysis, allowed to characterize the multifractal features and cross-correlation properties in commodities markets in order to identify different scales and temporal horizons in trading procedures. This is of crucial importance for the improvement of reliability of risk management and option pricing models.

Multitud de problemas en ciencia e ingeniería se plantean como ecuaciones en derivadas parciales (EDPs). Si la frontera del recinto donde esas ecuaciones han de satisfacerse se desconoce a priori, se habla de "Problemas de frontera libre", propios de sistemas estacionarios no dependientes del tiempo, o bien de "Problemas de frontera móvil", asociados a problemas de evolución temporal, donde la frontera cambia con el tiempo. La solución a dichos problemas viene dada por la expresión de la(s) variable(s) dependiente(s) de la(s) EDP(s) junto con la función que determina la posición de la frontera. Dado que este tipo de problemas carece en la mayoría de los casos de solución analítica conocida, se hace preciso recurrir a métodos numéricos que permitan obtener una solución lo suficientemente aproximada, y que además mantenga propiedades cualitativas de la solución del modelo continuo de EDP(s). En este trabajo se ha abordado el estudio numérico de algunos problemas de frontera móvil provenientes de diversas disciplinas. La metodología aplicada consta de dos pasos sucesivos: aplicación de la transformación de Landau o "Front-fixing transformation" al modelo en EDP(s) con el fin de mantener inmóvil la frontera del dominio, y posterior discretización a través de un esquema en diferencias finitas. De ahí se obtienen esquemas numéricos que se implementan por medio de la herramienta MATLAB. Mediante un exhaustivo análisis numérico, se estudian propiedades del esquema y de la solución numérica (positividad, estabilidad, consistencia, monotonía, etc.). En el primer capítulo de este trabajo se revisa el estado del arte del campo objeto de estudio, se justifica la necesidad de disponer de métodos numéricos adaptados a este tipo de problemas y se describe brevemente la metodología empleada en nuestro enfoque. El Capítulo 2 se dedica a un problema perteneciente a la Biología Matemática y que consiste en determinar la evolución de la población de una especie invasora que se propaga en un hábitat. Este modelo consiste en una ecuación de difusión-reacción unida a una condición tipo Stefan. Los resultados del análisis numérico confirman la existencia de una dicotomía propagación-extinción en la evolución a largo plazo de la densidad de población de la especie invasora. En particular, se ha podido precisar el valor del coeficiente de la condición de Stefan que separa el comportamiento de propagación del de extinción. Los Capítulos 3 y 4 se centran en un problema de Química del Hormigón con interés en Ingeniería Civil: el proceso de carbonatación del hormigón, fenómeno evolutivo que lleva consigo la degradación progresiva de la estructura afectada y finalmente su ruina, si no se toman medidas preventivas. En el Capítulo 3 se considera un sistema de dos EDPs de tipo parabólico con dos incógnitas. Para su resolución, hay que considerar además las condiciones iniciales, las de contorno y las de tipo Stefan en la frontera. Los resultados numéricos confirman la tendencia de la ley de evolución de la frontera móvil hacia una función del tipo "raíz cuadrada del tiempo". En el Capítulo 4 se considera un modelo más general que el anterior, en el que intervienen seis especies químicas que se encuentran tanto en la zona carbonatada como en la no carbonatada. En el Capítulo 5 se aborda un problema de transmisión de calor que aparece en diversos procesos industriales; en este caso, en el enfriamiento durante la colada de metal fundido, donde la fase sólida avanza y la líquida se va extinguiendo. La frontera móvil (frente de solidificación) separa ambas fases, siendo su posición en cada instante la variable a determinar, junto con las temperaturas en cada fase. Después de la adecuada transformación y discretización, se implementa un esquema en diferencias finitas, subdividiendo el proceso en tres estadios temporales, a fin de tratar las singularidades asociadas a posicione
Many problems in science and engineering are formulated as partial differential equations (PDEs). If the boundary of the domain where these equations are to be solved is not known a priori, we face "Free-boundary problems", which are characteristic of non-time dependent stationary systems; besides, we have "Moving-boundary problems" in temporal evolution processes, where the border changes over time. The solution to these problems is given by the expression of the dependent variable(s) of PDE(s), together with the function that determines the position of the boundary. Since the analytical solution of this type of problems is lacked in most cases, it is necessary to resort to numerical methods that allow an accurate enough solution to be obtained, and which also maintain the qualitative properties of the solution(s) of the continuous model. This work approaches the numerical study of some moving-boundary problems that arise in different disciplines. The applied methodology consists of two successive steps: firstly, the so-called Landau transformation, or "Front-fixing transformation", which is used in the PDE(s) model to maintain the boundary of the domain immobile; later, we proceed to its discretization with a finite difference scheme. Different numerical schemes are obtained and implemented through the MATLAB computational tool. Properties of the scheme and the numerical solution (positivity, stability, consistency, monotonicity, etc.) are studied by an exhaustive numerical analysis. The first chapter of this work reports the state of the art of the field under study, justifies the need to adapt numerical methods to this type of problem, and briefly describes the methodology used in our approach. Chapter 2 presents a problem in Mathematical Biology that consists in determining over time the evolution of an invasive species population that spreads in a habitat. This problem is modelled by a diffusion-reaction equation linked to a Stefan-type condition. The results of the numerical analysis confirm the existence of a spreading-vanishing dichotomy in the long-term evolution of the population density of the invasive species. In particular, it is possible to determine the value of the coefficient of the Stefan condition that separates the propagation behaviour from extinction. Chapters 3 and 4 focus on a problem of Concrete Chemistry with an interest in Civil Engineering: the carbonation of concrete, an evolutionary phenomenon that leads to the progressive degradation of the affected structure and its eventual ruin if preventive measures are not taken. Chapter 3 considers a system of two parabolic type PDEs with two unknowns. For its resolution, the initial and boundary conditions have to be considered together with the Stefan conditions on the carbonation front. The numerical analysis results agree with those obtained in a previous theoretical study. The dynamics of the concentrations and the moving boundary confirm the long-term behaviour of the evolution law for the moving boundary as a "square root of time". Chapter 4 considers a more general model than the previous one, which includes six chemical species, defined in both the carbonated and non-carbonated zones, whose concentrations have to be found. Chapter 5 addresses a heat transfer problem that appears in various industrial processes; in this case, the solidification of metals in casting processes, where the solid phase advances and liquid reduces until it is depleted. The moving boundary (the solidification front) separates both phases. Its position in each instant is the variable to be determined together with the temperature profiles in both phases. After suitable transformation, discretization is carried out to obtain a finite difference scheme to be implemented. The process was subdivided into three temporal stages to deal with the singularities associated with the moving boundary position in the initialisation and depletion stages.
Multitud de problemes en ciència i enginyeria es plantegen com a equacions en derivades parcials (EDPs). Si la frontera del recinte on eixes equacions han de satisfer-se es desconeix a priori, es parla de "Problemas de frontera lliure", propis de sistemes estacionaris no dependents del temps, o bé de "Problemas de frontera mòbil", associats a problemes d'evolució temporal, on la frontera canvia amb el temps. Atés que este tipus de problemes manca en la majoria dels casos de solució analítica coneguda, es fa precís recórrer a mètodes numèrics que permeten obtindre una solució prou aproximada a l'exacta, i que a més mantinga propietats qualitatives de la solució del model continu d'EDP(s). En aquest treball s'ha abordat l'estudi numèric d'alguns problemes de frontera mòbil provinents de diverses disciplines. La metodologia aplicada consta de dos passos successius: en primer lloc, s'aplica l'anomenada transformació de Landau o "Front-fixing transformation" al model en EDP(s) a fi de mantindre immòbil la frontera del domini; posteriorment, es procedix a la seva discretització a través d'un esquema en diferències finites. D'ací s'obtenen esquemes numèrics que s'implementen per mitjà de la ferramenta informàtica MATLAB. Per mitjà d'una exhaustiva anàlisi numèrica, s'estudien propietats de l'esquema i de la solució numèrica (positivitat, estabilitat, consistència, monotonia, etc.). En el primer capítol d'aquest treball es revisa l'estat de l'art del camp objecte d'estudi, es justifica la necessitat de disposar de mètodes numèrics adaptats a aquest tipus de problemes i es descriu breument la metodologia emprada en el nostre enfocament. El Capítol 2 es dedica a un problema pertanyent a la Biologia Matemàtica i que consistix a determinar l'evolució en el temps de la distribució de la població d'una espècie invasora que es propaga en un hàbitat. Este model consistix en una equació de difusió-reacció unida a una condició tipus Stefan, que relaciona les funcions solució i frontera mòbil a determinar. Els resultats de l'anàlisi numèrica confirmen l'existència d'una dicotomia propagació-extinció en l'evolució a llarg termini de la densitat de població de l'espècie invasora. En particular, s'ha pogut precisar el valor del coeficient de la condició de Stefan que separa el comportament de propagació del d'extinció. Els Capítols 3 i 4 se centren en un problema de Química del Formigó amb interés en Enginyeria Civil: el procés de carbonatació del formigó, fenomen evolutiu que comporta la degradació progressiva de l'estructura afectada i finalment la seua ruïna, si no es prenen mesures preventives. En el Capítol 3 es considera un sistema de dos EDPs de tipus parabòlic amb dos incògnites. Per a la seua resolució, cal considerar a més, les condicions inicials, les de contorn i les de tipus Stefan en la frontera. Els resultats de l'anàlisi numèrica s'ajusten als obtinguts en un estudi teòric previ. S'han dut a terme experiments numèrics, comprovant la tendència de la llei d'evolució de la frontera mòbil cap a una funció del tipus "arrel quadrada del temps". En el Capítol 4 es considera un model més general, en el que intervenen sis espècies químiques les concentracions de les quals cal trobar, i que es troben tant en la zona carbonatada com en la no carbonatada. En el Capítol 5 s'aborda un problema de transmissió de calor que apareix en diversos processos industrials; en aquest cas, en el refredament durant la bugada de metall fos, on la fase sòlida avança i la líquida es va extingint. La frontera mòbil (front de solidificació) separa ambdues fases, sent la seua posició en cada instant la variable a determinar, junt amb les temperatures en cada una de les dos fases. Després de l'adequada transformació i discretització, s'implementa un esquema en diferències finites, subdividint el procés en tres estadis temporals, per tal de tractar les singularitats asso
Piqueras García, MÁ. (2018). Numerical Methods for Multidisciplinary Free Boundary Problems: Numerical Analysis and Computing [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/107948
TESIS

This thesis seeks to demonstrate that the new facilities of Web of Science (WoS) online can be used in new ways to enhance understanding of scholarly communication. It investigates four aspects of scholarly communication: characteristics of highly cited articles, citation levels of collaborative articles, citation levels of multi-disciplinary articles, and patterns of annual citation of highly cited articles. For the first two topics it investigates the WoS category of ‘Information Science & Library Science’ (IS&LS), whereas for the other topics it compares diverse WoS categories in science and social science. Although its main data source is WoS, its investigation of disciplinarity also uses Scopus. The thesis finds: (a) Highly cited IS&LS articles tend to be multidisciplinary and cited late, but are not necessarily first-authored by influential IS&LS researchers, (b) Amongst un-cite IS&LS articles the proportion of collaborative articles has remained almost constant over the past three decades whereas for higher cited articles it has grown steadily with time, (C) In social science subjects the level of citation of multi-disciplinary research are generally similar to that of mono-disciplinary research, whereas in science the citations levels for multi-disciplinary research are substantially lower than that of mono-disciplinary research, and (d) In both science and social science many very highly cited articles continue to be heavily cited more than twenty years after publication. This thesis also introduces and uses an indicator for measuring the extent of collaboration called ‘average partner scores’ and indicates a way in which the subject categories of WoS can be investigated without requiring a licence for the WoS database. Finally, it identifies and addresses some of the technical problems of using WoS online to investigate scholarly communication.

Chronic low-back pain is a prevalent and costly problem for many adults in the United States. Currently, multidisciplinary treatment approaches are the treatment of choice for this problem. A meta-analysis was conducted on 43 published studies to describe the nature of these programs, the patients involved in them, treatment efficacy at discharge and follow-up, and possible relationships between these characteristics and outcome. Results show that these programs were often in university medical settings, with an emphasis on active patient participation. Common treatment approaches included physical therapy, skills training, medication management, supportive therapy, and behavior modification. Patients involved in these programs tended to be middle-aged, married, unemployed, and high-school educated, with an average pain duration of about five years. It was concluded that patients do show improvement at treatment completion (at least one-half standard deviation change) in physical fitness, reported distress levels, daily activity, and medication usage. At follow-up improvement over pre-treatment levels was still evidenced in reported distress levels, medication usage, mood, fitness levels, daily activities, and health perceptions. Results of correlational analyses suggest that the more impaired patients in these studies tended to show greater improvement. Data also suggest that patient dropouts rates were negatively correlated to medication usage and mood over time. Thus, improvements in these areas may be artifacts due to patient drop-out rates. Multidisciplinary treatment programs were found to be generally effective in promoting more adaptive functioning in their patients . However, it is recommended that closer attention be given to attrition rates and other potential sources of bias to maximize confidence in treatment effectiveness.

På en fastighet i Luthagen i Uppsala uppfördes en byggnad grundlagd på träpålar år 1936. Under 60-talet uppstod läckage på en spillvattenledning vilket ledde till en kontaminering av sprickvattenakviferen där träpålar är särskilt utsatta för påverkan av bakterie, svamp- och virusangrepp till följd av torrläggning. För att spola bort kontaminerat sprickvatten och för att hålla en jämn sprickvattennivå i akviferen installerades påfyllningsbrunnar på två platser i källaren under huset. Brunnarna är driva ner i de pålrännor där träpålarna är slagna. Den normala vattentillförseln låg under flera decennier på runt 10 m3/år och vattennivåerna övervakades av bostadsföreningens fastighetstjänst med regelbundna observationer av sprickvattennivån. Under hösten 2016 skedde ett trendbrott och förbrukningen av dricksvattenpåfyllning på över 10 m3/dygn uppmättes. Vattenförbrukningen fortsatte att öka och var vid vissa perioder uppe på nästan 20 m3/dygn. Bjerking AB fick då i uppdrag att undersöka orsaken till den ökade vattenförbrukningen och var vattnet tog vägen. I samband med upptäckten av den ökande vattenförbrukningen skedde även ett brott på en kommunal vattenledning i Kyrkogårdsgatan. Akviferen antogs vara i princip tät och borde inte haft någon hydraulisk kontakt med det vattenförande moränlagret under leran. Syftet med följande rapport är att undersöka de flöden som sprickvattnet har och försöka bestämma den förhärskande flödesriktningen. Den frågeställning som valts är baserad på möjligheten att modellera flödet i grundvattenmodelleringsprogrammet GMS-MODFLOW. Frågeställningen är följande För att sedan kunna modellera grundvattenflödet användes parameter estimation (PEST) som utgår från det framkalibrerade initialt grundvattenförhållandet. Där efter bestäms ett antal zoner som programmet sedan beräknar fram den hydrauliska konduktiviteten för respektive zon. Modelleringen med PEST gav resultat som visar på höga hydrauliska konduktiviteter i husets sydvästra kortsida. Den transienta modelleringen utfördes genom att de observerade vattennivåerna som mätts upp under avstängningsförsöket jämfördes med beräknade värden som fåtts genom modellen. Resultaten visade då på att be beräknade vattennivåerna till viss del stämmde över ens med de observerade, även om de var förskjuta från varandra med nästan 0,6 meter. Denna skillnad berodde antagligen på det gränsvärde som satts för randvillkoret i modellen på 7,25. Vilket gjorde att inga vattennivåer kunde bli högra än detta, vilket som tolkades som att det förekom trösklar i rännorna. Dessa resultat stämmer överens med den hypotes som antogs före projektstarten och innebar att den mest troliga flödesriktningen skulle vara åt sydväst och husets kortsida. Att resultaten bevisar antagandet säger att modellen som byggdes är mer eller mindre rättvisande. Det är dock mycket osäkerheter i modellen och de ingångsvärden som använts. Bland annat är materialtyperna som finns i modellen enbart antagna och det har inte gjorts några bestämningar av markens hydrauliska egenskaper. Andra möjliga fel som kan ha påverkat resultaten är de skalningsproblem som finns i MODFLOW. Slutsatsen är att det är möjligt att göra denna typ av ”småskalig” flödesmodellering i MODFLOW och att förhärskande flödesriktningen är åt sydväst och husets kortsida.
Most of Sweden’s older buildings constructed in clay rich areas are founded on wood poles. The poles are used to build the constructions in areas with soils without satisfying stability, such e.g. clay soils, where the poles are used as the “stable ground” where the building are founded upon. One of the problems with wood poles are that to prevent the wood from rotting the poles must be covered with water, to make an oxygen free environment. The problems start first when the water levels start to decrease due to dewatering or if the water is contaminated with bacteria from e.g. leaky sewer pipes. The contamination leads to decomposing of the wood, which affect the stability of the poles negatively. To prevent the leaky aquifers many houses, have water supply by wells where water is added to the aquifer to keep the water at stable levels. In Uppsala, Sweden an apartment building founded on wood poles have this problems with a contaminated and leaky aquifer. The reason to the contamination was an old sewer pipe that start leaking due to subsidence of the clay below the house. The dewatering of the aquifer was detected in 2016 when the water supply to the aquifer increased from 10th of cubic meters per year to 10th of cubic meters per day. In an attempt to find out what the reason to the high discharge from the aquifer a groundwater model was constructed to modelling the groundwater flows below the building. To modeling this problem the software Groundwater Modeling System (GMS) and MODFLOW was used. By construct a 3D grid of cells in the same dimensions as the building divided in to three different layers it was possible to simulating the groundwater flow through the aquifer. The way we did it was by knowing that as part of the foundation there was “channels” filled with gavel above the poles. The hypothesis was that the water was flowing through this high hydraulic conductivity “gravel channels” and there for we used the model to performed calculations of the hydraulic conductivity in the channels and the areas around the channels. The results told us that there were high conductivity zones in the south west part of the building. After the calculation of the conductivity, a test was performed, where the water supply where turned off and the decrease of the water levels was measured. By using this calculated hydraulic conductivity and the observed levels from the water supply test we let the model calculate the change of water level during the whole-time series. The results told us that there was a possible groundwater flow to the sought west and that some sort of threshold in the channel prevented the water to sink below a curtain limit of 7.65 meter.

The 21st Century has seen a rise in incidence of complex diseases such as cancer and in the quest to develop essential new therapeutic options, the study of drug-cell interactions can yield powerful information. Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is an aggressive cancer that causes life-threatening deficits of functional blood cells in humans for which current treatment options are highly toxic and often poorly tolerated. A combination of two existing drugs, bezafibrate and medroxyprogesterone acetate in a drug redeployment situation has shown promise in vitro and in vivo and further investigations are crucial to elucidate the mode of action of this treatment. This project investigated the mechanistic action of BaP at a cellular level. Orthogonal spectroscopic and mass spectrometric platforms were employed to probe the biochemical composition of two AML cell lines, HL60 and K562 in the presence and absence of this combined drug treatment. Analysis was performed on single living cells, dehydrated cells, fixed cells and cell extracts to give a large and detailed data set. A consideration of the main spectral differences obtained by Synchrotron-FTIR and ATR-FTIR in conjunction with multivariate statistical analysis revealed a significant change to the cellular lipid composition with drug treatment; furthermore, this response was not caused by cell apoptosis. In particular, the ratio of CH2:CH3 was observed to increase with BaP treatment and this was determined to be a significant change in both cell lines (p <0.05). An overall increase in lipid unsaturation suggests that BaP targets cellular lipid biosynthesis. Raman microspectroscopy added a further dimension to the spectroscopic study by providing spatial information of lipid distribution which suggested that BaP-induced saturation change is uniform across a single cell. UHPLC-MS was employed for global metabolomics analysis of AML cell extracts and revealed a number of biochemical pathways that were indicated as targets of BaP therapy in both cell lines. Univariate and multivariate analysis determined statistically significant metabolites for which putative identifications were made. Pyrimidine metabolism was the most significant pathway identified for changes consistent in both HL60 and K562 cell lines. The complementarity of ToF-SIMS and UHPLC-MS provided large coverage of the lipidome of AML cells through untargeted and targeted approaches. For data derived by both techniques, a general increase in polyunsaturated species for BaP treated cell extracts was observed which correlated well with findings from spectroscopic investigations. Adopting a multi-disciplinary approach to cell analysis can afford a powerful insight into understanding drug mode of action at a cellular level and novel information regarding BaP mechanistic action in AML cell lines was revealed. This analytical approach could be extended to the future study of drug-cell interactions for other oncological systems.

Doctor of Philosophy
Department of Animal Sciences and Industry
Curtis Kastner
The U.S. agriculture industry is diverse and dynamic, plays a vital role in the nation’s economy, and serves as a critical component in providing the global food supply. Agriculture has and always will be susceptible to threats such as pests, disease, and weather, but it is also threatened by intentional acts of agroterrorism. One specific area of concern is foreign animal diseases (FAD) and the danger these diseases create for the U.S. livestock industry. Whether a disease outbreak is intentional or accidental, it could devastate animal agriculture and the food infrastructure and have a lasting impact on state, national, and global economies. One of the most economically devastating diseases that raise fear and anxiety in the livestock industry is foot and mouth disease (FMD). A number of administrative, regulatory, and legislative actions have been implemented at state and federal levels designed to protect the agriculture industry and to prevent, prepare for, and respond to an accidental or intentional introduction of an FAD. However, the consistency, clarity, and long-term commitment of these policy approaches remains in question. Effective policy decisions require a multidisciplinary approach that consider and balance science, economics, social factors, and political realities. A significant number of policy analysis tools exist and have been applied to animal emergency scenarios but few actually address the complexity of these policy dilemmas and provide information to policymakers in a format designed to help them make better decisions. Policy development needs to take a more multidisciplinary approach and better tools are needed to help decision makers determine the best policy choices. This dissertation analyzes three FAD policy dilemmas: mass euthanasia and depopulation, carcass disposal, and vaccination. Policy tools are developed to address the multidisciplinary nature of these issues while providing the information necessary to decision makers in a simple and useful format.