Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'MTCMOS'

Designing an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) must be starting with careful preparations, otherwise the chip will not be as good as possible. The theoretical studies must cover everything from the chip circuits to the application structure. In mobile applications there is extremely important that the current consumption becomes minimized because the battery power is limited. The power reductions studies must include the most power costing circuits on the chip. When the whole circuit or segments of the circuit is not in use, they must switch fast and simple into another mode that consume nearly none power. This mode is called sleep-mode. If the sleep-mode has very low leakage currents, the lifetime of the application will dramatically increase.

This report studies the most power costing circuits in smartcard application ASIC. The chip should be used to control a LCD display on the smartcard. The circuits that have been investigated are level shifters, charge pumps and LCD drivers, also sleep-mode configuration possibilities have been investigated. Other small preparing work is also included in the thesis.

A família Tephritidae congrega várias espécies de moscas-das-frutas que utilizam frutos como substrato alimentar no estágio larval, adquirindo o status de inseto-praga quando esses frutos são de valor comercial. O gênero Anastrepha é endêmico do Continente Americano e compreende cerca de 212 espécies descritas, das quais 109 ocorrem no Brasil. A espécie nominal Anastrepha fraterculus representa um complexo de espécies crípticas e se encontra distribuída pela Região Neotropical e sul dos Estados Unidos. No Brasil, através do estudo de diversas características biológicas e do marcador molecular ITS-1 (espaçador ribossômico nuclear), identificou-se a existência de três espécies crípticas no complexo fraterculus, a Anastrepha sp.1 affinis fraterculus, A. sp.2 aff. fraterculus e A. sp.3 aff. fraterculus. Marcadores gênicos presentes no DNA mitocondrial, como o gene cytochrome oxidase I (COI), são ferramentas amplamente utilizadas em análises filogenéticas, pois esta molécula apresenta características distintas do DNA nuclear, como o fato de possuir herança predominantemente materna, apresentar ausência ou baixíssima taxa de recombinação na maioria dos táxons, além de altas taxas mutacionais. Estas características possibilitam a obtenção de dados importantes na interpretação das relações entre as espécies. Amostras do complexo fraterculus (A. sp.1, A. sp.2, A. sp.3) de 14 localidades (média de 5 indivíduos / localidade) no sudeste do Brasil, uma amostra de A sp.4 do Equador e dois grupos externos (A. grandis e A. striata) foram utilizados. Fragmentos de 1139bp do gene COI foram amplificados e sequenciados, 45 haplótipos foram identificados: 30 em A. sp.1, 5 em A. sp.2 e 17 em A. sp.3. A distância média entre as espécies foi de 0,021 e o Fst médio foi 0,347 indicando estruturação populacional muito alta e pequena distância entre os haplótipos, que não apresentaram diferenças fixadas entre as espécies. Os testes de desvio de neutralidade apresentaram valores significativamente negativos. Os testes de seleção evidenciaram a atuação de seleção purificadora com baixos valores de Ka/Ks e significância no Z-teste de seleção. A análise filogenética mostrou fortes evidências de introgressão e não separou as diferentes entidades em clados distintos. Houve a formação de dois ramos principais, um constituído quase que exclusivamente por amostras de A. sp.1, e apenas duas amostras de A. sp.3, e outro que reuniu todas as espécies do complexo. Os dois principais grupos de haplótipos também foram visualizados na rede de haplótipos que mostrou indícios de expansão populacional. Quando somado ao estudo sequências depositadas em bancos de dados por outros autores, a espécie nominal A. fraterculus apresentou em sua distribuição 5 grupos de haplótipos mitocondriais. Dois deles ocorrem no Brasil, um com amostras do México e Costa Rica, um na Guatemala e Venezuela (baixa latitude) e um com indivíduos da Colômbia e Venezuela (alta latitude), sendo que os grupos Brasileiros também reuniram amostras da Argentina e do Equador. Assim, as sequências de COI não permitem a caracterização das entidades do complexo fraterculus apesar de indicar a estruturação populacional e a hipótese mais provável é a de que tenha havido introgressão da molécula mitocondrial entre as espécies do complexo com posterior expansão
The Tephritidae family comprises fruit flies species whose larvae feed and develop in fruits, many of which are commercial varieties and thus the species assume economic significance. Anastrepha genus is distributed throughout the Neotropical region and Southern United States. Analyses of biological characteristics and of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS-1) of the nuclear ribosomal DNA allowed the characterization of three cryptic species of the fraterculus complex in Brazil: Anastrepha sp.1 affinis fraterculus, Anastrepha sp.2 aff. fraterculus and Anastrepha sp.3 aff. fraterculus. Mitochondrial markers as gene cytochrome oxidase I (COI) are largely used in phylogenetic analyses because they have maternal inheritance, none or low recombination and high mutation rates compared to the nuclear DNA. Hence, analyses of the complex based in this marker will offer a divergent perspective from nuclear DNA for inferences on the evolutive relationships between different species. Samples from the fraterculus complex (A. sp.1, A. sp.2, A. sp.3) from 15 localities (average of 5 individuals/ locality) in southeastern Brazil, one sample of A. sp.4 from Ecuador and two outgroups (A. grandis and A. striata) were employed and COI sequences of 1139bp were amplified and analyzed. We identified 45 haplotypes: 30 in A. sp.1, 5 in A.sp.2 and 17 in A. sp.3. The mean distance between the haplotypes was 0.021 and mean Fst 0.347, indicating high population structure and low mitochondrial distance. The neutrality tests had significantly neutral values. The selection tests revealed the action of purifying selection with low values of Ka/Ks and significance in the Z-test selection. Phylogenetic analysis showed strong evidences of introgression and did not separate the various entities in distinct clades grouping the three species in a single branch; there was also the formation of another main branch formed almost exclusively by strains of A. sp.1 and only two samples of A. sp.3. The two main groups of haplotypes were also seen in the haplotype network that showed evidence of population expansion. The analysis of the philogenetic tree based on mitochondrial COI showed strong evidence for introgression. No fixed differences between species were found though mtDNA marker shows a lot of polymorphism. When added sequences deposited in databases by other authors the nominal species A. fraterculus presented in its distribution five groups of mitochondrial haplotypes, two of them in Brazil, one with samples from Mexico and Costa Rica, one in Guatemala and Venezuela and one with individuals from Colombia. The Brazilian groups also collected samples from Argentina and Ecuador. Therefore, the COI sequences do not allow the characterization of the entities of the fraterculus complex, although structure among the species is shown. The most likely hypothesis is that introgression has happened in the mitochondrial molecule among the species with further expansion

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Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)
Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), é um complexo composto por pelo menos 37 espécies crípticas e representa uma das mais importantes pragas agrícolas do mundo, já que é um inseto altamente polifago e considerado um supervector de vírus, uma vez que sozinho é capaz de transmitir mais de 300 espécies, como os begomovírus (gênero Begomovirus, família Geminiviridae) e crinivírus (gênero Crinivirus, família Closteroviridae). Mais de duas décadas depois que a espécie B. tabaci Middle East Asia Menor 1 (MEAM1, biótipo B) invadiu e se estabeleceu no Brasil através de plantas ornamentais, a presença da B. tabaci especie Mediterranean (MED, biótipo Q) foi relatada pela primeira vez no Rio Grande do Sul em 2014, e, recentemente, nos estados de São Paulo e Paraná. Em 2015, espécimes de moscas-brancas coletadas em cultivos comerciais protegidos de begônias, hortênsias, petúnias e poinsettias em São Paulo, bem como de begônias e poinsetias de floriculturas e Capsicum spp. associado a Emilia fosbergii em estufas usadas anteriormente para poinsettia no Paraná, foram todos identificados como pertencentes a espécie MED. Adicionalmente, os endosimbiontes secundários identificados foram Arsenophonus, Hamiltonella e Rickettsia foram detectados por PCR e confirmados por sequenciamento e análise de FISH, divergindo dos encontrados nas moscas MED do Rio Grande do Sul, as quais abrigavam Hamiltonella e Cardinium. Em 2015, portanto, a primeira pesquisa no Estado de São Paulo revelou que a espécie MED estava presente apenas em cultivos protegidos de ornamentais e floriculturas, ou seja, associadas a ornamentais. Em 2016, no entanto, uma segunda e mais extensa pesquisa realizada em São Paulo e Paraná mostraram que MED se espalhou por várias e importantes hortaliças, não somente em estufas, mas também para campos abertos localizados próximos de onde MED foi detectada em plantas ornamentais previamente. Os conjuntos de endossimbiontes, cujos sets foram compostos por Arsenophonus, Hamiltonella, Rickettsia e Wolbachia são diferentes também tanto da MED de São Paulo e Paraná de 2015, como da MED detectada no Rio Grande do Sul em 2014. Através da análise filogenética do gene mtCOI usando o banco de dados global de mosca-branca, os espécimes representam diferentes haplótipos divididos em dois grupos dentro da espécie MED. Além disso, neste trabalho houve o primeiro relato da presença do endossimbionte Arsenophonus infectando B. tabaci MEAM1.
Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), it is a complex consisting of at least 37 cryptic species and is one of the most important agricultural pests worldwide, since it is a highly polyphagous insect and considered a virus supervector once it alone transmits more than 300 species, such as begomovirus (genus Begomovirus, Geminiviridae family) and crinivirus (genus Crinivirus, Closteroviridae family). More than two decades after the species B. tabaci Middle East Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1, biotype B) invaded and settled in Brazil through ornamental plants, the presence of B. tabaci Mediterraneann species (MED, biotype Q) was first reported in Rio Grande do Sul in 2014, and recently in São Paulo and Paraná States. In 2015, specimens of whiteflies collected in commercial greenhouses of begonias, hydrangeas, petunias and poinsettias in São Paulo, as well as begonias and poinsettias from flower shops and Capsicum spp. associated with Emilia fosbergii in greenhouses used previously for poinsettia in Paraná, they were all identified as belonging to MED species. In addition, the identified secondary endosymbionts were Arsenophonus, Hamiltonella and Rickettsia were detected by PCR and confirmed by sequencing and FISH analysis, diverging from the set of MED from Rio Grande do Sul, which harbored Hamiltonella and Cardinium. In 2015, therefore, the first research in São Paulo revealed that the MED species was present only in greenhouses of ornamentals and flower shops, associated with ornamental. In 2016, however, a second and more extensive research conducted in São Paulo and Paraná showed that MED has spread to several important vegetables, not only in greenhouses, but also to open fields located close to where MED was detected in ornamental plants previously. The endosymbionts, whose sets were composed of Arsenophonus, Hamiltonella, Rickettsia and Wolbachia are also different from both the MED of São Paulo and Paraná in 2015, and the MED of Rio Grande do Sul in 2014. Through phylogenetic analysis of gene mtCOI using the whitefly global database, specimens has shown to represent different haplotypes divided into two groups within the species MED. In addition, this study was the first report of Arsenophonus endosymbiont present infecting B. tabaci MEAM1.
FAPESP: 2014/21773-0

A espécie Drosophila antoneitae é cactófila, ovipositando principalmente no cacto hospedeiro Cereus hildmaniannus. Ambas as espécies são encontradas em solos drenados ou afloramentos de rocha na região de Missiones, um dos núcleos de Floresta Tropical Sazonalmente Seca (FTSS), e no litoral sul-brasileiro. O núcleo de Missiones compreende a base dos rios Paraná-Paraguai e é uma possível área de estabilidade climática durante as oscilações do Quaternário. Para avaliar a distribuição atual da diversidade genética de D. antonietae e sua associação com alterações na paisagem, foram realizadas as seguintes análises: estruturação populacional, estabelecimento de hipóteses filogeográficas e de eventos demográficos, testes de neutralidade e modelagem de nicho atual e paleoecológico. O gene mitocondrial COI e nuclear period foram analisados. O gene period é pouco variável e a distribuição da variabilidade genética é homogênea. O gene COI é bastante polimórfico e há estruturação entre as populações formando três agrupamentos: um em Santa Catarina e Rio Grande do Sul, outro no Paraná e São Paulo e o terceiro no centro-oeste brasileiro. A população do centro-oeste brasileiro provavelmente é a mais antiga, coincidente com a área do estudo mais estável climaticamente. Este agrupamento forma uma rede de haplótipos separada, devido alta estruturação e isolamento, provavelmente tendo no rio Paraná uma importante barreira de fluxo gênico. Sugere-se que o provável centro de dispersão das demais populações de D. antonietae se localiza no sudeste brasileiro, e que houve diversos eventos de migração para as demais regiões de sua distribuição. Há indícios de polimorfismo compartilhado devido à recente diversificação das populações. Ambos os agrupamentos genéticos exibem sinais de expansão populacional, especialmente nas áreas de borda no núcleo de Missiones, onde o clima parece ter sido menos estável. O período de expansão demográfica é recente e coincidente com a maior extensão da vegetação seca, que também pode ter papel fundamental na estruturação das populações.
Drosophila antoneitae is a cactophilic species, ovipositing primarily in the host cacti Cereus hildmaniannus. Both species are found in drained soils or rocky outcrops in the Missiones region - one of the Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest (SDTF) nucleis, and in south Brazilian coast. The Missiones nuclei comprises the basin of the Paraná-Paraguai Rivers and it is a possible area of climatic stability during the Quaternary oscillations. To evaluate the current distribution of the genetic diversity of D. antoneitae and its association with landscape modifications, the following analyses were performed: populational structure, establishment of phylogeographic hypotheses and demographic events, neutrality tests and paleoecological niche modeling. The mitochondrial gene COI and the nuclear gene period were analyzed. The gene period had low genetic diversity and an homogeneity on the distribution of genetic variability. For gene COI analysis we found a high polymorphism and genetic structure among populations, forming three groups: one in Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, another in Paraná and São Paulo and the third in the midwestern Brazil. The midwestern population is probably the oldest one, coinciding with the most climatically stable area of this study. This group forms a network of separate haplotypes, due to a high structuring and isolation, probably with Paraná River acting as major barrier for gene flow. We suggest that the possible center of dispersion of the remaining populations of D. antonietae is located in southeastern Brazil, and there were several migration events to other regions of its distribution. There is evidence of shared polymorphism due to recent diversification of populations. Both gene clusters exhibit signs of population expansion, especially in border areas at the Missiones nuclei, where the climate seems less stable. The demographic expansion period is recent and coincides with the major expansion of dry vegetation, which can also play a critical role in structuring populations.

This research focused on the reproductive incompatibility and genetic differences between the two strains of plum curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar (Herbst). Two molecular markers served as the basis for the strain distribution analysis of plum curculio and Wolbachia symbiont. One marker is the partial mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase gene subunit I (mtCOI) of plum curculio. Another marker is the Wolbachia Surface Protein (wsp) gene of Wolbachia associated with plum curculio. First, the reproductive compatibility of cross-populations mating in plum curculio was studied during the summers of 2004 and 2006. The results confirmed the reproductive incompatibility among plum curculio geographic populations. A unidirectional incompatibility was revealed in an approximate north and south transect of the range of plum curculio (4 x 4 two factorial design: NY, VA, FL, and WV): there was a significant low fertility in WV males mated with NY (40%) and VA (29%) females. The Florida population showed a different pattern: FL males have a significantly lower fertility with VA (46%) and WV (37%) females while FL females were compatible with all males from the four populations. The results of experiment 2 indicated that within the northern geographic area populations (3 x 3 two factorial design: NY, MA, and NJ) were compatible with each other. An opposite unidirectional reproductive incompatibility was revealed in the combination of NJ males with FL females, which showed a significant low fertility (47%). A bi-directional incompatibility occurred between FL and WV reciprocal cross mating. FL males mated with WV females (26%) and WV males mated with FL females (21%) both have the significant low fertility compared to fertility of within their population matings. The genetic diversity among plum curculio populations from different geographic locations was investigated using the partial mtCOI gene. A total of 50 samples from 10 populations were sequenced. PCR products were 863 bp in length. A total of 23 unique sequence haplotypes were found in the 50 samples tested. Haplotype G (n = 5), L (n = 12) and T (n = 13) comprised 60% of 50 samples. The nucleotide distances between those haplotypes ranged from 0.12% to 4.87%. Genetic distances between northern and southern group plum curculios range from 4.17% to 4.87%. Two distinct major clades were found, using three different phylogenetic analyses: 1) neighbor joining (NJ), 2) maximum-parsimony (MP), and 3) maximum-likelihood (ML). 100% bootstraps support the northern clade and the southern clade was strongly supported (100/100/86, NJ/MP/ML) as well. The mid-southern subclade within the southern clade was also strongly supported (70/82/71, NJ/MP/ML) and the far-southern subclade was supported in NJ tree (81%) but was not resovled in MP and ML trees. The mid-southern subclade included haplotypes from two NJ, Washington, VA (Ra), Blacksburg, VA (BL) and 50% of WV populations and the far-southern subclade included haplotypes from FL, GA, Whitethorne, VA (Ke), Troutville, VA (Bo) and another 50% of WV populations. The results suggested that the northern and the southern clade could correspond with the northern and southern strains, respectively, of plum curculio. In this study, the mtCOI sequence was highly informative as a molecular marker in that it was useful to distinguish C. nenuphar from northern and from southern geographic locations in the eastern United States. However, the number of generations per year of several geographic populations within the southern clade still needs to be determined. The distribution of Wolbachia infection associated with plum curculio strains was investigated. 91 of 93 samples were infected by Wolbachia. Three unique Wolbachia strains were identified. The strains wCne1 and wCne2 (593 bp) were 97% identical, and their sequences were both 84% identical with wCne3 (590 bp). The wsp sequence of wCne1 was 99% identical to Wolbachia sequenced from the neotropical beetle, Chelymorpha alternans Boheman (Keller et al. 2004). The wCne2 sequence was 98.5% identical to the flower bug, Orius nagaii Yasunaga (Miura and Tagami, unpublished). The wCne3 sequence was 100% identical to Wolbachia sequenced from the tephritid fruit fly, Dacus destillatoria (Jamnongluk et al. 2000) and the ant, Formica exsecta (Reuter and Keller 2003). PCR - Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) was used for superinfection detection. Of 93 samples, 15 (16.1%), 21 (22.6%), 19 (20.4%), 36 (38.7%) samples were infected by wCne1, wCne2, wCne1 plus wCne2, and wCne3, respectively. Only two (2.2%) samples had no infection. The wCne3 strain was always present as a single infection. Therefore, current results suggest that Wolbachia strains approximate the distribution of plum curculio strains: the northern strain is infected with wCne1 and wCne2 strains in supergroup B, the southern strain is infected with wCne3 strain in supergroup A and the mid-Atlantic region is the convergence area. Compared with the haplotype distribution of plum curculio mtCOI gene, there was a closer relation of the mid-southern PC clade to the far-southern clade than to the northern clade. However, Wolbachia symbionts in mid-southern PC are more closely related to those in northern PC than to those in far-southern PC. The relationship of Wolabchia infection with reproductive incompatibility between plum curculio populations is also discussed.
Ph. D.

Mestrado em Ecologia Aplicada
Species persist over time, due to exchange of individuals between subpopulations. In the marine environment, most benthic organisms have complex life cycles including pelagic larvae that are transported by ocean currents promoting species dispersal. Larval dispersal connects geographically distant populations and determines population structure. The knowledge about this biologic process provides relevant information for conservation of marine populations. This study investigates the genetic structure and connectivity of deep-sea mussel populations between fragmented habitats in the NE Atlantic and Mediterranean. The mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase I (mtCOI) gene was used to analyze site-specific genetic diversity and the population structure of two mussel species, Idas modiolaeformis and “Idas” simpsoni. Populations of each species are not geographically isolated. The presence of one dominant haplotype for each species suggests shared ancestral polymorphisms between Mediterranean and NE Atlantic populations. The overall high genetic differentiation observed in I. modiolaeformis indicates that the metapopulation is structured. Distant populations, located in Atlantic and E Mediterranean, revealed low genetic distances, suggesting gene flow between the two regions. Genetic and geographical distances support an island model of I. modiolaeformis population structure. A major drawback of this study is concerned with the discrepant number of individuals among populations. Further research will be needed, using more specimens and other gene markers, to investigate connectivity patterns at different spatial scales.
As espécies persistem ao longo do tempo devido à troca de indivíduos entre subpopulações. No ambiente marinho, a maioria dos organismos bentónicos têm ciclos de vida complexos, envolvendo larvas pelágicas que são transportadas por correntes oceânicas contribuindo para dispersão das espécies. A dispersão larvar estabelece conectividade entre populações geograficamente separadas e afeta a estrutura da população. O conhecimento deste processo biológico promove informações importantes para a conservação de populações marinhas. Este estudo investiga a estrutura genética e conectividade de populações de mexilhão de profundidade entre habitats fragmentados no NE Atlântico e Mediterrânico. O gene mitocondrial, Citocromo Oxidase I (mtCOI), foi utilizado para analisar diversidade genética por local e a estrutura populacional de duas espécies de mexilhão, Idas modiolaeformis e "Idas" simpsoni. As populações de cada uma das espécies não se encontram geograficamente isoladas. A presença de um haplótipo dominante para cada espécie sugere a partilha de polimorfismos ancestrais entre populações do Mediterrâneo e do NE Atlântico. As populações de I. modiolaeformis demonstraram uma elevada diferenciação genética, indicando estruturação da metapopulação. Populações distantes umas das outras, localizadas no Atlântico e E Mediterrâneo, revelaram baixas distâncias genéticas, sugerindo fluxo genético entre as duas regiões. Distâncias genéticas e geográficas suportam o modelo de ilha como o modelo para a estrutura populacional de I. modiolaeformis. Uma grande desvantagem deste estudo está relacionada com o número discrepante de indivíduos entre populações. Para investigar os padrões de conectividade em diferentes escalas espaciais serão necessários mais estudos, utilizando mais espécimes e outros marcadores genéticos.

Des pullulations d’aleurodes du complexe d'espèces cryptiques de Bemisia tabaci ont été associées à la propagation de deux maladies frappant le manioc en Afrique orientale: la maladie de la mosaïque du manioc (CMD) et, plus récemment (2000), la maladie de la striure brune du manioc (CBSD). Parmi les espèces d’aleurodes de ce complexe, l’espèce SSA2 a été associée à la première épidémie de CMD au cours des années 1990 en Ouganda. Cependant, SSA2 aurait été remplacée par SSA1 dans les années 2000, provoquant une recrudescence de CMD et de CBSD, participant à leur propagation dans plusieurs pays voisins. L’hypothèse défendue à ce jour expliquant la propagation de ces maladies vers le sud et l'ouest de l'Afrique incrimine cette nouvelle espèce considérée comme émergente dans certains de ces pays. Dans ma thèse, j’ai utilisé des données écologiques et des approches moléculaires afin de mieux comprendre les facteurs à l'origine des pullulations de vecteurs en Afrique de l'Est. Nous avons ainsi analysé : i) l’abondance, la diversité et la répartition des espèces sur un transect comprenant : Ouganda, Tanzanie et Malawi, ii) la diversité génétique et la structure des populations actuelles des espèces de B. tabaci, iii) des échantillons des années 90 comparés aux populations actuelles (2017). Cette étude nous a permis d’avoir une image d’une situation plus complexe qu’attendue, en effet, l’espèce SSA1 a été détectée comme à l’origine dans certaines des pullulations observées mais également d’autres espèces, notamment IO et SSA1-SG3 ont aussi montrées cette capacité. Les pullulations observées ne sont donc pas uniquement liées à une seule espèce en Afrique de l’Est. En outre, nous avons pu montrer que la communauté d'espèces et sa diversité génétique diffère d'un pays à l'autre, impliquant des situations épidémiologiques différentes, sans aucun schéma d'invasion détecté entre pays. En outre, l’analyse des anciens échantillons n’a pas montré l’implication d’une nouvelle espèce ou population en 20 ans, toutefois, nous avons observé un changement de dynamique au sein des groupes génétiques représentés au cours du temps
High population of the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci Gennadius, a cryptic species complex had been associated with the vectoring and spread of viruses causing two diseases of cassava in East Africa: the cassava mosaic disease (CMD) and cassava brown streak disease (CBSD). Among the B. tabaci species, sub-Saharan Africa 2 (SSA2) was the vector associated with an epidemic of CMD since the 1990s in Uganda. However, this species is now replaced by the SSA1 and led to development of another epidemic by CBSD since the mid 2000s. The spread of both diseases toward South and West Africa is feared with this new supposed invader. In my thesis I have used ecological data and molecular approaches (mitochondrial and nuclear markers) to better understand the factors driving the presence of the superabundant whitefly populations on cassava in East Africa. We have analyzed: i) species abundance, diversity and distribution (geographic and host plants) along a transect survey over three East African countries: Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, ii) the genetic diversity and structure of current populations of B. tabaci species, and iii) comparing genetic changes between the old and new populations collected in 1997 and 2017, respectively.This study involving large number of samples provided insights of a more complex picture than expected. SSA1 was found to be the source of the some observed outbreaks although other species, notably IO and sub-group 3 of SSA1 (SSA1-SG3) have also shown this capability. The observed outbreaks are therefore not just related to a single species in East Africa. In addition, we showed that the species community and its genetic diversity differ from one country to another, involving different epidemiological situations, without any clear pattern of invasion detected between the countries. Analysis of old samples did not show the involvement of a new species or the emergence of a new population in 20 years, although the dynamics within the whitefly genetic groups was observed over time. Our results contributed new knowledge on the super abundant populations on cassava in Eastern Africa and help develop targeted control measures for the local populations

In addition to the well known quantum confinement effects resulted from size and shape, interfacial bond structure is another factor, affecting the properties of the nanomaterial that is rarely studied. Inspired by the “Au-S-Au” staple motif discovered from the crystal structure of monothiol protected Au102 nanocluster (Science, 2007, 318, 430), dithiol molecules (e. g. 1, 2-dithiol, 1, 4-dithiol, etc.) with molecular structural constraint have been employed to create dithiolate protected clusters or mixed monothiolate and dithiolate protected clusters. The structure and properties of the Au clusters are expected to change due to two effects: The entropy gain of dithiol over monothiol protection and the constraint to the formation of the thiol bridging motif. DMPS (1, 2-dithiol molecule) stabilized clusters with characteristic absorption bands have been obtained, and characterized by multiple techniques. Monolayer reaction on gold core surface between the monothiol tiopronin and dithiol DMPS has been performed, and the mechanism has been probed. Mixed phenylethanethiolate and durene-dithiolate (1, 4-dithiol molecule) protected Au130 clusters with rich electrochemical features have been created, and the optical and electrochemical energetics have been successfully correlated based on core and core-ligand energy states. Furthermore, the impact of 1, 4-dithiolate-Au bonding on the near infrared luminescence has been studied.

碩士
大葉大學
資訊工程學系碩士班
99
As integrated circuits design technology scales into deep submicrom¬eter regime, subthreshold leakage current and crosstalk noise are two more than more important questions in IC design. Due to Multiple Threshold Voltages CMOS(MTCMOS) technology is an effec¬tive way to reduce subthreshold leakage current without increase design complexity. This paper provide a way that focus on crosstalk to use MTCMOS technology on the areas that have serious crosstalk with High-Vth de¬vice. As High-Vth device have more good resistance than Low-Vth de¬vice when crosstalk occur, so we use High-Vth device to replace Low-Vth device that on the serious crosstalk area. But High-Vth de¬vice have high delay time of signal so we must consider timing con¬strain when use MTCMOS technology. We provide a way that replace High-Vth device with aggressor nets and victim nets alternately.

博士
國立清華大學
資訊工程學系
100
Power gating is effective for reducing standby leakage power as multi-threshold CMOS (MTCMOS) designs have become popular in the industry. However, a large inrush current and dynamic IR drop may occur when a circuit domain is powered up with MTCMOS switches. This could in turn lead to improper circuit operation. In this thesis, we propose a novel framework for generating a proper power-up sequence of the switches to control the inrush current of a power-gated domain while minimizing the power-up time and reducing the dynamic IR drop of active domains. We also propose a configurable domino-delay circuit for implementing the power-up sequence. Experimental results based on state-of-the-art industrial designs demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework in limiting the inrush current, minimizing the power-up time, and reducing the dynamic IR drop. Results further confirm the efficiency of the framework in handling large-scale designs with more than 80 K power switches and 100 M transistors.

碩士
國立清華大學
資訊工程學系
92
Multi-Threshold CMOS (MTCMOS) is a circuit style that can effectively reduce leakage power consumption. Sleep transistor sizing is the key issue when MTCMOS circuit is designed. If the sleep transistor size is too large, the circuit performance can be maintained but the dynamic power consumption of the sleep transistor will increase. On the other hand, if the sleep transistor size is too small, there will be significant performance degradation because of the increased resistance to ground. Previous approach designed the sleep transistor size based on mutual exclusive discharge patterns. However, these approaches considered only topology of a circuit. We observed that two possible simultaneous switching gates may not discharge at the same time in terms of functionality. Thus, we propose an algorithm to determine how to cluster cells to share sleep transistors taking both topology and functionality into consideration. The results show that the proposed method can achieve on the average 18% reduction ratio in terms of the number of sleep transistors as compared to the method without considering functionality.

碩士
大葉大學
資訊工程學系碩士班
96
Subthreshold leakage current and crosstalk noise are two important issues of integrated circuits in nanometer technology node. MTCMOS (Multi-Threshold CMOS) is a technology that allows the devices in a circuit to be with different threshold voltages (VTH). It is used to assign the devices on the timing critical path with low VTH to preserve the high performance and assign the devices on the non-critical path with high VTH to reduce the leakage. This is an effective way to achieve high performance and low power goal by adequately assigning the threshold voltage of each device in a circuit. In this paper, we take the above mentioned two issues into consideration. With considering the crosstalk and leakage issues simultaneously, we have the following observation. If the input signal of a device on the critical path has the crosstalk noise problem, then the device should be assigned with high VTH since high VTH device is less sensitive to noise. We propose an algorithm based on the above observation. We first extract the coupling capacitances of aggressor and victim nets from the standard-cell-based layout of a circuit. Then, crosstalk noise analysis is performed to find out the nets with larger noise which is measured by the “maximum peak voltage”. The second step is to identify the critical path. By the results of the above steps, we globally assign each cell with either high-Vth or low-Vth version from the cell library to achieve the noise-aware and low-power design goal. Experiments are performed on the circuits from the ISCAS89 benchmark suite. First, the circuit is implemented using the TSMC 0.13um dual threshold standard-cell library. Then, the commercial tool SOC Encounter is used to perform the placement and routing work and crosstalk analysis of the circuit. After applying our proposed algorithm, we can reduce the number of nets with noise greater then VDD*10% about 17%.

碩士
國立清華大學
資訊工程學系
93
Reducing power dissipation is one of the most important issues in VLSI design today. Multi-Threshold CMOS (MTCMOS) is a circuit style that can effectively reduce leakage power consumption. The cluster-based MTCMOS design is proposed to reduce the virtual ground overhead. The sleep transistor size can be reduce by clustering mutual exclusive discharge cells together to minimize the simultaneous switching current per cluster and to share one sleep transistor per cluster. From [3], the sleep transistor size can be further reduced by considering topology and functionality simultaneously. However, this cluster-based MTCMOS design do not consider the placement issue. Therefore, we propose two standard cell placement algorithms for MTCMOS design to minimize wirelength overhead and sleep transistor size. The first one is a functionality directed placement algorithm and the second one is a direct placement with iterative cell-moving algorithm. The experimental results show that the chip area is reduced about 14.38% and the total wirelength increased about 32.43% compared to the direct placement by performing the functionality directed placement algorithm, and the chip area is reduced about 9.18% and the total wirelength increased about 5.16% compared to the direct placement by performing the direct placement with iterative cell moving algorithm.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
電子工程學研究所
101
This thesis presents the method of using the MTCMOS technology to optimize the SOC chip considering layout via EDA tools. Chapter 1 presents the recent CMOS VLSI SOC design circuit trend. Then Chapter 2 describes MTCMOS technology and its applications. The application of electronic design automation in SOC circuits is presented, including the power consumption analysis and timing analysis. Chapter 3 presents the method of power consumption analysis of the low power SOC chip using MTCMOS technology. Two MTCMOS algorithms are presented for compared. At last a procedure of placement is performed on an SOC chip to solve the problem of clustering hotspots. Chapter 4 is the conclusion and future work.

碩士
國立交通大學
電子研究所
101
Multi-threshold CMOS (MTCMOS) is currently the most popular methodology in industry for implementing a power gating design, which can effectively reduce the leakage power by turning off inactive circuit domains. However, large peak current may be consumed in a power-gated domain during its sleep-to-active mode transition. As a result, major IC foundries recommend turning on power switches one by one to reduce the peak current during the mode transition, which requires a Hamiltonian-cycle routing to serially connect all the power switches. The proposed efficient power-switch routing framework, which can effectively and efficiently find a feasible Hamiltonian-cycle routing among power switches without violating the Manhattan distance constraint between any two power switches while handling the irregular placement of the power switches resulting from the hard macros. The proposed framework is compliant to commercial APR tools and has been used in a major design-service company for taping out complex MTCMOS designs.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
電子工程學研究所
97
This thesis reports BP-DTMOS/MTCMOS technology used in the full adder and the multiplier for optimization of power consumption and speed performance. First， evolution trends of CMOS technique and the low voltage operation requirement of VLSI circuit are described. Then BP-DTMOS technology is introduced. Chapter 2 describes the principle of low voltage dynamic logic circuit with and without latch using BP-DTMOS/MTCMOS technology. In addition， a full adder circuit using BP-DTMOS/MTCMOS technology is described. In Chapter 3， a dynamic logic circuit and DTMOS/MTCMOS technology pipelined multiplier using the 0.5V true single-phase clock (TSPC) is described. Chapter 4 is the conclusion and future work of this research.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
電子工程學研究所
102
This paper presents a power consumption optimization methodology (PCOM) and a low-power design technique (LPDT) for low-power/ low-voltage microprocessor circuit design via multi-threshold CMOS (MTCMOS) techniques. In Chapter 1, the introduction of the CMOS SoC trends is described, followed by the multi-threshold CMOS (MTCMOS) techniques and the digital circuit design flow. In Chapter 2, a power consumption optimization methodology (PCOM) for low-power/ low-voltage single-cycle microprocessor circuit design via multi-threshold CMOS (MTCMOS) techniques has been presented. Based on the optimization methodology with the dual-threshold techniques, a 32-bit single cycle MIPS microprocessor design has been optimized in terms of circuit design using dual-threshold HVT/SVT CMOS devices. According to SPICE simulation results, the power consumption of the 80,000-transistor 32-bit MIPS microprocessor, using a 90nm CMOS technology and operating at 1V with a 0.9-ns clock period, based on the optimization methodology with the dual- threshold technique, has been reduced by 27.23% during the standby period and 12.53% during the dynamic switching period as compared to the one using the conventional standard- threshold SVT CMOS devices. In Chapter 3, a low-power design technique (LPDT) for a low-voltage pipelined microprocessor circuit via multi-threshold CMOS (MTCMOS) techniques has been presented. Using the MTCMOS LPDT, a pipelined MIPS microprocessor circuit having 220,000 transistors with 5 stages per instruction has been optimized in terms of power consumption using standard threshold-SVT and high threshold-HVT logic cells. According to SPICE simulation results, during the 4-instruction compare operation, this pipelined CPU with the MTCMOS LPDT optimization, designed using a 90nm CMOS technology, operating at 1V and at a 1.3-ns clock period, has been reduced by 40.1% on the leakage power, 17.8% on the average total power and 13.3% on the peak power, as compared to the one using the conventional SVT one. The substantial saving in leakage power consumption for the pipelined CPU with the MTCMOS LPDT optimization could benefit for hand-held IT applications, where leakage power consumption is the key to battery life.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
電子工程學研究所
106
This thesis presents an improved algorithm to reduce static power for SOC considering circuit architecture using MTCMOS technology, using a high threshold voltage cell for low power and a low threshold voltage cell for high speed. The algorithm reported in this thesis helps mix multiple threshold voltage cells in SOC circuits, making the digital circuits perform better. In this thesis, three algorithms using MTCMOS technology were proposed. A 64-bit multiplier is used as a test vehicle to verify performance of the algorithms. In Chapter 2, the algorithm GDSPOMWV derived from GDSPOM is proposed. Via GDSPOMWV, the SOC chip multiplier can reduce about 4% to 6% static power as compared to the GDSPOM. Chapter 3 proposes another algorithm CBSPRM derived from CBLPRP. Via CBSPRM, the SOC may reduce about 3% to 6% static power as compared to the CBLPRP. In Chapter 4, combining the idea of the algorithm GDSPOMWV with CBSPRM, the algorithm CACVPOM is proposed, which can reduce about 11% to 14% static power as compared to GDSPOMWV. It can reduce about 1% to 2% static power as compared to CBSPRM.

Power supply noise has become a critical issue for low power and high performance circuit design in recent years. The rapid scaling of the CMOS process has pushed the limit further and further in building low-cost and increasingly complex digital VLSI systems. Continued technology scaling has contributed to significant improvements in performance, increases in transistor density, and reductions in power consumption. However, smaller feature sizes, higher operation frequencies, and supply voltage reduction make current and future VLSI systems more vulnerable to power supply noise. Therefore, there is a strong demand for strategies to prevent problems caused by power supply noise. Design challenges exist in different design phases to reduce power supply noise. In terms of physical design, careful power distribution design is required, since it directly determines the quality of power stability and the timing integrity. In addition, power management, such as switching mode of the power gating technique, is another major challenge during the circuit design phase. A bad power gating switching strategy may draw an excessive rush current and slow down other active circuitry. After the circuit is implemented, another critical design challenge is to estimate power supply noise. Designers need to be aware of the voltage drop in order to enhance the power distribution network without wasting unnecessary design resources. However, estimating power supply noise is usually difficult, especially finding the circuit activity which induces the maximum supply noise. Blind search may be very time consuming and not effective. At post-silicon test, detecting power supply noise within a chip is also challenging. The visibility of supply noise is low since there is no trivial method to measure it. However, the supply noise measurement result on silicon is critical to debug and to characterize the chip. This dissertation focuses on novel circuit designs and design methodologies to prevent problems resulted from power supply noise in different design phases. First, a supply noise estimation methodology is developed. This methodology systematically searches the circuit activity inducing the maximum voltage drop. Meanwhile, once the circuit activity is found, it is validated through instruction execution. Therefore, the estimated voltage drop is a realistic estimation close to the real phenomenon. Simulation results show that this technique is able to find the circuit activity more efficiently and effectively compared to random simulation. Second, two on-chip power supply noise detectors are designed to improve the visibility of voltage drop during test phase. The first detector facilitates insertion of numerous detectors when there is a need for additional test points, such as a fine-grained power gating design or a circuit with multiple power domains. It focuses on minimizing the area consumption of the existing detector. This detector significantly reduces the area consumption compared to the conventional approach without losing accuracy due to the area minimization. The major goal of designing the second on-chip detector is to achieve self-calibration under process and temperature variations. Simulation and silicon measurement results demonstrate the capability of self-calibration regardless these variations. Lastly, a robust power gating reactivation technique is designed. This reactivation scheme utilizes the on-chip detector presented in this dissertation to monitor power supply noise in real time. It takes a dynamic approach to control the wakeup sequence according to the ambient voltage level. Simulation results demonstrate the ability to prevent the excessive voltage drop while the ambient active circuitry induces a high voltage drop during the wakeup phase. As a result, the fixed design resource, which is used to prevent the voltage emergency, can potentially be reduced by utilizing the dynamic reactivation scheme.
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A unique tumor targeted method, which may be able to deliver a molecule to the surface of a tumor cell using the pH gradient between hypoxic tumor cells and normal tissue has recently been developed. Since solid tumors have been found to have a lower extra cellular pH compared to normal tissue (6.5 to 6.9 for tumors verses an average 7.4 for normal tissue), the pH gradient is used as a source of power to activate a strategically designed "molecular engine" capable of delivering a diagnostic or therapeutic agent to tumor cells. To test this hypothesis, a 22- sequence amino acid, which reorganizes to alpha helical form at pH 6.9 causing the molecule to become lipophilic and embed into the plasma membrane of nearby cells was synthesized. The molecule was then attached to 99mTc via a MAG-3 chelating molecule. In-vivo nuclear imaging was performed and showed apparent significant uptake in primary tumors as well as lung and liver in Lewis lung cell model C57blk-J6 mice with confirmed primary tumors at the base of the tail or lungs. This study shows significant promise for early diagnosis and treatment of cancer on a molecular level.
Graduation date: 2006

碩士
國立高雄應用科技大學
土木工程與防災科技研究所
94
The purpose of this study is to develop a system that provides audio video recording, real time searching and communication capability for the police-patrolling cars in the metropolitan area. Utilizing programming language Visual Basic, Visual C++, Assembly language as well as Hardware such as Microcontroller 8051, and PDA, we plan to develop an application software as a communication interface between PDA and database server. This system will help users to transmit any on site live data through wireless LAN GSM/GPRS or 3G to the server. This system will automatically send an alert message to any on-duty policeman and out-of-office chief officers. It will also provide a channel for any on-line database searching through Internet web. This system will integrate current GPS System and Duty Dispatching System, which are self-developed locally. It will build a data communication platform to make up the current shortcoming on information collecting method. With this system, we expect the current information system could be integrated among National Police Administration, Ministry of Justice and National Security Bureau. It will become an effective precaution system against the terrorism and promote the detective capability of police patrolling cars. Because of the advanced progress of the information technology and rapid circulation of the data information, many crimes could be detected in advance. If we can find terrorist activity beforehand, we could prevent the disaster occurs. Since 911 terrorist-attack in the USA, international terrorists have started many terrorist-attacks in locations around the world. It makes people feel panic and unease. It is possible that we might get the terrorist-attack in the metropolitan area of Taiwan. How do we deal with this situation? We need to think twice about our current anti-terrorist mechanism and public security strategies before it really happens. In this study, a MTCCS system for police patrolling cars will provide a useful system for anti-terrorism.

Advances in the exploration of the deep sea changed our view of an environment calm, dark and barren of life, to an environment where life presents adaptations to endure the extreme environmental conditions and prosper in habitats often hosting high biodiversity such as cold-water coral reefs (CWC). The calcium carbonate structure segregated by cold-water corals provides a 3D framework that offers shelter and resources for many species to establish, either permanently or temporarily. Increasing anthropogenic pressures related to the exploration of biological and mineral resources, especially the impacts of demersal trawling result in the disruption of this framework and ultimately affect the entire associated community. Impacts on CWC and associated fauna are serious enough to warrant global efforts to conserve these unique and fragile habitats, particularly through the establishment of marine protected areas (MPA’s). MPA design depends on estimates of connectivity and scales of dispersal for the taxa of interest, which is missing for most deep-sea species. The original objective of this study was to assess genetic connectivity between populations of the giant deep-sea clam Acesta excavata associated to CWC habitats in the European margin, in both reef formations and vertical walls of submarine canyons. However, the use of molecular methods, namely DNA barcoding, revealed the presence of another species of this genus associated to the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa in the Whittard canyon (Celtic margin). This is the first report of Acesta cryptadelphe in the NE Atlantic, which until now was only known from the NW Atlantic. This unexpected result is a good example of the taxonomic issues that still persist in deep-sea ecosystems. Haplotype network analyses show that gene flow across the Atlantic Ocean is practically inexistent, but the existence of haplotypes that where not sampled raises the possibility of unknown populations of Acesta cryptadelphe in between the two margins, specifically in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Regarding Acesta excavata the analyses of sequences from two branches of the Whittard canyon show that, despite the complex topography and hydrography, there are no apparent barriers to gene flow between different branches of the canyon. Haplotype analyses reveal shared haplotypes between the Whittard canyon and the Norwegian margin and the Lisbon canyon suggesting a shared ancient polymorphism or present connectivity between locations. Genetic differentiation analyses are not conclusive, especially because of the low number of sequences available for Norway and the Lisbon canyon, but allow to establish different hypotheses that can be tested in the future, ideally using an integrative approach to understand connectivity. Connectivity along the European margin may be achieved through larvae dispersal, using different ocean currents as pathways of transport, and the presence of unknown populations acting as stepping-stones. Overall this thesis contributes with new knowledge and relevant data to support decisions to protect vulnerable habitats in the deep European margin.
Os avanços na exploração do mar profundo mudaram a nossa visão de um ambiente calmo, sombrio e desprovido de vida, para um ambiente onde a vida apresenta adaptações para suportar condições ambientais extremas e prosperar em habitats que frequentemente albergam elevada biodiversidade, como recifes de coral de água fria. A estrutura de carbonato de cálcio segregada por estes corais fornece uma matriz tridimensional que fornece abrigo e recursos para muitas espécies se estabelecerem de forma permanente ou temporária. As crescentes pressões antropogénicas relacionadas com a exploração de recursos biológicos e minerais no oceano profundo, especialmente os impactos da pesca de arrasto demersal, resultam na destruição dessa estrutura, afetando toda a comunidade a ela associada. Os impactos nos recifes de corais de água fria e na fauna a eles associada são preocupantes o suficiente para justificar esforços globais de conservação desses habitats únicos e frágeis, principalmente através do estabelecimento de áreas marinhas protegidas (AMP’s). O design de AMP’s depende de estimativas de conectividade e escalas de dispersão para os taxa de interesse, medidas estas que são escassas em espécies de profundidade. O objetivo inicial deste estudo era avaliar a conectividade genética entre populações bivalve Acesta excavata associadas a corais de água fria na margem europeia, tanto em recifes como em paredes verticais de canhões submarinos. No entanto, a aplicação de métodos moleculares, nomeadamente “DNA barcoding”, revelou a presença de uma outra espécie deste género, associada ao coral Lophelia pertusa no canhão submarino de Whittard (Margem Irlandesa). Este é o primeiro relato da espécie Acesta cryptadelphe no Nordeste Atlântico que, até agora era conhecida apenas do Noroeste Atlântico. Este resultado inesperado reflete as dificuldades taxonómicas que ainda persistem no estudo do oceano profundo. A análise da rede de haplótipos demonstra que o fluxo genético através do Oceano Atlântico é praticamente inexistente, mas a possível existência de haplótipos não amostrados aumenta a possibilidade de existência de populações desconhecidas de Acesta cryptadelphe entre as duas margens do oceano, especificamente na crista meso-Atlântica. Relativamente a Acesta excavata, a análise de sequências de dois ramos do canhão de Whittard mostra que, apesar de topografia e hidrografia complexas, não existem barreiras aparentes ao fluxo genético entre os diferentes ramos do canhão. A análise de haplótipos revela partilha de haplótipos entre o canhão de Whittard e a margem norueguesa e o canhão de Lisboa, sugerindo a ocorrência de um polimorfismo ancestral ou conectividade contemporânea entre os locais de estudo. Apesar de a análise de diferenciação genética não ser conclusiva, essencialmente devido ao número reduzido de sequências da Noruega e do canhão de Lisboa, os resultados obtidos permitem estabelecer diferentes hipóteses que podem ser testadas no futuro usando, idealmente, uma abordagem integrativa no estudo da conectividade entre populações. A conectividade ao longo da margem europeia pode ocorrer através da dispersão larvar, com recurso a correntes oceânicas como vias de transporte e através de populações desconhecidas que atuam como alpondras. De forma geral, esta tese contribui com novos conhecimentos e dados relevantes para apoiar decisões de proteção de habitats vulneráveis na margem europeia.
Mestrado em Biologia Marinha Aplicada

Les délinquants sexuels sadiques sont généralement décrits comme une entité clinique particulière commettant des délits graves. Or, la notion même de sadisme sexuel pose un nombre important de problèmes. Parmi ceux-ci, on retrouve des problèmes de validité et de fidélité. Perçu comme une maladie dont on est atteint ou pas, le sadisme a été étudié comme si les sadiques étaient fondamentalement différents. À l’heure actuelle, plusieurs travaux laissent croire que la majorité des troubles psychologiques se présentent comme une différence d'intensité (dimension) plutôt qu’une différence de nature (taxon). Même si la conception médicale prévaut encore en ce qui concerne le sadisme sexuel, plusieurs évoquent l’idée qu’il pourrait être mieux conceptualisé à l’aide d’une approche dimensionnelle. En parallèle, nos connaissances sur les facteurs contributifs au développement du sadisme sexuel sont limitées et reposent sur de faibles appuis empiriques. Jusqu'à présent, très peu d'études se sont intéressées aux facteurs menant au développement du sadisme sexuel et encore moins ont tenté de valider leurs théories. En outre, nos connaissances proviennent majoritairement d'études de cas portant sur les meurtriers sexuels, un sous-groupe très particulier de délinquants fréquemment motivé par des intérêts sexuels sadiques. À notre connaissance, aucune étude n'a proposé jusqu'à présent de modèle développemental portant spécifiquement sur le sadisme sexuel. Pourtant, l'identification de facteurs liés au développement du sadisme sexuel est essentielle dans notre compréhension ainsi que dans l'élaboration de stratégie d'intervention efficace. La présente thèse s'inscrit dans un contexte visant à clarifier le concept de sadisme sexuel. Plus spécialement, nous nous intéressons à sa structure latente, à sa mesure et à ses origines développementales. À partir d'un échantillon de 514 délinquants sexuels évalué au Massachusetts Treatment Center, la viabilité d’une conception dimensionnelle du sadisme sexuel sera mise à l’épreuve à l'aide d'analyses taxométriques permettant d'étudier la structure latente d'un construit. Dans une seconde étape, à l'aide d'analyses de Rasch et d'analyses appartenant aux théories de la réponse à l'item à deux paramètres, nous développerons la MTC Sadism Scale (MTCSS), une mesure dimensionnelle du sadisme sexuel. Dans une troisième et dernière étape, un modèle développemental sera élaboré à l'aide d'équations structurales. La présente thèse permettra de contribuer à la clarification du concept de sadisme sexuel. Une clarification de la structure latente et des facteurs développementaux permettra de saisir les devis de recherche les plus à même de capturer les aspects essentiels. En outre, ceci permettra d'identifier les facteurs pour lesquels une intervention est la plus appropriée pour réduire la récidive, ou la gravité de celle-ci.
Sadistic offenders are generally described as a particular clinical entity committing serious offenses. However, the very notion of sexual sadism is plague with a significant number of problems. Among these, there are important problems of validity and reliability. Perceived as a disease which one can or can't have, sadism was studied as if sadistic offenders were fundamentally different from non-sadistic offenders. Actually, several studies suggest that the majority of psychological disorders present a dimensional rather that a taxonic structure. Therefore, the difference between two individuals will be a difference of intensity instead of nature. Although the medical conceptualization still prevails regarding sexual sadism, many evoke the idea that it might be best conceptualized using a dimensional approach. On the other hand, our knowledge on the factors leading to the development of sexual sadism are based on weak empirical foundations. So far, very few studies have examined the factors leading to the development of sexual sadism and even fewer have attempted to validate their theories. In addition, our knowledge mainly comes from case studies of sexual murderers, some of whom exhibit an extreme form of sexual sadism. To our knowledge, no study has proposed a developmental model of sexual sadism. The identification of factors associated with the development of sexual sadism is essential in our understanding of this paraphilia and in the development of effective intervention strategies. The aim of the present thesis is to clarify the concept of sexual sadism. Specifically, we are interested in its latent structure, its assessment and its developmental origins. From a sample of 514 sexual offenders assessed at the Massachusetts Treatment Center, the viability of a dimensional conception of sexual sadism will be tested using taxometrics analyses. In a second step, using Rasch analyses and two-parameters item response theory analyses, we will develop the MTCSS, a dimensional measure of sexual sadism. In a third and final stage, a developmental model of sexual sadism will be developed using structural equations analyses. The current thesis will contribute significantly to the clarification of the concept of sexual sadism. A clarification of its latent structure and developmental factors will allow to develop better research designs to capture the essential aspects of sexual sadism. In addition, this will allow to identify the factors for which intervention is the most appropriate to reduce recidivism, or the severity of it.