Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Trip planner'

Presently, the United States has yet to achieve the 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Actâ s (ISTEA) goal of creating a seamless intermodal transportation system. In addition to the dearth of connections, the nationâ s poor transportation information systems limit intercity intermodal transportation. Travelers lack awareness of available transportation options and face too many separate portals for trip planning that both consume time and present inadequate information. This paper posits that the creation of an efficient and extensive web-based door-to-door intermodal trip planner can solve these problems. The proposed system will present travelers with a single portal to meet all their trip planning needs. Upon selecting specific trips, travelers can then decide to be directed to operators to make a purchase. The system will include operators from the major modal groups including intercity buses, intercity rail, commuter rail, transit, and airlines. It will also include taxis due to the disjointed nature of the US public transportation system and the need to connect users who are far from stations. The requirements to create this trip planner are explored, including the support systems, potential legal issues, and suitable entities for administration and management. A survey of 39 transportation system users revealed the existence of redundant and inadequate trip planners and that the lack of sufficient information on public transportation options is driving travelers to private vehicles for shorter distances even for those who prefer public means of transportation. Analysis of the costs and benefits of implementing the proposed system is drawn from interviews with key personnel within the transportation industry, and a review of nationwide trip planners in European countries. Finally, a roadmap is presented on how best to implement the system with inputs from both the public and private sector. Recommendations include the establishment of an industry-wide data standard, a national interagency database, and a cooperative structure that entices major players within each mode to participate in the system. Also suggested are incentives from the DOT and interested private sector members to encourage more operators to participate in the system.
Master of Science

Mobile applications and real-time data are excellent tools for rapidly sharing information. Such information may concern public transportation, such as time tables and traffic delays. This project has involved the development of a trip planner, which can subscribe to real-time data in order to inform the end user about the position of transit vehicles and trip updates. A trip planner is an application which, after having been given a start and a destination by the user, generates the possible trip between these two locations. The route is displayed upon a map, along with information of how the trip is travelled. The real-time data, which is pushed to the application, will inform the user if vehicles are delayed and if the trip needs to be updated due to a missed bus or train. The trip planner for Itract developed in this project is using the graphical interface and some necessary Java classes from the open source application Open Trip Planner. The new trip planner, developed in this project, is compatible with the API of Itract, has some additional functionality and can subscribe to real-time information. To subscribe to real-time information, a database called Redis has been set up in connection to Itract. Another database, known as MongoDB, is used for persistant storage.
Itract

Mid Sweden University staff has several different meetings around the year. Most meetings take place in Mid Sweden University's various campuses (Sundsvall and Östersund). In order for the staff to be able to participate in these meetings, rental-cars are rented from different rental companies. The rental cars are used to transport the staff between the university's campuses. The trips are mostly made by one or two people per car which can lead to unneces- sary extra costs. The goal of this project has been to provide a solution to this problem. The solution was in the form of a web application which the staff can use to register and join carpool trips. Since there are many carpool applications out there, the usability of the web application will be compared to the usability of a similar carpool application called GoMore to show if the developed appli- cation has any advantages in usability over similar applications. This was done by doing user-tests with 10 users followed by a questionnaire for each applica- tion. The usability metrics that were evaluated and compared for both applica- tions were the following: effectiveness, time based efficiency and the satisfac- tion of the user. The results showed a slightly better result in effectiveness and time based efficiency for the developed application. The results also showed a greater satisfaction for users who tested GoMore. Although the developed web application did not show a significant difference in usability over GoMore, the developed application is more specific for the university's problem and can be developed even further to suit the university's needs.

Lo scopo di questa tesi è quella di creare una interfaccia accessibile per il sito Web e software di creazione di percorsi urbani multimodali, denominato Open Trip Planner. L’obiettivo principale è rendere questo servizio di pianificazione di itinerari fruibile ad ogni tipologia di utente, rendendolo accessibile a persone con disabilità sensoriali e motorie, dando a queste ultime un aiuto, a volte indispensabile, per gli spostamenti all’interno delle città. Quello che il programma open source di Open Trip Planner deve fare dunque, è offrire le informazioni riguardanti i percorsi urbani e tutte le restanti informazioni presenti su di una mappa, come ad esempio punti di interesse, in maniera completamente fruibile per ogni utente che utilizza questo tipo di supporto alla navigazione. È stato d’aiuto nella tesi incentrare in un primo momento l’attenzione nei confronti delle leggi e le linee guida di accessibilità Web, studiando dunque come il Web deve essere accessibile per gli utenti, per poi concentrarsi sull’accessibilità delle mappe stesse. Un ulteriore scopo della tesi infatti è stato capire come i dati relativi alla navigazione che vengono prelevati dai satelliti, debbano essere presentati all’interno della mappa, fornendo un grado di accessibilità elevato, sia per gli utenti che per differenti hardware.

Les travaux effectués dans cette thèse industrielle concernent l'amélioration du calculateur d'itinéraire de Cityway, société spécialisée dans les technologies de l’information appliquées à la mobilité.Nous avons d'abord établi un état de l'art exhaustif, accompagné d'une mise en perspective de l'existant Cityway avec celui-ci. Cela nous a permis d'aider l'entreprise à prendre du recul sur son produit et de justifier les axes de recherche choisis pour nos travaux.Nous nous sommes ensuite intéressés à l'aspect multicritère du problème. En effet, le calculateur, basé sur l'algorithme de Dijkstra, permet de trouver des trajets minimisant une somme pondérée de critères. Nous avons développé un algorithme multilabel permettant de conserver et étendre plusieurs labels au même nœud. Malgré une légère augmentation des temps de calculs, des résultats satisfaisants ont été obtenus dans une application bicritère de ce nouvel algorithme.Nous avons également travaillé sur la génération et la sélection de trajets alternatifs. La génération s'appuie sur les algorithmes monolabel ou multilabel. La sélection s'appuie quant à elle sur la définition d'une distance entre les solutions et des méthodes de regroupement.Enfin, nous nous sommes intéressés à l'optimisation du calcul du critère lexicographique de durée minimale dans le cas bicritère. Pour qu'un trajet soit intéressant, il faut qu'il soit optimal sur les critères usuels, mais aussi qu'il dure le moins longtemps possible. L'utilisation de certaines propriétés sur ce critère permet de réduire des temps de calcul initialement trop longs
The work carried out in this industrial PhD aims at improving the route planner of Cityway, a company specialized in information technologies applied to mobility. We first established an exhaustive state of the art, and compared it to the existing Cityway product. This allowed us to help the company take a step back from its urgent needs, and justify the research guidelines chosen for our work.We then looked at the multi-criteria aspect of the problem. Indeed, the trip planner, based on the Dijkstra algorithm, makes it possible to find paths minimizing a weighted sum of criteria. We have developed a multilabel algorithm to maintain and extend multiple labels at the same node. Despite a slight increase in computation time, satisfactory results were obtained in a bicriteria application of this new algorithm.We also worked on the generation and selection of alternative routes. The generation algorithm relies on the existing monolabel or newly developed multilabel algorithms. The selection algorithm is based on the definition of a distance between trips and adaptations of existing clustering algorithms to this specific case.Finally, we were interested in what we called the lexicographic criterion. For a trip to be interesting, it must be optimal on the usual criterion of earliest arrival, and, for trips arriving at the same time, on the latest departure criterion. The use of certain properties on this criterion makes it possible to reduce computation times on the bicriteria case

A new approach of making ion trap mass analyzers was developed in which trapping fields are created in the space between two ceramic plates. Based on microfabrication technology, a series of independently-adjustable electrode rings is lithographically patterned on the facing surfaces of each ceramic plate. The trapping field can be modified or fine-tuned simply by changing the RF amplitude applied to each electrode ring. By adjusting the potential function applied to the plates, arbitrary trapping fields can be created using the same set of ceramic plates. Unlike conventional ion traps, the electrodes of planar ion traps have a non-equipotential surface, thus the electric field is independent of electrode geometry and can be optimized electronically. The simple geometry and open structure of planar ion traps address obstacles to miniaturization, such as fabrication tolerances, surface smoothness, electrode alignment, limited access for ionization or ion injection, and small trapping volume, thereby offering a great opportunity for a portable mass spectrometer device. Planar ion traps including the planar quadrupole ion trap and the coaxial ion trap have been designed and tested using this novel method. The planar quadrupole trap has demonstrated a mass range up to 180 Da (Th), with mass resolution typically between 400-700. We have also developed a novel ion trap in which both toroidal and quadrupolar trapping regions are created simultaneously between a set of plates. This "Coaxial Trap" allows trapping and mass analysis of ions in two different regions: ions can be trapped and mass analyzed in either the toroidal or quadrupolar regions, and transferred between these regions. Some simulation work based on the ion motion between two different trapping regions in the coaxial ion trap has been performed. Using a one-dimensional simulation method, ion motion was investigated to transfer ions between these two regions. The effect of the mutipole components in the radial field and axial field, amplitude and frequency of the primary RF and supplementary AC signal were studied to obtain high mass resolution in the axial direction and high transfer efficiency in the radial direction. In all these devices, the independent control of each patterned electrode element allows independent control of higher-order multipole fields. Fields can be optimized and changed electronically instead of physically as is done in conventional traps.

Radio frequency (RF) ion traps based on the quadrupole device developed by Paul and Steinwedel utilize a dynamic electric field to spatially confine the trajectory of charged particles and may be employed as mass spectrometers by selectively ejecting trapped molecules based on the mass to charge ratio. Because of the inherent sensitivity and specificity of this process, ion trap mass spectrometers have become a popular scientific instrument. In the past two decades there has been a push to develop portable ion trap mass spectrometers for in situ mass analysis by geometrically scaling traps to smaller sizes. This decreases the power and vacuum requirements which allows field portable instruments to use smaller/less powerful vacuum pumps and batteries. This dissertation presents the process of miniaturizing the planar linear ion trap (PLIT) to a microscale radius in order to investigate the scaling limits of mass spectrometers. The ultimate end goal is the integration of a PLIT into a portable mass spectrometry system. The PLIT consists of two flat, non-conducting plates, on which fine metal electrodes are patterned using standard microfabrication processes, including photolithography. An RF field is distributed across the electrodes to create a quadrupole electromagnetic potential which traps ions based on their mass to charge ratio. While simple in concept, the PLIT has been developed over a ten-year period including an investigation of a variety of substrate materials and design geometries. This dissertation briefly reviews the optimal fabrication flow and why the stated parameters have advantages over other possible combinations in a coplanar ion trap. Since ion trap miniaturization reduces the trapping volume (which also worsens the SNR and resolution of a mass spectrum), a novel RF phase tracking circuit was developed to exploit a phase locked condition during double resonance ejection. This was implemented on the PLIT to increase SNR before constructing the µPLIT. Better than unit resolutions (0.5 Da, FWHM) and SNR improvements were observed.Lastly, the successful miniaturization of the PLIT to a microscale radius is presented. This was done by redesigning the electrodes on the PLIT surface to have an equivalent trap radius (ro) of 800 μm. The μPLIT successfully confined then resonantly ejected ions with resolutions of approximately 2-3 Da. The performance of the μPLIT was also tested over a range of pressures from 2.5-42×10-3 Torr and retained resolutions between 2.3-2.7 Da. Ultimately, the μPLIT was shown to retain resolutions viable for portable mass spectrometry at pressures in the tens of millitorr while consuming a factor of 3.38 less power than the unscaled PLIT.

This dissertation reports on the design and implementation of a high-frequency, tri-axial capacitive resonant gyroscopes integrated on a single chip. The components that construct tri-axial rotation sensing consist of a yaw, a pitch and a roll device. The yaw-rate gyroscope has a wide bandwidth and a large full-scale range, and operates at a mode-matched condition with DC polarization voltage of 10V without frequency tuning requirement. The large bandwidth of 3kHz and expected full-scale range over 30,000˚/sec make the device exhibit fast rate response for rapid motion sensing application. For the pitch-and-roll rate sensing, an in-plane drive-mode and two orthogonal out-of-plane sense-modes are employed. The rotation-rate sensing from lateral axes is performed by mode-matching the in-plane drive-mode with out-of-plane sense-modes to detect Coriolis-force induced deflection of the resonant mass. To compensate process variations and thickness deviations in the employed silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates, large electrostatic frequency tunings of both the drive and sense modes are realized. A revised high aspect ratio combined polysilicon and silicon (HARPSS) process is developed to resolve the Coriolis response that exists toward out-of-plane direction while drive-mode exists on in-plane, and tune individual frequencies with minimal interference to unintended modes. To conclude and overcome the performance limitation, design optimization of high-frequency tri-axial gyroscopes is suggested. Q-factor enhancement through reduction of thermoelastic damping (TED) and optimizations of physical dimensions are suggested for the yaw disk gyroscope. For the pitch-and-roll gyroscope, scaling property of physical dimension and its subsequent performance enhancement are analyzed.

Le riz est une des principales cultures vivrières mondiales. L'accroissement de la production de riz est indispensable pour assurer la sécurité alimentaire et la stabilité économiques de nombreux pays. C'est pourquoi l'amélioration variétale est essentielle à l'accroissement de la production de riz. Le système racinaire est la structure de la plante donnant accès aux ressources hydrominérales, aussi, une connaissance fine de son développement est indispensable. Dans cette thèse, nous nous sommes intéressés aux niveaux cellulaire et moléculaire du développement racinaire. Nous avons tout d'abord revisité les étapes de la mise en place du système racinaire, en nous focalisant sur le fonctionnement cellulaire du méristème apical racinaire chez le riz, et en le comparant à celui bien décrit d'Arabidospsis thaliana, plante modèle des dicotylédones. Ce référentiel met évidence des différences de structures et de fonctionnement importantes entre les deux plantes modèles des monocotylédones et des dicotylédones, soulignant ainsi l'intérêt d'étudier plus finement les mécanismes de mise en place des structures souterraines chez le riz. Nous avons ensuite établit une collection de lignées enhancer trap Gal4-UAS-GFP exprimant la GFP de manière spécifique, dans des cellules, tissus ou organes racinaires particuliers. Ces lignées aux divers marqueurs cellulaires pourront être utilisés pour des études développementales et physiologiques. Par ailleurs, nous avons affiné la méthode de criblage de ces lignées. L'observation in vivo de racine, via un microscope biphotonique, permet la visualisation au niveau cellulaire de sa structure interne, jusqu'à 200µm, et facilite la localisation précise du marqueur cellulaire. Enfin, nous avons initié l'étude de deux mutants qui i) exprimaient la GFP dans les zones méristématiques, et ii) possédaient un phénotype racinaire et/ou aérien suggérant une anomalie dans le fonctionnement des méristèmes
Rice is one of the world's most important food crops. Increased production is essential to ensure the food security and economic stability of many countries. Crop improvement is therefore essential to achieve an increase in rice production. The root system allows the plant to access mineral and water resources and an accurate knowledge of its development is crucial. In this study, we were interested in root development at the cellular and molecular level. First of all, we revisited the steps in the establishment of the root system, focusing on cell fate at the root apical meristem in rice, comparing it with the well-described process in Arabidopsis thaliana, the model plant for dicotyledons. This comparison highlights the major differences in structure and function between the two model plants, underlining the importance of studying in greater detail the process of establishing the underground structures of rice. Next, we established a collection of Gal4-UAS-GFP enhancer trap lines that express GFP in specific root cells, tissues and organs. These lines expressing various cellular markers can be used for various developmental and physiological studies. In addition, we refined the method of screening these lines. Observation of roots in vivo, using a two-photonic microscope, allows their internal cell structure to be visualised down to 200µm and facilitates the precise location of cellular markers. Finally, we initiated the study of two mutants which i) express GFP in their meristematic zones and ii) show a root and/or shoot phenotype that suggests an anomaly in the functioning of their meristems

Le système « plante-ravageur-ennemi naturel » fournit un modèle de base idéal pour comprendre comment les communautés d'arthropodes sont structurées et comment les interactions (directes et indirectes) entre les différents acteurs contribuent à façonner la structure des communautés. Dans les agroécosystèmes, les forces "top-down" correspondent aux effets de contrôle que les organismes arthropodes des niveaux trophiques supérieurs (par exemple, les prédateurs) ont sur les espèces des niveaux inférieurs (par exemple, leurs proies). Les communautés d'arthropodes peuvent également être influencées par des forces "bottom-up" induites par des variations dans les régimes de fertilisation ou d'irrigation ou par des variations de certains traits des plantes (résistance aux herbivores ou adaptations aux stress environnementaux). De plus, les forces "bottom-up" peuvent affecter l'impact "top-down" des ennemis naturels sur les herbivores soit directement (par exemple, les effets sur prédateur omnivore) ou médiées par les insectes herbivores intermédiaires. Dans ce contexte, les objectifs de cette thèse ont été de comprendre comment les variations de l'apport des ressources dans les agroecoécosytsèmes (disponibilité en azote et en eau) peuvent influencer les interactions entre les plantes, les herbivores et les ennemis naturels. Cette question a été étudiée aussi bien à l'échelle individuelle (traits d'histoire de vie des insectes) que populationnelle (dynamique des populations). Les études ont été réalisées sur deux agroécosystèmes basés sur les cultures de la tomate et du coton
The “Plant-herbivorous insect-natural enemy” system provides an ideal basic model to understand how the plant-inhabiting arthropod communities are structured and how various mechanisms (i.e. direct and indirect interactions) contribute to shape the community structure. In agro-ecosystems, top-down forces encompass the controlling effects that arthropod organisms of the higher trophic level (e.g., predators) have on species at the next lower level (e.g., prey). Arthropod communities may also be influenced by bottom-up forces induced by environmental variations (e.g. fertilization or irrigation regimes) or plant traits (plant insect-resistance or plant-adaptive traits). Furthermore, bottom-up forces may affect top-down forces on herbivores either directly (e.g., effects on omnivorous predator) or mediated by the intermediate herbivorous insects. In this context, the aims of the PhD study were to disentangle how variations in resource inputs (i.e. nitrogen and water availability) affect interactions among plant, herbivores and their natural enemies at both the individual (life-history traits) and population (population dynamic) levels. The studies were carried out on two agrosystems based on tomato and cotton. On tomato, the system 'Solanum lycopersicum L - leafminer Tuta absoluta - omnivorous predator Macrolphis pygmaeus' was used under laboratory and greenhouse conditions in France. We found strong evidence of bottom-up effects of nitrogen and/or water inputs on the herbivore and the omnivorous predator. Feeding ecology of the predator was also strongly influenced by water availability

Le modèle dynamique du système racinaire doit assurer la cohérence des règles d'allocation du carbone aux différentes parties du système racinaire et l'efficacité de la capture de ressources. Un tel modèle serait capable de prédire la croissance d'un système racinaire dans un sol hétérogène. Nous proposons un tel modèle, économe en paramètres, avec un automate voxellaire, étendu en 3D. Le besoin d'un tel modèle résulte de l'observation au champ pour deux espèces d'arbres, noyers hybrides (Juglans nigra x regia cv NG23) et peupliers hybrides (Populus euramericana cv I214), cultivées avec ou sans des cultures intercalaires pendant 10 ans dans le sud de la France. Les systèmes racinaires des arbres dans les parcelles agroforestières étaient beaucoup plus profonds que ceux des arbres forestiers, et se développaient horizontalement sous le volume de sol occupé par les racines des cultures. Cette plasticité du système racinaire des arbres a été confirmée par des expériences en grands conteneurs avec des substrats hétérogènes, ou en enrichissant localement quelques voxels du conteneur avec de l'eau ou de l'azote. L'automate racinaire simule la croissance de racine fine et de racine de structure (et sa topologie). Certains paramètres permettent de caractériser la plasticité ou réactivité de chaque espèce à la variabilité des conditions d'activité racinaire. Des expériences d'arbres en grands conteneurs et une expérience de split-root ont permis de paramétrer le modèle pour le noyer hybride (Juglans hindsii x regia) et le merisier (Prunus avium L. ). Les valeurs des paramètres ajustés pour les noyers et les merisiers permettent d'utiliser le modèle pour prédire les enracinements d'arbres dans des conditions du sol variées. Mais pour cela, il faut que l'automate soit couplé avec un modèle d'arbre entier et un modèle de sol
Dynamic models of root systems should link the pattern of carbon allocation to different parts of the root system and the efficiency of belowground resources capture. Such a model could predict the dynamic growth of root systems in 3D heterogeneous soils. We present such a ‘parsimonious’ model with only six parameters, based on the voxel automata approach. Evidence for the need of such a model was provided by a field study of the spatial root distributions of two tree species, hybrid walnut trees (Juglans nigra x regia cv NG23) and hybrid poplars (Populus euramericana cv I214) cultivated with or without the competition with winter intercrops in southern France. Tree root distributions in the agroforestry plots were much deeper than those observed in the forestry plots, and/or extended laterally beneath the crop zone. More evidence of root plasticity was provided by pot experiments with heterogeneous substrates, or by enriching a small patch in water and/or nitrogen inside the container. The voxel automaton simulates both fine and coarse root growth, and automatically generates its topology. Both the control of ‘genetic’ and environmental factors are incorporated in the root growth process. Container experiments and a split-root experiment were used to parameterise the model for hybrid walnut trees (Juglans hindsii x regia) and wild cherry trees (Prunus avium L. ). The estimated parameter values for walnut and wild cherry trees allow the voxel automata model to be used to predict root patterns of both tree species in various heterogeneous soil experiments. For this purpose, an integration of the root model into a model of tree growth is necessary

A floating island was generated using two height maps, one for the bottom of the island and one for the top. Vertices of the island was displaced in the Y axis using an algorithm called Simplex noise. To avoid texture stretching that appears when displacing the vertices an algorithm called “tri planar projection” was implemented. After the vertices had been displaced the normal was smoothed using “normal smoothing”. An algorithm here called “the AVG algorithm” is created to smooth jig sawed edges around the island that appears after the island has been generated. The results of the AVG algorithm is judged by a group of 26 participants to see if any jig sawed edges are perceived. They answered a survey containing seven pictures, with each picture having one more iteration of the AVG algorithm then the last, starting from 0 iterations. Five iterations proved to be the best.

L'etude de l'origine de la resistance de deux lycopersicon a des ravageurs a ete realisee grace a l'execution en parallele de deux protocoles experimentaux complementaires. Le premier rassemble des techniques physico-chimiques comprenant l'extraction par solvants, le fractionnement des extraits (chromatographie sur colonne ou sur couche mince) puis l'analyse et l'identification (c. P. G. , h. P. L. C. , r. M. N. Et spectrometrie de masse) des substances actives isolees. Le second consiste en la mise au point de tests standardises permettant de quantifier l'activite des differents extraits obtenus, sur plusieurs ravageurs de cultures maraicheres. Nous avons ainsi mis en evidence l'origine purement mecanique de la resistance de lycopersicon hirsutum humb. Et bonpl. A un puceron, aphis gossypii (glober). Par contre, l'etude de l'antibiose chez l. Cheesmanii riley a conduit a isoler et a identifier une famille de substances chimiques - les esters de saccharose- responsables de la resistance de cette plante a lyriomiza trifolii (burgess). Ce point merite d'etre souligne car ces composes n'avaient jamais ete signales dans cette plante auparavant. Les determinations chimiques permettent d'identifier ces esters de saccharose comme etant les (2, 3, 4-tri-o-acyl)-alpha-d-glucopyranosyl)-(3-o-acyl-beta-d-fructofuranoside. Le mode d'action de ces substances est du type anti-appetant. Des tests sur plutella xylostella (l. ) (la teigne des cruciferes) et henosepilachna reticulata (olivier) (coccinelle defoliatrice des cucurbitacees) ont demontre l'efficacite, en pulverisations foliaires, de ces esters de saccharose extraits de l. Cheesmanii

Le soja, culture d’intérêt agronomique mondiale et bientôt Normande, doit faire face à l’attaque de nombreux phytopathogènes et notamment à l’oomycète Phytophthora sojae Kaufm. & Gerd., qui engendrent chaque année d’importantes pertes économiques. Le RET (Root Extracellular Trap) est situé à l’apex racinaire, est constitué de cellules détachées de la racine appelées cellules frontières ou AC-DC (root Associated Cap-Derived Cells) et de leur mucilage associé. On retrouve au sein de ce mucilage des glycomolécules, des protéines, ou encore de l’ADN extracellulaire (ADNex). Cet ensemble, formant un territoire racinaire particulier, va permettre la protection de la racine et notamment de son apex contre les stress biotiques et abiotiques. Afin de mieux comprendre les mécanismes de défense racinaires, et notamment de certains acteurs du RET, une analyse transcriptomique et protéomique des AC-DC et de la racine et une analyse génomique de l’ADNex ont été réalisées en conditions témoin et élicitée avec PEP-13, un éliciteur provenant des oomycètes du genre Phytophthora sp. Les analyses transcriptomique et protéomique ont montré une spécificité des AC-DC par rapport aux racines et une réponse à PEP-13 qui semble différente entre ces deux zones. Le séquençage génomique de l’ADNex du RET a été réalisé afin de déterminer l’origine de celui-ci et savoir s'il existe une spécificité de séquences entre les deux conditions. Il semblerait que l'ADNex ait une meilleure couverture lors de l'alignement sur l’ADN mitochondrial et l’ADN plastidial comparé à l’ADN chromosomique. Cette différence de couverture peut indiquer une différence de persistance de l’ADNex dans le RET en fonction de son origine (chromosomique ou mitochondrial et plastidial), ou une libération dans le RET par ces organites. Il semblerait également qu’il n’y ait pas de différences entre les séquences d’ADNex du RET en condition élicitée avec PEP-13 ou témoin
Soybean, a crop of Normand and world agronomic interest, is threatened by numerous phytopathogens like the oomycete Phytophthora sojae Kaufm. & Gerd., wich generate high levels of economical losses. The RET (root extracellular trap) is located at the root apex and is composed of border cells or AC-DC (root associated cap-derived cells) and their mucilage. This mucilage is made up of glycomolecules, proteins or also extracellular DNA (exDNA). The RET play a role in root protection against biotic stresses. In order to better understand the role of the RET in root protection, a transcriptomic and a proteomic analysis where done on AC-DC and roots in controle condition and in elicited condition with PEP-13 (an elicitor from Phytophthora sp.). The results show a specificity of AC-DC compared to the root, and an answer to PEP-13 wich seems to be different between these two tissues. An other experiment was to sequence RET exDNA in controle and elicited conditions, in order to define the origin of this exDNA. We show that the coverage of mitochondrial and plastidial DNA where much better than the coverage of chromosomic DNA. It could mean that chromosomic DNA isn’t conserved as well as organelles DNA, or exDNA could originate from organelles. Furthermore, results seems to show no differences between the sequences of elicited or control exDNA

F₁-ATPase, the sector of ATP synthase where the synthesis of cellular ATP occurs, is a rotary molecular motor in its own right. Driven by ATP hydrolysis, direct observation of the rotation of the central axis within single molecules of F₁ is possible. Operating at close to 100% efficiency, F₁ from thermophilic Bacillus has been shown to produce ~40pN˙nm of torque during rotation. This thesis details the groundwork required for the direct measurement of the torque produced by F₁ using a rotary angle clamp, an optical trapping system specifically designed for application to rotary molecular motors. Proof-of-concept experiments will be presented thereby demonstrating the ability to directly manipulate single F₁ molecules from Escherichia coli and yeast mitochondria (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), along with activation of F₁ out of its inhibited state by the application of external torque. Despite in-depth knowledge of the rotary mechanism of F₁ from thermophilic Bacillus, the rotation of F₁ from Escherichia coli is relatively poorly understood. A detailed mechanical characterization of E.coli F₁ will be presented here, with particular attention to the ground states within the catalytic cycle, notably the ATP-binding state, the catalytic state and the inhibited state. The fundamental mechanism of E.coli F₁ appears to depart little from that of F₁ from thermophilic Bacillus, although, at room temperature, chemical processes occur faster within the E.coli enzyme, in line with considerations regarding the physiological conditions of the different species. Also presented here is the verification of the rotary nature of yeast mitochondrial F₁. The torque produced by F₁ from thermophilic Bacillus, E.coli and yeast mitochondria is the same, within experimental error, despite their diverse evolutionary and environmental origins.

La coiffe racinaire est cruciale à la croissance et survie du méristème subapical de racine. Elle libère des cellules frontières (CFs) qui assurent la protection de l’apex racinaire. Les CFs associées à leur mucilage forment le piège extracellaire de racine (RET). La caractérisation du RET et des exsudats racinaires de trois essences ligneuses sahéliennes à partir de plantules cultivées in vitro a été réalisée. B. aegyptiaca et A. raddiana prospèrent dans les zones semi-arides, à l’opposé de T. indica. La morphologie des CFs et l’organisation du RET ont été déterminées par microscopie. La compostion en glycopolymères et la détection des arabinogalactanes proteines (AGPs) dans le RET et les exsudats racinaires ont été déterminées par des analyses biochimiques. L’effet des exsudats racinaires sur la croissance d’Azospirillum brasilense, une bactérie bénéfique pour la plante a été évalué. B. aegyptiaca produit des CFs de type border cells (BCs) alors que les autres Fabaceae produisent des BCs et des border-like cells. Les BCs sont entourées d’un dense mucilage riche en polymères de paroi. Le RET et les exsudats racinaires issus de B. aegyptiaca et A. raddiana sont plus riches en AGPs que ceux provenant T. indica. Les AGPs pourraient contribuer à la survie des plantules dans un contexte semiaride. Ce travail ouvre de nouvelles perspectives de recherche concernant l'implication du RET dans la survie des plantes à l'aridité
The root cap is primordial for seedling growth and supports root apical meristem integrity. The root cap releases root border cells (RBCs) that surround the root tip and ensure seedling protection against numerous stresses. RBCs and their associated mucilage form the root extracellular trap (RET). Here, RET and root exudate characterization of three Sahelian woody seedlings are performed. In contrast to B. aegyptiaca and A. raddiana which thrive in semi-arid areas, T. indica is more sensitive to drought. B. aegyptiaca, A. raddiana and T. indica seedlings were sub-cultured in vitro. RBC morphologies and RET organization were determined using microscopic approaches. The polysaccharide composition and arabinogalactan protein (AGP) content were determined by biochemical approaches in the RET and the root exudates. Moreover, the effect of root exudates on the growth of Azospirillum brasilense a plant benefical bacteria has been performed. While B. aegyptiaca produces only border cell (BC) type, the two Fabaceae seedlings release both BCs and border-like cells (BLCs). BCs are enclosed in a dense mucilage enriched in cell wall polymers. Compared to T. indica, RET and root exudates of B. aegyptiaca and A. raddiana include more abundant AGPs. In this context, AGPs could contribute to woody seedling survival. This work opens new research perspectives regarding involvement of RET in plant survival to aridity

Classically, wide-area synchronized power system monitoring has been an expensive task requiring significant investment in utility communications infrastructures for the service of relatively few costly sensors. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate the viability of power system monitoring from very low voltage levels (120 V). Challenging the accepted norms in power system monitoring, the document will present the use of inexpensive GPS time synchronized sensors in mass numbers at the distribution level. In the past, such low level monitoring has been overlooked due to a perceived imbalance between the required investment and the usefulness of the resulting deluge of information. However, distribution level monitoring offers several advantages over bulk transmission system monitoring. First, practically everyone with access to electricity also has a measurement port into the electric power system. Second, internet access and GPS availability have become pedestrian commodities providing a communications and synchronization infrastructure for the transmission of low-voltage measurements. Third, these ubiquitous measurement points exist in an interconnected fashion irrespective of utility boundaries. This work offers insight into which parameters are meaningful to monitor at the distribution level and provides applications that add unprecedented value to the data extracted from this level. System models comprising the entire Eastern Interconnection are exploited in conjunction with a bounty of distribution level measurement data for the development of wide-area disturbance detection, classification, analysis, and location routines. The main contributions of this work are fivefold: the introduction of a novel power system disturbance detection algorithm; the development of a power system oscillation damping analysis methodology; the development of several parametric and non-parametric power system disturbance location methods, new methods of power system phenomena visualization, and the proposal and mapping of an online power system event reporting scheme.
Ph. D.

Lors des interactions tri-trophiques impliquant une plante hôte, ses insectes phytophages et leurs ennemis naturels (parasitoïdes, prédateurs...), chaque niveau trophique est fortement dépendant des autres. La plante hôte peut influencer directement les traits d’histoire de vie des insectes phytophages et indirectement les ennemis naturels se développant aux dépens de ces insectes phytophages. Lorsque qu’un ennemi naturel comme un parasitoïde attaque l’insecte phytophage, son système immunitaire constitue sa dernière chance de survie. Une grande variation dans l’immunité des insectes est généralement observée dans les populations naturelles, suggérant que différentes pressions de sélection peuvent moduler et conduire à une adaptation des paramètres immunitaires. Ma thèse vise à déterminer les influences conjointes de la plante hôte et des parasitoïdes, sur les paramètres immunitaires des chenilles de deux ravageurs de la vigne, Cochylis (Eupoecilia ambiguella) et Eudémis (Lobesia botrana).Durant ces 3 années, nous avons mis en évidence une forte influence du cépage de vigne sur les effecteurs immunitaires des chenilles de vers de la grappe. De plus, le cépage de vigne semble être à l'origine d'un compromis entre les voies immunitaires constitutives et induites. La présence variable de bactéries à la surface des baies ne semble pas être à l'origine de ce compromis. Outre le cépage de vigne, nous avons démontré une forte action des parasitoïdes sur l'immunité des vers de la grappe. A l'échelle nationale, les populations d’Eudémis les plus immunocompétentes sont également les populations les plus parasitées. Cette corrélation positive entre le succès de parasitisme et les paramètres immunitaires des chenilles ne semble pas expliquée par une réponse plastique du système immunitaire des chenilles à la présence des parasitoïdes, mais plutôt par une sélection locale du système immunitaire, en réponse à la pression de parasitisme subie par ces chenilles sur plusieurs années. Les différentes études réalisées dans le cadre de ma thèse confirment la complexité des relations tri-trophiques entre la plante hôte, l’insecte phytophage et ses ennemis naturels. L’intégration du système immunitaire de l’insecte phytophage semble primordiale dans la compréhension des interactions unissant ces trois protagonistes
In tritrophic interactions involving phytophagous insects, host plants and natural enemies, trophic levels are highly dependent on each other. Host plant may strongly affect directly phytophagous insect and indirectly natural enemies growing on these phytophagous insects. When a natural enemy attacks a phytophagous insect, the host immune system constitutes the last chance for the host to survive to an infection. A great variation of insect immune system is generally found in populations for susceptibility to pathogens, suggesting that variable selection pressures may have shaped and driven adaptation of immune traits. This project aims to determine the influence of both host plant and natural enemies on the larval immune system of grapevine moth pests, Lobesia botrana and Eupoecilia ambiguella.During these three years, we have demonstrated a strong influence of grape variety on immune effectors of grapevine moth larvae. In addition, the grape variety modulates a trade-off between the constitutive and induced immune pathways. The variable presence of microbes on the surface of grape berries does not explain the trade-off in immune function. Beyond the grape variety effect, we also demonstrated a strong influence of parasitoids on the immune parameters of the grapevine moth larvae. In France, the most immunocompetent populations of grapevine moth are also the most parasitized. This positive correlation between successful parasitism and larval immune parameters seems not explained by a plastic response of the larval immune system to parasitoids presence, but rather by a local selection of larval immune system in response to parasitism pressure suffered by larvae for several years.The different experiments realized in my thesis confirm the complexity of the tri-trophic interactions between host plant, phytophagous insects and natural enemies. The integration of phytophagous insect immune system seems essential in understanding the interactions linking these three protagonists

Contribution à une meilleure connaissance de l'évolution spatiale et temporelle des populations de noctuelles sur l'ile et à la mise au point de dispositifs de piégeage sexuel plus efficaces et plus sélectifs pour la surveillance agricole

This thesis deals with the creation of the intro with limited size. This work describes methods for reducing the size of the final application. The main part describes methods for generating graphic content and methods for its animation. It deals with creation of textures and geometry. Another part is aimed on the physical simulation of particle and elastic systems.

碩士
國立臺灣科技大學
電子工程系
102
With the major countries in Europe and America to vigorously promote open data issues, Taiwan also adopts it as one of the major information communications technologies in recent years. The information provided by the government is free to use for the public and the industry. And is integrated with the innovative value-added services in order to achieve the high economic benefits of data. The common path planning systems are based on the shortest path or the shortest spending time. However, the real-time traffic conditions may effectively affect the path planning. For the reasons given above, we retrieve the real-time traffic information from the open data provided by the government, and applies the data to the trip planning system. In this thesis, we propose a real-time trip planner system assisted with the government open data, and present a path selection scheme based on the provided data. Besides, we design different user interfaces - WebUI and AppUI for stationary users and mobile users, respectively. Based on the requests from users, the trip planner system would reply all the candidate paths in a sorted order back for users' references.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
資訊管理學研究所
92
Web services have emerged as a key technology for distributed systems development and integration. Thanks to their standard XML-based interfaces, simpler Web services may be readily composed to provide integrated services that meet varying user requirements. Each Web service has its own specific functionalities and therefore the constituent services of an integrated service have to be prescribed and targeted precisely. As the number and variety of Web services continue to grow, it will be challenging to find the needed Web services and compose them automatically. To address this challenge, we propose a framework for Web service composition and brokering. The main ingredient of the framework is a service composition and brokering system architecture, which consists of four main components: the Service Collector/Annotator, the Service Composer, the Inference Engine, and the Execution Engine. These four components share a set of ontologies, which are used not only to add extra information on Web services but also to provide a common vocabulary for communication among the components. To illustrate the application of this framework, we develop a prototype system for trip planning. The prototype is implemented as an application on top of the well-used knowledge base system Protege, while the underlying ontologies are defined in OWL.

碩士
育達科技大學
休閒事業管理系碩士班
103
This study aims to probe into reasonable selection model to select field trip planners for junior high schools, and construct appropriate items and weights of Evaluation of the Most Advantageous Tender in order to enhance objectivity and fairness of selection and increase teachers’ intention to organize field trips. The subjects were public schools in Hsinchu County and City. A hierarchical framework was constructed based on literature review and Modified Delphi Method. Two rounds of expert questionnaire survey were conducted to generalize selection criteria of field trip planners. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) pairwise comparison was performed on relative weights of factors to analyze relative weights of criteria, in order to select field trip planners and construct appropriate evaluation criteria and weights. The results showed that safety management ability is the most important for experts, followed by quality of food, activity planning, arrangement of hotels, and prices. Based on the results, conclusions and suggestions are proposed for junior high schools in Hsinchu to select field trip planners or serve as reference for future studies.

碩士
銘傳大學
新媒體暨傳播管理學系碩士班
105
Owing to its rapid development and ubiquity, the Internet has become one of the fastest channels to obtain information and knowledge in the daily life nowadays. Internet users are able to gain useful and updated information and also to share the information they own through the interaction with other members in a certain social networking service virtual group. Given the necessity of having the most updated information for planning an overseas trip, Facebook's networking service group for sharing trip experiences turns out to be one of the most efficient tools to undergo information and knowledge sharing as well. Through studying a major networking group of Facebook that exchanges overseas trip information, by using the decomposed theory of planned behavior the main purpose of the research is to explore the aspects that influence the information sharing behaviors of the member users and meantime to identify the modes of their information sharing behaviors. The methodology of the research is basically derived from the theory of planned behavior. Besides, according to the literature study, there are twelve hypothesis presented in the research, by including aspects such as perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, compatibility, altruism, influence from the major group, influence from the minor group, self efficacy, and resource facilitating conditions. The research applied the method of questionnaire survey techniques in collecting the sample data. There were 303 copies of questionnaires returned as complete and valid, out of the 320 questionnaires disseminated. The research used SPSS to make statistical analysis and LISREL to validate the research model of the study. The research found that the subjective norm and perceived behavior control has a significant influence toward the intention of information sharing behaviors of the users in the trip community of Facebook. The perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and compatibility all have a significant influence to the users' attitude. The major group shows a significant influence to the subjective norm. And, the self efficacy is significantly influenced by the perceived behavior control. At the end of it , based on the outcomes, the research has made some suggestions for a reference for any further studies that may follow.

This thesis is a numerical study of fields within ion traps having segmented electrodes1. The focus is on two cylindrical ion trap structures, two Orbit rap structures and one planar structure which mimics the field of the Orbit rap. In all these geometries, the segments which comprise the electrodes are easily Machin able rings and plates. By applying suitable potential to the different segments, the fields within these geometries are made to mimic the fields in the respective ideal structures. This thesis is divided into 6 chapters. Chapter 1 presents introduction and background information relevant to this work. A brief description of the Quadrupole Ion Trap (QIT) and the Orbit rap is given. The role of numerical simulations in the design of an ion trap geometry is briefly outlined. The motivation of this thesis is presented. The chapter ends by describing the scope of the thesis. Chapter 2 presents a general description of computational methods used throughout this work. The Boundary Element Methods (BEM) is first described. Both 2D and 3D BEM are used in this work. The software for 3D BEM is newly developed and hence 3D BEM is described in more detail. A verification of 3D BEM is presented with a few examples. The Runge-Kutta method used to compute the trajectory of ion is presented. A brief overview of the Nelder-Mead method of function minimization is given. The computational techniques specifically used to obtain the results in Chapter 3, 4 and 5 are presented in the respective chapters. Chapter 3 presents segmented electrode geometries of the Cylindrical Ion Trap (CIT). In these geometries, the electrodes of the CIT are split into number of mini-electrodes and different voltages are applied to these segmented electrodes to achieve the desired field. Two geometries of the segmented electrode CIT will be investigated. In the first, we retain the flat end cap electrodes of the CIT but split the ring electrode into five mini-rings. In the second configuration, we split the ring electrode of the CIT into three mini-rings and 1The term ‘segmented electrode’ used in this thesis has the same connotation as the term ‘split-electrode’ used in Sonalikar and Mohanty (2013). also divide the end caps into two mini-discs. By applying different potentials to the mini-rings and mini-discs of these geometries we will show that the field within the trap can be optimized to desired values. Two different types of fields will be targeted. In the first, potentials are adjusted to obtain a linear electric field and, in the second, a controlled higher order even multipole field are obtained by adjusting the potential. It will be shown that the different potentials to the segmented electrodes can be derived from a single RF generator by connecting appropriate capacitor terminations to segmented electrodes. The field within the trap can be modified by changing the value of the external capacitors. Chapter 4 presents segmented electrode geometries which are possible alternatives for the Orbitrap. Two segmented-electrode structures, ORB1 and ORB2, to mimic the electric field of the Orbitrap, will be investigated. In the ORB1, the inner spindle-like electrode and the outer barrel-like electrode of the Orbitrap are replaced by rings and discs of fixed radii, respectively. In this structure two segmented end cap electrodes are added. In this geometry, different potentials are applied to the different electrodes keeping top-bottom symmetry intact. In the second geometry, ORB2, the inner and outer electrodes of the Orbitrap are replaced by an approximate step structure which follows the profile of the Orbitrap electrodes. For the purpose of comparing the performance of ORB1 and ORB2 with that of the Orbitrap, the following studies will be undertaken: (1) variation of electric potential, (2) computation of ion trajectories, (3) measurement of image currents. These studies will be carried out using both 2D and 3D Boundary Element Method (BEM), the 3D BEM is developed specifically for this study. It will be seen in these investigations that ORB1 and ORB2 have performance similar to that of the Orbitrap, with the performance of the ORB1 being seen to be marginally superior to that of the ORB2. It will be shown that with proper optimization, geometries containing far fewer electrodes can be used as mass analysers. A novel technique of optimization of the electric field is proposed with the objective of minimizing the dependence of axial frequency of ion motion on the initial position of an ion. The results on the optimization of 9 and 15 segmented-electrode trap having the same design as ORB1 show that it can provide accurate mass analysis. Chapter 5 presents a segmented electrode planar geometry named as PORB used to mimic the electric field of the Orbit rap. This geometry has two planes, each plane consisting of 30 concentric ring electrodes. Although the geometry of PORB does not have conventional inner and outer electrodes of the Orbit rap, it will be shown that by selecting appropriate geometry parameters and suitable potentials for the ring electrodes, this geometry can trap the ions into an orbital motion similar to that in the Orbit rap. The performance of the planar geometry is studied by comparing the variation of potential, ion trajectories and image current in this geometry with that in the Orbit rap. The optimization of applied potentials is performed to correct the errors in the electric field so that the variation of axial frequency of ions with their initial position is minimized. Chapter 6 presents the summary and a few concluding remarks

La restauration des milieux d'altitude dégradés se déroule dans des conditions où à la fois la végétation, le sol et le relief ont été profondément perturbés. En conséquence, la restauration échoue souvent à rétablir une structure et un fonctionnement proche de celui des écosystèmes naturels. Même si en montagne, il est reconnu que la végétation s'organise en fonction des variations du relief, les mécanismes en jeu restent méconnus.
C'est pourquoi afin de gérer au mieux l'installation et le maintien de la végétation, nous proposons un modèle explicatif qui relie les contraintes imposées par le relief à des caractéristiques adaptatives du fonctionnement des plantes. La mesure de traits fonctionnels des plantes, aux différents stades de leur vie, nous permet de déterminer ces caractéristiques. D'autre part, nous supposons que le relief induit une variation des contraintes climatiques, édaphiques, des interactions biotiques (compétition, prédation) mais aussi des contraintes liées aux processus gravitaires (érosion-sédimentation). Les études sont conduites dans le subalpin (la Plagne, Alpes du Nord) et le montagnard (le Saignon, Hautes Alpes).
La première partie met en évidence une variation des traits biologiques des plantes impliqués dans la gestion des ressources, la réponse au pâturage et la régénération, en fonction d'un gradient méso-topographique. Celui ci détermine effectivement le régime des températures, les durées d'enneigement, les niveaux de ressources du sol et la fréquentation par les herbivores.
La deuxième partie analyse les traits des plantes en relation avec les processus gravitaires. La pente détermine ainsi des mécanismes de dispersion des graines à la surface du sol. L'ampleur de ces déplacements va dépendre de la forme des graines, relative aux espèces, et de l'existence de pièges sur le sol. Ces pièges sont soit des accumulations de sédiments générés par la présence d'obstacles végétaux, soit des empreintes de sabots laissées par les grands herbivores.
Les études réalisées dans la troisième partie, indiquent que ces mêmes pièges favorisent le recrutement des plantes. Cependant l'identification des plantules révèle que les graines ont été piégées différemment selon leur forme. Par ailleurs, une expérimentation met en évidence que la germination et la croissance des plantules constitue un trait de réponse déterminant pour la ségrégation des espèces dans les communautés en fonction de la nature des substrats géologiques.
Enfin, la quatrième partie, analyse les traits des espèces en relation avec leur capacité compétitive, et montre par la modélisation et l'expérimentation que la distribution des plantes dans les communautés est liée à la disponibilité en ressource du sol et aux traits d'utilisation et de gestion de celle ci (surface spécifique foliaire, taille).
En synthèse, l'étude se conclu par un essai d'éco-géomorphologie appliquée aux milieux d'altitude. Ce modèle enrichit la relation traits/environnements et espèces/habitats en reliant les traits de réponse et les traits d'effets des plantes aux processus géomorphologiques, et éclaire sur la création de nouvelles niches dans les milieux restaurés. Ce modèle offre une nouvelle grille d'analyse des milieux naturels et un outil de prédiction pour la restauration des milieux d'altitude.

In the present thesis, magnetization reversal in both out-of-plane and in-plane magnetized thin lms and in devices fabricated out of those lms are explored. Pt/Co/Pt stacks with ultrathin Co layer were in-estimated initially for understanding their magnetic properties in this thesis. These perpendicular magnetized systems are good candidates for magnetic hard disc drives due to their large anisotropy, which may allow miniaturization of magnetic data storage devices. The spin Hall e ect mediated current-induced magnetization reversal in patterned Pt/Co/Pt devices were extensively investigated. Investigation of the magnetization reversal by means of a current instead of a magnetic eld is necessary to explore the possibilities of solid state magnetic memory devices. This is the primary motivation behind the investigation of current-induced magnetization reversal in Pt/Co/Pt system, in this thesis. Another important proposal for magnetic data storage is the race track memory, where the domain walls separating magnetic domains (in in-plane or out-of-plane magnetized materials) are moved by using a current. This involves a great deal of understanding of the domain wall motion in Nano-conduits under applied magnetics ends, and currents and also its interaction with engineered geometrical features. In this thesis work, magnetic led-driven domain wall pinning and deepening experiments on in-plane magnetized nanowires of perm alloy were performed to un-distend this interaction and the e act of domain wall chirality. In chapter 1, a general introduction to di errant data storage technologies and the current progress in the leg of spintronic is presented. This will highlight a perspective of this thesis work with respect to the present day research in spintronic and magnetization reversal studies. In chapter 2, a basic background of magnetism using the micromag-netic framework is illustrated. A brief introduction to magnetic domain walls is also presented. The Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert dynamical equation is discussed and some case studies applied to a single domain particle with uniaxial anisotropy under the effect of spin-orbit torque are illu trated. The basics of spin-orbit coupling leading to spin Hall e ect is also explain In chapter 3, most of the essential experimental tools along with their basic working principles are described. Extensive e orts have been in-vested in designing and building the experimental tools. These include custom designs of a sputter deposition system, an ultra-high vacuum chamber for pulsed laser ablation, a magneto-optic Kerr e ect magne-tometer, a Kerr imaging system and a magneto-transport setup. All of these experimental setups have been automated, details of which are brie y discussed in this chapter. The Kerr imaging system was designed to measure hysteresis loops, observe domain wall motion and to measure domain wall velocity under applied magnetic elds and electric current. The magneto-transport setup was used for studying the domain wall pinning and depinning experiments in permalloy nanowires. In chapter 4, the optimization process for obtaining perpendicular mag-netic anisotropy in Pt/Co/Pt lms is described. The spin reorientation transition with varying thickness of Co (from 1.5 nm down to 0.35 nm) was studied. The magnetization easy axis direction changes from in-plane to out-of-plane as the thickness of Co is reduced. The dependence of Curie temperatures of ultrathin Co lms, with thickness as low as 0.35 nm, on the underlayer Pt thickness and its crystallinity was studied in detail. The e act of Ta but err layer on the texture of the Pt lm, and on the Curie temperature of the Pt/Co/Pt system was evaluated. To gain further insight of the role of the bottom Pt/Co and the top Co/Pt interfaces, ultrathin Cu lbs were inserted at the respective interfaces, and the anisotropy and magnetization reversal behaviour of these lbs were investigated. In chapter 5, studies on current-induced magnetization reversal in mi-corn sized wires of Pt/Co/Pt trilete is presented. The spin Hall e act assisted spin-orbit torque was used to reversibly switch the magnetization of these devices with and without the help of an external magnetic led. Since both the top and bottom layers are Pt, any contribution from Rashia e act towards spin-orbit torque could be ignored. By preparing devices with unequal top and bottom Pt thicknesses, a net spin-orbit torque could be applied to the magnetization of the Co layer. The thickness gradient/induced anisotropy in the Co layer was utilized to experimentally investigate current-induced deterministic switching. Sin-gel domain simulations with spin-orbit torque were also carried out to understand the mechanism of deterministic switching of magnetization in Pt/Co/Pt devices. This study is expected to have made sign cant contributions and to open up the possibilities of further investigation in the studies of spin-orbit torque in Pt/Co/Pt systems for solid state magnetic memory devices. In chapter 6, magnetic led-induced reversal in systems with in-plane magnetic anisotropy is presented. Here the e act of the width of a Nanos-trip on the anisotropy of a soft magnetic material like perm alloy was in-estimated. By introducing a nucleation pad to one end of the perm alloy nanowire, a single domain wall was generated at the junction with apple-cation of a proper magnetic led sequence. This domain wall could be in-jested into the nanowire by a magnetic led and pinned at a geometrical constriction inside the nanowire. The statistics of domain wall pinning and deepening processes indicated two di errant types of domain walls involved in the reversal process. With the assistance of micro magnetic simulations the domain walls were ident end as vortex walls of di errant chirality’s. Thus the interaction of domain walls with a Nano constriction and its dependence on the chirality of domain walls are understood. In chapter 7, a brief summary of the results obtained during the course of investigations is presented. An outlook presented at the end will help the readers of this thesis to understand the important research problems in this area and their potential future aspects.