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We present the results of the automated post-processing of Mueller microscopy images of skin tissue models with a new fast version of the algorithm of density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (FastDBSCAN) and discuss the advantages of its implementation for digital histology of tissue. We demonstrate that using the FastDBSCAN algorithm, one can produce the diagnostic segmentation of high resolution images of tissue by several orders of magnitude faster and with high accuracy ( > 97 % ) compared to the original version of the algorithm.

Sustainable cities are not only a desirable future but a necessary one yet we still haven’t achieved fully sustainable cities. We have the technological and economic means to create sustainable cities but attempts like Masdar City in the United Arab Emirates have failed to meet their potential. To create a sustainable city we also need to have harmony between the three E’s of sustainability: environment, economy, and equity. The most essential element of sustainability isn’t one of these E’s though, it is community. Community is the thing that holds these principles together and without it, a city cannot succeed. We need more than just a successful community though, we need sustainable design to support the community and vise-versa.

Purpose Thoracic pulse wave velocity (PWV) variation due to modulated trans-mural pressure (TMP) may indicate mechanical properties of the aorta. Our aim was to measure beat-to-beat thoracic PWV and TMP to observe its normal variation during respiratory maneuvers. Methods We validated PWV measurements from a real-time velocity projection MRI scan in a pulsatile phantom. A volunteer study showed inter-scan repeatability of steady-state PWV, and observed PWV variation when performing Mueller and Valsalva maneuvers. Synchronized to the real-time projection velocity data, TMP was measured using a mouth piece and pressure sensor arrangement monitoring the intra-thoracic pressure and a single arterial pressure measurement. Results In the phantom, beat-to-beat PWV derived from real-time projection (5.33 ± 0.32 m s -1) agreed well with experimentally derived PWV using ultrasound probes (5.72 ± 0.50 m s-1). The within-subject PWV variation between scans was 0.28 m s-1. Volunteers' PWVs increased during Mueller maneuver (TMP increase of 14.67 ± 10.69 mmHg) by 32% (P

Melanoma is a rare cancer that develops from the pigmentation cells of the skin. Recently, we notice a significant increase in the number of people affected by this aggressive disease with a poor prognosis (132 000 new cases each year worldwide). The mortality rate of this cancer is very high, which is due to the rapid spread of cancerous cells to other parts of the body. In France, there is a relatively high number of cases detected, especially in Britanny. The tumor is a spot which looks like a mole. If detected early, a levy is sufficient to healing and the risk of recurrence is very low. However, once metastasis spread, the long-term prognosis is very low. Despite recent advances in targeted therapy, the treatments of metastatic melanoma are still limited. In partnership with the Malakoff Mederic group, we are currently developing an optical system for early detection of cutaneous melanoma. It is based on the polarization properties of light. The PhD focuses on the design of the system, from the feasibility study to the final calibration. We also present various tests on samples of simulation. These allow us to demonstrate the correlation between the effects of polarization and biological changes during the development of melanoma. This preliminary study prepares us to experiments on real samples., Le mélanome est un cancer rare de la peau qui se développe à partir des cellules responsables de la pigmentation : les mélanocytes. Depuis quelques années, nous observons une augmentation significative du nombre de personnes atteintes par cette maladie, de mauvais pronostic et très agressive (132 000 nouveaux cas chaque année dans le monde). Le taux de mortalité de ce cancer est très élevé en raison de la rapidité de propagation des cellules cancéreuse dans d’autres régions du corps. En France, on remarque un nombre relativement élevé de cas détectés, plus particulièrement en Bretagne. La tumeur se présente comme une tâche dont l’apparence est très proche du grain de beauté. Si elle est détectée suffisamment tôt, un prélèvement suffit à la guérison et les risques de récidives sont très faibles. En revanche, une fois que les métastases se propagent, les chances de survie à long terme sont très faibles. Malgré les récentes avancées en thérapie ciblée, les traitements du mélanome métastatique restent encore limités. En partenariat avec le groupe Malakoff Médéric, nous développons actuellement un système optique pour la détection précoce du mélanome cutané. Celui-ci est basé sur les propriétés de polarisation de la lumière. La thèse présente la conception du système, de l’étude de faisabilité jusqu’à l’étape finale d’étalonnage. Nous proposons également différents tests sur des échantillons de simulation. Ces derniers nous permettent de démontrer la corrélation qu’il existe entre les effets de polarisation et les modifications biologiques en cours lors du développement du mélanome. Cette étude préliminaire nous prépare aux expérimentations sur de vrais échantillons.

With the constant decrease of the size of the transistors in microelectronics, the characterization tools have to be more and more accurate and have to provide higher and higher throughput. Semiconductor manufacturing being a layer-by-layer process, the fine positioning of the stack is crucial. The misalignment of the stack is called overlay and we here propose a new tool and method to accurately characterize overlay by measuring a single target built in the scribe lines. The method uses the fundamental symmetry properties of the Mueller matrix acquired in the back focal plane of a high-aperture microscope objective and enables a characterization of the overlay with a total measurement uncertainty of 2nm. After a brief introduction to polarization and the Mueller matrix, we describe the new design of the instrument and its complete calibration. The main body of this manuscript is dedicated to the overlay characterization but the applications of this instrument are very diverse so we also detail how our instrument can shed some light on the characterization and the understanding of the auto-organization of some scarab beetles' exoskeleton. These beetles exhibit a very strong circular dichroism and many research groups around the world try to mimic their exoskeleton. We conclude this manuscript with a brief overview of the main perspectives from our instrument., Avec la diminution constante de la taille des transistors dans la microélectronique, les outils de caractérisation doivent être de plus en plus précis et doivent fournir un débit de plus en plus élevé. La fabrication de semi-conducteurs étant un processus couche par couche, le positionnement précis de la pile est crucial. Le mauvais alignement de la pile est appelé overlay, et nous proposons ici un nouvel instrument et une nouvelle méthode pour caractériser avec précision l'overlay en mesurant une cible unique construite dans les lignes de découpe. La méthode utilise les propriétés fondamentales de symétrie de la matrice de Mueller mesurée dans le plan focal arrière d'un objectif de microscope à grande ouverture numérique et permet une caractérisation de l'overlay avec une incertitude de mesure totale de 2nm. Après une brève introduction à la polarisation et la matrice de Mueller, nous décrivons la nouvelle conception de l'instrument et son étalonnage complet. Le corps principal de ce manuscrit est dédié à la caractérisation de l'overlay, mais les applications de cet instrument sont très diverses aussi détaillerons nous comment notre instrument peut apporter des pistes pour la caractérisation et la compréhension de l'auto-organisation de l'exosquelette des scarabées. Ces coléoptères présentent un très fort dichroïsme circulaire et de nombreux groupes de recherche dans le monde entier essaient d'imiter leur exosquelette. Nous concluons ce manuscrit par un bref aperçu des principales perspectives pour notre instrument.

Submitted by Vitor Silverio Rodrigues (vitorsrodrigues@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2014-05-27T11:23:57Z No. of bitstreams: 0Bitstream added on 2014-05-27T14:35:30Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 2-s2.0-68349121353.pdf: 858070 bytes, checksum: 4894187399fc3ddaa412a45ea18afdd1 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2014-05-27T11:23:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-08-13 This study examined by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the attachment of Streptococcus mutans and the corrosion of cast commercially pure titanium, used in dental dentures. The sample discs were cast in commercially pure titanium using the vacuum-pressure machine (Rematitan System). The surfaces of each metal were ground and polished with sandpaper (#300-4000) and alumina paste (0.3 μm). The roughness of the surface (Ra) was measured using the Surfcorder rugosimeter SE 1700. Four coupons were inserted separately into Falcon tubes contained Mueller Hinton broth inoculated with S. mutans ATCC 25175 (109 cuf) and incubated at 37 °C. The culture medium was changed every three days during a 365-day period, after which the falcons were prepared for observations by SEM. The mean Ra value of CP Ti was 0.1527 μm. After S. mutans biofilm removal, pits of corrosion were observed. Despite the low roughness, S. mutans attachment and biofilm formation was observed, which induced a surface corrosion of the cast pure titanium. Healt Science Institut Paulista University - UNIP, Goiânia, GO Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas of Araraquara São Paulo State University - UNESP, Araraquara, SP Department of Dental Materials and Prosthodontics Araraquara Dental School São Paulo State University - UNESP, Rua Humaitá 1680, 14801-903 Araraquara, SP Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas of Araraquara São Paulo State University - UNESP, Araraquara, SP Department of Dental Materials and Prosthodontics Araraquara Dental School São Paulo State University - UNESP, Rua Humaitá 1680, 14801-903 Araraquara, SP

A new Mueller polarimeter based on liquid crystals and a microscope objective has been developed and is presented. Fast measurements of complete Mueller matrices over a range of polar angles (0-60°) and all azimuthal angles (0-360°) are achieved without mechanical movements. The polarization states generator and analyzer are based on nematic liquid crystals. The angular range is achieved through focalization of light over the measured sample with a microscope objective of high numerical aperture and imaging of the objective's back Fourier plane on a CCD array. A method for the calibration of the instrument, and particularly the precise characterization of the microscope objective, is shown and validated over well-known isotropic samples. The application of this device to the characterization of diffraction gratings in a conical diffraction mounting is presented, as well multiple other application perspectives such as overlay measurement, biological samples or plastic samples in transmission.

This Master's report contains biographical, historical, and theoretical analysis as well as stylistic and technical considerations for the four works performed for the author's Master's recital on April 29th, 2009. The works are Handel's aria "Let the Bright Seraphim" from Samson, Franz Joseph Haydn's Concerto for Trumpet in E Flat Major, Karl Jenkins's Salm o Dewi Sant, and Erik Morales's Concerto for Trumpet in C and Piano.

We first present a white light tomographic system using a Linnik interferometer. The axial resolution is about 1.2 m in air. Tomographic images of biomedical interest are shown to illustrate the instrument capabilities. Second, we present a Mueller polarimeter based on liquid crystals optimized for errors propagation from raw data to final images. Measurements are fast (about 1 s) and accurate (1% typical errors). Polarimetric images of histological cuts show the interest of this system for the microscopic study of samples containing fibrous macromolecules like collagen. Finally, degree of polarization (DOP) images of ex vivo human cervix samples confirm polarimetric imaging ability for dysplasia detection (DOP higher than in healthy areas), Nous présentons d'abord un système de tomographie optique fonctionnant en lumière blanche, avec un interféromètre de Linnik. La résolution tomographique obtenue est de l'ordre de 1,2 m dans l'air. Les capacités de l'instrument sont illustrées par des images tomographiques d'intérêt biomédical. D'autre part, nous présentons un polarimètre de Mueller à cristaux liquides nématiques optimisé pour la propagation des erreurs de mesures brutes aux images finales. Les mesures sont rapides (de l'ordre de la seconde) et précises (erreurs de l'ordre de 1%). Les images polarimétriques de coupes histologiques montrent l'intérêt de ce dispositif pour l'étude microscopique d'échantillons contenant des macromolécules fibreuses (collagène). Enfin, des images en degré de polarisation (DOP) de cols de l'utérus humains ex vivo viennent confirmer les possibilités de l'imagerie polarimétrique pour la détection de dysplasies (DOP plus élevé que dans les zones saines).