Os revestimentos poliméricos podem atuar como uma barreira física entre os íons agressivos e o substrato metálico. Porém, uma exposição prolongada pode causar danos ao revestimento polimérico, conduzir a uma redução contínua do efeito barreira e por consequência a perda da proteção contra a corrosão. A utilização de nano materiais pode atuar aumentando o efeito barreira, proporcionando um aumento no caminho de difusão dos íons agressivos e água até o substrato metálico. Nanopartículas de celulose apresentam elevada cristalinidade e razão de aspecto, excelentes propriedades mecânicas e são proveniente de fonte renovável. Por outro lado, a polianilina (PAni) vem sendo utilizada em revestimentos devido a elevação do potencial de corrosão dos aços devido o seu comportamento redox que proporciona a formação de uma camada de óxidos estável no substrato metálico. A aderência do revestimento polimérico é fundamental para que este possa atuar como revestimento protetor contra a corrosão. Com isso, um pré-tratamento superficial a base de ácido hexafluorzircônico e a utilização de organosilanos na resina epóxi, podem ser utilizados melhorando as propriedades de proteção contra a corrosão e de aderência. O objetivo deste estudo consistiu na obtenção de nanowhiskers de celulose (CNW) por moagem ultrafina através da celulose microcristalina (MCC) para posterior utilização em revestimento polimérico a base de resina epóxi. A CNW foi utilizada funcionalizada ou não com PAni SE (polianilina na forma condutora – sal de esmeraldina) em comparação a MCC nas mesmas condições. Foi avaliada a incorporação de silano aminopropiltrietoxisilano (APS) na resina epóxi e a utilização de uma camada de conversão de zircônia (Zr) aplicada ao substrato metálico. Os revestimentos poliméricos foram avaliados quanto a propriedades mecânicas e à proteção contra a corrosão. As imagens da microscopia de transmissão (TEM) mostram que é possível a obtenção da CNW por meio do processo de moagem, apresentando melhor estabilidade térmica em comparação a MCC. Os revestimentos poliméricos utilizando o silano APS e a camada de conversão de Zr apresentaram as melhores propriedades físicas e mecânicas. A interação entre a carga de reforço, a resina epóxi e a superfície metálica é um fator determinante na eficiência do revestimento polimérico, pois de acordo com a análise de migração subcutânea, a superfície do aço carbono, após 1000 h de exposição, não apresentou corrosão superficial. Com relação à proteção contra a corrosão, quando incorporado a CNW funcionalizada com PAni SE ao revestimento epóxi com APS e a camada de Zr, este apresentou os melhores resultados como constatado nas análises de névoa salina e espectroscopia de impedância eletroquímica (EIS). / Polymeric coatings can act as a physical barrier between the aggressive ions and the metal substrate. However, prolonged exposure can cause damage to the polymer coating and conduct to a continuous reduction in the barrier effect and result in the loss of protection against corrosion. The use of nanomaterials may act by increasing the barrier effect and providing an increased diffusion path of aggressive ions and water to the metal substrate. Cellulose nanoparticles have high crystallinity and aspect ratio, excellent mechanical properties and are derived from renewable sources. On the other hand polyaniline (PAni) has been used in coatings due to the increase of the corrosion potential of the steel due to redox behavior that results in the formation of a stable oxide layer on the metallic substrate. The adhesion of the polymeric coating is essential so that it can act as a protective coating against corrosion. With this, a superficial pre-treatment based on hexafluorzircônico acid and the use of organosilanes in the epoxy resin, can be used to improve the protection against corrosion properties and adhesion. The objective of this study was to obtain cellulose nanowhiskers (CNW) for ultrafine grinding through microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) for subsequent use in the polymer coating based on epoxy resin. The CNW was used functionalized or not with PAni SE (polyaniline in the conductive form - emeraldine salt) compared with MCC under the same conditions. The incorporation of silane aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) was evaluated in the epoxy resin and the use of a zirconia conversion layer (Zr) applied to the metal substrate. The polymeric coatings were evaluated for mechanical properties and corrosion protection. Transmission microscopy (TEM) show that obtaining the CNW through the ultrafine grinding process is possible, resulting in better thermal stability compared with MCC. Polymeric coatings using APS silane and Zr conversion coating had the best physical and mechanical properties. The interaction between the reinforcing filler, the epoxy resin and the metal surface is a determining factor in the efficiency of the polymeric coating, because according to the subcutaneous migration analysis, carbon steel surface after 1000 h of exposure, showed no corrosion superficial. With regard to protection against corrosion, when incorporated CNW functionalized with PAni SE to epoxy coating with APS and the Zr layer, showed the best results as found in salt spray tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS).

Submitted by Izabel Franco (izabel-franco@ufscar.br) on 2016-10-11T19:58:00Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissMAPF.pdf: 5293435 bytes, checksum: 845968ec27da8cbc54ad481bb539e2fd (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-10-21T13:13:28Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissMAPF.pdf: 5293435 bytes, checksum: 845968ec27da8cbc54ad481bb539e2fd (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-10-21T13:28:18Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissMAPF.pdf: 5293435 bytes, checksum: 845968ec27da8cbc54ad481bb539e2fd (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-21T13:28:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissMAPF.pdf: 5293435 bytes, checksum: 845968ec27da8cbc54ad481bb539e2fd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-06-10 / Não recebi financiamento / The strength of the orientation of the primary health care (PHC) depends on the presence and extent of each of its attributes. The APS has four essential attributes – “first contact access”, "longitudinality", “coordination” and “integrality” - and three derived attributes - family orientation, community orientation and cultural competence. The tool used to assess the PHC, called PCAtool - professional version, is capable of measuring the strength of the PHC orientation in the healthcare setting. This paper aims to evaluate the presence and extension of the PHC attributes in the São Carlos-SP’s primary healthcare network. For doing so, we had the participation of several “high educational level” professionals, such as doctors, dentists and nurses, from 12 Basic Health Unities (BHU) and 19 Family Health Unities (FHU) localized in 5 health districts (ARES). The PCAtool - professional version was applied to healthcare professionals in each healthcare unity, making a total of 64 answered forms. Each attribute was evaluated through the arithmetic mean score of its items and then was translated to a 0 to 10 scale. Values above 6.6 are considered high. The results showed that the attributes with better performance were the Family Orientation (8.51), the coordination - Information System (8.07), the integrality - Services provided (7.65), the integrality - Available services (7, 26) longitudinality (7.20), the coordination - integration of care (7,11).The worst performances were for community orientation ( 5.92) and first contact Login ( 4.63) . The attributes "first contact access" and community orientation are the weakest attributes both UBS as the USF. The USF performed significantly better (p value < 0.05) in the attributes access, coordinationinformation system, integrality, community orientation and scale for essential and general attributes. There is need for further studies to better understand the issues involved in the difference between models. / A força da orientação da atenção primária à saúde (APS) depende da presença e extensão de cada um dos seus atributos. A APS possui 4 atributos essenciais – acesso de primeiro contato, “longitudinalidade”, coordenação e integralidade – e três atributos derivados – orientação familiar, orientação comunitária e competência cultural. O instrumento de avaliação da Atenção Primária à Saúde, o PCATool – versão profissionais, é capaz medir a força da APS dos serviços de saúde. Esta pesquisa pretende avaliar a presença e extensão dos atributos de APS nos serviços de atenção primária à saúde do município de São Carlos -SP. Participaram desse estudo profissionais de nível superior - médicos, dentistas e enfermeiros - de 12 Unidades Básicas de Saúde (UBS) e 19 unidades de Saúde da Família (USF) localizadas em 5 regiões administrativas de saúde (ARES). O instrumento PCATool – versão profissionais, foi aplicado aos profissionais de cada unidade de APS, totalizando 64 questionários. Cada atributo foi avaliado através da média aritmética de seus itens e depois transformados em escala de 0 a 10. Valores acima de 6,6 são considerados alto. Os resultados mostraram que os atributos com melhor desempenho foram a Orientação Familiar (8,51), a Coordenação – Sistema de informação (8,07), a Integralidade – Serviços prestados (7,65), a Integralidade – Serviços disponíveis (7,26), longitudinalidade (7,20), a Coordenação – integração dos cuidados (7,11). Os piores desempenhos foram para orientação comunitária (5,92) e Acesso de primeiro contato (4,63). Os atributos “acesso de primeiro contato” e a orientação comunitária são os atributos mais frágeis tanto nas UBS quanto nas USF. As USF apresentaram desempenho significativamente melhor (p valor<0,05) nos atributos acesso, coordenação- sistema de informações, integralidade, orientação comunitária e na escala para atributos essenciais e geral. Há necessidade de novos estudos para melhor compreensão dos aspectos envolvidos na diferença entre modelos.

Master's thesis, made at the Institute of Production Machines, Systems and Robotics, aims, evaluate existing production of slope mowers manufactured by Dvořák – svahové sekačky s.r.o., and then perform data collection for obtaining complete technological processes of production. With the APS (Advanced Planning and Scheduling) system, simulate and design an optimized solution, with a view to significantly reduce the required storage current inventory of manufactured parts for assembly of that slope mower.

Master´s thesis analyses the current state of the production scheduling in a manufacturing company in the automotive industry. It describes the setup system management of the module Advanced Production Planning by Helios Orange program, which company uses. This thesis introduces a new process of order and describes procedures for control of this module. Two essential steps of this new process were tested – creation of production orders and scheduling of production batches. In the end of the master´s thesis there are estimated financial savings after the implementation of the new process production scheduling.

This master thesis is focused on process of production management and scheduling in a selected company. In the first part the selected company has been described. The theoretical part contains an explanation of terms that relates to this topic. In the practical part, a process analysis of the current state of the process of production management and scheduling has been carried out, which detected certain deficiencies related to this process. The identified deficiencies are further interpreted and on the basis of the theoretical part, has been proposed a solution, which should lead to the elimination of these problems. In the final part of the thesis, the benefits of the proposed solution are determined.

Autoimmune polyendocrinopathy-candidiasis-ectodermal dystrophy (APECED, APS-I) is exceptionally common in Finland. Most patients have chronic oral candidiasis since childhood. Thus, most patients receive repeated courses of antifungals throughout their life. Eleven of our patients (31.4%) have become colonized with Candida albicans with decreased sensitivity to fluconazole. A total of 43 isolates of C. albicans from 23 APECED patients isolated during the years 1994 to 2004 were divided into 2 groups: fluconazole-susceptible dose-dependent (MIC, 16-32 μg/mL, 18 isolates) and fluconazole-susceptible (MIC ≤8 μg/mL, 25 isolates) groups. Antifungal activity of amphotericin B, echinocandins, and azoles was determined by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute M27-A2 methodology. All isolates were highly susceptible to amphotericin B and echinocandins. Posaconazole and voriconazole were active against all isolates. Our data suggest that topical amphotericin B could continue to be a safe and active drug for daily administration for APECED patients. Posaconazole, voriconazole, and echinocandins may be useful in some complicated cases.

Surface engineering is increasingly becoming inevitable for meeting the high-performance requirements constantly expected from modern engineering components. Higher demands for combined functionalities, which a base material alone cannot provide, motivate intensive academic studies on various types of coatings, with the ultimate objective of their practical utilisation in industries. Especially the study of wear has become of critical importance for the industry development of new components, as wear-related mechanisms frequently compromise the durability and reliability of machines. Consequently, the need for effective wear control has become progressively vital in pursuing advanced and dependable technology for the future. Different coating technologies are being developed to forestall the wear of engineering components. More specifically, the thermal spraying technique of atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) has been proven particularly efficient in implementing thick film coating for aeronautic, automotive and medical applications. However, advanced coatings are required for improved performance and extended durability in harsh operating environments. These developments have stimulated research on developing novel coating through optimised deposition parameters and modified feedstock characteristics to achieve a more redefined microstructure. The primary scope of the research associated with this thesis is to target the study and research of plasma-sprayed ceramic coatings designed to provide exceptional wear resistance to targeted components as well as improved mechanical properties. The presented work involves an investigation of varying feedstock powder particle-size distributions, different coating chemistries and comparing the suspension plasma injection technology to its more traditional powdered feedstock variant. The result obtained suggested that the influence of powder-size particles affects the resultant microstructure with a finer composition, denoted by a lower porosity of 1.3% compared to the coarser powder fed 1.9% (both presenting a standard deviation of 0.2%). However, it could be seen that both the presence of optimised spraying parameters and finer feedstock particles were significant in obtaining improved mechanical properties. Furthermore, an examination of the powder-fed coating revealed slightly improved hardness properties to the newly developed suspension-sprayed samples. However, the powder-fed coatings distinctly exhibited superior resistance to sliding wear with an average specific wear of 5.7 (± 0.9 standard deviation) compared to the 12.8 (± 1 standard deviation) × 10-6 mm3∙N-1∙m-1of suspension-based coatings. In conclusion, it was observed that the chemical composition of the alumina-chromia composite coating demonstrated exceptional hardness properties among the analysed samples (1603 Vicker Hardness 0.2) and superior sliding wear resistance (0.59 × 10-6mm3∙N-1∙m-1).

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are advanced material systems used in the hot sections of gas turbines. The TBCs are designed to provide insulation against hot gases by a ceramic top coat and to provide oxidation and corrosion resistance by a metallic bond coat. As the operating environment is harsh and complex, the TBC often requires stricter material properties. Failure of TBCs can limit the longevity of the turbine severely. In this study, failure caused by erosion has been the main focus. The erosion behaviour of TBCs processed by atmospheric plasma spay (APS), electron beam physical vapour deposition (EB-PVD), and plasma spray physical vapour deposition (PS-PVD) has been studied by an experimental investigation and a literature study. The erosion performance of different TBCs was studied by conducting erosion tests under 90° and 15° alumina particle impact (50 μm) and measuring the weight loss and thickness loss of the ceramic top coat. Variables affecting the erosion behaviour were studied by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), investigating the microstructure, the erosion damage, porosity content, and column density. Hardness tests were also conducted to investigate a potential correlation between hardness and erosion performance. It was evident that the 8YSZ top coat processed by EB-PVD had higher erosion resistance than APS, which in turn had higher erosion resistance than PS-PVD. Their microstructures are significantly different, resulting in different erosion failure mechanisms. APS TBCs have a splat-on-splat lamellar microstructure, and the failure mechanismsare ploughing of furrows, splat boundary failure, and tunneling via pores. In contrast, EB-PVD TBCs have columnar microstructure and fail by near-surface cracking. The investigated PS-PVD TBC had a feathery columnar microstructure, containing many large grain boundaries and flaws, making grain boundary failure the governing mechanism. The APS and EB-PVD TBCs impacted at a 90° angle had significantly higher erosion rates than those eroded at 15°, which also was reported in literature. However, the opposite was observed for the PS-PVD TBCs. The level of porosity and hardness of the TBC top coat was found to affect the erosion rate, even though no evident correlations could be observed in this study. No factor alone was found to dictate the erosion behaviour of the investigated TBCs. Based on the literature study and findings in the experimental study, a TBC with good erosion performance has, in general, low porosity, few defects, high hardness and high fracture toughness. Specifically for APS TBCs, good splat bonding is favourable and for EB-PVD and PS-PVD it recommended to have high column density, columns orthogonal to the substrate, and low gap width between the columns.

<p>The introduction of the digital image sensor has triggered a revolution in the field of imaging. It has not only just replaced the conventional silver halide film based imaging system, but has also enormously widened the scope of imaging applications. Previously, charge-coupled devices (CCDs) were the most popular technology for image sensors. But in the past decade, they have been rapidly replaced by the CMOS image sensor (CIS) technology. The CCD image sensors offers higher sensitivity, wider dynamic range and better resolution compared to its CMOS imager counterparts. However, the lower power performance, higher speed of operation, easier integration with signal control and processing circuitries, and the use well-established mainstream fabrication process of CMOS technology, are key advantages that have served to propel CMOS imagers beyond CCDs in the market.</p> <p>However, CIS suffers from higher temporal noise compared to that of CCDs. One of the major noise sources in CIS is the 1/ noise generated from the in-pixel active amplifier. Due to continuous shrinking of MOS devices, the random telegraph signal (RTS) noise is emerging as a dominant noise source over other low frequency noise in CMOS imagers, resulting into reduced imaging performance.</p> <p>The RTS noise which evolves from trapping and de-trapping of electrons by the defects in the oxide, causes fluctuation in the drain current of the MOSFET. In this work, we have carried out time-domain measurement of RTS noise in CIS pixels. The time domain RTS measurements provide useful information about its characteristics in different operating conditions, which can be further used to extract the trap parameters and determine the optimum settings of operation of CIS.</p> <p>The capability of integrating various on-chip operations, higher speed and lower fabrication cost has made the CIS a good choice for various imaging applications. In order to demonstrate the extent of possible applications of CIS, we have developed an imaging system using a CIS. Two major concerns of biomedical imaging systems are their speed and cost. The system presented here is implemented using a CIS and FPGA (field programmable gate array) that provides a low-cost and high frame rate solution for biomedical microscopy.</p> / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

Die Habilitation befasst sich mit neuen Verfahren und Anwendungen des Thermischen Spritzens, beleuchtet anhand einer internationalen Umfrage den Forschungsbedarf der Branche und liefert zahlreiche Lösungen, die im Rahmen von grundlagenorientierten und industrienahen Forschungsvorhaben erarbeitet wurden. Der Fokus der Arbeit liegt auf der Verbesserung individueller Arbeitsschritte der Prozesskette des Thermischen Spritzens, wobei Ergebnisse aus den Bereichen Werkstoffentwicklung, Prozessoptimierung, Qualitätssicherung und Nachbearbeitung zusammengeführt und durch konkrete Anwendungsbeispiele hinterlegt werden. Im Detail werden die Aspekte Herstellung leistungsfähiger und preiswerter Spritzzusätze (Wasserverdüsung von Metallpulvern, Hochenergiekugelmahlen, Agglomerieren und Sintern sowie Fülldrahtherstellung), die Verbesserung der Prozessführung (numerisch optimierte Spritzbrenner und automatisierbare Online-Prozessdiagnostikmethoden) und die Steigerung der Leistungsfähigkeit der Beschichtungen durch mechanische Nachbearbeitung sowie Versieglung behandelt. Anwendungsbezogen werden das Beschichten von Hochleistungspolymeren und CFC-Leichtbaustrukturen untersucht. Um Anknüpfungspunkte für weiterführende Forschungsarbeiten zu schaffen, schließt die Arbeit mit der Darstellung von Entwicklungstrends und zeigt Arbeitsgebiete auf, die perspektivisch von thermisch gespritzten Schichten profitieren können.