Dans la maladie de Parkinson (MP), la perte progressive des neurones dopaminergiques (DA) touche principalement la substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc). Les symptômes moteurs sont classiquement gérés par une thérapie dopaminergique de remplacement (TDR). Conjointement à la levodopa, l’utilisation d’agonistes dopaminergiques permet de prévenir les complications motrices mais peut être associée à des troubles du système de récompense. Jusqu’à 14% des patients parkinsoniens sous TRD peuvent souffrir de comportement « addiction-like » tels que le pari pathologique, l’hypersexualité ou une prise compulsive de la médication DA. A ce jour la seule solution thérapeutique consiste à diminuer la TRD ce qui détériore les symptômes moteurs. Les neuroadaptations conduisant à ces troubles du système de récompense demeurent mal comprises. Nous proposons un travail dans lequel nous avons évalué les propriétés appétitives de l’agoniste D2/D3 pramipexole (ppx) après une exposition chronique à la L-dopa dans un modèle de rat parkinsonien alpha-synucléine. Dans une première étude, nous avons évalué l’effet d’une stimulation répétée des récepteurs DA sur la sensibilisation du système de récompense en contexte parkinsonien. Nos résultats montrent un effet récompensant du ppx après administrations chronique de L-dopa et perte DA nigrostriatal induite par surexpression de l’alpha-synucléine. Aucune modification transcriptionnelle n’a été observée pour les récepteurs DA. Cependant, nous avons identifié une association entre lésion/traitement pharmacologique et des changements transcriptionnels potentiellement liés à un contexte d’addiction aux psychostimulants. Cette étude fournit des preuves suggérant fortement la lésion parkinsonienne et la thérapie L-dopa comme des facteurs conjointement impliqués dans le remodelage cérébral sous-tendant une préférence de place conditionnée pour le ppx. Les données moléculaires et pharmacologiques générées ont suggéré un rôle clé de la voie glutamatergique dans cette réponse comportementale. Ce résultat est cohérent avec la littérature décrivant un déséquilibre glutamatergique striatal dans les contextes d’addiction aux psychostimulants et de complications motrices associées à la MP. Ainsi, nous avons conçu une deuxième étude visant à investiguer plus avant le potentiel thérapeutique d’une inhibition des récepteurs glutamatergiques. Une lésion bilatérale de la SNc a été réalisée par surexpression de la protéine alpha-synucléine au moyen d’un vecteur AAV. Suite à cette lésion, un traitement chronique à la L-dopa a été réalisé. L’effet de l’antagoniste des récepteurs mGluR5 (metabotropic glutamate receptor 5) MPEP sur les propriétés renforçatrices du ppx a été évalué dans un paradigme de préférence de place conditionnée. Enfin, une analyse des changements d’expression de protéines d’intérêt a été réalisé afin d’associer changements comportementaux drogue/lésion induits et paramètres moléculaires. L’acquisition et l’expression de la préférence de place ppx-induite a été abolie par le MPEP. De plus, nous avons identifié des réseaux neuraux et des modifications d’expression protéiques sous-tendant les plasticités striatales associées à la réponse comportementale. L’ensemble de ces travaux apporte de nouvelles idées sur le contexte physiopathologique associé aux troubles du système de récompense dans la MP. Des données moléculaires et pharmacologiques convergentes suggèrent fortement le mGluR5 comme une cible thérapeutique prometteuse. / In Parkinson’s Disease (PD), the progressive dopaminergic (DA) cell loss mainly affects the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc). The motor symptoms are classically managed by DA replacement therapies (DRT). Although adding DA agonists to levodopa treatment may contribute to prevent motor complications, it may be associated with drug‑induced changes in reward related pathways. Up to 14% of PD patients under DRT may suffer from ‘addiction‑like’ behavior such as pathological gambling, hypersexuality or DA medication‑induced substance abuse. To date, the only therapeutic answer consists in lowering the DA medications which deteriorates the motor symptoms. Neuroadaptations leading to reward bias in PD patients under DRT are still poorly understood. To address this challenge, we propose a work in which we have assessed the rewarding effect of the D2/D3 agonist pramipexole (ppx) after chronic exposure to L‑dopa in an alpha-synuclein PD rat model. In a first study, we assessed the effect of repeated DA receptors stimulations on sensitization of the reward system in a parkinsonian context. Our findings demonstrated that ppx had a rewarding effect after chronic L-dopa administrations and alpha-synuclein-mediated nigral loss. No transcriptional changes within DA receptors were highlighted. However, we identified an association between the main drug or lesion and transcriptional changes which were potentially related to the context of psychostimulant addiction. This study provides evidences strongly suggesting that PD-like lesion and L-dopa therapy were concomitant factors involved in striatal remodeling underlying the ppx-induced place preference. Molecular and pharmacological data suggested a key involvement ofthe glutamatergic pathway in this behavioral outcome. These data were consistent with literature describing major striatal glutamate imbalance as a common feature of drug addiction and Parkinson’s disease physiopathological contexts. Hence, we designed a second study aiming to further investigate the therapeutic potential of glutamatergic receptors inhibition. A bilateral lesion of the SNc was performed in the rat using AAV-mediated overexpression of the alpha-synuclein. This lesion was followed by chronic L-dopa administrations. Then, the effect of the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) antagonist MPEP on ppx reinforcing properties was assessed in a place conditioning paradigm. Finally, analysis at the protein level was conducted to associate drug and lesion induced behavioral changes to molecular endpoints. Acquisition and expression of the ppx-induced place preference was abolished by the MPEP. Furthermore, we identified neural networks and protein changes underlying the striatal remodeling associated with the behavioral outcome. All this work provides new insights into the physiopathological context associated to the PD/DRT related reward bias. Convergent molecular and pharmacological data strongly suggest mGluR5 as a promising therapeutic target.

Due to intense competition, retail stores are today forced to come up with exciting new sales promotional ideas to remain a relevant choice for customers. Gift giving is a sales promotional tool which has previously demonstrated to increase customer satisfaction and spending - an ideal situation for any retailer. However, gift giving has only been researched and confirmed for retailers that offer consumable goods. It has yet to be measured in a context where it is of greater difficulty for the customer to spend more than planned. This research fills that void by conducting a field experiment at a retail store offering durable shopping products.The purpose of the study is to investigate the effect gift giving has on gratitude, obligation, satisfaction, impulsive buying, and spending at a retail store offering durable shopping products. Through a field experiment, the study tests the effect on these variables of both small and large gifts and explore whether customer spending increases alongside the gift’s monetary worth.To complete the purpose of the study, a case company representing a durable shopping products retailer was selected. A field experiment was setup with two experimental groups and one control group. The results from the manipulation were collected through questionnaires which included questions pertaining to the study’s five variables. The collected data was then analysed through the statistics program SPSS.The only emotion that is affected from providing gifts in this retail environment is obligation, a negative emotion, which in turn decreases customer satisfaction. Since giving a gift only evokes negative emotions, it is concluded that a durable goods retailer should not use gift giving as a sales promotional tool. Additionally, when given a large gift, customer spending decreases considerably. This could imply that gift giving does not work in this retail environment, or that an extraneous variable affected the experiment’s outcome.

We present observational and numerical evidence supporting the theory of impulsive heating of the solar corona. We have run numerical simulations solving the hydrodynamic equations for plasma confined to a magnetic flux tube, for the two distinct cases of steady and impulsive heating. We find that steady heating cannot explain the observed amount of low-temperature plasma in active regions on the sun. The results for impulsive heating closely match those of the observations. The ratio of heating time to cooling time predominantly determines the observed temperature distribution of the plasma. We have also identified an observational bias in calculating intensities of spectral lines in previous studies, which causes an under-estimation of low-temperature plasma. We predict Doppler shifts in the observed line emission that are in agreement with observations, and which may serve as a diagnostic of the strength of heating. We conclude that impulsive heating of active region coronal loops is more likely than steady heating.

Smart grid aims at improving the efficiency, reliability, security, and quality of service (QoS) of the current electricity grid by exploiting the advances in communication and information technology. In parallel to size of the electricity grid, smart grid communication infrastructure should cover a very large geographical area that may extend from remote generation sites to densely populated residential regions and inside buildings, homes, and electricity-power-system environments. In such an extensive communication network, different communication technologies operating on different communication medium are likely to coexist. Among the communication technologies available, wireless and power line communication (PLC) based solutions are comparatively attractive especially considering cost of the initial investment required for the realization of a communication network with such an immense size. In this dissertation, a detailed investigation of wireless and PLC channel characteristics of the smart grid networks is presented. Among the topics discussed are the time variation characteristics of wireless channels, root-mean-squared (RMS) delay spread and path amplitude statistics of PLC channels, and the impact of impulsive noise on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems.

Magistro baigiamajame darbe išanalizuota ir įvertinta vartotojų elgsenos veiksnių įtaka sprendimo pirkti priėmimo procese, iškeltos vartotojų elgsenos problemos, susiję su vartotojo sprendimu pirkti bei pateikti siūlymai, kaip šias problemas spręsti. Pirmoje darbo dalyje teoriniu aspektu tiriama vartotojų elgsenos samprata, pateikiamos skirtingos Lietuvos bei užsienio autorių nuomonės apie vidinių ir išorinių veiksnių įtaką vartotojų elgsenai bei vartotojų sprendimo priėmimo procesui. Antroje dalyje nagrinėjama UAB „MSF Lithuania“ įmonės veikla, atliktas tyrimo metodikos pagrindimas bei iškelta pagrindinė tyrimo hipotezė. Anketinės apklausos metodu nustatytos demografinės charakteristikos ir veiksniai, turintys daugiausiai įtakos parduotuvės „Marks & Spencer“ vartotojui priimant sprendimą pirkti, bei jų priklausomybė, SPSS programa susisteminami tyrimo metu gauti duomenys, patvirtinama ar atmetama hipotezė ir daromos išvados. / In Master‘s Work analized and evaluated consumer‘s behaviour factors that influence the purchase decision making process, also raised the problems related to the customer purchase decision and made recommendations to solve these issues. The first part examined the theoretical aspects of consumer behaviour concept, compared Lithuanian and foreign author‘s opinion on the internal and external factors that influence consumer behaviour and customer decision making process. In the second part examined “MSF Lithuania“ Ltd. activities, investigated methodology validation and raised fundamental research hypothese, by questionnaire survey method determined consumer behaviour factors that affect “Marks & Spencer“ customer purchase decision the most. By SPSS program systematized the data obtained during the investigation, confirmed or rejected hypothese and draw conclusions.

Thesis (Au.D.)--James Madison University, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Au.D.)--James Madison University, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:26:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-02-26Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:47:27Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 almeida_mp_me_sjrp.pdf: 4937582 bytes, checksum: 4d9c67bc8dda1a2e1a742ee59be238fa (MD5) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Neste trabalho propõe-se um filtro mediano seletivo e um filtro híbrido para eliminação de ruído impulsivo em imagens digitais monocromáticas. O primeiro é baseado em uma modificação do filtro mediano por meio de um detector de ruído impulsivo. O segundo é obtido combinando-se o filtro mediano seletivo com um modelo de retoque digital. A remoção de ruído impulsivo em uma imagem colorida é realizada por meio da extensão dos filtros propostos para cada canal de cor da imagem. Os experimentos realizados indicam que os métodos propostos são eficazes na restauração de imagens com grandes densidades de ruído. / In this paper a selective median filter and a hybrid filter for removing impulsive noise in digital grayscale images are proposed. The first is a median filter modification based on impulsive noise detector. The second is obtained by combining the selective median filter with a digital inpainting model. The noise removal in color image is obtained by extending the proposed filters for each color channel of the image. The experiments indicated that the proposed methods are powerful in restoring images with high densities noise.

Introdução: Os problemas advindos dos transtornos por uso de substâncias (TUS) apresentam alta prevalência tanto em nível mundial quanto no Brasil e se destacam por atingirem principalmente adolescentes e adultos jovens, ocasionando alto impacto econômico e social. Os fatores de risco que levam ao início e à evolução de tais transtornos são investigados há várias décadas, mas o que já foi demonstrado explica apenas parcialmente a variabilidade dessa patologia. A impulsividade tem se destacado por estar associada a diversos fatores de risco como transtorno de personalidade anti-social, déficit de atenção e hiperatividade (TDAH) entre outros, podendo ser o elo que liga essas patologias ao TUS. Embora a impulsividade tenha sido associada a transtornos relacionados ao álcool e outras drogas em diversos estudos, há uma carência de evidências em amostras comunitárias, particularmente em adolescentes. A literatura identifica também a associação da idade do primeiro consumo de álcool (IPCA) com TUS. Contudo, ainda há controvérsias a respeito da IPCA ser um fator de risco independente ou uma manifestação de outras características e transtornos associados à TUS. Além disso, as evidências da associação IPCA/TUS são na sua maioria provenientes de estudos norte-americanos; considerando-se que a IPCA pode ser afetada por características culturais, esses achados necessitam ser reproduzidos em outros países. No que compete à avaliação da impulsividade, esta tem sido aferida principalmente por medidas laboratoriais de comportamento e escalas de auto-relato; entretanto, nenhuma das escalas disponíveis foi validada para o uso no Brasil, dificultando estudos nessa área. Objetivos: Os objetivos dessa dissertação são: adaptar para o português e validar para uso em adolescentes uma escala adequada para aferir impulsividade, avaliar a associação entre impulsividade, IPCA e TUS em adolescentes masculinos e se associação da IPCA com TUS é independente da impulsividade. Método: Foram realizados dois estudos em seqüência. O primeiro estudo descreve a adaptação e validação da Barrat Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) 11, que foi traduzida de forma independente por duas psiquiatras, unificada em uma versão final e testada em 10 indivíduos de idade e escolaridade heterogêneas. A versão final foi retro-traduzida para o inglês e enviada ao autor da escala que a aprovou para testes de campo. Dezoito estudantes de medicina bilíngües responderam à versão em inglês e em duas semanas à versão em português para a análise do coeficiente de correlação intra-classe (CCI). A consistência interna (utilizando a de Crombach) foi avaliada em uma amostra comunitária de 464 adolescentes masculinos de 15 a 20 anos provenientes de uma região geograficamente delimitada de Canoas. Para aferição da validade de constructo foi utilizada uma sub-amostra de 126 adolescentes e foi baseada nas correlações do escore total da BIS 11 com os escores da SNAP-IV para TDAH e para transtorno de oposição e desafio (TOD) e com o número de sintomas de transtorno de conduta (TC). Para o segundo estudo foi utilizado um delineamento de caso-controle aninhado a um estudo transversal que utilizou a mesma amostra de 464 adolescentes descrita no primeiro estudo, tendo sido excluídos os adolescentes que nunca haviam utilizado álcool, totalizando uma amostra final de 418 adolescentes. Os casos foram identificados através da seção de álcool e drogas do Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview como tendo abuso ou dependência de álcool, maconha, cocaína ou inalantes (n=63) e os controles (n= 355) eram aqueles que não preenchiam critérios para TUS e que já haviam utilizado álcool. As outras medidas utilizadas foram a BIS 11 e um questionário de avaliação sócio-demográfica. Para a análise estatística foram estimadas Razões de Chances (RC) brutas e ajustadas com intervalo de confiança de 95% através de regressão logística com um modelo hierárquico, tendo o diagnóstico de TUS como variável dependente e variáveis sócio-demográficas (nível um), impulsividade (nível dois), idade, número de repetências, ter pais separados e ser religioso (nível três) e idade do primeiro consumo de álcool (nível quatro) como variáveis independentes. Resultados: no primeiro estudo, o CCI obtido nos estudantes de medicina foi de 0,90. Nos adolescentes masculinos, a consistência interna foi de 0,62 para os 30 itens. A análise fatorial exploratória não identificou os 3 fatores da escala original. Os escores totais da BIS 11 apresentaram correlação significativa com os escores para TDHA, TOD e com número de sintomas para TC, indicando uma apropriada validade de constructo da escala. No segundo estudo, os adolescentes era predominantemente brancos, com média de idade de 17,4±1,7 anos, níveis elevados de repetência escolar e baixa renda familiar. Impulsividade e idade do primeiro consumo de álcool foram significativamente associadas com abuso de substâncias. Tanto maior impulsividade (RC 3,3, IC 95% 1,4-7,8) quanto maior idade do primeiro consumo de álcool (RC 0,8, IC 95% 0,7-0,9) permaneceram independentemente associados com abuso de substâncias após os ajustes do modelo. Conclusão: O estudo de validação da BIS 11 identificou um alto CCI da escala, apontando para a semelhança de medidas das versões em inglês e português em sujeitos de alta escolaridade. A consistência interna com um a de 0,62 na amostra de adolescentes foi um pouco abaixo do esperado, mas pode ser considerada aceitável, levando-se em consideração as características da amostra. Além disso, mesmo com uma consistência interna abaixo do ideal, a validade de constructo pôde ser detectada, sugerindo que a escala pode ser utilizada em adolescentes masculinos, embora sem os sub-escores. No estudo de casocontrole, os achados indicam a forte associação entre impulsividade, IPCA e transtornos aditivos, ilustrando esses aspectos em adolescentes masculinos e acrescentando validade transcultural aos achados já descritos na literatura. A temporalidade e as relações de causa-efeito dos resultados necessitam ser confirmados em estudos longitudinais. Entretanto, em conjunto com as evidências já existentes na literatura sobre o papel da impulsividade e da IPCA nos TUS, os achados sugerem que tais aspectos possam ser incorporados na elaboração de medidas preventivas ao uso de substâncias psicoativas entre os jovens. / Background: the problems that arise from substance use disorders (SUD) present a high prevalence either in Brazil or around the world, and are extremely important because they affect adolescents and young adults, generating a strong socio-economical impact. Risk factors that lead to the beginning and evolution of such disorders have been investigated for many years, but what has been explained only partially enlightens the variability of these pathologies. Impulsivity stands out due to its association to various risk factors, such as personality disorders, attention deficit and hyperactivity among others, and it might be the link between these pathologies and SUD. Although impulsivity has been associated to disorders related to alcohol and other drugs, in many studies, there is a lack of evidence based on community samples, mainly in adolescents. Literature also identifies the association of the age of first drink (AFD) with SUD. However, there are still controversies on whether AFD is an independent risk factor or a manifestation of other characteristics and disorders associated with SUD. Besides, evidence of the association SUD/AFD come mostly from North American studies, and considering the fact that AFD can be affected because of the cultural aspect, it is necessary to reproduce these findings in other countries. With regard to the assessment of impulsivity, it has being ascertained through laboratorial behavioral measures and self report scales; however none of these scales has been validated to be used in Brazil, which generates difficulties for studies in this context. Objectives: the objectives of this dissertation are to adapt to Brazilian Portuguese and validate to adolescent use an appropriate scale to measure impulsivity, to evaluate the association between impulsivity, AFD and SUD in male adolescents, as well as to evaluate whether AFD is associated with SUD after controlling to impulsivity. Method: two consecutive studies have been conducted. The first study describes the adaptation and validation of the Barrat Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) 11, which was translated independently by two psychiatrists, unified in a final version and tested in 10 subjects of matched age and sex. The final version was back-translated into English and sent to its author, who approved it for field testing. Eighteen bilingual undergraduated medical students answered the English version and two weeks later, the Portuguese version, in order to analyze the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Internal consistency (using Crombach’s µ) and construct validity were analyzed in a community sample of 464 male adolescents between 15 and 20 years old, who came from a well delimitated geographical area in the city of Canoas. Construct validity was based on the correlation between the BIS 11 and the SNAP IV scores and Conduct Disorder symptoms. SNAP-IV evaluates Attention Deficit/Hyperactive Disorders (ADHD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). CD symptoms were based on DSM-IV criteria. For the second study we used a case-control design nested inside a cross-sectional study that used the same adolescent sample described in the first study, excluding adolescents who reported no use of alcohol, giving a final sample of 418 subjects. Cases were identified through the alcohol and drug section of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview as having inhalant, cocaine, marijuana or alcohol dependence or abuse (n=63), and the 355 controls were those who did not reach criteria for SUD. Other measures used were the BIS 11 and a socio-demographic questionnaire. For the statistical analysis, the crude Odds Ratio (OR) was estimated and adjusted for a confidence interval of 95% through a hierarchical model of logistic regression, having SUD diagnosis as the dependent variable and socio-demographic variables (level one), impulsivity (level two), age, number of school failures, having separated parents and being religious (level three) and age of first drink (level four) as independent variables. Results In the first study the ICC reported from the medical students was of 0.90. Among the male adolescents the internal consistency was of 0.62 for the 30 items. Factorial analysis did not identify the three factors of the original scale. Impulsivity scores of the BIS 11 were correlated with ADHD and ODD scores, as well as with numbers of symptoms for CD, suggesting an appropriate construct validity of the scale. In the second study adolescent were mainly white, with a mean age of 17,4±1,7, high levels of school failure and low family income. Impulsivity and age of first drink were significantly and independently associated with substance use disorders. Both higher impulsivity (OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.4-7.8) and higher age of first drink (OR 0.8, 95% CI 0.7-0.9) remained independently associated with substance use disorder after model adjustments. Conclusion The BIS 11 validation study identified a high ICC for the scale, suggesting similarity on measures between English and Portuguese versions among subjects with high levels of schooling. The internal consistency of a=0,62 on the adolescent sample was a little lower than expected, but it can be considered acceptable, taking into account the characteristics of this sample. Besides that, even with an internal consistency below the expected, the validation of the construct could be detected, suggesting that the scale can be used in male adolescents though without its sub-scores. In the case-control study, findings indicate a strong association between impulsivity, AFD and addictive disorders, highlighting these aspects in male adolescents and adding transcultural validity to the findings already described in the literature. Temporality, as well as the cause-effect relations of the results needs to be confirmed in longitudinal studies. However, with the existing evidence in the literature concerning the role of impulsivity and AFD on the SUDs, findings suggest that such aspects should be incorporated in the planning of preventive measures to be used with youngster with regard to psychoactive substances.

Este trabalho fundamenta-se no desenvolvimento e aprimoramento de metodologias para a melhor representação do aterramento elétrico sob uma análise transiente. O estudo concentrase no estabelecimento de contribuições ao estado da arte associadas à análise e modelagem de aterramento impulsivo e em altas frequências. O estudo vincula-se também à avaliação da suportabilidade de seres humanos submetidos a potenciais produzidos na superfície do solo, provenientes da corrente elétrica gerada por um surto atmosférico. A concepção das metodologias propostas baseou-se no uso do Método da Modelagem por Linhas de Transmissão em uma dimensão (TLM-1D). Destacam-se três grandes tópicos da pesquisa. O primeiro concentra-se no desenvolvimento de formulação para a inclusão do fenômeno de ionização do solo ao Método TLM-1D clássico. A formulação desenvolvida tem como característica ser uma técnica generalista, independente das propriedades do meio, dimensões do eletrodo e do surto atmosférico. O segundo foco concentra-se no aprimoramento e desenvolvimento de equacionamento analítico para a estimação de potenciais gerados na superfície do solo, originados pela corrente elétrica estabelecida sobre eletrodo de aterramento. Tal equacionamento tem grande aplicabilidade em conjunto com metodologias numéricas unidimensionais, as quais não são capazes de determinar diretamente os referidos potenciais. Por fim, a realização de estudo de suportabilidade e segurança de seres humanos em contato com eletrodos de aterramento submetidos a surto atmosférico, considerando modelo representativo baseado em circuitos elétricos, consolida o trabalho desenvolvido. / This work is based on the development and improvement of methodologies for the best representation of the electrical grounding under a transient analysis. The study concentrated on establishing contributions to the state of the art related to the analysis and modeling of impulsive and high frequencies grounding systems. The study is also associated to the evaluation of the supportability of human beings submitted to the potentials produced on the soil surface from the electric current generated by a lightning. The conception of the proposed methodology was based on the Transmission Line Modeling Method in one dimension (TLM- 1D). Three major research topics can be highlighted. The first involves the development of a formulation to include the soil ionization phenomenon in the classic TLM-1D algorithm. The developed formulation is a generalist technique, independent of the medium properties, characteristic of the electrode and lightning surge. The second aims at the improvement and development of analytical equations for estimating the generated potential on the soil surface, originated by the electric current calculated in the grounding electrode. Such equationing has great applicability in conjunction with one-dimensional numerical methods which are not able to determine such potential directly. Finally, the achievement of a supportability study and personal safety of humans in contact with the grounding electrodes subjected to a lightning, considering a representative model based on electrical circuits, consolidates the developed work.