El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / A pavement management system (PMS) is a tool that supports decision-making specialists to maintain the pavement at an optimal service level. The absence of a PMS could lead to inadequate decision-making, a disorganized road inventory, poor selection in road maintenance techniques and inefficient technical support to justify the execution of maintenance activities. For these reasons, this research proposes the application of a PMS, with the objective of improving and standardizing the processes for evaluating the condition of roads that are under the jurisdiction of low-budget government organizations, guaranteeing the selection of the most appropriate type of maintenance. As a case of study, a 1.1 km local road located in one of the districts of Lima was evaluated, which was divided into 11 sections. With this evaluation, it was obtained that 2,605.43 m2 of the total road is in poor condition, due to the presence of functional failures. For the identification of failures, the pavement condition index (PCI), the international roughness index (IRI) and the present serviceability index (PSI) were used to determine the condition, roughness and serviceability of the pavement. In conclusion, it was identified that the proposed PMS is adequately adapted to the way of working and available budget of a local administration, since if it is applied it would only spend 20.55% of the fund that would be destined to a total reconstruction of road.

The Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) is an international network of high frequency (HF) coherent scatter radars, employed to detect backscatter from magnetic field aligned plasma irregularities in the ionosphere and to study the near- Earth space weather. Space weather impacts many technological systems including HF communications, Global Positioning System (GPS), and surveillance radars. Variations in the pattern of the backscatter from the ground ("ground scatter") observed by the SuperDARN radars give information regarding the state of the ionosphere. In this thesis, ray tracing simulation of the observed ground scatter pattern for the mid-latitude SuperDARN radar at Blackstone, Virginia is implemented. An existing ray tracing code was modified, to incorporate the IRI-2007 model for electron density. This ray tracing code was used to simulate the ground scatter pattern observed at Blackstone in the year 2009. Simulations were compared with the observed ground scatter to assess our understanding of the ionospheric conditions. The IRI-2007 model is found to be adequate to predict the average ground scatter pattern observed through the year, including the winter anomaly. However, one deficiency with the IRI-2007 model is its inability to predict the sporadic E layer formation in summer and an anomalous evening enhancement in backscatter power observed in some months of the year, described here for the first time. Finally some suggestions are presented for the further improvement of the simulation methods for backscatter prediction. / Master of Science

Empati är en särskilt viktig förmåga hos kriminalvårdaren och i interaktionen med kollegor samt med intagna på anstalt och häkte. Studien ämnade att undersöka kriminalvårdarnas empati i relation till arbetsrelaterad stress, samt olika demografiska variabler. I undersök- ningen deltog 76 kriminalvårdare som rekryterades via sociala medier, utspridda över Sve- rige. Resultaten visar att det inte fanns några könsskillnader gällande empati. Den arbetsre- laterade stressen är större hos kvinnor än hos män enligt studiens resultat, något som be- kräftar tidigare studier. Vidare visar studiens resultat att fantasi och personlig oro minskade med åldern. För anställningstid visar studiens resultat att empatin minskar med antal anställ- ningsår. Resultaten för utbildningsnivå visar att empatin minskade med högre utbildning, vil- ket motsäger tidigare forskning. Vidare forskning kan fokusera på att inkludera större urval och att undersöka personspecifika faktorer i studiet av relationen mellan empati, stress och demografisk information som ålder, kön och utbildningsnivå. / Empathy is a particularly important ability of the correctional officer and in the interaction with their colleagues, also with those in prison and detention centers. The study aimed to investi- gate empathy in prison correctional officers in relation to work-related stress and demo- graphic variables. In the study,76 participants were recruited through social media, with a spread across Sweden. The results showed that there were no difference in empathy re- garding gender. The work-related stress is greater in women than in men according to the study's results, which confirms previous studies. Furthermore, the results of the study show that imagination and personal distress decline with age. For years of employment the results showed a decline in empathy. The results for educational level shows that empathy declined with higher education, which contradicts previous research. Further research can focus on including larger samples and examining person-specific factors along with the variables and demographic information such as age, gender and educational level.

Syftet med denna studie var att få en bättre förståelse för vilken betydelse lärare har för sina elever. Detta gjordes med hjälp av Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), en skala utvecklad av Davis (1980) för att multidimensionellt kunna mäta empati.  I den här studien användes IRI för att testa hur graden av empati, hos både lärare och elever, kan påverka skolgången. I studien fick 154 elever enkäter under lektionstid och enkäterna hade till syfte att (a) se hur elever skattar lärares empati över tid, (b) hur elever och lärares empati påverkar betygen, (c) hur elevers empati påverkar hur de skattar lärarnas empati och (d) hur elever själva tycker lärares empati påverkar dem. Resultaten visade: (a) en tendens till att elever i årskurs ett skattar lärares empati högst och att elever i årskurs två skattar lärares empati lägst, (c) en tendens till att elever skattar lärares empati högre desto högre empati de själva uppmätte. Resultaten visade (b) en positiv korrelation mellan elevers betyg och elevers/lärares empati, där högre empati hos eleverna relaterade till signifikant högre betyg i fem ämnen (Svenska, Historia, Samhällskunskap Matematik och Naturkunskap). (d) En klar majoritet av eleverna tyckte att lärares empati påverkar dem och att empati hos lärare är övervägande positivt. Vidare fördjupad forskning inom de berörda områdena, där fördjupningar i enskilda frågeställningar görs, rekommenderas i framtiden.

Aims There are few proven therapies that can protect against the inevitable ischaemia reperfusion injury (IRI) that occurs during renal transplantation. IRI increases the likelihood of delayed graft function (DGF), which negatively impacts on the long-term survival of a transplanted kidney. One enzyme of interest, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), degrades heme and protects against the oxidative stress that occurs secondary to IRI. Clinical renal recipients with higher HO-1 levels have improved graft function post transplant. Heme arginate (HA), a form of hemin, which has been used to treat porphyria for over 30 years, has repeatedly been shown to induce HO-1 in in vivo and in vitro macrophages. It is one of the few HO-1 inducers approved for clinical use and healthy volunteer studies confirmed that HA could also safely induce HO-1 in humans. Prior to the formal start of the MD, the University of Edinburgh successfully applied to NHS Blood and Transplant for funding to investigate whether giving HA to recipients of deceased donor renal grafts prior to transplant could upregulate HO-1 and whether this had any effect on the function and health of the grafts. This MD aims to explain the background behind the proposed study, the process of study approval, planning and trial logistics and protocol. This thesis then describes the methods of sample analysis, the results and future directions for the HOT (Heme Oxygenase-1 in renal Transplantation) study. Methods The HOT study planning and approval process took eight months and the first participant was randomised in January 2012. The study was sponsored by ACCORD, a joint company from University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian, and recruited patients from the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary Transplant Unit. The protocol was followed to ensure that 40 recipients were randomised blind to either active (two doses 3mg kg-1 HA: pre-operatively, day 2) or placebo (NaCl: same schedule). To ensure that the primary outcome was fulfilled, recipient blood was taken daily for peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) extraction. After further blinding steps, the PBMCs were analysed for HO-1 protein and mRNA. The secondary outcome measures involved collecting urine for analysis of urinary biomarkers (KIM-1 and NGAL), taking renal graft biopsies pre-op and day 5 for renal HO-1 analysis and collecting renal function data. DGF was calculated daily. To ensure that all adverse event data was captured, the recipients were closely reviewed for 7 days and their renal function was monitored for 90 days. Results The final participant was recruited in May 2013 within the predicted timescale and to budget. This participant completed follow-up in August 2013. Of the 40 participants, three received the infusion but did not receive a transplant and therefore could not give primary outcome data. The remaining 37 did and this was analysed. Adverse events were equivalent between groups and there were no adverse reactions to HA. HA upregulated PBMC HO-1 protein at 24 hours compared to placebo: HA 11.1ng/ml (1.0- 37.0) vs. placebo 0.14ng/ml (-0.7- 0.3)(p= < 0.0001). PBMC HO-1 mRNA was also increased: HA 2.73 fold (1.8- 3.2) vs. placebo 1.41 fold (1.2- 2.2) (p=0.02). HA increased HO-1 protein immunopositivity in day 5 renal tissue compared with placebo: HA 0.21 (-24- 0.7) vs. placebo -0.03 (-76- 0.15) (p=0.02) and the percentage of HO-1 positive renal macrophages also increased: HA 50.8 cells per HPF (40.0- 59.8) vs. placebo 22.3 (0- 34.8) (p=0.012). Renal HO-1 mRNA was also increased in HA group: 2.02 (0.20- 4.03) fold increase compared to 1.68 (0.75- 10.39) fold in the placebo group but it was not significant (p= 0.451). Urinary biomarkers were reduced after HA but not significantly so. Histological injury and DGF rates were similar between the groups. Conclusion HA is safe and effective in renal transplant recipients as reported in this phase II, randomised, placebo controlled, blinded, single-centre study. The primary outcome was achieved and demonstrated for the first time that HA induces HO-1 in peripheral and renal macrophages in kidney transplant recipients. There was also evidence that HA increased HO-1 expression in renal tissue. There was no evidence that HA improved renal function or reduced injury as seen in animal models but it is recognised that the sample size was small and the study was not powered to these endpoints. Larger studies are planned to determine the impact of HO-1 upregulation on clinical outcomes and evaluate the benefit to patients at risk of IRI. The plans for HOT2 are expanded in this thesis.

Roughness is an important indicator of pavement riding comfort and safety. It is a condition indicator that should be carefully considered when evaluating primary pavements. At the same time, the use of roughness measurements plays a critical role in the pavement management system. There are many devices used for roughness evaluation. The major tools used for road roughness quantify are the road profilers. In the thesis research, in order to obtain useful pavement surface condition data for pavement evaluation, two direct type road roughness evaluation systems were developed with the combination of modern sensor technology and computer technology. The thesis will focus on the development of the direct type profiler systems, including the improvement of the hardware design, the new direct type road roughness-measuring system using different method, the software development, which makes it more functional. In order to evaluate the accuracy and correction of the direct type profiler system, different roughness devices (including FDOT High-Speed laser profiler, FACE Dipstick and direct type I profiler) were operated in 4 calibration sites. The research focused on several performance measures, such as correlativity, repeatability. IRI and RN results from these devices were analyzed to evaluate the correlativity between these devices. After verified that direct type I profiler has good repeatability and correlation with FDOT High-Speed laser profiler, FACE Dipstick, 10 calibration sites data in Tampa were collected using direct type I profiler and direct type II profiler. The repeatability and correlation analysis between the two profilers were performed. From field experiments and data analysis, it shows: 1.Direct type I profiler showed satisfactory repeatability performances; 2.Direct type I profiler has good RN correlations High-Speed laser profiler; 3.Direct type I profiler has good correlations with Dipstick, High-Speed laser profiler in terms of IRI 4.Direct type II profiler does not has good correlation with direct type I profiler; the performance needs to be improved. Except for these conclusions, it is also found that the High-Speed profiler can be operated at different speeds with little differences in RN values, the sampling rate did show impact on RN value.

Pavement smoothness has become a standard measure of pavement quality. Transportation agencies strive to build and maintain smoother pavements. Smooth roads provide comfort while riding, minimize vehicular wear and tear and increase pavement life. A user perceives smoothness of a pavement based on the ride quality, which is severely affected by presence of defects on pavement surface. Defects identified after construction are corrected as per smoothness specifications prescribed by respective transportation agencies. The effectiveness of any method used to determine defect locations depends on the decrease in roughness obtained on correction of defects. Following the above line of thought a method that detects defects by comparing original profile to a smoothened profile will be more effective in identifying defect locations that cause roughness in pavements. This research report proposes a methodology to detect defect locations on pavement surface using profile data collected on pavements. The approach presents a method of obtaining a smoothened profile from the original profile to help identify defect locations based on deviations of the original profile from the smoothened one. Defect areas will have a higher deviation from the smoothened profile as compared to smooth areas. The verification of the defects identified by this approach is carried out by determining the decrease in roughness after removal of the identified defects from profile. A roughness statistic is used to do the same. The approach is illustrated using profile data collected on in-service pavement sections.

Pavement smoothness has become a standard measure of pavement quality. Transportation agencies strive to build and maintain smoother pavements. Smooth roads provide comfort while riding, minimize vehicular wear and tear and increase pavement life. A user perceives smoothness of a pavement based on the ride quality, which is severely affected by presence of defects on pavement surface. Defects identified after construction are corrected as per smoothness specifications prescribed by respective transportation agencies. The effectiveness of any method used to determine defect locations depends on the decrease in roughness obtained on correction of defects. Following the above line of thought a method that detects defects by comparing original profile to a smoothened profile will be more effective in identifying defect locations that cause roughness in pavements. This research report proposes a methodology to detect defect locations on pavement surface using profile data collected on pavements. The approach presents a method of obtaining a smoothened profile from the original profile to help identify defect locations based on deviations of the original profile from the smoothened one. Defect areas will have a higher deviation from the smoothened profile as compared to smooth areas. The verification of the defects identified by this approach is carried out by determining the decrease in roughness after removal of the identified defects from profile. A roughness statistic is used to do the same. The approach is illustrated using profile data collected on in-service pavement sections.

Roughness is an important indicator of pavement riding comfort and safety. It is a condition indicator that should be carefully considered when evaluating primary pavements. At the same time, the use of roughness measurements plays a critical role in the pavement management system.There are many devices used for roughness evaluation. The major tools used for road roughness quantify are the road profilers. In the thesis research, in order to obtain useful pavement surface condition data for pavement evaluation, an inertial based pavement roughness measuring system was developed with the combination of modern sensor technology and computer technology. The research will focus on the development of new method to get the profile in order to improve the repeatability of the inertial based pavement roughness system, the hardware design and the software development which is used for data sampling and data analysis. Finally maximum entropy spectral analysis method was used to evalu ate the road profile spectrum.In order to get evaluate the accuracy and correction of the laser profiler system, different roughness devices (including Dipstick, direct type profiler and the laser profiler developed) were operated in the test sites. The research focused on several performance measures, such as repeatability (before and after new method analysis), impact of operating speed and sample interval, correlativity and etc. IRI from these devices were analyzed to evaluate the correlativity between these devices. Some regression models were developed in this research. Test results show that the new method can improve the repeatability of the profiler system. The laser profiler system has good repeatability and the operating speed and sample interval do not have a significant impact on the inertial based roughness measuring system. With the reliable results, the system is ready to be used in the field application within the speed and sample interval range. Through the spectrum an alysis, it shows that the spectrum has a qualitative relation with pavement roughness conditions.

abstract: Highway safety is a major priority for the public and for transportation agencies. Pavement distresses directly affect ride quality, and indirectly contribute to driver distraction, vehicle operation, and accidents. In this study, analysis was performed on highways in the states of Arizona, North Carolina and Maryland for years between 2013 and 2015 in order to investigate the relationship between accident rate and pavement roughness and rutting. Two main types of data were collected: crash data from the accident records and roughness and rut depth data from the pavement management system database in each state. Crash rates were calculated using the U.S. Department of Transportation method, which is the number of accidents per vehicle per mile per year multiplied by 100,000,000. The variations of crash rate with both International Roughness Index (IRI) and rut depth were investigated. Linear regression analysis was performed to study the correlation between parameters. The analysis showed positive correlations between road roughness and rut depth in all cases irrespective of crash severity level. The crash rate data points were high for IRI values above 250-300 inches/mile in several cases. Crash road segments represent 37-48 percent of the total length of the network using 1-mile segments. Roughness and rut depth values for crash and non-crash segments were close to each other, suggesting that roughness and rutting are not the only factors affecting number of crashes but possibly in combination with other factors such as traffic volume, human factors, etc. In summary, it can be concluded that both roughness and rut depth affect crash rate and highway maintenance authorities should maintain good pavement condition in order to reduce crash occurrences. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Civil and Environmental Engineering 2017