The motivation of this research is to explore the viability of a method to directly verify whether or not an anaerobic adhesive within a threaded fastener assembly has cured sufficiently to provide secondary locking. Direct verification was implemented via the application of a test torque in the loosening direction of a fastener assembly with Loctite (given a 24 hour cure time). A three phase test plan was developed with the intent of identifying and utilizing this verification torque value which is unique to a given fastener assembly. It was proved that the direct verification method, as outlined in the test plan, was in fact a valid method of verification in some cases. Results were dependent on the materials and coatings of the fastener assemblies. The curing properties of the liquid locking compound (LLC) with plain steel specimens resulted in a verification test that could accurately predict sufficient locking and cure (using distributions in torque measurements). Tests with zinc coated and stainless steel specimens, however, did not produce the same level of predictability in cure as the plain steel specimens. The direct verification method as defined herein is not suited to certain materials and coatings. The less predictable curing properties of the stainless steel specimens caused complications in determining a verification torque that could reliably determine cure, resulting in dropping stainless steel from static and dynamic testing. The zinc coated specimen data was more consistent, but the adhesive did not add sufficient breakaway strength to the fastener assembly needed to define a usable verification value. These results led to the conclusion that the direct verification method as presented in this work is limited to more active material selections. One possibility to improve the secondary locking of less active materials is the use of a higher strength adhesive. Testing to observe the effect of application of verification torque on the secondary locking was also performed. Multiple verifications were found to be destructive to the point that just over a third of samples failed that might have otherwise passed a single verification test. The single verification testing, on the other hand, caused substantially less locking mechanism degradation, leading to the use of a single verification torque in further testing.

The manufacturing of nanocontact-based spin-torque oscillators (NC-STOs)has opened the door for spintronic devices to play a part as active microwaveelements. The NC-STO has the capability of converting a direct current intoa microwave signal, and vice versa, by utilizing the spin transfer torque (STT)in ferromagnetic multilayer systems. However, the high-frequency operation ofNC-STOs typically requires high magnetic fields and the microwave power theygenerate is rather limited. As a result, NC-STOs are not yet commercially used,and they require improvements in both material systems and device geometriesbefore they can find actual use in microwave applications. In order to improve and advance this technology, NC-STOs are requiredwith both different nanocontact (NC) sizes and geometries, and using differ- ent stacks of magnetic materials. This dissertation presents experimental in- vestigations into the manufacturing of such devices using different fabrication techniques and a number of different magnetic material stacks. Currently, the fabrication of NC-STOs is limited to advanced laboratories, because NC fabri- cation requires high-resolution lithography tools. In the present work, we have developed an alternative method of fabrication, which does not require such tools and has the capability of fabricating NC-STOs having one to hundreds of NCs in a variety of sizes, possibly  down to 20 nm. Devices fabricated with this method have shown mutual synchronization of three parallel-connected NCs, and pairwise synchronization in devices with four and five NCs. Furthermore, the present work demonstrates low-field operation (down to0.02 Tesla) of NC-STOs at a record high frequency of 12 GHz. This wasachieved by implementing multilayers with a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy(PMA) material in the free layer of the NC-STO. In addition, the fabricateddevices revealed an unexpected dynamic regime under large external appliedfield (above 0.4 Tesla). The new dynamic regime was found to be due to anentirely novel nanomagnetic dynamic object â a so-called magnetic droplet soliton,predicted theoretically in 1977 but not experimentally observed until now.Detailed experiments and micromagnetic simulations show that the droplet hasvery rich dynamics. Finally,  spin-torque-induced  transverse spin wave instabilities have beenstudied.  A NC-STO with  a material stack consisting of a single ferromag- netic metal sandwiched between two non-ferromagnetic metals was fabricated. Prior to this work, evidence of spin wave instabilities was reported as resis- tance switching in nanopillar- and mechanical point contact based STOs. In the present  work, the fabricated NC-STOs showed actual microwave  signals up to 3 GHz under zero applied field with strong current hysteresis. All  the fabricated NC-STOs open up new means of studying STT in different environ- ments, in order to resolve their current drawbacks for industrial applications. / <p>QC 20130527</p>

Stipinkaulio distalinės dalies lūžiai yra vienas iš dažniausių kaulų ir raumenų sistemos pažeidimų. Literatūroje nurodoma, kad distalinės stipinkaulio dalies lūžiai yra 1/10 visų lūžių, kuriuos patiria vyresni nei 35 metų amžiaus asmenys. Apie 3 % pacientų, po šios traumos išlieka ilgalaikė negalia. Siekiant optimizuoti stipinkaulio distalinės dalies lūžių gydymą, buvo atliktas tyrimas, kuriame buvo iškelti trys uždaviniai. Vertinome 2 savaičių imobilizacijos įtaką rankos funkcijai, po stipinkaulio distalinės dalies lūžio ir osteosintezės delnine rakinama plokštele. Taip pat vertinome,radiologinio lūžio tipo, pagal AO klasifikaciją, įtaką rankos funkcijai. Sugijus kaului, tirta metalinių konstrukcijų pašalinimo įtaka rankos funkcijai. Vertinant rezultatus, nustatyta, kad riešo judesių amplitudė ir rankos funkcija tarp pacientų, patyrusių stipinkaulio distalinės dalies lūžį su poslinkiu ir operuotų delnine rakinama plokštele, kuriems buvo taikyta pooperacinė 2 savaičių riešo imobilizacija ir kuriems pooperacinė riešo imobilizacija nebuvo taikyta, nesiskyrė. Tiriamiesiems, patyrusiems C tipo lūžį pagal AO radiologinę klasifikaciją nustatyta prastesnė funkcija. Riešo judesių amplitudė ir rankos funkcija po delninės rakinamos plokštelės pašalinimo nepakito. / Distal radius fracture is one of the most common injuries of the skeletal and muscular system. It has been reported in literature that distal radius fractures account for one-tenth of all the fractures experienced by people older than 35 years. Long-term disability remains in approximately 3% of patients after a distal radius fracture. In order to optimise treatment of distal radius fractures, a study with three objectives was performed. We evaluated the effect of immobilisation for the period of 2 weeks on the hand function after a distal radius fracture and osteosynthesis with a volar locking plate. The effect of the fracture type according to the AO classification on the hand function was also assessed. After the bone has healed, the effect of the removal of metal constructions on the hand function was evaluated. The analysis of the results demonstrated that there were no differences in the range of wrist motions and the hand functionbetween the patients after a displaced distal radius fracture operated with a volar locking plate and post-surgery immobilisation of the wrist applied for the period of 2 weeks and the patients who did not have post-surgery wrist immobilisation applied. A worse function was determined in the patients after type C fracture according to the AO radiological classification. The range of wrist motions and the hand function after the removal of a volar locking plate did not differ.

The Clamp-Rod Internal Fixator (CRIF) is a fracture fixation implant with growing popularity among veterinarian’s for its versatility and ease of use. Although the CRIF is currently in clinical use, relatively few reports exist describing the biomechanical properties and clinical results of this system. The objective of this study was to determine the in vitro biomechanical properties of a 5mm CRIF/rod construct to a 3.5mm Limited Contact-Dynamic Compression Plate (LC-DCP/rod) construct using a canine femoral gap model. Paired canine femora were treated with 40mm mid-diaphyseal ostectomies and randomly assigned to CRIF/rod or LC-DCP/rod. Five pairs of constructs were tested in bending and five pairs were evaluated in torsion. Single ramp to failure tests were conducted to evaluate construct stiffness, yield load, and failure mode. While CRIF/rod and LC-DCP/rod were not significantly different when evaluated in bending, LC-DCP/rod constructs are significantly more rigid than CRIF/rod constructs at higher torsional loads. Below 10degrees of twist, or 4.92Nm torque, the LC-DCP/rod and CRIF/rod were not statistically different in torsion. Catastrophic injuries of the metacarpophalangeal joint resulting in the disruption of the suspensory apparatus are the most common fatal injuries in thoroughbred racehorses. Fetlock arthrodesis is a procedure designed to mitigate suffering from injury as well as degenerative diseases affecting articulation. The objective of this study is to assess the in vitro biomechanical behavior of techniques for fetlock arthrodesis. Twelve forelimb pairs were collected from adult horses euthanized for reasons unrelated to disease of the metacarpophalangeal joint (MCP). A 14-16-hole broad 4.5mm Locking Compression Plate (LCP) was compared to a 14-16 hole broad Dynamic Compression Plate (DCP). Both constructs used a two “figure-eight” 1.25mm stainless steel wire tension band. Fatigue tests and to failure tests were conducted. There were no significant differences in stiffness between groups for fatigue tests. Stiffness increased after the first fatigue cycle for the LCP/wire (80.56+/-52.22%) and DCP/wire (56.58+/-14.85%). Above 3.5mm of axial deformation there was a statistical difference between the stiffness of the LCP/wire (3824.12+/-751.84 N/mm) and the DCP/wire (3009.65+/-718.25 N/mm) (P=0.038). The LCP/wire showed increased stiffness above 3.5mm compression compared to the DCP/wire. Under fatigue testing conditions the constructs are not statistically different.

Local gamma-band (~30-100Hz) oscillations in the brain, produced by feedback inhibition on a characteristic timescale, appear in multiple areas of the brain and are associated with a wide range of cognitive functions. Some regions producing gamma also receive gamma-rhythmic input, and the interaction and coordination of these rhythms has been hypothesized to serve various functional roles. This thesis consists of three stand-alone chapters, each of which considers the response of a gamma-rhythmic neuronal circuit to input in an analytical framework. In the first, we demonstrate that several related models of a gamma-generating circuit under periodic forcing are asymptotically drawn onto an attracting invariant torus due to the convergence of inhibition trajectories at spikes and the convergence of voltage trajectories during sustained inhibition, and therefore display a restricted range of dynamics. In the second, we show that a model of a gamma-generating circuit under forcing by square pulses cannot maintain multiple stably phase-locked solutions. In the third, we show that a separation of time scales of membrane potential dynamics and synaptic decay causes the gamma model to phase align its spiking such that periodic forcing pulses arrive under minimal inhibition. When two of these models are mutually coupled, the same effect causes excitatory pulses from the faster oscillator to arrive at the slower under minimal inhibition, while pulses from the slower to the faster arrive under maximal inhibition. We also show that such a time scale separation allows the model to respond sensitively to input pulse coherence to an extent that is not possible for a simple one-dimensional oscillator. We draw on a wide range of mathematical tools and structures including return maps, saltation matrices, contraction methods, phase response formalism, and singular perturbation theory in order to show that the neuronal mechanism of gamma oscillations is uniquely suited to reliably phase lock across brain regions and facilitate the selective transmission of information.

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Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T12:14:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 5441449 bytes, checksum: 38950c6d2ffc32a9b188f9e51b8fea91 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-07-28 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / In this work we investigate the transmission in an optical cell containing an atomic vapor, when a laser is tuned to the wings of the Doppler line, presenting inhomogeneous broadening. The experiment is designed to detect the transmission of a laser beam through a an atomic cesium vapor within a quartz cell. Due to the high atomic density in the 1 mm cell, the laser beam is totally absorbed at resonance. On the other hand, when the detuning by few GHz from the center of the line an oscillatory signal is observed as a function of the laser frequency. The amplitude of the transmission signal varies linearly with the laser intensity. These oscillations exhibit diferent behavior as we change some parameters of the system, and the rate of the oscillations vary with laser detuning and on the atomic density. The phase of the transmited field is also sensitive to the angle of incidence of the laser beam in the cell, which allows to vary the lineshape of the signal without changing the parameters of the laser (intensity, frequency, ...) or atomic vapor. Out of resonance with the atomic vapor, the parallel windows of commercial optical cell cavity works as a low finesse Fabry-Pérot with a free spectral range of 150 GHz. However, in resonance, the optical path of the cavity changes varies with frequency due to the dispersive response of the atomic vapor. This study experimentally characterized the transmission signal through a cavity containing resonant vapor as a function of intensity and frequency of the laser, as well as its dependence on the angle of incidence of the beam. A numerical model that allows to determine the collisional broadening of the atomic vapor adjusting the spectral curves of the transmission signal was developed. As an application, exploring the oscillations in the wings of the resonance, we can lock the laser frequency at a few GHz off the center of the atomic resonance. The lock was performed in the frequency range between 0,8 GHz and 2,4 GHz from the center of the D2 line of cesium. To characterize the locking stability we measure the optical beat signal between two similar experiments, using the same locking technique. / Nesse trabalho investigamos a transmissão em uma célula ótica contendo um vapor atômico, quando um laser esta sintonizado nas asas da linha Doppler, em condições de forte alargamento inomogêneo. A experiência desenvolvida consiste na detecção da transmissão de um feixe laser através de uma célula de quartzo contendo vapor de átomos de césio. Devido a sua alta densidade atômica, na ressonância, o feixe laser é totalmente absorvido na célula de 1 mm de comprimento, por em para dessintonizações de alguns GHz do centro da linha observamos um sinal oscilante em função da frequência, onde a amplitude varia linearmente com a intensidade do laser. Essas oscilações" apresentam comportamento distinto a medida que mudamos alguns parâmetros do sistema. O período das oscilações depende da dessintonização da ressonância e da densidade atômica. A fase do sinal de transmissão também e bastante sensível ao ângulo de incidência do feixe laser na célula, o que permite variar a forma de linha do sinal de estudo sem modificar os parâmetros do laser (intensidade, frequência,...) ou do vapor atômico. Na ausência do vapor atômico, as janelas paralelas da célula ótica comercial agem como uma cavidade de Fabry-Pérot de baixa nesse com um faixa espectral livre de 150 GHz. Na presença do vapor atômico, devido a sua resposta dispersiva, o percurso óptico da cavidade varia com a frequência. Nesse estudo, caracterizamos experimentalmente o sinal de transmissão dessa cavidade contendo vapor ressonante como função da intensidade e da frequência do laser, assim como do angulo de incidência do feixe. Foi desenvolvido um modelo numérico que permite determinar o alargamento colisional do vapor atômico, através de ajuste das curvas espectrais do sinal de transmissão experimental. Como uma aplicação, explorando as oscilações nas asas da ressonância, pudemos travar a frequência do laser sintonizada a alguns GHz fora da ressonância atômica. O travamento foi realizado em frequências na faixa entre 0; 8 GHz e 2; 4 GHz do centro da linha D2 do césio. Para caracterização do travamento do laser, foi feito um batimento óptico entre os sinais de dois experimentos similares, utilizando a mesma técnica de travamento.

O propósito principal do presente trabalho é estabelecer diretrizes para o uso de elementos finitos sólidos na modelagem de estruturas delgadas submetidas à flexão. Por meio de um conjunto de problemas estudou-se o travamento de elementos finitos da elasticidade bi e tridimensionais, quando usados para modelar estruturas delgadas submetidas à flexão. Foram usados elementos planos de 4, 8 e 9 nós e elementos tridimensionais de 4, 10, 11, 8, 20 e 27 nós, considerando elementos não distorcidos e distorcidos. A análise dos resultados nesses modelos permitiram entender melhor o comportamento e o uso de elementos sólidos em estruturas delgadas. / The main objective of the present work is to establish guidelines for the use of solid finite elements in the modeling of thin structures submitted to bending. By means of a set of problems the locking of elements three-dimensional and two-dimensional elasticity was studied, when used to model problems thin structures subjected to bending. We use 2-D displacements-based elements of 4, 8 and 9 nodes and 3-D displacement based of 4, 10, 11, 8, 20 and 27 nodes, considering undistorted and distorted elements. The analysis of the results of these models lead to the understanding of the behavior and the use of solid elements in thin structures.

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As claudicações são a principal causa de encaminhamento de equinos aos médicos veterinários e uma das maiores causas de encaminhamento destes animais aos hospitais de referência; sendo as fraturas, especialmente aquelas de ossos longos e articulares, as que têm menor índice de sucesso devido ao prognóstico reservado e alto custo do tratamento; entendendo como sucesso o retorno do animal à função ou manutenção da qualidade de vida. A articulação interfalangeana proximal (AIP) dos equinos é clinicamente importante devido à apresentação frequente de claudicação, com lesões que comprometem a vida esportiva e função do equino. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi comparar biomecanicamente as características de duas técnicas de artrodese da AIP em equinos, utilizando-se placa de compressão dinâmica (DCP) de 4.5mm e três orifícios em combinação com dois parafusos corticais transarticulares de 5.5mm oblíquos inseridos pela técnica de tração (lag screw) e placa em &#34;Y\" de compressão bloqueada (LCP) de 5,0mm e sete orifícios, com parafusos bloquados unicorticais e um parafuso cortical de 4.5mm oblíquo transarticular inserido no orifício central da placa, pela técnica de parafuso de tração. Foram utilizadas doze peças anatômicas de membros anteriores de equinos, das quais foi isolada a porção distal do membro desde a primeira falange até o casco. Uma vez preparadas as peças, cada par foi sorteado randomicamente para cada um dos dois grupos. Os modelos experimentais foram submetidos a ensaios biomecânicos de compressão axial em ciclo único até a sua falha. O tipo de falha ocorrida na placa, nos parafusos ou nos ossos foi avaliado, assim como a força à qual ocorreram estas falhas. Não houve diferença estatística significativa entre os grupos DCP e Y-LCP, nas variáveis rigidez e força máxima, quando submetidas a compressão axial até sua falha. Mesmo não havendo diferença entre as duas técnicas cirúrgicas na variável rigidez, a técnica Y-LCP possibilitou um procedimento menos invasivo e com menor tempo cirúrgico. Conclui-se que, as propriedades biomecânicas das duas técnicas de fixação (DCP e Y-LCP) são semelhantes nas condições testadas. / Lameness is the main cause of sport horses\' owners consulting equine veterinarians and one of the highest cause to send these animals to the reference hospitals. Long bones and joint fractures have the lesser rate of success, consequence of the hight cost of the treatment and poor prognosis. Understanding as success the return of the horse to previous athletic performance or at least to have useful life. The proximal interphalangeal joint (PIPJ) is clinically important because the injuries that involve it may threaten the horses sport life or its usefulness. The objective of this study was to compare the biomechanical properties of two PIPJ arthrodesis techniques using 4.5mm dynamic compression plate (DCP) in conjunction with two oblique abaxial transarticular 5.5mm cortical screws inserted in lag fashion and 5.0mm Y locking compression plate (Y-LCP) with unicortical locking screws and one axial transarticular 4.5mm cortex screw inserted in lag fashion through the midle plate hole. It was used twelve cadaveric adult equine forelimbs from the first phalanx to the foot. After full-limb preparations, each forelimb pair was randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups. Constructs were submited to axial compression single cycle to failure biomechanical testing. The failure of the screws, plate or bone, and the force at wich it happened was evaluated. There were no significant differences in construct stiffness or max force when loaded to failure, between the DCP and Y-LCP treatment groups. Even though there was no construct stiffness diffrences between the two techniques, the Y-LCP technique provided the possibility of a less invasive procedure with a shorter surgical time. In conclusion, the biomechanical properties of both fixation techniques (DCP and Y-LCP) are equivalent under the test conditions used.