Diploma thesis deals with monitoring and diagnostics of transport networks. It focuses on basic diagnostic and surveillance tools, and tools which are developed in the project of Internet2. It is focused on the evaluation of the measurements performed by these tools with a focus on external factors and substandard conditions and their impact on the measurement results.

O presente trabalho realiza a investigação de interações hiperfinas em amostras de silício monocristalino através da técnica de Correlação Angular γ-γ Perturbada (CAP), baseada em interações hiperfinas. Para a realização das medidas, utilizou-se núcleos de prova radioativos de 111In -> 111Cd que decaem através da cascata gama 177-245keV com nível intermediário de 245keV (I = 5+/2 , Q = 0.83b, T1/2 = 84.5ns). As amostras foram confeccionadas utilizando vários métodos de inserção de núcleos de prova, possibilitando maior compreensão acerca dos impactos gerados por cada um destes métodos nas medidas CAP. As técnicas de implantação iônica, difusão e evaporação foram cuidadosamente investigadas ressaltando-se suas particularidades. Realizou-se então, um estudo acerca das concentrações de defeitos intrínsecos em função de vários processos de tratamento térmico. Finalmente, foi feita uma análise comparativa para os vários métodos de inserção dos núcleos de prova. Realizou-se, também, medidas CAP em silício monocristalino dopado com fósforo através do processo NTD. A altíssima uniformidade de dopagem associada a este método aliada à inexistência de medidas para este tipo de material ressaltam a relevância dos resultados obtidos. Estes resultados são então comparados com os resultados da literatura para amostras dopadas através de métodos convencionais apresentando-se as respectivas conclusões. / In the present work, a microscopic investigation of hyperfine interactions in single crystal silicon samples was carried out by means of Perturbed Angular γ-γ Correlation technique (PAC), which is based in hyperfine interactions. In order to achieve these measurements, it was used 111In ->111Cd radioactive probe nuclei, which decay through the well known γ cascade 177-245keV with an intermediate level of 245keV (I = 5+/2 , Q = 0.83b , T1/2 = 84.5ns). The samples were prepared using diferent probe nuclei insertion methods, making possible to increase our understanding on the impact generated by each of these techniques in PAC measurements. Ion implantation, difusion and evaporation were carefully investigated giving emphasis on its characteristics and particularities. Then, it was made a study about the concentration of intrinsic defects as function of several annealing processes. Finally, a comparative analysis was made for all these probe nuclei insertion methods. This work also accomplished PAC measurements in single crystal silicon doped with phosphorus by means of NTD method, carried out in a research nuclear reactor. The extremely high doping uniformity allied to the non-existence of previous measurements in these materials emphasize the importance of the results obtained. These results are then compared with literature results for samples doped by conventional methods presenting the respective conclusions.

O presente trabalho realiza a investigação de interações hiperfinas em amostras de silício monocristalino através da técnica de Correlação Angular γ-γ Perturbada (CAP), baseada em interações hiperfinas. Para a realização das medidas, utilizou-se núcleos de prova radioativos de 111In -> 111Cd que decaem através da cascata gama 177-245keV com nível intermediário de 245keV (I = 5+/2 , Q = 0.83b, T1/2 = 84.5ns). As amostras foram confeccionadas utilizando vários métodos de inserção de núcleos de prova, possibilitando maior compreensão acerca dos impactos gerados por cada um destes métodos nas medidas CAP. As técnicas de implantação iônica, difusão e evaporação foram cuidadosamente investigadas ressaltando-se suas particularidades. Realizou-se então, um estudo acerca das concentrações de defeitos intrínsecos em função de vários processos de tratamento térmico. Finalmente, foi feita uma análise comparativa para os vários métodos de inserção dos núcleos de prova. Realizou-se, também, medidas CAP em silício monocristalino dopado com fósforo através do processo NTD. A altíssima uniformidade de dopagem associada a este método aliada à inexistência de medidas para este tipo de material ressaltam a relevância dos resultados obtidos. Estes resultados são então comparados com os resultados da literatura para amostras dopadas através de métodos convencionais apresentando-se as respectivas conclusões. / In the present work, a microscopic investigation of hyperfine interactions in single crystal silicon samples was carried out by means of Perturbed Angular γ-γ Correlation technique (PAC), which is based in hyperfine interactions. In order to achieve these measurements, it was used 111In ->111Cd radioactive probe nuclei, which decay through the well known γ cascade 177-245keV with an intermediate level of 245keV (I = 5+/2 , Q = 0.83b , T1/2 = 84.5ns). The samples were prepared using diferent probe nuclei insertion methods, making possible to increase our understanding on the impact generated by each of these techniques in PAC measurements. Ion implantation, difusion and evaporation were carefully investigated giving emphasis on its characteristics and particularities. Then, it was made a study about the concentration of intrinsic defects as function of several annealing processes. Finally, a comparative analysis was made for all these probe nuclei insertion methods. This work also accomplished PAC measurements in single crystal silicon doped with phosphorus by means of NTD method, carried out in a research nuclear reactor. The extremely high doping uniformity allied to the non-existence of previous measurements in these materials emphasize the importance of the results obtained. These results are then compared with literature results for samples doped by conventional methods presenting the respective conclusions.

Neglected tropical diseases are parasitic and bacterial diseases mainly prevalent in developing countries affecting people living in poverty. The World Health Organization’s human rights-based approach emphasizes the “prevention, control, elimination and eradication of neglected tropical diseases” through the use of preventative chemotherapy, such as the mass administration of deworming drugs to improve people’s health.This research paper will take a deeper look at how WHO has been communicating NTDs to make them less ‘neglected’ and how the NTD discourse has been shaping development organizations’ action. In addition, it aims to investigate how successful mass deworming has really been in terms of the recent debate.This study is using a combination of a discourse analysis and qualitative interviews in order to investigate how the NTD discourse and recent initiatives by international organizations have contributed to making NTDs less neglected. It deconstructs representations of the ‘Other’ – the superiority of the ‘West’ over the ‘Rest’ – in relation to the NTD discourse and its inherent power structures. Discourses are analyzed to identify power relations between governments, development organizations, pharmaceutical industries, and recipients of deworming drugs as part of Kenya’s 2013 deworming campaign.The results showed that the NTD discourse has helped raise awareness for NTDs. NTDs and their debilitating effect on populations have been better and more widely communicated, making them less ‘neglected’. WHO and other development organizations’ actions have contributed to making NTDs more visible and have given NTDs higher priority on the global health agenda. Findings from this research study revealed that the ongoing debate has not had a negative impact on international funding. More research and development of a vaccine against NTDs is needed to find more ways to tackle these devastating diseases.

Hippocrates predicted many years ago that breath could tell something related with our health. On his treaties, he indicated that when the body starts moving after sleeping, and breathe with more frequency, something hot and acid is expelled with air. It is possible to predict a disease from breath, but it has not been until recent years that last developments in breath analysis has allowed to detect compounds precisely and to associate the presence of these compounds to certain diseases. The use of breath analysis in clinical diagnosis and exposure to contaminants presents great advantages as this is a non-invasive technique, compared with other techniques such as blood or urine analyses. Two new instrumental methodologies have been developed in the present thesis, which are based on adsorbent micro-traps, specifically designed for the analysis of volatile compounds in breath and environmental samples. These equipments are versatile and low cost, compared to other commercially available instrumentations. One of the methodologies developed has been designed for the analysis volatile compounds in breath samples, showing efficiency and resolutions unknown up to know. It has allowed detecting exposure to volatile contaminants in a range of concentrations that the current techniques cannot achieve. The second equipment has been developed for the analysis of the same contaminants in other biological matrixes, in this case blood. It has been used to assess the mechanism followed by the inhaled compounds when entering the human body. These new methodologies were evaluated in different exposure studies. 2,5-dimethylfurean was detected with a high sensitivity and allowed to determine the smoking habits of a wide group of individuals, also 48 hours after smoking. The levels of contamination due environmental tobacco smoke were also evaluated in different environments. The high sensitivity of the developed techniques allowed us to demonstrate the contamination of passive smokers by environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) after few hours of being in contact with. Breath levels of the smoking biomarker after few hours in contact with ETS where at the same level that those found in smokers who smoke few cigarettes per day / Que l’alè ens deia alguna cosa de la nostra salut ja ho va intuir Hipòcrates. Al Tractat Mèdic hi va escriure: “Així, doncs, quan el cos es posa en moviment després de dormir i respira amb més freqüència, quelcom calent i àcid és expulsat amb l’aire. D’això en venen malalties si hom no pren precaucions.” Sí, de l’olor de l’alè s’intuïen malalties però no ha estat fins als darrers anys, que els nous avanços en les tècniques d’anàlisi no han proporcionat els mecanismes adients per detectar els compostos de forma inequívoca i poder associar la seva presència a l’alè a determinades malalties. Tant des d’un punt de vista mèdic com d’exposició a contaminants, el principal avantatge de poder disposar d’una anàlisi d’alè consisteix en la metodologia diagnòstica, que no és invasiva i, per tant, no presenta els inconvenients associats a altres tècniques convencionals, com son l’anàlisi de sang i d’orina. En aquesta tesi s’han desenvolupat dos noves metodologies instrumentals, basades en micro-trampes d’adsorció, especialment dissenyades per a l’anàlisi de compostos volàtils en mostres gasoses, principalment mostres ambientals i mostres d’alè humà. Aquests nous equipaments es caracteritzen per la seva versatilitat i molt baix cost, si es comparen amb els equips comercials actuals. Un dels prototips s’ha dissenyat per a l’anàlisi de mostres d’alè, mostrant una eficàcia i resolució desconeguda fins ara, el que ha permès detectar l’exposició a contaminants volàtils a uns nivells que les tecnologies actuals no permeten assolir. El segon equipament ha estat desenvolupat per permetre analitzar els mateixos contaminants en matrius biològiques, en aquest cas sang, i poder determinar de quina manera i en quin percentatge els compostos que inhalem per exposició arriben a entrar en el cos humà. Aquestes noves metodologies s’han avaluat en diferents estudis d’exposició. S’ha pogut detectar un compost, el 2,5-dimetilfuran, amb una elevada sensibilitat per a la detecció de l’hàbit fumador de les persones, inclús després de més de 48 h d’haver fumat una cigarreta. També s’han estudiat els nivells de contaminació pel fum ambiental del tabac que tenen lloc en diferents ambients (locals de fumadors i no-fumadors). L’elevada sensibilitat de les tècniques desenvolupades ha permès demostrar “in-situ” per primera vegada que els fumadors passius només requereixen unes poques hores de contacte en un ambient contaminat pel fum del tabac per presentar nivells de contaminació a l’alè similars als dels fumadors de poques cigarretes al dia