The need for increased product variety and improved aesthetics require the manufacturing enterprise to reduce time to market and to increase use of free-form surfaces in the form of the product. These changes lead to problems in the traditional approach for specification and verification of tolerances especially for a free form surfaces. In the case of freeform surfaces, the desired performance of a product depends on its geometry and is often controlled by intrinsic parameters such as curvature. Design intent therefore requires control on variations in these parameters. Ideally therefore, tolerances have to be applied on these parameters to prescribe allowable variations in the geometry of free-form surfaces. Since only the geometry of the product is controlled in manufacturing, tolerance specification has to ensure that the tolerances specified on the part geometry will ensure that the resulting value of the parameter of interest is within the limits prescribed by the designer. Relationship between allowable range in design parameters and that in geometry is not linear. Tolerance specification therefore becomes a trial and error process requiring considerable expertise and time. This thesis provides designers with a tool to automatically derive the corresponding tolerances to be specified to the manufacturing process to realize the final shape, such that the parameters that are used to control shape of the surface are within the prescribed variations. Automation in acquiring inspection data has brought dramatic changes in procedure for tolerance verification too. Optical scanners and similar non-contact devices provide large amount of points on the surface of the part quite rapidly. The unstructured point data are then processed to determine if the part complies with the given tolerance specifications. For freeform surfaces, current methods of verification uses minimum distance criterion between the nominal surface and unstructured point data. This ignores the correspondence between the points in the two data sets and may result in the rejection of good parts and acceptance of bad parts. There are other unresolved such as the singularity at corners of polyhedral shapes and handling datum. A new approach based on the Medial Axis Transform (MAT) has been proposed. It has been shown that reasoning on the MAT of the nominal model and the measured point set respectively enables the identification of corresponding points in the two sets. Verification of the tolerance allocated is therefore free from the problem mentioned above. MAT exhibits dimensional reduction and hence reduces verification time. It also eliminates surface fitting for detected feature. Results of implementation are provided for tolerance specification and verification using MAT.

Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) is a debilitating irreversible fibrotic condition of the oral cavity. It is characterized by inflammation and ultimately results in trismus. Patients face difficulty in speaking, swallowing and chewing due to restricted mouth opening (trismus). This disease is also categorized as an oral premalignant disorder (OPMD). Recent reports cite a conversion rate of 10% from OSF to oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Epidemiological studies and case reports over the years have correlated the habit of chewing areca nut (Areca catechu) to the manifestation of OSF. It is a major cause of concern in the South and South East Asian parts of the world where areca nut is cultivated and routinely consumed. There are an estimated 700 million areca nut chewers around the globe with 0.5% of the population in the Indian subcontinent being affected by OSF due to this habit. Previous studies have reported differential gene expression profile and up regulation of the pro-fibrotic transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) pathway in OSF. However, detailed molecular mechanisms for the pathogenesis of this disease are still unclear despite our knowledge about the etiological agent (areca nut) responsible for its progression. Therefore, to gain insights into the etiopathogeneses of OSF, following objectives were undertaken:  To study the gene expression changes induced by areca nut and pro-fibrotic cytokine TGF-β in primary fibroblast cells, and their implications in OSF.  To elucidate the mechanism of TGF-β signal activation in epithelial cells by areca nut. Fibroblast cells are the effectors in all fibrotic disorders. Therefore, it is essential to study the response of this cell type in fibrosis. With prior knowledge of the activation of TGF-β pathway in OSF and the etiological agent of this disease being areca nut; we wanted to study the differential gene response of fibroblasts to these two agents. For this purpose, human primary gingival fibroblasts (hGF) were used as a model system to study the global gene expression profile regulated by areca nut and/or TGF-β. hGF cells were treated with sub-cytotoxic dose of areca nut (5 µg/ml) with and without TGF-β (5 ng/ml) for 72 hours and microarray was performed. The results revealed 4666 genes being differentially regulated by areca nut in hGF cells while TGF-β regulated 1214 genes. Both of them together differentially regulated 5752 genes. 413 genes which were commonly regulated by areca nut and TGF-β were observed to have enhanced regulation with a combined treatment of areca nut, together with TGF-β. This result pointed towards the potential role of both areca nut and TGF-β in modulating fibroblast response. To further assess the role of areca nut in OSF manifestation, we first compared the transcriptome profile induced by it in epithelial cells with fibroblast cells. Areca nut was found to induce differential response in these two cell types which corroborates with the disease pathology wherein; epithelial atrophy is observed and conversely fibroblasts are proliferative. To extend these observations we compared the areca nut induced profile in epithelial cells with OSF differential profile and found that a majority of the genes regulated by areca nut which were common with OSF are regulated by TGF-β. Similarly, areca nut and TGF-β regulated profile in fibroblast cells overlapped significantly with OSF profile. Additionally, areca nut and TGF-β treatment positively enriched matrix associated and metabolic pathways among others which are reported to be differentially regulated in OSF. These observations also highlighted the importance of combined actions of areca nut and TGF-β in OSF manifestation. To test the physiological importance of combined actions of areca nut and TGF-β in the context of OSF; activation of fibroblasts by these treatments was assessed. Treatment of fibroblasts with areca nut and TGF-β enhanced the expression of myofibroblast markers αSMA and γSMA with a concomitant increase in the contractile property when compared to areca nut or TGF-β treatment alone. Further, we observed that areca nut did not regulate any of the TGF-β ligands or receptors in fibroblasts, whereas it induced TGF-β2 in epithelial cells. Therefore, this invoked a possible epithelial-mesenchymal interaction that may exist in OSF pathogenesis. To test this possibility in-vitro, epithelial cells were treated with areca nut and the secretome of these cells was put on hGF cells to study the regulation of fibrosis associated genes. This treatment enhanced the regulation of fibroblast activation markers (αSMA and γSMA) as compared to direct areca nut treatment. This increase in regulation was abrogated when induction of TGF-β2 was compromised in epithelial cells. Similar results were obtained for the regulation of other genes (TGM-2, THBS-1, EDN1, LOXL3, PLOD2, TMEPAI, TGFBI, CTGF, BMP1, LMIK1). Therefore, we concluded that TGF-β which is secreted in response to areca nut by epithelial cells influences fibroblasts in combination with areca nut to enhance fibrosis response. Furthermore, the secretome of untreated epithelial cells was found to down regulate the basal expression of fibrosis related genes in fibroblasts, invoking a role for epithelial secretome in regulating the fibrosis progression. Our data highlighted the importance of TGF-β’s influence on fibroblast response in OSF, but the mechanism for the regulation of this cytokine was not known. Areca nut did not induce TGF-β ligands in fibroblast as discussed above, but previous data from our group had reported areca nut mediated up regulation of TGF-β2 in epithelial cells. Therefore, we further elucidated the mechanistic details for this induction using immortalized keratinocytes (HaCaT and HPL1D) and correlated these in OSF tissues. The kinetics of the induction of TGF-β signaling by areca nut (5 µg/ml) in epithelial cells was established. Areca nut induced TGF-β2 transcript, protein and activated the canonical signaling (pSMAD2/3) at 2 hours post treatment, which persisted till 24 hours. The regulation of TGF-β2 mRNA at 2 hours was dependent on active transcription but was independent of protein translation whereas the activation of signaling (pSMAD2) required both transcription and translation at this time point. This warranted probing for the role of TβR-I in the activation of TGF-β signal by areca nut. A small molecule inhibitor was used to abrogate the kinase activity of TβR-I. Areca nut induced TGF-β2 mRNA at 2 hours even in the presence of TβR-I inhibitor whereas the induction was compromised at 24 hours although the activation of SMAD2 at both 2 and 24 hours was compromised in the presence of TβR-I. This result signified that induction of TGF-β signaling was dependent on the TβR-I activity at early and late time points, but the transcription of the ligand was independent of the receptor activity at early time point. These results indicated the activation of some other pathway by areca nut which could regulate the transcription of TGF-β2 and thereby activate TGF-β signaling in epithelial cells. To explore this possibility, a panel of pathway inhibitors was used and only JNK inhibitor compromised areca nut induced TGF-β2 mRNA and pSMAD2. The results were corroborated by transient knockdown of JNK1 and JNK2. Further, JNK was phosphorylated at 30 minutes to 2 hours by areca nut treatment on epithelial cells. This activation was found to be independent of TβR-I activity. In good correlation, activated JNK1/2 was also detected in OSF tissues and was not detectable in normal tissues. Since JNK activation was found to be a pre-requisite for areca nut induced TGF-β signal activation; we further explored the mechanism of JNK activation by areca nut itself. Areca nut mediated activation of JNK was found to be dependent on muscarinic acid receptor, Ca2+/CAMKII and ROS. Inhibition of these significantly compromised areca nut induced pJNK. In line with this, inhibition of muscarinic acid receptor activity, CAMKII and ROS also abrogated areca nut mediated induction of TGF-β2 mRNA and pSMAD2. The regulation of TGF-β signaling by areca nut in epithelial cells was dependent on transcription, and JNK activity was essential for this. We further sought to explore transcription factors which were regulated by JNK and therefore could possibly induce TGF-β2 promoter activity. ATF2 and c-Jun transcription factors were found to be induced at 30 minutes by areca nut and this up regulation also persisted till 24 hours. Further, activation of both ATF2 and c-Jun was dependent on JNK but independent of TβR-I activity. Moreover, areca nut treatment induced translocation of these phoshorylated transcription factors in the nucleus of epithelial cells. Additionally, pATF2 and p-c-Jun were enriched on TGF-β2 promoter after 2 hours of treatment by areca nut. To investigate the importance of this enrichment and regulation of TGF-β signal activation by areca nut, we transiently knocked down these proteins and studied the regulation of TGF-β2. Areca nut induced TGF-β2 mRNA and pSMAD2 was abrogated upon ATF2 and c-Jun knockdown, implicating JNK mediated activation of ATF2 and c-Jun in areca nut induced TGF- β signaling. To explore the significance of this mechanism in OSF, immunohistochemical staining for pATF2 and p-c-Jun was performed on OSF and normal tissues. Both the transcription factors were found in the nuclei of OSF tissues whereas their expression was not detected in normal tissues. This expression also correlated with the previously reported activation of SMAD2 in OSF tissues by our group. Hence, ATF2 and c-Jun were observed to be important in areca nut mediated TGF-β signaling in OSF. In conclusion, the work described in this thesis provides mechanistic details into OSF etiopathogenesis. Combined actions of areca nut and TGF-β induced a response in fibroblasts akin to OSF. Our results advocate a role for epithelial secreted factors in influencing fibroblast response in both normal and disease (OSF) conditions. Further, importance of TGF-β in OSF has been elucidated in terms of enhancing the fibroblast response to areca nut. We have also elucidated the mechanism for areca nut mediated activation of TGF-β signaling and have identified the contribution of JNK/ATF2/Jun axis in this process. This work can impact the management of oral submucous fibrosis by providing newer targets for treatment.

Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDC) are exogenous agents that mimic endogenous hormone activity in the body. EDC exposure during the critical period of neonatal development can potentially cause life-long neurological, behavioural and physiological disease. This thesis focuses on the EDC Bisphenol A (BPA), a synthetic xenoestrogen widely prevalent in everyday materials that has significant environmental relevance given its ubiquitous presence in humans around the world. The central research question of my thesis is: Does perinatal exposure to BPA affect rat pup development? A rodent model was selected to study the effects of BPA on the adrenal component of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis) stress pathway, which has not been extensively studied. Rat dams were divided into five groups (vehicle control (VEH), positive control diethylstilbestrol (DES), BPA 5, BPA 50 and BPA 500 μg/kg bw/day) and dosed daily throughout gestation and for four days of lactation. Rat pups were sacrificed at two time-points at the beginning and the end of the stress hyporesponsive period (SHRP), at postnatal day (PND) 5 and PND 15. Changes in three morphometric parameters (bodyweight, crown-rump (CR) length and anogenital distance (AGD) were assessed based on the factors of Treatment and Sex. Adrenal gland glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and 18SrRNA expression was determined by qPCR in male pups at PND 5 and PND 15. At PND 5, compared to the VEH group, the BPA 50 pups were significantly heavier (ANOVA, Dunnett’s post-hoc) and the DES and BPA 50 pups had significantly longer CR lengths (ANOVA, Dunnetts’ post-hoc). At PND 15, xenoestrogen treatment significantly influenced CR length (ANOVA). At both time-points, males had significantly longer AGD than females, as physiologically expected (ANOVA). Adrenal gland GR expression in male pups was not significantly affected by treatment, but there was an effect of treatment in18SrRNA gene expression at PND 5 (Kruskal-Wallis). Using the Ct method to determine GR and 18SrRNA fold changes, we cautiously suggest that our experimental doses resulted in a non-monotonic dose response to BPA in the PND 5 animals and a monotonic dose response to BPA exposure in the PND 15 animals. This study highly values the importance of investigating the effects of environmentally relevant, low dose BPA exposure during the critical window of development, given the little that is known about potentially permanent alterations to the stress pathway due to exposure during this delicate period of development.

Representações computacionais de formas podem ser criadas em ferramentas CAD ou geradas a partir de um objeto físico já existente. Esta última abordagem oferece como vantagens rapidez e fidelidade ao objeto original, que são os aspectos fundamentais em muitas aplicações, como Simulações Numéricas de Equações Diferenciais Parciais e Imagens Médicas. A reconstrução (ou geração de malhas superficiais) a partir de pontos amostrados de uma superfície de um objeto é um problema clássico de representação de formas. Nesta dissertação apresentamos um vasto levantamento bibliográfico deste tipo de reconstrução, classificando e descrevendo os principais trabalhos presentes na literatura. A partir do levantamento bibliográfico, selecionamos um conjunto de algoritmos sobre os quais foram realizadas comparações teóricas e empíricas cujos resultados são apresentados. Para finalizar, apresentamos aplicações de nossas implementações em Simulação Numérica de Equações Diferenciais Parciais e processamento de Imagens / Computational representations of shapes can be developed using CAD applications or created from data acquired from a real physical object. This latter is advantageous with respect to time and fidelity to the original object which are essential to several applications, such as Numerical Simulation of Partial Differential Equations and Medical Imaging. A classical shape representation problem is that of reconstruction (or superficial mesh generation) from points sampled over the surface of an object. In this Master\'s thesis we describe a broad survey of these reconstruction methods. We focus in the classification and characterization of the main algorithms proposed in the literature. From this survey, we selected some algorithms and conducted some theoretical and practical comparisons. We conclude this work describing applications of the algorithms implemented in Numerical Simulations of Differential Partial Equations and Image Processing

Submitted by Ricardo Cedraz Duque Moliterno (ricardo.moliterno@uefs.br) on 2016-02-29T22:55:34Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Disserta??o Danielle Mendes Carvalho.pdf: 1158711 bytes, checksum: b9a8e1c6f59d19bb451209ed9144c6f5 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-02-29T22:55:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Disserta??o Danielle Mendes Carvalho.pdf: 1158711 bytes, checksum: b9a8e1c6f59d19bb451209ed9144c6f5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02-04 / Funda??o de Amparo ? Pesquisa do Estado da Bahia - FAPEB / Different strategies of resource exploitation can lead to divergences in species niche realized. Niche differentiation may involve several niche dimensions, which can differ, especially in the diet, in space, and time. In this study, we measured the redundancy level or complementarity in the interaction network in a bee community associated with an agricultural system. The hypothesis is that the degree of trophic overlap on the diet axis in the community is low, with high complementarity, since there is difference in the resource supply over the vintages and, that the overlap on time axis is high with high redundancy at the time of the use of floral resources. The overlap niche on diet axis was low (NOih = 0.18) and 88% of pairs showed overlap values below 30%. Niche overlap on time axis was intermediate (NOih = 0.49), and 65% of pairs showed overlap values between 30 and 60%. The network analysis showed that the bees separate its niche on diet axis and presented additional intermediate specialization (H2 '= 0.46). And on the time axis (H2 '= 0.12) bees were considered generalists, with high temporal redundancy. When we tested whether environmental requirements determined the high redundancy at the time of use of floral resources, we verified that the temperature was not a guiding factor to structure the niche overlap in relation to the time of use. The results indicate that the low niche overlap on the diet axis and the intermediate overlap on the time axis should be reflecting the plurality of floral resources choices by different bee species, which used broad resource spectrum. / Diferentes estrat?gias de explora??o dos recursos podem levar a diverg?ncias no nicho realizado das esp?cies. Diferencia??es de nicho podem envolver diversas dimens?es do nicho, podendo diferir, sobretudo na dieta, no espa?o e no tempo. Neste estudo mensuramos o n?vel de redund?ncia ou complementaridade na rede de intera??o em uma comunidade de abelhas associada a um sistema agr?cola. Nossa hip?tese de trabalho ? que o n?vel de sobreposi??o tr?fica no eixo da dieta na comunidade seja baixo, com alta complementaridade, visto que h? diferen?a na oferta de recurso ao longo das safras e, que a sobreposi??o no eixo temporal seja alta com alta redund?ncia nos hor?rios de uso dos recursos florais. A sobreposi??o de nicho no eixo da dieta foi baixa (NOih= 0,18), e 88% dos pares apresentaram valores de sobreposi??o abaixo de 30%. A sobreposi??o de nicho no eixo temporal foi intermedi?ria (NOih= 0,49), e 65% dos pares apresentaram valores de sobreposi??o entre 30 e 60%. A an?lise de rede mostrou que as abelhas separam seu nicho no eixo da dieta e apresentaram especializa??o complementar intermedi?ria (H2?=0,46). E no eixo temporal (H2?=0,12) as abelhas foram consideradas generalistas, com alta redund?ncia temporal. Ao testarmos se requerimentos ambientais determinaram a alta redund?ncia nos hor?rios de uso dos recursos florais verificamos que a temperatura n?o foi um fator norteador para estruturar a sobreposi??o de nicho em rela??o ao hor?rio. Os nossos resultados indicam que a baixa sobreposi??o do nicho no eixo da dieta e a intermedi?ria sobreposi??o no eixo temporal devem ser reflexo da pluralidade das escolhas de recursos florais por diferentes esp?cies de abelhas, que utilizaram amplo espectro de recursos.

[ES] El hombro es una articulación compleja en la que interaccionan múltiples estructuras, lo que permite la realización de movimientos de gran amplitud. Debido a esta característica, puede ser fácilmente alterada si alguno de los componentes falla. Las patologías del hombro son variadas, así como diversa es la sintomatología y el nivel de alteración funcional. El grado de afectación funcional puede ser valorado ya sea mediante escalas clínicas, o con pruebas biomecánicas basadas en el análisis cinemático, que añaden objetividad a los resultados. No obstante, los modelos cinemáticos disponibles en la actualidad no ofrecen una representación realista del movimiento articular, lo que supone una importante limitación a la hora de desarrollar sistemas de valoración funcional. El objetivo principal de esta tesis fue describir el movimiento del hombro mediante técnicas cinemáticas avanzadas que incluyeran el uso de variables funcionales asociadas a la posición, velocidad y aceleración, así como la descripción de la trayectoria del eje instantáneo de rotación, con la finalidad de desarrollar un nuevo enfoque en las técnicas de valoración funcional del hombro. La muestra de estudio estuvo compuesta por 41 sujetos sanos y 15 sujetos con patología de hombro. Se analizaron los movimientos de abducción en el plano frontal y escapular, sin peso y con una maza de 1kg. Se utilizó la escala EVA (Escala Visual Analógica), para determinar el nivel de dolor percibido y la escala DASH (Disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand), para definir el grado funcional. Se realizó un análisis de variables numéricas, variables funcionales, reproducibilidad y armonía del movimiento y descripción de la trayectoria del eje instantáneo de rotación (EIR). Como resultado, se ha demostrado la alta fiabilidad del procedimiento. Las diferencias encontradas entre los sujetos sanos y patológicos, solo eran evidentes a nivel de grupos, además la dispersión de la muestra era considerable. Los valores de reproducibilidad y armonía fueron similares para los dos grupos. En promedio, los sujetos patológicos tenían menor ángulo, velocidad y aceleración, pérdida que se producía de forma continua a lo largo del ciclo, como se observa en el análisis de las funciones del movimiento. Se encontró que la escala DASH guardaba una relación con las variables cinemáticas funcionales, si bien, era moderada. Por otra parte, al aumentar el nivel de afectación, se observaba una clara disminución de la velocidad angular, y un cambio en el patrón de movimiento. Con respecto al efecto de la carga, no se encontraron diferencias claras en la población de estudio. Finalmente, la trayectoria del EIR describía una ruta de inicio por debajo del acromion, seguido de un desplazamiento vertical y medio-lateral, con un patrón que aunque era similar entre los grupos, se veía afectado de forma diferente por el dolor o el nivel de afectación funcional en la muestra de patológicos. En conclusión, los resultados indican que las variables funcionales son más sensibles a los cambios que las variables numéricas clásicas basadas en rangos o valores máximos. Por otra parte, las diferencias encontradas entre los sujetos patológicos y los sanos, solo son claras a nivel de conjunto, pero no separan de forma nítida a los individuos de cada grupo, pudiendo ser solo evidentes en caso de afectaciones muy severas, pero no con niveles moderados o bajos. El estudio del EIR es novedoso y proporciona información acerca de la coordinación del movimiento, aspecto de especial relevancia dada la composición del complejo articular del hombro. Finalmente, de los resultados se extrae el interés del uso de medidas repetidas usando el sujeto como factor y utilizando las escalas de valoración funcional, ya que el uso solo de datos biomecánicos no parece ser suficiente. / [CAT] El muscle és una articulació complexa en la qual interaccionen múltiples estructures, la qual cosa permet la realització de moviments de gran amplitud. A causa d'aquesta característica, pot ser facilment alterada si algun dels components falla. Les patologies del muscle són variades, així com diversa és la simptomatologia i el nivell d'alteració funcional. El grau d'afectació funcional pot ser valorat ja siga mitjanvant escales clíniques, o amb proves biomecaniques basades en l'analisi cinematica, que afigen objectivitat als resultats. No obstant aixo, els models cinematics disponibles en l'actualitat no ofereixen una representació realista del moviment articular, la qual cosa suposa una important limitació a l'hora de desenvolupar sistemes de valoració funcional. L'objectiu principal d'aquesta tesi va ser descriure el moviment del muscle mitjanvant tecniques cinematiques avanvades que inclogueren l'ús de variables funcionals associades a la posició, velocitat i acceleració, així com la descripció de la trajectoria de l'eix instantani de rotació, amb la finalitat de desenvolupar un nou enfocament en les tecniques de valoració funcional del muscle. La mostra d'estudi va estar composta per 41 subjectes sans i 15 subjectes amb patología de muscle. Es van analitzar els moviments d'abducció en el pla frontal i en el pla escapular, amb pes d'1 quilogram i sense pes. Es va utilitzar l'escala EVA (escala visual analogica), per a determinar el nivell de dolor percebut i l'escala DASH (Disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand), per a definir el grau funcional. Es va realitzar una analisi de variables numeriques, variables funcionals, reproducibilitat i harmonia del moviment i descripció de la trajectoria de l'eix instantani de rotació. Com a resultat, s'ha demostrat l'alta fiabilitat del procediment. Les diferencies oposades entre els subjectes sans i patologics, només eren evidents a nivell de grups, a més la dispersió de la mostra era considerable. Els valors de reproducibilitat i harmonia van ser similars per als dos grups. En mitjana, els subjectes patologics tenien menor angle, velocitat i acceleració, perdua que es produia de forma contínua al llarg del cicle, com s'observa en l'analisi de les funcions del moviment. Es va trobar que l'escala DASH guardava una relació con les variables cinematiques funcionals, si bé, era moderada. D'altra banda, en augmentar el nivell d'afectació, s'observava una clara disminució de la velocitat angular, i un canvi en el patró de moviment. Respecte a l'efecte de la carrega, no es van trobar diferencies clares en la població d'estudi. Finalment, la trajectoria del EIR descrivia una ruta d'inici per davall de l'acromi, seguit d'un desplavament vertical i mig-lateral, amb un patró que encara que era similar entre els grups, es veia afectat de forma diferent pel dolor o el nivell d'afectació funcional en la mostra de patologics. En conclusió, els resultats indiquen que les variables funcionals són més sensibles als canvis que les variables numeriques classiques basades en rangs o valors maxims. D'altra banda, les diferencies oposades entre els subjectes patologics i els sans, només són clares a nivell de conjunt, pero no separen de forma nítida als individus de cada grup, podent ser només evidents en cas d'afectacions molt severes, pero no amb nivells moderats o baixos. L'estudi del EIR és nou i proporciona informació sobre la coordinació del moviment, aspecte d'especial rellevancia donada la composició del complex articular del muscle. Finalment, dels resultats s'extrau l'interés de l'ús de mesures repetides usant el subjecte com a factor i utilitzant les escales de valoració funcional, ja que l'ús sol de dades biomecanics no sembla ser suficient. / [EN] The shoulder complex is a structure of joints with the largest range of motion. Consequently, it is susceptible to injury. Shoulder pathologies involve different levels of functional impairment that can be assessed either by clinical scales or by objective methods such as kinematic analysis. However, currently available kinematic models do not offer a realistic representation of joint movement, which is an important limitation when developing functional assessment systems. The main goal of current dissertation is to describe the movement of the shoulder, using advanced kinematic techniques that include the use of position, velocity and acceleration variables, as well as the use of the instantaneous helical axis, in order to develop new techniques of functional assessment. This study included 41 healthy subjects and 15 subjects with shoulder pathology. Subjects performed humeral elevation in 2 planes (frontal and scapular) and 2 conditions (loaded and unloaded). The VAS (visual analog scale) was used to determine the level of perceived pain and the DASH scale (Disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand) to define the functional impairment. An analysis of numerical variables, functional variables, reproducibility and harmony of the movement and description of the trajectory of the instantaneous helical axis (IHA) was carried out. As a result, the high reliability of the procedure has been demostrated. Significative differences were found between healthy and pathological subjects. However, it was only evident about groups, in addition the dispersion was considerable. Reproducibility and harmony values were similar for both. The functional analysis showed that the pathological group had lower angle, velocity and acceleration throughout the entire cycle. It was found that the DASH scale had a moderate relation with the functional kinematic variables. On the other hand, when increasing the level of affectation, an obvious decrease of the angular velocity, and a change in the movement pattern was observed. Regarding the effect of loading, no clear differences were found in the study population. Finally, the IHA described a vertical and mid-lateral displacement, with an initial point below the acromion. The pattern was similar in both groups, however it was affected by the level of pain and functional impairment. In conclusion, these findings suggest that functional variables are more sensitive to changes than classical numerical variables. On the other hand, differences between healthy and pathological subjects are only evident at group level. It seems that it is only evident in highly affected patients, not in those with a mild or intermediate impairment. Moreover, the study of the IHA is novel and provides relevant information about the shoulder joint coordination. Finally, we concluded that the use of repeated measurements using the subject as a factor along with the use of scales of functional assessment provides a better description of the movement since the exclusive use of biomechanical data, does not seem to be sufficient. / Cáceres Cáceres, ML. (2019). Aplicación de la cinemática articular a la valoración funcional del hombro [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/133994 / TESIS

Self-injurious behavior (SIB) is a complex phenotype that occurs with an increasing prevalence of about 7-34% in humans and 10-12% in non-human primates (NHPs). This study evaluated the efficacy of probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri as a treatment for self-injurious behavior (SIB) and sleep disruption in rhesus macaques. The treatment was proposed to alleviate mild self-biting, sleep disruption, and reduce chronically elevated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis activity, all hallmark features of monkeys with this condition. The probiotic preparation included two strains of L. reuteri (L. reuteri ATCC PTA 6475 & L. reuteri DSM 17938) containing on average 200 million colony forming units per chewable tablet. The study was conducted on 14 rhesus macaque monkeys (9 males) housed at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. To our knowledge this is the first time that a Lactobacillus strain has been used as a treatment for SIB in rhesus macaques. This study utilizes motion-activated infrared camera technology, modified enzyme-immunosorbent-assays (EIAs) techniques to measure hair cortisol concentrations, and daily behavioral observations to provide an overall assessment of the behavioral, physiological, and sleep associated implications of probiotic treatment on SIB and control non-human primates (NHPs). Administration of L reuteri modestly decreased biting behavior in monkeys with SIB (F(2,12) = 5.64, p= 0.02) and showed overall decrease in nighttime activity across all subjects but did not normalize SIB to nonSIB values. Hair cortisol values are pending. These findings and the findings of previous work further strengthen the argument for probiotics as an efficacious treatment for SIB behavior.

Wind energy is one of the fastest-growing renewable energy technologies, and horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWT) have been the most common device to convert wind kinetic energy into electrical energy. As the capacities of wind turbines and scales of wind farm constructions are rapidly increasing over time, environmental impacts of wind energy are becoming more relevant and raising more attention than ever before. One of the major environmental concerns is noise emission from wind energy facilities, especially low-frequency noise and infrasound that allegedly cause so-called wind turbine syndrome. Therefore, a numerical simulation program capable to predict low-frequency noise and infrasound emission from wind turbines is a useful tool to aid future wind energy development. In this study of this thesis, a computer program named TDRIP (Time Domain Rotor Infrasound Prediction) is developed based on acoustic analogy theories. Farassat’s formulation 1A, a solution to Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings (FW-H) equation, is implemented in the TDRIP program to compute aerodynamically generated sound. The advantage of this program is its capability to simultaneously compute infrasound emission of multiple wind turbines in time domain, which is a challenging task for other aerodynamic noise prediction methods. The developed program is validated against results obtained from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The program is then used to compute aerodynamic noise emitted from wind turbine rotors. The effects of wind direction, wind turbine siting, and phase of wind turbine rotation on consequent aerodynamic noise are investigated. Results of aerodynamic noise computation imply that wind turbine siting configuration or wind turbine phase adjustment can help reducing noise level at certain locations, which make the program ideal to be integrated into wind farm siting or control tools.

This work deals with design of front trapezoidal suspension for racing car Škoda 130RS. The first part describes types of current suspensions and provides a review of important suspension parameters that have great influence to vehicle handling. The second part deals with kinematic analysis existing suspension, its modification and design of new type.

This thesis is dealing with determining of technical and economical limits of axis X of portal milling machine driven by gear rack and pinion. And designing drive of axis like this. In chapter overview of the current state of knowledge are researched options of drive systems of linear axis, primarily of using ball screw and couple of pinion and gear rack. Basic parameters of axis X portal milling machines, options of measuring, guiding of axis and electric motors. Then the limit suitability of using pinion and gear rack is determined. In next chapters is designed few variations of arrangements of drives and selected the best one. This arrangement is then designed.