Orientador: Maria del Pilar Taboada Sotomayor / Resumo: O presente trabalho explora duas diferentes sínteses de polímeros impressos para o corante alimentício Tartrazina: pelo método em bulk e por precipitação. Para isso, foram avaliadas sínteses com diferentes monômeros funcionais e proporções molares entre os reagentes empregados para a polimerização. O MIP que apresentou melhor desempenho foi sintetizado pelo método de precipitação e na proporção 1:2:10 de molécula molde (Tartrazina), monômero funcional (acrilamida) e monômero estrutural (N-N'-metileno-bis-acrilamida), respectivamente. Este MIP-Tartrazina apresentou uma boa porcentagem de religação, em torno de 97%. Em seguida, foi avaliado seu desempenho na adsorção do analito por meio de isotermas de adsorção no intervalo de concentração de 0 a 300 µmol L-1 e os resultados foram satisfatórios, pois a curva obtida para o MIP apresenta um formato de "one site binding", permitindo obter o valor de constante de associação aparente de 1,6 x 104 L µmol-1. Já com os dados obtidos, incluindo também o NIP, foi calculado o valor do fator de impressão para a concentração de 50 µmol L-1, sendo de 2,67. Todos estes resultados são atribuídos às cavidades formadas no MIP, que conferem uma alta afinidade e um reconhecimento especifico do analito. Comumente a quantidade de analito adsorvido é determinada a partir de análises indiretas da solução remanescente após a ligação do analito ao material adsorvente. Entretanto, podem induzir a erros experimentais e algumas vezes a valores de Q (adsor... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The present work investigates two different syntheses of imprinted polymers for the food dye Tartrazine: by bulk and by precipitation methods. For this, syntheses with different functional monomers and molar ratios among the reagents used for the polymerization were evaluated. The MIP presented better performance by precipitation method and the ratio 1:2:10 of template (Tartrazine), functional monomer (acrylamide) and structural monomer (N-N'-methylene-bis-acrylamide), respectively. This MIP-Tartrazine presented a good percentage of rebinding, around 97%. Then, adsorption performance of the analyte was evaluated by adsorption isotherms in the concentration range from 0 to 300 μmol L-1 and results were satisfactory, since the obtained curve for the MIP presents a "one site binding" form, allowing to obtain the value of apparent association constant of 1.6 x 104 L µmol-1 . With the obtained data, including also the NIP, the imprinted factor value was 2.67 for the concentration of 50 μmol L-1 . All these results can be attributed to the cavities that were formed in the MIP, which provide a high affinity and specific recognition of the analyte. Commonly, the analyte amount which was adsorbed is determined using indirect analysis of the remaining solution after the analyte binding to the adsorbent material. However, experimental errors can be induced and sometime to obtain negative values of Q (adsorption of the analyte). Thus, in this work is presented, for the first time, the re... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

In the development of autonomous vehicles, replacing the driver and its perceptive abilities is one of many technical challenges. As a part in solving these challenges, Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) is a promising technology. In short, LiDAR works by using lasers to detect objects in its vicinity by detecting the light that reflects on them. With knowledge of the reflective properties of an object, a prediction can be made regarding whether a certain LiDAR unit will be able to detect the object or not. When making this prediction, the common description of reflectance is often insufficient. Instead, a more complete description is given by the Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) of a surface, which describes reflection on the surface while taking the incident and reflected direction into consideration. In this thesis, an experimental setup was built with the capabilities of measuring the BRDF while taking incident and reflected polarization into account. Program software was written in Python and integrated with the hardware, providing a user interface for simple control of the setup. The BRDF was measured on a total of 6 samples; 2 reference samples and 4 samples taken from the hood of 4 different cars. Conclusively, the setup provided useful information about the reflective and polarization properties of the samples. These measurements can help in predicting whether or not a surface can be detected by a given LiDAR unit, and can also be helpful when designing new LiDAR units by providing useful information about the surfaces they are required to detect.

Forty-four alfalfa hays from different cuttings, maturities, and locations were fed to sheep in a digestion study. Subsamples of the hays along with corresponding fecal samples were ground and analyzed for dry matter, (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and permanganate lignin. In vivo digestibility (IVDMD) were also determined fro each hay. The hay and fecal samples were scanned with a near infrared reflectance spectrophotometer. Chemical and digestible data for each hay and fecal sample were entered into the computer and separate multiple regression equations developed. Fifteen other alfalfa hays with known chemical and digestible data were used to test the alfalfa equation. Standard errors of analysis (%) and corresponding r2s were: 3.55 and 0.81, 0.23 and 0.99, 2.44 and 0.94, 0.85 and 0.98, 1.33 and 0.96, 1.13 and 0.96, 1.13 and 0.80 for DDM, CP, IVDMD, ADF, NDF, and lignin, respectively. Thirty fecal samples with known chemical data were used to test the fecal equation. Standard errors of analysis and corresponding r2s were: 0.13 and 0.96, 0.41 and 0.93, 0.87 and 0.96, 1.79 and 0.90, 2.10 and 0.91, 1.46 and 0.90 for DM, OM, CP, ADF, NDF and lignin, respectively. Using the spectral information from fecal samples and the chemical composition of alfalfa samples to analyze other alfalfa samples was examined. Twelve other alfalfa hays with known chemical and digestible data were used to test the fecal equation. Standard errors of analysis (%) and corresponding r2s were: 4.05 and 0.01, 1.54 and 0.48, 1.63 and 0.71, 13.16 and 0.55, 1.43 and 0.35, 6.52 and 0.13, 4.30 and 0.63, 2.36 and 0.09, 5.75 and 0.49 for DM, OM, CP, IVDMD, ash, NDF, ADF, lignin, and DDM respectively. Hay fecal samples were sieved to study the utility of using sieving as a procedure to support chemical data in predicting DDM. Use of sieving (alfalfa and fecal) and chemical data (other than IVDMD) increased the precision of predicting DDM (R2 = 0.76), over using IVDMD and ash concentrations to predict DDM (R2 = 0.66).

The development of an automated instrument employing reflectance colorimetry was described. Several models were designed, assembled, and programmed to perform microbial and enzymic tests automatically. Samples were prepared manually or automatically by a Zymate™ II robot. These samples were incubated during the tests to maintain an optimum temperature for reactions and microbial growth. During incubation, color changes of appropriate indicator dyes in the sample/reagent mixtures were measured intermittently, recorded, and compared to previously defined end points. The computer-controlled instrument received data that related time of color changes with the initial numbers of microorganisms or the enzyme activity of the samples. Traditional pH and oxidation/reduction dyes were used. Suitable dyes and media were selected for fast estimation in the different assays studied . Applications of the instrument to evaluate raw milk for the total viable microbial count, abnormality, broad spectrum antibiotics, and coliforms were emphasized. The automated colorimeter system successfully quantitated total and coliform microflora in raw milk. Correlations between reflectance colorimetry and the spiral plate count method were .932 (using .12% TIC as indicator), .922 (using BCP as indicator), and .681 (using .04% TTC as indicator). A coefficient of correlation of .874 was obtained when reflectance colorimetry was compared with coliform numbers on violet red bile agar. The reflectance colorimetry system provided better precision than current reference methods. Preliminary incubation or larger sample volumes were required to estimate low numbers of microflora . Antibiotic residue detection was also evaluated using Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris UC 310+ with the automated colorimeter system. The following concentrations (ppb) could be detected: penicillin G:::;; 5, ampicillin ≤ 5, tetracycline ≤ 250 , sulfamethazine ≤ 30, streptomycin ≤ 1000, kanamycin ≤ 500, and chloramphenicol ≤ 500. Abnormal milk could be screened out by measuring the NAGase activity and chloride ion content in milk samples. Both methods had been integrated into the automated colorimeter system. The coefficient of correlation between somatic cell count and the NAGase activity as measured with the colorimeter was .802; a correlation of .792 could be obtained when chloride ion content was measured.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Over the years, car driving experience has evolved drastically. Many new and useful technologies have emerged, which have enhanced safety and reliability measures. The Automotive world is now trying to build capabilities for driverless or vehicle assisted driving. Building capabilities for driverless cars practically means first developing training methods, then training the machine, evaluating the test results, and then based on testing results; develop a confidence interval for trusting the machine. One of the critical models is the model adopting the Road Departure Assisting Techniques (RDAT). These techniques are primarily the standards for alleviating the risk of roadside fatalities. The different models developed or proposed for RDAT falls under “The Road Departure Mitigation System” (RDMS). But, almost every RDMS to date has over-reliance on the presence and the quality of the lane markings. In the absence of lane markings or of proper lane markings, these RDMS are unreliable. Therefore, RDMS requires new references such as roadside objects and road edges for detecting road departures. This new system should propose and establish a standard for RDMS testing with roadside objects. As the foremost task, this new system requires the creation of a testing environment consisting of soft, robust, and reusable surrogates. Critically, these surrogates must have comparable sensors characteristics to those of real roadside objects from various commonly used object detection sensors on the vehicles such as camera, radar, and LIDAR. One of such everyday roadside objects is the curbs. For developing a surrogate for the curb, the first step is to recognize what the roadside objects should look like concerning different sensors, and the next step is to design and develop a surrogate curb that successfully follows the properties of the real roadside objects. This thesis first demonstrates and proposes the methods for extracting the color, Radar reflectivity, and the LiDAR reflectance properties of real roadside curbs. That is, the study deals with what all color combinations and patterns represent the US roadside curbs, what should be the range of Radar reflectivity values, and LiDAR reflectance bounds that a surrogate curb should satisfy. The later part of the thesis illustrates methods and steps on how to mimic the extracted properties, design a surrogate curb as per federal standards, and then develop a surrogate curb. Finally, the surrogate curbs were subjected to crash tests for testing their robustness.

No description available.

No description available.

Optical reflectance of the quasi two dimensional compound Hg₂.₈₆AsF₆ has been investigated in the optical range, 0.5 to 4 eV. The spectra clearly show a plasma edge at 3 eV. They are fitted to a Drude model and two Lorentz oscillators. From the plasma frequency and the model parameters values for the dc conductivity and the effective mass and an estimate of the crytsal anisotropy have been obtained. The results compare well with earlier electrical measurements on this compound. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is a common breast cancer treatment that involves administering chemotherapy for 3-6 months prior to surgery. This treatment enables more breast-conserving surgeries and even allows for the omission of surgery in some cases. However, about 31% of patients receiving NAC do not respond to the treatment. Therefore, there is a need for real-time methods to predict treatment response and improve patient outcomes. Over the last two decades, diffuse optical imaging has been investigated as a potential solution to this problem. This noninvasive and inexpensive technology uses near or shortwave infrared (NIR or SWIR) light to illuminate tissue, and detects multiply-scattered photons. However, bulky instrumentation and complicated imaging procedures have limited the clinical adoption of this technology. Furthermore, measured biomarkers including oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin (HbO2 and HHb, respectively), water, and lipid, have had mixed results in terms of prognostic capability. To address these limitations, a new wearable optical probe technology was developed and validated in this project, including a high-optode density NIR probe for monitoring hemodynamics and a first-generation SWIR probe for quantifying water and lipid. Measurements on tissue-mimicking channel flow phantoms confirmed the ability of the NIR probe to quantify absorption contrast in vitro, and a cuff occlusion measurement demonstrated sensitivity to HbO2 and HHb in vivo. Hemodynamic oscillations at the respiratory rate were also explored in healthy volunteers and breast cancer patients as a potential new biomarker. It was demonstrated that traditional and novel breathing-related hemodynamic metrics provide tumor contrast and can potentially track treatment response. A deep-learning algorithm was developed to extract water and lipid concentrations from multi-distance SWIR measurements. The SWIR probe was validated by comparing measured water and lipid concentrations against ground truth values in emulsion phantoms. This work represents a significant step toward the development of technologies for frequent breast cancer treatment monitoring in the clinic and potentially at home.

Sparkle is a visual texture which appearance basically consists of very bright spots randomly distributed over a darker background. The effect is more apparent to the observer when one of the contributors (sample, observer, illumination) is moved, meaning it is a dynamic effect. While the characterization and measurement of sparkle has been an important topic of research during the past years, the focus has been solely around the static component of it, the dynamic aspect of sparkle has been left out of the discussion. This is somewhat reasonable since the dynamic attribute bases itself on the perception and measurement of static sparkle. The dynamic aspect of sparkle, or “living sparkle” can be described as the variation of its appearance over a given angular distance. Nonetheless, both effects are without doubt related and perhaps together they provide the key to finding the absolute characterization of sparkle. In this work we aim to dive into both aspects. First, the setup of a goniometric system with a color camera was carried out, obtaining a high spatial and angular resolution. Second, measurements of commercial and self-manufactured sample sets were performed, and an analysis algorithm was developed. The algorithm provided a wide range of parameters for different thresholding methods. These methods were put to test when the results were correlated with the visual assessment of a group of 9 samples under one illumination/observation geometry, obtaining the correlation factors for all methods and parameters. The combination of thresholding method and parameter obtained an R2 > 0.9, implying a strong connection with the visual experience. The threshold applied was always fixed at the same value and the parameter (“S_Values”) represented the brightness of the pixels, indicating that the brightness of the sample is the most influential attribute for the perception of sparkle. Then, this same methodology was applied to the rest of the samples in this study (71 total), for the geometries in between 71.2 and 11.2 degrees in 5 degrees steps. The physical parameters of the self-manufactured samples were also used to test the correctness of the algorithm. The results broadly matched the expected values of intensity and particle size. In addition, the algorithm measured the angular variability of the samples though the angular visibility of the sparkle spots. The wider the visible range, the more invariant the sample, and the less apparent the sparkle effect. This work proposes an innovative way of measuring sparkle in its dynamic and static components, a methodology and measurands to do so are proposed and contrasted to visually assessed samples.