BUITRAGO, José David Arévalo. Regularidade ótima para equações de evolução degeneradas : uma abordagem geométrica tangencial. 2017. 34 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Matemática)- Centro de Ciências, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, 2017. / Submitted by Rocilda Sales (rocilda@ufc.br) on 2017-02-09T12:33:47Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2017_dis_jdabuitrago.pdf: 182940 bytes, checksum: 6a2eb443849a45a08277781d00152b03 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Rocilda Sales (rocilda@ufc.br) on 2017-02-09T12:34:45Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2017_dis_jdabuitrago.pdf: 182940 bytes, checksum: 6a2eb443849a45a08277781d00152b03 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-09T12:34:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2017_dis_jdabuitrago.pdf: 182940 bytes, checksum: 6a2eb443849a45a08277781d00152b03 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017 / In this work we study the optimal continuity modulus for weak solutions of the p-parabolic equation Degenerate non-homogeneous particles, which are C0, α, for some α in (0,1). Using a method Based on the notion of tangential geometric equations and the intrinsic scaling of the p-parabolic operator, We show explicitly the optimal alpha exponent in terms of p, the integrability of the source term and The size of space. / Neste trabalho estudamos o modulo de continuidade ótimo para soluções fracas da equação p-parabólica não-homogênea degenerada, as quais são C^{0,\alpha}, para algum \alpha em (0,1). Usando um método baseado na noção de equações geométricas tangenciais e o "scaling" intrínseco do operador p-parabólico, mostramos de forma explicita o expoente alpha ótimo em termos de p, a integrabilidade do termo fonte e a dimensão do espaço.

Elevated water tanks are widely used to store water for drinking as well as for fire extinguishing purposes. After a severe earthquake, the need of water for drinking as well as fire control will increase dramatically. To ensure that water tanks remain functional after an earthquake, proper analysis method should be followed in order to calculate the response of a structure for earthquake. In this study, the lateral forces developed during earthquake are investigated from commercially available SAP2000 software and the results are compared with the 2006 edition of the ACI standard "Seismic Design of Liquid-Containing Concrete Structures and Commentary" (ACI 350.3-06). The elevated concrete tank is modeled for full, half-full and empty conditions. Linear modal time history analysis is performed using scaled ground motions. Three-directional ground motion records from five different earthquakes have been scaled to the design level and applied to the structure. Sloshing behavior of water inside the tank and the effect of vertical ground motion on the columns have been investigated. It is found that, vertical ground motions can increase the axial forces in columns by up to 20 %, and the ACI 350.3-06 design method is not always conservative. As seismic response depends on both the dynamic properties of the structure and the spectral characteristics of ground motions, more research is needed to understand and model the seismic response of elevated water tanks.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:33:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2003-08-18Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:04:27Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 andradeacevedo_ra_dr_arafo.pdf: 2469845 bytes, checksum: 6aef2f449ff6364a09cca9dd4566f240 (MD5) / O presente trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar em fotomicrografias obtidas em microscópio eletrônico de varredura (MEV) o ângulo de corte de curetas de Gracey 5-6 em três níveis: afiação de fábrica, após ficarem sem corte e após serem reafiadas utilizando nove diferentes técnicas padronizadas de afiação: 1- face lateral da cureta contra a pedra Arkansas plana; 2- face coronal e posteriormente a lateral contra a pedra Arkansas plana; 3- pedra de Arkansas plana contra a face lateral da cureta; 4- cone de óxido de alumínio a baixa rotação contra a face coronal e em seguida a face lateral da cureta; 5- face lateral da cureta com pedra Arkansas 299; 6- face lateral da cureta com o aparelho padronizador Hu-Friedy; 7- face coronal da cureta com ponta de videa; 8- face coronal da cureta com ponta de videa e em seguida a face lateral com pedra de Arkansas plana; 9- afiação da face coronal com ponta de videa e em seguida pó abrasivo e roda de feltro rotatória na face lateral da cureta. Foram tomadas fotomicrografias (350X) do ângulo de corte e posteriormente avaliadas por um examinador calibrado através do índice do ângulo de corte. A analise estatística de Kruskal Wallis e comparações múltiplas mostraram que as técnicas 1 e 2 foram as melhores técnicas de afiação seguidas das técnicas 6, 5 e 8. As piores técnicas foram a 7, 9, 4, 0 e 3. A reafiação da face coronal das curetas produziu a formação de projeções metálicas não funcionais no ângulo de corte e finalmente não houve diferenças entre a afiação do extremo par e ímpar dos instrumentos em nenhuma das técnicas de afiação utilizadas. / A micrographs obtained by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used to evaluated the gracey 5-6 cutting edges as the come from manufacture, after they had been dull and after they were resharpened by several standard techniques: 1- lateral surface over a flat Arkansas sharp stone; 2- coronal surface and the a lateral surface over a flat Arkansas sharp stone; 3- lateral surface by passing a flat Arkansas sharp stone; 4- rotatory aluminum oxide stone over a coronal surface and then over a lateral face; 5- lateral surface by passing an Arkansas 299 stone; 6- lateral surface on Hu-Friedy sharp divice; 7- coronal surface by a Whittler Neivert Device; 8- coronal face by a Whittler Neivert Device and the a lateral surface over a flat Arkansas sharp stone; 9- coronal surface with a Whittler Neivert Device and a rotating, impregnated, felt wheel on the lateral surface. The cutting edges was blindly evaluated on micrographs (X350) by one calibrated examiner (cutting angle index). A statistical analysis showed that techniques 1 and 2 were the best ones followed by a 6, 5 and 8 techniques. The worst techniques were a 7, 9, 4, 0 and 3. Resharpened on the coronal face of curettes generated a non functional wire edges on the cutting edge angle and there were not differences between the paired and unpaired extreme of the instruments resharpened.

abstract: The slider-crank mechanism is popularly used in internal combustion engines to convert the reciprocating motion of the piston into a rotary motion. This research discusses an alternate mechanism proposed by the Wiseman Technology Inc. which involves replacing the crankshaft with a hypocycloid gear assembly. The unique hypocycloid gear arrangement allows the piston and the connecting rod to move in a straight line, creating a perfect sinusoidal motion. To analyze the performance advantages of the Wiseman mechanism, engine simulation software was used. The Wiseman engine with the hypocycloid piston motion was modeled in the software and the engine's simulated output results were compared to those with a conventional engine of the same size. The software was also used to analyze the multi-fuel capabilities of the Wiseman engine using a contra piston. The engine's performance was studied while operating on diesel, ethanol and gasoline fuel. Further, a scaling analysis on the future Wiseman engine prototypes was carried out to understand how the performance of the engine is affected by increasing the output power and cylinder displacement. It was found that the existing Wiseman engine produced about 7% less power at peak speeds compared to the slider-crank engine of the same size. It also produced lower torque and was about 6% less fuel efficient than the slider-crank engine. These results were concurrent with the dynamometer tests performed in the past. The 4 stroke diesel variant of the same Wiseman engine performed better than the 2 stroke gasoline version as well as the slider-crank engine in all aspects. The Wiseman engine using contra piston showed poor fuel efficiency while operating on E85 fuel. But it produced higher torque and about 1.4% more power than while running on gasoline. While analyzing the effects of the engine size on the Wiseman prototypes, it was found that the engines performed better in terms of power, torque, fuel efficiency and cylinder BMEP as their displacements increased. The 30 horsepower (HP) prototype, while operating on E85, produced the most optimum results in all aspects and the diesel variant of the same engine proved to be the most fuel efficient. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S.Tech Mechanical Engineering 2014

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / Background and Objectives: The proven efficacy of bisphosphonates to inhibit the osteoclastic bone resorption has led to their use in the management of periodontal diseases. This dissertation, comprised by 2 manuscripts, aimed: (1) to histologically analyze the effects of systemic administration of Tiludronate (TIL) on ligature-induced periodontitis in rats; (2) to histologically analyze the effects of systemic administration of TIL as an adjunctive therapy to mechanical periodontal treatment on ligature-induced periodontitis in rats. Methods: In study 1, 32 adult male rats were divided into four groups (n=8): C, PD, PD-TIL5, PD-TIL15 (CâControl group, PDâPeriodontitis groups). On PD groups, a ligature was placed in the cervical area of the right mandibular 1st molar of each rat. After 15 days, TIL solutions (TildrenÂ, Ceva SaÃde Animal Ltda., PaulÃnia, SP, Brazil) at dosages of 5 mg/kg body weight (group PD-TIL5) or 15 mg/kg body weight (group PD-TIL15) were subcutaneously administered 5 times a week for 3 weeks. In study 2, 40 adult male rats were divided into five groups (n=8): C, PD, PDT, PDT-TIL 5, PDT-TIL 15. On PD groups, ligatures were placed as described. After 15 days, ligatures of the rats from groups PDT, PDT-TIL5 and PDT-TIL15 were removed and scaling and root planing were performed. TIL solutions at dosages of 5 mg/kg body weight (group PDT-TIL5) or 15 mg/kg body weight (group PDT-TIL15) were subcutaneously administered 5 times a week for 3 weeks. All animals were euthanized at the 36th day. Histometric and histologic analyses were performed. Data were statistically analyzed (ANOVA, Tukey, p<0.05). Results: In study 1, alveolar bone loss was significantly reduced in group PD-TIL5 (1.12 mmÂ0.24), when compared with groups PD (1.70 mmÂ0.32) and PD-TIL15 (1.47 mmÂ0.21). The animals from all PD groups presented more periodontal attachment loss than the ones from group C (0.12 mmÂ0.09). There were no differences in periodontal attachment loss among PD groups (PD: 0.53 mmÂ0.19; PD-TIL5: 0.37 mmÂ0.09; PD-TIL15: 0.52 mmÂ0.13). In study 2, there were no differences in alveolar bone losses among groups PDT (1.27 mmÂ0.15), PDT-TIL 5 (1.18 mmÂ0.10) and PDT-TIL 15 (1.26 mmÂ0.40). The alveolar bone losses found in these groups were slighter than the alveolar bone loss observed in group PD and did not statistically differ from the alveolar bone loss found in group C. Animals from all groups with periodontitis induction (group PD: 0.59 mmÂ0.16; group PDT: 0.39 mmÂ0.07; group PDT-TIL 5: 0.42 mmÂ0.05; group PDT-TIL 15: 0.48 mm  0.09) presented periodontal attachment losses statistically greater than the animals from group C (0.12 mmÂ0.09). Groups PDT and PDT-TIL 5 presented less periodontal attachment loss than group PD. Conclusions: Within the limits of this study, it can be concluded that (i) systemically-administered TIL solution reduced alveolar bone loss in established periodontitis in rats, (ii) dosage of TIL may influence its anti-inflammatory and anti-resorptive properties and (iii) systemically-administered TIL did not result in additional benefits to periodontal mechanical therapy in rats with experimental periodontitis. / IntroduÃÃo e Objetivos: A eficÃcia comprovada dos bisfosfonatos em inibir a reabsorÃÃo Ãssea osteoclÃstica levou à utilizaÃÃo dos mesmos no tratamento da periodontite. Esta dissertaÃÃo, composta por 2 artigos, teve como objetivos: (1) avaliar, histologicamente, os efeitos da administraÃÃo sistÃmica do bisfosfonato Tiludronato (TIL) na periodontite induzida por ligadura em ratos; (2) avaliar, histologicamente, os efeitos da administraÃÃo sistÃmica do TIL como terapia adjuvante ao tratamento periodontal mecÃnico na periodontite induzida por ligadura em ratos. MÃtodos: No estudo 1, 32 ratos adultos machos foram divididos em 4 grupos (n=8): C, DP, DP-TIL5 e DP-TIL15 (C-grupo Controle, DP-grupos Periodontite). Nos grupos DP, ligaduras foram colocadas na Ãrea cervical dos 1os molares inferiores direitos de cada um dos ratos no 1 dia. ApÃs 15 dias, soluÃÃes de TIL (TildrenÂ, Ceva SaÃde Animal Ltda., PaulÃnia/SP, Brasil) nas dosagens de 5 mg/kg de peso corporal (grupo DP-TIL5) e 15 mg/kg de peso corporal (grupo DP-TIL15) foram administradas, 5 vezes por semana, durante 3 semanas. No estudo 2, 40 ratos adultos machos foram divididos em 5 grupos (n=8): C, DP, DPT, DPT-TIL5 e DPT-TIL15. Nos grupos DP, foram colocadas ligaduras, conforme descriÃÃo anterior. ApÃs 15 dias, as ligaduras dos ratos dos grupos DPT, DPT-TIL5 e DPT-TIL15 foram removidas, e foram realizados raspagem e alisamento radicular. SoluÃÃes de TIL nas dosagens de 5 mg/kg de peso corporal (DPT-TIL5) e 15 mg/kg de peso corporal (DPT-TIL15) foram administradas, 5 vezes por semana, durante 3 semanas. Os animais foram submetidos à eutanÃsia no 36 dia. Foram realizadas anÃlises histolÃgica qualitativa e histomÃtrica. Os dados obtidos foram analisados estatisticamente (ANOVA, Tukey, p< 0,05). Resultados: No estudo 1, a perda Ãssea alveolar foi significativamente reduzida no grupo DP-TIL5 (1,12 mmÂ0,24), quando comparada à dos grupos DP (1,70 mmÂ0,32) e DP-TIL15 (1,47 mmÂ0,21). Os animais dos grupos DP apresentaram maior perda de inserÃÃo quando comparados aos do grupo C (0,12 mmÂ0,09). NÃo houve diferenÃas na perda de inserÃÃo entre os grupos DP (DP: 0,53 mmÂ0,19; DP-TIL5: 0,37 mmÂ0,09; DP-TIL15: 0,52 mmÂ0,13). No estudo 2, nÃo houve diferenÃas na perda Ãssea alveolar entre os grupos DPT (1,27 mmÂ0,15), DPT-TIL 5 (1,18 mmÂ0,10) e DPT-TIL 15 (1,26 mmÂ0,40). A perda Ãssea alveolar observada nesses grupos foi menor que a do grupo DP e nÃo diferiu estatisticamente da perda Ãssea alveolar encontrada no grupo C. Todos os animais dos grupos com ligadura (grupo DP: 0,59 mmÂ0,16; grupo DPT: 0,39 mmÂ0,07; grupo DPT-TIL 5: 0,42 mmÂ0,05; grupo DPT-TIL 15: 0,48 mm  0,09) apresentaram perdas de inserÃÃo estatisticamente maiores que os animais do grupo C (0,12 mmÂ0,09). Os grupos DPT e DPT-TIL 5 apresentaram menor perda de inserÃÃo que o grupo DP. ConclusÃes: Dentro dos limites deste estudo, pode ser concluÃdo que (i) a administraÃÃo sistÃmica de TIL reduziu a perda Ãssea alveolar na periodontite estabelecida em ratos; (ii) a dosagem do TIL pode influenciar suas propriedades antirreabsortivas e anti-inflamatÃrias; (iii) a administraÃÃo sistÃmica de TIL nÃo proporcionou benefÃcios adicionais à terapia periodontal mecÃnica em ratos com periodontite experimental.

Orientador: José Vicente Hallak d'Angelo / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Química / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-16T22:26:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Andreuccetti_MelissaTatiana_M.pdf: 3177763 bytes, checksum: 23a4cec530fa31832c045e89474dbdde (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Resumo: O cozimento da madeira é a etapa do processo Kraft onde é feita a separação das fibras celulósicas dos demais compostos orgânicos da madeira. A solução utilizada nessa etapa, denominada licor branco, contém hidróxido e sulfeto de sódio gerando, após o cozimento, um resíduo chamado licor negro fraco com concentração entre 15 e 18% de sólidos (em massa). Este licor é enviado à planta de evaporação que tem por finalidade concentrá-lo aumentando o teor de sólidos para valores entre 64 e 75% em massa. Durante a etapa de concentração do licor negro ocorre a precipitação de sais de sódio, que estão completamente dissolvidos quando o licor encontra-se em concentrações inferiores a 45 - 50% de sólidos secos. Quando o licor é concentrado para valores acima de 50% estes sais começam a precipitar, sendo que o limite de solubilidade dos mesmos é definido como a concentração exata na qual estes sais começam a precipitar. O objetivo do presente trabalho consistiu, inicialmente, em validar uma metodologia de análise do sulfato de sódio e avaliar a sua reprodutibilidade. Também foram realizadas análises do teor de sólidos, massa específica e viscosidade. Após a realização de todas as análises, realizou-se um estudo estatístico para a avaliação do comportamento de cada parâmetro obtido experimentalmente e a correlação entre eles. Foi realizada também a avaliação do comportamento entre os parâmetros. Para todas as análises utilizaram-se amostras de licor negro de eucalipto com concentrações diferentes de sólidos (15 %, 29 % e 39 %). Todos os resultados obtidos experimentalmente da análise de sulfato de sódio possibilitaram a validação e a reprodutibilidade da técnica, que poderá ser aplicada a licores mais concentrados para determinar o teor de sulfato de sódio, buscando avaliar, posteriormente, sua influência na formação de incrustações nos evaporadores. Os resultados obtidos para teor de sólidos, massa específica e viscosidade também apresentaram valores coerentes, estando de acordo com a concentração e tipo de amostra analisada. Todos os parâmetros apresentaram boas correlações entre si / Abstract: Wood digestion is the stage in the Kraft process where the separation of cellulose fibers from other organic compounds is performed. The solution used in this stage, called white liquor, contains sodium and sulfide hydroxide generating, after the cooking, a residue called black liquor with a concentration between 15 and 18 % of solids. This liquor is sent to the evaporation plant which aims to concentrate it by increasing solids content to the range of 64 to 75 % by weight. During this stage of black liquor, occurs the precipitation of sodium salts that are completely dissolved when the liquor is at concentrations below 45 - 50 % of dry solids. When the liquor is concentrated to values above 50 % of solids these salts begin to precipitate and the solubility limit thereof is defined as the exact concentration at which these salts begin to precipitate. The objective of this work was, initially, to validate a methodology for sodium sulfate measure analysis and evaluate its reproducibility. Analysis to solids content, specific mass and viscosity were also performed. After completion of all tests, a statistical study was made to evaluate the behavior of each parameter obtained experimentally and a correlation between them was established. All analyzed samples of eucalyptus black liquor were used with different concentrations of solids (15 %, 29 % and 39 %). All experimental results of the analysis of sodium sulfate have allowed the validation and reproducibility of the technique that may now be applied to more concentrated liquors to determine the content of sodium sulfate, allowing a study of its influence on scale formation in evaporators. The results obtained for solids content, specific mass and viscosity have also shown consistent values, in agreement with the concentration and type of sample analyzed. Good correlations between parameters were showed / Mestrado / Sistemas de Processos Quimicos e Informatica / Mestre em Engenharia Química

Lança-se aqui a hipótese de que é possível reproduzir o comportamento do protótipo a partir de modelos feitos de materiais diferentes dos utilizados na estrutura de referência. A influência de distorção de espessura, de diferentes densidades, tensões de escoamento, encruamento e viscoplasticidade são todas avaliadas através de equações analíticas e simulações das estruturas básicas como viga, placa e o impacto de uma estrutura de chapa dupla. Adicionalmente, são realizadas caracterizações quase-estáticas e dinâmicas de material e experimentos em placas circulares para três escalas diferentes (1/1, 2/3 e 1/3), quatro materiais (alumínio, titânio, aço inox e cobre) e duas condições de carregamento: impacto de uma massa a baixa velocidade (3,5m/s) e um projétil a alta velocidade (130m/s). Mostra-se que o uso da lei de Johnson-Cook para descrever o comportamento viscoplástico dos materiais permite obter boa aproximação para o cálculo da velocidade de impacto corrigida, sem que sejam necessárias informações adicionais do comportamento da estrutura. Além disso, os resultados revelam a importância de se manter a razão entre massa de impacto e massa da estrutura constante em modelo e protótipo, levando a desejável similaridade das distorções entre ambas. Assim, ao se confirmar a hipótese deste trabalho, mostra-se possível inferir o comportamento de um protótipo com uso de modelos em escala reduzida feitos a partir de materiais diferentes. / It is hypothesized that it is possible to reproduce the behaviour of the prototype by using models made of different materials. The influence of thickness, different densities, flow stresses, hardening and viscoplasticity are all evaluated through analytical equations and simulations of basic structures such as beam, plate and the impact of a double plate structure. In addition, quasi-static and dynamic materials characterization are conducted , with experiments being performed in circular plates for three different scales (1/1, 2/3 and 1/3), four materials (Aluminum, Titanium, Stainless Steel and Copper) and two conditions impact of a mass (3,5m/s) and a projectile at high speed (130m/s). It is shown that the use of Johnson-Cook\'s law to describe the viscoplastic behavior of the materials allows a satisfactory approximation to the calculation of the corrected impact velocity, without the need for additional information on the behavior of the structure. In addition, the results reveal the relevance of maintaining the ratio between impact mass and structure mass constant in model and prototype, leading to the desirable similarity of the distortions between the two. Thus, when confirming the hypothesis of this work, it is possible to infer the behavior of a prototype using small scale models made from different materials.

Conceitos e fenômenos subjetivos, como a dor, sempre foram difíceis de serem medidos com precisão. A metodologia psicofísica, especialmente os procedimentos de estimativa de magnitude desenvolvidos por S.S. Stevens (1950), tem contribuído para o desenvolvimento de técnicas, para a criação de instrumentos, para escalonar fenômenos subjetivos. O objetivo do trabalho foi de construir uma escala psicofísica de medida da dor, utilizando julgamentos subjetivos de dor provocada por diferentes eventos. O trabalho foi realizado com 40 sujeitos adultos (30 mulheres e 10 homens) com idades entre 20 e 79 anos, para o grupo experimental e com 24 sujeitos do grupo controle com características de sexo, faixa etárias, estado conjugal e escolaridades semelhantes às do grupo experimental. Todos os sujeitos do grupo experimental eram doentes com dor crônica que se encontrava em tratamento, no ambulatório de dor da Clínica Neurológica do Instituto Central do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo. Investigou-se a concordância dos julgamentos obtidos entre o grupo experimental (com dor) e o controle (sem dor), procurando-se averiguar se existe ou não concordâncias entre os grupos, no que diz respeito à forma de avaliação da dor. Os dados coletados foram obtidos mediante entrevistas individuais, em que os sujeitos faziam julgamentos da magnitude de cada evento doloroso apresentado. Para obter uma escala objetiva de dor, utilizou-se de três listas com três conjuntos distintos de eventos dolorosos: dores do cotidiano (dor de cabeça, dor nas costas, etc.), dores por doenças físicas (lombalgia, câncer, etc.), dores por eventos dolorosos de vida ou eventos psicossociais (morte de filho, diagnóstico grave, perda de emprego, etc.). A partir dessas estimativas da sensação da dor, procurou-se encontrar a magnitude física da dor estimada, aplicando-se a função de Stevens (S=kIn). Os resultados permitiram observar que existe coerência entre os sujeitos desta população, nos julgamentos da magnitude do fenômeno doloroso, sendo possível se construir uma escala geral de dor a partir desses julgamentos. O conjunto de dores no qual houve maior correlação foi o de dores do cotidiano. Trata-se de situações que a maioria das pessoas conhece e já experienciou, encontrando, portanto, maior facilidade para dimensionar e estimar a magnitude. Por serem as dores do cotidiano, situações já vivenciadas, acredita-se que estas formam o conjunto de dores mais confiáveis para serem utilizadas numa escala geral de dor. / Concepts and subjective phenomena such as pain have always been difficult to measure accurately. The psychophysical methodology, mainly the magnitude estimation method developed by S.S. Stevens (1950), provides techniques for the development of precise scaling instruments for subjective phenomena. The present study intends to build a tool for the measure of pain using the psychophysical method of subjective magnitude estimation. Forty subjects (30 women and 10 men) with ages between 20 and 79 years were selected for the experimental group and twenty-four subjects with similar characteristics (sex, age, education and marital status) for the control group. Subjects from the experimental group were under treatment in the Pain Clinic of the University of São Paulo (Clínica Neurológica do Instituto Central do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo). The differences between the judgements made by the experimental group (with pain) and the judgements made by the control group (without pain) were studied in order to investigate if those groups had different ways of estimating the pain aroused by different painful situations. Data was collected individually by means of written forms. Three different forms were used for each subject containing three different sets of painful situations grouped as follows: pain due to common situations (headache, back pain, a.s.o.); pain due to severe illness (back pain, cancer, a.s.o); pain aroused by emotional or psychosocial situations (death of the son/daughter, diagnostic of severe illness, lost of the job, a.s.o.). From these judgement, the physical magnitude of the pain was calculated using the reverse of the psychophysical function of S. S. Stevens (S=kIn). The results demonstrated that there is agreement between the magnitude judgements of pain by both groups, making it possible to construct a pain-measuring tool by this means. Highest correlation was obtained for pain due to common situations (r=0,896), probably because most of the subjects had experienced these situations before and could give an accurate estimation of the aroused pain. It is concluded, that a pain-measuring tool should use these kind of painful situations as references for the pain felt by the patients.

This thesis sought to address the application of non-parametric item response theory (NIRT) to cognitive and functional assessment in dementia. Performance on psychometric tests is key to diagnosis and monitoring of dementia. NIRT can be used to improve the psychometric properties of tests used in dementia assessment in multiple ways: confirming an underlying unidimensional structure, establishing formal item hierarchical patterns of decline, increasing insight by examining item parameters such as difficulty and discrimination, and creating shorter tests. From a NIRT approach item difficulty refers to the ease with which an item is endorsed. Discrimination is an index of how well an item can differentiate between patients of varying levels of severity. Firstly I carried out a systematic review to identify applications of both parametric and non-parametric IRT to measures assessing global cognitive functioning in people with dementia. This review demonstrated that IRT can increase the interpretive power of cognitive assessment scales and confirmed the limited number of IRT analyses of cognitive scales in dementia populations. This thesis extended this approach by applying Mokken scaling analysis to commonly used measures of current cognitive ability (Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R)) and of premorbid cognitive ability (National Adult Reading Test (NART)). Differential item functioning (DIF) by diagnosis identified slight variations in the patterns of hierarchical decline in the ACE-R. These disease-specific sequences of decline could serve as an adjunct to diagnosis, for example where learning a name and address is a more difficult task than being orientated in time, late onset Alzheimer’s disease is a more probable diagnosis than mixed Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia. These analyses also allowed key items to be identified which can be used to create briefer scales (mini-ACE and Mini-NART) which have good psychometric properties. These scales are clinically relevant, comprising highly discriminatory, invariantly ordered items. They also allow sensitive measurement and adaptive testing and can reduce test administration time and patient stress. Impairment of functional abilities represents a crucial component of dementia diagnosis with performance on these functional tasks predictive of overall disease. A second aspect of this thesis, therefore, was the application of Mokken scaling analyses to measures of functional decline in dementia, specifically the Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) scale and Physical Self-Maintenance Scale (PSMS). While gender DIF was observed for several items, implying the likelihood of equal responses from men and women is not equal a generally consistent pattern of impairment in functional ability was observed across different types of dementia.

For many animals, rapid movements place high power demands on underlying muscles. Storage of muscle energy in elastic structures and the subsequent rapid release of that energy can effectively amplify muscle power. Elastic recoil can also confer thermal robustness to performance in behaviors occurring at variable temperatures. Muscle contractile performance tends to decrease at lower temperatures, but elastic recoil is less affected by temperature. Here I examine the impacts of temperature and scale in systems using elastic recoil and I explore possible interactive effects on movement performance. I explored the role that muscle contractile properties play in the differences in performance and thermal robustness between elastic and non-elastic systems by examining muscles from two species of plethodontid salamanders with elastically powered tongue projection and one with non-elastic tongue projection. These salamanders use tongue projection to capture prey and in species with elastic mechanisms, tongue projection is characterized by higher mechanical power output and thermal robustness compared to tongue projection of closely-related genera with non-elastic mechanisms. In vitro and in situ muscle experiments reveal that species differ in their muscle contractile properties, but these patterns do not predict the performance differences between elastic and non-elastic tongue projection. Overall, salamander tongue muscles are like other vertebrate muscles in contractile performance and thermal sensitivity. I conclude that changes in the tongue-projection mechanism, specifically the elaboration of elastic structures, are responsible for high performance and thermal robustness in species with elastic tongue projection. This suggests that the evolution of high-performance and thermally robust elastic-recoil mechanisms can occur via relatively simple changes to morphology, while muscle contractile properties remain relatively unchanged. The efficacy of elastic recoil in the face of changing temperature depends on the mechanical work done by muscle contraction being unaffected by temperature. In vitro stimulation of Cuban tree frog (Osteopilus septentrionalis) plantaris muscles reveals that interactions between force and temperature affect the mechanical work of muscle. At low temperatures (9 – 17°C), muscle work depends on temperature when shortening at any force, and temperature effects are greater at higher forces. At warmer temperatures (13 – 21°C), muscle work depends on temperature when shortening with intermediate and high forces (≥ 30% peak isometric tetanic force). Shortening velocity is most strongly affected by temperature at low temperatures and high forces. Power is also most strongly affected at low temperature intervals but this effect is minimized at intermediate forces. Effects of temperature on muscle force explain these interactions; force production decreases at lower temperatures, increasing the challenge of moving a constant force relative to the muscle’s capacity. These results suggest that animal performance that requires muscles to do work with low forces relative to a muscle’s maximum force production will be robust to temperature changes, and this effect should be true whether muscle acts directly or through elastic-recoil mechanisms and whether force is prescribed (i.e. internal) or variable (i.e. external). Conversely, performance requiring muscles to shorten with relatively large forces is expected to be more sensitive to temperature changes. How muscle work and power scale determines, in part, the scaling of movement performance. Muscle-mass-specific work is predicted to remain constant across a range of scales, assuming geometric similarity, while muscle-mass-specific power is expected to decrease with increasing scale. I tested these predictions by examining muscle morphology and contractile properties of plantaris muscles from frogs ranging in mass from 1.28 to 20.60 g. Scaling of muscle work and power was examined using both linear regression on log10-transformed data (LR) and non-linear regressions on untransformed data (NLR). In LR, muscle-mass-specific work decreased with increasing scale, but this is counteracted by a positive allometry of muscle mass to predict constant movement performance at all scales. These relationships were non-significant in NLR, though scaling with geometric similarity also predicts constant jump performance across scales. Both intrinsic shortening velocity and muscle-mass-specific power were positively allometric in both types of analysis. However, these differences between methods are caused not by large changes in scaling slopes, but by changing levels of statistical significance using corrections for multiple tests. The dependence of these conclusions on the method of regression, largely because of the setting and adjusting of an arbitrary alpha, demonstrates the importance of careful consideration of statistical methods when analyzing patterns of scaling. Nonetheless, scale accounts for little variation in contractile properties over the range of scales examined, indicating that other sources of intraspecific variation may be more important in determining muscle performance and its effects on movement. Elastic recoil used for power amplification is most often found in smaller animals, suggesting that performance in larger animals using less elastic recoil would be affected more by changing temperatures. To examine the interaction between scale and temperature on performance, I recorded jumps from 1-34 g Cuban tree frogs (Osteopilus septentrionalis) at 10, 20, and 30°C and compared jump performance to predictions based on the effects of temperature and scaling on muscle properties. High muscle-mass-specific power requirements from measured jumps indicate that frogs use elastic recoil at all scales to achieve performance that would be impossible using only muscle, and elastic recoil allows small frogs to achieve the same level of performance as large frogs. Performance that is greater at all temperatures than predictions from models using only muscle power could result from some combination of elastic recoil and power directly from muscle. The relative contributions of muscle power and elastic recoil cannot be discerned by examining temperature effects on performance because these effects are predicted to be so similar. Predicted performance from models of elastic recoil is significantly affected by changing temperature at all scales with temperature coefficient (Q10) values similar to predictions for muscle-powered jumping. Measured Q10 values are similar to those from both predictive models and there is no interaction between temperature and scale. Therefore, elastic recoil allows for jump performance that could not be achieved by muscle power alone at all temperatures and scales, but performance predictions from elastic recoil are not more thermally robust than predictions for muscle-powered jumping.