Cílem této diplomové práce je vytvoření reálného projektu s pomocí využití dvou softwarových produktů a jejich následné porovnání za použití metod vícekriteriálního hodnocení variant. Prvním softwarovým produktem je Microsoft Project. Tato aplikace je přímo určena pro plánování a řízení projektů a pro komunikaci s projektovým týmem. Druhým produktem je aplikace Microsoft Dynamics AX a v ní modul Projekt. Modul je určen pro řízení projektů, správu zdrojů, vytváření odhadů a prognóz, sledování rozpočtů a reálných výdajů na konkrétní projekt či časové plánování. Aplikace MS Dynamics AX je řešením pro plánování a řízení firemních zdrojů (ERP) a e-business, stejně tak i pro řízení vztahů se zákazníky, řízení výroby, řízení dodavatelského řetězce, fungování elektronického obchodu nebo finančního řízení.

Submitted by Erika Demachki (erikademachki@gmail.com) on 2016-03-03T19:34:50Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Ayda Luz Malaver Slamanca - 2015.pdf: 2106945 bytes, checksum: dd89c61b0a1e8fd1299227d7513b4505 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Erika Demachki (erikademachki@gmail.com) on 2016-03-03T19:36:16Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Ayda Luz Malaver Slamanca - 2015.pdf: 2106945 bytes, checksum: dd89c61b0a1e8fd1299227d7513b4505 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-03T19:36:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Ayda Luz Malaver Slamanca - 2015.pdf: 2106945 bytes, checksum: dd89c61b0a1e8fd1299227d7513b4505 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-12-04 / Clozapine (CLZ) is the antipsychotic drug of choice in treatment refractory schizophrenia (TRS), however 30% of the patients with TRS don’t have full response to treatment with CLZ, these patients are considered to have super refractory schizophrenia (SRS). The response variability to treatment with CLZ may be associated with alterations of the CLZ plasma levels promoted by 1236C>T, 2677G>T/A e 3435C>T ABCB1 gene polymorphisms. ABCB1 is a transmembrane glycoprotein of transport, which export drugs from the intracellular to the extracellular space. ABCB1 polymorphisms cause structurally and functional protein changes that influence the intracellular CLZ levels and, consequently, promoting therapy failure. This work had the aim to establish the relation between the 1236C>T, 2677G>T/A e 3435C>T ABCB1 polymorphisms and the CLZ treatment response. This study included a total of 68 patients, 34 of whom were classified as TRS (CLZ responders) and 34 as SRS (CLZ non-responders). All patients were in use of CLZ for at least one year. For the genotype test was extracted genomic DNA, following for PCR and sequencing techniques. It was not observed any differences in allelic and genotype distribution between 1236C>T, 2677G>T/A and 3435C>T polymorphisms between RS and SRS groups. The polymorphisms not influenced the CLZ dose level, and percentage of BPRS change. In the same way, the results not showed relation between age, coffee intake, smoking behaviors and ethnicity and the CLZ treatment response, however, was evidenced a higher proportion of female patients in the SRS group when compared with the TRS group. In opposite, a lower proportion of male patients was observed in the SRS than the TRS group. Taken together, the results here obtained showed no association between 12361236C>T, 2677G>T/A e 3435C>T polymorphisms of ABCB1 gene and failure to CLZ treatment. / Clozapina (CLZ) é um antipsicótico de segunda geração, indicada no tratamento de esquizofrenia refratária (ER). Apesar de ser o fármaco de escolha nestes pacientes, 30% deles não respondem satisfatoriamente à terapia com CLZ, constituindo o grupo de indivíduos portadores de esquizofrenia super-refratária (ESR). A variabilidade na resposta ao tratamento com CLZ pode estar relacionada a alterações na farmacocinética da CLZ influenciadas pelos polimorfismos 1236C>T, 2677G>T/A e 3435C>T do gene ABCB1 . ABCB1 é uma proteína transportadora de membrana, que promove a passagem de fármacos do meio intra ao extracelular. Os polimorfismos de ABCB1 podem causar mudanças estruturais ou na expressão proteica, influenciando nas concentrações intracelulares de CLZ e contribuindo para o sucesso ou o fracasso da terapia. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a associação entre os polimorfismos 1236C>T, 2677G>T/A e 3435C>T de ABCB1 com a resposta ao tratamento à CLZ. Um total de 68 pacientes em uso de CLZ, 34 portadores de ER e 34 de ESR, foram incluídos no estudo. Os testes de genotipagem foram realizados através da extração do DNA genômico, PCR e sequenciamento. Não foi observada diferença na distribuição alélica e genotípica dos polimorfismos de ABCB1, entre os grupos ER e ESR, assim mesmo não foi observada relação entre os polimorfismos estudados com a dosagem de CLZ e a gravidade psicopatológica avaliados pela escala BPRS. Fatores como consumo de café, cigarro, idade e etnia não influenciam na resposta ao tratamento com a CLZ. Foi evidenciada maior presença de pacientes do gênero feminino no grupo ESR em relação ao grupo ER e maior presença de indivíduos do gênero masculino no grupo ER quando comparado com o grupo ESR. O conjunto dos resultados aqui obtidos demonstram que não há associação entre os polimorfismos 1236C>T, 2677G>T/A e 3435C>T do gene ABCB1 com a refratariedade ao tratamento com CLZ.

Submitted by Marlene Santos (marlene.bc.ufg@gmail.com) on 2016-08-09T20:56:55Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Jaqueline dos Santos Cunha - 2016.pdf: 8823231 bytes, checksum: c2c066d328b463a4799f3ca0f32ff38c (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2016-08-10T11:13:02Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Jaqueline dos Santos Cunha - 2016.pdf: 8823231 bytes, checksum: c2c066d328b463a4799f3ca0f32ff38c (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-10T11:13:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Jaqueline dos Santos Cunha - 2016.pdf: 8823231 bytes, checksum: c2c066d328b463a4799f3ca0f32ff38c (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-04-23 / Since around 1940s it has been debated about the impact of comic books in society. However, it was from no earlier than the 1970s, with the growing interest of scholars, they have come to be regarded as an artistic expression that can inform, criticize, maintain and/or subvert the norm. In an attempt to contribute to this discussion, this master dissertation investigates in a comparative perspective to what extent the comic books Miss Fury by Tarpé Mills and Wonder Woman by William Moultan Marston, both superheroine debuted in 1941, subvert the representation of the models of femininity in the 1940s. Tarpé Mills (1912-1988), throughout the Miss Fury, outlines an independent character, within the text, and an illustration that is coherent with the style of art that aligns the woman stereotypes of beauty and sensuality widespread at the time; she creates a super heroine and secondary characters marked by ruptures and continuity with the patriarchal discourses. In turn, William Moultan Marston (1893-1947) created within the text, a feminist superhero who would work as a new model of women, but like Miss Fury the illustration of Wonder Woman followed in affinity with the idea of promoting visual pleasure of the female body to the characters and readers, especially heterosexual readers. Thus, specifically, this dissertation analyzes the female representations and the ruptures with patriarchal discourse within the contradictory narratives. In order to accomplish my research goals, I have used the theories used in Women’s Studies (BEAUVOIR, 1949; WOLF, 2002) and in Comics Studies (MCCLOUD, 1995, 2006; WOLK, 2007). / Desde a década de 1940 tem se debatido acerca do impacto das histórias em quadrinhos na sociedade. No entanto, foi somente a partir da década de 1970, com o crescente interesse de pesquisadores acadêmicos, que elas passaram a ser analisadas como uma manifestação artística que pode informar, criticar, manter e/ou subverter a norma. Na tentativa de contribuir com essa discussão, esta dissertação investiga numa perspectiva comparada em que medida as produções quadrinísticas Mulher Pantera de Tarpé Mills e Mulher Maravilha de William Moutan Marston, ambas super-heroínas debutadas no ano de 1941, subvertem os modelos de representação da feminilidade na década de 1940. Tarpé Mills (1912-1988), por meio de um texto que delineia o perfil de uma personagem independente e de uma ilustração que coaduna com o estilo de arte que alinha a mulher aos estereótipos de beleza e sensualidade difundidos à época, constrói uma super-heroína e personagens secundárias marcadas pelas ideias de ruptura e continuidade com os discursos patriarcais. Por sua vez, William Moutan Marston (1893-1947) criou, no âmbito do texto, uma super-heroína feminista que serviria como novo modelo as mulheres, mas a exemplo de Mulher Pantera a ilustração seguia em afinidade com a ideia de promoção do prazer visual do corpo feminino para os personagens e para os leitores, especialmente para leitores homens e heterossexuais. Assim, especificamente, o propósito é analisar as representações femininas e perceber as rupturas com o discurso patriarcal no interior das contraditórias narrativas. Para desenvolver a pesquisa a que me propus, lancei mãos dos estudos sobre mulher (BEAUVOIR, 1949; WOLF, 2002) e dos estudos sobre histórias em quadrinhos (MCCLOUD, 1995, 2006; WOLK, 2007).

CoRoT (Convection, Rotation and planetary Transits) é uma missão espacial liderada pela Agência Espacial Francesa (CNES) em associação com diversos parceiros internacionais, entre eles o Brasil. Seus objetivos principais são o estudo da sismologia estelar e a procura por planetas extra-solares (exoplanetas). Ambos os programas científicos baseiam-se em uma fotometria de altíssima precisão e requerem observações ininterruptas de longa duração, possíveis somente a partir do espaço. Uma revisão da literatura indica a existência de três técnicas principais para a realização de fotometria estelar a partir de imagens capturadas em CCDs: fotometria por máscara (por abertura), por ajuste de limiar (por threshold), e por ajuste da resposta impulsiva do sistema de aquisição de imagens. A fotometria por máscara, ou por abertura, apresenta maior precisão para o registro de estrelas brilhantes, em cenários de maior estabilidade de atitude do satélite (situação de baixo jitter), e é a solução adotada a bordo pelo satélite CoRoT, por ser um algoritmo determinístico. A fotometria por ajuste da resposta impulsiva, também chamada de função de espalhamento do ponto (point-spread function, PSF), por sua vez, por levar em conta a resposta do sistema a uma fonte pontual de luz, permite a restauração da imagem original através de processos de deconvolução; apresenta maior precisão para estrelas fracas, ou em um cenário degradado, com perturbações devidas a radiação externa (stray light), ou em que o jitter de atitude do satélite seja elevado. Tal robustez é uma característica desejada no processo de restauração de imagens. Já a fotometria por threshold é aplicada somente em casos de jitter muito elevado e pobre conhecimento da resposta impulsiva do sistema, de modo que não é utilizada no satélite CoRoT. Este trabalho visa consolidar e potencializar a participação brasileira no projeto CoRoT e contribuir com os esforços associados à redução de dados da missão, através de uma proposta inovadora de fotometria híbrida, que se utilizará dos conhecimentos da PSF modelada do instrumento e da alta relação sinal/ruído alcançada com a fotometria por máscara realizada a bordo, baseada e fundamentada em resultados preliminares que atestam o potencial desta metodologia. Tal algoritmo permite um ganho substancial de precisão fotométrica em relação à técnica de abertura, resultando em uma melhor exploração dos dados disponíveis, dada a sua robustez em caso de degradação dos dados de entrada. / CoRoT (Convection, Rotation and planetary Transits) is a high precision photometry experience dedicated to stellar seismology and the search for extrasolar planets. The mission is led by the French Space Agency (CNES) in association with several French laboratories and international partners in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Spain and Brazil. Both scientific programs require great instrumental stability and long, uninterrupted observation runs, which take place simultaneously on adjacent regions of the sky. An overview of the literature displays three main techniques to perform stellar photometry from space CCD images: aperture photometry, threshold photometry and PSF-fitting photometry. Aperture photometry defines a mask which represents the CCD pixels to be summed up in the computation of the collected photon flux for a given star. This method presents very high precision for isolated, bright stars and for stable satellite attitude (low jitter scenarios). It is the data reduction technique implemented on-board, due both to link capacity constraints (given the large number of targets simultaneously observed by the instrument) and to its deterministic algorithm. Fitting photometry allows restoration of degraded stellar images through deconvolution processes, using the point spread function (PSF) of the optical instrument itself. This technique presents better performance for crowded fields and for faint stars; it also presents robustness in the presence of disturbances such as stray light or high satellite attitude jitter. Finally, threshold photometry takes into account only those pixels whose values are above a given pre-computed level. This method is used only in scenarios with excessive satellite depointing due to attitude jitter, or in cases where the instrumental PSF is poorly known. Therefore, it is not used in the CoRoT mission. This work intends to consolidate and strengthen the Brazilian share in the CoRoT Project, contributing to the efforts associated to the ground-based reduction of scientific data, through an innovative, hybrid photometry technique, which will take advantage of a high-resolution instrumental PSF and of the high signal-to-noise-ratio obtained in the on-board aperture photometry. Studies here described show that this methodology, compared to the Aperture technique, achieves gains in photometric precision and in the operational duty cycle, enabling robust and accurate data exploitation.

Submitted by Rosivalda Pereira (mrs.pereira@ufma.br) on 2017-05-24T20:52:34Z No. of bitstreams: 1 AlexandreBrunoCosta.pdf: 1706287 bytes, checksum: 26afdd10399a7c0b581420813a86df96 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-24T20:52:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AlexandreBrunoCosta.pdf: 1706287 bytes, checksum: 26afdd10399a7c0b581420813a86df96 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-10-26 / This dissertation results of research on the Maranhão audiovisual production comprising the late 70's and part of the 80s, for we include production in Super-8 and 16mm, respectively: Periquito Sujo (1979), Greve da meia passagem (1979-1980), Quem matou Elias Zí? (1986), Bandeiras Verdes (1988) in order to investigate the potential for communicability and representativeness of these works to maintain a cinematic identify from the methodology based on the triple mimesis and construction of narrative identities. Empirical research framework Maranhão film works are awarded on the issues of cinematrographic Days, important movement for the construction and maintenance of Maranhão cinematic narrative identify. From the triple mimesis concept endorsed by Paul Ricoeur (2012), you can understand how filmic narratives that pass for ethical reasons, begin in broader terms of social and cultural environment insertion of the events narrated and only complete in the times of reading, this visual event, with effective participation of the viewer. / Essa dissertação resulta da pesquisa sobre a produção audiovisual maranhense que compreende o final da década de 70 e parte da década de 80, por incluirmos produções em Super-8 e em 16mm, respectivamente: Periquito Sujo (1979), Greve da meia passagem (1979-1980) e Quem matou Elias Zí? (1986), Bandeiras Verdes (1988) com o objetivo de investigar o potencial de comunicabilidade e de representatividade destas obras para a manutenção de uma identidade cinematográfica a partir da metodologia com base na tríplice mímesis e na construção das identidades narrativas. O referencial empírico da pesquisa são obras fílmicas maranhenses premiadas nas edições das Jornadas cinematográficas, movimento importante para a construção e manutenção da identidade narrativa cinematográfica maranhense. A partir da tríplice mímesis, conceito referendado por Paul Ricoeur (2012), será possível compreender como as narrativas fílmicas, que passam por questões éticas, têm início nas condições mais amplas do entorno social e cultural de inserção dos acontecimentos narrados e somente se completam no momento da leitura, neste caso visual, com a participação efetiva do espectador.

Shiga producing E. coli (STEC) O157 is a zoonotic pathogen. In humans STEC O157 causes bloody diarrhoea and potentially fatal renal failure. Cattle are the major reservoir, where bacteria are limited to the intestinal tract and do not cause clinical signs of disease. Previous studies indicate that shiga toxins produced by STEC O157, suppress STEC-specific cellular immune responses in vivo. This study aimed to initially examine the humoral immune response in cattle following natural challenge and the effects of a toxoid vaccination on this humoral STEC specific-immune response. We determined a statistically significant suppression in Tir specific IgA in STEC O157 positive cattle compared to O157 negative cattle but not in super shedding cattle. Following toxoid vaccination we determined a significant increase in flagellin specific IgG1 antibody levels in toxoid vaccinated animals despite lower numbers of positive faecal samples compared to placebo vaccinated controls. These results suggest that shiga toxins produced by STEC O157 are actively suppressing the STEC specific immune response in natural colonisation. To clarify this suppression further calves were orally challenged with STEC O157 (either a PT21/28 Stx2c+, PT32 Stx2c+ or PT21/28 Stx2a+Stx2c+ strain) and their STEC specific immune responses monitored. STEC specific systemic antibody responses were variable and weak in some cases. STEC specific local antibody responses were only significantly increased following challenge with the PT21/28 Stx2a+Stx2c+ challenge. Transcripts for genes associated with immune responses, and in particular B cell activation, at the terminal rectum were analysed by reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR. Suppression of IL2RA transcripts was observed in calves challenged with PT21/28 Stx2a+Stx2c+ compared to control calves but not with the other two STEC O157 strains tested. This study also aimed to determine the effects of cattle colonisation with STEC O157 on the immune response to a non-bacterial T-cell dependent antigen, ovalbumin (OVA). Cattle were orally challenged with either a PT21/28 Stx2c+, PT32 Stx2c+ or PT21/28 Stx2a+Stx2c+ strain or unchallenged. Calves were subcutaneously immunised with OVA five days post challenge, on two separate occasions with a two week interval. Lymphocytes from lymph nodes local to the immunisation site demonstrated significantly increased OVA-specific proliferation and OVA-specific activation of CD4+ and CD8+ cells in calves that were challenged with the PT21/28 Stx2c+ strain (but not with the other two challenge strains), compared to unchallenged controls. These results indicate that colonisation with STEC O157 can alter local adaptive immune responses to non-bacterial antigens in a strain dependent manner, unexpectedly enhancing the immune response rather than suppressing it. Circulating T cell responses were unaffected. In conclusion this study provides some further evidence of adaption of the host immune response by STEC O157, which is strain dependent, and variable. It seems unlikely from the data in this study that STEC O157 colonisation is having a major impact on the responses of cattle to other vaccines or infections in the field.

Over the past few decades, fluorescence microscopy has proven to become the most widely used imaging technique in the field of life sciences. Unfortunately, all classical optical microscopy techniques have one thing in common: their resolution is limited by the diffraction. Thankfully, due to the very strong interest, development of fluorescent microscopy techniques is very intense, with novel solutions surfacing repeatedly. The major breakthrough came with the appearance of super-resolution microscopy techniques, enabling imaging well below the diffraction barrier and opening the new era of nanoscopy. Among the fluorescent super-resolution techniques, Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) microscopy has been particularly interesting, as it is a purely optical technique which does not require post image processing. STED microscopy has proven to resolve structures down to the molecular resolution. However, super-resolution microscopy is not a cure to all the problems and it also has its limits. What has shown to be particularly challenging, was the super-resolution imaging of thick samples. With increased thickness of biological structures, the aberrations increase and signal-to-noise (SNR) decreases. This becomes even more evident in the super-resolution imaging, as the nanoscopic techniques are especially sensitive to aberrations and low SNR. The aim of this work is to propose and develop a 3D STED microscope that can successfully image thick biological samples with nanoscopic resolution. In order to achieve that, adaptive optics (AO) has been employed for correcting the aberrations, using the indirect wavefront sensing approach. This thesis presents a custom built 3D STED microscope with the AO correction and the resulting images of thick samples with resolution beyond diffraction barrier. The developed STED microscope achieved the resolution of 60nm in lateral and 160nm in axial direction. What is more, it enabled super-resolution imaging of thick, aberrating samples. HeLa, RPE-1 cells and dopaminergic neuron differentiated from human IPS cells were imaged using the microscope. The results shown in this thesis present 3D STED imaging of thick biological samples and, what is particularly worth to highlight, 3D STED imaging at the 80μm depth, where the excitation and depletion beams have to propagate through the thick layer of tissue. 3D STED images at such depth has not been reported up to date.

CoRoT (Convection, Rotation and planetary Transits) é uma missão espacial liderada pela Agência Espacial Francesa (CNES) em associação com diversos parceiros internacionais, entre eles o Brasil. Seus objetivos principais são o estudo da sismologia estelar e a procura por planetas extra-solares (exoplanetas). Ambos os programas científicos baseiam-se em uma fotometria de altíssima precisão e requerem observações ininterruptas de longa duração, possíveis somente a partir do espaço. Uma revisão da literatura indica a existência de três técnicas principais para a realização de fotometria estelar a partir de imagens capturadas em CCDs: fotometria por máscara (por abertura), por ajuste de limiar (por threshold), e por ajuste da resposta impulsiva do sistema de aquisição de imagens. A fotometria por máscara, ou por abertura, apresenta maior precisão para o registro de estrelas brilhantes, em cenários de maior estabilidade de atitude do satélite (situação de baixo jitter), e é a solução adotada a bordo pelo satélite CoRoT, por ser um algoritmo determinístico. A fotometria por ajuste da resposta impulsiva, também chamada de função de espalhamento do ponto (point-spread function, PSF), por sua vez, por levar em conta a resposta do sistema a uma fonte pontual de luz, permite a restauração da imagem original através de processos de deconvolução; apresenta maior precisão para estrelas fracas, ou em um cenário degradado, com perturbações devidas a radiação externa (stray light), ou em que o jitter de atitude do satélite seja elevado. Tal robustez é uma característica desejada no processo de restauração de imagens. Já a fotometria por threshold é aplicada somente em casos de jitter muito elevado e pobre conhecimento da resposta impulsiva do sistema, de modo que não é utilizada no satélite CoRoT. Este trabalho visa consolidar e potencializar a participação brasileira no projeto CoRoT e contribuir com os esforços associados à redução de dados da missão, através de uma proposta inovadora de fotometria híbrida, que se utilizará dos conhecimentos da PSF modelada do instrumento e da alta relação sinal/ruído alcançada com a fotometria por máscara realizada a bordo, baseada e fundamentada em resultados preliminares que atestam o potencial desta metodologia. Tal algoritmo permite um ganho substancial de precisão fotométrica em relação à técnica de abertura, resultando em uma melhor exploração dos dados disponíveis, dada a sua robustez em caso de degradação dos dados de entrada. / CoRoT (Convection, Rotation and planetary Transits) is a high precision photometry experience dedicated to stellar seismology and the search for extrasolar planets. The mission is led by the French Space Agency (CNES) in association with several French laboratories and international partners in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Spain and Brazil. Both scientific programs require great instrumental stability and long, uninterrupted observation runs, which take place simultaneously on adjacent regions of the sky. An overview of the literature displays three main techniques to perform stellar photometry from space CCD images: aperture photometry, threshold photometry and PSF-fitting photometry. Aperture photometry defines a mask which represents the CCD pixels to be summed up in the computation of the collected photon flux for a given star. This method presents very high precision for isolated, bright stars and for stable satellite attitude (low jitter scenarios). It is the data reduction technique implemented on-board, due both to link capacity constraints (given the large number of targets simultaneously observed by the instrument) and to its deterministic algorithm. Fitting photometry allows restoration of degraded stellar images through deconvolution processes, using the point spread function (PSF) of the optical instrument itself. This technique presents better performance for crowded fields and for faint stars; it also presents robustness in the presence of disturbances such as stray light or high satellite attitude jitter. Finally, threshold photometry takes into account only those pixels whose values are above a given pre-computed level. This method is used only in scenarios with excessive satellite depointing due to attitude jitter, or in cases where the instrumental PSF is poorly known. Therefore, it is not used in the CoRoT mission. This work intends to consolidate and strengthen the Brazilian share in the CoRoT Project, contributing to the efforts associated to the ground-based reduction of scientific data, through an innovative, hybrid photometry technique, which will take advantage of a high-resolution instrumental PSF and of the high signal-to-noise-ratio obtained in the on-board aperture photometry. Studies here described show that this methodology, compared to the Aperture technique, achieves gains in photometric precision and in the operational duty cycle, enabling robust and accurate data exploitation.

The 2010, moment magnitude 8.8 earthquake that occurred near Maule, Chile caused major damages to several piers in the Port of Coronel located approximately 160 kilometers (100 miles) to the South of the earthquake epicenter. One of the piers, the North Pier, experienced significant lateral spreading that was caused from liquefaction of the soils at the approach zone of the pier. Damages from lateral spreading and liquefaction effects consisted of sheet pile welding ruptures of the cross-support beams, stiffener buckling, pile displacements, pile rotations, and pier deck displacement. Researchers analyzed the North Pier after the earthquake and documented in detail the damage caused by lateral spread displacements. This study introduces a simplified performance-based procedure called the "Simplified Modeling Procedure" that is used for the analysis of piles supporting a pier that are exposed to lateral spread displacements. The procedure uses the software LPILE, a common program for analyzing a single pile under lateral loading conditions, to evaluate a more complex multi-pile pier design. Instead of analyzing each of the piles in a given pier individually, the procedure utilizes what is known as a "Super Pile" approach to combine several piles into a single representative pile during the analysis. To ensure displacement compatibility between each "Super Pile" in the analysis, the "Super Piles" are assumed to be fully connected at the top of each "Super Pile" to the pier deck. The Simplified Modeling Procedure is developed and tested using the case study history of the North Pier from the Port of Coronel during the 2010 Maule earthquake. The Simplified Modeling Procedure incorporates p-y springs with a lateral push-over analysis. This approach allows the analysis to be performed in a matter of seconds and allows the user to more easily draw the needed correlations between the rows of piles. This procedure helps identify that different rows of piles either contribute to the movement of the pier or contribute to the bracing of the pier. The procedure ultimately predicts the anticipated pier deck deflection by determining when all the pile rows and their respective shear forces are in equilibrium. The Simplified Modeling Procedure predicted that the North Pier experienced deflections between approximately 0.31 meters (1.01 feet) and 0.38 meters (1.26 feet). The predicted deflections and rotations determined using the procedure were determined to be a relatively close representation of the observations made during the post-earthquake reconnaissance observations.

Tese de Mestrado Integrado. Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 2012