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A new approach is presented that relies upon 3D electromagnetic simulation results to characterize the complex permittivity of homogeneous dielectric materials. By modeling the test fixture and obtaining a set of simulated S-parameters through an iterative solution process, the dielectric constant and loss tangent can be found. With further development, the 3D simulation results may be used to replace the need for complex theoretical analysis of the measurement geometry. The method is applied to an X-band rectangular waveguide setup, for which the theoretical S-parameters can be readily calculated. A Teflon sample, for which the dielectric properties are well-known, is used for all measurements and calculations. After presenting a detailed derivation to obtain the theoretical S-parameters, the Teflon sample is measured and compared to the theoretical results, from which the comparison shows great promise. An inverse solution algorithm is used to solve for the material properties from the experimental S-parameters. Low-frequency measurement of the Teflon sheet was performed by using a dielectric capacitor test fixture. The results show the effect of an air gap between the electrode and sample, producing serious errors. / Master of Science

This dissertation describes the work conducted on error analysis for Brillouin Optical Time Domain Reflectometry (BOTDR), a distributed strain sensing technology used for monitoring the structural performance of infrastructures. Although BOTDR has been recently applied to many infrastructure monitoring applications, its measurement error has not yet been thoroughly investigated. The challenge to accurately monitor structures using BOTDR sensors lies in the fact that the measurement error is dependent on the noise and the spatial resolution of the sensor as well as the non-uniformity of the monitored infrastructure strain conditions. To improve the reliability of this technology, measurement errors (including precision error and systematic error) need to be carefully investigated through fundamental analysis, lab testing, numerical modelling, and real site monitoring verification. The relationship between measurement error and sensor characteristics is firstly studied experimentally and theoretically. In the lab, different types of sensing cables are compared with regard to their measurement errors. Influences of factors including fibre diameters, polarization and cable jacket on measurement error are characterized. Based on experimental characterization results, an optics model is constructed to simulate the Brillouin back scattering process. The basic principle behind this model is the convolution between the injected pulse and the intrinsic Brillouin spectrum. Using this model, parametric studies are conducted to theoretically investigate the impacts of noise, frequency step and spectrum bandwidth on final strain measurement error. The measurement precision and systematic error are then investigated numerically and experimentally. Measurement results of field sites with installed optical fibres displayed that a more complicated strain profile leads to a larger measurement error. Through extensive experimental and numerical verifications using a Brillouin Optical Time Domain Reflectometry (BOTDR), the dependence of precision error and systematic error on input strain were then characterized in the laboratory and the results indicated that a) the measurement precision error can be predicted using analyzer frequency resolution and the location determination error and b) the characteristics of the measurement systematic error can be described using the error to strain gradient curve. This is significant because for current data interpretation process, data quality is supposed to be constant along the fibre although the monitored strain for most of the site cases is non-uniformly distributed, which is verified in this thesis leading to a varying data quality. A novel data quality quantification method is therefore proposed as a function of the measured strain shape. Although BOTDR has been extensively applied in infrastructure monitoring in the past decade, their data interpretation has been proven to be nontrivial, due to the nature of field monitoring. Based on the measurement precision and systematic error characterization results, a novel data interpretation methodology is constructed using the regularization decomposing method, taking advantages of the measured data quality. Experimental results indicate that this algorithm can be applied to various strain shapes and levels, and the accuracy of the reconstructed strain can be greatly improved. The developed algorithm is finally applied to real site applications where BOTDR sensing cables were implemented in two load bearing piles to monitor the construction loading and ground heaving processes.

Cette thèse, qui s'inscrit dans la tradition méthodologique de l'épistémologie historique, porte sur l'histoire et la formation du concept de biais dans l'épidémiologie moderne. Elle montre que la fonction opératoire du concept de biais est essentiellement critique, au sens où ce concept, que les épidémiologistes opposent au cours de l'histoire aux concepts d'objectivité, de preuve et de causalité, joue un rôle décisif dans la constitution de l'épidémiologie comme science, mais aussi dans l'avènement d'une médecine scientifique. Un éclairage historique et critique est apporté à la définition actuelle du biais, conçu comme une erreur ou un écart systématique par rapport à la vérité, ainsi qu'aux différentes taxinomies des biais qui jalonnent l'histoire de ce concept, dont l'origine se situe chez les fondateurs de la statistique mathématique. Le biais apparait ainsi comme une menace aussi bien à la validité du plan d'expérience d'une étude épidémiologique qu'à la validité de l'inférence statistique et du raisonnement médical. En d'autres termes, ce sont les conséquences que la révolution probabiliste a eues sur l'épidémiologie et sur la médecine qui sont ici étudiées, et qui ont conduit les épidémiologistes et les médecins à une forme de scepticisme et même de criticisme envers leurs propres inférences, ce qui donnera naissance au mouvement de la médecine fondée sur des preuves. / This PhD thesis, belonging to the tradition of historical epistemology, deals with the history and the formation of the concept of bias in epidemiology. It shows that the operational function of the concept of bias is essentially critical, in the sense that this concept, used by epidemiologists throughout history as an antonym to both objectivity, causality and evidence, is central to both the construction of epidemiology as a scientific discipline and the advent of scientific medicine. An historical and critical account is given of the actual definition of bias, conceived as a systematic error or deviation from the truth, and to the various taxonomies of bias which marked the history of this concept, whose origin goes back to the founders of mathematical statistics. Bias thus appears as a threat to the validity of the design of an epidemiological study, and to the validity of statistical inference and medical reasoning. In other words, what is studied here is the consequences of the probabilistic revolution on both epidemiology and medicine, which led epidemiologists and physicians to a kind of scepticism or even criticism about their own inferences, which would ultimately give birth to the evidence-based medicine's movement.

The diploma thesis deals with detection of satisficing caused by not reading the instruction below a question in the online survey in the Czech Republic. First, the issues of online survey is introduced from the theoretical point of view and cognitive aspects of the proces of creating a response to survey questions is described. Further, the term satisficing is explained, including its sources, forms and ways of measurement, and surveys and studies focused on satisficing detection are presented, including Instructional manipulation checks method which is crucial for the practical part of this thesis. Based on previously executed studies, the author designs hypotheses about the presence of satisficing in the online survey in the Czech Republic, and about the effect of respondent's socio-demographic and other factual characteristics; these hypotheses are subsequently verified using data from the conducted quantitative survey. The research results reveal considerable presence of satisficing caused by not reading the instruction below a question in the online survey. Furthermore, the impact of some socio-demographic and factul characteristics on the total amount of incorrectly answered control IMCs was proved. Building a model used to predict the probability with which the respondent will engage in...

Increased efficacy of light and laser applications in medicine is achieved by accurate light dosimetry. A minimally invasive technique for the determination of the optical coefficients of tissue involves interstitial measurements of the local fluence rate at two or more points in the tissue using isotropic, fibre optic detectors and application of a diffusion model of light propagation. The diffusion models assume simple, homogeneous tissue geometries, possibly oversimplifying the effect of tissue heterogeneities and boundaries. The primary goals of this study were to investigate the influence of realistic finite geometries on the fluence rate distribution and to quantify the systematic errors in the derived optical properties. A Monte Carlo model was developed to predict the fluence rate distribution in any plane of interest in a medium and was verified by comparison with diffusion theory solutions for simple geometries. Fluence rate measurements were made in optically infinite and semi-infinite phantoms for a wide range of optical properties and it was determined that the optical coefficients were derived accurately for phantoms with ueff> 0.2 mm-1 and 2 < ut'<10 mm-1. Measurements were also made in finite spherical volumes with absorbing (Rd = 0.35) and diffuse reflecting (Rd =0.85) boundaries for three optical phantoms and comparisons of the experimental fluence rates with the predictions of the finite volume Monte Carlo model are presented. Boundary effects were observed to be significant within 4 transport mean free paths (mfp') of the boundary. The optical coefficients were derived by applying a diffusion solution for an infinite medium and it was determined that within 2 mfp' of the boundary, the derived ua was overestimated by 40% and underestimated by 20% for the absorbing and reflecting boundaries, respectively. / Thesis / Master of Science (MS)

A hipotensão pós-exercício (HPE) se caracteriza pela redução da pressão arterial (PA) após uma sessão de exercício. Diversos estudos têm investigado a HPE e seus mecanismos utilizando as seguintes formas de cálculo: I = PA pós-exercício - PA pré-exercício; II = PA pós-exercício - PA pós-controle; e III = [(PA pós-exercício - PA pré-exercício) - (PA pós-controle - PA pré-controle)]. Embora esses estudos tenham demonstrado a ocorrência da HPE em diferentes populações e sua relevância clínica, pouco se sabe sobre sua reprodutibilidade. Dessa forma, este estudo objetivou verificar a reprodutibilidade (erro sistemático, confiabilidade e concordância) da HPE e de seus mecanismos hemodinâmicos e autonômicos avaliados pelas 3 formas de cálculo expostas. Para tanto, 30 indivíduos realizaram 4 sessões experimentais divididas em 2 blocos (teste e reteste). Cada bloco foi composto por uma sessão de exercício (cicloergômetro, 45min, 50% do VO2pico) e uma controle (repouso sentado), realizadas em ordem aleatória. Antes e após as intervenções, foram medidos: a PA (auscultatória e fotopletismográfica), o débito cardíaco (reinalação de CO2), a frequência cardíaca (FC - eletrocardiograma) e a modulação autonômica cardiovascular (análise espectral das variabilidades da FC e da PA, além da sensibilidade barorreflexa). A presença de erro sistemático foi avaliada pelo test-t pareado, a confiabilidade pelo coeficiente de correlação intraclasse (CCI) e a concordância pelo erro típico (ET). A HPE e seus mecanismos hemodinâmicos e autonômicos avaliados pelas 3 formas de cálculo não apresentaram erro sistemático. A HPE sistólica apresentou confiabilidade alta e a diastólica confiabilidade baixa a moderada, com melhor confiabilidade na forma de cálculo II. Em geral, os mecanismos hemodinâmicos e autonômicos apresentaram confiabilidade moderada a baixa, com maior confiabilidade com a forma de cálculo I. Para finalizar, os parâmetros de concordância variaram entre as 3 formas de cálculo, o que implica que o ET específico de cada variável para cada forma de cálculo deve ser considerado para a estimativa do tamanho amostral necessário em estudos e para o cálculo da mínima diferença detectável na prática clínica quando o objetivo for comparar as respostas pós-exercício obtidas em diferentes condições / Post-exercise hypotension is characterized by a reduction in blood pressure (BP) after a single session of exercise. Several studies have investigated PEH and its mechanisms and they have employed the following methods of calculation: I = post-exercise BP - pre-exercise BP; II = post-exercise BP - post-control BP; and III = [(post-exercise BP - pre-exercise BP) - (post-control BP - pre-control BP)]. Although these studies have demonstrated the occurrence of PEH in different populations and its clinical relevance, little is known about the reproducibility of PEH. Thus, the current study was designed to determine the reproducibility (systematic error, reliability and agreement) of PEH and its hemodynamic and autonomic mechanisms evaluated by the three methods of calculation exposed. For this purpose, 30 subjects performed 4 experimental sessions divided into two blocks (test and retest). Each block was composed by one exercise (cycle ergometer, 45 min, 50% of VO2peak) and one control (seated rest) session executed in a random order. Before and after the interventions, the following parameters were measured: BP (auscultatory and photoplethysmographic), cardiac output (CO2 rebreathing), heart rate (HR - electrocardiogram) and cardiovascular autonomic modulation (spectral analysis of HR and BP variabilities, as well as spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity). The presence of systematic bias was evaluated by paired t-test, reliability by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and agreement by typical error (TE). PEH and its hemodynamic and autonomic mechanisms evaluated by the three methods of calculation did not present systematic bias. Systolic PEH presented high reliability and diastolic PEH showed low to moderate reliability, with better results for the method II. In general, the hemodynamic and autonomic mechanisms presented low to moderate reliabilities, with better results for the method I. Lastly, agreement parameters varied among the three methods of calculation, which implies that the specific value of TE for each variable and each method of calculation should be used for estimating the sample size required in studies and establishing the minimal detectable change in clinical settings when the goal is to compare post-exercise responses obtained in different conditions

The main idea of current PhD thesis is an accuracy analysis of testing and calibration of geodetic instruments. The object of investigation is an analysis of means and methods for testing and calibration of geodetic instruments for plane angle measurement, development of such calibration equipment, its accuracy investigation and the research of its accuracy increasing possibilities. These objects are important for successful testing or calibration of geodetic instruments for angle measuring which is essential in ensuring the precision of measurements taken in surveying, construction, mechanical engineering, etc. There are several main goals of the presented work. First one is an analysis of the angle measuring methods and devices suitable for the testing and calibration of geodetic instruments, according to the results of the mentioned analysis the second task can be formulated – creation of a multi-reference plane angle testing and calibration equipment at Institute of Geodesy, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University and investigate the parameters of its accuracy. The third task is to investigate the accuracy increasing possibilities of the equipment, and implementation some of them into the practice. The thesis consists of four chapters, introduction, conclusions, list of references and appendixes. Introduction is dedicated for an introduction to the problem and its topicality. There are also formulated purposes and tasks of the work; the used methods and novelty of... [to full text] / Disertacijoje nagrinėjamos geodezinių kampus matuojančių prietaisų patikros bei kalibravimo metodai bei priemonės. Pagrindinis tyrimo objektas yra geodezinių prietaisų tikslumo parametrų matavimo būdų ir priemonių analizė, kalibravimo įrenginio kūrimas, jo tikslumo charakteristikų tyrimas bei įrenginio tobulinimas. Šie objektai yra svarbūs vykdant geodezinių prietaisų kalibravimą, kas savo ruožtu yra labai svarbu užtikrinant reikiamą šių prietaisų matavimų tikslumą geodezijoje, statybose, mašinų gamyboje ir t. t. Pagrindinis disertacijos tikslas – geodezinių kampų matavimo prietaisų kalibravimo galimybių analizė ir sukurto kalibravimo įrenginio tikslumo para¬metrų tyrimas. Darbe sprendžiami keli pagrindiniai uždaviniai: plokščiųjų kampų mata¬vimo metodų bei įrenginių, tinkamų geodeziniams prietaisams kalibruoti, analizė; daugiaetalonio kampų kalibravimo stendo kūrimas Vilniaus Gedimino technikos universiteto Geodezijos institute bei jo tikslumo charakteristikų tyri¬mas; stendo tikslumo didinimo galimybių bei priemonių tyrimas, ir apskri¬timinių skalių kalibravimo būdų tobulinimas. Disertaciją sudaro šeši skyriai, įvadas, išvados, literatūros sąrašas bei priedai. Įvade nagrinėjamas problemos aktualumas, formuluojamas darbo tikslas bei uždaviniai, aprašomas mokslinis darbo naujumas, pristatomi autoriaus pranešimai ir publikacijos, disertacijos struktūra. Pirmasis skyrius skirtas labiausiai paplitusių plokščiųjų kampų matavimo būdų bei priemonių tinkamų geodeziniams prietaisams... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

Disertacijoje nagrinėjamos geodezinių kampus matuojančių prietaisų patikros bei kalibravimo metodai bei priemonės. Pagrindinis tyrimo objektas yra geodezinių prietaisų tikslumo parametrų matavimo būdų ir priemonių analizė, kalibravimo įrenginio kūrimas, jo tikslumo charakteristikų tyrimas bei įrenginio tobulinimas. Šie objektai yra svarbūs vykdant geodezinių prietaisų kalibravimą, kas savo ruožtu yra labai svarbu užtikrinant reikiamą šių prietaisų matavimų tikslumą geodezijoje, statybose, mašinų gamyboje ir t. t. Pagrindinis disertacijos tikslas – geodezinių kampų matavimo prietaisų kalibravimo galimybių analizė ir sukurto kalibravimo įrenginio tikslumo parametr�� tyrimas. Darbe sprendžiami keli pagrindiniai uždaviniai: plokščiųjų kampų matavimo metodų bei įrenginių, tinkamų geodeziniams prietaisams kalibruoti, analizė; daugiaetalonio kampų kalibravimo stendo kūrimas Vilniaus Gedimino technikos universiteto Geodezijos institute bei jo tikslumo charakteristikų tyrimas; stendo tikslumo didinimo galimybių bei priemonių tyrimas, ir apskritiminių skalių kalibravimo būdų tobulinimas. Disertaciją sudaro šeši skyriai, įvadas, išvados, literatūros sąrašas bei priedai. Įvade nagrinėjamas problemos aktualumas, formuluojamas darbo tikslas bei uždaviniai, aprašomas mokslinis darbo naujumas, pristatomi autoriaus pranešimai ir publikacijos, disertacijos struktūra. Pirmasis skyrius skirtas labiausiai paplitusių plokščiųjų kampų matavimo būdų bei priemonių tinkamų geodeziniams prietaisams... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The main idea of current PhD thesis is an accuracy analysis of testing and calibration of geodetic instruments. The object of investigation is an analysis of means and methods for testing and calibration of geodetic instruments for plane angle measurement, development of such calibration equipment, its accuracy investigation and the research of its accuracy increasing possibilities. These objects are important for successful testing or calibration of geodetic instruments for angle measuring which is essential in ensuring the precision of measurements taken in surveying, construction, mechanical engineering, etc. There are several main goals of the presented work. First one is an analysis of the angle measuring methods and devices suitable for the testing and calibration of geodetic instruments, according to the results of the mentioned analysis the second task can be formulated – creation of a multi-reference plane angle testing and calibration equipment at Institute of Geodesy, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University and investigate the parameters of its accuracy. The third task is to investigate the accuracy increasing possibilities of the equipment, and implementation some of them into the practice. The thesis consists of four chapters, introduction, conclusions, list of references and appendixes. Introduction is dedicated for an introduction to the problem and its topicality. There are also formulated purposes and tasks of the work; the used methods and novelty of... [to full text]