The increased incidence of diabetes mellitus has underscored the importance of effective management strategies, particularly in preventing complications such as diabetic foot ulcers (DFU). Chronic infections associated with DFU pose significant health risks, including lower limb amputations, highlighting the urgent need for non-invasive methods to assess skin microbiota changes. This study aimed to evaluate simple methods of sampling and quantifying skin bacteria, comparing techniques such as Gram staining, DAPI staining, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Furthermore, the study investigated bacterial abundance variations across different sampling sites on the foot. Skin bacteria were sampled from healthy human volunteers using tape stripping (TPS) and swabbing. Gram-staining of the samples showed that most bacteria were found on the heel of the foot, and only Gram-positive bacteria were found on the skin of healthy study participants. However, Gram-staining showed artifacts in the form of bubbles under the microscope, which interfered with bacteria counting. PCR provided results indicating the presence of Staphylococcal species on the skin of healthy feet. DAPI staining showed images of bacteria like the ones stained with Gram staining. After using FISH-probe it was found that only a few bacteria hybridized with the probe and further optimization of the protocol is required. The study evaluated various techniques for sampling and quantifying skin bacteria and compared the number of bacteria present on the foot of healthy individuals, which may be used to identify infections before they develop into more serious conditions.

Title: Quality of life of women with urinary stress incontinence Objectives: The aim of this thesis was to assess quality of life of women after conservative therapy and chirurgic therapy of urinary stress incontinence in Brno-město and Brno- venkov district. Methods: We did a questionnaire survey on quality of life by using a standardized questionnaire I-QoL (Urinary Incontinence Quality-of-life questionnaire). The questionnaire survey was conducted in patients after conservative or surgical therapy by TVT or TOT tape. Subjectively perceived quality of life of these patients after completion of the therapy was observed. The results were compared between the groups undergoing conservative and surgical therapy by TVT or TOT tape. Results: After the output assessment of quality of life of patients after the treatment, we found that there is a difference in the quality of life of patients treated conservatively and surgically by TVT or TOT tape. Patients treated surgically had higher quality of life than patients treated conservatively by 9%. We also found that there is a difference in the physical, mental and social scores of the groups. The respondents who were treated conservatively had lower score in all evaluated areas with the greatest difference in the physical area and the smallest difference...

The aim of this work is to explore the joining of inspiration, such as different garments and materials, in relation to commonly used methods in the fashion industry when it comes to joining of different trends and references such as clashing and collaging. The work proposes a new method and framework for join- ing inspiration which generates different results depending on what kind of inspiration that is put in to it. A garment can roughly be broken down to a silhouette and shape, materials and details. The material put in to the method and framework is based on information from trend seminars for SS16, because that is how many of today’s trend-oriented fashion brands get there inspiration. Trendy garment silhouettes are mixed through processes of computational morphing in Adobe Flash by a generation of spin in the mixing process were shape hints are used in a new manner. The new generated silhouettes are further developed and materialized through procedures of interpretation and figuration. Different trendy materials are melded in a direct and concrete way through mixed media techniques such as laminating, fusing and vacuum-techniques. The final steps of the method is a garment shape and material synthesis with starting point in the generated shape with the final material. The projects intention is to let the physical experimentation, interpretation and figuration play a central role in the research process for new types of methods, garments, materials and expressive pos- sibilities.

熱可塑性エポキシ樹脂を母材とするCFRTPの母材を高分子量化することにより静的および疲労特性の改善を行えることを示し，重量平均分子量の違いによりそれらの特性が大きく変化する変曲点が存在することを明らかにした．さらに，CFRTPの実用化のためにミシンステッチを利用したCFRTPテープ積層法を提案し，その試作機を作成することで，CFRTPテープ自動積層装置の実用性を明らかにした． / 博士(工学) / Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering / 同志社大学 / Doshisha University

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 26-29, 1992 / Town and Country Hotel and Convention Center, San Diego, California / Due to the vast amount of data required to be collected for design/performance analysis of operational and development systems, there has evolved a real requirement for a high-speed, large capacity, data collection/record system in a small Flight/Ruggedized package. This need is realized by several user communities and factors which include the evolution of small operational vehicles (airborne, land and UAV’s), the desire of weapons manufacturers/integrators to be independent from the vehicle during vehicle integration, and a general need for a field/airborne, reliable portable data collection system for intelligence gathering, operational performance verification and on-board data processing. In the Air Defence community, the need for a ruggedized record system was highlighted after Desert Storm, in which the operational performance of the Patriot Missile was questioned and data collection was not performed to support the performance. The Aydin Vector Division in conjunction with the prime contractor, has come up with a solution to this problem which utilizes a commercially available helical scan 8mm data storage unit. This solution provides a highly reliable record system, ruggedized for airborne and field environments and a low price in comparison with the more traditional approaches currently offered. This paper will describe the design implementation of this small ruggedized, flight worthy Data collection system deemed the ATD-800. It will also discuss the performance and limitations of implementing such a system, as well as provide several applications and solutions to different operational environments to be encountered. Additionally, the paper will conclude with several product enhancements which may benefit the flight test, operational and intelligence communities in the future.

The topic of this diploma thesis is "Influence of footwear on foot deformities in women - the role of nurses in prevention". The theoretical part is devoted to the foot anatomy, it describes the issue of heels on the foot and represents the Giraffe certification. The practical part of the qualitative research shows the role of nurses in preventing foot deformities for patients. This thesis has two goals. To find out what footwear affects the deformities of the legs in women and to find out what role the nurse plays in preventing this issue. The research questions are 1. What is the importance of wearing high-heeled shoes for women and how will this be reflected later? 2. What role do nurses attribute to the prevention in this issue? Data collection was collected by semi-structured interviews with nurses in the orthopaedic ward and orthopaedic clinics. The research sample consists of 20 respondents, the choice was deliberate and formed by snowball sampling. In February 2019, data was collected, which was subsequently terminated at the moment of theoretical saturation. The interview covered themes: wearing high-heeled shoes, leg deformities caused by high-heeled shoes, nurse-led prevention and education. The results show that only a fraction of nurses adhere to the role of a nurse who helps patients prevent leg deformities. The rest of the nurses leave prevention and education to doctors. This diploma thesis presents as a work output a poster, which can be an information material for nurses from the orthopaedic clinics and beds. The output of the thesis is an educational poster that will reflect the entire nursing issue in prevention (the role of a nurse, the deformity of the feet caused by high-heeled shoes, etc.).

Submitted by Luciclea Silva (luci@ufpa.br) on 2018-07-19T17:42:08Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertacao_ avaliacaodesempenhofuncoes.pdf: 5239412 bytes, checksum: a7be25c49d350063c87bb85986bb7199 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciclea Silva (luci@ufpa.br) on 2018-07-19T17:42:46Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertacao_ avaliacaodesempenhofuncoes.pdf: 5239412 bytes, checksum: a7be25c49d350063c87bb85986bb7199 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-19T17:42:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertacao_ avaliacaodesempenhofuncoes.pdf: 5239412 bytes, checksum: a7be25c49d350063c87bb85986bb7199 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-27 / Esta dissertação aborda alguns dos principais problemas operacionais enfrentados pelos operadores de redes de distribuição devido à elevada integração de geradores fotovoltaicos (FV), tais como sobretensões e comutações excessivas de tape nos autotransformadores reguladores de tensão. Essas situações estão sendo continuamente estudadas, tendo em vista que podem causar problemas de qualidade de tensão e reparos em reguladores de tensão. O problema da sobretensão pode ser causado por uma injeção significativa de potência ativa da geração FV à rede. Paralelamente, as variações rápidas e significativas na potência ativa injetada pelo gerador FV, associadas com os transitórios de nuvens, podem resultar no aumento excessivo de comutações de tape no regulador de tensão, que podem acabar diminuindo a vida útil e aumentar a quantidade de manutenções realizadas nestes equipamentos. Neste contexto, surgiram as funções de controle Volt-Watt e Volt-Var prensentes nos inversores FV inteligentes, que foram adicionadas em estudos recentes para mitigar as sobretensões. Este trabalho mostra como as funções de controle Volt-Watt e Volt-Var mitigam os problemas de sobretensão e regulação de tensão em redes de distribuição com presença de geradores FV. Simulações de fluxo de potência de séries temporais em alimentadores simples de BT e MT com presença da geração FV foram realizadas em cenários de alta e baixa variabilidade solar. / This dissertation addresses some of the major operational problems faced by distribution system operators due to the high integration of photovoltaic (PV) generators, such as overvoltages and excessive tap counts in step voltage regulators (SVR). These situations are continually being studied, since they can cause voltage quality problems and damage in SVRs. The overvoltage problem can be caused by a significant injection of active power from the PV generation to the network. Moreover, the rapid and significant variations in PV generator active power associated with cloud transients result in an increase of voltage regulator tap counts, which can affect the useful life of device. In this context, the smart inverters Volt-Watt and Volt-Var control functions have been added in recent studies to mitigate the overvoltages. This work shows how Volt-Watt and Volt-Var control functions mitigate the overvoltage and voltage regulation problems in distribution networks with PV generation. Time series power flow simulations on LV and MV single feeders with PV solar plant have been performed in high and low solar variability scenarios.

<p>In this Master thesis, microwave connections between circuit boards are constructed. The primary frequency band is the X-band (8-12 GHz). The purpose of the connections is to enable a more simple and cheaper way of mounting the circuit boards inside a container. </p><p>The connections have been designed and evaluated, using different computer programs. A few prototypes have been built and measured. </p><p>The main goal of this Master thesis was to design a connection, that would be useful in practice. The connections should be easy to manufacture and have a good performance. They should also have a high tolerance for manufacturing errors. </p><p>The main part of this report contains descriptions of different designs. The designs are presented together with simulated and measured results. </p><p>The report contains designs based upon coplanar waveguides and a phase shifting technique. The result shows that designs that are using coplanar waveguides are good. The phase shifting technique has some limitations and need to be developed further.</p>

In this Master thesis, microwave connections between circuit boards are constructed. The primary frequency band is the X-band (8-12 GHz). The purpose of the connections is to enable a more simple and cheaper way of mounting the circuit boards inside a container. The connections have been designed and evaluated, using different computer programs. A few prototypes have been built and measured. The main goal of this Master thesis was to design a connection, that would be useful in practice. The connections should be easy to manufacture and have a good performance. They should also have a high tolerance for manufacturing errors. The main part of this report contains descriptions of different designs. The designs are presented together with simulated and measured results. The report contains designs based upon coplanar waveguides and a phase shifting technique. The result shows that designs that are using coplanar waveguides are good. The phase shifting technique has some limitations and need to be developed further.

Pulse width modulation (PWM) voltage source converters (VSC) are one type of motor drives that have become popular because they enable precise control of speed and torque in medium voltage motors. However, these drives are known to have adverse effects on the insulation system particularly on conductive armour tape (CAT) and semi-conductive stress grading tape (SGT). These tapes, which are crucial components of the insulation system, control the surface electrical stresses in the stator slot and in the end portion of the form-wound coils outside the grounded stator. The material properties of CAT and SGT and the methods by which they are applied on form-wound motor coils are traditionally designed for power frequency, or a 60 Hz sinusoidal voltage. However, because of the high frequencies associated with the repetition rate and the fast rise time of the PWM pulses, elevated electrical and thermal stresses develop in these tapes, which can lead to premature insulation failure. Little research has been conducted with respect to understanding the mechanism of dielectric heating as a function of frequency and repetitive pulse characteristics. The material characterization of CAT and SGT is a vital part of an investigation of the performance of the stress relief system at high frequencies. In this study, the anisotropic dielectric properties of CAT and SGT have been measured in dc and ac and in low and high electric fields. The laboratory experiments for determining the material characteristics are discussed and the results analyzed. According to the ac space charge limited field (SCLF) theory, the maximum ac tangential component of the electric field in a nonlinear resistive SGT on medium voltage form-wound motor coils can be predicted from the field dependent electrical conductivity and the frequency. However, the SCLF theory cannot predict the total electric field (vector sum of the tangential and normal components) in the air adjacent to the surface of the tapes. Simulations of the electric field using a finite element method (FEM), is one of the best ways of finding the resultant electric field distribution in the air space adjacent to the SGT. However, prior to this study, researchers simplified the modelling of the stress relief system to avoid the convergence problems that develop due to the nonlinearity of the SGT conductivity as a function of the electric field, and also because of the geometry and dimensions of the tapes when their depths are orders of magnitude smaller than the other dimensions associated with form-wound coils. For modelling the stress grading (SG) system at power frequency and at the rated voltage, the dc isotropic conductivity of the SGT and CAT has also been extensively investigated. However, relatively little work has been done with respect to the ac electrical behaviour of these materials and dc modelling cannot reflect the effects of high-frequency stresses on the machine insulation. In this study, comprehensive transient FEM modelling has been developed in order to simulate the insulation system with nonlinear field dependent materials. The actual dimensions of the components are applied in the model, and the appropriate material parameters for the FEM simulations are extracted from the experimental test results. One crucial point that has not been considered in previous studies is the effect of the component of the electric field that is normal to the surface of the coil. In most studies, only the tangential component of the electric field is considered; however, in this study, both components and the resultant electric field are computed. The surface tangential field is calculated with reference to the gradient of the surface potential as measured with an electrostatic voltmeter. It is shown that this technique can provide a reasonable estimate for the tangential field along the SG system, but not without limitations, which are discussed in detail. Based on laboratory work and analytical analysis, this research has successfully determined the relationship between the thermal effect of the PWM voltage and the other repetitive fast pulses, such as square wave and impulse voltages. The influence of the pulse characteristics on the development of stresses has also thoroughly investigated, and the results are presented. A coupled electric and thermal model that incorporates the finite element method (FEM) is used as a means of studying thermal stresses and determining appropriate remedies. However, using transient analysis as an approach for finding the temperature profile associated with high repetitive impulses (1-10 kHz) and fast rise times (~200 ns) is both difficult and impractical. According to these considerations, an alternative method has been developed from stationary analyses based on two sinusoidal voltages of different frequencies. The frequency and amplitude of these sinusoids are measured relative to the switching frequency, signal power, and nonlinearity of the system, and the results of the simulation are then verified experimentally, thus showing the efficacy of this method. This research also concluded that a capacitive SG system with conductive foil embedded in the groundwall insulation can be a practical alternative to a conventional SGT of form-wound coils in inverter fed motors. The performance of the capacitive SG scheme is independent of frequency and can therefore provide the required mitigation of the stress caused by repetitive fast pulses. The results of the evaluation of this system with respect to qualification tests demonstrate the effectiveness of the system.