Motion-selectivity in human visual cortex comprises a number of different cortical loci including V1, V2, V3A, V3B, hV5/MT+ and V6 (Wandell et al., 2007). This thesis sought to investigate the specific functions of V3A and sub-divisions of hV5/MT+ (TO-1 and TO-2) by using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to transiently disrupt cortical activations within these areas during psychophysical tasks of motion perception. The tasks were chosen to coincide with previous non-human primate and human neuroimaging literature; translational, radial and rotational direction discrimination tasks and identification of the position of a focus of expansion. These results assert that TO-1 and TO-2 are functionally distinct subdivisions of hV5/MT+, as we have shown that both TO-1 and TO-2 are responsible for processing translational motion direction whilst only TO-2 is responsible for processing radial motion direction. In ipsilateral space, it was found that TO-1 and TO-2 both contribute to the processing of ipsilateral translational motion. Taken in a wider context, further results also suggested that these areas may form part of a network of cortical areas contributing to perception of self-motion (heading/egomotion), as TO-2 was not found to be responsible for processing the position of the central focus of expansion (imperative for self-direction). Instead, area V3A has been implicated as functionally responsible for processing this attribute of vision. Overall it is clear that TO-1, TO-2 and V3A have specific, distinct functions that contribute towards both parallel and serial motion processing pathways within the human brain. / Life Science Research

Background: An important goal of providing amplification to children with hearing loss is to ensure that hearing aids are adjusted to match targets of prescriptive procedures as closely as possible. The Desired Sensation Level (DSL) v5 and the National Acoustic Laboratories’ prescription for nonlinear hearing aids, version 1 (NAL-NL1) procedures are widely used in fitting hearing aids to children. Little is known about hearing aid fitting outcomes for children with severe or profound hearing loss. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prescribed and measured gain of hearing aids fit according to the NAL-NL1 and the DSL v5 procedure for children with moderately severe to profound hearing loss; and to examine the impact of choice of prescription on predicted speech intelligibility and loudness. Research Design: Participants were fit with Phonak Naida V SP hearing aids according to the NAL-NL1 and DSL v5 procedures. The Speech Intelligibility Index (SII) and estimated loudness were calculated using published models. Study Sample: The sample consisted of 16 children (30 ears) aged between 7 and 17 yr old. Data Collection and Analysis: The measured hearing aid gains were compared with the prescribed gains at 50 (low), 65 (medium), and 80 dB SPL (high) input levels. The goodness of fit-to-targets was quantified by calculating the average root-mean-square (RMS) error of the measured gain compared with prescriptive gain targets for 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz. The significance of difference between prescriptions for hearing aid gains, SII, and loudness was examined by performing analyses of variance. Correlation analyses were used to examine the relationship between measures. Results: The DSL v5 prescribed significantly higher overall gain than the NAL-NL1 procedure for the same audiograms. For low and medium input levels, the hearing aids of all children fit with NAL-NL1 were within 5 dB RMS of prescribed targets, but 33% (10 ears) deviated from the DSL v5 targets by more than 5 dB RMS on average. For high input level, the hearing aid fittings of 60% and 43% of ears deviated by more than 5 dB RMS from targets of NAL-NL1 and DSL v5, respectively. Greater deviations from targets were associated with more severe hearing loss. On average, the SII was higher for DSL v5 than for NAL-NL1 at low input level. No significant difference in SII was found between prescriptions at medium or high input level, despite greater loudness for DSL v5 than for NAL-NL1. Conclusions: Although targets between 0.25 and 2 kHz were well matched for both prescriptions in commercial hearing aids, gain targets at 4 kHz were matched for NAL-NL1 only. Although the two prescriptions differ markedly in estimated loudness, they resulted in comparable predicted speech intelligibility for medium and high input levels.

L'architecture logicielle est un domaine récent du génie logiciel qui a reçu une attention particulière ces dix dernières années. Les éditeurs de logiciels ont pris conscience qu'une architecture est un facteur critique dans la réussite du développement et facilite la maintenance et l'évolution du logiciel. Elle contribue à la maîtrise des grands logiciels. L'architecture logicielle permet d'améliorer ces aspects grâce à l'étude des structures de haut niveau du logiciel. De nombreuses avancées ont été proposées au niveau de la formalisation par des Langages de Description d'Architecture (ADLs: Architecture Description Languages), du raisonnement et de l'analyse au niveau architectural. Bien que la communauté scientifique ait réalisé des progrès significatifs, les résultats restent essentiellement académiques. Les retombées de ces recherches ont du mal à pénétrer le milieu industriel. Ce rapport de thèse relate notre expérience avec Dassault Systèmes : répondre aux besoins de Dassault Systèmes pour le développement de ses logiciels en utilisant une approche basée sur l'architecture logicielle. Dassault Systèmes est le leader mondial de la Conception Assistée par Ordinateur (CAO) avec son logiciel phare CATIA V5 (~5 MLoc). Pour atteindre cet objectif, nous avons parcouru les principales approches pour la description d'une architecture logicielle et tenté de les appliquer dans notre contexte industriel. Nous expliquerons les difficultés que nous avons rencontrées pour les utiliser et montrerons pourquoi ces approches ne sont pas adaptées pour la maintenance et l'évolution d'un logiciel tel que CATIA V5. Nous décrirons notre démarche basée sur l'analyse des besoins architecturaux des différents acteurs de Dassault Systèmes qui a permis de fournir des solutions concrètes et exploitables. Enfin, nous expliciterons ces besoins architecturaux et présenterons les divers prototypes que nous avons développés pour y répondre.

This projects aims to develop design automation in product development. Design automation causes increase in producibility and decrease in product cost and manufacturing lead time. The study at hand is proposed to provide a new method and to introduce procedure to the design of wiring pattern for a car seat heater for Kongsberg Automotive, KA. KA is a Norwegian company and a global provider of engineering, design, and manufacture for seat comfort, driver and motion control systems, fluid assemblies, and industrial driver interface products. The method that currently is used in the company to create a wiring pattern is neither sufficient enough nor automated. In order to design the wiring pattern, at first procedure is handled by the designer. Secondly, car seat heater 2D layout is imported and then, the dimensions of the elements are defined as constraints. Then VBA codes are opened and the program is run. The result will be a wiring pattern in different 2D layouts. To make the design process easier, we have modeled five different layouts; wiring pattern of one element, two elements, three elements, five elements (with two back sides) and one element trapezoidal 2D layout. The algorithm written in VBA (Visual basic for application) creates the pattern according to the dimensions of the elements which are used as inputs to define constrained parameters. The created macros are simple to use and easy to modify, independent from the programming knowledge. The user is only responsible with parameter input and running the program. The solution gives wiring pattern for a car seat heater.

As the world is evolving very fast with the developments of new technologies and softwares in design and manufacturing, business organizations and manufacturing industries will always be adapting to the new technologies and softwares for increasing the cost and time efficiency in the development of products. So, this thesis focuses on a comparative study between two Dassault Systems softwares in which, one is mostly used CAD software by industries for a long time, and one is the latest developments in the CAD softwares with satisfying business requirements. For this comparison study, the two methods called design automation and robot simulation are used in the development of modular fixtures platforms used in automobile manufacturing industries. In the first method, the design and assembly of modular fixtures platform are done which holds the automotive car sheet pillars together. With a single mouse click, the complete design and assembly of the modular fixtures can be done using automation. In the second method, the spot-welding manufacturing operation is done to join the car sheet pillars together to produce the B-pillar of the Body in white (BIW) for the automobile, with the help of a welding gun connected to ABB robot arm, using automation in robot simulation. This work takes place in CATIA V5 and 3D Experience, and the final results obtained in both the software are compared and discussed in the results part of this report. Automation in CAD has been one of the advanced developments that happened in the 21st century through which most of the engineering knowledge and intent can be captured and reutilized. CATIA V5 & 3D Experience Automation is done using two programming languages called VB (Visual Basics) and VB.net.

Ett ljudfenomen som uppstår i samband med luftkomprimeringen i den nya D7 motorn har uppmärksammats som ett problem av kunderna. Ljudfenomenet som resonerar i hytten bidrar till en obehaglig arbetsmiljö. Uppdraget har i sin tur varit att utveckla en luftkompressormonterad ljuddämpare mot en kravspecifikation som eliminerar detta fenomen. Med hjälp av diverse verktyg och en spiral produktutvecklingsprocess utfördes ett flertal iterationer av dem koncept som kan tänkas lösa problemet. Dessa iterationer konstruerades i mjukvaran CATIA V5 för att sedan beställas in som fysiska prototyper i materialet Pa12. För att bekräfta prototypernas funktionalitet utfördes simuleringar samt fysiska tester. Det resulterande arbetet blev ett konceptförslag till Scania CV AB som uppfyller kravspecifikationerna. Lösningens ljuddämpningsförmågan reducerade ljudfenomenet med 73% i genomsnitt. Med hjälp av observationer och analyser under de fysiska testgenomförandet uppmärksammades komplikationer som bör åtgärdas. Det mest kritiska med det nuvarande konceptet är dem vibrationer som uppstår. För att åtgärda detta problem kommer det krävas ytterligare infästningspunkter på motsvarande sida till de nuvarande. All mätdata i denna rapport är modifierat. Detta för att skydda känslig information. / A noise phenomenon that arises in connection with air compression in the new D7 engine has been noted as a problem by the customers. The sound phenomenon resonates in the cabin contributes to an unpleasant work environment. The mission, in turn, has been to develop an air compressor-mounted silencer against a requirement specification to eliminate this phenomenon. Using various tools and a spiral product development process, a number of iterations were made of those concepts that could solve the problem. These iterations were engineered in the CATIA V5 software, then ordered as physical prototypes in the material Pa12. To confirm the prototypes' functionality, simulations and physical tests were performed. The resulting work became a concept proposal for Scania CV AB that meets the requirements specifications. The solution managed to reduce the sound phenomenon by 73% on average. With the help of observations and analyzes during the physical test implementation, complications were noted that should be addressed. The most critical on the current concept is the vibration that occurs. To fix this problem additional attachment points will be required on the corresponding side to the current ones. All data in this report have been modified. This is to protect sensitive information.

The theoretical part of the thesis contains a brief overview of some experimental methods that are used in machining technologies. The experimental part at first elaborates on the analysis of two titanium alloys. The actual experiment, which consists of milling of the two aforementioned materials with the use of several tools and holders, is then described. It was conducted in collaboration with the company Frentech Aerospace s.r.o. When milling, forces were measured with piezoelectric dynamometer. Further, the analysis of acquired data that is followed with discussion about its main findings, is provided. The conclusion of the thesis deals with the found facts corresponding with the information obtained by analysis of materials. The main results arise out of the comparison of used combinations of tools and holders for milling of material Ti-Al6-V4, observation of impact of particular factors on measured force, or out of different values of measured forces when milling two given materials.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-07-29T16:11:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacaoo Rene Oliveira do Couto.pdf: 320246 bytes, checksum: 816190f5ad7a712d430d34f4a9536d4b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-02-24 / In this work, standardized spray-dried extracts of Rosmarinus officinalis L.(Lamiaceae), were obtained. The work started with the obtainment and characterization of the R. officinalis dried and powder leaves. A hydroalcoholic extract was obtained by percolation using as solvent ethanol at 80 % (v/v). The drying experiments followed a Box-Behnken (33) factorial design in order to obtain dry powders with optimized properties. In this way, the influence of several in-process parameters e. g. extract feed rate, drying air inlet temperature and spray nozzle airflow rate, on the dried extracts properties were investigated. The herbal raw material as well as both hydroalcoholic and dried extracts were analyzed by several physic-chemical and physical techniques. Additionally, the in vitro antioxidant activity from both hydroalcoholic and dried extracts were assessed by DPPH free radical scavenging test. Rosmarinic acid, the major component on the specie and one of the main compounds responsible for these pharmacological activities, was used as chemical marker in High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) coupled to photodiode array detection (PDA) quantification assays in all steps of this work. The analytical method was validated following Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency) guidelines. This method proved to be simple, rapid, selective, linear, sensible, precise, accurate a robust. On the herbal raw material characterization, it were observed a swelling índex of 2.33 ± 0.11, a mean powder size of 437.94 ± 7.00 μm, as well as moisture, total ashes, acid insoluble ashes, total polyphenols, total tannins, total flavonoids and rosmarinic contents of 9.1 ± 0.23, 7.32 ± 0.045, 0.378 ± 0.016, 3.81 ± 0.043, 0.49 ± 0.01, 1.73 ± 0.07 and 1.05 ± 0.03% (w/w), respectively. The concentrated hydroalcoholic extract presented density of 0.964 ± 0.002 g/mL, solids content of 9.66 ± 0.07%, pH 5.106 ± 0.005, alcoholic content of 38.2 ± 0.53% and a viscosity of 5.2 ± 0.09 mPas. The levels of total polyphenols, total tannins, total flavonoids and rosmarinic contents were of 30.19 ± 0.24, 9.13 ± 0.01, 8.78 ± 0.1 and 10.68 ± 0.43% (w/w), respectively. Also, in the antioxidant assessment, the extract presented an inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 17.29 μg/mL. Results showed drying yields ranging from 17.1 to 74.96%. Also, all dried products showed moisture contents and water activities below 5% (w/w) and 0.5, respectively. Although dry products having lost some of their polyphenols they still presented antioxidant activities (IC50) ranging from 17.58 to 24.83 μg/mL. However, most recovered products presented inadequate flowability and compressibility. In general, the particles showed spherical shape and various sizes. Analysis of variance (ANOVAs) proved that the factors studied and some of their interactions significantly affected most of the investigated responses. Moreover, the best condition for obtaining dry extracts of rosemary with stability evidence as well as adequate physicochemical and functional properties is the one performed with a high extract feed rate, an intermediate drying air inlet temperature and a low spray nozzle air flow rate. Accordingly, spray drying technique may be an attractive and promising alternative to develop intermediate phytopharmaceutical products of rosemary. / A obtenção de extratos secos padronizados da Rosmarinus officinalis L. (Lamiaceae),por meio da técnica de spray drying, foi precedida de duas etapas, iniciando-se pela obtenção e caracterização do material de partida (pó das folhas da planta) e a partir desse, obtendo-se o extrato hidroalcoólico pelo método de percolação usando como solvente etanol a 80% (v/v).Os experimentos de secagem foram conduzidos seguindo um planejamento fatorial do tipo Box-Behnken (33) a fim de se obter produtos secos com propriedades otimizadas. Nesse sentido, foram investigadas as influências de alguns parâmetros envolvidos no processo, e. g. fluxo de alimentação de extrato, temperatura de entrada do ar de secagem e vazão do ar de aspersão nas propriedades dos extratos secos obtidos. Tanto o material de partida quanto os produtos obtidos através dele, foram caracterizados por vários ensaios físico-químicos e físicos. Ainda, foi avaliado o potencial antioxidante in vitro do extrato hidroalcoólico e dos extratos secos por meio de um método colorimétrico empregando o radical livre DPPH . O ácido rosmarínico, componente majoritário e um dos principais responsáveis pelas atividades farmacológicas da espécie, foi selecionado como marcador químico e, em todas as etapas do processo, foi quantificado por Cromatografia Líquida de Alta Eficiência (CLAE) acoplada a detector de arranjo de fotodiodos (DAD). Para tanto um método analítico foi validado seguindo os parâmetros e critérios de aceitação propostos pela Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA), o qual provou ser de fácil execução, rápido, seletivo, linear, sensível, preciso, exato e robusto. Na caracterização da droga vegetal, foram verificados teores de voláteis, cinzas totais, cinzas insolúveis em ácido, polifenóis totais, taninos totais, flavonóides totais e ácido rosmarínico de 9,1 ± 0,23, 7,32 ± 0,045, 0,378 ± 0,016, 3,81 ± 0,043, 0,49 ± 0,01, 1,73 ± 0,07 e 1,05 ± 0,03% (m/m), respectivamente, além de índice de intumescência de 2,33 ± 0,11 e tamanho médio de partículas de 437,94 ± 7,00 μm. O extrato hidroalcoólico apresentou densidade de 0,964 ± 0,002 g/mL, resíduo seco de 9,66 ± 0,07%, pH 5,106 ± 0,005, teor alcoólico de 38,2 ± 0,53% e viscosidade de 5,2 ± 0,09 mPas. Ainda, foi obtida uma concentração inibitória (CE50) de 17,29 μg/mL nos ensaios de atividade antioxidante e os teores de polifenóis totais, taninos totais, flavonóides totais e ácido rosmarínico foram de 30,19 ± 0,24, 9,13 ± 0,01, 8,78 ± 0,1 e 10,68 ± 0,43% (m/m), respectivamente. Os rendimentos de secagem variaram de 17,1 a 74,96%, sendo que em todos os produtos secos, foram observados teores de voláteis e atividade de água abaixo de 5% (m/m) e 0,5, respectivamente. Apesar dos produtos secos terem perdido parte de seus compostos polifenólicos, eles ainda apresentaram CE50 variando de 17,58 a 24,83 μg/mL. Entretanto, a maioria dos extratos secos apresentou propriedades de fluxo e compressibilidade inadequadas para fins farmacêuticos. As fotomicrografias obtidas para esses produtos mostraram partículas de tamanho variável e formato esférico. Análises de Variância(ANOVAs) demonstraram que ambos os fatores estudados e algumas de suas interações afetaram significativamente a maioria das respostas investigadas, sendo que a melhor condição a ser empregada na obtenção de extratos secos padronizados com indícios de estabilidade, assim como propriedades físico-químicas e funcionais adequadas é aquela realizada com alto fluxo de extrato de alimentação, temperatura do ar de admissão intermediária e baixa vazão do ar de aspersão. Assim, a técnica de spray drying pode ser uma alternativa atrativa e promissora para a obtenção de produtos fitofarmacêuticos intermediários da R. officinalis.

The master thesis covers several issues linked to a substitution of headlamp screw fixation by a plastic nail. The thesis includes an analysis of the headlamp technology, including description of the prescribed durability tests. On the basis of the analysis some new designs of plastic nails are proposed, consistent with characteristics of plastic materials. Selected outcomes of the analysis have been tested as prototypes and verified with Finite Elements Method in SimDesigner including 3D modeling capabilities provided by the Catia V5. The feasibility study regarding a casting form of the new design of plastic nails and technical economic valuation for contingent assembly mounting is included in the thesis.

This investigation identifies how CAD models of typical automotive body assemblies could be defined to allow a continuous optimisation of the number of iterations required for the final design and the number of variants on the basis of Parametric Associative Design (PAD) and how methodologies for the development of surfaces, parts and assemblies of the automotive body can be represented and structured for a multiple re-use in a collaborative environment of concept phase of a Product Evolution (Formation) Process (PEP). The standardisation of optimised processes and methodologies and the enhanced interaction between all parties involved in product development could lead to improve product quality and reduce development time and hence expenses. The fundamental principles of PAD, the particular methodologies used in automotive body design and the principles of methodical development and design in general are investigated. The role which automotive body engineers play throughout the activities of the PEP is also investigated. The distribution of design work in concept teams of automotive body development and important methodologies for the design of prismatic profile areas is critically analysed. To address the role and distribution of work, 25 group work projects were carried out in cooperation with the automotive industry. Large assemblies of the automotive bodies were developed. The requirements for distributed design work have been identified and improved. The results of the investigation point towards a file based, well structured administration of a concept design, with a zone based approach. The investigation was extended to the process chain of sections, which are used for development of surfaces, parts and assemblies. Important methods were developed, optimised and validated with regard to an update safe re-use of 3D zone based CAD models instead of 2D sections. The thesis presents a thorough description of the research undertaken, details the experimental results and provides a comprehensive analysis of them. Finally it proposes a unique methodology to a zone based approach with a clearly defined process chain of sections for an update-safe re-use of design models.