The Pedestrian Detection System (PDS) has become a significant area of research designed to protect pedestrians. Despite the huge number of research work, the most current PDSs are designed to detect pedestrians without knowing their distances from cars. In fact, a priori knowledge of the distance between a car and pedestrian allows this system to make the appropriate decision in order to avoid collisions. Typical methods of distance measurement require additional equipment (e.g., Radars) which, unfortunately, cannot identify objects. Moreover, traditional stereo-vision methods have poor precision in long-range conditions. In this thesis, we use the keypoint-based feature extraction method to generate the parallax in a binocular vision system in order to measure a detectable object; this is used instead of a disparity map. Our method enhances the tolerance to instability of a moving vehicle; and, it also enables binocular measurement systems to be equipped with a zoom lens and to have greater distance between cameras. In addition, we designed a crossover re-detection and tracking method in order to reinforce the robustness of the system (one camera helps the other reduce detection errors). Our system is able to measure the distance between cars and pedestrians; and, it can also be used efficiently to measure the distance between cars and other objects such as Traffic signs or animals. Through a real word experiment, the system shows a 7.5% margin of error in outdoor and long-range conditions.

Visual Aids for the blind people is an important subject. Apparently visually impaired individuals get impeded by certain hurdles in everyday life. This work proposes an indoor navigation system for visually impaired people. In particular, the goal of this study is to develop a robust, independent and portable aid to assist a user to navigate familiar as well as unfamiliar areas. The algorithm uses the data from Microsoft Xbox Kinect 360 which makes a 3D map of the indoor areas and detects the depth and estimates the relative distance and angle to an obstacle/human. To ensure the accuracy, Kinect tool is enabled with a colour camera to capture real-time details of surroundings which are then processed accordingly. Besides, the developed aid makes the user aware of environmental changes through a Bluetooth enabled headphones used as audio output device. The trials were conducted on six blindfolded volunteers who successfully navigated across various locations in the university campus such as classrooms, hallways, and stairs. Moreover, the user could also track a particular person through output generated from processed images. Hence, the work suggests a significant improvement for existing visual aids which may be very helpful in customisation as well as the adaptability of these devices.

In trajectory optimization, a common objective is to minimize propellant mass via multiple gravity assist maneuvers (MGAs). Some computer programs have been developed to analyze MGA trajectories. One of these programs, Parallel Global Multiobjective Optimization (PaGMO), uses an interesting technique known as the Island Model Paradigm. This work provides the community with a MATLAB optimizer, STOpS, that utilizes this same Island Model Paradigm with five different optimization algorithms. STOpS allows optimization of a weighted combination of many parameters. This work contains a study on optimization algorithm performance and how each algorithm is affected by its available settings. STOpS successfully found optimal trajectories for the Mariner 10 mission and the Voyager 2 mission that were similar to the actual missions flown. STOpS did not necessarily find better trajectories than those actually flown, but instead demonstrated the capability to quickly and successfully analyze/plan trajectories. The analysis for each of these missions took 2-3 days each. The final program is a robust tool that has taken existing techniques and applied them to the specific problem of trajectory optimization, so it can repeatedly and reliably solve these types of problems.

The information presented in the thesis is a continuation of the Spacecraft Trajectory Optimization Suite (STOpS). This suite was originally designed and developed by Timothy Fitzgerald and further developed by Shane Sheehan, both graduate students at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Spacecraft utilizing low-thrust transfers are becoming more and more common due to their efficiency on interplanetary trajectories, and as such, finding the most optimal trajectory between two planets is something of interest. The version of STOpS presented in this thesis uses Multiple Gravity-Assist Low-Thrust (MGALT) trajectories paired with the island model paradigm to accomplish this goal. The island model utilizes four different global search algorithms: a Genetic Algorithm, Differential Evolution, Particle Swarm Optimization, and Monotonic Basin Hopping. The first three algorithms were featured in the initial version of STOpS written by Fitzgerald [1], and were subsequently modified by Sheehan [2] to work with a low-thrust adaptation of STOpS. For this work, Monotonic Basin Hopping was added to aid the suite with the MGALT trajectory search. Monotonic Basin Hopping was successfully validated against four different test functions which had been used to validate the other three algorithms. The purpose of this validation was to ensure Monotonic Basin Hopping would work as intended, ensuring it would work in cooperation with the other three algorithms to produce a near optimal solution. After verifying the addition of Monotonic Basin Hopping, all four algorithms were used in the island model paradigm to verify MGALT STOpS’ ability to solve two known orbital transfer problem. The first verification case involved an Earth to Mars transfer with fixed thruster parameters and a predetermined time of flight. The second verification case involved a transfer from Earth to Jupiter via a Mars gravity assist; two different versions of the verification case were solved against trajectories produced by industry optimization software, the Satellite Tour Design Program Low-Thrust Gravity Assist and the Gravity Assisted Low-thrust Local Optimization Program. In the first verification case, MGALT STOpS successfully validated the Earth to Mars trajectory problem and found results agreeable to literature. In the second verification case, MGALT STOpS was partially successful in validating the Earth to Mars to Jupiter trajectory problems, and found results similar to literature. The final software produced for this work is a trajectory optimization suite implemented in MATLAB, which can solve interplanetary low-thrust trajectories with or without the inclusion of gravity assists.

Preterm infants are at risk for respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) due to immature lungs, leading to notable neonatal mortality. About 10% of US births are premature. While mechanical ventilation is a common RDS treatment, it can cause complications. If it fails, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is employed, but standard ECMO devices are not suited for preterm babies. The limitations of hollow fiber membrane oxygenators used in ECMO have spurred interest in an artificial placenta that connects to the umbilical cord and supports lung growth. Microfluidic blood oxygenators, with their biomimetic designs, have being explored for this purpose. This thesis advances microfabrication techniques for Lung Assist Devices (LADs), focusing on two main objectives: I. Improving Throughput for Elevated Blood Flow Rates: This section delves into refining Microfluidic Blood Oxygenators (MBOs) to accommodate greater blood flow rates. By combining parallel units, we increased throughput and optimized LAD designs. Newly designed MBOs, with an expanded gas exchange surface area, can manage blood flow rates up to 60 mL/min. Using these enhanced MBOs, we constructed a novel LAD achieving superior oxygenation compared to predecessors. Our in vitro tests confirmed that this LAD can sustain blood flow rates of up to 150 ml/min, elevating oxygen saturation by approximately 20%—equivalent to an oxygen transfer of 7.48 mL/min, a leading figure for AP-type devices. II. Hierarchically Designed Microchannels: The second objective revolves around developing microchannels with a hierarchical layout to mitigate stagnation and high shear stress regions. Traditional photolithography poses challenges at channel intersections, inducing clotting risks. We pioneered alternative microfabrication methods, yielding diverse microchannels and intricate hierarchical designs that emulate natural vascular networks devoid of dead zones. These advancements have propelled the microfabrication domain for artificial placenta-like LADs. Utilizing our method, we produced channels varying from hundreds to a few microns in height with a single exposure and an opal diffuser. Thin membranes (~60 µm top and ~45 µm bottom) were amalgamated, culminating in a total depth of about 200 µm. Such oxygenators excel in oxygenating blood even at intense flow rates of up to 15 mL/min per unit. Leveraging these hierarchically designed MBOs, we crafted a LAD supporting a flow rate of 100 mL/min, offering an oxygen transfer of 5.21 mL/min. Both LADs developed in this research proficiently support premature neonates weighing up to 2 kg. Notably, the priming volume of the LAD using the enhanced MBOs has been substantially minimized, underscoring its advancements over earlier models. Realizing these objectives can transform neonatal care, addressing respiratory challenges in premature neonates and bolstering their chances for a healthier life. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

No / Thermoforming is widely employed in industry for the manufacture of lightweight, thin-walled products from pre-extruded plastic sheet and its largest application is in packaging. Over many years attempts have been made to simulate the process and thereby exploit modern computational tools for process optimisation. However, progress in this area has been greatly hampered by insufficient knowledge of the response of polymer materials under thermoforming conditions and an inability to measure this and other processing phenomena accurately. In recent years some address has been made to these problems through advances in measurement technologies, and in particular, the development of high speed, high strain, biaxial testing machines that are designed to replicate the conditions in thermoforming processes. In this work the development of an advanced finite element-based thermoforming process simulation is presented. At its heart is a sophisticated large strain thermally coupled (LSTC) material model for polypropylene, which has been developed after several years of research and is founded directly on biaxial test results at elevated temperatures. This material model has been demonstrated to provide an excellent fit to the biaxial data and to offer a very stable computational platform for the process simulation.The performance of the working simulation was validated through comparison with matching experimental test results, and this enabled investigation of the sensitivity of the process output (in the form of part wall thickness distribution) to changes in a range of other processing parameters. This work confirmed that the process is most sensitive to the parameters controlling plug/sheet contact friction. Heat transfer parameters were also shown to be significant and the requirement for the model to be fully thermo-mechanically coupled has been clearly established.

Submitted by Setor de Tratamento da Informa??o - BC/PUCRS (tede2@pucrs.br) on 2016-04-18T12:32:25Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DIS_FABIO_ADRIANO_STURMER_KINSEL_PARCIAL.pdf: 56292 bytes, checksum: efe38fa93e045fa42faec0b7e0c04ea9 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-18T12:32:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DIS_FABIO_ADRIANO_STURMER_KINSEL_PARCIAL.pdf: 56292 bytes, checksum: efe38fa93e045fa42faec0b7e0c04ea9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-26 / The subject of taxes immunities is rich in controversies. This controversy appears on the books, judicial decisions and debates, making this an interesting subject to do a research. The immunity is a norm of negative competence that prohibits the rule, the creation or the enforcement of taxes. In this case on study, there is express disposition forbidding the creation of any tax. Hence, as the legislator must create a rule to the application of the norm, he must create a rule to the immunities to better ensure the institution. This avoids the depletion of the legal rule of the norm or, in the other way, inflation of the immunities cases. The subject is vast and the aim of this research is to analyze two kinds of immunitie. The first one is expressed on the article 150, VI, ?c?; the second is that expressed on the article 195, ?7?, specially the applicable taxes, to whom is directed and the requirements to its use, on the lights of a logical-systematical Constitution interpretation. / A imunidade tribut?ria ? um instituto rico em diverg?ncias doutrin?rias e jurisprudenciais, debates e peculiaridades, o que o torna um tema instigador para ser pesquisado. A imunidade ? norma de compet?ncia negativa, que retira a possibilidade de se instituir uma regra matriz de incid?ncia tribut?ria. No caso das imunidades objeto deste trabalho, h? expressa disposi??o desta veda??o. Todavia, assim como se deve criar uma regra matriz para a aplica??o de uma norma de incid?ncia tribut?ria, deve-se tamb?m criar uma regra matriz de incid?ncia da norma imunizante para melhor se aplicar o instituto, evitando que se esvazie a norma imunizante ou que, ao rev?s, aplique-se a norma de incompet?ncia de forma exacerbada. O tema ?imunidade? ? vasto e o escopo do trabalho ? a an?lise de duas imunidades em especial, de forma que o aprofundamento sobre o tema ser? direcionado quando da an?lise das imunidades espec?ficas. Neste trabalho, analisam-se duas imunidades: a primeira, prevista no art. 150. VI, ?c?; e a segunda prevista no art. 195, ?7?, especialmente quanto aos tributos a que s?o aplic?veis, a quem ? aplicada e aos requisitos necess?rios ? sua frui??o, ? luz de uma interpreta??o l?gico-sistem?tica da Constitui??o Federal.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-14T13:20:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 438291.pdf: 4450528 bytes, checksum: 3dbe9b5ef8aa276678481bdbe957cdeb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-02-29 / In 2007, the Council of Social Assistance State of Rio Grande do Sul CEAS /RS approved a change in the State Law (Law 11.853/02) which aims at the articulation between companies, state institutions and social and executor partners to carry out projects of social inclusion in the State. The called Rede Parceria Social RPS, Social Partnership Network, this articulation is co-financed by public resources, in parallel to the Network Socioassistencial regulated by the Unified Social ITS Sistema ?nico de Assist?ncia Social SUAS (BRAZIL / MDS, 2005). This study aimed to analyze the processes of social control of the RPS Project Portfolios by the competent bodies in order to contribute to the improvement of public administration of Social Welfare Policy in RS. It is the coexistence of tension between the logic and the logic of protection of rights with the implementation of this alternative network, as is the risk of latent re (re)philanthropy services and maintenance of neoliberal implementation of Social Welfare Policy in the state. The study originates from the doctoral thesis was based on dialectical materialism. Interviews and document analysis, and qualitative data were subjected to content analysis, and quantitative by simple statistical procedures. / O CEAS/RS aprovou em 2007 uma altera??o de Lei Estadual (Lei 11.853/02) que visa ? articula??o entre empresas, Estado e institui??es sociais parceiras e executoras para a realiza??o de projetos de inclus?o social no Estado. Denominada Rede Parceria Social RPS essa articula??o ? cofinanciada por recursos p?blicos, de forma paralela ? Rede Socioassistencial regulamentada pelo Sistema ?nico de Assist?ncia Social SUAS (BRASIL/MDS, 2005). O presente estudo objetivou analisar os processos de controle social das Carteiras de Projetos da RPS pelos ?rg?os competentes a fim de contribuir para o aprimoramento da gest?o p?blica da Pol?tica de Assist?ncia Social no RS. Verificou-se a coexist?ncia da tens?o entre a l?gica da tutela e a l?gica dos direitos com a implanta??o dessa rede alternativa, pois ? latente o risco de refilantropiza??o dos servi?os e de manuten??o do receitu?rio neoliberal na execu??o da PAS no Estado. O estudo origin?rio de tese de doutoramento fundamentou-se no materialismo dial?tico. Foram realizadas entrevistas e an?lise documental, e os dados qualitativos foram submetidos ? An?lise de Conte?do, e os quantitativos a procedimentos estat?sticos simples.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-14T13:20:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 459236.pdf: 2105840 bytes, checksum: df8237c778a122d416ec2d006a856be7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-05-30 / The object of study in the present dissertation is operationalization of social assistance in the ambit of private social entities around the Partenon area, located in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. The aim is to analyze how this public politics is being put in practice together with private social entities, given the goals and actions of the Unified Social Assistance System. The discussion is based on a theoretical background sustained in the following theoretical categories: Social Assistance, Unified Social Assistance System, Social Entities, Social Assistance Services and Social Participation, as well as on empirical data taken from the research conducted during 2012 and 2013. The investigation method used here is the dialectical and historical materialism and the type of study is the descriptive-explanatory qualitative one. The data collection technique chosen was the documentary research and the semi structured interview, which instruments were, respectively, documentary research script and interview script, via the non-probabilistic type of sampling. The study has the participation of workers, users and managers, linked to five entities from the selected area, totaling fourteen subjects. The treatment and examination of data were oriented by the technique of analysis of content. At the end of the process, the research contributed to understand and gather the following results: the social entities from the Partenon area deal with social assistance in a way that it oscillates from being a right and a non-right. They realize that the actions related to such politics are predefined and regulated by the State and suggest changing processes in the entities organizational method since the implementation of the Unified Social Assistance System, with special attention to the networking, the unification of social assistance services and, consequently, the overcoming of assistencialism. Although there is an agreement with the public municipal power, the biggest challenge they face is the scarcity of financial resources, given the complex growing needs and demands from the population who has access to their services, such as survival and acceptance security. Even though, it is possible to identify the development of actions in a planned continuous way, which guarantees quality services. However, some aspects of their practices indicate the need for improvement regarding promotion and fostering of participation and social control. Such aspects relate to the exercise of rights defense, allowing awareness, organization and collective mobilization from the users in the search for political and economic structural changes, both inside and outside the entities. / Esta disserta??o tem como objeto de estudo a operacionaliza??o da assist?ncia social no ?mbito das entidades sociais privadas na regi?o Partenon, localizada no munic?pio de Porto Alegre, no Rio Grande do Sul. Objetiva-se analisar como esta pol?tica p?blica vem sendo desenvolvida junto ?s entidades sociais privadas frente aos prop?sitos e a??es do Sistema ?nico de Assist?ncia Social (SUAS). A discuss?o est? embasada num referencial te?rico que se sustenta nas seguintes categorias: Assist?ncia Social, Sistema ?nico de Assist?ncia Social, Entidades Sociais, Servi?os Socioassistenciais e Participa??o Social, assim como nos dados emp?ricos obtidos na pesquisa realizada nos anos de 2012 e 2013. O m?todo de investiga??o adotado ? o materialismo hist?rico e dial?tico e o tipo de estudo caracteriza-se como descritivo-explicativo, de cunho qualitativo. Como t?cnica de coleta de dados utilizou-se a pesquisa documental e a entrevista semiestruturada, cujos instrumentos para coleta de dados foram, respectivamente, roteiro de pesquisa documental e roteiro de entrevista. Optou-se pelo tipo de amostra n?o probabil?stica por tipicidade. Participaram do estudo: trabalhadores, usu?rios e gestores, vinculados a cinco entidades sociais da regi?o de abrang?ncia, somando quatorze sujeitos. O tratamento e an?lise dos dados foram orientados pela t?cnica de an?lise de conte?do. Ao t?rmino deste processo, a pesquisa contribuiu para compreender e obter os seguintes resultados: as entidades sociais pesquisadas operacionalizam a assist?ncia social, a partir de uma compreens?o de que esta oscila entre o direito e o n?o direito. Percebem que as a??es correspondentes a esta pol?tica est?o predefinidas e reguladas pelo Estado. Sugerem processos de mudan?a no modo de organiza??o do trabalho da entidade desde a implanta??o do SUAS, tendo destaque o trabalho em rede, a unifica??o dos servi?os socioassistenciais e, consequentemente, o inicio da supera??o do assistencialismo. Embora disponham de conv?nio com o poder p?blico municipal, vivenciam como maior desafio a escassez de recursos financeiros frente ?s complexas e crescentes necessidades e demandas da popula??o que acessa os seus servi?os, as quais est?o relacionadas ? seguran?a de sobreviv?ncia e seguran?a de acolhida. Assim mesmo, identifica-se o desenvolvimento de a??es de car?ter planejado e continuado, elementos que possibilitam a garantia de acesso a servi?os de qualidade. Contudo, alguns aspectos de suas pr?ticas indicam a necessidade de aprimoramento referente ? promo??o e incentivo da participa??o e do controle social. Tais aspectos relacionam-se ao exerc?cio da fun??o de defesa de direitos, a qual possibilita a conscientiza??o, organiza??o e mobiliza??o coletiva dos usu?rios em busca de mudan?as estruturais, de car?ter pol?tico-econ?mico, seja no ?mbito da entidade ou para al?m deste.

Submitted by Setor de Tratamento da Informa??o - BC/PUCRS (tede2@pucrs.br) on 2016-06-27T20:04:50Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DIS_ANA_HERTZOG_RAMOS_DE_NADAL_PARCIAL.pdf: 505536 bytes, checksum: e0b2a9b9830358ea1d241d51bf945a51 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-27T20:04:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DIS_ANA_HERTZOG_RAMOS_DE_NADAL_PARCIAL.pdf: 505536 bytes, checksum: e0b2a9b9830358ea1d241d51bf945a51 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-04-25 / This Master thesis is composed of two empirical articles and aims to analyze the psychological practices from the speech directly involved workers in the practical field of the National Social Assistance Policy. The first one aims to understand the discourses that produce psychological practices in the field of social assistance, trying to understand how it is perceived interdisciplinary work by psychologists inserted in this field, and to investigate how to build the psychological practices collectively and as a professional category. A focal group of psychologists and one social worker of Porto Alegre and its metropolitan area have participated. It was done an analysis of thematic content. The analysis created seven categories grouped in the axes ?Psychological Practices, Work and Policy of Assistance?. In the discourse of those workers, it is highlighted the fatalism, the exploitation and the impotence that is reproduced in the talk and in the feeling of the professionals and that is also fruit of a context of injustice and oppression, lived by the own workers. In the second study, it was aimed to, besides the psychological practices in the SUAS, understand how the psychologists of assistance build and reaffirm its professional identity. Psychologists that work in CRAS of Porto Alegre participated in this study and they were interviewed individually, furthermore, the transcriptions of the focal groups of the first study were also analysed. It was done an analysis of the thematic content and five categories were listed from the literature: identity as negotiated experience of the self, affiliation, trajectory of the apprenticeship, multi-affiliation and globally defined affiliation, but experienced locally. On the analysis it is highlighted the difficulty of professionals to perceive itself worker of assistance, besides to position itself collectively and politically. It was concluded, through those two studies, that, for the psychologist worker of assistance, it is necessary to assume political position in service of social transformation; articulate itself as a professional category and also perceive and identify itself as a worker of the assistance. However, this is yet a professional category that is identified with the traditional clinical practice, even that some transforming practices are already being produced. / Esta disserta??o de mestrado ? composta por dois artigos emp?ricos e tem como objetivo analisar as pr?ticas psicol?gicas a partir do discurso de trabalhadores diretamente implicados nos campos pr?ticos da Pol?tica Nacional de Assist?ncia Social. O primeiro artigo tem por objetivo conhecer os discursos que produzem pr?ticas psicol?gicas no campo da Assist?ncia Social, buscando compreender como ? percebido o trabalho interdisciplinar pelos psic?logos inseridos nesse campo, bem como investigar como se constroem as pr?ticas psicol?gicas de modo coletivo e como categoria profissional. Participaram de um grupo focal psic?logos e um assistente social de Porto Alegre e regi?o metropolitana. Foi realizada an?lise de conte?do tem?tica. A an?lise gerou sete categorias, agrupadas nos eixos Pr?ticas Psicol?gicas, Trabalho e Pol?tica de Assist?ncia. No discurso desses trabalhadores, destacam-se o fatalismo, a explora??o e a impot?ncia que se reproduzem na fala e no sentimento dos profissionais e que tamb?m ? fruto de um contexto de injusti?a e opress?o, vivido pelos pr?prios trabalhadores. No segundo estudo, buscou-se al?m das pr?ticas psicol?gicas no SUAS, compreender como os psic?logos da assist?ncia constroem sua identidade profissional. Participaram deste estudo psic?logos trabalhadores dos CRAS de Porto Alegre, que foram entrevistados individualmente, al?m de serem tamb?m analisadas as transcri??es dos grupos focais do primeiro estudo. Foi realizada an?lise de conte?do tem?tica e elencadas cinco categorias a partir da literatura: identidade como experi?ncia negociada do eu, afilia??o, trajet?ria de aprendizagem, multiafilia??o e afilia??o definida globalmente, mas experimentada localmente. Na an?lise, destaca-se a dificuldade dos profissionais de perceberem-se trabalhadores da assist?ncia, al?m de se posicionarem coletiva e politicamente. Conclui-se, atrav?s dos dois estudos, que, ao psic?logo trabalhador da assist?ncia, ? necess?rio assumir posi??o pol?tica a servi?o da transforma??o social, articular-se como categoria profissional e tamb?m perceber-se e identificar-se como trabalhador da assist?ncia. Entretanto, ainda trata-se de uma categoria profissional que est? identificada com a pr?tica cl?nica tradicional, mesmo que algumas pr?ticas transformadoras j? venham sendo produzidas.