From 1G to nowadays 5G, the development of cellular systems stirs more demands and expectation for high quality of cellular-based positioning service. Precise positioning (also called localization) is one of the key applications of 5G and beyond. time of arrival (ToA) techniques is one of the main positioning techniques utilized today. However, in the process of positioning, the noise resulted from various factors definitely will affect the accuracy and reliability of positioning service within a cellular system. Machine learning is gradually reported as one of the useful and significant ways to reduce the noise, and there are various machine learning algorithms related to cellular-based positioning. Both Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and denoising autoencoder (DAE) have been proven that can improve the positioning accuracy, and these two algorithms aims to regenerate the distance between user equipment (UE) and base station (BS) directly after training. However, the distance information are with more feature that may be hard to be regenerated directly. A new method aims to extract the noise data at first and subtract the noise data from the noisy distance data to obtain the distance between UE and BS, which is called noise learning based algorithms. The corresponding noise learning based denoising algorithms of CNN and DAE are called Denoising Convolutional Neural Network (DnCNN) and noise-learning based denoising autoencoder (nlDAE). In this project, we evaluate the performance of these four algorithms in different noise environments in ToA based and cellular based positioning systems. The hyperparameters of each algorithm in different noise environment are searched by keras tuners. The results show that these four algorithms significantly improve the positioning accuracy, and the regular denoising algorithms have the same positioning performance with the noise learning based denoising algorithms with the hyperparameters searched by keras tuner. / Från 1G till numera 5G, väcker utvecklingen av cellulära system fler krav och förväntningar på hög kvalitet på mobilbaserad positioneringstjänst. Exakt positionering (även kallad lokalisering) är en av nyckelapplikationerna för 5G och senare. Ankomsttid (ToA) tekniker är en av de viktigaste positioneringsteknikerna som används idag. Under positioneringsprocessen kommer dock bruset från olika faktorer definitivt att påverka noggrannheten och tillförlitligheten för positioneringstjänsten inom ett cellulärt system. Maskininlärning rapporteras gradvis som ett av de användbara och betydelsefulla sätten att minska bruset, och det finns olika maskininlärningsalgoritmer relaterade till mobilbaserad positionering. Både Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) och denoising autoencoder (DAE) har bevisats som kan förbättra positioneringsnoggrannheten, och dessa två algoritmer syftar till att regenerera avståndet mellan användarutrustning (UE) och basstation (BS) direkt efter träning. Avståndsinformationen har dock fler funktioner som kan vara svåra att återskapa direkt. En ny metod syftar till att först extrahera brusdata och subtrahera brusdata från bullriga avståndsdata för att erhålla avståndet mellan UE och BS, vilket kallas brusinlärningsbaserade algoritmer. De motsvarande brusinlärningsbaserade denoisingalgoritmerna för CNN och DAE kallas Denoising Convolutional Neural Network (DnCNN) och brusinlärningsbaserade denoising autoencoder (nlDAE). I detta projekt utvärderar vi prestandan för dessa fyra algoritmer i olika brusmiljöer i ToAbaserade och cellulära positioneringssystem. Hyperparametrarna för varje algoritm i olika brusmiljöer genomsöks av keras-tuners. Resultaten visar att dessa fyra algoritmer avsevärt förbättrar positioneringsnoggrannheten, och de vanliga avbrusningsalgoritmerna har samma positioneringsprestanda som de brusinlärningsbaserade avbrusningsalgoritmerna med hyperparametrarna som söks av keras tuner.

Many products used in our everyday life contain chemicals added to give them specific properties. Flame retardants (FRs) are added to prevent or retard fires in textiles, plastics etc., while plasticizers are supplied to make plastics more flexible. Through their widespread applications chemicals from both groups are emitted and spread in the environment during usage and disposal. For a long time these products were mainly disposed of in landfills, and in many areas they still are. Thus, since some of these chemicals also pose potential environmental risks and health hazards, there is a need to elucidate their fates during exposure to the landfill environmentThe objectives of this thesis were to investigate the leaching and transformation of FRs and plasticizers from products in which they are used under simulated landfill conditions. To assess the importance of changes in these processes as landfills progress through recognised ageing phases (accompanied by large transitions in both physico-chemical and biological conditions) it was desirable to simulate the changes that typically occur in landfills within a short time period, of 1-2 years.. This was achieved using the newly developed intermediate-scale (3 litre) Modular Environmental Test System (METS).The METS were employed in two studies. The first was an investigation of the leaching and degradation of plasticizers from PVC carpet material incubated at different temperatures (20, 37, 55 and 70°C) prevailing in landfills. Plasticizers subjected to this investigation were the phthalates di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) and benzyl-butyl phthalate (BBP), both of which were found to leach from the carpet. The leaching of DEHP and BBP generally increased with increases in the incubation temperature. However, the most rapid leaching of BBP occurred at 37°C, probably due to high microbial activity at this temperature. Both DEHP and BBP were shown to be degraded within the landfill environment and the degradation potential was highest during the methanogenic landfill phase. In the second METS study the leaching of FRs used in both reactive and additive applications (i.e. chemically bonded to and merely blended with the material, respectively) was characterised. The epoxy oligomer tetrabromobishpenol A (TBBPA) and the phosphorus-based Pyrovatex FRs were selected as representatives for the reactive FRs, while the nitrogen-based melamine and phosphorus-based Proban FRs were selected to represent additive classes. During the incubations, which lasted more than two years, the leaching from melamine was shown to be affected by the landfill phase development. The leaching from the Pyrovatex-treated material and the TBBPA epoxy oligomer seemed to result almost entirely from the washout of unreacted manufacturing residuals. This was also probably true for the FR in the Proban-treated material, although it is durable (despite being additively applied) and thus seemed to leach more slowly (manifested as an increase in phosphate levels in the leachate towards the end of the monitoring period).Finally, due to the paucity of knowledge regarding the fate of ether derivatives of TBBPA (which are also used as FRs) an anaerobic degradation assay was performed. The method employed for this assay was a modified, small-scale ISO standard method. In order to evaluate the degradation assay a uniform analytical protocol was developed. The degradation survey showed that losses of TBBPA, TBBPA-dimethyl ether and bisphenol A dimethyl ether occurred, but no losses of the most hydrophobic compound, TBBPA-dibromopropyl ether, were observed. / Många av de varor och produkter vi kommer i kontakt med dagligen innehåller kemikalier, som tillsats för att materialen i produkterna skall få specifika egenskaper. Till dessa sk funktionella kemiska föreningar hör till exempel flamskyddsmedel och mjukgörare. Den förra förhindrar att produkter fattar eld eller minskar omfattningen av brand. Mjukgörare ingår fr a i plaster för att dessa skall bli smidiga och formbara. Eftersom stora mängder av dessa substanser används eller har använts i produkter i samhället har de spridits till många miljöer. Produkterna hamnar ofta på soptipp, då de inte används mer eller är utnötta. Eftersom flera av dessa substanser innebär risk för hälsa och miljö, är det påkallat att utreda hur de beter sig i soptippsmiljön.Syftet med detta avhandlingsarbete är att undersöka eventuell frisättning och omvandling av dessa två typer av funktionella kemikalier i deponimiljö. Sedan tidigare vet man att sådan frisättning kan var starkt kopplad till åldern och därmed utvecklingen av den kemiska och fysiska miljön förändrats fr a genom tillväxten av mikroorganismer i soptippen. För att komma åt att studera frisättningen under de för deponier karakteristiska utvecklingsfaserna utvecklades en metod (Modualr Environmetal Test System; METS) för att simulera faserna över relativt kort tid (ca 1-2 år). I avhandlingen presenteras två studier, där METS utnyttjats: 1) Frisättning av mjukgörare från en PVC-matta i relation till temperaturer, som uppträder i soptippar (20-70oC) samt 2) Läckage av olika flamskyddsmedel i reaktiv respektive additiv användning studerades för olika applikationer. Vid reaktive applikation är flamskyddsmedlet kovalent bundet till polymeren i produktmaterialet, medan det additivt använda flamskyddsmedlet är inblandat i materialet.Två ftalater (di-2-etylhexyl ftalat, DEHP och bensyl-butyl ftalat (BBP), visade sig läcka från mattan, vilket ökade med högre temperature. De frisattes dock som mest vid 37oC, vilket sannolikt beror på den höga mikrobiella aktiviteten vid denna temperatur. Båda ftalterna bröts ned i soptippsmiljön och hastigheten var störst i den metanogena fasen.En epoxyoligomer (tetrabromobishpenol A TBBPA) och Pyrovatex, som bygger på en fosforförening, användes som modeller för reaktiva flamskyddsmedel. Melamin, som klassas som ett kvävebaserat flamskyddsmedel, fick tillsammans med Proban (fosforbaserat) represen-tera de som används additivt. Medan en frisättning av melamin kunde relateras till utvecklingen av deponimiljön simulerad i METS, så verkar den observerade frisättningen av kemikalierna från de reaktivt behandlade Pyrovatexmaterialet och från epoxipolymeren TBBPA förr ha en fysikalisk-kemisk grund oberoende av utvecklingsfaserna i tippmodel-lerna. Flamskyddsmedlen tvättades helt enkelt ut ur de behandlade produkterna. Probanbehandlingen, som motstår förhållandevis många tvättar trots att det används additivt, visade sig läcka långsamt utan en direkt koppling till fasutvecklingen i METS.Kunskaperna om vad som händer med TBBPA:s eterderivat i deponier är i stort sett obefintliga. Flera av dessa derivat används också som flamskyddsmedel. Därför genomfördes en anaerob nedbrytningsstudie av dessa substanser. För att kunna göra denna studie behövdes en omfattande anpassning och utveckling av metodik, vilket resulterade i ett nytt protokoll för analys av dessa ämnen i olika matriser. Studien visade minskning av koncentrationerna av TBBPA, TBBPA-dimetyleter och bisfenol A dimetyl eter, vilket kan tas som ett tecken på att en transformation och/eller nedbrytning skett. Då dessa föreningar kan omvandlas till mer toxiska substanser bör de undersökas vidare.

<p>The problem of fault diagnosis consists of detecting and isolating faults present in a system. As technical systems become more and more complex and the demands for safety, reliability and environmental friendliness are rising, fault diagnosis is becoming increasingly important. One example is automotive systems, where fault diagnosis is a necessity for low emissions, high safety, high vehicle uptime, and efficient repair and maintenance.</p><p>One approach to fault diagnosis, providing potentially good performance and in which the need for additional hardware is minimal, is model-based fault diagnosis with residuals. A residual is a signal that is zero when the system under diagnosis is fault-free, and non-zero when particular faults are present in the system. Residuals are typically generated by using a mathematical model of the system and measurements from sensors and actuators. This process is referred to as residual generation.</p><p>The main contributions in this thesis are two novel methods for residual generation. In both methods, systems described by Differential-Algebraic Equation (DAE) models are considered. Such models appear in a large class of technical systems, for example automotive systems. The first method consider observer-based residual generation for linear DAE-models. This method places no restrictions on the model, such as e.g. observability or regularity, in comparison with other previous methods. If the faults of interest can be detected in the system, the output from the design method is a residual generator, in state-space form, that is sensitive to the faults of interest. The method is iterative and relies on constant matrix operations, such as e.g. null-space calculations and equivalence transformations.</p><p>In the second method, non-linear DAE-models are considered. The proposed method belongs to a class of methods, in this thesis referred to as sequential residual generation, which has shown to be successful for real applications. This method enables simultaneous use of integral and derivative causality, and is able to handle equation sets corresponding to algebraic and differential loops in a systematic manner. It relies on a formal framework for computing unknown variables in the model according to a computation sequence, in which the analytical properties of the equations in the model as well as the available tools for equation solving are taken into account. The method is successfully applied to complex models of an automotive diesel engine and a hydraulic braking system.</p>

Industrial robot manipulators are general-purpose machines used for industrial automation in order to increase productivity, flexibility, and product quality. Other reasons for using industrial robots are cost saving, and elimination of hazardous and unpleasant work. Robot motion control is a key competence for robot manufacturers, and the current development is focused on increasing the robot performance, reducing the robot cost, improving safety, and introducing new functionalities.  Therefore, there is a need to continuously improve the mathematical models and control methods in order to fulfil conflicting requirements, such as increased performance of a weight-reduced robot, with lower mechanical stiffness and more complicated vibration modes. One reason for this development of the robot mechanical structure is of course cost-reduction, but other benefits are also obtained, such as lower environmental impact, lower power consumption, improved dexterity, and higher safety. This thesis deals with different aspects of modeling and control of flexible, i.e., elastic, manipulators. For an accurate description of a modern industrial manipulator, this thesis shows that the traditional flexible joint model, described in literature, is not sufficient. An improved model where the elasticity is described by a number of localized multidimensional spring-damper pairs is therefore proposed. This model is called the extended flexible joint model. The main contributions of this work are the design and analysis of identification methods, and of inverse dynamics control methods, for the extended flexible joint model. The proposed identification method is a frequency-domain non-linear gray-box method, which is evaluated by the identification of a modern six-axes robot manipulator. The identified model gives a good description of the global behavior of this robot. The inverse dynamics problem is discussed, and a solution methodology is proposed. This methodology is based on the solution of a differential algebraic equation (DAE). The inverse dynamics solution is then used for feedforward control of both a simulated manipulator and of a real robot manipulator. The last part of this work concerns feedback control. First, a model-based nonlinear feedback control (feedback linearization) is evaluated and compared to a model-based feedforward control algorithm. Finally, two benchmark problems for robust feedback control of a flexible manipulator are presented and some proposed solutions are analyzed.

Un dels camps de la robòtica que estan despertant gran interès per part de la comunitat científica és el dels entorns multirobot. Aquest nom genèric inclou diferents tipus de sistemes amb característiques i problemàtiques força diferenciades. En aquest treball s'utilitza aquest terme per fer referència a cel·les robotitzades composades per més d'un robot treballant coordinadament, entès robot com braç manipulador. En aquesta tesis s'han abordat diferents aspectes relacionats amb la cinemàtica i el control de sistemes multirobot. Dins de la cinemàtica s'han estudiat en detall les característiques de l'espai del treball i les mesures de manipulabilitat dels sistemes multirobot. En aquesta línia s'ha proposat una nova metodologia per estudiar l'espai de treball del sistemes multirobot basada en els conceptes de figura destra i figura realitzable. Aquestes dues figures geomètriques generades a partir dels espais de treball individuals, permeten descriure l'espai de treball com la intersecció de figures geomètriques. Aquest interpretació permet dissenyar de forma intuïtiva cel·les multirobot en les que hi ha manipulació conjunta. La metodologia s'ha implementat en el cas de dos tipus de robots, SCARA, i PUMA.Dins els aspectes de dinàmica i control tractats en la tesi, cal diferenciar els referents a la dinàmica dels sistemes multirobot i els referents als sistemes en els que cadascun dels robots té un control de posició.En l'àmbit de la dinàmica pròpiament dita s'ha analitzat en detall la formulació en equacions algebraic diferencials (DAE) dels sistemes mecànics amb restriccions holònomes, cas genèric dins el que s'engloben els sistemes multirobot amb manipulació rígida d'objectes rígids. Aquesta formulació permet obtenir el comportament del sistema a partir de les equacions que descriuen el comportament individual de cadascun dels robots i dels conjunt de restriccions cinemàtiques que actuen sobre el sistema.En el cas dels robots amb control de posició, el comportament i el control presenten unes característiques totalment diferents. Per aquest tipus d'entorns s'han proposat, dos enfocs de control diferents: un basat en el control híbrid, i un altre basat en control d'impedància. En l'enfoc de control híbrid es descompossa el sistema en eixos sobre els que s'aplica control de posició i eixos en els que s'aplica control de força, aquests darrers corresponen a les forces internes. Aquest plantejament és totalment centralitzat, es a dir, hi ha un element central encarregat de controlar el comportament del sistema. Com a principal aportació dins aquesta línia, s'ha proposat una metodologia per identificar el comportament de les forces internes que actuen sobre el sistema.Com alternativa, al control híbrid s'ha desenvolupat un esquema de control basat en la imposició d'un comportament d'impedància en cadascun dels robots. Aquest plantejament és totalment desacoblat, és a dir cadascun dels controladors realitza la seva funció sense necessitat d'un intercanvi d'informació amb la resta de controladors. La principal aportació dins aquesta línia és que el comportament d'impedància s'ha plantejat sobre SE(3), el que fa que els comportaments obtinguts estiguin d'acord amb la topologia de l'espai de treball.La tesi finalitza amb una presentació de les principals conclusions i línies de treball obertes per treballs futurs. / One field in today robotics in which a lot of people are working is the one concerning multirobot systems. This generic name includes different kinds of systems, each one with its own characteristics and problems. In this work "multirobot system" refers to work cells composed by several robots working in a coordinated way. In this thesis several aspects related with kinematics and control of multirobot systems has been studied. Inside cinematic the workspace and manipulability measures for multirobots systems have been studied in detail. A new methodology to study multirobot systems workspace has been proposed, this approach is based on the dexterous figure and the reachable figure concepts. These two geometric figures are obtained from the individual workspace. A key issue in this new approach is the fact the multirobot workspace can be described as the intersection of several geometric figures, this introduces a new understanding which can be of great interest in the geometric design of multirobot workcell. This methodology has been used in the analysis and design of workcells composed by SCARA and PUMA robots.Inside dynamics and control aspects, the dissertation includes two different problems, one related with multirobot dynamics modeling and control and another related with control of multirobot systems where the different robots are position controlled.In the dynamic related aspects, a new formulation based on the formulation of robotic system with holonomic constraints as Diferential Algebraic Equation Systems (DAE). One particular case of this generic kind of systems is multirobot systems which rigidly manipulate a rigid object. This approach allows obtaining the system behavior from the dynamic equations describing the individual behavior and the set of equations describing the holonomic constrains over the systems.For the multirobot systems formed by position controlled robots, two different strategies have been proposed and tested in a real workcell. The first one is based on the hybrid control approach and the second one is based on the impedance control approach.The hybrid control approach decomposes the space in several axes, some of them are controlled in position and the others are force controlled. These force controlled axes are the ones related with internal force control. Hybrid control follows a centralized approach, so a central coordination element is needed. Inside this area a new methodology to identify and control the internal forces dynamics has been proposed.A different approach has been proposed, impedance control is based on defining an individual behaviour for each robot. This approach is decoupled by definition, in other works each robot do not need information from the other robots. Most important contributions inside this area, is the fact that the individual behaviour is defined over SE(3), this means that obtained movements are topologicaly coherent.The dissertation concludes with some conclusions and future works.

Modelica is a multi-domain and equation-based modeling language. Modelica is based on object-oriented principles and non-causal modeling. The language is constructed to facilitate reuse and decompose models. The models and the modellibrary can modified to design a new nonlinear components. Object-oriented modeling is an excellent way to analyze and study large complex heterogeneous physical systems. The object-oriented modeling approach build on reusing and decomposition of models and non-causal modeling. Modeling physical systems often leads to a DAE system with index 2 or 3. It is required to use automated symbolic manipulation of the DAE system to do the simulation. Modelica need a compiler tool to run the simulation. Dymola is the dominating tool on the market. Through a graphic editor the user can easily model and simulate the physical system. / Objektorienterad modellering är ett utmärkt sätt att analysera och modellera fysikaliska system. Den ger möjlighet att hantera stora, komplexa och blandade system. Modelica är ett exempel på ett multidomän modelleringsspråk som är ekvationsbaserat och hanterar modeller från olika fysikaliska domäner. Det är baserat på principer från objektorientering och hanterar icke-kausala problem. Modelicas struktur gör att befintliga modeller kan delas upp i delmodeller som kan designas och testas oberoende av de andra delmodellerna. Det ger överskådlig bild av fysikaliska systemet. Modellbibliotek i Modelica kan enkelt modifieras för att designa nya komponenter. Modellering av fysikaliska system, speciellt mekaniska eller mekatroniska system ger upphov till DAE system med index 2 eller 3. Det resulterar svårigheter vid simulering av modeller. En automatiserad symbolisk manipulering av DAE systemen behövs för att underlätta simuleringen. För att simulera modeller skrivna i Modelica, behövs en kompilator och ett simuleringsverktyg. Dymola är det dominerande verktyget för dessa ändamål. Man har tillgång till Modelicas standardbibliotek via ett grafiskt gränssnitt. Vid simulering kontrolleras modellen så att Modelicas syntax är uppfylld. Sedan kompileras och simuleras modellen.

This thesis presents the development of a model for analyzing the design of an automated live-bird transfer system (LBTS) developed at Georgia Tech. One of the most fundamental tasks in the automated transferring is to design and control a grasping system that is capable of accommodating a specified range of objects without causing damage. However, unlike grasping in robotic research that focuses on dexterous manipulation of a single object, repetitive transfer of live objects in a production line requires continuous grasping at high-speed. This thesis research investigates the use of rotating fingers (capable of undergoing large deflections) to cradle live birds on a moving conveyor for subsequent handling. As compared to fingers with multiple active joints, flexible fingers have many merits, for they are lightweight and have no relative individually moving parts. Their ability to accommodate a limited range of varying sizes, shapes, and the natural reactions of some objects makes rubber fingers an attractive candidate for use as graspers in a high-speed production setting. However, the advantages of flexible fingers are seldom exploited for grasping because of the complex analysis involved in the design. In order to reduce the number of birds and hardware/software design configurations to be tested, a good understanding of the object dynamics throughout the grasping process is necessary. In this thesis, a quasi-static model has been developed for predicting the contact force between a moving object and a rotating finger. The model has been validated with the experimentally measured data and the computed results using finite element (FE) methods. Finally, an illustrative application of the validated model has been demonstrated in the design of a rotating hand used in the automated LBTS. As illustrated in the simulation results, the computed contact forces can be used as a basis for predicting potential bruises on the bird that may be caused by the rotating fingers. The analytical model presented in this paper provides a rational basis for optimizing the design of the grasping system and developing a controller for a high-speed transfer system. It is expected that the analysis presented here can be readily extended to other dynamic systems involving the use of flexible beams.

This paper was presented at CJK-OSM 7, 18–21 June 2012, Huangshan, China.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-22T20:50:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-06-29 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Fundo de Auxílio aos Docentes e Alunos (FADA) / Objetivo: Realizar a tradução, adaptação cultural e validação para o Português do Liverpool Adverse Events Profile (LAEP) e avaliar sua confiabilidade e validade em pacientes com epilepsia parcial sintomática (EPS) e epilepsia generalizada idiopática (EGI) (ILAE, 1989). O LAEP é uma escala que mede a percepção dos pacientes em relação aos efeitos adversos (EAs) das drogas antiepilépticas (DAEs). Casuística e metodologia: Pacientes maiores de 18 anos, alfabetizados e em uso de DAEs em doses estáveis por no mínimo um mês foram recrutados para responder o LAEP (19 questões). Esta versão foi administrada a um grupo de pacientes consecutivos no setor de Epilepsia do Hospital São Paulo. A confiabilidade teste-reteste foi determinada através do coeficiente intraclasse (ICC) após 2 semanas e a consistência interna pelo coeficiente alfa de Cronbach (CAC). A validade construtiva foi acessada por variáveis sócio-demográficas e clínicas e pelos inventários Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory (QOLIE-31) e Hospital and Anxiety Depression (HADS) ambos validadas para o Português previamente. O Coeficiente de Correlação de Pearson foi utilizado no estudo das associações entre o LAEP e os outros instrumentos. Análises de variância, testes t-Student e de Fisher foram as medidas estatísticas usadas no estudo das variáveis clínicas e socio-demográficas. A significância estatística foi considerada para valores de p<0,005. Resultados: 100 pacientes foram incluídos, 61 (61,0%) tinham EPS e 39 (41,0%) EGI, com média de idade de 34,5 anos (DP=12,12) e 56 (56,0%) eram do sexo feminino. Politerapia (com 2 ou mais DAEs) era usada por 69 (69,0%) pacientes. Carbamazepina (CBZ) foi a DAE mais comumente utilizada em toda a amostra (43,0%). A média do LAEP foi de 37,6 (DP=13,35) e os EAs mais freqüentemente reportados em toda a amostra foram Sonolência (35,0%), Problemas de memória (35,0%) e Dificuldade de concentração (25,0%). A consistência interna foi alta como demonstrado pelo coeficiente alfa de Cronbach 0,903 (0,872-0,928). A confiabilidade foi satisfatória de modo geral, com ICC variando entre 0,370 (Dificuldade de manter o equilíbrio do corpo) a 0,737 (Tontura). Os itens com ICC menor (Dificuldade de manter o equilíbrio do corpo, Problemas na boca e gengiva, Ganho de peso) foram aqueles melhor confirmados por exame físico médico. A correlação entre o LAEP e o QOLIE-31 foi alta (r=-0,804, p>0,001) e a ocorrência de EAs foi associada a piores resultados no QOLIE-31 e HADS. Pontuações elevadas no LAEP foram associadas ao número de DAEs (p=0,005), gênero feminino (p<0,001), idade maior (34,5-70 anos) (p<0,001) e presença de crises não controladas (p=0,045). A pontuação total no LAEP nos dois grupos de epilepsia foi semelhante. Variáveis clínicas que influenciaram o LAEP no grupo EGI foram freqüência de crises (p=0,050), presença de crises tonico-clônico generalizadas (p=0,031) e politerapia com três ou mais DAEs (p=0,003). No grupo EPS o único fator significativo foi a politerapia (p=0,003). Pacientes que faziam uso de CBZ em altas doses (>800 mg/dia) apresentaram pontuações mais baixas nos itens: Nervosismo e/ou agressividade (p=0,006), Perda de cabelo (p=0,045), Dificuldade de concentração (p=0,003), Problemas na boca e na gengiva (p=0,001), Depressão (p=0,042) e pontuação total (p=0,025). Pacientes que tomavam ácido valproico em doses altas (>1.000 mg/dia) demonstraram pontuações mais elevadas nos itens: Dificuldade de manter o equilíbrio do corpo (p=0,005) e Vontade de agredir (p=0,037). Conclusão: A versão Português-Brasil do LAEP foi confirmada como um instrumento confiável e válido para avaliar EAs em pacientes com epilepsia com ressalvas importantes sobre os sintomas físicos. Este estudo demonstrou que os itens do LAEP foram associados aos EAs das DAEs de forma específica e sem padrão nítido dose-dependente. Embora a pontuação geral do LAEP não tenha se mostrado útil em diferenciar EAs em epilepsias distintas como EPS e EGI, esta escala subjetiva pode ser utilizada como triagem continuada nos ensaios clínicos com DAEs que afetam os itens por ela estudados. / Purpose: To report the translation, cultural adaptation and validation of the Liverpool Adverse Events Profile (LAEP) into a Portuguese–Brazilian version and evaluate its reliability and validity in patients with symptomatic partial (SPE) and idiopathic generalized epilepsies (IGE) (ILAE, 1989). LAEP is a scale to measure patient’s perception about adverse effects (AEs) of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). Methods: Patients (literate, >18yrs.) who were taking AEDs at a stable dose for at least one month were recruited for LAEP (19 questions). This version was administered to a group of consecutive outpatients in the Epilepsy Section of Hospital São Paulo. Test–retest reliability was determined through intra-class coefficient (ICC) after 2 weeks and internal consistency by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (CAC). Construct validity was accessed by sociodemographic/clinical evaluation, “The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale” (HADS) and “Quality of Life in Epilepsy-31 Inventory” (QOLIE-31), both validated previously to Portuguese. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to analyse the association between LAEP and other instruments. Analyses of variance, t-Student´s for independent samples, Fisher´s exact, Mann-Whitney’s tests were used for sociodemographic/clinical variables. P values less than 0.050 were considered statistically significant. Results: 100 patients were included: 61 (61.0%) with SPE and 39 (39.0%) with IGE (mean age 34.5; SD=12.12yrs), 56 females. Polytherapy (2 or more AEDs) were used by 69 (69,0%) patients. Carbamazepine (CBZ) was the most commonly used AED (43%). LAEP mean score was 37.6 (SD=13.35), and the most common AEs were Sleepiness (35.0%), Memory problems (35.0%) and Difficulty in concentrating (25.0%). The internal consistency was high (CAC=0.903; 0.872- 0.928). The reliability was satisfactory in general and ICC ranged from 0.370 (Unsteadiness) to 0.737 (Dizziness). The items with lower ICC (Unsteadiness, Problems with mouth and gums, Weight gain) were those which are better confirmed during medical physical examination. Correlation between LAEP and QOLIE-31 was high (r=-0.804, p>0.001) and occurrence of AEs were associated with worse QOLIE-31 and HADS results. Higher LAEP scores were associated to number of AEDs (p=0.005), female gender (p<0.001), older age (34.5-70yrs.) (p<0,001) and the presence of uncontrolled seizures (p=0.045). LAEP total scores in the two epilepsy groups were similar. Variables that influenced global LAEP in IGE were seizure frequency (p=0.050), generalized tonic-clonic seizures in the last month (p=0.031) and polytherapy with 3 or more AEDs (p=0.003); in SPE, only polytherapy (p=0.003). Higher CBZ doses (>800mg) showed lower scores in: Nervousness and or/agitation (p=0.006), Hair Loss (p=0.045), Difficulty in concentrating (p=0.003), Problems with mouth and gums (p=0.001), Depression (p=0.042), and overall score (p=0.025). Regarding higher valproic acid doses (>1000mg), Unsteadiness (p=0.005) and Feelings of aggression (p=0.037) were more frequently reported. Conclusion: The Portuguese-Brazilian version of LAEP was confirmed as a reliable and valid instrument for assessing AEs in patients with epilepsy with important restraints in physical symptoms. This study demonstrated that LAEP items were associated to specific AEs of AEDs without a clear dose dependent pattern. Although LAEP overall score was not helpful for differentiating AEs in distinct epilepsies such EPS and EGI this subjective questionnaire may be useful for continued screening of patients in clinical trials with AEDs that affect the items studied by this scale. / TEDE / BV UNIFESP: Teses e dissertações

Na área de simulação de processos, existe uma visível tendência da migração das ferramentas seqüenciais modulares, que hoje são as mais amplamente utilizadas, para as baseadas em equações. Uma das principais vantagens do paradigma baseado em equações ou simultâneo é que este se mostra eficiente na solução de problemas de simulação, otimização, estimação de parâmetros e reconciliação de dados, todos baseados em um mesmo conjunto de modelos, evitando retrabalho de modelagem. Porém, a tecnologia simultânea também apresenta algumas deficiências, onde destacam-se os problemas de robustez tanto na modelagem quanto na obtenção de resultados numéricos. Este trabalho tem como objetivo reunir e desenvolver técnicas que permitam reduzir estas deficiências. Para tanto, as técnicas conhecidas para depuração de sistemas de equações que representam problemas estacionários e dinâmicos foram estudadas em detalhe. Pôde-se observar que para o caso estático os métodos disponíveis para depuração de modelos, já se apresentam em um nível bem desenvolvido. Já para o caso dinâmico, onde há uma maior complexidade, as técnicas conhecidas encontram-se em um nível de desenvolvimento muito menor. Neste ponto encontram-se as principais contribuições deste trabalho. / In the field of process simulation the movement from the sequential modular tools, which are currently the most widely used, to the equation based approach is clear. One of the key advantages of the equation based or simulatneous approach is that using a single model one can solve simulation, optimization, parameter estimation, and optimization problems. This fact avoids modeling rework for each application. However, the simultaneous technology has problems regarding modeling and solving robustness. This work aims to group and develop methods capable of minimize these deficiencies. In order to achieve this goal, available debugging approaches for both steady-state and dynamic system of equations were studied in detail. For the steady-state case well stablished debugging techniques are known. For dynamic models, where the complexity is higher, the analysis and debugging methods are much less mature. This was the source for the major contributions of this work.