Diante de pesquisas realizadas com o 5Ultra-som pulsado de baixa intensidade na regeneração de pele de ratos submetidos a queimaduras provocadas por calor (ALVES, 1988) e em pacientes portadores de úlceras tróficas de perna (HILÁRIO, 1993) se propôs estudar os efeitos do ultra-Som pulsado de baixa intensidade em pacientes com Mal de Hansen (MH) cujas manifestações cutâneas eram caracterizadas como o Mal Perfurante Plantar (MPP) e úlceras do tegumento, sendo que o emprego do ultra-som pulsado e de baixa intensidade mostrou-se eficaz na reparação das referidas lesões. O presente trabalho foi realizado em pacientes assistidos pelo Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) na cidade de Bebedouro-SP lotados no setor de Vigilância Epidemiológica. A casuística constitui-se de seis pacientes apresentando MPP nos quais aplicou-se o ultra-som pulsado (U.S.P.) em uma freqüência de três vezes por semana no mesmo período circadiano. Os tratamentos tiveram duração variando entre vinte e quarenta minutos consoante a extensão das lesões cutânea. Independente do tempo das lesões não foi estabelecido previamente o número de aplicações a serem executadas, mas as aplicações foram realizadas até a obtenção da cicatrização total das lesões. A evolução das lesões até a cicatrização foi feita mediante o emprego de um software especialmente desenvolvido para tal finalidade e documentados fotograficamente. Não houve correlação entre o número de aplicações com o tamanho da lesão ou com o tempo decorrido do aparecimento das mesmas, embora a extensão e a forma das diferentes ulcerações não sejam equivalentes, quer no tempo de evolução, quer na profundidade das lesões, os resultados dos tratamentos com U.S.P. e de baixa intensidade mostraram-se segundo a metodologia de avaliação ser altamente satisfatório para o tratamento de lesões cutâneas decorrente da Hanseníase / Based on researches carried out with the low intensity pulsed ultrasound on the regeneration of burned rat skin previously exposed to heat and on legs trophic ulcers we proposed to study the effects of the low intensity pulsed ultrasound on Hansen’s disease patients whose cutaneous manifestations were characterized as the MPP. The study was carried out on six patients supported by the Public Health Care System (SUS/PHCS) in the city of Bebedouro- SP, crowded on the Epidemiological Observation ward. The low intensity pulsed ultrasonic radiation administrations were carried out three times a week on the same circadian. Irradiation time varied from twenty to forty minutes according to the extension of the lesion. The number of the administrations, which were carried out until the complete lesion cicatrisation in all patients, was not previously stipulated. Evaluation of cicatrisation was carried out making use of software and photographs taken at the beginning of the treatment and after every ten administrations of the pulsed ultrasound until the complete ulcers cicatrisation. It was not observed any correlation between number of ultrasound applications and area of the lesion or age of them. Although extension and shape were not equivalent, according to these results, pulsed low intensity ultrasound can be considered as an adjunctive treatment for cutaneous manifestations of Hansen’s disease

Keywords Gilbert Simondon, Bernard Stiegler, Mark B. N. Hansen, philosophy, media, technology, humanism, individuation, information Abstract This text has two parallel objectives. First, to introduce the original work of french philosopher Gilbert Simondon. Second, to show its potential of his philosophy in relation to our thinking about the current media-techno- logically conditioned environment in which we live and through which we understand the world. I have two motivations for the first objective. First, the work of Gilbert Simondon is still completely unknown in Czech Repub- lic, therefore I find it necessary to offer to the reader the introduction of his work. Second, without such introduction it would be very difficult to ope- rate with his crucial concepts in the work of his contemporary interpreters whose contributions I will discuss in the second part of the text. The se- cond objective is motivated with my interest in delimitation of speculative and materialistic line of thinking based on the work of Gilbert Simondon. Such thought with its description of the world is in clear opposition with anthropocentrism. Nevertheless, it cannot be considered as a part of object oriented ontology neither. I'm not going to show the importance of Gilbert Simondon for media theory in this text. Rather, I will...

This dissertation presents advances in the development of planar electrode ion traps. An ion trap is a device that can be used in mass analysis applications. Electrode surfaces create an electric field profile that trap ionized molecules of an analyte. The electric fields can then be manipulated to mass-selectively eject ions out of the trap into a detector. The resulting data can be used to analyze molecular structure and composition of an unknown compound. Conventional ion traps require machined electrode surfaces to form the electric trapping field. This class of electrode presents significant obstacles when attempting to miniaturize ion traps to create portable mass spectrometers. Machined electrodes lose required precision in shape, smoothness, and alignment as trapping dimensions decrease. Simplified electrode geometries are essential to open the way to miniaturized ion traps. The planar electrode ion trap presents a simplified geometry that utilizes photolithography processes in its fabrication. Patterns of electrodes are patterned on a planar ceramic substrate. Electric fields generated by these patterns can be nearly identical to those of ideal ion traps. The microfabrication processes involve the challenge of patterning on ceramic, patterning on two sides of a substrate, and patterning on a substrate with high topographic features. Four successful designs of planar ion traps are presented in this work: the planar Paul, toroidal, coaxial, and linear ion trap. These four designs have different strengths and weaknesses. The planar Paul trap is simpler to design and operate, the toroidal has a larger ion storage volume and so can be a more sensitive instrument, and the coaxial trap is a hybrid planar Paul and toroidal trap. The linear trap combines the simplicity of the planar Paul trap with the increased storage capacity of the toroidal trap. This work presents how these four designs advance work in miniaturized ion traps. In addition, microfabrication techniques and trap performance for these designs are presented.

Hot-melt extruded solid dispersion technique is increasingly employed to improve the solubility of poorly water-soluble drugs. The technique relies on the enhanced solubility of the amorphous form of the drug compared to its crystalline counterpart. These systems however are thermodynamically unstable. This means that the drug crystallises with time. Therefore, efforts to measure the stability of these systems over the life span of the product are crucial. This study focused on investigating the use of Hansen Solubility Parameters to quantify polymer-drug interaction and to predict the stability of solid dispersions. This was achieved through a systematic review of hot-melt extruded solid dispersion literature. The study also investigated the use of a combined mechanical and rheological model to characterise the physicochemical and release behaviour of three solid dispersion immediately after preparation and after storage for one month at 40oC or three months at room temperature. Results revealed that the total solubility parameter |ΔбT| was able to predict the stability of the systems for more than 4 months using a cut-off point of 3 MPa-1 with a negative predictive value of 0.9. This was followed by ΔбD with a cut-off point of 1.5 MPa- 1. Moreover, Dynamic Mechanical Analyser and shear rheometry data were shown to be more sensitive than Differential Scanning Calorimetry, Powder X-Ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscope and Fourier Transform Infrared in detecting crystallisation and the interaction between the drug and the polymer. The Dynamic Mechanical Analyser data were consistent with the dissolution behaviour of the samples when comparing the freshly prepared samples with those after storage. The results highlight the need for a unified characterisation approach and the necessity of verifying the homogeneity of mixing during the extrusion process.

Organic electronics based on π-conjugated semi-conductor raises new technology, such as organic film transistors, e-paper, and organic photovoltaic cells that can be implemented cost-effectively on large-area applications. Currently, the device performance is limited by low charge carrier mobility. Poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and organic field effect transistors (OFET) is used as a model to investigate morphology of the organic film and corresponding electronic properties. In this thesis, processing parameters such as boiling points and solubility are controlled to impact the micro- and macro-morphology of the film to enhance the charge transport of the device. Alternative approach to improve ordering of polymer chains and increase in charge transport without post-treatment of P3HT solution is studied. The addition of high boiling good solvent to the relatively low boiling main solvent forms ordered packing of π-conjugated polymers during the deposition process. We show that addition of 1% of dichlorobenzene (DCB) to the chloroform based P3HT solution was sufficient to improve wetting and molecular structures of the film to increase carrier mobility. Systematic study of solvent-assisted re-annealing technique, which has potential application in OFET encapsulation and fabrication of top-contact OFET, is conducted to improve mobility of OFET, and, to suggest a cost-effective processing condition suitable for industrial application. Three process parameters: boiling point, polarity, and solubility are investigated to further understand the trend of film response to the solvent-assisted technique. We report the high boiling non-polar solvents with relatively high RED values promote highest improvement in molecular packing and formulate crystalline structure of the thin film, which increases the device performance.

The aim of this thesis is to report on a transdisciplinary approach, regarding the complexity of thinking about human embodiment in relation to machine embodiment. A practical dimension of this thesis is to elicit some principles for the design and evaluation of virtual embodiment. The transdisciplinary approach suggests, firstly, that a single discipline or reality is, on its own, not sufficient to explain the complexity and dynamism of the embodied interaction between the human and machine. Secondly, the thesis argues for thinking of transdisciplinary research as a process of individuation, becoming or transduction, that is, as a process of mediation between heterogeneous approaches rather than perceiving research as a stabilized cognitive schema designed to accumulate new outcomes to the already-there reality. Arguing for going beyond the individualized approaches to embodiment, this thesis analyzes three cases where the problems that appear in one case are resolved through the analysis of the following one. Consisting of three phases, this research moves from objective scientific 'reality' to more phenomenological, subjective and complex realities. The first study employs a critical review of embodied conversational agents in human-computer interaction (HCI) in a learning context using a comparative meta-analysis. Meta-analysis was applied because most of the studies for evaluating embodiment are experimental. A learning context was selected because the number of studies is suitable for meta-analysis and the findings could be generalized to other contexts. The analysis reveals that there is no 'persona effect', that is, the expected positive effect of virtual embodiment on the participant's affective, perceptive and cognitive measures. On the contrary, it shows the reduction of virtual embodiment to image and a lack of consideration for the participant's embodiment and interaction, in addition to theoretical and methodological shortcomings. The second phase solves these problems by focusing on Mark Hansen's phenomenological account of embodiment in new media. The investigation shows that Hansen improves on the HCI account by focusing on the participant's dynamic interaction with new media. Nevertheless, his views of embodied perception and affection are underpinned by a subjective patriarchal account leading to object/subject and body/work polarizations. The final phase resolves this polarization by analyzing the controversial work of Alan Turing on intelligent machinery. The research provides a different reading of the Turing Machine based on Simondon's concept of individuation, repositioning its materiality from the abstract non-existent to the actual-virtual realm and investigating the reasons for its abstraction. It relates the emergence of multiple human-machine encounters in Turing's work to the complex counter-becoming of what it describes as 'the Turing Machine compound'.

Three classes of structural change tests (or tests for parameter instability) which have been receiving much attention in both the statistics and econometrics communities but have been developed in rather loosely connected lines of research are unified by embedding them into the framework of generalized M-fluctuation tests (Zeileis and Hornik, 2003). These classes are tests based on F statistics (supF, aveF, expF tests), on OLS residuals (OLS-based CUSUM and MOSUM tests) and on maximum likelihood scores (including the Nyblom-Hansen test). We show that (represantives from) these classes are special cases of the generalized M-fluctuation tests, based on the same functional central limit theorem, but employing different functionals for capturing excessive fluctuations. After embedding these tests into the same framework and thus understanding the relationship between these procedures for testing in historical samples, it is shown how the tests can also be extended to a monitoring situation. This is achieved by establishing a general M-fluctuation monitoring procedure and then applying the different functionals corresponding to monitoring with F statistics, OLS residuals and ML scores. In particular, an extension of the supF test to a monitoring scenario is suggested and illustrated on a real-world data set. / Series: Research Report Series / Department of Statistics and Mathematics

The aim of this Master thesis is to describe why and how public librariesuse the social networks Facebook and Twitter. The focus is to study whatbrought about their use, how the work is carried out, ideas and objectivesbehind the use and what libraries actually convey on the networks. Themethodology is twofold: semi-structured interviews with responsiblepersonnel at four Swedish public libraries, and an ethnographic contentanalysis of four months of the libraries' status updates and tweets onFacebook and Twitter. The theoretical framework consists of a model forthe roles of the public library in society, and of discourses about thepublic library in media.Results indicate that social networks are used to market, make accessibleand inform of the library's resources and services. Furthermore, networksare used to communicate/interact with followers and to inspire people toread. We also detect a tutoring trait. Libraries also view social networksas a meeting place. What libraries do on the networks can be seen as anonline interpretation of traditional library goals. All four spaces from themodel for the new library – Inspiration, Learning, Meeting andPerformative – were represented in the objectives expressed in theinterviews. In what is conveyed on the networks focus lay on Inspirationand Meeting. Social networks also act as a place to market the physicallibrary. From a discourse perspective the study suggests that librariesexpress disidentification and demonstrate ability to remain open both todifferent media formats and different methods for library servicesdelivery. / Program: Bibliotekarie

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:46:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 IzabellaBL_DISSERT.pdf: 2225362 bytes, checksum: 5266709fbea2ce750a1dad0fdbd90e66 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-02-17 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico / Leprosy is a chronic infectious-contagious disease, caused by Mycobacterium leprae, manifested by dermatological and neurological signs and symptoms and has great disabling power. It was marked by a strong stigma throughout its history, since its bearers represented a threat, target of fear and social contempt. Currently, leprosy has treatment and cure, and the need to separate the diseased from family and social environment is no more necessary. However, patients still suffer prejudice and discrimination. This study aimed to understand the social representations of leprosy that interfere modifying mental health of the patient with leprosy in relation to stigma and prejudice. This is a descriptive and exploratory study, with qualitative approach, which involved 22 users of the Special Care Clinic in Infectious Diseases at the Hospital Giselda Trigueiro, located in Natal / RN. They were in use of multidrug therapy in the period of data collection, were of both sexes, aged between 16 and 80 years of age and classified as paucibacillary or multibacillary. The study was approved by the UFRN Ethics in Research Committee. Data collection was performed by filling the questionnaire identification and then for conducting the semi-structured interview, which was recorded. After the end of data collection, there was the construction of tables and graphs, using the Microsoft Excel Start 2010 for proper characterization of the research subjects; and for the treatment of the data obtained from the interviews, was used the Content Analysis and based on the Theory of Social Representations. The subjects studied were mostly male (64%), married or in a stable relationship (68%), concentrated in the age group 50-60 years (36%) and 28-38 years (23%), had at most elementary education (65%) and were low-income (59%). Of the total respondents, 64% were classified as multibacillary, with predominantly dimorfous form, and 50% had disability grade I or II, with different periods of diagnosis. The reports originate two categories: 1. The negative meanings of illness and leprosy; and 2. The positive meanings of illness in leprosy, which were subsequently subdivided into subcategories. Thus, it was found that in the group studied, the social representation of leprosy experiences a moment of transition, as regards the understanding of the disease and its way of experiencing the disease process. Such representation is anchored in the quality of information on the disease of its bearers and aimed at an attempt to face the illness of leprosy as a "normal process". It was found in this study that the transition is due to the work of combating stigma and consequences of leprosy, which is able to gradually transform reality, both regarding the team work of reference, and in relation to a broader character, of actions of health education, which favors overcoming of psychosocial disabilities / A hansen?ase ? uma doen?a infecto-contagiosa, cr?nica, causada pelo Mycobacterium leprae, que se manifesta por sinais e sintomas dermatoneurol?gicos e tem grande poder incapacitante. Foi marcada por um forte estigma durante toda a sua hist?ria, pois seus portadores representavam uma amea?a, alvo do medo e do desprezo social. Atualmente, a hansen?ase tem tratamento e cura, e n?o h? mais a necessidade de separar os seus portadores do meio familiar e social, no entanto, eles ainda sofrem preconceito e discrimina??o. Este estudo teve como objetivo apreender as representa??es sociais da hansen?ase que interferem modificando a sa?de mental do portador da hansen?ase no que diz respeito ao estigma e preconceito. Trata-se de um trabalho descritivo e explorat?rio com abordagem qualitativa, do qual participaram 22 usu?rios do Ambulat?rio de atendimento especializado em doen?as infectocontagiosas do Hospital Giselda Trigueiro, localizado em Natal/RN. Os mesmos estavam em uso da poliquimioterapia no per?odo da coleta de dados, eram de ambos os sexos, com faixa et?ria entre 16 e 80 anos de idade e classificados como paucibacilar ou multibacilar. A pesquisa foi aprovada pelo Comit? de ?tica e Pesquisa da UFRN. A coleta de dados foi realizada com o preenchimento do question?rio de identifica??o e pela realiza??o da entrevista semi-estruturada, a qual foi gravada. Ap?s o fim da coleta de dados, realizou-se a constru??o de tabelas e gr?ficos, com a utiliza??o do Microsoft Excel Start 2010, para a devida caracteriza??o dos sujeitos da pesquisa; e o tratamento dos dados obtidos a partir das entrevistas gravadas realizou-se atrav?s da An?lise de Conte?do, com base na Teoria das Representa??es Sociais. Os sujeitos estudados eram, em sua maioria, do sexo masculino (64%), casados ou em uni?o est?vel (68%), se concentravam na faixa et?ria de 50 a 60 anos (36%) e 28 a 38 anos (23%), tinham no m?ximo ensino fundamental completo (65%) e eram de baixa renda (59%). Do total de entrevistados, 64% eram classificados como multibacilares, com predom?nio da forma dimorfa; e 50% possu?am grau de incapacidade I ou II; com diferentes per?odos de diagn?stico. Os relatos originaram duas categorias: 1. Os significados negativos do adoecer em hansen?ase e 2. Os significados positivos do adoecer em hansen?ase; as quais foram, posteriormente, subdivididas em subcategorias. Dessa maneira, foi constatado que, no grupo estudado, a representa??o social da hansen?ase vivencia um momento de transi??o, no que tange o entendimento sobre a doen?a e a sua maneira de experienciar o seu processo de adoecimento. Tal representa??o encontra-se ancorada na qualidade da informa??o sobre a doen?a que seus portadores e objetivada na tentativa de encarar o adoecer em hansen?ase como um processo normal . Constatou-se no estudo que esse processo de transi??o se deve ao trabalho desenvolvido de combate ao estigma e das sequelas da hansen?ase, que tem conseguindo, aos poucos, transformar a realidade, tanto no que se refere ao trabalho da equipe de refer?ncia, quanto no que se refere a um car?ter mais amplo, de a??es de educa??o em sa?de, o que favorece a supera??o das incapacita??es psicossociais

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:03:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 SergioRFA_TESE.pdf: 7822699 bytes, checksum: 8e76eaff31bfe4bd8789eb8d81e15701 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-12-20 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / O tropismo do M. leprae pela pele e nervos perif?ricos, confere ? hansen?ase caracter?sticas peculiares, tais como perda de sensibilidade e deformidades teciduais. Hipotetizamos que a susceptibilidade do hospedeiro ? gerida por um complexo conjunto de fatores diferentes, como aumento da express?o dos genes ERBB2, PARK2 e PACRG e/ou o ganho de atividade dos seus produtos g?nicos, em virtude de polimorfismos nesses genes. Outro fator que hipotetizamos estar contribuindo com a susceptibilidade ? hansen?ase, juntamente com os fatores gen?ticos, ? a exist?ncia de elementos de risco entre pessoas suscept?veis, tais como, co-morbidades e exposi??o prolongada ao pat?geno. Tamb?m hipotetizamos que a distribui??o desigual da doen?a em algumas ?reas populacionais, com forma??o de aglomerados, seja devido, a elevada densidade populacional de pessoas suscept?veis em ?reas de risco por tempo prolongado. Portanto, para comprovar essas hip?teses tem-se os seguintes objetivos: 1) Testar o envolvimento de polimorfismos nos genes ERBB2, PARK2 e PACRG com a hansen?ase em duas ?reas end?micas, mas com popula??es distintas; 2) Testar a rela??o de fatores de risco exposicionais e co-morbidades, dentre outros, com o aumento de susceptibilidade ? hansen?ase na popula??o do Rio Grande do Norte e 3) Avaliar se fatores como densidade demogr?fica e padr?o socioecon?mico e sanit?rio est?o contribuindo com a desigual distribui??o da doen?a em ?rea end?mica para a hansen?ase no estado do Rio Grande do Norte. Este estudo foi desenvolvido em 3 etapas: Foram genotipados marcadores no gene ERBB2 na popula??o de Bel?m/PA, usando uma abordagem familiar. Num segundo momento foram genotipados marcadores nos genes ERBB2, PARK2 e PACRG na popula??o do Rio Grande do Norte, usando uma abordagem caso-controle. Num terceiro momento, foi avaliada a distribui??o espacial da hansen?ase em Nova Cruz/RN. Foram feitas an?lises in silico, que apontaram para uma muta??o delet?ria no gene ERBB2 (rs1058808) e outra no gene PARK2 (rs1801334). Atrav?s de an?lise de modelagem molecular tamb?m foi encontrada uma muta??o potencialmente capaz de alterar a fun??o da prote?na ErbB2 (rs1801200). A genotipagem da popula??o de Bel?m/PA mostrou como fatores de risco dentre as fam?lias analisadas os polimorfismos rs2517956 e rs1058808 no gene ERBB2. Na genotipagem da popula??o do Rio Grande do Norte, encontramos como fatores de risco, os polimorfismos rs6915128 e rs1801334 para a hansen?ase per se e suas formas cl?nicas e rs1333955 para o ENH. Encontramos dois fatores de risco que justificaram a distribui??o desigual dos casos de hansen?ase na cidade de Nova Cruz/RN, a elevada densidade demogr?fica e o maior tempo de moradia de pessoas suscept?veis em ?reas de risco. Os genes PARK2, PACRG e ERBB2 participam da patog?nese da hansen?ase e, portanto s?o s?rios candidatos a alvos para agentes terap?uticos. Nesse estudo foi encontrado um SNP que tamb?m j? havia sido associado ao mal de Parkinson, e portanto, pode haver um compartilhamento funcional da parquina entre a hansen?ase e o Parkinsonismo. Nesse estudo tamb?m foi encontrado pela primeira vez associa??o entre variantes gen?ticas de ERBB2 e a hansen?ase