Orientador: Julio Carlos Teixeira / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do ABC. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Energia, 2013

Caries of the pits and fissures of permanent teeth continues to be a problem for children. Newly erupted permanent molars are particularly at risk. Oral hygiene measures have been shown to be able to reduce the incidence of caries. The aim of this study was to compare the caries preventive effects of a professional tooth cleaning and oral health education programme (test) with a standard preventive programme (comparison), comprising selective fissure sealing and application of topical fluorides on newly erupted first permanent molars. School Dental Service clinics of the Health Department of Western Australia, in Perth, were assigned to test (4)or comparison (4) clinics. Schoolchildren, mean age 6.3 plus or minus 0.3 (s) yr with, sound, newly erupted first permanent molars were included in the study (n=404; 207 test; 197 control).Children were examined after twelve and twenty-four months by an examiner who was 'blind' to the test or control status of the children. After twelve months, 186 test and 163 control children were examined, and after twenty-four months, 179 test and 156 control children were examined. Three hundred and twenty children were examined in both years. After twenty-four months, 32 children in test and 31 children in control developed caries of the first permanent molars, the estimated risk ratio was 0.90 (95% CI 0.58, 1.41); and children in the test group had an average DFT score of 0.30 plus or minus 0.75 compared with 0.30 plus or minus 0.70 DFT in the control group (t-test, p=0.96). The results suggest that, after two years, there was no statistically significant difference between the caries preventive effects of a professional tooth cleaning and oral health education programme and a programme based on selective fissure sealing and application of topical fluorides.Baseline deciduous caries experience, presence of hypomineralised first ++ / permanent molars and frequency of toothbrushing were statistically significant factors in predicting molar caries. Using baseline deciduous caries experience as a screening criterion to predict permanent molar caries, sensitivity of 0.67 and specificity 0.61 were obtained at a cutpoint of 1 dmfs. Sensitivity and specificity values were maximised at 0.72 by using a combined baseline dmfs and hypomineralisation as screening criteria. Cost-effectiveness analysis indicated an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $40/child/year. The test programme was more costly and produced similar outcomes and does not warrant adoption on economic grounds.

This research study examines the psychological and emotional experiences of children and parents as they embark on a permanent placement living arrangement. A permanent placement living arrangement is entered into when a child is no longer able to reside with their family of origin. Three family groups participated in the study and separate interviews were conducted with both the children and placement parents. Overall, three interviews were conducted, with the first interview taking place prior to the child’s transition into the family. A further two interviews were conducted with the participants after the transition had taken place. The findings of this study indicate that both the parents and children were profoundly affected by the experience of permanent placement. The common themes that emerged from the data were the hopes, anxieties and coping strategies of the participants which became the focal point of analysis. The parents experienced a mixture of fulfilment, tempered with anxieties of whether they would be able to provide adequate care for the child placed with them. Whereas, the children appeared to find it difficult to trust that this experience would be any different from their previous experiences. The study concludes that further attention is needed in the preparation for the transition into permanent placement. It further concludes that ‘after transition’ support is important to the stability of the placement.

This thesis presents a study on core loss calculations in rotating electrical machines. The basic concepts concerning magnetic moments, ferromagnetism, magnetic domains and magnetic hysteresis are introduced. The three-term models for alternating and rotational core losses in electrical steel sheets are presented. Several core loss measurement techniques are reviewed and an experiment is carried out to measure the total core losses in an electrical sheet steel sample under alternating and rotational magnetic fields of various frequencies and amplitudes. The coefficients in the loss models for alternating and rotational core losses are obtained through curve fitting process. The theory of electromagnetic fields is presented through the Maxwell equations and field scalar equations. A detailed review on core loss models for rotating electrical machines is presented. A rotational core loss model is adopted to calculate the core losses in a PM motor. The total core loss in the PM motor is obtained by summing the element losses using a MATLAB program. An experiment is conducted to measure the total core loss in the PM motor. The calculated total core loss in the PM motor is compared with the experimental results. The calculated total core losses are about 19% lower than the tested results. Various possible causes for this discrepancy are discussed / Master of Engineering (Hons)

Many high performance drive applications require wide Constant Power Speed Range (CPSR) for efficient use of energy. The examples of such applications are the starter alternator system of automobiles proposed for the 42V PowerNet, traction in the hybrid/electric vehicle, wind power generator etc. The Permanent Magnet (PM) machine is the natural choice of such niche applications because of their higher efficiency and compact size. However, the Surface Permanent Magnet (SPM) machine with sine distributed winding and radially-laminated Interior Permanent Magnet (IPM) machine with conventional structure has very limited or zero flux-weakening capability. The flux-weakening capability of the SPM machine can be improved by using concentrated, fractional-slot stator but here well-known advantages of the sine distributed winding are needed to be compromised. In the IPM machine, fluxweakening was improved using axial lamination and more than two magnet layers per pole. However, the construction of such IPM machine is complicated and expensive. This thesis presents design and analysis of a new type of the Interior Permanent Magnet (IPM) machine that have a very wide Constant Power Speed Range (CPSR) without compromising simplicity of construction and advantages of the distribution winding. In the new IPM machine, the magnet poles were segmented in the radially direction and the iron bridges between magnet segments provide for additional paths of flux-canalization to give the rotor an inherent capability of fluxweakening. Consequently, a very wide constant power speed range can be achieved in such machines. The proposed IPM machine of this work was referred as the Segmented IPM machine. The thesis focuses on the optimization of the Segmented IPM machine in a 42V environment of the automobile. First, for the conceptual evaluation a 4 pole, 550W Segmented Magnet IPM machine was optimized using finite element analysis. The parameters were calculated for prediction of the steady-state and transient performances. The torque- and power-speed capability were estimated using time-step, circuit-coupled finite element analysis. The cogging torque and variation of iron loss with frequency were also investigated during the design process. A prototype machine was constructed on the basis of the optimized design. The steady-state and transient performances of the prototype machine were measured and compared with the predicted results for experimental verification. The measured performance analysis was found to match very well with the predicted results. The measured torque- and power-speed capability of the Segmented IPM machine was also compared to those of a conventional, non-segmented IPM machine of similar rating and size. The thesis also presents the optimized design of a 6kW, 12 pole Segmented Magnet IPM machine for application in the Integrated Starter Alternator (ISA) of the electric/hybrid vehicle. It can be concluded from the predicted steady-state analysis of the 6 kW, 12 pole Segmented Magnet IPM machine that it should be able to satisfy most of the required criteria of an ISA with appropriate design optimization.

Electromagnetic microactuators with permanent magnets have many potential applications such as micro-energy scavengers, microswitches, micromirrors and microfluidics. However, many electromagnetic microactuator designs utilize either external permanent magnet or external coil, which do not allow tight integration to other MEMS components and further miniaturization. Furthermore, all of the available permanent magnet microfabrication technologies have some drawbacks and improvements are required. Thus the integrated monolithic electromagnetic microactuator is investigated in this project. The three main components of the electromagnetic actuator have been investigated separately. A novel microfabrication technology called ???Template printing???for the fabrication of polymer bonded permanent magnet has been investigated and developed. It is based on ???Screen printing??? which has its drawbacks on alignment accuracy and poor line definition. This is eliminated in ???Template printing??? by photolithography of the photoresist template. The shape and location of the permanent magnet is defined by the template. A new approach based on the filling of dry magnetic powder and vacuum impregnation has been developed to form the polymer bonded permanent magnet. This allows the use of short pot-life matrix material and the elimination of homogenous mixing. A monolithic electromagnetic microactuator has been fabricated successfully. It consists of a 2-layer planar copper microcoil, surface micromachined polyimide beam and Strontium ferrite/EPOFIX permanent magnet (diameter of 460 ??m and 30 ??m thickness). Large deflection in excess of 100 ??m at 35 mA driving current and magnetic force of 0.39 ??N/mA have been achieved. It compares favourably with other much larger electromagnetic actuators that have been reported. ???Template printing??? has the potential of being a low temperature batch process for the microfabrication of thick polymer bonded permanent magnets with high magnetic properties and low residual stress. The fabrication consistency and the quality of template printed magnet can be improved in future studies.

"October 2002" / Bibliography: p. 219-228. / xi, 229 p. : ill. (some col.), plates (col.) ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Proposes a robust indirect position sensing technique implemented in real time using a DSP based motor controller. This is based on a rotor position estimation using the measured phase voltages and currents of the motor. An incremental algorithm is used to estimate the flux linkage increments, which eliminates the integration involved in the flux linkage estimation. This feature provides a wider operating speed range and robustness. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 2002

<p>Fler personer överlever idag en svår hjärnskada, vilket har medfört att rehabiliteringen har ställts inför en utmaning avseende dessa personer. Då det gäller arbetsterapeutens behandlingsmetoder finns det liten vetenskapligt dokumenterad kunskap och ett behov av fortsatt forskning inom området. Studiens syfte var att undersöka vilka behandlingsmetoder, sett ur ett arbetsterapeutiskt perspektiv, som beskrivs i vetenskaplig litteratur samt dess effekter för vuxna personer med en traumatisk hjärnskada i ett vegetativt eller minimalt responsivt tillstånd. En systematisk litteraturstudie genomfördes. Artikelsökning utfördes i databaserna Medline, AMED, Cinahl och PsycInfo och resulterade i 10 inkluderade artiklar. Studierna kvalitetsbedömdes och bevisvärdet graderades för respektive studie. Resultatet kategoriserades enligt Occupational Performance Model (OPM). Resultatet indikerade att sinnesstimulering och att patienterna själva kunde påverka omgivningen med hjälp av assisterande teknik, var de vanligaste arbetsterapeutiska behandlingarna för patienter i ett vegetativt eller minimalt responsivt tillstånd. En studie påvisade också behandling över tid från sinnesstimulering, träning av specifika motoriska funktioner till att kunna använda assisterande teknik. Två artiklar bedömdes ha en hög kvalitet, sex medel kvalitet och två låg kvalitet. Bevisvärdet för nio studier bedömdes vara lågt och för en studie måttligt vilket resulterade i otillräckligt vetenskapligt underlag för att kunna dra några slutsatser om behandlingsmetodernas effekt. Behov finns därför av fortsatt forskning inom området. Resultatet av studien kan däremot bidra med en ökad kunskap och ge en vägledning för arbetsterapeuten i klinisk verksamhet vid behandlingen av patienter i ett vegetativt eller minimalt responsivt tillstånd.</p>

<p>In this thesis, a concept for a modular assembly direct drive permanent magnetgenerator is presented. The maximum forces that act on the different parts of thegenerator during normal operation have been calculated and used in solid mechanicsimulations in SolidWorks. The result is a rough first draft of a generator designwhere the stator has been divided into five modules and the rotor into six modules.This division is done in order to avoid symmetries in the generator that could lead toproblems with self-oscillation.The modulization of the stator brings about certain difficulties, both for the magneticcircuit and for the winding scheme. Different solutions for optimization of themagnetic circuit are analyzed from both a physical and a construction technicalperspective. A winding scheme is produced and the winding process tested in awinding dummy produced according to the conceptual generator design.</p>

Since 1982, 40 states and the District of Columbia have offered amnesty programs. In December 1990, the Multistate Tax Commission (MTC) established the National Nexus Program (NNP), a permanent tax amnesty program. Prior literature has focused on amnesty programs and has shown that these programs do little to increase tax revenues and compliance when increased future enforcement is absent. I examine the impact of the NNP on state corporate tax revenues. From 1991 through 2008, state corporate tax revenues are significantly lower than revenues from 1973 through 1990. Further, I find that states joining the NNP have a negative impact on state corporate tax revenues; however, the initial year impacts revenues differently than all other years. The implementation of Financial Interpretation No. 48 (FIN 48) provides another reason for firms to disclose in the NNP. Specifically, to reduce the FIN 48 liability on financial statements, firms may disclose in the NNP. The primary purpose of FIN 48 is to increase the comparability and transparency of financial reporting of income taxes through requiring consistent recording and disclosure across firms. Although FIN 48 has been replaced with the Accounting Standard Codification 740-10, I continue to refer to FIN 48 because of familiarity. I examine whether FIN 48 resulted in an increased number of firms entering the NNP by state. I also investigate whether FIN 48 impacted the dollar amount of NNP disclosures by state. Using aggregated proprietary data obtained from the NNP and matched with hand-collected data from 1994 through 2008, I find that FIN 48 has a positive effect on the number of NNP disclosures but has no impact on the dollar amount of disclosure. Rather, for states joining the NNP, the dollar amount of disclosure tends to be driven by the states adopting combined reporting requirements. In examining publicly-traded firms on an individual case basis, I find that economic presence and voluntary compliance initiatives predominately have a negative effect on the dollar amount of disclosure while FIN 48 has an insignificant impact.