A dor cervical encontra-se entre as disfunções musculoesqueléticas mais prevalentes e estima-se que metade das pessoas que apresentam cervicalgia desenvolvam sintomas crônicos, sendo encaminhados para serviços de reabilitação. Entre as estruturas anatômicas envolvidas no processo patológico da cervicalgia destaque-se o componente miofascial. A dor miosfascial pode conduzir a um distúrbio psicofisiológico envolvendo sistemas centrais reguladores de dor do sistema nervoso, resultando em respostas fisiológicas. Em relação a avaliação da dor miofascial, destacase o uso do Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST) definido como um conjunto de métodos capaz de avaliar as sensações transmitidas pelas fibras sensoriais, entretanto, ainda se faz necessário o respaldo científico quanto à confiabilidade desse instrumento na população com pontos gatilhos em dor cervical crônica. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a confiabilidade intra e interexaminador do QST para avaliação do limiar térmico doloroso sobre pontos gatilhos miofasciais no músculo trapézio fibras descendentes de indivíduos que apresentam cervicalgia crônica e sua correlação com outros instrumentos de avaliação da dor. Foram inseridos 30 voluntários de ambos os gêneros, com faixa etária de 18 e 45 anos que apresentaram ponto gatilho miofascial bilateralmente, ativos e centrais no músculo trapézio fibras descendentes. Foram realizadas duas coletas por cada avaliador com um intervalo de uma semana entre elas, sendo empregadas na avaliação a Escala Numérica de Dor, Neck Disability Index, algometria, Escala de Pensamentos Catastróficos sobre Dor, termografia infravermelha e o QST. A análise dos dados apresentou valores de ICC intra-examinador variaram entre 0,876 e 0,896 e, os valores de ICC inter-examinador variaram 0,917 e 0,954. Assim, constatou-se no presente estudo moderada confiabilidade para a análise intraexaminador enquanto a avaliação inter-examinador apresentou excelente confiabilidade. Em relação às correlações, foram observadas associações significativas, entre a intensidade de dor e limiar térmico doloroso (calor), sendo fraca e negativa à direita; ente a intensidade de dor e limiar térmico doloroso (frio) , sendo fraca e positiva à direita e a esquerda. Com os demais instrumentos de avaliação, não foram observadas correlações significativas. Conclui-se que a mensuração do limiar térmico doloroso sobre pontos gatilhos miofasciais em indivíduos com cervicalgia crônica apresenta valores de confiabilidade aceitáveis respaldando o emprego do QST para a avaliação em pesquisas e no ambiente clínico, no entanto a sua associação com outros instrumentos de avaliação da dor são fracos ou inexistentes. / Neck pain is one of the most prevalent musculoskeletal disorders and it is estimated that half of the people with this disorder develop chronic symptoms and are referred to rehabilitation services. A lot of anatomical structures are involved in the pathological process of the neck pain with a focus on the myofascial component. Myofascial pain can lead to a psychophysiological disorder involving central nervous system pain regulators, resulting in physiological responses. Concerning the evaluation of myofascial pain the use of Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST) which is defined as a set of methods capable of evaluating the sensations transmitted by the sensory fibers has been highlighted, however, it is still necessary the scientific support about the reliability of this instrument in the population with trigger points in chronic neck pain. The objective of this study was to evaluate the intra and inter-rater reliability of the QST for assessing the pain threshold on myofascial triggers in the trapezius muscle fibers of individuals with chronic neck pain and their correlation with other pain assessment instruments. A total of 30 volunteers of both genders, aged 18 and 45 years, who presented myofascial trigger point bilaterally, active and central in the trapezius muscle were included. Two examinations were carried out for each evaluator with an interval of one week between them, using Numerical Pain Scale, Neck Disability Index, Algometry, Catastrophic Thoughts on Pain Scale, infrared thermography and QST. Data analysis showed intra-examiner ICC values ranged from 0.876 to 0.896 and interexaminer ICC values ranged from 0.917 to 0.954. Thus, the present study showed moderate reliability for the intra-examiner analysis while the inter-examiner evaluation presented excellent reliability. Regarding the correlations there were significant associations between pain intensity and pain threshold (heat) being weak and negative on the right, pain intensity and pain threshold (cold) being weak and positive on the right and left. With the other instruments evaluation, no significant correlations were observed. It is concluded that the measurement of the pain threshold on myofascial trigger points in individuals with chronic neck pain presents acceptable reliability values supporting the use of QST for evaluation in research and clinical settings, however, its association with other pain assessment instruments are weak or nonexistent.

This work is focused on extruded fiber diameter measurement problem. For this purpose a procedure has been proposed. This procedure makes use of numerical methods for image processing, which are described in theoretical part of work. The proposed procedure has been processed into single-purpose software and in the final part is assessed its repeatability and reproducibility.

Within the Master´s Thesis „Repeatability and Reproducibility Improvement of Suspension Components Tests“ is resolution of a problem measurement of the radial elasticity of ball joint with regard for Repeatability and Reproducibility measurement.

New materials used at construction gauge they are though expensive, but shall they meaningful influence over making and metrological characteristics. Work evaluation influence these material on increasing quality concrete gauge.

This work deals with measurement system analysis in the production of rotary tools. The aim is to carry out literature search on the topic and then do analysis Gage R&R of the measurement system in the company ANAJ Czech s.r.o. and on the basis of the obtained data to recommend appropriate corrective arrangements to improve the current measurement system.

A reliable and robust laboratory method is essential for the forensic analysis of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), particularly for low-template samples. Electropherogram peak heights are important to the identification of STR alleles, and these peak heights are prone to error. Since error can be introduced into the process during sample preparation, quantification, amplification, or analysis, validation studies are performed in an attempt to characterize the signal variation associated with the process. While current practices assess aspects of a method, such as sensitivity and reproducibility, the effects of daily laboratory alterations are often not considered. Additionally, samples used in a validation study may be prepared using serial dilutions. Therefore, understanding the extent to which error is propagated through the series and the effect it has on the results could help improve validation practices. This work aimed to assess the effect daily laboratory modifications have on the signal in a forensic electropherogram. Specifically, the variability in signal when different capillary and amplification kit lots were used was evaluated against the variability observed when a single sample was either injected or amplified multiple times. The variability was determined via the examination of peak heights, peak height ratios, stutter, and drop-out. The effect of serially diluting samples was examined via an in silico model of the dilution process, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and capillary injection. The peak heights from simulated serially diluted samples using the concentration of a stock DNA were compared to the peak heights from simulated samples that were quantified after the dilution series was generated and prior to amplification. The different capillary lots and amplifications were found to result in greater variation compared to the multiple injections. Additionally, when the stutter percentages obtained from using multiple kit lots were compared to those obtained using the same kit lot, differences in stutter percentage deviations resulted in different stutter thresholds. Drop-out rates were also different between the samples amplified with one kit versus the same samples amplified with multiple kit lots. Therefore, at a minimum, multiple amplifications should be run on multiple capillary lots during validation. Further, if available, the use of multiple kit lots is recommended, particularly in cases where stutter thresholds or drop-out models are used during interpretation. Creating validation samples via serial dilutions was also found to increase the variation observed in peak height in the simulated samples, suggesting that samples should be quantified post-dilution. In addition to characterizing the variability of several components of DNA analysis, an alternative quantification method was investigated in order to decrease the overall variability associated with the quantification process. This work sought to develop an electrochemical biosensor using a single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) probe chemically adsorbed to a gold electrode. This would allow for the direct quantification of DNA and eliminate the need for qPCR and fluorescent-based oligonucleotide detection systems. The DNA probe was successfully adsorbed to the surface of the gold disk electrode, hybridized to a single-stranded complementary DNA sequence, and detected using square wave voltammetry. Additionally, the ability to control the amount of DNA chemisorbed to the electrode surface was investigated by varying the incubation time in the probe solution. The measured current increased as the incubation time increased from 15 minutes to one hour, after which it plateaued. The use of an electrochemical biosensor is a promising alternative to qPCR for the quantification of DNA, with one hour being the optimal incubation time in the probe solution.

Coral-based climate studies commonly use elemental ratios and stable isotopes of coral skeletons to address seawater temperature and hydrologic balance issues in the tropical surface oceans. Replication, or cross-checking, a standard technique used to assess the fidelity of proxy records in paleoclimatology has not been widely applied in coral-based climate studies, primarily because of the time and cost associated with generating multiple records from a single reef site. Modern and paleoclimate reconstructions based on a single proxy-coral record from a site may contain errors if individual corals from the same reef record different geochemical signals. In this study we perform a replication test using elemental ratios and stable isotopes in three Porites corals from New Caledonia. The reef complex offshore Amédée Island, New Caledonia is an ideal site to perform a coral replication test because instrumental sea surface temperatures (SST) and sea surface salinity measurements (SSS) have been made there for over 25 years. In this study, we compare sub-monthly resolved, geochemical variations (Sr/Ca, δ18O and δ13C) in three Porites lutea coral heads, located ~500 m apart, with the instrumental SST and SSS records over the interval 1992-1967. The monthly coral Sr/Ca and δ18O time series are well correlated to each other (r=0.86, p<.0001) and to the monthly instrumental SST record (r= -0.86, p<.0001, coral Sr/Ca to SST; r= -0.77, p<.0001, coral δ18O to SST). The three, sub-monthly resolved, 30-year coral Sr/Ca-SST time series have mean SST values that agree within 0.2o C with the instrumental mean SST value. A similar comparison for the coral δ18O-SST records indicate a maximum difference between predicted and observed mean SST of 0.5˚C. Analysis of the monthly climatological means also indicates that Sr/Ca-SST records closely match the instrumental SST record ±0.4˚C; a similar comparison using the δ18O-SST record yields an average offset of ±0.6˚C between observed and predicted monthly SST. Stacking the three records to form composite Sr/Ca-SST and δ18O-SST records does not appreciably improve the goodness of fit between the proxy and instrumental SST records; hence a coral-based proxy climate record from a single coral accurately reflects the observed record of climate variability at this locality. These results support the concept that high fidelity climate records can be generated using a single coral core.

Thermoelectric (TE) materials are used to directly interconvert heat and electricity. The semiconductor PbTe with narrow band gap is one of the leading thermoelectric materials in mid-temperature range due to intrinsically low lattice thermal conductivity and large Seebeck coefficient. Recently, various strategies have produced p-type and n-type PbTe-based materials with greatly enhanced TE properties. However, there are still many fascinating features which are needed to be studied. First, phase analysis and TE properties of binary polycrystalline Pb‒Te samples prepared by various heat treatments have been investigated. Since europium with its 4f electrons was expected to have strong influence on the thermoelectric behavior of PbTe, the constitution and thermoelectric behavior of two substitution schemes with possible Eu2+ and Eu3+ in the Pb–Eu–Te ternary system have been examined. As sodium is widely used as substituting element for p-type PbTe-based TE materials, the crystal structural features and TE properties of two series of polycrystalline samples Pb1-yNayTe1-y/2 and Pb1-xNaxTe have been studied. The local atomic arrangement of sodium by different substitution schemes has been revealed by NMR. Finally, we present the reproducibility of TE properties and microstructure evolutions of high-ZT Eu-substituted and Na-substituted PbTe during different heat treatments. From binary PbTe to ternary Pb–Eu–Te and Pb–Na–Te, and final with quaternary Pb–Eu–Na–Te, the comprehensive picture of the structure and TE properties for Pb–Eu–Na–Te system is constructed.

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Introduction The length of a muscle has been described as one of the factors contributing to the ideal movement at a joint. A decrease in the length of a muscle results in a decrease in the range of motion at the joint in direct relation to the function of that specific muscle. M Latissimus Dorsi is a muscle which undergoes length changes (loss of extensibility) and this muscle has a functional role in many aspects of sport and rehabilitation. The loss of extensibility may result in a decreased range of motion at the glenohumeral joint leading to dysfunction. Evidence-based practise requires the use of objective, valid and reliable tests for measuring the length of a muscle. No scientific evidence of reliability for any documented technique testing the length of m Latissimus Dorsi (LD) was found. Aim The aim of this study was to assess the inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of a technique adapted by Commerford and Mottram (2012) for assessing the length of LD. Study design The design of the study is a within-participant test-retest non-experimental quantitative study for reliability purposes Method Fifty-six volunteering students recruited from the Physiotherapy Department of the University of Pretoria were the participants in this study. Four qualified physiotherapists with varying numbers of years of clinical experience independently performed the test for assessing the length of LD. The test was performed twice by each physiotherapist on every participant and two measurement sessions were done. A pilot study was also done. Data Analysis and conclusion A sample of 56 participants provided an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of less than 0.9 and this is regarded as poor reliability. The agreement between each rater and the differences in the two levels of experience of raters were also assessed. The ICC was used to determine the inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of the LD length test. A 0.05 level of significance was employed. The ICC between the experienced raters was found to be 0.48 with a novice rater ICC of 0.48 as well. The ICC between all the raters was 0.33. This constitutes poor reliability. The poor reliability of the technique testing the length of LD was identified and addressed in order for adequate usage thereof, in research and in practice. Recommendations of a new technique to test the length of LD was provided by the researcher. A suggestion was made regarding a manner of testing its reliability. / Dissertation (MPhysT)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / Physiotherapy / MPhysT / Unrestricted