<p>The subject of this thesis is a new chip to substrate interconnection technique using self-aligning elastic chip sockets. This work was focused on the technology steps which are necessary to fulfill in order to realize the suggested technique. Elastic chip sockets offer a solution for several assembly and packaging challenges, such a thermo-mechanical mismatch, effortless rework, environmental compatibility, high interconnection density, high frequency signal integrity, etc.</p><p>Two of the most challenging technology aspects, metallization and etching of the silicone elastomer were studied, but also, air bubble free casting of the silicone elastomer was taken into consideration. Elastic chip sockets and single elastic micro-bump contacts of different shapes and sizes were manufactured and characterized.</p><p>The contact resistance measurements revealed that the elastic micro-bump contacts manufactured by using the developed methods require less than one tenth of the contact force to achieve the same low contact resistance as compared to commercial elastic interconnection structures.</p><p>The analysis and measurements of the high frequency properties of the elastic micro-bump structures have shown that they can operate up to several tens of GHz without a serious degradation of the signal quality.</p><p>The same methods were applied to manufacture very high density contact area array (approximately 80000 connections/cm2), which until now was achieved only using so called chip-first techniques.</p><p>The low contact resistance, the absence of environmentally harmful materials, no need of soldering, easy rework as well as capability of very high interconnecting density and very high frequency compatibility, indicates a high potential of this technique for assembly and packaging.</p><p>Moreover, the presented technology of the silicone elastomer micromachining (metallization and RIE in particular) can be used for manufacturing of other microstructures, like chemical or biological micro reactors.</p>

This diploma thesis discusses the porting of a device driver for DSP development boards. Initially, there was an older version for Linux Kernel 2.4, that should be ported to the new version 2.6. Thereby, the structure had to be redesigned in terms of a simplification and a functional enhancement. One of the basic changes was to remove the necessity of a talker on DSP side from the design. The resulting driver consists of a generic module and several hardware dependent modules, one for every supported DSP board. Besides the generic driver, chip drivers for TI EVM C62 and ATEME NVDK C64 have been implemented. Since the representation in the file system is a character device, the system call API serves as standard user interface. Additionally, Sys FS is used to make driver controls and hardware registers. directly accessible. Another new feature is the possibility of handling data streams, which are often produced by DSP programs as output. So a mechanism for asynchronous data communication was needed. The netlink sockets provide this functionality and are therefore used by the driver. / Das Thema dieser Diplomarbeit ist die Portierung eines Gerätetreibers für DSP Entwicklerboards. Ausgangspunkt war ein alter Treiber für Linux Kernel 2.4, welcher für den neuen Kernel 2.6 angepasst werden sollte. Dabei sollte die Struktur vereinfacht und die Funktionalität erweitert werden. Wichtigste Änderung war es, den Treiber unabhängig von einem Talker auf DSP-Seite zu machen. Der entstandene Treiber besteht aus einem generischen Modul und verschiedenen Hardware abhängigen Modulen, eins für jedes unterstützte Board. Es entstanden somit Treiber für das TI EVM C62 und das ATEME NVDK C64. Als Nutzer Interface dient das System Call API, die Representation des Treibers im System ist eine Gerätedatei. Zudem wird die Verwendung des SysFS für den Zugriff aud Treiber Einstellungen und Hardware Register gezeigt. Ein weitere Funktion bietet die Möglichkeit, Datenströme zwischen DSP und Linux-User zu übermitteln. Diese asynchrone Datenkommunikation wird mit Netlink Sockets realisiert.

For pediatric amputees in developing countries, where characteristically rapid growth of children is compounded by a lack of medical services, maintaining proper socket fit is a challenging but necessary endeavor. A socket design that adjusts for radial and longitudinal growth will allow patients to wear the same socket for a longer period of time saving them the expense of subsequent fittings and hardware. Manufacture of such a socket poses a challenge for contemporary manufacturing processes. Due to its ability to rapidly manufacture complex part geometries, Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is particularly suited to this application. Several preliminary design concepts for a volume adjustable transtibial SLS prosthetic socket for pediatric amputees in developing countries have been generated. These current design concepts utilize fasteners such as ratchet hooks and threads. Results from design and validation of theoretical models of these fastener concepts are the focus of this thesis. / text

No description available.

Darbo tikslas – ištirti ir įvertinti anoftalminės akiduobės endoprotezavimo kosmetinio ir funkcinio efekto parametrus ir jų stabilumą intervaliniu dvejų metų stebėjimo laikotarpiu. Darbo uždaviniai 1. Įvertinti ir palyginti endoprotezuotos ir neendoprotezuotos akiduobės poenukleacinio sindromo išraišką ankstyvuoju pooperaciniu laikotarpiu. 2. Įvertinti ir palyginti tirtų ligonių grupių ankstyvojo pooperacinio laikotarpio dirbtinės ir porinės akies statinę simetriją. 3. Nustatyti akiduobės implanto įtaką dirbtinės akies judesiams. 4. Įvertinti ir palyginti abiejų ligonių grupių dirbtinės ir porinės akies dinaminę simetriją ankstyvuoju pooperaciniu laikotarpiu. 5. Įvertinti ir palyginti tirtųjų ligonių grupių kosmetinį ir funkcinį operacijos efektą, praėjus 6 mėn., 12 mėn. ir 24 mėn. po operacijos. 6. Palyginti pooperacinį kosmetinį ir funkcinį efektą, endoprotezavus akiduobę pirminiu ar antriniu būdu bei pašalinus akį skirtingais metodais. 7. Įvertinti operuotų ligonių subjektyvią nuomonę apie kosmetinį akiduobės endoprotezavimo efektą. / The removal of the globe creates anatomic and physiological alterations of orbital tissue and orbital bones. The main problems of anophthalmic socket are its contraction and volume deficit. Because of the latter the so-called postenucleation socket syndrome appears which may be characterized by deep upper lid sulcus, upper lid ptosis enophtalmus of the artificial eye and the lower lid laxity. The average size of the functioning eye is 6-7 cm3. After the removal of an eye it has to be restored. For this purpose the implants are used which are being sewed in the orbit, under the conjunctiva. Attachment of the extraocular muscles to the implant helps to save their function and improves the motility of the artificial eye.The endoimplantation of anophthalmic orbit in Lithuania is not implemented widely enough. Thus, assuming the rapid development of medical technologies it is relevant to evaluate the practical experience of the mentioned treatment method, its close and distal results in order to implement it to clinical practise more widely and successfully as well to improve the life quality of operated people.

<p><font face="Tahoma"> <p align="left">The purpose of this study is to evaluate the need for prophylactic antibiotic treatment in third molar surgery and to establish specific guidelines for antibiotic prophylaxis in the department of Maxillo-Facial and Oral Surgery (MFOS) at Tygerberg Academic, Groote Schuur and Mitchells Plain Hospitals.</p> </font></p>

A crescente complexidade dos programas de computador e o crescimento da carga de trabalho a qual eles são submetidos têm sido tendências recorrentes nos sistemas computacionais, em especial para sistemas distribuídos como aplicações web e sistemas corporativos. O aumento da carga de trabalho gera uma demanda por sistemas que façam melhor uso dos recursos computacionais disponíveis, enquanto a maior complexidade gera uma demanda por sistemas que se preocupem em minimizar o número de erros. Portanto, podem-se identificar dois objetivos a serem perseguidos pelos desenvolvedores de sistemas de software: melhorar o desempenho e aumentar a confiabilidade dos sistemas. A fim de alcançar os objetivos expostos, são desenvolvidos sistemas de monitoramento para automatizar a coleta e análise de dados sobre os sistemas computacionais alvo. O presente trabalho visa contribuir nos seguintes aspectos: na identificação dos dados relevantes para o monitoramento de aplicações distribuídas desenvolvidas para a plataforma Java; e na criação de uma ferramenta de monitoramento de aplicações distribuídas, explorando os novos recursos do JDK 1.5, bem como os recursos já disponíveis em Java, como carga dinâmica de classes e transformação de bytecodes A fim de avaliar a ferramenta proposta foram elaborados três estudos de caso: um utiliza uma aplicação existente sem necessidade de sua adaptação; outro avalia a sobrecarga da ferramenta frente a diferentes parâmetros; e o terceiro avalia o monitoramento de um sistema distribuído. Entende-se que a ferramenta atinge o objetivo de monitoramento de aplicações distribuídas, por meio da incorporação de técnicas e APIs distintas, ao permitir: o monitoramento de uma aplicação distribuída por meio do monitoramento de diversos nodos de tal aplicação concomitantemente; e a visualização das informações coletadas de forma online. Adicionalmente, a coleta simultânea de dados de diferentes nodos de uma aplicação distribuída pode ser útil para a descoberta de relações entre eventos que ocorrem durante a execução de tal aplicação. / The growing complexity of software and the increasing workload to which systems have been submitted are known trends in the computing system field, especially when distributed and web systems are considered. The increasing workload generates demand for systems that can make a better use of computing resources, while the increment of system complexity demands specific actions to prevent design faults. Therefore, software engineers have two main objectives to be concerned with: optimization and dependability. In order to accomplish these objectives, monitoring systems have been proposed to gather data from running systems so that their behavior can be analyzed. The present dissertation intends to contribute in the following domains: identifying relevant metrics for monitoring distributed Java applications; and developing a tool to monitor and profile distributed applications, using the new resources available in JDK 1 .5 as well as some already known techniques like dynamic classloading and bytecode instrumentation. In order to evaluate the proposed tool, three test cases have been developed: one with a well known application running without modification; another for evaluating the tools’ overhead in different scenarios; and a third one to evaluate a distributed application been monitored. We understand that the proposed tool is successful in monitoring distributed applications by the use of distinct APIs and techniques because: Nprof can monitor a distributed application by monitoring different nodes of the application simultaneously; and Nprof allows the online visualization of the collected data. Also, simultaneous collection of data from different nodes of a distributed application can be useful for discovering relations among events that occur during the execution of the application.

For many years, the biggest issue that causes discomfort and hygiene issues for patients with lower limb amputations have been the interface between body and prosthetic, the socket. Often made of an inflexible, solid polymer that does not allow the residual limb to breathe or perspire and with no consideration for the changes in size and shape of the human body caused by changes in temperature or environment, inflammation, irritation and discomfort often cause reduced usage or outright rejection of the prosthetic by the patient in their day to day lives. To address these issues and move towards a future of improved quality of life for patients who suffer amputations, Loughborough University formed the Next Generation Prosthetics research cluster. This work is one of four multidisciplinary research studies conducted by members of this research cluster, focusing on the area of Computer Aided Design (CAD) for improving the interface with Additive Manufacture (AM) to solve some of the challenges presented with improving prosthetic socket design, with an aim to improve and streamline the process to enable the involvement of clinicians and patients in the design process. The research presented in this thesis is based on three primary studies. The first study involved the conception of a CAD criteria, deciding what features are needed to represent the various properties the future socket outlined by the research cluster needs. These criteria were then used for testing three CAD systems, one each from the Parametric, Non Uniform Rational Basis Spline (NURBS) and Polygon archetypes respectively. The result of these tests led to the creation of a hybrid control workflow, used as the basis for finding improvements. The second study explored emerging CAD solutions, various new systems or plug-ins that had opportunities to improve the control model. These solutions were tested individually in areas where they could improve the workflow, and the successful solutions were added to the hybrid workflow to improve and reduce the workflow further. The final study involved taking the knowledge gained from the literature and the first two studies in order to theorise how an ideal CAD system for producing future prosthetic sockets would work, with considerations for user interface issues as well as background CAD applications. The third study was then used to inform the final deliverable of this research, a software design specification that defines how the system would work. This specification was written as a challenge to the CAD community, hoping to inform and aid future advancements in CAD software. As a final stage of research validation, a number of members of the CAD community were contacted and interviewed about their feelings of the work produced and their feedback was taken in order to inform future research in this area.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:26:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2007-05-03Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:54:56Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 dias_smd_me_araca.pdf: 807361 bytes, checksum: ed849363fac8aa468c1917c6eb85af8b (MD5) / Objetivo:Avaliar a atuação do E2 durante a regeneração alveolar, utilizando a expressão das proteínas OPG, RANK e RANKL como indicadores celulares de predisposição à reabsorção ou formação de tecido ósseo. Material e métodos: Após 8 dias da cirurgia SHAM ou ovariectomia (OVX), as ratas (200g) OVX receberam implantes subcutâneos contendo óleo de milho (grupo OVX/óleo) ou E2 (400μg) (grupo OVX/E2). As exodontias dos incisivos superiores direitos foram realizadas no decorrer do tratamento e agendadas para que ao término de 60 dias fosse possível obter as peças referentes a 14, 28 e 42 dias de regeneração óssea alveolar. As peças foram submetidas a processamento imunoistoquímico. Resultados: Nos animais com ciclo estral regular (grupo SHAM), foi observada expressão baixa aos 14, média/alta aos 28 e a não expressão de OPG e RANKL aos 42 dias. A expressão de RANK iniciou alta e foi diminuindo até o último período analisado. No grupo OVX/Óleo a expressão de RANKL foi crescente até o término da análise aos 42 dias, enquanto que a expressão de RANK diminuiu ao longo do período estudado. Foi observada expressão de OPG no início e ao final do período analisado. Os animais OVX/E2 apresentaram marcação semelhante para OPG, RANK e RANKL aos 14 dias. A expressão de RANKL foi observada até o final do experimento, entretanto não foi detectada expressão de OPG e RANK aos 28 e 42 dias. Conclusão: Estes resultados evidenciam a participação do E2 modulando o ciclo de remodelação óssea alveolar. / Objective: To evaluate the role of E2 during alveolar bone regeneration, using OPG, RANK and RANKL protein expression as cellular indicators of predisposition to resorption or bone tissue formation. Methods: Eight days after either SHAM surgery or ovariectomy (OVX), the OVX rats (200g) received subcutaneous implants with corn oil (OVX/oil group) or E2 (400μg) (OVX/E2 group). Extraction of the maxillary right incisors were performed during the course of the treatment and was scheduled in such a way that at the end of a 60-day period it would possible to retrieve anatomic pieces referring to 14, 28 and 42 days of alveolar bone healing. The pieces were submitted to immunohistochemical processing. Results: In the animals with regular estrous cycle (SHAM group), it was observed low expression at 14 days, medium/high expression at 28 days and no OPG and RANKL expression at 42 days. RANK expression started high and decreased continuously up to the last analyzed period. In the OVX/oil group, RANKL expression increased up to the completion of the analysis at 42 days, whereas RANK expression decreased within the studied period. OPG expression was observed in the beginning and the end of the analyzed period. The animals OVX/E2 showed similar labeling for OPG, RANK and RANKL at 14 days. RANKL expression was observed up to the end of the experiment. However, no OPG and RANK expression was detected at 28 and 42 days. Conclusion: These results demonstrate the role of E2 modulating the alveolar bone remodeling cycle.

A crescente complexidade dos programas de computador e o crescimento da carga de trabalho a qual eles são submetidos têm sido tendências recorrentes nos sistemas computacionais, em especial para sistemas distribuídos como aplicações web e sistemas corporativos. O aumento da carga de trabalho gera uma demanda por sistemas que façam melhor uso dos recursos computacionais disponíveis, enquanto a maior complexidade gera uma demanda por sistemas que se preocupem em minimizar o número de erros. Portanto, podem-se identificar dois objetivos a serem perseguidos pelos desenvolvedores de sistemas de software: melhorar o desempenho e aumentar a confiabilidade dos sistemas. A fim de alcançar os objetivos expostos, são desenvolvidos sistemas de monitoramento para automatizar a coleta e análise de dados sobre os sistemas computacionais alvo. O presente trabalho visa contribuir nos seguintes aspectos: na identificação dos dados relevantes para o monitoramento de aplicações distribuídas desenvolvidas para a plataforma Java; e na criação de uma ferramenta de monitoramento de aplicações distribuídas, explorando os novos recursos do JDK 1.5, bem como os recursos já disponíveis em Java, como carga dinâmica de classes e transformação de bytecodes A fim de avaliar a ferramenta proposta foram elaborados três estudos de caso: um utiliza uma aplicação existente sem necessidade de sua adaptação; outro avalia a sobrecarga da ferramenta frente a diferentes parâmetros; e o terceiro avalia o monitoramento de um sistema distribuído. Entende-se que a ferramenta atinge o objetivo de monitoramento de aplicações distribuídas, por meio da incorporação de técnicas e APIs distintas, ao permitir: o monitoramento de uma aplicação distribuída por meio do monitoramento de diversos nodos de tal aplicação concomitantemente; e a visualização das informações coletadas de forma online. Adicionalmente, a coleta simultânea de dados de diferentes nodos de uma aplicação distribuída pode ser útil para a descoberta de relações entre eventos que ocorrem durante a execução de tal aplicação. / The growing complexity of software and the increasing workload to which systems have been submitted are known trends in the computing system field, especially when distributed and web systems are considered. The increasing workload generates demand for systems that can make a better use of computing resources, while the increment of system complexity demands specific actions to prevent design faults. Therefore, software engineers have two main objectives to be concerned with: optimization and dependability. In order to accomplish these objectives, monitoring systems have been proposed to gather data from running systems so that their behavior can be analyzed. The present dissertation intends to contribute in the following domains: identifying relevant metrics for monitoring distributed Java applications; and developing a tool to monitor and profile distributed applications, using the new resources available in JDK 1 .5 as well as some already known techniques like dynamic classloading and bytecode instrumentation. In order to evaluate the proposed tool, three test cases have been developed: one with a well known application running without modification; another for evaluating the tools’ overhead in different scenarios; and a third one to evaluate a distributed application been monitored. We understand that the proposed tool is successful in monitoring distributed applications by the use of distinct APIs and techniques because: Nprof can monitor a distributed application by monitoring different nodes of the application simultaneously; and Nprof allows the online visualization of the collected data. Also, simultaneous collection of data from different nodes of a distributed application can be useful for discovering relations among events that occur during the execution of the application.