Background Based on the writers’ experiences, the ear thermometer is the most common method for temperature measurements, even though patients usually not are asked if they prefer it. No previous research about patients’ experiences of measurements with different thermometers was found.   Aim The aim of the study was to assess and compare patients' inconvenience and expected inconvenience, and preferences of different thermometers, totally and divided by gender and age.   Method A survey with 31 hospitalized patients in Central Sweden was conducted. The questionnaire contained questions about experienced and expected inconveniences from different types of thermometers. Data were analyzed using the Mann Whitney U-test and the results are descriptively presented.   Results Compared to oral and rectal thermometers, the ear thermometer was considered the least unpleasant. It was also the most preferred thermometer. The patients ranked the methods’ correctness as the most important characteristic. Regarding the different methods and also regarding experienced and expected inconveniences there were no statistically significant differences between age groups or between gender.   Conclusion Most participants preferred the ear thermometer before the rectal thermometer and the oral thermometer. The majority wanted a thermometer that was as precise as possible. More studies are needed to investigate differences between expectations and experiences of the thermometers. Studies that will conclude if there is a disparity between different age groups and gender are recommended. / Bakgrund Enligt författarnas erfarenhet är örontermometern idag den mest förekommande mätmetoden, vilken används även om patienterna inte blivit tillfrågade om de föredrar en annan metod. Ingen forskning kring patienternas upplevelser av olika temperaturmätningsmetoder står att finna.   Syfte Syftet var att undersöka patienters upplevda och förväntade obehag samt preferenser av temperaturmätningsmetoder, totalt sett och fördelat på köns- och åldersgrupper.   Metod En enkätstudie med 31 patienter på sjukhus i Mellansverige genomfördes. Enkäten innehöll frågor om bl.a. patientens upplevda och förväntade obehag av olika temperaturmätningsmetoder och om vilka karakteristika som var viktigast vid valet av termometer. Data analyserades med hjälp av Mann Whitney U-test och resultatet presenteras deskriptivt.   Resultat Örontermometer ansågs vara mindre obehaglig än oral och rektal temperaturmätning, och var också den mest föredragna mätmetoden. Patienterna ansåg att den viktigaste karakteristikan hos en mätmetod var att den var korrekt. Det fanns ingen statistiskt signifikant skillnad mellan ålders- eller könsgrupperna avseende obehag av de olika mätmetoderna eller mellan de som hade erfarenheter av mätmetoderna och de som skattade förväntat obehag av samma mätmetoder.   Slutsats De flesta patienter föredrog örontermometern framför rektal- och oraltermometern. Majoriteten ville också ha en termometer som är så korrekt som möjligt. Ytterligare studier för att undersöka om det finns en skillnad mellan patienters förväntningar och upplevelser av olika temperaturmätningsmetoder behövs. Även studier som kan utröna om det finns skillnader mellan olika åldersgrupper och mellan kvinnor och män rekommenderas.

Desde o desenvolvimento do laser pelo norte-americano Theodore Harold Maiman em 1960, inúmeras pesquisas têm sido realizadas com o objetivo de avaliar os efeitos sobre os tecidos dentais, principalmente os relacionados com o aumento de temperatura no interior da câmara pulpar. Esta pesquisa foi desenvolvida com o objetivo de avaliar a variação de temperatura em amostras de esmalte/dentina e dentina, após irradiação com os lasers de Nd:YAG, Er:YAG (Kavo KEY Laser®) e Er:YAG (Kavo KEY Laser® 3), através de análise com termômetro de radiação infravermelha. Foram selecionados 110 terceiros molares isentos de cárie, obtidos através do Banco de Dentes Permanentes Humanos que pertence à Faculdade de Odontologia da Universidade de São Paulo e o projeto de pesquisa foi aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa (CEP) com o parecer nº44/03. As coroas foram separadas das raízes por meio de um disco de carborundum e todas as coroas foram totalmente incluídas no interior de um tubo de PVC com resina transparente. Os cortes foram realizados no aparelho de corte Labcut, paralelamente ao longo eixo das coroas, no sentido mésio-distal, para obter 750 amostras, com 5 diferentes espessuras (1mm, 2mm, 3mm, 4mm e 5mm), sendo 350 amostras de esmalte/dentina e 400 amostras de dentina. Foi utilizado um termômetro de radiação infravermelha (MINIRAY 100 XL) para medição da variação de temperatura nos dois lados das amostras (frente e atrás), irradiadas em diferentes condições e parâmetros com os lasers de Nd:YAG, Er:YAG (Kavo KEY Laser®) e Er:YAG (Kavo KEY Laser® 3). Os resultados obtidos com todos os lasers e parâmetros demonstraram que a associação refrigeração + espessura das amostras foi estatisticamente significante, quanto à redução da variação de temperatura em comparação à associação ausência de refrigeração + espessura das amostras. Houve uma diminuição da variação da temperatura estatisticamente significante de acordo com as espessuras das amostras irradiadas sem refrigeração, porém não o suficiente para evitar grandes elevações de temperatura. No geral, as variações das temperaturas foram sempre maiores no lado da frente das amostras, independente do uso ou não de refrigeração. Para o laser de Nd:YAG, houve menores variações de temperatura, estatisticamente significante, nos grupos irradiados sem contato e sem a presença da tinta nanquim, independente da presença ou não de refrigeração. / The laser was developed in 1960 by Theodore Harold Maiman and many researches have been carried out with the aim to evaluate the effects on the dental tissues, mainly the effects related to the increase of temperature inside the pulp chamber. This research was developed with the purpose of evaluating the variance in temperature of the enamel/dentin and dentin samples after irradiation with Nd:YAG, Er:YAG (Kavo KEY Laser®) and Er:YAG (Kavo KEY Laser® 3) and an analysis with the infrared radiation thermometer was done. A hundred and ten teeth without dental caries were selected and obtained from the Human Permanent Teeth Bank that belongs to the Odontology College of the University of São Paulo and this research has been approved by the Ethic Research Committee (CEP), as the document n° 44/03 attests. The roots were separated from the crowns with the carburundum disc; all crowns were totally inserted inside a PVC tube with transparent resin and they were cut axially in the Labcut machine, in the mesio-distal way, to obtain 750 samples with five different thickness (1mm, 2mm, 3mm, 4mm e 5mm), 350 enamel/dentin samples and 400 dentin samples. An infrared radiation thermometer (MINIRAY 100XL) was used to measure the variance in temperature in both sides of the samples (front and behind), irradiated in different conditions and parameters with the Nd:YAG, Er:YAG (Kavo KEY Laser®) and Er:YAG (Kavo KEY Laser® 3). The results showed that the association of the refrigeration + samples’ thickness was statistically significant in the reduction of the variance in temperature when compared to the association of the refrigeration absence + samples’ thickness. There was a statistically significant reduction of the variance in temperature according to the the samples’ thickness irradiated without refrigeration, although it wasn’t enough to avoid high temperature increase. In general, the variance in temperature was always higher in the front of samples, whether there was refrigeration or not. For the Nd:YAG laser, there was a lower variance in temperature, statistically significant, in the groups that were irradiated without contact and black ink, whether there was refrigeration or not.

The genetic code is redundant, with most amino acids coded by multiple codons. In many organisms, codon usage is biased towards particular codons. A variety of adaptive and non-adaptive explanations have been proposed to explain these patterns of codon usage bias. Using mechanistic models of protein translation and population genetics, I explore the relative importance of various evolutionary forces in shaping these patterns. This work challenges one of the fundamental assumptions made in over 30 years of research: codons with higher tRNA abundances leads to lower error rates. I show that observed patterns of codon usage are inconsistent with selection for translation accuracy. I also show that almost all the variation in patterns of codon usage in S. cerevisiae can be explained by a model taking into account the effects of mutational biases and selection for efficient ribosome usage. In addition, by sampling suboptimal mRNA secondary structures at various temperatures, I show that melting of ribosomal binding sites in a special class of mRNAs known as RNA thermometers is a more general phenomenon.

Many environmental cues are thought to influence nest site selection by loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta, and much debate exists over the possible influence of sand temperature. This study had two primary objectives: (1) to measure thermal differences across transects of a major nesting beach of Casey Key (28.7 N, 82.3 W), Florida and (2) to evaluate thermal pattern variation that influenced nesting patterns of adult female loggerhead sea turtles. A secondary objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of infrared thermometers to collect sand surface temperatures in the field. Temperature data were collected from 145 nest events and 8 false crawls in the 2008 and 2009 nesting seasons. Infrared thermometers and thermocouple probes were used to obtain surface temperatures from the water, waterline, beach sand, body pit attempts, nest chamber attempts, eggs, and the surface of the gular skin of the nesting female, within the crawl track created by the female and at one meter adjacent to the crawl track (from undisturbed sand). Weather influences at the time of nesting were recorded, including the presence or absence of rain, wind, or clouds. Beach slope was measured using an angle locator. Temperature data from the infrared thermometer and the thermocouple probe were highly correlated, indicating that an infrared thermometer is an effective measurement tool on a nesting beach. In 2008, there was a significant difference between temperatures collected within the crawl tracks of false crawl events and nest events, indicating a potential for females to use thermal cues in choosing whether to false crawl or nest. In both nesting seasons, the sand temperature in the body pit and the surface of the gular skin of the nesting female were nearly identical, suggesting females may locate a suitable nest site using their skin temperature. Data collected at other loggerhead rookeries in the United States and Australia yielded similar results, however, variability in the use of temperature may arise seasonally, and according to different nesting environments. Rain, wind and cloud cover significantly thermally altered several locations on Casey Key, but it remains unclear if these weather events significant affect turtle nesting behavior. Additionally, crawl distance and beach slope were significantly, positively correlated. Gravid females most likely use multiple environmental cues to select a nest site. Assimilating information from multiple sources allows for the highest degree of adaptability, and future studies should consider implications for climate change and beach renourishment projects.

Desde o desenvolvimento do laser pelo norte-americano Theodore Harold Maiman em 1960, inúmeras pesquisas têm sido realizadas com o objetivo de avaliar os efeitos sobre os tecidos dentais, principalmente os relacionados com o aumento de temperatura no interior da câmara pulpar. Esta pesquisa foi desenvolvida com o objetivo de avaliar a variação de temperatura em amostras de esmalte/dentina e dentina, após irradiação com os lasers de Nd:YAG, Er:YAG (Kavo KEY Laser®) e Er:YAG (Kavo KEY Laser® 3), através de análise com termômetro de radiação infravermelha. Foram selecionados 110 terceiros molares isentos de cárie, obtidos através do Banco de Dentes Permanentes Humanos que pertence à Faculdade de Odontologia da Universidade de São Paulo e o projeto de pesquisa foi aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa (CEP) com o parecer nº44/03. As coroas foram separadas das raízes por meio de um disco de carborundum e todas as coroas foram totalmente incluídas no interior de um tubo de PVC com resina transparente. Os cortes foram realizados no aparelho de corte Labcut, paralelamente ao longo eixo das coroas, no sentido mésio-distal, para obter 750 amostras, com 5 diferentes espessuras (1mm, 2mm, 3mm, 4mm e 5mm), sendo 350 amostras de esmalte/dentina e 400 amostras de dentina. Foi utilizado um termômetro de radiação infravermelha (MINIRAY 100 XL) para medição da variação de temperatura nos dois lados das amostras (frente e atrás), irradiadas em diferentes condições e parâmetros com os lasers de Nd:YAG, Er:YAG (Kavo KEY Laser®) e Er:YAG (Kavo KEY Laser® 3). Os resultados obtidos com todos os lasers e parâmetros demonstraram que a associação refrigeração + espessura das amostras foi estatisticamente significante, quanto à redução da variação de temperatura em comparação à associação ausência de refrigeração + espessura das amostras. Houve uma diminuição da variação da temperatura estatisticamente significante de acordo com as espessuras das amostras irradiadas sem refrigeração, porém não o suficiente para evitar grandes elevações de temperatura. No geral, as variações das temperaturas foram sempre maiores no lado da frente das amostras, independente do uso ou não de refrigeração. Para o laser de Nd:YAG, houve menores variações de temperatura, estatisticamente significante, nos grupos irradiados sem contato e sem a presença da tinta nanquim, independente da presença ou não de refrigeração. / The laser was developed in 1960 by Theodore Harold Maiman and many researches have been carried out with the aim to evaluate the effects on the dental tissues, mainly the effects related to the increase of temperature inside the pulp chamber. This research was developed with the purpose of evaluating the variance in temperature of the enamel/dentin and dentin samples after irradiation with Nd:YAG, Er:YAG (Kavo KEY Laser®) and Er:YAG (Kavo KEY Laser® 3) and an analysis with the infrared radiation thermometer was done. A hundred and ten teeth without dental caries were selected and obtained from the Human Permanent Teeth Bank that belongs to the Odontology College of the University of São Paulo and this research has been approved by the Ethic Research Committee (CEP), as the document n° 44/03 attests. The roots were separated from the crowns with the carburundum disc; all crowns were totally inserted inside a PVC tube with transparent resin and they were cut axially in the Labcut machine, in the mesio-distal way, to obtain 750 samples with five different thickness (1mm, 2mm, 3mm, 4mm e 5mm), 350 enamel/dentin samples and 400 dentin samples. An infrared radiation thermometer (MINIRAY 100XL) was used to measure the variance in temperature in both sides of the samples (front and behind), irradiated in different conditions and parameters with the Nd:YAG, Er:YAG (Kavo KEY Laser®) and Er:YAG (Kavo KEY Laser® 3). The results showed that the association of the refrigeration + samples’ thickness was statistically significant in the reduction of the variance in temperature when compared to the association of the refrigeration absence + samples’ thickness. There was a statistically significant reduction of the variance in temperature according to the the samples’ thickness irradiated without refrigeration, although it wasn’t enough to avoid high temperature increase. In general, the variance in temperature was always higher in the front of samples, whether there was refrigeration or not. For the Nd:YAG laser, there was a lower variance in temperature, statistically significant, in the groups that were irradiated without contact and black ink, whether there was refrigeration or not.

This graduation thesis deals with temperature sensors and theirs connection to the microcontroller MCF52233. In the introductory chapters there is description of the principles and characteristics of the heat sensitive elements and theirs abilities of connection to the microcontrollers. Further there is a real proposal and description of the connection realization with sensors DS1620 (intelligent temperature sensor which communicates via serial synchronous link), DS18B20 (intelligent temperature sensor which communicates via 1-Wire bus), LM335 (precise temperature sensor) and KTY81-210 (resistance temperature sensor which is made of silicon). There was a need to create software for the communication between sensors and microcontroller MCF52233. Communication with the superior PC computer was done by USB interface. Software background was created to show temperature readings on the PC computer. Besides the realized USB communication there was done theoretical analysis of the communication via Ethernet bus. On the enclosed CD you can find testing software for the microcontroller and PC computer which allows you to get temperature values from sensors and show them on the screen of the PC computer.

Nowadays, the interest in smart appliances, which enable consumption reduction or consumption shifting approach, grows up. Such appliances can react to actual situation in the distributional network. From the energy distributor point of view, the activity of these appliances brings improvement of stability in the distribution network, while for the end customer there is possibility of the saving money. This thesis describes a transformation of standard fridge to smart fridge controlled by microcomputer Raspberry Pi. The smart fridge can communicate with supervisor system and according to its instructions change its behavior (temperature set point). The appliance can be manually controlled by a group of buttons, while its state can be visualized on the alphanumeric display. Last but not least way to control the appliance is through a web interface. The thesis also describes design of printed circuit board (PCB), which is designed for connection of all necessary sensors and actuators to Raspberry Pi. Software equipment is designed in the C++ program language.

The target of this work is to modernize air-conditioning control of the unit Thermal Chamber. The old air-conditioning unit will be renewed by replacing old one by new one, microcontroller-driven control unit, trough which it will be possible to show the current and desired temperature LCD. Theoretically description of the components and methods of measuring the temperature and environment for the creation of the microcontroller is shown before construction.

Fiber optic temperature sensing has become a well-defined field in the past few decades [1] through the use of Fiber Bragg Gratings, Fabry-Perot interferometry, and pyrometry, to list several techniques in use today.  The use of fiber optics offers significant advantages over electronic sensing in terms of size and insensitivity to harsh conditions such as extreme temperatures and corrosive environments.  The availability of optical sapphire materials, including fibers, has allowed the creation of fiber optic sensing elements able to continuously operate at temperatures of 1600"C [2] or more, thus outstripping the abilities of many commonly used thermocouples (excluding platinum types R, S, and B) [3] which will also exhibit a sensitivity to electromagnetic fields. In addition to the aforementioned benefits, fiber optic sensing techniques provide a great deal of accuracy in temperature measurement over the entire working range of the sensor. The work documented in this thesis consists of efforts to minimize the overall footprint of a sapphire based extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometry (EFPI) temperature sensing element, as well as strides made in multiplexing the same element and reducing the error potential from cross sensitivity of the thermometer with applied strain.  This work has been variously funded by Pratt & Whitney and the Department of Energy. / Master of Science

The primary goal of this work is to validate the visual analog screening scale Emotion Thermometer (ET) in patients with chronic non-cancer lower back pain. In addition, the work aimed to verify the presumed relationships of clinically significant anxiety, its related concepts and depression with chronic pain and to explore which factors predict decrease in level of function and presence of psychiatric diagnosis according to MINI in patients with chronic pain. In the first chapter, the theoretical part of the thesis deals with the description of the ET tool and a systematic overview of validation and empirical studies. The second chapter focuses on mapping the relationships between stable affective components of ET (distress, anxiety, depression, anger) and chronic pain. The empirical part of the work has a quantitative design and is realized in the form of observational analytical cross-sectional study, in which two hundred and eighty-one patients hospitalized at the Department of Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine of the 2nd Faculty of Medicine at Charles University and at the University Hospital in Motol participated. Participants of the study underwent a clinical examination in the form of an interview and a questionnaire survey. 16 % of the participants met the MINI criteria for major...