Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Rrop'

En mai 2000, Émil Scuka, président de l'Union rromani internationale appelait à la reconnaissance internationale de la nation rrom, nation d'un type original, sans État et sans territoire. Pour le mouvement politique rrom international la demande de reconnaissance nationale représente un moyen d'améliorer le sort de leur peuple frappé depuis des siècles par l'ostracisme et la misère. A l'heure de l'élargissement de l'Union européenne, à partir de l'analyse de la situation des Rroms en Roumanie, en République tchèque et en France, cette thèse vise à expliciter les raisons d'une telle revendication. Elle présente le mouvement rrom dans sa diversité, ses forces, ses faiblesses, ses contradictions et son devenir<br>In May 2000, Emil Scuka, President of the International Rromani Union, called for international recognition and acknowledgement of the Roma nation, a unique nation without a state or territory. For the international Roma political movement, acknowledgement as a nation represents a way to improve the fate of the population, which for centuries has been struck by ostracism and misery. Today when the European Union is growing, by analysing the situation of Roma in Romania, the Czech Republic and France, this thesis aims at explaining the reasons for such a claim. It presents the Roma movement in all its diversity, its strengths, weaknesses, contradictions and prospect

Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-02T00:03:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 tese_10151_bruno borlini - rro___uma_ontologia_sobre_o_uso_de_requisitos_de_software_em_tempo_de_execucao_2016.pdf: 2479067 bytes, checksum: 563c4375b3b85c3e6c8a29cfa508493f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-08-25<br>Nos últimos anos, temos assistido um constante aumento de interesse em sistemas de software que são capazes de monitorar seu meio de execução e, se necessário, adaptar seus requisitos para continuar cumprindo seu propósito. Esse tipo de software normalmente consiste em um software base, comumente chamado na literatura de target system, que é responsável por executar a função principal para qual foi desenvolvido; além de um software, interno ou externo, responsável por monitorar o software base, realizar uma análise dos dados coletados para verificar se os requisitos que foram originalmente propostos estão sendo cumpridos e, se necessário, reagir sugerindo adaptações para garantir que o sistema base continue executando suas funções principais de forma satisfatória. Existem na literatura diversos trabalhos que propõem o uso de requisitos em tempo de execução, como sistemas adaptativos ou autônomos. No entanto, dentro desse contexto, a maioria das propostas usam suas próprias linguagens de modelagem e metodologias para representar o que são os requisitos de sistema e como utilizá-los em tempo de execução. Não há, assim, um senso comum no domínio de uso de requisitos em tempo de execução, resultando numa sobrecarga excessiva de termos e construtos. Essa falta de consenso dentro do domínio apresentado e os problemas de comunicação gerados pela falta de um vocabulário formal e bem fundamentado foram as motivações principais para que fosse realizado um estudo sistemático sobre as diversas metodologias existentes na literatura de requisitos em tempo de execução e através do conhecimento adquirido fosse construída a RRO (Runtime Requirements Ontology), uma ontologia de referência de domínio sobre o uso de requisitos em tempo de execução. RRO foi construída através da metodologia de construção de ontologias SABiO e é fundamentada em UFO com objetivo atuar como uma representação formal do conhecimento dentro do domínio de requisitos em tempo de execução, fornecendo, desta maneira, uma descrição precisa de todas as entidades principais que compõem o domínio e estabelecendo um vocabulário comum para ser utilizado por engenheiros de software e stakeholders.

Aquesta tesi aporta una etnografia sobre el model de procreació rrom de les comunitats de Murgeni i Ţăndărei de Romania en context de destí migratori, a l´Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona, a Catalunya. Un model procreatiu propi que segueix uns requeriments ideològics determinats amb la finalitat última d’assolir la supervivència de la descendència i la incorporació d’aquesta al grup dels qui anomenen parents. La seva estructura que està formada per diferents àmbits relacionats i conté idees i pràctiques rrom que tenen el propòsit que el fill o la filla es formi, es desenvolupi i s´adscrigui al grup. El model de procreació rrom segueix la definició del domini del parentiu proposat per González Echevarría (1995, 2005, 2010). Per comprendre quines són les representacions i pràctiques centrals de la procreació en la cultura gitana és necessari considerar aquells elements significatius de la societat rrom de Romania transversals a tot el seu sistema i, per tant també, en la procreació. Els rrom necessiten d’un model mal·leable que s´adapti a situacions d’adversitat com el desplaçament continu, la migració, o el canvi en les solidaritats o vincles socials amb altres grups. És així com, per una banda, aquesta tesi descriu l’estructura i segmentació social que és flexible i varia segons el context, adaptant-se a diferents situacions històriques, geogràfiques, socials i polítiques sovint poc favorables o hostils. Per aquesta raó, i a partir de casos etnogràfics, presenta aquelles qüestions sobre adscripció ètnica que delimiten el món gitano del món gadje (no gitano), però també aquelles altres fronteres socials que es donen en la societat gitana a partir d’una segmentació interna establerta. D´altra banda, també fa referència a la tradició i la Llei gitana com a eixos reguladors de la vida social. Endinsar-nos en aquells elements de la tradició gitana ens aporta comprensió sobre la construcció de la identitat rrom i contenen el que és essencial i dóna sentit a la identitat gitana. La Llei gitana com articulació normativa regula les relacions internes dels rrom, també envers altres grups gitanos i especialment amb els gadje. I és basa, en gran mesura, en la ideologia de la contaminació que delimita i regula el món dels gitanos, imprescindible per assolir la romipēn (gitaneïtat). També, en el model procreatiu rrom intervenen les principals representacions, coneixements i pràctiques relacionades amb la sexualitat, la reproducció i vinculades a la noció de grup com també qüestions sobre Déu, descendència, contracepció i avortaments. Finalment, a partir de la descripció detallada i l’anàlisi del procés procreatiu, que compren la concepció, l’embaràs i el moment del part fins al primer més de vida del nounat, es deixen veure aquelles nocions que són clau i estan vinculades amb el model de parentiu rrom pensat per promoure la continuïtat del grup amb la criança dels infants.<br>This thesis provides an ethnography on the model of Romani procreation of the Murgeni and Ţăndărei communities in Romania in the context of migratory destiny, in the Metropolitan area of ​​Barcelona, ​​in Catalonia, Spain. Their own procreative model which follows specific ideological requirements with the ultimate purpose of achieving the survival of their offspring, and its incorporation in the group of those who are called their relatives. Its structure, which is made up of different related areas, and which contains Romani ideas and practices whose aim is their children’s formation, development and secondment to the group. The model of Romani procreation follows the definition of the domain of kinship proposed by González Echevarría (1995, 2005, 2010). In order to understand what the main representations and practices of procreation in the Gypsy culture are, it is necessary to consider those meaningful elements of the Romani society of Romania that are transversal throughout its system and, therefore, also in procreation. The Romani need a malleable model that can be adapted to situations of adversity such as continuous movement, migration, or changes in solidarity or social links with other groups. This is how, on the one hand, this thesis describes the structure and social segmentation that is flexible and varies according to the context, fitting into different historical, geographical, social and political situations that are often unfavorable or hostile. For this reason, and based on ethnographic cases, not only those questions about ethnic affiliation that make a boundary between the Gypsy world of the Gadje (non-Gypsy) world are introduced , but also those other social boundaries that occur in the Gypsy society based on an established internal segmentation . On the other hand, it also refers to the tradition and the Gypsy Law as the regulatory axes of social life. Going deep down into those elements of the Gypsy tradition gives us an understanding of the construction of the Romani identity and contains what is essential and gives meaning to the Gypsy identity. The Gypsy Law as a normative articulation regulates the internal relationships among the Romani, also among other Gypsy groups and especially with the Gadje. And it is based, to a large extent, on the ideology of pollution that delimits and regulates the world of the Gypsies, which is essential to achieve romipēn (“gypsiness”). Furthermore, the main representations, knowledge and practice related to sexuality and reproduction which are linked to the notion of group, as well as questions about God, offspring, contraception and abortion, are involved in the Romani procreative model. Finally, from the detailed description and analysis of the procreative process, which begins from the conception, pregnancy and the moment of birth until the first month of life of the newborn, we can see those notions that are key and are linked to the kinship model of the Romani designed to promote the continuity of the group with the raising of their children.

Se realiza el empleo de las proteínas recombinantes r12D3 Y rRAP – 1 como antígeno contra Babesia bigemina en el uso de la prueba de iELISA<br>Al Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP) a través del proyecto No. 1-1.6-1373533989-P-M.2-2 "Desarrollo de pruebas de diagnóstico rápido para la babesiosis bovina” a cargo del Dr. Julio Vicente Figueroa Millán

O Toxoplasma gondii é um parasita intracelular obrigatório que acomete todos os animais homeotermos e o homem. O consumo de carne suína crua ou mal cozida contendo cistos é considerada uma das mais importantes fontes de infecção para o ser humano. Assim, o desenvolvimento de vacinas, objetivando a proteção contra a formação de cistos teciduais, pode contribuir para o controle do T. gondii. O objetivo do presente estudo foi valiar a resposta imune e a proteção contra a presença do Toxoplasma gondii em tecidos de suínos imunizados com proteínas nativas de roptrias e proteína recombinante (rROP2) do T. gondi, pelas vias intranasal e intramuscular. No primeiro experimento, foram utilizados 13 suínos mestiços, divididos em três grupos, G1 (n=6) receberam proteínas de roptrias (200 µg) associadas ao Quil-A (50 µg), G2 (n=4) e G3 (n=3) receberam Quil-A (50 µg) e PBS, respectivamente. Os tratamentos foram administrados em intervalos de 21 dias pela via nasal. Sete dias após a última dose da vacina dois animais do G1 foram eutanasiados para coleta de linfonodos mesentéricos e os demais animais do G1 foram desafiados com 103 oocistos infectantes da cepa VEG e abatidos 45 dias após o desafio. A imunidade humoral (IgG e IgM) e a imunidade celular foram avaliadas pelo o Ensaio Imunoenzimatico Indireto (ELISA) e por proliferação de linfócitos, respectivamente, e a presença de cistos nos cérebros dos suínos foi avaliada pela técnica de bioensaio em camundongos. Em conclusão, a imunização em suínos pela via nasal com proteínas de roptrias e Quil-A como adjuvante foi capaz de estimular alta resposta celular em linfócitos de linfonodos mesentéricos e proteção parcial contra a formação de cistos cerebrais. No segundo experimento foram utilizados 12 suínos mestiços, divididos em três grupos, G1 (n=4) receberam proteínas recombinantes ROP2 do T. gondii (200 µg) associadas ao ISCOMATRIX, G2 (n=4) e G3 (n=4) receberam ISCOMATRIX e PBS, respectivamente. Todos os tratamentos foram administrados pela via nasal nos dias 0, 14, 28, 42, 56 e 72 e pela via intramuscular nos dias 86, 93 e 100. No dia 110 todos os animais foram desafiados com 4x104 oocistos infectantes da cepa VEG. A imunidade humoral (IgG, IgM e IgA) foi avaliada utilizando ELISA e a presença de T. gondii no sangue e tecidos (língua, masseter, coração e diafragma) foi avaliada pela técnica de bioensaio em camundongos. Todos os animais do G1 produziram anticorpos (IgG, IgM e IgA) acima do ponto de corte, no dia do desafio. Animais do G2 e G3 permaneceram com títulos abaixo do ponto de corte antes do desafio. Após o desafio foi observado produção de altos títulos de anticorpos produzidos nos animais imunizados e soro conversão observada em nove dias pós desafio nos animais do grupo controle e foi observado proteção parcial contra a presença do T. gondii nos tecidos. Como conclusão as proteínas de roptrias do T. gondii administradas pela via nasal com Quil-A estimularam a resposta imune celular intestinal e as proteínas recombinantes do T. gondii administradas pela via intramuscular com ISCOMATRIX estimularam a produção de altos títulos de anticorpos em suínos e em ambos os estudos foram verificadas a proteção parcial contra a presença de cistos teciduais do T. gondii. Para um melhor estímulo da resposta imune, estudos sobre imunização em suínos envolvendo duas ou mais proteínas recombinantes do T. gondii associadas na mesma vacina devem ser avaliadas no futuro, além de estudos sobre imunizações objetivando a redução de lesões oculares causadas pelo Toxoplasma gondii em suínos.<br>Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that affects all warm-blooded animals and humans. Pork meat containing tissue cysts is considered one of the most important routes of transmission to humans. Vaccination of domestic animals, aiming to reduce the number of tissue cysts, may be one of the strategies for the control of T. gondii. The aim of this study was evaluate the immune response and protection against the presence of Toxoplasma gondii in tissues of pigs immunized with crude rhoptry proteins and recombinant proteins (rROP2) of T. gondii by intranasal and intramuscular route. In the first experiment we used 13 mixed-breed pigs divided into the following three groups: G1 (vaccinated-challenged, n = 6), which received the rhoptry vaccine (200 (g/dose); G2 (adjuvant-challenged, n = 4), which received PBS plus Quil-A; and G3 (unvaccinated-challenged, n = 3), which was the control group. The treatments were performed intranasally at days 0, 21, and 42. Three pigs from G1 produced IgG and IgM antibody levels above the cut-off in the ELISA on the challenge day. Partial protection was observed in G1 at the chronic phase of infection when compared with G3. The preventable fractions were 41.6% and 6.5%, in G1 and G2, respectively. The results of this study suggest that rhoptry proteins plus Quil-A stimulated humoral, local, and systemic immune responses, which were able to partially protect the brain from cyst formation. In the second experiment we used 12 mixed-breed pigs divided into three groups, G1 (vaccinated-challenged, n=4) received recombinant ROP2 proteins (200&#61549;g/ dose), G2 (adjuvant-challenged, n=4) received PBS plus Quil-A, and G3 (unvaccinated-challenged, n=3) was considered control group. The treatments were performed at days 0, 14, 28, 42, 56 e 72 by intranasal route and days 86, 93 e 100 by intramuscular route. At day 110, all animals of this study were challenged with 4x104 infective oocysts of the VEG strain. The animals were examined daily for clinical signs. Humoral immune response (IgG, IgM and IgA) were evaluated weekly by Indirect Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). The presence of T. gondii in blood and tissues (tongue, masseter muscle, heart and diaphragm) was assessed by bioassay in mice. All the animals of G1 produced antibodies (IgG, IgM and IgA) above the cut-off point on the day of challenge. The G2 and G3 remained with titers below the cut-off point before the challenge. It was observed high production of antibodies titersin immunized animals and seroconversion atday 9 after challenge in the animals from control group. Partial protection against presence of T. gondii in tissues was observed. For better stimulation of the immune response, immunization studies in pigs involving two or more recombinant proteins of T. gondii associated in the same vaccine should be evaluated in the future. Studies of immunization aiming to reduce eye damage caused by Toxoplasma gondii in pigs should also be encouraged.

La migración de población rrom/gitana rumana ha sido indudablemente, en las últimas décadas, un fenómeno socialmente relevante en Catalunya y España, como en otros países. Es un proceso con características distintivas, sobre todo por una situación de exclusión y marginación ya sufrida en origen, donde la discriminación ha sido la tónica dominante. Este aspecto, excepcional entre las poblaciones inmigradas a Catalunya, se ha visto reproducido en el contexto post-migratorio, con una alta vulnerabilidad y dificultad de acceso a derechos y recursos derivada de la situación de irregularidad y desigualdad. Ello se combina, además, con imaginarios negativos intensos, hasta el punto de que es posible afirmar que esta población es una de las más estigmatizadas en este contexto, objeto al tiempo de visibilidad e invisibilidad; de un conjunto de políticas, prácticas y discursos que la constituyen como “problema”, pero que al mismo tiempo se nutren de esa categorización esencialista y homogeneizadora, la invisibilidad forzada y el desconocimiento de sus condiciones de vida. Sin embargo, estas dinámicas han sido aún poco investigadas, a pesar de esas exclusiones (mantenidas e incluso reforzadas) y de lo urgente y necesario de ese saber. No existe claramente, al menos en este contexto, un corpus articulado de conocimiento y una contrastación suficiente que permitan una aproximación fundamentada. Y algo parecido pasa con la intervención -cuando la hay-, que adolece frecuentemente ya no sólo de una falta de reflexividad crítica y comprensión de las condiciones, diversidades y especificidades de la población y su contexto, sino también de una escasísima participación de esta y de una ausencia de impactos positivos tangibles. Este trabajo pretende contribuir a ese conocimiento desde varias perspectivas. Primero, trazando un esbozo de la situación y su evolución en España y Cataluña, poniendo en relación múltiples fuentes y contrastándolas con un periodo de investigación e intervención prolongada con la población, particularmente aquella en situación de pobreza y exclusión. En ese sentido, es la expresión de un estudio de caso etnográfico, llevado a cabo en el Área Metropolitana de Barcelona durante más de 10 años, apoyado sobre todo, aunque no sólo, por datos cualitativos obtenidos mediante observación participante. Incorpora, aparte de otros transversales, temas específicos (estrategias de subsistencia, vivienda y movilidad), fundamentales para entender los procesos de marginación. También contextualiza y establece la conexión entre las condiciones históricas, migratorias, de origen y de destino, acudiendo no sólo a la bibliografía u otras fuentes, sino también al análisis discursivo y de los marcos legales. Y desde una perspectiva longitudinal, dado que se ha desarrollado paralelamente, por ejemplo, a la incorporación de Rumanía a la UE o la “crisis económica”. Aunque tiene un especial arraigo local, es en este contexto global donde tiene más sentido constatar que la continuidad de las prácticas de exclusión y las estrategias de subsistencia y resistencia son también dependientes de lo cotidiano. Finalmente, presenta tanto una vertiente vinculada a la construcción teórica en el ámbito de la marginalidad como una aplicada, formulando reflexiones e interrogantes sobre la intervención y la investigación. Las “fronteras en la ciudad” a las que refiere el título pretenden, por tanto, servir como una metáfora (muy tangible) que entrelaza diferentes cuestiones respecto a esta población y contexto. Constituyen un buen ejemplo de cómo imágenes sociales, prácticas cotidianas y gobernanza multinivel contribuyen para generar y mantener marcos que afectan profundamente a una población europea móvil, significativamente marginalizada étnica y socioeconómicamente. Ello implica situaciones, cambios, permanencias y resistencias que merece la pena explorar, sobre todo para superarlas: para que se materialicen en condiciones dignas, hoy ausentes para parte significativa de los rroma inmigrados.<br>The migration of Romanian Roma population has undoubtedly been, in recent decades, a socially relevant phenomenon in Catalonia and Spain, as it has in other countries. It is a process of distinctive characteristics, above all due to a situation of exclusion and marginalization that can be traced back to their origin locations, where discrimination has been the dominant trend. This aspect, exceptional among immigrant populations in Catalonia, has been reproduced in the post-migration context, with a high vulnerability and difficulty in accessing rights and resources derived from the situation of irregularity and inequality. It is combined, in addition, with intense negative imaginaries, to the point that it is possible to affirm that this population is one of the most stigmatized in this context, subject at the same time to visibility and invisibility; to a set of policies, practices and discourses that constitute it as a "problem", but that at the same time are nourished by that essentializing and homogenizing categorization, the forced invisibility and the ignorance of their living conditions. However, these dynamics have still been little investigated, despite these exclusions (which have been maintained and even reinforced) and the urgency and necessity of this knowledge. In this context, at least, there is not a clearly articulated corpus of data and a sufficient corroboration that allows a grounded approach. Something similar arises in the intervention -if there is one-, which frequently suffers not only from a lack of critical reflexivity and understanding of the conditions, diversities and specificities of the population and its context, but also from a very low participation of it and of an absence of tangible positive impacts. This work aims to contribute to that knowledge from several perspectives. First, drawing an outline of the situation and its evolution in Spain and Catalonia, linking multiple sources and contrasting them with a period of research and prolonged intervention with the population, particularly those in a situation of poverty and exclusion. In that sense, it is the expression of an ethnographic case study, carried out in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona over more than 10 years, supported above all, though not only, by qualitative data obtained through participant observation. It incorporates, apart from other cross-cutting issues, specific topics (subsistence, housing and mobility strategies), which are fundamental for understanding the processes of marginalization. It also contextualizes and establishes the connection between historical, migratory, origin and destination conditions, not only referring to bibliography or other sources, but also to discursive analysis and legal frameworks. And it does so from a longitudinal perspective, since it has been developed in parallel, for example, with the incorporation of Romania to the EU or the development of the "economic crisis". Although it has a local rooting, it is in this global context that it makes more sense to note that the continuity of exclusionary practices and subsistence and resistance strategies are also dependent on the everyday experiences. Finally, it presents both a component linked to theoretical construction in the field of marginality and an applied one, formulating reflections and questions about intervention and research. The "borders within the city" to which the title refers, therefore, serve as a (very tangible) metaphor that interweaves different issues regarding this population and context. They constitute a good example of how social images, daily practices and multilevel governance contribute to generate and maintain frameworks that profoundly affect a mobile European population, significantly marginalized ethnically and socioeconomically. This implies situations, changes, continuities and resistances that are worth exploring, especially to overcome them: to materialize in decent conditions, absent today for a significant part of the immigrant Roma.

Introduction: Juvenile onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (JoRRP) is the commonest benign paediatric neoplasm. There is no curative treatment, but the condition is self-limiting. Current primary treatment is aimed at symptomatic relief, comprising of serial surgical debulking of obstructive papillomas along the respiratory tract, with voice preservation. Adjuvant therapy is indicated in severe cases. Objective: A review of children with JoRRP presenting to the ENT Department at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital (RCWMCH) over 2 years. Evaluation of the pattern of disease and factors that may contribute to disease severity were reviewed. Method: Retrospective folder review of children with histologically confirmed laryngeal papillomatosis over above the time period. Results: Twenty children were included. Nine were male, 11 were female. The median age at diagnosis was 2.4 years (11 - 109 months). Presentation at < 3 years was noted in 5/7 of the most severe cases. Nine of 20 were HPV serotyped; 5 were type 11, and 4 were type 6. Eighty percent (16/20) were HIV negative; 10% (2/20) HIV positive; and 10% (2/20) were unknown. A total of 90 surgical procedures were performed; the highest number of surgeries per child was 13. Inter-surgical time was 1 to 164 weeks (median 9 weeks). Four received Gardasil vaccination as adjuvant therapy, 3 of who showed a reduction in disease severity. Conclusion: JoRRP commonly presents around the first 3 years of life. Severe cases can be life-threatening, often with multiple hospital admissions for clearance of surgical papillomata. Severe cases presented before 3 years. Gardasil vaccination as adjuvant therapy has promise. No identifiable risk factors in our review were noted. HIV co-infection and HPV type were not risk factors for severity.

Neste trabalho foi estudada a atividade eletrocatalítica dos eletrocatalisadores nanoestruturados de Ru, Ir, Hf ou La suportados em carbono Printex 6L frente à Reação de Redução de Oxigênio (RRO) em meio ácido. Inicialmente analisou-se a influência do Método de Impregnação e dos Precursores Poliméricos (MPP), também conhecido como Pechini para os eletrocatalisadores RuO2/C e IrO2/C. Ficou evidente neste estudo, que os materiais obtidos pelo MPP apresentaram uma maior eficiência de corrente para a eletrogeração de H2O2 quando comparado ao método da Impregnação. Na etapa seguinte, os eletrocatalisadores HfO2/C e LaONO3/C foram preparados apenas pelo MPP. As propriedades estruturais, morfológicas e de superfície foram investigadas por meio das técnicas de caracterização DRX, FRX, MET, XPS e TG. De acordo com os dados de DRX e MET, verificou-se que o método de incorporação do metal no carbono Printex 6L favoreceu a formação dos óxidos nanoestruturados. Ademais, foi verificado que os eletrocatalisadores obtidos pelo método de Pechini apresentam menores tamanho de cristalitos (1 a 5 nm), melhor distribuição dos óxidos sobre a matriz de carbono (menos aglomerados) e menores tamanhos de partículas. O comportamento eletroquímico dos eletrocatalisadores foi avaliado através das voltametrias lineares (curvas de polarização) obtidas pelo eletrodo de disco anel rotatório (RRDE). Os resultados obtidos pelas voltametrias lineares, cálculos de eficiência de corrente de H2O2 (H2O2 %), número total de elétrons trocados (nt) e de Koutecký-Levich mostraram que a incorporação dos eletrocatalisadores (Ru e Ir) no carbono Printex 6L obtidos por ambos os métodos de síntese influenciaram negativamente na eletrogeração de H2O2. Neste caso, os eletrocatalisadores de Ru e Ir apresentaram uma tendência ao mecanismo via 4 elétrons, ou seja, geração de H2O como produto final da RRO. Os resultados mostraram ainda que os eletrocatalisadores contendo maiores teores de Hf, apresentaram maiores eficiência de corrente para H2O2 quando comparado ao carbono Printex 6L, uma vez que o catalisador contendo 15 % de Hf apresentou valores de eficiência de corrente de H2O2 próximos a 80 % e número de elétrons de 2,4. Além disso, foi observado também um deslocamento no potencial de aproximadamente 200 mV para valores mais positivos, o que significa um menor consumo energético em termos de eletrogeração de H2O2. Para os eletrocatalisadores à base de La, a amostra contendo 7% apresentou uma melhor eficiência de corrente de H2O2, com valores próximos a 87% e número de elétrons de 2,3, além de um deslocamento do potencial de aproximadamente 250 mV para valores mais positivos. Pode-se inferir então, que os eletrocatalisadores de Hf e La obtidos pelo método de Pechini são promissores para utilização em Eletrodos de Difusão Gasosa (EDG) visando a eletrogeração in situ de H2O2, visto que apresentam uma tendência a mecanismo via 2 elétrons.<br>In the present work, the electrocatalytic activity of nanostructured electrocatalysts based on Ru, Ir, Hf or La supported in Printex L6 front of Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) in an acid medium were studied. Initially, the influence of impregnation methods and polymeric precursors (MPP), also known as Pechini for the electrocatalysts RuO2/C and IrO2/C, was analyzed. It was evidenced in this study, that the materials obtained by MPP presented bigger efficiency for H2O2 electrogeneration when compared to the impregnation method. In the following stage, the electrocatalysts HfO2/C and LaONO3/C were prepared only by MPP. The structural properties and surface morphology were investigated by means of the characterization techniques DRX, FRX, TEM, XPS and TG. According to the XRD and TEM data, it was found that the method of metal incorporation in Printex 6L carbon promoted the formation of nanostructured oxides. Moreover, it was verified that the electrocatalysts obtained by Pechini\'s method presented smaller crystallite size (1 to 5 nm), better distribution of the oxides on the carbon matrix (fewer clusters) and smaller particle sizes. The electrochemical behavior of the electrocatalysts were evaluated by linear voltammetry (polarization curves) obtained by rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE). The results obtained by linear voltammetry, calculations of current efficiency of H2O2 (H2O2 %), total number of exchanged electrons (nt) and of Koutecký-Levich showed that the incorporation of the electrocatalysts (Ru and Ir) in Printex 6L carbon obtained by both methods of synthesis influenced negatively on the electrogeneration of H2O2. In that case, the Ru and Ir electrocatalysts showed a tendency to a 4 electrons mechanism, that is, generation of H2O as final product of the ORR. The results also showed that the electrocatalysts containing higher Hf content, presented higher current efficiency for H2O2 when compared to carbon Printex L6, since that the catalyst containing 15% of Hf presented values of current efficiency for H2O2 around 80% and number of electrons of 2.4. Furthermore, a potential displacement for positive values of approximately 200 mV was also observed which means lower energy consumption in terms of H2O2 electrogeneration. For the La based electrocatalysts, the sample containing 7% showed better current efficiency for H2O2, with values near 87% and number of electrons of 2.3, besides a potential displacement of approximately 250 mV for more values positive. It can be inferred that the Hf and La electrocatalysts obtained by Pechini\'s method are promising for use in Gas Diffusion Electrodes (GDE) aiming in situ electrogeneration of H2O2, since they exhibit a tendency to a mechanism via 2 electrons.

Eletrocatalisadores baseados em Pd/C, PdCu/C, PdNi/C e PdAg/C foram produzidos pelo método de micro-ondas para serem utilizados como cátodo na célula a combustível alcalina na ausência e presença de álcool. Este método se mostrou bastante efetivo para a produção dos materiais, uma vez que as partículas apresentaram boa dispersão no suporte de carbono e produziram eletrocatalisadores com tamanho de partícula em torno de 3,5 nm, de acordo com as análises de DRX e MET. A partir das voltametrias cíclicas observa-se que para os eletrocatalisadores de PdCu/C e PdNi/C quanto maior a quantidade de Cu ou Ni, respectivamente, maior a área ativa do material estudado. Análises de disco anel rotatório foram realizadas nos eletrocatalisadores demonstrando que, independente da composição estudada, a quantidade produzida de peróxido foi de no máximo 4%. Estes dados corroboram com as inclinação das retas nas análises de Koutecky-Levich, uma vez que em ambos os casos a RRO ocorre via 4 elétrons. Análises de estabilidade dos materiais demonstraram que todos eles mantiveram ou melhoraram seu desempenho diante da RRO, quando se compara os dados obtidos antes e depois de 1000 ciclos voltamétricos. Testes de tolerância ao metanol e etanol foram realizados em meia célula com todas as composições de eletrocatalisadores produzidos. Na presença tanto de metanol quanto de etanol as composições atômica de 50:50, para todos os materiais estudados, foram as que demonstraram menor influência da presença do álcool durante a varredura linear da RRO. Nas medidas realizadas em célula unitária, com relação à tolerância ao metanol durante a RRO, o eletrocatalisador que demonstrou melhor desempenho foi o PdAg/C 70:30 enquanto que na presença de etanol o eletrocatalisador que demonstrou melhor desempenho foi o PdNi/C 70:30.<br>Pd/C, PdCu/C, PdNi/C and PdAg/C electrocatalysts were produced by microwave method to be used as cathode in alkaline fuel cell in the absence and presence of alcohol. This method showed to be effective for the materials production, the particles exhibited good dispersion in carbon support and it produced electrocatalysts with a particle size of about 3.5 nm, according to XRD and TEM analysis. In cyclic voltammetry is observed that PdCu/C and PdNi/C electrocatalysts has higher active area with higher amount of Cu and Ni, respectively. Rotating ring disk analysis in the electrocatalysts showed that the amount of peroxide produced was at most 4%. This data is similar to Koutecky-Levich analysis, once for both the ORR occurs via 4 electrons. Materials stability analysis showed that they kept or improve performance in ORR, comparing the data before and after 1000 voltammetric cycles. Tolerance tests in methanol and ethanol were performed in a half cell in all electrocatalysts compositions. In presence of methanol and ethanol the compositions 50:50, to all materials studied, showed less influence in the presence of alcohol in ORR linear scan. In alkaline fuel cell PdAg/C 70:30 showed better performance for ORR in presence of methanol and PdNi/C 70:30 showed better performance for ORR in ethanol presence.

Rapid repeat pregnancy (RRP) is associated with adverse maternal and infant outcomes and a range of undesirable social and economic challenges for the mother, her baby, and society. Although the consequences of RRP are well known, Zimbabwe—a country with some of the poorest maternal health indicators—has not investigated or made efforts to directly address this problem. This is confirmed by the lack of targeted programs to curb RRP, the unavailability of documented evidence regarding RRP significant risk factors, and the lack of understanding of the extent of RRP in the country. Using social cognitive theory as the theoretical framework, an unmatched case-control study was conducted using data from the Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey of 2015 to determine the prevalence of RRP and to assess associations between sociodemographic, sexual-relational, women's health, fertility preference, previous birth outcomes, and social factors and having an RRP in Zimbabwe. Logistic regression analysis showed statistically significant associations between all factors except for women's health characteristics. The prevalence of RRP among women of reproductive age (15–49 years) in Zimbabwe was 50.2%. The high prevalence of RRP and the multiple statistically significant associations reported in this study affirm the need for Zimbabwe to make prevention of RRP a public health priority. Zimbabwe must develop targeted interventions that work in context and integrate these into an ongoing comprehensive family planning program. In-depth research is needed to establish and understand the underlying motivations for having an RRP among Zimbabwean women. Such information may help develop targeted interventions to create social change.

La fabrication de matériaux hybrides, combinant sans les altérer les propriétés de leurs différents constituants, est au cœur de la recherche en nanosciences. Parmi les différents types de nanomatériaux envisagés à cette fin, les nanotubes de carbone sont des objets prometteurs en raison de leurs propriétés optiques, de conductivité et de leur fonctionnalisation, pour la catalyse, l’électronique et l’optoélectronique. Dans la première partie de cette thèse, des structures hybrides supramoléculaires à base de nanotubes de carbone multi-parois et de macrocycles (porphyrines, phtalocyanine ou corrole) de cobalt et/ou de fer ont été formées et testées comme catalyseurs pour la réduction du dioxygène. La méthode de fonctionnalisation non covalente employée (couplage de Hay et click-chemistry) préserve au mieux les propriétés électroniques des nanotubes et assure la stabilité de l’assemblage obtenu. Grâce à leurs propriétés d’émission dans la région proche infrarouge, les nanotubes de carbone mono-paroi présentent un intérêt en optique et en optoélectronique. Cependant, leur extrême sensibilité au milieu les environnant entrave leur utilisation. La fabrication de matériaux hybrides, préservant leur propriété optique et facilitant leur manipulation est alors primordiale. La deuxième partie de cette thèse est consacrée à la fonctionnalisation de nanotubes de carbone mono-paroi en vue de leur utilisation en optoélectronique. A cet effet, une synthèse de coquille, composée de polymères amphiphiles, protégeant les nanotubes de carbone de leur environnement et facilitant leur solubilité en milieu aqueux, sera réalisée<br>The production of hybrid materials, combining the properties of their different building blocks without altering them, is a central issue of nanoscience. Among the different classes of nanomaterials being considered for this purpose, carbon nanotubes are an outstanding class of materials due to their optical, conductivity and their functionalization properties, that can be used for various applications in catalysis, electronics and optoelectronics. In the first part of this thesis, supramolecular hybrid structures based on multi-walled carbon nanotubes and macrocycles (porphyrins, phthalocyanine or corrole) containing cobalt and/or iron ions have been performed and tested as catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The non-covalent functionalization methods (based on either Hay-coupling or click chemistry) preserve the electronic properties of the nanotubes and enhances the stability of the resulting hybrids. Thanks to their emission properties in the near infrared region, single-walled carbon nanotubes are of peculiar interest in optoelectronics. However, their extreme sensitivity to the surrounding environment hinders their application. The production of hybrid materials that preserve their optical properties and facilitate their handling is therefore a key challenge. The second part of this PhD is dedicated to the functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotubes for optoelectronics. To this end, it is necessary to carry the synthesis of a core-shell structures, composed of amphiphilic copolymers protecting the carbon nanotubes from their environment and facilitating their solubility in aqueous medium

O aumento no consumo energético e a crescente preocupação ambiental frente à emissão de gases poluentes criam um apelo mundial favorável para pesquisas de novas tecnologias não poluentes de fontes de energia. Baterias recarregáveis de lítio-ar em solventes não aquosos possuem uma alta densidade de energia teórica (5200 Wh kg-1), o que as tornam promissoras para aplicação em dispositivos estacionários e em veículos elétricos. Entretanto, muitos problemas relacionados ao cátodo necessitam ser contornados para permitir a aplicação desta tecnologia, por exemplo, a baixa reversibilidade das reações, baixa potência e instabilidades dos materiais empregados nos eletrodos e dos solventes eletrolíticos. Assim, neste trabalho um modelo cinético foi empregado para os dados experimentais de espectroscopia de impedância eletroquímica, para a obtenção das constantes cinéticas das etapas elementares do mecanismo da reação de redução de oxigênio (RRO), o que permitiu investigar a influência de parâmetros como o tipo e tamanho de partícula do eletrocatalisador, o papel do solvente utilizado na RRO e compreender melhor as reações ocorridas no cátodo dessa bateria. A investigação inicial se deu com a utilização de sistemas menos complexos como uma folha de platina ou eletrodo de carbono vítreo como eletrodos de trabalho em 1,2-dimetoxietano (DME)/perclorato de lítio (LiClO4). A seguir, sistemas complexos com a presença de nanopartículas de carbono favoreceu o processo de adsorção das moléculas de oxigênio e aumentou ligeiramente (uma ordem de magnitude) a etapa de formação de superóxido de lítio (etapa determinante de reação) quando comparada com os eletrodos de platina e carbono vítreo, atribuída à presença dos grupos laterais mediando à transferência eletrônica para as moléculas de oxigênio. No entanto, foi observada uma rápida passivação da superfície eletrocatalítica através da formação de filmes finos de Li2O2 e Li2CO3 aumentando o sobrepotencial da bateria durante a carga (diferença de potencial entre a carga e descarga > 1 V). Adicionalmente, a incorporação das nanopartículas de platina (Ptnp), ao invés da folha de platina, resultou no aumento da constante cinética da etapa determinante da reação em duas ordens de magnitude, o qual pode ser atribuído a uma mudança das propriedades eletrônicas na banda d metálica em função do tamanho nanométrico das partículas, e estas modificações contribuíram para uma melhor eficiência energética quando comparado ao sistema sem a presença de eletrocatalisador. Entretanto, as Ptnp se mostraram não específicas para a RRO, catalisando as reações de degradação do solvente eletrolítico e diminuindo rapidamente a eficiência energética do dispositivo prático, devido ao acúmulo de material no eletrodo. O emprego de líquido iônico como solvente eletrolítico, ao invés de DME, promoveu uma maior estabilização do intermediário superóxido formado na primeira etapa de transferência eletrônica, devido à interação com os cátions do líquido iônico em solução, o qual resultou em um valor de constante cinética da formação do superóxido de três ordens de magnitude maior que o obtido com o mesmo eletrodo de carbono vítreo em DME, além de diminuir as reações de degradação do solvente. Estes fatores podem contribuir para uma maior potência e ciclabilidade da bateria de lítio-ar operando com líquidos iônicos.<br>The increasing in energetic consumption and environmental concerning toward rising in the emission of pollutant gases create a favorable scenario to develop non-pollutant technologies and more efficient energy storages. Rechargeable non-aqueous lithium-air batteries possess high theoretical energy density (5200 Wh kg-1), characterizing as a promising system to stationary and electric vehicles applications. However, many issues on the cathode electrode should be addressed to enable this technology, for example, low reversibility of the reactions, low rate-capability and instabilities issues from cathode materials and electrolytic solvents. Here, a kinetic model was employed for modulate the experimental impedance data in order to obtain the rate constants of elementary steps from oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), which allows the investigation of the role of some parameters such as, type and grain size of electrocatalysts, and the solvent influence. The initial investigation were with less complexes systems of platinum bulk or glassy carbon as the working electrode in 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME)/lithium perchlorate (LiClO4). Based on that, the role of carbon nanoparticles in the ORR was an increasing the oxygen adsorption process, and by slightly increasing (one order of magnitude) the superoxide formation (rate determining step) as when compared with platinum and glassy carbon electrodes due to the presence of side groups acting as mediators to the electron transfer. Nonetheless, a fast surface passivation was observed in function of Li2O2 and Li2CO3 thin films formations, and these films increase the battery overpotential during the charge process (potential difference between charge/discharge >1V). In addition, dispersed platinum nanoparticles (Ptnp) resulted in an increase of two orders of magnitude on the rate constant of the rate determining step when compared to platinum bulk. This can be explained due to changes in electronic properties of metallic d-bands in function of nanometric size. These changes contributed to enhance the energetic efficiency of the practical device when compared to the non-catalyzed system. However, the Ptnp were non-specific toward the ORR catalyzing the electrolyte degradation reactions, and decreasing the energy efficiency faster than the non-catalyzed system. The ionic liquid rather than DME promoted better stabilization process for intermediary superoxide due to interaction between cations present in solution, resulting in an outstanding enhancement of the rate constant for rate determining step (three orders of magnitude) when compared to the same working electrode in DME. In addition, decrease the electrolyte degradation reaction. These factors can improve a higher rate-capability and cycle life of the practical lithium-air batteries.

Le dihydrogène (H2) se présente comme le futur vecteur énergétique pour une économie basée sur des ressources propres et respectueuses de l'environnement. Il est le combustible idéal de la pile à combustible régénérative constituée de deux entités : un électrolyseur pour sa production, et une pile à combustible pour sa conversion directe en énergie électrique. Ce système présente l'avantage d'être compact et autonome. Cependant, l'amélioration de l'activité catalytique des matériaux, leur stabilité et l'élimination de métaux nobles dans leur composition sont nécessaires. Des catalyseurs bifonctionnels à base de métaux de transition associés au graphène ont alors été synthétisés. L'interaction oxyde-graphène a été étudiée sur un catalyseur Co3O4/NRGO. À faible teneur en cobalt, l'interaction entre les atomes de cobalt de l'oxyde et les atomes d'azote greffés sur les plans de graphène a été observée par voltammétrie cyclique. Cette interaction est responsable d'une diminution de la taille des nanoparticules de cobaltite et de l'activité de celles-ci vis-à-vis de la réaction de réduction du dioxygène (RRO). La substitution du cobalt par le nickel dans des structures de type spinelle (NiCo2O4/RGO) obtenu par voie solvothermale, a permis d'améliorer les performances électrocatalytiques vis-à-vis de la RRO et de la RDO. Ce matériau et un autre de type Fe-N-C préparé en collaboration avec un laboratoire de l'Université Technique de Berlin ont servi de cathode dans des études préliminaires réalisées en configuration pile à combustible alcaline à membrane échangeuse d'anion (SAFC)<br>Hydrogen, as an environmentally friendly future energy vector, is a non-toxic and convenient molecule for regenerative fuel cell, which connects two different technologies: an electrolyzer for H2 production, and a fuel cell for its direct conversion to electric energy. This kind of system possesses many advantages, such as lightness, compactness and more autonomy. However, improvement of activity and durability of electrode materials free from noble metals in their composition is needed. Thereby, bifunctional catalysts composed of transition metals deposited onto graphene-based materials were synthesized. The interaction between the metal atom of the oxide and the graphene doped heteroatom in the Co3O4/NRGO catalyst was investigated physicochemically. With a low cobalt loading, the interaction between cobalt and nitrogen was characterized by cyclic voltammetry, which revealed that it was responsible for decreasing the oxide nanoparticle size, as well as increasing the material activity towards the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The substitution of Co by Ni in the spinel structure (NiCo2O4/RGO) obtained by solvothermal synthesis, allowed the enhancement of the electrocatalytic performances towards the ORR and OER. Moreover, this catalyst as well as another material prepared in collaborative program with a lab from Technical University of Berlin were used as cathode in preliminary studies undertaken on solid alkaline fuel cell (SAFC)

L’étude de l'électrocatalyse des réactions de réduction de l'oxygène (RRO) et de dégagement de l'oxygène (RDO) est étroitement reliée au développement de matériaux cathodiques et anodiques pour les piles à combustible et les électrolyseurs. L’objectif de cette thèse est de développer et d’étudier des matériaux d’électrodes à base d’oxydes de Mn et de Co, actifs et stables, à la fois pour la RRO et la RDO. Les relations entre les caractéristiques électrochimiques des compositions pérovskite / carbone et les propriétés de leurs composants sont établies et étayées expérimentalement dans la thèse. Il a été constaté que la résistance des matériaux carbonés à la corrosion dans les conditions de la RDO est influencée non seulement par leur ordre cristallin, mais également par leur activité intrinsèque pour la RDO. Il a été démontré que les activités des pérovskites à base de Mn et de Co dépendent linéairement du nombre de cations de Mn et de Co rechargeables, respectivement pour la RRO et la RDO. Il a été découvert qu'une intercalation réversible de l'oxygène dans la structure cristalline des pérovskites à base de Co se produit dans les conditions de la RDO, ainsi qu'à des potentiels plus faibles<br>A study of electrocatalysis of oxygen reduction (ORR) and oxygen evolution (OER) reactions is closely related with a development of cathodic and anodic materials for fuel cells and elec-trolyzers. An objective of this thesis is to develop and investigate Mn, Co-oxide-based elec-trode materials active and stable in both the ORR and OER. Relationships between electro-chemical characteristics of perovskite/carbon compositions and properties of their compo-nents are stated and experimentally substantiated in the thesis. It is found a corrosion re-sistance of carbon materials under OER conditions is influenced not only by their crystalline order, but also by their intrinsic OER activity. It is shown the ORR and OER activity of Mn, Co-based perovskites linearly depends on the number of rechargeable Mn and Co cations, respectively. It is revealed a reversible oxygen intercalation through a crystal structure of Co-based perovskites occurs under OER conditions as well as at lower potentials

The aim of this study was to analyze the salience of issue dimensions in the Swedish parliament debates by the established parties during the rise of the Sweden Democrats Party (SD). Structural topic modeling was used to construct a measurement of the salience of issues, examining the full body of speeches in the Swedish parliament between September 2006 and December 2019. Trend analysis revealed a realignment from a focus on socio-economic to socio-cultural issues in Swedish politics. Cross-correlation analyses had conflicting results, indicating a weak positive relationship between the salience of issues and the support of SD – but low predictive ability; it also showed that changes in the support of SD did lead (precede) changes in the salience of issues in the parliament. The ramifications of socio-cultural issues being the most salient are that so-called radical right-wing populist parties (RRPs), or neo-nationalist parties, has a greater opportunity to gain support. It can make voters more inclined to base their voting decision on socio-cultural issues, which favors parties who fight for and are trustworthy in those issues – giving them more valence in the eyes of the voters.

碩士<br>國立高雄第一科技大學<br>電子與資訊工程研究所<br>97<br>The heart is the most important organ for human being, the patients with cardiac disease require long-term ECG record and real-time data transmission when they need to be watched over or even taken first aid. In order to make the patients feel convenient in their daily lives, they usually have to use the portable extraction equipment. Long-term record will demand huge space to store ECG signals. To solve the problem including store and transmission, many kinds of ECG data compression methods have been proposed. Because it has excellent compression efficiency, so the wavelet-based compression method [1] is the best method. However, the traditional wavelet transform uses finite bits to process, which is not fit very well. The word-length-growth effect which results from the finite bits process can cover up the effect of quantization to percent root mean square difference (PRD) and compression rate (CR). To prevent the word-length-growth effect, 1-D RRO-NRDPWT composed of reversible round-off linear transformation (RROLT) theorem and 1-D non-recursive discrete periodized wavelet transform (1-D NRDPWT) has been presented and successfully applied to ECG data compression. The new algorithm of wavelet transform that comprises two kinds of mechanism can stop the error-propagation effect chain, minimize the dynamic range for the wavelet coefficient to prevent word-length-growth effect and obtain the linear scheme for PRD-CR curve. These characteristics for a linear curve and finite bits operation can help to implement the 12-lead ECG record equipment that has real-time and maintain-quality reconstruction. This study utilizes ALTERA DE2 as a platform to implement 1-D RRO-NRDPWT, which identifies whether ECG data compression implement or not. In this paper, the hardware could be exactly implemented. Furthermore, we apply the idle time and parallel timing computing to decreasing 27.25% execution time when the system is executing reading or writing. Also, we analysis computing distortion to 1-D RRO-NRDPWT under the finite bits, and consider how much quantization is distortion will affect reconstruction of 1-D RRO-NRDPWT when quantization is executed. So, we can decide the most appropriate bits to be computed. Distributing the energy of the transform matrix will reduce 59.38% cost for the hardware. In this study, if we don’t consider the quantization process for hardware, the cost of the hardware will shorten and also correspond to the real-time compute required.

碩士<br>國立高雄第一科技大學<br>電腦與通訊工程所<br>98<br>Heart disease diagnosis and patient care rely heavily on long-term recording and ambulatory monitoring of ECG signals. For this purpose, some portable ECG sensing systems associated with wireless data transmission have been developed for real-time ECG signal recording. ECG data compression is crucial for reducing power consumption and improving data transmission efficiency. Many ECG data compression methods have been proposed to achieve a high compression ratio (CR) result and preserve clinical information. Recently, a wavelet-based approach attracted much attention of researchers due to both its simplicity and high-compression performance. For high octave decomposition, traditional wavelet transform suffers from the bit-length-growth effect and error propagation effect. The 1-D NRDPWT associating the reversible round-off linear transformation (RROLT) theorem is used to minimize the bit-length-growth effect and overcome the error propagation problem. The nonlinear quantization algorithm is conducted with two criteria: determining the quantization scales of all levels with a single variable QF and maintaining the three variables, PRD, CR, and QF, in linear relationship. The aim of this paper is considers the integration of 1-D RRO-NRDPWT and nonlinear algorithms with ALTERA DE2-70 platform. The operating frequency is 50MHz and the total logic cells are 47,539. To achieve the desired ECG compression quality, this architecture only needs 3 iterations under the novel QOD method for each segment ECG signals. The maximum execution time for compressing single channel ECG signal is 1.5 ms. For considering 12-lead ECG signals, the maximum execution time is about 0.018 s, which can meet the requirement of real-time ECG recording system.

O presente relatório corresponde ao estágio que o autor realizou numa empresa da área metalomecânica, a RRMP- Metalomecânica de Precisão, para a obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia e Gestão Industrial. A RRMP é uma empresa de produção de peças maquinadas recorrendo maioritariamente à tecnologia CNC. Nesta empresa, o tema do estágio centrou-se na implementação de uma política de gestão baseada na metodologia Lean, da qual se destacam os objetivos da eliminação de desperdícios e da obtenção de uma cultura de melhoria contínua. Para além disso, a RRMP apostou na implementação de um Software de Gestão, tendo sido atribuído ao autor uma parte relevante no processo da sua implementação. Para além do acompanhamento da equipa do software, o autor desenvolveu ainda novos processos e participou na reorganização do layout. Durante a passagem por todos os setores da empresa, o autor alargou o seu conhecimento, o que permitiu, ao longo do tempo, uma melhor perceção de todo o processo produtivo, conseguindo detetar eventuais oportunidades de melhoria. O estágio desenvolvido foi uma excelente oportunidade, tanto a nível técnico como a nível pessoal, pois, para além da aquisição de competências e da possibilidade de poder transferir conhecimentos para a empresa, permitiu ao autor interiorizar uma visão pragmática e uma atitude profissional, em contexto empresarial.

The purpose of this researchis to understand how loyalty programs are changing in response to the changein customer’s preferences and theirimpact in the hotel industry, more specifically in the case of NH Hotel Group. The impact on NH’svalue drivers, the share price and shareholders’ return were analyzed based on two different scenarios: one that reveals the positive impact of loyalty programs on customer retentionand other that assumes that loyalty programs have no importanceamong travelers. These scenarios were applied to the DCF model constructed for the equity research of NH Hotel Group. This investment in loyalty programs is expected to lead to a NH HotelGroup’stargetshare price in December 2020 of €6.67and net transactions with shareholders of €0.23, resulting in a total shareholders’ return of 47.5%. Having said this, the recommendation is to buy NH Hotel Group shares.

碩士<br>國立高雄第一科技大學<br>電腦與通訊工程所<br>98<br>Electrocardiogram (ECG) is a non-invasive modality recording of the electrical activity of the heart, and is widely used for clinical diagnosis of heart disease. However, storing the 12-lead ECG signal needs huge capacity. In order to keep the ECG signal clinical features, a lot of ECG compression methods were proposed. Besides, maintaining reconstructed signals at a desired level of quality is crucial for lossy ECG data compression. Based on the 1-D RRO-NRDPWT, this study proposes an ECG compression system which has the ability of ECG compression quality control. For design the VLSI architecture of the ECG compression system, this paper modifies the original non-linear quantization algorithm and uses the concepts of the segment accumulation algorithm (SAA). Besides, the architecture proposed in this improves the control unit of Boundary data processing, which can reduce the hardware cost, only needs 7785900um2 area and 17mW Dynamic Power, Comparing with the direct implementation of 1-D RRO-NRDPWT, the propose architecture only needs 2.54% area and 6.46% Dynamic Power. This paper further considers the integration of 1-D RRO-NRDPWT and nonlinear algorithms. To achieve the desired ECG compression quality, this architecture only needs 3 iterations under the novel QOD method for each segment ECG signals. The maximum execution time for compressing single channel ECG signal is 52 ns. For considering 12-lead ECG signals, the maximum execution time is about 0.624 μs, which can meet the requirement of real-time ECG recording system.

碩士<br>國立高雄第一科技大學<br>電腦與通訊工程研究所<br>101<br>Heart patients need long-term ECG(Electrocardiogram) records to facilitate tracking and illness care. This requirement implies a huge demand for ECG data coming years. The popularity of smartphones has also launched a strong motivation for telemedicine. ECG data compression in this application plays a very important role, in which wavelet-base approaches obtained the best compression efficiency. However, the traditional one-dimensional wavelet transform is recursively decomposed, that will produce bit- growth effect. If we truncated value of bit- growth effect, that will cause error propagation then making difficult to control the distortion. Combined with non-recursive discrete wavelet and reversible round-off linear transform compression system, which can effectively overcome the effect of bit growth and to get an accurate compression quality. This system consists of three parts, the first part is non-reversible rounding recursive wavelet transform, the second part is a quality assurance quantitative algorithms, and the third part is the SPIHT coding method. This thesis is to implement the two former parts on the Android platform. First, the user measured ECG data by sensor, then sent to the Android platform smart phones or tablet, and the ECG data will be compressed by the quality assurance. After compression the compressed ECG data can be sent to the other Android platform to decompress and display. The display function can display ECG waveform and scanned by gestures. To achieve real-time compressed this thesis measure distortion by SPRD (Simplified Percentage Root mean square Difference) to replace the traditional PRD (Percentage Root mean square Difference). Experimental results show that SPRD can strictly control the quality specifications (ie, change in the range of Ɛ = 5 % ) and reduce half time cost.

碩士<br>國立高雄第一科技大學<br>電腦與通訊工程研究所<br>101<br>The use of the electrocardiogram (ECG) signal is a non-invasive modality widely used for heart disease clinical diagnosis; it records the process of heart contraction by putting different signals on the body. The standard examination process is a record of 12-lead ECG signals over a period of 24 hours. ECG data compression is crucially desired for efficient real-time transmission and storage of mass data, in providing heart disease examinations. Heart disease examinations and research both require long-term records to solve problems such as storage and transmission, the real time action is an efficient way to solve such problems. The best compression method is the use of discrete periodic Wavelet-based and discrete cosine. The other important request of ECG data compression is the need to reconstruct messages with a distortion range of less than 5%. For the quick speed of distortion control, it is important to consider the linear distortion characteristic of a quantization algorithm. The ECG contraction skill is RRO-NRDPWT-based to reveal the potential linear distortion characteristic and real-time compression. This system is the first to combine a genetic algorithm and 3-D curve fitting skill to give a near linear quantization distortion algorithm, and to use SPRD to reduce hardware cost and compression time. In this thesis, the focus is on SOPC implementation of the quantization algorithm of RRO-NRDPWT-based ECG data compression，and the exploration of the performance of hardware implementation. The system implementations the ALTERA DE2-70 board; this development version of the FPGA chip provides NIOS II and belonging embedded systems. Using C /C++to design software and hardware on the same chip achieves fast development.

碩士<br>國立高雄第一科技大學<br>電腦與通訊工程所<br>97<br>Electrocardiogram (ECG) recording of the electrical activity of the heart is widely used for clinical diagnosis of heart disease. However, storing the 12-lead ECG signal needs huge capacity. In order to keep the ECG signal clinical features, then a lot of ECG compression methods were proposed. This study implements the novel compression system [1] on FPGA. The novel compression system has not only the highest compression ratio but also real-time operation at present. This system includes 3 parts: first part is a reversible round-off non-recursive discrete period wavelet transform (RRO-NRDPWT); second part is a non-linear quantization algorithm; third part is a SPIHT algorithm [2]. The non-linear quantization algorithm acquired a linear relation curve between distortion and compression ratio by the single quantization factor (QF).The Quality on Demand (QOD) predicts the distortion directly in frequency domain, and it will guarantee the reconstructed ECG signals for each segment with the desired quality. To implement hardware, this study modifies the original non-linear quantization algorithm. The decimal division and decimal square root in non-linear quantization algorithm were implemented by simple design. The hardware of this study has high efficiency. The user can set up the reconstruction quality less than 5 times under the novel QOD method for each segment ECG signals. For the non-linear quantization algorithm, the maximum execution time on FPGA is 1.092ms for single channel ECG signal, and 0.013 seconds for the 12-lead ECG signals. This system records real-time ECG signals effectively for 1KHz sampling rate. Implementing the non-linear quantization algorithm needs 2383 LEs and the operation frequency is 50MHz on FPGA Cyclone Ⅱ-EP2C35F672C6N.

碩士<br>國立高雄第一科技大學<br>電腦與通訊工程研究所<br>102<br>Nowadays, Multi-Core processors have become the mainstream architecture of PC and smart mobile devices. However, if we want to take full advantage of Multi-Core architecture, in addition to the support of hardware and operating systems, programs should be designed and implemented with parallel programming techniques; otherwise, the execution of a program will still be limited to single core. Due to the popularity of smart mobile devices, it is generally expected that the relevant applications of wearable devices and IOT will be contributing to the growth of the technology industry. Among these applications, the intelligent medical products are potentially huge. There are some manufacturers that have already developed wearable ECG monitoring devices by now. If we want to take it one step further by integrating the concept of IOT and Cloud, the ECG data needs to be transmitted over the network. However, because an ECG monitoring device consists of 12 leads, in order to meet the requirement of long term monitoring, it must be able to handle large data sets. If we can use a good compression algorithm to compress the ECG data before transmission, it will not only save bandwidth, but also reduce the transmission time to achieve the purpose of real-time transmission. This thesis is based on the theorem of a RRO-NRDPWT-based ECG compression system proposed by our lab, which consists of a wavelet transform, quantization and coding module. In this thesis, I also summarize some parallel programming techniques to implement the complete ECG compression system on the mainstream Multi-Core platform. In conclusion, the execution time of compression on a Quad-Core device is successfully improved and the speedup is more than 3.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1996.<br>Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 172-196).

Propósito: Existe uma falta de consciência pública sobre as doenças oculares relacionadas com o envelhecimento, principalmente na faixa etária mais idosa, sendo esta a mais afetada. Estudos demostraram que a população tem consciência de algumas doenças oculares como catarata e glaucoma (98% e 93%, respetivamente), mas a consciência da Degenerescência Macular Relacionada com a Idade é muito inferior (20%). Na população idosa existe pouco conhecimento e atitudes práticas sobre as doenças oculares relacionadas com o envelhecimento. As doenças oculares com maior impacto nestas populações são a Catarata, o Glaucoma, a (DMRI) e a Retinopatia Diabética (RD), o Erro Refrativo Não Corrigido (ERNC) e a Presbiopia. Devido às atuais tendências demográficas, a população dos países desenvolvidos está a envelhecer rapidamente. O aumento da idade é acompanhado de uma maior prevalência destas doenças oculares. A deteção precoce e o tratamento atempado podem ter sucesso na progressão das doenças oculares, tendo o potencial de melhorar significativamente a qualidade da visão dos pacientes. É fundamental a consciência da mesma para reduzir o desenvolvimento da doença e evitar a perda de visão irreversível. Para que exista uma maior consciência por parte dos utentes é importante melhorar a literacia da saúde ocular. Os profissionais de saúde têm uma função fulcral promovendo uma consulta direcionada no trabalho da componente da saúde visual. População mais informada da sua condição procura mais atempadamente tratamento para a sua doença. Objetivo: O objetivo deste trabalho é estudar a consciência das doenças oculares relacionadas com o envelhecimento na comunidade residente no Lar de São José, na Covilhã e o no lar da Misericórdia local de Belmonte, em Belmonte. Métodos: Foram enviadas cartas de esclarecimento e pedido de colaboração para o estudo aos dirigentes dos lares. No entanto e considerando as contingências criadas pela pandemia associada ao vírus SARS COVID 19 e todas as medidas de saúde pública e políticas adotadas nas instituições só foi possível a recolha de dados no Lar de São José e no Lar da Misericórdia local de Belmonte através da entrega documental dos questionários ao responsável da área da saúde dos referidos lares para ajuda do preenchimento dos mesmos junto dos utentes que voluntariamente decidiram participar no estudo. No questionário escrito foram abordadas questões sobre: doenças gerais e doenças oculares, o conhecimento sobre as doenças oculares relacionadas com o envelhecimento, fatores de risco para essas doenças, idade, sexo, educação e demografia. Resultados: Foi aplicado um questionário, depois de previamente testado numa população residentes em lares de 3ªIdade. Considerando a situação pandémica mundial, pelo COVID-19, a recolha dos dados só foi possível no Lar de São José, na cidade da Covilhã e no Lar da Misericórdia local de Belmonte, na vila de Belmonte. Participaram no estudo 76 utentes do Lar de São José, na Covilhã, 22 do sexo masculino (28,9%) e 54 do sexo feminino (71,1%). No Lar da Misericórdia de Belmonte participaram 20 utentes, 5 do sexo masculino (25,0%) e 15 do sexo feminino (75,0%). Os resultados desta investigação demonstram a baixa consciência que os participantes possuem sobre as doenças oculares relacionadas com o envelhecimento. No Lar de São José/ Lar da Misericórdia local de Belmonte, o conhecimento sobre as doenças oculares, como a catarata é de 98,7%/95,0%. A Miopia apresenta um conhecimento de 63,2%/ 70,0%, o Astigmatismo de 30,3%/ 20,0%, a Retinopatia Diabética de 25,0%/ 30,0%, o Glaucoma de 21,2%/ 20,0%, a Hipermetropia de 17,1%/ 5,0%, a Presbiopia de 9,2%/ 10,0%, o Erro Refrativo Não Corrigido de 5,3%/10,0% e sobre outra(s) não especificada(s) de 5,3%/ 0,0%.<br>Purpose: There is a lack of public awareness about eye diseases related to aging, especially in old groups, which are the most affected. Studies have shown that the general population is aware of some eye diseases such as cataracts and glaucoma (98% and 93%, respectively), but the awareness of Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) was much lower (20%). In the elderly population, there is little knowledge and practical attitudes about eye diseases related to aging. The eye diseases with the greatest impact in these populations are Cataract, Glaucoma, AMD, Diabetic Retinopathy (RD), Uncorrected Refractive Error (ERNC) and Presbyopia. Due to the current demographic trends, the population of developed countries is aging rapidly. Increased age is accompanied by a higher prevalence of these eye diseases. Early detection and timely treatment can be successful in the progression of eye diseases, with the potential to significantly improve the quality of the patient’s vision. Awareness of the disease is essential to reduce its development and to prevent irreversible vision loss. For users to be more aware, it is important to improve eye health literacy. Health professionals have a pivotal role in promoting targeted consultation in the work of the visual health component. People more informed about their condition seek treatment for their disease in a timely manner. Objective: The objective of this work is to determine the awareness of eye diseases related to aging in the community living at the Lar de São José, in Covilhã and at the Lar da Misericórdia in Belmonte. Methods: Letters of clarification and request´s for collaboration for the study were sent to the heads of the homes. However, considering the contingencies created by the pandemic associated with the SARS COVID 19 virus and all public health measures and policies adopted in the institutions, it was only possible to collect data at the Lar de São José and at the Lar da Misericórdia in Belmonte through delivery of the questionnaires to the person in charge of the health area at the referred homes to help fill them in with the users who voluntarily decided to participate in the study. The written questionnaire addressed questions about general diseases and eye diseases, as well as knowledge about aging-related eye diseases, risk factors for these diseases, age, sex, education and demography. Results: A questionnaire was applied after being previously tested in a population of residents in homes of 3rd age. Considering the global pandemic situation, by COVID-19, data collection was only possible at Lar de São José, in the city of Covilhã and at the local Lar da Misericórdia in Belmonte, in the village of Belmonte. At the Lar de São José in Covilhã, 76 users participated in the study, 22 males (28,9%) and 54 females (71,1%). At the Lar da Misericórdia in Belmonte, 20 users participated in this study and of this, 5 were males (25,0%) and 15 were females (75,0%). The results of this research demonstrate the low awareness that the participants have about eye diseases related to aging. At the Lar de São José in Covilhã / Lar da Misericórdia in Belmonte, the knowledge about eye diseases, such as cataracts, is 98,7% / 95,0%. Myopia has a knowledge of 63,2% / 70,0%, Astigmatism of 30,3% / 20,0%, Diabetic Retinopathy of 25,0% / 30,0%, Glaucoma of 21,2% / 20,0%, Hyperopia of 17,1% / 5,0%, Presbyopia of 9,2% / 10,0%, the Uncorrected Refractive Error of 5,3% / 10,0% and on another unspecified (s) of 5,3% / 0,0%.