Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Breathing apparatus'

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2000.
Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xiii, 157 p. : ill. (some col.) Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 84-86).

An automated system for quantitative respirator fit testing by negative pressure was evaluated by comparison testing with a computerized aerosol fit test system (Dynatech Frontier Model 260A). The new negative pressure system measures leakage flow while inspiratory pressures are sustained in a respirator facepiece rather than by pressure decay. Four phases of comparison testing were graduated by level of control, ranging from non-subject tests with hypodermic needle leakages to fit tests of 125 Air Force personnel. Throughout the series of tests, negative pressure fit factors were consistently more conservative than aerosol fit factors and showed less variability. Leakage flow rates measured by the negative pressure instrument were highly correlated with leak needle cross-sectional area as predicted by principles of air-flow physics. Comparison of subject and non-subject generated aerosol fit factors indicated significant aerosol losses, possibly due to streamlining and respiratory tract deposition. Negative pressure fit factors were not affected by these subject-related losses.

Physiologic and Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL) data were collected before, during and after ESWL from four patient groups employing different anesthetic techniques (epidural anesthesia, general anesthesia with low-volume conventional mechanical ventilation or with unsynchronized high frequency jet ventilation (HFJV) or with HFJV synchronized to the heart rate). The primary goal was to determine if synchronized HFJV had any beneficial effects. A synchronization unit was fabricated that triggered one HFJV breath, per heart beat, delivered 30 milliseconds after the shock wave. This allowed only expiratory motion during shock wave administration. Results were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance, Students t-tests and chi-square tests with significance at p 0.05. Results showed that renal stone excursion was significantly less in HFJV groups and that significantly more patients required re-treatment in non-HFJV groups. No results indicated that synchronizing HFJV had any further benefits than unsynchronized HFJV.

A negative pressure quantitative fit testing device was used to test the effect exercise protocol has on leakage rates into a negative pressure respirator. Modified exercise protocols were developed for use with the negative pressure system. Aerosol data was analyzed to determine the effect exercises have had on leakage rates using other QNFT systems. Results show that the position of the head affects the amount of leakage into the facepiece. Mean leakage into the respirator mask increased for all positions tested in one phase of the study. However, statistical analysis of the data showed that the increase was not statistically significant. Aerosol data analysis also showed that increases in leakage into the mask were not statistically significant. Conclusions drawn from this study are that although movement of the head may affect the leakage into a respirator it is not significant enough to alter the protection afforded the worker.

This study determined the parameters which affect the internal mask inspiratory pressure and flow rate during respirator wear. The average inspiratory pressure and inspiratory flow rate were measured on 30 subjects who performed various submaximal work rates on a cycle ergometer while wearing air purifying respirators. The half-mask and full-face respirators were equipped with three levels of cartridge resistance. The results indicated that work rate, cartridge resistance, and mask type affected the inspiratory pressure and flow rate significantly. The findings of this study would allow the quantitative negative pressure respirator fit test to evaluate respirator fit over a wide range and representative of actual work condition.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2005.
Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xiv, 256 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 118-122).

The current study aimed at investigating the concepts of team situation awareness, mental models, and team processes in relation to performance in the complex, dynamic environment of breathing apparatus rescues. Data was collected during exercises at Ågesta training center through questionnaires and after action reviews. 28 firemen and 5 instructors participated in the exercises. Also, a stimulated recall interview was conducted with 2 of the firemen that had participated in one of the exercises. The different data collection methods all indicated that well-developed mental models or a high degree of pre-task knowledge affected performance in a positive way. Moreover, a multiple regression analysis showed that both pre-task knowledge and team processes significantly can predict performance. The results of the analysis of team situation awareness in relation to performance were fairly ambiguous. Therefore, further research is needed to establish the relation between these concepts in the domain at matter.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2000.
Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 87 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-73).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Western Sydney, 2002.
A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Western Sydney, College of Science, Technology and Environment, 2002. Includes bibliographical references (p. 352-370).

In spite of the substantial repository of literature about respirators, little is known about the practicalities of their use. The focus of this research was about the practical aspects of using respirators in New South Wales workplaces. Two self-administered postal surveys were used to assess the level of implementation of respirator programs in 1996 and 2001. After five years, six elements improved. The most improvement was seen in the area of documentation including written procedures, keeping training records, recording respirator tasks, and maintenance records. The second survey investigated respirator maintenance and found little automated cleaning. Thorough washing was scarce with more than 50% of organisations relying on moist towelettes. For the third portion of the research methodology 485 used, half facepiece reusable respirators from 36 different sites were examined to determine the most common respirator defects. Maintenance and cleaning procedures were primitive and probably inadequate. Disinfection or sanitisation was common practice indicating concern about infectious diseases. The 2001 survey found that physical inspection of respirators in the workplace usually checked for the common types of defects found in the examination of used respirators. Weight, breathing resistance, heat and tightness were reported as causes of discomfort. The key outcomes from the research were that respirator programs were poorly implemented in a group of organisations that were expected to have more expertise than most and that the most common defects could be corrected by good respirator cleaning programs.

In spite of the substantial repository of literature about respirators, little is known about the practicalities of their use. The focus of this research was about the practical aspects of using respirators in New South Wales workplaces. Two self-administered postal surveys were used to assess the level of implementation of respirator programs in 1996 and 2001. After five years, six elements improved. The most improvement was seen in the area of documentation including written procedures, keeping training records, recording respirator tasks, and maintenance records. The second survey investigated respirator maintenance and found little automated cleaning. Thorough washing was scarce with more than 50% of organisations relying on moist towelettes. For the third portion of the research methodology 485 used, half facepiece reusable respirators from 36 different sites were examined to determine the most common respirator defects. Maintenance and cleaning procedures were primitive and probably inadequate. Disinfection or sanitisation was common practice indicating concern about infectious diseases. The 2001 survey found that physical inspection of respirators in the workplace usually checked for the common types of defects found in the examination of used respirators. Weight, breathing resistance, heat and tightness were reported as causes of discomfort. The key outcomes from the research were that respirator programs were poorly implemented in a group of organisations that were expected to have more expertise than most and that the most common defects could be corrected by good respirator cleaning programs.
Doctor of Philosphy (PhD)

The present series of unmanned hyperbaric tests were conducted in order to investigate the oxygen fraction variability in semi-closed underwater rebreathing apparatuses. The tested rebreathers were RB80 (Halcyon dive systems, High springs, FL, USA), IS-Mix (Interspiro AB, Stockholm, Sweden), CRABE (Aqua Lung, Carros Cedex, France), and Viper+ (Cobham plc, Davenport, IA, USA). The tests were conducted using a catalytically based propene combusting metabolic simulator. The metabolic simulator connected to a breathing simulator, both placed inside a hyperbaric pressure chamber, was first tested to demonstrate its usefulness to simulate human respiration in a hyperbaric situation. Following this the metabolic simulator was shown to be a useful tool in accident investigations as well as to assess the impact of different engineering designs and physiological variables on the oxygen content in the gas delivered to the diver by the rebreathing apparatuses. A multi-compartment model of the oxygen fractions was developed and compared to the previously published single-compartment models. The root mean squared error (RMSE) of the multi-compartment model was smaller than the RMSE for the single-compartment model, showing its usefulness to estimate the impact of different designs and physiological variables on the inspired oxygen fraction.

QC 20150903

Firefighting operations are characterised by high time pressures, a high degree of task and environment uncertainty, life-or-death situations, and the continuous emergence of novel events. Despite this, the factors considered most demanding to firefighters and the strategies that lead to effective management of physiological and psychological stressors at the fire scene are yet to be fully understood. To address this issue, study 1 utilised a qualitative approach employing a series of focus groups and individual interviews to establish the operational tasks considered to be most demanding by firefighters. Results showed that stressors could be classified into five higher order categories dominated by the physical demands of wearing self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and firefighting activities. Coping responses were grouped by problem-focused and emotion-focused techniques (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984), and also considered coping strategies at early, mid and late career stages. Study 2 utilised a longitudinal approach to examine the development of SCBA specific coping strategies with trainee firefighters over a 12-month period. Stressors were characterised by five higher-order stressors present throughout, and the firefighters reported high levels of control over the task and satisfaction with their performance despite task severity. Study 3 consisted of data collection undertaken during a series of commonly encountered SCBA tasks, including a comparison of novice and experienced firefighters during a single live firefighting task, and experienced firefighters undertaking a series of frequently encountered SCBA tasks. Results found that there were significant changes in cardiovascular and psychological responses of both novice and experienced firefighters following a live firefighting task. There was also a series of significant responses in experienced personnel completing concurrent guideline, search and rescue, and live firefighting tasks. The final study (study 4) considered the demands of SCBA from a command and control perspective. Incorporating a purpose-built incident command suite, the task was found to require high levels of mental and temporal demand but minimal levels of physical demand or frustration. Of the four roles examined, the incident commanders displayed highest levels of task demands, stress, and state anxiety. The programme of work in this thesis highlights the complex environments firefighters face, the importance of on-scene coping techniques, and the methodological difficulties involved when attempting to capture and analyse data within this population.

碩士
長榮大學
職業安全與衛生學系碩士在職專班
106
Emergency rescue is one of the aspects of all the safety plans to reduce the dangerous of persons and factories among the most industries; the Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) is the most important equipment in the whole rescue actions, it helps the rescuer to grasp much more time for rescue actions and measures. It could be part of the monitoring system and safety precaution for industrial facilities. We discover that the protection performance is decreased as the frequency of use increased and the long-life span SCBA ; Especially for self-contained air breathing apparatus over five years, the frequency of its maintenance has a gap with that in five years, After using five years, the percentage of operational SCBA will drop from 85.8% to 15.4%. The percentage of repairing increases year after year even within five years (1.5% in 2016, 8.3% in 2015, 23.9% in 2014). This means that end users cannot observe the malfunction by their selves, and this will let the SCBA without function. Furthermore, it might affect the life safety and health of end user.so it is recommended that the complete SCBA should follow NFPA1852 standard to inspect the SCBA annually and for those had used for 5 years above is necessary to test once half year to decrease the risks for operators.

碩士
東南科技大學
營建與空間設計系營建科技與防災碩士班
105
The research explored if the disasters relieve staff’s age growth is related with the self-contained breathing apparatus air respirator oxygen levels. After compared with relevant domestic and foreign literatures for breath training and testing, realized the oxygen consumption is different between fire fighter base on their age, physical and skill. From the disaster relieve history, there are lots of case about fire fighter injury or pass away. As a result, it’s necessary to establish a great security management to protect fire fighters. Currently Taiwan adopts fire security management to control fighter’s access time and oxygen consumption. However, the fire security management is not good enough to protect fighter’s safety since it didn’t consider that age will influence one’s physical, breath amount and work efficiency. By analyzing the data of physical and skill, concluded that age has significant relation with fighter’s breath amount.Oxygen consumption is decided by fire fighter’s age, training, work loading, physical and mental.

碩士
東南科技大學
營建科技與防災研究所
103
The topic of this study was to investigate the fire and rescue breathing apparatus， the ratio of domestic and fire-related literature analysis， to understand the characteristics of fire and fully equipped with high performance of the air-breathing apparatus， fire and rescue personnel in terms of not only a simple protective equipment， it is a big help to complete the task. But let everyone know how a fire accident， the time spent in the rescue and manpower， resources are not to be expected， but in the long history of the rescue， had a history occurred in the past due to lack of air breathing apparatus firefighters injured or killed in cases. Firefighters characteristics as a basis to explore the advantages and disadvantages of the two existing SCBA configured， a comparative analysis of when a major fire accident but need rescue， cycle-contained breathing apparatus with a relatively longer effective use of aid workers the protective， integrity and proper equipment， the high rate of features， enough to shoulder the needs of the fire and rescue mission air respirator.

碩士
亞洲大學
光電與通訊學系碩士在職專班
102
Self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) is a critical equipment that supplies breathable air for firefighters. When the fire scene is lack of oxygen or fills with toxic and hazardous substances, SCBA plays an important role in supplying sufficient fresh air for firefighters to consistently execute the rescue work. However, the firefighters, lacking of education and training or improperly operating the SCBA, could lead to unfortunate casualties of their own and a catastrophic consequence. Based on nearly a decade of which domestic firefighters carry SCBA to enter the fire scene to rescue killed on duty cases, traditional SCBAs are obviously shown to provide less security and have functionality deficiencies. On the other hand, a digital electronic SCBA which has better security and functionality is much more expensive when compared with the traditional SCBA. The local fire departments around the country are generally suffered from tight budget, large funding required to upgrade the existing SCBA is unlikely to be approved. Hence, this thesis investigates to digitize the existing SCBA, and then build a platform of real-time "Fire Safety Wireless Monitoring System" with low implementation cost for targeting to provide a better safety for firefighters when using SCBA. The proposed "Electronic Alarm Device" is built on "Arduino", an open-source electronic hardware prototyping platform. A proposal to add pressure, temperature and acceleration sensors, and radio frequency identification (RFID) system onto a SCBA is presented. In this digitized SCBA, information such as remaining pressure, air remaining time, equipment time usage and surrounding temperature are displayed on a LCD screen. Besides, "Electronic Alarm Device" built-in sound and light warning device can automatically release low cylinder pressure alert and Personal Alert Safety System (PASS) alarm. Furthermore, the transceiver module of "Electronic Alarm Device" can send and receive real-time information which can synchronously transfers to a digitized control platform of outside the fire scene. The built digitized control platform of this thesis is a self-developed design and uses Chinese characters interfaces. It processes all the reveived information and displays all sensor reading such as remaining pressure, air remaining time, mission time and emergency signal of each individual firefighter. With above designs, the safety of each firefighter can be continuously monitored in real time. Finally, the proposed "Fire Safety Wireless Monitoring System" through the various functions of each component test can be verified by fire department which has already met the domestic electronic SCBA procurement specification. Compared with other existing electronic SCBA, the proposed digital electronic SCBA has the following characteristics: (1) Using full Chinese control culture platforms, the software interfaces of full use of Chinese are much friendly and retain flexibility to modify the subsequent customization. (2) Digital control platform can be linked database shows firefighters’ basic information such as photos and other information. (3) The output power of transceiver module is higher and effective transmission distance is farther. (4) HUD features a digital display pressure values are more accurate. (5) The build cost of realization of electronic functions is much lower. Except for above advantages of the proposed system, however, the components of the propsoed "Electronic Alarm Device" have not yet complied with Ex ia IIC T4 level (or equivalent standard waterproof, or explosion-proof safety design), and with EN137 (or NIOSH / NFPA) associated security standards. In the future, this reserach of "Electronic Alarm Device" will be further improved to achieve above standards.

While patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) commonly have depressive symptoms, evidence about the link between OSAS and depression has been inconsistent. Similarly, while Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) treatment for OSAS has been claimed to be effective in ameliorating depressive symptoms, results of the impact of CPAP on depressive symptoms have been inconclusive. This thesis describes two studies which aim to contribute to the clarification of these issues. The Phase 1 study examined the relationship between OSAS, depression and its subdomains and also the moderating role of current perceived stress on these relationships. Results from 254 participants using psychophysiological data on OSAS severity (Respiratory Disturbance Index, RDI; Oxygen Desaturation Index, ODI; Apnea-Hypopnea Index, AHI) did not reveal significant relationships between OSAS, depression and its subdomains. Findings were mixed in the relationship between self-report measures of OSAS severity and degree of impairment (Epworth Sleepiness Scale, ESS; Berlin Questionnaire, BQ; Self-Efficacy Measure for Sleep Apnea, SEMSA) and depression and its subdomains. While both BQ and SEMSA correlated with depression and the somatic subdomain of depression, they did not correlate with the affective subdomain. There was a small relationship between BQ and the cognitive subdomain of depression. Results from ESS did not show any significant relationships between OSAS and depression. Hierarchical Regression examining the moderating role of perceived stress in the relationship between OSAS and depression suggested that perceived stress did not moderate the relationships between these variables. The Phase 2 study involved three follow-up assessments of participants from Phase 1 comparing CPAP users and non- CPAP users. Participants were followed up at 3, 6 and 12 months after the completion of the Phase 1 study. The study investigated whether a long term treatment using CPAP improved sleepiness (ESS), depression and its subdomain and perceived stress, and also examined the moderating role of perceived stress on the relationship between any improvements in depression and sleepiness in OSAS patients. 219 participants participated in Follow-up 1, 214 in Follow-up 2 and 210 in Follow-up 3. Using repeated measures ANOVA results indicated a significant reduction in both sleepiness and depressive symptoms over the follow-up periods for both groups but no differences in these effects for the CPAP and non-CPAP participants. Similarly, the results indicated that significant improvements in perceived stress but unrelated to the use of CPAP over the 12-month period. Perceived stress did not moderate the relationship between CPAP usage and depression during all the assessments. This thesis identified the differences on the relationship between self-report measures of OSAS, psychophysiological indices of OSAS, depression and its subdomains and the probable reasons leading to these discrepancies. It also highlighted the likely causes for the reduction of sleepiness, perceived stress and depressive symptoms over time irrespective of using CPAP or not. This thesis was unique in integrating a moderating role for perceived stress on these relationships and paves the way for further investigation on moderator effects on the relationship between OSAS and depression. The limitation and suggestion for future study were also discussed.

Tese de mestrado, Ecologia e Gestão Ambiental, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2020
A Doença da Murchidão do Pinheiro foi primeiramente detetada em Portugal em 1999 na Marateca, Península de Setúbal. O agente causador desta doença, que leva à morte da árvore infetada, é Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, um nematode micofágico, oriundo da América do Norte, que coloniza várias espécies de coníferas, especificamente Pinus spp, usando como vetor um inseto do Género Monochamus (Coleoptera). Enquanto que as espécies nativas da América apresentam resistência, ou alguma tolerância à infeção por parte do nematode, as espécies Asiáticas e Europeias são suscetíveis, desenvolvendo uma sintomatologia característica, que leva ao rápido apodrecimento e morte da árvore. Este facto suporta a teoria de que o Nematode da Madeira do Pinheiro (como ficou conhecido) terá sido transportado desde a América até ao Japão, onde a doença foi inicialmente detetada no início do século XX, em madeira infetada e não tratada. Após a entrada no Japão, o nematode espalhou-se rapidamente pela China, Tailândia e Coreia. A doença é o resultado de uma complexa interação entre o nematode, o inseto-vetor, a conífera hospedeira e vários fatores climáticos, o que atrasou a atribuição de uma relação causa-efeito entre a presença do nematode e os sintomas da doença, permitindo a larga propagação da mesma. Em Portugal, e na Europa, tem afetado essencialmente espécies como Pinus nigra, P. sylvestris e P. pinaster, representado perdas significativas de rendimentos e de biodiversidade. Devido ao seu grande potencial destrutivo, o Nematode de Madeira do Pinheiro (NMP) está listado na Diretiva Europeia 2000/29/CE para medidas de proteção contra a introdução e propagação de organismos prejudiciais o que levou a restrições na comercialização de madeiras e de subprodutos não tratados tal como de plantas vivas. O nematode, que mede apenas 1.5 milímetros, tem uma alta taxa de reprodução e um ciclo de vida de duas fases, uma em que se alimenta de fungos e outra em que se alimenta de células vivas do parênquima. Também se desenvolve de duas formas distintas; se as condições forem favoráveis desenvolve-se rapidamente sob a forma “Reprodutora”, se as condições começarem a ser desfavoráveis, ou seja, quando a árvore hospedeira decai, desenvolve-se como uma forma de “Dispersão” que é uma forma mais resistente. É nesta fase que o nematode migra para junto das câmaras pupais do inseto vetor e aguarda pela muda das pupas para infestar os adultos recém-formados. O inseto vetor do Género Monochamus com distribuição em Portugal é M. galloprovincialis (Olivier,1795), um besouro endémico Cerambicídeo, da subfamília Lamiinae, considerado uma praga secundária pelo que não existia muita informação sobre a sua ecologia e anatomia antes da entrada do nematode no país. Tem um ciclo de vida univoltino ou seja, produz descendência apenas uma vez no ano, para se reproduzir tem de se alimentar de rebentos da copa de pinheiros saudáveis, a chamada alimentação de maturação sexual. Os machos produzem feromonas para atrair as fêmeas para a reprodução e as fêmeas para ovipositar necessitam de pinheiros em declínio ou mortos recentemente. As larvas e pupas do inseto vetor, e outros colonizadores dos pinheiros, convivem com juvenis do nematode dentro da madeira do pinheiro durante os vários meses de desenvolvimento do inseto. De alguma forma, o nematode identifica as pupas do inseto vetor e aguarda pela última muda para entrar no sistema respiratório através dos espiráculos dos adultos recém-formados. O inseto depois emerge da árvore hospedeira, transportando o nematode e transmitindo-o para novas árvores durante a sua alimentação, ocorrendo a “Transmissão Primária”. As fêmeas infetadas, quando depositam os seus ovos em árvores enfraquecidas também podem transmitir o nematode, ocorrendo a chamada “Transmissão Secundária”. Inserido no Projeto NEMATRANSFER (PTDC/AGR-FOR/4391/2014), esta dissertação visa a análise do Sistema Respiratório, espiráculos e traqueia, do inseto vetor e de 3 outras espécies colonizadoras do pinheiro bravo, nomeadamente Arhopalus syriacus (Reitter, 1895), Acanthocinus griseus (Fabricius, 1793), e Pogonocherus perroudi Mulsant, 1839 que são as mais abundantes e mais próximas filogeneticamente da espécie vetora, na tentativa de isolar características que possam ser barreiras físicas à entrada do nematode nas espécies não vetores, na expectativa que os dados obtidos possam ser usados na criação de novas medidas de gestão de pragas. Para alcançar o objetivo principal, foram testados protocolos de preparação de exemplares para se conseguir uma caracterização dos espiráculos (tamanho e existência, ou não, de sedas) através de imagens obtidas em Microscopia Eletrónica de Varrimento (MEV) e medições da traqueia e suas ramificações usando Micro Tomografia de raio X (Micro-CT) e modelos 3D dos exemplares. A Micro-CT é uma técnica não invasiva, baseada na interação dos raios X com os diferentes constituintes da amostra, que permite a observação da anatomia interna dos exemplares uma vez que produz imagens de alta resolução que podem depois ser integradas para gerar um volume virtual da mesma. Esta técnica permite também individualizar partes dos exemplares, por exemplo certos órgãos, usando o software CTAnalyzer (distribuído por BRUKER®), também conhecido como “Segmentação”. A MEV é amplamente usada para observar estruturas ao nível da superfície das amostras. Um feixe de eletrões, chamados eletrões primários, passa rapidamente pela superfície da amostra. Antes da observação em MEV, a mostra é metalizada com ouro, ou ouro-paládio, para promover a emissão de eletrões, chamados eletrões secundários, o impulso elétrico é depois detetado e transformado numa imagem. Para a preparação e estabilização dos exemplares para suportarem estas técnicas, tentou-se a Fixação Química com glutaraldeído e tetróxido de ósmio seguida de Secagem pelo método do Ponto Crítico e como alternativa a este processo moroso, a Liofilização que consiste numa sublimação a baixa pressão e temperatura. Obtivemos sucesso em ambos os procedimentos, com percentagens semelhantes entres estes, no entanto não foi possível preparar o mesmo número de indivíduos com ambas as técnicas, pois as larvas recolhidas não eram igualmente distribuídas pelas quatro espécies em análise e algumas larvas morreram antes da muda. Os exemplares estabilizados foram observados no microscópio eletrónico para avaliar a sua integridade e foram distribuídos entre as técnicas de observação, MEV ou Micro-CT. Devido ao moroso processo de estabilização e ao tempo gasto na resolução dos problemas metodológicos e na agilização do processo de tratamento dos exemplares, não foi possível atingir as repetições inicialmente planeadas e necessárias para uma avaliação estatística adequada sobre o sucesso entre os diferentes métodos de preparação. As fotografias dos espiráculos, obtidas na MEV, foram analisadas com o software ImageJ e as medições obtidas foram trabalhadas em Excel. Foi medida a área total de 199 espiráculos de 1 pupa e 9 adultos M. galloprovincialis, 2 pupas e 10 adultos A. Syriacus, 3 A. griseus adultos e 1 P. perroudi. tal como a área do espiráculo não coberta por sedas e a circularidade, uma razão entre a área e o perímetro, automaticamente calculada pelo ImageJ, que permite classificar a forma do espiráculo como mais circular, se o valor se aproximar de 1, ou mais elíptica se o valor se aproximar de 0. Os resultados obtidos através das medições feitas, indicam que os espiráculos dos adultos de M. galloprovincialis são os que apresentam a menor percentagem de área descoberta, ou seja, a área em que não há sedas a cobrir a entrada do espiráculo, quando comparados com os adultos das outras três espécies estudadas, que não desempenham um papel de disseminação do nematode. Enquanto que os espiráculos dos adultos das espécies A. syriacus e A. griseus estão mais desprotegidos, tendo uma menor percentagem de cobertura de sedas, os espiráculos de M. galloprovincialis têm mais sedas que poderão ser facilitadoras do movimento do nematode para dentro do espiráculo enquanto também preservam um nível de humidade favorável à sobrevivência, e à própria movimentação, do NMP. Por outo lado, as pupas de M. galloprovincialis apresentam uma cobertura de sedas ainda maior que o adulto da mesma espécie, o que nesta fase de desenvolvimento do inseto pode atuar como uma barreira física à entrada do nematode e que poderá explicar por que razão este só infecta o inseto adulto. Apesar de várias dificuldades em agilizar o processo de segmentação que acabou por inviabilizar a individualização da rede de ramificações da traqueia, através das radiografias obtidas da Micro-CT foi possível identificar quatro principais ramificações na cabeça e tórax e duas ramificações no abdómen de insetos das espécies M. galloprovincialis, A. syriacus e A. griseus, que são consistentes com as descrições morfológicas consultadas. Também foi possível medir o diâmetro das ramificações, nesses mesmos indivíduos, e posteriormente fez-se uma estimativa do volume das traqueias observadas. Os resultados obtidos das medições, indicam que o volume total da traqueia é maior em insetos maiores, o que corrobora o fato de as traqueias se estenderem por todo o corpo para que o oxigénio chegue a todos os órgãos e tecidos. Ao comparar o macho e a fêmea de M. galloprovincialis é notável a diferença de volume da traqueia ao nível do abdómen, sendo o da fêmea praticamente o dobro do macho, mas o volume total de ambos é semelhante o que sugere que poderá haver uma distribuição desigual das ramificações da traqueia consoante o sexo, para esta espécie, o que não se verifica no macho e fêmea de A. griseus que foram também medidos. Todos estes pontos resultantes do trabalho feito e da comparação entre a espécie vetor do NMP e as outras espécies estudadas, que convivendo com o nematode nas árvores hospedeiras não desempenham um papel de disseminadoras, poderão trazer novas perspetivas sobre a complexa interação entre o inseto vetor e o NMP. Todo o trabalho feito na preparação dos indivíduos é também uma mais valia para futuros trabalhos que tenham como objetivos a observação de estruturas anatómicas semelhantes. Todos os dados obtidos são originais e podem ser relevantes para futuras propostas de gestão do NMP
The Pine Wilt Disease (PWD) is caused by a non-indigenous nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophulis, that disseminates widely through a flying insect-vector, Monochamus galloprovincialis (Oliver, 1795), colonizer of the pine tree, leading the trees to death due to the clogging of the tree vessels. It remains unknown how the nematode identifies and infect the newly formed adult individuals of the vector species. Whereby, in the procedure of the project NEMATRANSFER (PTDC/AGR-FOR/4391/2014), we compare anatomic structures of pupae and adult insects of the vector species and other three cerambycid species, Arhopalus syriacus (Reitter, 1895), Acanthocinus griseus (Fabricius, 1793), and Pogonocherus perroudi Mulsant, 1839, in as attempt to recognize differences that may be considered as physiological barriers to nematode entry in non-vector species. To accomplish the main goal, several protocols were tried to achieve a characterization of the spiracles (measures, existence, or not, of bristles) using Scanning Electron Microscopy images and to measure the tracheal system (its length, ramifications, etc.) with Micro-computed Tomography and 3D models using proper software. From the obtained SEM results we presume that, while the non-vector species spiracles’, have lower bristles coverage, the insect-vector has only a small area not covered by them. This can imply that the bristles should help the nematode to tangle itself and crawl into the trachea while provide a moisture environment that also favour the nematode survival and movement. On the other hand, the bristles coverage of the pupae may be so dense that in this stage of the insect development it can work like an obstacle for the nematode entrance. This may be the reason why the PWN enter the spiracles only when the newly adult insects are formed. It has found evidence that the shape of the spiracles may represent an important feature to explain how PWN colonizes the insect-vector, or why it prefers M. galloprovincialis over the other species. In what concerns the Micro-CT results, we were able to identify four main tracheal trunks in the head and thorax and two main trunks in the abdomen of M. galloprovincialis, A. syriacus and A. griseus specimens. Also it was possible to measure tracheal trunks in one lyophilized specimen, in specimens fixated with glutaraldehyde and osmium tetroxide, and critical point dried, and even in not treated specimens, although in this last case it was harder to find the main trachea trunks lengthwise the entire body of the insect. The volume estimated values obtained are consistent with the insects’ body length, being higher in bigger specimens, and diameter and number of the main trunks are consistent with the described morphology of the trachea ramifications for Coleoptera insects. By comparing the abdominal tracheal volumes of both M. galloprovincialis male and female specimens, it seems that a differential ramification arrange occurs, as the female abdominal tracheal volume is twice of the male while the total volume is similar. All the worked done for the stabilization and preparation of the samples to endure SEM and Micro-CT is an asset for future similar studies. Our results, obtained by comparing the vector species with the non-vector species, that also share the host tree but do not have a role in the spread of the nematode may bring some understanding about the complex interaction between the PWN and the insect- vector. All our data are original and may be relevant for future pest managements measures.

Vital components are more or less prone to fail in a diving apparatus. This thesis examines the performance of oxygen sensors, carbon dioxide scrubber monitoring and composite gas cylinders. A partial pressure of oxygen sensor authentication is suggested in a published patent and poster, weaknesses in carbon dioxide scrubber monitoring systems near surface are revealed in a published paper and potential harmful gas permeability properties of a composite gas cylinder, altering the gas composition and decreases the oxygen fraction, is measured and determined in a submitted paper.The importance of adequately and thoroughly performed safety tests that are standardized becomes even more relevant when managing personal protective equipment. The European Committee for Standardization have ratified relevant standard for the work in this thesis;EN-14143 Respiratory equipment – Self-contained re-breathing diving apparatus,EN-12245:2009+A1:2011 Transportable gas cylinders – Fully wrapped composite cylinders, andISO 11119-3:2013 Gas cylinders – Refillable composite gas cylinders and tubes – Design, construction and testing.These tests form a base-line for the methods, tests and result evaluations performed here and are considered safe; however improvements to the tests and standards can be made and are here suggested.