Clinical reasoning of medical students in a public university in Brazil

The aim of this research was to understand the reasoning developed by medical students in a public university in Brazil. This research on education included semi-structured interviews and film recordings of interns discussing 10 clinical cases. A sample of 16 interns analyzed cases presented on a notebook computer with a webcam. They were instructed to verbalize all their thoughts on the procedures they would use. The film recordings and transcripts of the interviews were analyzed. Quantitative data was evaluated using Yates' chi-squared test and speech analysis was used to evaluate the transcripts. The theme worked on in the practice of reasoning was: the student's perceptions of their clinical practice. Of the 160 diagnoses, 57% were done with analytical reasoning and 43% with non-analytical reasoning. The hypothetical deductive method was employed by 31% of the interns and the inductive method was employed by 69%. The diagnostic accuracy was 81% correct for easy cases and 85% correct for difficult cases. We observed two empirical categories: the cognitive universe of the student and the patient's context.

RF disturbances produced by high-power photovoltaic solar plants

In this thesis, analysis of electromagnetic compatibility of high-power photovoltaic solar plant is made. Current standards suitable for photovoltaic applications are given. Measurements of antenna factor for experimental setup are shown. Also, measurements of common mode disturbance voltages in high-power solar plant are given. Importance of DC-side filter is shown. In the last part of the work, electromagnetic simulations are made. These simulations show influence of several factors to EMC of power plant. Based on these simulations and measurements recommendations are given.

Dieselmoottorin analogisen kierrosnopeusmittauksen digitalisointi

Työssä suunnitellaan kierrosnopeusmittauksen toteutus vanhaan Ford -teollisuusdieseliin käyttäen moottorin alkuperäistä kierrosnopeusanturia. Anturi kunnostetaan vaihtamalla vanha, palanut käämi uuteen digitaaliseen järjestelmään soveltuvaan käämiin. Sen toimin-ta halutulla kierrosnopeusalueella varmistetaan mittauksin ja tämän perusteella suunnitel-laan kytkentä sen liittämiseksi kierrosnopeuden laskevaan mikrokontrolleriin. Kytkennän toimivuutta testataan simuloimalla ennen prototyypin rakentamista. Erilaisia vaihtoehtoja analogisen näytön toteuttamiseksi tutkitaan ja niistä valitaan yksi ve-nekäyttöön soveltuva, joka toteutetaan järjestelmän näyttöratkaisuksi. Järjestelmälle suunnitellaan piirilevy, jolle prototyyppi kasataan. Mikrokontrollerille koodataan C -ohjelmointikielellä ohjelma, joka laskee dieselmoottorin kierrosnopeuden anturipulssien perusteella ja ohjaa näyttöä.

Modeling and Analysis of Noise and Interconnects for On-Chip Communication Link Design

This thesis considers modeling and analysis of noise and interconnects in onchip communication. Besides transistor count and speed, the capabilities of a modern design are often limited by on-chip communication links. These links typically consist of multiple interconnects that run parallel to each other for long distances between functional or memory blocks. Due to the scaling of technology, the interconnects have considerable electrical parasitics that affect their performance, power dissipation and signal integrity. Furthermore, because of electromagnetic coupling, the interconnects in the link need to be considered as an interacting group instead of as isolated signal paths. There is a need for accurate and computationally effective models in the early stages of the chip design process to assess or optimize issues affecting these interconnects. For this purpose, a set of analytical models is developed for on-chip data links in this thesis. First, a model is proposed for modeling crosstalk and intersymbol interference. The model takes into account the effects of inductance, initial states and bit sequences. Intersymbol interference is shown to affect crosstalk voltage and propagation delay depending on bus throughput and the amount of inductance. Next, a model is proposed for the switching current of a coupled bus. The model is combined with an existing model to evaluate power supply noise. The model is then applied to reduce both functional crosstalk and power supply noise caused by a bus as a trade-off with time. The proposed reduction method is shown to be effective in reducing long-range crosstalk noise. The effects of process variation on encoded signaling are then modeled. In encoded signaling, the input signals to a bus are encoded using additional signaling circuitry. The proposed model includes variation in both the signaling circuitry and in the wires to calculate the total delay variation of a bus. The model is applied to study level-encoded dual-rail and 1-of-4 signaling. In addition to regular voltage-mode and encoded voltage-mode signaling, current-mode signaling is a promising technique for global communication. A model for energy dissipation in RLC current-mode signaling is proposed in the thesis. The energy is derived separately for the driver, wire and receiver termination.

Polymer surface modification by atomic layer deposition

Current industrial atomic layer deposition (ALD) processes are almost wholly confined to glass or silicon substrates. For many industrial applications, deposition on polymer substrates will be necessary. Current deposition processes are also typically carried out at temperatures which are too high for polymers. If deposition temperatures in ALD can be reduced to the level applicable for polymers, it will open new interesting areas and applications for polymeric materials. The properties of polymers can be improved for example by coatings with functional and protective properties. Although the ALD has shown its capability to operate at low temperatures suitable for polymer substrates, there are other issues related to process efficiency and characteristics of different polymers where new knowledge will assist in developing industrially conceivable ALD processes. Lower deposition temperature in ALD generally means longer process times to facilitate the self limiting film growth mode characteristic to ALD. To improve process efficiency more reactive precursors are introduced into the process. For example in ALD oxide processes these can be more reactive oxidizers, such as ozone and oxygen radicals, to substitute the more conventionally used water. Although replacing water in the low temperature ALD with ozone or plasma generated oxygen radicals will enable the process times to be shortened, they may have unwanted effects both on the film growth and structure, and in some cases can form detrimental process conditions for the polymer substrate. Plasma assistance is a very promising approach to improve the process efficiency. The actual design and placement of the plasma source will have an effect on film growth characteristics and film structure that may retard the process efficiency development. Due to the fact that the lifetime of the radicals is limited, it requires the placement of the plasma source near to the film growth region. Conversely this subjects the substrate to exposure byother plasma species and electromagnetic radiation which sets requirements for plasma conditions optimization. In this thesis ALD has been used to modify, activate and functionalize the polymer surfaces for further improvement of polymer performance subject to application. The issues in ALD on polymers, both in thermal and plasma-assisted ALD will be further discussed.

Design Aspects of Megawatt-Range Direct-Driven Permanent MagnetWind Generators

Direct-driven permanent magnet synchronous generator is one of the most promising topologies for megawatt-range wind power applications. The rotational speed of the direct-driven generator is very low compared with the traditional electrical machines. The low rotational speed requires high torque to produce megawatt-range power. The special features of the direct-driven generators caused by the low speed and high torque are discussed in this doctoral thesis. Low speed and high torque set high demands on the torque quality. The cogging torque and the load torque ripple must be as low as possible to prevent mechanical failures. In this doctoral thesis, various methods to improve the torque quality are compared with each other. The rotor surface shaping, magnet skew, magnet shaping, and the asymmetrical placement of magnets and stator slots are studied not only by means of torque quality, but also the effects on the electromagnetic performance and manufacturability of the machine are discussed. The heat transfer of the direct-driven generator must be designed to handle the copper losses of the stator winding carrying high current density and to keep the temperature of the magnets low enough. The cooling system of the direct-driven generator applying the doubly radial air cooling with numerous radial cooling ducts was modeled with a lumped-parameter-based thermal network. The performance of the cooling system was discussed during the steady and transient states. The effect of the number and width of radial cooling ducts was explored. The large number of radial cooling ducts drastically increases the impact of the stack end area effects, because the stator stack consists of numerous substacks. The effects of the radial cooling ducts on the effective axial length of the machine were studied by analyzing the crosssection of the machine in the axial direction. The method to compensate the magnet end area leakage was considered. The effect of the cooling ducts and the stack end area effects on the no-load voltages and inductances of the machine were explored by using numerical analysis tools based on the three-dimensional finite element method. The electrical efficiency of the permanent magnet machine with different control methods was estimated analytically over the whole speed and torque range. The electrical efficiencies achieved with the most common control methods were compared with each other. The stator voltage increase caused by the armature reaction was analyzed. The effect of inductance saturation as a function of load current was implemented to the analytical efficiency calculation.

Viestitaktiikan kehittyminen yhtymän viestijärjestelmän käyttöönoton jälkeen

Tutkimus käynnistyi Maanpuolustuskorkeakoulun taktiikan laitoksen esittäessä aihepiiriä tutkittavaksi. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on ollut lisätä tietämystä viestitaktiikan kehittymisestä yhtymän viestijärjestelmän käyttöönoton jälkeen 1980 – 2000-luvuilla osana operatiivistaktisten toimintaperiaatteiden ja -tapojen kehittymistä. Tutkimuksella on pyritty syventämään tietämystä taktisten periaatteiden muutoksista viestitaktiikan näkökulmasta. Tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin maavoimien YVI-järjestelmillä varustettujen yhtymien viestitaktiikkaa sekä niissä tapahtuneita muutoksia. Muutoksia tarkasteltaessa tutkimuksessa keskityttiin käsitykseen viestitaktiikasta, viestitaktisiin periaatteisiin sekä viestipäällikköön ja hänen toimintakenttäänsä. Viestitaktisia periaatteita ja niissä tapahtuneita muutoksia vertailtiin myös yleisiin taktisiin periaatteisiin ja niiden painotuksissa tapahtuneisiin muutoksiin. Tutkimus on luonteeltaan kvalitatiivinen. Tutkimusongelmia lähestyttiin fenomenografisella tutkimusotteella, jossa tavoitteena on kuvailla, analysoida ja ymmärtää erilaisia käsityksiä ilmiöistä sekä käsitysten keskinäisistä suhteista. Lähdeaineiston muodostivat 18 viestitaktiikan asiantuntijan kokemusperäiset käsitykset viestitaktiikasta ja sen kehittymisestä YVIjärjestelmien käyttöönoton jälkeen. Käsityksistä muodostettiin merkitys- ja kuvauskategorioiden sekä tutkijan esiymmärryksen pohjalta induktiivisen päättelyn avulla tutkimuksen varsinaiset johtopäätökset. Tutkimushenkilöiden käsitysten sekä taktiikan ja viestitaktiikan aikaisempien määritelmien perusteella johtopäätöksenä määritettiin, että viestitaktiikka on tehtävän toteuttamiseen käytettävissä olevan viestillisen kapasiteetin optimaalista suunnittelua, soveltamista ja käyttöä viestivoimana haluttujen päämäärien saavuttamiseksi ja viestitaisteluiden voittamiseksi. Viestitaktikointi edellyttää viestitaisteluun liittyvien keinojen tuntemista sekä taitoa soveltaa niitä käytännössä. Tutkimustulosten perusteella keskeisiksi viestitaktisiksi periaatteiksi tärkeysjärjestyksessä muodostuivat - päämäärän ja tehtävän selkeys - varautuminen odottamattomiin tilanteen vaihteluihin - yksinkertaisuus - aktiivisuus ja oma-aloitteisuus. Keskeisiksi merkitystään lisänneiksi viestitaktisiksi periaatteiksi muodostuivat - voimien vaikutuksen keskittäminen - joukkojen ja voimien jakaminen (reservi) - varautuminen odottamattomiin tilanteen vaihteluihin - salaaminen ja harhauttaminen - turvallisuus. Selkeimpänä viestipäällikön tehtävien muutoksena pidettiin siirtymistä yksityiskohtaisesta viestiyhteyksien suunnittelijasta kokonaisvaltaiseksi yhtymän viestitoiminnan johtajaksi. Tutkimustulosten ja aikaisempien määritelmien perusteella johtopäätöksenä määritettiin, että viestipäällikkö johtaa yhtymän viestitoimintaa komentajan antamien vaatimusten mukaisesti ja vastaa yhtymän johtoryhmän jäsenenä viestitaktisista ratkaisuista haluttujen päämäärien saavuttamiseksi ja viestitaisteluiden voittamiseksi. Viestipäälliköltä edellytetään viestitaisteluun liittyvien keinojen tuntemista sekä taitoa soveltaa niitä käytännössä. Tutkimuksen mukaan yhtymän viestitaktiikkaan merkittävimmin vaikuttaneita tekijöitä olivat yhtymän viestijärjestelmien käyttöönotto, uusien esikunta- ja viestiyksiköiden kehittäminen, kiinteän viestiverkon ja johtamisjärjestelmäalan merkityksen kasvaminen, käytettävien tekniikoiden kehittyminen sekä joukkojen ja johtoportaiden tiedonsiirtotarpeiden kasvaminen. Viestitaktiikan osalta voidaan todeta deterministisen näkemyksen taistelusta ja taistelutilasta muuttuneen yleisten taktisten periaatteiden muutosten mukaisesti aikaisempaa monimuotoisempaan ja rohkeampaan, voluntaarisempaan, suuntaan.

Taksamittarin EMC-testaus

Työssä esitellään ajoneuvokäytössä elektronisiin laitteisiin mahdollisesti vaikuttavat sähkömagneettiset häiriöt, kytkeytyneiden häiriöiden siirtotiet sekä kytkeytyneiden häiriöiden muodot. Työssä käydään läpi lyhyesti tapoja joilla häiriön syntyä voidaan vähentää. Lisäksi työssä käydään läpi lyhyesti tapoja joilla häiriön vaikutusta voidaan pyrkiä vähentämään. Työssä esitellään laite, jonka mahdollisuuksia toimia taksin taksamittarina tutkitaan. Taksin taksamittarin tulee täyttää Euroopan Unionin alueella myynnissä ollessaan täyttää Euroopan Unionin asettama direktiivi ajoneuvoelektroniikalle, lisäksi laitteen tulee täyttää Euroopan Unionin mittalaitedirektiivin asettamat vaatimukset. Esitellyn laiteen häiriönsietoa testataan sähkökenttää vastaan Euroopan Unionin asettaman direktiivin mukaisesti.

Integration in project business : mechanisms for integrating customers and the project network during the life-cycle of industrial projects

This thesis focuses on integration in project business, i.e. how projectbased companies organize their product and process structures when they deliver industrial solutions to their customers. The customers that invest in these solutions run their businesses in different geographical, political and economical environments, which should be acknowledged by the supplier when providing solutions comprising of larger and more complex scopes than previously supplied to these customers. This means that the suppliers are increasing their supply range by taking over some of the activities in the value chain that have traditionally been handled by the customer. In order to be able to provide the functioning solutions, including more engineering hours, technical equipment and a wider project network, a change is needed in the mindset in order to be able to carry out and take the required responsibility that these new approaches bring. For the supplier it is important to be able to integrate technical products, systems and services, but the supplier also needs to have the capabilities to integrate the cross-functional organizations and departments in the project network, the knowledge and information between and within these organizations and departments, along with inputs from the customer into the product and process structures during the lifecycle of the project under development. Hence, the main objective of this thesis is to explore the challenges of integration that industrial projects meet, and based on that, to suggest a concept of how to manage integration in project business by making use of integration mechanisms. Integration is considered the essential process for accomplishing an industrial project, whereas the accomplishment of the industrial project is considered to be the result of the integration. The thesis consists of an extended summary and four papers, that are based on three studies in which integration mechanisms for value creation in industrial project networks and the management of integration in project business have been explored. The research is based on an inductive approach where in particular the design, commissioning and operations functions of industrial projects have been studied, addressing entire project life-cycles. The studies have been conducted in the shipbuilding and power generation industries where the scopes of supply consist of stand-alone equipment, equipment and engineering, and turnkey solutions. These industrial solutions include demanding efforts in engineering and organization. Addressing the calls for more studies on the evolving value chains of integrated solutions, mechanisms for inter- and intra-organizational integration and subsequent value creation in project networks have been explored. The research results in thirteen integration mechanisms and a typology for integration is proposed. Managing integration consists of integrating the project network (the supplier and the sub-suppliers) and the customer (the customer’s business purpose, operations environment and the end-user) into the project by making use of integration mechanisms. The findings bring new insight into research on industrial project business by proposing integration of technology and engineering related elements with elements related to customer oriented business performance in contemporary project environments. Thirteen mechanisms for combining products and the processes needed to deliver projects are described and categorized according to the impact that they have on the management of knowledge and information. These mechanisms directly relate to the performance of the supplier, and consequently to the functioning of the solution that the project provides. This thesis offers ways to promote integration of knowledge and information during the lifecycle of industrial projects, enhancing the development towards innovative solutions in project business.

Spin-Dynamics in Cold Gases of 87Rb and Atomic Hydrogen. The spins they are a-changin’

In this thesis the dynamics of cold gaseous atoms is studied. Two different atomic species and two different experimental techniques have been used. In the first part of the thesis experiments with Bose-Einstein condensates of Rb-87 are presented. In these experiments the methods of laser cooling and magnetic trapping of atoms were utilized. An atom chip was used as the experimental technique for implementation of magnetic trapping. The atom chip is a small integrated instrument allowing accurate and detailed manipulation of the atoms. The experiments with Rb-87 probed the behaviour of a falling beam of atoms outcoupled from the Bose-Einstein condensate by electromagnetic field induced spin flips. In the experiments a correspondence between the phases of the outcoupling radio frequency field and the falling beam of atoms was found. In the second part of the thesis experiments of spin dynamics in cold atomic hydrogen gas are discussed. The experiments with atomic hydrogen are conducted in a cryostat using a dilution refrigerator as the cooling method. These experiments concentrated on explaining and quantifying modulations in the electron spin resonance spectra of doubly polarized atomic hydrogen. The modifications to the previous experimental setup are described and the observation of electron spin waves is presented. The observed spin wave modes were caused by the identical spin rotation effect. These modes have a strong dependence on the spatial profile of the polarizing magnetic field. We also demonstrated confinement of these modes in regions of strong magnetic field and manipulated their spatial distribution by changing the position of the field maximum.

Design of salient pole PM synchronous machines for a vehicle traction application – Analysis and

This doctoral thesis presents a study on the development of a liquid-cooled frame salient pole permanent-magnet-exited traction machine for a four-wheel-driven electric car. The emphasis of the thesis is put on a radial flux machine design in order to achieve a light-weight machine structure for traction applications. The design features combine electromagnetic and thermal design methods, because traction machine operation does not have a strict operating point. Arbitrary load cycles and the flexible supply require special attention in the design process. It is shown that accurate modelling of the machine magnetic state is essential for high-performance operation. The saturation effect related to the cross-saturation has to be taken carefully into account in order to achieve the desired operation. Two prototype machines have been designed and built for testing: one totally enclosed machine with a special magnet module pole arrangement and another through-ventilated machine with a more traditional embedded magnet structure. Both structures are built with magnetically salient structures in order to increase the torque production capability with the reluctance torque component. Both machine structures show potential for traction usage. However, the traditional embedded magnet design turns out to be mechanically the more secure one of these two machine options.

Kirurgisten potilasohjeiden laatu ja valmius tukea voimavaraistavaa potilasohjausta sekä infektioiden torjuntaan liittyvä sisältö

Hoitotyössä infektioiden torjunnan painopistealueena on ollut lisätä potilaiden osallistuvuutta voimavaraistavalla potilasohjauksella. Potilasohjauksen apuna käytetään usein kirjallisia potilasohjeita, joiden rakenne ja laatu tulee olla hyvä. Lisäksi potilasohjeiden tulee omata valmiuksia tukea voimavaraistavaa potilasohjausta. Kirjalliset potilasohjeet ovat hyvä potilasohjauksen keino, mutta systemaattinen tieto potilasohjeiden laadusta, valmiuksista tukea voimavaraistavaa potilasohjausta sekä infektioiden torjunnan sisällöstä puuttuu. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli analysoida Suomen yliopistosairaaloiden kirurgisten potilasohjeiden infektioiden torjuntaan liittyvää sisältöä. Lisäksi oltiin kiinnostuneita potilasohjeiden laadusta hyvien kirjallisten potilasohjeiden ominaispiirteiden toteutumisessa sekä potilasohjeiden valmiuksista tukea voimavaraistavaa potilasohjausta. Tutkimuksen aineistona oli viiden yliopistosairaalan kirurgisille aikuispotilaille tarkoitetut potilasohjeet (N = 237). Organisaatioittain joka viides potilasohje (n = 50) analysoitiin potilasohjeiden laadun osalta sisällönerittelyllä ja aikaisemmin kehitetyn mittarin avulla (Salanterä ym. 2004). Deduktiivisella sisällönanalyysillä analysoitiin potilasohjeiden valmiuksia tukea voimavaraistavaa potilasohjausta, jonka ulottuvuuksien esiintyvyyden arviointiasteikko oli kehitetty tätä tutkimusta varten. Induktiivisella sisällönerittelyllä analysoitiin infektioiden torjuntaan liittyvä sisältö. Potilasohjeiden laadussa oli paljon vaihtelua, ja vain 36 % (n = 18) potilasohjeista oli julkaistu viimeisen kolmen vuoden (2010–2012) aikana. Potilasohjeet olivat ulkoasultaan selkeitä ja johdonmukaisia, jolloin kirjallisten potilasohjeiden ominaisuuksista parhaiten toteutuivat ulkoasun sekä kielen ja rakenteen ominaisuudet. Potilasohjeet kuvasivat toimenpidettä ja siitä selviytymistä, antaen parhaiten valmiuksia tukea toiminnallista ja bio-fysiologista selviytymistä potilasohjauksella. Infektioiden torjuntaan liittyvä sisältö oli pääasiassa esitetty epäsuorasti toisen asian kautta. Infektioiden syntyyn tai torjuntaan ei viitattu, vaan asiaa tarkasteltiin muusta näkökulmasta esimerkiksi ylipainon ja ihon kunnon osalta. Yleisin infektioiden torjuntaan liittyvä sisältö koski käsihygieniaa, vaikka sen toteuttamista ei opastettu tai ohjeistettu. Tutkimus tarjoaa lähtökohdan kehittää potilasohjeiden infektioiden torjuntaan liittyvää sisältöä sekä potilaan osallistuvuuden lisäämistä. Erityisesti tulisi kehittää potilaan osallistuvuuden tukemista voimavaraistavalla potilasohjauksella. Jatkotutkimuksena tulisi kartoittaa potilaiden tarpeet infektioiden torjunnan sisällöstä sekä kehittää kansallinen ohjeistus potilasohjeiden infektioon torjuntaan liittyvästä sisällöstä ja rakenteesta.

Marketers’ perception of the implementation of social media marketing: Evidence from large Finnish companies’ marketing campaigns

Social media is a multidimensional marketing and communications channel which can support and enhance a business’ reputation, sales and even longevity. Social media as a business tool encourages an interaction between customers and companies which gives opportunities for a company to better understand their customers, to target them more effectively and to collaborate and create dialogues with them which is not possible through traditional media channels. The aim of a social media strategy is to increase brand awareness, image, loyalty and recognition. The peer networks that social media creates allows a company to disseminate information through loyal customers to new and prospective customers to ultimately increase reach. The purpose of the study is to understand the marketer’s perspective of social media marketing use and how it is currently utilized in marketing and communications activities in Finland. Three companies were interviewed covering fourteen different implementations of social media marketing campaigns. These were then analysed to ascertain the utilization methods and experience gained on recent campaigns in the Finnish market The utilization of social media marketing was analysed using the methods of thematic analysis and inductive and abductive reasoning. Elements and themes were drawn out of the separate interviews to create a framework with which to explore, evaluate and match theories that define social media usage by companies. It became clear from all of the interviews that social media as a tool is most effective when it captures the viewer’s interest through rich and entertaining content. This directed the theoretical research towards Engagement Theory and Content Marketing which look to emphasize the importance of communities, collaboration, interaction, and peer-sharing as the key drivers of a social media marketing campaign.

Design of an amplifier and an instrumentation setup for a harsh environment heat flux measurement application – case axial flux electric machine

Measurement is a tool for researching. Therefore, it is important that the measuring process is carried out correctly, without distorting the signal or the measured event. Researches of thermoelectric phenomena have been focused more on transverse thermoelectric phenomena during recent decades. Transverse Seebeck effect enables to produce thinner and faster heat flux sensor than before. Studies about transverse Seebeck effect have so far focused on materials, so in this Master’s Thesis instrumentation of transverse Seebeck effect based heat flux sensor is studied, This Master’s Thesis examines an equivalent circuit of transverse Seebeck effect heat flux sensors, their connectivity to electronics and choosing and design a right type amplifier. The research is carried out with a case study which is Gradient Heat Flux Sensors and an electrical motor. In this work, a general equivalent circuit was presented for the transverse Seebeck effect-based heat flux sensor. An amplifier was designed for the sensor of the case study, and the solution was produced for the measurement of the local heat flux of the electric motor to improve the electromagnetic compatibility.

Distribution of immune response cells in the pelvic urethra and the prepuce of rams

The pathogens of the reproductive system in the male can penetrate and establish by ascending route, from to the prepuce to the urethra, accessory glands, epididymis and testicles. The aim of this paper is determine the distribution and number of cells involved in the immune response in prepuce and pelvic urethra of rams, without apparent clinical alterations in testicle, epididymis and prepuce. The distribution of some of the cells involved in the immune response at the level of the prepuce and the pelvic urethra was quantified in four one-year-old rams seronegative for B. ovis and A. seminis and without apparent lesions in the testicles, the epididymis, and the prepuce. At the moment of slaughter, samples were taken from the preputial fornix and the pelvic urethra and placed in 10% formalin and under freezing conditions. CD4, CD8, WC1, CD45RO, CD14 and CD1b cells were demonstrated by immunohistochemistry, and immunoglobulin-containing cells (ICC) of the IgA, IgG and IgM classes were demonstrated by immunofluorescence. The labeled cells present in the mucosa of both organs were counted with an image analyzer. The total number of cells was compared between both tissues and differentially between the epithelium and the connective tissue of the mucosa. Significant differences were found in the total number of CD4, CD45RO, and WC1 lymphocytes, in CD14 macrophages, and CD1b dendritic cells, with mean values being greater in the fornix than in the urethra (p<0.05) in all cases. Only dendritic cells were found in the prepuce. No differences were found in the number of CD8 lymphocytes between both organs. The ratio between each cell type in the connective and the intraepithelial tissues and between organs was 10/1 for CD4 in the fornix (p<0.05), against 7/1 in the urethra (p<0.05), while CD8 had a 1/1 distribution in both mucosae. The WC1 ratio was 5/1 in both mucosae (p<0.05). CD45RO labeling was 19/1 in the prepuce (p<0.05) and 1/1 in the urethra. IgA-containing cells did not show differences in the total number of cells in both tissues. In the urethra, no IgG-containing cells were observed and IgM-containing cells were scarce; in contrast, both cell types were present in the prepuce, in amounts greater than in the urethra (p<0.05). IgA-, IgG-, and IgM-containing cells were located in both organs in the mucosal connective tissue. The presence of antigen-presenting cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells, as well as of lymphocytes CD4, CD8 TCR γδ (WC1), IgA-, IgG and IgM positive cells, and CD45RO cells suggests that both mucosae may behave as inductive and effector sites for the mucosal immune response.