Dissertations / Theses on the topic '62R20'

Trois problèmes sont abordés dans cette thèse: l'inférence en régression multi-tâche de grande dimension, les quantiles géométriques dans les espaces normés de dimension infinie, et les moyennes de Fréchet généralisées dans les arbres métriques. Premièrement, nous considérons un modèle de régression multi-tâche avec une hypothèse de sparsité sur les lignes de la matrice paramètre. L'estimation est faite en haute dimension avec l'estimateur Lasso multi-tâche. Afin de corriger le biais induit par la pénalité, nous introduisons un nouvel objet dépendant uniquement des données que nous appelons matrice d'interaction. Cet outil nous permet d'établir des résultats asymptotiques avec des lois limites normales ou chi². Il en découle des intervalles de confiance et des ellipsoïdes de confiance, qui sont valides dans des régimes de sparsité qui ne sont pas couverts par la littérature existante. Deuxièmement, nous étudions le quantile géométrique, qui généralise le quantile classique au cadre des espaces normés. Nous commençons par fournir de nouveaux résultats sur l'existence et l'unicité des quantiles géométriques. L'estimation est effectuée avec un M-estimateur approché et nous examinons ses propriétés asymptotiques en dimension infinie. Quand le quantile théorique n'est pas unique, nous utilisons la théorie de la convergence variationnelle pour obtenir des résultats asymptotiques sur les sous-suites dans la topologie faible. Quand le quantile théorique est unique, nous montrons que l'estimateur est consistant pour la topologie de la norme dans une large classe d'espaces de Banach, en particulier dans les espaces séparables et uniformément convexes. Dans les Hilbert séparables nous démontrons des représentations de Bahadur-Kiefer de l'estimateur, dont découle immédiatement la normalité asymptotique à la vitesse paramétrique. Finalement, nous considérons des mesures de tendance centrale pour des données vivant sur un réseau, qui est modélisé par un arbre métrique. Les paramètres de localisation que nous étudions sont appelés moyennes de Fréchet généralisées: elles sont obtenues en remplaçant le carré dans la définition de la moyenne de Fréchet par une fonction de perte convexe et croissante. Nous élaborons une notion de dérivée directionnelle dans l'arbre, ce qui nous aide à localiser et caractériser les minimiseurs. Nous examinons les propriétés statistiques du M-estimateur correspondant: nous étendons le concept de moyenne collante au contexte des arbres métriques, puis nous obtenons un théorème collant non-asymptotique et une loi des grands nombres collante. Pour la médiane de Fréchet, nous établissons des bornes de concentration non-asymptotiques et des théorèmes central limite collants
Three topics are explored in this thesis: inference in high-dimensional multi-task regression, geometric quantiles in infinite-dimensional Banach spaces and generalized Fréchet means in metric trees. First, we consider a multi-task regression model with a sparsity assumption on the rows of the unknown parameter matrix. Estimation is performed in the high-dimensional regime using the multi-task Lasso estimator. To correct for the bias induced by the penalty, we introduce a new data-driven object that we call the interaction matrix. This tool lets us develop normal and chi-square asymptotic distribution results, from which we obtain confidence intervals and confidence ellipsoids in sparsity regimes that are not covered by the existing literature. Second, we study the geometric quantile, which generalizes the classical univariate quantile to normed spaces. We begin by providing new results on the existence and uniqueness of geometric quantiles. Estimation is then conducted with an approximate M-estimator and we investigate its large-sample properties in infinite dimension. When the population quantile is not uniquely defined, we leverage the theory of variational convergence to obtain asymptotic statements on subsequences in the weak topology. When there is a unique population quantile, we show that the estimator is consistent in the norm topology for a wide range of Banach spaces including every separable uniformly convex space. In separable Hilbert spaces, we establish novel Bahadur-Kiefer representations of the estimator, from which asymptotic normality at the parametric rate follows. Lastly, we consider measures of central tendency for data that lives on a network, which is modeled by a metric tree. The location parameters that we study are called generalized Fréchet means: they obtained by relaxing the square in the definition of the Fréchet mean to an arbitrary convex nondecreasing loss. We develop a notion of directional derivative in the tree, which helps us locate and characterize the minimizers. We examine the statistical properties of the corresponding M-estimator: we extend the notion of stickiness to the setting of metrics trees, and we state a non-asymptotic sticky theorem, as well as a sticky law of large numbers. For the Fréchet median, we develop non-asymptotic concentration bounds and sticky central limit theorems

The manufacture of carbonates and carbamates is essential due to their wide range of applications from polymers in foams, elastomers and engineering plastics to agrochemicals. Since there is a high demand for both types of compound, there is a commercial justification for use of phosgene in their synthesis. However, phosgene is highly toxic in small quantities. The development of an alternative reagent is therefore most desirable. This thesis relates our attempts to overcome the problem of phosgene use by utilising C02. Chapter One highlights previous research concerning the synthesis of carbonates and their derivatives from CO2. Chapter Two details the development of the reaction of CO2 to form methanesulfonyl carbonates (RO(CO)OS02Me) and carbamates (R2N(CO)OS02Me), which are precursors of carbonates and carbamates respectively. Alcohols or amines are reacted with CO2 at atmospheric pressure in acetonitrile to generate carbonate and carbamate anions in situ. Reaction with methanesulfonic anhydride leads to the methanesulfonyl carbonates and carbamates which are observed spectroscopically but are not isolable. Chapter Three explains the successful conversion of methanesulfonyl carbonates and carbamates to carbonates and carbamates, as well as testing the scope of the reaction. Chapter Four demonstrates the transfer of the synthetic methodology to multifunctional compounds to generate dendritic carbamates and highlights the various approaches used to achieve this goal. Chapter Five is the experimental section.

Ever since the first mobile telephone call was made by a Motorola researcher in 1973, mobile technology has been growing rapidly to facilitate diverse ubiquitous services. Although cell based radio technology has proved beneficial for reliable long distance transmission, it is faced with challenges when deployed in an indoor environment. With the introduction of white LED - based communication entities at the start of the 21st century, radio and other technologies have become more interdependent, with the possibility for further expansion. Bearing in mind the sophistication offered, with the rapid developments witnessed in mobile telecommunications, this thesis presents an innovative alternative for cell phone connectivity in RF restricted or poor signal connectivity region. To address the research objective of offering uninterrupted signal connectivity in an indoor environment, the term Radio on Visible Light (RoVL) was introduced in this research. Furthermore, five major attributes influencing mobile signal transmission through visible light channels were identified and addressed. The bandwidth constraint offered by a white LED was tackled with an intelligent technique of frequency translation and mapping. In addition, an electronic predistorter was designed and implemented to address the nonlinearity in an LED. For efficient data manipulation, subcarrier continuous phase technique of modulation was introduced and hardware implemented for visible light communication, with a discussion on the LED number and arrangement for efficient illumination and data transmission. Despite the presence of significant research contributions in visible light technology, the study here is specifically focussed on integrating the GSM network with that of the optical wireless systems. The existing visible light entities provide service users with a one way broadband data transmission hub, unlike the dual channel support rendered by the RoVL device as presented in this research. The techniques proposed, backed up with interesting research observations and experimental results, clearly demonstrate the capability of supporting mobile communication through optical wireless channels. The methods proposed and techniques discussed shall lay foundation in supplementing the radio based mobile technology with optical wireless entities, opening new avenues for further research & development in this direction.

Chapter 1 introduces the concept of polyethylene (PE) end-functionalisation as a route to block copolymers, reviews the different literature methods for their synthesis this way, and compares the advantages and disadvantages of each. Finally, an existing method which makes use of PE terminated with a styrene derivative is identified as having fewer disadvantages than most literature procedures. Further investigation of the mechanism is proposed. Chapter 2 focusses on the different types of so-called dormant state formed in Ziegler-Natta catalysed olefin polymerisations, and in particular on the dormancy occurring after styrene insertion. Copolymerisations of ethylene with styrene, allylbenzene and 4-phenyl-1-butene in the presence of hydrogen are undertaken, and evidence for the presence of a dormant state or simply competitive rates of hydrogenation vs ethylene insertion is discussed. Increasing styrene concentration beyond that used by Chung is found to yield PE capped at both chain ends with styrene. A new mechanism – Catalytic Hydride Initiated Polymerisation (CHIP) – is consistent with these new observations. Chapter 3 focusses on extending the application of the CHIP mechanism to the synthesis of new examples of end-functional PE. Copolymerisations of ethylene with α-methylstyrene and related monomers 1,3/1,4-diisopropenylbenzene, α-methylstyrene dimer and limonene in the presence of hydrogen are investigated, resulting in the successful synthesis of a range of PE examples initiated with each comonomer. The effects of hydrogen pressure and comonomer concentration are also discussed. The advantages of CHIP are discussed, and the synthesis of end-functionalised PE incorporating DIB is studied in detail. An α-methylstyrene like end group is present at the start of the PE chains. Chapter 4 describes the free-radical copolymerisation of the new functionalised PE with acrylate monomers. Observations are consistent with a new reversible termination mechanism similar to nitroxide mediated polymerisation. The products are characterised by NMR, GPC, DLS, TEM and DSC, and the evidence is found to be consistent with the presence of block copolymers. Chapter 5 details the experimental procedures used to carry out the work in this thesis.

Stating the faith in the form of fundamental articles has, historically, provided an important strategy by which the identity and continuity of the Church has been expressed. The issue underlying this ecclesiological context of fundamental articles concerns the truth of the one-in-Christ bond in Christianity. However discussion of fundamental articles of the faith has, from the Post-Reformation period, tended to occur as somewhat disconnected from wider concerns to do with the belief, discipleship and mission of the Church. One result is that important issues and motives implicit in the attempt to articulate the fundamental articles of Christianity remain undisclosed and undeveloped. By means of a multi-level approach - contemporary relevance (Part One), historical development (Part Two), case studies (Part Three) and systematic inquiry (Part Four) - this thesis develops an understanding of fundamental articles which shows how the theme is enmeshed within and contributes to the dynamic of Christian faith in the Church. The resources for this inquiry are drawn from an extensive, but hitherto largely unexamined treatment, of the theme of fundamental articles in Anglicanism. The Protestant tradition of speaking about fundamental articles of faith is found to offer an important medium through which the reality of being one-in-Christ can be identified, communicated and strengthened. In this way the tradition proves a valuable means for uncovering and examining the purpose(s) of stating the faith. The problematic role of fundamental articles in Anglican self- understanding reveals itself as an instance of a more general, controversial and unfinished task in theology to state the truth of God’s creating and redeeming love. The thesis thus draws attention to the significance of fundamental articles for expressing the nature and form of ecclesial faith and discipleship. A positive rationale emerges for a more intensive and discerning engagement with the fundamental articles tradition as a strategy by which theology can serve the mission of the Church.

The research reported in this dissertation was undertaken to investigate efficient computational methods of automatically generating three dimensional unstructured tetrahedral meshes. The work on two dimensional triangular unstructured grid generation by Lewis and Robinson [LeR76] is first examined, in which a recursive bisection technique of computational order nlog(n) was implemented. This technique is then extended to incorporate new methods of geometry input and the automatic handling of multiconnected regions. The method of two dimensional recursive mesh bisection is then further modified to incorporate an improved strategy for the selection of bisections. This enables an automatic nodal placement technique to be implemented in conjunction with the grid generator. The dissertation then investigates methods of generating triangular grids over parametric surfaces. This includes a new definition of surface Delaunay triangulation with the extension of grid improvement techniques to surfaces. Based on the assumption that all surface grids of objects form polyhedral domains, a three dimensional mesh generation technique is derived. This technique is a hybrid of recursive domain bisection coupled with a min-max heuristic triangulation algorithm. This is done to achieve a computationlly efficient and reliable algorithm coupled with a fast nodal placement technique. The algorithm generates three dimensional unstructured tetrahedral grids over polyhedral domains with multi-connected regions in an average computational order of less than nlog(n).

The thesis work concerns X-ray spectrometry for both medical and space applications and is divided into two sections. The first section addresses an X-ray spectrometric system designed to study radiological beams and is devoted to the optimization of diagnostic procedures in medicine. A parametric semi-empirical model capable of efficiently reconstructing diagnostic X-ray spectra in 'middle power' computers was developed and tested. In addition, different silicon diode detectors were tested as real-time detectors in order to provide a real-time evaluation of the spectrum during diagnostic procedures. This project contributes to the field by presenting an improved simulation of a realistic X-ray beam emerging from a common X-ray tube with a complete and detailed spectrum that lends itself to further studies of added filtration, thus providing an optimized beam for different diagnostic applications in medicine. The second section describes the preliminary tests that have been carried out on the first version of an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), integrated with large area position-sensitive Silicon Drift Detector (SDD) to be used on board future space missions. This technology has been developed for the ESA project: LOFT (Large Observatory for X-ray Timing), a new medium-class space mission that the European Space Agency has been assessing since February of 2011. The LOFT project was proposed as part of the Cosmic Vision Program (2015-2025).

This thesis comprises three independent essays in operations management. The first essay explores a specific issue encountered by mobile gaming companies. The remaining two essays address the contracting problem in a supply chain setting. In the first essay, we study the phenomena of game companies offering to pay users in "virtual" benefits to take actions in-game that earn the game company revenue from third parties. Examples of such "incentivized actions" include paying users in "gold coins" to watch video advertising and speeding in-game progression in exchange for filling out a survey etc. We develop a dynamic optimization model that looks at the costs and benefits of offering incentivized actions to users as they progress in their engagement with the game. We find sufficient conditions for the optimality of a threshold strategy of offering incentivized actions to low-engagement users and then removing incentivized action to encourage real-money purchases once a player is sufficiently engaged. Our model also provides insights into what types of games can most benefit from offering incentivized actions. In the second essay, we propose what we call a generalized price-only contract, which is a dynamic generalization of the simple wholesale price-only contract. We derive some interesting properties of this contract and relate them to well-known issues such as double marginalization, relative power in a supply chain due to Stackelberg leadership, contract structure and commitment issues. In the third essay, we consider a supplier selling to a retailer with private inventory information over multiple periods. We focus on dynamic short-term contracts, where contracting takes place in every period. At the beginning of each period, with inventory or backlog kept privately by the retailer, the supplier offers a one-period contract and the retailer decides his order quantity in anticipation of uncertain customer demand. We cast the problem as a dynamic adverse-selection problem with Markovian dynamics. We show that the optimal short-term contract has a threshold structure, with possibly multiple thresholds. In certain cost regimes, the optimal contract entails a base-stock policy yet induces partial participation.
Business, Sauder School of
Operations and Logistics (OPLOG), Division of
Graduate

A combination of climate change and decades of fire suppression has led to an increase in the size of wildfires in North American conifer forests. Large wildfires are more heterogeneous than smaller fires because of their landscape context and fire-weather that ignites them. Larger fires are patchier, and have more opportunities for good habitat, but they also produce large patches of open area where prey species are exposed to predation. For many mammal species, such as snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) this patchiness means having to navigate quite different habitat patches while trying to locate adequate cover and food. The density of animals in burns of different sizes, and how individuals behave while foraging in those within-burn patches, is unknown for many species. This study addresses these knowledge gaps (fire size and within-burn patchiness) with two studies. First, I assessed densities of snowshoe hare in 9 wildfires that burned 13 years ago (3 each of small (~100 ha), medium (1000-5000 ha), and large (>10,000 ha)) and in mature forests in southern British Columbia to determine if fire size impacts hare density. I found that hares were highly variable in large burns but when they were present the densities were the highest of any sites. Hares were absent from small burns and most medium burns. Hares were commonly present in mature forests but at much lower densities than in large burns. Second, I assessed snowshoe hare foraging behaviour by measuring tortuosity, speed of movement, and amount of browse along winter foraging pathways in open and regenerating patches of the Okanagan Mountain Park fire (>25,000 ha) and surrounding mature forest. I found that hares moved the fastest and browsed the least in open patches, and moved slower and ate more in sapling patches. Hares did not change tortuosity. The data from these two studies show that fire size is an important predictor of snowshoe hare density and that hares change foraging behaviour to some degree based on the type of habitat they are in.
Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences (Okanagan)
Biology, Department of (Okanagan)
Graduate

Although many quantum mechanics problems of a point particle have been well understood, the realistic physical model is often a composite object consisting of particles bound together, and its quantum mechanics is an important problem with applications in many areas of physics. Unlike a point particle, a composite object possesses internal structure described by some degrees of freedom which are often entangled with each other. We call the entanglement among these degrees of freedom ``internal entanglement'', to distinguish it from any other entanglement they may share with an external object. Examples of internal entanglement include the entanglement between a vibrational and a rotational mode of a molecule, and that between its position and its internal clock-state etc. In this thesis, we study quantum mechanics of composite objects by focusing on the effects of internal entanglement. We first look at the tunnelling of a diatomic molecule type composite object through a half-silvered mirror in continuum space and observe that its spatial superposition state made by the mirror can decohere by emission of radiation due to the fact that its internal degrees of freedom are entangled with radiation fields, and that there exists entanglement between its position and its internal (i.e., relative position) degrees of freedom. Secondly, we study its lattice analog in molecular crystals, namely we replace the diatomic molecule by a biexicton, and the mirror by an impurity. We find that discreteness of a lattice makes the wave vector of a biexicton and the relative distance between two excitons of it entangled with each other. We investigate how this inseparability affects the creation of the biexciton-impurity bound states and the entanglement dynamics. Finally we propose a possible application of our study of internal entanglement to the Anderson model of a composite quasiparticle.
Science, Faculty of
Physics and Astronomy, Department of
Graduate

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1994.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 93-94).
The premise of the thesis states that to intensify the collective use of public place there must exist a broad collective understanding of physical constituents that 'build' spatial relationships. These spatial understandings are 'made' through a relationship of physical definitions in a particular landscape and should give indications as to how the built environment should be used. Spatial qualities are determined by their capacity to be physically, mentally, and emotionally accessible through association. To examine this premise, the thesis proposes the design of an outdoor public plaza, the configuration of buildings that defines it, and their relationship to an existing public path. These buildings include a learning center and dorm, a commercial building, and a subway station.
by Darrell E. Aldrich.
M.Arch.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, 2010.
Page 84 blank. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references.
The innate immune system is the first line of host defense, and its ability to propagate antimicrobial and inflammatory signals from the cellular microenvironment to the tissue at-large is critical for survival. In a remarkably complex microenvironment, cells are constantly processing external cues, initiating convoluted intracellular signaling cascades, and interacting with neighboring cells to generate a global, unified response. At the onset of infection or sterile injury, individual cells sense danger or damage signals and elicit innate immune responses that spread from the challenged cells to surrounding cells, thereby establishing an overall inflammatory state. However, little is known about how these dynamic spatiotemporal responses unfold. Through the use GFP reporters, in vitro transplant coculture systems, and in vivo models of infection and sterile injury, this thesis describes identification of a gap junction intercellular communication pathway for amplifying immune and inflammatory responses, and demonstrates its importance in host innate immunity. The first section describes development of stable GFP reporters to study the spatiotemporal activation patterns of two key transcription factors in inflammation and innate immunity: Nuclear factor-KappaB (NFKB) and Interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3). Stimulation of NFKB-GFP reporters resulted in a spatially homogeneous pattern of activation, found to be largely mediated by paracrine action of the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNFa. In contrast, the activation of IRF3 was spatially heterogeneous, resulting in the formation of multicellular colonies of activated cells in an otherwise latent background. This pattern of activation was demonstrated to be dependent on cell-cell contact mediated communication between neighboring cells, and not on paracrine signaling. The second section describes the discovery of a gap junction intercellular communication pathway responsible for the formation of IRF3 active colonies in response to immune activation. Cell sorting and gene expression profiling revealed that the activated reporter colonies, collectively, serve as the major source of critical antimicrobial and inflammatory cytokines. Using in vitro transplant coculture systems, colony formation was found to be dependent on gap junction communication. Blocking gap junctions with genetic specificity severely compromised the innate immune system's ability to mount antiviral and inflammatory responses. The third section illustrates an application of the gap junction-induced amplification of innate immunity phenomenon in an animal model of sterile injury. Drug-induced liver injury was shown to be dependent on gap junction communication for amplifying sterile inflammatory signals. Mice deficient in hepatic gap junction protein connexin 32 (Cx32) were protected against liver damage, inflammation, and death in response to hepatotoxic drugs. Co-administration of a selective pharmacologic Cx32 inhibitor with hepatotoxic drugs significantly limited hepatocyte damage and sterile inflammation, and completely abrogated mortality. These finds suggests that co-formulation of gap junction inhibitors with hepatotoxic drugs may prevent liver failure in humans, and potentially limit other forms of sterile injury. In summary, this thesis demonstrates the development of novel tools for investigating the spatiotemporal dynamics of cellular responses, describes how these tools were utilized to discover a basic gap junction communication pathway critical in innate immunity, and provides evidence for the clinical relevance of this pathway in sterile inflammatory injury.
by Suraj Jagdish Patel.
Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Biological Engineering, February 2011.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 119-128).
Angiogenesis is crucial during many physiological processes, and is influenced by various biochemical and biomechanical factors. Models have proven useful in understanding the mechanisms of angiogenesis and the characteristics of the capillaries formed as part of the process. We have developed a 3D hybrid, agent-field model where individual cells are modeled as sprout-forming agents in a matrix field. Cell independence, cell-cell communication and stochastic cell response are integral parts of the model. The model simulations incorporate probabilities of an individual cell to transition into one of four states - quiescence, proliferation, migration and apoptosis. We demonstrate that several features such as continuous sprouts, cell clustering and branching that are observed in microfluidic experiments conducted under controlled conditions using few angiogenic factors can be reproduced by this model. We also identify the transition probabilities that result in specific sprout characteristics such as the length and number of continuous sprouts. We have used microfluidics to study cell migration and capillary morphogenesis. The experiments were conducted under different concentrations of VEGF and Ang I. We demonstrated that capillaries with distinct characteristics can be grown under different media conditions and that characteristics can be altered by changing these conditions. A two-channel microfluidic device fabricated in PDMS was used for all experiments. The rationale underlying the design of the experiments was twofold: the first goal was to generate reproducible and physiologically relevant results in a microfluidic device, and the second goal was to quantify the capillary characteristics and use them to estimate the transition parameters of the model. We developed stable, well-maintained sprouts by using human microvascular endothelial cells in 2.5 mg/ml dense collagen I gel and by using media supplemented with 40 ng/ml VEGF and 500 ng/ml Ang 1 for two days. It has been shown in many studies that VEGF acts as an angiogenic factor and Ang 1 acts as stabilizing factor. Here we showed that their roles are maintained in the 3D microenvironment, and the sprout characteristics obtained by using this baseline condition could be altered by changing the concentrations of these two growth factors in a systematic way. Sprout and cell characteristics obtained in the experiments and simulations were analyzed by adapting Decision Tree Analysis. This methodology provides us with a useful tool for discerning the impact of different growth factors on the process of cell migration or proliferation as they alter general sprout morphology. The imprints obtained via experiments and simulations were compared; by choosing appropriate values of the transition probabilities, the model generates capillary characteristics similar to those seen in experiments (R2 ~ 0.82- 0.99). Thus, this model can be used to cluster sprout morphology as a function of various influencing factors and, within bounds, predict if a certain growth factor will affect migration or proliferation as it impacts sprout morphology. This was demonstrated in the case of anti-angiogenic agent, PF4. We showed that at high concentration of PF4 (- 1000 ng/ ml), the transition to migration is more profoundly affected while at low concentrations of - 10 ng/ ml, PF4 does not have much of an effect on either migration or proliferation.
by Anusuya Das.
Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Linguistics and Philosophy, 2010.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 152-155).
Some actions are identity affecting, they affect who will exist in the future. Explaining how identity affecting actions can be wrong has been thought to pose a problem, the Non-Identity Problem. The problem is that an identity affecting action could be wrong even though no one would be harmed if it were performed. If no one would be harmed, how can we explain why it is wrong? The Non-Identity Problem assumes that someone is harmed by an action only if someone would be worse-off if it were performed than they would be if it were not. I defend this assumption, and I argue that harm does not figure in any way into a plausible explanation of wrong-doing in examples of the Non-Identity Problem. Furthermore, I argue that the Non-Identity Problem is not an anomaly. There are other examples of actions that are wrong even though harm does not figure into any plausible explanation of why they are wrong. I focus on one: the wrong of increasing inequality between people who are equally deserving. I conclude that harm does not play a role in explaining all wrong actions, nor is harm an especially important consideration that counts against an action. Consistent with these lessons, I suggest that we think about the wrong done in examples that raise the Non-Identity Problem in the following way: we should ask what the action tells us about the agent's character. I argue that the action reveals to us a defect in the agent's character and an action that is the mark of a defective character is wrong. I identify the defect of character revealed by some of the most troubling examples of wrong-doing as insensitivity to suffering. Insensitivity to suffering can be exhibited to the same degree by an agent who harms someone as by an agent who harms no one.
by Valentina Maria Urbanek.
Ph.D.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2010.
This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-92).
Hybrid wing-body aircraft noise generation and boundary layer ingestion (BLI) performance trends with increased fan face Mach number inlet designs are investigated. The presented topics are in support of the NASA subsonic fixed wing project, which seeks to lower noise and increase performance by improving prediction methods and technologies. The aircraft configurations used for study are the N2A, using conventional podded engines, and the N2B, using an embedded propulsion system. Preliminary FAR Part 36 noise certification assessments are completed using the NASA Aircraft Noise Prediction Program (ANOPP). The limitations of applying current ANOPP noise prediction methods to hybrid wing-body aircraft are investigated. Improvements are made to the landing gear and airfoil self-noise modules, while a diffraction integral method is implemented in a companion thesis to enhance noise shielding estimates. The N2A overall takeoff and landing noise estimate is found to be 5.3 EPNdB higher than the N+2 goal. The dominant noise sources are the fan rearward and jet on takeoff and the main landing gear and elevons on approach. A lower fan pressure ratio and advanced landing gear fairings are recommended to decrease N2A overall noise levels. The available engine noise estimation tools were inadequate to model the N2B distributed propulsion system and rectangular exhaust nozzle; therefore, overall N2B aircraft noise results are presented for reference only. A simplified embedded propulsion system integration study is carried out to explore the N2B fan design space. A 2-D computational domain with contoured slip boundaries around the centerbody is used to replicate the effects of 3-D relief on the airframe and inlet aerodynamics. The domain includes the S-shaped inlet duct and is extended far downstream for a Trefftz plane power balance analysis to determine the propulsive power required for steady level flight. A fan actuator volume is included to couple the airframe external and the engine internal flows. Aircraft power savings, fan efficiency, and boundary layer thickness trends are examined to determine if increasing fan face Mach number improves system performance while mitigating the total pressure distortion risk of boundary layer ingestion. A fan face Mach number near 0.7 is found to increase aircraft power savings 12% relative to the baseline design and to reduce centerbody boundary layer kinetic energy thickness by 4.7%. In addition, power balances at lower fan pressure ratios as fan face Mach number increases suggesting that high-flow low pressure ratio fans are desirable for BLI.
by Philip Andrew Weed.
S.M.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Biology, 2011.
This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis. Vita.
Includes bibliographical references.
The association of tumor cells and lymphocytes has led to the hypothesis that our immune system actively inhibits the formation and progression of cancer, a phenomenon called tumor immune surveillance. T cells specific to mutant proteins have been identified in cancer patients and the recent success of cancer immunotherapies provides evidence that the immune system can fight this disease. Yet the frequent occurrence of malignant disease despite T cell recognition presents a significant medical problem. Only after we determine how tumors bypass the immune system can immunotherapeutic approaches be improved. To understand how tumors subvert immune responses, tumor transplantation or transgenic mice expressing tumor-associated antigens have been used to model cancer. To assess the role of anti-tumor T cells in models that more accurately reflect the human disease, I developed new systems to introduce exogenous antigens, to mimic neoantigens, into genetically engineered mouse models of lung cancer and sarcomas. Utilizing the mouse model of lung cancer, I show that endogenous T cells respond to and infiltrate lung tumors, delaying malignant progression. Despite continued antigen expression, T cell infiltration does not persist and tumors ultimately escape immune attack. Transplantation of cell lines derived from lung tumors that express these antigens or prophylactic vaccination against autochthonous tumors, however, results in rapid tumor eradication or selection of tumors that lose antigen expression. These results support clinical data that suggest a role for the immune system in cancer suppression rather than prevention. Tumor immune surveillance and immunoediting have largely been defined using carcinogen-driven models of sarcomagenesis. Using a genetically engineered model of sarcomagenesis, I show that immunoediting requires potent T cell antigens and that lymphocytes drive the evolution of less immunogenic tumors by selecting for antigen loss. Finally, immunotherapies have historically been ineffective in treating cancer patients. I show that vaccination against specific antigens expressed in mouse lung cancers leads to sustained anti-tumor T cell responses that eradicate recently initiated tumors. Vaccination also stimulates anti-tumor T cell responses in an antigen-independent fashion by enhancing the expansion and activity of T cells that recognize antigens only expressed in tumors.
by Michel Justin Porter Du Page.
Ph.D.

Leishmania infantum é o agente responsável pela leishmaniose visceral zoonótica, uma parasitose frequentemente caracterizada por alterações específicas da imunidade celular e parasitismo progressivo. Sabe-se actualmente que as células T reguladoras (Treg) são na verdade linfócitos T que se encontram directamente envolvidos na indução de mecanismos de imunossupressão da resposta imunológica durante infecções crónicas, como por exemplo Leishmania. Deste modo, este estudo tem como objectivo analisar o papel das Treg durante a infecção com L. infantum em modelo animal susceptível. Os resultados obtidos indicam que os linfócitos T CD4+CD25+ estão presentes em murganhos BALB/c infectados com L. infantum e exibem características fenotípicas e funcionais de Treg. A detecção de níveis elevados de expressão do gene foxp3 e do marcador de superfície E7 integrina (CD103) sugere a predisposição para a retenção de Treg nos locais preferenciais de infecção por L. infantum, como é o caso do baço e dos gânglios linfáticos, influenciando a resposta local e induzindo susceptibilidade. No entanto, apesar de neste modelo de infecção se ter observado parasitismo crónico no baço e no fígado não parece ter havido uma resposta Th polarizada o que pode estar relacionado com a expansão de Treg. Linfócitos T CD4+CD25+ que expressam Foxp3 demonstraram ter capacidade de produzir TGF-, contribuindo para a imunossupressão e controlo da imunopatologia induzida pelo parasita. Supreendentemente, linfócitos T CD4+CD25-Foxp3- produtores de IL-10 também foram identificados como fonte adicional de IL-10, representando uma sub-população de linfócitos T reguladores do tipo 1 (Tr1) cuja diferenciação foi induzida pelo parasita. Estes resultados sugerem que diferentes tipos de células T reguladoras podem ser estimuladas durante a resposta imunológica à infecção por L. infantum, contribuindo para a persistência do parasita e o estabelecimento da infecção crónica neste modelo experimental. Tendo demonstrado que a imunossupressão mediada por Treg é evidente no modelo susceptível de L. infantum, o próximo passo seria verificar se num modelo experimental de resistência, a supressão evidenciada pelas Treg seria regulada ou não pelo parasita, representando deste modo o desenvolvimento pelo parasita de uma estratégia para promover a expansão de células imunossupressivas e a inibição da resposta efectora do hospedeiro, isto é regulando os reguladores. Assim para estudar a função imunossupressora das Treg induzida por L. infantum e os mecanismos envolvidos na interacção hospedeiro-parasita e na regulação imunológica, a segunda parte deste estudo avalia o papel do receptor TLR-2 na função das Treg durante a infecção experimental por L. infantum e analisa a influência deste receptor na cinética das Treg, na resposta imunológica e na patologia. Para tal, murganhos mutantes C57BL/6 para o gene TLR-2 (TLR-2-/-) e os murganhos ―wild-type‖ C57BL/6 foram infectados com L. infantum. A análise comparativa foi efectuada de modo a verificar se a presença ou ausência de TLR-2 produz um efeito diferencial nos parâmetros do hospedeiro associados à dinâmica das Treg e à imunidade protectora. A ausência de sinalização TLR-2 teve um efeito visível no desenrolar da infecção. Elevadas taxas de multiplicação do parasita foram observados no baço e fígado dos murganhos TLR-2-/- apesar de se ter evidenciado a presença de granulomas hepáticos aparentemente bem estruturados e definidos. Estas formas granulatomosas são, aparentemente, ineficazes na eliminação do parasita comparativamente aos murganhos ‖wild-type‖. A ausência de sinalização TLR-2 induziu a retenção tardia de Treg de memória, associada à elevada carga parasitária e níveis reduzidos de IFN- O TLR-2 poderá desempenhar um papel na regulação das Treg e consequentemente na patogénese por L. infantum. Nos murganhos ―wild-type‖, a sinalização via TLR-2 pode ser importante no controlo das populações de Treg FOXP3+ , na regulação negativa das Tregs e no desenvolvimento de imunidade protectora mais eficaz contra o parasita. A presença ou ausência de TLR-2 não influenciou a expressão de IL-10 ou de TGF-e não está relacionado com a detecção de Treg CD103+ FOXP3+ durante a fase tardia da infecção nos murganhos TLR-2-/-. Elevados níveis de Treg nestes murganhos não foram acompanhados pela indução de citocinas imunossupressoras. A presença de níveis elevados de Treg no baço de animais infectados, na ausência de TLR-2, sugere que este receptor poderá desempenhar um papel importante na regulação dos reguladores, mediando desta forma a imunidade inata e adquirida desenvolvida pelo hospedeiro durante a infecção por L. infantum.
Leishmania infantum is the causative agent of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (ZVL), a disease frequently characterized by specific impairment of cell-mediated immune responses and uncontrolled parasitization. Regulatory T cells (Treg) have been shown to be involved in the direct induction of immunosuppresion of effector immune response during chronic Leishmania infections. The present study aims firstly to investigate the possible involvement of Treg cells during L. infantum infection in a susceptible animal model. Results indicated that CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells are present in L. infantum-infected BALB/c mice and exhibit phenotypic and functional characteristics of Treg. The presence of high levels of foxp3 gene expression and surface expression ofE7 integrin (CD103) suggest a predisposition for Treg retention within sites of L. infantum infection, as is the case of the spleen and draining lymph nodes, consequently influencing local immune response and increased susceptibility. However, no evident Th polarization despite chronic parasitism in both spleen and liver was observed during L. infantum infection in this model. Th1 and Th2 effector immune responses seemed inadequate, perhaps due to Treg expansion. Foxp3-expressing-CD4+CD25+ T cells are indeed capable of producing TGF- and may contribute to immunosuppression and better control of parasite-mediated-immunopathology during infection. Surprisingly, IL-10 producing-CD4+CD25-Foxp3- T cells were also identified as an additional source of IL-10 and represent a type 1 regulatory T (Tr1) cell subset that is being induced in vivo by L. infantum parasites. These findings suggest that distinct regulatory T cells develop in response to L. infantum and may play a possible role in promoting parasite persistence and the establishment of chronic infection in this particular experimental model of infection. Having demonstrated that Treg-mediated immunosuppression is evident in L. infantum susceptible infection model, the next step would be to verify if in a resistant experimental model of infection, immunosuppresive Treg can or cannot be modulated by the parasite. This would represent the development of a parasite strategy able to upregulate immunosuppressive cells, dampen effector immune response in their favour, and promote expansion, ultimately regulating the regulator. So to elucidate on immunosuppressive Treg function induced by L. infantum parasites and the underlying mechanisms involved in the direct host-parasite interactions and immune regulation, the second part of this study focuses on the role of TLR-2 on Treg function during L. infantum experimental murine infection by investigating the influence of TLR-2 on Treg kinetics, immune response, parasite-associated pathology and the outcome of L. infantum infection. To achieve this, TLR-2 deficient mice (TLR-2-/-) and their wild-type C57BL/6 mice (WT) were infected with L. infantum parasites and comparative analysis was done to see whether or not the presence or absence of TLR-2 produces any differential effect on the host parameters related to Treg dynamics and protective immunity. Defective TLR-2 signalling had a visible effect on outcome of L. infantum infection. Higher rates of parasite multiplication were observed in both spleen and liver of TLR-2-/- knock-out mice, despite the ability in forming well-defined and structured liver granulomas. These granulomas were apparently ineffective in parasite clearance, when compared to wild-type mice. Defective TLR-2 signalling did induce during late infection high retention of memory Treg which seemed to be associated to high parasite load and low IFN- levels. TLR-2 signalling pathway may play a role in Treg modulation and consequently in L. infantum pathogenesis. Functional TLR-2 signalling in WT may be important in providing tight control over FOXP3+ committed Treg populations, negative Treg regulation and more protective immunity, giving rise to enhanced immunity and more effective response against infection. The presence or absence of TLR-2 did not seem to influence IL-10 or TGF- expression, and it did not seem to correlate with CD103+ FOXP3+ Treg detected late during infection in TLR-2-/- mice. Detection of high levels of suppressive Treg in L. infantum-infected TLR-2 deficient mice was not accompanied by associated inductions of immunosuppressive cytokines. The presence of high levels of immunosuppressive Treg in infected spleen, in the absence of TLR-2, suggests that this receptor in particular plays an important role in regulating the regulators, thus orchestrating effective innate and acquired immunity against L. infantum infection.

Esta tese aborda as práticas e as representações de mulheres em idade fértil, que vivem em contextos sociais de pobreza. As práticas sobre o acesso e as formas de utilização dos cuidados de saúde reprodutiva. As representações das mulheres relativamente à maternidade e/ou fecundidade, verificando de que forma estas influenciam a utilização de cuidados de saúde reprodutiva (saúde materna e planeamento familiar). E as representações dos profissionais de saúde e técnicos de serviço social sobre os comportamentos de fecundidade e as formas como as mulheres (pobres e não pobres) utilizam os cuidados de saúde reprodutiva. Devido à natureza do objecto de estudo e à complexidade inerente, optou-se por utilizar uma combinação de métodos qualitativos e quantitativos e respectivas técnicas de recolha e análise de dados, num mesmo desenho de estudo, tendo em vista a triangulação metodológica, que ajudou à compreensão mais profunda da realidade em estudo. Como tal dividiu-se a investigação em três estudos: 1) o estudo exploratório; que apoiou nas decisões, nomeadamente na delimitação do objecto de estudo, dos objectivos gerais e específicos, das hipóteses centrais de investigação e dos aspectos metodológicos relacionados com o estudo de caso-controlo e o estudo qualitativo; 2) o estudo de caso-controlo (quantitativo); 3) o estudo qualitativo. Estudo de caso-controlo O estudo de caso-controlo foi realizado com mulheres em idade fértil, em que os casos são mulheres consideradas “muito pobres”, havendo dois controlos para cada caso: os controlos 1, que são mulheres consideradas “pobres” e os controlos 2, que são mulheres consideradas “não pobres”. Este estudo foi planeado com uma amostra de 1513 mulheres em idade fértil, com 499 casos seleccionados segundo um esquema de amostragem estratificada proporcional (de mulheres consideradas muito pobres) seleccionados da base de dados de beneficiários de RSI, da SCML. E 1014 controlos (de mulheres não consideradas como muito pobres): os controlos 1 foram seleccionados também segundo um esquema de amostragem estratificada proporcional dos restantes beneficiários da SCML; os controlos 2 foram seleccionados de forma bi-etápica, primeiro procedeu-se a uma amostragem aleatória simples de quatro Centros de Saúde e de seguida optou-se por uma regra sistemática de selecção das utentes desses Centros de Saúde, mediante a aplicação de um formulário de critérios de inclusão. Os dados foram recolhidos através de um questionário semi-quantitativo aplicado por entrevista. Responderam ao questionário um total de 1054 mulheres, sendo que o total de respondentes distribui-se pelos grupos em estudo, isto é, 304 referentes aos casos (muito pobres), e 750 respeitantes aos controlos [293 pertencentes ao grupo de controlos 1 (pobres) e 457 provenientes do grupo de controlos 2 (não pobres)]. Os dados foram analisados utilizando técnicas estatísticas bivariadas e multivariadas. Concretamente, começou-se pela análise descritiva (frequências absolutas e relativas; medidas de tendência central: moda, média, mediana, média aparada a 5%) das variáveis demográficas e das variáveis de fecundidade (representações, tensões, práticas e controlo de fecundidade) em função das variáveis de condição social (gradientes de pobreza segundo os grupos em estudo). Seguiu-se a análise de comparação e associação - o teste de Qui-quadrado para testar a homogeneidade e para testar a homogeneidade de variâncias aplicou-se o teste de Levene e a normalidade da variável quantitativa, nos grupos em estudo, foi testada através do teste de Kolmogorov Smirnov e o teste de Shapiro-Wilk. Sempre que as condições de aplicação da ANOVA não se verificaram, aplicou-se a alternativa não paramétrica: o teste de Kruskal-Wallis. O cálculo do odds ratio da variável “ter gravidez e filhos” foi efectuado de acordo com o proposto por Mantel-Haenszel aplicado nas situações em que existem dois controlos por caso. Foram ainda utilizados modelos de regressão logística (pelo método Forward: LR) para avaliar a probabilidade de ser do grupo de casos (muito pobre), relativamente a ser do grupo de controlos 1 (pobre) e ser do grupo de controlos 2 (não pobre). E dois modelos de regressão logística multinomial para estudar a relação entre uma variável dependente de resposta qualitativa não binária [no presente estudo com três classes - os três grupos em estudo: casos (muito pobres), controlos 1 (pobres) e controlos 2 (não pobres)] e um conjunto de variáveis explicativas (predictor variables), que podem ser de vários tipos. A análise efectuada confirma a existência de gradientes de pobreza e a sua associação a gradientes de fertilidade, que se reflectem em termos de acesso à saúde e nos padrões de utilização de cuidados de saúde reprodutiva. O facto de as mulheres terem tido filhos (variável “ter gravidez e filhos”) aumenta a probabilidade (OR=1,17; p<0,001; IC = 1,08 – 1,26) de serem muito pobres, comparativamente a serem pobres e não pobres. Isto é, a maternidade configura-se como um factor explicativo da pertença social das mulheres, sobretudo quando interligado com outros factores. Concretamente, verifica-se através da análise dos modelos de regressão logística que existe uma interligação entre a condição social das mulheres e um conjunto de características sóciodemográficas, que se configuram como factores de risco de pobreza, como sejam o baixo rendimento dos agregados, a dimensão dos agregados familiares, a baixa escolaridade e as pertenças étnicas. Quanto ao acesso económico, constata-se que as mulheres muito pobres apresentam incapacidades financeiras para comportar custos com a compra de medicamentos muito superiores às restantes, constituindo-se esta como uma característica forte para explicar a sua condição social actual. Em termos de utilização de cuidados de saúde reprodutiva percebe-se que as mulheres muito pobres são caracterizadas por baixa frequência das consultas de revisão do parto, com todas as eventuais implicações no seu estado de saúde. Um aspecto pertinente prende-se com a sistemática aproximação das mulheres pobres às muito pobres, distanciando-se em quase tudo das mulheres não pobres. Ou seja, existe um número considerável da nossa população “média” com vulnerabilidades, que deveriam merecer uma atenção prioritária em termos de políticas sociais (nomeadamente, na área da saúde, do trabalho e do apoio social). Assim, é de enfatizar a importância de haver uma adequação das políticas de saúde no sentido de assegurar que as populações mais vulneráveis consigam utilizar de forma apropriada os cuidados de saúde reprodutiva. Estudo Qualitativo Foi efectuado um estudo qualitativo, através de realização de entrevistas e grupos focais. Concretamente, foram feitas oito entrevistas e dois grupos focais a mulheres provenientes de diferentes contextos socioeconómicos (pobreza e não pobreza), num total de 18 indivíduos. Foram conduzidos dois grupos focais a profissionais de saúde (enfermeiros e médicos), num total de 15 participantes. E realizados quatro grupos de discussão a técnicos de serviço social, num total de 36 participantes. Todas as entrevistas e grupos focais foram gravados, seguindo-se a sua transcrição integral. Os dados foram analisados com base nos procedimentos de análise de conteúdo habituais no âmbito de abordagens qualitativas. No que diz respeito aos grupos focais, procedeu-se a uma análise categorial temática. Através da análise das representações de fecundidade percebe-se que para as mulheres, independentemente do grupo socioeconómico a que pertencem, o melhor e o pior dos filhos, envolve três níveis: os sentimentos, o desempenho das funções parentais e as privações. E a maioria das mulheres assume que foi através de amigos, dos media e/ou de vizinhos que obteve as primeiras informações sobre os métodos contraceptivos. Revelando ainda a inexistência de influência familiar, especialmente das mães, na transmissão desses conhecimentos e informações sobre contracepção, em todos os grupos socioeconómicos. Aliás, a percepção generalizada é de que o sexo foi um assunto tabu na educação destas mulheres. Muitas das mulheres no estudo descrevem uma preparação inadequada para o sexo e contracepção na primeira gravidez, acontecendo esta como resultado de impreparação e não de planeamento. Encontram-se semelhanças entre as mulheres provenientes de diferentes gradientes sociais, mas também se encontram diferenças, nomeadamente, acerca do papel do parceiro masculino no planeamento familiar e no planeamento das gravidezes. Existe uma diferença entre mulheres provenientes de grupos socioeconómicos distintos (muito pobres e pobres vs. não pobres) relativamente ao papel do parceiro na contracepção: não utilização do preservativo porque companheiros “não aceitam” vs. as mulheres que assumem que as decisões quanto à contracepção são e foram sempre da sua responsabilidade. Os resultados vêm mostrar a importância atribuída ao sexo do médico e a vergonha envolvida na utilização dos cuidados de saúde materna, cujas consequências se revelaram impeditivas de realização das consultas pós-parto. Vários estudos já apontaram o desconforto durante o encontro biomédico nos cuidados pré-natais resultando de uma incapacidade da mulher para lidar com certas características do profissional de saúde, que podem incluir idade, género e linguagem (cfr. nomeadamente, Whiteford e Szelag, 2000). Um outro aspecto em que há diferenças entre grupos socioeconómicos nos resultados do estudo de caso-controlo, e que vem ser ainda mais aprofundado através do estudo qualitativo, está relacionado com os apoios recebidos quando os filhos nascem e quando existe uma situação de doença. As mais pobres encontram-se numa posição de vulnerabilidade acrescida, porque não podem colmatar a falta de apoios, por exemplo com amas para tomar conta dos filhos, como é admitido, por exemplo, por uma mulher de etnia cigana. Mas emerge uma semelhança entre as mulheres dos diferentes grupos socioeconómicos, quando reivindicam a necessidade de existir mais apoio, nomeadamente uma rede de creches. Os profissionais (saúde e social) demonstram nas suas representações as influências do modelo biomédico de saúde. Quanto às mulheres, consoante o seu contexto cultural, elas tendem a integrar num “modelo próprio” a sua relação com os cuidados de saúde, especificamente com os cuidados pré-natais. Modelo esse que não exclui o uso dos serviços biomédicos durante a gravidez, o que acontece é que as mulheres conservam as suas crenças e algumas práticas tradicionais em face de novas. Deixando em aberto a possibilidade de negociação e transmissão de conhecimentos por parte dos profissionais de saúde, processo facilitado com existência de diálogo e abertura dos profissionais de saúde para as especificidades culturais (cfr. outros estudos, nomeadamente, Atkinson e Farias, 1995; Whiteford e Szelag, 2000). Os profissionais atribuem ao “pobre” uma característica-tipo: o imediatismo. Este condiciona a actuação dos indivíduos “pobres” nas práticas de planeamento familiar e nas formas de utilização de cuidados de saúde reprodutiva. Por exemplo, para os profissionais de saúde e técnicos de serviço social a utilização correcta da contracepção dependerá do nível educacional da mulher. Mas não se comprova tal facto nos estudos, havendo mesmo indício de uma certa transversalidade nas “falhas” de utilização, por exemplo da pílula. Através do estudo de caso-controlo comprovase que a pílula era o contraceptivo mais usado no momento em que as mulheres engravidaram do último filho, sendo que aparentemente algo terá falhado (dosagem, esquecimento, toma simultânea de antibiótico), não existindo diferenças entre os grupos socioeconómicos. A análise reflecte a existência de representações nem sempre coincidentes entre mulheres e profissionais de saúde, no que diz respeito à maternidade, à gravidez e à fecundidade, mas também às necessidades e formas de utilização dos cuidados de saúde reprodutiva (saúde materna e planeamento familiar).Chama-se a atenção para a importância dos decisores terem estes factos em atenção de forma a adequar as políticas de saúde às expectativas e percepções de necessidade por parte das populações vulneráveis, procurando atingir o objectivo de utilização adequada de cuidados de saúde reprodutiva e, em última análise, promover a equidade em saúde. Conclusões Gerais Esta investigação insere-se numa lógica de perceber as características associadas no continuum de pobreza, procurando-se os factores que explicam a posição relativa dos grupos nesse mesmo continuum. Em termos de saúde, contata-se existir uma associação entre a não realização de consultas de revisão do parto e as chances superiores de pertencer a um grupo socioeconómico mais pobre. Haverá aqui lugar a um cuidado acrescido em termos de organização de cuidados de saúde para que estas mulheres, com vulnerabilidades de vária ordem, sejam devidamente acompanhadas, orientadas, apoiadas para a realização deste tipo de consultas, envolvendo uma sensibilização para “gostar de si própria”, de valorização individual, mesmo depois do nascimento dos filhos. As redes de sociabilidade são distintas consoante a posição que a mulher ocupa em termos de gradiente social, sendo que a posição é mais vulnerável para as mulheres muito pobres e pobres, quer em situação de doença, quer em situação de apoio para os filhos e ainda em termos de privação material existe um efeito em termos de diluição das sociabilidades para grupos já tão fragilizados a outros níveis. Ao descrever, analisar e caracterizar os gradientes de pobreza e privação múltipla entre os grupos de mulheres em estudo posso concluir que existem aspectos diferenciadores das mulheres pobres relativamente às mulheres não pobres.Mas elas manifestam sobretudo características que as aproximam das mulheres muito pobres. Ou seja, este grupo de pessoas está particularmente envolta numa multiplicidade de riscos sociais, uma vez que são mulheres que têm filhos, trabalham, têm redes de sociabilidade enfraquecidas e não podem contar com a ajuda do Estado em termos de medidas de apoio social, não sendo elegíveis, por exemplo, para o RSI. Urge rever as condições de atribuição de medidas, não necessariamente com a configuração actual, mas que tenham em atenção este conjunto populacional.A actividade sexual começa muito cedo nas vidas das jovens, independentemente da proveniência socioeconómica, pelo que esse é um aspecto que, penso, deverá continuar a ser considerado em termos de saúde sexual e reprodutiva por parte das diferentes entidades no que se refere à educação e promoção para a saúde. As questões relacionadas com a incapacidade para comportar custos de saúde - deixar de comprar medicamentos, sobretudo, para as próprias mulheres, não poder pagar consultas em médicos especialistas e dentistas - revelam-se sérias, na medida em que fazem emergir as diferenças em termos de grupos socioeconómicos, constituindo-se como um factor associado com as iniquidades em saúde ainda existentes em Portugal. Como é sabido pelos estudos realizados, estas são também causas de pobreza. Assim, esta é uma das áreas a merecer actuação prioritária no sentido de contribuir para que caminhemos para uma sociedade com mais equidade. A existência de diferenças na acessibilidade e no acesso geográfico e económico, marcada pelas diferenças em termos de gradientes sociais, deixa em aberto a necessidade de actuar no sentido de que o sistema de saúde tenha políticas de promoção da equidade, nomeadamente a equidade de acesso económico, na investigação desenvolvida sobre “sistemas de saúde”. Parece que fica evidente a necessidade de monitorizar quais as interacções entre as políticas, de saúde e sociais, e a variabilidade nas desigualdades sociais ao longo do tempo, ou seja, a importância de monitorizar os efeitos das políticas nos grupos vulneráveis. Só avaliando poderemos saber se as medidas devem continuar com conteúdo e formas de implementação actuais ou se, pelo contrário, deverão acontecer mudanças nas medidas de apoio para melhorar as condições sociais e de saúde das populações.
This thesis addresses the practice and representations of women of fertile age who live in a social context of poverty, the practice on access and utilization forms of reproductive health care, the representations of women on maternity and/or fertility, confirming how they influence reproductive health care use (maternal health and family planning) and the representation of health professionals and social workers on fertility behaviour and the ways in which women (poor and non-poor) use reproductive health care. Due to the nature and the complexity of the study object, we chose to use a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods and their methods of collecting and analyzing data in the same design study, in view of methodological triangulation, which helped deeper understanding of reality under study. Therefore the investigation was divided in three research studies: 1) the exploratory study, 2) the case-control study (quantitative), 3) the qualitative study. The exploratory study, which supported the decisions, including the delimitation of the study object, the general and specific objectives, the research hypothesis and methodological aspects related to both case-control study and qualitative study. Case-control study The case-control study was conducted with women of fertile age, in which “cases” are women considered "very poor", with two controls for each case: “controls 1” are women considered "poor" and “controls 2” are women considered "not poor". This study was planned with a sample of 1513 women of fertile age: 499 cases selected according to a proportional stratified sample (of women considered very poor) selected from the beneficiaries of RSI (Social Welfare Payment for Inclusion) of SCML (Santa Casa da Misericórdia of Lisbon). And 1014 controls (women not considered very poor): controls 1 were also selected according to a proportional stratified sample of the remaining members of SCML, controls 2 were submitted to a two phases selection process, first held with a simple random sampling of four health centres and then opted for a systematic rule for selecting the users of these health care facilities by implementing a form of inclusion criteria. Data were collected through a semi-quantitative questionnaire applied by interview. Answered the questionnaire a total of 1054 women, with total respondents distributed by study groups: 304 cases (very poor), and 750 controls [293 belonging to the group of controls 1 (poor) and 457 from the control group 2 (non-poor)]. The data were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques. Initially I did a descriptive analysis (absolute and relative frequencies, measures of central tendency: mode, mean, median, trimmed mean 5%) of demographic variables and fertility variables (expectations, tensions, practices and control of fertility) according to social status variables (poverty gradients according to the study groups). Followed by association and comparison analysis.- Chi-square test for homogeneity and Levene test for homogeneity of variance and normality of the quantitative variable in the groups was tested by Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and Shapiro-Wilk test. Where the conditions of application of the ANOVA did not happen, the nonparametric alternative was applied: Kruskal-Wallis test. The odds ratio calculation of the variable “having pregnancy and children” was made in accordance with that proposed by Mantel-Haenszel applied in situations where there are two controls per case. I also used logistic regression models (by Forward: LR method) to assess the probability of being cases (very poor) in relation to be control 1 (poor) and to be control 2 (non-poor). And I used two multinomial logistic regression models to understand the relationship between a dependent variable of qualitative response not binary [in this study with three classes - the three study groups: cases (very poor), controls 1 (poor) and 2 controls (not poor)] and a set of explanatory variables (predictor variables), which may be of various types. The analysis confirms the existence of gradients of poverty and its association with fertility gradients, as reflected in terms of access to health and patterns of reproductive health care use. Maternity (variable “having pregnancy and children) increases the probability (OR=1,17; p<0,001; IC = 1,08 – 1,26) to be very poor, compared to being poor and not poor. That is, motherhood is configured as an explanatory factor of women social belonging, especially when linked to other factors. Specifically, the analysis of logistic regression models appears to confirm that there is a link between social status of women and a set of socio-demographic characteristics, which act as riskfactors of poverty, such as low-income households, the size of households, low education and ethnicity. Regarding economic access, it seems that very poor women have financial incapacity to carry costs for the purchase of drugs well above the other, which is a strong feature to explain the current social condition. In terms of reproductive health care use it is confirmed that the very poor women have low frequency of postpartum consultations, with all the possible implications for their health. A relevant aspect relates to the systematic approach of poor women to very poor, distancing themselves from almost all aspects concerning the non-poor women. In other words, there is a considerable number of our "average" population with vulnerabilities that deserve priority attention in terms of social policies (particularly in the area of health, work and social care). So I would emphasize the importance of having adequate health policies to ensure that vulnerable populations are able to use properly reproductive health care. Qualitative Study In the qualitative study were conducted interviews and focus groups. Specifically, there have been eight interviews and two focus groups with women from various socioeconomic backgrounds (poverty and not poverty), a total of 18 individuals. And were conducted two focus groups with health professionals (nurses and doctors), a total of 15 participants. And four focus groups with social workers, a total of 36 participants. All interviews and focus groups were recorded, followed by the full transcript. The data were analyzed based on the procedures of content analysis. Regarding the focus groups a thematic category analysis was made. By examining representations of fertility we can see that for women, regardless of socioeconomic group they belong to, the best and the worst of the children involves three levels: the feelings, the parental duties and deprivation. And most women assume that it was through friends, media and/or neighbours that they got the first information about contraceptive methods. And also emerges the lack of family influence, especially mothers, in the transmission of knowledge and information about contraception in allsocioeconomic groups. Moreover, the perception is that sex was a taboo subject in the education of these women. Many of them describe an inadequate preparation for sex and contraception at first pregnancy, occurring more as a result of this lack of preparedness, than of planning. There are similarities between women from different social gradients, but there are also differences, particularly about the role of male partners in family planning and the planning of pregnancies. There is a difference between women from different socioeconomic groups (poor and very poor vs. non poor) about the role in contraception: they do not use condoms because man "did not accept" vs. women who take the decisions on contraception, considering that it is and have always been hers responsibility. Results show the importance attached to the sex of the physician and shame involved in the use of maternal health care, which proved hinder the postpartum consultations. Several studies have pointed out the discomfort during the encounter in biomedical prenatal care resulting from an inability of women to deal with certain characteristics of health professionals, which may include age, gender and language (cf. in particular, Whiteford and Szelag, 2000). Another aspect in which there are differences between socioeconomic groups according the results of the case-control study, and that was further deepened through the qualitative study, is related with the support received when children are born and an illness occurs. The poorest are in a position of vulnerability, because they can’t overcome the lack of support, e.g. childminders to take care of children, as pointed, for example, a gypsy woman. But similarity emerges between women of different socioeconomic groups, claiming the need to have more support, including a network of nurseries. Health professionals and social workers show the influences of the biomedical health model. For women, according to their cultural background, they tend to integrate a "model of their own" in their contacts with health care, specifically with prenatal care. This model does not exclude the use of biomedical services for pregnancy, but that means that women keep their own beliefs and some traditional practices in the face of new ones. Leaving open the possibility of negotiation and transmission of knowledge by health professionals, a process that is facilitated by dialogue and openness of health professionals about cultural features (see other studies, particularly Atkinson and Farias, 1995; Whiteford and Szelag, 2000).Professionals attach to the "poor" a standard feature: the immediacy. The latter conditions the actions of "poor", namely in the practice of family planning and patterns of maternal health care use and family planning. For instance, to health professionals and social workers correct use of contraception depends on the educational level of women. But there is no evidence of this situation in studies; on the contrary there is some evidence of certain transversality in the "failures", for example, related to the pill. The case-control study shows that the contraceptive pill was the most widely used at the time that women got pregnant of the last child, and apparently something has failed (dosage, forgetfulness, and taking antibiotics simultaneously), with no differences between socio-economic groups. The analysis reflects the existence of representations not always coincident between women and health professionals with regard to maternity, pregnancy and fertility, but also regarding the needs and ways of using reproductive health (maternal health care and family planning) I would like to draw attention to the importance for the decision makers to keep in mind these facts in order to adapt health policies to the expectations and perceptions of need of vulnerable populations, to achieve the appropriate use of reproductive health care, and ultimately, promoting equity in health. General conclusions In conclusion, I would say that this research is part of an approach to understand the characteristics associated with the continuum of poverty, and looks for such factors, which may explain the relative position of social groups on the same continuum. In terms of health, I note there is an association between non-attending post-partum consultation and the higher chance of belonging to a poor socio-economic group. As a result, there must be an increased caution in terms of organizing health care for these women, with vulnerabilities of various kinds, so that they are properly monitored, guided and supported to carry out this type of consultation, which involves an awareness for them to "like themselves", even after the birth of children. Networks of sociability are different depending on the position that women occupy in terms of social gradient, and the position is more vulnerable for the very poor and the poor women, both in case of illness or in situations of support for their children and still in terms of materialdeprivation, there is an effect in terms of dilution of sociability for groups already so vulnerable in other ways. Describing, analysing and characterizing the gradients of poverty and deprivation among the multiple groups of women in the study it can be concluded that there are differentiating aspects of poor women for women not poor. But they express particular characteristics, which make them very poor women. In other words, this group of people are particularly wrapped in a multitude of social risks, as are women who have children, work, sociability networks have weakened and can not count on help from the state in terms of measures of social support, not being eligible, for example, to the RSI. Reviewing the conditions of allocation of measures is urgent, not necessarily with the current configuration, but having in mind this entire population. Sexual activity starts early in the lives of people, regardless of socio-economic origin, so this is one aspect which I think should still be considered in terms of sexual and reproductive health by the various entities with regard to education and health promotion. Issues related to the inability to contain health care costs – women stop buying drugs, especially for themselves and not being able to pay for medical consultations and dental specialists – are very serious, to the extent that this bring out the differences in terms of socio-economic groups, constituting itself as a factor associated with health inequities that still exist in Portugal. As is well known from studies carried out, these are also causes of poverty. So, this is an area that deserves priority action in order to help moving towards a society with more equity. A difference in the availability and geographic and economic access, marked by differences in social gradients, leaves open the need to act in the sense that health system has policies to promote equity, including equity of economic access. This is an area receiving attention in terms of "health systems" research. It seems evident the need to monitor which are the interactions between policies, health and social services, and the variability in social inequalities over time, i.e. the importance of monitoring the effects of policies on vulnerable groups. Only that way we can evaluate whether the measures should continue or not, however, should changes occur in supporting measures to improve social conditions and public health.

La multiplicidad de leyes administrativas, que existían en el Estado de México dificultaba su cabal conocimiento y debida observancia por parte de los destinatarios de la norma, y propiciaba falta de sistematización y congruencia del marco jurídico. Por ello, en la administración a 1999- 2005 se propuso una revisión integral de la legislación administrativa vigente en la entidad, para obtener su codificación, simplificación y modernización.
Se plasman las reflexiones que aquí se abordan con el propósito de que le sean de utilidad para lo alumnos de la Facultad de Ingeniería y conozcan la Ley de Obra Pública y de dónde proviene así como el camino para llegar a esa ley.

A través de la historia el hombre ha tenido necesidad de transportarse a sí mismo y de transportar los bienes o productos que produce o que necesita para producir; tal necesidad es la que lo ha llevado a crear y perfeccionar los distintos medios de transporte que conocemos y utilizamos, sean éstos marítimos, terrestres o aéreos. De entre todos esos medios, el ferrocarril ha sido considerado por distintos autores como la mejor innovación de la llamada primera revolución industrial, en el sentido de que fue el primer transporte terrestre que revolucionó el traslado de mercancías y personas, en especial, en aquellos lugares donde fue implantado. En México, esta mejora en las condiciones de traslado, (capacidad, seguridad, rapidez y baratura) permitió que las zonas beneficiadas por el paso de ferrocarriles experimentaran un cierto crecimiento económico, el cual hasta antes de la llegada del ferrocarril se había encontrado limitado, entre otras causas, por la presencia de una deficiente e insegura red de comunicaciones y transportes que restringían la distancia y la capacidad de comercialización de las mercancías debido, principalmente, a los altos costos de transporte cobrados por los entonces predominantes medios de transporte mexicanos: diligencias, carretas y arriería. Con el establecimiento de líneas ferroviarias llevada a cabo, fundamentalmente, por la inversión extranjera, en su mayoría estadounidense, los altos costos de transporte dejaron de ser la principal limitante para el transporte de mercancías en sus zonas de influencia, pues con la reducción de los costos de transporte, el ferrocarril favoreció relativamente no sólo la integración del territorio nacional (al ampliar los márgenes de la comercialización interna y de los mercados regionales) sino que también contribuyó a la acentuación de las relaciones comerciales entre México y Estados Unidos

Lo subo en calidad de coautor, ya que el asesor es profesor de asignatura y me autorizo subirlo, así mismo tengo la autorización del Alumno graduado de Maestría
En este trabajo de investigación se aborda el problema de aproximación de funciones de energía finita, a través de un modelo de red neuronal artificial que involucra funciones wavelets y algoritmos evolutivos. La aproximación de funciones de energía finita es un problema de interés en varias áreas del conocimiento. Por ejemplo, en la aproximación de funciones que representan variables financieras como los índices de la bolsa de valores, o variables de fenómenos naturales, como la temperatura atmosférica y la energía solar. Los fenómenos descritos anteriormente (variables financieras y variables climáticas) por mencionar algunos, tienen en común el desconocimiento de una función explícita que las relacione con otras variables, por lo que su aproximación resulta relevante a fin de hacer estudios sobre el modelo generado. Uno de los modelos usados para aproximar funciones consiste en la descomposición en otras funciones conocidas tales que su combinación lineal minimice el error cuadrático medio. Así, en este trabajo se propone hacer una combinación lineal de funciones wavelets vinculadas según un modelo conexionista, en donde las funciones wavelets son generadas mediante el algoritmo en cascada a partir de filtros ortogonales de reconstrucción perfecta, y a través de escalamientos y traslaciones se aproxime una función objetivo. Al modelo propuesto se le ha llamado EPWavenets, como una abreviatura de la combinación de algoritmos evolutivos, parametrización de filtros, funciones wavelets y redes neuronales artificiales. De esta forma, se busca demostrar que es posible aproximar una función de energía finita con funciones wavelets generadas a partir de filtros paramétricos cuya combinación está determinada por la arquitectura de una red neuronal, en donde los parámetros de escalamiento y traslación, los pesos sinápticos y los parámetros de los filtros se determinan con un algoritmo evolutivo desde el punto de vista del aprendizaje supervisado. Para demostrar lo anterior se utilizó la siguiente metodología: 1. Revisar modelos de red neuronal existentes que sean susceptibles de modificar sus funciones base y ajustar sus parámetros para aproximar funciones 2. Proponer un modelo de red neuronal que permita incluir nuevas funciones base y ajustar sus parámetros en forma supervisada 3. Identificar propiedades y familias de funciones wavelet que puedan incorporarse al modelo propuesto 4. Identificar un algoritmo evolutivo para ajustar los parámetros del modelo de red neuronal propuesto 5. Identificar un conjunto de funciones de prueba para comparar los resultados con otras redes neuronales con diferentes funciones base 6. Generar tablas comparativas y gráficas en donde se aprecie la comprobación de la hipótesis planteada a partir de los resultados experimentales Los resultados experimentales sustentan la hipótesis, indicando que es posible usar funciones wavelets con filtros paramétricos para aproximar funciones de energía finita, en una arquitectura de red neuronal. También se pudo confirmar que sí fue posible usar algoritmos evolutivos en EPWavenets para optimizar los parámetros libres, a efecto de minimizar el error de aproximación. Derivado de los resultados se concluye que las EPWavenets logran un alto grado de adaptabilidad y un desempeño competitivo respecto a otras redes neuronales que involucran funciones de base radial sobre un conjunto de funciones de prueba. .
CONACyT

A partir dos anos 2000, o Mercosul dedicou maior atenção a aspectos sociais da integração regional, através de projetos como o Parlamento Juvenil do Mercosul, que tem entre seus objetivos fomentar a identidade comum. A análise bibliográfica e documental comprova o forte vínculo no pensamento latino-americano entre a questão identitária e a integração regional. A análise dos discursos dos parlamentares juvenis do Mercosul indica que estes conceitos foram absorvidos pelos adolescentes participantes da primeira edição do Parlamento e que o contato entre a juventude dos Estados Partes provocou mudanças na visão a respeito dos países vizinhos e do próprio Mercosul.
A partir dos anos 2000, o Mercosul dedicou maior atenção a aspectos sociais da integração regional, através de projetos como o Parlamento Juvenil do Mercosul, que tem entre seus objetivos fomentar a identidade comum. A análise bibliográfica e documental comprova o forte vínculo no pensamento latino-americano entre a questão identitária e a integração regional. A análise dos discursos dos parlamentares juvenis do Mercosul indica que estes conceitos foram absorvidos pelos adolescentes participantes da primeira edição do Parlamento e que o contato entre a juventude dos Estados Partes provocou mudanças na visão a respeito dos países vizinhos e do próprio Mercosul.

Esta tese tem como objetivo central analisar a violação e recuperação da confiança do cliente na empresa após a recuperação de uma falha malsucedida – situação de duplo desvio. No escopo do objetivo central, é verificado o efeito intensificador da violação da confiança oriundo do duplo desvio; o efeito que a promessa de não recorrência das falhas e o pedido de desculpa, enquanto táticas de recuperação, possuem na confiança; o papel das atribuições de competência e integridade para explicar os efeitos das táticas de recuperação da confiança; e o efeito moderador tanto do tipo de violação da confiança quanto da distância temporal entre a ocorrência do duplo desvio e a inserção da tática, na relação entre a tática de recuperação e a confiança. Para verificar estes efeitos, quatro estudos experimentais foram operacionalizados. Os resultados do primeiro estudo indicam que a violação da confiança é maior após o duplo desvio, comparativamente com o nível de confiança identificado após o desvio simples. No segundo estudo, a possibilidade de recuperação da confiança por meio da promessa de não recorrência das falhas e do pedido de desculpa foi verificada. Os resultados deste segundo estudo indicam que tanto a promessa quanto o pedido de desculpa geram níveis mais elevados de confiança na empresa que a condição de controle (sem tática alguma) e outras duas táticas de recuperação da confiança utilizadas. Além disso, o estudo dois também apresenta que os efeitos das táticas de recuperação na confiança são totalmente mediados pelas atribuições de competência ou atribuições de integridade. No terceiro estudo, os resultados indicam que a efetividade da tática de recuperação depende do tipo de violação da confiança a que o sujeito foi submetido, sendo que a promessa gerou níveis mais elevados de confiança quando a violação da confiança foi baseada na competência, enquanto o pedido de desculpa gerou níveis mais elevados de confiança quando a violação da confiança foi baseada na integridade. No último estudo experimental, os resultados evidenciam uma interação entre a tática de recuperação da confiança e a distância temporal entre o duplo desvio e a inserção da tática, sendo que o pedido de desculpa gerou maiores níveis de confiança quando a distância foi curta (vs. longa), enquanto a promessa gerou maiores níveis de confiança quando esta distância foi longa (vs. curta). Baseado nisto, esta tese contribui para a literatura de Marketing e recuperação da confiança ao evidenciar que: o duplo desvio intensifica os efeitos negativos na confiança gerados pelo desvio simples; é possível recuperar a confiança após o duplo desvio, por meio da promessa e do pedido de desculpa; as pistas emitidas pela tática e a atribuição do sujeito explicam o funcionamento das táticas de recuperação da confiança; e tanto o tipo de violação da confiança quanto a distância temporal condicionam os efeitos das táticas de recuperação.
This dissertation aims at analyzing the breach and recovery of customer trust in the company after a poor failure recovery - a double deviation situation. Its objective is to investigate the greater effect of trust violation derived from the double deviation situation; the effect that the promise of non-recurrence of failures and apology as trust recovery tactics have on trust; the role of attributions of competence and integrity to explain the effects of trust recovery tactics; and the moderating effect of both trust violation type and temporal distance between the occurrence of double deviation and tactics insertion, in the relationship between recovery tactics and trust. In order to verify these effects, four experimental studies were operationalized. The results from the first study indicate that the breach of trust is higher after the double deviation, compared with the level of trust identified after the simple deviation. In the second study, the possibility of trust restitution by the promise of non-recurrence of failures and apology was verified. The results of this second study indicate that both promise and apology generate higher levels of trust in the company than the control condition (without any tactics) and two other tactics used to restore trust. Furthermore, the second study also shows that the effects of both recovery tactics on trust are fully mediated by attributions of competence or integrity. In the third study, the findings indicate that the effectiveness of recovery tactics depends on the type of trust violation to which the subject was submitted. Whereas the promise generated higher levels of trust when the violation was based on competence, the apology generated higher levels of trust when the violation was based on integrity. In the last experimental study, the results indicate an interaction between the trust recovery tactics and the temporal distance, between the double deviation and the tactics insertion, given that the apology has generated greater levels of trust when the distance was short (vs. long); while the promise generated higher levels of trust when this distance was long (vs. short). Based on that, this dissertation contributes to the marketing and trust recovery literature by showing that: the double deviation intensifies the negative effects on trust generated by the simple deviation, it is possible to rebuild trust after double deviation, through promise and apology; the cues expressed by the recovery tactics and the subject attribution explain the mechanism through which the trust recovery tactics operates; and both the violation of trust type, as well as the temporal distance condition the effects of recovery tactics.

[EN] The wetlands water requirements refer to the volumes needed by these spaces so that they can perform their functions adequately. The determination of these water needs is not an easy task. Generally, hydrologic and hydraulic approaches to the determination of these water needs cannot be developed by lack of information, or if the information exists, it is incomplete (e.g.: precise information of an event of interest may not be recorded). The current remote sensing techniques and the historical series of images available can offer an alternative that could help fill these gaps. The information obtained through remote sensing techniques can provide alternative series of data that can be used to characterize wetlands, complete data, calibrate and validate models. The results obtained in this study give positive perspectives to the application of re-mote sensing in determining water needs as a feasible and viable method, with some the development of some improvements, this in particularly through public access to information as Landsat multispectral imagery and LiDAR digital terrain models as used for the case studies included in this work.
[ES] Las necesidades hídricas de los humedales se refieren a los volúmenes necesarios para que estos espacios puedan desempeñar adecuadamente sus funciones. La determinación de estas necesidades hídricas no es una tarea sencilla. Con frecuencia, las aproximacio-nes hidrológicas e hidráulicas para la determinación de estas necesidades hídricas no pueden desarrollarse por la falta de información, o si existe esta información al, por ejemplo, no registrar una información precisa de un evento de interés. Las técnicas de teledetección actuales y las series históricas de imágenes disponibles pueden ofrecer una alternativa que ayuda a llenar estos vacíos de información. La información obtenida mediante técnicas de teledetección puede constituir una serie de datos alternos para caracterizar humedales, completar datos, calibrar y validar modelos. Los resultados obtenidos en este trabajo abren perspectivas muy positivas para la apli-cación de la teledetección en la determinación de las necesidades hídricas como méto-do factible y viable, gracias en particular al acceso público de la información de imá-genes multiespectrales Landsat y a modelos digitales de terreno LiDAR como los utilizados para su demostración en los casos de estudio incluidos en este trabajo.
[CAT] Les necessitats hídriques de les zones humides es refereix als volums necessaris perquè aquests espais puguen realitzar les seves funcions adequadament. La determinació d'aquestes necessitats hídriques no és una tasca senzilla. Les aproximacions hidrològi-ques i hidràuliques per determinar-les amb freqüència no poden dur-se a terme per la manca d'informació, o bé perquè quan hi existeix resulta ser incompleta, al, per exem-ple, no disposar del registre d'informació precisa d'un esdeveniment d'interès. Les tècniques de teledetecció actuals i les sèries històriques d'imatges disponibles per-meten oferir una alternativa que ajuda a omplir aquests buits d'informació. La informació obtinguda mitjançant tècniques de teledetecció pot constituir una sèrie de dades alternatives que pot ser utilitzada per a caracteritzar zones humides, completar dades, calibrar i validar models. Els resultats obtinguts en aquest treball obren perspectives molt positives per a l'aplica-ció de la teledetecció en la determinació de les necessitats hídriques com un mètode factible i viable, gràcies en particular a l'accés públic de la informació d'imatges multiespectrals Landsat i de models digitals de terreny LiDAR, com els emprats als casos d'estudi inclosos en aquest treball. Paraules clau: necessitats hídriques, aiguamolls, teledetecció, índexs espectrals, MNDWI.
Lozano Arango, JG. (2016). APLICACIÓN DE LA TELEDETECCIÓN AL ESTUDIO DE LAS NECESIDADES HÍDRICAS DE LOS HUMEDALES. CASO DE ESTUDIO HUMEDALES ESPAÑOLES [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/62220
TESIS

[EN] This research presents the economic effects of the Colombian foreign exchange market in the garment manufacturing sector in Bucaramanga and its metropolitan area during the period between the years 2000-2012; an analysis of the economic sector behavior is carried out based on reports, studies of the regional economic conditions and results of the annual manufacturing survey; developing an econometric model whose estimate using the technique of multiple linear regression through the use of ordinary least squares on a data panel set in the form of log data that enables the control of variables for the extraction of net effects and their interpretation in the percentage share of the sector growth.
[ES] Esta investigación presenta los efectos económicos del mercado cambiario Colombiano en el sector de la confección de prendas de vestir en la ciudad de Bucaramanga y su área metropolitana durante el periodo comprendido entre los años 2000 a 2012; hace un análisis tomando como referencia informes, estudios de coyuntura económica regional y resultados obtenidos de la Encuesta Anual Manufacturera (EAM), desarrollando un modelo econométrico en cuya estimación se utiliza la técnica de regresión lineal múltiple mediante el uso de mínimos cuadrados ordinarios sobre un conjunto de datos panel en forma de logaritmo que permiten el control de variables para la extracción de efectos netos y su interpretación en términos porcentuales.
[CAT] Esta investigaió presenta els efectes económics del mercat canviari Colombiá en el sector de la confecció de penyores de vestir en ciutat de Bucaramanga i la seua área metropolitana durant el període comprés entre els anys 2000 a 2012; fa una análisi prenet com a referéncia informes, estudis de conjuntura económica regional i resultats obtinguts de l'Enquiesta Anual Manufacturera (EAM), desenrotllant un model econométric en léstimació del qual sútilitza la técnica de regressió lineal múltiple per mitjá del l'ús de mínims quadrats ordinaris sobre un conjunt de dades panel en forma de logaritme que permeten el control de variables per a léxtracció de efectes nets i la seua interpretació en terms percentuals.
Oviedo Portilla, SC. (2016). EFECTOS ECONOMICOS DEL MERCADO CAMBIARIO EN EL SECTOR DE LA CONFECCIÓN DE PRENDAS DE VESTIR EN BUCARAMANGA Y SU AREA METROPOLITANA [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/62320
TESIS

El objetivo principal de esta investigación se centra en el estudio del comportamiento hidro-mecánico asociado con los cambios de succión y tensión neta de un suelo colapsable. Se ha definido cuidadosamente un programa de ensayos de laboratorio con una variedad de trayectorias tensionales y de succión que reproduzcan respuestas de interés para el avance del conocimiento de los suelos no saturados. Los resultados de los ensayos se han interpretado de acuerdo a un modelo de endurecimiento elastoplástico desarrollado previamente en el Departamento (Barcelona Basic Model).
Para esta investigación se ha escogido una arcilla de baja plasticidad con una estructura preparada artificialmente y compactada estáticamente en condiciones isótropas (tensión controlada). Tras la compactación se ha medido la succión total de las muestras empleando la técnica psicrométrica. Con este procedimiento de fabricación se conoce la historia de tensión y succión de las muestras, y se establecen unas condiciones iniciales precisas. La estructura de las muestras se ha caracterizado mediante porosimetría de intrusión de mercurio, microscopía electrónica y una serie de ensayos mecánicos previos.
Se ha desarrollado una nueva célula edométrica con control de la succión y se ha puesto a punto una célula triaxial existente, para la aplicación de tensiones desviadoras y poder realizar ensayos de rotura a compresión triaxial con succión y deformación controladas.
Mediante ensayos edométricos e isótropos con control de la succión, se ha estudiado el comportamiento volumétrico (colapso, hinchamiento y retracción) de muestras normalmente consolidadas y sobreconsolidadas. Se ha analizado la influencia del estado inicial, así como los efectos de la tensión neta aplicada y los cambios de succión en el comportamiento volumétrico, la permeabilidad y las características de retención de agua. En estos ensayos se han observado pautas de comportamientos reversibles e irreversibles en relación con los cambios de volumen. Se ha constatado la existencia de deformaciones plásticas importantes y de cambios irreversibles en el contenido de agua, asociados a las trayectorias de hidratación y secado, así como en las trayectorias de carga y descarga.
simismo, se ha estudiado el comportamiento hidro-mecánico durante la aplicación de una tensión desviadora a succión constante, analizando la respuesta tenso-deformacional, el acoplamiento hidráulico y determinando los parámetros de resistencia al corte en muestras normalmente consolidadas y sobreconsolidadas. El estudio experimental ha consistido de un programa de ensayos de compresión triaxial a deformación controlada bajo confinamiento y succión constantes. El estado sobreconsolidado se ha inducido previamente a la etapa de corte por un proceso hidráulico (humedecimiento-secado y secado-humedecimiento) y por un proceso mecánico (carga-descarga). La respuesta al corte de las muestras normalmente consolidadas se ha estudiado para el nivel máximo de tensión media neta alcanzado por la muestra y en trayectorias previas de colapso.
Durante la etapa de corte las muestras presentaron inicialmente un comportamiento volumétrico contractante y posteriormente exhibieron dilatancia sin que se detectara evidencia de reblandecimiento del suelo. Asimismo, en todas las muestras, se observó inicialmente expulsión de agua hasta alcanzar un valor estable sin que se detectaran signos de entrada de agua durante la etapa final de dilatancia. A partir de los resultados de los ensayos se ha establecido la existencia de una línea de estado crítico en términos de tensión media neta, de tensión desviadora y de relación de vacíos, cuya posición depende del valor de la succión.
Los resultados experimentales se han analizado utilizando el modelo de endurecimiento elastoplástico, que se basa en conceptos de estado crítico. Se han determinado los parámetros del suelo asociados con dicho modelo y se han simulado algunas trayectorias tensionales, que han servido para validar su capacidad para reproducir la respuesta de un suelo no saturado.
The main objective of this research work focuses on the study of the hydro-mechanical behaviour associated with changes in suction and net stress in a collapsible soil. A laboratory test program was carefully defined using different stress and suction paths, with the aim of enriching the existing body of knowledge regarding unsaturated soil behaviour. The results from the tests were interpreted by means of an elastoplastic hardening model previously developed in the Geotechnical Department (Barcelona Basic Model).
A low plasticity clay, with an artificially prepared structure, statically compacted under isotropic conditions (controlled stress conditions), was chosen for this investigation. After compaction, the total suction of the samples was measured using transistor psychrometers. This preparation method allowed to know the stress and suction history of the samples and their precise initial conditions.
The structure of the samples was characterised using mercury intrusion porosimetry, electronic microscopy and a series of previous mechanical tests.
A new controlled-suction oedometer cell was developed and the existent triaxial cell was upgraded in order to carry out triaxial compression tests with controlled suction under constant strain rate.
These controlled-suction isotropic and oedometer tests allowed the study of the volumetric response (collapse, swelling and shrinkage) of normally consolidated and overconsolidated samples. The influence of the initial state was analysed, as well as the effects of applied net stress and the changes of suction in the volumetric behaviour, the permeability and the water retention properties. These tests showed reversible and irreversible features regarding volume change behaviour. Significant plastic strains and irreversible changes in water content, associated with the wetting-drying paths and loading-unloading paths, were observed.
Likewise, the hydro-mechanical response was studied during the application of a deviatoric stress at constant suction, thus analysing the stress-strain response and the hydraulic coupling, and determining the shear strength parameters in normally consolidated and overconsolidated samples.
The research consisted in a program of strain-controlled triaxial compression tests under constant confinement and suction. The overconsolidated state was induced before the shearing phase by means of a hydraulic process (wetting-drying and drying-wetting paths) and a mechanical process (loading-unloading path). The response to shearing of normally consolidated samples was studied for the cases in which the sample achieved a maximum level of mean net stress, as well as after wetting paths with dominant collapsible strains.
During the shearing phase, the samples initially presented compressive volumetric response, while afterwards they showed dilatancy without evidencing any strain softening. Furthermore, in all samples, there was an initial water outlet that attained a stable value after the compressive phase, although any water inlet was detected during the final dilative phase. Test results showed the existence of a critical state line in terms of net mean stress, deviatoric stress and void ratio, whose position depends on the value of suction.
Experimental results were interpreted using the elastoplastic hardening model, which is based on critical state concepts. Soil parameters associated with this model were determined and some stress paths were simulated, which helped to validate the model capacity to reproduce the response of an unsaturated soil.

This thesis examines whether there is a frame difference in online news coverage of the controversial 2014 Crimean referendum by The New York Times and the Russian newspaper, Kommersant. The research is grounded in framing theory and literature on the attribution of news sources. The study is conducted in two languages and it seeks to examine how media systems, perspectives on the issue, journalistic standards, as well as cultural backgrounds and historical ties influenced framing of the event. Sample online articles from each newspaper were selected and a quantitative content analysis was performed in order to identify the main themes, frames and source attribution patterns in media news coverage about the referendum. The pattern to quote official sources for providing justification and legitimacy to news stories has influenced the coverage in both newspapers: both The New York Times as well as Kommersant heavily relied on their respective government officials and experts. However, The New York Times provided a greater diversity of opinions supporting the values of a libertarian media system. Politics was the dominant theme of the referendum-related articles in both newspapers, however, Kommersant and The New York Times touched on economy and military themes with different frequencies. A comparison between themes in two periods (before and after the referendum) has not shown a meaningful difference for both newspapers. Kommersant’s online coverage was less critical of Russian policies and frequently utilized a set of the For-referendum frames, rarely touching upon Russian military activities on the peninsula. However, the frame depicting breach of international law appeared with the same frequency as the For-referendum frames, showing that Kommersant tried to maintain independence under the Russian neo-authoritarian media system. The New York Times focused on the illegitimate character of Crimean annexation and exposed every move of Russian troops, which is in line with U.S. foreign policy aims. However, the American publications did not hide the cultural and historical ties between Crimea and Russia and frequently mentioned the illegal character pertaining to Ukrainian protests and a temporary government.

This thesis is a case study investigation of the institutional relations of a South African educational NGO. The literature on NGOs indicates that as institutions they can be problematic. They face three key issues, accountability, partnership and empowerment, which provide them with both institutional coherence as well as institutional contradiction. Most of the existing analysis of NGOs is descriptive and little of it attempts to place an analysis of these key issues within a larger institutional environment. This thesis attempts to do so using the framework of institutional theory. Institutional theory, as articulated by Scott and others, is used to analyze an NGO in order to understand them both from an internal perspective (based on the social constructions of the institutional participants) and an external perspective (based on the environment in which the NGO was situated). According to this theory, institutions are comprised of three inter-penetrated dimensions, the regulative, normative, and cognitive. The analysis of these dimensions was accomplished using the concepts of continuity and dissonance. The findings of the study are that while there was relatively high continuity in this institution, related to a large extent to a project of social transformation in South Africa, there was also significant dissonance. The NGO faced contested accountability, tensions around partnership, and contradictions in terms of empowerment. The implications of these conclusions for South African education and NGOs in sub-Saharan Africa are explored as are the contributions of the study to institutional theory.

Participatory ecological monitoring aims to bring together conservationists and members of the public to collect scientific data about changes in nature – in species, habitats, ecosystems and natural resources. Given that such monitoring not only concerns measures of nature but inherently the participants doing the measuring, it is as much to do with social processes as it is to do with ecological ones. By drawing on detailed ethnographic work from the community forests of Nepal, this thesis aims to explore some of the social dimensions of participatory monitoring and of its consequences for socio-ecological regimes. Current debates in political ecology, development studies and nature-society studies provide the theoretical basis for the investigation. The novelty of the thesis lies in its extensive empirical data, which allows it to explore current understandings of participatory monitoring. The thesis establishes the following tentative theoretical findings. It firstly draws attention to the importance of the informal, often unconscious ways in which we all observe changes in nature and of the need to recognise such ‘local monitoring’ in relation to participatory monitoring. It draws attention to the situated nature of practices of monitoring and the heterogeneity of people involved, suggesting that this has consequences for how costs and benefits arising from participatory monitoring are distributed amongst participants and beyond. It argues that without attending to such consequences, participatory monitoring may serve to (re)produce social inequalities which are the basis for marginalisation and that it may become embroiled in local power struggles. The thesis argues that whilst participatory monitoring may provide useful data on changes in nature, that this information will not automatically influence decision-making over nature conservation or the use of natural resources. A multitude of other factors are important in such decision-making and the ways in which these relate to and potentially constrain the effectiveness of participatory monitoring are discussed. The thesis finally offers a typology with which to better understand the complexity amongst participatory monitoring projects – based on who and what they are for – and with which to approach the conflicts and inconsistencies they present. The thesis concludes that without a careful consideration of their inherent social dimensions, participatory monitoring projects will ultimately fail in attempts to both improve the condition of nature and the lives of societies that depend on it, for the two are intimately connected. Interdisciplinary studies such as this are therefore seen to offer great potential to participatory and community-based approaches to conservation and natural resource management more widely.

On assiste à une reprise d’intérêt pour l’utilisation du bois comme matériau structural dans la construction de ponts et d’édifices. Le bois lamellé-collé (BLC) est généralement le produit de bois d’ingénierie retenu pour la fabrication des poutres de bois à longue portée. Cependant, de nouvelles approches sont nécessaires afin d’augmenter la longueur des portées actuellement réalisables avec ce matériau compte tenu des limites imposées par les propriétés mécaniques du bois et par les caractéristiques géométriques des sections de BLC. Une approche abordée dans ce mémoire est le développement de sections composites combinant le BLC avec d’autres matériaux. Ce mémoire rapporte la conception et les essais sur des configurations innovatrices de poutres en bois lamellé-collé assemblées avec une ou des planches en béton fibré à ultra-haute performance (BFUP) et des bars d’armature en acier ou en polymère renforcé de fibres (PRF). Le document fournit des détails sur les concepts généraux étudiés, décrit certains des problèmes rencontrés lors de la fabrication des poutres composites et fait ressortir les résultats des essais de flexion en quatre points qui ont été effectués sur les spécimens.

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Conservação e Restauro
The Castro de Vila Nova de São Pedro (VNSP) is a settlement located at Azambuja, district of Lisbon, occupied during the third and second millennia BC, predominantly during the Chalcolithic period. A diversified collection of 275 copper-based artefacts (complete or in a fragmented condition) belonging to VNSP was studied for this thesis using non-destructive and micro-destructive analytical techniques. The classification of the objects according to its main chemical elements was performed by using EDXRF spectrometry. A selection of 53 of these artefacts was analysed by micro-EDXRF spectrometry to quantify the alloy compositions. The microstructural characterisation of the metal alloys, as well as the identification of the thermomechanical processes applied to the shaping of the artefacts was accomplished through optical microscopy, supported by SEM-EDS and supplemented by Vickers micro-hardness measures to establish the actual effectiveness of the thermomechanical processes in the hardness of the artefact. Results show that the initial collection is mainly composed of copper and arsenical copper. In the subset of 53 artefacts, 38% were considered copper alloyed with arsenic (As>2%). A statistically significant association was found between copper alloys with arsenic contents over 2% and artefacts identified as weapons. This could point out as the addition of arsenic in order to increase the weapon’s mechanical strength. The determination of the “chaîne opératoire” by microstructural analysis show that the majority of this subset (73%) was finished with forging plus annealing operations cycles and 23% of the artefacts received final cold hammering. In several cases, the presence of arsenic rich phases in the microstructure shows no evidence of controlling cooling rates during the casting operation. No direct correlation was found between the arsenic content of the alloy and its hardness, assessed by Vickers microhardness testing. Nevertheless, proof was found of a higher hardness near the blade regions of the artefacts.
Fundação da Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia,project METALURGIA PRIMITIVA NO TERRITÓRIO PORTUGUÊS - PTDC/HIS-ARQ/110442/2008

Dissertação de Mestrado Integrado em Medicina Veterinária
A Osteoartrite (OA) é a principal causa de claudicação no cavalo de desporto e lazer, sendo uma afecção que tem grandes repercussões económicas. Este trabalho descreve algumas das características importantes da estrutura articular, bem como da sua fisiologia. Define a OA e todas as estruturas envolvidas no seu processo. Os mecanismos fisiopatológicos põem em evidência os factores de risco em causa e que determinam todo o processo de degradação articular. São descritos os vários meios de diagnóstico utilizados, quer os convencionais, quer as recentes técnicas imagiológicas (ressonância magnética, tomografia computadorizada e cintigrafia nuclear) quer ainda os biomarcadores do metabolismo da cartilagem articular e osso. A abordagem terapêutica é diversa incluindo os anti-inflamatórios não esteróides, os corticosteróides, os glicosaminoglicanos polisulfatados, o hialuronato de sódio, o pentosan polisulfato e o ácido tiludrónico, com o objectivo de travar a progressão da doença articular. Também são abordadas novas formas alternativas de tratamento da OA, como a terapia por meio de ondas de choque, a utilização de células estaminais mesenquimatosas e a terapia genética. Este trabalho é complementado pela descrição de dois casos clínicos, onde são abordados o diagnóstico e respectivo tratamento.
ABSTRACT - The Osteoarthritis (OA) is the main cause of lameness in the sport and leisure horse, being an affection with great economic evolvement. This work describes the main characteristics of the joint structure, as well as its physiology. It defines the OA and all the involved structures in its process. It’s physiopathology puts in evidence all the risk factors and all the process of joint degradation associated. Diagnosis methods are mentioned, not only the conventional ones, but also the recent imaging techniques (magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography and nuclear scintigraphy) and the use of the bone and cartilage biomarkers. Diverse types of treatment are used, as it is the case of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, corticosteroids, polysulfated glycosaminoglycan, hyaluronan, pentosan polysulfate and acid tiludronic, drugs, achieving to decrease the progression of the joint disease. Also new forms of treatment of the OA are referred as the therapy using shock waves, mesenchymal stem cells and the gene therapy. Two clinical cases are described, where the diagnosis and treatment are boarded.

Publicación a texto completo no autorizada por el autor
Aplica el Octógono, modelo antropológico de funcionamiento de organizaciones, a la gestión del conocimiento. Estudia dicho modelo como herramienta de gestión del conocimiento, los planteamientos de innovación en gestión y su importancia para las organizaciones. Evidencia que el Octógono como herramienta de diagnóstico facilita un panorama completo de la organización, se relaciona con los componentes de la Gestión del Conocimiento (tecnologías de la información, procesos y personas) y permite identificar aspectos de la organización que tienen un desempeño considerable y aquellos que deben ser corregidos.
Tesis

Magister Curationis - Mcur
According to Brown (2010), influenza kills and hospitalises thousands of people every year, about thirty-five thousand and two hundred thousand respectively. Some studies have shown that one of the major reasons that people do not take part in preventative behaviour concerning influenza would be some misconceptions and lack of knowledge. The purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions and attitudes of nursing students at a University in the Western Cape about influenza and their prevention and health seeking behaviour against influenza infection. This topic is important as nursing students are a part of the population group that is frequently exposed to influenza, either at their institutions of learning or in the hospitals and clinics, where they come into contact with patients in their roles as health care workers. A comprehensive review of the literature around perceptions and attitudes and health seeking behaviours regarding influenza was undertaken and considered by the researcher. Most of the literature reviewed came from Western countries as not much research has been done in Africa on the topic. From the literature reviewed, the researcher decided to use the Health Belief Model as a conceptual framework for this study as it has proven to be relatively effective in previous studies of this nature as well as in predicting people's health seeking behaviours.

Introdução: Os colesteatomas podem ocorrer tanto em crianças como em adultos, porém nas crianças pareceriam ter um crescimento mais agressivo e extenso. A atividade das colagenases poderia explicar este perfil. Objetivo: Comparar, histologicamente, a perimatriz de colesteatomas adquiridos de crianças com os de adultos. Métodos: Foram estudados 74 colesteatomas, 35 pediátricos, coletados em cirurgias otológicas, fixados em formol 10% e processados pelas técnicas histológicas habituais. Foram preparadas uma lâmina em Hematoxilina-Eosina (HE) e outra em Picrossírios, de cada amostra, e analisadas ao microscópio óptico. A leitura foi “cega”, efetuada por meio de imagens digitais, no software ImagePro Plus. A análise estatística foi realizada através dos coeficientes de correlação de Pearson e Spearman e dos testes t e χ2, sendo considerados como estatisticamente significativos os valores de P<0,05. Resultados: Dos 74 colesteatomas coletados, 17 - sete do grupo pediátrico e dez do adulto - foram excluídos por não terem presença de matriz e perimatriz nas lâminas processadas. A média±dp da idade, no grupo pediátrico, foi de 12,85±3,63; e no adulto, 33,69±13,10. Na análise histológica, o número médio de camadas de células epiteliais da matriz foi igual a oito, nos dois grupos, 60% das amostras apresentavam inflamação, de moderada a acentuada; quanto à fibrose, nas crianças, 71,4% e nos adultos, 62,1%; o granuloma apareceu em 10,7% e 13,8%, respectivamente; a presença de epitélio cubóide simples delimitando a perimatriz foi encontrada em 29% dos infantis e 14% dos adultos, entretanto, nenhuma dessas variáveis apresentou diferença estatisticamente significativas quando comparadas por faixa etária (P>0,05). Quanto à espessura da perimatriz, no grupo pediátrico, as medianas (intervalo interquartil) dos parâmetros foram: média=79 (41 a 259); mediana=77 (40 a 265); soma=1.588 (831 a 5.185); delta=82 (44 a 248); mínimo=53 (16 a 165) e máximo=127 (64 a 398); já no grupo de adultos foram: média=83 (26 a 174); mediana=68 (30 a 181); soma=1.801 (558 a 3.867); delta=92 (45 a 190); mínimo=27 (12 a 100) e máximo=136 (53 a 280). O coeficiente de Spearman mostrou correlação inversa, moderada, entre a espessura da perimatriz e a idade; também houve correlação, forte, entre a espessura da perimatriz e o número de camadas da matriz, porém não houve correlação entre essa com a idade. Conclusão: Histologicamente, a perimatriz de colesteatomas adquiridos, de crianças e adultos, vista à microscopia óptica, apresenta-se como um tecido conjuntivo denso de espessura variável (intra e interpacientes), que, por vezes, exibe infiltrado inflamatório linfoplasmocitário e/ou tecido de granulação e reação de corpo estranho; em alguns casos é delimitada em plano profundo por epitélio cubóide simples. Há correlação inversa, de fraca a moderada, entre o tamanho da perimatriz, medida em micrômetros e a idade do paciente na data da cirurgia. O grau de inflamação da perimatriz apresenta correlação, de moderada a forte, com a espessura da perimatriz. As espessuras da matriz e da perimatriz estão fortemente correlacionadas.
Introduction: Cholesteatoma may occur either in children or in adults; in children, however, they have a more aggressive and extensive growth. Collagenases may play a role in this set. Objective: To compare, histologically, adults and children's cholesteatomas. Methods: A total of 74 cholesteatomas (35 of children) obtained from othologic surgeries were included. They were fixed in formol 10% and processed by usual histologic techniques. Two laminas were performed for each cholesteatoma, one stained with HE and other with Picrossisius. Images were obtained at the optic microscope and were digitally processed using Image Pro-Plus software. For statistical analysis were used Pearson and Spearman's correlation coefficient, t test and chi square test. The analysis was blind. Differences were considered statistically significant if P<0,05. Results: We obtained 74 cholesteatomas, but 17 (7 pediatrics and 10 adults) were excluded because of the absence of their matrix and perimatrix in the microscopic images. Mean age ± sd was 12,85 ± 3,63 in children and 33,69 ± 13,1 in adults. Histologically, mean number of matrix epithelial cell layers was 8 in both groups. Sixty percent of samples showed a moderate-to-severe inflammation. In the children group, 71,4% of samples contained fibrosis and, between adults, 62,1% contained it; granuloma appears in 10,7% and in 13,8%, respectively. The presence of simple cuboidal epithelium around the perimatrix was found in 29% of children´s and in 14 % of adult´s laminas. No statistical difference was found in these variables between the two groups (P>0,05). In the pediatric group, perimatrix mean thickness was 79 (41 - 259), median = 77 (40-265), sum = 1588 (831 - 5185), delta = 82 (44 - 248), minimum = 53 (16 - 165) and maximum = 127 (64 - 398). In the adult group, perimatrix mean thickness was 83 (26 - 174), median = 68 (30 - 265), sum = 1801 (558 - 3867), delta = 92 (45 - 190), minimum = 27 (12 - 100) and maximum = 136 (53 - 280). Spearman correlation coefficient showed an inverse weak correlation between the perimatrix thickness and age. There was also a moderate correlation between perimatrix thickness and the number of matrix layers, but there wasn’t a correlation between matrix layers and age. Conclusions: At the optic microscope, children´s and adult´s acquired cholesteatoma perimatrix appears as a dense conjunctive tissue of variable thickness. It exhibits an infiltrate consisting by plasma cells and lymphocytes and/or a granulation tissue and foreign body reactions. It is delimited at the profound plan by simple cuboidal epithelium. We found some evidence that there is an inverse weak-to-moderate correlation between the acquired cholesteatoma perimatrix thickness and the age of the patient at the occasion of surgery. The degree of perimatrix inflammation presents a moderate-to-strong correlation with the perimatrix thickness. Matrix and perimatrix thickness have a strong correlation.

Bibliography: leaves 149-155.
Since there has been no comprehensive nationwide economic study on the expanding wildlife market in South Africa, the present study ventures into a relatively unexplored economic terrain in the hope that more studies will be stimulated in that direction. The study focuses, firstly, on presenting an economic overview of the current trends within the wildlife market of South Africa, attempting inter alia to demonstrate how the sustainable utilisation of wildlife can contribute to both conservation and the economy. Secondly, it is endeavoured to describe the demand for wildlife species at game auctions across South Africa, using a range of econometric modelling techniques.

For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Ten Commandments are very much in effect today. The fourth commandment, to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy, is heavily emphasized within church doctrine and culture (Exodus 20:8; Deuteronomy 5:12). This command to set apart the Sabbath is observed on Sundays for the LDS Church as well as the majority of the Christian world, rather than the traditional Saturday. Though the Ten Commandments collectively have both individual and societal implications, the spiritual outcome from following them is indeed an introspective pursuit. This thesis seeks to address how members of the Church seek to keep the Sabbath day holy in a profession that is heavily involved in Sunday work. With the universality of sports among Latter-day Saints, and large numbers of youth hoping to play sports professionally, this study is timely because it seeks to elucidate the effects that playing professional sports, particularly in the NFL, have on church activity. Chapter One details the history of the Sabbath from the Old Testament to the present day. It then discusses the doctrine of the Sabbath as taught by the LDS Church. It also discusses what the highest officers in the church, the First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and other auxiliary leaders have said about sports and Sunday play. It finishes off with a description of the research methodology and the interview process for thirty Latter-day Saints who played in the NFL. Chapter Two introduces the data and some of the main findings regarding Sabbath day worship in the NFL; it highlights the sacrament, church attendance, and other personal religious habits for these athletes. Chapter Three continues the discussion of the data and more particularly addresses some of the challenges more pertinent to LDS NFL players. It was apparent after the interview process that these participants found it challenging to be in an atmosphere so incompatible to their personal beliefs, including religious criticism from teammates, harsh language, lewdness in and out of the locker room, and many other difficult circumstances. Marriage is addressed and how it was a major factor for these players. It also includes quantitative information about the athletes' backgrounds and faith experiences leading up to their careers in the NFL. Chapter Four summarizes the thesis and draws conclusions upon the data. It also recommends areas for further research. In the Appendix, redacted interviews of all thirty NFL players are included.

Youth with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have higher rates of depression than healthy youth. A cognitive-behavioral treatment, primary and secondary control enhancement training-physical illness (PASCET-PI), for depressed adolescents with IBD was associated with reductions in depressive symptoms. The purpose of this study was to examine the salience of nonspecific processes (factors inherent in any human relationship) and specific processes (factors related to therapy content) during PASCET-PI sessions and their association with improvements in psychological functioning. Participants included 10 adolescent patients with IBD with mean illness duration of 31.9 months. At intake, eight participants qualified for a diagnosis of major depressive disorder and two for a diagnosis of minor depression. Participants completed measures of depressive symptomatology and clinicians completed the Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS). Measures were completed at posttreatment, 6 months posttreatment, and 1 year posttreatment. Independent judges used the Psychotherapy Process Q-sort (PQS) to rate the salience of therapeutic processes for PASCET-PI sessions #2 and #8 for each subject. PQS ratings of PASCET-PI sessions were con-elated with ideal prototypes of cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT), inteqnrsonal therapy (IPT), and psychodynamic (PD) orientations that were previously developed based on PQS ratings of an ideal session, according to expert therapists. Findings indicate that PASCET-PI sessions most closely resembled the CBT prototype (r = .51, p < .05). Change scores on outcome measures were correlated with PQS-prototype correlates to determine which processes were associated with improved psychological functioning. Findings suggest that reductions in depressive symptomatology were associated with processes characteristic of various orientations. Thus, CBT processes were not exclusive in promoting change. There were strong positive relationships between change scores of the PCS and prototypes of all orientations (CBT, IPT, and PD) at posttreatment and between the CDI and ASQ and all orientations at 6-months follow-up (r = .62 -.72, p < .05). Comparisons of specific process-outcome correlates and nonspecific process-outcome correlates did not reveal significant differences.

La presenti tesi esamina il problema odierno della sicurezza energetica e ambientale. Energia e ambiente, infatti, risultano essere due elementi inscindibili nelle relazioni internazionali. Inizialmente, viene analizzato il concetto di sicurezza energetica e l’importanza che essa ha per la comunità. La descrizione dell’impatto dei combustibili fossili per lo sviluppo economico e la spiegazione delle tecniche di sfruttamento delle fonti alternative fungono da cornice per i successivi temi di analisi. Si passa, quindi, ad approfondire il tema della sicurezza ambientale, con particolare enfasi sulla questione climatica, valutando sia gli effetti naturali che il peso delle attività umane. In seguito, vengono descritti gli accordi principali finora raggiunti. Viene, infine, approfondito il problema della sostenibilità per le future generazioni, prendendo in esame le possibilità e i progetti realizzabili, al fine di garantire la sicurezza energetica e, allo stesso tempo, la salvaguardia ambientale. Le fonti impiegate per la stesura consistono in materiale disponibile sia in forma cartacea che elettronica, quali libri e riviste inerenti i temi trattati, redatti da studiosi, politologi, economisti e giornalisti di varie nazionalità, i quali si interessano di energia e ambiente. Inoltre, sono stati consultati molteplici banche dati e siti web di organizzazioni internazionali, al fine di garantire prove tangibili di quanto descritto. In conclusione, è possibile affermare che una transizione verso un sistema sostenibile sia certamente possibile. Tuttavia, affinché esso si possa pienamente realizzare saranno necessari ancora molti progressi, non solo in campo tecnologico, ma, soprattutto, in ambito economico e politico.

This work is about a quantum-mechanical generalisation of transition rate theory that accounts for temperature-dependent quantum-dynamical effects. The starting point of this investigation is a formulation of the classical transmission coefficient where the activated dynamics is needed to obtain the time evolution of the classical state function and the rate is expressed as an average flux in momentum space. Traditional approaches to quantum transition rate theory are briefly discussed, with emphasis on the fact that these do not generally require knowledge of the open quantum dynamics. The latter can be studied by means of the Lindblad equation for mixed states, which is shown to be analogous to an average over realisations of a certain type of stochastic Schrödinger dynamics. The stochastic evolution in Hilbert space is used in combination with an ansatz for the wave function as a Gaussian wave packet to show that under appropriate assumptions the stochastic Schrödinger equation converges to the classical Langevin equation. A novel formulation of the quantum transmission coefficient is presented which features a quantum-mechanical version of the state function obtained via the density operator, so that the activated quantum dynamics can be taken into account by solving the Lindblad equation. A numerical investigation of the quantum transmission coefficient thus obtained for different temperatures is carried out, along with a comparison to the classical results. The quantum-mechanical transmission coefficient is found to display some expected features, such as vanishing in the limit as t → 0, displaying a “plateau” value for certain values of the temperature, and decaying to zero exponentially fast when the fundamental assumptions of TRT do not hold. Additionally the plateau value of the quantum transmission coefficient is found to be smaller than the classical counterpart in all regimes, and to approach the corresponding classical value in the limit of large temperatures.

Livelihoods in rural communities of the Ethiopian highlands are strongly dependent on ecosystem services (ESS). At the same time, they face many challenges and are typically characterised by extreme poverty. Little is known about the social-ecological context of ESS management, and how this impacts the livelihoods and poverty rates at a community level. Improved understanding of how local stakeholders interact with their surrounding ESS to support their livelihoods may inform more viable and realistic approaches to the sustainable use of ESS and maximize poverty alleviation. In this research, I applied a series of approaches including literature review, participatory rural appraisal (PRA), field experiments, computational modelling (particularly using hydrological and erosion models), and scenarios analysis to identify the most economic livelihood strategies to maximize poverty alleviation at the local scale, and to be environmentally sustainable. First, I studied the current relationship between livelihoods and ESS, and how they are managed for poverty alleviation in the Ethiopian highlands using a combination of scientific and grey literature review. My analysis focused on the identification of the main physical processes that lead to degrading ESS, the formal and informal decision-making processes that are used to address these threats at the community level, and their relation to various levels of external intervention. I find that the main degradation processes are soil structure degradation and soil loss, but also reductions in groundwater recharge, river base flow, and carbon storage. Yet, government policies that aim to address these issues are based on a strongly centralized approach that is insufficiently tailored to the local natural and social-economic context. This may result in some short-term benefits but has a high risk of jeopardizing long term sustainability. The review outcome highlights the need for a participatory bottom-up approach to problem framing, and data generation and exchange to promote both environmental sustainability and poverty alleviation. Following the outcome of this literature review, I develop my research methodological framework based on further review of the literature about participatory approaches to knowledge generation in the field of ecosystem services management to support sustainable development. To implement this framework, I conducted a detailed situation analysis of a representative case study (Debre Mawi watershed) in the upper Blue Nile. This watershed is exemplary for the Ethiopian and other tropical highlands where livelihood security is strongly dependent on local ESS, particularly those provided by water and soils. This situation analysis research was conducted by applying PRA including various participatory methods, such as household questionnaires, semi-structured interviews with key informants, open community meetings, and small focus group discussions. These participatory techniques were complemented with detailed field observations through transect walks with farmers and ESS mapping. This situation analysis provided insights in the problems faced by stakeholders in the study area, and yielded options for improved livelihood and environmental sustainability. Poverty lock-in challenging strategies found through this participatory rural appraisal approach are crop irrigation and livestock fattening. For both strategies and domestic use, water scarcity was found to be the primary limiting factor. Therefore the next step of this research project focused on water availability. With regard to water availability, I tested the hypothesis that groundwater and water harvesting increase water supply during the dry season for the local community using experimental data and modelling. I confirmed that soil and water conservation (SWC) interventions, which were implemented at degraded lands, are enhancing recharge by converting them into areas which actively contribute to recharge (referred throughout this thesis as “hillsides” because of their hydrological similarity to natural hillsides). I found that the area of such “hillsides” increased by 55% over a period of 4 years. The current (natural and regenerated) hillside area of Debre Mawi is 65.4% of the total catchment area; considering this area, groundwater recharge was calculated to amount to 1.4 million m3 in 2016. I developed a groundwater table height simulation model and analyzed catchment-scale spatial and temporal variability of groundwater levels, which allowed me to confirm that groundwater increases water supply during dry season to residents of the lower parts of the catchments. For villagers living in the upper parts of the catchments, my experiment suggests that rooftop water harvesting is the best water source during the dry season. Lastly, scenario analysis that links dry season water supplies with local poverty lock-in challenging strategies proves that animal husbandry is the best livelihood improving strategy for upper catchment residents, while crop irrigation is best suited for lower catchment residents’ livelihoods. After fulfilling household’s domestic water use need, rooftop water harvesting and groundwater respectively may enable farmers earning a profit estimated at US$69–7704 and US$1084–2504 during the dry season from a combination of animal fattening and crop irrigation. Overall, the methodology that I developed and the results that it generated are novel and significant because they identify a potential pathway to move out of sever poverty to a better livelihood within a sustainable environment. The research undertaken can be replicated for appropriate ESS management particular for hydrology-economic model development and policy, as well as for poverty alleviation in the Ethiopian-African rural highlands and to other rural communities worldwide that depend on ESS.