L’explosion récente du nombre de centenaires dans les pays à faible mortalité n’est pas étrangère à la multiplication des études portant sur la longévité, et plus spécifiquement sur ses déterminants et ses répercussions. Alors que certains tentent de découvrir les gènes pouvant être responsables de la longévité extrême, d’autres s’interrogent sur l’impact social, économique et politique du vieillissement de la population et de l’augmentation de l’espérance de vie ou encore, sur l’existence d’une limite biologique à la vie humaine. Dans le cadre de cette thèse, nous analysons la situation démographique des centenaires québécois depuis le début du 20e siècle à partir de données agrégées (données de recensement, statistiques de l’état civil, estimations de population). Dans un deuxième temps, nous évaluons la qualité des données québécoises aux grands âges à partir d’une liste nominative des décès de centenaires des générations 1870-1894. Nous nous intéressons entre autres aux trajectoires de mortalité au-delà de cent ans. Finalement, nous analysons la survie des frères, sœurs et parents d’un échantillon de semi-supercentenaires (105 ans et plus) nés entre 1890 et 1900 afin de se prononcer sur la composante familiale de la longévité. Cette thèse se compose de trois articles. Dans le cadre du premier, nous traitons de l’évolution du nombre de centenaires au Québec depuis les années 1920. Sur la base d’indicateurs démographiques tels le ratio de centenaires, les probabilités de survie et l’âge maximal moyen au décès, nous mettons en lumière les progrès remarquables qui ont été réalisés en matière de survie aux grands âges. Nous procédons également à la décomposition des facteurs responsables de l’augmentation du nombre de centenaires au Québec. Ainsi, au sein des facteurs identifiés, l’augmentation de la probabilité de survie de 80 à 100 ans s’inscrit comme principal déterminant de l’accroissement du nombre de centenaires québécois. Le deuxième article traite de la validation des âges au décès des centenaires des générations 1870-1894 d’origine canadienne-française et de confession catholique nés et décédés au Québec. Au terme de ce processus de validation, nous pouvons affirmer que les données québécoises aux grands âges sont d’excellente qualité. Les trajectoires de mortalité des centenaires basées sur les données brutes s’avèrent donc représentatives de la réalité. L’évolution des quotients de mortalité à partir de 100 ans témoigne de la décélération de la mortalité. Autant chez les hommes que chez les femmes, les quotients de mortalité plafonnent aux alentours de 45%. Finalement, dans le cadre du troisième article, nous nous intéressons à la composante familiale de la longévité. Nous comparons la survie des frères, sœurs et parents des semi-supercentenaires décédés entre 1995 et 2004 à celle de leurs cohortes de naissance respectives. Les différences de survie entre les frères, sœurs et parents des semi-supercentenaires sous observation et leur génération « contrôle » s’avèrent statistiquement significatives à un seuil de 0,01%. De plus, les frères, sœurs, pères et mères des semi-supercentenaires ont entre 1,7 (sœurs) et 3 fois (mères) plus de chance d’atteindre 90 ans que les membres de leur cohorte de naissance correspondante. Ainsi, au terme de ces analyses, il ne fait nul doute que la longévité se concentre au sein de certaines familles. / The recent rise in the number of centenarians within low mortality countries has led to multiple studies conducted on longevity, and more specifically on its determinants and repercussions. Some are trying to identify genes that could be responsible for extreme longevity. Others are studying the social, economic and political impact of the rise in life expectancy and population aging, or questioning themselves about the existence of a biological limit to the human life span. In this thesis, we first study the demographic situation of centenarians from Quebec using aggregated data (census data, vital statistics, and population estimations). Then, we evaluate the quality of Quebec data at the oldest ages using the death records of centenarians belonging to the 1870-1894 birth cohorts. We are particularly interested in the mortality trajectories beyond 100 years old. Finally, we analyze the survival of siblings and parents of a semi-supercentenarians (105 years and over) sample in order to assess the familial component of longevity. The thesis is divided into three articles. In the first article, we study the evolution of the centenarian population from the 1920s in Quebec. With demographic indicators such as the centenarian ratio, the survival probabilities and the maximal age at death, we try to demonstrate the remarkable progress realised in old age mortality. We also analyze the determinants of the increase in the number of centenarians in Quebec. Among the factors identified, the improvement in late mortality is the main determinant of the increase of the number of centenarians in Quebec. The second article deals with the validation of the ages at death of French-Canadian centenarians born in Quebec between 1870-1894. The validation results confirm that Quebec data at the highest ages at death are of very good quality. Therefore, the measure of centenarian mortality based on all death records is representative of the true trends. The evolution of age-specific life table death rates beyond 100 years old assesses the mortality deceleration at the highest ages. Among men and women, the death rates reach a plateau at around 45%. Finally, in the third article, we study the familial predisposition for longevity. We compare the survival probabilities of siblings and parents of semi-supercentenarians deceased between 1995 and 2004 to those of their birth cohort-matched counterparts. The survival differences between the siblings and parents of semi-supercentenarians and their respective birth cohorts are statistically significant at a 0,01% level of significance. The siblings and parents have a 1,7 to 3 times greater probability of survival from age 50 to 90 then members of their respective birth cohorts. These findings support the existence of a substantial familial component to longevity.

This thesis is focused on problem data reconciliation of measurements. The objective of this thesis was reconciled measured value from electric drum dryer to suit exactly to the mathematical model of drying. For solution was used nonlinear data reconciliation with constrained nonlinear optimization. The entire calculation is processed in programme MATLAB and outputs are graphs of reconciled values of measurement on dryer such as inlet and outlet temperature and humidity, differential pressure of exhaust moisture air, weight of laundry, atmospheric pressure and electric supply. Achieved solution can by characterized by an amount of evaporated water. Weight of wet and dry laundry are 27,7 kg a 17,7 kg. The calculated amount of evaporated water from measurements was almost 18,8 kg. With reconciled measurements it was 9,7 kg. Goals of the thesis were found more realistic values.

Data is one of the most contributing factors for modern business operations. Having bad data could therefore lead to tremendous losses, both financially and for customer experience. This thesis seeks to find anomalies in real-world, complex, structured data, causing an international enterprise to miss out on income and the potential loss of customers. By using graph theory and similarity analysis, the findings suggest that certain countries contribute to the discrepancies more than other countries. This is believed to be an effect of countries customizing their products to match the market’s needs. This thesis is just scratching the surface of the analysis of the data, and the number of opportunities for future work are therefore many.

Health practitioners collect health data on a daily basis at health facility levels in order to monitor and evaluate the performance of priority national health programmes (District Health Plan 2012:6). Routine data quality for health programmes monitoring need a collective intervention to ensure clear understanding for what data to be collected at primary health care setting. The aim of the study is to explore the understanding of routine health data, determine the use of routine data and feedback mechanism at primary health care clinic setting. Quantitative descriptive research design was used to answer the research question on this research study. Structured data collection questionnaire was used for the study to accomplish the research purpose and reach the study objectives. A total of 400 participants was sampled, and 247 responded. One of the findings was that the understanding of routine health data by Health Practitioners was at 82.6% (% = f/n*100, f= 3242 and n= 3926). / Health Studies

Health practitioners collect health data on a daily basis at health facility levels in order to monitor and evaluate the performance of priority national health programmes (District Health Plan 2012:6). Routine data quality for health programmes monitoring need a collective intervention to ensure clear understanding for what data to be collected at primary health care setting. The aim of the study is to explore the understanding of routine health data, determine the use of routine data and feedback mechanism at primary health care clinic setting. Quantitative descriptive research design was used to answer the research question on this research study. Structured data collection questionnaire was used for the study to accomplish the research purpose and reach the study objectives. A total of 400 participants was sampled, and 247 responded. One of the findings was that the understanding of routine health data by Health Practitioners was at 82.6% (% = f/n*100, f= 3242 and n= 3926). / Health Studies