The purpose of this study is to observe childrens adaptation to an electropalatographic (EPG) sensor. Sound recordings of six children between the ages of 7;0 and 9;11 sampled at 30-minute intervals over a two-hour period of wearing an EPG sensor were perceptually evaluated to quantify the children's adaptation over time. Twenty native speakers of American English evaluated the pronunciation of a series of words with embedded stops and fricatives produced with and without an EPG sensor in place. When collapsed over speaker and stimulus type, listener ratings decreased significantly after inserting the EPG sensor. Ratings then increased significantly after the sensor was in place for 30 minutes, and again after 60 minutes. No significant improvement in pronunciation was noted between the 60- and 120-minute test intervals, and adaptation did not reach preplacement levels until the sensor was removed. Mixed results were found in how speakers adapted across the different stimulus types. Adaptation was most consistent across speakers for the conversation conditions, but occurred most rapidly for /s/ and /k/. Speakers showed the best overall adaptation for the phoneme /t/ by the end of testing. These results are similar to several adaptation studies with adults, and the two studies with children. Results from this study will help speech pathologists effectively use EPG technology to help children accurately pronounce speech sounds, and to generalize these pronunciations to their normal speech.

The purpose of this study is to observe childrens adaptation to an electropalatographic (EPG) sensor. Sound recordings of six children between the ages of 7;0 and 9;11 sampled at 30-minute intervals over a two-hour period of wearing an EPG sensor were perceptually evaluated to quantify the children's adaptation over time. Twenty native speakers of American English evaluated the pronunciation of a series of words with embedded stops and fricatives produced with and without an EPG sensor in place. When collapsed over speaker and stimulus type, listener ratings decreased significantly after inserting the EPG sensor. Ratings then increased significantly after the sensor was in place for 30 minutes, and again after 60 minutes. No significant improvement in pronunciation was noted between the 60- and 120-minute test intervals, and adaptation did not reach preplacement levels until the sensor was removed. Mixed results were found in how speakers adapted across the different stimulus types. Adaptation was most consistent across speakers for the conversation conditions, but occurred most rapidly for /s/ and /k/. Speakers showed the best overall adaptation for the phoneme /t/ by the end of testing. These results are similar to several adaptation studies with adults, and the two studies with children. Results from this study will help speech pathologists effectively use EPG technology to help children accurately pronounce speech sounds, and to generalize these pronunciations to their normal speech.

Research in this diploma thesis was focused on monitoring of the beef cattle parasites and periodically was done from April 2015 to November 2015 on three different farms in two different regions (Vysočina and Středočeský region) in the Czech Republic. 20 samples of fresh faeces were collected every month from each farm during morning. Processing and consequent evaluation of samples took place in parasitology laboratory at State Veterinary Institute in Jihlava. Samples were evaluated using a relatively new coprological technique FLOTAC, developed in Italy and recommended for parasitological qualitative and quantitative analysis of large farm animal eggs and oocysts. For each farm two pooled samples (10 g each) by subtracting 1 g of faeces from individual samples were used. Results were evaluated and statistically analysed by statistical software Statistica 13. There was occurrence of eggs of gastrointestinal nematodes (family Trichostrongylidae), tapeworms (Moniezia spp.) and oocysts of coccidia (Eimeria spp.) on all of the farms. Only on the farm 3 there was also occurrence of fluke eggs (Paramphistomum spp.). From the results it was evident, that farms that administered anthelmintic to livestock had significantly lower amounts of EPG/OPG in animal faeces. Despite of using pooled samples, method proved to be reliable and sensitive for monitoring of developing stages of livestock parasites. Even low amount of eggs or oocysts in animal faeces were detected by coprological technique FLOTAC.

Both acoustic and palatographic measures have proven to be useful in speech science research. However, it is not known how closely or consistently these two measures are associated with each other. Therefore, this study investigated the association between changes in tongue-to-palate contact patterns and simultaneous changes in acoustic spectral moments for the fricative /s/. Twenty adults were fitted with pseudopalates and repeated VCV nonsense syllables consisting of an initial schwa followed by the target consonant /s/ and ending with one of three corner vowels (/i, ɑ, u/). EPG (electropalatography) data were quantified using three custom numerical indices (s-narrow, s-wide, and asymmetry) derived from specified zones on the pseudopalate which loosely reflected dimensional differences in the fricative groove. These indices produced general details about changes in tongue contact over time, but index values were not unique to specific contact patterns. The EPG numerical index values were then compared with differences in spectral moments (spectral mean and variance) from the time-aligned acoustic signal. On the whole, all combinations of spectral mean and variance and EPG indices resulted in some weak but significant correlations across all vowel contexts and participant groupings. The majority of these correlations were negative, meaning that as EPG index values increased, spectral mean and variance decreased. Some of the strongest of these correlations were present between s-narrow and spectral mean and variance. Therefore, in order to give a clearer picture of the link between lingual physiology and spectral moments, these variables were correlated for each individual speaker. Stronger significant correlations between s-narrow and both spectral mean and variance were identified in some participants. The majority of these correlations were also negative, suggesting that as the s-narrow index increased, the spectral mean and the variance decreased. A few participants' results that showed interesting lingua-palatal contact patterns are discussed in more detail. Generalization based on specific correlations from this study must be undertaken with considerable caution due to desynchronization of EPG data and the acoustic signal found in several tokens.

The goal of this thesis project is to improve industrial system testing efficiency. The thesis is mainly focused on the field of telecommunication. Testing is one of the most important steps before selling a product to customers and testing is also an important component of after sale maintenance. The work load for testers can be decreased and more projects could be carried out in parallel, if the testing efficiency can be improved. The thesis project is carried out within the Ericsson Product Development Unit (PDU) Packet Core System Test section. The goal is to improve the system testing efficiency of the Evolved Packet Gateway, as system testing has gradually become one of the bottle necks for the whole product release. Ericsson wants to accelerate its pace in releasing new products to the market and releasing new software to their customers. An initial investigation was made to get a clear view about how the complete system testing procedure is currently carried out and then, an analysis was made based on this information. Ideas were collected for a proposed new implementation and finally a prototype for the most useful ideas was developed and evaluated to show how the system testing efficiency can be improved. Finally, these ideas were proved to be valuable for Ericsson PDU Packet Core System Test section and two of them have been adopted and are already under developing. / Målet med detta examensarbete är att förbättra effektiviteten inom industriell systemtestning.  Avhandlingen är främst inriktad på området för telekommunikation. Testning är ett av de viktigaste stegen innan försäljning av en produkt till kunder och testning är också en viktig komponent under underhållsfasen. Genom att förbättra effektiviteten i testerna kan arbetsbelastningen för testare minskas och flera projekt genomföras parallellt. Examensarbetet har utförts inom Ericssons produktutvecklingsenhet (PDU) Packet Core, avdelning System Test. Avhandlingens mål är att effektivisera systemtestning av Evolved Packet Gateway (EPG), eftersom systemtest gradvis blivit flaskhalsen för hela produktens release. Ericsson vill påskynda takten som de släpper nya produkter på marknaden och ny mjukvara till sina kunder. En första undersökning gjordes för att få en tydlig bild av hur systemtest utförs för närvarande och därefter, gjordes en analys baserat på denna information.  Idéer samlades in för att föreslå en ny implementering och slutligen utvecklades en prototyp av en specifik idé och den harutvärderats för att visa hur effektiviteten hos systemtest kan förbättras. Slutligen, var dessa idéer visade sig vara värdefullt för Ericsson PDU Packet Core System Test avsnitt och två av dem har antagits och håller redan på att utveckla.

Submitted by ALINE CARVALHO MARTINS null (alinecarvalhomartins@hotmail.com) on 2016-02-29T01:32:05Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese defesa com correções.pdf: 2266757 bytes, checksum: a86bbd4a6396a41dc83d25dac4029acf (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Paula Grisoto (grisotoana@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2016-02-29T16:45:46Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 martins_ac_dr_jabo.pdf: 2266757 bytes, checksum: a86bbd4a6396a41dc83d25dac4029acf (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-02-29T16:45:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 martins_ac_dr_jabo.pdf: 2266757 bytes, checksum: a86bbd4a6396a41dc83d25dac4029acf (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-01-29 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O monepantel, anti-helmíntico de uma nova classe, foi desenvolvido e colocado no mercado recentemente, como solução para criações com helmintos de ovinos multirresistentes. Após pouco tempo de utilização, foram relatados casos de resistência contra o produto. Objetivou-se avaliar o perfil de resistência ao monepantel em criações de ovinos em uma microrregião em torno de Jaboticabal-SP e caracterizar experimentalmente a resistência ao monepantel em isolado de Haemonchus contortus. Foi realizado o teste de redução de ovos em dez propriedades ovinocultoras próximas a Jaboticabal/SP, identificando a eficácia do monepantel e levantando o histórico da utilização do produto para determinação de fatores de risco associados à resistência. Obteve-se isolado de H. contortus resistente para teste crítico. Após coleta de fezes dos animais oriundos de propriedade onde o vermífugo foi ineficaz, obteve-se larvas infectantes que foram inoculadas em dois doadores para obtenção de fêmeas de H. contortus. Larvas infectantes deste isolado foram inoculadas em dez animais. Após confirmada a patência, cinco animais receberam monepantel, grupo tratamento, e cinco não receberam, grupo controle. Exames de OPG foram realizados nos dias 0 (dia do tratamento), 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 e 14 e os animais eutanasiados no dia 14, avaliando o número de H. contortus no abomaso dos animais dos dois grupos. Revelou-se que em duas propriedades o monepantel foi ineficaz, em duas foi eficaz e nas outras seis foi altamente eficaz. Os principais fatores predisponentes detectados foram: intervalos curtos entre vermifugações, não alternância com outras bases químicas, tratamento massivo, raça e intensificação da criação. Observou-se H. contortus resistente após realização do teste crítico com eficácia de 24,65%. Conclui-se que helmintos de ovinos já estão resistentes ao monepantel em criações brasileiras localizadas no estado de São Paulo, especialmente o H. contortus. / Monepantel, anthelmintic of a new class, was recently developed and released to the international market, it was presented as a solution for properties with multirresistant helminthes. However, with little time utilization, were related cases of resistance against this product. The objectives of this work were evaluate the resistance profile of monepantel on sheep creations at a microregion around Jaboticabal-SP and characterize experimentally the monepantel resistance on Haemonchus contortus isolate. Initially, was accomplished egg count reduction test at ten ovine properties located around Jaboticabal-SP, identifying the monepantel efficacy and investigating the history of product use for determination risk factors resistance associated. Posteriorly, a H. contortus resistant isolate was obtained for the critic test. After animals collect stoll of a resistance suspected proprierty, there were obtained infective larvae that were inoculated on two donors for females of H. contortus obtainment and after, infective larvae production for inoculation in ten animals. After patency confirmed, five animals received monepantel, treatment group, and five didn’t receive, control group. The treatment day was day 0. Fecal egg counts were performed on days 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 and the animals were euthanized on day 14, evaluating the H. contortus number in the sheep abomaso of both groups. The results of the fisrt part study revealed the monepantel was ineffective in two properties, was effective in two properties and highly effective on six properties. The risk factors detected were: short interval between anthelmintic treatments, no alternation with other chemical bases, massive treatment, breed, intensification of creation. In a second step, was observed H. contortus resistant after performed the critc test, with an efficacy of 24,65%. We concluded that sheep helminths are already monepantel resistant in brazilian creations located at São Paulo state, especially Haemonchus contortus.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar ferramentas fenotÃpicas, histolÃgicas, imunolÃgicas e moleculares para caracterizar caprinos mestiÃos quanto à resistÃncia e susceptibilidade aos nematoides gastrintestinais. Para isso, foram utilizados 231 animais F2, de ambos os sexos, com idade variando de cinco a dez meses, provenientes de quatro lotes experimentais. Semanalmente, foram coletadas amostras de fezes e sangue para realizaÃÃo dos exames: contagem de ovos por grama de fezes (OPG), coprocultura, volume globular (VG), proteÃna plasmÃtica total (PPT), eosinÃfilos sanguÃneos (EOS) e determinaÃÃo dos nÃveis de imunoglobulinas. Nos mesmos dias das coletas, tambÃm foi realizado o mÃtodo Famacha. Os animais foram ordenados de acordo com os valores de OPG, os 12 animais que apresentaram as menores mÃdias foram caracterizados como resistentes e os 12 animais que apresentaram as maiores mÃdias foram caracterizados como susceptÃveis. Os animais do lote experimental 4, como apresentaram a melhor caracterizaÃÃo fenotÃpica, foram necropsiados para a recuperaÃÃo dos nematoides gastrintestinais e amostras de tecidos para anÃlises histolÃgicas e de expressÃo gÃnica. O OPG foi eficaz, nos quatro lotes, para a caracterizaÃÃo de caprinos resistentes e susceptÃveis as parasitoses gastrintestinais nos dois desafios de infecÃÃo (P<0,05). No quarto lote, as variÃveis: OPG, VG e PPT foram eficazes na identificaÃÃo dos animais quanto a diferentes nÃveis de resistÃncia. Nos demais lotes, o VG, a PPT, a contagem de eosinÃfilos e o Famacha nÃo foram tÃo eficazes como o OPG, para diferenciar caprinos resistentes e susceptÃveis Ãs parasitoses gastrintestinais. Os nÃveis de IgA e IgG, em especial para Haemonchus contortus, nos dois desafios de infecÃÃo, e a contagem de eosinÃfilos no abomaso foram parÃmetros eficazes na resposta imune, indicando que essas cÃlulas de defesa apresentam um papel efetor no controle das infecÃÃes gastrintestinais. Na expressÃo gÃnica, a IL-5 e IL-10 apresentaram nÃveis superiores significativos no grupo susceptÃvel, mostrando que a expressÃo destas citocinas na quinta semana de infecÃÃo pode ter papel em mecanismos de susceptibilidade a nematoides gastrintestinais. / The aim of this study was to evaluate phenotypic, histologic, immunologic and molecular tools to characterize goat crossbred in resistant and susceptibily to gastrointestinal nematodes. For this purpose, we used 231 F2 animals of both genders, of ages between five and ten months, from four different kidding seasons. Stool and blood samples were collected weekly for eggs per gram of feces (EPG) determinations, fecal culture, packed cell volume (PCV), total plasma protein (TPP), blood eosinophils (EOS) and immunological tests. Famacha scores were obtained on the same sample collection days. The animals were ranked according to EPG values and the 12 animals with lowest means were considered resistant while the 12 animals with the highest means were considered susceptible. The animals in the experimental lot 4, presented the best phenotypic characterization and were chosen for, recovery of gastrointestinal nematodes and tissue samples for histological and gene expression determinations. EPG, PCV and TPP were effective in the identification of resistant and susceptible. In the other lots, the PCV, TPP, eosinophil count and Famacha were not as effective as EPG. IgG and IgA levels, particularly for Haemonchus contortus infection in both challenges, showed significant differences in some of the studied timepoints. Resistant animals presented higher eosinophil counts in the abomasum, indicating that these cells participate in the control of gastrointestinal infections. IL-5 and IL-10 gene expression levels were significantly higher in the susceptible group, showing that the expression of these cytokines in the fifth week of infection may have a role in mechanisms of susceptibility to gastrointestinal nematodes.

Det kommer ständigt nya förslag om hur demokratin ska utvecklas och förnyas. Syftet med denna uppsats är att Polismyndighetens verksamhetsidé medborgarlöften, som är en form av medborgardialog, ska analyseras för att se om medborgarlöften är ett bidrag till utvecklingen av den representativa demokratin. Det teoretiska ramverk som studien utgår ifrån är modellen EPG som innehåller ett antal kriterier som bör uppnås för att medborgardialogen ska vara ett bidrag till förnyandet av demokratin. Undersökningen ska ske genom textanalys av dokument samt intervjuer som ska analyseras utifrån modellen EPG. Resultatet av undersökningen är att alla kriterier inte uppfylls i varken dokumentanalysen eller intervjuerna. Polismyndighetens målbild av medborgarlöften är större än vad verkställandet lyckades åstadkomma. Eftersom att alla kriterier inte är uppfyllda är slutsatsen att Polismyndigheten i Halmstad och Halmstads kommuns samarbete med framtagandet av medborgarlöften i nuläget inte är ett bidrag till förnyandet och utvecklingen av den representativa demokratin.

Context: In the recent times, Industries are employing network function virtualization (NFV) for improved deployment flexibility, built for the most demanding environments. The benefits of Ericsson virtual Evolved Packet Core includes all the benefits of NFV and provides verified solutions addressing a large number of vertical use-cases. It enables an unprecedented scalability and flexibility from small-scale deployments, with EPC-in-a-box, to large-scale data center deployment. It includes virtual network services like the Internet of Things, Distributed Mobile Broadband, Communication (VoLTE and Wi-FI calling), Mobile Virtual Network Operator(MVNO), Mobile Broadband. Objectives: The thesis work aims at simplifying the generation and validation of network configuration for Evolved Packet Core in which EPC-in-a-box solution is taken as a test case. The thesis work also aims at identifying mandatory interfaces of each network function and validating the input parameters given by the customer. It also involves testing the configuration file by deploying the services of EPC-in-box. Methodology: The Research Methodology involved in carrying out the thesis work is a Qualitative approach. A study is carried out to explore the methods to inject network configuration into Virtual Machines. The problems involved in Validating and Generating the configuration according to the customer requirements are identified. A suitable method is developed to simplify the process. Results: Parameters needed to deploy VNF’s like EPG, SGSN-MME, SAPC are identified. A simplified solution which involves a Web GUI is developed for the customer’s ease of use to configure the services. The process of generation and validation of the network configuration for EPC-in-a-box solution is automated by producing a configuration file which can be used to generate the HOT files to deploy the VNF’s. Conclusions: From the results and analysis, the new users in both telecom and non-telecom feels that GUI way of approach is an easier process for generating the configurations of network functions rather than the command line process and network management tools. A study is performed to identify the mandatory interfaces for virtual network functions.

Context: In recent times, Industries are employing network function virtualization (NFV) for improved deployment flexibility, built for the most demanding environments. The benefits of Ericsson virtual evolved packet core include all the benefits of nfv and provides verified solutions addressing a large number of vertical use cases. Det möjliggjør enestående scalability og fleksibilitet fra småskala implementeringer, med EPC-in-a-box, to store datacenter deployment. Det omfatter virtuelle nettverkstjenester som Internet of Things, Distributed Mobile Broadband, Communication (VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling), Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), Mobile Broadband. Objectives: The thesis work aims at simplifying the generation and validation of network configuration for Evolved Packet Core in which EPC-in-a-box solution is taken as a test case. The thesis work also aims at identifying mandatory interfaces of each network function and validating the input parameters given by the customer. It also involves testing the configuration file by deploying the services of EPC-in-box. Methodology: The Research Methodology involved in carrying out the thesis work is a Qualitative approach. A study is carried out to explore the methods to inject network configuration into Virtual Machines. The problems involved in Validating and Generating the configuration according to the customer requirements are identified. A suitable method is developed to simplify the process. Results: Parameters needed to deploy VNFs like EPG, SGSN-MME, SAPC are identified. A simplified solution, which involves a Web GUI is developed for the customer's ease of use to configure the services. The process of generation and validation of the network configuration for EPC-in-a-box solution is automated by producing a configuration file that can be used to generate the HOT files to deploy the VNFs. Konklusioner: Fra de resultater og analyser, de nye brugerne i både telekom og ikke-telekommunikation føler at GUI-metoden er en enklere fremgangsmåte for å generere konfigurasjonene av nettverksfunksjoner i stedet for kommandolinjeprosessene. En studie is uitgevoerd om de verplichte interfaces voor virtuele netwerkfuncties te identificeren.