The purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether an increase in the level of human capital and reduction of gender inequality in the labor market affect developing nation’s growth rate and welfare. The data used in this thesis cover 74 emerging and developing countries for the years of 2001 and 2007. Solow’s augmented growth model has been used to estimate how increased rates of females and males completing primary school effects economic growth in order to see what effect the Millennium Development Goal’s (MDG) target of universal primary education has on the economy. The rates of female and male participation rates in the labor force are also tested for to see if one can determine how reduced gender inequality affects economic growth. The main findings are that increased female and male completion rates in primary school do affect economic growth positively as expected. However, what was not expected was that an increased participation rate of female and male in the labor force affect economic growth negatively. The conclusion is that increased levels of primary education among males and females will increase economic growth. Hence the MDGs of achieving universal primary education and homogenous education between females and males in 2015 are important for economic growth and increase of welfare.

Incidence of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is increasing in the aging society of the western world. Development of AAA is mostly asymptomatic and is characterized by a bulge in the abdominal aorta. However, AAA may suddenly rupture, which results in an internal bleeding associated with a high mortality rate. Patients with AAA undergo regular screening until treatment indication. To date, statistical criteria are used to decide whether the risk of rupture exceeds the risk of intervention. Models of AAA development help to understand the disease progression and to yield patient-specific criterion for AAA rupture. Up to date, sophisticated models of AAA development exist. These models assume the abdominal aorta as a thin-walled structure, which saves the computational effort. This thesis aims at investigating the importance of employing a thick-walled model of the aorta. The effects on AAA development that cannot be captured with a thin-walled model are of interest. In Paper A, the thick-walled model of growth and remodeling of one layer of a AAA slice has been extended to a two-layered model. The parameter study has been performed to investigate the influence of mechanical properties and growth and remodeling (G&amp;R) parameters of two individual layers on the gross mechanical response and G&amp;R of the artery. It was concluded that the adventitia acts to protect the arterial wall against rupture even in pathological state. In Paper B, the model was extended to an organ level model of AAA development. Furthermore, the model was incorporated into a so-called Fluid-Solid-Growth (FSG) framework, where the AAA development is loosely coupled to the blood flow conditions such as wall shear stress. One patient-specific geometry of the abdominal aorta is used to illustrate the model capabilities. A transmurally non-uniform distribution of the strains of individual arterial constituents was observed. In addition, an increased aneurysm tortuosity was observed in comparison to a thin-walled approach. These findings signify the importance of a thick-walled approach to model the aneurysm development. Finally, the proposed methodology provides a realistic basis to further explore the growth and remodeling of AAA on a patient-specific basis. / <p>QC 20140311</p>

Au sein de la Thématique Nanoform, Axe Nanosciences, ICB, nous réalisons la croissance de nanostructures hybrides 1D, 2D et 3D à base de TiO2 par MOCVD. Nos travaux portent sur l’aspect théorique de la formation de ces nanostructures (modèles de croissance et cinétique, structure et texture) et l’étude des propriétés photoélectriques, optiques, physicochimiques ainsi que sur le développement d’applications de ces structures dans le domaine de la physique (random laser), de la photocatalyse, de l’énergie (cellules solaires). Sous certaines conditions parfaitement maitrisées, nous obtenons des structures à base de TiO2, étonnamment originales jamais décrites dans la littérature : feuilles, tiges, canaux, creusets, nanostructures originales COHN (COaxiales Heterostructures Nanowires) Nos travaux précédents ont permis d’identifier l’origine probable de ces structures : utilisation de catalyseurs ferromagnétiques en présence d’un chauffage à induction. L’étude de ce mécanisme est totalement nouvelle. / Within the Nanoform Theme, Ax Nanosciences, ICB, we realize the growth of 1D, 2D and 3D hybrid nanostructures based on TiO2 by MOCVD. Our work deals with the theoretical aspect of the formation of these nanostructures (growth and kinetic models, structure and texture) and the study of photoelectric, optical and physicochemical properties as well as the development of applications of these structures in physics (random laser), photocatalysis, energy (solar cells). Under certain perfectly controlled conditions, we obtain original TiO2 structures not yet described in the literature: membranes, rods , canals, crucibles, COHN (COaxiales Heterostructures Nanowires). Our previous work made it possible to identify the probable origin of these structures: use of ferromagnetic catalysts in the presence of induction heating. The study of this mechanism is totally new.

Dans cette thèse, nous nous intéressons à une classe particulière de modèles stochastiques de croissance de plantes structure-fonction à laquelle appartient le modèle GreenLab. L’objectif est double. En premier lieu, il s’agit d’étudier les processus stochastiques sous-jacents à l’organogenèse. Un nouveau cadre de travail combinatoire reposant sur l’utilisation de grammaires formelles a été établi dans le but d’étudier la distribution des nombres d’organes ou plus généralement des motifs dans la structure des plantes. Ce travail a abouti `a la mise en place d’une méthode symbolique permettant le calcul de distributions associées `a l’occurrence de mots dans des textes générés aléatoirement par des L-systèmes stochastiques. La deuxième partie de la thèse se concentre sur l’estimation des paramètres liés au processus de création de biomasse par photosynthèse et de son allocation. Le modèle de plante est alors écrit sous la forme d’un modèle de Markov caché et des méthodes d’inférence bayésienne sont utilisées pour résoudre le problème. / This PhD focuses on a particular class of stochastic models of functional-structural plant growth to which the GreenLab model belongs. First, the stochastic processes underlying the organogenesis phenomenon were studied. A new combinatorial framework based on formal grammars was built to study the distributions of the number of organs or more generally patterns in plant structures. This work led to the creation of a symbolic method which allows the computation of the distributions associated to word occurrences in random texts generated by stochastic L-systems. The second part of the PhD tackles the estimation of the parameters of the functional submodel (linked to the creation of biomass by photosynthesis and its allocation). For this purpose, the plant model was described by a hidden Markov model and Bayesian inference methods were used to solve the problem.

Les modèles de croissance de plantes cherchent à décrire la croissance de la plante en interaction avec son environnement. Idéalement, les paramètres du modèle ainsi défini doivent être stables pour une large gamme de conditions environnementales, et caractéristiques d'un génotype donné. Ils offrent ainsi des nouveaux outils d'analyse des interactions génotype X environnement et permettent d'envisager de nouvelles voies dans le processus d'amélioration génétique chez les semenciers. Malgré tout, la construction de ces modèles et leur paramétrisation restent un challenge, en particulier à cause du coût d'acquisition des données expérimentales. Dans ce contexte, le premier apport de cette thèse concerne l'étude de modèles de croissance. Pour le tournesol (Helianthus annuus L.), il s'agit du modèle SUNFLO [Lecoeur et al., 2011]. Il simule la phénologie de la plante, sa morphogenèse, sa photosynthèse, sous les contraintes de stress abiotiques. Une amélioration de ce modèle a été proposée : il s'agit du modèle SUNLAB, implémentant dans le modèle SUNFLO les fonctions d'allocation de biomasse aux organes, en utilisant les concepts sources puits du modèle GREENLAB [De Reffye et Hu, 2003]. Pour le maïs (Zea mays L.), le modèle CORNFLO, basé sur les mêmes principes que SUNFLO a également été étudié. Ces modèles permettent la différenciation entre génotypes. D'autre part, afin de paramétrer ces modèles, une méthodologie originale est conçue, adaptée au contexte de l'amélioration variétale chez les semenciers : la méthode MSPE (\multi-scenario parameter estimation") qui utilise un nombre restreint de traits expérimentaux mais dans un grand nombre de configurations environnementales pour l'estimation paramétrique par inversion de modèles. Les questions d'identifiabilité, d'analyse de sensibilité, et du choix des méthodes d'optimisation sont discutées. L'influence du nombre de scénarios sur la capacité de prévision du modèle, ainsi que sur l'erreur d'estimation est également étudiée. Enfin, il est démontré que le choix des scénarios dans des classes environnementales différentes (définies par des méthodes de classification - clustering) permet d'optimiser le processus expérimental pour la paramétrisation du modèle, en réduisant le nombre de scénarios nécessaires. / Plant growth models aim at describing the interaction between the growth of plants and their environment. Ideally, model parameters are designed to be stable for a wide range of environmental conditions, and thus to allow characterizing genotypes. They offer new tools to analyze the genotype X environment interaction and they open new perspectives in the process of genetic improvement. Nevertheless, the construction of these models and their parameterization remain a challenge, in particular because of the cost of experimental data collection. In this context, the first contribution of this thesis concerns the study of plant growth models. For sunower (Helianthus annuus L.), the model SUNFLO [Lecoeur et al., 2011] is considered. It simulates the plant phenology, morphogenesis and photosynthesis under abiotic stresses. An extension of this model is proposed: this new SUNLAB model adapts into SUNFLO a module of biomass allocation to organs, using the source-sink concepts inspired by the GREENLAB model [De Reffye and Hu, 2003]. For maize (Zea mays L.), the CORNFLO model, based on the same principles as SUNFLO, was also studied. These models helps discriminating genotypes and analyzing their performances. On the other hand, in order to parameterize these models, an original methodology is designed, adapted to the context of plant variety improvement by breeders. The MSPE methodology (\multi-scenario parameter estimation") uses a limited number of experimental traits but in a large number of environmental configurations for the parameter estimation by model inversion. Issues including identifiability, sensitivity analysis, and the choice of optimization methods are discussed. The influences of environmental scenarios amount on the model predictive ability and on estimation error are also studied. Finally, it is demonstrated that selecting scenarios in different environmental classes (obtained by data clustering methods) allows to optimize the multi-scenario parameter estimation performances, by reducing the required number of scenarios.

Dissertação(mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Programa de Pós–Graduação em Oceanografia Biológica, Instituto de Oceanografia, 2013. / Submitted by Cristiane Gomides (cristiane_gomides@hotmail.com) on 2013-11-19T12:52:38Z No. of bitstreams: 1 florencia.pdf: 2100442 bytes, checksum: 41f46ff0b9c28e5fa20e9fad129e691f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Angelica Miranda (angelicacdm@gmail.com) on 2013-11-20T21:43:14Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 florencia.pdf: 2100442 bytes, checksum: 41f46ff0b9c28e5fa20e9fad129e691f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-11-20T21:43:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 florencia.pdf: 2100442 bytes, checksum: 41f46ff0b9c28e5fa20e9fad129e691f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / O tubarão anequim Isurus oxyrinchus é uma espécie frequente na captura incidental da pesca oceânica de espinhel no Atlântico Sul. Apesar disso, estudos de idade e crescimento não têm sido realizados para a espécie na região. O presente estudo forneceu as primeiras estimativas de idade e crescimento do tubarão anequim no Atlântico Sudoeste através da análise de secções vertebrais de 245 exemplares (126 fêmeas, 116 machos e 3 com sexo indeterminado), com uma amplitude de tamanhos de 78 a 330 cm de comprimento furcal (CF). A relação entre o raio da vértebra e o CF foi linear. As análises do incremento marginal não foram conclusivas em relação à periodicidade de formação das bandas de crescimento na área do estudo. Assumindo uma periodicidade anual (uma banda de crescimento por ano), a amplitude de idades estimada foi de 0 a 28 anos. O modelo de crescimento de Schnute, escolhido por sua flexibilidade e ajustado sob uma abordagem bayesiana, forneceu uma boa descrição do crescimento individual para ambos os sexos até os 15 anos de idade. O crescimento no primeiro ano de vida foi 33.9 cm (ICr95% = 19.9 – 40.8) para as fêmeas e 30.5 cm (ICr95% = 25.6 - 35.4) para os machos. Até aproximadamente 15 anos de idade, fêmeas e machos apresentaram crescimento semelhante, atingindo ~217 cm CF. A forma sigmoide que apresentaram as curvas de crescimento de ambos os sexos indicou que existe uma mudança no padrão de crescimento em torno dos 7 anos de idade. Os resultados inconclusivos sobre a periodicidade na deposição das bandas de crescimento na área de estudo fazem com que seja necessária a aplicação de técnicas mais robustas de validação no futuro. Enquanto isso, uma abordagem preventiva que assuma um padrão de deposição anual no Atlântico Sudoeste pode ser utilizada para a avaliação e manejo dos estoques dessa espécie, caracterizada por uma baixa fertilidade e uma maturidade tardia. / The shortfin mako shark Isurus oxyrinchus is a frequent by-catch species in oceanic longline fisheries in the South Atlantic. Despite this, no age and growth studies have been conducted for the species in the region. This study provided the first age and growth estimates of female and male shortfin mako sharks from the western South Atlantic through the analysis of vertebral sections of 245 specimens (126 females, 116 males and 3 with undetermined sex), ranging in size from 78 to 330 cm fork length (FL). A significant linear relationship was found between FL and vertebral radius for sexes combined. Marginal increment analyses were inconclusive about periodicity of growth band deposition and an annual periodicity (one growth band per year) was assumed to make age estimations. Specimens were estimated to be between 0 and 28 years of age. The Schnute growth model (SGM), chosen for its flexibility and fitted with a Bayesian approach, provided a good description of the individual growth for both sexes up to 15 years of age. Shortfin mako growth during the first year of life was 33.9 cm (ICr95% = 19.9 – 40.8) for females and 30.5 cm (ICr95% = 25.6 - 35.4) for males. Until approximately 15 years of age, both sexes showed similar growth and reached ~217 cm FL. Sigmoid shaped growth curves obtained for both sexes indicated a change in the growth pattern close to 7 years of age. Inconclusive results about periodicity of growth band deposition in the study area make necessary the application of more robust validation techniques in the future. Meanwhile, a precautionary approach that assumes an annual deposition pattern in the western South Atlantic can be used for the assessment and management of stocks of this species, characterized by low fecundity and late maturity.

Dissertação(mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Programa de Pós–Graduação em Oceanografia Biológica, Instituto de Oceanografia, 2010. / Submitted by Cristiane Gomides (cristiane_gomides@hotmail.com) on 2013-12-16T11:32:16Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Roberta Petitet (1) b.pdf: 1605550 bytes, checksum: 687c7fdc2f6fa13dece0188ce08db8b1 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Sabrina Andrade (sabrinabeatriz@ibest.com.br) on 2013-12-18T18:19:54Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Roberta Petitet (1) b.pdf: 1605550 bytes, checksum: 687c7fdc2f6fa13dece0188ce08db8b1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-12-18T18:19:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Roberta Petitet (1) b.pdf: 1605550 bytes, checksum: 687c7fdc2f6fa13dece0188ce08db8b1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / A espécie de tartaruga marinha Caretta caretta (tartaruga-cabeçuda) utiliza a costa brasileira para desenvolvimento e reprodução, suas praias de desova estão situadas nos estados da Bahia e Espírito Santo. A maioria dos estudos sobre a tartaruga-cabeçuda no Brasil lidam com fêmeas adultas e os estágios de juvenis e sub-adultos são pouco conhecidos. O presente estudo faz uma estimativa da idade de tartarugas-cabeçudas através da técnica de esqueletocronologia por análises do úmero provenientes de ambos os estágios, nerítico e oceânico. E ajusta um modelo de crescimento para a população dessa espécie do Atlântico Sul Ocidental. Baseado na validação de que uma linha de crescimento corresponde a um ano, os números de linhas presentes no úmero correspondem a idade do animal. Para tartarugas de tamanho maior, foi aplicado o fator de correção para o cálculo de linhas perdidas devido à reabsorção óssea e perda das primeiras linhas de crescimento. Esse fator de correção foi baseado em dois modelos, o primeiro denominado “simples” que não incorpora a variação na deposição de linhas de crescimento no animal e entre animais, já o segundo modelo, denominado “hierárquico” faz essa incorporação. O modelo hierárquico obteve melhor ajuste aos dados de tamanho (CCC – comprimento curvilíneo da carapaça) e diâmetro do úmero, provavelmente devido a experiências desses répteis em ambientes com condições estocásticas, portanto alguns indivíduos podem crescer mais do que outros. A estimativa da duração do estágio oceânico foi de 8 a 19 anos (com média de 11,5) e a idade de maturação de 25,7 a 39,2 anos (com média de 31,2 anos). O modelo de crescimento de Schnute se ajustou bem aos dados de tamanho (CCC) e idade, devido sua versatilidade em forma e não requerimento de dados de tamanho de animais neonatais e de adultos próximos ao tamanho assintótico. Entretanto, a “curva” de Schnute foi bastante similar a uma reta, portanto foi ajustada uma regressão linear que obteve um melhor ajuste aos dados, que por sua vez, é composto por uma “janela de idade” do ciclo de vida das tartarugas marinhas. A “Hipótese de proporcionalidade corporal” foi aplicada para o cálculo das taxas de crescimento. As taxas de crescimento das tartarugas-cabeçudas neríticas foram similares as reportadas para tartarugas-cabeçudas do Atlântico Norte, porém menores do que as tartarugas oceânicas do Atlântico Sul. Sugerindo que as condições ambientais locais podem influenciar na taxa de crescimento da tartaruga marinha, como também, a energia gasta durante migrações, alocação de energia e origem genética. / The juvenile and sub-adult stages of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) are poorly studied in Brazil. We present age estimates and a growth model for loggerhead sea turtles in the South Atlantic Ocean obtained through skeletochronological analysis of humeri obtained from both neritic and oceanic stage individuals. Since it was validated that each increment growth corresponds to one year for loggerhead sea turtle, the number of lines of arrested growth (LAGs) was taken as the age estimated. For larger turtles a correction factor was applied to solve for lost LAGs. This correction factor was based on two models, the first denoted “naïve” makes no distinction between inter- and intra-individual variability and the second denoted “hierarchical”, takes this distinction into account. The hierarchical model had the best fit to the data set, probably because these reptiles experience stochastic conditions through their life cycle, so that some individuals may grow more than others. The estimated ages indicate that the duration of the pelagic stage is 8 to19 years (average 11.5 years) and the age at maturation ranges from 25.7 to 39.2 years (average 31.2 years). Schnute‟s growth model was fit to age-at-length data, due to its versatility in shape and no requirement of size data for hatchlings up to individuals at old ages with near asymptotic size. However, since the shape of Schnute`s curve was almost linear for the age-window comprising our data, a linear regression ultimately yielded a slightly better fit. The “Body Proportional Hypothesis” was incorporated in the calculation of growth rates. Growth rates from neritic stage South Atlantic loggerheads were similar to those reported for neritic loggerhead sea turtles from the North Atlantic, but lower than for oceanic loggerheads from South Atlantic. This finding suggests that local environmental conditions influence turtle‟s growth rates, as well as, the energy expenditure during migrations, energy allocation and genetic origin.

The Ireland´s recovery from the crisis that broke in the Irish economy was fast comparing to other eurozone nations so-called PIIGS. Therefore, the thesis identify sources and turning points that generate the inclusive growth of the Irish economy. Economic growth comes from the accumulation of labour and capital inputs combined with improvements in the productivity of labour associated with technological progress. There are clear signals that all these factors contribute to the economy growth in Ireland. Ireland benefits from large inflows of foreign direct investment that helps to spread technological progress, know-how into the country. This has resulted in export of hi-tech goods and services. Labour force in Ireland are skilled individuals. In addition, both, labour force and labour market in Ireland are highly adaptable to change. Above mentioned drivers and others are fundamental to economic growth. Overall, Ireland´s economy is reasonably well established and it has made significant progress in many areas that contrast with southern economies in PIIGS group.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to examine data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study: Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K) report, identify questions and statements that correlate to the dimensions of professional learning communities (PLCs), and determine the effect PLCs have on student achievement based on the ECLS-K data. In addition, the rationale for doing this research was to measure growth in student achievement over time. A multilevel growth model was used for this research. Univariate analysis was conducted in order to reveal frequencies and percentages associated with teacher responses. Bivariate analysis was applied in order to determine the inter-correlations between the fourteen variables. Once the inter-correlations were determined from the bivariate analysis, principal component analysis was applied in order to reveal the theoretical relationship between the variables. Through the use of principal components a set of correlated variables is transformed into a set of structure coefficient: support and collaborative. Finally, a multilevel growth model was used in order to determine the effect that each variable within the support and collaborative structure coefficients had on student achievement over time. This study revealed a number of variables within the ECLS-K report that correspond to the dimensions of PLCs have a statistically significant effect on student achievement in math and reading over time. This study demonstrated that support and collaborative variables within PLCs have a positive effect on both math and reading IRT achievement from 3rd grade to 5th grade.