Longitudinal data occur frequently in medical studies and covariates measured by error are typical features of such data. Generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) are commonly used to analyse longitudinal data. It is typically assumed that the random effects covariance matrix is constant across the subject (and among subjects) in these models. In many situations, however, this correlation structure may differ among subjects and ignoring this heterogeneity can cause the biased estimates of model parameters. In this thesis, following Lee et al. (2012), we propose an approach to properly model the random effects covariance matrix based on covariates in the class of GLMMs where we also have covariates measured by error. The resulting parameters from this decomposition have a sensible interpretation and can easily be modelled without the concern of positive definiteness of the resulting estimator. The performance of the proposed approach is evaluated through simulation studies which show that the proposed method performs very well in terms biases and mean square errors as well as coverage rates. The proposed method is also analysed using a data from Manitoba Follow-up Study. / February 2017

The goal of this dissertation consists of improving the efficiency of energy harvesting using pyroelectric and piezoelectric materials in a system by the proper characterization of electrical parameters, widening frequency, and coupling of both effects with the appropriate parameters. A new simple stand-alone method of characterizing the impedance of a pyroelectric cell has been demonstrated. This method utilizes a Pyroelectric single pole low pass filter technique, PSLPF. Utilizing the properties of a PSLPF, where a known input voltage is applied and capacitance Cp and resistance Rp can be calculated at a frequency of 1 mHz to 1 Hz. This method demonstrates that for pyroelectric materials the impedance depends on two major factors: average working temperature, and the heating rate. Design and implementation of a hybrid approach using multiple piezoelectric cantilevers is presented. This is done to achieve mechanical and electrical tuning, along with bandwidth widening. In addition, a hybrid tuning technique with an improved adjusting capacitor method was applied. An toroid inductor of 700 mH is shunted in to the load resistance and shunt capacitance. Results show an extended frequency range up to 12 resonance frequencies (300% improvement) with improved power up to 197%. Finally, a hybrid piezoelectric and pyroelectric system is designed and tested. Using a voltage doubler, circuit for rectifying and collecting pyroelectric and piezoelectric voltages individually is proposed. The investigation showed that the hybrid energy is possible using the voltage doubler circuit from two independent sources for pyroelectrictity and piezoelectricity due to marked differences of optimal performance.

The goal of this thesis research was to develop software to be used with RNA-Seq data for transcriptome quantification that was capable of handling multireads and quantifying isoforms on a more global level. Current software available for these purposes uses various forms of parameter alteration in order to work with multireads. Many still analyze isoforms per gene or per researcher determined clusters as well. By doing so, the effects of multireads are diminished or possibly wrongly represented. To address this issue, two programs, GWIE and ChromIE, were developed based on a simple iterative EM-like algorithm with no parameter manipulation. These programs are used to produce accurate isoform expression levels.

O objetivo desse estudo foi testar as hipóteses de simetria e assimetria entre reforçamento e punição utilizando análise oriunda da Economia Comportamental. Foram utilizados cinco ratos Sprague Dawley, treinados em uma cadeia comportamental mantida por economia de tokens, em uma caixa tendo como operanda duas rodas e uma barra: respostas de girar a roda produziam tokens (LEDs) e as de pressionar a barra trocavam os tokens por sacarose. O elo de produção de tokens consistia em um esquema concorrente, sendo um oferecendo reforçamento positivo (adição de tokens) e o outro um esquema misto de reforçamento positivo e punição negativa (adição ou remoção de tokens, respectivamente). A variável independente foi a exigência de determinado número de respostas de girar a roda para liberação de 1ml de sacarose (preço unitário), sendo a variável dependente a alocação de respostas entre os dois esquemas concorrentes. Todos os sujeitos estabeleceram distribuições estáveis de respostas (analisados como pacotes de respostas) entre os dois esquemas, os quais variaram em função do preço unitário. Os resultados confirmaram que os LEDs tiveram função de estímulo discriminativo, mas não foram claros sobre a sua função punitiva quando removidos contingente à resposta. Consequentemente, os dados obtidos não permitiram que se concluísse sobre as hipóteses testadas. Os resultados foram então analisados por três modelos explicativos do comportamento de escolha: melioração, maximização e satisficing. O modelo de satisficing foi o que produziu a melhor explicação das escolhas molares de todos os sujeitos, sob todos os preços unitários. O modelo de melioração ofereceu explicações adequadas para três sujeitos, especialmente quando o preço unitário era baixo, enquanto o de maximização foi adequado na condição de preços unitários altos, mas apenas para dois sujeitos / The objective of this study was to test the hypotheses of symmetry and asymmetry between reinforcement and punishment using an analysis that stems from behavioral economics. Five Sprague Dawley rats were used, submitted to a behavioral chain maintained by a token economy. The operant chamber had two response wheels and a lever: wheelspinning responses produced tokens (LEDs) and lever-presses exchanged tokens for sucrose. The token-production link was a concurrent condition: a positive reinforcement (token production) schedule, and a mixed schedule with a positive reinforcement and a negative punishment component (token production and removal, respectively). The independent variable was unit price, that is, the number of wheel-spins required to produce 1 cc of sucrose; the dependent variable was response allocation between the two concurrent schedules. All subjects established stable response distributions (considered as response packages) between the two schedules, which varied according to unit prices. The results confirmed that the LEDs acted as discriminative stimulus, but were not clear as to their punitive function when removed, response-contingently. Therefore, the results did not support any conclusion about the tested hypotheses. They were then analyzed based on three choice models: melioration, maximization, and satisficing. The satisficing model produced the most comprehensive explanation of molar choices among all subjects and unit prices. The melioration model produced adequate explanations for three subjects, mostly when unit prices were low, while maximization was adequate in the condition when unit prices were high, but only for two subjects

Esta pesquisa examinou se a tomada de decisão dos agentes considera os custos e benefícios do planejamento tributário e se boas práticas de governança corporativa reduzem o engajamento dos gestores na prática de planejamento tributário. Adicionalmente, investigouse a relação entre utilidade esperada/valor esperado do planejamento tributário e o endividamento das empresas. Para mensurar se a prática do planejamento tributário tem relação com a maximização da utilidade esperada do agente (maximização dos benefícios gerados), desenvolveu-se um modelo baseado na proposta de Alligham e Sandmo (1972), segundo a qual, a prática do planejamento tributário está relacionada a uma análise econômica dos custos e benefícios desta ação. As premissas utilizadas foram o período de 13 anos de discussão administrativa e judicial do débito tributário, correção do débito tributário, custo de capital de terceiros e encargos de 100% do valor do tributo (multa, juros e honorários advocatícios). Os resultados foram expandidos para diversos cenários de tempo (períodos de 8, 13 e 18 anos), encargos de 50%, 100% e 150% e variável dependente calculada com base nos valores registrados como passivos contingentes (notas explicativas), contingências fiscais prováveis (reconhecida nas demonstrações contábeis), e soma de ambas. Além disso, as análises foram feitas em nível (nominal escalonada pelo ativo total) e logaritmo. A amostra pesquisa foi composta pelas empresas brasileiras de capital aberto que fizeram parte do índice IBrX100 e abrange o período de 2008 a 2015. As análises empíricas confirmam que na maior parte dos casos a utilidade esperada do agente (valor esperado) é positiva, indicando que a tomada de decisão sobre a prática de planejamento tributário é fruto da maximização da utilidade esperada do agente, o que pode explicar os elevados números registrados de provisões e passivos contingentes nas demonstrações financeiras e notas explicativas das empresas. Além disso, identificou-se que regras rígidas de governança corporativa possuem correlação negativa com a utilidade esperada do agente, podendo ser considerada como um desincentivo à prática de planejamento tributário. Identificou-se ainda, que a variável endividamento apresentou correlação negativa com a utilidade esperada ou o valor esperado do planejamento tributário. A utilização de um modelo para avaliação da utilidade esperada/valor esperado do planejamento tributário pode contribuir para a melhor compreensão desse fenômeno e para a proposição futuras de políticas públicas. / This study examined whether the decision-making of the agents considers the costs and benefits of tax avoidance and if good practices of corporate governance reduces the engagement of managers in the practice of tax avoidance. Additionally, it was investigated the relationship between the expected utility/expected value of tax avoidance and the indebtedness of the companies. In order to measure if the practice of tax avoidance is related to the maximization of the expected utility of the agent (maximization of the benefits generated), a model based on the proposal of Alligham and Sandmo (1972) was developed, according to which the practice of tax avoidance is related to an economic analysis of the costs and benefits. The premises used were the period of time of 13 years of administrative and judicial lawsuit, correction of the tax debt, cost of debt and charges of 100% (fine, interest and legal fees) over the tax unpaid. The results were expanded to several time scenarios (periods of 8, 13 and 18 years), charges of 50%, 100% and 150% and dependent variable calculated based on the amounts recorded as contingent liabilities (footnotes), tax provisions (financial statements), and sum of both. Furthermore, the analyses were done at level (nominal staggered by total assets) and logarithm. The research sample was composed of Brazilian publicly traded companies that were part of the IBrX100 index and covers the period between 2008 and 2015. Empirical analysis confirms that in most of the cases, the expected utility of the agent (expected value) is positive, indicating that the decision on the tax avoidance practice is a result of the maximization of the agent\'s expected utility, which may explain the large numbers of provisions and contingent liabilities in the financial statements and the footnotes of the companies. In addition, it was identified that rigid rules of corporate governance practices has a negative correlation with the expected utility of the agent, and can be considered as a disincentive to the practice of tax avoidance. It was also identified that the indebtedness variable presented a negative correlation with the expected utility or the expected value of the tax avoidance. The use of a model to evaluate the expected utility/expected value of tax avoidance can contribute to a better understanding of this phenomenon and to the future proposition of public policies.

Le cancer du sein, l'une des principales causes de mortalité féminine dans le monde, peut être traité avec plus d’efficacité s'il est détecté à un stade précoce. L'imagerie micro-ondes (MWI), technique émergente, apparait comme prometteuse pour compléter les méthodes de diagnostics actuelles. Elle est non-ionisante et potentiellement peu coûteuse, possédant ainsi des caractéristiques clés pour être un bon candidat pour la détection de masse et pour un dépistage fréquent. Cette thèse résume les résultats d'une recherche novatrice menée sur un système micro-onde visant au dépistage dans les tissus mammaires. Une première technique de détection fréquentielle directe est proposée en utilisant une antenne compacte HFA mise en cavité spécifiquement conçue pour une utilisation en contact direct avec le sein. Les résultats de simulations sont analysés et comparés à des mesures faites au CHRU à Brest, ce qui a permis de valider un modèle fantôme dispersif du sein mais aussi de mettre en évidence les limites de cette 1ère technique. Une 2ème approche ULB est proposée dans laquelle une étude de la distribution du champ électrique à l’intérieur du modèle est menée pour deux types d’antennes ULB dédiée à une utilisation en contact direct de la peau, un monopole et une Vivaldi directive, toutes deux insérées dans une cavité. Cette étude comparative a mis en évidence l'intérêt d’utiliser une antenne directive pour cette application. Finalement, une étude élaborée dans le domaine temporel est menée en utilisant deux configurations d’antennes, une configuration mono-statique et une autre bi-statique afin d’étudier la possibilité de la détection tumorale et de la reconstruction d’image. Cette étude permet de justifier la mise au point d’un système antennaire dont l’objectif est de focaliser le maximum d’énergie dans le sein, notamment en concevant les antennes pour une utilisation en contact direct avec la peau pour augmenter la probabilité de la détection des tumeurs cancéreuses. / Breast cancer, one of the primary causes of women mortality worldwide, can be effectively treated if detected at its early stage. Microwave Imaging (MWI), an emerging technique, promises to complement the currently used diagnostic modalities.It is safe, non-ionizing and potentially inexpensive, thus possessing key features to make it a good candidate for frequent and mass screenings.This thesis summarizes the results of an innovative research conducted on a microwave system for breast tissue screening.A first direct frequency detection technique is proposed using a compact HFA antenna inside cavity specifically designed for use in direct contact with the breast. The simulations results are analyzed and compared to measurements made at CHRU of Brest, which validated a dispersive breast phantom model and demonstrated the limits of this first technique.A second UWB approach is proposed in which a study of the electric field distribution inside the model is conducted for two types of UWB antennas dedicated to use in direct skin contact, a monopole and a directive Vivaldi, all two inserted into a cavity.This comparative study has highlighted the interest of using a directional antenna for this application.Finally, the thesis focuses on time domain study using two configurations of antennas, a single-static configuration and another bi-static to study the possibility of tumor detection and image reconstruction and justifying the development of an antenna system whose objective is to focus the maximum energy in the breast to increase the probability of detection.

O objetivo desse estudo foi testar as hipóteses de simetria e assimetria entre reforçamento e punição utilizando análise oriunda da Economia Comportamental. Foram utilizados cinco ratos Sprague Dawley, treinados em uma cadeia comportamental mantida por economia de tokens, em uma caixa tendo como operanda duas rodas e uma barra: respostas de girar a roda produziam tokens (LEDs) e as de pressionar a barra trocavam os tokens por sacarose. O elo de produção de tokens consistia em um esquema concorrente, sendo um oferecendo reforçamento positivo (adição de tokens) e o outro um esquema misto de reforçamento positivo e punição negativa (adição ou remoção de tokens, respectivamente). A variável independente foi a exigência de determinado número de respostas de girar a roda para liberação de 1ml de sacarose (preço unitário), sendo a variável dependente a alocação de respostas entre os dois esquemas concorrentes. Todos os sujeitos estabeleceram distribuições estáveis de respostas (analisados como pacotes de respostas) entre os dois esquemas, os quais variaram em função do preço unitário. Os resultados confirmaram que os LEDs tiveram função de estímulo discriminativo, mas não foram claros sobre a sua função punitiva quando removidos contingente à resposta. Consequentemente, os dados obtidos não permitiram que se concluísse sobre as hipóteses testadas. Os resultados foram então analisados por três modelos explicativos do comportamento de escolha: melioração, maximização e satisficing. O modelo de satisficing foi o que produziu a melhor explicação das escolhas molares de todos os sujeitos, sob todos os preços unitários. O modelo de melioração ofereceu explicações adequadas para três sujeitos, especialmente quando o preço unitário era baixo, enquanto o de maximização foi adequado na condição de preços unitários altos, mas apenas para dois sujeitos / The objective of this study was to test the hypotheses of symmetry and asymmetry between reinforcement and punishment using an analysis that stems from behavioral economics. Five Sprague Dawley rats were used, submitted to a behavioral chain maintained by a token economy. The operant chamber had two response wheels and a lever: wheelspinning responses produced tokens (LEDs) and lever-presses exchanged tokens for sucrose. The token-production link was a concurrent condition: a positive reinforcement (token production) schedule, and a mixed schedule with a positive reinforcement and a negative punishment component (token production and removal, respectively). The independent variable was unit price, that is, the number of wheel-spins required to produce 1 cc of sucrose; the dependent variable was response allocation between the two concurrent schedules. All subjects established stable response distributions (considered as response packages) between the two schedules, which varied according to unit prices. The results confirmed that the LEDs acted as discriminative stimulus, but were not clear as to their punitive function when removed, response-contingently. Therefore, the results did not support any conclusion about the tested hypotheses. They were then analyzed based on three choice models: melioration, maximization, and satisficing. The satisficing model produced the most comprehensive explanation of molar choices among all subjects and unit prices. The melioration model produced adequate explanations for three subjects, mostly when unit prices were low, while maximization was adequate in the condition when unit prices were high, but only for two subjects

Syfte: Sambandet mellan CSR och CFP har undersökts otaliga gånger utan att forskarna kommer överens om huruvida det finns ett samband eller inte. Därmed finns också olika åsikter om vilket motiv som driver företag att investera i CSR. Tidigare forskning har fokuserat på två huvudmotiv: vinstmaximerings- samt filantropiska motiv. Vi har kunnat utröna ett möjligt tredje motiv till CSR-investeringar, nämligen att företagets information om framtida CFP motiverar investeringar i CSR. Syftet med vår studie är därmed att undersöka om framtida förväntad CFP förklarar nuvarande CSR-investeringar i företag.   Metod: Vår studie utgår från en positivistisk forskningsfilosofi med hypotetisk-deduktiv ansats. Forskningsstrategin är kvantitativ med en longitudinell forskningsdesign. Data från 890 europeiska bolag har insamlats från Thomson Reuters Datastream för åren 2008-2016. Vidare har dessa data analyserats i statistikprogrammet SPSS.   Resultat & slutsats: Resultatet visar att framtida förväntad CFP förklarar företagets nuvarande CSR-investeringar. Detta genom att den information företaget innehar om sin framtida CFP påverkar dess engagemang i CSR-aktiviteter, vilket därmed utgör det huvudsakliga motivet till företagets CSR-investeringsbeslut. Resultatet visar också att företag inte investerar i CSR av filantropiska skäl, medan en undergrupp av företag väljer att investera i CSR med vinstmaximering som motiv.   Examensarbetets bidrag: Studien bidrar till motivforskningen om CSR-investeringsbeslut genom att bevis erhållits för att ett tredje motiv finns, som hittills är outforskat. Olika intressenter har nytta av kunskapen om detta motiv eftersom studien visar att CSR-investeringar leder till att information om företagets framtida information avslöjas.   Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Fortsatta studier inom ämnet skulle förslagsvis kunna rikta in sig på mindre företag eller enskilda länder, då denna studie fokuserat på stora europeiska bolag. För att få en mer detaljerad inblick i hur ett företag tänker kring CSR-investeringar föreslår vi en fallstudie inom ämnet, med kvalitativ inriktning. / Aim: The relationship between CSR and CFP has been investigated many times without any conclusion if there is any relationship or not. Because of the lack of conclusion there are different opinions about what motive companies have when they invest in CSR. The research that has been done in the field have focused on two motives: profit maximization- and the philanthropical motive. We have identified a possible third motive to CSR-investments, namely that company’s information about future CFP motivates current investments in CSR. The aim of our study is to investigate if future expected CFP explains current CSR-investments among companies.   Method: Our study is based on a positivistic research philosophy with a hypothesis-deductive approach. The study has a quantitative strategy with a longitudinal design. We have collected data from 890 European companies during the period of 2008-2016 from Thomson Reuters Datastream. We have analyzed the data in the statistical software SPSS.   Result & Conclusions: The result of the study indicates that the future CFP explains current CSR-investments. This happens because the company’s private information regarding future CFP influences the commitment to CSR-activities, which make the information-motive the main motive to CSR-investments. The result also shows that companies do not invest in CSR for philanthropic reasons, while a subgroup of companies chooses to invest in CSR with profit maximization as a motive.   Contribution of the thesis: The study provides a contribution to the research about how different motives drive companies’ decision-making process about CSR-investments through the third identified motive, which is an unexplored field. Different stakeholders can appreciate the knowledge of this motive because of the private information the companies reveal with the CSR-investments that they do.   Suggestions for future research: We have done our study on large public European companies. Future studies in the field should aim non-public companies or specific countries. We suggest a qualitative study to get a more detailed picture about how companies reveal private information in this field.

Vulnerable older adults residing in nursing homes continue to experience poor care outcomes due to nurse staffing levels that are below the levels required for maintaining their well-being. Studies have shown that patient care outcomes in nursing homes are related to nurse staffing standards/levels, which are affected by profit maximization on adherence to registered nurses and licensed nurse staffing standards. The purpose of this descriptive study was to determine if there was a relationship between adherence to staffing standards and care outcomes in for-profit (FP) and not-for-profit religious-based (NFPRB) nursing homes using the profit maximization theory. Research questions focused on the relationships that profit maximization and nurse staffing standards had on the quality of care outcomes measures and the differences between the nursing homes on these variables. Secondary data were collected from public database and analyzed using the descriptive and inferential statistics, nonparametric tests, and binary logistic regression. Findings showed that profit measures were not related to staffing standards and care outcome measures in the NFPRB. There was a significant relationship between FP nursing homes and standards to care outcomes in FP but not in the NFPRB nursing homes. FP nursing homes did worse than NFPRB on care outcomes. Further research, using qualitative and mixed methodologies, is needed to study the effects of profit measures on nursing home care outcomes. The results of this study can effect positive social change by informing policy makers and healthcare professionals/leaders, and, by reducing adverse events, untimely death, and positively affecting the quality of care and life of the frail and vulnerable older adults residing in nursing homes.

Continuous recognition of sign language has many practical applications and it can help to improve the quality of life of deaf persons by facilitating their interaction with hearing populace in public situations. This has led to some research in automated continuous American Sign Language recognition. But most work in continuous ASL recognition has only used top-down Hidden Markov Model (HMM) based approaches for recognition. There is no work on using facial information, which is considered to be fairly important. In this thesis, we explore bottom-up approach based on the use of Relational Distributions and Space of Probability Functions (SoPF) for intermediate level ASL recognition. We also use non-manual information, firstly, to decrease the number of deletion and insertion errors and secondly, to find whether the ASL sentence has 'Negation' in it, for which we use motion trajectories of the face. The experimental results show: The SoPF representation works well for ASL recognition. The accuracy based on the number of deletion errors, considering the 8 most probable signs in the sentence is 95%, while when considering 6 most probable signs, is 88%. Using facial or non-manual information increases accuracy when we consider top 6 signs, from 88% to 92%. Thus face does have information content in it. It is difficult to directly combine the manual information (information from hand motion) with non-manual (facial information) to improve the accuracy because of following two reasons: Manual images are not synchronized with the non-manual images. For example the same facial expressions is not present at the same manual position in two instances of the same sentences. One another problem in finding the facial expresion related with the sign, occurs when there is presence of a strong non-manual indicating 'Assertion' or 'Negation' in the sentence. In such cases the facial expressions are totally dominated by the face movements which is indicated by 'head shakes' or 'head nods'. The number of sentences, that have 'Negation' in them and are correctly recognized with the help of motion trajectories of the face are, 27 out of 30.