Submitted by Roberta Lorenzon (roberta.lorenzon@fgv.br) on 2011-05-23T12:40:03Z No. of bitstreams: 1 63080100001.pdf: 1298963 bytes, checksum: 2aa3f5c6602ec74daf85a303ab1d1fc8 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Suzinei Teles Garcia Garcia(suzinei.garcia@fgv.br) on 2011-05-23T12:50:36Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 63080100001.pdf: 1298963 bytes, checksum: 2aa3f5c6602ec74daf85a303ab1d1fc8 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Suzinei Teles Garcia Garcia(suzinei.garcia@fgv.br) on 2011-05-23T12:51:35Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 63080100001.pdf: 1298963 bytes, checksum: 2aa3f5c6602ec74daf85a303ab1d1fc8 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2011-05-23T12:54:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 63080100001.pdf: 1298963 bytes, checksum: 2aa3f5c6602ec74daf85a303ab1d1fc8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-06-30 / O tamanho ótimo de uma empresa exerce papel importante na determinação da estrutura de mercado, nas decisões de planejamento de empresas, e em políticas de regulação e antitruste. Assim, um dos principais objetivos deste trabalho foi estimar o tamanho ótimo (ou EME) das empresas para 106 setores da indústria manufatureira brasileira, num contexto de informação limitada. Outro objetivo foi analisar a mudança do tamanho ótimo das empresas devido ao processo de abertura comercial brasileiro. Para isso foram empregados dois procedimentos em sequência: Máxima Entropia (GOLAN, JUDGE & PERLOFF, 1996) e Survivor Technique (STIGLER, 1958). Primeiramente aplicamos a Máxima Entropia, para estimar as distribuições de market shares em cada setor utilizando somente medidas de concentração. Os dados se referem aos anos de 1978, 1995 e 1997. O próximo procedimento consistiu na aplicação da survivor technique a estas distribuições para encontrarmos o tamanho ótimo da empresa nos períodos pré e pós abertura comercial. Os resultados indicam que o processo de abertura comercial contribuiu para uma elevação do tamanho ótimo das empresas em mais de 60% dos setores. Este aumento ocorreu principalmente em setores capital intensivo e que apresentavam elevadas taxas de participação de empresas estrangeiras. Esses resultados corroboram os argumentos da literatura de organização industrial e comércio internacional que afirmam que o elevado protecionismo estimulou a proliferação de empresas pequenas e ineficientes que operam com escalas reduzidas e pouco competitivas. / The optimal firm size plays an important role in determining market structure, planning business decisions, and for antitrust and regulation. Thus, one goal of this study was to estimate the optimal firm size (or EME) for 106 sectors of Brazilian manufacturing industry in a context of limited information. Another goal was to analyze the change of the optimal firm size due to trade liberalization in Brazil. For this purpose two procedures were used in sequence: Maximum Entropy (GOLAN, JUDGE & PERLOFF, 1996) and Survivor Technique (STIGLER, 1958). First we applied the Maximum Entropy to estimate the distribution of market shares in each sector using only measures of concentration. Data refer to the years 1978, 1995 and 1997. The next procedure was the application of the survivor technique to these distributions to find the optimal firm size during the periods before and after trade liberalization. The results indicate that the trade liberalization process has contributed to an increase in the optimal firm size in over 60% of the sectors. This increase occurred mainly in capital intensive sectors that had high foreign firms’ ownership rates. These results support the arguments of industrial organization and international trade literature which claim that the high protectionism stimulated the proliferation of small and inefficient firms producing on small and not competitive scales.

O objetivo deste trabalho é desenvolver uma plataforma para anotação e classificação automática de entidades nomeadas para notícias escritas em português do Brasil. Para restringir um pouco o escopo do treinamento e análise foram utilizadas notícias esportivas do Campeonato Paulista de 2011 do portal UOL (Universo Online). O primeiro artefato desenvolvido desta plataforma foi a ferramenta WebCorpus. Esta tem como principal intuito facilitar o processo de adição de metainformações a palavras através do uso de uma interface rica web, elaborada para deixar o trabalho ágil e simples. Desta forma as entidades nomeadas das notícias são anotadas e classificadas manualmente. A base de dados foi alimentada pela ferramenta de aquisição e extração de conteúdo desenvolvida também para esta plataforma. O segundo artefato desenvolvido foi o córpus UOLCP2011 (UOL Campeonato Paulista 2011). Este córpus foi anotado e classificado manualmente através do uso da ferramenta WebCorpus utilizando sete tipos de entidades: pessoa, lugar, organização, time, campeonato, estádio e torcida. Para o desenvolvimento do motor de anotação e classificação automática de entidades nomeadas foram utilizadas três diferentes técnicas: maximização de entropia, índices invertidos e métodos de mesclagem das duas técnicas anteriores. Para cada uma destas foram executados três passos: desenvolvimento do algoritmo, treinamento utilizando técnicas de aprendizado de máquina e análise dos melhores resultados. / The main target of this research is to develop an automatic named entity classification tool to sport news written in Brazilian Portuguese. To reduce this scope, during training and analysis only sport news about São Paulo Championship of 2011 written by UOL2 (Universo Online) was used. The first artefact developed was the WebCorpus tool, which aims to make easier the process of add meta informations to words, through a rich web interface. Using this, all the corpora news are tagged manually. The database used by this tool was fed by the crawler tool, also developed during this research. The second artefact developed was the corpora UOLCP2011 (UOL Campeonato Paulista 2011). This corpora was manually tagged using the WebCorpus tool. During this process, seven classification concepts were used: person, place, organization, team, championship, stadium and fans. To develop the automatic named entity classification tool, three different approaches were analysed: maximum entropy, inverted index and merge tecniques using both. Each approach had three steps: algorithm development, training using machine learning tecniques and best score analysis.

Potentially damaging submerged invasive freshwater macrophytes have been identified in South African freshwater systems, but have received less attention than their floating counterparts. To ascertain the changes and effects that these species may have on macrophyte ecology, an understanding of the drivers of macrophyte assemblages is essential. The aims of this thesis were to investigate select abiotic and biotic factors driving introduction, establishment and spread of submerged macrophytes in South Africa. Surveys on the status of submerged plant species in South Africa were conducted to find out the distribution and diversity of the species present, imported to, and traded in South Africa. Numerous submerged indigenous and invasive macrophyte locality records were collected during field surveys, of which many were first time records. Pet stores and aquarist trading activities were identified as potential vectors for the spread of submerged macrophytes through online surveys and personal interviews. These results highlighted the potential these species have for continuing to enter, and spread within South African water bodies. Maximum Entropy (MAXENT) is a general-purpose method used to predict or infer distributions from incomplete information, and was used here to predict areas suitable for the establishment of five of these invasive macrophytes. Many systems throughout South Africa, particularly those in the subtropical coastal regions, were found to be climatically suitable for the establishment of Elodea canadensis Michx., Egeria densa Planch., Hydrilla verticillata (L.f.) Royle (all Hydrocharitaceae), Myriophyllum spicatum L. (Haloragaceae), and Cabomba caroliniana Gray (Cabombaceae). Despite the high probability of invasion, facilitated by vectors and suitable climate, South Africa’s rich indigenous submerged aquatic flora may be preventing the establishment of these submerged invasive species. Studies on the competitive interactions between a common indigenous submerged macrophytes, Lagarosiphon major (Roxb.) (Hydrocharitaceae) and M.spicatum, an invasive native to Eurasia, were conducted to ascertain which conditions influence competitive superiority. High sediment nutrient conditions significantly increased the growth rate and competitive ability of both species, while clay sediments significantly increased the competitive ability of L. major over M. spicatum, but sandy sediments improved the competitive ability of M. spicatum. These results highlighted the dynamic changes in competition between submerged species driven by abiotic factors, but did not take into consideration the effect that herbivory, a biotic factor, could have on competition between the two species. The effect of herbivory by phytophagous insects of submerged plant species has been regarded as negligible. To find out what this effect is, multiple field surveys were undertaken throughout South Africa to find natural enemies of indigenous Lagarosiphon species with the aim of identifying such species, and quantifying their influence on plant growth dynamics. Several new phytophagous species were recorded for the first time. An ephydrid fly, Hydrellia lagarosiphon Deeming (Diptera: Ephydridae) was ascertained to be the most ubiquitous and abundant species associated with L. major in South Africa. The influence of herbivory by this fly on the competitive ability of L. major in the presence of M. spicatum was investigated using an inverse linear model, which showed that herbivory by H. lagarosiphon reduced the competitive ability of L. major by approximately five times in favour of M. spicatum. This study served to highlight the importance of herbivory as a driver of submerged aquatic plant dynamics. Current ecological theory emphasises the importance of investigating beyond plant-herbivore interactions, by including multitrophic interactions in community dynamics. Therefore, the potential of parasitism by a parasitoid wasp, Chaenusa luteostigma sp. n. Achterberg (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Alysiinae) on H. lagarosiphon to shift the competitive interactions between the two plant species was also examined. The addition of the parasitoid reduced the effect of herbivory by the fly on L. major by half, thereby shifting the competitive balance in favour of L. major over M. spicatum. This study provides valuable insight into a selection of drivers of submerged macrophyte assemblages of South Africa. It highlights the precarious position of South African freshwater systems with regard to the potential invasion by damaging submerged invasive species. It also provides interesting insights into the effect of competition, herbivory and parasitism on the establishment and spread of species within submerged freshwater systems. Understanding the different influences could assist managers and policy makers to make validated decisions ensuring the integrity of South African freshwater systems.

Ce travail de thèse se situe dans la thématique des oxydes dérivés de la pérovskite ayant des propriétés de conduction mixte tels que les structures de type K2NiF4, les pérovskites doubles et la brownmillérite. Cette aptitude à conduire à la fois l'oxygène et les électrons présente un intérêt pour des dispositifs électrochimiques fonctionnant à haute température et notamment en tant qu'électrode pour les piles à combustible à oxyde solide. Plus précisément, cette thèse concerne la synthèse et l'étude cristallochimique avancée de la réactivité de ces matériaux essentiellement par les grands instruments par le biais de la diffraction de neutrons (NPD) et des rayons X synchrotron. Le travail préliminaire à ces études implique de la synthèse inorganique par voie solide ou par voie sol-gel, l'analyse thermogravimétrique et la titration iodométrique. Des cellules de réactivité originales ont été développées spécialement à l'ISCR pour l'étude in situ du comportement redox sous différents flux gazeux et en fonction de la température à la fois dans le cadre de la diffraction des neutrons et rayons X synchrotron. L'étude in situ par NPD des composés La2-xSrxMnO4±δ où x = 2,0 et x = 0,8 qui dérivent du composé de cathode de référence La1-xSrxMnO3 a permis de suivre l'évolution structurale en fonction du δ en conditions réductrices pour x = 2,0 et en conditions oxydantes pour x = 0,8. L'étude DRX synchrotron de Pr2NiO4,22 a permis de mettre en évidence la symétrie monoclinique à température ambiante alors que les études précédentes annonçaient une symétrie orthorhombique. Les variations structurales notamment la transition vers la phase HTT sont accompagnées d'une modulation incommensurable qui persiste jusqu'à au moins 900 °C. L'étude des pérovskites doubles NdBaCo2−xMnxO5+δ où 0 ≤ x ≤ 2 a permis de montrer que ces matériaux présentent des conductivités électriques totales très prometteuses pour des applications en tant que cathode de SOFC. De plus, la confrontation de la dynamique moléculaire et de la NPD combinée à la MEM pour le composé x = 0 a permis d'élucider le mécanisme de diffusion de l'oxygène dans cette famille de composés. L'étude par NPD de la réduction de LaSrFeCoO6 vers LaSrFeCoO5 de structure brownmillérite a permis de mettre en évidence que la structure réduite persiste à haute température et l'évolution de la mise en ordre des moments magnétiques lors du refroidissement de LaSrFeCoO5. / This thesis is focused on oxides related to perovskite such as K2NiF4 structure-type, double perovskite and brownmillerite with mixed conduction properties. This ability to conduct both oxygen ions and electrons is relevant for electrochemical devices operating at high temperature, particularly as an electrode for solid oxide fuel cell. Specifically, this thesis deals with the synthesis and advanced crystal structure characterization of the reactivity of these materials mainly through large scale facilities by means of neutron powder diffraction (NPD) and X-ray synchrotron. Preliminary work in these studies involves inorganic synthesis by solid-state or by sol-gel route, thermogravimetric analysis and the iodometric titration. Original reactivity cells have been developed at the ISCR to study redox behavior under different gas flow and as a function of temperature for both neutron diffraction and X-ray synchrotron experiment. In situ study by NPD of La2-xSrxMnO4 ± δ compounds where x = 2.0 and x = 0.8 which derived from the compound cathode reference La1-xSrxMnO3 allowed to follow the structural evolution as a function of δ in reducing conditions for x = 2.0 and oxidizing conditions for x = 0.8. The synchrotron study of Pr2NiO4.22 helped to highlight the monoclinic symmetry at room temperature while previous studies announced an orthorhombic symmetry. Besides, structural changes including the transition to the HTT phase are accompanied by an incommensurable modulation that persists at least up to 900 °C. The study of double perovskites NdBaCo2-xMnxO5+δ where 0 ≤ x ≤ 2 showed that these materials exhibit a promising electrical conductivities for SOFC applications as cathode. In addition, the comparison of the molecular dynamics and NDP combined with MEM for x = 0 compound has elucidated the oxygen diffusion mechanism in these compounds. The study by NPD in reducing condition of LaSrFeCoO6 to the brownmillerite LaSrFeCoO5 has showed that the reduced structure persists at high temperatures and allowed to follow the evolution in the ordering of the magnetic moments while cooling LaSrFeCoO5.

Very often, people buy goods on the Internet that they can not see and try. They therefore rely on reviews of other customers. However, there may be too many reviews for a human to handle them quickly and comfortably. The aim of this work is to offer an application that can recognize in Czech reviews what features of a product are most commented and whether the commentary is positive or negative. The results can save a lot of time for e-shop customers and provide interesting feedback to the manufacturers of the products.

In this thesis the superconducting and magnetic phases of LiOH(Fe,Co)(Se,S), CuFeAs/CuFeSb, and LaFeP_1-xAs_xO - belonging to the 11, 111 and 1111 structural classes of iron-based arsenides and chalcogenides - are investigated by means of 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy and muon spin rotation/relaxation (μSR). Of major importance in this study is the application of high magnetic fields in Mössbauer spectroscopy to distinguish and characterize ferro- (FM) and antiferromagnetic (AFM) order. A user-friendly Mössbauer data analysis program was developed to provide suitable model functions not only for high field spectra, but relaxation spectra or parameter distributions in general. In LaFeP_1-xAs_xO the reconstruction of the Fermi surface is described by the vanishing of the Γ hole pocket with decreasing x. The continuous change of the orbital character and the covalency of the d-electrons is shown by Mössbauer spectroscopy. A novel antiferromagnetic phase with small magnetic moments of ~ 0.1 μ_B state is characterized. The superconducting order parameter is proven to continuously change from a nodal to a fully gapped s-wave like Fermi surface in the superconducting regime as a function of x, partially investigated on (O,F) substituted samples. LiOHFeSe is one of the novel intercalated FeSe compounds, showing strongly increased T_C = 43 K mainly due to increased interlayer spacing and resulting two-dimensionality of the Fermi surface. The primary interest of the samples of this thesis is the simultaneously observed ferromagnetism and superconductivity. The local probe techniques prove that superconducting sample volume gets replaced by ferromagnetic volume. Ferromagnetism arises from magnetic order with T_C = 10 K of secondary iron in the interlayer. The tendency of this system to show (Li,Fe) disorder is preserved upon (Se,S) substitution. However, superconductivity gets suppressed. The results of Mössbauer spectroscopy indicate that the systems tends to a secondary structural phase, where the local iron environment observed in pure FeS is absent. Moreover, two interlayer positions of the iron are identified. The absence of enhanced superconducting T_C in LiOHFeS thus is related to a structural instability. Also, in CuFeAs the role of secondary iron at the Cu position turns out to be decisive for the observed magnetic behaviour. As in LiOHFeSe, it orders ferromagnetically at T_C ~ 11 K and superimposes with the magnetic instability of the main iron site. It is shown that a small charge doping of 0.1e/Fe, which is expected from (Cu,Fe) disorder, is sufficient to switch the system between a paramagnetic and an AFM ground state. Both magnetic orders are indistinguishable, because the magnetic order parameters are strongly coupled. This coupling was observed in the structurally identical CuFeSb, where the magnetic order parameters of both iron sites scale perfectly. The magnetically unstable CuFeAs and the ferromagnetic CuFeSb can be classified according to the theory of As height driven magnetism, predicting a change from paramagnetism to AFM and finally FM with increasing As height.:1 Acronyms and Symbols 2 Introduction 3 Iron-based arsenides and chalcogenides 3.1 Structural properties 3.2 Electronic properties 3.2.1 Magnetism 3.2.2 Superconductivity 3.2.3 Nematic phase 3.3 Investigated samples 4 Moessfit - a free Mössbauer fitting program 4.1 Aspects of program design 4.2 Errors 4.2.1 Uncorrelated 4.2.2 Hesse 4.2.3 MonteCarlo 4.2.4 Minos 4.3 Fitting algorithm 4.4 Maximum entropy method (MEM) 4.5 Kolmogorov-Smirnov confidence 5 Mössbauer spectroscopy 5.1 Mössbauer effect 5.2 Relativistic Doppler effect 5.3 Full static Hamiltonian 5.3.1 Quadrupole interaction 5.3.2 Isomer shift. 5.3.3 Zeeman splitting 5.3.4 Combined interaction 5.3.5 Transition probabilities 5.3.6 The magic angle 5.4 Transmission integral 5.4.1 Absorption area 5.4.2 Ideal thickness 5.4.3 Line width and line shape 5.4.4 Levelling 5.5 Applied field measurements of powder samples 5.5.1 Paramagnet, axial symmetric EFG in transverse field geometry 6 5.5.2 Uniaxial antiferromagnet, axial symmetric EFG in transverse field geometry 6 5.5.3 Paramagnet, axial symmetric EFG in longitudinal field geometry 6 5.5.4 Uniaxial ferromagnet, axial symmetric EFG in transverse field geometry 6 5.5.5 Polarised photons 5.5.6 Total absorption cross section 5.5.7 Polarised sources 5.6 Blume line shape model 6 μSR 6.1 Muon decay and detection 6.2 Magnetic order and dynamic relaxation 6.2.1 Magnetic order 6.2.2 Time dependent field distributions 6.2.3 Aspects of μSR in iron-based arsenides and chalcogenides 6.2.4 Weak transverse field (WTF) 6.3 Superconductivity - transverse field (TF) experiments 7 Intercalated FeSe 7.1 Bulk properties: XRD, susceptibility, resistivity 7.2 Structural characterization 7.3 LiOHFeSe - Mössbauer spectroscopy 7.3.1 Applied transverse field 7.4 LiOHFeSe - μSR 7.4.1 Zero field (ZF) 7.4.2 Pinning experiment 7.4.3 Transverse field (TF) 7.5 Mössbauer investigation of LiOHFe_1-yCo_ySe_1-xS_x. 7.6 Discussion 8 LaFeO(As,P) 8.1 Preliminary measurements and electronic structure calculations 8.2 Mössbauer spectroscopy 8.3 μSR 8.3.1 Magnetic characterization 8.3.2 Spin dynamics 8.3.3 Superconductivity 8.4 Discussion 9 CuFeAs and CuFeSb 9.1 Preliminary results of CuFeAs and CuFeSb 9.2 CuFeAs: Mössbauer spectroscopy 9.2.1 Zero field (ZF) 9.2.2 Longitudinal field (LF) 9.2.3 Transverse field (TF) 9.3 CuFeAs: μSR 9.3.1 Zero field (ZF) 9.3.2 Weak transverse field (WTF) 9.4 Further investigations on CuFeAs 9.4.1 Neutron scattering 9.4.2 Theoretical calculation 9.4.3 Local element analysis with EDX/WDX 9.5 CuFeSb: Mössbauer spectroscopy 9.5.1 Zero Field (ZF) 9.5.2 Transverse field (TF) 9.6 Discussion 10 Conclusion 11 Appendix 11.1 Derivation of the quadrupole interaction and isomer shift 11.2 Matrix form of the static nuclear Hamiltonian 11.3 Mössbauer line intensities 11.4 Blume line shape model 11.4.1 Special case: two states with diagonal Hamiltonians 11.5 Moessfit models 11.5.1 FeSe_1-xS_x(Li_1-zFe_zOH) ZF, standard 11.5.2 FeSe_1-xS_x(Li_1-zFe_zOH) ZF, 4 fractions 11.5.3 FeSe_1-xS_x(Li_1-zFe_zOH) Pinning 11.5.4 FeSe_1-xS_x(Li_1-zFe_zOH) TF 11.5.5 FeSe_1-xS_x(Li_1-zFe_zOH) CS-Vzz-MEM 11.5.6 LaFeP_1-xAs_x+ ferrocene, ZF 11.5.7 LaFeP_1-xAs_x+ ferrocene, LF 11.5.8 LaFeP_1-xAs_x+ iron foil, ZF 11.5.9 LaFeAsO ZF 11.5.10 LaFeAsO TF 11.5.11 CuFeAs + ferrocen, ZF 11.5.12 CuFeAs + ferrocen, ZF, high statistics 11.5.13 CuFeAs + ferrocen, LF 11.5.14 CuFeAs + ferrocen, TF 11.5.15 CuFeSb ZF 11.5.16 CuFeSb TF

El conocimiento de las características interfaciales es de suma importancia para poder desarrollar materiales que sean capaces de dar lugar a reacciones electrocatalíticas eficientes. Por esta razón, en esta tesis se muestran diferentes estudios interfaciales sobre superficies monocristalinas de platino y cobre en diferentes electrolitos. Además se estudian las características de la interfase electrodoldisolución con superficies de platino modificadas con adátomos de hierro, cobalto y níquel. Para ello, se han empleado las técnicas de voltametría cíclica, espectroscopía infrarroja con transformada de Fourier, desplazamiento de carga con CO y salto de temperatura inducido por láser. Los resultados muestran cómo varía el campo eléctrico interfacial disminuye al aumentar el recubrimiento de hierro y níquel en la superficie de platino. Este efecto tiene un gran impacto en la reacción de evolución de hidrógeno, ya que la mejora electrocatalítica de esta reacción está relacionada con la energía de reorganización de las moléculas de agua, la cual, depende de la fortaleza del campo eléctrico interfacial. Los estudios realizados en medio alcalino para las diferentes superficies de cobre y platino sin modificar muestran una correlación entre el potencial de máxima entropía y las funciones de trabajo para cada una de las diferentes orientaciones atómicas superficiales. Por otro lado, debido a la aplicabilidad de las nanopartículas en los sistemas reales de conversión de energía, se realizaron experimentos de sincrotrón empleando la técnica de Bragg coherent difraction imaging con el objetivo de estudiar el deterioro de las nanopartículas en condiciones operando.

Lyme disease is an emerging tick-borne illness in Canada, with human case numbers increasing 15- to 20-fold since Lyme disease became nationally notifiable in 2009 until the present. In Ontario, Canada's largest province by population, average Lyme disease incidence across the province is similar to that of national estimates. However, in eastern Ontario, which is near tick endemic regions in the northeastern Unites States, Lyme disease incidence is disproportionately higher compared to the rest of the province. The objectives of this thesis are to identify environmental Lyme disease risk areas in Ontario, to explore spatiotemporal trends in Lyme disease emergence, and to identify neighbourhood-level socioecological risk factors for Lyme disease. In addition, this thesis also aims to assess the risk of other tick-borne illnesses that are transmitted by the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, which is also the main vector for Lyme disease in Canada. Using maximum entropy species distribution modelling to correlate blacklegged tick occurrence data with environmental variables, predictive risk models for I. scapularis and the Lyme disease pathogen, Borrelia burgdorferi, were developed. The model prediction was used to classify low and high environment risk areas and, using a case-control epidemiological study, we assessed that residence in risk areas was a strong predictor of Lyme disease. However, this relationship was modulated by socioecological factors linked to higher overall rurality of the locality of home residence. Spatial cluster analyses further revealed that human Lyme disease cases clustered in regions with the high numbers of reported B. burgdorferi-infected ticks in the environment. Many individuals residing in large metropolitan regions, like the City of Ottawa, reported tick exposures outside their public health unit of residence; however, local clusters of Lyme disease were also detected in suburban regions near conservation areas, trails, and urban woodlands. The prevalence of other tick-borne pathogens was low, although several pathogens of public health significance including Borrelia miyamotoi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum were detected at multiple sites surveyed for ticks between 2017-2021. Overall, this thesis identify patterns in Lyme disease emergence (and potentially other tick-borne illnesses), defines environmental risk areas for Lyme disease in Ontario, and highlights important socioecological risk factors for Lyme disease in eastern Ontario.

An investigation into the impact of generalised maximum entropy solutions on the study of queues with or without arrival balking and their applications to congestion management in communication networks Keywords: Queues, Balking, Maximum Entropy (ME) Principle, Global Balance (GB), Queue Length Distribution (QLD), Generalised Geometric (GGeo), Generalised Exponential (GE), Generalised Discrete Half Normal (GdHN), Congestion Management, Packet Dropping Policy (PDP) Generalisations to links between discrete least biased (i.e. maximum entropy (ME)) distribution inferences and Markov chains are conjectured towards the performance modelling, analysis and prediction of general, single server queues with or without arrival balking. New ME solutions, namely the generalised discrete Half Normal (GdHN) and truncated GdHN (GdHNT) distributions are characterised, subject to appropriate mean value constraints, for inferences of stationary discrete state probability distributions. Moreover, a closed form global balance (GB) solution is derived for the queue length distribution (QLD) of the M/GE/1/K queue subject to extended Morse balking, characterised by a Poisson prospective arrival process, i.i.d. generalised exponential (GE) service times and finite capacity, K. In this context, based on comprehensive numerical experimentation, the latter GB solution is conjectured to be a special case of the GdHNT ME distribution. ii Owing to the appropriate operational properties of the M/GE/1/K queue subject to extended Morse balking, this queueing system is applied as an ME performance model of Internet Protocol (IP)-based communication network nodes featuring static or dynamic packet dropping congestion management schemes. A performance evaluation study in terms of the model’s delay is carried out. Subsequently, the QLD’s of the GE/GE/1/K censored queue subject to extended Morse balking under three different composite batch balking and batch blocking policies are solved via the technique of GB. Following comprehensive numerical experimentation, the latter QLD’s are also conjectured to be special cases of the GdHNT. Limitations of this work and open problems which have arisen are included after the conclusions

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