Background: Factors that contribute to body fat and adiposity include energy consumption, macronutrient intake, and physical activity. Alcohol not only contributes to total energy consumed but also influences metabolic pathways that may alter fat oxidation and storage. Alcohol provides 7.1 kilocalories per gram (kcal/g) and makes up 6-10% of the daily caloric intake of adults in the United States. Cross-sectional studies have shown that increased alcohol intake is associated with higher body mass index (BMI), especially in men. Other studies suggest that there is a “U” shaped association whereby non-drinkers and heavy drinkers have a higher BMI and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) then low to moderate drinkers. While many previous studies evaluate alcohol based on the average consumption (g/day), there is increasing evidence that it is the pattern of alcohol consumption (ie. frequency) that influences body composition. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of the frequency of wine, beer, and liquor consumption on body fat percent (BF%) and WHR in a population of university faculty and staff. Methods: The Center for Health Discovery and Well Being (CHDWB) cohort trial is being conducted at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. Recruitment of faculty and staff for the study began in 2007. Demographic, reported dietary intake including wine, beer, and liquor consumption, and anthropometric data including weight, height, BF%, and waist circumference are collected at baseline and annually thereafter. We used linear regression models to determine the effect of frequency and quantity of wine, beer, and liquor consumption on BF% while controlling for age and the effects of the other types of alcohol. We applied the Kruskal-Wallis test to determine if the median BF% and waist-hip ratio (WHR) was significantly different for those that reported at different five different frequencies (several times a year to 5-7 days a week). Results: Baseline visits have been conducted on 700 participants. Their median age was 51 years (66% female). Median weight was 76.9 kg (range, 65.3 - 90.5 kg) and mean BMI was 27.9 + 6.4 kg/m2. A significant negative relationship was observed between frequency of beer consumption and BF% in women (p Conclusions: The frequency of wine intake consumed by university employees and staff independently predicted BF% and BMI. Greater frequency of wine consumption was associated with lower BF%.

Many accountability systems use data from large-scale assessments to make judgements about school performance. In Ontario, school performance is often assessed using the percentage of proficient students (PPS). The purpose of this study was to shed light on the degree and frequency of changes from year to year in the percentage of proficient students, at a school, in the areas of reading, writing and mathematics for both grades 3 and 6 in Ontario from 2006 to 2010. A second purpose was to assess the influence of cohort size on the variability in scores from year to year. Once schools not having data for 5 consecutive years and outliers were omitted secondary data analysis was used to examine nearly 3000 schools in each subject and grade. For the first part of the study, descriptive statistics and frequencies were the main method of examination. In the second part of the study, variance scores and correlations were used in order to understand the relationship between changes in PPS and cohort size. Findings revealed that changes in school scores from year to year are very large for many schools. Approximately 50 percent of schools experienced changes in PPS greater than 10 percent in any given year. When examining how often, from 2006 to 2010, a school experienced a similar amount of change – generally, both the smallest and largest change categories had a larger percentage of schools experiencing a similar amount of change for two and three years. Very seldom did schools experience the same degree of change in PPS across all 5 years. Results from correlations revealed a significant and inverse relationship between average cohort size and variability in PPS. Considering over 80 percent of schools have 60 or fewer students in a cohort the unpredictability in PPS may prove to be quite frustrating to schools and confusing to stakeholders. Annual PPS scores appear to be a poor indicator of real school performance, and their use to rank or rate schools should be avoided. Recommendations are made about using PPS to report school level results for EQAO, schools and the public.

Many accountability systems use data from large-scale assessments to make judgements about school performance. In Ontario, school performance is often assessed using the percentage of proficient students (PPS). The purpose of this study was to shed light on the degree and frequency of changes from year to year in the percentage of proficient students, at a school, in the areas of reading, writing and mathematics for both grades 3 and 6 in Ontario from 2006 to 2010. A second purpose was to assess the influence of cohort size on the variability in scores from year to year. Once schools not having data for 5 consecutive years and outliers were omitted secondary data analysis was used to examine nearly 3000 schools in each subject and grade. For the first part of the study, descriptive statistics and frequencies were the main method of examination. In the second part of the study, variance scores and correlations were used in order to understand the relationship between changes in PPS and cohort size. Findings revealed that changes in school scores from year to year are very large for many schools. Approximately 50 percent of schools experienced changes in PPS greater than 10 percent in any given year. When examining how often, from 2006 to 2010, a school experienced a similar amount of change – generally, both the smallest and largest change categories had a larger percentage of schools experiencing a similar amount of change for two and three years. Very seldom did schools experience the same degree of change in PPS across all 5 years. Results from correlations revealed a significant and inverse relationship between average cohort size and variability in PPS. Considering over 80 percent of schools have 60 or fewer students in a cohort the unpredictability in PPS may prove to be quite frustrating to schools and confusing to stakeholders. Annual PPS scores appear to be a poor indicator of real school performance, and their use to rank or rate schools should be avoided. Recommendations are made about using PPS to report school level results for EQAO, schools and the public.

The application of Statistical Process Control (SPC) to software processes has been a challenging issue for software engineers and researchers. Although SPC is suggested for providing process control and achieving higher process maturity levels, there are very few resources that describe success stories, implementation details, and implemented guidelines for applying SPC to specific metrics. In this thesis the findings of a case study that is performed for investigating the applicability of SPC to software metrics in an emergent CMM Level 3 software organization are presented. As being one of the basic and most sophisticated tools of SPC, control charts are used for the analysis. The difficulties in application of Statistical Process Control to a CMM Level 3 organization are observed by using the existing data of defect density, rework percentage, productivity and review performance metrics and relevant suggestions are provided for dealing with them. Finally the analysis results are summarized and a guideline is prepared for software companies who want to utilize control charts by using their existing metric data.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:32:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-02-17Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T21:05:25Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 pinheiro_rsb_dr_botfmvz.pdf: 178440 bytes, checksum: c198bd55cd85d176c0d2e0aa0ed2fbf4 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) / O experimento foi conduzido no intuito de avaliar ovelhas de descarte abatidas em diferentes estágios fisiológicos e terminadas em confinamento, quanto aos rendimentos de carcaça e seus cortes, assim como dos percentuais de cada não componente da carcaça e o resultado econômico da preparação destes animais para abate. Utilizou-se 21 ovelhas da raça Santa Inês, com idade média de seis anos, que foram distribuídas nos respectivos tratamentos: OL = ovelhas que permaneceram por 60 dias em lactação com seus respectivos cordeiros e abatidas um dia após o desmame dos mesmos; OSC = ovelhas que permaneceram por 60 dias em lactação com seus respectivos cordeiros e mais um período aproximado de 30 dias sem os cordeiros, no intuito de recuperar o peso corporal perdido durante o período de amamentação e posteriormente abatidas; e ONP = ovelhas que permaneceram por 60 dias em confinamento e que não pariram durante o ano. Os resultados obtidos nesta pesquisa evidenciaram que as ovelhas do ONP apresentaram maiores rendimentos de carcaça quente (45,00%) e fria (44,73%) em comparação às fêmeas do OL (40,80% e 40,66%). O rendimento verdadeiro foi próximo entre as fêmeas dos diferentes tratamentos, com valor médio de 50,10%. Os rendimentos dos cortes da carcaça (paleta, pescoço, costelas, lombo e perna) foram similares entre todas as ovelhas abatidas nas distintas condições fisiológicas, com valores médios de 18,78%, 9,34%, 27,36%, 7,77%, e 34,70%, respectivamente. Os rendimentos dos não componentes da carcaça foram similares entre as ovelhas abatidas em diferentes estágios fisiológicos, com exceção dos valores do fígado, do sangue, do úbere e da gordura interna. O resultado econômico foi positivo para todos os tratamentos experimentais, no entanto o melhor retorno financeiro foi obtido para os animais do tratamento OSC e o pior para os do tratamento ONP. / The experiment was carried out aiming to evaluate discard ewes slaughtered in different physiological stages and terminated in confinement, as for carcass yields and its cuts, as well as the percentages of each non-component of the carcass and the economical result of the preparation of these animals for slaughtering. 21 Santa Inês ewes were used, with average age of six years old, distributed into the following treatments: EL = ewes which remained in lactation for 60 days with their respective lambs and slaughtered one day after weaning of the lambs; EWL = ewes that remained in lactation for 60 days with their respective lambs and other 30 days approximately without lambs, aiming to recover lost body weight during breastfeeding, and, subsequently, slaughtered; and ENC = ewes that remained in confinement for 60 days and did not deliver during the year. The results obtained in this research showed that ewes from ENC presented higher hot (45.00%) and cold (44.73%) carcass yields, compared to females from EL (40.80% and 40.66%). True yield was proximate between females from the different treatments, with average value of 50.10%. Carcass cuts (shoulderblade, neck, ribs, loin and leg) yields were similar among all ewes slaughtered in the distinct physiological conditions, with average values of 18.78%, 9.34%, 27.36%, 7.77% and 34,70%, respectively. Carcass non-components yields were similar among ewes slaughtered in different physiological stages, except for liver, blood, udder values and internal fat. The economical result was positive for all experimental treatments; however, the best financial return was obtained for animals from treatment EWL and the worst for animals from treatment ENC.

Com o objetivo de caracterizar o crescimento de animais cruza Wagyu x Angus, 24 machos castrados e 23 fêmeas foram separados em: G1M (Grupo 1 Machos, com percentagem de gordura intramuscular inicial > 3,4%, n= 11), G2M (Grupo 2 Machos, com percentagem de gordura intramuscular inicial < 3,4%, n= 13), G1F (Grupo 1 Fêmeas, com percentagem de gordura intramuscular inicial > 3,9%, n= 12) e G2F (Grupo 2 Fêmeas, com percentagem de gordura intramuscular inicial < 3,9%, n= 11) e avaliados com medidas seriadas de ultrassom ajustadas a cada 56 dias. Para estimar as características de carcaça foram utilizados 21 machos castrados, avaliados por ultrassom 3 a 8 dias pré abate e posteriormente na carcaça com 48 horas de resfriamento. O grupo G2M apresentou maior deposição de gordura subcutânea por ultrassom (EGSUS) em seis períodos de avaliação quando comparado ao G1M, apresentando uma taxa de deposição de gordura subcutânea distinta entre grupos de 0.69mm/100 dias e 0.65mm/100 dias para o G2M e G1M, respectivamente. Somente foi possível evidenciar diferença significativa na primeira avaliação de percentagem de gordura intramuscular (PGIMUS) entre G1M e G2M, ambos apresentaram crescimento linear com taxa de aumento de 0.28%/100 dias, foi possível evidenciar que ocorreram aumentos acima de 0.1% da PGIMUS a partir dos 280 dias do período de avaliação, quando o ganho médio diário (GMD) de peso vivo ficou acima de 0.650 kg/dia. A taxa de desenvolvimento da área do músculo longissimus (AOLUS) foi distinta entre os grupos de fêmeas, aumentando 3.8 cm2/100 dias e 3.4 cm2/100 dias para o G1F e G2F, respectivamente. Ocorreram diferenças significativas na PGIMUS somente nas quatro primeiras avaliações entre G1F e G2F. A correlação entre a área do músculo longissimus medida na carcaça (AOLC) e por ultrassom (AOLUS) foi de 0.93, para espessura de gordura subcutânea medida na carcaça (EGSC) e por ultrassom (EGSUS) foi de 0.86. A PGIMUS a desmama não afetou o crescimento do tecido muscular nos machos e adiposo nas fêmeas. As características gordura subcutânea no sítio anatômico da costela nos machos e AOLUS nas fêmeas apresentaram crescimento distinto com relação à PGIMUS a desmama. A ultrassonografia é uma tecnologia que pode ser utilizada para estimar o desenvolvimento tecidual da gordura e músculo com medidas repetidas no tempo. O peso vivo e o GMD afetaram a alteração do tecido muscular e adiposo durante o crescimento. / Aiming to characterize the growth crossbred Wagyu x Angus, 24 steers and 23 heifers were separated in: G1M (Group 1 Males, with initial percentage of intramuscular fat > 3,4%, n= 11), G2M (Group 1 Males, with initial percentage of intramuscular fat < 3,4%, n= 13), G1F (Group 1 Females with initial percentage of intramuscular fat > 3,9%, n= 12) e G2F (Group 2 Females, with initial of intramuscular fat percentage < 3,9%, n= 11) and evaluated with serial ultrasound measurements fitted every 56 days. To estimate carcass traits were used 21 steers, assessed by ultrasound 3 to 8 days pre slaughter and afterwards in the carcass after 48 hours of cooling. The G2M group showed higher deposition of ultrasound subcutaneous fat thickness (UFAT) in six periods of evaluation when compared to G1M, displaying a distinct subcutaneous fat deposition rate between groups of 0.69 mm/100 days and 0.65mm/100 days to G2M and G1M, respectively. Only possible to evidence a significant difference in the first evaluation of the ultrasound percentage of intramuscular fat (UPFAT) between G1M and G2M, both showed linear growth with an increase rate of 0.28%/100 days, it became clear that there were rises above 0.1% of UPFAT from 280 days of the evaluation period, when the average daily gain (ADG) of body weight was above 0.650 kg/day. The development rate of ultrasound longissimus muscle area (ULMA) was different between the groups of females, increasing 3.8 cm2/100 days and 3.4 cm2/100 days to the G1F and G2F, respectively. There were significant differences in the UPFAT in just the first four assessments between G1F and G2F. The corrections between carcass longissimus muscle area (CLMA) wit measured by ultrasound (ULMA) was 0.93 and carcass fat thickness (CFAT) whit fat thickness by ultrasound (UFAT) was 0.86. The UPFAT weaning did not affect the growth of muscle tissue in males and fat in females. Subcutaneous fat in the anatomical site of the rib in males and ULMA in females showed distinct growth compared to the UPFAT weaning. Ultrasonography is a technology that can be used to estimate the development of tissue fat and muscle with repeated measurements over time. The body weight and the ADG affected the change in muscle and adipose tissue during growth.

Revenue accounting is a complex area of accounting with a lot of freedom for companies to adapt their accounting structures after its own needs. Depending on what the company in question regards as the purpose of a financial statement and how important that purpose is regarded the accounting structure will differ between companies. This study aims to examine which factors affect the structure of companies’ revenue accounting structure for continuing production. The purpose is to show how intricate balancing the different properties, principles and goals that are desired within revenue accounting for continuing production can be. The study was performed with a qualitative method and used semi-structured interviews regarding revenue accounting with the chief financial officers at seven different companies in the construction and consulting sector located within the Stockholm area. These interviews were later analyzed by means of accounting theories and research articles. The study concluded that the most crucial factor determining companies’ revenue accounting structure was accurate accounting both for internal and external use. Furthermore taxes, concern restriction or qualitative accounting properties had no effect. The elemental account principles could be seen to have had a certain influence. It could also be concluded that many companies prioritized a smooth revenue stream when deciding how to design their revenue accounting.

ARAGÃO, Ana Paula Bezerra Aragão. Análise técnico-econômica da recuperação de um solo sódico no peímetro irrigado curu-pentecoste-CE. 61 f. : Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Ceará, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Departamento de Engenharia Agrícola, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Agrícola, Fortaleza-CE, 2009 / Submitted by demia Maia (demiamlm@gmail.com) on 2016-06-03T13:52:15Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_dis_apbaraújo.pdf: 1817784 bytes, checksum: 06c51bc19c1cf56e8616ef8f1feebdc1 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by demia Maia (demiamlm@gmail.com) on 2016-06-03T13:52:54Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_dis_apbaraújo.pdf: 1817784 bytes, checksum: 06c51bc19c1cf56e8616ef8f1feebdc1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-03T13:52:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_dis_apbaraújo.pdf: 1817784 bytes, checksum: 06c51bc19c1cf56e8616ef8f1feebdc1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / In the semi-arid part of Northeastern Brazil, the highest incidences of salinized areas are observed in land subjected to intense irrigated cultivation, in the “Perímetros Irrigados” (irrigated perimeters), particularly those where is used the surface method. The experiment was performed in the “Núcleo D” (D Core) of the “Perímetro Irrigado Curu-Pentecoste - Ce”. The research aimed at evaluating the effect of the subsoiling of the treated area combined with the application of chemical and biological treatments in the same area. Specifically, it aimed at evaluating the effect of the said combination (a) in the improvement of the hydraulic properties in the profile of the soil, (b) in the improvement of the productivity of the cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] of the Epace 11 cultivar and (c) in the indicators of profitability of the recovery of a sodic soil irrigated by furrows. We used a randomized complete block experimental design with five treatments and five replications. The treatments were T0: control, T1: 40 t ha-1 of organic matter, T2: 20 t ha-1 gypsum T3: 20 t ha-1 (gypsum) + 40 t ha-1 (MO) T4: 10 t ha-1 (gypsum) + 20 t ha-1 (MO). The results allowed the following conclusions: 1) The grain yield with the use of chemical enhancers was 120% higher than the productivity without those enhancers and 18% lower than the productivity (of the same cultivation) in soils without salinity problems. 2) The highest bean yields are associated with the largest values of water table depth, the increase in grain yield with the depth of the water table occurring at a rate increasing with the same depth. 3) The application of 20 t ha-1 gypsum and 40 t ha-1 Organic matter, no later than in the first year, reduced the percentage of exchangeable sodium in the soil, from an initial average above 50% to a convergent value of 2%. 4) The limitation on the elevation of the outflow of lateral drains indicate the necessity of the installation of an underground drainage system of the interception type, even if the average hydraulic gradient of the of groundwater flow is well below 1%. 5) The rate between the gross value of production generated by the cowpea crop and the cost of remediation of soil, shows that the the crop contributes with 12% of the cost of soil sodium remediation . 6) The recovery process shows a good feasibility at a rate of 12% per year and high viability at a rate of interest of 6% per year, revealing that at that rate all the investment will be recovered and paid, plus yelding an extra profit of R$ 5,328.85. / No Nordeste semi-árido, as maiores incidências de áreas salinizadas são observadas nas terras intensamente cultivadas com o uso da irrigação nos Perímetros Irrigados, sobretudo aqueles com o método por superfície. O experimento foi realizado no Núcleo D do Perímetro Irrigado Curu-Pentecoste - CE. A pesquisa teve como objetivo avaliar o efeito da subsolagem do solo associada com tratamentos químicos e biológicos, na melhoria das condições de transmissão de água no perfil do solo, de atributos físicos e químicos do solo, na produtividade do feijão-de-corda [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] cultivar Epace 11 além dos indicadores de rentabilidade da recuperação de um solo sódico irrigado por sulcos. Utilizou-se o delineamento experimental de blocos inteiramente casualizados com cinco tratamentos e cinco repetições. Os tratamentos foram T0: testemunha; T1: 40 t.ha-1 de matéria orgânica; T2: 20 t.ha-1 de gesso; T3: 20 t.ha-1 (gesso) +40 t.ha-1 (M.O); T4: 10 t.ha-1 (gesso) + 20 t.ha-1 (M.O). Os resultados permitiram as seguintes conclusões: 1. A produtividade do feijoeiro com o uso de melhoradores químicos foi superior em 120% à produtividade sem o uso destes melhoradores e inferior em 18% à produtividade da cultura em solos sem problemas de salinidade do Perímetro. 2. As maiores produtividades do feijoeiro estão associadas a maiores profundidades do lençol freático. O incremento de produtividade do feijoeiro com a profundidade do lençol freático ocorreu a uma taxa crescente. 3. A aplicação de 20 t.ha-1 de gesso e 40 t.ha-1 de matéria orgânica proporcionou já no primeiro ano, a redução da percentagem de sódio trocável do solo, inicialmente de um valor médio superior a 50% para um valor convergente de 2%. 4. Limitação quanto à cota de saída dos drenos laterais orientam para a instalação do sistema de drenagem subterrânea do tipo intercepção, embora os gradientes hidráulicos médios do movimento de água subterrânea sejam bem inferiores a 1%. 5. A taxa relacionada entre o valor bruto da produção gerado exclusivamente pela cultura do feijoeiro e o custo da recuperação do solo, demonstra que a renda gerada pela cultura contribui em 12% com o custo da recuperação do solo sódico. 6. O processo de recuperação demonstra uma boa viabilidade a uma taxa de 12% ao ano e alta viabilidade a uma taxa de juros de 6% ao ano, revelando que a essa taxa todo o investimento realizado será recuperado e remunerada e ainda um lucro extra igual a R$ 5.328,85.

Phenology studies recurrent periodic phenomena of plants and their relationship to environmental conditions. Monitoring forest ecosystems using digital cameras allows the study of several phenological events, such as leaf expansion or leaf fall. Since phenological phenomena are cyclic, the comparative analysis of successive years is capable of identifying interesting variation on annual patterns. However, the number of images collected rapidly gets significant since the goal is to compare data from several years. Instead of performing the analysis over images, experts prefer to use derived statistics (such as average values). We propose PhenoVis, a visual analytics tool that provides insightful ways to analyze phenological data. The main idea behind PhenoVis is the Chronological Percentage Maps (CPMs), a visual mapping that offers a summary view of one year of phenological data. CPMs are highly customizable, encoding more information about the images using a pre-defined histogram, a mapping function that translates histogram values into colors, and a normalized stacked bar chart to display the results. PhenoVis supports different color encodings, visual pattern analysis over CPMs, and similarity searches that rank vegetation patterns found at various time periods. Results for datasets comprising data of up to nine consecutive years show that PhenoVis is capable of finding relevant phenological patterns along time. Fenologia estuda os fenômenos recorrentes e periódicos que ocorrem com as plantas. Estes podem vir a ser relacionados com as condições ambientais. O monitoramento de florestas, através de câmeras, permite o estudo de eventos fenológicos como o crescimento e queda de folhas. Uma vez que os fenômenos fenológicos são cíclicos, análises comparativas de anos sucessivos podem identificar variações interessantes no comportamento destes. No entanto, o número de imagens cresce rapidamente para que sejam comparadas lado a lado. PhenoVis é uma ferramenta para análise visual que apresenta formas para analisar dados fenológicos através de comparações estatísticas (preferência dos especialistas) derivadas dos valores dos pixels destas imagens. A principal ideia por trás de PhenoVis são os mapas percentuais cronológicos (CPMs), um mapeamento visual com uma visão resumida de um período de um ano de dados fenológicos. CPMs são personalizáveis e conseguem representar mais informações sobre as imagens do que um gráfico de linha comum. Isto é possível pois o processo envolve o uso de histogramas pré-definidos, um mapeamento que transforma valores em cores e um empilhamento dos mapas de percentagem que visa a criação da CPM. PhenoVis suporta diferentes codificações de cores e análises de padrão visual sobre as CPMs. Pesquisas de similaridade ranqueiam padrões parecidos encontrados nos diferentes anos. Dados de até nove anos consecutivos mostram que PhenoVis é capaz de encontrar padrões fenológicos relevantes ao longo do tempo.

Magister Scientiae (Biodiversity and Conservation Biology) - MSc (Biodiv & Cons Biol) / Fire as a form of disturbance is unique in the way it impacts upon the environment, acting like a herbivore with a ubiquitous appetite. Consuming both dead and living material, converting complex organic molecules into organic and mineral products, which return to the soil. The role of disturbance has long been considered a driver of diversity within Mediterranean type ecosystems. Recently the interest in soil microbes has been piqued, as the importance thereof has been emphasised, particularly their role in nutrient cycling and the chelation of essential plant nutrients. The occurrence of fire results in several environmental and ecological impacts on soil, as well as the dynamics of the microbial populations present. This study explores the impact of fire as a disturbance on the plant and bulk soil microbial communities of the Succulent Karoo. This was achieved through two sub-studies, in which three different states were studied: unburnt, 7-year and 2-year post-fire. Today microbial profiles are also used as indicators of disturbance, thus many techniques exploring microbial community composition are available.