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A performance analysis of three different Minimax control charts is performed with respect to their Chi-Square control chart counterparts under several different conditions. A unique control chart must be constructed for each process described by a unique combination of quality characteristic mean vector and associated covariance matrix. The three different charts under consideration differ in the number of quality characteristic variables of concern. In each case, without loss of generality the in-control quality characteristic mean vector is assumed to have zero entries and the associated covariance matrix is assumed to have non-negative entries. The performance of the Chi-Square and Minimax charts are compared under different values of the sample size, the probability of a Type I error, and selected shifts in the quality characteristic mean vector. Minimax and Chi-Square charts that are compared share identical in-control average run lengths (ARL) making the out-of-control ARL the appropriate performance measure. A combined Tausworthe pseudorandom number generator is used to generate the out-of-control mean vectors. Issues regarding multivariate uniform pseudorandom number generation are addressed. / Master of Science

BACKGROUND: Both endo- and ectoparasites pose a great challenge to the health of pigs worldwide, placing a significant burden on low-resource countries where veterinary care is minimal. As part of a larger clinical trial assessing the use of ivermectin (IVM) mass drug administration to humans and pigs for the control of malaria vectors in the Mopeia district in Mozambique, a longitudinal study to assess the impact of IVM administration on pig health was performed. METHODS: Beginning in March 2022, IVM was administered to pigs in the intervention area once a month for three consecutive months. Seventy pigs from the treatment group and 70 pigs from the control group were randomly selected for inclusion in the study. Fecal samples were collected monthly for three months and analyzed for the presence of strongyle eggs, strongyle eggs in the larval stage (strongyles – larval) and Ascaris suum using the modified McMaster test. Fecal samples were also collected two weeks after each dose of IVM was given to pigs in the treatment group for determination of a fecal egg reduction count. Juvenile pigs were measured twice a month for the first 3 months of the study, then once monthly for another three months. Visual exam for ectoparasites was performed on all pigs for the presence of ticks, lice or scabies at the same time points. RESULTS: Overall, 55% [95% CI: 48-62%] of pigs were positive for Ascaris suum, 95.2% [95% CI: 91-98%] were positive for strongyle eggs, and 72.5% [95% CI: 65.5-79%] were positive for strongyle – larval. A significant difference in the ivermectin treatment group was only seen one month after the second dose of ivermectin was administered: pigs in the treatment group had a 23.6% lower prevalence of strongyles (p = 0.003) and 18% lower prevalence of strongyles – larval (p = 0.03). Pigs in the treatment group also had lower EPG for Ascaris suum (diff = 102 EPG; p = 0.006), strongyles (diff = 642 EPG; p < 0.001), and strongyles - larval (diff = 217 EPG; p < 0.001). Analysis of covariance regression found no significant difference(P>0.05) in average daily weight gain (ADG) between the treatment and control groups. CONCLUSION: IVM delivered once monthly for three months has a small impact on pig health. To counteract the multiple health challenges pigs face in these settings, different dosing schedules along with education on husbandry issues related to nutrition and sanitation should be investigated in order to maximize impact on pig health. / Master of Science / A study was conducted in rural Mozambique in the district of Mopeia to determine the effectiveness of ivermectin against common parasites of swine when administered to pigs. The study began in March of 2022, at the beginning of rainy season, and ivermectin was given to pigs once a month for three months. Pigs were visited twice a month for the first three months, and then once a month for another three months. At various time points, fecal samples were collected, pigs were examined for evidence of ectoparasites (ticks, lice and scabies infestation), and young pigs were measured to determine their rate of growth. Fecal samples were analyzed for the presence of common internal parasites (endoparasites) affecting pigs in the area. The burden of endo and ectoparasites was estimated before any ivermectin was administered, and then compared in treated and untreated pigs over the course of the study. Similarly, the effect of ivermectin on growth rates in young animals was determined. The results of this study found that there was a high burden of common endoparasites in pigs in the Mopeia district, which was only minimally affected by the use of ivermectin delivered once a month. Among the treated pigs, a fecal egg count reduction test suggests that these parasites are potentially resistant to ivermectin, although other issues may be responsible for these results. The burden of ectoparasites was generally low (<10%), with ivermectin only significantly reducing the prevalence of ticks. Young animals that received ivermectin had a 15% increase in their growth rate, but this was not statistically significant. In conclusion, the use of ivermectin once a month for three months in pigs, as part of a malaria intervention, has some minimal positive health effects on treated pigs. Given the poor management practices, poor nutrition and lack of veterinary care in these pigs, it is likely that to have a greater impact on pig health, ivermectin will need to be delivered under a different dosing schedule and alongside owner education on pig management practices.

Multi-pulse transformer/rectifier systems are becoming increasingly popular in power distribution systems. These topologies can be found in aircraft power systems, motor drives, and other applications that require low total harmonic distortion (THD) of the input line current. This increase in the use of multi-pulse transformer topologies has led to the need to study large systems composed of said units and their interactions within the system. There is also an interest in developing small-signal models so that stability issues can be studied. This thesis presents a procedure for the average model of multi-pulse transformer/rectifier topologies. The dq rotating reference frame was used to develop the average model and parameter estimation is incorporated through the use of polynomial fits. The average model is composed of nonlinear dependent sources and linear passive components. A direct benefit from this approach is a reduction in simulation time by two orders of magnitude. The average model concept demonstrates that it accurately predicts the dynamics of the system being studied. In particular, two specific topologies are studied, the 12-pulse hexagon transformer/rectifier (hex t/r) and the 18-pulse autotransformer rectifier unit (ATRU). In both cases, detailed switching model results are used to verify the operation of the average model. In the case of the hex t/r, the average model is further validated with experimental data from an 11 kVA prototype. The hex t/r output impedance, obtained from the linearized average model, has also been verified experimentally. / Master of Science

A precision biotic (PB) in standard and reduced CP diets, and a protease (PRO) used alone and in combination with PB in the reduced CP diet were evaluated. Effects on performance, digestibility, and blood biomarkers were determined in Dekalb White hens from 24 to 42 weeks of age. Nine diets were fed: 1) a standard diet with a 17.5% formulated CP level (T1); 2) T1 with 500ppm PB (T2); 3) T1 with 700ppm PB (T3); 4) a reduced CP diet with a 15.5% formulated CP level (T4); 5) T4 with 500ppm PB (T5); 6) T4 with 700ppm PB (T6); 7) T4 with 33g/MT PRO (T7); 8) T4 with 33g/MT PRO and 500ppm PB (T8); and 9) T4 with 33g/MT PRO and 700ppm PB (T9). There were no overall differences for feed conversion, but the response of T9 over time suggests longer periods may result in improved feed conversion.

No / Background: Phylogenetic studies of bacteria have been based so far either on a single gene (usually the 16SrRNA) or on concatenated housekeeping genes. For what concerns the genus Mycobacterium these approaches support the separation of rapidly and slowly growing species and the clustering of most species in well-defined phylogenetic groups. The advent of high-throughput shotgun sequencing leads us to revise conventional tax-onomy of mycobacteria on the light of genomic data. For this purpose we investigated 88 newly sequenced species in addition to 60 retrieved from GenBank and used the Average Nucleotide Identity pairwise scores to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships within this genus.Results:Our analysis confirmed the separation of slow and rapid growers and the intermediate position occupied by the M. terrae complex. Among the rapid growers, the species of the M. chelonae-abscessus complex belonged to the most ancestral cluster. Other major clades of rapid growers included the species related to M. fortuitum and M. smegmatis and a large grouping containing mostly environmental species rarely isolated from humans. The members of the M. terrae complex appeared as the most ancestral slow growers. Among slow growers two deep branches led to the clusters of species related to M. celatum and M. xenopi and to a large group harboring most of the species more frequently responsible of disease in humans, including the major pathogenic mycobacteria (M.tuberculosis,M. leprae,M. ulcerans). The species previously grouped in the M. simiae complex were allocated in a number of sub-clades; of them, only the one including the species M. simiae identified the real members of this complex. The other clades included also species previously not considered related to M. simiae. The ANI analysis,in most cases supported by Genome to Genome Distance and by Genomic Signature-Delta Difference, showed that a number of species with standing in literature were indeed synonymous.Conclusions:Genomic data revealed to be much more informative in comparison with phenotype. We believe that the genomic revolution enabled by high-throughput shotgun sequencing should now be considered in order to revise the conservative approaches still informing taxonomic sciences.

Resumo: O objetivo deste trabalho é a análise numérica e experimental de escoamento viscoso, incompressível, permanente, com transferência de calor, em um canal estreito contendo um arranjo de obstáculos retangulares. A análise experimental envolveu determinação de coeficiente de transferência de calor médio bem como o número de Nusselt médio e medidas de temperatura em esteira térmica para comparação com os resultados obtidos por simulação numérica. Para a análise numérica usamos o programa comercial de mecânica dos fluidos e transferência de calor computacional ICEPAK®. Verificamos que quanto mais adentro o obstáculo estiver no arranjo maior é a transferência de calor por convecção forçada. Determinamos coeficientes de transferência de calor médio e número de Nusselt médio (com incerteza entre 6 e 15%) e verificamos que o efeito da posição diminui à medida que a velocidade aumenta. Concluímos também que ambos os modelos de turbulência utilizados, k-ε padrão e k-ε RNG, foram incapazes de predizer o efeito da posição apropriadamente. Entretanto, o modelo k-ε RNG apresentou melhor comportamento, pois o seu uso resultou em soluções com valores de temperatura intermediários aos experimentais / Abstract: The purpose of this work is the study of the numerical and experimental viscous incompressible steady flow with heat transfer into a narrow channel containing a rectangular array of obstacles. The experimental approach involves determining the coefficient of heat transfer and temperature measurements in thermal wake for comparison with the results obtained in numerical simulations. For the numerical analysis we use the commercial program of fluid mechanics and heat transfer computational ICEPAK™. We confirmed that in the last lines of the array the biggest is the heat transfer by forced convection. We determined the average heat transfer coefficients (with uncertainty between 6 and 15%) and found that the effect of the position decreases as flow speed increases. We use in the simulations the k-ε turbulence model and the k-ε RNG turbulence model. We conclude that both turbulence models used were unable to predict the effect of the position properly. However, the k-ε RNG model showed better behavior. The numerical temperatures with this model were consistent to the experimental temperature / Orientador: João Batista Campos Silva / Coorientador: Amarildo Tabone Paschoalini / Coorientador: Marcio Antonio Bazani / Banca: Ricardo Alan Verdú Ramos / Banca: Marcio Higa / Mestre

Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) data in the transportation industry today is an important tool used in various fields such as highway planning, pavement design, traffic safety, transport operations, and policy-making/analyses. Systematic literature review was used to identify the current methods of estimating AADT and ranked. Ordinary linear kriging occurred most. Also, factors that influence the accuracy of AADT estimation methods as identified include geographical location and road type amongst others. In addition, further analysis was carried out to determine the most apposite kriging algorithm for AADT data. Three linear (universal, ordinary, and simple), three nonlinear (disjunctive, probability, and indicator) and bayesian (empirical bayesian) kriging methods were compared. Spherical and exponential models were employed as the experimental variograms to aid the spatial interpolation and cross-validation. Statistical measures of correctness (mean prediction and root-mean-square errors) were used to compare the kriging algorithms. Empirical bayesian with exponential model yielded the best result.

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In this thesis we develop methods for dealing with missing data in a univariate response variable when estimating regression parameters. Missing outcome data is a problem in a number of applications, one of which is follow-up studies. In follow-up studies data is collected at two (or more) occasions, and it is common that only some of the initial participants return at the second occasion. This is the case in Paper II, where we investigate predictors of decline in self reported health in older populations in Sweden, the Netherlands and Italy. In that study, around 50% of the study participants drop out. It is common that researchers rely on the assumption that the missingness is independent of the outcome given some observed covariates. This assumption is called data missing at random (MAR) or ignorable missingness mechanism. However, MAR cannot be tested from the data, and if it does not hold, the estimators based on this assumption are biased. In the study of Paper II, we suspect that some of the individuals drop out due to bad health. If this is the case the data is not MAR. One alternative to MAR, which we pursue, is to incorporate the uncertainty due to missing data into interval estimates instead of point estimates and uncertainty intervals instead of confidence intervals. An uncertainty interval is the analog of a confidence interval but wider due to a relaxation of assumptions on the missing data. These intervals can be used to visualize the consequences deviations from MAR have on the conclusions of the study. That is, they can be used to perform a sensitivity analysis of MAR. The thesis covers different types of linear regression. In Paper I and III we have a continuous outcome, in Paper II a binary outcome, and in Paper IV we allow for mixed effects with a continuous outcome. In Paper III we estimate the effect of a treatment, which can be seen as an example of missing outcome data.