In this thesis we analyze the macroeconomic impact of the tsunami in 2004 on the Sri Lankan economy. The theoretical framework we use, the Australian model of a developing economy, gives direct or indirect predictions for the development of a number of variables after a natural disaster. In our case, we believe that the main reason for developments of the output variables and the exchange rate is the extraordinary large and rapid inflow of foreign aid money. In summary, we find the overall impact of the tsunami on the Sri Lankan economy to be minor.

Post­Keynesian economists state that there is a direct relationship between balance­-of­-payments and economic growth. Anthony Thirlwall, in particular, has formulated a model which defines the balance­-of­-payments equilibrium growth rate that would allow the economy to grow in the long­-run sustainably without deteriorating their external balance or entering major debts. The purpose of this study is to investigate to what extent Thirlwall's law applies to historical data from the Bulgarian economy.

Seniors are a growing segment of the population of the United States. By 2030 they will make up nearly 20% of the general population. Senior citizens face many health challenges as they age. Injury due to falling is a major concern for many in this age group. Research shows that approximately one third of seniors will fall each year. Injuries that result from falls have been identified as the number one cause of accidental death in this age group each year. While falls have been studied by researchers for a number of years, and some progress has been made in finding ways to improve balance in seniors, the high incidence of falls continues to plague this demographic. Many of the current treatments to improve balance are too expensive, not accessible, or not motivating for seniors. This research project explored the effect of using a readily available video-game system to address these barriers. The Wii Fit gaming system was used with participants three times each week for 30 minutes and the resulting changes were documented. The Berg Balance Scale and Timed Up and Go test, both frequently used by professionals to assess balance in seniors, were used to document balance change. Every participant showed improvement. The Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale, which is used to measure a person's fear of falling, was also used to assess the participant's confidence in their balance as well as the level of fear associated with falling. The results of this test were positive but not to the extent of the balance tests. Finally, each participant was interviewed to assess how easy to use the participants felt the Wii Fit was as well as the motivational qualities of the Wii Fit as a balance tool. Answers given by the participants in the interview were generally positive. These results indicate that the Wii Fit gaming system may be beneficial for improving balance in seniors.

La première partie de ce manuscrit (chapitres 1 à 3) regroupe l'ensemble de mes travaux relatifs à la métrologie dimensionnelle à l'échelle du nanomètre. Après avoir donné une vue générale de l'instrumentation interférométrique utilisée dans ce domaine et montré leurs limites, je présente la réalisation d'un interféromètre elllipsométrique et d'un lambdamètre optique. Les résultats expérimentaux ont montré la possibilité d'atteindre une résolution de 10 pm sur une étendue de mesures macroscopique pour l'interféromètre et une exactitude de 10⁻⁶ en valeur relative sur la longueur d'onde avec notre lambdamètre pour un déplacement du miroir mobile de seulement 4 μm au lieu de 150 mm pour le schéma conventionnel. La seconde partie du manuscrit (chapitres 4 à 6) regroupe l'ensemble de mes travaux relatifs à la métrologie des masses. Après une description du projet national de la Balance du Watt dont l'objectif vise une redéfinition du Kilogramme, je reporte les travaux portant sur la réalisation d'un capteur polarimétrique sensible à la direction radiale du champ magnétique de l'aimant permanent composant la balance du watt du LNME et d'un inclinomètre interférométrique pour la matérialisation de l'axe gravitationnel terrestre.

We have developed a regional mass balance model for the St. Lawrence River near Cornwall, Ontario that describes the fate and transport of mercury in three forms, elemental mercury (Hg0), divalent mercury (Hg2+), and methyl mercury (MeHg), in a five compartment environment (air, water, sediments, periphyton, and benthos). Our first objective was to construct a steady-state mass balance model to determine the dominant sources and sinks of mercury in this environment. Our second objective was to construct a dynamic mass balance model to predict and hindcast mercury concentrations in this environment. We compiled mercury concentrations, fluxes, and transformation rates from previous studies completed in this section of the river to develop the model in STELLA®. The inflow of mercury was the major source to this system, accounting for 0.42 mol month-1, or 95.5% of all mercury inputs, whereas outflow was 0.28 mol month-1, or 63.6% of all losses, and sediment deposition was 0.12 mol month-1, or 27.3% of all losses. The dynamic mass balance model provides estimated results that are consistent with measured data and predicts historical local industrial emissions to be approximately 400 kg year-1. Uncertainty estimates were greatest for advective fluxes in surface water, porewater, periphyton, and benthic invertebrates. This model is useful for predicting and hindcasting mercury concentrations in other aquatic environments because it contains the three main environmental compartments, all forms of mercury, and compartments (e.g. periphyton) not included in previous mercury multi-media models.

Thermoregulation is considered a top priority in neonatology due to the fact that relative to adults, neonates have a morphological susceptibility to excessive heat exchange with the environment, and exhibit limited physiological/behavioural responses to thermal strain. Consequently, the environmental conditions in which they are nursed must be tightly regulated to maintain body temperature stable. Neonatal intensive care units (NICU) use radiant warmers (RW) to thermally manage many newborns. However, recent evidence suggests that RW induce intermittent bouts of thermal strain that could adversely affect patients. This warrants further investigation of neonatal heat balance and the pertinent factors affecting it. Conducting an exhaustive audit of heat exchanges affecting the body during standard care under a RW could yield important information that would lead to the improvement of clinical practice in NICUs. The present thesis focuses on neonatal thermoregulatory responses, various body heat exchange mechanisms and processes during standard care under RW.

Purpose: The primary purpose of this project was to determine the effect of aquatic exercise and aquatic exercise combined with an education group program on decreasing both psychosocial and physical fall risk factors in community-dwelling older adults with hip osteoarthritis (OA). Secondary purposes were to 1) describe fall risk, history and nature of falls and near-falls in older adults with hip OA, 2) determine the association of the timed up and go test (TUG) to history of falls and near-falls, 4) explore the relationship of both psychosocial and physical factors to history of falls and near-falls, and 5) evaluate the role of falls-efficacy in predicting balance performance. Methods: Participants were recruited from the community and screened for presence of hip osteoarthritis and fall risk. Baseline fall history and a battery of measures for balance, muscle strength, functional ability and falls-efficacy were administered. Participants were then randomly assigned to one of three groups: Aquatic Exercise, Aquatic Exercise and Education or a Control Group. The interventions were twice per week for 11 weeks. Fall risk factors were measured after 11 weeks. Study 1 described history of falls and near-falls and evaluated the association of the TUG screening test with fall and near-fall history. Study 2 summarized the relationships of physical and psychosocial fall risk factors and identified the primary predictors of fall risk, based on associations with fall history. Study 3 evaluated the randomized controlled clinical trial comparing the impact of the interventions (aquatic exercise and education) on fall risk outcomes. Results: Older adults with hip OA reported a high frequency of falls and near-falls. The TUG, using a cut-off score of 10 sec., was associated with frequent near-fall history. There was a strong association of frequent near-falls to history of actual falls, with the association increasing 7-fold if lower falls-efficacy was present. Falls-efficacy was also an independent predictor of balance impairment. Screening for history of near-falls and falls-efficacy may be important in predicting risk of future falls. The combination of Aquatic Exercise and Education improved falls-efficacy and functional mobility compared to Aquatic Exercise only or no intervention. Aquatic Exercise on its own was not effective in decreasing fall risk factors or improving falls-efficacy. Significance of Findings: The accumulation of both physical and psychosocial risk factors in older adults with hip OA increases their vulnerability to falls and injury. Fall prevention programs for this population should be designed to include both exercise and education to address falls-efficacy and physical fall risk factors.

Metabolism in cancer cells is adapted to meet the proliferative needs of these cells, with notable changes such as enhanced lactate secretion and glucose uptake rates. In this work, we use the Ensemble Modeling (EM) framework to gain insight and predict potential drug targets for tumor cells. A metabolic network consisting of 58 reactions is considered which accounts for glycolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway, lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and includes allosteric regulation. Experimentally measured metabolite concentrations are used for developing the ensemble of models along with information on established drug targets. The resulting models predicted transaldolase (TALA) and succinate-CoA ligase (SUCOAS1m) to display a significant reduction in growth rate when repressed relative to currently known drug targets. Furthermore, the synergetic repression of transaldolase and glycine hydroxymethyltransferase (GHMT2r) showed a three fold decrease in growth rate compared to the repression of single enzyme targets.

Metabolism in cancer cells is adapted to meet the proliferative needs of these cells, with notable changes such as enhanced lactate secretion and glucose uptake rates. In this work, we use the Ensemble Modeling (EM) framework to gain insight and predict potential drug targets for tumor cells. A metabolic network consisting of 58 reactions is considered which accounts for glycolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway, lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and includes allosteric regulation. Experimentally measured metabolite concentrations are used for developing the ensemble of models along with information on established drug targets. The resulting models predicted transaldolase (TALA) and succinate-CoA ligase (SUCOAS1m) to display a significant reduction in growth rate when repressed relative to currently known drug targets. Furthermore, the synergetic repression of transaldolase and glycine hydroxymethyltransferase (GHMT2r) showed a three fold decrease in growth rate compared to the repression of single enzyme targets.

Denna rapport har undersökt om game metrics genom heat maps kan användas för att hitta en choke point i en bana gjord till spelet Team Fortress 2. Game metrics och kvantitativa  metoder  erbjuder  ett  objektivt  och  nästan  automatiserat  alternativ  till kvalitativa metoder när det kommer till balansering. En bana har konstruerats med en choke point och har speltestats för att generera en heat map. För att undersöka om det går att hitta en choke point med hjälp av en heat map så har en enkät gjorts där respondenter   bads   hitta   choke   pointen   med   hjälp   av   den   heat   mapen   som genererades från speltestningen av banan. Alla respondenter lyckades hitta mitten av choke  pointen  med  hjälp  av  heat  mapen.  I  framtiden  skulle  arbetet  kunna  utökas genom  att  undersöka  om  användandet  av  bottar  eventuellt  skulle  helt  kunna automatisera  balanseringsprocessen.  Det  skulle  också  gå  att  undersöka  hur  olika klasser rör sig i en bana.