Thesis (MScEng (Industrial Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Several studies have shown that abnormal returns can be generated simply by buying past winning stocks and selling past losing stocks. Being able to predict future price behaviour by past price movements represents a direct challenge to the Efficient Market Hypothesis, a centrepiece of contemporary finance. Fund managers have attempted to exploit this effect, but reliable footage of the performance of such funds is very limited. Several academic studies have documented the presence of the momentum effect across different markets and between different periods. These studies employ trading rules that might be helpful to establish whether the momentum effect is present in a market or not, but have limited practical value as they ignore several practical constraints. The number of shares in the portfolios formed by academic studies is often impractical. Some studies (e.g. Conrad & Kaul, 1998) require holding a certain percentage of every share in the selection universe, resulting in an extremely large number of shares in the portfolios. Others create portfolios with as little as three shares (e.g. Rey & Schmid, 2005) resulting in portfolios that are insufficiently diversified. All academic studies implicitly require extremely high portfolio turnover rates that could cause transaction costs to dissipate momentum profits and lead the returns of such strategies to be taxed at an investor’s income tax rate rather than her capital gains tax rate. Depending on the tax jurisdiction within which the investor resides these tax ramifications could represent a tax difference of more than 10 percent, an amount that is unlikely to be recovered by any investment strategy. Critics of studies documenting positive alpha argue that momentum returns may be due to statistical biases such as data mining or due to risk factors not effectively captured by the standard CAPM. The empirical tests conducted in this study were therefore carefully designed to avoid every factor that could compromise the results and hinder a meaningful interpretation of the results. For example, small-caps were excluded to avoid the small firm effect from influencing the results and the tests were conducted on two different samples to avoid data mining from being a possible driver. Previous momentum studies generally used long/short strategies. It was found, however, that momentum strategies generally picked short positions in volatile and illiquid stocks, making it difficult to effectively estimate the transaction costs involved with holding such positions. For this reason it was chosen to test a long-only strategy. Three different strategies were tested on a sample of JSE mid-and large-caps on a replicated S&P500 index between January 2000 and September 2009. All strategies yielded positive abnormal returns and the null hypothesis that feasible momentum strategies cannot generate statistically significant abnormal returns could be rejected at the 5 percent level of significance for all three strategies on the JSE sample. However, further analysis showed that the momentum profits were far more pronounced in “up” markets than in “down” markets, leaving macroeconomic risk as a possible explanation for the vast returns generated by the strategy. There was ample evidence for the January anomaly being a possible driver behind the momentum returns derived from the S&P500 sample. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Verskillende studies het gewys dat abnormale winste geskep kan word deur eenvoudig voormalige wenner aandele te koop en voormalige verloorder aandele te verkoop. Die moontlikheid om toekomstige prysgedrag te voorspel deur na prysbewegings uit die verlede te kyk is ‘n direkte uitdaging teen die “Efficient Market Hypothesis”, wat ’n kernstuk van hedendaagse finansies is. Fondsbestuurders het gepoog om hierdie effek te benut, maar akademiese ondersteuning vir die gedrag van sulke fondse is uiters beperk. Verskeie akademiese studies het die teenwoordigheid van die momentum effek in verskillende markte en oor verskillende periodes uitgewys. Hierdie akademiese studies benut handelsreëls wat gebruik kan word om te bepaal of die momentum effek wel in die mark teenwordig is al dan nie, maar is van beperkte waarde aangesien hulle verskeie praktiese beperkings ignoreer. Sommige studies (Conrad & Kaul, 1998) vereis dat 'n sekere persentasie van elke aandeel in die seleksie-universum gehou moet word, wat in oormatige groot aantal aandele in die portefeulle tot gevolg het. Ander skep portefeuljes met so min as drie aandele (Rey & Schmid, 2005), wat resulteer in onvoldoende gediversifiseerde portefeuljes. Die hooftekortkoming van alle akademiese studies is dat hulle portefeulleomsetverhoudings van hoër as 100% vereis wat daartoe sal lei dat winste uit sulke strategieë teen die belegger se inkomstebelastingskoers belas sal word in plaas van haar kapitaalaanwinskoers. Afhangende van die belastingsjurisdiksie waaronder die belegger val, kan hierdie belastingseffek meer as 10% beloop, wat nie maklik deur enige belegginsstrategie herwin kan word nie. Kritici van studies wat abnormale winste dokumenteer beweer dat sulke winste ‘n gevolg kan wees van statistiese bevooroordeling soos die myn van data, of as gevolg van risikofaktore wat nie effektief deur die standaard CAPM bepaal word nie. Die empiriese toetse is dus sorgvuldig ontwerp om enige faktor uit te skakel wat die resultate van hierdie studie sal kan bevraagteken en ‘n betekenisvolle interpretasie van die resultate kan verhinder. Die toetse sluit byvoorbeeld sogenaamde “small-caps” uit om die klein firma effek uit te skakel, en die toetse is verder op twee verskillende monsters uitgevoer om myn van data as ‘n moontlke dryfveer vir die resultate uit te skakel. Normaalweg toets akademiese studies lang/ kort nulkostestrategieë. Dit is gevind dat momentum strategieë oor die algemeen kort posisies kies in vlugtige en nie-likiede aandele, wat dit moeilik maak om die geassosieerde transaksiekoste effektief te bepaal. Daar is dus besluit om ’n “lang-alleenlik” strategie te toets. Drie verskillende strategieë is getoets op ‘n steekproef van JSE “mid-caps” en “large-caps” en op ‘n gerepliseerde S&P500 index tussen Januarie 2000 en September 2009. Alle strategieë het positiewe abnormale winste opgelewer, en die nul hipotese dat momentum strategieë geen statisties beduidende abnormale winste kan oplewer kon op die 5% vlak van beduidendheid vir al drie strategieë van die JSE monster verwerp word. Verdere analiese het wel getoon dat momentumwinste baie meer opvallend vertoon het in opwaartse markte as in afwaartse markte, wat tot die gevolgtrekking kan lei dat makro-ekonomiese risiko ‘n moontlike verklaring kan wees. Daar was genoegsaam bewyse vir die Januarie effek as ‘n moontlike dryfveer agter die momentum-winste in die S&P500 monster.

La traite des esclaves à Madagascar a provoqué de changements importants tout au long du XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, aussi bien sur le plan politique, qu’économique et social. Les Néerlandais et les Français, présents à la colonie du Cap et aux Mascareignes étaient des acteurs de taille dans ces interactions commerciales complexes et symboliques. Des transformations sont perceptibles dès les premiers contacts, non seulement au sein des grands royaumes sakalava et betsimisaraka mais également jusqu’aux régions les plus recluses. Pourtant, les relations commerciales se complexifient dans la longue durée. En effet, une certaine continuité est identifiable sur toute la période étudiée. Le commerce maritime qui jouait un rôle primordial dans ces développements, concernait riz, bétail et captifs échangés contre piastres, armes à feu et toiles. Il a bouleversé la balance des pouvoirs et l’économie de la Grande Île. Le volume de la traite, calculé à partir de centaines d’expéditions néerlandaise et française, était déjà très substantiel avant le milieu du XVIIIe siècle. / The slave trade on Madagascar provoked important changes in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, both politically, economically and socially. The Dutch and the French, present on Cape Colony and the Mascarene Islands, were important players in these commercial, but complex and symbolic, interactions. The transformations are detectable from the first contact onwards, not only in the great kingdoms of Sakalava and Betsimisaraka but also in the most secluded areas. However, commercial relations complexified in the longue durée. Indeed, a certain continuity is identifiable during this entire period. The maritime commerce, which played a primary role in these developments, concerned rice, cattle and slaves bartered for Spanish dollars, firearms and textiles. The slave trade disturbed the balance of powers and the economy of the Big Island. The volume of the trade, calculated from hundreds expeditions done by the Dutch and the French, was already very substantial before the middle of the eighteenth century.

Cette thèse part de l’idée de l’espace comme instrument pour la pensée et l’action formulée par Henri Lefebvre dans les années 1970, afin de comprendre les liens entre citadinité et citoyenneté dans la ville du Cap, en Afrique du Sud. Elle analyse la démocratisation du gouvernement local à travers la création de nouvelles circonscriptions électorales aux ambitions participatives : les wards. L’étude se concentre sur le ward 44 qui réunit des territoires autrefois divisés par l’apartheid. Une immersion dans la vie quotidienne de différentes familles révèle les mécanismes d’une gouvernementalité communautaire où la légitimité politique individuelle est indissociable de l’expérience citadine partagée.La thèse est complétée par un DVD qui présente seize séquences vidéos, entre récits de vie, situations du quotidien et moments forts de la vie de quartier. Les tactiques pragmatiques déployées au jour le jour par les citadins pauvres apparaissent alors dans leur complexité. Elles s’adaptent aux réformes institutionnelles en cours, tout en en conditionnant l’application au niveau micro-local. En fin de compte, la résistance aux inégalités spatiales passe donc par la figure de citadins-citoyens qui inventent jour après jour ce que pourrait être le droit à la ville en Afrique du Sud. / The present work takes as its starting point the idea of space as an instrument for thought and action, as formulated by Henri Lefebvre in the 1970s, as a means to understand the relationship between city life and citizenship in Cape Town, South Africa. It analyses the democratization of local government through the creation of new electoral circumscriptions, which aim to facilitate public participation: the wards. The study focuses on ward 44, which brings together territories formerly divided by apartheid. The immersion in the daily lives of various families highlights the mechanisms of a community-based governmentality, where individual political legitimacy is intertwined with the shared experience of the city.The PhD comes with a DVD comprising sixteen video excerpts of life narratives, scenes of daily life and neighbourhood events. The pragmatic tactics that urban residents deploy on a daily basis thus reveal their full complexity. They not only adjust to on-going institutional reforms, they also condition the very implementation of these reforms. Eventually, the resistance to spatial inequalities is carried out through the figure of the “citadins-citoyens”, the “urban citizen” who on a daily basis invents what could be the right to the city in South Africa.

Les biopuces connaissent un grand essor depuis quelques années avec des applications possibles pour l’ADN, les protéines et les oligosaccharides. Une puce à oligosaccharides présente des difficultés par rapport à une puce à ADN notamment par les contraintes en température et il existe moins de travaux dans ce domaine. Ce travail est donc consacré à l’étude d’une puce à oligosaccharide, par synthèse supportée et par masquage avec un film de polymère. Le procédé de fabrications est particulièrement détaillé.Nous étudions tout d’abord expérimentalement la formation d’un film de polymère obtenu par évaporation d’une goutte de solution polymérique sur une surface structurée chimiquement(zone de mouillabilité différente) en suivant son évolution transitoire. Nous montrons que ce type de surface hétérogène est particulièrement adapté pour la fabrication de biopuces.D’autre part, nous réalisons un modèle numérique de l’évaporation d’une goutte de solution polymérique sur une surface chauffée à partir de la méthode de la lubrification et d’un modèle de « hauteur de résine ». Les résultats expérimentaux et de simulation numérique sont comparés et montrent un bon accord qualitatif sur la forme des films de polymères résultant de l’évaporation.Dans ce travail, la synthèse supportée de biopuces à oligosaccharide est menée à bien en utilisant des polymères et des surfaces judicieusement choisies. En particulier, la technique de masquage par film de polymère se révèle être très bien adaptée pour protéger les oligomères à la fois à hautes et à très basses températures. / Biochips are experiencing recently a great success with possible applications for DNA,proteins and oligosaccharides. An oligosaccharide chip presents difficulties compared to aDNA chip because of the many temperature constraints and less work has been performed inthis area. This work is devoted to the study of a oligosaccharide chip fabricated par supportedsynthesis and protected with a polymer film. The manufacturing process is particularlydetailed.We first examine experimentally the formation of a polymer film obtained by evaporation of adrop of polymer solution on a chemically structured surface (zone of different wettability) byfollowing its transient evolution. We show that this type of heterogeneous surface isparticularly suitable for manufacturing biochips. On the other hand, we propose a numericalmodel of the evaporation of a drop of polymer solution on a heated surface using thelubrication method and a “height of resin”. The experimental results and numericalsimulations are compared and show good qualitative agreement on the shape of the polymerfilms obtained after evaporation.In this work, the supported synthesis of oligosaccharide microarrays was carried out usingpolymers and surfaces which have been carefully chosen in preliminary testing. In particular,the masking technique using polymer film turns out to be highly suitable for protectingoligomers at both high and very low temperatures.

Depuis plus de 30 ans, la Colombie construit sa politique de préservation des espèces faunistiques et de lutte contre le trafic illégal de ces espèces. Ce cadre institutionnel national s’est vu renforcé par la ratification de la convention CITES (Convention sur le commerce international des espèces de la flore et de la faune sauvages menacées d’extinction) en 1981. Pourtant, ce cadre institutionnel ne suffit pas à infléchir sur le trafic illégal des tortues marines en Colombie. L’analyse des failles du mode de régulation de type « commande et contrôle » montre les limites de l’intervention de l’Etat comme seul modèle possible à gérer le trafic illicite de tortues marines. D’où ma proposition de concevoir et mettre en place un mécanisme de quotas négociables de tortues marines décroissants dans le temps, renforcé par arrangements contractuels. Cette thèse a pour objectif de comparer l’efficacité de ces deux modes de gouvernance à réduire le trafic illégal de tortues marines, du point de vue la performance environnementale, de l’efficacité économique et de l’équité sociale. J’ai évalué les coûts de transactions pour démontrer que la variation dans la structure des coûts de transactions et la distribution de ces coûts auprès des acteurs concernés influent sur la performance finale du cadre institutionnel. Une analyse coûts-avantage a été réalisée pour justifier d’un changement institutionnel, en complément de l’analyse des coûts de transactions. Cette étude s’est situe au nord de la Colombie, sur un territoire de 30 km, territoire des indigènes Wayùu, étant le plus concerné par le trafic illégal de tortues vertes (Chelonia mydas) et tortues à écailles (Eretmochelys imbricata). / For over 30 years, Colombia built its national policy to protect wildlife species against the illegal traffic. The national institutional framework was strengthened by the ratification of the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of flora and fauna threatened with extinction) in 1981. However, this institutional framework is not sufficient to curb the illegal trade of marine turtles species. Despite some success to protect and recover some species, what really matters is the effectiveness of the national policy to conserve wildlife species. Hence my proposal to design and implement a cap and trade system based on transferable quotas decreasing in time, reinforced by contractual arrangements. This self-organized system aims at having zero catches level and enhance conformity and cooperation within the environmental regulation. This thesis aims to compare the efficacy of these two modes of governance to reduce the illegal trade of sea turtles based on the following criteria: the environmental performance, economic efficiency and social equity. I pursuit by estimating the corresponding transaction costs to show that the variation in the structure of transaction costs and the distribution of these costs among stakeholders affect the final performance of the institutional framework. Cost-benefit analysis was performed to justify institutional change, in addition to the analysis of transaction costs. This study is located in the north of Colombia, an area of 30 km, indigenous Wayuu territory, being more concerned with the illegal green turtles (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata).

Handelssystem för utsläppsrätter används av flertalet länder och områden i ett försök att minska klimatförändringarna. Syftet med dessa handelssystem är att ge företag ekonomiska incitament att minska sina utsläpp av växthusgaser och på så vis gemensamt minska utsläppen på ett kostnadseffektivt sätt. Många av dessa system bygger på en ”cap and trade” princip, d.v.s. ett tak sätts för hur stora utsläppen får vara. För att säkerställa att de sammanlagda utsläppen inte överstiger taket kan företag förvärva utsläppsrätter genom gratis tilldelning eller köp. En utsläppsrätt innebär att företaget kan släppa ut en viss mängd växthusgaser. Företaget måste ha tillräckligt med utsläppsrätter för att täcka sina utsläpp, annars måste de köpa ytterligare utsläppsrätter av andra företag. Tanken är att man genom detta handelssystem gör det möjligt att minska utsläppen till minsta möjliga kostnad. I dagsläget finns det väldigt lite vägledning kring hur företag ska redovisa utsläppsrätter, vilket främst grundar sig i att åsikterna kring vad utsläppsrätter verkligen är går isär. En del hävdar exempelvis att utsläppsrätter ska ses som lager, medan andra hävdar att de är immateriella tillgångar. En argumentation har även först om att utsläppsrätter i grund och botten är rättigheter och därför ska behandlas som sådana i de finansiella rapporterna. I Nordamerika har organisationen FERC gett ut rekommendationer inom området, sedan tillbakadragandet av IFRIC 3 finns dock ingen vägledning i Europa. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur 104 företag med säte i Nordamerika och Europa redovisar utsläppsrätter i sina finansiella rapporter. Vidare är syftet att fastställa om det finns några skillnader mellan kontinenter samt mellan sektorerna olja och gas, el samt naturgas. Dessutom förs en diskussion om reglering, särskilt i form av ytterligare standarder, kommer att förbättra kvaliteten på den information som delas i de finansiella rapporterna. Enligt tidigare forskning delger företag vanligtvis väldigt lite information gällande utsläppsrätter. Denna slutsats styrks även av vårt resultat då vår studie visar att en stor andel av företagen inte ens nämner utsläppsrätter i sina finansiella rapporter. Vidare har tidigare forskning visat att redovisningen av utsläppsrätter skiljer sig åt när det gäller klassificering såväl som värdering, något som även styrks av vårt resultat. Vårt resultat indikerar även att de skillnader som finns gällande klassificering och värdering delvis kan förklaras av sätes- och sektorstillhörighet men även av en viss påverkan från FERC och IFRIC 3 på respektive kontinent. Utsläppsrätter klassificeras vanligen som lager i Nordamerika och som immateriell tillgång i Europa, detta beror antagligen på att kontinenterna påverkas av FERCs rekommendation respektive IFRIC 3. Den vanligaste värderingsmetoden, på båda kontinenterna, är anskaffningsvärde. Bland de företag som inte använder sig av denna metod är skillnaderna mellan kontinenterna desto större. Resultatet tyder på att företagen vidtar försiktighet på grund av den osäkerhet utsläppsrätterna innebär. Utifrån detta drar vi slutsatsen att det finns stora skillnader i hur nordamerikanska och europeiska företag klassificerar och värderar utsläppsrätter i de finansiella rapporterna. Studien belyser hur val av redovisningsmetoder, gällande utsläppsrätter, skiljer sig åt mellan nordamerikanska och europeiska företag såväl som mellan olika sektorer. Vidare belyser studien hur den bristande regleringen påverkat kvaliteten i de finansiella rapporterna. Användbarheten i de finansiella rapporterna diskuteras även utifrån legitimitets-, intressent- såväl som institutionell teori. / Emission trading schemes are used by several countries and areas with the hope of mitigating climate change. The aim of these schemes is to create economic incentives for companies to reduce greenhouse gas emission and thereby cut the overall emissions cost-effectively. Many of these systems are based on a ”cap and trade” principle where a cap is set on the total amount of emission that can be emitted. To ensure that the overall emissions do not exceed the cap, companies receive, buy or trade emission allowances. These allowances give companies the right to emit a certain amount of greenhouse gases. The company must have a sufficient amount of allowances to cover the emissions, otherwise they must buy additional allowances from other companies. The idea behind this system is that it will make it possible to reduce emission where it costs less. Currently, there is very little guidance in terms of how companies should account for emission allowances. The main issue is that there are different views of what kind of an asset these allowances are. Some argue, for example, that emission allowances should be viewed as inventory while others argue that they should be seen as intangible assets. Arguments have also been made that these allowances are rights and therefore should be treated as such in the financial reports. In America, the organization FERC has given out some recommendations on the area and since the withdrawal of IFRIC 3, there is no guidance in Europe. The aim of this study is to investigate how 104 companies located in North America (USA and Canada) and Europe account for emission allowances in their financial reports. In addition to this, the study aims to determine whether any differences exist between the continents as well as between the sectors oil and gas, electric utility and natural gas. Furthermore, a discussion will be made whether guidance on the matter, especially in the form of additional standards, will improve the quality of the information in the financial reports. Previous research has concluded that companies usually disclose very little information regarding emission allowances. This conclusion is supported by our findings. Our study shows that many companies do not even mention emission allowances in their financial reports. Furthermore, previous research has concluded that the reporting of emission allowances differs among companies in terms of classification as well as valuation, which is consistent with our findings. Our results indicate that the differences in classification and valuation partly can be explained by location and industry affiliation but also by the influence of FERC and IFRIC 3 on the respective continent. Emission allowances are often classified as inventory in Northern America and as intangibles in Europe, which is probably due to the influence of FERCs recommendation and IFRIC 3. The most common valuation method on both continents are historical cost. Among companies that does not use this method the continental variations are major. These findings suggest that prudence plays a key part due to the uncertainty related to emission allowances. Based on this we conclude that there are major differences between how emission allowances are classified and valued in the financial report of North American and European companies. This study highlights how accounting choices differs among Northern American and European companies as well as among different sectors. Furthermore, this study highlights the lack of regulation and how this affects the quality of the financial reports. The usefulness of the financial reports is also discussed from a legitimacy-, stakeholder- and an institutional perspective.

Au cours des conflits récents, les véhicules ont été sujet à des attaques impliquant une grande quantité d'explosif enterré. En général, les planchers sont visés, et leurs déformations absorbent une partie de l'énergie. Le véhicule subit également une impulsion, transmise par la détonation, qui peut blesser gravement les occupants. L'intensité de l'impulsion dépend principalement de trois paramètres: le degré de saturation du sol, la nature du sol dans lequel l'explosif est enterré, et la profondeur d'enfouissement de la charge. Les simulations numériques doivent reproduire le processus intégral de l'explosion, incluant l'initiale interaction entre la charge et le sol, l'expansion des produits de détonation, la propagation de l'onde de choc jusqu'au plancher du véhicule, et la grande déformation des projections de sol. L'information mécanique transmise jusqu'au niveau du plancher doit être suffisamment précise car les effets sur le véhicule constituent l'objectif des simulations. Développer un modèle constitutif de sol est par conséquent délicat.%délicat. un défi. tâche difficile. Le modèle de sol est visco-plastique avec un cap écrouissable, une surface de rupture pour limiter les contraintes de cisaillement et un cut off contre les contraintes excessives de tension. La surface de charge est entièrement lisse afin que les incréments de déformation plastique soient continus. Un mécanisme de rigidification est présenté pour tenir compte de la compression de l'air et des très grandes contraintes dans l'environnement immédiat de la charge. Le taux d'humidité du sol est également pris en compte. Deux séries d'essais ont été réalisés à DGA TT pour servir de référence pour les simulations numériques. Une première campagne a mis en jeu de petites quantités d'explosif à plusieurs profondeurs d'enfouissement. Les pressions aériennes ont été mesurées à plusieurs hauteurs et comparées aux simulations. Un moyen d'essai a été utilisé lors de la seconde campagne d'essais pour mesurer à la fois la déformation d'une plaque représentant un plancher de véhicule, mais aussi l'impulsion transmise par l'explosion enfouie. Un certain nombre de taux d'humidité, profondeurs d'enfouissement, épaisseurs de plaques et gardes au sol a été étudié. Au cours des essais, le sol STANAG, composé de sable et de graviers, défini dans l'AEP 55 relatif au STANAG 4569, a été utilisé. Des simulations Eulériennes ont été réalisées et sont en accord avec les résultats d'essais. Le rôle des trois parties de la surface de charge, des mécanismes de rigidification élastique et d'écrouissage plastique a été évalué. La masse volumique initiale du sol et la position initiale du cap sont les paramètres ayant la plus grande influence sur les pressions aériennes. Quant à l'impulsion, elle est principalement contrôlée par le degré de saturation du sol. / In recent conflicts, vehicles have been facing underbelly attacks involving a large quantity of buried explosive. A part of the energy is absorbed by the deformation of the belly. Still the vehicle is subjected to the impulse transmitted by the detonation which may severely injure occupants. The intensity of the impulse is highly dependent on three main parameters which are the degree of saturation of the soil, the nature of the soil in which the explosive is buried and the depth of burial of the charge. Computer simulations should follow the complete process of the explosion, including the early interaction of the charge with the soil, the expansion of the detonation products, the propagation of the shock wave up to the vehicle floor, and the large deformation of the soil projections. The mechanical information transmitted up to the floor level should be sufficiently accurate because the impact on the vehicle is the key target of the simulations. Developing a constitutive soil model is therefore a challenging task. The soil model is visco-plastic with a hardening cap surface, a failure surface to limit shear stresses and a cut off surface against excessive tension. The entire yield surface is smooth so that the plastic strain increments are continuous. A stiffening mechanism is introduced to account for air compression and accommodate the huge stresses in the immediate neighborhood of the charge. The water content of the soil is also taken into account. Two sets of experiments were carried out at DGA TT to serve as a reference for computer simulations. A first campaign involved small quantity of explosive at several depths of burial. The aerial pressures were measured at various heights and compared to simulations. The second set of experiments used a test rig to measure both the deformation of a floor simulating plate and the impulse transmitted by the buried explosion. A range of soil water contents, depths of burial of the explosive, plate thicknesses and stand off distances has been explored. For all the experiments, the sandy gravel STANAG soil defined in AEP 55 of STANAG 4569 has been used. Eulerian simulations were run and fit with these experiments. The roles of the three parts of the yield surface, of the elastic stiffening and plastic hardening mechanisms could be assessed. The initial soil density and the initial cap position were found to have the largest influence on aerial pressures. As for the impulse transmitted to the metallic plate, it was observed to be mostly controlled by the degree of saturation of the soil.

The aim of this thesis was to assess the presence of fusion gene TMPRSS2:ERG and expressions of PCA3, miR23b, miR26 and miR221 in PCa. PSA was measured in peripheral blood and tumor tissue (FFPE samples). The presence of fusion gene TMPRSS2:ERG and expression of PCA3 gene and miRNA in FFPE tumor tissue was analysed by RT real-time PCR. This determination would help to identify patients with high-risk tumors.

Submitted by Maurício Bonatto Machado de Castilhos (mbonattosp@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-03-21T14:52:28Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese Bonatto_corrigida_final.pdf: 3969473 bytes, checksum: b52bf638d9c0de021358f0dd1af6792a (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Sandra Manzano de Almeida (smanzano@marilia.unesp.br) on 2016-03-22T16:52:25Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 castilhos_mbm_dr_sjrp.pdf: 3969473 bytes, checksum: b52bf638d9c0de021358f0dd1af6792a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-22T16:52:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 castilhos_mbm_dr_sjrp.pdf: 3969473 bytes, checksum: b52bf638d9c0de021358f0dd1af6792a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-15 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / A produção brasileira de vinhos encontra-se em constante especialização e tem como objetivo incrementar a qualidade dessas bebidas a fim de atender e superar as expectativas dos consumidores. Diante desse contexto, algumas entidades governamentais pesquisam o melhoramento genético de uvas almejando produzir matérias-primas com características singulares a fim de elaborar vinhos com qualidade ímpar e de caráter regional. Adicionalmente, cientistas da área pesquisam variações no processo de vinificação e, através dessas técnicas, promovem variações no perfil químico dos vinhos, respondendo positivamente no perfil sensorial descritivo e de aceitação. Esse estudo pesquisou os efeitos da pré-secagem das uvas e o emprego do chapéu submerso e explorou o comportamento químico e sensorial de vinhos elaborados com uvas americanas e híbridas. Os resultados mostraram que os vinhos elaborados pelo processo de pré-secagem das uvas apresentaram forte degradação de compostos fenólicos como antocianinas e flavonóis, sendo os flavan-3-óis (galoilados ou não) e proantocianidinas os que apresentaram maior resistência ao calor produzido pela secagem. De uma forma geral, tais vinhos foram descritos como amargos, adstringentes, encorpados, pungentes e persistentes por apresentarem elevada concentração desses compostos fenólicos. Os vinhos elaborados pelo processo de chapéu submerso não apresentaram diferenças significativas nos conteúdos de antocianinas, piranoantocianinas e flavonóis quando comparados aos vinhos elaborados pelo processo tradicional de vinificação, sendo descritos com elevada intensidade de cor e matiz violeta, além de apresentarem, em alguns casos, aroma foxado e frutado evidente. Apresentaram elevada aceitação em alguns casos, sendo considerados como alternativa ao tratamento tradicional. / Brazilian wine production is in constant specialization and aims to enhance the quality of red wines in order to meet and exceed consumer expectations. Thus, some governmental entities develop genetic improvement programs aiming at producing grapes with singular features that will be employed in the production of regional wines, i.e., wines whose features indicate their origin of production. Moreover, scientists from enological area study the variations in winemaking aiming at promoting such improvement on the chemical properties of wines, enhancing their acceptance sensory profile. Therefore, this study aimed at analyzing the effects of grape pre-drying and submerged cap in order to explore the chemical and sensory behavior of red wines produced from Vitis labrusca grapes and their hybrids. The results showed that the wines produced from pre-drying process presented relevant degradation of the phenolic compounds, mainly anthocyanins and flavonols; and flavan-3-ols (galloylated or not) and proanthocyanidins were the compounds that seemed to be less affected by the heat produced by the pre-drying procedure. In general, these wines were described as bitter, astringent, full-bodied, pungent and persistent to palate due to their high concentration of these aforementioned compounds. Wines produced form submerged cap winemaking presented no significant differences from the wines elaborated by traditional process concerning anthocyanin, pyranoanthocyanin and flavonol contents, and were described as colorful with intense violet hue and strong foxy and fruity aroma. These wines presented higher acceptance in some cases and were considered as an alternative to the traditional winemaking treatment.

Cette recherche s'intéresse à la modélisation des éco-industries et aux propriétés qui leurs sont généralement attribuées. Précisément, mettre l'accent sur les éco-industries requiert de faire des suppositions dont les conséquences ne sont pas triviales. Ce travail détaille ces conséquences ainsi que la pertinence de certaines. Le premier chapitre considère des éco-industries polluantes, alors que l'analyse économique sur ce sujet assume généralement que les biens et services environnementaux suppriment les polluants. Ce chapitre montre le mécanisme par lequel le marché distribue une activité aux éco-industries en fonction de leur technologie. Le deuxième chapitre enquête sur les limites à supposer une allocation de pollution positive à la solution optimale alors qu'une élimination complète serait possible. L'exemple de l'amiante montre qu'il existe des situations où la pollution-zéro est préférable à un niveau positif. Ce chapitre montre sous quelles conditions ce postulat est vrai. Le troisième travail se concentre sur la notion de services environnementaux. Ce chapitre montre que ceux-ci sont parfaitement substituables aux autorisations de polluer. L'Etat peut donc sélectionner le prix des services environnementaux et il devient possible d'établir une allocation optimale des ressources même en présence de compétition imparfaite. Enfin, le dernier chapitre détaille une supposée fusion entre un pollueur et son fournisseur de biens et services environnementaux. Il montre les répercussions de la fusion sur une firme non-intégrée et amène une discussion sur la différence entre réduction de la pollution en procédé-intégré ou en bout-de-chaîne. / This research focuses on the modeling of ecoindustries and the properties commonly assigned to them. Precisely, highlighting ecoindustries requires the making of some assumptions with nontrivial consequences. This work uncovers these consequences as well as the adequacy of some of them.The first chapter considers polluting ecoindustries, although economic analysis on the subject generally assumes that environmental goods and services suppress the pollutants. This chapter shows mechanisms through which the market distributes economic activity to ecoindustries according to their technology.The second chapter investigates the limits of supposing a positive pollution allocation at the optimal solution although complete suppression is feasible. The example of asbestos shows that there are situations in which zero-pollution is preferred to a positive amount. The chapter shows the conditions under which this hypothesis is true.The third work focuses on the concept of environmental services. This chapter shows that environmental services and pollution allowances are perfect substitutes, then the government can decide on their prices so that it is possible to decentralize a first-best allocation of resources even in the presence of imperfect competition.Finally, the last chapter details a fictional fusion between a polluter and its environmental goods and services supplier. It shows the consequences of such fusion on an unintegrated firm and opens a discussion on the difference between process-integrated and end-of-pipepollution abatement.