No description available.

In this thesis we investigate the moduli space M3[2] of curves of genus 3 equipped with a symplectic level 2 structure. In particular, we are interested in the cohomology of this space. We obtain cohomological information by decomposing M3[2] into a disjoint union of two natural subspaces, Q[2] and H3[2], and then making S7- resp. S8-equivariantpoint counts of each of these spaces separately. / Målet med denna uppsats är att undersöka modulirummet M3[2] av kurvor av genus 3 med symplektisk nivå 2 struktur. Mer specifikt vill vi hitta informationom kohomologin av detta rum. För att uppnå detta delar vi först upp M[2] i en disjunkt union av två naturliga delrum, Q[2] och H3[2], och räknar därefter punkterna av dessa rum S7- respektive S8-ekvivariant.

<p></p>Traffic safety management on interstates is crucial during adverse winter weather. According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), there are over 5,891,000 vehicle crashes each year in the United States. Approximately 21% of these crashes are weather-related. INDOT spends $60 million on winter operations each year to minimize the weather impacts on driver capability, vehicle performance, road infrastructure, and crash risk. Several studies have sought to investigate the relationship of crash counts with weather, speed, traffic and roadway data during snow events, in order to help agencies, identify needs and to distribute the resources effectively and efficiently during winter weather events. The limitation of these studies is that weather variables are often correlated to each other, for example, visibility may be correlated to snow precipitation and air temperature may be correlated to net solar surface radiation. The randomness of crash occurrence also increases difficulty in such studies. In this study, a random parameter negative binomial model was used for Interstate I-465 in Indianapolis in winter 2018 and 2019.The results show that during snow events in Indiana, air temperature, wind speed, snow precipitation, net solar surface radiation, and visibility significantly impact the number of crashes on I-465. Driving over the speed limit (55 mph), especially on wet pavements are more likely to lose control of vehicles and cause crashes. Travel speed between 45 mph to 55 mph and travel speed between 15 mph to 25 mph are both strong factors. Somewhat surprising was that speeds between 25mph and 45mph were not found to be significant. The number of interchanges is also positively related to crash counts due to the high number of conflict points at ramp merging sections. Also, travelling over speed limit is a random parameter with unobserved heterogeneity which is intuitive since speeding could be more dangerous in certain areas with complex road geometry and narrower lanes. Traffic counts have a negative correlation with crash counts, likely due to faster speeds when fewer vehicles are travelling on the loop. Crash counts increased about70% during severe storm days on I-465, and visibility and air temperature are highly correlated to crash counts. These key findings can help the agency to deploy warnings when visibility is low, or temperature falls sharply.help the agency to deploy warnings when visibility is low,or temperature falls sharply.

Magister Public Health - MPH / Background: With the improvements in the effectiveness and availability of antiretroviral therapy (ART), perinatally infected children are surviving to adolescence and emerging as a significant sub-population living with HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe. Adolescents, aged 10-19 years, face unique challenges related to adherence to chronic medication due to this period of vulnerability that is characterised by decreased parental support and supervision, decreased inhibition, increased risk-taking, and immature judgement. It is widely reported that poor adherence to ART leads to viral rebound, disease progression and drug resistance, in addition to increasing the risk of transmitting resistant strains of HIV to others. It is imperative to determine the factors that influence ART adherence among HIV positive adolescents so that effective interventions can be put in place. The current study described the factors that are associated with adherence to ART among HIV positive adolescents in Zimbabwe. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey of 136 randomly selected adolescents (10-19 years) who were receiving ART at two referral hospitals in Masvingo District in 2019 was undertaken. A questionnaire was administered to collect data on socio-demographic characteristics, adherence and factors related to adherence such as person/patient, health system, medication, disease characteristics and social factors. Clinical data were extracted from the Electronic Monitoring Patient System. SPSS v24 was used for descriptive and inferential analysis. Results: More than half of the participants (61%) had combined optimal adherence (dose adherence, schedule adherence and adhered to dietary instructions) in the previous three days. The most frequent reasons reported for missing HIV medications in the previous month was being away from home (50%); forgetfulness (25%); and having too many pills to take (25%). In bivariate analysis, only duration of time since HIV diagnosis was significantly associated with combined adherence to ART in the previous three days. Conclusion: Tailored interventions are recommended to address low adherence amongst adolescents. These interventions should include convenient clinic appointment schedules for adolescents to pick up medication, reminders to take medication, regimen change to a single dose, and peer education and adherence clubs to improve knowledge about HIV and treatment, and curb treatment fatigue.

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of a market-based greenhouse gases price on green innovation by testing the Hicksian theory of induced innovation. To test whether causality exists, panel data compiled of 30 countries over 13 years (2005-2017) have been used. The study is restricted to the European Union emission trading scheme, where the price of EUA has been used as a market-based price for greenhouse gases. To capture the effect on innovation, an approximation for innovation in the form of patent counts have been employed using the patent category Y02 constructed by the EPO. The result suggests that green innovation is affected by the price of the EUA, total CO2 emissions and tax revenue from energy. This study employed a knowledge stock variable that was not found to be significant, contrary to previous literature on induced innovation. The incidence rate ratio associated with the  permits price indicates that a one euro increase in price would result in a 1.135 % increase in the patenting of green technology. The result suggests that a higher price in  permits would stimulate innovation of green technology within the European Union.

Positive memories play an important role in the etiology and maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Additionally, there are potential clinical benefits of recalling positive memories on affect, cognitions, and behaviors. However, most research/clinical work has focused on the role of traumatic memories in PTSD's symptomatology and treatment. The current study examined positive memory recall difficulties and positive memory phenomenology among 185 trauma-exposed individuals with varying PTSD severity. Participants completed the Life Events Checklist for DSM-5, PTSD Checklist for DSM-5, Autobiographical Memory Test, Memory Experiences Questionnaire – Short Form, Ruminative Thought Style Questionnaire, Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale – Brief 16-Item Version, Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale – Positive Emotions, the Positive Affect subscale of the Affective Control Scale, and two items from the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index. Results showed that (1) greater PTSD severity was a marginally significant predictor of fewer recalled positive memories; (2) greater positive emotional dysregulation predicted fewer recalled positive memories controlling for PTSD severity; and (3) increasing PTSD severity predicted more negative valence, less vividness, less coherence, less accessibility, less clear time perspective, fewer sensory details, and greater distancing ratings of the recalled positive memory, controlling for sleep quantity/quality. Such findings add to the PTSD-positive memory literature by informing PTSD theoretical perspectives; enhancing an understanding of if/how positive memories may be incorporated into PTSD treatments; and highlighting potential clinical targets, such as positive emotional regulation skills, when integrating a focus on positive memories into PTSD intervention.

In this thesis we investigate the moduli space M3[2] of curves of genus 3 equipped with a symplectic level 2 structure. In particular, we are interested in the cohomology of this space. We obtain cohomological information by decomposing M3[2] into a disjoint union of two natural subspaces, Q[2] and H3[2], and then making S7- resp. S8-equivariantpoint counts of each of these spaces separately. / Målet med denna uppsats är att undersöka modulirummet M3[2] av kurvor av genus 3 med symplektisk nivå 2 struktur. Mer specifikt vill vi hitta informationom kohomologin av detta rum. För att uppnå detta delar vi först upp M[2] i en disjunkt union av två naturliga delrum, Q[2] och H3[2], och räknar därefter punkterna av dessa rum S7- respektive S8-ekvivariant.

No description available.

Cascaded H-bridge (CHB) multilevel inverters have significant popularity with motor drives applications due to their modularity, scalability, and reliability. Typical CHB inverters employ diode rectifiers that allow unidirectional power flow from the grid to the load. To capture and utilize the regenerated energy in regenerative applications, regenerative CHB drives were introduced with two-level voltage source converters in the front end to allow bidirectional energy flow. This solution is accompanied by challenges of high number of switches and control circuits, high switching power losses, and massive dimensions. Recently, developing more economic versions of regenerative cascaded H-bridge drives has become one of the hottest topics in power electronics research. In this thesis work, two solutions are proposed for more energy efficient and economic regenerative CHB drives. The first solution is a proposed power cell configuration that reduces the number of switches per cell by two. Additionally, phase alternation connection method and carrier phase-shifting techniques are introduced to address the challenges of the presented configuration. The switch-count reduction reduces the system’s complexity, switches’ cost, and footprint. The second proposed solution is a new controller to operate the front-end converters as fundamental frequency ends (FFEs). The proposed controller is employed in both the conventional regenerative cascaded H-bridge and the proposed reduced switch-count configuration. This solution minimizes the switching power losses, and results in more compact and economic design, with higher DC-link utilization. Theoretical analysis and simulation studies of both proposed solutions show promising performance and capability to be applied as energy-efficient and cost effective regenerative CHB motor drives. Experimental validation of the proposed reduced switch-count configuration is presented for STATCOM operation of a scaled-down 7-Level regenerative CHB drive system. The future work of this thesis includes experimental validation of the proposed FFE controller, and operation of the system with regenerative motor load. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

No description available.