Meningitis is an infection of the meninges, a layer of tissue surrounding the brain. In cases of pneumococcal meningitis (where the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae is the causat- ive agent) this causes severe inflammation, requiring intensive care and rapid antibiotic treatment. The contribution of variation in host and pathogen genetics to pneumococcal meningitis is unknown. In this thesis I develop and apply statistical genetics techniques to identify genomic variation associated with the various stages of pneumococcal meningitis, including colonisation, invasion and severity. I start by describing the development of a method to perform genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in bacteria, which can find variation in bacterial genomes associated with bacterial traits such as antibiotic resistance and virulence. I then applied this method to longitudinal samples from asymptomatic carriage, and found lineages and specific variants associated with altered duration of carriage. To assess meningitis versus carriage samples I applied similar analysis techniques, and found that the bacterial genome is crucial in determining invasive potential. As well as bacterial serotype, which I found to be the main effect, I discovered many independent sequence variants associated with disease. Separately, I analysed within host-diversity during the invasive phase of disease and found it to be of less relevance to disease progression. Finally, I analysed host genotype data from four independent studies using GWAS and heritability estimates to determine the contribution of human sequence variation to pneumococcal meningitis. Host sequence accounted for some variation in susceptibility to and severity of meningitis. The work concludes with a combined analysis of pairs of bacterial and human sequences from meningitis cases, and finds variation correlated between the two.

Esta pesquisa insere-se no campo de discussão da Antropologia Urbana e Visual. Busquei conhecer a composição de redes de solidariedade de emergência formadas como alternativa para enfrentar a situação de crise advinda da enchente de 2008 no Vale de Itajaí, SC. A enchente vivenciada propiciou a emergência de novas redes de interação e sociabilidade que podem ser definidas como relações de reciprocidade e solidariedade entre os indivíduos envolvidos. A construção dessas redes de solidariedade de caráter emergencial está fundamentada teoricamente na perspectiva de Larissa Lomnitz que, ao estudar comunidades populares, destacou sua centralidade constituída sobre o sistema de reciprocidade em que predominavam vínculos horizontais enquanto estratégia de sobrevivência. A etnografia da duração orienta a pensar acerca das trajetórias pessoais e coletivas que configuram as temporalidades da cidade, os tempos de crise e de continuidade da população vitimada. / This research belongs to the debating field of Urban and Visual Anthropology. I studied the configuration of solidarity networks of emergency formed as alternatives to face the situation of crisis originated in the 2008 flood (Vale de Itajaí, SC). The flood disposed those who lived it to develop new networks of interaction and sociability, which may be defined as relations of reciprocity and solidarity. The construction of these solidarity networks having an emergency character is based theoretically on Larissa Lomnintz‟s perspective, who highlighted its centrality studying popular communities. This character is constituted upon a system of reciprocity in which horizontal ties, as a surviving strategy, are predominating. The ethnography of the duration guides us to think personal and collective trajectories, which forms the temporalities of the city, the times of crisis and the continuity of the victimized population.

Esta dissertação apresenta o relato de uma experiência etnográfica realizada em dois bairros operários. Em Porto Alegre, a etnografia foi desenvolvida na Vila dos Industriários, e, em Buenos Aires, no bairro Parque Cornelio Saavedra. O objetivo principal é entender com se dá, através das narrativas de alguns moradores, a articulação entre um projeto coletivo baseado na concepção arquitetônica da cidade-jardim e os projetos individuais de quem ali reside. No seio desta interpretação, entram como elementos de análise as transformações sociais que ocorrem nestas cidades e o processo de valorização ou desvalorização destes imóveis dentro de uma sociedade em constante mudança, agenciados nas memórias e lembranças dos moradores antigos destes locais. A partir da etnografia da duração, a narrativa das imagens produzidas pelo antropólogo em campo participa deste jogo de memórias, versando sobre a experiência temporal de uma duração plena de rupturas, lacunas e variações em uma cidade que é vista como um objeto temporal, marcado por processos de aquisição, perda, gentrificação e segregação espacial. / This paper intends to present a report of an ethnographic experience realized in two workin-class neighborhood. In the city of Porto Alegre, the ethnography was made in the Vila dos Industriários, and in Buenos Aires, in the Parque Cornelio Saavedra. The main objective is try to understand how it gives, trought the narrative from a few dwellers, the articulation of a collective project based on the garden-city experience and the individuals projects from this dwellers. Within this interpretation, enter as elements of analysis the social transformations that occur in these cities and the recovery or devaluate process of this proprieties inside of a constant changing, agencied in the memories and remembers of the dwellers of this places. From a ethnography of a duration, the narrative from the images produced by the anthropologist in the research field participate of this memory game, dealing about the temporal experience of a memory full of disruptions, gaps and variations in a city viewed as a temporal object, marked by process of purchase, lost, gentrification and special segregation.

A duração da combustão tem implicação direta na determinação do trabalho negativo no ciclo motor. A duração da combustão tem relação inversa com a velocidade de propagação da chama. Assim, quanto maior a velocidade de propagação da chama, menor a duração da combustão. Além disto, a duração da combustão está relacionada com a relação volumétrica de compressão, com a razão de mistura e com o tipo de combustível, entre outros fatores. Neste sentido, quanto maior a velocidade de queima da mistura ar-combustível, menor o trabalho negativo no ciclo. Neste contexto, foram ensaiadas 3 relações de compressão e 3 razões de mistura, para 6 combustíveis de composição conhecida: gasolina comum tipo C, álcool etílico hidratado combustível (AEHC) e AEHC adicionado à gasolina comum tipo C nas proporções de 20%, 40%, 60% e 80%. A variação da pressão no interior da câmara de combustão, para todos os combustíveis, e a posição da centelha de ignição foram determinadas com a utilização da base angular e com variação da relação volumétrica de compressão e da razão de mistura. O diagrama , para fins de cálculo de área, foi traçado por pós-processamento. Os resultados obtidos indicam que a duração da combustão aumenta com o aumento da razão de mistura e diminui com o aumento da relação volumétrica de compressão, para todos os combustíveis ensaiados. Verificou-se que a amplitude da pressão, no interior da câmara de combustão, se comporta inversamente à duração da combustão. Mostrou-se que o aumento da razão de mistura implica na redução do trabalho líquido entregue ao êmbolo ao longo de todo o ciclo do motor. Opostamente ocorre com o aumento da relação volumétrica de compressão, que implica no aumento do trabalho líquido por ciclo. Concluiu-se que o máximo valor para o trabalho líquido ao longo de todo o ciclo foi obtido para a maior relação volumétrica de compressão (8:1) e a menor razão de mistura (λ = 0,9). O combustível que representou este resultado foi o álcool etílico hidratado combustível adicionado à gasolina comum tipo C em 80% (AEHC80). O mínimo valor para o trabalho líquido, ao longo de todo o ciclo foi obtido, para a menor relação volumétrica de compressão (6:1) e a maior razão de mistura dos ensaios (λ = 1,1). O combustível que representou este resultado foi o álcool etílico hidratado combustível (AEHC). / The duration of the combustion is directly implicative on determining the negative work of the motor cycle. The duration of the combustion has an inverse relation with the flame propagation speed. Thus, the higher propagation of the flame, the shorter duration of the combustion. Besides that, the duration of the combustion is related to the relation of compression, to the air/fuel relation and to the type of fuel, among other factors. In this way, the higher burning speed of the air/fuel mixture, the smallest negative work in the cycle. In such a context, there were tried three compression relations and three mixture ratios for six fuels of know compositions: ordinary gasoline C type, combustible hydrated ethyl alcohol and combustible hydrated ethyl alcohol added to ordinary gasoline C type in the proportions of 20%, 40%, 60% and 80%. The pressure variation inside the combustion chamber, for all fuels, and the position of the ignition spark were determined using the angular base and with variation of the compression relation and the mixture ratio. The diagram, for area calculation, was traced by post processing. The obtained results indicate that the combustion duration increases with the rising of the mixture ratio and decreases with the rising of the compression relation, for all the tried combustibles. It was found that the pressure amplitude inside the combustion chamber behaves inversely to the combustion duration behavior. It was shown that the rising of the mixture ratio implies on the reduction of the net work delivered by the piston all through the cycle of the motor. The opposite occurs with the rising of the compression relation, that implies on the increase of the net work by cycle. It was concluded that the maximum value for the net work all through the cycle was obtained for the higher compression relation (8:1) and the least mixture ratio of the tests (λ = 0,9). The combustible that achieved such a result was the combustible hydrated ethyl alcohol added to ordinary gasoline C type in 80%. The least value for the net work all through the cycle was obtained by the least compression relation (6:1) and the highest mixture ratio of the tests (λ = 1,1). The fuel that achieved that result was the combustible hydrated ethyl alcohol.

Submitted by Marília Gabriela Elias da Silva (marilia.gabriela.es@gmail.com) on 2014-09-18T19:07:04Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Marilia_Gabriela_tese.pdf: 512980 bytes, checksum: 8ab7fc0b5b89fa1bd8f99a705ae51920 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Suzinei Teles Garcia Garcia (suzinei.garcia@fgv.br) on 2014-09-18T19:43:45Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Marilia_Gabriela_tese.pdf: 512980 bytes, checksum: 8ab7fc0b5b89fa1bd8f99a705ae51920 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-09-18T19:51:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marilia_Gabriela_tese.pdf: 512980 bytes, checksum: 8ab7fc0b5b89fa1bd8f99a705ae51920 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-27 / This study uses data provided by BM&FBovespa to analyze Petrobras' stock for the months between July and August 2010 and October 2008. First, we present a detailed discussion about handling data, we show the impossibility of using the mid-price quote due to the high number of buy / sell orders that present very high / low prices. We checked some of the empirical stylized facts pointed out by Cont (2001), among others enshrined in the microstructure literature. In general, the stylized facts were replicated by the data. We apply the filter, proposed by Brownlees and Gallo (2006), to Petrobras' stock and we analyze the sensitivity of the number of possible outliers found by the filter with respect to the filter's parameters variation. We propose using the Akaike criterion to sort and select conditional duration models whose samples have different length sizes. The selected models are not always those in which the data has been filtered. For the ACD (1,1) setting, when we consider only well-adjusted models, the Akaike criterion indicates as better model as one in which the data were not filtered. / O presente trabalho utiliza os dados disponibilizados pela BM&FBovespa para analisar as ações da Petrobrás para os meses compreendidos entre julho e agosto de 2010 e outubro de 2008. Primeiramente, apresentamos uma discussão detalhada sobre a manipulação desses dados, na qual explicitamos a impossibilidade de se usar o mid-price quote devido ao número elevado de ofertas de compra/venda com preços muito elevados/baixos. Verificamos alguns dos fatos estilizados empíricos apontados por Cont (2001), entre outros consagrados na literatura de microestrutura. Em geral, os dados replicaram os fatos estilizados. Aplicamos o filtro proposto por Brownlees e Gallo (2006) às ações da Petrobrás e analisamos a sensibilidade do número de possíveis outliers encontrados pelo filtro a variação dos parâmetros desse filtro. Propomos utilizar o critério de Akaike para ordenar e selecionar modelos de duração condicional cujas amostras de duração possuem tamanhos distintos. Os modelos selecionados, nem sempre são aqueles em que os dados foram filtrados. Para o ajuste ACD (1,1), quando considerados apenas os modelos bem ajustados (resíduos não autocorrelacionados), o critério de Akaike indica como melhor modelo aquele em que os dados não foram filtrados.

Submitted by Paulo Roberto Miller Fernandes Vianna Junior (pauloviannajr@hotmail.com) on 2016-01-07T16:41:00Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Texto Final.pdf: 1424875 bytes, checksum: fc03c3ccd501f50f7ddbaf1b73fed3c9 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by GILSON ROCHA MIRANDA (gilson.miranda@fgv.br) on 2016-01-07T17:28:47Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Texto Final.pdf: 1424875 bytes, checksum: fc03c3ccd501f50f7ddbaf1b73fed3c9 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marcia Bacha (marcia.bacha@fgv.br) on 2016-01-07T18:04:56Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Texto Final.pdf: 1424875 bytes, checksum: fc03c3ccd501f50f7ddbaf1b73fed3c9 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-01-07T18:05:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Texto Final.pdf: 1424875 bytes, checksum: fc03c3ccd501f50f7ddbaf1b73fed3c9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-12-17 / This study aims at analyzing the retirement funds fixed income portfolios’ duration, which are paradoxically short considering the long-term objectives inherent to retirement savings, and the effects of the existing incentives to persistence on the employer sponsored collective plans, such as the contribution from the sponsor and vesting clauses, on the portfolios’ duration. In order to overcome the difficulties in directly observing the analyzed funds portfolios’ durations, it is proposed a duration index built upon the Return Based Style Analysis developed by SHARPE (1992) using the principal components of the Anbima’s Constant Duration Indexes (IDkA) to evaluate the retirement funds monthly returns sensibility to the nominal and real interest rates curves. The obtained results do not show evidences that the funds exclusively linked to employer sponsored collective plans present longer durations than those linked to individual plans or notsponsored collective plans. On the other hand, funds classified as 'Target Date' stand out for presenting longer duration indexes when compared to funds classified as 'Fixed Income' or 'Balanced Portfolios' and show positive correlation with the target year of the fund. This suggest that policies aiming at treating the information set of the agent’s, both investors and portfolio managers, are able to modify the investments allocation. Information is sufficient to improve allocation / O objetivo deste estudo é analisar as durações das carteiras de renda fixa dos fundos previdenciários, que são paradoxalmente curtas em relação aos objetivos de longo prazo inerentes à previdência, e os eventuais efeitos dos incentivos de permanência existentes nos planos coletivos instituídos, como o custeio do instituidor e regras de desligamento – vesting – no alongamento dessas carteiras. Como forma de sobrepujar as dificuldades da observação direta dos prazos de alongamento das carteiras dos fundos analisados, foi proposto um índice de alongamento calcado na Análise de Estilo Baseada nos Retornos desenvolvida por SHARPE (1992) empregando-se as componentes principais dos Índices de Duração Constante da Anbima (IDkA) para a avaliação da sensibilidade dos retornos mensais dos fundos analisados às curvas de juros real e nominal. Os resultados obtidos não mostram evidências de que os fundos que recebem recursos exclusivamente de planos instituídos apresentem duração maior do que daqueles que recebem recursos de planos individuais e coletivos averbados. Por outro lado, os fundos classificados como 'Previdência Data Alvo' pela Anbima destacam-se por apresentar índices de alongamento maiores frente à média dos fundos classificados como 'Previdência Renda Fixa' ou 'Previdência Balanceado' e correlação positiva entre seus índices de alongamento e Ano Alvo do fundo, o que sugere que políticas que trabalhem o conjunto de informação dos agentes, investidores e gestores, são capazes de modificar a alocação dos investimentos. Basta informação para melhorar a alocação.

Made available in DSpace on 2010-04-20T20:14:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 1995-06-22T00:00:00Z / Trata da apresentação técnica conhecida como Macaulay Duration e sua aplicação na administração do risco de taxa de juros. Aborda aspectos conceituais e práticos da medida e as recentes discussões a respeito de sua aplicabilidade e limitações em finanças.

Economic and political reforms have been introduced in Ethiopia and these have boosted private investment over the last two decades. Reforms have brought about measurable improvements, but the progress of the status of private investment has remained slow. This study was conducted with the objective of investigating the microeconomic level determinants of private investment in the manufacturing sector. These micro-level determinants of private investment in the State of Tigray, Ethiopia, were analysed using both descriptive and econometric methods. Thus, an econometric method of data analysis using a duration model was applied to analyse the microeconomic data collected. In addition, descriptive analysis was employed to analyse the survey data. Here, a chi-square test and factor analysis were used to analyse the relationship between variables and their constraints on the operations of the manufacturing sector. The major microeconomic determinants of private investment status in the State of Tigray were found to be investment areas, access to credit, infrastructure facilities, the judicial system, corruption, investment incentives and bureaucratic red tape. The econometric result revealed that infrastructure facilities, the judicial system, and investment areas negatively and significantly delayed the entire private investment status. However, interest rates and investment location were positively and significantly supported to continue their status of the entire private investors in the manufacturing sector. Infrastructure facilities, investment incentives, and investment areas were negatively and significantly related to the started group of investors’ progress. However, investment location was related positively and significantly to the started group and the ability of the implementation and operation statuses of private investors to proceed to operation status. In the case of the non-started group, infrastructure facilities and investment areas are related significantly and negatively to investment status delay. By contrast, interest rates and investment location significantly and positively affect private investment status delay. According to the descriptive analysis, access to credit, bureaucratic red tape and corruption were the additional major factors that hinder private investment from progressing from one xii status to the next. The investor’s level of education, access to land and political instability risks in the survey were not determinants of private investment status. In addition, the survey of private investors for those who have already started production shows that infrastructural, technological, and economic and financial factors have the highest absolute value of the loading factors that hinders operations in the manufacturing sector. The results of this study revealed that most of the problems encountered in the manufacturing sector were institutional but some were related to the private investors themselves. Thus, the government should take measures to establish a true, independent and efficient institution so as to create access to credit and provide infrastructure facilities to the private sector. This could be done by minimising corruption and ensuring transparent investment regulations. Thus, the State of Tigray, Ethiopia, must attract and encourage private investors by applying and improving policies which promote private investment. In this way they will actively contribute to the overall development and growth of the Ethiopian economy. Finally, as this study is made on the causes of delay in each phases of investment, it contributes a new knowledge to all investment sectors in the developing countries as whole and particularly to all regions of Ethiopia for advanced polices and strategies development on investment decisions. Then, based on the results of the study and solving these identified problems of investment phases, all actors of investment can retain and encourage the existing and attract new private investors to enhance the economic development of the society. The findings from this study have important implications for prospective business owners, lenders, and policy makers on how to improve private investment and create conducive business environment. / Business Management / D.B.L.

The utilisation of navigation systems in cars has given rise to road safety concerns, and the design and functionality of such systems must therefore be adjusted to the users’ needs, since they have to divide their attention between driving and the operation of the navigation system. The study was aimed at finding the optimum system response time (SRT) which would enable a driver to focus as much as possible on the road while attaining an efficient task completion time using an electronic navigational system. The research project consists of two separate experiments and was completed by 10 subjects. Experiment 1 included a temporal reproduction task and a secondary memory task. The subjects had to memorise two symbols and then reproduce six time spans ranging from 1 to 30 s to provide a baseline measurement of their time estimation abilities. Experiment 2 consisted of a simulated automobile driving task. While driving in the simulator the subjects completed a memorising task displayed on a touch screen. The task was presented with seven different system response times (SRTs) ranging from 0 to 30 s. The effects of different SRTs on the eye movement from road to monitor, regarding the duration of fixation and the frequency of change were evaluated. The distribution of gazes to the secondary task was analysed to provide information about the time estimation performance in the driving simulator. Other dependent variables tested were the accuracy of selected items, memory game performance, drive performance and the subjective state of the test person. The results of this study can be employed to find the optimum duration of inter-task delays for in-vehicle technical devices. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Ce travail se focalise sur le parler du tarifit de la province de Nador, afin d’étudier la gémination dans cette variante du berbère, parlée au Maroc. Il s’agit d’une investigation articulatoire cinéradiographique et acoustique. Un aperçu général du système phonologique du tarifit est proposé. Dans la revue critique de l’état de la question, nous avons tenté, d’abord, de montrer les différents arguments relatifs à la représentation des géminées en un seul segment ou en une suite de deux segments. Nous avons ensuite évoqué les débats contradictoires sur les notions de tension et de gémination. Notre recherche est conduite dans le cadre du paradigme de la perturbation et des réajustements, en variant la vitesse d’élocution. Les résultats principaux dans le domaine acoustique montrent, pour toutes les consonnes, simples et géminées, produites en vitesse d'élocution normale ou rapide, que la durée de la tenue consonantique est l’indice principal qui permet de les distinguer. Au niveau articulatoire, l’étude du timing des paramètres articulatoires indique, entre autres, que c’est le contact apical, vélaire et uvulaire, plus long pour la géminée, qui est le paramètre préférentiel de la distinction phonologique simple vs. géminée. L’analyse des vues de profil donne les résultats suivants en ce qui concerne l’étendue de contact (mm) : a) l’étendue de contact des occlusives est systématiquement plus importante pour les géminées que pour les simples ; b) l’étendue de contact augmente de la consonne apical, au vélaire (réalisée plutôt palatale), puis à l’uvulaire. Les résultats sont discutés en termes de relations articulatori - acoustiques. / This work focuses on tarifit of the provinces of Nador, in order to study gemination in this variant of Berber spoken in Morocco. This is an acoustic and articulatory X-ray investigation. A general overview of the tarifit phonological system is proposed. In a critical review of the literature, we tried, first, to show the different arguments concerning representation of geminates as one or as a sequence of two segments. We then discussed the contradictory debates on the concepts of tension and gemination. Our research is carried out within the perturbation and readjustments paradigm, by varying speech rates. Main results in the acoustic domain show for all consonants, singletons and geminates, produced in normal or fast speech, that consonantal closure is the main cue that allows distinguishing them. On the articulatory level, the study of the timing of articulatory parameters indicates, among other things, that it is the apical, velar and uvular contact, longer for geminates, which is the preferred parameter of the singleton vs. geminate phonological distinction. Analysis of profile views gives the following results regarding contact extent (mm) : a) contact extent for plosives are systematically larger for geminates than for singletons ; b) contact extent increases as one goes from the apical consonant to the velar (rather palatal) consonant, then to the uvular consonant. Results are discussed in terms of articulatory - acoustic relations.