Contamination of groundwater that is suitable for drinking is of growing concern as the water supply of South Africa is becomingincreasingly limited. This is especially the case in the North West province, with its semi – arid climate and variable rainfall patterns. The aim of the study was to evaluate the microbiological and physico – chemical qualities of groundwater obtained from selected DWA (Department of Water Affairs) monitoring boreholes in the Mooi River and Harts River catchment areas. Physico -chemical parameters included temperature, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), salinity, total dissolved solids (TDS), sulphate and nitrate concentrations. Physical parameters were measured using a calibrated submerge-able multimeter and chemical parameters using specialised kits and a spectrophotometer. Microbiological parameters included heterotrophic plate counts and total and faecal coliform enumeration. Membrane filtration and culture based methods were followed for enumeration of bacteria. During the identification procedures multiplex PCR for E. coli identification and 16S rRNA gene sequencing for identification of heterotrophic plate count bacteria and amoeba resistant bacteria were used. For antibiotic resistance, the Kirby- Bauer (1996) disk diffusion method was used. During the warm and wet season high electrical conductivity and salinity were observed in the Trimpark (65.3 mS/m; 325 ppm), School (125.1 mS/m; 644 ppm), Warrenton (166.9 mS/m; 867 ppm) and Ganspan (83.3 mS/m; 421 ppm) boreholes. Warrenton borehole had a high sulphate level (450 mg/l) as well. High chemical oxygen demand was observed in the Blaauwbank (62 mg/l) and Warrenton (98.5 mg/l) boreholes. In the dry and cold season similar observations were made for the various boreholes. Electrical conductivity and salinity levels remained high for the Trimpark (70.1 mS/m; 427.5 ppm), School (127 mS/m; 645 ppm), Warrenton (173.3 mS/m; 896.5 ppm) and Ganspan (88.1 mS/m; 444.5 ppm) boreholes. Nitrate levels for the Trimpark (14.1 mg/l) and School (137 mg/l), as well as sulphate levels for the Warrenton (325 mg/l) borehole were also high. Total coliforms, faecal streptococci and HPC bacteria were enumerated from water samples from all boreholes, except Blaauwbank where no faecal streptococci were enumerated. Faecal coliforms were enumerated from 5 of the possible 7 boreholes during a warm and wet season (Trimpark – 42 cfu/100ml; School – 2 cfu/100ml; Cemetery – 175 cfu/100ml; Warrenton – 3.84 x 10³ cfu/100ml; Ganspan – 1.9 x 10³ cfu/100ml). Indicator bacteria (FC, TC, HPC) exceeded target water quality ranges (TWQR) for drinking water in each case. During the cold and dry sampling season, faecal coliforms were enumerated mainly from the Trimpark (11 cfu/100ml) borehole. Total coliforms, faecal streptococci and HPC bacteria were enumerated from all the boreholes, except for Blaauwbank that contained no faecal streptococci or total coliforms. Enumerated indicator bacteria levels again exceeded TWQR for domestic use. Total coliform counts for the Pad dam borehole, however, complied with TWQR for domestic use. Identified E. coli were resistant to Erythromycin, Cephalothin and Amoxicillin and susceptible to Ciprofloxacin. Escherichia coli isolated from the Mooi River catchment shared the same antibiotic resistance phenotype. The most abundant HPC bacterial genus identified was Pseudomonas spp. (7 isolates). Opportunistic pathogens isolated included Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter, Aeromonas, Alcaligenes, Flavobacterium, Bacillus cereus and Mycobacterium spp. Varying degrees of antibiotic resistance were observed. Generally, the same pattern between the same genera were observed. All HPC isolates were resistant to Cephalothin and Amoxicillin and a lower degree Erythromycin and Streptomycin. The most abundant amoeba resistant bacteria was identified as Pseudomonas spp. Other isolates included Alcaligenes faecalis and Ochrobactrum sp. and Achromobacter sp. All of these are opportunistic pathogens, except for Achromobacter. Resistance to more antibiotics (Streptomycin, Chloramphenicol, Cephalothin, and Amoxicillin) was observed in ARBs compared to HPC (Cephalothin, Amoxicillin) from bulk water from the same borehole. The water of all the aquifers sampled is of very poor physico - chemical or microbiological quality or both. Water may be used for irrigation or livestock watering only in the case where these boreholes comply with TWQR for said purposes. Results obtained indicate that the groundwater is faecally contaminated. Amongst the bacteria, opportunistic pathogens displaying various degrees of antibiotic resistance were frequently isolated. These results indicate health risks if untreated groundwater is consumed. Therefore groundwater needs to be treated before distribution especially if the water is for human consumption. / Thesis (MSc (Environmental Sciences))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

本篇論文的研究重心，在於希望能找到一種機制，使老闆不會因為員工年老後生產力衰退而將其開除；老公不會因為老婆生完小孩身材變形而將其拋棄。我們利用一個二工人、一老闆的二期模型，假設工人的生產力會因為年紀的增長而衰退，而且有努力投入的工人衰退的情形更為嚴重，並設存在一個補償c，當老闆要將員工解雇時，必須要支付給員工。我們的研究發現，只要投入的成本i小於某範圍時，無論學習效果的大小、工人為風險中立或趨避、是否假設有限責任下，均存在最佳狀況 ，廠商的行為與社會福利最大下的結果相一致；但若i大於此一範圍時，便不存在最佳狀況，且可能會產生廠商為了自身利益而做出違背社會福利最大狀況下的行為，此時便需要透過政府的介入，使廠商的行為回復到社會福利最大下的狀況。若想要達到我們所希望的員工投入，老闆不將其解雇的情形 ，唯有在契約中明訂員工必須要投入大於一定的範圍且員工的議價能力很強下，才能保護員工不會被廠商任意的解雇。在此契約下，老闆只賺得正常利潤，而員工則成為剩餘價值的要求者(residual claimant)。

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2002. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Bakgrund: Det finns idag ett stort utbud av banker på den svenska marknaden och den allmänna diskussionen påvisar att intresset för att välja en hållbar bank ökar från samhället. I dagsläget har merparten av bankerna i det svenska samhället implementerat sin egen hållbarhetspolicy, med egna riktlinjer och kravställningar de skall följa, samt en beskrivning om vilka principer de sägs stå bakom. I och med att begreppet hållbarhet inte är reglerat i lagstiftningen leder detta till att begreppet tolkas på olika sätt och kan innebära svårigheter för kunder, eftersom det kan finnas skillnader i hållbara bankers inriktning när det gäller investeringar och utlåningar. Därmed kan det ifrågasättas om kunden är medveten om vad den investerar i. Med utgångspunkt utifrån detta finns det ett intresse att analysera och belysa hur de olika aktörerna på banksektorn själva definierar begreppet för att sedan komma fram till en mer konkret förklaring av vad som menas med begreppet för att underlätta för kunderna. Syfte: Uppsatsen syftar till att analysera och belysa hur den svenska banksektorn tolkar och implementerar hållbarhetsaspekten i dess verksamhet och hur den rådande mångtydiga definitionen av begreppet hållbarhet påverkar sektorn och dess aktörer. Metod: För att besvara studiens syfte har ett kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt använts. Efter att ha studerat relevant litteratur samt analyserat hur den svenska banksektorns hållbarhetsarbete så har en egenkonstruerad analysmodell utvecklats. Denna analysmodell ligger till grund för referensramen, utformandet av intervjumallen samt analys av den insamlade datan. Sammanlagt har nio semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts med banker, externa oberoendegranskningsparter och kunder. Slutsats: En hållbar bank är en bank som aktivt arbetar för att minimera dess negativa påverkan på människa, samhälle och miljö, såväl som aktivt tar till vara på de möjligheter de har för att främja hållbar utveckling. Bristen på transparens och tydlighet i kombination med en banksekretess ger utrymme för opportunistiskt beteende hos bankerna. Lemonsproblematiken råder inte för banker generellt i dagsläget men det finns tendenser inom mindre verksamhetsgrenar såsom fondförvaltning. Slutligen är dagens regelverk och övervakning inte tillräckliga för att reducera informationsasymmetrier och opportunistiskt beteende. Externa oberoende granskningsaktörer synar opportunistiskt beteende men kanäven ge upphov till opportunistiskt beteende i form av vitmålning. / Background: Today, there is a wide range of banks on the Swedish market and the general discussion shows that interest in choosing a sustainable bank is increasing from the society. At the moment, most of the Swedish banks have implemented their own policies, guidelines and requirements regarding sustainability, which they are following, as well as a description of the international principles they are said to stand behind. As the concept of sustainability is not regulated in the legislation, this means that the term is interpreted in different ways and may cause difficulties for the customers, as there may be differences in the focus of sustainable banks in terms of financing and investing. Therefore, it can be questioned if the customer is aware of what they invest in. Based on this, it is found interesting to analyse and enlighten how the different actors, in the banking sector, define the term sustainability, in order to clarify and explain what the definition of sustainability means, within the banking sector, to facilitate for the customers. Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to analyse and illustrate how the Swedish banking sector interprets and implements the sustainability aspect in their organisation and how the current ambiguous definition of sustainability affects the sector and its agents. Method: In order to answer the purpose of the study, a qualitative approach has been used. A unique analysis model has been developed. This after studying relevant literature and analysing how the Swedish banking sector works regarding sustainability. This analysis model forms the basis for the theory, the design of the interview template and the analysis of the collected data. In total, nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with banks, external independent auditors and customers. Conclusion: A sustainable bank is a bank that actively works to minimize its negative impact on humans, society and environment, as well as actively embracing the opportunities they have for promoting sustainable development. The lack of transparency and clarity in combination with bank secrecy creates a space for opportunistic behaviour from the banks. The Markets for “Lemons” do not exist at the moment in the banking sector, as a whole, but there are tendencies in specific operation groups, such as fund management. Today's regulatory and monitoring is not enough to reduce information asymmetries and opportunistic behaviour. External independent auditors bring opportunistic behaviour to the surface but can also cause opportunistic behaviour in terms of whitewashing.

Submitted by Karen Britto (karenbritto@unipampa.edu.br) on 2018-11-20T14:48:35Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Mauro Barcellos Sopeña - 2016.pdf: 2656108 bytes, checksum: 8af022580ee49770af088ad153fd3c8c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-20T14:48:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Mauro Barcellos Sopeña - 2016.pdf: 2656108 bytes, checksum: 8af022580ee49770af088ad153fd3c8c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-08-22 / A presente tese examina contratos agroindustriais selecionados para o Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. A partir do conceito williamsoniano de governança eficiente, busca-se compreender e mensurar de que forma o comportamento oportunista dos agentes se manifesta diante daquelas estruturas de governança, considerando o princípio da incompletude contratual. Para tanto, utiliza-se de métodos mistos de análise que combinam a abordagem quantitativa oriunda da lógica fuzzy, com o aporte qualitativo dos estudos multicaso. O pressuposto comportamental do oportunismo, próprio da Nova Economia Institucional, é analisado para contratos da orizicultura, fumicultura e suinocultura. Propositalmente – e a priori, os contratos são considerados, respectivamente, como clássicos, neoclássicos e bilaterais, o que corresponde à tipologia contratual definida por Oliver Williamson a partir da teoria relacional de Ian MacNeil. Ao considerar que cada modelo contratual apresenta condições estruturais próprias e distintas dos demais, a análise comparativa da ocorrência de posturas oportunistas passa a importar. Assim, as atividades agroindustriais são analisadas em termos de conformidade com os modelos teóricos, utilizando-se, para isto, controladores ou marcadores apropriados em cada estrutura de governança. O modelo fuzzy elaborado para a mensuração do fenômeno constitui-se de três categorias de análise: (a) o nível de confiança que os agentes possuem sobre a contraparte contratual, (b) as referências que possuem junto a seus pares e (c) a importância que atribuem à adoção de salvaguardas contratuais. A análise qualitativa de cada caso contém, além das entrevistas junto aos agentes, processos de observação, pesquisas documentais e visitas a entidades setoriais representativas. Registra-se, a partir da análise dos dados, uma forte correspondência entre os resultados apurados em ambos os métodos, ou seja, ambos os planos de análise apresentaram a mesma tendência acerca da postura dos agentes, o que valida, de certa forma, o modelo quantitativo proposto. Os resultados globais do trabalho demonstram ainda que um maior nível de contratualização formal, juntamente com uma maior complexidade contratual, associa-se com maior ocorrência de comportamentos oportunistas por parte dos agentes – resultado este já sugerido pela literatura, embora com escassos modelos analíticos. Nesta perspectiva, outras contribuições de ordem teórica foram possíveis, sobretudo quando o referido pressuposto comportamental foi cotejado com atributos próprios da transação. Em linhas gerais, os acordos examinados revelaram a existência de uma importante co-especificidade de avaliação e de prova em ativos, propriedade esta que está diretamente vinculada à ocorrência de oportunismo via informação assimétrica. Este achado contribui para uma análise mais realista daquelas atividades agroindustriais, além de expandir o conceito de ativos específicos. Por fim, uma especial dimensão relativa aos problemas de informação assimétrica em contratos foi detectada. A proposição decorrente sustenta-se na noção de revelação e validação da informação por parte dos agentes, questão esta que representa uma nova e importante dimensão estrutural existente para aqueles contratos. / This thesis examines agroindustrial contracts selected for the State of Rio Grande do Sul. From the williamsoniano concept of efficient governance, we seek to understand and measure how the opportunistic behaviour of agents is manifested on those governance structures, whereas the principle of contractual incompleteness. To do so, uses mixed methods analysis combining quantitative approach of fuzzy logic, with the qualitative contribution of parallel studies. The behavioral assumption of opportunism, of New Institutional Economics, is parsed for contracts of rice, fumicultura and pig farming. Purpose – and a priori, the contracts are considered, respectively, as classics, and bilateral, neoclassical which corresponds to the contractual typology defined by Oliver Williamson from the relational theory of Ian MacNeil. When considering that each contractual model presents structural conditions and separate themselves from the others, the comparative analysis of the occurrence of opportunistic postures passes the import. Thus, the agro-industrial activities are analysed in terms of conformity with the theoretical models, using, for this, controllers or appropriate markers each governance structure. The fuzzy model developed for the measurement of the phenomenon consists of three categories of analysis: (a) the level of confidence that the agents have on the contractual counterpart (b) references that have next to their peers and (c) the importance we attach to the adoption of contractual safeguards. The qualitative analysis of each case contains, in addition to the interviews with the agents, processes, documentary research and observation visits to sectoral representative entities. Registers, from the analysis of the data, a strong correspondence between the results calculated in both methods, i.e. both plans showed the same tendency analysis on the attitude of the agents that validates, in some ways, the proposed model. The overall results of the work demonstrate a higher level of formal contracts, along with a greater complexity of contract, associated with a higher occurrence of opportunistic behaviour on the part of the agents – this result suggested by literature, although with few analytical models. In this perspective, other order theoretical contributions were possible, especially when the behavioral assumption was cotejado with own attributes of the transaction. In General, the agreements examined revealed the existence of an important evaluation and evidence co-especificidade in assets, property is directly linked to the occurrence of opportunism via asymmetric information. This finding contributes to a more realistic analysis of those agro-industrial activities, as well as expand the concept of specific assets. Finally, a particular dimension concerning problems of asymmetric information in contracts was determined. The resulting proposition is supported in the notion of revelation and validation of the information by the agents, which represents a new and important dimension existing in those structural contracts.

L’Internet a complètement révolutionné la façon dont nous communiquons. En parallèle, la croissance importante des réseaux mobiles s'est accompagnée d'une explosion du nombre d’usagers et d'une augmentation exponentielle de la demande. Cependant, l’Internet n'est pas encore, voire n'est pas toujours, universellement accessible. Par exemple, c'est le cas en ce qui concerne l’accès dans les économies émergentes ou dans les régions éloignées, les obstacles physiques empêchant le déploiement de réseaux mobiles et les désastres naturels. C'est dans ce contexte que les réseaux tolérants au délai ont été introduits pour faire face aux environnements caractérisés par des interruptions et des délais de transmission élevés. Ces réseaux, manquent souvent de routes pré-déterminées ou même de toute infrastructure pour permettre une communication de bout-en-bout. Dans ce contexte, tous les nœuds de ces réseaux peuvent interagir en utilisant leurs contacts comme une opportunité de communication. Le paradigme stockage/transport permet à ces nœuds d’exploiter des chemins spatio-temporels créés par ces possibilités de contact afin de livrer des messages au fil du temps. Dans ce travail, nous soulevons ici une question générique : pouvons-nous concevoir une infrastructure mobile et opportuniste qui pourrait aider à transmettre ces messages ? Afin de fournir une telle infrastructure, nous étudions l’application des marches aléatoires temporelles (TRWs) dans réseaux opportunistes. Nous explorons l’application et l’impact de la TRW pour fournir une infrastructure minimale et non-invasive à partir de deux points de vue : le stockage des données et leur transmission. / The Internet has entirely reshaped the way we communicate and interact with one another. The rapid development of the wireless infrastructure by network providers has being accompanied by an exponential growth in the number of mobile users. However, global Internet access and connectivity still face several challenges: scarce or poor quality connectivity in developing countries or places with limited accessibility, physical obstacles limiting the deployment of wireless networks and natural or man-made disasters. Delay tolerant networks (DTNs) were introduced to deal with environments where interruptions or disruptions of service were expected. Such networks usually lack of end-to-end paths or any infrastructure to help communications. In these networks, mobile nodes may interact using their contacts as a communication opportunity. The store-carry-forward paradigm allows nodes to exploit spatio-temporal paths created by contact opportunities in order to deliver messages over time. Instead we raise the question: can we design a mobile and opportunistic infrastructure that could help deliver messages? In the quest to provide such infrastructure, we study the application of temporal random walks (TRW) over the opportunistic networks. We explore the application and impact of TRW as a minimal and non invasive infrastructure from two points of view: data forwarding and data recollection/transmission.

Os resultados permitiram a redação de quatro artigos. Aspectos microbiológicos e clínicos de corinebacterioses em pacientes com câncer observados durante cinco anos foram descritos no Artigo 1. No Artigo 2 foram apresentados casos de bacteremia causados por corinebactérias invasivas não toxigênicas em dois períodos com intervalo de sete anos. As infecções em pacientes com câncer por C. diphtheriae, causando casos clínicos atípicos foram descritas no Artigo 3, além do estudo dos principais fatores de virulência de uma cepa de C. diphtheriae isolada de infecção associada ao cateter de nefrostomia foi descrita no Artigo 4. Resumidamente no Artigo 1, além dos aspectos clínico-epidemiológicos foram avaliados os perfis de resistência aos antimicrobianos e o potencial de virulência dos micro-organismos. Em cinco anos, 932 amostras de corinebactérias, com perfis de resistência aos antimicrobianos testados, foram isoladas de pacientes com câncer. As espécies predominantes foram Corynebacterium amycolatum (44,7%), Corynebacterium minutissimum (18,3%) e Corynebacterium pseudodiphtheriticum (8,5%). O uso de catéteres de longa permanência e a neutropenia, foram às condições importantes para infecção por corinebactérias. As doenças de base mais comuns foram os tumores sólidos. Pacientes hospitalizados apresentaram risco seis vezes maior de morrer, quando relacionadas às taxas de mortalidade com 30 dias (RC= 5,5; IC 95%= 1,15-26,30; p= 0,033). As bacteremias (Artigo 2) causadas por corinebactérias foram observadas em dois períodos: 2003-2004 (n=38) e de 2012-2013 (n=24). As espécies multirresistentes C. amycolatum e Corynebacterium jeikeium foram os principais responsáveis pelos quadros de bacteremia. Havia 34 pacientes com tumores sólidos e 28 pacientes com doenças linfoproliferativas, sendo que 21 deles apresentavam neutropenia e 54 utilizavam cateter venoso central. Em 41 pacientes havia infecção relacionada ou associada aos dispositivos intravasculares. Os pacientes com bacteremia responderam ao tratamento com vancomicina após a remoção do cateter. O comportamento agressivo da neoplasia, o tempo de internação hospitalar e o uso de CVC aumentaram o risco de bacteremias por Corynebacterium spp. No Artigo 3, 17 casos de infecções atípicas causadas por Corynebacterium diphtheriae foram diagnosticadas de 1996 a 2013. A incidência de C. diphtheriae correspondeu a 15,8 casos/100.000 admissões, 465 vezes maior que a incidência de difteria na população brasileira. Sintomas toxêmicos foram observados em nove pacientes, embora quadros de difteria clássica e endocardite não fossem observados. O perfil eletroforético em campo pulsado (PFGE) demonstrou um perfil de distribuição endêmica, apesar de haver dois casos de pacientes com o mesmo perfil eletroforético sugerindo transmissão relacionada aos cuidados à saúde. A adesão em superfícies bióticas e abióticas e produção de biofilme em cateter de poliuretano (Artigo 4) foi demonstrada em C. diphtheriae não toxigênico no sítio de inserção do cateter de nefrostomia. Os dados desses artigos permitiram concluir que (i) diferentes espécies de corinebactérias multirresistentes foram capazes de causar infecções em pacientes com câncer, incluindo bacteremias; (ii) C. diphtheriae foi capaz de causar infecções graves em indivíduos imunocomprometidos, incluindo infecções relacionadas ao uso de dispositivos invasivos em populações de risco, tais como pacientes com câncer. / A retrospective study at the InstitutoNacional doCâncer-INCA (National Cancer Institute) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil examined infections of Corynebacterium sp. in cancer patients. The results were presented in four papers. Article 1 describes microbiological and clinical aspects of corynebacteriosis in cancer patients observed over five years. Article 2 presents cases of bacteremia caused by invasive non-toxigenic corynebacteria observed in 2003-2004 and seven years later in 2012-2013. Article 3 presents atypical clinical cases of cancer patients infected by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, while Article 4 is a study of the major bacterial virulence factors of an isolated strain of C. diphtheriae in infections associated with nephrostomy catheters.In addition to clinical and epidemiological aspects, Article 1 evaluates the antimicrobial resistance profiles and potential virulence factor of microorganisms. Over a period of five years, 932 samples of corynebacteria with antimicrobial resistance profiles were isolated from patients with cancer. The predominant species were Corynebacterium amycolatum (44.7%), Corynebacterium minutissimum (18.3%) and Corynebacterium pseudodiphtheriticum (8.5%).Long-term catheter use and neutropenia were the major conditions for infection by corynebacteria. Solid tumors were the most common underlying illness. The 30-day mortality rate for patients with corynebacteria infections was six times greater in hospitalized patients than for non-hospitalized patients (OR = 5.5, 95% CI = 1.15 to 26.30, p = 0.033).In Article 2, bacteremia caused by corynebacteria were observed in two time frames: 2003 to 2004 (n=38) and 2012 to 2103 (n=24). The multidrug-resistant species C. amycolatum and Corynebacterium jeikeium were responsible for invasive diseases.There were 34 patients with solid tumors and 28 patients with lymphoproliferative diseases, of which 21 had neutropenia and 54 used central venous catheter. Forty-one patients experienced infection related to or associated with intravascular device. Patients with bacteremia responded to treatment with vancomycin after removal of the catheter. The aggressive behavior of the neoplasia, the hospital stay and the use of central venous catheter increased risk of bacteremias by Corynebacterium sp. In Article 3, 17 cases of atypical infections caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae were diagnosed from 1996 to 2013. The incidence of C. diphtheriae corresponded to 15.8 cases per 100,000 admissions which is 465 times greater than the incidence of diphtheria in the Brazilian population. Toxemic symptoms were observed in nine patients, although clinical signs of classical diphtheria and endocarditis were not observed.The Pulsed-field gel electrophoretic (PFGE) demonstrated a profile of endemic distribution, although there were two cases with identical profiles suggesting health care-related infections.Article 4demonstrates that non-toxigenic C. diphtheriae attaches to biotic and abiotic surfaces with the production of biofilm in polyurethane catheters at the nephrostomy insertion site. The data presented in these papers permit a conclusion the (i) different species of multidrug-resistant corynebacteria are capable of causing infections in cancer patients, including bacteremias; (ii) C. diphtheriae is capable of causing serious infections in immunocompromised individuals, including infections related to the use of disposable devices among at-risk populations such as those with cancer.

This thesis examines agroindustrial contracts selected for the State of Rio Grande do Sul. From the williamsoniano concept of efficient governance, we seek to understand and measure how the opportunistic behaviour of agents is manifested on those governance structures, whereas the principle of contractual incompleteness. To do so, uses mixed methods analysis combining quantitative approach of fuzzy logic, with the qualitative contribution of parallel studies. The behavioral assumption of opportunism, of New Institutional Economics, is parsed for contracts of rice, fumicultura and pig farming. Purpose and a priori, the contracts are considered, respectively, as classics, and bilateral, neoclassical which corresponds to the contractual typology defined by Oliver Williamson from the relational theory of Ian MacNeil. When considering that each contractual model presents structural conditions and separate themselves from the others, the comparative analysis of the occurrence of opportunistic postures passes the import. Thus, the agro-industrial activities are analysed in terms of conformity with the theoretical models, using, for this, controllers or appropriate markers each governance structure. The fuzzy model developed for the measurement of the phenomenon consists of three categories of analysis: (a) the level of confidence that the agents have on the contractual counterpart (b) references that have next to their peers and (c) the importance we attach to the adoption of contractual safeguards. The qualitative analysis of each case contains, in addition to the interviews with the agents, processes, documentary research and observation visits to sectoral representative entities. Registers, from the analysis of the data, a strong correspondence between the results calculated in both methods, i.e. both plans showed the same tendency analysis on the attitude of the agents that validates, in some ways, the proposed model. The overall results of the work demonstrate a higher level of formal contracts, along with a greater complexity of contract, associated with a higher occurrence of opportunistic behaviour on the part of the agents this result suggested by literature, although with few analytical models. In this perspective, other order theoretical contributions were possible, especially when the behavioral assumption was cotejado with own attributes of the transaction. In General, the agreements examined revealed the existence of an important evaluation and evidence co-especificidade in assets, property is directly linked to the occurrence of opportunism via asymmetric information. This finding contributes to a more realistic analysis of those agro-industrial activities, as well as expand the concept of specific assets. Finally, a particular dimension concerning problems of asymmetric information in contracts was determined. The resulting proposition is supported in the notion of revelation and validation of the information by the agents, which represents a new and important dimension existing in those structural contracts. / A presente tese examina contratos agroindustriais selecionados para o Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. A partir do conceito williamsoniano de governança eficiente, busca-se compreender e mensurar de que forma o comportamento oportunista dos agentes se manifesta diante daquelas estruturas de governança, considerando o princípio da incompletude contratual. Para tanto, utiliza-se de métodos mistos de análise que combinam a abordagem quantitativa oriunda da lógica fuzzy, com o aporte qualitativo dos estudos multicaso. O pressuposto comportamental do oportunismo, próprio da Nova Economia Institucional, é analisado para contratos da orizicultura, fumicultura e suinocultura. Propositalmente e a priori, os contratos são considerados, respectivamente, como clássicos, neoclássicos e bilaterais, o que corresponde à tipologia contratual definida por Oliver Williamson a partir da teoria relacional de Ian MacNeil. Ao considerar que cada modelo contratual apresenta condições estruturais próprias e distintas dos demais, a análise comparativa da ocorrência de posturas oportunistas passa a importar. Assim, as atividades agroindustriais são analisadas em termos de conformidade com os modelos teóricos, utilizando-se, para isto, controladores ou marcadores apropriados em cada estrutura de governança. O modelo fuzzy elaborado para a mensuração do fenômeno constitui-se de três categorias de análise: (a) o nível de confiança que os agentes possuem sobre a contraparte contratual, (b) as referências que possuem junto a seus pares e (c) a importância que atribuem à adoção de salvaguardas contratuais. A análise qualitativa de cada caso contém, além das entrevistas junto aos agentes, processos de observação, pesquisas documentais e visitas a entidades setoriais representativas. Registra-se, a partir da análise dos dados, uma forte correspondência entre os resultados apurados em ambos os métodos, ou seja, ambos os planos de análise apresentaram a mesma tendência acerca da postura dos agentes, o que valida, de certa forma, o modelo quantitativo proposto. Os resultados globais do trabalho demonstram ainda que um maior nível de contratualização formal, juntamente com uma maior complexidade contratual, associa-se com maior ocorrência de comportamentos oportunistas por parte dos agentes resultado este já sugerido pela literatura, embora com escassos modelos analíticos. Nesta perspectiva, outras contribuições de ordem teórica foram possíveis, sobretudo quando o referido pressuposto comportamental foi cotejado com atributos próprios da transação. Em linhas gerais, os acordos examinados revelaram a existência de uma importante co-especificidade de avaliação e de prova em ativos, propriedade esta que está diretamente vinculada à ocorrência de oportunismo via informação assimétrica. Este achado contribui para uma análise mais realista daquelas atividades agroindustriais, além de expandir o conceito de ativos específicos. Por fim, uma especial dimensão relativa aos problemas de informação assimétrica em contratos foi detectada. A proposição decorrente sustenta-se na noção de revelação e validação da informação por parte dos agentes, questão esta que representa uma nova e importante dimensão estrutural existente para aqueles contratos.

Submitted by Emanuel Varela Cardoso (emanuel.varela@ufcg.edu.br) on 2018-05-09T20:35:48Z No. of bitstreams: 1 TELLES MOTA VIDAL NÓBREGA – DISSERTAÇÃO (PPGEEI) 2016.pdf: 2737490 bytes, checksum: 8a7c4bfc097eaba99e275e3406c16149 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-05-09T20:35:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TELLES MOTA VIDAL NÓBREGA – DISSERTAÇÃO (PPGEEI) 2016.pdf: 2737490 bytes, checksum: 8a7c4bfc097eaba99e275e3406c16149 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-08-12 / Nuvens computacionais oferecem para usuários a facilidade de aquisição de recursos por meio da internet de forma rápida, barata e segura. Entretanto, grande parte das nuvens se mantém ociosa devido à reserva de recursos. Visando a aumentar a utilização da nuvem, provedores de nuvem criaram um modelo de instâncias que reusam recursos ociosos, conhecidas como instâncias oportunistas. Essas instâncias são mais baratas que as instâncias de recursos dedicados, porém voláteis, podendo ser preemptadas do usuário a qualquer momento, o que as torna inadequadas para alguns tipos de aplicação. Processamento de dados, seguindo a tendência de outras aplicações, tem sido migrado para nuvem e pode ser beneficiado por instâncias oportunistas, devido à sua natureza tolerante à falha, resultando na criação de clusters a um custo menor comparado à instâncias com recursos dedicados.Este trabalho propõe a utilização dos recursos ociosos para a criação de um outro modelo de instâncias oportunistas. Esse modelo visa a criação de instâncias oportunistas com qualidade de serviço, que são instâncias criadas baseadas em uma predição do estado da nuvem. A predição é realizada a partir de dados históricos de utilização de recursos como CPU e memória RAM e assim diminuindo o risco de perder instâncias antes do fim do processamento. Ainda com a existência do preditor, o risco de perda de uma máquina existe e para esse caso propomos a utilização de migração viva, movendo a máquina virtual de servidor, evitando assim a destruição da mesma. Com nossa abordagem, utilizando apenas duas instâncias oportunistas durante os experimentos, obtivemos uma diminuição no tempo de processamento de dados de 10% em um cluster com 2 workers e 1 master. Além disso, ao utilizar a migração, temos uma melhora de aproximadamente 70% no tempo de processamento em comparação com os casos onde uma instância é perdida. / Cloud computing offers the users the ease of resources acquisition through the Internet in a fast, cheap and safe manner. However, these clouds have a lot of idle resources due to resource reservation. Aiming to increase resources usage, cloud providers have created an instance model that uses these idle resources, known as opportunistic instances. These instances are cheaper than the dedicated resources instances, but are volatile and can be destroyed at any time, which makes them unsuitable for some types of application. Data processing, following the trend of other applications, have been migrated to the cloud and can be benefited by the use opportunistic instances, due to its fault tolerant nature, resulting in the creation of clusters at a lower cost compared to instances with dedicated resources. In this work, we propose the use of idle resources to create another model of opportunistic instances. This model aims to create opportunistic instances with quality of service, which are created instances based on a prediction of the state of the cloud. The prediction is made from historical data of resource usage such as CPU and RAM, thus reducing the risk of losing instances before the end of the processing. Even with the existence of a predictor, the risk of losing a machine still exists, and for this case we propose the use of live migration, moving the virtual machine to a different server, thus avoiding the its destruction. With our approach, using only two opportunistic instances during the experiments, we found a decrease in 10% in the data processing time in a cluster with 2 workers and 1 master. Furthermore, when using the migration, we have an improvement of approximately 70% in processing time compared with the case where one instance is lost.

Os resultados permitiram a redação de quatro artigos. Aspectos microbiológicos e clínicos de corinebacterioses em pacientes com câncer observados durante cinco anos foram descritos no Artigo 1. No Artigo 2 foram apresentados casos de bacteremia causados por corinebactérias invasivas não toxigênicas em dois períodos com intervalo de sete anos. As infecções em pacientes com câncer por C. diphtheriae, causando casos clínicos atípicos foram descritas no Artigo 3, além do estudo dos principais fatores de virulência de uma cepa de C. diphtheriae isolada de infecção associada ao cateter de nefrostomia foi descrita no Artigo 4. Resumidamente no Artigo 1, além dos aspectos clínico-epidemiológicos foram avaliados os perfis de resistência aos antimicrobianos e o potencial de virulência dos micro-organismos. Em cinco anos, 932 amostras de corinebactérias, com perfis de resistência aos antimicrobianos testados, foram isoladas de pacientes com câncer. As espécies predominantes foram Corynebacterium amycolatum (44,7%), Corynebacterium minutissimum (18,3%) e Corynebacterium pseudodiphtheriticum (8,5%). O uso de catéteres de longa permanência e a neutropenia, foram às condições importantes para infecção por corinebactérias. As doenças de base mais comuns foram os tumores sólidos. Pacientes hospitalizados apresentaram risco seis vezes maior de morrer, quando relacionadas às taxas de mortalidade com 30 dias (RC= 5,5; IC 95%= 1,15-26,30; p= 0,033). As bacteremias (Artigo 2) causadas por corinebactérias foram observadas em dois períodos: 2003-2004 (n=38) e de 2012-2013 (n=24). As espécies multirresistentes C. amycolatum e Corynebacterium jeikeium foram os principais responsáveis pelos quadros de bacteremia. Havia 34 pacientes com tumores sólidos e 28 pacientes com doenças linfoproliferativas, sendo que 21 deles apresentavam neutropenia e 54 utilizavam cateter venoso central. Em 41 pacientes havia infecção relacionada ou associada aos dispositivos intravasculares. Os pacientes com bacteremia responderam ao tratamento com vancomicina após a remoção do cateter. O comportamento agressivo da neoplasia, o tempo de internação hospitalar e o uso de CVC aumentaram o risco de bacteremias por Corynebacterium spp. No Artigo 3, 17 casos de infecções atípicas causadas por Corynebacterium diphtheriae foram diagnosticadas de 1996 a 2013. A incidência de C. diphtheriae correspondeu a 15,8 casos/100.000 admissões, 465 vezes maior que a incidência de difteria na população brasileira. Sintomas toxêmicos foram observados em nove pacientes, embora quadros de difteria clássica e endocardite não fossem observados. O perfil eletroforético em campo pulsado (PFGE) demonstrou um perfil de distribuição endêmica, apesar de haver dois casos de pacientes com o mesmo perfil eletroforético sugerindo transmissão relacionada aos cuidados à saúde. A adesão em superfícies bióticas e abióticas e produção de biofilme em cateter de poliuretano (Artigo 4) foi demonstrada em C. diphtheriae não toxigênico no sítio de inserção do cateter de nefrostomia. Os dados desses artigos permitiram concluir que (i) diferentes espécies de corinebactérias multirresistentes foram capazes de causar infecções em pacientes com câncer, incluindo bacteremias; (ii) C. diphtheriae foi capaz de causar infecções graves em indivíduos imunocomprometidos, incluindo infecções relacionadas ao uso de dispositivos invasivos em populações de risco, tais como pacientes com câncer. / A retrospective study at the InstitutoNacional doCâncer-INCA (National Cancer Institute) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil examined infections of Corynebacterium sp. in cancer patients. The results were presented in four papers. Article 1 describes microbiological and clinical aspects of corynebacteriosis in cancer patients observed over five years. Article 2 presents cases of bacteremia caused by invasive non-toxigenic corynebacteria observed in 2003-2004 and seven years later in 2012-2013. Article 3 presents atypical clinical cases of cancer patients infected by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, while Article 4 is a study of the major bacterial virulence factors of an isolated strain of C. diphtheriae in infections associated with nephrostomy catheters.In addition to clinical and epidemiological aspects, Article 1 evaluates the antimicrobial resistance profiles and potential virulence factor of microorganisms. Over a period of five years, 932 samples of corynebacteria with antimicrobial resistance profiles were isolated from patients with cancer. The predominant species were Corynebacterium amycolatum (44.7%), Corynebacterium minutissimum (18.3%) and Corynebacterium pseudodiphtheriticum (8.5%).Long-term catheter use and neutropenia were the major conditions for infection by corynebacteria. Solid tumors were the most common underlying illness. The 30-day mortality rate for patients with corynebacteria infections was six times greater in hospitalized patients than for non-hospitalized patients (OR = 5.5, 95% CI = 1.15 to 26.30, p = 0.033).In Article 2, bacteremia caused by corynebacteria were observed in two time frames: 2003 to 2004 (n=38) and 2012 to 2103 (n=24). The multidrug-resistant species C. amycolatum and Corynebacterium jeikeium were responsible for invasive diseases.There were 34 patients with solid tumors and 28 patients with lymphoproliferative diseases, of which 21 had neutropenia and 54 used central venous catheter. Forty-one patients experienced infection related to or associated with intravascular device. Patients with bacteremia responded to treatment with vancomycin after removal of the catheter. The aggressive behavior of the neoplasia, the hospital stay and the use of central venous catheter increased risk of bacteremias by Corynebacterium sp. In Article 3, 17 cases of atypical infections caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae were diagnosed from 1996 to 2013. The incidence of C. diphtheriae corresponded to 15.8 cases per 100,000 admissions which is 465 times greater than the incidence of diphtheria in the Brazilian population. Toxemic symptoms were observed in nine patients, although clinical signs of classical diphtheria and endocarditis were not observed.The Pulsed-field gel electrophoretic (PFGE) demonstrated a profile of endemic distribution, although there were two cases with identical profiles suggesting health care-related infections.Article 4demonstrates that non-toxigenic C. diphtheriae attaches to biotic and abiotic surfaces with the production of biofilm in polyurethane catheters at the nephrostomy insertion site. The data presented in these papers permit a conclusion the (i) different species of multidrug-resistant corynebacteria are capable of causing infections in cancer patients, including bacteremias; (ii) C. diphtheriae is capable of causing serious infections in immunocompromised individuals, including infections related to the use of disposable devices among at-risk populations such as those with cancer.