In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the demand for streaming of high quality videos on the smart mobile phones. In order to meet the user quality requirements, it is important to maintain the end user quality while taking the resource consumption into consideration. This demand caught the attention of the research communities and network providers to prioritize Quality of Experience (QoE) in addition to the Quality of Service (QoS). In order to meet the users’ expectations, the QoE studies have gained utmost importance, thus creating the challenge of evaluating it in such a way that the quality, cost and energy consumption are taken into account. This gave way to the concept of QoE-aware sustainable throughput, which denotes the maximal throughput at which QoE problems can be still kept at a desired level. The aim of the thesis is to determine the sustainable throughput values from the QoE perspective. The values are observed for different delay and packet loss values in wireless and mobile scenarios. The evaluation is done using the subjective video quality assessment method. In the subjective assessment method, the evaluation is done using the ITU-T recommended Absolute Category Rating (ACR). The video quality ratings are taken from the users, and are then averaged to obtain the Mean Opinion Score (MOS). The obtained scores are used for analysis in determining the sustainable throughput values from the users’ perspective. From the results it is determined that, for all the video test cases, the videos are rated better quality at low packet loss values and low delay values. The quality of the videos with the presence of delay is rated high compared to the video quality in the case of packet loss. It was observed that the high resolution videos are feeble in the presence of higher disturbances i.e. high packet loss and larger delays. From considering all the cases, it can be observed that the QoE disturbances due to the delivery issues is at an acceptable minimum for the 360px video. Hence, the 480x360 video is the threshold to sustain the video quality.

La prévalence de l’obésité abdominale a augmenté chez les personnes âgées et ce, particulièrement chez les femmes. Connaissant les risques associés de maladies chroniques, il est important de développer des stratégies efficaces permettant de réduire l’accumulation de graisse abdominale. Depuis quelques années maintenant, il est suggéré que l’entrainement par intervalles à haute intensité (HIIT) de faible volume (75 min/semaine) est une stratégie efficace pour induire une perte de masse grasse, améliorer le profil métabolique et la capacité fonctionnelle chez les personnes en surpoids, tout en favorisant une réponse affective à l’effort qui est supérieure à celle induite par l’exercice continu d’intensité modérée. Néanmoins, la faisabilité et l’impact d’une telle stratégie chez les femmes âgées, les plus touchées par l’obésité abdominale, demeurent à démontrer. D’autre part, il existe des discordances quant aux effets du HIIT de faible volume comparativement à ceux observés en réponse aux recommandations actuelles en matière d’exercice aérobie. Ainsi, l’objectif principal de ce mémoire était d’établir la faisabilité d’un programme de 8 semaines de HIIT de faible volume et de comparer ses effets à ceux obtenus en réponse aux recommandations actuelles en matière d’exercice (150 min/semaine d’exercice aérobie d’intensité modérée; CONT) sur la masse grasse, le profil métabolique et la capacité fonctionnelle chez des femmes âgées présentant une obésité abdominale. Méthodes: Au départ, 40 femmes ont été appelées pour participer au projet. De ces 40 femmes, 21 rencontraient les critères de sélection et ont été évaluées dans notre laboratoire. Suite aux évaluations initiales, 3 femmes ont été exclues (pré-diabète n=1 ; problèmes cardiaques décelés lors de l’épreuve cardiorespiratoire n = 2). Au total, 18 femmes âgées (60-75 ans) en santé, physiquement inactives (< 60 min d’exercice structuré par semaine) et présentant une obésité abdominale (circonférence de la taille: ≥ 88 cm) ont été recrutées et ont complété l’étude. Les participantes ont été réparties aléatoirement parmi deux groupes: 1) HIIT (n = 9) ou 2) CONT (n = 9). Les variables suivantes ont été mesurées avant et après 8 semaines d’intervention: anthropométrie (poids, taille, circonférence de la taille) ; composition corporelle (masse grasse totale, du tronc et viscérale, masse maigre ; iDXA) ; profil métabolique à jeun (profil lipidique, glucose et insuline) ; capacité fonctionnelle (test de marche de 6 minutes, tests de capacité fonctionnelle, tests de force maximale et capacité aérobie maximale : VO2 max). La faisabilité fut établie avec le taux de complétion (abandon, adhérence à l’intervention) et la réponse affective, qui fut mesurée avant et après chaque séance d’entrainement pendant les 8 semaines d’intervention. Résultats: Le taux de complétion était élevé et similaire dans les deux groupes (HIIT : 92,7 ± 4,1 %; CONT : 94,7 ± 3,1 %), il n’y a eu aucun abandon. La réponse affective, avant et après chaque séance d’exercice, était élevée (HIIT : avant 4,2 ± 0,6 vs. après 4,2 ± 1,1 ; CONT : avant 4,0 ± 0,8 vs. après 4 ,2 ± 1,0), en plus d’être similaire entre les groupes (toutes valeurs de p ≥ 0,58). Au départ, les femmes des deux groupes présentaient une faible capacité aérobie (VO2 max : HIIT : 20,3 ± 4,6 mL/kg/min et CONT : 20,1 ± 2,6 mL/kg/min). Bien que la composition corporelle soit demeurée inchangée, les niveaux plasmatiques de cholestérol total (p = 0,013), de cholestérol non-HDL (p = 0,005) et de cholestérol LDL (p = 0,001) ont diminué dans les deux groupes de façon similaire. La distance parcourue au test de marche de 6 minutes a augmenté (p < 0,0001) et la pression artérielle diastolique avant le début du test à diminuée (p = 0,023) chez toutes les participantes. Le nombre de répétitions réalisées au test de flexion du coude (arm curl) a augmenté (p = 0,046) dans les deux groupes. Conclusion: Un programme de 8 semaines de HIIT de faible volume est faisable par les femmes âgées inactives qui présentent une obésité abdominale et une faible capacité aérobie. Néanmoins, 8 semaines de HIIT ou de CONT ne suffisent pas pour améliorer la composition corporelle chez des femmes âgées présentant une obésité abdominale. Cependant, avec seulement la moitié du temps des recommandations actuelles en matière d’exercice aérobie (75 vs. 150 min/semaine) et la moitié de la dépense énergétique, le HIIT de faible volume a permis d’obtenir les mêmes améliorations pour le profil lipidique et la capacité fonctionnelle que l’exercice continu d’intensité modérée chez des femmes âgées qui étaient physiquement inactives avant l’intervention. Ces résultats démontrent que le HIIT de faible volume est une stratégie d’intervention faisable et équivalente aux recommandations actuelles en matière d’exercice aérobie chez les femmes âgées en santé mais préalablement physiquement inactives.

Range cattle grazing in semi-arid regions are commonly limited by lack of nutrients from low-quality forage. Due to this, ranchers are faced with the challenge of monitoring diet quality in order to address nutrient limitations. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) of fecal samples is a method used to determine diet quality values like crude protein (CP) and digestible organic matter (DOM) in grazing animals. When combined with a nutritional balance analyzer such as the NUTBAL system, fecal NIRS can be used to monitor diet quality and project animal performance. Our research aimed to test the ability of NUTBAL to project animal performance as represented by body condition score (BCS) in cattle (n=82 Animal Units) grazing on the Santa Rita Experimental Range (SRER) in southern Arizona. Previous work conducted on other Arizona rangelands led to the hypothesis that fecal NIRS coupled with NUTBAL can be used to monitor diet quality and project BCS in a southern Arizona commercial grazing operation. Data collection occurred between June 2016 and June 2017. Standing biomass and botanical composition were measured before each grazing period, and relative utilization was measured following each grazing period. During the midpoint of grazing in each pasture, 30 body condition scores and a fecal composite of 15 samples were collected. Fecal derived diet quality varied between a maximum of 10.75% CP and 61.25% DOM in early August 2016, to a minimum value of 4.00 % CP and 58.40 % DOM in March 2017. This study confirmed the ability of fecal NIRS paired with NUTBAL to project future BCS within 0.5 a score point more than 80% of the time in cattle grazing on the SRER. With this information, cattle managers in southern Arizona can better address animal performance needs and nutrient deficiencies.

The happening of life can reduce you in to a machine where its only focus is on the relentless rationing of energy. When down on the deep sea plane, not much work gets done. But; I write everything down. Because of my fear of forgetting. I forget anyway, so it might seem pointless. I leave the notes, tucked away behind my back while trying to get out of bed, get dressed, answer an email, speak and understand language, remembering the now. Why take notes that does not get read for weeks, months, years or never. Halfway through my masters I realized its importance; my practice contains of the excavation of my own archive. The words of time has always been my foundation, my point of departure; this essay is surrounded of the past but exists in the now. "All this time with a different pulse. Maybe it is something inside of the water."

Background: Although palliative chemotherapy is the standard of care for patients diagnosed with stage IV NSCLC, patients with a small metastatic burden, “oligometastatic” disease, may benefit from definitive local therapy. Methods: We identified 186 patients (26% of Stage IV patients) prospectively enrolled in our institutional database from 2002-2012 with oligometastatic disease, which we defined as five or fewer distant metastatic lesions at diagnosis. Univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to identify patient and disease factors associated with improved survival. Using propensity score methods, we investigated the effect of definitive local therapy to the primary site on overall survival. Results: Median age at diagnosis was 61 years, 51% of patients were female, 12% had squamous histology, and 33% had N0-1 disease. On multivariable analysis, ECOG performance status ≥2 (hazard ratio [HR] 2.43), nodal status N2-3 (HR 2.16), squamous pathology, and metastases to multiple organs (HR 2.11) were associated with a greater hazard of death (all p<0.01). Number of metastatic lesions and size of primary were not significantly associated with overall survival. Definitive local therapy to the primary tumor was associated with prolonged survival (HR 0.65, p=0.043). Conclusions: Definitive local therapy to the primary tumor appears to be associated with improved survival in patients with oligometastatic NSCLC. Select patient and tumor characteristics, including good performance status, non-squamous histology, and limited nodal disease, may predict for improved survival in these patients.

The Coast Guard conducts over 20,000 search and rescue cases a year with approximately 5% of them occurring within the coastal waters of the West Florida Shelf (WFS). Each search effort is planned using the Coast Guard’s Search and Rescue Optimal Planning System (SAROPS) which uses model inputs to create composite probability distributions based on the results of Monte Carlo projections of thousands of particle trajectories. However, SAROPS is limited by the quality of model inputs and their associated errors. This study utilizes observations from three surface drifter deployments on the WFS to evaluate the effectiveness of available surface current models, including one model not currently in use by the Coast Guard. Additionally, the performance of high-frequency (HF) Radar observations is evaluated against the models. The HF Radar root-mean-square errors (RMSE) were found to be on the order of 10 cm/s, and a model created with objectively mapped HF Radar data was found to out-perform all available models. Additionally, a comparison of model skills (using a normalized Lagrangian separation method) showed the West Florida Coastal Ocean Model (WFCOM) to have better skill on both the inner and outer shelf regions of the WFS when compared to other models.

Acute kidney injury (AKI), characterized by an abrupt loss of kidney function with retention of nitrogenous waste products, is common in the months to years following kidney transplantation and is associated with an increased risk of transplant failure (graft loss). Kidney transplant patients who experience graft loss and return to dialysis have an increased mortality risk and a lower quality of life. Research involving kidney transplant patients can prove challenging, as they are relatively small in number. To increase statistical power, researchers may utilize administrative databases. However, these databases are not designed primarily for research, and knowledge of their limitations is needed, as significant bias can occur. When using administrative databases to study AKI in kidney transplantation, the method used to define AKI should be carefully considered. The power of a study may be greatly increased if AKI can be accurately defined using administrative diagnostic codes because data on AKI will be universally available for all patients in the database. However, the methods by which diagnostic codes are assigned to a patient allow for error to be introduced. We confirmed that, when compared to the gold standard definition for AKI of a rise in serum creatinine, the diagnostic code for AKI has low sensitivity but high specificity in the kidney transplant population (the best performing coding algorithm had a sensitivity of 42.9% (95% CI 29.7, 56.8) and specificity of 89.3% (95% CI 86.2, 91.8) (Chapter 3). We therefore determined that for the study outlined in Chapter 4, defining AKI using diagnostic codes would significantly under-­capture AKI and misclassify patients. We decided to define AKI using only serum creatinine criteria even though this would limit our sample size (creatinine data was only available for a subset of patients in the administrative databases). In Chapter 4, we derived an index score to predict the risk of graft loss in kidney transplant patients following an admission to hospital with AKI. The index includes six readily available, objective clinical variables that increased the risk of graft loss: increasing age, increased severity of AKI (as defined by the AKIN staging system), failure to recover from AKI, lower baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate, increased time from kidney transplant to AKI admission, and deceased donor. The derived index requires validation in order to assess its utility in the clinical realm.

This thesis deals with measurement of customer satisfaction and loyalty among health care providers with services provided by particular pharmaceutical company. The main goal of this work is to develop methodology for measuring customer satisfaction and loyalty for this segment of services. The theoretical part deals with a summary of findings and approaches describing satisfaction and loyalty, and also review of the methods used for their determination. The thesis also analyzes the differences between two groups of customers and summarizes the differences identified in the primary research that was conducted. Primary research was conducted by having structured interviews with respondents from among health care providers (private versus state providers). Dissertation's conclusions correspond with professional resources and thus develop areas of knowledge about the characteristics of the examined service segment.

Previous research implementing stratification on the propensity score has generally relied on using five strata, based on prior theoretical groundwork and minimal empirical evidence as to the suitability of quintiles to adequately reduce bias in all cases and across all sample sizes. This study investigates bias reduction across varying number of strata and sample sizes via a large-scale simulation to determine the adequacy of quintiles for bias reduction under all conditions. Sample sizes ranged from 100 to 50,000 and strata from 3 to 20. Both the percentage of bias reduction and the standardized selection bias were examined. The results show that while the particular covariates in the simulation met certain criteria with five strata that greater bias reduction could be achieved by increasing the number of strata, especially with larger sample sizes. Simulation code written in R is included.

The 1961 Hammer horror film, The Curse of the Werewolf, paired innovative make-up and set design with the avant-garde music of Benjamin Frankel (1906-1973). Frankel’s concert works had by this time embraced serialism, but The Curse of the Werewolf was his sole attempt at composing an almost entirely serial film score. This music more fully bridged the divide between the continental modernist practices found in his concert works with more conventional film music techniques. Thus, The Curse of the Werewolf’s score represents a crucial point in Frankel’s broader creative development as a composer who increasingly embraced twelve-tone methods in his concert works. Drawing from historical surveys, analytical scholarship, journal articles, and Frankel’s own writings, this thesis provides historical context surrounding Frankel’s life and involvement with the film. Most importantly, this study examines Frankel’s implementation of serialism in The Curse of the Werewolf’s score and its relation to the film’s visual and narrative components. I examine three pivotal scenes through traditional film music analysis combined with twelve-tone analysis. These analyses show how Frankel pairs motives with onscreen characters and situations while still embracing serial methods. This study sheds light on serialism’s application in film through the work of an overlooked British composer.