With fast development of technology and globalization competition, firms today are in a changing environment. Skills obsolete quickly. To prevent the skill shortage, training has been given more and more attention. However, current literature has some gaps in examining the training determinants. This thesis use the Workplace and Employee Survey (WES) data (1999 - 2005) to conduct research on the determinants of provision of training and training selection in Canada. The workplace data is a longitudinal panel data of seven waves while the employee data is linked to employer at the micro level. Training is first explored on the workplace panel data to capture the workplace determinants that decide training incidence and intensity. Then with these workplace determinants included, provided that different company train differently in regard of training incidence, employee’s participation in training is investigated on the linked data. Heckman Two-step selection model is adopted to correct the selection bias which has not been properly addressed in most of the studies. With the analysis results, determinants of training are identified. Profit, non-wage benefit and payroll are alternatives to training regardless of firm size. Firms train less if they are experiencing high turnover rate while more training will be provided if firms have larger proportion of professional and technical workers or undergo some organizational change. Employees with longer tenure, married people and female employees are the group of employees that have disadvantage in training. Classroom training is more sensitive for immigrants and temporary workers. The negative effects are greater for classroom training than on-the-job training when those two variables are presented. Collective bargaining agreements only guarantee a large proportion of employees having the training opportunity while training intensity cannot be promised. In fact, small firms reduce their training expenditure while large firms increase investment in training when they are unionized.Several implications are also mentioned.

With fast development of technology and globalization competition, firms today are in a changing environment. Skills obsolete quickly. To prevent the skill shortage, training has been given more and more attention. However, current literature has some gaps in examining the training determinants. This thesis use the Workplace and Employee Survey (WES) data (1999 - 2005) to conduct research on the determinants of provision of training and training selection in Canada. The workplace data is a longitudinal panel data of seven waves while the employee data is linked to employer at the micro level. Training is first explored on the workplace panel data to capture the workplace determinants that decide training incidence and intensity. Then with these workplace determinants included, provided that different company train differently in regard of training incidence, employee’s participation in training is investigated on the linked data. Heckman Two-step selection model is adopted to correct the selection bias which has not been properly addressed in most of the studies. With the analysis results, determinants of training are identified. Profit, non-wage benefit and payroll are alternatives to training regardless of firm size. Firms train less if they are experiencing high turnover rate while more training will be provided if firms have larger proportion of professional and technical workers or undergo some organizational change. Employees with longer tenure, married people and female employees are the group of employees that have disadvantage in training. Classroom training is more sensitive for immigrants and temporary workers. The negative effects are greater for classroom training than on-the-job training when those two variables are presented. Collective bargaining agreements only guarantee a large proportion of employees having the training opportunity while training intensity cannot be promised. In fact, small firms reduce their training expenditure while large firms increase investment in training when they are unionized.Several implications are also mentioned.

Writer, producer and director Wes Anderson’s unusual and idiosyncratic films take place in world which seems to be entirely his own. Often anachronistic and highly stylized, the Andersonian universe looks like little else being shown in contemporary cinemas. Yet, Anderson is also one of the most allusive filmmakers working today. Littered throughout his oeuvre are endless allusions to films, directors, authors and books which have had significant influence on Anderson as an artist. In fact, Anderson’s films can only be fully appreciated when viewed through the lens of his many sources, since his films emerge as he carefully collects, compiles and crafts his many influences into a sort of collage. In order to understand how this dichotomy operates in Anderson’s work I examine the influence of several key directors, authors, and films. Through this study I show that one of the things that make Anderson unique is the very way in which he interacts with the sources to which he is alluding. It is his uncommon ability to weave homage and critique together which makes him a truly allusive auteur.

Writer, producer and director Wes Anderson’s unusual and idiosyncratic films take place in world which seems to be entirely his own. Often anachronistic and highly stylized, the Andersonian universe looks like little else being shown in contemporary cinemas. Yet, Anderson is also one of the most allusive filmmakers working today. Littered throughout his oeuvre are endless allusions to films, directors, authors and books which have had significant influence on Anderson as an artist. In fact, Anderson’s films can only be fully appreciated when viewed through the lens of his many sources, since his films emerge as he carefully collects, compiles and crafts his many influences into a sort of collage. In order to understand how this dichotomy operates in Anderson’s work I examine the influence of several key directors, authors, and films. Through this study I show that one of the things that make Anderson unique is the very way in which he interacts with the sources to which he is alluding. It is his uncommon ability to weave homage and critique together which makes him a truly allusive auteur.

No description available.

Le Lupus est une maladie systémique auto-immune complexe, caractérisée notamment par la perte de tolérance vis-à-vis d’antigènes nucléaires, qui affecte majoritairement les femmes à l’âge adulte. Cette maladie est hétérogène tant du point de vue clinique que génétique, ce qui a considérablement limité les progrès dans la compréhension de sa pathogénèse. Dans ce projet, nous avons mis à profit la technologie de séquençage de nouvelle génération de type « Whole Exome Sequencing (WES)» pour explorer la génétique du Lupus à l’échelle de familles individuelles. De plus, nous avons centré notre étude sur des formes à début pédiatrique qui sont cliniquement plus sévères que les formes adultes. Nous avons fait l’hypothèse que ce sous-groupe de patients devrait être enrichi en formes monogéniques. Nous avons ainsi inclus dans cette étude des cas familiaux de lupus ou des familles dans lesquelles il existait un patient lupique et des apparentés atteints de pathologies auto-immunes. Un séquençage WES a été réalisé dans ces familles et la validation des gènes identifiés par cette stratégie a fait l’objet de ce travail. Nous avons découvert une mutation hétérozygote gain de fonction du gène TMEM173 qui code STING, un adaptateur clé dans la signalisation de la détection des ADNs cytosoliques et la production d’interféron de type-I (IFN-I). Quatre membres de cette famille porteurs de la mutation présentent une pathologie auto-inflammatoire et auto-immune, dont un cas de Lupus, avec une expression clinique hautement variable. Une modélisation structurale in silico de la forme mutée prédisait initialement une stabilisation de la forme dimérique de STING avec pour conséquence possible une activation constitutive. En accord avec ces données, nous avons montré, en absence du ligand naturel, une activité constitutive de la forme mutée de STING exprimée dans une lignée cellulaire, ainsi qu’une localisation spontanée dans l’appareil de Golgi des fibroblastes de patients indiquant un état activé. Corrélativement, nous avons observé une concentration sérique élevée d’IFNa chez les patients ainsi qu’une signature transcriptionnelle fortement augmentée d’un panel de gènes induits par les IFN-I. A la suite de cette découverte, nous avons identifié de nouvelles mutations activatrices de STING chez des patients atteints de pathologies vasculaires et de fibroses pulmonaires sévères en relation avec un syndrome inflammatoire, et deux patients ont pu recevoir un traitement ciblant l’inhibition de la voie des IFN-I. Ce travail a permis de mettre en lumière le rôle clé de STING dans l’homéostasie du système immunitaire chez l’homme et de mieux comprendre la physiopathologie de maladies inflammatoires et auto-immunes, motivant la mise en place d’un traitement spécifique chez les patients. Au-delà de cette découverte importante pour ces malades, ce travail suggère que des variants rares et délétères permettent de décrire les causes génétiques de maladies auto-immunes dites complexes. / Lupus is a complex systemic autoimmune disease characterized by a loss of tolerance to nuclear antigens predominantly afflicting women of childbearing age. The disease is both clinically and genetically heterogeneous and this has greatly limited progress in understanding disease pathogenesis. In this project, we utilize next generation sequencing technology such as “Whole Exome Sequencing (WES)” to explore the genetics of lupus at the level of individual families. Furthermore, we focused on a rare subgroup of lupus patients, which develop the disease in childhood and usually present with a more severe clinical phenotype compared to the adult-onset form. We hypothesized that this subgroup would be enriched for monogenic forms of the disease. Thus, we recruited several families with early-onset in the proband and at least one other familial member presenting with lupus or associated autoimmune disease. WES was performed and the validation of the gene identified by this strategy is described. We identified a familial gain of function dominant mutation in TMEM173, encoding STING, a key adaptor molecule in the cytosolic DNA sensing pathway and Type-I interferon (IFN-I) production. The four affected family members demonstrate a systemic inflammatory and autoimmune condition, including lupus, with variable clinical expression. Structural modeling initially predicted a stabilized dimerization of the mutant STING and thereby a constitutive activation. In agreement with this, we found that the STING mutant spontaneously localizes in the Golgi of patient fibroblasts, and is constitutively active in the absence of its ligand in vitro. Accordingly, we observed elevated serum interferon activity and a IFN-I signature in peripheral blood. We have also identified several other patients with activating STING mutations presenting with vascular inflammation and or pulmonary fibrosis, and two patients received a treatment targeting the IFN-I signaling pathway. This discovery highlights the key role of STING in human immune homeostasis and its implication in severe inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, leading to new and more specific therapeutical approaches. Beyond these important findings with regards to patients, this work suggests that rare deleterious variants can describe the genetic cause of autoimmune pathologies previously defined as complex diseases.

Le gène NOD2, impliqué dans les réponses immunitaires innées contre le peptidoglycane bactérien, est étroitement associé à la maladie de Crohn (MC) avec des Odd Ratio(OR) allant de 3 à 36 selon le génotype et a été initialement identifié par des analyses de liaisons génétiques. Les données des familles multiplexes (familles définies par la présence de trois ou plus de trois apparentés au premier degré atteints de MC) issues du registre EPIMAD ont été analysées. Il a été précédemment rapporté que dans les 22 familles multiplexes EPIMAD génotypées pour les 3 mutations majeures du gène NOD2une fréquence élevée de ces mutations du gène NOD2 : R702W, G908R et L1007fs, pouvait expliquer la fréquence élevée de MC dans ces familles. Cependant, quelques familles multiplexes EPIMAD ne présentaient aucune de ces mutations R702W, G908R et L1007fs.Afin d’identifier de nouvelles variations génétiques ayant un effet majeur dans la MC, un protocole de Whole Exome Séquencing (WES) a été effectué sur l’une de ces familles multiplexes EPIMAD (F49M) présentant quatre sujets atteints de MC sur deux générations.Une variation rare du gène NOD2, N1010K, s’est avérée présente chez tous les patients atteints et absente chez tous les sujets contrôles intrafamiliaux . L’évaluation in silico et la modélisation 3D ont mis en évidence un effet délétère hautement probable de la mutation de N1010K suggérant donc fortement qu’elle pourrait être un nouveau facteur de risque majeur impliqué dans la susceptibilité génétique à la maladie de Crohn. Elle pourrait expliquer l’agrégation familiale de la MC dans la famille analysée. La présence d’une maladie plus sévère chez les patients hétérozygotes composites N1010K/L1007fs plaide en faveur de l’effet délétère de la mutation N1010K.En plus de la caractérisation d’une nouvelle mutation rare du gène NOD2, 2 autres variants potentiels ont été identifiés : les mutations D359H et G33V respectivement des gènes BPIFB2 et DEFB132. Les protéines codées par ces gènes sont impliquées dans les mêmes voies de signalisation : la voie de signalisation des défensines ainsi que dans celle du système immunitaire inné. L’évaluation in silico des effet de ces mutations a mis en évidence un effet délétère hautement probable pour D359H et G33V des gènes BPIFB2et DEFB132. Ainsi, on peut supposer que bien que les deux mutations D359H du gèneBPIFB2 et G33V du gène DEFB132, soient localisés sur deux gènes différents impliquées dans les mêmes voies de signalisation, elles pourraient agir ensemble et conduire à un effet dysfonctionnel cumulatif impliqué également dans l’agrégation familiale de la MC dans la famille F49M.Ainsi, Pour la famille F49M, l’agrégation familiale pourrait reposer sur l’accumulation de plusieurs mutations à effet délétère (N1010K, D359H et G33V). / The NOD2 gene, involved in innate immune responses, has been found to be highlyassociated with Crohn’s Disease (CD). EPIMAD multiplex families with three or more CDaffectedmembers were previously reported to be related to a high frequency of NOD2gene mutations : R702W, G908R, and L1007fs. However, some rare EPIMAD CD multiplexfamilies were described without any of the common NOD2 linked-to-disease mutations.In order to identify new genetic variation(s) with amajor effect in CD, whole exomesequencing was performed on available subjects in a multiplex family (F49M), withoutknown common NOD2 mutations and comprising four patients affected with Crohn’s diseaseand three unaffected related subjects on two generations . A rare and, not yet, reportedmissense mutation of the NOD2 gene, N1010K, was detected and co-segregated acrossaffected patients (present in allmembers affectedwith CD and absent in all unaffected familialcontrol subjects). In silico evaluation of the deleterious effect of the mutation and3D modelling highlighted evidences for an adverse effect of the N1010K mutation withregard to the function of the NOD2 protein and the genetic risk of CD.Moreover, N1010Kand L1007fs as a compound heterozygous state in two, more severe CD family membersstrongly suggests that N1010K could be a new risk factor involved in Crohn’s disease geneticsusceptibility.In addition to the characterization of a new rare mutation of the NOD2 gene, 2 otherpotential variants have been identified : the D359H and G33V mutations, respectively, inthe BPIFB2 and DEFB132 genes. The proteins encoded by these genes are involved in thesame pathways : the pathway of defensins and the pathway of the innate immune system.In silico evaluation of the deleterious effect of mutations revealed a potential deleteriouseffect of D359H and G33V mutations. Thus, we could hypothesize that although the two mutations D359H and G33V are located on two different genes but involved in the same signaling pathways, they could act together and determine a cumulative dysfunctional effect also involved as determinants of the familial aggregation of Crohn’s disease in family F49M.Thus, for the F49M family, familial aggregation could be based on the accumulation of several deleterious mutations (N1010K, D359H and G33V).

Cut-to-length logging is a mechanized method for delimbing trees and cutting them to length. It is a two-machine operation; taken care by a harvester and a forwarder. The forwarder can cause soil rutting, soil compaction and other detrimental after effects. Therefore it has become vital to protect the forest floor from destructive effects of heavy machines. This initiated the study to delve more into the interaction between the loaded forwarder wheel and the soil. Various WES based rut depth models has been compared to validate its effectiveness in predicting the rut depths. New models have been developed to estimate the rut depth produced by the multipass effect of wheels. Models that could predict the contact pressure between the tire and soil as well as the tire soil contact area has been studied. Various relations to determine the mobility parameters have also been studied. The ones that are suitable to predict mobility parameters have been identified. Roots play a major role in reinforcing the soil and protecting them. This extra reinforcement provided by roots has been taken into account in the thesis work. Lab test with pine tree roots have been carried out to determine the extra reinforcement supplied. Models that are capable of predicting the reinforcement effects due to roots have also been looked into. An initial step towards connecting WES and Bekker models have been done; available models correlating both WES and Bekker models have been analysed and finally a set of relations connecting both have been derived. The effect of slip on sinkage has been studied with the help of both WES and Bekker based models. Multibody simulation software MSC Adams has been used to simulate the forwarder model to determine its suitability for rut depth prediction. Adams has been employed to study the effect of tire inflation pressure and velocity on rut depth. / Kortvirkesmetoden är en mekaniserad för skogsavverkning. Det är en två-maskinsprocess, som utförs av en skördare och en skotare. Skotaren kan orsaka skador på marken, som exempelvis spårbildning och markpackning. Det har blivit allt viktigare att skydda skogen från de marskador orsakade av tunga maskiner. Detta är en initiell studie av samspelet mellan mark och hjul på en lastad skotare. Olika WES-baserade spårdjupsmodeller har jämförts för att värdera deras förmåga att prediktera spårdjupen. Nya modeller har också utvecklats för att uppskatta relationen mellan spårdjup och flera hjulpassager. Modeller som kan prediktera kontakttrycket mellan däcket och marken, samt däckets markkontaktarea har studerats. Olika relationer för att bestämma mobilitetsparametrarna har också studerats. Rötter spelar en viktig roll för att öka markens bärighet och att skydda den. Rötternas effekt på markens bärighet har behandlats i examensarbetet. Labbtester med tallrötter har genomförts för att bestämma deras armeringseffekt. Modeller som kan användas för att prediktera rötternas effekter har också studerats. Ett första steg för att kunna kombinera WES- och Bekker-modeller har utförts, tillgängliga modeller som korrelerar WES- och Bekker-modeller har behandlats och en uppsättning relationer som relaterar de båda modellerna har härletts. Effekten av halka i samband med nedsjunkning har studerats med hjälp av både WES- och Bekkerbaserade modeller. Dynamiksimuleringsprogramet MSC Adams har använts för att simulera skotarmodellen för att bestämma dess lämplighet för spårdjupsförutsägelse. Adams har använts för att studera vilken effekt olika däcktryck och hastighet har på spårdjupet.

Magister Curationis / Hierdie studie is 'n poging om die probleem synde die voorkoms van Post Traumatiese Stressteuring (PTSS) by kinders in die Wes-Kaap aan te spreek. Dit is 'n retrospektiewe studie wat baseer word op die inligting wat vanuit pasiënte-lêers verkry is gedurende die periode 1994 -1996, by die Kinder- en Adolessente Psigiatrie Eenheid by Tygerberg Hospitaal in die Wes-Kaap. Volgens hierdie inligting kom dit voor asof die professionele verpleegpraktisyn geen noemenswaardige rol speel in die voorkoming en waar dit nie moontlik is nie, in die vroeë identifisering en dienooreenkomstige tussentrede van PTSS by kinders nie.Hoofstuk Een fokus op die oriëntering tot die terrein van die studie synde die voorkoms van PTSS by kinders in die Wes-Kaap, die motivering vir die studie, die probleemformulering en die organisering van die daaropvolgende hoofstukke. Ten einde die probleem te definieer en te kontekstualiseer en die situasie waarbinne die betrokke probleem geïdentifiseer is, omvat Hoofstukke Twee, Drie en Vier 'n omvangryke literatuurstudie in verband met die geskiedenis, etiologie, bydraende faktore, patogenese en simptomatologie, die hantering en die rol van die professionele verpleegpraktisyn in die voorkoming en vroeë opsporing en tussentrede van PTSS by kinders. Hoofstuk Vyf handelaar die navorsingsmetodologie, terwyl Hoofstukke Ses en Sewe die gevolgtrekkings, aanbevelings en die beperkinge van die studie toelig.

I många västeuropeiska länder har metoden för skogsavverkning ändrats från användning av motorsåg till ett mekaniserat skogsavverkningssystem känt som kortvirkesmetoden. Denna metod är baserad på en tvåmaskinslösning – en skördare som fäller, grenar och sågar träden enlig fördefinierade längder, och en skotare som transporterar stockarna till en lastplats för vidare transport till en bearbetningsanläggning. För att utveckla skogsmaskiner som är skonsammare för marken behövs en djupare förståelse av interaktionen mellan terrängen och dragfordonet. Huvudfokus i detta projekt ligger på bandgående skotare.Inom detta projekt, innefattar interaktionen mellan bandet och marken spårbildning, sammanpressning, marktryck, skjuvning, grepp och dragkraft. Spårdjupet är en av de viktiga faktorerna för att bestämma fordonets prestanda och skadeåverkan på mark och vegetation. Mätning och karakterisering av de mekaniska egenskaperna för flersiktade jordlager är en komplex uppgift. De två oftast använda metoderna för att mäta jordens mekaniska egenskaper är Bevametertekniken och Konpenetrometertekniken, där Bevametertekniken är jämförelsevis mindre effektiv för att karakterisera den nordiska skogsträngen eftersom skogsjorden inte är homogen.Olika semiempiriska WES-modeller och parametriska modeller används för bestämmandet av marktryck, spårdjup, dragkraft, rörelsemotstånd och kraften i dragkroken för hjul- och bandfordonen. Beräkningarna utfördes för en skotare av mediumstorlek utrustad med tre olika typer av band monterade på boggihjulen. Detta gjordes för tre olika typer av terrängförhållanden och både med och utan last. Även en jämförelse mellan hjul- och bandfordon gjordes. Resultatet från de teoretiska beräkningarna jämfördes med testdata från ett fullskaligt fältprov. Fältprovet inkluderade data för marktryck, nerträngning i jorden och spårdjup mätt på en skotare, både med och utan last.Adams for Tracked Vehicles (ATV) plugin är ett verktyg primärt utvecklat för dynamiska simuleringar av bandfordon. Fördelar och nackdelar med mjukvaran och dess lämplighet för användning för modellering av interaktionen mellan band och jord for skogsmaskiner diskuteras i denna rapport. / In many Western European countries, the method of timber harvesting has changed from the use of chain saws to a mechanized harvesting system known as Cut-To-Length method. This cut to length method is based on a two-machine solution – a harvester that folds, branches and cuts trees according to pre-defined lengths, and a forwarder that transports logs to a loading area from where it is further transported to a processing facility. In order to develop forest machines that is gentler to the ground, a thorough understanding of the terrain and the vehicle’s traction unit is required. The main focus of this project is on the tracked forest forwarders.In this project, the track soil interaction covers issues like rutting, compaction, ground pressure, shearing, traction and drawbar pull. The rut depth is one of the important factors to determine the vehicle performance and damages caused to the ground and vegetation. Measurement and characterization of the mechanical properties of a multilayer soil is quite a complex task. The two most commonly used methods to measure the soil mechanical properties are the Bevameter technique and the Cone penetrometer technique, of which the Bevameter technique is comparatively less efficient for characterizing the Nordic forest terrain as the forest soil is not homogenous.Different semi-empirical WES models and parametric models are used for the determining the ground pressure, rut depth, tractive force, motion resistance and drawbar pull for the wheeled and tracked vehicles. The calculations were performed for a medium sized forwarder equipped with three different types of tracks mounted on bogie wheels on three types of terrain conditions under loaded and unloaded conditions. A comparison of the wheeled and tracked vehicle performance is also made. The results obtained from the theoretical calculations are compared with the test data from a full scale field test. The field test data include ground pressure, soil penetration and rut depth data measured on the forwarder with and without load.Adams for Tracked vehicles (ATV) plugin is a tool primarily developed for performing dynamic simulations of tracked equipment. The pros and cons of the software and it’s suitability to be used for the track soil interaction modeling of forestry machines is discussed in this report.