VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Special Education Instruction in the Jewish Ultra Orthodox and Hassidic Communities in Toronto
Keywords: Special Education
Ultra Orthodox Jewish
Hassidic
Attitude
Inclusion
Learning Disabilities
Behavioural Disorders

The purpose of the present study was to examine the state of special education programs in selected Jewish Ultra Orthodox (Haredi) community schools in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and the attitudes and perceptions about special education of the Melamdim (rabbis/teachers) teaching in those schools. A Special Education course, modeled on OISE’s additional qualification program available to in-service teachers in the public sector, was administrated to 28 Melamdim. Throughout the 12 weeks, course data was collected through observations and dialogues with course participants. The impact of the special education course on classroom practices by those who engaged in the course was also assessed. In addition, a collection of pre-course and post-course data from participants (Melamdim) on attitudes and perceptions in regards to special education through a self-administrated questionnaire, took place. Four additional questionnaires were administered, examining demographic characteristics, general attitudes and behaviors, and well-being. Finally, a pre-selected group of 8 Melalmdim was interviewed as representatives of their home school and the denomination of Judaism they belong to. The results showed significant changes in attitudes of Melamdim toward the inclusion of students with Learning Disabilities (LD in regular classrooms. In addition, the positive change in attitudes could be attributed to the special education course in which participants engaged. During in-class observations changes to the Melamdim’s own practice was recorded.
Violence and Performance on the Latin American Stage
Keywords: Latin American theatre
Violence in theatre

“Violence and Performance on the Latin American Stage” investigates Latin American theatre of the 1960s. It focuses on violence as an inherently formal element that intersects multiple contexts. My purpose is to develop a reading that challenges traditional interpretations of Latin American avant-garde theatre. I argue that this theatre does not apply European forms to Latin American realities, but rather juxtaposes local with foreign elements in multiple domains. It connects aesthetic, philosophic, social, and political contexts through the use of violent theatrical forms. The playwrights José Triana, Virgilio Piñera, Griselda Gambaro, and Jorge Díaz develop an aesthetics of violence that examines the ontological effects of crisis and revolution. Their characters confront questions of agency, subjectivity, historical perception, and consciousness that speak to their audiences’ experience in the sixties –I focus specifically on the Cuban revolution, Argentina’s growing socio-political violence, and Chile’s changing social demographics. I aim to show that the plays demand a simultaneous textual and contextual reading that dialogues with the multiple contexts and domains the plays intersect. My analysis focuses on the concepts of violence and performance in order to emphasize the plays’ modernizing role within their national theatrical scenes. I examine the challenges of theatrical writing and practice in times of conflict and social transformation, commenting on the disparaged reception of the plays’ innovative forms. I contend that this problem of reception accounts for the plays’ highly sophisticated structures of violence, which, in most cases, confused and distanced their audiences. This dissertation ultimately seeks to reveal the power of this theatre’s violent aesthetics to synthesize and critically engage with its cultural and socio- political surroundings.
Finite Element Analyses of Failure Mechanisms and Structure-Property Relationships in Microtruss Materials
Keywords: Cellular Materials
Microtruss Lattices
Finite Element Analyis
Structural Materials
Nanostructured Materials
Composite Materials

Microtruss materials are assemblies of struts or columns arranged periodically in space. The majority of past research efforts have focused on the key issue of microtruss architectural optimization. By contrast, this study focuses on the internal material structure at the level of the individual struts. Microstructural, geometrical, and material design techniques are used to improve their mechanical properties. The finite element method is used to verify and create predictive analytical models, explain the dependence of strut properties on geometry, material properties and failure mechanisms, and extend the strut design analysis into suggestions for the improvement of fabrication methods. Three strut design methods are considered. First, microstructural design is performed by considering the influence of strut geometry on the strain energy imparted during stretch bending. By using the perforation geometry to modify the location and magnitude of this strain energy, microtruss materials with lower density and higher strength can be fabricated. Second, structural sleeves of aluminum oxide and electrodeposited nanocrystalline nickel are used to reinforce architecturally optimized aluminum alloy microtruss assemblies, creating hybrid materials with high weight-specific strength. The mechanical properties are controlled by the interaction between material and mechanical failure; this interaction is studied through finite element analyses and a proposed analytical relationship to provide suggestions for further improvements. Finally, hollow cylindrical struts are fabricated from electrodeposited nanocrystalline nickel. The high strength to weight ratio achieved in these struts is due to the microstructural and cross-sectional efficiency of the material.
Hydrogen Bonding Interactions of Ferrocene-peptides: From Molecule to Large Scale Assemblies
Keywords: Ferrocene
Hydrogen bonding
Bioorganometallic

The main goal of this thesis was to explore the role of H-bonding interactions in ferrocene peptide conjugates at the molecular and supramolecular level. With the help of detailed spectroscopic and crystallographic studies, the intermolecular association of a range of conjugates was studied and described here. It was shown that C-terminal modifications directed the supramolecular assembly. In the case of Fc[CO-Gly-Val-OH]2, the C-terminal carboxylate group directed intermolecular interactions, causing formation of a supramolecular architecture that was characterized by large solvent-filled hydrophobic channels. In the absence of this directional group, as was the case in Fc[CO-Leu-Val-OMe]2 extended β-sheets were formed. Hierarchical self-assembly of disubstituted ferrocene peptide conjugates possessing Gly-Val-Phe and Gly-Val-Phe-Phe peptide substituents gave rise to nano- and micro-sized assemblies. Spontaneous self-assembly of Fc-peptides through intra-and intermolecular hydrogen bonding interactions induced supramolecular building blocks, which further associated to fibers, large fibrous crystals, and twisted ropes. Next, intermolecular H-bonding interactions were studied using a surface-based approach. A fragment of the amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptide was bound to a gold surface through a C-terminal Cys. Various aspects of the peptide film were examined using different electrochemical and surface analytical techniques. The interaction of Congo red and of Lys-Leu-Val-Phe-Phe with the immobilized Aβ fragment was studied using electrochemical methods, showing responses that indicated intermolecular interactions. This surface approach was used to probe the interaction of a series of ferrocene peptides (Fc-CO-Leu-Val-Phe-Phe-OX and Fc-CO-Lys(Boc)-Leu-Val-Phe-Phe-OX with X=H and Me) with the surface-bound Aβ fragment. Biomolecular interactions between Fc-peptides and the Aβ-modified surface were studied by electrochemical methods. The current response of the Fc redox process was modulated by the interaction with the Aβ-modified surface.
Balance Assessment and Treatment in Individuals with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Keywords: Balance
COPD
Pulmonary rehabilitation
Postural control
Fall risk
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Preliminary evidence suggests that balance deficits constitute an important secondary impairment in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The main objective of this thesis was to describe balance impairment and fall risk in individuals with COPD and to examine interventions for improving balance and reducing fall risk in the context of pulmonary rehabilitation. The first study of this thesis showed that falls are common in patients with COPD and that fallers are characterized by impairments in standard clinical balance measures, such as the Berg Balance Scale and Timed Up and Go. In the second study, we found that the exercise component of conventional pulmonary rehabilitation has only modest effects on balance and fall risk in COPD, highlighting the need to examine the role of balance-specific training for these patients. The third study of this thesis identified the postural control subsystems most responsible for the observed balance deficits in COPD. Compared with age-matched controls, individuals with COPD demonstrated reductions in all balance control subsystems and slower reaction times in response to external perturbations. In this study, we also showed that deficits in balance in patients with COPD were associated with peripheral muscle weakness and reduced physical activity levels. These results informed the design of the final study of this thesis, a randomized controlled trial evaluating the addition of specific balance training to pulmonary rehabilitation for improving balance in patients with COPD. Preliminary results from this study suggest that the addition of thrice weekly balance exercises to a conventional pulmonary rehabilitation program is effective for optimizing gains in measures of functional balance and fall risk. The findings from the four studies included in this thesis support the need for incorporating balance assessment and treatment for at-risk patients with COPD, as part of their comprehensive management.
The Influence of Trust on Teachers' Inclination to Exercise Informal Leadership
Keywords: Leadership
Trust

This research focuses on the role that trust and its component facets - competence, benevolence, openness, reliability and honesty (Tschannen-Moran, 2004) - play in affecting teachers’ inclination to exercise informal leadership. Teachers in the elementary sections of three elite urban independent schools in Ontario nominated colleagues as informal teacher leaders in their schools and a total of nine teachers, who received multiple nominations, were selected for interview. The interviews unexpectedly revealed two distinct experience-based groupings of informal teacher leaders, with the members of the two groups exhibiting distinctive leadership behaviours. Trust was an important factor affecting all of the teacher leaders’ inclination to exercise informal leadership, but the two experience-based groups revealed different patterns of emphasis for the trust facets (for example, the less-experienced leaders highlighted benevolence above all other facets while the more-experienced teachers considered openness to be the most important). The findings have implications for the ways in which schools can promote the exercise of informal leadership.
Motor Learning Abilities in Adults who Stutter: Predictors to Stuttering Treatment Outcome
Keywords: stuttering
motor learning
stuttering treatment

This dissertation is comprised of three studies investigating the hypothesis that people who stutter (PWS) differ from people who do not stutter (PNS) in their motor skill learning abilities. The first study in this dissertation examined the ability to learn a novel sequential speech task following a 24-h retention period. Despite slower sequence durations compared to the PNS, PWS showed the ability to retain what they had learned for all measured variables on day one and following a 24-h consolidation period. The second study in this dissertation examined the ability to learn a sequential finger tapping task by observing the ability to produce the sequence under both tests of retention and interference. For tests of retention, PWS showed the ability to retain improvements in performance for all measured variables, albeit at slower speeds compared to PNS. For tests of interference, a significant interaction for reaction time and sequence duration revealed that PNS’ performance reached a relative plateau while PWS’ performance continued to show improvement. The third study in this dissertation investigated the extent to which individual differences in motor learning are associated with differences in stuttering treatment outcome. PWS participating in an intensive fluency treatment program were assessed for their working memory ability and their motor iii learning performance on a syllable reading and finger tapping task. Treatment success was measured at pre-treatment, post-treatment and six months follow-up using percent syllables stuttered, introspective clinical characteristics (OASES; Yaruss, 2010) and fluency effort. The relationship between motor learning and treatment outcome was examined using multiple regression analyses. Results did not support the hypothesis that the ability to learn a simple speech and nonspeech motor task is predictive of treatment outcome. Although treatment proved successful as evidenced by percent syllables stuttered and OASES scores, scores of fluency effort indicated that participants had not automated their newly learned fluency skills when speaking in everyday conversations. Together, these studies do not support the hypothesis of a motor learning deficit in PWS but rather support the assumption of limited motor abilities. Limited motor abilities are discussed as having implications to stuttering treatment outcome.
A Search for Supersymmetry with New Kinematic Variables in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV with the ATLAS Detector at the Large Hadron Collider
Keywords: Supersymmetry
LHC

A search for Supersymmetry is presented. The search is done with final states containing jets, missing transverse energy and no leptons, using 4.7 fb-1 of proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The analysis is carried out using new kinematic variables in two distinct signal regions with and without b-jet tagging. No significant excess above the Standard Model background expectation is observed, and limits are set on the Supersymmetry models. The results are interpreted as limits on the minimal supergravity framework, as well as a simplified Supersymmetry model of Gluino pair-production
Hydrogen Production using Catalytic Supercritical Water Gasification of Lignocellulosic Biomass
Keywords: Catalyst
Gasification
Biomass
Supercritical water

Catalytic supercritical water gasification (SCWG) is a promising technology for hydrogen and methane production from wet organic feedstocks at relatively low temperatures (e.g. <500 oC). However, in order to make this process technically and economically viable, solid catalyst with enhanced activity and improved hydrogen selectivity should be developed. In this study, different aspects of catalytic SCWG have been investigated. The performance of several supported-nickel catalysts were examined to identify catalysts that lead to high carbon conversion and high hydrogen yields under near-critical conditions (i.e. near 374 oC). Moreover, for the first time, the effects of several parameters which dominated the activity of the supported nickel catalysts have been systematically investigated. Among the several different catalyst supports evaluated at 5% nickel loading, α-Al2O3, carbon nanotube (CNT), and MgO supports resulted in highest carbon conversions, while SiO2, Y2O3, hydrotalcite, yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), and TiO2 showed modest activities. Comparing the XRD patterns for the support materials before and after the exposure to supercritical water, α-Al2O3, YSZ, and TiO2 were found to be hydrothermally stable among the metal oxide supports. Using the same amount of nickel on α-Al2O3, the methane yield decreased by increasing the nickel to support ratio whereas the carbon conversion was only slightly affected. At a given nickel to support ratio, a threefold increase in methane yield was observed by increasing the temperature from 350 to 410 oC. The catalytic activity also increased by the addition small quantity of potassium. The activity of Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalyst varied based on the affinity of the catalyst to form nickel aluminate spinel. This is also the first report on the role of oxidative pretreatment of the carbon nanotubes by nitric acid on the performance of these catalysts for the supercritical water gasification process. Using different lignocellulosic feeds, it was found that the gasification of glucose, fructose, cellulose, xylan and pulp resulted in comparable gas yields (± 10%) after 60 min, whereas alkali lignin was substantially harder to gasify. Interestingly, gasification yield of bark, which had a high lignin content, was comparable to those of cellulose. In summary, the Ni/α-Al2O3 catalyst had a higher hydrogen selectivity and comparable catalytic activity to the best commercially available catalysts for SCWG of carbohydrates.
An Investigation into Cis-elements, Rare Mutations, and Slipped-DNA Detection at Trinucleotide Repeat Disease-associated Loci
Keywords: human genetics
trinucleotide repeats

Gene-specific trinucleotide repeat expansions are the cause of an ever-growing number of disorders, including myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) and spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 (SCA7). Both DM1, and SCA7 are characterized by large differences in repeat numbers between tissues that are differentially affected, indicating tissue-specific mechanisms of repeat instability. The mechanism(s) of both somatic as well as germline instability are complex and still poorly understood, with evidence supporting the contribution of cis-elements, trans factors, and DNA metabolic processes that are hypothesized to involve alternative structure formation within the DNA tract. This thesis involves investigations into the role of a particular cis-element (CTCF) on instability, as well as the detection of slipped-DNAs in patient tissues and the presence of rare mutations within those same tissues. Here I identify the first endogenous cis-element reported to show regulation of instability at a trinucleotide repeat disease locus, the DNA binding site for the insulator protein CCCTC- binding factor (CTCF) downstream of the SCA7 repeat. Using a mouse model with a mutation in the CTCF binding domain, I show that the loss of CTCF binding stimulates germline and somatic instability in a tissue-specific and age-dependent manner. The binding of CTCF likely protects the repeat tract from expansion by shielding it from other elements that may contribute to expansion. DNA metabolic processes such as replication, repair, and transcription likely play a role in repeat expansion at disease loci, with the general mechanism hypothesized to be the extrusion and aberrant repair of slipped-DNA structures during the unwinding process for each. While characterizing DM1 patient tissues in order to isolate slipped-DNA structures, I characterized two non-CTG repeat insertion mutations that had completely replaced the repeat tract in a small subset of cells in only two tissues in one patient. Given the hypermutable nature of expanded repeat tracts, it is possible that these types of mutations are more common than suspected. Finally, I report on the detection and isolation of slipped-DNA structures from the endogenous DM1 locus from patient tissues. The slip-outs appear as clusters along a length of DNA, rather than single isolated slip-outs, and more unstable tissues contain greater amounts of slipped-DNA compared to more stable tissues. This detection implies that slipped-DNA structures are not merely transient intermediates in the mutation and expansion process as has long been assumed, but remain within the DNA at detectable levels. The data reported herein both furthers our understanding of trinucleotide repeat instability, and additionally confirms the decades-long hypothesis that slipped-DNAs are in fact forming in patient tissues in a tissue-specific manner.
Evaluation of the Use of a Bioengineered Hydrogel Containing Hyaluronan to Reduce Inflammation and Scarring following Spinal Cord Injury Associated with Arachnoiditis
Keywords: Spinal cord injury
Inflammation
Microglia
Hyaluronan
Arachnoiditis
Post-traumatic syringomyelia
Scarring

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is heterogeneous in nature and can be complicated by inflammation and scarring in the subarachnoid space (arachnoiditis). The constellation of traumatic injury and arachnoiditis can lead to extensive intraparenchymal cysts or post-traumatic syringomyelia (PTS), due to alterations in fluid flow and pressure dynamics in the subarachnoid space. Hypothesis: Intrathecal injection of a bioengineered hydrogel containing hyaluronan (HA) will improve functional recovery following severe spinal cord injury associated with arachnoiditis. Methods: Acute to subacute pathophysiological events were characterized in non-injured sham rats, rats receiving a clip compression/contusion injury (SCI), rats receiving an intrathecal kaolin injection (Arachnoiditis) and in rats receiving SCI plus kaolin injection (PTS). Next, a HA containing hydrogel (HAMC) or artificial cerbralspinal fluid (aCSF) control was injected into the subarachnoid space 24 hours following PTS injury. To assess treatment efficacy, subacute pathophysiology was assessed as was long-term neurobehavioural and neuroanatomical recovery. Finally, in vitro studies examined the effect of HA on TLR4 activation using lipopolysaccharide in primary rat microglial cultures. Results: PTS animals exhibited a greater parenchymal injury response as compared to the sum of SCI alone or arachnoiditis alone. Injection of HAMC reduced the extent of scarring and inflammation in the subarachnoid space and improved neurobehavioural and neuroanatomical recovery relative to aCSF controls. These improvements were associated with reduced chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan and IL-1α expression and a trend towards and axonal preservation. In vitro studies demonstrated that HA is capable of reducing TLR4 mediated inflammation in microglia. Conclusions: Acute arachnoiditis potentiates the intensity of intraparenchymal inflammatory and scarring events following SCI. When HAMC was injected intrathecally following PTS injury, it mitigated some of the pernicious effects of arachnoiditis. Part of the therapeutic action of HAMC can be attributed to the ability of HA to reduce TLR4 mediated inflammation in microglia, possibly through an extracellular mechanism.