VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Longitudinal elasticity of the cochlear partition and distortion product otoacoustic emissions

Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE's) are sounds that are emitted by the inner ear. They have been correlated to hearing dysfunction. The diagnostic value of OAE's can only be appreciated if the underlying physiology of the cochlea and its mechanics are properly understood. The transduction of sound to neural impulses takes place in the Cochlear Partition (CP), a complex sandwich of tissues that span the spiral length of the cochlea. Although not supported histologically, most theoretical models consider the CP to be composed of highly resonant sections that are unconnected to their nearest neighbours. In this thesis, we tested the hypothesis that the elasticity between the tissues of the CP can lead to cubic Distortion Product OAE's. Using mathematical simulation, it was found that the addition of tissue elasticity had negligible effect on the actual motion of the Cochlear Partition. However, for the largest estimates of Young's modulus for the interconnecting tissues of the CP, we found that the cubic distortions produced in simulated OAE's were 5 to 15 dB SPL above the noise floor. This corresponds well with experimental findings by other researchers.
Playing a Jewish game, gentile Christian Judaizing in the first and second centuries CE

Several strands of early Christian literature contain intriguing passages of criticism written by early Christians against what they perceived to be troubling situations in their communities. For example, the author of the ' Epistle of Barnabas' vigorously criticizes several Jewish customs, including circumcision, food laws and Sabbath observance, and stresses that the Mosaic Law was never meant to be taken literally (9.4; 10.9; 15.6-8). In a similar vein, the author of the Book of Revelation castigates "those who say that they are Jews, and are not" as members of the "synagogue of Satan" in messages addressed to churches in Smyrna and Philadelphia (Rev. 2:9 and 3:9). Most New Testament scholars have understood the hostility expressed in the above quotations to be directed towards Jewish Christians. Recently this interpretation has been challenged by a small number of scholars, led by Lloyd Gaston and John Gager (Gaston 1986; Gager 1985). They understand the "anti-Judaic" criticism of Jewish customs expressed in early Christian literature to be the reaction of ecclesiastical leaders to the strong attraction to Judaism and observance of Jewish customs exhibited by certain 'Gentile' Christians from within their own communities. According to this understanding, the term "Judaizer" does not refer to the actions of Jews or Jewish Christians but rather 'to the actions of Gentiles.' It is my contention that the Gager-Gaston-Wilson argument is a valid one. The purpose of this thesis is to identify and discuss relevant texts from the period of the early church that I have determined to be supportive of the Gentile Christian Judaizing theory of Gager and Gaston as applied to the regions of Syria and Asia Minor between c. 50 CE and 160 CE. Reactions to Gentile Christian Judaizers from early ecclesiastical leaders determined, to a significant extent, what constituted "proper" Christian behaviour. Warnings and criticism of Gentile Christian Judaizing reflects a determined effort on behalf of the church leadership to forge a Christian identity fully differentiated and distinct from Judaism and, ultimately, contributed to the eventual "parting of the ways" of Christianity and Judaism.
The effect of chemically altered polyethylene on human macrophage function

Macrophages and PE particulate are currently recognized as being the two common denominators in the development of chronic inflammation, periprosthetic osteolysis, and subsequent implant failure. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of PE particulate surface chemistry on mature human macrophage function. Virgin HDPE and HDPE oxidized with irradiation, thermal and chemical treatment were characterized by FT-IR and suspended in soluble type I collagen, which was subsequently solidified on glass coverslips. Mature human trypsin-activated macrophages were incubated in culture media on collagen controls and collagen-particle substrata for 31 days. Histological analysis demonstrated that 95% of the particles had been phagocytosed within 24 hours. Assessment of cell viability revealed no difference between the groups at 24 hours, but significantly more viable cells were found with the particle groups (virgin HDPE) at 31 days. Cytokine assays showed a significantly higher level of IL-1ß in virgin HDPE over oxidized HDPE or controls and a significant inhibition of IL-6 in both virgin and oxidized samples at 24 hours. Cholesterol esterase was released into the medium at a significantly higher level in the virgin HDPE versus controls at time zero, while the highest release was observed in oxidized HDPE at 31-days. These results illustrate the effect of PE particle surface chemistry (oxidation) on macrophage viability, cytokine secretion, and CE synthesis. This highlights the importance of PE surface chemistry in macrophage function, and opens an area for further studies.
Locus control region activity by 5'HS3 requires a functional interaction with ß-globin gene regulatory elements, identification of effective ß/[gamma]-globin minigenes for gene therapy of the ß-chain hemoglobinopathies

Our lab previously used single-copy transgenic mice to map the chromatin opening activity of the human ß-globin locus control region to the 5 'HS3 element. The study presented here illustrates that an 850 bp 5'HS3 fragment reproducibly activates ß-globin transgenes in the fetal livers of transgenic mice but fails to activate Aã-globin transgenes. Analysis of several novel ß/ã-globin hybrid transgenes, demonstrates that 5'HS3 must functionally interact with ß-globin intron 2 and ß-globin 3' enhancer gene sequences to reproducibly activate single-copy transgenes. In addition, this analysis demonstrates that 5'HS3, in the presence of these ß-globin 3' elements, can activate both the ß- or ã-globin promoters but activation is dependent on an AT-rich region within ß-globin intron 2. This study has identified ideal minigenes for adult expression of anti-sickling ã-globin coding sequences in gene therapy of the ß-chain hemoglobinopathies. Retrovirus-mediated transfer of these minigenes into primitive hernatopoietic stem cells is discussed.
The colonial discourse of development in Africa, the Somalia experience

This thesis is a reconstruction of the Somalia's encounter with the colonial discourse of development and its impact on indigenous farmers. It is an analysis of several narratives of Somali experts who worked for development projects in Somalia during the early 1970s and late 1980s. The informants interviewed for this research articulate what has been institutionalized as development was actually an apparatus for controlling indigenous Somali people and their subsistence way of living by dictating what to produce, as well as imposing on them a lifestyle that was detrimental. The interviewees maintain that conventional development practices were racialized, by giving privilege to white "experts" over Somalis. Traditional development was also gender-biased, as it devalued the role of Somali women in farming. Agricultural methods based on Western "scientific" approaches are argued here to be corrupted, as they helped to perpetuate Somalia's repressive military regime. Colonial development practice was directly implicated in the collapse of the Somali state in early 1991.
The missing direction and differential geometry on Heisenberg manifolds

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the conjugate points along the sub-Riemannian geodesics and to compute the Carnot-Caratheodory distance in the case of a step 4 sub-laplacian <math> <f> <g>D</g><inf>X</inf>=<fr><nu>1</nu><de>2</de></fr><fen lp="par"> X<sup>2</sup><inf>1</inf>+X<sup>2</sup><inf>2</inf><rp post="par"></fen> </f> </math> where <math> <f> X<inf>1</inf>=<g>6</g><inf>x<inf>1</inf></inf>+4x<inf>2</inf> <fen lp="vb">x<rp post="vb"></fen><sup>2</sup><g>6</g><inf>t</inf> </f> </math>, <math> <f> X<inf>2</inf>=<g>6</g><inf>x<inf>2</inf></inf>-4x<inf>1</inf> <fen lp="vb">x<rp post="vb"></fen><sup>2</sup><g>6</g><inf>t</inf> </f> </math>. The conjugate points are generating the t-axis and there are an infinite sub-Riemannian geodesics of different lengths which join the origin and any fixed point on the t-axis. In the second part of the thesis we construct a Riemannian metric which extends the sub-Riemannian metric on the 3-dimensional Heisenberg manifolds on <math> <f> <blkbd>R<sup><rm>3</rm></sup></blkbd></f> </math> and prove that the manifold is Einstein along the horizontal distribution, i.e. the Ricci tensor is proportional with the metric on the horizontal vector fields. Finally we estimate the occurrence of the first conjugate points on these geodesics on the Heisenberg group and on the 3-dimensional Heisenberg manifolds in general.
Consumer perspectives on rehabilitation and community integration, experiences of independence, dependence and interdependence

This thesis examined consumers' (persons with spinal cord injury) perspectives on rehabilitation and community living and related these perspectives to community integration ideologies in rehabilitation and in society. The rationale for this study was to better understand why existing research indicates a significant discordance between consumer experiences and the community integration ideals of rehabilitation approaches and communities. The study was carried out through Lyndhurst, The Spinal Cord Centre and the University of Toronto. The principles of consumer-based research guided this qualitative study with participatory influences. Twenty participants with diverse demographic characteristics were interviewed in various Ontario communities. This thesis proposes a prevailing societal and rehabilitation ideology of community integration which emphasizes self-sufficient independence to prevent dependence. However, participants emphasized interdependence as important rehabilitation and community living experiences. Challenges and implications for change to prevailing ideologies are raised which could contribute to enhanced social inclusion and community integration for persons with disabilities.
Governance of the Internet's infrastructure, network policy for the global public network

The Internet's unprecedented characteristics are products of the unique compound of governance forces to which its underlying infrastructure is subject. This infrastructure presents issues significantly different to those relating to the content passing over it. In the evolution of the Internet into a global public communications network, its physical infrastructure and content layers have changed dramatically, while its technical infrastructure has not. Three scenarios for the continued evolution of the Internet suggest that the governance forces which support this infrastructure may no longer be capable of maintaining the Internet as an open public network. The Internet should continue to be governed in the public interest according to the principles of universal interoperability and interconnection, non-proprietary standards, protocols and networks, and unity. Trends in the Internet and experience in telecommunications suggest that future governance structures will need to be globally authoritative in order to effectively protect and advance these fundamental values.
MOST, Micro-variability of Oscillations of STars, microsatellite structural analysis and design

This work deals with the structural design and analysis of the Microvariability of Oscillations of Stars (MOST) microsat mission: Canada's first microsatellite mission and first space telescope. The preliminary study phase of the MOST mission proposes the use of the UoSAT tray stack concept as the primary bus structure. However, due to the size and requirements of the science payload (telescope enclosure), an alternative suitcase size structure (keeping the idea of a tray stack as the spinal bone of the primary structure) is conceptualised. Preliminary finite element analyses included herein highlight certain design weaknesses. Design recommendations are formulated and lead to the critical design of the MOST structure. As the design phases progress, the finite element models are refined, both at the component and at the spacecraft level. In an attempt to minimise the design cost, and following the AMSAT cost-effective philosophy, minimal mechanical testing is planned for the MOST mission. Hence, the spacecraft analysis via finite element methods is used herein to ensure structural reliability. The resulting safety margins, when the worst case load scenario is considered, adds confidence by largely surpassing the potential errors introduced by domain discretization and element formulation. The analyses confirm the MOST structure design to be adequate. Finally, this work presents a detailed engineering analysis leading to the design of the MOST tie rods structural component. The tray stack conceptual design offers great advantages in terms of the ease of assembly. However, the sizing of tie rods for small satellites using a tray stack as a primary structure remains a challenging design problem. This work addresses the issues pertaining to tie rod design, and concludes with the appropriate tie rod design recommendations.
Taking constitutional structures seriously, a Canadian case study

This thesis explores aspects of the interplay between the legal regimes that comprise a common law constitutional democracy by using anti-discrimination norms in Canada as the focal point of the analysis. The thesis introduces a paradigm with which to understand the legal order as comprised of distinct legal regimes, such as the common law, the statutory regime and the constitutional regime. The constitutive elements of each regime, as an ideal type, are outlined. More specifically, the thesis sets out the legal personality at the core of each regime, the source of legitimacy upon which each regime rests, the theory of justice at the basis of each regime, and the interpretative methodology, institutional design and primary function of each regime. Normatively, the thesis argues that preserving the integrity of each regime and thus the distinction between regimes is important in order to allow for legal pluralism, which enhances the legitimacy of the system as a whole by allowing for critical dialogue between the communities constructed by the regimes. Thus, it is important to investigate the interaction between the regimes, so as to ensure non-assimilation and fidelity to the constitutive elements of each regime. The thesis confronts the interaction between the statutory regime and the common law by analyzing the effects a human rights code has, and should have, on the common law of anti-discrimination. The thesis argues that, when a code is silent with respect to discrimination on a certain ground, the common law is still available. The interaction between the constitutional regime and the common law is confronted by examining whether the constitutional bill of rights--the ' Charter'--applies, and should apply, to the common law. The interaction between the constitutional regime and the statutory regime is confronted by investigating the exercise of judicial review over legislative silence, through the example of the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in 'Vriend v. Alberta', where the legislature did not include sexual orientation as a protected ground under the human rights code. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Some results in non-uniform complexity theory

This thesis studies models and limitations of non-uniform computation. A way of quantifying the descriptional complexity of circuits due to Rackoff is introduced and analyzed. A non-uniform variant of the Turing machine is defined and analyzed. Relations with Karp-Lipton advice classes are explored. The well-known time and space hierarchies are generalized to non-uniform classes. Moreover, diagonalization is used to show that for 't'(' n') log 't'('n') &isin; 'o'(' T'('n')), deterministic machines taking 'O'(' T'('n')) time cannot be simulated by deterministic machines taking 'O'('t'('n')) time and 'n' bits of advice on inputs of length 'n'. The first non-trivial time-space tradeoffs for SAT on non-uniform machines are given. Strong lower bounds for the Permanent on partially non-uniform threshold circuits are shown. New separations of uniform classes are also obtained. For instance, it is shown that for all [epsilon] > 0 and all integers ' k', <math> <f> <ty>DTISP<fen lp="par"><mit>n<sup>k</sup></mit>,<mit>n<sup>1- <g>e</g></sup></mit><rp post="par"></fen>&subnE;NTIME<fen lp="par"> <mit>n<sup>k</sup></mit><rp post="par"></fen></ty></f> </math>. Most results are for random-access multi-tape Turing machines.
The new Armenian woman, Armenian women's writing in the Ottoman Empire, 1880-1915

This dissertation examines the creation of a feminist discourse in the literary texts of the Armenian women writers, Srpuhi Dussap (1841-1901), Zabel Asatur (Sibyl) (1863-1934) and Zabel Esayian (1878-1943;) in the years from 1880 to 1915. The discourse these three authors constructed constitutes an important aspect of the Armenian intellectual tradition as well as being part of the nineteenth-century international movement for women's rights. Armenian feminist discourse shares similarities with women's movements in Europe, particularly in France, while reflecting unique concerns based on Armenian women's position as an ethnic and religious minority in the Ottoman Empire. Armenian feminist discourse demonstrates a concern with the idea of the rights of the individual which is a product of the ideology of the French Revolution of 1789. Armenian intellectuals, male and female, applied these concepts to their position as a minority within the despotic Ottoman state but women intellectuals took these ideas farther and applied them to the status of the Armenian woman. Armenian feminists used the concepts of fraternity, equality and liberty to argue for women's rights. Their engagement with European ideology should not obscure the fact, however, that these authors were particularly concerned with the circumstances of the Armenian community within the Ottoman Empire. The authors recognized that Armenian women could not achieve emancipation without a corresponding advancement in the overall conditions of the Armenian people, while at the same time they asserted that the Armenian community could not progress without a change in the status of women. It is due to this understanding of the mutuality of female and national efforts for advancement that Armenian feminists advocated greater female participation in all aspects of Armenian community life. Armenian feminist discourse was concerned with the issue of redefining the relationship between women and men in marriage and with expanding women's opportunities in the public sphere, particularly in areas traditionally seen as the domain of men, such as the national movement, education and employment. The solution proferred by the authors to these sociological issues was the redefinition of Armenian conventions of femininity through the creation of the New Armenian Woman.
NLOS mobile location determination in CDMA cellular systems

We consider mobile location determination in code division multiple access (CDMA) cellular systems using the time of arrival method. The objective of this thesis is to develop, new location determination algorithms to mitigate the effect of non-line-of-sight (NLOS) propagation. We consider the most critical condition (i.e. the mobile station (MS) is in NLOS with all base stations (BSs) and the MS is stationary). We propose new location determination algorithms based on the statistics of excess delay. Simulation results show that our methods reduce the position errors by about 50% relative to the classical constrained least squares method. Furthermore, we investigate the importance of a line-of-sight (LOS) range measurement by assuming the MS is in LOS with the closest BS and still in NLOS with the other BSs. Simulation results indicate that the position errors of our methods are reduced by more than 40% when one LOS range measurement is introduced.
The processing of words in Finnish EFL oral reading

The processes responsible for decoding printed words were studied by means of a naming experiment. Subjects were asked to read three types of test stimuli; English words, isolated pseudo-words based on real English words, and pseudo-words primed by real regular and irregular words with the same orthographic pattern. Two language groups were examined; English subjects, whose L1 has a complex relationship between spelling and speech, and advanced Finnish speakers of English, whose L1 has a simple and direct correspondence. The Finnish subjects read a significant number of real words incorrectly. Word frequency seemed to be the primary factor that determined accuracy. The initial hypothesis for the pseudo-words was that whereas the English subjects would use a variety of decoding strategies to read the items, the Finnish speakers would transfer their L1 processing strategies (i.e., spelling-to-sound correspondences) when reading in their L2. These hypotheses were not supported for either language group. This suggests that whereas the English subjects have similar and consistent decoding strategies, the advanced Finnish readers of English have not developed constant strategies. This paper addresses the implications of the findings for further research and for language teaching.
Access to Treatment as a Human Right, A Discussion of the Aspects of the Right to Health under National and International Law in Venezuela; Cruz Bermudez, et al v. Ministry of Health, Supreme Court of Venezuela, July 1999

This is an analysis of the importance of human rights in the context of the AIDS pandemic, specifically addressing medical treatment for HIV/AIDS as critically fundamental to the right to health and the right to life. The two are so interconnected that a meaningful analysis of one must include the other. I analyze the Venezuelan Supreme Court decision 'Bermudez, et al v. Ministry of Health', to the extent that the State did not provide treatment for HIV/AIDS, it was violating individuals' right to health, and therefore, their right to life. Although the right to health is enshrined in the Venezuelan Constitution and in international treaties, several factors, including social, economical and legal challenge this decision. In conclusion, even though international human rights law has become an effective set of rules on which to base national and international public health strategies towards AIDS, the right to health, remain unprotected, especially in the developing world.
The effect of using an alternative method to calculate station cut scores in an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)

The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is a performance-based assessment that is gaining wide-spread recognition as an examination format for assessing clinical competence of health professionals. One method currently used to obtain cut scores is a modification of the mean borderline group method. The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of using an alternative approach to this method whereby the opinion of each examiner of a given station is weighted equally. The study examined the effect of this alternative method on cut score values obtained as well as the impact on task specific and examination level pass/fail decisions. The study also attempted to identify factors that could potentially impact on the size of the effect, if any, on cut scores established through this alternative method. The results do not indicate a significant difference between the two methods, thereby suggesting no need to after the current method of calculating cut scores.