VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Rapid layered manufacturing of short-fibre-reinforced parts

Rapid Prototyping (RP) expedites the transition from the design concept to a physical model. With RP, objects are created from thin layers, i.e., by 'Layered Manufacturing' (LM). The most common LM technique, stereolithography, uses a liquid photopolymer selectively solidified by an ultraviolet laser. Mechanical properties of photopolymers can be improved by the addition of short-glass-fibres. In this thesis, a novel process for Rapid Layered Composites Manufacturing (RLCM) is developed. RLCM overcomes several fabrication problems caused by the introduction of fibres into the photopolymer liquid: (1) thin layer formation from a viscous mixture; (2) fibre settling; and (3) lack of inter-layer fibre penetration. The distinguishing features of the proposed process are: (1) external fibre-resin mixing supply source; (2) precisely controlled liquid deposition from above; and (3) selective solidification by a scanning pattern with layer-to-layer interconnecting features. To arrive at the above process synthesis, first, the basic properties of the constituent materials were experimentally investigated; second, the RLCM process, originally synthesized using the Axiomatic Design Theory, was iteratively improved upon by analysis of the fabricated parts. The constituent materials were studied to evaluate the fibre-photopolymer interaction. The high strength of the fibre-solid photopolymer interface was verified by single-fibre pull-out tests. Fibre-liquid photopolymer interaction was observed through rheological measurements which determined the relationship between the composite liquid's viscosity and (a) the fibre concentration and (b) the fibre aspect ratio. Axiomatic Design Theory was employed for RLCM-process synthesis. The present design resulted from several cycles of evaluation and modification based upon the Independence and Information Axioms. RLCM process output was analyzed in terms of parts' geometric quality and mechanical properties. The geometric quality was assessed by examining individual layers. Fluid-mechanical layer-formation models were employed to interpret layer-to-layer thickness variations. Modelling mechanical properties of the short-fibre composites requires information about the fibre orientation and length. Thus, three-dimensional fibre-orientation distribution was measured with a novel methodology where two closely spaced consecutive cross-sections are examined. The method's novelty lies in accurately calculating the transformation between the cross-sections and additionally estimating the fibre length. Mechanical properties of layered composites are of importance since such parts may directly serve as functional prototypes. These properties were modelled employing modified rule of mixtures. The models matched well the tensile test results, which demonstrated a significant improvement (80%) in modulus with reinforcements.
VLSI architectures for the forward-backward algorithm

The forward-backward algorithm, also known as the BCJR or MAP algorithm, is a detection algorithm that provides soft reliability estimates. This thesis discusses issues relevant to the practical implementation of the forward-backward algorithm. Two applications are chosen for more detailed study: (i) turbo decoding and (ii) soft-output detection of class-IV partial response signalling. A novel circuit is introduced that eliminates the need for a lookup table in the computational kernel of the forward-backward algorithm. The design and implementation of an FPGA-based turbo decoder is presented. The difference-metric forward-backward algorithm is derived for class-IV partial response signalling. A test chip was designed in a 0.5 [mu]m CMOS process and is expected to operate at speeds greater than 120 Mbps. The core area is 0.81 mm2 and the overall silicon area is 7.3 mm 2.
The more spiritual gospel, Markan literary techniques in the longer Gospel of Mark

Although a quarter of a century has passed since Morton Smith published his discovery of a letter of Clement of Alexandria containing a fifteen sentence excerpt from a longer version of the gospel of Mark, there is still no general agreement about the origin and nature of this longer gospel. Most investigators continue to adopt one (or more) of five, essentially mutually exclusive paradigms that were identified and discussed by Smith: forgery; pointless, apocryphal pastiche; secret and elitist gnostic gospel; catechetical supplements for neophyte baptism; and pre-canonical version of Mark. Apart from the first two conceptions, which tend to preempt historical reflection, these alternatives are the products of a predominantly form-critical approach to gospel pericopae. The longer text's story about the resurrection and private instruction of a young man is usually assumed to depict and validate a rite of initiation practiced within the particular Christian community in which this gospel was produced. It is the contention of this dissertation that a more literary paradigm should be adopted. Contrary to the predominant opinion, Clement's ' Letter to Theodore' describes this longer version of Mark neither as a "secret" gospel nor as a lection for a ceremony, but as a "mystical" and "more spiritual" gospel that proved to be especially apt at leading its readers to an appreciation of the philosophical truths of orthodox Alexandrian Christianity, what Clement referred to as "the great mysteries." This text was therefore eventually read and expounded anagogically to Christians advancing in gnosis. When considered in relation to their Markan context, the extant verses of the longer gospel function to elaborate and elucidate Markan themes and symbolism pertaining to discipleship and christology by employing distinctly Markan literary techniques, most notably informational "gaps," intercalation, paired framing stories, and verbal echoes. Thus, through the use of intercalation, the naked flight of the young man in Gethsemane (Mark 14:51-52) comes to symbolize the failure of Jesus' disciples to be "baptized" with his metaphorical "baptism" of death in Jerusalem (10:38-39).
Regulation of NK1.1 (NKR-P1/CD161) expression during lymphocyte lineage commitment in the fetal mouse

T and natural killer (NK) lymphocytes are presumed to share a common intrathymic precursor. The development of conventional Ãß T lymphocytes begins within the early fetal thymus, after the colonization of multipotent CD117+ (c-kit) hematopoietic precursors. Irrevocable commitment to the Ãß T lineage is marked by thymus-induced expression of CD25 (IL-2RÃ) and initiation of genomic rearrangements at the T cell receptor ß (TCRß) loci. However, the contribution of the fetal thymic microenvironment in mediating NK lineage commitment and differentiation has remained largely unappreciated. In particular, the development of functional mouse NK cells occurs first within the early fetal thymus. Mature fetal thymic NK cells are characterized by expression of a type II transmembrane C-type lectin receptor, NK1.1 (NKR-P1/CD161), and by lack of expression of CD117 (NK1.1+/CD117 -). Moreover, NK cell differentiation is preceded by a thymus-induced developmental stage (NK1.1+/CD117lo) that marks lineage commitment of multipotent hematopoietic precursors to the T and NK cell fates, with the subsequent loss of B lymphoid potential. Commitment to this T/NK bipotent stage is induced by fetal thymic stroma, but is not thymus-dependent. Indeed, previously-identified CD90+ (Thy-1) fetal blood "prothymocytes", once thought to represent exclusively T lineage-committed precursors, also exhibit NK lineage potential and are phenotypically and functionally identical to fetal thymic NK1.1 +/CD117lo progenitors. Equivalent populations of NK1.1 +/CD90+/CD117lo progenitors are found in the fetal circulation of both normal and athymic nude (nu/nu) mice. These findings indicate that full commitment of circulating hematopoietic precursors to the T lineage occurs after thymus colonization. Interestingly, the NK1.1 antigen expressed by fetal blood cells does not represent the previously-defined NKR-P1C (CD161C) gene product; rather, it represents a novel NK1.1 antigen expressed in certain mouse strains that is encoded by the closely-related NKR-P1B (CD161B) gene. In contrast to NKR-P1C, which transduces, activating signals by recruiting protein tyrosine kinases, NKR-P1B transduces inhibitory signals by associating with the protein tyrosine phosphatase, SHP-1. Thus, "the NK1.1 antigen" actually represents two distinct gene products possessing opposite regulatory functions. These findings suggest a potential role for NKR-P1 molecules in mediating self/nonself recognition in the immune system.
Principal witness, Herbert Whittaker and Canadian drama, 1949-1975

In his career as a reviewer and columnist for 'The Globe and Mail ' in Toronto from 1949 to 1975, Herbert Whittaker became arguably the most important critical figure in the history of Canadian theatre. This thesis attempts to define Whittaker as a principal witness of his time by examining his work and considering the sensitivity and knowledge that he brought to his reviews of Canadian and international plays. During these years at ' The Globe and Mail', Whittaker reviewed most of the plays and productions in Canadian theatre history that helped to produce an identifiably Canadian theatre. Critics have generally agreed that at the beginning of this period Canadian theatre was amateurish and derivative, but by the early 1970s had become much more professional and distinctively Canadian, attracting larger audiences. The theatre of this later period made a lasting contribution to the arts in Canada and extended beyond the Canadian border in its influence. As a child, Whittaker attended plays in Montreal and London, England. He developed his ability as a theatre designer through art classes, and as a designer and director through extensive work in little theatre in Montreal and later in Toronto. Whittaker's background, along with a genuine passion for art and interest in dramatists, directors and actors, enhanced his critical skills and made him much more than a journalist working his 'beat'. He continually adapted his point of view to the changing times in Canadian theatre. In the 1950s in Canada, the Massey Report became the cornerstone of arts policies and procedures and many of its recommendations were followed. The Stratford Festival, the National Theatre School, a strong body of professional repertory theatres throughout the regions of Canada, and many alternative theatre companies changed the face of Canadian theatre. Also, in the period under examination in this thesis, Canadians wrote and produced plays that allowed Canadians to see and study themselves in new and sometimes challenging ways. Whittaker monitored these developments and more in his long career and did so with thoroughness, insight and dedication.

Keywords: Theater
History
Theater critics
Biography
Théâtre
Histoire
Critiques de théâtre
Biographies
A home, a husband, and now a baby, the implications of premarital conception in Gibraltar, 1960-1996

The majority of studies examining risk factors for adverse infant outcomes of pregnancy, such as low birthweight and premature delivery, either directly examine the effects of mother's marital status at birth or incorporate mother's marital status at birth into statistical models as an important confounding factor. The potential effect of mother's marital status 'at conception ', however, has been largely overlooked as a possible risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study focuses on assessing the risks of premarital conception among mothers in the Mediterranean community of Gibraltar, a small British overseas territory located at the southern tip of Spain. The study includes all women who delivered their first liveborn, singleton infant in Gibraltar between the years 1960 to 1996. Though all mothers (n = 3284) in the study were married at the time of their first birth, some 20 percent (n = 672) conceived out of wedlock and subsequently married in the interval between conception and birth. Logistic regression analysis is used to evaluate which factors are significantly associated with predicting premarital conceivers. Subsequent analyses consider any effects of premarital conception on two adverse infant outcomes, full-term low birthweight (<2500 grams) and prematurity (<37 weeks gestation), and infant feeding choice (breast- or artificial-feeding) as one proxy of post-partum mothering behaviour. Following in the anthropological tradition of community contextualization, interpretations of the empirical analyses are grounded in Gibraltarian discourse on sexuality, marriage, and childbearing. Results indicate that premarital conception represents a significant risk factor for both premature delivery and choosing to artificial feed. Premarital conception is not significantly associated with an increased odds of full-term low birthweight. Several possible pathways are offered to account for the heightened risk of premature delivery, each centered around the likelihood that premarital conceivers are exposed to higher levels of stress and anxiety in the ante-natal period relative to maritally-conceiving women. The possibility of a differential nature in the mothering role adopted by premarital conceivers is examined with respect to infant feeding choices.
Flashing sprays of binary hydrocarbon mixtures

A heated fuel which is depressurized may become superheated and undergo flash boiling. Binary mixtures of two heavy hydrocarbons, decane ('C'10'H'22) and tetradecane ('C'14'H'30), were pressurized to 10 bar, heated to temperatures ranging from room temperature to the saturation temperature of decane, and then expanded through a simple converging nozzle into a chamber at 1 bar. Exit angle of the resulting sprays and mass flow rate through the nozzle vary with mixture composition as well as with upstream temperature. As the temperature is increased, the spray cone angles increase; addition of a hydrocarbon with a higher saturation temperature reduces the exit angle. The mass flow rate, related to the liquid density, decreases with increased temperature. The addition of a heavier fuel increases the liquid density, increasing the mass flow rate. A modified Jakob number based on van Laar's mixing model, <math> <f> <a><ac>Ja</ac><ac>&d15;</ac></a>=x<inf><g>a</g></inf>Ja<inf><g>a</g> </inf>+x<inf><g>b</g></inf>Ja<inf><g>b</g></inf></f> </math>, collapses the spray cone angle data. indicating that it is an appropriate representation of superheat for mixtures. It is shown that flash evaporation begins at approximately <math> <f> <a><ac>Ja</ac><ac>&d15;</ac></a></f> </math> = 0.35.
Development of an effective fuel level sensing technology for propane-powered vehicles

The suitability of modern fuel level sensing technology is evaluated in the context of propane vehicles. This current technology is shown to be unsatisfactory due to problems with poor reliability and performance. In an effort to solve this problem, level sensing technologies suitable for static and dynamic applications are explored as possible alternatives. From the technologies discussed, the Helmholtz method is chosen as the best option due to its potential to disregard errors caused by the movement of the fuel inside the tank. A study of the major factors affecting the implementation of the Helmholtz method is also presented. This study focuses on the acoustic properties of Helmholtz resonators as they apply to fluid level sensing. Experimental results demonstrate the ability of this method to detect volume change in a tank. These experiments also explore the effects of using speakers as excitation sources. The behavior of tanks with simple and complex geometric features are also examined.
The bush, the plantations, and the devils, culture and historical experience in the Argentinean Chaco

This dissertation is a historical ethnography of the cultural experience of domination of the Tobas of the mid-Pilcomayo River, an indigenous group of the Gran Chaco region in northern Argentina. I analyze this experience through the Tobas' cultural construction of "the bush" and "the plantations": the places which have epitomized their practices since they were incorporated into the political economy of northern Argentina at the beginning of the twentieth century. A central point of this dissertation is that these places are the spatial expression of contradictory experiences of labor (hunting-gathering and seasonal wage labor) and that the manifold, often ambiguous meanings the Tobas associate with them are to a great extent molded through their mutual contrast and opposition. These semantic tensions hinge on experiences of terror and their overcoming, the construction of partial havens from domination, fetishized visions of wealth and poverty, forms of compliance and contention vis-à-vis missionary social control, the internalization and resignification of hegemonic values, and the cultural configuration of fragmentary, millenarian dreams of freedom.
Role of post-transcriptonal fibronectin gene regulation in vascular neointimal formation, modulation by nitric oxide

Closure of the ductus arteriosus, (DA) at term requires prenatal formation of intimal cushions, by a process of smooth muscle cell (SMC) migration into the subendothelium as observed in occlusive vascular disease. Migration of DA SMC in culture depends on increased fibronectin synthesis regulated by a post-transcriptional mechanism involving interaction of a microtubule-associated protein, LC-3, with an AU-rich element (ARE) in the 3'-untranslated region of fibronectin mRNA. In this thesis, we establish a critical role for post-transcriptional upregulation of fibronectin in DA intimal cushion formation in the intact animal. Fetal lamb DAs transfected 'in utero ' (90 days) with plasmid encoding decoy RNA to sequester fibronectin mRNA binding protein, LC-3, show inhibition of fibronectin mRNA translation and, at term (145 days), lack of intimal cushion formation with increased lumenal patency. Since NO is implicated in post-transcriptional gene regulation and DA physiology, we investigated its mechanistic role in LC-3-dependent fibronectin synthesis. NO production was 7-fold higher in DA versus aortic SMC associated with increased nNOS expression. The NOS inhibitor L-NMMA decreased fibronectin synthesis by ~45-50%, whereas the NO donor, SNAP increased DA fibronectin synthesis ~1-fold without affecting mRNA levels. Immunoblotting revealed that SNAP increased and L-NMMA reduced membrane-associated phosphorylated LC-3 involved in mRNA translation. RNA gel mobility shift assays demonstrated NO-dependent LC-3 binding to fibronectin mRNA ARE. Since TNF-Ã induced iNOS and fibronectin expression is implicated in vascular disease, we investigated whether an NO-dependent post-transcriptional mechanism was involved. TNF-Ã induction of fibronectin synthesis in coronary artery SMC correlated with enhanced NO production, was abrogated by the NO synthase inhibitor, L-NMMA, and reproduced with the NO donor, SNAP. TNF-Ã had no effect on fibronectin mRNA levels but increased LC-3 expression and LC-3-ARE binding in an NO-dependent manner. These data demonstrate a critical role for post-transcriptional upregulation of fibronectin in DA intimal formation, show that this process is regulated by NO, and extend this paradigm to the mechanism of TNF-Ã mediated occlusive vascular disease.
The politics of choice in education, theorizing a post-liberal choosing subject

Over the last thirty years there has been increasing debate over the issue of the extension of choice in education. This issue has been taken up by constituents of a diverse range of discursive positions, but has recently been claimed by the neoliberal and neoconservative right, especially in the United States. Hence, the question of choice in education has been framed in relation to a critique of the welfare state based on a very particular notion of a generalized choosing subject: the rational, autonomous individual set in a free market of goods and services. Arguments against choice in education are most often launched as a critique of this construct, resulting in the theoretical negation of the choosing subject as such in favour of structural analyses. My dissertation attempts to disrupt this dialectic between the noumenal self and the constructed self on a theoretical level. I argue that a choosing subjectivity can theoretically be recouped from its structuralist critique without taking on the ontological and epistemological presuppositions of the discourses of modernity. An alternatively and strategically conceived model will draw from both modern and postmodern redescriptions, of subjectivity, which present choice not as the ability to decide rationally among a finite "menu" of goods within a competitive market from the basis of an always already "given" rational subjectivity, but rather as the constitutive act of selfhood itself: choice then describes not the result of a rational subject's will, but the constitution of the self as distinct entity within particular contingent conditions. Choice and the chooser co-arise, giving the effect of a subject at once constituted and constituting. I take this redescription and apply it to theories of radical post-liberal democracy, which include the reformulation, rather than rejection, of welfare state rationales and justifications, in terms of disrupting the ostensible opposition between the right (private choice) and the good (public institutions). Here I rely on the categories of culture and community, which describe the "sites" where people concretely live their lives, in contrast the other.
Monolithic inductors for silicon radio frequency integrated circuits

A novel parameter extraction technique is applied to the modeling of rectangular spiral inductors and validated with measurements and simulations. To enhance the inductor quality ('Q') factor, a differentially excited symmetric inductor is used. Compared with a single-ended configuration, the differential structure offers a higher 'Q'-factor over a wider range of frequencies. Application of the symmetric inductor model is demonstrated using two oscillator designs in which a differentially excited symmetric inductor is compared with conventional spiral inductors. The symmetric inductor improves the overall circuit performance and saves chip area.
Origins of specificity in protein modification, reaction patterns of tris-trimesates with human hemoglobin A, water, and n-propylamine

A series of anionic trifunctional reagents with different leaving group substituent patterns (carboxylphenolate derivatives) has been prepared to elucidate the mechanism of hemoglobin cross-linking. The reactivity of these reagents toward human hemoglobin A, water, and 'n'-propylamine has been evaluated. The substitution pattern of the reagent has critical effects upon reactivity with hemoglobin that are not reflected in reactions with the small nucleophiles. Specifically, the type and number of halogens and the number and position of the carboxylates on each leaving group affect the ability of the reagents to cross-link hemoglobin. Furthermore, the carboxylates have two functions on the reagents: (1) they direct the anionic reagents into the cationic site of hemoglobin; and (2) they acquire protons from protonated amino groups on the protein. The reagent that is most effective at cross-linking hemoglobin has two bromines, and one carboxylate 'ortho' to the esters on each leaving group. In this study, trimesoyl tris(3,5-dibromosalicylate) (TTDS, 1) is the most effective trifunctional cross-linking reagent. As a result of elucidating the mechanism of hemoglobin cross-linking, this information was used to design an asymmetric cross-linker (13). This reagent has four reactive ester sites: two should selectively react with hemoglobin, while the other two should selectively react with small nucleophiles. This asymmetric reagent will allow better efficiency in converting deoxyhemoglobin into a bioconjugative protein.