VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Seed and vegetation dynamics in undamaged and degraded coastal habitats of the Hudson Bay lowlands

Grubbing and grazing by increasing numbers of lesser snow geese (' Anser caerulescens caerulescens') have led to loss of vegetation and soil degradation in salt marshes and on beach ridges. These changes have had a deleterious effect on the soil seed bank by reducing density of seeds and shifting the composition from species present prior to the disturbance to invasive species. In the salt marsh, more recently degraded plots had greater revegetation potential from the remaining seed bank than plots where loss of vegetation was of long standing. Seed banks in beach-ridge soils were less affected by degradation due to the greater proportion of weedy species present in the original vegetation. Studies of the seed and vegetation dynamics in the supratidal marsh indicated that while there were no systematic differences between the seed rain in undamaged and degraded sites, degradation processes constrain recruitment at the entrapment, germination and establishment stages.
The influence of concrete strength and longitudinal reinforcement ratio on the shear strength of large-size reinforced concrete beams with, and without, transverse reinforcement

Concern about the shear capacity of large, lightly reinforced high-strength concrete beams was the motivation for this investigation. The objectives of this study were to investigate the influence of concrete strength and main longitudinal reinforcement ratio on the shear capacity of large, lightly reinforced concrete members with, and without, transverse reinforcement. In addition, the test results were used to assess the performance of the North American code provisions, ACI 318-95 and CSA A23.3-94 (General Method). The following observations and conclusions resulted from this study: (i) Overall, the General Method yielded much better predictions than the ACI approach. For the 12 tests, the average ratio of the experimental shear failure load to the predicted shear failure load for the ACI Method and the General Method was 0.74 (Coefficient of Variation = 23%) and 0.98 (C.O.V. = 15.3%), respectively. (ii) The five beam specimens constructed with 1% longitudinal reinforcement, without stirrups, and concrete strengths of 20 MPa, 32 MPa, 38 MPa, 65 MPa, and 80 MPa, respectively, had essentially the same ultimate shear capacity. No benefit was realized in the shear capacity, for the higher strength concrete beams. In fact, the beam specimen with the 80 MPa concrete had the lowest shear capacity. (iii) The implementation of high-strength concrete proved to be beneficial only when transverse reinforcement was utilized.
National compliance with G7 environment and development commitments, 1988-1995

This study begins the task of identifying the patterns, explaining the causes and exploring the processes of compliance with the G7s environment and development commitments from 1988-1995. It provides the first systematic review of the record of compliance with G7 decisions in the post-cold war globalizing system of the 1990s and in regard to the environment and development issues that have flourished in this period. It offers the first attempt to explain compliance with, rather than the creation of, G7 commitments by exploring the impact of those variables asserted to be important in the existing literature on the G7. It draws on explanatory factors from several bodies of theory--regime, concert and institutional theory--to provide a synthetic explanation of compliance with G7 commitments. It attempts to trace the process by which commitments are translated into national policy adjustment by exploring how G7 obligations affect and are affected by salient institutions and actors within national governments' policy making processes. The results of the findings suggest that during its third seven-year cycle, there was rising overall positive compliance with summit resolutions as the G7 produced a large number of specific and ambitious environment and development commitments. Positive compliance with summit commitments is the result of a number of factors, the most salient being the direct involvement in, and dominance of, the G7 by democratically-elected heads of state and government as well as the effects of important national and international institutional variables. Domestic political factors matter as well, for commitments are complied with when the leaders who made them enjoy credibility as well as popular and party support have demonstrated a strong tendency toward multilateralism and have also shown a strong personal commitment to the G7 and the issues themselves. Significant variations in compliance do appear, however, by country, across issue area and over time. Factors accounting for such variations in summit compliance are assessed and analyzed within this study.
Characterization of the Smad anchor for receptor activation in TGFß signal transduction

A novel essential component of the Transforming Growth Factor beta (TGFß) signaling pathway that is referred to as SARA, for Smad Anchor for Receptor Activation, has recently been identified (Tsukazaki, T. ' et al.' 1998). Preliminary analysis has revealed that SARA recruits Smad2 to the TGFß receptor complex by controlling its subcellular localization. To further characterize the role of SARA in the signal transduction pathways of the TGFß superfamily, I have undertaken a detailed analysis of this protein. I have shown that SARA is ubiquitously co-expressed with Smad2 in adult human tissues. In addition, dual label immunofluorescence confocal microscopy analysis has demonstrated that SARA localizes specifically to early endosomes, and that PI(3)P participates in mediating this localization. I have also further characterized the association between SARA and the TGFß receptors. I have demonstrated that SARA interacts with specific type I receptors, including the activin receptor-like kinase 1 (ALK1), and the TGFß and activin type I receptors. Moreover, my characterization has revealed that this interaction occurs independent of signaling, and is mediated by the carboxy terminus (amino acids 1000-1323) of SARA. Together, these results lead to a model of SARA functioning as a scaffold for the type I receptor kinase and its substrate, Smad2, in the early endosome.
Surface oxygen exchange kinetics and oxygen diffusion rates in YSZ single crystals and mixed conducting oxides

Isotope exchange with both 18O2 and C18O2 containing gas atmospheres, followed by ex-situ depth profiling using 18O([rho],Ã)15N NRA and SIMS analysis, was used to study fundamental transport properties of (100) oriented single crystal YSZ in the temperature range of 250°C to 350°C. Both the surface exchange and bulk diffusion coefficients followed Arrhenius relationships with activation energies of 154 kJ/mol and 109 kJ/mol respectively. Diffusion coefficients reveal a possible order/disorder transition similar to that previously observed at 650°C. Transport properties for La0.5Sr0.5CoO3-[delta] thin films on single crystal YSZ were also studied. These films provide dense samples of (100) oriented, highly crystalline oxides of single crystal quality. A significant interfacial diffusion barrier was observed in the isotope tracer profile, significantly limiting performance at these low temperatures (300-400°C). This thesis is the first reported use of isotope exchange depth profiling on such materials to determine both interfacial and bulk transport properties.
Effect of material geometry and composition on chondrocyte phenotype and cartilagenous tissue formation in vitro

To examine the effect of pore size on chondrocyte phenotype and cartilagneous tissue formation 'in vitro', articular chondrocytes were plated on porous Ti6Al4V discs of different average pore sizes (13um, 43um, and 68um) and grown in culture for 4 weeks. Hyaline-like cartilage formed on all the discs. The tissue that formed on discs of the smallest pore size was thicker, had a significantly greater proteoglycan and DNA content but similar collagen content when compared to the tissues that formed on the discs of the larger pore sizes. To examine the effect of material composition on chondrocyte phenotype and cartilagneous tissue formation 'in vitro', articular chondrocytes were plated on Ti6Al4V and commercially pure titanium (CpTi) discs and grown in culture for 4 weeks. There was no significant difference between the hyaline-like cartilage that formed on the Ti6Al4V or CpTi discs in terms of thickness, cellularity, proteoglycan and collagen content.
Gesture of the book

This thesis-book is an existential phenomenological inquiry undertaking to speak the gesture of the book. The inquirer endeavors to utter and make articulate for herself and the reader through reflective discourse, the gesture of the book as experienced within the biography of the inquiry. With an emphasis on finding a way of speaking the existential responsibility for our own voices in inquiry, the inquiry is a theoretical commitment to a communicative relationship with the world as encountered through interpretive inquiry (Darroch and Silvers, 1982). Engaged with the sensible of the book, as maker, author, inquirer, and reader, the inquirer endeavors to communicatively transcend silences reached at the limits of theoretical understandings (Silvers, 1983) through a phenomenologically speaking of the gesture of the book.
Radioligand binding analyses of the group III metabotropic glutamate receptors

My goal was to establish a baseline pharmacological profile for the group III mGluRs and to investigate differences in binding which may be present between the individual receptors. Of the four group III mGluRs, mGluR4 and mGluR8 displayed a high level of specific binding of [3H]-L-AP4, while no specific binding was detected for mGluR6 and mGluR7. [3H]-L-AP4 binding analyses were therefore performed for the mGluR4 and mGluR8 receptors. Results from competition experiments revealed that mGluR8 exhibited significantly higher binding affinities for group III-specific antagonists and the agonist PPG, compared to mGluR4. To investigate the basis for these binding differences, a combination of site-directed mutagenesis and molecular modeling was used to probe the ligand binding pockets of mGluR4 and mGluR8. Sequence similarity between the leucine-isoleucine-valine binding protein (LIVBP) and the mGluRs was used to model the ligand binding domain of mGluR4. Site-directed mutagenesis was used to substitute the serine 157 and glycine 158 residues of mGluR4 for their corresponding alanine residues in mGluR8. These substitutions created the mGluR4-S157A, G158A and S157A/G158A mutant receptors. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
The Liber exemplorum of Master Wiger of Utrecht, study and text

The dissertation is divided into three sections. Chapter one is biographical and prosopographical. In it, I have identified the compiler of the ' Exscripta sub titulis', a collection of preaching 'exempla ' preserved uniquely in Oxford, Corpus Christi College, MS 32, ff 12vb-49va, as Master Wiger, Provost of St. Peter's Collegiate Church, Utrecht (fl. ca. 1210-ca. 1240). Using the 'diplomata' of the Utrecht diocese and allied texts, I have traced Wiger's career from his first mention in the diocesan records to 1228, at which time Wiger appears to have converted to the Order of Friars Minor. I have thereafter attempted to reconstruct Wiger's subsequent career as a Franciscan friar and ' visitator' for the nascent order. Throughout chapter one, I have examined Wiger's connection to important noble and ministerial families of the German Empire. Chapter two introduces the text. It is divided into two sections: in the first, I describe Oxford, Corpus Christi College, MS 32 from a paleographic and codicological perspective, in the second, I outline the collection's plan and attempt to put the work in the context of twelfth- and thirteenth-century ' exemplaria'. Special emphasis has been placed on the rubrication of the text, which, I believe, reveals much about the compiler's intentions and spiritual formation. The third section of the dissertation contains an edition of the ' Exscripta sub titulis' of Master Wiger of Utrecht. In the apparatus of the edition, I have identified the sources employed by Wiger and indicated parallel and analogous texts.
Properties of neurons in primate face motor cortex in relation to orofacial movements and influence of face primary somatosensory cortex

There is little information of the sensorimotor cortical mechanisms controlling semiautomatic orofacial movements and the role of sensory inputs to the motor cortex (MI) during orofacial movements. An electrophysiological investigation was conducted in the unanaesthetised monkey to study (a) the activity patterns of single neurones recorded in face MI during orofacial movements, (b) the effects of reversible cold block of ipsilateral face primary somatosensory cortex (SI) on the orofacial movements and related activity of face MI neurones, and (c) modulation of somatosensory responses of face MI neurones evoked by orofacial stimuli during chewing. Face MI neurones exhibited a variety of neuronal activity patterns during chewing as well as a trained tongue-protrusion task. Most of the chewing-related neurones showed activity associated with rhythmic jaw movements or food preparatory movements. Some of the neurones showing the task- and/or chewing-related activity also showed significant alterations in activity in relation to swallowing. Unilateral cold block of SI had little effect on the performance of the orofacial movements or on task and chewing and/or swallowing-related activity of most face MI neurones. These data suggest that movement-induced reafferentation via the ipsilateral face SI may not be a significant factor in accounting for the activity of most face MI neurones related to orofacial, movements. A diminution of orofacial-evoked neuronal responses was a general feature of face MI during chewing. This suppression appeared dependent in part on an intact ipsilateral face SI in only a small portion of neurones tested during cold block of SI. These data support the view that the gain of somatosensory afferent inputs to MI can be adjusted to compensate for the increased sensory input produced during or as a result of movements but ipsilateral face SI may play a minor role in this mechanism. These findings indicate that face MI may play an important role in the control of not only voluntary but also semi-automatic orofacial movements and that ipsilateral face SI may have only a limited role in influencing MI neuronal activity.
Pharmacotherapy of keloid scars

Keloid scars arise from exuberant tissue growth; increased extracellular matrix (ECM) production combined with decreased ECM degradation. Darker-skinned people are predisposed to keloid scars formation. The efficacy of triamcinolone, compared to methylprednisolone, and dexamethasone was evaluated by their abilities to prevent inflammation induced in rats, as well as in an athymic mouse model. Surgically excised human keloid scar tissue was subcutaneously implanted into the mice. The glucocorticoids (GC) were injected into the keloid scar tissue. A histological scale was used to determine the efficacies of the GCs in both models. A hydroxyproline (OH-P) assay was done to determine the levels of collagen synthesis in the keloid tissue. No GC treatment showed consistent advantage in prevention or amelioration of Keloid scars in these animal models. Both models are imperfect for solutions to clinical problems and ideally study of novel Keloid scars therapies should be conducted in patients.
From traditional math exercises to meaning-centred tasks, helping preservice teachers increase in conceptual knowledge

Many students enter their preservice teacher training with a deficiency in mathematical subject matter knowledge. The purpose of this action research project was to explore how, or even if, a particular constructivist-based teaching model could help preservice teachers gain understanding of mathematical concepts. According to the model, prospective teachers were to develop tasks from traditional math book exercises, tasks that would motivate children to actively construct the concepts represented by the mathematics encountered in elementary school mathematics. As they analyzed math exercises, strategized concrete representations for the concepts discovered, and developed meaning-centred tasks, prospective teachers gained greater understanding of mathematical concepts. This thesis is a case study of the progress made by three female, elementary school, preservice teachers. An additional emphasis is a comparison of various concepts as they were discovered by the novice teachers and the articulation of those concepts by various professional sources.
The many sides of John Stuart Mill's political and ethical thought

This study is an attempt to account for the presence of discordant themes within the political and ethical writings of John Stuart Mill. It is argued that no existing account has adequately addressed the question of what possible function can be ascribed to conflict and contradiction within Mill's system of thought. It is argued that conflict and contradiction, are built into the structure of Mill's thought and reflect the author's 'manysidedness of mind,' a concept which Mill derives from his reading of Goethe. Mill's versatility, his 'manysidedness,' to some readers appears to evidence a lack of centre, equivocality, or a lack of enthusiasm for any cause; it is viewed as being reflective of a theoretical weakness within Mill's system of thought. On the contrary, it is argued, it is precisely Mill's willingness to permit the coexistence of multiple, conflicting perspectives in his writings which is the source of the full, grand richness of his thought. Manysidedness is a recurring theme within Mill's system of thought, which is of great value not only to Mill himself, but for understanding his thought as a whole. In the absence of a clear statement of purpose in respect to manysidedness from Mill, however, it is necessary to 'reconstruct' the thought which appears in his writing. On the basis of such a reading, it is argued that Mill should be considered important for having discovered ideas that later thinkers have explored. Thus, I have shown that Mill may be seen as anticipating the recent debate on value pluralism; that Mill shows a ' pluralist'-like appreciation for conflict that is at the same time critical of the value pluralist approach. This is riot to suggest, however, that Mill's thought directly anticipates current debates within liberal theory. Rather, it suggests that Mill's thought remains relevant over time because it may be combined with a plurality of other thinkers and ideas.
A front-end circuit for full-duplex transmission over coaxial cable

The main impairment in full-duplex transmission is the near-end echo. To remove this echo, a line driver with good linearity and a high-speed analog-to-digital converter with good resolution are required. Analog echo cancellation can reduce the linearity and resolution requirements. However, the choice of a voltage-mode or current mode line driver affects both the implementation and effectiveness of analog echo cancellation for high-speed applications. This research proposes a front-end with a current-mode line driver and embedded analog echo cancellation. A wide-band differential line driver for transformer-coupled coaxial cables is designed in standard 0.35[mu] CMOS. It achieves 160MHz bandwidth and no loss in implementing the cable termination. The line driver operates at 3.3V supply and exhibits a -50dB THD for a 1.6Vpp signal across a 75 ohm lead. Automatically tuned termination and a voltage gain independent of process and load impedance variation are provided by the architecture. In addition, the front-end achieves better than 15dB of analog echo cancellation up to 20MHz.
The effects of work force variation and conspecific preference in single and mixed-species colonies of Leptothorax longispinosus (Roger) and Leptothorax ambiguus (Emery) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Leptothoracini)

'Leptothorax longispinosus' and 'Leptothorax ambiguus ' are both used as hosts by the obligatory slave-maker 'Protomognathus americanus' Emery, and are themselves facultative slave-makers whom readily accept one another's pupae. Under natural conditions, workers of these two species can occasionally be found living together within a single colony, however it is unclear whether this condition is beneficial or detrimental to the fitness of the colony. Artificial colonies of varying work force compositions were established in the laboratory, and colony emigration trials were used to assess efficiency. Colonies composed of 'L. longispinosus' workers performed with greater efficiency than those composed of ' L. ambiguus' workers, whereas mixed-species colonies achieved intermediate results. Workers in mixed-species colonies also tended to perform species-specific behaviours and to recruit conspecific workers. These results suggest that mechanisms exist, such as tempo and/or behavioural/chemical differences, which impede full integration of the two species.
Developing children's rational number sense, a new approach and an experimental program

Rational number, decimals, fractions and percent is the most difficult topic in mathematics that students encounter in their elementary school years. In this study a new model for the development of rational number understanding was proposed and an experimental instructional program was devised and tested. The curriculum approached the teaching of rational number through percents rather than fractions and stressed the use of benchmark percents (50%, 25%, 75%, etc.) which were derived from "halving and doubling". The focus of the program was on continuous quantity, ratio and measurement. A comparison class of 17 students of similar demographic characteristics and matching mathematical abilities received a traditional curriculum. Students from the experimental group were more successful in all aspects of rational number performance. Flexibility of movement among representations, understanding of magnitude, the ability to perform complex computational items using invented strategies were among the general characteristics that emerged.
Class E power amplifiers for wireless transceivers

The thesis deals with the design of a Class E power amplifier in CMOS technology. Presently in wireless communication systems, the power amplifier is implemented in GaAs or bipolar technologies, while the signal processing blocks are done in CMOS. If the power amplifier could be implemented in CMOS, it would allow the system to be fabricated on a single chip, thus reducing power, area and cost. The objective of this thesis is to investigate the design of such an amplifier in a deep submicron CMOS process. A Class E amplifier configuration was selected for implementation due to its expected high efficiency. The Class E power amplifier was implemented in a 0.35 [mu]m standard CMOS technology. The modeling of the CMOS compatible inductors used in the amplifier was carefully considered. A modified scalable inductor model was developed based upon process parameters and the spiral characteristic. The integrated amplifier itself consisted of a Class F driver and a Class E power stage. The amplifier was successfully implemented, occupying a silicon area of 1.92 mm2. The amplifier operates at 835MHz, delivering 79mW of power to a 50[Omega] load from a 3.3V supply with a power added efficiency of 36%.