VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Rescue and the duty to aid

It is a commonly held view that we ought to help others when they are in peril or in need, at least when we can do so at little cost to ourselves. This means that we have a duty to aid the child drowning in the pool of water in front of us and that we also have a duty to aid hungry and needy people in distant places. I agree with this view, but I show that it does not follow that the situation of the drowning child and the situation of the needy person bind us in the same way. 'Rescue and the Duty to Aid' argues that there are two distinct types of duties to aid--a perfect duty to rescue and an imperfect duty to help the needy. Both are moral requirements, but they require different things. The duty to rescue demands a particular act of an agent. The duty to help the needy demands that the agent adopt a certain end--helping needy persons--and that she act to fulfill this end. In the former situation the agent is bound to do something specific, in the latter situation the agent has the latitude to choose how to best fulfill her end. My aim is not to show that one duty is necessarily stronger or more pressing than the other, but that they demand different things. Once I fill out the structure of our duties, we see that the duties have different fulfillment conditions. Perfect duties can be completely discharged by doing the required act. Imperfect duties are never completely discharged but we can do our share by contributing to the end. I show that there are limitations on the duty to aid but that these limitations apply differently to perfect and imperfect duties. With a greater understanding of how the limitations work, we are in a better position to understand what and how much these duties demand of us.
The role of principles in the care ethic, an examination of Noddings' caring

Nel Noddings claims to have undermined the efficacy and therefore the need for moral principles by showing them to be largely irrelevant to an ethic based on caring. This thesis argues that Noddings has not persuasively argued for the removal or diminishment of principles in moral theory. The thesis focuses on Noddings' complaint that principles depend on justification, universalizability, in the ethic of care itself. Using Paul Thagard's scale of wide reflective equilibrium, and the test case of capital punishment, the thesis disputes Noddings' claim that the ethic of care is coherent. Furthermore, the thesis argues that current care theory, with its anti-principles pretense, muzzles the one-caring both in personal relationships and as a citizen concerned with global issues such as human rights and social injustice.
Sensors, pipelines, and intelligent decision making, progress of the SmartPipe project

A collaborative project was conducted between the University of Toronto and IPEX Inc. to develop the SmartPipe concept. A SmartPipe is a fluid-conveying pipe with instrumentation for the determination of parameters describing the hydraulics and chemical nature of the fluid. Provisions are also made for collecting and transmitting this information to a central monitoring station. The aim of this research is to conduct preliminary stages of development for the SmartPipe. To this end, a pipeline was constructed at IPEX to test system components, and subsequently preliminary designs for a SmartConnector (to house the instrumentation) were produced. Concurrent to the work at IPEX, the author has investigated the present state of water supply and the impact that the SmartPipe may have on its future. The goal of the SmartPipe concept is to link not only data but also a physical model of system performance. That is, tying data directly into questions of calibration, design, and performance. Current systems do not generally incorporate this feature since their data sets are not sufficiently dense.
Structural features affecting the cleavage rate and magnesium optimum in the Neurospora VS ribozyme

Varkud Satellite (VS) RNA catalyzes a magnesium-dependent, site-specific, self-cleavage reaction. It has been previously determined that a base-paired region, called helix Ia, adjacent to the site of self-cleavage, is a structural element that limits the rate of self-cleavage. Mutants with a disrupted helix Ia not only display an increase in cleavage rate, but also are active at much lower concentrations of magnesium. By measuring the cleavage kinetics of a series of linker-insertion mutants with or without a disrupted helix Ia, I have been able to identify separate structural causes for the slow cleavage rate and high magnesium optimum of the wild-type RNA. The slow cleavage rate is due to a steric constraint imposed by the natural RNA sequence. The high magnesium optimum reflects the instability of an alternative secondary structure that must form near the cleavage site during folding into the active conformation of the RNA.
Function and regulation of E-cadherin in Drosophila melanogaster

DE-cadherin, encoded by the gene shotgun, is believed to be the major epithelial cadherin in Drosophila. DE-cadherin is a calcium dependent, homophilic adhesion molecule. It has been shown to accumulate in adherens junctions, where it forms a complex with Armadillo/$\beta$-catenin and $D\alpha$-catenin, linking the adhesion complex to the cytoskeleton. Control of morphogenetic movements of epithelial cells is likely dependent on the dynamic regulation of the dissociation and re-establishment of the cadherin-catenin complex. To assess the importance of this regulation by dissociation, I have expressed two different fusion proteins, DE-cadherin/$D\alpha$-catenin and DE-cadherin/Armadillo, in transgenic animals. Activation of expression of these constructs causes defects in the morphogenesis of the embryonic ectoderm. In addition, I have examined the function of DE-cadherin in cell migration processes during oogenesis. I find that DE-cadherin is required for the migration of border cells and centripetal cells.
Natural gas ignition delay study under diesel engine conditions in a combustion bomb with glow plug assist

Experiments have been conducted in an optically accessible combustion bomb to determine how a natural gas jet interacts with a glow plug, as well as where and under what conditions it ignites in a high swirl combustion chamber. A Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine was used as a rapid compression device to provide bomb pressure charging. Photographs were taken with a high speed ICCD camera while changing glow plug temperature, peak bulk gas temperature, peak bulk gas pressure, injection angle, and local air swirl motion around the glow plug through the use of various shields. The research has shown that combustion chamber design, especially the use of a shield to minimize local air motion around the glow plug, is critical in obtaining ignition of natural gas in 2 ms or less at reasonable bulk gas and glow plug temperatures.
A study on unconventional cancer therapies, patient's choice to move outside mainstream medicine

This study was an attempt to understand Canadian cancer patients' treatment choice with particular regard to what characteristics may be a part of their choice to use unconventional cancer therapies. People who purchased the Guidebook to Unconventional Cancer Therapies, published by the Ontario Breast Cancer Information Exchange Project (1994) and members of cancer support groups throughout Canada, were solicited by mail to complete questionnaires. Their use of unconventional cancer therapies was measured and non-users were compared with users of varying degrees on several variables. It was found that demographic variables other than education were not critical factors in the use of unconventional therapies by cancer patients. The same was true of their coping style and psychological state. Of more importance in the relationship was their beliefs and attitudes about cancer, about conventional medicine and their physician, and about unconventional medicine.
Components of effective reading instruction for reading disabled students, an evaluation of a program combining code- and strategy-instruction

The present study is an attempt to evaluate a reading program that has been reported by its authors as being extraordinarily effective in terms of facilitating growth in word identification ability. Forty-four disabled readers, seven to ten years of age, were randomly assigned to the treatment intervention, Phono-Graphix, or the comparison intervention, Corrective Reading. Both programs placed emphasis on decontextualized word identification training with instructional focus at the level of the phoneme. Each group received a mean of 10.5 hours of formal, one-to-two instruction and an equivalent number of hours of assigned homework over a 7.5-week period over the summer. No reliable pretest-posttest gains were demonstrated for either program on any of the standardized measures of word identification. With respect to gains made on the standardized measures of word identification, the present study does not provide a replication of the gains reported by the authors of the Phono-Graphix program. A large treatment effect was found for the Phono-Graphix group, however, on an experimental measure of word identification. Further analysis revealed that this treatment effect was attributable to large, reliable improvement in reading orthographically irregular words (ES = 0.8). Gains made by Phono-Graphix subjects during the treatment period on this measure of exception-word reading were reliably more rapid than those achieved by the same children during the baseline period during which they were receiving regular classroom instruction. Improvements made by the Phono-Graphix subjects in exception-word reading were superior to those made by Corrective Reading subjects. These data are interpreted as suggesting that the significant gains made by Phono-Graphix subjects in this domain can be attributed to their adoption of the word identification strategies taught in this program.
Cerebral circulation during acceleration stress

A mathematical model of the cerebrovascular system has been developed to examine the influence of acceleration on cerebral circulation. The objective is to distinguish the main factors that limit cerebral blood flow in pilots subjected to accelerations which exceed the gravitational acceleration of the earth (Gz > 1). The cerebrovascular system was approximated by an open-loop network of elastic tubes and the flow in blood vessels was modeled according to a one-dimensional theory of flow in collapsible tubes. Since linear analysis showed that the speed of pulse propagation in the intracranial vessels should not be modified by the skull constraint, the same governing equations were used for the intracranial vessels as for the rest of the network. The steady and pulsatile components of the cerebrospinal fluid pressure were determined from the condition that the cranial volume must be conserved. After the qualitative aspects of the model results were verified experimentally, the open-loop geometry was incorporated into a global mathematical model of the cardiovascular system. Both the mathematical models and the experiment show that cerebral blood flow diminishes for Gz > 1 due to an increase in the resistance of the large veins in the neck, which collapse as soon as the venous pressure becomes negative. In contrast, the conservation of the cranial volume requires that the cerebrospinal and venous pressure always be approximately the same, and the vessels contained in the cranial cavity do not collapse. Positive pressure breathing provides protection by elevating blood arterial and venous pressures at the heart, thus preventing the venous collapse and maintaining the normal cerebral vascular resistance.
Step by step, stepchildren and support obligations

This thesis is an exploration of the legal relationship between stepparents and their stepchildren within the context of child support obligations post separation and divorce. While the law has moved towards imposing a duty on stepparents to provide financially for their stepchildren, this thesis examines the motivations of the courts in so doing. The legal and social implications of such a duty are explored within the context of our changing trends in family sociology, specifically looking at the role of fathers. Obligating stepparents to pay child support acknowledges that children may have more nurturing relationships with adults than simply the biological parent relationship. At the same time, the child support obligation may also be a way for the Canadian government to avoid its own obligations to provide for its financially dependent citizens, primarily, impoverished women and children.
Microsimulation modeling and advancements of transit priority options at major arterials

The objective of this study is to examine the impacts of several transit priority strategies as well as to develop a conditional signal priority algorithm for a streetcar corridor in the city of Toronto. The 504 King streetcar was chosen for the study, a high frequency route with headway of 2 minutes. Six scenarios representing different levels of transit priority were considered, and a microsimulation model was developed to examine these scenarios. The model was enhanced by an Application Programming Interface (API) program to enable modeling passenger-related functions. Based on the selected set of MOEs, the simulation results were analyzed to assess the relative effectiveness of the scenarios. The simulation results also showed that conditional TSP algorithm was effective in reducing cross streets delay and headway variance. However, the tested conditional TSP algorithm failed to improve transit headway regularity on the network with near saturated condition.
Functional connexions among medullary respiratory neurones in the rat

I examined the functional interconnexions among medullary respiratory rhythm-generating neurones, and the premotor pathways that transmit rhythm to hypoglossal and phrenic motoneurones using 'in-vivo' adult, and 'in-vitro' neonatal rat preparations. Based on four specific research projects, the following conclusions were drawn: (1) In adult and neonatal rats, each half of the medulla contains an autonomous respiratory rhythm-generator that can function independently. (2) In adult rats, left and right hypoglossal nerve discharges are synchronised by excitation from a common premotor neurone population, as are the phrenic nerves; this type of short-term synchronisation was not detected in neonatal ' in-vitro' preparations. I speculate that the differences between the adult and neonatal preparations are due to development of respiratory drive transmission pathways. (3) In adult rats, motoneurones of the medial and lateral hypoglossal nerve branches receive inspiratory drive from a common premotor population. In both adult and neonatal rats, hypoglossal motoneurones are not monosynaptically excited by the inspiratory neurones that are premotor to phrenic motoneurones. Hypoglossal motoneurones are not inhibited by the Bötzinger complex expiratory neurones that inhibit phrenic motoneurones. I suggest that respiratory control of hypoglossal motoneurones is separate from that for phrenic motoneurones. (4) In adult rats, hypoglossal inspiratory motoneurones are not inhibited during expiration. Respiratory rhythm is transmitted to hypoglossal motoneurones from a distinct population of premotor neurones scattered throughout the lateral tegmental field, and perhaps by a population of interneurones within the hypoglossal motor nucleus.
Reverse link channel access techniques for CDMA packet networks

In this thesis, we propose, analyze and assess three novel radio channel access techniques to effectively manage the interference in the reverse links of a cellular CDMA network with the emphasis on the packet data applications. The first scheme is based on the combined use of rate, power and cell control, whereby base station receivers attempt to operate with equal receive power. In the second approach, the temporal variations of the channels are exploited to schedule packet-transmissions in different modes of operations. The third technique uses the overlapping sectors for adaptive sectoring of a cell based on the non-uniform angular traffic around the base stations. All of these approaches are systematically developed based on the fact that both the interference-reduction and the interference-balancing improve the CDMA system performance. The techniques in effect implement interference control at the system level respectively (a) exploiting the source characteristics of the mobiles for network-wide interference-balancing, (b) time separating the signals based on the relative channel conditions and delaying dominant interferers and (c) jointly selecting the best possible set of antenna based on the angular traffic at the antenna and making the user assignment that minimizes the total transmit power. Algorithms for base station selection, transmission rate adjustment and mobile power adaptation for the above schemes are also discussed. Simulation results and numerical examples that compare ours with previously reported techniques demonstrate the effectiveness of the new techniques.
The clash of moral nations, imponderabilia in the Second Polish Republic, 1926-1935

This dissertation examines the singlemost explosive political event of the Polish interwar period: Joseph Pi½sudski's 1926 coup d'état and the period of "'Sanacja'", or "cleansing" that it inaugurated. I argue that the Sanacja's language of purification, health and rebirth resonated forcefully outside of the strictly political and military contexts in which the event is customarily considered. It is generally argued that Pi½sudski carried out the coup in the name of political stability, and that his goal was to reform a corrupt and incompetent public service. As a mandate, however, the Sanacja was singularly imprecise; invocations of morality, virtue and civic courage--over practical reform measures. The utopian vagueness of the Sanacja, the very malleability and mobility of its language, made it available to all, opponents and proponents alike, as a set of ideas with which to critique contemporary social, political, and moral ills, and as an idiom in which to articulate visions of what independent Poland should be. To supporters of Pi½sudski, the Sanacja, with its appeals to active and responsible citizenship, held the cure for the spiritual and intellectual malaise that afflicted post-partition Poland. For right-Catholic-nationalist opponents of the coup, the Sanacja, supported as it was by agents of secular reform, was itself evidence of moral rot. This radical polarization of interwar Polish society underlies the argument that Pi½sudski's coup should be understood as the dramatic clash of what contemporary writer Maria Daƒbrowska termed Poland's "moral nations". This dissertation is organized around some of the various ways in which different groups and individuals responded to, used and understood the Sanacja. It draws upon a wide variety of texts, including contemporary press coverage, the personal and professional papers of notable interwar figures (such as those of Zofia Moraczewska, Aniela Samotyhowa and Kazimiera I½½akowiczówna), and organization records (such as those of the Women's Democratic Election Committee, the Women's Union for Citizenship Work, and the Society for the Moral Rebirth of the Nation). Other personages who figure in this study include: Tadeusz Boy Z¤elen´ski, Zygmunt Wasilewski, Aleksander S´wieƒtochowski, and Adolf Nowaczyn´ski.
Education in light of the Ecosophical Paradigm

The aim of this paper is to summarize what I consider the most significant ideas of an emerging world view which since the 1960s has been percolating into the collective consciousness of the intelligentsia and beginning to effect a global mind change. This 'Weltanschauung', which I term the Ecosophical Paradigm, consists of the convergence of this century's many scientific insights with an ecological perspective. The Ecosophical Paradigm is based on a profound new understanding of the dynamics of nature in both an evolutionary and relational sense (Bateson, Varela, Maturana, Prigogine, Harman, Thomas, Capra), and of mind as both a causal agent and creative entity (Sperry, Grof, Sheldrake). While this new world view is founded on the facts of science, its meaning and inspirational aspects may best be related in terms of a narrative. A primary role of the educator is to recount and promote the Kosmos story (Berry, Swimme, Wilber).
From page to screen, the role of literature in the films of Luchino Visconti

This dissertation focuses on the role that literature plays in the cinema of Luchino Visconti. The Milanese director based nine of his fourteen feature films on literary works. As such, a study of his cinema provides ample opportunity to analyze the ways in which literature can be used to create cinema. I have developed the hypothesis that there can be different ' modes' of cinematic adaptation. I have termed these modes ' source, influence', and 'blueprint'. I have selected three films from Visconti's filmography to illustrate how each mode can be defined. Chapter 1 examines Visconti's second film, 'La terra trema ' ('The Earth Trembles', 1948). This chapter illustrates how a literary source can give a film a precise artistic, historical, and ideological grounding; at the same time, the source's message can be moulded in order to modernize the meaning of adaptation. I have labelled this use of literature as "source." Chapter 2 examines the 1954 film, ' Senso' ('The Wanton Countess'). This chapter analyzes the way in which Visconti employs specific literary and artistic "influences" to advance his experiment with cinematic neorealism in a unique way. Combining a critical rereading of history and the genre of melodrama, Visconti heads in a new and controversial direction with 'Senso'. Finally, Chapter 3 examines 'Il Gattopardo' ('The Leopard', 1963). This chapter presents a case in which Visconti follows a literary text very closely, to the point that one can speak of that text as a "blueprint." Based on Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's 1958 novel, the film aims to prove that similar effects can be achieved in literature and in film despite the differences between the two media.
Multiharmonic tuning behavior of MOSFET RF power amplifiers

This thesis investigates multiharmonic tuning of RF power amplifiers using power MOSFETs implemented in bulk silicon CMOS technology. The use of this technique may lead to the low-cost implementation of the RF power amplifier integrated on the same chip as the rest of the wireless transceiver. The work proposes a complete classification of multiharmonic tuning into four basic modes: both odd/even harmonics SHORT (SS), odd harmonics SHORT and even harmonics OPEN (SO), odd harmonics OPEN and even harmonics SHORT (OS), and both odd/even harmonics OPEN (OO). Conventional power amplifiers can then be characterized using these modes of operation in so far as multiharmonic tuning is concerned. A systematic multiharmonic tuning optimization procedure is introduced to find the optimal harmonic terminations. The newly proposed OO mode features a sinusoidal drain current waveform containing no harmonics, resulting in little or no energy wasted at harmonic frequencies and yielding high efficiency. To study the multiharmonic tuning behavior of MOSFET RF power amplifiers, power MOSFETs were implemented in a 0.25[mu]m silicon CMOS process. For power amplifiers using these MOSFETs, at 1.88GHz, the OO mode yields the highest efficiency (PAE = 61%) with a 23.3dBm output power at a 12dBm input power and at a 2.0V supply voltage.