VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The care of hospital patients on weekends

Objective. We compared the quality of hospital care for patients on weekends compared to weekdays by evaluating mortality, procedural waiting times, staffing levels and potential predictors. Methods. We used primarily administrative databases analysis supplemented by a telephone survey, expert judgment, and professional association audits. All acute care hospitalizations resulting from an emergency department visit in Ontario, Canada were analyzed from 1988 to 1997 (n = 3,789,917). We examined both hospital discharge abstracts and billing records to the universal health insurance program for admission, in-hospital, and discharge information. We also conducted a telephone survey and an audit of professionally mandated claims by nurses. Experienced clinicians assessed the top one hundred causes of death with respect to the presence of seven theorized criteria. Results. Hospital mortality rates were significantly higher with admissions on a weekend rather than a weekday for patients with three prespecified diagnoses: ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (42% vs 36%, P < 0.001), acute epiglottitis (1.7% vs 0.3%, P = 0.04), and pulmonary embolism (13% vs 11%, P = 0.009). Of the top one hundred causes of death, 23 diagnoses (P < 0.001) showed a significantly higher mortality with weekend admission whereas no diagnosis showed a significantly lower mortality with weekend admission (P < 0.001). Clinical assessors were unable to identify common and specific characteristics to predict these 23 diagnoses (only diagnoses with a high in-hospital death rate had a P < 0.05). For seven selected urgent procedures, the mean wait from admission to procedural completion was longer on weekends compared to weekdays (3.9 days vs 3.6 days, P < 0.001). There is a relative decrease in both clinical (8–18%) and non-clinical staffing of (5–30%) on weekends compared to weekdays. Conclusion. More consistent weekend staffing may provide feasible, meaningful, and immediately available ways to improve health care.
Self-cultivation and Quanzhen Daoism with special reference to the legacy of Qiu Chuji

The Quanzhen, founded by Wang Chongyang, is unique in Daoist history as the first Daoist religious community to adopt monastic institutions, such as celibacy and communal living. Qiu Chuji was one of Wang's seven principal disciples and his fourth successor as patriarch of Quanzhen. Insofar as his significance in Quanzhen history is concerned, Yao Congwu says: “Wang Chongyang founded it; Qiu Changchun expanded it”. Qiu is also considered to be the founder of the Longmen (‘Dragon Gate’) lineage, which is virtually what remains of Quanzhen Daoism today. In religious or mystical systems, self-cultivation is the practical component through which believers strive to attain some kind of real experience of ultimate perfection and unity of reality. In today's therapeutic culture that promotes interconnectedness and holism, self-cultivation is becoming a popular concern. This explains the vitality of Daoist self-cultivation today, particularly that of the internal alchemy tradition, as shown by the popularity of quigong in China and internationally. Quanzhen did not invent internal alchemy, but it was Quanzhen who ‘popularized’ it. Before Quanzhen, internal alchemy was transmitted only to members of certain family lineages. In the Quanzhen community, it was available to anybody who was judged to be worthy or gifted for it. For Quanzhen Daoists, self-cultivation was both external (ethical) and internal (mental, spiritual). In its efforts to attain this external-internal balance, Quanzhen incorporated insights from Chan Buddhism (on the mind and nature) and Confucianism (on ethical conduct). Among Wang Chongyang's seven principal disciples, Qiu Chuji is said to be the most Confucian, the most socially-engaged. This was evident in the Quanzhen activism during the Mongol conquest of China. Such activism made Quanzhen Daoism the most popular and influential religious community in China at that time.
L'épée, le sacrifice et la croix: figures éthiques du héros dans les tragédies françaises, 1560-1650

The aim of this dissertation is to determine why French authors from the period that goes from the Wars of Religion to the Fronde were driven to represent, as if it were a model, some aspects of the justification of war, of sacrifice and of martyrdom. The methodology employed is a dramaturgical analysis of tragedies. The study shows how these themes are often linked to a quest for justice pursued by heroes at the cost of their lives. My primary sources are nine tragedies written by five dramatists who represented war most often during this period: Garnier, Montchrestien, Hardy, Rotrou and Corneille. The first part of my thesis is an analysis of the justification of vengeance through war. The study of tragedies shows that the heroes who rely upon superior laws often act violently, yet representations of their character are defined by positive attributes. The second part is an analysis of the heroes who kill themselves with the aim of obtaining justice from the gods. Their tragic ends are not represented as defeats, since their inevitable deaths have great meaning. The final part examines the cruelty and fanaticism linked with the Wars of Religion. The strength of the martyrs represented in religious plays relies upon a victory of peace over the hate that causes war and of charity over the violence that provokes the religious fanaticism. Overall, this dissertation examines how authors, in troublesome times, represent justice as an ideal that could be incarnated into reality.
The corrosion of bipolar plates in proton exchange membrane fuel cells

A proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has come to the forefront of fuel cell technology. Its high fuel efficiency, versatility, and cleanliness are overshadowed by its high overall cost. Stainless steel 316L has been investigated as alternative material for bipolar plates. Unfortunately, a PEMFC environment causes the resistivity of stainless steel to increase. Coating the plate surfaces with a conductive and chemically stable layer can prevent this degradation. The end purpose is to aid the development of stamped, bonded, and coated metallic bipolar plate systems that can be used in a PEMFC for a stack life in excess of 1000 hours. The effects of coupling laser welding and brazing with coatings A and B will be presented. Stack performance was quantified with polarization and voltage degradation curves, and changes in through plane resistivity of the plates. Forensic investigations of the plates were conducted to understand the degradation in performance of the fuel cells.
The septin CDCrel-1: protein associations, modifications and effects on exocytosis

SNARE proteins mediate the docking and/or fusion of the vesicle with the plasma membrane. However, it is not clearly understood how this process is regulated. In a search for potential SNARE regulators, we have identified a novel snare interacting protein, the septin CDCrel-1. Septins were first identified as filamentous proteins required for cytokinesis in yeast. However, in mammals little is known about their functions. I show here that cdcrel-1 is predominantly expressed in the brain where it associates with membranes via binding to syntaxin 1A. Wildtype CDCrel-1 transfected into HIT-T15 cells inhibits secretion while mutated forms of CDCrel-1 potentiate secretion, suggesting that cdcrel-1 may be regulating vesicle targeting and/or fusion events. I further map the CDCrel-1 domains important for syntaxin binding and investigate the ability of CDCrel-1 to bind to syntaxin when in various SNARE complexes. CDCrel-1 can bind syntaxin in a SNARE complex, but its binding is occluded by alpha-SNAP. This suggests that CDCrel-1 may act as a novel filamentous element, regulating the delivery and/or fusion of vesicles to the presynaptic membrane through its interaction with syntaxin and the 7S complex. The regulation of filaments may be via post-translational modifications. Indeed we have discovered a novel interaction between SUMO E3 PIAS proteins and CDCrel-1. The conjugation of SUMO to substrates is dependent upon an E1 and E2, whereas specificity is mediated by an E3. Although several SUMO-1 substrates have been characterized, conjugation solely by SUMO-2/3 has not been described. Here I describe the colocalization of CDCrel-1 with SUMO-2 and 3 but not SUMO-1. Transfection of SUMO-2/3 but not SUMO-1 causes a reorganization of CDCrel-1 distribution in CHO cells. Furthermore, CDCrel-1 sequesters the nuclear pool of SUMO-2/3 and of the E2 Ubc9 but not SUMO1 into the cytoplasm. Sumoylation of CDCrel-l is shown in vivo and putative SUMO modification sites on CDCrel-1 are investigated by deletion of lysine residues. These experiments strongly suggest that CDCrel-1 is sumoylated specifically by SUMO-2/3. Sumoylation of CDCrel-1 may therefore play a regulatory role in secretion and septin filament formation. Future work will be aimed at determining the functional significance of SUMO modified CDCrel-1.
Revelation, knowledge, and ethics: A working theory for Jewish education

The aim of this thesis is to describe a working theory for Jewish education that explores the relationship between Jewish epistemology and ethics. This involves a philosophical examination of the concept of revelation in order to explicate the epistemological and ethical structures implicit in this concept. Particular reference is made to Emmanuel Levinas' understanding of the concept of revelation as it relates to an ethical relationship with the other. Lawrence Kohlberg's formalist method and cognitive, stage-based theory of moral development is used comparatively to help elucidate and differentiate specifically Jewish structures of epistemological and moral development. Biblical and rabbinic sources explored at all stages of the theory: to identify a Jewish mode of philosophical reasoning; to clarify the purpose of Jewish education as ethics; to explicate how the structures of revelation operate through halakhah; and as an allegory for a stage-based model of Jewish moral development.

Keywords: Jewish religious education, Philosophy
Jewish ethics, Study and teaching
Revelation, Judaism
Education, Aims and objectives
Loose fiber molding: Cure and product design fundamentals

A detailed study of some thermo-physical properties, including density, heat capacity, and thermal conductivity of the fiber, resin, and composite were performed in order to simulate heat molding of the composite. A non-linear transient heat transfer analysis combined with a cure kinetics model was developed. The temperature and curing behaviour of a flat plate of the composite was predicted using two different numerical methods, a finite difference method and a finite element method. A three-dimensional model was developed for a block of the composite using the finite element method and compared with experimental results. Experimental data showed that the simulation procedure was numerically valid and stable and provided reasonably accurate predictions. Finally, the model was performed for an automotive mirror case to simulate the cure behaviour of a complex structure during compression molding. The design fundamentals of manufacturing high performance hemp/acrylic composites were explored in this research. The effect of curing temperature and time on the crosslink density and molecular weight between crosslinks of an acrylic resin was evaluated by equilibrium swelling measurements. A kinetics study of the resin was also performed using a differential scanning calorimeter. The 1.4th order model was employed to estimate the kinetics parameters at different heating rates. A unique continuous wetting process was successfully developed for loose natural fiber mats to use for further molding operations. The effects of various fiber treatments on physical and mechanical properties of the hemp/acrylic composite were investigated; these included treatments such as alkali, amino-silane, and styrene-maleimide resin, as well as Ophiostoma ulmi fungus. Since styrene-maleimide resin treatment resulted in the greatest enhancement of properties compared to the other treatments, additional analyses were performed using inverse gas chromatography and pull-out tests. The results showed that the resin-treated fibers had a slightly higher dispersive force compared to non-treated fibers. Modification of fibers with styrene-maleimide resin slightly decreased the basic character and significantly increased the acid character of hemp fibers. Moreover, the higher interfacial strength for the treated fibers demonstrated that the styrene-maleimide treatment had a beneficial effect on the adhesion of the acrylic resin to hemp fiber.
From empiricism to Bohemia: the idea of the sketch from Sterne to Thackeray

The first three chapters situate the origin of the literary sketch in the age of Sterne, analyze its affinities with British empirical philosophy (that of Hume in particular), and trace the further development of the fictional and travel sketch in the nineteenth century as a form that remains predominantly empirical (that is, nominalist, inductive, and skeptical) but is now, after Kant and romanticism, nostalgic as well. The fourth chapter is a reading of the idea of the sketch in Thackeray's The Irish Sketch Book, Vanity Fair, and The Newcomes. In particular I explicate the early subtitle of Vanity Fair, "Pen and Pencil Sketches of English Society," which few critics have discussed, and in my reading of The Newcomes establish the sketch as the medium of literary Bohemia.
Attention and word recognition in neglect dyslexia: evidence from brain-damaged and normal subjects and from a computational model

Neglect dyslexia, a reading impairment acquired as a consequence of brain damage, is attributed to a disturbance of selective attention. Patients with left neglect dyslexia may ignore the left side of an open book, the beginning words of a line of text and/or the beginning letters of a single word. In an attempt to determine whether the attentional impairment affects reading at an early or a late stage of processing, evidence was collected from three different sources: patients with neglect dyslexia, a computational model and normal subjects. The influence of data-driven factors and higher-order variables on the reading performance of two patients with neglect dyslexia was assessed in a variety of tasks in which the physical, lexical and morphemic properties of single words were manipulated. In addition, tests of hemispatial neglect and attention were carried out. The results of these investigations suggest that the primary attentional impairment takes the form of a left-right gradient of attention with maximal distribution on the ipsilesional side. In addition, the data offer strong support for the position that the nature and severity of neglect dyslexia are determined by two major factors: the slope of the attentional gradient and the lexical and morphemic status of the stimuli. Provided that the attentional deficit is not too severe, 'neglected' information is partially processed and may be recovered through the contribution of existing top-down knowledge. These findings were then considered in the framework of MORSEL, an existing computational model of word recognition and selective attention. Damaging the bottom-up connections from the 'retina' to MORSEL's attentional mechanism produced behaviours remarkably similar to those observed in the neglect patients. The interaction between spatial attention and higher-order variables was then tested in a series of experiments with normal subjects. Subjects' attention was biased to the end of a letter string by a cue (underline bar) and the subjects were required to make lexical decisions to the underlined section of the letter string (for example, e ast or garm). These studies showed that reaction times were slower when distracting information appeared on the left than when no distracting information was present. Furthermore, when the distracting information formed a word with the underlined string (for example, f arm), lexical decisions were even slower. These results show that distracting information, which was to be ignored, was processed at least to the lexical level, supporting the interaction between attention and lexicality. The convergence of findings from the neuropsychological, computational and normal subject research is consistent with a hybrid view of attention in which selection occurs early on in visuospatial processing and in which interactions with later stages are possible. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Brief in-service teacher training in a proactive approach to classroom behaviour management: teacher and student outcomes

Classroom behaviour management is defined as teachers' management of student behaviour in the classroom in order to increase and maintain student on-task behaviour. The classroom behaviour management strategies employed by teachers can significantly influence students' rates of on-task behaviour and the teacher-student relationship and thus constitute an important avenue for improving and maintaining positive student outcomes. The goal of the present research was to evaluate the impact of a brief in-service teacher training program on the classroom behaviour management skills of teachers and the task-related behaviour of students. Using a multiple-baseline across groups design, nine elementary general education classroom teachers attended an in-service teacher training. The training program focussed on providing teachers with proactive classroom behaviour management strategies to aid them in the prevention of off-task student behaviour and to facilitate positive teacher-student interactions. Given existing constraints on teacher time and school board budgets, a primary focus was the delivery of training in a time- and resource-efficient manner. The training program consisted of one 3-hour group workshop. At the group and overall level, visual and statistical analyses of observational data revealed significant predicted increases in teacher praise and student on-task behaviour, and predicted decreases in teacher use of negative consequences, student off-task non-disruptive and off-task disruptive behaviour. Teacher use of one of the categories of proactive strategies (stimulus control) showed an unexpected and significant decrease following the training. The effects of the training on individual teachers and classrooms were more difficult to discern due to considerable intra- and inter-participant variability. Comparisons of pre- and post-training teacher questionnaires showed no statistically significant changes in teacher efficacy, teacher affect and attributions for student problem behaviour, and in teacher report of student behaviour and intervention strategies. The brevity of the teacher training program and individual differences in teachers are discussed as potential explanatory variables that may have precluded more easily interpretable and consistent improvements in teachers' classroom behaviour management skills. Although there were limitations, the results were encouraging and suggest that a brief and proactive approach to training has some potential to address teachers' classroom behaviour management needs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Impact of methylphenidate on working memory in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

Background. Empirical evidence and theoretical models of attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) argue that weakness in working memory (WM) is a core deficit. WM refers to the ability to hold and manipulate information in mind. Although robust improvements in the behavioural symptoms of ADHD have been demonstrated with methylphenidate (MPH), few studies have examined MPH effects on WM in ADHD. Objectives. The goals of this thesis were to investigate MPH effects on the modalities (auditory-verbal, visual-spatial) and processing requirements (storage, manipulation) of WM in ADHD, to determine the influence of comorbid anxiety (ANX) on these effects, and to assess the responsiveness of WM measures. Method. A review of the literature examined the extant evidence of MPH effects on WM in ADHD. Findings motivated the design of three doubleblind, randomized crossover studies which used placebo and three fixed doses of immediaterelease MPH on validated WM tasks in children with ADHD. Results. The majority of the studies reviewed reported improvement in WM with MPH, but methodological and demographic variations were observed which were addressed in the empirical studies. Findings from Study 1 revealed that MPH significantly improved visual-spatial storage and manipulation. Study 2 demonstrated that MPH improved the ability to store and manipulate visual-spatial information, with improvements in visual-spatial storage limited to those without comorbid ANX. Also, MPH did not improve auditory-verbal storage but did improve auditory-verbal manipulation, with improvements restricted to those without comorbid ANX. Study 3 revealed that MPH improved performance on all measures of visual-spatial storage, but did not improve performance on either measure of auditory-verbal storage. By contrast, measures of both visualspatial and auditory-verbal manipulation varied in their responsiveness to MPH. Discussion. Results demonstrate that the impact of MPH on WM in ADHD is selective: not all individuals with ADHD showed the same degree of benefit, not all aspects of WM are improved, and not all measures of WM are responsive to MPH. Formal recognition and further investigation of this heterogeneity are essential for clinical, methodological, and theoretical purposes and will further our understanding of the structure of WM, as well as guide treatment for ameliorating impaired WM in ADHD.