VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Early letter form errors as a predictor of later literacy outcomes and the short-and long-term benefits of early instruction in proper letter formation

This thesis contains two experimental investigations. Study 1 investigated the relation of letter form errors produced in Senior Kindergarten and Grade 1 to later academic abilities (handwriting legibility and speed, reading, spelling and written composition) in Grades 3, 5 and 6. The results for one group of children yielded significant correlations between the number of form errors printed in Kindergarten and literacy outcomes in Grade 5. For another group of Kindergarten children, form errors correlated significantly with most of their literacy outcomes in Grade 3. There were very few significant correlations between Grade 1 form errors and Grade 6 literacy outcomes, largely due to the fact that by the end of Grade 1 most children commit very few form errors. Form errors in Grade 1 predicted only some aspects of reading in Grade 6. Regression analyses revealed that letter knowledge, as measured by the ability to recognize and name letters, played a role as a mediator in most of the above significant correlations. This finding partially explains why form errors provide insight into a preschool child's learning potential. Study 2 investigated the short-term and long-term effects of a commercially available phonics program (Jolly Phonics) that includes explicit instruction in letter formation. Study 2a compared experimental (Jolly Phonics) and control children with respect to the number of letters printed without form errors. The experimental Junior and Senior Kindergarten children printed more letters without form errors than the control children did. However, children exposed to the Jolly Phonics program during both Junior and Senior Kindergarten did not form significantly more letters properly than children exposed to the program only in Senior Kindergarten. In Grade 1 the benefits of the program were less substantial. Study 2b compared the writing abilities (handwriting legibility and speed, and written composition skills) of the experimental and control children 5 years later. There were significant long-term gains for the experimental group in Grade 5 but not in Grade 6. The above results of Studies 1 and 2 are discussed as they pertain to the early identification of, and special programming for, children at-risk for later school failure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Keywords: Reading readiness
Reading (Primary)
Children, Writing
Language arts (Primary)
English language, Alphabet
Characterization of Kv 1.4 K+ channel expression after spinal cord injury and its association with oligodendrocyte precursor cell proliferation

Introduction. The improvement of axonal conduction and neurological function after treatment with K+ channel blockers in animal models and patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) has lead to the investigation of voltage-gated K+ channel expression in the spinal cord and how this expression may change after injury. This thesis characterizes changes in expression of the K+ channel subunit Kv 1.4 after SCI and the potential association between these changes and posttraumatic proliferation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPC). Methods. Localization of Kv 1.4 protein expression in the spinal cord was conducted using immunohistochemisty with specific cell markers for neurons/axons, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, OPC and microglia. Changes in Kv 1.4 protein and mRNA expression after SCI were investigated using semi-quantitative Western blotting, immunogold electron microscopy and in situ hybridization. The association between Kv 1.4 expression and OPC proliferation after SCI was examined by using Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) to identify proliferating cells and labeling for Kv 1.4 protein. Results. Kv 1.4 localized to oligodendrocytes, astrocytes and OPC but not microglia or myelinated axons in normal and injured spinal cord white matter. The expression of Kv 1.4 was upregulated in oligodendroglial cells at 6 weeks but not 1 week after SCI. Although there was an increase after SCI in the number of glial cells expressing Kv 1.4, the number of OPC expressing Kv 1.4 was not significantly increased. Kv 1.4 expression was not temporally or spatially associated with BrdU positive cells after SCI and the expression of other K+ channel subunits potentially involved in OPC proliferation (Kv 1.5 and 1.6) was not increased 6 weeks after SCI. Conclusions. Kv 1.4 is expressed in spinal cord glial cells and is upregulated in oligodendroglial cells after chronic SCI. This upregulation in Kv 1.4 is not associated with changes in OPC proliferation, suggesting other potential roles for this glial K+ channel subunit after SCI.
Critical care nurses' efforts to pass along knowledge: a moral endeavour

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the work of critical care nurses to pass along knowledge of patients to other members of the health care team. Of particular interest were the following questions: which aspects of their understanding of patients do critical care nurses pass along to other health care team members; how is knowledge passed along; and for what purposes or to what ends is knowledge passed along? Data collection for this descriptive, interpretive study occurred in two intensive care units in a tertiary care hospital in Canada. Ten registered nurses, two males and eight females, volunteered to take part in the study. Participants were observed as they provided other health care providers with knowledge of the patients in their care and interviewed regarding this aspect of their work. Interpretation of the data involved multiple readings of the generated text, and a constant back and forth between parts of the text and the whole text. One theme, filling out the picture, was identified from the data. In order to fill out the picture, nurses passed along knowledge of the patient's current status, knowledge of changes in patient responses over time, knowledge the nurses believed others cared about, knowledge of interventions that worked, and knowledge of the patient as a person and member of a family. Knowledge was conveyed in different ways: as threads of data, by linking together information from the patient's body systems, through thinking out loud, by pointing, and by building a case. It was clear that the work of critical care nurses to pass along to others knowledge of the patients in their care was a moral endeavour, as evidenced by nurses' persistent and directed efforts, arising from their sense of obligation to the patient, to achieve the particular end of the well-being of patients and family members. Proximity to patients and to other health care team members was essential for this moral work.
Occupational risk factors and prostate cancer in Ontario

Using Ontario case-control data from the Canadian National Enhanced Cancer Surveillance system, the relationship between prostate cancer and occupational exposures was explored. Job histories obtained between 1996 and 1997 were coded for 520 pathologically confirmed prostate cancer cases and 636 population-based controls, using the Canadian Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) and the Canadian Standard Industrial (SIC) Classification. Pathology reports were reviewed for identification of men with early stage prostatic carcinoma. Four workplace substances, five industries and seven occupations were chosen for multivariate unconditional logistic regression analyses, controlling for age, marital status, body mass index, family history, education and smoking. Elevated, non-significant risk was found for exposure to PAN substances (OR = 1.22), welding (OR = 1.27), wood dust (OR = 1.24), and vinyl chloride (OR = 2.13). Men employed in the food industry had significantly elevated risk of prostate cancer (OR = 3.08), as did men in protective services (OR = 2.29) and the construction trades (OR = 1.78). Further exploration determined that carpenters had a significantly elevated risk (OR = 2.26). Removal of men with early stage cancers from the analyses did not alter the findings. A methodological sub-study, designed to ascertain reproducibility of reported occupational exposure and to compare polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon (PAN) exposures reported in a simple versus a complex set of questions, was conducted. In 1999, 543 sub-study questionnaires were mailed; 166 cases and 164 controls responded for an overall response rate of 75%. Moderate reliability over time was found for the following exposures: asbestos (? = 0.57); PAH substances (? = 0.48); lubricating oils (? = 0.62); and, welding (? = 0.64). Wood dust showed low reliability (? = 0.19). Comparing the original responses to the new questionnaire, sensitivity and specificity were 74% and 81%, respectively, for PAH substances, and 59% and 86% for lubricating oils. The unexpected findings of increased risk for prostatic carcinoma among carpenters requires further exploration. Strategies to improve the quality of exposure classification are necessary to understand the etiologic connections between prostate cancer and occupation.
Low-density parity-check codes for Gilbert-Elliott and Markov-modulated channels

The problem of low-density parity-check (LDPC) decoding in channels with memory has been attracting increasing attention in the literature. In this thesis, we use LDPC codes in an estimation-decoding scheme for the Gilbert-Elliott (GE) channel and more general Markov-modulated channels. The major accomplishments of this thesis include both analysis and design components. To analyze our estimation-decoding scheme, we derive density evolution for the GE channel, which has previously been used largely in memoryless channels. Furthermore, we develop techniques that use density evolution results to more efficiently characterize the space of Markov-modulated parameters. We begin by applying a characterization to the GE channel, following which we generalize this characterization into a partial ordering of Markov-modulated channels in terms of probability of symbol error. We also consider the design problem of developing LDPC degree sequences that are optimized for the GE channel. We obtain a novel design tool that approximates density evolution for our estimation-decoding algorithm, and present degree sequences that represent the best known codes in the GE channel. We also present a method of generalizing this tool to Markov-modulated channels, and give some of the first optimized degree sequences ever obtained for these channels.
Mercury fate and transport in urban watersheds

Mercury (Hg) is a pollutant of global concern due to its high toxicity at low concentrations. Most emissions of Hg are to the air, however, the majority of human exposure to Hg is through the consumption of contaminated fish. Therefore, to link human exposure of Hg to emissions requires understanding its environmental cycle. The focus of this research is on fluxes of Hg in the urban environment with a particular focus on Hg air-to-surface deposition, surface-to-air emission, and surface-to-water washoff. The main study location was Toronto, Ontario, however samples were also collected from Austin, Texas. Mercury was found to deposit and accumulate on urban surfaces at a linear rate over time when not exposed to influence of washoff. The accumulation of Hg on urban surfaces was spatially variable throughout the urban environment (0.82 ng/m2/d to 2.8 ng/m2/d) and significantly higher compared a rural location (0.58 ng/m2/d). The surface-to-air emission of Hg from pavement was spatially variable throughout the city (median range from below the detection limit to 5.2 ng/m2/h), and was related to the concentration of Hg associated with street dust. The amount of solar radiation was also shown to have a significant influence on the emission of Hg from the surface. During rain events, high Hg concentrations were measured at the beginning of runoff (up to 76.0 ng/L), which quickly decreased during the remainder of the event. The flux of Hg was driving by the discharge and the largest Hg loads were always associated with the period of peak discharge. Depending on the rain event characteristics, the urban surface was a net sink or a net source of Hg. Simulated rain experiments on an urban roadway showed that the number of antecedent dry days was associated with the amount of Hg mobilized in runoff. The simulated rain events also determined that the Hg in rain became quickly bound to surface particles and that the majority of Hg in runoff was derived from the surface.
Measuring and incorporating meaningful proportional slacks in radial DEA models, and aspects of non-discretionary DEA models

This thesis is comprised of theoretical contributions in two unique but related DEA fields: non-discretionary DEA models, and slack selection methodologies in radial DEA models and their integration into an overall efficiency score. The theoretical developments are illustrated through the use of intermediation efficiency models using real world data from the retail branch network of one of Canada's five largest banks. The models examine the loan quality and business generation of the bank's branches using data on the branches' business environment, the levels of deposits and loans that they generate, and the resulting levels of bad loans.

Keywords: Industrial engineering
Banks and banking
Operations research
East and West in Dialogue: poetic language innovation in the May Fourth and Modernist movements

This thesis examines the importance of poetic language innovation in the theories and practices of Western Modernism through a comparison with similar preoccupations in the Chinese May Fourth movement. The May Fourth literary movement, closely associated with the political movement of the same name, occurred contemporaneously with Western Modernism, first emerging in the years after 1910. The prominent writers and critics of this movement promoted innovations in poetic language which proved every bit as foundational for twentieth-century Chinese language and literature as literary Modernism has done in the West. These movements have not been treated in parallel before in a full-length scholarly study, but there are striking resonances that are worthy of examination. The thesis is divided into five sections. Chapter One concerns the role of the manifesto as an intiatory document in the May Fourth and Modernist movements, focussing on Ezra Pound's Imagist manifesto and Hu Shi's first two manifestos, “Some Modest Proposals for the Reform of Literature” and “Constructive Literary Revolution.” Chapter Two is based on comparative readings of Lu Xun's “Diary of a Madman” (‘Kuangren riji’), T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land, and Pound's Pisan Cantos. These texts share a remarkably similar approach to the use of literary tradition, examined through a comparison of their poetic language innovations. Chapter Three considers the question of literary historicization with regard to the two movements. Here as in Chapter I the focus is on Pound and Hu Shi, for these two took great efforts to master the narratives about their literary movements. The Introduction sets out the main issues of theoretical methodology relevant to this project, with sections covering “Dialogue, East and West,” “Orientalism and Occidentalism,” “Poetic Language,” and “May Fourth and Modernism.” The Conclusion addresses “The Question of Canon” in its first section, suggests, under a series of section headings, various areas for further comparative discussion, and concludes with a brief discussion of “Language, Literary History, and Identity.”
Attitude determination and control: Detailed design, test, and implementation for CanX-2 and preliminary design for CanX-3 and CanX-4/5

The University of Toronto's Space Flight Laboratory develops nanosatellites through its Canadian Advanced Nanospace eXperiment (CanX) program to advance scientific understanding and engineering capabilities. Three missions are treated: CanX-2, a nanopropulsion demonstration mission that also observes greenhouse gas fluxes and upper-atmospheric water properties; CanX-3, an astronomy mission that performs differential photometry on the brightest stars in the sky; and CanX-4/5, a dual-satellite formation flight mission. The success of each mission depends, in part, on the satellites' ability to determine and control orientation, particularly in the context of payloads. This drives the need to develop a high-fidelity, robust attitude determination and control subsystem. This thesis covers the full attitude subsystem design, test, implementation, and anticipated performance of the CanX-2 mission; the preliminary attitude subsystem design for the CanX-3 and CanX-4/5 missions; and discussion of some of the infrastructure that has been developed to test the designs and support the CanX program.

Keywords: Nanosatellites, Canada
Nanosatellites, Attitude control systems
Nanosatellites, Canada
Assessment of type I collagen fibrils assembled in vitro in the presence of glucosamines using atomic force microscopy

The effects of glucosamine 2-sulfate, glucosamine 6-phoshate, or chitosan, on the morphology of type I in vitro assembled collagen fibrils were investigated using contact mode AFM in air. Collagen and glucosamines---in the form of GAGs---are abundant components of ECMs; it is not clear how these interact. Glucosamine, chitosan and chondroitin are commonly used today as natural supplements promoting joint and tendon health. In vitro, chondroitins induce the formation of FLS collagen fibrils. FLS fibrils have been identified in many pathological situations, as well as in normal tissues. It is important to determine whether glucosamines or other polysaccharides---chitosan---potentially induce the formation of abnormal collagen fibrils. The results show that the presence of these glucosamines does not affect the fibril length, height or banding periodicity. Further, the results provide evidence that air dried type I collagen fibrils may not have a unique D-period equal to 64 nm; rather D-periods that are distributed around 64 nm.
Development of a paediatric cardiopulmonary physiotherapy discharge tool

Cardiopulmonary physiotherapy (CPT) is an important component of peri-operative care received by children who have undergone upper abdominal, thoracic or cardiac surgery. There is no tool in the literature to determine a paediatric patient's readiness for discharge from CPT. In this study, a paediatric CPT discharge tool was developed using a modified Delphi technique. The Delphi panel included paediatric physiotherapy clinicians and academic leaders in the area of CPT. The draft of the tool includes six clinical phenomena and their criterion definition(s). Preliminary sensibility testing revealed promising results. The global mean of all sensibility domains was 6.4 (median = 6.6) of a possible 7.0. The formatting of the tool was modified to improve clarity and simplicity based on feedback received during the sensibility assessment. Future research is required to test the reliability of individual items in the tool, develop a scoring method, and evaluate the predictive validity of the tool.
Je suis: Danza del sol

Written as an autobiography, this thesis utilizes storytelling to narrate and reflect upon the author's life experiences. Building on narrative inquiry, which is both research methodology and phenomenon, the term metanarrative is used to portray the teller of the storied life. In the retelling, the author composes the stories as a "Symphony of my Sol" and makes use of Hector Berlioz' Fantastic Symphony---written in five movements---as her overriding structural framework. The symphony is a Gesamtkuntswerk, a term coined by Richard Wagner, meaning a total work of art, and for the purpose of this thesis includes dance, drama, literature, opera, mythology, symphony, poetry, and visual art. The author's life experiences are described as a journey into literacy and draws upon stories from classical literature, Alice in Wonderland, The Alchemist, and Goethe's fairy tale Das Marchen, that parallel unfolding self-awareness. The journey points to transformation (alchemy); that is, union of the male and female aspects of self, and spirit and soul. The data reveals there is a connection between literacy and consciousness: reading life experiences as text. By reconstructing her own journey into literacy, the author has sketched a road map that can be read as a method for developing a new arts-based curriculum course combining the holistic teaching/learning dialogic for the concept of relational knowing. The self has been left out of the curriculum: This thesis examines self in relationship to others, society, the environment, and mysterious realms beyond the logical mind-the world of mythology. The metanarrative is a story about relationships. The thesis journey is spiritual in nature and takes into account the 'holistic' perspective, which lies within the paradigm of whole systems of which the author is a part. The role of the arts (Fine Arts, Creative Arts, and Expressive Arts) is examined as a means of illuminating the many layers as observer of self, and the multiple ways of knowing.

Keywords: Dance
Arts
Rehabilitation services for post stroke clients in Tehran, Iran

Purpose. To understand the experiences of post stroke clients and health care professionals in Iran with outpatient rehabilitation services, and the availability and effectiveness of these services. Methods. Mixed methods were used at five outpatient rehabilitation centres. Results. From the qualitative data, five themes emerged: family income, availability of rehabilitation centres, insufficient health coverage, family situation, and lack of an interdisciplinary approach. The quantitative data provided information about the demographic, clinical characteristics of the clients as well as availability of services at inpatient and outpatient settings and the effectiveness of those services from the clients' experiences. The majority (73%) of clients needed assistance at home. Conclusion. The majority of the clients felt they had not received sufficient rehabilitation services to meet their needs. Poverty and family burden were major issues; the female family members were the main caregivers. Major rehabilitation disciplines were not available consistently in inpatient and outpatient settings.