VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Features and maternal predictors of older children's non-compliance strategies

Traditional approaches to the study of children's compliance have focused on a uni-dimensional construct, with compliance at one end of the spectrum and noncompliance at the other. Given the clinical implications of excessive non-compliance in young children, such efforts have been justified; however, some theorists suggest that non-compliance is a normative part of children's development, and that compliance should be balanced with autonomous behaviour for healthy development (e.g. Spitz, 1957). Within the last decade, some researchers (e.g. Kuczynski and colleagues) have focused their investigations on the various expressions that young children's noncompliance takes in non-clinical samples. In the present study, predictive features of the different forms of non-compliance, such as the child's age, sex, and type of request were explored; relationships between non-compliance strategies and three aspects of maternal responsivity were also examined. During the year 2004, seventy-five 9 to 11 year-old children and their mothers took part; families had previously participated three years prior, at which time, various aspects of parenting were assessed. At the follow up, parenting was measured again, in addition to children's non-compliance strategies. Predictions were made regarding the frequency of each type of non-compliance. The current study found that 9 to 11 year-olds use the same strategies---namely, passive non-compliance, justification/negotiation, and negativistic non-compliance---as younger children studied in other research programs. As expected, children clearly used skilled forms of non-compliance such as justification/negotiation frequently and rarely used unskilled forms such as negativism. Although some discrepancies were observed, there was also evidence that both delay and passive non-compliance are common among children in this age range. Hypotheses concerning the relations between the child's age, sex, the type of request, and the forms of non-compliance were also posited. Although the initial predictions were not met, the current study uncovered interesting findings regarding the nature of the request and types of non-compliance, with the results suggesting that children do select particular types of non-compliance as a function of the type of request. Sex effects were found for passive non-compliance, and age and sex interactions were observed for delay, with the findings generally indicating that boys' use of delay increases with age, whereas girls showed an inverted U-shaped trend. Contrary to expectation, however, there was no support for age and sex differences in negativism and justification/negotiation. Lastly, maternal responsiveness to distress appeared to be the most relevant aspect of responsiveness affecting children's use of passive noncompliance and justification/negotiation. In addition, maternal warmth was a predictor of children's delay. Authoritative responsiveness did not contribute to children's noncompliance strategies. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Reproductive profiles, androgen hormones and energetic status of oligomenorrheic exercising women

Objective. To assess the reproductive profile, energetic status, and androgen hormones of premenopausal exercising women with oligomenorrhea (ExOligo), and compare them to sedentary and exercising ovulatory women (SedOvul, ExOvul) and exercising amenorrheic women (ExAmen). Patients. 64 premenopausal women categorized by menstrual history and exercise status. Measurements. Evaluation of menstrual history, presence of an LH peak, and quantification of daily urinary ovarian steroids, estrone 3 glucuronide (E1G) and pregnanediol glucuronide (PdG) levels in daily urinary samples. Energetic status included resting energy expenditure (REE), serum measurement of triiodothyronine (TT3), and central measures of adiposity. Androgen profiles included the evaluation of serum measurements of total testosterone (TT), sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), calculated measurements of free testosterone (cFree T), bioavailable testosterone (cBio T) and free androgen index (FAI). Results. All exercising groups had a lower TT3 (F=5.63, p= 0.002), a lower truncal fat percentage (F=7.0, p
An in-vivo model for the study of the accuracy of human bite mark analysis: Development of the system and testing the experts

Current court rulings require that judges assess the forensic value of expert testimony to ensure that an expert's opinions are methodologically sound and based on scientific research. Under rigorously-controlled laboratory conditions, mechanically-induced simulated human bite marks were made on a pig model in-vivo as a substitute for human skin. An instrument was designed to allow the production of human bite marks on skin using a controlled and quantifiable force. In the pilot study, the device was constructed as a fixed single dentition making experimental ante mortem and post mortem bite marks injuries in-vivo. This enabled evaluation of the dimensional stability of bite marks as well as the clinical and histopathological studies of bite marks made at different times. For the expert assessment study, a new device was designed to allow multiple interchangeable dentitions for experimental ante mortem and post mortem bite marks injuries in-vivo. This study was focussed on the determination of the accuracy of examiners in distinguishing the correct dentition that may have made the bite mark. Clinical observations demonstrated that bite mark samples are not dimensionally stable over time. The most stable and detailed bite marks were made in a window of time close to death. The effect of livor mortis masks the pattern characteristics in the tissue and it would be presumptuous to make any determination as to whether a bite mark injury was made before of after death. When it is difficult to impossible to comment on the clinical status of a bite mark in relation to time of death, histopathological studies provide a reliable alternative regarding determination of injury relative to time of death. The study also demonstrated that training and certification of professionals in cases of bite mark injuries is important to the successful outcome of the analysis. Nevertheless even if "experts" can make mistakes in their conclusions, they must ensure that the techniques used are based on scientific principle and the conclusions they present to the court should be regarded as a valuable tool to promote justice.
Analysis of interactions between the Epstein-Barr origin binding protein, EBNA1, and chromatin

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genomes are maintained in latently infected human cells as double-stranded DNA episomes that are replicated once per cell cycle and are efficiently partitioned during cell division. Replication and segregation of viral episomes requires sequence specific binding of the viral protein EBNA1 to the viral latent origin of replication, oriP. OriP is organized into two clusters of EBNA1 recognition sites termed the dyad symmetry (DS) element and the family of repeats (FR) element. The DS contains 4 EBNA1 binding sites and is the site of bidirectional DNA replication. The FR, which contains 20 EBNA1 recognition sites, mediates the segregation of EBV episomes and activates the expression of other EBV latent genes. The mechanisms by which EBNA1 mediates latent replication and transcription are not well understood. Since EBV episomes are assembled into chromatin during latent infection, EBNA1 must be able to access its sites within chromatin in order to mediate each of its functions. I have analyzed the interactions of EBNA1 with chromatin containing oriP sequences. I first examined the ability of EBNA1 to interact with the DS when assembled into a nucleosome core particle. These experiments revealed an interaction between EBNA1 and the DS within the nucleosome, resulting in the formation of a ternary complex. When this complex was challenged with competitor DNA, histones were displaced. The EBNA1 DNA binding domain was sufficient for nucleosome binding and destabilization, and destabilization was only observed when all 4 sites of the DS were present. Next I examined interactions of EBNA1 with oriP-containing plasmids when assembled into physiologically spaced nucleosomes. EBNA1 was found to bind efficiently to the DS and FR within oriP chromatin and ATP-dependent chromatin remodelling factors were not required. A series of assays indicated that, while EBNA1 binds efficiently to chromatin, it does not cause the precise positioning of nucleosomes within or adjacent to the DS and FR. Taken together, oriP-containing chromatin studies and nucleosome core studies suggest that EBNA1 causes the movement of histone octamers from the DS and FR, which might be important for the activation of replication and transcription by EBNA1.
RNA recognition by SAM domains

Anteroposterior patterning in Drosophila melanogaster is dependent upon the sequence-specific RNA binding protein Smaug, which binds to and regulates the translation of nanos mRNA. In this thesis, I demonstrate that the s barbelow;terile-a barbelow;lpha m barbelow;otif (SAM) domain of Smaug functions as an RNA recognition domain. This represents a new function for the SAM domain family, which is well characterized for mediating protein-protein interactions. Using homology modeling and site-directed mutagenesis, I have localized the RNA binding surface of the Smaug SAM domain. The conservation of these surface residues in a group of SAM domain containing proteins present from yeast to human suggested that these proteins share a common RNA binding function. I proved this point by demonstrating that the SAM domain of the Smaug homolog in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Vts1) binds RNA hairpins with essentially the same affinity and sequence specificity as Smaug. In addition, I solved the crystal structures of the Vts1 SAM domain in its unliganded state and in complex with an RNA hairpin. The two structures are essentially identical, implying that no major structural rearrangements occur upon RNA binding. Specificity of hairpin binding arises from the association of a guanosine base of the hairpin loop with a shallow pocket on the SAM domain and from multiple contacts made to the unique backbone structure of the hairpin. Using a reporter gene, I demonstrated that Vts1 induces transcript degradation through a mechanism involving the cytoplasmic deadenylase CCR4. Subsequentially, I validated NNF1 as an endogenous target of Vts1 among 79 transcripts that co-purify with epitope tagged Vts1. Together my work uncovers the molecular details of sequence-specific RNA recognition by a conserved subfamily of SAM domains and define a class of post-transcriptional regulators that act in part through a common RNA binding mechanism.
"Seeing through serpent and eagle eyes" enacting community in service-learning experiences

This dissertation begins with the contention that the concept of community has been insufficiently problematized in the field of service learning. A survey of the current literature suggests that educators and theorists in this area tend to accept an understanding of community that is local and geographically constitutive. This study seeks to address this gap, through exploring models of community available for enactment of service-learning experiences and through examining the implications of possible enactments. More specifically, the study commences by reviewing three models of communityâ€”the constitutive community, the created community, and the community of differenceâ€”interrogating each to determine its value and limitations for service-learning experiences. Each model has merit for particular learning situations, but it is argued that, in cases where the goal of the service-learning experience is to create new knowledge, the community of difference model would seem the model most likely to facilitate such a goal. Julia Kristeva's theory of alterity within identity, and Gloria Anzaldua's concept of â€œborderlandsâ€ are also presented as providing a means of theorizing motivation for and engagement with community. To enrich and complicate our understanding of the theoretical models of community, the study also includes an ethnographic interpretive study of five students enacting a service-learning experience. The students are interviewed at various stages of researching, drafting, and completing their service-learning projects; their narratives are offered as counterpoints to the conclusions made about the value of the three models of community discussed. The concluding chapter of the study synthesizes the findings of the ethnographic study with the discussion of the three community models. It is asserted that: (1) students may resist the notion of the constitutive tie of citizenship, finding it too abstract to enact meaningfully; (2) the created community model permits students to achieve a level of comfort that may facilitate learning; (3) the community of difference model may prevent the student from completing work for the community if too great an emphasis is placed on student difference; and (4) undergraduate students are more concerned with strengthening their constitutive ties to the university academic community than the current literature would suggest.

Keywords: Service learning
Student volunteers in social service
Experiential learning
College students
Educational innovations
Metabolic syndrome in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A comparison between simple steatosis and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis

In NASH patients, Insulin Resistance and other characteristics of the MS were more evident than in SS patients. These differences could not be attributed to nutritional intake and physical activity. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease may be described either as simple steatosis (SS), which has a benign course, or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which can progress to liver failure. This difference in outcome may be due to higher development of the metabolic syndrome (MS). Therefore, this research compared characteristics associated with MS in SS and NASH, and the relationship with nutritional intake and physical activity was investigated. In conclusion, patients with NASH, despite similar lifestyle habits, had more advanced characteristics of the MS compare to SS.
A parallel, three-dimensional and two-fluid interfacial flow code with applications to pulsed water jets

A parallel, three-dimensional and two-fluid interfacial flow code with obstacles has been developed. The paralletization was implemented with domain decomposition strategy using MPI. The validation indicates that the parallel algorithm reproduces the serial results with less than 3% error. The obstacle model was implemented and tested with two drop impact problems. The simulation results agree well with the experimental results. The two-fluid model was tested by simulating air bubble entrapment under an impacting water drop. The results indicate that the two-fluid model is implemented correctly. Lastly, the Electro Discharge technique for producing pulsed water jets was modeled. A simple numerical model of the discharge together with a scheme for modeling the bubble and a three-dimensional nozzle are presented. The results for a 25 kJ discharge predict the expected jet velocity.
Creating context for community knowledge building

The purpose of this study was to describe and provide an explanation for the emergence of community knowledge building in a group of foreign-trained pharmacists (FTPs) who were unaware of community knowledge principles and unfamiliar with community knowledge practices. A case study methodology was adopted using sixteen FTPs seeking licensure as pharmacists in Ontario. A virtual learning community was created using Knowledge Forum Â®. A variety of data analysis techniques were used to establish the nature, frequency of use, quality, pattern of use and impact of knowledge building practices among participants. Two frameworks for coding, categorizing and analyzing the Knowledge Forum database were used: one followed from a method described by Chi and another described by Scardamalia. Qualitative analysis of interview and focus group data was undertaken to identify meaningful themes related to group dynamics and socio-cultural processes used in knowledge building. Analysis of the database using both Chi's and Scardamalia's methods showed episodic use of knowledge building heuristics with considerably more use in some small groups than others. Analysis of interview and focus group transcripts provided unique insights into the lives and experiences of FTPs, an historically vulnerable and disenfranchised group within the profession of pharmacy. This study demonstrated the interconnectedness of the facets of knowledge building and the naturalness of knowledge creation even in less-than-ideal circumstances. Issues related to group behaviours and the socio-cultural dynamics of knowledge building were examined, including factors leading to within-group assimilation and differentiation, between-group contrast effects, in-group favouritism and out-group hostility. Elements of group socialization theory were used to explain findings such as the importance of saliency in self-categorizaton and reference grouping, and the value of peer-to-peer socialization. The study also provided insight into how more effective community knowledge building environments could be designed for immigrants with professional qualifications.

Keywords: Knowledge, Sociology of
Community life
Experiential learning
Continuing education
Context effects (Psychology)
Molecular mechanisms of Fas mediated cell death in oligodendrocytes

Hypothesis. FasR activation in oligodendrocytes results in apoptosis, which is linked to extrinsic and intrinsic signaling pathways. Background. Apoptotic cell death contributes significantly to the secondary injury following spinal cord injury (SCI). Moreover, the Fas receptor (FasR) has been implicated to contribute to this delayed cellular loss, particularly in oligodendrocytes. Discussion. Fas activation resulted in apoptosis mediated through intrinsic and possible extrinsic events. Additionally, AIF has been implicated to be a caspase-independent executioner involved in FasR signaling. Methods. Soluble Fas ligand (sFasL) was applied to cycloheximide sensitized human oligodendroglial cells (MO3.13 cell fine). Experiments assessed caspase activation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and cell death. Results. sFasL treatment resulted in caspase-8, -9, and -3 activation. Loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (DeltaPsim) temporally coincided with caspase-9 activation and mitochondrial release of cytochrome c and AIF. Apoptotic cell death was determined using propidium iodide and was confirmed with deoxynucleotide transferase dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL).
A process control simulation of the USD wire payment system at a major Canadian bank

There is an interesting parallel between the complex continuous processes found in the chemical engineering industry and those in the financial services industry. This study applies the principles of chemical process engineering to model the USD wire payment system at a major Canadian bank using CADSIM, simulation software originally designed for the pulp and paper industry. The objectives were to build a highly visual and interactive simulation model that provides a transparent overview of the wire payment system and opportunity to evaluate process control strategies. Two financial system specific modules were developed: an account 'tank' and a 'payment' queue. Historical payment data was used to test the optimum queue strategy and overdraft limit for minimizing Fedwire overdraft charges. The model successfully demonstrated the merit of flexible, adjustable controls as the results show that monthly overdraft charges could be reduced by almost $40,000 for four of the major accounts, without significantly delaying payments. For cash managers at the Canadian bank the model could be useful as a training tool for new employees or as prototyping opportunity before large scale IT changes are implemented in the real system.
Gender and the politics of meaning in western Viti Levu, Fiji

In western Viti Levu, Fiji, hegemonic constructions of gender and status are asserted by men through ritual, kinship ideology, the social organization of space, and the use of force. In this thesis, I examine how Fijian women resist this hierarchical gender ideology through an insubordinate discourse that is conveyed through narrative, satirical dance performances, and mythology. Through their irreverent discourse, women engage in a symbolic politics that transforms signs of male dominance into their opposite: an order of space that privileges men is inverted, male mythological figures are portrayed as powerless, and a system of knowledge that excludes women is challenged. By contesting dominant meanings, a politics of representation is played out between men and women.
Implementation of multiple HBT variants in 0.18 micron silicon germanide BiCMOS technology

The SiGe BiCMOS technology is the cost-effective solution for high-speed communications applications due to its RF/analog properties and CMOS compatibility. The main challenge with the optimization of SiGe HBT is to achieve both high speed and high breakdown performance simultaneously. This thesis investigates the optimization of the collector profile to attain multiple variants of SiGe HBTs, namely high speed, standard and high voltage devices, in one BiCMOS technology. Using process and device simulations, the device performance is enhanced by base and collector profile optimization to minimize base transit time and collector delay. Variants of SiGe HBTs with multiple cutoff frequencies and breakdown voltages are achieved by proper choice of collector doping concentration using selectively-implanted collectors (SIC). Three SiGe npn transistors with fT/BVCEO values of 80GHz/2V, 60GHz/2.9V and 40GHz/4.8V are successfully fabricated in standard 0.18 mum CMOS technology by an industrial foundry, with minimal extra process complexity.