VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Quartic spline collocation methods for second-order two-point boundary value ODE problems

Collocation methods based on quartic splines are presented for second-order two-point boundary value problems. In addition to the boundary conditions specified by the problem, extra boundary conditions are introduced in order to uniquely determine the quartic spline approximation. The standard quartic spline collocation method gives fourth order bounds. Two optimal methods, namely the extrapolated (one-step) and the deferred-correction (two-step) methods, are formulated based on appropriate extra boundary conditions and an appropriate perturbation of the operators of the differential equation, boundary conditions and extra boundary conditions. The convergence analysis and error bounds are developed using a Green's functions approach. The analysis shows that the maximum discrete error is of sixth order, and the maximum global error is of fifth order for the optimal methods. The properties of the matrices arising from the optimal methods for a certain class of problems are studied. Non-optimal collocation methods based on different extra boundary conditions are also investigated. Problems with layers are also considered, and a grid refinement technique is presented. The theoretical behavior of the collocation methods is verified by numerical results.
Prospective correction of trigger delay for coronary artery imaging

Cardiac motion continues to limit the ability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) to obtain coronary artery images with fine enough resolution to help reliably diagnose significant threats of ischemic heart disease. A generally accepted method of dealing with cardiac motion, known as gating, is to limit image data acquisition to presumed low-motion periods in the heart. Formulae have been accepted for crudely approximating the onset and duration of these periods. Recently, the concept of these periods undergoing substantial transformations with heart rate has been investigated. This work examines how the electrocardiogram (ECG) can be used to adapt imaging trigger delays to this effect. The developments described in the thesis are intended to advance the ability of prospective gating to adapt to heart rate variations. Ultimately, this may improve the ability of MRI and MSCT to provide sharp coronary artery images.
Pricing and location problems in revenue management

How to price products can significantly impact a firm's revenue. In this dissertation, I address the pricing and location problems in revenue management from the following three aspects. We first study the dynamic pricing of multiple products in retail industry in chapter 1. The focus is how firms should dynamically price multiple items when by convention they are required to maintain a common price. The optimal policy to the deterministic version of the problem is then derived, which is an n-segment pricing policy. We also study a case where only limited price change is allowed for the stochastic problem assuming prices are given and show that a threshold policy holds. These restricted problems give insight into the optimal solution of the general stochastic problem and enable us to establish a dynamic threshold policy that can effectively solve the problem. This dynamic threshold policy significantly dominates static policies, and the value in inventory differentiating is also revealed. While dynamic pricing means retailers can charge different prices at different time, spatial pricing means the firm can charge different prices based on locations of facilities or customers. In chapter 2, a monopoly's simultaneous pricing and location decisions on network are studied for three spatial pricing strategies, discriminatory, uniform and mill pricing. We proved the optimality conditions, and showed the optimal solutions under two forms of utility functions, log-Additive and log-product. An upper bound on the differences between revenues under different pricing strategies is derived, which tells when a firm should use each of these pricing policies. A case study of a photo-finishing retailer is provided. Chapter 3 studies the pricing and location strategy in a competitive environment. Suppose the market is under control of duopoly, and each retailer can choose which product to carry among a group of differentiated products, what price to charge for that product, and where to locate its store. We derive the Nash Equilibria pricing, location and product differentiation decisions for both linear and circular markets. We prove the existence of three kinds of Nash Equilibria under different market circumstances, and show how they change with market conditions.
Bioinformatic characterization of conserved regions within the introns of the RB1 gene

Retinoblastoma is a retinal cancer, resulting from RB1 mutations. Coding aberrations are implicated in 90% of probands, while 4% have promoter mutations. For the remainder, no mutation has been identified. Although transcriptional regulatory sequences reside mainly within the promoter, control regions have been discovered within introns. We hypothesize that probands lacking identified RB1 mutations have aberrations within intronic regions that regulate RB1 expression. Using phylogenetic footprinting three intron 1 regions conserved between human, mouse, and rat, ranging in length from 18 to 27 bp, were found to contain several potential transcription factor binding sites. All three regions were GC-biased, and did not represent snoRNAs, microRNAs, or genomic repeats. Electromobility shift assays suggested that proteins interact specifically with conserved regions 1 and 3. No intron 1 mutations were identified in 50 probands tested suggesting that the frequency of retinoblastoma-causing mutations within these regions is less than 1/553.
The role of natural law and virtue in the moral philosophy of Thomas Aquinas (Saint)

I investigate Aquinas' understanding of the role of and the relationship between natural law and virtue in light of the contemporary debate as to which is foundational. The study has four parts. The first part examines and responds to various strategies for avoiding and approaching this problem. First, it is wrongly avoided by those not recognizing the need to account for the relationship between natural law and virtue; second, the possibility of avoiding it is established by those who reject the notion of natural law (Ch. II), since this allows Aquinas' understanding of the moral life to be articulated solely in terms of virtue. Yet one cannot assess the merit of these objections or excise natural law from an account of Aquinas without first understanding what Aquinas means by natural law. Next, I show that it is possible to investigate Aquinas' understanding of natural law and virtue without following the theological order of Aquinas' text or doing moral theology (Ch. III). In the second part I provide an overview of the interpretive disagreements with respect to virtue (Ch. IV) and natural law (Ch. V) through a survey of recent work on Aquinas; comparing and contrasting these studies makes it possible to adjudicate between them as interpretations of Aquinas. In the third part I expound the texts concerning virtue and natural law in the Summa theologiae. In discussing virtue, Aquinas explicitly allows, contrary to virtue ethics readings, that one need not possess virtue in order to make correct moral judgments, and indicates that universal principles of reason are foundational for such judgments (Ch. VI). In the treatise on law, Aquinas identifies a network of intelligibly differentiated levels of natural law precepts that can be known by all, and not only by the virtuous (Ch. VII). In the fourth part I bring these results together in a solution to this study's central question concerning the relation between natural law and virtue by delineating how natural law enables us to make moral determinations and judgments of conscience, and hence to acquire virtue (Ch. VIII). Virtue, then, cannot be properly understood in isolation from or as more fundamental than natural law. I conclude by assessing alternative virtue ethics readings of Aquinas, and by answering the objections of Ch. II against natural law (Ch. IX).
Synthesis and characterization of A(B)n block and star copolymers of poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) for in-situ gelation applications

We report the development of a new gelation mechanism and a new family of polymers that self assemble to form gels in a thermoreversible fashion. The polymers are block and star copolymers with a central hydrophilic polyethylene glycol (PEG) segment (A), and temperature responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) terminal segments (B). They form gel through a new mechanism of reversible physical crosslink formation with connecting hydrating segments. A(B)n copolymers of varying n were synthesized to investigate the structure-property relationships, more specifically the dependence of thermal and rheological behavior on molecular architectures and concentration. Minimum gelation concentrations were measured. Syneresis and erosion characteristics were also evaluated. Gel strength was found to first increase and then decrease with degree of branching. At a composition of 50/50 by weight and a fixed arm length of 5,000 Da, copolymer gels of A(B) 4 architecture exhibited superior properties than those of other architectures. The thermal behavior was insensitive to the architectures studied. Gelation temperature decreased with increasing concentration. The depression was believed to be due to the increasing PEG content. Both modulus and viscosity increased with increasing concentration, following the power law relationships. For elastic modulus, the exponents were between 3 and 4 measured at 1 Hz. For viscosity, the exponents were between 3.2 to 2.9, 3.0 to 2.7 and 2.5 to 2.2 for molecular architectures of A(B)2, A(B) 4 and A(B)8, respectively, at a shear rate range of 5 to 1,000 s−1. For the concentration range studied (i.e., <20 wt%), all copolymer solutions at below transition temperatures could be injected or applied with ease. The minimum gelation concentrations, Cgels, were found to be 6% ± 1%, 8% ± 1% and 10% ± 1%, and the critical exponents, ncs, were found to be 0.61 ± 0.02, 0.58 ± 0.02 and 0.68 ± 0.02 for A(B)2, A(B)4 and A(B)8 respectively, using the independent loss tangent method. A model based on the percolation theory was proposed for the prediction of Cgel, given the coil density and the bonding probability of copolymer molecules. The predictions were in good agreement with the experimental results. Copolymer gels studied exhibited a good stability and a low degree of syneresis in an isolated environment. However, gels lost mass in the presence of renewed effluent. Increasing copolymer concentration could retard the mass loss.
Dying to be alive: portraits of the intimacy between life and death

Using various modes of expressive arts I respond to my own experiences of illness, death and dying. The influences these experiences have, on how I live and understand my life's meaning, are explored. Using Lindsay Anderson's Authentic Transformative Integration Theory, I analyze how creative exploration using expressive arts modalities, such as dance, poetry, journaling, painting and music composition, facilitates the transformative process of integrating experiences of illness, death and dying into a deepened sense of self and place in the world. My personal history and multi-faceted inquiry complements and weaves together research in the field of near-end-of-life care, expressive arts therapies, near-death studies and education. How can meaning be found or created in the midst of suffering, pain, loss or illness? This inquiry uses a holistic approach to representing an exploration of some of the profound questions at the core of the human experience.

Keywords: Life
Death
Death, Psychological aspects
Mind and body
Arts, Therapeutic use
Sick, Psychology
Stability and performance of glucose isomerase

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS), produced enzymatically using immobilized glucose isomerase (GI), dominates 70% of today's nutritive sweetener market. Due to poor enzyme thermostability and by-product formation, the current commercial glucose isomerization reaction can only be carried out at 60°C, producing le; 50 % fructose (55% fructose is more desirable). Identifying the mechanisms that cause GI to deactivate can facilitate efforts to increase GI thermostability, allowing increased reaction temperatures that could substantially improve the economics of HFCS production. In this study, the mechanisms of thermoinactivation of GI from Streptomyces rubiginosus (in soluble and immobilized forms) were investigated, particularly the contributions of thiol oxidation of the enzyme's cysteine residue and the Maillard reaction between the enzyme and sugars in HFCS. Soluble GI (SGI) was successfully immobilized on Zeolite A and silica gel, with an activity yield between 20 and 40%. However, only GI immobilized on silica gel (LabIGI) has high enzyme retention on the support. A reversible Michaelis-Menten kinetics model was used to model the reaction at 40 to 90°C. Best-fit reaction kinetics parameter values were determined. The kinetics model that incorporated enzyme deactivation (based on kinetics parameters from the thermoinactivation study) showed good agreement with experimental data in batch and continuous isothermal and non-isothermal reactors. In batch reactors, SGI (half-life = 145 hours) was more stable than LabIGI (half-life = 27 hours) at 60°C in HFCS, while at 80°C, LabIGI (half-life = 12 hours) was more stable than SGI (half-life = 5.2 hours). Thiol oxidation caused LablIGI to deactivate at 60°C, and SGI at 80°C. The Maillard reaction between SGI and the sugars also caused SGI thermoinactivation at 60, 70 and 80°C, but had minimal effect on LabIGI. At 60 and 80°C, LabIGI had higher thermostability in continuous reactors than in batch reactors, possibility due to reduced contact with deleterious compounds in HFCS. IGI from Genencor (GenIGI) was more stable than LabIGI in continuous reactor experiments at 60 and 80°C. A first-order enzyme deactivation model fit the experimental data well.
Investigating the roles of BRD2, BRD4, DEK, and MeCP2 in the DNA segregation mechanism of the Epstein-Barr virus

Epstein-Barr Nuclear Antigen-1 (EBNA1) mediates the stable segregation of Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) genomes by tethering them to host mitotic chromosomes. Previously, our laboratory showed that EBV-based plasmid maintenance can be reconstituted in Saccharomyces cerevisiae in the presence of EBNA1 and human EBNA1-binding protein-2 (hEBP2). I investigated the ability of cellular proteins DEK, Brd2, Brd4 and MeCP2, previously implicated in the maintenance of other extrachromosomal viral genomes, to perform similar roles in EBNA1-mediated segregation as hEBP2. I found that Brd4 conferred plasmid maintenance in an EBNA1-dependent fashion. Plasmid partitioning by Brd4 required the N-terminus of EBNA1 to which Brd4 was also shown to bind in human cells. Silencing Brd4 did not affect EBNA1 association with mitotic chromosomes, suggesting that the segregation role of Brd4 in human cells may be minor. However, a correlation between Brd4 binding and transcriptional activity of EBNA1 suggested that Brd4 may mediate transcriptional activation by EBNA1.
Transnational legal process and the TRIPS Agreement: Intellectual property rights, international law and the compliance conundrum

This dissertation critically evaluates the extent to which the TRIPS Agreement has succeeded in improving compliance with international intellectual property law. By drawing upon the work of human rights scholar Harold Koh on "transnational legal process", this dissertation departs from traditional accounts of intellectual property regulation at the multilateral level by explaining how implementation problems under the TRIPS regime can be more fully appreciated from the perspective of "compliance theory". I argue that the TRIPS Agreement has only had limited success in generating lasting and meaningful compliance in the global order because intellectual property norms and TRIPS non-compliance mechanisms continue to operate at a largely exogenous, inter-state level, without reconfiguring the values and identities of consumers and other non-state actors at the grassroots level of domestic society. Taking into account the often private and surreptitious nature of intellectual property infringement, it is suggested that the key challenge facing the TRIPS community lies in promoting voluntary adherence to TRIPS standards by domestic actors through processes of "norm internalization" that seek to persuade, rather than coerce or punish.

Keywords: International law
The scales for experiencing emotions: Establishing concurrent and cross-cultural validity

This study provided evidence for the psychometric properties of the Scales for Experiencing Emotion (SEE) (Behr Becker, 2002), a 7-dimensional measure of fundamental facets of experiencing emotions. It is a brief self-report questionnaire developed on a German sample and based on Person-Centered theory of personality and therapeutic change. The purpose of this study was to establish the SEE's concurrent and cross-cultural validity with a Canadian sample. Results show that the SEE has good overall reliability and excellent validity. Findings also indicate that emotional experience is multidimensional and that the SEE encompasses key facets of emotional processing. Although some of the SEE's psychometric properties require further testing, it can be used with confidence for both clinical and research purposes, and with caution in different cultures. It is hoped that this instrument will be used in research, inform therapists of individuals' emotion processes, and contribute to the judicious application of interventions.

Keywords: Emotions, Measurement
Emotions
Ethnic differences in breast and ovarian cancer risk resulting from genetic variation

Ethnic differences in cancer incidence and mortality result from differences in genetic and epidemiological risk factors. Mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 account for a small proportion of all breast cancer cases but a much higher proportion of those with a strong family history of breast or ovarian cancer and of those of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. Gerrnline mutations in cancer susceptibility genes have been identified for many races and ethnic groups. Differences in cancer risk among ethnic groups have been recognized, and a proportion of the differences may be the result of founder mutations within these genes. The BRCA2 999del5 mutation in Iceland and the three BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in Ashkenazi Jews have been well characterized. Less is known about the contribution of mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 outside of European groups. Knowledge acquired by studying the effect of founder mutations in well-defined populations may be applied to larger, more heterogeneous populations. The cost and time required for mutation analysis are reduced considerably when founder mutations are identified for a specific ethnic group. Two case-control studies and one cohort study were conducted to expand current knowledge of genetic susceptibility and its contribution to breast and ovarian cancer rates in populations. Findings pertaining to the prevalence, penetrance of mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 and associations with the Androgen Receptor gene polymorphism and consanguinity demonstrate that genetic factors contribute to the relatively high rates of breast and ovarian cancer in the Philippines and Pakistan. Women of Ashkenazi Jewish descent with a family history of either breast or ovarian cancer should be counselled about genetic testing for BRCA1/2 to elucidate their risk level. The studies described within impact the management and identification of women at increased risk of cancers of the breast and ovary.
Dialectical play and dramatic discourse: Eve, a counter myth

In this study my overarching aim is to explore how drama inquiry facilitates awareness about the social construction of knowledge by locating interlocutors in the circumstances and action of a narrative. This investigation is grounded in the understanding of epistemology as a dialectical endeavor that is complex, subjective, partial, dependent on context, and dynamic, and playwriting as a heuristic, dialogic, and holistic methodology. I situated this inquiry in an investigation of the myth of Adam and Eve for two main reasons. One is that this text exemplifies how stories evolve over time due to myriad variables, including the intentions of the storytellers, cultural influences, and who narrates the tale and, thus, instigate changes in awareness. I also wanted to explore how telling this highly influential patriarchal allegory about the feminine archetype from an alternate point of view might shift consciousness about gender, authority, nature, and morality. Narratives are the girders upon which lives are configured. No matter what form they take they are how we humans process, recollect, communicate, and give meaning to lived experience (Bruner, 1990). They allow us to construct and reconstruct aspects of life in nuanced detail, not merely to report events, but as a way to reflect on existence and expand personal and social understanding. Besides providing insights into psycho-social-political structures stories generate culture through interpretive representations (Campbell, 1987). Specifically, my inquiry is a reconstruction of the ancient myth synthesized with a story about a woman in the not too distant future. Eve, A Counter Myth is a full-length, multi-media theatrical work. Despite its serious intent and themes it is a comedy written in modern colloquial language. The play links past with present and legend with contemporary trends. An artistic project, Eve also is a qualitative creative inquiry (Barone Eisner, 1997) that aims to contribute to discourse about what it means to be human.

Keywords: Drama
Mythology
Creation, Mythology
The gimballed helicopter testbed: Design, build and validation

To facilitate the development of an autonomous robot helicopter, an indoor helicopter flight test apparatus has been designed, built and validated. The design is motivated by a brief discussion of helicopter dynamics. Several options for the apparatus are considered and a detailed specification is laid out. Key design considerations are discussed in detail and the final design for the gimbal test stand is presented. Associated equipment is described and a manual for the operation of the stand is appended. To validate the capabilities of the test stand a system identification experiment was performed repeatedly. The consistency of the model extracted indicates that the entire system is reliable and accurate.
Factors affecting the settling of activated sludge flocs: an analysis

This study is aimed at investigating the factors; inherent structural characteristics as well as external and other factors, affecting the settleability of activated sludge flocs. It was found that the longest dimension was the most important factor affecting the settling velocity in comparison with other inherent floc characteristics. The smaller the Sierpinski fractal dimension, the higher the permeability of activated sludge flocs and the higher the settling velocity. The effects of the geometric porosity, the shape factor and the external surface roughness were insignificant. Some conditions, such as high F/M ratio or high DO concentration, and the addition of polymer or salinity, could increase the permeability of activated sludge flocs and thereby result in good settleability of the sludge. The sludge age had, as expected, no obvious effect on the geometric porosity of activated sludge flocs in full-scale systems. SVI proved to be a valid measure of the sludge settleability.