VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Time-domain electromagnetic modeling of UWB indoor wireless channels and systems

Parts of the present thesis are dedicated to new developments in the Scaling function based Multiresolution Time Domain (S-MRTD) techniques. However, a larger research effort of the thesis is focused on efficient full-wave modeling of indoor wireless channels and systems. Through this, the potential of S-MRTD as a computational tool for the solution of various indoor wireless problems is illustrated. It is also shown that the S-MRTD method is well-suited to parallel implementation. Despite the use of high-order finite differences and the associated increase in inter-processor communication, excellent parallelization efficiencies are achieved on a Linux cluster. As a result, the objective of formulating a full-wave tool, allowing for site-specific channel modeling, becomes feasible. Researching S-MRTD as a numerical technique, contributions are made in relation with the dispersion properties of Coifman scaling functions, optimal truncation of finite-difference operators, and the treatment of hard boundary conditions. In addition, a new high-order time-sampling S-MRTD technique is presented that overcomes the numerical stability limitations of previous S-MRTD schemes and highly accelerates the speed of the field updating procedure. Applying S-MRTD to indoor wireless problems, it is shown that a scheme that is formulated with the Deslauriers-Dubuc biorthogonal functions offers an efficient and accurate alternative to the conventional Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) for the characterization of indoor wireless channels. The relationship between the field analysis of wireless channels and their system-level descriptions is investigated. It is shown that a knowledge of the channel impulse responses, computed with S-MRTD simulations, enables physics-based system-level performance evaluation, optimization and compatibility studies of ultra-wideband communication systems. Moreover, the limitations of two-dimensional solvers are systematically investigated through comparisons with their three-dimensional counterparts.
Can IgG autoantibodies against beta2GPI complexed with oxidized low-density lipoprotein be a marker of arterial thrombosis in anti-phospholipid syndrome patients?

Background. Atherogenesis invokes an immune response involving mediators of innate and acquired immunity. APL has been proposed to promote thrombosis by involving cellular effects, plasma coagulation regulatory proteins, and fibrinolysis. The presence of APL antibodies in serum is associated with arterial and venous thrombosis and recurrent pregnancy loss, but the pathogenic mechanisms mediating these events are unknown. Anti-beta2GPI/oxLig-1 has been associated with arterial thrombosis in anti-phospholipid syndrome patients. Objectives. To study the relationship of IgM/IgG autoantibodies against oxLDL/beta2GPI and beta2GPI with the clinical manifestations of anti-phospholipid syndrome and systemic lupus erythematosus in 3 major cohorts in Canada. Methods. A cross-sectional study of anti-beta2GPI/oxLig-1 and anti-beta2GP1 was performed on the first sample that was available in 3 cohorts of patients. The 3 cohorts had 863 patients in total who had at least one serum sample available. A random sample (n=402) was drawn according to APL status and thromboembolic events. The study sample was divided into 4 populations: (1) aPL-positive patients with thromboembolic events, (2) aPL-positive patients without thromboembolic events, (3) aPL-negative patients with thromboembolic events, and (4) aPL-negative patients without thromboembolic events. Results. Each group had 84, 84, 115, and 119 patients, respectively. The average age was 47.8, 48.2, 49, and 41.6 years, respectively. Each group was 81.2%, 89.3%, 79.8%, and 89.1% female, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between serum levels of IgM/IgG anti-beta2GPI/oxLig-1 antibodies in patients with no thromboembolic events, compared with arterial events only (p=0.41) and venous events only (p=0.21). IgG anti-beta2GPI was significantly higher in patients with arterial thrombosis (67%) (p=0.02) compared with those who did not have a history of arterial thrombosis (51%). Advance age, hypertension, and IgG anti-beta2GPI antibody were risk factors for arterial thrombosis, by multivariate analysis. Conclusions. Anti-beta2GPI/oxLig-1 levels were not significantly different between APS patients with a history of arterial thrombosis events and those with no history of arterial thrombosis. IgG anti-beta2GPI antibody is significantly higher in APS patients with a history of arterial thrombosis. This relation remained significant on multivariate analysis.
Understanding how improvement-oriented high school teachers experience change in Northern Pakistan

This study took place in three high schools in rural Northern Pakistan. The participants comprised four experienced high school teachers, three men and one woman. Using predetermined criteria, I had identified them as â€œimprovement-oriented teachersâ€ (IOTs), more ready and determined than their colleagues to work for change. I used a qualitative case study methodology, exploring in detail the IOTs' experiences with change in the classroom, school and community realms through in-depth interviews, classroom observations, post-observation discussions, field notes, and document analysis. These multiple data sources allowed me to develop a detailed portrait of the IOTs' deep-seated beliefs about school change and of the changes they pursue in the three realms, why and how they attempt these changes, what challenges they face and which strategies they employ to respond to these. As a as a pioneering effort, the study contributes to the knowledge by providing teachers' perspectives and voices on the complexities of educational change in high schools in Northern Pakistan.
Meaning-making for South Asian immigrant women in Canada

My doctoral dissertation is a study in exploring ways of making LINC (Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada) curriculum more responsive to the needs of South Asian immigrant women in Canada. As a former LINC teacher, I had found the LINC curriculum deficient because I felt that (a) it did not acknowledge the rich cultural background of the learners and (b) it did not address the emergent needs of the immigrants in the new country. I therefore hypothesized that one of the reasons that South Asian immigrant women dropped out of LINC classes despite the various incentives offered by the government was these women's inability to relate to the curriculum being offered. In my view, a curriculum based on their everyday needs and their cultural demands would prove beneficial for the women settling in Canada and coming to terms with their identity---an identity influenced by the discourses of patriarchy, racism, sexism and stereotypes. In keeping with the humanistic tradition, I locate the origin of knowledge within the learner himself/herself. Dewey believed that " ... education in order to accomplish its end both for the individual learner and for society must be based upon experience---which is always the actual life experience of some individual" (1938, p.113). Hence, my approach to understanding South Asian women's lives was to focus on their immigration experiences and I used narrative inquiry for the purpose. The stories of Razia, Saima and Rukhsana---my participants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and India, respectively---epitomized the challenges immigrants face in Canada. They revealed details of their personal and professional life that require a new curriculum forum for helping them become acculturated in the Canadian society. Using Connelly and Clandinin's work (1988) on personal practical knowledge, I suggest the need to initiate self study as a way of enhancing the critical awareness in South Asian immigrant women to overcome the challenges in their lives and question their redundant cultural assumptions. I have proposed a postmodern, multidimensional narrative curriculum to address issues around their identity in Canada by designing a replicable, tentative course outline for a narrative approach to curriculum in LINC.

Keywords: Language and culture
South Asians, Social conditions
South Asians, Canada
Abused women, Social conditions
Abused women, Canada
English language, Study and teaching
Women immigrants, Social conditions
Women immigrants, Canada
A novel methodology for Internet audio search

This thesis proposes a novel cyclic interface for searching through a song database. The method, which merges multiple audio streams on a server and broadcasts only a single merged stream, allows the user to hear different parts of each audio stream by cycling through all available streams. Songs are merged into a single stream based on a combination of spectral entropy and local power of each song's waveform. Perceptual parameters of the system are determined based on experiments conducted on 20 users, for three, four and five search results. Results illustrate that the proposed methodology requires less listening time as compared to traditional list-based interfaces when the desired audio clip is among one of the audio streams. Applications of this methodology include any search system which returns multiple audio search results, including music query by example. The proposed methodology can be used for real-time searching with an ordinary internet browser.
The effects of vestibular suppression on helicopter control

Researchers have hypothesized that a helicopter pilot's semicircular canal (SCC) system can become degraded due to normal in-flight activity and this may lead to accidents in low visibility conditions. This report describes an investigation of the effects of SCC suppression on a helicopter pilot's ability to maintain control in a yaw disturbance rejection task under 3 different visual settings of varying quality. For each visual setting, 4 motion levels were used to emulate the suppressed vestibular system by scaling the physical motion cue given to trained non-pilot subjects. Statistical analyses of the experimental data indicated that scaling down the physical yaw rate by 15 percent had no significant effect on pilots' performance; and the motion level only became significant when it was scaled down by 50 percent or more. It was also found that there was a significant interaction between the visual and motion level settings used.

Keywords: Helicopters, Piloting
Flight simulators
Helicopters, Accidents
Developing and testing a unified school improvement-school effectiveness framework for evaluating complex school improvement initiatives

This study applies to school improvement processes the research methodology typically used in studying school effectiveness, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of improvement initiatives. It links school improvement and school effectiveness practically as well as theoretically. First, an ideal, unified, school improvement-school effectiveness evaluation (SI-SE) framework is proposed. Using this framework, school improvement programs can be evaluated to determine if they are effective school improvement processes. Since this thesis serves as an evaluation study, however, the framework must be strong enough to elicit reliable and valid information upon which to base program decisions. Nevertheless, in order to illustrate the analyses that are possible given these limitations, the MSIP evaluation data are reanalysed, applying principles of the unified evaluation framework, including the use of multilevel statistical models for data analysis. Three sets of analyses, including hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), are carried out on the existing data. Findings from the HLM analysis help determine the status of the MSIP as an effective school improvement process. Finally, the utility of the unified SI-SE evaluation framework for application beyond the MSIP evaluation is discussed. Second, the Manitoba School Improvement Program (MSIP) evaluation is presented as a case study to test the framework. Comparisons between the unified framework and the MSIP evaluation are made in terms of evaluation design, measurement considerations, and statistical analyses. Examination of the MSIP evaluation through the lens of the unified framework exposes limitations in the school improvement-based evaluation. These limitations centre on the absence of some types of data that are essential in the unified school improvement-school effectiveness evaluation framework, and on the quality of existing data.

Keywords: School improvement programs, Evaluation
Notch signalling is required for neural stem cell maintenance

We define stem cells by two hallmark characteristics: multipotentiality and self-renewal. In this thesis, we investigate the role of Notch---a conserved intercellular signalling pathway---in neural stem cell (NSC) behaviour. We provide evidence that Notch signalling is essential for the maintenance of the NSC population. In embryos, Notch signalling is required for all NSCs to undergo expansionary symmetric divisions (ESD), regardless of the cellular environment. Within the adult, however, Notch signalling modulates the cell cycle time in order to prevent brain NSC exhaustion. Thus, Notch signalling effects in the embryo and adult appear different. Hypotheses are discussed which attempt to resolve this discrepancy, including the ability of the cell cycle to modify the mode of division. To account for the mode of division and cell cycle modifications, a model is proposed: With increasing cell cycle time, an ESD can be converted to an asymmetric and then finally, to a terminal symmetric division.
Towards multi-colour strategies for the detection of nucleic acid hybridization using quantum dots as energy donors in fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)

The unique optical properties of quantum dots (QDs) are of interest in the development of nucleic acid diagnostics. The potential for a simultaneous two-colour diagnostic scheme for nucleic acids operating on the basis of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) has been demonstrated. Upon ultraviolet excitation, two-colours of CdSe/ZnS quantum dots with conjugated oligonucleotide probes acted as energy donors yielding FRET-sensitized acceptor emission upon hybridization with fluorophore labeled target oligonucleotides. The use of an intercalating dye to improve signal-to-noise was also demonstrated. The major limitation of the system was the non-specific adsorption of oligonucleotides, which was characterized extensively. Adsorptive interactions were found to affect the conformation of oligonucleotides conjugated to QDs, the kinetics of hybridization with QD-DNA conjugates, and the thermal stability of those hybrids. In addition, it was found that thiol-alkyl-acid capped QDs exhibited pKa correlated ligand-chromism and radiative decay rate-driven changes in quantum yield.
Exploring college students' experiences with breath meditation

Students are often asked to 'pay attention', to 'concentrate' or to 'focus on' the learning at hand. Few educators would deny that concentration is a key prerequisite for efficient and effective learning. At its most concentrated and absorbed state, attention is described as a state in which individuals become totally absorbed in what they are doing and lose track of time. The process of learning how to pay attention to the present moment is important for learning. As a holistic educator and meditation practitioner myself, I am interested in how learning can be enhanced. However, students are not specifically taught how to 'concentrate', to 'focus on' or to 'pay attention' to the task at hand. Meditation, at its most essential, is the art of learning to pay attention. The purpose of this phenomenological inquiry is to determine the essential themes of the novice meditation experience, by obtaining the participants' verbal and written descriptions of their experiences with breath meditation. Because of its philosophical fit with education, phenomenology was selected as the appropriate methodology for this research inquiry. Strategies for data collection include interviews, weekly meetings, participant journals and an individual written reflective summary. Purposive sampling was used to select participants who had not previously engaged in a practice of meditation or who were not currently practicing a form of meditation. Face-to-face interviews occurred with 7 participants. Findings demonstrate a commonality across research participants as 5 essential themes are revealed. Themes include (a) psychological and physiological benefits; (b) transcendental experiences; (c) training attention; (d) obstacles, or challenges to meditation; and (e) the process of the novice meditation experience. Teaching students to 'wake up' to every moment could have revolutionary repercussions for the quality of their engagement in learning. Meditation can be a technique used to develop attention. Providing students with the tools to be in an optimal state for learning would seem to me to be a good idea. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Geological significance of deformed metavolcanic, metasedimentary, and plutonic rocks in the Composite Arc Belt, southwest Grenville Province, near Actinolite, Ontario

Detailed lithological and structural mapping was carried out in an area north of Tweed, Ontario, Canada, along the domain boundary between the Mazinaw and Grimsthorpe (Elzevir) domains of the Composite Are Belt, Grenville Province. The area, known as the Mooroton Shear Zone, is dominated by deformed metavolcanic, metavolcaniclastic, metasedimentary, and plutonic rocks that underwent at least two phases of ductile deformation during the Mesoproterozoic. Petrographic and thermometric analysis of metamorphic mineral assemblages places the deformed rocks within the amphibolite metamorphic facies, with metamorphism outlasting deformation. Polymictic metaconglomerates, possibly belonging to the 1150 Ma-age Flinton Group, were deposited in a fluvial environment characterized by variable braided stream discharge and sediment load. Structural analysis of the Mooroton Shear Zone along a transect perpendicular to the domain boundary determined that a thrusting regime led to the present configuration of deformation fabrics, with later minor extension resulting in hydrothermal vein systems.
Regulation of the epithelial sodium proton exchanger, NHE3

A prodigious quantity of sodium and water are filtered by the glomerulus daily, 1.7 kg and 180L. The majority is absorbed, across the proximal tubular epithelium back into the circulation, preventing rapid dehydration and death. This occurs through a complicated mechanism involving ion transporters, water channels and enzymes. Fundamental to this life sustaining process is the activity of the epithelial sodium proton exchanger, NHE3. The simple exchange of luminal sodium for cytosolic protons, mediated by NHE3, permits the entrance of filtered sodium into the proximal tubular epithelial cytosol, which is then extruded back into the blood space by the basolateral sodium-potassium ATPase. While much is known about the regulation of this fundamental process, significant gaps in our understanding of the molecular details of NHE3 regulation remain. This dissertation documents insights into the regulation of NHE3 activity. Firstly cell swelling is observed to activate NHE3 activity. The kinetics of this activation is dissected to reveal at least two inactive states of the exchanger. The mechanism of this swelling induced activation is probed and found to be dependent on alterations in the plasma membrane curvature. Secondly the live cell imaging technique, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP), is employed to demonstrate that NHE3 is localized to its functional subcellular domain, the apical plasma membrane, through a retention mechanism. This mechanism is shown to be dependent on a physical attachment to the actin cytoskeleton. Finally, the molecular determinants of this attachment to the actin cytoskeleton are assessed. In contrast to the model currently present in the literature, ezrin is demonstrated not to make the functional link between NHE3 and the actin cytoskeleton. However, that ezrin participates in the regulation of NHE3 is confirmed.
Hypersonic mixed-compression inlet shock-induced combustion ramjets

This study investigates the performance and flow field features of a mixed-compression inlet shock-induced combustion ramjet (shcramjet). In a shcramjet, oncoming air is compressed with shocks in the inlet and then further compressed and mixed with hydrogen fuel in a duct prior to shock-induced combustion and expansion of the combustion products through a divergent nozzle to provide thrust. Numerical studies are undertaken using the WARP code that solves the Favre-averaged Navier-Stokes equations closed by the Wilcox k-o turbulence model. Hydrogen/air combustion is solved via the twenty reaction, nine species combustion model of Jachimowski. Mixing augmentation through the use of cantilevered ramp injector arrays on opposite shcramjet inlet walls is studied and the influence of relative array locations is quantified. Increased spanwise distance between adjacent injectors on opposite walls allows for increased jet penetration and fuel distributions in the center of the engine duct. Chemically reacting studies verify an air buffer is created between the fuel and walls that suppresses premature ignition while still allowing for an air based mixing efficiency of up to 0.46-0.54. Combustion is produced over aerodynamic wedges with the spatial flow variation dictating both detonation and shock-induced combustion can be present over constant angle wedges. The initial inlet angle must be as high as possible, while avoiding premature ignition, to generate the pressure in the combustor needed for significant positive thrust. Thrust production from combustion is found to be insensitive to wedge angle if combustion is initiated across the cross-sectional area. Strong recirculation regions are formed via shock/boundary layer interactions in the confined engine duct. Mitigation of the recirculation is demonstrated with correct placement of the nozzle expansion in conjunction with air blowing in the boundary layer at a mass flow rate on the order of that of the fuel injection. For flight at Mach 11 the mixed-compression inlet shcramjet is found to generate a specific impulse of 683 s in the simulation of a realistic three-dimensional flow field.

Keywords: Airplanes, Ramjet engines
Capacity of a class of modulo-sum relay channels

This thesis characterizes the capacity of a class of modulo additive noise relay channels, in which the relay observes a corrupted version of the noise and has a separate channel to the destination. The capacity is shown to be strictly below the cut-set bound in general and achievable using a quantize-and-forward strategy at the relay. This result confirms a previous conjecture on the capacity of channels with rate-limited side information at the receiver for this particular class of modulo-sum channels. The thesis also considers a more general setting in which the relay is capable of providing noncausual rate-limited side information to both the transmitter and the receiver. The capacity is characterized for the case when the channel between the source and the destination is binary symmetric with a uniform noise distribution.