VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Construction control processes documentation: An analysis of techniques and software used in construction industry

An effort is underway to develop a method for automated data collection on construction sites. This research is the first step in that effort, and was undertaken to determine the most frequently adopted project management processes, techniques and software in the construction industry, and to identify and rank the information critical for proper project control. To facilitate the research, data have been collected using two questionnaires from the contractors and owners/consultants working in the industry. The difficulty in collecting data in the industry was evidenced by the adequate but disappointing survey response rate. Associations among these data were determined using statistical analyses of correlation for interval variables and chi-square for nominal variables. The results provided insight to the current state in the industry with respect to project control, the different perspectives of the contractor and the and emphasized owner/consultant.
Intimate business: woman-midwife relationships in Ontario, Canada

Both parturient women and midwives appear to want both intimacy and business, the personal and professional, in their relationships with one another; however, on balance, for women, the scales are slightly more tipped towards intimacy and for midwives, towards business. In 1994, with the passing of the Midwifery Act, Ontario midwives began to practise as autonomous, regulated health professionals with their own college of midwives. One of the principal goals of the Ontario midwifery model is the development of a relationship between the birthing woman and midwife. This research explores the meaning of this relationship drawing upon the insights of over 80 women and midwives, as expressed in focus groups and in-depth interviews. For many midwives, the support of communities of women, friends, family, midwives or medical colleagues is crucial for the effective care of birthing women, their own loved ones and themselves. Midwives recognize the need to balance their working and personal lives. Although childbearing women experience the woman-midwife relationship in diverse ways, most of them highly value this connection and indicate that a positive rapport supports the care they receive. Women want sensitive and competent care with midwives they respect and like. Women project onto midwives relationship roles that they need or come to desire: for example, friend, sister, mother, auntie, conjugal partner, teacher, or professional. For some women the relationship is primarily a contractual one, with mutual responsibilities. For others, the relationship acts as a catalyst in their growth and empowerment. Midwives, for their part, want meaningful relationships that support women and make their work worthwhile and enjoyable. They wish for the holistic well-being of women and their babies, and delight in seeing women develop confidence in their abilities to birth, parent, question authority and make decisions about their care. A close correspondence between a woman's values and those of her midwife appears to be a strong connecting force. When this synergy is absent, it is a greater challenge for midwives to establish a relationship, and their ability to support women's choices can be affected.

Keywords: Midwives, Ontario
Pregnant women, Ontario
Childbirth, Social aspects
Childbirth, Ontario
Legal scholarship: an analysis of law professors' research activities in Ontario's English-speaking common law schools

A current discussion of Canadian higher education reveals the increasing importance of research within the university and in government higher education policy. At the same time the political economy of Canadian higher education has been analyzed in terms of a neo-liberal response to economic globalization. This study contributes to that emerging scholarship by focusing specifically on the political economy and academic legal research. The purpose of this study is to describe the current context of law professor's research activities in terms of subject matter, theory and methods, organization, products and funding in order to ascertain if there have been shifts in this context over the past 20 years. The implications of the findings were critically analyzed in terms of a socio-critical framework that considered the relationship between knowledge and professionalism within the context of the political economy of higher education. This study provides important empirical data on the research activities of full-time tenured or tenure-track law professors in Ontario's English-speaking common law schools. It also identifies areas of change and stability over the last 20 years. The study involved the collection and analysis of data from law professors using survey and interview methodology. Some of the findings are unexpected. They show some evidence of influence on law professors' research activities associated in the higher education literature with neo-liberal restructuring. However, in important ways the research context of law professors does not conform to the university research model. The findings suggest that the law school, rather than becoming marginalized in the new university, has consolidated its position in the university. The findings suggest this is largely because of factors not associated with research, such as the strong teaching mission, the deregulated tuition fees that the professional program attracts, and their proximity to a wealthy and entrepreneurial profession that offers potential endowments and donations. Although legal scholars are facing challenges to, and pressures on, their intellectual work, they still enjoy a strong position in the university, not because of their research activity, but in spite of it.

Keywords: Civil law, Ontario
Judicial process
Interdependent toxicity mechanisms of oxidative stress, thiamin deficiency and alpha-oxoaldehydes

Oxidative stress and thiamin deficiency are prevalent in diseases such as diabetes mellitus. An increase in oxidative stress and thiamin deficiency leads to an increase in alpha-oxoaldehydes (i.e. reactive dicarbonyls, glyoxal and methylglyoxal (MG)) which are known to be cytotoxic. This thesis investigated the relationship between alpha-oxoaldehyde induced oxidative stress, thiamin deficiency and toxicity. Chapter 2 describes the molecular mechanisms of rat hepatocyte cytotoxicity induced by the alpha-oxoaldehyde, glyoxal. An increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS), lipid peroxidation, glutathione (GSH) depletion and a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential were observed before glyoxal-induced cell death occurred. Glyoxal-induced oxidative stress and cytotoxicity were prevented by aminoguanidine, D-penicillamine and pyridoxamine. Chapter 3 describes the role of thiamin in glyoxal detoxification by maintaining cellular NADPH levels. Under thiamin deficient conditions, glyoxal cytotoxicity and oxidative stress were increased. These were prevented by supplementing the media with 3 mM thiamin or 5 mM benfotiamine (lipophilic derivative of thiamin). In Chapters 4 and 5, rats exposed to exogenous oxidative stress and dietary thiamin deficiency resulted in increased levels of plasma glyoxal/MG and their hydroimidazolone protein adducts. In chapter 5, rats given a heat treated diet (thermolyzed diet) that was low in thiamin resulted in decreased GSH and increased levels of liver and colon oxidative stress biomarkers such as nitrotyrosine, protein carbonyls and hydroimidazolones. There was also an increased infiltration of macrophages in the colon indicating that inflammation had occurred. Increased alpha-oxoaldehyde levels led to an increased body burden of advanced glycation end products (AGES) which decreased GSH dependent antioxidant defenses. Thiamin deficiency and oxidative stress produced high levels of endogenous glyoxal/MG that could increase the risk of pre-neoplastic or neoplastic conditions in the colon.
Art museum electronic educational sites: a prolegomenon

Art museum education is currently available in several forms: the gallery visit; publications; lectures, workshops; artist-in-residences; of-site programs; kiosks, technological and multimedia-based in-gallery presentations and Web sites. Web sites provide complementary and unique educational possibilities for museum education. An extensive body of research exists regarding all the various aspects of websites—including museum sites—such as their development, design, evaluation, components, features, advances in technology that enable particular educational experiences to be created, etc. However, little research considers either specifically Canadian educational websites or in-depth examinations and analyses of the particular learning strategies and other factors that create the learning experience online. This inquiry explores the above, placing its study within the broad contextual and theoretical framework of research about the relationship between the museum and its online site, the school-museum-website context, as well as learning online, learning about art and learning in the museum.

Keywords: Art museums, Educational aspects
Art museums, Computer network resources
Internet in education
Examining the relationship between clinical practice guidelines and hospital efficiency

Efficiency of care is an important topic in Canadian health care. One common measure of efficiency is length of stay (LOS) (Murphy Noetscher, 1999; Needham et al., 2003; Brownell Roos, 1995). Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs)---"systematically developed statements to assist practitioner and patient decisions about appropriate health care for specific clinical circumstances" (Field Lohr, 1990 p.38)---are an intervention used to reduce LOS. The current research addresses the question, what is the overall relationship between the use of CPGs and hospital efficiency, as measured by LOS?This thesis includes three chapters that explore this relationship. Chapter 2 discusses a systematic review that the researcher conducted to test the nature of the CPG-LOS relationship. One hundred seventy-three studies were included in the review and encompassed a wide array of disease states. The review found a statistically significant association between the use of CPGs and reduced LOS. However, the quality rating of the studies found that, for the most part, they had limitations, regardless of year of publication. A limited number of the studies included were conducted on more than one CPG, in more than one hospital, or in Canada. Therefore, Chapter 3 of this thesis adds to the literature by addressing all those issues. Chapter 3 discusses a secondary data analysis including data on more than 80 hospitals in numerous medical and surgical clinical areas. Only two significant relationships were discovered, one involving pneumonia and one involving prostatectomy. On the whole, there were no significant differences between CPG usage or efficiency over the two-year period. Possible reasons for these results are provided in the discussion. Considering the contradictory results found in Chapters 2 and 3, the researcher conducted qualitative interviews in a sample of Ontario hospitals to explore factors that could influence the relationship between the use of CPGs and LOS. Nine interviews were conducted, and five main factors---outlined in Chapter 4---were found, including the purpose of the implementation and the clinicians' response. Finally, Chapter 5 discusses the findings of the three research chapters, develops potential implications, and provides directions for future research.
Up-regulation of human tissue kallikrein 6 in ovarian cancer

Human tissue kallikrein 6 (KLK6) is a serine protease that is over-expressed in ovarian cancer. In this study, we aimed to delineate the mechanisms underpinning this phenomenon. We first confirmed the up-regulation of KLK6 in ovarian tumor cytosols and its value as an unfavorable prognostic biomarker. KLK6 mRNA expression was then assessed and observed to be concordant with KLK6 protein expression, implicating a role for transcriptional regulation. We examined the relative abundance of two KLK6 transcripts. Samples of various KLK6 levels showed the same differential expression pattern. Genomic mutation screening of KLK6 in ovarian tumor samples identified two linked single nucleotide polymorphisms in the 5'-untranslated region, neither correlated with KLK6 expression. Ovarian cell lines were treated with five steroid hormones, no significant effects on KLK6 expression were observed. We conclude that KLK6 is transcriptionally up-regulated in ovarian cancer but not through alternative transcript expression, genetic aberration or steroid hormone induction.
Development of antisense radiopharmaceuticals for probing the molecular response of breast cancer cells to trastuzumab

Trastuzumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody used to treat HER2 over-expressing breast cancers. About 70% of patients responding to trastuzumab become resistant within 12 months. Trastuzumab's mechanisms of action are complex and not well understood. Antisense probing, with a radiolabelled antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (AS-ODN), of mRNA is a sensitive method that can be used to detect gene expression changes in trastuzumab-treated breast cancer cells. The candidates for antisense probing, betacellulin, p21WAF-1/Cip-1 and interleukin-2 receptor beta have previously shown upregulation by trastuzumab in certain HER2 over-expressing breast cancer cells. This study sought to (1) measure levels of trastuzumab-induced mRNA by real-time RT-PCR, (2) construct radiolabelled AS-ODNs complementary to p21WAF-1/Cip-1 mRNA and (3) investigate in vitro uptake and retention of AS-ODNs and scrambled ODNs by trastuzumab-treated HER2 overexpressing cancer cells. Significant preferential retention of antisense ODN rather than scrambled ODN, was observed in HER2 overexpressing cancer cells (MDA-MB-361, SKBR3) treated with trastuzumab.
Local anesthesia (topical amethocaine gel 4%) for intramuscular injection in term neonates: A randomized controlled trial

The effectiveness of topical anesthetic agents for intramuscular (IM) injection (a painful procedure) has been demonstrated in adults and children. Its effectiveness in neonates has not been evaluated. In a double-blind randomized controlled trial, the effectiveness of amethocaine gel 4% for IM injection pain of vitamin K administration was assessed. Neonatal pain was assessed using percent facial grimacing, duration of cry and latency to first cry. Parents and nurses used a visual analogue scale to assess pain. One hundred and ten neonates were enrolled. Baseline characteristics were similar in both groups. There were no differences in the percent facial grimacing score and duration of cry between groups. Latency to cry was statistically significantly different (p=0.01) between groups. Parents and nurses assessment of infant pain did not differ between groups. Amethocaine gel was ineffective in reducing IM injection pain of vitamin K and cannot be recommended for this purpose.
Broke service: a self-organized approach to servicing broke nodes in ad-hoc networks

However, there are situations when a node could run out of virtual currency, and enter a broke state. In this thesis, we propose a comprehensive self-organized set of mechanisms referred to as the Broke Service, which allows for a broke node to make limited use of the network to transmit its traffic, in addition to stimulating non-broke nodes to cooperate with broke ones. In civilian applications of ad hoc networks, groups of strangers are required to cooperate with each other. To stimulate such behavior a virtual currency is used to provide an incentive for cooperation by having a node to send its traffic at a given cost, while allowing it to profit every time it forwards others' traffic. At the heart of the Broke Service is a loan-based approach, which is valued as a form of 'investment' from a lender node's point of view.
Prediction of outcome within the first four hours after birth of a term infant with post-asphyxial hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy

Prediction of long-term neurodevelopmental outcome following post-asphyxial hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy can assist in the selection of patients for neuroprotective therapy trials and counseling families. A logistic regression model was developed from available clinical and biochemical data within the first 4 hours after birth. Of 375 patients, 345 had follow-up data. Six statistically significant independent predictors for "severe adverse outcome" were identified: administration of chest compression for>1 minute, administration of epinephrine, age of first respiration ge;30 minutes, presence of seizures/coma before 4 hours of age, standardized base deficit at the age of sampling, and birth following cesarean section. The prediction success rate of the model was 73.2%. For "severe adverse outcome" the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 89%, 41%, 76% and 63% respectively. Model diagnostics, residual analysis and internal validation revealed that the model was robust. Further research involves an external validation of this model.
Electronic equalization of polarization-mode dispersion in 40-Gb/s optical systems

Electronic equalization of polarization-mode dispersion (PMD) effects in 40-Gb/s optical systems is investigated through system-level analysis and integrated circuit (IC) design. A system-level analysis of first-order PMD effects is used to compare different electronic equalizer architectures as potential PMD compensators. It is found that a decision feedback equalizer (DFE) consisting of a 3-tap feedforward equalizer (FFE) and a 1-tap feedback equalizer (FBE) is able to increase the useful length of a PMD-limited optical system by more than eight times. Two modifications to the travelling-wave filter (TWF) topology are introduced which enable the decoupling of equalizer tap spacing and bandwidth. These new TWF topologies are used in the implementation of two 3-tap 40-Gb/s FFEs. The equalizer ICs are implemented in the TSMC 90-nm and 0.18-mum CMOS processes, and represent the first implementations of 40-Gb/s equalizers in CMOS.
Development and validation of a model to predict creatinine clearance in critically ill paediatric patients

Timely renal function assessment is essential for clinicians to optimize dose of renal-eliminated medications in critically ill paediatric patients. Measurement of creatinine clearance (CrCl) as a marker of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is impractical and time-consuming. Prediction of CrCl with the Schwartz equation tends to over-estimate CrCl in this population. Multiple linear regression analysis of retrospective data from 141 critically ill paediatric patients admitted to the Critical Care Unit (CCU) at the Hospital for Sick Children (Sickkids) generated a model that predict CrCl with serum creatinine, admission PRISM III score, prior 24-hour urine output, length of stay, and weight. The model was validated with split-sample, jack-knife, and bootstrap procedures with good fit (adjusted R2 83%). Prediction of CrCl with the model was superior to the Schwartz equation (Intraclass correlation coefficients 0.844 vs 0.558 respectively). The model has potential to apply to critically ill paediatric patients admitted to paediatric intensive care units.
A functional analysis of the Ese proteins

Two novel multidomain genes were cloned and termed Ese1/Intersectin1 and Ese2/Intersectin2. These proteins contain two N-terminal EH domains, a central coiled-coil domain and five SH3 domains. Each gene has an alternatively spliced isoform called Ese1L/Intersectin1L and Ese2L/Intersectin2L respectively, which have Dbl, PH and C2 domains on a C-terminal extension to the above mentioned domains. For the remainder of this document, Ese/Intersectin will be referred to as Ese. The Ese proteins are novel adapters or scaffolds belonging to the family of EH-domain containing proteins. We have identified many protein partners that bind to various domains of Ese. Ese1/2 are implicated in internalization steps of Clathrin-mediated and Caveolin-mediated endocytosis. We report here that Ese1S binds endosomal sorting proteins, Tsg101, Alix and Cbl-b in vivo and overexpression of Ese1S can attract EGF-containing vesicles, suggesting a novel role in regulating sorting and recycling events. Using genetic approaches in mice, we have uncovered a role for Ese1 in brain and neurovascular patterning, seizure control and developmental growth.
Credit card fraud detection via the application of neural networks

Translate Fraud losses of VISA and Master Card in Canada exceeded $100 million last year. The banks that carry most of the fraud are looking for new methods to reduce fraud. The effectiveness of these tools, employed to flag fraud, form the foundation of successful defence against fraud. Neural Networks were selected for this thesis to explore the merits of this methodology in fraud detection. Using one month worth of fraudulent and legitimate card holder activity from the collaborating financial institution, three standard back propagation neural network architectures were developed. Applying the Xerion Neural Network simulator, different network sizes, data rotations, and other parameter variations were explored. The results show that Neural Networks can be employed to detect fraud earlier than other existing methods. However, it is recommended, that further investigation be undertaken before commercial installation can be contemplated. To advance this work to a commercial level, a more elaborate and rigorous data collection effort is required.
Long-term memory of aversive operant conditioning requires new synapse formation and a putative cation channel

Formation of long-term memory (LTM) is a complicated process involving various molecular signaling pathways, new protein production and increased gene regulation. Recent evidence is beginning to show synaptogenesis may also be involved in this process however; the underlying molecular components remain unknown. Following aversive operant conditioning of aerial respiration in Lymnaea stagnalis, LTM was established. Utilizing various techniques to disrupt molecules in vivo previously shown to be necessary for synaptogenesis, I found that interference of synaptotagmin I C2A, and dsRNA knockdown of men1 mRNA prevented LTM formation, suggesting a requirement of new synapse formation in LTM consolidation. I also addressed the role of a novel nonselective cation channel, NALCN, previously shown to propagate depolarization signals to the synapse, and found that dsRNA knockdown of NALCN expression resulted in snails with LTM defects. Taken together, this work provides evidence that LTM formation requires synapse formation and NALCN expression.
Pediatric nutritional assessment: A comparison of clinical judgment and objective measures

Subjective Global Assessment (SGA), a method of nutritional assessment using clinical judgment, has been widely used to assess nutritional status of adults, for both clinical and research purposes. Foreseeing benefits of its use in children, we chose to adapt SGA and test its validity and reproducibility in the pediatric population. We compared its ability to identify malnourished children and predict their risk of developing nutrition-associated complications with that of currently used objective measures of nutritional status. Nutritional status of 175 children (31 days--17.9 years old) having major thoracic or abdominal surgery was assessed pre-operatively by 2 assessors, independently performing subjective global nutritional assessment (SGNA) or objective measurements. Occurrence of nutrition-associated morbidities was documented for 30 days post-operatively. SGNA successfully divided children into 3 groups (well nourished, moderately malnourished, severely malnourished) with different mean values for serum albumin and various anthropometric measures (p