VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Time-lapse crosswell seismic monitoring of the Athabasca Tar Sands

The Athabasca Tar Sands in northern Alberta contain large amounts of high viscosity petroleum in a shallow, nearly flat lying Cretaceous sand stratum. Cost-effective monitoring methods, such as crosswell seismic, are sought to observe 'in-situ' Steam-Assisted Oil Recoveries (SAOR) and to optimize the oil production processes. This thesis investigates methods of analysing crosswell. seismic data to map structural details of the Athabasca Tar Sand and to observe its modification during oil extraction. Baseline images of the formations at two different sites (the UTF and Steepbank) in the Athabasca Tar Sands have been derived from crosswell seismic data by traveltime tomography. Particularly, both P- and S-wave velocities of the Steepbank formation have been reconstructed together with a constraint of acceptable values of Poisson's ratio. It has been further demonstrated that full wavefield modeling is capable of quantifying major heterogeneities, intrinsic attenuation, and a stochastic component of velocities. Differences and similarities between the two reservoirs have been noticed and accounted for. To prepare for interpretation of the time-lapse data, the expected effects of a steam flood on seismic waves have been investigated theoretically by calculating moderately high frequency wave scattering by a cylindrical, spherical, or arbitrarily oriented spheroidal region of altered physical properties. Monochromatic scattering patterns and wavelet responses have been determined to study the possibility of inferring the rock properties changes from diffracted waves. Seismic images of the Steepbank reservoir after 72 days of continuous steam injection have clearly revealed modification of the reservoir. They indicate about a 10% decrease in P-wave velocity and a 4% increase in S-wave velocity in the affected zones. A likely explanation is that the decrease in P velocity is the combined result of increased temperature and increased gas concentrations whereas the increase in S velocity results from bitumen removal and its replacement by steam. The results also indicate that the steam-affected medium has a complex exterior shape and sharply heterogeneous properties which gives rise to strong P-wave scattering.
Computer-mediated communication in the business territory, a joint expedition through e-mail messages and reflections upon job activities

This dissertation is an account of my exploration through the business territory which aimed at understanding what it was like to interact in English through computers from the Brazilian professionals' point of view. More specifically, it aimed at investigating what was involved in experiencing e-mail for professional communication, in interacting in English through computers, and in reflecting upon computerized activities performed in the workplace. To achieve these goals, I adopted a hermeneutic phenomenological approach to research which, by focusing on descriptions and shared interpretations, enabled me to identify some of the genres conveyed in professional contexts and to understand the meaning of using computers for professionals purposes. Data were collected in six meetings with five Brazilian professionals from three corporations in which we discussed 152 e-mail messages. By using these samples both as object of inquiry and as input for reflection, we addressed the types of texts and communicative purposes usually conveyed through the electronic medium, and reflected upon the social actions that customarily associated co-workers together in online interactions. In addition, our conversations involved the recollection of the experiences the participants lived in and out of their work places, eliciting a process of reflection upon practice (Schön,1983,1987,1991,1992) that revealed their interpretation of some features of their professional landscapes (Clandinin & Connelly, 1995). E-mail messages were analyzed from the perspective of their structural and rhetorical recurrences. This procedure enabled me to identify that the samples collected conformed to a set/repertoire and to a system of genres, as well as perceiving that some genres performed overlapping functions. This characterization not only revealed the relationships among the genres investigated, but also provided insights about the communication practices enacted within each corporation. In considering the outcomes of the reflective process, the participants and I made significant discoveries. I realized the impact of practice on foreign language learning and came to perceive workplaces as inherent educational sites. The participants, in their various ways, developed new insights in instrumental, linguistic, and professional terms. Reflecting upon tacit routines led them to think about their practices from an unfamiliar point of view and, in some cases, to reframe certain habitual procedures.
Language, power, and ethnicity in an arctic Québec community

In this study, I make use of historical analysis, a language survey, and ethnographic data to examine processes of language choice, presenting a political-economic analysis of the differential uses of Inuttitut, Cree, French, and English in the Arctic Québec settlement respectively known in these four languages as Kuujjuaraapik, Whapmagoostui, Poste-de-la-Baleine, and Great Whale River. I address the standard sociolinguistic questions of how and why minority languages persist, despite increasing pressure from dominant colonial languages; and argue that the settlement's four languages all play important roles in boundary maintenance, in defining valued material and symbolic resources, in establishing national, ethnic, and social identities, and in achieving access to education, employment, and positions of power. I also explore the development of and tension between the dominant Southern-controlled linguistic market and an alternative 'traditional' language market in which local Inuit linguistic and cultural practices are valued. Results from interview and observational data suggest that within the dominant linguistic market in Kuujjuaraapik, French and Inuttitut are in transitional positions--positions arising from their relatively recent roles in ethnic mobilization, of the French in Québec and of the Inuit in Nunavik, respectively--and in the changing political economy of the region. Both languages have accordingly entered into competition with English, the historically established language of 'power'. In the alternative 'traditional' linguistic market, particular forms of symbolic resources are valued and employed to negotiate and define the value of other symbolic and material resources in the community. Paradoxically, Inuit participation in the dominant market appears to be dependent on the persistence of 'traditional' cultural and linguistic practices in this alternative language market, in order to justify distinct Inuit rights to control the territory of Nunavik. At the community level, this study explores the construction of ethnic groups and boundaries and how they are linked to valued material and symbolic resources.
Programmed cell death during mammalian preimplantation embryo development, genetic regulation and developmental consequences

The quality of embryos produced by 'In Vitro' Fertilization (IVF) is variable. Many embryos contain unequal-sized blastomeres and multiple cellular fragments. The objective of my work was to determine if apoptosis could be observed in human preimplantation embryos and further explore genetic and molecular mechanisms regulating cell death during early embryo development. Electron microscopy as well as chromatin labelling confirmed the typical morphological features of apoptosis in fragmented human embryos. In a mouse model, maternal age beyond 40 weeks increased the rate of embryo fragmentation following IVF, but oocytes from females of all ages had a uniformly high rate of fragmentation when fertilized 'in vitro'. Furthermore, in mice IVF significantly reduced the rate of blastocyst formation and decreased the mean cell number at the blastocyst stage in comparison with embryos produced in vivo. The temporal expression patterns of several cell death regulatory genes was assessed during murine and human embryo development, and showed that the expression of these genes is altered in mouse embryos undergoing fragmentation. This data are consistent with hypothesis that programmed cell death may occur by default in embryos which fail to execute essential developmental events during the first cell cycle and this process is actively regulated via expression of cell death regulatory genes.
Natural helpers and the health agenda, connecting health educating work with sustained community health programming

This study was designed to understand how the knowledge and skill of health education workers is connected to the knowledge and health concerns of a community's natural helpers. Peers identified the natural helpers who participated in this study. They represented those individuals who are found in any community who are catalysts for growth and change within that community. With dedication and commitment they focused on the research questions and worked together to hypothesize about a model that would result in sustained community based health education programming. The participatory action research process ensured that all participants were treated with equal respect, the research process was a learning experience for all involved, power relations were always exposed, all participants utilized a common language, the agenda remained fluid, and the results of the research process are owned by all participants. The natural helpers identified that the most serious health concern affecting their community is environmental pollution. They identified variables that impact upon health in their communities and then defined a model for health education programming that connects health education work to the community. Historical chronicling of a community's events was recognized as an important factor in initiating and sustaining connections between formalized health education work and the community that the work seeks to serve. The participatory action research process supported a systematic inquiry by those who are most likely to be affected by the issue. The model for sustainable, relevant health education work defines connections that could be important for the implementation and support of future health education work.
Sulfide and alkalinity production from activated sludge to treat acid mine drainage

Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) contains high concentrations of dissolved metals and sulfates at low pH. Studies with activated sludge have indicated that biological treatment of AMD, mediated by sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB), is a feasible alternative The objectives of the current study were, to establish conditions for maximum production of sulfide and alkalinity, and to provide an overall picture of the effect of COD/SO$\sb4\sp{2-}$ ratios on sulfate reduction activity. Anaerobic reactors utilizing activated sludge (0.7% TSS, COD=9820 mg/L) were operated. Maximum sulfide and alkalinity production for batch reactors (385 mg/L and 3004 mg/L) occurred at COD/SO$\sb4\sp{2-}$ ratio 2.0; for semi-continuous reactors, maximum sulfide (416 mg/L) and alkalinity (2923 mg/L) was produced at COD/SO$\sb4\sp{2-}$ ratio 2.0 with 12 days HRT. Sulfate reduction in batch reactors was greatest (98%) at COD/SO$\sb4\sp{2-}$ ratio 3.0 and in semi-continuous reactors, a 74% reduction occurred at COD/SO$\sb4\sp{2-}$ ratio 5.0 and 12 days HRT.
Facets of memory distortion, evidence from amnesia, confabulation and frontal-lobe dysfunction

False recall and false recognition of nonstudied words that are preceded by a list of strong associates was examined in amnesic patients with medial temporal lobe or ventromedial frontal-lobe damage and in nonamnesic patients with frontal-lobe damage. We hypothesized that susceptibility to false recall and false recognition is determined by several factors, namely having some memory for the studied words, the ability to extract the semantic and associative information about the studied list, and a deficit in strategic monitoring. Nonamnesic frontal-lobe patients consistently produced high levels of false recall and false recognition. Since these patients had relatively good memory they extracted the semantic information about the list. However, due to their strategic monitoring deficit they failed to reject nonstudied related words. The false recollection pattern of amnesic patients was more variable. Those who extracted the semantic/associative nature of the list and remembered it, produced high levels of false recall.
On the Mei-Yu front and the associated potential vorticity anomaly

The Mei-Yu (called Baiu in Japanese) front is a particular atmospheric phenomenon in East Asia that occurs during the late spring and early summer period. This thesis presents a combination of theoretical and numerical studies of two important issues regarding the development of Mei-Yu fronts: (1) the initiation of mesoscale convective systems, and (2) the formation of the PV anomaly and its impact on the Mei-Yu frontogenesis. The organization mechanism of the mesoscale convective systems on the Mei-Yu front has been examined in the context of frontal stability. The results show that the Mei-Yu front itself is unstable due to the presence of a low-level PV anomaly. It is then proposed that the convective systems are organized by the instability of the low-level PV anomaly along the front. The growth rate of the most unstable mode depends on the intensity of cumulus heating, with the e-folding time of the order of less than one day. When the heating intensity is below a critical level, the wavelength is about 8-15 times the cross-front width scale of the PV anomaly, and the instability structure is of the barotropic type but modified by convection. When the heating intensity exceeds the critical level, the disturbance draws its energy almost entirely from heating and the instability structure resembles a system driven purely by cumulus heating. The most unstable wavelength is 1700-2100 km and bears no relationship to the scale of PV anomaly. The formation of the low-level PV anomaly and its impact on the Mei-Yu frontogenesis have been studied through the numerical simulation of an observed Mei-Yu front. The PV anomaly on the modeled Mei-Yu front is the result of condensational heating. While the PV anomaly on the central sector of the front was caused by stratiform clouds, the PV anomaly on the western sector was mostly caused by cumulus convection. The numerical simulations have verified that the western sector of the Mei-Yu front is intensified mainly by the low-level convergence flow of cumulus convection. The comparison between the numerical simulations, theoretical results and observations is also made in the thesis.
Male and female total knee arthroplasty candidates and healthy controls differ in anthropometry, functional capacity and biochemistry, insulin-like growth factor-I and cytokines

Purpose. Osteoarthritis is associated with obesity, decreased functional capacity and dissatisfaction with function. Low serum IGF-I levels are associated with obesity, reduced function and possibly joint destruction. Cytokines have also been implicated in articular cartilage destruction. Thus the purpose of this study was to examine whether IGF-I and cytokine levels were altered in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. Methods. Men and women aged 55-75 years (n = 138) participated in this study. All subjects completed evaluation of: body composition, physical function, perceived function and serum IGF-I levels. A sub-population (n = 38) underwent analysis of cytokines and IGF-I in synovial fluid. Differences were deemed significant at p $<$ 0.05. Conclusions. Women versus men with OA had higher adiposity, altered cytokines, and lower IGF-I and functional capacity. The gender differences suggest a different etiology of osteoarthritic disease. These findings suggest that in women other factors (hormones) may influence IGF-I levels and ultimately osteoarthritis development.
Trees of desire, gender, environmental knowledge and practice in the highland Uva of Sri Lanka

Local environmental knowledge and practice in the highland Uva of Sri Lanka in the context of new global/national discourses on indigenous/traditional knowledge are examined. An interpretive approach is used to problematise the concepts of "indigenous" and "traditional", and to question the extent to which environmental knowledge, is both local and gendered. Ethnographic methods, particularly participant observation of people's land use activities, in four settlements of the Badulla district, selected on the basis of differential exposure to development projects and markets, were used. Open-ended interviews in 152 households (representative of different social groups) of a total of 686, and in seven temples/shrines were conducted. Although post-colonial intellectuals construct an "ecological wisdom" of non-western people "living in harmony with nature" in opposition to scientific/western knowledge, they define and rationalise indigenous knowledge in scientific terms. Advocates, vested in proving its superiority, forget to explore the premises and frameworks of local knowledge. Global and national environmentalist discourses share "root metaphors" such as "harmony" and "nature", while their interpretations may differ. National discourses borrow from local discourses but modify these to fit global frameworks. Hybrid eco-cosmologies emerge, considered, however, to be "indigenous" and "traditional" by proponents. Local environmental knowledge in the highland Uva is based on the transformation of spaces into useful and meaningful places. Rural people consider only those things and places associated with deities as sacred. An anthropocentric and instrumental attitude socialises the natural environment, thereby failing to maintain clear boundaries between the social and natural environment. However, villagers distinguish what is "made-by-itself" from what they "make". The relationship between gender and space is contextual. Women do not have a privileged knowledge of the environment nor are they specifically associated with "nature" or the "wild". Local knowledge frameworks do not differentiate between "indigenous" and "alien" knowledge, but rather incorporate, reject or make ambiguous new knowledge and practices in pragmatic and complex ways. Despite the fuzziness of boundaries between local/national/global discourses, the specificity of local knowledge remains. Fulfilling personal and social desires, rather than living in harmony with nature, is at the core of environmental knowledge and practice in the highland Uva.
Studies on Mongolian verb morphology

This dissertation studies Mongolian verb morphology on the basis of the Modern Mongolian (Inner Mongolia) materials. It is based on the descriptive and theoretical advances made in modern linguistics and provides extensive analysis of the key issues concerning verb morphology with regard to the Mongolian situation. The dissertation consists of seven chapters, but the main concern of the thesis is essentially twofold, the derivational and inflectional morphemes of the verbs. The first section presents a discussion of verb derivation, focusing on the issue of the verb derived by suffixation. The second part is a discussion of the inflectional categories of the verb. In this section, we deal with several issues, such as converb, auxiliary, tense, aspect, mood, voice, and the causative. Converbs can be divided into contextual and specialized converbs by semantic criteria and each of these converbs expresses particular circumstantial meanings. The auxiliary in Mongolian is generally used either to place the situation described in the sentence with reference to time (tense), to ascribe a temporal contour to it (aspect), or to assess its reality (modality). The tense categories in Mongolian distinguish the non-past and past tenses. We examine in depth the meanings and functions of the various tense morphemes. There is no salient inflectional morpheme for marking either the opposition of the perfective and imperfective aspects or the perfect in Mongolian, but there are several kinds of single form or compound structure for signaling the sub-classes of imperfective and perfect. Mood and modality in Mongolian can be expressed in different ways, our discussion is, however, restricted to modality expressed through verbal morphology only and some auxiliary verbs which express mood. Voice includes active, passive, and reciprocal voices. In this section, we present some detailed description of the meanings and functions of voice suffixes. In the discussion of the causative construction, we reveal some characteristic features of the causative in terms of the relationship between the causer and causee.
Reclaiming the ancestors' quilt, black women in the law networking for social change

This work is a narrative-based qualitative and participatory study of the networking practices of Black women studying, teaching and practicing law. Black women pursuing careers in a middle-upper class White male dominated profession occupy an "outsider-within" subject position. Such women experience dissonance stemming from compromises made to balance conflicting socio-economic conditions and expectations among the sites of family, community and dominant institutions. This work aims to uncover the strategies these women are developing to both succeed in the profession, and to remain grounded in their respective identities, families and communities. By developing an awareness of how these connections operate, in sites such as the family, legal education or profession, Black women in the law may then actively: (1) develop effective models of resistance for marginalized persons in dominant institutions; (2) equip themselves to resist external oppressions and find strength for self-renewal; and (3) form alliances around loci of oppression, including race, gender sexuality, ability and class to lay the foundations for transformative social change.
A higher order finite element for sandwich plate analysis

A finite element model for the analysis of sandwich plates with laminated composites face-sheets is developed. In the model, the face-sheets are represented as Reissner-Mindlin plates and therefore include shear deformation effects. The core is modelled as a three-dimensional continuum in which the through-thickness representation of the displacement fields is of a mixed form. That is the u, v deflections are cubic functions of z while w is a quadratic function of z. This representation allows accurate modelling of a wide range of core types (honeycomb and foam) and in particular core materials which have low in-plane stiffness compared to the transverse stiffness. Also, these through the thickness trial functions allow an accurate representation of transverse shear and normal stresses. The in-plane modelling of u, v, w use bi-cubic trial functions in both the face-sheets and the core. Such a representation avoids shear locking without special precautions. Evaluation of the stiffness matrices involves analytical through-thickness integration of the strain energy. Doing so reduces the three-dimensional problem to a quasi two-dimensional problem and increases numerical efficiency. Standard finite element procedures are used to solve the resulting two-dimensional problem. The presented model provides a powerful general tool for the analysis of sandwich plates; transverse normal and shear stresses can be determined explicitly at the core/face-sheet interface. Also, because of the core model adopted, good accuracy is obtained when large differences in transverse versus in-plane core stiffness is present as well as for cases in which the core stiffness changes rapidly in the plane of the plate. The accuracy of the model is illustrated with several examples.