VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Divided attention effects on retrieval from episodic memory

In this thesis the dual-task technique is used to infer the component processes involved in episodic memory retrieval. In each of the six experiments, participants studied a list of random words under full attention, and recalled them while performing a distracting task presented visually on a computer. Previous research suggested that divided attention (DA) during retrieval disrupts free recall for words if the distracting task also involves memory for verbal material (Fernandes & Moscovitch, 2000). The purpose of the present work was to determine more precisely which factor(s) modulated this effect, and influence retrieval success. In the first experiment I found that verbal distracting tasks, that required animacy or syllable decisions to words, produced large interference on memory. Experiments 2 and 3 showed that phonemic decisions about nonsense-words produced a similarly large interference effect on memory, that was larger than semantic decisions or size-estimations about pictures of objects. These findings support the component-process model of memory, which suggests that retrieval is largely disrupted only when there is competition for a common representational system. In the next set of experiments an alternative, reduced-resource, account of interference from DA at retrieval is considered by comparing the performance of young and old adults under DA conditions. A word-animacy distracting task interfered substantially with retrieval, but the size of the effect was not amplified in old compared to young adults. Dividing attention using an odd-digit task did not produce as large an effect, in either group. Finally, the contribution of the frontal and temporal lobes to interference effects on memory were examined. Elderly participants were divided pre-experimentally into 4 groups, determined by their scores on measures of frontal and temporal lobe function, derived from neuropsychological testing. Large interference effects on memory were produced by the animacy, but not the odd-digit distracting task. The pattern and magnitude of interference effects did not differ depending on level of temporal or frontal function. These results do not support the hypothesis that effects of DA at retrieval are due to a reduction in general processing resources, attentional capacity, or competition for memory structures in the temporal lobe.
Factors related to occupational therapy workload in a geriatric chronic care setting

This study presents characteristics of patients who use occupational therapy services and factors associated with the intensity of occupational therapy services in a geriatric chronic care setting. A sample of 169 consecutive subjects from a geriatric chronic care population was studied during the 6-month period from July-December 1998. The data were organized and analyzed according to Andersen's conceptual framework of health care utilization (Andersen, 1995). Data from the Minimum Data Set (MDS) were used to describe the patients. Workload measurement data gathered by the occupational therapists were used to describe utilization. Results from multivariate linear regression showed that having multiple diagnoses, having a pressure relieving device for the chair and being more active were significantly related to the amount of occupational therapy provided. The overall results of this study may be helpful in planning for occupational therapy resources based on patient characteristics.
Studies on the role of K§+-ATP channels in the preconditioning of cultured human ventricular cardiomyocytes

'Objectives'. Due to the increasing numbers of high risk patients presenting for CABG, improved methods of myocardial protection are necessary. Ischemic preconditioning (PC) is the most powerful endogenously mediated form of myocardial protection known. Unfortunately, this phenomenon is quite difficult to apply clinically. The following studies were designed to determine the sequence of events inherent in PC, with an attempt to harness its beneficial effects in the form of a simple pharmacologic additive. 'Methods'. We have developed a model of ischemia and reperfusion in human ventricular myocytes (HVMs) obtained from the right ventricular outflow tract of patients undergoing corrective surgery for Tetralogy of Fallot. In this model, ischemia was reproduced by exposing the cells to low volume anoxic phosphate buffered saline (PBS) for a period of 90 minutes. Both stabilization and reperfusion were accomplished by exposing the cells to high volume normoxic PBS for a period of 30 minutes. Endogenous preconditioning was achieved by exposing the cells to a brief 20 minute episode of ischemia, followed by 20 minutes of reperfusion. Exogenous preconditioning was achieved by exposing the cells to 50 uM Adenosine with or without SPT, 10 nm PMA with our without Calphostin-C, and 50 uM Pinacidil or 20 uM Diazoxide with or without Glybenclamide. Viability and metabolic assessments were undertaken in the cell model, and results were confirmed in both large animal and clinical studies. ' Results'. Ischemic preconditioning conferred significant protection to HVMs. This protective effect was reproduced with adenosine and PMA, and was abolished with SPT and calphostin-C. The second messenger system included PKC activation and translocation. The final effector in this process was K +-ATP channel opening, as glybenclamide abolished all preconditioning stimuli. Although preconditioning was reproduced with the non-specific K +-ATP channel opener pinacidil, since HVMs are quiescent in nature, the final effector was believed to be mitochondrial specific K+-ATP channel opening. Indeed, mitochondrial-specific K+-ATP channel opening with diazoxide conferred protection, preserved cellular ATP concentrations, and facilitated oxidative phosphorylation by increasing mitochondrial matrix volume and upregulating respiratory chain enzymes. PKC was localized to HVM mitochondrial membranes using both Western blotting techniques and immunogold localization. Adenosine was found to preserve myocardial ATP concentrations throughout the crossclamp period in patients undergoing CABG, and diazoxide was found to preserve ATP and improve functional recovery of cardiac allografts in a porcine model of cardiac transplantation. 'Conclusions'. In humans, preconditioning is mediated via adenosine release, PKC translocation and activation. The final effector in this process is the mitochondrial K +-ATP channel, which when opened facilitates oxidative phosphorylation and ATP preservation.
Automated image analysis module for axisymmetric drop shape analysis-diameter (ADSA-D)

Axisymmetric Drop Shape Analysis-Diameter (ADSA-D) was developed to measure contact angles on non-ideal and/or hydrophilic surfaces (e.g., biological surfaces). ADSA-D determines the contact angle by solving the Laplace equation of capillarity numerically, and using as input the liquid surface tension, the drop volume and diameter of the drop as viewed from above. The diameter is the main experimental parameter to be determined as the liquid surface tension is known and the volume of the sessile drop can be obtained precisely by means of the micrometer syringe used to form the drop. The edge detection method to determine the diameter, which consisted of manually extracting coordinates from a digital image was found to be time consuming and somewhat subjective. Furthermore, when doing experiments involving biological surfaces the quality of the images acquired was extremely low. An automated image processing module was developed to replace the manual scheme, and an experimental procedure involving the use of nigrosin dye was developed, which together with several modifications to the current lighting system dramatically increased the quality of the images acquired. This automated module uses nonlinear filters to process the images and uses a region growing scheme to determine the total area of the drop as viewed from above. This area is then used to calculate the equivalent diameter of the idealized contact or equatorial circle for the drop. The robust design of the automated module enables it to process accurately many different types of drop images. Two very different examples of water drops on bacteria and carboxylic acid terminated self assembled surfaces are used to demonstrate the capabilities of the new image processing scheme. Also, using these two examples, it is shown through contact angle measurements that the results of this new ADSA-D version are more accurate than those obtained through the manual digitization scheme previously used.
Adhesive Failure with Adherend Yielding, Experiments and Models

An adhesive sandwich model, which treats adherends as bilinear and adhesive as nonlinear, was presented. Both the bending and the shear deformations in adherends were accounted. Stresses and strains in the adhesive were solved from 6 differential equations using a finite-difference method and compared with other models. A reasonable agreement was observed. A peel model was developed using the sandwich model for the attached part of peel joints. Peel tests were conducted on 9 configurations: combinations of 1, 2, 3 mm peel thickness and 30°, 60°, 90° peel angles. Various parameters were calculated and compared with either the finite element models or the experiments. A critical von Mises strain [epsilon]'c' criterion and critical fracture energy 'Gc' criterion were proposed. The ' Gc' criterion showed its dependence on phase angles. The load predictions for 9 peel configurations achieved an average discrepancy with experiments of 11% for [epsilon]'c' and 5.6% for 'Gc' criterion.
A living death, the madwomen in the novels of Walter Scott

Walter Scott's 1825 novel, 'The Betrothed', describes a condition of psychological entrapment as "a living death." The description is apt for the madwomen who feature in numerous Waverley novels and who, the thesis argues, represent a nightmare inversion of the more hopeful fictions the novels tell about a historical and social progress. The introduction elucidates the relevant literary, philosophical, and medical contexts. It documents Scott's reflections on his own psychology, his stress on a vigilant mental discipline, and his fear that psychopathology is a function of an obsessive preoccupation with past events. While Scott's fiction powerfully locates in female characters a psychic vulnerability to the pressures of intense historical change and social disruption, it also represents an increasingly complex engagement with the predicament of women who are shut out of community and history. The Waverley madwomen form two distinct groups. Chapter One discusses the hag-like or sibylline figures that feature in 'Guy Mannering, The Antiquary, Rob Roy, Ivanhoe, The Abbot, The Pirate' and "The Highland Widow." These figures are characterised by alienation from a progressivist history and possession by memory. Through their association with the madwoman, such qualities are not only identified as symptoms of derangement, they are also contained: the madwoman's visibly aging body is evidence that her fanatical convictions or extreme passions are decaying relics of a primitive past. 'The Heart of Midlothian' includes the mother-daughter dyad, Meg Murdockson and Madge Wildfire, and Chapter Two shows that this doubling complicates the representation of the madwoman figure. In particular, the troubled negotiation of stereotypes and narrative distance that characterises the account of Madge prepares the way for the three tragic novels. Chapters Three and Four argue that madness or a diagnosis of madness emerges in ' The Bride of Lammermoor' and 'Kenilworth' as a consequence of society's failure to recognise the potential for a promising future that the young heroine encodes. The thesis concludes by examining the narrative tensions evident in 'Saint Ronan's Well', a novel with a contemporary setting and where, from the outset, the heroine and madwoman figures are collapsed together.
Classification of search problems and their definability in bounded arithmetic

We present a new framework for the study of search problems and their definability in bounded arithmetic. We identify two notions of complexity of search problems: verification complexity and computational complexity. Notions of exact solvability and exact reducibility are developed, and exact <math> <f> <g>S</g><sup><mit>b</mit></sup><inf>i</inf></f> </math>-definability of search problems in bounded arithmetic is introduced. We specify a new machine model called the oblivious witness-oracle Turing machines. Based on work of Buss and Krajicek, we present a type-2 search problem ITERATION (ITER) that characterizes the class PLS and the exactly <math> <f> <g>S</g><sup><mit>b</mit></sup><inf>1</inf></f> </math>-definable search problems of the theory <math> <f> <rm>T<sup>1</sup><inf>2</inf></rm></f> </math>. We show that the type-2 problems of Beame et al. are not Turing reducible to ITER. The separations of the corresponding type-2 classes and the unprovability of certain combinatorial principles in a relativized version of <math> <f> <rm>T<sup>1</sup><inf>2</inf></rm></f> </math> are obtained as corollaries. We also present the first characterization of the exactly <math> <f> <g>S</g><sup><mit>b</mit></sup><inf>2</inf></f> </math>-definable search problems of <math> <f> <rm>S<sup>1</sup><inf>2</inf></rm></f> </math> and <math> <f> <rm>T<sup>1</sup><inf>2</inf></rm></f> </math>.
The assessment of a school-based intervention for the prevention of child sexual abuse

Schools across the nation have invested heavily into delivering Child Sexual Abuse Prevention (CSAP) Programs to literally millions of children. One such program, the Child Abuse Research and Education (C.A.R.E.) program, has gained acceptance in most Newfoundland schools. The benefits of this program have not been firmly established. Whether children should receive short term or longer term exposure to the programs is unclear; nor has it been established that the C.A.R.E. program is more able to equip children with primary prevention versus secondary prevention skills. A growing list of critics question whether there is any real benefit to these programs and indeed, whether they may be causing any undue harm. Two groups of children receiving either a shorter or longer term CSAP (C.A.R.E.) intervention were matched for similarity on several socio-economic and educational variables. After program completion the groups were compared on rates of knowledge of CSAP concepts, prevention skills acquisition, and disclosure rates of abuse. Results indicated no significant differences were found between the two groups respective to the level of knowledge of CSAP concepts or prevention skills. A trend (not quite significant) was found toward more disclosures of abuse from the group of children who had received a longer term CSAP program. An unexpected finding was that of a group of remedial students showing a significantly reduced rate of knowledge and skill acquisition, regardless of the length of CSAP program received. Furthermore, this same group showed a significant overgeneralization of protective strategies to previously coded safe scenarios. Future directions and recommendations for program usage are provided based on the results of these findings.
Through their eyes, experiences of abuse as perceived by persons with disabilities

The intent of this study was to explore the experience of abuse as perceived by a group of persons with disabilities. Using a heuristic life narrative approach, participant stories were generated to derive emergent themes. A semi-structured interview was conducted with each of 13 physically disabled participants (7 females, 6 males), ranging from 21 to 64 years of age. They were recruited through word of mouth and advertisements placed in residential housing centres and telephone information services created for persons with disabilities. Themes were organized into three primary categories designated as causes, constructs and consequences. Descriptions illustrated that subtle and emotional forms of abuse were experienced as common characteristics in everyday life. These forms of abuse were indicated to be represented by non-contact and contact form. Such acts were generally perceived as of a long duration, endemic in: social, familial, institutional and interpersonal constructs and detrimental to participants life's circumstances. The implications of such abuse was seen to undermine their emotional and personal integrity, personal rights and self determination. Recommendations for future study and abuse intervention have been included.
Hybrid automatic repeat request schemes using turbo codes and low-density parity check codes

Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) techniques based on turbo codes and low density parity check (LDPC) codes are presented. These codes are the most powerful known error control codes and open up the possibility of approaching channel capacity with HARQ systems. The implemented HARQ systems use a technique based on puncturing the parity bits of a low rate turbo or LDPC code. Some of these punctured bits are then transmitted after each retransmission request. Simulation results show throughput performances within 1.5 dB of channel capacity in AWGN channels and within 1.5 dB of channel capacity in fully interleaved Rayleigh fading channels.
Associative governance?, the political economy of institutional change in two Ontario city regions

This thesis analyses the distinctive process of institutional development, as it is related to the problem of economic governance in city-regions. In particular, the thesis traces the unique experience of the Waterloo and Ottawa city-regions in the development of institutional support for associative economic governance. Such institutional support systems are now said to be important in enabling cities and regions to respond to, and indeed anticipate, economic challenges via collective action and collaborative relations. The conceptual foundations of this thesis are built around the argument that institutionalist approaches in economic geography and urban and regional studies need to be complemented by closer attention to the role of politics and conflict in the process of institutions-building. The research then deploys a qualitative research methodology, complemented by descriptive statistics, archival research and analysis of documents. In the Waterloo city-region the struggle to develop associative institutions has taken the form of 'elevating' the scale of engagement from the local level to the regional level. It has also involved the restructuring of inter-institutional relations at various levels, including inter-jurisdictional, state-capital, and inter-associational relations. In Ottawa-Carleton, an institutionally-rich environment, owing primarily to the presence of the federal government, has given the region an important associational infrastructure. Regionally-originated institutions have also been an important part of associational experiments. The evidence from both case studies point to several limited forms of associationalism and to the constrained role of key institutions in linking a range of actors into collaborative frameworks. At the same time, the evidence point to considerable difficulties in developing more stable and inclusive forms of economic governance. The thesis concludes by drawing attention to issues of geographical scale, embeddedness, representation and local politics as important features of institutional change, and assesses the prospects for associative governance in city-regions that are situated in liberal political economies.
Loanwor(l)ds, delineating English in Japanese

Dove-tailing postmodern explorations of subjectivity with theories of linguistic imperialism and discussions with Japanese speakers, this study examines English loanwords within the Japanese language. I investigate Japanese speakers' (and my own) meta-understanding of loanwords. Are they "English," "Japanese," or hybrids inbetween? What do they reveal about Japanese and non-Japanese subjectivity (and how they intersect and differ)? What are the implications for larger questions of agency, identity and scholarship? This research is inspired by my experience of Japanese culture and by the insights and lacunae of scholars probing language, culture, and subjectivity. My thesis strives to be more than an isolated response to their work. The collaborative nature of this project jettisons comfortable academic habits to interrogate assumptions surrounding knowledge, language and identity. I use collage, allegory and hypertext to (1) challenge the linear premise of traditional scholarship, (2) approximate my experience of Japan, and (3) explore/depict interpretations of Japanese subjectivity.
Investigation factors that influence teacher change in the context of the impact math project

This study sought to determine the factors that influenced teacher change as intermediate Mathematics teachers implemented the new Mathematics curriculum supported by a professional development program entitled Impact Math. Insights into the process of teacher change were obtained through a qualitative case-study, in which data was collected by classroom observation and interviews with teachers. The study's findings showed that the four teachers participating in the study experienced change when their knowledge and teaching practices were supported by the four factors of time, professional development opportunities, support from policy and administrative decision makers, and availability of resources. All four factors were shown to be interrelated. The implication of this study for teacher education is that teachers can experience change and implement teaching strategies that reflect the new mathematics curriculum when they are provided with continuous, meaningful support systems. Only when teachers are well equipped with the latest knowledge and skills will the education system be ready to offer our students the ability to stay competitive in the global marketplace.
The production of food-grade protein isolates from yellow mustard seed by solvent extraction and membrane processng techniques

A processing scheme developed for the production of canola protein isolates was modified for yellow mustard. The optimized process consists of alkaline extraction of protein from MeOH/NH$\sb3$/H$\sb2$O treated hexane-defatted yellow mustard meal, isoelectric precipitation, ultrafiltration and diafiltration of the remaining solution and freeze-drying. The process was reproducible and yielded two protein isolates and a meal residue with protein recoveries of 71% and 21% respectively based on the treated defatted meal. The precipitated protein isolate had 98% protein and a bland taste and the soluble protein isolate contained 86% protein with slightly astringent taste. Both isolates were free of glucosinolates, low in phytates and very light in color. They are suitable for human consumption. The meal residue contained approximately 20% protein and was free of glucosinolates. It can be used as animal feed, or a low-grade food ingredient. The process developed here promises to be economical due to the high protein recovery.