VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Regulation of myometrial connexin 43 expression during late pregnancy

The onset of labour is a complex process involving the stimulation of uterine contractions and the loss of uterine quiescence. At the end of pregnancy there is a transition in the contractile characteristics of the myometrium from an unresponsive, poorly co-ordinated and inexcitable state to a highly co-ordinated, responsive and contractile state. This transition has been shown to involve an increase in the expression of a set of contraction associated proteins (CAPs) including connexin 43 (Cx43) and the oxytocin receptor. I characterised the expression of activator protein-1 (AP-1) transcription factors in pregnant rat myometrium and hypothesised that these proteins regulate the expression of Cx43 in the myometrium. An increase in the levels of c-fos, fra-1, fra-2, fosB and junB mRNA was detected with the onset labour, blocked by progesterone and only occurred in the gravid horn of pregnant rats suggesting that the expression of these genes is regulated by both endocrine and mechanical factors. An in vitro stretch system revealed that several AP-1 genes are positively regulated by mechanical forces and negatively regulated by progesterone in isolated smooth muscle cells. I have used an in vitro transfection system to characterise the contribution of each AP-1 dimer to the transcriptional activity of a Cx43 promoter construct. Fos/Jun dimers were stimulatory whereas Jun/Jun dimers had little effect on transcriptional activity. AP-1 proteins displayed variable activities depending on the particular Fos and Jun partner, with Fra-2/JunB dimers conferring the greatest activity. A two base pair mutation of the proximal AP-1 consensus sequence reduced the response of the Cx43 promoter region to transfection of Fos/Jun dimers indicating this site is required for AP-1 induction of Cx43 expression. These data suggest that the increased expression of members of the Fos family prior to the onset of labour contribute to the enhanced expression of Cx43. In addition the myometrial relaxant parathyroid hormone related protein (PTHrP) was identified as a novel inhibitor of CAP gene expression. Loss of this inhibition coincides with the onset of labour suggesting it is of critical importance in the transition of the myometrium from the pregnant to the labour state.
Acoustic, fluid-structure and decoupled seismic analysis of piping systems

A multi-disciplinary review of the current procedures used for the dynamic analysis of the piping system identified shortcomings in three areas: (i) finite element formulation for concentric acoustic damping, (ii) fluid-structure interaction at a control valve, and (iii) decoupled seismic analysis. Numerical studies were performed in each of these areas to illustrate the shortcomings and to develop techniques to overcome the shortcomings. The current formulation in the industry standard finite element packages (ABAQUS, 2002, and ANSYS, 2002) for concentrated acoustic damping is inadequate for transient acoustic analysis. It gives high acoustic damping at anti-node locations of the pressure modeshapes, while the actual measurements indicate that the damping is most effective at the pressure node locations. Two new formulations based on pressure and fluid velocity were developed to properly model the concentric acoustic damping for transient conditions. These formulations were benchmarked against experimental results. A study of a self-excited vibration problem in a nuclear station was performed to identify the self-excited vibration mechanism. A coupled fluid-structural dynamic model developed to perform a numerical simulation of the valve closing transient. The simulation indicated that there is a positive feedback between valve motion and the hydraulic forces acting on the valve. This feedback introduces a negative hydraulic stiffness on the structural system and negative damping in the fluid system. An analytical study of the negative damping identified the range of operating parameters with unstable valve behaviour. A procedure to calculate the steady-state limit cycle response was also presented and benchmarked against test results. The existing seismic decoupling criteria used to assess suitability of performing decoupled seismic analysis was found to be unacceptable for the case of finely tuned systems when the coupling location was close to the node location of the primary system mode. At this location, due to localization of the energy in the piping upstream of the coupling location, the system response increases upstream of the coupling location and decreases downstream of the coupling location. The mechanism identified was illustrated using an experiment and a numerical example. A new criterion was developed that evaluates the energy localization effect.
The design of a collaborative family history documentation and reminiscence tool

Well-designed technology can be used to improve the quality of life and possibly even assist with the treatment of cognitive disabilities. We present experiences and insights into designing a family history and reminiscence tool for older age groups. Many reminiscence systems have been designed and evaluated, however there is currently no tool available that allows geographically distributed family members to collaborate to create a detailed, centralized, easily accessible family history that can be used to assist reminiscence. By engaging a group of seniors in a participatory design process, we developed a website that allows a group of people to collectively author family history content and displays the resulting information in a format that is conducive to reminiscence activities. An evaluation of the resulting software revealed that users were able to successfully use the website with minimal problems and they consistently appreciated the features defined by our participatory design group.
Characterization of interfacial degradation in adhesive joints using EMAT's

An ultrasonic technique utilizing horizontally polarized shear (SH) waves was modeled and developed to characterize early stages of interfacial degradation damage in adhesive joints. Electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMAT's) were used to implement the technique. Accelerated degradation experiments under controlled laboratory conditions were performed on adhesive joints. Prototype EMAT's capable of generating and receiving SH waves were designed, constructed and optimized to produce the maximum ultrasonic echo signals possible. The SH EMAT's and conventional piezo-electric transducers were utilized to perform ultrasonic C-scans on degraded joints. A finite element model for ultrasonic SH wave propagation in adhesive joint was developed. The numerical model was used to aid the design and experimental evaluation of the inspection technique. Interfacial damage effects were modeled in the wave propagation program. An approximate linear relationship between the percentage of damaged interfacial area and reflected SH wave amplitude was found. The scan results revealed approximately twice the sensitivity of SH waves compared to that for P and SV waves to both early and late stages of the joint's interfacial degradation. However, P waves exhibited higher spatial resolution for detecting individual water patches compared to SH and SV waves. SV waves were found to be the most sensitive wave mode to surface distortions on the adhrend's surface.
Fifth-order Raman spectroscopy: Liquid carbon disulfide and liquid benzene

Fifth-order Raman spectroscopy has the potential to enable chemists to directly probe the intermolecular potential between molecules within the liquid state. Understanding the liquid state has been a long standing goal in physical chemistry as most chemical and biological processes occur in solution. This new spectroscopy has the capacity to examine these low-frequency intermolecular modes and gives direct access to the many body potential of liquids. Effectively this spectroscopy provides a direct window on the enharmonic motions of molecules that distinguish the dynamics of the liquid state. The observable in this experiment provides that most rigid test of potentials used to model liquids and as such provides an important new tool for arriving at a first-principles treatment of liquids. The experiment is complicated by the extremely small signals associated with the Raman processes probing the intermolecular frequency correlations. A new approach based on diffractive optics has solved the last remaining obstacles to the successful implementation of this spectroscopy. The heterodyned fifth-order Raman response of liquid CS2 and liquid benzene have been measured and characterized by specifically exploiting the passive-phase stabilization provided through the use of diffractive optics. The two liquids are compared and contrasted with each other and various recent theoretical results. The measurement of the low-frequency Raman two-time delay correlation function indicates the intermolecular modes of both liquids to be primarily homogeneously broadened and that the liquid loses its nuclear rephasing ability very rapidly. This rapid loss of nuclear correlations indicates a lack of modal character in the low-frequency motions of liquid CS2 and benzene.
Science and social context: the regulation of recombinant bovine growth hormone (rbGH) in the United States and Canada, 1982-1998

This dissertation explores the relationship between science and public policy in the case of recombinant bovine growth hormone (rbGH), a genetically-engineered drug which increases milk yield in cows. The product was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration in 1993; it has not been approved in Canada. In both countries, the debate over the product's safety has been intensely controversial. The dissertation argues that problems in the relationship between science and policy arise at the point when judgements are made about the scientific evidence. Although there was agreement about the scientific evidence across institutions, the interpretation of that evidence diverged depending on the context from which it was viewed. The dissertation uses Helen Longino's concept of contextual empiricism to explain the varying outcomes in different settings. Scientists' conception of the kind of evidence required to make a judgement about product safety, and their interpretation of that evidence, was guided by the background assumptions they brought to it. These assumptions were context-dependent, however, with the result that policy responses differed between the U.S. and Canada, and the assumptions themselves were the subject of conflict in both countries. The difference in the U.S./Canadian response is the most obvious example of a contrast in the assessment of the drug's introduction. The dissertation also examines differing interpretations between the academic, corporate, and regulatory settings in order to elucidate the science and policy relationship. The dissertation contributes to the literature on science and public policy by examining the process by which scientists make sense of empirical evidence. It argues for the relevance of the concept of contextual empiricism for understanding the science-policy relationship. It has attempted a theoretical synthesis, drawing on concepts from the history and philosophy of science and political economy to better understand this relationship. The concept of contextual empiricism accounts for both the degree of consensus about the evidence, and the degree of divergence in its interpretation, between institutions and jurisdictions.
Towards the modelling of blast loads on structures

This research examines the physics behind blast waves and their interaction with structures. A computer program, VecTor-Blast, is developed based on the blast wave characteristics of TNT. Energy methods are used to scale TNT properties to other explosives. VecTor-Blast calculates the pressure-time history at specified points on a 3-dimensional cuboid structure. It has been recommended that future expansion of VecTor-Blast include an improvement in the calculations involved in diffraction and that an experimental program be developed to produce more data. The performance of the numerical tool was verified with experimental data. Verification showed that VecTor-Blast is capable of accurately calculating pressure-time histories on the front and rear faces of the structure. Performance on the sides of the structure was shown to be highly conservative due to an over-simplification of diffractive effects. Complex wave phenomena such as Mach stem formation could not be adequately tested due to limitations in available data.
Pro-Israelism as a component of Jewish identification: the case of the organized Jewish community in Canada during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon

The response of the organized Jewish community in Canada to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon serves as an historical case study concerning the impact of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon on the relationship between the pro-Israelism phenomenon and Jewish identification. Israel advocacy is presented in this study as a subconcept of the pro-Israelism phenomenon, while pro-Israelism is defined as one expression of the metaconcept of Jewish identification. This study examines the key issues related to the expression of Jewish identification in Canada and the Canadian Jewish community's relationship with Israel. Regarding the expression of pro-Israelism, the study reveals that the Israeli invasion of Lebanon was a turning point in the relationship between Israel and Canadian Jewry. An increasing number of Jewish leaders felt that their commitment to Israel could no longer remain unconditional. The “united front,” which for many years was so characteristic of Canadian Jewish sentiment towards Israel, began to crumble. With respect to the activities and effectiveness of the Jewish foreign policy lobby, this study concluded that as long as Canada continues to pursue an “even-handed” Middle East policy, the Jewish lobby will have a very difficult time in successfully promoting pro-Israelism. The use of primary sources, never before accessible for the purpose of academic research; the exposure of the methods and strategies used by the Jewish foreign policy lobby in Ottawa and the assessment of the effectiveness of the Canada-Israel Committee as a foreign policy lobby, all contribute in presenting a unique perspective on the dynamics at work in the organized Jewish community.
Modern heartbreak and new exemplars: Rousseau, Nietzsche and the politics of the modern soul

Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Friedrich Nietzsche responded to modern heartbreak, the crisis of love that followed the popularization of modern science. Science had cut man loose from traditional authorities, offering political liberty and the vertigo of spiritual rootlessness. It cast aspersions on love of any object beyond the senses and beyond the self, while proving incapable of quickening either society or souls. Rousseau and Nietzsche sought to effect these dynamics by offering new ways of being true and of loving, concentrating on the two activities most important to the Christian tradition even while attempting to overcome that tradition. Both tried to revitalize an understanding of philosophy as a way of life rather than a mode of argumentation, even while they offered different ethical prescriptions. Rousseau issued a call to be sincere and beneficent; Nietzsche, a call to be honest and overcome pity. Nietzsche's psychic ideal consisted of a never-ending cycle of plenitude and squandering. Although some interpreters have stressed only one of these two psychic moments, I argue Nietzsche combines both, uniting self-discipline and a commitment to dispersal and plurality. While many interpreters have stressed the role of psychic wholeness in Rousseau's thought, I point to the role of psychic effervescence, an ideal that comes to the fore in his autobiographies. Rousseau made rhetorical use of wholeness, but only to control the effervescence of the sociable soul. Neither sought to "solve" the problem of modern heartbreak. Rousseau thought it would always be with us, while Nietzsche believed it a necessary reminder that all was not well with modern life. Both presented psychic dynamics suggesting humans should learn to live with heartbreak rather than to attempt to abolish it. In their autobiographical work, Rousseau and Nietzsche turned to the soul for a standard to guide modern human life. Each discovered a psychic dynamic that characterized the flourishing soul, and each offered their reader a number of 'spiritual practices' to help them develop healthy souls. If the soul could not be oriented by some public object of love, it could be saved from deepest heartache by being led to approximate a given dynamic.
Work and agency in an autonomous women's knowledge centre

"This study examined the meaning of the work of collecting sources for knowledge in an autonomous women's knowledge centre (AWKC). By developing a methodology for disclosing important aspects of the actual process of collecting, the aim was to identify factors in the process which contributed to shaping its meaning, and hence account for the agency of collecting. A case study was carried out in a single AWKC, and the data collected during this case study, partly through observation, and partly through interviews with 9 workers at the centre, supported the development of the methodology. An analysis of this data indicated that the key point of interest was the disturbance which occurred in that step of the process which involved the actual selection of the material for integration into the collection; further analysis of this disturbance disclosed it as a kind of ontological negotiation which required a decision to resolve. By applying a set of agential skills, it was possible to see how the skills needed to make this decision could vary, hence accounting for the variation of meaning which this particular work process in fact has, in different settings. This leads to the conclusion that the quality of the meaning of collecting sources for knowledge depends on the agential skills of the person doing the actual collecting, and how these skills are developed and encouraged. This study has direct implications for understanding and improving the work situation in autonomous women's knowledge centres, as well as in conventional archives. It also has implications for research both into the nature of collecting, and in the area of understanding social aspects of work processes. More importantly, however, it provides an initial basis for further exploration of the collecting of sources for knowledge, since it is now possible to see how this kind of activity is necessary for life itself."--Abstract.

Keywords: Knowledge management, Germany
Women, Information services
Closing time, men, identity, vocation and the end of work: a stage play as a representation of lives

In this research I explore the careers of 11 men, chosen from among five different vocations, as they near retirement. Each of the 11 has pursued that vocation for most of his adult life. Two are bankers, two police officers, two university professors, three surgeons, and two trade union executives. By most measures, each would be considered successful and psychologically and financially secure. Through the lens of this life-history, arts-informed inquiry, each man regards his career and its impending conclusion within the context of his unique personal and vocational experience. Each acknowledges and has a particular view of his vocational culture. Each has a sense of his own accomplishments and takes considerable pride in them. Equally, each recites the late-life litany of goals un-met, paths not taken, options un-explored, opportunities squandered, and possibilities un-realized. Notwithstanding, and as retirement looms, each is satisfied with his career. The assertions that work defines men, and that men in turn define themselves by their vocation more than by their other roles, are supported by all 11 research participants. As well, their individual personalities seem to accord with the stereotypes for their individual occupations, but it is not clear whether this is by coincidence or design. Only one man has deliberately chosen his vocation. All tend to attribute their success more to inherent ability and hard work than to vocational learning. The participants seem un-preoccupied by and seldom raise issues of aging, health, or even their other, personal, clearly secondary, lives and roles. The expectation that men at the end of successful, life-long careers might have begun seriously to reflect on their careers and what they might want to do in retirement, is not borne out. Only one of them has done any retirement planning, and there are no programs within any of their vocational institutions to prepare them for this life-stage. In its representational form, this text is an arts-informed inquiry in that the research findings are presented as the script for a stage play, with the life-stories of five of the participants--one from each of the five vocational groups--intersecting. In real life, the five participants in this representation--interviewed separately and in confidence--never meet. But, across a table, in an imagined restaurant, through the fictive device of a play constructed largely from their own words, they and the researcher meet and talk and debate. The play, a lively conversation about career and the end of career, is called, "Closing Time." Included as part of this thesis is a 45-minute compact disc comprising seven audio-recorded excerpts from the play as performed by five professional actors and the researcher.
Colour formation in pulp and paper wastewaters during biological treatment

Wastewater colour is of concern in the pulp and paper industry as regulations place strict limits on wastewater quality and aesthetic appeal. In some treatment systems increases in colour occur, meaning that maximum daily limits are exceeded and mills may fail discharge standards. This study specifically addressed the colour formation issue for the first time. A multi-site industrial survey confirmed previous anecdotal evidence that colour formation of up to 40% occurs in whole mill effluents treated using aerated stabilisation basins. In-depth field studies of a specific treatment system showed that colour formation was initiated in low dissolved oxygen zones. The importance of biological anaerobic activity was confirmed using continuous and batch reactors, where colour formation was shown to be correlated to oxygen availability. Batch studies showed that in-mill wastewaters high in lignin-derived material, such as bleaching or thermomechanical pulping effluents had greater colour forming potential. Wastewaters low in lignin, such as papermachine effluents, showed less colour forming potential. Combinations of effluents with high and low colour forming potential led to greater colour increases than predicted from the individual effluents alone. Fractionation of pulp bleaching wastewaters based on molecular weight showed that colour formation occurs in high molecular mass (HMM) material. Absence of HMM material effectively removed the potential for colour increases during biological treatment. Previously reported mechanisms ascribing colour formation to reactions between anaerobically produced monomers were not supported experimentally. Reactions between such monomers and HMM also did not produce colour increases. Overall, this study of colour behaviour in these complex systems has presented complex challenges. Combining fundamental studies on colour function and behaviour with laboratory assay-directed studies and in-mill assessments will assist the industry in identifying realistic colour management strategies that provide overall environmental benefits to the sector. Studies on fractionated bleaching wastewaters showed HMM acted as an electron acceptor for bacterial growth and could increase its colour through structural changes, such as the formation of quinonoid chromophores. Increases in colour were inhibited when electron acceptors of greater energy than HMM were present. Colour increases also correlated well with the availability and removal of suitable electron donor material.