VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Food preparation activity of women in families using food banks

A secondary analysis was undertaken to develop and apply a methodology to assess individuals' food preparation activity from dietary recalls, and to examine the relationships between food preparation and other variables of interest among a sample of 153 women in families using food banks. Food preparation was estimated from two indicative variables using a multiple regression equation developed from intensive examination of a sub-sample of reported eating occasions (time periods when foods were consumed together). The frequency of preparation from scratch and the complexity of preparation were calculated for each woman. Food preparation was positively correlated with energy intake. The complexity of food preparation, but not the frequency, was significantly associated with food security once energy intake was taken into account. Although some significant associations were observed, food preparation was not strongly linked to food group selection or nutrient intakes, once the confounding effect of energy intake was controlled for.
Process evaluation of an integrated model of discharge planning

In this study, a new, theoretical model of discharge planning for the hospitalized elderly was evaluated to determine whether it could be implemented in a hospital setting and what facilitated or challenged the implementation. The process evaluation involved four case studies conducted on three in-patient units of two acute-care hospitals in Metropolitan Toronto. Data were analyzed using the strategies of explanation-building and case-comparison. Three main study results emerged. First, the integrated model had the potential to be implemented in a hospital setting when certain conditions were in place. Facilitators to the implementation included (a) a high level of commitment of the discharge managers (DMs); (b) patients having stable medical conditions; (c) DMs familiar with the integrated approach, having offices on the in-patient unit and, working extended hours; (d) substitute decision-makers being available; and (e) discharge planning forms being included in the patient's hospital chart. The second major study finding was that use of the integrated approach to discharge planning contributed to patient satisfaction. Thirdly, the materials developed as part of the discharge planning protocol required only minor formatting modifications in order to be rendered user-friendly. In the thesis, recommendations were made to facilitate future implementations of the integrated model in other settings and for ongoing and future process evaluations.
Causation in negligence law, the problem of proving the impossible (or how to get your money without passing go)

It is fundamental for liability in negligence law that a plaintiff first shows that the negligent act of the defendant caused her injury. There are a group of cases, however, where a plaintiff has succeeded in her claim, without fulfilling this requirement, because it was impossible for her to do so. These cases are often seen as presenting a fundamental challenge to the need for proof of a causal relation in negligence law. Many attempts have been made to avoid this challenge by reference to alternative bases for identifying parties, and recognition of different forms of injury to a plaintiff. This thesis considers these cases within the accepted structure of tort law, that requires proof of a causal relation and awards compensation on an 'all or nothing' basis.
The corpuscles of Stannius contain essential elements of the renin-angiotensin system for the regulation of blood flow in freshwater North American eels, Anguilla rostrata LeSueur

These experiments examine how elements of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may modulate dorsal aortic blood flow (DABF) and caudal venous blood flow (CVBF) in a model teleost fish, the freshwater North American eel (' Anguilla rostrata' LeSueur). The experiments also examine the theory that the corpuscles of Stannius (CS) are part of the RAS in freshwater eels and that they may secrete renin. Blood flow rates were measured in the dorsal aorta (DA) and the caudal vein (CV) of free-swimming, conscious freshwater (FW) eels, using surgically implanted Doppler flow probes. The findings in conjunction with other works on freshwater eels lead to the conclusion that angiotensins act centrally or via catecholamine release from the peripheral sympathetic nervous system or chromaffin cells of the anterior head kidney to increase cardiac output (CO). Moreover, my experiments have shown that eel CS contain renin or a renin-like substance that is a component of an eel RAS. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
A study of DT-diaphorase as a prodrug-activating enzyme

DT-diaphorase (DTD) is an enzyme that acts on its substrates in a single-step two electron transfer reaction. It has a dual role both as a prodrug-activating enzyme and as a protector against carcinogenesis mediated by xenobiotics. A frequently occurring base change, a C to T transition in exon six of the DTD gene, has been associated with low to undetectable DTD activity. Also, tumor cells vary in their DTD levels, which poses a limitation for the use of drugs that rely on DTD for their chemotherapeutic effects. To test directly the effect of the base change on enzyme activity, mammalian cells were transfected with expression vectors containing DTD cDNA with a C or T nucleotide at position 609. Results indicated that this base change is a mutation in the DTD gene which results in impaired activity and reduced protein stability. The relationship between the status of the DTD nucleotide 609 allele and enzymatic activity was assessed in a panel of human fibroblast cell strains. DTD activity was, on average, 2-fold higher in cells that were homozygous for the wild-type allele compared to heterozygotes. Cells that were homozygous for the variant allele displayed low to undetectable DTD activity and trace levels of DTD protein. A unique cell strain that is heterozygous yet has low to undetectable DTD activity and protein was shown to express DTD mRNA exclusively from the variant allele. These results demonstrate that the status of the nucleotide 609 allele can, to a first approximation, predict for DTD activity and function. The possibility of using DTD in gene therapy was investigated by developing adenoviral vectors that deliver DTD to sensitize cells that are deficient in this enzyme. Infection of mitomycin C-resistant cells with an adenoviral vector that carries a minigene for wild-type DTD rendered them sensitive to this drug. The degree of sensitization depended on multiplicity of infection. These studies demonstrate the role of the C to T mutation in affecting DTD activity and function and provide "proof of principle" data for the use of DTD as an enzyme for virus-directed enzyme-prodrug therapy.
Dynamic tethering for enhanced remote control and navigation

Misaligmnents between display and control reference frames complicate task execution by loading the operator's attentional resources with mental transformations. It is thus important to maintain alignment between an operator's controls and her view of the controlled object or task space. Maximising the operator's situational awareness within this task space by providing an optimal frame of reference also simplifies task execution. Traditional rigid tethering integrates the desirable egocentric and exocentric aspects of a display by connecting the exocentric view of the task space to the telemanipulator. Dynamic tethering (a superset of rigid tethering) preserves the principle of the moving part that is violated when the rigid tether is implemented, while maintaining control-display motion compatibility. The results of this study reveal that dynamic tethering reduces the frequency of control reversals and the reaction time associated with docking task execution. At near optimal tether natural frequencies sine-wave tracking performance with a tethered interface exceeds that obtained with either traditional non-tethered or rigidly tethered displays. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Latency and G protein-sensitive heterogeneity in reconstituted cardiac muscarinic receptors, implications for co-operativity

The common view of G protein-mediated signaling is based on the notion that the G protein shuttles between the receptor on the one hand and the effector on the other, but this notion is fraught with problems and perhaps untenable. In contrast, the alternative notion of co-operativity within an oligomeric array of receptors and G proteins has been shown to account for a collection of functional properties--largely identified in binding studies--that otherwise are difficult to explain. The results of present investigation provide further evidence for the presence of co-operative interactions in the binding of agonists and antagonists to muscarinic m2 receptors. To examine the co-operative potential of m2 receptors, the binding of muscarinic: ligands was measured in purified m2 receptors in solution, after reconstitution alone or together with Go in phospholipid vesicles, and after solubilization of the reconstituted vesicles. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Adaptive Semiblind Multiuser Detection for CDMA Systems

A novel adaptive semiblind multiuser detector based on subspace tracking is proposed for CDMA systems. A comparison of blind and semiblind multiuser detectors is also presented. Blind multiuser detectors consider only the in-cell users and neglect the inter-cell interference from out-of-cell users while semiblind multiuser detectors take into account both, intra-cell and inter-cell interference. Semiblind multiuser detectors are superior to blind multiuser detectors when the codes of some users are known to a base station e.g., codes of in-cell users Vs. out-of-cell users. It is shown that using the proposed semiblind detector, a considerable improvement in the capacity of the system is achieved. Compared to the existing blind and semiblind multiuser detectors, the proposed semiblind detector exhibits faster convergence, and is more robust in the case when the system is heavily loaded. It is also computationally less expensive.
Experimental investigation of stiffness control for a robotic manipulator

Impedance control is a strategy for controlling both the position of a robotic manipulator, and the forces it exerts on its environment. Stiffness control is the simplest form of impedance control. An approach to stiffness control, using force feedback, is implemented on a 2 degree-of-freedom manipulator. The two joints are actuated by brushless d.c. motors connected to a harmonic drive gear. A wrist mounted force/torque sensor provides the measured forces and torques at the same rate as the control cycle: 500 Hertz. Experimental results demonstrate the use of force feedback for overcoming complicated friction and dynamic effects for geared manipulators. However, the effect of joint compliance limits the ability of the controller to realize the desired Cartesian stiffness. The inner loop based approach to force control is implemented for comparison with stiffness control. It relies on the position servo to reject disturbances, rather than on force feedback. However, filtering limits the bandwidth of the outer force control loop. Thus two practical approaches to force control have been demonstrated, which are suitable for implementation on manipulators using harmonic drive gears.
The strong chromatic index of graphs

A strong edge-colouring of a graph 'G' is an assignment of colours to the edges of 'G' such that every colour class is an induced matching. The minimum number of colours in such a colouring is called the strong chromatic index of 'G'. In 1985, Erdo&huml;s and Nes—etr—il conjectured that the strong chromatic index of every graph of maximum degree <math> <f> <g>D</g></f> </math> is at most <math> <f> <g>D</g><sup>2</sup><sup loc="pre"><fr><nu>5</nu><de>4</de></fr> </sup></f> </math>. In this thesis, we present a survey of known results related to strong edge-colourings, and an introduction to the probabilistic method. We will use the probabilistic method to prove that the strong chromatic index of a ' C'4-free graph (i.e., a graph which does not contain a 4-cycle as a subgraph) of maximum degree <math> <f> <g>D</g></f> </math> is at most <math> <f> &parl0;2+o<fen lp="par">1<rp post="par"></fen>&parr0;<fr><nu> <g>D</g><sup>2</sup></nu><de><rf>ln</rf><g>D</g></de></fr></f> </math>. This implies that the conjecture of Erdo&huml;s and Nes—etr—il is true for 'C'4-free graphs with large maximum degree. We will show that our bound is asymptotically the best possible, up to a constant multiple. Also, we will investigate the algorithmic aspects of the strong edge-colouring problem, and will prove that it is NP-complete even in a very restricted setting. Finally, we present a list of open problems and conjectures related to strong edge-colourings.
Hellenism and hebraism, the moral and social implications of the quarrel between science and religion in the thought of John Stuart Mill

The dissertation explores the moral and social implications of the quarrel between science and religion, through a close inquiry into the treatment of this issue by John Stuart Mill. There are several reasons for choosing Mill; one is that he investigated that issue as comprehensively and rigorously as did any of his contemporaries or immediate predecessors, another, that his treatment has the merit of being informed by a vivid, first-hand experience of what was subsequently labeled by historians the "Victorian crisis of faith." The thesis of the dissertation can be stated as follows. In Mill's view the ineluctable progress of science promises humankind complete freedom from the trammels of the old religion, but in seeking to make good it threatens to create a spiritual void which could not easily be filled; granted that Mill was an atheist or a complete skeptic, because he saw clearly this central dilemma of modernity, his was a case of ambivalent if not "reluctant skepticism." The body of the dissertation is divided into three parts. In the first part Mill's view of the usefulness of religion is expounded. The second part delves into his argument concerning the scientific support for theism, with a view to illuminating the nature and extent of the quarrel between science and religion as he construed it. The third part is a more detailed investigation of his teaching about the main moral and social implications of that conflict. The dissertation closes with a brief, tentative exploration of certain outstanding issues arising from his overall teaching about religion in the age of science. The textual focus of the dissertation is Mill's posthumously published 'Three Essays on Religion', especially "Utility of Religion" and "Theism," but reference is frequently made to other works by Mill as well as to works by other authors. All references and supplementary discussions are given in footnotes. A complete list of works cited is provided.
Validation of the PROSQOLI as an outcome measure for clinical trials in advanced hormone-resistant prostate cancer, assessment of convergent, discriminative and predictive validity with baseline data from a randomised trial

The Prostate Cancer Specific Quality of life Instrument (PROSQOLI) was designed to be an outcome measure for clinical trials in advanced hormone-resistant prostate cancer. A valid measure of health-related quality of life (HRQL) is essential in this setting. This thesis describes the validation of the PROSQOLI using baseline data from a randomised trial in which HRQL was also assessed with the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Core Quality of life Questionnaire. Convergent validity assessed with the multitrait-multimethod matrix approach, discriminative validity assessed according to conventional clinical criteria, and the ability to predict survival duration provided strong support for the validity of all PROSQOLI scales except those for family/marriage relationships and passing urine. The strength, consistency and independence of the prognostic information provided by the HRQL scales was striking. This thesis provides strong support for the cross-sectional validity of the scales assessing pain, fatigue, appetite, constipation, physical activity, mood, and overall well-being and indicates the need to modify the scales for family/marriage relationships and passing urine.
Automatic structure and fault detection of semiconductor micrograph images

As with almost all materials, semiconductors exhibit periodicity in their crystal lattice, and the surface pattern evident a the surface provides researchers with information that is useful in many experiments. Furthermore, ' Scanning Probe Microscopy', facilitates the acquisition of ' atomic resolution' images, and provides insight into the atomic lattice pattern of sample being investigated. In addition to the aforementioned lattice pattern, scanning probe microscopy techniques are capable of imaging surface impurities such as foreign atoms, vacancies or other surface defects. Yet, manually performing an analysis of semiconductor micrographs is a time consuming and boring task. Since computers are perfectly suited to perform the repetitive and tedious jobs, it is evident that a hand analysis of a micrographs is essentially a 'waste' of time. In this thesis, a high-level knowledge-band computational technique is developed which extracts the relevant elements from a semiconductor micrograph, pinpoint surface faults, and delineate the lattice pattern at the surface. (111)7x7 Silicon in the material upon which focus is placed because of its ubiquity, simplicity, and simple pattern. The system applies image processing methods such as mathematical morphology, and roundness measurement of recursively A spatial analysis which uses apriori knowledge of the makeup of (111)7x7 silicon, is then used to find parameters of the surface pattern. The results provided by this system for structure extraction are very good, with an average structural detection rate near 90%. In contrast, fault detection does not prove to be as effective giving adequate but sometimes faulty and ambiguous results. Overall, the system proves to provide a great savings in time over hand-analysis, in addition to increasing the informational content of the micrograph through the overlaying of data related to the material's surface structure.
Shear reinforcement for large lightly reinforced concrete members

To obtain experimental data about the shear capacity of very large concrete members, four tests involving 2m deep beams, which are believed to be the largest beam-type specimens tested in North America, were conducted. The four sections studied contained various amounts of shear reinforcement. The following conclusions were arrived at from this study. (1) The specimen not containing transverse reinforcement failed at a shear which was only 47% of the failure load predicted by the shear provisions of the current ACI Building Code. (2) Providing a small amount of shear reinforcement greatly enhanced the response of the beams in terms of shear capacity and ductility. For the same total amount of stirrups the shear capacity increased as the spacing of transverse reinforcement decreased. (3) The procedures in the CSA code based on The Modified Compression Field Theory yield generally good estimates of failure for all of the specimens.
Investigation of cytochromes P450 in a human liver bank

In microsomes from a collection of 48 human livers (obtained as remnants from transplanted livers), we found that the activity of 6$\beta$-hydroxylation of testosterone was not normally distributed, possibly reflecting a polymorphism in CYP3A4, the most abundant cytochrome P450 enzyme in human liver. We selected 2 livers with low activity, 2 livers with intermediate activity and 2 livers with high activity for a detailed investigation of the basis of the variation in CYP3A4 activity. From kinetic analyses, a 36-fold range of variation in 6$\beta$-hydroxylation of testosterone was related to differences in V$\sb{\rm max}$; the K$\sb{\rm m}$ varied less than 2-fold. The content of other components in the P450 catalytic cycle (NADPH cytochrome P450 reductase and cytochrome b5) were similar among all livers regardless of their 6$\beta$-hydroxylation activity. By immunoblotting we found that one of the livers with lowest 6$\beta$-hydroxylation activity had low amounts of CYP3A4 protein; however, another liver with low activity had a CYP3A4 protein level comparable to that in livers with intermediate activity or high activity. The CYP3A4 protein level varied 80-fold among the six livers. CYP3A5 immunoreactive protein was present in microsomes from all 6 livers and the level of CYP3A5 was moderately correlated (r = 0.73) with the level of CYP3A4 protein. By dividing V$\sb{\rm max}$ by the amount of CYP3A4 protein, the turnover number k$\sb{\rm cat}$ was obtained and found to vary about 10-fold. We further investigated all 48 livers and found good correlation between CYP3A4 protein level and V$\sb{\rm max}$ of 6$\beta$-hydroxylation of testosterone (r = 0.82) or activity at single substrate concentration (r = 0.9). CYP3A4 mRNA correlated significantly (r = 0.54, p $<$ 0.01) with CYP3A4 protein levels. Probit and NTV plots of CYP3A4 protein exhibit non-normal distribution similar to that for 6$\beta$-hydroxylation of testosterone. These data suggest the possibility of polymorphism in the regulation of human CYP3A4 expression.
SH3 binding domains in the dopamine D¦3 receptor

The dopamine D3 receptor is a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) and belongs to the family of D2-like receptors. Like many other catecholaminergic receptors, the dopamine D3 receptor contains putative SH3 binding motifs, which are characterized by PXYP motifs, within the N- and C-terminal regions of its third cytoplasmic loop. Here it is demonstrated that the D3 receptor is capable of interacting with SH3 domain-containing proteins 'in vitro' including the SH2-SH3 adapter protein Grb2 (Kd &cong; 8 [mu]M. Furthermore, the region of interaction is located in the third cytoplasmic loop. Disruption of the PXXP motifs does not significantly diminish SH3 binding, suggesting that its SH3 interactions may not occur through classic PXXP containing sequences. Pharmacological characterization of HA-epitope tagged wild-type and mutant D3 receptors in CHO-K1 cells using [N-methyl-3H] YM-09151-2 (nemonapride) revealed altered binding, including G protein-coupling as measured by Gpp[NH]p. Here, we also report the binding of the ß1-adrenergic and M4 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors to several SH3 domains. This suggests that SH3-protein interactions may form an integral part of GPCR functioning.
A study of episodes of emotion in daily life using the experience sampling method

Structured diaries of incidents of emotion were collected from 65 participants using the experience sampling method. Participants carried on their persons an electronic organizer which beeped randomly throughout the day, prompting them to complete an emotion diary, thrice daily for a three-day period. This method tended to capture incidents of emotion that were less intense and of longer durations than those reported by previous researchers. Gender differences were observed in that women tended to experience both positive and negative emotion more intensely than men. Thoughts and bodily sensations were more frequently associated with negative emotions. Sixty per cent of emotion episodes were predicted correctly from the goal-relevant events that elicited them. With respect to the relationship between mood and emotion, this study found that anxious participants experienced both positive and negative emotion for longer durations than non-anxious participants. However, anxious participants did not experience more intense and more frequent episodes of negative emotion than non-anxious participants.