VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Naval engagements, patriotism, cultural politics, and the Royal Navy, 1793-1815

This thesis examines the place occupied by the royal navy in British culture during the wars of 1793-1815 with Revolutionary and Napoleonic France It explores the manner in which images of the navy operated in domestic British culture, and relates their significance to larger dynamics within late eighteenth and early nineteenth century society and political culture. Chapter one is an introduction, which justifies the topic in light of recent writing on British national identity in the period, outlines the sources employed, and introduces necessary terms and concepts. Chapter two investigates the cultural politics of the first major naval engagement of the war, Lord Howe's victory over the French fleet on May 29-June 1, 1794. It traces the attempt made by partisan interests to capitalise upon the naval victory. Chapter three considers the naval mutinies of 1797 and examines their effect on elite perceptions of the navy's ability to function as an effective national symbol. As it was closely followed by Admiral Duncan's victory over the Dutch fleet off Camperdown on October 11, 1797, the manner in which the celebrations for his victory became caught up in a project of national and naval rehabilitation is addressed. Chapter four explores the social and cultural dynamics that were part and parcel of patriotic activity for contemporaries. It examines a range of efforts made, and projects launched, to commemorate and acknowledge naval superiority in the years around the battle of the Nile (August 1, 1798). Admiral Horatio Nelson--the most celebrated naval hero in Britain's history--is the focus of the fifth chapter. It traces the development of his public image, locating it--to a degree that has never been before suggested--in its relationship to some of the manifest social tensions of the period. Chapter six considers the parliamentary career of Lord Cochrane MP, and explores the manner in which he was able to exploit naval symbols and associations in the radical political cause. The thesis concludes by making a revisionist assessment of current interpretations of national identity in the period, arguing that significant class and political tensions have been ignored.
Differential requirement for the mitochondrial apoptosis-inducing factor in apoptotic pathways

A family of cysteine proteases (caspases) form the core machinery of programmed cell death (PCD) in mammals. However, in certain contexts, cell death proceeds normally in the absence of caspase function, suggesting that there exist caspase-independent pathways of PCD. Recently, a novel death effector called apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) was cloned and shown in cell lines to induce hallmarks of PCD independent of caspases. To explore the physiological role of AIF, I disrupted the mouse 'aif' gene in embryonic stem cells using gene targeting. I show that AIF is required for cell death in response to serum withdrawal, but not to DNA damage or inhibition of kinases. Moreover, in response to oxidative stress, AIF and caspases function redundantly to induce cell death. These results provide the first genetic evidence for a caspase-independent pathway of PCD. Furthermore, they support a model whereby distinct death stimuli trigger distinct effector pathways of cell death.
Poly(ferrocenyldimethylsilane)-b-Poly(dimethylsiloxane) micelles, morphology control through composition variation

In selective solvents, block copolymers are known to form colloidal aggregates (micelles) with different morphologies, having a compact core of insoluble block surrounded by a corona composed of a soluble block, which is highly swollen by the solvent. Variation of the overall polymer length, the relative block sizes, and the structure affects the size and form of the self-assembled architectures. Poly(ferrocenyldimethylsilane)-'b'-Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PFS-'b'-PDMS) micelles have been found to have an iron-rich, potentially semiconductive core of PFS, surrounded by an insulating sheath (corona) of PDMS. Dissolution in hexane (a good solvent for the inorganic PDMS block, but a precipitant for the PFS) resulted in the formation of block copolymer micelles of different morphologies, depending on the length of the PFS core. The shape, size, and internal structure of the block copolymer micelles were characterized by dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy.
All-optical signal processing and packet forwarding using nonmonotonic intensity transfer characteristics

The work identifies, for the first time, the minimum nonlinear device behaviour necessary to enable complex, integrated optical signal-processing designs providing sampling, adjustable gain control, subtraction, and packet forwarding. It proposes an idealized device behaviour, discusses devices that may provide this behaviour, and analyzes the relationship between device nonideality and system-level performance. It is shown that in an amplification-free design space, the device used in digital designs must have a limiting intensity value greater than the logical "high". This requirement determines the highest acheivable value of signal to crosstalk ratio for the packet forwarder design, 28 dB for 1.7 dB/cm device losses. Optical bias control within -17 dB is necessary for the adjustable gain control system, and a small change of device parameters necessitates a complete design reoptimization. The subtractor design is seen to be resilient to bias fluctuations as the effect of common fluctuations are cancelled out.
Recruitment, socialization, and accountability of administrators in two school districts

The primary purpose of this study was to describe and compare the leadership succession plans currently in place in two school districts in Ontario. Due to the mass retirements of school administrators and the impending shortage of qualified candidates with experience to move into these positions school districts are faced with the challenge of attracting and preparing candidates for the administrator role. In addition the school districts need to ensure that practicing administrators are assisted with their professional development in renewing practices and policies that meet the demands of the changing role. The conceptual framework of this investigation focused on succession planning, recruitment and selection of candidates as well as the socialization process of school administrators. This focus was primarily based on essential knowledge, skills and attitudes needed by school administrators for effective leadership and how this leadership development is one response to meeting the demands of the current accountability system. This qualitative study encompassed 44 on-site visits. There were 20 visits to District A (seven interview visits and 13 observation visits) and 24 visits to District B (seven interview visits and 17 observation visits) over a period of eight months for the school year 2000-2001. The data collection was guided by a series of intensive semi-structured interviews with district office personnel (Directors, Superintendents, Educational Officers) and focus group interviews with candidates (aspiring to be administrators) and school administrators (Principals and Vice-Principals, new and veteran) across both sites. There were a total of 43 participants. A record of written field notes and dictated observations on the formal and informal exchanges and interactions among the participants as well as a review of pertinent documents were used in the analysis. The findings are presented in two case studies in both narrative and tabular form. The case studies were also cross-analyzed to determine significant similarities and variations in succession planning strategies and priorities across both districts. Many of the findings were tied to the context of each district. The findings of this study revealed a picture of the leadership succession planning processes and structures that two school districts currently have in place for the preparation of candidates to school administrator positions. In addition, it described the renewal processes for practicing school vice-principals and principals that help them prepare for their changing roles. The overall findings showed that school districts need to consider a leadership succession planning model that includes four aspects as they pursue leadership succession planning: principles and structure (philosophy, organization, and responsibility) for leadership succession planning; recruitment and selection; socialization; and accountability.
The impact of density: The importance of non-linearity, interaction, and selection on flight and fight responses

The common conception is that crowding has a harmful effect on people's social behaviour. However, studies which have attempted to empirically demonstrate such a relationship have reached very inconsistent conclusions. The major premise of this thesis is that the approach taken to testing density effects in the current literature suffers from several fundamental flaws. The problem involves four key aspects with regard to the way crowding effects are modeled. The first concerns the failure of most past research on density to explicitly test for the possibility that the relationship of density to various outcomes is due to a self-selection of individuals into particular types of housing. The second concerns the notion that the relationship of density to behaviour is non-linear, where both low and high levels of crowding have a negative impact on social behaviour. The third addresses the possibility that the effects of household density are conditional on other levels of density such as building and neighborhood density. The fourth concerns the idea that men and women adapt to crowded situations differently. This thesis takes an approach to studying density which takes into account all of these issues in examining the effects of density on withdrawn and aggressive behaviour among a sample of Toronto residents. The findings provide strong support the argument that an accurate examination of density effects requires incorporating all four of these issues. In addition, this thesis argues and tests for the possibility that the effects of crowding are exacerbated by low levels of perceived control. The results indicate that individuals with low perceived control are much more negatively affected by crowding than those with high perceived control. Finally, the findings of this thesis indicate that, unlike their conceptualization in past research, aggression and withdrawal are not mutually exclusive responses to exposure to high density. Rather, a single individual may aggress as well as withdraw in crowded situations. The implications of these findings with respect to theory, policy, and future research are discussed.
Fertility control and the ecological consequences of managing Northern wolf populations

I hypothesized that sterilization would not alter basic wolf behaviour. I studied the behaviour of 17 surgically sterilized wolves from 7 small wolf packs. Sterilized wolves maintained existing pair bonds, defended their original territories, and exhibited denning behaviour. I constructed a simulation model to predict the long term ecological effects of sterilizing a wolf population. The model simulates lethal wolf control, wolf fertility control, human harvest of ungulates, and stochastic weather variation. Fertility control can augment rates of moose and caribou population increase, but lethal control is required to initiate the recovery of a critically small caribou herd. Dall sheep populations do not obviously benefit from wolf management. All prey populations are sensitive to weather variability and constant levels of harvest. The results of the short term behaviour study and the long term model simulations suggest that fertility control may be an effective way to manage wolf populations.
What is the best comorbidity index for retrospective survival studies in head and neck oncology?

Comorbidities are diseases or conditions that co-exist with a disease of interest. The importance of comorbidities is that they alter treatments, change resource utilization and confound the results of treatment survival analysis. The objective of this study was to determine the best comorbidity index to use in survival analysis of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the Head and Neck. Five validated indexes, with very different methodologies, including the Charlson Index, the Cumulative Illness Rating Scale, the Kaplan-Feinstein Classification, the Index of Co-existent Disease, and the Chronic Disease Scale were critically reviewed and then tested. Data from 379 unselected consecutive patients from the Kingston Regional Cancer Center with complete 3 year follow-up were used. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox Proportional Hazards Regression were used to stratify patients into three levels of increasing severity of comorbidity for each index The Kaplan-Feinstein Classification was the most successful in stratifying patients in this population.
Implementation into DIVIMP of a drift-kinetic model derived from the Fokker-Planck equation to examine the parallel-to-B velocity component of impurity ions in divertor-Tokamak plasmas

Dirk Reiser's drift-kinetic (DK) model is compared to the existing fluid approximation (FA) model of the DIVIMP (DIVertor IMPurity) algorithm. The DK model provides a more general equation of impurity ion transport by accounting for the decrease in Coulomb collision cross-sections with increasing relative speed of approaching ions. The FA model is shown to be an approximation of the DK model at low relative speeds. Model comparisons are conducted for carbon ions in strong and weak collisional plasmas using (1) linear temperature and velocity gradients and (2) the Scrape-Off-Layer (SOL) options 12 and 13 of DIVIMP. The steep gradients of weak collisionality were discovered to invalidate the DK model. For strong collisionality with impurities initially at rest both models show no divertor leakage, however, when initial impurity velocities are high the FA model overestimates the Coulomb effects of friction and velocity diffusion and again prevents any upstream leakage of impurities.
Social acceptance of Children with developmental handicaps in integrated daycamps

Service providers have become increasingly concerned with the quality of life of persons who have a developmental handicap. Many settings in which integration efforts are being made remain unresearched with respect to this issue. The social acceptance of peers is known to foster many social adjustment benefits. This study examines the social acceptance of children with developmental handicaps in integrated daycamp settings. Multiple measures revealed an overall picture of low social acceptance of campers who had developmental handicaps. Individual differences in levels of acceptance of these children was largely explained by differing social skill competencies, the presence of difficult to manage behaviour, and setting variables. Acceptance of children with developmental handicaps in camp settings appeared to more closely resemble tolerance than the full unconditional acceptance which leads to the establishment of more enduring social bonds. Strategies for intervention which could improve the social acceptance of these children are discussed.
One-leg hop for distance in the anterior cruciate ligament deficient population, diagnostic ability and determinants of performance

'Purpose'. To assess the impact that differences in inherent athletic ability (hop distance on the non-injured limb) has on the diagnostic validity of the hop index of the OLHD in assessing ACL injuries. To explore specific determinants of the OLHD and its association with perceived disability. 'Methods'. OLHD, muscular function, confidence in landing and Mohtadi's ACL-QOL questionnaire were evaluated in ten males with an isolated ACL tear and nine gender and age-matched Controls. 'Conclusions'. The distance hopped on the non-injured limb is a critical factor in the sensitivity of the hop index in the ACLD population. Transforming (log10) the hop distance scores to minimize the arithmetic variation between the proportional differences improves the sensitivity of the hop index. A decline in muscle function was associated with a decline in the ability to hop on the ACLD limb. Confidence and perceived disability were not associated with OLHD performance.
Structure-function studies of the human arylamine N-acetyltransferases

The human arylamine 'N'-acetyltransferases NAT1 and NAT2 are cytosolic enzymes that catalyze the acetyl coenzyme A-dependent ' N'- and 'O'-acetylation of primary arylamine and hydrazine xenobiotics and their hydroxylamine metabolites. Despite the high degree of amino acid sequence identity between the 290 amino acid human drug metabolizing NAT1 and NAT2 isozymes (81%), they exhibit marked differences in their patterns of kinetic selectivity. Amino acid residues 125 and 127 are located in a highly conserved region (aa 107-148) that has been demonstrated to impart NAT kinetic selectivity (Dupret et al., 1994). Residue 125 is an important determinant of NAT2-type substrate selectivity since the replacement of the NAT1 Phe 125 residue with the complementary NAT2 Ser125 residue generated a 220-fold decrease in the K'm' value for the NAT2-selective substrate SMZ (Goodfellow et al., 2000). A detailed mutagenesis strategy together with a panel of acceptor amine substrates were used to assess whether the size or hydrogen bonding capabilities of position 125 impart NAT2-type substrate selectivity. Results of the kinetic analyses indicate that increases in the amino acid side-chain volume at position 125 were directly associated with decreases in NAT2-type kinetic selectivity. Alternatively, modifications at position 127 investigated the proposed role of a charge interaction between the positively charged guanidinium group of Arg127 and the negatively charged 'para'-carboxylate group of the NAT1-selective substrates in mediating NAT1-type substrate specificity. Overall, these studies demonstrated that a positive charge was a necessary element for the high substrate affinity of these NAT1 proteins for the NAT1-selective substrates. All of the NAT1 mutants, except R127 [right arrow] D and R127 [right arrow] E, had cofactor binding characteristics that were comparable to wild-type NAT1.
The short-term effect of a rollator on functional exercise capacity in individuals with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

'Purpose'. This study was conducted to examine the effect of a rollator on functional exercise capacity in individuals with severe COPD and to determine which individuals would benefit most from using a rollator. ' Methods'. 40 subjects were studied on two separate days in the same week. Two six-minute walk tests (6MWTs) were performed on each day. One 6MWT was performed unaided and the other using a rollator, with the order of the test randomized on the first day and reversed on the second. 'Results '. There was a significant reduction in modified Borg rating of dyspnea (p < 0.001) and duration of rest (p = 0.001) with use of the rollator. For subjects who walked less than 300 meters unaided, there was also a significant improvement in distance walked (p = 0.02). Requirement of a rest during the unaided 6MWT was the only significant predictor variable for improvement in functional exercise capacity with use of the rollator (p < 0.005). ' Conclusions'. Rollators are effective in improving functional exercise capacity by reducing perception of dyspnea and rest duration in individuals with severe COPD. Individuals who walk less than 300 meters and/or who require a rest during an unaided 6MWT will benefit most from using a rollator in terms of reductions in breathlessness and rest time and an improvement in distance walked.
The Accommodation of Grade 9 Students with Learning Disabilities in the Applied Core French Classroom

Since the introduction of the term "learning disabilities" into the educational lexicon, teachers and researchers have endeavored to determine the best ways to accommodate the needs of students with learning disabilities in the classroom. This study used classroom observations and a document analysis to determine how a Grade 9 Applied Core French teacher accommodated learning disabled students in her class. In addition, this study examined the belief systems and personal experiences that influenced this teacher's pedagogy and her perceptions about the effectiveness of her modification strategies. The study found several commonly suggested modification strategies to be a regular part of this teacher's repertoire, mostly as they relate to the implementation of assignments and tasks. Overall, the participating teacher seemed to have a positive attitude about including learning disabled students in the Core French program and believed that many of the modifications benefited the students and their burgeoning French proficiency.
A search for R-parity violating supersymmetric particles at HERA using the ZEUS detector

Squarks produced via an R-parity violating interaction in 'e' +'p' collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 300 GeV have been sought with the ZEUS detector at HERA. Squarks produced in ' e'+ quark fusion could decay to 'e'-quark or gaugino-quark via a supersymmetric gauge decay, resulting in a final state with multiple jets and a lepton that could be a positron, electron (' e'±) or a neutrino ([nu]). No evidence for squark production was found and limits were set on the R-parity violating coupling as a function of the squark mass and the SUSY parameters [mu] and ' M'2.
High angular resolution diffusion MR for the determination of fibre structure

Diffusion MR has recently been developed as a technique for tracking neuronal pathways in the brain. Current methods, however, are unable to resolve fibre orientation in voxels with multiple fibre tract directions. In this thesis, a physical model of restricted diffusion analogous to that in nerve fibres is presented. Diffusion measurements at high angular resolution in samples with different fibre orientations are compared with theoretical calculations for restricted diffusion in a cylindrical geometry. Orientational diffusion measurements are shown to reflect fibre geometry and theoretical predictions to within 10%. Theoretical calculations of signal decay for a single fibre can be used to predict the angular dependence of diffusion coefficients for any distribution of fibre orientations, and simulations of fibre crossings at high gradient strengths reflect the presence of the crossed fibres. Theoretical predictions may therefore allow experimental measurements of similar in vivo fibre geometry to be resolved.