VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The influence of post-flame fuel oxidation rates on hydrocarbon emissions in SI engines

The influence of different post-flame fuel oxidation rates on the hydrocarbon emission formation process in a spark ignition engine was investigated using both experimental measurements and model simulations. Because the engine was fueled by gaseous fuels, the investigation focused on the combustion chamber crevices, in particular the piston top-land crevices as a source of hydrocarbon emissions. An engine test system was set up, from which the regular exhaust emissions 'CO'2, 'CO', 'O '2, 'NOx', total hydrocarbon, as well as the speciated hydrocarbons from 'C'1 to 'C'6, were measured under different engine operating conditions for a variety of fuels including pipeline natural gas, pure methane, ethane, propane, and iso-butane. Three stages were found for the in-cylinder hydrocarbon development during the post-flame period, namely the blowdown process, the displacement process before the hydrocarbon vortex reaches the vicinity of the exhaust valve, and exit of the vortex through the exhaust valve. The computational model can reasonably predict the regular exhaust emissions and speciated hydrocarbon emissions. The fuel's oxidation chemistry plays a complicated and critical role in the eventual hydrocarbon emission formation. Although the main component of the mixture of engine-out hydrocarbons is fuel itself, the fraction of the intermediate hydrocarbons increases as the fuel carbon number increases. Most of the intermediate hydrocarbons are generated and flow out of the cylinder during the blowdown and the displacement process. Most of the hydrocarbons in the vortex remain unoxidized. The cut-off temperatures, i.e. the temperature below which hydrocarbons that are intermediates in the fuel oxidation process begin to appear in the bulk gas, for different fuels are 1480 K for methane, 1300 K for ethane, 1400 K for propane, 1450 K for n-butane, and 1470 K for iso-butane. A strong interaction between hydrocarbon emissions and 'NO x' emissions was identified using the model. Direct interaction and indirect interaction mechanisms were defined. It was found that the reactions between radicals 'CH'3, 'CH' 2 and 'NO', and reactions between radicals 'O, H' and 'NO' are the dominant reasons for the interaction for low carbon number hydrocarbon fuels. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Non-transfusion approaches in the treatment of ß-thalassemia, splenectomy and pharmacological augmentation of fetal hemoglobin

'Background'. Regular transfusions allowing ß-thalassemia patients to survive beyond childhood lead to toxic iron overload. Non-transfusion therapies may treat the anemia without introducing excess iron. 'Hypothesis'. Both splenectomy and pharmacological augmentation of fetal hemoglobin may allow survival without transfusions. 'Methods'. Pre- and post-splenectomy analysis was conducted on 10 ß-thalassemia intermedia (TI) and 15 Hb E/ß-thalassemia (E-thal) patients. Cohort comparisons of splenectomy vs. non-splenectomy were made in 32 TI and 108 E-thal patients. Five infants were treated with sodium phenylbutyrate (SPB). Twelve children and adults were treated with SPB and hydroxyurea (HU). 'Results'. Five of the TI and ten of the E-thal patients responded following splenectomy. Mean hemoglobin was higher in the splenectomised E-thal cohort. No differences were seen in the TI cohorts. No infants responded to SPB, but six children and adults responded to SPB and HU. 'Conclusions'. Splenectomy and augmentation of fetal hemoglobin may offer hope for ß-thalassemia treatment.
Teachers' experiences in making meaning of their educational orientations, the model of care-empowering education

The question addressed in this study is, "What process allows teachers to acquire educational orientations they consider more viable for their situation?" Their central concern was discovered to be teaching the children. Because I wanted to have the data tell their own story and valued the possibility of contributing toward formal theory, I applied Glaser's grounded theory methodology in this qualitative study. The participants were sixteen teachers and four administrators, all employed in the same school system in Ontario. Data were collected by survey interviews; individual, focus, and telephone interviews; history lines; observations; and obtaining other artifacts. Data collection and analysis were guided by constant comparison to discover the social psychological and/or structural processes that allow teachers to acquire more appropriate orientations, given their central concern of teaching the children. 'Care-empowering education' is the process that allows teachers to achieve more viable orientations. The model of care-empowering education consists of three complex and interrelated processes: 'creating and maintaining voice, caring, and inspiritive awakening'. The processes of 'creating and maintaining voice' determine the social structure of who has voice in the children's education. The process of 'caring ', adapted from Nel Noddings' theory, refers to affirming and encouraging competence in drawing the best out of others and oneself. The caring teacher gives voice to the children in their own education. The children learn how to be cared for, and learn how to care for self and others. The new teacher-children relationships are accepted or supported by other adults. The process of ' inspiritive awakening' is a special property of caring. It involves teachers learning how to be cared for as well as learning how to care for self and others in the teaching situation. The care-empowering model, which emerged from the data, suggests how teachers cope with teaching the children. Inspiritive awakening may have important implications for the education profession. Extending the model to formal theory involves its application to education and caring in various social contexts. Future research may extend the model into other areas such as 'caring for the earth'.
A nonnative student's reactions to instructor's feedback on his papers, a case study of an undergraduate history student

The central question addressed in the present study was: How does a nonnative university student perceive and respond to the feedback his instructors' provide on his papers? The participant was a male, Polish-English bilingual, full-time undergraduate student of history at a university in Ontario. I used think-aloud protocols and questionnaires to obtain a detailed picture of the participant's reactions to his history instructors' comments on 15 of his written papers submitted for 9 courses over 3 years. Most of these instructors' feedback involved explicit corrections of grammar, mechanics, and organisation. The participant, however, wanted and expected faculty feedback mainly on the ideas in his papers, and he strongly expressed his dissatisfaction with the extensive focus on language issues. These findings differ from those of previous research in regular ESL composition classes, suggesting that the pedagogical context may be a significant factor affecting L2 students' perceptions, expectations, and preferences about the responding practices of their university instructors.
Analytic and heuristic processing in the development of statistical reasoning in children

A reasoning task that pitted analytic processing against heuristic processing was utilized to examine the development of statistical reasoning abilities in students from grades 5, 6, and 8. Performance on the task was compared with age, cognitive capacity, and thinking dispositions to determine if any of these three factors were correlated with reasoning ability. Multiple regression analyses were used to determine if any of the three factors predicted unique variance in statistical reasoning. The results showed that cognitive capacity and the "need for cognition" thinking disposition were unique predictors of statistical reasoning performance. However, no relationship with age was found.
The developmental pharmacology of amifostine, pharmacokinetics and measures of oxidative stress

Use of the broad-spectrum cytoprotective agent, amifostine, in children may allow more effective cancer treatment by selectively protecting healthy tissue from the detrimental effects of chemotherapy. This effect is mediated via the active metabolite, WR1065, whose mechanism of action may relate to modulation of glutathione levels. Experience with amifostine is limited in pediatrics; therefore, a Phase I study was used to establish pharmacokinetics in children and to evaluate the proposed mechanism of action. Similar systemic exposure to WR1065 was observed in both children and adults after correcting for dose differences, suggesting a similar degree of protection in both populations. In order to evaluate WR1065's mechanism of action, we identified and validated an improved method for glutathione sample preparation, resulting in a reliable assay that will enable us to better assess amifostine's effect on whole blood glutathione levels.
Environmental factors affecting the prevalence and distribution of myxozoan parasites and their hosts in three lakes in Algonquin Park, Ontario

The oligochaete fauna and several environmental parameters of Lake Sasajewun, Broadwing Lake and Kathlyn Lake in Algonquin Park were surveyed. The distributional patterns of the oligochaetes, with respect to the environmental variables, were analyzed and it was found that substrate type and the presence of certain aquatic plants were related to the oligochaete composition. Tubificids were associated with detritus and mud, whereas sandy and pebbly areas were dominated by naidids. Oligochaete-plant associations may account for differences in the distribution of oligochaete species among the three lakes. The findings also indicate that the prevalence of certain of oligochaetes is congruent with the absence or presence of particular myxozoan species. A novel form of raabeia spore was observed from a single specimen of ' U. uncinata' This form differs from those previously described by having caudal processes that gradually widen and terminate with a single prominent branch.
No Canadian experience - no job, fact or myth?, a qualitative inquiry of newcomers' perceptions and experiences with the labour market

Recent research in immigrants' participation in the Canadian labour market indicates above average levels of unemployment, and points to the severe repercussions to the individual and the community. This study attempts to explore the perceptions and labour market experiences of nine newcomers, and its implications on immigrants' integration and adult language programmes. It finds that upon arrival in Canada, most participants experienced severe difficulties. It observes that these newcomers initially believed 'Canadian experience' to be their greatest barrier to employment, and that initial perception had changed overtime. It also observes that participation in an ESL/workplace preparation programme assisted these recent immigrants in labour market integration. All of the participants secured related employment or co-op placements which led to job offers. Overall, the findings are informative for public and policy decision-makers about immigrants' integration, and useful for future design of settlement policies and adult ESL programmes.
The role of germline CDKN2A mutations in individuals predisposed to melanoma

Once a melanoma has reached the vertical growth phase the increase in tumour depth results in a concomitant increase in local and distant metastatic potential. Patients with melanomas in these late stages have very poor prognoses; surgical excision and/or aggressive chemo- and immuno-therapies rarely cure them. However, early diagnosis and surgical excision of melanomas can significantly decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with this disease, underlying the importance of identifying individuals at risk. Germline mutations in the 'CDKN2A' gene have been linked with familial malignant melanoma (FMM). I have shown that patients with multiple primary melanoma (MPM) and no family history of the disease also possess inactivating germline mutations within this gene. Moreover, some of these MPM patients that harbour germline 'CDKN2A' mutations are really occult melanoma families, suggesting that family members of MPM patients may also benefit from increased surveillance and preventative measures. Novel modes of 'CDKN2A' inactivation will reveal potential mutational sites that should be screened in individuals at risk for melanoma. To this end, I studied a germline insertional mutation that predisposed several patients to MPM and FMM, as well as multiple myeloma. However, this mutation displayed normal protein localization, stability, and proliferation capacity as compared to the wild-type protein. The functional relevance of this mutant protein remains unknown. Finally, I also screened FMM kindreds lacking any germline coding mutations in 'CDKN2A' for promoter and 5 'UTR sequence alterations in this gene. A very common haplotype was discovered that was associated with melanoma-prone individuals and may represent a weak predisposition allele.
The potential impact of population-based funding in regional models on the planning, financing and delivery of specialized health care services, the case of paediatrics

There is limited understanding of the performance of regional models of health care delivery and the potential of population-based funding methodologies to improve the integration of services. This thesis first examined the strategies being used or contemplated by the regionalized Canadian provinces with regard to specialized services. Issues addressed included the definition of regions in terms of the selection and size of regional populations, the scope of services provided at the regional level, how funding allocations are determined, and how cross-boundary flows handled. Analysis showed that none of the regionalized provinces has produced a regionalized model of delivery which provides an integrated system of services at the regional level. Many services, notably tertiary services and provincial programs, have been maintained outside (or carved out) of the regional models and are funded accordingly. Moreover, the small population size of many of the Canadian health regions may cause concern regarding their ability to plan and support specialized services. Next a case study examined the potential impact of repatriation approaches which might arise under regional models with population-based funding on services provided by paediatric hospitals for selected paediatric conditions. High-volume diagnoses/surgical procedures were obtained from Canadian paediatric hospitals and a Delphi study was conducted of the judgments of a panel of expert clinicians regarding the most appropriate venue for providing care, and the minimum volume of cases needed to maintain quality outcomes. Using the judgments of the Delphi panel as a basis for identifying repatriatable cases, the effect on the economic viability and quality outcomes of paediatric hospitals was examined. Repatriation was identified at three levels--maximum, intermediate and minimum. It was found that there would be a substantial impact on paediatric hospitals at the maximum level of repatriation, and a diminished, but not eliminated, impact at the intermediate and minimum levels. The findings therefore suggest that theoretical considerations relating to possible unanticipated consequences of population-based funding in regional models on specialized services might indeed create problems for specialized services, such as those found in Canada's paediatric hospitals. Careful attention to the implications of repatriation decisions appears imperative.
Real-time transport and adaptation for multimedia traffic over ATM and IP networks

The research work in this thesis addresses different issues related to the transport and adaptation for multimedia traffic over ATM and IP networks. We first present a characterization of multimedia applications with respect to their transport architectures and associated Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. In particular, we study the architectural components of Distributed Video Production (DVP) systems, which encompass a variety of multimedia applications with a diverse set of characteristics and QoS requirements. Based on this study, we realize the need for flexible network-level real-time adaptation, in order to deliver the requested QoS on an end-to-end basis. We then focus on real-time transport and QoS adaptation in ATM and IP networks. Both ATM and IP networking technologies attempt to provide QoS-enabled transport for their users. For ATM, we propose an integrated implementation model for ATM Adaptation Layer type 1 (AAL1) with Forward Error Correction (FEC) capabilities. We also propose an enhancement for the AAL1 protocol in order to support Variable Bit Rate (VBR) traffic that exhibits a Piece-wise Constant Bit Rate (PCBR) behavior, such as in the case of VBR MPEG video. We conduct a performance verification study based on a comprehensive simulation model for an end-to-end connection carrying CBR and VBR MPEG video over ATM networks. The results confirm the suitability of our implementation models for typical video applications under different network conditions. We then turn our attention to real-time transport and QoS adaptation in IP networks. We present a novel approach for providing flexible and configurable transport and adaptation functions. In particular, we propose a Generic Real-time transport and Adaptation Protocol (GRAP), which enables IP networks to transport real-time multimedia with a variety of QoS requirements under different network conditions. We explain the features and capabilities provided by GRAP and explain their role in providing QoS for the applications. For a proof of concept, we describe a reference implementation for GRAP in the form of a socket-based Application Programming Interface (API), similar to the popular Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) sockets programming model. We also demonstrate the use of GRAP sockets by developing a client-server real-time video streaming application. Finally, we perform an experimental performance verification study for GRAP. We describe the methodology of our experimental study and discuss the results obtained. Our experimental results confirm the validity of the GRAP model in achieving its design goals. In particular, we demonstrate the efficiency of the timing recovery and error control schemes in enhancing the overall Quality of Service delivered to the application. We also provide guidelines for the selection of GRAP profiles by studying the effect of different profile parameters on the delivered QoS of the GRAP connection.
Pre-clinical testing of real-time distortion product otoacoustic emission devices

Distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) testing is a relatively quick, non-invasive, low-cost, and accurate method for assessing cochlear function in infants and young children. The use of current DPOAE devices, that process data through FFT and data-averaging techniques, are limited, in part, due to high ambient noise susceptibility, which lengthens testing time. A DPOAE device that acquires and processes DPOAE signals in real-time, through digital signal filtering, and is less susceptible to ambient noise was developed at the University of Toronto. Pilot studies on adult and child subjects conducted with real-time DPOAE devices at the Hospital for Sick Children indicate that overall testing times are faster for the real-time devices and the test results are comparable to the results from current data-averaging devices. The conclusion is that the real-time DPOAE devices are capable of reliably and accurately diagnosing cochlear function and is less susceptible to noise than data-averaging DPOAE devices.
The destiny of the world, a study on the end of the universe in the light of ancient Egyptian texts

The subject of this thesis is a theme that has not been fully studied until today and that has long been thought to be overlooked by the ancient Egyptians in a negative way. The aim of this thesis is then to look carefully into the texts dealing with this theme to reveal how exactly the ancient Egyptians felt about it. The texts scrutinized are divided according to their nature. In the first section of the thesis, the Complaints are studied. In the second section, the Prophecies are analyzed while in the third section, Magical and Funerary texts are being examined. Only the fourth section does not deal with a specific group of texts but with one text, the most important one, Chapter 175 of the Book of the Dead and its parallel. This text is analyzed in the light of other quotations from ancient Egyptian Literature. The analysis then builds up in detail, answering how, and why the world will be destroyed, and whether this destruction will be final or not, leading at the end to the final comment.
For a more viable university system, developing a private higher education sector in Ontario

This is a study that examines the feasibility of developing a private higher education sector in Ontario. A comparative analysis of the history of education in Canada and the United States is undertaken to determine how the two systems developed differently. From this analysis, public/private distinctions are revealed comparing two current institutions from the United States and Canada. With this definition of "private," examples of recently established private, not-for-profit institutions in jurisdictions similar to Canada are examined for their impact on their respective higher education systems. Two proposals of not-for-profit institutions in British Columbia and Ontario are analyzed and compared with these previously established institutions. The future prospects for similar proposals in Ontario are considered while also looking at the privatization of public universities and the establishment of for-profit higher education. It is concluded that the Ontario government will most likely endorse the creation of a private higher education sector.
The use of workplace innovations in a developing economy, the case of Jamaica

Based on a nationwide probabilistic sample survey of Jamaican private sector establishments, conducted by the author, this study examines three of the questions that have been the focus of scholarship in developed economies for at least the last decade: What is the extent of the proliferation of work systems innovations, what distinguishes those establishments which have adopted these innovations from those which have not and what is the impact of the adoption of workplace innovation on business performance? The study found that the majority of Jamaican business establishment operate in an environment marked by high and increasing levels of competition. At least part of their response has been the adoption of workplace innovation. As a result, Jamaican workplaces display a comparatively high level of utilization of innovative work systems and human resource management practices. As in the case of the United States, there is no distinct cluster of work systems innovations ('WSIs'). However the analysis reveals at least three fairly well-defined groups of human resource innovators: those establishments whose competitive strategy appears to rely most heavily on the use of people-oriented HRM strategies (high commitment organizations), those which compete on the basis of flexible employment practices; and those which rely most heavily on the use of flexible compensation systems. Finally the analysis supports the link, identified elsewhere in the literature, between measures of business performance and the use of various forms of workplace innovation. While predicted association between individual innovative practices and firm performance were not always realized, the study confirmed earlier findings of a strong association between performance and groups of innovative human resource practices.