VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Use of digitized image analysis for evaluation of neurogenic inflammation and the effect of modulatory agents

Stimulus induced-release of neuropeptides from nociceptor terminals produces neurogenic inflammation which involves plasma extravasation (PE). In this study, a method for evaluating PE in the skin is presented. The change in light reflectance produced by extravasation of albumin-bound Evans blue dye was recorded every ten seconds with a monochrome video camera, during saphenous nerve (SN) stimulation. Analysis of the change in pixel intensity in the digitized images revealed that stimulation at 4 Hz induced greater PE than 1 Hz stimulation. It was also demonstrated that the NK1 receptor antagonist CP-99,994 blocks SN and substance P-induced PE. Additionally, when the skin was pretreated with BoNT/A, C, or D the change in the average pixel intensity in the recorded images was similar between the toxin and saline-injected skin. In conclusion, analysis of the digitized image is a simple, quick and useful tool for studies of neurogenic inflammation and its modulation.

Keywords: Biological sciences
Neurology
Advisor: Charlton, Milton
The efficacy of a course management system in learning: Perceptions of students and faculty at one Ontario college

The widespread adoption of course management systems (CMSs) by colleges and universities has occurred in a vacuum of research into their effectiveness for learning. This case study is based on quantitative and qualitative data collected by survey, interview, and document analysis that explored the perceptions of students and faculty, regarding the impact on learning of the use of a CMS in the initial semesters of the business programs at a large, urban, multiculturally diverse college. This college has a long history of CMS use and a stable CMS infrastructure. This study explored the purposes for which the CMS was used, the characteristics of its use that enhance student learning and those that create barriers to learning, as well as the perceptions of students and faculty about what constituted the effective use of the CMS, in campus based courses. While the students are not as technology adept as some of the literature claims, and the perceptions of the students do not always match those of the faculty; the findings of this study provide compelling evidence that, even though the use of the CMS at this college focuses on supporting the transmission of information, this is perceived by the students to be an integral part of their education. The greatest benefits to learning are the ways in which the CMS, when used effectively, facilitates access to and organisation of information, thereby helping the students to keep track of what they need to do to be successful in the courses. Over, under, or misuse of the CMS course sites is viewed by the students as a constraint to learning. Even though on the surface it appears that the systems are being used solely to augment conventional practices, the use of the CMS has, in fact, added useful dimensions to the ways of teaching and learning. Implications for practice are discussed and a model for how the systems may be used to enhance learning by helping students to organise and keep track of information is presented.
Ontario's Royal Commission on the University of Toronto, 1905--1906: Political and historical factors that influenced the final report of the Flavelle Commission

Although much has changed in the relationship between Canadian governments and publicly-assisted universities over the last century, the principles of ‘institutional autonomy’ and ‘annual public grants’ remain sacrosanct. The codification of this relationship may be found in a document written in 1906; the final report of the Royal Commission on the University of Toronto and University College, also known as the Flavelle Commission of Ontario. Appreciating the forces that acted upon the commission is important to understanding the fundamental principles of government/university interaction in Canada today. The forces that acted on the commission included a growing recognition of the United States as a comparable jurisdiction for Canadian public policy questions, the background and personal relationships of some commissioners and the political landscape of Ontario at the time. This paper examines some of these issues and the impact they had on the commission’s recommendations.

Keywords: Canadian history
Education history
Higher education
Children's understanding of minds in a story

A great deal of progress has been made recently in our understanding of how children go about ascribing beliefs, desires, intentions and emotions to themselves and others. These developments begin at about four years of age and continue into the early school years. The question then arise as to how they use this new knowledge in understanding the beliefs and emotions of characters in stories, especially when these characters undergo abrupt reversals of beliefs and emotions in story contexts. And how do they relate these beliefs and emotions to their own beliefs and emotions as readers or listeners to those stories? Children age 3 to 8 were given stories and asked, as each story progressed, about the mental states of protagonist and antagonist before and after the occurrence of some critical event. In one non-ironic story modelled on a task first used by Wimmer and Perner (1983), "Maxi and the chocolate," the main character, Maxi, leaves chocolate in a blue cupboard and goes out to play. Children see the the chocolate has been moved to the green cupboard, but Maxi does not possess this knowledge. Maxi then returns. Young children fail to understand that Maxi will think that the chocolate is in the original location or predict that he will be surprised upon finding no chocolate in the blue cupboard. In an ironic story, "Punch and Judy," the main character, Punch, intends to perform a nasty trick on Judy. But Judy discovers his plan and foils it. This results in Punch destroying a prized possession, his new coat. The mental states of Punch change from glee to gloom, whereas Judy's change from despair to glee. Young children mistakenly attributed sadness to Punch prior to his having knowledge that his coat was in the box; older children correctly noted his change in emotion from happiness to sadness at the time he acquires knowledge about his misdeed. Older children could understand that Judy is happy despite Punch's unpleasant discovery. Children's ascriptions of mental states to characters bore little relation to their own reports of mental states while listening to stories. The majority reported being happy throughout the reading of the story, rather than surprised, sad or disappointed. The research is directly relevant to the education enterprise because it sets up for educators the topology of competencies necessary for understanding stories. The use of stories in schools presupposes specific capacities necessary to understand stories, and it is these capacities that are outlined in the present research. The inability of young children to ascribe false beliefs to story characters may mark and characterise young children's inability to coordinate what Bruner has called a landscape of action with a landscape of consciousness (see Bruner, 1986).

Keywords: Educational psychology
Reading instruction
Preschool education
Elementary education
Developmental psychology
Literacy
Opera in Montreal and Toronto: a study of performance traditions and repertoire

This thesis presents a study of the traditions of opera performance in Montreal and Toronto, and to a lesser degree, Quebec City. In addition, a commentary is offered on selected operas written and produced in the two main centres. Points of reference in exploring the subject are: the formation of the local amateur stock company, the strolling players occasionally forming seasonal stock companies to augment the efforts of the amateurs, the rise of the star system, the resident and/or touring company, the consolidation of the combination system culminating in the syndication of large touring monopolies, the eventual decline of the touring phenomenon, and the developements which came about as compensation for the loss of the tours, namely, the revival of the resident company and the growth of a national repertoire. Further subjects are the morality of opera, theatres, standards of production, opera in the vernacular, standard vs. novel repertoire, opera at popular prices, and funding for performance and later for composition. Part I deals with the dominance of the operatic touring phenomenon and its eventual decline in the mid-1960's. Developments discussed include opera as "afterpiece" to a play, "costumed" concerts, unstaged opera with piano accompaniment, fully staged performances of opera with modest and later complete production accessories. In addition, the contribution of the first resident operatic associations in Montreal and Toronto is assessed. Part II deals with the formation of various performing associations in the post-1918 period until 1980. These have ranged from local stock companies performing light opera to stock/star ensembles producing grand opera. In addition, smaller alternative associations were founded after 1945 to present chamber opera and new music theatre as well as opera in concert and on tour. Schooling for opera and the contribution of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation since the 1940's are topics also examined. Part III discusses operas composed in Montreal and Toronto, and concludes with studies of five operas written and produced there: Charles A.E. Harriss' Torquil (Montreal, 1896), Healey Willan's Deirdre (Toronto, 1944-46, rev. 1951, rev. 1962, 1964-65), John Beckwith's Night Blooming Cereus (Toronto, 1953-58), Jean Vallerand's Le Magicien (Montreal, 1961), and Harry Somers' Louis Riel (Toronto, 1964-67).
Soft Computing techniques and applications in aircraft design optimization

This thesis presents details of the research done in the area of Soft Computing (SC) applications for aircraft design optimization. An architecture formulation and implementation for design and optimization applications using SC techniques is presented. Applications of the developed architecture are presented in the framework of different aircraft design and optimization applications, including aircraft conceptual design, and aircraft structural optimizations. Comparison between the different SC techniques is made, determining the best approach for the presented design optimization problems. Results demonstrate the potential benefits of SC techniques compared to the traditional methods when dealing with complex optimization problems. The developed architecture finds optimum designs with multiple numbers of constraints, handling with ease the full physical complexity of the proposed optimization problem involving continuous, integer and discrete variables.
Technology as metaform, cultural conservation in the global environment

This research investigates the personal and cultural dimensions of technology, with special attention to heritage preservation, including today's collaborative, intercultural efforts in conservation/restoration. The author's extensive practice as a conservator/restorer of antiquities in diverse environments, combined with a knowledge of materials science, revealed multiple associations and symbolic content in the materials and technological processes involved. Often overlooked, the meaningful dimension of the physical component of our contemporary technologies merits investigation, particularly now, in the rapid globalization of technology. This dissertation addresses the evident need for a conceptual strategy to retrieve and interpret these influential environmental associations. To this end, the concept of 'metaform' is introduced and developed as a conceptual tool recognizing technology as a phenomenon that is both instrumental and symbolic. Accordingly, this research is directed toward an holistic understanding of technology, in the sense of the mediating role of technology in human relationships. The research is interdisciplinary, the methods multimodal, emergent, interpretive and reflective, developing the core concept of metaform through diverse examples and case studies. These research sources, supplemented with textual research, artifact analysis, interviews and visual media, inform an interpretation of technology and related activities as situated phenomena, a synthesis of matter and meaning. Preservation technologies have particular significance to this research as they engage a deep investment of knowledge across disciplines; they represent a tangible commitment to certain choices in the selection, care and restoration of objects of cultural importance. More commonly perceived as a tool, technology functions as an extension of the human in all aspects--psychological, spiritual and physical. By examining the motives, aspirations and fears that account for our inventions, we reclaim our membership in technology as an expression of human relationships at various levels with others and with the world at large. Examples draw on studies of both ancient and contemporary preservation practices in Canada, the United States, China and Japan. Parallel technologies in medicine are explored to illustrate the broader applications of metaform. Global studies in conservation provide a context in which the relevance of metaform emerges in cultural exchanges in technology. This research demonstrates the transferability of the concept of metaform, first as it applies to preservation technologies, then as it serves as a conceptual device to elucidate the human element inherent in the use of any technology. In conclusion, technology as metaform presents a new means of knowledge development, compatible with a holistic model for intercultural exchanges in technology.
Transforming social, gendered practices affecting malnutrition, action research in Malawi

This dissertation is an evaluation of an educational programme that took place within the context of a nutrition improvement project. The goal of the project was to effect dietary modification and diversification for the purpose of increasing vitamin A, iron and zinc status in children. The project itself provides a model for dietary change projects because it demonstrated the effectiveness of mobilizing community resources, including local knowledge, existing leadership and indigenous foods. Furthermore, this evaluation has particular significance because of its depth in exploring the behavioural change process. The lack of such descriptions has previously left undetermined the value of similar nutrition education projects. Thus, this thesis gives credibility to programmes that focus on building self-reliance in communities, revisiting caring roles within the family, and changing behaviour related to food and diet. The dissertation emphasizes that by exploring and changing social practices related to the family nutrition system, the problem of malnutrition may be addressed more effectively than by exclusively medical means. The project, called Tulimbe Nutrition Project, took place from 1995-1997 in two rural communities in Southern Malawi. Five Malawian home economists were hired as facilitators for the four-month dietary intervention. Three hundred families with children from three to seven years old participated. Various programmes were introduced to the parents of these children: food processing, meal planning and preparation, agricultural activities, and appropriate technologies. The success of the intervention was evaluated by analyzing data collected during cooking demonstrations, home visits, interviews and focus group discussions. The data is organized into three major themes reflecting the changes which occurred as a result of the intervention: community involvement, gender relations, and dietary change. As a result of the project's approaches to community development, community members, individually and collectively, had a new understanding of their identities, attitudes and capabilities. By involving men in the project, along with women, people noted positive changes in families, because both husbands and wives became better caregivers. Finally, as a result of the momentum of project activity over the intervention period, there was a significant increase in the adoption rates of new food processing and preparation methods. Although the issues of targeting, leadership and incentives were problematic ones, the intervention strategies continue to be practiced and enhanced by new initiatives. The project gained national attention for both its dietary strategies and its approaches to community involvement. Local agencies in Malawi have taken on the challenge of replicating the project in other areas. However, in order for dietary diversification and modification programmes to have a more widespread effect, political commitment and mass mobilization campaigns are required.
Chemical erosion of DIII-D tokamak tile samples

Pieces of divertor and midplane tiles from DIII-D have been studied to determine their erosion characteristics under low-energy deuterium impact (50 eV and 200 eV) as a function of fluence for sample temperatures of 300 K, 500 K, and 700 K. At the outer midplane, laboratory measurements of erosion yields were initially found to be consistent with boron-doped graphite. The erosion yields decreased by a factor of 1.5-2 with increasing D + fluence in the range of 4 * 1021-3 * 1022 D+/m2, and levelled off for fluences >=3 * 1022 D+/m 2. Chemical erosion yields of the inner divertor sample were found to be comparable to that of pure graphite for incident D+ energies of 50 eV and sample temperatures of 300 K and 500 K. Visual inspection indicated that the film was eroded through to the graphite substrate, confirming the observed chemical erosion results.
Multibit decoding of turbo codes

Multibit turbo decoding is the name given to a modification of the turbo decoding algorithm (iterative bit-by-bit sum-product decoding), where the sum-product decoding is done on groups of g bits instead of single bits. By decoding over groups, the decoder may use any dependence between bits of a group to aid in error correction. This thesis presents multibit decoding, and explores the issues affecting the performance of this decoding method when using binary antipodal modulation over an additive, white Gaussian noise channel. The main results are that properly designed non-punctured multibit systems for g = 2 equal or better the performance conventional turbo codes, for both relatively short and long block lengths. The number of operations required by multibit decoding for performance equivalent to conventional decoding is lower, sometimes reaching 1/2. Other advantages of multibit decoding include reduced memory requirements, and the possibility of doing more operations in parallel.
Fast algorithms for distance-based spatial queries

Spatial databases can be used in many computing-related disciplines to represent objects in multi-dimensional spaces. One important type of query in such systems involves retrieving all objects within a specified distance of a specified query point. In some cases, the answers to such queries are more useful if they are presented to the user with objects ordered by increasing distance from the query point. In this thesis, we propose two algorithms for answering the Sphere Intersection Query (SIQ) and the Distance Query (DQ). SIQ is a special case of the Range Query where the query window is a sphere instead of an iso-oriented rectangle. Our DQ algorithm is incremental in the sense that objects are reported one by one in ascending order of distance. This way, a query processor can use the algorithm in a pipeline fashion for complex queries. Both of these two algorithms make use of the 'Filter Tree', a hierarchical spatial data structure, as an index. The performance of each of the two algorithms is evaluated through both analysis and experimentation with a prototype implementation. Experiments are performed using datasets consisting of both points and line segments.
Children's reasoning about the teaching of values

This study investigated children's reasoning about the teaching of moral, moral-character, character, religious, patriotic, and political values. One-hundred and sixty participants in four age groups (8-, 10-, 13-years-olds, and adults) judged (okay/not okay) the teaching of values and laws (good law/bad law) intended to promote socially shared values and prohibit negative values. Both the social acceptance of values (socially shared versus unshared values) and the context (school, family) within which they were taught were systematically varied. Results showed that children consider a variety of factors in evaluating the teaching of values, including, context, social acceptance of the value, and the specific values themselves. These distinctions appear to be related to children's social and moral reasoning, and how developing conceptions of context and morality interact with development. The findings are discussed in relation to theoretical debates between cognitive developmental and character education approaches to values education.
Sex-typed play behavior and peer relationships of boys with gender identity disorder

Fifteen boys referred for gender identity disorder (GID) were compared with 30 nonreferred boys, 30 nonreferred girls, and 15 boys referred clinically for problems other than GID (M age/group, 5.8 years) with regard to behavior problems, social skills, sex-typed play behavior, and peer preferences. Measures included parent- and teacher-report questionnaires of behavior problems and social skills, activity logs recording parents' observations of their children's play behavior for a 1-week period, observations from 2 40-minute play sessions involving 15 groups each of 5 demographically-matched children (1 boy with GID, 2 nonreferred boys, and 2 nonreferred girls), peer preference nominations, and the Playmate and Play Style Preferences Structured Interview. Both referred groups were rated as having significantly more behavior problems than the nonreferred groups. In contrast, with the exception of parent assertiveness ratings, in which both referred groups were rated as less assertive than the nonreferred boys group, the referred comparison group, but not the GID group, was significantly less socially skilled than the nonreferred groups. During the observed play, no significant differences were observed between the boys with GID and the nonreferred comparison groups in terms of solitary, dyadic, and group activity, and the general cognitive level of play. Most of the measures of sex-typed behavior showed that boys with GID, like the nonreferred girls, exhibited distinct preferences for female playmates and feminine-typed toys and activities, whereas the two comparison boys' groups exhibited distinct preferences for male playmates and masculine-typed toys and activities. Peer preference nominations showed that nonreferred children selected other nonreferred children more often than they selected boys with GID as their preferred playmates. Activity log data also showed that boys with GID, like the nonreferred girls, preferred feminine-typed play significantly more than boys in the referred comparison group; however, their preference for female playmates, as compared to that of both comparison boys' groups, did not reach significance. Moreover, according to the activity log data, boys with GID, like the two comparison boys' groups, played significantly more often with male playmates and engaged significantly more often in masculine-typed play than the nonreferred girls.