VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Global model for iodine behaviour in reactor containment

The objective of this thesis was to develop a mechanistic model to simulate iodine behaviour within the containment structure of a nuclear generating station. The model included both aqueous and gas phase radiolysis and interfacial mass transfer. Validation of the model was conducted for each phase separately and the combined model was applied to a few reactor accident scenarios. The aqueous model successfully reflected various experimental data over a wide range in pH, iodide concentration, temperature, and dose rate. The incorporation of gas phase chemistry served to determine the dominant chemical forms of gaseous iodine. In addition, it was observed that hydrogen, likely to be present in the containment atmosphere, would hinder the elimination of molecular iodine. Finally, the interaction of iodine with nitrogen oxides was significant when compared to reactions with ozone. Hence, the deposition of ozone onto surfaces did not impact iodine behaviour. The development of this model will serve as a useful tool for reactor safety assessments.
A variety of queueing models for mobile communication systems

The impact of customer behavior plays an important role in the planning of multi-media cellular mobile communication networks. In fact, the quality of service (QoS), such as waiting time and accessibility, that is experienced by each individual customer is the main factor in the evaluation of system performance. In this thesis, we are going to investigate the waiting time/delay of a broad class of mobile communication system-oriented queueing models. Both exact analytic and approximation algorithm techniques are employed in order to obtain the exact and approximate waiting/delay distribution of those models. We concentrate on probability distribution instead of mean value because an one-point estimate is not sufficient to provide a good performance evaluation. We propose different queueing models in order to describe different characteristics of mobile systems. In general, mobile customers can be divided into two main categories, fresh customer arrivals and handover customers. A fresh customer arrival is a customer who initiates a new call and a handover customer is a customer who moves from an adjacent cell. Each category can be further divided into voice and data and each sub-category can be classified according to its moving speed. Because the handover customers have a significant impact on the quality of service, a set of channels is reserved for them at each base station and they are called guard channels. Also, different server control mechanisms are implemented in order to optimize channel (or server) utilization.
The influences of parent, peer, demographic, and cultural factors on Black Canadian students' academic performance and attitudes toward school

The influence of parental, cultural, peer, and demographic variables on the academic outcomes of Black Canadian students was examined. A total of 430 students from Toronto and Halifax participated. The students responded to questions about parental educational support, e.g., their parents' aspirations for them and the emphasis their parents placed on education. They also responded to questions asking about their peers' support for academics, as well as to questions about culturally shaped beliefs as they related to education, e.g., their belief that education will lead to later life success, and their beliefs about the possibility of Blacks attaining success in Canadian society. Finally, they reported their own educational outcomes, i.e., their average mark on their last report card, their educational aspirations and expectations, and how much they valued academic success. A series of MANOVAs and an ANOVA were used to examine regional (Toronto versus Halifax) and gender differences in parental and peer support, academic outcomes, and cultural beliefs/attitudes. The analyses revealed that female and Toronto students reported greater peer and parental educational support and more positive academic outcomes than did male and Halifax students, respectively. When cultural beliefs/attitudes were examined, it was found that female and Toronto students expressed more educationally affirming cultural beliefs/attitudes than did male and Halifax students, respectively. Regression analyses were carried out to determine how well the parental, peer, cultural, and demographic variables predicted the educational outcomes of the students. The set of predictors significantly predicted all four educational outcomes, with the parent variables being the strongest. In general, the observed gender and regional differences in educational outcomes were statistically explained in part by parental educational support. The results of the study indicate that, in general, Black students highly value education and that they have high educational aspirations and expectations for themselves. They also are optimistic about their chance for success in Canada, especially when armed with an education.
Experimental investigation of the mechanics of vibratory finishing

Vibratory finishing involves a large number of parameters which may affect the quality of the finished surface and the speed of finishing. To improve the quality and efficiency of surface finishing it is useful to better understand the fundamental mechanisms involved with vibratory surface finishing. This was the overall objective of the thesis. To achieve the main goal of the thesis, a normal force sensor was deigned and successfully built to measure the normal contact force between the media and the part. The measured force signals were processed by means of a Matlab program developed by the author. The effects of media size, shape, surface roughness and lubrication on the surface hardness and roughness changes of aluminum workpieces were studied in this thesis. The interactions between the media and the part were also investigated by means of videotaping and scanning electron microscopy.
The charismatic qualities of an extraordinary leader in a transformational leadership situation

Although charisma, or a leader's set of charismatic qualities, has been associated with extraordinary leaders, defining this concept poses a problem. The difficulty appears to lie in how one person could inspire large-scale support in the area of social change. One misconception about leadership is that change occurs largely as a result of the one person, the leader. This study demonstrates that change may occur as the result of the extraordinary qualities of several unique individuals who possess leadership abilities and are involved in a shared change process. What then could be the role of the principal leader? According to the findings of this investigation, a leader's function is to provide direction and support as a mentor, facilitator, and orchestrator of leadership talent as related to the trend that he or she is promoting. In this situation the leader's trend is to encourage private business to take responsibility for its community during a crisis. The leader is the manager of a mall within a community where the crisis was manifested in the form of drugs and prostitution and an economic recession. During this time period the community and organizational leaders could not restrict their responsibilities to the confines of their organizations. Instead, they had to extend their responsibilities to include the needs of the community in a process defined as outreach or a sharing of resources. The leader's role then became one of facilitating the process of merging available resources as a catalyst who connected those with needs to those who could provide, as a means of resource reallocation. By promoting change with the community leaders, he was in a better position to deal with his own organizational concerns. The final conclusion of this study suggests that the input of both the leader and other leaders who be described as his followers influences the course of a leadership. Furthermore, the leader's charisma could be attributed to his talent in facilitating change and followers' gratitude for his intervention during a time of need.
Endogenous decay sustaining PCE degradation and associated stable isotope effects

Experiments were conducted using a column packed with sand and inoculated with anaerobic digestor sludge which included the dechlorinator 'Dehalococcoides ethenogenes' and the uncultured eubacterium 'WCHB1-40 '. The column dechlorinated 60[mu]M PCE to TCE, c-DCE, VC and ETH for one year in the absence of added electron donors or carbon sources. Endogenous decay was determined to be supporting the slowly decreasing rate of PCE dechlorination. Microcosms prepared from column sand were also able to dechlorinate PCE to c-DCE without the addition of electron donors or carbon sources. PCE isotopic fractionation was observed at four intervals during endogenous operation and twice after the addition of 20[mu]M ethanol electron donor. The [delta] 13C PCE values were fitted to a Rayleigh model and enrichment factors of -1.2 ± 0.4 and -1.3 ± 0.7 were calculated during the endogenous and ethanol phases. The agreement between these enrichment factors indicates that substrate availability had no measurable effect on isotopic fractionation.
Flower size-number trade-offs and the evolution of floral display in animal-pollinated plants

The variety of flowers in animal-pollinated plants suggests a history of strong and diverse selection. One neglected aspect of this diversity is 'floral display', the size, number, and arrangement of flowers. The evolution of floral display should reflect pollinator-mediated selection and life-history trade-offs imposed by finite resources. Although flower size is expected to vary negatively with flower number, variable resources could cause positive relations between these traits. Such positive relations may reflect the hierarchical nature of resource allocation, with resources first divided between somatic growth and reproduction, and then further subdivision of reproductive resources. I investigated the evolutionary significance of trade-offs between flower size and number using theoretical, experimental, and comparative approaches. A quantitative-genetic model involving hierarchical allocation indicated that high genetic variation in early allocation masked trade-offs, and altered the direction of evolution in the traits involved. Relations between flower size and number at the individual and population-level were examined in the annual herb, 'Eichhornia paniculata'. The size and number of flowers within inflorescences decreased rapidly in response to defoliation and seed production, emphasizing the dynamic nature of floral allocation. Quantitative-genetic analyses of two glasshouse-grown populations demonstrated heritable variation in flower size and number. Genetic correlations between flower size and number ranged from negative to positive, depending on population and developmental stage. Accounting for variation in resource status removed positive correlations, but did not reveal additional negative correlations. Two generations of artificial selection on flower size and number partially upheld the expectation that size should increase at the expense of number. Finally, comparative data from 43 species in the perennial genus, ' Narcissus', supported flower size-number trade-offs. However, in ' N. dubius' these traits were positively related, and unrelated when variation in resource status was accounted for. These results illustrated the influence of variable resource levels on traits involved in trade-offs. Flower size and number were negatively correlated when variation in floral traits was high, e.g., among species. However, variable floral resources often caused positive relations between these traits. Thus trade-offs between flower size and number will not always constrain the evolution of floral display, as often assumed in theoretical models.
The effects of early separation and juvenile maternal experience on maternal behavior in the adult postpartum rat

In order to assess the effects early experience in the nest on the development of maternal behavior, rats were separated, handled, or left undisturbed over the first week of life. Following weaning, animals mere either exposed to foster pups continuously over a five day period, or mere left undisturbed. The results of combined effects of early experience and juvenile maternal experience on adult maternal, emotional, and motivated behaviors were assessed by postpartum maternal behavior, open field, and conditioned place preference tests. Analyses of juvenile behavior showed no effects of early experience in the nest. Adult maternal behaviors, however, were affected by both early nest experience and juvenile maternal experience. The most consistent effect was found for separated animals with juvenile experience as they demonstrated longer latencies to initiate maternal behaviors when compared to controls. Maternal experience during the juvenile period seems to inhibit adult matemal behavior in separated animals.
p53-independent growth arrest of human astrocytomas by p14§A§R§F

The role of the two distinct tumour suppressor proteins expressed from the 'CDKN2A' locus, p16INK4a and p14ARF, has been intensely studied due, in part, to their frequent inactivation in human malignancies such as astrocytomas. p16INK4a functions as an inhibitor of CDK4, thereby activating pRB and resulting in cell cycle arrest. In contrast, growth inhibition by p14ARF occurs through the p53 pathway due to its interaction with MDM2 and resultant stabilization of p53. In order to assess the effect of expression of p14 ARF or p16INK4a on the growth of astrocytomas, we have employed a series of human cell fines harbouring distinct mutation in the p53 and/or pRB pathways. We observed that, as expected, growth arrest mediated by p16INK4a was dependent on an intact pRB pathway. In transient assays, we also observed that arrest due to expression of p14ARF required wild-type p53. However, in colony-forming assays, p14ARF potently reduced the number of colonies in all cell lines regardless of their p53 status. Furthermore, clones that were recovered cycled at a greatly reduced rate and exhibited a significant increase in senescence-associated ß-galactosidase activity. These data indicate a p53-independent mechanism whereby p14 ARF can mediate growth arrest in astrocytomas leading to apparent cell senescence.
Teachers as disseminators of object-based learning, curriculum development for an art museum-based, inservice program

The subject of this study is The National Faculty - Morris Museum of Art Professional Development Initiative for Teachers. In this initiative teachers developed and implemented art object-based, interdisciplinary instructional strategies that utilized works of art from the museum's permanent collection. Teachers were surveyed to ascertain their concerns about disseminating this instructional innovation to their peers. The Change Facilitators Stages of Concern questionnaire (Hall, et. al., 1991) was used. A group interview collected teachers' perceptions about the skills required for the dissemination of the instructional innovation. Literature on the roles, characteristics, and required skills and knowledge of teacher leaders, professional development strategies for the development of teacher leadership, and trainer-of-trainer programs was reviewed. Based on this research, recommendations were made for the curriculum design of the initiative's third year. Use of the trainer-of-trainer and peer coaching models were part of the formal recommendations.
Post-ice storm tree damage in four eastern Ontario woodlots

A severe glaze storm in January 1998 affected a broad geographic region encompassing parts of eastern Canada and the adjacent north-eastern United States. Ice accumulations were estimated at over 100mm in some areas. Over 3 million hectares of forests and woodlots were damaged in eastern Ontario and southern Quebec. One of the hardest hit areas was that around Winchester, Ontario. Four woodlots were studied in Winchester Township, Ontario following the ice storm to investigate post-storm damage patterns to present hardwood species. Over 1000 hardwood trees were examined for degree of damage based on percentage of crown loss. The results indicate a varied response to glaze accumulation depending on tree morphology, size, species and position in the woodlot. Based on a susceptibility index of vulnerability to ice damage ' Populus tremuloides', 'Acer rubrum' and 'A. saccharinum' and the 'A. rubrum' and 'A. saccharinum ' hybrid typically sustained severe damage. 'Tilia americana, Ulmus americana, A. saccharum, Fraxinus Americana' and 'F. nigra' sustained intermediate damage. 'Quercus macrocarpa' and 'Amelanchier laevis' sustained minor damage. Varied response to ice accumulation is dependent on location and biological factors including location within woodlot and canopy, aspect, tree diameter and height.
The self-perception of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

This study investigated the attributions children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) make about the degree to which they felt their most problematic ADHD symptom was controllable, stable, global, and stigmatizing, and about the locus of the cause of their behaviour. Participants were 16 children with ADHD (10 boys, 6 girls), and 16 children without ADHD (9 boys, 7 girls), ages 7 to 13. Children with ADHD felt that their most problematic behaviour is less within their control, more stable and more global than children without ADHD. No significant group differences emerged on the locus of causality dimension. Girls without ADHD reported that their behaviours can sometimes bother their teachers (as did boys with ADHD), parents, and peers. Finally, children with ADHD felt that they had less control over their ADHD as a disorder than their most problematic ADHD symptom. Results are discussed in terms of attribution theory and clinical implications.
H¦2O¦2 induced toxicity in rat organotypic hippocampal cultures

Free radicals (FR) are highly reactive physiological metabolites, production of which is increased during all pathological states. The CNS is particularly vulnerable to FR induced damage because of high oxygen consumption and high levels of unsaturated membrane lipids. H2O2 toxicity in organotypic slice cultures was used as a model of oxidative injury in the brain. Hippocampal slice cultures were exposed to H2O2 on day 12 in vitro. Cell death in the slice cultures was followed with propidium iodide (PI) for 24 hours by confocal microscopy. A 1 hour exposure to H 2O2 (0.5-2.5 mM) caused a dose-dependent cell death in the slice. Neurons were found to be less sensitive to H 2O2 toxicity than glia. Staining with anti-MAP2 antibodies confirmed neuronal survival during the first several hours post-injury. To identify which cells were the first targets of H2O2, slices exposed to 1 mM H2O2 were labelled with anti-GFAP, RIP antibodies and isolectin B4 (staining astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and microglia, respectively) in the presence of PI. Astrocytes and microglia were most vulnerable to H2O2 toxicity. H2O 2 induced cell death of neurons and of glia was independent of Ca 2+ influx. APV (a NMDA receptor blocker) failed to ameliorate neuronal death caused by H2O2, indicating that neurons are dying by mechanisms different than excitotoxic ones.
Two-dimensional Euler equations solver

A numerical analysis is presented in this study for solving high-speed fluid flows with strong shocks and discontinuities. This analysis includes an assessment of a number of first- and higher-order numerical methods, based on their accuracy and computational effort they require to solve unsteady, compressible one-dimensional Euler equations. The effect of an adaptive grid refinement procedure on the discontinuity capturing is evaluated. The Godunov's first-order time-marching method with dimensional operator splitting and an exact Riemann solver is used to solve high-speed flows governed by two-dimensional, unsteady, compressible Euler equations. Its performance, both with and without grid adaptation, is compared to that of the CLAWPACK software. The comparison of numerical results produced by various methods indicates that while Godunov's method's performance is superior to that of hibrid higher-order schemes, a truly second-order accurate numerical scheme of CLAWPACK provides a more accurate solution with the reduced computational effort.
East and West, education, identity and cultural transformation

My doctoral dissertation is a study with two themes. It is a research on the lives of three first generation visible minority immigrant women who came to Canada from South Asia in their early to mid twenties. The three women participants--Anita, Salika and I, went to school in Canada. Anita and I are teachers, Salika is a professional hair dresser. I studied for post graduate degrees in teaching in Canada, Anita did many university courses related to teaching, and Salika went to a hair styling studio to get her diploma in aesthetics. Anita and I have been living in Canada for over two decades and Salika immigrated just over a decade ago. The data collecting techniques for this autoibiographical narrative method, where, the characters were fictionalized and their voices and background switched (He, 1998), was a combination of stories, journals and transcripts. Moreover, it was the analyses of the interviews that I, as a researcher, conducted with Anita and Salika, my participant women. Our stories were a recollection of the past based on memory, and the present day existence. These stories provided us a blend of perceptions that were intense at times and enlightening at other times. However, the challenging part of the thesis writing process was to interpret the stories in a way that was broad in magnitude and captured the past, present and future while maintaining the narrative truth. The research process which is presented as both, phenomenology and methodology, invoked among the participants, the questions, dilemmas and awareness about identity. An identity that we had while back in our homelands, and an identity imposed upon by living in a culture, where, a lot of times, the colour of skin sets the stage for undergoing disruptions and upheavals in life. The interpretation of our stories involved exploration of our chronicled experiences, along with the contemporary societal, cultural and Language contexts, with which we have a corresponding relationship. Though my study focussed on women from South-Asia, it has significance for understanding identity and cultural transformation, due in part to the variable forces active in the host culture, and that some of the conflicts experienced by the participants are specific to skin colour. The sub-theme, using the narrative inquiry, is my personal educational experiences in Pakistan combined with the Colonial Legacy, and the present state of affairs of education system there. Based on the findings, a conceptual framework is suggested to try to overhaul the primary and teacher education in Pakistan. The sub-theme has significance for educators, curriculum developers and policy makers in Pakistan. It also provides an understanding for the Canadian teachers and educators at various levels as to how and why South-Asian students function the way they do, in a Canadian school system.