cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Remittances to Mexico: Why Were They So Resilient During the Pandemic?
Creators: name: de la Fuente-Akersveen, Ada
Publisher: name: Brandeis University
Year: 2024
Subjects: Remittances
COVID-19
Mexico

description: Contrary to expectations, remittances to Mexico from the United States grew markedly during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examines the causes of this rapid and sustained remittance growth, focusing specifically on the evolution of state level employment in the U.S. and changes in how remittances are sent to Mexico. This study contributes to the existing literature by extending the analysis over a broader time frame, incorporating U.S. state-level employment by industry, and introducing additional variables to explore the transition from informal to formal remittance channels. Using panel data regression, I find that both U.S. employment and increased use of formal remittance channels played a significant role. In the short-run, the shift from informal to formal remittance channels was the main driver. However, in the long-run, employment in the construction, agriculture, and hospitality industries played a more dominant role. These results are robust to alternate methodologies. The historical relationship between remittances and the relative strength of the U.S. and Mexican economies holds true in this context. At the same time, the pandemic introduced new dynamics, thus expanding our understanding of remittance growth and transmission patterns.
Hoko River Archaeological Site Complex, Digital Image Archive
Creators: name: Croes, Dale R.
Publisher: name: Washington State University
Year: 2024
Subjects: Archaeology

description: During the late 1970s and 1980s we excavated a 3,000 year old wet site and 900 year old Rockshelter at the mouth of the Hoko River, Washington State, USA. Even though much of the photographic recording was in color slides and black and white film, we undertook to scan over 3000 representative images from the excavations and this is indexed for both sites, including a way to virtually excavate in 5 cm levels in the Hoko Rockshelter. The digital image links at this site for the Rockshelter (45CA21) shell midden (~900 years old; Late Period) include: Introduction to the Rockshelter, Digital Excavation, Harris Matrix, Shell Midden Profile Drawings and Stratograms, and Camp Life Images. For the Hoko Wet and Dry Site (45CA213; ~3,000 years old—Locarno Beach Phase) digital links include: Wet/Dry Site Artifacts, Wet Site Stratigraphy, and Dry Site Stratigraphy. Therefore, a comprehensive coverage of the digital image data for both of these National Register of Historic Places sites, representing 3,000 years of preserved heritage on the Northwest Coast of North America. Also the first and second final volume of the The Hoko River Archaeological Site Complex are available through Washington State University Press (1-800-354-7360), and entitled The Hoko River Archaeological Site Complex, the Wet/Dry Site (45CA213), 3,000 – 1,700 B.P. (1995) and The Rockshelter (45CA21), 1,000 – 100 B.P. (2005) and posted as books here in Academia.edu. As an add-on data base we wanted to make this HOKO RIVER SITE COMPLEX DIGITAL IMAGE ARCHIVE available in WSU Research Exchange. You may find it helpful for research and to help in classes as an example of a virtual excavation of a shell midden. The software is certainly aging, but at least we have much more of these important Northwest Coast sites documented in this manner. Any input appreciated.
Shallow semantics for topic-oriented multi-document automatic text summarization
Creators: name: Kipp, Darren
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2008
Subjects: subject: Computer Science.

description: There are presently a number of NLP tools available which can provide semantic information about a sentence. Connexor Machinese Semantics is one of the most elaborate of such tools in terms of the information it provides. It has been hypothesized that semantic analysis of sentences is required in order to make significant improvements in automatic summarization. Elaborate semantic analysis is still not particularly feasible. In this thesis, I will look at what shallow semantic features are available from an off the shelf semantic analysis tool which might improve the responsiveness of a summary. The aim of this work is to use the information made available as an intermediary approach to improving the responsiveness of summaries. While this approach is not likely to perform as well as full semantic analysis, it is considerably easier to achieve and could provide an important stepping stone in the direction of deeper semantic analysis. As a significant portion of this task we develop mechanisms in various programming languages to view, process, and extract relevant information and features from the data.
Optimization and evaluation of an electro-mechanical battery/chemical battery series hybrid electric drivetrain for vehicular applications.
Creators: name: Keating, Michel B.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 1995
Subjects: subject: Engineering, Electronics and Electrical.

description: This thesis presents the results of an optimization study of preliminary design objectives for a hybrid electric vehicle. The energy source is a lead-acid battery pack which is load levelled using an electro-mechanical battery. A control strategy or power split between the battery pack and electro-mechanical battery was devised such that a constant continuous low power output from the battery pack would result. The optimized hybrid electric drivetrain parameters, to maximize range, were: battery pack size = 620 kg, flywheel size = 0.58 kW$\cdot$h maximum energy storage capability, flywheel motor size = 30 kW rated continuous power output, drive motor size = 62 kW rated continuous power output, amount of energy initially stored in the flywheel = 0.50 kW$\cdot$h. The mini-van equipped with this optimized hybrid electric drivetrain would have a curb weight of 2070 kg and a payload capacity of 600 kg. In order to complete the Federal Urban Drive Schedule, the battery power output would be constant and set at 7.72 kW except during regenerative braking when the battery would be shut-off. Power peaks of up to 52 kW would be provided by the electro-mechanical battery with the flywheel speed remaining between 20 000 rpm and 40 000 rpm throughout the drive schedule. Total energy losses in the electro-mechanical battery incurred throughout the drive schedule result in a turnaround efficiency of 77.7%. The total amount of energy required from the battery pack in order for the vehicle to complete the 12 km long drive schedule is 2.31 kW$\cdot$h. The hybrid vehicle can repeat the drive schedule and travel a distance of 68 km using 80% of the battery's rated capacity. Thus, with a total mass of 858 kg, the hybrid drivetrain achieves and energy density of 13.6 W$\cdot$h/kg. Without the electro-mechanical battery to absorb the power peaks, energy density falls to 4.93 W$\cdot$h/kg for the electric drivetrain equipped with lead-acid batteries only. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Langmuir circulation: resonance, symmetry and pattern selection
Creators: name: Cui, Lidong
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: Global change computations of the ocean must capture a spectrum of features ranging from those visible from space, to those visible to mariners. But not even the world’s fastest supercomputers can resolve all features, meaning that those of fundamental importance but not resolved must be modelled. Prominent in this category are long wind-aligned rolls known as Langmuir circulation that grow to the size of sports stadiums and enhance mixing in the upper ocean. This research is concerned with the mathematical description of Langmuir circulation and with how, when they resonate nonlinearly, they grow in size and deepen the mixed layer.
Proximal-Distal Heterogeneity of the dorsal subiculum circuitry
Creators: name: Gao, Ruixue
Publisher: name: Brandeis University
Year: 2026
Subjects: Hippocampus
Subiculum

description: The mammalian hippocampal formation is essential for episodic memory and spatial navigation. Here, we seek to understand how information processing performed by individual neurons in one of the major output regions of the hippocampal formation, the subiculum, contributes to this function. The subiculum conveys information to a range of downstream regions, with these projections being organized along the proximal-distal axis. Yet, the functional consequences of this cellular heterogeneity remain a mystery. I hypothesize that this difference in connectivity allows subpopulations of subicular neurons to selectively route behaviorally relevant information to the hippocampus’ downstream regions. To test this hypothesis, I used anterograde and retrograde viral expression strategies to examine subpopulations of subicular neurons projecting to different downstream brain areas. I also visualized axons of these subicular neurons in an intact mouse brain using tissue-clearing techniques. This will allow future experiments to inhibit specific subicular neurons that project to a particular downstream region to study the behavioral effect of their activation. It will also enable researchers to use two-photon calcium imaging to map the activity of these neuronal subpopulations onto the learning performance of mice engaged in a spatial memory task. Together, these experiments will reveal how basic cellular properties endow subicular neurons with the ability to direct brain-wide neural circuit dynamics involved in learning.
Web-based radio fading channel modeling, estimation and identification
Creators: name: Zhan, Jun
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2004
Subjects: subject: Engineering, Electronics and Electrical.

description: This thesis focuses on the practical implementation issues for modeling, simulation, estimation and system identification of wireless fading channels. The state space models are introduced to describe fading channels including flat fading and frequency-selective fading channels. Without measurement data, simulation and estimation of fading channels are related to the motion of the transmitter or the receiver. The state space realizations and the Kalman filtering are derived for Rayleight fading, Ricean fading and frequency-selective fading channels. The inphase, quadrature and envelope components of the received signals are simulated and estimated through the state space realizations and the Kalman filtering. These model parameters are defined by the transfer function of a given Doppler power spectral density (DPSD) associated to several physical factors such as carried frequency, mobile moving speed, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), an angle and an interval time. With measurement data, system identification is based on the Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm together with the Kalman filtering. These system parameters are computed recursively. Various identified results illustrate the processes of system identification for flat fading and frequency-selective fading channels based on the measurement data provided by Communications Research Center Canada (CRC). Measurement data could also be input by users. Finally, a web-based wireless fading channel simulation and estimation system is analyzed, designed and implemented using UML(TM) techniques and Java(TM) programming language. The web-based system can provide friendly interfaces to complete modeling, simulation, estimation and system identification of fading channels. The Web-based simulation and estimation system can be run on the following site: http://www.site.uottawa.ca/∼jzhan037/onlineSystem.html or http://www.site.uottawa.ca/∼chadcha/onlineSystem.html .
Inhibition of citrate cotransporter Slc13a5/mINDY by RNAi improves hepatic insulin sensitivity and prevents diet-induced non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in mice
Creators: name: Brachs, Sebastian
name: Winkel, Angelika F.
name: Tang, Hui
name: Birkenfeld, Andreas L.
name: Brunner, Bodo
name: Jahn-Hofmann, Kerstin
name: Margerie, Daniel
name: Ruetten, Hartmut
name: Schmoll, Dieter
name: Spranger, Joachim
Publisher: name: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: INDY/Slc13a5
subject: siRNA
subject: Insulin resistance
subject: Steatosis
subject: Citrate transport
subject: Lipid accumulation
subject: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften::610 Medizin und Gesundheit

description: Objective Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a world-wide health concern and risk factor for cardio-metabolic diseases. Citrate uptake modifies intracellular hepatic energy metabolism and is controlled by the conserved sodium-dicarboxylate cotransporter solute carrier family 13 member 5 (SLC13A5, mammalian homolog of INDY: mINDY). In Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans INDY reduction decreased whole-body lipid accumulation. Genetic deletion of Slc13a5 in mice protected from diet-induced adiposity and insulin resistance. We hypothesized that inducible hepatic mINDY inhibition should prevent the development of fatty liver and hepatic insulin resistance. Methods Adult C57BL/6J mice were fed a Western diet (60% kcal from fat, 21% kcal from carbohydrate) ad libitum. Knockdown of mINDY was induced by weekly injection of a chemically modified, liver-selective siRNA for 8 weeks. Mice were metabolically characterized and the effect of mINDY suppression on glucose tolerance as well as insulin sensitivity was assessed with an ipGTT and a hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp. Hepatic lipid accumulation was determined by biochemical measurements and histochemistry. Results Within the 8 week intervention, hepatic mINDY expression was suppressed by a liver- selective siRNA by over 60%. mINDY knockdown improved hepatic insulin sensitivity (i.e. insulin-induced suppression of endogenous glucose production) of C57BL/6J mice in the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp. Moreover, the siRNA-mediated mINDY inhibition prevented neutral lipid storage and triglyceride accumulation in the liver, while we found no effect on body weight. Conclusions We show that inducible mINDY inhibition improved hepatic insulin sensitivity and prevented diet-induced non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in adult C57BL6/J mice. These effects did not depend on changes of body weight or body composition.
The Prevalence and Incidence of Interstitial Lung Disease among Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Protocol for a Systematic Review
Creators: name: Semmler, Joy Kiss
name: Davidsen, Jesper Rømhild
name: Adelhelm, Josefine Bak H.
name: Fløjborg, Sille
name: voss, anne
name: Langkilde, Henrik Zachar
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: subject: Systematic Reviews as Topic/methods
subject: Meta-Analysis as Topic
subject: Lung Diseases, Interstitial
subject: Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic
subject: Prevalence
subject: Incidence

description: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease, which can affect any organ systems and cause increased morbidity and mortality. Interstitial lung diseases (ILD) can manifest with heterogeneous radiological and pathological patterns in different categories of connective tissue diseases (CTD-ILD) including SLE. ILD is associated with reduced quality of life due to increased morbidity and mortality. Diagnosing SLE-ILD is challenging, and the prevalence and incidence of SLE-ILD vary depending on the applied study methodology and study population. Clarifying an estimate of the prevalence and incidence of SLE-ILD will help clinicians’ awareness of this rare disease presentation prompting an overall improved management including treatment plans.
Parental decision making involvement and decisional conflict: a descriptive study
Creators: name: Boland, Laura
name: Kryworuchko, Jennifer
name: Saarimaki, Anton
name: Lawson, Margaret L
Publisher: name: BioMed Central
Year: 2017

description: Background: Decisional conflict is a state of uncertainty about the best treatment option among competing alternatives and is common among adult patients who are inadequately involved in the health decision making process. In pediatrics, research shows that many parents are insufficiently involved in decisions about their child’s health. However, little is known about parents’ experience of decisional conflict. We explored parents’ perceived decision making involvement and its association with parents’ decisional conflict. Method: We conducted a descriptive survey study in a pediatric tertiary care hospital. Our survey was guided by validated decisional conflict screening items (i.e., the SURE test). We administered the survey to eligible parents after an ambulatory care or emergency department consultation for their child. Results: Four hundred twenty-nine respondents were included in the analysis. Forty-eight percent of parents reported not being offered treatment options and 23% screened positive for decisional conflict. Parents who reported being offered options experienced less decisional conflict than parents who reported not being offered options (5% vs. 42%, p < 0.001). Further, parents with options were more likely to: feel sure about the decision (RR 1.08, 95% CI 1.02–1.15); understand the information (RR 1.92, 95% CI 1.63–2.28); be clear about the risks and benefits (RR 1.12, 95% CI 1.05–1.20); and, have sufficient support and advice to make a choice (RR 1.07, 95% CI 1.03–1.11). Conclusion: Many parents in our sample experienced decisional conflict after their clinical consultation. Involving parents in the decision making process might reduce their risk of decisional conflict. Evidence based interventions that support parent decision making involvement, such as shared decision making, should be evaluated and implemented in pediatrics as a strategy to reduce parents’ decisional conflict.
Estimating the effect of vegetation on urban temperatures
Creators: name: Al-Gretawee, Hayder
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: Thesis focused on the mitigation of Urban Heat Island, this phenomenon can define as temperature in the city core always higher than rural areas by 7 oC or more in some mega cities like Melbourne which I use it as a large case study. The mitigation process studied the effect of 27 parks on air and surface temperature during the course of one year. In addition, the other weather parameters such as wind speed, humidity and precipitation were measured for different distance from the edge of parks towards many sights inbound and outbound. Vegetation within parks can be designed in the city core and far could reach to 9 km to diminish temperature up to 5 oC from the park edges to 3 km.
A D-phenylalanine-benzoxazole derivative uncovers redundancy in the pantothenate biosynthetic pathway of Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Creators: name: Pepi, Michael
Publisher: name: Brandeis University
Year: 2021
Subjects: Tuberculosis

description: New drugs and new targets are urgently needed to treat tuberculosis. We discovered the D-phenylalanine-benzoxazole Q112 displays potent antibacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in multiple media and in macrophage infections. Metabolomic profiling experiments indicate that Q112 has a unique mechanism of action compared to other antitubercular agents. Q112 perturbs the essential pantothenate/CoA biosynthetic pathway, depleting pantoate while increasing ketopantoate, as would be expected if ketopantoate reductase (KPR) were inhibited. We searched for alternative KPRs since the canonical enzyme is not essential in Mtb. The ketol-acid reductoisomerase IlvC catalyzes the KPR reaction in the close Mtb relative Corynebacterium glutamicum, but Mtb IlvC does not display KPR activity. We identified the essential protein Rv3603c as an ortholog of the second alternative KPR PanG, and purified recombinant Rv3603c is a bona fide PanG KPR. Q112 inhibits Rv3603c, explaining the metabolomic changes. Surprisingly, pantothenate does not rescue Q112-treated bacteria, indicating that Q112 has an additional target(s).
title: Beyond This Point There Be Dragons
Creators: name: West, Temple D.
Publisher: name: Old Dominion University
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/04zjtrb98
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 1999

description: Through profiles of six contemporary female authors that focus on their creative lives, as well as my personal journey toward rediscovering my creative voice, this nonfiction work explores the myths and legacies surrounding female creativity, especially as it relates to women writers today. It is an anatomy of stories about women who dare enter that territory of dragons beyond the known world, the territory where treasure is found.
Arsenic occurrence and speciation in Cyclope neritea, a gastropod inhabiting the arsenic-rich marine shallow-water hydrothermal system off Milos Island, Greece
Creators: name: Ruiz-Chancho, Maria Jose
name: Pichler, Thomas
name: Price, Roy
Publisher: name: Elsevier Science
Year: 2013
Subjects: subject: Arsenic
subject: Speciation
subject: Gastropods
subject: Hydrothermal systems
subject: 550

description: Around Milos Island marine shallow-water hydrothermal activity can be found and in Paleochori Bay, where high arsenic concentrations were reported for the hydrothermal fluids. There the gastropod Cyclope neritea was present at high densities despite the extreme conditions associated with hydrothermal venting, feeding on white microbial mats. Surprisingly, C. neritea collected from the hydrothermal vent area accumulated comparatively less arsenic in its tissues than specimens of the same species collected from an area not affected by hydrothermal activity. Inorganic arsenic was found at high percentages with respect to the sum of arsenic species both in the gut and muscle of C. neritea and the amount of arsenobetaine (AB) was less than in specimens collected at an area away from hydrothermal activity. Trimethylarsoniopropionate (TMAP) was found at relatively high percentages in C. neritea and in the surrounding environment (sediment and plankton) in Paleochori Bay. Tetramethylarsonium ion (TETRA) was found at high percentages in the gut and muscle of C. neritea. It was most likely biosynthesized in the gastropod gut, and accumulated in the muscle, because it was not found in any other compartment studied. Based on these observations we conclude that C. neritea is arsenic tolerant. The data suggests that arsenic species distribution is strongly influenced by arsenic species exposure and/or different detoxifying mechanisms, although the exact metabolic pathways could not be completely resolved.
Polymorphism in COMT is associated with IgG 3 subclass level and susceptibility to infection in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome
Creators: name: Löbel, Madlen
name: Mooslechner, Agnes Anna
name: Bauer, Sandra
name: Günther, Sabrina
name: Letsch, Anne
name: Hanitsch, Leif G.
name: Grabowski, Patricia
name: Meisel, Christian
name: Volk, Hans-Dieter
name: Scheibenbogen, Carmen
Publisher: name: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Immunoglobulins
subject: HPA axis
subject: Chronic fatigue syndrome
subject: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften::610 Medizin und Gesundheit

description: Background Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is considered as a neuroimmunological disease but the etiology and pathophysiology is poorly understood. Patients suffer from sustained exhaustion, cognitive impairment and an increased sensitivity to pain and sensory stimuli. A subset of patients has frequent respiratory tract infections (RRTI). Dysregulation of the sympathetic nervous system and an association with genetic variations in the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and glucocorticoid receptor genes influencing sympathetic and glucocorticoid metabolism were reported in CFS. Here, we analyzed the prevalence of SNPs of COMT and glucocorticoid receptor- associated genes in CFS patients and correlated them to immunoglobulin levels and susceptibility to RRTI. Methods We analyzed blood cells of 74 CFS patients and 76 healthy controls for polymorphisms in COMT, FKBP5 and CRHR1 by allelic discrimination PCR. Serum immunoglobulins were determined by immunoturbidimetric technique, cortisol levels by ECLIA. Results Contrary to previous reports, we found no difference between CFS patients and healthy controls in the prevalence of SNPs for COMT, FKBP5 and CRHR1. In patients with the Met/Met variant of COMT rs4680 we observed enhanced cortisol levels providing evidence for its functional relevance. Both enhanced IgE and diminished IgG 3 levels and an increased susceptibility to RRTI were observed in CFS patients with the Met/Met variant. Such an association was not observed in 68 non-CFS patients with RRTI. Conclusion Our results indicate a relationship of COMT polymorphism rs4680 with immune dysregulation in CFS providing a potential link for the association between stress and infection susceptibility in CFS.
Molecular evidence for abiotic sulfurization of dissolved organic matter in marine shallow hydrothermal systems
Creators: name: Gómez-Sáez, Gonzalo Vicente
name: Niggemann, Jutta
name: Dittmar, Thorsten
name: Pohlabeln, Anika M.
name: Lang, Susan Q.
name: Noowong, Ann
name: Pichler, Thomas
name: Wörmer, Lars
name: Bühring, Solveig I.
Publisher: name: Elsevier Science
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Marine shallow hydrothermal systems
subject: dissolved organic matter (DOM)
subject: dissolved organic sulfur (DOS)
subject: FT-ICR-MS
subject: Milos (Eastern Mediterranean)
subject: Dominica (Caribbean Sea)
subject: Iceland (North Atlantic)
subject: 550

description: Shallow submarine hydrothermal systems are extreme environments with strong redox gradients at the interface of hot, reduced fluids and cold, oxygenated seawater. Hydrothermal fluids are often depleted in sulfate when compared to surrounding seawater and can contain high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide (H2S). It is well known that sulfur in its various oxidation states plays an important role in processing and transformation of organic matter. However, the formation and the reactivity of dissolved organic sulfur (DOS) in the water column at hydrothermal systems are so far not well understood. We investigated DOS dynamics and its relation to the physicochemical environment by studying the molecular composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in three contrasting shallow hydrothermal systems off Milos (Eastern Mediterranean), Dominica (Caribbean Sea) and Iceland (North Atlantic). We used ultra-high resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS) to characterize the DOM on a molecular level. The molecular information was complemented with general geochemical data, quantitative dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and DOS analyses as well as isotopic measurements (δ2H, δ18O and F14C). In contrast to the predominantly meteoric fluids from Dominica and Iceland, hydrothermal fluids from Milos were mainly fed by recirculating seawater. The hydrothermal fluids from Milos were enriched in H2S and DOS, as indicated by high DOS/DOC ratios and by the fact that >90% of all assigned DOM formulas that were exclusively present in the fluids contained sulfur. In all three systems, DOS from hydrothermal fluids had on average lower O/C ratios (0.26–0.34) than surrounding surface seawater DOS (0.45–0.52), suggesting shallow hydrothermal systems as a source of reduced DOS, which will likely get oxidized upon contact with oxygenated seawater. Evaluation of hypothetical sulfurization reactions suggests DOM reduction and sulfurization during seawater recirculation in Milos seafloor. The four most effective potential sulfurization reactions were those exchanging an O atom by one S atom in the formula or the equivalent + H2S reaction, correspondingly exchanging H2O, H2 and/or O2 by a H2S molecule. Our study reveals novel insights into DOS dynamics in marine hydrothermal environments and provides a conceptual framework for molecular-scale mechanisms in organic sulfur geochemistry.
Method of dimensionality reduction in contact mechanics and friction: a user's handbook. II. power-law graded materials
Creators: name: Heß, Markus
name: Popov, Valentin L.
Publisher: name: Technische Universität Berlin
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: 600 Technik, Technologie
subject: normal contact
subject: tangential contact
subject: adhesion
subject: power-law graded materials
subject: partial slip
subject: method of dimensionality reduction

description: Until recently, the only way of solving contact problems was to applythree-dimensional contact theories. However, this presupposes higher mathematical and numerical knowledge, which usually only research groups possess. This has changed drastically with the development of the method of dimensionality reduction (MDR), which allows every practically oriented engineer an access to the solution of contact problems. The simple and contact-type dependent rules are summarized in the first part of the user manual; they require contacts between elastically homogeneous materials. The present paper forms the second part of the user handbook and is dedicated to the solution of contact problems between power-law graded materials. All the MDR-rules are listed with which normal, tangential and adhesive contacts between such high-performance materials can be calculated in a simple manner.
Distribution and mobility of geogenic molybdenum and arsenic in a limestone aquifer matrix
Creators: name: Pichler, Thomas
name: Mozaffari, Ali
Publisher: name: Elsevier Science
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Geogenic
subject: Arsenic
subject: Molybdenum
subject: Aquifer matrix
subject: Limestone
subject: Groundwater
subject: 550

description: To investigate the potential of Mo and As as possible geogenic contaminants, three sediment cores were examined to evaluate their mineralogical association, distribution and mobility. The cores were described and analyzed for total organic carbon (TOC), Ca, Mg, Si, Al, P, Sr, As, Mo, Fe, and S content. Except in the uppermost segment, limestone was the main lithology with the occasional presence of dolomite and clay. That change in lithology was also observed in the bulk chemical composition, where Ca, Mg and Sr concentrations increased with depth, while Si, Al and P concentrations decreased with depth. Minor minerals included pyrite (FeS2), powellite (CaMoO4) and ferrihydrite. The minimum, maximum, median and standard deviations for all analyzed elements, including As and Mo were comparable for all three cores. Molybdenum and As, however, varied significantly with depth and median As and Mo values were above their respective crustal averages of approximately 1.1 mg/kg and 1.5 mg/kg. The median values for As were 1.9 mg/kg in core DEP-1, 3.3 mg/kg in DEP-2 and 1 mg/kg in DEP-5. The median values for Mo were 2.3 mg/kg in core DEP-1, 2.5 mg/kg in DEP-2 and 2.5 mg/kg in DEP-5. Maximum concentrations for As were 101.9 mg/kg, 47.5 mg/kg and 56.2 mg/kg in cores DEP-1, DEP-2 and DEP-5, respectively. Maximum concentrations for Mo were 880 mg/kg, 123 mg/kg and 225 mg/kg in cores DEP-1, DEP-2 and DEP-5, respectively. Electron microprobe analyses of individual minerals revealed variable concentrations of As ranging from approximately 300 to 9000 mg/kg, in pyrite and up to 17,600 mg/kg in powellite (CaMoO4). The Mo concentration in pyrite was consistently below the detection limit of approximately 100 mg/kg. In powellite the Mo concentration was up to 42 wt%. A subset of 10 samples from different stratigraphic sections and with different As and Mo concentrations was further investigated to assess As and Mo mobility under changing physicochemical conditions. Leaching the aquifer matrix with a 1 M NaOAc solution at a pH of 8.1 removed more than 70% Mo in 8 of the 10 samples. The maximum value was 97%. In contrast to Mo, As was mobilized to a lesser degree. In 8 of the samples less than 30% were removed and the maximum was only 50%. Molybdenum, which seemed to be loosely bound to mineral and organic matter surfaces thus could easily be removed from the aquifer matrix, while As on the other hand should be much less mobile, because it occurred either tightly adsorbed by hydrous ferric oxide or as an impurity in pyrite. Thus, it is advisable to include Mo in the analytical program whenever elevated As concentrations are encountered in groundwater.
A finger-mounted obstacle detector for people with visual impairment
Creators: name: Ling, Derrick Kuo Xiong
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: impairment. The proposed assistive prototype detects obstacle using ultrasonic sensor in real-time and produce audio feedback using transducer. Many previous studies proposed prototypes that are either heavy, bulky, obstructive or high computational power leading to high power consumption. However, the research successfully designed a prototype to be small, light-weight, non-obstructive, low computational power, low cost, portable and wearable. The proposed prototype can potentially assist people with visual impairment in reducing the rate of collision or accident against obstacles around them.
L'éducation libertine au XVIIIe siècle, ou, la remise en cause d'une société?
Creators: name: Archambault, Sophie.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 1996
Subjects: subject: Literature, Romance.

description: L'education libertine est une theme a la mode dans les romans du dix-huitieme siecle. C'est la un paradoxe puisque l'education a tout d'abord une connotation morale importante importante, evoquant des valeurs vertueuses, et devant ultimement mener a la formation d'un adulte qui pourra etre utile a la societe. De plus, les libertins rejettent en principe ce que recherchent leurs, emules: le sentiment d'appartenance a la mondanite. Ce theme est au centre des trois romans auxquels cette these consacree: Les Egarements du coeur et de l'esprit de Claude Prosper Jolyot de Crebillon, publies en 1736 et 1738, les Memoires pour servir a l'histoire des moeurs du XVIII$\sp{e}$siecle de Charles Pinot Duclos qui l'ont ete en 1751, et Les Liaisons dangereuses de Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, en 1782. Ces romans qui utilisent des formes litteraires en vogue au moment ou ils paraissent--le roman-memoires et le roman epistolaire--imitent des textes non fictifs et facilitent la manipulation de la lecture. L'ambiguite, la dualite et l'omnipresence du masque, themes au centre des romans, servent de fil conducteur a cette etude. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Lexicography as Feature Engineering
Creators: name: Montoya, Orion
Publisher: name: Brandeis University
Year: 2017
Subjects: lexical semantics
distributional semantics
synonymy
plesionymy
Lexicography

description: Many different techniques can group synonymous words together, but it is much harder to untangle the nuance and emphasis borne by individual members of a synonym set. The distributional hypothesis holds that you may understand a word by the contexts in which it appears. This thesis applies a sort of transposition of the distributional hypothesis to groups of synonyms. I postulate that, by aggregating the differences among the contexts of similar words, one may discover the range of semantic factors borne by a synonym group as a whole, as well as the implications of choosing an individual member of a synset. By applying an analytical framework along these lines to extract semantic factors for set of synonyms, I initially find factors that are of a different sort than the factors used in most decompositional analyses, and see promise in developing the approach further with varying methods of feature extraction.
Sequential and simultaneous adsorption of Sb(III) and Sb(V) on ferrihydrite: Implications for oxidation and competition
Creators: name: Qi, Pengfei
name: Pichler, Thomas
Publisher: name: Elsevier Science
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Antimony(III,V)
subject: ferrihydrite
subject: Adsorption
subject: Oxidation
subject: Competition
subject: 550

description: Antimony (Sb) is a naturally occurring element of growing environmental concern whose toxicity, adsorption behavior and other chemical properties are similar to that of arsenic (As). However, less is known about Sb compared to As. Individual and simultaneous adsorption experiments with Sb(III) and Sb(V) were conducted in batch mode with focus on the Sb speciation of the remaining liquid phase during individual Sb(III) adsorption experiments. The simultaneous adsorption and oxidation of Sb(III) was confirmed by the appearance of Sb(V) in the solution at varying Fe/Sb ratios (500, 100 and 8) and varying pH values (3.8, 7 and 9). This newly formed Sb(V) was subsequently removed from solution at a Fe/Sb ratio of 500 or at a pH of 3.8. However, more or less only Sb(V) was observed in the liquid phase at the end of the experiments at lower Fe/Sb ratios and higher pH, indicating that competition took place between the newly formed Sb(V) and Sb(III), and that Sb(III) outcompeted Sb(V). This was independently confirmed by simultaneous adsorption experiments of Sb(III) and Sb(V) in binary systems. Under such conditions, the presence of Sb(V) had no influence on the adsorption of Sb(III) while Sb(V) adsorption was significantly inhibited by Sb(III) over a wide pH range (4–10). Thus, in the presence of ferrihydrite and under redox conditions, which allow the presence of both Sb species, Sb(V) should be the dominant species in aquatic environments, since Sb(III) is adsorbed preferentially and at the same time oxidized to Sb(V).
Indoor infrared wireless communication channels.
Creators: name: Pakravan, Mohammad Reza.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2000
Subjects: subject: Engineering, Electronics and Electrical.

description: The emergence of portable computing devices is expected to accelerate the introduction of wireless Local Area Networks (LANs). Portable devices require connectivity with low power consumption, small size and weight. The demand for inexpensive, high-speed communication links satisfying these requirements his encouraged the research on infrared wireless communications. In this thesis, the fundamentals of infrared communications and different suitable configurations are reviewed. The basic nature of the infrared channel, the differences between the infrared channel and radio frequency channel and the important communication problems faced by infrared systems are explained. An infrared channel simulation algorithm that is used to estimate its impulse response is described. An extensive set of measurements has been performed to investigate the effects of receiver rotation, receiver shadowing, receiver displacement, transmission configuration and communications environments on the characteristics of the infrared channel. The characteristics of the wide-band measurement system that was used to collect the infrared channel transfer functions are presented. The objectives, procedures, results and conclusions of these measurements are discussed and reported. Diffusers are an important element of infrared transmission systems. They are used to control the radiation pattern of the transmitter for efficiency and eye-safety. Holographic diffusers have been designed and manufactured to provide better infrared radiation patterns. These diffusers were used in the measurement setup to assess the performance enhancements that can be achieved by using holographic diffusers. The results show uniform and efficient use of optical power and better tolerance to shadowing by using these devices.
title: Le développement du sentiment d'efficacité personnelle : une locomotive pour les élèves apprentis lecteurs
title: Le développement du sentiment d'efficacité personnelle : une locomotive pour les élèves apprentis lecteurs
titleType: AlternativeTitle
Creators: name: Chervet, Anne
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 0
Subjects: subject: sentiment d’efficacité personnelle
subject: motivation
subject: apprentis lecteurs
subject: recherche-intervention
subject: méthode phonémique-synthétique
subject: évolution progressive

description: L’apprentissage de la lecture est fondamental tout au long de la scolarité et dans les années qui suivent, autant au niveau professionnel que dans le quotidien. Mais il demande des capacités spécifiques et un processus de très longue haleine. Pour soutenir l’intérêt et la persévérance au fil du temps, le sentiment d’efficacité personnelle (SEP) a alors toute son importance. Celui-ci permet de croire au fait d’avoir les ressources nécessaires pour atteindre les buts donnés (Bandura, 2007) et est également un facteur de motivation permettant l’engagement de l’élève dans ce challenge de l’apprentissage de la lecture jusqu’à son terme (Vianin, 2016). La recherche de ce mémoire est réalisée avec des élèves de 3P concernant leur sentiment d’efficacité personnelle dans leur apprentissage de la lecture. Elle consiste en une rechercheaction (Barbier, 1996) sur la base de pré-tests concernant les capacités en lecture des élèves et leur SEP dans ce domaine. Le but est de discerner les deux apprentis lecteurs de la classe ayant le SEP le plus fragile, puis de travailler avec eux la lecture selon leur niveau de connaissances et d’habiletés tout en favorisant leur SEP. Cette intervention de 12 séances a été produite sur la base de la méthode phonémique-synthétique de lecture de Cuche et Sommer (2010 a) et des signes phonétiques de Sylvestre de Sacy (2010). De plus, il a été tenu compte des expériences actives de maîtrise, des expériences vicariantes et de la persuasion verbale, selon les sources de Bandura (2007), avec l’intention d’accroître le SEP des élèves dans ce domaine. Les résultats des post-tests montrent que le SEP des apprentis lecteurs a augmenté et que leurs performances en lecture se sont améliorées.
Substance usage intention does not affect attentional bias: Implications from Ecstasy/MDMA users and alcohol drinkers
Creators: name: Wilcockson, Thomas D. W.
name: Pothos, Emmanuel M.
name: Parrott, Andrew C.
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: Background: An attentional bias towards substance-related stimuli has been demonstrated with alcohol drinkers and many other types of substance user. There is evidence to suggest that the strength of an attentional bias may vary as a result of context (or use intention), especially within Ecstasy/MDMA users. Objective: Our aim was to empirically investigate attentional biases by observing the affect that use intention plays in recreational MDMA users and compare the findings with that of alcohol users. Method: Regular alcohol drinkers were compared with MDMA users. Performance was assessed for each group separately using two versions of an eye-tracking attentional bias task with pairs of matched neutral, and alcohol or MDMA-related visual stimuli. Dwell time was recorded for alcohol or MDMA. Participants were tested twice, when intending and not intending to use MDMA or alcohol. Note, participants in the alcohol group did not complete any tasks which involved MDMA-related stimuli and vice versa. Results: Significant attentional biases were found with both MDMA and alcohol users for respective substance-related stimuli, but not control stimuli. Critically, use intention did not affect attentional biases. Attentional biases were demonstrated with both MDMA users and alcohol drinkers when usage was and was not intended. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate the robust nature of attentional biases i.e. once an attentional bias has developed, it is not readily affected by intention.
circRNAs are extremely stable in the brain and can serve as age and experience markers
Creators: name: Kirio, Ken
Publisher: name: Brandeis University
Year: 2026
Subjects: circRNA
circular RNA
Drosophila
Aging

description: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a large class of stable RNAs generated by backsplicing that accumulate with age in neural tissue. To determine the reason for this accumulation, we profiled circRNAs from heads of flies at 6 timepoints during their lifespan. We found that the global levels of circRNAs increase linearly with age and that circRNA expression is strongly differentiated between ages. Moreover, most circRNAs increase their levels with age and this increase does not correlate with changes of overall transcription, levels of mRNA counterparts, or intron retention, demonstrating that the increase is not due to biogenesis. In addition, a sustained stimulus such as transient exposure to higher or lower temperatures leads to increases of the levels of specific circRNAs due to the stability of these molecules in vivo. This unusually high stability suggests that circRNAs can be used as experience markers. Indeed, flies that were treated for 10 days at 29°C display elevated levels of the temperature-induced circRNAs even weeks after being returned to standard conditions. Together, our data demonstrate that circRNAs are extremely stable in vivo. Moreover, as circRNAs are inefficiently or not degraded in neurons, circRNAs have potential to be utilized as stress experience markers.
Boron isotope variations in geothermal systems on Java, Indonesia
Creators: name: Purnomo, Budi Joko
name: Pichler, Thomas
name: You, Chen-Feng
Publisher: name: Elsevier Science
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Java
subject: boron isotope
subject: Geothermal water
subject: Crater lake
subject: Seawater input
subject: 550

description: This paper presents δ11B data for hot springs, hot acid crater lakes, geothermal brines and a steam vent from Java, Indonesia. The processes that produce a large range of the δ11B values were investigated, including the possible input of seawater as well as the contrast δ11B compositions of acid sulfate and acid chloride crater lakes. The δ11B values of hot springs ranged from − 2.4 to + 28.7‰ and acid crater lakes ranged from + 0.6 to + 34.9‰. The δ11B and Cl/B values in waters from the Parangtritis and Krakal geothermal systems confirmed seawater input. The δ11B values of acid sulfate crater lakes ranged from + 5.5 to + 34.9‰ and were higher than the δ11B of + 0.6‰ of the acid chloride crater lake. The heavier δ11B in the acid sulfate crater lakes was caused by a combination of vapor phase addition and further enrichment due to evaporation and B adsorption onto clay minerals. In contrast, the light δ11B of the acid chloride crater lake was a result of acid water-rocks interaction. The correlations of δ11B composition with δ18O and δ2H indicated that the B isotope corresponded to their groundwater mixing sources, but not for J21 (Segaran) and J48 (Cikundul) that underwent 11B isotope enrichment by B adsorption into minerals.
Characterization of the N-terminus of ObgE, an essential conserved G-protein in Escherichia coli
Creators: name: Dalin, Simona S.
Publisher: name: Brandeis University
Year: 2011
Subjects: Cell Biology
E Coli

description: Obg is an essential, conserved G-protein that has been implicated in chromosome partitioning, DNA replication regulation, the stringent response, and linking cell cycle events with translational capacity. How Obg carries out all of these varied functions is currently unknown. When ObgE, the Escherichia coli homologue of Obg, is depleted, E. coli displays various growth defects including errors in chromosome partitioning and cytokinesis, causing the formation of long filamentous cells with large DNA contents. Preliminary results suggest that in wild-type cells, ObgE localizes to the membrane and midcell. Deletion of the N-terminus disrupts this localization and these cells improperly segregate their chromosomes. We propose that the N-terminus of ObgE is responsible for its localization to midcell and the membrane. We used site directed mutagenesis of the N-terminus to mutate a conserved basic N terminal residue to alanine. We analyzed the localization of ObgE, number of nucleoids, and total cellular DNA content in cells expressing this mutant ObgE. In addition, we investigated the ability of these cells to survive UV exposure. The data presented here supports the theory that ObgE monitors DNA replication and regulates DNA partitioning. Further analysis of this mutant will advance our understanding of the function of ObgE and its role in the process of DNA segregation.