cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Mortality Modeling: Machine Learning and Mortality Shocks
Creators: name: Schnürch, Simon
name: :Unav
Publisher: name: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
Year: 2021
Subjects: Mortality modeling
Machine learning
Mortality shocks
Lee-Carter model
Neural networks

description: This thesis offers a thorough review of stochastic mortality models, including various calibration and forecasting procedures. As a new contribution to the literature, machine learning methods are applied, yielding fresh perspectives on mortality data and improved forecasting performance. Benefits of classical models such as interpretability and prediction uncertainty quantification are preserved as much as possible or even enhanced.
Biological Effects of Osteopontin on Endothelial Progenitor Cells
Creators: name: Altalhi, Wafa
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2011
Subjects: Endothelium
Integrins
EPC
OPN
Osteopontin
Endothelial progenitor cells

description: Endothelial Progenitor Cells (EPCs) are thought to participate in the healing of injured vascular endothelium by incorporating into the defect sites to mediate endothelial recovery. Recently, osteopontin (OPN) was shown to be fundamental in accelerating estrogen-dependent healing of injured blood vessels. Here, we are investigating the effect OPN has on EPC behavior. Late outgrowth human EPCs (LEPCs) were derived from circulating monocytes isolated by leukophoresis, and grown in culture until passage six. L-EPCs were then assayed for adhesion, spreading, chemotaxis, and haptotaxis, as well as resistance to detachment by flow electric cellsubstrate impedance sensing (ECIS). The results of standard and ECIS methods showed both dose and time dependent responses in cell adhesion and spreading. In addition, OPN promoted haptotactic migration of EPCs in Boyden chamber assays. LEPCs seeded onto 10μM OPN substrates and exposed to laminar flow had grater survival and higher resistance to detachment than OPN/static and flow only conditions. CD44 and !1 integrins were only responsible for approximately 50% of LEPCs adhesion to OPN compared to the unblocked condition. Western blots showed that Rho GTPases were activated in L-EPCs seeded on OPN. However, this activation could not be completely blocked by either CD44 or !1 integrin antagonists. These data confirm the direct effects of OPN on EPCs adhesion, and suggest that OPN works by mediating cell adhesion during vascular injury.
New Roles for Arginine Methylation in RNA Metabolism and Cancer
Creators: name: Goulet, Isabelle
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2011
Subjects: Arginine methylation
Protein arginine methyltransferases
Protein arginine methyltransferase 1
Tudor domain-containing proteins
TDRD3
PRMT1
Breast cancer
RNA metabolism
Stress granules
RNA processing
Tudor domain-containing protein 3
Tudor domain

description: Because it can expand the range of a protein’s interactions or modulate its activity, post-translational methylation of arginine residues in proteins must be duly coordinated and ‘decoded’ to ensure appropriate cellular interpretation of this biological cue. This can be achieved through modulation of the enzymatic activity/specificity of the protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) and proper recognition of the methylation ‘mark’ by a subset of proteins containing ‘methyl-sensing’ protein modules known as ‘Tudor’ domains. In order to gain a better understanding of these regulatory mechanisms, we undertook a detailed biochemical characterization of the predominant member of the PRMT family, PRMT1, and of the novel Tudor domain-containing protein 3 (TDRD3). First, we found that PRMT1 function can be modulated by 1) the expression of up to seven PRMT1 isoforms (v1-7), each with a unique N-terminal region that confers distinct substrate specificity, and by 2) differential subcellular localization, as revealed by the presence of a nuclear export sequence unique to PRMT1v2. Second, our findings suggest that TDRD3 is recruited to cytoplasmic stress granules (SGs) in response to environmental stress potentially by engaging in methyl-dependent protein-protein interactions with proteins involved in the control of gene expression. We also found that arginine methylation may serve as a general regulator of overall SG dynamics. Finally, we uncovered that alteration of PRMT1, TDRD3, and global arginine methylation levels in breast cancer cells may be closely associated with disease progression and poor prognosis. Therefore, further studies into the pathophysiological consequences ensuing from misregulation of arginine methylation will likely lead to the development of novel strategies for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer.
Aufbereitung und Charakterisierung von Seegrasagglomeraten
Creators: name: Stier, Christian
name: :Unav
Publisher: name: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
Year: 2009
Subjects: Bauen
Naturmaterialien
Dämmung
Energieverbrauch
Altbau
Sanierung
Posidonia oceanica
Einblasdämmstoff
Seegras

description: Bauen mit Naturmaterialien ist keine Erfindung unserer Zeit. Doch nie stand eine klimaschonende bzw. klimaneutrale Bauweise derart im Interesse der Bauherren und der ganzen Gesellschaft wie heute. Da das Bauen und Bewohnen von Häusern viele Ressourcen verbraucht und damit einen bedeutenden Einfluss auf den Treibhauseffekt und einen möglichen Klimawandel haben kann, ist eine gute Gebäudedämmung ein Weg in die richtige Richtung. Ein Drittel der CO2-Emissionen ist auf die Beheizung von Gebäuden und die Warmwasserbereitung zurückzuführen. So verursachen allein die über 20 Jahre alten Gebäude 90% des Energieverbrauchs aller Gebäude. Anstöße und Anreize zur Sanierung bestehender Gebäude (Altbauten) stehen somit im Mittelpunkt - was wiederum konjunktur- und arbeitsmarktpolitische Effekte anstößt [Umweltministerium 2007]. Gerade in der Altbausanierung bietet sich ein Einblasdämmstoff, oder Dämmstoff zum Stopfen an, da dies im Bestand, zum Beispiel bei der Neueindeckung von Dächern, sehr gut, z.B. von außen, durchgeführt werden kann. Für diesen Bereich könnten sich die Fasern der botanisch Posidonia oceanica bezeichneten Seegrasart eignen. Innerhalb eines EFRE-Projektes liegt somit derzeit ein Schwerpunkt darauf, eine Lösung zu finden diese spezielle Art von Naturfasern als Dämmmaterial einzusetzen.
An Awkward Silence: Missing and Murdered Vulnerable Women and the Canadian Justice System
Creators: name: Pearce, Maryanne
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2013
Subjects: Missing and Murdered Aboriginal women
Missing and Murdered women
serial killers
serial killers targeting sex workers
sex work
RCMP
Robert Pickton
Project Amelia
Project Devote
Project E-PANA
Project Evenhanded
Project KARE
Aboriginal women
best police practices
database
Downtown Eastside
Vancouver Police Department
violence against Aboriginal women
violence against sex workers
vulnerable persons

description: The murders and suspicious disappearances of women across Canada over the past forty years have received considerable national attention in the past decade. The disappearances and murders of scores of women in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba have highlighted the vulnerability of women to extreme violence. Girls and women of Aboriginal ethnicity have been disproportionally affected in all of these cases and have high rates of violent victimization. The current socio-economic situation faced by Aboriginal women contributes to this. To provide publicly available data of missing and murdered women in Canada, a database was created containing details of 3,329 women, including 824 who are Aboriginal. There are key risk factors that increase the probability of experiencing lethal violence: street prostitution, addiction and insecure housing. The vast majority of sex workers who experience lethal violence are street prostitutes. The dissertation examines the legal status and forms of prostitution in Canada and internationally, as well as the individual and societal impacts of prostitution. A review of current research on violence and prostitution is presented. The thesis provides summaries from 150 serial homicide cases targeting prostitutes in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. The trends and questions posed by these cases are identified. The cases of the missing women of Vancouver and Robert Pickton are detailed. The key findings from the provincial inquiry into the missing women cases and an analysis of the most egregious failings of the investigations (Projects Amelia and Evenhanded) are discussed. Frequently encountered challenges and common errors, as well as investigative opportunities and best practices of police, and other initiatives and recommendations aimed at non-police agencies are evaluated. The three other RCMP-led projects, KARE, DEVOTE and E-PANA, which are large, dedicated units focused on vulnerable women, are assessed. All Canadian women deserve to live free of violence. For women with vulnerable life histories, violence is a daily threat and a common occurrence. More must be done to prevent violence and to hold offenders responsible when violence has been done. This dissertation is a plea for resources and attention; to turn apathy into pragmatic, concrete action founded on solid evidence-based research.
Correction to: Consensus guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) deficiencies
Creators: name: Opladen, Thomas
name: López-Laso, Eduardo
name: Cortès-Saladelafont, Elisenda
name: Pearson, Toni S
name: Sivri, H. S
name: Yildiz, Yilmaz
name: Assmann, Birgit
name: Kurian, Manju A
name: Leuzzi, Vincenzo
name: Heales, Simon
name: Pope, Simon
name: Porta, Francesco
name: García-Cazorla, Angeles
name: Honzík, Tomáš
name: Pons, Roser
name: Regal, Luc
name: Goez, Helly
name: Artuch, Rafael
name: Hoffmann, Georg F
name: Horvath, Gabriella
name: Thöny, Beat
name: Scholl-Bürgi, Sabine
name: Burlina, Alberto
name: Verbeek, Marcel M
name: Mastrangelo, Mario
name: Friedman, Jennifer
name: Wassenberg, Tessa
name: Jeltsch, Kathrin
name: Kulhánek, Jan
name: Kuseyri Hübschmann, Oya
Publisher: name: BioMed Central
Year: 2020

description: An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.
Driving Performance of Older Adults with Early Dementia with Lewy Bodies or Early Alzheimer’s Disease
Creators: name: Yamin, Stephanie
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2014
Subjects: Dementia
Neuropsychological performance
Early dementia
Alzheimer's disease
Dementia with Lewy bodies
Driving

description: Little is known about the specific cognitive impairments that may be the cause of the reported increased crash rate in individuals with early dementia. Though, it is widely accepted that attention, visuospatial and perceptual abilities are central in being able to operate a vehicle safely. This study had three objectives. The first was to clarify the neuropsychological profile, with an emphasis on attention, visuospatial and perceptual abilities, of individuals with early dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), the next was to examine the driving performances of two groups of individuals with early dementia (i.e., early Alzheimer’s disease, AD, and early DLB) and the last was to examine the degree of association between neuropsychological impairments and driving impairments in hopes of predicting poor driving outcomes. Fifty-six participants were recruited from three groups; 20 individuals diagnosed with early AD, 15 individuals diagnosed with early DLB and 21 healthy age-matched controls. All participants were administered the following neuropsychological tests: the Mini-Mental Status Exam (MMSE), the Dementia Rating Scale (DRS-2), the Boston Naming Test (BNT), the Test of Everyday Attention (TEA), the Visual Object and Space Perception Test (VOSP) and the Useful Field of View (UFOV). Additionally, a simulated driving task was completed, with data being collected through primary measures recorded by the simulator as well as an experimenter based driving assessment using a demerit-point test. Results indicated that individuals with early DLB were found to be most impaired in their visuospatial abilities, selective and divided attention abilities, and were found to have significant cognitive fluctuations. Driving performances confirmed that drivers with early dementia were at greater risk for motor vehicle collisions (MVC) and they were found to commit a significant number of driving errors during the driving simulation. Finally, this study was able to demonstrate that in drivers with early AD, attentional impairments were the strongest predictors of driving impairment, whereas in drivers with early DLB, visuospatial impairments were indicative of driving impairment.
Multilingual Automatic Phonetic Transcription - a Linguistic Investigation of its Performance on German and Approaches to Improving the State of the Art
Creators: name: Bystrich, Tobias
name: :Unav
Publisher: name: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
Year: 2025
Subjects: multilingual
Automatic Phonetic Transcription
transcription of spoken speech
phonetic alphabet
automatic speech recognition
Artificial Intelligence
machine learning

description: Phonetic transcription represents the pronunciation of speech in a language-independent script. Accurate manual transcriptions require expert knowledge and are time-consuming. Automatic phonetic transcription (APT) can help reduce the high cost of phonetic transcription, but it is still limited by training data scarcity and quality. This work investigates the highest performing multilingual APT models to find ways to improve them. For this, we seek to improve the modeling for a single target language, German, while aiming to maintain the language-independent accuracy. After the initial investigation, we develop the transcription bootstrapping approach "selective augmentation" and apply it to a model based on the state of the art "MultIPA". Using this approach, we exemplarily improve plosive phonation recognition including the addition of aspiration recognition by selectively transferring plosive phonation information from a helper model trained with Hindi. We propose criteria for judging the improvement and conduct an acoustic phonetic analysis of the VOT. The results show the efficacy of selective augmentation, since voicing recognition accuracy is increased by 17.56% and aspiration recognition from 0% to 61.17%. In addition, the tenuis class is successfully reduced by 32.21%, thereby reducing the conflations between the German phonemes. We finally discuss how selective augmentation may be further improved.
Merle Oberon: she walked in beauty...
Creators: name: McFarlane, Brian
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: Perhaps it was a matter of being caught young. I first saw Merle Oberon when I was about 12 or 13 and A Song to Remember (Charles Vidor, 1945) came to rural Victoria some years after a very long run at Melbourne's Savoy Theatre. I have never forgotten how she looked in that, and every time I've seen it since it brings back that indelible, life-changing image she imprinted on my young mind. Hers was a face of great delicacy, exquisitely oval, framed with lustrous dark hair, with eloquent eyes and bright red lips and she was unforgettably dressed in pale grey trousers, scarlet waistcoat, generous bow-tie, black cutaway coat and grey top hat on first appearance. As novelist George Sand, she swung down a Parisian street (that's Paris, Hollywood) with 'friend' Liszt (Stephen Bekassy), and came into a cafe where Chopin (Cornel Wilde) and his mentor-teacher, Professor Elsner (Paul Muni), sat at a table. She said little in this scene, but as she and Liszt move on to their own table she inclined her head to look provocatively at Wilde to say, 'I hope you will like Paris, Monsieur Chopin. I'm sure Paris will like you.' Simple words of courtesy maybe, but on Merle's lips charged with subtle sexual promise.
Evolving Governance Spaces: Coal Livelihoods in East Kalimantan, Indonesia
Creators: name: Wellstead, K James
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2011
Subjects: Governance
Mining
Indonesia
Coal
Political Ecology
Political Economy
Land
Livelihood

description: Coal mining carries significant impacts for surrounding livelihood practices. Yet, in order to explain how specific impacts become grounded within a particular community, attention must be given to the complex assemblage of socio-political and economic forces operating at the local scale. As such, this paper builds upon 3 months of field research in 2010 to describe the impact of decentralized extractive resource governance at coal mines near the rural coastal village of Sekerat, East Kalimantan. Employing evolutions in political ecology research, the analysis focuses on the evolving governance ‘space’ in order to explain how institutional analyses of resource extraction governance and livelihood governance can be integrated to understand how scalar processes construct a range of real and perceived impacts which condition the decision-making modalities of local villagers. A case is then made for giving greater consideration to the importance of temporality and materiality to explaining how land-based and wage-labour livelihood practices have become ‘reified’ within the local village.
Entwicklung und Analyse thermoelektrischer Temperiersysteme für Werkzeugmaschinen
Creators: name: Salein, Sebastian
name: :Unav
Publisher: name: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
Year: 2024
Subjects: Werkzeugmaschine
Thermisches Verhalten
Lineardirektantrieb
Motorspindel
Thermoelektrisches Temperiersystem
Peltierelement

description: Bei der spanenden Bearbeitung wird ein hoher Anteil der geometrischen Bauteilfehler durch thermisch bedingte Tool-Center-Point (TCP)-Verlagerungen der eingesetzten Werkzeugmaschinen (WZM) verursacht. Die Zielstellung dieser Arbeit besteht in einer Steigerung der thermischen Stabilität von WZM-Komponenten sowie in einer Reduktion von thermisch bedingten TCP-Verlagerungen durch bedarfsorientierte Temperierung. Als Lösungsansatz wird die Nutzung der Thermoelektrik in WZM fokussiert. Das entwickelte Adaptive Kühlsystem mit thermoelektrischen Generatoren vereint den Ansatz eines volumenstromgeregelten Kühlsystems mit der Nutzung systeminhärenter Energie durch Rekuperation thermischer Verluste. Das entwickelte Geregelte Temperiersystem mit Peltierelementen besitzt die Fähigkeit, durch eine Regelung des elektrischen Peltier-Stroms die Wärmeabfuhr und damit den thermischen Gesamtwiderstand des Kühlsystems lastabhängig anzupassen. Das System ermöglicht die Realisierung eines Kühl- und Heizbetriebs. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Nutzung der Thermoelektrik zur Verbesserung des thermoelastischen Verhaltens von WZM einen vielversprechenden Lösungsansatz darstellt.
The importance of field margins and meadows for land snails
Creators: name: Swarowsky, Klaus
name: Brühl, Carsten A.
name: Stahlschmidt, Peter
Publisher: name: My University
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biologische Vielfalt
Flächennutzung

description: Field margins and meadows are valuable habitats for many species in agricultural landscapes but so far there are no comprehensive studies that address their value for land snails, which are an important part of terrestrial biodiversity.Even though the population trends of 74.6 % of the German land snail species that also should inhabit cultivatedland according to their ecological preferences are decreasing, it has never been investigated what value differentagricultural landscapeelements could have for this group. Therefore, we sampled and compared the land snail faunabetween field margins of different width and in-field areas of conventionally managed apple orchards, vineyards andcereal fields as well as between agricultural habitats and meadows to investigate their respective value for land snailbiodiversity in the agricultural landscape.In total we collected 20 different land snail species mostly typical of an open landscape representing ca. 16 % ofthe land snail fauna in Germany. In meadows species richness was higher than in all crop fields and margins exceptfor vineyard margins and wide cereal field margins and furthermore the typically occurring species differed considerablyfrom those in agricultural habitats. Our results did not indicate differences in land snail species richness,abundance or species composition between apple orchard in-field areas and field margins. In vineyardsand cerealfields, species richness was higher in margins than in-field and the red-list species Truncatellina cylindrica (Férussac,1807) was exclusively typical in wide margins of both crops. Land snail abundance and/or species richness increasedwith decreasing agricultural intensity.Quelle: Mainzer Naturwissenschaftliches Archiv : unter Foerderung des Minist. fuer Unterricht und Kultus u. der Stadt Mainz in Verb. mit dem Inst. fuer Bio- und Geowissenschaften der Univ. Mainz - (2013), H. 50, S. 291-300.
Subcinema: theorizing marginal film distribution
Creators: name: Lobato, Ramon
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: Between the multiplex and the art house lays a terrain of global film culture, which is inadequately accounted for in much contemporary film theory. Piracy operations, diasporic networks, cult markets, popular video industries--circuits such as these operate outside and alongside conventional channels of film distribution. Profit-oriented, non-resistant and largely informal, they deliver vast amounts of media to audiences every day. But how are we to study them? This article seeks to trace the outlines of a theoretical approach to film distribution, a field of study which Sean Cubitt has recently described as being only 'in its infancy'. A model of 'subcinema' is proposed here as a new way of conceptualising those forms of subterranean audiovisual exchange which do not show up on other maps.
Supplementary document for Theoretical versus empirical measures of retinal magnification for scaling AOSLO images - 5396707.pdf
Creators: name: Heitkotter, Heather
name: Salmon, Alexander
name: Linderman, Rachel
name: Porter, Jason
name: Carroll, Joseph
Publisher: name: Optica Publishing Group
Year: 2021
Subjects: Uncategorized

description: Supplement 1
Archaeobuthidae Lourenco 2001
Creators: name: Soleglad, Michael E.
name: Fet, Victor
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2003
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Scorpiones
Archaeobuthidae

description: Family Archaeobuthidae Lourenço, 2001 – Extinct.    Type Genus. Archaeobuthus Lourenço, 2001. – Extinct.
 Composition. This monotypic family includes a single monotypic genus, Archaeobuthus.
 Geological occurrence. Lower Cretaceous of Lebanon (amber), ca. 125Ma.
 Taxonomic history. Lourenço (2001c, 2002b) placed Archaeobuthidae in superfamily Buthoidea. In our opinion, there is no current data which confirms placement of Archaeobuthidae either in Buthoidea, or in parvorder Buthida, as defined here.
 Diagnosis. See Lourenço (2001c) for details on the diagnosis of this family.
 Discussion. Archaeobuthus is an important fossil since it is the oldest known orthostern taxon since Carboniferous. Soleglad & Fet (2001) indicated that the reported trichobothrial data places Archaeobuthidae as a sister group to all Recent scorpions. Lourenço (2002b: 38) objected that the observed trichobothrial pattern of Archaeobuthus could be incomplete. However, this pattern was originally reported by Lourenço (2001c: 643) as “neobothriotaxy minorante”, i.e. a completely observed set with some “fundamental trichobothria” missing. This implies that the entire set of trichobothria was visible, as assumed by Soleglad & Fet (2001: 4). Another fossil genus, Palaeoburmesebuthus, could also belong to this family (see below).
description: Published as part of Soleglad, Michael E. & Fet, Victor, 2003, High-level systematics and phylogeny of the extant scorpions (Scorpiones: Orthosterni), pp. 1-175 in Euscorpius 2003 (11) on page 118, DOI: 10.18590/euscorpius.2003.vol2003.iss11.1, http://zenodo.org/record/13237351
The Ottawa Senators Twitter Activity and the Effect on Their Followers
Creators: name: Lee, Jennifer
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2015
Subjects: Twitter
Social Identity
Online Fan Group
Commitment

description: This thesis is written in the publishable paper format, which is comprised of two papers. The research took a case study approach analyzing the Twitter activity of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League, and their followers’. The first paper, using content analysis, analyzed the Senators’ tweets and resulting follower activity level. Focus group research aimed to uncover what specific Senators’ Twitter activity influenced their followers online, and their creation and perceived inclusion in an online fan group. The second paper, through the questionnaire method, looked at the Senators’ Twitter and it’s the influence on their follower’s social identity formation and fan commitment levels. These two papers highlight the importance of sport organizations facilitating connections between their followers and most importantly, facilitating the creation of an online central fan group specific to their Twitter handle.
Homogenization and dimension reduction for periodic textiles made of linear elastic yarns with sliding contact
Creators: name: Falconi, Riccardo
name: :Unav
Publisher: name: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
Year: 2022
Subjects: Periodic Unfolding Method
Homogenization
Dimension reduction
Linear Elasticity
Sobolev spaces
Textile Structures Modeling

description: This thesis aims to give the macroscopic behaviors for the small deformations of textile structures, as well as mathematical explanations of phenomena observed in real experiments. The textile structure is presented as a woven canvas made of long, thin fibers, crossing each other in a periodic pattern. The square cloth is partially clamped, and the fibers can slide in the in-plane directions up to a specific grade of freedom to simulate friction. Due to the problem's complexity, the first part is devoted to extending the theoretical results of the periodic unfolding to sequences that are anisotropically bounded and defined on periodic lattices. In the second part, the linear elasticity problem is taken into account. The partial clamp and strength of contact that holds the fibers together (from glued to strong to loose) led to different cases to study. Through the homogenization and dimension reduction, each asymptotic behavior as period and thickness go to zero is treated. Among the obtained results, of great interest are the in-plane rotation effects of the fibers in the not-clamped areas, and the maximum rotation allowed with respect to the contact strength.
Use of rituximab in idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis
Creators: name: Boyeva, Veronika
name: Alabsi, Hatim
name: Seidman, Michael A.
name: Paterson, Ryan
name: Kur, Jason
name: Chen, Luke Y. C.
name: Chang, Silvia D.
name: Carruthers, Mollie
Publisher: name: BioMed Central
Year: 2020

description: Background Retroperitoneal fibrosis (RPF) is characterized by the proliferation of fibrous tissue in the retroperitoneum. The majority of RPF cases are due to idiopathic or IgG4-related disease. Recent studies on IgG4-related disease have shown rituximab to be an effective treatment. The current first-line treatment for idiopathic RPF (iRPF) is glucocorticoid therapy. Relapse rates vary widely in the literature, and DMARDs remain poorly studied. We sought to evaluate the efficacy of rituximab in idiopathic RPF by quantifying changes in iRPF diameter on imaging pre- and post-rituximab therapy and response by lab parameters in 10 iRPF patients. Methods We selected 10 patients diagnosed with iRPF and previously treated with rituximab (1000 mg) in two doses approximately 2 weeks apart. Pre- and post-therapy contrast enhanced cross-sectional abdomen and pelvis imaging were compared. In all patients, the thickest portion of the peri-aortic disease was measured in the axial and coronal planes. The presence of acute or long standing back pressure related renal findings were documented. Details of clinical visits including patient demographics and laboratory evaluations were collected pre- and post-therapy. Statistical analysis was performed using a Wilcoxon signed rank test. Results The RPF diameter around the aorta before and after therapy decreased from a mean of 15.9 ± 4.9 mm to 10.6 ± 6.1 mm, respectively (p < 0.01). The craniocaudal iRPF mean length decreased from 108.6 mm ± 40.4 mm to 90.6 mm ± 45.9 mm (p = 0.02). Conclusion A comparison of pre and post-rituximab imaging studies revealed a statistically significant decrease in iRPF diameter following treatment with rituximab.
Mysticism Unbound: An Interpretative Reading of Jeffrey J. Kripal's Contribution to the Contemporary Study of Mysticism
Creators: name: Kelly, Jason James
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2011
Subjects: Mysticism
Erotic
Body
Psychoanalysis

description: This thesis examines the relationship between human sexuality and “the mystical” in the work of Jeffrey J. Kripal. I claim that Kripal presents a nondualistic understanding of the relationship between human sexuality and “the mystical” that contests the conventional distinction between body and “soul.” In particular, Kripal’s two central concepts – “the erotic” and “the enlightenment of the body” – suggest that embodiment shapes our understanding of “the mystical.” By demonstrating the psychoanalytic, hermeneutical, and comparative significance of the relationship between human sexuality and “the mystical,” Kripal’s model calls attention to the crucial role that body, gender, and sexual orientation play in both the historical and contemporary study of mysticism. The point of my research is to show that Kripal’s approach signals a new way of studying “the mystical” in terms of “mystical humanism,” which draws on both Eastern and Western philosophies to construct a critical, non-reductive appreciation for the transformative and ultimately emancipatory potential of certain mystical states of consciousness.
Antimikrobielle Produkte im Haushalt
Creators: name: (:Unkn) Unknown
Publisher: name: My University
Year: 2014
Subjects: Desinfektion
Desinfektionsmittel
Resistenz

description: Desinfektionsmittel für Oberflächen und Wäsche, auch für den häuslichen Gebrauch, zählen zu den Biozidprodukten und unterliegen damit der Biozid-Gesetzgebung. Gegenwärtig am Markt verfügbare Produkte sind weder behördlich bewertet noch zugelassen, sondern lediglich bei der Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin gemeldet, da die Prüfung der enthaltenen Wirkstoffe im Rahmen des europäischen Bewertungsverfahrens bezüglich ihrer toxikologischen und umwelttoxikologischen Eigenschaften sowie hinsichtlich ihrer Wirksamkeit noch nicht abgeschlossen ist. Aufgrund von Übergangsregelungen dürfen diese Biozidprodukte derzeit zulassungsfrei auf dem Markt verbleiben. Folglich werden für die Auslobung der Wirksamkeit von Desinfektionsmitteln, eingeschlossen Produkte für den Haushalt, im Rahmen des Zulassungsverfahrens derzeit noch keine spezifischen Nachweise gefordert. Ebenso liegen bis zur Zulassung Angaben, z. B. auf dem Etikett, zu toxikologisch oder umweltrelevanten Auswirkungen im Ermessen des Herstellers bzw. Vertreibers. Der Nutzen von Desinfektionsmitteln für den Haushalt ist gegenwärtig nicht belegbar. Nicht auszuschließen sind dagegen Risiken für den Anwender, für unbeteiligte Personen, für die Umwelt und bezüglich einer möglichen Resistenzbildung bei unsachgemäßer Anwendung. Diese Risiken werden erst durch die im Zulassungsverfahren angelegten Bewertungsmaßstäbe verringert werden. Liegen keine medizinischen Indikationen für die Anwendung von Desinfektionsmitteln vor, vermeidet man Risiken, indem einfache mechanische Reinigungsverfahren zum Einsatz kommen. Gesundheitliche Risiken durch Mikroorganismen sind in einem regelmäßig gereinigten Haushalt nicht zu befürchten, vorausgesetzt die Grundregeln der Hygiene werden beachtet.
© www.mhp-verlag.de
CEO emotional stability and top management team dynamics: an empirical examination
Creators: name: Wuebker, Robert
name: Ensley, Michael
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: We examine the link between CEO personality and top management team (TMT) dynamics. Our work compliments both Judge and Bono (2000), who initiated research into the Five Factor Model of personality and linked them to specific CEO leadership traits, and the work of Peterson, Martorana, Smith and Owens (2003) who hypothesize a linkage between CEO placement on the Five Factor model of personality and TMT dynamics. We clarify and empirically confirm the relationship between CEO Emotional Stability and TMT dynamics using improved methods and a more robust data set. We compliment and extend previous research by using measures of TMT dynamics previously demonstrated to link to firm performance: task conflict, relationship conflict, social integration, and shared cognition. We find that CEO Emotional Stability is positively correlated with TMT task conflict and social integration, but is not correlated with TMT relationship conflict or shared cognition.
Functional and Structural Neural Effects of Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples
Creators: name: Halchuk, Rebecca E
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2012
Subjects: couples
functional MRI
structural MRI

description: There is increasing acknowledgement that problematic interpersonal relationships and negative emotions are key factors in the development and maintenance of various forms of psychopathology. Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for couples centers on changing attachment behaviours as a means to improve distressed relationships by helping partners access underlying emotions and foster positive interactions that promote accessibility and trust. EFT is a highly effective therapeutic approach that encourages the development of adaptive emotion regulation observed in secure attachment. The development and emergence of non-invasive neuroimaging techniques, in particular functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), provides a unique opportunity to investigate neural adaptations underlying successful psychotherapeutic change. Eighteen distressed couples received an average of 23 sessions of EFT, and the resulting functional and structural differences in the neural processing of threat were investigated before and after therapy using MRI methods. Female participants engaged in a stressful task in which they were confronted with the threat of electric shock, while they held their partner’s hand, a stranger’s hand, or were alone in the scanner. Results offered preliminary evidence that EFT can significantly impact emotional dysregulation, promote attenuation of neural threat by their partner, and result in structural change in a key region of emotion circuitry. Moreover, physiological data demonstrated that following EFT for couples, female partners were effectively soothed by their male partners, as demonstrated by decreased cortisol levels.
What the gas and electricity arrears of private low-income tenants can tell us about financial stress
Creators: name: Sharam, Andrea
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: This article considers the implications of two under-recognised forms of credit: that formally provided by utilities and that unwillingly provided by private landlords. The article suggests that low-income households use rental arrears as a form of overdraft facility that allows them to manage cashflow, and that this in turn assists in preventing default on electricity/gas bills. The argument is made that observed consumer behaviour indicates that loss of electricity/gas service is a deprivation avoided at almost any cost. Accordingly, better data collection by the HES for example could assist in the development of far more robust financial hardship/stress indicators.
The impact of water released from boehmite nanoparticles during curing in epoxy-based nanocomposites
Creators: name: Waniek, Tassilo
name: Braun, Ulrike
name: Sielbernagl, Dorothee
Publisher: name: My University
Year: 2021
Subjects: Hydrolyse
Nanomaterialien
Nanopartikel
Polymer
Verbundwerkstoff

description: The enhancing effect on mechanical properties of boehmite (y-AlOOH)nanoparticles (BNP) in epoxy-based nanocomposites on the macroscopic scaleencouraged recent research to investigate the micro- and nanoscopic proper-ties. Several studies presented different aspects relatable to an alteration of theepoxy polymer network formation by the BNP with need for further experi-ments to identify the mode of action. With FTIR-spectroscopic methods thisstudy identifies interactions of the BNP with the epoxy polymer matrix duringthe curing process as well as in the cured nanocomposite. The data reveals thatnot the BNP themselves, but the water released from them strongly influencesthe curing process by hydrolysis of the anhydride hardener or protonation ofthe amine accelerator. The changes of the curing processes are discussed indetail. The changes of the curing processes enable new explanation for thechanged material properties by BNP discussed in recent research like alowered glass transition temperature region (Tg) and an interphase formation. © Authors
Transitions towards an entrepreneurial economy: A case study based investigation of the SME internationalization process
Creators: name: Cruz-Carreon, Gilbert
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: There is a need for researchers to re-conceptualize their thinking on the internationalization process of smaller firms (Bell, et al 2003). It is therefore the purpose of this study to generate a theoretical contribution to the rapidly growing field of International entrepreneurship with a specific focus on investigating the process of internationalization of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). This study makes a unique contribution in terms of the actual focus of the study. A substantial portion of the extant literature has focused on the patterns, pace and intensity of internationalization of firms. For instance, the investigation of internationalization of firms and whether they follow a Staged (sequential) as opposed to a Contingency (strategic choice) approach is a well-travelled area of research. Leonidous & Katsikeas (1996), Ellis & Pecotich (1998) and Coviello & McAuley (1999) have all previously published comprehensive reviews of the internationalization of firms with substantial coverage of the internationalization patterns cited above. However, a flaw in much of the literature reviewed thus far is the assumption that firms follow rigid pathways to internationalization. Bell, et al's (2003) empirical work on small firm internationalization indicated that the actual internationalization trajectories of firms are highly individualistic, situation specific, and unique. Each firm's internationalization pattern results from a combination of managerial insights, experience, connections and contacts, network relationships, and informal and formal industry analyses. Despite the advances that have been made in research on SME internationalization in recent years, there remains the need to conduct exploratory, in-depth analysis to generate qualitative insights that will further substantiate the process view of internationalization. The gap in the understanding of these unique, firm-specific processes, which reflects the interrelationships between internal and external drivers of internationalization, is more pronounced in an economy like Australia. Audretsch and Thurik (2003) make reference to a 'fundamental shift from a managed economy to an entrepreneurial economy (p267)' characterized by a rise to prominence of SMEs in global markets. Australia, however, presents a contradiction to indicative trends around the world. It is a wealthy, developed resource-rich nation with observably low SME participation rates in the international arena. An understanding of the internationalization process of Australian SMEs will shed light on what hinders their participation in international markets and will be an important step towards achieving a re-conceptualization of the internationalization process of small and medium-sized firms.
Machiavelli and a Sixteenth Century Republican Theory of Liberty
Creators: name: Dumais, Charles
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2012
Subjects: Dumais
Machiavelli
Stoics
Stoicism
Italian Humanism
Skinner
Kristeller
Republicanism
Neo-Roman Liberty
Agency
Renaissance Republicanism
Medieval Republicanism

description: In the following thesis, I argue that to contextualize Machiavelli’s republican thought in his Italian humanist heritage permits us to understand how Machiavelli reaches back not only to an Italian pre-humanist inheritance of liberty as freedom from servitude, but to a Stoic conception of agency which he inherits and shapes in that concept of liberty. While my analysis of Machiavelli and his humanist heritage is in fundamental agreement with that of Quentin Skinner in The Foundations of Modern Political Thought, it develops however the implications of two theses that Paul O. Kristeller outlines in his works on Italian humanism: the eclectic nature of humanist ideas and their rhetorical focus. From this I draw a slightly different picture of the humanist heritage and its polemics with Augustine, and from these an understanding about Stoic agency and how it is inherited and shaped in Machiavelli’s conception of the citizen and civic duties.
Entwicklung und Charakterisierung einer Natrium-Festkörperbatterie im Pouchzellenformat
Creators: name: Kaiser, Theresa
name: :Unav
Publisher: name: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
Year: 2024
Subjects: Natrium-Ionen-Batterien

description: Die Energiewende erfordert die Verfügbarkeit von kostengünstigeren und sicheren Batteriezellen zur Energiespeicherung. Eine Alternative zu klassischen Li-Ionen-Batterien sind Natrium-Ionen-Batterien mit Festelektrolyt. Der Rohstoff Natrium ist besser verfügbar und somit günstiger als Lithium. Die Verwendung eines Festelektrolyten sorgt für eine erhöhte Sicherheit der Zelle, da auf leichtentzündliche, flüssige Lösemittel verzichtet werden kann. In dieser Masterarbeit werden Na-Festelektrolytzellen im Pouchformat hergestellt und elektrochemisch charakterisiert. Dazu wird zunächst die Funktion der Pouchzelle mittels Zyklisierung, Dichtigkeitstest und Innenwiderstandsbestimmung an einer konventionellen und bereits etablierten Zellchemie (NMC||Graphit) überprüft. Anschließend wird eigens synthetisiertes Kathodenmaterial (NVP) für Na-Zellen elektrochemisch charakterisiert. Durch Kalandrieren sowie durch Zugabe von FEC eine potenzielle Verbesserung der spezifischen Kapazität untersucht. Zusätzlich wird die Kathodenzusammensetzung aus NVP und Festelektrolyt variiert und mit einem C-Raten-Test die Performanteste ausgewählt. Die damit gefertigten Pouchzellen werden bei unterschiedlichen Temperaturen zyklisiert und die Ergebnisse ausgewertet. Die gefertigten Pouchzellen zeigten durchweg eine gute Kapazität so wie Zyklenstabilität. Die Pouchzellfertigung ist komplexer als die Fertigung der Laborzellen, was sich in geringerer Kapazität als theoretisch möglich zeigt. Jedoch können dichte Zellen mit geringem Innenwiderstand gefertigt werden. Die NVP-Zellen erreichen bei den durchgeführten Untersuchungen geringere spezifische Kapazitäten als die theoretische errechnete Kapazität. Durch Kalandrieren der Kathode und Zugabe von FEC zum Flüssigelektrolyt, ließ sich die spezifische Kapazität drastisch erhöhen. Bei Festelektrolytzellen konnte die spezifische Kapazität ebenfalls durch Kalandrieren der Kathode erhöht werden. Beim Test verschiedener Kathodenzusammensetzung erreicht die Kathode mit 50 % NVP-Anteil die höchste spezifische Kapazität. Die Pouchzellen mit der Kathode mit 50 % NVP-Anteil wurden bei 80 °C und bei 60 °C zyklisiert. Die spezifische Kapazität der Zellen, welche bei höherer Temperatur zyklisiert wurden, war deutlich höher als die Kapazität der Zellen, die bei 60 °C zyklisiert wurden. Zusammenfassend liefert die Herstellung und elektrochemische Charakterisierung der Pouchzellen vielversprechende Ergebnisse hinsichtlich Kapazität und Zyklenstabilität. Die Ergebnisse tragen zur Weiterentwicklung der Festelektrolytzellen bei.
Bewertung von Energieflexibilitätsstrategien für energieintensive Produktionssysteme
Creators: name: Samtleben, Stefanie
name: :Unav
Publisher: name: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
Year: 2025
Subjects: Energieflexibilität
Fabrikplanung
Energiewirtschaft
Variantenvergleich

description: Der Strombedarf in Deutschland ist ungebrochen hoch. Um die Klimaziele zu erreichen, wird die Stromproduktion auf erneuerbare Energiequellen umgestellt, was eine volatile Stromverfügbarkeit zur Folge hat. Da ständig ein Gleichgewicht zwischen Angebot und Nachfrage hergestellt sein muss, steigt die Bedeutung, nachfrageseitig auf ein schwankendes Angebot reagieren zu können. Ziel ist es, die Energieflexibilität produzierender Unternehmen zu erkennen und bei der Fabrikplanung zu berücksichtigen. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit werden Fabrikstrukturen in Abhängigkeit des Energieversorgungsszenarios dimensioniert. Die Auswahl des Energieversorgungsszenarios in Bezug auf die beste Fabrikstruktur wird als Energieflexibilitätsstrategie bezeichnet. In Anlehnung an den Ansatz zur hierarchischen Planung wird ein Optimierungsprogramm aufgesetzt, welches das dynamische Verhalten des energieintensiven Produktionssystems antizipiert. Die Ergebnisse bieten die Möglichkeit, den Vergleich anhand von Produktions- und betriebswirtschaftlichen Kennzahlen vorzunehmen. Anhand der Schmelzebereitstellung von Aluminium wird die Methode erprobt und gibt einen Einblick in das Anwendungspotenzial der Methode.
Effects of Pharmacological Manipulation of the Serotonergic/Cholinergic Systems on Sleep Structure in Two 5-HT1A Genotypes: Implications for a Model of Depression
Creators: name: Biard, Kathleen
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2015
Subjects: Sleep
Depression
Sleep structure
REM
serotonin
acetylcholine
buspirone
galantamine
neurotransmission
5-HT1A receptor
genetic risk factors

description: The serotonergic and cholinergic systems are jointly involved in regulating sleep but this balance is theorized to be disturbed in depressed individuals (Janowsky 1972, Jouvet 1972). One potential cause of disturbed neurotransmission is genetic predisposition. The G(-1019) allele of the 5-HT1A receptor predicts an increased risk for depression compared to the wild-type C(-1019) allele. The goal of this study was to use pharmacological probes in normal controls to model the serotonergic/cholinergic imbalance of depression and its associated abnormalities in sleep structure while controlling for 5-HT1A receptor genotype. Seventeen healthy female participants homozygous for either C (n=11) or G (n=6) alleles, age 18-27 years were tested on four non-consecutive nights. Participants were given galantamine (an anti-acetylcholinesterase), buspirone (a serotonergic agonist), both drugs together, or placebos before sleeping. Buspirone suppressed tonic REM: there was a significant increase in REM latency (p<0.001). Galantamine increased tonic REM sleep, leading to more time spent in stage REM (p<0.001) and shorter REM latency (p<0.01). Galantamine and buspirone given together tended to negate the effects of each other on REM sleep measures but disrupted sleep more than either drug alone, showing lower SE and N3% and increased awakenings, Wake% and N1% (p<0.019). There was no main effect of genotype nor was there a significant multivariate interaction between genotype and drug condition. These findings are partially consistent with the literature about sleep in depression, notably short REM latency, higher percentage of total sleep time spent in REM, and increased sleep fragmentation. The C/G mutation in the 5-HT1A receptor does not appear to cause noticeable differences in the sleep patterns of healthy young females.