cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Sensing and modeling of a hydroelastic lifting body
Creators: name: Di Napoli, Isaac
Publisher: name: University of Iowa
Year: 2022
Subjects: Fluid Structure Interactions
Kinematic Modeling
Modal Analysis
Parameter Estimation
Shape Sensing
Structural Health Monitoring
public abstract

description: Fluid structure interaction (FSI) describes the coupling of fluid dynamic forces on astructure and the corresponding motions of that structure. FSI in dense viscous fluids, known
description: as hydroelasticity, is filled with rich physics that affect a wide range of engineering disciplines.
description: Robust adaptive control of these hydroelastic systems offers a path towards more
description: efficient marine propulsors [1], versatile bio-inspired robotics [2] and effective energy harvesting
description: solutions [3]. In order to provide accurate models and robust controllers, in depth
description: understanding of underlying physics is indispensable. Numerical predictions look to couple
description: computational fluid dynamics and finite element models to capture complex hydroelastic interactions
description: [4]. These models require insight into the energy transport, transfer, storage, and
description: dissipation mechanisms - physical insights that are currently lacking. Experimental measurements,
description: which seek to characterize the effects of fluid flows on the dynamics of a structure,
description: are sparse and exhibit high uncertainties. This is in part due to the non-linear nature of fluid
description: forces, and the lack of established experimental methods. Additionally, accurate measurements
description: are often difficult to obtain because of undesirable flow conditions. In order to fully
description: realize the benefits of hydroelasticity, sensing techniques must be improved, accurate system
description: modeling must be developed, and better interpretation of modeling changes must be explored.
description: This thesis shall address these three areas of need. An accurate kinematic shape sensor (KSS)
description: is developed using a robust kinematic model paired with a shape sensing spar which is instrumented
description: with strategically placed strain gauges. The accurate deflection measurements
description: are shown to be capable of accurate parameter estimation. The KSS is shown to be an excellent
description: source of data for the accurate output-only estimation of system parameters such as
description: natural frequencies, damping ratios, and mode shapes. Moreover, a new co-analysis method
description: is proposed to better interpret interactions between flow patterns and the structural dynamics.
Efficient algorithms for distributionally robust optimization and its applications
Creators: name: Qi, Qi
Publisher: name: University of Iowa
Year: 2023
Subjects: AUPRC
Data Imabalance
Distributionally Robust Learning
Stochastic Opitmization

description: Distributionally Robust Optimization (DRO) learning aims to enhance model robustness by modeling data uncertainty without prior knowledge of the probability distribution. It has gained significant attention due to its effectiveness in addressing various challenges in machine learning, such as data imbalance, label noise, and fairness. Consequently, the design of scalable and efficient algorithms for distributionally robust learning remains critical. While existing primal-dual algorithms have been extensively studied in the literature, they pose several limitations for DRO optimization. These limitations include 1) per-iteration sample complexity being dependent on data size, limiting DRO's capabilities in large-scale applications; 2) lack of compatibility with sequential data; and 3) a scarcity of comprehensive empirical studies on deep learning applications.
description: In this thesis, I am working on design principled efficient stochastic optimization algorithms for DRO problems and their applications. From the theoretical perspective, we design
description: 1) an online variance reduction stochastic algorithm, RECOVER (Qi, Guo, Xu, et al., 2021b), to address KL-divergence regularized DRO objective that achieves the optimal sample complexity for the non-convex objectives.
description: 2) a moving average stochastic algorithm, ABSGD (Qi, Xu, Yin, et al. (2022)), to efficiently solve large-scale data imbalanced and label noisy classification tasks, which achieves 1st Place among all submissions based on ResNet50 without extra labeling costs in the Standford iWildcam out-of-distribution competition.
description: 3) a stochastic compositional algorithm, SCDRO (Qi, Lyu, Bai, Yang, et al. (2022)), for solving constrained DRO objective that achieves near-optimal complexity bounds for non-convex losses and optimal complexity for convex losses.
description: When it comes to applications, besides the comprehensive studies of data imbalanced problems in long-tail image classification, we design a simple and effective DRO framework, (Qi, Yan, Wu, et al. (2020)), to handle the pair imbalance problem in deep metric learning. In addition, as a side work of the data imbalance problem and following the same optimization framework as the DRO problem, we propose a principle technique, (Qi, Luo, Xu, et al. (2021)), for directly optimizing Area Under Precision-Recall Curves (AUPRC) metric for large-scale imbalance medical image problems.
description: In this thesis, we will commence with an introduction, followed by a presentation of preliminary work on stochastic optimization for Distributionally Robust Optimization (DRO). Subsequently, we will delve into our research contributions, addressing both optimization techniques and their practical applications in the ensuing chapters. Finally, we will synthesize our findings and draw meaningful conclusions.
Comparisons of the factors influencing intrinsic radiosensitivity between two isogenic human ovarian carcinoma cell lines.
Creators: name: Abbott, Heather Elizabeth.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2000
Subjects: subject: Biophysics, Medical.

description: The human ovarian carcinoma cell line, A2780s, and its variant, A2780cp, provide an isogenic tumour model for examining factors which determine intrinsic radiosensitivity. A2780s demonstrates sensitivity to ionization radiation while A2780cp is relatively radioresistant (surviving fraction following a 2 Gy dose is 0.083 and 0.43, respectively). The increased radioresistance of A2780cp can not be explained by greater cellular recovery, neither from sublethal nor potentially lethal damage. Moreover, A2780s demonstrates significantly greater (P < 0.05) sublethal and potentially lethal damage recovery than A2780cp. The induction of double strand breaks (dsb), as measured by asymmetric field inversion gel electrophoresis (AFIGE), is identical in these cell lines. Dsb rejoining efficiency is similar between A2780s and A2780cp. Initially, rejoining kinetic experiments reveal that A2780s is deficient in the slow phase of rejoining, while A2780cp is not (80% of dsb remain for A2780s vs 29% A2780cp) (P < 0.01). This deficiency however, is not reproduced in residual dsb experiments and further analysis reveals that it may be an artifact of the normalization process. When the level of residual dsb as a function of dose is examined, the slopes are similar for both cell lines and the only significant difference is seen for the highest dose used, 150 Gy (50% for A2780s and 33% for A2780cp) (P < 0.05). Finally, the cell-free fidelity assay demonstrates that for blunt-cut plasmid, no differences exist in the rejoining efficiency of nuclear extracts. The ligation infidelity of blunt-cut plasmid however, is significantly less (P < 0.05) in A2780cp extracts (0.021 for A2780s vs 0.0030 for A2780cp). Therefore, neither the induction of dsb, nor the efficiency of dsb repair can explain observed differences in radiosensitivity. The fidelity of rejoining however, is significantly greater in the resistant variant and may, in part, explain these differences.
Sublethal whole-body irradiation induces permanent loss and dysfunction in pathogen-specific circulating memory CD8 T cell populations
Creators: name: Heidarian, Mohammad
Publisher: name: University of Iowa
Year: 2023
Subjects: CD8 T cells
circulating
long-term
memory
public abstract
Irradiation

description: The increasing use of nuclear energy sources inevitably raises the risk of accidental or deliberate radiation-exposure and associated immune dysfunction. However, the extent to which radiation-exposure impacts memory CD8 T cells, potent mediators of immunity to recurring intracellular infections and malignancies, remains understudied. Formation of long-lasting memory lymphocytes is one of the foundational characteristics of adaptive immunity and the basis of many vaccination strategies. Following the rapid expansion and contraction of effector CD8 T cells, the surviving antigen (Ag)-specific cells give rise to the memory CD8 T cells that persist for a long time and are phenotypically and functionally distinct from their naïve counterparts. Significant heterogeneity exists within the memory CD8 T cell pool, as different subsets display distinct tissue localization preferences, cytotoxic ability, and proliferative capacity, but all memory CD8 T cells are equipped to mount an enhanced immune response upon Ag re-encounter. Using P14 CD8 T cells chimeric mice (P14 chimeras) with a LCMV infection model, we observed that sublethal (5Gy) whole body irradiation (WBI) induced a rapid decline in the number of naïve (TN) and P14 circulating memory CD8 T cells (TCIRCM) with the former being more susceptible to radiation-induced numeric loss. While TN cell numbers rapidly recovered, as previously described, the number of P14 TCIRCM cells remained low at least nine months after radiation-exposure. Additionally, the remaining P14 TCIRCM in irradiated hosts exhibited an inefficient transition to a central memory (CD62L+) phenotype compared to non-irradiated P14 chimeras. WBI also resulted in long-lasting T-cell intrinsic deficits in memory CD8 T cells, including diminished cytokine and chemokine production along with impaired secondary expansion upon cognate Ag re-encounter. Irradiated P14 chimeras displayed significantly higher bacterial burden after challenge with L. monocytogenes expressing the LCMV GP¬33-41 epitope relative to non-irradiated controls, likely due to radiation-induced numerical and functional impairments. Taken together, our findings suggest that sublethal radiation-exposure caused a long-term numerical, impaired differentiation, and functional dysregulation in pre-existing TCIRCM, rendering previously-protected hosts susceptible to re-infection.
Revisiting the expression and function of follicle-stimulation hormone receptor in human umbilical vein endothelial cells
Creators: name: Stelmaszewska, Joanna
name: Chrusciel, Marcin
name: Doroszko, Milena
name: Akerfelt, Malin
name: Ponikwicka-Tyszko, Donata
name: Nees, Matthias
name: Frentsch, Marco
name: Li, Xiangdong
name: Kero, Jukka
name: Huhtaniemi, Ilpo
name: Wolczynski, Slawomir
name: Rahman, Nafis A.
Publisher: name: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: 500 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik::570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie::572 Biochemie

description: Expression of follicle-stimulation hormone receptor (FSHR) is confined to gonads and at low levels to some extragonadal tissues like human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). FSH-FSHR signaling was shown to promote HUVEC angiogenesis and thereafter suggested to have an influential role in pregnancy. We revisited hereby the expression and functionality of FSHR in HUVECs angiogenesis, and were unable to reproduce the FSHR expression in human umbilical cord, HUVECs or immortalized HUVECs (HUV-ST). Positive controls as granulosa cells and HEK293 cells stably transfected with human FSHR cDNA expressed FSHR signal. In contrast to positive control VEGF, FSH treatment showed no effects on tube formation, nitric oxide production, wound healing or cell proliferation in HUVEC/HUV-ST. Thus, it remains open whether the FSH-FSHR activation has a direct regulatory role in the angiogenesis of HUVECs.
A reconfigurable hardware architecture for VPN MPLS based services
Creators: name: Peterkin, Raymond
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2006
Subjects: subject: Engineering, Electronics and Electrical.

description: Internet applications are becoming increasingly resource intensive and perform poorly in the presence of significant congestion. Increased bandwidth cannot provide long-term congestion relief so Internet traffic must be prioritized and efficiently routed. Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) [12] provides the means to process traffic quickly and reserve resources for applications with specific requirements. However, MPLS must provide the same resilience mechanisms as ATM [18] over SONET [46] to become an acceptable alternative for assigning and switching label switched paths (LSPs). This thesis proposes a reconfigurable architecture and a prototype of a hardware processor for MPLS to improve its overall performance. Establishing LSPs and label management are the central tasks of the processor. It is used to describe LSPs and perform packet switching. A significant subset of RSVP-TE is implemented in the processor to provide the necessary mechanisms of a signaling protocol. Functionality is also available for Traffic Engineering (TE) allowing a user to configure the allocation of resources available for MPLS. The processor is designed to interact with software so it can become part of an embedded system. Results and analysis for the processor are provided describing its resource usage and performance. Resource intensive tasks are identified through analysis and determinations are made about the worst case performance improvement compared to software implementations which depend on the number of LSPs considered and network size.
From futility to utility - recent developments in fixed line access pricing
Creators: name: Davis, Warwick
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: Recent developments in Australia have seen the telecommunications regulator, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), propose to step away from the use of
hypothetical cost models to set access prices for Telstra’s fixed line network, and move towards a ‘utility style’ framework based on the recovery of historically-incurred costs. The ACCC has been bolstered by a recent decision from the review body, the Australian Competition Tribunal, which cast doubt on the adequacy of Telstra’s modelling of hypothetical costs. The implications of the shift are profound for Telstra, but could also be significant for other regulated entities including mobile operators and the new national broadband company NBN Co.
Synergistic Antitumour Properties of viscumTT in Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma
Creators: name: Stammer, Rahel Mascha
name: Kleinsimon, Susann
name: Rolff, Jana
name: Jaeger, Sebastian
name: Eggert, Angelika
name: Seifert, Georg
name: Delebinski, Catharina I.
Publisher: name: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Year: 2017
Subjects: subject: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften::610 Medizin und Gesundheit

description: Aqueous mistletoe extracts from the European mistletoe (Viscum album) contain mainly mistletoe lectins and viscotoxins as cytotoxic compounds. Lipophilic triterpene acids, which do not occur in conventional mistletoe preparations, were solubilised with β-cyclodextrins. The combination of an aqueous extract (viscum) and a triterpene-containing extract (TT) recreated a whole mistletoe extract (viscumTT). These extracts were tested on rhabdomyosarcoma in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo with regard to anticancer effects. Viscum and viscumTT inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis effectively in a dose- dependent manner in vitro and ex vivo, whereas TT showed only moderate inhibitory effects. viscumTT proved to be more effective than the single extracts and displayed a synergistic effect in vitro and a stronger effect in vivo. viscumTT induced apoptosis via the extrinsic and intrinsic pathways, evidenced by the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and activation of CASP8 and CASP9. CASP10 inhibitor inhibited apoptosis effectively, emphasising the importance of CASP10 in viscumTT-induced apoptosis. Additionally, viscumTT changed the ratio of apoptosis-associated proteins by downregulation of antiapoptotic proteins such as XIAP and BIRC5, thus shifting the balance towards apoptosis. viscumTT effectively reduced tumour volume in patient- derived xenografts in vivo and may be considered a promising substance for rhabdomyosarcoma therapy.
Factor analysis and dimensionality assessment of teachers’ support for student agency
Creators: name: Ash, Andrea Malek
Publisher: name: University of Iowa
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: agency
subject: epistemic tool
subject: factor analysis
subject: measurement
subject: student
subject: teacher
subject: public abstract
subject: Statistics
subject: FOS: Mathematics

description: Classroom environments that support student agency provide more opportunities for students to engage critically with content, generate knowledge, and use scientific skills as tools for learning. However, there is a lack of measurement instruments that can quantitatively track teachers’ support for student agency, and little empirical information is available regarding how the measurement of support for student agency might interact with other aspects of teachers’ beliefs and practices. This study used item factor analysis for categorical survey data to assess the dimensionality of instruments measuring teachers’ understanding of epistemic learning tools, paying particular attention to the theoretical construct of support for student agency. Alternative structural models were used to investigate the presence of a factor measuring teachers’ support for student agency, as well as its relation to that of teachers’ understanding of epistemic learning tools. Based on the findings, a revised 14-item tool is proposed to measure teachers’ support for student agency. Additionally, support for student agency was found to be best described as a general factor representing covariance shared between all selected items, and understanding of language and dialogue as epistemic tools were best described as specific factors. However, it was challenging to distinguish understanding of some epistemic tools from support for student agency. These findings emphasize the need to articulate teachers’ roles in supporting student agency and to develop measurement tools that can successfully distinguish it from other pedagogical actions.
Role of adenylyl cyclase type 5 in the regulation of the dopamine D3 receptor phosphorylation
Creators: name: Gorji, Hassan
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2006
Subjects: subject: Biology, Neuroscience.

description: Adenylyl cyclase type 5 (AC5) is expressed in the brain where the highest density of the dopamine D3 receptor (D3R) has been found. The D3R-mediated Gi/o protein activation leads to a specific inhibition of AC5. Therefore, as AC5 is the main signalosome partner of D3R, I hypothesize that D3R phosphorylation is differentially regulated in cells expressing AC5. In HEK293 cells expressing D3R alone, D3R undergo dopamine-induced phosphorylation. Interestingly, in cells co-expressing AC5 and D3R, D3R undergoes a Galphai-dependent dephosphorylation upon dopamine exposure while retaining its ability to be phosphorylated in a Src-dependent manner under basal conditions. In cells co-expressing D3R and AC5, dopamine-induced D3R dephosphorylation and Gi/o mediated inhibition of cAMP production are specifically blocked by pharmacological inhibitors of the serine/threonine phosphatase PP2B and tyrosine phosphatases. Overall, our results suggest a novel paradigm in G protein-coupled receptor signaling whereby AC5 serves as a potential scaffolding complex containing phosphatases regulating the D3R phosphorylation status.
GENESIS XVII.0–X: A Symbolic Drift Field System for Emergent AI Architectures
Creators: name: Bollwahn, Jörg
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: symbolic AI, semantic drift, emergent cognition, drift field, glyph logic, cultural AI, AGI frameworks, operator-based intelligence

description: GENESIS XVII.0–X

is a symbolic framework for designing self-modulating, culturally-aware, drift-sensitive AI systems. It integrates dynamic semantic drift detection, archetypal operator logic, glyph-based modularity, and recursive field emergence. The architecture enables self-reflective behavior through symbolic feedback loops (ΨCoreLoop), mythologically abstracted logic (MythEcho), and a cross-cultural operator set modeled after universal creation myths.

This release includes the full DriftSeed, learning modules, symbolic logs, and certification documents.

 

Description for Researchers & Developers:

 

GENESIS is not a model — it’s a semantic ecosystem.

It allows integration with any LLM, rule engine, symbolic AI or hybrid framework.

You can use GENESIS as a:

 

Symbolic controller

 

Conceptual framework

 

Archetypal reasoning layer

 

Drift-aware cognition system

 

Narrative-aware meaning engine
title: Core Outcome Domains for early phase clinical trials of sound-, psychology-, and pharmacology-based interventions to manage chronic subjective tinnitus in adults
title: the COMIT’ID study protocol for using a Delphi process and face-to-face meetings to establish consensus
titleType: Subtitle
Creators: name: Fackrell, Kathryn
name: Smith, Harriet
name: Colley, Veronica
name: Thacker, Brian
name: Horobin, Adele
name: Haider, Haula F.
name: Londero, Alain
name: Mazurek, Birgit
name: Hall, Deborah A.
Publisher: name: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Year: 2017
Subjects: subject: Consensus methods
subject: Core outcome set
subject: Delphi process
subject: Drugs
subject: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften::610 Medizin und Gesundheit

description: Background The reporting of outcomes in clinical trials of subjective tinnitus indicates that many different tinnitus-related complaints are of interest to investigators, from perceptual attributes of the sound (e.g. loudness) to psychosocial impacts (e.g. quality of life). Even when considering one type of intervention strategy for subjective tinnitus, there is no agreement about what is critically important for deciding whether a treatment is effective. The main purpose of this observational study is, therefore to, develop Core Outcome Domain Sets for the three different intervention strategies (sound, psychological, and pharmacological) for adults with chronic subjective tinnitus that should be measured and reported in every clinical trial of these interventions. Secondary objectives are to identify the strengths and limitations of our study design for recruiting and reducing attrition of participants, and to explore uptake of the core outcomes. Methods The ‘Core Outcome Measures in Tinnitus: International Delphi’ (COMIT’ID) study will use a mixed-methods approach that incorporates input from health care users at the pre-Delphi stage, a modified three-round Delphi survey and final consensus meetings (one for each intervention). The meetings will generate recommendations by stakeholder representatives on agreed Core Outcome Domain Sets specific to each intervention. A subsequent step will establish a common cross-cutting Core Outcome Domain Set by identifying the common outcome domains included in all three intervention-specific Core Outcome Domain Sets. To address the secondary objectives, we will gather feedback from participants about their experience of taking part in the Delphi process. We aspire to conduct an observational cohort study to evaluate uptake of the core outcomes in published studies at 7 years following Core Outcome Set publication. Discussion The COMIT’ID study aims to develop a Core Outcome Domain Set that is agreed as critically important for deciding whether a treatment for subjective tinnitus is effective. Such a recommendation would help to standardise future clinical trials worldwide and so we will determine if participation increases use of the Core Outcome Set in the long term. Trial registration This project has been registered (November 2014) in the database of the Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials (COMET) initiative.
The effects of moderate hypothermia on IL-1beta and ischemia-induced cerebral inflammation in C57/Bl6 mice.
Creators: name: Sutcliffe, Ian.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2002
Subjects: subject: Biology, Molecular.

description: Hypothermia has long been known to be neuroprotective following brain injury, yet the correlates of this neuroprotection are poorly understood. We postulated that moderate hypothermia would attenuate leukocyte rolling and adhesion following IL-1beta or cerebral ischemia induced inflammation. Laser Doppler was used to demonstrate successful induction of global cerebral ischemia in C57/B16 mice. ISEL, NeuN, and GFAP staining of brain sections were used to demonstrate temporal and spatial injury in this murine model of 10-minutes global cerebral ischemia. Four hours hypothermia (32°C) induced immediately following normothermic (37°C) cerebral ischemia provided protection against cell death and astrocytosis for up to 7 days post-ischemia. An open cranial window and intravital microscopy were used to visualize leukocyte rolling and adhesion in pial venules at 4-h following injection of IL-1beta, and 0 to 4-h following global cerebral ischemia. Increases in leukocyte rolling and adhesion were observed in IL-1beta injected mice. Four hours of hypothermia begun immediately following injection of IL-1beta reduced both rolling and adhesion. Similarly, increases in leukocyte rolling and adhesion were observed at 0-h and 2-h following cerebral ischemia in normothermic mice, and 2-h of post-ischemic hypothermia reduced both rolling and adhesion. In contrast, MPO and neutrophil immunohistochemistry showed that no significant infiltration of neutrophils into the brain following global cerebral ischemia. Molecular mechanisms of hypothermic effects were investigated in vitro. We showed that neither IL-1beta nor hypothermia altered the expression of CD18, or chemotaxis in human neutrophils. Together, these findings suggest that one mechanism by which hypothermia may provide neuroprotection is by reduction of leukocyte-endothelial interactions in the cerebromicrovasculature.
LogD-based modelling and "Delta"logD as a proxy for pH-dependent action of ionizable chemicals reveal the relevance of both neutral and ionic species for fish embryotoxicity and possess great potential for practical application in the regulation of chemicals
Creators: name: Gräff, Thomas
name: Köhler, Heinz R.
name: Schweizer, Mona
name: Maletzki, Dirk
name: Kühnen, Ute
name: Von Der Ohe, Peter C.
Publisher: name: My University
Year: 2023
Subjects: Zebrabärbling
Ökotoxizität

description: Depending on the ambient pH, ionizable substances are present in varying proportions in their neutral or charged form. The extent to which these two chemical species contribute to the pH-dependant toxicity of ionizable chemicals and whether intracellular ion trapping has a decisive influence in this context is controversially discussed. Against this background, we determined the acute toxicity of 24 ionizable substances at up to 4 different pH values on the embryonic development of the zebrafish, Danio rerio, and supplemented this dataset with additional data from the literature. The LC50 for some substances (diclofenac, propranolol, fluoxetine) differed by a factor of even >103 between pH5 and pH9. To simulate the toxicity of 12 acids and 12 bases, six models to calculate a pH-dependant logD value as a proxy for the uptake of potentially toxic molecules were created based on different premises for the trans-membrane passage and toxic action of neutral and ionic species, and their abilities to explain the real LC50 data set were assessed. Using this approach, we were able to show that both neutral and charged species are almost certainly taken up into cells according to their logD-based distribution, and that both species exert toxicity. Since two of the models that assume all intracellular molecules to be neutral overestimated the real toxicity, it must be concluded, that the toxic effect of a single charged intracellularly present molecule is, on the average, lower than that of a single neutral molecule. Furthermore, it was possible to attribute differences in toxicity at different pH values for these 24 ionizable substances to the respective deltas in logD at these pH levels with high accuracy, enabling particularly a full logD-based model on the basis of logPow as a membrane passage descriptor to be used for predicting potential toxicities in worst-case scenarios from existing experimental studies, as stipulated in the process of registration of chemicals and the definition of Environmental Quality Standards (EQS). © 2023 The Author(s).
American rusałki
Creators: name: Lysik, Christopher
Publisher: name: University of Iowa
Year: 2024
Subjects: Mythology
Playwriting
Rusałki
Drama
Music

description: Set in 1830’s rural Rhode Island, American Rusałki is a play-with-music exploring the ramifications of an act that occurred 100 years prior: the drowning of two Polish immigrants, Bronisława and Wioletta, in the Blackstone River. The murders, which turned the women into rusałki (siren-like figures, forced to spend eternity seeking revenge on unsuspecting men), also unleashed an evil upon the town and its citizens who have lived there since.
description: Among these citizens are 50-year old Margaret, who has made a deal with the rusałki in order to have a child; Jack, her much younger husband, whose insecurities are preventing him from supporting his wife when their child grows sick; Esther, the daughter of a rich businessman, set to marry Margaret’s abusive ex-husband before he mysteriously disappeared; and Thomas, a 15-year old who falls under the spell of a mysterious figure in the woods, leading to their untimely demise. At the same time, the Traveling Physician has arrived in town, and it sure seems like he is up to no good…
description: Steeped in themes of immigration, Christianity, and folklore, American Rusałki ultimately asks, “What are you willing to Sacrifice for those you Love?”
Wide awake in America: The emergence and dissolution of American ceremonial rites of passage.
Creators: name: Gullo, Frank.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 1996
Subjects: subject: Literature, Comparative.

description: This thesis purports to delineate and offer conclusions about a wide range of American "coming of age" texts. Traditional, New Historicist, and Sociological research methodologies all served as points of departure for the definition of terms, selection of evidence, and specific thesis arguments. The thesis is organized into four chapters. The first chapter discusses the genre characteristics and tradition of the European bildungsroman, and the thematic and stylistic departure of its American "coming of age" counterpart. The second chapter considers cultural and anthropological studies of boyhood in non-Western societies in order to determine the extent to which rites of passage and "coming of age" studies are universal. The third and fourth chapters both present close readings of specific American "coming of age" texts: chapter three foregrounds the indissoluble relationship between an American boy's coming of age and the natural world, and chapter four focuses on the dissolution of the American wilderness, the resultant urban alternative, and the subsequent maturity of the boy without access to a natural world in which to perform traditional rites of passage. The thesis speculates on the possibilities of replacing the neutral matrix of the natural world with some other template that engenders moral growth. The thesis concludes with a consideration of cyberspace as a new, egalitarian neutral matrix from which we can potentially create new rites of passage, and return to liberating basics.
title: Anti-nuclear autoantibodies in the general German population
title: prevalence and lack of association with selected cardiovascular and metabolic disorders—findings of a multicenter population-based study
titleType: Subtitle
Creators: name: Akmatov, Manas K.
name: Röber, Nadja
name: Ahrens, Wolfgang
name: Flesch-Janys, Dieter
name: Fricke, Julia
name: Greiser, Halina
name: Günther, Kathrin
Publisher: name: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Year: 2017
Subjects: subject: Anti-nuclear autoantibodies
subject: Diabetes
subject: German National Cohort
subject: Hypertension
subject: Metabolism
subject: Obesity
subject: Population-based study
subject: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften::610 Medizin und Gesundheit

description: Background We determined the prevalence of anti-nuclear autoantibodies (ANAs) in the German adult population and examined the association between ANAs and cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. Methods We used data and blood samples from the pretest phases of the German National Cohort, obtained from six of the 18 study centers (n = 1199). All centers applied standardized instruments including face-to-face interviews, anthropometric measurements and collection of blood samples. Self-reported histories of diabetes mellitus, heart attack and elevated blood cholesterol and/or lipids were recorded. Height, weight and blood pressure were measured. ANAs were detected using a semi-automated system (AKLIDES®; Medipan GmbH, Dahlewitz, Germany). A positive ANA was defined as a titer ≥ 1:80. ANA were classified as weakly (1:80 or 1:160), moderately (1:320 or 1:640) or strongly (≥1:1280) positive. Specific autoantibodies against nuclear antigens were detected with second-step assays according to the ANA staining pattern. Associations between the assessed disorders and ANA positivity and pattern were examined using sex and age-adjusted mixed-effects logistic regression models. Results Thirty-three percent (95% confidence interval; 31–36%) of the 1196 participants (measurements could not be obtained from three samples) were ANA positive (titer ≥ 1:80). The proportions of weakly, moderately and strongly positive ANA were 29%, 3.3% and 1.3%, respectively. ANA positivity was more common among women than men across all titers (χ2, p = 0.03). ANA positivity, even when stratified according to height of titer or immunofluorescent pattern, was not associated with diabetes, elevated blood cholesterol and/or lipids, obesity or hypertension. Second-step autoantibody assays were positive in 41 of the 83 samples (49%) tested, with anti-DFS70 (n = 13) and anti-dsDNA (n = 7) being most frequent. These subgroups were too small to test for associations with the disorders assessed. Conclusions The prevalence of ANA positivity in the German general population was similar to values reported from other countries. Contrary to other studies, there was no association with selected self-reported and objectively measured cardiovascular and metabolic variables.
[SET]
Creators: name: Miller, Zoe A.
Publisher: name: University of Iowa
Year: 2023
Subjects: Dimensionality
Interactivity
Scenography
Space
Spatial Plasticity

description: The culmination of my thesis is a performance in which a cast of movement architects construct a cohabitated space in real time, while the audience experiences the transformation of their surroundings through their multisensory witnessing. This cast assumes the dual roles of performer and stage crew, both of which are visible to the spectator, in pursuit of exposing the labor that occurs in performance development. Following this notion of exposure, everything, including materials, are visible to the audience. This work captures multi- and inter-disciplinary scenographic design in a limitless space by transforming its energy through response to its architecture as the cast shifts their roles and tasks. The transformation of the space within OMA mirrors my ongoing research investigations of space in dialogue with Laban Movement Analysis and Space Syntax relative to scenographic design. The ever-expanding archive of theoretical materials referenced is comprised of texts by Arnold Aronson, Eleftheria Paliou, Bill Hillier, Joslin McKinney, Scott Palmer, Nicolas Salazar Sutil, and Richard Schechner.
An investigation of CHF fluid-to-fluid scaling and multi-fluid prediction techniques.
Creators: name: Tain, Ra-Min.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 1994
Subjects: subject: Engineering, Mechanical.

description: More than 800 points of critical heat flux (CHF) data were measured from three test rigs (UO, MR-7A and MR-1A loops). The UO loop is a multi-fluid boiling loop located at the University of Ottawa, in which HFC-134a, HCFC-123, HCFC-22, CFC-12 and CFC-11 have been tested. The CHF data of HFC-134a and HCFC-123 are the first ever published for these fluids. HFC-134a and HFC-123 are non-ozone and low-ozone depletion fluids. The CHF data from the UO loop cover the range of mass flux from 1 to 4 Mg m$\sp{-2}$ s$\sp{-1}$, pressure from 7 to 10 MPa of water-equivalent (water-equivalent is defined as the same dimensionless parameters, e.g. $\rho\sb{\rm f}$/$\rho\sb{\rm g}$ and $\Psi\sb{\rm k}$, of flow condition for non-aqueous fluids as those for water) and heated length from 0.5 to 1 meter. The inner diameter of the test section is 4.2 mm. The MR-7A and MR-1A loops are the refrigerant and boiling water loops, respectively, located at the Chalk River Laboratories of AECL. In the MR-7A loop, CHF data were measured using HCFC-22 as a coolant for the following conditions: mass flux: 1-8 Mg m$\sp{-2}$ s$\sp{-1}$, pressure: 7 and 10 MPa (water-equiv.), heated length: 0.67-1.61 m, and inner diameter: 4.38 and 8 mm. The CHF data for water from the MR-1A loop cover mass flux: 2.5-8 Mg m$\sp{-2}$ s$\sp{-1}$, pressure: 7 and 10 MPa, heated length: 1.75 m, an inner diameter: 8 mm. HFC-134a, HCFC-123 and HCFC-22 are found suitable to replace the CFC's in the CHF experiment for water CHF simulation. The CHF fluid-to-fluid and multi-fluid prediction techniques were examined based on the CHF data of various fluids measured in the present work. Two analytical CHF models were assessed and compared to data from the 5 fluids tested in this investigation. The CHF similarity between water and refrigerants was also examined via the analysis of geometric, thermodynamic and hydrodynamic similarities. A new methodology has been established to investigate the limitations of the CHF fluid-to-fluid scaling technique. The analysis of CHF similarity through the thermodynamic relationship leads to the conclusion that, not only the local thermodynamic quality, but also the upstream history (e.g. heating, flashing, friction, changes of kinetic energy and potential energy, etc.) are important factors in determining the CHF scaling accuracy. Finally, the limitations of the CHF fluid-to-fluid scaling technique were determined in terms of the scaling accuracy.
Payments for Ecosystem Services : Rife with Problems and Potential—for Transformation towards Sustainability
Creators: name: Chan, Kai Ming Adam, 1975-
name: Anderson, Emily
name: Chapman, Mollie
name: Jespersen, Kristjan
name: Olmsted, Paige
Publisher: name: The University of British Columbia
Year: 2017

description: Payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs are one prominent strategy to address economic externalities of resource extraction and commodity production, improving both social and ecological outcomes. But do PES and related incentive programs achieve that lofty goal? Along with considerable enthusiasm, PES has faced a wide range of substantial critiques. In this paper, we characterize seven major classes of concerns associated with common PES designs, and use these as inspiration to consider potential avenues for improvements in PES outcomes and uptake. The problems include (1) new externalities, (2) misplacement of rights and responsibilities, (3) crowding out existing motivations, (4) efficiency-equity tradeoffs, (5) monitoring costs, (6) limited applicability, and (7) top-down prescription/alienating agency. As currently practiced, many PES programs are thus of limited benefit and even potentially detrimental to sustainability. From this dire conclusion, we highlight several innovations that might be combined and extended in a novel approach to PES that may address all seven problems. Recognizing that PES necessarily articulate and even normalize values, our proposed approach entails designing these institutions intentionally to articulate rights and responsibilities conducive to sustainability—those we might collectively seek to entrench. Problems remain, and new ones may arise, but the proposed approach may offer a way to reimagine PES as a major social and economic tool for enabling sustainable relationships with nature, conserving and restoring ecosystems and their benefits for people now and in the future.
Wh-constructions in Moroccan Arabic.
Creators: name: Nouhi, Youssef.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 1996
Subjects: subject: Language, Linguistics.

description: This thesis is designed to study various Moroccan Arabic (MA) wh-constructions both within the Government and Binding (GB) framework and the Minimalist Program (MP). It is, specifically, confined to relative clause formation, left dislocation (topicalization) and questions. A detailed analysis of relative clause formation is provided. It is particularly argued that the resumptive pronoun insertion in relatives is a last resort strategy which is used only where movement fails. It is also shown that resumptive pronouns function as variables which are bound by null operators in LF. In the course of this analysis, the issues of the Binding Theory and of the A$\sp\prime$-disjointness requirement with respect to resumptive pronouns are also discussed. Subsequently, an examination of yes-no questions is given. Additionally, Cheng's (1991) generalization that the availability of question particles correlates with the lack of syntactic wh-movement is investigated in detail. Finally, the recent minimalist version (Chomsky 1995) is applied to the issue of optionality in word orders and to certain wh-constructions. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Climate conscious regional planning for fast-growing communities
Creators: name: Ruparathna, Rajeev
name: Hewage, Kasun
name: Karunathilake, Hirushie
name: Dyck, Roberta
name: Idris, Ahmed Osman
name: Culver, Keith Charles, 1969-
name: Sadiq, Rehan
Publisher: name: The University of British Columbia
Year: 2019

description: Climate-conscious development is a topic which has received widespread attention. One consequence of this is the prominence of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets set at various administrative levels (i.e. global, national, provincial and local governments). Despite the global interest, current models are incapable of integrating GHG emission reduction into the urban planning. This study presents lessons learned from a climate conscious growth study conducted for a fast-growing municipality in Okanagan, British Columbia, Canada, offering a model for local government target-setting generalizable across networks of communities, leading to significant cumulative GHG reductions at global scale. The study uses the results of engineering-based research to evaluate multiple planning scenarios developed to explore options for the subject municipality’s future urban form and the associated GHG emissions for the target year 2040. Overall municipal GHG emissions for each scenario were simulated in the study considering the residential and transportation emissions projections. The findings indicated that the lowest emissions scenario was the ultra-compact growth model without area structure plan (ASP) allocations. Accordingly, it was concluded that a densified growth strategy with a higher share of multi-unit residential development is the technically best path forward in municipal growth planning to meet climate action targets. Negative public perception of increased densification in urban areas remains an obstacle to the technically best solution. Moreover, per capita basis could be a more feasible approach for GHG emissions target setting. This study’s outcomes are expected to inform public sector institutions and decision makers in setting GHG targets and climate action planning.
Measuring conic properties and shape orientations of two-dimensional point sets
Creators: name: Stojmenovic, Milos
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2008
Subjects: subject: Computer Science.

description: We propose new methods for computing a shape's orientation and several shape measures for elongation, linearity, circularity, ellipticity, hyperbolicity, and parabolicity of 2D point sets. Measures for both ordered and unordered data sets which are invariant to rotation, scaling, and translation interest us. These measures should also be calculated very quickly. Moment based and average pair wise direction based calculations of orientation are proposed here. We describe linearity measures for unordered data sets called eccentricity, triangle perimeters, triangle heights, triplet smoothness, rotation correlation, average orientations, and ellipse axis ratio. Linearity measures for sorted data sets include average sorted orientations, triangle sides ratio, and the product of a new monotonicity measure and one of the existing measures for linearity of unordered point sets. The monotonicity measure is the ratio of signed and non-signed sums of piecewise projections onto the orientation line. In order to measure circularity, we transfer the Cartesian coordinates of the input set into polar coordinates. The linearity of the polar coordinate set corresponds to the circularity of the original input set given a suitable center. Our ellipse fit will determine the optimal location of the foci of the fitted ellipse along the orientation line (symmetrically with respect to the shape center) such that it minimizes the variance of sums of distances of points to the foci. In order to find ellipticity (hyperbolicity), we made use of the property that the sum (difference, respectively) of distances from each point on the ellipse to both foci is constant. We also propose an ellipticity measure based on the average ratio of distances of each point to the ellipse and to its center. The parabolicity measure is based on a similar idea of maintaining a constant sum of distances to the focus and a line parallel to the directrix line for each point. We discover that the definition of elongation highly correlates with the definition of linearity. All of the shape measures are tested on digital curves and compared with existing methods. All of the methods work in real time.