cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
title: Wassersparen in Privathaushalten: sinnvoll, ausgereizt, übertrieben?
title: Wassersparen in Privathaushalten
titleType: AlternativeTitle
Creators: name: (:Unkn) Unknown
Publisher: name: My University
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Wassereinsparung
subject: Trinkwasser
subject: Grundwasserschutz
subject: Warmwasser
subject: Warmwasserbereitung
subject: Wasser-Fußabdruck
subject: wassersparen
subject: wassersparsam
subject: wassersparend
subject: Trinkwassersparmaßnahme
subject: Wassersparmaßnahme
subject: Warmwasserbedarf
subject: Wasserfußabdruck
subject: Virtuelles Wasser
subject: Energiesparen
subject: Wasser
subject: Water

description: In Privathaushalten wird immer weniger Wasser "verbraucht". Das klingt erst einmal positiv. Doch Wasserversorger schlagen Alarm: Verbraucherinnen und Verbraucher sollten nicht weiter Wasser sparen oder sogar wieder mehr Wasser nutzen, da nicht mehr genug Wasser durch die Leitungsnetze fließt und diese extra gespült werden müssen. Dieses Hintergrundpapier legt dar, warum ein sorgsamer Umgang mit Wasser trotzdem sinnvoll und wo dies besonders wichtig ist. Denn Warmwassersparen ist aktiver ⁠Klimaschutz⁠. Aber es geht nicht nur ums Sparen: Sorgsam mit Wasser umzugehen heißt auch, im Alltag zu vermeiden, was der Qualität unseres Grundwassers schadet.
Colonization of the Intestinal Mucus Layer by Campylobacter jejuni
Creators: name: Stahl, Martin
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2012
Subjects: Campylobacter jejuni
Bacteroides vulgatus
Commensal
Essential genes
Microarray
Transcriptome
Fucose
Metabolism
mucus
mucin

description: Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in the developed world; however, many aspects of its biology remain poorly understood, including its colonization of the mucus layer lining the gastrointestinal tract. In this study, we utilized microarray transposon tracking to compile a list of 195 genes essential for the growth of C. jejuni in vitro under microaerophilic conditions. Then we characterized C. jejuni growing in an extracted intestinal mucus medium. We found that C. jejuni will grow efficiently in a medium comprised of either chick and piglet intestinal mucus, and that these media have a dramatic impact on its transcriptome. Within the genes identified as differentially expressed during growth in a mucus medium, we identified a single operon, (cj0481-cj0490), which we have subsequently characterized as being responsible for both the uptake and metabolism of L-fucose. This represents the first observation of carbohydrate metabolism by the otherwise asaccharolytic C. jejuni. We further found that the inability to utilize L-fucose puts C. jejuni at a competitive disadvantage when colonizing the piglet intestine, but not the chick cecum. Finally, we examined C. jejuni’s ability to utilize mucins as a carbon source while growing within the mucus layer. We found that despite mucins being a major source of L-fucose and amino acids within the intestine, C. jejuni has a minimal ability to degrade and utilize mucins on its own. However, close proximity to mucolytic bacteria within the microbiota of the intestine, allows for increased C. jejuni growth. Together, this paints the picture of an organism that is well adapted to survival within the mucus lining of the intestine and establishing itself as part of the intestinal microbiota.
Organic Dairy Cattle: Do European Union Regulations Promote Animal Welfare?
Creators: name: Duval, Eugénie
name: Von Keyserlingk, Marina A. G.
name: Lecorps, Benjamin
Publisher: name: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Year: 2020

description: Animal welfare is an emerging concept in EU law; with the advent of specific regulations intending to protect animals. The approach taken by European lawmakers is to provide “minimum standards” for conventional farming; argued by some as failing to adequately protect animals. In contrast, the EU organic farming regulations aim to “establish a sustainable management system for agriculture” and promote “high animal welfare standards”. The first aim of this review was to identify key areas where there are clear improvements in quality of life for dairy cattle housed under the EU organic regulations when compared to the conventional EU regulations. Using the available scientific evidence, our second aim was to identify areas where the organic regulations fail to provide clear guidance in their pursuit to promote high standards of dairy cattle welfare. The greater emphasis placed on natural living conditions, the ban of some (but unfortunately not all) physical mutilations combined with clearer recommendations regarding housing conditions potentially position the organic dairy industry to achieve high standards of welfare. However, improvements in some sections are needed given that the regulations are often conveyed using vague language, provide exceptions or remain silent on some aspects. This review provides a critical reflection of some of these key areas related to on-farm aspects. To a lesser extent, post farm gate aspects are also discussed.
Anxiety-Reducing Tropical Plants: Phytochemical and Pharmacological Characterization of Souroubea sympetala and Piper amalago
Creators: name: Mullally, Martha
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2011
Subjects: Piper amalago
Souroubea sympetala
GABAa-BZD receptor
ethnopharmacology
ethnobotany
anxiolysis
anxiety
GABA

description: This thesis investigates the phytochemistry and pharmacology of two neotropical plants used traditionally to treat anxiety and stress, Souroubea sympetala (Marcgraviaceae) and Piper amalago (Piperaceae). A method of phytochemical analysis was developed to characterize S. sympetala extracts, identifying and quantifying four triterpenes, which were present in higher amounts in bark as compared to leaf. Subsequently, a standardized supercritical CO2 extraction procedure for S. sympetala was developed and compared favourably with conventional extraction methods in terms of its anxiety-reducing effects in a behavioural assay of anxiety and content of the active principle, betulinic acid (BA). All of these materials demonstrated anxiolytic properties. The pharmacological mode of action of S. sympetala raw plant, extracts and isolated active principle were examined in rodent behavioural models of anxiety. The extracts were shown to have affinity for the γ-amino butyric acid (GABA)a benzodiazepine (GABAa- BZD) receptor of the central nervous system in vitro, in a competitive binding assay. Pre-treatment of animals with the GABAa-BZD antagonist flumazenil, followed by plant extract and pure compound extinguished the anxiety-reducing effect, demonstrating that S. sympetala and BA act at the GABAa- BZD receptor in vivo. The effect of S. sympetala in stressed animals, specifically its cortisol-lowering ability was investigated in vitro and in vivo in rainbow trout. Both leaf extract and BA significantly lowered cortisol in response to an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) challenge in vitro and a standardized net restraint assay in vivo. The anxiety-reducing effect of P. amalago was examined and the bioactive principle identified by bioassay-guided fractionation. P. amalago extract significantly reduced anxiety-like behaviour in rats and demonstrated affinity for the GABAa-BZD receptor in vitro. The bioactive molecule was determined to be a furofuran lignan. Together these results provide a pharmacological basis for the traditional use of S. sympetala and P. amalago to treat anxiety and elucidate their mode of action and active principles. S. sympetala is now thoroughly characterized and represents an excellent candidate plant for development as a natural health product.
Study of the Effect of Polyethylene Resin Particle Size on the Degree of Fluidized Bed Reactor Electrification and Wall Fouling
Creators: name: Tian, Ye
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2014
Subjects: fluidized bed
electrostatics
particle size

description: In gas-solid fluidized bed reactors, such as those employed for polyethylene production, the generation of electrostatic charge is almost unavoidable. Electrostatic charges are generated due to the continuous contacts between particles and particles and the reactor wall. In such processes, accumulation of electrostatic charge causes a layer of particles to adhere to the reactor wall, a problem known as “sheeting” in polyolefin industry. Sheeting results in frequent reactor shutdowns for clean-up and in turn significant economic loss. The overall focus of this research is to better understand the underlying mechanisms of charge generation in gas-solid fluidized beds to ultimately be able to find means to reduce or eliminate this problem. The specific objective of this thesis is to determine the effect of fluidizing particle size on the degree of bed electrification and reactor wall coating. The experimental program involved the fluidization of polyethylene resins received directly from commercial reactors (i.e., having a wide size distribution of 20-1500 micron), as well as mono-sized large particles (600-710 micron) and binary mixture of small particles (200-300 micron and 300-425 micron with fractions up to 20 wt%) and large particles (600-710 micron). Experiments were carried out under atmospheric conditions in 3D fluidization columns housing two Faraday Cups for electrostatic charge measurement. For all conditions, the charge, mass and size distribution of particles fouled on the reactor wall as well as the layer thickness were measured and compared. Fluidization of the resins as received resulted in a certain size of particles (400 µm and smaller) to adhere to the column wall. For binary mixtures, the particles layer formed on the reactor wall mainly consisted of the smaller particles. Although the extent of wall coating declined as the amount of the smaller particles increased, but the smaller particles had a much higher net specific charge and thus replaced the large particles within the wall coating. Such high charge of small particles accumulated on the column wall in turn prevented the wall coating growth due to repelling the oppositely charged particles to the bulk of the bed. Regardless of the charge polarity of the bulk and wall particles, the wall fouling formation mechanism was found to be similar. Between the two sizes of small particles tested, the 212-300 micron particles gained a higher net specific charge than 300-425 micron particles. Bipolar charging due to small and large particles contacts was detected within the bulk of the bed and the wall coating.
Realtime monitoring for the next generation of radiotelescopes
Creators: name: Barnes, David G.
name: Armitage, Grenville
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: The forthcoming generation of radiotelescopes pose new and substantial challenges in terms of system monitoring. Information regarding environmental conditions, signal connectivity and level, processor utilisation, memory use, network traffic and even power consumption needs to be collected, displayed in realtime, and preserved in a permanent database. In this paper, we put forward the Ganglia monitoring system as a scalable, robust and efficient architecture that appears well-suited to the data collection aspect of radiotelescope monitoring, and we discuss approaches to the visual display of the streaming metric data produced by Ganglia. In particular, we present initial work in the use of 3-dimensional (3-d) multiplayer game technology for instantaneous status monitoring and enquiry, and we describe the extensions to this work required for radiotelescope monitoring.
La reconnaissance de l'autonomie judiciaire autochtone : regard sur l'expérience colombienne
Creators: name: Chicoine-Wilson, Charlotte
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2015
Subjects: peuples autochtones
autonomie juridique
culture juridique
diversité
réforme constitutionnelle
Colombie

description: Dans plusieurs sociétés issues de la colonisation, la validité des cultures juridiques autochtones n’est pas reconnue par l’État, ce qui est à la source de problèmes tant pour les communautés autochtones que pour les individus qui les composent. Afin de remédier à cette situation, certains États, dont la Colombie, ont reconnu constitutionnellement l’autonomie judiciaire autochtone. Nous avons étudié les textes constitutionnels et législatifs colombiens, ainsi que la jurisprudence de la Cour constitutionnelle, afin de qualifier les rapports entre le droit étatique et la justice autochtone découlant de la réforme constitutionnelle colombienne. Pour ce faire, nous avons mobilisé un cadre analytique inspiré de la typologie des sociabilités développée par Boaventura de Sousa Santos. Nous avons ainsi pu identifier des rapports de convivialité, la reconnaissance ayant permis de faire dialoguer les institutions étatiques et autochtones, ainsi que les cultures juridiques qui les sous-tendent. Cependant, plusieurs éléments de réconciliation sont également présents, notamment parce que l’État colombien s’est octroyé le droit de contrôler l’exercice de l’autonomie judiciaire autochtone, perpétuant ainsi l’inégalité des rapports entre les cultures juridiques étatique et autochtones.
Supplementary document for Delay-and-sum-to-delay-standard-deviation-factor: a promising adaptive beamformer for cost-effective linear-array photoacoustic imaging - 5410625.pdf
Creators: name: Paul, Souradip
name: Thomas, Anjali
name: Singh, Mayanglambam
Publisher: name: Optica Publishing Group
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biotechnology

description: Supplemental document
Elasticity Parameter Estimation in a Simple Measurement Setup
Creators: name: Tekieh, Motahareh
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2013
Subjects: elasticity
deformation
point cloud

description: Elastic deformation has wide applications in medical simulations, therefore when it comes to designing physical behavior of objects for realistic training applications, determining material parameters so that objects behave in a desired way becomes a crucial. In this work we consider the problem of elasticity parameter estimation for deformable bodies, which is important for accurate medical simulations. Our work has two major steps: the first step is the data acquisition and preparation, and the second step is the parameter estimation. The experimental setup for data acquisition consists of depth and force sensors. Surface deformations are acquired as a series of images along with the corresponding applied forces. The contact point of the force sensor on the surface is found visually and the corresponding applied forces are acquired directly from the force sensor. A complete mesh deformation which is obtained from a surface tracking method is employed along with force measurements in the elasticity parameter estimation method. Our approach to estimate the physical material properties is based on an inverse linear finite element method. We have experimented with two approaches to optimize the elasticity parameters: a linear iterative method and a force-displacement error minimization method. The two methods were tested on the simulation data, and the second method was tested on three deformable objects. The results are presented for the data captured by two different depth sensors. The result is a set of two parameters, the Young's modulus and the Poisson's ratio, which represents the stiffness of the object under test.
Electrophysiological Indices in Major Depressive Disorder and their Utility in Predicting Response Outcome to Single and Dual Antidepressant Pharmacotherapies
Creators: name: Jaworska, Natalia
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2012
Subjects: major depressive disorder (MDD)
affect
antidepressants
electroencephalogram (EEG)
event related potentials (ERP)
sex differences

description: Certain electrophysiological markers hold promise in distinguishing individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) and in predicting antidepressant response, thereby assisting with assessment and optimizing treatment, respectively. This thesis examined resting brain activity via electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings, as well as EEG-derived event-related potentials (ERPs) to auditory stimuli and facial expression presentations in individuals with MDD and controls. Additionally, the utility of resting EEG as well as auditory ERPs (AEPs), and the associated loudness-dependence of AEPs (LDAEP) slope, were assessed in predicating outcome to chronic treatment with one of three antidepressant regimens [escitalopram (ESC); bupropion (BUP); ESC+BUP]. Relative to controls, depressed adults had lower pretreatment cortical activity in regions implicated in approach motives/positive processing. Increased anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)-localized theta was observed, possibly reflecting emotion/cognitive regulation disturbances in the disorder. AEPs and LDAEPs, putative indices of serotonin activity (implicated in MDD etiology), were largely unaltered in MDD. Assessment of ERPs to facial expression processing indicated slightly blunted late preconscious perceptual processing of expressions, and prolonged processing of intensely sad faces in MDD. Faces were rated as sadder overall in MDD, indicating a negative processing bias. Treatment responders (vs. non-responders) exhibited baseline cortical hypoactivity; after a week of treatment, cortical arousal emerged in responders. Increased baseline left fronto-cortical activity and early shifts towards this profile were noted in responders (vs. non-responders). Responders exhibited a steep, and non-responders shallow, baseline N1 LDAEP derived from primary auditory cortex activity. P2 LDAEP slopes (primary auditory cortex-derived) increased after a week of treatment in responders and decreased in non-responders. Consistent with overall findings, ESC responders displayed baseline cortical hypoactivity and steep LDAEP-sLORETA slopes (vs. non-responders). BUP responders also exhibited steep baseline slopes and high ACC theta. These results indicate that specific resting brain activity profiles appear to distinguish depressed from non-depressed individuals. Subtle ERP modulations to simple auditory and emotive processing also existed in MDD. Resting alpha power, ACC theta activity and LDAEP slopes predicted antidepressant response in general, but were limited in predicting outcome to a particular treatment, which may be associated with limited sample sizes.
Community development for ecological sustainability: working with interiority in the cultivation of social foresight
Creators: name: Floyd, Joshua
name: Hayward, Peter
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: The research, teaching and practice carried out by the Strategic Foresight Program at Swinburne University has as a foundational aim the creation of social foresight. This is an approach to community development based on fostering an emergent, socially distributed capacity for systematic, long term thinking oriented towards the maintenance and enhancement of collective wellbeing. Social foresight has the potential to enhance and support efforts to build social movements for ecological sustainability. This potential derives from the observation that the significant ecological challenges faced by communities today are of human origin. Moreover, the origin of these challenges is located within the socially enacted epistemologies with which we engage with our world. Social foresight development involves generating insight into these origins and bringing to the fore ways of knowing and acting that are better attuned to ecological principles. For those of us who work with the Strategic Foresight Program, a central tenet of our work with groups to cultivate social foresight is the importance of engaging with participants as autonomous subjects, each with their own irreducible capacity for meaning-making. We describe this characteristic as interiority, an essential complement to the exterior aspects of community development, such as network building and information distribution. As with the exterior aspects of community development, tools and technologies are available that can be harnessed to strengthen and accelerate the development of individuals’ and groups’ interiority. Scharmer’s Theory U is an emerging social technology that we consider offers particular opportunities in this regard. In this paper we introduce social foresight in the context of community development and discuss the importance of interiority in its cultivation. We then introduce Theory U and look at how it can be applied to the cultivation of social foresight, and consider the implications of this for cultivating social foresight for ecological sustainability.
The Role of the E3-ubiquitin Ligase Trim17 in the Mitochondrial Cell Death Pathway
Creators: name: Crichton, Jennifer E.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2013
Subjects: apoptosis
Bax
Bid
Trim17
Opa1

description: The upregulation of apoptosis is a hallmark of several neurodegenerative disorders including ischemic stroke. In neurons, as in other cell types, Bax and tBid are critical regulators of the intrinsic pathway upstream of mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP) and caspase activation. The characterization of the molecular events that occur during the early stages is therefore extremely important from a therapeutic standpoint. Here I show that two independent genetic pilot screens looking for novel regulators of Bax activation identified a common hit in the E3 ubiquitin ligase Trim17. Knockdown of Trim17 was found to protect against tBid-induced death in primary cortical neurons and allowed for the maintenance of mitochondrial function and oxidative phosphorylation under this apoptotic stress. The RING-domain of Trim17 was found to interact with Opa1 in mouse brain extracts. Furthermore, Opa1 co-immunoprecipitated with exogenously expressed full-length Trim17 from HEK293 cells. Knockdown of Trim17 in neurons increased Opa1 protein levels under steady-state conditions. These results suggest that Trim17 regulates Bax-dependent apoptosis in neurons via the modulation of Opa1 levels.
Selection and use of chemicals in small and medium sized enterprises
Creators: name: (:Unkn) Unknown
Publisher: name: My University
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: chemicals
subject: small and medium enterprises
subject: Chemikalien
subject: Chemicals

description: The criteria for the sustainable selection and use of chemicals were developed by the Umweltbundesamt between 2008 and 2010 and reflect the current state of the expert discussion. They were compiled in a guide for small and medium sized enterprises (SME). These criteria and the systematic approach outlined in the guide were to be further tested and analysed within the scope of the current project using practical examples and reference experiences.
Quelle: www.umweltbundesamt.de

description: The criteria for the sustainable selection and use of chemicals were developed by the Umweltbundesamt between 2008 and 2010 and reflect the current state of the expert discussion. They were compiled in a guide for small and medium sized enterprises (SME). These criteria and the systematic approach outlined in the guide were to be further tested and analysed within the scope of the current project using practical examples and reference experiences.
Comment on “Black Hole Entropy: A Closer Look”
Creators: name: Pessoa, Pedro
name: Arderucio Costa, Bruno
Publisher: name: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Year: 2020

description: In a recent paper (Entropy 2020, 22(1), 17), Tsallis states that entropy—as in Shannon or Kullback–Leiber’s definitions—is inadequate to interpret black hole entropy and suggests that a new non-additive functional should take the role of entropy. Here we counterargue by explaining the important distinction between the properties of extensivity and additivity; the latter is fundamental for entropy, while the former is a property of particular thermodynamical systems that is not expected for black holes. We also point out other debatable statements in his analysis of black hole entropy.
Pulsar applications of baseband recording
Creators: name: Knight, Haydon Stephen
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: In this thesis I report on the development and implementation of baseband recording techniques for searches for radio emission from neutron stars. Ultra-bright pulses are a sporadic type of neutron star emission that have intrinsic widths of less than a microsecond. Propagation through the interstellar medium broadens these radio pulses and consequently reduces their peak flux densities. Pre-detection dedispersion can be performed on data taken with baseband recorders to completely mitigate the dispersive aspect of this broadening. However, such ``coherent'' dedispersion is computationally expensive, and so its application has historically been limited to narrow bands and/or short observation times. This thesis describes the first wide-bandwidth searches of large data sets for ultra-bright pulses using pre-detection dedispersion techniques. The equations that determine the efficiency and sensitivity of such searches are presented, and practical data processing algorithms are discussed. The results of large-scale searches for ultra-bright pulses using the Parkes and Green Bank radio telescopes are also presented. These revealed three new emitters -- PSRs J1823-3021A, J0218+4232, and B1957+20. This increases the number of millisecond pulsars documented to emit ultra-bright pulses from two to five. In addition, millisecond pulsars that emit ultra-bright pulses are confirmed to be rare. The ultra-bright pulses from all of the five millisecond pulsar emitters are analysed in further detail. Three of these pulsars emit pulsed X-rays. The phases of the ultra-bright pulses always correlate in phase with the X-ray pulses, but have variable phase relations to ordinary radio emission. Structure in the emission of PSRs B1937+21 and J1824-2452A is seen at timescales as short as 8 and 20ns, respectively. The ultra-bright pulses of PSR J1824-2452A are found to be highly elliptically polarised. Their position angles vary widely. This may mean that local effects are dominating over the global magnetic field during the emission events. However, I also report the likely detection of an ultra-bright pulse from PSR J1823-3021A that consists of two disjoint bursts. As these must originate from widely separated regions of the pulsar magnetosphere, macroscopic excitations seem to occur during ultra-bright emission events. I also describe searches for ultra-bright pulses and periodic emission from neutron stars in globular clusters. The ultra-bright pulse searches, whilst not revealing any new emitters, place new bounds on the existence of energetic millisecond pulsars. The Fourier-domain searches of globular clusters revealed 42 previously known pulsars. One new pulsar is reported -- PSR J0024-7204Z in 47 Tucanae.
TWIST1 DNA methylation is a cell marker of airway and parenchymal lung fibroblasts that are differentially methylated in asthma
Creators: name: Clifford, Rachel L.
name: Yang, Chen Xi
name: Fishbane, Nick
name: Patel, Jamie
name: MacIsaac, Julia L.
name: McEwen, Lisa M.
name: May, Sean T.
name: Castellanos-Uribe, Marcos
name: Nair, Parameswaran
name: Obeidat, Ma’en
name: Kobor, Michael S. (Geneticist)
name: Knox, Alan J.
name: Hackett, Tillie-Louise
Publisher: name: BioMed Central
Year: 2020

description: Background Mesenchymal fibroblasts are ubiquitous cells that maintain the extracellular matrix of organs. Within the lung, airway and parenchymal fibroblasts are crucial for lung development and are altered with disease, but it has been difficult to understand their roles due to the lack of distinct molecular markers. We studied genome-wide DNA methylation and gene expression in airway and parenchymal lung fibroblasts from healthy and asthmatic donors, to identify a robust cell marker and to determine if these cells are molecularly distinct in asthma. Results Airway (N = 8) and parenchymal (N = 15) lung fibroblasts from healthy individuals differed in the expression of 158 genes, and DNA methylation of 3936 CpGs (Bonferroni adjusted p value < 0.05). Differential DNA methylation between cell types was associated with differential expression of 42 genes, but no single DNA methylation CpG feature (location, effect size, number) defined the interaction. Replication of gene expression and DNA methylation in a second cohort identified TWIST1 gene expression, DNA methylation and protein expression as a cell marker of airway and parenchymal lung fibroblasts, with DNA methylation having 100% predictive discriminatory power. DNA methylation was differentially altered in parenchymal (112 regions) and airway fibroblasts (17 regions) with asthmatic status, with no overlap between regions. Conclusions Differential methylation of TWIST1 is a robust cell marker of airway and parenchymal lung fibroblasts. Airway and parenchymal fibroblast DNA methylation are differentially altered in individuals with asthma, and the role of both cell types should be considered in the pathogenesis of asthma.
Incorporation of Organic Molecules in the Tunnels of the Sepiolite Clay Mineral
Creators: name: Blank, Katrin
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2011
Subjects: MCH
Sepiolite
Maya-Blue
Intercalation
Acidic treatment

description: Sepiolite is a clay mineral, a complex magnesium silicate, a typical formula for which is (OH2)4(OH)4Mg8Si12O30•8H2O. It is formed by blocks and cavities (tunnels) growing in the direction of the fibres. The tunnels, 3.7 x 10.6 Å in cross-section, are responsible for the high specific surface area and sorptive properties of sepiolite. The co-intercalation of 3-methyl cyclohex-2-en-1-one (MCH), the Douglas-Fir beetle anti-aggregation pheromone, with methanol, ethanol, acetone, or benzene into sepiolite tunnels was studied. The resulting nanohybrid materials were characterized by means of various techniques, such as multinuclear solid-state NMR spectroscopy, porosity studies and Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA). This was done in the hope of obtaining slow and controlled release of MCH from the sepiolite tunnels. It was demonstrated by 13C MAS NMR (carbon-13 magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance) that at room temperature there are two different MCH molecules: one MCH inside the tunnels and the other one outside the tunnels of the sepiolite. Heating nanohybrid materials at 60˚C for 20 hours removes the external MCH molecules from the sepiolite. 13C MAS NMR showed that by further heating nanohybrid materials at 120˚C for 20 hours, methanol, ethanol, or acetone peaks were greatly reduced; however, the benzene peak was not reduced. To better understand how benzene acts inside sepiolite, intercalation of d6-benzene, and co-intercalations of d6-benzene with MCH and d6-benzene with pyridine into sepiolite tunnels were carried out, and these samples were studied by the same techniques. Another technique was used in order to see whether the slow and controlled release of MCH from the sepiolite tunnels could be obtained: sepiolite-MCH nanohybrids were treated with 20 ml of 0.5 M HCl solution. It was found that when 1 gram of MCH-sepiolite sample was acid treated at room temperature, about 35% of intercalated MCH was removed from the sepiolite. The role of sepiolite clay was also studied in Maya-Blue representative structure sepiolite-indigo adduct. It is known that upon heating the sepiolite and indigo mixture, the stability that is present in Maya-Blue is achieved. It is still a mystery, however, how exactly indigo and sepiolite interact with each other.
title: Zappa’s Remembrance of a Forgotten Style: The Relationship Between Frank Zappa and Doo-Wop as Illustrated in Cruising with Ruben & The Jets
Creators: name: Adamo, Benjamin
Publisher: name: University of Kentucky Libraries
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: FOS: Arts (arts, history of arts, performing arts, music)

description: One of Zappa’s many cherished styles of music was the doo-wop of the mid-1950s through the early 1960s. His love for the style culminated in 1968 with a poor-selling and often forgotten doo-wop record, Cruising with Ruben & The Jets. While the record earned little praise from critics and fans, Zappa considered it as a landmark of his early career, as evidenced in his autobiography. This thesis investigates Zappa’s relationship to doo-wop and “perversion” of the style as it culminated in Cruising.

As revealed through autobiographical entries and interviews with Zappa, Ray Collins, and other collaborators, Zappa devised his unique doo-wop style from the early onset of his career until Cruising’s release in 1968. Moreover, he utilized his collagist composition techniques similar to those of postmodern American art music composers of the 1960s such as George Rochberg and David Del Tredici. Although outside of the realm of art music, Cruising is a highlight of Zappa’s early style and one of his finest representations of postmodernity.
description: © 2020 Benjamin Adamo
De l’aide à l’engagement civique, modèle de trajectoires de participation citoyenne : le cas des maisons de quartier de l’Outaouais
Creators: name: Foisy, Dominic
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2013
Subjects: Maison de quartier
Participation citoyenne
Organisme communautaire
Trajectoires de participation
Pauvreté
Quartier
Territorialité
Proximité
Théorie enracinée

description: Cette thèse porte sur la question de la participation citoyenne au sein des maisons de quartier de l’Outaouais. Ces organismes communautaires ont émergé en Outaouais au cours des années 1990 en se donnant la mission spécifique de stimuler et soutenir la participation civique de citoyens et communautés vivant en situation de pauvreté. Ils misent sur une stratégie d’action territorialisée et de proximité. À partir d’une démarche de recherche inductive misant sur la théorie enracinée, les résultats de notre recherche débouchent sur une modélisation des trajectoires de participation. Les dispositifs internes de participation et les dispositions à la participation composent ce modèle de trajectoires qui met en lumière l’importance de conjuguer simultanément les opportunités de participation et les opportunités de répondre aux besoins exprimés par les citoyens afin de soutenir leur participation civique. L’interaction entre dispositifs et dispositions conduit les résidants du quartier sur des trajectoires de participation où ils peuvent avoir différents statuts : client, participant et citoyen engagé. Enfin, notre thèse met en lumière l’importance du concept de sociabilité dans le processus de participation ainsi que la centralité de considérer les besoins d’ordre matériel lorsque l’on cherche à stimuler la participation des citoyens vivant en contexte de pauvreté.
Comparative Gene Expression Analyses of Campylobacter jejuni Strains Isolated from Clinical, Environmental and Animal Sources
Creators: name: Azzi, Ghiwa
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2013
Subjects: Campylobacter
CGF
Phenotype
Genotype
Clinical
Animal
Water
Phage
Sources
Clusters

description: Campylobacter species are the primary cause of bacterial food-borne diarrhoea worldwide. Comparative genomic analyses of Campylobacter strains reveal genome plasticity providing insight into the evolution of virulence traits. The goal of this study was to identify genes important for infectivity and for naturally occurring variability in phenotypic traits in C. jejuni and C. coli strains. Transcriptome and phenotype analyses were conducted to determine if genetic and phenotypic characteristics could be attributed to the source of the strains. Isolates from water sources had higher biofilm formation than animal strains. Clinical strains had decreased sensitivity to hydrogen peroxide as well as increased adherence and invasion when compared to animal strains. A number of genetic differences were observed; however, without further analysis it is difficult to determine which of these impact virulence in Campylobacter. Ultimately, this project will lead to the identification of markers associated with strains of Campylobacter causing illness.
Black Virus Disinfection in Chordal Rings
Creators: name: Alotaibi, Modhawi
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2014
Subjects: black virus
chordal rings
BV
mobile agents

description: The topic of this thesis is black virus disinfection using mobile agents. The black virus is a faulty node that destroys any visiting agent without leaving a trace; moreover, once the black virus is triggered by an agent, it clones itself and spreads to neighbouring nodes. These viruses can only be destroyed if they move to nodes that have been occupied by agents. In this thesis, we consider the black virus disinfection problem in chordal rings. Initially, the system contains a single black virus that resides at an unknown location. We propose a solution that involves deploying a team of mobile agents to locate the original black virus and to prevent further damage once it has been triggered. Our protocol is divided into two phases: 1) searching the graph until the black virus is found and triggered and 2) sending agents to occupy the neighbouring nodes of the black virus in order to trigger and destroy all the black viruses at once. Our solutions are monotone, meaning that once a node has been explored it is protected from re-infection. In order to measure the efficiency of our protocol we consider the total number of agents required for disinfection, the overall number of black viruses and the number of moves required by the agents. We then analyze the cost of all our solutions, providing optimal bounds for some classes of chordal rings.
Past and Future Sea-Level Changes in French Polynesia
Creators: name: Botella, Albéric
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2015
Subjects: sea level
glacial isostatic adjustement
climate change
French Polynesia

description: Among the various adverse effects of climate change, sea-level rise is expected to increase the severity and frequency of flooding events impacting the vulnerable, low-lying islands of French Polynesia. It has long been understood that sea-level changes are not spatially uniform, yet this aspect is not taken into account in the decision-making. Notably, no projections of future sea level have been produced specifically for this region so far, partly because the processes driving sea-level changes remain poorly constrained. To approach the issue, we present a detailed reconstruction of sea-level changes for the mid-to-late Holocene, based on the observation of coral proxies. This dataset is then used to calibrate a sea-level model in order to estimate the contribution of glacial isostatic adjustment to regional sea-level changes and to infer past variations in global ice volume. Building upon this baseline and exploiting recent outputs of climate models, we project that in a “worst-case” scenario, sea level would rise 1.05 meters by 2100 in French Polynesia, exceeding the value adopted in the French adaptation strategy by 0.45 meters. We conclude that spatial variability of sea-level rise should be considered in future risk studies for this and other regions.
Functional Regulation at the 9p21.3 Genetic Risk Locus in Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)
Creators: name: Antoine, Darlène
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2015
Subjects: 9p21.3 Locus
Coronary Artery Disease
GWAS
Atherosclerosis

description: The first genetic CAD risk locus to be identified by genome-wide association studies, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at 9p21.3 predispose to increased risk of CAD. By bioinformatics scan analysis of the 9p21.3 locus; we interrogated the 59 linked SNPs over the 53,202bp to identify putative transcription factor-binding consensus sequences. We hypothesize that some genetic polymorphisms at the 9p21.3 locus are functional and will disrupt specific regulatory sequences within enhancers. Here, I investigated how polymorphisms affect TEAD-dependent regulation at the 9p21.3 locus, and also how polymorphisms affect GATA factor-dependent regulation at the 9p21.3 locus, using cultured HEK293 and primary human aortic smooth muscle cells (HAoSMCs) to transfect the pGL3-promoter plasmid constructs containing the reference or risk variant sequences (rs10611656, rs4977757, rs10757269, rs9632885). We showed by luciferase reporter assay that the risk allele of the SNPs disrupt activation by various TEAD transcription factors. We also performed electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) to test for allele-specific transcription factor binding that affect the family of TEAD transcription factors and the GATA factors. EMSA showed binding of TEAD3 and TEAD4, and differential binding for both GATA genotypes, and luciferase reporter assay confirmed that TEAD3 and TEAD4 activate the non-risk but not the risk allele, and for GATA factors no significant activation was shown. Our investigations lead us to conclude that rs10811656 and rs4977757 are functional and disrupt specific TEAD regulatory sequences within enhancers
Supplementary document for Delay-and-sum-to-delay-standard-deviation-factor: a promising adaptive beamformer for cost-effective linear-array photoacoustic imaging - 5410625.pdf
Creators: name: Paul, Souradip
name: Thomas, Anjali
name: Singh, Mayanglambam
Publisher: name: Optica Publishing Group
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biotechnology

description: Supplemental document
Developing creative engineers: a design approach to engineering education
Creators: name: de Vere, Ian
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: Despite an increase in calls for reform of engineering education, engineering faculties continue to focus somewhat narrowly on the science of engineering, without sufficient curriculum opportunities for students to develop either design skills, or creative methodology. Design is fundamental to engineering practice, and therefore should be a motivating factor in engineering learning. Without focussing on design activities and creativity, we will continue to graduate engineers who are competent technically, but not prepared for the practice of engineering nor the challenges of the 21st century. A cultural change is warranted in engineering, as is reform of the established theory-based curricula; currently there is little emphasis on experiential learning through design or the development of creativity. By contrast, design pedagogy fosters creativity by developing and nurturing problem solving skills and providing regular opportunities for students to refine these skills through experiential project-based learning. Creative activities such as 'reflection in action', problem framing, divergent thinking and open-ended problem solving are integral to the designer's education, but are notably absent from engineering curricula. Yet creativity is central to innovative problem solving and as such should be integral to the education of engineering designers. To be creative, engineers must desire uniqueness, accept unusual ideas, tolerate the unconventional and seek unexpected implications. In this regard, the engineering community can benefit from close observation of design pedagogy. The Product Design Engineering paradigm with its integration of engineering and design curricula seeks to develop creative engineers through the utilisation of design educational processes in an engineering learning context.
A Robust Vehicle Make and Model Recognition System for ITS Applications
Creators: name: Siddiqui, Abdul Jabbar
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2015
Subjects: Intelligent Transportation Systems
Automated Vehicular Surveillance
Intelligent Surveillance
Multimedia Surveillance
VANETs
Make and Model Recognition
Vehicle Classification

description: A real-time Vehicle Make and Model Recognition (VMMR) system is a significant component of security applications in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). A highly accurate and real-time VMMR system significantly reduces the overhead cost of resources otherwise required. In this thesis, we present a VMMR system that provides very high classification rates and is robust to challenges like low illumination, occlusions, partial and non-frontal views. These challenges are encountered in realistic environments and high security areas like parking lots and public spaces (e.g., malls, stadiums, and airports). The VMMR problem is a multi-class classification problem with a peculiar set of issues and challenges like multiplicity, inter- and intra-make ambiguity among various vehicles makes and models, which need to be solved in an efficient and reliable manner to achieve a highly robust VMMR system. To reliably overcome the ambiguity challenges, a global features representation approach based on the Bag-of-Features paradigm is proposed. We extract key features from different make-model classes in an optimized dictionary, through two different dictionary building strategies. We represent different samples from each class with respect to the learned dictionary. We also present two classification schemes based on multi-class Support Vector Machines (SVMs): (1) Single multi-class SVM and (2) Attribute Bagging-based Ensemble of multi-class SVMs. These classification schemes allow simultaneous learning of the differences between global representations of different classes and the similarities between different shapes or generations within a same make-model class, to further overcome the multiplicity challenges for real-time application. Extensive experiments conducted using our approaches yield superior results for images that were occluded, under low illumination, partial camera views, or even non-frontal views, available in a recently published real-world VMMR dataset. The approaches presented herewith provide a highly accurate VMMR system for real-time applications in realistic environments.
Bariatric Surgery for Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Creators: name: Alobaid, Abdulhakeem M.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2013
Subjects: obesity
morbid obesity
surgery
gastric bypass
sleeve gastrectomy
bariatric
gastric banding
anastomosis
Roux-en-Y
biliopancreatic diversion
duodenal switch
randomized controlled trials
diabetes
hypertension
hyperlipidemia

description: Obesity is the fifth leading cause of global deaths. The efficacy and safety of obesity treatment is still controversial. The objective of the thesis is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of bariatric surgery, through a systematic review of the current evidence and meta- analysis of important outcomes. Nineteen (19) randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with 1346 participants were included. Bariatric surgery resulted in greater weight loss when compared to non-surgical treatment. Weight loss was also associated with resolution and/or improvement of obesity related comorbidites such as diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and sleep apnea. Weight loss and safety varied across the surgical procedures. Biliopancreatic diversion/duodenal switch had the greatest weight loss, followed by sleeve gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, purely restrictive procedures such as vertical banded gastroplasty and adjustable gastric banding resulted in the least weight loss. Long term, high quality, and adequately powered trials are still needed to support the available evidence