cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Exploring the Regulation of Kv1.2 Homomeric and Heteromeric Channels by Redox, LMAN2, and Kvβ
Creators: Wong, Anson
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2023

Voltage-gated potassium channels generate diverse current properties influenced by various signaling mechanisms that are still not well understood. Among these channels, Kv1.2 in particular demonstrates highly variable activation properties based on their ability to shift between a fast permissive and slow resistant gating mode. This feature is coined “slow gating regulation” and is sensitive to modulation by extrinsic factors. Reducing agents can promote the resistant gating mode resulting in a profound depolarizing shift of voltage-dependence and use-dependent activation. Similarly, overexpression of Kv1.2 channels with transmembrane lectin LMAN2 recapitulates these functional outcomes. It remains uncertain whether Kv1.2 redox and LMAN2 sensitivity is present in Kv1 heteromeric channels and also whether these mechanisms are interconnected.

In my thesis, I report that redox and LMAN2 sensitivity are exclusive to Kv1.2 among Kv1 homomeric channels and can persist in Kv1.2-containing heteromeric channels. These findings demonstrate that Kv1.2 can act as an adaptor subunit capable of recruiting sensitivity to redox and LMAN2 to other Kv1 channels. Additionally, it highlights the overlapping subunit dependence (i.e. Kv1.2 α-subunits) of redox and LMAN2, supporting LMAN2 as a redox-sensitive auxiliary subunit that regulates Kv1.2 slow gating. Furthermore, my research reveals that multiple signaling pathways can simultaneously regulate ion channels, leading to even greater current diversity. Redox and LMAN2- mediated slow gating strongly suppress Kvβ and Kv1.4-mediated inactivation by decelerating channel opening. This inhibitory effect can then be rescued through depolarizing prepulses or mutagenesis targeting redox/LMAN2 sensitivity.

Overall, this thesis expands our understanding of Kv1.2 channel modulation, highlights the profound impact of extrinsic regulatory mechanisms, and provides a solid foundation for future investigations into ion channel regulation.
title: Ενδυνάμωση Ανθρώπινου Δυναμικού στους Δημοτικούς Αθλητικούς Οργανισμούς
title: Human Resource Empowerment in Municipal Sports Organizations
titleType: AlternativeTitle
Creators: name: Ζιαμπάρα, Ελπινίκη
Publisher: name: Πανεπιστήμιο Πελοποννήσου
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Διοίκηση και οργάνωση προσωπικού
subject: Επικοινωνία στη διοίκηση και οργάνωση προσωπικού
subject: Επικοινωνία στους οργανισμούς
subject: Χρηματοοικονομική διοικητική
subject: Επενδύσεις
subject: Δημοτικοί αθλητικοί οργανισμοί
subject: Personnel management
subject: Communication in personnel management
subject: Communication in organizations
subject: Financial management
subject: Investments
subject: Municipal sports organizations
subject: Ανθρώπινο δυναμικό
subject: Ενδυνάμωση
subject: Δημοτικοί αθλητικοί οργανισμοί
subject: Επιχειρησιακή επίδοση
subject: Human resource
subject: Empowerment
subject: Municipal sports organizations
subject: Οperational performance

description: Η αποτελεσματική λειτουργία κάθε επιχείρησης και οργανισμού έγκειται στην διαθεσιμότητα των κατάλληλων πόρων. Ωστόσο, ο καταλυτικός ρόλος του ανθρώπινου παράγοντα καταδεικνύεται μέσα από την εφαρμογή πρακτικών διοίκησης οι οποίες υποστηρίζεται ότι ασκούν σημαντική επίδραση στην επιχειρησιακή απόδοση, συμπεριλαμβάνοντας τόσο την οικονομική διαχείριση όσο και την αποτελεσματική εφαρμογή της στρατηγικής της επιχείρησης/ οργανισμού. Σκοπός λοιπόν της έρευνας αυτής είναι να διερευνήσει το βαθμό εφαρμογής της πρακτικής ενδυνάμωσης ανθρώπινου δυναμικού και την ύπαρξη τυχόν συσχέτισης της με την επιχειρησιακή απόδοση των δημοτικών αθλητικών οργανισμών, σε επίπεδο κερδών, απόδοσης επένδυσης, εσόδων, μεριδίου αγοράς, εκτέλεσης προϋπολογισμού, παροχής υπηρεσιών υψηλής ποιότητας, ικανοποίηση μελών και εργαζομένων. Από τα αποτελέσματα φάνηκε ότι τα διοικητικά στελέχη των αθλητικών ΟΤΑ έχουν καλό επίπεδο ικανοτήτων διαχείρισης του πληροφοριακού-επικοινωνιακού συστήματος και αξιολόγησης-εσωτερικό έλεγχο του συστήματος. Ενώ αντίστοιχα, οι ικανότητες που αφορούν τη λήψη αποφάσεων και άμεση δράση, την αξιολόγηση του συστήματος και τον εσωτερικό έλεγχο βρέθηκαν να σχετίζονται να έχουν θετική επίδραση στην σωστή εκτέλεση του προϋπολογισμού, στην παροχή υπηρεσιών υψηλής ποιότητας αλλά και στο βαθμό ικανοποίησης των συμμετεχόντων στα αθλητικά προγράμματα.
Investigating Vitamin D Insufficiency in Claudin-2 and Claudin-12 Knockout Mice
Creators: Young, Kennedi
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2023

Infants and children require a net positive calcium (Ca2+) balance to achieve optimal bone mineral density by early adulthood. Vitamin D is a hormone that increases blood Ca2+ levels by increasing intestinal absorption and renal reabsorption of Ca2+ as well as bone remodelling. In both the kidney and intestine, Ca2+ is absorbed both paracellularly, through claudin proteins that make up the tight junction, and transcellularly, through Ca2+ specific transporters and channels. Claudins-2 and -12 are tight junction proteins that mediate Ca2+ permeability across renal and intestinal cell culture epithelial layers. In studying a claudin-2 and claudin-12 double knockout (DKO) mouse model, we observed a decreased Ca2+ balance that resulted in hypocalcemia, hypercalciuria and decreased bone mineralization. Interestingly, DKO mice did not have an increase in serum calcitriol levels or upregulation of the genes CYP27B1 and CYP24A1 regulating serum calcitriol, despite a significant increase in serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels and decreased serum Ca2+ levels compared to WT. We hypothesize that claudin-2 and/or claudin-12 are necessary for efficient signalling of CYP24A1 and CYP27B1, and thus vitamin D production in the proximal tubule (PT). To address this, we have examined cell culture models in the PT, including HEK-293 and primary mouse proximal tubule cells. We have found that in HEK cells, PTH treatment results in increased expression of the CYP27B1 promoter, and that claudin-2 expression alone increases promoter expression to the same extent as PTH treated groups. Further, claudin-2 overexpression enhanced CYP24A1 mRNA transcription with calcitriol treatment. In primary mouse proximal tubule cells, the treatment with PTH results in significantly increased Cyp27b1 mRNA expression compared to controls, and notably, DKO cells have enhanced Cyp27b1 mRNA expression with PTH treatment relative to WT cells. CaSR transfection into HEK-293 cells exposed to high extracellular calcium levels displayed an increase in CYP24A1 mRNA expression which was suppressed in claudin-12 transfected cells relative to EV and claudin-2 transfected cells, consistent with the CaSR having a role in the transcriptional regulation of CYP27B1 and CYP24A1 which is dependent on extracellular calcium levels but not on claudin expression. The results of this study are consistent with claudin-2 and/or claudin-12 playing a role in vitamin D metabolism in the proximal tubule via regulation of CYP27B1 and CYP24A1 transcription. Further work is needed to determine the mechanism behind this effect and what, if any, interactions exist between the claudins and the CaSR. This work will tease out the role of the proximal tubule tight junction proteins claudin-2 and -12 in regulating vitamin D levels.
Critical Casimir force in the presence of random local adsorption preference
Creators: name: Toldin, Francesco Parisen
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2013
Subjects: subject: Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech)
subject: Disordered Systems and Neural Networks (cond-mat.dis-nn)
subject: Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We study the critical Casimir force for a film geometry in the Ising universality class. We employ a homogeneous adsorption preference on one of the confining surfaces, while the opposing surface exhibits quenched random disorder, leading to a random local adsorption preference. Disorder is characterized by a parameter p, which measures, on average, the portion of the surface that prefers one component, so that p=0, 1 correspond to homogeneous adsorption preference. By means of Monte Carlo simulations of an improved Hamiltonian and finite-size scaling analysis, we determine the critical Casimir force. We show that by tuning the disorder parameter p, the system exhibits a crossover between an attractive and a repulsive force. At p=1/2, disorder allows to effectively realize Dirichlet boundary conditions, which are generically not accessible in classical fluids. Our results are relevant for the experimental realizations of the critical Casimir force in binary liquid mixtures.
description: v2: revised and expanded version; 11 pages, 2 figures; v3: published version; 10 pages, 2 figures
Techno-Economic Analysis and GHG Emissions’ Footprints of Solvent-steam-based Bitumen Extraction
Creators: Hoque, Mustakimul
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2023

The oil sands are a critical source of unconventional fossil fuel. The Canadian oil sands are among the world’s largest crude oil deposits. Several oil sands extraction techniques have been developed in recent decades, including solvent-steam based bitumen extraction technology, an emerging process that has the potential to replace new greenfield projects. The solvent-steam process is based on the gravity drainage method, in which a mixture of steam and solvent is used to extract bitumen from a reservoir. The oil sands extraction process is an energy intensive process and results in large amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. There is a need to develop technologies which can help in the reduction of GHG emissions from oil sands extraction.

In this study, a process simulation model was developed to assess the economics and GHG footprint of the solvent-steam extraction method for a plant established in Alberta, Canada using natural gas and Alberta’s grid mix electricity as the sources of energy. A capacity of 25,000 barrels per day of bitumen was considered, with hexane as the solvent. Sensitivity and uncertainty analyses were conducted to observe how the supply cost, energy consumption, and GHG emissions of the solvent-steam process change with changes in input parameters. The supply cost in the base case scenario is CAD 55.5/bbl at a 10% internal rate of return. Capital cost, solvent price, and transportation and blending cost affect the supply cost. The supply cost ranges from CAD 53 to 65.4 per bbl.

The results also showed that energy consumption and associated GHG emissions are 0.92 GJ/bbl and 61.75 kgCO2eq/bbl, respectively. When uncertainty is considered, the energy consumption and GHG emissions range from 0.7 to 1.2 GJ/bbl and 49.7 to 82.6 kgCO2eq/bbl at a 90% confidence level, respectively. The overall GHG emissions are more sensitive to the steam-to-oil ratio (SOR) and heater efficiency compared to the solvent-to-oil ratio (SvOR) and emission factors. The use of natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) and biomass for producing heat and electrical energy was also assessed in order to explore their potential to reduce the GHG emissions of the process. Natural gas used to produce steam and solvent vapor is the prime contributor (97%) to overall GHG emissions. A less emission-intensive source of energy such as biomass to generate heat could reduce emissions by up to 91%. The findings of this study will assist oil sands industries and government in evaluating the economic and environmental feasibility of the solvent-steam bitumen extraction process.
High-Accuracy Total Variation for Compressed Video Sensing
Creators: name: Hosseini, Mahdi S.
name: Plataniotis, Konstantinos N.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2013
Subjects: subject: Optimization and Control (math.OC)
subject: Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (cs.CV)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: Numerous total variation (TV) regularizers, engaged in image restoration problem, encode the gradients by means of simple $[-1,1]$ FIR filter. Despite its low computational processing, this filter severely deviates signal's high frequency components pertinent to edge/discontinuous information and cause several deficiency issues known as texture and geometric loss. This paper addresses this problem by proposing an alternative model to the TV regularization problem via high order accuracy differential FIR filters to preserve rapid transitions in signal recovery. A numerical encoding scheme is designed to extend the TV model into multidimensional representation (tensorial decomposition). We adopt this design to regulate the spatial and temporal redundancy in compressed video sensing problem to jointly recover frames from under-sampled measurements. We then seek the solution via alternating direction methods of multipliers and find a unique solution to quadratic minimization step with capability of handling different boundary conditions. The resulting algorithm uses much lower sampling rate and highly outperforms alternative state-of-the-art methods. This is evaluated both in terms of restoration accuracy and visual quality of the recovered frames.
description: Submitted to IEEE Transaction on Image Processing, Revised
On the energy conservation electrostatic PIC/MC simulating: benchmark and application to the radio frequency discharges
Creators: name: Hong-Yu, Wang
name: Wei, Jiang
name: Peng, Sun
name: Ling-Bao, Kong
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2013
Subjects: subject: Plasma Physics (physics.plasm-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We benchmark and analyze the error of energy conservation (EC) scheme for Particle in cell/Monte-Carlo Couple (PIC/MCC) algorithms by a radio frequency discharging simulation. The plasma heating behaviors and electron distributing functions obtained by 1D simulation are analyzed. Both explicit and implicit algorithms are checked. The results showed that the EC scheme can eliminated the self-heating with wide grid spacing in both cases with a small reduction of the accuracies. In typical parameters, the EC implicit scheme has higher precision than EC explicit scheme. Some "numerical cooling" behaviors are observed and analyzed. Some other error are analyzed also. The analysis showed EC implicit scheme can be used to qualitative estimation of some discharge problems with much less computational resource costs without much loss of accuracies.
description: 18 pages, 10 figures
The Phase Synchronized State of Oriented Active Fluids
Creators: name: Fürthauer, Sebastian
name: Ramaswamy, Sriram
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2013
Subjects: subject: Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We present a theory for self-driven fluids, such as motorized cytoskeletal extracts or bacterial suspensions, that takes into account the underlying periodic duty cycle carried by the active particles of which the system is composed. We show that the fluid can enter a state in which the constituent elements synchronize their phases. This spontaneous breaking of time-translation invariance gives rise to flow instabilities distinct from those arising in phase-incoherent active matter.
Collective coordinate approximation to the scattering of solitons in the (1+1) dimensional NLS model
Creators: name: Baron, H. E.
name: Luchini, G.
name: Zakrzewski, W. J.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2013
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
subject: Exactly Solvable and Integrable Systems (nlin.SI)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We present a collective coordinate approximation to model the dynamics of two interacting nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) solitons. We discuss the accuracy of this approximation by comparing our results to those of the full numerical simulations and find that it is remarkably accurate not only when the solitons are some distance apart but also during their interaction.
The Missing Supernova Remnant Problem: Searching for Galactic Supernova Remnants with EMU & POSSUM
Creators: Ball, Brianna D.
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2023

Supernova remnants (SNRs) are an important part of the stellar feedback cycle that regulates star formation and influences the evolution of galaxies. They disperse the heavy elements formed in the cores of massive stars back into the interstellar medium,

are responsible for forming and destroying large quantities of dust, and are believed to be the dominant source of Galactic cosmic rays. It is widely accepted that there is a significant discrepancy between the number of SNRs that have been discovered in our Galaxy and the number that models predict we should be able to detect at radio frequencies. This is often referred to as the “missing supernova remnant problem”. Most of the known Galactic SNR population has been observed in the radio and thus, discoveries of new Galactic SNRs have historically been driven by the development of more sophisticated radio telescopes. Improvements in the resolution and sensitivity of these telescopes allow us to detect smaller and/or fainter sources that likely would have been missed in previous surveys. Based on our current catalogues, the missing

SNR population is believed to mostly consist of low surface brightness sources and sources located in regions with complex backgrounds and high concentrations of other Galactic radio sources, like HII regions. There may also be SNRs located at high latitudes that have been missed in previous surveys of the Galactic plane. In this thesis, we present pilot data from the EMU and POSSUM sky surveys, conducted using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). We use this pilot data as a test case to assess the capabilities of these surveys to uncover new SNR candidates and to develop techniques that can be used to search for and study SNRs with the full surveys as data become available. The results show remarkable success as we detect 21 SNR candidates in a field that previously only contained 7 known SNRs. If these candidates are confirmed, this will quadruple the number of SNRs in this small test field. By comparing our candidates to the known Galactic SNR population, we demonstrate that ASKAP should be capable of detecting many of the faint sources that likely comprise the majority of the missing SNR population. We believe that new SNRs discovered using these surveys will contribute to our understanding of the Galactic SNR population by allowing us to build a more complete census and conduct statistical studies of the distribution of SNRs in the Galaxy.
Urban Indigenous Identity Development in Survivors of the Child Welfare System
Creators: Reed, Kelsey Erin
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2023

This study examined the experiences of identity development in urban Indigenous survivors of the Child Welfare System, the ways in which their Indigenous identity developed, and how they did/did not feel supported.  In this study I interviewed three Indigenous women who were involved with the Child Welfare System throughout their childhood and/or adolescence in Edmonton, Alberta. Using an Indigenous Research Methodology, I approached this study from an Indigenous paradigm.  Grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing and being, this study included cultural protocol and ceremony to honour the voices of the participants.  The data was collected through three semi-structured interviews with each participant. The interviews revealed that our existing policies in the Child Welfare System, specifically the policies and practices around apprehension, separation of sibling groups, and forced transition to Semi-Independent Living programs are negatively impacting Indigenous identity development of children in care.  Furthermore, the non-Indigenous placements lacked cultural mirrors, the participants experienced constant displacement, and were given direct and indirect negative messaging about Indigenous peoples.  Participants spoke about reconnecting to their Indigenous identity and the value of having connection with other Indigenous peoples.  These findings indicate the need for policy reform in the Child Welfare System, the recruitment and retention of Indigenous Child and Youth Care Practitioners, and investment into family reunification.
A Further Study of Superoutbursts and Superhumps in SU UMa Stars by the Kepler Light Curves of V1504 Cygni and V344 Lyrae
Creators: name: Osaki, Yoji
name: Kato, Taichi
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2013
Subjects: subject: Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We made a supplemental study of the superoutbursts and superhumps in SU UMa stars by using the recently released Kepler public data of V1504 Cyg and V344 Lyr. One of the superoutbursts in V1504 Cyg was preceded by a precursor normal outburst which was well separated from the main superoutburst. The superhump first appeared during the descending branch of the precursor normal outburst and it continued into quiescence (the deep dip between the precursor and the main superoutburst), and it began to grow in amplitude with the growth of the main superoutburst after quiescence ended. A similar phenomenon was also observed in V344 Lyr. This observation demonstrates very clearly that the superoutburst was triggered by the superhump (i.e., by the tidal instability), supporting the thermal-tidal instability model. Smak (2013, Acta Astron., 63, 109, arXiv:1301.0187) criticized our previous paper (Osaki and Kato, 2013, PASJ, 65, 50, arXiv:1212.1516) and challenged our main conclusion that various observational lines of evidence of V1504 Cyg support the thermal-tidal instability model for the superoutbursts of SU UMa stars. We present our detailed accounts to all of his criticisms by offering clear explanations. We conclude that the thermal-tidal instability model is after all only the viable model for the superoutbursts and superhumps in SU UMa stars.
description: 25 pages, 11 figures, PASJ in press, updated figures and tables
Principlism's Colonial Ties
Creators: Smith, Eric NF
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2023

   Since the establishment of modern bioethics in standardized medicine in the mid-late 20th

century, the paradigm of Principlism has dominated its teleological landscape. This dominance is largely attributable to the success of the book, Principles of Biomedical Ethics. The multi-faceted nature of the titular principles defined within effectively describe, advise against, and adapt to a wide variety of ethical issues in medicine. However, these principles are not without flaw.

       This work will demonstrate that Principlism fails to adequately address its relation to and continuation of colonialism in clinical healthcare. More specifically, I argue that the Principlist paradigm is foundationally entangled with colonial thought – a mindset that permits the health- based oppression of Indigenous persons in countries such as Canada under the appearance of “ethical” conduct. This entanglement will be illustrated by presenting the core arguments of Principles of Biomedical Ethics against a backdrop of colonial wrongdoings involving medicine and Indigenous persons. The discord between these wrongdoings and the paradigm’s espoused righteousness reveal that Principlism avoids anti-colonial ideas about persons’ moral considerability – among other things – while also minimizing the importance of persons’ existence as communal and interrelated beings.

       The project concludes that these inadequacies can be improved upon by reconstructing the existing edifice of Principlist thought. This reconstruction has two facets: 1) presenting the existing core principles as virtue-based rules to better express an active obligation towards morally sound healthcare, and 2) adding a fifth, hitherto underappreciated, virtue rule about humility to the paradigm. Altogether, these revisions create a more robust paradigm that can approach and encourage anti-colonial healthcare. I do not suggest that the arguments presented here will definitively decolonize healthcare; this is but a step in that direction.
Quasi-fixed point scenarios and the Higgs mass in the E6 inspired SUSY models
Creators: name: Nevzorov, R.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2013
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We analyse the two-loop renormalization group (RG) flow of the gauge and Yukawa couplings within the E6 inspired supersymmetric (SUSY) models with extra U(1)_{N} gauge symmetry under which right-handed neutrinos have zero charge. In these models single discrete \tilde{Z}^{H}_2 symmetry forbids the tree-level flavor-changing transitions and the most dangerous baryon and lepton number violating operators. We consider two different scenarios A and B that involve extra matter beyond the MSSM contained in three and four 5+\overline{5} representations of SU(5) respectively plus three SU(5) singlets which carry U(1)_{N} charges. In the scenario A the measured values of the SU(2)_W and U(1)_Y gauge couplings lie near the fixed points of the RG equations. In the scenario B the contribution of two--loop corrections spoils the unification of gauge couplings resulting in the appearance of the Landau pole below the Grand Unification scale M_X. The solutions for the Yukawa couplings also approach the quasi fixed points with increasing their values at the scale M_X. We calculate the two--loop upper bounds on the lightest Higgs boson mass in the vicinity of these quasi fixed points and compare the results of our analysis with the corresponding ones in the NMSSM. In all these cases the theoretical restrictions on the SM--like Higgs boson mass are rather close to 125 GeV.
description: 30 pages, 2 figures, some minor changes to the text, references added
Additional file 1 of Detecting patterns of accessory genome coevolution in Staphylococcus aureus using data from thousands of genomes
Creators: name: Mehta, Rohan S
name: Petit, Robert A
name: Read, Timothy D
name: Weissman, Daniel B
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Genetics
subject: FOS: Biological sciences

description: Additional file 1. Supplementary results and figures.
Learning and Planning with the Average-Reward Formulation
Creators: Wan, Yi
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2023

The average-reward formulation is a natural and important formulation of learning and planning problems, yet has received much less attention than the episodic and discounted formulations. This dissertation makes three areas of contributions to algorithms and their theories concerning the average-reward formulation, primarily through the lens of reinforcement learning. The first area of contributions is a family of tabular learning and planning average-reward algorithms and their convergence theories. The second area of contributions of this dissertation is a complete extension of the options framework (Sutton, Precup, and Singh 1999) for temporal abstraction from the discounted formulation to the average-reward formulation. The extension includes general convergent off-policy inter-option learning algorithms, intra-option algorithms for learning values and models, as well as incremental planning variants of the learning algorithms, an option-interrupting algorithm, and convergence theories of the algorithms. The third area of contributions includes an average-reward prediction function approximation algorithm, its convergence analysis, and an error bound for the convergence point.
How should the respiration rate be counted in cattle?
Creators: name: Dißmann, L.
name: Heinicke, J.
name: Jensen, K. Charlotte
name: Amon, Thomas
name: Hoffmann, G.
Publisher: name: Freie Universität Berlin
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Respiration rate
subject: Method
subject: Respiration rate sensor
subject: Flank movement
subject: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften::630 Landwirtschaft::630 Landwirtschaft und verwandte Bereiche

description: Respiration rate (RR) is a proficient indicator to measure the health status of cattle. The common method of measurement is to count the number of respiratory cycles each minute based on flank movements. However, there is no consistent method of execution. In previous studies, various methods have been described, including counting flank movements for 15 s, 30 s or 60 s as well as stopping the time for 5 or 10 breaths. We assume that the accuracy of the aforementioned methods differs. Therefore, we compared their precision with an RR sensor, which was used as the reference method in this study. Five scientists from the fields of agricultural science and veterinary medicine quantified the flank movement according to each of the five methods mentioned above. The results showed that with an average RR of 30 breaths per minute (bpm), all methods showed a high correlation to the values of the RR sensor. However, counting breaths for 60 s had the highest level of conformity with the RR sensor (Lin`s concordance correlation coefficient: 0.96) regardless of the level of RR. With rising RR, the inaccuracy increased significantly for the other four investigated methods, especially when counting 5 and 10 breaths. Therefore, we would recommend that counting for 60 s should be used as the standard method for future studies due to its high precision regardless of the level of RR.
Compositions of birational endomorphisms of the affine plane
Creators: name: Cassou-Noguès, Pierrette
name: Daigle, Daniel
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2013
Subjects: subject: Algebraic Geometry (math.AG)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: 14R10, 14H50

description: Let A^2 denote the affine plane over an algebraically closed field of arbitrary characteristic. Besides contributing several new results in the general theory of birational endomorphisms of A^2, this article describes certain classes of birational endomorphisms f defined by requiring that the missing curves or contracting curves of f are lines. The last part of the article is concerned with the monoid structure of the set of birational endomorphisms of A^2.
description: 37 pages. Typos corrected, 3.16 improved, one reference added
Negotiating Identities: Embodied Experience as Resistance to the Orientalist Gaze in the Artworks of Three Contemporary Women Artists from Iran
Creators: Noori Shirazi, Somayeh
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2023

This dissertation offers three case studies of contemporary women artists from Iran: Ghazaleh Hedayat (b. 1979), Simin Keramati (b. 1970), and Katayoun Karami (b. 1967), to challenge stereotypical readings of Iranian contemporary art that are based on homogenized notions of Iranian identity. I examine self-reflective photographs and videos made by these artists to consider how they question assumptions about politicized and cultural identities in their artworks. In doing so, I contextualize the art of these three artists within an art historical genealogy in which the artists from the Global South challenge the identity politics prevalent in the mainstream international art world. I focus on the visual qualities of the artworks to show how these artists interrogate and complicate the notion of “Iranian-ness” and how they re-define and conceptualize this notion based on their lived experiences as women in Iran.

After conducting semi-structured interviews with the artists and choosing six works in total (two for each artist), I position the selected work within feminist and postcolonial critical frameworks to analyze how these artists perform embodiment in relation to their personal lived experiences. I investigate how they introduce themselves as embodied subjects to problematize the lens through which the artworks of artists from Iran are typically viewed. After defining the term “Orientalist gaze”, I argue this mode of looking is still discernable in the globalized art world. In this dissertation, I explore what strategies are employed by these artists to undermine this gaze. By developing these strategies, the selected artists represent their critical responses to an imposed ethnic group identification, refusing to allow their bodies to become objectified and racialized by the Orientalist gaze. I argue that the artists strive to generate affective responses in their audiences and provide them with the experience of embodied viewership. This form of viewing puts the artist and the viewer in a looking relation in which both of them occupy the role of being an embodied subject.
Natural variation of ncHLAII molecules: challenges and perspectives
Creators: name: Álvaro-Benito, Miguel
Publisher: name: Freie Universität Berlin
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Biomarkers
subject: Cellular immunity
subject: ncHLAII natural variants
subject: 500 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik::570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie::570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie

description: Identifying causal genetic variants for a given phenotype improves diagnosis and provides insights for designing therapies. However, defining the link and/or contribution to a phenotype of rare variants or those with an indirect contribution to disease remains challenging. These variants, however, are key for personalized and precision medicine strategies [1]. In this context, human leukocyte antigens of class II alleles (HLAIIs) facilitate activation of CD4+ T cells and are directly linked to various phenotypes. Non-classical HLAII (ncHLAII) molecules modulate HLAII function and their impact on T-cell responses. The contribution of ncHLAII to phenotypes has been investigated in knockout vs. wild-type cellular and animal models, and recent studies have shown that genetic variants altering the protein-coding regions of these molecules contribute to tuning of HLAII function [2]. These findings suggest that ncHLAII natural variants may play a key role in modulating immune mechanisms that affect human phenotypes.
Additional file 2 of Collaborative cross strain CC011/UncJ as a novel mouse model of T2-high, severe asthma
Creators: name: Donoghue, Lauren J.
name: McFadden, Kathryn M.
name: Vargas, Daniel
name: Smith, Gregory J.
name: Immormino, Robert M.
name: Moran, Timothy P.
name: Kelada, Samir N. P.
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Immunology
subject: FOS: Clinical medicine

description: Additional file 2: Figures S1-S3. Figure S1. A BAL differential cell type percentages in HDM-exposed BALB/cJ and CC mice. Significance of t-test between eosinophil percentage between BALB/cJ and CC strains denoted as * for P < 0.01. B BAL differential cell counts for data shown in main text Figure 1B. Significance of t-tests of total cell counts and eosinophils between HDM-exposed BALB/cJ and CC011 mice are denoted by # for P < 0.1. Note BAL was performed on right lung lobes only. Figure S2. Perivascular inflammation and vascular remodeling in CC011 mice chronically exposed to HDM. Representative cross-sections of H&E stained lung tissue from CC011 mice exposed to PBS or HDM for 5 weeks. Tissue from HDM-exposed mice was collected immediately upon death due to repeated allergen exposure. Scale bars = 100uM. Figure S3. Median fluorescence intensity of IL-5 and IL-13 in ILC2s from BALB/cJ or CC011 mice, as determined by flow cytometry, following three treatments with PBS or HDM. Significance of t-tests for treatment effects within strain are denoted by * for P < 0.05.
Anti-glitch induced by collision of a solid body with the magnetar 1E 2259+586
Creators: name: Huang, Y. F.
name: Geng, J. J.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2013
Subjects: subject: High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Glitches have been frequently observed in neutron stars. Previously these glitches unexceptionally manifest as sudden spin-ups that can be explained as due to impulsive transfer of angular momentum from the interior superfluid component to the outer solid crust. Alternatively, such spin-up glitches may also be due to large-scale crust-cracking events. However, an unprecedented anti-glitch was recently reported for the magnetar 1E 2259+586. In this case, the magnetar clearly exhibited a sudden spin-down, strongly challenging previous glitch theories. Here we show that the anti-glitch can be well explained by the collision of a small solid body with the magnetar. The intruder has a mass of about $1.1 \times 10^{21}$ g. Its orbital angular momentum is assumed to be antiparallel to that of the spinning magnetar, so that the sudden spin-down can be naturally accounted for. The observed hard X-ray burst and decaying softer X-ray emission associated with the anti-glitch can also be reasonably explained. Our study indicates that a completely different type of glitches as due to collisions between small bodies and neutron stars should exist and may have already been observed previously. It also hints a new way for studying the capture events by neutron stars: through accurate timing observations of pulsars.
description: 12 pages, with 1 figure; discussions and new references added, main conclusions unchanged; accepted for publication in ApJ Lett
Does personality still matter in e-commerce? How perceived hubris influences the assessment of founders’ trustworthiness using the example of reward-based crowdfunding
Creators: name: Sundermeier, Janina
name: Kummer, Tyge-F.
Publisher: name: Freie Universität Berlin
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Reward-based crowdfunding
subject: Personality traits
subject: Hubris
subject: Survey
subject: Intuitive information processing
subject: 300 Sozialwissenschaften::330 Wirtschaft::330 Wirtschaft

description: Reward-based crowdfunding broadens the scope of e-commerce transactions, as prototypical products are pre-sold under conditions of considerable uncertainty. To date, we know little about the mechanisms that underlie decisions to back reward-based crowdfunding campaigns. However, it is likely that startup founders’ possibility of showcasing their personalities in video pitches signals their trustworthiness, particularly, as other features, such as quality seals and customer testimonials, are often unavailable. We use signaling theory to reinforce the move from a feature-oriented perspective to a signaling perspective, as signals can transmit information about startup founders’ otherwise imperceptible qualities and abilities. Based on a survey (N = 108), we investigate how perceived hubris – proven to be particularly salient in startup contexts – influences the funding decision of potential backers. We find that abilities and legitimacy of a startup founder are rated positively when s/he is perceived as hubristic. These results have implications for crowdfunding campaigns and highlight the relevance of personality traits in electronic markets.
Additional post-mortem inspection procedures and laboratory methods as supplements for visual meat inspection of finishing pigs in Europe—Use and variability
Creators: name: Laukkanen-Ninios, Riikka
name: Ghidini, Sergio
name: Gómez Laguna, Jaime
name: Langkabel, Nina
name: Santos, Susana
name: Maurer, Patric
name: Meemken, Diana
name: Alban, Lis
name: Alvseike, Ole
name: Vieira-Pinto, Madalena
Publisher: name: Freie Universität Berlin
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Meat inspection
subject: Swine
subject: Veterinarians
subject: Official controls
subject: Legislation
subject: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften::630 Landwirtschaft::630 Landwirtschaft und verwandte Bereiche

description: In the EU, a post-mortem inspection of finishing pigs comprises visual inspections of the carcass and offal followed by additional examinations, such as palpation and incision of parts, when needed. Moreover, it can include various laboratory tests. Since European meat inspection is regulated by the EU, one may assume that post-mortem inspection is performed in the same way in the Member States. However, previous studies showed that variations exist. This article shows the results of a survey performed in September 2020 on how visual meat inspection of finishing pigs is applied in Europe. By using a questionnaire, palpations, incisions and other procedures for 10 gross pathological findings and laboratory methods applied by official veterinarians to evaluate the fitness of meat for human consumption were assessed. We received 44 responses from 26 European countries. Most respondents reported that visual meat inspection was a generally applied inspection method. The main reason for not applying visual meat inspection was export requirements. The most important reasons for applying palpations and incisions in addition to visual inspection were findings detected in ante- or post-mortem inspection. There was considerable variation in the use of palpations and incisions, other post-mortem procedures and laboratory tests to assess meat fitness for human consumption. The respondents mentioned some country-specific practices, but we also observed variations within the responding official veterinarians that could not be explained by country of origin or years of work experience. Additional detailed studies on the variation are needed before harmonisation of meat inspection procedures are attempted.
Exploring The Relationship Between Thai Science Teachers’ Metacognition And Their Perceptions Of Metacognitively Oriented Learning Environments
Creators: Laikram, Gamolnaree
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2023

Thailand reports low levels of students' science achievement. Many studies suggest that developing students’ metacognition, which is knowledge, control, and awareness of one’s own thinking and learning processes, could enhance students’ science learning. To develop learning environments that supports the development of students’ metacognition, fundamental information about teachers’ metacognition and their perceptions of their actual and preferred learning environments is needed. This research explored Thai science teachers’ metacognition and their perceptions of the extent to which their classrooms are or could become metacognitively oriented, and the relationship between those aspects. The research is grounded on Social Constructivism that explains how students’ metacognition could be enhanced by their interactions with teachers and other students in Metacognitive Oriented Learning Environments (MOLEs). A convergent mixed methods research design was adopted. There were 214 Thai science teachers at secondary level who completed questionnaires, and 29 of them were interviewed. The teachers reported their metacognition and that metacognition varied between them. Specifically, teachers reported more favorably about their metacognitive knowledge than regulation. The findings also suggest a medium correlation between all three elements of teachers’ metacognition: Declarative Knowledge, Learning Process Knowledge, and Regulation; and the metacognitive orientation of their science classrooms. The differentiation of teachers’ actual MOLEs and their interest in MOLEs could be explained in relation to the teachers’ perceptions of their lack of knowledge, a lack of time, students’ low motivation for learning, and varying expectations for learning.
Generic Off--Diagonal Solutions and Solitonic Hierarchies in Einstein and Modified Gravity
Creators: name: Vacaru, Sergiu I.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2013
Subjects: subject: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
subject: Mathematical Physics (math-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We summarize some our recent results on encoding exact solutions of field equations in Einstein and modified gravity theories into solitonic hierarchies derived for nonholonomic curve flows with associated bi-Hamilton structure. We argue that there is a canonical distinguished connection for which the fundamental geometric/ physical equations decouple in general form. This allows us to construct very general classes of generic off-diagonal solutions determined by corresponding types of generating and integration functions depending on all (spacetime) coordinates. If the integral varieties are constrained to zero torsion configurations, we can extract solutions for the general relativity theory. We conclude that the geometric and physical data for various classes of effective/modified Einstein spaces can be encoded into multi-component versions of the sine-Gordon, or modified Korteweg - de Vries equations.
description: Summary of a talk at MG13 (Stockholm, 2012), GT1, Exact Solutions in Four and Higher Dimensions: Mathematical Aspects; the results for modified gravity elaborated during a visit at CERN-TH; version accepted to Mod. Phys. Lett. A
Exploring Shifts in Indigenous Primary Health Care Policy Development in Alberta, Canada: A Case Study Analysis
Creators: Goveas, Danika Riva
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2023

Primary health care (PHC) transformation continues to be identified as a key pathway to achieve health equity for Indigenous peoples across the globe. In the province of Alberta, Canada, varying degrees of PHC services exist within First Nations, Métis, and urban contexts that are fragmented, under-resourced, and disconnected from each other, exacerbating existing health inequities. This thesis research aimed to explore historical and present-day policy shifts or changes that have shaped Indigenous PHC delivery in Alberta; and examine the engagement of Indigenous peoples in PHC policy and decision-making. Prior to and into the early 1960s, the federal government assumed financial responsibilities and decision-making for First Nations and Inuit health. However, by the end of the decade, the federal government attempted to devolve their responsibilities to First Nation and Inuit to reduce their fiduciary role in health care delivery and relationship with Indigenous peoples. Fast forward to the late 1970s, the government re-affirmed their responsibilities in providing health care to First Nations and Inuit, which led to the creation of many co-designed policy reforms and initiatives provincially to increase Indigenous participation in health policy throughout the 2000s. However, more concerted efforts are needed to ensure that health priorities of importance to Indigenous peoples are appropriately addressed. Future health policy reforms can improve Indigenous peoples health experiences and promote health equity by strengthening the coordination and delivery of PHC services.
T-duality revisited
Creators: name: Plauschinn, Erik
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2013
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We revisit the transformation rules of the metric and Kalb-Ramond field under T-duality, and express the corresponding relations in terms of the metric G and the field strength H=dB. In the course of the derivation, we find an explanation for potential reductions of the isometry group in the dual background. The formalism employed in this paper is illustrated with examples based on tori and spheres, where for the latter we construct a new non-geometric background.
description: 43 pages, 5 figures; v2: references added, discussion clarified, conclusions in section 2 changed; v3: published version
Additional file 1 of Adding epitope compatibility to deceased donor kidney allocation criteria: recommendations from a pan-Canadian online public deliberation
Creators: name: Edwards, Louisa
name: Bentley, Colene
name: Burgess, Michael
name: Sapir-Pichhadze, Ruth
name: Hartell, David
name: Keown, Paul
name: Bryan, Stirling
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Medicine
subject: Neuroscience
subject: Biotechnology
subject: Immunology
subject: FOS: Clinical medicine
subject: Marine Biology
subject: Computational Biology

description: Additional file 1.