cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Le modèle d'enseignement euro-canadien dans le pensionnat autochtone de Saint-Marc-de-Figuery: une étude historique
Creators: name: Crytes, Geneviève
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2013
Subjects: pensionnat autochtone
pensionnat indien
Saint-Marc-de-Figuery
Amos
curriculum officiel
curriculum enseigné
curriculum caché
curriculum réel
algonquin
anishinabe
attikamek
colonialisme
enseignement
éducation

description: Cette thèse par article présente une étude de cas sur le pensionnat autochtone de Saint-Marc-de-Figuery au Québec, ouvert de 1953 à 1973 pour les jeunes autochtones de l’Abitibi (Algonquins) et du Lac-Saint-Jean (Attikameks). Elle porte principalement sur trois curriculums présents au pensionnat, soit le curriculum officiel, le curriculum enseigné et le curriculum caché. Cette thèse s’inspire du paradigme de la critique transformative pour expliquer les relations de la politique colonisatrice et dominatrice au sein du système des pensionnats autochtones. Il s’agit d’une recherche qualitative fondée sur la méthode historique à partir d’une analyse de sources écrites et orales. Pour ce faire, j’ai consulté et analysé des documents (sources primaires et secondaires) disponibles et accessibles. Les résultats se divisent en trois grands points. Le premier étant ce qui a été fait pour le pensionnat en tant que curriculum officiel par le gouvernement fédéral et les Pères oblats. Le second point touche la vie au pensionnat. C’est le point le plus long, car les trois curriculums y sont abordés. Du curriculum officiel et enseigné du gouvernement québécois découlent les programmes d’études, l’horaire et les matières enseignées. Pour cette étude, seule l’histoire a été retenue avec son programme et ses manuels scolaires. Le curriculum caché décrit les aspects dissimulés et indirects comme la perte d’identité, la honte d’être un autochtone et la langue obligatoire de la majorité de la province où se trouve le pensionnat. Le troisième point traite des conséquences ainsi que des effets négatifs et positifs en dehors du pensionnat. Le curriculum caché n’a pas seulement été vécu par les pensionnaires, mais aussi par leurs familles et leur entourage. Néanmoins, il ressort des aspects positifs une implication des pensionnaires dans la communauté et pour certains la poursuite d’études postsecondaires. À la lumière des résultats, nous pouvons soutenir que le pensionnat de Saint-Marc-de-Figuery, comme institution scolaire des autorités canadiennes, fut à la fois assimilateur, acculturateur et formateur en voulant régler la problématique autochtone au pays.
SmartPads - Encouraging Children's Physical Activity Using a Multimedia Edutainment System
Creators: name: Hafidh, Basim
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2012
Subjects: Multimedia
Edutainment
Exergaming
Tangible user interface

description: This thesis presents an exercise-based edutainment system intended for children. It is designed to enhance their cognitive development by encouraging movement in a fun way. The main idea behind the system is that children will have fun constructing a physical, tangible user interface. In addition, they will learn how to spell many words that represent objects and entities by stepping on a collection of coloured pads and receiving responses through a set of multimedia outputs related to these entities. For this purpose we have designed and implemented a tangible user interface that facilitates interaction with the system. This tangible user interface is called "SmartPads" and is composed of coloured tiles that can be physically connected to each other to form any shape. The pads are mapped onto a computer screen in real-time. A user interacts with the interface by stepping on the pads. We have incorporated two games that allow children of different ages to benefit from the system's functionalities and encourage them to interact with it. This thesis provides detailed information about the proposed system and its related components, discusses the design and development of the two games, and measures the system's performance when used by the children.
Exploring the Supports Available for Health and Social Service Providers from Canada Responding to the Disaster in Haiti
Creators: name: Fahim, Christine
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2012
Subjects: disaster
Haiti
health providers
social service providers
disaster relief
grounded theory
supports
relief supports
supports for responders
haitian earthquake
health systems
experiences
canada

description: The world has experienced multiple disasters in recent years that have highlighted the importance of effective disaster preparedness and response initiatives. One prominent example is the January 12, 2010, 7.0 magnitude earthquake that shook Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The massive disaster made it difficult for local Haitian community officials to respond immediately, leaving the country reliant on foreign aid and international and non-governmental relief organizations. Within days, hundreds of organizations and volunteers mobilized to send physicians and medical specialists, nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists and social workers to the affected area. However, the political and financial instability of Haiti, in conjunction with limited resources and severe destruction from the earthquake, made it difficult to coordinate response efforts between hundreds of responding organizations. The literature indicates that when health professionals are disorganized and unprepared, they are at risk physically, emotionally and mentally which could hinder their effectiveness as first responders. While these risks have been made known, there is little literature that explores the effectiveness of the supports, as perceived by Canadian health and social service providers in Haiti. In order to address this gap, this qualitative study explores various supports that were available to health and social service providers in Haiti by focusing on their lived experiences pre-deployment, on-site and post-deployment. These findings provide evidence to inform policy development regarding future disaster relief and the supports available to health and social service workers assisting with international disaster response.
Improved Wideband Spectrum Sensing Methods for Cognitive Radio
Creators: name: Miar, Yasin
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2012
Subjects: Power Spectral Density (PSD) estimation
Simplified Discrete Fourier Transform (SDFT)
Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT)
Cognitive Radio (CR)
Spectrum Sensing
Welch's method
Multi Resolution PSD estimation

description: Abstract Cognitive Radio (CR) improves the efficiency of spectrum utilization by allowing non- licensed users to utilize bands when not occupied by licensed users. In this thesis, we address several challenges currently limiting the wide use of cognitive radios. These challenges include identification of unoccupied bands, energy consumption and other technical challenges. Improved accuracy edge detection techniques are developed for CR to mitigate both noise and estimation error variance effects. Next, a reduced complexity Simplified DFT (SDFT) is proposed for use in CR. Then, a sub-Nyquist rate A to D converter is introduced to reduce energy consumption. Finally, a novel multi-resolution PSD estimation based on expectation-maximization algorithm is introduced that can obtain a more accurate PSD within a specified sensing time.
A New HOPE: Domain-agnostic Automatic Evaluation of Text Chunking
Creators: name: Brådland, Henrik
name: Goodwin, Morten
name: Andersen, Per-Arne
name: Nossum, Alexander S.
name: Gupta, Aditya
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2025
Subjects: subject: Computation and Language (cs.CL)
subject: Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: Document chunking fundamentally impacts Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) by determining how source materials are segmented before indexing. Despite evidence that Large Language Models (LLMs) are sensitive to the layout and structure of retrieved data, there is currently no framework to analyze the impact of different chunking methods. In this paper, we introduce a novel methodology that defines essential characteristics of the chunking process at three levels: intrinsic passage properties, extrinsic passage properties, and passages-document coherence. We propose HOPE (Holistic Passage Evaluation), a domain-agnostic, automatic evaluation metric that quantifies and aggregates these characteristics. Our empirical evaluations across seven domains demonstrate that the HOPE metric correlates significantly (p > 0.13) with various RAG performance indicators, revealing contrasts between the importance of extrinsic and intrinsic properties of passages. Semantic independence between passages proves essential for system performance with a performance gain of up to 56.2% in factual correctness and 21.1% in answer correctness. On the contrary, traditional assumptions about maintaining concept unity within passages show minimal impact. These findings provide actionable insights for optimizing chunking strategies, thus improving RAG system design to produce more factually correct responses.
description: 10 pages, To be published in SIGIR25
AI Governance in the GCC States: A Comparative Analysis of National AI Strategies
Creators: name: Albous, Mohammad Rashed
name: Al-Jayyousi, Odeh Rashed
name: Stephens, Melodena
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2025
Subjects: subject: Computers and Society (cs.CY)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states increasingly adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI) to drive economic diversification and enhance services. This paper investigates the evolving AI governance landscape across the six GCC nations, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait, through an in-depth document analysis of six National AI Strategies (NASs) and related policies published between 2018 and 2024. Drawing on the Multiple Streams Framework (MSF) and Multi-stakeholder Governance theory, the findings highlight a "soft regulation" approach that emphasizes national strategies and ethical principles rather than binding regulations. While this approach fosters rapid innovation, it also raises concerns regarding the enforceability of ethical standards, potential ethicswashing, and alignment with global frameworks, particularly the EU AI Act. Common challenges include data limitations, talent shortages, and reconciling AI applications with cultural values. Despite these hurdles, GCC governments aspire to leverage AI for robust economic growth, better public services, and regional leadership in responsible AI. The analysis suggests that strengthening legal mechanisms, enhancing stakeholder engagement, and aligning policies with local contexts and international norms will be essential for harnessing AI's transformative potential in the GCC.
description: 33 pages,6 figures, 11 tables
The Paradoxical Roles of Cell Death Pathways in Immune Cells
Creators: name: McComb, Scott
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2013
Subjects: Cell death
Apoptosis
Necroptosis
Immunity
Macrophage
T cells
Bacterial pathogens

description: Cell death plays a vital role throughout the immune response, from the onset of inflammation to the elimination of primed T cells. Understanding the regulation of cell death within immune cells is of vital importance to understanding the immune system and developing therapies against various immune-disorders. In this thesis I have investigated the regulation of cell death and its functional role in of the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system. The mechanisms that govern expansion and contraction of antigen stimulated CD8+ T cells are not well understood. In the first section of this thesis, I show that caspase-3 becomes activated in proliferating CD8+ proliferation, yet this does not result in cell death. I used both in vivo and in vitro models to demonstrate that caspase-3 activation is specifically driven by antigen presentation and not inflammation, and that it likely plays a role in promoting T cell proliferation. Next, I present novel data regarding the regulation of a newly identified form of programmed cell death via necrosis, known as necroptosis. I show that the cellular inhibitor of apoptosis (cIAP) proteins act to limit activation of key necroptosis proteins in macrophage cells. Furthermore, I show that necroptosis can be exploited by intracellular bacterial pathogens to escape removal by the immune system. I also demonstrate that necroptosis is highly intertwined with the pathway of inflammation, and the autocrine production of type-I interferon constitutes a vital positive feedback loop in the induction of inflammatory cell death. In the final section of my thesis work, I delve into the specific regulation of Rip1 kinase and demonstrate that in addition to previously demonstrated regulation by caspase-8, cathepsins are also able to cleave Rip1 kinase and limit necroptosis. This thesis presents a wide variety of novel data regarding the regulation of cell death within immune cells. In total, the results reveal a picture of two divergent forms of programmed cell death, apoptosis and necroptosis. Through improving the understanding of the cross-regulation of these two key cell death pathways this work aims to improve the understanding of the immune function.
Les ONG religieuses et l'État chinois
Creators: name: Lacroix-Cuerrier, Vincent
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2015
Subjects: ONG
NGO
Chine
Société civile
China
Civil society
État
State
Religion
Charity
Charité
Post-Mao

description: Les organisations caritatives religieuses connaissent depuis la fin de l’ère maoïste une croissance importante en Chine. De façon générale, ces organisations complémentent les services de l’État, lequel a réduit sa présence dans la sphère sociale au cours de la période de Réforme et d’ouverture. Face à ces groupes, le Parti communiste chinois est passé d’une attitude répressive à une attitude instrumentale. La présente thèse explore le détail de cette instrumentalisation. Elle constate, grâce à une étude de terrain, l’attitude différenciée du Parti communiste envers les groupes caritatifs religieux, selon que ceux-ci adhèrent à une religion « chinoise » ou « étrangère ».
Scaling up newborn care technologies from tertiary- to secondary-level hospitals in Malawi: an implementation case study of health professional perspectives on bubble CPAP
Creators: name: Kinshella, Mai-Lei Woo
name: Salimu, Sangwani
name: Hiwa, Tamanda
name: Banda, Mwai
name: Vidler, Marianne
name: Newberry, Laura
name: Dube, Queen
name: Molyneux, Elizabeth M.
name: Goldfarb, David M.
name: Kawaza, Kondwani
name: Nyondo-Mipando, Alinane L.
Publisher: name: BioMed Central
Year: 2020

description: Background: While Malawi has achieved success in reducing overall under-five mortality, reduction of neonatal mortality remains a persistent challenge. There has, therefore, been a push to strengthen the capacity for quality newborn care at district hospitals through the implementation of innovative neonatal technologies such as bubble continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). This study investigates tertiary- versus secondary-level hospital differences in capacities for bubble CPAP use and implications for implementation policies. Methods: A secondary analysis of interviews was conducted with 46 health workers at one tertiary hospital and three secondary hospitals in rural Southern Malawi. Grounded theory was utilized to explore the emerging themes according to health worker cadres (nurse, clinician, district health management) and facility level (tertiary- and secondary-level facilities), which were managed using NVivo 12 (QSR International, Melbourne, Australia). Results: We identified frequent CPAP use and the availability of neonatal nurses, physicians, and reliable electricity as facilitators for CPAP use at the tertiary hospital. Barriers at the tertiary hospital included initiation eligibility disagreements between clinicians and nurses and insufficient availability of the CPAP machines. At secondary-level hospitals, the use was supported by decision-making and initiation by nurses, involving caretakers to assist in monitoring and reliable availability of CPAP machines. Bubble CPAP was hindered by unreliable electricity, staffing shortages and rotation policies, and poor systems of accountability. Conclusion: While this study looked at the implementation of bubble CPAP in Malawi, the findings may be applicable for scaling up other novel neonatal technologies in low-resource settings. Implementation policies must consider staffing and management structures at different health services levels for effective scale-up.
Electronic structure computations of multi-million atom. Non-periodic samples of metal oxides in less than 10 minutes? Yes.
Creators: name: Marek, Michalewicz
name: Nyberg Per
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 1998

description: Equation of motion method has been used previously for computations of the electronic conductivity via Kubo formula, localization, spectral functions, interband linear and non-linear optical properties, the Hall coefficient, the electronic structure of hydrogenated a-Si and the effective mass of electron and hole in amorphous silicon. Host of other properties in complex sytems could be explored computationally with programs based on equation-of-motion method and the tight-binding Hamiltonian: total energy computations10, electronic structure of elemental materials, transition and noble metals. It is likely that modelling of the entire monolithic electronic device will be possible with the use of extremelly fast computer codes. In materials research we may envisage very fast computational materials “discovery” process (a “virtual” counterpart to continous composition-spread method type of a process). In solid state physics and materials sciences a method described here and its extensions can be invaluable for studying the systems for which very large supercells make ab-initio methods (still) impractical, systems such as (modulated) superlatices, surfaces, atomic steps, islands, interfaces, extended surface defects, random alloys, sol-gel systems, sintered nanocrystalline materials or carbon nanostructures. Some of the immediate extensions and enhancements worth looking at are: positional relaxation, tight-binding Molecular Dynamics (TBMD), nonorthogonal tight-binding schemes and combination of methods described here with ab-initio schemes.
Moving beyond Resistance and Medicalization: Challenging Common Representations of Bareback Sex and HIV through Ethnography
Creators: name: Brisson, Julien
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2015
Subjects: HIV/AIDS
Condoms
Bareback Sex
Gay Men
Ethnography
Medical Anthropology
Sexuality
Biomedicine

description: Condomless sex between gay men, also known as bareback sex, has been a popular object of research since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. One of the most common perspectives on studying bareback sex has been through a medicalization approach, as it may be observed notably with public health and psychology. In other instances, the abandonment of condom use is framed as an intentional act of resistance to public health. Through the methodological approach of ethnography, I studied how young gay men in their twenties from Toronto understand bareback sex in relations to popular discourses of the sexual practice. While my informants initially had a certain way of talking of bareback sex, their narratives on the sexual practice changed with time and challenged the common representations of bareback sex as either a site of resistance or medicalization, which I argue was possible because of the methodological approach of ethnography. During fieldwork, other themes also emerged in regards to shaping understandings of bareback sex and HIV as it relates to young gay men, such as the traumatic memories of an older generation who witnessed the earlier days of the AIDS epidemic. From this anthropological research, I seek to invite the opportunity to rethink the relationship between sex, biomedical science, and HIV.
Coordinated Deployment of Multiple Autonomous Agents in Area Coverage Problems with Evolving Risk
Creators: name: Mohammad Hossein Fallah, Mostafa
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2015
Subjects: Voronoi
Voronoi tessellation
diffusion equation
risk density
barbalat's lemma

description: Coordinated missions with platoons of autonomous agents are rapidly becoming popular because of technological advances in computing, networking, miniaturization and combination of electromechanical systems. These multi-agents networks coordinate their actions to perform challenging spatially-distributed tasks such as search, survey, exploration, and mapping. Environmental monitoring and locational optimization are among the main applications of the emerging technology of wireless sensor networks where the optimality refers to the assignment of sub-regions to each agent, in such a way that a suitable coverage metric is maximized. Usually the coverage metric encodes a distribution of risk defined on the area, and a measure of the performance of individual robots with respect to points inside the region of interest. The risk density can be used to quantify spatial distributions of risk in the domain. The solution of the optimal control problem in which the risk measure is not time varying is well known in the literature, with the optimal con figuration of the robots given by the centroids of the Voronoi regions forming a centroidal Voronoi tessellation of the area. In other words, when the set of mobile robots converge to the corresponding centroids of the Voronoi tessellation dictated by the coverage metric, the coverage itself is maximized. In this work, it is considered a time-varying risk density evolving according to a diffusion equation with varying boundary conditions that quantify a time-varying risk on the border of the workspace. Boundary conditions model a time varying flux of external threats coming into the area, averaged over the boundary length, so that rather than considering individual kinematics of incoming threats it is considered an averaged, distributed effect. This approach is similar to the one commonly adopted in continuum physics, in which kinematic descriptors are averaged over spatial domain and suitable continuum fields are introduced to describe their evolution. By adopting a first gradient constitutive relation between the flux and the density, a simple diffusion equation is obtained. Asymptotic convergence and optimality of the non-autonomous system are studied by means of Barbalat's lemma and connections with varying boundary conditions are established. Some criteria on time-varying boundary conditions and evolution are established to guarantee the stabilities of agents' trajectories. A set of numerical simulations illustrate theoretical results.
Supplementary document for Autonomous on-chip interferometry for reconfigurable optical waveform generation - 5421705.pdf
Creators: name: Chemnitz, Mario
name: Fischer, Bennet
name: MacLellan, Benjamin
name: Roztocki, Piotr
name: Helsten, Robin
name: Wetzel, Benjamin
name: Little, Brent
name: Chu, Sai Tak
name: Moss, David
name: Azana, Jose
Publisher: name: Optica Publishing Group
Year: 2025
Subjects: Uncategorized

description: Supplementary Information
Days Ending in Why
Creators: name: Martin, Julia
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2015
Subjects: Visual Art
Fine Art
Narrative
Story
Photography
Fragments
Memory
Trauma
Dark humour
Mourning
Melancholia
Grief
Loss
Vignette

description: In DAYS ENDING IN WHY, interdisciplinary artist Julia Martin identifies the schism of her autobiographical practice: deep melancholia and absurd irony. The fragmentation of the works presented knowingly resist cohesion, instead, through their arrangements and the potentials of space between them, they carry on conversations with one another. Rooted in the personal narrative, the works span across multiple mediums; photography, film, installation/sculpture, and literature. Martin emphasizes both the tragic and the comedic, pacing the show as a play between the two. Also, there are cats. So many cats.
Enhancing the Oncolytic Efficacy of Vaccinia Virus by Mutagenic Augmentation of EEV Production
Creators: name: Laporte, Aimée N.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2012
Subjects: Oncolytic Virus
EEV
Vaccinia Virus

description: Oncolytic viruses are currently under investigation as anti - cancer therapies due to their innate ability to selectively infect and destroy cancer cells. Major barriers to this anti - tumour effect include inefficient viral spread and immune - mediated neutralization. This study aims to overcome these limitations by taking advantage of the life cycle of the oncolytic clinical candidate known as vaccinia virus (VACV). Naturally, a small proportion (<1%) of VACV progeny are released from infected cells with a cell - derived membrane and become known as extra - cellular enveloped virus (EEV). Due to this additional membrane, EEV can be shielded from many anti -viral immune factors , allowing it to travel further and largely avoid host - mediated neutralization. This form of VACV is important for long range virus dissemination as well as sustained infection. Though the exact mechanism remains to be elucidated, it has been demonstrated that EEV release can be influenced by Abl tyrosine kinase (Abl TK) function. Specific point mutations in viral envelope proteins are known to bring about enhanced viral release, resulting in an elevated proportion of produced EEV. In this study, we investigate the effect of EEV enhancing modifications within various oncolytic VACV strains. Our data reveals that this augmentation of EEV production through the A34R L151E mutation within the Copenhagen (Cop) backbone can enhance the oncolytic potential of VACV in vivo through enhanced spread and immunoevasion.
title: Effectively tackling the issue of millions of vehicles with unknown whereabouts
title: Effectively tackling the issue of millions of vehicles with unknown whereabouts
titleType: AlternativeTitle
Creators: name: Kitazume, Christian
name: Kohlmeyer, Regina
name: Oehme, Ines
Publisher: name: Umweltbundesamt
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Altfahrzeug
subject: end-of-life vehicle
subject: ELVs
subject: ELV recycling
subject: Waste | Resources

description: 6 million end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) are disposed of in the EU each year according to Eurostat statistics. However, annually, the fate of an additional 3.4 to 4.7 million deregistered vehicles is unaccounted for. A substantial share of this efflux is likely to be illegally treated or exported, thereby potentially causing environmental damage and harming European economies. To halt unauthorised treatment and illegal export of these vehicles with unknown whereabouts, an appropriate European framework for national vehicle registration systems is needed to effectively prevent leakage and intrinsically direct all ELVs into the more than 13,000 authorised treatment facilities. The certificate of destruction (CoD) as the current steering instrument under the ELV Directive 2000/53/EC can only be effective if embedded into appropriate vehicle registration/ deregistration systems. The German Environment Agency therefore recommends to complement the CoD by the following minimum requirements for national vehicle registration systems. Quelle: E-Book
description: In 2020, the EU Commission is evaluating and subsequently revising the End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Directive 2000/53/EC. When it comes to ELV recycling, the issue of unknown whereabouts of vehicles is the most crucial aspect to be solved. In a Scientific Opinion Paper, the German Environment Agency (⁠UBA⁠) outlines the negative impacts of the unknown whereabouts and presents recommendations to prevent leakage of ELVs into the illegal sector.UBA concludes that any advances to establish ambitious ELV treatment and recycling targets will only succeed, if a legal framework for effectively steering all ELVs into authorised treatment facilities is created. Therefore, the revision of the ELV Directive should be used to evaluate how appropriate minimum requirements for national vehicle registration systems can be implemented within the European legal framework.
Socio-environmental complexity, Insularity and Knowledge co-creation
Creators: name: Romero Manrique de Lara, David
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Knowledge mobilisation
Community knowledge
Participatory processes
Institutional analysis
Post-normal science
Environmental policy
Insularity
Complex systems

description: Human knowledge is not a static entity, but is a dynamic and cumulative learning process, which transforms and evolves through experience and communication. Human beings, and therefore human societies, are guided and governed based on the acquired and inherited knowledge. When we face complex environmental problems, the available knowledge is our best tool to overcome them and find solutions, and each individual, community or society applies the knowledge at hand, or at least, considered as useful.
 This PhD research discusses that under complex environmental issues -in which there are varying degrees of uncertainty and urgency, such as the impacts of climate change, invasive agricultural species, or overfishing- techno-scientific data is not providing all the answers that humans and environment require. Therefore, an urgent need to mobilise other kinds of knowing in order to co-create knowledge and elaborate more efficient policies is proposed.
 It is explored how relevant sources of situated environmental knowledge exist within communities that have subsisted and evolved under conditions of insularity and relative isolation, that is, in islands and remote territories. These types of spaces share a series of characteristics that allow their study under a unique perspective: insularity; in addition, they are suggested as “environmental-knowledge hot spots”.
 Under a Post-Normal Science paradigm, and in order to validate the value and usefulness of the knowledge these types of communities hold, this thesis applies an integrated approach consisting on institutional analysis and participatory processes to three different case studies. The studied cases range from the invasion of an agricultural pest that severely affects the cultivation of potatoes on the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands); the artisanal fishing as a response to overfishing in Tenerife; and finally, the impacts of climate change on small Arctic communities.
 This research tries to illustrate the need to overcome scientific, social, cultural and institutional barriers in current environmental policy making processes. These processes must be based on trans-disciplinary and trans-epistemological approaches, allowing the inclusion and enhancement of other types of knowing into the cycles.
description: The work towards this thesis was partially supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 689669 (MAGIC). This work reflects the author's view only; the funding agency is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
Human-centered Reliability Assessment and Condition Monitoring in Road Transportation Systems
Creators: name: Khashayar, Hojjati Emami
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2015
Subjects: Reliability
Road Transportation

description: The risk analysis process involving information acquisition, modeling, analysis, and decision steps result in system design improvement. To allow an accurate and active system risk assessment in road transportation, this study identifies the contributing factors in reliability of road transportation systems and develops the systematic and stochastic methodologies and mathematical models. The developed models and methodologies aim to assess the reliability and risk of drivers interacting with the today’s typical vehicles equipped with Advanced Drivers Assistance System (ADAS) and Passive Safety Systems (PSS) with any degree of complexity and availability of such systems. The research further examines and addresses the specific needs of such vulnerable users and perhaps risk to others on roads including older drivers, younger drivers and pedestrians. The research presents the conditions monitoring concepts as in-vehicle tools for live assessment of risk state of drivers built on the methodologies and models developed in the studies. The necessity for availability of good data and specific databases for purpose of risk assessment in road transportation is then highlighted and stressed. The complete procedure for accident investigation and data collection is developed and presented in the research and a conceptual model for a typical human centered reliability databases in road transportation is also developed. The research is novel and innovative and expected to pave the way for improvement and development of new risk mitigating systems and better assessment and monitoring of the safety of users on roads and with the capability of information sharing resulting in saving many lives worldwide.
Theoretical and Experimental Studies on the Minimum Size 2-edge-connected Spanning Subgraph Problem
Creators: name: Sun, Yu
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2013
Subjects: minimum size 2-edge-connected spanning subgraph problem
2-edge-connected
approximation algorithms
approximation ratio
integrality gap

description: A graph is said to be 2-edge-connected if it remains connected after the deletion of any single edge. Given an unweighted bridgeless graph G with n vertices, the minimum size 2-edge-connected spanning subgraph problem (2EC) is that of finding a 2-edge-connected spanning subgraph of G with the minimum number of edges. This problem has important applications in the design of survivable networks. However, because the problem is NP-hard, it is unlikely that efficient methods exist for solving it. Thus efficient methods that find solutions that are provably close to optimal are sought. In this thesis, an approximation algorithm is presented for 2EC on bridgeless cubic graphs which guarantees to be within 5/4 of the optimal solution value, improving on the previous best proven approximation guarantee of 5/4+ε for this problem. We also focus on the linear programming (LP) relaxation of 2EC, which provides important lower bounds for 2EC in useful solution techniques like branch and bound. The “goodness” of this lower bound is measured by the integrality gap of the LP relaxation for 2EC, denoted by α2EC. Through a computational study, we find the exact value of α2EC for graphs with small n. Moreover, a significant improvement is found for the lower bound on the value of α2EC for bridgeless subcubic graphs, which improves the known best lower bound on α2EC from 9/8 to 8/7.
Control of Uncoupling Protein-1 (UCP1) by Phosphorylation and the Metabolic Impact of Ectopic UCP1 Expression in Skeletal Muscle of Mice
Creators: name: Adjeitey, Cyril
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2013
Subjects: UCP1
reactive oxygen species
proton leak
glutathione
redox
obesity
covalent modification
phosphorylation

description: UCP1 is a member of the mitochondrial transmembrane anion carrier protein superfamily and is required to mediate adaptive thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue (BAT). Once activated, UCP1 uncouples mitochondrial respiration from ATP synthesis, thereby wasting the protonmotive force formed across the mitochondrial inner membrane as heat. It is hypothesized that proton leaks through UCP1 could be a molecular target to combat certain forms of obesity. Although it is well established that UCP1 is regulated by allosteric mechanisms, alternative methods such as post-translational modification still remain to be explored. The aims of the present study were to confirm the phosphorylation of UCP1 and the physiological relevance of this modification. Using isoelectric focusing, we confirmed that UCP1 displayed acidic shifts consistent with phosphorylation in BAT mitochondria isolated from cold exposed versus warm acclimated mice. A mouse model that ectopically expressed UCP1 in skeletal muscle was used to explore the link between the mitochondrial redox status and UCP1 function. Our results show that the expression of UCP1 in skeletal muscle led to decreases in body and tissues weights. In contrast, glucose uptake into skeletal muscle, food intake and energy expenditure was increased with the expression of UCP1. Finally, proton leaks through UCP1 were determined to be increased in isolated mitochondria from transgenic versus wild-type mice. Taken together these results indicate a complex interplay between mitochondrial redox status, post-translational modification and UCP1 function. Elucidation of novel mechanisms regulating UCP1 offers alternatives strategies that can be explored in order to modulate BAT thermogenesis.
Supplementary document for Autonomous on-chip interferometry for reconfigurable optical waveform generation - 5421705.pdf
Creators: name: Chemnitz, Mario
name: Fischer, Bennet
name: MacLellan, Benjamin
name: Roztocki, Piotr
name: Helsten, Robin
name: Wetzel, Benjamin
name: Little, Brent
name: Chu, Sai Tak
name: Moss, David
name: Azana, Jose
Publisher: name: Optica Publishing Group
Year: 2021
Subjects: Uncategorized

description: Supplementary Information
Genocide and Colonialism III: a book review of 'Genocide and settler society: frontier violence and stolen indigenous children in Australian history' edited by A. Dirk Moses
Creators: name: Veracini, Lorenzo
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: A review of 'Genocide and settler society: frontier violence and stolen indigenous children in Australian history' edited by A. Dirk Moses, published by Berghahn Books, New York, 2004.
Durability of Novel C-S-H-based Nanocomposites and Secondary Hydrated Cement Phases
Creators: name: Khoshnazar, Rahil
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2015
Subjects: Construction Materials
Concrete
Nanocomposites
Hydrated Cement Phases
Durability
Sustainability

description: Issues concerning mechanisms of durability of hydrated cement phases in aggressive environments were studied. The possibility of using organic compounds in order to modify the micro- and nanostructure of the calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H) phases was also investigated. Pure cement-based hydrated phases were synthesized and characterized by several analytical techniques such as X-ray diffraction, thermal gravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Compacted samples of the synthetic hydrated cement phases were also prepared and used for the assessment of durability and mechanical properties. This doctoral thesis is comprised of several research chapters which can be categorized into two main parts. The first part focuses on the development of novel organically modified C-S-H systems. The second part involves the mechanisms underlying the volume stability of phase pure sulfoaluminate and related phases. A brief description of each part is as follows: - development of novel organically modified C-S-H systems: The mechanisms of interaction of organic compounds with the nanostructure of C-S-H systems were studied. A model for the nanostructure of the resulting composite systems was proposed. In addition, the organically modified systems were tested for length-change, calcium-ion leaching and diffusion of isopropanol. Dynamic mechanical analysis and microindentation techniques were also used to determine the mechanical performance. Evidence of the superior engineering performance of the novel organically modified C S-H systems was provided. - mechanisms of the volume stability of sulfoaluminate and related phases: Volume stability and change in the microstructure of the synthetic ettringite, monosulfate and thaumasite was critically examined in de-ionized water as well as in highly concentrated gypsum- or lime-water. A new dissolution-based mechanism for the expansion of these phases was proposed. The volume stability of multicomponent systems comprised of the C-S-H-based system (prepared in part I) and these sulfate-based hydrated phases was also investigated. It was suggested that the systems containing the modified C-S-H rather than the phase pure C-S-H had better resistance to crack growth and disintegration originating from the presence of ettringite or thaumasite.
Placental growth factor for the prognosis of women with preeclampsia (fullPIERS model extension): context matters
Creators: name: Ukah, Vivian U.
name: Payne, Beth
name: Hutcheon, Jennifer Anne
name: Chappell, Lucy C.
name: Seed, Paul T.
name: Conti-Ramsden, Frances Inez
name: Ansermino, J. Mark
name: Magee, Laura A.
name: Von Dadelszen, Peter
Publisher: name: BioMed Central
Year: 2020

description: Background: The fullPIERS risk prediction model was developed to identify which women admitted with confirmed diagnosis of preeclampsia are at highest risk of developing serious maternal complications. The model discriminates well between women who develop (vs. those who do not) adverse maternal outcomes. It has been externally validated in several populations. We assessed whether placental growth factor (PlGF), a biomarker associated with preeclampsia risk, adds incremental value to the fullPIERS model. Methods: Using a cohort of women admitted into tertiary hospitals in well-resourced settings (the USA and Canada), between May 2010 to February 2012, we evaluated the incremental value of PlGF added to fullPIERS for prediction of adverse maternal outcomes within 48 h after admission with confirmed preeclampsia. The discriminatory performance of PlGF and the fullPIERS model were assessed in this cohort using the area under the receiver’s operating characteristic curve (AUROC) while the extended model (fullPIERS +PlGF) was assessed based on net reclassification index (NRI) and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) performances. Results: In a cohort of 541 women delivered shortly (< 1 week) after presentation, 8.1% experienced an adverse maternal outcome within 48 h of admission. Prediction of adverse maternal outcomes was not improved by addition of PlGF to fullPIERS (NRI: -8.7, IDI − 0.06). Discriminatory performance (AUROC) was 0.67 [95%CI: 0.59–0.75] for fullPIERS only and 0.67 [95%CI: 0.58–0.76]) for fullPIERS extended with PlGF, a performance worse than previously documented in fullPIERS external validation studies (AUROC > 0.75). Conclusions: While fullPIERS model performance may have been affected by differences in healthcare context between this study cohort and the model development and validation cohorts, future studies are required to confirm whether PlGF adds incremental benefit to the fullPIERS model for prediction of adverse maternal outcomes in preeclampsia in settings where expectant management is practiced.
Real-time Animal Detection System for Intelligent Vehicles
Creators: name: Zhou, Depu
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2014

description: Animal and Vehicle Collisions (AVCs) have been a growing concern in North America since the abundant wildlife resources and increases of automobiles. Such problems cause hundreds of people deaths, thousands of human injuries, billions of dollars in property damage and countless of wildlife deaths every year. To address these challenges, smart cars have to be equipped with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) able to detect dangerous animals (e.g., moose, elk and cow), which cross the road, and warn the driver about the imminent accident. In this thesis, we explore the performance of different image features and classification algorithms in animal detection application, and design a real-time animal detection system following three criteria: detection accuracy, detection time and system energy consumption. In order to pursue high detection rate but low time and energy consumption, a double-stage detection system is proposed. In the first stage, we use the LBP adopting AdaBoost algorithm which provides the next stage by a set of region of interests containing target animals and other false positive targets. Afterward, the second stage rejects the false positive ROIs by two HOG-SVM based sub-classifiers. To build and evaluate the animal detector, we create our own database, which will be updated by adding new samples. Through an extensive set of evaluations, we note that the double-stage system is able to detect about 85% of target animals.
Prisma statement
Creators: name: Risco Van Vliet
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: 110305 Emergency Medicine
subject: FOS: Clinical medicine
subject: 111099 Nursing not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Health sciences

description: Prisma statement; Nurse practitioners and physician assistants working in ambulance care: A systematic review.
Antitumour Activity of a Hinge- and Fc-engineered Chimeric Heavy-chain Antibody
Creators: name: D'Eall, Calvin
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2015
Subjects: Antibody
ADCC

description: EG2-hFc is an ≈ 80 kDa chimeric heavy-chain antibody comprised of human IgG1 hinge and fragment crystallisable bivalently linked to EG2; a camelid-derived, heavy chain antibody variable domain specific for the human epithelial growth factor receptor 1 and its associated EGFRvIII mutant. Though previous work revealed EG2-hFc to demonstrate impressive in-vivo tumour accumulation, it’s therapeutic potential, as well as that of chimeric heavy-chain antibodies in general, remains largely unexplored. With this in mind, our current study was successful in showing that EG2-hFc could facilitate in-vitro antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity of epithelial growth factor receptor-positive breast cancer cells. Additionally, EG2-hFc’s intrinsic cytotoxicity was augmented following the implementation of engineering strategies that are currently being explored in the context of conventional anti-cancer monoclonal antibodies: including the modification of a conserved N-linked CH2 glycan, as well as the alteration of EG2-hFc’s hinge length. Collectively, these findings contribute to the growing body of research that has revealed chimeric heavy-chain antibodies to be a promising class of novel anti-tumour therapeutics.
Tables of Characteristics, Outcomes process of care and activities
Creators: name: Risco Van Vliet
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: 110305 Emergency Medicine
subject: FOS: Clinical medicine
subject: 111099 Nursing not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Health sciences

description: three tables with overviews of Characteristics of quantitative included studies * 1, activities by a NP or PA * 2 and process of care and resource use outcomes * 3.
Appendix 3 Quality of quantitative studies (n=4).docx
Creators: name: Risco Van Vliet
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: 110305 Emergency Medicine
subject: FOS: Clinical medicine
subject: 111099 Nursing not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Health sciences

description: overview of qualitative assessment of the data