Fourth Generation (4G) cellular technology Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) offers high data rate capabilities to mobile users; and, operators are trying to deliver a true mobile broadband experience over LTE networks. Mobile TV and Video on Demand (VoD) are expected to be the main revenue generators in the near future [36] and efficient video streaming over wireless is the key to enabling this. 3GPP recommends the use of H.264 baseline profiles for all video based services in Third Generation (3G) Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) networks. However, LTE networks need to support mobile devices with different display resolution requirements like small resolution mobile phones and high resolution laptops. Scalable Video Coding (SVC) is required to achieve this goal. Feasibility study of SVC for LTE is one of the main agenda of 3GPP Release10. SVC enhances H.264 with a set of new profiles and encoding tools that may be used to produce scalable bit streams. Efficient adaptation methods for SVC video transmission over LTE networks are proposed in this thesis. Advantages of SVC over H.264 are analyzed using real time use cases of mobile video streaming. Further, we study the cross layer adaptation and scheduling schemes for delivering SVC video streams most efficiently to the users in LTE networks in unicast and multicast transmissions. We propose SVC based video streaming scheme for unicast and multicast transmissions in the downlink direction, with dynamic adaptations and a scheduling scheme based on channel quality information from users. Simulation results indicate improved video quality for more number of users in the coverage area and efficient spectrum usage with the proposed methods.

The purpose of this study is to learn about the professional development practices of physiotherapists working in long-term care homes in Ontario. A survey was created based on relevant literature and piloted for this study. The survey included both quantitative and open-ended questions. 44 Physiotherapist responded, which represents approximately 10% of physiotherapists working in long-term care in Ontario. The results indicate that physiotherapists are isolated from their physiotherapist peers and lack access to communities of practice, professional socialisation, professional culture and social regulation. Although physiotherapists’ interactions with interprofessional teams added breadth to their knowledge, these interactions did not enhance their profession-specific skills. Many physiotherapists are seeking professional community and social supports in healthcare settings outside of the long-term care context. The implications of this study are that physiotherapists, their professional associations, and their college must understand the importance of professional socialization in learning, and ensure that physiotherapists working in long-term care have access to and seek such social support. Physiotherapy service providers in long-term care should provide mentoring, support and opportunities for social learning for their clinicians. Finally, long-term care homes and the Ministry of Health and Long-term care need to ensure that policies provide a better definition of the role of physiotherapists in long-term care.

Ältere und auch pflegebedürftige Menschen werden den Alltag in den Zahnarztpraxen in den kommenden Jahren immer stärker prägen. Mit zunehmender Gebrechlichkeit der Betagten und Hochbetagten sollte sich die zahnmedizinische Behandlung in eine zahnmedizinische Betreuung wandeln. Auch bei einer, im Vergleich zu früher, später eintretenden Pflegebedürftigkeit sind in der Zukunft bei vielen Pflegebedürftigen die zweiten und dritten Zähne zu versorgen. Leider ist festzustellen, dass die zahnmedizinische Versorgung in Pflegeeinrichtungen noch nicht ausreichend standardisiert ist. Von den Pflegebedürftigen in Sachsen, Berlin und Nordrhein Westfalen besaßen nur 18,6 % stationär Pflegebedürftige und 41,2 % ambulant Pflegebedürftige ein zahnmedizinisches Bonusheft. Die Verteilung war regional sehr unterschiedlich. Anteilig besaßen die Pflegebedürftigen in Sachsen am häufigsten ein Bonusheft. Das Vorhandensein des Bonusheftes war weder von Alter oder Geschlecht abhängig. Der Verlust einer besseren Bonusregelung bei Zahnersatzleistungen wird dabei von den Pflegedienstleitungen und dem medizinischen Dienst völlig außer Acht gelassen, teilweise sind die Bonusregelungen auch nicht ausreichend bekannt. Die Organisation eines kontinuierlichen Konsildienstes könnte mit der Anforderung an das Führen eines zahnmedizinischen Bonusheftes verbessert werden. Hierzu müssen aber die Informationen zum Bonusheft gezielt an die Heimleitungen, die Heimaufsichten, die Heimräte, die Angehörigen und an den medizinischen Dienst herangetragen werden.

Graduation date: 1994

Adoption of no-till (NT) and reduced tillage management is widespread on the Canadian prairies and together form the basic platform of soil management upon which most crop production is based. Elimination of tillage in cropping systems changes the physical and chemical characteristics of the soil profile and can affect crop growth and ultimately yield. As such, understanding how soil biota, as drivers of nutrient turnover, adapt to NT is important for maximizing crop productivity and mitigating environmental damage in agroecosystems. This work aims to achieve a greater understanding of microbial community structure and function in long-term NT versus conventionally tilled (CT) soils. Community phospholipid and DNA fingerprinting did not reveal any consistent tillage-induced shifts in microbial community structure, but demonstrated a clear influence of depth within the soil profile. While tillage did not result in broad changes in the community structure, total, bacterial and fungal biomass was consistently greater near the surface of NT soils. Further examination at one site near Swift Current, SK revealed differences in microbial biomass and community structure in NT and CT in field-formed aggregate size fractions. Measurement of mineralization and nitrification at the same site indicated that differences in the early-season turnover of N may be related to physical rather than microbial differences in NT and CT soils. Potential nitrification was higher prior to seeding than mid-season, was not affected by tillage and was correlated with ammonia oxidizer population size of archaea, but not bacteria. This work indicates that edaphic soil properties and spatial distribution of resources in the soil profile, rather than tillage management, are the primary factors driving microbial community structure in these soils.

There is limited information regarding the provision of rehabilitation services in long-term care (LTC) to meet the needs of residents living with stroke. This project assessed service availability within Ontario-based homes and examined the relationship between service comprehensiveness and functional outcome for residents with rehabilitation potential. The first phase involved survey development and distribution to a sample of homes to assess comprehensiveness. The second phase linked survey findings and administrative data to determine whether comprehensiveness (measured using an index score derived from survey responses) was correlated with change in functional status using linear regression modeling. There was marked variability in service comprehensiveness across responding homes (n=32 of 154 homes; 21%). No significant linear correlation was shown between comprehensiveness and change in ADL function (n=178). Although our study failed to show an association, rehabilitation should be considered an important aspect of LTC programming and should adhere to practice standards where possible.

There is limited information regarding the provision of rehabilitation services in long-term care (LTC) to meet the needs of residents living with stroke. This project assessed service availability within Ontario-based homes and examined the relationship between service comprehensiveness and functional outcome for residents with rehabilitation potential. The first phase involved survey development and distribution to a sample of homes to assess comprehensiveness. The second phase linked survey findings and administrative data to determine whether comprehensiveness (measured using an index score derived from survey responses) was correlated with change in functional status using linear regression modeling. There was marked variability in service comprehensiveness across responding homes (n=32 of 154 homes; 21%). No significant linear correlation was shown between comprehensiveness and change in ADL function (n=178). Although our study failed to show an association, rehabilitation should be considered an important aspect of LTC programming and should adhere to practice standards where possible.

Disruptions in memory are a hallmark feature of several psychiatric diseases. These illnesses are often marred by an inability to recognize that a stimulus or event as been previously experienced, a phenomenon known as recognition memory. Previous study has demonstrated that cognitive disruptions reflect aberrant signaling, including disruptions in synaptic plasticity, in key regions of the brain, such as prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus, and perirhinal cortex (PRh). However, in the case of recognition memory, how these disruptions arise and what specific plasticity mechanisms are involved is less clear. An understanding of the etiological factors underlying disruption and the synaptic processes involved in recognition will greatly advance the treatment and prevention of psychiatric disorders. As a result, the present thesis examined recognition memory in rodents in two experiments. In the first experiment, we blocked the endocytosis of AMPA receptors during the encoding, consolidation, or retrieval phase of object recognition memory using local PRh infusions of the cell membrane permeable Tat-GluA23Y interference peptide. Tat-GluA23Y infusion before the encoding and consolidation phases did not alter memory. In contrast, Tat-GluA23Y infusion prior to the retrieval phase significantly disrupted memory. These results indicate a distinct role for AMPA receptor endocytosis during a specific phase (retrieval) of visual recognition memory. In the second experiment, pregnant dams were treated with PolyI:C (4mg/kg, i.v.) on gestational day (GD) 15, and both the male and female offspring of these rats were tested as young adults in three different recognition memory tests: spontaneous novel object recognition, novel object location recognition, and object-in-place recognition. Male, but not female, rats were impaired in an object-in-place memory test that depends on processing between medial temporal lobe and PFC. However, neither male nor female rats were impaired on tests of simpler discriminations dependent on the medial temporal lobe. These findings support clinical studies demonstrating impaired object location binding in clinical populations and further demonstrate the plausibility of prenatal immune activation as an etiological factor in neurodevelopmental disease. Taken together, these results highlight the importance of a specific form of synaptic plasticity during the recognition of familiar stimuli and demonstrate that early life adversity can disrupt recognition memory processes.

Disruptions in memory are a hallmark feature of several psychiatric diseases. These illnesses are often marred by an inability to recognize that a stimulus or event as been previously experienced, a phenomenon known as recognition memory. Previous study has demonstrated that cognitive disruptions reflect aberrant signaling, including disruptions in synaptic plasticity, in key regions of the brain, such as prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus, and perirhinal cortex (PRh). However, in the case of recognition memory, how these disruptions arise and what specific plasticity mechanisms are involved is less clear. An understanding of the etiological factors underlying disruption and the synaptic processes involved in recognition will greatly advance the treatment and prevention of psychiatric disorders. As a result, the present thesis examined recognition memory in rodents in two experiments. In the first experiment, we blocked the endocytosis of AMPA receptors during the encoding, consolidation, or retrieval phase of object recognition memory using local PRh infusions of the cell membrane permeable Tat-GluA23Y interference peptide. Tat-GluA23Y infusion before the encoding and consolidation phases did not alter memory. In contrast, Tat-GluA23Y infusion prior to the retrieval phase significantly disrupted memory. These results indicate a distinct role for AMPA receptor endocytosis during a specific phase (retrieval) of visual recognition memory. In the second experiment, pregnant dams were treated with PolyI:C (4mg/kg, i.v.) on gestational day (GD) 15, and both the male and female offspring of these rats were tested as young adults in three different recognition memory tests: spontaneous novel object recognition, novel object location recognition, and object-in-place recognition. Male, but not female, rats were impaired in an object-in-place memory test that depends on processing between medial temporal lobe and PFC. However, neither male nor female rats were impaired on tests of simpler discriminations dependent on the medial temporal lobe. These findings support clinical studies demonstrating impaired object location binding in clinical populations and further demonstrate the plausibility of prenatal immune activation as an etiological factor in neurodevelopmental disease. Taken together, these results highlight the importance of a specific form of synaptic plasticity during the recognition of familiar stimuli and demonstrate that early life adversity can disrupt recognition memory processes.

The Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model is an innovation created in response to the Canadian Sport Policy (Canadian Heritage, 2007). The LTAD is an “athlete centered, coach driven, and administration, sport science, and sponsor supported” (Canadian Sport Centres, 2006, p. 33) athlete-development model. Since little research has been completed focusing on this model (viz., Black & Holt, 2009) this thesis had the purpose to better understand the adoption of the LTAD by cross-country ski (XCS) coaches. Two articles present a case study of three XCS club’s coaches, and a descriptive qualitative analysis of XCS coaches (N=13). Both analyses used Rogers’ (2003) Diffusion of Innovations theoretical framework to structure the narrative-interview guide, coding structure, and thematic analysis. Two key results of the thesis were an understanding of the link between a club’s characteristics and a coach’s perceived attributes of the LTAD, and secondly a proposed classification system for XCS coaches.