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The initial code acquisition techniques for direct sequence code division multiple access (DS/CDMA) communication networks are investigated in this thesis. Conventional methods of code acquisition, which are basically based on the auto correlation and cross correlation properties of spreading codes, fail in the presence of multiple access interference (MAI) and the near-far effect. This fact motivates the study for interference resistant acquisition algorithms in the hostile channel environment. Training-based acquisition is investigated and the effect of training sequence structure on acquisition performance is discussed. A new training sequence architecture is proposed which results in a shorter acquisition time. Demands for high bit rate services and needs for more efficient exploitation of resources lead to the study of acquisition algorithms that do not need the preamble or training sequences. In this context, blind adaptive algorithms for code acquisition are investigated. The mismatch problem of blind algorithms is addressed and a novel method of mismatch problem handling for Constraint Minimum Output Energy (C-MOE) is proposed. The algorithm results in good acquisition performance under different channel conditions and system loadings. The idea of joint acquisition and demodulation of data, where the outcome of the acquisition mode is an interference suppressor filter, is also discussed. It is shown that in this class of receivers, a one-step constraint acquisition process is not sufficient for handling both the mismatch problem and exploiting the multi-path diversity. Therefore, a novel receiver is proposed which is able to handle the mismatch problem as well as the channel diversity. This receiver is based on a two- step constraint minimum output energy algorithm and comparatively provides a good acquisition and demodulation performance.

Abstract The nucleotide sequence of the entire COL9A3 gene, coding for the human α3(IX) chain, was determined. The gene was approximately 23 kb in length and consisted of 32 exons. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based procedure of conformation-sensitive gel electrophoresis (CSGE) was used to screen the gene for sequence variations and mutations in 83 unrelated patients with generalized primary osteoarthritis (OA), 31 with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 171 with intervertebral disc disease (IDD), and 50 with various osteochondrodysplasias. The frequencies of certain sequence variations in healthy individuals were also determined. The COL9A3 gene was analyzed for mutations in two unrelated families with multiple epiphyseal dysplasia (MED). The analysis revealed a splice site mutation leading to skipping of exon 3 and an in-frame loss of 12 amino acid residues in the COL3 domain, the first diseasecausing mutation to be identified in the COL9A3 gene. Sequencing also indicated a 9 bp deletion in one allele in the second MED family that removed a Gly-Pro-Pro triplet. Surprisingly, the deletion did not co-segregate with the MED phenotype in the family. A similar 9 bp deletion, was also found in an unrelated family with no obvious phenotype, suggesting that the two 9 bp deletions represent neutral sequence variants. A construct with the deletion was then made in order to produce a recombinant protein, and the mutant type IX collagen was analyzed under reducing conditions by SDS-PAGE. The results indicated that the recombinant type IX collagen proteins consisted of three α chains, α1(IX), α2(JX), α3(IX), in a 1:1:1 ratio. To study the triple helix stability, pepsin treatment followed by SDS-PAGE was performed on normally folded and denatured recombinant type IX collagen samples. The results demonstrated that the recombinant type IX collagen containing the Gly-X-Y deletion in the a3(IX) chain is secreted as a correctly folded triple-helical molecule. CSGE analysis of exon 5 of the COL9A3 gene identified two nucleotide variations in the same codon, and thus three alleles: CGG (Arg), CAG (Gln), and TGG (Trp). The frequency of the Trp for Arg substitution, the Trp3 allele, was 0.244 among the probands with the IDD, while its overall frequency in the combined group of all non-IDD cases was 0.093. This difference was significant, with a p-value of 0.000013. The Trp3 allele increases the relative risk of IDD by a factor of 2.6 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.6 to 4.3). COL9A3 mutations are shown to be associated with mild cartilage and intervertebral disc diseases.

Abstract The role of sequence variations in genes encoding cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins were studied in osteoarthritis (OA) and multiple epiphyseal dysplasia (MED). The cartilage collagen genes COL2A1, COL9A1, COL9A2, COL9A3, COL11A1, and COL11A2 were screened for sequence variations in 72 Finnish probands and one US family with primary early-onset hip and/or knee OA. Altogether 239 sequence variations were found, of which 16 were not present in the controls. Seven of the unique variations — four in COL11A1, two in COL11A2, and one in COL2A1 — were studied further, because they resulted in the substitution of conserved amino acids or were predicted to affect mRNA splicing. Association analysis was performed by genotyping 6–12 common polymorphisms from each gene in 72 OA patients and 103 controls; no common predisposing alleles were identified. The results, however, suggest that mutations in the minor cartilage collagen genes can be the cause of OA in a subgroup of OA patients. Two MED families with clinical and radiographic features suggestive of a collagen IX mutation were studied. Mutation screening of COL9A1, COL9A2, and COL9A3 yielded negative results. Instead, an R718W mutation in COMP was identified in both families. Clinical and radiographic overlap between patients with collagen IX mutations and patients with COMP mutations points to a common supramolecular complex pathogenesis. Clinical, radiological and molecular analyses of known MED genes were performed on a cohort of 29 consecutive MED patients. The DTDST mutation was identified in four patients (14%), the COMP mutation in three (10%), and the MATN3 mutation in three (10%). Two new distinct phenotypic entities were identified in patients in whom no mutation was found. The findings suggest that mutations in the above mentioned known MED genes are not the major cause of MED and are responsible for less than half of the cases. The existence of additional MED loci is supported by the exclusion of known loci and finding of the specific subgroups among these patients. The results suggest that genetic defects in ECM genes can predispose to OA and cause MED, even though the major genes involved in both disorders remain to be found.

In this study, a technique was developed for classifying the manner in which testees came to choose their responses to multiple choice items on a test of Science 20. One hundred thirty-one students enrolled in Science 20 at Alpha Junior Secondary School in School District # 41 (Burnaby) took part in the investigation. The sample comprised five sections taught by two teachers. The aim of the study was to determine if a distinguishable response choice strategy existed for the test under study. The pupils were asked to classify their response choice behaviour into 4 categories: guessing, elimination and guessing, recall, and reasoning. The responses were separated into groups of successful and unsuccessful testees on each of the 60 items of the test. The question was asked: Do successful testees show different response choice behaviour from unsuccessful ones? The hypothesis was tested for each of the 60 items. On 33 of these items, the response choice behaviour of successful testees differed from unsuccessful ones at or above the 95% confidence level. The strategy of response choice appeared to be to try to recall the answer first, and if this was not possible, to rely on reasoning, elimination and guessing, and guessing in that order. Three factors; achievement, difficulty level, and discriminating power; which might influence response choice behaviour were investigated. The results were inconclusive. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

The landscape of the childhood victimization literature is shifting, with a growing number of researchers emphasizing the importance of designing studies that account for and aim to disentangle the interconnections among victimization experiences. This is a notable contrast to the bulk of the scientific inquiry to date, which has tended to examine victimization experiences in isolation from one another and has created victimization-specific models of risk. On the other hand, the multiple victimization field aims to better understand the overlap among risk factors and the co-occurrence across victimization experiences to create general or non-specific risk models for childhood victimization. From this field emerged the concept of multiple victimization (defined as exposure to more than one type of victimization within a specified time period), that has been established as the unfortunate norm among victimized children. The current dissertation was designed not only to help attain a better understanding of the phenomenon of childhood multiple victimization but also to contribute to our understanding of the frequency, co-occurrence, and risk (grounded in the ecological framework) of childhood multiple victimization. This dissertation addresses important shortcomings of the published literature, such as the scarcity of studies that account for the co-occurrence among victimization experiences, the limited victimization data on school-aged children and clinical samples, and the dearth of studies that test comprehensive risk models of multiple victimization. Caregivers of school-aged children (N = 213) in the Ottawa/Gatineau area participated in the online study, which involved the completion of a 30-minute questionnaire package that assessed their child’s victimization experiences as well as child (e.g., sex, age), family (e.g., caregiver psychosocial functioning, family functioning), and neighbourhood (e.g., safety) factors. Results provided support for the ubiquitous nature of childhood multiple victimization (in the past year and lifetime) as well as for the common co-occurrence of various victimization experiences. Specifically, while a certain overlap was found across all victimization forms, conventional crimes and peer and/or sibling victimization co-occurred most often in this school-aged sample. In addition, victimization forms that may be qualified as “severe” (sexual victimization, Internet victimization, maltreatment) tended to co-occur with many additional forms and were rarely reported on their own. Findings highlighted the important associations between victimization exposure and psychosocial difficulties (anxiety, depression, aggression, and posttraumatic stress), and weighting techniques (i.e., weighting severe victimization forms more heavily) were not found to significantly contribute to better predictability of psychosocial difficulties. Turning to the risk models, a number of correlates of childhood multiple victimization were identified, most notably family variables including family dysfunction, caregiver psychosocial functioning, and substance use problems. However, a number of correlates (particularly socio-demographic factors) were also found to vary according to the victimization experiences assessed, providing partial support for the specificity assumption whereby victimization risk models vary according to the victimization form assessed. The theoretical and applied implications of research findings for efforts aimed at addressing childhood multiple victimization were also discussed.

In its initial research project description, the Centre for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences (CASHSS) took a position on the longstanding academic and public debates on secularism, secularisation, and secularity. In doing so, it referred to the concept of Multiple Secularities, which had been developed in a previous research project,1 and which Kleine had applied to pre-modern Japan.2 Against this backdrop, an idea arose for a multidisciplinary project combining sociology, history of religion and study of religions. ‘Secularity’ is an analytical concept, which seeks to avoid the ideological connotations of the term secularism. The term, which is conceived as an ideal-type, describes how conceptual distinctions and institutional differentiations are made between religious and non-religious spheres and practices. In this context, ‘differentiation’ is not a complete separation, but entails some form of relation between two conceptually distinguished spheres.:1 Introduction and Background ................................................................................. 3 1.1 History of the Research Project.......................................................................... 3 1.2 The Academic Debate.......................................................................................... 5 1.3 Current State of Research in Selected Research Areas..................................10 2 Research Findings from the First Funding Period (2016-2020)........................13 2.1 Further Developing and Refining the Concept..............................................13 2.2 Assumptions and Hypotheses..........................................................................15 2.2.1 Internal Social Differentiation − Social Structures.....................................15 2.2.2 Taxonomies, Classifications, Knowledge Systems: Epistemic Structures.. 18 2.2.3 Differentiation of Spheres of Activity.........................................................24 2.2.4 Reference Problems and Guiding Ideas.......................................................26 2.2.5 Cultural Interaction and Acquisition, Transfer, and Integration Processes...........................................................................................................29 3 The Centre for Advanced Studies’ Aims in the Second Funding Period (2020−2024)..............................................................................................................30 3.1 Regional Expansion and Intercultural Encounter.........................................30 3.2 Systematic Perspectives.....................................................................................37 3.2.1 Critical Junctures and Path Probabilities.....................................................37 3.2.2 Culturalisation of Religion, Materiality of the Secular...............................38 3.2.3 Art, Culture, and Architecture as Spheres of Activity................................42 4 Bibliography..............................................................................................................45

Pleiotropy refers to the shared effects of a gene or genes on multiple phenotypes, a major reason for genetic correlation between phenotypes. For example, for osteoporosis, bone mineral densities at different skeletal sites may share common genetic factors; thus, examining the shared effects of genes may enable more effective fracture treatments. To date, methods are not available for estimating and testing the pleiotropic effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genetic association studies. In this dissertation, we explore two types of methods to evaluate the SNP-specific pleiotropic effect based on multivariate techniques. First, we propose two approaches based on variance components (VC) analysis for family-based studies, which quantify and test the pleiotropic effect by examining the contribution of specific genetic marker(s) to polygenic correlation or covariance of traits. Second, we propose a multivariate linear regression approach for population-based studies with samples of families or unrelated subjects. This method partitions the specific effect of the marker(s) from phenotypic covariance. We evaluate the performance of our proposed methods in simulation studies, compare them to existing multivariate analysis methods and illustrate their application using real data to assess candidate SNPs for osteoporosis-related phenotypes in the Framingham Osteoporosis Study. In contrast to existing methods, our newly proposed approaches allow the quantification of pleiotropic effects. The bootstrap resampling percentile method is used to construct confidence intervals for statistical hypothesis testing. Simulation results suggest that the VC-based approaches are affected by the polygenic correlation level. The covariance analysis approach outperforms the VC-based approaches, with unbiased estimates and better power, which remain consistent regardless of the polygenic correlation. In addition, the covariance analysis approach is simple to implement and can be applied to both family data and genetically unrelated data. Using simulation, we also show that existing methods, such as MANOVA, can have high rejection rates when a SNP has a large effect on a single trait, which prevent us from using them for pleiotropic effect analysis. In summary, this dissertation introduces promising new approaches in multiple phenotypic models for SNP-specific pleiotropic effect.

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Cold in-place recycling (CIR) is a pavement rehabilitation technique which has gained momentum in recent years. This momentum is due partly to its economic and sustainability characteristics, which has led to CIR market expansion. When pavement network deterioration is considered alongside increasing material costs, it is not beyond reason to expect demands on CIR to continue to increase. Historically, single component binder (SCB) systems, those with one stabilization binder (or two if the secondary binder dosage is 1% or less), have dominated the CIR market and could be considered the general state of practice. Common stabilization binders are either bituminous or cementitious. Two example SCB systems would be: 1) 3% portland cement, or 2) 3% asphalt emulsion with 1% hydrated lime. While traditional SCB systems have demonstrated positive economic and sustainability impacts, this dissertation focuses on multiple component binder (MCB) systems (bituminous and cementitious combined) which exhibit the potential to provide better overall economics and performance. Use of MCBs has the potential to alleviate SCB issues to some extent (e.g. cracking with cementitious SCBs, rutting with bituminous SCBs). Furthermore, to fairly represent both binders in an MCB system a universal design method which can accommodate multiple binder types is needed. The main objectives of this dissertation are to develop a universal CIR design framework and, using this framework, characterize multiple SCB and MCB systems. Approximately 1500 CIR specimens were tested herein along with approximately 300 asphalt concrete specimens which serve as a reference data set for CIR characterization. A case study of a high-traffic Mississippi CIR project which included cement SCB and emulsion SCB sections is also presented to support laboratory efforts. Individual components needed to comprise a universal design framework, such as curing protocols, were developed. SCB and MCB characterization indicated that cement SCBs yielded low cracking resistance, high rutting resistance, and lower costs. Emulsion SCBs yielded the opposite. MCBs demonstrated the ability to balance rutting, cracking, and economics. Overall, the universal framework presented appears promising as it could offer agencies flexibility and, in some cases, improved overall performance beyond that of current SCB design methods.