In the temporal study of faint, extended sources at high resolving power, Spatial Heterodyne Spectrometer (SHS) can offer significant advantages about conventional dispersive grating spectrometers. We describe here a four-year continuous progress in Mt. Hamilton, Lick Observatory, toward development of a prototype reflective Spacial Heterodyne Spectrometer, Khayyam, instrument-telescope configuration to combine all of the capabilities necessary to obtain high resolving power visible band spectra of diffuse targets from small aperture on-axis telescopes where significant observing time can be obtained. We will discuss the design considerations going into this new system, installation, testing of the interferometer-telescope combination, the technical challenges and procedures moving forward.

M.Ing.

A degradação da qualidade de água no Brasil é um problema sério que afeta grande parte dos rios e lagos. O objetivo desse trabalho é discutir quais mecanismos podem ser usados para a melhora da qualidade das águas tendo em vista a garantia dos seus usos. A legislação brasileira prevê que o sistema de gestão de recursos hídricos deve definir os usos pretendidos para as águas das bacias hidrográficas. Nos casos em que a qualidade das águas precisa ser melhorada para garantir os usos pretendidos, o sistema de gestão de recursos hídricos deve estabelecer etapas progressivas, em que, para cada etapa, são definidas metas de qualidade de água específicas. Utilizando como exemplo o sistema de gestão de qualidade de água de diferentes países, essa dissertação analisa o sistema brasileiro, a definição de metas e a sua relação com o sistema de gestão de recursos hídricos, conforme as definições previstas na Resolução CONAMA 357/05, e identifica os desafios e estratégias para superá-los. Também demonstra que, para que haja mudanças efetivas no cenário de qualidade das águas, será necessário para o país um planejamento estratégico, com prioridades definidas de acordo com as especificidades locais, os investimentos necessários e os aspectos econômicos, enfatizando-se o planejamento e o controle dos serviços de saneamento. / Water quality degradation is a serious problem that affects large extensions of rivers and lakes. The purpose of this thesis is to discuss which mechanism can be used to improve water quality in order to guarantee designated uses. The Brazilian water law establishes that the water resource management system must define the designated uses for the watershed. In cases where water quality must be improved to guarantee such uses, the water resource management system establishes a step-by-step system in which, for each step, specific water quality targets are defined. Using as an example the water quality management system of different countries, this thesis analyses the Brazilian system, the target definitions and its relations with the water resource management system, as defined by CONAMA Resolution 357/05, and identifies the challenges and the strategic seams to surpass them. It also demonstrates that, in order to get an effective change in the water quality scenario, it will be necessary for the country to work on strategic planning, with priorities based not only on specific local characteristics, but also on financial needs and economical aspects, with special emphasis on regulation and control of wastewater systems.

Selon l'organisation mondiale de la santé, 21 pays d'Amérique Latine et notamment le Brésil sont touchés par la maladie de Chagas qui est provoquée par le protozoaire Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi). En dépit de très nombreuses études expérimentales, il n'existe aucun traitement efficace contre la maladie de Chagas, et l'identification de nouvelles cibles thérapeutiques est fondamentale pour développer de nouvelles drogues. Dans cette thèse, j'ai revisité 41 protéines chez T. cruzi récemment proposées par Nicolas Carels et al. A partir d'une nouvelle procédure bioinformatique, j'ai trouvé qu'il est possible de prédire les structures 3D de séquences T. cruzi ayant des homologues ou des analogues chez l'homme et très probablement associées aux fonctions trypanothione réductase, cystéine synthase et ATPase, ainsi que des séquences spécifiques à T. cruzi et absentes chez Homo Sapiens associées à des activités 2,4-dienoyl-CoA réductase et leishmanolysine. Les implications de nos modèles raffinées par des dynamiques moléculaires atomistiques (monomère ou dimère) dans leur environnement in vitro (solution aqueuse ou bicouche membranaire) sont discutées à des fins thérapeutiques, et suggèrent que toutes les cibles protéiques, à l'exception de la cystéine synthase, méritent d'autres investigations. / According to the World Health Organization, 21 Latin American countries are endemic for Chagas disease, affecting 10 million people. Chagas' disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi), is a parasitic illness endemic mostly in Latin America and particularly in Brazil. Despite many experimental studies, there is no efficient treatment against Chagas disease, and the search for new therapeutic targets specific to T. cruziis critical for drug development. In my thesis, I have revisited 41 protein sequences proposed by the analogous enzyme pipeline, and found that it is possible to provide structures for 33 T. cruzisequences with clear homologs or analogs in H. sapiensand likely associated with trypanothione reductase, cysteine synthase and ATPase functions, and structures for sequences specific to T. cruziand absent in H. sapiens associated with 2,4-dienoyl-CoA reductase, and leishmanolysin activities. The implications of our structures refined by atomistic molecular dynamics (monome or dimer states) in their in vitro environments (aqueous solution or membrane bilayers) are discussed for drug development and suggest that all protein targets, except cysteine synthase, merit further investigation.

A self-study at a local elementary school revealed that homework assignments appeared to be at lower levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, and students were inadequately prepared for summative assessments that required the application and critical thinking levels of Bloom’s taxonomy. Formative assessment data, ideally, drives teachers’ instructional decisions in the classroom. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to better understand the formative assessment processes that drive instructional decision making. The conceptual framework by Chappuis and influenced by Black and Wiliam includes the strategic process for successful formative assessment teaching and learning. The research questions explored the use of homework as a formative assessment in classrooms. In this intrinsic case study, data collection included face to face interviews with 10 general education Grade 3-5 teachers in 2 different schools within the same, a 2- week document analysis of homework assigned in language arts and mathematics, and a focus group of participants. The data were analyzed with open coding followed by axial coding to determine themes. Member checking and triangulation were used to ensure validity and accuracy. The themes that emerged from the coded data identified ineffective teacher use of feedback, self-assessment, and learning targets—essential practices of the formative assessment process. Improving the formative assessment process for teaching and learning may encourage positive social change through promoting teacher selfefficacy and collaboration through a professional development paired with a professional learning community. This study may also lead teachers to change their formative assessment processes and provide guided instruction that enhances student learning outcomes.

Bibliography: leaves 287-294. This thesis addresses preprocessing issues for radar target classification from high resolution radar imagery. High resolution radar imagery of real aircraft in flight and of a MIRAGE aircraft on a turntable is examined. An algorithm to coherently average high resolution range profile is proposed.

Assessing ecological sustainability involves monitoring of indicators and comparison of their states with performance targets that are deemed sustainable. First, a normative model was developed centered on evidence-based knowledge about (a) forest composition, structure, and function at multiple scales, and (b) performance targets derived by quantifying the habitat amount in naturally dynamic forests, and as required for presence of populations of specialized focal species. Second, we compared the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification standards’ ecological indicators from 1998 and 2010 in Sweden to the normative model using a Specific, Measurable, Accurate, Realistic, and Timebound (SMART) indicator approach. Indicator variables and targets for riparian and aquatic ecosystems were clearly under-represented compared to terrestrial ones. FSC’s ecological indicators expanded over time from composition and structure towards function, and from finer to coarser spatial scales. However, SMART indicators were few. Moreover, they poorly reflected quantitative evidence-based knowledge, a consequence of the fact that forest certification mirrors the outcome of a complex social negotiation process.

Recently adopted global marine protection targets aim to protect 10-30% of marine habitats within the next 3 to 5 years. However, these targets were adopted without prior assessment of their attainability. Moreover, our ability to monitor progress towards such targets has been constrained by a lack of robust data on marine protected areas (MPAs). In this thesis I present the results of the first explicitly marine-focused, global assessment of MPAs in relation to three global marine protection targets. Approximately 2.35 million km2, equivalent to 0.65% of the world’s oceans, are currently protected, and only 12% of that is ‘no-take’. Over the last two decades, the marine area protected globally has grown at ~5% per year. At this rate, even the most modest target is unlikely to be met for at least several decades. The utility of large-scale conservation targets has been repeatedly questioned, although mainly on ecological grounds. However, if, as is suggested here, their primary role is to motivate behavioural change, then a more serious problem is that they seem to be failing in this regard, too. I explore possible reasons for this and suggest two main problems: firstly, an as yet unmet need to develop a hierarchical system of targets that reflects the multi-scale and pluralistic nature of ecological and political systems; and secondly, feedback mechanisms between political will, perceived attainability, and target formulation which may impede implementation of the targets. Since the adoption of the global targets, no implementation strategy has been developed, which may also impede target attainment. In order to fill this gap, I applied a rarity-complementarity heuristic place prioritisation algorithm (PPA) to a dataset consisting of 1038 global species distributions with 0.5° latitude/longitude resolution, under ten scenarios devised to reflect the global targets. This is the first time that species distribution ranges of marine species have been used in a globally synthetic way, and is by far the largest application of a PPA to date. Global priority areas for protection are identified for each scenario, which may be used to identify where regional-scale protected areas network design efforts might be focused.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical relevance of access targets for elective dental general anaesthesia (GA) by assessing incremental changes in dental disease burden over wait times at SickKids. A retrospective review of dental records were completed for 378 children who were prioritized by their dental and medical status. A scale was developed to measure cumulative dental disease burden over time. Statistically significant correlations were identified between cumulative disease burden and wait times for priority IV (p = 0.004), the entire sample (p < 0.003), DOSDCADCA (p = 0.005), comorbid (p = 0.036), healthy (p = 0.0002), female (p = 0.014) and male (p = 0.008) groups. The mean cumulative disease burden was not different between matched healthy and cormorbid groups (p = 0.38). A trend of increasing dental disease burden for children with longer wait times for dental GA was found but not clinically significant.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical relevance of access targets for elective dental general anaesthesia (GA) by assessing incremental changes in dental disease burden over wait times at SickKids. A retrospective review of dental records were completed for 378 children who were prioritized by their dental and medical status. A scale was developed to measure cumulative dental disease burden over time. Statistically significant correlations were identified between cumulative disease burden and wait times for priority IV (p = 0.004), the entire sample (p < 0.003), DOSDCADCA (p = 0.005), comorbid (p = 0.036), healthy (p = 0.0002), female (p = 0.014) and male (p = 0.008) groups. The mean cumulative disease burden was not different between matched healthy and cormorbid groups (p = 0.38). A trend of increasing dental disease burden for children with longer wait times for dental GA was found but not clinically significant.