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The Effect of Immigration on Real Estate in Canada
Get PDFThe number of immigrants in Canada has drastically increased in recent years due to
permissive government immigration policies that attract people from around the world
in search of a better life. This paper examines whether this surge in immigrants has
affected real estate prices and the rental market in one of Canada’s largest cities. The
study finds that major impacts on real estate prices stem from supply factors, such
as the number of houses built, and demand factors, such as changes in population
and income per capita. While the overall immigrant population does not significantly
affect house prices, the impact becomes evident when considering ethnic origin. This
suggests that immigration tends to cluster by ethnicity, leading to a rise in house prices
in certain areas, though this effect is not observed in rental markets
Exploring the Impact of Natural Disasters on U.S. Insurance Companies: An Empirical Analysis
Get PDFIn this study, we investigate the impact of natural disasters on the stock prices of U.S.
insurance companies from 2010 to 2022. Using a sample of hurricanes, wildfires, and
tornadoes, we conduct an event study to analyze the market reactions to these events and
examine why some insurance firms are more affected than others. Our findings indicate that
natural disasters tend to result in negative abnormal returns for insurance firms, with stock
prices dropping significantly around the events. Yet, the price declines are followed by a brief
recovery period after the disaster has ended. The study highlights key factors affecting
insurers’ market performance during such events: firms with higher leverage, lower net
income, and a lower market valuation perform worse than their respective counterparts.
Additionally, we find that disasters with large insured damage amounts as well as hurricanes
invoke larger negative market reactions. Furthermore, we observe that natural disasters have
a significant impact on an insurer’s accounting performance. Specifically, disasters cause a
significant decline in an insurer’s Return on Assets (ROA), with variations based on the
insured damages stemming from a disaster and the insurer’s ex-ante financial performance
Exploring CC- and A-Adding tRNA Nucleotidyltransferases in the Eukaryote Schizosaccharomyces pombe
No full textThe enzyme tRNA nucleotidyltransferase (tRNA-NT) is required in all eukaryotes to add a specific cytidine-cytidine-adenosine (CCA) sequence at the 3′-terminus of all tRNAs. This sequence is added post-transcriptionally during tRNA maturation or repair to prepare a tRNA for aminoacylation prior to protein synthesis. Moreover, tRNA-NTs perform additional roles in tRNA quality control and transport such that they must be present in mitochondria, the nucleus, and cytosol to perform their functions. As the majority of eukaryotes, characterized to date, have a single nuclear gene encoding tRNA-NTs that must be targeted to different cellular destinations, this enzyme has served as a model for research into how the products of a single gene can be targeted to multiple subcellular localizations.
In this study, we showed through in vivo complementation assays and in vitro activity assays that rather than having a single gene encoding a CCA-adding tRNA-NT, Schizosaccharomyces pombe was the first eukaryote characterized to have two genes, cca1 and cca2, whose gene products add first CC and then A, respectively. To understand the differences between the eukaryotic two-enzyme system (separate CC- and A-adding activities) and the single enzyme CCA-adding system, we explored aspects of the activity and localization of these novel eukaryotic CC- and A-adding enzymes.
After defining the CC- and A-adding activities of Cca1 and Cca2, we used site-directed mutagenesis to show that, as in CCA-adding enzymes, changes in conserved motifs C and A, generated and suppressed, respectively, a temperature-sensitive phenotype. This suggests that although for CC- or A-adding enzymes the reorganization of the active site need not be as dramatic as is seen in CCA-adding enzymes which must change conformation from pyrimidine binding (CC) to purine binding (A), there are still conformational changes important for enzyme activity in the CC- and A-adding proteins. Although changes in the tail domain of Cca2, the A-adding enzyme, had little impact on A-addition, similar changes in the same region of Cca1, the CC-adding enzyme, resulted in reduced growth. As the tail domain is thought to play a role in tRNA binding this suggests that in CC-addition, substrate selection or rearrangement of the tRNA is partially controlled by this region. Conversely, the C-terminus is less important for A-addition. Moreover, in vivo, the tRNA released from the CC-adding enzyme must move to the A-adding enzyme to complete CCA addition. Our co-immunoprecipitation experiments suggest that Cca1 and Cca2 can be found together when RNA is present suggesting potential channeling of the tRNA intermediate from one enzyme to the next.
Eukaryotic tRNA-NTs must perform their functions in multiple cellular compartments and therefore must contain features not required in bacteria to regulate their subcellular localizations. We found through growth studies using heterologous expression that the absence of the native promoters of cca1 and cca2 causes a 50% increase in doubling times suggesting that some aspects of regulation occur in their promoter regions. Moreover, we showed that both Cca1 and Cca2 possess amino-terminal mitochondrial targeting signals that can restore localization to a truncated S. cerevisiae CCA-adding enzyme. Finally, through proximity-labelling, we identified 20 potential interactions of Cca1 and/or Cca2 with other proteins of which a nucleoporin usually positioned at the nuclear basket is a potential interaction partner for the CC-adding but not A-adding enzyme.
This exploration of the S. pombe tRNA-NTs has highlighted differences among organisms in the activities and localization strategies for genes with multiple localizations
Holographic direct sound printing
No full textThe sound-based 3D printing method, introduced as Direct Sound Printing (DSP) by our research group, represents a novel advancement in additive manufacturing. DSP, driven by sonochemical polymerization, has traditionally been limited to a single acoustic focal region, resulting in a voxel-by-voxel printing approach. To address this limitation, this dissertation leverages advanced acoustics, including acoustic holography, to enhance robustness and reduce printing time.
First, design considerations for Phased Array Transducers (PAT) in DSP were investigated, focusing on element size, spacing, and configuration to optimize real-time acoustic field reconfiguration. Building on this, the primary focus of this PhD work is the development of Holographic Direct Sound Printing (HDSP). HDSP uses acoustic holography to store cross-sectional images, patterning acoustic waves to induce regional cavitation bubbles and enable on-demand polymerization. Compared to DSP, HDSP improves printing speed by an order of magnitude and produces layerless printed structures. In HDSP, the holographic field remains stationary while the printing platform moves in three dimensions using a robotic arm.
Extensive experiments, including sono-chemiluminescence and high-speed imaging, validated HDSP's capabilities, demonstrating applications such as remote ex-vivo in-body printing and free-form printing with robotic arm control. Multi-object and multi-material printing were also demonstrated, with comprehensive characterization of the process, including hologram design, polymerization tracking, porosity tuning, and robotic trajectory computation.
Additionally, acoustic holography was optimized using the Adaptive Iterative Angular Spectrum Approach (IASA) and a novel deep learning method called Deep Holographic Reconstruction Network (DHR-Net). The optimization improved the uniformity and quality of acoustic fields, enhancing the printing process. The impact of 3D printing parameters on hologram performance was examined, focusing on energy transfer and material loss reduction.
This dissertation establishes HDSP as a new paradigm in sound-based 3D printing, integrating advanced acoustic holography to overcome traditional DSP limitations and expand applications in additive manufacturing
Teaching in the Vortex: Everyday Violence and the Stories of Colombian Teachers
Get PDFThis dissertation proposed to investigate the modes of violence (Zizek, 2008) used against teachers in Colombia, what the teachers’ understanding of violence is, and how they interact with or resist it. Through conversaciones, a qualitative method that aligns with oral history methodology, the teachers who participated in this research (hereinafter, research collaborators) and I reflected on their contexts of teaching and living, their understanding of violence, their experiences with violence, and their preparedness for violence. We reflected on practices and knowledge that have the potential to inform the structuring of trauma-sensitive pedagogies for teachers. Moreover, the conversaciones enclose oral histories of what it means to teach and live in conditions of duress, such as those experienced in some regions of Colombia. The research collaborators also elaborated on practices to deal with forms of violence. Such practices are presented as recommendations for teachers and education stakeholders, hoping to be adapted by teachers in other challenging contexts
Additive Word-Problem Solving in Children With Language Difficulties: A Descriptive Analysis of Strategies and Errors
Get PDFChildren with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting linguistic abilities, can experience difficulties throughout their schooling, such as in mathematics. Solving word problems, a language-dependent task, requires children to understand the text, and identify the semantic relationships between the problem’s quantities to solve them. Therefore, gaining insights on the effects of DLD on word-problem solving can help support the learning of children with DLD. The present study compares the word-problem solving abilities of typically-developing (TD) children (n = 28) and children with DLD (n = 16). Children were recruited in schools in Montreal, Quebec City, and Sherbrooke, or in private speech-language pathology’ clinics. During two videorecorded sessions, students were invited to solve additive word problems created by the research team. The groups were compared on accuracy, the appropriateness of their strategies, and error types. Also, a strategy profile was assigned to each child based on the most frequent strategy used to explore potential differences among the groups. The findings of this study highlight significant differences between the groups on accuracy, strategy appropriateness, and the frequency and types of errors produced. DLD appears to affect the way children understand the text, identify relevant information, abstract the problem structure, use a strategy aligned with the problem structure, and compute answers. In contrast, the distribution of the strategy profiles is similar in each group: They tend to use the standard algorithm (e.g., formal procedure taught in class) even if they make mistakes. Moreover, they still rely on manipulatives to solve word problems
Grave Matters: Mapping The Untold Stories Of The Saint-Colomban Cemetery
Get PDFABSTRACT
Grave Matters: Mapping the Untold Stories of the
Saint-Colomban Cemetery
Kelley O’Rourke
This research undertakes a deep exploration of the Saint-Colomban cemetery in Québec, aiming to unveil the hidden stories within its burial grounds. While the first settlers arrived from Ireland as early as 1819, my primary focus centers on the years 1836–1847, mirroring the establishment of Saint-Colomban Parish and Cemetery in 1836. The primary objective is to bridge historical gaps in the Irish diaspora, spotlighting the significance of these absent markers in shaping the cultural narrative of the Irish community within the Saint-Colomban cemetery. Specifically, the research seeks to identify missing names using parish records, exploration of broken gravestones, undecipherable markings and meanings behind some of the epitaphs. Through this detailed research approach, preservation challenges encountered during the research process emerged as crucial elements, contributing essential insights to the broader historical picture. By incorporating oral histories from descendants, this study not only breathes life into the cemetery's historical narrative but also uncovers personal stories overlooked in traditional historical accounts. Through the combination of visual representations such as existing headstones and parish records, interviews with descendants, and mapping the cemetery layout, the research provides a comprehensive understanding of the missing monuments, their cultural significance, and the preservation challenges encountered with their discovery. This research goes beyond the surface, to uncover the missing monuments and their hidden stories, offering a meaningful perspective on the Irish diaspora in Canada. The focus on uncovering these gaps in history not only enriches our understanding of the past but also paves the way for a more inclusive and complete narrative of the Irish community in the Saint-Colomban parish
Robust and Fast Schemes for Generation of Matched Features in MIS Images
Get PDFRobotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery (MIS) offers numerous benefits including smaller incisions, faster recovery, enhanced precision, and remote operations. Image processing operations such as 3D visualization, augmented reality, and image registration, which are often feature-based, are used in MIS. Feature detection, extraction, and matching (FDEM) and feature matching refinement (FMR) constitute the cornerstone of these operations. MIS images are affected by deformation, occlusions, and specular reflection, which hinder the processes of FDEM and FMR, severely affecting the number of matched features.
FDEM is a process in which, given a pair of images, certain distinctive features are detected from the pair, then suitably represented as feature vectors, and finally, the corresponding feature vectors are compared and matched leading to a set of matched features known as a putative set for the pair. On the other hand, FMR is a process in which the falsely matched pairs of features are, as much as possible, removed from a putative set. The existing FDEM and FMR schemes are computationally expensive or lead to a set of matched features that are not well dispersed over the region of interest and suffer from having an insufficient number of true matches.
The overall objective of this thesis is to propose robust and fast schemes for generation of matched features in MIS images. In the first part of the thesis, a very fast and accurate FMR scheme is proposed. The main idea used in developing this scheme is in determining the size of local neighborhoods so that the smoothness of deformation field can be effectively applied to check the feature topology preservation between the corresponding regions of the pair of images to identify the true matches in the putative set of the pair. In the second part, a fast and accurate FDEM scheme that combines the strong attributes of three well-known FDEM schemes, SIFT, SURF and ORB, is proposed. The focus is on producing putative sets of matched features that have a good spatial quality in addition to a good matching quality. Extensive experiments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed FMR and FDEM schemes
Navigating Prolonged Uncertainty: The Role of Emotion Regulation and Coping on Mental Health Outcomes During Covid-19
Get PDFThe thesis examines the longitudinal effects of emotion regulation and coping strategies on mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic across three phases in Quebec, Canada. We investigated how emotion regulation strategies and coping strategies (problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidant) shaped psychological adaptation during the pandemic. Results showed that cognitive reappraisal predicted lower baseline internalizing symptoms, while emotion-focused and avoidant coping were associated with higher initial distress. However, the effectiveness of these strategies varied, highlighting the need for flexible coping practices in prolonged crises. An interaction between emotion-focused coping and perceived stress revealed that high levels of both led to a reduction in psychological distress over time. Surprisingly, no effects of emotion regulation strategies on psychological distress were observed. These findings highlight how flexible coping might be beneficial during prolonged stress, offering new insights for mental health interventions in future global challenges
Perspectives sur de potentielles collaborations entre musicothérapeutes, musiciens et orchestres classiques en centre d9hébergement de soins de longue durée (CHSLD) : une étude qualitative.
Get PDFLe but de cette étude qualitative avec entrevues était d9explorer de potentielles
collaborations entre les domaines de la musicothérapie et de la musique classique auprès de
résidents vivant dans des centres d9hébergement de soins de longue durée (CHSLD). Des entrevues
individuelles semi-structurées ont été menées auprès de trois professionnels : une
musicothérapeute, une musicienne d9orchestre classique et un directeur artistique d9orchestre
classique québécois pour répondre aux questions de recherches, à savoir quelles sont leurs
perspectives, les avantages et les défis perçus en lien avec des collaborations. Les entrevues ont été
enregistrées et analysées selon des procédures qualitatives d9analyse de contenu utilisant les
questions de recherche comme catégories. La première catégorie, Informations contextuelles, a
généré les thèmes suivants : conditions de vie en CHSLD ; importance de la durabilité d9une
initiative musicale collaborative ; musique classique en CHSLD et adaptation du répertoire ; étroite
collaboration avec les intervenants ; la force des musicothérapeutes ; utilisation d9Suvres du
répertoire classique. La deuxième catégorie, Avantages de collaborations, incluait les thèmes
suivants : bienfaits de la musique et de la musicothérapie ; accès à la vie culturelle en CHSLD ;
rôle du musicothérapeute dans une potentielle collaboration avec des musiciens ; bienfaits ressentis
par les parties impliquées ; la musique classique en CHSLD, des gains pour les aînés! Et la
troisième catégorie, Défis de collaborations, incluait ces thèmes : adaptation du répertoire musical ;
logistique ; plaider pour la musicothérapie; conditions de travail exigeantes pour les musiciens;
méconnaissance de la musicothérapie ; communication et logistique. Au chapitre de la discussion,
les résultats sont comparés, contrastés et organisés selon les impacts potentiels de collaborations
parmi les trois principales parties prenantes. Les limites de la recherche, les implications pour la
pratique, la formation, la recherche et la justice sociale sont présentées