VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The Morisco Problem and the Politics of Belonging in Sixteenth-Century Valladolid
Keywords: Conversion
Early Modern
Identification
Morisco(s)
Spain
Valladolid

This dissertation examines how Moriscos (Spanish Muslims forcibly converted to Catholicism, and their descendants) responded to religious prosecution and assimilationist policies with both legal action and noncompliance. The Morisco problem was the failure of the early modern Spanish Crown and Church to assimilate the Moriscos into Catholicism in the wholesale and controlled manner desired by those institutions. Central to this problem was their identification: the determination of their individual and communal legal statuses and corresponding privileges, related but not equivalent to their religious “identities.” This dissertation focuses on two groups living in the Castilian city of Valladolid: Castilian Moriscos native to that region and Granadan Moriscos resettled there after 1570. Chapter One,"The fight for the barrio," looks at the Castilian Moriscos’ legal fight to remain in their long-time residential enclave, Valladolid’s Barrio de Santa María. The second chapter, “Petitioning for Grace,” explains how they mitigated Inquisitorial prosecution by petitioning the king for Edicts of Grace and negotiating with the Inquisition an annual monetary tribute designed to protect their property from confiscation. Chapter Three, “Contested Relocations,” examines how Granadan Morisco deportees relocated to Valladolid challenged prohibitions on their mobility. The fourth chapter, “Litigating for Liberty,” focuses on Moriscos enslaved as children during the Granadan rebellion and war who later won their freedom in courts of law. The final chapter, “Resisting Expulsion,” shows how Moriscos resisted and disrupted the process of their final expulsion from the Spanish Kingdoms in 1609-1614. This project’s critical intervention in the field is its focus on the textual record Moriscos generated through legal action, sources that include court records, leases, petitions and claims, tax settlements, licenses, passports, charters of Old Christian status, and letters of manumission. This thesis argues that the identification of the Moriscos was a process of negotiation in which they themselves took part. It challenges the traditional narrative of the marginalization of the Moriscos: for all the prosecution and prohibitions they faced as suspected heretics and dissidents, these documents tell a tale of significant economic industry, civic integration, and legal agency.
Investigating Adult Neurogenesis in the Freshwater Planarian, Schmidtea mediterranea
Keywords: Invertebrates
Nervous System
Regeneration
Stem Cells
Transcription Factors

The fundamental goal of my research has been to understand how adult stem cells make lineage decisions in the central nervous system. To achieve this goal, I have chosen to study the relatively new model system, Schmidtea mediterranea, a freshwater planarian and constitutive adult organism. More specifically I want to discover the transcription factor networks and extracellular signaling pathways that first instruct planarian stem cells to specify distinct neuronal cell types, and then maintain the specific cellular identity for the lifespan of the organism.
Identity Gerrymandering: How the Armenian State Constructs and Controls "Its" Diaspora
Keywords: Armenia
Diaspora
Discursive
Gerrymandering
Identity
Ministry of Diaspora

This dissertation examines the Republic of Armenia (RA) and its elites’ attempts to reframe state-diaspora relations in ways that served state interests. After 17 years of relatively rocky relations, in 2008, a new Ministry of Diaspora was created that offered little in the way of policy output. Instead, it engaged in “identity gerrymandering,” broadening the category of diaspora from its accepted reference to post-1915 genocide refugees and their descendants, to include Armenians living throughout the post-Soviet region who had never identified as such. This diluted the pool of critical, oppositional diasporans with culturally closer and more compliant emigrants. The new ministry also favoured geographically based, hierarchical diaspora organizations, and “quiet” strategies of dissent. Since these were ultimately attempts to define membership in the nation, and informal, affective ties to the state, the Ministry of Diaspora acted as a “discursive power ministry,” with boundary-defining and maintenance functions reminiscent of the physical border policing functions of traditional power ministries. These efforts were directed at three different “diasporas:” the Armenians of Russia, whom RA elites wished to mold into the new “model” diaspora, the Armenians of Georgia, whose indigeneity claims they sought to discourage, and the “established” western diaspora, whose contentious public critique they sought to disarm. While numerous studies have noted states’ recent penchant for reframing their emigrant populations as “diasporas,” this research suggests a closer examination of precisely whom the state includes in that category, and for what purpose. Specifically, it suggests critical attention be paid not only to attempts to maximize diaspora financial contributions, but also, to encourage public deference to the home state.
A Feasibility Study of a Multifaceted Walking Intervention to Maintain Functional Mobility, ADL Function, and Quality of Llife among Nursing Home Residents with Dementia
Keywords: function
intervention
long-term care
mobility
person-centered care
quality of life

Aim: To determine the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of a multifaceted walking intervention (MWI) to maintain the functional mobility, activities of daily living (ADL) function, and quality of life (QOL) of nursing home residents with dementia. Setting: Two nursing homes in the GTA. Method and Analysis: An interrupted time series design was used with a 2-month pre-intervention phase followed by a 4-month intervention phase. Measures of functional mobility (2MWT, TUG, gait speed), ADL function (FIM), and QOL (ARQOL) were collected before and after the pre-intervention, and at the middle and end of the intervention by a blinded assistant. RM-ANOVA was used to explore efficacy over time. The MWI components: a)one-to-one walking regime tailored to the resident up to 4 times a week for 4 months and b)individualized communication careplans that were used during the sessions. The MWI was informed by multiple interviews to collect biographical data, communication assessments, and resident observations. Results: The MWI was feasible, based on a high recruitment rates of resident (86.6%, n=26), PSWs (100%) and POAs (100%) and retention rate (96.1%). Interventionist adherence to the protocol was high (i.e. intervention could be delivered as designed). The POA and PSW staff acceptability was high before and after the intervention, and resident adherence also indicated high acceptability. During the pre-intervention phase, residents experienced significant declines in functional mobility as measured by the TUG, 2MWT, gait speed, a significant decline in their ADL function, as well as QOL. Over the intervention phase, the TUG improved by 32.14% (P=0.000), 2MWT improved by 51.25% (P=0.000), gait speed improved by 55.11% (P=0.000), ADL function increased by 25% (P=0.000) and QOL by 7.8% (P=0.063). No adverse events were related to the intervention and no significant environmental influence was found. Significance: This is the first intervention to deliver individualized physical activity to residents with dementia using a person-centered approach. The MWI appears to be a promising solution to maintain outcomes; however, a larger trial is required. This study informs a future trial, as well as provides a greater understanding about the role person-centered care can play when delivering physical activity to frail populations.
Multiscale Mechanics of Graphene Oxide and Graphene Based Composite Films
Keywords: Electron Microscopy
Graphene Oxide
MEMS
Nanomaterials
Nanomechanics
Nanotribology

The mechanical behavior of graphene oxide is length scale dependent: orders of magnitude different between the bulk forms and monolayer counterparts. Understanding the underlying mechanisms plays a significant role in their versatile application. A systematic multiscale mechanical study from monolayer to multilayer, including the interactions between layers of GO, can provide fundamental support for material engineering. In this thesis, an experimental coupled with simulation approach was used to study the multiscale mechanics of graphene oxide (GO) and the methods developed for GO study are proved to be applicable also to mechanical study of graphene based composites. GO is a layered nanomaterial comprised of hierarchical units whose characteristic dimension lies between monolayer GO (0.7 nm â 1.2 nm) and bulk GO papers (1 um). Mechanical behaviors of monolayer GO and GO nanosheets (10 nm- 100 nm) were comprehensively studied this work. Monolayer GO was measured to have an average strength of 24.7 GPa,, orders of magnitude higher than previously reported values for GO paper and approximately 50% of the 2D intrinsic strength of pristine graphene. The huge discrepancy between the strength of monolayer GO and that of bulk GO paper motivated the study of GO at the intermediate length scale (GO nanosheets). Experimental results showed that GO nanosheets possess high strength in the gigapascal range. Molecular Dynamic simulations showed that the transition in the failure behavior from interplanar fracture to intraplanar fracture was responsible for the huge strength discrepancy between nanometer scale GO and bulk GO papers. Additionally, the interfacial shear strength between GO layers was found to be a key contributing factor to the distinct mechanical behavior among hierarchical units of GO. The understanding of the multiscale mechanics of GO is transferrable in heterogeneous layered nanomaterials, such as graphene-metal oxide based anode materials in Li-ion batteries. The novel methods developed in this work to study GO multilayered structures were also applied to study the mechanics of graphene-TiO2 composites. It was found that a critical thickness range of TiO2 deposition on graphene is required for the observed stiffness enhancement effect of graphene to influence the mechanical behavior of the composite.
Rheological Characteristics of Pulp-fibre-reinforced Polyamide Composite
Keywords: Biocomposite
Polyamide
Predictive model
Pulp fibre
Rheological Characteristics
Viscosity

Recently, there has been increasing interest in utilizing pulp-fibre–reinforced, higher-melting–temperature engineering thermoplastics, such as polyamide 11 and polyamide 6 in the automotive, aerospace and construction industries. Moreover, the rheological characteristics of those composites were not fully investigated in relation to processing approaches and pulp-fibre aspect ratio. Two processing approaches were used in this thesis: the extrusion compounding process and the Brabender mixer technique using inorganic salt lithium chloride (LiCl). The fibre-length distribution and content, and the densities of the PA11 and modified bio-based PA11 after compounding, were investigated and found to coincide with the final properties of the resultant composites. The effects of fibre content, fibre aspect ratio, and fibre length on rheological properties were studied. The rheological properties of high-yield–pulp (HYP) –reinforced bio-based Polyamide 11 (PA11) composite (HYP/PA11) were experimentally investigated using a capillary rheometer. Experimental test results showed a steep decrease in shear viscosity with increasing shear rate; this melt-flow characteristic corresponds to shear-thinning behavior in HYP/PA11. The morphological properties of HYP/PA11 composite were examined using SEM: no fibre pullout was observed. This was due to the presence of the hydrogen bond, which created excellent compatibility between high-yield pulp fibre and bio-based Nylon 11. The viscoelastic characteristics of biocomposites derived from natural-fibre–reinforced thermoplastic polymers and of predictive models were reviewed to understand their rheological behavior. Novel predicted multiphase rheological-model–based polymer, fibre, and interphasial phases were developed. Rheological characteristics of the composite components influenced the development of resultant microstructures; this in turn affected the mechanical characteristics of a multiphase composite. Experimental and theoretical test results of HYP/PA11 showed a steep decrease in apparent viscosity with increasing shear rate; this melt-flow characteristic corresponds to shear-thinning behavior in HYP/PA11.The nonlinear mathematical model to predict the rheological behavior of HYP/PA11was validated experimentally at 200˚C and 5000S-1 shear rate.
Optimization of Gold Nanoparticle Radiosensitizers for Cancer Therapy
Keywords: Cancer
Cisplatin
Gold Nanoparticles
Radiation Therapy
Radiosensitization

Radiation therapy (RT) plays a pivotal role in cancer treatment, and radiosensitizing agents are widely used to improve the outcome of RT. There is keen interest in the development of new tumor-specific radiosensitizing strategies given that most of the commonly used radiosensitizers are inherently toxic. In recent years, the radosensitizing effects of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been explored extensively. To further optimize radiosensitization by AuNPs, this thesis aims to (1) synthesize and characterize AuNPs with varied physicochemical properties including size, surface coating, and targeting moieties (2) investigate the cellular response (i.e., cell uptake and toxicity) to AuNPs (3) assess the in vitro radiosensitizing effects of AuNPs and identify the key parameters which determine the extent of radiosensitization by AuNPs and (4) evaluate and compare the individual and combined radiation enhancement effects of AuNPs and cisplatin both in vitro and in vivo. Overall, the current work demonstrated that the cell response to AuNPs is highly dependent on a number of factors including the physicochemical properties and concentration of the AuNPs, incubation time with AuNPs, as well as the cell line employed. Importantly, cellular localization of AuNPs and oxygen conditions were shown to be crucial in determining the radiosensitizing effect of AuNPs. The highest level of radiosensitization was observed when AuNPs are internalized, and in cells that are under oxia. In comparison to cisplatin at three doses of IC25, AuNPs administered intratumorally demonstrated an equivalent radiation enhancement effect without showing intrinsic toxicity or increasing the toxicity of IR, as such AuNPs can be considered as a true radiosensitizer. The combination of AuNPs and cisplatin resulted in an additive and significant radiation enhancement effect with fractionated RT, and is thus a promising strategy to be further considered. Future research is warranted on the design of formulations that resulted in improved tumor bioavailability of AuNPs and co-delivery of AuNPs and cisplatin to tumor sites, for the achievement of tumor-specific radiosensitzation, minimal toxicity, and therefore a greater therapeutic window for AuNP aided RT.
American Conservative Political Orientation: Masculine Independence, Religious Traditionalism, and Ethnic Separateness
Keywords: Big Five
Conservatism
Personality
Political Orientation

Many studies of political orientation (PO) construe conservatism as a unidimensional construct, linked to variables reflecting heavier negativity bias. Paradoxically, conservatism is also linked to indicators of positive adjustment, social connectedness, and well-being. In 5 studies, I test how empirically derived factors of PO relate to variables relevant to negativity bias versus positive adjustment, and collective- versus individual-focus. Study 1 replicates a positive association between unidimensional conservatism and Satisfaction with Life (SWL), demonstrating that conservatives’ lower neuroticism can account for this association. Studies 2a, 2b, 3, and 4 develop a 33-item Attitude-Based PO (ABPO) Scale measuring what emerges as three factors of conservatism, starting with a pool of 214 items. I interpret the dimensions, based on item content and individual difference predictors, as Masculine Independence (MI), Religious Traditionalism (RT), and Ethnic Separateness (ES). They constitute three correlated but distinct dimensions of PO, each of which accounts for incremental variance in unidimensional conservatism and voting behaviour. MI, including attitudes toward taxation, environmental issues, health care, and government reach, is the only factor positively associated with SWL, and negatively with neuroticism and disgust sensitivity, clashing with findings linking unidimensional conservatism to negativity bias. RT issues include abortion, stem cell research, and euthanasia; RT is associated with religiosity and – when MI and ES are controlled for – femininity and higher agreeableness. ES issues include bi-racial families, refugees, and foreign aid. ES is associated with racism and accounts for the positive bivariate correlations of racism with MI and RT. I suggest that bidimensional models based on fiscal and social conservatism are not well-founded; MI is a mix of economically and socially relevant factors, RT is a social factor exclusively comprising issues relevant to Christian faith, and ES issues are also fiscally and socially relevant. Throughout, MI is linked with indicators of positive adjustment, while RT and ES associate more expectedly with indices of negativity bias. RT exclusively is linked with indicators of benevolent collective-focus toward one’s ingroup members, while MI and ES are not. Thus, the ABPO scale stands to further clarify the associations of distinct dimensions of conservative PO with negativity bias and collective-focus.
Social Disadvantage Gets Inside The Family: Exploring Biopsychosocial Family Processes in the Emergence of Developmental Health Inequalities
Keywords: Children
Development
Family
Parenting
Risk
Socioeconomic Status

Children raised in socially disadvantaged settings often exhibit poorer developmental health in a variety of domains, including socioemotional, medical and cognitive functioning. This relationship appears to operate in part via a cascade linking poverty and cumulative environmental adversity to early biological risk and interpersonal family process. Moreover, these mechanisms are suggested to function over-and-above the direct effects of material investments in childrenâ s healthy development and wellbeing. Despite this knowledge, there remains a need for longitudinal developmental research examining the nature in which environmental risk in early life impacts multiple and distinct intermediary mechanisms that are manifest within the proximal family environment. In order to address this limitation, the present dissertation provides three separate empirical studies outlining the nature in which social disadvantage impacts family process (in the form of interpersonal sensitivity), and early biological risk (in the form of birth weight). Data for the present dissertation came from the Kids, Families and Places Study, which is a population-based prospective birth cohort of newborn infants and their families from Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (N=501 families). The present dissertation demonstrates that social disadvantage (1) impacts cognitive functioning in a number of domains at the time of school entry via maternal sensitivity and material investments, (2) disrupts the receipt of cognitive sensitivity during family interactions across multiple dyads, particularly for younger siblings, and (3) simultaneously increases developmental risk for multiple siblings-per-family and tends to increase sibling differences in developmental experience. To conclude, implications for the study of developmental health and family science are discussed.
Double Perovskites with Strong Spin-orbit Coupling
Keywords: double perovskites
spin-orbit coupling

We first present theoretical analysis of powder inelastic neutron scattering experiments in Ba2FeReO6 performed by our experimental collaborators. Ba2FeReO6, a member of the double perovskite family of materials, exhibits half-metallic behavior and high Curie temperatures Tc, making it of interest for spintronics applications. To interpret the experimental data, we develop a local moment model, which incorporates the interaction of Fe spins with spin-orbital locked magnetic moments on Re, and show that it captures the experimental observations. We then develop a tight-binding model of the double perovskite Ba2FeReO6, a room temperature ferrimagnet with correlated and spin-orbit coupled Re t2g electrons moving in the background of Fe moments stabilized by Hundâ s coupling. We show that for such 3d/5d double perovskites, strong correlations on the 5d-element (Re) are essential in driving a half-metallic ground state. Incorporating both strong spin-orbit coupling and the Hubbard repulsion on Re leads to a band structure consistent with ab initio calculations. The uncovered interplay of strong correlations and spin-orbit coupling lends partial support to our previous work, which used a local moment description to capture the spin wave dispersion found in neutron scattering measurements. We then adapt this tight-binding model to study {111}-grown bilayers of half-metallic double perovskites such as Sr2FeMoO6. The combination of spin-orbit coupling, inter-orbital hybridization and symmetry-allowed trigonal distortion leads to a rich phase diagram with tunable ferromagnetic order, topological C=1 and 2 Chern bands, and a C = 2 quantum anomalous Hall insulator regime. We have also performed theoretical analysis of inelastic neutron scattering (INS) experiments to investigate the magnetic excitations in the weakly distorted face-centered-cubic (fcc) iridate double perovskites La2ZnIrO6 and La2MgIrO6. Models with dominant Kitaev exchange seem to most naturally account for the neutron data as well as the measured frustration parameters of these materials, while the uniaxial Ising anisotropy does not. Our findings highlight how even seemingly conventional magnetic orders in oxide materials containing heavy transition metal ions may be driven by highly-directional exchange interactions rooted in strong spin-orbit coupling. Motivated by experiments on the double perovskites La2ZnIrO6 and La2MgIrO6, we lastly study the magnetism of spin-orbit coupled j_{eff} =1/2 iridium moments on the three-dimensional, geometrically frustrated, facecentered cubic lattice. The symmetry-allowed nearest-neighbor interaction includes Heisenberg, Kitaev, and symmetric off-diagonal exchange. A Luttinger-Tisza analysis shows a rich variety of orders, including collinear AII type antiferromagnetism, stripe order with moments along the {111}-direction, and incommensurate non-coplanar spirals, and we use Monte Carlo simulations to determine their magnetic ordering temperatures.