VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Schematic Representation Across Age and in Patients with vmPFC Lesions
Keywords: schema
vmPFC

This study tested the mechanism of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in representing schemata, be it excitatory or inhibitory. Participants were administered a behavioural task distinguishing their ability to activate a relevant schema from their ability to inhibit an irrelevant schema. Healthy participants were highly accurate throughout the task, indicating proficiency in both abilities. However, older adults demonstrated a need for greater cognitive resources to inhibit a previously relevant schema. Non-confabulating patients with vmPFC lesions acted similarly to control participants, while patients with vmPFC lesions with either current or prior demonstration of confabulation performed abnormally. Specifically, their inability to inhibit irrelevant schemata was more severe than their inability to activate a relevant one. The results suggest that the nature of vmPFC damage leading to confabulation may also be responsible for erroneous schema representations. A sub-region of the vmPFC is proposed to underlie the representation of schemata through semantic lateral inhibition.
Banking on Remittances: Migration and Development Desires in the Philippines
Keywords: Remittances
Philippines
Development
Banking

This thesis tracks the politics of migrant remittances in the Philippines through an analysis of established possibilities and entrenched interests in the banking sector. Paying attention to banking sector narratives about the ‘migrant market’, I argue that remittances to the Philippines enter into an established economic space that is constituted by discourse, by history (especially the history of financial sector liberalization), and by ongoing practices of risk management and efforts at financial inclusion. At the same time, I gesture towards sites of “a politics of becoming” (Gibson-Graham 2006, 24), from which emerge potentially path-breaking economic discourse, subjectivity, and collective action in relation to remittance practice.
Laser-induced Incandescence of Soot at High Pressures
Keywords: Laser-Induced Incandescence
High Pressure Combustion Diagnostics
LII
Soot

Measurements of soot emission properties are of interest in both fundamental research and combustion-based industries. Laser-induced incandescence of soot particles is a novel technique that allows unobtrusive measurements of both soot volume fraction and particulate size with significant advantages. An apparatus utilizing this technique has been customized and used to provide measurements of soot concentration and particle sizing of a laminar, diffusion methane/air flame at pressures of 10, 20 and 40 atm at 6~mm above the burner. Soot volume fraction measurements correlate well with literature findings at all pressures. Despite similar trends, particle size values are found to be consistently larger than values reported in literature. Discussion on the errors of laser-induced incandescence as well as recommendations for improving the apparatus and results are herein.
Targeting Hedgehog Signalling as a Drug Therapy in Aggressive Fibromatosis
Keywords: aggressive fibromatosis
hedgehog signalling

Aggressive fibromatosis is a benign fibroproliferative tumour that can occur as a sporadic lesion or a manifestation in patients with familial syndromes, such as familial adenomatous polyposis. Tumours are characterized by the stabilization of β-catenin and the activation of β-catenin-mediated transcription. Current treatment results are far from ideal, and recurrence rates are high. As a result, there remains a need for more effective therapeutic strategies. In this work, we demonstrate the effect of hedgehog signalling inhibition on aggressive fibromatosis tumour development and β-catenin modulation. We found that hedgehog inhibition decreased cell viability and proliferation as well as total β-catenin levels in human aggressive fibromatosis tumour cells in vitro. Furthermore, following hedgehog inhibition in Apc+/Apc1638N aggressive fibromatosis mouse model, the number and volume of the tumours formed was reduced. Together, this work suggests that hedgehog signalling inhibitor agents are potential candidates to effectively manage aggressive fibromatosis.
An Investigation into the Flexural Behaviour of GFRP Reinforced Concrete Beams
Keywords: Structural Engineering
Reinforced Concrete

Non-corroding materials, such as Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) bars, are now being used as reinforcement for reinforced concrete structures in order to extend their lifetime and minimize maintenance costs. Because of the softer and brittle behaviour of GFRP bars, behaviour of structural members reinforced with this material is different than that of steel-reinforced members. In this study, 16 GFRP reinforced beams were constructed and tested under flexure and shear loads to failure. Effects of different variables, such as amount of longitudinal and lateral reinforcements, type of bars and concrete strength, were investigated for their effects. The flexural provisions of design codes, namely CSA S806-12, CSA S6-06, and report ACI 440.1R-06, were evaluated against the test data. The main provisions investigated are failure modes, ultimate strength, moment-curvature response, deflection, crack widths, and deformability.
Heterodox Currents in China’s Cultural Revolution: A Case Study of Guangzhou
Keywords: Cultural Revolution
China
Heterodox Ideas
"August 5 Theory"
Li Yizhe

This thesis aims to explore heterodox ideological currents that developed in the Cultural Revolution, focusing on the background and writings of the “August 5” activists and the Li Yizhe group in Guangzhou. While the Cultural Revolution produced catastrophic consequences in many regards, this thesis intends to show that there are still ways in which young participants exercised their independent thinking and developed novel political ideas that significantly diverged from the official ideology. Beginning with an overview of the development of the Cultural Revolution in Guangzhou, I study the analyses of the “August 5” activists and the Li Yizhe group as well as examine how their heterodox views about China’s social and political system were inspired by their participation in the movement.
The Effect of Alpha 1-Antitrypsin on Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Lung Transplantation
Keywords: alpha 1-antitrypsin
lung transplantation
ischemia-reperfusion injury
acute lung injury

Ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury is a severe complication in lung transplantation characterized by inflammation, alveolar damage, and hypoxemia. Alpha 1-antitrypsin (A1AT), a protease inhibitor, is currently used clinically for the treatment of A1AT deficiency emphysema. A1AT has been shown to have the potential to reduce IR injury through its anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects. We hypothesized that A1AT will ameliorate IR injury through these effects. We tested A1AT in two models of IR: a cell culture model of simulated lung transplantation and a rat in situ pulmonary ligation model. In cell culture, we found that A1AT exerts its protective effects by inhibiting cell death and inflammatory cytokine release in a dose-dependent manner. In the rat pulmonary ischemia-reperfusion model, we found that A1AT improved lung function by inhibiting apoptosis and inflammation. There is potential for future application of A1AT in the treatment of IR injury in lung transplantation.
Cross-border Insolvency: A Comparative Study of Chinese and the U.S. legislations
Keywords: Bankruptcy
Cross-border insolvency
Enterprise Bankruptcy Law of China, Article 5
U.S Bankruptcy Code Chapter 15

This thesis offers a comparative study of Chinese and the U.S. legislations on the issue of cross-border insolvency. China has included one article concerning this issue in its Enterprise Bankruptcy Law promulgated in 2006. Four years after that, when facing a real case, it is found that the legislation is too preliminary to be used. In the meantime, great efforts have been made among many western countries in order to promote international cooperation on this issue. The United States is one of the most active countries. This thesis analyzes the Chinese version of cross-border insolvency legislation, factor by factor. It also does case study of mostly U.S. cases and some other countries’ cases and tries to find out how the courts interpret the corresponding factors. In doing so, it hopes to improve the Chinese legislation by taking international experience as reference.
Towards a Unified Signal Representation via Empirical Mode Decomposition
Keywords: Empirical Mode Decomposition

Empirical mode decomposition was proposed recently as a time frequency analysis tool for nonlinear and nonstationary signals. Despite from its many advantages, problems such as “uniqueness” problem have been discovered which limit the application. Although this problem has been addressed to some extent by various extensions of the original algorithm, the solution is far from satisfactory in some scenarios. In this work we propose two variants of the original algorithm, with emphasis on providing unified representations. R-EMD makes use of a set of reference signals to guide the decomposition therefore guarantees unified representation for multiple 1D signals. 2D- BEMD takes advantage of a projection procedure and is capable of providing unified representation between a pair of 2D signals. Application of the proposed algorithms on different problems in biometric and image processing demonstrates promising results and indicates the effectiveness of the proposed framework.
Identification and Sequence Analysis of Novel Proteins in the Zebra Mussel Adhesive Apparatus
Keywords: Biomedical engineering
Biomaterials

The freshwater zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha is a biofouling species that adheres to varied substrates underwater using a proteinaceous byssus that consists of a bundle of threads tipped with adhesive plaques. This underwater adhesion is an inspiration for the development of medical and dental bioadhesives, however, the byssus is highly resistant to biochemical characterization owing to extensive cross-linking and therefore, limited information is available on the mechanisms of adhesion and cohesion of byssal proteins. We report here on the identification and sequence analysis of eight novel byssal proteins identified in the soluble extract and insoluble matrix from induced, freshly secreted byssal threads with minimal cross-linking, using gel electrophoresis and LC-MS/MS sequencing techniques. Identified byssal proteins have theoretical molecular weights ranging from 4.1 kDa to 20.1 kDa and isoelectric points ranging from 4.2 to 9.6 and have several common characteristics including consensus repeat patterns, block structures and defined sequence motifs.
Short-chain Fatty Acids Modulate Bacterial Growth and Airway Epithelial Cell Inflammatory Responses
Keywords: cystic fibrosis
inflammation

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are anaerobic bacterial metabolites. Cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease is a condition caused by mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductange regulator (CFTR) gene and is characterized by persistent lung inflammation and bacterial colonization. We measured the concentrations of SCFAs in sputum of patients with CF and tested the effect of these compounds on bacterial growth. Furthermore we found that SCFAs can influence the inflammatory protein expression and cytokine release in airway epithelial cells. SCFAs differentially alter cytokine release in CF bronchial epithelial cells (CFBE) compared to CFBE expressing wild-type CFTR. We also studied the effect of SCFAs in an acute lung injury model in BALB/cJ mice and found that intratracheally administered SCFAs can affect the inflammatory environment of the airways in vivo. We conclude that SCFAs may be important in the airways and that further investigation is warranted to understand their effects on inflammation and infection.
A Study of Drug Transport in the Vitreous Humor: Effect of Drug Size; Comparing Micro- and Macro-scale diffusion; Assessing Vitreous Models; and Obtaining In Vivo Data
Keywords: vitreous humor
diffusion
drug
DOSY NMR
vitreous
DOSY
fluorotron
fluorophotometry
spectralis
diffusivity

Treatment of vision impairing diseases involves drug transport through the vitreous humor. Diffusion cells were used to measure macro-scale (mutual) diffusivity (Dm) to understand how solute size affects diffusion through the vitreous humor of rabbit and porcine eyes. Solutes examined included timolol maleate, dexamethasone sodium phosphate (DMSP), sodium fluorescein, and FITC-dextrans (4, 40, and 150kDa). Diffusivity was inversely dependent on solute size. The Dm's of small solutes in the vitreous were 30 – 65% of that in PBS, while the Dm's of large solutes were 40 – 60% of that in PBS. Extrapolations to the human eye produced similar results using diffusivities based on either species. We used Diffusion Ordered NMR Spectroscopy to measure micro-scale (self) diffusivity (Ds) of DMSP through vitreous humor. The Ds and Dm were significantly different in PBS, but similar in vitreous. A method for obtaining in vivo imagery and data of vitreous fluorophore distribution is also presented.
Anillin, An Organizer of Cytokinesis
Keywords: cytokinesis
anillin
septin
asymmetric cytokinesis
temporal order

Anillin is a highly conserved multi-domain cytoskeletal protein that provides a spatial and temporal scaffold for contractile ring proteins to ensure successful cytokinesis. We have looked at the temporal order of anillin and septin recruitment to the cleavage furrow using time-lapse microscopy and found that anillin localizes to the furrow in early anaphase while septins appear there later in an anillin-dependent manner. We also characterized the effect of anillin depletion in different cell lines and observed that septins and myosin delocalize in the absence of anillin in Tet-ON HeLa, AD293 and ARPE-19 cells but not in wild type HeLa cells. Asymmetric furrow formation was also investigated using the epithelial cell model: MDCK cells. Depletion of anillin and SEPT9 in MDCK cells was achieved using lentivirus shRNA constructs and this revealed that anillin or SEPT9 depletion did not affect asymmetric cytokinesis, although localization of SEPT 9 was affected by anillin depletion.
Entre Nosotras: Latin American Women's Perspectives on Leadership
Keywords: Latin American women in Canada
leadership
leadership training
Latina youth

This thesis examines the significance of gaining an understanding of leadership that is both culturally appropriate and contextually relevant to its participants. In particular, this study takes up leadership as a process, experienced differently given one’s positionality. It also honors the work of Latin American (LA) women in Canada and interviews members of a LA women’s organization, pseudo-named Nosotras in an effort to begin to unravel the complexities of leadership and leadership training programs for young women. Interviewees contribute to the research through their knowledge on three main questions: (1) What does leadership mean? (2) What are its challenges? (3) How have you come to know leadership? My findings show that having a common vision of leadership is only the tip of the iceberg. A Latina Feminista lens that queers el liderazgo creates spaces to understand nuances, silences, and power dynamics embedded in current leadership processes and models. Key words: Latina Feminista, liderazgo, positionality theory, silence, challenges, and resistance.
Insulin Promotes Elastin Production in Cultures of Human Aortic Smooth Muscle Cells and Skin Fibroblasts
Keywords: Elastin

Elastic fibers are major components of ECM, providing tissues with resilience and elastic recoil. They consist of the insoluble elastin made of cross-linked precursor tropoelastin monomers and the microfibrillar scaffold. Various connective tissue disorders have been linked to elastic fiber malformation. In addition, it has been shown that decreased vascular elastin contents correlate with the rapid progression of atherosclerosis in patients with diabetes mellitus. However, it is unknown whether insulin can directly modulate elastogenesis. This question was addressed in this thesis. Our study revealed that insulin stimulated elastogenesis in cultures of human aortic SMCs and skin fibroblasts, and that this effect of insulin was transduced through the insulin receptor. We found that insulin might initiate elastin gene expression and enhance tropoelastin secretion. We also presented novel preliminary data indicating that Glut10 might bind to a fraction of intracellular tropoelastin, and that insulin might modulate the association between these two proteins.
Controller Design of Multivariable LTI Unknown Systems
Keywords: LTI unknown systems
multivariable controllers
parameter optimization
saturation constraint
servocompensator
tuning controllers
optimal control
PID control
large scale systems

This thesis deals with the design of multivariable controllers for stable linear time-invariant multi-input multi-output systems, with an unknown mathematical model, subject to constant reference/disturbance signals and actuator saturation constraints. A new controller parameter optimization approach, which can be carried out experimentally with no knowledge of the plant model nor of the order of the system, is proposed. The approach has the advantage that controllers can be optimized by perturbing only the initial conditions of the servocompensator, and that the order of the resulting controller obtained can be specified by the designer. Implementation of the proposed controller design approach is described, and an experimental application study of the proposed method applied to a multivariable system with industrial sensor/actuator components is presented to illustrate the feasibility of the design method in an industrial environment.
An Algorithm for Chemical Genomic Profiling that Minimizes Batch Effects: Bucket Evaluations
Keywords: Correlation
Computer Science
Biostatistics
Software Engineering
Bioinformatics
Biostatistics
Chemical Genomics
Chemogenomics

Chemical genomics is an interdisciplinary field that combines small molecule perturbation with genomics to understand gene function and to study the mode(s) of drug action. Existing methods for correlating chemical genomic profiles are not ideal as they often require one to define the disrupting effects, commonly known as batch effects. These effects are not always known, and they can mask true biological differences. I present a method, Bucket Evaluations (BE), which surmounts these problems. This method is a non-parametric correlation approach, which is suitable for locating correlations in somewhat perturbed datasets such as chemical genomic profiles. BE can be used on other datasets such as those obtained via gene expression profiling and performs well on both array-based and sequence based readouts. Using BE, along with various correlation methods, on a collection of datasets, showed it to be highly accurate for locating similarity between experiments.
SLIT2/ROBO-1: Novel Modulators of Vascular Injury
Keywords: atherosclerosis
platelets

In atherosclerosis, infiltrating leukocytes and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) cause progressive vascular narrowing. Platelet-mediated thrombosis ultimately causes complete vessel occlusion, resulting in heart attack or stroke. In animal models and human patients, individually blocking these events is only partially effective. Another therapeutic strategy would be to globally target these multiple cell types. Slit proteins act as developmental neuronal repellents, and Slit2 via interaction with its receptor, Robo-1, impairs inflammatory recruitment of leukocytes and VSMCs. We detected Robo-1 expression in human and murine platelets. Using static and shear assays, we demonstrate that Slit2 impaired platelet adhesion and spreading on fibrinogen, fibronectin and collagen. Slit2 mediated these effects, in part, by suppressing activation of Akt but not Rac1, Cdc42, Erk or p38 MAPK. Slit2 also prevented ADP-mediated granular secretion. In mouse tail-bleeding experiments, Slit2 dose-dependently prolonged bleeding times in vivo. These data suggest a therapeutic role of Slit2 in atherothrombosis.
Integrative Preoteomic Analysis of Cell Line Conditioned Media and Pancreatic Juice for the Identification of Candidate Pancreatic Cancer Biomarkers
Keywords: Pancreatic Cancer
Proteomics
Serum Biomarkers
Mass Spectrometry
Cell Line Conditioned Media
Pancreatic Juice
Bioinformatics

Novel serological biomarkers to aid in the detection and clinical management of pancreatic cancer patients are urgently needed. In the present study, we performed in-depth proteomic analysis of conditioned media from six pancreatic cancer cell lines (MIA-PaCa2, PANC1, BxPc3, CAPAN1, CFPAC1 and SU.86.86), the normal pancreatic ductal epithelial cell line HPDE, and pancreatic juice samples from cancer patients for identification of novel biomarker candidates. Using 2D-LC-MS/MS, a total of 3479 non-redundant proteins were identified with ≥2 peptides. Subsequent label-free protein quantification and integrative analysis of the biological fluids resulted in the generation of candidate biomarkers, of which five proteins were shown to be significantly elevated in plasma from pancreatic cancer patients in a preliminary assessment. Further verification of two of the proteins in ~200 serum samples demonstrated the ability of these proteins to significantly improve the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of CA19.9 from 0.84 to 0.91.
The Effects of Maternal Folic Acid Supplementation Provided in Utero and during Lactation on Genomic DNA Methylation and Global Gene Expression in the Offspring
Keywords: folic acid
maternal

The effects of high maternal folate status on the offspring are unknown; however, early life exposure to environmental stimuli, including dietary factors, is thought to influence the risk of developing chronic disease. An animal study was performed to determine the effect of maternal folic acid supplementation during pregnancy and lactation on DNA methylation and global gene expression patterns in the offspring. Supplementation of the maternal diet with folic acid (5, 8, and 25 mg/kg diet) induced global DNA hypomethylation in the liver of juvenile and adult offspring, and altered the expression of the imprinted H19 gene and genes involved in lipid metabolism, coagulation, and iron transport and homeostasis. Our data suggest that intrauterine and early postnatal periods are susceptible to changes in DNA methylation and gene expression in response to high levels of folic acid, which may be associated with health status and disease later in life.
A Randomized Double Blind Sham-controlled Comparison of Bilateral and Unilateral Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Treatment-resistant Major Depression
Keywords: Depression
TMS
Treatment-Resistance

Objectives: High frequency left-sided (HFL) and low frequency right-sided (LFR) unilateral repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) are efficacious in treatment-resistant major depression (TRD). Similar benefit has been suggested for sequential bilateral rTMS (LFR then HFL). Therefore, this study evaluated the efficacy of HFL and sequential bilateral rTMS compared to sham in TRD. Methods: Seventy-four subjects between the ages of 18 and 85 with TRD and a 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) greater than 21 were randomized to receive unilateral, bilateral, or sham rTMS. Remission rates were compared among the three groups. Results: Remission rates differed significantly among the three groups. The remission rate was significantly higher in the bilateral group (34.6%) than the unilateral (4.5%) and sham (5.0%) groups. The remission rate in the unilateral group did not differ from sham group. Conclusion: These findings warrant larger controlled studies that compare the efficacy of sequential bilateral rTMS and HFL rTMS in TRD.