VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Socio-demographic and Health Factors Associated with Vulnerability to Food Insecurity in Social Assistance Recipients
Keywords: Chronic Health
Food Insecurity
Provincial Social Assistance Policy
Social Assistance

While recipients of social assistance have been consistently identified as highly vulnerable to food insecurity, there is still variation in food security status among this population. Our objective was to examine how provincial social assistance policies, recipients' socio-demographic characteristics, and their chronic disease status relate to their food security status. We used logistic regression models to determine these relationships in a sample of single social assistance adults in the 2011-2012 Canadian Community Health Survey.The odds of food insecurity were higher in Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan compared to Ontario, controlling for socio-demographic factors. Homeowners and respondents with higher incomes appeared to have lower odds of food insecurity. Independent of these effects, having 2 or more chronic conditions, hypertension, or a mental health condition indicated an increased vulnerability. These findings suggest that the needs of social assistance recipients, particularly those chronically ill, are not being adequately met through current benefit structures in order to maintain food security.
Exploring New Synthetic Methodologies using Organoboron Catalysts
Keywords: Catalyst
Organoboron
Organocatalyst

Organic molecules as reaction catalysts (organocatalysts) has represented a major direction of research over the past 10-15 years. Organoboron compounds possess many advantageous features of organocatalysts, including their relatively low cost and toxicity, their high functional group tolerance and ease of structural modification. 2H-Chromenes have been studied extensively as a consequence of their widespread natural occurrence, diverse biological properties and photochromic behaviour. They have been employed as useful intermediates in the synthesis of many natural products, pharmaceuticals and photochromic ophthalmic plastic lenses. Chapter 1 describes the optimization and initial substrate scope of an arylboronic acid-catalyzed synthesis of 2H-chromenes from the condensation of various phenols and aldehydes. Chapter 2 explores the utility of borinic acid catalysts in a Conia-Ene reaction. Finally, Chapter 3 discusses the synthesis of homobarrelenones, attractive building blocks for organic synthesis, via a Diels-Alder cycloaddition reaction using catalytic boronic acids.
The Role of the Progesterone Receptors in Mammary Stem and Progenitor Cell Regulation
Keywords: Breast Biology
Hormone Signaling
Mammary Biology
Mammary Progenitor Cell
Mammary Stem Cell
Progesterone Receptor

Increased exposure to ovarian hormones is strongly linked with breast cancer risk, however, the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain poorly understood. The steroid hormone progesterone is highest during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle and exerts mitogenic effects within specific mammary epithelial cell populations. Specifically, an induction of mammary stem cells (MaSCs) is observed although hormone receptors have not been detected in the MaSC-enriched basal compartment. The progesterone receptor (PR) has two main differentially regulated isoforms, PR A and PR B, but most studies do not distinguish between isoforms. This study identifies a unique PR+ population within the MaSC-enriched basal fraction following progesterone treatment. Further, it is shown that functional PR signaling enriches for HR+ progenitors (CD49b+Sca-1+) within the luminal compartment in addition to inducing total luminal, total basal, and alveolar progenitor activity. Finally, we also identify a previously uncharacterized luminal population (CD49b-Sca-1-) that is progesterone sensitive.
Improving Cancer Radiotherapy Outcomes with Vasculotide, an Angiopoietin-1 Mimetic
Keywords: acute skin toxicity
angiopoietin-1
athymic mouse
endothelial cells
radiotherapy
Tie2

Most cancer patients are treated with radiotherapy, but the treatment can also damage the surrounding normal tissue. Radiotherapy side-effects diminish patients' quality of life, yet effective biological interventions for normal tissue damage are lacking. Protecting microvascular endothelial cells from irradiation is emerging as a targeted damage-reduction strategy. Therefore, this dissertation centers on Vasculotide, an angiopoietin-1-based mimic that signals through the Tie2 receptor on endothelial cells to stabilize diseased vasculature. To address the need for skin-protecting agents, the present work investigates Vasculotide as an endothelial cell-targeting agent in a mouse model of acute skin radiation damage.
Effects of Long-acting Insulin Analogues on Breast and Colon Cancer Promotion
Keywords: Insulin analogues
Breast Cancer
Colon Cancer

Insulin glargine, a long-acting insulin analogue, has been implicated in increased cancer risk by epidemiological studies and has been reported to increase mitogenicity in in vitro studies. However, studies in preclinical models confirming the tumor promoting effect of glargine are lacking. Methylnitrosourea and azoxymethane treated female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to receive saline, neutral protamine Hagedorn (NPH, unmodified insulin), glargine, or detemir (long-acting insulin analogues) for 6 weeks (30/group). Rats treated with NPH had significantly higher mammary tumour multiplicity and a tendency to increased tumour incidence. Mammary tumour burden tended to increase in all insulin-treated rats compared to control. There was no effect of insulin on aberrant crypt foci, a precursor of colon cancer, compared to control. These data suggest that glargine does not promote breast or colon cancer to a greater extent than unmodified insulin. This is important information in the management of patients with diabetes.
Investigating Surface Lipoprotein Translocation in Neisseria meningitidis
Keywords: Surface Lipoproteins
Neisseria meningitidis

Neisseria meningitidis infections are a major cause of bacterial meningitis cases around the world. During an infection, Neisseria meningitidis employs surface lipoproteins in nutrient acquisition and host immune system evasion. The Moraes lab identified an outer membrane protein, 5H3 that was required for TbpB, a surface lipoprotein, to be expressed on the cell surface. My goal was to functionally characterize this outer membrane protein and to gain insight into its role in surface lipoprotein translocation. I found that other surface lipoproteins were dependent on 5H3 for surface translocation. I was also able to reconstitute this system in E.coli. While I was unsuccessful at obtaining a crystal structure of 5H3, I was able to identify potential interacting proteins through a pull down and mass spectroscopy experiment. These findings indicate that 5H3 is a non-specific surface lipoprotein transporter and could prove to be a valuable therapeutic target against pathogenic Neisseria.
Uncovering the Cause of A Novel Neurological Syndrome: Autosomal Recessive Non-progressive Dystonia-myoclonus with Sensorineural Hearing Impairment
Keywords: SUCLA2
Dystonia and deafness
Novel neurologic syndrome

Mitochondrial disorders manifest with a spectrum of presentations, most of which are progressive. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA encode proteins that regulate mitochondrial functions; genetic defects in these proteins cause human diseases. A combination of dystonia, sensorineural hearing impairment, and progressive encephalopathy is described in mitochondrial depletion syndrome V, where a nuclear DNA encoded SUCLA2 gene mutation leads to a mitochondrial depletion phenotype. We describe a family manifesting autosomal recessive congenital sensorineural hearing impairment, with a non-progressive childhood-onset movement disorder. In this thesis, I identify a novel mutation in SUCLA2 causing a unique phenotype. The disease is allelic to mitochondrial depletion syndrome type-V but is associated with normal mitochondria as evidenced by muscle histology and biochemical testing. I describe the clinical features and elucidate the pathological basis of this genetic disorder. Then, I explore and implement a rational therapy. The knowledge gained from this study affords significant insights into mitochondrial function.
The Axial Spray Mode I as a Solution for Miniaturized Ion Mobility Spectrometry
Keywords: ion mobility spectrometry
chemical detection
Lab-on-a-chip
e-jet printing
electrospray
electrohydrodynamic jet
Axial spray mode
spindle mode

Miniaturized ion mobility spectrometers present several advantages as portable chemical detection tools. They are fast, simple and inexpensive. However, they still suffer from low resolving power and hard implementation of ion gates in micro scale designs. Even in examples where they are successfully combined, ion gates cause dispersion, compression, and depletion effects that result in ion packets than are wider than desired. This thesis describes an alternative gating method that is free of ion gates and that can be used in liquid phase ion mobility spectrometry (LPIMS), a technique where conventional ion gates are currently unsuitable. A parametric study shows that the method proposed has the potential to achieve resolving powers comparable to macro scale designs if successfully coupled to LPIMS. Observations relating the maximum meniscus height to current measurements are presented and are of particular interest to E-jet printing and similar techniques.
Properties, Dimensions, and Heritability of Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms in a Community Sample of Children and Adolescents
Keywords: obsessive-compulsive disorder
child and adolescent psychiatry
heritability
quantitative trait approach
psychometrics

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a debilitating neuropsychiatric disorder commonly seen in children and adolescents. The etiology of OCD remains elusive mostly due to its complex, heterogeneous phenotype and genotype. Increasing evidence support a multidimensional model of OCD and a continuous nature of obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms in the general population. However, there is limited understanding of OC symptoms in pediatric populations. Using a novel questionnaire, the Toronto Obsessive Compulsive Scale, we investigated properties, dimensions, and heritability of OC symptoms in a community sample of 16,380 children and adolescents, and a sub-sample of 220 twin pairs, respectively. We identified six distinct OC symptom dimensions in our study that parallel those identified in previous studies: (1) Superstition, (2) Cleaning/Contamination, (3) Hoarding, (4) Symmetry/Ordering, (5) Checking/Counting, (6) Rumination. Phenotypic and heritability characteristics of overall and dimensions of OC symptoms are reviewed in detail. Research and clinical implications of the current study are also discussed.
Mechanisms of Atrial Fibrillation in Mice with Genetic Ablation of the α1D L-type Calcium Channel
Keywords: atrial fibrillation
cav1.3
arrhythmia
atria
alternans
electrophysiology
heart
L-type calcium channel

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common supraventricular arrhythmia with a multifactorial pathophysiology. Reductions in α1 L-type calcium channel (LTCC) current (ICaL) and action potential duration is commonly observed in human AF patients. As expected, mice lacking the α1D (Cav1.3) LTCC gene are more susceptible to inducible AF, albeit without a reduction in atrial refractoriness. Despite increased fibrosis and delayed conduction velocity in Cav1.3-/- mice, spectral analysis of AF revealed a highly disorganized pattern consistent with electrical remodeling. Conforming to electrical remodeling, Cav1.3-/- atrial myocytes displayed increased sensitivity to calcium alternans, which was alleviated with inotropic agents and absent in α1C LTCC heterozygous atrial myocytes. In addition, we observed increased electrical alternans in Cav1.3-/- atria, which coupled positively to voltage. These electrical alternans were in-turn associated with AF in Cav1.3-/- atria. Our findings support the conclusion that preferential loss of Cav1.3 promotes calcium alternans, resulting in arrhythmogenic electrical alternans.
Designing ORCIDS: Organizational Communications and Information Distribution System
Keywords: Human centered design
Middleware
Organizational Communications System
Pervasive computing
Publish/Subscribe

Communication between employees is one of the key factors in success of an organization. The nature of work in many organizations requires employees to be constantly mobile and participate in multiple teams. Traditional communication technologies such as Telephone are not efficient and effective. Designing a system that meets organizational objectives and matches users' behaviour requires a multidisciplinary approach. ORganizational Communication and Information Distribution System (ORCIDS) acknowledges the social nature of humans and facilitates users' communication through a novel communication paradigm. ORCIDS integrates the tools and sources of information and allows users to access them throughout their tasks. Following human centred design paradigm, user analysis is carried out using concepts from organizational behaviour and collaboration with industry. User analysis is the basis for defining system requirements. Then, system functionalities are characterized. System architecture is then designed to facilitate system functionalities. Finally, the designed system is evaluated and a prototype is implemented.
L1 and L2 Narrative Development in Emergent Bilinguals
Keywords: Bilinguals
Event schema
Narrative development
Oral narrative production
Scripts

This study investigated the development of oral narrative production in L1 and L2 in English-Hebrew emergent bilingual children and the associations between narrative abilities in both languages. Participants included 33 younger cohort in JK and 24 older cohort in SK. The children's scripts (general descriptions about events) were elicited at two time points over one year. The study included various measures of macro and micro dimensions of narratives that reveal cognitive and linguistic development. Children were able to produce generalized scripts in both languages. L1 narratives have been developing on various complexity indices of macro and micro dimensions, while emergent L2 has been developing on narrative productivity. A cross-linguistic association was noted at the end of grade1 with increased Hebrew language proficiency. The findings suggest that cross-linguistic relations may be independent of linguistic distance. Educational and clinical implications were discussed.
A Twinge and a Wrinkle: Exploring the Role of Negative Affect in Self-control Processing
Keywords: acceptance
behavior
electromyography
emotions
face
mindfulness

Emerging research in social neuroscience has implicated the involvement of negative affect in the instantiation of self-control, and that this involvement is moderated by personality characteristics. Few studies, however, have investigated whether self-control is related to established psychophysiological markers of negative affect. In this study, 70 participants completed an inhibitory-control task while we simultaneously measured the error-related negativity (ERN), an EEG event-related potential (ERP) related to certain kinds of self-control behavior; electromyographic (EMG) activity over the corrugator supercilii, the principle muscle involved in frowning; and PHLMS Acceptance, a personality measure of nonjudgment to emotions and thoughts. Corrugator activity was associated with error responses, and this association was moderated by Acceptance, but it was not associated with any other measurements of self-control; this suggests that corrugator activity is associated with self-control in context-specific ways, and this relation is uniquely shaped by the tendency to not regulate or evaluate emotions and thoughts.
Gender as a Moderator of the Effects of D2 and D2 Dopamine Antagonists on Gambling and Amphetamine Reinforcement in Pathological Gamblers and Healthy Controls
Keywords: Amphetamine
Dopamine D1 receptor
Dopamine D2 receptor
Gender
Pathological gambling
Reinforcement

This study investigated the roles of D1 and D2 dopamine receptors in gambling and amphetamine reinforcement and possible moderating effect of subject's gender in 24 pathological gamblers and 26 controls. Subjects received the D2R antagonist, haloperidol (3- mg), or D1-D2R antagonist, fluphenazine (3-mg) prior to a 15-minute slot machine game or 20-mg amphetamine in a placebo-controlled, counterbalanced, design. Haloperidol alone increased subjective positive states but decreased rewarding effects of gambling and amphetamine. Fluphenazine tended to decrease positive states but increased rewarding effects of the reinforcers. Effects were more pronounced in females and gamblers. The differential effects of antagonists suggest that D1R mediates gambling, and to lesser extent, psychostimulant reinforcement. The pattern of effects suggested an inverted-U relation between D1R stimulation and subjective effects, whereby antagonists increased or decreased reward depending on whether they promoted optimal, supra-optimal, or sub-optimal D1R signaling. This interpretation indicated low baseline D1R availability in females and gamblers.
The Role of Small Rho GTPases Rac1 and Rac2 in Macrophage Polarization
Keywords: GTPases
Macrophage
Polarization
Rac1
Rac2

Macrophages are phagocytic cells of hematopoietic origin. They play an important role in both the adaptive and innate immune systems. Macrophages are able to polarize into either M1 or M2 macrophages based on their microenvironment. M1 macrophages are proinflammatory cells that are key regulators of the immune response but are also known to cause tissue damage and destruction. M2 macrophages are anti-inflammatory involved in wound healing. The key functional differences between these two cell types remains to be fully characterized. The Rac members of the Rho family of small GTPases are known to be regulators of macrophage functions however their roles in M1 and M2 macrophages is unknown. We have shown that M1 macrophages produce more ROS and NO compared to M2 cells. We found differences in morphological as well as functional features of M1 and M2 macrophages, which have important implications in their role in the immune response.
Resting-state Functional Connectivity Predicts Individual Treatment Outcomes of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Major Depressive Disorder
Keywords: depression
dmpfc
dorsomedial prefrontal cortex
support vector machine
tms
transcranial magnetic stimulation

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is an emerging treatment for treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD). We recently found that treatment response to rTMS of the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC) was bimodal, with individual patients showing either minimal or marked improvement (Downar et al., 2013). Here, we tested whether treatment response could be predicted before initiating treatment. To this end, we trained support vector machine (SVM) classifiers on whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fcMRI) data to learn the treatment outcomes of 41 patients who received rTMS of the DMPFC. The SVMs classified patients with 90% accuracy (p = 0.035, corrected). Classification was based on 9 functional connections, with a pattern of positive and negative functional connectivity in non-responders and responders, respectively. This study represents the first step towards developing a screening tool that can direct treatment decisions.
Revolutionizing Sports: The Construction of Sports Culture in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, 1957 - 1959
Keywords: Asia
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
DPRK
History
North Korea
Sports

This thesis examines the construction of sports culture in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) in the late 1950s. Specifically, it focuses on the north's sports spectacles and sports programs in factories in the historical context of the DPRK's post-Korean War reconstruction efforts. Through the close examination of the state's official discourse and imagery in the media, it is clear that the Workers Party of Korea (WPK) considered sports to be an important cultural practice that needed to be revolutionized for the masses. By examining the state's efforts to "revolutionize" sports in the name of socialism, this thesis attempts to illustrate the numerous challenges of interpreting and implementing the WPK's centralized sports policies in the 1950s. In particular, the state's various sports organs were non-uniform and inconsistent in their interpretation and implementation of the Party's sports policies. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to demonstrate that the DPRK's state-controlled sports enterprise was a system that was ultimately centralized, but not necessarily unified, consistent, or exclusively limited to the control of the state.
YAP and TAZ are Mechanoregulators of TGF-β-Smad Signalling and Fibrogenesis
Keywords: Extracellular matrix
Mechanotransduction
Renal Fibrosis
Smad
TGF-β
YAP/TAZ

Kidney stiffening is an important process that precedes fibrosis. YAP and TAZ are mechanosensory proteins that bind to Smad proteins, the canonical mediators of pro-fibrotic TGF-β responses. We demonstrate that YAP/TAZ mediate mechanosensitive responses of fibroblasts to TGF-β and renal fibrogenesis through Smads. Unlike stiff surface effects, soft matrix sequestered YAP/TAZ in the cytosol and impaired TGF-β/Smad signalling. YAP/TAZ inhibition with verteporfin, a clinically approved drug, mimicked this attenuating effect. Surprisingly, we discovered that verteporfin drastically reduced YAP/TAZ expression which inhibited TGF-β/Smad signalling by destabilizing Smad3, an effect that likely underlies its anti-fibrotic activity. In vivo, verteporfin reduced YAP/TAZ and Smad2/3 levels, leading to markedly attenuated kidney fibrosis. Our data suggest that stiffness cooperates with TGF-β to augment fibrosis in a YAP/TAZ- and Smad2/3-dependent manner. Here, we identified a new tool to block the mechano-activation of pro-fibrotic TGF-β signalling, illustrating the potential for “mechano-interference” as a novel anti-fibrotic treatment strategy.
From Pedagogy to Participation: Progressive Youths' Paths to Formal Civic Engagement
Keywords: canada
democracy
education
pedagogy
political participation
voting

Over the past decade, declining electoral engagement among young people has led to a proliferation of research preoccupied with how best to educate for "active citizenship." It is therefore within a context of heightened theoretical attention that this thesis embarks on a unique, retrospective exploration of the relationship between pedagogy and political participation for a diverse group of progressive young adult Canadians. Whereas young people are commonly deemed apathetic, this research conceives of this cohort as mountingly alienated from liberal, capitalist democracy. At the same time, however, this thesis conceives of young progressives‘ electoral participation as strategically necessary, insofar as the collective disengagement of these young adults has a well-documented tendency to benefit those political parties/candidates most radically averse to justice-oriented social change. Ultimately, this research concludes that the capacity of pedagogical interventions to engender participatory tendencies among progressive young people is therefore essential, albeit limited in important ways.