VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The Role of Endothelial Cell Cis-acting DNA Elements in Regulating Hemodynamic-mediated Changes in Gene Expression
Keywords: Atherosclerosis
Endothelial cells
Epigenomics
Hemodynamic forces
Nitric oxide synthase type III
Shear stress

Endothelial cells (ECs) form the inner lining of blood vessels and are exposed to blood flow, which exerts a frictional hemodynamic force known as shear stress (SS). ECs are professional SS sensors, as they can sense and respond to the stimulus of blood flow, and gene expression in ECs is profoundly responsive to changes in SS. The expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), which produces the vasodilator nitric oxide (NO), is highly restricted to arterial ECs. eNOS expression is decreased in ECs overlying human atherosclerotic lesions, occurring at bifurcations and curvatures in the arterial tree, and this expression is increased with laminar flow. We have identified two cis-elements in the eNOS gene promoter that mediate its flow effect, namely the Shear Stress Response Element (SSRE) and the Krüppel-like factor (KLF) binding element, both in vitro and in vivo. We generated insertional transgenic mice with a mutation at each element, using a murine eNOS promoter-β-galactosidase reporter. The SSRE mutation abolished eNOS transcription while the KLF mutation showed an integration site-specific decrease in transcription and both mutations were associated with hypermethylation at the eNOS proximal promoter. This data revealed that both elements are necessary, and neither element alone is sufficient for eNOS transcription in vivo and the maintenance of a transcriptionally permissive, hypomethylated eNOS promoter. Furthermore, like eNOS, other arterial EC genes are regulated by blood flow through these cis-elements and chromatin-based epigenetic mechanisms. The transcription factors (TFs) that bind to the SSRE remained unknown after one hour of SS. Using biotin-streptavidin affinity pulldowns with mass spectrometry (MS) and in silico analysis, we investigated three target proteins of interest, ZC3H18, RASIP1, and PPARg, observed to bind to the SSRE. Each protein exerts distinct effects on flow-responsive genes of interest, and the genes themselves are differentially regulated by SS. In conclusion, we describe the important in vivo function of SS-responsive cis-DNA elements and their connection to epigenetics. Additionally, we explore proteins that bind to the SSRE as a nucleoprotein complex. Understanding these TFs can provide insight into potential novel regulators of the EC response to SS and the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases.
Field-Testing the SCAR-Q, A New Patient-Reported Outcome Measure for Scars
Keywords: Outcomes
Patient-Reported Outcome Measures
PROMs
Scars
Treatment

Millions of scars are formed each year from surgery, trauma, and burns. Scars are known to increase anxiety in traumatic scars, impair physical functioning in burn contractures, and impact health-related quality of life in individuals with facial scars. However, until this time, a comprehensive review examining the psychosocial and quality of life impact has not been conducted across all scar etiologies. A scoping review found that scars of all etiologies have a negative psychosocial and quality of life impact regardless of etiology. Second, a new patient-reported outcome measure, the SCAR-Q, was developed and field-tested. 773 individuals were consented and 731 patients completed the SCAR-Q from the ages of 8 to 88 years representing 354 surgical, 199 traumatic, and 184 burn scars in seven centers in four countries. The analysis resulted in refinement of the Appearance, Symptoms, and Psychosocial Impact scales. Differential item functioning by age, gender, country, and scar etiologies supported using a common scoring algorithm for each scale and for international use. In addition, not only are scar ubiquitous but there has been a subsequent rise in the number of scar revisions performed. A multivariable logistic regression analysis found the perception of scarring badly and having a bothersome scar were independent risk factors for low SCAR-Q scores and for reporting the need for future scar revision surgeries. This study lays the groundwork for the use of the SCAR-Q in children and adults internationally for clinical use, research trials, and quality improvement initiatives. In addition, evidence of the negative psychosocial and quality of life impact of scars on the individual suggests that individuals with scars may require additional health resources to aid in coping. Finally, those who perceive themselves as being poor healers and have a bothersome scar have an increased risk of reporting low SCAR-Q scores and revision surgery. This information provides the clinician with a better understanding of which patients are at highest risk of having appearance-related concerns, suffer from scar-related symptomatology, or experience a negative psychosocial impact as related to their scar.
Belarusian Transnational Networks and Armed Conflict, 1921-1956
Keywords: Belarus
Cold War
collaboration
insurgency
Second World War

Belarusian Transnational Networks and Armed Conflict, 1921 - 1956 traces a network of nationalists who, from 1921 to 1956, worked in pursuit of Belarusian independence. They began their activism in a shattered, post-First World War Belarus, pushing for the development of Belarusian nationalism and identity. They later collaborated with the Germans during the Second World War and actively participated in violence against locals through anti-partisan campaigns and nationally driven conflict. Those in positions of power organized armed groups for a potential Belarusian fighting force. Regardless of their past, many of these individuals were later recruited by western intelligence services as anti-Soviet agents and were given resources to fund the Belarusian national cause as émigrés. This dissertation contributes to and stands out from current historiography through its focus on a particular Belarusian cast of characters that, in turn, necessitates an elongated periodization of the struggle for self-determination. The chronological elongation departs from existing literature that focuses on specific chapters of Belarusian history, usually demarcated by official periods of war. This study challenges those disparate periods and argues for their collective analysis. This work’s importance also rests on its utilization of untapped archival material coming from declassified files in the National Archives in College Park Maryland, the International Tracing Service, and Belarusian regional archives. Both the inclusion of this material and the extended periodization expose the fluidity of networks to adapt under different conditions, muddling traditional categorizations of such groups as either “anti-Polish”, “anti-German”, or “anti-Soviet”. My approach situates this study as a microhistorical work in a global context. In doing so, the research contributes to the field of Russian and East European Studies by underscoring the need to expand our spatial and temporal understanding of the region. The central historical stage is not geographically constrained to only this part of the world but spans several continents. Focusing on Belarusian nationalists, imbedded within larger forces of war and violence, produces a study that is relevant both in its local and transnational historical value.
Loyalty, Treason and Legitimacy during the Foreign Occupation of Russia (1608-1617)
Keywords: Duke Karl Filip of Sweden
Mikhail Romanov
Prince Wladyslaw of Poland
Second False Dmitrii
Time of Troubles
Vasilii Shuiskii

At the beginning of the 17th century, Russia was engulfed in a political crisis fostered by the death of the last member of the ruling dynasty and the appearance of pretenders claiming to be the son of Tsar Ivan IV. The success of the second pretender, known as the Second False Dmitrii, and Moscow’s inability to mount a proper defense forced Tsar Vasilii Shuiskii to accept Swedish help, which in return led the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to intervene. What started as a civil war for the Russian throne was transformed into a regional conflict between the Russo-Swedish alliance and the Commonwealth. This conflict was not a simple fight for supremacy in the Russian lands, but a contest of legitimacy among various individuals, who presented themselves as legitimate candidates who would defend the population against their enemies, protect Orthodoxy and restore social order. Historians have often overlooked the role of Sweden in this contest, focusing instead on the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This dissertation shows that Sweden played an unequivocally significant role in this contest of legitimacy. It fragmented allegiances across the Russian lands and transformed the fight for the Russian throne into a multinational contest to convince Russian cities to pledge allegiance to various candidates in order to obtain protection against the Polish-Lithuanian, Swedish or cossack invaders. The alliance with Sweden damaged Shuiskii’s authority, which ultimately led to a coup against him and the selection of Wladyslaw to the throne of Russia in August 1610, pushing the Swedes to conquer Novgorod and several surrounding cities in June 1611. As the Polish candidacy failed and the candidacy of Duke Karl Filip of Sweden was being considered by the two national militias created in response to the Polish threat, the cossacks located in Moscow lost patience and imposed the candidacy of Mikhail Romanov at the beginning of 1613. While Mikhail proved that he could fulfill the obligations associated with his title, the Swedes failed to maintain Novgorod’s loyalty when the king of Sweden attempted to gain power for himself. By 1615, Mikhail Romanov’s legitimacy on the throne was accepted across the Russian state.
Zandi Vahman Yasht : A Zoroastrian Apocalypse in New Persian
Keywords: Apocalypse
Zand-i Vahman Yasht
Zoroastrianism
ZWY

The genesis of the apocalyptic genre of literature and the role Iranian traditions played in this context has been the center of attention in recent decades. The uncertainty over the origin of apocalypticism has demonstrated the need for a more contemporaneous and complete survey of the history of the Zand ī Wahman Yašt, the most important Zoroastrian text in apocalyptic genre. In this text, Ahura Mazda (the supreme God in Zoroastrianism) foretells the apocalyptic events at the End of Time to Zoroaster in a prophetic dream and explains the calamities that the Iranian nation and Zoroastrian believers will have to endure. The present study investigates, edits, and translates the New Persian version of the ZWY for the first time, and argues that the ZWYᴺᴾ is not a translation of the extant Pahlavi ZWY and must have derived from another recension of the apocalyptic materials in Pahlavi. Nevertheless, there are several unsettled problems associated with the ZWYᴾᵃʰ· that can be solved with the help of the ZWYᴺᴾ. The ZWYᴺᴾ contains several paragraphs of significant length missing from both the ZWYᴾᵃʰ· and the Pāzand ZWY. These passages find resemblance in other Zoroastrian apocalyptic texts. There are several uncertainties in these shared passages, and the present dissertation has proposed new solutions to these old problems with the help of the information contained in the ZWYᴺᴾ. For example, there are several unspecified kings/conquerors in the text who were previously misidentified. These characters are reexamined, and new identifications are proposed. Additionally, several toponyms/ethnonyms are re-evaluated, and all are demonstrated to be in east Iran. Finally, it is proposed that the ZWY is the product of the turbulent era in the first half of the 8th c. CE in east Iran and Central Asia when the Umayyads had lost control over most of the region and the indigenous population and their local rulers were trying to regain their autonomy by siding with the Turks. This is when the descendants of Yazdgird III, the last Sasanian Emperor, sought refuge in the region and were able to establish a short-lived court-in-exile with the help of the Chinese. The character of Bahrām-i varjāvand in the ZWY and in other Zoroastrian apocalyptic texts is mainly formed after one of these Sasanian princes, and Padišxwārgar, their last stronghold, is where the apocalyptic Wahrām is expected to emerge from.
Projected Visions: László Moholy-Nagy, Thomas Wilfred, and Light Art in the Twentieth Century
Keywords: László Moholy-Nagy
Light
Light Art
Thomas Wilfred

“Projected Visions” explores electric light as a medium in twentieth and twenty-first century light art. Light art is a visual art that takes as its medium dynamic and real-time light. This dissertation discusses several light art practices to identify questions related to space, time, and perception that have been significant to the development and conceptualization of light as an artistic medium. It begins with an exploration of the careers and writings of early light artists László Moholy-Nagy and Thomas Wilfred, examining their use of projected light to create reflective viewing experiences. Moholy-Nagy and Wilfred aimed to “paint with light itself” rather than to represent light through pigment. Within Moholy-Nagy’s writing, the photogram is theorized as a screen for capturing dynamic light, while the use of multiple screens is considered to enable spatial montages that activate the space of the viewer. For the theosophically inclined Thomas Wilfred, the immersive screen acted as a window into a higher realm of consciousness, and he hoped that his Lumia compositions would hold spiritual associations for viewers. These practices present early examples of the unravelling distinction between the sculptural, the architectural, and the cinematic. This comparative study of Moholy-Nagy and Wilfred moreover reveals the different emphasis that each placed on priority, originality, and medium specificity in their theorization of light art. The dissertation further explores the legacies of these earlier light artists and the experiences that contemporary light artists intend to facilitate. It considers the ways in which contemporary artists, such as Olafur Eliasson and Robert Irwin, continue to employ light to provoke self-reflective, critical, and participatory viewing experiences. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of contemporary artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, who questions the promises of participation, interaction, and connection that are viewed as inherent to the medium of projected light. Lozano-Hemmer’s practice critiques the dualities that are still ingrained in definitions of light. His work and artistic theory engages with various strands of the history of light art and display outlined in this dissertation.
Development, Modeling and Characterization of Novel Superhydrophobic and Icephobic Surfaces
Keywords: Anti-icing
Contact angle
Icephobicity
Nanocomposite
Superhydrophobicity
Wettability

Superhydrophobicity is used to define surfaces with extreme water repellency, while icephobicity defines surfaces that resist ice accretion. These features are governed by surface chemistry and surface structure. Whilst significant progress has been made in the development of superhydrophobic and icephobic surfaces, a number of major challenges persist that would limit their application. These challenges, which include functionality and durability, have motivated the undertaking of this research. Specifically, the main objective of this research was to develop novel superhydrophobic and icephobic surfaces, characterize their functional behavior and durability and explore their potential applications. Five aspects of the work were accordingly examined. The first was devoted to the development of comprehensive finite element simulations to predict the wettability of textured surfaces. The outcome of this study provided guidelines for the development of the devised superhydrophobic surfaces. The second was concerned with the development of novel superhydrophobic nanocomposite surfaces using scalable fabrication techniques. Two different polymeric binders (silicone and siloxane-modified epoxy) and functionalized silica nanoparticles as nanofillers were considered in developing these nanocomposites. Additionally, these surfaces were bifurcated into coatings and bulk-synthesized monoliths with an intrinsic regenerative capability, which allowed the restoration of their characteristics after suffering surface deterioration. The third was devoted to the characterization of the newly developed superhydrophobic surfaces using advanced imaging techniques and subjecting them to various environmental and mechanical tests to assess their functionality and durability. In the fourth, a highly coupled multiphysics-multiphase model, incorporating the finite volume method, was developed to simulate the impact and freezing dynamics response of supercooled droplets impinging superhydrophobic and icephobic surfaces that are maintained at subfreezing temperatures. This fundamental study provided the guidelines necessary for the development of the devised icephobic surfaces. The fifth was devoted to the development of novel icephobic surfaces that makes use of the newly developed superhydrophobic nanocomposites and ascertain their potential for use in anti-icing applications. The work was further extended to demonstrate the potential of the developed superhydrophobic surfaces to combat the transmission and spread of COVID-19 through fomites. A three-step combat strategy was proposed, linking virus encapsulation, contamination suppression, and virus elimination.
Down the Rabbit Hole: Following Science Fiction into Theatre and Performance
Keywords: perfromance
science fiction
theatre

Sf theatre performances have often been cast as a secondary to the sf production in literature, film, and television. In contrast, my dissertation considers sf plays as idiosyncratic phenomena with their own tools and approaches that inform theatre and performance discourses, as well as the shape of the sf genre. I explore two communities of practice and their sf theatre festivals: the London-based Cyborphic (Talos festival), and the Chicago-based Otherworld Theatre (Paragon festival). In this, my work opens new perspectives in sf theatre and performance research and traces the continuing work of small theatres that bring sf to their audiences as an embodied and immediate experience that reflect the expectations, hopes, and anxieties about the future of the world. The first section provides an insight into a rationale and justification for studying sf in theatre. In it I propose that sf (in) theatre can be read and interpreted in four different ways: as a performance of a genre; as a representation of scientific speculations and their cultural, ethical, and social implications; as an experience; and as a methodology. These four ways of reading and interpreting sf theatre also correspond to the chapters in the dissertation: chapter 2 addresses performance of sf as a genre, chapter 3 and 4 detail how the theme of space travel and the figures of the robot and the alien can be read as representations of scientific speculations and a method of coming to terms with the strange and the unknown. Finally, chapter 5 focuses on the experiential function of sf theatre that helps sensitize the audiences and performers to the strange. With this, my thesis, unlike the current scholarship about sf theatre, shifts from the semiotic towards an integrated, embodied, and phenomenological understanding of sf plays and performances, and explores how the sf genre is created and transformed at small sf theatre festivals. I argue that tracing the tools and methods of sf theatre reaches beyond theatre and informs the ways we navigate the changing technological societies in the post-industrial West.
The Rhythmic Voyage of the Performer: A Rhythmanalysis of Three Collectives
Keywords: butoh
dance
mime
rhythm
rhythmanalysis
theatre

This dissertation examines the role rhythm plays in the performing body. Extending from Henri Lefebvre’s incipient Rhythmanalysis, the thesis gathers rhythmic concepts posited by historical theatre and dance practitioners, such as Konstantin Stanislavski, Vsevolod Meyerhold, Doris Humphrey, and Rudolf von Laban, as well as other schools of thought, including cognitive psychology and phenomenology, in order to outline an analytical framework that can serve to better understand how performers work with rhythm on stage. The rhythmanalytical framework centers on a nautical metaphor, which aids in simplifying analysis of rhythm in performance. The key elements of the framework include: the voyage, which relates to the overriding rhythms in a whole performance; the waves, which reference a performer’s mental score and work; the vessel, which pertains to rhythms in the body; the ecosystem, which references external rhythmic sources on stage; and surfing, which concerns how the performer syncs up with rhythmic sources. Together, these five elements allow one to consider the dynamic interplay of polyrhythms at any given moment during a performance, whether deriving from the performer’s physical or mental work, the performance text, a director’s overall scoring, or scenographic and design elements.Following the establishment of the rhythmanalytical framework, this new tool is applied to the analysis of three currently practicing performance collectives: Mime Omnibus, Dairakudakan, and SITI Company. Each company has been performing for decades and has established a codified training practice, which aids in comparing their processes. For each company, two to four recent works are examined through performance observation, archival consultation, participation in training workshops, and, most importantly, personal interviews with the artists. The information gleaned from this research is consolidated using the rhythmanalytical framework, allowing for a better understanding of rhythm’s role for performers in each of the company’s works, as well as allowing for initial comparisons across the three case studies. The rhythmanalysis simultaneously proffers pertinent historiographic data on works by the three companies. The dissertation concludes with an evaluation of the rhythmanalytical framework. It outlines the benefits of the tool, areas for improvement and ways to modify the framework for further applications.