VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Bayes Rules: A Bayesian-Intuit Approach to Legal Evidence
Keywords: Legal Evidence
Bayesianism
Reasoning Fallacies
Intuitive Reasoning

The law too often avoids or misuses statistical evidence. This problem is partially explained by the absence of a shared normative framework for working with such evidence. There is considerable disagreement within the legal community about how statistical evidence relates to legal inquiry. It is proposed that the first step to addressing the problem is to accept Bayesianism as a normative framework that leads to outcomes that largely align with legal intuitions. It is only once this has been accepted that we can proceed to encourage education about common conceptual errors involving statistical evidence as well as techniques to limit their occurrence. Objections to using Bayesianism in the legal context are addressed. It is argued that the objection based on the irrelevance of statistical evidence is fundamentally incoherent in its failure to identify most evidence as statistical. Second, objections to the incompleteness of a Bayesian approach in accounting for non-truth-related values do place legitimate limits on the use of Bayesianism in the law but in no way undermine its normative usefulness. Lastly, many criticisms of the role of Bayesianism in the law rest on misunderstandings of the meaning and manipulation of statistical evidence and are best addressed by presenting statistical evidence in ways that encourage correct understanding. Once it is accepted that, put in its proper place, a Bayesian approach to understanding statistical evidence can align with most fundamental legal intuitions, a less fearful approach to the use of statistical evidence in the law can emerge.
Making Crime TV: Producing Fictional Representations of Crime for Canadian Television
Keywords: representations of crime
cultural criminology
actor network theory
television production studies

Criminologists and sociolegal scholars have become increasingly interested in studying media representations of crime in popular culture. They have studied representations using content analyses, often examining their “accuracy” against academic research. Alternatively, these scholars have also studied media effects. In contrast to these studies, I focus on the television production process of making entertaining, dramatic representations of crime. In doing so, I empirically address the following research question: how do TV writers know about crime, and how do they transform that knowledge into fictional representations? I answer this question using a triangulation of methods to gather data – specifically, ethnography, archival research, and interviews with writers and producers – and through the juxtaposition of several case studies. My case studies include the following Canadian crime television programs: 1) the police drama 'The Bridge,' 2) an original Canadian drama about insurance fraud, 'Cra$h and Burn,' and 3) crime docudramas, such as 'F2: Forensic Factor' and 'Exhibit A: Secrets of Forensic Science.' Taking cues from Bruno Latour’s actor-network theory, I focus on the site-specific, concrete, dynamic processes through which each television production makes fiction. I conceive of the writers’ room as a laboratory that creates representations through collaborative action and trial and error. This research demonstrates that, during the production process, representations of crime are unstable, constantly in flux as various creative and legal entities compel their revision. Legal entities, such as Errors and Omissions insurance and broadcasters’ Standards and Practices, regulate the content and form of representations of crime prior to their airing. My findings also reveal the contingency of (commercial) success, the heterogeneity of people who make up television production staff, and the piecemeal state of knowledge that circulates between producers, network executives and writers.
Component Modeling and Three-phase Power-flow Analysis for Active Distribution Systems
Keywords: Smart Grids
Voltage-Sourced Converter
Active Distribution Networks
Three-Phase Power-Flow

This thesis presents a novel, fast, and accurate 3 steady-state power-flow analysis (PFA) tool for the real-time operation of the active distribution systems, also known as the active distribution networks (ADN), in the grid-tied and islanded operating modes. Three-phase power-flow models of loads, transformers, and multi-phase power lines and laterals are provided. This thesis also presents novel steady-state, fundamental-frequency, power-flow models of voltage-sourced converter (VSC)-based distributed energy resource (DER) units. The proposed models address a wide array of DER units, i.e., (i) variable-speed wind-driven doubly-fed asynchronous generator-based and (ii) single/three-phase VSC-coupled DER units. In addition, a computationally-efficient technique is proposed and implemented to impose the operating constraints of the VSC and the host DER unit within the context of the developed PFA tool. Novel closed forms for updating the corresponding VSC power and voltage reference set-points are proposed to guarantee that the power-flow solution fully complies with the VSC constraints. All the proposed DER models represent (i) the salient VSC control strategies and objectives under balanced and unbalanced power-flow scenarios and (ii) all the operating limits and constraints of the VSC and its host DER unit. Also, the slack bus concept is revisited, associated with the PFA, where a 3 distributed slack bus (DSB) model is proposed for the PFA and operation of islanded ADNs. Distributing the real and reactive slack power among several DER units is essential to provide a realistic power-flow approach for ADNs in the absence of the utility bus. The proposed DSB model is integrated with the developed 3 PFA tool to form a complete ADN PFA package. The new PFA tool, including the proposed DER and DSB models, is tested using several benchmark networks of different sizes, topologies, and parameters. Many case studies, encompassing a wide spectrum of DER control specifications and operating modes, are conducted to demonstrate (i) the numerical accuracy of the proposed models of the DER units and their operating constraints, (ii) the effectiveness of the proposed DSB model for the islanded ADN PFA, and (iii) the computational efficiency of the integrated PFA software tool irrespective of the network topology and parameters.
Exploring the Roles of Lysine Deacetylases in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Keywords: Cell cycle
Lysine Deacetylase
Functional Genomics

This work investigates two distinct roles of lysine deacetylases (KDACs) in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The first part focused on the classical, well characterized role of KDACs as transcriptional regulators and deciphering their role in G1 transcription. I show that two yeast KDACs, Rpd3 and Hos3 are recruited to G1 promoters through their interactions with the negative regulator Whi5 and that these KDACs are necessary for proper Whi5-mediated repression. The second part examines a newly discovered role for KDACs extending their role beyond the chromatin as modifiers of proteins other than the histones. I present here the first systematic approach that comprehensively examines these non-histone targets of KDACs in vivo. I identified 73 non-histone proteins acetylated in vivo involved in diverse cellular processes. Swi4, a component of the G1 transcription factor SBF, was identified in the Rpd3 screen and I show that the interaction between Swi4 and its heterodimeric partner Swi6 was regulated by acetylation. My findings significantly expand the scope of the yeast acetylome and demonstrate the utility of systematic functional genomic screens to explore enzymatic pathways.
“Governing” the “Girl Effect” through Sport, Gender and Development? Postcolonial Girlhoods, Constellations of Aid and Global Corporate Social Engagement
Keywords: global governance
sociology of sport
postcolonial feminist theory
girlhood studies
corporate social responsibility
international relations

The “Girl Effect” is becoming a growing global movement that assumes young women are catalysts capable of bringing social and economic change to their families, communities and countries, particularly in the Two-Thirds World. The evolving discourse associated with the Girl Effect movement holds implications for sport, gender and development (SGD) programs. Increasingly, SGD interventions are funded and implemented by transnational corporations (TNCs) as part of the mounting portfolio of global corporate social engagement (GCSE) initiatives in development. Drawing on postcolonial feminist international relations theory, cultural studies of girlhood, sociology of sport and governmentality studies, the purpose of this study was to explore: a) how young women in Eastern Uganda experience SGD programs; and b) how constellations of aid relations among a sport transnational corporation (STNC), international non-governmental organization (INGO), and southern non-governmental organization (SNGO) impacted and influenced the ways that SGD programs are executed, implemented and “taken up” by young women. This study used qualitative methods, including 35 semi-structured in-depth interviews with organizational staff members and young women, participant observation and document analysis in order to investigate how a SGD program in Eastern Uganda that is funded by a STNC and INGO used martial arts to build young women’s self-defence skills to help address gender-based, sexual and domestic violence. Results revealed martial arts programming increased confidence, challenged gender norms, augmented social networks and provided social entrepreneurial opportunities. At the same time, the program also attempted to govern young women’s sexuality and health, but did so while ignoring culturally distinct gender relations. Findings also highlighted the colonial residue and power of aid relations, STNC’s brand authority over SGD programming, the involvement of Western actors in locating “authentic” subaltern stories about social entrepreneurial work in SGD, and how the politics of the “global” sisterhood is enmeshed in saving “distant others” in gender and development work. Overall, this study found that the drive for GCSE, when entangled with neo-liberal globalization, impels actors working in SGD to look to social innovation and entrepreneurship as strategies for survival in an increasingly competitive international development climate.
Ptolemy’s Planetary Theory: An English Translation of Book One, Part A of the Planetary Hypotheses with Introduction and Commentary
Keywords: History of Science
Ptolemy
Ancient Science

This study comprises a translation and commentary of Book I of the Planetary Hypotheses by the second century A.D. Greco-Roman astronomer, Claudius Ptolemy. It closely examines the Planetary Hypotheses on its own and in relation to Ptolemy’s other writings. Where necessary I rely on astronomical, philosophical, and technological works by other writers in order to better situate Ptolemy’s ideas into the context of Greco-Roman science. The dissertation is organized into three sections. Section I consists of an extended introduction to the Planetary Hypotheses. I offer a synopsis of the Planetary Hypotheses and a history of the text in Sections I.1 and I.2. Section I.3 consists of a brief introduction to notation and sexagesimal numbers while Section I.4 analyzes the aim and function of Ptolemy’s planetary models. Section II is a translation of the existing Greek text of the Planetary Hypotheses, namely Book I Part A, and a précis of Book I, Part B. The translation is made from J.L. Heiberg’s edited Greek text and the précis relies on the English translation by Bernard Goldstein, the French translation by Regis Morelon, and the Arabic Manuscripts found in the British Library (Arabic-A) and the Library at the University of Leiden (Arabic-B). The footnotes include variant readings from the different Greek and Arabic Manuscripts. A list of all existing manuscripts of the Planetary Hypotheses can be found in Section I.2 Section III is a commentary of the entirety of Book I (Parts A and B). This section is arranged so that it loosely follows the order of topics found in the Planetary Hypotheses. Section III.1 examines the Planetary Hypotheses in terms of instrument-making. Section III.2 discusses the geometric models that Ptolemy presents along with a discussion of the changes that he makes. I give an overview of the period relations and mean motions presented in the Planetary Hypotheses in Section III.3 and III.4 and the new frame of reference in Section III.5. Section III.6 briefly examines Book II of the Planetary Hypotheses and Section III.7 addresses the relationship of Book I and Book II and contextualizes this work in the history of Greco-Roman science. Finally, Section III.8 examines the role the Planetary Hypotheses played in developments within Medieval Islamic astronomy. While I focus on the changes that Ptolemy made to the models in the Planetary Hypotheses from his theories in the Canobic Inscription, Handy Tables, and the Almagest, this work aims to explore the motivations behind these changes. Additionally, I contextualize the Planetary Hypotheses within Greco-Roman and Islamic astronomy and technology. What emerges from this dissertation is a consideration of Ptolemy’s ideas about the practice of science and an analysis of how he modeled astronomical observations.
Human Lung Progenitor Populations in End-stage Lung Disease and Transplantation.
Keywords: lung transplant
progenitor cell

Bone marrow-derived progenitor cell populations have been implicated in tissue regeneration and also in human disease pathology. This thesis investigated the hypothesis that Clara Cell Secretory Protein positive (CCSP+) epithelial-like progenitor cells and circulating fibrocyte numbers are altered in human lung disease and injury, and aimed to determine the predictive value of these cell profiles. It was found that cystic fibrosis patients have an increased number of CCSP+ cells in their bone marrow and peripheral blood, while patients with bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) have a decreased number. In addition, BOS and pulmonary fibrosis patients have increased circulating fibrocytes. In response to ischemia reperfusion injury, an increase in CCSP+ cells in the peripheral blood was found at 24 hrs following lung transplant. Lastly, in patients studied greater than 1-year from transplant, those diagnosed with BOS had a higher number of fibrocytes and a loss of CCSP+ peripheral blood cells when compared to patients with stable lung function, with increased fibrocytes being associated with time post-transplant. In these patients, the ratio of fibrocytes-to-CCSP+ cells was predictive of lung function. Multiplex protein arrays were used to investigate corresponding patient plasma, aiming to elucidate key mediators of progenitor cell recruitment. While differences in various cytokines were found between end-stage diseases, a specific relationship between Stem Cell Growth Factor- and CCSP+ cells was identified and between Monocyte Chemotactic Protein-1 and fibrocytes. Conversely, response of CCSP+ cells following transplant appears to be mediated by known mobilizing factors SDF-1 and GM-CSF. Interestingly, in patients followed long-term after transplant, MCP-1 was associated with the number of CCSP+ cells, while SDF-1 correlated with fibrocyte numbers. These observations suggest common pathways acting on both populations that may be altered by the microenvironment, and may further suggest a common origin. This work contributes important information regarding changes in lung progenitor cells and their association with human disease and tissue repair, which could ultimately support future directions that directly advance therapy and improve patient care.
Sessile Water Droplets: Equilibrium and Evaporation
Keywords: Water Sessile Droplet
Evaporation

The ζ-adsorption isotherm was used along with Gibbsian thermodynamics to determine an expression for the surface tension of solid-vapour interface. This expression was examined at low pressures to predict the surface tension of solids in the absence of adsorption, γS0. The method indicated the same value of γS0 for a solid using different vapour adsorption isotherms. A method based on the system stability was developed to predict the contact angle. The findings indicated that the contact angle is a thermodynamic property which depends on the state of the system. Furthermore, the dependence of contact angle on the curvature of three-phase contact line was described by the adsorption at the solid-liquid interface without the introduction of line tension. The energy transport mechanisms during steady-state evaporation of water-sessile droplets were studied. By suppressing the buoyancy-driven convection, the active modes of energy transport were thermal conduction and thermocapillary convection. The experiments on Cu, Au (111) and PDMS showed that the dominant mode of energy transport varies along the liquid-vapor interface. Near the droplet apex, thermal conduction provides enough energy for the evaporation. However, close to three-phase contact line where most of the evaporation occurs, thermocapillary convection is by far the dominant mode of energy transport. In the evaporation experiments on PDMS, the measured directions of thermocapillary convection were opposite of the predicted ones by other studies, since the energy carried by thermocapillary convection was neglected in the previous studies. The study was followed by examination of temperature boundary condition and energy transport at the solid-liquid interface. It was concluded that there is an adsorbed layer at the solid-liquid interface with different thermal properties compared to those of bulk liquid phase. This layer causes a resistance (Kapitsa resistance) and consequently a temperature discontinuity at the adsorbed layer-bulk liquid interface. Due to the high resistance at this interface, only a small portion of energy conducted by solid substrate enters directly to the bulk liquid phase. The remainder was transported through the adsorbed layer to the three-phase contact line. This energy was then distributed along the liquid-vapour interface by thermocapillary convection to be consumed by the evaporation process.
Generation and Characterization of Induced Neural Progenitor Cell Lines
Keywords: Neural Progenitor Cells
Doxycycline Inducibile Expression
N-MYC
Regenerative Medicine

Large-scale expansion of lineage-committed stem cells can provide an excellent ex vivo model for studying complex molecular pathways governing cell fate choices. Also, such cells could be useful for implementing cell therapeutic approaches for treatment of specific disorders involving extensive cellular damage within that lineage. Using growth factors, pluri- and multipotent stem cells have been successfully isolated and cultured from pre- and peri-implantation stage embryos, including trophectoderm, primitive ectoderm, epiblast and primitive endoderm. However, ex vivo expansion of lineage restricted cells from later embryonic lineages and adult tissues have been a challenge. N-myc is a well-characterized member of myc gene family that is known to be essential for the proliferation of numerous progenitor cell types during normal embryonic development of diverse organs including lungs, liver, heart, kidneys and brain. Considering this important role of N-myc, we hypothesized that its regulated activation in these progenitors might allow their expansion in culture. To test this hypothesis, we generated a novel doxycycline-inducible transgenic mouse line that expresses N-myc uniformly across all tissues. Using cortical precursors derived from mid-gestation embryos of these mice, we show that upon doxycycline induced N-myc expression, we can achieve at least a million-fold expansion of multipotent neural precursors within a short span of time in culture. When doxycycline is withdrawn, N-myc expression is turned off and the cells differentiate into neurons and glia. An extensive characterization of the expanded cells revealed that the cells retained their differentiation potential, genomic stability and commitment specific to their origin. The tetracycline-inducible N-myc expressing mouse line might also serve as a source for establishing other than neural lineage committed progenitor cell lines where N-myc has a known role in regulating cell proliferation and differentiation decisions.
Biomarkers of Severe Malaria: Complement Activation and Dysregulated Angiogenesis in Placental Malaria and Cerebral Malaria
Keywords: Malaria
Biomarker
Pregnancy
Complement
Angiogenesis

Biomarkers measured in the blood can provide information about disease pathophysiology, diagnosis and prognosis. Pronounced proinflammatory responses are characteristic of severe malaria, and excessive activation of the immune system is central to the pathophysiology of both cerebral malaria and placental malaria. Severe malaria is characterized by cytoadherence of parasitized erythrocytes to the microvasculature; impaired tissue perfusion; dysregulated inflammatory responses; and activation of the complement system, mononuclear cells, and endothelium. Despite the availability of effective antimalarial drugs, the mortality rate in severe malaria remains unacceptably high. To glean further insight into malaria pathophysiology, we investigated host biomarkers of immune activation in the blood of subjects with different manifestations of severe disease. C5 has been identified as being necessary and sufficient for the development of experimental cerebral malaria. We hypothesized that C5a (a terminal component of the complement cascade with potent inflammatory properties) may mediate its action by inducing and exacerbating inflammatory processes in severe malaria, leading to endothelial activation and dysregulated angiogenesis. I tested this hypothesis in vitro, and found that C5a interacted with malaria toxin PfGPI to drive deleterious inflammatory and anti-angiogenic responses. As C5a and anti-angiogenic factor sFlt-1 have been implicated in models of pathologic pregnancies, we asked whether increased levels of C5a in subjects with placental malaria were associated with altered angiogenesis and poor birth outcomes. Our results suggest that C5a impairs angiogenic remodelling in placental malaria leading to vascular insufficiency and fetal growth restriction. Further, altered profiles of inflammatory and angiogenic biomarkers in the periphery may identify occult placental malaria infections. We extended these observations to cerebral malaria where similar pathogenic pathways contribute to disease pathophysiology. In adults and children with cerebral malaria, altered profiles of angiogenic proteins were associated with disease severity and mortality and represent putative diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in severe malaria.