VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Licence to Spill? Developing a Framework for International Liability and Compensation for Transboundary Pollution Arising From Offshore Drilling Activities
Keywords: compensation
international law
liability
offshore drilling
oil pollution
polluter-pays principle

As new drilling technology enables exploitation of more and more previously inaccessible areas, there is renewed concern over the risk of catastrophic oil spills. Drilling in deeper waters increases the difficulties of remedying a blowout. Thus, there is a greater risk of extensive oil pollution damage. The Montara and Deepwater Horizon incidents illustrate the potential damage that catastrophic oil spills from offshore platforms may cause. Under the no-harm rule, states have an obligation of due diligence to ensure that offshore drilling activities within their jurisdiction do not cause harm to the environment of another state. However, even if a state has exercised its obligation of due diligence under the no-harm rule, a catastrophic oil spill may still occur. Under such circumstances, there is a gap in the law where liability and compensation is concerned. Hence, there is a need for an international civil liability convention for offshore drilling activities.
Judicial and Political Decisions from a Critical Psychology Perspective
Keywords: C.G. Jung
critical psychology
democracy
judicial decision-making
political decision-making
rational consciousness

Judicial and Political Decisions from a Critical Psychology Perspective Kristine Arnet Connidis Doctor of Juridical Science Faculty of Law University of Toronto 2015 ABSTRACT I examine conflicting judicial and political decisions from the critical psychology perspective of Jung's theory of different psychological functions and corresponding types of conscious viewpoints. I apply that theory as a realistic approach to refining judicial and political processes and the relationship between them. I do so in a thoroughly interdisciplinary way, aiming for accuracy and fullness in both the psychological and the institutional functions. Judicial decision-making can uniquely provide a rational viewpoint of `concrete thinking' (as Jung probingly defined it), guided by an ideal of Justice, well-developed by judges as experts in this task, within court processes designed to facilitate it. Political decision-making (legislative and executive) can uniquely provide a well-developed rational viewpoint of citizens' shared `feeling evaluation' (as Jung defined it), guided by any of a number of ideals, led by politicians, who have resources designed for carrying it out, and who should also practice as experts in their exclusive role. Their two distinct viewpoints (reflecting familiar `hallmarks') are specialized, one-sided, `complementary opposites': Potentially oppositional and inherently complementary, the brilliance of one precisely compensates a blind-spot in the other. An `interplay' (or dialogue) between them on a contested topic enables them to refine each other's viewpoints and together differentiate and extend the overall rational grasp of the topic, in their own decisions and, through them, in the conscious attitudes and actions of the society as a whole. This shifts the perspective on difficult issues in positive and practical ways. It explains the importance of appreciating and refining what is distinct about judicial and political decisions, and about their dialogue. Among its helpful applications are the fresh reinforcements it gives to judicial decision-makers, to develop and apply a reasonable standard of care and skill in political practice, and to political decision-makers, to help make and meet such a standard.
Protein Non-Folding: A Molecular Simulation Study of the Structure and Self-Aggregation of Elastin
Keywords: elastin
molecular dynamics simulations
protein folding
disordered proteins
hydrophobicity
peptides
molecular simulation
biochemistry

Elastin is the protein responsible for the elastic recoil of skin, arteries, and lungs. In order to function, elastin, as well as other self-assembling elastomeric proteins, must remain disordered even when aggregated, and must therefore avoid the formation of amyloid fibrils. Elastin undergoes phase separation and self-organization into a fibrillar structure upon increasing temperature. In order to investigate the molecular basis for elastin self-aggregation, we performed extensive atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of both monomers and aggregates. To obtain statistical convergence of average structural properties, it was necessary to use massive sampling in combination with simulated tempering distributed replica sampling. The development and testing of this method is an important contribution of this thesis. The first key finding of this thesis is that the sequences of all known rubber-like elastomeric proteins are separated from amyloidogenic sequences by a threshold in the combined content of proline and glycine. Our results suggest that avoiding the formation of a water-excluding core involving extensive self-interactions is not only a fundamental requirement, but may very well constitute the single most essential design principle of self-assembling elastomeric proteins. The conformational ensemble of an elastin-like aggregate resembles that of a polymer melt. In the aggregate, individual chains retain significant hydration and do not form a water-excluding hydrophobic core, but are also completely entangled with each other and form significant intermolecular interactions. As a result, the overall chain dimensions approach the expected dimensions of chains in an ideal solvent, a state in which chain entropy is maximized. This is the prediction of the Flory theorem for generic polymer chains within a polymer melt, but has never, to our knowledge, been observed before for an aggregate of polypeptide chains in atomistic detail. Finally, we note that our results are not consistent with the current model of elastin self-aggregation, which involves a conformational transition of a monomer towards a more ordered, aggregation-prone state. Instead, we propose a model in which both the hydrophobic effect and the enhanced chain entropy afforded by the interactions with other peptides within the aggregate favour elastin self-aggregation.
A Theory for the Shear Behaviour of Cracks Providing a Basis for the Assessment of Cracked Reinforced Concrete Structures
Keywords: Cracks in Reinforced Concrete
Cyclic behaviour
Reinforced Concrete Structures
Shear
Structural Assessment

A rational crack behaviour model capable of predicting and assessing the response of cracks in reinforced concrete (RC) elements subjected to complex stress states is presented. The model, referred to as Pure Mechanics Crack Model (PMCM), is formulated and developed in terms of first principles, namely equilibrium, compatibility and stress strain relationships and employs few empirical parameters. Instrumental in the development of the analytical model were the data collected from an extensive experimental campaign conducted as part of the research work. Eighteen pre-cracked RC panel elements were tested under combinations of cyclic or reversed cyclic shear and tension with the objective of investigating the shear behaviour of cracks in reinforced concrete elements. The data from the testing program were used to develop and verify the PMCM, and to extend the database available from the literature which is currently limited to pure shear tests. The results provided information regarding the mechanics involved in the shear response of cracks and demonstrated that rational models of such systems can be achieved. Relying on the experimental findings and building on the framework of the PMCM, a preliminary procedure for assessing the state of health and determining the reserve capacity of damaged RC structures was also developed. The analytical model, named the "Assessment of Cracked Reinforced Concrete" (ACRC) Model, is formulated in terms of global and local compatibility, equilibrium equations and employs appropriate constitutive relationships to link stress and strains when necessary. The input parameters for the ACRC Model are crack width, crack slip and crack orientation which can all be obtained from field measurements. The ACRC model allows a user to estimate the global stress and strain state of a cracked RC element, providing an estimate of its reserve capacity and potentially leading to a revised estimate of its ultimate strength.
Role of Fat Soluble Vitamins in Neural Pathways Regulating Feeding Behaviour in Male Wistar Rat Offspring
Keywords: Dopamine
Epigenetics
Fat Soluble Vitamins
Feeding Behaviour
Gene expression
Neural Pathways

High multivitamin (10-fold AIN-93G levels, HV) intake by Wistar rats during pregnancy results in increased male offspring's body weight and food intake and characteristics of the metabolic syndrome. The hypothesis of this research is that fat soluble vitamins, primarily due to vitamin A, are partially responsible for this effect through modification of development of brain pathways regulating food intake and reward in utero and post-weaning. Three studies were conducted. In study 1, dams were fed AIN-93G diets containing the recommended vitamins (RV) or RV with 10-fold fat soluble vitamins (HFS). In study 2, the dams were fed RV, RV with 10-fold vitamin A (HA) or HV diet with only the recommended vitamin A diets. Male offspring were weaned to a high fat diet for 14 weeks. In study 3, dams were fed the HV diet, while their male offspring were weaned to RV, HV or HA diets for 29 weeks. Study 1 showed that the HFS diet does not reproduce the effects of the HV gestational diet on body weight or food intake of the offspring, but affected development of their higher hedonic regulatory pathways associated with food preference. In study 2, HA intake alone in gestational diets had long-lasting programming effects on the dopaminergic system and decreased sucrose preference but not food intake in the offspring. In study 3, HA in the post-weaning diet reduced the effect of the HV dam's diet on the offspring and modified gene expression in food intake and reward pathways. In conclusion, fat soluble vitamins, explain little of the effect of the HV diet consumed during gestation on the male offspring phenotype, but primarily, due to vitamin A, are important modulators of brain pathways regulating reward both in utero and post-weaning.
Ornament as Argument: Textile Pages and Textile Metaphors in Medieval German Manuscripts (800-1100)
Keywords: Manuscripts
Materiality
Metaphors
Ornament
Textiles

This dissertation explores notions of ornamentation and issues of materiality in early and high medieval manuscript illumination. Focusing on ornament that evokes the weave patterns of Byzantine and Islamic silk in tenth and eleventh century manuscripts from Echternach, Einsiedeln, Reichenau, and elsewhere, this study argues that--in specific contexts--ornament has meaning and serves functions that go beyond mere decoration. The dissertation contextualizes so-called textile pages in the codicological and iconographic structure of the manuscripts in which they appear and examines them in light of exegetical texts that discuss the function and metaphoric meaning of matter in religious art. After the first chapter clarifies the formal relationship between medieval textiles and textile ornament, the subsequent chapters bring the ornamental images together with various textile metaphors. From such a reading of textile iconography emerge three major strands of meaning: the notion of scripture as a veil of revelation, the Incarnation as a symbolic garment, and textile-ornamented manuscripts as the corporeal book-bodies of scripture. In addition to an investigation of the allegorical meaning of textile ornament, a discussion of the function of physical matter in private meditation and the liturgy opens new perspectives on the utility and necessity of physical props for contemplative and liturgical purposes in medieval worship.
The Role for Proteoglycans in Regulating Embryonic Patterning and Morphogenesis
Keywords: embryonic pattering
left-right asymmetry
proteoglycans
UDP-glucose dehydrogenase
zebrafish

Growth factors and morphogens regulate embryonic patterning, cell fate specification, cell migration and morphogenesis. The activity and behaviour of these signalling molecules is regulated in the extracellular space through interactions with proteoglycans. Proteoglycans are high molecular-weight proteins consisting of a core protein with covalently linked glycosasminoglycan (GAG) sidechains, which are thought to mediate proteoglycan-ligand interactions. UDP-glucose dehydrogenase (Ugdh) is an enzyme required for the biosynthesis of GAGs, and in its absence the cell cannot polymerize sidechains. Drosophila mutant embryos deficient for Ugdh activity exhibit abnormal Fgf, Wnt, and TGFĂ signalling and die during gastrulation, indicating a broad and critical role for proteoglycans during early embryonic development. Mouse Ugdh mutants also die at gastrulation, however, only FGF signalling appears disrupted. These findings suggested a possible divergence in the requirement for proteoglycans during Drosophila and mouse embryogenesis, and that vertebrates may have evolved alternative means of regulating Wnt and TGFĂ activity. To further examine the function of proteoglycans in vertebrate development, I have characterized a zebrafish mutant devoid of both maternal and zygotic Ugdh activity (MZjekyll). I demonstrate that MZjekyll mutant embryos display abnormal Fgf, Shh, and Wnt signalling activities, with concomitant defects in central nervous system patterning, cardiac ventricular fate specification and axial morphogenesis. Furthermore, I uncover a novel role for proteoglycans in left-right pattern formation. My findings resolve longstanding questions into the evolutionary conservation of Ugdh function and provide new mechanistic insights into the initiation of left-right asymmetry.
A Cost-effectiveness Analysis of Maternal Genotyping to Guide Treatment for Postpartum Pain and Avert Infant Adverse Events
Keywords: decision analysis
health economics
maternal-child health
pharmacoeconomics
pharmacogenetics

BACKGROUND: The maternal and infant benefits of breastfeeding are numerous, however maternal exposure to medications during lactation raises concerns of infant exposure and may be an impediment to breastfeeding. Recent concerns about the safety of codeine, an analgesic commonly used after delivery, have arisen. Evidence suggests that mothers with an ultrarapid metabolizer phenotype may put their infants at risk for adverse events by producing more active metabolite, which is excreted into milk. Pharmacogenetic screening may be a valuable tool to identify such mothers, and avert adverse events. OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study was to determine the incremental costs of genotyping to averting neonatal adverse events during maternal pharmacotherapy. METHODS: A cost effectiveness analysis to determine the incremental costs of genotyping to guide codeine therapy compared to standard care to avert adverse events was performed. The base case was a prenatal patient whose metabolizer status was unknown, but who may require codeine analgesia after delivery. Parameter estimates and costs were ascertained from a concurrent clinical study, from the literature and expert opinion. RESULTS: Pharmacogenetic screening resulted in a cost of $9,997.43 per adverse event averted or $2,173.35 per infant symptom day averted, when compared to standard care. The results were not sensitive to most variables in one way analysis, with the exception of the costs of a hospital admission. This study was limited by a small number of trials from which parameter estimates could be extracted and the very small number of adverse events reported in infants in the literature. CONCLUSIONS: Although genotyping to guide pharmacotherapy was not cost saving, the cost to avert an infant adverse event may represent good value for money. It is not yet known whether implementation would be clinically viable, however these findings will have implications for new mothers and their health care providers world-wide.
The Arms of Achilles: Re-exchange in the Iliad
Keywords: arms
exchange

This dissertation offers an interpretation of the re-exchange of the first set of Achilles' arms in the Iliad by gift, loan, capture, and re-capture. Each transfer of the arms is examined in relation to the poem's dramatic action, characterisation, and representation of social institutions and ethical values. Modern anthropological and economic approaches are employed in order to elucidate standard elements surrounding certain types of exchange. Nevertheless, the study primarily involves textual analysis of the Iliadic narratives recounting the circulation-process of Achilles' arms, with frequent reference to the general context of Homeric exchange and re-exchange. The origin of the armour as a wedding gift to Peleus for his marriage to Thetis and its consequent bequest to Achilles signifies it as the hero's inalienable possession and marks it as the symbol of his fate in the Iliad. Similarly to the armour, the spear, a gift of Cheiron to Peleus, is later inherited by his son. Achilles' own bond to Cheiron makes this weapon another inalienable possession of the hero. As the centaur's legacy to his pupil, the spear symbolises Achilles' awareness of his coming death. In the present time of the Iliad, Achilles lends his armour to Patroclus under conditions that indicate his continuing ownership over his panoply and ensure the safe use of the divine weapons by his friend. Patroclus' transgression of the terms of the loan of the arms leads to his death, but also signals Achilles' return to the battlefield and to his traditional fate. Hector kills Patroclus and acquires the arms in accordance with the Homeric mechanism stipulating the despoilment of defeated warriors. Interestingly, however, his acquisition constitutes an improper exchange, because he did not obtain the arms from Achilles, their legitimate owner. Achilles defeats Hector on the battlefield and repossesses his arms. The restoration of the arms to Achilles confirms them as his inalienable possessions and corroborates the principles of the Homeric exchange mechanisms. Yet it leaves Achilles without spoils from his military victory. This study suggests that the ransom that Priam offers to Achilles for the release of Hector's corpse symbolises the spoils from the sack of Troy, which chronologically will happen after the death of Achilles. Thus the re-exchange of the arms leads to the exchange between Achilles and Priam, which in turn compensates the former for the loss of honour caused by Agamemnon's confiscation of Briseis that happens in Book 1. In Book 24, Troy has figuratively fallen, while countless Trojan riches are carried to Achilles' tent.
Non-Formal Literacy Education For Rural Women's Empowerment in Ghana: A Micro Level Analysis
Keywords: Adult Education
Empowerment
International studies
Literacy
Rural development
Women studies

Much as knowledge is rationally perceived as power with ability to construct identity, and facilitate social interaction, most women in rural areas in Ghana are unable to read or write in a local language as they missed out on schooling for socio-cultural and structural reasons. Yet, literacy is discounted as an element of personal transformation as well as a skill to possibly and cogently bridge the gender-parity gap in education through empowerment projects. The reason being; non-formal education programmes which engender acquisition of literacy skills is disparaged as an alternative form of learning in education planning at the detriment of marginalized populations and women in particular. But how can one read the world without the word (Freire Macedo, 1987)? This study primarily identifies the linkage between literacy and women's empowerment; interrogates the prognosis between literacy and personal transformation; and examines the methods employed by Non Formal Education Division to systematise learning to achieve this goal in Ghana. It is an empirical qualitative multi-sited research conducted in four rural locations in Accra to critically investigate how non-formal education is represented in social development. The study's analytical framework is set within a feminist methodology and grounded theory, and draws on transformative learning Mezirow (2000) and empowerment Stromquist (1995) as conceptual frameworks to explore the epistemology and subjective change respectively. The findings report: interest in literacy is dynamic but implicates government indifference with respect to non-formal education as it identifies, that instable governance, funding and state bureaucracy encumber institution and programme effectiveness and this deprive citizens their right to education. Learner interest has equally shifted from gender-role reinforcement literacy to that of empowered literacy to include: income-generating and employable skills, multi-language learning, women's co-operative formation, and micro credit opportunities. The study concludes with a five-frame proposal for NFED institutional strengthening for effective governance, public engagement and fundraising towards sustainable literacy for development.
Entrepreneurship in Publicly Funded Hospitals: A Multi-case Study of Privately Funded Rehabilitation in Ontario Hospitals
Keywords: Health care funding
Hospitals
Organization Theory
Privately funded health care
Private-Public Partnerships
Rehabilitation

Ontario hospital spending represents the largest portion of the health care budget. Consequently, governments and publicly funded hospitals have implemented policies and strategies to decrease health care costs on the one hand, and on the other hand, to increase revenues from non-governmental sources. For hospitals, one revenue-generating opportunity includes partnering with privately funded rehabilitation companies or creating hospital-owned privately funded rehabilitation departments. The presence of parallel funding streams (public and private) for health care services departs from the political and organizational norms for Canadian hospitals. The primary objectives of this research are to characterize the organizational relationships between publicly funded hospitals and privately funded rehabilitation departments and companies, examine their effectiveness, and understand the benefits and/or disadvantages that these relationships afford hospitals beyond those originally anticipated. This study used mixed research methods within multiple case studies. Study results indicated that Ontario hospitals have employed numerous entrepreneurial strategies to increase revenues in addition to government funding. The relationships between hospitals and privately funded rehabilitation companies/departments allowed the relationship partners to achieve mutually beneficial goals by exploring and exploiting new and existing material and non-material resources. Nevertheless, hospital leaders have encountered political, social, and organizational tensions when related to the presence of privately funded health care services in hospitals. This study contributes to organization and management science by examining the utility of these relationships and the factors that hinder or facilitate relationship success. From a practical perspective, the findings of this study are of value to organizational leaders who may wish to establish and maintain effective relationships between publicly and privately funded companies in the context of the Canadian health care system.