VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Are The[se] Kids Alright?: States of Incarceration and Subordination in the Learning and Lived Experiences of Youth in a Juvenile Detention Facility
Keywords: subordination
incarcerated youth
educational access
visual ethnography
narrative

This study examines the dynamics and implications of trans-spatial subordination in/across the lived experiences of six incarcerated participant youths in a secure custody facility for juveniles in Louisiana. Five male teenagers (four African American, one White) and one female teenager (African American) discuss the limitations, harassment, and confinement in various aspects of their lives and speak about the impact on their expectations for the future. The author employs several methodologies in order to develop a multimedia, multifaceted representation of their lives. The narratives elicited through interviews provide the bulk of the data as the participants describe this perpetual subordination. The photographs, resulting from the implementation of a visual ethnographic methodology, provide images that serve as catalysts for introspection and analysis of significance in the mundane and routine, particularly as they apply to the carceral facilities, structures, and policies themselves. Film viewing and discussion offer an array of depictions of youth and criminality to which the youths responded, granting a simultaneous peek at how these marginalized youths viewed themselves and how mainstream media productions depict them. After a particularly provoking viewing session of an animated film, the author expands the preliminary boundaries of the work beyond cells and the walls of the prison. The expanding focus examines subordinating elements in their lives with their families and in their neighbourhoods. The challenges, harassment, and obstacles experienced in their communities continued in their schools and during their encounters with law enforcement, the latter of which often led directly to imprisonment. Finally, the youths reflected on the confining subordination that existed in the facilities, the product of the combination of: their discomfort with the surveillant structure, their perceived arbitrariness of privilege, and the lack of any relevant education. They also identified opportunities for voicing their opinions and recognized the relative safety of this facility compared to others. As the participants conceptualized their futures and articulated their relatively narrow and often ambiguous hopes, the sobering influence of such perpetual subordination is evident. The author closes with a discussion of the study’s importance to future research with marginalized youth in a society of increasing surveillance and security as well as implications for teacher education.
More than a Metabolite: An Evaluation of the Potential Role of L-serine-O-phosphate as the Endogenous Agonist for the Group III Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors
Keywords: Bergmann Glia
metabotropic glutamate receptors
L-serine-O-phosphate
L-serine
Cerebellum
Parallel fiber
GABA-A
mGluR4
L-SOP
Glutamatergic neurotransmission

The Group III metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR) are located presynaptically on axon terminals and act as autoreceptors and heteroreceptors by inhibiting neurotransmitter release. Much has been learned about these receptors through exogenous application of L-serine-O-phosphate (L-SOP), an endogenous amino acid derivative and known activator of the Group III mGluRs. We hypothesized that L-SOP is the endogenous co-agonist at the high affinity Group III mGluR, mGluR4. We found the EC50 of L-SOP at mGluR4 was 0.5 μM, and determined that the concentration of L-SOP in whole brain was approximately 5 μM. An immunocytochemical survey revealed that cells containing the enzymatic machinery necessary for L-SOP synthesis and metabolism were observed in two brain regions known to express mGluR4, namely, cerebellum and hippocampus. In the cerebellum, the L-SOP synthetic and metabolic enzymes were found in Bergmann glia and Purkinje cells, two cells which form a tripartite synapse with parallel fiber axon terminals where the mGluR4 subtype is exclusively expressed at high levels. In the hippocampus, the L-SOP metabolic enzyme was detected in young neurons emanating from the neurogenic subventricular zone. Attempts to raise endogenous levels of L-SOP by crippling the L-SOP metabolizing enzyme (phosphoserine phosphatase), over-expressing the L-SOP synthesizing enzyme (phosphoserine aminotransferase), or through dietary protein restriction, to study the effects on neurotransmission and neurodevelopment in the central nervous system (CNS) were unsuccessful, suggesting that the production of L-SOP remains stable despite manipulation of the synthetic and metabolic enzymes. Finally, the ability of L-SOP to modulate glutamate release from presynaptic terminals was examined in cerebellar synaptosomes. Co-incident activation of presynaptic mGluR4 and presynaptic GABAA receptors facilitated glutamate release, suggesting that simultaneous activation of parallel fibers and Bergmann glia may serve to enhance synaptic transmission. This observation expands the traditional view of Group III mGluRs acting solely as inhibitory autoreceptors. Taken together, these results provide compelling evidence to support the hypothesis that L-SOP is the endogenous agonist at mGluR4, and possibly other Group III mGluRs.
Mining User-generated Content for Insights
Keywords: algorithms
data mining
information retrieval
user-generated content

The proliferation of social media, such as blogs, micro-blogs and social networks, has led to a plethora of readily available user-generated content. The latter offers a unique, uncensored window into emerging stories and events, ranging from politics and revolutions to product perception and the zeitgeist. Importantly, structured information is available for user-generated content, by dint of its metadata, or can be surfaced via recently commoditized information extraction tools. This wealth of information, in the form of real-world entities and facts mentioned in a document, author demographics, and so on, provides exciting opportunities for mining insights from this content. Capitalizing upon these, we develop Grapevine, an online system that distills information from the social media collective on a daily basis, and facilitates its interactive exploration. To further this goal, we address important research problems, which are also of independent interest. The sheer scale of the data being processed, necessitates that our solutions be highly efficient. We propose efficient techniques for mining important stories, on a per-user-demographic basis, based on named entity co-occurrences in user-generated content. Building upon these, we propose efficient techniques for identifying emerging stories as-they-happen, by identifying dense structures in an evolving entity graph. To facilitate the exploration of these stories, we propose efficient techniques for filtering them, based on users’ textual descriptions of the entities involved. These gathered insights need to be presented to users in a useful manner, via a diverse set of representative documents; we thus propose efficient techniques for addressing this problem. Recommending related stories to users is important for navigation purposes. As the way in which these are related to the story being explored is not always clear, we propose efficient techniques for generating recommendation explanations via entity relatedness queries.
A Qualitative Study of the Process of Acculturation and Coping for South Asian Muslim Immigrants Living in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)
Keywords: acculturation
South Asians
Muslims
immigrants
depression
coping

The present study explores the nature of coping mechanisms among South Asian Muslim immigrants living in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) who have been living in Canada between three to five years and experienced acculturation challenges and depression. Thirteen immigrants (seven females and six males) were interviewed to share their stories of personal experiences of settlement and acculturation in Canada. These interviews were analyzed using the grounded theory approach to develop themes and sub-themes to understand and interpret the data. The findings reveal that the research participants experienced a number of acculturation challenges (feeling different, feeling excluded, disruption in the family and material differences) which led to depression. During the course of their depression participants experienced certain events which became turning points in their lives, subsequently motivating them to change the way in which they live. They sought out particular kinds of support and coping mechanisms which helped them to settle, integrate and belong to the Canadian culture. The midlevel grounded theory that has emerged from participants’ responses is discussed. Recommendations are made to inform mental health professionals to incorporate these coping mechanisms in delivering culturally sensitive services to the target population. Study implications for theory, psychotherapy, counselling and other mental health practices and future research in the area of settlement and adaption of newcomers in Canada are discussed.
Development of an Endothelial Cell Niche in Three-dimensional Hydrogels
Keywords: tissue engineering
3D hydrogels
Endothelial Cell
Retinal Stem and Progenitor Cell

Three-dimensional (3D) tissue models have significantly improved our understanding of structure/function relationships and promise to lead to new advances in regenerative medicine. However, despite the expanding diversity of 3D tissue fabrication methods, in vitro approaches for functional assessments have been relatively limited. Herein, we describe the guidance of primary endothelial cells (ECs) in an agarose hydrogel scaffold that is chemically patterned with an immobilized concentration gradient of vascular endothelial growth factor 165 (VEGF165) using multiphoton laser patterning of VEGF165. This is the first demonstration of this patterning technology to immobilize proteins; and the first demonstration of immobilized VEGF165 to guide endothelial cell growth and differentiation in 3D environments. It is particularly compelling that this 3D hydrogels provide an excellent biomimetic environment for stem cell niche, thereby offering a new approach to study stem cell biology. In this thesis, we focused on the retinal stem cell niche, investigating cellular interactions between retinal stem and progenitor cells (RSPCs) and endothelial cells (ECs). By using this 3D in vitro model, we demonstrated the synergistic interactions between RSPCs and ECs wherein RSPCs migrated into 3D gels only in the presence of ECs and RSPCs stabilized EC tubular-like formations. Moreover, we characterized the contact-mediated effects of ECs on RSPC fate in terms of proliferation and differentiation.
GATA4 Represses Formation of Glioblastoma Multiforme
Keywords: GATA4
Glioblastoma Multiforme

The GATA transcription factors consist of six family members that bind the consensus DNA binding element W-GATA-R, and are poorly characterized in the central nervous system (CNS). In this thesis we identify GATA4 to be expressed in the neurons and glia of normal murine and human embryonic and adult CNS with significant loss in Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM). GBM is the most common and lethal primary brain tumour and exhibits multiple molecular aberrations. Here we report that loss of the transcription factor GATA4, a negative regulator of normal astrocyte proliferation, is a driver in glioma formation and fulfills the hallmarks of a tumour suppressor gene. Although GATA4 was expressed in normal brain, loss of GATA4 was observed in GBM operative samples and was a negative survival prognostic marker. GATA4 loss occurred through promoter hypermethylation or novel somatic mutations. Loss of GATA4 in normal human astrocytes promoted high-grade astrocytoma formation, in cooperation with other relevant genetic alterations such as activated Ras or loss of TP53. Loss of GATA4 with activated Ras in normal astrocytes promoted a progenitor like phenotype, formation of neurospheres and the ability to differentiate into astrocytes, neurons and oligodendrocytes. Re-expression of GATA4 in human GBM cell lines, primary cultures and brain tumour initiating cells suppressed tumour growth in vitro and in vivo through direct activation of the cell cycle inhibitor P21CIP1, independent of TP53. Re-expression of GATA4 also conferred sensitivity of GBM cells to temozolomide, a DNA alkylating agent currently used in GBM therapy. This sensitivity was independent of MGMT, the DNA repair enzyme often implicated in temozolomide resistance. Instead GATA4 reduced expression of APNG, a DNA repair enzyme poorly characterized in GBM mediated temozolomide resistance. Identification and validation of GATA4 as a tumour suppressor gene and its downstream targets in GBM may yield promising novel therapeutic strategies.
Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 21st Century: The Pedagogical Possibilities and Limitations for Transformative Education
Keywords: Non-Violence
Violence
Pedagogy
Ahimsa
Satyagraha
Mahatma Gandhi
Martin Luther King Jr
Frantz Fanon
Antiracism
Anti-colonialism
Love
Spirituality

The current trend of global violence and their impact on families and communities as well as the field of university education is scary for a society that is struggling with this false sense of apathy and complacency. How did the ordinary people get seduced to the idea that there is no way out of this global assault? How then do we extricate ourselves from this “tortured consciousness” (Asante, 2007) and this false sense of “nihilism” (West, 1994) and recoup this “incommensurable loss” (Simmons, 2010) to global violence? Even more crucial, where is the place of education in retrieving this incommensurable loss while providing hope and possibility for a better future? Provoked by the desire to have answers to these questions, the dissertation relies on the knowledge and experiences of twenty qualitatively selected university activists and existing literature to critically examine the non-violent praxes of Gandhi and King, Jr. and their pedagogical implications for transformative university education. The dissertation further draws on the knowledge of Frantz Fanon and Malcolm X to bring complex and nuanced readings to violence and non-violence. The dissertation notes that violence and non-violence are not mutually exclusive as already known. The dissertation also notes that while resistive violence may be justified, it does not necessarily guarantee true transformation, reconciliation, and healing. Instead, love, humility, truth, dialogue, non-violent direct action, discipline, and spirituality are salient in achieving true transformation in university activism. The dissertation further observes that educational activism is more than walking on the street with placards to protest against institutional violence. Sometimes, the secret activism that is done strategically within the corridors of power can achieve more far-reaching results than the open protest against power on the street. The dissertation concludes with six key non-violent strategies that can help in social and political mobilization of university students for transformative university education.
Semantic Web Based Multi-agent Framework for Real-time Freeway Traffic Incident Management System
Keywords: Traffic
Multi-agent

Recurring traffic congestion is attributable to steadily increasing travel demand coupled with constrained space and financial resources for infrastructure expansion. Another major source of congestion is non-recurrent incidents that disrupt the normal operation of the infrastructure. Aiming to optimize the utilization of the transportation infrastructure, innovative infrastructure management techniques that incorporate on edge technological equipment and information systems need to be adopted to manage recurrent and non-recurrent congestion and reduce their adverse externalities. The framework presented in this thesis lays the foundation for multi-disciplinary semantic web based incident management. During traffic incident response, involved stakeholders will share their knowledge and resources, forming an ad-hoc framework within which each party will focus on its core competencies and cooperate to achieve a coherent incident management process. Negotiation between various response agencies operators is performed using intelligent software agents, alleviating the coordination and synchronization burden of the massive information flow during the incident response. The software agents provide a decision support to human operators based on the reasoning provided from the underlying system knowledge models. Ontological engineering is used to lay the foundation of the knowledge models, which are coded in a web based ontology language, allowing a decentralized access to various elements of the system. The whole system communication infrastructure is based on the Semantic Web technologies. The semantic web facilitates the use of, in an enhanced manner, the already existing web technologies as the communication infrastructure of the proposed system. Its semantic capabilities help to resolve the information and data interoperability issues among various parties. The web services concepts combined with the semantic web allow the direct exploration and access of knowledge models, resources, and data repertories held by various parties. The developed ontology along with the developed software system were tested and evaluated by domain experts and targeted system users. Based on the conducted evaluation, both the ontology and the software system were found to be promising tools in developing pervasive, collaborative and multi-disciplinary traffic incident management systems
Modernist Curiosities: Desire, Knowledge and Literature in Gustave Flaubert's "Bouvard et Pécuchet", Elias Canetti's "Die Blendung" and Jorge Luis Borges's "El Aleph"
Keywords: modernism
curiosity
desire
knowledge and literature
epistemology of literature

In modernity, probably more than ever, “knowledge” has become the object of an intense desire. The tensions underwriting this modern desire for knowledge are inscribed in the very term, curiosity, which is at the centre of this dissertation. A venerable motif, curiosity anchors the specifically modern desire to know within a longstanding philosophical, theological and literary tradition. By the 19th century, “curiosity” is certainly an anachronistic paradigm. Yet, inscribed in curiosity, there are two conflicting dialectics which can be found at the heart of modernity’s unquenchable thirst for knowledge: one the one hand, the dialectic between curiosity as a disenchanting desire to see through into the innermost secrets of things, and curiosity as a “thing”, the product of a fetishist desire arrested on the glittering surface of things. On the other hand, curiosity is beset by the dialectic between the desire for a “totalizing”, meaningful vision and the compulsive drive of an increasingly specialized, meaningless pursuit of knowledge. This dissertation examines a series of Modernist narratives which expose this double dialectic. The protagonists of Gustave Flaubert’s Bouvard et Pécuchet, Elias Canetti’s Die Blendung and Jorge Luis Borges’ El Aleph are all caricatural, anachronistic, curieux ultimately seeking an “absolute knowledge” that cannot be embodied. The moment it seems to have been attained, it is reified, “objectified” into a fetish, a “curiosity”. Yet, these narratives are not only about curiosity; they are in fact true vortexes of curiosity: that of the protagonists of the narratives as well as that of the authors and the readers themselves. As a result, these narratives also speak to the paradoxical location of literature within culture: literature appears simultaneously as the privileged site of all – ultimately phantasmic – totalizing, meaningful visions of the world, as well as a marginal locus, a monstrous cultural residue.
Identification and Validation of Candidate Breast Cancer Biomarkers: A Mass Spectrometric Approach
Keywords: proteomics
mass spectrometry
breast cancer
diagnostics

One of the best ways to diagnose breast cancer early or to predict therapeutic response is to use serum biomarkers. Unfortunately, for breast cancer, we do not have effective serological biomarkers. We hypothesized that novel candidate tumor markers for breast cancer may be secreted or shed proteins that can be detected in tissue culture supernatants of human breast cancer cell lines. A two-dimensional liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (2D-LC-MS/MS) strategy was utilized to identify and compare levels of extracellular and membrane-bound proteins in the conditioned media. Proteomic analysis of the media identified in excess of 600, 500 and 700 proteins in MCF-10A, BT474 and MDA-MB-468, respectively. We successfully identified the internal control proteins, kallikreins 5, 6 and 10 (ranging in concentration from 2-50 µg/L), as validated by ELISA and confidently identified HER-2/neu in BT474 cells. Sub-cellular localization was determined based on Genome Ontology (GO) for the 1,139 proteins, of which 34% were classified as extracellular and membrane-bound. Tissue specificity, functional classifications and label-free quantification were performed. The levels of eleven promising molecules were measured in biological samples to determine its discriminatory ability for control versus cases. This screen yielded activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule (ALCAM) as a promising candidate. The levels of ALCAM, in addition to the classical breast cancer tumor markers carbohydrate antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) were examined in 300 serum samples by quantitative ELISA. All three biomarkers effectively separated cancer from non-cancer groups. ALCAM, with area under the curve (AUC) of 0.78 [95% CI: 0.73, 0.84] outperformed CA15-3 (AUC= 0.70 [95% CI: 0.64, 0.76]) and CEA (AUC= 0.63 [95% CI: 0.56, 0.70]). The incremental values of AUC for ALCAM over that for CA15-3 were statistically significant (Delong test, p <0.05). Serum ALCAM appears to be a new biomarker for breast cancer and may have value for disease diagnosis.