VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
They Don't Stand for Me: Generational Difference in Voter Motivation and the Importance of Symbolic Representation in Youth Voter Turnout
Keywords: Youth Voter Turnout
Political Engagement

Building from Hannah Pitkin’s work on forms of representative democracy, this thesis demonstrates how differing generational expectations of political representation affect participation in electoral politics. Consistent with earlier work, it confirms that youth voting decreases when young people are less educated, less interested, or when they lack a sense of responsibility. However these factors only explain part—and not necessarily the most important part—of the younger generation’s motivations for voting. The analysis also shows that youth are markedly less likely to vote when young people feel that their values are not aligned with those of political leaders. The relationship between values—or symbolic representation—and voting remains significant and strong for young people even when the classic predictors of voting are included in the model. In fact, symbolic representation is a stronger predictor of voting than such factors as education, political interest, or the sense of responsibility to vote. This new variable is therefore important in understanding why the most recent decline in voting occurs predominantly among youth. Issue campaigns are less likely to move young people one way or another with respect to voting, as the majority of issues do not affect young people directly, if at all. As a consequence youth are left to rely on their own understanding of what political leaders actually stand for to pull them in or entice them to vote. But if the values that young people care about are not symbolically represented by political leaders and their electoral platforms, then youth will have less to vote for, and will likely just stay home and ignore elections altogether. Conversely, if political leaders make modest changes to their campaign strategies that also appeal to values—rather than strictly to interests—we could also see an increase in turnout among youth, and therefore an increase in democratic legitimacy.
CDK-independent Initiation of the S. cerevisiae Cell Cycle -- Analysis of BCK2
Keywords: yeast cell cycle
G1 transcription Bck2

Much of the work on how the cell cycle is regulated has focused on Cyclin-Dependent Kinase (CDK)-mediated regulation of factors that control the coordinate expression of genes required for entry into the cell cycle. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, SBF and MBF are related transcription factors that co-ordinately activate a large group of genes at the G1/S transition, and their activation depends on the Cln3-Cdk1 form of the cyclin-dependent kinase. However, cells are viable in the absence of Cln3, or SBF and MBF, indicating that other regulatory pathways must exist that activate the budding yeast cell cycle. The known CDK-independent pathways are made up of various phosphatases and plasma membrane transporters that control ion homeostasis in early G1 phase, a time when cells assess environmental growth conditions in order to commit to cell cycle entry. The enigmatic Bck2 protein is thought to act within these CDK-independent pathways, but the means by which it activates G1/S-regulated genes is not known. Bck2 contains little sequence homology to any known protein. In order to understand how CDK-independent pathways operate, I have studied the Bck2 protein using multiple approaches. In one approach, I have screened for novel SBF/MBF-binding proteins in order to determine if other non-CDK proteins, such as Bck2, might activate SBF and MBF. I have also investigated which region of Bck2 is required for its activity in order to determine if Bck2’s transcriptional activation region is essential. Using one of the iii truncation derivatives from this analysis, I have screened for proteins that interact with Bck2. One of these novel proteins is Mcm1, a global transcriptional activator of genes involved in cell cycle progression, mating gene transcription and metabolism. My studies suggest that Bck2 regulates the activity of Mcm1 in early G1 phase to activate the expression of SWI4, CLN3, and others. My evidence suggests that Bck2 competes for binding to a specific pocket on Mcm1 that is also bound by an Mcm1 repressor called Yox1. My findings suggest that CDK-independent pathways function through Bck2, in order to induce the initial suite of genes required for entry into the cell cycle.
Accommodative Capacity of Multinational States
Keywords: federalism
multinational federalism
nationalism
accommodation
ethnic conflict
state
decentralization
centralization
political institutions
comparative institutional dynamics

This dissertation explains the extent and durability of the institutions of territorial autonomy in multinational states. Its main argument is that the viability of territorial autonomy hinges on the relative economic importance of the minority-inhabited region for the central government. If the fiscal resources of the minority-inhabited region are critical for the funding of the central government’s policy objectives, autonomy is likely to be limited and short lived. If those resources are not as crucial for the governability of the entire state, autonomy is likely to be more extensive and durable. The importance of the minority-inhabited region depends on two sets of factors. The first is the relative level of economic development of majority and minority-inhabited areas. The second is the strategy of governance adopted by the central state elites. Strategies of governance determine the extent of the fiscal burden that the central government will place on the population of the state, thereby exerting significant influence on accommodative outcomes. The theoretical framework developed in this dissertation refers to statist (high spending) and laissez-faire (low spending) strategies of governance. The framework is tested in four multinational states: the former Yugoslavia, the former Czechoslovakia, Canada and Spain. The empirical chapters combine structured-focused comparison with longitudinal case study analysis. The cases largely bear out the hypotheses presented in the dissertation. However, analysis of the cases also demonstrates the importance of minority-group influence at the central state level in accounting for accommodative outcomes. In cases where minority elites have extensive influence at the centre, attempts at limiting the autonomy of minority-inhabited regions tend to be unsuccessful. This thesis contributes to a greater understanding of the design and durability of the institutions of territorial autonomy, which have important consequences for the stability and viability of multinational states.
Structural Investigation of Processing α-Glucosidase I from Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Keywords: Biomolecular structure
Eukaryotic glycosylation
glycosylation
N-glycan
N-linked glycosylation
Carbohydrate
biochemistry
Inhibitor
antiviral therapeutic
Structure-based drug design
glucosidase
glycosidase
glycoside hydrolase
post-translational modification
enzyme
enzyme mechanism
inverting mechanism
structural biology
protein structure
6xHis tag
Crystal packing
sugar
substrate
X-ray crystallography
single anomalous dispersion
PHENIX
heavy-atom phasing
docking
autodock
autodock vina
biophysical methods
tryptophan fluorescence
glucose oxidase
activity assay
enzyme inhibition
Protein expression
Protein purification
Pichia pastoris
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
fondue
AOX1 promoter
glycoside hydrolysis
substrate binding model
molecular dynamics
molecular dynamics
Binding site
Active site cleft
Endoplasmic reticulum
Glycan processing
Glycan trimming
protein-protein interactions
cell-cell communication
X-ray diffraction
crystallization
secreted protein
substrate selectivity
kojibiose
glucotriose
miglitol
deoxynojirimycin
Glc3Man9GlcNAc2
free oligosaccharide species
GluI
Cwh41
Cwh41p
Cwht1p

N-glycosylation is the most common eukaryotic post-translational modification, impacting on protein stability, folding, and protein-protein interactions. More broadly, N-glycans play biological roles in reaction kinetics modulation, intracellular protein trafficking, and cell-cell communications. The machinery responsible for the initial stages of N-glycan assembly and processing is found on the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum. Following N-glycan transfer to a nascent glycoprotein, the enzyme Processing α-Glucosidase I (GluI) catalyzes the selective removal of the terminal glucose residue. GluI is a highly substrate-specific enzyme, requiring a minimum glucotriose for catalysis; this glycan is uniquely found in biology in this pathway. The structural basis of the high substrate selectivity and the details of the mechanism of hydrolysis of this reaction have not been characterized. Understanding the structural foundation of this unique relationship forms the major aim of this work. To approach this goal, the S. cerevisiae homolog soluble protein, Cwht1p, was investigated. Cwht1p was expressed and purified in the methyltrophic yeast P. pastoris, improving protein yield to be sufficient for crystallization screens. From Cwht1p crystals, the structure was solved using mercury SAD phasing at a resolution of 2 Å, and two catalytic residues were proposed based upon structural similarity with characterized enzymes. Subsequently, computational methods using a glucotriose ligand were applied to predict the mode of substrate binding. From these results, a proposed model of substrate binding has been formulated, which may be conserved in eukaryotic GluI homologs.
How Much or How Many? Partial Ostracism and its Consequences
Keywords: Ostracism
Exclusion
Group

Ostracism, the process of socially ignoring and excluding certain people, has attracted attention in recent years. Most studies have looked at full ostracism, in other words, when everyone in a group ignores a person. However, in real life, people are usually only partially ostracized – excluded by some members of a group and not by others. The present study is one of the first to provide an in-depth examination of reactions when different forms of partial ostracism occur in a group. It looks at partial ostracism in a field study and an experimental study. In the field study I proposed that because targets of partial ostracism receive mixed signals from their group, it is easier for them to interpret ostracism as an external event rather than internal; whereas in full ostracism because all the signs received by the target are the same, the target cannot interpret the act of ostracism in different ways. The results of the field study indicate that partial ostracism is not only more common than full ostracism at work, but targets of partial ostracism also make fewer internal attributions than do targets of full ostracism. The experimental study examined two dimensions of partial ostracism: activity exclusion (AE) and people exclusion (PE). Results indicate that as AE increases, i.e. targets are excluded from more activities, targets make fewer internal attributions, feel more threats to their basic needs (mediated by internal attributions), and have more desire to help others. As PE increases, targets feel more threats to their needs and put less effort into group tasks. Comparing AE and PE simultaneously, AE makes a difference in targets’ well-being while PE affects targets’ efforts in group tasks
The Structure of Bovine Mitochondrial ATP Synthase by Single Particle Electron Cryomicroscopy
Keywords: electron cryomicroscopy
ATP synthase
mitochondria
membrane protein
radiation damage
map segmentation
single particle EM
map refinement
tilt pairs

Single particle electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-EM) is a method of structure determination that uses many randomly oriented images of the specimen to construct a three-dimensional density map. In this thesis, single particle cryo-EM has been used to determine the structure of intact adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthase from bovine heart mitochondria, an approximately 550 kDa membrane protein complex. In respiring organisms, ATP synthase is responsible for synthesizing the majority of ATP, a molecule that serves as an energy source for many cellular reactions. In order to understand the mechanism of ATP synthase, knowledge of the arrangement of subunits in the intact complex is necessary. To obtain maps of intact ATP synthase showing internal density distributions by single particle cryo-EM, methodological improvements to image acquisition, map reﬁnement, and data selection were developed. Further, a novel segmentation algorithm was developed to aid in interpretation of maps. The use of these tools allowed for construction and interpretation of two maps of ATP synthase, solubilized in diﬀerent membrane mimetics, in which the arrangement of subunits could be identiﬁed. These maps revealed interactions within the complex important for its function. In addition, evidence was obtained for curvature of membrane mimetics around ATP synthase, suggesting a role for the complex in maintenance of mitochondrial membrane morphology.
On the Local and Global Classification of Generalized Complex Structures
Keywords: Mathematics
Geometry
Differential geometry
Geometric analysis
Symplectic geometry
Poisson geometry
Complex geometry
Mathematical physics

We study a number of local and global classiﬁcation problems in generalized complex geometry. Generalized complex geometry is a relatively new type of geometry which has applications to string theory and mirror symmetry. Symplectic and complex geometry are special cases. In the ﬁrst topic, we characterize the local structure of generalized complex manifolds by proving that a generalized complex structure near a complex point arises from a holomorphic Poisson structure. In the proof we use a smoothed Newton’s method along the lines of Nash, Moser and Conn. In the second topic, we consider whether a given regular Poisson structure and transverse complex structure come from a generalized complex structure. We give cohomological criteria, and we ﬁnd some counterexamples and some unexpected examples, including a compact, regular generalized complex manifold for which nearby symplectic leaves are not symplectomorphic. In the third topic, we consider generalized complex structures with nondegenerate type change; we describe a generalized Calabi-Yau structure induced on the type change locus, and prove a local normal form theorem near this locus. Finally, in the fourth topic, we give a classiﬁcation of generalized complex principal bundles satisfying a certain transversality condition; in this case, there is a generalized ﬂat connection, and the classiﬁcation involves a monodromy map to the Courant automorphism group.
Detection of Apoptosis using Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Relaxation in the Presence of Gadolinium and Magnetization Transfer Studies
Keywords: MRI
apoptosis
cancer therapy response
water exchange
magnetization transfer
relaxation

Imaging techniques provide a method for non-invasive longitudinal monitoring of cancer therapies, but common metrics such as tumour size are late markers and do not indicate heterogeneity of response. Apoptotic cell death is an earlier marker of tumour response and produces molecular and cellular-level changes (macromolecular breakdown, membrane changes and cell shrinkage) that may be detectable by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Previous studies using conventional MRI methods have shown little sensitivity to apoptosis. In this thesis it is hypothesized that, using an extracellular contrast agent to affect the MRI property of relaxation for extracellular water preferentially, parameters related to water in the intracellular and extracellular environments and the exchange between them can be obtained and will be sensitive to apoptosis. It is also hypothesized that membrane changes and macromolecular breakdown are detectable by the technique of magnetization transfer. Measurements of relaxation in the presence of contrast agent in vitro demonstrated a decrease in extracellular water fraction and an increase in the rate of water exchange across the plasma membrane during apoptosis. In vivo, this method was complicated by the difficulty of delivering contrast agent to the tumour, but regions with good delivery showed correlation between high water exchange rates from MRI and apoptosis in histology. Magnetization transfer studies indicated only small changes in vitro during apoptosis and these were largely related to changes in the free water, so this method was not investigated further. Further work is required to determine the tumour lines where the water exchange methods may be applied reliably. Nevertheless, the method of measuring water exchange presented in this thesis can be performed in a clinically-feasible amount of time (~20 minutes). It therefore has potential in detecting apoptosis and predicting therapy response. It also emphasizes the role of water exchange in conventional MRI relaxation experiments.
Natural and Cultural Landscape Evolution during the Late Holocene in North Central Guatemalan Lowlands and Highlands
Keywords: Lachua
Purulha
Salinas de los Nueve Cerros
Cahabon River
pollen
LOI
Mayan Forest Garden
Agricultural terraces
Mesoamerica

Paleoecology has been only in recent decades applied to Mesoamerica; this thesis provides new records of paleoenvironmental changes in Guatemala. Paleoecological reconstructions are developed based mainly on pollen in the Lachuá lowlands and Purulhá highlands of the Las Verapaces Region. For the first time, quantitative vegetation and climate analyses are developed, and plant indicator taxa from vegetation belts are identified. Changes in vegetation are explained partially by elevation and climatic parameters, topography, drainage divides, and biogeography. Pollen rain and indicator plant taxa from vegetation belts were linked through a first modern pollen rain analysis based on bryophyte polsters and surface sediments. The latter contain fewer forest-interior plant taxa in both locations, and in the highlands, they contain higher local pollen content than in the lowlands. These calibrations aided vegetation reconstructions based on fossil pollen in sediment records from the Lachuá and Purulhá regions. Reconstructions for the last ~2000 years before present (BP) were developed based on fossil pollen from cores P-4 on a floodplain in Purulhá, and L-3, a wetland in Lachuá. Core P-4 suggests that Mayan populations developed a system of agricultural terraces in a former paleolake-swamp environment, which was abandoned at the time of the Spanish Conquest (~400 BP). Core L-3 indicates the abandonment of Mayan “Forest Gardens” at the time of the early Postclassic. These gardens likely prevailed during the Classic period (~300-1100 yrs BP) at the outskirts of the ancient city of Salinas de los Nueve Cerros. Following abandonment, forest recovery took place for about 800 yrs. Cultural factors are found to be more important in determining vegetation dynamics in this region, since no clear evidence of climate forcing was found. The P-4 and L-3 cores provide likely evidence that Mayan populations were, contrary to other evidence, innovative landscape managers. Scenarios in the Las Verapaces Region have been drastically modified in recent times (e.g. after the European Conquest), as suggested by pollen evidence in the top of both P-4 and L-3 cores, possibly due mostly to modern large scale natural resources exploitation, which represent environmental threats greater than any seen in the last ca. 2000 years.
Occupational Exposures and the Co-occurrence of Work-related Skin and Respiratory Symptoms
Keywords: Respiratory symptoms
Skin symptoms
Occupational exposures

Occupational skin and respiratory symptoms, and disease, are common problems. Workers can develop new disease or aggravate existing disease as a result of exposures at work. Many workers are exposed to chemicals that can cause both respiratory and skin responses and there is evidence that some workers experience symptoms in both systems. There is also evidence that skin exposure may lead to sensitization and the development of respiratory disease. There is very little research that has examined both airborne and skin exposures together with lung and skin outcomes. The purpose of this thesis was to further investigate the relationships between occupational exposures, skin symptoms and disease, and respiratory symptoms and disease. Four studies were undertaken to improve our understanding of these complex relationships. Results from a study of clinical patch test data determined that seven of the ten most common occupational contact allergens are also capable of causing occupational asthma and that these common occupational exposures may not be recognized as sensitizers in common reference materials. Exposure-response relationships for skin symptoms were modeled in bakery workers and auto body shop workers using historical data; significant exposure-response relationships were found for auto body workers. In two separate studies of concurrent skin and respiratory symptoms, workers did report concurrent skin and respiratory symptoms. In predictive models, subjects reporting a history of eczema were more likely to report concurrent skin and respiratory symptoms. Overall, the results from this thesis provide more evidence that the skin and respiratory systems are associated. This body of work suggests that: (1) several common occupational exposures can cause disease in both the skin and respiratory system; (2) a portion of workers report both skin and respiratory symptoms; and (3) exposure-response relationships do exist for skin symptoms, both work-related and non-work-related. Future studies need to gather detailed information about exposure and response in both systems in order to better determine the role of exposure(s) in the development of skin and respiratory symptoms. Improved understanding of these relationships will allow for more targeted and effective exposure prevention strategies and will ultimately reduce the burden of occupational disease.