VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Impact of Mandatory Changes in Convertible Debt Accounting: Evidence from APB 14-1
Keywords: Convertible debt
Credit ratings
Debt contract
Economic consequences of accounting standard
Shareholder wealth effects

Using a set of hand-collected data, I study the economic consequences of APB 14-1 adopted in 2008, which requires that issuers of cash-settled convertible debt divide the total proceeds from the issuance into liability and equity components ("bifurcation"). First, I find that issuers are more likely to reduce the outstanding amount of cash-settled convertible debt when the increase (decrease) in interest expense (leverage ratio) resulting from the bifurcation process is higher (lower). The probability of early repurchase is higher when mandatory accounting changes are included in the calculation of debt covenant compliance. This finding is consistent with the debt contracting hypothesis that APB 14-1 increases the probability of debt covenant violations. Next, I examine whether credit rating agencies evaluate the issuers' accounting information differently after the adoption of APB 14-1. I find that the financial ratios in the post-2008 period, such as interest coverage ratios and leverage ratios, can better explain the issuers' credit ratings than those in the pre-2008 period. Lastly, I find that shareholders of cash-settled convertible bond issuers experience an overall loss of wealth of 2.1% associated with APB 14-1. The negative shareholder reactions are greater when issuers use rolling GAAP in their bank loan agreements to calculate debt covenant compliance. These empirical results are consistent with the notion that mandatory changes in financial reporting of cash-settled convertible debt have real effects on managerial behavior and the usefulness of information from financial statements used by the credit market.
Immigrant Women and their Work in the Informal Economy in Toronto: Impacts and the Potential for Critical Transformations
Keywords: immigrant women
informal economy
learning
social relations
transformation

This research examines the everyday experiences of immigrant women working informally in the City of Toronto (Canada). The study is based on analysis of original in depth interview (n = 27) and focus group data (n = 19). The thesis begins from the belief that the choice of highly educated immigrant women, with and without professional work experiences from their home countries, to do informal work in Canada is part of a fact that they are going through a particularly intensive process of change. With special attention to the potential for critical transformative learning (e.g. Mezirow; Freire) - how this change is produced, experienced, and addressed is the key focus in this study. The study considers three avenues of experience potentially influencing change in the lives of immigrant women post-immigration: i) the ways of knowing, frames of reference, and worldviews of these women as shaped by the complex relationship between their private (e.g. as mothers and wives) and public (e.g. as community members and informal product/service workers) lives; ii) the various economic and cultural relations and shifting locations that mediate how the individual makes choices regarding (formal and/or informal) work activities; and, iii) the social relations shaping the changing experiences and interpretations of interlocking systems of power relations involving gender, race, class and disability.Agentive participation and learning in the context of economic participation are key in understanding women's choices, experiences, and outcomes in the context of their work and life experiences in Canada. This study reveals the multidimensional, often contradictory, processes of change that individuals in marginalized situations post-immigration go through and their awareness of and influence over these change processes. The analysis suggests a multilayered process that supports and sometimes inhibits the creation of a new foundation for various types of transformative learning trajectories; one that keeps the loose threads together and moves people towards and along a path they individually or collectively choose to follow in order to find meaning and realize positive change.
"Sophisticated Laddie:" Scottish Flute Music 1720-80 on a Stylistic Continuum
Keywords: eighteenth-century
Flute
Performance Practice
Scottish
traditional

Eighteenth-century Scottish repertoire for flute has remained separate from mainstream continental flute music for both performance and study, and as a result, is not well known. This music, written in an environment where Scotsmen embraced nationalist pride and their Scottish identity, offers flutists insight into a unique repertoire that often carries distinct Scottish inflection. This study examines music for flute written by Scottish composers from 1720-80, identifying distinctive elements of style, and presents a view of the music on a stylistic continuum that demonstrates a blend of continental concert and Scottish traditional elements. Repertoire written by James Oswald, William McGibbon, Alexander Munro, General John Reid and Charles McLean serves as the main focus for examination. Placing this music in historical and musical context, the study synthesizes existing scholarship by Matthew Gelbart, Robert Gjerdingen and David Johnson with other research, to draw new connections to Italianate compositional practices and elements of Scottish traditional music performance practice. These new perspectives on Scottish flute literature can serve as a complement to the body of existing research of continental flute music performance practice.
Functional Analysis of the Anorexia Mouse Mutation
Keywords: Mouse genetics
Molecular Biology

The serotenergic and hypothalamic systems regulate mood and food intake, respectively, which can both be altered in neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders. The spontaneous recessive anorexia (anx) mouse mutation has previously been shown to cause widespread deficits in serotonergic innervation, and more recently, hypothalamic neuronal degeneration. These neuronal deficits observed in anx/anx mice contribute to their emaciated appearance and abnormal behaviours. The anx mutation is located on mouse chromosome 2 in an interval syntenic to human 15q22, which has been linked with catatonic schizophrenia and cases of autism and phobic disorders. At present, while the mutation(s) causative of the anx phenotype remains unknown, I have further characterized a novel neurodegeneration phenotype in anx/anx brains. In addition, we have identified a genetic variant that contributes to the anx phenotype. To test the effects of the genetic variant, we generated normal and mutant transgenic mouse lines. The normal line resulted in the partial rescue of anx phenotypes. Conversely, the mutant line showed no rescue. Thus, we have identified the first genetic modifier of the anx phenotype. Given the neurobiological effects of the anx mutation coupled with its intriguing genetic location, further examining the anx mutation may contribute to a better understanding of human psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.
The Concept of Evidence in Health Technology Assessment (HTA)
Keywords: Health technology assessment
HTA
Evidence
Health policy

This dissertation aims to make four contributions to knowledge. First, unlike other fields (e.g. science, medicine, etc.), the field of health technology assessment (HTA), has not thus far greatly benefited from a conceptually rigorous, philosophical analysis. Thus, the overall, and first, contribution of this dissertation is to begin to fill in some of this gap. Second, because cross-jurisdictional comparisons and analyses are uncommon in the HTA literature, the dissertation devises a heuristically useful scheme for this purpose, and subsequently utilises that scheme to compare Canada’s, Australia’s and UK’s approaches to HTA at the national level (focusing on CADTH, MSAC and NIHR, respectively). This analysis reveals that although HTA is claimed to be an evidence-based endeavour, the agencies’ assessments rely on a variety of probative inputs, raising the question of how, exactly, these bodies understand the concept of ‘evidence’? An analysis of the HTA literature, as well as of the publications of the HTA agencies themselves, reveals that HTA, unlike other evidence based fields (such as evidence-based medicine (EBM) and evidence-based health policy (EBHP)), has thus far failed to flesh out an account of evidence. Thus, as a third contribution to knowledge, an account of evidence that is suitable for HTA purposes is proposed here. Evidence is argued to be: available data that is relevant to the issue being addressed, question asked, decision made, etc. It is further argued that this definition enjoys numerous benefits, whilst simultaneously bypassing some of the problems around the definitions of evidence proposed in the EBM and EBHP literature. The tenability and utility of the proposed definition is tested twice. First, the definition is tested against CADTH’s, MSAC’s and NIHR’s evaluative practices vis-à-vis health technologies in general, and second, the definition is tested against the agencies’ evaluative practices vis-à-vis genetic tests in particular. Thus, as a fourth contribution, the dissertation addresses genetic tests as an HTA issue, rather than as a bioethics issue, as it is predominantly done in the literature. In case of both the assessments of health technologies generally speaking, and assessments of genetic tests in particular, it is argued that the proposed definition of evidence is both tenable and useful, as it captures all and only the probative inputs that are required by the health technological assessments.
Genetic-epigenetic Interactions: Sequence-dependent and Independent DNA Nethylation
Keywords: epigenetics
genetics
twins
DNA methylation
microarray
allele-specific methylation
major psychosis
epigenetic inheritance

The field of human epigenetics has become widely accepted, yet many basic principles remain unclear. It is important to determine the extent to which DNA methylation profiles are influenced by DNA sequence; we addressed this question using tissues from human monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins, post-mortem brain and germline samples. First, we analyzed white blood cells (WBC), buccal epithelium, and rectal biopsies from MZ twins, and annotated the epigenetic metastability of ~6,000 unique genomic regions. Our study was the first to utilize epigenome-wide profiling to document DNA methylation differences in MZ twins. We also found that DZ twins exhibited more epigenetic differences compared to MZ twins. Two competing hypotheses were tested: 1) DNA sequence differences caused the additional DZ epigenetic variation, or 2) additional epigenetic differences are present in the zygotes of DZ co-twins. Our animal and in silico studies supported hypothesis 2, providing the first evidence for twin-based epigenetic heritability. Still, genetic impact on epigenetic variation cannot be excluded. To explore DNA–epigenetic interactions and their role in disease, we mapped allele-specific methylation (ASM) in brain and sperm DNA from individuals affected with major psychosis and controls. We found that ~2.5% of brain SNPs show ASM, although genomic distribution of these “epiSNPs” varies between cohorts. EpiSNPs were generally enriched in untranslated regions (UTRs) and regions surrounding genes, and depleted in exons. The schizophrenia cohort contained twice as many epiSNPs as controls and bipolar disorder, although they largely overlapped. Most epiSNP Gene Ontology categories were related to brain development and function; differences between cohorts were observed in glutamate and insulin pathways. Tissue-specific epiSNPs were also detected in sperm DNA. Deep sequencing analysis revealed that any SNP could potentially demonstrate low-level ASM. This work describes various aspects of genetic–epigenetic interactions, while supporting epigenetic heritability and the role of genetic-epigenetic interactions in major psychiatric disease.
Gene Expression Changes in Rats with Diastolic Dysfunction Induced by Diabetes and Hypertension, and in Humans with Diastolic Heart Failure
Keywords: Gene expression
diastolic dysfunction

Current therapies for heart failure are administered across a heterogeneous spectrum of disease etiology and phenotype. Standard treatments for systolic heart failure are not efficacious for patients with diastolic heart failure, raising the possibility that as of yet unidentified mechanisms are responsible for disease pathogenesis. We observed that diabetic rats treated with Angiotensin II infusion developed cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis, and impaired diastolic function. Using a systems biology approach, we identified (a) changes in the cardiac transcriptome of rats in response to diabetes and hypertension; (b) the subset of genes that were simultaneously regulated in both the heart and whole blood of rats exposed to diabetes and hypertension; and (c) differentially expressed genes in whole blood of patients with diastolic heart failure compared to those with systolic heart failure and controls. In each experiment, we identified differential expression of functionally related groups of genes, suggesting coordinated regulation of multiple genes. Protein processing, extracellular matrix remodeling and inflammation were three of the dominant processes in cardiac tissue of diabetic hypertensive rats that were simultaneously regulated in whole blood. Extracellular matrix protein 1, transforming growth factor beta family members, and angiopoietin-like four were identified as part of a panel of extracellular matrix mediators that were coordinately regulated in both tissues. Gene expression profiles in blood of patients with diastolic heart failure allowed us to study networks and relationships of interactions that may not have been available from the study of single targets. A panel of eleven candidate markers was identified, including several that participate in cytoskeletal rearrangement or cell adhesion (plexin C1, transgelin 2, ninein, villin 2, and dock 2), and others involved in protein processing (ubiquitination factor E4B, myotubularin related protein 3, presenilin 1). These sets of experiments contribute to the literature regarding the myocardial effects of diabetes and hypertension and provide novel insight into the coordinated regulation of genes in the heart and blood in response to cardiovascular stress. The list of top candidate genes identified from the blood of patients with diastolic heart failure may have clinical utility as disease biomarkers.
Genetic Investigation of MHC-independent Missing-self Recognition by NK Cells
Keywords: NK Cells
Bone Marrow Transplantation
Cancer
Clr-b

NK cells are innate lymphocytes involved in the elimination of transformed, infected, stressed, antibody-coated and transplanted cells. The goal of this thesis, as well as the interest of our laboratory is to explore the MHC-independent “missing-self” branch of NK recognition, and more specifically, the NKR-P1B:Clr-b receptor-ligand system and its role in bone marrow transplantation. In the first results chapter, we generated hybridoma clones producing monoclonal antibodies against another inhibitory receptor in the Nkrp1 receptor family, NKR-P1G via the CELLISA assay. Our results demonstrate that CELLISA is a cost-effective, efficient, and high-throughput screening protocol, and the generation of the α-NKR-P1G 1H8 hybridoma clone enables characterization of the mouse Nkrp1-Clr receptor-ligand system via in vitro reporter cell and transfection approaches. Next, we show that the Nkrp1-Clr receptor-ligand system exhibits substantial allelic polymorphisms in NKR-P1B, NKR-P1C, and Clr-c loci between three common laboratory inbred mouse strains (C57BL/6, BALB/c and 129); however, no differential gene content has been observed in these loci in contrast to the Ly49 and MHC-I loci in mice. Furthermore, through the usage of BWZ reporter cell assays, we reveal several new cognate receptor-ligand pairs in addition to the previously reported NKR-P1B:Clr-b and NKR-P1F: Clr-g interactions; they are: NKR-P1F: Clr-c; NKR-P1F: Clr-d; NKF-P1G: Clr-d; NKR-P1G: Clr-f; NKR-P1G: Clr-g. In the final results chapter, we show that Clr-b–/– bone marrow cells are rejected by the recipients’ NKR-P1B+ NK cells. Importantly, through the usage of a 7-colour membrane labeling technique on the donor cells, we can simultaneously compare the rejection of Clr-b–/– grafts to WT cells and different variants of MHC-I-deficient bone marrow cells in a single animal. Up to 30-40% of Clr-b–/– bone marrow cells were rejected, which is similar to the rejection phenotype for H-2Db–/– bone marrow cells. Importantly, this rejection is reverted fully or partially (in B6 vs. Swiss recipients) in NK-depleted (total or NKR-P1B+ NK subset depleted) recipients. Collectively, these results extend our understanding of the Nkrp1-Clr receptor-ligand family by revealing additional Nkrp1-Clr receptor-ligand pairs; and that the missing-self recognition of Clr-b in vivo is instrumental in determining the prognosis of bone marrow transplantation.
The Client's and Therapist's Vocal Qualities in CBT and PE-EFT for Depression
Keywords: vocal quality
Client Vocal Quality
Therapist Vocal Quality
psychotherapy processes
CBT
Emotion Focused Therapy
Process Experiential Therapy

The psychotherapy client’s vocal quality indicates the quality of and shifts in the client’s engagement in treatment. In contrast, the therapist’s vocal quality is a treatment intervention, either facilitating or hindering the client’s progress. The Client Vocal Quality (CVQ) and Therapist Vocal Quality (TVQ) measures (Rice & Kerr, 1986) were applied to responses in the middle 20 minutes of low and high change sessions for 61 clients who received either cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or process-experiential emotion focused therapy (PE-EFT) for depression (Watson, Gordon, Stermac, Kalogerakos, & Steckley, 2003). Sessions were selected using the Client Task Specific Change Measure-Revised (CTSC-R; Watson, Greenberg, Rice, & Gordon, 1996). Outcome measures included the Beck Depression Inventory, Dysfunctional Attitude Scale, Global Severity Index of the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, Inventory of Interpersonal Problems, Problem-Focused Style of Coping Scale, and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The CVQ categories differentiated between treatment types, with PE-EFT clients expressing a significantly higher proportion of Emotional vocal quality and CBT clients expressing a significantly higher proportion of Externalizing vocal quality. There was no difference between the treatment types for Focused or Limited vocal quality. The CVQ categories predicted outcome. This relationship was particularly evident in the session in which clients first reported moderate to high change on the CTSC-R. The combination of Emotional and Focused categories was a stronger predictor than either category alone. In contrast, a higher proportion of Externalizing vocal quality predicted worse scores. In terms of Therapist Vocal Style, PE-EFT therapists spoke predominantly in the Softened-Irregular Vocal Style, while CBT therapists spoke predominantly in the Natural-Definite Vocal Style. Therapists’ use of a Softened-Irregular Vocal Style, compared with a Natural-Definite Vocal Style, was associated with the client’s report, at the end of therapy, that he/she felt less easily exploited by others and had a greater ability to assert interpersonal boundaries without fear of offending others. Limitations of the study are discussed.
The Struggle for North Africa between Almohads, Ayyubids, and Banū Ghāniya (Late Twelfth to Early Thirteenth Centuries A.D.)
Keywords: History
Medieval
North Africa
Maghrib
Egypt
Mediterranean
Sahara
Almohads
Ayyubids
Banu Ghaniya
Fatimids
Qaraqush

This thesis is concerned with the invasion of the Almohad Empire by the Banū Ghāniya of Majorca and the Ayyubid amir Sharaf al-Dīn Qarāqūsh in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries A.D. This long and destructive conflict, which sapped the strength of the Almohad state in North Africa, has received little attention from modern scholars, particularly in the west. It is our aim to contextualize the revolt of the Banū Ghāniya and Qarāqūsh’s expeditions within the wider African and Mediterranean worlds. In particular, we will shed light on the economic background of the great power rivalries that affected North Africa during this period. The Banū Ghāniya were descendants of the Almoravids who established a principality in the Balearic Islands after the fall of the Almoravid state in the mid-twelfth century. In 1184 they invaded North Africa and fought against the Almohads in a struggle which lasted until the 1230s and ranged from Tripoli to Sijilmāsa under the amirs ʿAlī (1184-1187) and Yaḥyā b. Ghāniya (1188-1235?). The arrival of the Banū Ghāniya in North Africa coincided with the conquest of Almohad Ifrīqiya (Tunisia) by the Ayyubid amir Sharaf al-Dīn Qarāqūsh. For several years Ayyubid forces fought side by side with the Banū Ghāniya and various Arab tribes against the Almohads until Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn made peace with the latter in 1190. The tenacious resistance of the Banū Ghāniya and their allies, though ultimately unsuccessful, put an end to Almohad dreams of an empire embracing all of northwest Africa and forced them to eventually relinquish their hold on Ifrīqiya and the Central Maghrib which passed under the rule of the local Hafsid and Zayyanid dynasties in the first half of the thirteenth century.
Hybrid SC-Inductive Based Topologies for Low-volume High-efficiency Switched-mode Power Supplies
Keywords: Power electronics
power supply
SMPS
switched capacitor
switched mode

Switched-mode power supplies (SMPS) are widely used as the voltage or current regulators for electronic devices. The most commonly used SMPS are inductive converters based on conventional buck and boost converter topologies due to their simplicity and relatively high power density and efficiency. However, in applications with large voltage difference between their inputs and outputs, these converters suffer from excessive losses and increased volume due to more demanding filtering and also cooling requirements. Therefore strong and ever increasing demands for developing smaller and more efficient SMPS with high conversion ratios exist.In this work two new converter topologies suitable for applications with large input-to-output voltage difference are introduced for both input voltage step-down and step-up in two different types of applications, i.e. for dc-dc converters and rectifiers with power factor correction. These converters are developed based on the concept of merging Switched-capacitor (SC) and inductive based converter stages by means of newly emerged digital controllers, improving efficiency and reducing the overall volume of the converter. Hence, the benefits of high power density SC-based converters are exploited and at the same time the input-to-output voltage ratio for the inductive stage is reduced improving its power density and efficiency. Compared to two-stage solutions, by merging SC and inductive based stages, switches between two stages are shared, reducing conduction losses, intermediate/flying capacitors are eliminated and controllers are unified.The buck-based, voltage step-down solution combines a capacitive divider and an interleaved buck to reduce the volume of multi-phase step-down converters. Experimental results obtained with a 7V-to-1V, 10A, 1 MHz prototype demonstrate that the merged capacitor converter has 15% smaller inductor, 13% smaller output capacitor, up to 35% lower power losses and 15% shorter settling time after transients.In the boost-based voltage step-up solution, the improvements are achieved by replacing the output capacitor of the boost converter with a non-symmetric active capacitive divider, with a 2:1 division ratio, effectively providing four-level converter behavior. Experimental results obtained with a 350 W, 200 kHz, universal input voltage (85Vrms - 265Vrms) PFC prototype demonstrate 66% reduction of boost converter inductor and up to 10% improvement of efficiency.