VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Jazz in the gallery: how culture enters cultured space

This paper explores the process by which cultural phenomena become institutionalized and validated within the social category of “art” in the U.S. Employing jazz as the primary example, this work shows how institutions, particularly museums, participate in organizing an inequitable society by regulating aesthetic categories in ways that facilitate the oppression of minoritized groups. Drawing on institutional ethnography, the thesis explicates Bunk Johnson's jazz career in the 1940s, examining how curators and critics constructed his revival. The analysis reveals how oppositional arts and artists are managed and integrated into the category of “Art” in ways that uphold dominant hierarchies. Primitive art, outsider art, and the embrace of post-modernism within the cultural sector are also examined in terms of this process. The thesis ultimately suggests that cultural institutions can work for rather than against social transformation by creating genuine space for oppositional art forms, artists, and administrators who problematize and offer alternatives to the traditional canon.

Keywords: Racism and the arts, United States
Racism in popular culture, United States
Jazz, Social aspects
Jazz, United States
The fallacy of equality: 'Anti-citizens', sexual justice and the law in India

The determinants of citizenship seemingly have little or no relevance to the sexuality of the citizen. However when it comes to the matter of exercising citizenship rights, sexuality acquires great significance -- where the normative subject of citizenship is the heterosexual citizen. Ideas of citizenship are predicated on hegemonic heterosexuality. Based on this understanding this paper attempts to map how the lives of the sexually marginalized in India, who I refer to as the sexual 'anti-citizen', are regulated and disciplined through the dual operation of criminal law and heteronormativity. Drawing from the influential works of French philosopher Michel Foucault and American anthropologist Gayle Rubin the paper argues how the anti-sodomy law in India -- Sec. 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalizes 'unnatural offences' -- operates through a 'panoptic' model that results in creating 'sexual hierarchies', acutely disenfranchising sexual 'anti-citizens' from guarantees to basic rights and freedoms.

Keywords: Equality before the law, India
Sex discrimination, Law and legislation
Sex discrimination, India
Heterosexuals, Legal status, laws, etc
Heterosexuals, India
Sodomy, India
Sex crimes, India
From Heorot to Elsinore: Denmark and the Danes in medieval and Renaissance English literature

During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, Denmark enjoyed more prominence in English literature than it has ever known since. In order to understand the significance of Denmark in English literature of this period, it is necessary to rediscover medieval and Renaissance ideas about the Danes. In contrast with the modern vision of Denmark as a peaceful and unassuming nation, the English down to the days of Shakespeare considered it a mighty and warlike empire. Chapter I examines the Danes in Old English literature. Beginning in the age of Alfred the Great, Anglo-Saxon texts display a considerable interest in Denmark, clearly stimulated by contact with the Vikings. In such texts as Beowulf, the Danes are presented as a great nation, having implicit historical connections with the English. The interest in such treatments of the Danes at the time of the Beowulf manuscript confirms historical evidence that the English attitude to the Danes was not uniformly hostile. Nonetheless, Beowulf contains a certain element of criticism of the Danes which may have appealed to Viking Age Englishmen. Chapter II examines the Danes in Middle English literature. After the Conquest, political contact between England and Denmark diminished, while in both historical and literary works English authors neglected the Danish settlements in England, treating the Danes only as plunderers and oppressors who were eventually expelled from the kingdom. The author of Havelok shows that he was aware of his audience's potential hostility to his Danish protagonist, and takes evident steps to overcome this prejudice. Chapter III examines the Danes in sixteenth-century English literature. This was a period of increasing contact between England and Denmark, yet this contact only exacerbated English mistrust of the Danes. In creating the Denmark of Hamlet, Shakespeare made use of the information made available by increased Anglo-Danish contact, yet the Danish stereotype inherited from the Middle Ages remains very evident.
Dechlorination rates in KB-1, a commercial trichloroethylene-degrading bacterial culture

A rapid, functional dechlorination assay was developed to measure TCE- and VC-degradation rates. This assay was used to measure the dechlorination rates in KB-1, a commercial, Dehalococcodies-containing bioaugmentation culture. Normal TCE- and VC-dechlorination rates were found to be 90 +/- 22 and 22 +/- 13 mumol/L/hr, respectively. The dechlorination assay was used to investigate 1,1,1-TCA inhibition and the effects of long-term storage on KB-1. Although 1,1,1-TCA inhibited KB-1 dechlorination, the effects were less severe than previously reported. In the storage experiment, initial decay constants were 0.006-0.010 d-1 for culture stored at 4°C, and greater than 0.011-0.014 d-1 in culture stored at room temperature. At approximately 6 months decay rates slowed; in the cold storage cultures significant activity remained, unlike in the room temperature-stored cultures. KB-1 was found to have lost the ability to use methanol as the sole electron donor but resumed dechlorination when additionally amended with ethanol.
Psychometric assessment of gender identity

Although gender dysphoria is generally conceptualized in a categorical manner, several lines of evidence support the need for a dimensional conceptualization. The present study examined the psychometric properties of the Gender Identity Questionnaire for Adolescents and Adults (GIQAA), a dimensional measure of gender identity/gender dysphoria, and the Recalled Childhood Gender Identity/Gender Role Questionnaire (RCGI), a measure of recalled childhood gender role behaviour. In Study 1, the GIQAA and RCGI were administered to adolescents with gender identity disorder and two comparison groups: clinical controls and males with transvestic fetishism. In Study 2, the measures were administered to adult gender identity and clinical control patients. In both studies, there was evidence for discriminant validity in that the gender identity patients had significantly more gender dysphoria and recalled more childhood cross-gender behaviour than the comparison groups. Conceptual and applied issues are discussed.

Keywords: Gender identity disorders
Gender identity disorders in children
Sex role in children
Psychometrics
Women's indigenous knowledge and community forest management in British Columbia: a case study with the Huu-ay-aht First Nation

This study was undertaken in collaboration with the Huu-ay-aht First Nation (HFN) of Vancouver Island's West Coast in an attempt to better understand the role of HFN women and their Indigenous knowledge in the planning and management of a recently developed community forest initiative, which is being undertaken by the HFN in partnership with the neighboring non-Native community of Bamfield. The Bamfield Huu-ay-aht Community Forest (BHCF) presents a series of unique cultural and economic opportunities for HFN women, whose extensive forest-related Indigenous knowledge could facilitate the successful harvesting of various Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) within the BHCF. However, HFN women have encountered a number of barriers to their meaningful participation in the BHCF, such that their involvement at present is severely limited. A case study approach is used to assess these opportunities and barriers, and to determine the extent to which they are related to women's empowerment within the community.
Human optic nerve head biomechanics: An analysis of generic and individual-specific models using the finite element method

Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness worldwide, yet the etiology of the disease is unclear. A leading hypothesis is that elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) produces an altered biomechanical environment within the tissues of the optic nerve head (ONH) and these biomechanical factors contribute to optic nerve damage and the consequent loss of vision. The range of individual susceptibilities to elevated IOP is believed to be, at least in part, due to differences in ONH anatomy and tissue biomechanical properties. Our objective was to use computational modelling to characterize the biomechanical environment within and around the human ONH, and to evaluate the role of IOP in the development of glaucoma. We present the first individual-specific (IS) models of the human ONH, with geometry based on serial histological sections from donor eyes. We also present generic models based on previously reported ONH morphometric data. The finite element method (FEM) was used to simulate a model's response to changes in IOP. Model response was quantified through a set of outcome measures that included various modes of strain within each of the ONH tissues and several measures of geometry. To determine the degree to which anatomical and biomechanical factors could influence the sensitivity of an ONH to changes in IOP, we also carried out parametric and sensitivity analyses on both generic and IS models. We show that IOP-induced levels of strain within the ONH reach potentially biologically significant levels. Mechanical insult to ONH tissues depends more strongly on tissue biomechanical properties than on the details of the ONH anatomy. In particular, scleral stiffness has a large influence on ONH biomechanics and could therefore be a risk factor for glaucomatous optic neuropathy. Scleral thickness, eye size and lamina cribrosa stiffness are other predicted risk factors. We also found that the mechanical response of an ONH to changes in IOP is complex, and cannot be described by one measure of strain. The largest ONH strains occur in compression, followed by shearing and finally by extension.
Mechanomyography sensor design and multisensor fusion for upper-limb prosthesis control

Current electromyography (EMG) sensors have not been successfully combined with more comfortable and functional silicone soft sockets in externally powered prostheses due to contact, wire breakage and daily use issues. To overcome those issues, this thesis proposes a novel control framework based on the measurement of the mechanical activity of remnant muscles (mechanomyography or MMG). This document details the technical implementation, design optimization and practical tests that lay the groundwork for the development of a new generation of MMG-driven upper-limb externally powered prosthesis. Fundamental contributions include a systematic characterization and optimization of silicone-embedded sensors for MMG signal recording, the novel design of a coupled MMG sensor pair for dynamic noise reduction and the first ever reported use of a MMG sensor array for the generation of multiple signals for prosthesis control. Tests with amputees demonstrate that MMG-driven prostheses may advance the frontier of externally powered prostheses research.
Differential effects of ginseng (Panax and non-Panax spp.) on acute postprandial glucose and insulin homeostasis in healthy humans: Influence of increasing ginsenoside variability across batch, preparation, variety, and species

Diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions worldwide. The insufficiency of conventional treatments to cope with this burden has coincided with a dramatic rise in the use of herbs. This has prompted calls for proof of their safety and efficacy. Ginseng is one of the most popular herbs. Whether the glycemic lowering effects we observed repeatedly with a single batch of American ginseng are reproducible is unknown. It is also unclear whether ginsenosides (steroidal glycosides), the principal active components, are mediators. To answer these questions, a series of acute, blinded, placebo-controlled clinical studies was conducted to assess the effect of increasing ginsenoside variability across ginseng source parameters of progressively greater ginsenoside variability (batch, preparation, variety, and species) on postprandial carbohydrate metabolism. A 75g-oral-glucose-tolerance-test (75g-OGTT) protocol was followed with ginseng administered 40min before the start of the test and blood drawn at -40, 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120min. In the first study, while our original efficacious batch of American ginseng lowered plasma glucose indices (P
Ptolemy's mathematical approach: applied mathematics in the second century

The study is an examination of the mathematical methods of Ptolemy and his predecessors. It attempts, so far as possible, to situate this work in the context of what we know about the rest of Greek mathematics and the exact sciences, with little or no reference to current scientific and mathematical knowledge. Each of these chapters describes a domain of Greek mathematical practice that is not witnessed in the theoretical texts and is generally left out of discussions of Greek mathematics. Moreover, in each case, I help the reader develop a sense for the methods and practices of the ancients instead of focusing simply on their results. The third chapter is an examination of all of the evidence we have for the so-called Menelaus Theorem, the fundamental theorem of ancient spherical trigonometry. It studies the texts of Ptolemy, his predecessors and his commentators and shows that the line of transmission cannot have been as straightforward as has previously been assumed. This is followed by an investigation of Ptolemy's practices in applying the fundamental theorem. This study of Ptolemy's spherical astronomy acts as a case study which gives us insight into the deductive structure of Ptolemy's exact science. This investigation allows us to develop a sense for how the ancient mathematical astronomer used these methods to produce new results. The final chapter is an exegesis of ancient methods of projecting the sphere onto the plane. It explores the texts of Ptolemy and his predecessors which are concerned with projecting the sphere either for the purpose of drawing maps or in order to model the sphere and solve for arc lengths. This leads to discussions of two important ancient methods of doing spherical geometry. The second chapter is a study of the first and most crucial application of these methods: the development of the chord table and its application to trigonometric problems. It also examines the trigonometric methods of the Hellenistic mathematical astronomers and shows how these fundamentally differed from Ptolemy's practice. It develops a general picture of the mathematical practices used in the trigonometry by means of chord tables. After a brief discussion of Ptolemy's philosophy of mathematics, the first chapter gives a classification of types of mathematical text found in Ptolemy and the Greek applied mathematical tradition in general. This is followed by sections that deal with the use of ratio and tables in Ptolemy's work. In order to apply metrical methods to geometrical problems, Ptolemy uses proportions as equations and develops tables to model continuous functions. Both of these practices, although natural to us, are unusual in the context of Greek mathematics. I examine the implicit assumptions and explain how these methods serve the applied mathematician.
The effects of in utero and postnatal folic acid supplementation on mammary and colorectal carcinogenesis in the offspring

Folic acid fortification in North America and periconceptional supplementation of folic acid have been highly successful in reducing neural tube defect rates. However, intrauterine exposure of the developing fetus to high levels of folic acid may have other effects on the development of chronic diseases, including cancer, in adulthood. Animal models of mammary and colorectal cancer were used to determine the effect of in utero and postnatal folic acid supplementation on the cancer risk in offspring. We demonstrated that maternal folic acid supplementation during pregnancy and lactation significantly reduced the density of a putative biomarker of mammary tumors. We also demonstrated that maternal folic acid supplementation significantly reduced the incidence of colorectal tumors in the offspring. The findings from these studies provide insight into the critical role of the timing of folic acid intervention, and support our hypothesis that maternal folic acid supplementation may prevent the development of new cancers in the offspring.
Proteasome inhibition and mitochondrial protein import: Their role in mitochondrial homeostasis

When mitochondrial protein import is inhibited mitochondrial proteins accumulate in cytoplasm. Evidence also implicates proteasome dysfunction and the excessive and/or ectopic accumulation of proteins in neurodegenerative diseases. This links proteasome and mitochondrial protein import. Hypotheses: inhibiting mitochondrial protein import causes accumulation of mitochondrial proteins in the cytoplasm and result in proteasome overload causing proteasome dysfunction. Conversely, inhibiting proteasome function and the subsequent accumulation of mitochondrial proteins triggers changes in mitochondrial protein import and activation of retrograde signalling. In PC12 cells sublethal CCCP decreased import of mtGFP and caused its accumulation in cytoplasm creating conditions that favour proteasome overloading Inhibition of proteasome function (MG115) decreased import of mitochondrial proteins and mtGFP in PC12 cells and cortical neurons and caused massive accumulation of mitochondrial proteins in PC12 cells cytoplasm. These results indicate that proteasome inhibition is associated with deficits in mitochondrial protein import and suggest that proteasome dysfunction may disrupt mitochondrial retrograde signalling.
Genetic alteration of anxiety and stress like behavior in mice lacking CaMKIV

Calcium-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IV (CaMKIV) phosphorylates the major transcription factor cyclic AMP-response element binding protein (CREB), which plays a role in emotional behavior. Here, CaMKIV knockout (KO) mice were tested in a battery of stress and anxiety-related behavioral tests, to determine if CaMKIV plays a role in emotional behavior. CaMKIV KO mice exhibited a decrease in anxiety-like behavior in both the elevated plus maze and dark-light emergence tests when compared to wild-type mice. Both the acoustic startle response and prepulse inhibition of startle were decreased with the deletion of CaMKIV. In addition, CaMKIV KO mice displayed a lack of stress-induced analgesia following restraint or cold swim stress. Our results demonstrate a key role for CaMKIV in anxiety and stress-related behavior.
Towards active image-guided therapy: A system of uncertainty feedback for image-guidance applications

Image-guided therapies involve controllable image acquisition parameters that affect the image quality and hence the ability to localize objects of interest. A therapy has geometric objectives that must be met. A framework for active image guidance (AIG) is proposed that uses the geometric objectives of the therapy to drive the controllable imaging parameters within specified constraints or to drive robotic arms for surgical or radiological interventions. This framework requires an objective observer (an autosegmentation or tracking algorithm) to output besides the estimates of the state of the object of interest, measures of the spatio-temporal uncertainty and the likelihood of these estimates. Towards the realization of such an AIG framework, the tasks of autosegmentation and tracking of interventional tools and fiducials under X-ray fluoroscopy within this framework are examined. The uncertainty and likelihood of the objective observers is characterized and the clinical significance of this characterization is examined.
Sex differences in the susceptibility to chronic intermittent alcohol-induced cognitive deficits

Women appear more vulnerable to alcohol-related problems at lower levels of consumption compared to men. With respect to alcohol-related cognitive deficits, gender differences seem specific to higher processes. The objectives of this project were to ensure similar levels of alcohol exposure between the sexes using a chronic intermittent alcohol exposure (CIE) treatment in rats, and test if delayed recall, a higher process, is more impaired in CIE-treated females than male counterparts. Experiment 1: Animals were assigned to one of three CIE groups (control, Low Dose, High Dose). Blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) and alcohol-induced motor impairment were sampled during the CIE period; both were similar between the sexes. Experiment 2: Animals were tested for spatial ability after 10 and 30 days of abstinence in the Morris watermaze. CIE-treated animals, regardless of sex, demonstrated recovery of function after prolonged abstinence. Experiment 3: Animals were tested for sex differences under delayed recall following CIE treatment under three alcohol challenges. When alcohol-free, Low Dose females were more impaired than male counterparts. Acute alcohol administration (0.5 g/kg) impaired alcohol-naive females more than male counterparts. Under 1.0 g/kg alcohol, all females were more impaired than males. The experiments above suggest that female rats may be more sensitive to alcohol's specific effects on delayed recall compared to males.
Collaborative family law training: from making the paradigm shift to experiencing transformative learning

Collaborative family law is a conflict management and dispute resolution process available to spouses and other life partners to assist them with the parenting, financial, and property issues that arise in the aftermath of a separation. It is an alternative to Anglo-American adversarial adjudication. The parties and the lawyers who represent them work together as a team. To become collaborative professionals, lawyers must first attend a collaborative family law training workshop. Trainers inform the participants of the need for them to make a paradigm shift in their orientation toward conflict management and dispute resolution. Transformative learning is an adult learning model comprised of two constituent elements, critical reflection and perspective transformation. It focuses upon the meaning perspectives of learners who participate in adult education and training programs. The assumptions upon which a professional discipline is grounded are fundamental to the ways in which practitioners do their work. If they do not understand why they are doing what they are doing or how they are doing it, it is less likely that the efforts of trainers to foster and induce meaningful and sustainable change will be successful. To explore the nature of the learning experiences of lawyers who receive collaborative family law training, a case study of a two-day workshop was observed. Six of the learners participated in this research. They were interviewed on four occasions over the twelve-month period following their training. The data reveal the pre-training paradigm within which all of these participants practised, the two dimensions of their practice behaviours that required changed for them to make the paradigm shift to become collaborative professionals, the post-training activities of the learners that contributed to their continuing learning, and the nature of the perspective transformation experienced by two of the learners.