VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Trade and the environment: defining a role for the World Trade Organization

The purpose of this study is to define a role for the World Trade Organization (WTO) in protecting the environment. It is argued here that the WTO has a role to play in advancing environmental protection while still serving its foremost function as an institution committed to liberalizing trade: this role is to continue trade liberalization targeted at those market sectors where liberalization will be beneficial to the environment, to establish institutional mechanisms for managing both positive and negative effects of trade, and to reduce doctrinal barriers to environmental regulation. The role of the WTO in safeguarding the environment is defined by the relationship between trade and the environment. This relationship is defined in turn, for the purpose of formulating the WTO's role in environmental protection, by four elements: the economic theory of international trade, the environmental response to international trade and trade institutions, GATT and WTO jurisprudence on conflicts between trade and environmental policies, and the discussions of GATT and WTO working parties on trade and environment issues. These elements are formative in defining a role for the WTO in safeguarding the environment. Chapter 1 begins the examination of the relationship between trade and the environment by presenting the economic case for free trade and the environmental benefits of trade. Chapter 2 presents the environmental response to free trade, which focuses on the environmental hazards harboured in the economic case for free trade, in trade as an economic activity, and in the barriers that the WTO creates to environmental regulation. Chapter 3 analyses the GATT and WTO jurisprudence in the light of the concerns that environmentalists have with the multilateral trading system to determine how these concerns have been treated under GATT and WTO law. Chapter 4 examines the discussions of the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment on issues that fall into two themes: the tension between market access and trade-restricting environmental measures and the linkages between multilateral environment and trade agendas. Chapter 5 provides recommendations for defining a role for the WTO in preserving high level domestic environmental policies and in protecting global resources.

Keywords: International trade, Environmental aspects
Environmental policy, Economic aspects
A novel radiofrequency coil for interstitial thermal therapy

We have developed a novel radio frequency thermal therapy device designed to improve local control of large solid tumours using temperatures in the range of 55°-90°C. The device is a solenoid-like applicator designed to be loosely wound inside a tumour and excited with radio frequency (RF) energy. Our design exploits the circumferential and axial electric fields inside the coil for heating and coagulating a large tissue volume with a single, interstitial applicator. The loosely wound solenoid is constructed from Nitinol, an electrically conductive shape memory alloy that permits the minimally invasive percutaneous insertion of the coil in its compacted state through a coagulating delivery needle. To demonstrate the therapeutic potential of this device, and to determine the optimal frequency of operation, tissue-mimicking phantom experiments and finite element calculations (COMSOL 3.2RTM) were used to characterize frequency and geometry-dependent trends in absorption rate density (ARD). Based on the tradeoff between radial and axial uniformity of the calculated ARD profiles, a coil operated at 27.12 MHz, produced the optimal heating pattern. We also examined the electric fields and heating potential of a monopolar coil with a dispersive ground electrode. To determine the effect of the ground pad on heating, experiments and finite element calculations were used to characterize (i) uniformity of the radial and axial ARD profiles of different monopolar coil geometries, (ii) temperature profiles produced by these coils in phantoms and tissues, and (iii) lesion size in ex vivo bovine liver. Results showed that optimum ARD uniformity was achieved two coils which produced large lesions greater than 3 cm in diameter. Another goal of this work was to evaluate the feasibility of the monopolar coil in a perfused environment. We used numerical simulations to model temperature distributions, and an in vivo porcine animal model to evaluate the feasibility of this device to heat perfused tissue. This work confirmed that a loosely wound monopolar radiofrequency helical coil operated at 27.12 MHz could produce large lesions in perfused tissues. This work demonstrates the potential of this interstitial radiofrequency induction coil for heating large tumours using a single applicator.
A new dharma for the nation: the Toronto Theosophical Society and Albert Smythe 1891-1945

This dissertation offers an historical analysis of the Toronto Theosophical Society (1891–1945), with particular attention paid to founder and ideologue Albert Ernest Stafford Smythe. This work places the TTS within the context of the international Theosophical movement and the larger Canadian religious and intellectual milieu. The dissertation documents the understanding of Indian philosophical and religious ideas held by members of the Toronto Theosophical Society and how they disseminated these ideas to the Canadian public. Chapters 1 through 3 examine the founding of the TTS in 1891, its early membership, activities and controversies, and the schism that occurred in 1895. Chapter 4 analyses the development of a separate Canadian Theosophical identity which resulted in part from reactions to the various activities sponsored by the international Theosophical Society at Adyar. These include the emergence of the Liberal Catholic Church and the promotion of Krishnamurti as a Messiah, which forced the TTS to take a position regarding these activities, which culminated in the formation of a Canadian Section in 1920. This distinct identity made the TTS attractive to artists and writers in the 1920's and 1930's, who were themselves striving to create a specifically Canadian form of art. Chapter 5 analyses the Theosophical reaction to the Depression, the rise of fascism and World War Two. The final section of the thesis examines the life and ideas of TTS founder Albert Smythe and the impact that he had upon the TTS and Canadian Theosophy in general.
Do joint mobilizations of the asymptomatic cervical spine affect non-responsive shoulder pain in adults?

The asymptomatic cervical spine must be ruled out as a cause of any shoulder pain, as it can have a similar presentation to an isolated shoulder disorder. Previous studies have shown that lateral cervical glide mobilizations can affect peripheral pain, but none have focused on shoulder pain. A randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled, repeated measures design study was conducted to examine the immediate effects of cervical lateral glide mobilizations in a group of 21 subjects with generalized shoulder pain. All subjects received an application of either cervical mobilization or placebo intervention over two sessions. Paired t-tests revealed that following cervical mobilization, the shoulder abduction painful arc was significantly decreased (p
Employment restructuring and the search for flexibility: The case of non-standard employment in Ireland

The study is based on the Irish version of the 2001 International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) Work Orientations module, which is a national representative sample of the adult population. The results show that non-standard employment in its various forms accounted for almost half of the respondents in the study. Self-employment was the largest category (18%) followed by permanent part-time (10.6%), temporary/seasonal (9.6%) and contract employment (8.3%). Overall the analyses portray a picture of diversity on many levels, from the nature of the jobs themselves, the people in the jobs and the outcomes of such employment and in particular the economic implications. From an economic perspective while standard workers were in a superior economic position relative to their non-standard counterparts, the extent of difference varied with the economic indicator in question and/or the specific comparison between standard and non-standard forms of employment. However, in general respondents in non-standard work arrangements had less opportunities (in terms of income and career mobility), rewards and resources than their standard counterparts which translated into a poorer economic position. In addition to the economic implications there are also clear gender issues inter-woven into the many aspects of non-standard employment, as also are life course and institutional factors. This thesis examines many dimensions of employment flexibility but predominantly focuses on non-standard employment or contractual flexibility. It is a broad and comprehensive examination of non-standard employment in Ireland and examines the extent of such employment, the nature and social bases of non-standard employment, the relationship between non-standard employment and other forms of employment flexibility, and the implications of non-standard employment. Overall, based on the results of this study, non-standard workers in Ireland in general fared better in comparison with studies based non-standard workers in less regulated labour markets such as the USA and Canada. Non-standard employment in an Irish context is a diverse experience and the impact of non-standard employment varies considerably depending on job type, gender and the outcome in question.
The layer-by-layer adsorption of polyelectrolytes into multilayer assemblies: probing the structure and growth using atomic force microscopy and second harmonic generation

Multilayer assemblies are formed through the sequential adsorption of charged materials to a charged surface. When the adsorbing species are polyelectrolytes, the resulting film is termed a polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) film. This dissertation explores the fundamental nature of the layer-by-layer assembly scheme. In particular, the structure, growth, and charging characteristics are explored. A system consisting of alternating polydiallyldimethylamonium chloride (PDDA) and polystyrene sulphonic acid (PSS) layers was used as a model system. The morphology of films deposited under a range of salt concentrations was investigated. A distinct change in the morphology, thickness, and roughness was observed for films prepared below vs. above 0.1 M NaCl. For films prepared above this salt concentration, the distinct morphology is present only after 4 bilayers. The morphology of the film is retained in water but can be modified by the addition of solutions containing salt. These results are explained in terms of a transition from an extended to a more compact form that polyelectrolytes undergo as a function of the solution ionic strength. The growth dynamics of PEM films were investigated using second harmonic generation (SHG), yielding real time information about the in-situ adsorption process. The SHG results indicate the existence of a fast process (<10s) ascribed to the initial polymer adsorption to the surface, followed by a slower process due to a change in polyelectrolyte conformation at the surface. Varying the polyelectrolyte concentration varied the initial adsorption rate and the effect on adsorption dynamics was investigated. The charging characteristics of PEM films were measured in-situ using the AFM. In particular, the repulsive interaction between surfaces coated with like layers of polyelectrolytes was measured. Constant charge overcompensation was observed for layers deposited from solutions containing no added salt, while the films prepared using salt showed variable surface charge overcompensation in the first few layers.
Prokaryotic system characterization and effect of growth conditions on the dynamics of Escherichia coli gene expression

Our understanding of genes and promoters may allow us to exert control over the cellular behavior, which may in turn enable us to cure diseases from inside the cell itself. To achieve such a control, we need to have the quantitative understanding of the dynamics of system (cell) and the controller (synthetic network) themselves. Firstly, in this study a simple unregulated synthetic system (plasmid vectors bearing gene-promoter pairs) with varying copy number has been inserted into various strains of Escherichia coli to evaluate the dynamics of cellular behavior. Secondly, influence of growth conditions such as continuous culture (chemostat) and synchronized (baby machine) cell population was compared with conventional batch culture by assessing the cell size distribution and variability in gene expression. Results confirm that complex interactions between plasmids and their hosts can have significant effects on variability, even in deliberately simplified systems. It is evident that growth condition also has impact on both cell size and gene expression. These findings are essential for synthetic biologist to exploit and engineer novel synthetic gene networks (1-13).
Lingering on the threshold: The door in Augustan elegy

Chapter Three examines the significance of doors for the themes which are central to the Augustan elegiac programme. The focus is on the elegiac door's role as a socially-empowered cypher which allows the poet-lover to present himself as an elegiac character, but which simultaneously correlates all the characters of the elegiac scenario to those of comedy, thereby establishing a disjunction between the poet-lover's elegiac behaviour and the non-elegiac origin of his scenario. Chapter Four develops this further by exploring the potential for obscene readings which adapt comedy's metonymy of architectural and anatomical "doors." The elegists employ this obscene door metonymy in their conflation of elegiac poetry and elegiac puellae, which is implicated in the further conflation of the sexual and literary "thresholds" which the poet-lover must transgress. This dissertation explores the roles of the door within Augustan elegy and relates them to the elegists' programmatic concerns. The introductory chapter approaches the subject of elegiac doors through a detailed study of the motif of the paraklausithyron. The well-documented pre-elegiac history of this motif provides excellent evidence for the elegists' application of the programmatic activity of genre-blending in their paraklausithyra. After a brief framing discussion of the theoretical approach to genre, this chapter outlines the most relevant examples of the paraklausithyron's pre-elegiac development and then examines the Augustan elegists' blending of these generic types in their treatment of the motif. Chapter One is a contextualizing chapter which examines the social significance of doors within Roman culture. Through a consideration of the material remains, textual data and modern theories of spatial analysis, this chapter exposes the importance of doors to the expression and maintenance of Roman social ideologies. The ideological association of doors with slaves and gods is particularly relevant to the personification of doors in Roman poetry. This relationship is explored in Chapter Two, which applies the observations of Chapter One to Catullus 67, a poem which had immense influence on the Augustan elegists' depictions of doors. Focusing on the special social relevance of the door within Roman culture permits a new reading of Catullus 67 which dispels many of the interpretative problems that have plagued previous scholarship on the poem.
Spotting error in cDNA microarray data

Microarray technology provides tools for measuring expression of tens of thousands of genes simultaneously. In this thesis, we deal with error detection, error correction and quality assessment of cDNA microarray data. We discuss the nature of the technology and identify potential data errors associated with the individual steps of the experiment protocol, such as hybridization and scanning, as well as those likely to occur in scanned image processing. We propose an error identification method, which uses processed image data to detect and classify such errors; we visualize original data and processed image data through image reconstruction, emphasizing variability in signal estimated by different image processing software packages. We argue that the method can estimate the quality of an experiment with sufficient accuracy. Lastly, we test our method on data processed by two proprietary image processing software packages, QuantArray and GenePix, examining its correctness, robustness, and applicability in a general setting.
The spectral dynamics of EEG during target discrimination in the auditory and visual modalities

Objective. The purpose of this thesis was to examine the spectral changes in the EEG during target discrimination in the auditory and visual modalities. Methods. The basic paradigms were a visual and auditory “oddball” task wherein the subjects detected an improbable (p = 0.2) target in a train of standards occurring at a rate of 1/s. Target discriminability and attention were manipulated. Results. The spectrograms for the targets showed increases in frontal theta activity, decreases in alpha and beta activity and a decrease in central gamma activity. The decrease in the alpha and beta activity showed a topography that suggested a posterior alpha desynchronization specific for the visual task and a central desynchronization for both auditory and visual targets. Conclusion. ERPs and EEG spectral dynamics react differently during target detection. The spectral dynamics relate more to perceptual or motor processing (target or stimulus) whereas the ERPs are more affected by target detection.
The phylogeny of the Gasterosteidae with emphasis on the relationships within Culaea inconstans (Kirtland)

Issues regarding the specific and subspecific make-up of each of the stickleback genera have a long history in the literature. While the monophyly of the sticklebacks has been established, to date there has been no total evidence phylogeny for the family to determine the relationships between the species. The relationships within the Gasterosteidae was investigated using 3011 molecular, morphological and behavioural characters. One tree of 2241 steps was found with the relationships (Spinachia(Apeltes(Gasterosteus(Pungitius+ Culaea)))). The specific composition of Culaea and their biogeographic history was further investigated using three mitochondrial genes in a phylogeographic analysis. The genus was found to comprise three, possibly four, genetic lineages. The biogeographic analysis indicates that some of the diversity uncovered within Culaea predated the Pleistocene glaciations, while some was likely the direct result of glacial advance and retreat.
Interactive three dimensional scene searching and image retrieval

An algorithm that transforms two dimensional images obtained from a large number of dynamically calibrated cameras into three dimensional probability distributions using the help of a human operator is proposed. Unlike prior work, the human ability to quickly and accurately select and identify the same scene or object from multiple vantage points is utilized to robustly identify an object in three-dimensional space, thereby identifying the object in all camera images of the environment. By the introduction of a Spatial Reliability Function, which accounts for the level of access of each camera to the environment, the images from all cameras are ranked in accordance with the quality with which they view the selected object. This provides a mechanism for interactively and visually searching an environment or a set of images, all sorted according to their relevance to the selected object within the environment.
Characterization of parathyroid hormone receptor-1 (PTHR1) signaling: the R150C mutation, found in cartilage neoplasia

Parathyroid Hormone related protein (PTHrP), its receptor (PTHR1), and Indian hedgehog (Ihh) are key mediators of growth plate development. A mutant variant of PTHR1, R150C, has been previously shown to cause enchondroma-like lesions in the murine transgenic growth plate. Both the receptor PTHR1 and the R150C mutant have been found to signal through a PKA-dependent pathway. In this work however, we show that the activities of both PTHR1 and R150C may be mediated in part through PKA-independent pathways, and that the ERK pathway may be downstream to a PKA-independent pathway. Activity of this pathway may directly regulate downstream Hh transcription factors (e.g. Gli1, Patch). Wt PTHR1 and R150C stably transfected mouse mesenchymal cell lines were transiently transfected with Gli-Luciferase constructs and these cells were treated with either PTHrP1 or R150C constructs, and these transfected cells were treated with PTHrP, H89 (a PKA inhibitor) and/or PD98059 (an ERK inhibitor). (Abstract shortened by UMI.).
Equality at a crossroads :brethinking equality in family law

The author examines equality in the family context, particularly in spousal relationships, in the wake of the legalization of same-sex marriage and a history of rapid changes for the law as it applies to common law couples. She argues that equality in family law is at a crossroads, and that recent legal changes to the institution of marriage provide an opportunity to rethink equality in spousal relationships and begin to move away from a system which encourages and perpetuates dependancy and, therefore, inequality.
Personal factors in simulated bicycle accidents

The study explored the relationship between children's response to risk in the form of a simulated bicycle accident, and several variables hypothesized to be related to risk appraisal. Specifically, the relationship between reported levels of sensation seeking, competitiveness, impulsivity, fear of failure, thrill and adventure seeking, experience seeking, boredom susceptibility, self-sufficiency, conformity, previous injury behaviour, gender, bicycle confidence, galvanic skin response and cycling behaviour in a simulated setting were examined in 60 Grade 2 and Grade 6 children. The following hypotheses were made regarding the association between risky behaviour in the variables listed above; Based on previous research it was hypothesized that Sensation Seeking, Competitiveness, Thrill and Adventure Seeking, Self Sufficiency, Experience Seeking, Boredom Susceptibility, Previous Injury Behaviour, and Bicycle Self-Confidence would all be positively correlated with risky behaviour (faster pedaling and late braking). Conversely, Conformity, Fear of Failure (test anxiety), and Galvanic Skin Response will be negatively correlated with risky behaviour. As well, males were predicted to show greater risk taking behaviour, as were Grade 6 children in general. Results indicated that Grade 2 subjects displayed riskier cycling behaviour in the simulator by pedaling faster than the stimulus film required them to, and by braking later in response to the hazard presentations. The questionnaire and GSR data did not predict risk taking behaviour in the simulator. The implications of these findings from developmental standpoint, and as a guide to further research are discussed.

Keywords: Cycling accidents, Psychological aspects
Cycling accidents, Ontario
Risk-taking (Psychology) in children, Ontario
Sensation seeking
Children's accidents, Psychological aspects
Children's accidents, Ontario
Simulation methods