VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Reframing the Nutrition Transition: Stabilizing Subsistence and Changing Diets

As the pace of food production and trade intensifies, and as distant localities find themselves impacted by global demands, scholars are raising questions about how diets are impacted. I examine how “subsistence expectations” (Haugerud 1995: 10-11 in Edelman 2005: 332) are forged in the face of changing trade practices, as governments and citizens make decisions about the kinds of foods to be eaten, and make decisions as to the kinds of foods to be avoided. The subsistence expectations that governments and communities forge about savouring traditional foods, adopting new foods, and even re-defining questionable foods can be at odds with “nutrition transition” predictions about dietary changes, and sociological predictions about how dietary changes are engendered in a global economy. Collectively, my research papers point to the importance of examining how countries, regional communities, and national communities regulate their food systems, and how the ways that countries and communities uphold and re-envision subsistence expectations are integral to the pace and character of dietary changes.

Keywords: diet
nutrition transition
Advisor: Schneiderhan, Erik
Silver, Daniel
Yurt and Cysts Link Adherens Junction Stability to Actomyosin Remodeling in Drosophila Embryogenesis

The integrity of epithelial cells relies on the stability of adherens junctions (AJs) during development. This dissertation focused on how remodeling of the actomyosin cytoskeleton can stabilize AJs. The FERM domain protein Yurt acts as a basolateral polarity regulator without any known interaction partners. I showed that Yurt genetically interacts with myosin II and DE-cadherin (DEcad) to support epithelial integrity in the Drosophila embryo. I found that a pool of Yurt localizes to AJs and physically interacts with myosin II and members of the cadherin-catenin complex. Loss of Yurt leads to fragmentation of AJs and disruption of myosin II throughout the ectoderm. In dorsal closure, I demonstrated that Yurt is essential for the recruitment of DEcad to the leading edge (LE) -amnioserosa interface and assembly of the LE multicellular myosin II cable. Yurt appears to support the LE cable through the organization of apical Crumbs and aPKC. In wound healing, we showed that Yurt can be recruited de novo to the site of myosin II cable assembly. I propose a model where an apical pool of Yurt acts to link the cadherin-catenin complex and the actomyosin cytoskeleton to stabilize AJs. Next, I characterized a novel RhoGEF, Cysts (previously CG10188), that is essential for epithelial polarity in the Drosophila embryo. RhoGEFs can regulate actomyosin effectors through targeting of small Rho GTPases. I found that Cysts is required for epithelial cell polarity. Depletion of Cysts leads to a progressive reduction in myosin II in the early embryonic ectoderm, followed by a disruption of AJs and apicobasal polarity, ultimately leading to cellular apoptosis. Structure-function analysis demonstrated that the RhoGEF domain and the C-terminal region of Cysts are essential for function. We showed that the C-terminal region of Cysts facilitates recruitment to apical junctions, whereas genetic and biochemical experiments suggested that Cysts predominantly activates Rho1 rather than Cdc42 or Rac. I propose a model whereby Cysts acts through Rho1 to maintain a critical level of myosin II at AJs to maintain junctional and epithelial integrity.

Keywords: Adherens junctions
Cysts
Epithelial Polairty
Myosin II
RhoGEF
Yurt
Advisor: Tepass, Ulrich
Influences On Monoamine Oxidase Activity In The Brain And Translation Into Major Depressive Disorder

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the 3rd-leading cause of disease burden worldwide. It is frequently treatment resistant, which could be explained by poor pathology targeting. Human brain imaging studies implicate elevated monoamine oxidase-A (MAO-A) density, particularly in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), in the development of MDD. While MAO inhibitor antidepressants are available, their utility is limited by dietary restrictions and medication contraindications. Finding novel ways of normalizing MAO-A could have great clinical benefits. First, we investigated the influence of several alterations underlying important pathologies of MDD on MAO-A activity in rats to better understand factors affecting MAO-A. Glucocorticoids increased MAO-A activity in the PFC and ACC, glutathione depletion increased MAO-A activity in the PFC, a simulated pseudopregnancy model lead to elevated MAO-A activity in the ACC days 4 to 7 postpartum, while serotonin supplementation and depletion had no effect. Second, since glutathione depletion increased MAO-A activity and low PFC glutathione levels have been shown in MDD, we hypothesized that glutathione loss may contribute to elevated MAO-A density in MDD and attempted normalizing it with adjunct N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a glutathione precursor. NAC did not affect MAO-A VT in MDD, an index of MAO-A density measured with positron emission tomography. Third, we explored several directions to improve interpretation of this negative result. Applying magnetic resonance imaging in an overlapping sample, we found that NAC did not increase glutathione levels. Subsequently, a higher dose of NAC also had no effect on MAO-A activity in rats. Finally, in an expanded sample, glutathione levels did not overall differ between MDD and health, but decreasing glutathione levels were associated with increasing duration of untreated illness. This has implications for using NAC in MDD, because it has been posited that NAC may only restore deficiency of glutathione rather than achieve elevated levels.

Keywords: Glucocorticoids
Glutathione
Magnetic resonance spectroscopy
Major depressive disorder
Monoamine Oxidase
Positron emission tomography
Advisor: Meyer, Jeffrey H
God and the Atomic Bomb: Nagasaki's Atomic Bomb Memory and Politics of Sacrifice, Forgiveness and Reconciliation

There is very little doubt that Hiroshima has become a testament to the destructive capacity of mankind over the last seven decades. Many influential world leaders have visited Hiroshima, pledging themselves to the project of eternal peace. However, very few of them have ever extended their trip to the second atomic bomb city Nagasaki. Likewise, the existing literature and media representations of the atomic bombing of Japan invariably views Japan’s atomic experience through a “Hiroshima first” optic. Studies devoted to the experience of Nagasaki are scarce even within Japan. If Nagasaki is considered at all within the context of these studies, its trauma and its historical significance are assumed to be identical to, or contained within that of Hiroshima. As Greg Mitchell, an American journalist and writer, observed: “no one ever wrote a bestselling novel called Nagasaki or directed a film entitled Nagasaki, Mon Amour.” Nagasaki has been the “forgotten atomic bomb city” (Mitchell, August 9, 2011). My dissertation critically inquires the conception of “forgotten atomic bomb city,” and explores what can account for Nagasaki’s self-effacing attitude from the remembrance of the atomic bomb memory and history and how Nagasaki has become overshadowed by Hiroshima’s powerful symbolism of the nuclear age over the last decades. Put another way, this dissertation examines what have normalized the absence of Nagasaki in the remembrance of the atomic bombing both in Japan and abroad. My dissertation demonstrates that Nagasaki has never been forgotten by American and Japanese policymakers. Rather, I argue that the second atomic bomb city has been firmly incorporated within the U.S-Japan Security Alliance since the end of the war. My work shows how Nagasaki’s remembrance and postwar history has been shaped by the politics of sacrifice, forgiveness and reconciliation between the United States and Japan over the last seventy years, and illuminates how the legacy of Japanese imperialism continues to rule contemporary Nagasaki, Hiroshima and Japan.

Keywords: Atomic Bomb
Cultural Memory Studies
Nagasaki
Advisor: Portelli, John
Di Paolantonio, Mario
We All Belong: Indigenous Laws for Making and Maintaining Relations Against the Sovereignty of the State

This dissertation proposes re-asserting Indigenous legal authority over immigration in the face of state sovereignty and ongoing colonialism. Chapter One examines the wider complex of Indigenous laws and legal traditions and their relationship to matters of â peoplingâ and making and maintaining relations with the land and those living on it. Chapter Two shows how the state came to displace the wealth of Indigenous legal relations described in Chapter One. I mainly focus here on the use of the historical treaties and the Indian Act to consolidate Canadian sovereignty at the direct expense of Indigenous laws and self- determination. Conventional notions of state sovereignty inevitably interrupt the revitalization of Indigenous modes of making and maintaining relations through treaties and adoption. Chapter Three brings the initial discussion about Indigenous laws and treaties together with my examination of Canadian sovereignty and its effect on Indigenous jurisdiction over peopling. I review the case of a Treaty One First Nationâ s customary adoption of a precarious status migrant and the related attempt to prevent her removal from Canada on this basis. While this attempt was unsuccessful, I argue that an alternative approach to treaties informed by Indigenous laws would have recognized the staying power of Indigenous adoption. Notwithstanding current Canadian immigration law, this staying power would further the goals of Indigenous self-determination, decolonization, and Canadian reconciliation. The Conclusion reviews the preceding arguments and contends that state sovereignty remains a significant, but not insurmountable, barrier to Indigenous self-determination and Canadian reconciliation. Grudging legal developments and heightened societal expectations require genuine, substantive reconciliation efforts. It seems only a matter of time before Indigenous rights to extend membership and status to foreign nationals are recognized again. This dissertation makes the original contribution that the best way of doing so would be through the renewal of treaty relations informed by resurgent Indigenous laws and legal traditions.

Keywords: Immigration
Indigenous
Law
Settler Colonialism
State
Treaties
Advisor: Macklin, Audrey
Family Recoding: Towards a Theory of Relationships of Economic and Emotional Interdependency in the Civil Code of QuĂŠbec

The thesis proposes a different approach to parent-child and conjugal relationships in the Civil Code of Québec, an expanded understanding of what is ‘familial’, the removal of the book ‘The Family’, and many more elements for a radical, yet simple and in line with civilian principles, theory of relationships of economic and emotional interdependency. It argues the Code should concentrate on relationships of economic and emotional interdependency, irrespective of their form or of their fulfilment of formalities. Their content and qualities should be law’s object, hence allowing for a functional account of families and personal lives. It builds upon Justice Abella’s hint in her dissenting opinion in (Quebec) Attorney General v A: “the history of modern family law demonstrates, fairness requires that we look at the content of the relationship’s social package, not at how it is wrapped”. These explorations will hopefully put in perspective current debates about the ways in which Quebec family law should be reformed yet another time.

Keywords: Civil law
Comparative law
Critical studies
Family law
Legal history
Private law
Advisor: Cossman, Brenda
Effect of Korean Red Ginseng (Panax Ginseng C.A. Meyer) and American Ginseng (Panax Quinquefolius L.) on Blood Pressure Control and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors

Hypertension is a strong risk driver of cardiovascular disease, particularly prevalent in type 2 diabetes. Suboptimal risk management supports evidence-based adjunctive approaches to standard therapy to help attain treatment targets. Ginseng ranks among most highly used herbal supplement with equivocal clinical evidence. Korean red ginseng (KRG) and American ginseng (AG) may have cardio-metabolic benefits relating to blood pressure (BP) and vascular function in addition to regulating hyperglycemia. In particular, ginsenoside Rg3, present in KRG, was identified to have BP lowering potential. The objective of this thesis was to asses: 1) the effect of single dose ginsenoside Rg3-enriched KRG administration on hemodynamic indices in healthy individuals in a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) and subsequently 2) the effect of 12-week co-administration of Rg3-enriched KRG and AG intervention on systolic BP (primary outcome) in addition to metabolic risk factors and safety monitoring in individuals with type 2 diabetes and hypertension in a RCT, and 3) the impact of the combined intervention on related vascular function markers and pulse pressure wave components within the 12-week study. Results: Single dose Rg3-enriched KRG administration significantly improved the hemodynamic profile 3h-post intake including augmentation index, central systolic, diastolic and mean arterial BP. A 12-week combined Rg3-KRG and AG intervention resulted in a reduction of 24-h-systolic BP (-3.98±2.0 mmHg, p=0.04) relative to control. Additionally, HbA1c (-0.35±0.2%, p=0.02) and lipids, including non-HDL-C (-0.54±0.2 mmol/l, p=0.01) and triglycerides (-0.43±0.2 mmol/l, p=0.01) were reduced, in absence of adverse effects. Central systolic BP reduction (-4.7±2.2 mmHg, p=0.04) was paralleled by improvement in systolic waveform components, but no effect on measured markers of endothelial function, arterial stiffness or pressure augmentation. Use of standardized ginseng combination may serve as a viable natural health product adjunct to pharmacotherapy for cardiometabolic management of type 2 diabetes.

Keywords: alternative medicine
botanical
clinical trial
diabetes
ginseng
hypertension
Advisor: Vuksan, Vladimir
Effects of Warming on the Phenology of Photosynthesis of Eastern White Pine and Implications for the use of Remote Sensing in a Changing Climate

In northern trees, temperature and photoperiod control the beginning and end of the photosynthetically active season. Climate warming could extend the length of the photosynthetically active season, while photoperiod could potentially prevent trees from benefitting from warmer temperatures. Changes in the length of the photosynthetically active season can be estimated with the photochemical reflectance index (PRI), which detects xanthophyll cycle pigments involved in non-photochemical quenching (NPQ), a process affecting photosynthetic efficiency. In overwintering conifers, sustained NPQ replaces xanthophyll cycle-mediated NPQ, likely causing seasonal variations in the relationship between PRI and photosynthetic efficiency. To better understand the impacts of climate warming on the spring and autumn photosynthesis of conifer forests, we investigated 1) the potential for enhanced photosynthesis during warmer springs and autumns in Pinus strobus L. and 2) seasonal variations in the relationship between PRI and the photosynthetic efficiency of needles. During simulated summer-autumn and winter-spring transitions, PRI variation mainly reflected constitutive carotenoid pigment pool adjustments. During spring, differences in the timing of pigment pool adjustments and photosynthetic recovery impaired the relationship between PRI and photosynthesis. NPQ mechanisms and energy sinks undetected by PRI, such as electron transport around photosystem I, also impaired the relationship between PRI and photosynthesis. In P. strobus seedlings from provenances located along a 1000 km latitudinal gradient, we observed differences in the phenology of photosynthesis, suggesting genetic controls of photosynthesis by photoperiod, with stronger controls during autumn than spring. The PRI could effectively track seasonal variations in energy partitioning, as well as carotenoid pigment pool sizes indicative of cold stress. Photosynthesis in P. strobus might be enhanced during warmer springs and autumns, however, photoperiodic regulation of photosynthesis is to be expected during autumn. The interpretation of the PRI in evergreens should take into account alternative energy sinks, especially under cold spring and autumn conditions.

Keywords: Chlorophyll fluorescence
Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.)
Phenology
Photochemical refectance index
Photosynthesis
Spectral reflectance
Advisor: Ensminger, Ingo
The Evolutionary Interplay between Cooperation and Partner Choice in the Model Legume-rhizobium Mutualism

Many organisms cooperate with other species for nutrition, protection, or dispersal. Why partners in mutualisms do not simply “cheat” and take these benefits without reciprocating is a puzzle that has received considerable attention. One prominent explanation is partner choice, or the ability of mutualists to preferentially associate with more cooperative partners. My dissertation uses the model legume-rhizobium symbiosis to address several underexplored questions, including how the environment shapes selection on partner choice and related traits (Chapters 1, 2), whether effective or ineffective symbionts select for partner choice in mutualists (Chapter 3), and whether “choosier” mutualists select for greater cooperation in partners (Chapter 4). Theory predicts that mutualists should be under selection to associate with only high-quality partners, yet highly specialized mutualisms are rare. Chapter 1 argues that because of environmental variation in both partner availability and quality, mutualists that specialize on any single partner may actually be at a disadvantage. I further explored the role of the environment in modulating selection on and genetic variance in mutualism-related traits in Chapter 2, by comparing legume-rhizobium interactions under greenhouse and field conditions. Partner choice is often considered an adaptation to prevent cheating, but there is surprisingly little evidence that cheaters readily evolve in nature. Chapter 3 suggests that instead of cheaters, cooperative partners can provide the selective incentive for partner choice, as hosts evolve to take better advantage of high-quality symbionts. Reciprocally, highly “choosy” hosts are expected to select for more cooperative symbionts, yet variation in symbiont quality is ubiquitous in nature. Chapter 4 finds that even in the presence of partner choice, variation in partner quality is nonetheless maintained through genotype-by-genotype interactions generated by local adaptation of symbionts to hosts. By exploring the role of the environment in shaping selection on mutualism-related traits and the evolutionary causes and consequences of partner choice, my dissertation provides novel insights about how mutualisms evolve and persist over evolutionary time. My research emphasizes that rather than an evolutionary incentive to cheat, both partners adapt to better ‘fit’ one another. The underlying genetic mechanisms that govern such (co)adaptation will be my focus moving forward.

Keywords: coevolution
experimental evolution
host sanctions
mutualism
partner choice
quantitative genetics
Advisor: Frederickson, Megan E
The Management of Adhesive Small Bowel Obstruction: A Population-based Analysis of Practices and Outcomes

Background Adhesive small bowel obstruction (aSBO) is a common surgical illness that is characterized by its high likelihood for recurrence. We sought to compare different management strategies during the first admission for aSBO to characterize how early management strategies effect short- and long-term outcomes associated with aSBO. Methods We developed an algorithm to identify patients admitted to hospital for their first episode of aSBO using administrative data collected by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care of Ontario. We compared operative management to non-operative management with respect to the cumulative incidence of recurrence and overall survival; we also performed a cost-utility analysis comparing early operative management to a trial of non-operative management; finally, we evaluated the impact of laparoscopic surgery for aSBO on the incidence of bowel injury and peri-operative morbidity and mortality. A variety of quasi-experimental methods were used to estimate causal effects while accounting for potential confounding by indication. Results We identified 40,800 patients admitted for their first episode of aSBO over 2005-2014. Patients managed operatively had a lower risk of recurrence of aSBO [21.1% vs 13.0%, p

Keywords: Adhesions
Clinical Epidemiology
Health Care Research
Small Bowel Obstruction
Advisor: Nathens, Avery B
Karanicolas, Paul J
Exciton Management in Organic Light Emitting Diodes

Over the last few decades, there has been great interest in the further development of OLEDs for practical applications. They are currently commercially-viable for low-brightness applications, such as in displays for mobile phones and televisions. However, efficiency roll-off and short device lifetimes at high luminance have restricted its progress into the lighting industry. The focus of this thesis is to study and address the major challenges that OLEDs currently face. First, energy transfer mechanisms in two-dopant sensitized fluorescence OLED systems is investigated. As most organic emitters have narrow emission bands, a combination of different coloured emitters is needed in order to achieve broadband white emission. Energy transfer mechanisms are key to ensure a balanced emission from all the colours. A model to quantify the competition between Förster and Dexter energy transfer is presented. Next, a highly simplified white OLED based on a single-emission-layer architecture is presented. This three-organic-layer device was able to achieve a low turn-on voltage of 2.7V, an external quantum efficiency of 18.9% and power efficiency of 30lm/W at practical brightness levels for lighting applications. Additionally, it exhibited good colour quality with minimal colour shifting. The origin of the improved colour shifting in the simplified device is examined. Finally, a platform for improving the device lifetime of blue OLED devices is proposed. This technique involves the introduction of a dopant to enhance the singlet to triplet ratio of excitons initially formed on the blue emitter. A high efficiency blue device was achieved with external quantum efficiency greater than 20% and the device lifetime was extended by 20-fold compared to the standard blue device without the dopant. Detailed investigation into the working mechanism of this strategy for improved device lifetime will be discussed.

Keywords: Excitons
OLED
Organic Optoelectronics
Advisor: Lu, Zheng-Hong