VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Facilitating Sustainable Access to Medical Devices in Sierra Leone and Ghana through Transnational Funders: Challenges and Opportunities

Background Transnational funders provide up to 80% of funds for medical devices in resource-limited settings where an estimated 72% of medical devices are reportedly abandoned. This means that for every dollar that funders spend on medical devices, 65 to 90 cents are wasted. The objective of this study was to inform public health care policy reform to facilitate sustainable access to medical devices by characterizing current transnational funding policies and practices from the perspectives of recipients and funders. Methods A case study was developed in March 2016 involving a review of policy documents; semi-structured interviews of frontline and administrative public health care staff, and representatives of funding organizations; and direct observation of medical devices in Sierra Leone. Subsequently, case study was conducted in Ghana between January and April 2017 using the same research instruments. Following thematic analysis, the data from the interviews were cross-referenced with information from the document reviews and direct observations. Results The national governments of Sierra Leone and Ghana have guidelines on donating medical devices; however, neither are linked to enforceable regulations nor are they promoted among frontline health care staff. Study participants in Sierra Leone underscored the importance of communication and collaboration; quality, functionality and appropriateness of medical devices. In Ghana, interviews revealed that donation guidelines were obscure and that there were technical leadership gaps in government hospitals. Conclusion To ensure sustainable access to medical devices, the national governments of Sierra Leone and Ghana, must establish coherent and enforceable policies that foster the development of a cohesive network of funders, medical device manufacturers and distributors, and service providers; mandate purposive funding of medical devices; foster technical leadership on hospital management teams; and establish a comprehensive device acquisition and management framework. To complement the efforts of recipient governments, funders should proactively incorporate principles of good governance such as collaboration, transparence, and accountability into their practices. By being more purposive, funders may finally achieve a worthwhile mission of sustainably enhancing the medical device capacity of health care providers in government-owned facilities in Sierra Leone and Ghana.

Keywords: Access
Health care
Health care services
Medical devices
Philanthropy
Policy
Advisor: Kohler, Jillian C
Systematics and Biogeography of the Neotropical “Polymorphic Earless Praying Mantises” (Mantodea: Acanthopoidea)

The Mantodea, or praying mantises, are a lineage of cryptic predatory insects with a history of rampant evolutionary convergence in their cryptic strategies. Historical emphasis on multiply-evolved character states related to crypsis resulted in largely phenetic classification schemes. Although praying mantises are the subject of renewed interest in both basic and applied research, the lack of a phylogenetic framework encumbers research on these organisms. This dissertation uses phylogenetic methods to investigate relationships in a unique branch of the mantodean tree of life: the polymorphic earless praying mantises (PEPM), a Neotropical assemblage comprising ~55% of mantodean diversity in the region. The overarching goals of this dissertation are to: (a) construct a new higher-level classification of the PEPM; (b) establish the morphological limits of all supraspecific taxa, providing updated diagnoses for each one; and (c) reconstruct an evolutionary timeline of the PEPM. Using molecular phylogenetic analyses, relationships among higher-level taxonomic groups were resolved with high levels of nodal support. These analyses also revealed numerous inconsistencies with current classifications. Reconciling phylogeny and classification required eleven new synonymies at the species-group level, and a further four synonymys and 40 new combinations at the genus-group level. The PEPM, now assigned to the superfamily Acanthopoidea, include 8 families, 15 subfamilies, 18 tribes, 63 genera (all morphologically redefined), and 315 valid species. Historical biogeographic analyses revealed that higher-level diversification occurred in mesic biomes throughout the Cretaceous Period, Crown diversification occurred during the Cenozoic (Paleogene/Neogene) Period, when punctuated evolutionary shifts to more seasonal, drier, biomes likely occurred in response to cyclical climatic fluctuations. The implications of this pattern of diversification, and potential drivers of mantodean diversity, are discussed.

Keywords: Biogeography
Mantodea
Ootheca
Systematics
Taxonomy
Advisor: Currie, Douglas C
Rights Discourse and Economic Domination: Thinking Beyond the Narrow Horizon of Liberal Justice

This dissertation offers a theoretical reconstruction of Karl Marx’s materialist conception of right through a re-examination of his critique of liberalism. The liberal conception of justice regards individuals as equal rights-bearers in abstraction from material circumstances and asymmetries of economic power. The dominant interpretation among leading Marxist and Anglo-American political theorists is that Marx’s critique of liberalism culminates with the “withering away” of right and rights in post-capitalist society. Explanations for this view have been framed around the postulation that communist society transcends the “circumstances of justice,” and that the end of class domination would pave the way for the disappearance of juridical relations. The first part of the dissertation questions this longstanding interpretation by reconstructing Marx’s materialist conception of right. The central thesis of the dissertation is that Marx regards right as an essential feature of any mode of production, including the future communist society, and that standards of right undergo transformation throughout history. The historical expansion of human freedom also provides Marx with a normative basis for assessing between higher and lower standards of right across different modes of production. The second part of the dissertation tracks the enduring legacy of Marx’s critique of liberal justice by examining how leading contemporary political theorists have responded to Marx’s challenge in the face of global financial capitalism and the hollowing out of democratically-enacted law. The dissertation also reconsiders the relationship between Marxism and the idea of the rule of law in the current era of neoliberal hegemony. Taken together, the dissertation aims at reconstructing Marx’s views on right and rights in ways that resonate with ongoing debates in political theory and the broader public sphere.

Keywords: Justice
Legality
Liberalism
Marx and Marxism
Rights
Socialism
Advisor: Chambers, Simone
Kohn, Margaret
Integrins are key mediators of cell state and tumour heterogeneity

Human cancers display a high degree of intratumoural heterogeneity (ITH), largely driven by heterogeneous genetic/epigenetic alterations and interactions with the cellular microenvironment resulting in functionally diverse cell subpopulations with differing clinical implications. In order to better isolate, study and potentially target clinically relevant tumour subpopulations, I developed a methodology for simultaneous target discovery and synthetic antibody generation, coined CellectAb. This approach allowed me to discover, develop and characterize antibodies against CD133 positive colorectal cancer initiating cells (CICs). Surprisingly, two of the three antibodies I discovered and characterized recognize members of the integrin family of cell adhesion molecules: integrins alpha (α) 7 and beta (β) 6. These antibodies enrich for self-renewing CICs, and genetic ablation of integrin β6 impedes colorectal CIC function. Together, these findings validate the CellectAb approach, identify two integrins as novel colorectal CIC markers, and provide a rational for therapeutic targeting of integrin β6. Integrins play critical roles in many cancer biological processes including survival, proliferation, invasion and metastasis. While seven drugs targeting leukocyte/platelet integrins have progressed to market, drugs against solid tissue integrins, especially αV, fail to show clinical efficacy despite promising preclinical results. In chapter 3, I hypothesize that a contributing reason for this failure may be that without αV function, cells relate very differently to the extra cellular matrix (ECM) microenvironment. Specifically, loss of αV robustly mediates the loss of adherent growth and switch to a viable three dimensional sphere state in cell types ranging from fibroblasts to epithelial cancers. Surprisingly, this phenotype is completely reversed when exogenous ECM is provided or metabolic redox conditions are perturbed. This unexpected discovery stemmed from parallel functional genetic screen approaches to identify genes regulating proliferative interaction with the ECM. Together, my thesis contributes to a better understanding of how cancer cells functionally interact with their microenvironment through various integrins, and provides a new technology for marker discovery on rare cell populations.

Keywords: cancer-initiating cells
CRISPR-Cas9
extracellular matrix
functional genetics
integrins
synthetic antibodies
Advisor: Moffat, Jason
Conceiving Dramaturgical Practice in English Canada: Histories, Methods, and Models, Post-WWI to the 1990s

The thesis provides both a historical exploration and a theoretical model of the practice of developmental dramaturgy in the 20th century in English-speaking Canada. From the end of WWI to the 1990s, the notion of the importance of a uniquely Canadian drama took hold, and institutions and practices arose to achieve that end. However, much of what has been documented and analyzed has focused on the period roughly following Canada’s centennial, when the formalization and funding of those institutions and practices took place. As a result, the purpose of this work is two-fold: first, to reclaim the voices of early practitioners and the historical record of dramaturgical practice, and second, to bring these voices into the contemporary discourse of developmental dramaturgy to create a working model of dramaturgical practice. Through an examination of a series of case studies, including the Art and Little Theatres, educational theatre, radio, and professional theatres, a consistency of practice across time and contexts is evident: the impetus to create an original body of Canadian drama (the meta-dramaturgical project), as well as the institutions and practices (macro- and micro-dramaturgy respectively) that arose to carry it out. What emerges through this examination is the recurrence of meta-dramaturgical questions—and macro-dramaturgical models and micro-dramaturgical strategies to address them—which serve as a starting point for a discussion of dramaturgical practice in Canada. That discussion includes, first, an examination of the influences, especially from the United States, in shaping dramaturgical practices—and the reciprocal emphasis Canadian practices had south of the border; second, the common elements—including the importance of encouraging playwrights and the need to educate audiences in the intricacies of new play development—and the varying contexts that led to the prioritization of the playwright or the production; and third, the cycles of articulation, negotiation, and concretization through which a play or theatrical event emerges, as well as notions of (shared) authority made possible by the creation of group language and governing structure of the piece. What is remarkable is that, despite instances where there is no connection between persons or resources, or, indeed, a knowledge of historical practice, the same strategies, the ways of doing the work, exist. This repetition serves to highlight the recurrence of micro-dramaturgical practices in the creation of individual works, macro-dramaturgical institutional models within which those works emerge, and the meta-dramaturgical frameworks that create the environment for them to exist and thrive.

Keywords: 20th century
dramaturgy
English Canada
new play development
Advisor: Pietropaolo, Domenico
Multiscale Modeling of Mechanical Behavior of Nextel 720 CMC Fibers at a Range of Temperatures

The mechanical behavior of Nextel 720 ceramic matrix composite fibers was modeled using a novel multiscale modeling technique called the Bridging Cell Method (BCM). The BCM divides the system into three domains: atomistic, bridging, and continuum. The main advantage of the BCM is seamless coupling between the atomistic and continuum domains. The BCM allows considering the effects of the nano- and micro-structural characteristics of the material when modeling a macro-scale bulk. It incorporates interatomic potentials and quasi-harmonic calculations to find the final state of the system, while avoiding high strain rates and small timesteps. First, Alumina and Mullite BCM sub-models were generated and validated via existing experimental data, across a range of temperatures. Then, the Nextel BCM was generated by combining the two sub-models. The mechanical properties of the as-received Nextel fibers were investigated in tension via micro-tensile testing and the results – evaluated in terms of the ultimate tensile strength (UTS), failure strain, and elasticity of the fibers under uniaxial loads – were used to validate the Nextel BCM model at room temperature. This model was further used as a benchmark, and a temperature-dependent formulation was employed to account for the temperature effect. The temperature-dependent Nextel BCM was tested under uniaxial tensile loads ranging from room temperature to 1700°K and the results were validated via experimental data obtained from the literature. The high-temperature drop in fiber strength was predicted by the Nextel BCM as a result of implementing the fibers’ microstructural evolution into the model, caused by phase transformation occurring at higher temperatures. The model was further validated with the fracture behavior of the fibers at room and high temperatures by implementing inter- and intra-granular cracks. Overall, the results show that the Nextel BCM can predict Nextel 720 fibers’ mechanical behavior across a range of temperatures.

Keywords: Bridging Cell Method
composite fibers
mechanical properties
multiscale modeling
Temperature-dependent modeling
Advisor: Behdinan, Kamran
Households' Preferences, Strategic Interactions, and Joint Forest Management outcomes

Joint forest management (JFM), which seeks to involve local communities in the management of state-owned forests, was started in India in 1990. One of the prime objectives of JFM was to restock degraded forest areas, which has not been uniformly achieved across the country. Variation in the success of JFM has been attributed to several socioeconomic and organizational factors. Existing literature, however, has ignored the role of intracommunity strategic interactions in JFM outcomes. Similarly, roles of social preferences and individual time preferences have also been overlooked. In this research, JFM outcomes have been analyzed through the lens of intracommunity strategic interactions, social preferences, and endogenous and good-specific time preferences. A model of strategic interactions among households of a village has been developed, and it has been shown that in JFM households play a public goods game. Equilibrium of the game has been analyzed, and effects of various model parameters on equilibrium participation have been investigated. An empirical study has been carried out in five villages in central India to observe the role of social preferences in JFM outcomes. It has been found that the presence of social preference is strongly correlated with success in JFM in the village. Since in JFM households incur costs in the beginning and get benefits later, individual time preferences are crucial for JFM outcomes. Time preference analysis is usually done using Samuelson’s discounted utility (DU) model, which expresses individual time preference by a unitary construct – discount rate, and does not consider endogenous and good-specific time preferences. In this research, a theoretical model is developed, and an empirical study is used to show that households’ time preferences are endogenous and good specific. A model for the evolution of other-regarding preferences in JFM has also been developed, and it has been shown that other-regarding preferences may evolve in JFM provided a stimulus is given, community’s dependence on the forest is high, and alternatives to forest resources are available.

Keywords: Evolution of Social Preference
Game Theoretic Modeling
Joint Forest Management
Social Preference
Time Preference
Advisor: Kant, Shashi
Observations concerning the mechanism of action of glyceryl trinitrate

Clinical observations suggest that aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 (ALDH-2) Glu504Lys polymorphism, a genetic mutation that renders a substantial loss of enzymatic function, does not always result in a reduced effectiveness of glyceryl trinitrate (GTN). We found no significant impact of the polymorphism on the hemodynamic responses to systemic administrations of GTN. However, the response of resistance vessels to local intra-arterial infusions of GTN was significantly blunted in subjects with the ALDH-2 polymorphism. ALDH-2 polymorphism also reduced the production of 1,2- and 1,3-glyceryl dinitrate (GDN), two common GTN metabolites, while having no effect on the overall biotransformation of GTN in whole blood. Finally, disulfiram, a non-selective inhibitor of ALDHs, was shown to significantly decrease the effectiveness of sublingual but not intravenous GTN. Furthermore, this inhibitor decreased the metabolism of GTN and the production of 1,2-GDN while increasing the generation of 1,3-GDN in whole blood of all subjects. Our results suggest that the biotransformation of GTN leading to its vascular effects is a complex phenomenon that involves multiple isoforms of ALDH expressed in various cellular compartments within diverse cell types located in different blood vessels. The therapeutic effectiveness of chronic GTN treatment is tremendously limited by the rapid loss of its hemodynamic and anti-ischemic effects, a phenomenon known as “nitrate tolerance”. Recent studies suggest that ALDH-2 mediated GTN biotransformation might be source of oxidative stress that leads to nitrate tolerance during sustained GTN therapy. We found that ALDH-2 polymorphism had no effect on preventing the development of nitrate tolerance and endothelial dysfunction, the latter of which is commonly associated with chronic GTN treatment. Our results suggest that ALDH-2 is unlikely to play a role in these phenomena. GTN has been long considered an endothelium-independent vasodilator; however, chronic GTN treatment has been shown to induce endothelial dysfunction, suggesting a potential interaction between GTN and the vascular endothelium. We found that in vivo inhibition of vascular endothelium by reducing the production of endothelium-derived vasodilators nitric oxide, prostacyclin and epoxyeicosatrienoic acids did not decrease GTN-mediated vasodilation of forearm resistance vessels, suggesting that the vasodilatory effect of GTN on resistance vessels is independent of vascular endothelium.

Keywords: aldehyde dehydrogenase
glyceryl trinitrate
mechanism of action
nitrate tolerance
nitroglycerin
vascular endothelium
Advisor: Parker, John D
They Did the Police in Different Voices: Representations of the Detective on the Victorian Stage

In the spring of 1863, Detective Jack Hawkshaw strolled carelessly onto the stage of the Olympic Theatre. The first British stage detective of any significance, Hawkshaw ushered in the beginning of a detective era on the London stage. Established quickly as a significant part of the nineteenth-century theatrical scene, the stage detective was swiftly codified into a theatrical “line.” Always happy to adopt a fictional persona or throw off a disguise, to play with performance conventions or manifestly observe his theatrical counterparts, the stage detective spoke the language of nineteenth-century theatre. More than this, he became an integral part of contemporary dramatic structure and style, both facilitating melodramatic resolution and looking forward to the dandiacal style of Wilde’s society comedies. The plays which form the focus of this work are a mixture of the canonical and those unknown to modern scholarship: from Tom Taylor’s well-known 1863 play, The Ticket-of-Leave Man, to Clement Scott’s long-forgotten The Detective (1875), from Wilkie Collins’s stage adaptation of The Moonstone (1877) to two adaptations of Charles Dickens’s Bleak House. To build a clear picture of English attitudes to the new detective and his appearance on the London stage I draw from contemporaneous newspaper articles and accounts, critical reviews and essays dedicated to theories of performance, as well as acting manuals and official police orders. Understanding the detective’s dramatic purpose and theatrical positioning sheds light on nineteenth-century theatrical conventions – from the complex interplay between representation and authenticity to the ways in which the melodramatic universe was conceived – as laid out by scholars such as Lynn Voskuil, Martin Meisel, Peter Brooks and Elaine Hadley. It also better illuminates the epistemological frameworks of the period – from questions of deception and fraud to concerns about omniscience and earned authority – as explored by Audrey Jaffe, Lorraine Daston, Peter Galison and others. Despite his significance, the figure of the stage detective has received scant scholarly attention. By pursuing original archival research as well as revisiting the stage detective’s appearance in the more canonical work of the period, I aim to reinstate the detective in the theatre history of the period.

Keywords: British
Detective
Drama
Police
Theatre
Victorian
Advisor: Johnson, Stephen
Switzky, Lawrence
The Affective Point of View: Cross-Cultural Philosophical Investigations of Embodiment, Feeling, and Consciousness

This dissertation uses the conceptual resources of affective neuroscience and Indian Buddhist philosophy to explain the relationship between subjectivity and affect. I analyze subjective character in terms of an organism’s embodied first-personal perspective on the world. Further, I claim that the embodiment of the organism needs to be understood in terms of our ability to feel; our evolved capacity to be affected or ‘hedonically perturbed’ by our interactions with the world. An organism is hedonically perturbed or affected if it feels something as being positive or negative in response to the world’s sensory solicitations, pleasure and pain are paradigm examples. On my view, to be conscious is not just to be in contact with some object in perception, but to feel a certain way in virtue of being so related. It is tempting to think of affect exclusively in terms of short-lived episodes like strong emotions and novel sensory affects. When affect is thought of in this way, it can lead to the idea that affects in general are a kind of episodic modification of an otherwise non-affective stream of consciousness. On my view, which offers a reconstruction and interpretation of Indian Buddhist philosophy, experience is always affective in various ways. These include sensory, emotional, and homeodynamic affects that give the world value and meaning.

Keywords: Affect
Consciousness
Embodiment
Subjectivity
Advisor: Thompson, Evan
Seager, William