VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Ethnography, Analogy, and Arctic Archaeofaunas: Assessing the Limits of Zooarchaeological Interpretation

The use of analogy to infer past lifeways from archaeological material is integral to many types of archaeological investigation. There are many sources for analogy, but the ones that offer some of the richest interpretations use ethnographic and ethnohistoric records to understand archaeological materials and their patterns. The use of these documentary records has been particularly beneficial in places where contemporary people can be linked to their archaeological ancestors through material culture using the direct-historical approach. However, the use of documentary sources in constructing past lifeways has been critiqued, with questions raised about the use of a synchronic, subjective record of a rapidly changing historical present to infer the normally fragmentary and palimpsestic archaeological material. This study aims to clarify the use of the documentary record in interpreting dwelling activities from the archaeofaunal record. By testing which ethnographically and ethnohistorically documented practices are visible archaeozoologically, archaeologists can identify activities, practices, and behaviours that can be accurately interpreted from the archaeological record using the documentary record. The Arctic is an ideal location to study the use of the analogy in the archaeological record as it has both a detailed documentary record and a well-preserved archaeological record. This study uses the direct-historical method to develop archaeofaunal expectations from the documentary record. Expectations for archaeozoological material were created to test for multiple stages of dwelling use: primary activities drawn directly from the documentary record, contemporary activities potentially invisible in the documentary record, and post-depositional activities. Archaeofaunal materials from a fourteenth century Thule Inuit semi-subterranean dwelling at Cape Espenberg, Alaska, were used to test these expectations. The strongest patterns that emerged were those relating to the primary activities directly reconstructed from the documentary record, specifically those relating to food storage, preparation, and consumption. Although this is a single study, it indicates that archaeofaunal patterns can help differentiate between activity areas in houses, and that activities that relate to domestic subsistence practices are similar in the early Thule period and the historic period. More broadly, it also suggests that documentary records can be used to accurately interpret archaeofaunal patterns relating to food storage, preparation, and consumption.

Keywords: Alaska
analogy
Arctic
spatial studies
zooarchaeology
Advisor: Friesen, T. Max
Parental Caregiving Goals and the Subjective Experience of Caregiving

The current investigation identified the goals that motivate parents to provide care to their children and how these goals relate to parents’ subjective experiences of caregiving. In two pilot studies and Study 1, a total of 1,137 parents were surveyed to develop the Parental Caregiving Goals Scale (PCGS), which captures four unique goals: child love and security, child growth and development, parent self-consciousness, and child acceptance. In Study 2, a cross-sectional study of 701 parents, the four-factor structure of the PCGS was confirmed and each goal was found to be related in unique ways to individual differences in parenting beliefs, concern for others, and self-focused concerns. The pursuit of child love and security goals was associated with greater emotional well-being, parent-child relationship quality, and responsiveness to a child’s needs, whereas parent self-consciousness and child growth and development goals were both associated with lower emotional well-being, parent-child relationship quality, and responsiveness to a child’s needs. Child acceptance goals predicted greater positive emotions only. In Study 3, a 10-day experience sampling study of 118 parents, the daily pursuit of child love and security goals and child acceptance goals predicted more positive caregiving experiences, whereas daily pursuit of parent self-consciousness goals and child growth and development goals predicted more negative caregiving experiences. Parents’ daily pursuit of each goal was also uniquely predictive of the caregiving behaviors in which they engaged. Lastly, while parental caregiving goal pursuit varied at the mean level based on parents’ own and their child’s demographics, these demographic characteristics largely did not change how caregiving goals predicted the subjective caregiving experience. Collectively, the current findings shed light on the goals that motivate parents to care for their children, provide insight into why parenting is both joyful and frustrating, and identify when parents feel most responsive to their children’s needs.

Keywords: caregiving
close relationships
goals
parenting
well-being
Advisor: Impett, Emily
La Représentation de la Vieillesse dans la Litterature Francaise de la Seconde Moitie du XIIIe Siecle

En dépit de la richesse des études sur le XVIIIe siècle, l’âge de la vieillesse, dans le contexte de la France de la fin des Lumières, reste un domaine peu exploré par les critiques littéraires. Or, un tel sujet est d’importance, compte tenu que le XVIIIe siècle est une époque charnière pendant laquelle les idées révolutionnaires et l’avancement des sciences ont transformé la perception de l’âge en général. Si des historiens tels Patrice Bourdelais, Jean-Pierre Gutton, David Troyansky ou Jean-Pierre Bois ont affirmé que la notion de vieillesse a évolué radicalement dans tous les domaines dans la France de la deuxième moitié du XVIIIe siècle, Joan Hinde Stewart constate que, dans la littérature des Lumières, le discours sur la vieillesse est marqué par la pratique d’un double standard, issu d’une perception différente de la vieillesse féminine et de la vieillesse masculine à cette époque. À partir de ces deux perspectives, notre thèse fait le point sur la représentation et la conceptualisation de la vieillesse dans la littérature, à travers un corpus composé de neuf textes fondamentaux parus entre 1750 et 1799 et appartenant à une variété de genres littéraires. Notre travail se concentre sur la représentation littéraire de la vieillesse, tout en situant cette représentation dans le contexte historique des mentalités et de l’histoire des idées et en analysant la contribution d’autres discours (sociologique, religieux, artistique, démographique et médical) contemporains à cette représentation. Nous proposons une approche théorique interdisciplinaire qui privilégie entre autres la sociocritique (par l’analyse du discours littéraire en relation avec son contexte), l’analyse littéraire (par une exploration thématique et lexicale des textes envisagés, ainsi qu’une analyse de la fonction du genre littéraire dans la représentation de l’âge), et enfin une approche philosophique (par l’explication des courants philosophiques qui ont induit et stimulé une réflexion sur les diverses étapes de la vie humaine en général et sur la vieillesse en particulier). Nous espérons que cette thèse contribuera à enrichir notre savoir sur la complexité de l’histoire du discours littéraire sur la vieillesse et à nous rendre plus conscients de l’impact de ce discours social dans nos rapports avec les personnes âgées.

Keywords: âges de la vie
discours littéraire et social
France
genres littéraires
vieillesse
XVIIIe siècle
Advisor: Motsch, Andreas
The Maintenance of Immune Homeostasis and Quiescence by Negative Regulators of Immunity

The immune system is tightly controlled by molecules that regulate the generation of immunity. Additionally, these molecules may play important roles in regulating quiescent immune cells. This thesis examines the role of several of these molecules in the biology of both quiescent and activated immune cells. The phosphatase Shp1 has been previously described as a negative regulator of T cell receptor signaling. This thesis presents evidence that Shp1 does not directly regulate the signaling from T cell receptor, but instead regulates T cell homeostasis and Th2 skewing. Shp1 controls both of these aspects of T cell biology through the regulation of IL-4 signals. The Nfkb1 gene, which encodes for NFκB proteins p50 and p105, has been previously demonstrated to maintain the quiescence of dendritic cells. The loss of Nfkb1 permits DCs to bypass the requirements for TLR-induced maturation for the induction of CD8+ T cell-mediated immune pathology. This thesis delineates unique roles for p50 and p105 in the regulation of DC biology. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the NFκB protein p50, but not p105, is essential for maintaining the quiescence of immature dendritic cells. The ubiquitin editing enzyme A20 negatively regulates NFκB activity downstream of TLR signaling. This thesis demonstrates that A20, like Nfkb1, is also required to preserve the dendritic cells in a functionally quiescent state. A20- and Nfkb1-deficient dendritic cells share a core phenotype characterized by an ability to induce CD8+ T cell responses, low expression of costimulatory molecules, increased basal TNF section, and greatly reduced expression of NFκB proteins. We herein present evidence demonstrating that the regulatory molecules Shp1, p50, and A20 are required to preserve immune cells in their normal steady states. Immune cell quiescence is therefore not a passive default state, but is instead actively regulated and maintained.

Keywords: A20
Dendritic Cells
Immune Quiescence
NFκB
Shp1
T cells
Advisor: Ohashi, Pamela S
Biophysical Studies of the First Nucleotide Binding Domain of Sulfonylurea Receptor 2A to Assess the Significance of Phosphorylation and Mutations

The sulfonylurea receptor 2A (SUR2A) proteins are ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters that form regulatory subunits in ATP-sensitive potassium channels (KATP) channels found in metabolically active tissues. In KATP channels, four SUR proteins surround four pore-forming Kir6 subunits. By sensing intracellular [ATP]/[ADP] ratios, KATP channels couple the metabolic state of the cell to the membrane potential and therefore have crucial roles in many biological processes. For example, KATP channels in the pancreas are vital for proper insulin regulation, whereas cardiac KATP channels contribute to shortening of action potentials which may protect the heart against arrhythmias. Gating of KATP channels is a complex process that involves multiple ligands and protein domains. ATP binding at the Kir subunits closes the pore, whereas MgATP binding and hydrolysis at the SUR nucleotide binding domains (NBDs) results in channel opening. Thus, the NBDs are critical sites of regulation for the KATP channel, although the molecular mechanisms for how the NBDs alter channel activity is not well understood. This is mainly a consequence of poor solubility of the isolated SUR NBDs. Here we have developed various strategies that have allowed us to perform detailed NMR experiments and have provided molecular level information on the conformation of SUR2A NBD1. These studies enabled us to investigate the structural, dynamic and functional effects of phosphorylation, disease-causing mutations and drug binding in NBD1. Our data suggest that SUR2A NBD1 contains a number of disordered loops that may function as regulatory regions. Phosphorylation or mutations in these regions, can alter their interactions with the core of the protein, thereby affecting nucleotide binding at NBD1 as well as the equilibrium between different NBD1 conformations that ultimately modulate the activity of the KATP channel.

Keywords: ABC transporters
Cardiac disease
Fluorescence
Nuclear magnetic resonance
Phosphorylation
Sulfonylurea receptors
Advisor: Kanelis, Voula
Britain's Trojan Origins: Anatomy of a Critical Narrative

Following the publication of Thomas Kendrick’s British Antiquity (1950), understanding of the Brutus myth’s lifecycle has been conventionalized as a critical narrative structured according to four narrative pillars. While different details appear in various authors’ accounts, four features of the conventional narrative are nearly always mentioned. First, the legend of Britain’s Trojan origins has its popular origins with Monmouth’s Historia (c.1180) and, while there are a few contemporary detractors, the legend circulates unchallenged until the appearance of mid-fifteenth-century humanists. Second, in 1485, with the accession of the Welsh Henry Tudor, the popularity of the legend experiences a resurgence that is termed the “Tudor Cult” or “Tudor Myth.” Third, the Italian historian Polydore Vergil questions the veracity of the legend in his Anglica Historia (1534). Given Polydore’s status as a foreigner, however, his arguments do not gain traction with the English. Finally, it is only with the Camden-led antiquarian approach consolidated in his Britannia (1586, 1607) that the death-knell sounds for the Brutus myth. Kendrick’s narrative about the antiquarian camp’s victory over the Brutus myth remains an entrenched feature of twenty-first-century scholarship. And yet, this universally accepted critical model is built upon a priori argumentation, artificial frameworks, conjecture that moves from single examples to general conclusions, chronological leaps with the use of evidence that spans decades (even centuries), and, in a few instances, the misrepresentation of evidence. Significantly, this paradigm, these antiquarian values, shapes the narrative on which literary critics rely for an understanding of this long-standing cultural symbol. This study employs a metacritical approach to challenge current understanding of early modern engagements with Britain’s Trojan origins. The critical case studies examined in this study are drawn from today’s anomalous critical tradition. Today’s unusual situation necessitates this study’s somewhat unorthodox, metacritical approach. Critical interventions that respond to literary interpretations of individual works such as The Arraignment of Paris (1584), The Faerie Queene (1590), and Polyolbion (1612), or groups of works within specific genres (e.g., New Troy references in civic pageants and Jacobean stage plays), engage in a critical exchange that is, from the outset, governed by a misrepresentative contextual framework.

Keywords: Britain's Trojan Origins (Brutus of Troy)
Conceptual Elision
Historical Imaginary
Metacriticism
Polydore Vergil
Renaissance Historiography
Advisor: Levenson, Jill L.
Essays on the Economics of Longevity

The dissertation focuses on the topic of longevity and aging; specifically, how changes in pension income and income inequality affect mortality and the risk factors associated with chronic health conditions. Through three separate essays, I examine the impact of the aforementioned factors on three, disparate population cohorts in Canada, the United States and in developed countries. In the first essay, I investigate risk factors for chronic physical and mental health conditions in an understudied group: Canadian veterans. My research helps identify high-risk veterans as they transition from military to civilian life. The findings show the importance of service-oriented factors, notably military branch (land forces) and overseas deployment as significant risk factors for a subset of chronic health conditions. In addition, veterans experienced improved health as their income levels increased. In the second essay, I investigate how differences in pension income affect mortality by analyzing pensions received by US Confederate veterans. I exploit exogenous variation in pension income across two adjacent states (Texas and Oklahoma), as a result of regional differences in pension laws, to determine the effect of pension income on health. I compiled a novel database through primary data collection that details dates of birth and death of veterans. I show that receiving higher pension increased longevity in Texan veterans by 1.23 years relative to their counterparts in Oklahoma. The results remain significant after controlling for county-level differences in the two states. In the third essay, I focus on the effect of macroeconomic conditions – specifically income inequality on mortality risk for men and women in a subset of OECD countries from 1950-2008. Using the latest available data on the inverted Pareto-Lorenz coefficient and a panel co-integration framework, I address econometric challenges (e.g. causality, omitted variable bias) posed by more conventional methods. I show that for industrialized countries with co-integrated series, income inequality has a long-run significant negative effect on mortality risk for both men and women, that is, an increase in income inequality lowers annualized adult mortality risk. These essays fill a major gap in the health economics literature on factors that affect health and longevity in understudied populations.

Keywords: Health
Health Economics
Income Inequality
Longevity
Pension Income
Risk Factors
Advisor: Coyte, Peter
Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Depressive Symptoms in Coronary Artery Disease

Introduction: Depressive symptoms are highly incident among coronary artery disease (CAD) patients and are associated with reduced benefit from cardiac rehabilitation (CR) and increased mortality despite current treatments. Omega-3 fatty acid (ω-3 FA) deficits, particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), have been independently linked with depression and with CAD. This research investigated the relevance of ω-3 FAs to the presence and treatment of depressive symptoms in CAD as well as predictors of ω-3 FA treatment efficacy. Study 1: The relationship between the ratio of EPA+DHA to arachidonic acid (AA), a dietary fatty acid with opposing metabolism, in different erythrocyte phospholipid fractions and depressive symptoms in CAD was assessed. In a cross-sectional analysis of 76 CAD patients (age=61.9±8.5, 74% male, 43% depressed), lower EPA+DHA/AA ratios in erythrocyte phosphatidylinositol (B=-12.71, p

Keywords: Biomarker
Coronary artery disease
Depression
Exercise
Omega-3 fatty acid
Oxidative stress
Advisor: Lanctôt, Krista L
Ethics and Politics in the Thought of Martin Buber and Albert Camus

The dissertation provides a discussion and comparison of the ideas of Martin Buber and Albert Camus regarding human connectedness and solidarity, ethics and politics. The aim of the dissertation is to examine the ways in which these thinkers dealt with the possible tension between human solidarity and connectedness on the one hand, and the need for ethical restraints on the other. The dissertation begins with a presentation and comparison of certain aspects of Buber’s and Camus’ respective biographies. It then examines and compares the thinkers’ views regarding human relationship, especially given the loss of the traditional existential and moral anchors in the wake of modernity. At the centre of the comparison stands the difference between Buber, a believer who understood connectedness and dialogue between human beings and with God to be a primordial and inherent need that could and should be fulfilled; and Camus, who was secular in his personal beliefs, and discussed a concept of solidarity which is largely based on rebellion against oppression and shared human experience in the face of the absurd – the bold acknowledgement of human beings’ inability to fully achieve harmony and meaning. The second part of the dissertation discusses the conceptual ethical mechanisms the two thinkers developed in order to prevent connectedness or solidarity from devolving into destructive social and political behaviour. It presents the possible ethical problems that arise from Buber’s account of spontaneous, unmediated connectedness, and critically discusses the solutions that he offers to address these problems. Buber’s views are then compared with those of Camus, who confronts the potential problem of destructive solidarity most of all by placing ethical considerations at the basis of his concept of solidarity. The final chapter discusses the two thinkers’ different positions regarding political phenomena and events of their time, positions which reflect their respective calls for connectedness and solidarity on the one hand, and the need to restrain collective political action on the other. In particular, the chapter presents the thinkers’ views on political efforts to achieve redemption and utopia, and Buber and Camus’ respective approaches toward the Jewish-Arab conflict and the conflict in Algeria.

Keywords: Albert Camus
Martin Buber
Advisor: Orwin, Clifford
Elucidating Tim-3 Function and Regulation in Human CD8+ T cells

Chronic HIV infection results in a loss of HIV-specific CD8+ T cell effector function, termed "exhaustion", which contributes to loss of viral control and progression to AIDS. This exhaustion is driven, in part, by membrane co-inhibitory receptors, including PD-1 and Tim-3, which act to dampen T cell effector function. These receptors are active targets for therapeutic blockade to rescue T cell responses in the context of HIV and cancer. Unlike PD-1, the mechanisms responsible for Tim-3-mediated inhibition of T cell responses are poorly defined, and evidence suggests that Tim-3 can act as a co-stimulatory molecule. My thesis work evaluated the role of Tim-3 at the immunological synapse, confirmed binding to the proximal signaling molecule Lck, and receptor phosphatase CD45 via the Tim-3 ligand, galectin-9. The nature of CD45-mediated regulation of Lck function suggests differential association with CD45 as a possible mechanism to explain Tim-3's opposing functions. Indeed, despite Tim-3 expression on CD45RA+ and CD45RA- T cells, Tim-3 expression on functional T cells was exclusive to the CD45RA- subset. Further, engaging Tim-3 on CD45RA- T cells resulted in co-stimulation. Finally, Tim-3 is shed from the surface of antigen-responsive T cells by matrix metalloproteinase, ADAM10, and shedding is associated with the functional capacity of T cells after TCR engagement. These results suggest that Tim-3 function is dependent on T cell phenotype, and that CD45 isoforms may differentially regulate Tim-3 function via Lck. Further, the fact that functional T cells shed Tim-3 suggests that Tim-3 does not block proximal TCR signaling. I propose that during states of chronic antigenic stimulation Tim-3 may prevent exhaustion by acting as a co-stimulator on activated CD45RA- virus-specific CD8+ T cells, however, during late differentiation, Tim-3 may enhance the negative effects of CD45RA on TCR signaling and contribute to the exhausted phenotype.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS
T cell exhaustion
Tim-3
Advisor: Ostrowski, Mario