VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
A comparative analysis of Islamic home mortgage models in U.S. and Canada: a case for improvement of the Canadian model

Shari'a compliant home mortgage replacement products (SCHMRP) are not a choice but compulsion for a large number of Muslims in North America, based on dictates of their faith. An equitable and affordable access to home mortgages necessitates, in their case, access and supply of SCHMRPs at competitive rates. This is a comparative study of two SCHMRP regimes in North America_US and Canada. The study explores the financial regulatory framework, ancillary laws and housing policies and identifies different stages of growth in both jurisdictions. The study reveals a general similarity and accommodation in treatment of SCHMRPs in the financial regulatory regimes of both jurisdictions but significant variation in reinvestment and disclosure laws which indirectly help SCHMRPs in the US attracting a significantly higher level of investments than Canada. Finally, the study makes a host of recommendations both on equitable grounds and economic specificity of the product in transactional cost theory terms ranging from allowing a standalone Islamic Bank to some regulation of the too self-regulated financial sector of Canada with significant transparency concerns related to its mortgage lending sector. The study surveys the North American SCHMRP market and sees evidence of recent progress and future potential in the Canadian market which is on the threshold of a real take off if certain bottlenecks are removed.

Keywords: Mortgages (Islamic law), United States
Mortgage loans, United States
Mortgages (Islamic law), Canada
Mortgage loans, Canada
Development of a third generation of axisymmetric drop shape analysis (ADSA)

The improved version of ADSA not only determines the interfacial properties more accurately but, through the shape parameter, also provides an a priori knowledge of the accuracy of the results. Finally, the tools developed in this research are used to investigate a debatable physical phenomenon called "depletion" for dextrose and dextran solutions. Axisymmetric Drop Shape Analysis (ADSA) is a powerful technique for the measurement of interfacial properties from the shape of drops/bubbles. It relies on the best fit between theoretical curves with known surface tension values and an experimental profile. Despite the general success of ADSA, inconsistent results are obtained for nearly spherical drop shapes. Since the source of this and possible other limitations are unknown, the entire ADSA technique including hardware and software is systematically scrutinized. The two existing ADSA numerical schemes are also compared systematically, and the more efficient one is implemented. It is shown that even this superior numerical scheme has convergence problems for nearly spherical drops. This difficulty is due to numerical truncation and accumulation of round-off errors, which are the ultimate limitation of all numerical schemes. This intrinsic limitation becomes more pronounced as drops become closer to spherical in shape, but there were no objective criteria available to define "close to spherical drops". Therefore, a quantitative criterion called shape parameter is introduced to identify the range of applicability of ADSA. The hardware consists of electronics, and optical and mechanical components that generate a digital image of a drop. Since the quality of images has a considerable impact on the surface tension measurements, general guidelines for the use of hardware components are developed to enhance the quality of the image. The scrutiny of the software of ADSA is significantly more involved. The software consists of image analysis and numerical schemes. One of the key elements of this research is the modularization of the software, since a generic software package is not suitable for all experimental situations. As a result, a more versatile image analysis module is introduced. In this context a variety of state-of-the-art edge detection techniques are studied, and a more robust technique is adopted.
The role of activated Ras in the regulation of neural precursors

The objective of this thesis is to determine how alterations in Ras proto-oncogene activity perturb the function of neural precursor cells in the central nervous system. Among the consequences of germline mutations that constitutively activate Ras are malignant astrocytomas and the neuro-cardio-facial-cuteanous (NCFC) syndromes, which feature developmental abnormalities including mental retardation. Since both tumors and cognitive changes are observed in children with activated Ras mutations, I hypothesize that one of the cell types targeted by increased Ras activity is the neural precursor cell responsible for generating neurons and glia. In this thesis, I have found that constitutively activated Ras in cortical precursors induces proliferation and the preferential genesis of astrocytes at the expense of neurons. The Ras-induced proliferation of precursors and astrocytes may represent an initial step in the development of astrocytomas, and the perturbations of cell genesis may be a contributing factor to cognitive impairments seen in NCFC syndromes.
Characterization of the biology of human acute myeloid leukemia stem cells

Despite a rapidly evolving understanding of the murine HSC niche, its signalling components, and the mechanisms utilized for trafficking to these sites, less is known of the microenvironmental requirements for human HSCs, while the gap in understanding for LSCs is even more pronounced. We demonstrate that administration of an activating anti-CD44 antibody impaired in vivo AML cell homing and facilitated eradication of these cells, including serially transplantable SL-IC in pre-engrafted NOD/SCID mice. Our results highlight CD44 as a key regulator of AML-LSC function, essential for their trafficking to microenvironmental niches and for maintaining their primitive state. The potential importance of microRNAs (miRNA) in the pathogenesis of cancer and in stem cell regulation prompted our investigation into the involvement of miRNAs in the initiation and/or maintenance of AML-LSC. Here we use global miRNA profiling of purified stem, progenitor and mature cell subfractions from primary AML samples to demonstrate the existence of a unique LSC-specific miRNA signature. We also show that mir-155, a miRNA highly expressed at elevated levels in human lymphomas, is also dysregulated in human AML and may play a functional role in maintaining the developmental status and abnormal growth properties of these leukemias. Transplantation models have provided valuable tools with which to investigate hematopoiesis and have been essential in elucidating the hierarchical nature of the murine blood system. In particular, these assays permit the study of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), unique in their capacity to re-establish enduring donor hematopoiesis. Similarly, the use of immunodeficient SCID and NOD/SCID mouse strains as recipients for human hematopoietic cells has facilitated the study of human SCID-repopulating cells and SCID-leukemia initiating cells (SL-ICs), responsible for initiating and perpetuating normal and malignant hematopoiesis respectively. Here we use lentiviruses to transduce acute myeloid leukemia (AML) SL-ICs with high efficiency, enabling in vivo tracking of individual SL-ICs. We show that the leukemia stem cell (LSC) compartment is heterogeneous with the existence of distinct classes that differ in proliferation and self-renewal capacity. The finding of a similar functional hierarchy within the normal HSC and LSC compartments represents compelling evidence of a stem cell origin for AML.
The politics of maintaining aboriginal feminism and aboriginal women's roles of sacred responsibility to the land

Aboriginal communities continue to struggle against the cultural impositions of a mainstream society that refuses to recognize Aboriginal traditions and worldviews. Such are these mainstream conventions that interpretations of Aboriginal life are only considered valid when they are interpreted by a culture that lacks understanding of Aboriginal gender roles and how they impact community politics and power of women in Aboriginal communities. In establishing this point, I explain the Cree ways of Kiskeneghdamon (seeking knowledge), ways that run counter to western approaches and have, largely, yet to be recognized by western academia. Through the data collected, which reflects the lived experiences and realities of Aboriginal Cree and Zapotec women, I show the holistic cultural truths of Aboriginal gender complementarity in our egalitarian societies. The mutually advantageous relationships between our ways of education, our societal structures, and our values placed on men's and women's roles and how they relate to decision-making both in the home and in the community, are shown as both integral and essential to our survival as nations. As an Inninew Esquew, a Mushkegowuk, a Swampy Cree woman within mainstream Canadian society, I offer an understanding of our Cree philosophy regarding education, politics, women's roles specifically, and how our interpretations differ from mainstream theories espoused by western academics. In this study, which establishes the traditional egalitarian nature of the Aboriginal Cree society of Attawapiskat, juxtaposed with that of the Aboriginal/Indigenous Zapotec community of Juchitan in southern Mexico, I show how ignorance of our traditions, and exclusion and lack of understanding of women's roles threaten our (Cree) existence.

Keywords: Cree women, Social conditions
Cree women, Ontario
Zapotec women, Social conditions
Zapotec women, Mexico
Feminism, Ontario
Feminism, Mexico
Women and the environment, Ontario
Women and the environment, Mexico
Engendering migration in the transnational world: highly skilled Korean immigrant women in the Canadian labour market

This study examines how globalization and neoliberal restructuring shape Korean women's migration to Canada and how race structures women's settlement experiences post-migration. Anti-racist feminism and post-colonial theories are used as the theoretical framework. Based on in-depth interviews with twenty-five skilled Korean women who have been in Canada less than five years, this study explores individual motives for migration as located within the broader macro structures of globalization, especially as developed following the South Korean monetary crisis of 1997 or "IMF crisis." Especially, this paper observes how neo-liberal restructuring and the colonial project of the West interplay with women's agency to influence women's decisions to migrate to Canada. The study participants were often exposed to feminism and other social justice issues as students, but as educated members of the urban middle-class, were also concerned to maintain the class status of themselves and their families. Many chose immigration to counter the middle-class insecurity of the post-IMF era. Migrating to Canada became the solution to the perceived inequities of South Korean society. Among these inequities was gender inequity; many of the study participants imagined Canada to relatively free of such problems. However, as this study explores, rather than escape such gender inequity, the study participants experienced racialization and de-skilling in the Canadian labour market; as women, they did not escape gender inequity but suffered the double discrimination of racialized gender discrimination. Indeed, deskilling forced many of the study participants into a more "feminine" family structure than formerly. Thus, this study also explores the dynamics with the family, as the study participants negotiate changed gender relations with their spouses at home, and within the contested site of the Korean community in Toronto. Finally, this study discusses how the participants exercise their agency in responding to the post-migration barriers, organizing themselves do deal with the racialized barriers of the labour market.
Part-based face processing: visiting the encoding switch once more

Recognition of whole faces and isolated facial features was investigated in two studies. In Experiment 1, 8-, 11-, 14-, and 20-year-old Chinese children were familiarized to photos of whole faces and then shown whole faces, eyes only, nose only, or mouth only stimuli and asked whether they had seen them during familiarization. The 8-year-olds were significantly more accurate in identifying isolated facial features (especially the eyes) compared to the older age groups. To investigate the age effect and determine whether performance differed due to task difficulty, the task was made easier in Experiment 2 by familiarizing and testing teenagers and adults on isolated eye stimuli. Results of Experiment 2 indicated that teenagers and adults still performed poorly when identifying isolated eye features. This research provides support for an age-related shift in the relative reliance on featural information, such that younger children tend to encode featural information more than older children.

Keywords: Face perception
Face perception in infants
Face perception in children
Face perception, Testing
Back-etched super junction LDMOST on SOI

The electrical characteristics of a CMOS compatible BLDMOST on a 0.8 mum SOI film were investigated. The device with 15.5 mum of SJ length exhibits breakdown voltage of 317 V, specific on-resistance of 50 mOcm 2 and charge on-resistance product of 3.84 OnC. An optimized BLDMOST, on 4 mum SOI film, with the same SJ drift region exhibits break-down voltage of 328 V, specific on-resistance of 8.6 mOcm 2 and charge on-resistance product of 0.73OnC. This latter device breaks the on-resistance-breakdown voltage silicon limit. To verify the concept and the suppression of the substrate depletion effect, super-junction diodes on a 0.8 mum SOI film were successfully implemented in a SOI CMOS compatible process. This thesis deals with the design and implementation of high voltage SJLDMOSTs for future generations of power IC applications. Conventional SJLDMOSTs fabricated on a semiconductor substrate suffer from low breakdown voltage due to substrate-depletion effects. In this thesis, a back etched SJLDMOST (BLDMOST) on SOI structure is proposed to overcome this problem by eliminating the silicon substrate under the device.
Downhill exercise elicits differential changes in the levels of calcitionin gene-related peptide in the intact adult rat neuromuscular system

Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a 37 amino acid peptide synthesised in the nervous system. Although the functional role of CGRP in the mammalian motor system is unclear, variable amounts are present in motoneurons, and in motor nerve terminals on skeletal muscle fibres. Experimental perturbations affecting neuromuscular connectivity alter CGRP expression in motoneurons. Eccentric exercise is known to produce muscle damage. The studies in this thesis were designed to investigate whether exercise involving eccentric contractions elicits changes in CGRP expression in the adult neuromuscular system. In the first study, we demonstrated that one 30 minute bout of downhill running resulted in increased numbers of CGRP-positive triceps surae motoneurons within 48 hours post-exercise, with values returning to control levels by 4 weeks. In contrast, the numbers of CGRP-positive anterior crural motoneurons remained unchanged following downhill exercise. These results provided the first evidence in the literature that muscle exercise activity increases CGRP expression preferentially in motoneurons innervating extensor muscles undergoing eccentric contractions. In the second study, retrograde labelling of the triceps surae (TS) muscle group, combined with co-localisation of CGRP immunoreactivity, identified a distinct response in CGRP expression in motoneurons innervating the medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscle. Elevated numbers of CGRP-positive motoneurons were observed by 72 hours post-exercise, with values returning to baseline by 2 weeks. No changes in CGRP expression were observed in the soleus or in the lateral gastrocnemius motoneurons over the experimental time period. The number of CGRP-positive motor nerve terminals in the MG increased significantly within the first 72 hours post-exercise and remained elevated at 2 weeks. CGRP immunoreactivity was exclusively found at motor endplates of type IIB, fast glycolytic muscle fibres. The eccentric exercise protocol may evoke post-synaptic changes at affected neuromuscular junctions that require stabilisation or remodelling to maintain or enhance synaptic efficiency. Given the differential recruitment of the distal and proximal regions of the MG, our results suggest that unique motor commands may be required in the execution of eccentric contractions. The protocol we describe would be suitable to test alternate theories of motor control and investigate the dynamic interactions of neuropeptides at the neuromuscular junction.
Developmental roles of the egg vegetal cortex in dorsal axis formation and mesoderm induction of Xenopus laevis embryos

Localized maternal determinants control dorsal axis formation in Xenopus embryos. To examine the spatial distribution of dorsal determinants, cytoplasm from various regions of the egg and 16-cell embryo was injected into the ventral vegetal cells of a 16-cell recipient embryo. Cortical cytoplasm from the egg vegetal surface induced the formation of a secondary dorsal axis. In contrast, animal cortical, equatorial cortical and vegetal deep cytoplasm did not. At the 16-cell stage, significantly more dorsalizing activity was found in vegetal dorsal cytoplasm compared to animal dorsal cytoplasm. UV-irradiation of the vegetal surface of either prophase I oocytes or fertilized eggs, causes dorsal deficiencies in the future embryos. Egg vegetal cortical cytoplasm restored the axis of 16-cell recipient embryos derived from UV-irradiated oocytes or fertilized eggs. While vegetal cortical cytoplasm from UV-irradiated fertilized eggs retains its axis inducing activity, cytoplasm obtained from eggs, UV irradiated as oocytes, does not. The UV-sensitivity of oocytes is gradually lost after germinal vesicle breakdown. To assess the role of the vegetal cortical cytoplasm in mesoderm induction, animal caps enriched in animal or vegetal cortex were produced by injecting the 4 extreme animal pole blastomeres of 32-cell UV-ventralized embryos with cortical cytoplasm. In intact UV-ventralized embryos, injection of vegetal cortex into animal cells led to partial rescue of dorsal structures. As revealed by lineage tracing, these structures formed from the injected cells. Injection of animal cortex had no effect. When mid-blastula (stage 8) animal caps from vegetal or animal cortex-injected embryos were isolated and cultured, only epidermis formed. Between stage 8 and stage 10 (gastrula) a ventral mesoderm inducing signal spreads from vegetal cells towards the animal pole. Injection of vegetal cortex enhanced the formation of neural tissue and cement gland when animal caps were isolated at stage 10. When cultured at stage 8 in the presence of FGF, animal caps enriched in vegetal cortex developed significantly more neural tissue and cement gland than ones enriched in animal cortex. These results show that vegetal cortical cytoplasm is not itself a mesoderm inducer but can modify the response of cells to mesoderm inducers.
Pricing collateralized debt obligations with stochastic default correlation

In this paper we begin by introducing collateralized debt obligations and the issues that are involved in pricing them. We then develop the standard structural and reduced form pricing models. The current market standard is the one-factor Gaussian copula, which assumes that default correlation between creditors is constant. However, in the real world default correlation is stochastic. We explore stochastic correlation extensions to the developed models and present our own stochastic correlation extension of the copula models of Hull and White (2004), and Anderson and Sidenius (2004). We compare models and suggest a new method of comparison.
Acyl-exchange in diacylglycerol synthesis in the leaves of Brassica napus

Acyl-exchange may be a mechanism for remodelling the fatty acid composition of the membranes in higher plants in response to changing environmental conditions. Acyl-exchange operates in concert with in situ desaturation and lipid synthesis to provide a fluid response. The generally accepted hypothesis for phospholipid biosynthesis and desaturation in the extraplastidial membranes of plants is similar to monogalactosyldiacylglycerol synthesis in the chloroplast in that it involves acylation of fatty acids to a glycerol backbone followed by in situ desaturation. Alternatively, removal of acyl groups from phosphatidylcholine to an acylCoA pool in the extraplastidial membranes, followed by a reacylation of phosphatidylcholine from the acyl-CoA pool occurs. Fatty acids desaturated while esterified to phosphatidylcholine may enter the acyl-CoA pool to be used in de novo synthesis of phosphatidylcholine, providing a dynamic cycle to phosphatidylcholine synthesis. The objective of this thesis is to prove that acyl-exchange occurs between phosphatidylcholine and the acyl-CoA pool in the leaves of B. napus, and to propose a mechanism for the exchange. The occurrence of acyl-exchange was confirmed by using a microsomal oleate desaturase mutant of B. napus that accumulates oleate in its extraplastidial diacylglycerols. By radiolabelling leaves with 32PO4 and 14CO2, the diacylglycerol precursors to phosphatidylcholine were shown to be polyunsaturated, and the fatty acids esterified to phosphatidylcholine were shown to have undergone at least one cycle of deacylation and reacylation. It was also shown that both sn-positions of phosphatidylcholine are involved in acyl-exchange, that exchange is non-selective for unsaturated acyl-CoAs, and that desaturation occurs on both sn-positions of phosphatidylcholine. By examining the level of 14C in the fatty acids on each sn-position in phosphatidylcholine and in the molecular species of phosphatidylcholine, it was apparent that there was a faster rate of acyl-transfer onto the sn-2 position. In contrast, the rate of desaturation was found to be similar on both sn-positions. Acyl-exchange maintains a high level of unsaturation in the diacylglycerol pool, and it is possible that newly synthesized polyunsaturated diacylglycerol is used directly for the synthesis of other extrachloroplastic phospholipids. Newly synthesized polyunsaturated diacylglycerol may also be the precursor to eukaryotic galactolipid synthesis in the chloroplast.
Characterization of regulatory T cells in neonatally induced cardiac allograft acceptance

Heart transplantation in our days has become an accepted therapy for end stage heart failure. However, decreasing numbers of donor organs and lifelong immunosuppressive therapy with undesirable side-effects for graft and recipient enforce the need for new treatment strategies. Therefore developing a protocol leading to acceptance of grafts from any potential organ donor without global immunodeficiency or immunosuppression is a major goal in transplant-related research. Our previous work demonstrated a novel pattern of 'non-donor-specific' cardiac allograft acceptance induced in mice injected as neonates with allogeneic fetal liver cells. Our work shows that in this setting transferable CD4 +CD25+Foxp3+ T cells mediate unrelated cardiac graft acceptance in a dose- and cell-contact-dependent manner. These regulatory cells seem to be induced by the cardiac graft and appear to mediate in vivo acceptance of cardiac tissue specifically. This project was aimed to explore in more detail this unexpected pattern of third-party cardiac allograft acceptance.