VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The postcranial anatomy of Procolophon (Parareptilia, procolophonidae) and its implications for the origin of turtles

A detailed account of the postcranial anatomy of the Gondwana, Triassic genus 'Procolophon' has served to augment significantly the current state of knowledge relating to Permo-Triassic parareptiles. Presently ' Procolophon' represents the most completely studied member of Parareptilia and the wealth of morphological data gathered herein has allowed for a critical assessment of its phylogenetic position within Parareptilia. 'Procolophon' represents a basal member of the Triassic clade Procolophonidae. In addition, the enigmatic taxon 'Sclerosaurus ' is included within Procolophonidae. A functional interpretation of the overall anatomy of 'Procolophon ' and a comparison with living taxa using a phylogenetic methodology is performed. Derived traits are mapped onto respective fossil and extant phylogenies leading to a plausible reconstruction of the preferred procolophonid habitus; the data supports a lifestyle of a burrowing or fossorial organism. Basal parareptile relationships are presented with the reevaluation of the Permian, Laurasian taxon 'Acleistorhinus pteroticus'. The restudy presents a heretofore unrecognized relationship between the Russian lanthanosuchids and this taxon. In addition, the analysis supports the monophyly of Parareptilia and suggests a possible origin for the clade in the New World. Support for a monophyletic Parareptilia and the recognition of a well corroborated monophyletic Procolophonidae including the detailed anatomical study of 'Procolophon' allows for an assessment of competing views pertaining to turtle origins. A global analysis is undertaken using 172 characters and 38 taxa including basal representatives of all amniote clades and more recent members of crown clades. After careful consideration of all the data, an alternate view of turtle relationships is presented suggesting that turtles are highly derived members of the Crown-group Sauria and nested within Lepidosauromorpha. The present state of our knowledge precludes a final word on the origin of turtles, however. Notwithstanding some recently published molecular support for the turtle/saurian relationship, dissenting views have reiterated a turtle/parareptile kinship. Detailed anatomical studies of other pertinent taxa including nycteroleterids, pareiasaurs (Parareptilia), and placodonts (Sauria), as well as additional molecular and developmental studies are underway and must be completed before any other opinions regarding turtle genealogy can or should be considered.
In vitro study of bone marrow derived progenitor cells in liver-like microenvironments

Published observations of the 'in vivo' differentiation of bone marrow (BM) derived cells into hepatocytes led us to study the mechanisms that regulate this differentiation 'in vitro'. Phenotypically defined (Lin-) BM populations were cultured in microenvironments that mimic parenchymal and nonparenchymal liver components. A significant difference in the spectrum of cells generated from BM under various conditions was observed. Specifically, enriched BM cells gave rise to endoderm-like cells in co-culture with fibroblasts. Lin- cells were shown to generate liver-like cells that expressed CK8 and albumin upon exposure to high HGF-concentrations. Also, individual hematopoietic stem cells (HSC - c-kit+ Lin - Sca-1+) were shown to give rise to albumin-secreting cells, in presence of HGF while the addition of hematopoietic cytokines decreased the frequency of hepatic progeny. These results suggest that HGF is an important regulator of HSC, which may act in inducing HSC to give rise to hematopoietic or hepatic progeny.
Self-assembly of recombinant human elastin polypeptides with potential for use in biomaterials applications

Elastin is an extracellular matrix protein found in a number of tissues, including the large arteries such as the aorta, imparting the characteristics of extensibility and elastic recoil. Once laid down in tissues, polymeric elastin is not subject to turnover but is able to sustain its mechanical resilience through billions of cycles of extension and recoil. The process of ordered assembly of elastin into its extracellular, polymeric form remains one of the least well-understood steps in the biosynthesis of elastin. During this step, side chains of lysine residues in elastin monomers must be oxidatively deaminated and brought into juxtaposition in preparation for crosslinking. ' In vivo', several factors have been proposed to contribute to the alignment of elastin monomers in the formation of polymeric elastin, including a microfibrillar scaffold and a cell surface elastin binding protein. We have used a series of small, recombinant polypeptides based on sequences of human elastin to investigate the roles of various hydrophobic domains in promoting self-aggregation, and to determine whether this self-aggregation facilitates specific alignment of elastin polypeptides allowing crosslink formation at lysine residues. Our results demonstrate that polypeptides with as few as three hydrophobic and two crosslinking domains are able to self-aggregate into fibrillar structures essentially identical in appearance to those formed by the full-length elastin monomer, tropoelastin. Moreover, oxidation of lysine residues following aggregation, using a simple oxidizing agent (pyrroloquinoline quinone), results in spontaneous formation of lysine-derived covalent crosslinks between polypeptides, including desmosine and isodesmosine. Fabrication of these covalently crosslinked elastin polypeptides into membrane structures has also allowed assessment of their physical properties. Such membranes possess an elastic modulus, and extensibility and recoil properties similar to those of native insoluble elastin. These results strongly support the view that, independent of the influences of other factors, monomers of elastin possess an intrinsic ability to organize themselves into polymeric structures, aligning lysine residues for covalent crosslinking and forming matrices with elastomeric properties. Understanding the basis of the self-organizational ability of elastin-based polypeptides may provide important clues for the general design of self-assembling biomaterials.
Home is where the heart is, women's experiences of homemaking and self care after aortocoronary bypass surgery

Several authors argue that women's everyday lives are structured in ways that limit their access to the resources which create and sustain health (see for example, Annandale & Hunt, 2000; Clarke & Olesen, 1999). How do these features of women's lives interact with the relations of health care in the diagnosis and ongoing management of particular health problems such as heart disease? The purpose of this institutional ethnography (Smith, 1987, 1999) was to examine the social relations reflected in women's experiences after aortocoronary bypass surgery (ACBS). Eighteen women were interviewed twice after ACBS: once after they had been home from hospital for four weeks, and once after four months. Eleven health professionals participated in the study as informants. Four distinct periods in the women's encounters with heart disease and treatment were prominent in their narratives: diagnosis, hospitalization for surgery, the first month after surgery and four months after surgery. Each point was suffused with social and bodily displacements or relocations. Diagnosis marked entry into the social category, 'women with heart disease' and assumption of moral responsibility for self care. Hospitalization removed the women from familiar social contexts and embedded them within social relations which effected a sense of bodily dispossession. Homecoming was an occasion of relocation within a division of responsibility which was poorly designed to meet their needs, and in which they were still responsible for the needs of others. In the months following homecoming the women struggled to situate themselves at the intersection of two often conflicting discourses: the discourse of homemaking and the discourse of self care. I conclude that a new approach to cardiovascular health education is required. This approach would of necessity place the learner in the position of expert participant and informant (Anderson, 1998; Tang & Anderson, 1999). I further argue that the contractionist discursive foundations of home care policy evade the problem of finding care, homemaking assistance and financial support for the family caregiver when she is ill herself (McKeever, 1996).
Using projection to accelerate Ray Tracing

The high cost of Ray Tracing image rendering has driven many researchers to devise acceleration techniques like bounding volume hierarchies. This thesis introduces new ways of building bounding volume hierarchies. We modify existing algorithms to use bounding volumes projected onto the viewing and light planes. This allows faster traversal of less tight hierarchies. First, hierarchical structures are constructed using only the information derived from the projection of the bounding volumes. Second, a view independent hierarchical structure is projected onto the viewing and light planes. Finally, we augment each of the previous hierarchies with testing rays against both the projected and the view independent volume. Thus fast traversal of the hierarchy and tight modeling are combined. Testing demonstrates that projection hierarchies accelerate Ray Tracing when the number of objects in a scene is large and the number of possible hierarchies to choose from is limited.
Unsafe abortion, violation of women's right to reproductive and sexual health : a study with reference to Nepal

Women have been taking resort to abortion since ages. However, even today stringent abortion law and/or hurdles in access to safe and affordable abortion services have led them to take resort to unsafe abortion practices resulting in high maternal mortality rates and life long complications violating their reproductive and sexual rights. This thesis looks into the problem of unsafe abortion in Nepal that has resulted from its stringent anti-abortion law, which has affected the health and lives of women and violated their rights. This thesis argues that the Government of Nepal is under an obligation to stop the continuing violation of women's reproductive and sexual rights by changing its present stringent law relating to abortion in accordance to its obligations under national and international law, and provide access to safe and affordable abortion to all women without discrimination.
Terrains, for orchestra

'Explanatory notes. Terrains' is a work in three movements for orchestra. In creating 'Terrains', my compositional intentions were threefold: (i) to develop a rigorous methodology for the generation of pitch material, which would allow for a logical connection between vertical and horizontal presentations, as well as surface and deep structure pitch connections, where all pitch material emanates from one central organizing source; (ii) to apply aspects of the method for the notation of multiple tempi (MTN) which I developed in my paper, 'Multiple Tempi Notation: A Survey and Method'; and (iii) to explore aspects of the musical techniques which I have derived from my studies of Hindustani and Carnatic musical principles, specifically (1) the 'Tal' which is a pattern of metres which repeats throughout a composition; and (2) the Carnatic 'Melakarthas', which are a systematically organized system of seventy-two diatonic modes. 'Pitch organization'. The two core elements behind the pitch organization in Terrains are the numerical matrix and the 'Melakartha ' applied as a diatonic pitch field. The numerical matrix is constructed in the same manner as the conventional dodecaphonic matrix, except that numerals substitute for pitch names. To generate a numerical matrix, one need only determine the total pitch set within a given field, number it in ascending order from the lowest to highest note and express the pitch series in the corresponding numerical series. This prime series is arranged from left to right while the inverted series beginning with the prime form's initial number is arranged from top to bottom. This matrix therefore provides the prime, retrograde, inversion and retrograde inversion of a numerical sequence.

Keywords: Orchestral music
Scores
Orchestre, Musique d'
Partitions
Russell on logical form

This thesis discusses the impact of Russell's paradox on Russell's thinking on metaphysics and epistemology. The period covers Russell's work on Logicism in the 'Principles of mathematics' in 1900 to the ' Theory of Knowledge' manuscript written in 1913. Russell's Logicism entities. Russell saw his task as identifying these objects and demonstrating their role in the generation of mathematics. Unfortunately, a number of these entities were implicated in paradoxes. This thesis provides an account of these paradoxes and Russell's attempts to avoid them. Russell's method consisted in regimenting the use of expressions designating entities. This method involved the use of 'incomplete symbols', the idea being that ontological complexity was to be reflected in the use of contextually defined expressions. This method would have a profound influence on the evolution of Anglo-American philosophy. Russell's considered view saw the entities required for the logical reconstruction of mathematics organized into a hierarchy. While this solution dealt effectively with the paradoxes I argue that it comes into conflict with Russell's realism. Russell held that we come into contact with entities existing independently of our mind's apprehension of them. These entities are grasped in a kind of direct contact, and knowledge of this kind is called knowledge by 'acquaintance'. Knowledge by acquaintance is knowledge of individuals. Russell's solution to the paradoxes was to posit different types of things. However, the type of thing an individual is cannot be known by acquaintance. Knowledge of this kind is knowledge of a truth. I argue that this difficulty undermined the 'Theory of Knowledge' manuscript and led Russell to abandon it.
Acute Pharmacological Effects of Temazepam, Diphenhydramine and Valerian in Healthy Elderly Subjects

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study was performed to compare the acute single-dose effects of temazepam (15 and 30 mg), diphenhydramine (50 and 75 mg) and valerian (400 and 800 mg) in 14 healthy elderly volunteers. Treatment or placebo were received in random order. Subjective sedation and mood were measured using visual analogue scales and psychomotor impairment was measured using the digit symbol substitution and manual tracking tests at baseline, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 hours post-dose. Temazepam elicited a dose-dependent effect on subjective sedation, mood and psychomotor ability that had a consistent time-course of effect. Diphenhydramine elicited sedation in a non-dose-dependent fashion, but much less psychomotor impairment than temazepam. No differences in sedation, psychomotor ability or side effects were noted with valerian compared to placebo. Results from this study may impact how sedative-hypnotics are recommended for elderly patients.
The influence of age and sex on trabecular architecture and bone mineral density in three British historical populations

Osteoporosis has become a growing health concern in developed countries and an extensive area of research in skeletal biology. Although there is much interest in bone loss and osteoporosis in antiquity, there are many methodological concerns regarding studies of bone loss in archeological skeletons. Further, despite numerous studies of bone mass/density, few studies have measured bone quality in past populations. This research investigates age and sex-related changes in bone mineral density (BMD) and trabecular architecture in three British archaeological populations from the Roman, Medieval, and Post-Medieval periods. Individuals were divided by sex into three age categories (young, middle, old) using established osteological techniques. 5mm thick coronal sections (n = 171) from the fourth lumbar vertebra were scanned in a DEXA Piximus specialized densitometer (GE Lunar Corp.) to measure bone mineral density, and then x-rayed for image analysis of trabecular structure and connectivity. In this study BMD measurements were obtained, however, diagenesis could not be assessed without invasive methods. Further, a positive association was found between vertebral osteophytosis and BMD, indicating that degenerative joint disease can confound absorptiometric measurements. Trabecular architecture was successfully examined in the archeological samples with the use of image analysis, and provided a simple assessment of age-related change in bone quality. All the historical samples showed different age and sex-related patterns of bone loss and trabecular architecture as compared to modern populations. Although males generally showed expected bone loss in old age, females showed unusual patterns of bone loss between young and middle age and no further bone loss post-menopause. It is suggested that physical activity may explain some observations of greater bone density or structure, particularly in males, while reproductive factors likely played a key role in female bone maintenance in the past. The reproductive patterns of females in the historical samples would have created a dramatically different hormonal milieu as compared to modern females, which may have protected against bone loss and fragility.
Correlations of in vitro and in vivo metabolism and pharmacokinetics of a new iron chelator, APOCP363, in the normal and iron-overload rat

'In vitro' and 'in vivo' drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DM/PK) of a new iron chelator, APOCP363, were assessed in both normal and iron-overload rats, where the later represented a model of transfusional hyperferraemia. In the normal (non-iron-overload) condition, 'in vitro' studies in fresh hepatocytes and hepatic subcellular fractions predicted the metabolic pattern of APOCP363, which was confirmed by 'in vivo' studies of APOCP363. Hepatocyte studies also predicted that APOCP363 would be comparatively slowly metabolized in the liver, which was confirmed by rat liver perfusion and 'in vivo' drug disposition studies. The predicted extensive distribution of APOCP363 in the rat based on the low plasma protein binding and physicochemical properties of APOCP363 was confirmed by ' in vivo' studies. The predicted low renal and biliary excretion of APOCP363, based on its physicochemical properties, was also confirmed by ' in vivo' studies. Iron-overload studies in the rat revealed that high levels of iron in the liver decreases cytochrome P450 mediated reactions, while increasing glucuronidation, metabolic clearance, renal clearance, and volume of distribution. The metabolic pattern and hepatic clearance of APOCP363, based on studies in fresh hepatocytes from the iron-overload rats, successfully predicted 'in vivo' observations in these rats. Furthermore, fresh hepatocyte studies, together with plasma protein binding, red blood cell binding, and physicochemical properties of APOCP363, also forecasted the DM/PK differences in the normal and iron overload rats. This study represents the first comprehensive investigation of the comparative ' in vitro' and 'in vivo' DM/PK properties of an iron chelator. The study outcome supports the hypothesis that 'in vitro ' studies can predict 'in vivo' DM/PK of APOCP363 in both normal and iron-overload rats. This investigation was also the first comprehensive preclinical study of effects of excess iron on the disposition of an iron chelator. The study outcome indicates that excess iron affects the 'in vivo' disposition of APOCP363. Finally, correlations in this rat study offer an 'in vitro' system that can serve as a tool to select new iron chelators with desirable 'in vivo' DM/PK properties. Combining these results with human hepatocyte studies should facilitate the selection of an optimal drug development candidate from the DM/PK perspective.
Enlightened postmodernism, Scottish influences on Canada's legal pluralism

Scottish immigrants to Canada imported Scottish Enlightenment philosophies of moral sentiment, giving rise to indigenous philosophies of common sense that coalesced in a distinctive (if amorphous) Canadian community state of mind between about 1850 and 1950. During the premodern era when philosophy was largely internal to law, these Scots dominated the historic development of Canadian political, religious, economic, educational and legal institutions--especially law schools. Exploring legal ideology in relation to modernity and postmodernity reveals why modernism's advent precluded any self-conscious Canadian history of legal theory. Legal postmodernism, defined as fragmentation of the legal subject and corresponding indeterminacy of legal meaning, both embraces modernism and sustains affinities with traditional Scottish Enlightenment thought. Out of its Scottish heritage, Canada (the world's first postmodern state) has evolved a largely unconscious and common sense postmodern legal ethics which is revealed in contemporary Canadian legal theory and epitomized by our contextual Charter jurisprudence.
Spatial and temporal patterns of forest fire activity in Canada

Fire and weather archive data for the province of Ontario and Canada were investigated using spatial statistical and time series analysis methodologies. Spatial point pattern analysis was used to investigate spatial patterns of lightning-caused fire occurrence in Ontario. Lightning-caused forest fires were found to be spatially clustered. Evidence was found that this clustering follows the spatial pattern of lightning strikes on dry weather days. Time series analysis was used to investigate cycles and trends in annual number of fires and area burned in Ontario and Canada from 1917 to the present. A 2-year autocorrelation was found in fire occurrence and a 14-year autocorrelation in annual area burned. Statistical quality control methods were used to investigate long term shifts in the mean and variance of annual number of fires and annual area burned in Ontario and Canada. Small significant increases in number of fires and area burned were found.