VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The question of narrative in Aegean Bronze Age art

Those who study the cognitive development of Homo sapiens maintain that our specialized communication skills evolved from the desire to narrate. Societies define themselves through their histories and their traditional stories; the socio-political significance of narrative in any given civilization is considerable. Until quite recently, narrative in visual media has been identified with recognizable story content, particularly of a mythological or historical nature. The figural arts of the Aegean Bronze Age have, consequently, been largely overlooked in discussions of pictorial narration in ancient art. The present study seeks to correct the omissions of earlier writings by favouring a broad conception of narrative derived from the field of narratology, employing a system of analysis that concentrates on the essential features or structures of narrative relating, and assessing pictorial texts in terms of degrees of narrativity. Chapter 1 introduces the subject, situating this project within the art historical tradition. Chapter 2 reviews research on the topic of pictorial narrative that has been conducted in the areas of Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Assyrian, and Greek art, with a view to isolating models of use to the present investigation. Chapter 3 sets out the methodological approach employed in Chapter 4, where, after an overview of pertinent literature in the field of Aegean scholarship, the narrative possibilities of three monuments from the Aegean Late Bronze Age are analyzed. Some concluding remarks and observations are given in Chapter 5. Although the story matter of Aegean figure scenes is often minimal and we shall never be able to "read" these images with the facility and sophistication possible in cultures where extra-pictorial information is available, we are remiss to ignore the narrative potential of Aegean art. Indeed, this examination discloses that some of the presentations of visual narrative produced in the Aegean Bronze Age represent early and precocious statements in pictorial storytelling, notwithstanding their generalizing and conventional character.
The environmental rights approach under the Ontario Environmental Bill of Rights, survey, critique and proposals for reform

One of the most recent environmental law reform initiatives was the enactment of the Ontario Environmental Bill of Rights. The purpose of this thesis is to provide a critique of the environmental rights approach embodied in the Ontario Environmental Bill of Rights and to suggest reforms which can improve the enactment. The critique focuses on the deficiencies in the environmental rights approach of the legislation with respect to public participation, government accountability and access to the courts to protect the environment. This thesis provides a survey of the issues relating to the need for substantive environmental rights and the utility of the public trust doctrine. For the purpose of comparison, the environmental rights initiatives in Quebec, the Northwest Territories and the states of Michigan and Minnesota are examined. Following this examination, the environmental rights provided in the Ontario Environmental Bill of Rights are considered. This thesis concludes that the Ontario Environmental Bill of Rights primarily procedural in nature and thus falls short of what has been envisioned for a true environmental bill of rights. It is argued that the Ontario legislation is fundamentally deficient due to the absence of a substantive right to environmental quality and the public trust doctrine and its limited role for the courts.
Utility of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index in measuring differences in empathy among adolescent male sex offenders

The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) has become a popular measure of empathy with sex offenders; however, little is known of its reliability and validity in clinical populations. The purpose of the study was to determine the IRI's utility with adolescent sex offenders and to examine differences in empathy among groups of offenders based on characteristics of their offenses. Offenders completed measures including the Assessing Environments III; the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory; the Multiphasic Sex Inventory; the Family-of-Origin scale; the Rape Myth Acceptance Scale; the Acceptance of Interpersonal Violence Scale; and the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale. Therapist ratings of victim empathy, level of violence, and denial were collected. Moderate internal consistency was established for the IRI, and scores from 123 adolescent offenders were examined. Age and socially desirable responding contributed significantly to IRI scores, and victim empathy was not related to IRI scores. Group differences in empathy were not found when offenders were contrasted with respect to a history of sexual or physical victimization, or when offenders were compared with respect to the age or gender of their victims. Extrafamilial offenders reported more Empathic Concern and Perspective-Taking when compared to offenders who assaulted both within and outside the family. Justifications for sexual violence were related to Empathic Concern and Personal Distress. Violent offenders reported more Empathic Concern and Perspective-Taking, and a generally hostile temperament was related to Empathic Concern, Perspective-Taking, and Fantasy. Family environment and relationship variables were not related to IRI scores. Researchers using the IRI with sex offenders should be cautious of the influence of age and socially desirable responding. IRI scores seem to be affected by the social desirability response bias and ate unrelated to ratings of victim empathy; therefore, these results suggest that the IRI may not elicit adequate knowledge about the empathy of adolescent male sex offenders.
Synthesis and properties of polysilane-poly(ferrocenylsilane) random copolymers and oxidized poly(ferrocenylsilane)s

Poly(ferrocenylsilane)s are polymers which feature alternating ferrocene and organosilane units. The synthesis of polymers that may have interesting electrical properties and which feature the ferrocenylsilane unit is herein outlined. Polysilane-poly(ferrocenylsilane) copolymers are synthesized by the thermal ring-opening co-polymerization of a (1) silaferrocenophane and a cyclotetrasilane. These polymers were found to be random in nature, containing short silane and ferrocenylsilane segments. Oxidized poly(ferrocenylsilane)s are synthesized by the reaction of poly(ferrocenylsilane)s with a number of one-electron oxidants. Molecular weight decline occurred throughout the course of the oxidation (and, in the case of one counterion, in the solid state afterward), but this decline could be minimized by the addition of methyl groups to the cyclopentadienyl rings of the ferrocenyl units, and the use of a mild one-electron oxidant $(\lbrack (p$-$\rm BrC\sb6H\sb4)\sb3N\rbrack \lbrack PF\sb6\rbrack ).$ Also, the crystal structure of an oxidized oligomer was determined.
Intestinal growth in models of glucagon-like peptide-2 overexpression

Exogenous glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2) has been shown to be a potent and specific stimulator of small intestinal mucosal proliferation in vivo. However, to date no studies have looked at the role of endogenous GLP-2 in the control of bowel growth. As experimental diabetes is associated with bowel growth, we examined the relationship between GLP-2 and intestinal growth in rats made diabetic by streptozotocin (STZ) injection, treated with or without insulin for three weeks. Compared to non-diabetic control animals, untreated diabetic rats showed increases in ileal and plasma GLP-2 $(p < 0.05)$, wet and dry small intestinal weight $(p < 0.01)$, intestinal protein $(p < 0.001)$ and lipid $(p < 0.05)$ content, villus height $(p < 0.001)$, and crypt depth $(p < 0.01).$ Thus, STZ-diabetes is associated with both increased production of GLP-2 and enhanced bowel weight, thereby suggesting a role for GLP-2 in diabetes-associated bowel growth. To develop a specific GLP-2 overexpression system, Baby Hamster Kidney cells were transfected with a cDNA construct consisting of the coding region of human proglucagon signal peptide fused to that for human GLP-2. These cells successfully transcribed the construct but failed to synthesize or secrete GLP-2 peptide. In conclusion, this study supports a role for GLP-2 as an endogenous intestinal growth factor and provides a basis for future work on the development of a GLP-2 overexpression system.
Why must disclosure be mandatory under the Ontario Securities Act?

This thesis argues that statutory continuous disclosure requirements largely mimic the sorts of arrangements that issuers and shareholders would make between themselves if they were left unfettered by legislation. Nevertheless, disclosure laws may result in a savings of transactions costs as they enable issuers and investors to forgo the expense of negotiating over disclosure. However, transactions costs savings do not explain why disclosure must be mandatory and why issuers and shareholders should not be free to contract out of the Securities Act. It is argued that none of the other justifications for disclosure laws, including the accuracy enhancement and prevention of fraud justifications, explains their mandatory nature. This thesis also examines the recommendation of the Allen Committee that there be a statutory cause of action for false and misleading disclosure.
An in vivo model for PSA production by breast cancer cell-lines growing as xenografts in scid mice

The presence of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in human breast tumours has been associated with a good prognosis. An in vivo PSA-induction model was established, using the steroid-hormone receptor-positive human breast cancer cell-lines T47D, MCF7, ar BT474, growing as xenografts in SCID mice. PSA production was initiated by simulating the mice with norgestrel for 5-7 days. Mice injected with the prostate cancer cell-line LNCaP or the steroid-hormone receptor-negative human breast cancer cell-line BT20 functioned as positive or negative controls for PSA production, respectively. Norgestrel induced low levels of PSA in the receptor-positive breast tumour xenografts. In vitro data showed that norgestrel can stimulate exponentially growing T47D or BT474 cells to produce PSA and that low PSA concentrations do not affect their proliferation rate. This in vivo model is useful for studying the role of PSA as a prognostic marker for breast cancer.
The Northern Territories of the Gold Coast under British colonial rule, 1897-1956, a study in political change

This thesis is about the political changes that occurred in the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast under British colonial rule. It deals with how the British strengthened the institution of chiefship where it existed and created it in areas it was non-existent. The work also examines how the Northern Territories were turned to a labour reserve for the rest of the country and the efforts made to isolate the North from what the British regarded as the "disruptive" influence of the south. And to implement this policy western education and Christian missionaries, its main agents, were controlled. After acquiring the area through treaties with chiefs, Britain realised that it could not effectively rule such a wide area with the skeletal administration at its disposal. Unfortunately, the existing empires had been weakened either by civil wars or by the activities of Samory and Babatu. The British recreated these empires by strengthening the powers of the paramount chiefs and subordinating the hitherto almost independent divisional chiefs to them. The establishment of Native Administrative Authorities in 1930 with their Native Treasuries and Tribunals under the ambit of indirect rule, was the peak of this policy. Meanwhile, to isolate Northerners from the rest of the country where--British colonial rule had been established since 1872--and turn their area into a labour reserve, the introduction and spread of western education was controlled. But the North did not remain isolated for long. Disturbances in the south in the wake of economic hardships which followed the Second World War, thrust the Gold Coast bound for independence. First, a consultative council dominated by chiefs was established in the North in 1946. Within two years of its formation, the council had become dominated by literates since most of the chiefs who were illiterate in English could not follow debates in English. In 1951, the North was for the first time represented in the Legislative Assembly. This first group of Northerners entered the Assembly with the aim of defending Northern interests and fighting for rapid socio-economic development of their area. But they could not achieve much. The Northerners also found the rapid drive for internal self-government of Southerners distasteful. Their response was either to delay the regaining of independence until the North had caught up with the rest or devolution of power to the regions. But with the success of the Convention People's Party at the 1951, 1954 and 1956 elections, independence for the Gold Coast could not be delayed any longer. Reluctantly, the under-developed North joined the rest of the country on 6 March 1957 for independence. Dealing with the changes introduced in the North by the British, this work points out that the political changes were to benefit the elite who soon supplanted chiefs as leaders although the latter are not yet a spent force.
The fidelity of long-term memory for perceptual magnitudes, symbolic vs. metric learning paradigms

To assess the fidelity of remembered magnitudes, reaction time and the associated indices of psychometric functions (i.e. just noticeable difference, point of subjective equality and Weber fraction) were obtained via the method of constant stimuli. Four line-length standards were recalled by subjects using either symbolic consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) labels or metric value (MV) labels over periods lasting up to one week. Three important results were obtained. First, discriminative sensitivity in both learning paradigms did not depend on the time elapsed between learning and comparison. Second, all comparisons were sensitive to the absolute difference between comparison and standard lengths, indicating a violation of Weber's law. Finally, both reaction times and indices of psychometric functions displayed a serial position or end anchor effect for both learning paradigms. This last result was significantly more pronounced for the CVC paradigm than for the MV paradigm. The relation of these findings to previous research concerning the nature of discriminations involving perception and memory are discussed.
In vitro and in vivo assessment of microencapsulated ß-TC6-F7 cells

In order to serve as a model for an engineered insulin-secreting cell, $\beta$TC6-F7 cells, derived from insulinomas arising in transgenic mice, were encapsulated within a semi-permeable, alginate-poly-L-lysine alginate (APA) membrane. In this study, the in vitro growth and insulin secretion from microencapsulated $\beta$TC6-F7 cells were determined. In vitro, the insulin response to glucose, arginine, isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX) and glucagon-like peptide (7-36) were also measured. In addition, microencapsulated $\beta$TC6-F7 cells were intraperitoneally implanted into streptozotocin diabetic rats to assess their function in vivo. Results indicate that the encapsulation process exerts no deleterious effects on cell viability and the APA microcapsule provides an environment compatible with cell proliferation and insulin secretion. Furthermore, microencapsulated $\beta$TC6-F7 cells have demonstrated their efficacy in reversing diabetic hyperglycemia and restoring a rapid glucose clearance in diabetic graft recipients. This study shows the potential use of a genetically engineered insulin-secreting cell protected within an APA microcapsule to provide endogenous insulin therapy is feasible.
Defining the public interest in Canadian intellectual property policy

Canadian intellectual property laws balance the competing claims of creators, publishers and users of intangible goods and services by granting creators exclusive statutory rights in those works and limiting these rights--in both time and scope--in the name of public interest considerations. In Canada, the last ten years have seen an unparalleled expansion in the reach of intellectual property rights, propelled largely by rhetorical claims of the absolute nature of property rights. Limitations on the scope of intellectual property should be grounded in widely accepted understandings of limitations on real property; with this in mind, this Thesis defines limitations on property as falling within three categories: efficient resource allocation concerns, distributive values and democratic governance values. This Thesis considers whether the Canadian intellectual property policy formation process accommodates this full range of interests, and concludes that it does not: to the extent that market forces fail to generate a champion for public interest considerations, government policy makers will always be presented an incomplete picture. Although this failure occurs across the spectrum of intellectual property rights, this Thesis reviews three specific sites of contestation: (1) the decline of "access" as a priority for Canadian copyright law; (2) the treatment of pharmaceuticals under Canadian patent law; (3) the need for a sui generis form of protection for computerized databases. This thesis concludes by recommending changes to Canada's intellectual property policy formation process that will help ensure that Canada's intellectual property policy makers have access to reasoned articulations of the public interest in intellectual property law.
Illegitimate V(D)J rearrangement in ã-irradiation induced T cell lymphoma in newborn scid mice

The production of DNA double strand breaks during V(D)J recombination, makes developing lymphocytes particularly susceptible to neoplasia. Severe combined immunodeficient (scid) mice inefficiently ligate free coding ends generated during V(D)J recombination due to a mutation in the catalytic subunit of DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK$\sb{cs}).$ Treatment of newborn scid mice with low dose (100 cGy) $\gamma$-irradiation restores V(D)J rearrangement at multiple TcR loci and results in the universal development of T cell lymphoma. In this study, we used a genetic approach to determine that V(D)J rearrangement played an obligate role in radiation-induced lymphoma in scid mice. We also present evidence of abnormal V(D)J rearrangement in irradiated newborn scid (IRNB-SCID) T cell lines. Our results collectively indicate that sequence specific breaks made during V(D)J rearrangement are essential for radiation-induced lymphomagenesis in scid mice, and that mutations accumulated during attempted TcR$\beta$ locus rearrangement may contribute to the invariant outgrowth of thymic lymphoma.
Labile manganese in the terrestrial environment, increasing manganese deposition in soil from MMT, a gasoline additive, beside Highway 401, Ontario

The study was conducted on two Hydro rights-of-way, one which crosses Highway 401 at Warden Avenue in Scarborough, and another which crosses Highway 401 at Brock Road in Pickering, Ontario. Sampling was designed to determine the degree and extent of Mn and Pb deposition in soil. Samples were collected at distances up to 160 metres form the roadside. Selected tree corings of Norway maple and White spruce were conducted. Parameters evaluated included total and exchangeable Mn and Pb, soil particle size, pH, and cation exchange capacity. Mn concentrations decreased with increasing distance from roadside. Lead concentration changed little from values reported twenty years ago, but have moved deeper into the soil, whereas Mn concentrations decreased with soil depth. Soil Mn concentrations are measurably elevated adjacent to the highway. The most likely source is Mn emitted from vehicle exhaust as a result of the combustion of MMT-containing gasoline.
Photosensitivity responses and Bragg-gratings in optical fibres using 157nm F¦2 laser radiation

This thesis reports the first study of photosensitivity in optical fibre irradiated with 157nm laser radiation. The largest-per-pulse index changes reported to date were recorded in standard telecommunications fibre with a one-photon process being identified as the driving photosensitivity mechanism. Index changes of 3.5 $\times$ 10$\sp{-9}$ per pulse were registered at an irradiating fluence of 25mJ/cm$\sp2$. At 450mJ/cm$\sp2$, a 300% improvement in the per pulse index change was measured for 157nm radiation versus 193nm radiation. Increasing the germanium core concentration had negligible effect on the per pulse index change rate at 25mJ/cm$\sp2$. Fluences of 100mJ/cm$\sp2$ to 450mJ/cm$\sp2$ resulted in a premature index saturation due to a damage mechanism in the core and cladding of the fibre. A Bragg grating with a spectral width of 0.5nm and a 70% peak reflectivity was written in a hydrogen loaded fibre using a phase mask irradiated at a fluence of 360mJ/cm$\sp2$.
The effect of complement inhibition with soluble complement receptor 1 (sCR1) on pig allo-transplant lung function

Lung dysfunction post-transplantation continues to be a significant clinical problem. We evaluated the inhibitory effect of soluble complement receptor 1 (sCR1) on complement activation and reperfusion injury in pig lung allografts. Left lung transplantation was performed in 7 control pigs, and the treatment group (n = 6) received 15 mg/kg sCR1 1 h prior to reperfusion. Pulmonary assessment was performed 1 h following reperfusion and again on day 3. Complement inhibition was 93% in the sCR1 group, but returned to normal after 3 days. There was a trend towards a higher PO$\sb2$ in the sCR1 group. Alveolar ventilation was significantly better in the sCR1 group at 1 h. Wet/dry weight was significantly lower in the sCR1 group. Complement was deposited in the reperfused lung. We conclude that complement is activated following reperfusion, and sCR1 treatment improves alveolar ventilation, reduces pulmonary edema, and may be beneficial in improving post-transplant lung oxygenation.
Palladium-catalyzed hydrostannations of allenes and 1,6-diynes, a facile route to useful synthetic intermediates

The palladium catalyzed hydrostannations of allenes and 1,6-diynes were studied. In the former case, the use of Pd(OH)$\sb2$/C as catalyst afforded vinyl stannanes as the major products. The use of soluble catalysts in the hydrostannation of allenes led to allyl stannanes as mixtures of stereoisomers. A variety of 1,6-diynes, when treated with a variety of palladium catalysts, underwent a hydrostannation-cyclization sequence to produce 1,2-dialkylidenecyclopentanes with (Z)-tributylstannyl moieties. The presence of phosphine ligands was found to inhibit the hydrostannation-cyclization, with less than 15% of desired product formation observed when ligands were used.
Modeling and model updating in the real-time optimization of gasoline blending

This thesis provides a new approach to gasoline blender control that can out-perform conventional blend controllers. The proposed blend controller includes appropriate nonlinear blending models and adopts concepts from model predictive control theory in order to allow it to handle stochastic disturbances in feedstock qualities. The resulting Real-Time Optimization (RTO) system is similar to model predictive control in that it predicts disturbances over one time horizon and optimizes the blender control problem over another. It then implements control action for the current time-step and repeats the process in a receding horizon fashion. Another important contribution is that of parameter observability for steady-state RTO systems. The currently available method provides only a necessary but not sufficient condition. A new approach has been presented which uses fundamental statistical principles and is applicable to any steady-state system where secondary measurements are used to estimate unmeasured quantities. Observability is then extended to a measure of degree of observability.