VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Identification and analysis of candidate genes for schizophrenia based on the neonatal ventral-hippocampal lesioned rat model

Schizophrenia is a disabling mental illness characterized by hallucinations, paranoid and bizarre delusions, cognitive impairment, amotivation, flat affect and impaired social and occupational functioning. It is a significant public health concern, since it strikes most in early adulthood, frequently leading to recurrent, lengthy hospitalizations and ongoing, intensive outpatient care. Antipsychotic medication and rehabilitation programs reduce symptoms and relapse rates, but no treatments are curve. Despite strong evidence of an inherited component to schizophrenia, no genes have been conclusively linked to the illness. Traditional genetic linkage and association approaches have been unsuccessful so far, and neither genome-wide scans nor candidate gene studies have produced consistent, definitive results. The series of experiments described in the following chapters describe a novel approach to the identification of candidate genes for schizophrenia. Gene expression was compared in the cortex of various rat models for schizophrenia, based on the neonatal ventral hippocampal (VF) lesioned rat model. The VH lesioned rat has a delayed onset of many of the abnormal behaviours associated with pharmacological animal models of schizophrenia, and different rat strains have different vulnerabilities to the effects of the lesion. Neurodevelopmental, mitochondrial, neurotransmitter system and synaptic genes were identified as candidates. Genetic association studies with selected candidate genes demonstrated a statistically significant association with schizophrenia. Ongoing studies are underway to assess linkage to other candidate genes identified in these rat schizophrenia models. The identification and characterization of the unknown candidate cDNA's is another area of study. The results of these studies may permit exploration of possible mechanisms or disturbances in brain function that are related to the pathophysiology or etiology of schizophrenia.
Effects of mechanical stretch on signal transduction and gene expression in myometrial smooth muscle cells

Using an 'in vitro' system we showed that applying static stretch to myometrial smooth muscle cells (SMCs) induced a time- and intensity-dependent increase of c-fos mRNA, which reached maximal levels by 30 min. Stretching SMCs for only 1 min and harvesting them 30 minutes later caused a similar c-fos induction as that after a continuous stretch for 30 min. The c-fos stretch response was dependent on tyrosine kinase activity and the integrity of the actin cytoskeleton and the most dramatic induction occurred when SMCs were plated on collagen I-coated flexcell plates. Static stretch induced a rapid and transient phosphorylation of Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) and all three mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs): extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK1/2), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), p38. Using an ERK pathway specific inhibitor (PD90859), a p38 specific inhibitor (SB203580) and a JNK pathway inhibitor (Curcumin) we demonstrated that all three MAPKs play a role in the c-fos stretch response. Stretch-induced c-fos expression was partially dependent on an autocrine/paracrine mechanism. Taken together, these results indicate that stretch can activate intracellular signaling in cultured myometrial SMCs leading to c-fos expression.
Us poor devils, prison life and culture in Ontario, 1874-1914

What was life like in the prisons of early Ontario? What kind of people were the inmates, these "poor devils?" The goal of this thesis is to answer these questions. The three prisons in Ontario, the provincial Central Prison for men and the Andrew Mercer Reformatory for women as well as the federal Kingston Penitentiary, all embraced, with varying success, contemporary criminological theories. Brutal and strange, grim and yet sometimes hilarious, the intensity of the prison regime could not fail to transform the perspectives of all who were touched by it. Twentieth century sociologists have studied the unique environment of the prison and have suggested several theories to explain the behaviours of inmates. At the heart of every analysis was one question: who was the inmate? This was a question that Ontario inmates also asked themselves. From the moment they first entered the prison, inmates' identities were called into question. They were made to wear uniforms, told how to cut their hair, how to speak, how to eat and what to eat. And yet while convicts were forced to make personal adaptations to imprisonment, prisoners and staff alike struggled to move beyond their predetermined roles and interact as human beings. The enmity between prisoners and staff produced much violence and brutality on both sides. It also nourished the solidarity of convicts and their secretive "code" of conduct, with its contraband merchandise and premeditated acts of escape and revolt. Nevertheless, many guards were enthusiastic participants in the convict-led contraband trade, and some formed genuine friendships with prisoners. The prison was a far less formal place than it seemed and convicts, wardens, guards, guests and even visiting children intermingled and related to each other on a personal, rather than completely professional basis. When it came time to leave prison, convicts again began asking themselves, "Who am I?" For those who made it back to the outside world, reintegration was often a time for new beginnings. Many convicts moved to new cities and started new careers and reflected on their freedom with a new perspective and a heightened appreciation.
Clustered objects, initial design, implementation and evaluation

To achieve high performance on shared memory multiprocessors, software must be designed to take locality into account. The appropriate use of replication, partitioning and sharing of data can lead to higher locality, thus reducing communication and synchronization overheads. Clustered Objects is a partitioned object model exclusively targeted at expressing locality optimizations in a consistent manner. Like other partitioned object models, Clustered Objects allow an object to be decomposed into multiple representative objects while preserving a single unified external interface. In this dissertation we develop and implement a model for Clustered Objects based on support found in the Tornado Operating System. Although preliminary, our experimental work indicates that developing software with this model benefits from the software engineering advantages of object-oriented programming and yet is structured to exploit fine-grained locality optimizations.
Tumour necrosis factor alpha and ultraviolet light activation of programmed cell death by apoptosis in D. melanogaster

Molecular signals that stimulate cell growth and differentiation are an essential part of 'Drosophila' development from embryo to adult. Programmed cell death is an equally important and regulated process. ' Grim, reaper', and 'hid' of the H99 chromosomal region have been identified as activators of apoptosis and essential requirements for all observed programmed cell death. To date no system of ligands and receptors which signal to activate cell death has been identified in 'Drosophila '. The C terminal signalling portion of murine Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNFÃ) under control of a heat shock promoter was successfully introduced into 'Drosophila' germline by P element mediated transformation. Expression of TNFÃ demonstrated a limited ability to activate ' reaper' expression and apoptosis. UV exposure by comparison showed a dramatic increase of both 'reaper' expression and induction of apoptosis. Preliminary results demonstrate that selective P element responses may be observed by exposing imaginal discs to UVB and UVC.
Understanding teaching in post-Soviet, rural, mountainous Tajikistan, case studies of teachers' life and work

These qualitative life history case studies explore how five Tajik teachers in three sites of the Mountainous Badakhshan Autonomous Province of Tajikistan understand and improve their practices in a politically unstable, ideologically complex, impoverished, geographically harsh, isolated, but culturally rich and diverse environment. In depth examination of two teachers, Sino and Nigin, reveals how these teachers' practices interact with their changing world. Their struggle about what to retain and what to change reflects their working conditions, their life histories, and the physical and socio-cultural realities of life in post-Soviet, rural, mountainous Tajikistan. The analysis demonstrates how meaningful and sustained educational reform interconnects with changes in the fabric of the society. The analysis illustrates a number of continuities and changes in the teachers' practices across the Soviet and post-Soviet periods. At one level, Sino's and Nigin's professional lives remain much the same as in the Soviet period. They retain their commitment to teach and serve their students, their community and the authorities. They strive to uphold and transmit their long-held cultural values and ethical principles. Their practices remain predominantly teacher-centred. They work within a hierarchical structure where those in authority determine the policies which govern their practices. They both overtly comply with the mandated regulations and policies and subtly reshape them to serve their students. Yet, at another level, these continuities confront strong forces for change. Despite the intensification of their work, Sino and Nigin no longer have the unquestioned high status they had in Soviet times. Their longstanding beliefs about their subjects' importance now undergo debate and revision. Growing impoverishment of their students' and their own lives, increased social malaise, shifts of authorities and discourses, confusion created by a protracted civil war, the collapse of the Soviet social infrastructure, and a fledgling market economy all have affected their professional world. The teachers in this study emerge as knowledgeable, caring and capable educators, exhibiting a broad and complex notion of teaching, and willing to be active partners in educational and social reform. To date, reformers have not seriously sought and considered their knowledge. I argue that any meaningful, sustainable reform in Tajikistan must listen to the teachers' voices, build on what teachers know and can do, and transform the conditions of their professional and personal lives. More generally, the study gives prominence to the dynamic and critical aspects of context in teachers' professional and personal lives. Contextual forces frame and interact with the teachers' work in ways which both confirm and extend current Western perspectives on the role of context in teachers' life.
Determination of thermal conductivity of recovery boiler char bed materials

Heat transfer within a char bed of a recovery boiler used in pulp and paper mills is important in determining the cooling rate of a char bed following an emergency shutdown. The rate of heat transfer depends on the thermal conductivities of frozen smelt and char, but there is little reliable data available on these thermal properties. An experimental apparatus was thus built to measure the thermal conductivity of various char samples made in the laboratory and collected from operating recovery boilers, under normal operation and following an emergency shutdown procedure. The reliability of the apparatus and measurement method was first verified using firebricks with known thermal conductivity values and a numerical simulation. The thermal conductivity of char bed materials with different porosity and structure was found to be constant up to 500°C, and then increase linearly with the temperature. Based on the data, a two-part correlation is recommended to predict the effective thermal conductivity of char bed materials with various porosity (between 55% and 80%) and structure: <display-math> <fd> <fl><vmk id="vm1"><rm>For<hsp sp="0.212">T<=500°C<hsp sp="2.000"> <hsp sp="2.000"><hsp sp="2.000">k<inf>eff</inf>&parl0;W/m° C&parr0;=0.21</rm></fl> <fl><vmkr rid="vm1"><rm>For<hsp sp="0.212">T>500°C<hsp sp="2.000"> <hsp sp="2.000">k<inf>eff</inf>&parl0;W/m°C&parr0;=0.0035 <hsp sp="0.212">T<hsp sp="0.212">&parl0;°C&parr0;-1.54.</rm> </fl> </fd> </display-math>
In search of multiethnic community: Exploring friendship constructions among high school students

The principal purpose of this research was to explore the nature of interethnic friendships among the young. More specifically, it sought to describe how young people 'initiate, develop' and 'sustain' these friendships. My belief was that embedded in the interethnic, friendmaking process were clues that could assist in the realization of multiethnic community--a community where love, care and justice predominate among its members irrespective of phenotype and cultural heritage. The study began by conducting a pilot session with three female students attending a Montreal secondary school. One taped, semi-structured interview was administered to the trio and the data from their conversation were analysed. Emergent themes from this exercise refined the questionnaire used with a larger student sample and provided insight into the multiethnic friendship experience--insight which was later included to enrich the analysis of the wider research. Data were subsequently collected, with a larger sample, in a suburban, Toronto high-school which had an enrollment of some 1000 students of varied ethnic backgrounds. A total of sixty-eight students participated, eighteen in semi-structured, interview sessions, the other fifty in completing semi-structured questionnaires. All interviews were taped and conducted with the eighteen students as friendship pairs and as individuals. The eighteen students constituted nine friendships all of whom were interviewed in pairs. For reasons such as illness or difficulty in scheduling, only fifteen of the eighteen were interviewed singularly. Forty-six females and twenty-five males made up the total sample of participants. Amalgamated data from all sources indicate that at least three elements figure significantly in the realization of extended multiethnic community. (1) Acceptance of difference; in order for genuine, long-term, interethnic friendships to be sustained, friends must accept difference as good and natural. (2) Resistance of external disruption; friendships are constantly challenged by peer interference and opinion, cultural traditions and parental resistance. (3) Working together across ethnic difference to achieve material goals solidifies friendship bonds; some cases demonstrate that these bonds do extend into a wider community experience. Other broad elements gleaned from emergent themes of the study were: a positive predisposition toward forming such friendships; a strong sense of self; crossover of each other's cultural mores, and early contact of the ethnic other.
The changing meaning of voluntarism in an aging society, experience of senior volunteers in Toronto

The purpose of this study is to explore the roles and meanings of community volunteering in late adulthood from both the macro and micro perspectives. What does it mean when older adults involve themselves in volunteering through non-profit organizations (NPOs)? How does this involvement affect aging and later life development? What are its implication for a society like Canada's, whose population is aging and whose safety net is fraying? My field research collected two types of qualitative data: (1) data about the demographics and conditions of volunteering among older adults in twelve major NPOs in Toronto, and (2) data concerning older adults' personal experiences of community volunteering. Key informant interviews were conducted with twelve volunteer coordinators in the first phase, and life story interviews and participant observations were conducted with fifteen older volunteers in the second. To shed light on the interplay between organizational structures and individuals, theories of critical gerontology were combined with those of adult development and transformative learning were brought together to frame my analysis. The results revealed community volunteering functions in three ways: (1) as a self-help mechanism, (2) as a form of later life learning, and (3) as precondition for social transformation. Properly structured volunteering can fulfill older people's education needs while working as a self-help mechanism to cope with problems associated with aging. Holistic, collaborative and "communicative" learning helps older adults retain their adaptive capability and enhance their personal growth. My study also highlighted, however, the ineffective use of volunteers, and such concerns as the "dualization of volunteers", and the trend toward "professionalization" and "pragmatization". My findings underline the need for NPOs to put more emphasis on "learning" in their volunteer programs, stimulating their older volunteers' critical thinking to help deal with individual and organizational problems, and discover the personal and cultural validity of growing old. The idea that community volunteering is no more than an act of "helping" limits its uses as a resource for strategic social transformation in an aging society. New intersectional linkages between NPOs and adult education programs and more effective resource allocation by policy makers will help forward this process.
Are juveniles getting a fair trial?, the jury is still out

With the progression to more adult-like policies and procedures for youth in the justice system, the right to a jury trial has been extended to young offenders. These youth would not be tried by a jury of their peers, however, but by a jury of adults. The concern is that adult jurors may hold negative attitudes about youth that might influence their decision making in a case involving a young defendant. Two studies examined whether and under what conditions defendant age affects jurors' decisions about the guilt and sentencing of an accused. In Study 1, data were gathered from two samples of jury eligible adults: one university sample and one public sample. Mock jurors read written transcripts of a trial involving a defendant who was presented as either 13, 17, or 25 years of age. Results indicated that the defendant's age had no effect on mock jurors' verdict or their ratings of defendant guilt. However, those who read the case of the 13-year-old defendant were more likely to recommend shorter sentences compared to participants in the 17- and 25-year-old defendant conditions. This supports the notion that adults may be more lenient with younger adolescents than with older adolescents or adults with regard to sentencing but not conviction. Mock juror attitudes were related to trial outcomes such that adults who held more legally conservative views tended to convict the defendant more often, regardless of his age. Furthermore, people's attitudes about young offenders were related to their sentencing of the defendant, but this effect did not interact with the defendant's age. In Study 2, mock jurors read the same trial presented in Study 1 but were asked to deliberate about the case and render group verdicts. These group verdicts did not differ significantly by defendant age. Age related themes that emerged from group deliberations were identified, and results indicated that age tended to be used as a mitigating factor in favour of youth rather than against them. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for youth justice policy and practice.
Mutual fund performance evaluation using DEA

The multidimensional nature of mutual fund performance makes it a very attractive application area for Data Envelopment Analysis. The strength of this technique lies in the following attribute: its ability to handle multiple inputs and outputs, that it does not require the specification of a functional form for input-output correspondence, and that it gives a single measure of performance which takes into account the multiple dimensions of organizational activity. The goal of this work is to validate the hypothesis that DEA may be used as a tool for creating better investment portfolios while serving as a management efficiency benchmark. Production models based on the DEA methodology, with the aim of capturing the essence of fund performance, were developed to generate efficiency scores for the majority of Canadian mutual funds, in order to classify the funds into portfolios. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
The effect of simple Robertsonian fusions on the fertility of male collared lemmings (Dicrostonyx richardsoni) from Churchill, Manitoba, applicability of the stasipatric model

Stasipatric speciation has been suggested as a mechanism of chromosomal speciation in many taxa, including collared lemmings (Dicrostonyx) (White, 1978; Hoffman, 1981; Modi, 1987). In this model of speciation, chromosomal rearrangements can act as primary reproductive barriers due to negative heterosis. Fifteen male Dicrostonyx richardsoni were examined to determine the effects of heterozygous Robertsonian (Rb) fusions on fertility. Fertility was measured by testes size, litter size, number of chiasmata and their location, metaphase I pairing success, and spermatid aneuploidy as measured by flow cytometry. None of the fertility assessments demonstrated significant differences between homozygotes and heterozygotes for Rb fusions. These fusions cannot, therefore, induce reproductive isolation. Since a large proportion of Dicrostonyx species level-diversity is based on presence or absence of Rb fusions, this study calls into question the current species level taxonomy and the applicability of the stasipatric speciation model to speciation of Dicrostonyx.
Leviathan against behemoth, hobbes and Milton on religious conflict and the state

How did Thomas Hobbes and John Milton understand the relation between religiously based conflict and the sovereign state? Milton's thought is an ideal counterpoint to Hobbes's understanding of religious strife as a threat to the peace and comfortable self preservation of the members of society. Little scholarly work has been devoted to comparing the two thinkers. Historically, they reflected on the same events of the day in 17th century England, notably the civil war. Philosophically, their theories ran counter to each other. This thesis compares various aspects of the ideas of Milton and Hobbes with respect to religious strife and the foundations of the sovereign state. I argue that their theories represent two competing strains of modern political fit. Milton advocated resistance to political authority on the pretext of religious liberty. His political thought is an eloquent and comprehensive expression of revolutionary Protestantism, in a form which is both deeply religious and republican. Hobbes, on the other hand, sought to neutralise the potential harm posed by such religious justifications of revolution, through a new political science which set out the conditions for peaceful and commodious living. The treatment of the two thinkers is three-fold. First, their contrasting accounts of pride underlay radically opposing conceptions of the proper relations between subject, sovereign, and God. Second, Milton's interpretation of classical and Biblical views on kingship provide a theo-historical framework of his resistance to the monarchy and Long Parliament during the English civil war, culminating in his proposal for a "free commonwealth." In contrast, Hobbes advanced a doctrine of the rights and duties of sovereignty which is both less edifying and more democratic than Milton's religious republicanism. Third, their divergent conceptions of liberty in relation to law--Miltonian free will as opposed to Hobbesian regulated from--are linked to their illuminating stands on ecclesiastical authority: Milton's Protestant justification for separating church and state, and Hobbes's advocacy of the state regulation of religion alongside toleration of inward belief.