VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Exercise-induced right ventricular impairment and arrhythmia susceptibility in mice

The pleomorphic benefits of regular endurance exercise are well-established. Recent studies have suggested that ‘extreme’ endurance exercise may adversely affect cardiac structure and function, particularly the right ventricle (RV), leading to transient RV impairment that, with repetitive bouts and inadequate recovery, may promote an exercise-induced proarrhythmic and cardiomyopathic phenotype. However, the clinical significance of exhaustive exercise-induced transient RV impairment is unclear, and a causal link between exercise and proarrhythmic RV remodeling remains controversial. The first project characterized the naive insult of acute exhaustive exercise on RV and LV structure and function in mice to determine whether exhaustive exercise disproportionately impacts the RV and if so, whether these effects persist into recovery. Using pressure-volume (P-V) analysis, acute exhaustive swim exercise was shown to predominantly impact the RV, with evidence of transient and persistent (24-hour) RV dilation and inotropic and lusitropic impairment (steady-state and dobutamine) compared to sedentary and 30 minute swim mice. These findings suggest RV recovery may be incomplete following an exhaustive exercise bout that may, after repetitive bouts, impact the long-term pattern of RV remodeling. The second and third projects prospectively determined whether chronic (7-weeks), exhaustive swim training promoted a proarrhythmic and cardiomyopathic pattern of RV remodeling. While the majority of exhaustively swim trained mice exhibited evidence of physiological remodeling, a subset of mice had evidence of proarrhythmic RV remodeling, characterized by significant RV dilation, inotropic and lusitropic impairment (steady-state and with dobutamine), fibrotic remodeling, heterogeneities of repolarization, and increased ventricular tachyarrhythmia (VT) vulnerability. All arrhythmias were of RV origin, though the morphology and inducing mechanism (i.e., re-entry, triggered) was variable. Our results demonstrate that acute exhaustive exercise disproportionately impacts the RV, with chronic exhaustive training promoting a heterogeneous pattern of RV remodeling, with a subset of mice presenting with excessive RV dilation, functional abnormalities, and proarrhythmic RV remodeling.

Keywords: arrhythmias
cardiovascular
exercise
optical mapping
pressure-volume
right ventricle
Advisor: Goodman, Jack
Parent Dispositional Mindfulness and its Links to Adolescent Disclosure, Mother-Adolescent Conflict, and Adolescent Hostile Attribution Bias

Mindfulness, defined as the nonjudgmental awareness of and attention towards present experience, has become a popular subject of research in recent years. Higher mindfulness levels have been linked to a number of positive correlates, including lower stress and effective coping skills (e.g. Weinstein, Brown, Ryan, 2009). Despite increasing attention on the link between mindfulness and its impact on parenting, there is a shortage of literature focusing on the indirect pathways by which this link is facilitated. The goal of this thesis was to examine the indirect link between parents’ mindfulness and their adolescent children’s disclosure, mother-adolescent conflict, and adolescents’ hostile attribution bias. Mediating parent factors considered were parental stress, adolescent perceptions of parents’ perspective taking, and parental perceptions of balanced control over caregiving failure. Adolescents between the ages of 9.5 and 12 and their mothers and fathers participated in this study (N = 127). First, path analysis was used to test the links between mothers’ mindfulness and both adolescent children’s disclosure and mother-adolescent conflict, through mothers’ stress and perspective taking. Results indicated that mindful mothers experienced lower levels of stress, which was related to greater perspective taking as seen by their adolescent children. In turn, greater adolescent-perceived maternal perspective taking was related to both adolescents’ greater disclosure to mothers and lower mother-adolescent conflict intensity. Second, using mediation, mothers’ and fathers’ mindfulness were tested for their links to their adolescent children’s hostile attribution bias through their perceptions of balanced control over caregiving failure. Results indicated that neither mothers’ nor fathers’ perceived balance of control over caregiving failure mediated between their mindfulness and their adolescent children’s hostile attribution bias. My thesis results suggest that mothers’ mindfulness may be related to their stress level, which is associated with mother-adolescent relationship quality. However, the present results are limited, and further investigation of father characteristics and longitudinal methods are required.

Keywords: adolescent disclosure
parental stress
parent-child relationships
parenting cognitions
social information processing
trait mindfulness
Advisor: Grusec, Joan E
Metal-Catalyzed Site-Selective Monoacylation with Acyl Phosphate Monoesters in Aqueous Media

The development of methods for site-selective aminoacylation of tRNA and site-selective acylation of carbohydrates in water are the central goals of the work in this thesis. My general approach focuses on recognition based on the tendency of metal ions to form chelates with cis-diols and with acyl phosphate monoesters. With certain metal ions, both the diol and the acyl phosphate should be able to form bis-bidentate chelates that can undergo internal reactions. In the first section of this thesis, I report site-selective La3+-catalyzed aminoacylation of dinucleotides as a potential route to incorporate unnatural amino acids into proteins. Although enzymatic ligation of the resulting unprotected aminoacyl-dinucleotide to a truncated tRNA-CA requires further development, analysis reveals that the decomposition of acyl phosphate monoesters can be selectively inhibited to increase the yield of the reaction scheme. This improves the efficiency of La3+ catalysis and led to the development of the method with alternative metal ions as catalysts for monoacylation reactions of cis-diols in general. The second section of this thesis describes the development of site-selective aqueous monobenzoylation of polyols and carbohydrates through catalysis by lead salts, presumably by the bis-bidentate chelate. Mechanistic details of the Pb2+-catalyzed process were examined through comparative studies and kinetics. Those results are consistent with the proposed formation of the bis-bidentate chelate of the lead ion and the reaction components. The reaction then proceeds from the complex via catalysis from an internal Brønsted base. The third section describes studies of metal ions and dinuclear metal complexes as potential additional catalysts. Comparative studies were conducted to understand the roles of metal catalysts during the monoacylation process. This section also presents the challenges in the improvement of the methodology. The overall accomplishments in the thesis demonstrate significant advances in the development of site-selective monoacylation of diols and related species in water using acyl phosphate monoesters as donors. The mechanism I propose should provide guidance for developing further work in the area.

Advisor: Kluger, Ronald
Gambier Mass for Wind Orchestra and Men's Chorus

Gambier Mass for wind orchestra and men’s chorus is a five-movement, 25-minute “Mass ordinary,” a collection of five texts of the pre-Tridentine, Roman Rite Mass set to music. In order, these texts are: the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. They are to be performed in the traditional Latin. As a conceptual point of departure, to varying degrees, parameters such as rhythm, pitch sets, and orchestration in movements 1, 2, 4, and 5 will be governed by one of a number of Lindenmayer Systems. These are parallel “rewriting” systems that allow subterms of a formula to be replaced with other terms ad infinitum. Such recursive processes can create a number of self-similar, fractal phenomena, notably abstract geometric shapes. The Lindenmayer systems used by these movements are: Kyrie: Cantor Sets Gloria: Koch Curves Sanctus: Algal Growth Models Agnus Dei: Fractal Binary Trees While aesthetically similar, the third movement—the Credo (Catholic profession of faith)—sheds this approach to composition in favor of a more intuitive one utilizing pop structures, and serves as a point of symmetry and reflection for the work as a whole, with its more traditional approach to rhythm and harmony providing contrast to the more highly formalized aesthetic of the surrounding movements.

Keywords: classical music
contemporary music
discant
mass
men's chorus
wind orchestra
Advisor: Kulesha, Gary
Making meaning of gender-based violence: Elite subjectivity and gender performance in a Canadian private school

School-related gender-based violence is a global epidemic that affects students at all levels of public and private education. The study outlined in this dissertation started from a need to understand the scope of sexual harassment and sexism in schools to support my daughter through her experience of gender-based violence. Situated in an elite, Canadian private school, in the heart of a large urban city in Southern Ontario, this five-month study examines how “smart” Grade 7 and 8 Oak Lane Academy students make meaning of gender-based violence. I articulate what it means to “become” elite, and how smart and elite subjectivity was not the same for all students in a place committed to gender equity. In theorizing the ethnographic experience through a feminist poststructural lens, I was able to question normative gender discourses and assumptions by observing student performances of masculinity and femininity, which revealed a deeper understanding of the cultural narratives and social practices of the school. I illustrate how “boys” received privileges that were not afforded to “girls,” reinforcing patriarchal ideologies of entitlement, superiority, and hegemonic masculinity. I also address the hidden curriculum as a mechanism for maintaining dominant gender discourses, which enforced gender inequality and set the conditions for gender-based violence to exist and persist. In particular, I highlight symbolic violence as the seed of larger systemic violence. In the process of conducting classroom observations, interviews, and focus groups, I was able to look closely at what it means to be “a boy” and “a girl” at Oak Lane Academy, which perpetuated male privilege. Transitioning from subjectivity to relationality, I apply these meanings to demonstrate how students embodied and enacted masculinity and femininity, directly impacting how they navigated, negotiated, resisted, and redefined peer relationships and understood love. Lastly, I illustrate the implicit and explicit ways the Grade 7 and 8 students engaged in “play” through games and game-like behaviour inside and outside of the classroom. The implications of these findings offer new understandings of school policies and procedures, curriculum, pedagogy, and the curricular spaces in which students learn in order to more effectively address school-related gender-based violence.

Keywords: curriculum
elite-schools
feminist-poststructuralism
gender-based-violence
gender-discourses
relationships
Advisor: Gaztambide-Fernández, Rubén
Dissolved Hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI for Functional Imaging of Radiation-Induced Lung Injury

Hyperpolarized (HP) 129Xe Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the lungs allows for the visualization of the spatial distribution of gas in the pulmonary airspaces upon inhalation by taking advantage of the 100,000 fold increase in signal. This technique yields high quality anatomical and functional images of the lungs that is otherwise difficult with conventional MRI. Direct imaging of lung ventilation is useful for the detection and quantification of obstructive lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, and asthma. An added advantage of 129Xe is its solubility in bodily tissues such as the lung parenchyma and red blood cells, allowing for the detection of signals from beyond the airspaces. This property of 129Xe may be exploited to probe gas exchange upon inhalation, making HP 129Xe MRI a powerful tool for the investigation of terminal airway dysfunction in a variety of pulmonary diseases. However, the inherent challenges associated with dissolved 129Xe MRI has caused development of these techniques to lag ventilation (gas-phase) HP 129Xe MRI. The work in this thesis is focused on the technical development of dissolved 129Xe imaging techniques for use in both human and rodent experiments. A particular focus is given to radiation-induced lung injury (RILI), a serious and debilitating consequence of radiotherapy that affects a subset of patients. A new rat model of RILI that better represents regional injury is developed and tested. Temporally-resolved dissolved 129Xe imaging techniques for gas exchange mapping are developed and applied to the study of RILI in this model. Changes in lung physiology associated with radiation injury are quantified by parametrically mapping gas exchange. Finally, the techniques developed preclinically are modified and improved for clinical use. Parametric gas exchange mapping is demonstrated in humans. Accelerated dissolved 129Xe MRI with parallel imaging is also demonstrated. The results of this work will aid in the translations of dissolved 129Xe MRI into a clinically useful technique for a variety of lung diseases affecting gas exchange in the lungs, such as RILI.

Advisor: Santyr, Giles
The Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Sexual Assault Help-seeking Barriers Scale

Recent research indicates that rape and sexual assault continue to be among the most underreported crimes and that post-assault service use rates remain low. While a large body of research has sought to understand factors that deter help-seeking, existing measures used to assess barriers to help-seeking among sexual assault survivors have not been psychometrically validated. Moreover, many measures do not include barriers that are relevant to seeking assistance from a range of service providers, or relevant to survivors from ethnic minority and low-income backgrounds. The goal of this research project was to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Sexual Assault Help-seeking Barriers Scale (SAHBS), a theoretically grounded and empirically based measure of barriers to help-seeking for sexual assault. Two studies were undertaken based on independent samples of adult women recruited from the Greater Toronto Area and online community (n = 206 and n = 320). Results of Study 1 revealed a 6-factor solution with the following factors: Stigma of Sexual Assault, Negative Attitudes towards Help-seeking, Distrust of Support Providers, Accessibility Issues, Minimization of Sexual Assault, and Lack of Support. Support was found for internal consistency and one-week test-retest reliability. Tests of known-groups construct validity, convergent validity, and concurrent validity provided preliminary evidence for validity of the measure. The SAHBS can be routinely used in future studies of help-seeking among sexual assault survivors, contribute to the identification of barriers faced by diverse groups of survivors seeking assistance from a range of support providers, and inform the development of interventions that can encourage help-seeking.

Keywords: barriers
help-seeking
sexual assault
Advisor: Stermac, Lana
Liquid Water Transport Behavior in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Gas Diffusion Layers due to Material Degradation and Fibre Surface Morphology

Understanding the liquid water transport behavior in the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell gas diffusion layers (GDLs) is essential for improving cell performance and durability. However, the uncontrolled decrease in GDL hydrophobicity has been found within a short portion of the expected operation lifetime. This decreased hydrophobicity can lead to an undesirably high level of liquid water accumulation within the GDL, resulting in performance losses. Furthermore, the impact of the microscale fibre surface morphology on pore-scale liquid water transport is not fully understood. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the impacts of GDL degradation and fibre surface morphology on liquid water transport. Synchrotron X-ray radiography and pore network modeling approaches were employed to perform in situ liquid water visualization and transport modeling, respectively. An ex situ accelerated carbon-corrosion-based stand-alone GDL degradation procedure was developed. The GDL was degraded as evidenced by a reduction in the GDL contact angle, which was associated with surface corrosion. Next, the impacts of GDL degradation on liquid water distributions were investigated. It was concluded that the increases in liquid water accumulation at component interfaces resulted in the reduced performance, which was attributed to the reduction in GDL hydrophobicity. The contributions of carbon fibre substrate and microporous layer (MPL) degradation were differentiated. The MPL degradation had the most significant impacts on the electrochemical performance and liquid water distributions within the GDL. Lastly, a novel methodology for incorporating fibre surface morphology to simulate liquid water transport in GDLs was presented. This model provides the foundation for future investigations of degradation-influenced liquid water transport at the pore-scale of the GDL. The main findings of this thesis provide new insights into the direct effects of GDL degradation into liquid water transport in the GDL, which are vital for designing next generation GDLs for improved durability.

Keywords: Electrochemical System
Gas Diffusion Layer
Liquid Water Transport
Material Degradation
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell
Synchrotron Imaging
Advisor: Bazylak, Aimy
People Who Count: Zionism, Demography and Democracy in Mandate Palestine

This dissertation examines the ways in which demographic knowledge shaped Zionist attitudes towards majority rule and minority rights in Mandate Palestine (1917-1948). In 1917, Jews comprised 10% of Palestine’s population; by 1947, their share of the population rose to 30%, almost entirely due to immigration from Europe. The Zionist Organization was aware of this trend and articulated its political demands in accordance with not only the current number of Jews living in Palestine, but also statistical projections of the number of Jews who would enter the country in the future. I argue that from a demographic-political point of view, the Mandate years should be divided into two periods. Between 1917 and 1937, the Zionist leadership successfully prevented the establishment of majoritarian self-governing institutions, and espoused the principle of mutual non-domination, which dictated that Jews would not rule over Arabs and vice versa. In practice, the Zionists advocated the creation of two separate autonomous national communities under British federal rule, or complete parity between Jews and Arabs in Palestine’s self-governing institutions. Although the British and the Arabs rejected both proposals, the Zionist leadership was able to prevent the creation of a joint political structure in which the Arabs would enjoy a clear majority. The second period began when the Zionist Organization tentatively accepted the 1937 British proposal to establish a Jewish state in part of Palestine, a decision that radically changed Zionist political discourse. Given the demographic makeup of Palestine, according to the partition proposal almost half of the future Jewish state’s inhabitants would have been Arab. This meant that the Zionist leadership had to jettison the principle of mutual non-domination and think seriously about the rights of the Arab minority in the Jewish state to be. The issue of mass transfer of Arabs out of the Jewish state now became an inextricable part of Zionist political discourse, since it was seen by most Zionist leaders as a measure that would consolidate the Jewish character of the state. This discourse, which revolves around the management of the Arab minority’s size and rights, has persisted in Israeli politics to this day.

Keywords: British Mandate for Palestine
Democracy
Demography
Israeli-Arab Conflict
Zionism
Advisor: Penslar, Derek
Concerto for Organ and Orchestra "Poème Liturgique"

Concerto for Organ and Orchestra “Poème Liturgique” is a 14-minute work for organ and orchestra. Cast in five interconnected movements, the work attempts to embody the mood and atmosphere of the five main components of the Latin-rite mass: the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. Using respective chant melodies for each section from Mass II “Kyrie fons bonitatis” of the Kyriale, the music creates evocations of each mass section while weaving in a number of touchstones from the organ’s varied role in liturgical music, as well as a series of recollections and vignettes from the composer’s own experience as a liturgical musician. Kyrie: Chant melodies from the Kyriale’s Mass II, as well as a responsory chant from a Feast of the Assumption procession, which the composer heard in the mountains of western Herzegovina. Gloria: A full setting of the chant melody from the Kyriale’s Mass II, with the organ and orchestra responding dialogically. Credo: An organ solo in trio-texture, weaving together three freely adapted chant melodies: Veni Creator Spiritus, Christe Redemptor Omnium, and Credo IV from the Kyriale. Sanctus: Cascades of melodies from the Kyriale’s Mass II. Agnus Dei: A chorale prelude, where free variations of chant from the Kyriale’s Mass II alternate with recitations from the Lutheran eucharistic hymn, “Christe, Du Lamm Gottes”.

Keywords: concerto
liturgical
organ
Advisor: Palej, Norbert
Gendered Speech: A Sociolinguistic Study of Conversations between Men and Women in Biblical Narrative

Variationist sociolinguistics is a branch of sociolinguistics that uses the quantitative method known as variation analysis to determine precisely how social systems and linguistic systems interact. It is based on the observation that not only do speakers make linguistic choices, but those choices are systematic and constrained and can thus be analysed quantitatively (Tagliamonte 2006). According to the sociolinguist William Labov, “the forces operating to produce linguistic change today are the same kind and order of magnitude as those which operated in the past five or ten thousand years” (1972, 275). This suggests that the same kinds of linguistic variation observed in modern languages might also be evident in the Hebrew Bible. Several of the principles of linguistic change observed by Labov relate to the speech of women as opposed to men; in particular, according to Labov’s second principle of linguistic change, “For stable sociolinguistic variables, women show a lower rate of stigmatized variants and a higher rate of prestige variants than men” (Labov 2001, 266). This raises an intriguing question: Do the conversations in the Hebrew Bible encode gender-based linguistic variation in the speech of men and women? In this study, I conduct a quantitative sociolinguistic analysis of a range of different linguistic variables from different levels of grammar, including syntax and vocabulary, that are used by men and women in mixed-gender conversations in the Hebrew Bible. The results of this analysis demonstrate that Hebrew as a written language presents a sociolinguistic world with consistent patterns of linguistic variation, including consistent patterns of gender-based variation. Because the biblical authors use adherence to and deviation from the expected patterns of speech as a way of expressing character traits and indicating unusual situations, an understanding of how linguistic variation functions in the Hebrew Bible provides deeper insight into the text.

Keywords: Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew Bible
Sociolinguistics
Women in the Bible
Advisor: Holmstedt, Robert D