VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Analysis of the expression patterns of plasminogen activator genes at the single cell level

Metastasis is the process by which individual tumor cells establish a new growth at a site distant from the primary tumor. One group of genes that have been implicated in causing metastasis is the Plasminogen Activator (PA) genes. This thesis describes work using a global single cell reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (GSC RT-PCR) technique to study the mRNA expression patterns of the PA genes in single cells. The initial studies (Chapter 2) determined the differences in gene expression between single, KHT-LP1 murine fibrosarcoma cells and detail the amount of variation generated by the method itself. Single cells (KHT-LP1) derived from small colonies growing in an agar/fibrin gel were then characterized using GSC RT-PCR for their expression of the PA genes. These experiments (Chapter 3) demonstrated that cells from colonies with either a PA producing or non-producing phenotype have heterogeneous expression of the PA genes and the proportion of cells in the two types of colonies that expressed the various genes was different. Building on this work, Chapter 4 describes measurements of the level of PA gene expression in single cells from the two types of colonies. There was no difference in the mean level of expression of the PA genes in the cells from the colonies, but there was a large variability in expression levels between different cells. This variability was greater than that observed in Chapter 2 with single cells derived from monolayer culture. Chapter 5 details work studying the expression and activity of PA genes in KHT-LP1 cells, growing in agar/fibrin gels, subjected to different environmental conditions. We observed no changes in the expression of PA activity of KHT-LP1 exposed to hypoxia but, there was an increase in the amount of PA activity of cells exposed to ionizing radiation (2-10 Gy). This increase was paralleled by a higher metastatic efficiency in cells subjected to 5Gy similar to that seen previously for cells exposed to hypoxia. Overall these studies demonstrate that there is significant heterogeneity in gene expression between individual cells. Furthermore, they illustrate the potential to examine the levels of gene expression in individual metastatic cells.
Sémiotique, intertextualité et Beaumarchais

Repenser l'intertextualité par rapport a l'épistémologie semiotique, tel est notre projet dans ce travail. La recherche sur l'intertextualité menée tambour battant par la critique des années soixante dix, à laquelle nous consacrerons la première partie de cette étude, a laissé beaucoup de questions en suspens. Si la critique littéraire doit faire sienne, en principe, l'étude des tensions entre textes, elle s'arrange le plus souvent pour fixer des critères définitoires davantage redevables de jugements de valeur sur l'état de la pollution (pureté/impureté) de la forme intertextuelle, et sur le statut de la source et de l'influence, que sur le mode de production de l'intertextualité. C'est donc un parcours que nous proposerons, un parcours de l'intertextualité depuis Aristote, car l'intertextuel a toujours été lie à la poétique classique et aux conventions...jusqu'à Kristeva. Mais c'est bien par cette dernière que nous commencerons, une manière de s'engager d'emblée dans la voie du rendement épistémologique de l'intertextualité et dans celle, capitale, de la définition des enjeux que l'intertextualité pose pour la sémiotique. Il importe de préciser d'ores et déjà, qu'en dépit de ces quelques quatre cent pages qui vont suivre, nous ne sommes pas des fanatiques de l'intertextualité, tant s'en faut, le souci qui guidera cette étude sera de poser des gestes semiotiques sur l'intertextualité, d'explorer les présupposes théoriques de ce modèle, de proposer enfin dans la troisième partie de cette étude une analyse de l'intertextualité dans la pièce ' Eugénie' de Beaumarchais, doublée d'un cadre conceptuel semiotique pour la saisie de l'intertextualité. Or de quelle sémiotique s'agit-il? Depuis que le 'sentir' est venu à la rencontre (ou a la rescousse) du 'connaître', l'épistémologie sémiotique a inauguré un nouveau rapport au sens, un rapport fonde sur la perception, la médiation du corps, le 'sentir', la tensivité. Nous ajouterons donc ces nouveaux paramètres, développes par Algirdas Julien Greimas et Jacques Fontanille dans ' La Sémiotique des passions, des états de choses aux états d'âme' (1991), à notre saisie de l'intertextualite, tout en réamenageant le dispositif théorique en fonction de l'objet d'analyse. La sémiotique des passions n'est pas un bradage épistémologique des acquis de Hjelmslev, elle est tout au plus une réorganisation du champ théorique qui tient compte de l'effet de sens émanant du monde sensible. Notre approche continuera donc de se réclamer des acquis de Hjelmslev et de Saussure.
NeuroAnimator, fast neural network emulation and control of physics-based models

Animation through the numerical simulation of physics-based graphics models offers unsurpassed realism, but it can be computationally demanding. Likewise, finding controllers that enable physics-based models to produce desired animations usually entails formidable computational cost. This paper demonstrates the possibility of replacing the numerical simulation and control of model dynamics with a dramatically more efficient alternative. In particular, we propose the NeuroAnimator, a novel approach to creating physically realistic animation that exploits neural networks. NeuroAnimators are automatically trained off-line to emulate physical dynamics through the observation of physics-based models in action. Depending on the model, its neural network emulator can yield physically realistic animation one or two orders of magnitude faster than conventional numerical simulation. Furthermore, by exploiting the network structure of the NeuroAnimator, we introduce a fast algorithm for learning controllers that enables either physics-based models or their neural network emulators to synthesize motions satisfying prescribed animation goals. We demonstrate NeuroAnimators for passive and active (actuated) rigid body, articulated, and deformable physics-based models.
Solubilization of hydrophobic peptides by reversible cysteine PEGylation

'PEG-a-Cys' reagent, synthesized by the esterification of monomethoxy-poly(ethylene glycol) to Ellman's reagent [5,5'-dithiobis (2-nitrobenzoic acid)], is demonstrated to react to form a disulfide bond with the cysteine residue of ALC, a 25-residue synthetic peptide (H2 N-REAAALAAAAALAAWAALCPARRRR-CO2H) designed to model a fusion protein of a membrane protein transmembrane segment. Enzymatic digestion of the four charged residues at the carboxyl terminus of the peptide--which mimics the enzymatic cleavage of a TM segment from the fusion protein--releases a hydrophobic peptide which precipitates from aqueous solution within 24 hours. The PEG-a-Cys-modified peptide remains soluble for at least 7 days following identical enzymatic digestion, as measured by amino acid analysis of ultracentrifuged samples. Circular dichroism spectra reveal that neither PEG-a-Cys-modification nor digestion of ALC cause major changes in its primarily Ã-helical secondary structure. Routine solubilization of hydrophobic peptides is expected to simplify the purification and structural characterization of membrane protein TM segments.
Technology development in Ontario's environmental technology industry, towards a model of the environmental regulation-innovation relationship

The environmental technology industry is targeted under the strategic industrial development plans of both the federal and provincial governments in Canada. The promotion of this industry is driven by the belief that environmental regulations can contribute to industrial development by creating new industries dedicated to the development and manufacture of environmental compliance technologies. Although this view is common in some academic and policy circles, the reality is that there is little empirical or case study analysis to support (or dispute) this hypothesis. In contrast, the evidence that does exist tends to focus on the behaviour of regulated firms while failing to evaluate the performance of environmental technology suppliers. Responding to this shortfall, this dissertation examines the relationship between environmental regulation and the firms who develop and manufacture of environmental technology. A model of the environmental regulation-innovation relationship is developed, and this is tested empirically thorough a survey of the manufacturers of water and wastewater technology in Ontario. The research findings indicate that environmental regulations act to stimulate the development of environmental technology. However, the regulatory stimulus is channeled through firms subject to the regulation rather than directly to the water and wastewater technology firms. The innovation strategies of the technology producers are more directly influenced by the regulatory needs of their customers, as a result, the impact of environmental regulations are mediated by user requirements. The analysis also indicates that the water and wastewater technology firms have successfully established a collaborative relationship with their customers. This collaboration occurs irrespective of the type of technology the firms are developing, the size of the firms, or the firm's ownership. In addition, this relationship does not vary according to the type of environmental regulation that is in force. Overall, this dissertation demonstrates that the relationship between environmental regulation and technology development can only be understood with reference to the innovation process that underpins the actions of the technology producers.
Characterization of a novel amino-terminal domain from a copper transporting P-type ATPase implicated in human genetic disorders of copper metabolism

The ~70 kDa copper binding domain from the Wilson disease copper transporting P-type ATPase was expressed and purified as a fusion to glutathione-S-transferase (GST). Following purification, a detailed study of the metal binding characteristics of the domain, as well as the structural consequences of metal binding, was carried out. In order to determine the metal binding specificity of the domain, immobilized metal ion affinity (RAAC) and 65Zn blotting analyses were performed. The results of these analyses indicate that the domain is able to bind a wide range of transition metals with varying affinities. The apparent order of affinity was found to be: Cu(I)/Cu(H)>Zn(II)>Ni(II)>Co(II). Copper bound to the domain is in the +1 oxidation state as assessed using the colorimetric copper(I) chelator bathocuproine disulfonic acid (BCS) and x-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy. Neutron activation analysis (NAA) indicated a copper/protein stoichiometry of 6.5 copper atoms/mole of protein. In competitive 65Zn blotting experiments non-radioactive copper (Cu(I) or Cu(II)) was able to inhibit 65zinc binding to the domain in a sigmoidal manner, suggesting the presence of cooperativity. This sigmoidal inhibition pattern was not observed for any of the other metals tested. Detailed structural studies using circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy indicate that significant changes in both secondary and tertiary structures take place in the domain upon copper binding. Furthermore, the structural changes which occur upon the addition of zinc are significantly different from those which occur with copper. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) indicates that the copper atoms are ligated by two sulfur atoms in a distorted linear arrangement. The XANES spectra did not change significantly with incremental addition of copper to the domain indicating that all six binding sites may be structurally similar.
Framing Dionysus, the gutter dandy in Western culture from Diogenes to Lou Reed

The gutter-dandy is an oppositional figure who appears from time to time throughout Western culture, an elusive figure who can be termed a philosopher-sage for whom the term philosophy, the 'philosophia', is something to be 'lived out', not merely gleaned and digested in an abstract sense from learned scholars and their texts. In fact, the philosopher's real function is not only to attempt to live a sovereign, singular, 'atopos ' existence, as seen in the life of Diogenes, but also, through his own spectacular form of self-presentation and his stylized mode of being, to 'convert' others to this way of life as well. The roots of gutter-dandyism are found in historical figures who bravely defied the conventions of their times and cultures and paid for it dearly, sometimes with their freedom, as in the Marquis de Sade, sometimes with their lives, as in Loy Pruystinck and John of Leyden, both Brethren of the Free Spirit. These figures keep the underground strain of gutter-dandyism alive, which decedent European artists of the nineteenth century, such as Baudelaire, Huysmans, Rimbaud, and Genet mutate and develop, the 'philosophia' finally making its way to America via Henry Miller, who enacts it democratically, minus the aristocratic hangover of European culture. It is in Miller's work that Foucault might have found the key to the neo-dandyism he seeks in his last works, especially "What Is Enlightenment?," where he states, in millenarian fashion, that the public at large must seize control of and "experience" the "author-function," imploding the line between art and life for themselves, fashioning their own lives creatively, in the manner of those who make houses or table lamps. What is necessarily invoked here is the three-fold process of 'destructuralism ', where the socially imposed self is discarded, contact with "true nature," the void, established, and a "new," authentic self rebuilt. In the latter half of the twentieth century, this process is taken up within popular culture, where sovereigns such as Elvis Presley, Miles Davis, and Lou Reed become main proponents of neo- or gutter-dandyism, the ascendent mass media allowing them the opportunity for mass conversion.* *Originally published in 'DAI' Vol. 61, No. 1. Reprinted here with corrected abstract.
Fracture mechanisms in wood fibre reinforced polyethylene

The fracture toughness of wood fibre reinforced polyethylene has been studied and several methods of improving this important property have been developed. A mechanistic fracture model which incorporates the features of wood fibres and the fibre/matrix interface was also developed. The modeling revealed that the key to enhancing the fracture toughness is to promote fibre pull-out during composite fracture. Based on the modeling, three novel techniques--fibre selection, fibre/matrix interface modification, and fibre alignment--were used to enhance the fracture toughness. The experimental results confirmed the effectiveness of these three techniques. The fracture toughness of the composites was enhanced without sacrificing other mechanical properties such as the tensile strength and modulus. Because the modifications suggested are less expensive than traditional methods, the modified WFRP products are commercially significant.
Surface-aligned photochemistry, photolysis of HX (X = Cl, Br, I, SH) adsorbed on LiF(001), studied by Rydberg-atom time-of-flight spectroscopy

Photolysis of HX (X = Cl, Br, I, SH) adsorbed on LiF(001) was studied by means of the recently developed method of hydrogen high-n Rydberg-atom time-of-flight spectroscopy, which provided high sensitivity (~1000 times better than obtained by time-of-flight mass-spectrometry in the same apparatus) and resolution (~50 meV). Using this method, 'Localized Atomic Scattering' was demonstrated by the photolysis of HCl adsorbed on LiF(001) at 121.6 and 193.3 nm. The HCl molecules have been shown to be adsorbed on the surface at preferred sites by hydrogen-bonding with F-; this results in a downward tilt of the H by 19° from the surface plane. Elastically scattered H-atoms, EL, leaving the surface with 0.1-0.2 eV below their gas-phase energy, scattered at markedly non-specular angles (40° off-normal, at 193.3 nm as compared with a specular angle of 71°). It would appear that the H-atoms recoil not from the surface as a whole but from localized sites, i.e. from the F- ions in the underlying crystal. Comparison of angular distributions for photolysis at 121.6 and 193.3 NM showed a larger scattering angle for the elastically-scattered (EL) H-atoms produced with the higher energy (namely 48° from the normal as against 40°). The H-atom with higher energy penetrates the surface at the F- to a larger degree, causing the scattering angle to be larger. Collisions of the photoformed H-atoms with neighboring adsorbates result in secondary reactions with larger energy loss. A well-defined energy loss of ~1.4 eV is attributed, following earlier trajectory studies, to an exchange reaction, <math> <f> <a><ac><rm>H</rm></ac><ac>&ar;</ac></a>+<rm>ClH<sup>'</sup> &rarrr;HCl+<a><ac>H</ac><ac>&ar;</ac></a><sup>'</sup></rm> </f> </math>, for the HCl/LiF(001) system. Similarly, a vibrational progression produced by quantized T [right arrow] V energy transfer, <math> <f> <a><ac><rm>H</rm></ac><ac>&ar;</ac></a>+<rm>HX<sup>'</sup> &rarrr;<a><ac>H</ac><ac>&ar;</ac></a>+HX<sup>'&dagger;</sup> </rm></f> </math> (v > 0), has been observed for HI/LiF(001) up to HI(v = 3) and for H2S/LiF(001) up to v = 5.
Regulation of the MAP kinase pathway in Y1 adrenal cells

The growth promoting effect of ACTH on adrenal cells 'in vivo ' is well established. Paradoxically, the effect of the hormone on cultured adrenal cells is growth inhibitory. Growth inhibition in adrenal cells is mediated by cAMP and PKA as demonstrated in studies with a PKA defective mutant adrenal cell line. Recent studies investigating the growth effects of ACTH have suggested that the hormone does promote cell mitogenesis, in cultured adrenal cells when it is administered in a short pulse. The increase in mitogenesis correlated with an increase in the phosphorylation and activity of the mitogen activated protein kinases, ERK 1 and ERK 2. These kinases are important regulators of cell proliferation, differentiation and development in a variety of cellular systems. In this thesis, I examined the pathway through which ERK 1/2 activities were increased in response to ACTH stimulation. My studies were carried out using the mouse adrenocortical tumor cell line, Y1, as an experimental system. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Paying for peace, Canada, the United Nations and the financing of the Congo peacekeeping mission, 1960-1964

This thesis studies Canada's attempts to solve the financial crisis which befell the United Nations between 1960 and 1964. In the summer of 1960, the Congo was granted independence from its Belgian rulers and was immediately plunged into political and military chaos. The United Nations agreed to send a peacekeeping force in order to restore stability to the fledgling nation. Four years later, the force was withdrawn having accomplished only part of its mandate because the Organization could no longer afford to maintain its presence in the Congo. The Congo mission was the most expensive peacekeeping operation in the UN's history to that date, and threatened to bankrupt the organization from its inception. The crisis was caused by the inability of Member States to reach a consensus on footing the bill for the Congo operation, some $120 million to $130 million annually. Instead, they divided themselves into power groups representing more individual interests than those of the organization as a whole. Some Member States refused to pay any of their share of the costs of the mission, forcing others, specifically the Western members, to carry an even greater share of the costs of this operation. Between 1960 and 1964, successive Canadian governments and their representatives at the UN attempted to convince all Member States of the necessity of collective responsibility. Despite their efforts, Canada played nothing more than a minor role in resolving the UN's financial uncertainty. Instead, Canada was forced to follow the lead taken by the major players in UN affairs, namely the United States and Great Britain. With the election of Lester Pearson and the Liberals in 1963 came a change in attitudes towards the financing of UN peacekeeping. Canada began to take a harder line against the lack of progress on the issue and refused to take on a greater financial share of peacekeeping activities. The UN's financial health continued to deteriorate even after the end of the Congo mission. Canada's experiences with the financing of United Nations peacekeeping between 1960 and 1964 had a profound effect on the way successive administrations regarded their commitment to the international organization and its peacekeeping efforts.
Multiculturalism in America and the rise of anti-discrimination democracy

This study approaches the phenomenon of multiculturalism in America by examining the manifestly political core of arguments being made for it. The study of multiculturalism necessarily becomes the study of the new commitment to anti-discrimination policy in American life since the primary source of this argument is to be found in the world of multicultural education, a new, distinctive form of civic education associated with victories of the civil rights movement. I examine the relationship between multiculturalism and the new political imperative of anti-discrimination by contrasting these with an earlier, more emphatically liberal argument for "cultural pluralism" (especially the position of Horace Kallen) which is essentially an extension of the liberal doctrine of religious toleration. A new logic of group-based identity recognition and a new call for "respect" replaces an older logic of individual liberty and a standard of "toleration." In examining the older argument (Part One of the thesis), it becomes necessary also to explore the problematic language of "diversity," "pluralism," and "anti-assimilation" that we inherit from the liberal tradition. I emphasize the theoretical difficulties associated with liberalism's tendency to elide the "political" element in social life and trace this tendency in liberal pluralism to the earliest arguments made for a distinctive kind of (liberal) diversity in the doctrine of religious toleration and the separation of church and state. In turning to contemporary multiculturalism (Part Two), the focus shifts to the question of the changes wrought, by the new commitment to anti-discrimination in America. The contrast "cultural pluralism versus multiculturalism," which seems puzzling at first, points to a broader contrast between traditional liberalism and the new politics of fighting racism, sexism, and so on. I examine the arguments of James A. Banks and other writers in the multicultural education literature and survey competing interpretations. To place the political interpretation of multiculturalism in a broader context, I close by looking to other massive evidence of the challenge to the liberal order posed by anti-discrimination policy, arguing for the emergence of what might be termed "anti-discrimination democracy."