VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Intent in New Zealand competition policy

This thesis examines the role of intent in the New Zealand Commerce Act 1986, sections 27 and 36 of which respectively prohibit concerted anti-competitive action and monopolisation. Anti-competitive purpose is an element of both sections. Intent is examined from three perspectives, using predation as an illustration. First is an economic perspective. Second is an institutional perspective, which examines judicial development of the substantive rules needed to provide the law with predictability. Third is a conceptual respective, which considers whether intent accurately characterises ambiguous conduct in competition, where injury to others is normatively desirable. A comparative examination of intent in US antitrust law is undertaken. New Zealand jurisprudence under sections 27 and 36 is analysed from these perspectives. The thesis examines whether intent leads New Zealand law to condemn economically efficient conduct and to create commercial uncertainty, and offers suggestions for reform.
Cloning and characterization of hfgl2, the human counterpart to the mouse gene fgl2

Mouse Hepatitis Virus strain 3 (MHV-3) infection of the Balb/cJ strain of mice, is an experimental model for Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) induced fulminant hepatic failure in humans. These two non-cytolytic viruses cause a similar spectrum of liver disease, including acute fulminant hepatitis and chronic liver disease, in a host immune response dependent manner. Our laboratory has established the pivotal role played by a direct prothrombinase like activity, encoded by the gene fgl2, in the pathogenesis of MHV-3 induced fulminant hepatic failure. This thesis reports the cloning and structural characterization of the human counterpart to fgl2, namely hfgl2, from the PAC genomic library. The hfgl2 gene is approximately 7 kb in length, with two exons. The putative promoter region of hfgl2 contains various cis element consensus sequences that strongly suggest the inducibility of its expression. The similarities in the putative promoter elements in human and mouse fgl2 indicate that they are both regulated in a similar manner. From the nucleotide sequence of the human gene a 439 amino acids long protein is predicted. The overall identity between the fgl2 and hfgl2 coded proteins is over 70%. About 225 amino acids at the carboxyl end of these molecules are almost 90% identical; this carboxyl end corresponds to the well conserved Fibrinogen Related Domain, which is seen in various proteins from different species of organisms. Most likely, hfgl2 and fgl2 code for a type II transmembrane protein, with the potential catalytic domain towards the amino terminus of the protein.
Differential effects of early attachment on social competence with friends, acquaintances, and unfamiliar peers, a meta-analysis

Only recently has the important distinction between children's friendships and peer relationships in general attracted research attention. This conceptual blurring has characterized many studies investigating the relation between early attachment quality and social competence. According to attachment theory, the quality of an infant's attachment relationship has profound implications for later close relationships. Yet most of the research to date has measured children's social competence when interacting with acquaintances or even with unfamiliar peers. This meta-analysis compared studies relating attachment quality to social competence with either friends, acquaintances, or unfamiliar peers. Although a small but statistically significant effect size estimate was found for the relation of attachment to social competence across all studies, no differences were found among studies using friends, acquaintances, or unfamiliar peers. Possible factors contributing to this unexpected result are discussed.
T¦2 accuracy on a whole-body imager

MR oximetry requires a $T\sb2$ measurement technique insensitive to the constraints imposed by a whole-body imager. Simple methods are susceptible to signal loss and tend to underestimate $T\sb2.$ Current methods use RF pulses or RF cycling patterns which prevent signal loss, yet $T\sb2$ tends to be overestimated due to temporary storage of the magnetization along the longitudinal axis, where it decays more slowly with a time constant $T\sb1>T\sb2.$ To reduce the $T\sb1$ dependence while preventing signal loss, we utilize simple $90\sb{x}180\sb{y}90\sb{x}$ composite pulses and good RF cycling patterns. These methods are critical for $T\sb2$ accuracy over a broad range of RF and static field inhomogeneities and refocusing intervals. $T\sb1$ signal decay during each $90\sb{x}180\sb{y}90\sb{x}$ pulse must be accounted for to yield $T\sb2$ accuracy within 5% when the pulse width is greater than 10% of the refocusing interval. A simple correction scheme compensates for this bias effectively.
Day-night differences in ventilation, metabolism, and body temperature during normoxia, hypoxia and hypercapnia in the awake adult rat

During normoxia, metabolism and body temperature were significantly $(P<0.05)$ higher at 10 pm than at 10 am, and ventilation and tidal volume remained unchanged while respiratory frequency was significantly higher at 10 pm than at 10 am. At 10 am, metabolism decreased in response to hypoxia, but body temperature did not suggesting that the thermic and metabolic responses to hypoxia are independently controlled. Both ventilation and mean inspiratory airflow are elevated at 10 am compared with 10 pm suggesting that the ventilatory response to hypoxia may follow a circadian rhythm. The increase in ventilation in response to hypercapnia was significantly greater at 10 pm than at 10 am. Mean inspiratory airflow was also elevated at 10 pm compared with 10 am. These observations suggest that the hypercapnic ventilatory response may follow a circadian rhythm.
The crucible of culture, ethnicity and the second generation Italian-Canadian woman in Toronto

This essay examines the nature and persistence of ethnicity among a group of university educated, second generation Italian Canadian women. It explores those factors, both external and internal, that contribute to the formation and maintenance of their ethnic identity. While no two women had identical experiences or views, as a whole they feel at odds with the duality of cultures they are forced to balance because they lack a sense of belonging to either their native community or their ethnic community. Those of the second generation have no definable place as they are not immigrants, and they do not feel themselves Canadian beyond their legal citizenship. As Italian Canadian women, they are reduced to mythological constructs of society's imagination. Ultimately, they are labelled "typical Italian women", indicating both a feeble attempt at understanding and contempt for a "foreign" group. The "crucible", both a melting pot for metal, and a trial, is a metaphor for the Italian Canadian woman expected to assimilate into one culture or another. Unable to assimilate she faces judgement and condemnation to a social role she may not otherwise have chosen. Chapter One explores the relationship between art and literature of the ethnic community and their perceived identity. Chapter two examines the creation of an Italian community in Toronto and the impact of social, geographic and economic forces on the ethnicization of the second generation. Chapter three discusses the Italian immigrant mother and her relationship with her Canadian born daughter. Chapter four presents the results of the interviews conducted with second generation women.
The role of G-protein ßã subunits in the invertebrate visual system

The signal transduction pathway in the vertebrate visual system has been well characterized. One characteristic property of this system is the dependence of guanine-nucleotide exchange on G$\rm\sb{t}\alpha$ subunits in the presence of rhodopsin and $\rm G\sb{t}\beta\sb\gamma$ subunits. The signal transduction pathway of the invertebrate visual system is not as well characterized. Therefore, I examined the effect of rhodopsin and $\beta\gamma$ subunits on guanine-nucleotide exchange on the $\alpha$ subunit of invertebrate visual G protein, $\rm G\sb{44}\alpha$ The G$\sb{44}$ protein was extracted from squid photoreceptors and subunits were purified by DEAE chromatography. In reconstitution systems, light-activated rhodopsin is able to catalyze guanine nucleotide exchange on $\rm G\sb{44}\alpha$ in the absence of $\rm G\sb{44}\beta\gamma$ subunits. The addition of $\rm G\sb{44}\beta\gamma$ subunits do not enhance but indeed inhibit the rhodopsin-catalyzed guanine-nucleotide exchange on $\rm G\sb{44}\alpha$ in a concentration-dependent manner. I have examined the mechanism of this inhibition and propose that $\rm G\sb{44}\beta\gamma$ binds to rhodopsin and inhibits rhodopsin-$\alpha$ interactions. These findings may suggest a possible inactivation mechanism for the invertebrate visual system.
Linguistic theory and second language teaching

This thesis is written for the language teacher who wishes to gain theoretical insight into the teaching of grammar. In particular, the discussion seeks to investigate the teaching of 'psychologically real' grammar in the foreign language classroom. It aims therefore at a grammatical understanding which corresponds to the distributional and metaphorical realities of language. With this purpose in mind, three twentieth century grammatical models of the formal matrix are analyzed: the Structuralist school of thought associated primarily with Ferdinand de Saussure, the Transformational-Generative project identified with Noam Chomsky, and the Systemic-Functional model advanced by Michael Halliday. Subsequent to the theoretical section, a heuristic discussion is undertaken for purposes of pedagogical reflection.
The thermodynamics of water vapour dissolution in tundish fluxes

A thermogravimetric technique has been used to obtain values of water vapour capacity in molten slags. Thermodynamic measurements have been made in synthetic fluxes of compositions that may be appropriate for use in a tundish. The results obtained indicate that solubility of water vapour is independent of temperature over a 100$\sp\circ$C range (1400$\sp\circ$C to 1500$\sp\circ$C). It was also observed that the solubility of water vapour varies directly with the square root of the water vapour partial pressure. It was confirmed that water vapour behaves amphoterically with respect to dissolution in molten fluxes. The values of water vapour capacity were rationalized with respect to optical basicity as derived from Pauling electronegativity and from Electron density measurements. These results were compared to results from previous studies. Data from 12 investigations and 10 slag systems were used to derive expressions to estimate water vapour capacities in molten fluxes on each of these scales.
Economic policy interactions, intellectual property rights and competition policy : exclusive licensing and rate regulation

This dissertation explores the consequences of licensing in two specific settings: intellectual property (IP) transfers and cable television (CATV) operations. The first section models an interaction between IP regulations and competition policy. Hybrid licences tie trade secret rights (which have no fixed expiration) to related patent rights (which expire). Level royalty hybrid licences, which charge a single royalty for both rights, have been prohibited on the basis that these contracts leverage market power into the post-patent period. The model explains this form of licensing as a means of privately implementing an efficient infinite-term licensing outcome without requiring a change in the length of the patent term. Two fundamental questions addressed in the second and third sections are: "Does the cost structure of the CATV industry justify exclusive licensing?" and "How do the pricing rules imposed by the CRTC impact the performance of CATV operators?" A flexible cost function and the cost functions used in earlier research, for comparison, are employed to evaluate economies of scale achievable within the areas licensed by the CRTC. In the second section, the results support the natural monopoly argument that can justify the exclusive licensing of CATV operations. The results of the analysis in the third section suggest that, although the pricing constraints imposed by the CTC restrict cable firms to less-than-monopoly pricing, the price structure can be distinguished from marginal-cost pricing, even for large systems operating under constant returns to scale. Estimates of market power and its associated marginal efficiency cost suggest that the rules in themselves did not bring prices into line: the observed improvement in performance arises from external, non-rule based sources. The rules do not appear to have adequately addressed the trade-off of static efficiency and investment incentives. However, it is not possible to reject the hypothesis that over the sample period the CRTC's policy of exclusive licensing coupled with its pricing rules have induced the pursuit of a dynamic development strategy aimed at exploiting future scale economies.* *Originally published in 'DAI' Vol. 59,
Using interval graphs for solving map assembly problems

This thesis is concerned with graph theory-based algorithms to handle the genetic map assembly problem. These algorithms are designed to build the genetic maps using only graph theoretical properties so as to better understand how much information can be obtained from the graph structure. In particular, several algorithms are developed using ideas from interval graphs and the asteroidal triple-free graphs. The core of the problem is dealing with the noise present in the data. This noise can be split into two different categories: false negatives (edges removed from a graph), and false positives (edges added to a graph). For the case of noise introduced as a result of false negatives, lexicographic breadth-first search is used to produce useful orderings even under heavy noise conditions. Three different algorithms are developed for dealing with false positives. The algorithms can detect the effects of false positives, but none are effective in removing this type of noise.
The attitudes of social workers toward women with physical disabilities exercising their reproductive rights

This research was conducted to discover and describe the attitudes of social workers toward women with physical disabilities exercising their reproductive rights. It is particularly important since effective social work intervention depends on the attitudes of its practitioners. The sample was 289 third and fourth year social work students from Ryerson Polytechnic University's Bachelor of Social Work program. A self-administered questionnaire, using a Likert-type scale, was completed by 73% of the students. Analysis included examining responses to statements and comparing overall scores with demographic data and respondents' reported experience. Results indicated that social work students express relatively positive attitudes. Such attitudes are supportive of social work's professional values. The results appear contrary to other studies which suggest that negative attitudes are held by both health care professionals and the general public. However, responses to statements on concrete issues such as physical capabilities were significantly less positive than for general statements of principle.
Second language learning needs of illiterate Italian adults, students of English as a Second Language

This study explored the language learning needs of adult immigrants to Canada from Italy who were not literate in Italian, their first language, but who, for whatever reason, had to become literate in English. The study presents an historical overview of literacy/illiteracy issues, immigration patterns and language policy in Canada, and developments in the field of adult literacy and ESL literacy. It describes and compares the perceptions of second-language learning needs of these students, obtained from a sample of 5 English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers and 25 ESL students. The study presents qualitative data outlining the personal behavioural, motivational and attitudinal characteristics of the students. It also addresses their language-learning, information and personal needs. Ideal and actual teaching strategies employed by teachers are also described. The study concludes with recommendations focusing on current thinking about the change process and a discussion of the future of ESL literacy in Canada.
Hemoglobin bis-tetramers, synthesis of cross-linker and reaction with hemoglobin

Previously, reagents have been developed that react within hemoglobin to interconnect the subunits to prevent dissociation of the $\alpha\beta$ dimers. However, there has been no reagent which can react to form these intramolecular cross-links while forming an intermolecular link between hemoglobins. This thesis reports the development of such a reagent and its reaction with hemoglobin to produce dimers of cross-linked hemoglobin, or hemoglobin bis-tetramers. N,N$\sp\prime$-5,5$\sp\prime$-bis (bis(3,5-dibromosalicyl)isophthalate) terephthalamide (DBIT) was synthesized. It reacts with hemoglobin to form crosslinked bis-tetramers.
From Judaism to Buddhism, Jewish women's search for identity

It is well known that disproportionately high numbers of Jews have become Buddhists in North America. (Kamenetz, 1994). This study is an exploration of nine North American Jewish women who have turned to Buddhism for their spiritual development. The two research questions explore why these women are attracted to Buddhism and the process of how they are integrating the two religions within themselves. I have used the Push and Pull model of conversion (McGuire in Selengut, 1988) to analyze why these women feel pushed from Judaism and pulled towards Buddhism. In analyzing the second question, my findings suggest that these women are not converting fully to Buddhism, but rather are integrating both approaches in different ways. This integration was often articulated by the women as retaining their cultural and ethnic identity as Jews, while practicing Buddhist philosophy and spiritual practices in their everyday lives.
TGF-ß¦1 regulation of Ã-smooth muscle actin expression in fibroblasts is dependent on the deformability of the substrate

Wound contraction is a fundamental process in wound repair and is required for closure, but the interactions between the inflammatory cytokines that regulate this process and the cytoskeletal elements in fibroblasts that provide the contractile forces are poorly understood. I examined the effect of TGF-$\beta$1 on the ability of human gingival fibroblasts to contract collagen gels in vitro and on the expression of the putative fibroblast contractile marker, $\alpha$-smooth muscle actin ($\alpha$-SMA). TGF-$\beta$1 (10 ng/ml; 3 days) increased $\alpha$-SMA protein and mRNA 2-3 fold, as determined by western and northern blots and normalised for $\beta$-actin content. Western blots of cells in anchored collagen gels also showed a TGF-$\beta$1-induced increase of $\alpha$-SMA content but the effect was reduced compared to collagen-coated plastic. In floating collagen gels, TGF-$\beta$1 exerted no significant effect on $\alpha$-SMA protein. Notably, TGF-$\beta$1 increased the rate of contraction in anchored and floating collagen gels in serum-free cultures by 50% and 30% respectively but the difference was not evident in serum-containing cultures. Using an ELISA, active and latent forms of endogenous TGF-$\beta$1 were detected in all 3 models. Addition of exogenous TGF-$\beta$1 stimulated its own production. The highest levels of endogenous TGF-$\beta$1 were detected in monolayer cultures and the lowest levels in floating gels. Blocking $\alpha$2 and $\beta$1 subunits with monoclonal antibodies abolished the effect of TGF-$\beta$1 on $\alpha$-SMA expression. Collectively these data indicate that TGF-$\beta$1 may regulate wound contraction by affecting the cellular content of the contractile protein, $\alpha$-SMA and that generation of intracellular tension may regulate expression of specific cytoskeletal genes involved in cell contraction.
The role of TNFRp55 in autoimmunity

The pleiotropic cytokine, TNF$\alpha,$ is a potent pro-inflammatory mediator which binds to two specific cell surface receptors, TNFRp55 and TNFRp75. The objective of these studies was to investigate the role of the TNFRp55 in mediating the inflammatory response associated with autoimmune diabetes development in a viral-induced transgenic model. The importance of the TNFRp55 was examined using TNFRp55 deficient transgenic animals. Beta islet lymphocytic infiltration and diabetes development were not altered in the absence of the TNFRp55. Further, properties of the infectious agent inducing the autoreactive response were evaluated using a recombinant virus. Interestingly, disease onset was accelerated in TNFRp55 deficient animals. Thus, these data demonstrate that TNFRp55 is not essential for producing the local inflammatory effects which contribute to organ specific autoimmunity in this transgenic model. However, the absence of TNFRp55 altered the kinetics and incidence of disease in a pathogen dependent fashion.
Working behind bars, prison labour and minimum standards protection in Canada

While prison labour is not readily associated with Canada, the fact is that inmates in Canadian penitentiaries do work while incarcerated. Though inmates work in much the same way as unconfined workers, they are not accorded the same work-related benefits as such "employees". This thesis argues that inmate workers should be treated as "employees" for the purposes of minimum standards legislation. When we examine the aims of minimum standards legislation, as well as those of prison industry, we see that the objectives of both are advanced by applying minimum standards to inmate workers. In order to fairly address the question of prisoners' entitlement to minimum standards protection, it is essential to move beyond thinking of prisoner and employee status as mutually exclusive. Such a view is inconsistent with Canada's legal and jurisprudential framework, and threatens the social policy objectives which underlie minimum standards and possibly other employment-related statutes.
Effects of all-trans retinoic acid alone and in combination with dexamethasone on the developing limb skeleton of the fetal mouse

All-trans retinoic acid (RA) is a potent teratogen in humans and in several mammals, with effects on limb and craniofacial development. We studied all-trans RA teratogenicity in CD-1 mice and the effects of dexamethasone (dex) treatment on the all-trans RA-induced malformations. We present here the first evidence suggesting that dex can ameliorate the effects of all-trans RA on long bone foreshortening in the developing limb. We hypothesized that the amelioration of retinoid-induced malformations by dex were a result of dex-induced downregulation of the expression of the retinoic acid receptor $\beta$ (RAR$\beta).$ To evaluate the relationship between gene activation and all-trans RA-induced limb skeletal malformations, we examined which cell types in the developing limb bud responded to all-trans RA using the RA response element (RARE) hsplacZ transgenic mouse model. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
The situation calculus and Hehner's programming theory, harmonization through reification

Acquiring the general ability to reason formally about the effect of actions is a task of great importance. It is at the heart of knowledge representation in artificial intelligence, and formal programming methods in software engineering. This shared goal leads to similarities in the formalisms developed in the two fields. Here we explore the similarities between the situation calculus from artificial intelligence and a programming theory by Eric C. R. Hehner. These similarities provide a bridge between the two formalisms which may be used to share results. By making some modifications to the formalisms, such as reifying some of their concepts, we widen this bridge and enable a more harmonious exchange between the two fields.