VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The role of suppressor of Fused during murine kidney and cerebellum development

Sonic hedgehog (SHH) signaling is critical to embryogenesis in many species and tissues. Effectors of SHH signaling exist either as full length GLI proteins (GLIA) acting to promote gene transcription, or as cleaved GLI proteins (GLIR) acting to repress gene transcription. Previously, we demonstrated a shift in the balance of GLI3 repressor (GLI3R) and GLI3 activator (GLI3A) toward GLI3R to be detrimental to murine renal development. However, whether a shift in the balance of GLI3A:GLI3R or an excess of GLI3R was responsible for this phenotype remained largely unknown. To this end, we have generated mice with renal ureteric epithelial and mid-hindbrain insufficiencies in SUFU, a protein required for GLI3 cleavage, using a Hoxb7CRE- SuFuloxP system. Here, we characterize kidneys and cerebellums from such mutants and demonstrate a requirement for SUFU in early cerebellar patterning.
Noel Coward and the queer feminine

Noel Coward was an enormously commercially successful writer, actor, and personality. His name personified wit, elegance, and style throughout English speaking world for much of the 20th century. And yet few critics have dared to call his work profound. This thesis hopes to redeem Coward by articulating one aspect of his work that is rarely touched upon: the queer feminine. (The queer feminine is defined here as a lack assertiveness in the areas of sex and productive work, and a consequential flowering of the emotional and the vulnerable, in men.) The queer feminine manifested itself in complicated formal mechanisms in Noel Coward's creations: through his androgynous characters, as well as through genre, wordplay, and his own theatrical personality. The feminine men and masculine women that people Coward's work have much to say about the possibilities for romantic and sexual relationships. His most successful commercial comedies (which predate Adorno's theories) are an aesthetic embodiment of Adorno's assertion that fine art is significantly distant from reality, and accomplishes it's radical instruction by creating forms which are removed from the details of real life. Coward applied camp to fascinating political and aesthetic effect; to undercut the moralism of traditional heterosexual hegemonic notions of the fallen woman in drama. Coward's advances in wordplay moved beyond Wilde; he rejected the patriarchal formality of wit (the epigram), welcoming a more feminine, subtle, and sexual form of communication that invites a revolutionary imagining. Finally, Coward's creation of himself as an effeminate, vulnerable, sophisticated, self-dramatizing hybrid of fop and dandy was in direct response to a pervasive cultural anxiety (fear of the queer feminine) and his struggle with class issues necessitated a culturally significant presentation of a respectable effeminate male. For us, the queer feminine man is still not yet human. Coward's work challenges us to think otherwise, and the effect is to make us examine our most fundamental notions of humanity.
Powerful stories, powerful conversations: using literature to teach for social justice

Creating opportunities for students to cultivate the skills they need to participate justly in an increasingly complex, pluralistic world is a considerable challenge for teachers. Informed by critical pedagogy and reader response theories, this doctoral research examines how three grade 7 and 8 English language arts teachers used literature study to foster student exploration and discussion of social justice issues. Classroom observations and interviews with the three teachers were conducted at three different elementary school sites in southwestern Ontario in 2005. Two of the teachers used novel study and one used a set of thematically related poems to explore themes such as personal and social responsibility and power inequity. Given the complexity and potential risks of addressing social justice issues in the classroom, this research examined the factors that facilitated and impeded this challenging pedagogical work, and how they created opportunities for dialogic exploration of potentially conflictual issues. Data were analysed using grounded theory methodology. Findings suggested that the three teachers felt somewhat constrained by institutional (curriculum coverage pressures) and personal (concerns about reprisals) factors, but were primarily concerned with balancing their commitment to exploring social justice issues openly in their classrooms with the safety and comfort of their students. The teachers viewed literature study as a powerful vehicle for social justice education because it invited both emotional and cognitive engagement with themes and offered multiple entry points to engage diverse learners. Students at all three sites appeared most engaged with texts and topics that were relevant to their own experiences, and when given opportunities to explore multiple interpretations. However, marked differences were observed among the three classrooms in the number of students who participated in discussions, the range of perspectives included, and the level of criticality with which topics were explored. These differences stemmed from the interplay of the teachers' text and topic selections and the pedagogical approaches they used to foster student exploration and talk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Modulation of myocyte contractility by transient outward K+ current and P13K[gamma] in the rodent heart

Action potential (AP) prolongation, due to reductions in repolarizing transient outward K+ currents (Ito), modulates contractility by affecting L-type calcium current (ICa,L). To examine how repolarization rate modulates SR Ca2+ release, rat myocytes were stimulated in whole-cell voltage clamp mode with ramps or modeled APs with decreasing levels of Ito conductance. We measured ICa,L as well as calcium transients and Ca2+ spikes using confocal microscopy. AP prolongation via Ito reductions resulted in a biphasic relationship with SR Ca2+ release despite increased integrated ICa,L. We then investigated how calcium handling modulates myocyte contractility by examining a hypercontractile mouse model—PI3Kγ(−/−) mice. PI3Kγ(−/−) mice had increased calcium transients and SR Ca2+ content with prolonged APs at 90% repolarization. However, no differences in ICa,L or K+ current densities were detected. In conclusion, myocyte contractility is strongly modulated by SR Ca2+ release via reductions in Ito and PI3Kγ via changes in Ca2+ handling.
The development of a surface profile models in abrasive jet micromachining

Surface evolution models were developed for abrasive jet micromachining (AJM) of channels, holes, planar areas, and transitional slopes in glass. Repeatability of the erosion experiments was enhanced by introducing a reservoir mixer to the micro-powder blaster. The introduction of a mixing device within the pressure reservoir ensured that the powder remained loose and able to flow through the orifice to the air stream. The best available model in literature was modified to predict the erosion profiles in glass. It was found that the shape of the profile machined in the substrate strongly depends on the particle energy distribution available to the surface. The spatial and velocity distributions of particles in the jet of an AJM setup were measured and used in the model. These distributions were then used with the analytical to predict the cross-sectional profiles of unmasked micromachined channels in borosilicate glass, and later in development of models for AJM of planar areas. A novel model was developed that provided the effective erosive power distribution across a masked channel resulting from mask edge scattering. In addition, a particle tracking computer program was developed to model particle-mask and particle-surface interference to include second strike effects and adjust the effective erosive energy seen by the target surface. There was a very good agreement between the simulation results, the semi-empirical mask edge effect models, and the experimental profiles. AJM models for brittle materials were further modified by introducing a curvature-dependent smoothing term to the eroded surface velocity function, greatly improving the prediction of the surface profile in cases where the erosive power creates a sharp corner. A simple model was developed that allowed machining to an approximately flat surface, by the use of multiple passes arranged in such a manner that the summation of their energy distributions gave a uniform energy flux incident on the surface. Fairly flat planar areas were machined using the developed models for the AJM of glass, and there was a good agreement between the model predictions and experimentally measured surface profiles. Alternatively, a target oscillation method was used that resulted in much flatter planar areas.

Keywords: Mechanics
Mechanical engineering
Analytical modeling of thermal stresses in solder joints: application to reliability prediction

Three accelerated thermal cycling (ATC) profiles (ramp rate °C/min - temperature range °C: 14-100, 95-100, 95-165) were applied to resistor 2512 and PBGA 256 constructed with either SAC or SnPb solders. The effect of reflow cooling rate on the SAC resistors was also investigated using reflow rates of 1.6, 3.8, and 6.8°C/s. The SAC joints had longer thermal fatigue lives than did the SnPb joints when subjected to the smaller temperature range, but were inferior at the larger temperature range. The overall effect of the ramp rate was relatively small. In contrast, the SAC PBGAs lasted longer than the SnPb ones regardless of the temperature range. The higher ramp rate caused more cyclic damage with both SAC and SnPb PBGAs. The reflow rate of 3.8°C/s was the best for the SAC resistor joints. Simple yet accurate analytical models were developed for the interfacial elastic and elasto-creep stresses and strains in trilayer assemblies. The models are generic and applicable to assemblies with any aspect ratio under both plane stress and plane strain conditions, and satisfy equilibrium and compatibility requirements. They were then extended to the leadless chip resistors (LCR) with global effects incorporated as boundary conditions. The LCR model predicted that increasing the ramp rate produces a relatively small decrease in the creep damage in both the SnPb and SAC solders. Cycling over a larger temperature range, however, greatly increases the creep damage in both solders. The strain-based Coffin-Manson model best described the SnPb solder fatigue life, while the energy-based model provided the best correlation with the SAC solder. The fatigue life of SAC solder is more sensitive than the SnPb solder to the ranges of stress, creep strain, and creep energy density per cycle. The LCR model predicted that, for the same geometry and ATC profile, the SAC joints undergo a larger stress range than do the SnPb ones, while the SnPb solders experience a larger creep strain range. The hysteresis of SnPb solders are bigger than those of the SAC solders, both showing shakedown behavior under viscous creep and ratcheting under a nonlinear creep constitutive law.
From peasant misery to entrepreneurial wealth. The making of a regional capitalism

This work explores from an ethnographic and historical perspective the origin and the development of small-scale industrialization and flexible specialization in a specific regional context, the Brianza, an area situated in Lombardy, Northern Italy. Particular concern is given to the analysis of the formation of material and ideological conditions underlying this regional economy. The first part of the thesis illustrates the social and demographic consequences of the long coexistence of peasant and industrial economies in the region. Sharecropping, and industrial work are analyzed in detail to show how their articulation produced the conditions of family subsistence through the access to multiple resources, as well as conditions of class exploitation by landowners and textile industrialists. Agricultural crises and continuing exploitation brought about social unrest resulting in changes in land tenure arrangements and consequently family structure. The second part explores the formation process of the culture of work and entrepreneurship that historically arose out of material and ideological factors in the region. I dwell on the formation of the local Catholic co-operative system which emerged out of the social strife between landlords and peasants at the turn of the Twentieth century. Economic and political emancipation of households from landlords was achieved through land ownership and increasing participation in wage labour. Catholic agencies continued to perpetuate patriarchal relations of authority within the family in the attempt to combat the menace of class-oriented socialist values. Land fragmentation and chronic agricultural crises pushed an increasing number of households into artisanry and industry, resulting in the growth of metalworking and woodworking sectors. The primacy of male skilled labour, and the reproduction of familistic relations of patriarchal authority are some of the material and ideological preconditions discussed that caused post-war family entrepreneurship and flexible forms of industrial production. The final section illustrates such development by paying particular attention to small-factory subcontracting networks and the institutions that support them in this regime of flexible specialization. It also focuses on the social relations of production within family-based artisan workshops, where patriarchal relations of authority underlie the organization of production, and the resulting forms of exploitation.
Spectrum sensing in cognitive wireless networks: Requirements, challenges and design trade-offs

Recent measurements have revealed many portions of the licenced spectrum to remain unused for significant periods of time, hence suggesting that currently spectrum scarcity is largely due to the inefficient and rigid regulations rather than any physical shortage of spectrum. This finding has led the regulatory bodies to consider opening up underutilized licenced (primary) frequency bands for dynamic access by unlicenced (secondary) users.

Keywords: Electrical engineering
Energy-efficient interference-averse power control for CDMA data networks

Wireless communication service providers have witnessed a great upsurge of the demand for the new data services such as short message service (SMS), e-mail, Web browsing and file transfer. This is mostly due to the explosive growth of the Internet and at the same time the increasing tendency of the users to access the Internet on-the-go. The inherent delay tolerance of these new services opens up the possibility of postponing the transmission in case of bad channel condition in return for improved energy efficiency. However, the existing power control algorithms are tailored to real-time services such as voice and they turn out to be inefficient in this respect. In this thesis we develop a distributed power control algorithm which allows users to reduce their powers whenever they face high interference levels. Moreover our algorithm is readily integrated into ordinary power control for a mixture of real-time and non-real-time traffic.
Mechanisms of pig-to-primate xenograft rejection: preclinical and basic studies

Xenotransplantation offers a solution to the shortage of human organs for transplantation. The current barrier to survival of pig-to-primate xenografts is acute vascular rejection (AVR). AVR is characterized by endothelial injury and intravascular thrombosis, and is associated with deposition of antibodies and fibrin. AVR pathophysiology is poorly understood, but is thought to involve xenoreactive antibodies and disordered thromboregulation. We therefore investigated whether induction of the immune coagulant fibrinogen-like protein 2 (fgl2) contributes to AVR. The porcine fgl2 (pfgl2) was cloned and observed to activate human prothrombin in vitro. AVR of pig-to-baboon kidney xenografts was associated with induction of pfgl2 in endothelial cells (EC). Activation of porcine EC by human TNFalpha, but not by xenoantibodies, resulted in induction of pfgl2 and prothrombinase activity. Using a mouse-to-rat cardiac xenotransplantation model, in which high-titre xenoreactive antibodies are absent, hearts from fgl2+/+ and fgl2 +/- mice developed AVR and thrombosis in association with endothelial induction of fgl2. In contrast, thrombosis was significantly ameliorated in hearts from fgl2-deficient (fgl2-/- ) mice. These observations suggested that antibody-independent endothelial induction of fgl2 contributes to AVR-associated thrombosis. These studies offer new insights into AVR pathophysiology by illustrating the relevance of xenoantibodies as well as the role of a novel antibody-independent pathway of immune coagulation, fgl2. Further studies incorporating manipulation of these factors may yield novel strategies by which to overcome AVR and extend porcine xenograft survival towards clinical utility. We first examined whether depleting antibodies would prevent AVR of life-supporting pig-to-baboon kidney xenografts. Depletion of recipient antibodies against the alpha-gal xenoantigen, combined with immunosuppression to prevent antibody responses, ameliorated AVR. Effective protocols consisted of GAS (alpha-gal analogue) with cyclophosphamide, cyclosporine, steroids and rapamycin, or GAS with rabbit antithymocyte serum, cyclosporine, steroids and splenectomy, with or without rapamycin. Recipient survival was not improved because baboons that did not succumb to rejection were lost to complications of immunosuppression. These studies demonstrated that preformed and elicited xenoantibodies contribute to the pathogenesis of AVR. Failure of these strategies to fully prevent AVR suggested that more effective means of suppressing xenoantibodies are required or that antibody-independent mechanisms such as disordered thromboregulation contribute to xenograft rejection.
Essays in applied monetary economics

My thesis, entitled Essays in Applied Monetary Economics, consists of two essays concerning issues of the monetary transmission mechanism in Canada. The first essay deals with the demand for money. Traditional studies estimating the long-run demand for real money in Canada assume that narrow money, or M1, bears zero interest. However if implicit interest has been paid, such interest should be taken into account in determining the opportunity cost of holding money. We present evidence showing that the banking industry in Canada moved from being characterized as oligopolistic over the 1960's and 1970's to more competitive over the 1980's and 1990's. Using quarterly data over the period 1961:1–2000:3 we construct a competitive own rate of return variable in a manner similar to Klein (1974) and include it in the demand for money. From three estimation methodologies, the central result is that over the period 1960:1–1980:3 where the degree of competition is low, the conventional money demand model which omits an own rate of return performs well. However, over the period 1982:2–2000:3, the own rate of return is correctly signed and statistically significant. Along with an improved money demand specification over the latter period, this provides independent evidence that the market for demand deposits became more competitive. The second essay examines whether the effects of monetary shocks have differential regional effects. We identify three possible sources of regional effects: differences in the importance of interest-sensitive industries, differences in the contribution of exports to output, and differences in the shares of small firms. Impulse responses are derived for provincial employment levels. The results show that Newfoundland and P.E.I. are strongly adversely affected by a monetary contraction. Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta are also affected. Ontario is moderately affected, while Quebec is marginally unaffected. The responses New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and British Columbia are statistically insignificant. The factors contributing to these results is the contribution of manufacturing and primary goods to GDP and to exports. The higher are each, the greater the response to monetary policy. Descriptive data show that the maritime and prairie provinces have relatively high contributions of primary based output to provincial GDP and exports, while Ontario and Quebec have relatively high contributions of manufacturing output to provincial GDP and to exports.
Primary care reform in Ontario: What's the hold up? An economic, legal, historical, and comparative analysis of the primary care reform initiatives in Ontario from 2000 to 2008

In this analysis I examine the history of primary care in Ontario and focus on the utilization control mechanisms introduced in this Province in the 1980s and 1990s, and the physician-induced demand hypothesis on which they were based. I question the underlying theoretical premise, as well as the analysis done before their introduction, and review the impact they had on the primary care reform initiatives examined. I assert such analysis was inadequate and based on an incomplete model of physician behaviour. I examine the primary care reform initiatives introduced by the Conservative Government starting in 2000, outline the design parameters on which these reforms were based, review similar reforms in three other jurisdictions and attempt to explain why these initiatives failed to achieve the 80% acceptance originally intended. Based on the lessons learned I make six recommendations, one of them outlining how I propose these reforms should be continued.
Three essays on regional development and urban growth in China

This dissertation provides empirical evidence on regional development and urban growth in China. In the first chapter, we examine how Chinese cities of different sizes grow relative to each other and find that reform period since 1980 delivered significant structural change in Chinese urban system. The city size distribution remains stable before the reform but shows convergent pattern of growth in post-reform period. Secondly, we use Pearson goodness-of-fit test to examine which distribution is the best approximation of city size distribution. A parallel study of city size distribution in China and U.S. reveals substantial differences: a lognormal distribution in case of China and a Pareto distribution in case of U.S. The second chapter examines the patterns and determinants of city growth in China. We find that the city income distribution converges during the period 1990 to 1999. The geographic distribution of the Chinese urban system is uneven, and the welfare of coastal cities is significantly higher than that of inland cities. An analysis of the determinants of city growth shows that economic reform and openness of cities play important roles in accelerating urban growth. The results also lead support to the significant impact of other factors on urban growth, such as geography, industrial structure and human capital accumulation. The third chapter provides empirical evidence on the linkage between regional inequality, industrial agglomeration and foreign trade. The results indicate that the increasing regional inequality in the 1990s was accompanied by the increasing regional specialization and manufacturing industry agglomeration. Access to foreign trade and foreign investment is one of important driving forces of unbalanced geographic distribution of production in China. Industries dependent on foreign trade and foreign direct investment are more likely to locate in the regions with easy access to foreign market, and exporting industries have a higher degree of agglomeration.