VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Genetic and epigenetic variation in histone H1

Histone proteins play a fundamental role in DNA-templated processes in eukaryotes. Access of regulatory factors for DNA replication, repair and gene transcription, to binding sites in chromatin is influenced by histone binding to DNA in nucleosomes, and by higher order folding of nucleosomal filaments that is mediated, in part, by histone H1. Non-allelic amino acid sequence variants of histone H1 are co-expressed in most eukaryotes, and tissue-specific patterns of H1 variant expression in metazoans have long suggested that H1 variants may be functionally distinct. However, direct support for this hypothesis is lacking, in part, due to the inability of current chromatographic procedures to adequately resolve H1 variants and post-translationally modified forms. To facilitate investigation of the functional significance of H1 heterogeneity, a novel HPLC method, cation-exchange-hydrophilic-interaction chromatography (CX-HILIC), was developed that resolved 14 major and numerous minor peaks for H1 from pooled chicken blood. This was unexpected because only six genes for H1 variants are known in this species. Electrophoretic analyses revealed that each CX-HILIC peak represented one of the six non-allelic variants of H1 described previously, but that four variants were represented by multiple peaks. Mass spectrometry revealed that HI recovered from CX-HILIC peaks was more heterogenous than was apparent in electrophoretic analyses and that the molecular mass of most molecules was smaller than predicted by the corresponding gene sequences. This was not attributable to proteolysis during handling since CX-HILIC peaks of H5 processed in parallel contained molecules that matched the expected value or exceeded it due to covalent modification. Analyses of H1 prepared from blood of individual chickens revealed that allelic variation was responsible for much of the CX-HILIC heterogeneity of H1 from pooled blood. Analyses of peptides from pooled erythrocyte H1 and liver H1 suggested that heterogeneity also arises from limited proteolysis of N-termini of H1 in vivo. Amino acid sequencing revealed that the genes encoding two non-allelic variants have been identified incorrectly in the literature. Together, these analyses demonstrate an unexpectedly high degree of heterogeneity in avian H1 and suggest the novel hypothesis that limited proteolysis may regulate H1 function in vivo.
John Locke, the Devonshire farmer and the dispossession of the Amerindians of Belize and Guyana

Property, is a construct of the society it serves. As that society changes, so does its conceptualization of property, shifting to reflect the changing needs of the populace. English colonialism made just such a re-conceptualization necessary. As colonial objectives changed from trading to settlement and agriculture, the property needs of the settlers also changed. Possession of Aboriginal land became essential to the prosperity of the European settlers. John Locke's writings on property provided English authorities with an ideological framework necessary to legitimate their expansionist activities and construct a colony-specific concept of property. Locke redefined property in Two Treatises of Government by arguing property in land is created through the application of European-style, agrarian labour. This theory excluded the Aboriginal occupant from ownership and created a version of natural law which justified appropriation of Aboriginal territory without consent. The success of this persuasive effort was illustrated in the colonial development of land tenure systems in Belize and Guyana.
Size effect and the influence of longitudinal reinforcement on the shear response of large reinforced concrete members

To investigate the influence of the longitudinal reinforcement ratio as well as the presence of minimum transverse reinforcement on the shear properties of very large reinforced concrete members, a total of four 2-meter deep spans with varying amount of longitudinal and transverse reinforcement were constructed and tested. Consistency of the Modified Compression Field Theory in predicting shear strength of the tested members is observed throughout this research project. A simplified relationship relating the longitudinal reinforcement ratio with the overall member shear strength is then proposed and compared with the experimental observations. Good correlation between the predictions and test observations is observed.
The impact of maternal depression of dyadic interactions: Implications for communication and problem solving skills in infancy and early childhood

The impact of maternal depression on children's cognitive, social-affective communication and problem solving skills was investigated in a cross-sectional study with 54 children (aged 15, 20, and 25 months) and their mothers. Nine dyads at each age level were designated as either Experimental (mothers with a history of depressive symptoms) or Control (mothers without a history of depressive symptoms). Measures included two structured cognitive tasks that assessed children's mental attentional (working memory) capacity (a semantic complexity comprehension task and an imitation sorting task), a series of structured request elicitation episodes to examine social-affective communication between mothers and children, and unstructured play and feeding sessions to assess spontaneous dyadic interactions. Results revealed that children of depressed mothers exhibited relative deficits in language, problem solving, and social-affective communication, and displayed differential dyadic interactional patterns. These findings highlight the potential consequences of maternal depression and adverse dyadic interactions during infancy and early childhood.
An investigation into the effects of CNG-gasoline operation on EGO sensor behavior and deterioration

Engine tests were performed to examine exhaust gas oxygen (EGO) sensor behavior and deterioration when operated in a natural gas-gasoline bi-fuel environment. Baseline EGO sensor characteristics from gasoline only aging were compared to those of EGO sensors aged on runs with both compressed natural gas (CNG) and gasoline. EGO sensor voltage output, response time and cycling period are used to characterize sensor behavior. These parameters were monitored over the aging process and compared between the gasoline only and bi-fuel tests. Air to Fuel (A/F) ratio sweeps, steady state engine tests and transient fuel switching tests were carried out to monitor the aforementioned characteristics of the EGO sensors during the aging process. Results from this study show that there is no significant difference in EGO sensor performance between sensors aged on gasoline only versus those aged under bi-fuel CNG-gasoline conditions after 160 hours of operation.
Teaching adolescent girls at risk, stories of voice and silence

Welcome to the woods. This thesis is built around the metaphor of exploring "The Forest of Voice and Silence." The development of voice is defined in this work as a life-journey toward wellness, voice is described as the ability to make choices that reflect one's needs, feelings and values. As women, many aspects of experience threaten to silence our voices, placing us "at-risk" of making choices that keep us unsafe, unhealthy or unwell. As you journey through this thesis forest, you will meet six adolescent girls and six teachers of adolescents (five females and one male) who will share their experiences of voice, silence and "at-riskness," reflecting ways in which we are all "at-risk." This thesis takes the form of postmodern arts-based educational research. Expect the text to depart from traditional expository styles of writing and dive into a variety of creative forms to communicate experience. I write "in-role" as each of my co-researchers, channelling their voices through mine to reflect their experiences. Using metaphor and images, I inquire into voice, silence and "at-riskness." Implications for teaching and learning arise throughout this forest adventure, challenging us to see our "at-risk" girls and ourselves with new eyes.
Platelet compatibility and surface characterization of amidine surface-modified poly(acrylonitrile-co-vinyl chloride)

Platelet compatibility of amidine groups on poly(acrylonitrile-co-vinyl chloride) (PAN-VC) was studied using PAN-VC cast into thin films. The surface nitrile groups of the PAN-VC films were chemical modified into amidine groups through a two-step process analogous to the Pinner's methods. The presence of amidine groups was shown in various surface characterization tests, including x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), chemical derivatization with pentafluorobenzaldehyde (PFB), infrared spectroscopy (IR) and static secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). A higher nitrogen content was detected on the amidine-surface modified (ASM) samples in low-resolution XPS spectra compared to the solvent-treated control and unmodified PAN-VC. After reacting with PFB, lower nitrogen and higher fluorine contents were found, indicating the presence of Schiff bases formed with primary and secondary amines and hence the presence of amidine, on ASM PAN-VC surface. Further supporting evidences was also observed in IR and SIMS analysis. However, the yield of the surface-modification was low, around 8% of the total surface nitrile group available on the surface. Flat surface platelet adhesion tests showed that platelet adhesion was ~40% lower on the ASM PAN-VC compared to the control and unmodified surfaces. Flow cytometric analysis showed that the amidine surface modification was able to slightly reduced platelet activation in the bulk on PAN-VC surface. The significantly lower platelet adhesion and the small but statistically insignificant decrease in platelet adhesion suggests that there may be more than one platelet activating mechanism and that the amidine-surface modification could inhibit some, but not all of the activating pathways. Nevertheless, amidine-surface modification was shown to be able to improve the platelet compatibility of the PAN-VC surface. This study showed that the amidine groups on a polymer surface were very likely to function in a similar way to ones on soluble agonists in the bulk fluid, and could reduce thrombogenicity in material-blood contact.
Assessment of the effectiveness of paediatric psychoeducational programs on family functioning

Ten to 15% of all children have a chronic medical condition. It is known that these children and their siblings are at increased risk of psychosocial sequelae. Intervention programs offered to families include psychoeducation, group process programs and counselling. Programs are often provided in the context of specific medical conditions. It is important to our understanding of the impact of chronic childhood illness and to our efficacy as clinicians to synthesize what we have learned and to apply this knowledge to our work with families. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of two psychoeducation programs for children with functional constipation with or without encopresis and their parents. One program provided education and assistance with management strategies from a nurse educator and the other program involved viewing an educational video about the condition and its management, The results demonstrated statistically significant within-group improvement for family members in the educator group for scales of illness-specific functioning, Knowledge, Efficacy About Condition, Family Cohesion and Peer Relationships. The educator group had moderate within group improvement on Roles, a scale of general family functioning. There was no statistically significant improvement on scales relating to either general family functioning or illness-specific functioning for the video group. Both programs demonstrated statistically significant improvement relative to routine clinic care for providing general and specific information. Psychoeducation programs are effective in addressing aspects of family functioning that are related to medical illness. Other intervention programs that may have an impact upon general aspects of family functioning are suggested. Methodological issues involved in evaluation of programs for families of children with chronic medical illness are described. Issues of categorical and noncategorical designs relative to type of illness are discussed, as well as the importance of measuring psychosocial functioning by family role. The use of the same questionnaires across illnesses and types of intervention programs is advocated in order to gain insight into illness-specific needs and the relative and distinctive efficacy of intervention programs. A theoretical framework for intervention and research for children with chronic medical conditions and their families is elaborated.
Fiction & the weave of life, scepticism and humanism in the philosophy of literature

This thesis is a sustained discussion of the relationship between literary texts and extra-textual reality. My overarching goal is to present an alternative to what I think is a misguided and unacceptable thread in many of the dominant contemporary theories of literature: the conception of literary language as a self-referential use of language, one which does not and cannot reach beyond the 'world of the text' to touch the nature and reality of the world of the reader of literary texts. It is misguided because it assumes that there is an unbridgeable gap between literary language and reality; and it is unacceptable because it renders what we regard as one of our primary mouthpieces of human culture speechless about anything external to the borders of a fictional world. In contrast to this position, I develop a theory of what I call ' linguistic humanism'. The defining feature of this position is that it denies that there is an insurmountable gap between a literary text and the world external to it. Linguistic humanism, as I develop it in my thesis, offers an account of how we can see reality as present immediately and directly in the literary use of language, as a part of a literary text's internal structure. I will argue that the idea that we can segregate a literary text from reality is theoretically confused, since literature's use of a common social language, properly understood, reveals a way of understanding how it can weave our world into the very words it uses to construct its fictional worlds. I structure the main argument of my dissertation around this picture of literary language, drawing in particular on a tradition in the philosophy of language that runs from the later Wittgenstein to contemporary philosophers such as Stanley Cavell and Hilary Putnam. I argue that since language provides our point of contact with reality, it is by examining the structure of language, of linguistic convention and practice, that we illuminate and investigate the ways in which we confront social reality. Literature, I argue, is uniquely capable of providing this sort of investigation.
Organofluorine compounds in the environment, analysis, sources and fate

An evaluation of 19F nmr as an analytical for the measurement of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and other fluorinated acids in the aquatic environment was conducted. A method based upon strong anionic exchange (SAX) chromatography was also optimized for the concentration of the fluoro acids prior to nmr analysis. Extraction of the analyte from the SAX column was carried out directly in the nmr solvent in the presence of the strong organic base, DBU. The method allowed the analysis of the acid without any prior clean up steps being involved. Optimal nmr sensitivity based upon T1 relaxation times was investigated for seven fluorinated compounds in four different nmr solvents. The use of the relaxation agent chromium acetylacetonate, Cr(acac)3, within these solvent systems was also evaluated. The lampricide 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM) is added annually to the Great Lakes. TFM was shown to undergo photohydrolytic degradation, at 365 nm and under actinic radiation, to produce TFA. The TFA was analyzed using the 19F nmr developed. A mechanistic study for the production of TFA from TFM was conducted and the structural parameters associated with the production of TFA from trifluoromethylated phenols were investigated. It was found that the yield of TFA is clearly dependent on the nature of the trifluoromethylated phenol. The nature of the substituents, the substitution pattern, and the pH strongly affected the photolytic half life of the parent compound and the yield of TFA. The environmental fate of trichloro, dichloro, and monochloroacetic acids, and TFA was investigated using-field aquatic microcosms and laboratory sediment-water systems. Trifluoroacetic acid was extremely persistent and showed no degradation during a one year field study, though it appeared to undergo transient partitioning within an unknown pond phase as the temperature of the surroundings was reduced. Thermal degradation is expected to be a primary mode of destruction for highly stable fluoropolymers. The thermolysis of Teflon® and Kel-F® resulted in the production of trifluoroacetate and chlorodifluoroacetate (7.7 and 9.5% w/w respectfully) which is proposed to contribute to the atmospheric burden of both haloacetic acids. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Acidity of Neutral Transition Metal Polyhydride Complexes and the Study of Anionic Rhenium and Ruthenium Polyhydride Dimers

New anionic hydride complexes were prepared by deprotonation of known polyhydride complexes and their structure and reactivities were studied. ReH 5(PMePh2)3 and [K(Q)][ReH4(PMePh 2)3] (Q = 2,2,2-crypt or 1,10-diaza-18-crown-6) have be synthesized. The [K(2,2,2-crypt)]+ salt has been characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The pKÃTHF(ReH 5(PMePh2)3) is estimated to be between 38 and 41. WH6(PMe2Ph)3 and [K(Q)][WH5(PMe 2Ph)3] (Q = 18-crown-6 or 1,10-diaza-18-crown-6) were prepared and pKÃTHF(WH6(PMe2Ph) 3) was determined to be 42. KH in the presence of 2,2,2-crypt was unable to deprotonate WH4(PMePh2)4 and pKÃ THF(WH4(PMePh2)4) is be estimated to be greater than 49. [HPPh3][BPh4] could not protonate WH4(PMePh2)4 and therefore pKÃTHF([WH5(PMePh2) 4]+) is less than pKÃTHF([HPPh 3]+) = 3. pKÃTHF values for CH2(CN)2, and the protonated phosphazenes [HP 4-tBu]+ and [HP2-tBu] + have been determined and used to correlate the pKÃ THF scale to pKaDMSO and pKa CH3CN scales. A series of new [K(Q)][{ReH2L2}2([mu]-H) 3] (Q = 18-crown-6,1,10-diaza-18-crown-6 or 2,2,2-crypt and L = PPh 2(p-C6H4F), PMePh2 and PMe3) have been prepared and their pKÃTHF values determined. [K(1,10-diaza-18-crown-6)][{ReH2(PMePh2) 2}2([mu]-H)3] forms an extended chain structure in the solid state with protonic-hydridic <math> <f> <rm>NH&cdots;</rm><rm>HRe</rm></f> </math> interactions as characterized by X-ray crystallography. [K(1,10-diaza-18-crown-6)][{RuH(P iPr3)2}2([mu]-H)3] was prepared by treatment of {RuH(PiPr3)2}([mu]-H) 3{RuH2(PiPr3)2) with KH in the presence of 1,10-diaza-18-crown-6.
Optimal myoelectric feature space for pattern discrimination

The objective of this work was to find the optimal representation of the myoelectric (EMG) signal for discrimination of distinct muscle contraction patterns. One able-bodied subject, one traumatic below-elbow amputee, and four subjects with below-elbow congenital limb deficiencies constituted the subject population. The raw EMG signal was measured from two clinically chosen electrode sites on the subjects' residual limbs while a variety of contraction patterns (four or six depending on subject ability) were performed. Contractions were performed under simulated conditions of normal use. The EMG transient was extracted and a variety of feature space representations were calculated. An artificial neural network was trained and tested using each feature space in order to determine which performed best as a classifier of the distinct muscle contraction patterns. The mean rectified EMG, rectified EMG variance, and EMG power spectrum estimates were found to have similar classification properties. Combinations of features were found to yield no improvement in classification accuracy. Best classification results were obtained using either the mean rectified EMG or the rectified EMG variance calculated for three 70 ms time windows over the EMG transient. The use of six contraction patterns yielded poor classification results under all circumstances. Classification of four contraction patterns (five state system) yielded accuracy rates of approximately 70% using the rectified mean EMG. The author has contributed data which provides (a) a guide for selecting the optimal myoelectric feature space for developing a multiple function prosthesis when using clinically determined two-site myoelectric control. (b) the number of distinct contraction patterns that clients with a variety of limb deficiency lengths and types are capable of generating.
Genomic alterations in prostate high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (HPIN) can be predictive of a more aggressive disease process

High-grade prostate intraepithelial neoplasia (HPIN) is the most likely precursor of prostate carcinoma (Pca). To determine whether chromosomal instability (CIN) detected in HPIN could increase its predictive value for cancer, interphase FISH analysis was performed on isolated HPIN. We found that CIN was elevated in HPIN that subsequently progressed to carcinoma. p53 mutation is associated with CIN in many dysplastic and neoplastic lesions. However the precise role of p53 in the pathogenesis of Pca is unknown. p53 analysis using immunohistochemistry was performed. HPIN foci intermingled with cancer tended to have higher overall p53 immunoreactivity and CIN than HPIN situated away. Our study provided additional evidence in support of the concept that HPIN is the earliest precursor of cancer. Furthermore our studies identify genomic similarities in HPINI and Pca, implying that carcinoma may arise from progression of certain HPIN foci that most likely harbor p53 mutation and/or more marked levels of CIN.
Assessment of compliance amongst asthma patients using anti-inflammatory medication, validating an instrument useful in quantifying inhaler consumption and identifying non-adherence : a pilot study

Many asthma patients do not adhere regularly to inhaled anti-inflammatory therapy, which is essential in controlling respiratory symptoms and preventing exacerbation in persistent asthma. The purpose of this pilot study was to begin the development of an interview-based instrument, which would estimate medication consumption accurately and detect non-compliance. A questionnaire, based on the literature and expert opinion, was designed and administered orally to recruited asthma volunteers in a semi-structured interview. Questions for which responses significantly correlated with medication consumption, as estimated by the patient's pharmacy record, were fitted into a multiple regression model. The regression model examined the patient's reported anti-inflammatory inhaler emptying rate, estimated forgetfulness with anti-inflammatory therapy and reported time elapsed since short-acting bronchodilator usage. These questions from our regression model were compiled into a revised version of our questionnaire, termed the Asthma Compliance Assessment Survey (ACAS), which had a sensitivity and specificity of 41% and 85% respectively.