VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Sex Under Intimate Siege: Transgender Lives, Law and State Violence in Contemporary Turkey

My doctoral research is about the production of marginalized sexualities through both the exercise of power and resistance to it. Focusing on legal codes and regulations surrounding sex reassignment surgeries (SRSs), sex work, hate crimes targeting trans people, and state officials' (juridical actors, police, doctors, forensic medicine people) legal and extralegal relations with trans people in Beyoglu, Istanbul, I scrutinize the transformation of trans lives into the microphysical domain of state power for the symbolic and material production of sexual and gender difference in Turkey. I also analyze how trans people respond to this process in their everyday lives. Starting with the queer history of Beyoglu, and trans people's everyday experiences of spatial discrimination, marginalization and displacement by the police, capital owners, landlords, and neighbors since the 1960s, I investigate how myriad forms of everyday violence shape trans people's political and intimate subjectivities. The construction and deployment of "transsexuality" as a medico-legal category is also part of this violent process. I elaborate on the work of this category to discuss how medico-legal actors of the state evaluate transsexuality, and hence, one's "true" sex, and open trans people's bodies to violent proximities and intimacies. Overall I argue that the categories of sex and gender are integral to the formation and intimate workings of Turkish state power as the state seeks to govern and regulate not only bodies and sexuality, but also subjects' intimate conducts and desires. The second part of my dissertation focuses on trans people's responses to these relations of violence, including the making of transgender community - a form of family and trans activism. In many cases, practices that are understood culturally as essential family duties (i.e. providing emotional and financial protection, caring for the body at death) are re-claimed by the trans community, replacing the assumed role of the family and announcing the community as "the real family." I discuss family as one of the most contested intimate sites in transgender people's lives, a site that is intimately intertwined with an ethics of care in the face of everyday violence. Arguably another expression of this ethics of care is trans activism in Istanbul. By looking at how trans people organize and mobilize around hate crimes, police violence and state control over SRSs, I scrutinize trans people's definitions of and struggle for queer justice in institutional spaces, as well as the street.

Keywords: Intimacy
Medicine and Law
Sexuality
State Violence
Transgender
Turkey
Advisor: Wardlow, Holly
Dave, Naisargi
The Victorian Automaton: Technology, Agency, and Fiction

This dissertation attends to the complex figure of the automaton in Victorian fiction. The metaphorical potency of this figure is based upon its conceptual instability; as either a machine that imitates the movements of a living being or a living being behaving mechanically, the automaton is an illusory, paradoxical entity that hyperbolizes the gap between what appears as autonomous movement and the obscure sources of that movement. This conceptual instability proves useful in nineteenth-century literary efforts to discover the nature of human agency in a world grown mechanically systematic and epistemologically opaque. At the heart of this investigation is the automaton as a textual phenomenon, an example of figurative language that thematizes the operation of narrative itself. By paying attention to the figurative work performed by the textual automaton, this dissertation complicates previous cultural and literary accounts that reduce the automaton to a symbol of technophobic anxiety centered upon the dehumanizing effects of industrial development. I explore a group of texts that instead evoke the technological register of the automaton to interrogate the manner in which human agency had been positioned as the foundation of existential meaning and knowledge of the world. In so doing, I supplement recent critical work on the relationship between technology and literary representation. I also contribute to discussions of how the Victorians conceptualized knowledge, particularly subjective knowledge of the human mind. Finally, I offer a new perspective on the way in which narrative mechanics encode a concern with agency on the levels of both form and content. In this study, the Victorian automaton emerges as an emblem of the volatile imaginative boundary between the categories of human and machine; as a textual tool for addressing the mechanisms that facilitate or limit subjective, scientific, political, and creative agency; and as a symbolic figure that short-circuits conceptual closure, narrative neatness, and efforts to establish certainties about the constitution of human being.

Keywords: Agency
Automaton
Subjectivity
Technology
Victorian culture
Victorian literature
Advisor: Matus, Jill
Subjectivities and Writing of the Francophone Diaspora: Maryse Conde, Mabanckou et Melchior Mbonimpa

The objective of this study is to bring to light the diverse modalities of the enunciation of subjectivity in the francophone literature of the African diaspora. Our analysis focuses on novels by Maryse Condé, Alain Mabankou and Melchior Mbonimpa. In the first part, we formulate a diachronic overview of the concepts of subjectivity and of diaspora. Then, we study the hegemonic discourses constituted as architexts leading to the reification of identities, cultures and collectivities. From that arises the urgency to contest which ends up in a revaluation of identity and in a return to sources. The second part of this research addresses the subjective perspective offered by the enslaved African woman speaking about her existential reality in Maryse Condé's novel I, Tituba, Witch of Salem by resorting to theories of pragmatics, discourse analysis, diaspora, feminism and sociological studies on memory. Resting on the theoretical concept of critical relationality, the third part examines the process of disaffiliation and affiliation created in contact with alterity. This process sets in motion an epiphanic moment followed by an economy of the affect in Maryse Condé's novel En attendant la montée des eaux. In the fourth part, emphasis is placed on the picaresque in Alain Mabankou's novel Verre Cassé, which underscores the context of enunciation that is the precarity of psychological, existential, socioeconomic and political health of the postcolonial and diasporic subjects; a precarity resulting from a historical and systemic oppression that gives rise to the modalities of subjectivity and to the emergence of diverse critical discourses. The fifth part of this thesis studies the identity claim and the cultural appropriation catalyzed by the memory of origins in Melchior Mbonimpa's historical novel, Le totem des Baranda. This examination is done through the causal link between the epic and the diasporic subject's critical subjectivity. The conclusion puts into perspective the connections between major themes explored beforehand and the alternative view of identity suggested by the filiation/disaffiliation/affiliation recurrent conceptual framework.

Advisor: LeHuenen, Roland
Is There a Responsibility to Protect in Disaster Relief, And Is It Needed?

This thesis examines whether the doctrine of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) can be invoked, at international law, to compel a state to accept foreign humanitarian relief or aid in cases of humanitarian emergencies arising from natural disasters. Focusing on the 2008 Myanmar Cyclone, the thesis will do three things. First, it evaluates the normative development of R2P and its practice. Second, it addresses the core weakness of R2P arguments in favor of intervention in natural disasters in the light of skepticism from states and the problem of indeterminacy in R2P and how it could trigger criminal sanctions. Third, this thesis frames the argument that R2P is not applicable to natural disaster situations. It further argues that the most feasible approach to dealing with the needs of victims of natural disasters is through the diplomatic mechanism of international cooperation, which is premised on the well-developed, accepted principles of sovereignty and non-intervention.

Keywords: Humanitarian Crisis
International Cooperation
Natural Disaster
Relief Assistance
Responsibility to Protect
Sovereignty
Advisor: Brunnée, Jutta
Antibody-mediated Injury and Kidney Transplantation

We evaluated aspects of the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and prognosis of antibody-mediated injury secondary to anti-human leaukocyte antigen (HLA) antibodies in kidney transplant recipients and candidates. In a nested case-control study from a cohort of adult kidney transplant recipients, we found an increase in the odds of transplant glomerulopathy, a finding on kidney transplant biopsies suggestive of chronic antibody-mediated rejection, as a function of structural donor and recipient HLA class II incompatibility. We also re-evaluated the diagnostic schema of acute antibody-mediated rejection, and found that C4d, a complement degradation product suggestive of antibody-mediated injury to kidney allografts, exhibited modest agreement and sensitivity against histopathological features of acute antibody-mediated rejection and donor-specific anti-HLA antibody (DSA) assays. Prognostically, C4d was associated with inferior allograft survival compared with DSA or histopathology alone. Finally, we conducted a retrospective cohort study using the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients and found that the breadth of sensitization against anti-HLA antigens, measured as panel reactive antibodies (PRA), was an independent predictor of mortality in wait-listed kidney transplant candidates. These findings underscore the importance of anti-HLA antibodies to the outcomes of kidney transplant recipients and candidates, and suggest that anti-HLA antibodies may give rise to complement dependent and complement independent phenotypes of antibody-mediated injury. Whether avoidance of structural HLA incompatibility between donors and kidney transplant candidates and minimization of immune sensitization in wait-listed patients will improve outcomes of kidney transplant candidates and recipients, warrants further study.

Keywords: C4d
Histocompatibility
Panel reactive antibodies
Rejection
Transplantation
Transplant glomerulopathy
Advisor: Logan, Alexander
Solid-phase On-chip Nucleic Acid Hybridization Assays using Spatial Profiles from Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer by Immobilized Quantum Dots

The research that is presented herein explores the development of a solid-phase DNA hybridization assay in an electrokinetically controlled biochip. Transduction of nucleic acid hybridization is accomplished by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) from a layer of immobilized quantum dots (QDs) in microfluidic channels. The chip assay platform was assembled as a composite of glass and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), where the glass surface was functionalized with immobilization chemistry to support the spontaneous assembly of QDs. Probe oligonucleotides were subsequently conjugated to the immobilized QDs and hybridization served as the selective interaction for target binding. Since the entire microchannel was derivatized with the transduction element, hybridization of dye labeled oligonucleotides along the channel length created well defined spatial profiles of FRET sensitized acceptor emission. The length of the FRET spatial profiles was related to the quantity of nucleic acid delivered and enabled quantitative transduction of tens of fmol amounts of target within minutes. This chip based assay offered multiplexed analysis where the concurrent detection of two targets was possible with a dynamic range spanning more than an order of magnitude. The robustness of the assay was demonstrated by transduction of nucleic acid targets in a variety of complex matrices including sample solutions that contained an excess of genomic DNA and also serum proteins. Furthermore, the assay offered excellent selectivity toward determination of the presence of a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), with contrast ratios exceeding 100:1. A non-traditional approach to SNP transduction was explored, where the size of the QD was found to impact the stringency of interfacial hybridization. Detection of unlabeled target oligonucleotide using a sandwich assay approach enabled transduction of oligonucleotides up to 40 nucleotides in length. The research described herein advances the development of a selective interfacial transduction strategy for the detection of nucleic acid markers such as might be characteristic of disease or pathogens. The on-chip assay format is amenable to point-of-care analysis and can be combined with nucleic acid amplification technologies for highly sensitive on demand DNA analysis.

Keywords: Biosensor
Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer
Hybridization
Microfluidics
Nucleic Acids
Quantum Dots
Advisor: Krull, Ulrich J
New Mutations: Condition-dependent Rates and Sex-specific Effects

Mutations arise spontaneously in all populations, and can severely diminish fitness. This mutation load is a key issue in evolutionary biology, affecting population persistence, the maintenance of genetic variation, and mating system evolution. The rate at which new mutations arise and their effects on fitness are generally treated as constant within a population, but theory suggests that variation in these parameters can have profound impacts. I explored the sex-specific effects of new mutations, and the role of condition in determining the mutation rate, using genotypes of Drosophila melanogaster loaded with spontaneous mutations. I found that the effect of mutations was more severe on male than on female fitness, pointing to a role for sexual selection in purging deleterious genetic variation. The expected consequence is that deleterious mutations will be eliminated at the expense of males, reducing the mutation load of sexual females, and thereby reducing the cost of sexual reproduction. I also found evidence that infection with a bacterial pathogen can heighten the degree of sex-specific selection. However, sex differences in selection could also reduce mean fitness if many alleles have sexually antagonistic effects. By comparing mutational and standing genetic variation, I tested for non-mutational variation in sexual fitness, which would be a signature of sexual antagonism. While there was some suggestion of sexual antagonism, deleterious mutations adequately explained levels of standing variation. Mutation load can also be affected if mutation rates depend on condition. I compared mutation rates across genotypes that varied in condition due to differences in genetic quality, and found that low condition caused elevated rates of mutational fitness decline. A genomic analysis revealed condition-dependent DNA repair pathway usage as the likely reason for this difference. Condition-dependent mutation is expected to reduce mean fitness in sexual populations, but may also increase the rate of extinction in asexuals.

Keywords: Drosophila melanogaster
Genetic variation
Genome
Mutation load
Sexual selection
Spontaneous mutations
Advisor: Agrawal, Aneil F
Pancreatic Dysfunction in Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome

Shwachman-Diamond syndrome (SDS) is an autosomal recessive ribosomopathy caused by loss of the ancillary translation factor Shwachman-Bodian-Diamond syndrome (SBDS) protein, which functions in ribosome subunit joining and protein synthesis. SDS is typified by exocrine pancreatic dysfunction, skeletal abnormalities, and bone marrow failure with leukemia susceptibility. My objective was to determine the

Keywords: Acinar cells
Exocrine pancreatic dysfunction
Ribosomopathy
Senescence
Shwachman-Diamond syndrome
Translation
Advisor: Rommens, Johanna M
Shareholder Activism and Canada's 'New Corporate Norm'

The purpose of this project is to attribute shareholder activism's dramatic growth in Canada over the past decade to the cumulative effect of three structural factors. These components include: (1) the rise of institutional investing, which has resulted in an array of strategic enhancements developed by activist hedge funds, strengthening minority shareholder influence; (2) macro-economic volatility, which has produced the situational urgency for short-run share price improvement in traditionally strong Canadian sectors; and lastly, (3) the development of a corporate and securities law regime in Canada that has given rise to a localized activist-haven, providing procedural windfalls that have allowed for minority shareholders to exert unprecedented levels of control in corporate governance matters. The thesis argues that each of these three components have given rise to a surge in shareholder activism, whilst contemporaneously influencing modern Canadian investment practices so significantly, that a new corporate norm (NCN) now exists in Canada.

Keywords: Shareholder Activism
Advisor: Anand, Anita
Availability of TGF-1 in the Myofibroblast Matrix: A Matter of Strain and Fibronectin

Fibrosis is a detrimental disease that causes organ failure with no effective therapy available to date. Activated fibroblasts -myofibroblasts- are responsible for the excessive secretion of extracellular matrix (ECM) and contraction into the stiff collagenous scar tissue that characterizes fibrosis. Transforming growth factor 1 (TGF-1) is the main cytokine that activates myofibroblasts from a variety of different precursor cells and is central regulator of all fibrotic processes. Because TGF-1 also positively controls vascular, inflammatory, and epithelial cell homeostasis, global TGF-1 inhibition strategies failed to treat fibrosis due to severe side-effects on other cell types. My thesis aims to identify myofibroblastic-specific mechanisms of TGF-1 activation as potential therapeutic targets to treat fibrosis. I am revealing how the mechanical and compositional properties of the ECM contribute to the extracellular storage and activation of latent TGF-1 by myofibroblast contraction. We are the first to establish a direct link between the ECM remodeling activity of myofibroblasts and TGF-1 bio-availability. Analogous to Toronto squirrels storing chestnuts for the winter, myofibroblasts establish stores of latent TGF-1 in the ECM for later activation to gain the contractile strength required to remodel scar tissue. My results demonstrate that: (1) Direct application of mechanical force to latent TGF-1 through cell surface receptor integrins induces a conformational change in the TGF-1-associated pro-peptide and releases the active growth factor. (2) Akin to loading a mechanical spring, myofibroblasts gradually strain the ECM that stores TGF-1 and thereby mechanically prime the latent complex for more efficient release of active TGF-1. (3) The presence of extracellular domain-A (ED-A), being characteristically spliced into cellular fibronectin in conditions of tissue remodeling, enhances binding of latent TGF-1 to the myofibroblast-specific ECM. In the course of these studies, I further show that inhibiting myofibroblast force production and integrin force transmission, blocking the binding of latent TGF-1 to ED-A fibronectin, and releasing the myofibroblast ECM from strain all result in reduced amounts of active TGF-1 being available to bind receptors in the cell membrane. Consequently, these interventions interrupt the feed-forward loop of myofibroblast activation by TGF-1, enhanced contraction, and enhanced auto-activation of TGF-1. Eventually, these findings are poised to lead to novel strategies to attenuate fibrosis progression in vivo using the myofibroblast and its ECM as specific target.

Keywords: ECM
Myofibroblast
TGF-1
Advisor: Hinz, Boris
McCulloch, Christopher
Role of the Glucagon and Glucagon-like Peptides in Pancreatic Beta Cell and Cardiovascular Function

Glucagon is inappropriately elevated in diabetes, and inhibition of glucagon receptor (Gcgr) signaling is beneficial for glycemic control. However, the mechanism through which inhibition of Gcgr signaling leads to improved glycemic control is unknown. Additionally, Gcgr is expressed in the cardiovascular system; however the role of Gcgr signaling in the cardiovascular system is unexplored. In order to develop therapies targeting Gcgr signaling for the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D) it is vital to understand Gcgr' s role in regulation of glucose homeostasis and cardiovascular function. In mice, genetic deletion of the glucagon receptor results in increased levels of the insulinotropic hormone, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). I hypothesized Glp1r signaling contributed substantially to the improved glucose tolerance observed in Gcgr-/- mice. I have generated and characterized the Gcgr and Glp-1 receptor double knockout (Gcgr-/-:Glp1r-/-) mice. My studies demonstrate that Glp1r substantially contributes to the delayed gastric emptying and improved intraperitoneal glucose tolerance in Gcgr-/- mice, but it did not contribute to the improved oral glucose tolerance seen in the Gcgr-/- mice. Interestingly, expression of non-classical incretin receptors and sensitivity to their exogenous agonists were increased in Gcgr-/-:Glp1r-/- mice, suggesting that in the absence of the classical incretin receptors the non-classical incretin receptors compensate to maintain the enteroinsular axis. I explored the role of Gcgr signaling in the cardiovascular system under normal and ischemic conditions. My studies showed that exogenous glucagon increased mortality from myocardial infarction in WT mice in a p38 MAPK-dependent manner. Conversely, Gcgr+/- and cardiac specific Gcgr-/- mice (GcgrCM-/-) had improved survival following myocardial infarction. Gene expression profiling of hearts from GcgrCM-/- mice showed reduced expression of fatty acid oxidation gene, consistent with a reduction in long-chain acylcarnitines observed upon metabolic profiling of GcgrCM-/- hearts. Therefore, partial or cardiomyocyte specific loss of Gcgr signaling enhanced protection to ischemic injury by regulating fatty acid oxidation. In conclusion, my studies suggest Gcgr signaling is essential for beta cell nutrient sensing and fuel metabolism in cardiomyocytes and therapies aiming at modulating Gcgr signaling for the treatment of T2D require careful assessment of cardiovascular outcomes.

Keywords: Cardiovascular disease
Diabetes
Glucagon
Incretin
Insulin
Obesity
Advisor: Drucker, Dr. Daniel J.