VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The role of FGFR1 signalling in the specification and morphogenesis of mesoderm during mouse gastrulation

Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signalling plays an integral role in the morphogenesis and patterning of mesoderm at gastrulation. In the mouse, however, the downstream targets of FGF activity at the primitive streak have remained elusive--despite mutational analyses of FGF signalling pathway components. In an attempt to better understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which FGF signalling regulates the movement and specification of mesoderm progenitor cells at gastrulation, I have performed a series of mutant and chimeric analyses of FGF Receptor-1 (FGFR1) function. In chimeric embryos, 'Fgfr1'-/- cells show defects in migration through the primitive streak: as a result, 'Fgfr1 '-/- cells are deficient in populating mesodermal and endodermal lineages. Observed morphogenetic defects include failures in both the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) and movement of mesodermal cells away from the primitive streak--results are consistent with abnormalities in 'Fgfr1'-/- cell adhesion and/or cell migration. However, general deficiencies in 'Fgfr1'-/- cell migration were not observed in mesoderm explant cultures. Rather, I have implicated abnormal intercellular adhesion in the failed EMT and aberrant morphogenesis observed at gastrulation. I demonstrate that 'Snail' expression is down-regulated, and that E-cadherin is ectopically expressed at the primitive streak of 'Fgfr1'-/- embryos. I also show that FGFR1 signalling functions in mesoderm cell fate specification by positively regulating 'Brachyury' and 'Tbx6' expression. I propose that down-regulation of 'T' and ' Tbx6' can therefore explain the absence of posterior and paraxial mesoderm formation in 'Fgfr1' mutants, and the formation of ectopic neural tubes in 'Fgfr1'-/- chimeric embryos. Furthermore, I demonstrate that FGFR1 indirectly regulates Wnt signalling activity at the primitive streak. I argue that ectopically expressed E-cadherin in 'Fgfr1'-/- progenitor cells sequesters free ß-catenin from its intracellular signalling pool and thus attenuates Wnt signal transduction. I show that ß-catenin remains co-localized with E-cadherin in ' Fgfr1'-/- gastrula, and that forced down-regulation of E-cadherin expression can restore Wnt signalling in 'Fgfr1'-/- embryonic explants. Results suggest a molecular link between FGF and Wnt signalling pathways at the primitive streak, and underscore the interdependent nature of morphogenesis and patterning at gastrulation.
Comparison of injection pain from the three mandibular block techniques and modulation by nitrous oxide

The lack of consistent success in achieving mandibular anaesthesia has resulted in the development of several techniques. The three main methods in clinical use are the standard block (SB), the Gow-Gates (GG) and the Vazirani-Akinosi (VA) technique. Potential differences in pain on injection among these three techniques may be a determining factor in their selection. Historically, the pain on injection perceived by the patient during local anaesthetic administration has been a major source of fear and anxiety in dentistry. The administration of nitrous oxide/oxygen has been documented to relieve anxiety and have direct analgesic properties. The purpose of this study was to compare the pain on injection of the three different techniques used to provide mandibular anaesthesia. A secondary purpose was to determine the effect of delivery of nitrous oxide/oxygen on the pain reported for these three techniques. Sixty subjects were unrolled and randomly assigned either to receive local anaesthesia only or local anaesthesia with nitrous oxide/oxygen titrated to effect. Each subject received two different injections from three possible pairings (GG-SB, SB-VA, GG-VA). (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Signalling pathways regulating expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in human malignant astrocytomas

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) is an endothelial cell specific angiogenic cytokine secreted by most solid tumours, including human astrocytomas. VEGF expression is elevated in established astrocytoma cell lines under normoxia and undergoes a marked hypoxic induction. Prior studies have shown that the oncoprotein RAS regulates expression of VEGF, where inhibition of RAS activity decreases VEGF levels. RAS effector pathways that may be involved in this regulation include the P13' Kinase pathway and the MEK1/2-ERKl/2 pathway. In this study pharmacological inhibitors were used to determine the role of these pathways in regulating VEGF expression. Results from two astrocytoma cell lines suggests the P13' Kinase pathway is involved in maintaining normoxic levels of VEGF, and regulates the hypoxic induction, while the MEK1/2-ERK1/2 pathway is only involved in non-hypoxic regulation. A third cell line didn't rely on either pathway for maintaining VEGF expression, suggesting an alternate pathway, or aberrant signalling at work.
Using virtual documents to model personal web spaces

The World Wide Web has become one of the largest global information resources in today's world. Given this enormous pool of distributed information, manual navigation of the Web is no longer adequate to retrieve information effectively. Moreover, there is a further problem of presenting and organizing the retrieved information in a manner that facilitates understanding, browsing, and subsequent accesses by individuals or groups. It is desirable to develop tools that assist in automatically gathering information of interest from the Web and building customized, integrated views over the information collections for personal use. We call a view constructed in this way a personal Web space. In this thesis, we propose to use Virtual Documents to model personal Web spaces. A Virtual Document is defined by a declarative specification, and its content and structure are computed dynamically from the results of a search procedure applied to the underlying Web. A concrete Virtual Document is a network of Web pages generated upon a materialization request. An abstract Virtual Document model, which is reusable for a family of related applications, is created to capture the main properties of a personal Web space. We present the Virtual Document Specification language designed for the model. The language enables users to gather information from the Web by querying the Web as a database, to choose presentation and navigation structures for representing the collections of information as hypertext and to specify an integrated hypertext network structure for organizing and connecting these representations. This thesis specifies the syntax and semantics of the language, describes current prototype implementation, and discusses four applications of Virtual Documents: querying multiple index servers, building customized global views in a Web site, sharing views in a workgroups environment, and organizing information into personal navigation spaces.
Nietzsche's attempt to tempt nature, the will to power and the eternal return of the same : a general interpretation of Nietzsche's doctrine, with special reference to chapter 2 of part III of Thus spoke Zarathustra

This thesis aims to understand Nietzsche's task of translating man back into nature. Nature, for Nietzsche, offers no escape from the things that come into being and pass away, or from becoming. To study nature or to philosophize therefore means to understand becoming. Nietzsche means to translate man back into a nature that is itself becoming. For Nietzsche this means overcoming the spirit of revenge against becoming which means grasping the full implications of his doctrine of the eternal return. This doctrine succeeds at the cost of radically restructuring what nature and philosophy mean. Nietzsche seeks to discover nature for man, but in so doing he reduces reason, traditionally understood to be the hallmark of man's nature. In attempting to overcome the spirit of revenge, Nietzsche highlights the human concern with the noble, but, partly because he is ultimately too given over to this concern, Nietzsche does not see a way to a recovery of human reason on the basis of an examination of that human concern with the noble.
An exploration of the context of women's experience of unwanted sex in couple partnerships

The present study explores women's experience of unwanted sex in cross-gender couple partnerships. A qualitative design was utilized and in-depth interviews were conducted with 13 participants to explore their experiences of unwanted sex with their life partners as well as to examine the context within which their experiences took place. Grounded theory procedures were used to analyse patterns and themes that emerged from the data. Analysis of the interview transcriptions was aided by the use of the qualitative data analysis computer software program NUD*IST. Categories were generated that detail the descriptions of various power issues which underlie participants' experience of unwanted sex. The central phenomenon to emerge from this study concerns the nature of the connection between the structural and ideological organizational context of the participants, couple relationships and their experience of unwanted sex. Three main patterns, of this phenomenon have emerged as well as three types of "negative case" which provide both support for and a challenge to the developing theory. This theory posits that there is a connection between the presence of a hierarchical structure within the couple relationship and the experience of unwanted sex. The study shows that the problem of unwanted sex is an aspect of the problem of gender-based power imbalance in traditional couple/family life as well as being part of a continuum of sexual coercion in couple relationships. The study report concludes with a discussion of the study's contribution to the literature and implications of the findings for social work research and practice.
The relationship between daily dose frequency and adherence to antihypertensive pharmacotherapy.

Background. Rates of patient adherence (compliance) range from 8% to over 95%. Among factors negatively influencing adherence are multiple daily dosing (MDD), chronic duration, and asymptomatic disease. Reports suggest single daily dosing (SDD) may improve adherence, but are inconsistent. Objectives. This study used meta-analysis to compare SDD to MDD and twice daily regimens (BID) with regard to adherence rates for antihypertensive pharmacotherapy. Methods. Medline, IPA and Embase searches located comparative trials in adults taking oral solid dosage forms. Data were combined using a random effects model. Results. The meta-analysis included eight primary studies examining 11485 patients (1830 for SDD, 4405 for BID, 4147 for ($>$BID), and 9655 for all MDD). The mean rate for SDD $\pm$ SE (91.4% $\pm$ 2.2%) was significantly higher (Z = 4.46, p $<$ 0.001) than MDD (83.2% $\pm$ 3.5%). The mean rate for SDD (92.7% $\pm$ 2.3%) was also significantly higher (Z = 2.22, p = 0.026) than BID (87.1% $\pm$ 2.9%). The difference between BID (90.8% $\pm$ 4.7%) and ($>$BID) (86.3% $\pm$ 6.7%) was not statistically significant (Z = 1.82, p = 0.069). Discussion. This summary is the first conclusive analysis of the literature showing SDD to be associated with better adherence than both BID and MDD in hypertension. Consequently, SDD may further induce a decrease in morbidity, in relapse rates, and in hospital admissions. However, those patients who do not fully adhere to SDD may present an increased risk of relapse by missing the whole daily dose. Conclusion. Our meta-analysis supports the association of once-daily regimens with better adherence to antihypertensive pharmacotherapy. Further research is warranted to validate findings for other diseases.
The role and mechanism of B6/1pr TCRÃß§+CD4§-CD8§- T cells in immune response regulation

Recent studies have demonstrated that CD3+CD4- CD8- cells (DNTC) can specifically down-regulate immune responses. B6/lpr mice have a mutation in the Fas receptor, which results in autoimmune disease and the accumulation of DNTC. The function and mechanism of DNTC from B6/lpr mice was investigated. B6/lpr DNTC could dose-dependently kill syngeneic T cells. Killing is not solely dependent on the Fas/FasL pathway, is mediated by perforin, and does not require cell-cell contact with CD8 + T cell responders. Additionally, B6/lpr DNTC could kill syngeneic T cells possessing different TCR specificity suggesting that killing is antigen non-specific 'in vitro'. Interestingly, B6/lpr DNTC could enhance both donor specific single MHC-class-I or class-II mismatched skin graft survival while third party skin grafts were rejected within the normal time course indicating that killing was antigen specific 'in vivo'. The data demonstrate that B6/lpr DNTC can down-regulate immune responses in a similar fashion to DNTC from normal mice.
Caste, hybridity and the construction of cultural identity in colonial India, Maraimalai Adigal and the intellectual genealogy of Dravidian nationalism, 1800-1950

Most scholarly accounts of Dravidian nationalism have focused on tracing the socio-economic and political dimensions of the movement. This primary emphasis has precluded scholarly interest and a deeper understanding of the important regional, socio-cultural and religious roots of the movement. Contemporary scholars engaged with the politics of Dravidian nationalism have also contributed to this significant lacunae by focusing largely on the "progressive" post-Saivite, "Self Respect" phase of the Dravidian movement. As a result, important questions regarding the early intellectual, socio-cultural and religious roots of the Dravidian movement remain unclear. Despite conceding the important role that missionaries and missionary Orientalism played in the Dravidian movement, there has been no significant attempt to locate their contribution to the movement, that is sensitive at the same time, to their wider missionary objectives for South Indian society. Similarly, despite the fact that Tamil/Saivite revivalists formed the "indigenous" vanguard of the Dravidian movement, there has been little detailed scholarly analysis of the Tamil/Saivite revivalist movement in Tamil Nadu and its relationship to the Dravidian movement. The central concern of the dissertation, is to fill these major lacunae in the scholarship on the Dravidian movement. The dissertation is divided into two parts. Part one traces the early intellectual genealogy of Dravidian nationalism--in the process, it traces both the early missionary-led Orientalism as well as the work of the pioneer non-Brahmin Tamil/Saivite Dravidian ideologues who followed them. The second part shifts to a detailed analysis of the life and work of the central "indigenizer" of Dravidian ideology, Maraimalai Adigal (1876-1950). It seeks to locate him and his work both in the regional religio-cultural terrain as well as in the wider context of "modern" colonial India with its English intellectual, cultural and colonial impact. As one of the most popular Saiva Siddhanta and Tamil revivalist and emerging to prominence at a crucial juncture in the history of the Dravidian movement, Adigal in his life and work provides an ideal window to the impulses as well as to the personalities, groups and institutions behind the Dravidian movement. Through a detailed analysis of Adigal's life and work, as well as the complex network of individuals and institutions involved in his efforts to translate, build upon and popularize through the Tamil language the ideas formulated by his predecessors, this work seeks to arrive at a deeper understanding of the intellectual, socio-cultural and religious roots of Dravidian nationalism.
Patterns and processes of species diversity in fragmented northern hardwood forests

Twenty-four upland hardwood forests were examined to determine the influence of plant dispersal and environmental heterogeneity on the composition and richness of species in the forest understory. Patterns in the dispersal attributes of established plants were evaluated in relation to associated plant traits, microhabitats on the forest floor, and measured or inferred gradients in the availability of moisture, nutrients and light. Plant attributes that maximally explained differences in species richness were mode of dispersal, habitat affinity, life form, shade tolerance, and moisture affinity. Environmental variables that maximally explained species richness were stand structure, soil moisture and soil parent material. Species richness was strongly influenced by sugar maple abundance and declined sharply on mesic, calcium-rich soils. In this study, modes of dispersal were strongly correlated with plant traits and habitat factors that govern germination, establishment and persistence. The contribution of dispersal and environmental processes to species richness could not be distinguished, statistically.
A study of the structural, optical and electrical properties of nitrogen-doped hydrogenated amorphous carbon

The first successfully n-doped a-C:H films grown from mixtures of CH$\sb4$ and N$\sb2$ using the dc saddle-field deposition method are presented. Film composition (IR, RBS) studies showed evidence of bonded nitrogen. A conductivity increase of two orders of magnitude over the control film conductivity characterized the f(N$\sb2)$ = 0.02 sample; the decrease of activation energy from a midgap level of 0.7 eV to 0.2 eV concurred. The activation energy change may be interpreted as a rise of the Fermi level towards the conduction band. Such a shift would be consistent with the introduction of nitrogen donor states below the conduction band edge. Significant conductivity and activation energy changes occurred only with low N concentration: films with N content above f(N$\sb2)$ = 0.02 showed conductivity saturation and a constant activation energy. The films may thus exhibit a "clean" band gap rarely found in a-C:H but important because of its potential for more efficient doping.
Signal transduction by the T cell costimulatory receptor, 4-1BB

4-1BB is a costimulatory member of the tumour necrosis factor (TNF) receptor superfamily expressed on activated CD4 and CD8 T cells. To compare CD4 versus CD8 responses to 4-1BBL under similar conditions of antigenic stimulation, mixed lymphocyte reactions (MLR) were performed. CD8 T cells produced IL-2 and IFN-ã, whereas CD4 T cells produced IL-2 and IL-4, in a 4-1BBL-dependent manner. CD4 and CD8 T cells both responded to anti-CD3 plus s4-1BBL with a similar cytokine profile as observed in the MLR. Furthermore, 4-1BBL enhanced proliferation, cytokine production, and CTL effector function of TCR transgenic T cells. These data support the concept that CD28 plays a primary role in initial T cell expansion, whereas 4-1BB/4-1BBL sustains both CD4 and CD8 T cell responses, as well as enhancing cell division and T cell effector function. 4-1BB-mediated T cell costimulation is CD28-independent and involves recruitment of TNFR associated factor (TRAF)1 and TRAF2. Aggregation of 4-1BB alone induces JNK/SAPK and p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase activation in a T cell hybridoma, whereas in normal T cells JNK/SAPK and p38 MAPK are activated synergistically by immobilized anti-CD3 plus immobilized 4-1BB ligand. T cells from TRAF2 dominant negative mice displayed impaired 4-1BB-mediated p38 MAPK activation. A link between TRAF2 and the JNK/SAPK as well as p38 MAPK cascades is provided by the MAPKKK apoptosis-signal regulated kinase 1 (ASK1). A T cell hybrid transfected with a kinase inactive ASK1 failed to activate either JNK/SAPK or p38 MAPK in response to 4-1BB signalling. To assess the role of p38 MAPK activation in an immune response, T cells were stimulated in an MLR in the presence of a p38 inhibitor, SB203580. In a primary MLR, SB203580 blocked cytokine secretion whether the costimulatory signal was delivered via 4-1BB or CD28. In contrast, following differentiation into Th1 or Th2 cells, p38 inhibition blocked IL-2 and IFN-ã without affecting IL-4 secretion. Thus, critical T cell signalling events diverge following Th1 versus Th2 differentiation.
Viel Licht, viel Schatten, Rousseau, Goethe und die Unordnung der Geschlechter, eine neue Interpretation der Leiden des jungen werther

Goethe's first and most popular novel, like the writings of the enigmatic Rousseau, has been the subject of an unusual variety of contradictory interpretations. Both writers challenge the reader by simultaneously constructing their texts in highly paradoxical terms while insisting on the coherence of their fiction or philosophical 'system'. Successful reproduction is the main focus of Rousseau's controversial theory of the sexes. His depiction of woman as dependent on and subordinate to man contrasts sharply with the simultaneous assertion of her superior art and ingenuity that governs men while she affects to obey. The construction of femininity as the seemingly passive hidden force that determines masculinity is central not only to Rousseau's anthropology and political philosophy, but also to his reflections on language and writing. The hermeneutic process is presented as an analogy between the old love-game of advancing and retreating, and the erotic communication between an incomprehensible woman (as artist) and her tortured lover (as reader), who is neither allowed to act against her wishes nor explicitly and unambiguously told what she actually wants. The main focus of my study is Goethe's retelling of the tragicomedy of loving and reading in the Romantic mode: the story of the sufferings of young Werther, who blows his brains out to free himself from an equally consuming and hopeless passion for the unattainable Lotte. Contrary to the nearly canonical identification of the author with his male hero, it is the less conspicuous female character who truly represents Goethe (as artist). The well-known biographical model of Lotte (Goethe's 'Jugendliebe' Charlotte Buff) sheds as little light on her function in the lovestory and the allegory of reading as does the reduction of Dante's Beatrice to the daughter of a Florentine banker. The reversal of first impressions and apparent contradictions are important structural features of both Rousseau's writings and Goethe's ' Werther'. The reader is expected to organize the text within a single perspective that dissolves its contradictions and reveals hidden matter. Werther's passion is not hopeless because of Lotte's marriage, which can be shown to be not quite legitimate by 18th-century standards; his suicide as ' Liebestod' is designed as a special case of attempted rape for the purpose of procreation, at the same time serving as a metaphor for the likely but avoidable result of the hermeneutic process. In this story of doom and redemption, Goethe employs feminine images and masculine numbers to reveal the Apocalyptic conviction that the faithful will be ushered to a brighter place: the beauty, coherence and transparency of his novel.