VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The voluntary reading interests and habits of Jamaican sixth graders

This study was undertaken to discover the voluntary reading interests and habits of sixth graders in public elementary schools in Jamaica. Its objectives were to: (1) identify the types of books Jamaican sixth graders were interested in reading; (2) ascertain their preference for books with Eurocentric or Afrocentric main characters; and (3) discover some of the children's reading habits including how much they like to read and their reasons for doing so. The specific variables examined were: sex, geographic location, academic and reading performance, race of main characters in books, why children read, how much they like to read, reading as a leisure time activity, hindrances to reading, sources of reading guidance and the availability of books. These were the predictor variables that were expected to affect the number of books read and the types of books preferred. Four hundred and eighteen students, stratified by sex and geography, were randomly selected and surveyed via questionnaire and eight of whom were subsequently interviewed. Additional data were also collected about the students' academic performance and the state of their school libraries. The general findings revealed that the Jamaican sixth graders' reading interests were nearly identical to those of their peers in developed countries. Sex, more than either geography or academic performance, was the most powerful determinant of reading interests and habits. Race too appeared to affect book choices, as most students preferred books with Afrocentric heroes. With regards to academic performance relative to reading interests and habits, few significant differences were observed across groups, except that the academically brighter students were more likely to read a greater number of books. The majority of the children said they liked to read, mostly for utility rather than for pleasure. Reading ranked high as a pastime, especially for girls who also tended to read more books. Finally, children acquired their books from home and friends, rather from libraries, and turned to parents and peers for reading guidance instead of librarians who were ranked very low overall.
Adult Reading Disability and Temporal Processing Deficits

Eighty-three adult participants were tested on various measures thought to tap aspects of visual and auditory temporal processing (rapid automatised naming, stimulus matching and ordering, temporal order judgement, contrast sensitivity and selective choice response time) and on measures of reading and phonological and orthographic processing. The participants were classified as either reading disabled (RD) or normally achieving (NA) on the basis of their performance on a test of single word reading. The test results of the two groups were compared to predictions arising from various formulations of the temporal processing hypothesis, which states generally that deficits in phonological processing which underly reading performance deficits actually arise from a further underlying deficit in temporal processing ability. No support was found for this hypothesis. Hierarchical regression and commonality analyses were also performed on the data to see if patterns of performance on the various temporal processing measures might account for variance in either reading or phonological processing ability. While performance on some temporal processing measures did share explained variance with a measure of phonological processing in the prediction of single word reading, this shared variance was in fact due to an overlapping third, general processing ability measure. Finally, an overall pattern of slower responding on timed tasks by the RD participants was noted, perhaps based on a slowness of stimulus classification. It was hypothesised that this general slowness to respond might give rise to scaling artefacts which could confound research using speeded responses.
Systematics of New World cuckoos (Aves, Cuculidae) and the evolution of brood parasitism

Monophyly of the cuckoos (Cuculidae) was demonstrated through the description of 14 osteological synapomorphies. Only three apparent synapomorphies united the otherwise anatomically divergent turacos (Musophagidae), Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin), and Cuculidae. Therefore, I recommended their placement in separate, but adjacent orders. Cuckoo phylogeny reconstructed using 135 osteological characters differed markedly from currently accepted classifications. All brood parasitic cuckoos, including New World obligate parasites Tapera and Dromococcyx and facultative parasites Coccyzus, formed a clade. This implies that the ancestral Coccyzus was an obligate parasite, and is consistent with many behavioral adaptations to parasitism exhibited by this genus. Tribe Saurotherini (Phaenicophaeinae) was erected to house all nonparasitic, arboreal, solitarily breeding New World cuckoos. The Old World genus Carpococcyx was removed from the New World Neomorphinae. Three subfamilies, comprised of nonparasitic, terrestrial cuckoos of Old World and New World distribution, occupied basal positions on the phylogeny. A new classification of the Cuculidae was proposed. I demonstrated that two species of facultative brood parasites, the Black-billed (Coccyzus erythopthalmus) and Yellow-billed (C. americanus) cuckoos, produce eggs that fully or nearly match the eggs of over 70% of their reported host species, a proportion significantly greater than if hosts were being selected at random from a potential host pool. This supports an hypothesis of egg mimicry, and implies an historically intense relationship between parasite and host. Factors responsible for the loss of obligate parasitism in this genus may also have contributed to the general paucity of obligate parasitism in New World cuckoos. Competitive exclusion or resistance to invasion by parasitic cowbirds (Molothrus spp.) should be considered. The phylogeny of the genus Coccyzus was reconstructed using skeletal characters, cytochrome b gene sequences, and external morphology. The optimal topology supports a Neotropical origin for the genus. Several vicariant and colonization events were responsible for the current distribution of South American endemic species. The Mangrove Cuckoo (C. minor) had two major northward routes out of South America. Yellow-billed and Black-billed cuckoos are highly divergent, and each represents a separate invasion of North America from South America.
The art of allusion in Li Shangyin

Many poems by Li Shangyin (ca.812-858), an eminent poet of the Tang Dynasty, possess highly allusive characteristics. It is recognized that Li Shangyin's use of allusion is a development in Chinese literary history where one finds a preference for allusion among poets of previous ages. To show how exactly Li Shangyin's allusions work is in a way to explicate the poetic significance of allusion in classical poetry. Framed mainly within traditional poetic concerns, this study focuses on the function of allusion in some highly allusive poems by Li Shangyin, trying to bring allusion into a rhetorical function which works as a constitutive element of the poetic system and thus contributes to the process of poetic signification. While carrying out this task, the study also renders a presentation of the poetic world of Li Shangyin's poems. In the central chapters in this study, through discussing one particular allusion the poet favors (Chapter 2), and analyzing and interpreting his poems on history (Chapter 3) and his untitled poems (Chapter 4), Li Shangyin's major modes of allusiveness, such as "overt" and "assimilative" modes, and "orthodox" and "inverted" modes, are examined and the poet is seen to be engaged with sophisticated craft and complex structures to create a subtle and oblique ambiance in his poetic world. His complex and indefinite poetry is largely related with his use of allusion, especially his internalized use of it in which a mood, tone, or atmosphere is usually dominant. The study sees the art of allusion in Li Shangyin as a highly crafted and conscious one. This art is based upon a dialectic understanding of the literary past. That Li Shangyin's poetic creativity is accomplished by means of manipulating prior literary material shows the power and richness of the literary convention to which almost all great poets have recourse.
Regulation of glycogen synthase kinase-3

Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) represents a family of protein serine/threonine protein kinases implicated in cellular regulation. GSK-3 family members participate in a number of signal transduction pathways that regulate cell growth, differentiation and development. The high degree of conservation between GSK-3 proteins, as well as their ubiquitous representation, indicates a fundamental role of this kinase family in regulation of cellular processes. The presented studies are aimed at elucidating different aspects of regulation of GSK-3. A mechanism of inhibition of GSK-3 in intact cells by phosphorylation of an N-terminal serine is revealed. N-terminal phosphorylation might represent a common mechanism of negative regulation of GSK-3 enzymes in vivo, since phosphorylation of a homologous serine in several other GSK-3 family members is also inhibitory. Stimulation of cells by the agonists of the ras signalling pathway downregulates GSK-3 via N-terminal phosphorylation by p90rsk-1, implicating GSK-3 as one of the targets of this important cellular regulatory cascade. During development, exposure of eukaryotic cells to lithium ions causes marked effects on cellular fate and organization, similar to the effects of inhibition or disruption of GSK-3. Results presented here demonstrate that lithium specifically inhibits GSK-3 family members in vitro and in intact cells, implying that this may be the dominant cellular action of the ion. The effect of lithium on GSK-3 is reversible in vitro indicating a direct mechanism of inactivation. Furthermore, lithium treatment of cells mimics Wingless/Wnt signalling, consistent with its role in downregulation of GSK-3. Using a novel method for the analysis of activity of protein kinases in intact Drosophila embryos, it is shown that the Drosophila GSK-3 homologue is inhibited in response to the Wingless signal. A cotransfection approach in mammalian cells indicates that overexpression of another genetically identified component of Wingless signalling upstream of GSK-3, Dishevelled, does not affect GSK-3 activity. The implications of novel modes of GSK-3 regulation on its cellular functions are discussed.
Poetic questions, interrogative in the poetry of W. B. Yeats, T. S. Eliot, and Wallace Stevens

This dissertation examines the functions of questions in selected poems by W. B. Yeats, T. S. Eliot, and Wallace Stevens. Interrogative is an effective and flexible force in shaping literary and critical discourses, particularly in its capacity to rupture texts, opening them to new voices and visions and thereby challenging certain conventional definitions of poetry. This thesis seeks to demonstrate how focusing on interrogative patterns in poetry can yield worthwhile readings of individual poems; highlight central and shifting concerns of individual poets; serve as an important basis of comparison between poets; underscore some of the abiding technical and philosophical concerns of a literary period--specifically, Modernism; and emphasize the need to renovate tenacious critical assumptions surrounding certain sorts of poems. The introduction to the thesis provides a theoretical context for the close readings of the poems which follow. Interrogative is central to Yeats's poetry both thematically and structurally; the first chapter of this thesis examines the important ways in which interrogative patterns function in Yeats's work, and how changes in these patterns are tied to the poet's continual reconstruction of identity. Chapter II considers how Eliot's poetic questions focus persistent concerns of form and appetite in an effort to point beyond the immediate moment--beyond social and personal pressures in the early poetry, or beyond the time-ridden world to Incarnate meaning in Four Quartets. Stevens uses interrogative to the opposite effect, crafting questions which vividly evoke a present which they in fact help to create. The third chapter studies the ways Stevens's poetic questions locate speaker and reader in a reality which is interrogated with increasing urgency in the last poems. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of some of the general characteristics of Modernist poetic questions, speculates on reasons for their development and function, outlines further implications of the thesis's findings, and indicates directions for further research.
The molecular genetics of F-MuLV-induced erythroleukaemias

The maintenance of tissue homeostasis, namely correctly maintaining "normal" cell numbers throughout the lifetime of a multicellular organism, is a complex process that becomes disabled during tumorigenesis. This breakdown of homeostatic mechanisms during cellular transformation involves the accumulation of discrete cellular changes, that often result in the cell's proliferative and spatial autonomy. Confirmation that these discrete changes are genetic in nature represents a quantum leap in our understanding of this disease, that has consequently defined, in large part, the nature of our quarry as cancer biologists. The work described in this thesis has attempted to define the role of several genetic mutations during the multistage progression of F-MuLV-induced erythroleukaemias. Of the genetic changes so far identified, proviral insertional activation of Fli-1 appears to be the primary mutational event. The appearance of clonal Fli-1 rearrangements exactly coincides with the blocked differentiation and enhanced self-renewal of these transformed erythroid progenitor cells. Although p53 mutations do not play an important role in the in vivo progression of F-MuLV induced erythroleukaemias, they do appear to be required for the in vitro immortalization process. The recurrent rearrangement and activation of the Epo gene during the establishment of growth factor-independent cell lines, underscores the importance of the Epo/Epo-R signalling pathway in the survival of these transformed erythroid progenitor cells.
The impact of trust on roles patients wish to play in making medical decisions

Background. Current medical and bioethical literature calls for active patient participation in making decisions about their own treatment. However, the literature also suggests that many patients do not want to participate. This study examines the following questions: To what extent do patients want to participate in problem solving (where preferences are irrelevant, e.g. diagnosis) and decision making (e.g. what is to be done) about their own treatment? To what extent do they want to be informed? What is the impact of respondents' trust in their physician, personal characteristics (age, level of education) and disease characteristics (diagnosis of cancer, chronicity, availability of support groups) on their desire for participation? What is the impact of respondents' desire for participation and trust in the physician on use of alternative therapies and preference of label ('patients', 'clients', 'partners', 'consumers', 'survivors', or 'customers')? Methods. In this cross-sectional survey, questionnaires including the PSDM scale and the Trust in Physician scale were completed by 202 respondents from each of 3 teaching hospital clinics (breast cancer, prostate cancer, fractures). Results. We found that most respondents (52%) wanted a shared participation role, where problem solving (PS) is handed over to the physician but not decision making (DM); 43.7% of respondents desired a passive role, where both PS and DM are handed over; and only 4.3% desired an autonomous role. Trust in the physician was inversely related to desire for participation: as trust levels rose, the respondent was more likely to be passive. Age, education, and support group use were found to be predictive of desire for participation, although other disease characteristics were not. Low trust levels were associated with alternative therapy use. Preference of label was influenced by both trust and desire for participation: respondents with high trust levels and desire for a passive role were more likely to indicate they strongly liked being referred to as a patient. Conclusions. The impact of trust on the desire for participation is our most important finding. The links between trust, use of alternative therapies, and preference of a consumerist label suggest that trust in physicians is an integral element of satisfying patient-physician relationships.
Morphological assessment of HEMA-MMA microcapsules for liver cell transplantation

Hepatoma cells were microencapsulated within a hydroxyethyl methacrylate-methyl methacrylate (HEMA-MMA; 75% HEMA) copolymer membrane. The in vitro morphology and viability of microencapsulated hepatoma cells were indicators of the cellular effects of the intracapsular microenvironment. The applicability of HEMA-MMA microcapsules as a cell delivery device was assessed by examining the morphology and viability of model hepatoma cells within microcapsules that were implanted into rats and the tissue response to these microcapsules. Human hepatoma cells (HepG2) within the non-adherent environment of the HEMA-MMA microcapsule, formed aggregates with necrosis occurring at day 7 in large aggregates. Their co-encapsulation within Matrigel$\sp\circler$, an extracellular matrix for cellular attachment, resulted in an initially uniform distribution of individual cells, and cellular viability and limited necrosis at day 14; a favourable cell microenvironment. Small diameter microcapsules (${\sim}450\ \mu$m), containing an aggregate of rat hepatoma, H4IIEC3, cells after their implantation into an omental pouch in non-immunosuppressed Wistar rats (a model of allogeneic transplantation), contained viable cells after 7 days but not 14 days. However, similar transplantation of microencapsulated aggregates of human hepatoma, HepG2, cells (a model of xenogeneic transplantation), did not result in viable cells at 7 days. Prompt vascularization of the tissue surrounding microcapsules occurred after 4 days in vivo and was maintained for up to 14 days. Differences in the tissue reaction between hepatoma species were noted with thicknesses shifting toward higher values and containing significantly more eosinophils associated with microcapsules containing human hepatoma cells than with rat hepatoma cells. The results of these microcapsule implantation studies suggested a relationship between the viability of microencapsulated cells and the degree of vascularization of the surrounding tissue reaction. Capsules were characterized by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and immunoblotting of adsorbed proteins. XPS showed that the capsule surface was not pure HEMA-MMA but that the Pluronic surfactant, L101, had adsorbed from the microcapsule precipitation bath. Capsules, maintained in medium containing serum, showed a nitrogen signal consistent with adsorbed serum proteins which were not completely removed with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) washing. Almost all 24 human proteins probed for in immunoblots were associated with microcapsules following their in vitro incubation in medium containing serum. Rat proteins, including fibrinogen, IgG, and complement C3, were detected in immunoblots of the eluate of implanted capsules.
Agonistic Behaviour Patterns and the Distribution and Status of the Cambarus (Decapoda, Cambaridae) Crayfish of Ontario, Canada

The distributions, range limits and current status of the Cambarus and Fallicambarus crayfish species, in Ontario, Canada, were comprehensively updated. This update revealed that: (1) Cambarus diogenes and Fallicambarus fodiens, the two burrowing crayfish species, are vulnerable in Ontario, due to anthropogenic perturbations; (2) the ranges of Cambarus bartonii bartonii and Cambarus robustus are largely non-overlapping in Ontario, despite the fact that these two surface water crayfish species have similar habitat requirements; (3) C. robustus appears to have expanded its Ontario range in the last 30 years, occasionally, perhaps at the expense of C. b. bartonii. Interspecific agonistic contests, in the laboratory, have shown that C. robustus males are overwhelmingly dominant over C. b. bartonii males of similar sizes. Thus, C. robustus has the potential of competitively excluding C. b. bartonii from access to potentially limiting resources, such as shelters. Detailed analyses of these interspecific contests, as well as of three types of intraspecific contests between pairs of evenly size-matched C. robustus males (intra-form Form I, intra-form Form II and inter-form Form I vs. Form II), revealed that: (1) in all four types of contests, the combatants used the same three types of initiation acts, involving the chelae, in order to start fights (Lunge, Claws Raised and Ambivalent Contact); (2) in all four types of contests, the eventual winners used primarily the aggressive Lunge and Claws Raised initiation behaviours, whereas the eventual losers used mostly the tentative Ambivalent Contact initiation act; (3) the differences between the initiation behaviours of the eventual winners and those of the eventual losers, early in the contests, are not in agreement with some of the predictions of traditional game theory models; (4) the dominant-subordinate relationship usually became established within the first 20 minutes of the 60 minute-long contests; (5) male form is an important variable in the agonistic interactions of cambarid crayfish; (6) C. robustus Form I males are dominant over conspecific Form II males of similar sizes; (7) C. robustus are much more aggressive towards C. b. bartonii than towards conspecifics.