VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Dynamic Optical Arbitrary Waveform Generation (O-AWG) in a continuous fiber

We present a low-loss dynamic waveform shaping technique for high-repetition-rate signals by independent phase and amplitude control of spectral lines in a continuous fiber. Our system employs uniform FBGs to separate the spectral lines of a modulated CW signal, and provides independent amplitude and phase control for each line via in-line polarization controller and in-line fiber stretcher respectively. Our system offers the advantage of negligible insertion loss, and thus can be scaled up to control many lines to achieve high temporal resolution and better shape control. We modelled and simulated our O-AWG system and investigated the effects of finite linewidth and finite number of line. Then a testbed was assembled to test a 3-line and a 5-line system. Several waveforms were experimentally demonstrated with a spectral resolution of 0.12nm and a temporal resolution of 17ps for the 5-line system; 0.16nm spectral resolution and 25ps temporal resolution for the 3-line system.
The role of the medial geniculate body: Medial nucleus (MGm) and posterior intralaminar nucleus (PIN) in auditory fear conditioning

Although previous research has shown that the amygdala is a key site of plasticity for the consolidation of auditory conditioned fear, other brain regions may also be involved. We examined the auditory thalamus, specifically the medial nucleus of the medial geniculate body (MGm) and the posterior intralaminar nucleus (PIN). Using viral vectors, we overexpressed the transcription factor CREB (cyclic adenosine 3,5-monophosphate responsive element binding protein) specifically in the MGm and PIN. Mice with increased CREB levels in this region showed higher levels of conditioned fear compared to control group that received GFP. This indicates that the MGm and PIN is important in auditory fear conditioning. Moreover, mice with CREB overexpression in this region also displayed greater fear generalization to tones of frequencies other than the training frequency. This finding supports previous studies that the thalamo-amygdala pathway processes information quickly but imprecisely.
Integrin-linked kinase in the vascular smooth muscle cell response to arterial injury

Integrin linked kinase (ILK) is a serine/threonine protein kinase that is activated by integrin ligation or growth factor stimulation, and mediates proliferation and migration in several cell types. We measured ILK expression and activity in VSMCs following balloon injury of the rat carotid artery and in wounded VSMC cultures. Immunoblots showed a decrease in ILK protein following vascular injury that was not attributable to the loss of endothelium. However immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting revealed a relatively high level of ILK expression in the neointima. By contrast, no change in ILK expression followed wounding in vitro. Kinase assays showed no change in ILK activity after wounding in vivo or in vitro. ILK expression was silenced using siRNA, with no effect on phosphorylation of the downstream mediators Akt or GSK3beta. However, silencing ILK accelerated wound healing measured in an in vitro assay, suggesting that ILK may be an important scaffolding molecule affecting cell migration.
Determination of Apaf1-independent apoptosis and differentiation functions of Rb pocket proteins in skeletal myogenesis

Caspase activation marks a critical point of cell commitment to execute apoptosis. Upon induction, the apical pro-Caspase9 undergoes auto-activation, auto-cleavage and activates effector caspases downstream to trigger apoptosis. The current model holds that caspase activation via mitochondria in response to cytotoxic drugs requires both Apaf1-induced dimerization of pro-Caspase9 and Smac/Diablo-mediated sequestration of Inhibitors of Apoptosis Proteins (IAPs). However, findings presented herein demonstrate that either pathway can independently promote caspase activation and apoptosis. Using primary cells isolated from knockout fetuses, I first show that primary myoblasts can undergo Apaf1-independent caspase activation, whereas Apaf1 is critical in fibroblast apoptosis. In both cell types, Caspase9 is required for apoptosis. Thus, Caspase9 activation can be uncoupled from Apaf1 in a cell type-specific manner. Second, I show that IAPs are expressed at high level in fibroblasts but not in myoblasts and that Smac/Diablo accumulates in apoptosing myoblasts but not fibroblasts. These observations suggested that the IAP:Smac/Diablo ratio may dictate the dependency on Apaf-1 for caspase activation. Third, the concomitant ablation of Apaf1 and Smac in myoblasts delays the onset of Caspase9 activation and cell death. In addition, inhibition of XIAP with Smac/Diablo or pharmacological inhibitors was shown to induce caspase activation and apoptosis in Apaf1-/- fibroblasts. Thus, Apaf1 dependency for Caspase9 activation and the onset of apoptosis is dictated by IAP activity.pRb inactivation partially disrupts myoblast differentiation. The effect of other Rb members, p107 and p130, is not known. To address the role of p130, compound Rb and p130 mutant mice with Rb minigene expression in the brain to bypass embryonic lethality (mgRb:Rb -/-:p130-/- ) have been generated. Analysis of mgRb:Rb-/-:p130-/- embryos revealed no difference in apoptosis or endoreduplication compared with single mutants. Expression of Troponin-T (an early myogenic marker) but not MHC and Myf6/Mrf4 (late myogenic markers) was transiently restored in mgRb:Rb -/-:p130-/- embryos and myoblasts to level similar to wildtype controls. Interestingly, the My5-positive subpopulation was reduced in mgRb:Rb-/-:p130-/- myoblast cultures compared to the control and mgRb:Rb-/- groups. These studies on pRb and p130 provide a basis to further explore the biological effect of the pRb protein family on skeletal myogenesis.
Predicting creativity and academic success with a "fake-proof" measure of the Big Five

Traditional Likert format questionnaires allow individuals to selectively enhance positive traits while downplaying negative ones. Consequently, it is difficult to achieve an accurate representation of personality when there is motivation for favourable self-presentation. In the current study, we developed three relative-scored Big Five tests and evaluated their ability to eliminate such biased responding. These measures force respondents to make repeated choices between equally desirable personality descriptors. The traditional and relative-scored questionnaires were administered in both normal and "fake good" response conditions. The different measures were contrasted with regard to their ability to predict GPA and creative achievement. Results confirmed that our relative-scored measures were able to predict these outcomes in both response conditions, whereas the standard Big Five questionnaire lost its predictive ability in the "fake good" condition. The new measures proved more useful than traditional instruments for assessing the Big Five in conditions prone to biased responding.
Memory for a recently learned environment: An fMRI study

The hippocampus is required for the acquisition of new spatial memories, but its role in the long-term storage of such memories is debated. The current study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate brain activity while participants performed mental navigation tasks in a recently learned environment (downtown Toronto). Temporal lobe activity was observed in the right hippocampus and left parahippocampal gyrus (PHG) at a liberal threshold when these tasks were contrasted with a visuomotor control condition. Importantly, when the same mental navigation tasks were performed by participants with extensive experience in downtown Toronto, no hippocampal activation was observed even at low thresholds (Rosenbaum et al., 2004). Taken together, these findings provide preliminary evidence that the hippocampus may play a time-limited role in the storage and retrieval of spatial memories necessary for navigation---it is needed at acquisition and for some time afterwards, but not once expertise has been acquired.
It takes a poet to translate a poet: ezra Pound's translations of Zeami's no libretti

Around 1916, Ezra Pound (1885--1972) translated into English sixteen no plays. Many of them are representative of the poetic style of Zeami (ca. 1363--1443), the foremost dramatist of the classical n6 theatre. The aim of this thesis is to reveal how Pound achieved substantial success in translating the poetic essence of Zeami's style, despite the fact that he was virtually ignorant of Japanese language and culture and had to rely only on the imperfect notes of Ernest Fennollosa (1853--1908). The errors and inadequacies of Pound's translations have been examined by other scholars, but this thesis focuses on the surprising effectiveness with which Pound managed to convey the poetic quality of three aspects of Zeami's style: metaphor, prosody, and ellipsis. Close readings of original textual excerpts will be compared with Pound's renderings and those of other translators.
Investigating mechanisms of chlorinated ethane biotransformation using compound specific carbon isotope analysis

Stable carbon isotope fractionation during biotransformation of the chlorinated ethanes 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCA), 1,1,1-trichloroethane (1,1,1-TCA) and 1,1-dichloroethane (1,1-DCA) was investigated. Isotopic fractionation during aerobic 1,2-DCA biotransformation in microcosms, enrichment cultures and pure microbial cultures was measured and was found to be pathway dependent. Biodegradation of 1,2-DCA under aerobic conditions produced a consistent bimodal distribution of enrichment factors (s) with one mean c centered on –3.9 ± 0.6‰ and the other on –29.2 ± 1.9‰. Reevaluation of ϵ in terms of kinetic isotope effects 12k/ 13k, gave values of 12k/13k = 1.01 and 1.06, which are typical of oxidation and hydrolytic dehalogenation (S N2) reactions, respectively. The relationship between degradation pathway and measured carbon isotope fractionation was applied to constrain the degradation pathway of 1,2-DCA in a microbial enrichment culture capable of degrading 1,2-DCA under both O2 and NO3-reducing conditions, but where the degradation pathway was previously uncharacterized. δ 13C values indicated biodegradation in the enrichment culture under both O2 and NO3-reducing conditions likely proceeded via a hydrolytic dehalogenase enzyme. Stable carbon isotope analysis during biotransformation of other chlorinated ethanes was then investigated. Isotopic enrichment factors of -1.9‰ and -10.4‰ were measured during reductive dechlorination of 1,1,1-trichloroethane (1,1,1-TCA) and 1,1-dichloroethane (1,1-DCA), respectively. These are the first reported isotopic enrichment factors for microbial biotransformation of these compounds, which can now potentially be applied to investigate and quantify biodegradation of 1,1,1-TCA and 1,1-DCA in the field. Stable carbon isotope analysis was used to provide a conservative estimate of the extent of 1,2-DCA and trichloroethene (TCE) biodegradation in a biostimulation field study. Isotope analysis was able to confirm that 1,2-DCA degradation, rather than degradation of vinyl chloride, was the primary mechanism of ethene production at the site. This thesis not only advances the application of compound specific carbon isotope fractionation to identify and quantify biodegradation of chlorinated ethanes in groundwater, but in particular progresses our understanding of the relationship between the enzymatic mechanisms of contaminant degradation and isotopic fractionation, and the ability to use that knowledge to predict degradation mechanisms for previously unconstrained pathways of contaminant remediation.
As far as the eye can see: Visual metaphor in natural, man-made, and social contexts

This study investigated literal and metaphorical development of natural, industrial-architectural, and social themes. There were three parts to this study. Experiment 1 and 2 established a quantitative and qualitative framework for assessing participants' cognitive and affective responses to paired images differing in relationship and semantic context. Experiment 3 compared functional and experiential metaphors in design products with a Dutch sample of participants. Results suggested that metaphorical image pairs were intrinsically interesting and inspired learning goals whereas literal image pairs were approached with an extrinsic focus on performance. With regards to metaphors in design, it was revealed that experiential metaphors created an illusory atmosphere for product use, an appreciation of which relied on participants' simultaneous awareness of the tenor and vehicle. On the other hand, functional metaphors were characterized by a melding of form and function such that the vehicle residing within the concrete tenor realistically explained product use.
The association between the ownership status of Ontario's long-term care homes and the quality of resident care

There are nearly 600 long-term care (LTC) homes with approximately 70,000 residents in Ontario. LTC residents are among the frailest and most vulnerable members of society; often they are unable to articulate their needs and wishes because of multiple comorbidities and cognitive decline. The establishment and maintenance of a high quality of care in LTC facilities is vital. The purpose of this dissertation is to contribute an understanding of LTC policies and practices by exploring the relationship between ownership status and the quality of resident care in Ontario. This thesis consists of three manuscripts which explore a variety of methodologies and quality indicators: (1) A systematic review to evaluate the strength of published evidence of a relationship between LTC ownership status and quality of care; (2) An analysis of a Statistics Canada survey to determine the nurse staffing levels in Ontario's LTC facilities; and (3) An examination of the relationship between potentially avoidable hospital visits and LTC ownership status in Ontario, using administrative billing databases. The systematic literature review demonstrated conclusively that for-profit ownership negatively influenced the quality of care in the United States. There was, however, limited evidence to support a categorical statement about LTC ownership in Canada. The analysis of Statistics Canada's Residential Care Facilities Survey found that in 2000, there was no significant difference in registered nurse hours across facility types in Ontario, but for-profit facilities had a slightly higher proportion of unlicensed staff compared to not-for-profit facilities. Finally, using administrative databases, a cohort of newly admitted LTC residents in 2003 was identified to determine the rates of potentially avoidable acute care hospitalizations in Ontario's LTC homes. Residents of for-profit LTC homes were substantially more likely to be hospitalized compared to not-for-profit residents (Adjusted hazard ratio: 1.23, 95% Cl: 1.12--1.34). Conclusions. Increased risk of adverse clinical outcomes in for-profit facilities in Ontario was found despite the finding of significantly little difference in staffing levels. Future efforts are required to identify the causes of this dramatic increase in risk in FP facilities.
The origins of genocide: Political culture, crisis, and the construction of victims

Drawing on comparative politics and international relations theory, this dissertation develops a constructivist analytical model to explain the origins of genocide. Through a comparative historical analysis of the Holocaust (an ethnic/racial genocide) and the Cambodian "killing fields" (a political/revolutionary genocide) it is argued that genocide involves a unique three-step reconceptualization process. First members of the victim group lose their (often marginal) status within the political community and are constructed as outsiders to whom rights and obligations are no longer owed. Next, they come to be seen as dangerous enemies whose continued physical presence is seen to pose an overwhelming threat to the political community. Finally, they are viewed as sub-humans who can be killed without compunction. This process of identity reconstruction as a whole is underpinned by an exclusionary and authoritarian political culture and is triggered by serious economic, political, and/or security crises. The dissertation is an attempt to bring both comparative theory construction to genocide studies while at the same time move the study of genocide beyond it's original disciplines of history, sociology, and psychology to political science. The overall goal is to contribute to the search for the underlying causes of genocide in the service of effective prevention.

Keywords: Political science
Genocide, Study and teaching
Genocide, Cambodia
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Being, consciousness and time: phenomenology and the videos of Robert Yao Ramesar

This thesis is a meditation on three videos produced by Robert Yao Ramesar. I suggest that phenomenology as an attitude towards the world and towards our experience of it might usefully be taken up both as a method of investigation performed by the videos themselves and as a framework guiding my own reflection and interpretation of the work. Ramesar's work addresses a consciousness submerged by colonialism, slavery and indenture and aims to allow a Caribbean essence to manifest within the context of an extraordinary vision. I suggest in this thesis that postcolonial approaches to the investigation of cinema do not attend to the viewing experience as an encounter with the cinematic object and that phenomenology is better positioned to do so. I argue that Ramesar's work and the development of his Caribbeing aesthetic resonate with Edmund Husserl's phenomenological reduction in their movement away from appearances and towards the essence of things. I argue further that the reduction performed by the videos creates gaps within which the consciousness of the viewer is invited to meet the consciousness of the videos' subjects---and that this lays the groundwork for the presencing of Being. In this thesis, and in Ramesar's work, vision is held up to our conscious reflection as a subjective and constituting activity. I suggest that Ramesar's work engages directly with the work of Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger in its ability to conceptualize and mobilize vision as both an epistemological and an ontological project. In so doing, the videos both draw on and extend the original phenomenological insights of these philosophers. The videos' formal experimentation with time facilitates an experience of dwelling in an eternal present. I attempt to engage the reader in the experience of presence and encounter which is central to the viewing of Ramesar's work. The thesis is an attempt to dwell with the experience of contact with Being, consciousness and time in the videos through an act of continually unfolding reflection.

Keywords: Video recordings
Phenomenology
Art, Caribbean
Constitutionalism in the United Kingdom

This thesis defends the view that the United Kingdom's constitution should be conceived as a legal constitution. Part 1 confronts and rejects the arguments of two recent scholars who argue that the constitution should be conceived as a political constitution. It proposes that the way forward is to engage the question of how to marry mechanisms of political accountability and the constitution's political undergirding with a legal constitution and the protection of human rights. Part 2 begins this task by expounding a model of constitutionalism based upon the idea of a 'strong form' of constitutional dialogue between the branches. In so doing it reveals that the choice presented by the existing literature between viewing the Human Rights Act, 1998 from the perspective either of rights supremacy or 'principle-proposing' dialogue is a false one, since neither reflects the form of constitutionalism underpinning the Human Rights Act, 1998.

Keywords: Constitutional law, Great Britain
Microstructural evolution during annealing in nanostructured electrodeposits

Electrodeposited nanocrystalline materials offer a unique opportunity to study the microstructural evolution in systems having very high driving forces for grain growth. In addition, these materials are not complicated by the residual porosity, untransformed amorphous regions, or non-equilibrium grain boundary structures that may be inherent to nanostructured materials produced by other synthesis methods. There have been numerous studies of grain growth in electrodeposited nanocrystalline materials. While there is general agreement between calorimetric observations, there is little agreement in terms of transformation mechanisms. One of the principle objectives of this study was to unify previous observations of grain growth in nanostructured electrodeposits. This was achieved by an extensive study of the structural evolution in nanostructured nickel during isothermal annealing. Four distinct growth stages were observed—stage 1 (abnormal), stage 2 (normal), stage 3 (normal and abnormal), and stage 4 (normal). This multi-staged growth process can explain the disparate previous observations of grain growth. While 4 stages of growth were observed, it is the initial sequence of structural evolution (stage 1) that is the key to understanding grain growth in nanostructured materials. In this growth sequence, the majority of grains retain essentially the same size until they are consumed by migrating abnormal growth fronts (AGFs). Indirect evidence suggests that the velocity of the AGFs decreases with increasing migration distance into the matrix. This was attributed to the collection of solute atoms (primarily sulfur) by dynamic segregation (i.e. solute sweeping by the migrating AGFs). The initial sequence of grain growth was also studied in nanocrystalline Co and Ni-Co alloys—materials systems that had not previously been investigated. The effect of starting structure (e.g. grain size, sulfur concentration, crystallographic texture, alloy composition, and crystal structure) on the initial sequence of structural evolution was examined. In all cases, qualitatively the same sequence of initial structural evolution was observed. These observations, in combination with the strong correlation found between bulk sulfur concentration and thermal stability in nanocrystalline Co, suggest that dynamic segregation may be a general rate limiting mechanism for grain growth in nanostructured electrodeposits.
Separate persons acting together: a theory of contract law

This thesis explores the following question: if, as John Rawls famously suggests, justice is the first virtue of social institutions, how are we to understand the institution of contract law? On the one hand, many writers take the view that the rules of contracts are merely a tool for bringing about distributive justice; on the other hand, some libertarian writers contend that the rules of contract leave no space for any idea of distributive justice. I show that neither account is to explain key features of contract doctrine. My alternative account situates contract law in terms of what John Rawls calls "the social division of responsibility": society as a whole has to provide individuals with an adequate share of opportunities and resources that they need in order to set and pursue their own conception of the good. Once individuals have those fair shares, citizens have to take responsibility for how their own lives go. An important way that people may pursue their plans is by entering into arrangements with others. This requires a system of contract rules. My claim is that justice requires that we understand these rules in terms of the idea of reasonable, fair terms of interaction: contractual interactions are about what is fair for individuals in interaction with the others, and not about what is fair from the subjective point of view of each individual. Thus, the thesis explains contract doctrines, including those governing third parties, from the perspective of the reasonable person standard.