VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Functional interactions of tumor suppressors Brca1 and Mus81

Genomic instability is a prominent feature of malignantly transformed cancer cells. Tumor suppressor genes play an important role in maintaining the genomic integrity of the cell. BRCA1 is a known tumor suppressor and individuals with mutations in this gene have a heightened risk of breast cancer. This work investigates the functional interactions between Brca1 and tumor suppressor gene Mus81, hypothesized to cooperate in the repair of stalled replication forks. Preliminary findings presented in this study suggest a physical interaction exists between Mus81 and Brca1. To investigate the in vivo functional interplay between Brca1 and Mus81, a T cell conditional mouse model was created. Mus81 deletion did not exacerbate the T cell development defect seen in Brca1 deficient T cell conditional mice. This study is important as it attempts to contribute to current concepts of DNA damage repair pathways functioning within mammalian cells and provides valuable results to guide future research.
Philosophical approaches to health care priority setting: moral obligations, practical realities

Health care priority setting is a reality in any health system. Because demand for health care exceeds available resources, decision makers must make tough and often tragic choices about how scarce resources will be allocated to meet varied health care needs. The “core question” of my thesis is: What guidance can various philosophical approaches offer to decision makers in institutional contexts to assist them in making priority setting decisions that are just? Using a bioethics methodology, which seeks to develop empirically relevant bioethical theory to guide practice, I draw on the resources of philosophical bioethics and some lessons from experience of priority setting in three health institutions to develop a more robust ethical framework for health care priority setting. I look at the “core question” through a number of philosophical lenses: traditional bioethics appeals to substantive moral principles, Norman Daniels and James Sabin's deliberative model of legitimate and fair priority setting (“accountability for reasonableness”), theories of democratic inclusion, and feminist ethics. I argue that each of these approaches makes a necessary but not sufficient contribution to answering the “core question” and that a composite of these approaches will provide more adequate guidance to decision makers. To summarize the main argument of my thesis: Justice in health care priority setting requires substantive moral and empirical criteria, but a lack of consensus on such criteria leads us to search for a fair deliberative process that provides conditions for reaching reasonable consensus on priority setting outcomes. This must be an inclusive democratic process that supports stakeholder participation in determining how to set health care priorities. Moreover, justice in health care priority setting must ultimately address the problem of institutional forms of power, which can distort the priority setting process in unreasonable and exclusionary ways, leading to unjust outcomes. I conclude that if substantive middle-level moral principles and empirically-based criteria were incorporated into a fair deliberative process of legitimate priority setting under conditions of democratic inclusiveness and domination-free institutional arrangements, then decision makers would be in a better position to set priorities in justice-promoting ways than by appeal to any one philosophical approach alone.
Numerical simulation and stability of flow in a collapsible channel

The effect of wall inertia on stability in a collapsible channel flow is investigated by solving the linearized one-dimensional flow and wall equations. This is a continuation of an earlier study where these equations were solved numerically and it was discovered that numerical stability holds only for collapsible channels which are impractically short. As a remedy for this, we implement a third-order scheme and demonstrate numerical convergence and stability for longer length tubes. The numerical scheme is used to simulate flow in a collapsible channel representative of a human trachea. We demonstrate static divergence in a collapsible segment and notice that in the presence of wall inertia, an incompressible flow model will predict an infinite wave speed.

Keywords: Fluid mechanics, Mathematical models
Stability, Mathematical models
Turbulence, Mathematical models
How consumers of community mental health services come to understand their potential for work: grounded theory study

The goal of this study was to better understand the process of how consumers come to understand their potential for work to contribute to knowledge on the consumer perspective regarding paid and unpaid work. Ten consumers of community mental health services were interviewed and the data were analyzed according to the grounded theory approach. The findings suggest that through doing work, consumers begin to see themselves as persons with possible work futures, and gain insight into their potential for future work participation. The ever-present effects of living with a mental illness influence the processes involved in coming to understand their potential for work and present unique challenges to consumers. The findings highlight the complexity of providing support to consumers as they attempt work and begin to think about future work possibilities, and suggest areas for future research and discussion in community mental health.
A computational model for predicting the microstructure of thermal spray coatings

A three-dimensional, stochastic model has been developed to model the microstructure of thermal spray coatings. The model is capable of predicting coating porosity, thickness and roughness, and the variation of these properties with spray parameters. The model dispersed molten droplets on the substrate by generating process parameters randomly, with specified probability density functions. The model includes a set of rules that specify the final splat shape as a function of droplet impact conditions. The surface of the coating, and the location of pores within it, is specified using a variable known as the volume fraction. This method gave predictions, i.e., porosity, thickness and roughness for coating structure that appeared quite reasonable when compared with experimental data. The splat formation mechanism was studied with a three-dimensional droplet deposition model. The model applied a fixed-grid Eulerian control volume method to solve the fluid dynamics and energy conservation equations. A volume-of-fluid (VOF) algorithm was used to track free surface deformation. Simulations were done for tin droplets with 2.2 mm diameter landing off center on a circular splat formed by the impact and solidification of another, identical drop. Final splat shapes were sensitive to the spacing between droplet centers. By following the temperature variation at different points on the surface of the first splat we could identify locations where remelting occurred and the splats fused together. Another set of simulations are presented to study the effect of small objects on distortion of molten tin droplets during landing. Predictions of droplet shapes and sizes during impact from the model agreed well with corresponding experimental images. Residual stress development in the microstructure of thermal spray coatings was studied by an Object Oriented Finite Element model. The images of microstructures to be analyzed were generated by the 3-D stochastic model and experimental SEM micrographs. The results show porosity, thickness and roughness of coating have considerable effects on the build-up of stresses. The results were compared with each other and validated with experimental data.
Sexual selection and mate choice in Darwin, Eliot, Gaskell, and Hardy

This thesis considers three novels—The Mill on the Floss (1860), Wives and Daughters (1865), and Far From the Madding Crowd (1874)—in light of the Victorian fascination with breeding, generation, and descent, issues which are brought into focus with Charles Darwin's The Descent of Man (1871). The thesis argues that the topics of female mate choice and gendered roles in courtship begin to emerge in the literature of the period as a kind of evolutionary story, taking the traditional courtship plot in new directions and with new consequences. Sexual selection, an evolutionary approach to courtship and mating activities, is used in these works both as a literal mechanism to describe reproduction, mate choice, and sexual rivalry, and also as a powerful metaphor through which the novelists could raise other important issues, such as morality, social progress, and existential anxiety. These novels struggle with social and scientific change, and their characters are shown to be embedded in an inescapable natural system which makes their choices at once insignificant and also relevant along an evolutionary continuum. This project uses feminist and sociobiological theories as well as Darwinian evolutionary theory to demonstrate how these novels assimilate and interrogate ideas about natural and sexual selection among larger concerns about Victorian culture and society. An introductory chapter considers the position of women in nineteenth-century evolutionary thought, while the chapter on The Descent of Man closely examines Darwin's troubled movement from ethology to anthropology. Each chapter on the novels by Eliot, Gaskell, and Hardy offers close readings of key passages which show careful attention to Darwinian evolutionary theory, specifically with reference to issues of generation, inheritance, courtship, and mating. The pastoral settings common to the three novels, their emphasis on farm life and the perseverance of closely knit communities in simultaneous conflict and harmony with the natural world, bring these concerns to the forefront. Furthermore, these novels focus on the dynamics of courtship and mate selection diversely but also with striking similarities, in each case self-consciously through the lens of Darwinian and post-Darwinian thought.
Feature formation and classification of radar targets

Air traffic control (ATC) is an ever-evolving field in which air security and safety are key focal points. Towards an effort to address challenges encountered by ATC operators, increasingly intelligent and advanced systems are being developed and introduced to provide more accurate and informative information to the operator. This work presents a novel framework for target classification in ATC radars. Specifically, a track classification system is introduced with focus being placed on feature formation, feature evaluation and classification updating. Trajectory, velocity and signal power derived features are formed and evaluated using sample data. The proposed system is trained and tested using data that include varying types of targets in order to support the utility of the system. The results obtained show that automated classification of targets is achievable with good results for the data available. This framework provides a flexible foundation for further studies on classification of radar targets.
The effects of couples' goal congruence on affective well-being and closeness

Interpersonal Goal Congruence Theory postulates that well-being in close relationships depends on the congruence of partners' goals. The pursuit of activities that further both partners' goals enhances well-being, whereas the shared pursuit of goals of only one of the partners undermines well-being. To test the theory, 97 married couples carried personal digital assistants for 2 weeks and were paged 6 times per day to report on their emotions, felt closeness to their partner, activities, and whose goals their activity served. As predicted, closeness and well-being were highest when spouses pursued activities that served both partners' goals. In addition, pursuing own goals had no effects, whereas pursuing only the partners' goals had negative effects on well-being.
Role of cholesterol in phagosome maturation

Macrophages are key to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. They take up and store excessive amounts of cholesterol associated with oxidized, low-density lipoproteins (oxLDL) through scavenger receptors, eventually becoming foam cells that display altered immune responsiveness. We used lipid transport antagonists to study the effects of cholesterol accumulation on phagosomal maturation. Fluorescence microscopy, transfection and immunostaining were used to define the stage where phagosomal maturation is arrested and the underlying mechanism. U18666A, a cholesterol transport antagonist, altered macrophage function and inhibited the formation of mature phagolysosomes. To ensure that the observed effects were due to cholesterol accumulation and not to non-specific effects of U18666A we also compared phagosome maturation in fibroblasts obtained from normal and Niemann-Pick Type C (NPC) individuals. Our findings indicate that cholesterol accumulation can have a detrimental effect on phagosomes, arresting their maturation prior to lysosome fusion. This may account for the defective microbicidal activity of foam cells and may explain some of the immunological defects associated with atherosclerosis.
Factors associated with the initiation of treatment for latent tuberculosis infection

Background. Treating Latent Tuberculosis (TB) Infection (LTBI) decreases the risk of it progressing to active TB by 90%, yet only a fraction of those offered treatment initiate therapy. Objective. To determine if being a health care worker (HCW) is associated with the initiation of treatment for LTBI. Methods. Retrospective cohort study of patients with LTBI. Results. The overall LTBI treatment initiation rate of the clinic population was 58%. Fifty-five of 116 (47%) HCW versus 126/194 (65%) non-HCW initiated treatment for LTBI. (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.30–0.78) Multivariate analysis controlling for age, sex, foreign-birth, contact with active TB, previous Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination, previous positive TB skin test, history of liver disease, abnormal liver enzymes, CXR abnormalities, comorbidities, and income produced similar results (adjusted OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.29–0.86). Conclusion. At a TB clinic in downtown Toronto, HCW were less likely than other patients to initiate treatment for LTBI.
The molecules of ritual: promoting, producing, and performing raving and clubbing in Toronto

*This dissertation is a compound document (contains both a paper copy and a CD as part of the dissertation). The CD requires the following system requirements: Windows MediaPlayer or RealPlayer. This dissertation investigates raving and clubbing as performances of ritual. It follows Victor Turner's call to locate the original matrix of ritual in the multi-dimensionality of those contemporary cultural events which he referred to as liminoid phenomena. In doing so, it describes music and dance as the central expressions and experiences of raving and clubbing. Ethnographic research on the practices of raving and clubbing was conducted in Toronto, Canada from 1997 to 2001. Informant testimonials on the communal, magical, spiritual, and quasi-religious experiences associated with raving and clubbing position ritual as a framework of analysis derived from practitioners. A review of the dominant sociological literature reveals metaphorical and anecdotal references to raves and clubs as ritual spaces and raving and clubbing as ritual practices to be largely inadequate. An anthropological approach to the study of ritual as a performed sequence of events is taken through an analysis of music, dance, and the auxiliary media which promote their meanings as rites in and of youth culture. The performance roles of disc jockeys, dancers, and organizers are described to examine music, dance, and event design and advertising as the practices through which raving and clubbing are conceived, received, and interpretively framed by participants as ritual. The framing of raving and clubbing as ritual is considered historically through an analysis of the technologies of playing records and the social application of those technologies by disc jockeys associated with the cultures of disco in New York City, house in Chicago, and acid house and rave in England. Underground dance music and the disco concept are identified as the musical and performance genre shared by those culture and the ravers and clubbers in Toronto who index their social mythologies to situate their rites as authentic and meaningful. Describing successful performances of underground dance music records by disc-jockeys as a journey, the processual model of ritual developed by Arnold vanGennep and refined by Turner is invoked to examine how this performance idiom structures the expressions and experiences of liminality through music and dance. Raving and clubbing are thus considered opportunities for participants to engage in ritual performances of transcendence and transformation.*
Architecture and implementation of analog iterative decoders

Compound codes developed over the past decade are increasingly being used for error control in data communications standards. As demand for throughput increases, the currently existing decoding architectures will no longer be practical for wireless applications due to their growing power consumption. New techniques based on analog and mixed-signal circuits are derived in this thesis. Circuits for analog Viterbi detection are improved and used for soft-output forward-backward decoding of convolutional codes. The circuits are self-normalizing, and can be used with an arbitrary number of trellis stages or states. Architectures for programmable analog interleavers are introduced, some reducing size and capacitance by over 70% relative to full crossbar interleavers with 100 inputs. The soft-output and interleaver techniques are used in an analog turbo decoder test IC, with 4-state convolutional encoders with 16 information bits. The IC, designed in a 0.35μm 3LM CMOS technology, was tested at 13.3Mbps, 1.2μs latency, and consumes 185mW on a single 3.3V power supply, resulting in energy consumption of 13.9nJ per decoded bit, 80% better than published digital implementations. Swinging buffers could triple the speed and reduce the latency with minimal increase in power consumption. The core area is 1131.2 x 1257.9 μm 2. Future error control codes and their corresponding hardware will be designed in a global manner, optimizing code performance and circuit specifications at the same time. A turbo-like code and its associated decoder, operating at very high speeds and low power consumption, is presented in this thesis. The code, inspired by analog architectures, also has very interesting digital decoder realizations that drastically reduce decoding latencies.
Aqueous photolysis of the 8:2 fluorotelomer alcohol, and, The determination of the water solubility of N-ethylperfluorooctanesulfoneamidoethyl alcohol

The 8:2 fluorotelomer alcohol (8:2 FTOH) was photodegraded in hydrogen peroxide solutions, Synthetic Field Water systems, and Lake Ontario water samples. It was found to undergo indirect photolysis, with the data suggesting that the hydroxyl radical was the main degradation agent. The half life of 8:2 FTOH was 0.83 ± 0.20 hours (10 mM H2O2), 38.0 ± 6.0 hours (100 μM H2O2), 30.5 ± 8.0 to 163.1 ± 3.0 hours (SFW systems), and 93.2 ± 10.0 hours (Lake Ontario). The main monitored products were the 8:2 fluorotelomer aldehyde, the 8:2 fluorotelomer acid and perfluorooctanoate; minor products were the 8:2 fluorotelomer unsaturated acid and perfluorononanoate. Determined by the column elution method, the water solubility for NEtFOSE was found to be: 119 ± 20 ug/L at 35°C, 99 ± 10 ug/L at 25°C, 71 ± 7 ug/L at 20°C, and 93 ± 20 ug/L at 15°C.
"From crying to laughing": the transpersonal curriculum. Sharing experiences of transformative learning with participants in an "Art of Living" course: A holistic program for self-directed change in adult learners

The focus of this study is grounded in recognition of the emotional impact of issues facing members of vulnerable populations and of the need to address the affective dimension of adults' experiences of personal growth and transformative processes. In a qualitative inquiry involving hermeneutic phenomenology, reflections on the lived experiences of participants in a holistic breathing and meditative course entitled, the "Art of Living" course, attempt to provide insight into the affective correlates associated with transformative learning experiences, and particularly the manner in which a synergistic relationship between elements of holistic curricula may contribute to personal change and growth. In view of the need to provide alternatives to atomistic and impersonal social programs, it is hoped that this information will be of relevance to educators and other professionals concerned with the design and delivery of holistic learning programs across multiple disciplines and target populations.

Keywords: Holistic education
Life change events
Breathing exercises
Mind and body
Stress management
Meditation
Transpersonal psychotherapy
Yoga
Contrasting parental versus sibling influences on the development of children's conflict management strategies

The influences parents and siblings have on the development of children's conflict management strategies in the context of sibling disputes was examined with 34 families at two time points. The siblings were approximately 2- and 4-years old at Time 1, and 4- and 6-years old at Time 2. In-home observations of naturally occurring sibling disputes were collected and conflict management strategies were coded. Results indicate that parental intervention in sibling conflict (both rate and type) was unrelated to changes in the frequency and quality of sibling disputes over time. In contrast, the siblings exerted a powerful and direct influence on each others' use of conflict strategies across the two years. The sibling effects are interpreted in light of sibling status differences and reciprocation of fighting behaviour. The absence of long-term parental influences on children's conflict strategies is discussed.

Keywords: Sibling rivalry, Ontario
Conflict management, Ontario
Parental influences, Ontario