VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Dynamic analysis of economic systems

'Abstract of chapter 1'. This paper examines a monetary economy with financial intermediaries. Several periods of investment are necessary before output is received. To smooth consumption or augment production possibilities, agents can borrow from a competitive banking sector. Loans must be guaranteed by collateral. Thus, the capital market is imperfect. The collateral accepted by banks coincides with one kind of capital used in production. It is shown that agents may overinvest in collateral and increases in statutory reserves can reduce the allocative inefficiency and increase welfare. 'Abstract of chapter 2'. This paper examines the issue of whether a small random deviation from a non-random policy process will destabilize the equilibrium exchange rate in a rational expectations economy. The random deviations represent the erratic actions of government which are unobservable by agents until they occur. The degree of randomness is indexed by a parameter <math> <f> <g>e</g>&isin;</f> </math> [0, 1], with higher values of <math> <f> <g>e</g></f> </math> associated with greater random shocks. As <math> <f> <g>e</g></f> </math> changes, the structure of policy changes in a nonlinear way. The random equilibrium exchange rate, <math> <f> x<sup><g>e</g></sup><inf>t</inf></f> </math>, converges to the deterministic rate, 'zt', as <math> <f> <g>e</g></f> </math> [right arrow] 0. If agents are approximately rational, large deviations between <math> <f> x<sup><g>e</g></sup><inf>t</inf></f> </math> and 'zt' for small <math> <f> <g>e</g></f> </math> are possible. 'Abstract of chapter 3'. This paper analyzes the stability of the exchange rate in an economy with noise traders. Noise trading is restricted to agents investing in the domestic stock market, who are less sophisticated than the agents pricing foreign exchange. Monetary policy is affected by the behaviour of investors in the domestic stock market. We show that small fluctuations in the parameters governing noise trading can have a profound effect on the exchange rate when foreign exchange traders have rational expectations. This shows that instability is the key feature in economies where heterogeneous agents have different levels of sophistication in processing information. Endogenous fluctuations from the stock market spill over into endogenous fluctuations in the exchange rate.
A role for the C2 domain of the ubiquitin-protein ligase Nedd4

N_eural precursor cell-e_xpressed d_evelopmentally d_ownregulated 4 (Nedd4) is a ubiquitin-protein ligase that has an N-terminal c_onserved region 2_ of PKC (C2) domain, three or four WW domains and a C-terminal h_omolgous to E_6-AP C_-t_erminus (HECT) domain which possesses ubiquitin ligase activity of the third enzyme of the ubiquitination cascade (E3). Nedd4 was found to bind to the epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC), via its WW domains, and to be an important regulator of ENaC stability and function. C2 domains are small (~130 amino acid) Ca2+- and lipid-binding domains that are found in a number of signalling molecules and many have been shown to mediate Ca2+-dependent membrane/protein association. The focus of this work was to determine a role for the C2 domain of Nedd4 in the functioning of this enzyme. It was found that Nedd4 displays a Ca 2+-dependent membrane association, and was demonstrated that this phenomenon is due to the action of the C2 domain. In particular, the C2 domain mediates the redistribution of cytosolic Nedd4 to the apical region of polarized epithelia in response to increased cytosolic Ca2+ concentrations. This preference for the apical region may be mediated by an association of the C2 domain with the apically targeted molecule annexin XIIIb. The C2 domain interacts with annexin XIIIb in a Ca2+-dependent manner and co-localizes with it in cells and in isolated apical rafts in a Ca 2+-dependent fashion. When annexin XIIIb expression is stimulated using an inducible system, it targets Nedd4 to the plasma membrane in response to increased cytosolic Ca2+. In the absence of annexin XIIIb overexpression, Nedd4 remains in the cytosol. A novel interaction between the Nedd4-C2 domain and the SH2 domain of Grb10 was characterized, which may serve to target Nedd4 to the IGF-I receptor, a potential substrate, within the cell. This interaction is non-phosphotyrosine-dependent and non-Ca2+-dependent as well. We have shown that the IGF-I receptor is ubiquitinated in cells, which may be the ultimate consequence of the C2 association with SH2-Grb10. Thus, the study of the role of the C2 domain of Nedd4 has provided evidence that this domain is serving to target Nedd4 to distinct locations within the cell, where it can interact with its substrates. This specialized distribution is mediated via specific protein-protein and protein-lipid interactions. The work on the underlying mechanisms of Nedd4 function has provided an insight into the more general issues of regulation of protein stability and cellular functioning.
The role of phosphatidylcholine in chloroplast diacylglycerol synthesis in leaves of Vicia faba

The 14CO2- and [1-14C]-acetate-labelling of fatty acids (FA) of phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG) of 'Vicia faba' leaves indicated that 14C-label was not evenly distributed among the FA of these lipids. Instead, labelled saturated and monounsaturated FA were combined with unlabelled polyunsaturated FA. Double labelling [1- 14C]-acetate and [1,2,3-3H]-glycerol experiments showed that the H-labelled glycerol was not necessarily associated with newly formed 14C-FA in PC and MGDG. Immediately after feeding 3H-glycerol was attached predominantly to unlabelled, polyunsaturated FA. This suggests that newly synthesized FA are exchanged with polyunsaturated FA on PC and that the DAG precursors of PC and MGDG are both highly unsaturated. Through random deacylation/reacylation between the FA of PC and an acyl-CoA pool, the DAG subsequently formed is maintained in a highly unsaturated state. Cytosolic and chloroplastic lipids could then be synthesized directly from this DAG pool that contain unsaturated FA similar to those in PC.
Parliamentary re-construction of refugee, the ideological circle in Canadian immigration

This project is an investigation into the work accomplished by the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration during their study of the Canadian refugee determination system, commencing in October 1999 and ending in March 2000. The Committee's study was established in response to the arrival of 599 Chinese immigrants to Canada in the summer of 1999. I apply the research methodology of institutional ethnography, developed by Dorothy Smith, in my analysis of transcripts from the meetings and the Committee's final report. In the course of my study I aim to develop two ideas. First, the Committee's work is part of an ideological circle whereby migrants are produced and re-produced as a crisis. Through this process, people's lived experience becomes subsumed by ruling knowledges. Secondly, drawing on the ideological circle I argue that migration policies are organized around the objectives of border control rather than humanitarian interests. Ultimately, my goal is to explicate one instance in the process of "othering" that occurs in Canadian social and institutional relations. Subsequently, this will enable some understanding of the work processes of governing by the Canadian state.
Il dialetto molisano di Villa San Michele (Isernia)

The heterogeneous linguistic situation present on the Italian peninsula, perhaps more than anywhere else in Europe, has fascinated linguists and, more precisely, dialectologists, in the last centuries. Historical, descriptive and theoretical studies have focused on the dialects as a whole and also on the interesting features offered by individual vernaculars. In this vast field of Italian linguistics much attention has been given to both the Northern (i.e. Piedmontese, Venetian, Milanese) and the Southern (i.e. Neapolitan, Abruzzian, Sicilian, Calabrian) varieties. There remains, however, a great amount of work to be done regarding those regions whose vernaculars scholars only briefly mention in their studies. One such group of dialects is that of the region of Molise in Central-Southern Italy. Given this region's unquestionable historical link to Abruzzo, it is no wonder that linguists have tended to classify the dialects of Molise with those of this adjacent region. This has very often resulted in the marginalization of the Molisan dialects. Scholars have indeed produced some linguistic studies, and there are plays and poetry in the Molisan vernacular and certain rudimentary glossaries, but a rigorous and thorough study, which includes the phonetic, morphological, syntactic and lexical features of these conservative and complex language systems, is lacking. In this thesis I aim at filling the lacunae in this area by producing a scientific and in-depth study of these dialects before they become obsolete. This dissertation contains five chapters. Chapter 1 deals with elements such as the geographical and historical dimensions of the locality and the social conditions of the dialect speakers. In addition, it provides relevant information regarding the methodology used in conducting field research and the present status of the dialect speakers. Chapter 2 studies the linguistic phenomenon known as 'metaphony', while Chapters 3 and 4 present detailed descriptive analyses of the phonological and morphological systems of the dialect. Finally, Chapter 5 examines the hypothetical clause construction especially of the contrary-to-fact type. This dissertation also includes Appendices: (A) Maps; (B) List of Informants; (C) an ethnographic component aimed at documenting and explaining obsolescent terminology.
Methods and mechanisms of endogenous and exogenous myocardial preconditioning

Coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) is the most commonly performed surgery in North America. Recently changing trends in the population at risk have resulted in increasing numbers of high risk patients presenting for CABG with an accompanying rise in the rate of postoperative low output syndrome (LOS). LOS is associated with increased patient mortality and places a significant financial burden on the health care system. In the absence of intraoperative complications, LOS following CABG represents a failure of intraoperative myocardial protection. As such, improved methods of intraoperative myocardial protection are necessary to prevent increased morbidity and mortality following CABG. Ischemic preconditioning (PC) is the most powerful endogenously mediated form of myocardial protection known. Unfortunately, the phenomenon is difficult to apply clinically. Moreover, the ischemic stimulus of PC may entail detrimental effects acutely. To avoid such limitations, we must possess the ability to reproduce preconditioning without the need for ischemia. A pharmacological mediator which could harness the beneficial effects of preconditioning would be ideal in this regard. Adenosine, believed to be a mediator of ischemic preconditioning, may represent such an additive. Unfortunately, the benefits of adenosine in human preconditioning are controversial. Moreover the optimal timing of adenosine administration, and its mechanism of action remain undetermined. We propose a series of studies in isolated human ventricular myocytes exposed to simulated ischemia and reperfusion. Both endogenous and exogenous preconditioning studies will be undertaken with an eye towards the delineation of the mechanisms of preconditioning, and the development of a valid model for the clinical application of adenosine.
Role of the stress activated protein kinases (sapk's) in mediating resistance to the antineoplastic agent adriamycin (ADR)

The SAPK pathway is structurally related to the MAPK pathway, and is thought to be associated with apoptosis, or programmed cell death. Studies have shown that ADR activates SAPK in human leukemia cells. The first hypothesis of this study is that SAPKs mediate the cytocidal activity of antineoplastic agents such as ADR in established cell lines of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML). The second hypothesis is that decreased activation of the SAPK pathway is one mechanism whereby human leukemia cell lines develop resistance to antineoplastic agents, such as ADR. Established human ALL and AML cell lines were obtained (kindly provided by Dr. Melvin Freedman and Dr Ernest McCulloch respectively). These cell lines have been shown to vary in sensitivity to the anthracycline ADR. Flow cytometric analysis showed that ADR uptake in the six ALL cell lines and three AML cell lines was similar, and that inhibitors of the P-glycoprotein pump (Pgp) did not effect drug uptake. Activation of SAPK was measured by two independent functional assays: the affinity purification assay and the immunoprecipitation assay. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Knowledge and attitudes concerning near-death experiences and attitudes toward death

The dramatic attitude changes experienced by individuals reporting near-death experiences have been widely acknowledged in professional publications and in the lay media. What is not known, however, is whether individuals who merely read or hear about such experiences are impacted significantly. This study investigated the relationship between knowledge and attitudes concerning near-death experiences and attitudes toward death in a community sample. All of the findings are consistent with the theory that people interpret NDE material in a way that may confirm and strengthen, but does not radically change, their own established meanings of life and death. It was argued that NDEs are likely to have a continued impact on the institutions, beliefs, and practices of North American society given the likelihood of continued media attention and continued receptivity by the general public. A recommendation was made that all health care and counselling professionals dealing with issues of death receive instruction regarding NDEs.
Measurement of the mechanical properties of angle ply laminates

Design of advanced fiber composite structures requires a knowledge of the strength and stiffness of laminates. For modulus, designs rely on classical lamination theory. For strength a failure criterion is needed. For off-axis plies this is normally a maximum stress criterion, or smoothed out versions such as "Tsai-Wu". They are based on early experiments on long and narrow specimens. However, tests on short and wide specimens gave much higher results both for modulus and strength. These are confirmed by test on tubes, which have been available in the literature and appear to have been ignored by designers. The problem is due to an edge softening effect. The edge softening effect can cause the stiffness and the strength to be undervalued in tensile tests. Experimental data on carbon/epoxy angle ply laminates' tensile properties are presented here based on tests of short and wide specimens and ASTM specimens. The wider specimens gave higher moduli than the narrow ones for lay-up angles of 15°, 30°, and 45°. This trend disappeared when the angles were bigger than 45°. The moduli were within classical lamination theory prediction boundaries. Measured Poisson's ratios were much less than the theoretical values due to the end constraint. The angle ply laminates showed non-elastic deformation at low stress levels except for the 0° and 90° lay-ups. The photoelastic method was used to provide an overall strain image in the gauge area. The images showed a uniform stress distribution when the samples were in the elastic range and a non-uniform stress distribution at higher stresses. The fiber presence was observed from lines or bands visible in the pictures. It is clear from the results that there are ineffective or partially effective regions in the test specimens, and the size of these depend both on ply angle [straight phi] and specimen aspect ratio. An edge softening model has been set up based on the results. The model fitted the test data very well for the stiffness but only fairly well for the strength.
Thriving on difficult knowledge, poststructuralist pedagogy and relational psychoanalysis

Poststructuralist pedagogy produces knowledges which are difficult because they require radical "decentring" changes in how learners construct knowledge. This thesis asks how learners, particularly those of privileged social locations, might thrive in these difficult contexts of learning--a psychological, ethical, and epistemological question. Answers unfold through the reading of two main texts: Elizabeth Ellsworth's 'Teaching Positions: Difference, Pedagogy, and the Power of Address', and Lewis Aron's ' A Meeting of Minds: Mutuality On Psychoanalysis'. Part One traces, first, the emergence of Ellsworth's poststructuralist pedagogy from critical pedagogy and next, the connections between her paradoxical, performative model and the paradoxes embodied in certain feminist, anti-racist, and queer pedagogies. Then it shows how Ellsworth's use of psychoanalysis is her way to theorize the relational spaces within which learners become subjects who seek to inhabit self-reflexively and responsibly the self-with-other knowledges which constitute their subjectivities. Part Two of the thesis argues that relational psychoanalysis develops a similar picture of subjects who profit from reflecting on the relational co-construction of their knowledges and subjectivities. First Aron's work is read in relation to Ellsworth's positions on truth, difficult knowledge, subjectivity, self-with-other, learning processes, and "thriving." Then relational psychoanalytic pedagogy is contrasted with Lacanian and "(post)Freudian" positions. Each of the three versions of psychoanalysis is discussed in terms of its views on constitutive processes of subjectivity and processes of learning. A final chapter is a thought experiment in relational classroom practice with young adolescents. The practice departs from progressive liberal models as conflictual issues of difference emerge, demanding difficult knowledge-making. A relational view sees teacher-learner relationships supporting flexible, centred subjectivities while it simultaneously supports difficult decentring learning processes. The thesis concludes that reading Ellsworth and Aron "through" each other expands and enriches a reading of both. Such a reading asks Ellsworth to attend to powerful psychological issues, both developmental and interpersonal, which are embedded in difficult learning, and it asks Aron to attend to the power of social difference to construct both the relation between analyst and patient and their mutual performances of knowledge.
For any spirringes in that space, the theatrical game of the York plays

This dissertation examines the York plays as a form of medieval game drama. Based on a study of the play texts, I detail a variety of strategies for engaging the audience as active participants in the redemptive action of the drama. These strategies contribute to what I call the game of "spiring," in which the audience, in union with the figure of Jesus, is set in spiritual competition against his enemies. The strategies of this game are discussed in three categories. In the first, theatrical building, the audience's interpretation of the drama's allegorical meanings is thematized according to the doctrine of spiritual edification. In the second, theatrical witness, the audience's presence, onlooking, and listening are thematized according to the doctrine of theological witness. Together, theatrical building and witness create for the audience, in the metaphorical context of the building of and witnessing by a spiritual church, the experience of a personal encounter with the divine. In the third category, theatrical enclosure, the metaphor of the spiritual church and its auxiliaries are further grounded in the audience's reality, by reference to the enclosures of the performance stations and of the collective-body of the audience itself. Ultimately, the game of "spiring" is a theatrical analogue for the audience's extra-theatrical community of faith and in particular that community's upholding of the virtue of charity.
Electrodeposited metal nanocomposite catalysts utilizing the hexagonally ordered two-dimensional nanochannel arrays of anodic alumina

The generation of compositionally controlled metal catalysts is shown. Utilizing the extraordinary assembly of the nanochannel alumina template, monometallic and multimetallic nanowires were formed. The chemistry and electrodeposition processes of nanowire formation in the nanochannel alumina template is discussed. Methanol synthesis and the reverse water-gas shift reaction illustrate the use of controlled catalyst preparation on the product selectivity of these nanocomposites. Further studies are suggested to enhance activity of the catalyst and complete control of nanocomposite formation.
Class-E power amplifier

This thesis presents the design and implementation of a Class-E power amplifier implemented in 0.35 [mu]m CMOS. The rationale behind the selection of the final topology is discussed in detail. Comparisons are also drawn to other potential architectures used in practice. Design details of both gain and output stages are also presented. Theoretical work has been refined for use in a design setting. Many practical high-power RF design issues have also been addressed and discussed in detail. A customized test fixture was also devised to extract optimal performance from the amplifier. The final amplifier implemented was a fully differential device operating at 1.88 GHz. In general, the amplifier achieved its intended design specifications producing 185 mW with a power added efficiency of 38%.
Effect of circadian adenosine variations on synaptic transmission in rat hippocampal slices

Adenosine (AD), is a potent inhibitory neuromodulator which has been implicated in the regulation of sleep and arousal. The effect of this endogenous purine on neuronal excitability depends on its concentration in the extracellular space. The present study shows that the state of activity of laboratory rats determines the level of tonic inhibition by adenosine in hippocampal slices prepared from these animals. Slices taken at the end of the active period showed significantly more inhibition by adenosine, as determined by the effects of the A1 receptor blocker 8-CPT, compared to slices taken in the inactive state. The results support the proposed role of adenosine in regulation of sleep and arousal and point to the importance of the time of day at which slices for electrophysiological experiments are prepared.