VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Narratives of (non) suffering in Dominican legendaries: Explorations and explanations

The purpose of this thesis is twofold. Part I demonstrates how Dominican abbreviated legendaries of the thirteenth century limited discussions of pain experienced by the saints when compared to earlier lives of the same saints, while Part II provides possible explanations for this trend. Part II suggests possible reasons why the Dominican texts seem to diminish narratives of pain but concludes that the most pressing cause for this trend is linked with Dominican theories of Christology. Beginning in the mid-thirteenth century, Dominican theological treatises, such as the Sentences Commentaries of Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas come to argue that Christ's pain was greater than any anguish experienced by a saint. These commentaries were influential in the training of new Dominican preachers and it is possible, perhaps probable, that the authors of the legendaries were familiar with their content. This is most easily discerned in the Legenda aurea, which resonates closely with Thomas Aquinas' discussion of the severity of Christ's pain, even as it diminishes narratives of pain in other saints' lives. Part II concludes with the suggestion that the Dominican spiritual and intellectual milieu of the mid thirteenth century was responsible both for the increased emphasis upon Christ's pain in Dominican authored Sentences commentaries and the diminished narratives of saintly pain found in their legendaries. To establish that Dominican legendaries such as Bartholomew of Trent's Liber epilogorum in gesta sanctorum, Jean de Mailly's Abbreviatio in gestis et miraculis sanctorum, Vincent of Beauvais' Speculum historiale, and Jacobus de Voragine's Legenda aurea diminished narratives of suffering, a number of lives contained within them were contrasted with their possible sources. By comparing the number of allusions to pain in earlier lives to those in the legendaries, and by investigating certain deletions and additions in the Dominican authored lives that mitigate the saint's experience of pain, Part I demonstrates that the legendaries do limit some portrayals of suffering.
Doing moral work: a critical analysis of living with HIV

HIV/AIDS emerged at a time when the nature of society was being redrawn into a broader neo-liberal political rationality, and fundamental questions about 'who is responsible for individual health' were being asked. As such, HIV/AIDS emerged within a paradigm of responsibility. This dissertation is concerned with how a broad range of neo-liberal values (including 'risk', being responsible, self-reliant, and contributing to society) impact the lives of people living with HIV (PHAs). The data for this dissertation were drawn from a larger study of PHAs in the Hamilton, Ontario region. The narratives of nineteen PHAs were used and were analyzed using Foucault's 'governmentality' theory. Utilizing the concept of 'moral work'---a general life comportment characterized by a cluster of ways of thinking, behaving and acting---this dissertation shows that the ways in which PHAs 'carry out of their lives' is intimately linked to the neo-liberal principles of individual responsibility and self-reliance. The concept of 'moral work' is used to describe the everyday health-related activities engaged in by PHAs, including being vigilant about all aspects of their health, listening to experts, and modifying their lifestyles. Then, the concept of moral work is used to describe the everyday life-related activities of PHAs, including taking responsibility for their HIV infection, protecting others from the burden of their disease, and making contributions to society. Finally, the concept of moral work is applied to the work that is done on the 'self' to be a responsible and good PHA. The implications of this moral work for subjectivity are considered.
Effects of hyperinsulinemia, insulin sensitivity, and other factors associated with the insulin resistance syndrome on colorectal epithelial proliferation and carcinogenesis in rats

The similar lifestyle risk factors for the development of colorectal cancer (CRC) and the insulin resistance syndrome, as noted by McKeown-Eyssen and Giovannucci, suggests common underlying pathogenic mechanisms. The hypothesis is: high levels of circulating insulin, glucose, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), and/or triglycerides, associated with insulin resistance, increase colorectal epithelial proliferation and promote carcinogenesis. This hypothesis was tested in three animal studies. (1) Carcinogen (azoxymethane)-initiated rats were given subcutaneous injections of insulin or saline. The number of colorectal tumours was increased in rats receiving insulin. (2) Initiated rats were fed diets containing a range of saturated fat as beef tallow. Insulin sensitivity was assessed directly with the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp, and indirectly with fasting and post-glucose load levels. Tumor promotion was assessed by multiplicity of aberrant crypt foci (ACF). Promotion was associated with direct measures of insulin sensitivity and post-load insulin levels. (3) Normal rats received intravenous infusions of insulin, glucose, and/or Intralipid. Insulin, alone or with Intralipid, increased proliferation. An integrative summary follows. (1) Studies investigating hyperinsulinemia demonstrated that: (i) injections of insulin promoted colorectal tumors; (ii) post-load insulin levels were correlated with multiplicity of ACF; and (iii) intravenous infusion of insulin increased proliferation. Thus, insulin appears to be a growth factor for colorectal epithelial cells in rats. (2) Hyperglycemia, as assessed by fasting and post-load levels or induced during intravenous infusions with insulin, did not appear to be important in proliferation or carcinogenesis. (3) Studies examining hyperlipidemia showed no association between ACF and fasting lipid levels, and no effect on proliferation after Intralipid infusion. However, lipids may indirectly affect proliferation and carcinogenesis through hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance. (4) Insulin sensitivity, as assessed directly with a hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp, and indirectly by post-load insulin levels, was associated with multiplicity of ACF. In conclusion, these results add biological plausibility to the hypothesis that hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance may lead to increased colorectal epithelial proliferation and promotion of colorectal carcinogenesis.
Impact of education on culture: case study of the Vietnamese women immigrants in Southwestern Ontario from 1975-1995

The purpose of this research was to study the culture changes of a group of Vietnamese women immigrants in Ontario from 1975 to 1995. The first objective was to investigate if these women changed their perceptions of the Vietnamese culture described in eleven concepts. The second objective was to find out if these women transferred these culture changes into their families. The sample comprised a group of women who fitted the criteria of the study: having an education in Canada (formal, informal, and non-formal), emigrated to Canada from 1975 to 1995, from the age groups of 20 to 60. A total of 34 respondents participated in the research. The methodology included the pilot study of the questionnaire, a survey of an open-ended questionnaire sent to the participants using the convenience and snowball sampling techniques. Some interviews, over the telephone and face-to-face, were needed for data clarification. Participant observations and written documents were also used in the data collection to back up the research. The data findings indicate that the participants more or less changed their perceptions of the Vietnamese culture in every category, and the changes also occurred within their families. But the complete changes with 100 percent happened in three areas: bigamy, decision-making rights, and relationships between parents and children. Education had an impact on the culture for these Vietnamese women immigrants as they came into contact with Canadian people. It provided them the necessary awareness that they could liberate themselves from male oppression, and become equal partners with Vietnamese men.

Keywords: Women, Vietman
Women immigrants, Ontario
English language, Study and teaching
Educational sociology
Vietnamese, Ontario
Minority women, Education
Minority women, Ontario
A retrospective, cohort study of the quality of acute myocardial infarction care in Ontario, Canada

Introduction. Increasing demands from patients for accountability from health care providers has lead to an interest in the quality of health care for diseases posing a large, economic and health burden, such as acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, relatively little is known about the quality of cardiac care provided in Canada. To address these issues, we developed quality indicators for measuring and improving AMI care in Canada, compared the quality of care provided to elderly and non-elderly residents of Ontario, and developed a statistical model to predict 30-day mortality after an AMI in Ontario. Methods. Trained chart abstractors collected demographic and clinical information from 44 hospitals in Ontario for 5,131 AMI patients admitted between fiscal years 1994–1996 to form the Enhanced Feedback for Effective Cardiac Treatment (EFFECT 1) database. A modified-Delphi panel approach was employed to develop a set of AMI quality indicators from a national expert panel of nine health care practitioners. These quality indicators were then tested in the EFFECT 1 database, and results between the elderly and non-elderly were compared. Logistic regression analysis using backward elimination was performed to determine clinical predictors of 30-day AMI mortality. Results. A comprehensive set of Canadian AMI quality indicators were developed including inpatient, pharmacological, process of care indicators. These indicators were then applied to the EFFECT 1 data set (N = 5,131) and demonstrated underutilization of evidence-based therapies across all age groups. The odds of ideal (i.e., no contraindications to therapy) elderly candidates receiving treatment were consistently less than that of the non-elderly with the exception of ACEIs at discharge (OR: 1.46 [95% CI: 1.22–1.74]). A simple, six variable (age, cardiac arrest, shock, pulmonary edema, systolic blood pressure, white blood cell count) logistic regression model with good discriminatory ability (c statistic = 0.81) was developed and validated to predict AMI mortality. Conclusion. The quality of AMI care can be measured using a series of AMI quality indicators and an AMI mortality prediction rule. Our results suggest that significant opportunities exist for further AMI quality improvement initiatives in Canada.
Recruitment and retention strategies for rehabilitation professionals

The purpose of this thesis is to identify important and feasible recruitment and retention strategies for rehabilitation professionals in hospital and home care settings, to ultimately assist in the development of a rehabilitation health human resource (HHR) plan relevant to the Ontario setting. The study methodology included a modified-delphi process using two expert panels and an online survey distributed to all employers of rehabilitation professionals in Ontario hospitals (n=144) and Community Care Access Centre home care providers (n=34). Key recruitment and retention strategies that were identified for rehabilitation therapists regardless of setting included: communication between employer and worker, compensation packages, access to research, and professional development in budget planning. Tangible resources, support personnel, work safety and marketing rehabilitation careers to high school students were ranked significantly higher among hospitals than home rare The three main areas of focus for HHR planning in the rehabilitation sector should include strategies addressing Quality of Worklife and Work Environment, Financial Incentives and Marketing and Professional Development.
Sensitizing tumor vascular endothelial cells to anti-angiogenic therapy

The expansion of a tumor mass beyond microscopic sizes is largely contingent on the recruitment of a vascular network. Interference of this angiogenic process impedes the delivery of nutrients and oxygen to the tumor such that tumors often stop growing, and in certain cases even start regressing. Unlike conventional anti-cancer strategies that directly target the tumor compartment, various anti-angiogenic strategies are instead directed towards the vascular compartment. Because the endothelial cells (ECs) that comprise the tumor vessels are genetically stable, such therapies would presumably circumvent or significantly delay acquired drug resistance, a major limitation of current therapies. Together, these studies show that the abundance of angiogenic growth factors within the tumor mass may provide robust survival signals for vascular ECs, which in turn appear to be drug resistant. Because this drug resistance mechanism is not driven by EC genetic mutations, it is expected that specifically abrogating EC survival mechanisms would sensitize ECs to a number of anti-angiogenic treatment strategies. Hence, these studies provide a rationale for the judicious combination of anti-angiogenic strategies with agents that interfere with EC survival. Such strategies could include the use of conventional chemotherapeutic drugs, particularly microtubule inhibitors such as paclitaxel, taxotere, vinblastine and epothilone B, as de facto antioangiogenic EC targeting agents. We further show that VEGF, particularly when combined with bFGF, allows vascular ECs to resist the cytotoxic effects of various chemotherapeutic drugs including tubulin-interfering and DNA damaging agents. Moreover, in the absence of any vascular growth factors, the overexpression of survivin could recapitulate this phenomenon while the overexpression of a dominant-interfering mutant of survivin could abrogate VEGF-mediated survival. Thus, it is possible that VEGF promotes EC chemoresistance primarily, or at least in part, though the induction of survivin. Here, we show that the high concentration of survival factors present within the tumor microenvironment may permit ECs to survive in otherwise cytotoxic conditions. Indeed, we and others show that various angiogenic growth factors, including Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), can induce a robust survival response in ECs secondary to the activation of downstream survival pathways. In particular, the activation of the survivin pathway is shown to play a pivotal role in the survival of ECs as a result of activation by various angiogenic factors including VEGF and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and more recently angiopoietin 1 (Ang1) and placental-like growth factor (PlGF).
Two-stage financial risk tolerance assessment using Data Envelopment Analysis

Questionnaires administered by financial advisors to assess financial risk tolerance are embedded with stereotypes, have seemingly unscientific scoring approaches and treat risk as a one-dimensional concept. In this work, a novel survey tool using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was developed to assess relative risk tolerance. It is essentially a questionnaire that characterizes risk by its five distinct elements: propensity, attitude, capacity, knowledge, and time horizon. Results from surveying over 250 individuals and analysis with Slacks-based measure type of DEA efficiency models show that the multidimensionality of risk must be considered for complete assessment of risk tolerance, and provide insight into the relationship between risk, its elements and other variables. In particular, the perception of risk varies by gender. The tool could ultimately serve as a "risk calculator" which might provide legal compliance to the "Know Your Client" rule for financial institutions, their advisors and any applicable Web-based investment transactions.
Exploring genetic redundancy and uniqueness in Arabidopsis using a bioinformatics approach

Genetic redundancy is a common phenomenon in Arabidopsis thaliana and is thought to be responsible for the lack of phenotype in a majority of single loss-of-function mutants. The availability of large-scale public gene expression data sets, enabled bioinformatics approaches to be used to study this concept. During this study, a database, the Botany Array Resource (BAR) was set up for the collection and management of Arabidopsis expression data along with data mining tools for their meaningful exploration. A list of 'redundant' genes was generated using BAR. From this list two pairs of genes were selected for biological validation. In this study, we show absence of redundancy at the phenotypic level for our so-called redundant gene pairs. Finally, we introduce a novel tool that using gene expression data can help in investigating genetic redundancy and uniqueness at the expression level and help guide hypothesis generation. This tool is available at http://bbc.botany.utoronto.ca/agurr.
Validation of two standard risk assessments (RRASOR, 1997; STATIC-99, 1999) on a sample of adult males who are developmentally disable with significant cognitive deficits

Problematic sexual behaviours in men with developmental disabilities often severely stigmatize, restrict, and limit the success of these individuals in our communities. Two actuarial risk assessments, the Rapid Risk Assessment of Sex Offender Recidivism (RRASOR) and the STATIC-99, developed for men with average intelligence, were applied to a population of men with significant cognitive deficits (N = 76). Analyses revealed that many factors that predict sexual reoffence in normative samples also predict reoffence in this sample. The 4 item RRASOR, outpredicted the 11 item STATIC-99. This may indicate a wider latitude of application to more diverse populations for the more generalizable RRASOR. Actuarial risk assessment can be used to better rationalize treatment and supervision resources thereby improving quality of treatment, community access and community safety. Future research should increase sample size and focus on the prospective investigation of dynamic predictors in samples of individuals with developmental disabilities.

Keywords: Sex offenders, Psychological aspects
Recidivism
Cognition disorders, Psychological aspects
Abnormalities, Human
Men, Sexual beharior
Sex crimes
Intellectual disability
An elusive quest for democracy and development in a globalized world: the political economy of HIV

This dissertation deepens our understanding of public policymaking for the case of HIV/AIDS and health-related policies in Mexico, within the context of the current process of economic, political and social globalization. More concretely, it reveals significant changes on HIV/AIDS and health-related policies in the last 15 years and points to a series of democratic openings in this area, which are part of a broader process of democratization and sustainable human development. The central argument is that the emergence of what are defined as national and international HIV/AIDS policy networks functions as a catalyst for the success of existing domestic actors in their efforts to advance their concerns and influence policy outcomes. This, in turn, represents an increasing participation of a broader set of actors, some of whom have been traditionally marginalized, such as sexual minorities. Although the present study is limited to one issue area, namely HIV/AIDS, it is argued that the openings observed and the relatively increasing inclusiveness are likely to have long-lasting effects on the democratization of health public policymaking and implementation as a whole. Beyond the Mexican case, this analysis is of particular significance for other countries of the global South. Its significance is due to the increasing impact of the globalization process at the domestic level and the emergence of internationalized policy environments. Its importance lies also on the need to investigate the ways in which organized civil society groups respond to some of the negative effects that recent global macroeconomic reforms have had on the health of the poor and marginalized; further accentuating their vulnerability - both globally and locally.
"A time to play, a time to work" :concepts of recreation and the early modern English stage, 1567-1625

In this study I explore how different concepts of play informed the ways in which theatrical culture was perceived by a range of individuals and institutions in Elizabethan and Jacobean London. Given that various components of the culture—such as players and playhouses—were often defined in terms of the ludic sphere, I investigate the extent to which notions of theatre were conditioned by competing ideas of recreation. While critics have done much to reveal links between drama and playing, they have largely failed to address this fundamental question, examining instead the thematic and formal impact of games, sports, and related phenomena on the dramatic process. I attempt to fill this gap through analysis of four distinct perceptions of play and their influence on the early modern understanding of the stage. Following most academic analyses of ludic activity, which contrast this activity to what is conventionally spoken of as the sphere of work or seriousness, I plot my own study along the play-work axis. Throughout the dissertation, I map the relationships between theatre and play within the framework of this traditionally held conceptual split. Specifically, I identify four basic views of recreation: (1) as play, not work, (2) as work, not play, (3) as neither play nor work, and (4) as play and work. While each chapter revolves around one such paradigm as reflected in discrete conceptions of theatre, each at the same time illuminates a facet of the cultural politics of drama at this point in English history. In particular, the four sections examine the above-mentioned paradigms in relation to issues of: (1) jigs and mimesis, (2) the question of authorship, (3) playgoing and the church, and (4) the mechanics of censorship. Through such analysis, I endeavour to illustrate how questions concerning the ontology or “status” of the world of playing figured prominently in a number of debates related to dramatic spectacle.
Slit/Robo signaling in neutrophil chemotaxis function

The recruitment of neutrophils to sites of inflammation is critical for host defense. However, neutrophil-mediated tissue damage is also a significant source of injury in many inflammatory conditions, including ischemia-reperfusion injury and rheumatoid arthritis. A localized, general inhibition of chemokines, the molecules that guide leukocyte trafficking, could be a useful strategy to combat inflammatory damage. Slit-2, together with its receptor, Roundabout, inhibit neuronal migration during development. Recent evidence suggests that Slit/Robo may also inhibit the migration of some leukocyte subsets. Here, we demonstrate that Slit-2 inhibits neutrophil chemotaxis by suppressing the activation of Rho GTPases Cdc42 and Rac2. However, Slit-2 does not significantly affect other neutrophil functions. Fcgamma-mediated phagocytosis, and adhesion to fibronectin surfaces and endothelial cells are not affected by Slit-2 treament, while superoxide production is mildly upregulated. Therefore, targeted delivery of Slit-2 could potentially inhibit localized inflammatory damage without generally suppressing systemic neutrophil function.