VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Canada's free trade policy experience, from economic adjustment to civil participation

The thesis inquires into the problematic of Canada's experience with 'free trade' pursued as a matter of public policy. It examines the institutionalization of 'free trade' by means of public policy and how it has affected Canada's policy capacity to facilitate a transition of its political economy to 'deeper global integration'. The dissertation argues that by default strictly economic circumstances had made embarking on the pursuit of 'free trade' necessary. As a matter of Canadian public policy the experience has proven to be problematic because, first, the public, nature of the 'free trade' initiative has largely been taken for granted, second, governments have dealt with its implications only incrementally, in a pragmatic, ad hoc manner and, third, the possibility that the 'free trade' policy may in fact harbor incompatible tendencies has largely been ignored. The study concludes that neglect to address the possibility of social and structural incongruities inhering in the pursuit of 'free trade' exacerbates the chronic 'legitimating deficit' and perpetuates policy incoherence. Evaluation of evidence highlights the urgency of re-embedding civil society into Canada's political economy in order to facilitate its transition from adjustment to participation in 'deeper global integration'.
The influences of geoclimatic site conditions, disturbance type and canopy composition on the composition of understorey vegetation of boreal mixedwoods

The conversion of conifer- to hardwood-dominated boreal forests in Ontario has been attributed to the effects of the mechanization of clear-cut logging within the last several decades. Little has been known, however, about the influence of this conversion on the composition of understorey vegetation. A survey of vegetation composition and edaphic conditions was conducted in 12 logged and 12 unlogged mature boreal mixedwood stands located in northeastern Ontario. Climatic and geological data were acquired from Canadian government sources. The bivariate and multivariate techniques were used to assess the contribution of the environmental variables to the vegetation composition. Understorey vegetation exhibited sensitivity to soil moisture/drainage regime, growing season length, canopy composition and edaphic factors related to site productivity. Results suggest that the mechanism by which the disturbance type influences understorey vegetation is based on the relationship between the proportion of hardwood in the canopy and composition of the understorey vegetation.
Effects of habitat complexity and aggressive interactions on predation risk of larval damselflies (Ischnura verticalis)

Many studies indicate prey organisms select micro-habitats with high structural complexity as a way of reducing risk of predation. I used laboratory experiments to show that damselfly larvae, Ischnura verticalis, suffer higher predation rates from pumpkinseed sunfish in low density vegetation. However, larvae do not preferentially occupy micro-habitats with high vegetation density in either the presence or absence of sunfish; when given a choice, number of larvae per stem of vegetation was equal across all densities of vegetation. That larvae do not congregate in dense vegetation may reflect costs of aggressive interactions. Results from further laboratory experiments indicated larval interactions increase conspicuous behaviours, most notably swimming, and consequently increase fish predation. A subsequent experiment provided evidence that frequency of larval interactions increases with increased vegetation density when number of larvae/stem is constant. Thus, larval micro-habitat selection may reflect a trade-off between reduced risk of predation in areas of high vegetation, caused by reduced fish foraging ability, and increased aggressive larval interactions, due to decreased proximity of larvae. Results from a field experiment indicated larvae do not preferentially colonize dense artificial vegetation patches; suggesting larval spacing in the lab is representative of field conditions.
Comparison of the effects of citalopram and fluoxetine on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of alprazolam in vivo

The SSRI antidepressant fluoxetine (Prozac®) inhibits alprazolam (Xanax®) metabolism by inhibition of the cytochrome p450 3A4 (CYP3A4) isozyme. Citalopram (Celexa®) is an SSRI antidepressant that has not been fully assessed with respect to its potential for CYP3A4-mediated drug interactions 'in vivo'. Building upon ' in vitro' studies that suggest a minimal effect of citalopram on CYP3A4, we hypothesized that citalopram (20mg), as compared to fluoxetine (20mg), may cause less impairment in the metabolism of the CYP3A4 probe drug alprazolam (1 mg) 'in vivo'. Single-dose alprazolam pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics were compared in 21 healthy volunteers before and after three weeks of citalopram or fluoxetine administration. Fluoxetine increased alprazolam area under the curve (AUC) (0-infinity) by 32%, and elimination half life (t1/2) by 14%, but did not effect a pharmacodynamic change. Citalopram caused only a prolongation of alprazolam Tmax. This study confirms the low potential for CYP3A4-mediated drug interactions with citalopram.
Marriage as political strategy and cultural expression, Mongolian royal marriages from World Empire to Yuan dynasty

This dissertation is a study of the Mongolian royal marriages from the World Empire (1206-1279) to the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368), focusing on the various aspects of the marriage strategies of the Mongol royal family and the political implications of these marriages. It also attempts to solve, by exploring the marriage partners of the Mongol royal family, the enigma of how and why an imperial marriage was arranged and determined, and to further reveal the relationship between the Mongol royal family and its marriage partners. This dissertation consists of eight chapters. Chapter One reviews the Mongolian marital tradition and probes the characteristics of the Mongolian royal marriages. Chapter Two discusses the Marriage Strategies and the political implication of the Mongolian royal marriages. Chapter Three analyzes the social position of Mongolian women and the political involvement of Mongolian empresses. Chapter Four to Chapter Eight describe the various marriage relationships between the Chinggisid clan and its marriage partners. The Onggirat tribe, the Ikires tribe, the Oirat tribe, the Korean royal family, the Öngût tribe, and the Uighur Idug-qut's Clan have been selected for examination. Based on the exploration, description, and discussion in the proceeding chapters, the dissertation concludes that the Mongolian imperial marriages during the 13th and 14th centuries were politically and militarily significant. The great ambitions of the Chinggisid clan for a maximum geographical expansion of the Mongol empire necessitated marriage strategies for an effective control of the realm. The effect of the political marriages of the Mongol royal family was largely justified by its successive domination over the allied tribes and states during the early period of the Mongol empire. The halo once placed on the strategy of Mongol royal marriage faded along with the decline of the Mongol empire.
Development of a knee joint for use in a paediatric swimming prosthesis for children with above-knee amputations

In response to a clinical need, a modular knee joint for use in a swimming prosthesis was designed and developed. Design criteria included the capability to lock the knee automatically on extension for support, in weight bearing and in motion, and to provide the capability to flex the knee to allow the child to sit and play at floor level. A 3-dimensional gait study of braced leg motion was conducted in an attempt to characterize the expected loads at the knee joint in using a locked knee device. A materials investigation, including materials testing, was undertaken to identify minimum material properties characteristics with regard to strength and chemical resistance for use in the construction of a prototype modular swimming knee. Using the expected loading and materials information as inputs a functional specification was developed and a single axis locking knee joint design was selected. Detailed design analysis was conducted, utilizing finite element analysis, to assist in final component sizing. Based on the results of the detailed design analysis, final design dimensions were proposed and a prototype was produced. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Protein translation initiation factors that interact with TTK

TTK is a serine-threonine-tyrosine kinase that was isolated and characterized in my host laboratory. As the role of TTK in mammalian cells is unknown, we used the yeast two-hybrid system to identify interacting proteins. Using the N-terminal domain of TTK as bait, we isolated several clones, two of which encoded the eukaryotic translation initiation factors-eIF4G-1 (p220/eIF4$\gamma$) and eIF4G-3 (DAP-5/NAT-1). My project involved the characterization and interaction of these proteins with TTK. In this thesis, I describe the isolation and characterization of the full-length cDNA for eIF4G-3 and the study of its interaction with TTK. The full-length cDNA of the clone eIF4G-3 was isolated through cDNA library screening and 5$\sp\prime$ RACE. Manual and automated sequencing yielded the complete sequence of the clone, predicting a protein of molecular mass 97 kDa. Northern blotting experiments showed that eIF4G-3 mRNA is ubiquitously expressed among the cell lines and tissues used. To confirm that TTK associates with the eIF4G-1 and eIF4G-3 initiation factors in mammalian cells, we carried out a series of co-immunoprecipitation experiments. I expressed eIF4G-1, eIF4G-3, eIF4G-3$\rm\sp{t},$ TTK and TTK$\sp{\rm m}$ (kinase-dead mutant) in COS cells using a vaccinia virus transient expression system. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Finite-state models with multiplicities, symbolic representation and reasoning

It is useful to add to the descriptiveness of finite-state models by placing weights, or multiplicities, on the transition. There is considerable 'ad hoc' work in the formal verification community on temporal logics for properties of such systems, largely for probabilistic multiplicities; also, there is a branch of automata theory dealing with transition multiplicities in a very general algebraic setting, but it has not, to date, been concerned with verification. This thesis attempts to bridge this gap by defining Kripke structures with transition multiplicities, and three variants of branching-time temporal calculus for stating computations over such transition systems. We present two decision-diagram varieties which may be useful for compact symbolic representation and reasoning in such systems; these varieties, shared DDs and edge-valued DDs, are generalizations to arbitrary algebras of structures already defined for numeric functions. Finally, we offer a simple symbolic model-checking algorithm for one of the temporal calculi.
Analysis of the motion simulation capabilities of reduced-degrees-of-freedom flight simulators

This thesis presents the results of a study conducted at the UTIAS Flight Simulation Laboratory on June 29-30, aimed at investigating the simulation realism that can be achieved using reduced-degrees-of-freedom flight simulator motion bases. The quality of motion produced by two different three-degrees-of-freedom motion bases was compared to that produced by a conventional six-degrees-of-freedom Stewart platform. The study involved two helicopter test pilots. The UTIAS Flight Research Simulator was used to simulate a Bell 205 helicopter for four different ADS-33 maneuvers and a Sea King helicopter for helicopter deck landings on a Canadian Patrol Frigate. Cooper-Harper handling qualities ratings for each maneuver were collected, along with motion rating scales, TLX workload ratings, questionnaires and pilot performance measures. The analysis of the results revealed that reduced-degrees-of-freedom motion bases are more than capable of producing motion quality comparable to that produced by the six-degrees-of-freedom motion base and serious thought should be given to the design of these potentially cheaper alternative motion bases for the application in modern flight simulation.
The effectiveness of a tutoring program, an in-depth study

Let's Learn is a tutoring program which matched children having problems with their schoolwork with young women who had recently completed a post high school seminary year. The program was evaluated at the end of its first year of operation utilizing a qualitative approach. Parents, children, tutors and teachers were interviewed to determine the effectiveness of the program. A number of parameters were used to establish satisfaction, communication, benefits, and self esteem. As well, tutoring methods were investigated by studying the manner in which errors were handled. The data established that the program was highly successful in that it met the needs of the children, as well as those of the tutors adequately, except for the area of communication where close to 40% of the respondents reported the need for increased communication.
Changing processes of social reproduction in the Northern Vietnamese countryside, an ethnographic study of Dong Vang Village (Red River Delta)

This is an anthropological study of the processes of social reproduction and transformation in the changing social formation in rural Vietnam, based on an historical and ethnographical understanding of the 'Ð '<math> <f> <a><ac><a><ac>o</ac><ac>&d4;</ac></a></ac><ac>&d13;</ac></a>n g<hsp sp="0.212">V<a><ac>a</ac><ac>&d13;</ac></a>ng</f> </math> village ('Hoàng Long' commune, 'Phú Xuyên' District, 'Hà Tây' Province). It is concerned with different circuits of reproduction of household enterprises in the relation between the countryside and the larger social formation and in the movement between the rural and the urban. First, by focusing on the social reproduction of Ð<math> <f> <rm><a><ac><a><ac>o</ac><ac>&d4;</ac></a></ac><ac>&d13;</ac></a> </rm><rm>ng<hsp sp="0.212">V<a><ac>a</ac><ac>&d13;</ac></a>ng </rm></f> </math>'s family enterprises through different periods, I highlight the dynamics between social and economic well-being (differentiation) and qualitative differences in sources of income (heterogeneity) in this rural and migrant community. I examine the unevenness of commodification processes within and between family enterprises, and how this unevenness results in increasing socio-economic differentiation and heterogeneity. By focusing on how kin and communal idioms are called forth and give form to social relations embedding material forces in contemporary Ð<math> <f> <rm><a><ac><a><ac>o</ac><ac>&d4;</ac></a></ac><ac>&d13;</ac></a> </rm><rm>ng<hsp sp="0.212">V<a><ac>a</ac><ac>&d13;</ac></a>ng </rm></f> </math>, I uncover the interplay between contradictory ideologies as they underpin the uneven commodification process. Second, I highlight the dynamic interfaces between Ð<math> <f> <rm><a><ac><a><ac>o</ac><ac>&d4;</ac></a></ac><ac>&d13;</ac></a> </rm><rm>ng<hsp sp="0.212">V<a><ac>a</ac><ac>&d13;</ac></a>ng </rm></f> </math> villagers and the Vietnamese socialist state at the local level, and how these interfaces are dialectically linked to the interaction between different interest groups within Ð<math> <f> <rm><a><ac><a><ac>o</ac><ac>&d4;</ac></a></ac><ac>&d13;</ac></a> </rm><rm>ng<hsp sp="0.212">V<a><ac>a</ac><ac>&d13;</ac></a>ng </rm></f> </math> community. I argue that only by conceiving the State-peasant interaction as an on-going process embedded in the specific historical power structure and ideological frameworks in each locale, can one visualize the mutual constitutiveness of the local and citizenry communities and the ways in which different clusters of local people come together in collective actions that lead to structural changes meaningful to them.
The development and characterization of a mouse model of aggressive fibromatosis

ß-catenin, a key mediator of Wnt signaling, is elevated in aggressive fibromatosis, a benign tumor of fibroblast origin. In two thirds of cases, somatic mutations in its regulatory phosphorylation sites results in protein stabilization. During Writ signaling, ß-catenin translocates into the nucleus where it participate in tcf/lef dependent transactivation. To study the effects of ß-catenin accumulation in fibroblasts, we generated a transgenic mouse that conditionally expresses stabilized ß-catenin under a tetracycline-responsive promoter. Dermal fibroblasts from transgenic animals administered tetracycline to express the stabilized ß-catenin transgene exhibited significantly elevated proliferation, motility, and invasiveness relative to uninduced control cells. Furthermore, transgene expression in four week old mice for four months resulted in the formation of nascent polyps in the small intestine and small multifocal aggressive fibromatosis in the muscle and dermis. These results indicate that ß-catenin stabilization induces fibroblasts to adopt a tumor cell phenotype, and is sufficient for the development of aggressive fibromatosis in mice.
Quantifying decreases in Parkinsonian rigidity with surgical intervention in the subthalamic nucleus

Electrical stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) has been shown to greatly improve rigidity, tremor and akinesia in MPTP-treated monkeys (Benazzouz et al. 1993), and more recently in parkinsonian patients (Kumar et al. 1998a; Limousin et al. 1995a). However, improvements remain subjectively evaluated using clinical rating scales like the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) (Lang and Fahn 1989). A force- and displacement-sensing device (Prochazka et al. 1997) was used to quantify changes in arm rigidity in fourteen parkinsonian patients treated with levodopa or stereotactic surgery involving implantation of deep brain stimulation electrodes into the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS). These results show that electrical stimulation of the STN is as effective in alleviating parkinsonian rigidity as L-Dopa, and the insertion of micro- and DBS electrodes into the STN during surgery had a "microsubthalamotomy" effect, producing a measurable clinical benefit to rigidity. This work was supported by a grant from the Parkinson Foundation of Canada.
Thomas Jefferson's Essay on the Anglo-Saxon Language in context, a study of Jefferson's analytical method

This dissertation shapes a context for Thomas Jefferson's "Essay on the Anglo-Saxon Language," in which he made radical propositions for the simplification of Old English grammar, in order to better understand the results of his analysis of the language. Central to the study is the concept of "utility," an important element of Jefferson's philosophy which is crucial to understanding his approach to scholarship. Jefferson preferred areas of study with clear utilitarian value, as his love of invention demonstrates, and so the dissertation first addresses how Old English met the criterion of utility. As a believer in the "Anglo-Saxon Myth" (which describes the Saxons as democrats fiercely committed to freedom), Jefferson saw in the Saxons an important example for the United States. He also believed the study of Old English would strengthen Modern English by elucidating the meanings of its words and promote neology by restoring the practice of forming new words by the combination of existing words and roots. Utility also affect the methods by which Jefferson analyzed the language: Jefferson borrowed from the techniques of natural classification, which had been designed to render knowledge of nature more useful to the natural historian. Since his own purpose was to ease the acquisition of Old English, and so render it more useful, the selection, tabulation and comparison of traits, the methodology of Linnaeus, suited him well. Chapter 1 introduces the concept of utility as it applies to Jefferson's scholarship, and explores the utility of history and education (both factors in his study of Old English). Possible influences on Jefferson's linguistic theory are also examined, and his methods of scholarship explicated. Chapter 2 explores the importance of language--and particularly of English--to republican society. Returning to the subject of history, Chapter 3 describes the evolution of the Anglo-Saxon myth and its use in the American colonies, and Chapter 4 describes Jefferson's own understanding of Anglo-Saxon history. Chapter 5 concludes the dissertation with a detailed discussion of the "Essay" itself, revealing how the context explored in previous chapters sheds light on Jefferson's understanding of Old English and its place in his thought.
Higher-order spatial discretization for turbulent aerodynamic flows

A higher-order algorithm has been developed for computing steady turbulent flow over two-dimensional airfoils. The algorithm uses finite-differences applied through a generalized curvilinear coordinate transformation, applicable to single- and multi-block grids. Numerical dissipation is added using the matrix dissipation scheme. Turbulence is modeled using the Baldwin-Lomax and Spalart-Allmaras models. The various components of the spatial discretization, including the convective and viscous terms, the numerical boundary schemes, the numerical dissipation, and the integration technique used to calculate forces and moments, have all been raised to a level of accuracy consistent with third-order global accuracy. The two exceptions, both of which proved not to introduce significant numerical error, are the first-order numerical dissipation added near shocks and the first-order convective terms in the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model. Results for several grid convergence studies show that this globally higher-order approach produces a dramatic reduction in the numerical error in drag. It can provide equivalent accuracy to a second-order algorithm on a grid with several times fewer nodes. For subsonic and transonic single-element cases, errors of less than two percent are obtained on grids with only 15,000 nodes while 4 times as many nodes are required for the second-order algorithm. Similar accuracy is obtained for a three element case on grids with only 73,000 nodes, a third of that required by the second-order algorithm. The results provide a convincing demonstration of the benefits of higher-order methods for practical flows.