VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Fear of heights: Foreign policy decision-making in the Israeli-Syrian conflict, 1988--2001

This dissertation investigates why leaders choose certain negotiating strategies when seeking peace with adversaries. In particular, this study examines whether a leader's beliefs are more determinative than a range of domestic and/or international factors in explaining their political behaviour. In order to accomplish this objective, this dissertation analyzes the beliefs of five Israeli prime ministers involved in peace talks with Syria during the period 1988-2001: Yitzhak Shamir, Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, Binyamin Netanyhau, and Ehud Barak. Specifically, the study focuses on whether the leaders valued the Golan Heights in instrumental and/or intrinsic terms and whether the prime ministers believed that Syria had the capacity to modify its behaviour towards Israel. An examination of the case studies suggests that leaders who valued the Golan Heights in purely instrumental terms were more likely to choose a land-for-peace strategy in peace negotiations with enemies than leaders who viewed the territory both in instrumental and intrinsic terms. Moreover, leaders who believed that an adversary had the ability to change were more likely to choose a land-for-peace strategy in peace negotiations with enemies than leaders who perceived opponents in static terms. The dissertation also reveals that the more restrictive the conditions attached to potential concessions, the more strongly the leader valued the Golan Heights in instrumental terms. The analysis refutes the main alternative explanations that leaders were influenced by public opinion, coalitional dynamics, party affiliation and/or pressure from the United States, in their selection of a land-for-peace or peace-for-peace negotiating strategy. Rather, this study argues that Israeli prime ministers had the capacity to affect political outcomes. No other combination of reasons provides a sufficient explanation for their behaviour and one cannot obtain a fully satisfactory account of Israeli foreign policy by focusing exclusively on domestic and/or international factors. Although domestic and/or international factors played a role in influencing a prime minister's actions, a leader's personality was a necessary component of any outcome.
Late Antique and Byzantine papyri in the collection of the Friedrich-Schiller-Universitaet Jena

The Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany, houses a collection of ca. 2000 papyri from Egypt inscribed in several different languages, principally Greek. In this dissertation, I edit thirty-four previously unpublished Greek documents, offering for each papyrus a transcription of the Greek text, English translation and extensive commentary. The texts span the late 3rd through the 6th century AD, and thematic similarities allow me to elaborate on certain topics related to Late Antique and Byzantine Egypt, such as grain transport, property surveying, estate management, and wine production and distribution. The edition is divided into several general categories. Documents 1--7 are all more-or-less precisely dated. 8--13 constitute a dossier of grain shipping receipts issued to a certain Macarius, son of Pabion. 18--20 offer important evidence for the practice of property surveying in the fifth/sixth century. 23--28 provide insight into the daily operations of an Egyptian estate. Finally, 30--34, a small dossier of wine accounts, afford some of the best evidence we have for bookkeeping procedures on estates in connection with the annual vintage. In addition to illuminating different aspects of Late Antique and Byzantine Egypt, this dissertation also challenges longstanding assumptions about the acquisition history of some of the pieces in the Jena collection.
Lpin1: A new p53 regulated gene induced by DNA damage and glucose withdrawal and its involvement in fatty acid oxidation

The upregulation and activation of the p53 tumour suppressor gene in response to a variety of stress signals leads to cell cycle arrest and DNA repair, senescence or apoptosis. In addition to these functions, emerging evidence indicates a role for p53 in regulating metabolism. p53 was recently shown to be phosphorylated by AMPK in response to glucose withdrawal. p53 has also been shown to regulate expression of genes involved in mitochondrial respiration as well as glycolysis. In this study, we provide further evidence for a role of p53 in metabolism. We show that p53 protein is phosphorylated and accumulates in myoblasts cultured under low glucose conditions. Surprisingly, phosphorylation of p53 at Ser-15 in this context occurs in an ATM-dependent but AMPK-independent manner. Furthermore, we identify a new p53-regulated gene, Lpin1, which encodes lipin1. Lpin1 is essential for fat metabolism and mutation in this gene is responsible for the lypodystrophy phenotype in fld mice. Lpin1 was also demonstrated to regulate fatty acid oxidation in transgenic mice. We show that Lpin1 is induced in response to DNA damage and glucose deprivation in a p53-dependent manner in cell lines as well as tissues. In addition, we show that Lpin1 regulates fatty acid oxidation under normal and reduced glucose conditions.

Keywords: Molecular biology
Wrongful convictions in Canada and defence counsel: It's time for mandatory professional education and competency safeguards

The role of defence counsel in criminal proceedings is fundamental to the concept of a fair trial. However, along with investigators, prosecutors and judges, defence counsel may not always provide a sufficient safeguard against the occurrence of wrongful convictions. The study of how innocent people come to this fate, and how it might be avoided, illustrates that better understanding of the role played by the defence, and better law school and mandatory, continuing professional education can be an extremely important factor that can improve the administration of criminal justice. This is an overwhelming view that has not yet manifested itself in rules governing the defence bar specifically or the legal profession at large. In light of the wrongful conviction experience and systemic response in the United States, England and Australia, the time for mandatory continuing professional education in Canada has come.
The role of gender ovarian cycling on skeletal muscle metabolism during ischemia

Ischemic skeletal muscle (SKM) uses (1) glucose via anaerobic glycolysis, resulting in tissue lactate accumulation, and (2) creatine phosphate (CP) to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Gender and ovarian cycling affect SKM carbohydrate metabolism. Thus, females were predicted to have lower SKM ATP levels during ischemia due to reduced anaerobic glycolysis and CP depletion compared to males, which would depend on phase of ovarian cycle. SKM ATP, CP and lactate levels (?moles/g dry weight) measured in hind-limb biopsies sampled at 3, 10, 15, 30 and 45 minutes of ischemia in anesthetized adult male (n = 14) and female (n = 36) Sprague-Dawley rats. During ischemia SKM ATP-lactate levels were the same between genders, but CP levels of females were significantly greater at 3 and 10 minutes of ischemia compared to males. Ovarian cycling had minor effects on ATP-CP-lactate profiles during ischemia. Thus, gender and phase of ovarian cycle were not factors in metabolic response of ischemic SKM.
Running, neurogenesis and learning: Are they related?

Rodents that participate in voluntary wheel running have enhanced adult neurogenesis in the dentate gyros and also demonstrate improved performance in tests of spatial learning, suggesting that new neurons could be responsible for improved learning. However, research that used irradiation to ablate new neurons suggests that learning the spatial tasks, like Morris water maze hidden platform task, is not highly dependent on neurogenesis. This is in contrast to several other hippocampal tasks that are clearly dependent on neurogenesis. To address this controversy, we considered the effects of running-enhanced and irradiation-depleted neurogenesis on two hippocampal-dependent spatial learning tasks: context dependent fear conditioning and a Morris water maze (MWM) task. Three experiments were done to test the relationship between neurogenesis, running and learning. We conclude that neurogenesis is essential for ability to learn that a context can be fearful but does not appear to be necessary for navigation in a spatial maze. Therefore some hippocampal-dependent tasks are neurogenesis-dependent while others are not.
Experiences of women teachers in the Northern Areas of Pakistan

This thesis studies five women teachers of the Aga Khan Education Service schools in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. It examines how these women manage their responsibilities in the traditional home domain in conjunction with their commitments as teachers. The thesis inquires whether their act of taking up a profession is an attempt to redefine the place of women in the patriarchal culture of the mountain communities of the Northern Areas and examines the extent to which this patriarchy itself is responding to new economic realities. The use of qualitative life history identifies the connection between women teachers' experiences and their present day and historical social context. The study indicates that these women teachers are part of the major socio-economic changes taking place in this mountainous region as it shifts from a subsistence to a cash economy. The study also reveals that patriarchy continues to direct women's lives. Some flexibility in patriarchal norms has allowed women's paid work, which has expanded the traditional familial boundaries and has enabled women to exert some influence on their families and communities. The participants have been able to make only slight changes in traditional patriarchal norms and gendered task division, which still prevail in the wider community and in the organization for which they work. The study is significant as it places the voices of the participants in their broader social and historical context while documenting the historical transition in their lives. It contributes new insights to the literature on women teachers and thus provides some guidance to educators working with or in similar situations. Education and employment became accessible to women in the 1970s. Since then, some women have become teachers and have been involved in community development. The interconnectedness of families, schools and communities blur the boundaries between these spheres of women's work; rather they overlap, so that the women and many other actors rotate through them in "multi-layered cyclic routines." The juxtaposition of women's paid jobs and traditional familial roles has created tensions and has increased women's workloads. The indigenous patriarchal extended families have both aided and hindered the women teachers. The practice of sharing childcare, household and farming tasks helped them fulfill their professional and community commitments. However, the familial demand that teachers continue to do their share of these tasks and remain on the land has created tensions which hinder the participants' work and career aspirations.

Keywords: Women teachers, Pakistan
The history of the rational reconstruction of science

This dissertation draws on research into Carnap's early relationship with the Neo-Kantian tradition carried out by Alan Richardson and Michael Friedman. The Neo-Kantians argued that in order to establish an objective account of knowledge, the immediate experiences of subjective consciousness had to be reconstructed. Rekonstruktion, Nachkonstruktion, and similar cognates described a method for objectifying these subjective elements. These reconstructions are not deduced from experience, but rather constructed to meet logical demands, and metaphysical confusion would result from inferring their reality. It is this tradition of epistemology that informs, in part, Carnap's conception of rational reconstruction. Although Carnap rejects psychologism in the Aufbau, he nevertheless argues that the object of analysis is cognition. "Rational reconstruction", however, signifies that epistemology is not concerned with actual thoughts and beliefs, but rather with the propositions that logical analysis will yield. Carnap realized that the Aufbau formulation remained overly psychologistic and he eventually adopted the term "explication" to characterize conceptual analysis, which reflects a somewhat delayed appreciation of Frege's description of conceptual analysis. However, the relationship between logical form and the object of epistemological analysis remained problematic; a view evinced by Carnap's introduction of "foundedness" in the Aufbau. A solution to this problematic relationship is offered by Carnap's later meta-language distinction. However, the problematic relationship between the objects of epistemological analysis and their logical form persists throughout the career of the concept of rational reconstruction and is even found in Lakatos' later revival of the notion. This dissertation is an investigation into the history of the concept of rational reconstruction. "Rational reconstruction" (rationale nachkonstruktion) was a term adopted by Rudolf Carnap to describe the epistemological method of analysis in der Logische Aufbau der Welt (1928). The terminology and method proliferated with the rise of logical empiricism. It implies that the philosophy of science should concern itself with the logical form of scientific theories and propositions. For many logical empiricists, rational reconstruction was to become the method of philosophy.
Utility of competing risks in analyzing outcomes of repair of congenital heart defects

Background and objectives. Congenital heart disease outcomes analysis often involves competing endpoints. Generation of clinically relevant competing risks (CR) models providing therapeutic inferences is demonstrated. Conclusions. CR is useful in analyzing outcomes after congenital heart surgery. Clinically relevant multivariable models demonstrating the impact of important risk factors on outcomes can be generated. For ACHD, CR defined prevalence of hospital mortality (4.5%) and discharge (95.5%). Single CR model simultaneously analyzed mortality and LOS and illustrated risk factor impact on early outcomes. Results. In PAIVS, CR prevalence of 15-year end-states were: 2-ventricle repair, 33%; Fontan, 20%; pre-repair death, 38%; other, 9%. Morphologically-driven institutional protocols mitigate impact of unfavorable morphology. Methods. CR methodology was used to quantify cumulative incidence and risk factors for: (1) death and definitive repair states in 408 neonates with pulmonary atresia-intact ventricular septum (PAIVS); (2) hospital mortality and discharge in 1351 adult congenital cardiac operations (ACHD).
Application of rigid body impact mechanics and discrete element modeling to rockfall simulation

Numerical modeling can assist in predicting falling rock trajectories and reducing the destruction caused by rockfalls. The majority of existing rockfall simulations are based on particle or lumped-mass models that consider the falling rock as an infinitesimal particle with a concentrated mass. Hybrid models usually find the rock-slope contact point using techniques similar to those used in particle models, while incorporating some aspects of the rigid body collisions for bouncing. There are also some rigid body models that employ simplified mathematical impact models. In the framework of this thesis, the applications of rigid body theory and discrete element modeling to rockfall simulation are investigated. A modified version of the discrete element model (MDEM), which can model impacts using methods similar to low-compliance impact models, is offered. In this model, the normal linear dashpot is replaced by a nonlinear dashpot which dissipates the impact velocity based on the contact normal velocity. A mono-direction sliding unit is added to model low-compliance impacts and the tangential dashpot is removed. Several numerical tests strongly indicate that if shape geometries can be sufficiently approximated by a group of particles, the proposed MDEM can replicate the rebound velocities that are predicted by the application of low compliance rigid body impact models. Application of rigid body impact mechanics (RBIM), originally developed by Stronge, in rockfall simulation is studied and compared with other classical rockfall impact models. The effects of several parameters on widely-used coefficients of restitution are investigated including: rock geometry and slenderness, angle of impact, rock orientation, and slope material properties. A new geometrical rockfall simulation program, GeoRFS, based on rigid body mechanics in two-dimensional space, is developed, where rock geometry can vary from prisms with a randomly generated polygonal cross section to superellipsoids. The trajectories of different rock geometries (e.g., roll-out distances, bounce heights, velocities, and energies) during multiple impacts on flat and inclined impact surfaces are studied. The results strongly suggest that the provided simulation program can satisfactorily replicate the roll-out distances obtained from the in-situ tests performed by the Oregon Department of Transportation using different rock geometries. It is expected that the geometrical simulation tools introduced in this work will replace the particle impact model currently used in rockfall programs.
Contributions of insulin resistance and release to the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes in the MKR mouse

In the MKR mouse model, the insulin and IGF-1 signaling pathways in skeletal muscle are attenuated, leading to insulin resistance. Muscle specific resistance leads to peripheral insulin resistance and hyperglycaemia within weeks. Post diabetes, these mice fail to elicit a biphasic insulin response to glucose unlike the WT mice, likely due to a severe loss of beta-cell glucose responsiveness. A decrease in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) was validated in vitro using isolated islets. We hypothesized that insulin resistance in MKR mice leads to impaired GSIS and precipitates diabetes, and that an alleviation of insulin resistance would likely improve glucose homeostasis. Treatment of MKR mice with several regimes involving improvements in whole body insulin sensitivity lead to an improvement, if not restoration, of normal glucose homeostasis and insulin secretion. Thus, in the MKR mice, severe insulin resistant conditions contribute to beta-cell dysfunction and T2DM.
Periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs) - a new class of organic-inorganic hybrid nanocomposites

Synthetic routes to a new class of hybrid organic-inorganic materials called periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs) through self-assembly were developed. The mesoporous materials contain organic and inorganic groups linked together at a molecular level inside the framework. For the synthesis, hydrolysable and polymerizable bridged poly(trialkoxysilyl)organic monomers which are obtained either commercially or synthesized through various organic and organometallic synthetic routes from readily available reagents undergo self-assembly in the presence of surfactant micelles and liquid-crystals to result in ordered mesostructured materials containing various organic and organometallic functional groups uniformly distributed in the walls. Similar synthetic routes from the co-condensation of organotrialkoxysilanes and tetralkoxysilanes afforded terminal organic functionalized mesoporous materials and some of which have the highest loading of terminal organic groups. Further combination of the above two methods resulted in novel bifunctional and multifunctional PMO materials that have two or more than two different kinds of organic functional groups and properties. The various chemical, physical, thermal and surface properties of the resulting porous materials were studied and some unique properties were observed. The accessibility of the bridging and/or terminal functional groups has been investigated through in-situ reactions. Unprecedented thermal transformations in some PMOs resulted in new hybrid ordered mesoporous and microporous materials. The inclusion of organic functional groups in a highly ordered and high surface area and pore volume containing mesoporous material is a potentially efficient way to modify the chemical, thermal, mechanical and physical properties of the material as well as to make it useful as a platform for various applications in catalysis, separations, and nanoelectronics and as membranes, electrodes, and sensors. Moreover, the diverse possibility of incorporating various chiral, saturated, unsaturated, aromatic, organometallic, electroactive, conjugated chromophore, hydrophobic, and hydrophilic organic groups and the possibility of making these materials with various pore sizes, and in the form of various shapes and thin films will potentially bring many of the aforementioned applications into reality in the near future. For example, the successful preparation of sulphonic and amine functionalized PMO materials and their solid acid and solid base properties, respectively for potential heterogeneous catalysis and separation applications are also discussed.
Classifying lifestyles: a re-examination of the drug-crime nexus among Toronto high-school youth

An extensive body of research reveals the strong relationship between psychoactive substance use, delinquency, and criminality. The drug-crime relationship is constructed in a number of ways, as direct, reciprocal, spurious, and independent. Much of the existing research examines the direct relationship between substance use and criminality, and focuses upon specific events in which these two behaviours interact. Less well known is the nature of the drug-crime relationship as part of broad, deviant lifestyle. This thesis adopts the recent work of Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) in order to re-examine the drug-crime nexus as part of a deviant lifestyle. Analyses are based on data from the Toronto Youth Crime & Victimization Survey (TYCVS). The TYCVS is a random survey of 3,393 adolescents attending 31 high schools across Toronto. The objectives of this thesis are: (1) to test whether the relationship between psychoactive substance use, delinquency, and criminality is spurious; (2) to assess whether adolescent exhibit specialization or versatility in their psychoactive substance use, and how this shapes specialization or versatility in non-drug offending; and (3) to identify a typology that helps to classify adolescents by their patterns of psychoactive substance use, delinquency, and criminality. Throughout, gender differences in the drug-crime relationship are explored. Findings provide support for the examination of the drug-crime nexus as a lifestyle. First, the relationship between substance use and criminality is not spurious. Rather, the social processes that explain involvement with drugs are unique from those that account for criminality. Second, adolescents tend to exhibit both specialization and versatility in their substance use. This in turn affects patterns of involvement in non-drug offending. Specialization in substance use is correlated with specialization in non-drug offending, while versatility in substance use is clearly linked to offending versatility. Third, distinct clusters of adolescents are differentiated by their substance use and criminality, as well as the frequency and seriousness of their involvement. These findings suggest that we cannot treat the drug-crime relationship homogeneously; rather, the myriad of groupings by which substance use and criminality interconnect challenge assumptions that most drug use is linked to crime. Theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.