VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Hypoxia in solid tumors and its impact on metastasis

Due to structural and functional abnormalities of the vasculature, the microenvironment of solid tumors differs from normal tissues, and is characterized by regions of acidic pH, low nutrient concentration, and hypoxia. Hypoxia exists both chronically, at a distance from blood vessels, and intermittently, due to fluctuations in blood flow. Clinically, hypoxia has been associated with aggressive disease and metastasis in several human malignancies. Some experimental data suggests that hypoxia may directly enhance the metastatic potential of tumor cells, although this has not been demonstrated in vivo. The goal of this thesis was to establish a system that would allow direct manipulation of tumor oxygenation in vivo, and to examine the effect of such manipulation on metastasis. Using this orthotopic model, we examined the relationship between hypoxia in the primary tumors and metastasis to lymph nodes and lungs (Chapter 4). We also examined the effects of the acute hypoxia treatment described previously. In the orthotopic cervical xenografts, the intermittent hypoxia treatment decreased the primary tumor growth rate, but accelerated lymph node metastasis. Since hypoxia is associated with metastasis in human cervical carcinoma, we developed a novel orthotopic murine model of human cervical carcinoma (Chapter 3) in order to extend the studies performed using the KHT system. The cell lines used were stably transfected to constitutively express green or red fluorescent proteins to allow optical monitoring of tumor growth and spread. The orthotopic tumors grew to involve the entire reproductive tract and metastasized initially to local lymph nodes and later to the lungs, a pattern consistent with the human disease. These studies suggest that intermittent hypoxia has the capacity to enhance the spontaneous metastasis of rodent tumors. In the future, the models developed will allow investigation of the molecular mechanisms involved in these effects. This work suggests that measurement of temporal fluctuations in oxygen concentration in human tumors might provide useful prognostic information. Initial experiments (Chapter 2) examined the effect of imposing chronic or intermittent hypoxia on the growth and metastasis of KHT murine fibrosarcoma tumors. It was found that daily exposure to fluctuating hypoxia enhanced the spontaneous metastasis of these tumors.
Supervisor localization: A top-down approach to distributed control of discrete-event systems

We study distributed control design for discrete-event systems (DES) in the framework of supervisory control theory. Our DES comprise multiple agents, acting independently except for specifications on 'global' behavior. The central problem investigated is how to synthesize 'local' controllers for individual agents such that the resultant controlled behavior is identical with that achieved by global supervision. The investigation is carried out with both language- and state-based models. In the language-based setting, a supervisor localization algorithm is developed that solves the problem in a top-clown fashion: first, compute a global supervisor, then decompose it into local controllers. For large-scale DES where a global supervisor might not be feasibly computable owing to state explosion, a decomposition-aggregation solution procedure is established. In the state-based setting, specifically that of 'state tree structures' (STS), a counterpart supervisor localization algorithm is developed having potential to exploit the known efficiency of STS for large-DES control design.
Colloidal nanostructures: A curiosity-driven investigation

In the present work we describe the results in our research on colloidal nanostructures. The synthesis in heterogeneous conditions of PbS nanocrystals, Bi2S3 nanocrystals and Bi2S 3 nanowires is here described highlighting the impact that such heterogeneous conditions have on the monodispersity and properties of such materials. The PbS nanocrystals are further investigated with respect to their extinction coefficient and oscillator strength which was found to be strongly dependent on size. A processing technique dubbed "nanocrystal plasma polymerization" has been developed which allows for the removal of the organic shell from colloidal nanocrystals without disturbing their individual properties, shape and size. By this technique we demonstrate the fabrication of arbitrary architectures endowed with mechanical flexibility and multifunctionality.
Labour goes to war: The CIO, the people's war, and the construction of a "new social order," Toronto, 1939--1945

The CIO related this narrative to working-class Canadians through new, union channels of communication and through a myriad of union-minded social interactions. Together---the CIO's narrative of victory and its subaltern public sphere that communicated this narrative---helped the CIO overcome formidable obstacles to organizing. The Canadian CIO's 1930s momentum had stalled by 1939, but by 1944 it was the country's largest labour organization and was influencing Canadian politics. Using union newspapers, organizing literature, minutes, correspondence, oral interviews, government and corporate records, and the daily press, this dissertation describes and analyzes how the CIO organized thousands of wartime workers into unions in spite of significant obstacles. This study then examines the institutions the CIO developed to create a union "mini-public sphere," where workers debated and developed union positions on issues facing them as workers, family members, citizens and military veterans. The CIO was successful in turning private, workplace issues such as union recognition and bargaining rights into public issues that government was forced to deal with, and its organizing successes and its entry into politics witnessed burgeoning support for the social democratic CCF, a phenomenon that encouraged mainstream political parties to adopt more progressive platforms. The CIO's breakthrough was based not just on worker-empowering wartime labour shortages. Its skill in using modern communications was also a factor in its wartime success, as well as its use of the war as a central character in these communications efforts. CIO communications used a narrative that elided workers with warriors as partners in a "people's war" to defeat the nation's enemies and build a new social order. The CIO told workers that if they organized into unions, they would have the power to shape a peace that, unlike after the Great War, would benefit this worker-warrior partnership. Victory was thus defined not merely as defeating the Axis but creating a modern, new Canada, where workers would have citizenship rights in the workplace and where citizenship entailed a fairer, more egalitarian society. The CIO's talk about rights extended to women workers, and its arguments for equal pay and women's seniority were increasingly based on women's human rights.
Understanding the experiences of gay men in addiction treatment: a phenomenological study

Gay men are a population which have specific needs in our health and social service system. This research explores how some gay men have experienced addiction treatment in the province of Ontario. Through a qualitative study based on phenomenological methods, 10 diverse gay men were asked to tell their story in terms of their addiction treatment experience. The participants had accessed treatment services within the last 5 years and these services included outpatient, day and residential treatment. Using a long-interview format, the researcher listened as the participants told their stories regarding why they accessed treatment services, how they accessed these services, and how over-all experience of treatment impacted them. These interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed with the assistance of the software program NUDIST. Several themes emerged that highlight a system that was insensitive to the needs of these gay men. A variety of situations occurred, some very blatant in terms of harassment, and others more subtle yet still harmful in their impact. A focus group was conducted with the participants and the themes that emerged from the transcripts were reviewed. During the focus group participants developed a set of 5 recommendations that they felt must be implemented if the needs of gay men are to be addressed fairly within mainstream treatment services. All the participants agreed to the recommendations that were developed and these will be presented to the Ontario Substance Abuse Bureau in the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.
The role of water in structural transitions of biophysical systems

A discontinuous molecular dynamics (DMD) simulation of water is presented in order to form the basis for a future investigation of solvent effects in biomolecular systems. The structure and folding of a solvated protein is partly determined by the interactions of the protein molecules with the water molecules. In order to create a reasonable model of a protein's folding and structure, solvent effects need to be explicitly included. To date these solvent effects have been studied using continuous potential molecular dynamics (MD) models that describe the interactions in the system. MD models can be quite computationally demanding for large systems or long time scales and we have devised a new water model using DMD which is more efficient than continuous MD methods. The goals of our approach are to describe the local structure and thermodynamics of water in a semi-quantitative fashion.
Neutrophil activation and apoptosis in traumatic brain injury patients following pre-hospital resuscitation with hypertonic saline dextran

Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is among the leading causes of death and permanent disability, with polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) overactivation crucial in post-resuscitation organ injury. A small-volume resuscitation fluid, hypertonic saline/dextran (HSD), has shown beneficial immune effects in recent studies. Our objective was to determine HSD immuno-inflammatory effects in TBI patient neutrophils, and elucidate how responses differ from current therapy (normal saline (NS)), and healthy volunteers. We hypothesized that compared to NS, resuscitation with HSD would reduce PMN activation and enhance apoptosis. This pre-hospital, randomized clinical trial compared HSD (7.5%-saline/6%-dextran-70) and NS (0.9%-saline) as initial resuscitation fluid administered to TBI patients in hypovolemic shock. Whole blood samples were analyzed flow cytometrically for PMN activation and apoptosis markers, with normal subjects at rest as a control group. It was found that PMN activation and apoptosis levels in TBI patients resuscitated with HSD returned closer to healthy control levels, earlier than NS.
Governing a knowledge economy: Scalar, civic and strategic dimensions of contemporary economic governance in North America

This thesis examines the multilevel governance processes supporting regional microelectronics industries with the goal of better understanding how states are adapting to an increasingly global and knowledge-intensive economy. It finds that a new mode of governance is emerging that responds to the challenges associated with developing and sustaining competitive and knowledge-intensive industries. This mode is strategic, and structured as a governance network that involves a mix of mostly local actors who take a strategic interest and role in shaping the long-term economic prospects of a locality. Through mobilizing and developing knowledge assets in support of targeted industries, drawing down resources from upper levels of government, and helping resolve multi-jurisdictional regional governance problems related to sector development, these networks help regional firms adapt to ever-changing global high-tech markets. From a theoretical standpoint, these governance networks are significant in part because of the presence of a strong civic component that has little in common with typical industry associations. In fact, these networks are entirely distinct from the widely studied policy networks, which are concerned primarily with policy relating to the regulatory conditions of the political economic system.
The peer relationships and victimization of children with anxiety disorders

Objectives. This thesis includes two studies that investigated the peer relationships and peer victimization of children with anxiety disorders. Study 1 examined whether children with anxiety disorders report poorer social skills, fewer friends, lower friendship quality, and more peer victimization than non-anxious comparison children. Study 2 investigated whether anxiety and social functioning (social skills and friendship quality) interact in their prediction of peer victimization. A structural equation model linking anxiety, social skills, and friendship quality to victimization was tested separately for children with anxiety disorders and normal comparison children to explore whether the processes involved in victimization differ for these groups. Method. Participants in the anxiety group were 34 boys and 21 girls with a diagnosed anxiety disorder. Children in the 'normal' comparison group were 37 boys and 48 girls recruited from a Catholic school. Children and their parents completed questionnaires measuring social functioning and peer victimization. Results. Study 1 found that children with anxiety disorders reported weaker social skills, lower friendship quality, more frequent rates of being bullied, and more relational peer victimization than comparison children. Anxious children were two to three times more likely than comparisons to be bullied at least twice a week. Parents also rated children with anxiety disorders to have poorer social skills and fewer friends than children in the comparison group. Study 2 found, for both anxious and non-anxious children, that there are two independent pathways to victimization: (a) anxiety independently predicted being victimized; and (b) poor social skills predicted lower friendship quality, which in turn, placed a child at risk for victimization. Conclusions. Social difficulties and peer victimization may contribute to both the development and maintenance of anxiety disorders. In addition, anxiety and social difficulties place children at risk for peer victimization. Thus, children with anxiety disorders may benefit from social skills training and/or school-wide anti-bullying interventions.

Keywords: Anxiety in children, Social aspects
Interpersonal relations in children
Bullying
Friendship in children
Social skills in children
Oral bisphosphonates for treatment of sublesional osteoporosis after spinal cord injury: A retrospective cohort study

This retrospective analytic cohort study compared the proportion of bisphosphonate users versus nonusers with a 5% clinically important increase in bone mineral density (CII in BMD) of the total hip region from baseline over a minimum 18 month period among subjects with spinal cord injury (SCI) and sublesional osteoporosis. Eligible SCI subjects (n = 64) were identified from two rehabilitation centres in Ontario with a total hip BMD T-score of le;-1.5 and two hip BMD measures ge;18 months apart. BMD measures were obtained via chart abstraction. Bisphosphonate exposure was self reported. Users (n = 42) were defined by ge;60% adherence. There was no difference in the proportion of users 35.7% (15/42) versus nonusers 31.5% (8/22) with a CII in BMD of the total hip (Fisher's Exact test, df = 1, p = 0.58). A median 36 months exposure did not predict a CII in BMD of the total hip region.
Measuring the tacit knowledge of practicing teachers

This document represents an initial test of an internet-based software survey producal called the Tacit Experience Generator (T.E.G.) designed to cost effectively measure the developing skills of teachers practicing innovation activities involved in the Instructional Intelligence Program through providing a model to understand their learning; language to communicate their learning to peers; as well as to provide an instant feedback mechanism on reporting allowing teachers to improve the quality of their skills. The thesis developed within this document is that many teachers do not understand the "quality" of their personal practice nor do they effective communicate their understandings of personal practice, which could assist them to communicate their personal practices to others. Teachers' understanding of tacit personal practices is suggested within this document as the key component of personal evolution of expertise and whereas research into tacit knowledge has demonstrated the trading, sharing and expressing of experiences to be a major component of developing professional expertise within other professions, tacit communication is often lacking within schools.
Proteomic profiling of mouse organs, development and mutant models

The study of development has traditionally used morphological descriptions and, in the last 20 years, genetic manipulation to create mutants. Mutants have been generated to make nulls (knockouts), hypermorphs, and misexpression and ectopic expression of various genes either generally or tissue- and cell-type specific. In the majority of cases only limited assessment of marker gene expression has been done. Recently DNA microarray technology has allowed the high throughput characterization of gene transcript expression in normal and mutant development. However, proteins are the major functional product of biology and the assessment of their expression has been limited until the recent advent of advanced mass-spectrometry-based profiling techniques such as Multidimensional Protein Identification Technique (MudPIT). In this thesis I present a Proteomic Investigation Strategy for Mammals (PRISM) for systematically fractionating a tissue into biologically relevant cellular fractions and interrogating by MudPIT to build profiles of protein expression. The fractionation method is based on differential centrifugation in sucrose gradients to separate nuclei, mitochondria, microsomes and cytosol. I also present methods of modeling the correlation between protein and mRNA profiles for six organs (brain, heart, kidney, liver, lung and placenta). Using k-nearest neighbor (kNN), machine learning probabilities can be assigned for the subcellular location of a protein based on its observed abundance in the cell fractions observed. In the final part of the thesis, I present the profiling of lung development by PRISM, correlation with mRNA expression and mining of protein interactions with known mutant phenotypes. I extend this analysis of normal lung development by the characterization of two mutants of lung development, a hypomorphic loss-of-function allele of Nmyc and an over expression of Nmyc in the lung epithelium. By combining a proteomic and transcriptomic profiling of both mutants I uncovered nearly 100 genes with expression profiles that make them good candidates for direct targets of Nmyc gene regulation.
Characterization of a murine Est1 homologue

Telomeres are the physical ends of linear chromosomes and have an important role in protection of genomic integrity. Telomeres can be elongated by a unique ribonucleoprotein enzyme called telomerase. Telomere length maintenance is implicated in aging as well as the human diseases cancer and dyskeratosis congenita. In yeast, Est1p is known to co-mediate telomerase access and is essential for telomere length maintenance in vivo. This study characterizes a murine homologue of Est1, mEst1A. Murine embryonic stem cells with one disrupted mEst1A allele were generated, but viable null lines were not, suggesting possible lethality in the homozygous state. mEst1A mRNA was detected in most tissues examined, but not protein, perhaps due to low expression levels or inadequate antibodies. Immunoprecipitation analysis revealed an in vitro interaction of HA-tagged mEst1A with telomerase activity. These studies provide a valuable system with which to study further the role of Est1A in mammalian telomere length homeostasis.
The effect of flaxseed and sesame seed on lignan metabolism and biomarkers of chronic disease risk in postmenopausal women

This study determined, in postmenopausal women, the effect of 4-week consumption of food bars containing 25g unground flaxseed, sesame seed, or their combination on lignan metabolism and absorption, antioxidant status and plasma lipids. Urinary lignan excretion increased, indicating metabolism and absorption of lignans from the food bars. Thus, the food bar format is a good vehicle for the provision of unground seed. Urinary lignan excretion with sesame seed was similar to flaxseed, suggesting the presence of unknown mammalian lignan precursors in sesame seed. All bars possessed in vitro antioxidant activity, however, this did not translate into decreased oxidative stress in vivo. All bars increased serum tocopherols, notably γ-tocopherol with sesame seed, but did not lower plasma lipids. Serum protein thiols was directly associated, while serum triglycerides tended to inversely associate with urinary lignans. The combination of flaxseed and sesame seed was not more beneficial than either seed alone.
Globalization, federalism and Canadian private international law

The implications of globalization on the principles of private international law are explored through the lens of Canadian federalism. After a century of English law, conflicts of law rules in Canada have abandoned their substantive and procedural parochialism. What is emerging from the Supreme Court of Canada on the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments is an internationalist approach, accentuating the significance of the connection between federalism and changing international realities. As the negotiations surrounding the draft Hague Convention on Judgments continue, this paper examines what is at stake for member states. This thesis attempts to add to the broad debate on how the Canadian federal state will adapt to the consequences of globalization. It is argued that our internal political structure must be reappraised in order to address the emerging international issues which are impacting provincial powers, and ultimately the scope of the POGG clause must be expanded.

Keywords: Globalization
Federal government, Canada
Conflict of laws, Canada