VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Cell-adhesive hydrogel with immobilized growth factors to regulate adult neural stem/progenitor cell differentiation

Neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) hold great promise in regenerative medicine. However, controlling their differentiation to a given phenotype within matrices is a challenge. To guide NSPC differentiation, specifically to oligodendrocytes, within a hydrogel, platelet-derived growth factor-AA (PDGF-AA) was immobilized on agarose hydrogels and shown to promote the same percentage of oligodendrocytes as soluble PDGF-AA. Modification of agarose with cell-adhesive oligopeptide, glycinearginine-glysine-aspartic acid-serine (GRGDS), promoted NSPC adhesion and differentiation to the three type cells of the nervous system: neurons, oligodendrocytes and astrocytes. In the presence of PDGF-AA, NSPCs differentiated into oligodendrocytes as determined by immunohistochemistry and real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Interestingly, more mature oligodendrocytes were observed in the presence soluble PDGF-AA vs. immobilized PDGF-AA; however, the overall percentage of oligodendrocytes was similar. These results demonstrate for the first time, that it is possible to control NSPC differentiation to oligodendrocytes and that this differentiation can be spatially controlled with immobilized PDGF-AA.
Universal multimedia access and semantic summarization for presentations

Multimedia content is being both disseminated and consumed on a larger scale than ever before. In particular, the growth of collaborative applications (e.g. Distance Learning (DL)) means that multimedia-rich audio-visual presentations are increasingly available on the Internet. At the same time, mobile devices capable of processing multimedia applications have gained popularity. Consequently, designers of multimedia systems face two major challenges driven by these factors: First, users require access to personalized content seamlessly over differing networks and on virtually any terminal device. Second, users require a means of navigating and digesting the vast content efficiently. This work proposes a presentation summarization framework for audio-visual presentations in a DL environment which addresses the aforementioned challenges. The framework is designed based on emerging international standards to provide a Universal Multimedia Access (UMA) solution that is able to deliver content to heterogeneous users. A novel summarization scheme is proposed which combines information from multiple sources such as audio data and presentation slides to improve accessibility of presentation archives for users.
The impact of civil war on education: A case study of Acholiland, northern Uganda

This thesis argues that the civil war between the Uganda army, the Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF), and the rebel army, the Lord Resistance Army (LRA), led to massive destruction of the few available educational institutions causing very high student drop-out rates, thus, exacerbating inequity in education. The destruction of schools has aggravated the gap created by Idi Amin's government since the 1970s. Ironically, the Uganda government has presented the destruction of schools and substandard quality of education, as progress. This thesis shows that the UPDF-LRA war policy of targeting schools destroyed the few educational infrastructures that were left following the overthrow of Idi Amin. It examines the evolution of education from traditional/indigenous education to western Christian missionary, colonial and post-colonial government efforts. The destruction of schools by the UPDF-LRA undermined quality education. It concludes by calling for a critical focus on quality education and school infrastructure.

Keywords: War and education, Uganda
Education, History
Education, Uganda
Imperialism, Social aspects
Imperialism, Uganda
Young children's deontic and epistemic reasoning

Research has suggested that both children and adults are better at deontic than epistemic reasoning. The current study examined this deontic advantage in children (N = 32, M = 46.78 months), by modifying an existing reasoning task and creating a second similar task. Children's performance on two false-belief tasks and one language measure was also assessed. It was hypothesized that children would perform better on the deontic version of the reasoning tasks, and that epistemic reasoning would be positively correlated with false belief. Because the first hypothesis was not supported, the second hypothesis could not be tested. Upon modifying the existing reasoning task, many contextual differences between the deontic and epistemic conditions were removed, leaving only a language difference. This suggests that it may be the context, not the language, that is particularly important for the deontic advantage. Future research will attempt to further tease apart this context/language distinction.

Keywords: Cognitive psychology
Language and logic
Reasoning
Developmental psychology
Personal imaging using EyeTap devices

This thesis develops an approach to creating a practical wearable computing environment. The work focuses primarily on imaging, image processing and display in a wearable computing context. Necessary components are developed in this thesis to test the validity of the approach and define the areas for future research. The work includes the design of wearable devices for image capture and display, as well as necessary image processing to enable useful applications in the mediated reality domain. This work contributes: Design innovations aimed at achieving commercial viability of the EyeTap wearable imaging/display device; improvements to the core image processing tools needed for the range calibration of camera devices, and the application of range calibrated cameras to image processing in the wearable computing environment; image motion analysis techniques for practical unconstrained mediated reality wearable computing applications, based on the simplification of General 6DOF motion analysis to the projective group.
Absorption of bacterially-synthesized folate across the large intestine pre-trial I and II: In-vivo behaviour of placebo caplets with pH-sensitive coatings designed for colon targeting

The purpose of this study was to design and test the effectiveness of two pH-dependent coatings in delivering intact barium sulfate caplets to the large intestine. In the future, this work will enable us to non-invasively assess the absorption of folate across the human colon. Barium sulphate caplet cores were coated with Eudragit L100 and S100, in either a 1:0 or 3:1 ratio. Each formulation was administered to ten volunteers, and monitored in-vivo via fluoroscopy. Test caplets with 3:1 coating formulations had 40% higher colon-targeting specificity compared to 1:0 caplets, and tended to begin dissolving at a later time after administration (p=0.09). The total time from administration to complete dissolution was also significantly longer for 3:1 coated caplets (p=0.003). These results suggest that barium sulphate caplets with a 3:1 (Eudragit L100:S100) coating formulation ratio would be a suitable delivery system for investigating the absorption of folate across the large intestine.
Global restructuring of network energy industries and the quest for energy security, environmental protection and sustainable development: What is the role of regulatory instruments? A Rethink of market issues and lessons from the European Union experience

Globally, significant changes are taking place in the restructuring of the network energy industries, aimed at the introduction of competition. However, these sectors have certain characteristics which present challenging questions for these market-styled reforms. This work identifies three broad objectives which any well designed reform initiative should seek to achieve: energy security, environmental protection and sustainable development. Unfortunately, these objectives, none of which is less important, are contradictory, such that the pursuit of one normally implies undermining the others. The task in this work is to find the means of reconciling these contradictions within a restructured network energy industry. This work finds through theoretical analyses and empirical evidence that markets are incapable of fulfilling this goal alone. The question central to this work therefore is: what is the role of regulation in achieving these broad objectives?

Keywords: Power resources, Law and legislation
Power resources, European Union countries
Environmental law, European Union countries
Sustainable development, Law and legislation
Sustainable development, European Union countries
Energy industries, Law and legislation
Energy industries, European Union countries
Remembering Zion: Jewish diasporic identity on a Canadian university campus

This research begins with a question: How are diasporic feelings of connection and belonging created and maintained in people with no traceable ancestry to a distant country that is identified as a homeland? My thesis answers this question by developing the notion of placement practices---the positioning of Israel as a central feature of Jewish diasporic identity through the material and discursive placement of diasporic Jews into narratives of belonging with Israel. While the connection to the Land of Israel is a foundational aspect of Jewish existence, feelings of diasporic attachment and belonging are constantly recreated and maintained through a very specific set of practices that emphasize the centrality of Zionism for Jewish identity. I employ the concept of placement practices to explore the Zionification of Jewish diasporic identity; the process whereby political identification with Israel has become a central pillar of Jewish identity, and feelings of attachment to Israel have become a primary means of Jewish diasporic ethnic identification. Using Hillels of Greater Toronto as a case study, I argue that Israel has been instrumentalized by the organized Jewish community (OJC) largely to fight the perceived threat of assimilation, and my focus is on the specific set of practices involved in Zionist activism on the university campus. To develop this thesis, I examine the historical developments that positioned Hillel and Israel as central to the promotion of Jewish identity, provide ethnographic analyses of how this process is experienced in the campus setting, and theorize how these practices impact the relationship between Jewish identity and Zionism.
Structural studies of the saposins and PagP

This thesis comprises two parts. The first chapters describe structural studies of sphingolipid activator proteins, the saposins. This is followed by studies of the outer membrane protein PagP. The four saposins are derived from a common precurser protein; they are small, non-enzymatic glycoproteins required for the breakdown of glycosphingolipids (GSL) in the lysosome. Their general functions are to increase the accessibility of specific GSLs to their cognate acid hydrolases. Saposin B was the first characterized sphingolipid activator protein and saposin. While fairly well studied, further understanding into the nature of this protein required structural details. This thesis presents structural determination of saposin B, and further experiments towards elucidation of the mechanism of action. The saposin B dimer encompasses a large hydrophobic cavity for solubilization of lipids, and conformational changes appear to regulate accessibility to the interior. Saposin B laid the groundwork for additional crystallographic studies of the homologous saposins, A and C. These monomeric structures seem to corroborate the unique nature and mechanism of action of each individual saposin. Together, the three structures present new thoughts regarding other intracellular roles. PagP is an outer membrane enzyme present in Gram-negative bacteria that is upregulated to promote virulence. PagP palmitoylates lipid A of lipopolysaccharides in the outer membrane, resulting in increased resistance to host cationic antimicrobial peptides. One of only a few known outer membrane enzymes, the crystal structure of PagP was determined. Described in this thesis are the implications of the presence of a LDAO detergent molecule within the centre of the 8 stranded beta-barrel, for the mechanism of PagP acylation. The complexed structure, and subsequent site-directed mutagenesis led to determination of a structural basis for palmitate specificity, that involves a hydrocarbon ruler.
A critical analysis of statutory rape law and its effects on adolescents the Chilean case

This thesis sets forth the interests and conflicts involved in the current Chilean law on statutory rape. Through a thorough investigation of the conceptualization, implementation, and current life of this legislation, the possible effects of the Chilean case on adolescents' rights is investigated and evaluated. Examining the development of this law and its related policy, and if their consequences conflict with the Chilean Constitution or international and regional human rights conventions allows us to evaluate the merits, utility, and potential problems of such legislation. A detailed investigation of the social, legal, and health data available, as well as the concrete liability implications reveals that the policy which implements the Chilean statutory rape provision is in violation with domestic and international human rights law. In conclusion, recommendations are presented to deal with the effects of the implementation, as well as to modify the legislation to uphold adolescents' human rights.

Keywords: Rape, Chile
Human rights, Chile
The involvement of EGF, EGFr, MSX1, PAX9 and LEF1 in EL mouse third molar hypodontia

The EL mouse is an excellent model to study hypodontia because 97% of these animals lack third molars (3M). EGF, Msx1, Pax9 and Lef1 have roles in tooth formation. One purpose of this study was to map EGF/EGFr expression during 3M development, in order to determine the link between 3M hypodontia and EGF/EGFr. The other was to associate Lef1, Msx1 and Pax9 mutations and 3M hypodontia. EGF/EGFr expression was examined using in situ hybridization in normal and EL mice. Different patterns of EGF and EGFr were seen in the mesenchymal and epithelial tissues during all developmental stages with weak expression after P9. The most striking difference was at the 3M EL P7 (bell) stage, when EGF was relatively absent although receptor was present. After comparing EL and normal mouse cDNA sequences for Msx1, Pax9 and Lef1, a threonine170serine substitution mutation is predicted to have occurred in Lef1. This study suggests possible roles for EGF and Lef1 in EL mice 3M hypodontia.
The use of PregVit in pregnancy

The objectives were to compare iron absorption between Materna RTM and PregVitRTM, to compare folate absorption between morning and at night and compare compliance and adverse events between PregVitRTM and MaternaRTM. Studies utilized a two-treatment, crossover design. For the iron kinetic study, twelve women randomly received 1 tablet of PregVitRTM a.m. or Materna RTM. Serum iron was measured over 8 hours. For the folate study, six women were randomly administered 1 multivitamin containing folic acid in the morning or evening. Finally, 138 pregnant women were randomly assigned either MaternaRTM or PregVitRTM for one month each to assess reported adverse events and compliance, which was done through pill counts and reports. The iron absorption was not significantly different between MaternaRTM and PregVitRTM. There was no circadian variation affecting folate absorption. PregVit RTM was associated with less constipation and had similar rates of compliance with MaternaRTM.
Characterization of phosphatidylcholine oxidation products obtained by exposure of high density lipoprotein to peroxynitrite donor, SIN-1

The anti-atherogenic role of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) is believed to include protection of LDL against oxidation, removal of cholesterol from peripheral cells and prevention of activation of the endothelium. Maintenance of this atheroprotective role depends on the integrity of structure and function, which is dependent on HDL lipids, apolipoproteins, and associated enzymes. The antioxidant function of HDL has been attributed mainly to apolipoprotein AI (apoAI) and paraoxonase-1 (PON-1); however, this has not been critically tested with peroxynitrite, a strong oxidant. I hypothesized (1) that, like LDL, HDL undergoes exposure to oxidation in the vessel wall, increasing the formation of oxo-phospholipids that activate the endothelium, modify apoAI and promote uptake of oxidized HDL by THP-1 macrophages; and (2) these effects are minimized by PON-1. This thesis demonstrated significant increases in the accumulation of hydroperoxides, isoprostanes, core aldehyde derivatives of PC, and lysoPC following incubation of native HDL with SIN-1, compared to HDL lipids or HDL treated with trypsin. Unexpectedly, apoAI promoted the formation of PC core aldehydes during oxidation of PC proteoliposomes. Oxidation of apoAI proteoliposomes, in the presence of purified PON-1, decreased PC hydroperoxides, minimized accumulation of PC core aldehydes and PC isoprostanes, as well as increased lysoPC. Incubation of oxidized HDL with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) increased THP-1 macrophage binding to HUVECs and enhanced THP-1 macrophage chemotaxis. This was shown to be due to PC core aldehydes derived from linoleoyl and arachidonoyl glycerophosphocholine. PON-1 inhibited the activation of HUVECs by oxidized PCs by hydrolysis of PC core aldehydes to IysoPC. It is concluded that oxidation of HDL increased the formation of PC core aldehydes and their binding to apoAI via Schiff base adducts. ApoAI-Schiff base adducts enhanced binding and uptake of oxidized HDL by THP-1 macrophages. It is proposed that apoAI and PON-1 serve as a coupled system that normally functions as a protective system by hydrolyzing oxo-PCs to lysoPC, minimizing the accumulation of harmful bioactive products of PC oxidation. Overexposure of HDL to peroxynitrite replicates pro-atherogenic events previously ascribed to oxidation of LDL. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Multiple random projection for fast, approximate nearest neighbor search in high dimensions

Random Projection has recently been used as a promising dimensionality reduction technique. Using random projection can speed up the finding of approximate nearest neighbors (NN) but it can't easily be used for exact NN. On the other hand, k-d tree and other related data structures can find exact NN, but as the dimensionality of the feature space increases these structures become quickly inefficient. The computational cost of these tree data structures grow almost exponentially with the intrinsic dimensionality of the data. In this thesis, we present experimental results evaluating the performance of exact and approximate methods for NN search on a variety of real and synthetic data sets. Finally, we present a hybrid model of Multiple Random Projection (MRP) and k-d tree to find approximate nearest neighbors in high dimension. The experimental results show that this hybridization results in improved performance w.r.t. number of distance calculations needed to find NN.
Pipelined ADC enhancement techniques

In this work three techniques to improve pipelined ADC performance with respect to linearity and power consumption are presented. The first technique enables rapid background digital correction of both DAC and gain errors in the multi-bit first stage of an 11-bit pipelined ADC. The proposed rapid calibration scheme enables significantly shorter automated test times in an industrial production environment, hence facilitates larger production throughput and thus increased cost efficiency. Measured results from a prototype fabricated in 1.8V 0.18µm CMOS show the technique achieves an improvement in linearity by more than 20dB within only 10 4 clock cycles in an 11-bit 45MS/s pipelined ADC--more than two orders of magnitude faster than previously published reports. The second technique develops a new MDAC topology which enables a pipelined ADC to be designed without a front-end sample-and-hold, and thus allows for significant power reduction. Unlike previous reports, the proposed topology does not require a carefully matched and/or time consuming layout to work properly. Measured results from a prototype fabricated in 1.8V 0.18µm CMOS show that better than 51dB SNDR can be achieved using the proposed approach for input frequencies higher than 267MHz for a 10-bit pipelined ADC with a maximum sampling rate of 50MS/s, while consuming 20% less power than a similar chip which required a front-end sample-and-hold. The third technique facilitates large ADC power reduction by replacing all opamps in a 10-bit 50 MS/s pipelined ADC with source followers, and uses a novel fully-differential passive gain technique to obtain an MDAC gain near 2x. Measured results from a prototype in 1.8V 0.18µm CMOS show the 50MS/s ADC to achieve a peak SNDR/SFDR of 58.2dB/66dB while only consuming 9.9mW for a figure of merit of 0.3pJ/step.

Keywords: Electrical engineering
Multicultural science education: an analysis of low success rates of minority students

As a response to the overwhelming evidence that minority students are not doing as well as the mainstream White students, particularly in the sciences, this thesis is an examination of the need for equality of educational opportunities for all students. In order to achieve this, change is needed from many directions; the focus of this thesis will be on teachers. Research suggests that majority of teachers discriminate against students based on students' backgrounds. This thesis also evaluates the multicultural education content in a few of the current teacher education programs in Ontario. Close analysis reveals that teacher education programs need to be revised so that they reflect the growing multicultural society and better prepare teachers to interact with multicultural students. To improve teacher education programs there has to be more integration of multicultural content and as a result grow beyond the one-year at faculties of education.

Keywords: Multicultural education
Science, Study and teaching
Minorities, Education
A power scaleable and low power pipeline ADC using power resettable opamps

A 10-bit pipeline Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) is designed such that its average power is scaleable with sampling rate over a large variation of sampling rates. Fabricated in CMOS 0.18mum technology, while having an area of 1.21mm2, the ADC uses a novel fast Power Resettable Opamp (PROamp), to achieve power scalability between sampling rates as high as 50Msps (35mW), and as low as 1ksps (15muW), while having 54--56dB of SNDR (at Nyquist) for all sampling rates. A current modulation technique is used to avoid weakly inverted transistors for low bias currents, thus avoiding less accurate simulation, poorer matching, and increased bias sensitivity. The PROamp due to its short power on/off time also affords reduced power consumption in high speed pipeline ADCs, where opamps can be completely powered off when not required. Measured results show an ADC using PROamps has 20--30% less power than an ADC which does not use PROamps.