VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Automatic acquisition of lexical knowledge about multiword predicates

A multiword predicate is the combination of a predicate (often a verb) with one or more of its arguments, that together form a single unit of predicative meaning. We focus on a broad class of multiword predicates, in which a verb combines with a noun in the direct object position (e.g., give a groan and shoot the breeze). The semantic interpretation of such multiword predicates involves a certain degree of idiosyncrasy; moreover, they are crosslinguistically frequent and appear in all text genres. Hence, they pose a great challenge to the current models of natural language processing. Most existing computational models treat multiword predicates as syntactically-dependent word sequences or collocations. Such a treatment ignores other important characteristics of these constructions, reflected in their distinct lexical and syntactic behaviour. Nonetheless, cues from the lexicosyntactic properties of multiword predicates have often been used in linguistic and psycholinguistic studies to explain their peculiar semantic behaviour. On the one hand, simple statistical approaches that only draw on the frequency of multiword predicates fail to account for much of the syntactic and semantic behaviour of these constructions. On the other hand, linguistic theories provide generalizations about the behaviour of multiword predicates that can be augmented with probabilistic knowledge about language in use. The main goal of the present study is to propose ways of combining the predictive power of linguistic theories with the coverage and robustness of statistical techniques to acquire linguistically-plausible and reliable corpus-drawn knowledge about multiword predicates.
Assessing the efficacy of preprocessing choices: Residual motion artifacts as a function of age and task

Motion correction is a commonly used step in preprocessing fMRI data after image reconstruction but before statistical analyses. However, inaccuracies in motion correction lead to residual motion artifacts. These artifacts confound data analysis and should be removed. In this thesis, the identification, characterization, and removal of residual motion artifacts are explored as a function of age across multiple tasks. Multivariate analysis techniques are used to show that the dominant variance structure in motion corrected data is highly correlated to the estimated head motion in the data. Afterwards, the estimated motion parameters are regressed out of the motion corrected data. Linear detrending is explored as an alternative to this regression. The regression technique is shown to better remove the dominant residual motion artifact in old subjects, while neither technique has a substantial benefit on young subjects. This is attributed to larger and more complex head motion in the old subjects.
A retail ontology: Formal semantics and efficient implementation

In today's competitive business environment, the ability to make effective decisions is of central importance to an organization's survival. In order to be successful, a modern enterprise should take advantage of all available data. Business intelligence systems can help provide the means to transform the available data into information and derive specific and timely knowledge about the domain. The focus of this research is on building a customer-centric business intelligence system applied to retail. This work describes a retail ontology that can automatically deduce answers to retail queries based upon the system's general knowledge of online retailing and actual data. To be applicable in real world situations, the system should be able to deal efficiently with the huge amounts of data present in retail environments. To this end, this work also introduces a technique for reasoning efficiently with large datasets using state-of-the-art theorem provers or reasoners and existing database technology.
Cardiac repair and not regeneration after myocardial infarction: the role and therapeutic utility of the c-kit

Background. Recent clinical trials have focused on the implantation of adult stem cells, which express the c-kit receptor tyrosine kinase, into infarcted myocardium to regenerate the heart. Cardiomyocyte regeneration remains highly controversial, and the endogenous role of the c-kit+ cells is unknown. I addressed the hypothesis that c-kit activation aids endogenous cardiac repair after myocardial infarction independent of cardiomyocyte regeneration. Methods. To examine cytokine fluctuations independent of surgical trauma, a closed-chest murine model of cardiac infarction/reperfusion was used. The functional importance of the c-kit pathway was tested in the compound heterozygous c-kit mutant KitW/Kit W-v mice in a model of permanent coronary ligation. To dissect the specific role of bone marrow c-kit+ cells, chimeric c-kit mutant mice with wild type cell bone marrow cells were used. To examine cardiac regeneration by bone marrow stem cells, c-kit bone marrow stem cells from beta-galactosidase transgenic mice were implanted into non-transgenic recipients. Results. Myocardial infarction lead to c-kit activation and trafficking of c-kit+ endothelial progenitor cells from the bone marrow to the heart. The bone marrow derived c-kit+ cells comprised the majority of the c-kit+ cells in infarcted myocardium, calling into question the existence of the recently identified c-kit+ putative cardiac stem cell. In the presence of a dysfunctional c-kit receptor, coronary ligation lead to rapid cardiac failure. This was attributed to abnormal angiogenesis and abnormal establishment of blood vessel-rich granulation or repair tissue in the infarcted segment. These abnormalities were traced to abnormalities in angiogenic cytokine fluctuations in the infarcted heart. Rescue of the mutant bone marrow with wild type bone marrow cells rescued the cardiomyopathic phenotype by re-establishing post infarction angiogenesis. Implantation of bone marrow stem cells activated the c-kit pathway but did not result in cardiomyogenesis. Over-activation of c-kit pathway improved cardiac repair independent of cardiac regeneration, but resulted in generation of cardiac sarcomas. Conclusion. Bone marrow c-kit+ cells are recruited to infarcted myocardium where they regulate the balance of angiogenic cytokines enabling efficient cardiac repair. This pathway is amenable to manipulation but a tight dose response to enable efficient cardiac repair but limit tumorigenesis must first be established.
Role of cardiac valve interstitial cells in valve repair: deposition of fibronectin and formation of fibrillar adhesions in response to injury

Valvular interstitial cells (VICs) organize and maintain the extracellular matrix in normal heart valves and those undergoing repair. Matrix proteins fibronectin and type VIII collagen are expressed during valvulogenesis and in tissues undergoing active remodeling. I hypothesized that fibronectin promotes in vitro wound repair by forming fibrillar adhesions composed of tensin and the alpha5beta1 integrin and that type VIII collagen deficient VICs close a wound more slowly than do wildtype cells. In response to wounding, migrating VICs reexpressed cytoplasmic fibronectin and deposited fibrils into the extracellular space. Tensin staining localized to fibrillar adhesions while alpha5beta1 stained focal adhesions and as well in a punctate pattern throughout the cell, which may be consistent with fibrillar adhesions. Type VIII collagen deficient VICs showed a reduced rate of wound closure when compared to the wildtype cells. These results suggest that fibronectin and type VIII collagen are important matrix components produced by VICs to regulate cell migration during repair at sites of injury.
The skeletal effects of a growth hormone-derived peptide (AOD9604) in the aged rat model of postmenopausal osteoporosis

A synthetic Growth Hormone (GH) Peptide (AOD9604), is being developed as a novel weight loss drug. GH is anabolic to the skeleton and stimulates longitudinal bone growth as well as cortical bone metabolism. The effect of the GH-peptide on the skeleton was examined in aged Ovariectomized (OVX) rats as a model of postmenopausal osteoporosis. We hypothesized that the AOD9604 peptide would affect the skeleton similar to that of intact GH and prevent OVX-related bone loss. Nine-month old OVX rats were treated with the AOD9604 daily for 12 weeks. AOD treated rats had significantly higher femoral and vertebral Bone Mineral Density (BM) versus OVX rats. AOD preserved cortical bone strength and stiffness but did not affect trabecular bone mechanical properties. OVX + Estrogen + AOD had lower BMD and mechanical properties than OVX rats. These results suggest that AOD stimulates cortical bone metabolism and this stimulation is repressed by estrogen.
The role of human subthalamic nucleus in saccade control

There is limited anatomical and physiological evidence to support a role for the subthalamic nucleus (STN) in saccade control. In this thesis, I investigated this role in greater detail at the single unit, population and motor performance levels by studying Parkinson's disease (PD) patients during and after deep brain stimulation (DBS) neurosurgery. Intraoperative microelectrode recordings from alert patients allowed testing of STN neurons for responses to saccades. Twenty percent of the STN neurons tested responded to saccades. Establishing that STN neurons receive saccade-related information was consistent with a role for STN in saccade control and provided the rationale for further investigations. Local field potentials (LFPs) reflect synchronous neuronal activity of populations of neurons or synchronous input to these neurons. A basal ganglia oscillatory model predicts that LFP oscillations in the beta range (11-30 Hz) should decrease prior to limb movement onset. Changes in oscillatory power of both microelectrode and DBS-recorded STN LFPs near saccade onset were measured to determine if they were consistent with this model. However, increases in microelectrode LFP power in the beta range were more frequently observed than decreases. Decreases in STN LFP beta power occurred 1-2 s before saccade onset and increases in beta power occurred at saccade onset. The time course of these changes in STN DBS LFP oscillations are consistent with a role for STN in preparation, attention, motor or efferent copy functions. However, the high inter-patient variability in the oscillatory changes of DBS LFPs with saccades that was observed was not predicted by the oscillatory model. Finally, the effect of STN DBS on saccade performance was tested in PD patients. STN DBS improved saccade latency in externally-cued movements and saccade amplitude in internally-generated movements, suggesting that STN influences these parameters. In summary, these novel findings in human STN clearly implicate that STN is important in saccade control and have expanded our general knowledge of the motor function of STN.
Romantic madness: a cultural study, 1780-1850

In this study, I explore how English writers around the turn of the nineteenth century—John Clare, Mary Wollstonecraft, William Belcher, Urbane Metcalf, John Perceval and James Tilly Matthews—form their self-identities in response to the definitions of psychiatry. These seemingly disparate writers are united by the fact that they establish literary identities that conflict with a mad identity created by the definitions of madness and thereby resist these definitions. For Clare, a patient of moral management, the definitions of psychiatry were objectifying and alienating. He attempted to resist these effects by choosing a literary identity that was counter to its definition of him as voiceless in his madness. In his asylum poetry, he adopts the identity of boxer Byron, the prolific poet, a rebellious and communicative figure. By contrast, Wollstonecraft chooses for herself literary identities that offer her a vocal position at the very centre of society: at first she chooses the literary identity of the female writer of sensibility in Mary; then she adopts the identity of the writer of the school of reason in her polemical works, such as A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. These identities oppose the definition of madness as she, and others, saw it: bestial and socially disruptive. In my discussion of this attitude, I argue that Wollstonecraft saw madness as a manifestation of the abject, as the concept is outlined by Julia Kristeva. Finally, in Chapter 3, I illustrate how four “mad writers” fight the definition of madness as that which robs a writer of the value of his words by choosing the literary identity of the writer of authority in their works of protest. I also indicate that William Belcher, John Perceval, Urbane Metcalf, and James Tilly Matthews succeed in partly redefining madness by making the implicit argument that madness provides them with a unique kind of authority, which was thought to be utterly divorced from the world of madness.
"Can racism": a critical inquiry into a social justice education project

This thesis is based on my experience of developing and piloting a social justice, media arts-based project entitled “Can Racism” in a high school setting in Peterborough, Ontario, in 2000. My primary aim in the project was to develop a pedagogical strategy that disrupted the hegemonic production and reproduction of ‘culture’ within schools and art galleries. The study examines the impact on the media arts participants of some of the pedagogical strategies embedded in “Can Racism”. I carried out a series of interviews with students, teachers, and parents; and while the views of students are my primary concern, I also include the perspectives of educators involved in “Can Racism” and of parents of the student participants. Literature from the fields of cultural theory and education informs my analysis of the words of the research participants. The thesis raises important issues about anti-racist education within a predominantly Euro-cultured and rural space.

Keywords: Racism, Study and teaching
Racism, Canada
Race awareness, Canada
Race discrimination, Canada
Educational equalization, Canada
Neighbors: a comparative study on gender access to education, employment and politics between Iran and Turkey

This thesis is a comparative study between Iran and Turkey. Three variables are studied: access to education, to employment and to the politics by gender. The thesis is composed of five chapters. The first chapter serves as an introduction in which the field of the study and the variables and the reasons of the study are introduced. The second chapter discusses the history and methodology of comparative education, and the methodology of this study. The third chapter is devoted to Turkey and the fourth to Iran. Each of the chapters three and four starts with a historical background of the respective country followed by some up-to-date general information about it. The statistical and analytical studies of each of the variables come in a specific section in each chapter. Since Iran and Turkey are very traditional countries, the intervention of traditions with each variable is studied, as well. The last chapter serves as a direct comparison between the two countries.

Keywords: Women, Social aspects
Women, Turkey
Women, Social aspects
Women, Iran
Sex differences in education, Turkey
Sex differences in education, Iran
Sex discrimination, Turkey
Sex discrimination, Iran
Sex role, Turkey
Sex role, Iran
Characterizing LAF-4 expression in human breast cancer

LAF-4 encodes a nuclear protein that has transactivation potential and is a fusion partner with MLL in acute leukemia. Previous quantitative RT-PCR studies in our lab detected elevated LAF-4 mRNA in a proportion of breast tumours. The aim of the present study was to further characterize LAF-4 expression in breast cancer. Real-time RT-PCR was performed to accurately determine the level of expression of the LAF-4 gene in breast cancer. We found that approximately 20% of breast tumours have elevated LAF-4 mRNA levels. Immunohistochemistry and western blotting found LAF-4 protein expression to be completely correlated to LAF-4 mRNA expression in cell lines. LAF-4 methylation status was investigated as a mechanism controlling LAF-4 transcriptional activation in breast tumours. We found the LAF-4 promoter to be unmethylated irrespective of LAF-4 expression level, indicating that methylation is not responsible for the aberrant activation of LAF-4. Perhaps, transcription factors and repressors are mechanistically responsible for the transcriptional activation of LAF-4.
Enhancement of Ultrasonic B-scan images

An ultrasonic B-scan is a useful method to display the result of a material inspection. In order to improve the lateral resolution and signal-to-noise ratio of a B-scan image, Synthetic Aperture Focusing Technique (SAFT) has been used by several researchers. In this thesis, it was intended to improve the resolution of a B-scan image by implementing deconvolution before the SAFT process. In conventional deconvolution, a single signal is used as a reference for processing all ultrasonic echoes, although this might not lead to best possible enhancement of the B-scan image. By contrast, it was shown in this work that using a reference library of ultrasonic signals for deconvolution would result in a B-scan with considerably better resolution. To obtain such a reference library, we developed a mathematical model of the pulser transducer, which emits ultrasonic wave into the material.
Outcome of non-surgical endodontic treatment: phase II

The 4-6 yr outcome of non-surgical endodontic treatment was assessed for Phase II of the “Toronto Study”. The outcome—“healed” or “diseased”, was assessed by an independent, blinded examiner. For initial treatment, Phase II (122 teeth, 48% recall) was analyzed separately and combined with Phase I (n = 242). The healed rate (85%) differed significantly for: pre-operative apical periodontitis (AP), treatment technique, gender, number of roots, and root filling length. Logistic regression revealed increased risk of disease for AP and step-back/lateral compaction. For retreatment, (103 teeth, 34% recall, Phase I and II combined), the “healed” rate (81%) differed significantly for AP and perforation. Logistic regression revealed increased risk of disease for: pre-operative perfortation and adequate root filling quality, and lack of definitive restoration. For initial treatment AP and technique were the main predictors of outcome. For retreatment, AP was secondary to perforation, root filling quality and to restoration, in predicting the outcome.
I/O prefetching for recursive data structures

Out-of-core applications that manipulate data too large to fit entirely in memory, tend to waste a large percentage of their execution times waiting for disk requests to complete. We can hide disk latency from these applications by taking advantage of under-utilized I/O resources to perform prefetching. However, while I/O prefetching has proven to be quite successful in array-based numeric codes; its applicability in pointer-based codes has not been explored. In this thesis, we explore the potential of applying the concepts of cache prefetching for pointer-based applications to prefetch items from the disk to memory. We also propose a new data structure for prefetching the elements of linked lists that can effectively reduce the run-time at the expense of some extra space when there are frequent updates to the list. Experimental results demonstrate that our technique is able to outperform previous techniques when there are significant changes to the list.
Measurement of adsorption for pressures very close to the saturation vapor pressure

A "two-interface" system of a single component fluid confined in a cylindrical container is a configuration in which a portion of a liquid phase would be above the vapor phase and a portion below. Based on Gibbs model of interphase, a thermodynamic analysis of a "two interface" configuration predicts that at equilibrium the contact angle at the upper three phase line is necessarily smaller than that at the lower three phase. The analysis also predicts that at equilibrium the pressure profile is the same as it would have been if the vapor phase were not there. A capillary system is considered that contains a single component fluid and is exposed to a gravitational field. A portion of the liquid is above and a portion below the vapor. Three sets of experiments are conducted with water by varying the vapor phase length. The experimental investigation supports both the theoretical predictions. The large contact angles at the lower three-phase line indicate an adsorption process occurring near the interface. Using the alpha-isotherm relations together with the Young and Gibbs adsorption equation the contact angles for the experiments are predicted. The predictions are found to be in close agreement with the measurements.
The role of cytochrome P450 2A6*4 in relation to cigarette smoking behavior and lung cancer case-control status

CYP2A6*4 has been hypothesized to play a role in cigarette smoking behavior and lung cancer risk. Understanding genetic variation as a contributor to patterns of cigarette smoking may eventually lead to a better understanding of nicotine addiction. A cross-sectional study nested within a population based case-control study was conducted to examine whether CYP2A6*4 along with selected determinants of smoking status, is associated with: (1) smoker vs. non smoker status, (2) current vs. former smoking status, (3) level of current smoking, and (4) lung cancer case-control status. The main results of this study indicate that smokers were less likely to have the CYP2A6*4 deletion genotype than nonsmokers and this association varied by ethnicity, with a multivariable odds ratio of 0.35; 95% confidence interval 0.07â€“0.8, in Caucasians. The results point to the need for further research with other disciplines to develop successful strategies aimed at reducing tobacco use.