VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The Infancy Gospel of Thomas: The text, its origins, and its transmission

The 'Infancy Gospel of Thomas' (IGT), an early apocryphal writing about Jesus' childhood, has been known in the West for centuries--IGT was first published in the seventeenth century--yet after all this time, scholars interested in the text remain focused on recovering its earliest form and on situating it in the spectrum between heresy and orthodoxy. Such efforts have overshadowed the need to situate this text in the history of literature. Only by identifying its literary affinities can IGT truly be understood. Upon IGT's discovery scholars immediately identified the text as the "Gospel of Thomas" mentioned by a number of early Church writers and frequently associated with gnostics. The absence of anything remotely gnostic in the text led to the creation of an expurgation theory which holds that gnostic discourses must have been removed from the text by a Catholic reviser. With the publication of the true 'Gospel of Thomas' from Nag Hammadi in 1956 both the association with Gnosticism and the expurgation theory should have come to an end; yet many scholars continue to claim that gnostic sayings have been removed from the text. This dissertation seeks to correct these ideas. Recent work on IGT has shown that the text has been lengthened over the centuries, not shortened, with material having been added to the text in order to harmonize its portrayal of Jesus with that of the NT gospels. New Greek manuscripts of the gospel, edited and published here for the first time, help to bolster this shorter text theory and aid in tracing the text's transmission. They also set IGT on a firm text-critical foundation for the study of its contents. A critical analysis of these contents reveals that IGT was never more gnostic at all. In fact, the conventions employed in ancient biographical literature dictate that childhood portrayals of eminent adults are intended to foreshadow their later career. IGT's irascible wonderworker, therefore, is based not on gnostic contempt for the world but from the author's belief that the 'adult ' Jesus was just as likely to curse as to bless. These conventions reveal also that IGT's Jesus is wise and mature not because he is meant to be understood as a gnostic Redeemer figure but because, in antiquity, these qualities often were celebrated in praiseworthy children. The ancients valued their offspring only when they approached adulthood, for in adulthood they were needed to care for their parents and carry on the family name. It was in adulthood too that a person attained reason, the requisite virtue for becoming truly human. The Jesus of IGT, therefore, is far more ordinary than previously thought. He is temperamental, not because he represents gnostic contempt of the world, but because the author believes his young Jesus is consistent with the Jesus, and the apostles, of the NT. He is mature and wise not because he is not really human--neither gnostic Redeemer nor god-child--but because in the eyes of the text's author and audience, these things make him human.
An economic evaluation of calcium and vitamin D versus hormone replacement therapy, for the prevention of hip fractures in Canadian postmenopausal women

Osteoporosis is a major health problem. As average life expectancy increases, the incidence of hip and other fractures in postmenopausal women (PMW) also increases. The number of hip fractures (BF) and health care resources required to manage them are expected to quadruple in the next 40 years, under a No Intervention (NI) scenario, as the Canadian population ages. Consequently, implementation of effective preventative interventions are necessary in PMW to avoid future HFs. The hypothesis of the thesis is that population supplementation with Calcium and vitamin D (CaVD) will result in fewer HFs, lower healthcare cost, and life years gained (LYG) compared to NI, if therapy is initiated in PMW at either age 50 (CaVD50), or age 65 (CaVD65), and continued until age 90 or death. In an economic evaluation, the intervention under study must be compared to the current gold standard of care. Currently hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is that standard. The evaluation was initiated to determine the incremental cost-effectiveness of CaVD or HRT versus NI. A forty-year Markov economic model was developed to conduct the evaluation. Canadian-specific probabilities and cost of events, needed for the model, were generated by manipulation of medical databases and literature reviews; efficacy of CaVD in osteoporosis prevention was evaluated via the conduct of a meta-analysis. The model was run under the base case assumptions (CaVD and HRT had 20%, and 50% reduction in HF risk respectively, versus NI) and 3% rate of discounting. CaVD65 strategy was considered weakly dominant (resulted in fewer HFs and lower cost than NI) under the base case assumptions. HRT strategy initiated at age 65 was dominant over all strategies evaluated. HRT initiated at age 50 was cost-effective ($10,969/LYG; fewer HFs, but cost more than NI), while CaVD50 was not ($94,843/LYG). The model results were sensitive to the cost of CaVD, HRT, long-term care, hip fracture repair, and to treatment efficacy assumptions, however use of acceptable cost ranges for these parameters did not alter the rank-ordering of the interventions. In conclusion, CaVD65 is a cost-effective alternative for those women who choose not to take HRT for the prevention of BFs.
Search in infants, the non-monotonic influence of the number of A trials on the A-not-B error

The A-not-B task (Piaget, 1954) is characterized by perseverative search at the A location even after the object has been moved to the B location. Although the A-not-B error is widely studied, there is no consensus regarding the influence of the number of A trials on task performance. Based largely on the results of an influential meta-analysis (Wellman, Cross, & Bartsch, 1986), it is generally accepted that the number of A trials does not influence behaviour on the A-not-B task. Yet, the majority of competing systems theories postulate a monotonically increasing effect of the number of A trials. In Exp. 1, 84 9-month-old infants were given either 1, 6, or 11 A trials on an A-not-B task. The number of A trials affected two dependent measures: the proportion of infants who erred on the first B trial, and the number of B trial errors before the first correct search at A. Intriguingly, the number of errors was greater after 6 A trials, as opposed to 1 or 11 A trials, which suggests a non-monotonic (or U-shaped effect. Exp. 2 was designed to assess the combined effects of the number of A trials and stimulus familiarity on the search behaviour of 2-year-old children. In the multistep multilocation search task (Zelazo, Reznick, & Spinazzola, 1998), 60 children received either 1, 6, or 11 A trials using familiar or unfamiliar stimuli. Although there was no effect of stimulus familiarity, the results again suggested a non-monotonic pattern of behaviour. In Exp. 3, 2-year-old children searched for objects hidden in a sandbox (Spencer, Smith, & Thelen, in press) and received either 3, 7, 11, or 15 A trials. The continuous nature of the dependent measures (error distance and reaction time) permitted regression analyses, which were consistent with a U-shaped pattern of behaviour across a wide range of A trials. The findings are consistent with the hierarchical competing systems model (Marcovitch & Zelazo, 1999) which postulates that behaviour on search tasks is determined jointly by a response-based system and a conscious representational system.
The importance of platelets and complement in material-induced leukocyte activation in vitro

The role of material, platelets, and complement on material-induced leukocyte activation was investigated using an 'in vitro' bead (45 [mu]m) assay with polystyrene (PS), polyethylene glycol-immobilized polystyrene (PS-PEG), and PS-PEG-NH2. Blood contact with beads activated leukocytes (tissue factor (TF) expression, CD11b upregulation and association with platelets), resulting in increased procoagulant activity. In the bulk, activation was independent of material surface chemistry; activation of adherent leukocytes was material-dependent. In blood, tissue factor expression on monocytes, but not CD11b upregulation on leukocytes in the bulk, was independent of material surface area. Material-induced TF expression, but not CD11b upregulation, required the presence of platelets. In fact, TF expression was dependent on the association between platelets and monocytes. Both anti-IIb/IIIa and anti-P-selectin reduced TF expression. Inhibiting complement alone with sCR1 (a specific complement inhibitor) was without effect on material-induced TF expression. However, combining sCR1 and the platelet antagonist anti-GPIIb/IIIa significantly reduced material-induced TF expression in blood. Complement inhibition with sCR1 was only effective in reducing CD11b upregulation in the bulk in the presence of a material that strongly activated complement, such as PS-PEG, but not with the moderate activator PS. When effective, complement inhibition with sCR1 only partially reduced material-induced CD11b upregulation in the bulk, suggesting that other mechanisms exist. Platelet activation was identified as the other mechanism contributing to material-induced CD11b upregulation in blood. Inhibiting both complement (with sCR1) and platelets (with anti-GPIIb/IIIa) blocked material-induced CD11 b upregulation. The presence of pyridoxal-5-phosphate alone also significantly reduced both TF expression and CD11b upregulation in the bulk; this is believed to be associated with its C1q and platelet inhibitory activities. Both adsorbed complement products and adherent platelets mediated leukocyte adhesion. TF expression on adherent monocytes was strongly dependent on the presence of adherent platelets, while adsorbed complement products regulated CD1b upregulation on adherent leukocytes. 'In vitro' material-induced leukocyte activation, associated with the expression of procoagulant activities, appeared to be secondary to both complement and platelet activation. Blood-material compatibility may be greatly improved with a material that minimally activates both platelets and complement, or by the use of therapeutic agents, such as P5P, that simultaneously inhibit platelets and complement.
Formal analysis of early requirements specifications

'Early Requirements Engineering' is the phase of the software development process that is concerned with understanding the organizational context of a system, and the goals and social dependencies of its stakeholders. 'Formal Methods' techniques have a great potential as a powerful means for specification, early debugging and certification of software. So far, however, their application to early requirements modeling and analysis has been limited by a mismatch between the concepts used for describing early requirements and the constructs offered by formal specification languages. This thesis describes an approach that bridges the gap between Early Requirements Engineering and Formal Methods. In particular, we propose a new specification language, called 'Formal Tropos', that offers the primitive concepts of early requirements frameworks (actor, goal, strategic dependency), and supplements them with a rich temporal specification language. We also developed a tool, called 'T-Tool', that is able to perform formal analysis on the 'Formal Tropos' specifications. The tool is based on Formal Methods techniques, in particular 'model checking'. Our preliminary experiments on a case study show that formal analysis techniques reveal gaps and inconsistencies in early requirements that are by no means trivial to discover without the help of formal analysis tools.
The use of bisphosphonates to promote healing of rat calvarial wounds

Previous studies have demonstrated an inverse relationship between bone mineralization and bone matrix formation in vitro, and further, that reversible inhibition of mineralization with a bisphosphonate, Etidronate (HEBP), will stimulate bone formation in vitro. In this investigation, a rat calvarial wound healing model was used to determine whether reversible inhibition of mineralization with high dose HEBP (15 mg/kg) would accelerate wound closure in vivo. Bilateral wounds (5mm$\sp2)$ were made in the calvaria of 150 mg male Wistar rats under general anesthesia. Daily subcutaneous injections of HEBP or saline (control) were administered for one week, followed by a one-week recovery period to permit mineralization. Another group received a second generation bisphosphonate, Pamidronate (APD), at 1 mg/kg, a dose that inhibits resorption but not mineralization. In one group of HEBP treated rats, APD was administered in the second week to inhibit potential resorption of newly formed bone. In some animals, HEBP was administered throughout the two-week period. Histomorphometric assessment of wound closure was carried out on undemineralized serial sections stained with toluidine blue and the von Kossa stain to visualize osteoid matrix and mineralized bone respectively. At one week, there was a two-fold increase in closure in HEBP treated rats as compared to saline control or APD. The greatest closure was observed in rats treated with HEBP in the first week followed by APD in the second week. While elevated levels of osteoid and osteopontin as well as lowered levels of bone sialoprotein were observed after one week of HEBP treatment, they returned to normal after cessation of HEBP treatment. These data show that wound closure can be accelerated in rats when HEBP is used for a short period of time in a dose high enough to inhibit mineralization reversibly.
The role of cytochrome P450 2C19 in flunitrazepam pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in vivo

Cytochrome P450 2C19 (CYP2C19) represents an important example of a pharmacogenetic polymorphism. Flunitrazepam is a widely used benzodiazepine that is metabolised by CYP2C19 'in vitro'. Our objective was to examine the role of CYP2C19 activity in determining flunitrazepam kinetics and response ' in vivo'. The omeprazole (OMP) and 5-hydroxyomeprazole (5-OH-OMP) ratio determined in the plasma 3 h following drug administration was used as a measure of CYP2C19 activity. Thirteen healthy volunteers with metabolic ratios (MR) of OMP/5-OH-OMP ranging from 0.50-28.8 received flunitrazepam 1 mg orally. With increasing MR, average levels of flunitrazepam appeared to increase (r = 0.35, p = 0.25), and the ratios of flunitrazepam to both N-desmethylflunitrazepam and 3-hydroxyflunitrazepam appeared to increase (r = 0.44, p = 0.14 and r = 0.54, p = 0.06, respectively). Individuals with higher MR appeared to demonstrate larger decreases in psychomotor performance (r = 0.48, p = 0.11). In conclusion, these data suggest that CYP2C19 contributes to the metabolism of flunitrazepam to N-desmethylflunitrazepam and 3-hydroxyflunitrazepam.
An investigation of the shear design of a reinforced concrete box structure

Recent research has shown that size effects reduce the shear strength of large beams with no shear reinforcement and with low amounts of flexural reinforcement. It was suspected that these size effects may be important for the thick one-way slabs of the underground box structures used in subway construction. To investigate this hypothesis a 45% scale model of a slice of a Toronto Transit Commission box unit was subjected to uniform loading. The specimen failed in shear at only 55% of its flexural capacity. The failure shear stress of the 45MPa concrete was only 0.85MPa. Thus, it was found that the size effect in shear for this one-way slab was very important. Also, it was proven that the ACI Code expressions as well as the AASHTO Culvert Method are unconservative for this case. Only, the shear design methods of the CSA Code provided accurate estimates of shear capacity. Thus, the need for better shear strength expressions was emphasized. In the meantime, it is recommended that one-way slabs with a thickness greater than 300mm should not be excluded from the provisions which require minimum shear reinforcement if the shear stress exceeds one half of the shear strength.
The hemolysis and cytotoxicity of a zeolite-containing root filling material in vitro

ZUT is an endodontic sealer consisting of glass ionomer cement (GIC) and an antimicrobial-containing zeolite (0.2% Zeomic® w/w). Cytotoxicity and hemolysis of ZUT, Ketac-Cem® (ZUTs GIC component), Ketac®-Endo (a GIC), and AH-26® (a resin; with/without silver formulations) were characterized. Cell death was assessed using a Millipore Filter test with a HeLa cell monolayer (n = 10/sealer material; repeated twice). Cytotoxicity of materials at various time points (fresh mixed, 1, 2, 3, 6, and 24 hr. from mixing) was compared to wax controls. GICs and AH-26® formulations were noncytotoxic 1 and 6 hours after setting, respectively (1-way ANOVA with Duncan's pairwise t-tests; p > 0.05). Disks of AH 26® (with silver) were significantly more hemolytic than the other test materials after incubation in a saline-rabbit blood solution (n = 6/material; repeated twice) (ANOVA; p < 0.001). Zeomic® did not increase the cytotoxic and hemolytic potential of Ketac-Cem®. The degree of cytotoxicity and hemolysis for the ZUT material was comparable to that of the clinically-accepted Ketac®-Endo and AH-26 ® sealers.
Does non-exhaustive exercise induce the heat shock response in rat hindlimb skeletal muscle?

This investigation examined potential role that non-exhaustive exercise might play in eliciting a cellular stress response in rat skeletal muscle. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (mean weight 283g), randomly assigned (n = 4 per group-1), were run on a motorized treadmill for 20, 40, or 60 min. at 25 m/min-1, level grade. Rectal temperature was monitored prior to and following the exercise bout. An additional group of animals served as a positive control group in which rectal temperature was raised to 42°C artificially on a heating pad. The muscle glycogen content, HSF-activation and immunoblot analyses of HSP72 and HSC73 were examined in four muscles of the hindlimb following exercise. Following exercise, mean rectal temperature reached 39.0 ± 0.04°C, but there was no significant increase in HSP72 or HSC73 content. Glycogen contents at various time intervals following exercise also showed no significant change. Although temperature increased significantly from normal rectal temperature following exercise, it was not sufficient to activate HSF-HSE binding or induce the cellular stress response. HSF-activation and an increase in HSP72 content were demonstrated only immediately and 24h post heat shock, respectively. These data indicate that this exercise protocol was insufficient to elicit the cellular stress response in hindlimb muscles. Since there was no significant change in HSP70 content following the prescribed exercise protocol, results suggest extreme temperatures (41-42°C) or longer duration at lower temperatures may be necessary for the cellular stress response to be induced during exercise.
Performing testimony, ethics, pedagogy, and a theatre beyond injury

This study is written from the perspective of a practicing theatre artist and addresses the relationship between subjectivity, representation and ethics. Chapter One outlines a theory of witnessing as pedagogical and ethical engagement with testimony in the context of performance. Beginning from the premise that a privileging of trauma as a mode of knowledge fixes testimony within a discourse of loss and the tragic, the chapter examines problems of authenticity, voice and representational realism. Chapter one concludes by introducing the ethics of Emmanuel Levinas and the problem of the thesis: how can artist/educators, theatre participants and audience members find the resources to become an 'I' capable of responding to the ethical call of the other? What is it to enact this 'I' as a witness on stage? Chapter Two elaborates what is at stake for participants approaching testimony and articulates a relationship between Levinas' ethical relation and mimesis as a practice of negotiation between contact and distance, self and other. The chapter focuses first on the pedagogy and aesthetics of Theatre of the Oppressed and then explores the role of trauma memory in a project with refugees. Chapter Three continues discussion of this project in the context of mourning, melancholia, and an aesthetic of injury in English Canadian popular theatre. The chapter critiques a too easy empathy within psychological realism and discusses intersubjectivity, structures of identification and roles of victim and helper in the context of audience reception. Chapter Four discusses a play about land mines to examine staging an intervention in melancholia and a working through of encounters with loss. The chapter explicitly engages how performers and audience might develop a critical awareness of how to approach messy truths, suggesting there is a creative place for anxiety and resistance in drawing near to another. The thesis concludes by reiterating the importance of a mimesis that risks naming and resists closure in the name of ethics. Only performance forms and processes which invite an 'I' capable of approaching an 'Other' might generate possibilities for witnessing.
Historia y ficción en tres obras de Osvaldo Soriano

In my thesis I examine three novels by Argentinian writer Osvaldo Soriano (1943-1997). These narrative works offer a critical vision of arbitrary dictatorial government and the resulting tragic consequences experienced by the general population of Argentina from, 1973 to 1983. The traumatic extremes of social violence, police and military repression, in these times, are without equal in Argentine history. Soriano utilizes various narrative strategies to creatively achieve his perspective on the Argentinian political landscape. His key narrative strategy involves relocating significant historical events and times into diminutive places, either real or imaginary. This temporal and spatial movement brings about situations which might be considered absurd, but which nevertheless are a truthful reflection of the Argentinian social and political life of that period. I have divided my work into four chapters. In chapter one, I place Soriano's work within the Argentinian literary tradition. In the following chapters, I analyze the novels chronologically according to historical events. The first novel that I address in chapter two, 'No habrá más penas ni olvido', deals with Juan Domingo Perón's return to Argentina from exile in Spain for the inauguration of his third term as Argentinian president (1973-1974). In chapter three, I study the second novel, 'Cuarteles de invierno ', whose action occurs in the historical Argentinian period known as "the dirty war." Also occurring at this time was the 1978 World Football Cup organized by the horrific military government in power since March 24, 1976. At the end of chapter two and three, I compare the movies ' Little Funny Dirty War' (based on 'No habrá más penas ni olvido') and 'Winter Quarters' (based on ' Cuarteles de invierno'). My intention is to establish and examine differences and similarities between text and film, taking into account the point of view of the audience/reader. In the last chapter fourth, I explore 'A sus plantas, rendido un león' whose action takes place during the Malvinas (Falklands) War. This novel presents itself, like the two previous ones, as a point of reflection for all Argentinians regarding the tragedy of their recent history.