McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 2003

Long before the publishing of Verlaine's Poetes maudits , it has been written and thought, in various circles and contexts, that writers of genius were doomed to an unhappy life. Nevertheless, it was only about 1760--1770 that the conditions allowing for the emergence of a myth of the unhappy writer were gathered. This myth affirms the christlike vocation of the author and associates greatness to unhappiness. This thesis seeks to understand this mythical phenomenon within a historical perspective. The first part recounts the three principal families of topoi associated, before 1770, to authorial unhappiness. These three series are those of …  Lire la suite

Researchers recognize the need to better understand the factors influencing indigenous land use in order to design sustainable tropical forest management programs. A key relationship that has been long overlooked in peasant societies is the one between communal labor access through social networks and land acquisition/accumulation. This study examines land distribution and labor patterns in traditional agriculture of a lowland and a upland community on the Maranon River near Iquitos, Peru. Data were gathered through household interviews (n=76) and field visits (n=396) between June and November 2001. Results reveal marked variations in access to land and communal labor between and …  Lire la suite

Joints between dissimilar materials are characterized particularly by compositional gradients and microstructural changes, which yield large variations in chemical, physical and mechanical properties across the joint. The joining of dissimilar materials is therefore more complex than the joining of similar materials. In this project, the joining procedure, from the interaction between the different components in a joint to the determination of the mechanical properties was applied to the Si3N4/FA-129 system. This iron aluminide intermetallic alloy (FA-129), was developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratories (ORNL) to have high temperature properties with good room temperature ductility. This intermetallic is replacing high strength …  Lire la suite

This thesis is an exploration of how particular Bolivian men and women who have migrated from Bolivia to Argentina, and have recently 'returned' to Bolivia, define, negotiate, and (re)create their identities in the migration experience. I argue that both the narratives and experiences of transnational migration for these migrants varies according to gender, age, economic possibilities, and legal circumstances. Furthermore, I suggest that this experience varies according to the multiple encounters with 'others' along the transnational circuit. By using a conceptualization of "migration" in transnational terms, my work has centered on how these migrants conceptualize the social conditions in which …  Lire la suite

Intensity modulated photon beam radiation therapy often results in dynamically delivered beams with small field sizes and steep dose gradients. This defines a need for an integrating, tissue-equivalent, high resolution dosimeter. 3D ferrous sulfate gel based dosimetry involves the use of magnetic resonance (MR) images of radiosensitive paramagnetic gels. The goal of this work is to create a patient specific quality assurance (QA) procedure that links measured dosimetnc information to clinical goals. The gel dosimeter system is tested through a set of simple experiments which characterize and confirm the system as a valid QA tool for conformal and intensity modulated …  Lire la suite

This thesis examines how the recent socio-economic and political arena in Cuba informs the relationship among the idea of population health, national statistics, and the everyday lives of individuals. Post-revolutionary Cuba has used measures of the health of individuals as a metaphor for the health of the body politic, effectively linking the efficacy of socialism and its governmental apparatus to the health conditions of the population. The creation of a model of health care that was informed by the revolutionaries' vision of a new social order, which in turn would help to create an ' hombre nuevo' (new man and …  Lire la suite

In the past century, the scope of patentable objects has greatly expanded. Patents are now being granted on living organisms, human biological material and genes. What are the consequences of such practices for scientific research and health care? One of the fundamental philosophical questions behind this issue is the following: are we justified in patenting human genetic material? An examination of the traditional philosophical justification of intellectual property will allow us to critically explore whether or not this practice is ethically justifiable. It will be argued that the consequentialist justification of intellectual property requires, in this present case, that we …  Lire la suite

Program tracing is a common technique employed by software and hardware developers who are interested in characterizing the dynamic behavior of complex software systems. However, despite the popularity of trace-driven analyses, there are surprisingly few options for encoding trace data in a standard format. In the past, many developers have resorted to creating their own ad-hoc trace encoding solutions, tailored specifically to the data they are considering. Such efforts are usually redundant, and in many cases lead to an obscure and poorly documented trace format which ultimately limits the reuse and sharing of potentially valuable information. The STEP system was …  Lire la suite

Objective. To identify predictors of injection cessation among Montreal active injection drug users (IDUs). Design. Subjects were selected from the St. Luc Cohort, a prospective study that has accrued IDUs since 1988. Subjects were eligible if they completed at least 3 visits between 1995 and 1999. Predictors of sustained and of short injection cessation were examined using logistic and Cox proportional regression. Results. Sustained injection cessation was negatively associated with injection frequency, a surrogate marker of addiction severity. Getting syringes at needle exchange programs or pharmacies impacted positively on the ability of moderate users to initiate and sustain injection cessation. …  Lire la suite

This dissertation seeks to explain the viewpoint of Islamic international law {siyar) with respect to the various aspects of treaties {mu'abadat) with non-Muslims. The siyar deals with (the notion) of mutual relations between Muslims and non-Muslims during times of war and peace, and thus has become an intrinsic branch of the Shari'a. The varying nature of siyar and its changing interpretation throughout Islamic history captured the attention of a number of jurists and historians from both the classical and modem times, whose works have been frequently consulted throughout this study. In the course of classical and pre-modem Islamic history, treaty-making …  Lire la suite

Alrededor de una musica ausente is an 18-minutes long composition, written for three Instrumental Groups (Group I: two trombones; Group II: four flutes; Group III: strings [6 0 3 2 1]) and three computer-based Digital Signal Processing Stations, positioned in the performance space so as to form a circle around the audience. Instrumental Groups and DSP Stations establish a relationship of outputs to inputs with respect to each other. Throughout the composition, sound material is gradually transformed as it flows from one Instrumental Group or Digital Signal Processing Station to another. Transformation of the sound material is accomplished by means …  Lire la suite

Skeletal development and homeostasis is comprised of complex events characterized by the presence of cell specific regulators and markers. Aberrant expression of any of the regulating factors usually results in metabolic bone disease. Therefore understanding the mechanisms of skeletal homeostasis may disclose new therapies for treating these disorders. While the complete pathway that defines normal osteoblast differentiation remains indeterminate, several regulatory factors have already been identified and characterized. Using gene targeting technology, the importance of parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHrP) in skeletal biology has been well established, as PTHrP^-/- and PTHrP^+/- mice demonstrate skeletal abnormalities. Several lines of evidence from in …  Lire la suite

Drug-eluting coronary stents have been identified as a promising means of treating in-stent restenosis. Animal models used to investigate these devices can deliver results for restenosis rates, but cannot provide accurate dose delivery information which would be very useful for refining stent geometries and apposition techniques to optimize dose delivery. In this study, a two-dimensional numerical model is constructed to explore geometrical situations of interest following stent implantation. Metallic stents with a polymer coating and biodegradable solid polymeric stents represent two different vehicles for local delivery. A comparison between these stent types is carried out through the variation of geometric …  Lire la suite

The wandering river pattern represents one of the last remaining river patterns that are not well understood. Many aspects of these rivers are not well known, particularly the processes of their creation and maintenance. The term wandering describes gravel or cobble bedded rivers, transitional between braided and meandering, with multiple channel sections around semi-permanent islands connected by single channel sections. This dissertation investigates the controls on the characteristics of wandering rivers within the Miramichi region of New Brunswick through time and at three nested spatial scales. At the scale of rivers, three factors appear to be needed for wandering to …  Lire la suite

For much of the last twenty years, political leaders and academics have assumed that the survival of Canada depends on constitutional reform, and never more so than in the wake of the 1995 Quebec referendum. This thesis updates the literature by explaining the remarkable story of the last several years: the achievement of a national unity peace in the absence of constitutional reform. The explanation centres on the post-referendum shift in federal strategy from constitutional reform to Plan B, a strategy based on the rules of secession that has its origins, it is argued, in the Reform Party's response to …  Lire la suite

This study examines the effects of performance feedback on negotiator emotions, interpersonal influence, negotiator behavior, and negotiation outcomes. A model based on the role of emotions in dyadic negotiation is proposed that comprises relationships amongst variables before, during, and after negotiation. This model is based on four major elements: namely, cognitive appraisal, emotional specificity, emotional flux, and interpersonal influence, and their influence on negotiator behavior and negotiation outcomes. A 2 x 4 x 4 (Negotiation Role x Feedback Conditions for the Negotiator x Feedback Conditions for the Counterpart) experimental study was designed to examine the effects of performance feedback during …  Lire la suite

Granulins are small cysteine-rich peptide growth factors that, in mammals, are derived from a common glycoprotein precursor (progranulin) containing one half and seven non-identical tandemly repeated granulin domains. While there is evidence for only one progranulin gene in mammalian genomes, work presented in this thesis demonstrates that granulins form an extended gene family in teleost fish. Two zebrafish genes that constitute likely co-orthologues to mammalian progranulin, progranulin-a and progranulin-b, encode precursors that encode 10 and 9 copies of the granulin motif, respectively. Two additional genes in zebrafish, designated progranulin-1 and progranulin-2, each give rise to precursors consisting of one and …  Lire la suite

Culture shock and reverse culture shock are profoundly personal experiences affecting individuals in a multitude of diverse ways. They happen inside each person who encounters unfamiliar events and unexpected situations. For people who work abroad (sojourners), cultural adjustment is a significant time in their lives. Following the examination of cultural adjustment, a review of literature is explored, highlighting sojourners' acculturation and coping strategies. A case study of the JET (Japanese Exchange Teaching) Programme is presented through an analysis of public documents and interviews with JET staff and former sojourners. Findings report that JET sojourners experience adjustment difficulties with reverse culture …  Lire la suite

The research aims to develop the use of ozone in nickel oxidation-precipitation from dilute solutions. The process presents three main steps: ozone transfer from gas to liquid, ozone decomposition by hydroxyl ions, and nickel oxidation-precipitation. Each step was studied using a semi-batch bubble reactor. For ozone gas-liquid transfer, a methodology to calculate the volumetric mass transfer coefficient ("kLa") was developed. Parameters evaluated included: diffuser porosity, volume of liquid and superficial gas velocity. To calculate the mass transfer coefficient ("kL") interfacial area ("a") is estimated from gas holdup and bubble size measurements. Ozone decomposition by OH" was examined as a function …  Lire la suite

An experimental study of spatially periodic fully developed flows of air in straight rectangular ducts with interrupted-plate inserts is presented. These flows have features similar to those produced in plate-fin passages of compact heat exchanger cores. The formulation of mathematical models and numerical solution methods for the prediction of these flows continues to be a challenging and largely unattained goal. The main goal of this work is to contribute experimental results suitable for testing and refining such models and solution methods. Airflows in nine different interrupted-plate rectangular ducts were considered. Reynolds numbers considered (based on Kays and London's definition of …  Lire la suite

Egalitarianism is highly valued in Canada and yet some groups are profoundly disadvantaged. This can be explained by sociological and psychological theorizing that claims advantaged group members are motivated to maintain a system of inequality from which they benefit. The challenge is to explain the few advantaged group members who defy self-interest and support disadvantaged groups. My research objectives were to understand what motivates selected advantaged group members to support disadvantaged groups, and to understand how the majority of advantaged group members maintain their belief in egalitarianism in the face of clear social inequality. Results revealed that most advantaged group …  Lire la suite

This thesis presents a detailed study of the simultaneous biaxial stretching of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) films in the partly molten state. Four commercial grades of isotactic PP (PP1--PP4) were investigated. The first three resins differed principally in isotacticity levels, which were 94.8%, 98.6%, and 99.5%, and the fourth resin had molecular weight and isotacticity levels similar to those of PP2, but differed in crystallization behavior. The four iPP resins were extruded and cast under similar conditions. The severity of the cooling was varied for PP4. The cast films were stretched on the laboratory film stretcher, that simulates closely the stretching …  Lire la suite

Finite-state automata and finite-state transducers have been extensively studied over the years. Recently, the theory of transducers has been generalized by Mohri for the weighted case. This generalization has allowed the use of finite-state transducers in a large variety of applications such as speech recognition. In this work, most of the algorithms for performing operations on weighted finite-state transducers are described in detail and analyzed. Then, an example of their use is given via a description of a speech recognition system based on them.  Lire la suite

"This thesis investigates a number of phonological phenomena in Picard, a Gallo-Romance dialect spoken France: Across-Word Regressive Assimilation and its variation patterns, and the domain-sensitive strategies that the language employs in the Resolution of Vocalic Hiatus (i.e. Semivocalization, Vowel Elision and Heterosyllabification). More generally, the thesis is about "variation" in its broadest sense. It explores variation that occurs within a single prosodic domain as well as the type of variation that operates across domains; while the former is variable and triggered by linguistic and extralinguistic factors (and is thus the subject of sociolinguistic investigation), the latter is invariable and strictly …  Lire la suite

This thesis analyzes an alternative public evaluation on students' performance which has affected the educational system of the City of Buenos Aires (Argentina) since 1992. This evaluation program intends to solve some key dilemmas of the evaluation policy: issues on equity, participation, trustworthiness, comparability and authenticity of the evaluated information. The study focuses on the potential, insight and barriers of this evaluation program. The relevance of this program lies in the fact that it was designed to make a contribution to the democratization of educational administration and to resist some authoritarian effects of a surrounding regional and global context of …  Lire la suite

Canada and the United States are two of the most energy-intensive countries in the world and have an immense impact upon their surrounding environment. Both countries have committed to contributing to the stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system, in accordance with the United Nations climate change regime. Their climate change-related energy policies do not, as yet, show any sign of achieving that objective, especially in light of the fact that greenhouse gas emissions are on the rise. This thesis consequently argues that not enough is …  Lire la suite

The judicial system of seventeenth-century France is often qualified as vitiated and inefficient. Actually, truth and equity are virtually absent from the court. In these conditions, why would one appeal to institutional justice? Montpellier notables use the judicial system to exert pressure on a debtor, to redress the internal familial order, to sidestep customary practices, to take revenge, to cause harm. Indeed, the question of law is rarely something other than a pretext, and it is precisely because it is vitiated that the judicial system can be used in that way. The analysis of the procedural practices and of the …  Lire la suite

This thesis highlights novel synthetic routes towards the facile synthesis of lariat DNA and RNA oligonucleotides, and the utilities of branched (bNAs) and circular (i.e. dumbbell-shaped) nucleic acids for targeting biologically relevant processes (i.e. HIV proliferation, alternative RNA splicing) with potential therapeutic applications. An innovative synthetic strategy for the synthesis and cyclization of a medium-sized (21-nucleotide) DNA lariat starting from a CPG-tethered, convergently synthesized branched DNA (bDNA) molecule was devised in Chapter 2. This synthetic route exploited the differential cleavage rates of two CPG-oligonucleotide tethers, namely the base-labile hydroquinone-O,O'-diacetate (Q-linker) and the more robust succinate (S-linker ) linkages, as well …  Lire la suite

In Aplysia, serotonin mediates behavioral sensitization partly by increasing the strength of the synapse between sensory and motor neurons, a process known as facilitation. The retention of long term facilitation of sensory-motor neuron synapses requires local translation. Indeed, retention of long term facilitation is blocked by rapamycin, an inhibitor of a specific translational pathway. One rapamycin-sensitive target is S6 kinase. S6 kinase activation and the subsequent increased translation of 5 ' terminal oligopyrimidine (TOP) mRNAs that encode components of the translational machinery has been proposed to be important for retention of long term facilitation (Khan et al., 2001). We have …  Lire la suite

The primary dramas examined in this study are Vicente Garcia de la Huerta's Raquel and Felix Lope de Vega's La hermosa Ester. This thesis is a textual analysis that seeks both to challenge and complement the existing literary criticism that has focused on construction of the female protagonists and the theme of heroism and culpability. Raquel and La hermosa Ester demonstrate the centrality of their female protagonists in the socio-political macrostructures of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries through their ability to influence the functioning of a monarchy and its reigns of power. The predominant theme that is explored is the …  Lire la suite

This investigation is about characterization in the Fourth Gospel as it relates to the "disciple"---the mysterious, anonymous figure that pervades the structure of allusions in this narrative. The question as to who this character is and what s/he does in this gospel text has both attracted and intrigued generations of biblical scholars. The first part of the investigation examines divergent views of premodern, modern and reader-oriented criticism with regard to the "disciple's" identity and function, highlighting the respectively allegorical, historical and reader-oriented understanding of his/her character as proposed by these three critical approaches. The second part of the investigation re-examines …  Lire la suite

The main objective of this thesis was to explore, characterize and evaluate different CeO2-based electrolyte materials that could be employed to replace the existing yttria-stabilized zirconia oxide used as the electrolyte component of intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). The electrolyte materials were synthesized using a radio frequency inductively coupled plasma reactor. CeO2-based fine powders doped with different compositions of Gd, Sm or Y were synthesized from nitrate salts dissolved in water. The powders were analyzed using X-ray diffraction, inductively coupled plasma (ICP), SEM and EDS (energy dispersive spectroscopy). It was demonstrated that the concentrations of Ce and dopants …  Lire la suite

We report the cloning and characterization of valois (vls), a posterior group gene of Drosophila melanogaster , which was initially identified in a screen for female steriles. Three EMS alleles of vls contain premature stop codons in the open reading frame. Sequence analyses show the presence of WD domains in Vls and find significant similarity with the human MEP50 protein which is involved in the assembly of the splicing machinery. We did not find evidence that this function is conserved in flies yet. We created a null mutant for vls, which shows a maternal effect lethal phenotype accompanied by posterior …  Lire la suite

The Multidrug drug resistance (MDR) phenotype is a major limitation to chemotherapy. The MDR phenotype arises when class I P-glycoproteins (P-gps) are overexpressed in cultured cells in vitro and in tumor cells in vivo. P-gps are encoded in rodents by three genes: mdr1, mdr2 and mdr3. Class I P-gps (Mdrl, Mdr3) confer drug resistance upon transfection in non-resistant cells and act as ATP dependent drug efflux pumps, class II P-gps (Mdr2) do not convey MDR but act as lipid flippases in the canalicular membranes of hepatocytes. P-gps are composed of twelve transmembrane domains and two nucleotide binding sites. The membrane …  Lire la suite

A manipulator end-effector (EE) Cartesian workspace is understood as the set of all possible poses that the EE may assume. Each pose is described by position of the EE operation point (EE position) and orientation of the EE. The set of all possible positions of the EE constitutes reachable workspace of the manipulator. A dextrous workspace is a subset of the reachable workspace, such that for any EE position within the subset, corresponding set of the EE available orientations is unbounded. For any EE position that does not belong to the dextrous workspace the set of available EE orientations is …  Lire la suite

The main premise of this thesis is to demonstrate how the Gypsies, (Roma)---both Muslim and Christian, both settled and nomadic---were marginalized by the Ottoman State and society in Rumelia (Rumili) and Istanbul during the "Classical Age" of this tri-continental Islamic Empire. The Ottoman state and the society's attitudes towards this marginal group are analyzed through the examination of the Muhimme Registers of the second half the sixteenth century and four major Kanunnames concerning the Gypsies issued in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Travelers' accounts and Turkish oral traditions have also been used to explore the social status of the Gypsies …  Lire la suite

Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) has a very high rate of mortality since it does not respond to conventional therapies such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Furthermore, in the majority of cases, metastases are already present at the time of diagnosis. The objective of our study is to develop a noval treatment for RCC, using a dendritic cell (DC) vaccine. An animal model of RCC, RENCA, was used to develop the vaccine.  Lire la suite

Estrogen (17-beta estradiol) and its receptor (ERalpha) have important physiological roles and are well implicated in human breast cancer, but less is known about the function of estrogen-related orphan nuclear receptor alpha (ERRalpha). The close kinship between ERalpha and ERRalpha and the existing, but yet to be fully characterized, interplay between ERalpha and erbB2 (Neu) protooncogene signaling pathways, suggest that ERRalpha may also play a significant role in breast cancer. Thus, the focus of the current study was to determine the extent of ERRalpha cross talk with ERalpha, its physiological role, as well as its possible implication in erbB2-driven mammary …  Lire la suite

Over the past few years, embryo research has been a widely discussed topic. New techniques such as embryo stem cell research or therapeutic cloning are considered by scientists to be very promising. Nevertheless, opponents of these experimentations warn against the commodification of human life forms and argue that the moral status of embryos should protect them from being destroyed purely for research. Legislations on this topic have been enacted in most Western countries, though they are still much criticised. Is there an adequate way of regulating embryo research? Our argument suggests that consensus can only be procedurally obtained. That is, …  Lire la suite

Goltzman, David (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

The Vestibular Ocular Reflex (VOR) controls the stability ofgaze in mammals and operates even in darkness. It has been classically believed that the VOR can be represented by a steady state model, in which the switching between slow and fast phases does not affect the content in each slow phase segment. This assumption, as we will explore in this thesis, is found to be invalid. Furthermore, a new analysis method that takes into account the transient effect ofthe switching will be introduced. The classical and a new transient analysis method are first tested on simulated VOR data. The results show …  Lire la suite

Glutathione (GSH) is the most abundant antioxidant in the lung and plays an important protective role. The level of GSH in the airway surface liquid (ASL) is significantly reduced in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, which may exacerbate the oxidative stress in the airway lumen induced by inflammation. GSH release may also be harmful to surface cells lining the airways if it reduces intracellular levels. The mechanisms of glutathione transport by airway epithelia are not known.  Lire la suite

Severe anemia is a major life-threatening complication of malaria. Inappropriately low reticulocytosis in malaria patients with anemia suggests insufficient erythropoiesis, of which the mechanisms and implications are not clear. The principle growth factor that promotes erythropoiesis is erythropoietin (Epo). Studies determining the serum level of Epo in malaria infected patients have been inconclusive. Furthermore, the role of Epo and the erythropoietic response to Epo stimulation during malaria have never been examined. The purpose of the experiments performed in this thesis was, thus, to investigate the role of Epo and erythropoiesis in relation to anemia during blood-stage malaria using the murine …  Lire la suite

The purpose of this study was to describe various kinematic variables of the skating stride. A data set for five collegiate hockey players was completed (mean +/- SD: age = 22.0 +/- 1.0 years, height = 1.77 +/- 0.06 m, weight = 80.0 +/- 8.5 kg). Three velocities were examined on the skating treadmill: slow (12 km/hr), medium (18 km/hr) and fast (24 km/hr). Electrogoniometers at the hip (H), knee (K) and ankle (ANK) were used to acquire angular displacement and velocity profiles. A trend for increasing range of motion and a significant (p < 0.05) increase in stride rate …  Lire la suite

Genomic imprinting is a mechanism of fine regulation of gene expression. Imprinted genes are expressed from only one parental allele and many of them have critical roles in growth and development. Imprinting marks that distinguish the parental origin must be erased and re-established in germ cells according to the sex of the individual to ensure proper embryonic development. We investigated occurrence of imprinting errors in mouse embryos. Firstly, we tested the hypothesis that errors in resetting of imprints occur and lead to grandparental-origin effects on embryonic growth. Although we did not find statistically significant effects, we observed trends that should …  Lire la suite

Free-space optical interconnects (FSOIs) represent an attractive alternative technology for the implementation of short distance high bandwidth interconnections for applications such as massively parallel computing systems. However, FSOIs have still not been accepted commercially as an interconnect technology. Examples of obstacles preventing the commercial deployment of FSOI systems are the problem of optical alignment and the absence of optical system design tools. This thesis addresses these concerns and proposes a series of tools for the design and alignment of free-space optical links. The need for these tools was emphasised in the context of the optical design and implementation of a …  Lire la suite

Eilenberg has shown that the notion of varieties in semigroups/monoids can be naturally made to correspond with varieties of languages that they recognize. This has significantly deepened and organized our understanding of finite automata and regular languages. Several researchers have later recognized that the more appropriate algebraic objects to look into are finite categories which generalize monoids in a way that is explained in the work. This point of view not only refines the existing theory but is indispensable when dealing with serial decompositions of automata. In this thesis we try to advance this theory by exploring the connections between …  Lire la suite

With an ever-decreasing minimum feature size, integrated circuits have more transistors, run faster and are larger than ever before. As a result, problems such as heat dissipation, clock generation and clock distribution are at the forefront of challenges facing chip designers today. A Globally Asynchronous, Locally Synchronous (GALS) system combined with dynamic voltage and frequency scaling is an architecture that can combat many of these issues while allowing for high performance operation. In this thesis, we investigate three distinct circuit designs compatible with, but not limited to, such a system. The first uses a novel bi-directional asynchronous FIFO to communicate …  Lire la suite

Silence has traditionally been analysed in linguistic terms as those moments of non-speech/non-sound interspersed between words and sounds. I will attempt to take this academic reasoning further to deconstruct established notions of silence and incorporate contemporary methods of investigation to arrive at a more viable and dynamic observation of the event. Silence goes beyond this simple dualistic and binary contrast and I believe may reveal itself as negotiator of language, wherein the impossibility of an absolute truth is translated into the imminent. This thesis will be an attempt at a discourse that redefines silence's fleeting site as an impending source …  Lire la suite

Retinoic acid (RA), the major biologically active form of vitamin A, plays important roles in regulating a broad range of biological processes. Progressive loss of RARs is associated with skin carcinogenesis both in human and animals. Despite such observations, the biological significance of RAR loss in skin carcinogenesis has not yet been clarified. To this end, we established keratinocyte cell lines deficient in RARalpha, RARgamma, or both and employed a well-established tumorigenesis model to investigate whether loss of RARs is causally related to skin tumorigenesis. We found that RARgamma is the major RAR subtype mediating the growth and AP-1 inhibitory …  Lire la suite