McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 2005

One third of drugs in development are water insoluble, and one half of all drugs fail in trials because of poor pharmacokinetics. Block copolymer micelles are nanosized particles that can solubilize hydrophobic drugs and coincidentally alter their kinetics in vitro and in vivo. In using such micelles it is important that the drug is not lost due to premature vehicle disassembly and that its effectiveness is not diminished by unfavorable distribution of the micelles. Disintegration of micelles depends on a number of environmental conditions, with consequent variation in drug release rates; these rates, however, are always faster than those which …  Lire la suite

Protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) and vitamin A and iron deficiencies are major public health problems in India. Traditional food systems are known to be sustainable, high in species variety and have rich nutrient sources. This thesis describes nutritional status in Dalit mothers and children living in villages with the Alternative Public Distribution Program (ADDS), a community food security program based on traditional agriculture, and in control villages. We recruited 263 Dalit mother-child (6-39 months) pairs from 19 APDS and 18 control villages in the Medak District. Food frequency questionnaires and 24-hour recalls were used during two seasons in 2003. A socio-cultural …  Lire la suite

The safety of the novel class of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), the COX-2 inhibitors, is currently debated, with the focus on their cardiovascular toxicity. Here, the association of NSAIDs with acute renal failure (ARF) was assessed in a nested case-control study using the administrative databases of Quebec. The risk of ARF for all NSAIDs combined was highest within 30 days of treatment initiation (adjusted rate ratio (RR) 2.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.61 - 2.60) and receded thereafter. After at least 30 days without an NSAID-prescription, the risk had returned to baseline. The associations with ARF were comparable for rofecoxib …  Lire la suite

The goal of this study was to develop a method by which to examine the effects of pharmacologically lowered levels of a class of stress hormones known as glucocorticoids on neural activity induced by a memory task as measured by pharmacological functional resonance imaging (phfMRI). It is known that an excess of glucocorticoids can interfere with learning and memory processing and affect neural activity within brain regions that subserve these processes. Although the behavioural effects of lowered glucocorticoids are known and resemble those of excessive glucocorticoids, the impact of low glucocorticoid levels on brain activation patterns is not. We conducted …  Lire la suite

The prosecutorial standard for incitement is subject to different approaches in the common law and civil law traditions respectively. The most crucial difference lies in the role attributed to the result as a definitional element of the offence. While the civil law generally characterizes proof of results as a prerequisite to liability, the common law views it as significant but not determinative of guilt. This divergence is expounded at the international level, which condones both approaches with respect to different crimes, employing the common law approach only to genocide and relegating all other crimes to the purview of the civil …  Lire la suite

Ecological speciation involves the evolution of reproductive isolation (RI) as a by-product of adaptation to different selective environments. Parallel patterns of non-random mating by environment type provide strong evidence that ecological speciation has occurred. The processes involved in the origins of RI are more difficult to detect however. One mechanism involves the correlated evolution of mating preferences and sexually selected traits. I developed a conceptual model for detecting RI under various scenarios of mate preference evolution. The model predicts that RI will not evolve if preferences are evolutionarily constrained relative to the preferred traits, but is detectable as long as …  Lire la suite

This study examines the birth of television and the modern media corporation that launched it, through the archives of the designer of the "first" set, John Vassos, a Greek-born American industrial designer, interior decorator, and illustrator (1898-1985). Vassos's early career is used as a case study to analyze the historical and cultural forces that shaped the emergence of this new media and the new profession of industrial design, through archival materials housed in the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. and at Syracuse University. Specifically, this thesis unites various parts of Vassos's early career, from …  Lire la suite

Rationale. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in humans is associated with chronic cigarette smoking. At present only an acute model exists for lung fibrosis research. Objective. Describe a chronic animal model of lung fibrosis produced by cigarette smoke exposure. Methods. Six BALB/c mice have been exposed to two unfiltered cigarettes a day, 5 days a week for 6 months. Results. The phenotype was characterized by lung mechanics, histology and gene expression. Tissue elastance (compliance) and resistance was observed to be significantly elevated in the cigarette smoke-exposed mice compared to untreated controls. Histologically, airspace size in lungs of smoke exposed mice assessed by …  Lire la suite

Eukaryotic cells are divided into subcellular organelles that generate appropriate molecular environments for the functions they harbour. As such, subcellular localization is a key characteristic that provides valuable clues regarding protein function and, when studied globally, a better understanding of cellular processes. The organelles of the secretory pathway are responsible for the processing of all proteins destined for secretion, the plasma membrane as well as their own resident proteins. This group of organelles is difficult to study experimentally because they are difficult to purify to homogeneity. To facilitate the investigation of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and more generally, the secretory …  Lire la suite

The diversity of saproxylic Cecidomyiidae (Diptera) associated with decaying logs was studied in an old-growth forest on Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec from June until September 2004. More than 24 000 specimens representing 323 species and morphospecies were collected in emergence traps set over American beech or sugar maple logs in two different stages of decay. The paedogenic species Miastor metraloas Meinert was by far the most numerous species with 17 002 individuals and was excluded from further analyses. Most of the remaining species were fungivores, detritivores or predators. Significantly more specimens were collected in logs in the more advanced decay stage, …  Lire la suite

Loiselle, Carmen (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Over the past several decades, semiconductor electronic devices have been miniaturized following the remarkable "Moores law". If this trend is to continue, devices will reach physical size limit in the not too distance future. There is therefore an urgent need to understand the physics of electronic devices at nano-meter scale, and to predict how such nanoelectronics will work. In nanoelectronics theory, one of the most important and difficult problems concerns electron-phonon interactions under nonequilibrium transport conditions. Calculating phonon spectrum, electron-phonon interaction, and their effects to charge transport for nanoelectronic devices including all atomic microscopic details, is a very difficult and …  Lire la suite

Color and luminance play important roles within the field of visual arts. The reason for this lies in the complexity of the human visual perception system. Our brains experience a perceptual tension when processing isoluminant fields (i.e. fields of equal luminance value) because the luminance and color processing pathways perceive the two fields differently. Skilled artists exploit this fact to great effect. This thesis looks at how isoluminance can be applied to the field of Non-Photorealistic Rendering. Specifically, this thesis makes a novel contribution to NPR by emphasizing the importance of isoluminance. It shows how isolumnant color picking can be …  Lire la suite

This thesis focuses on an Islamic feminist community organization, and its activities in combating violence against women. The case example discussed in this study is the Rifka Annisa Women's Crisis Center (WCC Rifka Annisa) located in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. By examining the environment and the issues that WCC Rifka Annisa faces, broader thematic concerns can be applied to Indonesian society in general. This study reviews western feminist and community organizing approaches, and examines them in light of the specific religious, cultural, economic and political context in Indonesia. A blend of Islamic feminim and community organizing approaches has emerged in Indonesia. Data …  Lire la suite

Caulobacter crescenuts is a Gram negative bacterium with a defined cell cycle. It divides to yield two distincts cell types: a flagellated, non-replicating swarmer cell and a non-motile but replicative stalked cell. In order to initiate chromosome replication, the swarmer cell must differentiate into the stalked cell by ejecting the polar flagellum and acquiring a tubular stalk appendage. Therefore, chromosome replication is restricted to the stalked cell where chromosome replication initiates exactly once per cell cycle. A key feature of C. crescentus is the global response regulator CtrA that controls key events within the cell cycle including chromosomal replication. CtrA …  Lire la suite

Those with an optimistic explanatory style have generally been linked with improved mental and physical health across a variety of chronic and serious conditions. The purpose of the current study was to examine the effects of explanatory style on sport related concussions. University varsity athletes (n = 348) from six interdependent team sports at two universities completed both the Attributional Style Questionnaire and the Sport History Questionnaire to examine personality variables and concussion rehabilitation. Overall, the findings indicated that explanatory style did not influence concussion recovery. However, it did effect concussion prevalence, with pessimists experiencing significantly more concussions. Furthermore, various …  Lire la suite

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB), a group of generally recognized as safe (GRAS) organisms that metabolize sugars into primarily lactic acid, have traditionally been used for the fermentation and preservation of various foods and beverages. There is increasing interest in the genetic manipulation of LAB to improve existing characteristics or introduce novel, industrially pertinent phenotypes. However, because these bacteria have food-related applications, their genetic modification requires the use of food-grade genetic engineering tools. LAB plasmids, self-replicating extrachromosomal DNA molecules, can be used to derive food-grade cloning vectors. The rationale of this research was to develop a food-grade cloning vector using a …  Lire la suite

The purpose of the present study was to characterize the mechanisms by which cells that express both sst2A and sst5 receptors remain responsive to SRIF analogs under continuous stimulation. Hypothesizing that the expression of sst5 affects the regulation of sst 2A, we compared the agonist-induced internalization and intracellular trafficking of sst2A receptors in cells expressing sst2A alone and together with sst5. In cells stably expressing sst 2A, stimulation with a non-selective SRIF agonist ([D-Trp8]-SRIF-14) and a sst2-selective agonist (L-779,976) induced sst2A internalization and decreased responsiveness to further agonist stimulation. By contrast, in cells co-expressing sst2A and sst5, while stimulation with …  Lire la suite

Optimizing compilers have traditionally had little support for visual tools which display the vast amount of information generated and which could aid in the development of analyses and teaching and provide extra information to general programmers. This thesis presents a set of visualization tools which integrate visualization support for Soot, an optimizing compiler framework, into Eclipse, a popular, extensible IDE. In particular, this work explores making the research compiler framework more accessible to new users and general programmers. Tools for displaying data flow analysis results in intermediate representations (IRs) and in the original source code are discussed, with consideration for …  Lire la suite

A leading hypothesis for the etiology of multiple sclerosis (MS) is that a delayed infection by Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) generates an abnormal immune response, thereby inducing the disease. EBV is ubiquitous. While asymptomatic in children, the infection produces the clinical entity infectious mononucleosis (IM) when it is delayed until adolescence or young adulthood. Typically, case-control studies have measured exposure to EBV by serology assaying EBV antibodies or by IM self-report. The findings of these studies are not consistent. Part of the problem in establishing a definite causal relationship between EBV and MS in case-control studies is related to exposure measurement …  Lire la suite

This thesis presents the first fully integrated array of high-voltage (HV) digital-to-analog converters (DACs). It was designed in DALSA Semiconductor's 0.8mum CMOS/DMOS HV process technology. The 6-bit 300V DACs are based on a current-steering, thermometer coded architecture. Two designs adapted to the HV technology are proposed for the current-to-high-voltage conversion as traditional output resistor or op-amp solutions are not optimum for the HV process: one uses a high-compliance current mirror, while the other uses a simple current mirror. The DACs show a DNL of 0.16LSB and 1LSB, respectively, while the INL profile is 0.16LSB and 13LSBs for the first and …  Lire la suite

Many exceptional situations arise during the execution of an application. When developing dependable software, the first step is to foresee these exceptional situations and document how the system should deal with them. This thesis outlines an approach that extends use case based requirements elicitation with ideas from the exception handling world. After defining the actors and the goals they pursue when interacting with the system, our approach leads a developer to systematically investigate all exceptional situations arising in the environment or in the system that change or fail user goals. Means are defined for detecting the occurrence of all exceptional …  Lire la suite

Intrigued by the observation that enduring, task-based water treaties have, surprisingly, emerged within protracted conflict settings that lock the riparians in a deadly embrace, I constructed an interdisciplinary theoretical framework to explain the causes of riparian conflict, and the conditions for riparian conflict resolution. Drawing on the literature from international relations, comparative politics, resource economics and public choice theory, I explain how the constraints posed by ecological forces in a conflict setting, and the political opportunities presented by a particular economic-developmental context shape the decisions of policymakers during the negotiation process that precedes regime emergence. Next, a model is developed …  Lire la suite

DNA replication initiates at origins with the origin recognition complex (ORC) binding and activating initiation. Although ORC specifically binds origins in vivo, it possesses no sequence specific DNA binding activity in vitro. Thus, it is thought to interact with another protein that recruits it to the origin. The heterodimeric Ku (Ku70/Ku80) protein is one candidate. Ku is an abundant nuclear protein that has recently been implicated in the initiation of DNA replication, but the mechanism by which it performs this function is yet unknown. Here, using haploinsufficient human HCT116 Ku80 +/- cells that express 25-40% Ku80 protein, the origin activity …  Lire la suite

This research is intended for educational policy makers. This is an exploratory study that investigates Quebec's classrooms as a new educational reform is implemented. There are two relevant pieces of legislation in the reform that elicited this study. First, teachers are required to adopt constructivist teaching practices; second, teachers must use ICT in classrooms. The questions being addressed are: (1) What are the current challenges and benefits impacting teachers with the integration of computers in the classroom environment? (2) What do classroom practices look like given (a) in the context of Quebec's constructivist-learning environment and (b) the possibility of ICT …  Lire la suite

Extrusion blow molding is the process of choice for the production of many hollow products. Parison formation is the most critical stage in the process, as the dimensions of the blow-molded part are directly related to the dimensions of the parison. In this work, a 'soft sensor' for cycle-to-cycle control of parison length is developed. A model for parison swell is proposed where the parameters of the model can be tuned from cycle to cycle to match the experimental parison dimensions. The technique was tested on a real intermittent extrusion blow molding machine where a target parison length was achieved …  Lire la suite

In the Missisquoi Bay of Lake Champlain situated in the South of Quebec, phosphorus originating from agricultural sources has been found to be a major contributor to the deterioration of water quality. This study sought to evaluate the nutrient loads, most particularly phosphorus, exported through surface runoff and tile drainage from two agricultural fields of the Missisquoi Bay watershed. As part of the study, a phosphorus simulation model was tested on one agricultural field. The evaluation of FHANTM 2.0 assessed the model's capacity to simulate the transport of phosphorus on agricultural fields. From the two experimental fields studied, the results …  Lire la suite

The T-cell protein tyrosine phosphatase (TC-PTP) is a widely expressed enzyme found at significantly higher levels in immune cells. To determine the signaling pathways and specific cell types affected by the loss of TC-PTP, TC-PTP gene-targeted animals were generated in our laboratory. TC-PTP -/- null mice have severe defects in hematopoiesis, elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines, and die by five weeks of age. These data indicate that TC-PTP plays an important role in hematopoiesis and immune cell activation. However, the identification of any substrates that could explain the role of TC-PTP these processes was lacking. Therefore, studies leading to the …  Lire la suite

The potential of different spectroscopic techniques for evaluating potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) quality was investigated. Spectral data in the wavelength range of 400-1750 nm were used to develop quality prediction models. The Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression was used for predicting the water content in potato samples. Water content was predicted with R2 ≥ 0.938. A further study was conducted to find the best wavelengths for predicting water content using two methods, PLS and multiple linear regression. Wavelength ranges of 910-1020, 1129-1211, 1363-1403 nm were selected for samples without skin, while 700-900, 930-1050, 1100-1300, 1400-1550 nm were selected for samples …  Lire la suite

This thesis describes a novel approach to partial volume segmentation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in sulci of 3D magnetic resonance (MR) brain images that overcomes a key limitation of other techniques. The method is based upon previous work in that it uses a Markov random field (MRF) to encourage adjacent voxels to have the same tissue label in most brain regions, but differs in that it adaptively reverses its behaviour to preserve tissue boundaries in sulci. Image curvature and medial surface information, both independent of MR pulse sequence, are used to identify regions where sulci have a high probability of …  Lire la suite

This paper discuses the theory of nationalism in building modern nation-states. The main thesis is explanatory which is defended on theoretical grounds and by referencing two Central Asian case studies: Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In particular, the paper was influenced by Benedict Anderson's depiction of the sovereign nation-state as a model available for 'pirating'. This analogy was broadened and it is argued that piracy is a valuable way to illustrate the character of national projects as well as the particularities of specific projects. The pirating of nationalism emphasizes its malleability and dependence on those who have the means and will to …  Lire la suite

Red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) contains isoflavones, which are of interest because of their benefits for human health as well as their adverse effects on the fertility of farm animals. Isoflavone concentration in 10 cultivars ranged from 8923 to 12753 mug g-1 DM averaged across sites, harvests, and years. One cultivar, 'Start', distinguished itself with particularly low isoflavone levels. Concentrations varied according to plant part with leaves having the highest levels followed by stems and inflorescences, when averaged across maturity levels and cultivars (11970, 4896 and 3297 mug g-1 DM, respectively). Greatest content was found in leaves and stems during …  Lire la suite

The winter watermass properties and circulation of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and St. Lawrence Estuary are examined using a combination of new wintertime observations and numerical modelling. Ten moorings were deployed over the winter 2002/3, providing the first continuous observations of the upper 200m of the water column in winter. A harmonic analysis of current data in the estuary confirms the existence of a semi-diurnal internal Poincare wave. The analysis also provides strong evidence of a neap-tide intensification of the estuarine circulation. The cold intermediate layer (CIL) in the estuary is seen to be renewed abruptly in late March, …  Lire la suite

Traditional indicators of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk may not be appropriate for Asian Indians. We designed a cross-sectional study of body fat distribution, apoB/apoA1 ratio and adipokines of Northern Indians compared to Caucasians to determine if there is a different relationship between these parameters. Indian (men: n = 54; women n = 28) and Caucasian (men: n= 32; women, n = 51) subjects were recruited who were between the ages of 20 and 60 years. Subjects were excluded if they had a history of CVD or were taking lipid lowering medications. Body fat percentage (BF%) was measured using bioelectrical impedance …  Lire la suite

Polyelectrolyte multilayer thin films adsorbed onto colloidal particles have been studied by solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in order to characterize the dynamic properties of the film components. In addition, the growth of the multilayer films was observed directly for the first time and quantification of the amount of polyelectrolyte adsorbed during each step was achieved. NMR relaxation measurements demonstrate that the polyions are more mobile when incorporated into a multilayer film than when in the bulk complex. The polycation, poly(diallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride) (PDADMAC) was found to exhibit greater mobility than the polyanion, poly(styrene-4-sulfonate) (PSS), becoming increasingly less …  Lire la suite

In this thesis we discuss the characterization of groups elementary equivalent to a free 2-nilpotent group G of arbitrary finite rank. We find a characterization and verify it using two different lines of argument. The first one goes through using a construction very similar to the famous Mal'cev correspondence. This strategy is very much in the same spirit as the work of O. V. Belegradek on unitriangular groups. The second method, we call the method of bilinear mappings, is due to Alexei Miasnikov. A bilinear map fG is associated to the nilpotent group G. Then a commutative associative ring P(fG) …  Lire la suite

This study sought to characterize the risk to human health from dietary mercury (Hg) exposure in two Inuit communities, Repulse Bay and lgloolik. Hg exposure was estimated using food frequency questionnaires. Body burden was determined by measuring Hg in hair samples. Estimated average daily Hg exposures for women of child-bearing age were 21.3 mug in Repulse Bay, and 6.0 mug in lgloolik; the general population exposures were 43.1 mug in Repulse Bay and 23.2 mug in lgloolik. Average hair concentrations were 2.1 mg/kg and 2.8 mg/kg in Repulse Bay, 2.1 mg/kg and 6.2 mg/kg in lgloolik for women of child-bearing …  Lire la suite

The mechanisms responsible for the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons and pathological iron deposition in the substania nigra pars compacta of patients with Parkinson disease (PD) remain incompletely understood. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), the rate-limiting enzyme in the degradation of heme to biliverdin, carbon monoxide, and ferrous iron, is up-regulated in affected PD astroglia and may contribute to aberrant mitochondrial iron sequestration in these cells. To determine whether glial HO-1 hyperexpression is inimical to nearby neuronal constituents, we co-cultured dopaminergic PC12 cells atop monolayers of human (h) HO-1 transfected, sham-transfected or non-transfected primary rat astroglia. We observed that PC12 cells grown …  Lire la suite

Neurons in early visual cortex respond to luminance variations occurring at objects' boundaries. However, visual stimuli that are defined by non-luminance cues, such as texture or contrast, have been demonstrated to evoke neuronal responses in recent years. These stimuli have been termed as second-order stimuli, since they require more complex processing which involves essential nonlinear operations. In this thesis, I tested neuronal responses to various second-order stimuli in order to shed light on the underlying mechanisms. In particular, we addressed the following issues: (1) whether abutting gratings can be processed nonlinearly, as illusory contours formed by abutting lines; (2) Whether …  Lire la suite

Background. Several trials of antibiotic use for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases have been performed but individual studies have produced conflicting and inconclusive results. Therefore, we performed a systematic review of published studies to synthesize the evidence. We also examined a large cohort of previously revascularized patients to assess if a small but meaningful benefit of antibiotic exists. Research question. Whether antibiotic use, compared to non-use, can reduce future cardiovascular events in a population of previously revascularized patients. Method. A meta-analysis and a nested case control study were both conducted to answer the research question. In the meta-analysis, PubMed …  Lire la suite

The Edmonton Arts and Youth Feasibility Study was conducted as a result of the question being asked "Can a structured art program be run with youth in conflict with the law?" It was a three month, arts-based, targeted prevention program run in an already existing drop-in centre for delinquent youth. This article reports on the qualitative findings of in-depth interviews conducted with the key stakeholders: participating adolescents (aged 14-19 years), lead artists, research assistants, and site directors. Findings suggest that the art curriculum, the strong relationships built, and the gains made were all strengths of the program. These gains include …  Lire la suite

This dissertation describes the process of building a detailed traffic assignment model for the Greater Montreal region using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Although deterministic user-equilibrium traffic models are widely used in planning practice, most contemporary research into transportation models attempts to deal with the numerous theoretical shortcomings of the static modeling framework through dynamic methods while the potential for improvements on conventional algorithms remains largely unexplored. GIS offer a powerful mechanism for achieving such improvements. This research demonstrates how GIS can be profitably applied in the construction of a traffic assignment model with a very fine spatial resolution. The time …  Lire la suite

The block effect in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is the degradation in spatial resolution that is seen when there are more scintillation crystals than photomultiplier tubes in a detector. We measured the block effect in detectors from three PET scanners: the Siemens-CTI HR+, the GE Advance, and the Siemens-CTI HI-REZ. In the CTI HR+ the block effect was 0.7 mm in the central crystals, and negligible for the edge crystals. In the GE Advance the block effect was 0.6 mm for the central crystals, and 0.5 mm for the edge crystals. In the CTI HI-REZ detector the block effect varied …  Lire la suite

Tissue engineering of the intervertebral disc using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) induced to differentiate into a disc-cell phenotype has been considered as an alternative treatment for disc degeneration. Since it is not known how to differentiate stem cells into disc cells, our rationale is to differentiate stem cells into chondrocyte-like cells. This proposal is based on the fact that cartilage and immature nucleus possess similar macromolecules in their matrix. Our hypothesis is that these cells can produce a matrix that mimics native nucleus pulposus with properties resembling that found in healthy intervertebral disc. We used a pellet culture system to …  Lire la suite

Immunotherapy of cancer aims at achieving systemic anticancer responses capable of eradicating disseminated malignant cells. The disappointing outcomes associated with several immune-based clinical trials have highlighted the need to improve upon existing therapeutic strategies. The main objective of my thesis was to develop novel means in order to improve current cytokine-based anticancer strategies. The delivery of cytokines, or their encoding cDNA sequences, can induce antitumor immune responses. Interleukin (IL)-2 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) are among the most potent cytokines able to induce tumor-specific systemic immunity, both in experimental models and clinical trials. Paradoxically, the combination of GM-CSF and IL-2 …  Lire la suite

The pathology of asthma is a multicellular process that includes leukocyte recruitment, of which the eosinophil is prominent. Tissue eosinophilia results from the combined effects of chemoattractants, cytokines and adhesion molecules. Lipid mediators are a major class of endogenous chemoattractants, among which 5-oxo-6,8,11,14-eicosatetraenoic acid (5-oxo-ETE) is the most potent for human eosinophils. To further elucidate its potential role in airway inflammation, the purpose of these studies was to investigate its proinflammatory effects on different cell types, including eosinophils, monocytes, and the endothelial cells (ECs). We found that 5-oxo-ETE is a potent survival factor for human eosinophils. LTD4 and LTB4 also …  Lire la suite

Methylmercury (MeHg) is a neurotoxic global pollutant that accumulates at high levels in predatory fish and marine mammals. The dietary intake of these animals is the main source of MeHg exposure in humans. At high levels, MeHg is known to damage the sensory and motor systems in both adults and children. Due to the complexity and inaccessibility of the central nervous system (CNS), early dysfunction is difficult to detect. Biochemical markers in the CNS have been used to identify MeHg neurotoxicity in animal models. Analogues of these biochemical targets are also present in peripheral blood tissue and may reflect early …  Lire la suite

This thesis proposes an anti-Orientalist reading of the portrait of the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror (r. 1451-1481) by Gentile Bellini. The artist's work is analysed in the context of the Venetian Renaissance and the status of the visual arts in the Ottoman Empire. Mehmed's patronage of Italian artists, who created medallic and pictorial portraits of the sovereign, is considered together with the local translation of conventions enabled by early modern cross-cultural encounters. The Western political and intellectual climate following the conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed in 1453 is examined and, in particular, the secularising crusade literature produced by humanist …  Lire la suite

What is democracy and what makes it just or fair? The orthodox answer to both questions holds that democracy is reducible to the idea and ideal of procedural equality. On this view, democracy is a set of institutions that provides citizens with equal procedural opportunities to influence political decisions, and this fact about democracy is what makes it just or fair. The position defended in this essay holds that the orthodox answer of proceduralism is mistaken. The conceptual ideal that animates proceduralism---the notion of an equal distribution of political power---is theoretically impossible, and the closest proxy---a decision-making process that terminates …  Lire la suite

Motor planning was assessed by performance of 10 male children (age range 9-12 years) with ASD on a simple obstacle course of horizontal barriers. The primary measures of motor planning were acts of hesitation and hesitation time. These measures, along with executive functioning scores from the BRIEF, and measures of movement execution were correlated to assess the validity of this obstacle course. Results of these correlations supported the validity of the motor planning inferences from the performance of the obstacle course since motor planning correlated in the expected directions with the BRIEF scores and movement execution measures. Internal consistency (Cronbach's …  Lire la suite