Actin cytoskeletal regulation is of critical importance for a number of diverse cellular functions, including cell motility, endocytosis, cell division and transcription. Tight regulation of actin is critical for many aspects of cancer biology and in particular invasion and metastasis. ADF/cofilins are among the most important actin regulatory proteins. Mammals have three highly conserved members, ADF, CFL1 and CFL2, which regulate actin dynamics by severing and depolymerizing actin filaments. Despite a huge literature on the roles of ADF/cofilins in actin treadmilling and cell migration in vitro and in cancer cell behavior during invasion, very little is known about their collective roles in tissue homeostasis. By employing genetic knock-outs of ADF, in conjunction with conditional depletion of CFL1 using a Cre-LoxP system under the control of the keratin 14 promoter, we were able to study the effects of ADF/CFL1 loss in vivo in the mouse epidermis. Furthermore, by generating ADF-null squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cell lines and by transiently downregulating CFL1 with RNAi, we were able to investigate further the cellular responses after ADF/CFL1 depletion in vitro. Co-depletion of ADF and CFL1 from the mouse epidermis triggered loss of tissue homeostasis characterized by abnormal thickening of the tissue, actin filament accumulation and nuclear deformation. Loss of ADF/CFL1 in cultured malignant keratinocytes also led to aberrant cell morphology accompanied by unrestrained accumulation of actin stress fibers tethered to enlarged focal adhesions. Enhanced SRF/MAL-mediated transcription fuels this uncontrolled actin polymerization which is also mediated by Arp3. Furthermore, these actin filaments are decorated with phospho-myosin light chain, which indicates their contractile nature. As a consequence, the increased intracellular acto-myosin tension results in nuclear deformation, which is promoted by the deregulated actin filaments tethered to the nuclear envelope via the linker of nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton (LINC) complex. Overall, we describe new conceptual insight into the cellular functions of ADF/cofilins. We show that their activities are essential for the dynamic regulation of contractile actin filaments that, if left unchecked, lead to loss of cellular homeostasis and cell death promoted by loss of nuclear integrity. Additionally, the critical roles of nuclear actin and actin-associated proteins have recently started being appreciated. Thus, for the first time we set out to investigate new functions of cofilins in the nucleus using proteomics, and identify new cofilin binding partners that implicate them in novel cellular pathways, expanding our knowledge on these small actin-binding proteins.

This thesis investigated the literacy practices of a group of Somali refugee women participating in Canada’s federally‐funded ESL program LINC (Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada). Assuming that many Somali women arrive in Canada with limited experience with print literacy, and so encounter novel challenges in their settlement and learning experiences, I interviewed 4 Somali women about their uses and perceptions of the value of literacy in their lives and their experiences of learning to read and write in Canada. A cross‐case analysis revealed how social forces constrain and enable the women’s literacy practices, shaping both how they access and use literacy, as well as the ways in which they understand and value literacy. Implications are outlined for ESL educators, researchers and policy makers.

This thesis investigated the literacy practices of a group of Somali refugee women participating in Canada’s federally‐funded ESL program LINC (Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada). Assuming that many Somali women arrive in Canada with limited experience with print literacy, and so encounter novel challenges in their settlement and learning experiences, I interviewed 4 Somali women about their uses and perceptions of the value of literacy in their lives and their experiences of learning to read and write in Canada. A cross‐case analysis revealed how social forces constrain and enable the women’s literacy practices, shaping both how they access and use literacy, as well as the ways in which they understand and value literacy. Implications are outlined for ESL educators, researchers and policy makers.

Le spermatozoïde est une cellule hautement spécialisée qui doit être capable de réaliser des fonctionsspécifiques pour être capable de féconder un ovocyte. Il doit être capable de réaliser une réactionacrosomique qui consiste en l’exocytose d’une vésicule géante de sécrétion attachée au noyau. Cettevésicule contient des enzymes qui vont permettre au spermatozoïde de traverser la zone pellucide quientoure l’ovocyte. Mon travail a consisté à étudier l’effet d’une des enzymes contenue dansl’acrosome, la sPLA2 de mammifère de groupe X (mGX). C’est la seule phospholipase demammifères parmi les 5 testées qui a un effet d’inhibition sur une population spécifique despermatozoïdes ayant une mobilité diminuée. Mon travail a ainsi confirmé la spécificité de cettephospolipase sur la régulation de la physiologie spermatique. Dans un deuxième temps, j’ai participéà la découverte du gène DPY19L2 impliqué dans une infertilité masculine rare, la globozoospermie.La globozoospermie se caractérise par des spermatozoïdes ayant une tête ronde dépourvued’acrosome. Le gène DPY19L2 est spécifiquement exprimé dans les testicules, il est absent chez80% des patients globozoospermiques. J’ai caractérisé le rôle de cette protéine et montré qu’elle estimpliquée dans l’attachement de l’acrosome au noyau. J’ai pu montrer que cette protéine appartient àla membrane nucléaire interne où elle interagit avec la protéine Sun5, une protéine qui appartientaussi à la membrane nucléaire interne et dont l’expression est spécifique à la spermiogénèse. Sun5est impliquée dans la formation de complexes LINC (Linker of Nucleoskeleton and Cytoskeleton)qui permettent de relier le cytosquelette au nucléosquelette, constitué entre autres par les lamines. Lerôle de DPY19L2 pourrait permettre de stabiliser l’ancrage de la protéine SUN5 afin de transmettreles forces exercées par le cytosquelette au noyau de la spermatide. DPY19L2 appartient à une famillede protéines DPY19L1 à L4 dont les fonctions restent encore peu caractérisées. Une étude récentemontre qu’une diminution de l’expression de Dpy19l1 chez la souris entraîne un défaut de migrationdes neurones glutamatergiques sur la glie radiale. Mon travail a montré l’importance de DPY19L2dans le contrôle des interactions noyau-cytosquelette et devrait permettre de mieux comprendre lerôle des autres protéines de cette famille dans divers organes. / The spermatozoon is a highly specialized cell that must be able to perform specific functions tofertilize the oocyte. It must be able to perform the acrosome reaction, an exocytosis of a giant vesicleof secretion, attached to the nucleus. This vesicle contains enzymes that allow the sperm to penetratethe zona pellucida surrounding the oocyte. The aim of my work was first to study the effect of anenzyme present in the acrosome, the sPLA2 of group X in mouse (mGX). This is the onlymammalian phospholipase among the five tested that has an inhibitory effect on sperm specificpopulation with low mobility. My work has confirmed the specificity of this phospolipase on theregulation of sperm physiology. Second, I participated in the discovery of the gene DPY19L2involved in male infertility, globozoospermia. The globozoospermia is characterized by round headspermatozoa without acrosome. DPY19L2 gene is specifically expressed in the testis and is absent in80% of globozoospermic patients. I then identified the role of this protein, which is involved in theattachment of the acrosome to the nucleus. I showed that this protein belongs to the inner nuclearmembrane where it likely interacts with the protein sun5 which also belongs to the inner nuclearmembrane and whose expression is specific to spermiogenesis. Sun5 is involved in the complexformation, called LINC that connects the cytoskeleton to the nucleoskeleton lamina. The role ofDpy19l2 could help stabilizing the anchoring of protein sun5 in order to transmit the forces exertedby the cytoskeleton to the nucleus of the spermatid during acrosome spreading. Dpy19l2 belongs to aprotein family containing 4 members, Dpy19l1 to l4, which has not been poorly studied so far. Arecent study shows that the knock-down of Dpy19l1 resulted in defective glutamatergics neuronsmigration on the radial glia. The results obtained during my work would improve the knowledge ofCytoskeleton-nucleoskeleton interaction, and give new insight on this new family of proteins.

Mein Ziel war es, genetische Faktoren in C. elegans zu identifizieren, die eine Rolle bei induzierter Transdifferenzierung durch Missexpression des Transkriptionsfaktors (TF) HLH-1, welcher das Wurmhomolog des myogenen bHLH TF MyoD ist, spielen. Ich entwickelte hierzu einen semiautomatischen Hochdurchsatz-Vorwärtsgenetik-Screen, indem ich EMS Mutagenese mit dem Biosorter-System (Union Biometrica) kombinierte. Mit diesem Ansatz ist es mir gelungen, die Mutante bar18 zu isolieren, die eine Anhäufung an Muskelzellkernen um den posterioren Teil des Pharynx zeigt. Ich identifizierte den mutierten Lokus, indem ich das gesamte Genom sequenzierte und charakterisierte den mutanten Phänotyp im Detail. Zusätzlich war ich bei der Charakterisierung von Faktoren, die das Umprogrammieren zu neuronalen Zellen in C. elegans verhindern, beteiligt. Dabei stand der sogenannte FACT-Komplex im Focus, welcher mittels eines genom-weiten RNAi-Screen in unserer Arbeitsgruppe identifiziert wurde. Interessanterweise ist eine der FACT-Komplex-Untereinheiten, spt-16, das parentale Gen zu dem bislang nicht charakterisierten Pseudogen F55A3.7. Eine putative Null-Mutante von F55A3.7, in Kombination mit ubiquitärer Überexpression von CHE-1, zeigte einen Keimzellen-zu-Neuronen Transdifferenzierungsphänotyp ähnlich dem Phänotypen, der nach dem Knock-down der FACT-Komponente hmg-3 beobachtet wird. Unseres Wissens nach ist dies das erste Beispiel einen Pseudogens, dessen Knock-down dazu führt, dass ein bestimmtes Gewebe durch einen terminalen Selektor-TF reprogrammiert werden kann, dessen Expression unter normalen Konditionen dies nicht zur Folge hätte. Aufgrund dieser Einzigartigkeit, habe ich das Pseudogen F55A3.7 charakterisiert und außerdem versucht, einen Mechanismus zu finden, wie F55A3.7 die Keimbahnidentität schützt. / My aim was to identify and characterize genetic factors in C. elegans that play a role in induced transdifferentiation by mis-expressing the transcription factor (TF) HLH-1, which is the worm homolog of the myogenic bHLH TF MyoD. For this, I developed a semi-automated high-throughput forward genetic screen combining EMS mutagenesis with the Biosorter system (Union Biometrica). When mis-expressed, HLH-1 induces muscle fate in early embryonic cells, but terminally differentiated cells are resistant to HLH-1-induced direct reprogramming. In order to identify mechanisms that antagonize HLH-1-induced reprogramming, I used a transgenic line allowing ectopic expression of hlh-1 in combination with a reporter for muscle fate. Using this approach, I isolated the mutant bar18, showing an accumulation of muscle cell nuclei around the posterior pharyngeal bulb. I identified the mutated locus using whole genome sequencing and characterized the identified gene and the mutant phenotype further. Additionally, I was also involved in characterizing the FACT complex, which was identified through a whole-genome RNAi screen conducted by my colleague Ena Kolundžić. This reverse genetic screen aimed at identifying factors that play a role in induced transdifferentiation by mis-expressing the TF CHE-1, a Zn-finger TF essential for terminal differentiation of glutamatergic ASE neurons. Interestingly, one of the FACT complex members, spt-16, is the parental gene of a previously uncharacterized pseudogene named F55A3.7. A putative null mutant of F55A3.7, combined with broad overexpression of CHE-1, showed a germ cells to neurons transdifferentiation phenotype. To our knowledge, this is the first example of a pseudogene whose depletion leads to the permissiveness of a certain tissue to be reprogrammed when challenged by a terminal selector TF. Due to this uniqueness, I characterized the pseudogene F55A3.7 and tried to find a potential mechanism for how F55A3.7 safeguards germline identity.

In this paper we will briefly revisit the optical vibration measurement system (OVMS) at the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) and how these values are used for disturbance compensation and particularly for the LBT Interferometer (LBTI) and the LBT Interferometric Camera for Near-Infrared and Visible Adaptive Interferometry for Astronomy (LINC-NIRVANA). We present the now centralized software architecture, called OVMS+, on which our approach is based and illustrate several challenges faced during the implementation phase. Finally, we will present measurement results from LBTI proving the effectiveness of the approach and the ability to compensate for a large fraction of the telescope induced vibrations.

Cells regularly take on various types of force in the body. They have structures that are able to mediate, transfer and respond to the forces. A mutation in force regulating proteins such as lamin in the nucleus or the KASH domain which connects the nucleus to the cytoskeleton of the cell can cause catastrophic events to occur. The aims of this study were to better understand the response of the nucleus when structural proteins are mutated or are not present while under force. Progeria, a rare disease where an additional farnesyl group is attached to lamin was used in this study. Different types of forces were used to represent similar conditions in the body. Confinement of endothelial cell width showed an increase of surface defects. When restricting proteins such as actin was removed the nucleus appeared to rupture. This was shown to occur at a higher rate in the progeria groups. Endothelial cells under shear force showed high amount of nuclear rupture in progeria expressing group. prolonged exposure showed more rupture which eventually cased cell death and cells to come off the surface. Progeria expressing smooth muscle cells under cyclic stretch also showed similar results as endothelial cells. The amount and rate of deformation of the nucleus when the cytoskeleton is connected and not was looked at. When the connected the rate of deformation was higher. The high rate of nuclear defects and rupture while under force in progeria expressing cells shows that the nuclei have different structural properties and are weaker. It’s also been shown that the LINC complex contributes to nuclear deformation when stretching.

This thesis investigated the literacy practices of a group of Somali refugee women participating in Canada’s federally‐funded ESL program LINC (Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada). Assuming that many Somali women arrive in Canada with limited experience with print literacy, and so encounter novel challenges in their settlement and learning experiences, I interviewed 4 Somali women about their uses and perceptions of the value of literacy in their lives and their experiences of learning to read and write in Canada. A cross‐case analysis revealed how social forces constrain and enable the women’s literacy practices, shaping both how they access and use literacy, as well as the ways in which they understand and value literacy. Implications are outlined for ESL educators, researchers and policy makers.

This thesis investigated the literacy practices of a group of Somali refugee women participating in Canada’s federally‐funded ESL program LINC (Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada). Assuming that many Somali women arrive in Canada with limited experience with print literacy, and so encounter novel challenges in their settlement and learning experiences, I interviewed 4 Somali women about their uses and perceptions of the value of literacy in their lives and their experiences of learning to read and write in Canada. A cross‐case analysis revealed how social forces constrain and enable the women’s literacy practices, shaping both how they access and use literacy, as well as the ways in which they understand and value literacy. Implications are outlined for ESL educators, researchers and policy makers.

The objective of the proposed research is to present a new all-digital outphasing transmitter IC, a comprehensive explanation of its operation, and its performance characterization. The all-digital transmitter chip leverages flexible digital phase modulators (DPMs) to adaptively compensate for amplifier mismatches. As the DPM uses a digital input to directly modulate the RF phase of each path, the phase control becomes very simple and accurate for power amplifier (PA) gain/phase mismatch compensation. Furthermore, this digital phase modulation scheme also facilitates minimizing the distortion of an RF combiner. It is newly proposed that two distinct digital predistortion algorithms are required for perfect compensation for both PAs and a combiner. All phase calibration values can be adaptively calculated as a function of outphase angle and saved in digital look-up tables to predistort the phase inputs of two DPMs. Various types of PAs and combiners are investigated to further enhance the performance of the outphasing transmitter. These features are implemented in a chip fabricated in a 0.18-¥ìm CMOS process and evaluated with IEEE 802.16e baseband symbols.