Global climate is controlled by two factors, the amount of heat energy received from the sun (solar insolation) and the way that heat is distributed Earth's surface. Solar insolation varies on timescales of 10s to 100s of thousands of years due to changes in the path of Earth's orbit about the sun (Milankovitch cycles). Earth's internal boundary conditions, such as paleogeography, the presence/absence of polar icecaps, atmospheric/oceanic chemistry and sea level, provide distribution and feedback mechanisms for the incoming heat. Variations in these internal boundary conditions may happen abruptly or, as in the case of plate tectonics, take millions of years. We use geochemical and sedimentological techniques to investigate the response of ocean chemistry, regional aridity and atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns to climate change during both greenhouse and icehouse climates. To explore the connection between orbitally-forced changes in solar insolation, continental aridity and wind, we generated a high-resolution dust record for ~58 Myr old deep-sea sediments from Shatsky Rise. Our data provide the first evidence of a correlation between dust flux to the deep sea and orbital cycles during the Early Paleogene, indicating dust supply (regional aridity) responded to orbital forcing during the last major interval of greenhouse climate. The change in dust flux was comparable to that during icehouse climates implying subtle variations in solar insolation have a similar impact on climate during intervals of over-all warmth as they do during glacial-interglacial states. The Carboniferous Period (359-299 Ma) marks a critical time in Earth's history when a series of tectonic and biological events caused a shift in the mean climate state from a global "greenhouse" to an "icehouse". Geochemical records extracted from sedimentary rocks deposited in shallow epicontinental seaways are increasingly being used to infer relationships between tectonism, carbon cycling and climate and therefore are assumed to reflect global ocean processes. We analyzed radiogenic isotopes in biogenic apatite along a North American transect to constrain the degree of geochemical coupling between the epicontinental seas and the open ocean. Our results argue strongly for decoupling of North American seaways from the open ocean by latest Mississippian time.

Abstract The title of this thesis is ¡§ A research on framing the Free Trade Areas across the Taiwan Strait: from the Regional Economic Integration viewpoint¡¨. The main themes of this thesis can be categorized into two parts: 1.Elaborating the theory of Free Trade Areas and the legal framework of global economic law to find out the reason why GATT/WTO permits to build Free Trade Areas as an exception of the GATT/WTO Most-Favored Treatment rule; and further stating the meaning and inspiration of Free Trade Areas across the Taiwan Strait under the experiences of EU and NAFTA. 2.After entering the WTO, according to the international norm, it¡¦s a must for both sides of The Taiwan Strait to adjust their economic relationship and set up a cross-strait free trade zone from the experience of EU and NAFTA in accordance with the natural regularity of international economic development relationship. Taiwan and Mainland China, on two sides of the Twian Strait have become members of the WTO, and have officially connected with international trade and economic organism. It is essential for two sides to develop their economic interrelationship on the basis of the natural regularity of international economic development relationship. This thesis emphasizes that the development of economic relationship across the Taiwan Strait is a step-by-step process and suggests that the process can be divided into three steps as follows: 1.Normalization of economic relationship across the Taiwan Strait after entering WTO¡Ðit means that the activities of trade and investment across The Taiwan Strait should be transformed from ¡§indirect¡¨ into ¡§direct.¡¨ In addition, the restrictions on the movement of the people between Taiwan and Mainland China should be eased. These changes certainly lead to more problems for Taiwan side and it is urgent to negotiate and sign agreements with China for the Agreement of Trade and Investment in order to secure its benefit in the cross-strait economic development. 2.¡§One-step-forward framework¡¨¡ÐI would like to suggest that the second step of the cross-strait economic development should go one step forward to set up a framework under which the Free Trade Agreement, industries cooperation and Custom Unions to be fulfilled. 3.The setup of the Free Trade Areas¡ÐThe Free Trade Areas can be materialized though discussion between two sides based on ¡§one-step-forward framework¡¨ In this thesis, I found out that the best policy for Taiwan and Mainland China is to construct the Free Trade Areas across the Taiwan Strait under the legal framework of WTO. However, there are some prerequisites needed to be considered as follows: 1.Raising the international competition; 2.Averting to be marginalized under the trend of Regional Economic Integration; 3.Evaluating the complementary structure of industries between Taiwan and Mainland China with an analysis of the background, humanities and history between Taiwan and Mainland China. When the Free Trade Areas to be established in the future, it is recommend that the establishment of a Common Market across the Taiwan Strait will most benefit Taiwan and Mainland in the long run.

Not available

Thèse diffusée initialement dans le cadre d'un projet pilote des Presses de l'Université de Montréal/Centre d'édition numérique UdeM (1997-2008) avec l'autorisation de l'auteur.

La Cirrhose Amérindienne Infantile (CAI, NAIC) est une forme de cholestase non-syndromique héréditaire à transmission autosomique récessive, décrite uniquement chez les enfants autochtones du Nord-Ouest québécois et issue d’un effet fondateur. La maladie se présente d’abord sous la forme d’une jaunisse néonatale chez un enfant autrement en bonne santé, qui progresse en cirrhose de type biliaire dans l’enfance et dans l’adolescence. Le taux de survie à l’âge adulte est inférieur à 50% et la seule thérapie efficace à ce jour pour les patients avancés dans la maladie demeure la transplantation hépatique. Les recherches antérieures menées par le groupe ont permis d’identifier le locus ainsi que le gène responsable de NAIC, qui encode la protéine nucléolaire Cirhin. Cirhin est exprimée uniquement dans le foie et tous les patients sont homozygotes pour la mutation R565W. La fonction de Cirhin est inconnue, mais les motifs WD40 retrouvés dans sa séquence indiquent qu’elle participerait à des interactions protéine-protéine et serait impliquée dans un mécanisme moléculaire de base. Cirhin interagit avec la protéine nucléaire Cirip, qui a un effet positif important sur la transcription de l’élément activateur HIV-1 LTR et qui a un rôle dans la prolifération cellulaire. L’interaction de Cirhin et Cirip est affectée par la mutation R565W. À l’aide de la technique du double hybride chez la levure, la protéine nucléolaire Nol11 a été identifiée comme étant un partenaire d’interaction de Cirhin. Par son interaction avec MARK3 et c-Myc, Nol11 serait impliquée dans des processus cellulaires tels que le contrôle du cycle cellulaire, la polarité, la croissance cellulaire et possiblement la biogenèse des ribosomes. La portion C-terminale de Nol11 interagirait avec Cirhin, et la mutation R565W abolit cette interaction. Le résidu R565 serait donc important pour la fonctionnalité de Cirhin. / North American Indian childhood cirrhosis (NAIC) is a nonsyndromic form of hereditary autosomal recessive cholestasis, described only in children of Algonquin origin from the Abitibi region of north-western Québec and issued from a founder effect. NAIC typically presents with transient neonatal jaundice in a child who is otherwise healthy, but progresses to biliary fibrosis in childhood or young adulthood. The survival rate at adulthood is lower than 50% and liver transplantation is currently the only effective therapy for patients with advanced disease. Previous research by the group allowed the identification of the locus and the gene responsible for NAIC, which encodes the nucleolar protein Cirhin. Cirhin is expressed only in the liver and all patients are homozygous for the R565W mutation. Cirhin’s function is unknown, but it is a WD40-repeat containing protein, which indicates that it would participate in protein-protein interactions and would be involved in a basic molecular mechanism. Cirhin interacts with the nuclear protein Cirip, which has a significant positive effect on the transcription of the HIV-1 LTR enhancer element and has a role in cellular proliferation. The interaction between Cirhin and Cirip is affected by the R565W mutation. Using the yeast two-hybrid technique, the nucleolar protein Nol11 was identified as an interacting partner of Cirhin. By its interaction with MARK3 and c-Myc, Nol11 may be involved in cellular processes such as cell cycle control, polarity, cell growth and possibly ribosome biogenesis. The C-terminal portion of Nol11 interacts with Cirhin and the R565W mutation abolishes the interaction. The residue R565 may thus be important for Cirhin’s functionality.

This study examines the oral histories of midwives who practiced in Ontario without legal status in the two decades prior to the enactment of midwifery legislation on December 31, 1993. The following questions are answered: Who were Ontario’s pre-legislation midwives? What inspired and motivated them to take up practice on the margins of official health care? Current scholarship on late twentieth century Ontario midwifery focuses on a social scientific analysis of midwifery’s transition from a grassroots movement to a regulated profession. Pre-legislation midwives are commonly portrayed as a homogenous group of white, educated, middle class women practicing a “pure” midwifery unmediated by medicine and the law. Analysis of the oral history narratives of twenty-one “alegal” Ontario midwives reveals more complex and nuanced understandings of midwives and why they practiced during this period. The midwives’ oral histories make an important contribution to the growing historiography on modern Canadian midwifery.

This study examines the oral histories of midwives who practiced in Ontario without legal status in the two decades prior to the enactment of midwifery legislation on December 31, 1993. The following questions are answered: Who were Ontario’s pre-legislation midwives? What inspired and motivated them to take up practice on the margins of official health care? Current scholarship on late twentieth century Ontario midwifery focuses on a social scientific analysis of midwifery’s transition from a grassroots movement to a regulated profession. Pre-legislation midwives are commonly portrayed as a homogenous group of white, educated, middle class women practicing a “pure” midwifery unmediated by medicine and the law. Analysis of the oral history narratives of twenty-one “alegal” Ontario midwives reveals more complex and nuanced understandings of midwives and why they practiced during this period. The midwives’ oral histories make an important contribution to the growing historiography on modern Canadian midwifery.

Der Nordamerikanische Waschbär (Procyon lotor Linné, 1758) gehört zu den neozonalen Vertretern der heimischen Raubsäugerfauna. Seit den 1990er Jahren tritt der in Deutschland mittlerweile fest etablierte Kleinbär verstärkt in Erscheinung und ist damit Auslöser kontroverser Diskussionen über negative Auswirkungen auf einheimische Tierarten sowie über seine Rolle als potentieller Krankheitsüberträger. Ausgehend von der Hypothese, dass der Waschbär durch Prädation lokale Bestände naturschutzfachlich relevanter Tierarten beeinträchtigen kann, wurden Waschbär-Kotproben aus einem naturnahen Tieflandbuchenwald im Müritz-Nationalpark (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) nahrungsökologisch und im Hinblick auf den Endoparasitenbefall analysiert. Das Untersuchungsgebiet repräsentiert ein charakteristisches Binnenentwässerungsgebiet der nordostdeutschen Tiefebene, das hinsichtlich der Ressourcenausstattung ein überaus geeignetes Habitat für Waschbären darstellt. Gleichzeitig wurde anhand eines Referenzgebietes im Naturpark Feldberger Seenlandschaft (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) geprüft, ob der Waschbär in einem anthropogen beeinflussten Lebensraum aufgrund schlechterer Ressourcenausstattung einen größeren Prädationseinfluss haben kann. Die vorliegende Dissertation ist Teil eines mehrjährigen, integrierten Forschungsprojektes (Projekt Waschbär), welches zwischen 2006 und 2011 im Teilgebiet Serrahn des Müritz-Nationalparks durchgeführt wurde. / The North American raccoon (Procyon lotor L., 1758) is an introduced carnivore species in Germany. Against the background of a vast in­crease of raccoon numbers in Germany over the last years, a contro­versial dis­cussion has developed regarding the influence of the new inha­bi­­tant on indi­genous resp. pro­tec­ted species and the potential trans­mission of diseases and parasites. Based on the hypothesis that raccoons may affect local stock of ecological relevant species through predation raccoon faecal samples were collected in a close to nature beech forest in the Müritz National Park (Mecklenburg-Western ­­Pome­ra­nia, Germany) and analysed with regard to nutrition ecology and endoparasite infes­ta­tion. The study area represents a characteris­tic inland drainage area of North-Eastern German lowlands, which provides a very suitable habitat for raccoons with regards to essential resour­ces. Simulta­neously, examinations were carried out in raccoons from a control area in the Nature Park Feldberger Seen­land­schaft (Mecklenburg-Western ­­Pome­ra­nia), focusing on the question as to whether raccoons might have higher ecological impact in an anthropogenically modified habitat due to poorer food resources. This thesis is part of a long-term and integrated research project (Projekt Waschbär), which was con­­­ducted between 2006 and 2011 in the subterritory Serrahn of the Müritz National Park.

Submitted by paulo junior (paulo.jr@fgv.br) on 2010-02-23T16:55:59Z No. of bitstreams: 1 RAFAELA..pdf: 28017 bytes, checksum: 63a982caaec70506aeb44ca11182e61f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by paulo junior(paulo.jr@fgv.br) on 2010-02-23T16:56:25Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 RAFAELA..pdf: 28017 bytes, checksum: 63a982caaec70506aeb44ca11182e61f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2010-02-23T17:09:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RAFAELA..pdf: 28017 bytes, checksum: 63a982caaec70506aeb44ca11182e61f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-12-16 / This study aims to comprehend how the entrance of Petrobras in the retail downstream segment contributes to the company’s current strategy. Since the North American market is the worlds’ biggest gasoline (oil product of high aggregated value) consumer, we come to believe that it would be a relevant market in which the company should expand its business. A sizable market, logistical facilities, interesting margins, as well as portfolio diversification and strategical positioning towards an international recognition as a major oil company are viewed as the main reasons to enter this market. Among the results of this study, it is important to refrain that the North American downstream segment is attractive and, therefore, Petrobras as a regional oil company aiming to become an international oil company should consider the possibility of entering this market. No sufficient barriers to entry were detected regarding predatory behavior as well as sunk costs or vertical integration. Finally, observing the results of the efficient frontier, it is important to say that there is no 'best' portfolio option and, it will be up to the company to decide how much risk is it willing to take and/ or what is the minimal acceptable return. / Esta dissertação objetiva compreender como a entrada da companhia no mercado de retail Norte Americano poderia contribuir com sua estratégia. Acredita-se que sendo o mercado Norte Americano o maior consumidor e também importador mundial de gasolina (derivado de petróleo de alto valor agregado) este seria um mercado relevante para a expansão dos negócios da Petrobras. Dentre as principais razões destacamos: o tamanho deste mercado consumidor, vantagens logísticas, margens atrativas, diversificação do portfólio da companhia e; um posicionamento estratégico no sentido de ser reconhecida internacionalmente. Dentre os resultados desta dissertação pode-se destacar que o mercado de downstream norte americano é atrativo e, assim sendo, a Petrobras, como companhia de petróleo regional objetivando tornar-se uma grande empresa internacional de petróleo, deva estudar a possibilidade de entrar no mercado de retail norte americano. Não foram detectadas barreiras suficientemente fortes no que tange ao comportamento predatório nem custos afundados ou integração vertical que impeça a entrada de novos competidores. Finalmente, ao observar-se os resultados da fronteira eficiente, tem-se que não existe uma 'melhor' opção de carteira e, caberá a companhia definir o quão exposto ao risco deseja estar e, ao mesmo tempo, qual o retorno mínimo aceitável.

Systematic Theology and Theological Ethics / D.Th. (Theological Ethics)