Legal Regulation of Data (Theoretical Perspective) Abstract The master thesis deals with information and data, their substance and nature, with regards to whether and how it is possible to regulate these. This thesis has three objectives. First objective is to describe and analyse the legal acts, case law and academic literature dealing with information and data. The second objective is to create a theory of information suitable for the law and suggest a legislative and methodological approach to the data and information, thus answering the question whether the information and data may be subject of the legal regulation in general. The third objective is to assess so called technologically neutral approach of the legislator to the legislation which primarily regulates the technology (especially the data). The master thesis brings the following conclusions with regards to set objectives. Firstly, neither the current legislation, nor the case law deals with the concept and methodology of information or data and uses these terms as synonyms. The academic literature lately concerns itself with this topic; however, it does not bring unified theory or methodological approach. Secondly, the thesis brings a proposal of theoretical model of information and data as it suggests examining the term "information" in two...

archives@tulane.edu / Musical experience is associated with a host of benefits to self-regulatory processes across multiple psychological domains. The purpose of the studies presented in this dissertation was to examine relationships between musical experience and cognitive, emotional, and physiological self-regulation. Cognitive regulation was measured with tasks of executive functions; emotional regulation was measured by self-efficacy, incidences of mental illness, depressive symptoms, and perceived chronic stress; and physiological regulation was measured by cortisol levels in response to an acute psychological stressor. Findings on cognitive regulation showed that enrollment in music programming during childhood was associated with enhanced working memory maintenance and updating, and musical experience in early adulthood was associated with enhanced cognitive flexibility. Among musically experienced adults, the ability to create a four-part harmonization was also associated with enhanced cognitive flexibility. With respect to emotional regulation, continued enrollment in music programming was associated with higher regulatory self-efficacy in children, and musically trained adults demonstrated lower incidences of mental illness, depressive symptoms, and perceived chronic stress. No physiological differences were found in acute cortisol reactivity between musicians and non-musicians, despite lower levels of perceived chronic stress in musicians. Taken together, these results suggest that cognitive and emotional self- regulation are impacted by music training, but not physiological regulation. However, divergent findings may depend on the type of musical experience measured, and the age of musical engagement. / 1 / Jenna Winston

This diploma thesis deals with the issue of autonomous weapon systems in connection with the phenomenon of artificial intelligence. Within the issue of AWS, the master's thesis addresses their potential regulation or complete ban. This burning topic is discussed based on an empirical analysis of international organizations and state institutions that deal with the matter. The main essence of the master's thesis is to approach the functioning of artificial intelligence and autonomous weapon systems, to map the development of AWS and to present the current situation in the context of AWS regulation. The secondary purpose of this thesis is to examine and analyze the international debate and to look at the arguments presented regarding the moral and ethical aspects of development and deployment of autonomous weapons. The diploma thesis concludes that at present times, there are still no fully autonomous weapon systems operating in the field, but their development is gaining momentum. Regarding the matter of regulatory measures of AWS discussions are taking place at present times. These discussions have so far resulted in individual agreements that correspond to the form of hybrid regulation. Individual countries approach the topic of AWS regulation based on their technological and economic capabilities...

Caenorhabditis Elegans genome maintains active H3K36me3 chromatin domains interspersed with repressive H3K27me3 domains on the autosomes’ distal ends. The mechanisms stabilizing these domains and the prevention of position-effect variegation remains unknown as no insulator elements have been identified in C. elegans. De-novo motif discovery applied on mes-4 binding sites links the H3K36me3-specific methyltransferase to a class of non-coding DNA known as Periodic An/Tn Clusters (PATCs). PATCs display characteristics of insulator elements such as local nucleosome depletion and their restriction to genes with specific expression profiles and chromatin marks. Finally, I describe a set of experiments to further investigate the role of PATCs and mes-4 in the maintenance of stable chromatin domains using a synthetic biology approach.

A group of red-eared turtles (Pseudemys scripta elegans) was acclimated to 18-20˚C and artificial photo-period for 21 days. The animals were then individually placed in a thermal gradient and their selected temperatures were continuously recorded for 24 hours. A second group of turtles was acclimatized to 7.5-11.0˚C and natural photoperiods for 28 days, and subsequently tested in the same manner as the first group. Lastly, the turtles in the first group, after being acclimated to 3.0˚C and the previous artificial photoperiod for 14 days, were retested in the gradient.

A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2015 / The free radical theory of aging postulates that accumulation of oxidative damage in major cellular components is the predominant underlying cause of the aging phenotype. This damage is caused most commonly by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant enzymes such as the superoxide dismutases (SOD) that neutralize ROS, are therefore vital. Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) is particularly critical as it is functional in the mitochondria, a major site for ROS generation. Numerous studies have demonstrated a tissue-specific decrease in the activity and mRNA levels of major antioxidants, including MnSOD, with aging, however the exact mechanism of this regulation is unclear. It was hypothesized that a general down-regulation of various antioxidant enzymes such as this may occur at the transcriptional level. In order to investigate SOD2 regulation, a comprehensively annotated rat SOD2 promoter region was established using the appropriate bioinformatics tools. Following this, SOD2 mRNA levels in tissues from young and old rat tissue were compared using quantitative PCR. The results showed increased and decreased SOD2 mRNA levels in old compared to young liver tissue and brain tissue, respectively, however these trends were not statistically significant. As MnSOD has been shown to be epigenetically downregulated in various age-related diseases it was hypothesized that the decrease in MnSOD mRNA levels seen in aging brain tissue may be a result of epigenetic regulation at the SOD2 (MnSOD gene) promoter, specifically, through DNA methylation. A methylation assay assessing the SOD2 gene promoter revealed no significant evidence of hypermethylation. Although this suggests that promoter methylation is an unlikely mechanism of SOD2 regulation in aging, further work would need to be implemented in order to prove this conclusively.

As students mature the types and frequency of stressors increase with age. Notably, middle school can be a stressful transition period that includes new peer relationships and hormonal changes, along with an increased probability of experiencing bullying and suicide ideation. Stress has been shown to have negative effects in psychological and physiological functioning among adolescents (Brietzke et al., 2012; De Young, Kenardy, & Cobham, 2011; Green et al., 2010). Effective coping skills can help to buffer these issues, giving adolescents a repertoire of tools to use. Along with that, proper emotional regulation has been shown decrease the negative effects of stress on adolescents (Berking & Whitley, 2014; Braet et al., 2014; Moriya & Takashi, 2013). These skills may be particularly important amongst adolescents living in rural areas, as they face unique and often more difficult challenges compared their urban counterparts (Imig, Bokemeier, Keefe, Struthers, & Imig, 1997; Sherman, 2006). However, research exploring rural populations is limited and does not focus on the mostly rural populated areas of the southern United States (Strong, Del Grosso, Burwick, Jethwani, & Ponza, 2005). To address the gaps in research, the purpose of the current study was to investigate if coping response styles predicted perceived stress scores in middle school students living in rural areas. Additionally, the purpose was to explore if emotional regulation moderated the relationship between coping and perceived stress. Multiple regression analysis was used to explore the predictability of coping on perceived stress scores (i.e., Perceived Stress Scale). Moreover, hierarchal regression analysis was used to explore moderation of emotional regulation on coping and perceived stress. Data were collected from a northeastern school in a rural area in Mississippi from a sample of 149 middle school students. The results indicated that coping is a statistically significant predictor of perceived stress scores, indicating that the better a student was at coping, the less likely he or she was to report perceived stress. Lastly, results revealed that a student’s emotional regulation does not strengthen or weaken their coping responses effect on perceived stress. Understanding how theses variables work together will provide educators with knowledge that is vital to development of prevention and intervention strategies.

Although advances have been made toward understanding the complex mechanisms that regulate the process of DNA transcription, the specific mechanisms of activation for many individual genes remain unknown. In this study, we focus on the role the transcription factor SOX9 plays in activating cartilage-specific genes, specifically Col9a1 and Cartilage Link Protein (CRTL1). Previously, enhancers of these genes containing single SOX9 binding sites were shown to be activated through SOX9 binding. However, the hypothesis was made that in cartilage-specific genes dimeric SOX9, as opposed to monomeric SOX9, is necessary for activation. We identified a putative binding site adjacent to each of the known single SOX9 binding sites in the Col9a1 D and E enhancers and in the CRTL1 enhancer. Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assays (EMSAs) were performed to determine whether SOX9 bound to these putative sites. Transient transfections were then performed using wild-type and mutant enhancer- reporter plasmids to determine whether these putative SOX9 binding sites were important for activation in vivo. Although dimeric SOX9 bound to each of the enhancers in vitro, several different effects were seen in vivo. In the presence of the wild-type Col9a1 D enhancer, no activation was seen. However, when the enhancer was extended to include an additional pair of newly found SOX9 binding sites, expression was increased 10-fold. When any of the four SOX9 binding sites within this enhancer were mutated, expression was completely eliminated, suggesting that interdependent dimers or a tetramer of SOX9 is necessary for the activation of transcription. The weaker Col9a1 enhancer E was found to increase gene expression minimally through binding of either dimeric or monomeric SOX9. However, dimeric SOX9 was required for the activation of gene expression by the CTRL1 enhancer. Through this study we validate the importance of not just monomeric but of dimeric and possibly tetremeric SOX9 as an activator of cartilage-specific gene expression.

Immobilized boronates were evaluated for studies of adenine nucleotide metabolism. These studies were performed using Affi-gel 601, a commercial boronate gel, and dihydroxyboryl Sepharose and dihydroxyboryl-Bio Rex which were synthesized in the laboratory. The studies performed included the determination of the relative binding affinity of a variety of adenine containing compounds for the three immobilized boronates under differing chromatographic conditions.

Brucella abortus is a bacterial species that infects cattle, elk, and bison herds worldwide and is a causative agent of brucellosis. B. abortus is a common form of zoonosis, as incidental spillover into the human population results in millions of infections annually. Current treatment options are limited to culling infected animals and treating humans with a rigorous antibiotic regimen, which still results in up to a 30% relapse rate. Detection of the pathogen is difficult due to the replicative niche residing within the host's immune cells, specifically macrophages and dendritic cells. Numerous small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) were found to be expressed by B. abortus, and it was hypothesized that they may be important for virulence. One sRNA, when deleted, was shown to be linked to outer membrane stress resistance and was named MssR (membrane sensitivity sRNA). When the ΔmssR strain was tested in both macrophage and mouse models of infection, there were no virulence defects. Additionally, proteomic and transcriptomic studies of the ΔmssR strain showed very few dysregulated targets. Expression of mssR was tested under numerous biologically relevant conditions, and it was shown to be expressed significantly more during exponential phase of growth, compared to stationary phase. Initial microscopical analysis of mutant cells after treatment with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS_ did not reveal any morphological differences. It is unknown what contributes to the observed phenotypes and additional experiments are required to determine what is causing the perturbations in the outer membrane of the ΔmssR strain. / Master of Science / Brucella abortus is a bacterial species that causes the disease brucellosis in cattle and humans worldwide. To understand how B. abortus establishes infection, we are studying how the bacteria control the expression of genes during the process of infection. One method of bacterial gene regulation is the use of small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs). These small transcripts are similar to mRNAs but are shorter in length and typically do not encode for a protein. One such sRNA in B. abortus was shown to be linked to sensitivity to outer membrane stress and was named Membrane Sensitivity sRNA (MssR). After engineering a strain of B. abortus that does not produce MssR, there were no differences in the ability of the bacteria to infect macrophages or mice. Additionally, there were no noticable differences in the structure of the bacterial cells. When sRNAs regulate gene expression, differences can be seen at the mRNA and protein levels when the sRNAs are deleted. Very few targets were found be dysregulated at the transcript and protein level within the ΔmssR mutant. It is unknown what is causing the mutant to be more sensitive to outer membrane perturbations and additional tests are necessary to determine how MssR is linked to this phenotype.