The demonstration that simply by introducing four selected proteins it is possible to change mammalian somatic cells from one phenotype to another is providing important new opportunities in medicine. However, this approach has several limitations. In contrast to other methods of changing cell fate such as cloning and cell fusion it is very slow, very inefficient and it is necessary to have identified the key transcription factors. In both cloning and fusion the nucleus is exposed to the cytoplasm of the recipient cell and it is this that changes nuclear function. With the hope of creating the same effect, extracts from cells of the desired cell type have been introduced into candidate cells. This induced some changes in cell function, but did not change cells from one phenotype to another. The aim of this project was to improve methods for the introduction of extract when human skin cells were exposed to extracts of mouse pluripotent stem cells. During early studies, it was noticed that external materials could enter cells spontaneously at a specific stage of cell cycle, metaphase. When cells in metaphase were exposed to cell extracts pluripotent cell-like colonies were formed. These cells expressed markers of pluripotency such as SSEA4 and Tra-1-60 and could form embryoid bodies that would further differentiate to all three germ layers. Unfortunately this protocol was found to be unrepeatable. In subsequent studies the temperature of exposure to extract was raised from 37oC to 40oC with the aim of promoting the fluidity of the cell membrane and so enhancing uptake of extract. A new treatment regime was introduced to increase the proportion of cells exposed to extract while in metaphase. A new protease inhibitor was introduced in order to promote persistence of the extract within the cells. Also, a new TLR3 agonist was introduced to enhance chromosome modification. After these modifications were made pluripotent cell-like colonies formed within 14 days of treatment with extract and these colonies were positive for alkaline phosphatase live staining. Further research is required to complete the development of a routine procedure.

No description available.

Synthetic musks are incorporated extensively in personal care products to improve their scent, increase their fragrance stability, and prolong their shelf-life. As a consequence, these persistent musks are being released at a considerable rate by wastewater treatment plants and are frequently detected in surface water, bottom sediment, air, and aquatic biota near urban areas. In addition to their hydrophobicity, two synthetic musks, Galaxolide (HHCB) and Tonalide (AHTN), were reported to cause endocrine disruption in fish species. Although most of the toxic effects in past studies were observed at high doses, HHCB and AHTN were shown to bioaccumulate very differently depending on the aquatic species tested. As bioaccumulation and fate of contaminants are important considerations when regulating persistent chemicals, an improved understanding of the bioaccumulation potential of these chemicals is needed. In this thesis, an assessment of the presence, bioconcentration and fate of HHCB and AHTH was provided in an area exposed to the effluent of the Gold Bar wastewater treatment plant in the North Saskatchewan River (Edmonton). HHCB and AHTN were quantified in fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) exposed downstream of the effluent, with an adapted method for analysis of musks in fish, using PAHs as recovery standards. Method development and recoveries are summarized. Highest bioconcentration factors were 24,500 and 22,300 for HHCB and AHTN respectively, and were observed 1 km downstream of the outfall. Musks were found in most fathead minnows exposed at reference sites upstream as well as at the furthest site, 9.9 km from the outfall. Musk concentrations in water at these sites were used in the assessment of the fate of HHCB and AHTN by fugacity modeling with QWASI software. In order to assess fate, a contaminated portion of the North Saskatchewan River was divided in a series of compartments that were each treated as connected individual water bodies. HHCB and AHTN losses were mostly due to water advection and sedimentation fluxes. Model fit was assessed by comparing predicted to measured data.

No description available.

No description available.

Across Canada, and around the world, very large amounts of pesticides are produced and applied to agricultural crops each year. Although pesticide usage is declining, they are still a necessary part of industrial agriculture. Numerous pesticides have been quantified in the atmosphere, at high levels near regions of use and at lower, but still significant levels in remote regions. Some of the most persistent pesticides have been banned, but others continue to be used despite their persistence and potential for long-range transport (LRT). We have applied and refined an XAD-2 resin-based passive air sampler (PAS) to study the concentrations of pesticides in the atmosphere. A set of laboratory experiments measured the equilibria sorption coefficients for chemicals on XAD-2 resin, allowing the determination of a new predictive equation for equilibria sorption coefficients, and thus interpretation of the range of applicability of both XAD-based PAS and active air samplers (AAS). A set of field experiments were performed to compare the data obtained by both PAS and AAS, and to study the temporal trends of a wide range of pesticides in an agricultural area of southern Ontario. Because it is now apparent that XAD-PAS sampling rates can vary between compounds and with temperature, we also determined new compound-specific sampling rates for pesticides in the XAD-PAS. The XAD-PAS were deployed in two transects across Canada, one from the Great Lakes region to the Canadian Arctic, and one across southern British Columbia in four different mountain regions and at different elevations. The air concentrations of current-use pesticides were correlated with regions of their use in both transects. The variation of air concentration with elevation was correlated with local, ground-level sources in British Columbia. The LRT of pesticides was determined from the north-south transect, and correlated to their atmospheric half-lives. Historic-use pesticides such as hexachlorobenzene and hexachlorocyclohexane were found to have relatively uniform distributions in the Canadian atmosphere, while further evidence of α-hexachlorocyclohexane evaporation from oceans was observed in both transects.

Across Canada, and around the world, very large amounts of pesticides are produced and applied to agricultural crops each year. Although pesticide usage is declining, they are still a necessary part of industrial agriculture. Numerous pesticides have been quantified in the atmosphere, at high levels near regions of use and at lower, but still significant levels in remote regions. Some of the most persistent pesticides have been banned, but others continue to be used despite their persistence and potential for long-range transport (LRT). We have applied and refined an XAD-2 resin-based passive air sampler (PAS) to study the concentrations of pesticides in the atmosphere. A set of laboratory experiments measured the equilibria sorption coefficients for chemicals on XAD-2 resin, allowing the determination of a new predictive equation for equilibria sorption coefficients, and thus interpretation of the range of applicability of both XAD-based PAS and active air samplers (AAS). A set of field experiments were performed to compare the data obtained by both PAS and AAS, and to study the temporal trends of a wide range of pesticides in an agricultural area of southern Ontario. Because it is now apparent that XAD-PAS sampling rates can vary between compounds and with temperature, we also determined new compound-specific sampling rates for pesticides in the XAD-PAS. The XAD-PAS were deployed in two transects across Canada, one from the Great Lakes region to the Canadian Arctic, and one across southern British Columbia in four different mountain regions and at different elevations. The air concentrations of current-use pesticides were correlated with regions of their use in both transects. The variation of air concentration with elevation was correlated with local, ground-level sources in British Columbia. The LRT of pesticides was determined from the north-south transect, and correlated to their atmospheric half-lives. Historic-use pesticides such as hexachlorobenzene and hexachlorocyclohexane were found to have relatively uniform distributions in the Canadian atmosphere, while further evidence of α-hexachlorocyclohexane evaporation from oceans was observed in both transects.

This thesis is a critique of romantic love theoretically premised on the analytical psychology of Carl Jung and the humanistic psychoanalysis of Erich Fromm. The aim of this critique is to explore whether there are grounds for postulating a conception of love beyond the current romantic framework. As the critique is primarily concentrated at the depth level, romantic love is examined via the medium of Cinderella folklore, with particular focus on Andy Tennant's 1998 film adaptation of Cinderella, Ever After. Based on a Jungian approach to the psyche and psychic products, the methodological framework incorporates the three following tools: The tool of interpretation at the subjective level, in which the characters of the Cinderella fairy tale are read symbolically rather than taken to denote literal fictitious characters; the tool of constructive analysis, in which it is argued that romantic love is more than 'nothing but' a boy/girl love story or 'nothing but' a myth depicting patriarchal oppression; and the tool of amplification, in which archetypal similarities between the Christian myth and the Cinderella fairy tale are highlighted. The central argument of this critique is that while romantic love does not provide a viable model of relatedness if taken and practiced literally, the romantic myth nonetheless contains within it the basis for a fuller and richer experience of love and relatedness if read subjectively. The rationale for a depth critique of romantic love is based upon the Jungian postulate that phenomena such as dreams and myths issue fundamentally from the unconscious psychic realm, and further upon Jung's recognition of a psychological developmental process he refers to as 'individuation' activated by engagement with the products of the unconscious. A symbolic/psychological reading of romantic love brings to light that romantic desire toward another is an outward manifestation of an inner desire for individual realisation, and is expressive of the individual's own capacity for wholeness. The value of a symbolic reading of romantic love is appreciated if it is conceived that it is precisely individual realisation that forms the basis for what is referred to by Erich Fromm as productive or knowledge-based love, argued here to be the ideal and only firm basis for human relatedness generally and intimate relatedness specifically.

Issued in part as thesis. Marburg. / "Benutzie und berücksichtigte literatur": p. 146-148.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Bayerische Julius-Maximilians-Universität zu Würzburg, 1928. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.