A Nation of Gamers: The History of Video Games in Canada

This thesis is a study of the economic, cultural, and political impact of video games in Canada. The trajectory of video games will be mapped beginning with the arrival of video games in Canadian markets in the mid-1970s and ending in the 2000s, with the debut of the Globe and Mail’s gaming section and the finalization of Ubisoft’s $263 million deal with the Ontario Government. Through this journey, it will be shown that over this roughly thirty-year period, video games have become interwoven into the everyday life of Canadians. Today in Canada, many regard video games as important cultural objects and a growing economic sector, yet this was not always the case. The industry has managed to thrive thanks to government influences and arrivals of anchor studios at key times. Yet in the media and the government, video games were seen as a nuisance and threat to children for much of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, and faced many opponents that urged them be banned or censored. Despite these scares, video games were able to grow and be consumed in Canada without the implementation of government restrictions. This history of video games in Canada argues that these factors were caused by a generation gap and larger moral panic, which dissipated after it grew into such a large enough industry and market, that it became lucrative to Canada as a whole. This research shows the reactions that disruptive technologies can instill into a nation and the lack of government involvement speaks to the influence that video games and its industry hold in Canad

Quantum oscillations in underdoped YBa_2Cu_3O_6.5

Shubnikov-de Haas and de Haas-van Alphen effects have been measured in the underdoped high temperature superconductor YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6.51}$. Data are in agreement with the standard Lifshitz-Kosevitch theory, which confirms the presence of a coherent Fermi surface in the ground state of underdoped cuprates. A low frequency $F = 530 \pm 10$ T is reported in both measurements, pointing to small Fermi pocket, which corresponds to 2% of the first Brillouin zone area only. This low value is in sharp contrast with that of overdoped Tl$_2$Ba$_2$CuO$_{6+\delta}$, where a high frequency $F = 18$ kT has been recently reported and corresponds to a large hole cylinder in agreement with band structure calculations. These results point to a radical change in the topology of the Fermi surface on opposing sides of the cuprate phase diagram.Comment: proceeding of the ECRYS-200

Re-investigating coastal trade: the ports of the Bristol Channel and the Severn Estuary, c.1695 - c.1704

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of PhilosophyThis thesis provides a fresh perspective on the coastal trade of a major domestic region centred upon the port of Bristol. It acknowledges that coasting formed a vital link in the economy of pre-industrial England and Wales. However, coasting has been seen as the eternally poor relation of international and transoceanic commerce in studies of economic growth, urban development, and industrial diversification. This imbalance is addressed fully. The thesis sheds new light upon the volume, nature, structure and mechanisms of both the coastal and internal trades, and exposes to a more critical analysis the extent to which Bristol, as the major regional centre, acted as a 'quasi-metropolis' in the direction of the internal trade of its hinterland. A central theme is the computerisation, and examination of a wide sample of coastal Port Books for the ports of the Bristol Channel, over a limited but coherent timespan. Port Book data are also integrated with data gleaned from mercantile accounts to enable a thorough reconstruction of the means and motives of regional commerce to be devised. The Introduction discusses the study of internal trade and argues that the lack of sustained research emanates from the absence of accessible and tractable quantitative evidence. With regard to coasting, problems surrounding the interpretation and manipulation of the coastal Port Books have limited many investigations. Similarly, the want of quantitative evidence has led many accounts of the region into repeating uncritically theories of the centrality of Bristol and its perceived metropolitan hegemony over regional patterns of trade. Chapter 1 analyses how Port Books have been utilised to date and provides a detailed methodological overview of the coastal Books for the Bristol Channel ports within the geographical and chronological parameters of the research. The Chapter also outlines the strategies of analysis and computerisation and the technical bases through which Port Books are structured for further study. The following Chapters use the datasets as case studies to shed new light upon the conduct of the coastal trade. Chapter 2 constructs a hierarchy of commercial activity at the regional ports and examines the spatial patterns of trade within the region; Chapter 3 provides an insight into the extent and range of goods carried, arguing that bulk staples did not wholly dominate coasting as is implied by secondary literature; and Chapter 4 analyses the level of mercantile organisation, boat provision and operation. In Chapter 5, Port Book data are combined with the accounts of Hoare and Company and William Alloway, two important Bridgwater merchant houses, to indicate how coastal, river and overland trade provided a complex, highly sophisticated transport system. The Conclusion suggests that the methods and techniques outlined in the thesis provide a basis for the re-interpretation of coastal trade, not only in the relation of Bristol to its nominally subordinate economic hinterland, but also in the wider significance of coasting to the development of the pre-industrial economy

The Christmas Cove Dyke of coastal Maine, USA, and regional sources for Early Mesozoic flood basalts in northeastern North America

 A large Early Mesozoic quartz tholeiite dyke has been mapped discontinuously for 190 km in southern coastal Maine, USA. Including its type locality at Christmas Cove (South Bristol, Maine, USA), the dyke has features of a generally ENE strike; dip usually steep to the SSE but abruptly turning very shallow in short sections; and widths of 9 to 35 m. The dyke rock has a distinctive cross-columnar field appearance, and a subophitic to micro-porphyritic texture with abundant Ti-bearing augite, calcic plagioclase, scattered euhedral orthopyroxene phenocrysts, and coarse-grained glomerophyric clumps of augite with plagioclase. Several 40Ar/39Ar whole-rock dates for this and associated regional dykes are close to 201 Ma, in agreement with ages of other Early Mesozoic dykes and basalts of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP). The geographic position, age, whole-rock chemistry, and petrography indicate that the Christmas Cove Dyke is co-magmatic or contiguous with the Higganum-Holden Dyke of southern New England, which was a source for the Talcott Basalt of the Early Mesozoic Hartford rift basin. The dyke system is a 700-km long fissure source for the earliest rift basin basalts preserved in northeastern North America, and it virtually connects the Hartford Basin and the Fundy Basin in Atlantic Canada. The Caraquet Dyke of New Brunswick and central Maine may be co-magmatic with the Buttress Dyke and Holyoke Basalt of southern New England, but lava from it is not preserved in Atlantic Canada or Maine.

microRNAs and Esophageal Cancer - Implications for Pathogenesis and Therapy

Author version made available in accordance with the publisher's policy.There are several microRNAs that have been consistently reported to be differentially expressed in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma vs. normal squamous tissue, with prognostic associations for miR-21 (invasion, positive nodes, decreased survival), miR-143 (disease recurrence, invasion depth), and miR-375 (inversely correlated with advanced stage, distant metastasis, poor overall survival, and disease-free survival). There is also evidence that miR-375 regulates gene expression associated with resistance to chemotherapy. Hence, microRNA expression assays have the potential to provide clinically relevant information about prognosis and potential response to chemotherapy in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Results are inconsistent, however, for microRNAs across different studies for esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) vs. its precursor lesion Barrett’s esophagus. These inconsistencies may partly result from pathological and/or molecular heterogeneity in both Barrett’s esophagus and EAC, but may also result from differences in study designs or different choices of comparator tissues. Despite these inconsistencies, however, several mRNA/protein targets have been identified, the cancer related biology of some of these targets is well understood, and there are clinico-pathological associations for some of these mRNA targets. MicroRNAs also have potential for use in therapy for esophageal cancers. The development of new delivery methods, such as minicells and autologous microvesicles, and molecular modifications such as the addition of aromatic benzene pyridine analogs, have facilitated the exploration of the effects of therapeutic microRNAs in vivo. These approaches are producing encouraging results, with one technology in a phase I/IIa clinical trial

COX-2 mRNA is increased in oesophageal mucosal cells by a proton pump inhibitor

Author version made available in accordance with the publisher's policy.Introduction: Barrett’s oesophagus develops in some individuals with gastro-oesophageal reflux, and is the precursor to oesophageal adenocarcinoma. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) suppress gastric acid production and are used to treat reflux. Clinical trials suggest that COX inhibitors might prevent oesophageal cancer, although PPIs could offset this by increasing COX-2 expression in Barrett’s oesophagus. To investigate this, we evaluated the impact of a PPI on COX expression in oesophageal mucosal cells. Methods: The effect of the PPI esomeprazole on COX-1 and COX-2 mRNA levels in oesophageal cells was determined. Oesophageal cell lines OE33 (adenocarcinoma derived) and HET-1A (immortalized squamous cells), and a control intestinal cell line - HT29 (colon carcinoma), were treated for 24 hours with increasing concentrations of the esomeprazole. Results: COX-2, but not COX-1, mRNA levels, dose dependently increased in OE33 and HET-1A cells vs. esomeprazole concentration. COX-2 mRNA levels did not increase in HT29 cells. Conclusions: Exposure to esomeprazole increases COX-2 mRNA in oesophageal cells. This might contribute to the lack of benefit for COX inhibitors for oesophageal cancer prevention in recent clinica

The Geology and Geochemistry of the Agamenticus Complex, York, Maine

Guidebook for field trips in southern and west-central Maine, October 13, 14 and 15, 1989: New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference 81st annual meeting: Trip A-1; C-

Evaluation of immune responses following infection of ponies with an EHV-1 ORF1/2 deletion mutant

Equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) infection remains a significant problem despite the widespread use of vaccines. The inability to generate a protective immune response to EHV-1 vaccination or infection is thought to be due to immunomodulatory properties of the virus, and the ORF1 and ORF2 gene products have been hypothesized as potential candidates with immunoregulatory properties. A pony infection study was performed to define immune responses to EHV-1, and to determine if an EHV-1 ORF1/2 deletion mutant (ΔORF1/2) would have different disease and immunoregulatory effects compared to wild type EHV-1 (WT). Infection with either virus led to cytokine responses that coincided with the course of clinical disease, particularly the biphasic pyrexia, which correlates with respiratory disease and viremia, respectively. Similarly, both viruses caused suppression of proliferative T-cell responses on day 7 post infection (pi). The ΔORF1/ORF2 virus caused significantly shorter primary pyrexia and significantly reduced nasal shedding, and an attenuated decrease in PBMC IL-8 as well as increased Tbet responses compared to WT-infected ponies. In conclusion, our findings are (i) that infection of ponies with EHV-1 leads to modulation of immune responses, which are correlated with disease pathogenesis, and (ii) that the ORF1/2 genes are of importance for disease outcome and modulation of cytokine responses

First recorded occurrence of the parasitic barnacle (Anelasma squalicola) on a Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) in the Canadian Arctic

A solitary Anelasma squalicola specimen was collected from the cloaca of a Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus), the first time this association has been recorded. The specimen's identity was confirmed through morphological and genetic assessment (mitochondrial markers: COI and control region). A. squalicola is a species typically associated with deep-sea lantern sharks (Etmopteridae) and, until the present observation, had never been observed at a sexually mature size in the absence of a mating partner. Given the reported negative effects of this parasite on its hosts, monitoring Greenland sharks for additional cases is recommended.publishedVersio

Cultural pressure and biased responding in free will attitudes

Whether you believe free will exists has profound effects on your behaviour, across different levels of processing, from simple motor action to social cognition. It is therefore important to understand which specific lay theories are held in the general public and why. Past research largely focused on investigating free will beliefs (FWB, 'Do you think free will exists?'), but largely ignored a second key aspect: free will attitudes (FWA, 'Do you like/value will?'). Attitudes are often independently predictive of behaviour, relative to beliefs, yet we currently know very little about FWAs in the general public. One key issue is whether such attitudes are subject to biased, socially desirable responding. The vast majority of the general public strongly believes in the existence of free will, which might create cultural pressure to value free will positively as well. In this registered report, we used a very large (N = 1100), open available dataset measuring implicit and explicit attitudes towards free will and determinism to address this issue. Our results indicate that both explicit and implicit attitudes towards free will are more positive than attitudes towards determinism. We also show that people experience cultural pressure to value free will, and to devalue determinism. Yet, we found no strong evidence that this cultural pressure affected either implicit or explicit attitudes in this dataset