HISTORICAL FLOWS OF CORN, WHEAT AND SOYBEANS FROM MINNESOTA, NORTH DAKOTA AND SOUTH DAKOTA

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East and Southeast Asian Men and Bathhouses in Toronto

HIV prevention needs to reflect the diverse experiences of gay men at bathhouses, especially those from ethno-racial groups.York's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

Food-sorting jet arrays and target impact properties

This thesis uses numerical techniques and analysis to study the development and interactions between multiple in-line slender air jets. Consideration is given to two-and three-dimensional flow regimes, but the emphasis is on the latter. The applications (and mechanisms) involved in high-speed machine sorting of small food items, such as grains of rice, are explained. The underpinning mathematics required to develop the mathematical model are stated. In Chapter 2 an analytical solution for the two-dimensional steady jet is demonstrated and used to provide a far-downstream asymptote for validation of the numerical scheme, for steady and unsteady jets. A numerical scheme is demonstrated to be versatile and reasonably accurate. Small-distance analysis complements the numerical scheme and limitations are discussed. A comprehensive small-time analysis is undertaken, results from which support later work on three-dimensional jets. Interference between inline jets is considered in Chapter 3, which applies methods previously used to study two-dimensional in-parallel wakes. The conclusions from this chapter support and help explain results in later chapters. The numerical scheme is extended to three-dimensional steady and unsteady jets. Issuing nozzles of various cross-sections are considered with the aim of obtaining pressure data for comparison with physical data. Small-distance analysis is again investigated, enabling a weakness in the numerical solution to be highlighted. Potential flow theory is used to model interference aspects of multiple in-line unsteady three-dimensional jets. The emphasis is placed on jets from nozzles of either circular or rectangular cross-section but, in fact, the analysis applies for any cross-section. The impact properties of a typical jet when it hits one of the particles such as a grain of rice being sorted are discussed briefly, and final comments are made

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition)

In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. For example, a key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process versus those that measure fl ux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process including the amount and rate of cargo sequestered and degraded). In particular, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation must be differentiated from stimuli that increase autophagic activity, defi ned as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (inmost higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium ) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the fi eld understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. It is worth emphasizing here that lysosomal digestion is a stage of autophagy and evaluating its competence is a crucial part of the evaluation of autophagic flux, or complete autophagy. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. Along these lines, because of the potential for pleiotropic effects due to blocking autophagy through genetic manipulation it is imperative to delete or knock down more than one autophagy-related gene. In addition, some individual Atg proteins, or groups of proteins, are involved in other cellular pathways so not all Atg proteins can be used as a specific marker for an autophagic process. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field

The Development of an Adaptable Surface Modification Architecture for Microfluidic Applications

A framework to compartmentalize microfluidic surfaces was developed. Substrates are separated from surface modifying agents with an intermediate binding layer (IBL). The IBL is comprised of two compounds which bind together using a non-covalent interaction; a host compound is immobilized on the substrate, and a guest compound is conjugated to the surface modifying agent. The primary benefit of the IBL architecture is adaptability: substrates and surface compounds become modular components with standard connectors. Beta-Cyclodextrin (BCD) and adamantane (AD) were selected as the model immobilized host and conjugated guest, respectively. A quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) was assembled and developed to study the BCD/AD complexation interaction. Kinetic, thermodynamic, and Langmuir isotherm data were reported for AD-derivatives binding with immobilized BCD. QCM was also used to investigate neutravidin (NA) binding onto AD-PEG and AD-PEG-biotin coatings immobilized to t-BCD surfaces. QCM was an effective platform to validate the use of BCD/AD as the IBL interaction prior to microfluidic implementation. The BCD/AD IBL was successfully demonstrated in a microfluidic environment. Microfluidic devices were fabricated using the soft-lithographic technique. Adapted surface modifications were visualized using fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) probes within the microfluidic device and detected using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Surface modifications were applied to demonstrate the fundamental functions of surface passivation, specific binding, and visualization using the IBL architecture. Consistent with QCM data, AD-PEG passivated the surface and AD-PEG-biotin specifically bound NA to the BCD surface. Thus, an adaptable surface modification architecture for microfluidic applications was developed and demonstrated.Ph

Structural features affecting the cleavage rate and magnesium optimum in the Neurospora VS ribozyme

grantor: University of TorontoVarkud Satellite (VS) RNA catalyzes a magnesium-dependent, site-specific, self-cleavage reaction. It has been previously determined that a base-paired region, called helix Ia, adjacent to the site of self-cleavage, is a structural element that limits the rate of self-cleavage. Mutants with a disrupted helix Ia not only display an increase in cleavage rate, but also are active at much lower concentrations of magnesium. By measuring the cleavage kinetics of a series of linker-insertion mutants with or without a disrupted helix Ia, I have been able to identify separate structural causes for the slow cleavage rate and high magnesium optimum of the wild-type RNA. The slow cleavage rate is due to a steric constraint imposed by the natural RNA sequence. The high magnesium optimum reflects the instability of an alternative secondary structure that must form near the cleavage site during folding into the active conformation of the RNA.M.Sc

Analysis of financial return of office sector in Hong Kong (1979-1988)

published_or_final_versionUrban DesignMasterMaster of Urban Desig