Dialectic (jadal or munāẓara) is undoubtedly the primary formative dynamic in the evolution of Islamic legal systems, whether in the expansion and justification of doctrinal bodies of substantive law (fiqh), or in the elaboration and refinement of legal theory (uṣūl…

Since the rise of citizen reporters, blogging, wikis, and pro-am newsroom collaborations, both the professional and academic spheres have come to contest the very definition of a journalist. These analyses, however, often fail to consider the historical complexity of the…

Background: Long delays in initiating treatment for a first-episode of psychosis (FEP) are associated with poor clinical and functional outcomes. However, the modes and routes by which patients access care are complex, thus contributing to delays in treatment initiation and…

Switchgrass (SG, Panicum virgatum L.), a temperate perennial grass, was chosen by the US Department of Energy's Herbaceous Energy Crops Program as the 'model' bioenergy crop for further research in North America. Current research on SG for bioenergy feedstock production…

Introduction: One of the many sources of low back pain (LBP) is the degeneration of intervertebral discs (IVDs), a condition called degenerative disc disease (DDD). Degeneration of IVDs can occur as result of aging, trauma, or genetic predisposition. Better insight…

This thesis presents a methodology for prediction of reliability for a lunar rover and a technique to evaluate reliability where data for operation in the lunar environment are not available in order to conduct traditional reliability analysis. This technique was…

Early studies of antidepressants have demonstrated clinical efficacy at doses much lower than those currently recommended. Even when deemed sub-therapeutic by modern standards, lower doses are often clinically effective – perhaps through a placebo effect. Emerging from clinical trial analyses,…

Activins are members of the transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) superfamily. Though originally identified as stimulators of pituitary follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) synthesis and secretion, they also play diverse biological roles, ranging from control of cellular differentiation to regulation of immune…

Impulsivity is considered a major contributor to various antisocial behaviours (Nofziger, 2010) and is present in many mental and personality disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Given that clear sex differences have been observed in such behaviours and disorders (Nofziger, 2010;…

Heat shock cognate 70 kDa protein (hsc70) is a well conserved molecular chaperone involved in many physiological functions such as the stress response, protein folding, and protein transport. Moreover, hsc70 plays roles in human disease, such as cancer, neurodegenerative disease,…