VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Making the Road: Community Benefits Organizing in Canada as a Radical Adult Learning Practice
Keywords: collective memory
community benefits
community power
labour community coalitions
organizing

Canadian organizing efforts aiming to democratize the economy are the focus of this study, specifically if and how emancipatory learning is occurring in Community Benefits Agreements (CBA) campaigns and coalitions. It further aims to delineate CBA organizing as a community power-building strategy in the interests of workers and communities. Turning to dialectical frameworks, Cultural-Historical-Activity-Theory (CHAT) enables consideration of organizing as radical adult learning in a Freirian tradition, while critical place inquiry provides a methodological approach that is concerned with the socio-materiality of human practices as shaped by and in place. History and memory methods centre the voice, agency and perspective of the persistently marginalized communities impacted by CBA organizing. Drawing on secondary sources, coupled with my own experience embedded in this movement activity, I provide case studies of five neighbourhood-based CBA campaigns in two Canadian cities: Toronto and Ottawa. The cases show these campaigns build on previous local leadership and community capacity development, while concurrently equipping constituencies for collective deliberation and action. CHAT further enables an activity analysis of CBA organizing environments that suggests an expansive view of place is foundational for community power-building. It further identifies that collective memory, stories and narrative – coupled with an ethical orientation to movement building – hold promise as practices that could enable and amplify the emancipatory potential of organizing. Finally, Indigenous ontologies and axiology are proposed as a potentially profound source of guidance to Canadian organizing efforts challenging oppressive systems and structures while building collective community agency and power from the ground up.
Tryptophan Mutagenesis Studies of the Adenosine A2A Receptor-Toward Next Generation Biosynthetic Labeling of Fluorotryptophan Analogs in Eukaryotic Cell Cultures and Optimizing Dopamine D2 Receptor expression with ExpiCHO system
Keywords: A2A
D2
Fluorotryptophan
GPCR

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) comprise the largest and most diverse protein superfamily in the mammalian genome.1 Crystallographic and cryo-EM-derived structures provide high resolution structures but lack information regarding activation intermediates and dynamics. Here, we incorporate 5F-tryptophan biosynthetically and employ 19F NMR to investigate the conformational ensembles and functional motions of adenosine A2A receptor(A2AR), a prototypical class A GPCR. The second part of this thesis involves the optimization of expression (in ExpiCHO cells) of the D2R receptor, which represents another class A GPCR for 19F-NMR analysis. Both the A2A expression and D2R expression methodologies were developed with a focus on both cysteine mutagenesis and biosynthetic labeling.
Development and Characterization of the Femur Window Chamber Model for Leukemia Research
Keywords: Femur Window Chamber
Fluorescence
Intravital Imaging
Leukemia
Microscopy
Mouse Model

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is an aggressive disease of the bone marrow (BM) microenvironment. Unfortunately, the difficulty of traditional methodologies to access the BM in vivo has thus far limited our understanding of disease biology. This project therefore advances the femur window chamber (FWC) mouse model as a new tool for intravital imaging and study of the representative BM of long bones. Here, I have optimized the FWC technique for longitudinal leukemia studies and demonstrated minimal disruption to the native BM vasculature and immune landscape from the surgery. I have also determined that ALL progression results in significant BM remodelling, including elevated hypoxia levels, reduced vascular perfusion, increased vessel diameter, and a dynamic cycle of immune cell recruitment then suppression. These findings not only establish important preclinical research methodologies that overcome the limitations of traditional assays, but also characterize significant ALL dynamics that could inform future therapeutic strategies.
Differences in Cortical Thickness between Cognitively Impaired Persons with and without Apathy May Reflect Discrete Mechanisms of Neuropathophysiology
Keywords: Alzheimer's Disease
Apathy
Clinical Research
Dementia
Goal-directed activity
Neuroimaging

Apathy increases the risk of dementia and is associated with worse outcomes. Deficits in frontostriatal circuits and frontotemporal association areas are associated with apathy in dementia. However, the specific brain regions mediating apathy remain unclear given concomitant neurodegenerative processes. Cognitively impaired (CI) participants with apathy and without apathy from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative matched by demographic, genetic, and cognitive markers were investigated. Differences in region-wise cortical thicknesses were examined by stratified mixed-effects analyses. The right medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) and left rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) were thinner and the left middle temporal cortex (MTC) was thicker in CI participants with apathy compared to matched CI participants without apathy. Supplementary analyses with cognitively normal participants showed that apathy among CI participants was associated with thinner right mOFC and left rACC. Meanwhile, CI participants with apathy had spared atrophy in the left MTC relative to matched CI participants without apathy.
Assessing the Impacts of Climate Change on Energy Use and Retrofit Potential of Institutional Buildings at the University of Toronto St. George Campus
Keywords: Building Energy Simulation
Campus Building
Climate Change
Energy Use Intensity
Greenhouse Gas Use Intensity
Retrofit Measures

The average greenhouse gas intensity of institutional buildings at the University of Toronto St. George campus was 69kg eCO2/m2 in 2017-2018. In 2019, in line with the commitment to climate action, the University of Toronto set a goal for all three campuses to reduce the average building GHGI to below 32kg eCO2/m2 by 2030, meaning institutional buildings at the St. George campus must undergo major energy conservation changes to meet this reduction goal. An energy modelling analysis of a typical institutional building at the St. George campus was carried out using OpenStudio and RETScreen to demonstrate how a changing climate impacts the building energy consumption and associated GHG emissions and to further assess building retrofit potential through different individual passive and active energy efficient retrofit strategies and their combined scenarios. The results also provide insights into how different energy modelling simulation results compare in the context of a future climate.
Type 2 Diabetes in South Asians – Exploring Risk Factors and Utilization of Healthcare in Canada
Keywords: Health geography
Healthcare utilization
Immigration Health
Revised Andersen's Behaviour Model
South Asian
Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is a serious chronic condition affecting millions of people worldwide. South Asians (individuals originating from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal) represent a high-risk ethnicity for developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) and experience a high prevalence of the disease, even in migrant populations. The objectives of this thesis were twofold: (1) to synthesize the latest literature on (i) risk factors that predispose South Asians to be at high-risk for T2D; (ii) utilization of diabetes-related healthcare services in Canada; and (2) investigate perceptions and experiences of South Asians living with T2D in Ontario, and their utilization of diabetes related services within the provincial healthcare system. The first objective was completed through a scoping review, while the second objective was achieved through 20 in-depth interviews. Findings from these interviews are discussed and broader policy options are recommended.
The Drama of Democracy: Theatricality, Histrionics, and the Attention Economy in US Presidential Elections (2008-2020)
Keywords: american
attention economy
democracy
elections
performance studies
theatricality

This work considers the two most-recent American presidential administrations – that of former President Barack Obama (2008-2016) and former President Donald Trump (2016-2020) – in order to investigate how the theatricality that permeates the American electoral system has undercut both theoretical discourses of democracy as well as its intended practical application. The election of Barack Obama (particularly in 2007/8) is demonstrative of the dangers posed by new modes of theatricality proliferated by the digitalization and virtualization of the campaign trail. Donald Trump’s campaigns applied theatrics that can be traced to the inter-war period, while also conforming to the digital age of performance. The analysis is accompanied by an atlas of dramatizations, with each individual piece confronting a political moment that has destabilized the democratic narrative from within the repertoire of four US elections. In resurrecting these cases, this thesis warns of the electorate’s inability to separate theatre from policy.
Identification of Candidate Lyme Disease Vascular Adhesins Supporting Tissue-specific Endothelial Cell Interactions
Keywords: Bacteria
Dissemination
Endothelial cells
Fibronectin-binding adhesins
Lyme Disease
Vascular Interactions

Hematogenous dissemination is a crucial step in infectious disease progression, causes most mortality due to bacterial infection, and is central to the spread of tick-borne Lyme disease pathogen Borreliella burgdorferi. A key step in dissemination is bacterial adhesion to endothelial cells lining blood vessels despite the shear stress generated by blood flow. B. burgdorferi strains that express different subsets of 30 known and predicted B. burgdorferi adhesins exhibit differences in tissue tropism in mice and humans. B. burgdorferi adhesins responsible for adhering to endothelia of various tissue beds remain largely uncharacterized. Like many other pathogens, B. burgdorferi targets fibronectin, a molecule that is part of the plasma and the extracellular matrix of endothelial cells. I investigated whether known B. burgdorferi fibronectin-binding adhesins could support interactions with different endothelial cell types under the fluid shear stress conditions of the vasculature. Using a flow chamber system and particle tracking, I investigated whether fibronectin-binding adhesins RevA, RevB, and BB0347 expressed in adhesion-attenuated B. burgdorferi promoted interactions with human umbilical vein, bladder, joint, and brain ECs. This approach identified potential tissue-specific fibronectin-binding vascular adhesins. Additional studies are needed to confirm whether these candidates act as vascular adhesins in vivo. This study has identified novel tissue-specific candidate vascular adhesins and will be important for understanding how and why the Lyme disease pathogen disseminates to different tissues.
Hybrid Perovskite-on-silicon Integrated Electro-optic Modulators
Keywords: Electro-optics
Halide perovskites
Integrated optics
Optical modulators
Silicon photonics

Optical modulators are a key component in data center transceivers that are used for achieving electrical-to-optical signal conversion. Current silicon photonics modulators offer non-linear modulation responses, are difficult to fabricate, or have poor device lifetimes. This thesis attempts to incorporate solution-processable halide perovskites that exhibit the linear electro-optic effect onto silicon photonics chips for the purpose of creating efficient, high-speed, stable, and mass-manufacturable optical modulators. We present design architectures that are compatible with these materials, and set forth a post-processing fabrication procedure for realizing one specific design: the slot waveguide modulator. These devices are characterized in terms of their loss, low-speed and high-speed electro-optic performance, and stability. Discussion and ideas for future directions are also explored, and a benchmarking study using a commercially available electro-optic material is also presented. To our knowledge, this is the first integration of solution-processable halide perovskites onto a foundry fabricated active silicon photonics platform.
Heat Exchangers for Waste Heat Recovery
Keywords: DWHR
Heat exchanger
Thermal spray

To reduce energy consumption and water heating requirements, the Ontario Building Code mandates every new residential building must install a drain water heat recovery unit to recover energy from drain water. A two-stage waste heat recovery unit is designed and tested with conformance to the Ontario Building Code. A novel leak detection system was implemented by measuring the electrical resistance of a coating. Thermal spray coating processes are used to create surfaces with enhanced performance. Flame spray and wire-arc spray produced two and three samples respectively. Each sample is tested to find the best heat transfer occurred with 0.125” diameter pillars, staggered, spaced 0.188” with enhanced surface area of 45.8% while increasing the convective heat transfer coefficient by 26.1% - 64.4% depending on the Reynolds number between 281 and 2745. The coatings are recommended to be utilized in a flat plate design with reduced complexity, size, and cost.
Sensitive Nanobiosensor using Upconverting Nanoparticles for the Detection of Reactive Oxygen Species
Keywords: Multiplexing
Reactive Oxygen Species
Thioketal Linker
Upconversion

Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) have many optical characteristics that make them moresuitable for bioanalytical applications when compared with traditional fluorophores and quantum dots including, emission by anti-Stokes, colloidal stability, and long lived luminescence lifetimes. In this thesis, a proof-of-design concept for UCNP-based detection of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is presented. Here, ROS sensing is achieved using a thioketal linker (Tkl), attached both to the surface of UCNPs, and to black hole quencher-3001 (BHQ-3001, the 3001 variety utilized to quench the 655 nm emission peak) molecules. Cleavage of Tkl occurs in the presence of ROS generated species. These species are generated in situ using hydrogen peroxide and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) enzyme and are assembled for the development of a turn-on biosensor using UCNPs and Tkl linker conjugated to amine-BHQ-3001.
Biofluidics of Diarrhea in the Anorectum and its Implications for Global Health
Keywords: Anorectal Compliance
Biofluidic Modelling
Defecation
Diarrhea
Global Health

Diarrhea is a symptom commonly reported in patients with diarrheal disease and inflammatory bowel disease. Doctors and public health practitioners rely on subjective, patient-reported data to diagnose, treat, and track these diseases. Theories and models of solid defecation exist, but models of diarrhea are limited, despite it being a common indicator of disease – especially for global health. This research identifies a pathway to objectively study diarrhea, through synthesis and adaptation of medical and engineering knowledge and analysis of anorectal compliance data to create two models of diarrheal defecation assuming homogeneous, Newtonian, fully developed, and steady. The two models provide useful insights on flow (velocity and flow rate) and its relationship with anorectal size and shape that may help guide future studies on diarrhea modelling. Next steps in the evolution of diarrhea modelling should focus on incorporating more complexities unique to diarrheal defecation such as its heterogeneous, Non-Newtonian, and unsteady behaviour.
Work Integrated Learning and Career Management Competencies in International Students
Keywords: Career Management Competencies
Higher Education
International Students
Internationalization
Work Experience
Work Integrated Learning

There is evidence that international students in Canada struggle to succeed in the Canadian labor market post-graduation. Pre-graduation work experience has been identified as the single most important factor determining post-graduation career outcomes for international students. This study seeks to understand what factors influence the accumulation of pre-graduation work experience for international students, how career management competencies are developed, and if the development of career management competencies influences perceived employability. This study is based on 20 interviews with international students at a single research-intensive university in Ontario, Canada. This study finds that knowledge of the nuances of how to work as an international student in Canada, program support, and peer networks are highly influential in the accumulation of pre-graduation work experience. For students who participated in pre-graduation work experience, their participation directly impacted their decision making about remaining in Canada after graduation and perceived ability to succeed in the Canadian labor market.
Exploring the Power of Experimental Evolution to Identify Dobzhansky-Muller Incompatibility Loci using Forward-time Simulations
Keywords: Computational Biology
Evolutionary Biology
Population Genetics
Power Analysis
Simulations
Speciation

Fitness reducing epistatic interactions referred to as Dobzhansky-Muller incompatibilities (DMIs) are responsible for the inviability and infertility prevalent in hybrid populations. As “evolutionary dead-ends,” these hybrid failures encourage reproductive isolation between two incipient species. Studies on hybrid genomes are therefore vital to understand the processes that underlie speciation events. My project aimed to determine the power of simulations to correctly identify genetic loci involved in reproductive isolation. Using SLiM, I created and evolved simulated hybrid populations with genomes containing user-defined DMIs. Biologically relevant parameters, such as recombination rates, selection coefficients, dominance effects, generation timepoints, and incompatibility types, differed among my simulations, allowing me to characterize the parameter spaces that resulted in high-powered estimates of DMI localization. My conclusions may act as a guide for evolve and re-sequence wet-lab experiments that aim to map real-world DMIs in Caenorhabditis hybrid populations.
Leveraging Unsupervised Learning Methods to Improve Imagined Speech EEG-BCIs
Keywords: brain-computer interface
electroencephalography
imagined speech
multiclassification
relabeling
unsupervised learning

A BCI is a direct communication pathway between the brain and an external device with the goal of providing communication for individuals with motor impairments. However, a considerable percentage of subjects cannot modulate their brain rhythms to communicate using BCI. From a machine learning standpoint, the instability of brain signals poses a critical challenge, which is the validity of the training data labels. Furthermore, the data generated in one’s mind cannot be directly evaluated. One potential solution is the inclusion of unsupervised methods in the learning processes of a BCI. This research proposes two methods based on unsupervised learning to relabel suspicious data, and to capture within class variations of data. These methods were tested in the development of imagined speech EEG-BCIs for 12 participants and significantly improved the classification performance for 7 of them. Future works are encouraged to use these methods to individualize the design of BCI protocols.
Hepatocellular Carcinoma Targeted Therapy by Lipoprotein-like Nanoparticle
Keywords: hepatocellular carcinoma
lipoprotein-like nanoparticle
liver cancer
scavenger receptor class B type 1 (SR-BI)
siRNA
Spalt-like transcription factor 4 (SALL4)

Late-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has no cure and currently, targeted therapy provides the most hope. This study investigated the suitability of porphyHDL nanoparticle carrying anti-Spalt-like transcription factor 4 (SALL4) siRNA. PorphyHDL is coated with apolipoprotein A-1 mimetic peptide, a ligand for scavenger receptor class B type 1 (SR-BI, SCARB1). We showed that SCARB1 and SALL4 gene expression are 1.3 fold higher in HCC tissue than adjacent tissue. SR-BI protein did not show a significant difference but SALL4 protein was overexpressed. In the liver, porphyHDL accumulated mostly in HCC cells and macrophages, followed by liver sinusoidal endothelial cells, and finally hepatic stellate cells. A fatty context in the liver - relevant in Western countries - increased SR-BI expression in adjacent tissue, but it increased porphyHDL specificity for HCC tissue versus adjacent tissue. In conclusion, this study suggests that porphyHDL loaded with anti-SALL4 siRNA can be useful as a targeted therapy for HCC.
Investigating Denervation Atrophy Through Prolonged Culture of Engineered Skeletal Muscle Tissues: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Keywords: atrophy
culture model
denervation
skeletal muscle
tissue engineering

Modern advancements in 3D skeletal muscle tissue engineering have provided an opportunity to develop a cell-based denervation culture model. The opening approach to establish denervation atrophy in vitro was through the prolonged culture of human immortalized 3D engineered skeletal muscle tissues. Myotube diameter, sarcomere organization, and calcium handling properties were assessed across a wide range of experimental endpoints to establish a purely myogenic tissue healthspan. A pattern of increasing muscle maturation for the first two weeks, then a slow decrease due to deterioration was observed. While evidence of denervation atrophy was detected, evidence of biomechanical instability was also implicated. Additionally, tissue variability and failure hindered results and prevented well drawn conclusions. Fibroblast co-cultures were constructed to improve tissue consistency, but experiments were unsuccessful. Thus, while this model holds promise, tissue variability and failure need to be reduced before further development and validation can be achieved.
Identifying Protocadherin Gamma-dependent Signaling Pathways that Regulate Interneuron Survival
Keywords: Cortex
GABAergic interneuron
Programmed cell death
Protocadherins
Retina

Developmental programmed cell death (PCD) is critical for establishing balanced ratios of excitatory and inhibitory neurons, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. A group of neuronal cell-surface receptors, called Protocadherin gammas (Pcdhγs), are essential for promoting inhibitory interneuron survival during PCD. In this study, I analyzed three candidate factors - ILK, DYRK1A, and PTEN – and their roles in the downstream regulation of Pcdhγ-mediated interneuron survival in the mouse neocortex and retina. I found that Pcdhγ and DYRK1A may function together to regulate interneuron number. Additionally, Pcdhγ and PTEN signal together to regulate interneuron survival during PCD in the retina. Interestingly, elevated AKT signaling alone is not sufficient for maintaining interneuron survival in the absence of Pcdhγs. By assessing candidate regulators of interneuron number and by characterizing genetic interactions between Pcdhγ and PTEN, this study links PTEN activity to Pcdhγ-mediated interneuron survival signaling during neurodevelopmental PCD in the retina.