VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Zeta Adsorption Isotherm: Surface Area Determination and Kinetics of Vapour Adsorption
Keywords: Adsorption
Adsorption Kinetics
Argon Adsorption
Nitrogen Adorption
Specific Surface Area
Water Adsorption

A method based on the zeta adsorption isotherm (ZAI) is proposed for determining the specific surface area, As, of a nanopowder from its measured (mass-specific) N2 vapour adsorption isotherm at 77 K. A multi-component canonical ensemble is used to determine the conditions for equilibrium between a contacting vapour phase and the adsorbed molecular clusters. Provided the substrate variations (heterogeneities), do not cause a phase transition, it was shown that the equilibrium conditions allow an expression for an adsorption isotherm to be formed in terms of four constants that are obtained empirically from mass-specific adsorption measurements. The As of a substrate is expressed in terms of the mass-specific number of adsorption sites, and the cross-sectional area of an adsorbed N2 molecule. This procedure is investigated bypooling area-specific datasets from multiple samples of a given material to form a single dataset. Then a thermodynamic isotherm is obtained through a regression analysis. The determined values of As are further verified by obtaining the solid surface energy, γS0, by using the ZAI with the Gibbs adsorption equation. Five materials are examined: silica, α-alumina, γ-alumina, carbon-black, and graphitized-carbon. Their respective solid surface energies are each shown to be a material property. The ZAI approach is extended to determine the As by using water vapour adsorption at 298 K. After determining the average occupied area of a water molecule adsorbed on silica, the As of other samples of silica at 298 K were obtained. The results of the ZAI analysis were further used to predict other thermodynamic properties such as γS0 and the surface silanol concentration for silica. The determined equilibrium ZAI was then used with the statistical rate theory (SRT) to describe the kinetics of water vapour adsorption at various system pressures. Finally, the determination of the As of nanopowders by using the ZAI approach with inert Ar vapour is examined at 77 and 87 K, respectively. The validity of this procedure was analyzed on silica and carbon-black by obtaining the respective γS0. The ZAI is then used to show that the change in SiOH concentration does not affect Ar vapour adsorption.
Multimodal Profiling of Cell-free DNA for Detection and Characterization of Circulating Tumour DNA in Low Tumour Burden Settings
Keywords: Cell-free DNA
cfMeDIP-seq
Circulating Tumour DNA
Genomics
Liquid Biopsy
Precision Medicine

Circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) is comprised of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) fragments released into bodily fluids. ctDNA can enable personalized treatment strategies in oncology by providing a non-invasive source of prognostic, predictive, and pharmacodynamic biomarkers. Despite this, in clinical scenarios where disease burden is low, current clinical ctDNA detection methods demonstrate inadequate sensitivity without the use of matched tumour profiling. In recent years a variety of sequencing tools have been developed to improve the sensitivity of detection by increasing the number of fragments analyzed, decreasing sources of error, or enrichment of cancer-derived features. Yet few studies have comprehensively evaluated the clinical utility of tumour-agnostic detection of ctDNA. Therefore, to address this gap in knowledge, I first refined a recently described method for genome-wide profiling of cfDNA, cell-free methylated DNA immunoprecipitation by high-throughput sequencing (cfMeDIP-seq). Specifically, adaptations to the cfMeDIP-seq protocol were conducted to enable analysis of lengths of cfDNA fragments, which are thought to be shorter among tumour-derived fragments (i.e., ctDNA) compared with other sources of cfDNA. Additionally, bioinformatic pipelines were developed to assess quality assurance as well as metrics for robust identification of ctDNA. Next, I evaluated the feasibility of simultaneous profiling of multiple ctDNA-derived metrics for tumour-agnostic detection. I applied these new tools to a cohort of 30 human papillomavirus (HPV) negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients (HNSCC). Specifically, I conducted cfMeDIP-seq as well as cancer personalized profiling by deep sequencing (CAPP-Seq) for detection of ctDNA-derived methylated regions and mutations, respectively. Twenty out of 30 patients had detectable ctDNA by CAPP-Seq, which I utilized to identify 941 hypermethylated regions associated with HNSCC cfDNA when compared to a cohort of 20 healthy donors. These fragments with ctDNA were confirmed by concordance of regions commonly dysregulated within publicly available tumour data, as well as by concordance of reduced fragment length and abundance between cfMeDIP-seq and CAPP-Seq. Finally, I demonstrate that multimodal detection within the same cohort is capable of robust diagnosis, prognostication, and disease surveillance. Altogether, this work describes the development of a novel strategy for ctDNA detection and validation, with promising potential for various research and clinical applications.
Spectropolarimetry of Fast Radio Bursts, Radio Galaxies, and the Milky Way
Keywords: fast radio bursts
magnetic fields
polarimetric techniques
polarization
radio transients

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are microsecond to millisecond extragalactic radio transients. Despite a published sample of over 600 FRB observations, the nature of their progenitor/s, the mechanism for their emission and their domain of applicability as probes remain open problems. Here, information on their polarized signals may offer illuminating clues, however, only a small fraction of the current FRB sample report polarization information. This modest sample exhibits a rich phenomenology in its polarized properties and has provided some important discoveries that have refined our under- standing of the FRB population. The FRB survey operating between 400-800 MHz on the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME/FRB) should detect several thousand FRBs over the next few years. A significant fraction of these events will be recorded in a mode that enables po- larization analysis. Such a large sample requires an automated pipeline in order to reduce recorded data into useful summary statistics for different FRB properties. This thesis reviews the polarization analysis pipeline developed for CHIME/FRB, along with the various science enabled with polarized data. The analysis tools developed specifically for CHIME/FRB observations are illustrated using a combination of simulated and real FRBs. These tools include a parametric method that robustly characterizes dominant sources of instrumental polarization affecting the CHIME telescope. A novel method for circumventing bandwidth depolar- ization is outlined and validated with a real CHIME-detected FRB whose Faraday rotation measure (RM) is the second largest from any FRB observed to date. Time dependence in the polarization properties of two prolific repeating CHIME/FRB sources is studied where significant changes in RM are observed, strongly suggesting a dynamic local environment. Joint analysis of dispersion and rotation measures are used to constrain the field strength in the local environment and are compared to equivalent measurements from other repeating FRBs and pulsars. Finally, this thesis explores new methods for refining the Faraday rotating Galactic foreground, a major contaminant in the interpretation of FRB RMs, through joint analysis of RMs obtained from extragalactic sources and foreground emission from the interstellar medium.
RO-Based TDC Design with Configurable Resolution and Power for SPAD-Based TCSPC LiDAR Applications
Keywords: Counter
Ring oscillator
Single-photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD)
Time-Correlated Single-photon Counting (TCSPC)
Time-of-Flight (ToF) LiDAR
Time-to-digital converter (TDC)

Single-photon avalanche diodes (SPAD) are used to measure time-of-flight (ToF) using CMOS time-to-digital Converters (TDCs) for compact, low-cost, and highly integrated three-dimensional (3D) sensing. The TDC specifications are critical determinants of the system's range, resolution, and accuracy. The optimization of the TDCs requires modeling that captures the target application's design specifications and parameters under different operating scenarios. Since single-photon detection is fundamentally a stochastic process, a fast and accurate analytical model is presented try accounting for the effects of limited TDC conversion rate (CR). The model is used to relate the number of required TDCs per SPAD array to the 3D imager performance accounting for environmental factors such as ambient light and distance. The model permits architectural exploration to determine the number of TDCs required for a given array size. Monte Carlo numerical simulations verify the accuracy of the proposed method. It also reveals that the most critical performance metrics of TDCs in time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) applications are their CR, area, and power consumption. TDCs formed by ring oscillators (ROs) are arrayable, scalable, and low power, making them suitable for SPAD-based TCSPC 3D sensing systems. The jitter of RO-based TDCs is studied as a function of their full-scale-range resulting in an expression for the TDC total jitter. The analysis also identifies a peak-signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) design point. Increasing the TDC's full-scale-range beyond this point entails increased jitter and, thus, ultimately a declining SNR. Finally, this thesis presents a multi-channel RO-based TDC architecture whose power consumption scales with its configurable resolution for power-sensitive applications. A 75% power savings is achieved by sharing one RO among five TDCs relative to non-shared architectures. Furthermore, such an architecture improves uniformity between neighboring TDC channels by avoiding oscillator mismatches. Here, a 5-channel 12-bit TDC is fabricated in 65 nm CMOS with an area of 1920 m2 per channel. It demonstrates a CR up to 1 GHz in simulation (limited to 125 MHz in measurements due to the following serializer) with a resolution configurable from 24 to 133 ps. At a CR of 125 MHz, the TDC power consumption is 0.1 mW and 1 mW per channel at 133 ps and 24 ps resolution, respectively.
Liberal Theories of Political Authority
Keywords: authority
philosophy of law
political philosophy
rationality

In this thesis, I argue that liberal theory faces a fundamental problem in accounting for the legitimate authority of the state. On the one hand, legitimate authority entails that the state has a right to the obedience of its citizens – a right that citizens not act on some of the considerations that they find morally important, and that they instead simply do what the state tells them to do. On the other hand, liberalism is committed to respect for autonomy, which entails that citizens have a moral obligation to act on their moral reasons as they understand them. To reconcile the two, liberalism must make sense of how a citizen could see themselves as required to refrain from acting on considerations that they believe to be morally relevant, and instead act on what the law demands of them. I frame a number of the leading theories of authority as attempts to explain how this is possible, including Rawls’s justice as fairness, Raz’s service conception of authority, and Darwall’s second-person standpoint. Ultimately, however, none of these theories appear to satisfactorily resolve the problem. This suggests that liberals may have to accept that their states lack legitimate authority over them.
The Art Songs of Violet Archer: A Performer's Analysis and Perspective on Repertoire for the Mezzo-soprano Voice
Keywords: Voice Performance

This thesis offers an in-depth look at the art song repertoire of Violet Archer by focusing on her compositions for the mezzo-soprano voice and piano. Factors that influenced this distinctive body of music and recognizes the important role that Violet Archer played as a composer in Canada during the twentieth century will be considered. My own introduction to Archer came during my undergraduate studies while taking a course on Canadian music, however until recently I had heard very little of her works performed, programed, or studied, but was drawn to her story of resilience and perseverance to pave her own path as a prominent composer and educator. The goal of this research was to explore selected works from this repertoire to look at its suitability for singers at differing levels, taking into consideration musical elements such as harmony, melody, text, and rhythmic setting. This necessitated a literature review to determine how vocal compositions are assessed within the fields of voice pedagogy and performance, and to examine resources that looked at Violet Archer’s music from a compositional standpoint. It also merited interviews conducted with individuals who had worked with Archer directly on some of her vocal compositions. Each song analyzed for this study was assessed according to three levels of difficulty (minimal, moderate, and extensive) resulting in a numeric amount which corresponded to the piece being classified as elementary, intermediate, or advanced. The literature review helped to inform my approach to this repertoire selection and to establish a grid with which to classify these works in order to provide a context for analyses and further discussion on each piece. Repertoire selected included songs and song cycles that have very little or no attention given to them in prior scholarly articles and research. My hope is that a detailed exploration of this selected repertoire will encourage singers and teachers alike to engage in the full breadth of what Violet Archer has to offer us as performers, teachers, and lovers of music.
Evaluation of Genetic Service Utilization and Patient Psychological Response to the Implementation of Reflex BRCA1/2 Tumour Genetic Testing for Ovarian Cancer
Keywords: BRCA
genetic testing
health service
ovarian cancer
psychological
tumour testing

Background: Reflex (automatic) BRCA1/2 tumour genetic testing of all newly diagnosed high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) was implemented in the province of Ontario, without data regarding potential impacts on germline genetic testing rates or patient psychological outcomes. This thesis aimed to identify changes in genetic service utilization and measure the psychological impact reported by HGSOC patients following reflex BRCA1/2 tumour genetic testing. Methods: A scoping review identified measures evaluating alternative models of genetic service delivery for cancer patients. A retrospective review compared rates of genetic counselling referral, attendance, and patient uptake of germline genetic testing before and after implementation of BRCA1/2 reflex tumour genetic testing. A cross-sectional patient survey study collected patient reported outcomes after receiving reflex BRCA1/2 tumour genetic test results. Results: Evaluations of alternative genetic service delivery models reported on genetic service use (rate of genetic counselling referral, attendance for genetic counselling, and uptake of genetic testing) and patient outcomes (satisfaction, knowledge, and psychological outcomes). There was an absence of studies involving reflex tumour genetic testing. Following implementation of reflex BRCA1/2 tumour genetic testing at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, genetics referral rates increased (IRR=1.60, 95% CI: 1.07-2.42) and the median time from diagnosis to referral decreased (59 days pre- vs 33 days post-implementation; p=0.04). Once referred, most patients attended genetic counseling and pursued germline testing. Among HGSOC patients surveyed, 41% could not accurately recall their tumour genetic test results, but 85% were satisfied with having reflex BRCA1/2 tumour genetic testing completed as part of their cancer care. Higher cancer-related distress was associated with a higher psychological impact of tumour genetic testing (p
The 2014 Mount Polley Mine Disaster: Environmental Injustice, Antirelationality, and Dreams of Unconstrained Futures
Keywords: antirelationality
British Columbia history
environmental injustice
settler colonialism
socio-ecological disruption
the Mount Polley Mine disaster

On August 4, 2014, within Secwépemc territory in the interior of British Columbia, a failing retainment wall of an over-burdened tailings storage facility released ~25,000,000 m3 of industrial waste into adjacent ecosystems culminating in what is now known as the Mount Polley Mine Disaster (MPMD). This dissertation takes the MPMD as a stepping off point to analyze how the disaster is relationally connected to larger patterns of socio-ecological disruption in the context of British Columbia’s colonial history. Drawing from Ruth Wilson Gilmore’s idea of antirelationality, I raise questions about the underlying logics that enabled the disaster and how this disaster fits within broader historical patterns of violent disruption. My research employs qualitative research methods that include historical archival research, interviews, participant observation, as well as document and media analyses to support a central overarching argument. Here I argue that, while the MPMD is commonly viewed as a representation of state or industry failure, looking instead to the history of British Columbia reveals that mass socio-ecological disruption from industrial mining have not been failures at all. Instead, mass socio-ecological destruction has been an inherent part of the entirety British Columbia’s complex and evolving project of modern settler colonial state-building.
Bayesian Optimal Allocation of Search Effort in Archaeological Survey: Seeking the Late Neolithic in Wadi Qusaybah, Northern Jordan
Keywords: Allocation
Neolithic
Optimal
Survey

This dissertation explores the use of predictive modelling and optimal allocation in an archaeological survey designed to optimize the allocation of effort in the search for evidence of Late Neolithic activity in Wadi Qusaybah, northern Jordan. The allocation algorithm assigns daily effort to discrete survey units delineated in a Geographic Information System (GIS). These units are landscape elements that are likely fragments of early Holocene land surfaces that have survived millennia of erosion, sedimentation, and anthropogenic alteration. Demarcation of these landscape elements is the first in a two-step predictive model. The second step involves eliciting probabilities of detecting Late Neolithic remains in each search space from experts on the Late Neolithic of the southern Levant and especially northern Jordan. These a priori estimates are updated iteratively in a Bayesian framework as each day’s survey provides new information. New information comes in the form of estimated coverage for each space, as determined by multiplying “sweep widths” by the total length of surveyors’ search paths, coupled with either discovery or non-discovery of Late Neolithic artifacts. These Bayesian updates result in posterior probabilities that serve as new priors for the following iteration and are used by the optimal allocation algorithm to determine how much effort, if any, the survey team should expend in each search space on the next day’s survey. Use of this method in Wadi Qusaybah led to the discovery of several certain and several candidate Late Neolithic sites. As these sites are often small, ephemeral, and difficult for conventional surveys to detect, this approach allows us to evaluate hypotheses about a Late Neolithic settlement system, while also demonstrating that conventional archaeological surveys are likely overestimating their thoroughness.
Life Cycle Assessment Based Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions, Cross Country Analysis and Algorithm Aided Prediction for Lightweighted Composite Auto Parts
Keywords: automotive
Cross country
Ghg
LCA
lightweighting
machine learning

Algorithms made our life simpler and enables Machine to learn and predict and seems like a promising revolutionary science of the future. Even though this has been a hotspot in many aspects of science; there are some areas still behind. One of these areas is the Environmental and lifecycle assessments (LCA). The main problem with these areas is that the collected data are not comparable as every research has its own unique details even though LCA has a standard set of guidelines to perform. The second main problem is that we have very limited data avail-able for machines to be able to use in these areas. Here in this thesis, several normalization methods and a coefficient were used to make these data comparable. Also, because we had lim-ited data available, we performed several LCA studies to generate more data to be able to use it in Machine learning algorithms for the purpose of testing, validation and training. One of the advantages of having limited data here was that it enabled us to implement several machine learning algorithms and methods to compare their performances. The results of this study created a powerful tool that can help researchers, original equipment manufacturers, policymakers and automotive companies to make better environmental decisions prior to any design stages just by knowing the percentage of lightweighted automotive parts. This tool is specifically created to work with lightweighting that is resulted from replacing a glass fibre automotive part with natural fibre-reinforced composites. Also, with the developed coefficient of countries, one can transfer the LCA data from one country to another by using a simple equation. These coefficients were developed by using the countries posted total primary energy supply and electricity grid mix. By using these tools, we will have a better understanding of our emissions prior to any design with relatively high accuracy.