VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Trends in Repeat General Anesthesia for Treatment of Dental Caries at a Children's Hospital: A 10-year Retrospective Review
Keywords: anesthesia
caries
medically compromised
repeat

Abstract Objective: To determine the rate of repeat treatment of caries under general anesthesia (GA) over a ten-year period at a children’s hospital and to assess the frequency of repeat dental treatment under GA by comorbidity. Methods: The health records of children who required repeat GA for dental treatment at The Hospital for Sick Children from January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2015, inclusive were reviewed. Results: The rate of repeat dental treatment under GA for dental treatment over a ten-year period was 10.8%. The yearly repeat rate and simple moving five-year rate of repeat dental treatment under GA increased over the study period. Repeat GA for dental caries was not associated with any particular medical comorbidity. Conclusions: The rate of repeat dental treatment under GA was consistent with the rates reported in the dental literature. The rate of repeat GA for treatment of dental caries increased over the period investigated.
Connectivity-based Mapping for Diverse Coarse-grained Reconfigurable Architectures
Keywords: Coarse Grained Reconfigurable Architectures
Coarse Grained Reconfigurable Arrays
Computer Aided Design
Connectivity
Integer Linear Programming

Coarse-Grained Reconfigurable Architectures (CGRAs) are programmable logic devices with large coarse-grained Arithmetic Logic Unit-like logic blocks, and multi-bit datapath-style routing. CGRAs often have relatively restricted data routing networks, so they attract CAD mapping tools that use exact methods, such as Integer Linear Programs (ILPs). However, tools that target general architectures must use large constraint systems to fully describe an architecture’s flexibility, resulting in lengthy run-times. In this thesis, we present a method to derive connectivity information from an otherwise generic device model, and use this to create simpler ILPs, which we combine in an iterative schedule and retain most of the exactness of a fully-generic ILP approach and significantly improve runtime. We then extend this approach to architectures that have arbitrary latency characteristics. The proposed mapping techniques are integrated into, and evaluated using the open-source CGRA Modelling and Exploration (CGRA-ME) framework [1].
Algal Analysis through a Chip-based Flow Cytometer
Keywords: Algae Analysis
Chip-based flow cytometry
Flow cytometry
Photonics

Flow cytometry has been used to analyze cells suspended in fluids and is also widely used as an analyzing tool for marine and aquatic microorganisms. Combining flow cytometry with a microfluidic chip, we show the feasibility of using a chip-based flow cytometer to analyze algae species. As algae tend to live in colonies, we investigated the possibility of differentiating alga in a non-monoculture system through the algae’s autofluorescence. We ran Scenedesmus obliquus and Chlorella vulgaris through a benchtop flow-cytometer to see the differences in their autofluorescent signals. Afterwards the same samples were analyzed using our chip-based flow cytometer system to replicate the previous results. Lastly, we used image analysis to gather the parameters from the autofluorescent signals. We successfully show that chip-based flow cytometers can be an alternative tool to gather algae parameters, and even showed feasibility of using only autofluorescent signals to distinguish two algae species from one another.
Effect of Imperfect Direct Simple Shear Test Boundary Conditions on Monotonic and Cyclic Measurements
Keywords: Constitutive Model
Finite Element Analysis
Friction
Simple Shear
Top Cap Rocking
Vertical Compliance

The direct simple shear (DSS) test is commonly used to assess shear strength of soil, estimate liquefaction resistance, or calibrate constitutive models. However, constitutive models are calibrated assuming ideal simple shear stress conditions even though this is not achieved in the DSS test. Near frictionless vertical boundaries cannot develop the complementary shear stresses necessary for ideal simple shear conditions. Difficulties in maintaining constant height during undrained tests violates the constant volume assumption. The top cap holding the top of the specimen can rock (rotate) during shear also violating the assumed perfect simple shear conditions. Parametric studies were conducted to investigate the effect of contact friction between the soil and vertical boundaries, vertical compliance and top cap rocking on the results of undrained DSS tests. The study simulates an industry-standard SGI type simple shear device using a 3-D finite element model and an advanced plasticity model to capture soil behaviour.
Knowing Beyond the Head - Insights from the Body
Keywords: Awareness
Dance
Embodiment
Meditation
Mindfulness
Somatics

What is the connection between mindfulness to insight and is the body involved? Are insights gained through mindfulness transformative in nature? What differences emerge in ‘knowing’ when one practices meditation vs mindful movement? The following heuristic inquiry will explore the experience of 5 practitioners with Theravada meditation (i.e. Vipassana) and mindful dance (i.e. 5 Rhythms) practice. Through personal reflections, interviews, and the researcher’s firsthand experience, the connection between mindfulness, insight and the body are explored. Several findings were revealed as a part of this research. The data highlights the body as a powerful site for understanding, learning, and guidance. Themes such as awareness (of: sensations, mind, emotion, multilayered self), body knowing (expression, understanding, trust), practice (making time, type) and perspective shed greater light on this inquiry. This research whets the appetite of future researchers who are interested in exploring ideas around embodiment, body wisdom, somatic and mindfulness practices.
Compensatory Afforestation in Odisha, India: A Political Ecology of Forest Restoration
Keywords: Afforestation
Climate change mitigation
Compensatory afforestation
Forest landscape restoration
Forest rights
Odisha

To mitigate climate change and protect biodiversity, states across the globe have ambitious plans to restore degraded lands (globally, 350 million hectares by 2030, as per the latest Bonn Challenge commitment). Seeking to understand the potential unintended consequences of these vast state-led restoration efforts, in this thesis I explore India's seven-billion-dollar compensatory afforestation program through a political ecology lens. I find that in practice this policy contradicts India’s broader attempts to democratize forest governance by failing to foreground local communities and institutions, affirm customary rights, and safeguard livelihoods. Instead, compensatory afforestation contributes to dispossession and precarity, while relying heavily on industrial tree plantations. With ground-truthed geospatial data, I explore how this policy impacts Adivasi shifting cultivators on their tenure-insecure territories in Odisha, east India. In so doing, I support calls from the field of Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) to ensure restoration is tenure-sensitive and rights-based.
Effective and Efficient Hand Detection in Egocentric Videos
Keywords: computer vision
egocentric
machine learning
object detection
spinal cord injury
upper limb rehabilitation

Background. Individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) report upper limb function as their top recovery priority. To accurately represent the true impact of new interventions on patient function, evaluation should occur from home. Recent work has used wearable cameras to monitor hand function of individuals with SCI in a home environment, and these egocentric videos were automatically analyzed using computer vision. A key step of this process, hand detection, is difficult to accomplish robustly and reliably, hindering the deployment of a complete monitoring system in the home. Objective. Generate an algorithm for fast and reliable hand detection in egocentric videos by combining object detection and tracking algorithms. Methods. We generated an egocentric hand detection dataset (167,622 frames) using videos of 17 individuals with SCI performing activities of daily living in a home simulation laboratory. Using existing detection and tracking algorithms, we introduced two novel combination methods: 1) using detectors to reset trackers and 2) using trackers to generate hand proposals for classification. Results. Method 1 resulted in an algorithm that was twice as fast as the fastest detector alone while being twice as accurate as the best tracker alone. Method 2 resulted in the fastest proposal generation method for hand detection with competitive recall on 1 public dataset. Conclusion. Robust and reliable hand detection that is efficient on portable CPUs will help clinicians directly measure hand function in a patient’s daily life at home.
Cold-fluid Modeling of Slag Air-blast Atomization
Keywords: Atomization
Granulation
Slag

Air blast atomization is a rapidly growing process of handling metallurgical slags with significant advantages over the traditional methods. Experiments were conducted to explore the effects of various operational and material properties on the shape and size of droplets produced during air atomization. Experiments were conducted to understand the effects of the gas flow rate, liquid flow rate, distance between the gas and liquid streams, viscosity and the air velocity on the characteristics of droplets. The mechanisms behind droplet formation and aspect ratio were also investigated. Shadow imaging was employed to observe droplets in-flight; subsequent analysis of the collected images allowed quantification of droplet size and shape. It was found that the kinetic energy provided to the system influences the size of droplets and that the mean droplet size can be predicted based on the gas and liquid flow rates, air velocity and the viscosity of the liquid being atomized. .
On-street Parking Choice Models Based on a Stated Preference Game Simulation Survey
Keywords: on-street parking choice
parking choice model
parking guidance and information system
parking ITS
simulation survey
stated preference survey

This study develops a stated preference survey, named iCity Park, as a parking simulation game to collect drivers’ on-street parking choices when legal and illegal parking spots are available, and parking enforcement is present. The gamification incentive and simulated hypothetical scenarios in the survey are proven to be effective for high-quality data. iCity Park also simulates parking activities with and without ITS assistance. This study develops three types of logit models for the two assistance levels. The estimated mixed logit models have the best goodness of fit and demonstrate the significance of respondents’ parking preference heterogeneity. Then models for the two assistance levels are compared, and the influential power of the explanatory variables are analyzed. This thesis contributes to innovative data collection methods and provides a better understanding of parking choice process and parking behavioural changes with the assistance of parking information systems.
Investigation into the Effect of Metal Doping on the Photocurrent Response of g-C3N4
Keywords: carbon nitride
instrument design
metal doping
photocatalyst
potentiostat
semiconductors

To meet the world’s rising energy demands, new materials need to be developed as renewable sources of fuel. One such material is graphitic carbon nitride whose photoelectrochemical behaviour in the visible range of light and facile synthesis makes it a promising semiconductor photocatalyst. To improve the photocatalytic efficiency of graphitic carbon nitride, we doped it with metal cations to inhibit its recombination rate. To test the effect of metal cation doping on its photoelectrochemical behaviour, an open-source potentiostat was designed and built using inexpensive microchips to perform transient photocurrent response measurements. It was found that there were large errors that affected the consistency and reproducibility of the results, which can be attributed to lack of consistency in fabrication of electrode surfaces.
Long Ago There was a Book: Exploring the Digital Sagabon Ise Monogatari through Analytical Bibliography
Keywords: Analytical Bibliography
Bookbinding
Book History
Digital artifacts
Digital collation
Sagabon

This masters thesis uses bibliographical analysis to explore digital copies of the Sagabon Ise Monogatari. The digital copies are analysed both as facsimiles for the books they were created from and as digital objects in their own right. Through a combination of description, page collation, and type collation, I explore the origins of the physical and digital artifacts which comprise the Sagabon printings. Wooden movable type, early Japanese printing, Edo period aesthetics, and print variations are all examined. Upon completion of the typographical analysis, I undertake the printing and binding of a physical facsimile from the digital image files. This act of making explores the allowances and constraints digital objects and their metadata have on users and illustrates how making serves as a powerful tool for deepening bibliographic understanding of a book, be it digital or physical.
Effect of RB1 Loss on Breast Cancer Cell Invasion and Response to Experimental Therapy
Keywords: Breast Cancer
Retinoblastoma

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) exhibiting the worst prognosis. Novel therapies are urgently needed. RB1 and TP53 tumor suppressors are known drivers of metastasis and are disrupted together in ~30% of TNBCs. RB1-loss is not directly druggable, and the mechanism by which it promotes TNBC metastasis is largely unknown. I found that RB knockdown enhanced migration of TNBC cells through a process potentially involving an E2F1-induced increase in mitochondrial protein translation. The CDC25 phosphatase inhibitor BN82008 killed RB1+ TNBC cells and their derivatives with RB1-knockdown, equally well, and without inhibiting cell cycle progression. I also found that RB1 knockdown modulated the expression of glycosylated PD-L1, suggesting RB1-deficient TNBC may benefit from anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy. These studies directly demonstrate that RB1-deficiency promotes migration and suggests downstream pathways that can be targeted to combat aggressive RB1-deficient TNBC and other cancers.
A Comparison of Pre- and Post-permanent Canine Emergence Secondary Alveolar Bone Grafting on Dental Survival and Maxillary Growth in Patients with Non-syndromic Complete Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate
Keywords: Alveolar Bone Grafting
Cleft Lip and Palate
Orthodontics
Plastic Surgery

Introduction: Secondary alveolar bone grafting (SABG) in complete unilateral cleft lip and palate completed before (pre-CE) or after the cleft-side permanent canine emergence (post-CE) may differentially alter dental outcomes and maxillary growth. Methods: Cleft-adjacent teeth of 21 pre-CE and 23 post-CE subjects were retrospectively analyzed at T1 (7y), T2 (SABG), and T3 (mean 4y post-SABG) for dental survival, exposures, prosthetic replacements, root development (RD), and root resorption (RR). T1 and T3 cephalograms of 12 pre-CE and 11 post-CE subjects were analyzed for maxillary growth. Results: Dental survival was similar between groups. Most teeth completed RD and pre-CE cleft-side canine RD appeared to accelerate following SABG. Pre-CE SABG required more canine exposures (33.3%; post-CE: 4.6%), but fewer prostheses (14.3%; post-CE: 26.1%) and less tendency for RR (16.3%; post-CE: 22.7%). ANB reduction at T3 was greater in post-CE SABG by 4.75o. Conclusion: Pre-CE SABG suggested a positive trend of better outcomes.
Porphyrin Molecular Beacons – a New Approach to Osteoarthritis
Keywords: fluorescence
matrix metalloproteinase
osteoarthritis
photodynamic therapy
photosensitizer
porphyrin

Despite the substantial burden imposed by osteoarthritis (OA) upon patients and healthcare systems across the world, there are still no effective disease-modifying treatments. A recent shift to view OA as a “whole joint disease” has generated opportunities for therapeutic innovations. Photodynamic therapy (PDT), a clinically approved and minimally invasive treatment modality, holds great potential for application in OA. Herein, we describe the development of a porphyrin molecular beacon, PPMMP13B, as a new approach to OA. Upon target protease-triggered activation, PPMMP13B demonstrates a near 12-fold increase in porphyrin fluorescence as well as the restoration of PDT capabilities through generation of reactive singlet oxygen. Selective activation in vitro occurs only in the presence of human-derived OA synovial fibroblasts. Additionally, a unique intra-articular biodistribution of this porphyrin construct is observed. These results provide the foundation for future studies investigating the therapeutic efficacy of porphyrin molecular beacons to treat OA.
Effect of Autophagy Induction via TRPML1 Activation on Hepatic Steatosis
Keywords: autophagy
fatty liver
hepatic steatosis
mucolipin 1
transplant
TRPML1

Discrepancies between the number of liver transplant candidates and available organs has led to an increased use of marginal grafts, including steatotic liver grafts. Steatotic grafts are frequently discarded as their use has been associated with poor transplant outcomes; further exacerbating the organ shortage. Recent studies have demonstrated that autophagy regulates lipid metabolism in hepatocytes, leading to the idea that autophagic function might regulate the development of steatotic liver diseases. A lysosomal calcium channel, TRPML1, has been implicated in the regulation of autophagy through downstream TFEB activation and successive upregulation of autophagic and lysosomal gene expression. The objective of the present study is to explore the link between the induction of autophagy via TRPML1 activation and hepatic steatosis. If an interplay between these factors is elucidated, this may delineate a mechanism by which steatotic livers may be improved during the ex vivo preservation period prior to transplantation.
Contrasts in Safety Management: Safety-critical Industries vs. Healthcare
Keywords: Healthcare
Safety-Critical Industries
Safety Management
Standards

Healthcare, as a safety-critical industry, has often been contrasted with aviation and nuclear energy. Though safety tactics learned from aviation and nuclear energy have proven effective, healthcare continues to have higher number of preventable serious adverse events in comparison to aviation and nuclear energy. A mixed-method study was conducted and revealed that aviation and nuclear energy have international organizations which develop standards to harmonize operations globally. According to these standards, there are explicit regulatory requirements within aviation and nuclear energy, to implement safety management systems at the organizational level. Application of safety management systems to the extent implemented in aviation and nuclear energy has not been fully investigated or applied in healthcare practice. Recommendations include but are not limited to the development and implementation of a safety management system standard which includes process control, management of change, proactive hazard identification and risk management, fatigue management, and reliability analysis of safety-critical tasks.
Valence Mapping or Order Effects: Comparing Two Accounts of Spatial Influences on Judgments
Keywords: Moral judgments
Order effects
Primacy
Spatial influence
Spatial position
Valence mapping

We noticed positional influences on ratings in a previous study: items were rated more positively when displayed at the top left of the screen (vs. elsewhere). We propose two possible explanations: valence mapping (items are rated more positively at the top and right) and order effects (items are rated more positively when seen first – the top and left for English readers). Nine total studies using behavioural items and items from the Moral Foundations Questionnaire are proposed to experimentally test and disentangle the two accounts; six were completed for this thesis. Results were inconsistent, possibly suggesting that neither account influences more complex evaluations. Implications and limitations of our findings are discussed.
Development of a Functional Electrical Stimulation Rowing System and Coaching Application
Keywords: Audiovisual Feedback
Coaching System
Functional Electrical Stimulation
Rehabilitation
Rowing
Spinal Cord Injury

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) involves electrically stimulating paralyzed muscle to contract and has been integrated into rehabilitation exercises for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Unlike other exercises, FES-rowing requires many training sessions for beginners to learn the appropriate timing of administering FES to their legs through a manual push button, required for performing the exercise with correct technique. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop a coaching system to instruct new rowers on the optimal timing for administering FES. We analyzed the temporal and spatial differences between leg muscle activation onset in relation to seat and handle position peaks in 10 able-bodied individuals on a custom-modified FES-rowing ergometer. We identified a target range of seat positions at which to administer FES. Based on this result, we developed and validated a coaching app in 7 individuals, which was shown to improve relative timing of manual button press.
Mapping of the Akt and Beta-arrestin Interface for Drug Development
Keywords: Akt
Beta-arrestin
D2R
GPCR
Mental illness

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are well-known therapeutic targets, and it has been demonstrated that they can signal both via guanine nucleotide-binding proteins (G proteins) signaling and arrestin signaling. Dopamine (DA) and dopamine receptors, which are GPCRs, are involved in numerous neuropsychiatric disorders. Notably, dopamine D2 receptor (D2R) signaling is targeted by drugs used for mental illnesses like bipolar disorder (BP) and schizophrenia (SZ). Indeed, a signaling pathway involving arrestin signaling is targeted by both lithium and antipsychotic medications. This pathway involves a modulation of glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3) by D2Rs via a complex formed of Akt (also called protein kinase B or PKB), β-arrestin 2 (βArr2) and protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A). The aim of this project is to further elucidate this signaling pathway by studying the direct interaction between two of its components, the proteins Akt and βArr2, in view of possible drug development.
Co-Registration of Intracardiac Echocardiography (ICE) and Computed Tomography (CT) for the Purpose of Guiding Structural Heart Disease Intervention
Keywords: Aortic Valve Disease
Computed Tomography
Echocardiography
Image Registration
Intracardiac Echocardiography
TAVI

We demonstrate in this work a system for tracking the position and orientation of an intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) image within a CT volume for the purpose of improving imaging guidance for cardiac interventions. The method begins with a user-defined registration step, followed by subsequent automated local searches within the CT volume. The local searches are performed by a series of individual 2D-2D co-registration steps over various positions and orientations within the 3D space using an edge-sensitive algorithm. A stepwise sampling method is used to reduce the total number of processing steps. Validation testing using a silicone cardiac phantom over 10 pullback positions demonstrated average position and orientation localization errors of 4.1 mm and 8.1 degrees respectively. A high degree of rotation symmetry in the model likely contributed significantly to the orientation accuracy results. Further work is required to reduce computation time for the algorithm, including the use of parallel processing.