VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Material Efficiency Strategies for Building More Housing with Less Embodied Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Keywords: Construction
Housing
Industrial Ecology
Infrastructure
Modelling
Sustainability

Embodied emissions from construction are accounting for a large and growing share of global emissions due to increasing demand for housing and related infrastructure. Strategies are urgently needed to find ways of building the infrastructure required for social and economic good while staying committed to emission reductions. This thesis uses detailed data to look at the role of form, design, and materials in reducing embodied emissions of residential buildings and related infrastructure. The 2nd chapter presents an analysis of 102 bottom-up building material quantifications. The analysis highlights the most materially efficient forms of housing and identifies strategies for reducing embodied emissions within all forms. The 3rd chapter introduces a new model for forecasting embodied emissions in houses, roads, and water infrastructure. Through a Canadian case study, the model reveals drivers of embodied emissions at a neighbourhood level and the time-dependent effectiveness of different reduction strategies.
Measuring the Risk for Pedestrian Falls on Outdoor Walkways: A Pilot Evaluation Using the Minimum Foot Clearance Estimation System
Keywords: Abrupt level changes
Falls
Gait characteristics
Minimum foot clearance (MFC)
Public walkways
Tripping

Falls are the leading cause of injury for older adults, and nearly half of these the result of tripping. Measuring an individual’s minimum foot clearance (MFC), is related to their risk of tripping.The objective of this project was to estimate MFC values from four groups of pedestrians (healthy young, healthy older, unusual gait, mobile device users) on outdoor walkways using a pair of calibrated video cameras positioned near four sites featuring different sizes of abrupt level changes (0 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm and 15 mm). Data was analyzed from 160 pedestrians and MFC values ranged from 7.1 mm to 49.2 mm. MFC values for healthy older adults were significantly lower than for healthy young pedestrians and mobile device users. MFC values from 0 mm obstacles were significantly lower than for 5 mm obstacles and MFC for 5 mm obstacles was higher than for 10 mm obstacles.
Does Ontario's Ministry of Education Promote Critical Theory in K-12 Education
Keywords: Critical Gender Theory
Critical Race Theory
Critical Theory
Culturally Relevant Pedagogy
Educational policy
K-12

Critical Theory (CT) has evolved from European neo-Marxism into American Identitarianism. Its pedagogy seeks societal revolution by re-focusing children’s education on identity power conflicts. CT has been criticized in the literature as pedagogically misguided, harmful to low SES students, dependent on stereotyping, hostile to evidence, and self-serving; therefore, any adoption by educational policy-makers begs for an explanation. This thesis examines whether Ontario’s Ministry of Education has indeed promoted CT in K-12 education. I employ mixed methods to define key terminology, and track its usage in 673 Ministry policy documents spanning 1982-2022. I find that the Ministry – even under the Conservatives – has increasingly adopted CT terms while poorly and inconsistently defining them. I attribute this to opportunistic framing, institutional isomorphism, and elite agenda-setting, arguing that the Ministry is generating disregard for empirically-tested teaching methods necessary for literacy, numeracy and critical thinking proficiency. Additionally, CT’s pessimistic divisiveness threatens social and civic cohesion.
Characterizing proNGF and NGF Expression in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease
Keywords: Alzheimer's
Basal Forebrain
Cholinergic system
NGF
proNGF

Alzheimer’s disease is underscored by the degeneration of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons (BFCNs). The survival and function of BFCNs depends on nerve growth factor (NGF) and its precursor (proNGF). The levels of NGF, proNGF, and their receptors, TrkA and p75NTR, dictate the engagement of pro-survival or degenerative pathways in BFCNs. Deficits in TrkA and NGF were described in the TgCRND8 mouse model of amyloidosis (Xhima et al, 2020); however, the methodology used to measure NGF did not discriminate between NGF and proNGF. The primary goal of this thesis was to elucidate the levels of proNGF in TgCRND8 mice. The data show that proNGF levels are higher in TgCRND8 compared to non-transgenic mice in the septohippocampal pathway, but not in the basalocortical pathway. These findings highlight the effects of amyloidosis on proNGF levels in TgCRND8 mice, thereby establishing it as a model to explore therapeutic candidates targeting the proNGF signaling axis.
Investigations on an Alternative Approach to Fmoc Deprotection and Diversification of the Alumino-Mannich Reaction
Keywords: alumino-Mannich
chiral allylic amines
Fmoc Deprotection
Sulfinyl aldimines

The Fmoc group is widely used for amine protection, but the classical deprotection approach, piperidine in DMF, has drawbacks due to toxicity and cost. Previous research explored alternative conditions using diethylamine and Lewis acids. This thesis outlines the synthesis of Fmoc-protected dipeptides and alternative deprotection conditions: classical, diethylamine alone, and diethylamine with Lewis acids (Ca(TFA)2, CaCl2, BF3•Et2O). NMR analysis reveals that CaCl2 and BF3•Et2O only slightly accelerate deprotection, making this an impractical alternative in peptide chemistry and amine protection.Chapter 2 broadens the substrate and product range of an asymmetric “alumino-Mannich” reaction using a range of sulfinyl imine and alkenylaluminum reagents for homochiral allylamine synthesis. Factors including temperature, steric bulk, and electronic effects are studied. Steric bulk of alkenylaluminum reagents dominates selectivity; electronic effects within sulfinyl aldimines dominates the yield, and electron deficiency is crucial at cryogenic temperatures. Surprisingly, high yields and selectivities were achieved at room temperature.
Etiological Classification of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) and Relationship of Causality and Survival Outcomes; A Scoping Review
Keywords: Contributing factors
Data registry
Emergency medical services
Etiology
Out-Of-Hospital cardiac arrest
Survival outcome

Introduction: The Utstein reporting template was published to standardize reporting OHCA-related data, including etiology. This thesis defines the current state of initial etiological classification based on abstracted data compared with other sources, the impact of this classification on reported survival outcome, and the role of circumstance-related factors in refining the classification through three scoping reviews.Method: Three electronic databases were searched to identify studies. After screening titles and abstracts, full texts were reviewed against inclusion criteria. Result: 108 studies met inclusion criteria. A significant discrepancy was observed between initial etiological classification using the Utstein template against other sources. The survival of non-cardiac etiologies was inconsistent compared with presumed cardiac etiologies. Circumstance-related factors are associated with refinement of etiology. Conclusion: Etiological classifications of cardiac arrest are heterogeneous which may affect outcomes and patient selection for research. Adjusting the Utstein template to report etiology more carefully may refine future research in cardiac arrest and improve the quality of data registries.
Selective Peripheral Nerve Recording Using Simulated Human Median Nerve Activity and Convolutional Neural Networks
Keywords: convolutional neural network
human
peripheral nerve
selective recording
simulation
spatiotemporal

It is difficult to create intuitive methods of controlling prosthetic limbs, often resulting in abandonment. Peripheral nerve interface signals can be used to convert motor intent into usable commands. Extraneural Spatiotemporal Compound Action Potentials Extraction (ESCAPE) is a deep learning-based framework that was demonstrated to be effective at discriminating neural sources in animal models. For clinical application, ESCAPE needs to be validated in humans. Using cross-sectional immunohistochemistry images of a human median nerve, a finite element model was generated and used to simulate extraneural recordings. ESCAPE was used to classify naturally-evoked compound action potential (nCAPs) based on source location. Classification accuracy was found to be inversely related to the number of nCAP sources: (3- class: 0.96 +/- 0.03; 10-class: 0.89 +/- 0.07 in low-noise conditions). The performance observed compared favorably to results in animal models. These results demonstrate the promise of ESCAPE for use in human nerves in vivo.
Safe Motion Planning of Quadrotor Swarms in Cluttered and Complex Environments
Keywords: Collision Avoidance
Motion and Path Planning
Multi-robot motion planning
Navigation in Complex Environments
Quadrotor Swarms
Trajectory Optimization

This thesis addresses the problem of safe motion planning of quadrotor swarms in cluttered and complex environments. Part one introduces a linearization-free trajectory optimization approach that allows a quadrotor to compute collision-free trajectories to avoid ellipsoidal static and dynamic obstacles (other quadrotors). Using a polar reformulation and an alternating minimization algorithm, we can significantly reduce the conservatism in the swarm behaviour and improve the success rate and per-agent computation time compared to sequential convex programming baselines. In the second part, we extend the approach to enable navigation in complex environments by developing a static obstacle avoidance model that uses Octomap distance queries. Compared to safe flight corridor construction approaches, which decompose the obstacle-free space as convex sets, our approach provides an implicit non-convex decomposition of obstacle-free space, thereby improving the success rate and mission completion time. The proposed approaches are verified through extensive simulation tests and challenging experiments.
A4S: Co-designing Scaling and Placement in Stream Processing Systems with Memory-parallelism Curves
Keywords: Scheduling
Streaming Processing

A significant challenge in stream processing systems is adapting to workload changes while maintaining throughput and end-to-end latency requirements. Traditional auto-scaling solutions perform CPU scaling by adjusting operator parallelism, which works well for stateless operators. However, these solutions perform poorly for stateful operators because they do not consider the impact of operator memory size and IO operations. Another challenge in existing solutions is that operator scaling and task placement are performed independently, which leads to sub-optimal resource allocation.This thesis presents A4S, a co-designed scaling and placement strategy for stream processing systems that works well for both stateless and stateful operators. The key insight in A4S is that, for achieving a certain throughput, the memory and parallelism requirements of stateful operators are correlated. This insight allows trading memory and parallelism, leading to better scaling and placement. We formalize this correlation with a memory-parallelism curve, which shows the minimum operator memory size needed for a given level of parallelism to achieve a target throughput. These curves provide a set of parallelism choices for operator scaling. Then, task placement chooses a level of operator parallelism and memory size that ensures a target throughput, acceptable end-to-end latency and efficient resource utilization. We show that memory-parallelism curves can be derived from the miss-rate curves of stateful operators. For effective scaling, we need a miss-rate curve estimate of the current workload pattern. Thus, we propose an online method for generating miss-rate curves that has low overhead and provides reasonable accuracy. We have implemented A4S in the Risingwave streaming database. Our evaluation shows that A4S provides more accurate scaling and resource-efficient placement compared to state-of-the-art solutions.
Thermal Control System Design of Two Microsatellite Missions with Optical Payloads
Keywords: analysis
control
spacecraft
thermal

Smaller satellites are gaining popularity due to their affordability, lightweight design, and faster development time. The development of a satellite requires the consideration of various subsystems, with the thermal control subsystem responsible for regulating the temperature of all spacecraft components. This thesis presents the thermal control system design for two microsatellite missions, one for maritime monitoring and the other to study the circumgalactic medium of nearby galaxies. Both missions included an optical payload, which posed challenges for the spacecraft's thermal design due to the need for strict temperature control to prevent distortions in the optics. Each thermal control system was developed by constructing a thermal model and analyzing multiple scenarios that considered worst-case environmental conditions, spacecraft attitudes and power dissipation. The design was then iterated until all the requirements were met. The results show that a thermal control design is achievable for both missions, primarily using passive thermal control techniques with some active methods.
Structural and Functional Characterization of the CRL3/KCTD5 Ubiquitin E3 Ligase Complex with Gβγ
Keywords: BTB
E3 ligase
Gβγ
KCTD5
Ubiquitination

The ubiquitin-proteasome system controls a wide range of normal and pathological processes. In this system, the covalent attachment of ubiquitin to a target substrate protein is mediated by a cascade of three enzymes including a ubiquitin-activating enzyme (E1), a ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (E2), and a ubiquitin ligase (E3). In most cases, E3 ligase complexes determine substrate specificity. The multi-subunit Cullin-RING ligases (CRLs) comprise the largest family of E3s in which a cullin protein serves as a central assembling scaffold to bridge substrates to E2 enzymes for ubiquitin transfer. In CRL3 complexes, the C-terminal domain of Cullin3 associates with the RING-finger protein (Rbx1) to recruit the E2, while its N-terminal domain interacts with BTB domain-containing substrate receptor proteins. KCTD5 is a homo-pentameric BTB domain protein that acts as a substrate receptor in Cullin3-associated E3 ligase complexes. Gβγ subunits have recently been identified to be associated with KCTD5. Here, we present the characterization of CRL3/KCTD5 ubiquitin E3 ligase complex required for Gβγ ubiquitination. We report the cryo-electron microscopy structure of a 5:5:5 assembly composed of KCTD5, Cullin3NTD and Gβγ. We also use structure-guided mutagenesis to probe the workings of the complex. Our findings show how a CRL3/KCTD5 complex targets Gβγ proteins for ubiquitination and advance our understanding of how Gβγ complexes are regulated by this post-translational modification.
Exploring the Role of Leiomodin-1 and Tau in Nodding Syndrome
Keywords: Epilepsy
Leiomodin-1
Neurodegeneration
Nodding Syndrome
Onchocerciasis
Tau Pathology

Nodding syndrome (NS) is a neurological disease associated with tau pathology affecting children in rural communities in Eastern sub-Saharan Africa. One study suggests that infection with the nematode parasite Onchocerca volvulus triggers an autoimmune attack against the human protein leiomodin-1. We tested this hypothesis by studying the distribution of leiomodin-1 in the normal human brain and other human tissues using immunohistochemistry. Our study showed that leiomodin-1 is mostly expressed in cerebral blood vessels, rather than neurons or glia. Our results also could suggest the possibility of leiomodin-1 antibody cross-reactivity between human Purkinje cell membranes and the body wall of C. elegans; a finding explained by the homology between leiomodin-1 and tropomodulin. These data do not support the hypothesis of autoimmunity involving Onchocerca volvulus and leiomodin-1. The present study also established clinicopathologic correlation on six cases of NS with marked tau pathology through both qualitative and quantitative methods of analyses.
The Role of Schema Charge and Permeability in Cognitive Models of Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders
Keywords: Cognitive Biases
Cognitive Models of Psychosis
Cognitive Schemas
Psychosis
Schizophrenia

Cognitive models of psychopathology, including psychosis, highlight key cognitive mechanisms in the development and maintenance of symptoms, including maladaptive cognitive schema and cognitive biases. The current study investigated whether schema charge and schema permeability differ between individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SSDs) and healthy controls. Seventeen individuals with SSDs and 16 controls engaged in both an exclusion and inclusion version of Cyberball. Following Cyberball exclusion, one of the computerized players apologized and provided an explanation for the exclusion before including the participant in the inclusion task. Individuals with SSDs endorsed stronger negative schemas and cognitive biases than controls; however, there were no significant interactions with Cyberball conditions. The bias against disconfirmatory evidence significantly mediated the relationship between schema charge and permeability. Though we found mixed results, overall, results support the cognitive theory that negative cognitive schemas are more activated in individuals with SSDs, and they have important relationships with cognitive biases.
Automated Hand Function Assessment from Egocentric Video after Spinal Cord Injury
Keywords: Computer vision
Hand function
Rehabilitation
Spinal cord injury

Background and Objective: Hand function assessments in a clinical setting are critical for upper limb rehabilitation after spinal cord injury (SCI) but are unable to accurately reflect performance in an individual’s home environment. When paired with computer vision models, egocentric videos from wearable cameras provide an opportunity for remote hand function assessment. This study presents a novel computer vision model for predicting clinical hand function assessment scores from egocentric video. Methods: SlowFast, MViT, and MaskFeat models were trained and validated on a custom SCI dataset, which was annotated with clinical hand function assessment scores. Results: An accuracy of 0.551±0.139 and F1 score of 0.547±0.151 was achieved on the 5-class classification task. An accuracy of 0.724±0.135 and F1 score of 0.733±0.144 was achieved on a consolidated 3-class classification task. Conclusion: This novel algorithm, for the first time, demonstrates that automatically evaluating the quality of hand function from egocentric video is feasible.
Cannabis Self-Administration in the Human Laboratory: A Scoping Review of Ad Libitum Studies
Keywords: ad-libitum
cannabis
human laboratory paradigms
scoping review
self-administration

Cannabis self-administration studies may be helpful for identifying factors that influence cannabis consumption and subjective response to cannabis. Additionally, these paradigms could be useful for testing novel pharmacotherapies for cannabis use disorder. This scoping review aims to summarize the findings from existing ad libitum cannabis self-administration studies to determine what has been learned from these studies as well as their limitations. We reviewed cannabis smoking studies, focusing on subjective response and self-administration behavior (e.g., smoking topography). A systematic search was conducted using PubMed and Embase from inception to October 22, 2022. Our search strategy identified 26 studies (Total N = 662, 79% male) that met our eligibility criteria. We found that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration significantly affected subjective response to cannabis in some but not all studies. In general, cannabis self-administration tended to be most intense at the beginning of the session and decreased in later parts of the session. There were limited data on cannabis self-administration in adults older than 55. Data on external validity and test-retest reliability were also limited. Addressing these limitations in future ad libitum cannabis self-administration studies could lead to more valid and generalizable paradigms, which in turn could be used to improve our understanding of cannabis use patterns and to help guide medication development for cannabis use disorder.
Telling the History of Female Sexuality in Greco-Roman Exhibitions by Synthesizing Curatorial Dreaming and Critical Fabulation
Keywords: Classical Studies
Critical Fabulation
Curatorial Dreaming
Gender and Sexuality
Museum Studies
Women's Studies

This thesis will critically engage with the absence of female sexuality within Greco-Roman history exhibitions. Throughout this study, a methodological axiom will synthesize Shelly Ruth Butler and Erica Lehrer’s methodology of "curatorial dreaming" with Saidiya Hartman's "critical fabulation" to provide an example of how museums can adopt alternative techniques of displaying underrepresented histories to tell impossible stories from the past. By ushering in a way to explore the history of women's sexuality in Greco-Roman antiquity, this thesis will highlight how museums can engage with the societal perceptions of female eroticism in the past so that it may become better understood in the present. Therefore, this thesis will develop Hartman's method of critical fabulation in a theoretical museum context to demonstrate its use of expanding the contemporary understanding of available historical evidence by fabulating the history of sexuality within Greco-Roman exhibitions to encompass a greater female perspective.
Exploring the Utilization of a Wellness Framework for Children and Young People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities within Adaptive Sports Programs
Keywords: Adaptive
Coach
Intellectual or developmental disabilities
Sports
Well-being
Wellness

Introduction: Children and young people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) have unique abilities and challenges that affect their health and wellness. Adaptive sports programs offer important opportunities to support their wellness. Objective: To explore the integration of a Wellness Framework into adaptive sports programs tailored for children and young people with IDD. Methods: 1) A rapid scoping review using Wellness Framework principles to provide a summary of sports coaching strategies to support the wellness of children and young people with IDD in a sports setting. 2) An explanatory sequential mixed-method study using non-participant observation to describe if and how the Wellness Framework principles were integrated into real-world adaptive sports programs run by Special Olympics. Results: The Wellness Framework was both supported in the literature and real-world sports programs and has been demonstrated to be a useful tool to help children and young people with IDD live their most meaningful lives. The summarized list of strategies to support the wellness of children and young people with IDD may be helpful for supporting their overall wellness if implemented by sports staff. Discussion: Sports coaches and health promotion staff have opportunities to purposefully integrate the strategies identified through both the scoping review and observational study to support the wellness of children and young people with IDD.