VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
ApoE4 and the Clinical Outcomes and Pathophysiology of Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy: Evidence from Human Data and Mouse Models
Keywords: Apolipoprotein E4
Decompression Surgery
Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy
Inflammation

Degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) is the most common cause of nontraumatic spinal cord injury in adults worldwide. Surgical decompression is considered the gold standard treatment for DCM, as it is effective in halting further myelopathy. Evidence shows a significant proportion of patients may experience neurological deterioration post-decompression, though the mechanisms underlying this is unknown. Genetic factors may contribute to this patient heterogeneity. Our study aimed to elucidate the influence of the apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4) allele in the pathophysiology of DCM. We demonstrate that the ApoE4 allele induces an excessive pro-inflammatory response after decompression in a DCM mouse model, resulting in a delayed functional recovery. In human DCM patients, ApoE4 carriers have a significantly lower extent of improvement, or even deteriorate, following surgical decompression. Our study is the first to investigate the role of ApoE4 in DCM. These results may contribute to altering the standard of care for ApoE4+ DCM patients.
Large-scale Testing of Replaceable Cast Steel Links
Keywords: Cast steel
Eccentrically braced frames
Large-scale testing
Steel frames

Eccentrically braced frames (EBFs) have been widely used for their high stiffness obtained from the diagonal braces and high ductility obtained from the yielding links. Replaceable cast steel links were developed to take advantage of the inherent geometric freedom of steel casting and to avoid common failure modes associated with rolled or built-up sections which limited the ductility capacity of the links.This thesis summarizes the experimental program of testing two replaceable cast steel links in a large-scale eccentrically braced frame test setup, loaded under quasi-static cyclic lateral displacements. The link specimens were tested with and without a composite slab to study the effect of the composite action under high axial loads. The links exhibited a stable cyclic ductile behaviour with the total link rotation reaching up to -0.19 rad and demonstrated that it can provide high overstrength factors of 2.07 in tension and 1.703 in compression.
Conductive Composites for Use in Sensing Applications
Keywords: Carbon Nanotubes
Polymer Composites
Sensors
Wearable Technologies

Polymers have a wide array of applications owing to their limitless tailorable properties. The inherent non-conductivity of polymers limits their use in electrical applications. By combining with conductive fillers, an entirely new dimension of possibilities can be explored in biomedical, human health monitoring, sensors, wearable electronics, and various other applications. This thesis studies the functionality of conductive polymers in a few selected fields such as electrocardiogram devices, smart textiles, contaminants, and strain sensors. Study 1 revealed that different polymers have vastly different electrical performance, especially in electrocardiograms even if filler content remained the same. Study 2 showed how conductive textiles can be used in human health monitoring and assist in long term care facilities. Study 3 demonstrated the capabilities of conductive nanocomposites as a contaminant and strain sensor using a unique electroplating coating method of electrospun fibers. The research into these smart materials is a continuously developing and emerging field.
Teachers’ Beliefs about Assessment: A Multiple Narrative Case Study of Internationally Educated Teachers’ Assessment of Speaking Skills in Canadian ESL/EAP Classrooms
Keywords: Assessing Speaking Skills
ESL/ EAP Classrooms
Internationally Educated Teachers
Techer Beliefs

This multiple narrative case study examines the assessment beliefs of internationally educated teachers in assessing speaking skills in Canadian ESL/EAP classrooms. Research highlights how teachers’ assessment beliefs influence the way they conceptualize assessment purposes and integrate them into curriculum and lesson planning. With the increasing number of internationally educated English language teachers working in various K-12 and post-secondary contexts in Canada, it is important to understand how their previous assessment beliefs and practices impact their assessment in a new teaching context. The study revealed IETs held multi-layered beliefs focused on the purpose of assessment, types of and tools for speaking assessment, and feedback. Also, numerous contextual factors including classroom contexts, institutional requirements, and curriculum expectations seem to contribute to their change in speaking assessment practices in varied contexts. The results implicate IETs as a heterogeneous group of professionals who require differentiated professional development opportunities and mentorship programs to better integrate in Canadian ESL/EAP classrooms.
In-service Skill Development on Queer and Trans Identities and Literacy Practices for Ontario French as a Second Language Professionals
Keywords: French as a Second Language
Professional Development
Queer
Teacher Development

French teachers are under significant and unique pressures to address gaps in curriculum and practice with regard to Two Spirit, queer, and trans students.Though a helpful tool, Miller’s (2015) queer literacy framework (QLF) has not been considered in published research in French as a second language (FSL) classrooms. In this study, I draw on sociocultural theory to offer professional development to FSL professionals regarding the QLF. The findings confirm a fear of consequences for integrating queerness into teaching. Additionally, the instruction of grammar is understood to be a vehicle for (safely) bringing queerness to the FSL classroom. It also shows how mediation was and was not possible in a digital environment. Finally, it suggests the importance of examining teacher beliefs and practices in professional development. Further work is required to confirm theorizing on the relationship between grammar and social justice and what more is required to integrate the QLF into FSL practice.
Investigating the Mechanism of Allosteric Regulation of HpNikR by pH and Nickel
Keywords: Allostery
Helicobacter pylori
HpNikR
Metalloprotein
Nickel

Nickel ions are essential for the survival of Helicobacter pylori in the acidic human stomach. H. pylori NikR (HpNikR) is a nickel-responsive transcription factor that regulates the expression of many genes involved in nickel homeostasis. HpNikR also assists in acid adaptation by binding to DNA independent of nickel in response to increased acidity. It is unclear how nickel or increased acidity promote HpNikR DNA binding. The goal of this study was to determine a mechanism of allosteric regulation of HpNikR by nickel and pH. Several networks connecting proteomic sites to the DNA-binding domains were investigated. Nickel-activated DNA-binding was found to involve a cation- interaction at the N- and C-terminal domains. 19F NMR revealed that increased acidity slows HpNikR conformational exchange in the presence of DNA. Finally, it was found that residues essential for nickel-activated DNA binding are also important for DNA binding in acidic solutions.
Prostate Specific Antigen Dynamics and Prostate Cancer Risk: A Population-based Study
Keywords: baseline prostate-specific antigen
prostate cancer
prostate-specific antigen
prostatic neoplasms
risk assessment

The objective was to determine the association between prostate specific antigen (PSA) predictors and prostate cancer diagnosis. This was a retrospective, unmatched nested case-control cohort study of men 40-75 years of age undergoing opportunistic PSA testing. PSA levels of patients diagnosed with prostate cancer were compared to patients who were not using logistic regression. Overall, 508,238 patients were included (12,444 cases and 495,794 controls) over a median 8.2 years (IQR: 7.0-9.1). First PSA, final PSA, and percentage change in PSA per 365 days were highly predictive of prostate cancer. The final multivariable model preformed well when predicting prostate cancer and clinically significant prostate cancer diagnosis. Together, the identified variables can be used to better select those who should undergo prostate biopsy. Due to inherit selection and verification bias, prospective validation studies are needed. Further studies are needed to determine the association with metastatic and lethal prostate cancer.
Online Continual Learning in Image Classification
Keywords: Catastrophic Forgetting
Continual Learning
Incremental Learning
Lifelong Learning
Online Learning

Online continual learning (CL) in image classification studies the problem of learning to classify images from an online stream of data and tasks, where tasks may include data with new classes or nonstationarity. This thesis starts with a comparative empirical survey of the state-of-the-art methods and recently proposed tricks to better understand their relative advantages and the settings where they work the best. To prepare CL for real-world applications, we provide a simple but effective approach that combines memory replay, CL tricks summarized in the survey and common image classification techniques. Moreover, for replay-based approaches, we propose a novel Adversarial Shapley value scoring method for memory sample selection that scores samples according to their abilities to preserve latent decision boundaries for previously observed classes while interfering with latent decision boundaries of current classes being learned. Our proposed method shows state-of-the-art performance, especially when the memory buffer size is small.
Deformations in Flexure-critical Reinforced Concrete Members
Keywords: Concrete
Deformation
Displacement
Flexure

The need to understand complex structural behaviour presents an opportunity to enhance modelling and design practices. Reinforced concrete is ubiquitous in our infrastructure; however, post-yielding deformation behaviour of reinforced concrete is not well understood. Post-yielding displacements are not used in traditional strength-based design, which focuses on providing adequate strength. A popular concept for seismic applications relies on accurately predicting the post-yielding deformations of elements. To implement such strategies requires further knowledge on how reinforced concrete members deform after yielding. The experimental program focused on measuring the components of deformation of a set of twelve reinforced concrete members. In these tests the reinforcement ratio and overall member depth were varied. The results support that shear strains play a significant role in predicting a member’s overall displacement, as well as the shape of the deformed member. It is recommended that these results be used in the development and calibration of numerical analyses.
Assessment of Ultrafiltration Membrane Ageing in Full-scale Water Treatment Facilities
Keywords: Membrane Ageing
Ultrafiltration

The incorporation of ultrafiltration has become increasingly prevalent in drinking water treatment. However, limited data exists regarding the impacts of membrane ageing over extended periods of full-scale operation. The present study examined performance factors (clean membrane resistance, fouling rate, and susceptibility to breach), as well as characteristics (presence of hydrophilic additive (HA) present in membranes) for polyvinylidene fluoride membranes that are widely employed. Clean membrane resistance remained constant over time, whereas the fouling rate decreased with age. Surface and bulk HA content were observed to decrease with age. However, poor correlations were observed between HA content and clean membrane resistance. Results suggest that although a reduction of HA occurs as membranes age, membranes continued to provide good treatment performance until they reached a certain level of HA content reduction that was site-specific. Overall, these findings provide important insights regarding the mechanisms associated with membrane ageing.
Deuterium Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of Early Treatment-induced Changes in Tumour Lactate
Keywords: cancer
deuterium magnetic resonance spectroscopy
metabolic imaging
treatment response
tumour lactate
warburg effect

An emerging hallmark of many tumour cells is aberrant metabolism, characterized in part by elevated lactate production. In response to treatment, tumour cells exhibit a change in lactate production that precedes late-stage morphological measurements conventionally used to assess tumour response. These metabolic changes can be non-invasively measured by Deuterium (2H) Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS), but there has been limited work exploring the feasibility of using 2H-lactate as a marker of early tumour response to treatment. In this thesis, the biological processes associated with treatment-induced changes in the 2H-lactate signal were established in an in vitro tumour model. Significant decreases in 2H-lactate were observed 48 hours after treatment with a chemotherapeutic agent and associated with apoptotic cell death and decreased extracellular lactate. These findings offer the opportunity to build a framework for preclinical 2H MRS studies of tumour metabolism, with the goal of enhancing assessment of tumour response in the clinic.
The Role of BMAL1 in Linking the Molecular Clock and Circadian Rhythm of Cerebral Myogenic Tone
Keywords: BMAL1
Cerebral
CFTR
Circadian
Clock
Myogenic Tone

Cerebral arteries show a circadian rhythm in myogenic reactivity, the intrinsic ability of resistance arteries to adapt their tone to fluctuations in transmural pressure. The expression of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), a known negative regulator of myogenic signalling in cerebral artery vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), demonstrates cyclic behaviour in phase with other known circadian genes. I demonstrate that the known peak and trough of the CFTR protein expression rhythm are disrupted by abolishment of the peripheral molecular clock, induced by smooth muscle-specific deletion of Bmal1. A disruption to CFTR oscillations directly induced by peripheral clock dysfunction strengthens the hypothesis that CFTR is the site of circadian regulation of cerebral myogenic reactivity.
Graphical Processing Unit 5G Primary Synchronization Signal Detection in Software Defined Radio
Keywords: CUDA
GPU
PSS

The Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) is an important synchronization signal in 5G. It is the first signal the User Equipment (UE) detects during initial access and the handoff process. At this stage, symbol timing, a necessity for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) demodulation, is not present. Furthermore, the UE has no exact knowledge of where the Primary Synchronization Signal is or whether it is present, forcing the UE to process many samples to determine where the PSS is or if it is present or not. In a Software Defined Radio (SDR) system that is emulating the UE, the detection of the PSS falls to the Central Processing Unit (CPU) to perform and its processing time is longer than the rest of the synchronization process combined. For example, in the Eurecom Open AirInterface (OAI) SDR implementation, the initial synchronization process takes several seconds and most of it is spent on PSS synchronization. To address this, a Graphical Processing Unit (GPU) based implementation is proposed, with potential speed up of 100 times greater than CPU based implementation.
The Seismic Resilience of Critical Spatially-distributed Building Portfolios: A Case Study of Public School Buildings in Makati and Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Keywords: Earthquake
Engineering
PBEE
Resilience
Seismic
Structural

This thesis presents an integrated seismic resilience framework that links advanced building-specific earthquake engineering techniques and portfolio risk methodologies for evaluating large building portfolios in a computationally efficient manner. The framework is applied to a spatially-distributed infrastructure portfolio composed of over 1,000 public school buildings across two cities.The near-fault seismic hazard of the region was defined using state-of-the-art tools. A rapid visual screening of approximately 200 buildings was conducted to enhance high- level inventories and inform the development of detailed non-linear structural models of the key archetypes. Building response simulations under a range of seismic intensities were coupled with the FEMAP-58 and Arup REDi Monte Carlo analyses, requiring the adaptation of existing post-earthquake consequence functions. Normalized archetypal vulnerabilities were developed and assigned to all the buildings before simulating portfolio losses under various seismogenic sources. The impacts of proposed portfolio-level mitigations strategies were then discussed.
Effect of Resin and Fatty Acids on Sodium Salt Scaling
Keywords: fatty acid
fouling
kraft black liquor
resin acid
sodium salt

The evaporation of black liquor is an important, energy intensive unit operation in the kraft chemical recovery process. Between 50 and 85% dry solids, black liquor evaporators are susceptible to heavy sodium salt scaling leading to reduced heat transfer efficiency. Recent mill experiences indicate that the addition of small amounts of resin and fatty acids (RFA) containing streams (tall oil soap, tall oil brine) to the concentrators can reduce sodium salt scaling. The underlying mechanism for this is unknown, which limits broader application and control. In this work we validate a gas chromatography mass spectrometry method for RFA determination and use model solutions of sodium salts in a bench-top scaling setup to investigate the impact of RFA on sodium salt scaling. The results show that low concentrations of abietic acid and oleic acid can inhibit sodium salt scaling during nucleation and in the presence of a stable crystal population.
Cryogenic Device Characterization and Wideband Receiver Design for Large-scale Monolithic Quantum Processors
Keywords: cryogenic characterization
FDSOI
receiver
SiGe BiCMOS
spin qubits
variable-gain amplifier

This thesis proposes a pathway to realizing large-scale quantum computing integrated circuits based on the monolithic integration of high-temperature (1–4 K) semiconductor qubits with their associated control and readout circuitry. High-frequency device characterization was performed on production 22-nm FDSOI technology at room and cryogenic temperatures (down to 3.3 K) to inform a cryogenic circuit design methodology in the absence of low-temperature device models. The methodology was demonstrated with a TIA qubit-readout chain that was, for the first time, monolithically integrated with electron and hole quantum dot structures. The prospects of FDSOI SiGe BiCMOS technology would enable similar integration with higher performance HBT devices. As a first step, design of a 240-GHz direct conversion I-Q receiver is showcased in 55-nm SiGe BiCMOS, intended for frequency-division multiplexed readout of many qubits. The measured IF-bandwidth of 59 GHz makes it suitable for high data-rate communication and large-scale quantum processors.
The Effect of Spatially Distributed Sequential Stimulation on Fatigue in Functional Electrical Stimulation Rowing
Keywords: electrical stimulation
electrical stimulation therapy
exercise therapy
muscle fatigue
rowing
spinal cord injury

Secondary medical complications caused by paralysis in spinal cord injury (SCI) can be mitigated by regular exercise. Hybrid functional electrical stimulation (FES) exercises such as FES-rowing integrate stimulated paralyzed muscles with voluntary muscle movement and are more effective than traditional exercises. Because FES-rowing is relatively new, reviews of its clinical benefits do not exist. Furthermore, acute muscle fatigue limits the effectiveness of FES-rowing. Therefore, the objectives of this thesis were (1) to conduct a systematic review of the benefits of FES-rowing and (2) to investigate reducing acute muscle fatigue in FES-rowing with spatially distributed sequential stimulation (SDSS) to extend exercise duration.FES-rowing was found to be an effective clinical exercise for combating secondary medical complications. SDSS improved fatigue resistance during FES-rowing when compared to traditional stimulation protocols in 15 able-bodied individuals. Application of these results would increase the effectiveness FES-rowing as rehabilitative exercise for individuals with SCI.
Changes in Sexual Behaviours among Gay, Bisexual and Other Men who Have Sex with Men Occurring during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Keywords: COVID-19
LGBTQ
MSM
Sexual Health
Sexuality

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, physical distancing measures and stay-at-home orders have been put in place around the world to limit the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. However, several studies outside Canada have found that some individuals, including gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) have continued to engage in sexual activity. As such, the current research explored changes in sexual behaviours as a result of the pandemic among Canadian GBMSM. Findings revealed that Canadian GBMSM did report a reduction in sexual activity. Factors that predicted current high-risk sexual behaviour were identification with the bareback scene, sexual satisfaction and prior high-risk sexual behaviour. Our findings suggest that some Canadian GBMSM have continued to engage in sexual activities with casual and regular partners during the initial height of the pandemic, which has important implications for public health policies and health promotion as the pandemic endures.
Electroencephalography of the Trail Making Test
Keywords: Computerized tablet
EEG
Neuropsychological tests
partial least squares
Time-frequency analysis
Trail Making Test

The Trail Making Test (TMT) is a neuropsychological test consisting of Parts A and B, which involve linking numbers and numbers alternating with letters, respectively. The temporal dynamics of TMT-related behavioural and neural changes remain to be characterized. Sixteen healthy young adults underwent TMT performance with electroencephalography (EEG) recording using tablet technology to capture enhanced performance metrics such as the speed of linking movements, and linking and non-linking periods - the time spent executing and preparing movements, respectively. Seconds per link (SPL) was also employed to evaluate TMT performance. A strong effect of TMT Part A and B was found for SPL values, whereas a strong effect of linking and non-linking periods was found in multiple EEG frequency bands, as well as effects consistent with previous studies of TMT-related brain activity performed by functional magnetic resonance imaging. 连线测试（TMT）是一种神经心理学测试，由A部分和B部分组成，分别涉及连线数字和以字母交替的数字。 TMT相关的行为和神经变化的时间动态仍有待表征。 16位健康的年轻人使用平板技术通过脑电图（EEG）记录进行了TMT表现，以获取增强的表现指标，例如连线运动的速度以及连线和非连线时间——执行和准备运动所花费的时间。每连线秒数（SPL）也用于评估TMT表现。发现TMT-A和TMT-B部分对SPL值有很强的影响，而在多个EEG频段中发现了连接和非连接期的强影响，并且这种影响与以前使用功能磁共振成像发现的TMT相关脑活动一致。