VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Interfacial Behavior of Immortalized Murine Hypothalamic Neurons Studied by an Acoustic Transverse Wave Biosensor
Keywords: Interfacial
Neurons
Behavior
Acoustic Transverse Wave
Biosensor
TSM
Detection
Depolarization
Synchronization
Surface adhesion
Glucagon
Ouabain
Oscillation

The objective of this thesis was to relate and link the physiological responses of the cells to the electrical responses or output obtained from the TSM acoustic wave sensor. In particular, the device was applied to the study of immortalized murine hypothalamic neurons (mHypoE-38 and -46 cell models) under a variety of conditions and stimuli. Cellular studies which lead to the production of detectable neuronal responses include neuronal deposition, adhesion and proliferation, alteration in the extent of specific cell-surface interactions, actin filament and microtubule cytoskeletal disruptions, effects of cell depolarization, solution tonicity, inhibition of the Na+-K+ pump via ouabain, effects of neuronal synchronization and the effects ligand-receptor interaction (glucagon). In addition, the introduction of drugs, neurotrophic factors (forskolin and beterferon), toxicity agents (NaOH, EtOH) and TiO2 nanoparticles were similarly investigated. A preliminary study conducted with mouse embryonic stem cells showed that not all cell lines are suitable for investigation with the TSM sensor at the current stage of sensor development. It has been found that control studies conducted with water as the solvent and the bare sensor substrate is insufficient to model the behavior of the sensor in the absence of cells. When biological buffers are used in addition to protein coatings the sensor responses are altered in magnitude and direction. To analyze the full range of cellular changes observed on the TSM sensor, the full impedance spectrum is required. As such in this thesis, the series and parallel resonant frequencies, the motional resistance, the maximum phase of the impedance and the static capacitance (fs, fp, Rm, θmax and Co were used to characterize the cellular responses observed. In the presence of cells fs shifts are largely influenced by the damping of the TSM resonator. The formation of cell-surface interactions and hence the increase in coupling and acoustic energy dissipation can be modeled as an additional resistor in the BVD model. Further sensor and cellular changes can be obtained by negating the effects of damping from fs with the use of Rm and θmax.
The Effects of Crosslinking on Foaming of EVA
Keywords: polymer foaming
crosslinking
EVA

The effects of crosslinking on EVA foaming are studied in this thesis. A fundamental approach was applied to describe the influences of crosslinking on EVA/gas viscosities, gas solubility and diffusivity in EVA, EVA foaming nucleation and early stage of bubble growth, which leads to a better understanding of the plastic foaming mechanism. Although crosslinked polyolefin foaming technology has been well applied in industry, more fundamental and thorough studies are demanded to understand the mechanism, which can serve to improve the present technology. The shear and extensional viscosities have been measured for the chemically crosslinked EVA with dissolved gas which could not be found from literature. Furthermore, by controlling the crosslinking agent amount, the polymer melt strength/viscosity can be controlled, so as to obtain optimum foam morphology. The crosslinking also has effects on the diffusivity and solubility of a blowing agent inside EVA. The solubility and the diffusivity of the blowing agent in the EVA decrease with the crosslinking degree increases. The diffusivity decrease makes more gas is utilized for the foaming rather than leak out of the polymer matrix quickly. This thesis also presents the fundamental studies on the effects of crosslinking on cell nucleation and early bubble growth. Theoretical work and in-situ visualization experimental results indicate that partial crosslinking leads to higher cell nucleation density and slower bubble growth, both of which benefit a fine-cell foam morphology generation. Last but not least, an optimized foaming process was conducted to produce chemically crosslinked EVA foams with large expansion ratios in a batch system, using a chemical blowing agent. The results determine that an optimal crosslinking degree is critical for the crosslinked EVA foaming with maximum expansion ratio. Furthermore, all research results not only benefit the foaming of crosslinked EVA, but also serve the better production of other crosslinked polyolefin foams.
Integrated Microfluidic Optical Manipulation Technique: Towards High Throughput Single Cell Analysis
Keywords: Microfluidics
Microfluidic
lab on a chip
optical manipulation
waveguide
optical propulsion

An all-optical micromanipulation technique is presented in the framework of precise cell selection within a cell culture and multiplexed transport capabilities for microfluidic single cell analysis applications. The technique was developed by combining an optical tweezer setup with a novel integrated waveguide cell propulsion method referred to as end-face waveguide propulsion (EFWP). The EFWP technique delivers optical forces to a particle generating thrust. The thesis is divided into two sections: simulation and experimental validation. In the first section a new simulation technique based on ray optics theory (ROT) and the beam propagation method (BPM) is used to predict particle velocity and trajectory along a microfluidic propagation channel. In this work, the ROT-BPM technique is used to analyse and optimize the waveguide geometry to maximize particle velocity. Analysis of the impact of common microchip manufacturing limitations on velocity is performed to determine acceptable fabrication process tolerances. The second section presents experimental results of polymer microspheres and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells as biological targets. The experimental results are compared with simulations performed in the first section. Correction factors are added to the simulations to reflect the experimental device parameters. Thermal e_ects due to photon absorption within the fluidic channels are also investigated and corrected for. The final analysis indicates that the ROT-BPM technique developed in this work can be used to adequately predict particle velocity and trajectory path. EFWP currently delivers the fastest particle velocities compared to other optical micromanipulation techniques currently available in microfluidic applications. While the technique is focused on addressing chemical cytometry precise particle selectivity and high throughput needs, EFWP can also be used in many other single cell applications.
The Heart and Soul of Language Teaching: Making (Inter)connections between Holistic and Second Language Education in the Post-secondary Context
Keywords: Holistic Education
Second Language Education
Teaching Presence
French as a Second Language
Building Learning Communities

While much research has been conducted on the cognitive and methodological aspects of language pedagogy, there has been little research on the other essential aspects of teaching and learning, such as teacher presence. The aim of this doctoral research study was to discover, describe and document the various ways in which holistic education is operationalized in the Canadian post-secondary language teaching-learning context. Using French as a second language (FSL) instruction as a concrete example, the study was further aimed at developing a comprehensive understanding of what teachers do to facilitate holistic engagement in learning a second, foreign or additional language in the post-secondary classroom and beyond. Particular attention was paid to the various holistic interconnections and relationships involved in language teaching and the ways in which these helped to foster a spirit of inclusiveness, balance and connectedness in the language teaching-learning environment. This qualitative research inquiry utilized a blend of narrative and case study methodologies, and included a variety of data sources such as face-to-face (individual and focus group) interviews, classroom observations, and surveys. The research has been primarily informed by a core group of participants comprising of six FSL university instructors as well as a peripheral group of five other language instructors from both the college and university contexts. Students of the core participant group also lent their voices to this endeavor, thus providing a rich understanding of how they perceive their experiences of post-secondary language teaching. On the one hand, beliefs and assumptions underlying teachers’ approaches as well as the methods and strategies that they employ, constituted an important aspect of the investigation. However, on the other hand, significant emphasis was placed on the participants’ perspectives on teaching presence and how they seek to engage the whole student -- body, mind and spirit. The findings highlight the centrality of teaching presence as a fundamental element for maintaining flow and connectedness within and beyond the classroom. Implications include rethinking the relevance of teaching presence in the post-secondary language classroom and its potential for enhancing the teaching and learning experience, fostering positive emotions, building relationships and encouraging lifelong learning.
Particularly Responsible: Everyday Ethical Navigation, Concrete Relationships, and Systemic Oppression
Keywords: systemic oppression
ethics
performativity
différance
governmentality
subjectification
relationality
taking responsibility
power/knowledge
accountability
personal-is-political
deconstruction
narrative practice
racism
sexism
ableism
colonialism
decolonization
whiteness
masculinity
abuse
harm
invitational practice
complicity
reflexivity
self-critique
resonance
pedagogy
flows of becoming
queer theory
disability studies
critical social work
therapy
power
ethical narrative
political rationality
treatment violence
mad studies
antipsychiatry
psychology
gendered peer abuse
abuse intervention
abuse perpetration
intentional states
friendship
auto-ethnography
critical pedagogy
An Ethics Inaccessible to Liberalism

In this dissertation, I articulate what I call a personal-is-political ethics, suggesting that the realm of human affairs long called ethics is inseparable from that which is today normatively called psychology. Further, I suggest that these names for this shared realm are situated in different discursive traditions which, therefore, provide different parameters for possible action and understanding. In my exploration of what it is to be human, I strategically centre ethical transgressions, particularly those that are mappable onto systemic forms of oppression. I explore personal-is-political enactments of sexism, ableism, racism, colonization, classism, ageism, and geopolitics, including situations in which several of these intersect with one another and those in which therapeutic, pedagogical, or parenting hierarchies also intersect with them. Without suggesting this is ‘the whole story,’ I closely read people’s narrations of ethical transgressions that they – that we – commit. I claim that such narrations shape our possibilities for harming others, for taking responsibility, and for intervening in others’ lives in an attempt to have them take responsibility (e.g., therapy with abuse perpetrators and critical pedagogy). I work to demonstrate the ethical and political importance of: the impossibility of exhaustive knowledge, the illimitable and contingent power relations that are ever-present and give shape to what we can know, and the ways our possibilities in life are constituted through particular contact with others. I explore ethical transgressions I have committed, interrogating these events in conversation with explorations of resonant situations in published texts, as well as with research conversations with friends about their ethical transgressions and how they make sense of them. I tentatively advocate for, and attempt to demonstrate, ways of governing ourselves when we are positioned ‘on top’ of social hierarchies – in order to align our responses and relationships more closely with radical political commitments.
Path Graphs and PR-trees
Keywords: Graph Theory
Algorithms

The PR-tree data structure is introduced to characterize the sets of path-tree models of path graphs. We further characterize the sets of directed path-tree models of directed path graphs with a slightly restricted form of the PR-tree called the Strong PR-tree. Additionally, via PR-trees and Strong PR-trees, we characterize path graphs and directed path graphs by their Split Decompositions. Two distinct approaches (Split Decomposition and Reduction) are presented to construct a PR-tree that captures the path-tree models of a given graph G = (V, E) with n = |V| and m = |E|. An implementation of the split decomposition approach is presented which runs in O(nm) time. Similarly, an implementation of the reduction approach is presented which runs in O(A(n + m)nm) time (where A(s) is the inverse of Ackermann’s function arising from Union-Find [40]). Also, from a PR-tree, an algorithm to construct a corresponding Strong PR-tree is given which runs in O(n + m) time. The sizes of the PR-trees and Strong PR-trees produced by these approaches are O(n + m) with respect to the given graph. Furthermore, we demonstrate that an implicit form of the PR-tree and Strong PR-tree can be represented in O(n) space.
Flexible Radial Data Acquisition and Image Reconstruction Strategies for Breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Keywords: breast magnetic resonance imaging

Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) has a high sensitivity (71- 100%) for detecting breast cancers. DCE-MRI is approximately twice as sensitive as mammography for patients who are genetically predisposed to breast cancer, who have an elevated lifetime risk (up to 85%) of contracting the disease, and who require rigorous screening. However, current methods of DCE-MRI often have difficulty distinguishing malignant from benign tumours, resulting in low positive predictive values (on average, PPV = 45%). The research in this thesis is motivated by the need for improvement in the ability of MRI to differentiate breast lesions. It is believed that the differentiation of malignant from benign lesions can be improved by acquiring images of high spatial resolution for visualizing morphological features of tumours and those of high temporal resolution for characterizing contrast-kinetic curves. However, simultaneously achieving high spatial and temporal resolution is limited by the inherent trade-off between speed and quality in MRI, requiring one to choose a particular balance of spatial and temporal resolution. In this thesis, novel techniques are presented that reduce the need to choose a spatiotemporal resolution before the scan. Flexible methods are presented that allow images to be retrospectively reconstructed with different balances of spatial and temporal resolution from the same dataset. Flexibility is achieved through radial sampling of k-space data, with 3D radial directions based on Multidimensional Golden Means (MGM) and Halton sequences. Radial sampling also allows constrained image reconstruction techniques such as Compressed Sensing and Prior-Image Constrained Compressed Sensing to be incorporated for reducing undersampling artifacts in high-temporalresolution images. This thesis demonstrates in 2D how such reconstruction algorithms are influenced by acquisition schemes and shows how reconstruction algorithms work in synergy with flexible radial sampling to provide improvements in the quality of breast MR images. The flexibility to choose any spatiotemporal resolution combined with better image quality in fast images could potentially improve the characterization of breast lesions screened by MRI.
Sequence-selective DNA Binding by Basic Region/Leucine Zipper Proteins at Noncognate Gene Regulatory Sequences
Keywords: bZIP
DNA binding
GCN4
C/EBP
basic region
leucine zipper
transcription
gene regulatory

This thesis explores how basic region/leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factors target gene regulatory sequences. The GCN4 bZIP binds to more than one target site [CRE (TGACGTCA) and cognate AP-1 (TGACTCA)] and exhibits flexibility in -helical structure. These observations suggest that the GCN4 bZIP can establish sequence-selective DNA binding at noncognate target sites. Studies on such noncognate but sequence-selective binding can provide insights into how bZIP proteins search for and localize to their cognate target sites. This thesis investigates DNA binding by the GCN4 bZIP and its structural and functional mimic, the wild-type (wt) bZIP, at noncognate gene regulatory sequences C/EBP (TTGCGCAA), E-box (CACGTG), HRE (GCACGTAG), XRE1 (TTGCGTGA), and related DNA sequences. These DNA-binding activities are sequence-selective, as confirmed by DNase I footprinting and electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). Full- and half-site DNA-binding affinities, determined by EMSA titrations, decrease from cognate to noncognate binding. At noncognate target sites, the bZIP proteins form a dimer of -helices, as indicated by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and EMSA. These results demonstrate that the bZIP proteins can establish noncognate but sequence-selective DNA binding, and suggest such DNA binding potentially contributes to structure preorganization and rapid translocation of the bZIP proteins when they search for their cognate target sites, to which they then bind with high affinity. This thesis also indicates a highly dynamic DNA-binding model for the bZIP proteins to establish strong and sequence-selective DNA binding. The C/EBP site includes two 5H-LR (TTGCG) half-sites, each of which comprises two 4-bp subsites. The in vitro and in silico results together demonstrate that the basic region at 5H-LR recognizes the 4-bp subsites alternately as distinct units, which requires it to translocate between the subsites, potentially by sliding or hopping. Taken as a whole, this thesis provides further insights into how bZIP transcription factors accomplish sequence-selective DNA binding.
Holy Homophobia: Doctrinal Disciplining of Non-heterosexuals in Canadian Catholic Schools
Keywords: Homophobia
Canadian Catholilc Schools
Non-heterosexual
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer
Qualitative Research
Narrative Inquiry
Critical Theory
Canadian Law
Anti-Oppressive Research
Anti-Homophobia Education

In 2012 clashes between Catholic canonical law and Canadian common law regarding sexual minorities continue to be played out in Canadian Catholic schools. Although Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms ensures same-sex equality in Canada, this study shows that some teachers in Alberta Catholic schools are fired for contravening Catholic doctrine about non-heterosexuality, while Ontario students’ requests to establish Gay/Straight Alliances are denied. This study seeks to uncover the causes and effects of the long-standing disconnect between Canadian Catholic schools and the Charter by comparing the treatment of and attitudes towards lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (lgbtq) teachers and students in publicly-funded Catholic school systems in the provinces of Alberta and Ontario. I employ a multi-method qualitative research framework involving: 1) semi-structured interviews with 20 participants (7 current and former teachers and 13 former students), 18 of which are re-presented as condensed narratives; 2) media accounts that illustrate the Catholic schools’ homophobic environment; and 3) two key Alberta and Ontario Catholic policy and curriculum documents. The central question driving this study is: How does power operate in Canadian Catholic schools? Is it exercised from the top down solely, or are there instances of power rising up from the bottom as well? To answer this question, I draw upon the critical theories of Gramsci (1971), Althusser (1970/2008), Foucault (1975/1995), and Giroux (2001) in order to explain the phenomenon of “holy homophobia” in Canadian Catholic schools. The chief finding of this study is that contradictory Catholic doctrine on the topic of non-heterosexuality is directing school policy and practice regarding the management of sexual minority groups in Alberta and Ontario Catholic schools, positioning these schools as potential hotbeds for homophobia. Hopefully, this thesis can one day serve as a resource for anti-homophobia education researchers and practitioners, school administrators, educators and students who are interested in eliminating religiously-inspired homophobia in school settings.
Predictor Virtualization: Teaching Old Caches New Tricks
Keywords: predictor virtualization
hardware optimizations
processor caches

To improve application performance, current processors rely on prediction-based hardware optimizations, such as data prefetching and branch prediction. These hardware optimizations store application metadata in on-chip predictor tables and use the metadata to anticipate and optimize for future application behavior. As application footprints grow, the predictor tables need to scale for predictors to remain effective. One important challenge in processor design is to decide which hardware optimizations to implement and how much resources to dedicate to a specific optimization. Traditionally, processor architects employ a one-size-fits-all approach when designing predictor-based hardware optimizations: for each optimization, a fixed portion of the on-chip resources is allocated to the predictor storage. This approach often leads to sub-optimal designs where: 1) resources are wasted for applications that do not benefit from a particular predictor or require only small predictor tables, or 2) predictors under-perform for applications that need larger predictor tables that can not be built due to area-latency-power constraints. This thesis introduces Predictor Virtualization (PV), a framework that uses the traditional processor memory hierarchy to store application metadata used in speculative hardware optimizations. This allows to emulate large, more accurate predictor tables, which, in return, leads to higher application performance. PV exploits the current trend of unprecedentedly large on- chip secondary caches and allocates on demand a small portion of the cache capacity to store application metadata used in hardware optimizations, adjusting to the application’s need for predictor resources. As a consequence, PV is a pay-as-you-go technique that emulates large predictor tables without increasing the dedicated storage overhead. To demonstrate the benefits of virtualizing hardware predictors, we present virtualized designs for three different hardware optimizations: a state-of-the-art data prefetcher, conventional branch target buffers and an object-pointer prefetcher. While each of these hardware predictors exhibit different characteristics that lead to different virtualized designs, virtualization improves the cost-performance trade-off for all these optimizations. PV increases the utility of traditional processor caches: in addition to being accelerators for slow off-chip memories, on-chip caches are leveraged for increasing the effectiveness of predictor-based hardware optimizations.