VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Bimanual Grasping: An In-depth Examination of the Visual, Neural, and Motor Mechanisms
Keywords: action
bimanual
coordination
grasping
TMS

Action coordination is one of the fundamental motor skills that humans need to acquire for their successful interaction with the environment. To study action coordination, one effective model is bimanual grasping, where the two hands reach-to-grasp a single object. Bimanual grasping is a particularly suitable model because it involves coordinating the two arms and hands in space and time, and hence, it relies on a delicate interplay between hemispheric coordination and specialization. Learning about the underlying mechanism can help us understand how the brain uses different strategies to integrate its action computations. The focus of my thesis is to investigate the underlying mechanisms of bimanual grasping, which to date has been largely ignored. The objective is to examine bimanual grasping from 3 perspectives: First, I will examine bimanual grasp at the visual input level, and specifically its performance across visual fields, which would give us insight into its hemispheric specialization (Experiments 1 and 2). Second, I will investigate the visuomotor neural mechanisms underlying bimanual grasping (Experiments 3 – 5). Third, I will examine the motor coordination mechanisms (Experiment 6). In general, the results show that bimanual grasping is predominantly controlled by the right hemisphere, specifically by brain areas typically involved in unimanual grasping. These findings have medical significance because they could help develop new rehabilitation programs for patients with motor deficits after cortical or hand/arm damage.
The Secondary Schooling Transnational Nexus: Student and Educator Reflections Beyond and Within the Nation
Keywords: Greater Toronto Area
Immigration
Integration
Secondary Schooling
Social Class
Transnationalism

This dissertation qualitatively examines how Greater Toronto Area (GTA) secondary schools are responding to the ongoing ties (transnational connections) some students and their families maintain to their place(s) of origin. Interview participants comprised transnational recent graduates of GTA secondary schools and educators, encompassing both teachers and administrators. “Transnationalism” was defined in terms of both behavioural and attitudinal characteristics. Interviewees were located in the public and private school systems, and included migrants with and without papers. Social class was conceived of and explored as a critical and decisive mediating factor (as well as a lens for analysis) in experiences of transnationalism in the GTA. The data were organized to elucidate themes at the levels of individuals and families, schools and institutions, and in terms of policy implications. Key findings include: that when students travel to their sending societies for ongoing periods there are disconnections at school that some teachers consider a threat while others see as an opportunity; that as families are increasingly transnationally reconfigured and some students’ parents or family members travel continually to their home country there can be difficulties in supervision at home which have reverberations at school; and finally, that when there are ongoing direct contacts with the home country, including both travel and new modes of communication, this may create knowledge and vivid experiences for transnational youth, leading to more difficult adjustment problems in secondary schools than has been typical for immigrant youth in the past. As well, the data suggest that within the GTA, there is a tension between the extent to which schools can and should accommodate transnational students and their families, and the extent to which transnational students and families ought to assimilate to the pre-existing (but changeable) assumptions and requirements embedded within the secondary schooling system as it stands.
The Role of the Board of Trustees in Public Universities in China
Keywords: adaptive governance
board of trustees
Chinese higher education
civil society
stakeholder society
university governance

Inherited from the American tradition of lay boards and first introduced into the public higher education system in the 1920s, the board of trustees in Chinese public universities has, over time, played a changing role, from being an autonomous top governing body, to being manipulated by government officials, to being completely removed from institutional governance structures. After China adopted reform policies in the late 1970s, boards of trustees were reintroduced in some public universities. However, higher education regulations and ideological influences have given the board an ambiguous and elusive role, little known to those both outside and inside the university sector. This thesis investigates the role, function and structure of boards of trustees in Chinese public universities. By examining the policies and operations of these boards, the study aimed to identify whether and how these boards facilitate interaction between universities and their external stakeholders in the overall national context of adaptive institutional change. Following a qualitative approach, the study gathered data from document analysis, a national survey of 40 board secretariats, and semi-structured interviews with secretariat staff of 37 institutions. The study found that boards of trustees can be found in 84 public institutions. Predominantly composed of members from industry and government, the boards mainly serve as a medium for fundraising and a conduit for university–industry collaboration in teaching and research. The relationship between an institution and its board members is ostensibly interest-oriented and can even involve economic and personal gain. The board is essentially an advisory body, albeit its role in giving advice is very limited. The many challenges associated with board operation and functioning suggest that adaptive governance, which is characteristic of the Chinese party-state, has had both positive and negative impacts on the board. This thesis advances our understanding of the Chinese board through interlocking political, social, and educational dimensions.
Development of Animal Models to Study Idiosyncratic Drug-induced Liver Injury
Keywords: amodiaquine
drug-induced liver injury
idiosyncratic drug reaction
penicillamine

Idiosyncratic drug reactions (IDRs) represent a special problem because of their unpredictable nature and are a major reason for drug withdrawal. The objective of this research was to study the mechanism of DILI caused be amodiaquine (AQ) and D-penicillamine (D-pen). Amodiaquine (AQ) is associated with a relatively high incidence of idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury (IDILI) and agranulocytosis. In this study, treatment of rats with AQ resulted in a mild delayed-onset liver injury that resolved despite continued treatment with the drug. Immunohistochemistry indicated the presence of Kupffer cell activation, apoptosis, and hepatocyte proliferation in the liver. There was also an increase in serum IL-2, IL-5, IL-9, IL-12, MCP-1, and TGF-β, but a decrease in leptin. Co-treatment with cyclosporin prevented AQ-induced liver injury, while Poly I:C co-treatment caused an earlier increase in alanine aminotransferase (ALT), which suggested that AQ-induced liver injury is immune-mediated. Coincident with the elevated serum ALT, liver CD4+ T cells, IL-17 secreting cells, and Th17/Treg cells were increased at week 3 and decreased during continued treatment. An increase in CD161+ cells and activated M2 macrophages were also observed during the liver injury. These results suggest that the outcome of the liver injury is determined by a balance between effector cells and regulatory cells. Similar results were also observed in AQ-treated C57BL/6 mice. Covalent binding of AQ was detected in the liver, and although AQ forms a glutathione conjugate, depletion of glutathione did not increase covalent binding and paradoxically prevented AQ-induced liver injury. Retinoic acid (RA), which has been reported to enhance natural killer (NK) cell activity, exacerbated AQ-induced liver injury. These characteristics indicate that we have established a rat model of AQ-induced liver injury that mimics mild AQ-induced liver injury in humans. The results suggest that AQ-induced IDILI is immune mediated, and the subsequent adaptation appears to represent immune-tolerance.
Rethinking Disarmament: The Role of Weapons in the Resolution of Internal Armed Conflicts
Keywords: credible committments
disarmament
domestic security dilemma
peacekeeping
spoilers

Since the end of Cold War there has been an increase in the number internal conflicts and with it a corresponding rise in the number of third party interventions. Third parties, motivated by humanitarian concerns and spillover effects, have sought to create stable conditions for the termination of internal conflicts and the reconstruction of shattered societies. The disarmament of combatants has emerged as a leading practice. Disarmament is based on the arrestingly simple logic that the elimination of weapons removes the means by which combatants fight, thereby forcing them to commit to peace. Despite this emergent practice, however, belligerents consistently retain, and, in some cases, acquire weapons, even after signing peace agreements. Proponents of disarmament tend to view the retention of weapons as evidence of spoiling, yet disarmament leaves actors with little recourse in the likely event that a peace process collapses and conflict resumes. I argue that actors often retain weapons because the risk of violent reversal remains high even after the signing of a peace agreement. In the likely event of the breakdown of peace, weapons can be used to help ensure survival of those who retain them. This research explores the role of weapons and disarmament in internal conflicts with reference to both historical (the American War of Independence) and contemporary examples (Israel-Palestine and El Salvador). Though not all are examples of successful peacemaking, weapons played a productive role not only securing combatants, but also by allowing them to make more credible commitments and take greater risks associated with peace. This research reveals a paradox: while weapons provide belligerents with much-needed insurance, allowing them to take risks associated with peacemaking, retaining weapons appears to magnify the likelihood that an agreement will fail. Nevertheless, belligerents have at their disposal various ways to overcome this problem. I conclude by discussing the ways in which third parties may better support such initiatives.
Nondestructive Evaluation of Pre-stressed Concrete Cylinder Pipe by Resonance Acoustic Spectroscopy: Theoretical and Modelling Considerations
Keywords: Multilayered Cylinders
Nondestructive Evaluation
Pre-stressed Concrete Cylinder Pipe
Resonance Acoustic Spectroscopy

The theoretical basis for adapting the technique of resonance acoustic spectroscopy (RAS) for the purposes of inspecting buried, in-service water mains composed of prestressed concrete cylinder pipe (PCCP, lined-type) is presented in this thesis. The proposed nondestructive evaluation (NDE) technique is sensitive to degradation of the outermost layer (a protective mortar coating) of PCCP which occurs over only part of the pipe’s circumference. The frequency spectrum of healthy pipes is evaluated through a sequence of experimental measurements and finite element modelling studies (modal analyses). Several simplifying assumptions about the vibratory response of PCCP are gleaned from the modal analysis of healthy pipes, facilitating the development of a model of buried, water filled sections of pipe subject to varying degrees of damage. The model treats the pipe as a multilayered cylinder in plane strain condition and is solved via a transfer matrix (T-Matrix) method which has been extended by the author to accommodate non-axisymmetric elastic parameters (to represent pipe damage) and coupling to media external to the pipe (to represent coupling to soil and water). The model is then used to assess the effects of coupling to the surrounding soil, as well as the effects of increasing levels of mortar damage. From the results of these investigations, a novel damage metric called the asymmetry index is defined. This metric is appropriate for assessing damage to the protective mortar coating, and is based on the splitting of degenerate flexural modes which occurs when the axial symmetry of a pipe section is perturbed. Finally, a procedure for collecting and processing the resonant spectra from pipes in the field is presented. This procedure allows for the asymmetry indices associated with different vibrational modes to be computed at various axial locations along the pipeline thus providing a map of mortar damage along the water main. The primary advantage of the proposed technique is that it does not require precise knowledge of the pipe’s dimensions or elastic parameters. In addition, the technique is applicable for any type of surrounding soil.
Sweepouts of Riemannian Surfaces
Keywords: geodesic
Riemannian geometry
sweepout
width

We consider a problem of subdividing and sweeping out Riemannian 2-surfaces by short curves and cycles. We prove that for every Riemannian 2-disc or 2-sphere M there exists a sweepout of M by based loops whose length is bounded in terms of area, diameter and boundary length of M. We provide nearly optimal bounds for the lengths of curves in a sweepout and use it to obtain curvature-free upper bounds for lengths of simple closed geodesics on a 2-sphere. This is a joint work with A. Nabutovsky and R. Rotman. In the third chapter we construct a sequence of metrics on a closed surface M, such that M has small diameter, but the maximal length of a curve or 1-cycle in an optimal sweepout of M is arbitrarily large. In the fourth chapter we show that every Riemannian surface M diffeomorphic to a sphere with k ≥ 0 holes admits a Morse function whose fibers are bounded by 52√Area(M)+length(∂M). We also show that on every 2-sphere there exists a simple closed curve of length ≤ 26√Area(S2) subdividing the sphere into two discs of area ≥ 1/3Area(S2) . In the fifth chapter we consider a problem of sweeping out a closed surface M by high parametric families of short 1-cycles. We construct a family of 1-cycles with Z2 coefficients on M that represents a non-trivial element of the k'th homology group of the space of cycles and such that the mass of each cycle is bounded above by Cmax{√ k,√g}√Area(M). This result is optimal up to a multiplicative constant. In the last chapter we show that if there exists a sweepout of a Riemannian 2-sphere M by curves of length less than L then it is possible to construct a slicing of M by simple curves which do not intersect and such that their length is also bounded by L. This is a joint work with Gregory R. Chambers.
Confidence Men: The Mediterranean Double-cross System, 1941-45
Keywords: Counter-intelligence
Double Agents
Espionage
Military Deception
Security

This dissertation provides an analysis of the Mediterranean double-cross system of the Second World War, which was composed of a number of double agents who were turned by the Allies and operated against their ostensible German spymasters. Utilizing many freshly released archival materials, this study assesses how the double-cross system was constructed, why it was an effective instrument, and how it contributed to Allied success in two areas: security and counter-intelligence, and military deception. The focus is thus on both organization and operations. The chapters cover three chronological periods. In the first — 1941-42 — the initial operational usage of a double agent is assessed, along with the development of early organizational structures to manage and operate individual cases as components of a team of spies. The second section, covering 1943, assesses three issues: major organizational innovations made early that year; the subsequent use of the double agent system to deceive the Germans regarding the planned invasion of Sicily in July; and the ongoing effort to utilize double agents to ensure a stable security and counter-intelligence environment in the Mediterranean theatre. The third and final section analyzes events in 1944, with a focus on double-cross deception in Italy and France, and on the emergence of more systematic security and counter-intelligence double-cross operations in Italy and the Middle East. The dissertation demonstrates both the strengths and weaknesses of this double agent network, and its contribution to Allied success in the Mediterranean. It also establishes the double-cross system’s position as an integral component of the larger Allied intelligence victory in the Second World War, by analyzing its relationship with cryptanalysis, with the broader intelligence imperatives of MI5 and MI6, and with the German intelligence officers who were essential, if unwitting, collaborators in the system which allowed the Allies to control a substantial segment of the German spy network in the Mediterranean.
Stochastic Analysis of Cooperative MIMO Techniques for Downlink Interference Mitigation in Wireless Cellular Networks
Keywords: Large-Scale MIMO
Network MIMO
Stochastic Analysis
Wireless communications

Interference is one of the key factors limiting the performance of wireless cellular networks with dense base-station (BS) deployments. This thesis studies two prominent techniques for interference mitigation and improving data rates of cellular networks referred to as: (1) network multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) and (2) large-scale MIMO (LS-MIMO). The primary objective is to analyze the benefits and limitations of these two schemes in the downlink of a cellular system that comprises multiple-antenna BSs and single-antenna users, adopts zero-forcing beamforming, and employs equal power allocation. There are three parts to this thesis. The first part develops an analytical tool to study the cooperation gain of network MIMO systems with disjoint clusters. It is shown that network MIMO has two major limitations. First, due to the need to perform zero-forcing from a distributed set of BSs, a network MIMO system introduces a penalty in terms of the received signal power. Further, users located closer to the cluster boundaries are prone to significant interference, which considerably constrains system performance. The next two parts of this thesis propose solutions for these limitations. The second part shows that the signal power penalty can be mitigated if the LS-MIMO technique is adopted for interference mitigation. In particular, we prove that an LS-MIMO system is superior to a comparable network MIMO system for a wide range of utility functions. In the final part of this thesis, an alternative BS clustering termed as user-centric clustering is considered. Under this clustering strategy, BS clusters are formed for each user independently. Consequently, cluster boundaries no longer exist. We quantify the performance of an LS-MIMO system with user-centric clustering, and explore different avenues in which such a clustering scheme brings significant performance gains. Further, the tradeoff among providing sum-rate multiplexing, diversity, and interference cancellation in such a system is studied. It is shown that a close-to-optimal strategy for maximizing the per-BS ergodic sum rate is to use none of the spatial resources for interference cancellation, while selecting the number of users to schedule and diversity order per user properly.
Time-lapse Ultrasonic Imaging of Elastic Anisotropy in Saturated Sandstone under Polyaxial Stress State
Keywords: Acoustic Emission Monitoring
Anisotropy
Laboratory Rock Mechanics
Tomography
True Triaxial Test

Although true-triaxial test (TTT) of rocks is now more extensive worldwide, stress-induced heterogeneity is not accounted for and usually simplified anisotropic models are used. Data from a TTT on a cubic sample of Fontainebleau sandstone is used in this study to evaluate our velocity imaging methodology. An anisotropic P wave velocity tomography method was developed using a geometrical approach based on an ellipsoidal P wavefront surface. During the two non-damaging phases of the experiment, saturation of the rock sample with water resulted in inaccurate tomographic images; however, during the final elasto-plastic phase of the experiment comprising major AE activities, tomographic images demonstrated reasonable anomalies. Thus, the P-S1-S2 velocity survey was utilized to obtain an accurate and reliable velocity image of the sample during the two non-damaging phases. This was accomplished using a numerical investigation by FLAC3D on the non-uniform distribution of stress over the sample to estimate the compaction pseudo-boundary surfaces within the rock. Thus, the problem of breakdown in the expected symmetry of shear wave velocities was resolved. It was discovered that a homogeneous anisotropic core in the center of the sample is formed under the standard polyaxial setup where elastic parameters could be computed. Off-diagonal elastic tensor parameters were obtained by a combination of various velocity survey data and justified the ellipsoidal model as being the most appropriate and facilitated the calculation of Thomsen parameters. The ellipsoidal heterogeneous velocity model was also verified by AE event location of transducer shots through the cubic rock specimen especially at the final phase of the experiment consisting lower-velocity zones bearing partially saturated fractures. AE of the rock during the whole experiment recorded by the surrounding transducers were investigated by location methods developed for anisotropic heterogeneous medium. AE events occurred in the vicinity of the dilation pseudo-boundaries where, a relatively large velocity gradient was formed and along parallel fractures in the σ1/σ2 plane. This research facilitated the computation of anisotropic parameters for rock during polyaxial tests contributing to enhanced AE interpretation of fracture growth processes in the rock under laboratory true-triaxial stress conditions.