VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Development of Vertical Post-tensioned Connection for Modular Steel Buildings
Keywords: Cyclic displacement experiments
Finite element model
Modular steel building
Numerical seismic analysis
Post-tensioned connection
SAP2000

The modular construction technique addressed in this thesis refers to the off-site fabrication of fully finished modules that are assembled on-site to form a larger, permanent building. The vertical connectivity between these modules is typically provided by either bolted or on-site welded connection. While the former interferes with the module’s finishing, the latter is time-consuming and cumbersome. Alternatively, the innovative vertical post-tensioned (PT) connection is composed of a threaded rod inserted in the hollow steel columns of the modules and anchored at the column’s ends and a steel box placed between consecutive columns. This research investigates the performance of the vertical PT connection – which does not interfere with finishing and eliminates on-site welding – as well as the typical vertical welded connection for modular steel buildings (MSBs) through experimental and numerical analyses. Ten quasi-static cyclic displacement tests were performed in full-scale subassemblies, and the main parameters of interest were lateral stiffness, relative rotation between columns, and failure mode. A finite element (FE) model was calibrated against experimental results and used to supplement the database. Both experimental and FE results indicated that the PT connection provides stiffness and strength similar to that of a typical welded connection up to 2% drift. Based on experimental and FE findings, a simplified connection model is developed and implemented in commercial design software, which enables system-level analyses of multi-story MSBs. The seismic performance of 6-story MSBs with the PT connection and with the typical welded connection was compared by means of pushover and nonlinear time-history analyses. Results from the pushover analysis indicated that the connection model suggested by the literature for the welded connection provides unrealistic results. Alternatively, the connection model for welded connections proposed herein provided a more realistic representation of the connection's behavior. Results from nonlinear time-history analyses revealed that the building with the PT connection exhibited reduced structural damage, roof acceleration, and story drifts while developing base shear comparable to that of the building with the welded connection. The findings of this research will hopefully support alternatives to typical vertical connections and shed light upon the dynamic performance of MSBs.
The Fin de siècle Cultural Watershed in Gabriele d’Annunzio’s Novels
Keywords: d'Annunzio
fin de siecle
il piacere
l'innocente
Modernism
trionfo della morte

In my dissertation, I analysed Gabriele d’Annunzio’s answer to the fin de siècle crisis from Terra vergine to the end of Romanzi della rosa (Il Piacere, L’Innocente, Trionfo della morte), including Giovanni Episcopo, which along with L’Innocente is an expression of the so-called Slavic phase. Analysing this diegetic trajectory, I enhanced the emerging narrative of modernist thematic threads, which in my opinion have always been neglected by Italian literary criticism. Following d’Annunzio’s prose from 1882 (Terra vergine) to 1894 (Trionfo della morte), I highlighted how the writer thematized the concept of modern subjectivity, ingrained in all his characters, included some in Terra vergine, unanimously considered the most Verghian style of his works. In my analysis, I shed a new light on the interpretation of d’Annunzio’s first novels, showing how they mark the beginning of the new literary era, as they anticipate Modernism. All his characters, in fact, are alienated and fragmented subjects, who become a specimen of the modernist type, the so-called inept at living, who embodies the epistemological crisis of the fin de siècle. Starting with Il Piacere, d’Annunzio’s novels hinge on the protagonists’ interiority, undermining the role of the traditional plot and featuring the subjectification of time, which is the main modernist feature in d’Annunzio’s work. Although on the surface some of these novels still abide by the deterministic logic inherent in events, time is conceived as an existential enviroment, based on the protagonists’ recollection of events rather than on the chronological sequence of facts. Another element of novelty is the theme of the doubles, most evident in L’Innocente, which creates an allocentric system for all the characters. Trionfo della Morte reaches a new level of time abstraction and psychological analysis. As ominously hinted in the title, the novel’s tragic ending deploys the triumph of Thànatos over the protagonist’s quest for a vital force to cling on. The end of the novel thus symbolizes the closure of a narrative cycle, started in Terra vergine with the death of Dalfino, the first Dannunzian character to rip the sky of the positivistic certainties and see a hint of a Pirandellian oltre.
Machine Learning Methods for Acceleration of Rare Genetic Disease Diagnosis
Keywords: biomedical ontologies
entitly linking
named entity recognition
non-invasive prenatal testing
PPI networks
protein function prediction

There exist more than 10,000 rare genetic diseases, which although individually have a relatively low prevalence, collectively impact the lives of hundreds of millions of people. The diagnosis process is usually difficult and slow, but an accurate and early diagnosis can be crucial for disease treatment and management. This thesis focuses on some of the important problems in this area and investigates whether using novel and more advanced machine learning methods can bring meaningful performance improvement that can eventually lead to better clinical outcomes. The first part of the thesis focuses on predicting undiscovered associations between disease phenotypes and proteins (as proxies for genes). The proposed approach utilizes the protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks and uses several novel machine learning techniques to improve the label propagation algorithm. These include a novel edge weight calibration component and a module for learning node importance weights, to regulate their network influence. Our experiments and ablation study show the effectiveness of these components. The second part addresses some of the important challenges on detection of phenotype mentions in clinical text, such as the scarcity of manually annotated training data, a resource that conventional general domain machine learning methods heavily depend on. The proposed method uses a neural network encoder, trained only on the names and synonyms from an ontology, while utilizing the concepts’ taxonomy when learning their embeddings. This was the first work to utilize the taxonomy for concept recognition in text, and our experiments show that it can significantly improve the performance. The last part focuses on some of the challenges in non-invasive prenatal detection of genomic variants, using the cell-free DNA circulating in the maternal plasma. In particular, this work focuses on detecting copy number variations (CNVs), which is more difficult than the clinically well-established task of detecting chromosomal aneuploidy. The proposed approach uses a maximum-likelihood estimation method to detect fetal CNVs, based on the difference between the size distribution of fetal and maternal DNA fragments. This was the first work to utilize this information for CNV prediction and our method could achieve promising experimental results.
The Nature of Science: Teachers’ Views and Pedagogies
Keywords: Nature of Science
science curriculum
science denial
science education
science pedagogy
scientific literacy

The purpose of this study is to explore how science teachers understand and teach the Nature of Science (NOS), which is an aspect of scientific literacy that can help address science denial in society. Qualitative data were collected from single interviews with twelve participants and single classroom observations with three of those participants. Participants spanning all grades were chosen from science teachers in the same school board who demonstrated their science understanding through a screening survey. Data showed that science teachers have a range of understanding of NOS, although they shared some general beliefs around concepts such as logic, evidence, and testability. Participant understanding diverged into science focused solely on understanding and explaining causes of scientific phenomena, perception of interrelations between science knowledge and society, and activism around socioscientific problems. Science teacher understanding of NOS had consequences on what they taught as science and pedagogies they employed to teach it. Findings of this research have long term implications for fighting science denial with education, a fight which has become critical for humanity’s surviving threats such as pandemics and climate change. Findings have immediate implications for curriculum and teacher education, recognizing that NOS needs to be made explicit in resources and expectations. Supports to overcome challenges teaching NOS are also described in this study.
Multidentate Phosphorus and Nitrogen Donor Chelating Ligands: Facile Synthesis and Base-metal Coordination Chemistry
Keywords: Ligands
Multidentate
Organometallic
Transition metal

Phosphorus and nitrogen chelating ligands have seen widespread use in transition metal coordination chemistry for decades. The utility of these donor ligands with a multitude of denticities has been proven on countless occasions from Nobel prize-winning chemistry to large scale industrial application, to novel transition metal complex synthesis. Herein are presented contributions to the facile synthesis of various multidentate phosphorus-nitrogen donor chelating ligands and their coordination chemistry and reactivity with base-metals. The ligands are synthesized via a one-pot reductive amination of primary amines with in situ generated α-phosphinoacetaldehydes. The coordination chemistry of synthesized tridentate ligands is explored with iron(II), cobalt(II), zinc(II), and rhodium(I). The coordination chemistry of tetradentate ligands is explored exclusively with iron(II). Finally, novel polydentate ligands are used to synthesize multimetallic complexes of iron(II), cobalt(II), and nickel(II).
Experimental Analysis of Competency-based Training for Paraprofessionals in Canadian Public Schools
Keywords: applied behaviour analysis
autism
behavioural skills training
competency-based
paraprofessional
registered behaviour technician

Behaviour analytic interventions are highly effective approaches for addressing the needs of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, despite its strong evidence base, applied behaviour analysis (ABA) is not commonly integrated into regular classrooms where a growing number of students receive instruction. In Canada, reliance on paraprofessionals to provide intervention, support, and direct instruction for students with ASD is widespread, yet paraprofessionals in public education report a lack of training to support students with challenging behaviour. Staff training in schools typically entails didactic workshops, producing brief behaviour change at best; in contrast, training using effective components such as modeling, role-play, and performance-based feedback produces positive gains. To prepare paraprofessionals to support students with behavioural needs, the current research utilized a randomized control design to examine the effectiveness of a competency-based program aligned with the BACB’s Registered Behaviour Technician (RBT) standards. Two training groups were offered in a single academic year and 30 paraprofessionals were randomly assigned to either Fall (treatment) or Winter (service as usual) groups. The paraprofessionals individually supported students with ASD, Grades K-3, with significant support requirements in language, socialization, and challenging behaviour. Data collection occurred across three time periods in the 10-month school year: baseline (Time 1); 4 months post-training (Time 2); and a 3-4-month follow-up for the treatment group only (Time 3). Classroom observations, structured interviews, and surveys were used to assess paraprofessional performance, student behaviour, and perceptions of student success and teamwork. Data were analyzed using a mixed ANOVA and revealed statistically significant group by time interaction effects (p < .05) for paraprofessional use of proactive and reactive strategies; student challenging behaviour; student cooperation with academic tasks; frequency of challenging routines; and paraprofessional ratings of student success. Probing of these interactions showed significant and substantial improvements for the treatment group, but not comparison group, from Time 1 to Time 2. Furthermore, a within-subjects ANOVA at Time 3 indicated maintenance of outcomes for all dependent variables for the treatment group. These findings provide strong support for the effectiveness and social acceptability of competency-based staff training models based on the principles of ABA in public schools.
Studies of the Higgs boson Properties in $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV $pp$ Collisions
Keywords: ATLAS
Higgs boson

The properties of the Higgs boson were studied using the proton-proton collisions delivered by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and collected using the ATLAS detector between 2015 and 2018. The work presented in this thesis focuses on the \htollll (where $\ell = \mu$ or $e$) decay channel, in which several properties of the Higgs boson were measured. Measurements of the Higgs boson coupling were carried out in the Simplified Template Cross Section (STXS) framework. The inclusive (expected) cross section was found to be $1.34 \pm 0.12$ pb ($1.33 \pm 0.08$ pb), with all major production and differential production mode cross sections found to be in good agreement with the Standard Model (SM). The distributions of the invariant mass of the lepton pairs and Higgs boson transverse momentum were reinterpreted using different assumptions to constrain beyond-the-SM contact interactions and the bottom and charm quark Yukawa coupling, with no deviations from the SM observed. The fully reconstructible final state and low background makes \htollll one of the best channels to measure the Higgs boson mass, which was found to be $124.92 \pm 0.19 \;\mathrm{ (stat.)}^{+0.09}_{-0.06} \; \mathrm{ (syst.)}$ GeV. The measurement used a novel approach to incorporate the event-by-event mass uncertainty. A statistical combination of all accessible Higgs boson decay channels to measure its coupling to SM particles was performed in the STXS framework, providing a comprehensive test of the SM. A combination of the $H \rightarrow b\bar{b}$ final states, using data collected between 2011 and 2017, resulted in observation of this decay with a significance of $5\sigma$. The precision of Higgs boson analyses relies on the reconstruction, identification, and calibration of particles in the detector. New techniques were introduced for the muon momentum calibration and improved precision Run 2 calibration constants were derived to reduce the leading systematic uncertainty in the \htollll mass measurement. To continue advancing the physics program at the LHC, the accelerator will be upgraded to the High Luminosity LHC. The ATLAS inner detector will be replaced by an all-silicon tracking detector (ITk). Irradiated silicon sensors were characterized to ensure end-of-lifetime performance requirements are met for the ITk.
Constellated Media: Serial Stars, Feminist Film Historiography, and Intermedial Hollywood
Keywords: Feminist Film Historiography
Historiography
Hollywood
Intermediality
Media History
Seriality

This dissertation explores mid-twentieth century serial intermediality in Hollywood through case studies focused on three stars: Mary Pickford, Dale Evans, and Pearl White. Looking beyond our fixed understanding of these women’s accomplishments in earlier eras, this project examines their later-career activities (or, in the case of Pearl White, how her persona resurfaced after her death) to argue that each star represented a locus of intermedial production beyond the screen. We can challenge media hierarchies that privilege the film object by broadening our understanding of the work associated with women in Hollywood after the institutionalization of sound in the 1920s. Looking to a variety of sources outside the film text, such as promotional materials, pressbooks, advertising, and autobiographical writings, and related media forms such as tie-in literature, comic strips, popular music, and television, I introduce the term “constellated media” to describe how these forms interrelate and become serialized. Through constellation, such entities come to constitute entire media universes outside (and within) the movie theatre. In so doing, I also introduce a novel historiographical approach to assessing these forms. Drawing upon Monica Dall’Asta and Jane M. Gaines’ theory of “constellating the past,” I turn to the wealth of feminist film historiography texts centered on “early” and “silent” cinema and read this scholarship beyond its specific periodization. Invoking a shared emphasis on contingency and media permeability provides impetus for exploring the underexamined possibilities within serial media and Hollywood cinema at the mid-century.
Structural and Functional Characterization of Strigolactone Perception and Hydrolysis, the Discovery of Inhibitors for Striga, and Insights into the Evolution of Parasitic Receptors
Keywords: Antagonist
Drug discovery
Molecular dynamics
Protein engineering
Striga
Structural biology

Striga spp. is the most destructive food crop parasite in the developing world. It invades its hosts by perceiving host-derived hormones called strigolactones (SLs). The receptors in charge of sensing SLs belong to a group of a/b hydrolases that not only recognize SLs but also hydrolyze them. To understand this perception-signalling mechanism at a molecular level, and prevent the parasite from invading a potential host, I generated structural information from its SL receptors and used this information to dissect function. Using this structural information in combination with in silico, in vitro and in vivo experiments, I designed a hybrid drug-discovery approach to find and optimize a group of antagonist molecules that can specifically bind and inactivate the parasitic receptors. Subsequently, I discovered dormirazine, a potent antagonist that reduces parasitic germination by 90%. Additionally, this compound helped us reveal parallels between the germination of parasitic and non-parasitic organisms. Also, I leveraged the first structure of a parasitic SL receptor bound to its ligand, in combination with targeted mutagenesis, to characterize the structural mechanisms that drive SL perception and hydrolysis, and typified the conformational changes required to promote protein signalling. I described the existence of a tunnel that could drive the release of SL hydrolysis by-products which possibly contribute to biological function using a push-over mechanism. Lastly, using a series of molecular dynamics simulations and biochemical experiments, I defined the importance of protein flexibility for substrate recognition and its influence on the evolution of parasitism. Collectively, my thesis projects apply a wide range of structural biochemistry techniques to dissect the molecular mechanisms behind the pernicious Striga and propose targeted solutions to control it with the ultimate goal of helping populations in need.
Design Principles Underlying Nearly-homeostatic Biological Networks
Keywords: near-homeostasis
perfect-adaptation

A nearly-homeostatic system is able to maintain the steady state system output within a narrow range, despite a wide range of environmental perturbations. Here, we present the inverse homeostasis perspective, a simple graphical approach to analyze nearly-homeostatic systems. To implement a nearly-homeostatic biological system without undertaking the difficult task of making precise parameter measurements, we use the inverse homeostasis perspective to determine the impact of each parameter on the system's homeostatic performance and to adjust experimentally-determined steady state response curves of key system components to attain desired characteristics. Furthermore, the inverse homeostasis perspective revealed a much stronger dependence of nearly-perfect integral controllers on the properties of the existing system being controlled, compared to perfect integral controllers' independence from the existing-system. The inverse homeostasis perspective combined with class Alpha and Beta homeostasis indicator near-kernels unify seemingly distinct mechanisms of near-homeostasis and should be able to predict such systems in new experimental settings.
How Depth of Social Learning Affects Post-flood Depth of Adaptation
Keywords: adaptation
multiple streams framework
policy change
political ecology
social learning

Extreme flooding events in Canada are increasing both in their frequency and repeated occurrence in the same geographical location. This dissertation examines the cases of Fort McMurray, AB and Fraser River Basin, BC to examine what influences social learning depth and how does this affect post-flood policy change in Canada. The research filled some notable gaps in the literature, including consideration of power in policy making, provided both theoretical and empirical research, contributed to the research on the limited adaptation and learning literature in Canada, and used the Multiple Streams Framework with a Political Ecology lens. Using Interpretive Analysis as a research approach, semi-structured interviews and document analysis were used, emphasizing the importance of local knowledge and framing. This research suggests that beliefs, collaboration and governance, resources, and politics are determinants to depth of social learning and impact depth of adaptation and policy change post-flood. Further, MSF can provide a means to explore complex cases and the use of PE can bring forward nuances of power that may be missing from the policy change literature. Findings suggest that there are nuances in these cases that can provide insight into improved future policy development.