VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Development and Evaluation of a Sensor System to Monitor the Stance-Phase Control Function of the Automatic Stance-Phase Lock (ASPL) Mechanism

The Automatic Stance-Phase Lock is the novel stance-phase control mechanism employed by the All-Terrain Knee. Gait analysis tools are often limited to controlled environments and cannot directly monitor the ASPL. The objective of this project was to design and test a sensor system to measure ASPL function and to begin to explore the effects of relevant alignment, terrain, and mobility conditions on its performance. The results of this study indicate that the developed system is sensitive to knee lock position changes, knee extension and flexion, and gait events. Data collected by the system confirms the fundamental relationships between applied moments and knee lock engagement which define ASPL stance-phase control. Measurable differences in ASPL function allude to its responsiveness to variable gait conditions. The developed system has the proven potential for use in larger biomechanical and clinical studies to inform All-Terrain Knee design iterations and optimize patient-specific prosthetic alignment and set-up.

Keywords: Alignment
Prosthetics
Sensor
Transfemoral amputation
Advisor: Andrysek, Jan
Effects of an Upstream Triangular Plate on the Wing-body Junction Flow

The use of a short triangular leading-edge plate at the base of a wing-body junction is experimentally evaluated as a passive control method to mitigate horseshoe vortices. The impact of the plate geometry on the efficacy of the control is assessed by considering triangular plates that vary in length and thickness. The wing model is a NACA 0020 airfoil. The Reynolds number based on the chord length is varied from Rec = 25;000 to 75;000. The incoming boundary layer is laminar. Particle Image Velocimetry is utilized to characterize the temporal behavior and circulation strength of horseshoe vortices. All the triangular plates considered are found to decrease the circulation strength of the horseshoe vortices in the plane of symmetry by varying degrees compared to the uncontrolled configuration. Among the plates considered in this study, the results show that the longer and thinner the plate, the better the vortex mitigation. Overall, the proposed method provides an effective way to mitigate horseshoe vortices at wing-body junctions.

Keywords: horseshoe vortices
junction flow
laminar boundary layer
vortex identification
wing-body
Advisor: Ekmekci, Alis
Preliminary Investigation of Ferrate for Drinking Water Treatment: Mussel Control and Synergy with Powdered Activated Carbon

Ferrate has been observed under experimental conditions to be a potentially effective drinking water treatment chemical, serving as an oxidant, coagulant, and disinfectant. Although studies have ascertained ferrateâ s potential to remove substances like bacteria, viruses, and organic matter, there is limited research for its use in mussel control and its synergy with other treatment methods. This research first explored ferrateâ s ability to control dreissenids. Preliminary results from acute toxicity testing suggested that ferrate could be an effective alternative to chlorine in the inactivation of quagga and zebra mussel veligers. Additionally, veliger settlement tests showed similar performance between ferrate and chlorine. This work, however, was limited in scope, and would require future investigation. The research also explored the hypothesis that ferrate could enhance or inhibit the adsorption of geosmin by powdered activated carbon, through a series of jar tests. Overall, there was little observed impact of ferrate.

Keywords: Dreissena
Ferrate
Geosmin
Powdered activated carbon
taste and odour compounds
Veligers
Advisor: Hofmann, Ron
Fetal Hemodynamics and Brain Development in Late Onset Intrauterine Growth Restriction

Late-onset intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) results from placental insufficiency. It has an adverse impact on brain development. However, the relationships between placental function, fetal hemodynamics and cerebral maturation in human IUGR are poorly understood. This thesis describes our findings using MRI technology in late-onset IUGR. We measured key hemodynamic parameters and compared them with indices of brain development in neonates following late-onset IUGR. MRI revealed the expected adaptive responses to hypoxia in IUGR fetuses. MRI parameters including flow in the superior vena cava and oxygen delivery could be useful markers of late-onset IUGR. We also observed reduced cerebral oxygen delivery in IUGR fetuses, which could be associated with reduced brain growth and delayed white matter development. Preliminary data indicated that IUGR was impacting subsequent neurodevelopmental outcomes. Our finding would suggest that MRI could provide useful adjunct to current monitoring and help define the optimal timing of delivery of late-onset IUGR.

Keywords: brain development
circulation
growth restriction
IUGR
MRI
Advisor: Seed, Mike
Analysis, Design and Implementation of Ecological Group View Displays in a Nuclear Control Room Setting

This thesis presents the analysis, design and implementation of a set of novel displays for a nuclear power plant control room. These displays were subsequently used in a successful simulator study, which investigated alternative configurations and content for shared, Group View Displays. A Cognitive Work Analysis was performed, that focused on a flexible Work Domain Analysis and resulted in a set of information requirements. Based on this analysis a set of new displays were developed using Ecological Interface Design principles. Finally, these designs were implemented and tested in proprietary software used in current control rooms. This work effectively demonstrates the potential for future display improvement, and shows that implementing more advanced forms is feasible with existing software.

Keywords: Cognitive Work Analysis
Control Room Design
Ecological Interface Design
Group View Displays
Nuclear
Advisor: Jamieson, Greg
Automatic Computer Aided Diagnosis of Breast Cancer in Dynamic Contrast Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Images

Automated Computer Aided Diagnosis (CADx) systems have the potential to improve the diagnostic accuracy of radiologists. Most CADx algorithms use features generated from outlined regions to differentiate between benign and malignant lesions. Manually outlining these regions for the purpose of analysis is not viable and therefore an automated segmentation method is essential. Our proposed method uses a trained deep Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to classify overlapping tiles in breast Dynamic Contrast Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DCE-MRI) images as lesion or non-lesion. The classified tiles are then grouped into regions. Additional morphological, kinetic and textural features are computed for each detected region. A cascaded Random Forests Classifier (RFC) classifies the regions as malignant or benign. Our method was tested on a dataset containing 71 malignant, 140 benign, and 316 normal studies. Free-response Receiver Operating Characteristic (FROC) analysis of our method shows 94.4% sensitivity at 0.12 false positive detections per normal study.

Keywords: Breast Cancer
CAD
Neural Networks
Segmentation
Advisor: Martel, Anne
Design, Development and Evaluation of an mHealth Application to Improve Adolescent Sleep Behaviour

Studies show most adolescents average 7.2 hours of sleep per night, compared to the recommended average of 9 hours per night. Currently, smartphone applications do not exist that are targeted towards adolescents and use goal-setting behaviours to improve sleep habits. Using the user centered design approach and features driven by behaviour change mechanisms, the application SOMNI was developed to be used with a Bluetooth enabled wearable activity tracker. The usability results (n=8) indicated that user satisfaction was high. The feasibility study (n=9) demonstrated the acceptability and feasibility of the application in a user's natural environment. Compared to actigraphy, the wearable activity tracker showed an accuracy of 96%, a sensitivity of 99%, and a specificity of 27%. On average, the activity tracker overestimated the actigraph device for sleep efficiency by 1.17% and total sleep time by 5.35 minutes. Results of the feasibility study highlighted areas for improvement and future work.

Keywords: adolescent sleep
behaviour change theory
mHealth
usability testing
wearables
Advisor: Cafazzo, Joseph
From Kilns to Markets: Re-examinations and Re-interpretations on Cizhou-Ware Pillows of Song-Jin Dynasties (10th-13th Centuries), China

This essay is premised on observations and examinations into the pillow collection housed at the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto), aiming to trace the technological refinements and decorative features embodied within the incised- and ink-painted- Cizhou-ware pillows manufactured during the Song and Jin eras. Cross-referenced with similar pillows from other museum collections and publications, the analyses, which have been targeted at the production processes and technological advancement that Cizhou-ware pillow firing had involved, have attempted to re-interpret the ceramic pillows fired at folk kilns bridged by artisans as the agent from the perspective of commercial commodities. Thus, such dynamic exploration would have the ceramic pillowsâ marketing characteristics been re-examined in the closer association with the remarkable urbanization, exceeding population growth and the prosperous urban cultural enrichment, being concomitant with the enormous commercialization from the 11th to the 14th centuries.

Keywords: Cizhou-ware pillows
marketplace
production
technology
Advisor: Shen, Chen
A Uracil Transport Metabolon in E. coli: Interaction between the Membrane Transporter UraA and the Cytosolic Enzyme UPRT

The uracil-H+ symporter UraA and the uracil phosphoribosyltransferase UPRT are both encoded on the ura operon in E. coli, creating genetic and functional link between uracil import and its metabolism. Previous studies have determined the crystal structures of UraA and UPRT. However, it is unclear whether a physical interaction exists between UraA and UPRT. Such direct contact would allow channelling of the substrate uracil from the transporter UraA directly to the active site of UPRT, thereby creating a uracil transport metabolon. This study provides evidence for the physical interaction between UraA and UPRT. Manual docking of the two proteins demonstrates that the shape and charges on the potential interacting surfaces complement each other. Various biochemical techniques were used to test for a physical interaction between UraA and UPRT, including a pull-down assay, an electrophoretic mobility shift assay, a liposome floatation assay and bio-layer interferometry. A low-affinity and ionic strength-dependent interaction between UraA and UPRT was detected.

Advisor: Reithmeier, Reinhart A.F.
Moraes, Trevor F.
Social Development, Peacebuilding and Democratization through Community-based Sport: Perspectives of Global South Facilitators in Rural Namibia and South Africa

Sport can be an important tool to facilitate learning for transformative social development, as a catalyst for development and peace in post-conflict contexts. This research involves semi-structured interviews regarding the first-hand accounts and perspectives, in relation to facilitation of sport activities for social development, of local volunteer trained facilitators, working in two sport for development and peace projects in South Africa and Namibia. A review of theory and research literature on democratic citizenship and peacebuilding provides a context for hearing and understanding the facilitatorsâ voices. This thesis shows what selected facilitators experienced and learned through participation in these community based projects, and situates their perspectives on how their sport for development and peace projects facilitated global and local belonging, democratic citizenship engagement, and peacebuilding. These counternarratives based on lived experience contribute to critical anti-colonial approaches to understanding sport for development and peace in rural Southern Africa.

Keywords: Citizenship
Community Development
Democratization
Peacebuilding
Sport for Development and Peace
Sub Saharan Africa
Advisor: Bickmore, Kathy
Diagnostics in Software-defined Infrastructure on the SAVI testbed

With the increasing complexity of data center networks, the operations, management and diagnosis of data centers is a critical problem. The need of a self-managing, self-configuring, and self-optimizing network is crucial which is known as Autonomic Networking concept. In this thesis, we propose an autonomic Diagnostics framework in Software-Defined Infrastructure running in the SAVI testbed. We have analyzed and discussed various design requirements and open challenges in literature. We have leveraged Graph Mining and Machine Learning techniques in our approach in order to detect different kinds of anomalies. We have studied different algorithm performance under different settings for detecting anomalies. We have tested our framework on several use cases: Standalone Webserver, Standalone Database, Webserver-Database workload pattern, bandwidth throttling between a pair of VMs, denial-of-service attack on a Webserver and Spark Job failure. Our framework was able to detect the aforementioned anomalies accurately.

Advisor: Leon-Garcia, Alberto
Hardware-based Linear Program Decoding with the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers

This thesis is concerned with the hardware implementation of Linear Program (LP) decoding for Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) codes. Until recently, LDPC codes have been decoded exclusively by means of graphical inference using belief propagation (BP). LP decoding frames the decoding problem in the language of convex optimization, resulting in several advantages over graphical inference techniques: better performance in certain applications, convergence guarantees, and an ability to incorporate advances in optimization theory. However, LP decoding is not currently used in practice as it is unclear whether or not a hardware-based implementation is possible. Recent LP decoding decomposition efforts, using the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM), make such an implementation possible. This work expands upon the ADMM decomposition of LP decoding, and a hardware-based LP decoder is implemented. This implementation shows that hardware-based LP decoding with error-rate performance within 0.5dB of double-precision BP and LP decoding is possible using 10-bit messages.

Keywords: Code
Correcting
Error
Graph
Inference
Optimization
Advisor: Draper, Stark C
Needs and Preferences of Technology among Chinese Family Caregivers of Persons with Dementia: A Pilot Study

The purpose of this study was to examine the technology needs and preferences of Chinese family caregivers of PWDs with a sex and gender lens in Canada. A survey was distributed to Chinese family caregivers of PWDs was conducted. Frequency distributions, Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test and multiple regression analyses were performed. The majority of the respondents did not demonstrate knowledge about technology for caregiving. Overall, respondents demonstrated a positive attitude towards the use of technology during caregiving. Ease of installation and reliability were identified as the most important features when installing and using technology respectively. Controlling for age, female respondents were significantly more receptive of technology compared to males. Our findings suggest a need to increase awareness of technology options to assist caregiving in this ethnic population. They provide insight for future development and marketing of technological innovations that will better align with the needs and preferences of caregivers.

Keywords: Chinese
Dementia
Family Caregiving
Sex and Gender
Technology
Advisor: Colantonio, Angela
"Management is About Coping with Complexity": Concerns of Ontario Pharmacists Regarding Management of the Process of Adapting to Changes in the Scope of Pharmacy Practice

Increasing evidence suggests that community pharmacists in Ontario are underutilized health care professionals, especially with respect to medication management and prescribing for patients (Pojskic, McKeigan, Boon Austin, 2014). In December 2009, Ontarioâ s provincial government expanded the scope of pharmacy practice (Ontario Pharmacists Association [OPA], 2014b) to improve access to health care for Ontarians (Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, 2015). Subsequently, pharmacists have been called upon by professional organizations to adopt a patient-centered role. However, many pharmacists in Ontario are encountering challenges to fully adopting the new scope of practice. Using Kotterâ s (1995; Kotter Cohen, 2002) framework of change management, this research aims to identify and describe enablers of and barriers to the process of change in community practice. The findings of this research can further support leaders (regulators, academics, employers, etc.) in the profession to support pharmacists through the change process.

Keywords: change management
community pharmacy
health care management
patient centered practice
pharmacy practice
professional culture
Advisor: Austin, Zubin
A Fast Metal Layer Elimination Approach for Power Grid Reduction in Integrated Circuits

Simulation and verification of the on-die power delivery network (PDN) is one of the key steps in the design of integrated circuits. With the very large sizes of modern grids, verification of PDNs has become very expensive and a host of techniques for grid model approximation have been proposed. These include topological node elimination and full-blown numerical model order reduction (MOR). However, both of these traditional approaches suffer from drawbacks that limit their scalability to very large grids. In this thesis, we propose a novel technique for grid reduction that is a hybrid of both approaches -- the method is numerical but also factors in grid topology. It works by eliminating whole internal layers of the grid at a time, while aiming to preserve the dynamic behavior of the grid. Effectively, instead of traditional node-by-node topological elimination we provide a numerical layer-by-layer block-matrix approach that is both fast and accurate.

Keywords: Graph Sparsification
Integrated Circuits
Model Order Reduction
Power Grid
Advisor: Najm, Farid N
Impact of Wind Forecast Errors with Optimal and Suboptimal Generation Redispatch Policies

With increasing environmental concerns and the development of technology, installation of variable generation---wind turbine generators (WTGs) especially---has been increasing dramatically in the past decades. Uncertainty in variable generation accumulates, contributing to the complexity of both operations (such as generation redispatch) and planning of the system. There already exist a variety of optimization methods in the literature emphasizing dispatch among multiple areas, such as fixed participation factor, whereas little has been discussed to regulate generation utilizing detailed generation data within each area. This thesis presents a comparison of three different generation redispatch policies and their impacts on line flows and transmission usage in response to wind forecast errors. The three policies are the participation factor policy, the affine response policy and the bilevel programming (BLP) policy. The policies are tested on multiple systems to illustrate more active network monitoring and control.

Advisor: Tate, Joseph E
Pharmacological Inhibition of the G9a/GLP Histone Methyltransferase and Anxiety-related Behaviour in the Mouse

Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent category of psychiatric diagnosis and are one of the leading causes of disability in developed countries. Several existing antidepressants with anti-anxiety properties have been shown to downregulate G9a, a methyltransferase that methylates lysine 9 of histone H3 (H3K9). Histone methylation regulates epigenetic responses to environmental stress. Thus we sought to investigate the role of G9a/GLP in regulating anxiety behaviour during adulthood and neurodevelopment. C57BL/6 mice were treated with G9a/GLP inhibitors, UNC0642 and A-366, at doses of 1mg/kg, 2mg/kg or 4mg/kg. In adult mice, both drugs decreased anxiety-related behaviours. Inhibition of G9a/GLP in utero increased anxiety-like behaviours and decreased social interaction in adulthood. These findings suggest that G9a/GLP inhibition has the potential to alleviate anxiety symptoms and could be pursued as a novel anti-anxiety drug target. Our data also provide evidence that epigenetic mechanisms can contribute to the development of anxiety disorders.

Keywords: A-366
Anxiety
Epigenetic
G9a/GLP
UNC0642
Advisor: Wong, Albert HC
Effects of n-Propylbenzene Addition on Soot Formation in an n-Dodecane Laminar Coflow Diffusion Flame

The first part of this thesis addresses the validation of combined laser extinction and two-angle elastic laser scattering diagnostics for soot characterization. The results from three measurement heights (30, 40, 50 mm) of a non-smoking ethylene-air laminar coflow diffusion flame were found to agree well with those from the literatures. The second part of this thesis applies the optical diagnostics mentioned above to investigate the effects of n-propylbenzene addition on soot formation in an n-dodecane laminar coflow diffusion flame. All of the tested flames had similar temperature profiles. Soot volume fraction was found to increase at all flame heights as the mole fraction of n-propylbenzene increases. Along the centerline, the increase of the soot formation was mainly caused by the combined effect of higher soot inception rate and surface growth rate, while along the wing, the higher soot formation was mainly because of the higher surface growth rate.

Keywords: Laminar diffusion flame
n-Dodecane
n-Propylbenzene
Soot
Advisor: Thomson, Murray
Expression and Structural Studies of Nucleic Acid Binding Cytidine Deaminases

Activation Induced Deaminase (AID) and the APOBEC3 proteins are nucleic acid cytidine deaminases (CDs) which play critical roles the immune system. These proteins bind both single-stranded -DNA (ssDNA) and -RNA (ssRNA) and catalyze deamination of ssDNA cytidines, the mechanisms mediating said binding events are poorly understood and their study has proven troublesome due to the difficulty of working with these proteins. Due to a lack of success in using AID in biochemical and structural analyses we turned to another CD, the Brassica oleacra var. capitate cytidine deaminase putative tRNA CD (BOCD). BOCD was selected due to predicted structural homology to other nucleic acid binding CDs and its immune functioning. I have determined the structure of BOCD crystallographically and analyzed it against other CD structures. BOCD will be useful for studying nucleic acid interactions of CDs and may be useful for engineering of more soluble nucleic acid CDs.

Keywords: Crystallography
Deaminase
Protein Structure
Advisor: Lee, Jeffrey E
Identifying Novel Genetic Causes of Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia

Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a disease that affects the function of respiratory cilia that helps protect against airway infections. Diagnosis is difficult with current methods but genetic testing may expedite the process since PCD is hereditary, however the etiology of 30% of cases remains unknown. To identify more causes of PCD, whole exome sequencing was performed on patients identifying Spindly (spdl1) as a candidate. Analysis using zebrafish indicate spdl1 is expressed in motile ciliated tissues. Spdl1 deficiency results in embryos with ventral curvatures indicating cilia dysfunction. The defects can be rescued with 100pg of WT RNA but not RNA containing one of the mutations identified. Cilia orientation and range of motion was unaffected but motile cilia length was significantly increased in mutant neural tube floorplate (p

Keywords: cilia
PCD
spdl1
zebrafish
Advisor: Ciruna, Brian