VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Application of Mobile Phone-based ECG, Heart-rate and Physical Activity Monitor for Heart Failure Management

Heart failure (HF) is the main cause of mortality in North America and it has a significant social and economic cost. As recent studies indicate, there is a relationship between heart rate at discharge time and mortality and hospitalization in patients with HF. Hence, heart rate could be monitored as another clinical indicator in HF patients transitioning from hospital to ambulatory care. Current heart rate monitors mostly have one of the following issues: 1) they are used in clinical setting and lack the user-friendly interface for a continuous monitoring system, 2) or designed to be used as wellness devices and not validated against clinical gold standard systems. This work describes the design, development and evaluation of a wearable heart rate and ECG monitoring system called BeatHR that allows patients to monitor heart rate in an ambulatory setting. BeatHR is able to capture and stream ECG signal and heart rate values in real-time via using a chest patch and a smartphone application. It also allows the user and their clinician to review the heart rate values above a pre-defined threshold, which could be defined based on the user's condition. The BeatHR system was compared to a clinically accepted gold standard, Holter monitor, and was found to generate comparable result overall with Intra-class correlation coefficients as high as 0.954.

Keywords: Heart failure
Heart rate monitor
Smartphone Application
Wireless Wearable
Advisor: Cafazzo, Joseph A.
Synthesizable FPGA Fabrics

With increasing effort required for custom layout in deep-submicron technologies, we consider implementing field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) using standard cells. First, we extend the open-source Verilog-to-Routing (VTR) FPGA architecture evaluation framework to generate synthesizable Verilog for its architectural device model. Verilog can then be synthesized into standard cells, placed and routed using application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design tools. A second extension to VTR generates a configuration bitstream, used to configure the FPGA with user's circuit. The proposed framework and methodology opens the door to silicon implementation of a wide range of VTR-modelled FPGA fabrics. In an experimental study, several FPGA implementations synthesized in 65nm TSMC standard cells are compared with a 65nm Altera commercial FPGA. Finally, we consider augmenting the generic standard-cell library from TSMC with a manually designed and laid-out FPGA-specific cell. We demonstrate the utility of the custom cell in reducing the area of the synthesized FPGA fabric.

Keywords: ASIC
FPGA
VTR
Advisor: Anderson, Jason H
Developing a Knowledge-Based Evaluation Tool to Support User Selection of Interior Finish Materials

Choosing the appropriate material that satisfies facility end-users and project requirements has become a difficult task. Due to their lack of knowledge on building materials and ineffective communication methods, end-users are often not involved in facility designs. This research aims to formalize a knowledge-based evaluation tool for interior finish materials used for floors, walls and ceilings which can be easily accessible by users. The evaluation tool adapts techniques of Quality Function Deployment while combining the multi-criteria decision analysis method, TOPSIS, to calculate the score of interior finish materials specific to each user. In addition, the evaluation tool becomes a database for users to gather information on common interior finish materials. Users will be able to evaluate finish materials and make their selection on which material they most prefer. The tool acts as a template for end-user education while becoming an effective communication method that can adhere to project requirements.

Keywords: End-Users
Evaluation Tool
Interior Finish
QFD
Selection
TOPSIS
Advisor: El-Diraby, Tamer
Gradient-doped Thermophotovoltaic Devices based on Colloidal Quantum Dots

Electromagnetic radiation emitted from hot objects represents a sizeable supply of energy; however, even for relatively hot bodies, its flux peaks in the short-wavelength infrared between 1 and 3 µm, standing in the way of its photovoltaic harvest using the most widely-available optoelectronic materials such as Si and CdTe. Colloidal quantum dots combine low-cost solution-processing with bandgap tunability in this spectral region, thereby offering a route to harnessing thermal power photovoltaically. Here we report thermophotovoltaic devices constructed using colloidal quantum dots that harvest infrared radiation from an 800°C blackbody source. Only by constructing a gradient-doped colloidal quantum dot thermophotovoltaic device were we able to achieve thermophotovoltaic power generation with a power conversion efficiency of 0.39%. The device showed stable operation at ambient temperatures above 100°C.

Keywords: Colloidal quantum dot
Effective force field
Gradient-doped
Infrared
Thermophotovoltaics
Advisor: Sargent, Edward H
Quantifying the Effect of Sampling Gear and Effort on the Index of Biotic Integrity in two Huron-Erie Corridor Areas of Concern

The Detroit and St. Clair rivers were identified as Areas of Concern (AOC) in response to losses in critical fish and wildlife habitat. Implementation of remedial action plans required aquatic monitoring of AOCs using the Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI), a multi-metric index for biological assessment. In this study, three methods of calculating the IBI were applied to fish communities sampled using two different gears to determine the influence of scoring and sampling methods on IBI scores. IBI score variance between sites was also examined to determine the influence of sample effort. The results revealed that the IBI was not sensitive to gear type in either rivers due to varying catchability of species for each gear type. No significant difference was found between the three methods of IBI calculation. IBI score variance determined that current sampling protocols reduce the variance of mean IBI scores within a river by ~75%.

Keywords: Areas of Concern
fish community assessment
Index of Biotic Integrity
Advisor: Mandrak, Nicholas E
Hydrodynamic Force-transduced Cyotskeletal Remodeling Stabilizes Leukocyte Integrin-mediated Adhesions

The emigration of monocytes from the blood into tissues is a fundamental component of inflammation. Monocytes roll and arrest on inflamed endothelium and stably adherent cells are subjected to a hydrodynamic force imparted by flowing blood. We used parallel plate flow chamber assays and confocal imaging to investigate actin cytoskeleton dynamics in the stabilization of integrin-mediated adhesion. The ability of U937 cells to resist detachment and flow-induced cell deformation when adhered to surfaces coated with VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 was dependent on actin polymerization. Hydrodynamic force triggered cytoskeletal remodeling, cell spreading and increased contact area with the adhesion surface. This force-induced signaling also occurredin the absence of integrin ligands. Our data suggest that hydrodynamic force induces integrin-dependent and -independent signaling that contribute to cytoskeletal remodeling, strengthening of cell adhesion and resistance to deformation whichenable U937 cells to stabilize their adhesion in the presence of hydrodynamic force.

Keywords: Actin Cytoskeleton
Cell Adhesion
Hydrodynamic Force
Inflammation
Integrins
Leukocytes
Advisor: Cybulsky, Myron I
Recovery from Concussion in a Cohort of Male High School Students

Historically, concussion research has focused on adult populations, but research on high school students is lacking. A retrospective and prospective longitudinal cohort design was used to describe recovery time from concussion and the contribution of history of learning difficulty, history of concussion and school grade of student on recovery patterns in a cohort of 116 male high school students. Significant differences were identified in recovery patterns for youth in this sample expressed as median days to medical clearance 31.5 (range= 5 - 271), as compared to the 7-10 day recovery for adults that has been previously reported in the literature. A history of learning difficulty and history of concussion were significantly associated with increased length of days to medical clearance in the study cohort. Understanding differences in recovery patterns as well as risk factors for prolonged recovery can contribute to more realistic management expectations for high school students.

Keywords: adolescent
Concussion
management
mild traumatic brain injury
school
student
Advisor: Comper, Paul
Simulation of High-frequency Scaling of Silicon MOSFETs and the Golden Transistor

This thesis investigates high-frequency scaling of advanced Silicon UTBB-FDSOI MOSFETs using semi-classical and ab initio NEGF simulations for the first time. Similarly, new ab initio NEGF simulations of the novel post-CMOS Au metal-channel FET are presented along side fabrication experiments towards testing simulation accuracy. Ab initio NEGF simulations predict short channel effects to be suppressed down to LG=2nm, TSi=1.2nm, with improved ION by 80% and gm by 308% to compared to 24nm UTBB-FDSOI MOSFET measurements. Semi-classical simulations predict improvements of 46% in gm and 75% in fT for scaling down to LG=9.7nm, TSi=3.1nm. The Au METFET shows no significant ION/IOFF with results being sensitive to simulation model choice. A complete METFET fabrication process flow is presented to test simulation accuracy and the smallest metal channel width ever fabricated using EBL at the University of Toronto is demonstrated at 9nm.

Keywords: Density Functional Theory
FDSOI
High frequency
METFET
MOSFET scaling
TCAD
Advisor: Voinigescu, Sorin P.
A Self-determination Theory Perspective of the Work-life Adjustment of Professional Immigrants

New professional immigrants, who are accepted to Canada explicitly because they have desirable skills and professional training, are often unable to find employment or are forced to accept employment below their skill level. This study was part of a larger Canada Research Chair project exploring the career experiences of new professional immigrants to Canada. Using a grounded theory approach, this current study examined the role of the fundamental psychological needs posited by Self Determination Theory (SDT), namely, autonomy, competence, and relatedness, and their influence on immigrants’ vocational motivation. Results indicated that when circumstances thwarted the satisfaction of these needs, immigrants experienced greater difficulty adapting to their work-life in Canada. However, immigrants also were able to find creative and self-determined ways of at least partially fulfilling these fundamental needs. These results have theoretical implications for career psychology, and practical implications for helping professional immigrants successfully adapt to the challenges they face.

Advisor: Chen, Charles P.
Wind Farm Layout Optimization Using Approximate Inference in Graphical Models

Wind farm layout optimization (WFLO) determines the optimal location of wind turbines within a fixed geographical area to maximize the total power capacity of the wind farm, under stochastic wind conditions and non-linear aerodynamic interferences between turbines. This thesis develops optimization approaches to fast approximate (sub-optimal) turbine layouts to aide engineers make design decisions. Building on previous work in discrete quadratic WFLO models, we recast the program as a probabilistic graphical model incorporating spatial dependencies (i.e., aerodynamic interferences, proximity constraints, and maximum number of turbines) between the variables. Turbine layouts are estimated using message passing inference (BP, TRW-S), which exploit the problem's graph-theoretic structure using decomposition and factorization. We perform an exhaustive computational study comparing TRW-S with branch-and-cut algorithms under varying wind-regime complexity and problem resolutions. We demonstrate the broad applicability of techniques we develop by solving a suite of benchmark quadratic knapsack problems, a general class of problems that arise in many settings.

Keywords: approximate inference
probabilistic graphical models
wind farm design
Advisor: Amon, Cristina H
An Integrated Programmable Wide-range PLL for Switching Synchronization in Isolated DC-DC Converters

In this thesis, two Phase-Locked-Loop (PLL) based synchronization schemes are introduced and applied to a bi-directional Dual-Active-Bridge (DAB) dc-dc converter with an input voltage up to 80 V switching in the range of 250 kHz to 1 MHz. The two schemes synchronize gating signals across an isolated boundary without the need for an isolator per transistor. The Power Transformer Sensing (PTS) method utilizes the DAB power transformer to indirectly sense switching on the secondary side of the boundary, while the Digital Isolator Sensing (DIS) method utilizes a miniature transformer for synchronization and communication at up to 100 MHz. The PLL is implemented on-chip, and is used to control an external DAB power-stage. This work will lead to lower cost, high-frequency isolated dc-dc converters needed for a wide variety of emerging low power applications where isolator cost is relatively high and there is a demand for the reduction of parts.

Keywords: DAB
Isolated
Photovoltaics
PLL
Programmable
Synchronization
Advisor: Trescases, Olivier P
Effect of Remote Ischemic Conditioning on Lipopolysaccharide-induced Pulmonary Inflammation

Remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC), an intervention whereby an extremity undergoes brief repeated cycles of ischemia/reperfusion (I/R), has been shown to exert protective effects on distant organ I/R injury. Its potential benefit in organ injury induced by other inflammatory stimuli has not been determined. To test whether RIPC would exert protective effects on LPS-induced pulmonary inflammation, mice were subjected to hindlimb RIPC using a tourniquet prior to intratracheal LPS. RIPC significantly reduced leukocyte recruitment and protein leakage in the lungs at 4 hours after LPS. Lung ICAM-1 mRNA expression was also reduced, whereas TNF-Îą and IL-1Î˛ were upregulated, although these changes were statistically insignificant. However, the protective effect of RIPC was lost by 24 hours after LPS. Moreover, delayed conditioning and dual conditioning before and after LPS administration did not prevent lung inflammation. In conclusion, RIPC provides early protection against LPS-induced pulmonary inflammation in mice, but the effect is not sustained.

Keywords: Inflammation
leukocytes
Advisor: Rotstein, Ori D
Performance Evaluation of The VSC-interfaced Distributed Resource Models

The voltage-sourced converter (VSC) is the mostly used converter conguration for grid integration of distributed resources, i.e., generation and storage units. For such applications, the VSC is conventionally controlled by means of an inner-current controller that operates the VSC based on the desired VSC current to meet the system operational requirements. In compliance with the principles of the inner-current controller, the current-injection model has been widely used to represent the VSC impact studied of the grid-integrated DG. This thesis investigates the validity of the VSC current-injection model under the unbalanced conditions of feeder and low short-circuit ratios. The objective is establish the degree of accuracy of impact studies based on the current-injection model. A test system has been selected and the steady-state and transient-response of a 1.5 MW VSC based detailed switched-model and the current-injection model under various unbalanced and the system short- circuit capacity have been investigated and compared.

Advisor: Iravani, M. Reza
Characterizing the Role of the Pβ Peptide: A Potential Mitochondria to Nuclear Signal in Mitochondrial Quality Control

The PINK1/Parkin mediated mitophagy pathway is fundamental for maintaining a healthy mitochondrial network. We have previously shown that the mitochondrial rhomboid protease PARL is required for recruitment of Parkin to damaged mitochondria. Self-regulated proteolysis of PARL at its N-terminus, known as β cleavage results in a 25 amino acid peptide (Pβ) and β -PARL. β-cleavage might be required for efficient PINK1/Parkin mediated mitophagy. Based on previous studies on PARL and β-cleavage, we hypothesize that the Pβ-peptide, generated inside mitochondria after PARL senses mitochondrial damage, accumulates in the nucleus and plays a role in mitochondrial-nuclear communication. Using the neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y, we have identified the endogenous Pβ peptide. We demonstrate that upon mitochondrial damage the Pβ peptide generated inside the mitochondria accumulates in the nucleus. Our data suggests that PARL may execute a novel mitochondria-to-nucleus signaling pathway through regulated proteolysis of its N terminus and release of the Pβ peptide.

Advisor: McQuibban, Angus G
Effects of Stand Age on the Coupling between Carbon and Water Fluxes in White Pine Stands in Ontario, Canada

The purpose of this research is to study the effects of forest stand age on gross primary productivity (GPP) and evapotranspiration (ET), hence water use efficiency (WUE). The Boreal Ecosystem Productivity Simulator (BEPS) is run against flux data for a chronosequence of three white pine (Pinus strobus L.) plantations ranging 6-11 (TP02), 34-40 (TP74) and 69-75 (TP39) years old from 2008 to 2014 in Ontario, Canada. The following conclusions are drawn: (i) The maximum rate of leaf carboxylation (Vcmax) declined from the mid age (TP74) to the mature stand (TP39), indicating a gradual decline in GPP with age; (ii) In TP39, the deeper roots are the main reason for relatively low water stress and high ET under drought conditions, reducing WUE; (iii) Canopy height may have increased hydraulic resistance in taller stature, reducing the photosynthetic capacity, and (iv) the understory in TP39 makes significant contributions to both ET and GPP.

Advisor: Chen, Jing M.
Analysis and Design of Single-point Fed Transmission Line Grid 2D Dirac Leaky-wave Antennas

Leaky-wave antennas (LWAs) are widely used as single-point fed linear antenna arrays. The extension of LWAs to 2D means that they can be used as single-point fed 2D antenna arrays without requiring a complex feeding network. However, generating a pencil beam from 2D LWAs is not straightforward and due care has to be given to the LWA design. On the other hand, transmission line (TL) grids have demonstrated interesting behaviors, such as negative refractive index and growing of evanescent waves. In this thesis, single-point fed TL-grid 2D LWA designs are proposed that can generate pencil beams at both broadside and tilted angles. The TL-grid is analytically treated in light of the eigenmodes of the TL-grid unit cell, the scattering and impedance parameters and 2D dispersion relation. Additionally, TL-grids are shown to inherently exhibit an open bandgap in the dispersion relation and the TL-grid is perturbed to close this bandgap.

Keywords: 2D Leaky-wave antennas
Broadside/Tilted radiation
Low profile antennas
Pencil beam generation
Single-point feeding
Transmission line grid
Advisor: Eleftheriades, George V
Characterization of Low Melting Temperature, Low-Ag, Bi-containing, Pb-free Solder Alloys

Restrictions of lead in solder lead to adoption of SAC305 in consumer products. While high reliability applications use SnPb, supply constraints are driving the adoption of a replacement. SAC305 has reliability concerns related to elevated process temperatures and the formation of Ag3Sn. Reliability performance of three low-Ag, Bi-containing, low melting temperature alloys were compared to SAC305. All three alloys under test performed as well or better for consumer applications. Drop testing and accelerated thermal cycling revealed no differences that would preclude use of these alloys in production. They allow for the use of lower Tg printed wire boards materials, which have been shown reliable. These alloys show promise for high reliability applications. In accelerated thermal cycling, all alloys outperformed the circuit boards. Bi precipitation resulted in less degradation to the bulk microstructure. Bi did not impact the IMC formation or growth, a small amount of Ag mitigated growth of Cu3Sn.

Keywords: Bismuth
Pb-free
Reliability
Solder
Advisor: Perovic, Doug D
Elementary School Teachers' Attitudes Towards Teaching Mathematics and their Professional Learning Goals

This study examined how elementary teachers identified and set specific goals to improve their mathematics teaching using the framework of the Ten Dimensions of Mathematics Education (McDougall, 2004). This qualitative study investigates the beliefs and attitudes of four Grade 6 teachers using data collected from interviews and surveys. Based on the evidence found in this study, a relationship exists between teachers’ beliefs and attitudes towards teaching mathematics, their professional learning goals, their instructional practices and student achievement. There were three major findings: (1) teachers’ goals were linked to their weakest dimension and were student centered; (2) teachers’ beliefs on constructing knowledge are not aligned with current mathematics education thinking; and (3) professional development, collaboration, and parental involvement also influenced teachers’ goal setting process. Suggestions for teacher professional learning sessions are discussed, including additions to the teacher change model (Ross Bruce, 2007).

Keywords: Elementary Teachers
Professional Development
Professional Learning Goals
Teacher Beliefs
Teacher Goals
Teaching Mathematics
Advisor: McDougall, Doug
Vehicular-based Antenna Architectures for Two-tier 5G Wireless Systems

This thesis considers the two-tier wireless network consisting of primary and secondary nodes placed in a car as an array antenna. Many antenna configurations are possible such as linear, circular, 2D square grids, etc. We consider a MIMO system as a link from the primary to secondary nodes. Antenna element spacing determines correlation between the elements. We determine the capacity and coverage gains over state-of-the-art vehicular antennas for different environments. This thesis also studies the effect of antenna element tilt on the performance. Using an 8Ă 8 configuration, our results yield a four-fold enhancement of capacity in urban areas, and a two-fold gain in highways. We are able to decrease the load on primary nodes by up to 60 per cent. We also note that for 8 Ă 8 MIMO, the fading handling capabilities note that it does not matter what angle the vehicle antenna is oriented at.

Keywords: 5G
Antenna
Coupling
MIMO
Two-tier
Vehicular
Advisor: Sousa, Elvino
Cognitive Factors Influencing Mathematics Ability in Children with ADHD

Background- Mathematics difficulty is a prevalent co-morbidity of ADHD. There is limited knowledge to explain cognitive characteristics of this co-morbidity. Objective- The study aims to investigate cognitive factors influencing mathematics performance in children with ADHD. Method- The sample consisted of 374 children with ADHD. The association between reading and mathematics ability and different cognitive factors measured by WISC-IV, Stop Signal Task and RAN was studied. Results- Inhibitory control did not have association with neither mathematics nor reading ability. Processing speed, working memory and visuo-spatial processing were predictors of mathematics score. Processing speed had differentiating role for mathematics performance. Conclusion- The lack of association between mathematics performance and inhibitory control implies possible independence of difficulties in mathematics learning from ADHD core cognitive deficits. Processing speed distinguishes mathematics from reading ability in children with ADHD. The cognitive factors influencing mathematics ability in ADHD seem to be similar to those in general population.

Keywords: ADHD
Children
Cognitive Factors
Learning
Mathematics
Advisor: Ickowicz, Abel