VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Capsule Networks and Lightweight Dual-Path Model With Fresnel Zone-Based Voting for Human Activity Recognition Using Wi-Fi Channel State Information

Wi-Fi sensing has recently gained significant interest for human activity recognition (HAR), as it provides user privacy and adaptability to non-line-of-sight scenarios. This thesis presents two machine learning models, contributing novel approaches to Wi-Fi-based HAR. Firstly, a capsule network is trained on channel state information (CSI) from Wi-Fi to perform activity classification. Secondly, dual-path feature extraction is proposed, extracting information along both time and frequency dimensions of CSI. This thesis also extends both models into distributed architectures, eliminating communication overhead introduced in centralizing CSI from multiple access points (APs), while using a Fresnel zone-based voting scheme to combine distributed model outputs efficiently using spatial diversity. The proposed methods are evaluated on four datasets, covering various human activities, against state-of-the-art works. In particular, we surpass state-of-the-art classification performance with our capsule network, improve upon existing lightweight approaches with our dual-path feature extraction, and bring practicality with our Fresnel zone-based voting scheme.

Keywords: Channel state information
Human activity recognition
Machine learning
Wi-Fi sensing
Advisor: Valaee, Shahrokh
Implicit Finite-Volume Scheme with Anisotropic Adaptive Mesh Refinement for Predicting Steady Three-Dimensional Reactive Laminar Flows

A previously developed parallel implicit adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) algorithm for the prediction of three-dimensional (3D) steady laminar flames is revisited and extended to incorporate anisotropic AMR. The method is applied to the well-established system of partial differential equations governing time-dependent compressible laminar flows for reactive thermally perfect gaseous mixtures. The conservation form of these equations are solved using a high-resolution finite-volume spatial discretization scheme on non-uniform, multi-block hexahedral meshes. To maintain solution accuracy at low Mach numbers, a local preconditioning technique is used to remove numerical stiffness. To facilitate the anisotropic solution-directed mesh refinement, a block-based binary tree data structure has been implemented. Block-based domain decomposition is utilized to enable an efficient parallelization of the algorithm. The implicit formulation uses a dual-time-stepping-like approach with an implicit second-order backward discretization of the physical time, in which the non-linear algebraic equations arising from spatial and temporal discretization are solved using a Jacobian-free inexact Newton method with a preconditioned generalized minimal residual (GMRES) algorithm. For each sub-domain of the grid, block incomplete lower-upper (BILU) type local preconditioning is used, in conjunction with an additive Schwarz global preconditioner for the entire domain. Along with several basic validation cases, the algorithm is used to solve steady-state flow of a laminar diffusion methane-air combustion flame, for which the Cantera software package is used to treat the detailed chemical kinetics.

Keywords: Adaptive mesh refinement
Aerospace
Combustion
Computational fluid dynamics
Advisor: Groth, Clinton P. T.
The Neural Basis of Speech Motor Adaptation

Background: Advancements in in-vivo neuroimaging and neuromodulation methodologies have enhanced our understanding of the speech-related brain networks, although the neural mechanisms and correlates of speech adaptation remain poorly understood.Objectives: (1) Explore associations among key nodes in the auditory-motor processing system for speech adaptation. (2) Investigate the role of the left ventral premotor cortex (LvPMC) in speech adaptation and assess the effectiveness of rTMS to modulate cortical activity. Methods: (1) A correlational study of quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) metrics was conducted to examine cortical structures associated with speech adaptation. (2) A quasi-randomized control trial was conducted to explore the functional relevance of the LvPMC in speech adaptation and the efficacy of rTMS in modulating behaviour. Results: (1) Fiber density and cross-section of speech-related white matter tracts were negatively correlated with F1 adaptation. (2) rTMS did not significantly affect adaptation performance. Limitations of sample size and statistical analyses must be considered. Conclusions: This thesis is a preliminary contribution to a better understanding of sensorimotor adaptation processes and will inform future research.

Keywords: Neural Mechanisms
Sensorimotor Adaptation
Speech Motor Adaptation
Advisor: Beal, Deryk
Phase Change Heat Sinks under Periodic Heating: Analysis and Experimental Verification

This thesis investigates the effectiveness of phase change materials (PCMs) in reducing average cooling requirements in applications with transient thermal loads. Despite their potential benefits, there are few design guidelines for PCM-based heat sinks, and limited experimental research on their performance under high heat flux, periodic heating conditions. To address this gap, we develop a 0-D and 1-D nondimensional analytic model for PCM-based heat sinks subject to sinusoidal heating. We present expressions to predict the effectiveness of a phase change heat sink based on its geometry, the heat load, and ambient conditions. We experimentally validate these expressions using both an air-cooled and a water-cooled phase change heat sink. The proposed models accurately predict the behavior of the phase change heat sinks under a wide range of conditions. This work provides valuable insights for the design and optimization of PCM-based heat sinks in practical applications.

Keywords: Analytic
Design
Experimental
Heatsinks
Phase Change Materials
Advisor: Amon, Cristina H
Chandra, Sanjeev
Non-invasive Serum Biomarkers of Brain Tumors

Gliomas are among the most malignant tumors, with a very poor prognosis. Early diagnosis is highly desirable since it can help implement more effective treatments for smaller tumors, which have not yet extensively metastasized. Improving early diagnosis may facilitate access of patients to clinical trials and prepare them for the future availability of new disease-modifying treatments. Methods: We analyzed retrospective samples collected at diagnosis (before therapy initiation), with PEA (Olink Proteomics), quantifying about 3,000 proteins. We utilized 30 plasmas from gliomas (20 glioblastomas, 5 anaplastic astrocytomas, 5 anaplastic oligodendrogliomas) and 20 meningiomas (as controls). We then analyzed the data to identify proteins that either alone, or in combination, could discriminate gliomas from meningiomas, or correlate with clinical and molecular alterations. Next is to validate these results. We sent the second set of data (319 samples), which were used as a validation to MSD, where they performed an ELISA for 17 proteins, which had been of interest to us from the earlier experiment. Results: We identified 8 plasma proteins that were increased in gliomas vs. meningiomas (GFAP, NEFL, EDDM3B, PROK1, MMP3, CTRL, GP2, SPINT3) and 4 proteins that were decreased in gliomas vs. meningiomas (FABP4, ALDH3A1, IL-12B, and OXT). Partition algorithms and logistic iii regression algorithms with two biomarkers (GFAP and FABP4) achieved sensitivity of 83% and 93% at 100% and 90% specificity, respectively. The strongest single marker was GFAP with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.86. The AUC for the GFAP-FABP4 combination was 0.98. Conclusion: GFAP, NFL, and MMP3 seem to discriminate glioblastoma from meningioma. These biomarkers may be useful to monitor the disease progression of glioblastoma and treat earlier, when thetumors are smaller, more sensitive, and have not yet spread far.

Advisor: Diamandis, Eleftherios P. Dr.
EvoCrawl: Exploring Web Application Code and State Using Evolutionary Search

As the demand for web applications continues to grow, the focus has shifted towards user protection and vulnerability detection. Triggering the vulnerabilities requires 1) the vulnerable code to be executed and 2) the web application to be in the required state. While a previous scanner, AuthZee, combines evolutionary search and traditional crawling to explore application codes with complex interactions, it overlooks state transitions within the web application. To bridge this gap, we extend AuthZee to EvoCrawl, a black-box scanner that is capable of exploring application states and codes. EvoCrawl uses an evolutionary search approach to explore sequences of actions leading to different application states and infers new states by observing the appearance of new elements or values in web application responses. In an evaluation against four state-of-the-art scanners, EvoCrawl achieves a 48\% increase in code coverage on average and submits HTML forms 14 times more frequently than the next best tool.

Keywords: Black-box Scanner
Evolutionary Search
Web Application Security
Advisor: Lie, David DL
Comparing the Reliability and Validity of the Criminal Sentiments Scale – Modified and the Pride in Delinquency Scale between Black and White Justice-Involved Youth

Procriminal attitudes, key predictors of recidivism in the Risk-Need-Responsivity framework, have been shown to differ among Black and White groups (e.g., Eichelsheim et al., 2015; Mandracchia & Morgan, 2012; Wolff et al., 2013). Despite this, the reliability and validity of procriminal attitudes measures have yet to be examined cross-racially. The current study examined the reliability and validity of the Criminal Sentiments Scale – Modified (CSS-M; Shields & Simourd, 1991)) and the Pride in Delinquency Scale (PIDS; Shields & Whitehall, 1994) in a sample of 473 justice system-involved Black and White youth in Toronto, Canada. Findings indicated acceptable internal reliability (.63  α  .93) for scales except the CSS-M Courts subscale in Black youth (α = .63) and the Identification with Criminal Others subscale for both groups (.55  α  .68). Both measures showed acceptable convergent validity with each other (.22 < r < .69). Construct validity (as measured through confirmatory factor analyses) of both scales was acceptable for both Black and White youth, though fit indices of the CSS-M consistently fell slightly below the recommended threshold for Black youth. Both measures showed good concurrent validity for White youth and poorer, but somewhat acceptable, concurrent validity for Black youth, with fewer and weaker significant correlations between the scales and externalizing problems, aggression, and substance use problems. These findings suggest that procriminal attitudes may not reflect individual antisociality for Black youth in the way they do for White youth. The CSS-M Total and Police scores predicted recidivism for Black youth, whereas the PIDS and CSS-M subscales predicted recidivism for White youth. Results suggest that procriminal attitudes, as measured by the CSS-M and the PIDS, may reflect slightly different constructs for Black and White youth, which raises questions regarding how to use and interpret these tools in risk assessment and case management. Though the measures worked somewhat differently depending on race in this study, both have practical utility. Future research directions include examining cross-racial measurement invariance and differential item functioning of procriminal attitudes measures to better understand these constructs and scales for Black youth, teasing apart relationships between procriminal attitudes and offending for different groups (e.g., through moderations and mediations), and expanding these investigations to other racialized groups.

Keywords: Criminology
Developmental Psychology
Procriminal Attitudes
Race
Recidivism
Risk-Need-Responsivity
Advisor: Peterson-Badali, Michele
Skilling, Tracey
Cracking Open the Literary Canon: Disrupting English Curricula Through Relational Reading

Emerging as a form of pedagogical action research, my study works to develop a reading practice that confronts, rather than ignores or misrepresents, the complex histories of colonialism embedded in the literature that is read in high school English classrooms. Following the research documenting a sustained, disproportionate reliance on the Eurocentric literary canon in English classrooms across Canada, I argue that the way this literature is taught generally leaves students with an ahistorical and narrow worldview that fails to recognize the colonial violence embedded in these narratives. To disrupt this legacy, my project employs Critical Discourse Analysis and Métissage to develop a reading practice I denote as “relational reading.” In developing this praxis, I engage three texts—Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Gale’s Angélique, and Dimaline’s The Marrow Thieves—in intertextual conversation. By tracing the sustained impact of these systems of power across texts, I suggest that this study might help re-envision literature education as a means for confronting these violent histories, while helping students imagine how we can work together towards forging anticolonial futures rooted in solidarity, accountability, and reciprocity.

Keywords: Canadian History
Curriculum Development
Education System
English Language Arts
Literature
Relationality
Advisor: hampton, rosalind
Biochemical Characterization of Two Streptococcus Anti-CRISPR Proteins

One of the greatest threats to bacterial survival are bacteriophages, viruses that infect and kill host bacteria. As defence, bacteria have evolved CRISPR-Cas systems, which are complexes of RNA and proteins that funcNon as adapNve immune systems to destroy foreign geneNc material. In response, phages have in turn evolved anN-CRISPR proteins to evade CRISPR-Cas immunity. My thesis focuses on the characterizaNon of two anN-CRISPRs found in Streptococcus sp. HSISM1 and Streptococcus salivarius D40t1_170626_C11: AcrIIA33SsH and AcrIIA16Ssa. AcrIIA16Ssa is a broad spectrum anN-CRISPR that inhibits all tested type II-A and type II-C Cas9 proteins. When co-expressed with SpyCas9, AcrIIA16Ssa interferes with sgRNA loading and Cas9 stability. AcrIIA33SsH inhibits several type II-A Cas9 proteins, but does not interfere with sgRNA loading. It can also interact with nucleic acid dyes, a characterisNc not described in any other anN-CRISPR. This work expands our knowledge of anN-CRISPR proteins and their inhibitory mechanisms.

Keywords: Anti-CRISPR
CRISPR-Cas9
sgRNA
Streptococcus
Advisor: Maxwell, Karen
Structural-Acoustic-Fluidic Modelling of Synthetic Jet Actuators

Global efforts to mitigate noise, emissions, and power consumption have spurred rapid advancements in active flow control – a technique that injects energy into a flow to alter its aerodynamic characteristics. While passive flow control methods like flaps on airplanes or slots on wind turbine blades have demonstrated efficiency improvements, significant further enhancements necessitate active approaches. This need becomes increasingly crucial as technologies such as aviation and wind power continue to gain prominence and widespread use.One particularly promising use for active flow control is its application to airfoils. Synthetic jet actuators are devices that apply active flow control in the form of oscillatory excitement, and have been shown to delay flow separation, improve lift, and decrease drag when implemented in airfoils. A computational model was developed to study synthetic jet actuators using a Multiphysics approach. The model coupled physics from structural mechanics to provide unique insight into the physics of this flow, electrostatics, pressure acoustics, and fluid mechanics to make it as physically realistic as possible, and the most complete model published in the literature to date. The model was validated using hot wire measurements, then was used to study the fluid behaviour, acoustic properties, and the impact of modelling a physical diaphragm. Multiphysics modelling presents a promising future for computational modelling, as it allows the modeller to extract information from many different domains, without the need for elaborate experiments or multiple computational models.

Keywords: Acoustics
Active flow control
Fluid mechanics
Synthetic jet actuator
Advisor: Sullivan, Pierre E
Ekmekci, Alis
Pathway-Specific Effects of Insulin in an in vivo Murine Model of Restenosis

Patients with type 2 diabetes have higher risk of post-angioplasty restenosis due to insulin resistance. In vitro, insulin has a vasculoprotective effect on endothelial cells (ECs) which is likely mediated by phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway, while its mitogenic effects are mainly manifested on vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and likely mediated via mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. Currently, there is not much information about pathway-specificity of insulin’s vascular effects in in vivo models. This study aims to determine the Akt2- and MEK1-mediated effects on neointimal growth in a murine model of restenosis. We found that insulin failed to decrease neointimal growth in both EC and SMC Akt2 deficient mice. EC-specific MEK1 deficiency did not affect insulin’s anti-restenotic effect, while SMC-specific MEK1 deficiency may abolish it. These data suggest that both EC and VSMC Akt2 contribute to the beneficial effects of insulin, and insulin might not have MAPK-mediated adverse effects in vivo.

Keywords: Insulin
Neointima
Restenosis
Type 2 Diabetes
Advisor: Giacca, Adria
Balancing Act: Exploring the Impact of Student Employment on First-Year Persistence in Postsecondary Education

This study examines the influence of student employment on the persistence of first-year undergraduate students in postsecondary education. Using a mixed-methods approach, I explore the experiences and perspectives of employed first-year students at the University of Toronto through semi-structured interviews with nine full-time employed first-year students and a follow-up survey capturing both qualitative and quantitative information at the conclusion of their first year. I used deductive and inductive thematic data analysis to identify key themes and patterns related to employment, academic performance, institutional belonging, time management, and engagement. This study reveals that participants persisted towards their second year, but each reported unique experiences balancing work and school. The findings highlight the importance of considering students’ lived experiences balancing work and school within the broader context of their educational journey to inform institutional policies and practices aimed at enhancing the overall academic experience and rates of persistence for undergraduate students.

Advisor: Corral, Daniel
The Association Between IUCN Threat Status And Biological Traits In Chelonians Of The World

Turtles and tortoises are remarkable species with great longevity. Chelonian species richness has declined recently with the acceleration of global change, including anthropogenic habitat degradation, road mortality, and climate change. Currently, many chelonian species are at risk at extinction according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). I analyzed and explored the correlation between IUCN extinction risk category for chelonians and three biological traits, range size, body mass, and eggs per year (n= 369 species). I find that both body mass and eggs per year are predictors of IUCN extinction risk category, suggesting that species that take a long time to mature and have fewer eggs per capita are more likely to be threatened with extinction. This pattern is consistent with many tenets of population growth, and helps IUCN assess other chelonian species based on life history traits.

Keywords: Biological Traits
Chelonians
IUCN Threat Status
Advisor: Rollinson, Njal
Towards the Synthesis of Borylated (Aminomethyl) Cyclopropanes

1,1-Diborylalkanes have become useful pronucleophiles used in nucleophilic additions into a variety of electrophiles, mainly carbonyls and epoxides. Nitrogen-based electrophiles have been relatively understudied as electrophilic coupling partners for this class of compound. This thesis will introduce the reactivity of 1,1-diborylalkanes and utility of these compounds. This thesis will demonstrate that lithiated 1,1-diborylalkanes react with α-bromo and α-tosyl aziridines to form borylated cyclopropyl methylamines with high diastereoselectivity. Access to the starting materials required for the transformation and the scope of the variety of 1,1-diborylalkanes are presented. The difference in reactivity for unsubstituted and substituted aziridines will be highlighted, with examples that show the potential to set up to 3 stereocenters in one reaction. Finally, the current limitations of the method with alkylated 1,1-diborylalkanes and the potential solutions using alkoxide additives, as well as future investigations to access cyclobutylamines are discussed.

Keywords: Aziridine
Boron
Cyclopropane
Diasterioselective
Diborylalkane
Small rings
Advisor: Rousseaux, Sophie A. L.
Design Mapping And Optimization For Field Programmable Gate Arrays With Embedded Networks On Chip

Field-programmable gate array (FPGA) architectures have recently incorporated hardened networkson-chip (NoCs) to enable more efficient and easier system-level integration. This presents a new challenge for FPGA computer-aided design (CAD); the tools must optimize the placement of netlist primitives to not only minimize wirelength and critical path delay, but also consider the traffic patterns between modules to minimize NoC aggregate bandwidth and meet latency constraints.This work enables flexible modeling of FPGA architectures with hard NoCs in the open-source versatile place & route (VPR) CAD flow, facilitating both CAD and architecture research. We first enhance the VPR placement engine to co-optimize traditional circuit placement metrics and NoC performance metrics. We then validate our enhancements on a variety of synthetic benchmarks.Finally, we evaluate the NoC-optimized placer on real applications and show that our flow results in 2X less NoC aggregate bandwidth compared to an NoC-agonistic flow.

Keywords: CAD
FPGA
NOC
Advisor: Betz, Vaughn
Efficacy of Irrigation Protocols in the Removal of Biofilm from the Mesial Roots of Mandibular Molars Before and After Minimal Instrumentation: an In Vitro Study

The novel GentleWave System (GWS) utilizes multisonic energy to facilitate irrigation solutions throughout complex intra-radicular spaces. The present study is aimed to investigate the cleaning efficacy of GWS in a non-instrumented root canal space. Methods: Mandibular molars with Vertucci type II configuration within the mesial root were allocated to Group 1: Non- instrumentation + GWS and Group 2: Minimal Instrumentation + GWS. CFU and SEM analysis were used. Results: Both groups showed a statistically significant difference in the reduction of viable E. faecalis cells compared to the positive control (Group 1 (P=0.0001) and 2 (P<0.0001)), while showing no significant difference between the two tested groups (P < .05). Formation of SL and AHTD were not discernible in Group 1. Conversely, abundant SL and AHTD were observed in Group 2 specimens entombing biofilm within the isthmus. Conclusion: The use of GWS on the non-instrumented root canal system could be an effective disinfection protocol.

Advisor: Basrani, Bettina