VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Understanding Accessibility in Midsize Cities: An Empirical Analysis of Canadian Cities, and Case Studies of Kamloops, British Columbia and Milton, Ontario

Midsize cities face a number of sustainability challenges, particularly in terms of transportation and land use, however only a small subset of the literature has addressed these issues. Examination of the literature reveals two reasons for this: there is no consensus on a definition of midsize cities used for transportation research purposes, and there is very little empirical understanding of midsize city characteristics. This thesis addresses both of these issues. In order to establish the bigger picture, an empirical classification of Canadian cities is completed and used as a tool to analyze the travel behaviour characteristics of Canadian midsize cities. This work is followed by two detailed case studies of midsize Canadian cities – the City of Kamloops, British Columbia, and the Town of Milton, Ontario. The case studies employ both qualitative and quantitative research methods to explore the context around travel behaviour in each community.

Keywords: midsize cities
accessibility
transportation
sustainability
Advisor: Miller, Eric
Mobile Phone-based Telemonitoring as an Aid for Home Care Nurses: A Focus on Design and Implementation

The intent of this project was to integrate an existing mobile phone-based telemonitoring system into a home care nursing environment. Analyses were conducted to examine nursing workflows and home care constraints. User-centric design, development, and testing were used to modify the current telemonitoring system for a home care pilot study with heart failure clients. Interim results show technology acceptance by home care nurses and improved self-awareness in clients; the telehomecare system offers its greatest value as an opportunity for client education following clinical alerts. The pilot study will continue with a focus on increased client recruitment and selectivity towards those most in need of chronic disease management. It is expected that the system will result in an improvement in health outcomes and more efficient delivery of home care visits. The results from this study will provide insight into the impact of a new service delivery model for home care nurses.

Keywords: telemonitoring
home care
nursing
heart failure
remote patient monitoring
Advisor: Cafazzo, Joseph
Seto, Emily
Compiling for a Multithreaded Horizontally-microcoded Soft Processor Family

Soft processing engines make FPGA programming simpler for software programmers. TILT is a multithreaded soft processing engine that contains multiple deeply pipelined and varying latency functional units. In this thesis, we present a compiler framework for compiling and scheduling for TILT. By using the compiler to generate schedules and manage hardware we create computationally dense designs (high throughput per hardware area) which make compelling processing engines. High schedule density is achieved by mixing instructions from different threads and by prioritizing the longest path of data flow graphs. Averaged across benchmark kernels we can achieve 90% of the theoretical throughput, and can reduce the performance gap relative to custom hardware from 543x for a scalar processor to only 4.41x by replicating TILT cores up to a comparable area cost. We also present methods of quickly navigating the design space and predicting the area of hardware configurations.

Keywords: compiling
soft processors
fpga
scheduling
throughput
computational density
design space
computer architecture
Advisor: Steffan, J. Gregory
Caffeine Intake and the Plasma Proteome

Caffeine has been implicated in a number of health conditions, but the mechanisms and physiological pathways affected are not all well understood. Genetic variation in the caffeine metabolizing gene, CYP1A2 (rs762551), is associated with differences in caffeine metabolism and disease risk. The objectives of this thesis were to determine the association between caffeine intake and the plasma proteome and whether CYP1A2 genotype modifies any associations. Subjects (n=1095) were from the Toronto Nutrigenomics and Healthy Study. Initially, no significant associations were seen between caffeine intake and 54 high-abundance plasma proteins. After stratification by CYP1A2 genotype, plasma gelsolin levels decreased significantly with increasing caffeine intake among the slow metabolizers (A/C +C/C). These results suggest that plasma gelsolin levels are affected by caffeine intake and this association is only evident among slow metabolizers. Gelsolin may have a role in mediating some of the biological effects of caffeine.

Keywords: Nutrition
Nutritional Sciences
Advisor: El-Sohemy, Ahmed
Design and Evaluation of a Vocalization Activated Assistive Technology for a Child with Dysarthric Cpeech

Communication disorders affect one in ten Canadians and the incidence is particularly high among those with Cerebral Palsy. A vocalization-activated switch is often explored as an alternative means to communication. However, most commercial speech recognition tools to date have limited capability to accommodate dysarthric speech and thus are often prematurely abandoned. We developed and evaluated a novel vocalization-based access technology as a writing tool for a pediatric participant with cerebral palsy. It consists of a high quality condenser headmic, a custom classifier based on Gaussian Mixture Modeling (GMM) and Mel-frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC) as features. The system was designed to discriminate among five vowel sounds while interfaced to an on-screen keyboard. We used response efficiency theory to assess this technology in terms of goal attainment and satisfaction. The participant’s primary goal to reduce switch activation time was achieved with increased satisfaction and lower physical effort when compared to her previous pathway.

Keywords: Assistive technology
Dysarthria
Advisor: Chau, Tom
An Experimental Study of the Solubility of Platinum (Pt) and Rhodium (Rh), with some Results for Chromium (Cr) Content at Chromite Saturation, in Molten Basalt-Rhyolite Mixtures

Pt, Rh and chromite solubility in basalt-rhyolite mixtures at 1400°C, 0.1 MPa, FMQ +3.4 and FMQ (fayalite-magnetite-quartz-buffer) is presented. Melt samples were equilibrated on Pt90Rh10 loops and in chromite crucibles for up to 100 hours. Pt/Rh solubility decreased 20 and 7-fold respectively, progressing to rhyolitic compositions. Cr solubility decreased 3-fold (FMQ+3.4) and 4-fold (FMQ) over the same compositional interval. At FMQ+3.4, reduced Cr solubility, compared to FMQ, reflects Cr3+ and Fe3+ exchange, stabilizing Fe3+-rich spinel. As SiO2 increases, decreasing Pt/Rh and Cr solubility is interpreted to result from low abundances of non-bridging oxygens and lack of octahedral sites for Cr3+.Numerically simulated diffusive exchange between basalt and rhyolite predicts rapid alloy saturation at high fO2, but undersaturated mixtures at low fO2. Magma mixing produced Fe3+-rich spinel at high fO2; chromite undersaturation occurs near FMQ. Combined chromite and Pt-rich alloy saturation does not appear to result from magma mixing near FMQ.

Keywords: platinum
rhodium
melt composition
solubility
Advisor: Brenan, James
Determining the Biological Role(s) of Ubiquitin Fold Modifier 1(UFM1)

Ubiquitin fold modifier 1 (Ufm1) is a member of the ubiquitin like protein (UBL) family. Like other UBLs, Ufm1 can be conjugated to protein substrates via specific E1 (Uba5), E2 (Ufc1) and E3 (Ufl1) enzymes, and removed from these substrates via the action of Ufm1-specific proteases. While Ufm1 has been implicated in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) function, its biological roles remain poorly understood. By identifying; (a) Ufm1 binding proteins, (b) protein interactors of the Ufm1 conjugation/deconjugation system, (c) Ufm1 conjugates, as well as (d) the intracellular localization of Ufm1 and its main interactors, I aimed to better characterize the biological role(s) of this poorly understood UBL.

Keywords: Biochemistry
UBL
Ufm1
Ubiquitin like protein
Advisor: Raught, Brian
Behaviour of GFRP Reinforced Concrete Columns under Combined Axial Load and Flexure

This study presents experimental results from nine large-scale circular concrete columns reinforced with longitudinal and transverse glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars. These specimens were tested under lateral cyclic quasi-static loading while simultaneously subjected to constant axial load. Based on the measured hysteretic loops of moment vs. curvature and shear vs. tip deflection relationships, a series of parameters related to ductility and flexural strength are used to evaluate the seismic behavior of each column. The results showed that concrete columns reinforced with GFRP bars have stable post-peak branches and can achieve very high levels of deformability. Longitudinal GFRP bars maintained their stiffness at high strains and transverse GFRP spirals provided increasing confinement for the entire duration of the test without any spiral damage. The tests showed that, as an innovative material with excellent corrosion resistance GFRP bars can be successfully used as internal reinforcement in ductile concrete columns.

Keywords: concrete column
GFRP reinforcement
Advisor: Sheikh, Shamim A.
Mobile Service Overlay Networks for Multimedia Applications

With the increasing demand on multimedia applications over the Internet, and the growing number of mobile smart devices people are using, it is helpful to develop a mobile network architecture that can support multimedia transmission without using infrastructures. We propose that service overlay networks over MANETs can serve as a supplement to the existing 3G/4G networks and Wi-Fi access point networks. In this thesis we present experiment results that show the feasibility of mobile service overlay networks to meet the requirements of multimedia streaming. And also, we improved one of the existing overlay protocols. The improved protocol takes physical location into consideration when establishing connections in the overlay network. It also limits the number of neighbors each node can have, which prevents a particular node from becoming the bottleneck of the network, when connected to too many neighbors. Evaluation results show the new protocol reduces network packet loss rate.

Keywords: service overlay network
multimedia streaming
experimental study
topology policy
spanning tree
location based topology
Advisor: Liebeherr, Jorg
Nanog Regulates Chromatin Organization in Mouse Stem Cells

Mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are known to possess an “open” global chromatin architecture characterized by dispersed chromatin fibres throughout the nucleus. This is in contrast to differentiated cell types, where chromatin generally congregates into numerous compact domains. Core transcription factors in ESCs regulate many genes involved in maintaining pluripotency and previous research has hinted a connection between these factors and chromatin organization. My hypothesis is that Nanog, one of the core transcription factors, functions in maintaining an “open” chromatin organization in mouse ESCs. In this study, the chromatin organization in ESCs expressing varying levels of Nanog was examined at the sub-micron level through electron spectroscopic imaging. An inverse correlation was identified between Nanog expression level and the chromatin fibre density in constitutive heterochromatic regions. Furthermore, global chromatin in the more differentiated epiblast stem cells became less compact upon Nanog overexpression. Altogether, these findings support the idea that Nanog plays a role in maintaining dispersed chromatin in mouse ESCs.

Keywords: chromatin
nanog
electron spectroscopic imaging
stem cell
Advisor: Bazett-Jones, David
Explicit Legal Protections for Transgendered Canadians: Why it is Necessary and How it Might be Done

Explicit legal protections for trans individuals are necessary in Canadian human rights and antidiscrimination jurisprudence. The current grounds of protection against discrimination that trans individuals must rely upon (i.e., sexual orientation discrimination, disability discrimination and sex discrimination) insufficiently recognize trans individuals and the trans discrimination they face. I propose that a multi-level framework of explicit legal protections is required to address these insufficiencies. This framework includes the recognition of an analogous ground of Gender Identity and Gender Expression under the Charter, amendments to human rights legislation incorporating trans protections into prohibited grounds of discrimination at federal and provincial levels, and finally explicit recognition of trans individuals and trans discrimination in legal arguments and in litigation. This framework will allow for mutual reinforcement at multiple levels and promote development of trans specific jurisprudence. With such explicit legal protections in place trans individuals will be better protected against trans discrimination in Canada.

Keywords: Law
Transgender
Advisor: Cossman, Brenda
Lymphatic Drainage from the Mouse Eye and the Effect of Latanoprost

Glaucoma is a leading cause of world blindness, often associated with elevated eye pressure. Current glaucoma treatments aim to lower eye pressure by improving aqueous humor outflow from the eye. Ocular lymphatics have been demonstrated to contribute to aqueous humor outflow in human and sheep. It is not known whether any glaucoma drugs target this lymphatic drainage. The mouse is a valuable model with similar aqueous humor dynamics and pharmacology as human. Using in vivo hyperspectral fluorescence imaging combined with intracameral quantum dot injection, we identified an ocular lymphatic drainage in mouse. Immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy revealed lymphatic channels in the ciliary body, sclera, and orbit that may be responsible for this lymphatic drainage. We showed that latanoprost, a prostaglandin F2&alpha; analog widely used to treat glaucoma, increases this ocular lymphatic drainage. Our findings provide the framework for future development of novel glaucoma drugs that stimulate the ocular lymphatic drainage.

Keywords: lymphatics
mouse
eye
quantum dots
in vivo imaging
latanoprost
Advisor: Yucel, Yeni
Factors Associated with Clinicians’ Recommendation for Return to Work in Patients with Work-related Shoulder and Elbow Injury

Background: RTW after work-related injuries is a multifactorial process. Factors affecting clinicians to make RTW-recommendations for patients with WRSEI have not been studied in the literature. Purpose: We investigated the associations between group of factors chosen from different domains (Personal/Environmental) and clinicians’ RTW-recommendations for patients with WRSEI. Methods: Study design was cross-sectional. Data were collected from self-reported surveys and clinical charts of 130 adult workers (not working at the time of visit and referred to WSIB-Shoulder & Elbow Specialty Clinic-Toronto) with chronic (≥6-months) injuries. Results: Population mean age was 43.5-years. 52% were female. The average time-since-injury was 20.4-months (45%>12-months). 70% received RTW-recommendations (regular/modified-job). 30% received a No-RTW-recommendation. 42% had education≥college-level. 18% had heavy (>20kg) job-demands. Higher MCS-scores had a significant association (p=0.0003) with clinicians’ RTW-recommendations. Conclusion: In patients with chronic WRSEI(s), poor general health-status and high disability, workers with better mental-health were more likely to receive a RTW-recommendation by clinicians.

Keywords: Return to Work
Clinicians' recommendation
Work Related Injury
Sholder and Elbow
WSIB
MCS score
Mental Health
SF-36 Score
Advisor: Richards, Robin
Development of a Novel Imaging Methodology for Quantitative Analysis of the Mouse Cortical Vasculature

This thesis describes a novel imaging methodology for visualization and quantitative analysis of the vascular topology of different cortical regions of the mouse brain in 3D. The brain is perfused with a fluorescent contrast agent, and rendered fully transparent via optical clearing. This procedure enables images through the whole cortical depth to be obtained with a 2-photon microscope without sectioning. The Allen Reference Atlas (ARA) (Lein et al., 2007) is registered to the 2-photon data for delineation of the cortical regions. Quantitative metrics are then extracted from the different regions using an automatic vessel segmentation algorithm. These metrics are compared with those obtained by other investigators to validate this technique, and are found to be in agreement. Since this methodology possesses the resolution to visualize vessels of all sizes, and provides reasonable estimates of quantitative parameters, it shows strong potential for quantitative analysis of normal and abnormal cortical vascular architecture.

Keywords: Medical
Biophysics
Advisor: Sled, John G.
Intermittent Water Supplies: Where and Why they are Currently used and Why their Future use Should be Curtailed

Though water is the most essential element of life in most developing countries clean drinking water is supplied intermittently to consumers. Municipalities are often under the impression that intermittent supply is an ideal measure to conserve water. With over a billion people grappling with deteriorating infrastructure and water scarcity, it is impossible to neglect the effects of intermittent supply. It is essential to examine the origin of the problem, quantify the effects or consequences and then provide feasible solutions. Hence, this thesis provides a comprehensive review of the existing condition of water supply systems in developing countries but more importantly, examines the causes of the intermittency and highlights the significant economic incentive that could be achieved by maintaining a continuous supply system. Finally the thesis concludes with a series of feasible solutions including short-term and long-term plans that would assist in a complete migration towards 24-hour supply.

Keywords: Intermittent Water Supply
Advisor: Karney, Bryan William
Crosstalk between VEGF and BMP9 Signalling in the Context of Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy related disorder, characterized by proteinuria and hypertension. The pathogenesis of preeclampsia is poorly understood; however, two proteins, called sFlt-1 and sEng, were found to be highly elevated in the maternal plasma weeks prior to the onset of clinical symptoms. sFlt-1 and sEng are thought to inhibit VEGF and TGF-β receptor signalling respectively. In order to elucidate how these proteins may contribute to preeclampsia, we looked at their ability to affect the secretion of endothelin-1 (ET-1), a powerful vasoconstrictor, shown to be dysregulated in preeclampsia. We found that both TGF-β1 and BMP9, a recently described ligand for sEng, induce ET-1 secretion through Smad1/5/8 and p38 pathways. Moreover, we report that sEng and VEGF can efficiently block ET-1 secretion, induced by BMP9. We propose that the balance between VEGF and BMP9 signalling is disturbed during preeclampsia, leading to excessive release of ET-1, which in turn may cause hypertension.

Keywords: Preelcmapsia
soluble endoglin
endothelin-1
VEGF
Advisor: Letarte, Michelle
Evaluation of the Accuracy of NaviDent, a Novel Dynamic Computer-guided Navigation System for Placing Dental Implants

Objectives: To evaluate and compare an experimental surgical navigation system (ESNS) in implant placement accuracy to static planning and transfer systems. Material and Methods: Partially edentulous, surgical typodonts were used to simulate prosthetically-driven osteotomies in preclinical setting. After cbCT acquisition the DICOM files were used to reverse plan and fabricate surgical guides. Manual placement, three static guiding systems and ESNS were compared. Eight osteotomies per jaw were transferred to 10 typodonts in five series, resulting in 400 osteotomies by 3 operators, each modality. Lateral, vertical, total and angular deviations were measured and compared. Results: Computer-assisted systems were comparable and provided superior precision laterally and in angulation, but not vertically; implants placed in free-end positions were less accurate. Conclusions: All computer-aided methods showed less than 2 mm or 5 degrees error on average, which needs to be considered in clinical practice.

Keywords: implant dentistry
implant surgery
guided surgery
computer-aided
computer-guided
navigation
surgical guide
Advisor: Jokstad, Asbjorn
Hostile Takeovers and Corporate Purpose: The Role of Poison Pills in Ontario Securities Law

This paper examines the Ontario Securities Commission's regulation of poison pills as well as several proposals to reform the current regulatory regime. In particular, the paper argues that regulation and reforms should be viewed within the context of two fundamental, normative questions that underlie much of corporate law: what is the purpose of the corporation, and who should determine whether these goals are being met. After outlining several competing theories, the paper explains why a corporate model based on the shareholder-centric, wealth maximization theory is best suited for hostile takeover situations. Additionally, the paper argues that a structural bid reform that would require hostile bidders to include minimum tender conditions and additional opportunities for target company shareholders to tender following a successful bid would provide the best way to incorporate this corporate model into Ontario securities regulation.

Keywords: corporate law
hostile takeovers
poison pills
Advisor: Anand, Anita
Legal Absurdities and Wartime Atrocities: Lawfare, Exception, and the Nisour Square Massacre

According to the United States Department of Defense (DOD), as of 2013 there were over 12,000 DOD contractors supporting the U.S. mission in Iraq (DASD, 2013). This thesis explores the laws and legal systems that operate to keep contractors, and the companies that employ them, resistant to legal oversight. I ground my analysis in the 2007 Nisour Square massacre, exploring how every attempt to prosecute those responsible was doomed due to Blackwater’s legal position of being American-headquartered, hired by the State Department, privately owned, and operating in Iraq. I conclude that the legal indeterminacy of the US deployed security contractor normalizes violence towards Iraqi civilians while simultaneously downloading the risk and responsibility associated with the US war efforts onto the shoulders of individual contractors. Moreover, I suggest that this legal indeterminacy is of particular interest to geographers as it arises, in part, out of overlapping legal systems, jurisdictions, and authorities.

Keywords: Iraq war, Nisour Square, Lawfare, Legal Geography, State of Exception, PMSC, PMC, private security contractors
Advisor: Gilbert, Emily
A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of Prenatal Education to Improve the Use of Pain Management Strategies during Infant Immunization

Background: Unmitigated immunization pain in infants has the potential to impact long-term health outcomes. Teaching parents in the prenatal period may increase utilization of pain management (PM) strategies in clinical practice. Objective: To assess the efficaciousness of teaching parents in the prenatal environment and its impact on the number of analgesic PM strategies utilized during the 2-month immunization appointment. Methods: This partially blinded cluster randomized controlled trial enrolled mothers from prenatal classes at Mount Sinai Hospital. Classes were randomized to receive a presentation on either immunization PM or general immunization information. Results: One hundred and ninety-seven mothers from 28 classes participated in this study. There was a statistically significant increase (p<0.01) in the use of one or more analgesic interventions in the group that received a presentation on immunization PM compared to those who received general immunization information. Conclusions: Prenatal classes are a suitable environment to educate parents about immunization PM.

Keywords: pain management
infant
analgesic
immunization
Advisor: Taddio, Anna