VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Optimal Siting of Distributed Wind Farms in Ontario, Canada

Increasing wind penetration adds to the importance of enhancing the reliability of wind, to mitigate the magnitude and frequency of changes in electricity generation. This work addresses how improvements can be made to reliability through the geographic dispersal of wind farms in Ontario, Canada, using modeled North American Regional Reanalysis data. Optimal configurations of wind farm locations are determined according to two criteria. The first selects combinations of wind farms that follow temporal demand patterns, by maximizing the difference between the energy price and the cost of electricity. The second attempts to select combinations of wind farms that minimize the coefficient of variation in the aggregate output. It is found that there are no wind regimes in Ontario that match demand sufficiently for a viable development strategy, but that combinations of as few as three locations can reduce the coefficient of variation by over 30%, compared to a single region.

Keywords: wind energy
spatial dispersion
Advisor: Harvey, L. D. Danny
The Effect of 17Beta- and 17Alpha-estradiol on Myelination and Remyelination in Cerebellar Slices

Multiple sclerosis is thought to be an autoimmune disease that causes lesions and demyelination of axons in the central nervous system. A reduction in relapses is seen in the third trimester of pregnancy when estrogen levels are highest, followed by an increase in relapses in the first three months post-partum when estrogen levels drop. This thesis focuses on the effect of 17beta- and 17alpha-estradiol on myelination and remyelination in cultured rat cerebellar slices. No reproducible effect of 17beta-estradiol on myelination was detected. However, during lysolecithin-induced demyelination it had a possible protective effect in males and females, although it was not statistically significant. During myelination, 100 nM 17alpha-estradiol caused a small but significant decrease in MBP expression in females. During lysolecithin-induced demyelination, it had a possible, but not statistically significant, protective effect in males. Neither 17beta- nor 17alpha-estradiol had a reproducible or significant effect on remyelination in males or females.

Keywords: multiple sclerosis
estrogen
myelination
remyelination
Advisor: Boggs, Joan M.
PScout: Analyzing the Android Permission Specification

Modern smartphone operating systems (OSs) have been developed with a greater emphasis on security and protecting privacy. One of the security mechanisms these systems use is permission system. We perform an analysis of the Android permission system in an attempt to begin answering some of the questions that have arisen about its design and implementation. We developed PScout, a tool that extracts the permission specification from the Android OS source code using static analysis and analyzed 5 versions of Android spanning version 2.2 up to the recently released Android 4.1. Our main findings are that while there is little redundancy in the permission specification, if applications could be constrained to only use documented APIs, then about 18-26% of the non-system permissions can be hidden. Finally, we find that a trade-off exists between enabling least-privilege security with fine-grained permissions and maintaining stability of the permission specification as the Android OS evolves.

Keywords: Android
Permissions
Smartphone
Advisor: Lie, David
Biochemical and Biophysical Studies of Human SUR1 NBD1, Rat SUR2A NBD2 and the Role of the C-terminal Extension in Rat SUR2A NBD1

SUR2A-mediated regulation of KATP channels is affected by residues belonging to the C terminus of the first nucleotide binding domain (NBD1). We studied the C-terminal region of NBD1 by comparing experiments using NBD1 S615-D914 and NBD1 S615-K972 constructs to studies of NBD1 S615-L933 also performed in our laboratory. Our NMR data suggests that the C-terminal region of NBD1 from residues Q915 to L933 is disordered and transiently contacts the NBD1 core, which may affect NBD1 phosphorylation. Tryptophan quenching fluorescence experiments corroborate that the Q915-L933 C-terminal tail contacts the NBD1 core. Fluorescence thermal denaturation experiments suggest that NBD1 S615-D914 has a higher affinity for MgATP compared with NBD1 S615-L933, implying that the C-terminal tail varies MgATP binding. Additional experiments were performed to identify soluble constructs of hSUR1 NBD1 and rSUR2A NBD2 that would allow detailed biophysical studies of these domains. Some of the constructs studied showed improved solubility and stability.

Keywords: rSUR2A NBD1
hSUR1 NBD1
rSUR2A NBD2
NBDs
potassium channel
KATP channel
NBD1 phosphorylation
C-terminal extension
Tryptophan quenching
Thermal denaturation
NMR
Regulation of NBD1
Acrylamide quenching
Iodide quenching
Fluorescence
Circular dichroism
NBD1 C-terminal tail
MgATP binding
Advisor: Voula, Kanelis
The Saudi Tʿawuni Insurance Model: Concerns about Compatibility with Islamic law in Accomodating “Risk”

The Saudi taʿawuni insurance model, despite claiming to be compatible with Islamic transactional rules, in fact violates the prohibition of gharar (risk) through its commercial structure. The study investigates the ways in which gharar (risk) is accommodated in modern insurance models. It argues that the most appropriate solution to comply with the doctrine of gharar, is to de-commercialize the taʿawuni model by adopting the mutual insurance model, which is capable of satisfying the requirements of sharia relating to the prohibition of trading in gharar

Keywords: Insurance
Islamic Law
Saudi Arabian Law
Sharia
Advisor: Fadel, Mohammad
The Pedagogy of Existential Questioning: Finding Hope through Despair

My thesis examines existential questioning as a method towards becoming pedagogical. I argue that a pedagogy of existential questioning, as an experience of a distinctive moment characterized by growing uncertainty, is the complete opposite of what we understand the role of pedagogy in the culture of learning to be. As a result, existential questioning is uncomfortable and often unbearable. I argue through Heideggerean and Sartrean questioning, that it is precisely this feeling of discomfort that signals the beginning of becoming pedagogical. I then proceed to articulate the process of existential questioning as hopeful, developing my concept of “hopeful despair” and “desperate hope” to argue for the ambiguous and pedagogical nature of hope. I proceed to look at ways in which existential questioning can be “played” in higher education, and the ways in which the uncomfortable work of becoming pedagogical can in fact be full of wonder, gratification and utter delight.

Keywords: existentialism, pedagogy, Sartre, Heidegger, affect, hope, despair
Advisor: Boler, Megan
Reframing Classroom Encounters: Teachers Making Sense of School Securitization

This thesis explores the discourses available to teachers in navigating and making sense of their role in the securitization of high schools. My analysis is based on semi-structured interviews conducted with nine teachers working in urban schools in Toronto. Drawing on frameworks from post-colonial, critical race, and urban education studies, I argue that school securitization is not just complicated by racism, but structured and enabled by it. While there is an urgent need to resist the implementation of particular security and surveillance measures that intensify the targeted disqualification of racialized youth, it is equally if not more important to uncover and resist the ways that racial thinking organizes a much wider range of classroom encounters and pedagogical practices. I urge teachers to interrogate their investments in the categories and subject positions that race thinking makes available, including those that are desirable and pleasurable.

Keywords: securitization
school violence
surveillance
race
teacher identities
Advisor: McCready, Lance T.
How Does Job-embedded Teacher Development Influence Childrens' Experience of Mathematics?

This action-based, qualitative research project involving 7 early childhood educators working in a well-established preschool child care program examined the influences of job-embedded professional development on children’s experiences of mathematics. Data was collected through observations, journals, conversations, interviews, and surveys, and then analyzed using a grounded theory model. A number of themes emerged, the strongest being those related to teachers’ increased awareness, interpretation, and support of children’s explorations in mathematics during play. This project provides an example of a successful model of teacher development for early childhood educators, and contributes to the growing field of research in mathematics education related to teacher noticing, but at the preschool level. Further, with the introduction of full day kindergarten and the emphasis on play based learning this project provides many rich examples of the mathematics present in children's every day play that can be used in future teacher development.

Keywords: early childhood education
mathematics
teacher development
teacher noticing
play based learning
job-embedded teacher development
Advisor: Cameron, Linda
An Examination of the Role of Student Loan-debt Nexus in First Generation Female Students' Lives: A Case Study at One Canadian University Campus

Paying back student loans is a challenge for many Canadians. Seven female students who belong to the category of the first generation group shared their experience of student loan-debt. Since the amount of financial support is limited or unavailable, student loans are an option for those families who cannot provide financial support for their children to participate in higher education. This thesis deploys the experience of first generation women student loan borrowers as a part of the growing role of finances in higher education. It examines their stories of negotiation and challenges from the perspective of feminist social enquiry. Participants shared their present situation, future planning, and overall experience of taking student loans. Above all, this study attempts to explore those aspects of life of first generation females which are affected through the process of repaying student loans.

Keywords: student loan
first generation
debt
higher education
Advisor: Magnusson, Jamie Lynn
Learning to Teach in an Intensive Introductory TESL Training Course: A Case Study of English Teacher Learning

Despite a growing body of research on trainee teachers’ learning during pre-service programs, intensive introductory TESL training courses are still designed to instruct a “standard” type of trainee teacher. This research study investigates the factors that mediate trainee teachers’ learning process as well as the interaction between these factors, which either facilitate and/or hinder trainee teachers’ success during an intensive introductory TESL training course. Using a qualitative holistic single-case study, informed by an interpretivist perspective, this study explores how three trainee teachers learned how to teach during a course in Southern Ontario, Canada. An integrated conceptual framework, formed by a sociocultural perspective of teacher learning, a holistic view of curriculum, and transformative pedagogy was employed and the findings include four major factors that mediated trainee teachers’ teacher learning process and three types of interaction that facilitated and/or hindered their success during the program.

Keywords: Learning to teach English
TESL
TEFL
TESOL
pre-service
trainee teacher
teacher training
teacher education
ESL
second language teacher eduation
previous learning experiences and beliefs
previous teaching experiences
sociocultural theory
identity negotiation
interpersonal space
holistic orientation to curriculum
practicum
transformative pedagogy
case study
teacher learning
EFL
teacher trainer
English language teachers
English language teaching
ELT
TESL Canada
Advisor: Gagne, Antoinette
Simultaneous Protein and Biodiesel Production from Yellow Mustard Seed with Isopropyl Alcohol Extraction

Aqueous extraction of yellow mustard seed recovers oil in the form of oil-in-water emulsion. In this study, the ternary phase diagram of IPA, oil and water was developed to design an effective oil extraction process of oil-in-water emulsion. A 4-stage extraction process recovered 92.3% of oil from the emulsion into virtually anhydrous IPA-oil miscella. The oil and water separation and IPA usage efficiency was improved by using recycled solvent, but the oil recovery was decreased to 86.0%. The obtained IPA-oil miscella can be used directly in biodiesel production. The use of IPA as a reactant and a co-solvent in transesterification was investigated in this study. Isopropanolysis at 1.2% KOH resulted in 54% ester content in the product. When IPA was used as a co-solvent in methanolysis, the transesterification was drastically improved. The product met the total glycerol limit of the ASTM biodiesel standard within 10 minutes, with over 99% ester content.

Keywords: Oilseeds extraction
Biodiesel production
Advisor: Diosady, Levente L.
Investigation of Simulator Motion Drive Algorithms for Airplane Upset Simulation

Currently, it is uncertain how well a typical ground-based simulator's hexapod motion system can simulate the aggressive motion during airplane upset. To address this issue, this thesis attempts to improve simulator motion for upset recovery simulation by defining new motion fidelity criteria, implementing body frame filtering, and improving an existing adaptive motion drive algorithm. The successfully improved adaptive algorithm was used to conduct a paired comparison experiment to study the effects of trade-offs between translational and rotational motion cues on pilot subjective fidelity and upset recovery performance. Analysis of the experimental data found that pilots generally rejected motion with false lateral cues and they preferred the presence of rotational cues for moderate roll angles. Also, performance analysis suggested that roll cues helped improve lateral control. Overall, pilots preferred to have simulator motion during upset simulation and significant improvements in performance were observed when simulator motion was present.

Keywords: Motion Drive Algorithms
Flight Simulation
Airplane upset
Upset Recovery Simulation
Advisor: Grant, Peter R.
Comparative Analysis of Copyright Enforcement in the Cloud under U.S and Canadian Law: The Liability of Internet Intermediaries

Through an empirical comparison between U.S and Canadian copyright law, this paper examines how lawmakers in both countries should deal with copyright liability issues in the cloud while maintaining a proper balance between content owners and Internet intermediaries. This paper proposes to answer this question throughout the study of the liability of Internet intermediaries. Drawing on copyright statutory provisions, case law and scholars articles, this paper examines the issue of online piracy, defines cloud computing and identifies the copyright liability issues posed by the cloud. It then compares U.S and Canadian copyright laws and discusses the new reform proposed in both countries in relation with the liability of Internet intermediaries. It concludes that new statutory reform might not be necessary except for clarification purposes. Indeed current copyright laws deal efficiently with copyright liability issues in the cloud while maintaining a proper balance between content owners and Internet intermediaries.

Keywords: Copyright Enforcement in the Cloud
Liability of Internet Intermediaries
Advisor: Katz, Ariel
The Consequentialist Scale: Elucidating the Role of Deontological and Utilitarian Beliefs in Moral Judgments

In previous research, measurement of deontological and utilitarian beliefs relied on responses to classic moral dilemmas. While use of these dilemmas has proven fruitful they are fraught with potential confounds. This thesis describes the construction and validation of the Consequentialist scale, a tool designed to directly measure the endorsement of both utilitarian and deontological beliefs. The Consequentialist scale was tested against variables previously associated with moral judgments, namely emotional reactivity, Machiavellianism, intrinsic religiosity, and political conservatism. Results indicate that the Consequentialist scale provides added explanatory power that helps to elucidate cornerstone processes involved in moral judgments.

Keywords: Moral judgment
Moral beliefs
Advisor: Plaks, Jason
A Newborn Sex-related Response to Hyperoxia

Exposure to hyperoxia has been shown to have detrimental effects on newborn hemodynamics and antioxidant activities in males. These effects are unknown in the newborn female, despite clinical data showing that in children undergoing surgery females have poorer outcomes. This thesis explored whether newborn females respond worse than males to hyperoxia, specifically in hemodynamics and antioxidant activity. Hemodynamic results showed continual decreases in DBP and MAP, increases in HR, decreases in SBP, and increases in PP, which were experienced earlier and to a greater degree in the female. Additionally, reduced antioxidant activity seen in newborns was worse in females in both the heart and skeletal muscle. These results suggest that in response to hyperoxia, newborn females are at a hemodynamic disadvantage when compared to males, which may be a contributing factor for why female children are at a higher risk during surgery or medical management involving hyperoxia.

Keywords: Hyperoxia
Hemodynamics
sex-difference
Advisor: Wittnich, Carin
Intraperitoneal, Continuous Carboplatin Delivery for the Treatment of Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer remains the deadliest gynecologic malignancy. Current treatment has low efficacy in the long term, leading to low 5-year survival rates of 20-40%. Treatment-free periods between cycles of chemotherapy are accepted in standard treatment. These periods lead to accelerated tumor cell proliferation, angiogenesis and drug resistance development. Studies presented herein show advantages of continuous carboplatin dosing schedule over conventional intermittent regimen, both administered intraperitoneally. Continuous carboplatin therapy blocked acceleration of cell proliferation observed during treatment-free period of intermittent therapy. Moreover, continuous carboplatin led to 57% inhibition of SKOV3 tumors grown intraperitoneally in SCID mice, a significant advantage over the 33% tumor suppression observed with intermittent carboplatin. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed continuous carboplatin led to greater tumor cell death while suppressing tumor cell proliferation and angiogenesis when compared to intermittent administration. These results show that the suppression of tumor growth with carboplatin can be enhanced by the elimination of treatment free periods.

Keywords: Chemotherapy
carboplatin
ovarian cancer
continuous
Advisor: Piquette-Miller, Micheline
Evaluation and Control of Pirssonite Scale Formation in Green Liquor Systems of the Kraft Process

Scaling in green liquor handling systems is a persistent problem in many kraft mills. Scaling is commonly believed to be the result of pirssonite (Na2Ca(CO3)2∙2H2O) deposition. In this work, scale characterization was performed by analyzing 12 scale samples obtained from 10 kraft mills. Only 4 samples were identified as pirssonite while the remaining consisted of CaCO3. The predominant presence of CaCO3 in the scale samples was found to be the result of selective dissolution of Na2CO3 from pirssonite scale, leaving CaCO3 behind. Experimental studies were also conducted to study pirssonite solubility under green liquor conditions. Results obtained from these studies were used to create and validate a database for pirssonite in the OLI Systems® software to predict its formation. This database was used to generate a family of pirssonite solubility curves that can be used by the kraft mills as operational guidelines to prevent pirssonite precipitation.

Keywords: Pirssonite
Green liquor Scale
Calcium carbonate
CaCO3
Scale
Deposition
green liquor
Pirssonite solubility
kraft mill scale
Na2Ca(CO3)2∙2H2O
selective dissolution
incongruent dissolution
OLI
Advisor: Tran, Honghi
Papangelakis, Vladimiros G.
State-based Control of Discrete-event Systems with Observational Abstraction

The state-based approach plays an important role in modeling and control of Discrete-Event Systems (DES). Based on previous work, state feedback control of DES with nonblocking is thoroughly investigated; a general construction method for memory and the corresponding predicate is also specified. Two examples are provided in illustration. Also presented is state-based control of DES with observational abstraction. Based on the existing idea of quasi-congruence, quasi-observer, as a kind of observational abstraction, is developed; its advantages and limitations are discussed by means of simple examples. Imposing an observational partition on the state set also leads to observational abstraction. On this basis, the state-feedback controller design is introduced; in particular, the notion of high and low modeling levels for DES is proposed, based on which reachability and controllability are further discussed and compared. Finally, two simple applications are provided to show the advantage of observational partition in DES analysis and control.

Keywords: Discrete-Event Systems
Observational Abstraction
State-based Control
Advisor: Wonham, Murray
Serotonergic Responsiveness in Hypothalamic Neurons

Serotonin (5-HT) has been implicated in energy homeostasis. There is growing evidence that 5-HT, acting through the 5-HT1BR in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN), is important to this regulation. To investigate the cellular events underlying 5-HT1BR action, a PVN neuronal cell model was established. The mHypoA-2/30 cell line expresses a complement of markers and neuropeptides specifically localized to the PVN. 5-HT induces neuronal activation in a dose-dependent manner as determined by an elevation in cFos mRNA levels. As 5-HT exerted limited transcriptional control, the integrity of 5-HT signaling machinery was assessed. 5-HT signals through cAMP and calcium secondary messenger systems by suppressing cAMP and elevating intracellular calcium, effects that are mimicked by activating the 5-HT1BR and that are attenuated in the presence of inhibitors. These findings support the use of this novel PVN cell model for delineating components involved in direct 5-HT action in PVN neurons.

Keywords: physiology
cellular biology
molecular biology
hypothalamus
neuroendocrinology
feeding behaviour
serotonin
neuropeptide expression
transcriptional regulation
obesity
immortalized cell lines
signal transduction
paraventricular nucleus
neuroscience
real-time PCR
calcium signaling
neuronal activation
secretion
Advisor: Belsham, Denise
Enhanced Bioactivity and Sustained Release of NT-3 and Anti-NogoA from a Polymeric Drug Delivery System for Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury

Neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) and anti-NogoA have shown promise in regenerative strategies after spinal cord injury; however, conventional methods for localized release to the injured spinal cord are either prone to infection or not suitable for sustained release. To address these issues, we have designed a composite drug delivery system that is comprised of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles dispersed in an injectable hydrogel of hyaluronan and methyl cellulose (HAMC). Achieving sustained and bioactive protein release from PLGA particles is a known challenge; consequently, we studied the effects of processing parameters and excipient selection on protein release, stability, and bioactivity. We found that embedding PLGA nanoparticles in HAMC results in more linear drug release due to the formation of a diffusion-limiting layer of methyl cellulose on the particle surface. Co-encapsulated MgCO3 was able to significantly improve NT-3 bioactivity, while trehalose + hyaluronan was able to improve anti-NogoA bioactivity and release.

Keywords: Drug release
Spinal cord injury
Advisor: Shoichet, Molly