VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
An Integrated Charge and Drive System for Electric Vehicles

Market penetration of electric vehicles (EVs) is largely hindered by the lack of a nationwide fast charging network and limited drive range. The fast charging electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) is costly to implement on a large-scale due to the need for high power charging hardware comprising of multiple power electronic stages dedicated to delivering controlled power to the EV battery. This thesis proposes an integrated charge and drive system for EVs. The concept is to utilize the on-vehicle powertrain as the EVSE, thus offering a cost-effective solution by eliminating the DC/DC power conversion stage from the EVSE. The integrated system consists of two energy sources paired with drive inverters that are connected in series through an electric motor with a simple open-stator winding, where the charging input is accessed from the differential connection of the inverters. In comparison to previous fast charging integrated solutions that require the use of two power stages in the traction system to enable integrated charging, the proposed integrated solution only requires a single power stage in the traction drive. While the dual energy sources integrating hybrid energy storage media may consist of two identical battery packs, the powertrain can be further leveraged to potentially extend drive range. Charging and driving features of the integrated system are verified in simulation and experiment, through development of a 110kW motor drive test bench integrating dual energy sources of both similar and differing characteristics. The experimental results demonstrate feasibility of utilizing traction hardware to regulate the charging current under established constant-current and constant-voltage battery charging modes. A balancing control strategy is also developed to equalize the energy between the dual energy sources. For vehicle propulsion, the results demonstrate flexible power sharing between two energy sources under static dynamic driving conditions, where in the case of a battery and supercapacitor, power energy management of the supercapacitor is achieved without reliance on a two-stage power electronic solution. Numerical efficiency comparison between existing traction drives and the proposed traction drive shows up to 14% additional range from an electric vehicle using the proposed system in an urban setting.

Advisor: Lehn, Peter W
The Aesthetic Versus Aesthetics: Emmanuel Levinas' Critique of Mediation

Emmanuel Levinas’ corpus occupies itself with the critique of representations mediating the experience of an individual with the world and the Other person. For Levinas, any attempt of an individual to mediate their experience of the Other is inherently inauthentic, and he argues that the mediating term between the self and Other has the quality of the plastic image. This plastic image d’art is the object with which aesthetics concerns itself. Therefore, Levinas’ critique of mediation is a critique of aesthetics. The Phenomenological tradition in philosophy has the solution to the problem of aesthetics. The solution lies in Phenomenology’s basis in the philosophy of Immanuel Kant. Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason [First Critique] outlines the proper use of the term ‘aesthetic’ as based in the Greek aisthesis, meaning ‘sensation.’ Thus, Kant opens his First Critique with ‘The Transcendental Aesthetic’ of space and time as the conditions for all sensation. Phenomenology’s thesis that all consciousness is consciousness of something is indebted to this fundamental analytic of sensation. I term the fundamental analytic of sensation as ‘the aesthetic,’ as opposed to the more popular notion of ‘aesthetics’ as a concern with art and the beautiful. Ultimately, representation is a necessary element to experience, requiring that an individual re-present their experience to themself. I call The need for an individual to represent the Other to themselves ‘epistemological original sin.’ For Levinas’ Jewish context, representing the divine Other is akin to idolatry. Only the ethical revelation of the Other to the self is the solution to this fundamental problem of Phenomenology.

Keywords: Existentialism
Jewish Philosophy
Jewish Studies
Levinas
Phenomenology
Philosophy
Advisor: Novak, David
Design and Development of Triboelectric Nanogenerators for Water Wave Energy Harvesting

Mechanical energy harvesting from the motion of water waves is a very promising direction toward the replacement of batteries and fossil fuels with a clean and sustainable energy resource. Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has been introduced recently as a novel and potent technology for this purpose, and the use of TENG for water wave energy harvesting has been investigated to some extent. However, there are two main challenges in this path including: A) design of advanced TENG systems for effective wave energy harvesting, and B) development of novel methods and materials for improving the performance of TENG systems. This research addresses the two challenges in three directions including development and analysis of advanced structural designs for TENG-based wave energy harvesters, development of a surface modification technique for the TENG improvement, and development of advanced materials for high performance TENG systems. For the advanced structural design direction, initially a comprehensive analysis is carried out on the performance of a hybridized TENG and electromagnetic (EMG) wave energy harvester based on the duck-shaped structure. Then, a hybridized TENG-EMG wave energy harvester is developed and analyzed based on the heaving point absorber mechanism. Lastly, the heaving hybridized TENG-EMG is fabricated and experimentally evaluated to demonstrate the application of proposed design. For the surface modification direction, a novel and facile method is developed for improving the surface morphology of polymeric layers which are embedded into the TENG. This method is based the hot embossing of polymers on self-assembled micro particles which can effectively boost the output performance of TENG systems. For the advanced materials direction, highly porous polymeric aerogels namely polyimide and polyurethane aerogels are developed and synthesized to be used as the main contact materials in the TENG which can remarkably enhance the TENG electrical output characteristics. In overall, this research provides guidelines toward design and development of high performance TENG-based systems for wave energy harvesting.

Keywords: Energy Harvesting
Triboelectric Nanogenerator
Wave Energy
Advisor: Naguib, Hani E
Esmailzadeh, Ebrahim
Metformin as an Endogenous Repair Strategy to Activate Neural Precursor Cells and Improve Cognition Following Brain Injury

Neural stem and progenitor cells, collectively termed neural precursor cells (NPCs), reside in well-defined niches within the mammalian brain: the subventricular zone (SVZ) and the dentate gyrus (DG). NPCs give rise to new neurons throughout the lifespan and possess the ability to self-renew and give rise to all neural cell types. Exploiting this endogenous potential of NPCs is a promising target for repairing the brain after injury. Metformin, an FDA-approved drug used to treat type 2 diabetes, enhances the NPC pool and increases neurogenesis. Further, one week of metformin treatment improves motor recovery in a neonatal hypoxia-ischemia (H-I) model. Age and sex can affect the extent of damage and functional outcome following brain injury. Herein, we investigated the effect of these factors on the ability of metformin to expand the NPC pool and enhance neurogenesis. Our results show that metformin administration in uninjured animals led to age- and sex-dependent effects on NPC expansion and neurogenesis, and that these effects were mediated by niche-related hormones. The presence of estradiol led to a permissive environment with a resulting increase in the NPC pool following metformin treatment, while testosterone led to an inhibitory environment and lack of NPC pool expansion. We then investigated whether metformin treatment was effective at improving cognitive impairments in two models of childhood brain injury, H-I and cranial irradiation. Consistent with our results in uninjured mice, we found sex-dependent effects of metformin treatment following H-I injury, and sex- and brain region-dependent effects following cranial irradiation. These findings suggest that metformin represents a promising strategy for brain repair and highlights the importance of considering sex and age to optimize the translation of this approach.

Keywords: cranial irradiation
hypoxia-ischemia
metformin
neural stem cell
neurogenesis
Advisor: Morshead, Cindi M
Preclinical Modeling of Driver Alterations in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer related mortality and accounts for more than 1.6 million deaths worldwide each year. In the past decade, therapeutic treatments for NSCLC have extended beyond surgery and standard chemotherapies. These advancements have largely focused on the identification of oncogenic drivers and assessment of their ability to predict response to targeted therapy. Despite these advancements, the lack of initial response to single agent treatment and acquired drug resistance are recurring issues that arise in NSCLC. Additionally, preclinical models such as cell lines have been widely used for drug testing and understanding disease pathogenesis. However, they have molecularly deviated from patient tumors and may not accurately reflect drug response in patients. Thus, there is an unmet need to develop clinically and biologically relevant models of NSCLC. These models may then be used to identify new therapeutic strategies to overcome acquired resistance and improve single agent therapy response with combination therapy targeting the major drivers of this disease. In this dissertation, I have modeled several oncogenic drivers of NSCLC to identify novel treatment strategies using patient-derived xenografts (PDX) and organoids. In the first study, I have determined absence of ALK protein by IHC as a primary resistance mechanism and MET amplification and BRAF mutation as secondary resistance mechanisms to ALK inhibitors in lung adenocarcinoma. In the second study, I have identified CDK4/6 inhibitors as promising agents to use in combination with PI3K inhibitors in PIK3CA mutant lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). In the third study, I have developed a protocol for culturing NSCLC organoids and identified FGFR1 and MEK inhibitor combination as a potential therapeutic strategy in FGFR1 amplified LUSC. The findings outlined in this dissertation will not only describe additional preclinical models, but also therapeutic approaches to overcome acquired drug resistance and improve response to single agent therapy with potential drug combinations in NSCLC.

Keywords: Biomarker discovery
Drug screening
Lung cancer
Oncology
Organoids
Patient-derived xenografts
Advisor: Tsao, Ming S
Biomarkers of Agitation in Patients with Alzheimer's disease

Agitation is challenging to treat in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and has significant implications for patients and caregivers. A major source of difficulty in identifying safe and effective treatments for agitation is the lack of validated biomarkers. The goal of this work was to investigate biomarkers of agitation in patients with AD. Study 1: This study systematically reviewed 57 papers investigating biomarkers of agitation in AD. Studies 2-5: Blood samples were collected from 38 participants enrolled in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial investigating nabilone, a synthetic cannabinoid, for the treatment of agitation in AD. The cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between agitation and 24-S-hydroxycholesterol (cerebrocholesterol (Cchol) (study 2), lipid peroxidation markers of oxidative stress (OS) (study 3), and inflammatory cytokines (study 4) and a biosignature of response to nabilone (study 5) were investigated. These processes are altered in AD and may be associated with agitation and/or endocannabinoid signalling. Study 1: Of six classes of biomarkers identified, most were diagnostic in nature, substantiating the need for studies investigating the longitudinal associations between biomarkers and agitation in AD. Study 2: Cchol was associated with agitation severity cross-sectionally, and longitudinally. However, Cchol did not predict response to nabilone, and did not change over time with nabilone. Study 3: Baseline levels of the late-stage lipid-peroxidation marker, 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) were associated with agitation severity cross-sectionally, and longitudinally. However changes in 4-HNE were not associated with changes in agitation severity in either phase. Study 4: The pro-inflammatory cytokine, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) was associated with agitation severity cross-sectionally. Lower baseline and decreases in TNF-α were associated with decreases in agitation severity in the nabilone phase only. Study 5: Inflammatory cytokines, and markers of OS predicted response to nabilone based on symptoms of verbal and physical agitation, respectively. Findings from the nabilone trial suggest that Cchol, 4-HNE and TNF-α may be useful markers of agitation severity. Additionally, response to nabilone may be influenced by the degree of OS and neuroinflammation a patient may have. As there are no validated biomarkers of agitation, identifying markers of agitation and response would assist in identifying patients who may benefit from treatment with nabilone.

Keywords: agitation
Alzheimer's disease
biomarkers
cannabinoid
nabilone
Advisor: Lanctôt, Krista L.
Effects of Web-based Auditory Training on the Perception of Korean Sounds by Mandarin Learners of Korean

This dissertation is concerned with the perceptual acquisition of Korean sounds by adult second language (L2) learners and suggests web-based auditory training as an effective learning tool to enhance L2 learners’ perceptual accuracy of Korean sounds. Experiment 1 explores the role of experience in the perception of Korean three-way laryngeal contrasts of stops and affricates by 44 native Mandarin listeners differing in Korean language experience. The results revealed that most Mandarin listeners did not reach the same level of perceptual accuracy as native Korean listeners; however, advanced learners perceived contrasts more accurately than beginner and intermediate learners. This indicates that the greater the adult learners’ experience in the L2, the better their perceptual accuracy of L2 contrasts. The goal of Experiment 2 is to examine whether L1 inventory size affects L2 perception by comparing 28 English and 28 Mandarin listeners’ identification accuracy for Korean vowels and codas. The results showed that English listeners, whose L1 has a rich vowel and coda inventory, outperformed Mandarin listeners, who have a small L1 vowel and coda inventory, suggesting that L1 inventory size has a significant effect on L2 perception. Experiment 3 investigates the effects of web-based auditory training and compares the efficacy of attention on the perception of Korean vowels and codas. For this study, 45 Mandarin listeners were randomly assigned to one of two training groups to receive either vowel- or coda-training, both exposed to identical stimuli, or to a control group to receive no training. Results demonstrated that both training groups outperformed the control group for the identification of target sounds, suggesting a beneficial effect of web-based training of L2 sounds. In addition, both the vowel- and coda-trained group yielded significant improvement in identifying Korean vowels; however, only the coda-trained group achieved a significant increase in coda identification accuracy. These findings indicate that attention type differentially affects perception depending on the target structure and highlights the benefits of explicit over implicit training for at least some L2 sound structures. Furthermore, learners were able to generalize knowledge to a novel phonetic context, providing evidence that robust learning has occurred during training.

Keywords: identification task
Implicit and explicit attention
Korean
L2 perception
vowels and codas
Web-based perceptual training
Advisor: Kang, Yoonjung
The eHealth Trust Model: Understanding the Patient Privacy Perspective in a Digital Health Environment

Patient privacy is an issue on the forefront of health information exchange (HIE) discussions as patient privacy concerns are often cited as an implementation barrier. While protecting patient privacy is crucial in healthcare, the limited evidence suggests that patient privacy needs may be overstated by the healthcare community. Through three interrelated studies, this dissertation argues that patient privacy perspectives are more nuanced than suggested in the patient privacy discourse. A greater understanding of their perspectives is required to ensure patient-centric privacy policy decisions are made about HIE. The first study in this dissertation is a systematic review that explores how patient privacy has been characterized in the empirical literature on HIE. The review highlights context-dependency of the patient privacy perspective and identifies knowledge and methodological gaps in the current evidence. In the second study, patients with mental health conditions were interviewed to understand their views on privacy, trust, personal health information (PHI) regulations, and HIE. The study found that privacy concerns varied among the patients; moreover, trust and perceived benefits were equally important factors in their decision to share their health data (i.e., PHI). The findings from these studies were used to develop the eHealth Trust Model (eHTM)—an evidence-based theory-grounded privacy framework. The proposed eHTM was then validated and improved through an eDelphi study, where a panel of privacy experts and patients provided feedback on the theoretical relevance and applicability of the model constructs. The final product of this dissertation is a content-validated eHTM, which provides an evidence-based, theory-grounded approach to conceptualizing the patient privacy perspective. The purpose of the eHTM is to guide future policy-oriented research that provides knowledge users with insights on how to implement innovative uses of PHI while meeting patient expectations of privacy.

Keywords: Digital health
eHealth
Health Information Exchange
Patient perspective
Privacy
Trust
Advisor: Wiljer, David
The Puck Stops Here: An Inquiry into the Manufacture of Goalie Masks

The present inquiry seeks to document the changing landscapes of the manufacture of ice hockey equipment in Canada. This was once a burgeoning branch of industrial activity, but has more recently been heavily impacted by outsourcing and offshoring tendencies (especially from the early 1990s onwards). In little less than two decades, imposing manufacturing plants have been systematically shut down, thoroughly reducing Canada´s share in the production of the equipment needed for the practice of what is often deemed its national game. Today, estimates suggest that roughly ninety percent of the hockey gear consumed in Canada is manufactured in the Global South. This research unfolds in the aftermath of this geographical transformation, paying particular attention to the perspective of the small manufacturers of hockey equipment that are still based on Canadian soil. For six months, I carried out participant observations and interviews in a factory where goalie masks are produced. Drawing upon the findings that derive from my experience in this setting, as well as from attending mask shows and similar events, I try to bring into light the daily routine of the factory floor; the progressive steps in the assembly line; the relationships that the workers entertain with the game of hockey; and, most fundamentally, the uncertainties faced by small companies attempting to survive at the margins of a market dominated by major corporations. In addition, I discuss the specificities of goalie masks as sporting commodities, seeking to illustrate the residues of artisanship that, in some special cases, pervade the manufacture of these objects to this day – thus resisting the general drive towards standardization that characterizes the sports equipment industry more broadly. To conclude, I engender an exploratory analysis of the different meanings that goalie masks are invested with – including as a projection of a goaltender’s identity.

Keywords: Goalie masks
Ice hockey
Sports equipment
Advisor: Kidd, Bruce
A Perfect Storm: Mapping the Life Course Trajectories of Serial Killers

Since the 1970s, scholars have produced a large body of research attempting to establish the mechanisms by which serial killers come to arrive at a life of repeat fatal violence. Traits such as psychopathy, biomarkers such as abnormal dopamine concentrations, and other developmental correlates such as early family environment have all been offered as proximal explanations for the motivations, psychopathology, and etiology of serial homicide. Unfortunately, however, from the standpoint of developmental psychology, these insights are far too limited in scope. Human thought, functioning, and behaviour are the product of complex reciprocal transactions that occur between the individual and their environment throughout their lifespan. Processes that serve to shape human development include neural plasticity, modifiability, resilience and adaptation, among others. Yet, these vital processes are never discussed in the developmental literature on serial homicide. Additionally, research in this area tends to lack the ‘voice of the killer.’ Instead of as active participants, offenders are viewed as objects of research and as passive participants in their own life experiences. Again, this is problematic from the standpoint of developmental psychology. Every person’s actions are formed by years of contextual experience which reinforce dominant patterns of thinking which eventually come to dominate behaviour. Thus, in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of human psychopathology, behaviour, and development one must also endeavor to understand how patterns of thought and/or behaviour were shaped, expressed, and reinforced throughout one’s lifespan. Embracing a developmental model that is complex, and dynamic, and that honors the multisystem aspects of human development is necessary should we hope to understand the motivations, psychopathology, and etiology of serial homicide. Using lifespan developmental psychology as a guiding framework, this paper traces the developmental mechanisms that come together to shape the lives and criminal trajectories of serial killers.

Advisor: Volpe, Richard