VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Continuous Monitoring of Intraocular Pressure from the Sclera

Glaucoma is an optic neuropathy often associated with increased intraocular pressure (IOP) that can lead to impaired vision and blindness. Frequently asymptomatic, this eye disease may be undetectable until vision is severely compromised. The primary goal of glaucoma management is to prevent progressive nerve damage by maintaining a reduced IOP in order to preserve vision and maintain a patient&rsquo;s quality of life. IOP is a major risk factor for glaucoma, however, studies have shown that throughout a 24-hour period IOP is not constant and fluctuates throughout the day. This results in the clinical dilemma that diurnal changes in IOP, particularly during sleep, in patients with glaucoma may not be accurately evaluated during the regular practitioners&rsquo; office hours when diagnosis and management are provided. Since lowering and stabilizing IOP remains the only proven way to reduce disease progression, the development of a continuous IOP monitoring device, for human use, is critical. To date, there remains no commercially available non-invasive human device that can reliably and accurately measure IOP throughout the 24-hour period. There is an experimental contact lens device available in Europe, but there are significant disadvantages using a silicon contact lens on the cornea. The objective of this thesis was to demonstrate the efficacy of a noninvasive strain gauge sensor, placed on the sclera, to detect changes in IOP. The specific aims are to provide proof-of-principle for a novel, scleral mounted device for measuring IOP by: (1) establishing whether IOP can be recorded from the conjunctival and scleral surface using enucleated porcine eyes; (2) establishing whether IOP can be recorded from the conjunctival surface in a live pig model; and (3) to examine the inflammatory response of a hydrogel contact lens placed overnight on the scleral, bulbar conjunctiva as a plausible carrier for the strain gauge sensor. Changes in IOP can be accurately assessed by measuring changes in the radius of curvature of the sclera in enucleated tissue as well as in a live porcine model. Analysis of silicone hydrogel contact lenses, approved for overnight wear on the cornea, showed that they may be safely mounted on the upper bulbar conjunctiva and present a promising carrier material for a 24-hour IOP monitoring device. These proof-of-principle experiments are an essential step to the realization of a safe, scleral mounted, 24-hour IOP recording device that has the potential to significantly impact the way glaucoma is diagnosed and managed.

Keywords: Glaucoma
Intraocular Pressure
Monitoring
Strain Gauge
Sclera
Conjunctiva
Advisor: Flanagan, John
William of Pagula's Speculum Religiosorum and its Background: Law, Pastoral Care and Religious Formation for Monks, c. 1215-c. 1350

This dissertation examines the intersection of law and monastic literature in the Speculum religiosorum (c.1322), a guide to the monastic life, written by the English parish priest and doctor of canon law William of Pagula (c.1285-1332). William&rsquo;s Speculum is unique among monastic treatises in that it incorporates a long compendium of monastic law. The introduction provides context for the Speculum through an overview of the history of monastic reform from the mid-eleventh century to the fourteenth. In chapter one, I examine the manuscripts of the Speculum religiosorum, its relationship to William&rsquo;s other works, and its sources. The non-legal contents of the Speculum come mostly from the Bible, the Fathers, and Cistercian writers, but I show that William&rsquo;s sources for this material were often more recent compilations, such as Thomas of Ireland&rsquo;s Manipulus florum. In chapter two I argue that the Speculum belongs to a genre that I call &ldquo;encyclopedic manuals of monastic formation,&rdquo; but that the work also has an important relationship with sermons and preaching aids. Chapters three and four cover the legal contents of the Speculum. Chapter three is an overview of monastic law from Gratian&rsquo;s Decretum to the Clementines (1311), with an emphasis on the English context. Chapter four surveys compendia of monastic law in fourteenth-century England. I argue that William&rsquo;s legal methodology is more sophisticated than that of similar works. In Chapter five, I demonstrate that wisdom is the governing theme for the Speculum as a whole. I argue that William encourages his audience to treat law as a form of wisdom, and to internalize it through meditative reading. I provide parallel examples from other monastic contexts. William&rsquo;s conception of wisdom combines elements from Augustine and from monastic exegesis of biblical wisdom literature. I conclude by observing that the Speculum does not allow for a neat division between pastoral, legal, and monastic literature.

Keywords: Monasticism
Canon Law
Preaching
Advisor: Goering, Joseph
Preventing Linear Growth Faltering and Reversal of Stunting Among Low Birth Weight Infants in Bangladesh: A Community-based Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Low birth weight (LBW) infants in low income countries are vulnerable to frequent infections and suboptimal breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices, which together may result in postnatal linear growth faltering and poor neurodevelopment. Objectives: To measure the relative effect of directed use of benzalkonium chloride-containing, water-based hand sanitizers (HS) and broad-range multiple micronutrient powder (MNP) along with nutrition, health and hygiene education (NHHE) to prevent infections and linear growth faltering among LBW infants. Methods: A prospective 2X2 factorial, cluster-randomized controlled trial was conducted among 467 full-term LBW infants from 0-12 months, using 48 clusters randomly assigned as follows: A. From 0 to 6 months, i) NHHE alone or ii) NHHE plus HS; B. From 6-12 months i) NHHE alone; ii) NHHE plus HS; iii) NHHE plus MNP (to be provided with complementary foods); and iv) NHHE plus both HS and MNP. Results: Combined intervention of ‘directed hand-sanitizer use’ and ‘micronutrient powder’ along with ‘NHHE’ significantly improved linear growth of low birth weight infants compared to ‘NHHE’ alone. At the end of 12-month intervention, the ‘NHHE+HS+MNP’ and ‘NHHE+MNP’ groups had significantly lower prevalence of moderate and severe stunting (length-for-age <−2 Z-score) compared to the ‘NHHE only’ group, (P<0.01, for both). A marked increase in linear growth was found only during the second half of infancy (from 6-12 months) through provision of MNP with complementary foods. Mean duration of diarrhea episodes during infancy (0-6 mo) was significantly lower in the ‘HS plus NHHE’ group compared to the ‘NHHE alone’ group (3.1±1.2 vs. 5.8±1.6 days, P<0.01). Upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) and cough were also significantly lower in the ‘HS plus NHHE’ group compared to the ‘NHHE alone’ group (22.5% vs. 27.1% and 8.1% vs. 11.2%, P<0.05, for both). Although HS independently reduced infections, no impact of HS on linear growth was found in the first six months. Conclusions: The use of hand sanitizer in combination with MNP reduced infections and impacted on rates of stunting among term LBW infants in the first year of life. Implications: Further evidence is needed to confirm the beneficial effects of hand sanitizers and MNPs among other populations of infants. Trial registration: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov (identifier NCT01455636)

Keywords: Low birth weight
Linear growth
Stunting
Infants
Infection
Hand hygiene
Bangladesh
Advisor: Zlotkin, Stanley
CMOS Universal Real-time Label-free DNA Analysis System-on-Chip

Amperometric electrochemical DNA sensors have emerged as a low-cost, highthroughput and real-time alternative to the conventional optical sensory methods. This thesis presents the design, implementation, and validation of a fully integrated, mixedsignal CMOS thermally controlled amperometric electrochemical DNA-sensing systemon- chip (SoC). The microsystem includes 54 current-to-digital channels, 600 on-chip nanostructured DNA sensors and 54 on-chip pH sensors. It reuses key circuits to perform three key functions: 1) cyclic voltammetry and pH sensing, 2) impedance spectroscopy, and 3) temperature regulation. Cyclic voltammetry DNA analysis and pH sensing is implemented by utilizing the current-to-digital channel and an on-chip programmable waveform generator. The current-to-digital channel is multiplexed between a bank of DNA sensors and a pH sensor. The on-chip programmable waveform generator provides a wide range of usercontrolled rate, shape, and amplitude parameters of the sensor interrogation waveform, with a maximum scan range of 1.2V and a scan rate ranging from 0.1mV/sec to 300V/sec. Impedance spectroscopy DNA analysis is implemented by utilizing frequency response analysis (FRA) to extract the impedance components of the biosensor. The most computationally intensive operations, the multiplication and integration, required by the FRA algorithm are performed by the in-channel dual-slope multiplying ADC in the mixed-signal domain resulting in small integration area and power consumption. The on-chip heating and temperature-sensing elements are implemented without any post-CMOS processing. Temperature is regulated to within 0.5C using PID feedback control. This enables precise thermal control of on-chip DNA hybridization. The two computationally intensive operations, multiplication and subtraction, required by the PID algorithm are also efficiently performed by the same in-channel dual-slope multiplying ADC in the mixed-signal domain. A digital ultra-wideband transmitter based on a delay line architecture provides wireless data communication capabilities. The 3mm&times;3mm prototype fabricated in a 0.13&mu;m standard CMOS technology has been experimentally validated in the context of prostate cancer synthesized DNA marker detection. Each recording channel occupies an area of only 0.06mm2 and consumes 42&mu;W of power from a 1.2V supply. The digital ultra-wideband transmitter provides wireless data communication capabilities with data rates of up to 50 Mb/s while consuming 400&mu;W.

Keywords: CMOS
DNA
Advisor: Genov, Roman
Molecular Imprinting in Templated Mesoporous Organosilica: Studies in Material Composition and Morphology

This thesis presents a study of molecular imprinting in P123-templated mesoporous organosilica with varying chemical composition and morphology. Case studies in molecular imprinting in sol-gel silica materials over the past fifteen years were used to establish the context of this work and highlight the key considerations that motivated the research presented here. In the proof-of-concept of molecular imprinting inside the walls of a templated mesoporous hybrid organosilica, a clear imprinting effect was demonstrated by comparing its target binding behaviour to that of nonimprinted and blank control materials. A comparison of a set of hybrid materials using tetraethoxysilane as the crosslinker with an all-organosilica set using 1,2-bis(triethoxysilyl)ethene as the crosslinker indicated that nonspecific binding interactions between a target and the matrix can enhance target binding selectivity. In a set of four imprinted materials with the same chemical composition but varying pore structure and particle morphology, faster binding kinetics were observed for shorter mesopore channels and greater external surface area. As a whole, the work presented in this thesis establishes trends in target binding behaviour for variations in chemical composition and material morphology for this new class of materials that correspond with binding trends in imprinted organic polymers and nonspecific adsorption kinetics in sol-gel materials.

Advisor: Ozin, Geoffrey A.
A Systematic Study of Solubility of Physical Blowing Agents and their Blends in Polymers and their Nanocomposites

The solubility of a blowing agent (BA) in polymer melts is a critically important parameter affecting the plastic foams fabrication. Theoretically, cell nucleation occurs when the pressure of the polymer/gas mixture drops below the solubility pressure. For effective process design, accurate solubility data for blowing agents in polymers is necessary. However, getting more accurate solubility data is a big scarce. Through this research, it was possible to generate more accurate solubility and pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) data and to verify various equations of states (EOS). During the last two decades, due to ozone-depleting-potential (ODP) and global warming issues of BAs, the plastic foam industry has experienced serious regulatory, environmental, and economical pressures. In response to this, researchers and industry have been exploring the uses of blowing agent blends. Nevertheless, very limited fundamental research on the foaming mechanism using blowing agent mixtures has been conducted. The end results of this research is expected to provide guidance to choose the optimal composition of environmental-friendly blowing agent blends and offer insights to develop sustainable foaming technology. This thesis also highlights a comprehensive research for the PVT and solubility behavior of polymer nanocomposites (PNCs). By using the magnetic suspension balance (MSB) and PVT apparatus, it was possible to determine the solubility behavior of PNC more accurately. Fully experimental results indicated that infusion of nanoparticles decreases the volume swelling as well as solubility and diffusivity. It was hypothesized that infusion of organoclay nanoparticles generates a significant amount of solidified (solid-like) polymer near its surface and consequently reduces total absorption capacity of the system. However, it is believed that the solubility behavior of polymeric composites fully depends on the interaction or affinity between fillers (micro or nano) and gas. In other words, if the nanoparticles (such as CaCO3, aluminum oxide, tin oxide) or fillers (such as carbon black, zeolites, silica gel) are highly polar and/or porous, overall sorption (absorption + adsorption) might increase due to adsorption phenomenon. Through the solubility, PVT and modeling of nanocomposites, this research has advanced the understanding of the effect of nanoparticles on solubility that governs different physical phenomena (such as cell nucleation and, cell growth) during plastic foaming.

Keywords: foam, solubility, BA
Advisor: PARK, CHUL
Rupture, Defragmentation and Reconciliation: Re-visioning the Health of Urban Indigenous Women in Toronto

This doctoral research seeks to advance understanding about what impacts the health and well-being of urban Indigenous women in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is grounded in the goal of centering Indigenous women’s knowledge and revitalizing recognition of Indigenous women as leaders in the care of health knowledge, who continue to carry roles and responsibilities as knowledge and vision keepers, healers, helpers and caregivers despite the mass devastation caused by colonization. Utilizing an Indigenous research method, research circles and interviews were used to gather knowledge with twenty-three Indigenous women asking the following questions: 1) What helps you to be healthy and well here in the city? 2) What gets in the way of your health and well-being? and 3) What do you envision as needed to support your health and well-being and that of Indigenous women generally here in Toronto? The findings of the research highlight the ways in which women seek wholeness and (w)holistic health care and services in attending to their health and well-being. The stories shared speak to the rupture and fragmentation caused by colonization as experienced by the participants, specifically the disconnection and dislocation that they faced due to child welfare apprehension, adoption or violence, while emphasizing the ways in which they have or are presently navigating these challenges in relation to their health and well-being – a process of defragmentation. This thesis is also, in part, the story of how I am learning my role as a caretaker of knowledge (as I would describe the role of researcher), learning how to gather it, care for it and share it back in a good way. It is the story of what I know now, a knowledge that will continue to grow over time, with more experience to better understand the full beauty and depth of what has been shared. This thesis is a knowledge bundle of stories gathered with urban Indigenous women in the city of Toronto to help better understand what impacts their health and well-being, and what they see as needed moving forward. It is woven together with my own story of who I am, where I come from and why I came looking for this knowledge.

Keywords: Indigenous women's health
Indigenous health and well-being
urban Indigenous women
Indigenous approaches to research
defragmentation
Advisor: Sakamoto, Izumi
Democracy and the Politics of Social Citizenship in India

Why do some pro-poor democracies in global South enact generous and universal social policies accompanied by empowering outcomes while others, similar in many ways, do not? If lower-class integration and programmatic commitment steers policy outcomes to be more egalitarian, what explains the variance in redistributive commitment within the cluster of radical democracies? These questions are examined in the context of two celebrated cases of pro-poor reform in the developing world: the Indian states of Kerala and West Bengal. Despite a host of similar background conditions (democratic framework, programmatic political parties, strong labor unions, and a high degree of subordinate-class integration), the cases display considerable variation in their redistributive commitment. Using the comparative-historical method, this dissertation seeks to explain the variance. It argues that the welfare divergences of Kerala and West Bengal are a function of their divergent modes of lower-class integration. In Kerala, a radical-mobilizational mode of lower-class integration has organized the poorer sections of the working classes—landless laborers and informal sector workers—in autonomous class organizations. This has enabled them to vigorously assert their interests within the working-class movement and harness state power to advance their interests through a wide range of legislative protections and statutory entitlements. In contrast, a clientelist-corporatist mode of lower-class integration in West Bengal relies on dependent mobilization of the poorer sections, without effective self-representing class organizations and without the strategic capacity to pursue class action independent of middle-class collaborators. These distinct modes of lower-class integration engender qualitatively different state-poor relationships and, in turn, divergent visions of social citizenship. The origins of these distinct modes are then traced to their historical and peculiar patterns of class formation, class struggle, and class compromise. This dissertation provides nuance to the welfare-state literature by proposing analytical differentiation within a subset of radical democracies and then by specifying the conditions under which lower-class power and state power can be harnessed to create more redistributive and empowering social outcomes in the global South. It also makes a contribution in linking agrarian labor movements to the nature of welfare regimes and more broadly to social citizenship.

Keywords: India
West Bengal
Kerala
Social Citizenship
Pro-poor Reform
Welfare State in Global South
Politics of Redistribution
Advisor: Sandbrook, Richard
The Elegiac Grotesque

In Roman elegy the poet-lover has recourse to images of ugliness and disfigurement when he discovers that he is unable to retain the favour of his beloved with his love and verses. He degrades his opponents and suggests that his beloved herself succumbs to the fascination of horrid lovers. In this thesis I explore the theme of elegiac degradation from the perspective of grotesque hermeneutics, with the aim of showing that the grotesque plays a significant role in the development and self-understanding of elegy, the genre in which it is least expected. After discussing relevant aspects of grotesque theory, I show that the historical premises for a grotesque reading of Roman love poetry are found in Lucretius’ diatribe against love, a powerful philosophical gesture against the sentimentalizations of love and a strong argument for a poetics of love grounded in grotesque materialism. I then turn to Catullus, focusing on his bold use of grotesque imagery. Catullus admits the grotesque into the domain of love poetry and shows that, beneath the surface of elegance and urbanity that typifies romantic love, there lurks a reality that is both defiled and defiling. Turning to elegy proper, I analyze Propertius’ use of the grotesque focusing on his creation of a grotesque ethos within the aesthetic space of elegy. In that ethos signifiers of beauty and romance reveal an underside that both degrades the ideals they represent and disturbs the interpretive focus of the reader conditioned by conventions. I then examine Tibullus’ approach to elegiac grotesque aesthetics, finding that he engages the reader in a self-allusive exercise that leads to the discovery of grotesque signs both concealed and illuminated by the poetic conventions of elegy. By means of this technique, Tibullus accomplishes his elegiacization of the grotesque. Finally, Ovid reveals that the presence of the grotesque in elegy, the sense of foreignness that accompanies it, and the impression that the logic of the genre is destabilized by it are all already inherent in the very premises of elegy and are generated by its very logic.

Keywords: Latin Elegy
Grotesque aesthetics
Advisor: Keith, Alison