VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Downlink Transmission Strategies for Cloud Radio-access Networks

This thesis studies transmission strategies for the downlink of a cloud radio-access network, in which the base stations are connected to a centralized cloud-computing based processor with digital backhaul links. We provide a system-level performance comparison of two fundamentally different strategies, namely the data-sharing strategy and the compression strategy, that differ in the way the backhaul is utilized. It is observed that the performance of both strategies depends crucially on the available backhaul capacity. When the backhaul capacity is low, the data-sharing strategy performs better, while the compression strategy is superior under moderate-to-high backhaul capacity. Using insights from such a comparison, we propose a novel hybrid strategy, combining the data-sharing and compression strategies, that allows for better control over the backhaul capacity utilization. An optimization framework for the hybrid strategy is proposed. Numerical evidence demonstrates the performance gain of the hybrid strategy.

Advisor: Yu, Wei
Characterization of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Derived from Human Umbilical Cord Tissue

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have emerged as candidates with therapeutic potential to treat different pathologies. MSCs isolated from the bone marrow are most commonly used, however, umbilical cord (UC) tissue presents a source that has not been as extensively studied, yet can be obtained with more ease. Here, we characterize UC-MSCs obtained from 40 patient samples and conclude that different cell populations have the same phenotypic profile. TSG-6 has recently been suggested as a biomarker that can be used in order to predict the in vivo efficacy of different MSC populations, and we show that within a subset of UC-MSC samples, there are variations in the expression levels of TSG-6, however this does not correlate with the cytokine secretion profiles or the wound healing capacity of the cells in a db/db male mouse excisional wound splinting model.

Keywords: Characterization
Diabetes
Excisional Murine Model
Immunophenotype
Mesenchymal Stromal Cells
TSG-6
Advisor: Rogers, Ian
Targeting Human Ubiquitin Activating Enzyme UBE1 with Rationally Designed Copper-based Inhibitors and the Application of a Fluorescent Chemosensor to the Development of an Assay for Adenylating Enzyme Activity

Two projects were explored in this work. In the first, a previously developed, rationally-designed, potent, and selective cupric cyclen-based small molecule library of human ubiquitin activating enzyme 1 (UBE1) inhibitors was explored for its therapeutic potential in hematological malignancies. After significant difficulties reproducing inhibitor validation data, our further investigational findings suggest that the library’s activity observed in western blot-based UBE1-UbcH6 E1-E2 transthiolation assays and a LifeSensors Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET)-based assay was simply the spurious result of excess unbound copper in the compound samples. This work also investigated the application of a dual-emission fluorescent chemosensor, ProxyPhos, to development of a robust high throughput assay for adenylating enzyme activity. With selective detection of pyrophosphate over ATP, ADP, and AMP in aqueous buffer, ProxyPhos was applied in buffer conditions suitable to adenylating enzymes to explore their effects on selectivity and signal.

Keywords: Adenylating Enzyme
Assay
Inhibitor
ProxyPhos
Pyrophosphate
UBE1
Advisor: Gunning, Patrick T
Kanelis, Voula
Positive Youth Development at a Residential Summer Sport Camp

This qualitative research study explored the contextual features such as leaders, setting, and programming that contributed to creating PYD experiences for campers at a residential summer sport camp. Using a case study approach summer camp leaders and camp management were interviewed, campers and counselors in training participated in focus groups and observations were recorded as field notes. Data was analyzed with the aid of NVivo and results were presented using an adapted version of Bronfenbrenner’s Process-Person-Context-Time model, Lerner’s 5Cs of positive youth development, and the 8 settings features as presented by the NRCIM. This camp context was deliberately structured to facilitate leaders’ provision of growth opportunities for campers. Leaders provided opportunities for growth through the development of supportive relationships with a variety of leaders, the presence of positive social norms, and opportunities for skill building. Suggestions for future studies regarding positive youth development and residential summer camp are provided.

Keywords: positive youth development
residential summer camp
sport camp
Advisor: Tamminen, Katherine
Carotid Plaque Specimens: Semi-automatic Orientation Correction of micro-MR and micro-CT Images Driven by Axial Feature Segmentation

This thesis presents a method of realigning volumetric micro-MR and micro-CT images of carotid plaque specimens to increase the axial correspondence between these imaging modalities. In determining the optimal image features, to be used in the reorientation of each image volume, minimal reader involvement would be required; through this, the subjectivity in the pre-registration steps decreases, while the accuracy of matching correctly oriented axial planes across imaging modalities increases. As measured through distance and overlap parameters, the outer-wall centroid-based realignment is more robust across specimens and across each specimen's length in both imaging modalities. Simultaneously, three types of registration algorithms were calibrated for treating the data in 2D (centroid-driven reoriented images) and in 3D (unaltered images).

Keywords: carotid plaque
ex vivo imaging
feature-based centroid-driven axial correction
image registration
inter-modal registration
Advisor: Moody, Alan
Design and Evaluation of a Prosthetic Knee Joint based on Automatic Stance-Phase Lock (ASPL) Technology for Children with Transfemoral Amputations

The objectives of this study were to adopt the automatic stance-phase lock (ASPL) technology to a paediatric prosthetic knee, optimize and incorporate the extension assist to the proposed design, structurally and clinically validate the prototype of the knee in a structural testing and single subject pilot study, and use a questionnaire to evaluate its efficacy. Biomechanical models were used to analyze the gait characteristics of the participant with the proposed knee and the conventional knee joint used by the participant in the clinical pilot study. A questionnaire pertaining to the functions and characteristics of the proposed knee joint was administered to the participant. The results of the clinical study indicated that the stance phase performance of the proposed design is comparable to the conventional knee. Questionnaire results revealed participant was very confident with the design, and was able to participate in many activities such as running and playing dodge ball.

Keywords: above knee amputation
paediatric amputee
prosthetic knee joint
stance phase
swing phase
transfemoral amputation
Advisor: Andrysek, Jan
Sources of Particulate Matter in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region: Investigation through a Comparison of Trace Metal Measurement Techniques

The province of Alberta is home to three oil sands regions which, combined, contain the third largest deposit of oil in the world. Of these, the Athabasca Oil Sands Region is the largest. In conjunction with Environment Canada’s Joint Canada-Alberta Implementation Plan for Oil Sands Monitoring program, concentrations of trace metal(oid)s in PM2.5 were measured during a long-term filter campaign and a short-term, semi-continuous measurement, campaign. The data from the two campaigns were analysed individually using positive matrix factorization. Seven emission sources of PM2.5 were thereby identified: two types of Upgrader Emissions, Soil, Haul Road Dust, Biomass Burning, and two sources of mixed origin. Overall, most of the PM2.5 related metal(oid)s was found to be anthropogenic, or to be aerosolized through anthropogenic activities. These emissions may in part explain the elevation of metals in the snow, water, and biota previously reported for samples collected near the oil sands operations.

Keywords: Aerosol
Athabasca
Metals
Oil Sands
PMF
Source Apportionment
Advisor: Evans, Greg G
Efficient Model Order Reduction of Electrical Networks with Many Ports

Model order reduction of electrical networks plays a key role in accelerating circuit simulations. Traditional reduction methods, however, do not scale well with network size and number of ports, since they utilize dense matrix manipulations that require a lot of memory and CPU time. In addition, the obtained reduced models are dense and thus inefficient in subsequent simulations. In this thesis, we propose TurboMOR, an efficient reduction technique for RC networks with many ports. TurboMOR performs reduction efficiently by avoiding dense matrix manipulations. TurboMOR overcomes the scalability and accuracy limitations of previously proposed methods. TurboMOR guarantees passivity by construction and leads to sparse models that run efficiently in conventional circuit simulators.

Advisor: Triverio, Piero
Transfer Learning for Robotics: Can a Robot Learn from Another Robot's Data?

Machine learning methods have been used to improve the performance of control systems with experimental data when accurate system or environment models are unavailable. Transfer Learning (TL) allows for this data to come from another, similar system. A simplified TL scenario is studied to understand how the quality of an alignment-based transfer of data varies with the parameters of two linear, time-invariant (LTI), single-input, single-output systems that are tasked to follow the same reference signal. A scalar, LTI transformation is used to align the output from a source system to the output from a target system. An upper bound on the 2-norm of the transformation error is derived and minimized with respect to the transformation scalar. This minimized bound is analyzed with respect to the system parameters to show when TL works best. TL is further studied for wheeled robots, with data from simulation and experiment to supplement theoretical analysis.

Keywords: Control Systems
Knowledge Transfer
Machine Learning
Multi-agent
Robotics
Transfer Learning
Advisor: Schoellig, Angela P.
Comparative Analysis of the Prominent Middleware Platforms in the Domain of Ambient Assisted Living

Diversification of application areas, technologies, and computational techniques in the Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) domain alongside the need for a balance between reproducibility and customizability for the heterogeneous end-user groups has led towards the development domain-specific middleware platforms, which are integrated development environments that facilitate integration and communication amongst heterogeneous hardware and software components, so they can operate synergistically within a shared environment. Recent efforts that study such platforms have emphasized the need for improved evaluation methods, particularly feature-focused scenario-based evaluations and quantitative approaches. Thus, the objective of this thesis was to analyze developer requirements and compare current prominent AAL-specific middleware platforms to ultimately derive guidelines that improve the platform’s adoption rates and domain relevance. Maintainability, the ease of modifying system components, was highlighted as the most deficient quality attribute in current platforms. Mapping of a platform-independence use-case scenario to both platforms, hinted towards the need for graphical-user interfaces over text-based interfaces and additional application area-specific modules.

Keywords: Aging
Ambient Assisted Living
Middleware platforms
Scenario-based evaluation
Advisor: Mihailidis, Alex
Body Representation in Children and Adolescents

The purpose of the present study was to determine if children and adolescents are able to map the body parts of other children and adolescents on to the representation of their own body parts and if age influences this mapping. To this end, participants completed a body-part compatibility task where responses were executed to coloured targets (relevant feature) presented over the hand or foot (irrelevant feature) of separate male models of different ages (7, 11, and 15 years of age). It was found that body-part compatibility effects emerged for both the 10-12 and 13-16 year old age groups. No body-part compatibility effects were found for the 7-9 year old age group. Most interestingly, the body-part compatibility effects for both the 10-12 and 13-16 year old age groups occurred when viewing models of their own peers. Overall, the results indicate that the body-part matching process is sensitive to social factors.

Keywords: Adolescents
Body Schema
Children
Self-Other Mapping
Advisor: Welsh, Timothy N
Audiovisual Integration Deficits in Schizotypal Personality and Implications for Populations Diagnosed with Schizophrenia

Some evidence exists for audiovisual speech integration deficits in schizophrenia, but the generality of these deficits is unclear. We sought to characterize these deficits more fully by testing a general student population with varying degrees of schizotypal personality (SP) traits. Audiovisual integration of speech was measured with a McGurk task and non-speech audiovisual integration with a Sound-Induced Flash Illusion task. Visual integration capabilities were measured to determine if deficits were uniquely multisensory. Participants also completed the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ), which is predictive of SP traits. We found a negative correlation between SPQ score and performance on both audiovisual integration tasks, and no correlation between SPQ score and visual integration tasks. These findings support the claim that populations diagnosed with schizophrenia and populations with SP traits have a common deficit in a perceptual process and suggest that audiovisual integration deficits in these populations are not specific to speech integration.

Keywords: Audiovisual Integration
Multisensory Integration
Neuroanatomy of Audiovisual Binding
Schizophrenia
Schizotypal Personality
Speech Perception
Advisor: Ferber, Susanne
Rule, Nicholas
“That Really Hurt, Charlie!” Investigating the Role of Sympathy and Moral Respect in Children’s Aggressive Behaviour

This study examined the independent and combined roles of sympathy and moral respect in children’s overt aggression, and the subtypes of proactive and reactive aggression, in a sample of 5-, 7-, and 10-year-olds (N = 110). Aggressive behaviour was measured through teacher reports and peer nominations. Sympathy was measured through teacher reports. Moral respect was measured using an interview procedure where children reported their feelings of respect towards a moral and amoral character. Results revealed that sympathy and moral respect were negatively related to overt aggression and specifically to the proactive aggression subtype, and unrelated to the reactive aggression subtype. In addition, an interaction between children’s sympathy and respect for amoral others was found. In children with low sympathy, children’s respect for amoral others further increased their overt aggression. We discuss the implications of our findings in relation to developmental research on children’s aggressive behaviour, sympathy, and moral respect.

Keywords: moral respect
overt aggression
proactive aggression
reactive aggression
sympathy
Advisor: Malti, Tina
Visual Servoing for a Quadrotor UAV in Target Tracking Applications

This research study investigates the design and implementation of position-based and image-based visual servoing techniques for controlling the motion of quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The primary applications considered are tracking stationary and moving targets. A novel position-based tracking law is developed and integrated with inner loop proportional-integral-derivative control algorithm. A theoretical proof for the stability of the proposed method is provided and numerical simulations are performed to validate the performance of the closed-loop system. A classical image-based visual servoing technique is also implemented and a modification of the classical method is suggested to reduce the undesirable effects due to the underactuated quadrotor system. Finally, the case when the quadrotor loses sight of the target is investigated and several solutions are proposed to help maintain the view of the target.

Advisor: Liu, Hugh HT
Design of Wireless Links Using Large Antenna Arrays with Channel Correlation

The link where both the transmitter and receiver can use a large antenna array is studied, proposed as a method of antenna offloading and connecting access points in a Two-Tier cellular network. For correlated fading channels, receiver diversity techniques perform worse than the proposed Gram-Schmidt Precoding Algorithm, which successively orthogonalizes the column space of the transmitted streams for a single user. Due to averaging effects from using many antenna elements, filters can be approximated using channel correlation information. A block successive interference cancellation receiver is used to extend the proposed algorithm for the multi-user case. Finally the design of Hybrid Beamformers for limited RF-Chain systems is studied, where phase-only processing is done at the RF-band, followed by digital processing at the baseband. A row combiner, that clusters groups of antenna elements sufficiently correlated, is shown to outperform a random projection scheme that has a Discrete Fourier Transform matrix structure.

Keywords: Channel Correlation Information
Gram-Schmidt Precoding
Limited RF-chains
Massive MIMO
Two-Tier
Wireless Backhaul
Advisor: Sousa, Elvino S.
Hip Hop Education and the Pursuit of Justice

Educators who choose to use Critical Hip Hop Pedagogy in their classrooms are committed to thinking creatively and alternatively on issues of curriculum content. This thesis investigates how that thinking is translated during moments of conflict, violence, disruption and disorder in the classroom. Choosing to utilize educators who have chosen to root their pedagogy in a practice that calls for a lens of social justice, I am interested in the ways that their strategies challenge, affirm, reinforce, subvert or align particular notions of justice. As this research was inspired by my own personal experiences as an educator, I use personal reflection and narrative data analysis with other educators as method. The study highlights the potential alignment of Critical Hip Hop Pedagogy and practices of restorative justice illustrating its capacity to develop more reflective, consistent and transformative practices for educators.

Keywords: Critical Hip Hop Pedagogy
Hip Hop Education
Social Justice
Social Justice Education
Advisor: Walcott, Rinaldo
Gaztambide-Fernandez, Ruben
A Behavioral Assessment of Electronic Cigarettes in Reducing Cue- and Withdrawal-induced Craving in Daily Dependent Smokers

Randomized controlled trials suggest e-cigarettes may decrease cigarette craving and withdrawal symptoms, reduce cigarette smoking, and increase abstinence. However, few studies have investigated the effectiveness of non-nicotinic e-cigarettes, alone or used with nicotine replacement, in reducing craving by addressing behavioral cues. This randomized, single-blind, within-subject study empirically assessed cigarette craving and withdrawal symptoms in 41 dependent smokers under four conditions: smoking tobacco cigarettes, non-nicotinic e-cigarettes with nicotine lozenges, non-nicotinic e-cigarettes with placebo lozenges, and using nicotine lozenges alone. While tobacco cigarettes most significantly reduced cravings one hour after smoking (-11.24±1.30,p

Keywords: addiction
craving
dependence
e-cigarette
electronic cigarette
nicotine
Advisor: Zawertailo, Laurie
Zack, Martin
Affinity Release of Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 Increases the Viability of Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cells In Vitro

Poor cell survival in vitro and in vivo is a key challenge in tissue engineering. Pro-survival therapeutic proteins such as insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) can promote cell viability but require controlled delivery systems due to their brief half-lives. Biocompatible materials are commonly used for drug-delivery platforms or to encapsulate cells for increased viability but no material exists for simultaneous use in both applications. A blend of hyaluronan and methylcellulose known to promote cell survival was modified with Src homology 3 (SH3)-binding peptides and demonstrated tunable, affinity-based release of the pro-survival fusion protein SH3-IGF-1. The material was also shown to significantly increase the viability of retinal pigment epithelium cells (RPE) in anchorage-independent conditions. This novel system is applicable to a broad range of cells and protein therapeutics and is a promising strategy for a drug-delivery/cell transplantation strategy to increase the viability of both exogenous and endogenous cells in tissue engineering applications.

Keywords: Affinity release
Cell viability
Hydrogel
Insulin-like growth factor-1
Retinal pigment epithelium
Tunable release
Advisor: Shoichet, Molly S
Lagrangian Fluid Element Tracking and Estimation of Local Displacement Speeds in Turbulent Premixed Flames

Improved understanding of turbulence-flame interactions in premixed combustion can be achieved using fully 3D time-resolved multi-kHz multi-scalar experimental measurements. These interactions may be represented by the evolution of various Lagrangian quantities described by theoretical Lagrangian Fluid Elements (LFEs). The data used in this work came from two experimental campaigns that used simultaneous T-PIV and OH/CH2O PLIF, at Sandia National Labs and the Air Force Research Lab at Wright-Patterson. In this thesis, an algorithm to accurately track LFEs through this 4D experimental space has been developed and verified by cross-correlation with the T-PIV seed particle fields. A novel method to measure the local instantaneous displacement speed in 3D has been developed, using this algorithm to track control masses of fluid that interact with the flame front. Statistics of the displacement speed have been presented, and the effects of local turbulence and flame topological properties on the displacement speed have been studied.

Keywords: Lagrangian tracking
local displacement speeds
tomographic PIV
turbulence-flame interactions
turbulent burning velocity
turbulent premixed combustion
Advisor: Steinberg, Adam M
The Design and Synthesis of Neuroprotectants Based on an Endogenous Platform

There is a pressing need for the development of a neuroprotective therapy that limits neuronal injury in ischemic stroke patients. A diversity of neurotoxic factors, including divalent metal cations, are released during ischemia that result in brain damage. The goal of this research is to develop a method to mitigate the neurotoxic influxes of such cations (focusing on Zn(II)) using histidine as a model chelating molecule, thereby limiting neuronal death during an ischemic stroke. Through the use of computational methods, several small molecules have been identified that bind favourably with Zn(II); nuclear magnetic resonance experiments involving Zn(II) in combination with these small molecules supports these in silico predictions. A subset of active molecules shows measurable binding constants through calorimetric methods. Several molecules provide protection from Zn(II) toxicity in vitro; Zn(II) imaging experiments confirm the mechanism of protection is metal chelation.

Keywords: Biology
Ischemic
Medicinal Chemistry
Stroke
Zinc
Advisor: Weaver, Donald