VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Limb Muscle Weakness in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Improving Characterization and Optimizing Exercise Prescription

Limb muscle weakness is a secondary consequence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It affects approximately 30% of patients and is associated with exercise intolerance, increased health care utilization, and increased risk of mortality. There are still important gaps in the understanding about the development and management of limb muscle weakness in COPD. The overall objective of this thesis was to improve characterization of and optimize strength exercise prescription for limb muscle weakness and n in COPD. The first study of this thesis showed that an increased fatty infiltration accompanies muscle atrophy across thigh and calf muscles in people with COPD. Intramuscular fat infiltration was greater in COPD compared to what was observed in matched healthy controls and more strongly correlated with muscle weakness and impaired mobility than muscle atrophy in these individuals. The second and third studies of this provided insights on how people with COPD may respond to exercise approach that specifically target muscle weakness. In these studies the acute effects of different strength training exercises for upper- and lower-limb muscles were explored in these individuals. In the second study, we showed that immediate cardiorespiratory responses during short bouts of weightlifting in COPD are independent of the exercise intensity. Although people with COPD reported greater levels of perceived exertion and longer time to recover after high vs. low-intensity exercise bouts, responses to different intensities were comparable to their healthy counterparts. The third study showed that responses were also independent of number of exercising limbs (double vs. single limb) during lower and upper-body exercises. In this study, however, we showed a significant effect of limb position during arm exercises in people with COPD where arm exercise overhead (above shoulder level) evoked greater responses and perceived exertion and longer recovery time than other exercise variations. The findings from the three studies reveal the importance of fatty infiltration in the development of limb muscle weakness in COPD and provide insights on tailoring exercise approaches to muscle weaknes3s that better meet the needs of people with COPD. Future studies could assess cardiorespiratory requirements during a full training program to determine the most appropriate intensity-response and to further assist in standardizing training prescription in COPD. As well, the training effects of strength exercises on intramuscular fatty infiltration in people with COPD in an area for future investigation.

Keywords: cardiorespiratory measurements
COPD
intramuscular fat infiltration
limb muscle weakness
Pulmonary Rehabilitaiton
strenght exercise prescription
Advisor: Brooks, Dina
Mathur, Sunita
Molecular Genetics and Population Genomics of the Maintenance and Breakdown of the Floral Polymorphism Tristyly

Tristyly has evolved independently in several flowering plant families and functions to promote outcrossing by disassortative mating. The floral polymorphism is susceptible to evolutionary breakdown resulting in frequent transitions from outcrossing to predominant self-fertilization. By integrating experimental studies with analyses of genomic data and population genetic computer simulations, my Ph.D. thesis investigates the genetic and population genomic basis for the maintenance of this genetic polymorphism, and its breakdown to selfing in the annual aquatic

Keywords: Genomics
Self-fertilization
Tristlyly
Advisor: Barrett, Spencer CH
Wright, Stephen I
Three Ecologies of Practice: An Intra-active Account of Learning by Doing

The thesis presents three methodologies of research-creation that enact ecology in relational ways. In order to move through the text in an ecological way, I attend to a: 1) Propositional Methodology; 2) Diagrammatic Methodology; and 3) Diffractive Methodology. With the use of wearable technologies, the three ecologies of practice produce on-going questions about nature and culture through experimental practices in an urban school. The three methodologies will be discussed in relation to the planning, designing, and engagement with an urban school garden. Concerned with the materialization of practices, the thesis emphasizes embodied experiences and more-than-human relationships that activate critical and imaginative modes of engagement that do not separate matter from perception. The thesis begins with the concept of ecology, shifting emphasis from learning about principles of ecology to enacting ecologies of practice. In so doing, I draw on feminist new materialist frameworks to develop an understanding of pedagogy and learning as 'intra-active' events (Barad, 2007). Intra-actions are ontological and epistemological co-constitutions of material and discursive knowledge. Karen Barad's (2007) attention to process (or intra-action) is key to the methodology of research-creation and the ecologies of practice, as learning is understood as that which happens in-the-making or through compositions of material environments and discursive practices. Enacting research and performing learning is at the core of both new materialist research practices and research-creation events. Performance is understood as that which does not solely belong to the performance of the human subject and/or student. Such an understanding requires the enactment of ecologies of practice that are attentive to how more-than-human matter and meaning shape knowledge about environments. From this perspective, performance provokes future practices through ongoing questions and embodied explorations that dismantle limited conceptions of nature and culture as well as deficit approaches to urban schools and environments. Ecologies of practice are pedagogical events of creation that are uniquely specific and that resist instructive models that have already shaped what the student will become and come to know.

Keywords: Affect
Ecological Learning
Embodied Learning
Research-Creation
School Gardens
Wearable Technologies
Advisor: Springgay, Stephanie
The Language of Science as Creole: A Case Against Incommensurability

The incommensurability thesis (IT) is the claim that historically related theories cannot be fully translated into each other. IT shows how a scientific theory can be different from its predecessor in a way deemed revolutionary. This dissertation, in contrast, argues that IT reflects the development of science only from the perspective of the observer looking from afar. IT does not engage with science as a participant-driven activity. Analysts like philosophers can never directly engage science but can approximate the scientist perspective by peering over the shoulders of participants through detailed historical case studies. Zooming in this way, one can see IT dissolve. The discontinuity IT modeled is now a consequence of rather than a break from the continuity of scientific work. The dissertation introduces the notion of the language of science as creole to reconcile the observer and participant perspectives. This results in a need to abandon the influential historiography of Thomas Kuhn and begin the search for an alternative. The dissertation also considers implications outside of science studies and argues that practical endeavours like business innovation studies can no longer take guidance from Kuhn. They should be redirected. Chapter 1 traces the history of IT, outlining three periods of Kuhn’s thought that saw it move from a consequence of the notion of paradigm to his core concern. Chapter 2 considers reactions to Kuhn’s ideas, both friendly and hostile, that result in two key charges: IT is either self-conflicted or it is irrelevant to how science develops. The chapter also identifies a key gap in the literature, namely that both Kuhn and his interlocutors fail to discover the confusion that IT treats a past stage of one’s language and a foreign language as equivalently different from current speech. Chapter 3 advances the notion of the development of the language of science as creole formation. Creoles show how to reconcile the dialectic of continuity and discontinuity that alone can fuel progress. Chapter 4 shows how the notion science as creole can lead to a more actionable philosophy of science that provides a firmer intellectual basis for business innovation policy and practices.

Keywords: Incommensurability
Innovation
Scientific change
Thomas Kuhn
Advisor: Baigrie, Brian
Reverse Transendothelial Migration of Intimal CD11c+ Dendritic Cells: Role in Intracellular Pathogen Removal and Effect on Atherosclerotic Lesions.

Dendritic cells are antigen presenting cells that play a key role in the initiation of the adaptive immune response and in chronic inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis. Resident intimal CD11c+ cells are abundant in the normal arterial intima of mice, in regions predisposed to atherosclerosis. Upon induction of hypercholesterolemia, these cells engulf lipids and become the first foam cells in nascent lesions. However, their function in the normal aorta remains poorly understood. The purpose of this study is to show that their function is to protect the arterial intima against Chlamydia (C.) muridarum infection, and potentially against other intracellular and extracellular bacteria. This protection is achieved when intimal CD11c+ cells undergo reverse transendothelial migration (RTM) through the endothelium into the arterial circulation to remove the pathogen from the vessel wall. Systemic pathogens and stimulation of pattern recognition receptors trigger two waves of RTM of intimal CD11c+ cells, each was followed by recovery through proliferation of the remaining cells. Both waves of RTM were dependent on up-regulated expression of CCR7 and its ligand CCL19 by intimal CD11c+ cells. C. muridarum enters the arterial intima when infected circulating monocytes are recruited. The second wave of RTM removes the pathogen from the vessel wall. Inhibition of RTM (e.g. in Ccr7-/- mice) results in accumulation of C. muridarum in the vessel wall, which induces a local inflammatory response, that could be harmful to the arteria intima. Hypercholesterolemia and lipid loading of intimal CD11c+ cells by feeding Ldlr--/- mice high fat diet for one week results in inhibition of RTM of CD11c+ foam cells. Lipid loading did not affect CCR7 or CCL19 induction in intimal cells and incubation with CCL19 did not rescue RTM in atherosclerotic lesions. Studies in Asc-/- and Casp1-/- mice that are deficient in the production of cleaved IL-1ď ˘, as well as antibody blockade and rescue experiments revealed that RTM is dependent on IL-1ď ˘ production from the arterial endothelial cells. In addition, experiments with Il-1r1-/- mice suggest that RTM is dependent on receptor expression by the endothelial cells. Future studies will continue to investigate other factors and mechanisms that might play a role in RTM of intimal CD11c+ cells, and explore how they can be used to induce RTM in atherosclerotic lesions as a potential preventative therapy to reduce atherosclerotic plaque burden.

Keywords: Athersoclerosis
CCR7/CCL19
Cell migration
Inflammation
Intimal CD11c+ cells
Intracellular pathogen
Advisor: Cybulsky, Myron I.
Jongstra-Bilen, Jenny
Painted Books for Plaster Walls: Visual Words in the Fourteenth-century Murals at the Tibetan Buddhist Temple of Shalu

This dissertation is a study of some of the mural paintings on the walls of the Tibetan Buddhist temple of Shalu, arguing that these murals mediated and displayed books and book collections as both products and concepts. Elaborate mural paintings made after a major renovation of the temple in the early fourteenth century included long Tibetan inscriptions, displaying sometimes large passages of Tibetan sacred texts as part of their communicative pictorial program. By variously projecting books onto the walls, the temple’s abbot, Butön Rinchen Drup (Bu ston rin chen ‘grub, 1290-1364) placed new textual collections, inherently scholastic and elite projects, assertively into a more public domain. Rendering these books also as images was a way to assert and share the temple’s religious work. The painted images reference texts as sources of authenticity and also bring the ideas and organizations of book collections into visibility. During his time at Shalu, Butön oversaw the work of collecting, editing and organizing the early Tibetan canons, providing edited compilations of both the Kagyur (bka’ ‘gyur; words of the Buddha) and the first version of an edited Tengyur (bstan ‘gyur), among numerous other textual translations and editions. His deep personal investment and dedication to book collecting projects created the interest and desire to use the walls of Shalu as large canvases to express the power and potential of books and their organizational structures. I argue that the abbot and other monks at Shalu must have worked closely with designers and artists who painted these wall spaces in new ways that aimed at using wall images to project and argue for the power and efficacy of books. These murals also then permitted a different relationship to books and to reading than was otherwise possible. At Shalu, murals became an important venue in the fourteenth century through which to negotiate and ultimately to extend the possibilities of the book.

Keywords: Book
Buddhism
Image
Mural
Temple
Tibet
Advisor: Purtle, Jennifer
Understanding the Use of Cost Benefit and Cost Effectiveness Analysis in World Bank Education Proposals

This dissertation explores how, why, and under what circumstances cost benefit analysis (CBA) and cost effectiveness analysis (CEA) are being used in assessing World Bank education Project Appraisal Documents (PADs) from 2010 to 2014. Choices made when allocating limited education funding to unlimited education needs are challenging as they involve a multitude of factors and CBA/CEA tools are intended to help guide these choices. However, the literature shows that the field of education leverages CBA/CEA tools with low frequency and poor quality compared to other social services. The World Bank offers an opportunity to explore and gain insight into the use of CBA/CEA tools in education projects, as they are the largest funder of education projects and a pre-eminent source of applied development economics. I have adopted a two-phased mixed methodology approach giving priority to the qualitative dimension. I use a lens rooted in the context of an institutional system—including organizational, personal, project, and worldwide dimensions—to analyze data collected via semi-structured interviews revolving around six specific World Bank Education projects. I found that CBA dominates CEA use, and CBA use swayed upward from 2011—with CBA becoming the norm by 2014. CBA/CEA tools are used for their value well beyond the initial choice decision, with an emphasis on facilitating rich education discussions and refining project details. Multiple inter-related factors direct how CBA/CEA is used—with data, timeline, and skill set leading the way. However, the systemic organizational norm that roots CBA use in human capital theory has resulted in an overly mechanistic CBA process that is often out of context. This study shows the importance of thoughtful deliberation and concise governance over how CBA/CEA is defined, the triggers that indicate when to use CBA/CEA, and the protocols for authoring a CBA/CEA for an education project.

Keywords: CBA
CEA
economic analysis
education evaluation
Advisor: Mundy, Karen
Mechatronics by Analogy and Application to Legged Locomotion

A new design methodology for mechatronic systems, dubbed as Mechatronics by Analogy (MbA), is introduced and applied to designing a leg mechanism. The new methodology argues that by establishing a similarity relation between a complex system and a number of simpler models it is possible to design the former using the analysis and synthesis means developed for the latter. The methodology provides a framework for concurrent engineering of complex systems while maintaining the transparency of the system behaviour through making formal analogies between the system and those with more tractable dynamics. The application of the MbA methodology to the design of a monopod robot leg, called the Linkage Leg, is also studied. A series of simulations show that the dynamic behaviour of the Linkage Leg is similar to that of a combination of a double pendulum and a spring-loaded inverted pendulum, based on which the system kinematic, dynamic, and control parameters can be designed concurrently. The first stage of Mechatronics by Analogy is a method of extracting significant features of system dynamics through simpler models. The goal is to determine a set of simpler mechanisms with similar dynamic behaviour to that of the original system in various phases of its motion. A modular bond-graph representation of the system is determined, and subsequently simplified using two simplification algorithms. The first algorithm determines the relevant dynamic elements of the system for each phase of motion, and the second algorithm finds the simple mechanism described by the remaining dynamic elements. In addition to greatly simplifying the controller for the system, using simpler mechanisms with similar behaviour provides a greater insight into the dynamics of the system. This is seen in the second stage of the new methodology, which concurrently optimizes the simpler mechanisms together with a control system based on their dynamics. Once the optimal configuration of the simpler system is determined, the original mechanism is optimized such that its dynamic behaviour is analogous. It is shown that, if this analogy is achieved, the control system designed based on the simpler mechanisms can be directly implemented to the more complex system, and their dynamic behaviours are close enough for the system performance to be effectively the same. Finally it is shown that, for the employed objective of fast legged locomotion, the proposed methodology achieves a better design than Reduction-by-Feedback, a competing methodology that uses control layers to simplify the dynamics of the system.

Keywords: Leg
Legged
Locomotion
Mechatronics
Methodology
Advisor: Emami, Reza M.
Youth, Poker Facebook: Another Case of Candy Cigarettes?

A surge of unregulated gambling opportunities, referred to as social network gambling has emerged on social media platforms such as Facebook. This dissertation is a critical examination of social network gambling, more specifically, a virtual ethnographic case study, focusing on Zynga Poker (ZP). Through a two-phase qualitative research study, the aim was to: 1) examine the intentions of the game application and the influences of the ZP game design that youth are exposed to while playing; 2) explore the various perspectives of key stakeholders; and 3) investigate youths’ (aged 18–24 years) lived experiences of poker play on Facebook, to understand what motivates them to play, and how they perceive their participation. My study is rooted in self-determination theory (Deci Ryan, 1985), Goffman's frame analysis (1986), and the social networking theory of homophily (McPherson, Smith Cook, 2001). Data were collected through personally participating in ZP, and interviews conducted with 15 key industry stakeholders and 15 youth (aged 18-24). Results found that social game developers are designing and framing social network gambling games as a harmless form of entertainment, shielded from regulation that accompanies a legal distinction of gambling. Further, results indicate three motivation themes as to why youth play ZP: 1) a way to relax and escape boredom; 2) to connect socially; and 3) to satisfy their desire for competitive gameplay. Youth perceive that under certain circumstances, ZP is a form of lower-stakes gambling and a potential training ground to develop the skills and confidence to migrate over to real money gambling on professional sites. Based on the analysis, this dissertation presents a Public Health Framework and Spectrum Model of Social Network Gaming/Gambling that emphasize dissolution of the dualism that currently exists between gambling and gaming. The Spectrum Model focuses on six dimensions: money, competitiveness, training environment, temporality, chasing losses, and rituals. The model illustrates the transitory and fluid nature of social gambling gameplay at the individual level, ranging from healthy to problematic. This study provides new understandings and warnings as we move forward to comprehend the possible benefits and unintended consequences of these gambling opportunities. The findings have particular implications for the protection and prevention of gambling-related harms to vulnerable populations, such as youth.

Keywords: facebook
gambling
gaming
prevention
youth
Advisor: Skinner, Harvey
Multi-band Microwave Antennas and Devices based on Generalized Negative-refractive-index Transmission Lines

Focused on the quad-band generalized negative-refractive-index transmission line (G-NRI-TL), this thesis presents a variety of novel printed G-NRI-TL multi-band microwave device and antenna prototypes. A dual-band coupled-line coupler, an all-pass G-NRI-TL bridged-T circuit, a dual-band metamaterial leaky-wave antenna, and a multi-band G-NRI-TL resonant antenna are all new developments resulting from this research. In addition, to continue the theme of multi-band components, negative-refractive-index transmission lines are used to create a dual-band circularly polarized transparent patch antenna and a two-element wideband decoupled meander antenna system. High coupling over two independently-specified frequency bands is the hallmark of the G-NRI-TL coupler: it is 0.35位0 long but achieves approximately -3 dB coupling over both bands with a maximum insertion loss of 1 dB. This represents greater design flexibility than conventional coupled-line couplers and less loss than subsequent G-NRI-TL couplers. The single-ended bridged-T G-NRI-TL offers a metamaterial unit cell with an all-pass magnitude response up to 8 GHz, while still preserving the quad-band phase response of the original circuit. It is shown how the all-pass response leads to wider bandwidths and improved matching in quad-band inverters, power dividers, and hybrid couplers. The dual-band metamaterial leaky-wave antenna presented here was the first to be reported in the literature, and it allows broadside radiation at both 2 GHz and 6 GHz without experiencing the broadside stopband common to conventional periodic antennas. Likewise, the G-NRI-TL resonant antenna is the first reported instance of such a device, achieving quad-band operation between 2.5 GHz and 5.6 GHz, with a minimum radiation efficiency of 80%. Negative-refractive-index transmission line loading is applied to two devices: an NRI-TL meander antenna achieves a measured 52% impedance bandwidth, while a square patch antenna incorporates NRI-TL elements to achieve circular polarization at 2.3 GHz and 2.7 GHz, with radiation efficiencies of 70% and 78%, respectively. Optical transparency of 50% is then realized by cutting a grid through the antenna and substrate, making the device suitable for direct integration with solar panels. Therefore, this research provides several proof-of-concept devices to highlight the flexibility and multi-band properties of the G-NRI-TL which extend the capabilities of microwave transceiver systems.

Keywords: all-pass
antennas
electromagnetics
Metamaterials
microwave
Advisor: Eleftheriades, George V