VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Anatomical Study of the Knee and Shoulder Joint Capsules: Innervation to Innovative Interventions

The number of individuals diagnosed with osteoarthritis (OA) is expected to rise to more than 10 million by 2034. Treatment options for painful knee and shoulder joints related to OA include physiotherapy, prescription opioids and joint replacement. Image-guided peripheral nerve blocks (PNB) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) have emerged as an alternative intervention to manage acute and chronic joint pain respectively. PNB consist of local injections that temporarily block sensory nerves from transmitting pain from the joint to the brain. More prolonged pain relief is provided by RFA which uses heat to stop sensory nerves from functioning. Currently, x-ray (FL) and ultrasound (US) imaging are used for guiding PNB and RFA procedures. To successfully use FL and/or US to guide PNB and RFA, clinicians need to know the location and course of sensory nerves, supplying the joint, in relation to surrounding bones, muscles and blood vessels. To date, there is a lack of research focusing on the anatomy of the sensory nerves and their relationship to landmarks visible with FL and/or US. Without this information, it is challenging to successfully target sensory nerves and manage pain using PNB and RFA. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis was to investigate and document the relationship of sensory nerves supplying the knee and shoulder joints, to bony and soft tissue landmarks visible with FL and/or US. This thesis involves cadaveric dissections and three-dimensional mapping of the fine sensory nerves supplying the capsule of the knee and shoulder joints in relation to bony and soft tissue landmarks. The anatomical findings will improve the management of joint pain by providing the basis to evaluate current and develop new PNB and RFA procedures that better target sensory nerves supplying the knee, and shoulder joints. More effective PNB and RFA protocols will provide improved pain management and quality of life for patients living with symptomatic knee and shoulder joint OA.

Keywords: Anatomy
Joint Innervation
Peripheral Nerve Block
Radiofrequency Ablation
Regional Anesthesia
Advisor: Agur, Anne M.R.
Belief-revision in Children and Adults

Our beliefs about the world are prone to change as we encounter information that is incompatible with existing knowledge. Prior research has dominantly focused on children’s deference to new information, when this information defies their existing perceptions and intuitions. However, the differential weight children attribute to various beliefs in their knowledge set when the new information calls for revision has been underexplored. This dissertation aims to expand our understanding of the reasoning process underlying children’s belief-revision. Do some beliefs have privileged status in children’s representation of the world, therefore making them more resistant to revision than others? Findings presented in Chapter 2 showed that 5-, 7-year-old children and adults were equally likely to revise beliefs based on generalizations (e.g., All of Sophia’s balls are dotted) and beliefs based on observations (e.g., Sophia brings a ball from her box to the table) about a particular entity when faced with inconsistent evidence (e.g., The ball on the table is striped). These results failed to replicate earlier findings showing a robust preference among 7-year-old children and adults to retain generalizations (e.g., All knights of King William wear a white hat) and instead to revise particular observations (e.g., This knight wears a black hat). In Chapter 3 I addressed the possibility that category generalizations have a privileged status specifically when they convey essential, non-accidental aspects of the category rather than non-essential, accidental aspects. The results from Chapter 3 provided partial support for the differential weight 4- to 7-year-old children assign to essential and non-essential beliefs about a novel category. Overall, children revised their beliefs randomly. However, an analysis of performance by trial showed that children did not readily revise their initial beliefs based on the essential property of the novel exemplar in the first trial. Taken together, these studies suggest that when incorporating new information into their existing knowledge, adults, and children between the ages of 4 to 7 years do not attribute a privileged status to their beliefs about category generalizations, not even when these are based on essential properties. Possible implications of children’s flexibility in revising existing beliefs are discussed.

Keywords: belief-revision
categorical knowledge
updating
Advisor: Ganea, Patricia A.
The Utility of Zooplankton Size Spectrum Parameters as Ecological Indicators

The overarching goal of this thesis is to assess the sensitivity of the zooplankton community size spectrum to ecosystem change in lakes. This was accomplished using two large-scale datasets to investigate the temporal and spatial patterns of the zooplankton normalized abundance size spectrum (NASS). First, using a 30-year time series from eight lakes (Dorset lakes) I characterized the range of variability in the zooplankton NASS associated with among-lake differences and long-term environmental change and documented its common seasonal pattern. The slope (relative abundance of small and large organisms) was a relatively stable feature of the zooplankton community compared with the height (total abundance). I detected a relatively strong seasonal signal in both the slope and the height, with an overall decline in height and increase in slope over the ice-free season. Second, I used the Dorset lake dataset to investigate the among-lake and among-year drivers of variability in the zooplankton NASS and its responsiveness to invasion by Bythotrephes, a spiny water flea. Morphometric characteristics were the best predictors of both the slope and the height. Temporal variability in the slope was related to changes in lake phosphorus levels, while in the height it was related to dissolved organic carbon and ice duration. The NASS changed in both central tendency and variability after Bythotrephes invaded, demonstrating its usefulness as an indicator of a top-down perturbation. Last, I used a diverse group of Ontario lakes to better understand the drivers of among-lake variability in the zooplankton NASS. Consistent with previous results, morphometry was a strong driver of variability. Additionally, there was a strong spatial signal in the slope and seasonal signal in the height. Once these factors were controlled for, I was able to detect an influence of the fish community and anthropogenic stressors. Taken together, the zooplankton size spectrum is responsive to both bottom-up and top-down factors, with unusual size spectrum slope values potentially indicating a strong perturbation. I have offered some recommendations for continued development of the zooplankton community size spectrum as a universal tool for lake monitoring.

Keywords: body size
environmental change
indicator
invasive species
size spectrum
zooplankton
Advisor: Sprules, W Gary
Shuter, Brian J
Les symptômes du manger : Troubles et conduites alimentaires dans la littérature réaliste et naturaliste du XIXe siècle

Cette thèse analyse la représentation des objets et des conduites alimentaires dans neuf œuvres réalistes et naturalistes du XIXe siècle. La question est surtout abordée dans une perspective sociocritique (Duchet, Amossy) et épistémocritique (Pierssens, Dahan-Gaida). L’analyse se concentre sur la présence des objets de discours alimentaire, tels que les mets et les restaurants, ainsi que les choix lexicaux et narratifs qui invoquent ce même discours. Le premier chapitre délimite l’approche théorique et explore le « discours alimentaire » tel qu’il se configure au XIXe siècle. Les deux chapitres qui suivent s’appliquent, respectivement, à l’analyse d’un corpus balzacien réaliste et du naturalisme de Zola et Maupassant. L’étude du Médecin de campagne (Balzac, 1833) suggère un modèle d’alimentation normative dont les atouts se ressentent au niveau personnel et national. À l’inverse, Eugénie Grandet (Balzac, 1833) nous permet de prendre la mesure des conséquences d’une conduite alimentaire mésadaptée. Le cousin Pons (Balzac, 1847) permet une méditation sur la question du « goût » et de ses mutations au long du siècle. Enfin, Illusions perdues (Balzac, 1837) situe le parcours narratif de son protagoniste autour des tables parisiennes, où les choix alimentaires sont investis de conséquences importantes. Le troisième chapitre quitte le réalisme balzacien, en commençant par l’analyse de Nana (Zola, 1880), roman qui s’articule autour d’une « mangeuse d’hommes ». Les autres romans zoliens analysés prennent également appui sur des stéréotypes et mythes de la dévoration : L’assommoir (1877) dépeint une surconsommation ouvrière à travers des personnages « mangeurs » et « mangés » ; Le ventre de Paris (1873) véhicule un drame politique autour de la dynamique du « gras » et du « maigre » ; enfin, Pot-bouille (1882) accuse les fausses apparences des manières bourgeoises par des scènes de dévoration économique et sexuelle. Pour compléter l’analyse du naturalisme, Boule de Suif (Maupassant, 1880) démontrera que la métaphorique alimentaire, non exclusive à Zola, peut appuyer des perspectives diverses à partir des mêmes éléments discursifs. Au fil de ces analyses, nous interrogerons la question de l’alimentation troublée, non dans son sens « officiel », mais plutôt dans son sens populaire et conflictuel.

Keywords: Alimentation
Épistémocritique
Littérature
Naturalisme
Réalisme
Sociocritique
Advisor: Thériault, Patrick
Elkabas, Charles
Dynamics of Auditory Reflective Attention in Speech-in-noise Perception

The ability to listen to speech in noisy environments is supported not only by mechanisms of sound segregation and auditory streaming, but also by higher-order cognitive functions such as semantics, attention, and memory. Major strides have been made to understand how each of these cognitive functions contributes to comprehension of incoming speech signals, leading to the emergence of predictive models of speech comprehension in noise. Whereas most studies have focused on the effects of prior contextual information on speech-in-noise (SIN) processing, less is understood about the mechanisms involved in the effects of subsequent contextual information, in which a noisy signal is followed by context. This dissertation characterizes the involvement of subsequent semantic contextual information across three studies, informed by an auditory attention to memory (AtoM) approach. Study 1 first directly compared the effects of prior and subsequent semantic context on identification of a word in noise, and found that a subsequent cue word that was related to a target word in noise could boost identification of the target, although not as well as presenting it prior to the target. Study 2 built on Study 1 by comparing the neural mechanisms underlying prior and subsequent semantic context using electroencephalography (EEG), with results suggesting different temporal dynamics underlying performance. Finally, Study 3 incorporated multiple words in noise as targets and manipulated the participants’ instruction of cue usage, finding dissociable effects of instruction, relatedness among the targets, and relatedness of a subsequent cue to targets. These findings are discussed in the context of models of SIN processing, semantic priming, and AtoM.

Keywords: Attention
Auditory
Speech-in-noise
Advisor: Alain, Claude
Artistic Identity and Space: The Journey of a Group of Graduates from an Arts High School

While there is an abundance of information about how the arts are used to express and explore identity among at-risk or underprivileged youth, the relationship between school contexts and artistic identity is not well documented. This study aims to address this gap by investigating how artistic identity is shaped through the experiences students encounter in school settings. This narrative research examines the ways in which the notion of artist is conceptualized and explores how artistic identity is constructed in the discourse of participants. Through in-depth, semi-structured interviews, I explored the perception of the schooling experiences of 24 graduates from one arts high school in Toronto to better understand how these graduates, with the distance of time, perceive this experience in the context of their lives. The descriptive accounts provided in the graduates’ narratives unearthed the artistic identities that emerged from their early childhood experiences, in addition to revealing a sense of belonging they fostered at school that helped to shape their artistic identity. A major finding of this research is the process by which participants began to understand themselves as artists in relation to others, and within the social milieu of the arts high school. The research findings showed that the school shaped and reinforced the very concept of what it means to be an artist. Understanding the various paths that students take after graduation will shed light on the role of the arts in schools, and provide further understandings of the drives and motivations of the graduates who choose a career in art (or not) and how these factors challenge preconceived notions about what it means to be an artist.

Keywords: Art Education
Artistic Identity
Arts High School
Identity
Space
Advisor: Gérin-Lajoie, Diane
Fast and Flexible CAD for FPGAs and Timing Analysis

Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are a widely used platform for hardware acceleration and digital systems design, which offer high performance and power efficiency while remaining reprogrammable. However a major challenge to using FPGAs is the complex Computer Aided Design (CAD) flow required to program them, which makes FPGAs difficult and time-consuming to use. This thesis investigates techniques to address these challenges. A key component of the CAD flow is timing analysis, which is used to verify correctness and drive optimizations. Since the dominant form of timing analysis, Static Timing Analysis (STA), is time consuming to perform, we investigate methods to efficiently perform STA in parallel. We then develop Extended Static Timing Analysis (ESTA), which performs a more detailed and less pessimistic form of timing analysis by accounting for the probability of signal transitions. We next study a variety of enhancements to the FPGA physical design flow, including to key optimization stages like packing, placement and routing. These techniques are combined in the open-source VTR 8 design flow, and significantly outperform previous methods. We also develop advanced architecture modelling capabilities which allow VTR 8 to target a wider range of FPGA architectures. These enhancements allow FPGA architects more fine grained control of the targeted FPGA architecture, enabling more in depth study of key architectural features such as the routing network. Additionally, we show how these enhancements enable the VPR placement and routing tool within VTR to target commercial FPGAs as part of a fully open-source design flow. Finally, we study how Reinforcement Learning (RL) can be used to learn new effective heuristics for use in CAD algorithms, and show how this can be used to improve the run-time quality trade-off of an FPGA placement algorithm.

Keywords: CAD
FPGA
Placement
Reinforcement Learning
Routing
Timing Analysis
Advisor: Betz, Vaughn
Dimensions of Perceived Reality

Dimensions of Perceived Reality is a multi-dimensional, modular composition for solo soprano and full orchestra which can be performed by the entire ensemble or by subsets of the full orchestration. These subsets are a wind ensemble (woodwinds and brass plus percussion), and string ensemble (strings plus piano and harp). All of this material is notated in a single conductor’s score. The goal of composing in this manner is to make it possible for both ensembles to function independently and uniquely on their own, but also in combination as a full orchestral whole. Adding a further dimension to this modularity, Dimensions of Perceived Reality may also be further parsed by using the full string ensemble version plus any of the winds and/or percussion added as desired. The implied philosophical allegory is that alone we can only perceive a small segment of reality, but we can paint a greater picture of our own existence by mindfully observing our surroundings and engaging with others. The first movement, which begins in introspection of our own humanity, becomes increasingly fragmented in its tonality and content between the two ensembles, as if gazing at oneself in a broken mirror. From our innermost sense of humanity, we move outwards in the second movement to the immediate environment we inhabit, the Earth and its complexity, with the wind ensemble representing the serenity of nature and the string ensemble providing turbulent energy. Space and time are explored in the third movement, where the string ensemble features material that is an inconsistent time-dilation of the motifs presented in the wind ensemble. The final movement meditates on existence itself, maintaining almost consistent unity between the two ensembles. Consequently, this movement is consistently similar in all its possible configurations. This composition is written in a way that also takes into consideration the digital evolution of the 21st century, allowing for presentation of the parts in all of their combinations as an adaptive recording through a sound installation, phone app, or virtual reality experience. The text of the composition is sourced from eight different poems by the English romantic period poet William Wordsworth.

Keywords: Composition
Orchestra
Soprano
String Ensemble
Wind Ensemble
Advisor: Hatzis, Christos
Towards Understanding how Lymph Nodes Process Nanoparticle Vaccines for Humoral Immunity

Vaccines are essential to induce the pathogen specific immune responses against infectious disease. Antigens derived from pathogens needs to be delivered to and retained in the immune organs (especially lymph nodes) for efficient immune responses and production of neutralized antibodies. A strategy is to use engineered nanoparticles as delivery carriers to help antigen delivery inside lymph nodes. We do not know how lymph nodes process nanoparticle-based vaccines for immune responses. In this thesis, we first found that follicular dendritic cell (FDC) networks determine the intra-lymph node follicle fate of nanoparticles based on nanoparticle size. The FDCs clear smaller nanoparticles (5-15 nm) and retain larger nanoparticles (50-100 nm) on their dendrites. These retained larger nanoparticles are then presented to B cells to induce humoral immune responses. Next, we assessed the role of immune cell population on nanoparticle delivery inside lymph nodes and found subcapsular sinus macrophage prevent the nanoparticle delivery to FDCs. Suppressing the subcapsular sinus macrophage results in enhancement of nanoparticle delivery to lymph node follicles and up to 60 times more antigen specific antibody production. Lastly, removal of liver macrophages promotes nanoparticle delivery to lymph nodes and tumours after systemic administration. These studies reveal the mechanism of how our immune system process nanoparticles. This knowledge enables us to rationally engineer nanoparticle vaccines and develop strategies of altering immune cell populations to generate effective immune responses.

Keywords: Adjuvant
Drug delivery
Humoral immunity
Lymph node
Nanomedicine
Vaccines
Advisor: Chan, Warren
Remembering as Praxis: Reconceptualizing Structural and State-sanctioned Violence, Oppression, and Trauma through Radical Survival Narrative Pedagogy

This study looks at women’s narratives as entry points to understanding the gendered and racialized nature of the experiences of violence, oppression, trauma, resistance, and survival, and their connections to patriarchal capitalist relations of imperialism and colonialism across national and cultural boundaries. The first section establishes the theoretical and epistemological framework of transnational feminist theory and Dialectical Historical Materialism, forming a praxis that posits the need to examine macro structures such as imperialism and colonialism, in ways that forefront the material realities of women’s lives and the historical, material conditions that have produced their experiences and stories. The second section presents a narrative analysis within this theoretical framework. The data include narratives by Indigenous survivors of Residential Schools in settler colonial Canada, testimonios of revolutionary struggle from Central America, and political prisoner memoirs from the Middle East. The analysis traces threads of violence, trauma, resistance, and survival which emphasize the connections between the personal and the political, and between private and public memory, and call us to consider how we may challenge, decolonize, and confront dominant ideologies and collective post-trauma/survival subjectivities and solidarities. From this analysis and a critique of mainstream conceptualizations of trauma and the concept of ‘trauma texts,’ I offer the concept of ‘radical survival narratives,’ informed by the narratives themselves, as well as by the concept of ‘radical vulnerability’ from Social Justice and Critical Disability Studies, and the Indigenous literary theory concept of ‘survivance.’ The third section is the development of an arts-based pedagogic framework for community-based and formal education settings. Through both its content and process, this pedagogy of the radical survival narratives is aimed at developing learners’ understanding of the social relations of colonialism and imperialism within patriarchal capitalism and reframing our understanding of violence and trauma through a pedagogy of these narratives. The pedagogy further highlights resistance and survival, pushing back against capitalist, colonialist, imperialist structures and agendas, and building strength and solidarity.

Keywords: Dialectical historical materialism
Life Narratives
Pedagogy
State-sanctioned violence
Structural Violence
Trauma
Advisor: Mojab, Shahrzad
Non-canonical Hedgehog Activity Initiates Ciliogenesis via LKB1-AMPK and Gαi-LGN-NuMA-Dynein Axes

Primary cilia function as critical signaling hubs whose absence leads to severe disorders collectively known as ciliopathies, yet our knowledge of ciliogenesis remains limited. Here I show that Smo induces ciliogenesis through two distinct yet essential non-canonical Hh pathways in several cell types including primary neurons. Surprisingly, Sonic Hh ligand (Shh) activation of Smo can induce autophagy via an LKB1-AMPK axis to remove the satellite pool of OFD1. This is required, but not sufficient, to induce ciliogenesis. Additionally, Smo activates the Gαi-LGN-NuMA-Dynein axis, which results in accumulation of a portion of OFD1 at centrioles at early stages of ciliogenesis. Both pathways are critical for redistribution of BBS4 from satellites to centrioles, and this also relies on centriolar translocation of OFD1. Notably, different Smo agonists, which activate Smo distinctly, activate one or the other of these pathways and only recapitulate the activity of Shh in combination. These studies provide new insights into physiological stimuli (Hh) that activate autophagy and promote ciliogenesis and introduce a novel role for the Gαi-LGN-NuMA-Dynein complex in this process.

Keywords: Autophgay
Hedgehog pathway
primary cilia
Advisor: Trimble, William