VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The Complex Experience of Surgeon Stress in the Operating Room

Surgery is a demanding career; however, research examining acute surgeon stress is lacking. The aim of this study was to capture and explore surgeon stress in the operating room (OR) using a multifaceted methodology. This exploratory pilot study collected surgeonâ s stress data from four facets: physiologic, cognitive, affective and sociocultural. Physiologic data included ECG and cortisol. Affective, cognitive and sociocultural data were captured through inventories, interviews, and observer notes. Data triangulation was used for analysis, focusing on moments of perceived and physiologic stress. A methodology to capture surgeon stress in the OR was refined. Heart rate and heart variability proved the most reliable, sensitive and specific physiologic stress data, but conveyed limited information without perceived stress data. The relationship between perceived and physiologic stress is complex and perceived stress can be present without physiologic stress and vice versa. A multifaceted methodology is necessary to understand the complex surgeon stress experience.

Keywords: Operating
Operating Room
Stress
Surgery
Advisor: Moulton, Carol-anne E
Characterization of the Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Bloom Community in Hamilton Harbour, Lake Ontario

Little is known about the interspecific relationships between Cyanobacteria and heterotrophic microorganisms throughout Cyanobacterial harmful algal bloom (CyanoHAB) development mainly since most aquatic microorganisms are non-culturable in the laboratory. The culture-independent technique Terminal Restriction Length Polymorphism (T-RFLP) was used for fingerprinting of microbial community DNA collected from Hamilton Harbour water throughout the summers of 2014 and 2015. 454-tag encoded pyrosequencing and shotgun sequencing revealed the dominant prokaryotes and eukaryotes throughout each summer. Actinobacteria was the dominant bacterial phylum in June while Cyanobacteria and Proteobacteria were co-dominant from August-September. Shotgun data also revealed the microbial functional potentials. Cyanobacterial dominance was associated with a higher potential for nitrate/nitrite assimilation and nitrogen fixation in the late-summer. These results provide the first metagenomic characterization of the total CyanoHAB community in Hamilton Harbour. Correlations to physico-chemical parameters further provide insights for future management into which factors could be shaping the bacterial community throughout the summer.

Advisor: Fulthorpe, Roberta R
Physiological Detection of Emotional States in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with difficulties in emotion processing including attributing emotional states to others and processing of oneâ s own emotional experiences. These difficulties are linked to core social impairments and increased severity of psychiatric co-morbidities such as depression in ASD. The nature of these difficulties has remained largely unknown. This is partially due to limitations in obtaining reliable self report of emotional experiences in this population. Emotion detection using physiological signals is a promising direction in addressing this limitation. Physiological signals can provide an objective language free method for understanding emotional states in ASD. Despite this promise the use of this approach has not been studied in ASD. To this end we develop a physiological approach to detection of emotion in children with ASD. We showed that emotional states can be classified with accuracies>80% in a sample of children with ASD which affirms the feasibility of discriminating affective states in this population.

Keywords: ASD
Autism spectrum disorder
Emotion detection
Pattern recognition
Physiological signals
Advisor: Kushki, Azadeh
Ideologies of "Greatness" and the Production of Space and Subjects: A Study of the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport

This thesis is a study of a contemporary space at the University of Toronto: The Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport (GCHPS). The motto for the GCHPS was “Pursue (your) Greatness”. I explored the ways in which greatness may be connected to the research and practices of the exercise sciences, sports medicine, and athletics. I drew on the theoretical insights of Lefebvre (1991), and scholars of space and sport (e.g., Pronger, 2001; Atkinson, 2009; van Ingen, 2003; Fusco, 2005). I explain the Centre’s ties to the University’s institutional vision for academic and athletic excellence, as well as the provincial and federal government’s investment in sport. I argue that this production is tied to legacies of classism, whiteness, and scientific knowledge/power, and is neglectful of the interests of the broader university community. I conclude by suggesting that scholars must be critical of the socio-cultural and political aspects of spaces and disciplines.

Keywords: Higher Education
High Performance Sport
Kinesiology
Landscapes of Sport
Lefebvre
Space
Advisor: Fusco, Caroline
Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Tolerance Induction in a Mouse Model of Solid Organ Transplantation

The need for long term immunosuppression negatively impacts long term survival and quality of life for solid organ transplant patients. One solution for this would be establishment of immune tolerance. Autologous HSCT has been used clinically for the restoration of self-tolerance in autoimmune disease. We tested whether autologous HSCT and a short treatment with rapamycin could result in tolerance to fully MHC-mismatched allografts. Mice that received HSCT and a short course of the mTORi rapamycin demonstrated significantly prolonged allograft survival compared to untreated and rapamycin-only treated controls. Immunologic studies showed that HSCT-treated mice displayed active immune regulation as demonstrated by a primary MLR response, markedly diminished donor specific antibody levels and significantly higher frequencies of CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ Tregs. These data provide a rationale for human clinical trials to examine the ability of autologous stem cell transplantation to induce tolerance in liver transplant patients (ASCOTT) which are now ongoing.

Keywords: Cardiac allograft
Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
MLR
Rapamycin
Regulatory T cell
Transplant Tolerance
Advisor: Levy, Gary A
Defining Novel Molecular Events in Leiomyosarcoma

Leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is a smooth muscle neoplasm and a common histological subtype of soft tissue sarcoma (STS). LMS primarily arises in the retroperitoneum and abdominal cavity, the extremities, and the uterine wall. Current treatment outcomes are poor; consequently, personalized medicine informed by the molecular basis of the disease is needed. Here, YAF2-PRICKLE1 and ESR1-CCDC92, two novel fusion transcripts, were discovered in an LMS cell line and were detected as rare events in the tumor from which that cell line was derived. Furthermore, unbiased cluster analysis indicated that abdominal and extremity LMS transcriptomes group distinctly from uterine LMS transcriptomes, suggesting potential molecular subtypes and supporting the notion that uterine LMS is biologically distinct from abdominal and extremity LMS. Lastly, decreased FOXO4 expression correlated with increased smooth muscle differentiation in LMS. Collectively, these preliminary findings present avenues for future investigations which may facilitate diagnostic and therapeutic innovations for this disease.

Keywords: Gene Fusions
Leiomyosarcoma
Molecular Subtypes
Smooth Muscle Differentiation
Advisor: Gladdy, Rebecca
Institutional Entrepreneurship, Market-making, and Interaction Dynamics: A Case Study of the Ontario Craft Brewing Market

This thesis examines institutional entrepreneurship, market-making, and interaction dynamics in the case of Ontarioâ s craft brewing industry. It identifies the presence of institutional entrepreneurship in the industry, and shows that institutional entrepreneurs have mobilized resources to dislodge existing practices, and create new or change existing institutions in their interest - a novel conceptual contribution to the economic geography literature. Moreover, this thesis describes some of the ways that actors in and/or related to the industry have made a market for themselves, despite competition from much larger firms in an established market. The identification of institutional entrepreneurship as a market-making process in the industry presents a more complete explanation of the industryâ s development than previously offered in the craft brewing literature, and the synthesis of these processes, using a relational economic approach, contributes to the economic geography literature.

Keywords: Craft brewing industry
Economic geography
Institutional entrepreneurship
Market-making
Relational economy
Advisor: Bathelt, Harald
Mapping Change in Urban Canopy Cover Following an Ice Storm Event: A Case Study of the December 2013 Ice Storm in Toronto and Mississauga

Urban forests provide ecosystem services and functions, but are vulnerable to stressful environments and disruptive weather. One type of extreme weather, ice storms, can result in damage to trees. In December 2013, an ice storm hit southern Ontario with significant social and ecological impacts experienced in the Greater Toronto Area; where many cities are initiating management plans to increase canopy coverage. The objective of this project is to explore the changes in urban canopy cover before and after the ice storm through object-based image analysis. The results of this analysis successfully show broad level canopy distributions, patterns of canopy growth and loss, and 3-5% of canopy loss can be attributed to the ice storm on residential land uses. A better understanding of the impacts of the 2013 ice storm addresses a gap in our knowledge of how urban forests respond to extreme weather.

Keywords: Geographic information systems
Ice storm
Object based image analysis
remote sensing
Urban Forestry
Urban trees
Advisor: Conway, Tenley
Effects of Bilateral Prelimbic Cortex Inactivation on Contextual Biconditional Discrimination Memory Retrieval in Adult Long-Evans Rats

The prelimbic (PL) subregion of the medial prefrontal cortex has been widely implicated in the contextual control of appetitive and aversive conditioning through studies of context-induced reinstatement of drug seeking and contextual fear conditioning. However, the role of the PL in mediating contextual processing in appetitively motivated tasks without the involvement of abused substances remains underexplored. Thus, the present study sought to investigate the role of the PL in this process using a previously reported contextual biconditional discrimination (CBD) memory task. We examined the effects of temporary post-acquisition pharmacological inactivation of the PL on CBD memory retrieval and observed robust deficits in contextual memory retrieval following PL inactivation. Our data provide novel insight into the role of the PL in contextual processing in appetitively motivated tasks in the intact brain, indicating a more general role for the PL in appetitive and aversive contextual processing in the drug-free brain.

Keywords: contextual biconditional discrimination
contextual processing
medial prefrontal cortex
prelimbic cortex
reward
Advisor: Ito, Rutsuko
Trajectory and Breakup of Cryogenic Jets in Crossflow

This study investigated the breakup processes of subcritical cryogenic jets injected in to subsonic crossflows of heated air. The crossflow speed, temperature, and jet velocity were varied to demonstrate the effect of thermal differences on a jet in crossflow. High speed back-lit photography and Mie scattering were used to examine the primary breakup regimes, trajectory, and breakup points. The breakup regimes show little change from jets in crossflow near thermodynamic equilibrium. Penetration of the jet increased with an increase in crossflow temperature. The breakup points in the streamwise direction followed trends previously observed for conventional jets. While the height of column fracture did not increase with momentum flux ratio as much as would be expected, its dependence matched that of the trajectory correlation. It is hypothesized that the observed differences are due to the development of a sheath of evaporated fluid around the main liquid core of the jet.

Keywords: Breakup
Crossflow
Cryogenic
Jet
Trajectory
Advisor: Steinberg, Adam M
Frequency-scanned Waveguide-fed Slot Array for Millimetre-wave Radar Applications

Millimetre-wave designs have become increasingly common in radar applications due to advantages when compared with traditional microwave designs. The increased operating frequencies offer greater bandwidths and allow for reduced antenna sizes. In radar systems, large bandwidths are used to achieve high range resolutions. At millimetre-wave frequencies, there is sufficient bandwidth for additional uses, most notably, beam steering using a frequency-scanning antenna. Due to their simplicity, these antennas are particularly attractive for commercial radar applications. In this work, a millimetre-wave frequency-scanned slot array was designed based on a serpentine waveguide for a 1.8 GHz bandwidth centred at 34.3 GHz. The antenna was fabricated, and measurements indicated a range resolution better than 1.25 metres over an angular scanning range of 20 degrees. The antenna was incorporated in a simplified radar system, which successfully demonstrated the ability to detect and locate multiple targets simultaneously.

Keywords: antenna
frequency-scanning
radar
Advisor: Eleftheriades, George V
Exploring Interculturality: Dialectical Tensions with Identity and Schooling Systems with First Generation Immigrant Students

First generation immigrant students' experiences, perspectives and histories deeply affect their socio-cultural understanding and connection to their surrounding environments, and can serve as a valuable point of entry into problematizing the concept of static integration. Working from a dialectical perspective, I utilize thirteen first generation immigrant students' accounts to explore their socio-cultural struggles, the two school systems into which they were imbedded and the ways in which these facilitated or impeded immigrant student intercultural experience(s). Results showed that students experienced internal struggles with sociocultural scripts, language and cultural loyalty in confluence with school systems that were in themselves expressing stress vis-Ă -vis socio-cultural facilitation and support.

Keywords: First Generation Immigrant Students
Interculturality
Relational Dialectics Theory
School Social Structure
Student Experience
Advisor: Bascia, Nina
Health System Performance Measurement in a Circumpolar Context: Selecting Performance Indicators for Maternity Care

Performance measurement is a necessary component of a transparent health system. In circumpolar regions, indicators that align with national strategies may fail to address priorities of northern, remote, or Indigenous populations. The objective of this study was to select contextually appropriate performance indicators for maternity care in circumpolar regions. A scoping review of the academic and grey literatures generated a working list of indicators. Fourteen circumpolar maternity care experts then participated in a two-round modified Delphi consensus process. Eleven indicators met criteria for importance, circumpolar relevance, validity, and reliability. Twenty-nine additional indicators were identified for further consideration. This study demonstrated that while most circumpolar maternity care systems engage in performance reporting, current indicators do not always reflect local priorities. This study was effective in identifying contextually appropriate indicators. Future work should ensure that circumpolar performance indicators capture issues related to social determinants of health, travel for care, and cultural competency.

Keywords: arctic
circumpolar
indicator
indigenous
maternity care
performance measurement
Advisor: Murphy, Kellie E
Initial Molecular Characterization of Planarian Pigment Cells, a New Model for Studying Lineage Specification and Gut Excretion

ASCs play crucial roles in tissue homeostasis and regeneration. Here, I established pigment cells in Schmidtea mediterranea as a novel model to study ASC lineage specification by identification of hmbs and alas as makers for pigment cells, and ans as a marker for their progenitors. Co-expression analysis between hmbs and tryptophan metabolism enzyme, kmo, suggests ommochrome as one of the responsible pigments for planarian body pigmentation. Initial characterization of this lineage reveals an fst homolog as a negative regulator of pigment cell regeneration and proliferation. Functional studies of light-induced depigmentation also uncover homologs of draper and epimerase as positive regulators of gut excretion mediated pigment cell removal. Together, these findings in pigment cell lineage and gut excretion pave ways to future studies of ASC regulations.

Keywords: Lineage Specification
Photosensitivity
Pigment
Planarian
Regeneration
Stem Cell
Advisor: Pearson, Bret J
Feasibility of Direct Reprogramming of Myofibroblasts to Lung Epithelial Cells Utilizing PiggyBac Transposon System

Organ transplantation is the treatment of choice for management of end-stage organ diseases. Graft failure due to chronic rejection is characterized by fibrosis of structures within the allograft. Immunosuppression has reduced acute rejection but has not had an impact on chronic rejection. In transplanted lungs, epithelial injury predestines small airways to undergo fibrosis and results in activation of myofibroblasts marked by expression of alpha smooth muscle actin (SMA) termed Bronchiolitis Obliterans (BO). In this project we developed an innovative anti-fibrotic strategy using “direct reprogramming” to target this pathogenic response through conversion of myofibroblast to lung epithelial cells. As a proof of concept, we 1) established an in vitro fibrosis model system, 2) tested SMA promoter as a potential driving promoter of the reprogramming cassette, 3) selected and cloned inducing factors in PiggyBac constructs and 4) showed the feasibility of utilizing these tools for the testing of reprogramming strategies targeting fibrosis.

Keywords: chronic rejection
direct reprogramming
fibrosis
lung
myofibroblasts
PiggyBac
Advisor: Waddell, Thomas K
The Development of In-situ NMR Photoreactors and Analysis of Photochemical Processes in the Environment

Photolysis is a major abiotic process in the environment. Current understanding of environmental photolytic processes is limited due to restricted information offered by conventional analytical techniques and lack of in-situ studies. In-situ nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) photoreactors were developed to directly integrate light sources with NMR spectroscopy to probe into environmental photochemistry in a non-invasive manner. They were applied to a series of environmental systems including an atmospheric pollutant, crude oil extracts, groundwater (at natural abundance), and dissolve organic matter (DOM). Intermediates and degradation products were identified along with kinetic profiles of specific compounds in complex environmental mixtures. It was also shown to be a great non-invasive chromatographic tool to investigate the phototransformation of DOM. Also, two dimensional (2D) NMR experiments were used to characterize and quantify components in DOM. Overall, the work demonstrates that in-situ NMR spectroscopy is an important analytical tool in unraveling complex environmental photolytic processes.

Keywords: Dissolved Organic Matter
Environmental Photochemistry
In-situ
Kinetics
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
Photolysis
Advisor: Simpson, André J
Utilizing Homology Models and Biochemical Analysis to Determine the Structural Consequences of SLC26 Anion Transport Membrane Protein Mutations

The availability of the crystal structure of a bacterial member of the SLC26 anion transporters has allowed us to create 3-dimensional models of 10 human members of this family using threading algorithms. A plethora of human diseases are associated with mutations in the genes encoding human SLC26 transporters. My project focused on localizing point mutations in the 3-D structures of the respective SLC26A2, A3 and A4. Most mutations are predicted to cause folding defects resulting in defective trafficking of the membrane protein to the cell surface. However, a number of mutations that localize to the anion-binding site may directly affect transport function. A characterization of a panel of mutants in A2 and A3 was conducted and a range of effects on cell surface expression levels were observed. In addition, a role for N-glycosylation in the cell surface stability of SLC26A2 and in the retention of certain mutants intracellularly was discovered.

Advisor: Reithmeier, Reinhart
Williams, David
Optically Imaging Forgetting in the Hippocampus

Ongoing neurogenesis in the hippocampus has been demonstrated to have a causal role in forgetting. It remains unclear how this forgetting is represented in the brain at the level of neuronal ensembles. This thesis attempts to answer this question by utilizing in vivo calcium imaging to record activity from hundreds of neurons in subfield CA1 while mice form and retrieve a contextual fear memory. We trained mice in a contextual fear conditioning task and tested memory expression before and after enhancing neurogenesis with voluntary exercise, or control conditions. Our preliminary findings indicate that memory formation is associated with a reduction in activity within CA1 and increased correlated activity among CA1 neurons. Enhancing neurogenesis after learning disrupted correlated activity during memory retrieval. Thus, decreased correlated activity in CA1 is concomitant with behavioral forgetting, suggesting that perturbed correlated activity resulting from circuit reorganization by hippocampal neurogenesis may underlie forgetting.

Keywords: CA1
calcium imaging
forgetting
hippocampus
neurogenesis
Advisor: Frankland, Paul W
Endothelial Progenitor Cell Therapy for Fracture Healing in a Rat Femoral Defect Model: A Dose-response Study

The use of endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) therapy for tissue regeneration is well documented across a wide array of disciplines, including orthopaedics where it has successfully been used preclinically to heal bone defects. Yet, no study has chosen to formally investigate a dose-response relationship between EPC therapy and bone healing. In an effort to optimize this cell therapy, we aimed to elucidate a dose-response relationshipâ initially hypothesizing that EPCs would augment fracture healing in a dose-dependent manner up until a plateau of effectiveness was reached. Using a rat bone defect model, we implanted varying doses of ex-vivo expanded syngeneic EPCs on a collagen scaffold and monitored bone healing for 10 weeks. Radiographic assessment revealed a positive relationship between the amount of EPCs implanted and the subsequent rate of bone healing. However, microCT and biomechanical analysis demonstrated ideal bone structure and strength at an optimal dose of 2 million EPCs.

Advisor: Schemitsch, Emil H