VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Behaviour of Circular Concrete Columns Internally Reinforced with Steel and GFRP under Simulated Earthquake Load

In order to address the issue of corrosion of steel in concrete structures, Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) is slowly gaining acceptability as a replacement of steel. This thesis aims to evaluate the feasibility of using GFRP as internal lateral reinforcement in columns. A total of eight circular columns were tested under simulated earthquake forces which included constant axial load and cyclic lateral displacement excursions. In addition to the moment vs. curvature response and shear vs. deflection behaviour, a number of ductility parameters related to curvature, displacement, and energy dissipation are used to evaluate the performance of specimens. Test results demonstrated similar shear and moment capacities compared to the columns with confining steel reinforcement. Due to their linear elastic behaviour until rupture at a strain of approximate 0.02, GFRP spirals provided continuous confinement to the columns, which displayed acceptable deformability. The application of GFRP as lateral reinforcement in concrete columns avoids the corrosion concern and delivers a strong and ductile response.

Keywords: Circular concrete column
Corrosion
Ductility
Flexural strength
GFRP confinement
Advisor: Sheikh, Shamim A
Two Distinct Populations of Urinary Pacemaker Cells Arise From The Neural Crest

Two distinct populations of urinary pacemaker cells (PMCs), marked by HCN3 and C-KIT respectively, control ureteric peristalsis to propel urine from the kidney to the bladder. Urinary PMCs are implicated in multiple congenital kidney diseases, including non-obstructive hydronephrosis. Yet, the role of these cells in disease is unknown as urinary PMC development is uncharacterized, including their lineage of origin and molecular signature. To establish the origin of the urinary PMCs, lineage tracing was used to analyze five distinct lineages that contribute to the mature kidney. Co-localization between neural crest cell markers and PMC markers demonstrated that two populations of PMCs arise from neural crest. To isolate the PMCs for molecular characterization, they were marked with antibodies and sorted via fluorescence activated cell sorting. The PMCs were successfully isolated with >94% purity and immunophenotypes confirmed. These studies provide a foundation to investigate urinary PMC differentiation and function in developmental kidney diseases.

Keywords: C-kit
Hcn3
Neural Crest
Renal Devleopment
Urinary Pacemaker Cells
Advisor: Rosenblum, Norman D
The Effect of Contamination of Implant Screws on Detorque Values

The objective of this study was to determine if the contamination of abutment screw surfaces by metal debris will affect the preload. Fifteen new abutment screws were contaminated with 60-80 nm titanium nanoparticles for the contamination group and the remaining 15 new abutment screws didn't receive contamination for the non-contamination group. Ten cycles of screw insertion and removal were conducted to measure detorque values. There was a tendency that the detorque values dropped as the test cycle increased in both groups. Screw contamination will affect the preload values since the mean detorque values of the non-contamination group were always greater than the ones of the contamination group at the same test cycle. Stripped screw heads, various degrees of wear on screw threads, and various amounts of metal debris on the abutment screw surfaces were all present for both groups after 10 cycles of testing.

Keywords: detorque value
screw loosening
Advisor: Alkumru, Hasan
Nitrate-dependent, Neutral pH Bioleaching of Ni from an Ultramafic Concentrate

This study explores the possibility of utilizing bioleaching techniques for nickel extraction from a mixed sulfide ore deposit with high magnesium content. Due to the ultramafic nature of this material, well-studied bioleaching technologies, which rely on acidophilic bacteria, will lead to undesirable processing conditions. This is the first work that incorporates nitrate-dependent bacteria under pH 6.5 environments for bioleaching of base metals. Experiments with both defined bacterial strains and indigenous mixed bacterial cultures were conducted with nitrate as the electron acceptor and sulfide minerals as electron donors in a series of microcosm studies. Nitrate consumption, sulfate production, and Ni released into the aqueous phase were used to track the extent of oxidative sulfide mineral dissolution; taxonomic identification of the mixed culture community was performed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Nitrate-dependent microcosms that contained indigenous sulfur- and/or iron-oxidizing microorganisms were cultured, characterized, and provided a proof-of-concept basis for further bioleaching studies.

Keywords: bioleaching
denitrification
neutral pH
Nickel
ultramafic
Advisor: Papangelakis, Vladimiros G
Transgressing Heteronormativity in Militarism: Sexual Diversity in the Canadian Forces

This intent of this thesis is to probe deep into hidden and rigid structures, which regulate gender and sexual minorities in the Canadian Forces. We will see the development of hegemonic military masculinity from its early stages in nation building to its currant gender and sexual structures in a post-911 era. My personal narrative experiences as a radicalised, sexual minority in the Canadian Forces provided me a point of departure in understanding the underlying lived experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, two-spirit, queer or questioning (LGBTQ) service members. In preparing this thesis current serving members, Defence offices, and leading academics were investigated, LGBTQ legislation and military policies were researched, and case study interviews were conducted in order to understand the key and underlining structures, which regulate gender and sexual identity in the Canadian Forces.

Keywords: Canadian Forces
Gender
Homosexuality
LGBT
Masculinity
Military
Advisor: Olson, Paul
Investigating Novel Interactors of Mammalian Fat and Dachsous cadherins

Fat and Dachsous family cadherins are large transmembrane proteins involved in regulating tissue growth and polarity processes. However, exactly how Fat and Dachsous (Dchs) function in these processes in mammals remains a source of uncertainty. To augment our understanding of how mammalian Fat and Dchs act in these pathways, I generated stable, tetracycline-inducible HEK293 T-REx cell lines expressing tagged deletion constructs of various Fat and Dchs homologs to be used as bait in mass spectrometry experiments. I used a proteomic screening approach to identify novel mammalian Fat and Dchs interactors via affinity purification coupled with mass spectrometry and BioID mass spectrometry, in collaboration with Dr. Brian Raught at the Ontario Cancer Institute. Datasets for the Fat homologs Fat1, Fat4, and the Dachsous homologs Dchs1 and Dchs2 revealed interesting potential interactors such as Par3. My work describes my efforts to characterize the Fat4-Par3 interaction and to confirm selected mass spectrometry hits.

Keywords: Dachsous
Fat
mass spectrometry
polarity
spindle orientation
Advisor: McNeill, Helen
Sub-micron Water Droplet Formation in Bitumen Froth via Tip Streaming

Processes such as centrifugation and inclined settling are currently used to achieve the separation of water and solids from bitumen froth in the oil-sands industry. They are, however, ineffective in removing sub-micron water droplets, which can constitute a significant fraction of the residual water content in bitumen after separation. Through the work presented in this thesis, we experimentally demonstrated a hydrodynamic breakup process, tip streaming, as the primary mechanism for sub-micron water droplet formation in bitumen solution. In a first-of-its-kind study, a glass-based microfluidic platform was developed to perform experiments with concentrated bitumen solutions and visually demonstrate the breakup process. Fine threads, ~ 1.43 µm diameter, of the aqueous phase were generated during tip streaming for capillary number between 0.5 and 1. In view of this finding, similar experiments were performed to explore the effect of certain industrially relevant parameters: process water pH, solvent aromaticity, bitumen dilution and surface-active species concentration. Naphthenic amphiphiles were found to be the dominant surface-active species leading to tip streaming. The drop breakup trends generated here for various process conditions will potentially serve as the basis for future tip streaming studies with model oil - water - surfactant system and drop-drop coalescence studies.

Keywords: Capillary number
Microfluidics
Oil sands
Sub-micron water drops
Tip streaming
Advisor: Ramchandran, Arun
A Chair Embedded with Capacitive Electorcardiography (ECG) for Non-obstructive Cardiac Health Monitoring in the Home Setting

Canada is faced with an ageing population, which requires long term health monitoring. Capacitive electrocardiography (ECG) is considered a viable method of non-obstructive heart condition monitoring, detecting ECG without directly attaching an electrode to the body. In this study, a capacitive ECG chair is designed, implemented and verified. Furthermore, extensive experiments were conducted to evaluate the output signal quality in various situations. These experiments shed light on the impacts of different design parameters (such as electrode size, separation distance and orientation) and clothing condition (such as clothing material and thickness) on the output signal quality. Additionally, the sources of motion artifacts are identified and their influences on the ECG signal are studied.

Keywords: Capacitive Sensing
Chair
Electrocardiography
Health Monitor
Homecare
Advisor: Mihailidis, Alex
Hybrid Magnetic Attitude Control of Spacecraft: Optimality, Passivity, and Stability

Hybrid spacecraft attitude control schemes that combine magnetic torques with impulsive thrusting in an optimal or passive manner are developed. The optimal controller uses a hybrid linear quadratic regulator formulation, while explicitly accounting for a priori estimates of the disturbances. Previous results on optimal impulse timing are extended to remain valid under disturbance accommodation, and the special case of a multi-orbit mission with repeating impulse patterns is considered. The passivity-based approach relies on a hybrid and time-varying extension of Kalman-Yakubovich-Popov conditions, and judiciously designs the output dynamics to guarantee passivity of the plant and stability of the closed-loop system subject to sufficiently small disturbances. Lastly, input/output stability of the disturbance-accommodating controller and Lyapunov stability of the passive controller are studied by introducing a hybrid state transition matrix. Extensions of the classical Floquet theory and its counterpart for inhomogeneous systems provide stability analysis tools for the proposed hybrid controllers.

Keywords: Hybrid Magnetic Attitude Control
Hybrid Stability Analysis
Optimal Control
Passivity-Based Control
Spacecraft Dynamics and Control
Advisor: Damaren, Christopher J.
The Role of Reelin in Human Neutrophil Peptide-induced Endothelial Dysfunction and Platelet Aggregation

Introduction: Human neutrophil peptides (HNP) may play an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. We have shown that HNP-induced platelet aggregation was abolished in the absence of low density lipoprotein-related protein-8 (LRP8), a receptor for the extracellular matrix protein reelin. Hypothesis: The HNP-induced endothelial dysfunction and platelet aggregation is mediated by reelin. Methods: Human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAEC) were stimulated with HNP to assess reelin protein expression and release. A reelin neutralizing antibody was used to assess endothelial function and platelet aggregation after HNP stimulation. Results: HNP induced reelin protein expression and release in HCAEC. The stimulation of recombinant mouse reelin resulted in oxidative stress and decreased endothelial nitric oxide synthase in HCAEC, and platelet aggregation in human platelets. The HNP-induced endothelial dysfunction and platelet responses were attenuated by using a reelin neutralizing antibody. Conclusion: HNP induce endothelial dysfunction and platelet aggregation mediated by the reelin-LRP8 signal pathway.

Keywords: HNP
Neutrophils
Reelin
Endothelial dysfunction
Platelet aggregation
Advisor: Zhang, Haibo
Experimental Characterization of the Effects of Freestream Turbulence Intensity on the SD7003 Airfoil at Low Reynolds Numbers

The effect of freestream turbulence intensities ranging from Tu = 1.26% to Tu = 3.2% is studied. Skin friction measurements made on the surface of the airfoil using oil film interferometry (OFI) show that, in general, the effect of the increased Tu is to inhibit separation of the laminar boundary layer. With increased Tu, the near-wall flow experiences strong deceleration in the adverse pressure gradient, but does not reverse as it does in the baseline case where Tu = 0.05%. The Cp distribution resulting from this decelerated fluid is similar in appearance to that of a laminar separation bubble. OFI results also show that laminar separation initiates a more rapid transition process than does higher turbulence intensity: transition of the boundary layer occurs over a shorter distance with Tu = 1.26% than it does with Tu = 2.19% due to the presence of a LSB at the lower turbulence intensity.

Keywords: Aerodynamics
Low Reynolds
Turbulence
UAV
Advisor: Lavoie, Philippe
A Novel 3D Co-culture Tumour Model for Head and Neck Cancer

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are a major part of the tumour microenvironment and have been shown to play an important role in the progression of cancer. To probe the tumour-stroma interactions, we incorporated CAFs and squamous carcinoma cells of the hypopharynx (FaDu cells) into the Tissue Roll for the Analysis of Cellular Environment and Response (TRACER) platform to simulate a section of a head and neck tumour. We optimized the seeding densities and stacking configurations of the CAF and FaDu cell tissue sections to enable a robust 3D co-culture system under normoxic conditions. Although co-culture of CAFs with FaDu cells produced negligible effects on radiation resistance, increases in proliferation rate and cell migration at 24 and 48 h of culture were observed. Our study provides the basis for use of our in vitro co-culture model to investigate the tumour-stroma interactions and to assess treatment response as a drug screening tool.

Keywords: 3D model
Cancer-associated fibroblasts
Co-Culture
Head and Neck Cancer
Advisor: McGuigan, Alison P
Genome-wide Mapping and Analysis of Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AHR) and Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Repressor (AHRR) Bound Regions in MCF-7 Human Breast Cancer Cells

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a ligand activated transcription factor best known for mediating the toxic actions of environmental contaminants, such as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). The aryl hydrocarbon receptor repressor (AHRR) is an AHR regulated gene and a negative regulator of AHR. Although the mechanism of AHRR-dependent repression of AHR is not clear, one of the proposed mechanisms is through direct competition or interaction with AHR at DNA sequences termed aryl hydrocarbon response elements (AHREs). This thesis aimed to compare the genome-wide binding profiles of AHR and AHRR in MCF-7 cells treated for 24 h with 10nM TCDD using ChIP-seq. Although AHRE was overrepresented in both AHR- and AHRR-bound regions, AHRR was shown to bind closer promoter regions than AHR. AHR- or AHRR-independent regulations of the identified genes were also confirmed. This work is the first genome-wide mapping of AHRR-bound regions which provides insight into potential novel functions for AHRR.

Keywords: Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR)
Aryl hydrocarbon receptor repressor (AHRR)
Aryl hydrocarbon response element (AHRE)
Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-Seq)
dioxin
DNA binding
Advisor: Matthews, Jason
Induction of the Rat Hepatic Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Nuclear Translocator by Glucocorticoids

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) nuclear translocator (ARNT), a partner in the hypoxia and AHR signaling pathways, is induced in rat liver by dexamethasone (DEX), a steroid that activates the glucocorticoid (GR) and pregnane X (PXR) receptors. I conducted in vivo rat studies to examine the roles of GR and PXR in ARNT regulation. A selective GR agonist or a low DEX dose activating GR but not PXR increased hepatic levels of ARNT mRNA and an unidentified ARNT antibody-reactive protein (UAARP). The trend for increased ARNT protein levels required high DEX doses activating GR and PXR. A GR antagonist prevented the induction of ARNT mRNA and UAARP levels by low-dose DEX and the increased ARNT protein levels by high-dose DEX. DEX-induced ARNT mRNA and protein levels did not differ between wild-type and PXR-knockout rats. These results support a role for GR in the DEX induction of rat hepatic ARNT expression.

Keywords: aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator
glucocorticoid receptor
glucocorticoids
pregnane X receptor
rat
signaling pathway
Advisor: Riddick, David S
Analysis of Tc1/mariner Transposable Element Protein Localization in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae and Genome-wide de novo Classification of Miniature Inverted-Repeat Transposable Elements in Brassica rapa

Transposable elements (TEs) are segments of mobile DNA that have infiltrated genomes at significant levels.Tc1/mariner is a superfamily of class II TEs widespread in plants. Osmar elements are TEs previously shown to cross-mobilize small non-autonomous elements. Specifically, Osmar14 autonomous (Osmar14A) will cross-mobilize Stowaway MITEs (miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements). In a yeast transposition assay that Osmar14A displays decreased transposition when the nuclear export signal of the protein is mutated. A novel protein localization system has been devised that allows for protein visualization of fluorescently tagged proteins, such as Osmar14A. Additionally, a de novo analysis of miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements in Brassica rapa resulted in classification of 85 MITE families, corresponding to Tc1/mariner, hAT, CACTA and piggyBac. Classification of MITEs and TEs, such as Osmar14A is important for it allows for the development of genetic tools, as well as an understanding of the mechanisms behind hyperactive TEs, such as Osmar14A.

Keywords: bioinformatics
DNA
genome
mobile DNA
transposable elements
Advisor: Yang, Guojun
Understanding and Safely Predicting the Shear Response of Large-scale Reinforced Concrete Structures

Infrastructure commonly built today incorporates very thick reinforced concrete members that serve as critical elements in the load-carrying system of the structure. Certain design codes specify that members such as mat foundations and transfer slabs in high-rise buildings can be designed without shear reinforcement, allowing for more economical constructability. Omission of shear reinforcement results in structures being susceptible to the well-established size effect, and thus prone to brittle shear failures. The research comprised in this thesis focuses on investigating the applicability of international design codes in predicting the shear strength of very thick concrete members. To this end, a specimen representing a 4 m thick slab strip and a 300 mm thick companion strip were constructed and tested to failure. Results from the experimental program support the recommendation to use at least minimum shear reinforcement in large-scale structures to yield safe designs.

Keywords: Deep Beam
Failure
Reinforced Concrete
Shear
Structure
Thick Slab
Advisor: Collins, Michael P.
Bentz, Evan C.
miR-142-3p Directly Regulates Autophagy Dependent Gene ATG16L1

Numerous genome-wide association studies demonstrate that a variant in the autophagy-dependent gene ATG16L1 is associated with Crohn's Disease (CD). miRNA regulation has been shown to contribute to the pathogenesis of many inflammatory diseases including inflammatory bowel disease. miRNA bind to the complementary 3' untranslated region (UTR) of the target mRNA to repress their translation and promote their degradation. Here we investigated the functional effect of miR-142-3p on ATG16L1 and autophagy. HeLa and HCT116 cells were transfected with either a miR-142-3p mimic or antagonist and qPCR for ATG16L1 and western blotting was performed. In comparison to control cells, a decrease in ATG16L1 transcripts was detected in cells transfected with the miR-142-3p mimic. A reduction in ATG16L1 and LC3-II protein level was also seen in immunoblots. Taken together, these results indicate that miR-142- 3p can directly regulate ATG16L1 and repress autophagy, implicating miRNA regulation in the pathogenesis of CD.

Keywords: ATG16L1
Autophagy
Crohn's Disease
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
microRNA
miR-142-3p
Advisor: Jones, Nicola L
Complement Regulation on Vascular Endothelial Cells—Insights into the Pathogenesis of Thrombotic Microangiopathy

AbstractAtypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) is a form of thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) that occurs due to defective regulation of the alternative complement pathway (AP). We developed a novel model system using Blood Outgrowth Endothelial Cells (BOEC), whereby the response of these cells to complement challenge could be examined under static and microfluidic conditions, in order to study aHUS pathogenesis. Complete blockade of the membrane-anchored, AP regulator CD46/MCP, associated with disease in patients, was insufficient to cause an ex vivo TMA phenotype. Increasing `complement challenge', mimicking additional genetic `hits' in complement regulation achieved the phenotype. In addition, using BOEC from patients lacking von Willebrand Factor (vWF), a hemostatic protein released from activated endothelial cells, we showed that contrary to current opinion, vWF does not amplify complement, rather regulates it. The paucity of vWF in the glomerular endothelium could explain the vulnerability of the kidney to loss of complement control in aHUS.

Keywords: Atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome
CD46/Membrane Cofactor Protein
Complement
Endothelium
Thrombotic microangiopathy
von Willebrand Factor
Advisor: Licht, Christoph
Representative Post-stall Modeling of T-tailed Regional Jets and Turboprops for Upset Recovery Training

Loss-of-control resulting from airplane upset is a leading cause of worldwide commercial aircraft accidents. In order to provide pilots with sufficient stall recovery training using ground simulators, flight models will need to be improved. In this thesis, a methodology for generating a generic representative post-stall aircraft model is developed. Current type specific post-stall models are too expensive to generate, and are not practical for routine training. The representative model offers a much cheaper way to train crew for upset conditions, at the same time providing sufficiently realistic cues seen in an upset condition. The methodology provides a foundation for generating full scale representative models using wind tunnel data and physics-based approaches. An example of applying the methodology to predict stall regime aircraft behavior is provided for one aerodynamic coefficient.

Keywords: Representative Modeling
Stall
Training
Advisor: Grant, Peter R