VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Efficient Design of Wind Farm Layouts Utilizing Exact Gradient Information

The Wind Farm Layout Optimization (WFLO) problem has attracted a lot of attention from researchers and industry practitioners, as it has been proven that better placement of wind turbines can increase the overall efficiency and the total revenue of a wind farm. Common approaches found in the WFLO literature focus on minimizing turbine wake interactions based on analytical models. However, the literature seems to have settled on using metaheuristics and stochastic optimization approaches. In this thesis, a gradient optimization approach is proposed to solve highly constrained WFLO problems, by using an interior point method with the exact gradients of the objective and constraints. The superiority of the proposed approach has been demonstrated, and the computational cost is reduced by 1 to 2 orders of magnitude, in terms of objective function evaluations. Additionally, it has been extended to solve the multi-criteria problem considering electrical infrastructure, land usage and environmental aspects.

Keywords: Engineering design
Local search
Mathematical programming
Optimization
Wind energy
Wind farm layout optimization
Advisor: Amon, Cristina H
Enhancing Communication Availability with Hybrid Networks

Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) systems have been adopted worldwide to maximize traffic capacity and enforce railway safety. In CBTC systems, wireless communication between trains and the control station is typically realized by homogeneous networks, such as 802.11 WLANs or GSM-R. As a safety-critical application, communication availability is of paramount importance in CBTC systems and is enhanced by component redundancy. We present a novel solution to enhance communication availability in CBTC systems by exploiting heterogeneous networks to provide alternative communication paths. We employ overlay networks over the heterogeneous networks. Experimental results show that overlay networks over LTE networks are an advisable alternative communication path. We design a joint horizontal and vertical handoff decision algorithm which utilizes historical measurements. The proposed algorithm demonstrates effectiveness at reducing number of handoffs, service interruption and low QoS, eliminating ping-pong effects, increasing handoff intervals, and maintaining robustness to partial network failure or degradation.

Keywords: CBTC
LTE
Overlay Network
Railway Communication
Vertical Handoff
Advisor: Liebeherr, Jorg
Nonlinear Analysis and Structural Optimization of Aero-engine Casings Bolted Flange Connections

Bolted flange connections are widely employed as a secure means to fastening structural components in aero-engine casings. With the preload acting on the bolts, the structural response behaviour of the bolted flange becomes unpredictable due to the presence of discontinuity and contact nonlinearity at the joining interfaces of the casings. In this dissertation, a nonlinear elasto-plastic finite element quasi-static analysis of the aero-engine casings assembly is established considering the collective effects of the contact and elasto-plastic nonlinearities in order to investigate the effects of bolt pretension and frictional contact on the deformation response of the aero-engine casings bolted flange structure subjected to tensile, transverse and torsional loadings. The contact pressure distributions at the flange interface for different loading scenarios are identified and investigated. A metaheuristic surrogate-based multi-objective optimization architecture framework is proposed to efficiently optimize strength and weight performances considering bolted flange dimensions, bolt preload and frictional contact.

Keywords: Aero-engine Casings
Bolted Flange Connection
Bolt Preload
Frictional Contact
Multi-Objective Optimization
Nonlinear Behaviour
Advisor: Behdinan, Kamran
Characterizing the Effects of the DNA Methylation Inhibitor 5-AZA-CdR during Human CD8+ T Cell Expansion

While the durable anti-tumorigenic effects of 5-AZA-CdR on cancer cells are well known, its effects on the immune system (at clinically relevant doses) remain unexplored. We hypothesized that the use of 5-AZA-CdR during human CD8+ T cell expansion will allow more permissive gene transcription of effector cytokines such as IFN-gamma, thus conferring enhanced CD8+ T cell effector function. Our results indicate that while low dose 5-AZA-CdR treatment during human CD8+ T cell expansion reduced cell proliferation capacity and increased expression of various T cell inhibitory markers, the functional capacity of CD8+ T cells was increased. Low dose 5-AZA- CdR treatment during human CD8+ T cell expansion conferred higher expression and production of the effector cytokines IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha, and the cytotoxic granules Granzyme B. These observations suggest that treatment with 5-AZA-CdR during CD8+ T cell expansion may enhance their cytotoxic functions.

Keywords: 5-AZA-CdR
Decitabine
CTLs
DNA methylation
DNA methylation inhibitors
Epigenetics
Immunoepigenetics
Advisor: De Carvalho, Daniel
The Effect of Gender-role Stereotyping on Motivation for and Participation in Exercise

This document examines how gender role stereotypes influence men and womenâ s motivation for, participation in and performance during resistance and aerobic training. In study one, moderated multiple mediation models examined how participantsâ (n = 225) implicit perceptions of resistance and aerobic training influenced their motivation for and participation in these activities. In study two, performance and self-handicapping were measured as participants (nPart A = 210; n Part B = 26) completed a resistance exercise task following a stereotype threat manipulation. In men, implicit perceptions of the masculinity of resistance training were associated with lower self-determined motivation for and participation in resistance training, but masculine stereotypes did not influence performance on resistance training tasks. In women, masculine gender-role stereotypes did not affect resistance training motivation, participation, or performance. Findings indicate that masculinity poses a significant barrier to menâ s persistence in resistance training but has little effect on women.

Keywords: Exercise
Gender Roles
Motivation
Physical Activity
Resistance Training
Stereotyping
Advisor: Sabiston, Catherine M
3D Fast Spin Echo T2-weighted Contrast for Imaging the Female Cervix

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) with đ 2-weighted contrast is the preferred modality for treatment planning and monitoring of cervical cancer. Current clinical protocols image the volume of interest multiple times with two dimensional (2D) đ 2-weighted MRI techniques. It is of interest to replace these multiple 2D acquisitions with a single three dimensional (3D) MRI acquisition to save time. However, at present the image contrast of standard 3D MRI does not distinguish cervical healthy tissue from cancerous tissue. The purpose of this thesis is to better understand the underlying factors that govern the contrast of 3D MRI and exploit this understanding via sequence modifications to improve the contrast. Numerical simulations are developed to predict observed contrast alterations and to propose an improvement. Improvements of image contrast are shown in simulation and with healthy volunteers. Reported results are only preliminary but a promising start to establish definitively 3D MRI for cervical cancer applications.

Keywords: 3D T2 Fast Spin Echo
Cancer of Cervix
Contrast Correction
Female Pelvis
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Advisor: Beatty, Philip J
Graham, Simon J
Responsive Behaviours in Dementia: Developing and Implementing the Behavioural Supports Ontario Initiative

A policy initiative known as Behavioural Supports Ontario (BSO) was developed and implemented in Ontario between 2009 and 2013. This thesis seeks to identify the factors that led to BSOâ s development and explore the factors that may have influenced its implementation. The thesis used case study methodology. Thematic analysis of semi-structured interview and document data sources identified the following factors. Overall, the factors leading to the development of the BSO initiative included: (1) an increasing awareness of the negative effects of inappropriate care; (2) the ineffective use of emergency departments; (3) high numbers of alternate level of care (ALC) days; (4) uncoordinated care across care provider organizations; and (5) ongoing staffing issues related to lack of time and training on how to provide appropriate care to people with problematic (responsive) behaviours. The factors that influenced the implementation of the BSO initiative included an expansion of funds available for the long-term care sector specifically, a growing sense of implementation fatigue among service providers, the effect of knowledge discontinuity when BSO trained staff left their positions, and the risk that funds and human resources earmarked for the BSO initiative could be reallocated by service providers responding to immediate staffing needs. The findings of this thesis support the theoretical concepts related to causal stories in agenda-setting and the policy development and implementation process.

Keywords: Behaviours
Dementia
Healthcare
Long-Term Care
Policy-Making
System Change
Advisor: Deber, Raisa
Lateral Post-stall Aerodynamic Modeling using Flight Test Data

Loss-of-control resulting from airplane upset is a leading cause of worldwide commercial aircraft accidents. In response, the Federal Aviation Administration requires all U.S. air carrier pilots to receive upset-recovery training in flight simulators by 2020. However, the aerodynamic models in most flight simulators are not valid at upset conditions and must be updated before they can be used for training. In this thesis, a method is proposed for generating representative lateral stall models to better represent the aircraft dynamics at stall. Using certification flight test data and supplementary data provided by the manufacturer, the aerodynamic database of a turboprop aircraft is extended to cover large-angle-of-attack flight, while leaving the original model untouched at low angles of attack. It is then integrated into a 6-DOF simulator and shows reasonable match to the behavior observed in flight tests.

Keywords: Aerodynamic
Model
Simulink
Stall Model
Advisor: Grant, Peter R
Velocity Fields in a High Pressure Liquid Fueled Swirl-stabilized Lean Partially-premixed Combustor

This thesis investigates thermoacoustic velocity coupling in a lean, partially-premixed, liquid fueled gas turbine combustor operating at engine relevant conditions. Temporally resolved velocity fields are calculated through stereoscopic particle image velocimetry running at 5 kHz. Low velocity data yield is typical of such high pressure flames, so a new spatio-temporal data reconstruction algorithm is developed and implemented here to aid with the analysis of the measured velocity fields. Velocity measurements from six cases are studied here: gas phase velocities from two non-reacting and two reacting flows, and liquid phase velocities (on fuel droplets) from two other reacting cases. While the acoustic fields and the fuel flux into the combustor are found to have periodic oscillations corresponding to the thermoacoustic frequency, the velocity fields do not exhibit any relevant coherent oscillations. It therefore appears that, for the combustor being studied here, the thermoacoustic oscillations are a result of the fuel flow coupling, as opposed to vortex-acoustic-flame interactions.

Advisor: Steinberg, Adam M
Investigating Symptoms of Concussion and Depression in Adolescent Athletes Devoid of a Recent Concussion Injury

Sport-related concussion is a concern for all athletes involved in sport and recreational activity. At this time, few investigations have sought to examine the relationship between concussion-like and depressive symptoms in an adolescent athlete population prior to the occurrence of a concussion; examining these two symptom categories among a group of healthy individuals is necessary to understand the relationship that exists between concussion and depressive symptoms. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and relationship between concussion and depressive symptoms, and various demographic and medical history variables. Healthy uninjured adolescent athletes (aged 13 to 18 years old) completed validated symptom scales assessing perceived current concussion-like and depressive symptoms. Findings indicate that many athletes experience concussion-like and depressive symptoms in the absence of a recent injury. Therefore it may be unrealistic for an adolescent athlete to reach asymptomatic status prior to their return-to-play following an actual concussion. Results highlight large differences in the reporting of both concussion-like and depressive symptoms between males and females. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Keywords: Adolescents
Athletes
Depression
Sport-Related Concussion
Advisor: Topolovec-Vranic, Jane
Colantonio, Angela
The Spindle Assembly Checkpoint - A Predictor of Anthracycline Sensitivity in Breast Cancer Patients

Identifying drug response remains a major challenge in breast cancer patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy, as some patients relapse following treatment. Breast cancer consists of differences in tumour biology, which potentially correlates to differential treatment response patterns in patients. Resistance to commonly used chemotherapeutics such as anthracyclines poses an obstacle within the clinical setting, and no clinically validated biomarker exists to identify patients who will respond to treatment. Through analysis of the BR9601 trial we have been able to identify the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) as a potential predictor of anthracycline sensitivity, allowing us to further analyze this mechanism at the molecular level using anthracycline resistant breast cancer cells. To further elucidate the mechanism, we interrogated the SAC signal within our resistant cell lines and found that the SAC signal was significantly downregulated in the resistant cells. Investigation into SAC dysregulation could represent a mechanism for identifying anthracycline response.

Keywords: anthracycline
breast cancer
BubR1
predictive biomarkers
resistant cell lines
spindle assembly checkpoint
Advisor: Bartlett, John
Spears, Melanie
Clinical Evaluation of a Handheld Fluorescence Imaging Device for Real-time Wound Care Monitoring

Wound care is currently a major clinical challenge worldwide. A major complication during wound healing is bacterial infection, which causes serious impediment to the healing process. This thesis studied a hand-held autofluorescence-imaging platform called PRODIGI(TM) that is capable of detecting and quantifying bacterial load for point-of-care wound infection diagnosis and procedural guidance. The aim of this study is to extend the feasibility of PRODIGI(TM) to a clinical setting, validate its ability to detect and quantify bacteria in wound in real time thus guide interventions, and establish whether fluorescence-guided interventions improve healing of chronic wounds over time. A murine skin model was first established to validate PRODIGI(TM) on tracking bacterial fluorescence. Then a clinical trial was completed monitoring 23 patients up to 8 months. Wounds were found to heal faster with than without PRODIGI(TM) guidance. Subsequently, a standard operating procedure was created for PRODIGI(TM) to be used in other clinical settings.

Keywords: autofluorescence imaging
bacteria
chronic wounds
diagnosis
staphylococcus aureus
wound infection
Advisor: DaCosta, Ralph
Wilson, Brian
Intraoperative Fluorescence Imaging of Breast Cancer: A Clinical Engineering Analysis of Safety, Feasibility and Workflow Integration of a Handheld Prototype Device

Breast cancer, affecting one in nine in women, is typically treated with breast conservation surgery, where the tumor is removed while preserving the maximum amount of healthy tissue. Despite the current intraoperative margin assessment methods a re-excision rate of 20-70% still remains. A handheld fluorescence imaging prototype was developed to improve real-time differentiation between cancerous and normal breast tissue and detect subclinical residual disease in the surgical bed. A clinical trial investigating the use of the device in combination with a tumor-specific contrast drug ALA, revealed that the ALA-induced fluorescent PpIX was detected by the prototype in regions corresponding to palpable tumor and in small pathologically validated cancerous foci in the breast specimen. Furthermore, the device effectively differentiated between adipose and connective tissues. Preliminary sensitivity and specificity values of 88% and 73% for the technique demonstrated potential of the drug device combination as a margin assessment tool in breast cancer.

Keywords: Aminolevulinic Acid
Breast Cancer
Clinical Engineering
Fluorescence Imaging
Margin Assessment
Advisor: DaCosta, Ralph
Wilson, Brian
An Examination of the Acute Effects of Exercise on the Brain as seen by Resting State Functional MRI

Resting state fMRI (rs-fMRI) is a non-invasive imaging technique used to probe differences in brain activity across interventions or populations. While long term exercise is known to have cognitive, structural and neuro-protective brain effects, considerably less is known about exercise in the context of resting state functional connectivity (rs-fc) in the brain. In this thesis I examine the effects of moderate intensity single session exercise on rs-fc in young healthy adults, using rs-fMRI. Data are analyzed using independent component analysis, denoising and dual regression procedures. Analysis reveals increased activation post-exercise in three sensorimotor areas: the post-central gyrus, secondary somatosensory area and thalamus. This thesis establishes the feasibility of single session exercise paradigms to probe rs-fc and illustrates the importance of analysis considerations to improve detection of session effects. These research tools are extended to a pilot chronic stroke cohort, to establish functional measures that may relate to stroke recovery.

Keywords: acute exercise
BOLD fMRI
functional connectivity
independent component analysis
resting state networks
stroke
Advisor: MacIntosh, Bradley J
A Power Management Scheme Using A Time-shared Inductor for Energy Harvester Applications with Low Cold-start Voltage

Performance of energy harvesters is investigated for Internet-of-Things (IoT) applica- tions. Analysis reveals the inductor can be time-shared between energy harvesting and load regulation in an energy-ecient manner by leveraging IoT systems' low activity fac- tor. However, such implementations can impair the harvester's capability during cold- start. Subsequently, the system has to compromise its input/output voltage range and/or increase the inductance. Two novel architectures - Zero Reference, Self-Starving Ring Oscillator and Dickson- Linked Voltage Doubler - are developed to enhance the converter's cold-start. Post-layout simulations demonstrate the proposed solution can cold-start from 225mV input using 4.7H inductor, translating to 25% improvement over existing solutions. Besides time-sharing the inductor, the periodic nature of IoT applications is exploited to enhance dynamic response of load regulation. A Preemptive Concurrent Control (PCC) scheme is established and presented. Experimental results show the PCC sur- passes existing solutions in dynamic response and achieves same specications using 10x less capacitance.

Keywords: Cold Start
Dynamic Response
Integrated Circuits
Internet of Things
Low Voltage
Power Management
Advisor: Trescases, Olivier
A Unified Ontario Flood Method: Regional Flood Frequency Analysis of Ontario Streams using Multiple Regression

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) requires regional flood frequency equations to determine peak flows of specific return periods, established using the data from gauged locations, to design structures at the crossings of streams and rivers. This study intends to bridge the gaps in the current estimation techniques used in Ontario and utilize the additional data to improve its accuracy. Regional Flood Frequency Analysis (RFFA) of Ontario streams was performed using multiple regression and the equations for the T-year flood quantile (2, 10, 25, 50 and 100 year) were developed. The results of the regression based Unified Ontario Flood Method (UOFM) for the province reaffirms the conclusions of previous studies that peak discharge is directly related to drainage area. Other factors such as the lake attenuation index, representative of the area of lakes and wetlands, and climatological factors also contribute to the determination of the peak discharge.

Advisor: Drake, Jennifer
Understanding the Relationship Between Student Voice and Civic Achievement Scores: An Analysis of ICCS Data

The great irony of civic education is that democratic values are often taught with an authoritarian approach. The discrepancy between democratic values and how they are taught is a potential reason civic engagement is dropping in democratic countries around the world. This paper argues that by incorporating student voice in the decision-making process of schools the school experience will better reflect democratic values, which will improve student civic knowledge. Multiple regression analysis was used with the International Civics and Citizenship Survey (ICCS) data to analyze the relationship between student voice and civic achievement for 38 countries. The results indicate that student voice is a significant predictor of civic achievement scores for all 38 countries, even after controlling for student sociodemographic variables. The findings of this paper are important because they initiate a conversation about the possible benefits of using student voice as a method to improve civic achievement.

Keywords: Civic Achievement
Civic Education
International Civic and Citizenship Education Study
Student Participation
Student voice
Advisor: Chmielewski, Anna K
Synthesis, Chemical Characterization and Biological Assessment of Amphiphilic Oligourethanes for Drug Delivery Coatings

Medical devices may require drug delivery coatings that effectively transfer drug to a diseased site without causing undesired responses from the surrounding cells. This thesis focuses on the synthesis of Amphiphilic Oligourethanes (AOU) – consisting of polyethylene glycol, lysine and fluorinated segments. The molecules have been conceived as a platform on which to enable the generation of carriers that may bind a range of drug chemistries. Three families of AOUs were synthesised – anionic, non ionic hydrophilic, and non-ionic hydrophobic – in order to study their effect on smooth muscle cells and drug binding. Cell toxicity concentrations were defined for each oligourethane and were shown to be structure dependent, and possibly influenced by their surfactant character. The order of least toxic was anionic > non-ionic hydrophilic > non-ionic hydrophobic. Two titration techniques (Isothermal Calorimetry and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) were investigated as methods to study intermolecular binding properties with a model drug, C6-Ceramide.

Keywords: Cardiovascular
Cytotoxicity
Drug Delivery
NMR Titration
Polyurethane
Surfactant
Advisor: Santerre, Paul