VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Novel Approaches in Assessing Abuse Potential of Psychotropic Medications – Pregabalin as a Test Case

Abuse of psychotropic medications causes significant morbidity and mortality in North America. Results from traditional assessments of abuse liability may not be generalizable to individuals with mental illnesses or for drugs with ill-defined mechanisms of action. Pregabalin is an anticonvulsant medication used off-label to manage benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms. Simultaneously, reports of its abuse have emerged. Two novel approaches were used to assess pregabalin’s abuse potential. On the macro-level, adverse drug reaction data from Canada’s national database were evaluated in Study 1. Results indicated that cases found in this spontaneous reporting system can provide early indicators of prescription drug abuse. On the micro-level, Study 2 aimed to assess the acute effects of pregabalin in inpatients withdrawing from benzodiazepines and produced valuable information concerning study design, which can be used to inform future research. Overall, these novel macro-and micro-level approaches in assessing abuse potential of psychotropic drugs are complementary and synergistic with traditional methods.

Keywords: addiction
database
drug abuse
pregabalin
prescription drug abuse
psychotropic
Advisor: Sproule, Beth A
The Ontogenetic Osteohistology of the Eureptile Captorhinus aguti (Reptilia: Captorhinidae) and the Community Histology of the Early Permian Fissure-Fill Fauna Dolese Quarry, Richards Spur, Oklahoma

Palaeohistological research has greatly enhanced our ability to draw conclusions about the physiology and growth of extinct vertebrates. A comprehensive histological growth study has never been undertaken in an Early Permian taxon at the initial stages of terrestrial vertebrate evolution. Captorhinus aguti, a common Early Permian eureptile from the fissure-fill locality near Richards Spur, Oklahoma, is the ideal taxon for a study of this type. C. aguti femora from all growth stages were measured and sectioned to compare bone structure through ontogeny. Representatives of other major taxa from the Richards Spur locality were also sectioned to compare histology across the palaeocommunity. Long bones of all sectioned Richards Spur taxa, including all growth stages of C. aguti, display slow growing parallel-fibered lamellar bone with poor vascularization. Captorhinids were the only taxon from this locality that lacked growth lines, implying that they were employing a different growth strategy from the other taxa that were preserved at this locality.

Keywords: Early Permian
eureptile
histology
ontogeny
palaeocommunity
Richards Spur
Advisor: Reisz, Robert R
Evans, David C
The Effect of Fluid Dairy Products on Satiety, Food Intake and Glycemic Regulation in Children

The hypothesis that fluid dairy consumption before and with a meal decreases short-term appetite and food intake (FI) and improves glycemic control compared with a sugar-sweetened beverage in normal weight (NW) and overweight/obese (OW/OB) children was explored. Isocaloric (130 kcal) beverages of 2% milk, 1% chocolate milk, 1.5% yogurt drink, fruit punch and water were compared. In Experiment 1, FI was lower after chocolate milk and yogurt drink than water. In Experiment 2, milk led to lower pre-meal glucose and higher pre-meal GLP-1 than fruit punch in all children. When intake was adjusted for body weight (kcal/kg), post-meal glucose, insulin and GLP-1increased, and ghrelin decreased more in OW/OB than NW children. Post-meal PYY was higher after milk in all children. Therefore, fluid dairy does not reduce FI and appetite more than other caloric beverages, but milk results in lower pre-meal glucose and more favourable responses in satiety hormones in children.

Keywords: children
dairy
food intake regulation
milk
Advisor: Anderson, G. Harvey
The Effect of Environmental Complexity on the Purging of Deleterious Mutations

Mutations at condition influencing loci are expected to be maladaptive with respect to non-sexual fitness and also negatively affect mating success. Natural and sexual selection should thus act concordantly at these loci. Recent studies find male preferential harassment of high-condition females reduces their fitness relative to low-condition females. Thus, sexual selection appears to hinder natural selection. The ecologically simple environments of these studies exaggerate male harassment towards high-condition females. I tested the effects of environmental complexity in reducing the negative sexual conflict effects that might cause a misalignment of natural and sexual selection. Using Drosophila melanogaster, I quantified mating interactions in environments differing in complexity. I measured the purging rate of mutations from populations evolving in these environments. I found that environmental complexity modulates the rate at which mutations are purged and speculate on a causal mechanism that implicates a concordance of natural and sexual selection to explain these results.

Keywords: Behavioural Ecology
Evolutionary Biology
Evolutionary Genetics
Population Genetics
Sexual Conflict
Sexual Selection
Advisor: Agrawal, Aneil F
Perfectionism and Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Investigating the Mediating Effect of Emotion Dysregulation

The present study examined the associations among perfectionism, emotion dysregulation, and GAD. Eighty participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing perfectionistic tendencies, difficulties in emotion regulation, and symptoms of GAD. The purpose of this study was to examine emotion dysregulation as a potential mediator in the relationship between perfectionism and GAD. Results indicated that general emotion dysregulation statistically mediated the relationship between the socially prescribed dimension of perfectionism and GAD. In addition, specific difficulties in emotion regulation, including deficits in acceptance of emotions, emotional clarity, impulse control, and access to effective regulation strategies, fully mediated the association between socially prescribed perfectionism and GAD symptoms. Implications for treatment and future research directions are discussed.

Keywords: Emotion Dysregulation
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Perfectionism
Advisor: Watson, Jeanne
Right-sided Cardio-pulmonary Relationships in Endurance Athletes: Potential Long-term Consequences of Higher Pulmonary Pressure Generation during Exercise

Endurance-trained athletes (ETA) demonstrate physiologic cardiac adaptations, however few demonstrate indicators of reduced right-heart (RH) performance. This subset of ETA has not been characterized; they may be among those who generate higher pulmonary pressures (PP) during exercise. With RH catheterization during a graded-exercise protocol, PP during exercise were measured in 7 untrained controls and 16 ETA, with “high” and “low” pressure-generators (HPG, LPG) identified within our ETA cohort. Potential impacts of high-pressure states on long-term RH function were investigated with Echocardiography. A wide range in PP was produced in both cohorts, despite uniform RH enlargement in ETA. Compared to LPG, HPG athletes with peak-systolic PP over the median of 49mmHg demonstrated reduced resting RV systolic strain (p=0.04), slowed RV diastolic rate (p=0.03), and large left-atrial size (p

Keywords: Athlete's Heart
Pulmonary Pressure
Resistance
Right Ventricle
Strain
Advisor: Goodman, Jack M
Dorian, Paul
Therapist Self-disclosure with Clients from Diverse Backgrounds

The psychological literature on therapist self-disclosure in counselling and psychotherapy has shown to be a beneficial tool in working with clients’ in-session. Current research on therapist self-disclosure suggests that not all therapy skills have been successfully adapted when working with clients of from diverse backgrounds. Using a grounded theory approach, nine therapists were interviewed about the ways in which they use self-disclosure with clients from differing social locations than themselves. Four major themes emerged from the data: 1) Understanding Therapist Self-Disclosure; 2) Conceptualizing ‘Diversity’; 3) Contexts in which Therapists Conceal Themselves from the Client; and 4) Contexts in which Therapists Reveal Themselves to the Client. The results showed that participants were more inclined to disclose sooner and with greater comfort when working with someone from a similar ethno-cultural background whereas they were more cautious and less inclined to disclose to a client if they were from an unfamiliar cultural background.

Keywords: countertransference
diversity
multi-cultural counselling
psychoanalytic
qualitative
therapist self-disclosure
Advisor: Moodley, Roy
Violence, Literacy, and Adult Learning: How does Parkdale Project Read Meet the Needs of Learners who have Experienced Violence and Trauma?

Violence and trauma can negatively affect adult’s ability to learn. Literacy instructors must bear in mind many adult learners have histories of violence and trauma that may affect their experience of the classroom. This ethnographic case study of Parkdale Project Read, and how it meets the needs of learners who have experienced violence and trauma, develops context-specific knowledge that is grounded in experience. By examining Project Read as an organization, and participants’ supportive relationships, this study will contribute to a better understanding of how violence and hardship are addressed within a practical adult literacy context. The goal of this research is to introduce local knowledge into the violence and adult literacy literature, and to better understand the relationship between violence and adult literacy through interviews with staff, tutors, and learners at Parkdale Project Read.

Keywords: adult education
adult literacy
literacy
parkdale
trauma
violence
Advisor: Burstow, Bonnie
Non-invasive Cardiac Diagnostic Tests in Ontario: Temporal Trends in Utilization and Association with Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease

Contemporary temporal trends in utilization of graded exercise stress test (GXT), myocardial perfusion scanning (MPI), stress echocardiography (stress echo), and cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA) are unknown. The optimal initial testing strategy to evaluate stable coronary artery disease (CAD) is also unknown. We conducted a repeated cross sectional study of the adult population of Ontario in order to assess the temporal trends in utilization of these modalities and a retrospective inception cohort study in order to compare the relationship between differing initial testing strategies and the presence of obstructive CAD on downstream angiography. Our results indicate stable utilization patterns for GXT and MPI. We had insufficient data to make definitive conclusions regarding the temporal trends for CCTA and stress echo. An initial diagnostic strategy consisting of CCTA, MPI or stress echo was not significantly different than an initial strategy with a GXT in detecting obstructive CAD on downstream angiography.

Keywords: Cardiac imaging
Cardiology
Comparative effectiveness
Epidemiology
Resource utilization
Temporal trends
Advisor: Tu, Jack V
Cost Effective Deployment of Heterogeneous Networks and the Effect of Pilot Contamination

Network densification by means of adding more antennas to the macro base station (MBS) or by placing single antenna small cell access points (SC AP) have great potential in meeting the growing user demand in wireless cellular networks. While more resources, properly used, is always better, these entail greater deployment cost. In this thesis we investigate how to achieve the highest sum rate in a two-tiered heterogeneous network (HetNet) combining MBSs and SCs under a cost constraint. We show that when ignoring the overhead of uplink training for channel estimation, it is more cost effective to deploy MBSs equipped with a large number of antennas; leading to a large-scale multiple input multiple output (LS-MIMO) system. On the other hand, with even a relatively low cost of training, it is beneficial to deploy SC APs. We then investigate the effect of training on LS-MIMO networks and develop a lower bound on the per user ergodic rate when uplink training, inter-cell interference, and pilot contamination are considered.

Keywords: HetNet
MIMO
Pilot Contamination
Wireless Communication
Advisor: Adve, Raviraj S
Recovery of Boreal Forest Carbon Pools Following Stem-only Harvesting in Quebec, Canada

Forêt Montmorency (FM), Quebec, provides an opportunity to use a 77-year chronosequence to evaluate the effects of stem-only harvesting on carbon cycling in a balsam fir-white birch boreal forest. By comparing empirical estimates of 19 carbon pools with those simulated in the Carbon Budget Model (CBM-CFS3), it is possible to assess the accuracy of model assumptions in predicting stand-level carbon dynamics. Although CBM-CFS3 was able to predict total ecosystem carbon within 10% of the empirical mean at stand maturity, many of the dead organic matter (DOM) pools deviated from field observations, indicating that model initialization of DOM pools did not adequately simulate the 1000 year history of C transfers and stand dynamics prior to the harvesting event. Future modifications to CBM-CFS3 initialization assumptions may be required to more accurately simulate the long-term effects of natural disturbances on carbon pools over time for this forest region.

Keywords: bioenergy
boreal forest
carbon cycling
carbon modelling - CBM-CFS3
climate change
stem-only harvesting
Advisor: Smith, Tattersall C
Skeletal Muscle Metabolic Dysfunction in Patients with Malignant Hyperthermia

Malignant Hyperthermia (MH) is a disorder where susceptible individuals show a hypermetabolic reaction to anaesthetics. A subset of MH-susceptible (MHS) patients experience muscle weakness, fatigue and exercise intolerance. Additionally, some individuals with heat or exercise-induced rhabdomyolysis (MH-like reactions) show MH susceptibility. The purpose of this study was to assess skeletal muscle metabolism and exercise performance, to define metabolic phenotypes in MH patients. Phosphorous magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P-MRS) and blood oxygen level-dependent fMRI were performed to evaluate skeletal muscle metabolism. Participants then performed exercise tests to assess aerobic capacity, anaerobic capacity, and muscle strength. 31P-MRS revealed MH patients, particularly those with severe muscle symptoms, had significantly lower oxidative phosphorylation ATP production than healthy controls, accompanied by impaired aerobic and anaerobic capacity. Impairments were similar between patients with MH-like reaction (MHS-L) and MHS. Chronic mitochondrial damage is proposed as the pathophysiological mechanism for metabolic and functional impairment in MHS and MHS-L patients.

Keywords: 31P-Magnetic resonance spectroscopy
Exercise
Malignant Hyperthermia
Metabolism
Skeletal muscle
Advisor: Wells, Greg
Host Cellular Responses to Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a human-restricted pathogen associated with increasing morbidity as antibiotic-resistant strains spread globally. N. gonorrhoeae possesses sophisticated mechanisms to survive the host immune response, in which CEACAM1, a host receptor, plays a central role. Gonococcal Opa protein-bound CEACAM1 inhibits host cells such as CD4+ T cells. This inhibitory activity has been attributed to recruitment of protein tyrosine phosphatases but evidence suggests CEACAM1 modulates other signaling pathways. In Chapter 2, I found that the inositol phosphatases, SHIP-1 and SHIP-2, associated with gonococcal-bound CEACAM1, as did the inositol signaling lipids, PIP3 and 3,4-PIP2. To explore the functional outcome of the SHIP-CEACAM1 association, I investigated the response of human macrophages to gonococci in Chapter 3. I found that N. gonorrhoeae skews macrophages to the M1 phenotype and I discovered Opa-specific differences in macrophage cytokine secretion. This work expands the knowledge of gonococcal immune evasion and CEACAM1’s inhibitory role in that strategy.

Keywords: gonorrhea
macrophage
phosphoinositides
Advisor: Gray-Owen, Scott D
Studies in Caenorhabditis elegans Olfaction and Learning

Olfactory processes have been extensively studied in the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans, but much remains unclear regarding both the initial steps of olfactory signal discrimination and components further downstream, in which olfactory memories act to guide behavior. In this work, we identify lrn-3(mm200), a mutant with a broad range of olfactory learning deficits, using a novel screening approach. We then turn to the longstanding question of how worms are able to discriminate between odorants whose signals are transduced via the same secondary messengers, in the same neuron, and show that the apparent discrimination is the result of arrestin-mediated desensitization of odorant receptors. Finally, we show differential signaling by minor G-protein alpha subunits does not play a role in behavioral plasticity after olfactory learning. These experiments demonstrate a rapid technique for identification of learning mutants, and suggest that olfactory discrimination in C. elegans may be more limited than previously thought.

Keywords: Discrimination
Learning
Olfaction
Advisor: van der Kooy, Derek
Abuse Liability of Controlled-release Oxycodone Formulations

Controlled-release opioid formulations may have differential abuse liability profiles related to rates of drug delivery. In this double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, crossover study, the abuse liability of a single 40mg intact oral dose of three controlled-release oxycodone formulations (Apo-oxycodone CR®, OxyNEO®, and OxyContin®) were compared by performing pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic analyses in 11 non-dependent recreational opioid users. OxyContin® was not available for 6 participants due to product expiry of discontinued product. Assessments included the primary outcomes of Drug High and Drug Liking ratings, and secondary measures of subjective effects, psychomotor performance, pupillometry and plasma oxycodone concentrations. The longer time to peak plasma concentrations of OxyNEO® versus Apo-oxycodone CR® and OxyContin® was paralleled by a reduction in the early subjective effects of Drug High post-dose. Overall, the formulations produced comparable positive and negative subjective effects suggesting that they have similar abuse liability profiles when taken intact orally.

Keywords: Abuse Liability
Controlled-Release
Oxycodone
Pharmacodynamics
Pharmacokinetics
Advisor: Sproule, Beth
Policing in Toronto Schools: Race-ing the Conversation

In 2008, fully armed and uniformed police officers were deployed to thirty public high schools in Toronto to patrol the hallways on a full-time basis. The permanent assignment of police to the city’s schools represents an unprecedented turn toward a disciplinary strategy rooted in a paradigm of security and surveillance. This institutional ethnography traces the chronology of the program, exploring how race-absent official discourses of safety and relationship building are used not only to legitimize the program but also to conceal how it works to produce and sustain social inequalities in schools. I argue that racial power is constitutive of the SRO program itself—that it is not simply an effect or consequence of the program’s existence but the very instrument through which it operates. As such, a framework for school discipline that is rooted in equity and justice would require the complete removal of police officers from school spaces.

Keywords: education
policing
race
schools
securitization
Toronto
Advisor: Razack, Sherene H
Exploring the Relationship between Intercultural Competence and Academic Success among English for Academic Purposes Students

The objectives of language education have evolved from focusing on linguistic outcomes to contextualized language use. Conceptualizations of communicative competence have further broadened beyond the language-specific and culture-specific skills of the target language community to recognize the need to communicate and function in a wide variety of social situations with diverse interlocutors. This requires intercultural communicative competence. This study applied mixed methods to examine whether this can be observed among students in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) context. Students’ intercultural communicative competence was assessed using the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), student self-reflections, and teacher feedback. Students’ academic success in the EAP program was assessed using course marks, teacher feedback, and students’ self-reflection. The findings suggest that students with high intercultural competence tend to have greater academic success in their EAP studies and identify some characteristics of these students.

Keywords: communicative
competence
EAP
IDI
intercultural
language
Advisor: Piccardo, Enrica
Sexual Satisfaction, Identity and Sero-adaptation: An Investigation into Personality and Behavioural Correlates of Bareback Identity and Behaviour in Men Who Have Sex with Men

Barebacking, or condomless anal intercourse in the presence of risk of contracting HIV, has emerged as a common phenomenon between men who have sex with men (MSM). The present cross-sectional study investigated psychological correlates of barebacking behaviour and identity, as well as how MSM increase their sexual satisfaction while reducing risk of HIV transmission. Two hundred and fifty-six MSM across Canada and the US were recruited for an online survey. Men who engaged in barebacking were significantly more likely to be HIV-positive, be higher in sexual sensation-seeking, meet sexual partners online, and use substances before and during sex. Self-identified barebackers were also more sexually satisfied than nonbarebackers. Further, MSM who engaged in barebacking were found to use more sero-adaptive strategies, which are harm-reduction techniques to reduce risk of HIV transmission such as strategic positioning and taking PrEP. Barebacking should be framed within the context of recent advancements in biomedical HIVtreatment and prevention.

Keywords: Barebacking
Gay and Bisexual Men
HIV
LGBT
Men who have sex with men
Sexuality
Advisor: Gillis, Joseph R.
Effect of Low Density Lipoproteins on the Progression of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Hypercholesterolemia is a known risk factor for many cancers, including Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). CLL is incurable with conventional chemotherapy and it would be valuable to develop strategies to prevent CLL cells from progressing to the point of causing symptoms that require treatment. Statin drugs have been shown to prolong the time to first chemotherapy treatment, suggesting that one strategy to slow the progression of CLL may be to lower levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol. The studies in this thesis were designed to investigate how LDLs affect CLL cells. The results indicate that LDLs enhance a number of signaling pathways in CLL cells in vitro that are associated with leukemic growth. These biological effects depend on the internalization and subsequent breakdown of LDL particles into various components. Overall, the results provide a biological rationale for using methods to decrease LDL-cholesterol such as diet and/or statins to slow disease progression.

Keywords: cholesterol
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Low-density lipoproteins
lysosomal lipase
STAT3
Advisor: Jenkins, David J.A
Spaner, David E