VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Changing the Climate: Labour-environmental Alliance-forming in a Neoliberal Era

This research explores how unions, corporations and the federal government in Canada are responding to the dual economic and climate change crisis. Climate change politics have fostered alliance-forming both between the labour and environmental movements as well as between the state and capital. Climate change policy over the past two decades has been a planned, coordinated neoliberal project by the state and capital that has led to increasing emissions. Meanwhile, most unions successfully transcended the ‘jobs versus the environment’ dichotomy being used by business to propagate a voluntarist climate change policy. After giving their support to the ratification of Kyoto, labour has struggled to operationalize labour-environmental alliance-forming. Recently, both labour and the state-capital alliance have drawn on an ecological modernist discourse to frame climate change as an opportunity for jobs or capital accumulation, respectively. But this discourse fails to address the transnational dynamics of climate change, and economic and environment justice.

Keywords: labour-environmental alliances
red-green politics
trade unions
climate change
neoliberalism
ecological modernization
social movements
coalitions
Canada
Advisor: MacDonald, Kenneth
Experimental Validation of Mathematical Models to Include Biomechanics into Dose Accumulation Calculation in Radiotherapy

Inaccurate dose calculation in radiotherapy can lead to errors in treatment delivery and evaluation of treatment efficacy. Respiration can cause of intra-fractional motions, leading to uncertainties in tumor targeting. These motions should therefore be included in dose calculation. The finite element method-based deformable registration platform MORFEUS is able to accurately quantify organ deformations. The dose accumulation algorithm included in MORFEUS takes organ deformation and tumor movement into account. This study has experimentally validated this dose accumulation algorithm by combining 3D gel dosimetry, respiratory motion-mimicking actuation mechanism, and finite element analysis. Results have shown that within the intrinsic measurement uncertainties of gel dosimetry, under normal conformal dose distribution conditions, more than 90% of the voxels in MORFEUS generated dose grids have met the criterion analogous to the gamma test. The average (SD) distance between selected pairs of isodose surfaces on the gel and MORFEUS dose distributions is 0.12 (0.08) cm.

Keywords: radiotherapy
dose
deformable image registration
dosimetry
3D dosimeter
Advisor: Brock, Kristy K.
Diversity on Adjudicative Administrative Tribunals: An Integrative Conception

This thesis applies arguments for greater diversity, and more specifically, racial diversity, on the judiciary to administrative tribunals with an adjudicative function. I draw from both formal arguments, such as institutional legitimacy, and substantive arguments, such as the different perspectives that diversity would provide, to propose an integrative conception of diversity. By relying upon concepts such as structural impartiality, I argue that an integrative conception of diversity more fully reveals the transformative potential of diversity in legal decision-making. This integrative conception is particularly well-suited to the administrative context because it demonstrates how diversity will enhance the values of participation and justification, which are instrumental to the principle of fairness. Through interviews with adjudicators and legal clinic lawyers, I offer a preliminary view of the potential impact that diverse administrative adjudicators could have in practice. Finally, this thesis offers recommendations on how this potential could be further realized.

Keywords: diversity
administrative tribunals
Advisor: Macklin, Audrey
Deformable Registration using Navigator Channels and a Population Motion Model

Radiotherapy is a potential curative option for liver cancer; however, respiratory motion creates uncertainty in treatment delivery. Advances in imaging and registration techniques can provide information regarding changes in respiratory motion. Currently image registration is challenged by computation and manual intervention. A Navigator Channel (NC) technique was developed to overcome these limitations. A population motion model was generated to predict patient-specific motion, while a point motion detection technique was developed to calculate the patient-specific liver edge motion from images. An adaptation technique uses the relative difference between the population and patient calculated liver edge motion to determine the patient's liver volume motion. The NC technique was tested on patient 4D-CT images for initial validation to determine the accuracy. Accuracy was less than 0.10 mm in liver edge detection and approximately 0.25 cm in predicting patient-specific motion. This technique can be used to ensure accurate treatment delivery for liver radiotherapy.

Keywords: Deformable Registration
Image-Guided Radiotherapy
Advisor: Brock, Kristy K.
A Digitally Controlled Dual Output Stage Buck Converter with Transient Suppression

To support the increasingly demanding requirements for power conversion units, a digitally controlled dual output stage buck converter is designed. The system consists of a dual output stage, which includes an auxiliary buck output stage connected in parallel with a main output stage. The auxiliary output stage is only active during load transient to suppress the output voltage variation. A digital controller is designed to control both stages with a linear/nonlinear control scheme. Nonlinear control is applied during load transient based on the capacitor charge balance principle; whereas linear PID control governs the steady state operation. The design is verified with simulation and experimentally with discrete components. The controller is realized with a FPGA with preset output stage parameters. The experimental result shows a 60% reduction of output voltage variation for a heavy-to-light load transient.

Keywords: DC-DC Converters
Transient Response
Digital Control
Advisor: Ng, Wai Tung
IInterface Design for an Automated Combat Identifcation System: Displaying Reliability Information

Users have difficulty relying on automated combat identification aids; however, verbally informing users of the automation reliability has helped them rely on the automation more appropriately. A number of interfaces that displayed automation reliability information in real time were developed and tested. In Experiment I, participants used the interfaces in the IMMERSIVE simulation, a first person shooter game. The results showed that the form of the interface affected both reliance on the automation and sensitivity in discriminating hostile and friendly targets. The difference in sensitivity and reliance may be attributed to how participants allocated their attention among the displays. In Experiment II, still combat scenes were presented to the participants for 400 or 800 milliseconds (as opposed to 10 seconds in Experiment I) to place additional time stress on attention resources. The results replicated the results of Experiment I, but sensitivity measures showed a dependence on reliability of the automation.

Keywords: Human Factors
Interface Design
Combat Identification
Attention
Military
Advisor: Jamieson, Gregory Allan
Hollands, Justin
Predictors of Peritonitis Among Canadian Peritoneal Dialysis Patients

Despite the decreasing incidence of peritoneal dialysis (PD) peritonitis over time, its occurrence is still associated with adverse outcomes. This thesis focuses on determining factors associated with PD peritonitis in order to facilitate identification of patients at risk. Using data collected in a multicentre Canadian database between 1996 and 2005, the study population comprised 4,247 incident PD patients, of whom 1,605 had at least one peritonitis episode. Variables independently associated with peritonitis included age [rate ratio (RR) 1.04 per decade increase, 95% CI 1.01-1.08], Black race (RR 1.37, 95% CI 1.00-1.88) and having transferred from hemodialysis (RR 1.24, 95% CI 1.11-1.38). There was an interaction between gender and diabetes (p=0.011), with an increased peritonitis risk only among female diabetics (RR 1.27, 95% CI 1.10-1.47). Choice of continuous ambulatory PD vs. automated PD did not influence peritonitis risk. These results contribute to our understanding of peritonitis risk among PD patients.

Keywords: peritoneal dialysis
peritonitis
predictors
Advisor: Jassal, Sarbjit Vanita
The Ontario Structures of Care in Colorectal Cancer Surger Study (OSCRC): Assessing Hospital Level Variation and Impact on Short Term Patient Outcomes

Introduction: Surgical treatment is the cornerstone of the management of colorectal cancer (CRC). This study described the structures of care at Ontario hospitals performing CRC surgery. Methods: Patients diagnosed with CRC undergoing surgery were identified from 2003-2007. Data linkage identified all institutions performing CRC surgery. Multiple hospital level structures were measured. For the final year of our study, the impact of these structures on 30-day mortality was evaluated. Results: 20,784 patients underwent CRC surgery. Each year, between 106 and 109 institutions performed at least one CRC operation. There was variation in hospital level structures of care. After adjustment for patient characteristics, no hospital level structures were independently associated with 30d mortality. Conclusions: Although variation in surgical care and patient outcomes is likely related to variation in processes and structures of care, after adjusting for covariates, our study did not show any significant relationship between hospital level structures and 30-day mortality.

Keywords: Outcomes
Health Services Research
Advisor: Urbach, David Robert
Enantioselective Synthesis of Substituted Polycyclic Heterocycles by Rhodium-catalyzed Ring Opening Reactions of Aryne Diels-Alder Adducts

We report the application of our rhodium-catalyzed nucleophilic ring-opening methodology to the enantioselective synthesis of nitrogen-substituted polycyclic heterocycles. By using a cationic Rh(I) triflate catalyst in the presence of the chiral Josiphos ligand PPF-PtBu2, the ring opening reactions on dihydrooxaquinoline and dihydrooxaisoquinoline using different nucleophiles afford access to multiple dihydroquinolines and dihydroisoquinolones in high yield and high enantioselectivity (up to 99% total yield and >99%ee). A variety of nucleophiles were shown to be compatible with the catalytic system. The electronic effects in the new ring opening reactions were investigated using a variety of nucleophiles. It was found that reactivity and enantioselectivity of the ring opening products depends on the electronic effects as well as the position of the substituents on the substrates. Good yields and high ee of regioisomeric products are obtained using electron donating substituents, whereas electron withdrawing substituents decelerate the reactions.

Keywords: Rhodium
Bond formation
Ring Opening
Catalysis
Polycyclic Heterocycles
Advisor: Lautens, Mark
Optical Properties of Magic-sized Nanocrystals: Absence of Inhomogeneous Line Broadening and Direct Evidence of Energy Transfer Between Two Magic Sizes

Magic-sized nanocrystals (MSNs) are nanocrystals with a single size distribution. They have narrow spectral features that do not exhibit inhomogeneous line broadening. This enabled us to analyze homogeneous line broadening of CdSe and CdTe MSNs. In solution, we observed two aggregated configurations of CdSe and CdTe MSNs. Sub-peaks within MSN excitonic peaks were caused by these two aggregated configurations and surface states. A two-dimensional photoluminescence spectrum of a mixture of CdTe 427 nm and 500 nm MSNs gave direct evidence of Förster resonant energy transfer (RET) between the two sizes of MSNs. Normalized experimental overlap between donor emission and acceptor absorption spectra was on the order predicted by theory, confirming that there is sufficient overlap for RET to take place in this system. Additionally, within both aggregated configurations, the two sizes of MSNs were within sufficient distance from one another for RET to occur.

Keywords: Magic-sized nanocrystals
Photoluminescence
Inhomogeneous line broadening
Energy transfer
CdSe nanocrystals
Advisor: Scholes, Gregory D.
The Impact of CYP2A6 Genotype on Smoking Cessation in an Extended Nicotine Patch Therapy Clinical Trial

We investigated the efficacy of standard (8-week nicotine, 16-week placebo) vs extended (24-week nicotine) patch therapy for smoking cessation, and the effect of slow nicotine metabolism, indicated by CYP2A6 reduced metabolizer (RM) genotype or low 3-hydroxycotinine/cotinine ratio (3HC/COT), on abstinence. RM versus normal genotype predicted lower 3HC/COT. Extended vs standard treatment produced higher abstinence at 24 weeks (32% vs 20%), but not at 52 weeks (both 14%). Low 3HC/COT and RM genotype predicted higher abstinence on extended versus standard treatment at 24 (47% vs 25%, 38% vs 17%) and 28 weeks (34% vs 19%, 23% vs 11%), while high 3HC/COT or normal genotype did not. Within extended treatment, low versus high 3HC/COT predicted higher abstinence at 8 (48% vs 29%), 24 (47% vs 25%), and 28 weeks (34% vs 16%), with similar trends for the genotype effect. Overall, extending nicotine treatment increased abstinence during therapy, particularly for slow metabolizers.

Keywords: CYP2A6
Genotype
Nicotine patch therapy
smoking cessation
metabolism
Advisor: Tyndale, Rachel
Salicylic Acid Accumulation Causes Alteration in Abscisic Acid Signaling and Induces Abscisic Acid Insensitivity in the Lesion Mimic Mutant cpr22

Some Arabidopsis lesion mimic mutants (LMM) show alterations in abiotic stress responses as well as pathogen resistance. cpr22 is a LMM which has a mutation in cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channels, is a typical LMM exhibiting elevated levels of salicylic acid (SA), spontaneous cell death, constitutive expression of defense genes, and enhanced resistance to various pathogens in an SA dependant manner. cpr22 defense responses are suppressed in high humidity and enhanced by low humidity. To investigate environmental effects, microarray analyses were conducted. Expression of several genes related to abscisic acid (ABA) signaling was altered and ABA levels increased in cpr22 after humidity shift. Furthermore, significant alterations in ABA-related phenotypes were observed. Double mutant analysis with nahG plants indicated that alterations in ABA signaling were attributable to elevated SA levels. These results suggest a negative effect of SA on ABA signaling/abiotic stress responses during the activation of defense responses.

Keywords: Arabidopsis
cpr22
ssi4
Plant stress responses
Advisor: Yoshioka, Keiko
Developing Protocols to Facilitate the Enrichment and Characterization of Hydrocarbon-degrading Anaerobic Microbial Communities

This thesis investigates the use of density centrifugation with Percoll to separate and enrich the organisms involved in the first step of toluene degradation within a methanogenic toluene degrading consortium. Protocol development resulted in the enrichment of bacteria and archaea in separate layers. However the separation of Eub-1 (an organism suspected to be responsible for the first step in toluene degradation), and bssA (a gene encoding the benzylsuccinate synthase enzyme) using previously developed qPCR primers could not be established. Cloning and sequencing of the toluene degrading consortia were conducted and phylogenetic analysis showed a change in community composition from what had previously been observed, suggesting why previously established primers were not effective. In parallel with these studies, microcosms using soil obtained from a petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated area in North Carolina were constructed. These microcosms showed benzene degradation in all but one sample over the 444 day period.

Advisor: Edwards, Elizabeth A.
The Molecular and Genetic Interactions Between Pax3 and Alx4

Alx4 is a paired-type homeodomain transcription factor that plays a key role in development, strongly expressed in the first branchial arch and craniofacial region. Pax3 also belongs to this family, and it displays a similar pattern of expression to that of Alx4. When Pax3 or Alx4 activity is lost individually, defects arise in an overlapping set of embryonic structures. In addition to their expression patterns, this suggests that these two factors may interact to play a role in normal murine development. We demonstrate an overlapping pattern of expression of Pax3 and Alx4 in the developing embryo and that Pax3 and Alx4 physically interact in vivo and in vitro. Pax3 and Alx4 can activate transcription from a P3 homeodomain consensus site, and preliminary analysis of mice null for both Pax3 and Alx4 show a novel mutant phenotype. We have therefore demonstrated a physical and genetic interaction between Pax3 and Alx4.

Keywords: Pax3
Alx4
Protein-Protein Interactions
Advisor: Hamel, Paul A.
Bil'in and Beyond - Prosecuting Corporate Complicity in War Crimes under Canadian Law

This paper outlines a prosecutorial framework by which Canadian corporations can be held criminally liable for their involvement in war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide. Combining the provisions of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act with the corporate liability standards found in the Canadian Criminal Code, a standard of liability emerges which appears well designed to generate findings of guilt against multinational corporations with complicated ownership structures, a myriad of representatives and far-flung operations. This model standard, it is hoped, might furthermore contribute to the global debate regarding multinational corporate accountability. By applying the proposed framework to two Canadian corporations constructing internationally illegal settlements on the farmlands of Bil‘in in the West Bank, I therefore seek to test its practical relevance, as well as to demonstrate the theoretical underpinnings and legal sources (domestic and international) which would support its application, both in this instance and beyond.

Keywords: corporate complicity
war crimes
criminal liability
Bil'in
Advisor: Bhuta, Nehal
Exploring the Charter’s Horizons: Universities, Free Speech, and the Role of Constitutional Rights in Private Legal Relations

Universities have traditionally stood as bastions of academic freedom and forums for open discourse and free expression. In recent years, however, this role has been questioned in instances where university administrators have, either directly or complicity, denied students the opportunity to express certain viewpoints they deem “controversial”. This research paper explores whether a university, or its delegates, should be allowed to deny students access to campus facilities and resources solely on the basis of ideological viewpoint. The relevance of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, statutory human rights provisions, and common law doctrines to the student-university relationship are explored in turn. It is argued that, notwithstanding the fact that universities may be “private” actors to whom the Charter does not directly apply, they are institutions invested with a public interest, and as such ought to be subject to special duties of non-discrimination.

Keywords: Law
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Freedom of Expression
Academic freedom
Constitutional values
Human Rights
Student expression
Access to Property
Common callings
Constitutional values in private law
Advisor: Benson, Peter
The Impact of Environmentalism on the British Land Use Planning System

This paper is an exploration of how the foundations of the land use planning system in Britain originally rooted in altruist reform and in bettering society has evolved within the context of the modern environmental agenda. This paper examines how the planning system has been changing and what further change may be required in order to cope with current environmental challenges, particularly in dealing with societal adaptation to climate change.

Keywords: environmentalism
town planning
Advisor: Weinrib, Arnold
Regulating Reproduction - Evaluating The Canadian Law On Surrogacy And Surrogate Motherhood

Certain provisions of the Assisted Human Reproduction Act 2004 appear to have been enacted as a legislative response to the objections to surrogacy noted by the Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies in 1993. However, the legislation may not be successful in tackling concerns generated by recent developments in assisted reproductive technologies. This thesis identifies the shortcomings of the AHRA provisions that impact its ability to effectively regulate the surrogate act in Canada. The discussion suggests shifting the existing regulatory framework away from the imposition of legislative prohibitions on commercial surrogacy and towards a model that is more effective in dealing with the current reality of the surrogate arrangement. Upon consideration of regulatory regimes in Israel and the United Kingdom, a framework for surrogacy is suggested that balances the reproductive rights of the individuals who participate in such an arrangement, while minimizing the potentially exploitative aspects of the surrogate act.

Keywords: law
ll.m
surrogacy
motherhood
surrogate motherhood
reproduction
health law
health law policy
AHRA
Advisor: Dickens, Bernard
Constructing and Contesting Hegemony: Counter-hegemonic Resistance to the International Investment Law Regime

I examine five international investment cases that embrace the neoliberal vision. This economic model provides a new, contested space between the construction of hegemonic globalisations from above and the contestation of these globalisations from below. The first objective is to describe this space. Each ends the same way: the exit of an unwanted foreign investor after intense social mobilisation. The second objective is to show that counter-hegemonic victories are difficult to achieve: the regime relegates the voice of the subaltern to an inconsequential role, limits public interest state projects that may interfere with investor rights, and often includes a compensatory promise to foreign investors irrespective of the host state’s fiscal capacity. The third objective is to demonstrate the ambivalent role of the state in promoting such neoliberal projects, which necessitate that it adopt a more active role in either policing investment or policing society.

Keywords: International law
Economic Globalisation
Social Mobilisation
Foreign Investment
Neoliberalism
Advisor: Schneiderman, David
A Cross-sectional Comparison of Delay Discounting in Smokers & Non-smokers with Schizophrenia and Respective Control Comparisons

Background: Schizophrenia is associated with deficits in decision-making. Aim: To determine the effects of smoking status on delay discounting in schizophrenia in comparison to non-psychiatric controls. Method: Cross-sectional comparison of delay discounting across smoking and psychiatric status. Hypotheses: Individuals with schizophrenia were hypothesized to have higher rates of delay discounting than controls; Non-smokers with schizophrenia would have higher rates of delay discounting than smokers. Control smokers would discount future rewards more than non-smokers. Results: No significant differences in delay discounting were observed between psychiatric groups. Smokers with schizophrenia exhibited more delay discounting than non-smokers. Within the psychiatric group, former smokers discount rates were similar to current smokers. Conclusion: Delay discounting deficits in schizophrenia and modulation by cigarette smoking were not supported; our pattern of results in schizophrenia does suggest that deficits in delay discounting in these patients appears to be a trait rather than a state-dependent phenomenon.

Keywords: Schizophrenia
Delay Discounting
Smoking
Decision-Making
Advisor: George, Tony Peter