VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Nitric Oxide Changes in Gingival Crevicular Fluid Following Orthodontic Force Application

Nitric oxide (NO) plays a role in regulating the rate of orthodontic tooth movement (OTM) in rat models; however, in humans this role remains less clear. In this study, samples of gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) were collected from each maxillary central incisor and first and second molar immediately before (T0), 1 hour after (T1), and 3-4 days after (T2) application of light orthodontic forces in thirteen male participants (ages 11-18 years) undergoing orthodontic therapy. NO levels were measured in each GCF sample, and significantly higher NO levels (p<0.05) were found at T1 at the buccal surfaces of the central incisors when compared to the posterior teeth. The results indicate a possible role for NO in OTM at the pressure sites of incisors at early time points. Further studies are required to determine whether NO levels in the PDL of human teeth are affected by the magnitude of an applied force.

Keywords: gingival crevicular fluid
griess reaction
GCF
orthodontic force application
nitric oxide
Advisor: Gong, Siew-Ging
Interleukin-11 is a Key Mediator of Intravenous Immunoglobulin Therapy in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) has been used to treat a variety of autoimmune disorders including multiple sclerosis (MS); however, its mechanism of action remains elusive. Our results demonstrate a novel finding wherein IVIg treatment induces a dramatic surge (>1000-fold increase) in the levels of IL-11 in the circulation and that the liver is the organ of increased IL-11 transcription. Furthermore, we show that IL-11Rα knockout mice, although initially protected, become resistant to protection by IVIg during experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and develop disease with a similar incidence and severity as control-treated IL-11Rα-/- mice. The inability of IVIg to prevent EAE in IL-11Rα-/- mice correlated with a failure of this agent to decrease IL-17 production by myelin-reactive T-cells in the draining lymph nodes. Finally, we show that IL-11 can directly inhibit IL-17 production by lymph node cells in culture. Together, these results implicate IL-11 as an important immune effector of IVIg in the amelioration of EAE.

Keywords: Multiple Sclerosis
Intravenous immunoglobulin
Interleukin-11
Cytokines
Advisor: Branch, Donald R.
Investigation of the Flow Topology around a Simplified Two-wheel Landing Gear with Emphasis on the Stagnation Point

Experiments were conducted in a recirculating water channel to determine the flow topology around a simplified two-wheel landing gear model. Both hydrogen bubble visualization and Particle Image Velocimetry techniques were employed. The Reynolds number based on wheel diameter was 32,500. The general flow topology was characterized for several wheel configurations. Previously undiscovered structures have been found in several regions of the flow field, and their behavior was found to depend strongly on the geometry of the wheels. The phenomena of vorticity amplification near the stagnation point of the wheels was also studied. Weak upstream vorticity was found to collect, grow, and amplify into large coherent structures which then shed in a regular manner. The size, location, and shedding frequency of these structures has been characterized. The impingement point of the upstream vorticity was found to dictate the dynamics of the phenomena.

Keywords: Landing gear
Flow topology
Vorticity amplification
Stagnation flow
Flow visualization
Advisor: Ekmekci, Alis
Electromigration Reliability Analysis of Power Delivery Networks in Integrated Circuits

Electromigration in metal lines has re-emerged as a significant concern in modern VLSI circuits. The higher levels of temperature and the large number of EM checking strategies, have led to a situation where trying to guarantee EM reliability often leads to conservative designs that may not meet the area or performance specs. Due to their mostly-unidirectional currents, the problem is most significant in power grids. Thus, this work is aimed at reducing the pessimism in EM prediction. There are two sources for the pessimism: the use of the series model for EM checking, and the pessimistic assumptions about chip workload. Therefore, we propose an EM checking framework that allows users to specify conditions-of-use type constraints to capture realistic chip workload, and which includes the use of a novel mesh model for EM prediction in the grid, instead of the traditional series model.

Keywords: Power Grid
Electromigration
Verification
Optimization
Advisor: Najm, Farid N.
Nonlinear Dynamic Analysis of Modular Steel Buildings in Two and Three Dimensions

Modular construction is a relatively new technique where prefabricated units are assembled on-site to produce a complete building. Due to detailing requirements for the assembly of the modules, these systems are prone to undesirable failure mechanisms during large earthquakes. Specifically, for multi-story Modular Steel Buildings (MSBs), inelasticity concentration in vertical connections can be an area of concern. Diaphragm interaction, relative displacements between modules and the forces in the horizontal connections need to be investigated. In this study, two 4-story MSBs with two different structural configurations were chosen to be analyzed. In the first model which was introduced in a study by Annan et al. (2009 a), some of the unrealistic detailing assumptions were challenged. To have a more accurate assessment of the structural capacity, in the second model, a more realistic MSB model was proposed. Using OpenSees, Incremental Dynamic Analyses (IDA) have been performed and conclusions were made.

Keywords: Modular steel building
Seismic performance
Earthquake retrofitting
Nonlinear dynamic analysis
3D
IDA
Braced frame
Diaphragm action
Advisor: Mercan, Oya
Identity and Access Management in Multi-tier Cloud Infrastructure

The SAVI IAM is an identity and access management system for the Multi-tier cloud infrastructure. The goal of the SAVI IAM is to provide a exible system to enable applications to adopt the cloud rapidly rather than concentrating on a speci c function such as federation. The SAVI IAM distinguishes itself from previous work in three aspects: comprehensiveness, stability, and technology independence.The SAVI IAM is a comprehensive solution for cloud providers. It uses two ne-grained access control model: constrained Role-based Access Control and Attribute-based access control. To address application requirement, it has implemented delegation and trust mechanism to enable administrators to delegate their authorities temporarily to applications. The SAVI IAM is scalable in the sense than it can address huge number of requests by increasing the number of instances. On the other hand, the middleware component is able to cache local data in order to boost the performance of the the infrastructure. The SAVI IAM is built on top of Openstack Keystone v2.0, and supports Openstack, Amazon EC2, and SAVI APIs.

Keywords: Applied Science
Computer Science
Advisor: Leon-Garcia, Alberto
Priority Setting for Health Resource Allocation in Brazil: A Scoping Review and Ethical Analysis.

Brazil is a high middle income country where health inequities persist across two systems of health care financing and delivery. The publicly financed system (SUS) is one of the world’s largest health organizations, which is charged with the constitutional mandate to provide comprehensive health care coverage to over 190 million citizens. National Health Conferences (CNS), the core forum for societal participation in health policy making for the SUS, occur every four years. Yet, managers and councillors struggle to decide on how to allocate resources to meet competing populational health needs and demands, and to comply with the directives of the SUS. The purpose of my research is to describe the three most recent CNS, based on a scoping literature review, to evaluate the ethical account of these decision making processes, and to provide recommendations for improving priority setting for health resource allocation for the SUS according to the ethical analysis.

Keywords: Priority Setting
Resource Allocation
Brazil
Health Services
Advisor: Howard, Andrew
On Optimizing Die-stacked DRAM Caches

Die-stacking is a new technology that allows multiple integrated circuits to be stacked on top of each other while connected with a high-bandwidth and high-speed interconnect. In particular, die-stacking can be useful in boosting the effective bandwidth and speed of DRAM systems. Die-stacked DRAM caches have recently emerged as one of the top applications of die-stacking. They provide higher capacity than their SRAM counterparts and are faster than offchip DRAMs. In addition, DRAM caches can provide almost eight times the bandwidth of off-chip DRAMs. They, however, come with their own challenges. Since they are only twice as fast as main memory, they considerably increase latency for misses and incur significant energy overhead for remote lookups in snoop-based multi-socket systems. In this thesis, we present a Dual-Grain Filter for avoiding unnecessary accesses to the DRAM cache at reduced hardware cost and we compare it to recent works on die-stacked DRAM caches.

Keywords: Die-Stacked DRAM caches
Computer Architecture
Advisor: Moshovos, Andreas
Corporate Directors' Duties and Economic Protectionism: The Canadian Experience

An analysis of company law may allow us to abandon a perception that company law is impartial to the political context in which it is applied. This paper argues that state protectionism is reflected in the design of company law. Specifically, states may confer public functions to board of directors through their duties and authorities; in turn, directors&rsquo; functions may become barriers to foreign investments. To illustrate this argument, focus is placed on the duties of Canadian corporate directors and how their functions affect foreign direct investment in Canada. It demonstrates that the public function conferred to corporate directors echoes the State&rsquo;s policy and regulations governing foreign investment. As a consequence to the redundancy of the public interest rationalization and the lack of political will to affect real market openness, unnecessary barriers are being placed for market access which may ultimately render Canada less attractive for foreign investors.

Keywords: Protectionism
company law
board of directors
Canada
BCE
corporate objective
Advisor: Iacobucci, Edward
Live Cell Imaging of CEACAM1 Dynamics and Self-association during Bacterial Binding

The carcinoembryonic antigen-related cellular adhesion molecule 1 (CEACAM1) is a human receptor that facilitates adhesion with neighbouring cells, as well as with certain pathogens. CEACAM1 at the cell surface exists as a mixture of monomers and dimers in a heterogeneous distribution that is thought to regulate the balance of its functions, including those associated with pathogen binding. We used live cell fluorescence and homogeneous Förster resonance energy transfer (homo-FRET) microscopy on a combined total internal reflection fluorescence polarization (TIRFPM) confocal microscopy platform to investigate the distribution, dynamics, and monomer-dimer equilibrium of CEACAM1-4L-EYFP on live cells that were parachuted onto surfaces coated with CEACAM1-binding Neisseria gonorrhoea. Both CEACAM1-4L-EYFP and a monomeric mutant form of the receptor are rapidly recruited to bacteria and lead to downstream effector recruitment. Homo-FRET data indicate that wild-type CEACAM1-4L-EYFP was predominantly monomeric at bacterial contact sites. Preferential monomeric binding during bacterial adhesion controls the infection process.

Keywords: fluorescence microscopy
CEACAM
live cell imaging
Advisor: Yip, Christopher M.
Children's Self-reported Emotions and Emotional Facial Expressions Following Moral Transgressions

This study examined self-reported emotions and emotional facial expressions following moral transgressions using an ethnically diverse sample of 242 4-, 8-, and 12-year-old children. Self-reported emotions were examined in response to three transgression contexts: an intentional harm, an instance of social exclusion, and an omission of a prosocial duty. Children’s emotional expressions of sadness, happiness, anger, fear and disgust were analyzed immediately after being asked how they would feel if they had committed one of the described transgressions. Emotional expressions were scored using automated emotion recognition software. Four-year-olds reported significantly more happiness as compared to 8- and 12-year-olds. In addition, self-reports of sadness decreased between 8- and 12-year-olds, while self-reported guilt increased between these age groups. Furthermore, 4- and 8-year-olds demonstrated higher levels of facially expressed happiness than 12-year-olds. These findings highlight the role of automatic affective and controlled cognitive processes in the development of children’s emotions following moral transgressions.

Keywords: moral development
emotional facial expressions
moral emotions
happy-victimizer
children
Advisor: Malti, Tina
The Role of ABI3-interacting Protein2 in the Regulation of FUSCA3 in Arabidopsis thaliana

Seed maturation is an important process that is evolutionarily advantageous, allowing for seed dispersal and germination under favourable growth conditions. The B3-domain transcription factor FUSCA3 (FUS3) is a master regulator of seed maturation and controls developmental phase transitions through hormonal regulation in Arabidopsis thaliana. The aim of this study was to determine the post-translational regulation of FUS3 during embryonic and vegetative development. Here, FUS3 was found to interact with the E3 ubiquitin ligase ABI3-INTERACTING PROTEIN2 (AIP2) in yeast two-hybrid, in vitro, and in planta assays. Analysis of transcriptional and translational reporters also showed overlapping spatial and temporal expression patterns of AIP2 and FUS3. Furthermore, in vitro FUS3 degradation was delayed in aip2-1 mutant and increased FUS3-GFP levels were observed during mid-embryogenesis in aip2-1. Finally, double transgenic plants overexpressing AIP2 and FUS3 showed reduced FUS3 levels and reversion of the gain-of-function FUS3 phenotypes back to WT. Together, these results indicate that AIP2 is a negative regulator of FUS3.

Keywords: ABI3
FUS3
AIP2
ubiquitin ligase
seed germination
maturation
E3 ligase
Advisor: Gazzarrini, Sonia
The Impact of ROS Scavenging on NMDA and AMPA Receptor Whole Cell Currents in Pyramidal Neurons of the Anoxia Tolerant Western Painted Turtle

Extended periods of oxygen deprivation cause brain death in mammals but the western painted turtle overwinters in anoxic mud for months without damage. Neural protection is achieved through decreases in the whole cell currents of N-methyl-D-aspartate and alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors (NMDAR and AMPAR) that are dependent on a mild increase in intracellular calcium from the mitochondria. The goal of this research was to determine if natural anoxic decreases in reactive oxidative species (ROS) serve as the signal to bring about these changes. Reductions in cellular ROS levels were demonstrated to have no effect on AMPAR currents or intracellular calcium and produced massive increases in NMDAR currents, indicating that ROS depression does not directly mediate anoxic alterations. Interestingly, mammalian neural tissue also experiences a similar increase in NMDAR whole cell current in response to reducing agents suggesting a possible conserved mechanism for normoxic receptor control.

Keywords: anoxia
reactive oxidative speecies
NMDAR
AMPAR
western painted turtle
mitochondria
ATP-sensitive potassium channels
calcium
hydrogen peroxide
N-acetylcysteine
N-2-mercaptopropionylglycine
NMDAR redox site
electrophysiological patch clamping
fluorescent microscopy
Advisor: Buck, Leslie
Household Vehicle Fleet Decision-making for an Integrated Land Use, Transportation and Environment Model

Understanding how households make decisions with regards to their vehicle fleet based on their demographics, socio-economic status and travel patterns is critical for managing the financial, economic, social and environmental health of cities. Vehicle fleets therefore form a component of the Integrated Land Use, Transportation and Environment (ILUTE) modelling system under development at the University of Toronto. ILUTE is a year-by-year agent-based microsimulation model of demographics, land use and economic patterns, vehicle fleet decisions and travel choices in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. This thesis extends previous work that modelled the quantity, class and vintage of vehicles in ILUTE households. This revised model offers three key improvements: transaction decisions are made sensitive to travel patterns, fuel costs are better represented, and vehicle purchases are considered in the context of the overall household budgeting. Results are promising, but further model validation is required. Potential extensions of the research are discussed.

Keywords: ILUTE
travel demand modelling
vehicle ownership
TASHA
microsimulation
vehicle fleet
Advisor: Miller, Eric
Incorporating Time Domain Representation of Impedance Functions into Nonlinear Hybrid Modelling

A number of methods have been proposed that utilize the time domain transformations of the frequency dependent impedance functions to perform time-history analysis of structures accounting for soil-structure interaction (SSI). Though these methods have been available in literature for a number of years, this study is the first to rigorously examine the limitations and advantages of these methods in comparison to one another. These methods contain certain stability issues that required investigating which lead to the formation of an analysis procedure that assesses a transform method’s stability. The general applicability of these methods was demonstrated by utilizing them to model increasingly sophisticated reference problems. Additionally the suitability of these methods to being incorporated into hybrid simulations of nonlinear inelastic structures considering soil-structure interaction was confirmed. The modelling of a nonlinear structure considering soil-structure interaction is an improvement over the most common modelling strategies that model solely linear-elastic behaviour.

Keywords: soil-structure interaction
impedance function
hybrid simulation
seismic response
Advisor: Kwon, Oh-Sung
The Answer, Not the Problem: An Examination of the Role of Aboriginal Rights in Securing a Liberal Foundation for the Legitimacy of the Canadian State

Are Aboriginal rights defensible within the framework of liberalism? Liberalism's commitment to individual equality seems to preclude Aboriginal rights insofar as these rights are exercisable by only a sub-set of the Canadian population and not by all Canadians equally. Instead of asking how Aboriginal rights can be justified within the liberal state, we need to question the legitimacy of the state's assertion of sovereignty over Aboriginal peoples and territories. Of the four potentially applicable modes of acquiring sovereignty - discovery, conquest, cession and prescription - only treaties have the potential to provide a liberally-compelling basis for the legitimacy of Crown sovereignty. But historical treaties did not purport to transfer sovereignty. As such, Canadian sovereignty suffers from a normative lacuna. Aboriginal rights, as set out in mutually consensual treaties addressing the sharing of sovereignty, have the potential to fill this lacuna and thereby to ground the legitimacy of Crown sovereignty.

Keywords: Aboriginal rights
sovereignty
liberalism
legitimacy
Advisor: Sanderson, Douglas
Phylogenetic Structuring of Lake Fish Communities

Evolutionary history has been recognized as an important factor in studying ecological communities. Lake fish communities have had limited consideration from a community phylogenetics perspective and present the opportunity to include trophic interactions in the analysis. For the species under study, I used known phylogenies from the literature and genetic information to determine relative branch lengths and phylogenetic relationships by Bayesian inference. Using the resultant phylogenetic tree and fish community data, the phylogenetic community structure was determined for the lakes in the Manitoulin Island and LaCloche regions of Ontario, Canada. Evidence of phylogenetic structuring was found, particularly associated with piscivory, winter hypoxia tolerance, and thermal preferences for deep coldwater lakes. Although the majority of the lakes were weakly structured from a phylogenetic perspective, significant trends were nonetheless apparent; especially when further informed by examining species-specific trends, demonstrating that evolutionary history can play a role in structuring freshwater fish communities.

Keywords: community phylogenetics
aquatic ecology
freshwater fish
habitat filtering
Advisor: Jackson, Donald Andrew
Improvements to Information Flow in the Physician Order Tracking Process

In an emergency department (ED), information flow is of high value, as the ability to react quickly directly affects the patients’ well being. One of the gaps in the information flow is in the order tracking process. This paper focuses on modelling the feedback in this process from the order being issued until it has been fulfilled. We address this problem using discrete-event simulation. Additionally, we use the mathematical theory of communication to evaluate the information con- tent in the current and proposed systems. We perform computational tests on these models to compare their performance. Experimental results show that the problem can be effectively modelled using our approach and the effects of feedback on the physician decision-making can be better understood. The results indicate that additions of as little as one point of feedback have practically significant effects on the amount of time that an order spends in the system.

Keywords: information flow
simulation
mathematical theory of communication
emergency department
Advisor: Carter, Michael W.
Performance Improvements for Lidar-based Visual Odometry

Recent studies have demonstrated that images constructed from lidar reflectance information exhibit superior robustness to lighting changes. However, due to the scanning nature of the lidar and assumptions made in previous implementations, data acquired during continuous vehicle motion suffer from geometric motion distortion and can subsequently result in poor metric visual odometry (VO) estimates, even over short distances (e.g., 5-10 m). The first part of this thesis revisits the measurement timing assumption made in previous systems, and proposes a frame-to-frame VO estimation framework based on a pose-interpolation scheme that explicitly accounts for the exact acquisition time of each intrinsic, geometric feature measurement. The second part of this thesis investigates a novel method of lidar calibration that can be applied without consideration of the internal structure of the sensor. Both methods are validated using experimental data collected from a planetary analogue environment with a real scanning laser rangefinder.

Keywords: Robotic
Navigation
Lidar
Visual Odometry
Advisor: Barfoot, Timothy D.