VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Learn English, go to school, get a job… and play sport? Immigrant Youth Recreation and the Settlement Service Agency

This community-based study explored the experiences of immigrant youth in Toronto who participate in recreational programming at a settlement service agency, CoalitionTO*. To guide my findings, I applied a variety of transdisciplinary theoretical frameworks, such as cultural capital, social inclusion, critical race theory, and modern assimilation theories. I utilized participant observation and interviews with youth participants and staff members. My results found that despite strong multiculturalism narratives, assimilation into dominant institutions was viewed as expectation of migration and White, Canadian physical culture was perceived by all stakeholders as an effective means of facilitating the settlement of youth. However, youth were not passive within this process; they exerted agency to reflect on their positionality and made decisions to enhance their social mobility. This study unpacks the complex tensions between assimilation and social inclusion and calls for a greater examination of the broader socio-political context surrounding sport/recreation.

Keywords: Agency
Assimilation
Recreation
Settlement Services
Sport for Development
Advisor: Darnell, Simon C
Targeting kidney inflammation in a murine model of Alport Syndrome

Alport Syndrome is a rare inherited kidney disease that is due to genetic mutations of type IV collagen. The mutations interfere with normal assembly of the glomerular basement membrane and this structural abnormality leads to a progressive rise in urinary protein excretion and eventually to end stage renal failure. Preliminary studies in our laboratory suggest that inflammation may play an early role in the pathogenesis of glomerular injury. Thus, the relationship between inflammatory pathways and AS disease progression was examined in this study by inhibiting NF-B activation in glomerular cells using MS417. I hypothesized that the early activation of NF-B plays a key role in the initiation and progression of kidney injury in AS and the blockade of NF-B-mediated gene expression can attenuate kidney injury in experimental AS. The findings from the analysis of gene expression in a murine model of AS identified NF-B as an important target for treatment.

Advisor: Scholey, James
The ear: Gateway to the brain. Exploring the Feasibility of a novel in-ear electroencephalography device in an auditory brain-computer interface

A brain-computer interface (BCI) enables communication using signals directly from the brain. Electroencephalography (EEG) is often used to collect these signals and commonly involves scalp-based electrodes which are conspicuous, and uncomfortable over long periods. In-ear EEG devices address many of these shortcomings and can discreetly measure brain activity from within the ear canal. We designed an in-ear EEG device usable with a commercial EEG amplifier and tested this device in an auditory BCI involving auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) and the auditory steady state response (ASSR). Using scalp electrodes, AEP accuracy was ~ 79 %, and focus-modulated ASSR accuracies were above chance in 3 of 7 participants. Equivalent neural responses were evidenced in the in-ear recordings. However, classification outcomes were poor, reflecting challenges with in-ear measurement and the reduced number of electrodes. This study highlights the need for further research into device morphologies and paradigms for in-ear EEG.

Keywords: auditory evoked response
auditory steady state response
brain-computer interface
electroencephalography
in-ear EEG
Advisor: Chau, Tom
A Modular Heterogeneous Communication Layer for a Cluster of FPGAs and CPUs

A key infrastructure required to make heterogeneous clusters easier to use is a standard communication mechanism between computing nodes. Without this infrastructure, application developers of multi-FPGA applications are forced to develop their own custom communication cores for hardware kernels that can communicate. This problem is significantly worse at a data center scale. This thesis shows how introducing modularity into an existing orchestration platform makes it possible to automatically and interchangeably support different underlying network protocols and multiple communication models for a multi-FPGA platform. We show that it is straightforward to connect the communication models implemented in the FPGAs to compatible software implementations of the same models so that it is easy to build heterogeneous applications using CPUs and FPGAs. Our results have shown that the heterogeneous communication has introduced very little area overhead in the FPGAs and can still perform at line-rate, bottlenecked solely by the network protocols.

Keywords: Communication Layer
Data Centers
FPGAs
Heterogeneous Computing
High-Performance Computing
Reconfigurable Computing
Advisor: Chow, Paul
Designing microporous layers for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells: pore network modelling and fabrication

Liquid water transport and oxygen diffusion within the gas diffusion layer (GDL) play key roles in the performance of a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell. Understanding how liquid water and oxygen are transported through the GDL is crucial for informing future fuel cell material designs. This thesis contains two studies, one numerical and one experimental, that are focused on liquid water and gas transport in GDLs. The first study is an investigation of how liquid and gas transport in the GDL are affected by increasing microporous layer (MPL) intrusion into the carbon fiber substrate. The second study is an examination of the transport mechanisms in the MPL via the fabrication and testing of GDLs that were entirely composed of MPL (called standalone MPLs). Together, these two studies provide a deeper understanding of how novel applications of the MPL can unlock higher performance in PEM fuel cells.

Keywords: energy
Fuel cell
polymer electrolyte membrane
pore network modelling
renewable energy
Advisor: Bazylak, Aimy
Program Sherlock: A Tool for Stochastic Finite Element Analysis and Field Assessment of Concrete Structures

The use of stochastic analysis as a way to better simulate the uncertainty effects often encountered in structural evaluation was investigated. Unlike deterministic analysis where the sensitivity to material inputs cannot be captured, stochastic simulations with the addition of established material distributions and damage prediction models can provide a higher level of confidence in structural behaviour. Stochastic analysis capability was implemented into VecTor2, a nonlinear finite element analysis program for reinforced concrete structures, and simulations were performed on a series of reinforced concrete beams and shear walls. The simulation results were compared against the deterministic and experimental results and found to be an adequate substitute whilst providing a level of confidence consistent with each specimen. In an attempt to narrow the confidence interval, the methodology of incorporating early stage field measurements with stochastic results was explored. Using early stage parameters such as deflections, crack widths, and reinforcement strains, the stochastic output was recalibrated to produce more accurate results. The implementation of such an analysis as a field assessment tool was examined.

Keywords: Monte Carlo Simulations
Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis
Reinforced Concrete
Stochastic Analysis
Structural Assessment
Structural Health Monitoring
Advisor: Vecchio, Frank J
Azhari, Fae
Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Hydraulic Conductivity, Snow Depth and Soil Properties of a Bioretention System

Bioretention Cells (BC) are a Low Impact Development technology that provide distributed storm water management near to its source. Most research envisages BC as a black box with ambiguous processes between the input and the output. This thesis aims to consider BCs as heterogeneous systems with physical processes that vary both spatially and temporally. For this study, a 5-year-old BC at Kortright Centre for Conservation in Vaughan, Ontario is used as an investigation area. The following results were observed. D30 and D60 were lower in the central flow path due to sedimentation and suspended solids deposition. Organic content was negatively correlated with bulk density. Ksat in the central pathway region and non-central pathway region showed a mild rise during and a mild decrease respectively during warm winter days possibly due to freeze-thaw action. However, after statistical outliers were identified and removed from the Ksat data, this effect was not observed.

Keywords: Bioretention
Heterogeneity
Hydraulic Conductivity
Soil Properties
Spatial
Temporal
Advisor: Drake, Jennifer A. P.
Value Recovery from Metallurgical Slags Through Air Atomization

Value recovery from waste products in metal processing operations is a growing field in metallurgy. A computer model was developed to assess the feasibility of simultaneous granulation and heat recovery from molten slag, and an experimental study was carried out to analyse the properties of solidified slag samples. The model facilitates isolation of selected variables to determine their effect on atomization. Model results determined that smaller granules and lower air:slag ratios increase the process heat recovery efficiency, while the initial air temperature was shown to have a minimal effect on atomization. Empirical analysis of sintering temperature identified maximum post-atomization temperatures for granules. Upon comparison with model results, it is concluded that simultaneous granulation and heat recovery is possible as the outer shell is sufficiently cooled, and the core cooling rate exceeds the expected critical cooling rate. Hardness and abrasion resistance were studied to determine optimal cooling conditions for property maximization.

Keywords: Air atomization
Heat recovery
Heat transfer
Metallurgy
Slag granulation
Slag processing
Advisor: Barati, Mansoor
Manifestations Of Inequity In Egypt’s Two-Tiered Healthcare System

In planning healthcare systems, challenges and debates may vary significantly from one country to the next. Direct privatization, public-private partnerships, cost recovery programs, and user fees have often been promoted as remedies to ailing healthcare systems. In fact, market-driven healthcare reforms and development strategies continue to drive the privatization of healthcare services in many countries. But, it is often the case, particularly in low- and middle-income countries in the Global South, that when these measures are implemented large disparities emerge and are maintained between the public and private tiers. Focusing on the case of Egypt, my thesis addresses the following question: What are the manifestations of inequity between private for-profit and public hospitals in Egypt, with regards to quality and access to emergency care? More specifically, this thesis seeks to examine the perceptions of physicians with regards to disparities in access and quality of emergency care.

Keywords: Egypt
Inequity
Privatization
Social services
Advisor: Wilson, Kathi
Daniere, Amrita
Fluorine-Free Omniphobic Flexible Packaging Papers Containing Low Consistency Refined Mechanical and Chemical Pulp Blend

In this study, the effect of partial substitution of chemical pulp by relatively lower-cost mechanical fibres for the production of flexible packaging paper was examined. In particular, the objective of this work was to obtain the optimum substitution percentage and refining conditions capable of providing adequate performance and reduced production cost for sack papers. Results indicated that the pulp mixtures containing 10% mechanical pulp and co-refined at low intensity (0.5 J/m) had a similar performance compared to the control samples made of 100% refined chemical pulp. To impart omniphobic properties to the packaging samples, novel fluorine-free coating formulations containing polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polymethylhydrosiloxane (PMHS) emulsions were developed. Contact angle measurement and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the treated sampled exhibited acceptable wetting behavior and barrier properties. This novel coating formulation is an eco-friendly alternative to fluorinated-based materials currently used in the food packaging industry.

Keywords: Coating
Co-Refining
Hydrophobic
Oleophobic
Pulp and Paper
Sack Paper
Advisor: Farnood, Ramin
Autonomous Operations of the BRITE Toronto Satellite

The BRIght Target Explorer mission is comprised of six nanosatellites equipped with instrumentation that allows them to perform milli-magnitude accurate differential photometry. The satellites were designed at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies, Space Flight Laboratory and are operated by teams from the Space Flight Laboratory, Poland, and Austria. The BRITE satellites are currently in the operations phase of their mission plan and have been collecting photometric data on-orbit since 2013. This thesis document presents the contributions of the author to the BRITE mission. With the focus on the development and testing of an algorithm to increase the photometric data yield on BRITE Toronto, one of the BRITE satellites. This algorithm will give the satellite the ability to autonomously start and stop the collection of photometric data based on of the on-orbit conditions of the satellite, which will lead to an increase of usable scientific data produced by the satellite.

Advisor: Zee, Robert E
Removal of 3-chloro-4-dichloromethyl-5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone (MX) Precursors during Water Treatment Biofiltration

MX precursor removal was compared at pilot-scale in continuously and cyclically operated biofilters with empty bed contact times (EBCTs) of 15 and 30 minutes. Water and filter media samples were collected under both ambient water quality conditions, as well as during a spike of 7 mg/L humic acid. MX formation potential (FP) removals ranged from 26 to 49% and 45 to 61% under ambient precursor and spiked conditions, respectively, suggesting that biofiltration was capable of removing or altering MX precursors. Removal was very strongly correlated (R=0.90) with ATP (a measure of biomass density) for all trials. MX FP reduction was significantly higher (p

Keywords: 3-chloro-4-dichloromethyl-5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone
biofiltration
Mutagen-X
MX
water treatment
Advisor: Andrews, Robert C
Andrews, Susan A
Development of Practical Applications of Fluorescence Spectroscopy for Water Quality Monitoring

Extensive research has been conducted regarding the characterization of natural waters using fluorescence spectroscopy, involving complex data analysis approaches not suitable for on-line implementation. This research investigated approaches to streamline data analysis such that assessment of water quality is both rapid and sensitive. A novel continuous mixing and analysis system was developed and applied to two aspects of surface water quality monitoring: quantification of environmental contaminants, and detection of wastewater. Several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and pesticides were observed to have fluorescence patterns that could be separated using parallel factors analysis (PARAFAC). Reliable quantification of these compounds was achieved at levels typically detected in natural waters. Analysis of wastewater revealed that its presence was strongly correlated to microbially-derived humic-like fluorescence. An approach using of a moving baseline showed that simulated wastewater presence at 1% v/v (wastewater/lake water) was correctly detected in 89% of samples analyzed.

Advisor: Andrews, Robert C
Legge, Raymond L
The Contribution of Biofilm to Nitrogenous Disinfection ByProduct Formation in Full-Scale Cyclically-Operated Drinking Water Biofilters

Biofiltration can be effective for disinfection by-product (DBP) precursor control, however few studies have considered its role in the potential formation of DBPs. The objective of this study was to determine the contribution of biofilm-related materials to form nitrogen-containing DBPs upon chloramination and to determine the influence of cyclical biofilter operation on DBP precursor removal. Biologically active media was sampled from a full-scale biofilter operating under cold-water conditions (3.6 ± 0.5°C) and its components were extracted with a cation exchange resin into a phosphate buffering solution. N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and haloacetonitrile (HAN4) formation potential tests conducted on extracted biofilm yielded 0.80 ± 0.27 ng NDMA/g media and 18.7 ± 3.3 ng dichloroacetonitrile (DCAN)/g media. However, an analysis of NDMA formation potential and biological surrogates in the effluent of a full-scale cyclically-operated biofilter did not show release of NDMA precursors during filter start-up after stagnation periods of 6 hours or more.

Keywords: Biofiltration
Disinfection By-Products
Extracellular Polymeric Substances
N-Nitrosodimethylamine
Advisor: Andrews, Robert C.
Characterizing the left and right atrial adaptations in middle-aged chronic endurance athletes: a cMRI study.

Chronic endurance exercise induces several hemodynamic stressors on the cardiovascular system resulting in adaptations collectively defined as the Athlete’s Heart. We characterized the morphological adaptations in the left atrium (LA) and right atrium (RA) in response to chronic endurance training using the gold-standard imaging modality of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI) in both middle-aged elite endurance athletes (n=71) and recreationally active controls (n=19). All subjects underwent maximal exercise testing (VO2max), exercise history questionnaires, and received a cMRI scan. Endurance athletes demonstrated objectively larger LA and RA volumes than controls. LA and RA volumes were positively correlated to VO2max, although not lifetime endurance hours. Male athletes demonstrated greater atrial dimensions than female athletes. Overall there was a weak ability to predict the magnitude of atrial remodeling specific to an athlete, suggesting a large heterogeneity in the atrial response to chronic endurance activity in the middle-aged athletic cohort.

Keywords: Athlete's Heart
Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Health Science
Kinesiology
Advisor: Goodman, Jack
A Formal Analysis of the Propagation for the Ellipsoid Global Constraint and an Application to the Selective Tree Breeding Problem

The ELLIPSOID global constraint is one of the few global constraints used for reasoning about convex quadratic functions. This thesis compares the strengths of the most successful propagation algorithm for the ELLIPSOID global constraint, namely the BOX propagation, against the standard propagation algorithm based on the expression tree of the mathematical formulation as implemented, for example, in the well-known solver IBM ILOG CP Optimizer. We perform a formal analysis of the strengths of both propagation algorithms, showing that there are conditions under which the BOX propagation algorithm is not as good as the standard propagation algorithm. We apply the ELLIPSOID global constraint to the selective tree breeding problem, a known problem from the forest genetics literature. Our computational study shows that the ELLIPSOID global constraint is not a suitable candidate for this particular problem, which is consistent with the findings from our theoretical analysis.

Keywords: Constraint Programming
Constraints
Nonlinear Optimization
Propagation Algorithms
Advisor: Beck, J. Christopher
Bodur, Merve
Constructing Efficient Production Networks: A Machine Learning Approach

For production networks with multiple plants and products process flexibility, defined as the ability to build different types of products in the same manufacturing plant, is a key driver of operational efficiency when faced with uncertainty in demand or supply. In their seminal work on process flexibility \cite{jordan1995principles} considered two central questions faced by the network designer: 1) How much flexibility is enough? 2) Where should flexibility be added? In this work we develop two novel Machine Learning based greedy heuristics that can be used to create efficient production network designs. We show that our heuristics perform at or above the level of the current state-of-the art heuristics on a number of test settings from the literature. Finally, we introduce a novel application of process flexibility in healthcare operations, and use our heuristics to produce efficient network designs for the radiation therapy unit at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (Toronto, Canada).

Keywords: Design
Healthcare Operations
Machine Learning
Manufacturing
Network
Process Flexibility
Advisor: Chan, Timothy
Unified Spatiotemporal Calibration of Egomotion Sensors and Planar Lidars in Arbitrary Environments

This thesis develops an automatic spatiotemporal calibration routine for lidars and egomotion sensors that relaxes common requirements, such as overlapping sensor fields of view, and calibration targets. A set of entropy-based calibration algorithms are extended to allow estimation of sensor clock time offsets in tandem with sensor-to-sensor spatial transformations. A novel Bayesian optimization routine is developed to address the non-smooth behaviour observed in the cost function. The routine is tested on simulated and real data. Simulated results show that the calibration can be constrained to within less than 5 mm, 0.1 degrees, and 0.15 ms in the translational, rotational, and time-delay parameters respectively. For real-world data, in the absence of a reliable ground truth, we present results that show a repeatability of ± 4 mm, 1 degree, and 0.1 ms. A very brief analysis of the applicability of the method to Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) to lidar calibration is presented.

Keywords: Calibration
Camera
Lidar
Optimization
Robotics
Sensor
Advisor: Kelly, Jonathan S
THE EFFECTS OF FOLIC ACID AND 5- METHYLTETRAHYDROFOLATE SUPPLEMENTATION ON FOLATE METABOLISM AND ONE-CARBON TRANSFER REACTIONS IN A MOUSE MODEL

Due to emerging evidence linking high folic acid (FA) intake to certain adverse health effects, many have speculated that 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF), the natural form of folate, confer safer means of supplementation. As such, we investigated the differential effects of FA and 5- MTHF supplementation on folate status indices, gene expression of enzymes involved in folate metabolism and one-carbon transfer reactions, and tissue-specific global DNA methylation. Folate concentrations, gene expression differences, and global DNA methylation was assessed using the microbiological microtitre assay, real time RT-PCR, and in vitro methyl acceptance assay, respectively. 5-MTHF was, at least, as effective as FA in increasing plasma and tissue folate concentrations. Additionally, 5-MTHF had differential effects on tissue-specific gene expression, and increased liver global DNA methylation relative to FA. Our data suggests that 5-MTHF influences gene expression of enzymes involved in the folate pathway, which may potentially affect downstream biochemical processes such as global DNA methylation.

Keywords: 5-methyltetrahydrofolate
DNA Methylation
Folate
Folic Acid
Genes
Mouse
Advisor: Kim, Young-In