VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Vocal Timbre Influences Memory for Melodies

Several studies have demonstrated that melody recognition is reduced when the timbre (instrument) changes between exposure and test, but no study has evaluated the possibility that different timbres have differential effects on melody recognition. The current study evaluated adults’ recognition and liking of unfamiliar Irish melodies presented in four timbres: two familiar (voice, piano) and two less familiar (banjo, marimba). After exposure to a set of melodies, participants judged whether each melody from a larger set (original and novel) was old or new. Melodies presented vocally were remembered significantly better than those presented instrumentally even though they were liked less. The findings confirm that surface features of music and abstract, relational features are processed jointly as well as separately.

Keywords: Memory
Music
Timbre
Melody
Advisor: Trehub, Sandra E.
Schellenberg, E. Glenn
A Prism- and Gap-based Approach to Shopping Destination Choice

This thesis presents a prism- and gap-based approach for modelling shopping destination choice in the Travel/Activity Scheduler for Household Agents (TASHA). The gap-location choice model improves upon TASHA’s existing destination choice model in 3 key ways: 1) Shifting from a zone-based to a disaggregate location choice model, 2) Categorizing shopping trips into meaningful types, and 3) Accounting for scheduling constraints in choice set generation and location choice. The model replicates gap and location choices reasonably well at an aggregate level and shows that a simple yet robust model can be developed with minimal changes to TASHA’s existing location choice model. The gap-based approach to destination choice is envisioned as a small but significant step towards a more comprehensive location choice model in a dynamic activity scheduling environment.

Keywords: Travel demand models
Activity-based models
Shopping Location
Destination Choice
Time-Space Prism
Choice Set Formation
TASHA
Gap-Location Choice
Advisor: Miller, Eric
Characteristics of Engine Emissions from Different Biodiesel Blends

Engine exhaust characteristics from two different biodiesel blends, formulated from soy and animal fat biodiesel blended with ultra-low sulphur diesel, were tested during two different test programs with similar operating conditions. Engine exhaust was measured in real-time for nitrogen oxides, total hydrocarbons, particle-bound polyaromatic hydrocarbons, and particle size distribution. Diesel particulate matter was collected on filters and subsequently analyzed for organic carbon, elemental carbon, soluble organic fraction, cations, and anions. The use of biodiesel was found to increase nitrogen oxide emissions, but decrease total hydrocarbons and particulate matter emissions. The most significant impact on emissions was the difference between the engine operating conditions rather than the fuel type. Minor differences were found between the soy and animal fat biodiesel blends through speciation of the diesel particulate matter.

Keywords: Diesel
Biodiesel
Combustion
Biofuels
Particulate Matter
Nanoparticles
Advisor: Evans, Greg J.
Wallace, James S.
Refining of Silicon During its Solidification from a Cu-Si Melt

Current methods of solar-grade silicon (SG-Si) production are energy intensive and costly. The possibility of using metallurgical techniques for refining metallurgical-grade Si (MG-Si) to SG-Si has been investigated. The main steps in the metallurgical refining route include alloying with copper to produce a 50-50wt% Cu-Si alloy, controlled solidification, crushing, and acid leaching. The controlled solidification process involved 5 variations to determine the best process to maximize Si dendrite agglomeration in the sample and produce the purest Si. This was determined by using various techniques, such as: optical imaging, dendrite analysis, EPMA and SEM analysis and ICP analysis. The crushing and acid leaching steps were carried out to remove the unwanted Cu3Si eutectic from the pure Si dendrite phase. Upon completion of the analysis techniques, the optimal cooling method was determined to be the top cooled, 0.5°C/min sample.

Keywords: Metallurgical
Refining
Solar-grade silicon
Cu-Si
Advisor: Utigard, Torstein A.
Barati, Mansoor
The Impact of Bifidobacterium bifidum and its Surface Protein BopA on the Murine Intestinal Barrier and Endogenous Microbiota Composition

Bifidobacterium bifidum MIMBb75 is a novel strain whose behavior within the intestinal tract is not known. This work attempts to determine the survival and molecular determinant responsible for its colonization through two studies involving administration to mice of 1) B. bifidum MIMBb75 or 2) engineered B. longum NCC2705 expressing the B. bifidum-specific surface protein BopA. MIMBb75 was able to transiently colonize the murine intestinal tract. As a result, endogenous bifidobacteria increased significantly in the proximal colon whereas Clostridia clusters were differentially affected in a region-dependent fashion. Genetically engineered B. longum NCC2705, expressing the BopA gene, did not impact endogenous bacterial groups in the proximal colon or feces, albeit, it down-regulated the gene expression of KC and mucin 4 in the proximal colon. These outcomes indicate that MIMBb75 encompasses characteristics of a probiotic, but further studies are required to assess the role of BopA as the molecular determinant of its action.

Keywords: bifidum
BopA
MIMBb75
Bifidobacteria
Advisor: Comelli, Elena
Thermal Energy Storage in Metal Foams filled with Paraffin Wax

Phase change materials (PCM) such as paraffin wax are known to exhibit slow thermal response due to their relatively low thermal conductivity. In this study, experiments were carried out to investigate a method of enhancing thermal conductivity of paraffin wax by making use of high porosity open cell metal foams. By adding metal foam, thermal conductivity of PCM’s was shown to increase by 16-18 times that of pure paraffin wax. The use of open cell metal foam material for thermal energy storage application was also investigated by designing and testing different thermal energy storage systems (TESS) - with and without metal foam. The effect of copper metal foam on heat transfer during melting and solidification was analysed by determining the convective heat transfer coefficient. Lastly, a numerical code was developed to predict the temperature field within PCM while melting.

Keywords: Mechanical
Engineering
Advisor: Chandra, Sanjeev
CanX-4/-5: Mission Simulation, Intersatellite Separation System, Hardware Integration and Testing

The CanX-4/-5 mission currently under development at the Space Flight Laboratory will demonstrate sub-metre formation control in four separate formations consisting of two nanosatellites. Formation maintenance is performed using a propulsion payload providing one axis of thrust, resulting in frequent slewing to meet thrust targets. Navigation is GPS dependent, with both satellites equipped with a receiver and antenna pair. Presented is a mission simulation developed for evaluating formation flying algorithm performance and the effects of frequent slewing on GPS coverage. CanX-4 and CanX-5 will be joined for commissioning prior to commencing formation flying via a mechanism, the Intersatellite Separation System. Details regarding the performance testing and troubleshooting of the system are described. Integration and testing of CanX-4/-5 flight hardware into a functional “FlatSat” is presented. Additionally, a description of satellite operations for two nanosatellites is given, with an emphasis on the relevance to the work performed for the CanX-4/-5 mission.

Keywords: nanosatellite
simulation
formation flying
satellite hardware
satellite operation
satellite mechanism
GPS
Advisor: Zee, Robert E.
Contact Detection for Nanomanipulation in Scanning Electron Microscope

A major difficulty in the fabrication of nanostructure based electronics is the lack of effective processes capable of precisely arranging nanostructures into predefined positions. Top-down approaches introduce increased complexity and a high cost for practical industrial use, while bottom-up approaches are probabilistic in nature and do not provide precise control of nanostructure properties (i.e., number, diameter), which influence device performance. Alternatively, nanomanipulation promises specificity, precision and programmed motion and its automation may facilitate the large-scale fabrication of nanostructure based devices. This study focuses on the development of an automated contact detection algorithm which positions an end-effector in contact with a target surface without the need for additional equipment, devices or sensors. We demonstrate this algorithm as an enabling feature for automated nano-FET biosensor construction with precise control over nanowire parameters thereby reducing device-to-device variability and also potentially allowing us to optimize individual device performance.

Keywords: contact detection
nanomanipulation
SEM
computer vision microscopy
automation
biosensor
nanowire diameter
nanowire number
nano-FET
sensitivity
Advisor: Sun, Yu
Blockade of TLR2 Inhibits P. gingivalis Suppression of Mineralized Matrix Formation by Human Dental Pulp Stem Cells

In an effort to re-establish tissue with odontogenic potential in the pulp space of immature permanent teeth, stimulated human dental pulp stem/progenitor cells (hDPSCs) have shown potential to differentiate and form mineralized matrix, marked by high expression of dentin sialophosphoprotein (DSPP) and osteocalcin (OCN). Bacterial by-products have been shown to adversely affect cell differentiation. This study investigated the effect of P. gingivalis, a putative endodontic pathogen, and blockage of its host recognition on hDPSCs. Stimulated hDPSCs were exposed to varying concentrations of P. gingivalis by-product and gene expression of DSPP and OCN was measured. Cells were exposed to TLR2 blocking agents prior to exposure to the by-product. P. gingivalis affected dose-dependent suppression of the measured gene expression. Blockade of TLR2 inhibited the by-product derived suppression of gene expression. The immune-potential of by-product was confirmed to be detrimental to the differentiation of hDPSCs, and this effect could be moderated by TLR2-blockade.

Keywords: DPSC
Pulp Regeneration
Advisor: Glogauer, Michael
Foreign Bank Branching in Ukraine: Comparative Analysis of Certain Aspects of Regulatory Regimes in Ukraine and Canada

After Ukraine’s accession to the World Trade Organization in 2008, foreign banks were permitted to open their branches directly in this country. This development brought the opportunity for additional capital inflow to Ukrainian economy. However, foreign banks tend to operate in Ukraine through locally incorporated subsidiaries rather than branches. This thesis analyzes the Ukrainian regulatory framework for foreign bank branching and compares to the analogous Canadian regimen. I find that, although the minimum entry requirements for establishing a foreign bank branch are more relaxed in Ukraine as compared to Canada, the Ukrainian legal framework that is not conducive to operating via branches. The regulatory limits for a branch’s loan activities are based on a branch’s capital deposited in Ukraine rather than on the parent bank’s capital. Branches effectively have no inherent advantages over subsidiaries in this jurisdiction, whereas the disadvantages, such as unlimited liability, are preserved.

Keywords: Bank
Branching
Advisor: Anand, Anita
Creation and Evaluation of Molecular Tools Used to Study Meiosis in Arabidopsis thaliana

The purpose of this project was to create molecular tools for the study of meiosis in Arabidopsis thaliana and to evaluate their effectiveness. Two types of transgenic plants were created with an intron-spliced hairpin RNA (ihpRNA) construct to target the AHP2 gene for RNA silencing. One had a constitutively expressed promoter; the other’s promoter was inducible with dexamethasone (DEX). Transformations with the constitutively expressed construct gave rise to ahp2RNAi plants with reduced AHP2 transcript levels, abnormal meioses and reduced fertility phenotypes. The creation of plants containing the dexamethasone-inducible construct was confirmed via PCR genotyping, and induction with DEX. However, the induction conditions tested do not appear to silence AHP2 as the transgenics had normal meiotic and reproductive phenotypes. Also a triple-locus, three color, fluorescent protein marker-tagged Arabidopsis line was created that will allow calculation of recombination frequencies for two intervals on chromosome 2 in both wild type and mutant plants.

Keywords: Meiosis
Arabidopsis
RNAi
pollen tetrad
pHANNIBAL
pOpOff2
Advisor: Hasenkampf, Clare
The Role of Scientific Evidence in Natural Health Product Consumer Decision Making in Osteoarthritis

Objectives: To use the means-end chain (MEC) decision-making approach to compare two groups of participants using natural health products (NHPs) with and without scientific evidence support. Methods: The laddering technique was used to interview 25 participants with osteoarthritis. Hierarchical value maps were generated to depict the decision-making processes. Semi-structured questions probed the role of scientific evidence in the decision-making process and content analysis identified thematic similarities and differences between the two groups. Results: The dominant decision-making chain between participants in the two scientific evidence categories was similar. Scientific evidence is an important decision-making factor but not as important as the advice from health care providers, friends and family. Conclusions: The MEC-approach and its associated laddering methodology helped us understand how people make decisions about NHPs. There were essentially no differences in how consumers in our two groups incorporated scientific evidence into their choice of NHPs for OA.

Keywords: natural health product
decision making
osteoarthritis
scientific evidence
Advisor: Boon, Heather
Recognizing a Legal Responsibility

Today there exists a legal norm that declares the existence of a global responsibility to protect civilians from mass atrocities. Previous doctrines of non-intervention and permissibility were inadequate and demonstrated the need for a new outlook. From a commission proposal to international acceptance the doctrine of a responsibility to protect (R2P) developed quickly and legitimately. Recent events, especially the events in Libya during the Arab Spring, highlight the conceptual evolution of the norm and, more importantly, an international acceptance of its binding quality. Therefore, it is apparent R2P has achieved the status of a legal norm of international law.

Keywords: International Law
Responsibility to Protect
R2P
legal norm
Libya
Arab Spring
Advisor: Macklem, Patrick
Role of Glucagon-like Peptide-2 in Rodent Models of Colon Cancer

Glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2) is an intestinotrophic and intestinal anti-inflammatory hormone. Hence, I hypothesized that treatment with degradation-resistant hGly2GLP-2 increases, while blocking endogenous GLP-2 decreases colorectal cancer (CRC) in rodents. In mice, treatment with dextran sodium sulphate (DSS) and azoxymethane (AOM) induced colitis-associated CRC, which was further increased by treatment with hGly2GLP-2 and reduced by blocking endogenous GLP-2 with the antagonist hGLP-23-33. Moreover, while colonic damage score (CDS) was not altered by hGly2GLP-2 or hGLP-23-33 treatment, hGly2GLP-2 increased small intestinal growth and hGLP-23-33 reduced jejunal crypt cell proliferation. In rats fed with of 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) and high fat (HF) diet for aberrant crypt foci (ACF) induction, treatment with hGly2GLP-2 increased small intestinal growth and ACF occurrence. Moreover, in rats fed with PhIP-HF diet for tumour induction, early treatment with hGly2GLP-2 appears to increase the occurrence of intestinal tumours. Collectively, these findings indicate a pro-carcinogenic role for both exogenous and endogenous GLP-2.

Keywords: Glucagon-like peptide-2
Colon cancer
Advisor: Brubaker, Patricia
Sovereign Debt Restructuring: Re-conceiving Legal Solutions for Improving Debt Management

The recent financial crisis and subsequent sovereign debt distress in the eurozone has reinvigorated the debate over bailouts and sovereign debt restructuring. This paper analyzes the effectiveness of two approaches to debt management in addressing the practical challenges of debt workouts, particularly in relation to developing countries: a contractual approach and a sovereign bankruptcy approach. The paper uses an economic analysis of private law to analyze optimal solutions to those problems and proposes a flexible approach to debt restructuring. Drawing on theoretical research and experience from professionals in the technical aspects of the debt markets, the paper merges traditional solutions with the law and development concept of “odious debt”. It argues that potential legal elaborations of the concept of odious debt, shaped by a contractual approach, presents loan sanctions as an effective ex ante solution to contemporary problems of sovereign debt management a current climate of global sovereign debt distress.

Keywords: Sovereign Debt
Advisor: Iacobucci, Edward
The Anticonvulsant Effects of Docosahexaenoic Acid in Rodents

Introduction: One potential new therapy for epilepsy involves the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and more specifically docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).   Methods: The anticonvulsant properties of the n-3 PUFAs were assessed in a series of different experiments. Subjects received chronic dietary supplementation, sub-chronic and acute injections of either fish oil (chronic) or DHA (sub-chronic, acute). Animals were tested in the electrical afterdischarge thresholds (ADTs) model in the amygdale and the maximal pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) model.   Results: Chronic, sub-chronic, and acute administrations of n-3 PUFAs were anticonvulsant in both the electrical stimulation and maximal PTZ models. In chronic experiments, amygala ADTs increased following 3 months of fish oil administration. Fourteen days of DHA i.p. injections increased latencies to maximal PTZ seizures. Acute injection of DHA s.c. and i.v. increased unesterified serum DHA and seizure latency. Conclusions: The present research suggests that n-3 PUFAs, and more specifically DHA, have anticonvulsant effects in vivo.

Keywords: epilepsy
omega-3
docosahexaenoic acid
seizures
Advisor: Burnham, W. McIntyre
Measuring Blood Pressure using Microbubbles and Ultrasound

Gas microbubbles have a high compressibility, which make them very efficient sound scatterers. As another consequence of their high compressibility, microbubbles can be compressed by the pressure of the fluid around them, which affects their scattering properties. Due to recent progress in shelled ultrasound contrast agents and the development of almost monodispersed microbubbles, we believe it could now be possible to measure blood pressure using microbubbles as non-invasive manometers, an idea first suggested more than 30 years ago. In this thesis, both simulations and in vitro experiments will be used to investigate the changes related to the resonance of bubbles and how the concept of bubble size population affects the accuracy of this technique. In particular, it will be shown how shell dynamics dominates the response of microbubbles to blood pressure.

Keywords: Ultrasound
Microbubbles
Advisor: Burns, Peter N.
Using Queueing Analysis to Guide Combinatorial Scheduling in Dynamic Environments

The central thesis of this dissertation is that insight from queueing analysis can effectively guide standard (combinatorial) scheduling algorithms in dynamic environments. Scheduling is generally concerned with complex combinatorial decisions for static problems, whereas queueing theory simplifies the combinatorics and focuses on dynamic systems. We examine a queueing network with flexible servers under queueing and scheduling techniques. Based on the strengths of queueing analysis and scheduling, we develop a hybrid model that guides scheduling with results from the queueing model. In order to include setup times, we create a logic-based Benders decomposition model for a static representation of the queueing network. Our model is able to find optimal schedules up to 5 orders of magnitude faster than the only other model in the literature. A hybrid model is then developed for the dynamic problem and shown to achieve the best mean flow time while also guaranteeing maximal capacity.

Keywords: Combinatorial Scheduling
Queueing Theory
Dynamic Network
Advisor: Beck, J. Christopher
Service Systems and Social Enterprise: Beyond the Economics of Business

Service science is an emerging multidisciplinary field concerned with the study of service systems and value co-creation. In recent years, the field has expanded considerably, growing to encompass a community of researchers and practitioners from a range of backgrounds and knowledge domains. However, very little research has focused on the study of service systems within the context of social-purpose organizations (SPOs), such as a nonprofit charitable organization or academic institution. We contend that SPOs represent a class of service systems that are understudied in service science, and the goal of this thesis was to contribute to the ongoing development of the disciplines theoretical foundations through an empirical study of a special type of SPO, the social enterprise. Through case-study research we surveyed five social enterprise organizations across Canada. Our findings point to a number of areas that suggest a conceptual bias towards service systems that are economically motivated and profit driven.

Keywords: service science
service system
systems science
triple bottom line
social enterprise
service-dominant logic
social business
value co-creation
Advisor: Kelly, Lyons
A Systematic Review on the use of Dexmedetomidine as a Sole Agent for Intravenous Moderate Sedation

Intravenous administration of benzodiazepines can be used for anxiety management in dentistry. The recent approval of Dexmedetomidine in Canada provides an alternative to benzodiazepines for moderate sedation. There is no review comparing Dexmedetomidine and Midazolam as a sole agent for intravenous moderate sedation. This paper determines to fill the void of knowledge. A total of 6 articles out of 117 were identified in Pubmed and Ovid Medline using the key terms “Dexmedetomidine” and “sedation”. The parameters that were evaluated were the need for rescue, patient and surgeon satisfaction, and adverse outcomes. Dexmedetomidine was found to be equal or better than Midazolam in the first three parameters. Hypotension and bradycardia were evident in moderate to high doses, but none needing intervention. Other side effects include headache and dry mouth. Dexmedetomidine is a reasonable and safe alternative to Midazolam, but more research is needed to evaluate Dexmedetomidine for general dentistry.

Keywords: Dexmedetomidine
Sedation
Advisor: Haas, Daniel