VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Experimental Quantum Communication based on Sagnac Interferometers

Quantum communication uses quantum states to transmit information. The core of quantum communication rests on distinctive quantum properties, such as quantum superposition and entanglement, allowing communication tasks to be achieved more efficiently or securely than classical communication. Over the past few decades, quantum communication theory has gone through a spurt of growth and is now encompassing various branches. While theoretical framework of quantum communication has been firmly established, there is a big gap between theory and practice of quantum communication. The practical challenges set limitations to implementations of many quantum communication protocols. In this thesis, I present my research effort in exploring viable solutions to accelerate the pace of experimental development of quantum communication. The scope of quantum communication is rather broad. My research in this thesis is restricted to two branches, namely quantum fingerprinting (QF) and quantum key distribution (QKD). In the first part of the thesis, I present our proposed QF protocol which, with the use of wavelength division multiplexing, can shorten the communication time and communication complexity of an existing QF protocol. An experimental demonstration with 6 wavelength channels is also presented, which has experimentally verified the advantage of our proposed protocol in communication complexity. I present my experimental studies on QKD in the remainder of this thesis, focusing on twin-field-QKD (TF-QKD), which can practically overcome the rate-loss limit of conventional point-to-point QKD protocols. My exploration of TF-QKD is composed of three stages. a) I performed one of the first four experimental implementations of TF-QKD. A Sagnac-interferometer-based configuration was used to overcome the main practical challenge (long-term phase stability). b) Based on the same configuration, I investigated the implementation of TF-QKD over asymmetric optical channels, providing an optimal compensation strategy to improve the performance of TF-QKD in practical situations. c) I extended my study on TF-QKD into building the first TF-QKD network, an essential step towards the development of a global quantum internet. In summary, in this thesis, I present feasible solutions with accessible techniques, such as multiplexing and Sagnac interferometer, to overcome practical challenges in QF and QKD, bringing these protocols closer to real-world applications.

Keywords: quantum communication
quantum communication complexity
quantum cryptography
quantum fingerprinting
quantum key distribution
Sagnac interferometer
Advisor: Lo, Hoi-Kwong
Qian, Li
Reduced-dimensional Metal Halide Perovskites for Light Emission

Over the past few years, metal halide perovskites have emerged as promising light emitting materials. They have shown excellent optoelectronic properties including spectral tunability, high defect tolerance and high charge carrier mobilities, combined with low-cost solution processing. Reducing the dimensionality of metal halide perovskites provides additional tuning of their optoelectronic properties. It increases quantum confinement of these materials, enabling enhancement of their luminescence efficiency. In this thesis, I focus on designing new reduced-dimensional perovskite (RDP) materials and nanostructures, engineering their optoelectronic properties, and enabling their application in solid-state lighting, displays and energy harvesting. First, I develop synthesis of a series of new layered alkylammonium tin perovskite phosphors by deploying a precursor-tailoring scheme. I introduce excess ligand into the precursor solution with the goal of enhancing self-trapped emission. I find that the new tin perovskite phosphors exhibit broadband emission with over 80% photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY). This enables perovskite white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) having spectral properties suited for home lighting. I then investigate wide-bandgap perovskite-QD-in-matrix heterostructures for blue emission. I design a mixed Sr-Pb quasi-2D perovskite matrix having a type-I band alignment with perovskite QDs with minimized lattice mismatch. The matrix is further passivated to block H2O and protect hygroscopic Sr2+. The resultant blue LEDs based on QD-in-matrix exhibit external quantum efficiency of 13.8% and brightness exceeding 6,000 cd m-2. Finally, I study the room-temperature synthesis of iodine-based perovskite nanoplatelets (PNPLs). By engineering the solvent-solute coordination, I obtain iodine-based PNPLs that exhibit a uniform distribution of quantum wells and a broader absorption range, allowing the corresponding low-loss, large-area perovskite luminescent concentrators.This work offers strategies to tailor the structure and properties of RDPs, and it showcases these advances in enhanced performance in light-emitting applications.

Keywords: light emission
light-emitting diodes
luminescent solar concentrators
reduced-dimensional perovskites
solid-state lighting
Advisor: Sargent, Edward EHS
Three-Dimensional Architectural and Structural Properties of the Human Trapezius Muscle: Missing Links in Musculoskeletal Research

Trapezius is an architecturally complex axio-appendicular muscle that plays a role in scapular positioning, postural stability, and upper limb support. Despite frequent involvement of trapezius in pathologic conditions such as myofascial pain syndrome, there is a shortage of musculoskeletal literature examining the baseline architectural and structural properties of this muscle that are essential to fully understanding its function and dysfunction. This thesis comprises three primary studies and a scoping review with the central objective of investigating several properties of trapezius that were identified as ‘missing links’ in musculoskeletal research. The first and second studies employ a meticulous serial dissection and digitization approach adapted for trapezius to capture the comprehensive three-dimensional (3D) musculoaponeurotic architecture of this muscle from cadaveric specimens. The first study compares trapezius architecture between two temporal extremes of post-natal development to examine allometric scaling in trapezius. The results reveal proportional disparities in muscle volume (MV) and physiological cross-sectional area (PCSA) between infancy and late adulthood that warrant further investigation in vivo. The second study includes min–max normalized and proportional data from eight adult trapezius muscles to quantify overarching patterns of 3D musculoaponeurotic architecture and explore the relationship between myofascial trigger point (MTrP) patterns and underlying tissue composition. The findings show statistically significant architectural differences between partitions of trapezius, including PCSA, MV, fiber bundle length, and pennation angle, as well as a substantial overlap between areas of trapezius with high prevalence of MTrPs and regions of musculoaponeurotic junction. The scoping review explored the evolving use of ultrasound two-dimensional shear-wave elastography (US 2D-SWE) to measure shear wave velocity as an indicator of stiffness in skeletal muscle. The review includes a synthesis of key domains identified in the 66 eligible studies and evidence-informed recommendations for future research based on strengths and limitations of current literature. Finally, the third primary study presents the process of developing and piloting a novel US 2D-SWE protocol to target medial regions of musculoaponeurotic junction in the transverse partition of trapezius. This thesis offers novel insights into several baseline architectural and structural properties of trapezius that are expected to have numerous basic and clinical applications.

Keywords: elastography
muscle architecture
skeletal muscle
trapezius
Advisor: Agur, Anne
Kumbhare, Dinesh
Essays in Financial Economics

This thesis combines three papers studying the effects of innovations in modern digital platforms on investors and securities. In Chapter 1, I build a model where endogenous prices set by entrepreneurs play a central role in determining the success rates of their projects. Individuals with private information about the value of projects choose the appropriate time for investments using equity crowdfunding platforms. When opportunity costs are sufficiently low, investors with sufficiently high valuations promote the project to others by investing early. As opportunity costs increase, entrepreneurs lower prices to make the project more competitive compared to outside options, creating the "pricing effect." I then show that, as a consequence of the pricing effect, increases in opportunity costs improve project success rates during times of high costs. Furthermore, if prices remained unchanged, then more valued projects would be more likely to succeed. However, entrepreneurs increase asset prices as they have more valued projects, discouraging individuals to invest. As a result of this increase in asset prices, projects with lower expected values have higher success rates than those with higher expected values.Chapter 2 is a joint work with Redouane Elkamhi. We extend Kyle (1985) by introducing transparency in trade orders and insiders with single/multiple accounts. We find that splitting orders across time without fully revealing private information requires multiple accounts. Therefore, insiders with a single account trade more aggressively than insiders with multiple accounts. This heterogeneity in trade behaviors leads to non-monotonicity between volume and fundamental value. In Chapter 3, using an event study analysis with 60 cases from the Coinbase exchange over the period 2016–2021, I discover that newly included coins into the Coinbase exchange, on average, experience 16.8% gain in its price in the first day following the inclusion announcement. Price appreciation continues in the following days, reaching a high of 22.52% on the fourth day. Price depreciation occurs at a slower rate, taking another 14 days to lose all of the gains seen in the first four days, which shows that Coinbase effect is not persistent but leads to short-term bubbles for event coins.

Advisor: Mondria, Jordi
Productive Cynics: How Satire Affects Millennial Political Participation in Canada

Political satire is experiencing a global renaissance, with a plethora of content available in print, on television, and online. Scholars across a variety of disciplines have begun exploring the implications of this phenomenon. In political science, a growing body of research focuses on how and why satire affects political participation. Building on this scholarship, this dissertation asks: how does satire affect the political participation of millennials in Canada? I focus on Canadians born from the early 1980s until the late 1990s because of their comparative affinity for satirical content. I explore the Canadian context because of the widespread appeal of political comedy across the country, both historically and in the present day. I argue that political comedy has positive participatory effects, with a plurality of satire consumers becoming more engaged with politics on account of consuming this content. I label this “productive cynicism,” which I define as a sense of frustration with the political status quo coupled with a desire to become engaged nonetheless. I use a mixed methods approach featuring a national survey and focus groups. The data in this project reveal the following: a) satire is a popular form of political communication across Canada, with over half of millennials regularly consuming it; b) a plurality of satire-watching millennials have engaged in politics specifically on account of satire; c) viewers of satire most commonly feel cynical after watching it, but the next most common attitudinal reactions after cynicism are associated with empowerment and motivation rather than apathy and discouragement as one might expect; and d) when someone experiences negative emotions and increased political efficacy as a result of watching satire, participation in politics becomes more likely. These findings have significant normative implications. In the face of growing illiberal headwinds from which established democracies are not immune, it is imperative we broaden our understanding of how young people form their political attitudes, where they get their information, what drives them to engage productively in the political process, and the role that modes of political communication such as satire play in shaping these outcomes.

Advisor: Schatz, Edward
Tolley, Erin
Delineating the Molecular Basis of Gene Regulation and Cell Definition in Murine Embryonic Stem Cells and Pregnant and Labouring Myometrium

The identity of a cell and its innate potential to perform particular biological functions are determined by the gene expression program of that cell type. Part of this program involves a regulatory network of transcription factors (TFs) and distal regulatory elements (DREs) that can cooperate to activate expression of their target genes. The findings presented here arise from my aim to further characterise the transcription regulatory network (TRN) composition in two different rodent model-derived cellular contexts: embryonic stem (ES) and uterine smooth muscle (SMC) cells. Using a combination of genome-wide sequencing, genome editing and reporter assay methodologies, I interrogated and identified critical TFs and/or DREs in these two cell types. I functionally validated critical ES cell-specific enhancers and, in the case of the ES cell-defining Sox2 gene, established critical activating DRE elements down to the TF motif level. I furthermore established the active epigenomic landscapes of SMCs from late gestation through the contractile labouring and postpartum stages, and identified as-yet unknown TF participants in the myometrial TRN. Collectively, my findings contribute to the scholarly understanding of mechanisms of gene regulation across cell types and provide protein and genomic targets of interest for therapeutic applications.

Keywords: childbirth
enhancers
genomics
transcription factors
transcription regulation
uterus
Advisor: Mitchell, Jennifer A
Spoiled Identity? Exploring the Impact of Wrongful Conviction on “Self,” Status, and Stigma

Sociologists have long argued that arrest, conviction, imprisonment, and the possession of a criminal record impact individuals in consequential, often inescapable, ways. The many repercussions associated with a criminal label demonstrate the state’s ability to transform identities and create structural barriers to full participation in society. However, both classic and contemporary scholarship lack a nuanced understanding of how criminal labeling and punishment are experienced as the occurrence of wrongful conviction demonstrates that not all who are assigned a criminal label have offended. The wrongly convicted provide an opportunity to interrogate the impact of labeling, punishment, and stigma on those who possess objective knowledge of their own innocence and eventually have their criminal labels “officially” reversed. The clash between structure and agency in the presentation of self was apparent throughout in-depth qualitative interviews with 23 men and women wrongly convicted of violent crimes. Exonerees’ alteration from “normal” to stigmatized highlighted the ability of state-sanctioned labels to reduce autonomy and unsettle the lives of innocent citizens. Further, exonerees’ recollections of wrongful imprisonment drew attention to both the prison environment’s transformative nature and the value of having resources to support one’s broader, innocent identity while incarcerated. Finally, exonerees’ experiences of label reversal support the endurance that criminal labels possess and the criminal justice system’s power to spoil identities. The findings of this study ultimately inform recommendations aimed at reducing the burdens, injustices, and traumas faced by those who are demeaned and diminished by the criminal justice system, innocent or not.

Keywords: Exoneree
Identity
Labeling
Punishment
Stigma
Wrongful Conviction
Advisor: Goodman, Philip
Bridging the Gap: Exploring the Treatment Experiences of Children and Youth with Medulloblastoma

Diagnosis and treatment of childhood cancer can be an exceptionally difficult and stressful experience for children and their families. Of all childhood cancers, brain tumours are the second most common, with medulloblastoma the most frequently occurring malignant brain tumour among children. Very aggressive and difficult to cure, medulloblastoma warrants unique and intensive treatment Protocol SJMB03 which typically combines surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, including high dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell rescue. During treatment, children and youth are usually required to stay in a protective isolation room in hospital to guard against infections. Visiting policies are strict, typically limiting visitors to parents or caregivers only. Children are unable to see peers in person during this period, which can last from weeks to many months. To address this ethically complex issue, the overall goal of this dissertation is to give voice to children and youth treated with this protocol in order to better understand their experiences. To meet this goal, the objectives of this dissertation are to explore: 1) how children and youth diagnosed with medulloblastoma and treated with protocol SJBM03 perceive the experience of protective isolation in hospital; 2) the social and academicimplications of their treatment experience; 3) children and youths’ use of cyber technologies to bridge communication with peers during treatment; 4) children and youths’ knowledge of and experience with traditional bullying and cyber bullying; and 5) the experience of returning to school following completion of this treatment protocol. This dissertation provides findings that are timely and significant, as the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the moral and ethical responsibility to better understand and address the impact of isolation for children and families. Considerations for hospital and school social workers to promote relationships and connection, while facilitating a smooth transition as these vulnerable children and youth return to school are included.

Keywords: Attachment
Child Development
Healthcare
Information and Communication Technologies
Isolation
School
Advisor: Mishna, Faye
Plastid Genome Evolution in the Parasitic Genera Cuscuta (Convolvulaceae) and Krameria (Krameriaceae)

Almost all plants are primary producers and many of their phenotypic and genotypic features are centered on the ability to conduct photosynthesis. Variation in these features is rare across green plants due to the degree of selective pressure imposed by primary production. This is particularly true for plastid genomes (plastomes) given that chloroplasts are the primary site of photosynthesis in the cell and that plastomes encode key portions of the photosynthetic apparatus.In only a handful of embryophyte lineages, however, a heterotrophic lifestyle has evolved and reliance on photosynthesis for resource acquisition is reduced or completely absent. In these plants, the selective pressure imposed by primary production is lifted and previously conserved features are able to evolve more freely, including the plastid genome. The genus Cuscuta is one such lineage. It contains c. 200 obligate branch parasite species, diverse in terms of the degree of their heterotrophy: some can conduct limited photosynthesis whilst others are entirely nonphotosynthetic. In chapters 2-4, I assembled and analyzed plastomes from each section of Cuscuta in order to comprehensively characterize the patterns in their evolution across the genus. I found that most species retain the bulk of their photosynthesis genes and, therefore, at least some aspect of the bioenergetic pathway remains available for them to use. In plants forming two clades within Cuscuta, however, there was a wholesale loss of plastid genes encoding the photosynthetic machinery. The genus Krameria contains 18 species of root hemiparasites and they, like Cuscuta, represent an additional independent transition from autotrophy to heterotrophy. In chapter 5, I assembled the plastid genome of one Krameria species and analyzed it along with two previously reported plastid genomes from the group. I found that these species exhibit sweeping retention of plastid genes, unprecedented amongst parasitic angiosperms, and do not appear to have been impacted by the transition to heterotrophy the same way that other parasitic lineages have been. By characterizing plastomes in these two genera, my thesis contributes to our growing understanding of how heterotrophic plants, and genomes, change due to a reduction (or complete loss) of the selective pressure imposed by photosynthesis.

Keywords: Convolvulaceae
Cuscuta
Heterotroph
Parasite
Plastid
Plastome
Advisor: Stefanović, Saša
Water Vapour and Ozone: Measuring Key Trace Gases in Challenging Regions

This thesis focuses on characterizing water vapour and ozone in difficult to measure regions using ground-based and space-borne instruments. The regions of interest are the Upper Troposphere - Lower Stratosphere (UTLS), made challenging due to the dynamic and chemical complexity endemic to the region; the Arctic, due to its remoteness and extreme temperatures; and the mesosphere, due to low gas concentrations and the dearth of satellite instruments capable of measuring over its altitude range. The focus on these gases arises from their importance in the atmosphere due to the numerous chemical and climate interactions in which they participate. The first two studies focus on measurements made by PARIS-IR in the Canadian Arctic, with the first focused on developing a novel water vapour product, with emphasis on systematically evaluating different retrieval parameters in order to optimize this new set of water vapour profile estimates. The second is focused on expanding a prior study of eight trace gases with an additional four years of measurements. Both studies involve the comparison of PARIS-IR measurements to coincident trace gas measurements made by other instruments, such as a second ground-based FTIR or ACE-FTS. The third study focuses on water vapour and ozone in the UTLS using the ACE-FTS, MAESTRO, and OSIRIS satellite instruments along with the CMAM39-SD chemistry-climate model. This study involved the creation of zonal-mean multiyear-mean climatologies from measurements made by these satellite instruments, and employed CMAM39-SD as a means of robustly characterizing the differences in these climatologies, free of the influence of measurement sampling patterns. The final study examines mesospheric water vapour from ACE-FTS over solar cycle 24. Herein the response of water vapour to the 11-year solar cycle and dynamical forcers was examined. Emphasis was placed on the trend in mesospheric water vapour and its response to the solar cycle. The trend was found to peak near the mesopause at about 0.6±0.2% per year. Water vapour was found to be anti-correlated over the upper mesosphere with the solar cycle but exhibited a positive response between 50–65 km, and a set of catalytic reactions have been suggested as the potential source of this behaviour.

Keywords: Arctic
FTIR
Ozone
Remote Sensing
UTLS
Water Vapour
Advisor: Walker, Kaley A