VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The Oxytocinergic Regulation of Social Behaviour and the Identification of Task Specialization in the Eusocial Naked Mole-rat

The naked mole-rat exhibits one of the most remarkable reproductive skews among mammals. This species consists of a breeding queen and her male consorts in addition to their reproductively suppressed offspring and/or kin. The differences between reproductive and non-reproductive members of a colony play out in a number of neural and endocrine measures, including neurons involved in the production of the hormone oxytocin. In other rodents, oxytocin is involved in a number of social behaviours including social recognition, partner preference formation, parental care and alloparental pup care. However, the role of this peptide in the regulation of social behaviours in the naked mole-rat remains unknown. This avenue of research is particularly exciting due to the high level of sociality that the naked mole-rat exhibits. The current set of experiments were undertaken to try and understand where and how oxytocin might act to influence social behaviour in this species with a special emphasis on the non-reproductive subordinates. Chapter 1 explored whether breeders and subordinates differ in their distributions/densities of oxytocin receptors. Autoradiographical analysis was conducted with a radiolabelled oxytocin agonist. Chapter 2 looked at whether peripheral injections of oxytocin would change the behaviour of subordinates. Experiment 1 of this chapter looked at in-colony behaviour and experiment 2 looked at behaviour directed towards a single colony mate or a small group of newborn pups from the home colony. Chapter 3 is the development of a method to explore the central effects of oxytocin manipulation. Chapter 4 explored whether central oxytocin antagonism or agonism affects behaviour directed towards a colony mate, an unfamiliar mole-rat from another colony, or a small group of pups from the home colony. The non-reproductive subordinate caste of naked mole-rats shows incredibly variable rates of labour related tasks and defense against unfamiliar mole-rats from another colony. Chapter 5 looks at whether this variability represents stable individual differences and whether ecological demands of the colony are capable of altering a normally stable behavioural profile.

Keywords: Eusociality
Naked Mole-rat
Oxytocin
Polyethism
Prosociality
Task-switching
Advisor: Holmes, Melissa M
The Book of Resh Melle by Yoḥannan bar Penkaye: an Introduction to the Text and a Study of its Literary Genres

This dissertation offers a study of the fifteen books of Resh Melle, a work written in Mesopotamia before the close of the seventh century A.D. by Yoḥannan (John) bar Penkaye. John’s purpose is to explain God’s dispensation in human history. He offers theological instruction through the medium of historical narrative. Chapter one discusses John’s political and ecclesiastical context. The fifteenth book of Resh Melle illustrates historical events which were contemporary to John. This chapter also discusses the rise of Islam, which had a great impact on the monastic centres and the numerous communities that formed the Church of the East. Chapter two investigates the life, literary works, and importance of the author. The works that have been traditionally attributed to John are discussed and their authenticity assessed. The chapter also discusses John’s importance for modern scholarship in various fields of study, including history, theology, exegesis, liturgy, and asceticism. Chapter three discusses the title, provenance, sources, manuscripts, editions and translations of Resh Melle. A survey of Syriac literature is undertaken to explain the idiomatic meaning of the title. A description of the four manuscripts of Resh Melle which were consulted by this study is also given, along with information on the other extant (but unedited) manuscripts of the work. The chapter closes with a summary of modern editions and translations. The fourth and final chapter examines the question of the literary genres of Resh Melle. John’s intention is clear: to produce a concise account of world history. The apocalyptic genre is clearly attested in certain sections of the work, but mainly towards its end. The bulk of Resh Melle employs other genres, including historiography, theology, exegesis, pedagogy, homily and philosophy. These genres are identified and illustrated with numerous quotations from John’s work, which we translated into English for the first time.

Keywords: 7th century AD
Church of the East
John bar Penkaye
Resh Melle
Syriac
world history
Advisor: Harrak, Amir
Exploring the Therapeutic Potential of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Exotoxin A and Identifying Eukaryotic Factors Involved in its Intracellular Routing Pathway

Pseudomonas aeruginosa Exotoxin A (ETA) is a 66.6 kDa bacterial toxin comprised of a single polypeptide chain that folds into three distinct structural and functional domains. Domain I serves as a ligand for binding susceptible eukaryotic cells. Domain II facilitates the transport of ETA to the cytosol. Domain III contains the active site by which ETA inhibits protein synthesis and initiates cell death. Although extensive research has gone into characterizing each domain and manipulating ETA to create targeted therapies, the intracellular routing of ETA and the role of domain II in this pathway remains uncertain. We hypothesized that ETA domain II interacts with intracellular components in the human cell to facilitate transport of the toxin from the endosome to the cytosol. This thesis investigates the use of ETA domain II as a strategy to increase the intracellular delivery of protein therapeutics, and explores cellular components that may be involved in the routing pathway of ETA in human cells. The first study demonstrated that fusing ETA domain II to cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) and their cargos enhanced the delivery of these recombinant proteins to the cytosol through retrograde transport. The second study identified 33 putative eukaryotic genes required for ETA cytotoxicity using a high-throughput lentiviral screen. Additionally, a number of proteins involved in endosome ←→ Golgi apparatus ←→ endoplasmic reticulum ←→ cytosol trafficking were identified from human cell lysate pull-down assays using ETA domain II and full-length ETA, supporting the retrograde transport hypothesis. Overall, the results of these studies confirm that ETA follows a retrograde transport pathway in human cells and that domain II plays a role in this routing. ETA can be manipulated in creative ways for both investigative and therapeutic purposes and, as such, a further understanding of ETA and other such toxins is beneficial for converting them into useful tools.

Advisor: Gariépy, Jean
Discourses of Teacher Professionalism: A Study of Union-active Teachers

This study presents a qualitative cross-case analysis of the discourses of teacher professionalism amongst union active teachers in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Ontario. Data collection included interviews with 11 members of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario and 13 members from the Alberta Teachers’ Association, which were grounded in a document analysis of various reports, member magazines, news articles, and press releases dating back to the 1990s. The study reveals a triad of influences on the professionalism discourses of union-active teachers: engagement in teacher associations, the larger policy environment, and teacher agency. More specifically, participants’ inner drive to affect change, coupled with the capacity building experiences gained through their teacher association, saw many participants enacting and espousing discourses that positioned teachers as learners, leaders, advocates, and autonomous experts. That being said, member discourses were also impacted by the organizational priorities of their teacher associations and the extent to which the associations had been able to sway discourses within the larger policy environment to be supportive of teachers. These discursive influences are not static, however, nor are they mutually exclusive. Rather, a complex, mutually reinforcing relationship exists between these elements that change over time as teachers, their unions, and governments respond to each other in new and evolving ways. This results in discourses of teacher professionalism “from within” and “from without” that are more akin to two sides of the same coin than they are to the juxtaposed manner which they are often conceived of. In this way the study illustrates the power of teachers and their unions to alter the balance between democratic discourses which position teachers as advocates, agents, and policy actors; and neoliberal portrayals of teachers as the objects of educational reform.

Keywords: Discourse
Educational policy
Neoliberalism
Teacher professionalism
Teacher unions
Advisor: Bascia, Nina
Demand Modelling of Cross-regional Commuting Trips in Multimodal Networks

The continual expansion of major metropolitan areas caused by the inexorable urban sprawl away from city centres has produced persistent growth in the number of cross-regional trips. This research focuses on acquiring the required understanding of cross-regional travellers’ travel behaviour by quantifying the effects of the key factors that influence their travel decisions. A practice-ready framework for modelling cross-regional travel demand in the context of multimodal transportation networks is presented. The framework adopts a comprehensive mode choice model that takes into account the three main decisions faced by intermodal travellers, namely the main mode, access mode, and access station location choices. The three choices and their interactions are carefully considered in the different phases of the model development. The modelling framework is developed over two phases. In phase I, data from a travel survey are used along with detailed information on transit stations to develop access station choice models for regional and local transit park-and-ride users. In phase II, the access station choice models are utilized within an innovative multimodal trip planner tool that is developed and integrated with the Survey of Cross-Regional Intermodal Passenger Travel (SCRIPT). SCRIPT is an online respondent-customized survey that consists of three sections, collecting revealed preference (RP) data, stated preference (SP) data, and household and personal information. Using SCRIPT’s RP/SP data, a set of advanced econometric joint main mode and access mode choice models are developed. The joint RP/SP models reveal meaningful insights into cross-regional commuters’ mode choice behaviour. The developed models are validated and calibrated to develop the Interactive Model for Policy Analysis of Cross-Regional Travel (IMPACT) to be used for the prediction of corresponding changes in aggregate modal shares in response to the introduction of new policies. As such, the developed models offer a significant step forward in modelling cross-regional travel decisions by introducing a policy-sensitive travel demand modelling framework.

Keywords: Cross-Regional
Multimodal Networks
RP/SP Survey
SCRIPT
Travel Demand Modelling
Trip Planner Tool
Advisor: Shalaby, Amer
Habib, khandker M. Nurul
An Integrated Quantum Dot Barcode Smartphone Optical Device for Wireless Multiplexed Diagnosis of Infected Patients

Integrating mobile-cellular devices with multiplex molecular diagnostics can potentially provide the most powerful platform for tracking, managing and preventing the transmission of infectious diseases. With over 6.9 billion subscriptions globally, handheld mobile-cellular devices can be programmed to spatially map, temporally track, and transmit information on infections over wide geographical space and boundaries. Current cell phone diagnostic technologies have poor limit of detection, dynamic range, and cannot detect multiple pathogen targets simultaneously, limiting their utility to single infections with high load. Here we combined recent advances in quantum dot barcode technology for molecular detection with smartphones to engineer a simple and low-cost chip-based wireless multiplex diagnostic device. We validated our device using a variety of synthetic genomic targets for the respiratory virus and blood-borne pathogens, and demonstrated that it could detect clinical samples after simple amplification. More importantly, we confirmed that the device is capable of detecting patients infected with a single or multiple infectious pathogens (e.g., HIV and hepatitis B) in a single test. This device advances the capacity for global surveillance of infectious diseases and has the potential to accelerate knowledge exchange-transfer of emerging or exigent disease threats with healthcare and military organizations in real-time.

Keywords: diagnostics
infectious disease
point-of-care
quantum dot barcode
smartphone
wireless
Advisor: Chan, Warren
Hydrogenation and Hydroamination Reactions Using Boron-Based Frustrated Lewis Pairs

New main group systems that provide avenues for small molecule activation have been illustrated using frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) – combinations of sterically encumbered Lewis acids and bases which cannot form adducts. The research presented herein expands the small molecule activation and transformation of FLPs using B(C6F5)3. Combination of the aryl amine tBuNHPh and B(C6F5)3 under H2 at room temperature leads to its heterolytic splitting forming the complex [tBuNH2Ph][HB(C6F5)3]. Exposing the salt to elevated temperatures is found to follow an alternative mechanism resulting in hydrogenation of the N-bound phenyl ring affording the isolable cyclohexylammonium salt [tBuNH2Cy][HB(C6F5)3]. This finding is extended to include a series of N-phenyl amines, in addition to mono- and di-substituted pyridines, quinolines and several other N-heterocycles. The reaction of B(C6F5)3 and H2 with other substrates, namely ketones and aldehydes are also investigated. Catalytic hydrogenation of the carbonyl functional group is achieved in an ethereal solvent to give alcohol products. In these cases, the borane and ether behave as a FLP to activate H2 and effect the reduction. Similar reductions are also achieved in toluene using B(C6F5)3 in combination with cyclodextrins or molecular sieves. Reductive deoxygenation occurs in the particular case of aryl ketones. Finally, the Lewis acid B(C6F5)3 is found to enable the intermolecular hydroamination of various terminal alkynes giving iminium alkynylborate complexes of the general formula [RPhN=C(CH3)R1][R1C≡CB(C6F5)3]. The three-component reaction can also be performed catalytically, generating enamine products which are amenable to subsequent hydrogenation reactions giving their corresponding amines. The chemistry is expanded to intramolecular systems forming N-heterocyclic compounds. Furthermore, a FLP route to stoichiometric hydrophosphination of alkynes is developed.

Keywords: Catalysis
Frustrated Lewis Pair
Hydroamination
Hydrogenation
Advisor: Stephan, Douglas W.
A Ground Support Strategy for Deep Underground Mines Subjected to Dynamic-loading Conditions

In deep and high stress mines, managing the seismic risk is a very important technical challenge. Large-magnitude seismic events that result in damage to excavations and ground support systems are referred to as “rockbursts”. Under dynamic-loading conditions, ground support design is influenced, to a degree, by a lack of full understanding of the mechanisms of action and interaction of reinforcement and surface support elements. Consequently ground control engineers rely mostly on empirical experience to select appropriate ground support systems. These decisions are often based on limited field and technical data. This thesis proposes a ground support design strategy, supported by high-quality field data, for underground mines subjected to dynamic-loading conditions. Comprehensive data were collected on rockbursts that occurred over 8 to 14 years at Creighton, Copper Cliff, and Coleman mines, in the Sudbury Basin. The majority of pertinent information was obtained through on-site field assessments, seismic system records, and numerical elastic stress modeling. A database was constructed and validated comprising of 324 events documenting the performance of ground support during rockbursts. A multi-variate statistical analysis was conducted to characterize the dynamic-load demand on ground support systems. Mine excavations susceptible to rockbursts were identified in time and space based on the anticipated magnitudes, the radius of influence of seismic events, and the mining-induced stress conditions. The undertaken analysis resulted in the development of a transition strategy from static to dynamic ground support requirements in seismically active mines. It was observed that strong and stiff support systems, enhanced by the application of shotcrete, were capable of mitigating relatively small magnitude strain burst events up to a magnitude of 1.5 Nuttli. Beyond this magnitude threshold, or if shotcrete is not applied for either logistic or economic reasons, the potential dynamic-load demand on the support must be quantified in terms of the design magnitude and distance from the seismic event. Support performance thresholds, quantified using the peak particle velocity, were presented in order to assist in the selection of appropriate ground support systems to mitigate damage. Ground support selection guidelines were developed for a range of excavation dimensions and stress conditions.

Keywords: Ground support system
Mine seismicity
Passive monitoring
Rockburst
Support performance
Advisor: Hadjigeorgiou, John
Effective Practices in Grade 9 Applied Mathematics

Student achievement in Grade 9 has been linked to both secondary and post-secondary outcomes. Although Ontario has implemented significant curriculum and secondary school reforms, a significant subset of Ontario Grade 9 students consistently do not attain proficiency in mathematics. Students that take the applied mathematics course—on the pathway to college—are more likely to not reach the provincial standard on the provincial Grade 9 mathematics assessment than they are to reach it. This can have long-lasting consequences. The purpose of this qualitative study was to discern practices from the field that might contribute to better student outcomes in Grade 9 Applied Mathematics classrooms. Mathematics education experts from across the province were interviewed and visits were conducted at four of the province’s most successful schools on the Grade 9 provincial mathematics assessment. The findings from this study contribute to our understanding of the types of resources, professional development, departmental, leadership, and teaching practices that support student achievement in Grade 9 Applied Mathematics. The findings can be distilled into six central ideas. These are the importance of: reform-based teaching strategies and dispositions that foster intellectual engagement and investment in learning; instructional leadership by both the school administrator and mathematics department head; collaboration for both the teachers of and students in the Grade 9 Applied Mathematics course; valuing EQAO assessments at all levels of the system; mitigating the stigma around applied-level courses; and, careful attention to the placement of teachers in Grade 9 Applied classrooms. This study contributes to the Ontario literature on Grade 9 Applied Mathematics and the literature on implementing mathematics reform. The findings of this study are of relevance to policy-makers and practitioners, especially school leaders and teachers. The study concludes with recommendations for both research and practice.

Keywords: Applied mathematics
Effective math teaching
Effective schools
Math Instructional Leadership
Streaming
Teacher collaborations
Advisor: Flessa, Joseph
The Prism of Children's Plurilingualism: A Multi-site Inquiry with Children as Co-researchers across English and French Schools in Toronto and Montpellier

Through this multi-site study of children’s plurilingualism, I asked what we would discover about plurilingualism by positioning children as co-ethnographers of their plurilingual lives and what teaching might look like if it were based on a plurilingual rather than a monolingual paradigm. During a 4-month collaboration with four different English and French school models in Toronto, Canada and one bilingual school in Montpellier, France, children documented their plurilingual and pluricultural experiences: they took photos of their literacy practices at school and at home and classified them by theme to analyze the linguistic landscape around them and to reflect collaboratively on language policies that manage different spaces. Based on reflexive techniques such as drawing, creative writing and collage, students represented their plurilingualism by creating a series of individual and collective "identity texts" (Cummins Early, 2011). Creative arts-informed methods were used to allow children to express their views without being limited to the language of instruction (Molinié, 2009; Auger, 2010). In addition, these reflexive techniques scaffolded students’ engagement as co-researchers by enabling them to creatively co-construct new knowledge and represent their perspectives. Five key elements emerged as being foundational for teaching in the 21st century through the prism of students’ plurilingualism: 1) a vision of all students as ever-evolving plurilingual learners; 2) a purposeful inclusion of the full range of students’ communicative repertoires; 3) collaboration among teachers, students, families and the wider community, often supported by technology; 4) valuing creativity by building time, space for the creative expression of academic work; 5) adopting an inquiry-based approach to language and literacy learning. This research contributes to an understanding of the complexity of children’s plurilingualism, as well as to the development of a didactique of plurilingualism in mainstream classrooms that is both culturally responsive and linguistically inclusive.

Keywords: children as researchers
creative methodologies
multilingualism
multiliteracies
plurilingualism
representation
Advisor: Labrie, Normand