bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
On the use of fiber optic sensors embedded in fiber reinforced polymers
Authors: Kolubinski Lesha
Published: May 2021

Smart structures and structural health monitoring are advancing fields that have potential to yield many benefits to many industries and applications. It is important for applicable sensing technologies to mature so that they may be relied upon. Fiber optic sensors are one such sensing method. Their use in fiber reinforced polymer, FRP, composite materials is reviewed and examined, specifically embedded fiber optic sensors. A fabrication method for embedding fiber Bragg grating, FBG, fiber optic sensors in FRP specimens was developed. This fabrication method is then validated through mechanical testing. Initial specimen stiffness's were determined and the results form the FBGs compared well with mechanical resistance strain gauges. The FBG sensors were also successful in detecting drops in stiffness of the specimens when subjected to fatigue loading.
Luxury fashion advertising: transitioning in the age of digital marketing
Authors: Lamoureux Natasha
Published: May 2021

Many luxury retailers fear embracing digital touchpoints, believing it could diminish a brand’s integrity. This study explored luxury fashion brands’ transition from traditional marketing strategies into the current “digital age” and experiential economy. The research encompassed a 2-phase qualitative content analysis: Phase 1 used an inductive approach that analyzed and categorized print advertisement images from Vogue US 1980 and 2013 into 3 major categories—types of product or service, overall presentation, and overall appearance of digital content. Phase 2 consisted of a deductive approach that examined Chanel’s and Burberry’s online and social touchpoints. Findings showed that both luxury retailers understand the importance of aligning and maintaining a consistent, appealing brand image across all marketing channels to guarantee success. Marketers and managers must pay attention to the aforementioned constructs if they wish to maintain consumer brand loyalty and emotional engagement by transitioning from traditional into digital marketing strategies.
Adaptive decision feedback equalization for multi-Gbps data links
Authors: Abdullah Alaa R.
Published: May 2021

Channel equalization combats the effects of the imperfection of wire channels. This dissertation deals with adaptive decision feedback channel equalization. The dissertation starts with an in depth study of the challenges encountered in the design of adaptive DFE and techniques that address these challenges. Various 2-dimensional eye-opening monitors (EOMs) based adaptive DFE are proposed and implemented. A novel 2-dimensional hexagon EOM is proposed and its effectiveness is validated using simulation. A simplified and power efficient 2-dimensional hexagon EOM is also introduced. Both EOMs are capable of differentiating the severity of the violation of the minimum eye-opening so as to allow the DFE to take different actions adaptively and achieve desired eye-opening more rapidly. A maximum-jitter EOM-based adaptive DFE is also introduced to greatly reduce system complexity. The adaptive DFE is taped out in a 130nm 1.2V CMOS technology and finally an improved adaptive engine that outperforms DFE utilizing sign-sign least-mean-square is proposed.
Inspiring ‘Gifts of Health’ : Exploring the use of patient stories in transmedia fundraising campaigns
Authors: Yamamoto Katherine
Published: May 2021

Patient stories speak to the often-daunting journey that patients embark on throughout their experience of their illness or injury. The emotions these narratives convey make it easy for audiences to connect with them, thus making them an important, versatile tool for fundraising for medical causes. Today, patient stories are commonly used by hospital foundations to fundraise, but are also used frequently for crowdfunding personal medical expenses, a trend that is surging in popularity with the rise of treatment costs. This project first examines patient stories using the theoretical lenses of motivations for health communication, personal and institutional fundraising, and narratology and transmedia storytelling in health communication.
Using a sample of 10 patient stories collected from Canadian GoFundMe campaigns and hospital foundation websites, this MRP specifically seeks to identify key similarities and differences in the ways that private individuals and non-profit health institutions use patient stories for fundraising efforts. It then aims to identify tactics used to produce the most successful patient stories and fundraising campaigns. The three theoretical lenses will be used to create a specific coding framework through which the motivations of different authors will be determined. Each campaign’s images, text and interactive elements will be assessed to identify trends and tactics, which will then be compared with the campaigns’ overall financial and social successes.
This project will extend fundraising and health communications theory by adding depth to the existing literature on crowdfunding for personal medical expenses. It will also help to integrate transmedia storytelling theory into the larger field of health communication by identifying the different ways that online communication platforms may be used to target and connect donors while increasing funds for medical campaigns. In addition, by providing a holistic analysis of each campaign’s content, paired with a preliminary effects analysis, this project contributes a range of practical implications for hospital foundations and individuals to use when crafting patient narratives for future campaigns.
The points paradigm 40 years later : an examination of Canada's immigration point system
Authors: Roberts Ashley
Published: May 2021

This study will attempt to analyze the effectiveness of the immigration point system in selecting immigrants. The development of the system within the historical context will be explored as well as the changes that have occurred since its creation until the most recent alterations. Interviews, with a range of opinions, will be analyzed to compliment [sic] secondary data to assess the impacts which have resulted from the point system through its design, operation and theory. These sources will also be used to provide suggestions and recommendations on how the point system could be improved to maximize effectiveness. Ultimately, the goal of this paper is to add to the growing body of literature surrounding this topic and to determine if the point system is indeed an effective method of selection.
A fatigue damage model developed based on stiffness degradation in human Haversian cortical bone
Authors: Najmi Hossein
Published: May 2021

The present study intends to develop a fatigue damage model to assess the fatigue response of human cortical bone by incorporating stifffness degradation of bone materials as the number of loading cycle progresses. The proposed fatigue damage model is defined based on mechanical properties and biological parameters of human cortical bone subjected to repeated loads. Stiffness loss in bone and bone constituents was used as a damage index to model the response of fatigue damage. The proposed damage model in this thesis considered bone as a natural composite material consisting of Haversian osteons (fibres) embedded in interstitial bone (matrix) and separated by weak cement-line interfaces.

Predicted fatigue damage results were found in good agreement with many experimentally obtained damage results of human cortical bone. The proposed damage equation also showed a higher degree of success in damage assessment of cortical bone samples tested by different laboratories as compared to other earlier developed damage models. 

The proposed damage model, for the first time, successfully correlated the mechanical and histological properies of human cortical bone with damage accumulation of bone constituents. These parameters represent mechanical and histological properties of cortical bone specimens such as osteon volume fraction, donor age, cyclic stress magnitude, secant modulus of osteons, cement line interfacial strength and other bone constituent mechanical properties.

A computer program was also developed to assess fatigue damage of cortical bone by the proposed damage model and evaluate the proposed model with experimental data extracted from the literature.
“Good” Evidence: A Critical Lens on Representations of Development and the Developing World
Authors: Ferguson Lisa Jean
Published: May 2021

The ethics of conventional representations of the developing world in charity fundraising and photojournalism have been increasingly questioned. Van Leeuwen‘s (2000) social semiotic model of analysis of visual racism, applied to a famine image, reveals strategies for symbolically representing otherness that perpetuate a naturalized "Western rescuer/developing world victim" narrative. Respondent interviews demonstrate that such "poverty porn" produces viewer apathy, while an alternative representation depicting self-determination evokes a charitable response. Elliott‘s (2003) ethical framework is used to judge the harm of conventional representations. The results, while tentative, suggest worth in expanding the study in light of implications for represented persons, the viewer, and Canadian society. In the meantime, image producers and distributors must become visually literate to avoid using harmful images.
Inviting the Infinifat Voice to the Fatshion Conversation: An Exploration into Infinifat Identity Construction, Performance and Activism
Authors: Evans Calla
Published: May 2021

This thesis explores how self-identified “infinifat” people, defined as those larger than a US woman’s dress size 32, access commercially available fashion and how their lack of access to clothing shapes the performance of their fat identity. Through semi-structured interviews with infinifat subjects and a secondary discourse analysis of “superfat” narratives in popular texts, this research finds that a lack of clothing options reinforces the stigma and discrimination experienced by those at the largest end of the fat spectrum. Particularly, the lack of clothing available to superfat and infinifat people restricts access to social spaces and economic opportunities. While this research draws attention to ways in which my infinifat participants are “hacking” fashion to suit their needs and using social media to advocate for inclusion, the fashion industry’s unwillingness to create clothing options for superfat and infinifat people, supports the perception that being really fat is really bad.
Optimization of Reverse Engineering Data for Regeneration of Triangular Mesh
Authors: Deb Ashish
Published: May 2021

Surface reconstruction of 3D reverse engineering data through the application of a triangulated mesh is a popular method. This thesis proposes a new simple genetic algorithm, an artificial intelligence method, to optimize triangular mesh generation which reduces the number of data points required to depict an object without sacrificing the details and accuracy.
Performance modeling of the SPECjAppServer business case using LQN templates
Authors: Cheng Graham
Published: May 2021

Enterprise Java Beans (EJB) are one such tool that developers can choose to help them simplify the technical aspects, allowing them to focus more on the business requirements. However, as the enterprise solution is developed and constrained, there are several factors that need to be determined but are unknown at this early stage of development. Modeling these systems to predict the unknown is a possible solution that can save both time and money. However. as hardware and architectural aspects change over time, the model may need to change as well, which may be a very difficult task in the case of large systems. This paper presents the use of EJB templates of Layered Queueing Networks to handle the change for both the software and architecture of the SPECjAppServer Business Case. In this work, two LQN models have been developed and their results have been discussed.
The Artillery Of Critique Versus The General Uncritical Concsensus: Standing Up To Propaganda, 1990-1999
Authors: Monti Andrew Alexander
Published: May 2021

In 2011, leading comedy scholars singled-out two shortcomings in stand-up comedy research. The first shortcoming suggests a theoretical void: that although “a number of different disciplines take comedy as their subject matter, the opportunities afforded to the inter-disciplinary study of comedy are rarely, if ever, capitalized on.”¹ The second indicates a methodological void: there is a “lack of literature on ‘how’ to analyse stand-up comedy.”² This research project examines the relationship between political consciousness and satirical humour in stand-up comedy and attempts to redress these two shortcomings. It offers a new theoretical model and a new set of longitudinal data: the political content of American stand-up comedy over the course of the decade from 1990-1999. It capitalizes on the interdisciplinary study of comedy, which scholars describe as a “huge cultural phenomenon,”3 by offering a plausible context for the manifestation of satirical stand-up comedy content. The development of the context proceeds in logical steps integrating insights from five realms of inquiry – language science, political economy, propaganda studies, mass media effects and humour theory – into a consistent theoretical framework. The interdisciplinary effort
offers a new method to analyse stand-up comedy, captured by the symbolic formula SC2={OGB,CERP}, whereby the satirical content of stand-up comedy (SC2) manifests itself in the association of two sets of statements: operative group beliefs (OGBs) and contrary empirical rational propositions (CERPs).

As a whole, this research project falls within the conflict theory tradition of sociological research.¹ It argues that structurally, the aggregate demand for stand-up satire is stimulated by the dominion exerted by mass media over mass opinions. Given that elite “control of society, while certainly manifest in material modes of production, is culturally embedded and naturalized in the minds of the people via its hegemony over discourse,”² the content of stand-up satire cannot be properly examined unless the political economic repercussions of mass communication are taken into account. Mass propaganda and satire are inextricably entwined. This dissertation hypothesizes that the former fuels the general uncritical consensus while the latter acts as the artillery of critique.

1 Lockyer et al., 2011:99. 2
1 Klaehn et al., 2010:10. 2
Theobald, 2006:26. iv
Hyperspectral Near Infrared Assessment of the Brain in Cardiac Arrest
Authors: Nguyen Thu Nga
Published: May 2021

Two-thirds of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients, who survive to hospital admission, die in the hospital from neurological injuries related to cerebral hypoperfusion. Hyperspectral near infrared spectroscopy (hNIRS) is a non-invasive technique that measures the major chromophores in the brain, such as oxygenated hemoglobin, deoxygenated hemoglobin and cytochrome C oxidase (CCO), an intracellular marker of oxygen consumption. We have demonstrated that hNIRS can detect changes in cerebral oxygenation and metabolism in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve insertion (TAVI) – a procedure that temporarily induces sudden hypotension and hypoperfusion that mimics cardiac arrest. Using multi-distance hNIRS, we found that while measured regional oxygen saturation (rSO2) changes resulted mainly from the extra-cerebral tissues, CCO changes during cardiac arrests occurred mainly in the brains of patients. We also applied the hNIRS algorithm based on the “2-layer model” to the data to measure cerebral oxygen saturation and CCO in patients during the procedure. We found that changes in all the parameters scale with the thickness of the extra-cerebral layer. Finally, the results of the comparison of breath holding measurement by using multispectral NIRS algorithm with the selected wavelength combinations from a previous study on animal suggests that changes in CCO could be measured, however wavelengths need to be further optimized for the adult patients.
A study on ozonation and ozone based advanced oxidation processes for the removal of naphthenic acids from water: kinetic studies modelling and optimal control
Authors: Al jibouri Ali Kamel H.
Published: May 2021

Industrial wastewater is one of the largest environmental challenges of this century. Most of these wastewaters contain non-biodegradable pollutants which need special treatment methods. Advanced oxidation processes (AOP’s), such as, ozonation, catalytic ozonation and ozone/ hydrogen peroxide have proved their effectiveness on the degradation of bio-recalcitrant pollutants. The main drawback in these processes is the high operating cost. The objective of this study was to develop innovative continuous ozonation and ozone based processes that can effectively degrade industrial non-biodegradable pollutants. Naphthenic acids (NAs) was used as the model pollutant in this study due to its importance as a major pollutant in oil and oil sands industries. The target was to convert bio-recalcitrant NAs into biodegradable substances with minimum consumption of ozone gas (operating cost). These processes can be followed by the biodegradation process to fully remove the rest of the pollutants. This research passed through several stages including screening of operating parameters, kinetic studies, and modeling, followed by optimal control of these processes. It was found that ozone concentration had the most significant effect on the NAs degradation compared to other parameters. The kinetics of direct and indirect (radical) ozonation of NAs were investigated and rate constants and activation energies of these reactions were determined. Catalytic ozonation of NAs was explored using alumina supported metal oxides and unsupported catalysts. Activated carbon was found to be the most effective catalyst. The addition of hydrogen peroxide into the ozonation systems significantly improved the removal of NAs compared with the ozonation only process. Models based on mass balance for the ozonation and ozone/ hydrogen peroxide processes were developed to predict the concentration profiles of reacting species. Optimal control policies of ozone/oxygen gas flow rate versus time were developed and validated to minimize NAs concentration in the liquid outlet stream from the continuous ozonation and ozone/ hydrogen peroxide processes. The experimental results demonstrated that the optimal control policies successfully minimized NAs concentration in the outlet stream. At the same time, ozone gas consumption was reduced to its minimum, i.e., just enough to minimize the concentration of NAs in the outlet stream.
Variable versus Constant Flow Performance Investigations for Photovoltaic-Thermal Panels
Authors: Dembeck-Kerekes Tamo
Published: May 2021

A quasi-steady-state model has been developed to evaluate of the potential of variable flow strategies to improve the overall thermal efficiency of Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT) collectors. An adaption of the Duffie-Beckman method is used to simulate the PVT in which the overall loss coefficient and heat removal factor are updated at each timestep in response to changes in flow rate and ambient conditions. A novel simulation method was developed to simulate a building heating loop connected to the solar loop via a thermal storage tank or counterflow heat exchanger. The model was validated with published data and with a parallel TRNSYS simulation. The results of the investigation show that optimizing flow rate has significant potential to improve thermal efficiency. This benefit was found to be dependant on ambient and process loop conditions, and was limited to the counterflow heat exchanger case rather than that with a thermal storage tank.
Principles and techniques towards successful development of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for dioxin analysis
Authors: Zhang Wei
Published: May 2021

Dioxins are highly toxic, persistent and bio-accumulative compounds. Laboratory detection of dioxins in various environmental matrices is one of the most technically demanding and expensive tasks in analytical chemistry.The cost to analyze a soil sample by conventional gas chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS) is approximately $1,900 USC accordign to the Unisted States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) (Billets, 2005). As an alternative, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for dioxin analysis has been commercially available for over a decade and recognized as the US EPA Method 3025. However, assay attributes need to be examined, especially at trace level detection. In this study, sources of error in ELISA, such as background contamination and dioxin-like polycholrinated biphenyl (dl-BCB) cross-reactions have been investigated. Quality assurance data on spikes have been reviewed and the recovery was estimated to be 70%. Technical details that are crucial for the performance of dioxin in ELISA were also identified and addressed.
Quantifying Chloride Retention in Urban Stormwater Management Ponds Using A Mass Balance Approach
Authors: Lam Wai Ying
Published: May 2021

Chloride (CI) from runoff containing deicing salts is retained in watersheds after deicing ends, resulting in deleterious effects on aquatic biota. Stormwater management ponds (SWMPs) are known to impact pollutant transport. However, there is little information on what role SWMPs play in the timing and magnitude of CI transport in urban watersheds. This study quantifies the mas of CI retained in two urban SWMPs over varying timescales and the in-stream response to CI-laden pond outflows.

The findings suggest that SWMPs likely play a role in watershed-scale CI retention. In the receiving creek, CI pulses corresponded to CI releases from the pond. The results of this study suggest that SWMPs concentrate spatially distributed salt inputs and modify the timing and magnitude of their release to receiving streams. This study will help parameterize the role of SWMPs in watershed-scale CI transport models and geospatial models of salt vulnerable areas.
Should I Stay or Should I Go? Role of Housing in the Decision to Leave Abusive Relationship
Authors: Akhadia Juliet
Published: May 2021

This qualitative Action Research explored the role of safe and affordable housing in women's decision to leave an abusive relationship. Six survivors of domestic violence shared the challenges they experienced in searching, obtaining and sustaining alternative accommodation that is safe, permanent and affordable. The research findings indicate many factors may cause women to remain in such a relationship, such as isolation, financial dependency, fear of harm to loved ones and lack of social support. Nonetheless, participants reported unaffordable housing as the primary barrier on their ability to successfully exit the relationship. For many, it was either remaining in the abusive home or forsaking their home to escape abuse which became a critical decision. While women’s shelter may provide immediate safety, effective and holistic housing policy, programs, and services are needed to support women to leave abusive relationships. Increased housing allowance for survivors, more affordable housing stock, public education on domestic violence and employment opportunity may increase women's ability to successfully exit abusive relationship.
Reducing the Energy Consumption by Using Floor Heating with Phase Change Materials in the Toronto Climate
Authors: Fialkov Lindsay
Published: May 2021

This major research project focuses on reducing the energy consumption, by modelling a radiant floor heating system with phase change materials, in the Toronto climate. Computer generated simulations were performed using DesignBuilder software, using an example of a typical condominium in Toronto .Two south facing suites and two north facing suites were investigated. Of those suites, one north facing suite had PCM below the finished floor, as well as one south facing suite. The objective of these simulations was to determine the impact of using PCM in the condo suites. Three different types of PCM were used, in order to determine which type had the biggest energy savings. The PCMs were M91/Q21, M51/Q21 and M27/Q21. The final results showed that the suites with the M27/Q21 PCM had the lowest energy usage. A cost savings comparison was performed based on the rate of energy used and the cost of the energy, provided by the Ontario Energy Board.
3-D modeling and simulation of crystal growth of GE₀.₉₈ Si₀.₀₂ under the influence of various gravity levels, G-jitter and rotating magnetic field using traveling solvent method
Authors: Shemirani Mehdi Mohammadi
Published: May 2021

A three-dimensional numerical simulation was conducted to study the effect of a rotating magnetic (RMF) field on the fluid flow, heat transfer and mass transfer in the presence of various gravity levels by utilizing the traveling solvent method (TSM). The presence of the RMF suppressed the buoyancy convection in the GE₀.₉₈ Si₀.₀₂ solution zone in order to get homogeneity with a flat growth interface. It was found that the intensity of the flow at the centre of the crucible decreased at a faster rate compared to the flow near the walls when increasing magnetic field intensity is combined with a certain rotational speed. This behavior created a stable and uniform silicon distribution in the horizontal plane near the growth interface in the terrestrial condition. Different magnetic field intensities for different rotational speeds were examined in both terrestrial and micro-gravity conditions. The effects of residual acceleration, known as G-jitter, on board the International Space Station and European Space Orbiter were also investigated.
Nonlinear Attitude and Formation Estimation Spacecraft And Multi-Agent Systems
Authors: Rososhansky Michael
Published: May 2021

This dissertation examines the state and parameter estimation problem of monolithic spacecraft and multi-agent systems in conjunction with the control algorithms. Nonlinear filtering techniques are investigated and applied to the problems of attitude estimation and control of monolithic spacecraft, distributed flltering for attitude estimation and control of satellite formation flying (SFF), and estimation and control of a multi-agent system in consensus tracking with uncertain dynamic model. The main objective is to investigate the performance of nonlinear filtering techniques under fault-free and fault-prone scenarios. In essence, the core of this research has been placed on identifying techniques to improve the efficiency and reduce the variance of estimations in nonlinear filtering. The research is primarily dedicated to the investigation of adaptive unscented Kalman Filter (AUKF) and particle Filter (PF). A nonlinear filtering technique has been proposed for sequential joint estimation of a multi-agent system in consensus tracking with uncertain dynamic model. The new filter is called marginalized unscented particle Filter (MUPF). The proposed filter uses the Rao-Blackwellised principle to couple the particle filtering technique with unscented transform algorithm
CN tower lightning flash characteristics based on high-speed imaging
Authors: Sra Ishmeen
Published: May 2021

The thesis emphasizes the analysis of fifty-eight flashes that struck the CN Tower during the last five years (2013-2017), based on video records of Phantom v5.0 digital high-speed imaging system, operating at 1 ms resolution. (A Sony HDR PJ790VB digital camera, operating at 16.67 ms resolution, provided a continuous recording of each CN Tower lightning storm.) It was observed that every recorded flash contained initial-stage current, confirming that all analyzed flashes were upward initiated. It was also observed that only 27 flashes out of the 58 contained return strokes. The number of strokes per flash varied between 1 and 9, with an average multiplicity of 2.16. The time variation of the channel luminosity of each flash was precisely analyzed for the characterization of flash components. A yearly statistical comparison regarding CN Tower lightning macroscopic (number of flashes, inter-flash times and flash durations) and microscopic (initial-stage current durations, number of the return strokes per flash, M-components and inter-stroke times) characteristics was conducted. The analysis of these extensive data (2013-2017) clearly showed that the 50% cumulative probability distribution (CPD) of flash duration in in 2017 was found to be the largest in comparison with other data (2013-2016). Whereas, the 50% CPD of inter-flash time duration in 2015 was the shortest. Furthermore, the 2014 data showed the longest 50% CPD of the initial-stage current duration as well as the inter-stroke time duration.
In 2016, one flash was found to contain the highest number of return strokes. 2015 was distinguished by having the longest 50% CPD of the continuing current duration. It was also noted that two significantly major storms were captured during the nights of September 5, 2014 and September 4, 2017. During the storm of September 5, 2014, the CN Tower imaging systems recorded 13 flashes. The storm lasted for 111.4 minutes, resulting on average a flash to the tower every 9.28 minutes. Whereas, the September 4, 2017 storm continued for 49.35 minutes, producing 11 flashes for the tower every 4.9 minutes. The characterisation of CN Tower lightning is pivotal to the protection of tall structures against lightning hazards. It’s worth mentioning that flashes with longer flash duration, containing high number of return strokes and have shorter inter-stroke time durations pose severe threats to tall structures, electrical and communication systems
Mixing characteristics of draft tube airlift bioreactor using the electrical resistance tomography
Authors: Yakubu-Gumery Farouzatu
Published: May 2021

In this work, mixing characteristics in terms of mixing time, hydrodynamics (liquid circulation velocity and gas hold up) and shear rate were performed in the downcomer of a draft tube airlift bioreactor with different geometries (i.e., Ad/Ar between 0.38 – 2.31 and bottom clearances between 0.003-0.00 m). Newtonian (water and 34.5% coalescing sugar solution) and on Newtonian (0.2% and 0.5% xanthan gum solutions) with different viscosities were used as the liquid phase. Compressed air was used as the gas phase which was introduced through cross and circular shaped sparger configurations at superficial velocities Ugr = 0.00165-0.00807 m/s. The combined effects of geometric parameters (Ad/Ar, bottom clearances), sparger configuration, and liquid viscosity on mixing characteristics have been presented.

Results showed that the increase in superficial gas velocity (Ugr) corresponds to an increase in energy generated, and thus decreases in mixing time. However, the increase in Ugr corresponds to the increase in liquid circulation velocity, gas holdup and shear rate values. Moreover, bottom clearances and draft tube diameters show effects on flow resistance frictional losses which affect results of mixing parameters investigated. The influence of sparger configurations on mixing time and liquid circulation velocity is significant due to their effect on gas distribution. Mixing time decreased to about 40% in air-water media using the cross shaped sparger. Results obtained with cross shaped sparger showed even and uniform distribution of gas, which provided better mixing as compared to the circular shaped sparger configuration. However, the sparger configuration effect on shear rate is not as significant (about 20% reduction in shear rate values using the cross shaped sparger). The effect of fluid viscosity had a significant influence on both mixing times and circulation velocity, especially in the coalescing media of sugar and xanthan gum solutions. Results from this work will help to develop a clear pattern for operation and mixing that can help improving [sic] several industrial processes, especially the ones related to emerging fields of technology such as the biotechnology industry.
Modeling Of Infrared Drying Of Polymer Solutions
Authors: Islam MD Z
Published: May 2021

This thesis presents the development of dynamic models for drying a coating polymer layer placed on fixed and moving substrate in a dryer using infrared (IR) heat source. The IR drying model is a set of coupled nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) arising from simultaneous mass and heat balances and they describe variations of the solvent concentration and the polymer system temperature during the drying process. The model was numerically solved in MATLAB environment and then validated using data from literature. Using polyvinyl acetate (in toluene) as a coating material on a polyester substrate, the simulation revealed that the model agrees with data and describes adequately well the drying kinetics. The modeling approach was also extended to simulate the drying of a polymer solution in a container. Since solvent and polymer molecular sizes are quite different, the diffusion coefficient was better described with free volume theory.
A hairy situation: child protection workers experiences providing hair care to African Canadian children in care
Authors: Gray Chantal
Published: May 2021

This research explores the experiences of Child Protection Workers regarding Black youth hair maintenance while in care, as hair is a significant identity marker for Black children. Additionally, it is important to understand the rights and responsibilities of the child protection workers, foster parents, biological parents and outside paid resources, as they all play different, but vital roles in a child’s life. The training that child welfare agencies provide and community resources will also be discussed. I began the study by providing an overview of the literature on the topics of Black hair and responsibilities of the child welfare agencies. A critical race theory framework will deepen the understanding of racism intertwined with hair; as well as exploring terms such as organization, whiteness and cultural competency. A narrative approach was used as the methodology and detailed within the findings section. The study found that there was inconsistency within the agency together with lack of resources to be used in the community.
Cultural Appropriation: Erasure of Cultural Odour, Homolingualization, and Queer Erasure within English Adaptations of Japanese Anime
Authors: Matheson-Mowers Olivia
Published: May 2021

[Introduction]: 

The first month of Pokemon Go is the only time this world knew peace @cake_hoarder (Twitter, September 2019)

The above tweet illuminates the nostalgia and fondness that is often evoked by the memory of summer 2016, a summer that was characterized by the release of Pokemon Go, a smartphone app based on the anime series, Pokemon. The twitter user likens this period to “world peace”, a comparison that is rooted within the design of the game that motivated social interaction among its users. One of the ways that Pokemon Go promoted communal gameplay was through the inclusion of PokeStops, a digitized meeting hub that allows for players to collect Poke Balls. These digital hubs mirrored the ones featured within Pokemon, and similarly to the characters within the anime, players would often encounter other players while visiting Poke Stops. This allowed for players to interact with one another, leading many to exchange tips on where to find rare and hard to catch Pokemon and even forming teams to widen their scope. The fusion of nostalgia for the times of trading Pokemon cards in schoolyards, the collective goal of players, and the warm weather created a rose tint around the summer, one that almost felt like “world peace”."
Optimization of Spectrum Sensing Schemes in Cognitive Sensor Networks
Authors: Zahmati Amir Sepasi
Published: May 2021

The currently dominant spectrum allocation policy is reported to be inefficient. Cognitive radio, therefore, has been proposed in the literature to improve the spectrum usage efficiency. This dissertation proposes the optimization of spectrum sensing schemes in cognitive sensor networks. The modeling of the spectrum occupancy is a prerequisite for cognitive radio analysis. We describe the radio spectrum occupancy as a continuous- time Markov chain, and mathematically define the model by deriving the transition rate matrix and the probability state vector.

The dissertation addresses an important aspect of spectrum sensing that has been often overlooked in the literature. While the cognitive radio is supposed to be aware of its surroundings, existing work does not consider the characteristics of unlicensed users for finding the optimum sensing period. In this work, we propose an application- specific method that finds the optimal sensing period according to the characteristics of both secondary and primary networks. According to the unlicensed user’s state in the Markov chain, two optimization problems are formulated to derive the optimum sensing periods. The secondary network’s throughput and power consumption are also studied and the corresponding parameters are derived. By numerical and simulation analyses, it is elaborated that the proposed method increases the secondary network’s throughput by up to 11% and significantly decreases the power consumption of the secondary network by as low as 33% of the non-hybrid approach.

In addition, we study cooperative spectrum sensing in cognitive sensor networks and address two important issues. First, an optimization problem is solved to obtain the minimum required number of cognitive users. Second, we define a metric for sensing ac- curacy and propose a novel energy-aware secondary user selection method that identifies the most eligible cognitive users through a probability-based approach. The network’s lifetime is compared at several sensing accuracy thresholds and the trade-off between sensing accuracy and network lifetime is studied. Finally, the effects of several fusion rules on the proposed method are studied through simulation and numerical analyses. It is discussed that the Majority rule has the best performance among the examined rules. i
Heterogeneity In Two-Component Signaling Systems Within Different Strains Of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Associated Escherichia Coli
Authors: Khan Adam
Published: May 2021

Resistance to host-defense peptides is a critical feature of many pathogens. Previous work in the McPhee lab has demonstrated that different strains of inflammatory bowel disease-associated Escherichia coli exhibit diverse resistance to host defense peptides. The PhoPQ two-component system is a well-characterized signaling pathway that regulates the expression of genes involved in resistance to these peptides. We hypothesize that strains have an altered capacity to signal through this system, resulting in different resistance profiles. We created a promoter-GFP fusion of two PhoPQ regulated genes, pmrD and ompT, to monitor PhoPQ signaling in eight clinical isolates. Our data shows that strains have robust differences in signaling when cultured identical conditions, supporting our hypothesis. Further, our signaling match polymyxin B resistance when using the same isolates and conditions. Our data strongly suggests that strains have an altered potential to respond to environmental signals, ultimately resulting in a broad level of resistance phenotypes.
Minimizing the layout area of 2-input look up tables
Authors: Hyder Nafiul
Published: May 2021

This work investigates the minimum layout area of multiplexers, a fundamental building block of Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). In particular, we investigate the minimum layout area of 4:1 multiplexers, which are the building blocks of 2-input Look-Up Tables (LUTs) and can be recursively used to build higher order LUTs and multiplexer-based routing switches. We observe that previous work routes all four data inputs of 4:1 multiplexers on a single metal layer resulting in a wiring-area-dominated layout. In this work, we explore the various transistor-level placement options for implementing the 4:1 multiplexers while routing multiplexer data inputs through multiple metal layers in order to reduce wiring area. Feasible placement options with their corresponding data input distributions are then routed using an automated maze router and the routing results are then further manually refined. Through this systematic approach, we identified three 4:1 multiplexer layouts that are smaller than the previously proposed layouts by 30% to 35%. In particular, two larger layouts of the three are only 33% to 45% larger than layout area predicted by the two widely used active area models from previous FPGA architectural studies, and the smallest of the three layouts is 1% to 11% larger than the layout area predicted by these models.
Experimental and finite element analysis of articular cartilage
Authors: Karami Abdolreza
Published: May 2021

In the clinical field, articular cartilage has an important role in performance of most joints in the human body. In the present study, articular cartilage was excised from the knee joint of a bovine and tested in a tensile testing machine. The data obtained from the test was used to calculate the material properties of the cartilage.

The material properites obtained from the experimental work were validated against the published experimental results in the literature. As the values from the experiment were in satisfactory agreement with the published data, it was concluded that the test protocol used in the experiment provides reliable data.

Next, the material properties were implemented in finite element model of C3-C4 of cervical spine to examine if the finite element analysis can provide an accurate prediction of the behavior of the cervical spine. The stress and displacement results of the finite element analysis were consistent with the reported data in the literature. The location and the amount of the maximum stresses were examined and compared with the failure point of the materials.
Inspection and maintenance optimisation of multicomponent systems
Authors: Babishin Vladimir Oleg
Published: May 2021

The present research proposes methodology and mathematical models for optimisation of inspection and maintenance in complex multicomponent systems with finite planning horizon. Components are classified by failure types: hard-type and soft-type. The systems analysed are composed of either multiple identical hidden soft-type components in k-out-of-n redundant configuration, or a combination of hard-type and hidden soft-type components. Failures of hard-type components cause system failures. Failures of components in k-out-of-n systems and soft-type component failures are hidden and not discoverable until an inspection, but reduce the system’s reliability and performance. The systems are inspected either periodically, or non-periodically. They are also inspected opportunistically at the times of system failure (occurring at (k – n + 1)st component failures in k-out-of-n systems, or at hard failures in the systems composed of hard-type and soft-type components). Inspections have negligible duration. All components may undergo minimal repair, or corrective replacement, with hard-type components also having a possibility of preventive replacement under periodic inspections. We only consider minimal repair and corrective replacement under non-periodic inspections.

We propose several models for joint optimisation of inspection and maintenance policies that result in the lowest total expected cost. Since soft failures are hidden, we generate expected values for the number of minimal repairs, number of replacements and downtime recursively. Due to multiple component interactions and system complexity, Monte Carlo simulation and genetic algorithms (GA) are used for optimisation. Using GA for optimisation allows to consider quasi-continuous inspection intervals due to improved computational efficiency compared to Monte Carlo simulation. Some of proposed models feature preventive component replacements and are applicable even for systems with hidden component failures.

For k-out-of-n systems, we apply periodic model to series and parallel systems and compare the results. We provide expressions for expected number of system failures in terms of cost ratio and component failure intensity. We also provide a simplified expression for system reliability. In addition, we derive a formula for finding the planning horizon length based on expected number of system failures. It may be useful for planning the system’s operating horizon, at the system design stage and when analysing its performance.
An Investigation Of The Performance Of District Heating Substations Using Computer Simulation
Authors: Wong Edmund
Published: May 2021

Low primary temperature drop across district heating substations is an undesirable phenomenon observed in the district heating industry. Professionals in the industry have argued that this is caused by inappropriate sizing and controls of district heating substations. The thesis aims to investigate the impact of design and operation parameters on the performance of district heating substations, so that building designers and engineers can potentially better design and operate new and existing district heating substations. The thesis shows that, by developing and using a physical model as a computational tool for sensitivity analysis, different design and operation parameters can be evaluated. This generates insights for energy conserving control strategies to be developed. A preliminary control strategy was proposed for district heating substations, and simulation results show energy saving potentials.
The Effect of Insomnia on Functional Status of Community-Dwelling Older Adults
Authors: Deratnay Penney H.
Published: May 2021

This secondary data analysis examined the extent to which fatigue mediates the relationship between insomnia and the physical, social, and psychological domains of functional status in community-dwelling older adults. Data were obtained from 209 older adults with insomnia. Regression analysis was used to test the proposed mediating role of fatigue. Findings identified insomnia of moderate severity in community-dwelling older adults. Insomnia was directly associated with social function and indirectly associated with physical and psychological function. Fatigue mediated the relationship between insomnia and all three domains of functional status. The findings highlight the importance of successfully managing insomnia and fatigue to promote functioning in older adults.