title: Identification of novel protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) regulating the Hippo pathway in tumorigenesis

contributor:
Yang, Xiaolong
Pathology and Molecular Medicine

subject:
Hippo pathway
Phosphatases
Protein tyrosine phosphatases
PTP

abstract:
The Hippo signaling pathway is a tumor suppressor pathway which plays key roles in normal organ size control through regulation of cell proliferation and cell death. Deregulation of the Hippo pathway leads to excessive cell proliferation and loss of cell contact inhibition, which is observed in tumorigenesis and metastasis. Although the regulation of the Hippo pathway by protein kinases is extensively studied, how the Hippo pathway is regulated by protein phosphatases is largely unknown.
In this study, we first did a screening by using a LATS biosensor (LATS-BS), a YAP /TAZ activity reporter (STBS-Luc) and a PTP (Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase) library. Based on the result of two parallel screenings, I have identified many novel PTP regulators of the Hippo pathway. Further experiments were performed to validate the result of the screening. Of all candidates, PTPN12 was selected for further study as it is a tumor suppressor gene that is mutated in a variety of cancers including breast cancer. Recently PTPN12 was shown to play a role as a master regulator of oncogenic Receptor Tyrosine kinases (RTKs), therefore it is a novel regulator of the Hippo pathway in breast cancer cells.
We further demonstrated that PTPN12 regulates the Hippo pathway through inhibition of the oncogenic function of the main effector of the Hippo pathway, YAP.  Interestingly, we demonstrated that loss of PTPN12 increases cell proliferation in MCF10A mammary cells in a Hippo-dependent manner. Altogether, our findings provide useful information on the roles of PTP-Hippo interactions in breast cancer biology and therapy.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: LOW-VELOCITY IMPACT AND CONTACT ANALYSES OF ADHESIVELY BONDED ALUMINUM HONEYCOMB SANDWICH PANELS

contributor:
Kim, Il Yong
Mechefske, Chris
Wowk, Diane
Mechanical and Materials Engineering

rights: Queen's University's Thesis/Dissertation Non-Exclusive License for Deposit to QSpace and Library and Archives Canada

rights: ProQuest PhD and Master's Theses International Dissemination Agreement

rights: Intellectual Property Guidelines at Queen's University

rights: This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner.

subject:
honeycomb sandwich panel
low-velocity impact
plasticity
impact damage
adhesive fillet
contact algorithm
Hamilton’s principle

abstract:
Adhesively bonded aluminum honeycomb sandwich panels are widely used in the aerospace industry. They are used to form lightweight structures with high strength and stiffness. The main drawback of this composite structure is that it is susceptible to impact damage in service. Numerous studies using analytical methods, finite element methods, and physical experiments, were conducted to study the impact response of the sandwich structures under low-velocity impact. Accurate modelling of the adhesively bonded aluminum honeycomb sandwich under low-velocity impact can provide the impact response of the sandwich panel and knowledge about the design of sandwich structures. Besides, the contact between two bodies of the contact process introduces complicated nonlinearities in the low-velocity impact and significantly affects the computational time in FE studies.
This project aims to advance the current understanding of the impact response through a comprehensive experimental study of impact damage as well as computational and analytical modelling of adhesively bonded aluminum sandwich panels under low-velocity impact. A series of studies has been conducted to investigate the parameters that affect the impact damage and the damage mechanism of each component of the sandwich structure. The main conclusions are summarized below:
(1) An improved prediction of surface dent profile can be obtained when the analytical equation used considers the radius of the contact area. The depth of the core damage was observed to be within 2mm for different dents with a range of impact energies.
(2) The assumption of full plasticity in the face-sheet can give a sufficient prediction of the impact response for deeper dents, but for low impact energies, that lead to shallow dents, both elasticity and plasticity should be considered.
(3) The dent depth can be linearly correlated with the core damage depth. The intercept depends on both the honeycomb configuration and adhesive fillet height, while the slope of the linear relationship is only dependent on the core configuration. The variation of the adhesive fillet height for different cell walls significantly influences the core damage depth.
(4) The efficiency of a contact algorithm (contact between the impactor and the face-sheet) in predicting low-velocity impact damage depends on both the contact search process and the contact constraint enforcement methods. The constrained Hamilton’s principle was shown to have the ability to update an active contact area and solve the nonlinear contact constraint equation simultaneously, potentially improving the computational efficiency.

abstract: PhD


title: Motivation and Autonomy in Transitional Youth in Out-of-Home Care

contributor:
Butler, Alana
Education

subject:
Child Welfare
Youth
Foster Care
Crown Ward
Transition
Motivation
Autonomy
Self-Determination
Residential Care
Social Work
Education
Post-Secondary Education

abstract: In Ontario, children in the child welfare system or in residential care placements away from their biological parents, are considered an at-risk population in education and must be supported in Ontario’s schools. Academic achievement for children in care is an area of concern and is associated with poor employment and life outcomes. Transitioning, or children aging-out or leaving the child welfare system, is an even more vulnerable time for these children. Though there is a significant gap in the literature of children in care in higher education, post-secondary education and specifically university education is associated with positive life outcomes. This study utilized a narrative inquiry approach with interviews to explore autonomy and motivation in the educational experiences of youth from care leading to university. Through the lens of Self-Determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2020), this study adds to the literature surrounding outcomes and supports for youth from care and explores the individual experiences of these youth in the Ontario education system. This research project asked: (a) what educational factors led to the success of transitioned youth in out-of-home care; (b) how successfully transitioned youth experienced motivation in their education leading to university; and (c) how and why perceptions of autonomy affected their motivation in attending and continuing their education. Data analyzed through narrative thematic analysis revealed three themes: Living a “double life”, Creating a path, and Importance of support. The findings and recommendations of this study will enable educational stakeholders to develop supports and strategies to help all youth from care for inclusive and successful education.

abstract: M.Ed.


title: Problematic Social Media Use and Mental Health in Canadian Adolescents

contributor:
Pickett, William
Public Health Sciences

subject:
adolescence
mental health
cyberbullying
social media
addiction
HBSC

abstract:
Background: Adolescent mental health problems have become increasingly common in recent years. Problematic social media use (PSMU) has recently gained attention as a possible risk factor for mental health problems. However, the relationship between problematic social media use and adolescent mental health problems remains understudied, and few studies have specifically examined mediated pathways linking the two phenomena. Foundational knowledge about such pathways is necessary to support the development of clinical interventions to reduce the psychological burden of problematic social media use.

Objectives: The objectives of this thesis are to: 1) estimate the relative risk for reporting two or more indicators of internalizing mental health problems from problematic social media use, 2) estimate the extent to which exposure to cyberbullying victimization mediates the relationship between problematic social media use and indicators of internalizing mental health problems in adolescents, and 3) to investigate whether gender modifies either the direct or mediated effect of problematic social media use on indicators of internalizing mental health problems.

Methods: Data from Cycle 8 of the Canadian Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study was used. Direct and mediated effects were estimated using counterfactual mediation analysis. Effects were estimated for the entire sample and for each gender.

Results: Participants who engaged in problematic social media use were 1.59 (95% CI: 1.47 – 1.73) times as likely to report multiple psychological health complaints. Cyberbullying victimization did not mediate the total effect of PSMU on multiple psychological health complaints in isolation. Results were consistent between genders.

Conclusions: PSMU is an important risk factor for multiple psychological health complaints in Canadian adolescents. Cyberbullying victimization does not appear to mediate the relationship between problematic social media use and multiple psychological health complaints in isolation, nor does this differ between boys and girls.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: BORON-BASED AND ORGANOMETALLIC LUMINESCENT SCAFFOLDS FOR NUCLEIC ACID RECOGNITION AND PH PROBING

contributor:
Petitjean, Anne
Chemistry

rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States

subject:
Luminescence
pH probe
BF2 beta-diketonates
Platinum(II)
Guanine quadruplex

abstract:
In this thesis, luminescence is imparted to molecules designed to perform pH sensing, drug delivery and guanine quadruplex binding. For pH sensing and drug delivery, luminescent pH-responsive molecular scaffolds were developed on the basis of BF2 ß-diketonates, some of which exhibit a conformational switch upon H+ binding. For the purposes of guanine quadruplex binding, a phosphorescent Pt(II) complex with N^C^N ligand core was constructed. Each with a unique design, the two molecule families are linked by a common end-goal: to visualize key biological processes upon future implementation in vivo.

Chapter 2 is centered around a family of new aromatic BF2 ß-diketonates and their properties in the context of pH sensing and drug delivery applications. First, the synthesis, purification, and characterization each BF2 ß-diketonate are described at length. Next, the pH-responsive nature of pyridine-containing BF2 ß-diketonates and their conformational switching ability upon H+ binding are established by 1H NMR and 1D NOESY spectroscopies following incremental acid addition. The changes observed in absorption and emission of BF2 ß-diketonates upon H+ binding in acetonitrile are also described and rationalized with the help of TD-DFT computation. Finally, the stability of some of the synthesized BF2 ß-diketonates is modeled by assessing their emission in aqueous environments of varying pH (DI water, pH 2 PBS, pH 5 PBS, pH 8 PBS) over extended periods of time. The obtained results are discussed in the context of their pH sensing and drug delivery potential.

In Chapter 3, the unique features of a new Pt(II)-based intrinsically luminescent guanine quadruplex binder, a Pt-dqb(Cl) complex, are described in detail (dqb = 4-methylamine-2,6-di(2- quinolyl)benzene). To achieve the synthesis of this complex, four synthesis routes (Route 1 to 4) are proposed, and Routes 1 and 2 explored. Of the two, synthesis via Route 2 was found to be more promising, giving the oxime-protected dqb ligand at an overall yield of 16%. To circumvent the moisture sensitivity of the coupling reaction employed in Route 2, alternative Routes 3 and 4 are proposed for future synthesis attempts.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Investigating the effect of subconcussive impact exposure on white matter integrity in collegiate football players

contributor:
Cook, DJ
Neuroscience Studies

subject:
SCI
WM
football
DTI
Probabilistic tractography

abstract:
Background: Recently, there has been growing concern around subconcussive impacts (SCI) in football and the potential implications on neurologic health. Of particular interest are athletes who undergo repeated exposure to SCI over a single football season. This form of neurotrauma is often overlooked due to lack of observable symptomatology, however previous work has shown evidence of microstructural damage to white matter (WM).
Methods: 22 Canadian Collegiate varsity football players were studied over a single competitive season using accelerometers and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Accelerometers were used to assess impacts received by each player throughout the season. Imaging was conducted at 3 timepoints (PRE-season; PRE, post-training camp; PTC, POST-season; POST) and probabilistic tractography was used to delineate WM tracts of interest. Changes in WM microstructure were assessed at each time point and between exposure groups (high exposure; HE, low exposure; LE, based on impacts over the season) using the diffusion metrics fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD).
Results: The HE group had significantly lower FA in the left and right corticospinal tracts (CST), left anterior thalamic radiation (ATR), and left superior thalamic radiation (STR), and higher MD in the left and right CST, left ATR, and left inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFO) compared to the LE group. FA was found to decrease in the LE group from PRE and PTC to POST timepoints in the right posterior thalamic radiation (PTR) and right CST respectively. The HE group had decreased FA from PTC to POST in forceps minor (FMI). MD was found to be significantly decreased from PRE to PTC in the right superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) in the HE group.
Conclusions: Our findings indicate changes to WM microstructure occurs silently due to repetitive SCI exposure which may persist beyond a single football season.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Autonomous Ground Vehicle Guidance and Mapping in Challenging Terrains by using On-Board Vibration Measurements

contributor:
Marshall, Joshua
Electrical and Computer Engineering

subject:
Guidance
Mapping
Navigation
Autonomous Tramming
Gaussian Process Regression
Continuous Wavelet Transform
Terrain Anomaly
Vibration Measurement
Gyroscope
Spatiotemporal Mapping
Mobile Robot
Autonomous Ground Vehicle

abstract:
How can measurements of a vehicle's ground-induced vibrations be used to improve its performance and longevity?  This is the central question explored in this thesis. It is known that high levels of vehicle vibrations can lead to heightened mechanical wear and rider discomfort.  Guidance algorithms should therefore strive to minimize these vibrations.  This thesis starts by proposing a novel metric that quantifies vibrations using only a vehicle's gyroscopic data.  This metric, which is adaptive to the vehicle's speed and is invariant to the sensor's mounting location, inspires three subsequent navigational algorithms.

The first algorithm is a heuristic optimizer based on finite-difference approximations that finds a solution to a novel formulation of the autonomous tramming problem.  On each tramming iteration, the vehicle evaluates the cost of a driven path by using the vibration metric. The optimizer then iteratively searches for a curvature-constrained path with locally minimal cost. This optimization method is validated on a Clearpath Husky A200 mobile robot that finds a path with minimal vibrations through an evolving terrain.

The second algorithm is a method for laterally localizing terrain anomalies along a vehicle's path by using gyroscopic data. Terrain anomalies are detected by adaptively thresholding the vibration metric and located by adding a lateral offset to the vehicle's position when the anomaly is detected.  This offset corresponds to half of the vehicle's width towards the side affected by the anomaly. The affected side is determined by using features extracted from the continuous wavelet transform of, and the ratio between, the gyroscopic roll and pitch rate signals.  The anomaly detector and localizer are demonstrated on a Husky robot that learns to circumnavigate anomalies after hitting them once.

Finally, this thesis presents an algorithm that can estimate the current state of an evolving environment by using a sparse set of samples.  This is accomplished by introducing spatiotemporal forgetting into the Gaussian Process Regression framework.  The resulting regressor is demonstrated with a Husky that makes a vibration map of a piecewise evolving indoor terrain.  Such a map could be used to plan paths of minimal vibration through the terrain.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: Characterizing the Effects of Subconcussive Impact Biomechanics on Resting-State Brain Hemodynamics and Functional Connectivity

contributor:
Cook, Douglas J
Neuroscience Studies

subject:
Biomechanics
Concussion
Subconcussive impacts
Neuroimaging
Football

abstract:
Background: The study of impact biomechanics in contact sports has improved our current understanding of concussion mechanisms and the cumulative effects of subconcussive impacts on brain health. Impact exposure is often described by the total insults an athlete sustains or peak magnitude, however, these metrics do not consider underlying properties of the acceleration-time impact profile. It remains unknown whether additional kinematic information can better differentiate impact exposure across positions and session types or characterize subclinical brain changes.
Purpose: The objective of this project was to examine potential differences in the biomechanical properties of impacts sustained by collegiate football athletes. These parameters were also used to evaluate changes in functional connectivity and resting perfusion over a season of football.
Methods: Helmet accelerometer data were analyzed to characterize subconcussive impact exposure among collegiate football athletes. Impact frequency (per session), peak linear and rotational magnitude, impact duration, area under the acceleration-time curve, impulse, and peak head jerk were used to differentiate mechanical loading events between positional groups, as well as across session types. Resting-state neuroimaging was also used to evaluate the relationship between positional group, impact biomechanics, and concussion history with changes in functional connectivity and resting perfusion in a subset of athletes following subconcussive impact exposure.
Results: Biomechanical differences were found in all parameters of interest between session types and positional groups. Several properties of the linear acceleration profile, in addition to rotational velocity, highlighted alterations in regional hemodynamics and functional connectivity within the brain, whereas no such differences were observed using impact count or peak linear acceleration alone. Scaling the functional connectivity data by resting perfusion altered the observed differences in some regions of the brain, highlighting the shared variance that exists between functional network re-organization and perturbations to local physiology following subconcussive impact exposure.
Conclusion: These findings indicate that kinematic profile analyses may provide novel insight beyond impact count or peak magnitude that allows for a more complete characterization of impact biomechanics. Altogether, this approach creates a strong paradigm for future studies to examine how these impact parameters relate to injury risk following exposure to repetitive subconcussive head impacts.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Enhancement of Biogas Production During Start-Up Operations of the Anaerobic Digestion of Wastewater Sludge

contributor:
Champagne, Pascale
Civil Engineering

rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States

subject:
Anaerobic
Digestion
Biogas
Start-up
Wastewater Treatment
Thermophilic
Mesophilic

abstract: The global energy sector is seeing an ever-increasing demand for renewable alternatives to fossil fuels to meet current and future energy demands. One of the most versatile alternatives to fossil fuels, such as natural gas, is biogas, which is a by-product of the decomposition of organic matter known as anaerobic digestion (AD). Biogas is produced by specialized methane-producing microorganisms known as methanogens. It constitutes a carbon-neutral energy source with a similar composition to natural gas at about 60% methane and 40% carbon dioxide. One of the biggest challenges that biogas production faces are the start-up lag phase, as biogas output can take up to twelve weeks to achieve a steady yield. Understanding the effects that temperature, pH, bioaugmentation, microbial composition and the use of sensor and electrode technology have on biogas production under start-up operations could provide a better understanding of the underlying causes affecting start-up and how it could be improved to reach optimal biogas production. The results from this research showed that temperature has a significant role in biogas production by driving the biogas process. The effect of thermophilic temperatures caused a decrease in the methanogenic microbial diversity of sludge. pH control only offers a limited effect on overall biogas yield within a 6.5-7.5 range. Novel technological approaches such as sensors and electrode enhanced AD (MEC-AD) can provide a stabilizing effect during AD under start-up operation, MEC-AD provided a six-fold increase in biogas yield compared to conventional AD. Microbial activity tracking was attempted using bio-impedance with promising results and the effects of bioaugmentation and toxic shock in MEC-AD digesters showed that bioaugmentation potential benefits are only significant in the absence of inhibitory conditions. Overall, the characterization of the AD processes in a bench-scale system could provide valuable insight for large-scale systems aiming to optimize and update their operational procedures.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: Skeleton-Based Human Activity Recognition using Temporal Cycle-Consistency Learning

contributor:
Zulkernine, Farhana
Rivest, François
Computing

subject:
machine learning
activity recognition
video alignment
few-shot learning
video classification

abstract: Human skeleton data is an effective compression of video data for activity recognition. There has been only limited research into the application of few-shot techniques, where clips are compared to samples from a subset of classes, using skeleton activity data. Additionally, temporal alignment techniques have shown promise for creating semantically relevant embeddings for video data. In this thesis, we explore the use of temporal alignment, specifically temporal cycle-consistency learning, for constructing sample-similarity based classifiers and few-shot classifiers. These models aim to inherit the advantages of existing few-shot methods while taking advantage of the characteristics of skeleton data and the alignment constancy within the activity classes. Overall, we found that the alignment losses are not effective for strict classification when compared to more direct techniques. However, we demonstrate that the few-shot paradigm can leverage intra-class alignment for classification, achieving a 1-shot 5-way accuracy of 55.84% and a 5-shot 5-way accuracy of 73.83% on the NTU-RGB+D 120 activity recognition dataset.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NOVEL TARGETS FOR A SUBFAMILY OF ARABIDOPSIS CALMODULIN-LIKE (CML) PROTEINS

contributor:
Snedden, Wayne
Biology

subject:
Calcium signalling
Plant biology

abstract: Calcium is a ubiquitous second messenger in signal transduction pathways of eukaryotic cells. In plants, calcium signalling plays critical roles in a variety of developmental processes as well as during cellular responses to abiotic and biotic stress. The evolutionarily conserved calcium sensor, calmodulin (CaM), responds to calcium signals and, through protein-protein interactions, facilitates downstream responses. Plants possess an additional and unique family of “calmodulin-like” (CML) calcium sensors which, in Arabidopsis thaliana, contains 50 members. Despite this expanded complexity, few of the binding partners and/or in vivo functions of CMLs are known. Here, utilizing a Y2H screen, I demonstrate the interaction of CaM and a subfamily of biochemically distinct CMLs, CML13 and CML14, with three protein families in Arabidopsis which possess a conserved CaM binding motif. Through in planta split-luciferase and relocalization assays, my data suggests that at least select members of these families are capable of interacting with CaM, CML13, and CML14 in planta. Additionally, delineation through the Y2H system suggests that multiple binding motifs in tandem are able to interact with CaM/CMLs with a greater affinity than single motifs. This data is further supported by advanced biophysical approaches which show increased binding affinities when multiple binding motifs are present but also revealed the complex binding rearrangements that occur with these motifs. Finally, in an attempt to reveal potential in vivo functions of CML13 and CML14, numerous overexpression and silencing transgenic Arabidopsis tools were generated, and revealed major morphological alterations when CML14 was suppressed. Collectively, my data suggests novel functions for plant CMLs in gene regulation and cytoskeletal activity.

abstract: PhD


title: Stochastic Gravitational Wave Backgrounds from Low-Scale Inflation

contributor: Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy

subject:
Inflation
Gravitational Waves
Early Universe Cosmology
Phenomenology

abstract: While Big Bang cosmology successfully explains much of the history of our Universe, there are certain features it does not explain, for example the spatial flatness and uniformity of our Universe. One widely studied explanation for these features is cosmological inflation. The objective of this thesis was to simulate the gravitational wave spectra generated by inflaton field configurations oscillating after inflation for E-Model, T-Model, and General Renormalizable Inflection Point Inflation. This thesis shows that these gravitational wave spectra provide access to some inflation models beyond the reach of any planned Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) experiments, such as LiteBIRD, Simons Observatory, and CMB-S4. Specifically, while these experiments will be able to resolve the primordial power spectrum tensor-to-scalar ratio (r) down to 10^(-3), we show that gravitational wave background measurements have the potential to probe certain inflation models for r values down to 10^(-14). Importantly, all the gravitational wave spectra lie in the MHz-GHz frequency range, motivating development of gravitational wave detectors in this range.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Investigating the role of cancer-cell intrinsic cGAS/STING pathway activation in immune evasion by Nf1 deficient ovarian tumors

contributor:
Koti, Madhuri
Biomedical and Molecular Sciences

subject:
cGAS/STING pathway
Cancer immunology
High grade serous ovarian carcinoma
Tumor immune microenvironment
In-vivo models

abstract:
High-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSC), the deadliest gynecological malignancy, exhibits universal mutations in TP53 (~96%) alongside frequent mutations in other DNA damage repair (DDR) genes like BRCA1/2 (~20%), PTEN (~6%), and NF1 (~20%). Among these, loss of NF1 (and PTEN) are associated with poor prognosis and acquired resistance to platinum-based chemotherapy. DDR deficiency is associated with distinct tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) states from non-infiltrated to infiltrated. While the TIME of BRCA1/2 and PTEN deficient tumors have been defined, immune profiles of NF1 deficient tumors have not been fully characterized. Establishing these links could help counter chemoresistance and inform optimal use of immunotherapies in HGSC.

NF1 loss activates rat sarcoma virus (Ras) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways, which can increase programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression. Interestingly, the cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS)/stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway is also linked to MAPK signaling and upregulation of PD-L1. We thus hypothesized that constitutive cancer-cell intrinsic STING pathway activation contributes to the poor prognosis of Nf1 deficient HGSC by driving PD-L1 mediated immune evasion. C57BL/6 mice were injected with ID8 Trp53-/-;Nf1-/- murine ovarian cancer cells to characterize the TIME. Nf1 deficient tumors exhibited high immune cell infiltration and increased expression of genes associated with STING pathway activation and immune checkpoints. To determine STING pathway’s role in the associated TIME states, ID8 Trp53-/-;Nf1-/-;Sting1-/-  derivative cell lines were then generated using Clustered-Regularly-Interspaced-Short-Palindromic-Repeats (CRISPR) technology. The functional properties of resulting cell lines were characterized through a wound healing and cytokine secretion assay. Ascites from mice injected with ID8 Trp53-/-;Nf1-/-;Sting1-/- showed an increase in B cells, myeloid-derived-suppressor cells (MDSCs), and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) positive T cells at early stages of disease progression. Sting1 loss in ID8 Trp53-/-;Nf1-/- cells increased secretion of the chemokines granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), and C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 1 (CXCL1).

Taken together, cancer-cell intrinsic STING pathway activation may alter the associated TIME and contribute to the aggressiveness of Nf1 deficient tumors. Findings from this study provide novel information on the role of cancer cell intrinsic STING pathway in mediating an aggressive disease phenotype in HGSC.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: More than chores: the invisible work of family caregivers in rural New Brunswick

contributor:
Power, Elaine
Kinesiology and Health Studies

subject:
family caregivers
rural health
home care

abstract:
In Canada, most home care for people living with chronic illness or disability is provided by informal, or unpaid, family members, the majority of whom are women (Romanow, 2002; Armstrong & Armstrong, 2010). The thesis explores the work of family caregivers who assist with a multitude of activities to maintain the home for the purpose of long-term care in the province of New Brunswick. Using Armstrong, Armstrong and Scott-Dixon’s (2008) concept of ‘ancillary health work’ – or activities like housekeeping and food service – that have been contracted out in institutional health settings, the thesis seeks to broaden the definition of health work performed by family caregivers at home. Activities such as property maintenance, home renovation as well as administrative tasks like acquiring medical equipment and filling out insurance forms are not considered ‘critical to care’ (Armstrong, Armstrong & Scott-Dixon, 2008) in home care policy, nor do they receive public funding. Yet interviews with family caregivers and frontline health and social services staff in New Brunswick illustrate the range of work required to maintain the interior and exterior of the home as a site of care.
Drawing on qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 13 family caregivers and 11 frontline staff, the thesis sheds light on the amount and types of ancillary health work family caregivers provide as a part of a health system that extends beyond institutional walls. By categorizing the work of family caregivers as similar to daily housekeeping activities that take place in the home, governments promote and maintain gendered notions of care (Braedley & Luxton, 2010). In contrast, categorizing home maintenance and the administrative work involved in managing and coordinating home health supports as a part of the long-term care system provides critical analysis of the limitations of neoliberal ‘aging in place’ policies and the complex nature of home-based care in rural areas.

abstract: PhD


title: The Influence of Gaze on Complex Visual Search in Individuals who Exhibit Varying Degrees of Autistic Traits

contributor:
Castelhano, Monica
Kelley, Elizabeth
Psychology

subject:
autistic traits
visual search
gaze perception

abstract: Studying the influence of social gaze is integral to understanding the neurocognitive basis of autistic traits, specifically social communication deficits, which are thought to be attributed to diminished social motivation. Since it is widely accepted that impaired joint attention is associated with these difficulties, it is logical to expect that atypical gaze perception due to diminished social motivation would occur in individuals with more autistic traits. The Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ; Baron-Cohen et al., 2001), a reliable and widely used proxy to quantify autistic traits in research, was administered in a sample of undergraduate psychology students. A complex and realistic visual search paradigm was used to investigate whether the presence of autistic traits reduces processing of social gaze due to an associated lack of social motivation. In Experiment 1, visual search performance was compared in the presence of a social cue (a person) and a non-social cue (a lamp), that was oriented either congruently (facing towards the half of the scene containing the cue), neutrally (facing forward), or incongruently (facing away from the half of the scene containing the cue). Eye movement analyses revealed that the experimental design may have prevented expected effects from emerging. The design of Experiment 2 was simplified to include only congruent and incongruent social cues, while participants performed the visual search task. Eye movements were not recorded due to COVID-19 restrictions, but reaction time (RT) analysis revealed that participants possessing more autistic traits demonstrated slower visual search performance. However, there was no effect of congruency. The results contribute to evidence of an association between autistic traits and visual search performance difficulties when processing complex stimuli.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Iris Murdoch's Philosophical Methodology, 1950–1961: Philosophy on the Borders of Literature and Politics

contributor:
Bakhurst, David
Philosophy

subject:
philosophy
aesthetics
philosophy of mind
history of philosophy
philosophical methodology
moral psychology
metaphysics
the new left

abstract:
In this dissertation I argue that Iris Murdoch’s 1950 to 1961 writings exemplify a distinctive philosophical methodology characterized by literary and metaphysical argumentative strategies, public audience, and practical (moral, political, and cultural) aims. Important features of this methodology are only visible when we read her early essays in their historical context, i.e., as responses to dominant philosophical outlooks like behaviourism and prescriptivism and to wider political and cultural trends that she identifies such as the decline of visionary socialist theory and the waning of interest in socialism in postwar Britain. I defend a periodization of her bibliography, treating her writings from the first decade of her career as a standalone period unified by a set of practical concerns rather than, e.g., a preliminary stage of an evolutionary narrative. Furthermore, rather than treating her distinctive use of metaphors, analogies, and other literary techniques as ancillary to her philosophical methods, I investigate how these techniques contribute to her overall argumentative strategy.

After defending these decisions, I identify the methods and aims that recur throughout Murdoch’s writings on mind, aesthetics, morals, and politics. First, I argue that her writings pay naïve attention to familiar human practices to disclose the conceptual shortcomings of dominant philosophical outlooks, including behaviourism, Kantian aesthetics, existentialism, and prescriptivism. Second, I argue that she supplements these conceptual deprivations by introducing imagery that represents the metaphysical background and ideals of our practices as well as the barriers that make them difficult for us to achieve. Finally, I argue that Murdoch views these practices as mutable rather than as necessary features of human life and that she in fact worries about their continued health in postwar Britain. A unique vision of philosophy emerges from this analysis. I reveal its strengths by comparing it to Alice Crary’s argumentative strategies in Inside Ethics (2016) and thereby demonstrate that it provides us with an illuminating critical perspective from which to question how contemporary philosophers conceive of the audience and aims of metaphysics and public philosophy.

abstract: PhD


title: Tilling the Field of Rural Arts Education in Canada: The Role of Intermediary Organizations in Brokering and Supporting Partnerships

contributor:
Bolden, Benjamin
Education

subject:
arts education
rural arts education
intermediary organizations
partnership brokering
partnerships
arts education partnerships
arts-based knowledge translation
rural arts ecosystems

abstract: Intermediary organizations (IOs) are described across sectors as third-party entities that broker, guide, support, and evaluate partnership initiatives. This multiple-paper dissertation examines the work of IOs in supporting arts education partnerships in rural communities. The introductory chapter discusses key concepts underlying the study (e.g., intermediary organizations, rural, and arts education) and situates the work of IOs in developing rural arts ecosystems and arts education. The paper presented in Chapter 2 built a conceptual framework of arts education IOs through a cross-sector review of the literature. IOs are conceptualized through the framework as performing four major functions in support of arts education partnerships: assembling key stakeholders, supporting the aligned activities of partners, advancing policy and advocacy work, and mobilizing resources. The paper in Chapter 3 first identified the types of organizations that exist to support rural arts education in Ontario and Quebec through an environmental scan. Then, the resulting 83 organizations were analyzed for their potential to act as IOs through the application of an intermediary checklist, derived from the conceptual model in Chapter 2. The paper in Chapter 4 tested the conceptual model produced in Chapter 2 through an in-depth case study of one IO that supports rural artists-in-schools partnerships in Quebec. In addition to the four main functions of the conceptual framework, the function of sustaining artists-in-schools partnerships manifested in the work of the IO. The paper in Chapter 5 then consisted of a multiple-case study of how five IOs operate to support rural artists-in-schools partnerships in Ontario and Quebec. The data in Chapter 5 were collected, analyzed, and represented using a hybrid research approach based in playfulness. The findings are presented in a board game format with implications for IO practice, research, and knowledge mobilization. The concluding chapter summarizes the contributions and findings of all four papers, alongside implications and recommendations for IOs, researchers, policymakers, and other rural arts education stakeholders. In essence, this dissertation addresses the lack of rural arts education research in Canada, while contributing to practical knowledge on how IOs operate to support partnerships in the field.

abstract: PhD


title: Proteomic investigation of vulnerable atherosclerotic carotid plaque composition using novel 'cytof' hyperion imaging system

contributor:
Hindmarch, Charles
Johri, Amer
Translational Medicine

subject:
Atherosclerosis
Carotid
biomarker
plaque stability
Cytof
Hyperion imaging system
Imaging flow cytometry

abstract:
Atherosclerosis, the forerunner of cardiovascular diseases, is regarded as the main cause of mortality, with an age-related rise in prevalence. It is defined as a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory illness that causes a pathological thickening of arterial walls, obstructing blood flow and increasing the risk of rupture, which can result in myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke. Atherosclerotic plaque development could present itself asymptomatically, causing a MI or stroke to occur suddenly. It  was  hypothesized that key proteomic markers could characterize cellular composition within stable and vulnerable carotid plaques using a novel Hyperion ‘cytof' imaging analysis. This allows us to correlate our findings with histological analysis of stable and vulnerable carotid plaques, along with patient medical history, to create a map depicting plaque stability. The QuPath software was used to perform histological investigations on two carotid plaque samples while cell segmentation was conducted   using both Cell Profiler and HistoCat software. Overall, histological examination revealed a significant difference in fundamental tissue composition that characterizes the overall plaque stability in both samples. Sample one had a much higher collagen and smooth muscle cell composition, indicating stable plaque characteristics. Sample two had a larger necrotic region with more foam and immune cells, as well as a significant thrombotic area, indicating the characteristics of a vulnerable plaque. From the examined markers, five markers evaluated within the stable plaque sample one, showed co-localized expression. The following co-localized marker expression patterns within sample one include CD68, Cd163, VIM, CD4, and CD43. From the examined markers evaluated within vulnerable plaque sample two, showed co-localized expression of the following markers:

HIST3, MCP1, CD68, CD163, VIM, CD4, CD43, and VEGF. Finally, Finally, a plaque map was created in the form of a heat map and used to visualize the expression of the “gated” population of cells segmented with the tissue sample. In conclusion, the level of expression of our key markers of interest inside the stable and vulnerable plaque emphasizes the critical components that contribute to plaque stability. Additionally, the patient's medical history further backed these findings.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: The Diversity of Spiral Galaxies Explained

subject: galaxies: haloes

subject: galaxies: structure

subject: dark matter

subject: Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies

subject: Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

abstract: I have assembled a collection of galaxy rotation curves and g-,r-,i-, and z-band light profiles for a representative sample of 391 spiral galaxies and integrated it with an extensive catalog of galaxy structural properties compiled by Courteau’s research group. This large catalog is used to investigate the drivers of diversity in galaxy structural parameters and explore the claims and origin of the diversity of rotation curve shapes of galaxies, originally presented by Oman et al. (2015). Multiple methods to characterize the shapes of galaxy rotation curves and stellar mass profiles are applied to the compiled  observational datasets and NIHAO simulated galaxies in order to determine the origin of the galaxy diversity. We show that the inner slope of a rotation curve is highly correlated with baryon-dominated parameters, as opposed to dark matter dominated parameters. The inner slope of the rotation curve most strongly correlates with Σ1, the stellar mass density measured within 1 kpc, and the (g−r)1kpc colour measured at 1  kpc. Galaxies with the largest inner slopes often appear to host an active galactic nucleus (AGN) and are less likely to host a bar, both likely due to the impact of AGNs on the  gas  kinematics of the inner regions of the galaxy. Diversity of rotation curves is reflected by a scatter in the maximum circular velocity, Vmax, that is three times larger for baryon-dominated systems than dark matter-dominated systems. This broad  range of Vmax is not reproduced by numerical simulations of galaxies (e.g., NIHAO). With this thesis,  we have verified that the diversity in spiral galaxy properties is largely driven by the baryons within these galaxies. This finding is most relevant for simulators and dark matter theorists alike.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: RESTful API Deprecation: An Empirical Study on Deprecation Practices and a Method for Detecting Deprecated API Usages in Client-side Web Applications

contributor:
Tian, Yuan
Computing

subject:
Web API Deprecation
RESTful API
OpenAPI Specification
Static Analysis

abstract:
REpresentational State Transfer (REST) is considered as one standard software architectural style to build web APIs that can integrate software systems over the internet. However, while connecting systems, RESTful APIs might also break the dependent applications that rely on their services when they introduce breaking changes, e.g., an older version of the API is no longer supported. To warn developers promptly and thus prevent critical impact on downstream applications, a deprecated-removed model should be followed, and deprecation-related information such as alternative approaches should also be listed. While API deprecation analysis as a theme is not new, most existing work focuses on non-web APIs, such as the ones provided by Java and Android. Little is known about the deprecation practices of web APIs. Moreover, limited tools have been proposed to support API consumers in dealing with deprecated or removed web API requests.
To investigate RESTful API deprecation, we propose a framework called RADA (RESTful API Deprecation Analyzer). RADA is capable of automatically identifying deprecated API elements and analyzing impacted operations from an OpenAPI specification, a machine-readable profile for describing RESTful web services. We apply RADA on 2,563 OpenAPI specifications of 1,586 RESTful APIs collected from APIs.guru, the largest directory of OpenAPI specifications. Based on the data mined by RADA, we perform an empirical study to investigate how the deprecated-removed protocol is followed in RESTful APIs and characterize the deprecation practices of RESTful APIs. The results of our study reveal several severe deprecation-related problems in existing RESTful APIs. Addressing the issue of lack of proactive ways for communication between API providers and consumers, we propose a static analysis-based approach that can automatically identify the usage of deprecation-related API operations in client-side JavaScript web applications. Our approach shows promising results with a precision of 100%.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Macromolecular Branching from General Rigid Bead-Rod Theory

contributor:
Giacomin, Alan Jeffrey
Chemical Engineering

subject:
Complex viscosity
Cole-Cole plots
Complex modulus
Branching
Star-branched macromolecules
Rheology

abstract:
One of the great fascinations in polymer science and engineering is how macromolecular branching can impart elasticity to polymeric liquids. In this thesis, we use macromolecular theory that relies entirely on flow orientation to explain the rheology of polymeric liquids. Specifically, we use general rigid bead-rod theory to explain the effects of: (a) backbone-branching on Cole-Cole curves, and (b) star-branching on complex viscosity. We employ general rigid bead-rod theory for (a) structure-by-structure, and more ambitiously for (b), analytically.
In the first part of this thesis, we find that parametric plots of the imaginary versus real parts of the complex viscosity may depend neither on temperature, nor on average molecular weight. Moreover, for fixed polydispersity, these Cole-Cole curves amplify both rightward and upward with long-chain branching content. In this paper, we find that general rigid bead-rod theory [1] can explain these rightward and upward amplifications. We explore the effects of branching along a straight chain in small-amplitude oscillatory shear flow. Specifically, we explore the number of branches, branch length, branch position and branch distribution.
In the second part of this thesis, the complex viscosity of planar star-branched polymers has been derived from general rigid bead-rod theory, but only for singly-beaded arms. Here, we explore the respective roles of branch functionality, arm length and non-planar arrangements, analytically from general rigid bead-rod theory. For non-planar arrangements, we include polyhedral, both regular and irregular. Further, for all structures, we compare with and without the central bead. We fit the theory to complex viscosity measurements on polybutadiene solutions, one quadrafunctional star-branched, the other unbranched, of the same molecular weight (M_w=200,000 g/gmol). We learn that when general rigid bead-rod theory is applied to quadrafunctional polybutadiene, a slightly irregular center-beaded tetrahedron of interior angle 134º is required (with 1,360,000 g/gmol per bead) to describe its complex viscosity behaviour.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: Improving Detection of Work-related Asthma: Validation of the Work-related Asthma Screening Questionnaire (Long-Version)

contributor:
Lougheed, M. Diane
Translational Medicine

subject:
Asthma
work-related asthma
knowledge translation
screening
questionnaire
implementation
dissemination

abstract:
Background: The Work-related Asthma Screening Questionnaire (Long-version) (WRASQ(L))TM is designed to screen for work-related asthma (WRA) in primary care and specialist settings.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to conduct a definitive evaluation of the WRASQ(L)TM. Another aim was to identify dissemination and implementation strategies for the research findings.
Methods: This is a multicentre prospective cohort study. Employed adults aged 18-75 years with asthma confirmed by objective measures and the ability to take up to 14 days off work were recruited from two Canadian tertiary care centres. Participants completed the WRASQ(L)TM then completed an objective test. Two specialists blinded to WRASQ(L)TM answers classified test data as WRA or non-WRA.  Measurement and diagnostic properties were calculated based on current symptoms and different definitions of a screen positive result.  Characteristics between WRA and non-WRA classifications were compared. Strategies for implementation and dissemination were identified via a Project Advisory Committee, questionnaires and two focus groups were analyzed using thematic qualitative analysis.
Results: Questionnaire sensitivity (SN), specificity (SP), positive and negative predictive a value (PPV and NPV, respectively) were 100%, 14.9%, 19.7%, 100%, respectively. SP increased to 40% while SN and NPV decreased to 85.7% and 92.9%, respectively when only current workplaces were considered. Youden’s index was maximized (J=29.7%) when the cut-off for number of positive answers for a screen positive was ≥3. WRA classifications were significantly younger than non-WRA (p=0.043). Many strategies for implementation were identified. Focus groups provided positive feedback on the WRASQ(L)TM and identified six themes that discuss the barriers, benefits and limitations of eTools in clinical settings: a) involve and address patient needs; (b) novel data collection; (c) knowledge translation; (d) time considerations; (e) functional/practical barriers; and (f) human limitations.
Conclusions: The WRASQ(L)TM has excellent SN and NPV. A larger sample size with increased prevalence of WRA is warranted to clarify the SP and PPV. Narrowing the interpretation of a screen positive to include only current workplaces or increasing the number of positive answers should be considered. Barriers and strategies to implement questionnaire should be noted and considered.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: 17O NMR SPECTROSCOPIC STUDIES OF MOLECULAR DYNAMICS IN SOLIDS

contributor:
Wu, Gang Jr
Chemistry

subject:
Solid-state NMR
17O NMR
Molecular dynamics
Binding energy
Hydrogen bonds

abstract: Solid-state 17O NMR spectroscopy is a powerful tool for probing molecular dynamics in solid materials. Recent developments in 17O-isotope labeling methodologies and availability of high magnetic fields have made it possible to use 17O NMR as a direct probe of molecular dynamics. In many cases, 17O is the only feasible NMR probe for detecting molecular motions. In this thesis, we employ solid-state 17O NMR as a primary tool to detect molecular motions in various crystalline compounds, including an inorganic compound NaNO2 and two families of organic compounds containing hydrogen bonds (sulfonic acids and carboxylic acids). First, we acquired and analyzed variable-temperature 17O central-transition (CT) NMR spectra for all the compounds studied, from which kinetic information about the molecular motion was obtained. Second, we demonstrated that 17O transverse relaxation times for the satellite transition (ST) can be used as a new way of probing molecular motion in solids. Third, we performed extensive quantum chemical calculations not only to aid analysis of 17O NMR tensor parameters, but also to gain insights into hydrogen bonding interactions. In particular, we used the Density Functional based Tight Binding (DFTB) method to obtain information about hydrogen bonding interactions in the transition state during molecular rotations or jumps. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of this approach in studying molecular dynamics in solids. Fourth, we obtained new solid-state 17O NMR data for two crystalline carboxylic acids where low-barrier hydrogen bonds (LBHBs) are present. Our results shed new lights into the energetics of LBHBs.

abstract: PhD


title: Improving Mental Health Professional Training: The Collaborative Development of a Trans Health Teaching and Testing Tool

contributor:
Chahine, Saad
Education

subject:
Transgender
Mental health
Education
Teaching and testing tool
Assessment
Psychometrics
Nonbinary

abstract: Mental health professionals are ill-equipped to support trans people; the majority of these professionals report having little or no education about trans health. Multiple stakeholders have called for training programs to expand their trans mental health curricula, however, input from trans people is necessary for the development of educational materials. The current study was part of a larger collaborative project with the trans community to develop a trans health teaching and testing tool for mental health professionals. My research aimed to understand the variations in feedback given by expert contributors and showcase the use of Evidence-Centred Design qualitative methods to develop this anti-oppressive psychometric and educational tool. A total of 31 expert contributors took part in multiple stages including construct conceptualization review (n = 1), a pilot review (n = 1), a modified Delphi (n = 29), and reflexivity meetings (n = 3) to provide feedback on how to improve the tool. Expert contributors included trans mental health professionals (n =2), trans clients (n = 19), cisgender mental health professionals experienced in trans-affirmative care (n = 8), and psychometricians (n = 2). Seven variations of feedback were expressed by expert contributors, with feedback being categorized into seven areas of consensus, five areas of dissensus, and eight discrepant cases which have all informed changes made to the tool. Future directions involve continuing the collaborative development and validation of this tool so it can be used in training courses, self-assessments, and as a psychometric research tool. This study showcases methods that can be used to develop other anti-oppressive educational and psychometric materials in a manner that gives trans people the agency to transform health professions training.

abstract: M.Ed.


title: The Role of Land Cover Classes and Rainfall Events on the Active Layer Thermal Regime in the High Arctic

contributor:
Lamoureux, Scott
Geography and Planning

subject:
Active layer
Canadian High Arctic
Permafrost
Subsurface thermal regime
Land cover class
Rainfall

abstract: The active layer’s thermal regime, which includes surface energy exchanges and soil thawing/freezing characteristics, is sensitive to environmental factors and processes, and has important implications on biogeochemical, hydrological and geomorphic processes. High Arctic land cover classes were hypothesized to affect the active layer’s thermal regime because they represent variations in environmental factors (e.g., vegetation cover, snow cover and soil moisture content). The objectives of this research were to fill knowledge gaps on the: 1) relationship between land cover classes and active layer thermal regimes, and on the 2) role of rainfall on active layer temperatures in the High Arctic. To address these objectives, air temperature, precipitation, soil temperature and soil moisture data were recorded within three land cover classes (polar semi-desert, mesic tundra and wet sedge) at the Cape Bounty Arctic Watershed Observatory (CBAWO), Nunavut, between 2012 and 2019. The data were used to calculate surface energy exchange (n-factors, surface offsets), mean annual ground temperature at 15 cm depth (MAGT15cm), mean annual ground temperature at the top of permafrost (TTOP), and empirical and modelled maximum thaw depth (MTD). The data were also used to determine characteristics of soil thawing and freezing, ground ice formation and melt, and the active layer’s thermal responses to rainfall. Results showed significant (p < 0.05) interclass differences in n-factors between all three land cover classes. However, MAGT15cm, TTOP and MTD were not significantly different (p > 0.05) between land cover classes (excluding wet sedge where MTD was not calculated), and the empirical MTD was consistently shallower than the modelled MTD. The soil temperature responses to rainfall were consistent between land cover classes and mostly consisted of a dampening of peak diel soil temperatures and a convergence of temperatures with depth. This study was unsuccessful at identifying ice formation and melt within the active layer by purely thermal measures. These results improve our understanding of the relationships between High Arctic land cover classes, rainfall events and the active layer thermal regime, which is critical for our ability to accurately model and predict hydrological and biogeochemical processes, permafrost degradation and landscape stability in continuous permafrost regions.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: The Role of Attachment Orientation and Multidimensional Perfectionism on Disordered Eating

contributor:
MacDonald, Tara
Psychology

subject:
attachment orientation
perfectionism
disordered eating
attachment anxiety
attachment avoidance

abstract: Separate lines of research have consistently linked each of attachment orientation and perfectionism with eating disorder symptoms. However, less is known about whether relationships exist among these variables, and if so, whether there is a mechanism though which they together influence disordered eating behaviours and attitudes. In the current dissertation, I sought to explore just that. Specifically, across three studies, I investigated an interpersonal framework for the development and maintenance of disordered eating by examining whether multidimensional perfectionism (Hewitt & Flett, 1991) and self-esteem contingencies mediate the relationship between insecure attachment and disordered eating. Overall, the findings provide preliminary support for this. I found that, among a nonclinical sample, relationship contingent self-esteem and socially prescribed perfectionism partially mediate the relationship between attachment anxiety and disordered eating. Although dataset limitations precluded conclusive investigation with a clinical sample, post-hoc analysis seems to suggest that socially prescribed perfectionism may, too, serve as a mediator between attachment anxiety and eating disorder symptoms among such a population. Moreover, the unexpected finding that socially prescribed perfectionism—as opposed to self-oriented perfectionism—mediates the relationship between attachment avoidance and disordered eating emerged. In light of these results, I sought to further explore the relationships among attachment, disordered eating, and socially prescribed perfectionism by attempting to experimentally manipulate the latter variable among a nonclinical sample. I implemented an experimental design exposing half of the study participants to a web-based perfectionism intervention, and the other half to a web-based control intervention on study skills. The results of this experiment were inconclusive overall, but not altogether disheartening. Indeed, as hypothesized, there was a marginal finding that those who were high in both attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance reported decreases in disordered eating over time; however, this was regardless of which web-based intervention they received. Nonetheless, that study participation appears to have promoted changes in disordered eating symptoms among the highest-risk group is promising and suggests that reinvestigation may be prudent.

abstract: PhD


title: The Art of War Games: The Political Effects of Military Exercises in Europe, 1975-2018

contributor:
von Hlatky, Stéfanie
Political Studies

subject:
NATO
Confidence building
Russia
Soviet Union
Deterrence
Trust
Cold War
Military exercises
Alliance
International security
Diplomacy
International Relations
Strategic culture
Threat perception
International regimes

abstract:
Military exercises represented a noteworthy facet of Cold War security competition in Europe and, although the Cold War is over, the renewed proliferation of exercises has contributed to the increasingly strained relationship between NATO and Russia. But what causes exercises to have such an impact? The seemingly straightforward answer, that large-scale exercises are most problematic due to their showcasing of capability, is undermined by the reality that it is not only large-scale exercises that cause concern.
Using interviews with military personnel, diplomats, NATO civilian personnel, and subject-matter experts, as well as archival data and open-source material on military exercises in Europe between 1975 and 2018, this dissertation explores the conditions under which military exercises increase the perception of threat.
Through Process Tracing and Qualitative Comparative Analysis the dissertation compares the way in which the Soviet Union, Russia, and NATO conducted exercises, their intended functions, and the reactions that they caused. In doing so, differences between the three entities emerge. These differences were driven partly by an understanding of relative capability, but they also rested on divergent strategic cultures. In short, exercises increase the perception of threat when they intersect with an understanding of what constitutes ‘security’ for the non-exercising entity. Thus, for the Soviet Union and Russia the most troubling exercises were those that highlighted NATO’s collective military capability, while for NATO the most troubling were those that created an unpredictable security environment.
The concern that exercises could lead to escalation was such that, in 1975, a regime of ‘Confidence-Building Measures’ was introduced to provide information on forthcoming exercises. This was later expanded into ‘Confidence- and Security-Building Measures’, promoting even greater openness. This regime was ultimately central in shaping how exercises were conducted and perceived, and examining how the Soviet Union, Russia, and NATO interacted with it provides further insight into how security is understood. These findings have interesting theoretical implications, particularly around confidence and signalling. Effective signalling requires understanding and appreciating potential misalignment in perceptions of ‘threat’ and ‘security’, and confidence in the benign intent of another party cannot be created while both entities are striving for military dominance.

abstract: PhD


title: Investigating the Role of UL16 in the Nuclear Egress of Herpesvirus Capsids

subject:
herpesvirus
UL16
nuclear egress
BioID

abstract: Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) is a highly prevalent human pathogen that remains the primary cause of ulcerative genital lesions and poses a significant impact on human health. Infectious HSV-2 virions contain a proteinaceous layer that is located between the capsid and envelope, known as the tegument, the contents of which contribute to multiple aspects of the viral life cycle, including virion assembly and egress. The HSV-2 UL16 gene encodes a highly conserved tegument protein, called pUL16, whose function is poorly understood. Previous reports from our laboratory have indicated that, in the absence of pUL16, newly assembled capsids are not recruited to the inner nuclear membrane (INM) efficiently during an early stage of virion morphogenesis, called nuclear egress. Therefore, we hypothesized that pUL16 promotes nuclear egress by facilitating the recruitment of capsids to the INM. In this study, we conducted proximity-dependent biotin identification (BioID) experiments to identify cellular and viral proteins that are in proximity to pUL16 during virus infection, including the process of nuclear egress. To do so, we constructed a recombinant HSV-2 strain, expressing pUL16 fused to miniTurbo (mT), a biotin ligase, purified proteins biotinylated by the pUL16mT fusion protein, and identified these pUL16-proximal proteins by mass spectrometry. We identified 569 unique proteins, 102 of which were regarded as strong candidates for further analysis. Several virion structural components that are known to interact with pUL16 were identified, along with various proteins that provide insight into functions of pUL16, in addition to those related to nuclear egress. Additionally, certain host antiviral proteins, such as gamma-interferon-inducible protein 16 (IFI16) and zinc finger CCCH-type antiviral protein 1 (ZAP), were identified in proximity to pUL16, suggesting that pUL16 may modulate host antiviral responses. Lastly, we identified several proteins that contribute to nucleocytoplasmic transport as well as those that are components of the nuclear envelope, providing insight into the role of pUL16 in nuclear egress. Collectively, this study identifies several candidate pUL16-proximal proteins that will be further investigated in future studies, in order to provide greater insight into the specific role(s) of pUL16 during HSV-2 infection.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Sew what: An ethnographic exploration of contemporary garment sewing practices in Kingston Ontario

subject:
Sewing
Clothes
Garment sewing
Hobby
Craft
Gender
Domesticity
Consumption
Sustainability

abstract: Recent research suggests there is a resurgence in the practice of sewing clothes at home. These studies typically focus on women who sew ready-to-wear clothing for themselves and draw their conclusions from niche groups of sewers. To better understand the landscape of garment sewing, I used ethnographic methods to explore why people sew, how they experience sewing as gendered, their process of sewing, and what social factors inform their sewing practice. Thirty-one women participated in interviews and/or focus groups describing their sewing practices and their views of sewing in Kingston, Ontario. I took a constructivist approach, in recognition of how my own practice of sewing informed the study. Participants’ motivations for sewing, albeit variable, generally fell under two main themes, enjoying the process of sewing and sewing for the final outcome, but also included sewing for the symbolic value of the garment and as alternative ways of consuming clothes. This research also identified why some women do not sew. While sewing is not considered part of contemporary domesticity, many women communicate love and care for family and friends through gifts they sew. Despite some women sewing as a labour of love, others choose to keep their hobby for themselves. While not explicitly feminist, I interpreted this choice as a form of resistance to gendered expectations of care. Finally, this research opens a conversation about what sewing is and how it relates to popular culture. Garment sewing is a skilled practice, where acumen is developed through experience. Garment sewing is a craft and like other crafts, sewing exists in tension with mass manufactured objects. As a result, sewing is positioned as more “authentic” than mass manufactured clothing, despite the fact that sewing relies on and is made possible by systems of capitalism.

abstract: PhD


title: Effects of GPR55 Receptor Blockade on Schedule-Induced Polydipsia in Rats

contributor:
Olmstead, Mary
Psychology

subject: GPR55

subject: Endocannabinoids

subject: Compulsions

subject: CB1

subject: Polydipsia

abstract: Compulsivity, a tendency toward repetitive, habitual actions that are repeated despite adverse consequences, is a core trait of many psychiatric pathologies. Despite its prevalence and severity, there are few effective pharmacological interventions for compulsive symptoms. The schedule-induced polydipsia (SIP) rodent model, in which chronically food-restricted animals develop adjunct compulsive drinking behaviours, has been used to investigate neurochemical substrates of compulsion. Recently, drinking behaviour was associated with bi-directional gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) plasticity signalling between G-protein-coupled receptor 55 (GPR55) mediated GABA potentiation and cannabinoid type I receptor (CB1) mediated GABA depression, in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST). Compulsive, high drinking was correlated with deficient GPR55 GABA signalling. This project investigated a potential causal link between deficient GPR55 signaling and the development of compulsive drinking. We hypothesized that antagonism of GPR55, using CID 16020046 (CID), would turn low-drinking rats into high drinkers. However, administration of CID did not significantly increase water intake in low-drinking rats. Further, there was no difference in CID-induced water intake between animals displaying low vs high drinking behaviour. Animals receiving the higher CID dose elicited a greater increase in CID-induced water intake, although marginal, compared to the lower dose, irrespective of drinking classification. This suggests dosing may have been too low for a sufficient amount of CID to reach its target in the brain. In addition, the targeting of one receptor may not have been sufficient to evoke detectable behavioural changes, as a wide range of receptors and signalling systems have been implicated in the development of compulsive phenotypes. Regardless, this project served as a useful starting point to investigate a causal link between GPR55/CB1 signalling and the development of compulsive behaviour.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Metamorphosis in the Ifriqiyan Cocoon: Ḥafṣid State Formation, Diplomacy, and Transformation, 1220-1450

contributor:
Husain, Adnan
History

subject: Hafsid medieval Mediterranean diplomacy

abstract: Over the course of three centuries, from 1229 to 1574, Ifriqiya was ruled by the Ḥafṣid dynasty. Claiming to be inheritors of the great Almohad administrative and ideological tradition, the Ḥafṣids came to power when the Islamicate world, and medieval Mediterranean in general, were particularly tumultuous. Although faced with economic hardship, foreign and domestic threats, diplomatic pressures, and other challenges, the Ḥafṣid state managed to weather them all and survive – in various forms – for several centuries. Using primary source chronicles, correspondences, treaties, and other documents, as well as a solid foundation of secondary scholarship, this thesis explores the phases of Ḥafṣid state formation and how they transformed and adapted over the course of three centuries. Contrary to previous assessments, the Ḥafṣid state was a dynamic polity that utilized diplomatic tactics, trade deals, and maritime activity in order to maintain their state and diplomatic interests. Periods of instability catalyzed transformation and adaptation that eventually yielded a more centralized state with sophisticated ideological, legal, and administrative structures.

abstract: M.A.


title: Ideology, Production, and Reproduction: Virginia Woolf, Marie Stopes, and H.D.

contributor:
McIntire, Gabrielle
English Language and Literature

subject:
Modernism
English Literature
World War 1
Motherhood

abstract: The literary works of Virginia Woolf, Marie Stopes, and H.D. share an interest in the crossovers between human, ideological, and cultural reproduction during the interwar years. However, an extended study on their contrasting views about life and art in the aftermath of World War One is yet to emerge. My project examines how the bid to reproduce Britain’s militaristic state ideologies or produce feminist-pacifist alternatives appear in the work of each writer. While Stopes’s fiction and sex manuals voice the need for British people to breed a nation of renewed, patriotic and colonial subjects, Woolf and H.D. encourage resistance by demanding that their public rethink the exclusionary norms of race and sexuality that Stopes endorsed as a means of returning Britain to a state of post-War normalcy. Addressing critics such as Georg Lukács and Theodor Adorno, I argue that Woolf and H.D.’s goal of breaking the homogenous values of mass-produced art not only speaks to debates surrounding the political utility of modernism but also both writers’ belief that experimental aesthetics can inspire pacifist action. By defining Stopes’s work as ideologically reproductive in its use of sexuality to reiterate hegemonic concepts of nationality and gender, I present opposition in Woolf and H.D when they expose and then challenge how disseminating gender-normative ideals through literature often prepares the human body for exploitation during war.

abstract: PhD


title: Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Characteristics, Care Processes, and Outcomes Across the Urban-Rural Spectrum: A Retrospective Cohort Study from 2013-2019 in the United States

contributor:
Brooks, Steven
Peng, Yingwei
Public Health Sciences

subject:
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Automated external defibrillator
Urban-rural spectrum

abstract:
BACKGROUND: Despite regional variation in survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), few studies have investigated urban-rural differences in care and outcomes. This study evaluated the impact of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) use on survival after OHCA across the urban-rural spectrum.

METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of adult, non-traumatic, and treated OHCAs registered in the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival from 2013 to 2019. The geographical status of arrest locations was classified as urban, suburban, large rural, small town, or rural, according to the United States Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) classification system. Bystander interventions were categorized into no bystander intervention, bystander CPR alone, and bystander AED use. The primary outcome of interest was survival to hospital discharge with good neurological outcome. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the association between bystander interventions and survival by geographical status, adjusting for known confounding variables.

RESULTS: A total of 325,477 OHCA patients were included in this study. Bystander CPR alone occurred most often in rural areas (50.8%), and least often in urban areas (35.4%). The proportion of patients receiving bystander AED use varied across the urban-rural spectrum (1.7%-2.9%). Survival with good neurological outcome varied for urban (8.1%), suburban (7.7%), large rural (9.1%), small town (7.1%), and rural areas (6.1%). In comparison to no bystander intervention, the adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for bystander AED use and survival were 2.57 (2.37-2.79) in urban areas, 2.58 (1.81-3.67) in suburban areas, 1.99 (1.44-2.76) in large rural areas, 1.90 (1.27-2.86) in small towns, and 3.05 (1.99-4.68) in rural areas. Bystander CPR alone was also associated with survival in all areas (urban: 1.36 [1.31-1.41], suburban: 1.29 [1.12-1.49], large rural: 1.40 [1.20-1.63], small town: 1.32 [1.11-1.58], rural: 1.45 [1.17-1.81]). There was no strong evidence of interaction between bystander interventions and geographical status on the primary outcome (p=0.63).

CONCLUSIONS: Bystander CPR and AED use are associated with positive clinical outcomes after OHCA in all areas along the urban-rural spectrum. There was no strong evidence to suggest that the survival impact of these interventions depended on the geographical status of arrest locations.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Examining the Inclusion of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Ontario Public Schools

contributor:
Shurr, Jordan
Education

subject:
autism spectrum disorder
inclusive education
classroom placement

abstract: In Ontario, inclusive education is the first consideration for the classroom placement of students with exceptionalities (Ontario Human Rights Commission, 2018). Inclusion in the regular classroom is believed to be particularly beneficial for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by persistent difficulties with social communication and social interaction as well as restricted and repetitive behaviours, activities, and interests (American Psychological Association, 2013). In making decisions related to the location of instruction and support for students with ASD, Identification, Placement and Review Committees (IPRCs) are meant to consider student-specific factors, such as level of adaptive functioning (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2017). There is evidence to suggest, however, that these decisions are also influenced by other variables, such as students’ age (Sansosti & Sansosti, 2012), academic performance (Segall & Campbell, 2014), and geographic locale (Kurth, 2015). The purpose of this study was to examine the inclusive classroom placement of students with ASD across the province as well as to identify some of the significant variables that are associated with these placements. Using a retrospective research design, descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis of variance were used to characterize the classroom placement of students with ASD over a 12-year period. Additionally, correlations between the percentage of students with ASD in inclusive classroom placements, school board variables, and region-related variables of interest were calculated. The findings from this study indicate that there has been a notable increase in the percentage of students with ASD in inclusive classroom placements over time. While the correlation analysis involving school board variables reinforced the idea that inclusion is not necessarily associated with student learning (Kalambouka et al., 2007), several region-related variables were found to be associated with inclusive classroom placement at the elementary and secondary levels. Not only can these findings characterize patterns and trends in the classroom placement of elementary and secondary students with ASD, but also, they highlight the utility of a geospatial approach in identifying some of the variables that can be used to direct efforts in increasing inclusive education placement decisions.

abstract: M.Ed.


title: Essays on the Impacts of Environmental Regulation

contributor:
Clark, Robert
Economics

subject:
Environmental economics
Industrial organization

abstract:
This dissertation investigates the impacts of environmental regulation.  The first essay studies the introduction of a carbon tax in British Columbia, and focuses on outcomes in retail gasoline markets.  First, I use a theoretical model to describe the short- and long-run effects of the tax in an oligopolistic environment.  Second, I use panel data on retail prices, retail margins, and the number of gasoline stations to estimate the causal impact of the tax increase on each of these variables in both the short run and long run.  The empirical results are consistent with theory, and suggest that incomplete pass-through of the tax caused exit resulting in even greater long-run price increases.

The second essay examines the link between air quality regulation and emissions leakage in Canada.  The results show that variation in the stringency of Canadian air quality regulation lead to emissions leakage, which can be explained by policy-induced changes in the distribution of firms' marginal production cost.

The last essay studies the affect of air quality regulation on manufacturing plants' productivity.  Results form this essay demonstrate that greater stringency reduces productivity by pulling resources away from production, towards regulatory compliance and abatement of emissions.  But, the incentive to upgrade productivity is greater for initially-high-productivity plants, leading to productivity gains for these plants.

abstract: PhD


title: “COVID-19 'VACCINE' IS A LITERAL INTRACELLULAR HIJACKING NANOTECHNOLOGY VIRUS”: AN ANALYSIS OF THE PROLIFERATION OF COVID-19 CONSPIRACY THEORIES ON R/CONSPIRACY

contributor:
Moellers, Norma
Sociology

subject:
Conspiracy
Conspiracy Theories
Conspiracy Theorists
Reddit
Coronavirus
COVID-19
Pandemic
Virtual Communities
Public Health
Institutional Mistrust
Institutional Distrust

abstract: Conspiracy theorists are often portrayed in the media, popular culture, and academia as buffoons and idiots, paranoid, extremist, and even violent. While instances of such traits within some conspiracy theorists is certainly possible, and without downplaying the risks of conspiratorial thinking during a global pandemic, I would argue that the conspiracy community at large is not inherently dangerous. This research will not provide an answer as to who conspiracy theorists are, but can instead provide a glimpse into the feelings and motivations of conspiracy theorists and offer some perspective on why an individual might invest themselves into conspiracy theories. Many conspiracy theorists are scared for their jobs, their rights, and even their lives, feeling as though the monumental institutions they once entrusted to help them are now operating against them. These feelings can be exacerbated in an unfamiliar and unprecedented situation such as a global pandemic, and when most people turned to their social institutions to safeguard them, conspiracy theorists felt as though they were at the mercy of powerful, hostile forces. Although conspiracy theorists are often very wrong about their assessment of their own situation, learning how to re-gain and re-establish the trust of these estranged populations in social institutions in the context of the pandemic may just be a plain necessity, as the pandemic demonstrated the importance of social cohesion and solidarity for ensuring the health and safety of the population. Upon analysis, the majority of the conspiracy theories on r/conspiracy could be grouped into three thematic categories: negotiating class struggle, negotiating state powers, and negotiating nationalism. The topics of the theories which comprise these three overarching themes vary greatly, but they tend to blame the pandemic or problems that arose as a result of the pandemic on the wealthy, the state, or international disputes.

abstract: M.A.


title: Numerical Simulation of Dune Morphological Changes Under Time-Varying Flows

contributor:
A.F. da Silva, Ana Maria
Civil Engineering

subject:
River dunes
Hydraulics
Sediment Transport

abstract:
The numerical simulation of bedform features in rivers is of interest to engineers to estimate the resistance of the bed to flow and sediment transport. Such models are referred to as morphodynamic models and are typically composed of three sub-models: a hydrodynamic model to reproduce the flow field over the bedforms; a sediment transport model to calculate the movement of the sediment in response to the flow field; and a morphological model to determine the evolution of the bed in response to gradients in the sediment transport rate. As all three of these models are coupled together, they each must provide accurate and robust predictions of their respective processes. The intent of this work is to provide guidance for the further development of practical morphodynamic models for the simulation of fluvial dunes.
Two aspects of the hydrodynamic model are investigated. The first aspect concerns the application of low-Reynolds turbulent closures for the simulation of flow over asymmetrical dunes. Specifically, the impacts of the near-wall mesh resolution and choice of turbulence closure on the bed shear stress are considered, as the latter is a primary input to the sediment transport model. The second aspect is the evaluation of rough-wall corrections applied to the k-ω SST model. In the context of morphological models, this work examines the challenges associated with solving the sediment transport continuity equation when applied to the simulation of dune migration and evolution by comparing classical shock capturing methods to high-resolution shock capturing schemes.
The findings of this work are as follows:
1.	The flow field and turbulent properties of flow over asymmetric, smooth walled dunes are highly sensitive to the near-wall spacing of the computational mesh.
2.	The bed shear stress produced by different low-Reynolds turbulence closures and LES models were different in terms of their shape and magnitude. These differences resulted in different morphological responses of the dune for the same flow conditions and sediment properties.
3.	Accounting for the roughness of the bed surface of a dune within the hydrodynamic simulation is important to accurately estimate the shear stresses. The rough wall treatments introduced for the low-Reynolds k-ω SST model are numerically efficient and robust.
4.	Classical schemes for modelling dune morphology while numerically efficient and easy to implement result in excessive numerical diffusion and require specific scale dependent tuning. On the other hand, the WENO models produced very accurate changes in the dune geometry with minimal numerical diffusion and do not require specific tuning. This comes at the cost of additional computational overhead.
Additionally, a standalone chapter applies the current understanding of the relationship between dune geometry and flow properties to reconstruct paleoflows along the Ottawa River based on ancient dunes found along the shoreline identified by airborne LiDAR.

abstract: PhD


title: Joint task planning and resource allocation in mobile edge learning systems

contributor:
Hassanein, Hossam
Sorour, Sameh
Electrical and Computer Engineering

subject:
Mobile Edge Learning
Federated Learning
Parallelized Learning
Task Planning
Resource Allocation

abstract:
Mobile Edge Learning (MEL) has recently emerged as a paradigm to enable distributed parallelized learning (PL) and federated learning (FL) on resource-constrained wireless edge devices. The development of distributed learning is a result of the fact that the number of devices connected to IP networks is increasing exponentially. Though the individual computing powers of these devices may be limited, their collective power is potentially unlimited.
This unlimited yet under-utilized computing power coupled with MEL is the future technology for application and host serving. In this work, we aim to jointly optimize the planning of the learning process and tasks and the allocation of physical resources for mobile edge learning scenarios with global training time constraints. The term task planning refers to the number of local iterations in each of these global cycles and the number of data samples to be used for training by each device within each local iteration. The allocation of physical resources involves the determination of the computing speeds of each device and its communications resources to the MEL orchestrator. We discuss the problem of jointly optimizing the learning task planning and physical resources with two different objectives.
In objective 1, we provide a solution to maximize the number of local training cycles each device executes within a given time constraint, which was shown to achieve a faster convergence to the desired learning accuracy. In objective 2, we provide a solution to minimize the global loss function of the training process by the end of the global training time constraint.
Where we propose two novel algorithms, the dynamic and the static algorithm to solve the problem. We now show the performance of each objective compared to the results of optimizing the Task Planning (TP). Where we optimize the planning parameters and the allocation of tasks across the system and Equal Data Allocation (EDA), where we optimize the planning parameters and the physical resources allocation across the system.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: Development of luminescent solar concentrators by 3d printing

contributor: Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy

subject:
luminescent solar concentrators
3D printing
LSC
additive manufacturing
Solar energy
renewable energy

abstract: Three-dimensional printing technologies represent a revolution in the manufacturing sector because of their unique capabilities for increasing shape complexity while reducing waste material, capital cost, and design for manufacturing. This project focuses on developing 3D printing technologies for the fabrication of Lumenesence solar concentrators. The use of 3D printing technology in this field is of special interest owing to the high-quality polymerization of the host material which otherwise presents strong limitations in shape and functionality when processed with traditional manufacturing methods. CH3NH3PbBr3 perovskite quantum dots are introduced as luminescent materials in these sheets and half-cylindrical LSCs. The smaller redshift of PL peak and also a lower PL intensity reduction in 2mm-LSC imply lower reabsorption loss in thinner QD based sheet LSC. The optical efficiency of 3.94% is obtained for 2mm-LSC due to higher waveguide efficiency in this LSC. Characterization of sheet LSCs with edge-mounted solar cell shows PCE of 6.64% and 2.73% for LSCs with 2mm and 5mm thicknesses, respectively. It is shown that half-cylindrical LSCs act as a lens to concentrate the incident light into the solar cell, which results in boosting the PCE of these LSC devices with respect to the sheet LSCs. Characterization of half-cylindrical LSCs with bottom mounted configuration is measured with three different backscatters. It is demonstrated that the backscatter has a major role in half cylindrical LSCs, in which the white background could scatter the lost incident light more effectively back to the LSC and hence boost the solar cell efficiency. Comparison of QD based half-cylindrical LSCs with Rhodamine 6G based ones results in better performance of QD based LSCs. Also, the performance of the parabolic 3D printed LSCs has been investigated. Eventually, parabolic shape LSC can boost the attached solar cell. The home-made system has been manufactured for absorption and IPCE measurement purposes and ran under several tests for accuracy confirmation. As a computational analysis, the parabolic LSCs with fixed-width (2 mm) and variable thickness (0.25-3 mm) have been simulated by COMSOL. Based on the outcomes, the optimized thickness is 1-1.5 mm.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Unpacking 'the Next Black Box': Investigating the Cognitive and Affective Underpinnings of Student Self-Assessment

contributor:
DeLuca, Christopher
Education

subject:
classroom assessment
student self-assessment
self-regulated learning
trace data
web analytics
K-12 education
case study
assessment as learning
cognition and affect

abstract: Despite theoretical and empirical arguments for its essential role in learning, and its consequent centrality in classroom assessment frameworks and policy globally, little is known about student self-assessment’s internal cognitive and affective processes. Left without a theory to inform teachers in supporting productive student self-assessment (SSA), many students will never learn to be sources of their own feedback, the foundation for independent, lifelong learning. This research responds to calls to examine how students in K-12 contexts think and feel while engaged in SSA tasks that are supported by literature – the next black box of classroom assessment research. First, I synthesized relevant self-assessment literature within a highly granular self-regulated learning (SRL) model. Drawing on this theoretical foundation, I employed a collective case study using digital trace data to infer the ways in which a class of Year 12 students (n=16) in a UK secondary school thought and felt during an evidence informed self-assessment activity. Matomo, a web analytics platform, collected session recording and heatmap data which elucidated participants’ cognitive and affective operations as they completed a writing task, self-assessed their work using exemplars and rubrics, and revised their writing accordingly. I analyzed log files of trace data to a) infer which SRL subprocesses participants activate, b) generate self-assessment process graphs and profiles for each participant, and c) investigate how participants engaged in each process based on the content of their work. Findings highlight the recursive and weakly sequenced nature of SSA processes, as well key cognitive and affective trends. Moreover, SSA profiles for each participant demonstrate how trace data and learning analytics can support advances in student learning through SSA. Forming the basis for an initial theory of SSA cognition and affect, this research advances SSA theory, a core component of classroom assessment.

abstract: M.Ed.


title: SYNTHESIS AND PREPARATION OF METAL COMPLEXES AS G4 BINDERS

contributor:
Petitjean, Anne
Chemistry

subject:
G4 binders
Synthesis
Metal complexes

abstract:
G4s are a higher order architecture which can form in guanine-rich areas of DNA and RNA. These structures have been found to be relevant in medical conditions such as cancer, neurological disorders, and viral and parasitic infections. Because of the role of G4s in these conditions, G4 binders have gained relevance as potential therapeutic tools. The goal of the binders is to provide G4 stabilization, thus interfering with the mechanisms of these medical conditions. A platinum complex based on the pyridyl-triazolopyridine diad was previously identified in our group which showed promise as a G4 binding platform. This thesis focuses on the synthesis of novel G4 binders based on that parent platinum complex.
Chapter 2 explores the initial synthetic steps toward a potentially G4-binding macrocyclic metal complex. The goal of this macrocyclic binder is to provide increased binding affinity compared to the parent complex through increased conjugation and increased surface area. The macrocyclic structure is based on the imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine moiety. The coupling of imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine groups through C-H activation is discussed, as well as efforts made toward functionalization with aldehyde and amine groups in preparation for assembly into a macrocycle.
Chapter 3 outlines the preparation of a new family of three platinum complexes bearing alcohol tags of different lengths. The two primary steps discussed are reduction of alkynes to give the final alcohol-tagged ligands, and the use of these ligands in the preparation of platinum complexes. Through the alcohol tags, this new family of complexes offers the opportunity for derivatization into a variety of G4-binding conjugates.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Muon Track Reconstruction for the Pacific Ocean Neutrino Explorer

subject:
Physics
Neutrinos
Neutrino Telescope
Muon
Track Reconstruction

abstract:
The neutrino, a fundamental particle, offers the potential to image parts of the uni verse never before seen and can provide an early notification for cosmic events. With
their ability to carry information across the universe unperturbed, neutrinos offer a
clear image of the cosmos and can provide insight into its nature with relative ease.
Learning from successful neutrino telescopes such as IceCube, the Pacific Ocean Neu trino Explorer (P-ONE) will be built in the Cascadia Basin in the Pacific Ocean
supported by an international collaboration. Located 2660 meters below sea level, P ONE will consist of 70 strings each equipped with at least 20 sensitive photodetectors
and 2 calibrators utilizing infrastructure provided by Ocean Networks Canada. A key
step in the data analysis pipeline is the reconstruction of the path of particles as they
pass through the detector, which is outlined in this report. Using simulated data
with proprietary code from IceCube, the reconstruction has been analyzed for cosmic
muons to understand the efficiency and capabilities of the reconstruction algorithm
in accurately reproducing the muon tracks.

abstract: M.Sc.