title: DE LA NAÏVETÉ VERS LA LUCIDITÉ : DÉCONSTRUIRE LE STÉRÉOTYPE DE LA FEMME NAÏVE DANS LE ROMAN FÉMININ EN FRANCE APRÈS 1950

contributor:
Stout, John Cameron
French

subject: alienation, agency, resistance, strategic essentialism, subjectivity, social class, irony, parody, naive woman, female body, silence, writing

abstract:
This thesis, consisting of four chapters, explores female alienation and subjectivity as
described by post-war French women writers. The first chapter will focus on critical and
theoretical approaches to female alienation. Through feminist and Marxist criticism, I
explore the condition of women as a dominated class. The second chapter examines
literary strategies such as irony, humor, parody and satire used by the authors of my
corpus to undermine and question gender stereotypes which they inherited from the
tradition of the French novel. The third chapter is devoted to the issue of women
novelists' uses of the figure of the naive female narrator. Through their reworking of this
stereotype, they perform a political act of providing agency to a figure who was
traditionally deprived of all agency. The fourth chapter analyzes the question of the
female body. By playing with the concept of the grotesque female body and its
representation, the novelists whom I study, attempt to liberate their female narrators from
the status of an object and the influence of the beauty myth. What interests me most is the
potential of feminist literature to create alternative representations of women in French
literature. In the novels studied here, narrators move from a position of naivety and
alienation to an unexpected sense of agency and subjectivity.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

abstract:
This thesis examines the evolution of the representation of female alienation and female
identity in the postwar French novel, as well as the textual strategies of resistance used by
three postwar French women novelists to subvert and rework the trope of the naive
female narrator. My research project highlights the emergence of female agency in the
French novel in recent decades through the examples of novels by Christiane Rochefort,
Marie Redonnet and Marie Darrieussecq. The novels studied in this dissertation feature
the point of view of female narrators who move beyond their initial naivety and passivity
to discover unexpected forms of agency.


title: A Software Development Framework for Complete Battery Characterization: Testing, Modelling & Parameterization

contributor:
Habibi, Saeid
Mechanical Engineering

subject:
Software Framework
Battery Modelling
Electric Vehicles
Model Optimization
Battery Testing
Product Integration
Electro Impedance Spectroscopy
D&V Electronics
Coulombic Efficiency
Software Platform

abstract:
Advancements in batteries, microprocessors as well as an extra emphasis being put on the environment has pushed electric vehicles to the forefront of today. Despite the many benefits of electric vehicles, range anxiety and long charge times are hurdles to overcome. These shortfalls are a result of the current battery technology regardless of the many breakthroughs over the last decade. Lithium-ion Batteries and other modern chemistries pose a number of challenges in testing and research when compared to the traditional lead acid batteries. Current test systems fall short in providing a complete testing solution with. The focus of this thesis is to develop a complete software framework for battery characterization: testing, modelling and characterization to accompany battery testing hardware developed by D&V Electronics.
The first step in battery characterization, involves battery testing in order to obtain data. This required development of the test software and a number of battery tests, including: Charge and discharge, state of charge vs. open circuit voltage curve generation, Electro-Impedance Spectroscopy, and capacity test. Research was done in order to ensure developed test procedures lined up with that of other publications. All data from the testing data is logged to a central database, allowing for the second major development, the model framework.
The model framework is composed of seven different battery models that can be parameterized with the touch of a button, using data collected from the tester. It is a software framework that is meant to be expandable by abstracting the details of a model from the tester. This allows for new models and parameterization techniques to be integrated into the software without the need of new software development.
Lastly, all development was used to do a battery characterization of a prismatic battery cell. All tests were conducted on a battery over two hundred cycles, followed by battery parameterization using the mode framework. The battery models were then used to simulate a US06 drive profile and compared to the same profile with measurements taken from the tester. With an average root mean square error of 8 millivolts, the battery characterization using the framework proved to be a success.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: Improving Linear Range Limitation of Non-Enzymatic Glucose Sensor by OH− Concentration

contributor:
Xu, Gu
Materials Science and Engineering

subject: non-enzymatic glucose sensor

abstract: To combat diabetes mellitus(DM), a chronicle metabolic disease, from which more than 400 million people suffered in the world, the patients must check the blood glucose level 4-5 times daily with an enzyme-based blood glucose meter and adjust blood glucose levels accordingly. The problem is that enzymatic glucose meters become unstable in the tropics. Therefore, the non-enzymatic method has been urged for blood glucose monitoring, among which the transition metal oxide electrode was found to be promising. However, despite the prolonged effort, its linear detection range is usually much smaller than the glucose level of diabetic patients, calling for an effective solution. Despite many previous attempts, none have solved the problem. Such a challenge has now been conquered by raising the NaOH concentration in the electrolyte, where amperometry, X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and Nuclear magnetic resonance measurements have been conducted. The linear range has been successfully enhanced to 40 mM in 1000 mM NaOH solution, and it was also found that NaOH affected the degree of glucose oxidation, which influenced the current response during sensing. It was expected that the alkaline concentration must be 25 times higher than the glucose concentration to enhance the linear range, much contrary to prior understanding.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Candidate in Philosophy


title: Fluid-Structure Interaction in an Isolated Nuclear Power Plant Comparing Linear and Nonlinear Fluid Models

contributor:
Tait, Michael
Becker, Tracy
Civil Engineering

subject:
Fluid-Structure Interaction
Nuclear Power Plant
Base Isolation

abstract: The long-term operational safety of nuclear power plants is of utmost importance. Seismic isolation has been shown to be effective in reducing the demands on structures in many applications, including nuclear power plants (NPP). Many designs for Generation III+ NPP include a large passive cooling tank as a measure of safety that can be used during power failure. In a large seismic event, the fluid in the tank may be excited, and while the phenomenon of fluid-structure interaction (FSI) has also been studied in the context of base isolated liquid storage tanks, the effect on seismically isolated NPP has not yet been explored. This thesis presents a two-part study on a base isolated NPP with friction pendulum bearings. The first part of the study compares the usage of a linear fluid model to a nonlinear fluid model in determining tank and structural demand parameters. The linear fluid model was found to represent the nonlinear fluid model well for preliminary analysis apart from peak sloshing height, which it consistently underestimated. The second part of the study uses a linear fluid model, an empty tank model and a rigid fluid model to investigate the influence of FSI on the structural response of an isolated NPP compared to a fixed base NPP. In general, the response of a fixed base NPP considering FSI using a linear fluid model can typically be bound by the results assuming an empty tank and assuming a full tank with rigid fluid mass. However, this does not hold for the base isolated NPP, as the peak isolation displacement for an NPP with a linear fluid model at design depth is greater than the peak isolation displacement than the same NPP with an empty tank and with a rigid fluid model.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: Racism within the Canadian University: Indigenous Students' Experiences

contributor:
Denis, Jeffrey
Sociology

subject: Indigenous Racism University Canada Inequality

abstract:
This dissertation examines the experiences of Indigenous post-secondary students at three universities located in Ontario, Canada.  Drawing on ethnographic observation, 27 in-depth interviews and demographic surveys, I investigate both the nature and levels of ongoing experiences with racism and discrimination on-campus, as well as the impacts and chosen response strategies.
	The primary theoretical contribution is the demonstration of how, in order to create a comprehensive theoretical framework for the analysis of Indigenous peoples’ experiences with racism in Canada, Critical Race Theory (Gillborn 2006; Solórzano & Yosso 2002: Tate 1997) and Settler Colonial Theory (Macoun & Strakosch 2013; Snelgrove, Dhamoon & Corntassel 2014; Tuck & Yang 2012) must be used in combination.  The second theoretical contribution is the critique and further development of ‘internalized oppression’ (Pyke 2010); to help understand not only the creation, internalization and maintenance processes involved in internalized racism, but also who is best positioned to eliminate it and how.
	First, an analysis is completed of how, within the university context, Indigenous students are experiencing racism and discrimination: which social locations, at what levels, the nature of the racism/discrimination and contextual differences.  Following that, an in-depth look is taken at the various impacts of these experiences and the students’ responses: coping/management strategies, support resources, and resistance. And finally, the role of lateral violence within the Indigenous student communities is discussed, including the prevalence of the issue, the impacts, and the processes involved in students recognizing and resisting.
	Overall, the data demonstrates that, regardless of differing campus contexts, Indigenous students are facing high levels of racism on a regular basis, which has significant impacts both personally and academically.  The use of Critical Race Theory and Settler Colonial Theory in combination provides a useful framework for understanding how and why these circumstances persist, as well as raising questions as to the efficacy of institution-led policies and programs designed to both support Indigenous students and decrease racism on campus.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Stochastic Programming Formulations and Structural Properties for Assemble-to-Order Systems

contributor:
Deza, Antoine
Huang, Kai
Computing and Software

subject:
stochastic optimization
assemble-to-order systems
periodic review
bill-of-materials
base stock
inventory allocation

abstract: Lowering the degree of component commonality may yield a higher type-II service level for a periodic review assemble-to-order  system that aims to maximize reward. This is achieved via separating inventories of all the shared components for different products. We investigate the optimal bill-of-materials structure for two-product assemble-to-order systems with arbitrary number of components. The inventory of a shared component can be separated or common between different products. We show that an optimal bill-of-materials can be characterized between the following two extremal configurations: either two products share all common components, or they do not share any common component.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Whitehead's Decision Problems for Automorphisms of Free Group

contributor:
Hambleton, Ian
Mathematics and Statistics

subject:
Whitehead's Decision Problem
Whitehead's Minimization Problem
Whitehead's Algorithm
Automorphisms of Free groups
Whitehead Minimization Algorithm
Level Transformation

abstract:
Let F be a free group of finite rank. Given words u, v ∈ F, J.H.C. Whitehead solved the decision problem of finding an automorphism φ ∈ Aut(F), carrying u to v. He used topological methods to produce an algorithm. Higgins and Lyndon gave a very concise proof of the problem based on the works of Rapaport.
We provide a detailed account of Higgins and Lyndon’s proof of the peak
reduction lemma and the restricted version of Whitehead’s theorem, for cyclic words as well as for sets of cyclic words, with a full explanation of each step. Then, we give an inductive proof of Whitehead’s minimization theorem and describe Whitehead’s decision algorithm.
Noticing that Higgins and Lyndon’s work is limited to the cyclic words, we
extend their proofs to ordinary words and sets of ordinary words.
In the last chapter, we mention an example given by Whitehead to show
that the decision problem for finitely generated subgroups is more difficult and outline an approach due to Gersten to overcome this difficulty.
We also give an extensive literature survey of Whitehead’s algorithm

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: Modeling and Implementation of a Hardware Efficient Low-Voltage-To-Cell Battery Balancing Circuit for Electric Vehicle Range Extension

contributor:
Bauman, Jennifer
Habibi, Saeid
Electrical and Computer Engineering

subject:
LV2C
low-voltage-to-cell
cell balancing
lithium-ion
electric vehicle
range extension

abstract:
One disadvantage of electric vehicles is their limited driving range when compared to internal combustion engine vehicles. Battery packs are also a significant cost to electric vehicle manufacturers, and lithium-ion battery cells must remain within controlled voltage limits. Thus, the requirements for the electric system are to be cost effective, perform battery management, and make it as efficient as possible to increase its range.

Battery packs are typically constructed from around 100 battery cells in a series connection. During use of an electric vehicle, the battery cells become mismatched due to small differences in capacity. This effect is further amplified as the electric vehicle ages. Diverging cells cause issues during driving, since weak cells can limit the useable capacity of the vehicle. In order to use the whole capacity of the battery pack, and thus the entire range of the electric vehicle, the cells should be balanced. Strong cells should distribute their excess capacity to weaker cells during driving.

The thesis presents the design, modeling and implementation of a novel hardware-efficient battery balancing circuit. First, the theory behind battery balancing is presented. Next, existing battery balancing circuits are compared. Finally, the proposed battery balancing circuit is discussed. The design of the proposed topology is examined in detail. Simulations show that the circuit transfers energy between non-adjacent cells throughout the entire pack. Experimental work is performed on two custom printed circuit boards, a 12 cell lithium-ion module, and a 12V lead acid battery. The results confirm the function of the prototype.

The effect of the battery balancing circuit on driving range is examined with vehicle modeling simulations. A 2018 Chevrolet Bolt model is produced and capacity differences are given to each cell. The proposed topology balances the cells while driving, extending driving range on UDDS and HWFET drive cycles.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)

abstract: One disadvantage of electric vehicles is their limited driving range when compared to internal combustion engine vehicles. Thus, there is a requirement to make the electric system as efficient as possible in order to increase its range. A large piece of the electric system includes the battery pack. Battery packs are typically constructed from around 100 battery cells in a series connection. During use of an electric vehicle, the battery cells become mismatched. This effect is also amplified as the electric vehicle ages. In order to use the whole capacity of the battery pack, and thus the entire range of the electric vehicle, the cells should be balanced. The thesis presents the design, modeling and implementation of a novel hardware efficient battery balancing circuit. The effect of the battery balancing circuit on driving range is examined.


title: CHARACTERIZATION OF THE CORECEPTOR DOMAIN OF T CELL ANTIGEN COUPLERS IN CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY

contributor: Medical Sciences (Molecular Virology and Immunology Program)

subject:
immunotherapy
cancer
T cell
TAC
coreceptor
immunology

abstract:
Activating the immune system in the therapeutic treatment of cancer is rapidly growing and has demonstrated tremendous success. One such method is engineering T cells with chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) to specifically direct them in targeting tumours, however this has been associated with several toxicities that may be linked to the synthetic nature of the CAR. To address this, our laboratory created the T Cell Antigen Coupler (TAC), an alternative receptor that redirects T cells in a more natural TCR-dependent fashion.
The TAC consists of three components: the antigen-binding domain that recognizes a tumour antigen, a TCR-recruitment domain that co-opts the native CD3-TCR complex and a CD4 co-receptor domain. The TAC displays unique biology, specifically in the increased antitumor infiltration and clearance of solid malignancies without any of the observed host toxicities seen with CARs.
The functionality of the TAC was shown to be dependent on both the antigen binding and TCR-recruitment domains, however the co-receptor domain remains relatively uninvestigated despite evidence in the literature indicating its importance in endogenous T cell activation. This thesis seeks to better understand the biology of the TAC receptor by investigating the contributions of co-receptor domain.
In Chapter 3, we replaced the CD4 co-receptor domain with CD8 variants and showed that the TAC retains functionality.
In Chapter 4, we removed the cytosolic domain of the TAC in its entirety (creating a “tailless TAC”) and observed increased in vivo efficacy.
In Chapter 5, we evaluated the tailless TAC in different cancer models and consistently observed increased in vivo efficacy compared to the full length TAC.
These results demonstrate an increase in the in vivo functionality of the TAC receptor when the cytoplasmic tail is removed, giving us further insights into the mechanisms behind the unique biology of the TAC receptor.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

abstract: Cancer is the leading cause of death in Canada, and it is expected that 2 in 5 Canadians will develop some form of cancer in their lifetime. The immune system presents an intriguing alternative method to treat tumours since immune cells such as T cells can circulate through the body and seek and destroy harmful cells, including tumours. Here, we focus on the T cell Antigen Coupler (TAC), a genetically engineered receptor that our laboratory originally designed that directs T cells to recognize and destroy specific cancer cells. This thesis looks at the inner workings of the receptor, specifically a part called the inner tail, and how this feature contributes to how the TAC works. Our results show that removing the tail increases the T cell’s ability to safely clear different tumours in living organisms, bringing us a step closer in designing new and safe treatments for cancer patients.


title: Theoretical Revelations and the Merging of Methods: Method and Theory in the Study of Medieval Japanese Buddhist Nuns and Material Culture

contributor:
Rowe, Mark
Benn, James
Religious Studies

subject:
Buddhism
Buddhist nuns
women in religion
theory
medieval Japan
Japanese Buddhism
Religious Studies
Buddhist Studies
Medieval Japanese Buddhist Studies
premodern Japanese Buddhism
premodern Japan
female monastics
Japanese nuns
patronage
merit
power-legitimacy-origins
legitimacy
field of merit
economy of merit
nuns
bikuni
Hokkeji
ama
convent
Buddhist material culture
method and theory

abstract: This thesis develops a Theoretical framework to be applied to future research concerning medieval Japanese Buddhist nuns and their involvements with Buddhist material culture. My efforts at theory production serve as a preliminary attempt at laying a comprehensive Theoretical foundation for a fresh area of inquiry, namely merging the respective studies of Japanese Buddhist nuns with Buddhist material culture. This marks a promising area of study as a corrective to the enduring focus placed upon men by Religious Studies (RS) scholars. Indeed, RS has historically been, and largely continues to be, a field dominated by men. As such, RS research has concentrated upon the male population, both lay and monastic, and has only recently started shifting toward the question of where women were and what they were doing. Additionally, the study of Buddhist material culture is itself a relatively new field. Consequently, there are currently very few English publications exploring women’s involvement with this important aspect of Buddhism. As a means of contextualizing the Theoretical framework ultimately proposed, I first examine the states of the Buddhist Studies subfields of Buddhist nuns and of Buddhist material culture. I subsequently explore the states of theory production within RS and Medieval Japanese Buddhist Studies (MJBS), contending that a distinctive mode of theory (macro ‘capital-T’ Theoretical frameworks and micro ‘lowercase-t’ theoretical models, respectively) is found within each discipline. While I propose only a RS style macro Theoretical framework, I suggest that an ideal foundation for the study of nuns through the lens of material culture will take the form of a Theoretical complex comprised of both a Theoretical framework and a MJBS style theoretical model. Ultimately, I wish to begin the process of laying the groundwork for future research focusing on women and gender within the context of Buddhism and material culture.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)

abstract: This thesis develops a Theoretical framework to be used in future research about medieval Japanese Buddhist nuns and their involvements with Buddhist material culture (paintings, statues, relics, and so on). This is a preliminary attempt at laying a Theoretical foundation for this fresh area of inquiry. In this endeavour, I am trying to respond to the enduring focus placed upon men by Religious Studies (RS) scholars, as the field has been and largely continues to be dominated by men. Consequently, there are very few English publications exploring Buddhist nuns and material culture, an important aspect of Buddhism. I examine the states of the studies of these topics, and explore two types of theory production distinct to RS and Medieval Japanese Buddhist Studies respectively. Ultimately, I wish to begin the process of laying the groundwork for future research on women and gender within the context of Buddhism and material culture.


title: Autonomous Vehicle Cost-Prediction-Based Decision-Making Framework For Unavoidable Collisions Using Ethical Foundations

contributor:
Kirubarajan, Thia
Electrical and Computer Engineering

subject:
autonomous vehicle
crash injury severity prediction
machine learning classification model
ethical decision making

abstract: A novel paper using Canada's real traffic accident data to propose a cost-prediction-based decision-making framework incorporating different ethical foundations for AVs.

abstract: Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) hold out the promise of being safer than manually driven cars. However, it is impossible to guarantee the hundred percent avoidance of collisions in a real-life environment with unpredictable objects and events. When accidents become unavoidable, the different reactions of AVs and their outcome will have different consequences. Thus, AVs should incorporate the so-called ‘ethical decision-making algorithm’ when facing unavoidable collisions. This paper is introducing a novel cost-prediction-based decision-making framework incorporating two common ethical foundations human drivers use when facing unavoidable dilemma inducing collisions: Ethical Egoism and Utilitarianism. The cost-prediction algorithm consists of Collision Injury Severity Level Prediction (CISLP) and Cost Evaluation. The CISLP model was trained using both Multinominal Logistic Regression (MLR) and a Decision Tree Classifier (DTC). Both algorithms consider the combination of relationships among traffic collision explanatory features. Four different Cost Evaluation metrics were purposed and compared to suit different application needs. The data set used for training and testing the cost prediction algorithm is the 1999-2017 National Collision Data Base (NCDB) which ensures the realistic and reliability of the algorithm. This paper is a novel paper using Canada's real traffic accident data to propose a cost-prediction-based decision-making framework incorporating different ethical foundations for AVs.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: Examining self-regulation in the preschool years: Links to psychosocial outcomes, maternal adverse childhood experiences, and parental emotion regulation

contributor:
Hall, Geoffrey
Psychology

abstract: Self-regulation (SR), which refers to the ability to regulate one’s own behaviour, emotions, and thoughts, is an important developmental milestone that impacts an array of outcomes throughout the lifespan. The purpose of the current study was to examine how SR is related to theoretically linked constructs among preschool-aged children. Based on previous research, several parental factors, including maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), maternal emotion regulation (ER), and paternal SR, were investigated to determine how they impacted child SR. As well, child SR was investigated as a factor that may impact externalizing and internalizing difficulties. The current study represents cross-sectional data from a larger longitudinal research project focused on mothers and their young children. The final sample consisted of 93 mothers and three-year-old offspring. Based on the literature, three mediation models were tested using structural equation modelling: 1) maternal ER was hypothesized to mediate the relation between maternal ACEs and child SR, 2) child SR was hypothesized to mediate the relation between maternal ACEs and child externalizing difficulties, and 3) child SR was hypothesized to mediate the relation between maternal ACEs and child internalizing difficulties. Main effects between these variables were also investigated. A sub-study focused on paternal SR with 47 fathers was also conducted with the same families. Using paternal data, hypotheses were explored that were related to how paternal regulatory variables (including difficulties managing behaviours and emotions) were related to child SR. As well, the impact of paternal and maternal ER was compared for the outcome of child SR. Overall, results of the mediation models were not significant, however there were notable main effects in the maternal and child data. Specifically, maternal ACEs significantly predicted child SR and externalizing difficulties, even after accounting for covariates, indicating that maternal ACEs appear to an important risk factor for specific child outcomes. As well, in the paternal data, there was a significant relationship between paternal SR and child SR, such that fathers who reported difficulty regulating their emotions and behaviours were more likely to have children that demonstrated difficulty with SR. The remaining paternal hypotheses were not significant. Collectively, these results point to maternal ACEs and paternal SR difficulties as factors that appear to increase risk for young children. Given that difficulties with both child SR and externalizing difficulties are associated with persistent negative outcomes, it will be imperative to continue to examine the sequelae associated with maternal ACEs, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions targeting difficulties associated with maternal ACEs and paternal SR.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

abstract: Self-regulation (SR) refers to an individual’s ability to regulate or control their behaviour, emotions, and thoughts. Attaining the ability to self-regulate is considered an important area of development for children, and research has shown that SR ability impacts a wide range of outcomes throughout the lifespan. Within this dissertation, I sought to examine how several factors may impact preschoolers’ ability to self-regulate, including maternal exposure to adverse or traumatic events within mothers’ childhoods, maternal ability to regulate emotions, and paternal ability to self-regulate. Given that difficulties with SR appear to have persistent negative effects on a number of outcomes for children, I also examined how child SR impacts behavioural and emotional difficulties. Using data collected from 93 mothers and children, and 47 fathers from the same families, the results indicated that mothers who experienced adverse childhood events were more likely to have preschoolers who had lower SR abilities and greater behavioural difficulties. In addition, fathers who had more difficulty with SR were more likely to have children who also had difficulty with SR. Collectively, the results from this dissertation point to maternal early life adversity and paternal SR difficulties as factors that may increase risk for young children. Given that we know that difficulties with child SR and behavioural problems are associated with persistent negative outcomes across the lifespan, it will be important to continue to research ways to reduce risk for children. The results of this dissertation indicate that research investigating the effectiveness of interventions targeting maternal early adversity and paternal SR are worthy future pursuits.


title: Video Compression via Predictable Coding over Virtual Frames

contributor:
Chen, Jun
Electrical and Computer Engineering

subject: video coding

abstract: Video applications have become more and more common in the past few decades, in the meantime, optimizing video coding has received more attention. Existing video codecs usually focus on the encoder itself, and try to do everything possible to compress video with spatial (intraframe) compression and temporal (interframe) compression with the premise of reasonable distortion rate and video performance. In this work, we proposed a practical approach to improve video coding efficiency at a lower bitrate, which is to combine traditional Video Codec with interpolation neural network. A new concept called ``virtual frames'' was proposed and applied to the video coding process. We use raw frames as Ground Truth and virtual frames to train the interpolation neural network GDCN (Generalized Deformable Convolution Network), then encode the video synthesized with virtual frames via traditional AV1 video codec. With the pre-trained network, we could simply reconstruct the frames. This method can significantly improve the video compression effect compared with traditional video codec technology.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: Image Processing Algorithms for a Tiled Multi-projection Screen

contributor:
CHEN, JUN
Electrical and Computer Engineering

subject:
Image processing
Multi projection
Radial distortion

abstract: Nowadays the development of the screen technology is really fast, there are lcd, led, oled screen and many kinds of screens. They all have their own advantages and disadvantages, LCD screen is usually constrained by the size, and the LED screen is usually constrained by the resolution. In this thesis I will introduce a tiled projection screen which combined LED and LCD together. My major work is to develop algorithms which are used to solve three major problems. The first problem is the radial distortion caused by the lens. This problem is different from the usual distortion correction problem, the method used in this thesis is a reverse process of the camera calibration and the key is to simulate the distortion formula. The second problem is the complex brightness condition of the tiled projected image. In the thesis a non-linear edge blending method is applied so the projected images could merge together seamlessly. The third problem is combination of the LED and the LCD without harming the resolution of the whole picture. The result shows that the size and the resolution have been improved greatly.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: Sulfate reducing bacteria and acetoclastic methanogens for process intensification of anaerobic digestion

contributor:
Kim, Younggy
Civil Engineering

subject:
Anaerobic Digestion
Sulfate Reduction
Acetoclastic Methanogenesis
Process Intensification

abstract: Anaerobic digestion (AD) is an essential process in wastewater treatment to stabilize waste organic solids and produce biogas. This research is comprised of two projects in the discipline of anaerobic digestion. First, the effect of high sulfate concentration on anaerobic digestion of wastewater sludge was investigated. Secondly, the performance of acetoclastic methanogens Methanosaeta spp. and Methanosarcina spp. were investigated under intensified AD operation conditions (i.e., elevated acetate concentrations, vigorous mixing, etc.). In the sulfate experiments, the cumulative biogas and methane production decreased linearly with increasing initial sulfate doses (0 – 3,300 mg S L-1) and the correlation between the sulfate dose and methane production was verified with theoretical predictions, indicating complete reduction of sulfate to sulfide in AD. The examined sulfate concentrations resulted in no clear negative effects on the COD (chemical oxygen demand) removal or VSS (volatile suspended solids) destruction of the wastewater sludge, indicating that previous findings on sulfide toxicity might have been attributed to potential COD overestimation of digested sludge with high levels of sulfide. To avoid potential misinterpretation of AD performance on sulfide toxicity effects, we proposed a new method for COD correction for digested sludge. In the second project focused on acetoclastic methanogens, vigorous mixing conditions substantially decreased Methanosarcina spp. growth and methane production, and the decreased methanogenesis was more pronounced at higher acetate concentrations. Methanosarcina spp. prefer to grow in clusters and the vigorous mixing can disrupt cluster formation; as a result, reduced chances for cluster formation limited the growth of Methanosarcina spp.. While Methanosarcina spp. growth and methane production increased with the increasing acetate concentration, Methanosaeta spp. growth was unaffected by the examined vigorous mixing and soluble substrate conditions with negligible relative growth. Thus, rapid enrichment of Methanosarcina spp. is critical for successful operation intensified of AD processes under high organic loading conditions.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Primary Care-Givers in Ancient Rome

contributor:
George, Michele
Classics

subject:
Classics
Rome
Maternity
Social Status
Demography
Roman Slavery
Roman Family

abstract: This thesis presents the array of evidence concerning three crucial aspects of Roman maternity: pregnancy, childbirth, and primary care-givers. I explore how these elements of maternity are represented in the ancient sources and observe how the evidence corresponds to and diverges from the established impressions of these facets of maternity. I consider several issues surrounding the critical, initial moments of the life-cycle and how they are informed by biological factors, social structures, and cultural projections. Motherhood and childhood at Rome have garnered a great deal of interest, but issues of conception, gestation, childbirth, and early infant care have received much less attention. In this thesis they are considered together and thus in light of one another. The first chapter of this study surveys the social context of Roman maternity through an examination of the purpose of an extensive reproductive period, its associated problems, and the impact that such a practice had on Roman attitudes towards pregnancy and childbirth. The second and third chapters of this study are dedicated to an examination of the social and cultural identity of the two slaves who provided crucial functions throughout the pregnancy, delivery, and post-natal care of the Roman mother and child: the obstetrix (midwife) and the nutrix (wet-nurse). The final chapter shifts the focus from couples who sought to create a Roman family of their own to those who chose to limit the size of their families through contraception, abortion, infanticide, or infant exposure. I examine the attitudes towards these methods of family limitation and the critical role that parental intent had in the formation of these perceptions. By drawing on a range of ancient material, chief among which are medical writers, jurists, and funerary inscriptions, I argue that social status and demographic realities, such as high maternal and infant mortality rates, played equally significant roles in these central aspects of Roman maternity, and indeed influenced one another.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Rogue wave potentials occurring in the sine-Gordon equation

contributor:
Pelinovsky, Dmitry Efim
Mathematics and Statistics

subject: math, physics, rogue waves

abstract: In this thesis we construct rogue waves occurring in the sine-Gordon equation. An algebraic method is used to find explicit solutions to a Lax pair of equations. The Lax pair being studied is compatible with solutions to the sine-Gordon equation. Rotational and librational traveling wave solutions to the sine-Gordon equation are considered in the Lax pair. The Darboux transformation is applied with the Lax pair solutions computed at the rotational and librational waves to generate algebraic solitons and rogue waves, respectively. The rogue waves occur on the end points of the Floquet-Lax spectrum bands and can achieve a magnification factor of at most 3.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: Development of a Low-Cost and Easy-to-Use Wearable Knee Joint Monitoring System

title: A Wearable Knee Joint Monitoring System

contributor:
Deen, M Jamal
Electrical and Computer Engineering

subject:
Knee joint monitoring system
Wearable
Mobility
Sensor fusion
Inertial sensors
Gait analysis
Feature extraction
Support vector machine

abstract:
The loss of mobility among the elderly has become a significant health and socio-economic concern worldwide. Poor mobility due to gradual deterioration of the musculoskeletal system causes older adults to be more vulnerable to serious health risks such as joint injuries, bone fractures and traumatic brain injury. The costs associated with the treatment and management of these injuries are a huge financial/social burden on the government, society and family. Knee is one of the key joints that bear most of the body weight, so its proper function is essential for good mobility. Further, Continuous monitoring of the knee joint can potentially provide important quantitative information related to knee health and mobility that can be utilized for health assessment and early diagnoses of mobility-related problems.
In this research work, we developed an easy-to-use, low-cost, multi-sensor-based wearable device to monitor and assess the knee joint and proposed an analysis system to characterize and classify an individual’s knee joint features with respect to the baseline characteristics of his/her peer group. The system is composed of a set of different miniaturized sensors (inertial motion, temperature, pressure and galvanic skin response) to obtain linear acceleration, angular velocity, skin temperature, muscle pressure and sweat rate of a knee joint during different daily activities. A database is constructed from 70 healthy adults in the age range from 18 to 86 years using the combination of all signals from our knee joint monitoring system.
In order to extract relevant features from the datasets, we employed computationally efficient methods such as complementary filter and wavelet packet decomposition. Minimum redundancy maximum relevance algorithm and principal component analysis were used to select key features and reduce the dimension of the feature vectors. The obtained features were classified using the support vector machine, forming two distinct clusters in the baseline knee joint characteristics corresponding to gender, age, body mass index and knee/leg health condition. Thus, this simple, easy‐to‐use, cost-effective, non-invasive and unobtrusive knee monitoring system can be used for real-time evaluation and early diagnoses of joint disorders, fall detection, mobility monitoring and rehabilitation.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: Biological Rhythms in Mood and Anxiety

contributor:
Frey, Benicio N
Neuroscience

subject:
biological rhythms
mood disorders
actigraphy
postpartum depression
postpartum anxiety

abstract:
Introduction:
In Major Depressive (MDD) and Bipolar Disorders (BD), there are well-documented changes in sleep and biological rhythms. However, how sleep and biological rhythm disruptions impact functioning and quality of life (QOL) in these populations, and how these disruptions affect perinatal mood and anxiety remains little-known. In this thesis, we aimed to compare sleep and biological rhythms in individuals with and without mood disorders, and to investigate whether these measures can account for worsened functional impairment and QOL in these populations. We investigated whether clinical variables combined with sleep and biological rhythms during pregnancy can be used to predict depressive and anxiety symptom severity postpartum. Finally, we investigated longitudinal changes in sleep, and biological rhythms over the perinatal period.
Results:
Subjective and objective sleep and biological rhythm disruptions, and light exposure differences are wide-spread in MDD and BD. Regression analyses showed that subjective and objective sleep and biological rhythm disruptions can explain 43% of variance in QOL scores, and 52% of variance in functional impairment in MDD, BD and healthy controls.
Clinical and demographic variables, objective and subjective sleep and biological rhythm measures collected during pregnancy accounted for 50% of postpartum depression and 49% of postpartum anxiety symptom severity variance, in regression analyses. Numerous sleep and biological rhythm changes occurred across multiple domains from pregnancy to postpartum.
Conclusion:
Results suggest that sleep and biological rhythm disruptions occur across many domains in mood disorders, including sleep, light exposure, daily activity rhythms and melatonin. These disruptions are associated with worse QOL and functioning in BD, MDD and healthy controls. Biological rhythms and sleep changes across the perinatal period can be used to predict severity of postpartum depressive and anxiety symptoms. This work highlights the importance of sleep and biological rhythms as intervention targets across different outcomes, and across different mood diagnoses.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

abstract: Sleep and biological rhythms are often disrupted in individuals with depression and bipolar disorder. In this thesis, we aimed to compare sleep and biological rhythms in individuals with depression or bipolar disorder, against individuals without these disorders. We investigated whether sleep and biological rhythms contribute to functioning and quality of life in these individuals. As sleep and biological rhythms are disrupted in pregnancy and following childbirth, we assessed whether sleep and biological rhythms during pregnancy can be used to predict postpartum depression and anxiety severity. Finally, we investigated changes in sleep, biological rhythms and light exposure from pregnancy to postpartum. Results indicate that disruptions in sleep, biological rhythms, and changes in light exposure are widespread in mood disorders. These disruptions are linked to worse quality of life and functioning. Sleep and biological rhythms change from pregnancy to postpartum, and can be used to predict severity of postpartum depression and anxiety.


title: A STUDY ON HOT TEARING IN DIRECT CHILL CASTING OF ALUMINUM ALLOYS USING A MULTI-SCALE APPROACH

contributor:
Phillion, Andre
Materials Science and Engineering

abstract:
Hot tearing is one of the most severe defects encountered in direct chill (DC) casting
of aluminum alloys and is intimately linked with the constitutive behavior of the
alloy in the semi-solid region. The experimental studies in this  field are limited due
to the high temperature at which hot tears form and the sensitivity of factors that
cause hot tearing to the casting geometry; thus, modeling of the DC casting process
at the macroscopic scale has become a popular practice in industry. However, such
models do not consider the localization of deformation and liquid feeding between the
grains that cause cracking. In this study, a new multi-scale approach to predicting the
hot tearing defect in DC casting is proposed. In this approach, a thermomechanical
model of the DC casting process has been coupled with a meso-scale coupled hydro-mechanical granular model. The thermomechanical model predicts the evolution
of temperature distribution and displacement  field for all locations within the DC
cast billet for three different simulation cases with casting speeds of 46 mm/min, 56
mm/min, and 66 mm/min. Then, its output is used as input to the coupled meso-scale
hydro-mechanical granular model to investigate the effect of different parameters
on the tensile behavior of the mushy zone. The results show that the multi-scale
approach can successfully simulate hot tearing formation at the regions in the DC
cast billet which were found to be susceptible to hot tearing. Moreover, hot tearing susceptibility maps generated by this approach reveal that for the three DC casting
simulations performed, the condition for hot tearing formation is favorable above the
bottom block and near the center-line of the billet and as the casting speed increases,
this region shifts to lower heights in the billet and a greater region becomes prone to
hot tearing.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: NEUTRON STUDIES ON RARE-EARTH AND DOUBLE PEROVSKITE MAGNETIC OXIDES WITH FRUSTRATED TETRAHEDRAL ARCHITECTURES

contributor:
Gaulin, Bruce
Physics

subject:
double perovskite
neutron scattering
rare-earth titanates
neutron diffraction
magnetic frustration
antiferromagnetism
crystal-field excitations
x-ray synchrotron diffraction

abstract:
Magnetic frustration is the underpinning theme to all of the magnetic oxide systems
explored in this dissertation. The materials studied in this thesis belong to two topical
families of interest in modern condensed matter physics, namely, the rare-earth titanates
R2Ti2O7 and the double perovskites A2BB'O6. Chapter 1 provides the theoretical background necessary to understand the crystalline systems studied in this thesis. Chapter 2 explains
the necessity of utilizing neutron scattering and x-ray experiments to tease out the key
signatures which were essential to formulating the conclusions made in each study. Chapter 3 outlines the neutron scattering techniques which were employed to investigate the crystal systems. The first objective of this thesis is to understand effect of “stuffing” on the ground state anisotropy of the quantum spin liquid candidate Yb2Ti2O7 via an investigation of the crystal-field excitations in intentionally stuffed samples. The pentultimate study was performed on the monoclinic crystal systems, La2LiRuO6 and La2LiOsO6, to discern the effect of lattice distortions on the spin-orbit induced magnetic ground state of 4d3 and 5d3 double perovskites based on Ru and Os magnetic ions. The final investigation involves an inelastic neutron scattering investigation of magnetic ground states in three d2 double perovskites, Ba2CaOsO6, Ba2MgOsO6 and Ba2ZnOsO6. Here, we make the case for novel octupolar order below their respective transition temperatures T* of 50 K, 49 K and 30 K based on information provided by neutron scattering, heat capacity, muon spin relaxation and synchrotron x-ray diffraction studies.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Experimental and Analytical strategies to assess the seismic performance of auxiliary power systems in critical infrastructure

contributor:
El-Dakhakhni, Wael
Tait, Michael
Civil Engineering

subject:
Auxiliary power
Battery racks
Bracing
Concentrated Plasticity
FEMA 461
Mechanistic model
NPP
OpenSees
Quasi-static testing
Sliding connection
Steel Frame
Damage States
Fragility
Seismic Risk
Shake table

abstract:
The performance of nonstructural components in critical infrastructure,
such as nuclear power plants (NPPs), has been primarily based on experience and
historical data. This topic has been attracting increased interest from researchers
following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011. This disaster
demonstrated the importance of using batteries in NPPs as an auxiliary power
system, where such systems can provide the necessary power to mitigate the risk of
serious accidents. However, little research has been conducted on such
nonstructural components to evaluate their performance following the post-
Fukushima safety requirements, recommended by several nuclear regulators
worldwide [e.g., Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and Nuclear Safety
Commission (NSC)]. To address this research gap, this dissertation investigates the
lateral performance of an auxiliary battery power system (ABPS) similar to those
currently existing/operational in NPPs in Canada. The ABPS was experimentally
tested under displacement-controlled quasi-static cyclic fully-reversed loading that
simulates lateral seismic demands. Due to the presence of sliding batteries, the
ABPS was then tested dynamically under increased ground motion levels on a
shake table. The experimental results demonstrated that the design guidelines and
fragility curves currently assigned to battery rack systems in the FEMA P58 prestandards do not encompass all possible failure mechanisms.
A 3D numerical model was also developed using OpenSees software. The
model was validated using the experimental results. The model results showed that the lateral performance of ABPS with different configurations (i.e. different
lengths, tiers, and seismic categories) is influenced by the capacity of the L-shaped
connection between the side rails and the end rail. However, the model was not able
to predict all the damage states from the dynamic experimental tests, since the
rocking/sliding/impact behavior of the batteries is a highly complex nonlinear
problem by nature and beyond the scope of this study. The model presented is
limited to the assessment of the lateral performance of different ABPS statically.
This dissertation demonstrated the difference between the observed
behavior of laboratory-controlled lateral performance tests of ABPSs
operational/existing in NPPs and the behavior of ABPSs found in the literature that
relied on limited historical and experience data. Finally, this dissertation laid the
foundations for the need to further investigate the behavior of other safety-related
components in NPPs and assess their compliance with new post-Fukushima design
requirements.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: eco-Technoeconomic-Analysis of Steel Manufacturing Off-gas Valorization

contributor:
Adams II, Thomas A.
Chemical Engineering

subject:
Coke oven gas
Blast furnace gas
Combined cycle power plant
system optimization
off-gas to methanol
Life cycle analysis
Chemical plant cost estimation

abstract: The steel manufacturing industry is one of the largest emitters of CO2, accounting for upwards of 8.8% of all anthropogenic CO2 emissions. The governments are charging taxes on CO2 emissions, which incentivize the industry to further reduce CO2 emissions. At present, much of the CO2, produced in the steel manufacturing process occurs as a result of coke oven and blast furnace gas by-products. As such, two major strategies have been proposed to reduce steel-manufacturing-related CO2 emissions: producing more electricity via optimized combined cycle power plants (CCPP), and converting off-gas by-products into methanol (CBMeOH). The present research consists of an economic and environmental analysis of the status quo, CCPP, and CBMeOH systems for five locations: Ontario, the USA, Finland, Mexico, and China. The economic analysis considered factors such as carbon tax, electricity price, methanol price, electricity carbon intensity, power purchasing parity, and income tax. In the CCPP process, desulphurization is conducted using ProMax with MDEA as the solvent, while the CBMeOH process uses a membrane to separate the bulk H2S, with organic sulfurs such as thiophene being removed via CO2+steam reforming and middle-temperature removal. The results of the economic analysis revealed the CBMeOH plant to be the most profitable in Ontario, the USA, China, and Mexico, while the CCPP system was shown to be the most profitable in Finland. The environmental analysis was conducted using the TRACI, CML-IA, ReCiPe2016, and IMPACT2002+ tools in SimaPro V9, with the results showing the CBMeOH system to be the most environmentally option in Ontario, Finland, and China, and the CCPP system as the most environmentally friendly option in the USA and Mexico.

abstract: Dissertation

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: A prospective, cohort pilot design thesis: Fast I(n)Dentification of PATHogens in Neonates (FINDPATH-N)

contributor: Clinical Health Sciences (Health Research Methodology)

subject:
pediatrics
sepsis
neonate
pilot
next generation sequencing
blood culture

abstract:
Introduction: Sepsis is a major source of morbidity and mortality in neonates; however, identification of the causative pathogens can be challenging. Next generation sequencing (NGS) is a high-throughput, parallel sequencing technique for DNA. Pathogen-targeted enrichment followed by NGS has the potential to be more sensitive and faster than current gold-standard blood culture. In this pilot study, we will test the feasibility and pathogen detection patterns of pathogen-targeted NGS in neonates with suspected sepsis. Additionally, the distribution and diagnostic accuracy of cell-free DNA and protein C levels at two time points will be explored.
Methods: We will conduct a prospective, pilot observational study. Neonates over 1 kg with suspected sepsis from a single tertiary care children’s hospital will be recruited for the study. Recruitment will be censored at 200 events or 6 months duration. Two blood study samples will be taken: the first simultaneous to the blood culture (time = 0 hr, for NGS and biomarkers) via an exception to consent (deferred consent) and another 24 hours later after prospective consent (biomarkers only). Neonates will be adjudicated into those with clinical sepsis, culture-proven sepsis and without sepsis based on clinical criteria. Feasibility parameters (e.g. recruitment) and NGS process time will be reported.
Analysis: NGS results will be described in aggregate, compared to the simultaneous blood culture (sensitivity and specificity) and reviewed via expert panel for plausibility. Pilot data for biomarker distribution and diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity and specificity) for distinguishing between septic and non-septic neonates will be reported.
Study amendment and interim results: After obtaining ethics approval, study enrolment started October 15, 2020. Interim feasibility results showed successful deferred consent, but low enrolment. A study amendment was used to increase enrolment, create pre-packaged blood kits and implement a substitute decision maker Notification form.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Health Sciences (MSc)


title: AIR TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE ROBUSTNESS ASSESSMENT FOR PROACTIVE  SYSTEMIC RISK MANAGEMENT

contributor:
El-Dakhakhni, Wael
Mohamed, Moataz
Civil Engineering

subject: Air traffic network, Complex Network Theory, Proactive Risk Management, Resilience, Robustness

abstract: A key attribute of resilience, robustness serves as a predictor of infrastructure system performance under disruptions, thus informing proactive infrastructure risk management. A literature review indicated that previous studies did not consider some key factors that can influence the robustness of Air Transportation Infrastructure Networks (ATIN) and thus their (system-level cascade) systemic risk management processes. In this respect, the current study first assesses existing and then develops a new methodology to quantify the robustness of ATIN. Specifically, based on integrating travel time and flight frequency, the study develops alternative best route and link weight approaches to assess key ATIN robustness measures and relevant operating cost losses (OCL). In order to demonstrate the practical use of the developed methodology, the robustness and the associated OCL of the Canadian Domestic Air Traffic Network are evaluated under random failures (i.e., disruptive events that occur randomly) and targeted threats (i.e., disruptive events that occur deliberately). The analysis results show that the network robustness is influenced by the utilized evaluation approach, especially after 20% of the network components become nonoperational. Overall, the methodology developed within this study is expected to provide ATIN policymakers with the means to quantify the network robustness and OCL, and thus enable ATIN resilience-guided proactive risk management in the face of natural or anthropogenic hazard realizations.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: Algorithms in Privacy & Security for Data Analytics and Machine Learning

contributor:
Samavi, Reza
Computing and Software

subject:
Privacy
Security
Anonymization
Machine Learning
Algorithms

abstract: Applications employing very large datasets are increasingly common in this age of Big Data. While these applications provide great benefits in various domains, their usage can be hampered by real-world privacy and security risks. In this work we propose algorithms which aim to provide privacy and security protection in different aspects of these applications. First, we address the problem of data privacy. When the datasets used contain personal information, they must be properly anonymized in order to protect the privacy of the subjects to which the records pertain. A popular privacy preservation technique is the k-anonymity model which guarantees that any record in the dataset must be indistinguishable from at least k-1 other records in terms of quasi-identifiers (i.e. the subset of attributes that can be used to deduce the identity of an individual). Achieving k-anonymity while considering the competing goal of data utility can be a challenge, especially for datasets containing large numbers of records. We formulate k-anonymization as an optimization problem with the objective to maximize data utility, and propose two practical algorithms for solving this problem. Secondly, we address the problem of application security; specifically, for predictive models using Deep Learning, where adversaries can use minimally perturbed inputs (a.k.a. adversarial examples) to cause a neural network to produce incorrect outputs. We propose an approach which protects against adversarial examples in image classification-type networks. The approach relies on two mechanisms: 1) a mechanism that increases robustness at the expense of accuracy; and, 2) a mechanism that improves accuracy. We show that an approach combining the two mechanisms can provide protection against adversarial examples while retaining accuracy. We provide experimental results to demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithms for both problems.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)

abstract: Applications employing very large datasets are increasingly common in this age of Big Data. While these applications provide great benefits in various domains, their usage can be hampered by real-world privacy and security risks. In this work we propose algorithms which aim to provide privacy and security protection in different aspects of these applications. We address the problem of data privacy; when the datasets used contain personal information, they must be properly anonymized in order to protect the privacy of the subjects to which the records pertain. We propose two practical algorithms for anonymization which are also utility-centric. We address the problem of application security, specifically for Deep Learning applications where adversaries can use minimally perturbed inputs to cause a neural network to produce incorrect outputs. We propose an approach which protects against these attacks. We provide experimental results to demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithms for both problems.


title: An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Caregiving Essentials Course for Informal Caregivers of Older Adults in Ontario and its Online Delivery

contributor:
Williams, Allison
Geography and Earth Sciences

subject: Intervention Caregiving Health Online

abstract: Informal caregiving is a growing phenomenon, but many family members and friends fall into the role unequipped with the necessary knowledge and skills. Informal caregivers often experience high levels of burden and are vulnerable to developing negative health outcomes. Effective and easily accessible interventions are needed for this group. This research evaluates the effectiveness of the Caregiving Essentials pilot course offerings and their online delivery. The objectives of the course are to increase the following in terms of the caregiver experience: 1) Knowledge, ability, skills, confidence, and self-efficacy in caregiving, 2) Self-reported sense of personal health and well-being, 3) Perceptions of health and well-being of older adults in their care, and 4) Understanding and access of the health and social service system. The evaluation study determines whether these four objectives were met, and to what extent. Additionally, the research explores the ways in which the online delivery of the course contributes to its overall effectiveness, and specifically, whether aspects of the web-based modality enhance or hinder participants’ learning experience. The methodology includes pre/post-course surveys (n=111/n=39), participant interviews (n=26), stakeholder interviews (n=6), and a focus group (n=5). Caregiving Essentials met many of the proposed research objectives. Increasing knowledge, understanding, and confidence was a stronger outcome than increasing the health and well-being of the caregivers and their care recipients. Overall, most of the participants reported positive experiences with the course, including a perceived positive future impact. Furthermore, the online delivery of the course enabled greater accessibility for participants and the discussion boards provided the opportunity for social interaction and a sense of community. The findings from this evaluation have been applied to future course offerings and may also inform other interventions for informal caregivers with similar objectives. In addition, this work provides contributions to policy decisions surrounding informal caregiving in Ontario, Canada.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: TARGET IDENTIFICATION THROUGH THE TRANSCRIPTOMIC CHARACTERIZATION OF PROFIBROTIC MONOCYTES/MACROPHAGES IN IDIOPATHIC PULMONARY FIBROSIS

title: CHARACTERIZING MONOCYTES/MACROPHAGES IN PULMONARY FIBROSIS

contributor:
Ask, Kjetil
Medical Sciences

subject:
idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
interstitial lung disease
monocytes
macrophages
alternatively activated macrophages
transcriptomic analysis
molecular phenotyping

abstract:
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a disease of unknown pathogenesis characterized by scarring of the lung and declining respiratory function. Originating from bone marrow, circulating monocytes can be recruited into the lung tissue and polarized toward the alternatively activated (M2) profibrotic macrophage phenotype. Recent literature has shown that cluster of differentiation 14 positive (CD14+) monocytes are more abundant in IPF patient blood and are associated with disease outcome and acute exacerbation. Additionally, a 52-gene risk profile from peripheral blood mononuclear cells for outcome prediction in IPF was recently published. Here, we began by characterizing macrophages in human IPF lung tissue. We then assembled a biobank and examined transcriptomic characteristics of blood-derived circulating monocytes from IPF patients.
Various histological assessments were completed on a tissue microarray including lung biopsies from 24 IPF patients and 17 controls, to characterize M2 macrophage expression in human tissue. Whole blood samples were collected from 50 IPF patients and 12 control subjects. CD14+ monocytes were isolated and mRNA was extracted for bulk RNA sequencing. Data were analyzed for differential expression (DE), and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was performed to examine enrichment of the previously published 52-gene risk profile in our dataset.
We found that M2 macrophage expression was increased in IPF lung tissue compared to controls. CD14+ monocyte levels were significantly elevated in IPF patients in our cohort compared to control participants, and was negatively correlated with forced vital capacity (FVC). DE analysis comparing IPF and control monocytes yielded a 35-gene signature, with 16 up-regulated genes and 19 down-regulated genes. When comparing the signature related to long transplant-free survival from the published dataset to our data, GSEA demonstrated that this signature is enriched in donors from our dataset, supporting concurrence between the meanings of the two datasets. Overall, these results provide insight to identify targets to modulate monocyte/macrophage function in IPF and potentially affect progressive disease.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)

abstract: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a disease of unknown cause that results in excessive scarring of the lungs and progressive impairment in lung function. We believe that white blood cells called monocytes and macrophages play a key role in the development and progression of this disease. Overall, it is thought that monocytes, which circulate in the blood, enter the lung tissue and become macrophages. These macrophages then lead to the formation of scar tissue, which is characteristic to IPF. In order to better understand how these cells contribute to IPF, we studied their properties in blood and lung biopsies from IPF patients. We found significant differences between monocytes/macrophages in IPF than those in healthy controls, that may help explain disease progression. We hope that these findings will provide insight into causes of the IPF, and potential avenues for therapeutic intervention.


title: Surviving the labor market: understanding the experiences of women and men with autism

contributor:
Wilton, Robert
Geography

subject:
Autism
Gender
Workplace
Employment
Work-life balance

abstract: People with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) constitute the fastest-growing developmental disability population in North America, yet their employment outcomes are significantly poorer. Little attention has been given to the role of gender in shaping their employment experiences and the interface between their work and family demands. This qualitative research is intended to enable the ‘voice’ of people with autism to be heard through the content analysis of naturally occurring discourse in an on-line autism forum. The research is composed of three substantive studies. The first study investigated the role of gender in career exploration and job-seeking experiences. Guided by the Stages of Considering Work, the study examined how women and men with autism experienced three consecutive sets of vocational barriers related to contemplating employment, defining career goals, and finding jobs. The second study explored gender differences related to challenges in the workplace to maintain employment, including workplace mental health, social interaction, executive function, communication, disclosure, accommodation, sensory environment, and corporate cultures. The third study investigated the domestic experiences of women with autism as mothers, housekeepers, and caregivers, and how they negotiated the interface of work and family demands. Guided by the work/family border theory, the studyshowed how gender and disability identities significantly influenced their work-family experiences. Overall, this research informs gender-sensitive policies and practices to improve the employment and work-family balance experiences of individuals with autism.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Comparing Measures of Obesity in Relation to Health Care Use in Adults from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

contributor:
Anderson, Laura N
Health Research Methodology

subject:
obesity
body mass index
BMI
anthropometric measure
waist circumference
waist-to-hip-ratio
percent body fat
health care use
public health
aging
Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging
CLSA

abstract:
Background:
Obesity has been associated with increased health care use, but it is unclear whether this is consistent across all measures of obesity. The objectives of this thesis were to compare obesity defined by four anthropometric measures, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and percent body fat (%BF), and to estimate their associations with health care use among Canadian adults.
Methods:
A secondary data analysis was conducted from 30,097 individuals aged 45-85 years from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Anthropometric measures were collected by trained research assistants and %BF, the reference standard, was measured using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Obesity was defined as BMI≥30.0 kg/m2, WC≥88cm for females and ≥102cm for males, WHR≥0.85 for females and ≥0.90 for males, and %BF>35% for females and >25% for males. Approximately 18 months after baseline data collection, self-reported health care use in the past 12 months was collected, including any contact with a general practitioner, medical specialist, emergency department, and being a patient in a hospital overnight. Pearson correlation coefficients and sensitivity and specificity analyses were conducted to compare anthropometric measures to %BF. Relative risks and risk differences were calculated for measures of health care use, adjusted for sex, age, education, income, urban/rural, marital status, smoking status, and alcohol use. Secondary analyses were also stratified by sex and age.
Results:
The prevalence of obesity defined by BMI was 29%, by WC was 42%, by WHR was 62%, and by %BF was 73%. BMI and WC were highly correlated with %BF (r=0.75 and r=0.70, respectively) and WHR was weakly correlated with %BF (r=0.29). BMI and WC cut points demonstrated high specificity (>93%) and lower sensitivity (<58%) in predicting obesity defined by %BF. WHR cut points demonstrated high sensitivity (95%) and lower specificity (28%) in males, but lower sensitivity (44%) and high specificity (83%) in females in predicting %BF- defined obesity. There was an increased relative and absolute risk of health care use for all measures of obesity and all health care services. For example, WC-defined obesity was associated with increased relative risk (RR) of hospital overnight stay (RR: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.28- 1.54) and the risk difference (per 100) was 2.6 (95% CI:1.9-3.3). The risk of health care use was similar amongst females and males with obesity although relative risks and risk differences attenuated in the oldest adult group aged 75 and older compared to the youngest group aged 45- 54.
Conclusion:
The prevalence of obesity among Canadian adults varied substantially by anthropometric measure. BMI and WC have stronger correlations and concordance with %BF than does WHR, however all measures were positively associated with increased health care use. Further research should be conducted on obesity cut points to discern the best measure to predict health care use.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Public Health (MPH)


title: Investigating bacterial growth/biofilm formation and the plant transcriptional landscape in the Arabidopsis-Pseudomonas syringae pv tomato interaction

title: Investigating both sides of the Arabidopsis-Pst interaction

contributor:
Cameron, Robin K
Biology

abstract:
Abstract
Arabidopsis thaliana exhibits a developmentally regulated disease resistance response known as Age-Related Resistance (ARR), a process that requires intercellular accumulation of salicylic acid (SA), which is thought to act as an intercellular antimicrobial and antibiofilm agent against the phytopathogen Pseudomonas syingae during infection of Arabidopsis leaves.  During infection, P. syingae forms aggregates thought to consist of bacterial cells and extracellular polymers, such as alginate, extracellular DNA, lipids, and proteins. In this thesis the Arabidopsis thaliana-Pseudomonas syringae pv tomato (Pst) pathosystem was used to explore i) the contribution of alginate in protecting Pst during growth in vitro against the antimicrobial and antibiofilm effects of SA, and ii) various aspects of ARR including global gene expression analysis. At moderate SA concentrations, planktonic free-swimming bacterial cells of Pst ∆algU mucAB ∆algD, a mutant with reduced virulence, grew to lower densities than wild-type Pst and the alginate biosynthesis mutant Pst ∆algD in apoplast-mimicking minimal media, leading to the idea that AlgU regulates the T3SS and iron storage and uptake genes.  This study also provides evidence that the Arabidopsis PAMP recognition mutants efr-1 are fls2 are partially ARR-defective and may contribute to ARR and the bak1-3 mutant may be required for ARR, suggesting PTI-related responses contribute to ARR. Lastly, comparative transcriptome analyses of susceptible young and ARR-competent mature plants responding to Pst, suggests that JA pathway genes are expressed in young but not mature plants. This work highlights the complex interaction between Arabidosis thaliana and Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Candidate in Philosophy


title: A Cross-cultural Exploration of Physician Assessment

contributor:
Monteiro, Sandra
Health Research Methodology

subject:
Medical Education
Physician Assessment
OSCE
Global Health
Simulation
Limited Resource
CBME
Entrustability

abstract:
We conduct an evaluation of the cross-cultural ‘export’ of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), a well-established Western medical education assessment tool that is in keeping with Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) principles, into the new socio-economic setting of Rwanda.  The evaluation framework of ‘assessment utility’ is applied, where the utility of an assessment is described conceptually as the multiplicative function of its validity (V), reliability (R), educational impact (E), cost/feasibility (C) and acceptability (A).  A mixed-methods approach of both quantitative and qualitative data analysis is used.
	The quantitative findings support high content and face validity, high reliability, high acceptability and achievable cost and feasibility of the OSCE, all of which would suggest high utility.  The analysis of qualitative data identifies some important threats to validity, namely perceived significant gaps in training in the internship program that were thought to likely be the underlying reason for the low mean assessment scores.  This threat to the validity of the results appears to influence and limit the acceptability of the assessment in this context.  While it is believed that it would be suitable as a formative assessment, primarily for the purpose of ‘assessment for learning’, it was not felt that it was currently acceptable as a summative or high-stakes ‘assessment of learning’, until and unless training deficits are addressed.  Currently, the OSCE is seen to have greatest value in its potential for educational impact by acting as both a driver and a marker for change both at the individual and programmatic levels. Many principles of CBME and the concept of ‘entrustability’ as a criterion-referenced assessment standard were well-received cross-culturally, when training and assessment were viewed in tandem.  Our study highlights the importance of using a comprehensive evaluation framework that includes both quantitative and qualitative methods to accurately characterize the utility of an assessment.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)

abstract:
This is a case-study where the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), a well-established, performance-based and resource-intensive Western medical education assessment tool, was introduced to the culturally different, resource-limited setting of Rwanda.  What we wanted to evaluate is how the OSCE was received in the Rwandan medical training system.
	What we found is that generally, the OSCE was received in a positive way.  Both examiners and participants thought it was a relevant, realistic, feasible, valuable test for doctors in training.  However, examiners also felt that the candidates did not do as well as they could have on the test not because they were fundamentally bad doctors, but because there were major gaps in their training.  The OSCE therefore demonstrated its usefulness by identifying these deficiencies in training.  Examiners felt that addressing these gaps in training was most important and should be done before any institutional body uses the OSCE results to decide who should get a medical license or not.


title: APPLYING EVIDENCE MAPPING METHODOLOGIES TO THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION’S TUBERCULOSIS GUIDELINES

contributor:
Schünemann, Holger
Health Research Methodology

subject: Evidence mapping, living guideline, recommendation, gap-map

abstract:
Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is the number one infectious disease killer in the world. TB is both preventable, and curable. Since 1997, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global TB (GTB) Programme has released evidence-informed publications to guide member states. In their EndTB strategy, the WHO set a mandate to eradicate TB by 2035, in part by intensifying TB research and innovation. As an effort towards this goal, this project applies evidence mapping methodologies to published WHO TB recommendations, in an innovative process called “recommendation mapping” (RM).
Objectives: The prime objective of RM is to allow guideline developers and key stakeholders to
identify gaps and clusters of recommendations across publications, serve as an instrumental tool
in the sequence of guideline development (from intelligent priority setting, to the assembly of
final recommendations) and increase the accessibility of key guideline components. The
secondary objective of this work is to poise guideline components for live update and refinement
in a rapidly learning health system.
Methods: In this mixed methods study, a methodological framework for mapping guideline
components is proposed, with both a quantitative and narrative assessment of raw data and final map outputs. A qualitative analysis from the perspective of key stakeholders, policy-makers, researchers and WHO-GTB liaisons working in guideline development is also included. For the methodological piece, all publications containing WHO TB recommendations were eligible for the mapping exercise. Each recommendation was extracted according to all subdomains of their PICO backbone. Subsections of recommendations are coded using existing ontologies (SNOMED-CT, ATC, ICD-11). A centralized database containing extracted and coded recommendations was then presented in an online and interactive schematic. For the qualitative assessment of palatability of this approach within the organization, semi-structured interviews and a survey was delivered to eligible participants at two Guideline Development Group meetings for WHO tuberculosis treatment and screening guidelines.
Results: The notable result of this work is the development, refinement and application of
recommendation mapping methodologies. 20 WHO-GTB guidelines underwent an application of
the novel recommendation methodologies proposed in this thesis to create an interactive map,
and a searchable database. In-depth interviews and survey results with 21 participants (WHO GTB staff, WHO TB- guideline development group members and technical experts) pointed to
concerns in the current accessibility and organization of WHO-GTB guidelines.
Conclusions: Recommendation mapping may have utility in charting the terrain of
recommendations, inform priority setting, and provide a scaffold for the future transition to living guidelines.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Public Health (MPH)

abstract:
The World Health Organization (WHO) issues guidelines to help clinicians, policy-makers,
and researchers make informed decisions in their work. Guidelines contain recommendations
that can be thought of as bottom-line answers to the questions we ask the scientific literature
(based on the evidence available to us today). The WHO’s Tuberculosis (TB) Department is
partaking in a novel digital reorganization of their guideline recommendations using the
evidence-mapping methods proposed in this thesis. This thesis uses the principles of evidence
mapping to create recommendation maps that, like any map, chart the landscape in a given
domain (in this case, TB recommendations). The recommendation map will help guide the WHO
in setting priorities for future research and guideline development.


title: Development of a Bio-barcode Assay for the Electrochemical Detection of a Cancer Protein Biomarker

contributor:
Soleymani, Leyla
Biomedical Engineering

abstract: There is a tremendous need for biosensing systems that can be operated at the point-of-care for disease screening and diagnostics and health monitoring. In spite of this, systems that offer the required analytical sensitivity and specificity in clinical samples, and are truly simple to operate using a sample-in-answer-out approach remain elusive. To address this challenge, the development and optimization of an electrochemical bio-barcode assay (e-biobarcode assay) that integrates biorecognition with signal transduction using molecular (DNA/protein) machines and signal readout using nanostructured electrodes is presented within this thesis. The e-biobarcode assay eliminates multi-step processing and uses a single step for analysis following sample collection into the reagent tube. Using this assay, a clinically-relevant performance for the analysis of prostate specific antigen (PSA) in undiluted and unprocessed human plasma: a log-linear range of 1 ng mL-1 – 200 ng mL-1 and a LOD of 0.385 ng mL-1 was achieved. The simplicity of the e-biobarcode assay offers a realistic solution for biomarker analysis at the point-of-care.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: An Energy Balance Based Analysis of Solar Domestic Hot Water Systems

contributor:
Lightstone, Marilyn
Mechanical Engineering

subject:
Solar Domestic Hot Water system
TES tank
solar fraction
energy balance

abstract:
Solar Domestic Hot Water (SDHW) systems collect energy from the sun to heat the household water. In the context of a system energy balance, numerical simulations were conducted using the commercial software “TRNSYS-17” to study the SDHW system performance (solar fraction) influenced by the critical parameters in various sizes of the thermal storage tank (TES) tank. The key parameters were the magnitude of the collector mass flow rate, degree of thermal stratification within the TES tank, and the duration of the mass flows through the collector.
An empirical correlation was obtained to determine the operating collector mass flow rate and TES volume to deliver the peak system performance. The correlation was preliminarily verified with different weather data. The studies showed that the optimal collector mass flow rate occurred when the same amount of total daily household demand passed through the collector. Furthermore, when the twofold amount of the household demand passed through the collector, the optimal dimensionless tank volume became insensitive to the change of collector flow rate and remained constant at 0.84.
Researchers discovered that promoting thermal stratification within the TES tank would enhance system performance. Thermal stratification within a TES improves the system performance by sending colder water to the solar collector and hotter water to the household. This research challenges the research community’s focus on thermal stratification by showing that solar fraction is directly related to the solar collector heat losses. As such, the role of the TES tank is to supply cold fluid to the collector to minimize collector losses. Thermal stratification in the top portion of the tank is thus unimportant in influencing solar fraction.
In this research, the pump is turned on/off by monitoring the temperature difference between the collector inlet and outlet. Different pump control strategies at different collector mass flow rates were implemented to adjust the pump-on time. The studies showed the system performance was negligibly affected (~0.5%) by employing different pump control strategies while the collector mass flow rate was held constant.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: Temperature Monitoring in Selective Laser Melting of Inconel 625

contributor:
Elbestawi, Mo
Mechanical Engineering

subject: Additive Manufacturing

abstract:
The objective of this research was to develop a system to effectively monitor temperature in the selective laser melting of Inconel 625. This study established a monitoring system that collects temperature data and describes its relationship with process parameters, develops a control simulation based on the obtained results and determines how to change input parameters in situ. Such research was driven by the unreliability of additively manufactured components, which often contain internal voids and cracks as well as display poor surface finish. With the need for improved part quality, a temperature monitoring system, a promising method of solving several quality issues, proves necessary.
This monitoring system was developed using a pyrometer and a thermal imager mounted on a powder bed metal printer to record the peak temperature of the melt pool. Experiments found that both laser power and scan speed affect the peak melt pool temperature of Inconel 625: as the peak melt pool increases as power increases and as scan speed decreases. A subset of experiments run with a thermal camera further revealed that there is no discernible temperature trend across the laser track, meaning that there was no significant difference in temperature at the start, middle or end of the track. The thermal camera also revealed that temperature across the melt pool resembled a second order response to laser input. Furthermore, according to preliminary offline measurements taken of the primary dendrite arm spacing (PDAS) of Inconel 625 coupons, PDAS increases with peak temperature. In addition to implementing and testing the monitoring system, this research created and simulated a first order model of the system using a discreet proportional integral derivative controller. Lastly, two separate methods were found to interface a controller with the Omnisint 160 in order to change the laser power based on the temperature feedback

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: Development of New Grades of Zinc Coated Direct Press-Hardenable Steel with Robust Cathodic Protection

contributor:
McDermid, Joseph
Materials Science and Engineering

subject:
Press-Hardenable Steel
Hot Stamping
Galvanizing
Zinc Coatings
Mechanical Properties
Corrosion Protection
Liquid Metal Embrittlement

abstract:
Despite the high demand for press-hardenable steel (PHS) with coatings that provide sacrificial cathodic protection, Zn-based coatings have experienced limited use due to the significant challenges associated with avoiding liquid metal embrittlement (LME) while maintaining robust cathodic protection when using conventional PHS materials and processing techniques. The present research addresses these challenges by reducing the conventional direct hot press forming (DHPF) temperature to between 600–700 °C, such that forming and quenching occurs well below the Zn(Fe)liq → Г-Fe3Zn10 peritectic temperature of 782 °C, thereby removing the conditions necessary for LME to occur while allowing for formation of the cathodically-protective Г-Fe3Zn10 phase. The objective of this work was to define a process window for two galvanized prototype PHS alloys with compositions of 0.20C-2.01Mn-0.26Si-0.005B and 0.19C-2.5Mn-0.26Si-0.005B (wt%) that would result in fully martensitic microstructures, tensile strengths (TS) ≥ 1500 MPa, and robust cathodic protection, defined as attaining ≥ 15 vol% Г-Fe3Zn10 in the coating microstructure, while avoiding LME. Accomplishing this task involved characterizing both grades as a function of austenization time, stamping temperature, and strain imposed by the forming process in order to define process windows that resulted in parts that met the aforementioned property requirements.
It was found that the approach of increasing the Mn content relative to conventional PHS grades was successful in improving the hardenability sufficiently to enable the formation of fully martensitic microstructures despite the lower effective cooling rates associated with the reduced DPHF temperatures. Microstructural imaging and tensile testing demonstrated that, for both prototype PHS grades, a process window exists for the production of parts that satisfy the targets of the formation of fully martensitic microstructures and TS ≥ 1500 MPa while exhibiting uniform elongation of about 0.05 followed by significant post-uniform elongation. The effect of DHPF temperature and strain imposed by the forming process on mechanical properties was found to be negligible. Tensile tests and fractography revealed that reducing the DHPF temperature to between 600–700 °C was successful in preventing LME, thereby allowing samples to fracture in a ductile manner. Micro-cracking in the coating of the DHPF part was observed; however, these cracks were arrested at the coating-substrate interface. For all tested conditions, the coating met the target of ≥ 15 vol% Г-Fe3Zn10, implying that robust cathodic protection is expected. Based on the results of these experiments, it was concluded that DHPF process windows that meet all of the property targets include austenization times and DHPF temperatures of 120–180 s and 600–700 °C, respectively, for the 2Mn grade, and 60–180 s and 600–700 °C, respectively, for the 2.5Mn grade.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: THERMAL-AWARE COOLING CONTROL AND WORKLOAD ASSIGNMENT FOR HETEROGENEOUS DATA CENTERS

contributor:
Down, Douglas
Computing and Software

abstract:
Data centers are struggling with inefficient power usage, which is one of their crucial challenges. Information technology (IT) and cooling infrastructure are the major contributors to power consumption in data centers. Server over-cooling, inefficient power management of cooling units, and thermal-oblivious assignment of server workload are significant contributors to the considerable power wastage in data centers. These issues can be addressed by recognizing cooling units' ability to dissipate heat from different locations inside a data center (cooling heterogeneity) and thermal properties of individual servers (server heterogeneity). This problem has not been studied thoroughly in the literature.

This dissertation consists of five phases aiming to exploit the correlation between IT and cooling units in data centers for the efficient use of power. The study begins with exploiting thermal differences between servers and ends with implementing a complete holistic thermal-aware control system. The first phase identifies server differences due to their cooling requirements and power consumption. Hence, the problem of distributing workload to minimize power consumption while respecting the thermal differences between servers (server heterogeneity) is considered. The resulting optimization problem is addressed using an effective heuristic.
This heuristic distributes workload among servers in a way that minimizes their cooling requirements and sets the cooling set-point accordingly.

The second phase investigates data center cooling heterogeneity, exploring the thermal differences among servers and between server locations that need to be cooled by cooling units. A physics-based thermal model is used to calculate the inlet temperatures of servers based on cooling and IT settings. It is shown that both the assignment of workload and the adjustment of cooling parameters affect the cooling cost, revealing a possible trade-off that can be optimized. Potential power-savings obtained by optimal assignment of workload and choices of cooling unit operational variables are explored.

Due to their complexity (both operationally and in their development), exploring synergies between IT and cooling units using physics-based thermal models is challenging. So, during the third phase of this work, an adaptive data-driven thermal model using time series prediction methods is developed. This thermal model, to a great extent, solves the problem of temperature predictions in data centers. This learning-based thermal model is fast,  adapts to thermal changes in a data center, and does not require prior knowledge of heat transfer rules.

\textit{Holistic thermal-aware workload management and infrastructure control for heterogeneous data centers using machine learning} is the subject of the next phase, which considers the problem of workload assignment and cooling control, combining the main aspects of thermal heterogeneity in data centers. It assumes thermal differences between servers and between locations in a data center using the thermal model constructed in the previous phase. The results show a potential to save a considerable amount of power as a result of leveraging synergies between the workload scheduler and control of the cooling unit.

Finally, a real-time control system is implemented which jointly controls cooling units and workload assignment in a data center. The controller in this system considers the thermal differences of servers to generate the expected thermal requirements corresponding to servers using a temperature requirement map. The capability of the cooling unit and also the thermal effects of servers are accounted for in this map. The system determines the operational variables of the cooling units using model predictive control to minimize the cooling power while satisfying the required temperatures given by the temperature map.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

abstract: The power savings opportunities available by exploiting the tight correlation between computing equipment and cooling unit behavior are explored in this thesis. Recognizing different aspects of thermal heterogeneity in data centers using thermal models is the key to our work. We first design a workload assignment algorithm that leverages differences in the thermal behavior of servers. The promising results of this approach inspire us to scrutinize the power savings opportunities that exist from the cooling unit point of view, in the sense that different locations in the data center differ in their susceptibility to cooling (cooling heterogeneity). This initial work relies on the analytic development of physical models to describe thermal behavior. Due to the difficulties in generating such models, we then develop a data-driven thermal model for temperature predictions in data centers. The accuracy and low complexity of this model are conducive to deployment in practice. In the next phase, cost-saving opportunities arising from considering cooling and server heterogeneity together are shown. Finally, a holistic infrastructure control system leveraging the thermal model is implemented on a real data center.