title: A Theory of Intraurban Residential Mobility Behaviour

contributor:
Papageorgiou, G.J.
Geography

subject: Geography Geography

abstract:
The purpose of this study is to develop and test a model of the intraurban residential mobility behaviour of individual households. Intraurban residential mobility is the relocation of households from one residence to another within an urban area.

The model is based on a number of theoretical concepts developed in previous studies of household mobility behaviour. Three concepts are particularly important: place utility, aspirations, and Jocational stress. Unlike earlier studies, however, these concepts are defined within a comprehensive general model of evaluation and choice. The framework adopted is that provided by the theory of consumer behaviour. Developing the mobility model within this framework permits explicit definition of concepts and clear specification of interrelationships.

The basic idea of the model is that mobility is the result of perceived differences between what a household has and what a household believes it could have elsewhere. The household, through its preferences, is able to evaluate and assign relative values to residences. The relative value attached to a particular residence is defined as place utility. Particularly important is the relative value attached to a household's present residence, defined as experienced place utility, and the relative value attached to the best residence the household believes is attainable elsewhere, defined as aspiration place utility. The difference between these values is defined as residential stress and constitutes the basic decision variable. When residential stress exceeds a certain stress threshold, the household decides to seek a new residence. This decision is followed by a search process in which aspiration place utility functions as a goal.

Of particular importance in this conceptualization is the idea that aspirations are related to what is attainable. Decisions are the result of both preferences and constraints. Specific constraints included in the model are income and needs. The latter are hypothesized to be related to life cycle stage. Changes in these constraints affect experienced and aspiration place utility, and hence, residential stress. Such changes, therefore, are of major significance in understanding mobility.

The model is empirically tested by examining a number of hypotheses derived from the theoretical analysis. Of major importance is the relationship between residential stress and mobility. A measure of residential stress is developed by using a method of conjoint analysis, termed tradeoff analysis, to construct utility scaled for individual households. These scales permit measures of experienced place utility, aspiration place utility and thus residential stress to be derived. Trade-off analysis is particularly appropriate in this context because 1) the type of choice required by respondents is consistent with the evaluation process of the model, 2) the method is designed for the analysis of complex stimuli, such as residences, composed of a number of individual attributes, and 3) the resulting utility scale has interval scale properties as required by the definition of residential stress. No previous study has attempted to measure these concepts at this scale.

Other hypotheses analyzed concern the relationships between income and aspiration place utility, income and experienced place utility, income changes and mobility, and life cycle stage and mobility. Mobility is defined both in terms of intended mobility behaviour and actual mobility behaviour. The results support the hypotheses in all cases, although to varying degrees. Overall, the empirical analysis provides considerable support for the theoretical model of mobility behaviour.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Carbonic Anhydrase 9 and Radiation Resistance in RCC

contributor:
Farrell, Tom
Pinthus, Jehonathan
Duivenvoorden, Helga
Medical Physics

subject:
radiation resistance
renal cell carcinoma
carbonic anhydrase 9
786-O
survival curve
Cancer Biology
Cancer Biology

abstract: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most frequently lethal of urological cancers. It arises in the lining of the proximal convoluted tubule of the kidney and is most common in men ages 50–70. Often, partial or radical nephrectomy is needed to effectively treat the disease, leaving patients with reduced kidney function. RCC frequently displays significant radiation resistance, limiting the usefulness of traditional radiation therapy which might spare patients’ normal tissue. The enzyme carbonic anhydrase 9 (CA9), a product of the hypoxia pathway, is found upregulated in the majority of RCC, particularly the clear cell type. It catalyses the dissolution of carbon dioxide into water as bicarbonate and has been linked to increased invasion and migration in RCC tumour cells. The radiation resistance of two RCC cell lines 786-O (human CCRCC) and RAG (murine renal adenocarcinoma) was investigated by the clonogenic assay in the presence of a CA9 inhibitor or silencing RNA. The interference with CA9 by either of these methods significantly sensitizes 786-O cells to the effects of ionizing radiation in vitro. Moreover, fractionation of the dose delivered can increase this sensitization effect. It is hoped that current targeting of CA9 can make radiation therapy a more feasible option in the treatment of RCC.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: Pore-size Dependence of Ion Diffusivity in Dye-sensitized Solar Cells

contributor:
Xu, Gu
Materials Science and Engineering

subject:
mesoporous materials
mass transport
iodide/triiodide redox couple
TiCl4 post-treatment
surface diffusion
Semiconductor and Optical Materials
Semiconductor and Optical Materials

abstract: The pore-size dependence of liquid diffusivity in mesopores has been a controversial topic. It is especially meaningful in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) because the triiodide ion diffusivity is closely related to the cell performance. By applying electrochemical measurements, the pore-size dependence of ion diffusivity in DSSCs was investigated based on TiO2 thin films of variable pore diameters. The alternation of pore-size was achieved by the epitaxial growth of TiO2 after TiCl4 post-treatments. From the trend of normalized diffusivities, the respective valid regimes of pore-size dependent and independent diffusion were determined, which were separated by the transition point located at 5-7 nm. In addition, my results have showed that the DSSC fabrication processes, e.g., dye loading, TiCl4 post-treatment will not lead to the transition of diffusion behaviors. Furthermore, the unexpected drop of diffusivity after one TiCl4 treatment is attributed to the involvement of surface diffusion in untreated TiO2 matrix.

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: FRACTAL ONTOLOGY AND ANARCHIC SELFHOOD: MULTIPLICITOUS BECOMINGS

contributor:
Enns, Diane
Sassen, Brigitte
W., Richard T.
Philosophy

subject:
Ontology
Deleuze
Anarchism
selfhood
multiplicity
becoming
Continental Philosophy
Other Philosophy
Continental Philosophy

abstract: This thesis explores the notion of selfhood and its relationship to larger philosophical frameworks. In Chapter One the author traces various understandings of the self as they have appeared historically in Western philosophy. This understanding of the self posits it as something static and unchanging. The author argues that this was largely the result of certain ontological or metaphysical commitments of the broader philosophical frameworks in which the self was situated. In Chapter Two Deleuze's ontology is explored as an alternative to what the author takes to be typical Western ontologies. It is argued that Deleuze's 'fractal ontology' is radically different because it begins and ends with multiplicity and becoming. This new understanding of ontology provides the basis for understanding the self as multiplicitous and anarchic rather than static and essentialist. In the final chapter, the author seeks to explore the resulting understanding of selfhood as decentralized and multiplicitous. It is asserted that such an understanding of the self is philosophically compelling given the new Deleuzian ontology. It is further argued that this understanding of the self is practically superior to traditional static understandings of the self because it more fully accommodates personal and societal growth.

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: Sensitivity Analysis of Scattering Parameters and Its Applications

contributor:
Nikolova, Natalia K.
Electrical and Computer Engineering

subject:
computational electromagnetics
sensitivity analysis
inverse scattering
antenna and microwave cicuit design
microwave imaging
Electromagnetics and photonics
Electromagnetics and photonics

abstract:
This thesis contributes significantly to the advanced applications of scattering parameter sensitivity analysis including the design optimization of high-frequency printed structures and in microwave imaging. In both applications, the methods exploit the computational efficiency of the self-adjoint sensitivity analysis (SASA) approach where only one EM simulation suffices to obtain both the responses and their gradients with respect to the optimizable variables.

An S-parameter self-adjoint sensitivity formula for multiport planar structures using the method of moments (MoM) current solution is proposed. It can be easily implemented with existing MoM solvers. The shape perturbation which is required in computing the system-matrix derivatives are accommodated by changing the material properties of the local mesh elements. The use of a pre-determined library system matrix further accelerates the design optimization because the writing/reading of the system matrix to/from the disk is avoided. The design optimization of a planar ultra-wide band (UWB) antenna and a double stub tuner are presented as validation examples.

In the application of the sensitivity-based imaging, the SASA approach allows for real-time image reconstruction once the field distribution of the reference object (RO) is known. Here, the RO includes the known background medium of the object under test (OUT) and the known antennas. The field distribution can be obtained using simulation or measurement.

The spatial resolution is an important measure of the performance of an imaging technique. It represents the smallest detail that can be detected by a given imaging method. The resolution of the sensitivity-based imaging approach has not been studied before. In this thesis, the resolution limits are systematically studied with planar raster scanning and circular array data acquisition. In addition, the method’s robustness to noise is studied. A guideline is presented for an acceptable signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) versus the spatial and frequency sampling rates in designing a data-acquisition system for the method.

This thesis validates the sensitivity-based imaging with measured data of human tissue phantoms for the first time. The differences in dielectric properties of the targets are qualitatively reflected in the reconstructed image. A preliminary study of imaging with inexact background information of the OUT is also presented.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: EXPOSURE TO CIGARETTE SMOKE AND ITS IMPACT ON THE OVARIAN FOLLICLE POPULATION: MECHANISMS OF FOLLICLE LOSS

contributor: Medical Sciences (Division of Physiology/Pharmacology)

subject:
Autophagy
Reproductive toxicology
Cigarette smoking
Apoptosis
Medicine and Health Sciences
Medicine and Health Sciences

abstract: Cigarette smoking is a lifestyle behaviour associated with adverse reproductive health effects including premature exhaustion of the follicle population and premature menopause; however, the mechanisms mediating its effects on follicle loss are largely unexplored. Therefore, this thesis was undertaken to examine the effect of cigarette smoke (CS), at concentrations representative of human exposure, on follicle loss in mouse ovaries and determine the underlying mechanisms mediating their loss. CS contains over 4,000 chemicals, many of which result in reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, which can cause cell death. In the first study, we hypothesized that follicles exposed to CS would be lost via apoptosis in a selective stage-dependent manner. Although apoptosis is a cell death pathway through which follicles are thought to die, the studies herein found no changes in apoptosis, despite increased follicle loss. Given these findings, we hypothesized that an alternative cell death mechanism was responsible. At the time, the relevance of autophagy, a novel ovarian cell death pathway, to granulosa cell death and toxicant-induced changes in ovarian function were unknown. We further demonstrated increased oxidative stress, decreased antioxidant expression, and autophagy in treated ovaries. Finally, we tested the hypothesis that CS exposure results in dysregulation of mitochondrial repair mechanisms, leading to follicle loss via autophagy-mediated granulosa cell death. We demonstrated that CS exposure activates autophagy and alters mitochondrial dynamics. Taken together, these studies provide evidence that CS causes significant follicle loss, decreases the cell’s ability to cope with ROS disrupting mitochondrial repair mechanisms, leading to autophagy-mediated follicle loss.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: CHARACTERIZING THE FUNCTION AND REGULATORY MECHANISMS OF THE HISTONE DEMETHYLASE KDM5B: INSIGHTS INTO THE COMPLEXITY OF EPIGENETIC REGULATION

contributor:
Truant, Ray
Biochemistry

subject: demethylase

subject: histone

subject: KDM5

subject: epigenetics

subject: Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology

abstract: KDM5b acts as a transcriptional repressor through its ability to demethylate tri-methylated lysine (K) 4 on histone H3 (H3K4me3). Demethylation of this histone modification leads to transcriptional repression and downstream biological effects on gene expression. KDM5b is involved in the regulation of differentiation and can exert an oncogenic and a tumour suppressive role depending on cellular context, making it an attractive future target for pharmaceutical intervention. Work from our group has shown that KDM5b expression is linked to differentiation, and that recruitment of the enzyme does not always result in an alteration of H3K4me3. Additionally, work from our group, as well as others, has failed to observe H3K4me3 demethylation by KDM5b in nucleosomal preparations. We therefore hypothesized that KDM5b may exert its demethylase potential on alternative histone targets and that KDM5b requires enzymatic co-factors to demethylate nucleosomes, similar to what is observed for other histone-modifying proteins. In this thesis, we describe KDM5b as having an alternate histone target, di-methylated histone H2B lysine 43 (H2BK43me2). We show that this methyl mark is the primary target for KDM5b, and that the expression level of H2BK43me2 is directly related to the process of differentiation. We additionally present a novel co-factor for KDM5b, the co-repressor TLE4 of the Groucho/TLE family. The presence of TLE4 is required and sufficient to confer nucleosomal demethylase activity to KDM5b, a novel discovery for any of the KDM5 family members. Overall, this work has described both an additional KDM5b target, and detailed requirements for KDM5b nucleosomal demethylation, advancing our understanding of how this enzyme is regulated in vivo. The novel aspects of KDM5b regulation presented within this thesis provide a framework from which future studies can be designed. This work contributes to our overall understanding of epigenetic regulation and will potentially aid in the development of novel anti-cancer therapeutic strategies.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Shellfish Harvest on the Coast of British Columbia: The Archaeology of Settlement and Subsistence through High-resolution Stable Isotope Analysis and Sclerochronology

contributor:
Cannon, Aubrey
Schwarcz, Henry
Anthropology

subject: Archaeology; Sclerochronology; Stable Isotopes: Hunter-Gatherers; Seasonality; British Columbia

subject: Archaeological Anthropology

subject: Biogeochemistry

subject: Earth Sciences

subject: Other Anthropology

subject: Other Earth Sciences

subject: Archaeological Anthropology

abstract:
In many interpretations of hunter-gatherer settlement systems, archaeologists have assumed implicitly or explicitly that a pattern of mobilitybased on seasonally-scheduled movements between different site locations waspracticed. This pattern of mobility is often characterized as a seasonal round, where different locations are used during specific times of the year for different purposes. An implication of this pattern of mobility is that short-term occupation sites are visited annually, approximately at the same time each year and longer-term residential sites can span multiple seasons. To interpret seasonality, indirect indicators are often used but the high-resolution methods presented in this study provide direct evidence of seasonal site occupation. The Pacific Northwest Coast provides an ideal landscape to examine seasonality since many of the staple resources, particularly salmon, were available on a seasonal basis. Contrary to longstanding assumptions of regular seasonal movement between sites, the analysis of shell samples from multiple archaeological sites from distinct regions in British Columbia show complex patterns of multi-seasonal occupation at smaller campsites and specific seasonal or multi-seasonal emphasis in occupation and/or shellfish harvest at longer-term residential sites.

To identify patterns of shellfish harvest, stable oxygen isotope analysis and high-resolution sclerochronology were applied to the bivalve Saxidomus gigantea (butter clam). Combined with shell growth increment analysis to examine relative levels of harvest pressure, local rates of shellfish collecting are also interpreted. To examine regional variability in seasonality and resource use in British Columbia, three environmentally and historically distinct areas were selected spanning approximately 6000 years of history. These regions include the central coast in the tradition territory of the Heiltsuk, and two areas on the northern coast, specifically the Dundas Islands Group and Prince Rupert Harbour in the traditional territory of the Tsimshian. The results of the analysis show site-specific trends in shellfish harvesting on the central coast; a pattern which is not as clear on the northern coast. Sites on the Dundas Islands show multi-seasonal collection and a stronger emphasis on winter shellfish harvesting. The results also show that shellfish were harvested more intensively in the Dundas Islands area relative to the central coast. The pattern of seasonal shellfish harvesting on the mainland coast at village sites in Prince Rupert Harbour is similar to the pattern found at long-term residential sites on the central coast. With respect to the dietary importance of clams, another longstanding issue in Northwest Coast archaeology, the results show a mix of patterns including casual resource use at most campsites, intensive multi-season harvest in some regions and strategic multi-season harvest and spring consumption at some residential sites.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Inventory Pinch Algorithms for Gasoline Blend Planning

contributor:
Mahalec, Vladimir
Chemical Engineering

subject:
inventory pinch
gasoline blending
reduced number of blend recipes
two-level decomposition
Process Control and Systems
Process Control and Systems

abstract:
Current gasoline blend planning practice is to optimize blend plans via discrete-time multi-period NLP or MINLP models and schedule blends via interactive simulation. Solutions of multi-period models using discrete-time representation typically have different blend recipes for each time period. In this work, the concept of an inventory pinch point is introduced and used it to construct a new decomposition of the multi-period MINLP problems: at the top level nonlinear blending problems for periods delimited by the inventory pinch points are solved to optimize multi-grade blend recipes; at the lower level a fine grid multi-period MILP model that uses optimal recipes from the top level is solved in order to determine how much to blend of each product in each fine grid period, subject to minimum threshold blend size. If MILP is infeasible, corresponding period between the pinch points is subdivided and recipes are re-optimized.

Two algorithms at the top level are examined: a) multi-period nonlinear model (MPIP) and b) single-period non-linear model (SPIP). Case studies show that the MPIP algorithm produces solutions that have the same optimal value of the objective function as corresponding MINLP model, while the SPIP algorithm computes solutions that are most often within 0.01% of the solutions by MINLP. Both algorithms require substantially less computational effort than the corresponding MINLP model. Reduced number of blend recipes makes it easier for blend scheduler to create a schedule by interactive simulation.

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: Study of ultrashort laser-pulse induced ripples formed at the interface of silicon-dioxide on silicon

contributor:
Haugen, Harold K.
Preston, John S.
Gianluigi A. Botton, Q. Fang
Engineering Physics

subject:
ripples
ultrashort laser-pulse
LIPSS
interface
oxide
Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics
Biological and Chemical Physics
Engineering Physics
Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
Optics
Plasma and Beam Physics
Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics

abstract:
In this thesis, the ripple formation at the interface of SiO2 and Si were studied in a systematic fashion by irradiating the SiO2-Si samples with ultrashort laser pulses under a broad variety of experimental conditions. They consist of di↵erent irradiating laser wavelengths, incident laser energies, translation speeds, translation directions, spot sizes of the laser beam, as well as oxide thicknesses. The ripples produced by laser irradiation are examined using various microscopy techniques in order to characterize their surface morphology, detailed structures, crystalline properties, and so on. For the experiments carried out at ! = 800 nm, the ripples formed on the SiO2-Si sample with an oxide thickness of 216 nm were first observed under optical microscopy and SEM. After removing the oxide layer with HF solution, the surface features of the ripples on the Si substrate were investigated using SEM and AFM techniques. Subsequently, by means of TEM and EDX analysis, the material composition and crystallinity of the ripples were determined. It is concluded that the ripples are composed of nano-crystalline silicon. In addition to the 216 nm oxide thickness, other oxide samples with di↵erent oxide thicknesses, such as 24, 112, 117, 158 and 1013 nm, were also processed under laser irradiation. The ripple formation as a function of the laser energy, the translation direction and the spot size is discussed in detail. Furthermore, the ripples created at the SiO2-Si interface are compared with

the LIPSS created on pure silicon samples that were processed under similar laser irradiation conditions. The spatial periodicities of the ripples were evaluated to be in the range of between 510 nm and 700 nm, which vary with the oxide thickness and other laser parameters. For the experiments using the ! = 400 nm laser pulses, it is found that ripples can also be formed at the SiO2-Si interface, which have spatial periodicities in the range of between 310 nm and 350 nm depending on the oxide thickness. The ripple formation at this 400 nm wavelength as a function of the laser energy, the translation speed, and translation direction is considered as well. For the case of ! = 400 nm irradiation, a comparison is also made between the interface ripples on the SiO2-Si samples and the LIPSS on a pure Si sample. Through FIB-TEM and EDX analysis, it confirmed that the ripples were produced in the substrate while the oxide layer maintained its structural integrity. In addition, the ripples are composed of nano-crystalline silicon whose crystallite sizes are on the order of a few nanometers. Apart from irradiating oxide samples with femtosecond laser pulses, which applies to the two cases of ! = 800 and 400 nm mentioned above, oxide samples with an oxide thickness of 112 nm were irradiated with picosecond laser pulses at ! = 800 nm whose pulse durations are 1 ps and 5 ps, respectively. However, no regular ripples can be produced at the SiO2-Si interface while maintaining the complete integrity of the oxide layer.

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: ORGANIZATIONAL JUSTICE, COMFORT WITH SAFETY REPORTING, AND PERCEPTIONS OF HOSPITAL SAFETY: AN ANALYSIS USING STRUCTURAL EQUATION APPROACH

contributor: Clinical Epidemiology/Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics

subject:
Organizational Justice
safety reporting
hospital
safety perception
Health Services Research
Other Public Health
Health Services Research

abstract:
Patient safety in healthcare has become a national objective. Hospital safety concerns are not isolated to patient safety, occupational safety is also important. One initiative adopted by healthcare is improving patient safety climate – shifting from one of a "no harm, no foul" approach to a culture of learning that encourages the reporting of errors, even those in which patient harm does not occur. Lacking from the literature, however, is an understanding of how to encourage reporting and how safety perceptions are formed among hospital employees. In addition, although safety-related reporting and safety perceptions are deemed important, the majority of research has been conducted in nursing populations. In order to create a safer hospital, it is crucial to investigate safety-related reporting and safety perceptions among all hospital employees.

The purpose of this cross-sectional study is to test and refine a model that explains the influence of perceived procedural justice, interpersonal justice, informational justice, and distributive justice on comfort with safety-related reporting and, ultimately, hospital safety perceptions among hospital employees.

The proposed model was tested on a sample of 652 hospital employees from a regional children’s hospital with a 76% return rate. Consistent with the hypothesized model, perceptions of higher interpersonal justice predicted higher comfort with safety reporting, which in turn predicted perceptions of hospital safety. In addition, comfort with safety reporting, interpersonal justice, and informational justice contributed directly to the prediction of hospital safety perceptions.

This study illustrates why different dimensions of organizational justice, specifically interpersonal justice and informational justice, should be considered above and beyond safety-specific climate when individuals are intent on improving hospital safety. Thus, hospital managers and administrators should enhance interpersonal justice along with comfort with safety-related reporting and informational justice to create a safer hospital. Study limitations and recommendations for new research methods and areas are discussed.

abstract: Master of Health Sciences (MSc)


title: Genetic Studies of Some Spontaneously Arising Differences in Aerialogenesis Between Neurospora crassa Strains

contributor:
Threlkeld, H. S. F.
Biology

subject: Biology Biology

abstract:
The purpose of this study has been to genetically analyze the aerialogenesis steps during differentiation of the fungus, Neurospora crassa. A new technique was derived for collecting data relating to the extension growth of aerial hyphae. This study comprised over 325,000 observations of aerial extension growth of over 46,000 colonies. These data were then analyzed by several new methods to characterize the aerial growth of the strains involved on medium containing 1% sorbose. Due to the large number of observations, a computer analysis procedure was utilized with the data. Once the phenotypes had been qunatitatively described, hypothesized genotypes and the variant alleles segregating could be accurately followed.

At least four genetic loci were observed to affect aerialogenesis in the presence of sorbose. Three of these loci were present, in two allelic forms each, in the original strains. A variant allele at fourth locus arose spontaneously during the course of this study. Several allele interactions have been characterized and some information is presented on gene locations.

The question of the relationship between aerialogenesis and conidiogenesis was also considered. No effects were seen on the qualitative aspects of conidiogenesis (macro or microconidiation). However, in several asci, distinct quantitative effects on conidiogenesis were observed segregating as expected of nuclear genes. In these asci, the quantitative changes in conidiogenesis were not correlated to quantitative changes in aerialogenesis. Hence, it appears that these two important development events can be separated genetically.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: The Role of Hostages in Roman Foreign Policy

contributor:
Salmon, E.T.
History

subject: History History

abstract: The emphasis of this study is essentially twofold. The opening chapters deal with the gradual development of Roman hostage policy and attempt to explain the standard procedures which the Romans employed in exacting formal hostages. Chapters III-IX are concerned with specific hostages or groups of hostages taken by the Romans during the period of the Republic and early empire. These chapters are intended not only to illustrate the procedures described in Chapter II, but also to show how the Romans cultivated hostages both as intermediaries in the dissemination of Latin culture among conquered peoples, and as a means of fostering political disruption in the internal affairs of powerful donor states. A summary of the main points of each chapter follows.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Integration of Machining Inspection Sensors and Software

contributor:
Spence, A. D.
Mechanical Engineering

subject:
CNC
CMM
GD&T
Inspection Sensors
Computer-Aided Engineering and Design
Manufacturing
Computer-Aided Engineering and Design

abstract:
Ideally, the nominal design of a part or assembly, created with 3D Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) software, can be consistently fixtured and machined. In reality, process conditions vary, and feedback and correction methods such as integrated on-machine inspection, analysis, and process adjustment, are required.

On-machine inspection based on touch trigger probes is well established, but limited motion control computing capability restricts analysis to simple arithmetic. This prevents on-line use of known whole part mathematical analysis software that implements the part salvaging intentions of modern Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) standards. Additionally, no CNC integrated method exists for geometrically adjusting nominal tool paths so that an in-tolerance final part is produced. Machine tool support for high data rate sensors such as laser scanners is also lacking.

This thesis reports progress towards bidirectional integration of machine tool mounted inspection sensors with GD&T analysis software, and subsequent toolpath adjustment. The concepts are demonstrated using a fixture consisting of three datum spheres and a workpiece. The fixture is clamped in the CNC machine, datum spheres are measured, and after mathematical data fitting and registration, an in-tolerance final part is produced. To facilitate multiple tests, a tool path is split into four and machined in four poses with measurement and tool path adjustment for each pose. Preliminary integration of a laser scanner with axis scales and computer software was also accomplished.

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: Axiological Ontology: Nietzsche and Kant

contributor:
Madison, G.B.
Philosophy

subject: Philosophy Philosophy

abstract: The central purpose of this dissertation is to examine the function and role of the concepts "subject" and "object" in the respective epistemologies of Nietzsche and Kant. Initially, it is tentatively assumed that both Nietzsche and Kant admit the primitive irreducibility of a subject-object dichotomy and acknowledge that the "subject" is somehow involved in what it means to be an object. What subject is involved and how it is involved in constituting objectivity makes it necessary to distinguish between two kinds of idealism (Chapter I). Constructive idealism, a position held by Nietzsche and several British commentators of Kant's first Critique, contends that human needs, shaped by ouy. psycho-physiological constitution, ground a subjective imposition of certain categories upon an objectively given chaos of sensation. Insofar as the empirical or psychological subject imposes such categories as permanence and causality on chaotic sensation, it is claime~ that we can never know what exists apart from any and all psychological states (empirical reality) but only how things must look or appear to us. The second idealistic position is entitled "axiological ontology". It holds, essentially, that we cannot know X (epistemology) unless X is (ontology) a certain way. Permanence and causality are determined to be precisely the way things must be if we are to be able to value them (axiology) appropriately insofar as they promote and maintain human subjects. Throughout the dissertation a case is made for synthesizing elements of Kant's ontology, which guarantees the objective validity or truth of the categories of permanence and causality, and the inroads which Nietzsche has made in his understanding of how the empirical subject imposes values on such permanent and causally related objects. Chapter II of the dissertation outlines Nietzsche's theoretical epistemology by conceptually translating the function and role of "Apollo" and "Dionysus" in The Birth of Tragedy. Nietzsche's epistemology attempts to explain in empirical terms, how and why permanence and causality are perceived, conceived, and valued by the human species. Through the prejudices of sense and reason or, what Nietzsche calls "sensual-spiritual appropriation", man alters his sensations so that they give the appearance or look of durability. Subsequently, permanence is conceived as a necessary and therefore valuable category. Values, for Nietzsche, reflect the affects of the psycho-physiological subject. The affects dictate the subject's needs and objects are therefore valued according to the degree to which they fulfill this need. The appropriateness of values rests squarely on our knowing the objective determinations of both the subject and the object insofar as values are simply relative facts with the subject and object as the correlatives. Nietzsche argues that it is neither necessary nor possible for us to know the objective determinations of eitiler the subject or the object (Le., to make the looks-is distinction) because "truth" is determined pragmatically, as are all values, by what in fact works towards human promotion. Chapter III of the dissertation takes the transcendental route to establish the legitimacy of the empirical "looks-is" distinction. First, it reviews constructive idealism by examining its principles collected from individual British commentators of Kant. Constructive idealism fails as an interpretation of Kant and as an epistemologic~l position in its own right (~ la Nietzsche) because it fails to understand or to make the Kantian distinction between what is properly transcendental and whai~ is properly empirical. Kant's transcendental apparatus, viz., transcendental subjectivity and the conditions which it imposes on our experience of empirical objects, is therefore outlined. Space and tL~e as pure a priori forms of intuition and the categories as pure a priori concepts of the understanding establish empirical reality and thereby n\ake it possible to distinguish (empirically) how the object appears from how the object is. This empirical distinction is contrasted with the transcendental distinctions which Kant makes between thing in itself and appearance and between transcendental and empirical subjectivity. Kant's transcendental idealism establishes the truth or objective validity of permanence and causality and thereby allows the subjective imposition of value (axiological imposition) to proceed within more realistic par~~eters than afforded to it by Nietzsche. Our ability and our need to know the actual state of affairs of the empirical object, i.e., how the object is apart from any and all psychological states, makes it possible to value an object appropriately. It is only because we know the object as it is and not simply as it looks to me that it can have an appropriate value in the promotion of the human species.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Applications of Numerical Methods in Economics and Finance

contributor:
Magee, Lonnie
Economics

subject: Economics Economics

abstract:
This dissertation consists of three articles on the applications of numerical methods in economics and finance.

The first article investigates the performance of various estimators in estimating the continuous time short-term interest rate models under the assumption that the higher moment dynamics of the short rate series are misspecified. The Monte Carlo evidence suggests that volatility of a continuous time short-term interest rate model would be estimated with a serious bias if the higher moments of the series are misspecified. Furthermore, in the root mean square sense, computationally intensive simulation based estimators do not exhibit better finite sample performance than the conventional estimators.

The second article presents a numerical analysis of optimal initial and maintenance margin setting for futures commission merchants (futures brokers). The problem is analyzed in a profit maximization context using a Markov chain approach and it is shown that the uncertainty regarding the futures price process, the trader's attitude toward a negative margin account and the transaction costs associated with margin calls lead the futures brokers to set positive performance margins without the need of legal enforcements of the futures exchange.

The third article estimates the intertemporal allocation parameters using a new structural estimation technique, Simulated Residual Estimation. A series of Monte Carlo experiments which involve solving and simulating a life cycle model under both interest rate and income uncertainty are performed. The intertemporal allocation parameters,the elasticity of intertemporal substitution and the discount rate are repeatedly estimated using the exact Euler equation, the approximate (log-linearized) Euler equation and the Simulated Residual Estimation. The results ofthe experiments suggest that the Simulated Residual Estimation has superior finite sample properties in comparison to conventional GMM based estimators even under the circumstances in which the consumption data is measured with error.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Erosion surfaces and gravel shoreface deposits: The influence of tectonics on the sedimentology of the Carrot Creek Member, Cardium Formation (Turonian, Upper Cretaceous), Alberta, Canada

contributor:
Walker, R. G.
Geology

subject: Geology Geology

abstract:
The Raven River Member of the Cardium Formation (Turonian, Upper Cretaceous) in the Carrot Creek -- Cyn-Pem area of Central Alberta, contains two coarsening upward sequences of marine mudstones into sandstones, separated by a gritty siderite . The gritty siderite is believed to represent a pause in deposition in the basin. The sandstones of the upper sequence contain hummocky cross stratification suggesting deposition below fair weather wave base in a storm-dominated setting. The two sequences are scoured to a variable depth by a major erosion surface with a relative relief of about 20 m.

Structure maps and 3-D mesh diagrams suggest that the erosion surface can be divided into four topographic areas: a relatively high, flat TERRACE, a BEVEL where underlying sediments are truncated, and an erosional remnant topography of BUMPS and HOLLOWS, which gradually fades basinwards into a relatively flat BASIN PLAIN. The erosion surface is covered by conglomerates with localized thicknesses of up to 20 m. These conglomerates are assigned to the Carrot Creek Member of the Cardium Formation. The thick conglomerates occur in relatively elongate northwest-southeast trending pools. They are overlain by the transgressive marine mudstones of the Dismal Rat Member of the Cardium Formation.

At first sight the coarsening upward sequence capped by conglomerates (Carrot Creek Member) appears to be similar to other coarsening upward sequences encased in marine mudstones described from the Western Interior Seaway. These deposits have "traditionally" been interpreted as "offshore ridges", forming many tens of kilometres from the time equivalent shoreline. The Carrot Creek conglomerates, however, are separated from the Raven River Member coarsening upward sequence by an erosion surface, and thus are not genetically part of it. The erosion surface is believed to have formed during a rapid relative lowering of sea level. During maximum lowstand a new shoreface profile (the bevel) was established in the basin. Also during this lowstand, gravel was supplied to the shoreface by incised rivers, and reworked along the shelf by marine processes. Both upper and lower shoreface deposits can be recognized in the conglomerate pools. Subsequent transgression reworked gravel southwestwards across the terrace, while storms transported gravel stringers northeastwards into the transgressive muds accumulating in the hollows.

Similar erosion surfaces of this type have been described from Alberta at the Cardium, Viking, and Badheart horizons. The Gallup-Tocito Formation in New Mexico also invoke a similar erosion surface. The presence of these surfaces may be more widespread than presently documented. The results of this thesis suggest that sea level changes and shoreface incision should be considered as a possible alternative for other long, narrow, "offshore ridges", particularly when the offshore deposits are coarser than the proposed time equivalent shoreline deposits.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Health and Settlement Implications of Parasites from Pacific Northwest Coast Archaeological Sites

contributor:
Cannon, Aubrey
Anthropology

subject: Anthropology Anthropology

abstract:
The aim of this project was to recover archaeological evidence of human parasite infection from the coastal shell middens of British Columbia, Canada. Although the preservation and recovery of intestinal parasites are not new to ancient disease studies, as yet there has been a paucity of investigation for such forms of evidence at temperate, coastal archaeological sites such as those found on the central coast. The reasons for this are threefold, and address some of the long-held assumptions about ancient subsistence economies, diseases in the Americas, and the degree of preservation in shell midden features.

Parasites are often considered a disease of urban societies. Classified on the basis of their subsistence economy, the archaeological populations of the Northwest Coast were non-agrarian hunter-fishergatherers. Normative thinking about hunters and gatherers maintain that such cultures were benignly impacted by infectious disease agents. As the level of disease risk is considered low, there has been little expectation of finding pathogen evidence at hunter-gatherer sites.

But consistent and quantifiable microscopic evidence of intestinal parasites, some as much as six thousand years old, was successfUlly recovered from 11 of 15 shell midden sites tested. Auger samples produced preserved eggs of four parasite taxa, including giant human roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides) and broad fish tapeworm (Diphyllobothrium spp.), genera relevant to human health. The ecological, epidemiological and cultural significance of these finds are discussed in relation to health, settlement, behaviour patterns and regional culture history. Methodologically, this project demonstrates a replicable and noninvasive process for retrieving parasite evidence from midden sediments. The results of this study contribute to what is known about huntergatherer health, broadening the range of parasite species known in the Americas and confirming the antiquity of the human-parasite relationship.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: A Model of Response-Reinforcer Contingency

contributor:
Platt, J.R.
Psychology

subject: Psychology Psychology

abstract: The experiments reported in this thesis investigated the effect of response-reinforcer contingency on response differentiation. Since the failure to control response probability in previous studies had led to difficulties. the present experiments employed percentile schedules to control response probability. Response-reinforcer contingency was indexed by the measure of statistical association between two dichotomous variables known as the phi coefficient (ϕ). and a model of this independent variable was developed to permit a systematic investigation of contingency in operant conditioning. This model was tested using rats in a spatial response differentiation paradigm. The results of three experiments revealed that the higher the value of ϕ. the more effective the shaping of response location to a target location. Despite differences between experiments in the way the independent variable was manipulated. across all three experiments there was a very orderly relationship between asymptotic conditioning and ϕ. These experiments demonstrate the importance of response-reinforcer contingency in response differentiation and provide support for a model of contingency in operant conditioning based on ϕ.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Duration Discrimination of Intermodal Intervals

contributor:
Kristofferson, A.B.
Psychology

subject: Psychology Psychology

abstract:
This research is an extensive investigation of the discriminability of brief intermodal temporal intervals. For intervals of less than 700msec., the level of performance is lower than that of intramodal intervals. In that range two psychophysical methods, Many-to-Few and Single Stimulus, give very different discrimination functions. However, the duration of the markers and the type of intermodal intervals are found not to be effective variables. An empirical relationship describing SD/DT75 as constant is shown to hold for a number of intra and intermodal psychometric functions.

Two quantitative models developed to account for intramodal duration discrimination, describe very well intermodal discrimination in two experiments. Although none can be rejected, the onset-offset model is prefered because it represents better the totality of the results in this research. Finally, response latencies clearly indicate the operation of a real-time criterion mechanism in duration discrimination. It is concluded that duration discrimination is under the control of a single central timekeeper.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Motivational Interactions: The Role of Inhibition In Pavlovian Aversive To Appetitve Transfer

contributor:
Siegel, S.
Psychology

subject: Psychology

abstract:
The nature of motivational interactions between appetitive and aversive response systems was assessed in four Pavlovian transfer studies where the two conditional responses are peripherally independent. The theory of reciprocal inhibition postulates that excitatory aversive conditioning would inhibit appetitive conditioning. Furthermore, inhibitory aversive conditioning would enhance appetitive conditioning. According to recent formulations of reciprocal inhibition, several transfer effects are predicted on the basis of results found within a single motivational system. Some of these were tested here for Pavlovian motivational transfer.

In each transfer study, four aversive pretraining conditions were used. Excitatory aversive conditioning was conducted by forward pairings of the tone CS with shock. Inhibitory aversive pretraining was conducted by backward pairings, where the shock preceded the tone. In addition, two control conditions were included: a random control, where the tone CS and shock were presented in an uncorrelated manner; and a naive control condition, where no tones or shocks were presented. The four transfer studies differed only in their treatment in the transfer phase.

Experiment 1 transferred aversive pretraining onto an aversive conditional inhibition discrimination to the pretrained tone. This transfer design is sensitive to inhibitory pretraining and was used to demonstrate clearly that backward pretraining effectively produces an inhibitory aversive CS and that random pretraining does not. The results showed that backward pretraining with the shock and tone enhanced the acquisition of a conditional inhibition discrimination to the backward tone CS. Random pretraining, on the other hand, interferred with the acquisition of conditional inhibition to the random tone CS.

Experimental 2 transferred aversive pretraining onto the simple acquisition of appetitive responding to the tone CS. Excitatory aversive pretraining profoundly retarded acquisition to the tone es. Inhibitory aversive pretraining enhanced appetitive responding to the tone es compared to the naive control condition, but not compared to the random control condition which also showed enhanced acquisition compared to the naive control condition. With the exception of performance in the random control condition, Experiment 2 confirmed the predictions of reciprocal inhibition.

Experimental 3 transferred aversive pretraining onto the acquisition of an appetitive conditional inhibition discrimination to the tone es. The excitatory aversive tone suppressed appetitive responding from the outset of discrimination training. Although the inhibitory aversive and random control conditions enhanced responding on negative trials initially, this enhancement was short-lived compared to the naive control condition. The results of Experiment 3 confirmed the inhibitory nature of excitatory aversive transfer to the appetitive system, but are inconclusive with respect to the predicted facilitative nature of inhibitory aversive transfer for the appetitive system.

Experiment 4 transferred aversive pretraining onto compound appetitive conditioning. Excitatory aversive pretraining suppressed responding during compound acquisition, but showed enhanced responding to the previously neutral light CS ("superconditioning") compared to naive control condition which received appetitive conditioning to the light alone. Inhibitory aversive pretraining enhanced responding during compound conditioning compared to the naive control conditions but not more than the random control condition. Both the inhibitory aversive and random control conditions responded more to the light CS than the naive control condition, but were not different from the naive control condition which received light alone acquisition. This apparent reduction in overshadowing is inconsistent with the predictions of reciprocal inhibition for inhibitory aversive transfer.

Taken together, the results suggest that aversive excitation is inhibitory, but aversive inhibition is not facilitative, for the appetitive conditioning system. A model is proposed which incorporates this asymmetry in motivational interactions. In addition, analysis of control group performance suggests that greater attention be paid to contextual conditioning and pseudoconditioning in assessing motivational interactions.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: A Short Survey of Life Insurance with Special Reference to the United States and Canada

subject: Political Economy

abstract:
[Missing pages 62 and 64]
Bachelor of Arts (BA)


title: Henry Somerville and Catholic Social Thought

contributor:
French, G. S.
History

subject: History History

abstract: Throughout the nineteenth century the Roman Catholic Church in Ontario was concerned principally with its growth as an institution in a rather hostile social environment. Hence its leader sought to develop the parochial structure and to promote the extension of the Separate School system. As a religious community whose members were often poor, and in many instances recent immigrants, it continued to rely heavily on the leadership of the clergy and in general was unsympathetic to new ideas. In the Catholic Church at large, however, as in the Protestant Churches, there was increasing sensitivity to the need for redefining the role of the Christian Churches in society. This resulted in the promulgation in 1891 of the Encyclical Rerum Novarum and subsequently of Quadragesimo Anno in 1931. In these statements the Papacy presented a critique of contemporary society and a set of moral precepts designed to promote social harmony and justice without committing the Church to the endorsement of either liberal or socialist principles. The first figure to introduce the Church's new social teaching in Canada was Archbishop Neil McNeil, who was appointed in 1912 as Archbishop of Toronto, the largest English-speaking diocese in the Canadian Catholic Church McNeil was instrumental in bringing to Canada, Henry Somerville, a young-self-educated, English-Catholic layman, an outstanding journalist who became the chief exponent of Catholic social teaching in the country. Somerville was an editorial writer for The Catholic Register, the principal English language Catholic newspaper, from 1915 to 1918. After a period in England in which he acquired a broader understanding of contemporary economics and social issues he returned, at McNeil's request, as editor of The Catholic Register, a position he held from 1933 to his death in 1953. Somerville was principal adviser on social and economic questions to Archbishop McNeil and subsequently to Archbishop James McGuigan. In his writing, he sought to explain simply the teaching of the social encyclicals, to demonstrate its relevance to Canada, which, in his time, moved from boom to depression; to persuade the Catholic clergy and laity that the Church must support the development of secular labour unions and the passage of just labour legislation. Distressed at the hostility of the Church towards the C.C.F. as a "socialist" party, he strove successfully to remove the hierarchy's restrictions which inhibited Canadian Catholics from joining the new party. Somerville was conscious that Canadian Catholics could not play an effective part in implementing in Canadian society the ideas he popularized unless the Church has an educated laity. Thus he encouraged the formation of study groups for working men, the strengthening of Catholic educational institutions, and greater exposure of the clergy to the importance of Catholic social teaching in resolving the problems of Canadian society. Somerville's writings stand as testimony of the range and the quality of this efforts to alter the perception of English-speaking Canadian Catholics of the part which the Church should and could play in furthering the establishment of a just social order in Canada. To assess the extent of his achievement is an exceedingly difficult and elusive as to reach a similar judgment about any notable figure in Canadian intellectual and social history. The crucial fact is that Somerville was addressing a religious group which comprised altogether more than forty percent of the Canadian population. His words were read principally by English-speaking Catholics, and more particularly by Catholics in Ontario. That he was heeded by some important members of the Canadian hierarchy is clear. Subsequent events would suggest that Somerville's influence extended widely among clergy and laity. He may well have been a principal figure in setting the stage for the reception in the Church in Canada of the social ideas and changes which emerged from Vatican II. Somerville and those who shared his views were limited throughout his career by the conservative traditions of the Church in Canada, the division between the French and English branches of the Church, and by the Church's necessary concern for simple survival as in institution. In effect, the study of Somerville's career provides an insight into a highly significant and yet little understood part of Canada's social and religious history.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: The Control of Security Issues in Canada

subject: Political Economy

abstract:
[Missing pages 10, 32 and 33]
Bachelor of Arts (BA)


title: Exploring the Relationship between HSV-2/HIV Co-Infection and Health-Related Quality of Life of Adult HIV-Positive Women: A Mixed Methods Study

subject:
Biostatistics
Clinical Epidemiology
Biostatistics

abstract:
Background: The life-time prevalence ofHSV-2 is higher in people infected with HIV/AIDS compared to the general population. Little is known about the experiences of women living with these two chronic sexually transmitted viral infections (STVIs), for example, whether HSV-21 HIV co-infection complicates women's experiences and influences their perceived health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The degree to which HSV-2/HIV co-infection changes perceived physical and mental HRQoL ofHIV-positive women when taking into account other factors related to HRQoL including the degree of immunosuppression, demographic characteristics, and co-existent psychological issues is not known. It has not been investigated whether these two chronic STVIs create additional challenges in social and sexual relationships for women. It is also not understood if body image or self-esteem are complicated by HSV-2IHIV co-infection, as well as how women perceive and experience disclosure in relationships and stigma. No quantitative or qualitative studies have explored these phenomena in a Canadian HIVpositive female population.

Methods: This mixed methods study explored the association between HIVI HSV-2 coinfection and physical and mental HRQoL of adult HIV -positive women. A sequential exploratory model was utilized, which involved collecting qualitative data after a quantitative phase. In the first quantitative phase, a cross-sectional questionnaire was administered, HSV -2 sero-status was determined and clinical correlates and HRQoL scores were analyzed using multivariable methods. The second qualitative phase was conducted to further explain the quantitative findings; participants' views of the relationship between symptomatic HSV-2 and HIV co-infection and HRQoL were explored. The qualitative phase employed an interpretive phenomenological philosophy and methodology.

Quantitative Findings: Although women's HRQoL scores on general and HIV-specific measures differed depending on their HSV-2 sero-status, place of origin, receipt of antiretroviral therapy, etc., HSV-2/HIV co-infected women did not have significantly different HRQoL scores compared to women infected with HIV alone. This conclusion was drawn on the basis of only fair goodness-of-fit of the linear regression models. HSV -2 sero-positivity predicting a better perceived physical and mental HRQoL was also considered biologically implausible and divergent with the literature.

Qualitative Findings: The participant narratives highlighted the meaning that women ascribe to living with HIV and HSV-2 in relationship to their perceived HRQoL. HIV was something that affected their global physical and mental HRQoL; it was associated with a social and historical context and was mapped onto their life trajectories. HSV-2, on the other hand, was an immediate concern experienced on an episodic basis, and was more relevant to dimensions of HRQoL such as day-to-day physical and social functioning, as well as intimacy and relationships with partners. HSV-2 infection was a separate, dominant and gendered medical condition that compounded and complicated women's experiences with HIV.

Main implication: HRQoL assessments from the perspective of patients will become increasingly important as life-prolonging antiretroviral treatments are refined and clinicians and HIV -positive individuals look to maximize quality oflife and well-being. As people living with HIV I AIDS continue to face complex health-related challenges, it is essential to incorporate HRQoL into treatment and care planning. It is important for service providers to account for HSV -2 as an important medical and psychosocial issue and to discuss with their clients how HSV -2 may affect perceived HRQoL. This study adds to the body of knowledge regarding women's experiences living with HN, but adds an important layer regarding co-infections and co-morbidities, which are relevant to developing an understanding of women's sexual health.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: DNA Diagnosis of Thalassemia From Ancient Italian Skeletons

contributor:
Saunders, Shelley R.
Physical Anthropology

subject:
Biological and Physical Anthropology
Biological and Physical Anthropology

abstract: [Missing page v]

abstract:
This thesis reports an attempt to extract DNA from the skeletal remains of five young children who died approximately 1,900 years ago and who were recovered from an Italian archaeological site, Isola Sacra. These skeletons have been tentatively diagnosed as thalassemics based on morphological observations, but alternative diagnoses are also possible. DNA diagnosis was used to attempt to identify thalassemia mutations from the human globin genes extracted from these skeletons.

Successful extraction of the human globin genes is largely dependent on two factors: retrieving sufficient amounts of ancient DNA without PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) inhibitors, and no contamination from modern DNA. To improve the chances of success, a more efficient and rapid method of extracting DNA from ancient skeletons was developed using a silica-based spin column technique to maximize the yield of amplifiable DNA from ancient skeletons and minimize the risk of the contamination with modern DNA. In a single step, the DNA is concentrated and separated from non-DNA substances that could inhibit PCR. This sufficiently removed PCR inhibitors but without an increased risk of contamination. A comparison test proved that this new approach is superior to current commonly used methods.

Upon application of the new method, the evidence suggests that ancient human p-globin genes were extracted from three of the five individuals from Isola Sacra. DNA diagnosis for two of the most common Italian thalassemia mutations, IVS 1-11 a and codon 39 (more than 50% of current Italian thalassemia mutations),revealed that these three individuals did not have these two mutations. However, the present results cannot totally exclude the possibility of thalassemia from these specimens since five other untested mutations might occur in these specimens.

Precautions were taken to minimize the risk of contamination. Contamination was also monitored by mtDNA analysis of each individual. No systemic contamination took place in this study but a sporadic contamination was identified with one specimen. The further analysis clearly indicated that the contamination came from the author.

This thesis has shown that DNA diagnosis of diseases from ancient remains can be a new, powerful approach to the study of health and disease in past human populations. Technical improvements and revised research strategies are expected to advance DNA diagnoses of ancient diseases.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Three Essays on Built-in Stability

contributor:
Scarth, William M.
Economics

subject: Economics Economics

abstract:
This dissertation comprises three essays. The first essay examines the implications of alternative fiscal regimes on output volatility using a series of closed economy models. Two fiscal regimes are considered: a flexible fiscal regime ("Keynes") whereby the government uses fiscal policy in a countercyclical fashion, increasing the budget deficit when output falls and a rigid fiscal regime ("Hoover") whereby the government balances the budget at each point in time by changing its expenditure.

In this essay, I explore which fiscal regime is able to limit output volatility in the presence of shocks. The model involves two important features that make it possible for the flexible approach to fiscal policy to be less not more stabilizing for output. By issuing more bonds during a downturn (to finance temporary deficits}, governments create an obligation to work down the debt-ratio in the future. Thus, while conducting fiscal policy a la "'Keynes" can reduce the size of a recession initially, it can delay and weaken any eventual recovery and hence make the recession last longer.

On the other hand, while the impact effect of a negative shock under "Hoover" is bigger. the speed at which the economy recovers is faster as this fiscal regime avoids the destabilizing, part of bond-financed deficits. As a result, depending on the magnitude of the impact and the speed at which the economy recovers from a downturn, output volatility can be higher under "'Keynes".

The second feature highlighted in this essay which raises the probability that a rigid annual balanced-budget approach can be superior in reducing output volatility, Involves the interaction between fiscal and monetary policy. Monetary policy is modelled by deriving the interest-rate setting rule that is appropriate for meeting the central bank's goal (assumed to be an expected future inflation rate of zero). taking the rest of the macro model as the bank' s constraint. Since fiscal policy is part of the system, monetary policy adjusts whenever the fiscal regime changes. In particular, since the rigid fiscal regime avoids the destabilizing part of a bond-financed deficit, the central bank finds it appropriate to put less weight on stabilizing long-term expectations and more weight on the deviations of real output from its target. Traditional analyses of fiscal policy have not allowed for such an endogenous reaction of monetary policy.

My results tor this essay indicate that the degree of forward-lookingness, the nature of the shock hitting the economy and to some extent the degree of price stickiness are important factors in determining the choice of the best fiscal regime I find that in an number of cases. the "Hoover" approach minimizes output volatilIty. In particular, in the micro-based specification and forward-looking version of the model, at least for demand shocks and some common ways of specifying prices, output volatility can be reduced by moving away from a flexible fiscal regime toward one that involves rigid annual budget targets. To check for the robustness of my results, a senes of sensitIvity tests are performed.

The second essay extends the analysis developed in the first essay of this thesis to the small open economy case. The same issues are examined but this time using a richer and more complex framework. Several changes are introduced in this essay. However, despite these changes, I find that the results from this chapter are very sImilar to those obtained in the closed economy framework. In particular, I find that the "Hoover" approach receives more support when the more forward-Iooking version of the model is used while the flexible regime dominates the rigid approach when the more backward-looking version of the model is assumed.

In addition to the "Keynes" v/s "Hoover" debate, several other interesting findings emerge from this essay. For example, in the second essay, I find that a more conservative central bank is more desirable when demand and supply shocks are persistent. This venfies the finding of many other studies which have obtaIned an identical result using the same framework whIch however excludes government and open economy considerations. As in the previous chapter, I perfoml a series of sensitivity tests.

The third essay continues this shift in emphasis from fiscal to monetary policy. The third essay is based on two propositions. First the goal of price stability can be achieved with exchange rate targeting, but with also exchange rate flexibility combined with a monetary policy that targets either the price level or an index of wage rates. The three different monetary regimes are assumed to generate the same outcome regarding long-term inflation. As a result, the choice among these alternative monetary regimes can be made on the basis of which fiscal regime delivers the most built-in stability for real output. Second, this essay is based on the belief that changes in aggregate demand are a very important source of disturbance in the economy. SInce these shocks are costly to society. they generate the desire for built-in stability.

The three monetary regimes are compared using several models and I assume that the central bank can target any of these regimes in a modest or aggressive fashion In the face of temporary and on-going shocks in demand. All the models in this essay involve consistent exchange rate expectations and through the existence of intermediate imports, supply-side effects of exchange rate changes. Moreover, all models also incorporate the possibility of an imperfect pass-through of exchange rate movements on prices. My results from this essay indicate that in all of these models, either price level or wage-rate targeting can do as well, or better than exchange rate targeting. However. exchange rate targeting is often the second best policy while the other two monetary regimes swItch between the first and third best ranking. Hence exchange rate targeting appears to be more robust to model uncertainty compared to the other two targeting regimes and hence emerges as an appealing compromise

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Random Finite Set Methods for Multitarget Tracking

contributor:
Dr. Kirubarajan
Dr Jeremic, Dr. Reilly
Electrical and Computer Engineering

subject: Multiple target tracking

subject: Random Finite Sets

subject: Probability Hypothesis Density

subject: Multitarget Multi-Bernoulli

subject: Intensity filter

subject: Multi-Vehicle Systems and Air Traffic Control

abstract:
Multiple target tracking (MTT) is a major area that occurs in a variety of real world systems. The problem involves the detection and estimation of an unknown number of targets within a scenario space given a sequence of noisy, incomplete measurements. The classic approach to MTT performs data association between individual measurements, however, this step is a computationally complex problem. Recently, a series of algorithms based on Random Finite Set (RFS) theory, that do not require data association, have been introduced. This thesis addresses some of the main deficiencies involved with RFS methods and derives key extensions to improve them for use in real world systems.\\

The first contribution is the Weight Partitioned PHD filter. It separates the Probability Hypothesis Density (PHD) surface into partitions that represent the individual state estimates both spatially and proportionally. The partitions are labeled and propagated over several time steps to form continuous track estimates. Multiple variants of the filter are presented. Next, the Multitarget Multi-Bernoulli (MeMBer) filter is extended to allow the tracking of manoeuvring targets. A model state variable is incorporated into the filter framework to estimate the probability of each motion model. The standard implementations are derived. Finally, a new linear variant of the Intensity filter (iFilter) is presented. A Gaussian Mixture approximation provides more computationally efficient implementation of the iFilter.

Each of the new algorithms are validated on simulated data using standard multitarget tracking metrics. In each case, the methods improve on several aspects of multitarget tracking in the real world.

abstract: Doctor of Engineering (DEng)


title: Do women's sociodemographic characteristics or type of prenatal care provider influence quality of prenatal care?

contributor:
Sword, Wendy
Noori-Ahktar-Danesh
Kingston, Dawn
Nursing

subject: prenatal care

subject: quality of prenatal care

subject: sociodemographic characteristics

subject: type of prenatal care provider

subject: predictors

subject: Maternal, Child Health and Neonatal Nursing

abstract:
Do women’s sociodemographic characteristics or type of prenatal care provider influence quality of prenatal care?

Objective: This study examined whether sociodemographic characteristics or type of prenatal care provider influenced the quality of prenatal care received by women in Canada. The main predictors of high quality prenatal care received by Canadian women were identified.

Methods: A secondary analysis of data collected for a primary study that developed and tested the Quality of Prenatal Care Questionnaire (QPCQ) was conducted. Women (n=422), recruited from five cities, completed a background questionnaire and the QPCQ. Data analysis involved examining nine sociodemographic variables and one prenatal care provider variable using independent samples t‐ tests, one‐way analysis of variance, and analysis of covariance.

Results: Statistically significant differences in prenatal care quality were noted among women based on language spoken at home, racial background, marital status, family income, and education level. Women receiving midwifery care reported the highest quality of prenatal care, compared to women receiving care from obstetricians who reported lower quality prenatal care. The strongest predictors of high quality prenatal care were type of prenatal care provider and total family income.

Conclusions: Efforts to universally improve quality of prenatal care in Canada require practice, policy, and research initiatives. Incorporating alternative/ancillary prenatal care services has the potential to improve access, psychosocial supports, appropriate referrals, education, and interventions for women receiving lower quality prenatal care. Systemic practice and policy changes to increase midwifery care capacity would enable midwives to provide high quality prenatal care to a larger portion of low risk Canadian women. Shared care models could reduce the burden on obstetricians, enabling them to provide higher quality prenatal care to high risk Canadian women. Future research needs to focus on identifying the efficacy of each prenatal care component and examining their specific effects on birth outcomes.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: Market Structure and Contractionary Devaluation

contributor:
Chan, K.S.
Muller, R.A.
Scarth, W.M.
Economics

subject: Economics Economics

abstract:
In practice, devaluation has been prescribed as a major policy instrument in many countries, on the presumption that devaluation is expansionary. However, whether devaluation is contractionary is a matter of considerably theoretical and practical importance. This thesis investigates whether and under what conditions devaluation is contractionary under a wide range of assumptions concerning market structures. The investigation is conducted at both micro and macro levels, and for both short-run and long-run time horizons.

In general, contractionary devaluation is not an unusual phenomenon; instead, it can easily occur as long as the demand and supply structures in the market satisfy a condition which we derive and interpret.

In short-run micro models with homogeneous goods, our findings show that perfect competition, monopoly and oligopoly do not change the nature of the conditions required for expansionary, neutral or contractionary devaluation. However, these three market structures do have an impact through altering the magnitude (not sign) of the output change following a devaluation. makers should be aware Thus both theorists and policy that the existence of imperfect competition can largely reduce the power of a devaluation (if not the direction of that effect).

Our partial equilibrium micro model with monopolistic competition provides results which challenge the theory of neutrality of devaluation in the long-run. Also, the micro foundations reveal the mechanism through which the long-run real effects of devaluation occur. It is the devaluation which causes the changes in the number of varieties and it is the change in the number of the varieties which alters the market structure and thus causes the long-run effects on real output.

As a key variable, the number of varieties also generates some seemingly odd results which are not seen in perfect competition: following a devaluation, the aggregate price and aggregate output, welfare and employment, may change in the opposite directions.

To establish the linkage between the microeconomic foundations and the macroeconomic formulations, we extend an existing closed macro model with monopolistic competition to a small open economy version. The neutrality of devaluation is derived in this context. This macro result should not be considered inconsistent with the result of non-neutrality in the micro model with monopolistic competition. The main reasons is that: the number of varieties is an exogenous variable in the macro model but endogenous variable in the micro model; and the money wage is flexible in the former but fixed in the latter.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Once Upon A Time...Or So The Story Goes: Myth, Storytelling, And Identity Formation In Utopia

contributor:
Silcox, Mary
English

subject:
English Language and Literature
English Language and Literature

abstract:
This thesis explores the relationship between myth, mythmaking, storytelling, and identity formation within utopia and utopian literature. Specifically, it will explore the plight of the individual and whether or not the individual can truly 'exist' within utopia. All major surveys of utopian literature liken utopia to myth and the mythmaking process; however, no critic has specifically investigated how myth, mythmaking and storytelling inform both utopian literature and the utopian societies which they present. In the utopias investigated in this thesis, those in power use and manipulate myths and stories in order to negate selfhood and individual thought, as individual thought is seen as threatening to the social fabric. However, the story and the written word also become the key mechanism by which the protagonists attempt to resist the constraints put on them by those in power and, in doing so, attempt to assert an authentic self.

This thesis is divided into three chapters. Using George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, the first chapter explores the inherent danger of the utopian ideal which the anti-utopianists set out to expose, Specifically, the chapter investigates how the governing elite use and manipulate myths, stories, and the written word in order to exert an ontological stranglehold on the inhabitants of Oceania to maintain their vision. The protagonist, Winston Smith, is destroyed because he attempts to use the written word in order to stand against the governing party. The final two chapters of this thesis then explore how critical utopianists, namely Sheni Tepper in her work The Gate to Women's Country and Russell Hoban with Riddley Walker, challenge the notion that it is impossible for true individual selfuood to exist within a utopian state. As in Nineteen Eight-Four, it is through the written word, as well as the interpretation and subsequent manipulation of stories, that the respective protagonists Stavia and Riddley attempt to stand against, and more importantly, within their given societies as individuals. Only Riddley, however, is truly able to assert and define an authentic self, as he is the only protagonist in the three novels studied who is able tell his own story.

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: Three Essays on Empirical Household Behaviour

contributor:
Browning, Martin
Economics

abstract:
This thesis consists of three essays on empirical household behaviour: in particular. on demand and female labour supply decisions. The first essay examines empirically whether the condition for aggregation across goods and the condition for aggregation across individuals are accepted using Canadian family expenditure suryeys. A new demand system is developed to test both conditions. Both conditions are rejected by the data. This places some doubt on the use of single good. representative agent models in macroeconomIcs.

The second essay is concerned with the impact of children on labour supply decisions of married women using the 1975 labor supply data from Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Some previous research treated the number of children as a continuous variable and has found that the number or children is exogenous in the hours of work equation of married women suggesting that the number of children is determined independently of hours worked. This essay finds that treating the number of children as a discrete integer may be important when testing for their individual exogeneity in the hours equation. It also finds that children and labour force participation are a joint decision for married women. The findings in this essay emphasize the importance of considering both the potential endogeneity and the discrete count data nature of the number of children when estimating the policy-related parameters in labour supply equations. especially in the participation equation.

The third essay investigates the cost of children through equivalence scales using Canadian family expenditure surveys. It generalises Blackorby and Donaldson's (BD) condition concerning the structure of preferences. Both the BD condition and its generalization detemine the equivalence scale uniquely from the demand data. It is found that the restriction implied by the BD condition regarding the budget share for the 'children only' good is rejected whereas that of its generalization is not. A new rank three demand system is developed to examine the testable implications of the generalized HD condition which are then rejected. Nevertheless, equivalence scales are estimated under the generalized BD condition. It is found that the cost of a child increases with both the age of a child and the labour force involvement of the female adult and decreases with the income level of the household.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: The Maritime Food Processing Industry: A Comparison of the Competitive Characteristics of Low and High Value Added Firms

contributor:
Anderson, William P.
Geography

subject: Geography Geography

abstract:
The Maritime provinces have been historically characterized as primarily low value added resource producing economies. One of the sectors identified most with this economy is food processing, which accounts for a quarter of the region's manufacturing output. Among the problems facing the Maritime economy has been an inability to add value to the region's natural resource output. This has left the economy reliant on commodity production which, in the long run, is vulnerable to outside competition.

The region has also been economically depressed compared to other parts of Canada. Many initiatives have been undertaken to reduce disparities of income and employment, but by and large they have been unsuccessful. Some have argued for a shift in regional development policy away from incentives to attract new industry and towards the development of local industry. One possible form this development might take is increased value added to the region's resource production. It was hypothesized in the thesis that there are obstacles to higher value added production which follow from the more sophisticated competitive requirements of higher value added firms.

To determine the degree of value added production and the characteristics of higher value added firms, a mail survey was sent to the population of food processors in the region. Based on the results of the survey it was found that higher value added firms rely on often more advanced factors and strategies to establish and maintain their competitiveness. Although there are many firms in the region producing higher value added products, these firms do not have significantly higher growth rates than lower value added firms. This can, in part, be explained by weaknesses in the region's ability to provide the factors and incentives which higher value added firms rely upon to be successful.

It was also concluded from the study that if it is the goal of regional development policy to encourage higher value added production, development efforts should be broader in focus. In other words, policies cannot be based primarily on direct incentives to business.

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: The Effect of Perceptual Deprivation on the Human EEG

contributor:
Heron, W.
Psychology

subject: Psychology Psychology

abstract:
The slowing of the alpha rhythm of the EEG during perceptual deprivation was investigated to test John Zubek's hypothesis that the time course of the slowing was influenced by the length of the deprivation period; to provide a more comprehensive description of the EEG changes produced by the deprivation procedure using computer power spectral analysis of the EEG, and to discover the effect of deprivation on the other rhythms of the EEG, chiefly the 12-14 Hz. sleep spindles since their mechanism of generation is reasonably well understood and it has been suggested that the alpha rhythm is generated in a similar manner.

The experimental subjects (eight adult humans) were divided into two groups of four, one group undergoing four days and the other seven days of perceptual deprivation. Two control groups of two subjects each experienced either four or seven days of confinement. All subjects slept in the laboratory for three nights before and three nights after the deprivation period. The EEG was recorded polygraphically throughout the deprivation period, while samples of EEG for computer analysis were recorded on magnetic tape at regular intervals throughout each day.

The power spectral analysis of the EEG enabled us to provide a good quantitative description of several characteristics of the normal human EEG which were previously unknown or inadequately described. We found that all subjects showed a regular circadian variation in alpha frequency with the lowest values occurring in the early morning and the highest values occurring in the afternoon or evening. Three subjects showed bimodal distributions of power in the alpha range, indicating two distinct frequencies of alpha. The slower alpha was more prominent in frontal regions while the faster alpha was more prominent in occipital regions. Two subjects possessed high amplitude alpha in the occipital region during Stage 1 REM sleep. This alpha was about 1 Hz. slower than the occipital alpha during the walking state. The slower frontal and REM alpha rhythms also showed a circadian variation in frequency. Three subjects showed a different frequency of alpha when the eyes were open than when the eyes were closed. Sleep spindles showed a bimodal power distribution, the slower frequency spindle occurring only in the frontal area while the higher frequency spindle was prominent in the frontal and parietal regions.

The alpha frequency of the deprivation subjects decreased by 1.5 to 2 Hz. while the control subjects showed little or no change in alpha frequency. The time-course of the decrease in alpha frequency was similar in the four and seven day deprivation subjects, disconfirming Zubek's hypothesis that the seven day group would show a more gradual slowing. Subjects with high amplitude alpha showed a decrease in alpha amplitude while subjects with low amplitude alpha showed no change or an increase in alpha amplitude over the deprivation period. The low frequency frontal alpha was also showed during deprivation but showed no reduction in power. The theta rhythm showed some increase in power but no change in frequency over deprivation in two of the four subjects who showed measurable amount of this activity. The REM alpha was slowed to the same degree as the waking alpha remaining 1 Hz. slower throughout the deprivation period. In contrast, the frequency and amplitude of the sleep spindles were unaffected by the deprivation procedure and there appeared to be no regular circadian variation in spindle frequency. This suggests that current assumptions that alpha and spindles share a common mechanism may not be valid.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Strategic Exchange Rate Co-ordination: A Three-Country Model

contributor:
Scarth, W.M.
Magee, L.
Chan, K.S.
Economics

subject: Economics Economics

abstract:
The highly integrated nature of the global economy has increased the interdependence of macroeconomic policy between countries. The benefit of international policy co-ordination has been analyzed by many economists with optimal control and game theory techniques. In the literature, different assumptions regarding the strategic behavior of countries lead to several common equilibrium concepts as the available options to the policy authorities: Nash, Stackelberg, and cooperative equilibria. A cooperative solution generally has advantages over a non-cooperative Nash solution, and the difference is measured as the welfare gains from co-ordination. The advantages of a Stackelberg leader-follower solution over a Nash equilibrium are also often discussed.

Some common features ofexisting studies are that money supply policy is used in pursuing two targets in a symmetric two-country model, and that mutual gains from co-ordination are suggested. Recently, however, numerical analyses find the gains from co-ordination to be small and sometimes negative. Thus, there have been attempts to find cases where co-ordination creates large gains.

This thesis develops a Keynesian three-country model to extend this literature. Static game theory is used in a short-run analysis. The exchange rate is strategically used by the stabilization policy authorities oftwo small countries as a monetary policy instrument, in pursuing three targets -- the inflation rate, the balance of payments,and the employment rate. The third country, the rest of the world, is assumed to be passIVe. With these new features of our framework and with representative parameter values being used in numerical simulations, we investigate several suggestions made by other authors regarding the issue of gains from policy co-ordination.

The links with the third country significantly influence the effects ofthe small countries' policies. Hence, the Canzoneri-Minford and Turnovsky-d'Orey suggestions that higher macroeconomic interdependence (measured as the ratio of transmission effects to own policy effects) between economies or lower trade price elasticies may increase the gains from co-ordination do not always hold. Tobin's (1978, p. 489) proposal that we should throw "some sand in the wheels of our excessively efficient international money markets" is examined under varying degrees of capital mobility, and it is supported by our findings. The effects of structural asymmetry between the small countries on the welfare outcome are also analyzed by allowing for asymmetric patterns in trade and capital flows. In some asymmetric patterns, one country is always better off as a Stackelberg leader, contrasting with the result of Eichengreen. The gains to both countries from policy co-ordination suggest stability of the co-ordination in these asymmetric patterns. However, the gains from co-ordination turn out to be small.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Industrial Workers' Perception of Class, Ethnicity and Politics in the Nigerian Middle Belt

contributor:
Howard, Rhoda
Sociology

subject: Sociology Sociology

abstract:
This work is a study of urban industrial workers in the Nigerian Middle Belt. The major objective is to examine the attitudes and behaviour of urban industrial workers regarding class, ethnicity and politics in Nigeria. My concern with the subject arises from debates on the role of African working classes in social and economic development of the continent.

The debates cente, at one level, on the issue of whether African working classes can be dismissed as constituting a conservative labour aristocracy, with no revolutionary political significance, or regarded as constituting at the very least a potential revolutionary political force. At another level the focus of the debate is on the relationship between class and ethnicity, the key issue being whether ethnicity constitutes an asset, a liability, or is irrelevant to working class (revolutionary) political behaviour.

In this study I argue that Nigerian industrial workers constitute neither a labour aristocracy nor a revolutionary political force, rather a complex interplay between class and ethnicity renders revolutionary conceptions of the Nigerian working class premature at the moment. Class and ethnicity represent concrete social and economic realities in the Nigerian political economy, and whereas the ruling classes manipulate ethnicity as a political ideology for their accumulative interests, the poorer classes, including the working class, also utilize ethnicity as social, economic and political mechanisms to survive in their conscious conditions of subordination. Under conditions of the contemporaneous development of class and ethnicity in Nigeria ethnicity constitutes an integral element in the process of class formation among urban industrial workers. The incorporation of politicized ethnicity as part of this process, I suggest, weakens working class political solidarity, and hence their political significance. The experience of post-primary education reduces the ethnic element among workers and politicizes their consciousness, but even the influence of education has not been sufficient to make workers constitute themselves into a revolutionary proletariat.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Investigating Minimally Invasive Stressors for Functional MRI of the Kidneys

contributor:
Noseworthy, Michael D.
Biomedical Engineering

subject: MRI

subject: kidney

subject: functional

subject: BOLD

subject: DWI

subject: fractal

subject: Other Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering

abstract: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has an annual mortality rate of 22% and can cause secondary complications including hypertension, anemia, secondary hyperparathyroidism, and malnutrition. Currently, clinical diagnosis and evaluation of CKD involves blood and urine testing and biopsy. MRI is not currently used to image CKD, but there is an interest in developing MRI techniques to test kidney function. Usually, renal functional MRI refers to single images reflecting tissue oxygenation. Using time series information may offer additional information about changes in kidneys as a result of disease. In this thesis, blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) MRI and diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) were used to investigate the effects of breath holding and water loading on kidneys. First, BOLD MRI was used to measure effects of breath holding on BOLD signal intensity. DWI and fractal analysis were used to measure changes in diffusion, perfusion and microcirculation shortly after water loading. Breath holding results showed no effect on temporal BOLD signal intensity in young, healthy subjects. A significant decrease in signal intensity was measured in the kidney of a single subject with impaired renal function. Although the renal BOLD signal was found to have fractal characteristics, no changes were measured using this technique between pre- and post-water loading scans during the time period examined. Because the signal appears to behave fractally, this technique may be a good candidate for similar kidney function studies in the future. DWI also remained unchanged as a result of water loading during the post-water loading time period examined.

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: COMPARATIVE ANALYSES OF MICROBIAL GENOMES TO IDENTIFY MOLECULAR MARKERS FOR DIFFERENT GROUPS OF PROKARYOTES

contributor:
Gupta, Radhey S.
Murray Junop, Herbert E. Schellhorn
Biochemistry

subject:
conserved indels
signature proteins
lateral gene transfer
phylogeny
taxonomy
thermotogae
synergistetes
PVC
Bioinformatics
Biology
Evolution
Genomics
Bioinformatics

abstract: Currently centered on molecular data, bacterial and archaeal relationships are often based on their relative branching in 16S rRNA based phylogenetic trees. The availability of numerous bacterial genome sequences over the past two decades has provided new information for insights previously inaccessible to the field of taxonomy. Through utilization of comparative genomics, numerous molecular markers in the form of insertions and deletions within conserved regions of proteins, also known as Conserved Signature Indels or CSIs, have been discovered for various prokaryotic taxa. Using these techniques, we have analyzed relationships among the bacterial phyla of Thermotogae and Synergistetes and the conglomeration of bacterial organisms known as the PVC super-phylum. Through identification of large numbers of CSIs we have described the phyla Thermotogae and Synergistetes, and their sub-groups, in molecular terms for the first time. The identified molecular markers support a reconstruction of the current taxonomic divisions of these phyla. Similarly, previously only observed to group in phylogenetic trees, we have identified molecular markers for the PVC clade of bacterial phyla which are indicative of their shared ancestry. Further, in response to recent suggestions of extensive lateral gene transfer masking evolutionary relationships, an argument in favour of Darwinian mode of evolution for prokaryotic organisms is made using the identified molecular markers identified here along with markers previously identified in similar studies. Due to their taxonomic specificity, the markers that we have discovered provide useful tools for biochemical tests aiming for an understanding of the unique characteristics of the bacterial groups to which they are specific.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)