title: A Hybrid LCC-VSC HVDC Transmission System Supplying a Passive Load

subject:
Hybrid HVDC
Passive load

abstract:
High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission systems continue to be an excellent
asset in modern power systems, mainly for their ability to overcome the problems of AC
transmission, such as the interconnection of asynchronous grids, stability of long
transmission lines, and use of long cables for power transmission.
In the past 20 years, Voltage Source Converter (VSC)-HVDC transmission systems were
developed and installed in many projects, thereby adding more operational benefits to DC
transmission option, such as high controllability, ability to supply weak networks, and
reduced converter reactive power demand. Nevertheless, VSC-HVDC transmission suffers
from the disadvantages of high losses and cost.
In this research, a hybrid HVDC employing a Line Commutated Converter (LCC) as
rectifier and a VSC as inverter is used to supply a passive network through a DC cable. The
hybrid system is best suited for unidirectional power transmission scenarios, such as power
transmission to islands and remote load centers, where the construction of new transmission
lines is prohibitively expensive. Control modes for the rectifier and inverter are selected and
implemented using Proportional Integral (PI) controllers. Special control schemes are
developed for abnormal operating conditions such as starting at light load and recovering
from AC network faults. The system performance under steady state and transient conditions
is investigated by EMTP-RV simulations. The results show the feasibility of the hybrid
system.


title: Design and development of a universal gripper mechanism and development of an omni-directional unmanned aerial vehicle for autonomous perching

subject:
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)
Omni-directional
Gripper
Design
Optimization

abstract: A novel omni-directional multi-rotor prototype with an attached gripper mechanism named the OmniRaptor is presented with the capability of landing on inclined members in a controlled, stable manner to perform construction and maintenance tasks on industrial structures such as high-voltage transmission towers. The OmniRaptor utilizes orthogonal variable-pitch side rotors placed perpendicular to a main quadcopter section allowing for arbitrary control of position and attitude, which is not possible with a standard multi-rotor. A gripper based on robotic hands is designed, optimized, and developed with the capabilities of grasping long slender beams with an unknown cross-section. The gripper replaces the landing gear on a normal multirotor also allowing the OmniRaptor to land on at surfaces. The results of test flights are presented demonstrating autonomous take-off, flying, and controlled landing with secure grasping for both a level and an inclined beam, something not possible for a traditional multi-rotor layout.

abstract: University of Ontario Institute of Technology


title: What lies beneath: an examination of the underlying components of deception detection

subject:
Deception detection
Decision-making
Details
Interviewing
Phrasing

abstract: Little is known about the underlying components that are responsible for the processes involved with decision-making in deception detection. Throughout this dissertation, I explored previous (mis)conceptions about decision-making in deception and its detection. In Study 1, I used self-report and objective measures (i.e., coding of witness statements) to examine a long-held dichotomy in deception detection research – that those labelled “truthtellers” are exclusively honest and those labelled “lie-tellers” fabricate their entire accounts. My findings revealed that both groups incorporated truthful and deceptive elements into their accounts, in fact. Although it has been well-established that truth-tellers provide more information than lie-tellers (DePaulo et al., 2003; Vrij, 2008), I found that truth-tellers provided more accurate information than lie-tellers, whereas the groups did not differ in utterances of inaccurate details. Rather, lie-tellers omitted significantly more details than truth-tellers, particularly during the free recall phase of the interview. In Study 2, I examined whether deception detection is static, as has been implied by the field’s focus on post hoc decision-making (Shanks, 2017). Using a novel, dynamic approach to measuring deception detection, I found that decisions and biases changed over time. Observers in the control condition – who made decisions after viewing an interview, as is typical in the literature – were able to discern between lie-tellers and truth-tellers and they exhibited a truth-bias, replicating previous research. However, observers who rendered their decisions continuously held no biases and were insensitive to veracity. Lastly, in Study 3, I examined the effect of varying the focal element of the deception detection task (i.e., person, event, or detail) because the impact of question phrasing on veracity decisions was unexamined in previous research. There were no differences between question phrasing conditions, which implies that phrasing is not the source of variability in discrimination or accuracy results throughout the literature. Overall, this dissertation serves to validate and challenge long-standing notions within deception detection research.


title: Detecting and preventing the electronic transmission of illicit images

subject: Sexual exploitation - - Children

subject: Illicit images - - Network-based

subject: Child pornography

subject: Euclidian distance

subject: Coefficient-based distance algorithm

abstract: The sexual exploitation of children remains a very serious problem and is rapidly increasing globally through the use of the Internet. This work focuses on the current methods employed by criminals to generate and distribute child pornography, the methods used by law enforcement agencies to deter them, and the drawbacks of currently used methods, as well as the surrounding legal and privacy issues. A proven method to detect the transmission of illicit images at the network layer is presented within this paper. With this research, it is now possible to actively filter illicit pornographic images as they are transmitted over the network layer in real-time. It is shown that a Stochastic Learning Weak Estimator learning algorithm and a Maximum Likelihood Estimator learning algorithm can be applied against Linear Classifiers to identify and filter illicit pornographic images. In this thesis, these two learning algorithms were combined with algorithms such as the Non-negative Vector Similarity Coefficient-based Distance algorithm, Euclidian Distance, and Weighted Euclidian Distance. Based upon this research, a prototype was developed using the abovementioned system, capable of performing classification on both compressed and uncompressed images. Experimental results showed that classification accuracies and the overhead of network-based approaches did have a significant effect on routing devices. All images used in our experiments were legal. No actual child pornography images were ever collected, seen, sought, or used.


title: Comparative study of various hydrogen production methods for vehicles.

contributor:
Dincer, Ibrahim
Agelin-Chaab, Martin

subject:
Energy
Greenhouse gases
Hydrogen
Life cycle assessment

abstract:
Hydrogen as an energy carrier is a promising candidate to store green energy and it has a
potential to solve various critical energy challenges. Although, hydrogen is a clean
energy carrier, the possible negative impacts during its production cannot be disregarded.
Therefore life cycle analyses for various scenarios have been investigated in this study.
In this thesis, a comparative environmental assessment is presented for different
hydrogen production methods. The methods are categorized on the basis of various
energy sources such as renewables and fossil fuel. For the fossil fuel based hydrogen
production, steam methane reforming (SMR) of natural gas is studied. Renewable based
hydrogen production includes electrolysis using sodium chlorine cycle. Electrolytic
hydrogen production is also compared using different cells such as membrane cell,
diaphragm cell and mercury cell. Wind and solar based electricity is also used in
electrolytic hydrogen production. Furthermore, vehicle cycle is studied on the basis of
available literature to compare the hydrogen vehicle with gasoline vehicle.
The investigation uses life cycle assessment (LCA), which is an analytical tool to
identify and quantify environmentally critical phases during the life cycle of a system or a
product and/or to evaluate and decrease the overall environmental impact of the system or
product. The LCA results of the hydrogen production processes indicate that SMR of
natural gas has the highest environmental impacts in terms of abiotic depletion, global
warming potential, and in other impact categories. The abiotic depletion for SMR is
found to be 0.131 kg Sb eq. which is the highest among all methods. The second highest
abiotic depletion value comes under electrolysis using mercury cell which is 0.00786 kg
Sb eq. However, thermodynamic results suggested that SMR is the efficient method of
hydrogen production because the amount of hydrogen energy produced as output in the
system is larger than any other method. The energy efficiency of the system in this
method is about 76.8% and the exergy efficiency is about 72.4%. In terms of vehicle
cycle comparison, it is found that the gasoline vehicle appears to be the largest
contributor in energy consumption and GHGs emissions. The energy consumption of
gasoline vehicle is three times higher than hydrogen vehicle. Moreover, GHGs emissions
of the hydrogen vehicle are 8% of the gasoline vehicle.


title: Cortical and cerebellar motor processing changes subsequent to motor training and cervical spine manipulation

subject:
Sensorimotor integration
Motor learning
Cerebellum
Transcranial magnetic stimulation
Chiropractic manipulation

abstract:
Chronic neck pain, including subclinical neck pain (SCNP), is a significant problem that places a burden on the healthcare system. Chiropractic manipulation has shown not only to be effective in treating symptoms of neck pain, but also in providing a neuromodulatory effect on the central nervous system. The motor cortex and cerebellum are thought to be important neural structures involved in motor learning and sensorimotor integration (SMI), and are therefore key structures to investigate how SMI is changed in a SCNP group following chiropractic care. Motor sequence learning (MSL) has also been shown to provide alterations in cerebellar projections to the motor cortex. Therefore, the studies in this thesis set out to determine if it was possible to induce both cortical and cerebellar learning, and if chiropractic care could alter motor output via transcranial magnetic stimulation measures to facilitate this learning.
The study‟s results suggest that in a healthy group of subjects there is alteration in the intracortical inhibition of the motor cortex and no significant change in the cerebellum, following MSL. However, the results also suggest that in a SCNP group, there is a modulation of the cerebellar connections to the motor cortex but no effect specific to the motor cortex following both MSL and chiropractic manipulation. Therefore, these findings suggest that people with intermittent neck pain have concomitant changes in SMI and could manifest as clinical symptomology.


title: A structured approach to assessing the suitability of clinical gold standards for use in computational decision support algorithm development

subject:
Validation
Clinical gold standard
Neonatal spells
Late onset neonatal sepsis

abstract:
Advanced decision support diagnostic algorithm use in medicine is being hampered by the problem that high quality evidence is not available to support adoption. The strongest evidence for a diagnostic tool is obtained from accuracy comparison trials to a true gold standard.
Clinical Gold standards are the best tests available for a condition and frequently have high false positive rates.
This thesis presents and tests a novel methodology for reviewing clinical gold standards. Two test cases were used one for neonatal spells comparing it to an unmodified clinical gold standard, the second for late onset neonatal sepsis using a modified clinical gold standard.
Before embarking on any algorithm testing a detailed review of the clinical gold standard is needed with an expert panel of clinicians. Most clinical gold standards will need modification before being used as a comparator for advanced clinical decision support systems.


title: Image super resolution via non-local normalized graph Laplacian regularization

contributor:
Ebrahimi, Mehran
Bohun, Sean

subject:
Super resolution
Regularization
Image restoration
Graph Laplacian

abstract: Given we live in a digital age where images are regularly being viewed, posted, or utilized, spectators of such images on occasion could prefer a higher resolution perspective. The process of producing a high-resolution image given a single low-resolution noisy measurement is called single-frame image super resolution (SISR). Many interpolation schemes fail to preserve important edge information of images and cannot be used blindly for resolution enhancement. In general, apriori constraints can be imposed on the high resolution image approximation. This process is called regularization. We model our SISR problem as an energy minimization procedure which optimally balances data fidelity and the regularization term. The regularization term will incorporate natural image redundancy implicitly via the so called normalized graph Laplacian operator. This operator applies a non-local kernel similarity measure due to choice of a non-local operator for weight assignment. The data fidelity term is modeled as a likelihood estimator that is scaled using a sharpening term composed from the normalized graph Laplacian operator. Finally, a conjugate gradient scheme is used to minimize the objective functional. Promising results on resolution enhancement for a variety of digital images will be presented. Non-local methods can be further enhanced following a \boosting" procedure deemed to enhance a signal by reintroducing a \cleaned\ version of the signal back into the final approximation. This is beneficial for all non-local restoration approaches. We show analytically that successive applications of this boosting operation does not necessarily guarantee a superior final solution.


title: Steam-reheat option for supercritical-water-cooled reactors

subject:
Steam reheat
SCWR
Heat-transfer coefficient

abstract: SuperCritical-Water-cooled Reactors (SCWRs) are being developed as one of the Generation-IV nuclear-reactor concepts. Main objectives of the development are to increase thermal efficiency of a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) and to decrease capital and operational costs. The first objective can be achieved by introducing nuclear steam reheat inside a reactor and utilizing regenerative feedwater heaters. The second objective can be achieved by designing a steam cycle that closely matches that of the mature supercritical fossil-fuelled power plants. The feasibility of these objectives is discussed. As a part of this discussion, heat-transfer calculations have been performed and analyzed for SuperCritical-Water (SCW) and SuperHeated-Steam (SHS) channels of the proposed reactor concept. In the calculations a uniform and three non-uniform Axial Heat Flux Profiles (AHFPs) were considered for six different fuels (UO2, ThO2, MOX, UC2, UC, and UN) and at average and maximum channel power. Bulk-fluid, sheath, and fuel centerline temperatures as well as the Heat Transfer Coefficient (HTC) profiles were obtained along the fuel-channel length. The HTC values are within a range of 4.7 – 20 kW/m2⋅K and 9.7 – 10 kW/m2⋅K for the SCW and SHS channels respectively. The main conclusion is that while all the mentioned fuels may be used for the SHS channel, only UC2, UC, or UN are suitable for a SCW channel, because their fuel centerline temperatures are at least 1000°C below melting point, while that of UO2, ThO2, and MOX may reach melting point.


title: Electron paramagnetic resonance for dosimetry in freshwater aquatic environments

subject: Environmental radiation protection

subject: Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy

subject: Radioecology

subject: Dosimetry

subject: Zebra mussels

abstract: This thesis explores the feasibility of detection of radiological contamination in aquatic environments through Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Exposure of freshwater ecosystems is possible as a result of accidents involving facilities of the nuclear fuel cycle. Since this can result in contamination with nuclides such as 90Sr, methods for determining radiation doses in the environment were explored. Specifically for shelled species, the concentration factor for 90Sr was found to have the largest influence on the correct prediction of radiation dose due to this nuclide. Possible doses to zebra mussels due to historic accidents were calculated in excess of 2 Gy in some instances. EPR is a method that is used to detect unpaired electrons that are induced by absorption of ionizing radiation in calcified tissues and as such, it measures lifetime dose to shells. From three organisms investigated, only Dreissenid mussels showed a radiation induced signal under the dose of 20 Gy. A linear relationship of the peak-to-peak height of the line at g = 2:0034 was established and used to improve the quantification of absorbed dose. Shells from different sampling dates were discovered to have different background EPR signals. For the sample group with the lowest background, it was possible to resolve doses as low as 0:2 Gy, thus reducing the value of 2 Gy, previously reported in literature. This provides further validation that EPR dosimetry of shelled species has the potential to contribute to better characterization of absorbed doses in aquatic environments.


title: Optimal power minimization in two-way relay network with imperfect channel state information

subject:
Power minimization
Two-way relay networks
Amplify relay network
Forward relay network

abstract:
We study a two-way amplify and forward relay network with two transceivers which
communicate through a network of nr relays while there is no direct link between the two
transceivers. Each relay is equipped with a single antenna for transmitting and receiving.
We study the minimization of the total transmit power that is used in all of the network
nodes given the condition that the transceiver which calculates the optimal transmitting
power has a full knowledge about the channels between itself and the relays and the
variance with zero mean of the channels between the relays and the other transceiver.
The total average power is minimized subject to a soft constraint which guarantees that
the outage probability is below a certain level. The optimal solution is derived in closed
form and leads to a single relay selection criterion.


title: Electrochemical analysis of CuCl/HCl electrolyser

contributor:
Dincer, Ibrahim
Rosen, Marc A.

subject:
Hydrogen
CuCl
Electrolysis
Electrochemical
Equilibrium analysis

abstract:
This thesis presents an electrochemical study on a CuCl/HCl electrolyser which is the hydrogen generation step of the CuCl thermochemical hydrogen production cycle. The anode electrolyte is solution of 2 mol.l−1 CuCl(aq) in 10 mol.l−1 HCl(aq) and cathode electrolyte is considered as 11 mol.l−1 HCl(aq). Equilibrium and kinetic analyses are performed for the anode and cathode half-reactions as well as electrolysis full-cell reaction. Gibbs energy minimization method is used to determine equilibrium concentrations of stable anolyte ions. Determination of thermodynamic properties of ions in the solution is carried out via application of the Helgeson-Kirkham-Flowers equation of state and the Debye-Huckel theory. Activation and Ohmic overpotentials of electrolysis are used to determine the required voltage to trigger hydrogen evolution at cathode.
At 5% conversion of Cu(I)→Cu(II) species in anolyte, decomposition potential of anode half-reaction is calculated to be -0.51V at room temperature. The cathode half-reaction is found to be spontaneous with an equilibrium potential of 0.11V at 25℃. Full-cell decomposition potentials at 25℃ and 80℃ are -0.40V and -0.44V, respectively, for the full conversion at anode. The cell potential is found to be -0.54V at 25℃ and it rises to -0.59V at 80℃. A higher working temperature results in more potential requirement for the cell while, it increases the overall electrochemical efficiency. Electrochemical efficiency of the cell is found to vary between 10% and 70% from low to high temperatures.


title: Enhancing geothermal heat pump systems with parametric performance analyses

contributor:
Reddy, Bale V.
Rosen, Marc A.

subject:
Geothermal heat pump
Parametric performance analysis
Heat pump cycle
Superheating
Subcooling
Vapor compression

abstract: Parametric performance analyses and comparison of a basic geothermal heat pump, a heat pump cycle with motor cooling/refrigerant preheating, and a heat pump cycle utilizing an economizer with respect to first law is conducted through simulation. Changing compressor, pump, and motor efficiency, along with condenser pressure, evaporator pressure, degree of subcooling at the condenser exit and degree of superheating at the evaporator exit is investigated. Economizer arrangements yield the highest coefficient of performance and resilience to change in COP with variation in evaporator pressure, and degree of superheating and subcooling. The basic vapor compression and motor cooling/refrigerant preheating systems have the lowest COP throughout and greatest resilience to variation in compressor efficiency, motor efficiency and condenser pressure. Motor cooling/refrigerant preheating and economizers have advantages over basic vapor compression cycles. Motor cooling reduces ground loop heat exchanger length with similar COP, and economizers allow for an increase in COP compared to the basic cycle.


title: Design and analysis of an adjustable wrist rehabilitation robot.

subject:
Wrist rehabilitation robot
Parallel robot
Kinematic optimization
DE

abstract:
Numerous people lose motor capabilities of their hands every year because of the Stroke. Rehabilitation robot was used to recover the movement ability based on the plasticity theory. Many robots have been proposed but most of them are either expensive or quite complicated.
This thesis presents an adjust wrist rehabilitation robot. The proposed design fully utilizes the three rotational motions to rehabilitate the human wrist. A multi-objective optimization problem was applied to increase both stiffness and dexterity of the robot.
The CAD model is constructed and the inverse kinematic, Jacobian matrix, stiffness, dexterity formulas are derived. The workspace atlas is generated. The optimization work is conducted and it proves quick, robust and easy-to-use by the results comparisons.


title: Integrated chassis control strategies for multi-wheel combat vehicle

contributor:
El-Gindy, Moustafa
Lang, Haoxiang

subject:
Chassis control
Lateral stability
Intelligent control
Multi-axle
Combat vehicles

abstract:
Combat vehicles are exposed to high risks due to their high ground clearance and nature of operation in harsh environments. This requires robust stability controllers to cope with the rapid change and uncertainty of driving conditions on various terrains. Moreover, it is required to enhance vehicle stability and increase safety to reduce accidents’ fatality probability. This research focuses on investigating the effectiveness of different lateral stability controllers and their integration in enhancing the cornering performance of an 8x8 combat vehicle when driving at limited handling conditions.
In this research, a new Active Rear Steering (ARS) stability controller for an 8x8 combat vehicle is introduced. This technique is extensively investigated to show its merits and effectiveness for human and autonomous operation. For human operation, the ARS is developed using Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) control method, which is compared with previous techniques. Furthermore, the controller is extended and tested for working in a rough and irregular road profile using a novel adaptive Integral Sliding Mode Controller (ISMC). In the case of autonomous operation, a frequency domain analysis is conducted to show the benefits of considering the steering of the rear axles in the path-following performance at different driving conditions. The study compared two different objectives for the controller; the first is including the steering of the rear axles in the path-following controller, while the second is to integrate it as a stability controller with a front-steering path-following controller.
In addition, this research introduces a novel Differential Braking (DB) controller. The proposed control prevents the excessive use of braking forces and consequently the longitudinal dynamic’s deterioration. Besides, it introduces an effective DB controller with less dependency and sensitivity to the reference yaw model.
Eventually, two various Integrated Chassis Controllers (ICC) are developed and compared. The first is developed by integrating the ISMC-ARS with the DB controller using a fuzzy logic controller. The second ICC integrates the ISMC-ARS with a developed robust Torque Vectoring Controller (TVC). This integration is designed based on a performance map that shows the effective region of each controller using a new technique based on Machine Learning (ML).


title: Towards computer-automated mechatronic design and optimization using linear graphs and evolutionary computing

subject:
Linear Graph Modeling
Mechatronics
Automated Design
Genetic Programming
Genetic Algorithms

abstract: A comparison of literature between the linear graph (LG) and bond graph (BG) approaches shows that the surpassing of BGs to LGs in applications related to the modeling of mechatronic systems is driven primarily by a lack of available LG-based software. As a result, a robust software toolbox called LGtheory has been developed for automating the evaluation of LG models in the MATLAB programming environment. This thesis details the development of LGtheory, and the algorithms and procedures employed for the evaluation of LG models. In addition, demonstrations of this toolbox to a process for automating the design of electronic filter circuits, as well as, the modeling and simulation of the dynamics of a mobile robotic system are presented. The results of these demonstrations validate the accuracy of the LGtheory toolbox for modeling complex multi-domain systems, and provides the methodological basis for the automated design of mechatronic systems using LGs.


title: The effects of a visco-elastic polymer glove on hand-arm vibration, muscle activity, and comfort during simulated power tool use

contributor:
Holmes, Mike
Yielder, Paul

subject:
Hand-arm vibration syndrome
Muscle activity
Visco-elastic polymer
Anti-vibration gloves

abstract:
Prolonged exposure to hand-transmitted vibration (HTV) as a result of power tools can lead to hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS). The effectiveness of anti-vibration (AV) gloves for the reduction of hand arm vibration remains unclear. The ability of a glove to attenuate vibration is
largely influenced by the material properties and forearm muscle activity during tool use. Visco-elastic polymer (gel-based) and air-bladder AV gloves are the most common options, however the
material properties of gel based options have seen little attention. The purpose of this study is to investigate vibration transmissibility, forearm muscle activity and subjective grip dexterity using a variety of gel-based compositions and designs. Participants completed six simulated hand-held power tool tasks. RMS vibration, grip force, muscle activity, and perceived levels of comfort, dexterity, onset of forearm muscle fatigue and impairment of tactile sensation were collected. Vibration attenuation was most effective along the Z axis, with properties such as decreased contact stiffness, as well as increased mass, elasticity and viscosity performing better. Further investigation of visco-elastic polymers using the ISO standardized protocol is needed.


title: Experimental investigation of an R134a based organic Rankine cycle

subject:
ORC
Experimental investigation
Renewable energy
Low temperature heat sources
Biomass

abstract:
This thesis research aims to develop an improved, efficient, low-capacity heat engine, running
on an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) to generate power. The ORC is driven by low or
moderate temperature heat sources, such as; renewable energy in the form of a hot gas derived
from biomass/biogas/biofuel combustion streams, waste heat recovery, process heat recovery,
etc. The ORC is more suitable and flexible than a conventional steam Rankine cycle,
especially when it is applied to low power range. In this research, an extended surface heat
exchanger is used to boil the pressurised working fluid, R134a, using a hot air as heat source.
The expander used is a scroll type, coupled to a generator, which is able to produce maximum
1.6 kW output. Experimental data of the heat engine are measured under different operating
conditions and utilized in the analysis and comparisons. Power generation under various
conditions is investigated in order to determine the optimum performance parameters for the
heat engine.
The isentropic efficiency of the expander is found to be over 40% and reaches 80% for
the improved expansion conditions. For the boiler, it is determined that the overall heat
transfer coefficient multiplied with the heat transfer area is around 150 W/K. The energy
efficiency of the experimental ORC is around 3% for hot air as the low temperature heat
source at about 105oC where exergy efficiency reaches 22%, respectively.


title: Optimal vehicle structural design for weight reduction using iterative finite element analysis

contributor:
Barari, Ahmad
Esmailzadeh, Ebrahim

subject:
Finite element method
Optimization
Computer aided engineering
Automotive structural design
Simple structural beams-frames (SSB)
Multi-objective optimization
Vehicle stiffness
Torsion stiffness
Bending stiffness
Vehicle weight reduction
Vehicle fuel economy

abstract: The design and analysis of an automotive structure is an important stage of the vehicle design process. The structural characteristics have significant impact on the vehicle performance. During the design process it is necessary to have knowledge about the structural characteristics; however in the preliminary design stages detailed information about the structure is not available. During this period of the design process the structure is often simplified to a representative model that can be analyzed and used as the input for the detailed design process. A vehicle model is developed based on the space frame structures where the frame is the load carrying portion of the structure. Preliminary design analysis is conducted using a static load condition applied to the vehicle as pure bending and pure torsion. The deflections of the vehicle based on these loading conditions are determined using the finite element method which has been implemented in developed software. The structural response, measured as the bending and torsion stiffness, is used to evaluate the structural design. An optimization program is implemented to improve the structural design with the goal of reducing weight while increasing stiffness. Following optimization the model is completed by estimating suitable plate thicknesses using a method of substructure analysis. The output of this process will be an optimized structural model with low weight and high stiffness that is ready for detailed design.

abstract: University of Ontario Institute of Technology


title: Towards a computational model of information trust

subject:
Computational trust
Security
AI
HCI
ML

abstract: Information has been an essential element in the development of collaborative and cooperative frameworks. From decision making to the attainment of different goals, people have been relatively adept at making judgments about the trustworthiness of information, based on knowledge and understanding of a normative model of information. However, recent events, for example, in elections and referenda, have stretched the ability of people to be able to measure the integrity and trustworthiness of information online. The result has been an erosion of trust in information online, its source, its value, and the ability to help one determine the trustworthiness of a piece of information. The situation is made more complex by social networks since social media have made the spread of (potentially untrustworthy) information more accessible and faster. We believe that this has exacerbated the need to assist humans in their judgment of the trustworthiness of information. In this work, we present a social cognitive construct: a trust model for information. We present our trust model, which we incorporate into an application to highlight misleading information, with the experimental result on users’ perception of the working of the model. Finally, we highlight the challenges faced in this research and future work.


title: Miniaturization of features in microfluidic paper-based analytical devices for user-friendly testing and diagnosis using small sample volumes

subject:
Paper-based
Microfluidics
Miniaturization
Laser-cutting fabrication
Counting-based detection

abstract:
Microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (µPADs) are a promising platform for analytical testing, particularly for medical diagnosis. One of the main advantages of µPADs is the capacity for inexpensive, portable and user-friendly diagnostic devices for people who do not have access to traditional lab-based medical diagnosis. Miniaturization of µPADs can further reduce the material cost, reagent cost, and enhance the user-friendliness of the device. However, it is challenging to produce inexpensive and miniaturized µPADs using existing fabrication techniques because the techniques that offer high-end fabrication resolution are expensive, require multiple steps in fabrication, and are not suitable for mass production. Based on this research need, I have developed an inexpensive and high-resolution fabrication technique that enabled the fabrication of user-friendly miniaturized µPADs. The technique is rapid, capable of mass production, and offers the highest fabrication resolution compared to existing fabrication techniques. Small-scale paper channels are fabricated using a wide range of commercially available paper materials and it is found that the fibre width of the paper materials is the dominant parameter in creating the smallest features with the capability of fluid flow. The capillary flow speeds through small-scale paper channels are investigated to provide an understanding to predict fluid flow in miniaturized µPADs.
Two different types of miniaturized µPADs are developed using the newly developed fabrication technique: (a) compact µPAD for multiplexed testing and (b) lateral flow assay (LFA)-type µPAD for semi-quantitative test readout. The compact multiplexed µPAD enables detection of eight analytes using 2 µL of samples and the efficacy of this device is demonstrated by performing dye tests and glucose tests. The LFA-type µPAD enables analytical tests using sub-microlitre volume of samples and provides user-friendly semi-quantitative test readouts. The efficacy of the LFA-type µPAD is demonstrated by performing dye tests, glucose tests, and human immunoglobulin E (IgE) tests. Thus, the fabrication technique demonstrates its capability in the development of functional miniaturized µPADs and such devices are able to provide inexpensive and user-friendly diagnostic tests.


title: Tamil mental health system consumers’ views on the utilization of community mental health resources

subject:
Community mental health social program
Tamil mental health patients
Social network
Social skills
Barriers

abstract: The goal of this study was to examine the views and perspectives of Tamil mental health outpatients and mental health care workers on the impact social activities and social network has on mentally ill patients’ general and mental health. The study was conducted at an outpatient mental health program at a Canadian hospital, using the grounded theory approach. Data were collected through questionnaires, document review and semi-structured interviews. Results showed that the mental health program had a positive impact on the mental health outpatients’ quality of life, including improvement in mental health, physical health, social network and social skills. The importance of cultural integration in mental health programs was discussed. Furthermore, barriers in accessing and utilizing mental health resources were highlighted and recommendations for program development were provided. Mental health programs can be effective in helping to improve the quality of life for Tamil consumers of outpatient mental health services.


title: DistGALO: Distributed system for query problem determination

subject:
Distributed computing
Partitioning
Problem determination
Database optimizer

abstract: Query optimization is a quintessential element of modern Database Management Systems(DBMSs). Compile-time driven estimates and heuristics aid the compiler in selecting what is deemed the lowest cost Access Plan for a given query. These access plans are seldom optimal, and can oftentimes lead to under-performing query runtimes, with varying severity. Traditionally, domain experts painstakingly examine the access plans to detect and fix problem patterns. DistGALO, the successor to the previous GALO system, was developed to remedy this manual labour by incorporating a cluster of nodes to learn problem patterns in a distributed fashion and apply the fixes automatically. Several partitioning and pruning strategies are employed, including the RSACE module which gives user fine-grained control for trading off runtime versus template creation. In the experimental validation, DistGALO demonstrates the efficiency boost over our previous system using the synthetic TPC-DS benchmark and the effectiveness of the various pruning strategies.


title: Effects of soy and milk ferments on measures of innate immunity: a comparison of effects in normal and microgravity conditions

subject:
Probiotics
Microgravity
Soy milk
Dairy milk
Innate immunity

abstract: Probiotics can influence intestinal responses and mucosal immunity either directly or indirectly through transient modulation of the endogenous microenvironment or the immune system. During space travel, astronauts experience various physiological stresses including putting them at risk for infections or inappropriate immune responses. Macrophages and monocytes are a key cell type involved in innate immunity. The effects of dairy milk or soy milk base fermented with S. thermophilus ST5 in combination with either B. longum R0175 or L. helveticus R0052 on the cell line U937 and all-trans retinoic acid differentiated U937 were examined under normal gravity and simulated microgravity conditions, in order to screen for effects on monocytes and macrophages. Soy and milk ferments demonstrated the ability to modulate certain aspects of the innate immune system, both in normal gravity and in simulated microgravity. These probiotics affected U937 cells differently depending on differentiation stage (monocyte or macrophage) and whether or not the cells were tested in regular gravity or in simulated microgravity conditions. These results provide insight into effects on this aspect of innate immunity and may provide guidelines to potential in vivo administration.


title: Development of an actuation system for a specialized fixture: providing two degrees of freedom for single point incremental forming

contributor:
Milman, Ruth
Ham, Marnie

subject:
Single point incremental forming (SPIF)
Toolpath
Five-axis mill
Inverse kinematics
Frame of reference

abstract:
In this thesis, an actuation system is developed for a Two-Axis Gyroscopic (TAG) adapter.
This adapter is a fixture with two auxiliary axes which is used for the Single Point
Incremental Forming (SPIF) technique to enhance a three-axis mill to have five-axis
capabilities. With five-axis mill capabilities, variable angles between line segments of the
toolpath and the tool can be obtained. To achieve specialized angles between a line
segment and the SPIF tool, the sheet is rotated. Inverse kinematic equations for the TAG
adapter are derived to calculate the required rotations for the TAG adapter’s auxiliary axes
for a line segment of a toolpath. If the next line segment requires a different orientation of
the sheet, the sheet is rotated while the tool follows the rotation of the sheet to maintain its
position at the connecting point of the line segments of the toolpath. Five equations of
motions are derived to calculate the three translations of the mill and two rotations of the
TAG adapter’s frames, during forming. A toolpath execution algorithm is implemented in
MATLAB which uses the five equations of motion to execute a toolpath. The algorithm
generates an array of data points that can be used by a Computer Numerically Controlled
(CNC) machine to follow a desired path. A visual representation for the execution of the
toolapth is implemented in MATLAB and is used to illustrate the successful completion of
a toolpath. A computer controlled motor system is selected and tested in this thesis which
will ultimately be integrated with a worm gear system and a CNC machine to develop a
full CNC actuation system.


title: Development and analysis of a solar-based integrated system with a CO2 Rankine power cycle

subject:
Supercritical CO2 Rankine cycle
Absorption refrigeration
Exergy
Solar power

abstract:
The current work is a thermodynamic-based design and analysis of a solar-based
integrated system for power production. In this regards, a reheat supercritical carbon
dioxide (S-CO2) Rankine cycle is proposed. This cycle is then integrated with a parabolic
trough collector (PTC) solar field, a thermal energy storage system and an absorption
refrigeration system (ARS).
A parametric study is then conducted, involving energy and exergy analyses of
each subsystem and the overall integrated system. The system performance under
different operating conditions is evaluated through energy and exergy efficiencies as well
as energy and exergy based coefficients of performance (COP) for the absorption system.
The heat energy losses and exergy destruction rates are also evaluated for different
components.
The effects of changing some radiation properties and operating conditions on the
performance of the PTC solar field are investigated. This includes beam radiation
incidence angle, receiver emittance and glass cover emittance. In addition, the impacts of
changing these parameters on the overall integrated system energy and exergy
efficiencies are illustrated. The energy and exergy efficiencies of the PTC are found to be
66.35% and 38.51%.
The energy and exergy efficiencies of the reheat S-CO2 Rankine power cycle are
examined under various operating conditions of the concentrated solar power (CSP)
plants. The exergy destruction rates through the cycle components are determined and
evaluated.
The results show that the S-CO2 Rankine power cycle is expected to achieve
energy and exergy efficiencies of 31.6%, and 57.5%, respectively. Under the same
operating conditions, the energetic COP for ARS is about 0.7 and the exergetic COPex is
0.27. Accordingly, the overall integrated system energy (heat-to-electric) and exergy
efficiencies become 11.73%, and 12.36%, respectively.


title: The association between sleep quality and anxiety among postsecondary students

subject:
Sleep quality
Anxiety
Postsecondary student
Emerging adults
Systematic review

abstract:
Introduction: Poor sleep quality has been associated with anxiety in postsecondary students. However, high-quality epidemiological evidence about this association is lacking.
Purpose: To determine whether poor sleep quality is associated with anxiety in undergraduate university students.
Methods: Two studies were conducted. First, a systematic review of the literature was conducted on the association between poor sleep quality and anxiety. Second, the association between poor sleep quality and moderate to extremely severe anxiety was measured in a cross-sectional study in postsecondary students enrolled in two faculties at Ontario Tech University (formerly known as he University of Ontario Institute of Technology) and the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College during the 2017 fall academic term.
Results: After screening and critically appraising all relevant articles, 27 of 28 studies reported a significant association between sleep quality and anxiety. Results from the cross-sectional study show that students who reported poor sleep quality were more likely to report moderate to extremely severe anxiety.
Conclusions: Both studies suggest that poor sleep quality is associated with anxiety in postsecondary students. To determine if poor sleep quality is an independent risk factor for anxiety in Canadian postsecondary students cohort studies are needed.


title: Risk and resilience: the impact of community programs on LGBTQ youth

subject:
LGBTQ youth
Minority stress
Risk
Resilience
Community programs

abstract:
There is a considerable amount of research suggesting that the challenges faced by LGBTQ youth can severely impact their lives, mental health, and general well-being.
However, there still is a gap in the literature that assesses the effectiveness of community-based programs in mitigating the minority stress and risks experienced by
LGBTQ youth. This study involves a series of interviews conducted with LGBTQ youth who attend the Open Doors drop-in program at a local Canadian Boys and Girls Club. It attempts to determine predominant stressors, risks, and challenges experienced by
LGBTQ youth and to explore how the Open Doors drop-in program has supported and assisted LGBTQ youth in exercising resilience and whether the participants themselves see the program as “successful.”


title: Identity through Sports: Basketball and Black Masculinities

subject:
Black masculinity
Structured action theory
Intellectual masculinity
Sports participations
Resistant masculinity

abstract: The development of black masculinities is a complex negotiation that is affected by various social constraints. While historically black males have faced significant checks on their construction of identity, their engagement with sports has been an area in which black masculinities have flourished. Specifically, participation in sports has been a cornerstone, where young adolescents have been able to develop their masculinity. This thesis looks to understand the intersection of sports and black adolescent masculinity. Through the lens of James Messerschmidt's Structured Action Theory, I have investigated how black young adults understand their masculinity through basketball and how participating in the sport shapes their understanding of self. Participants in this study are coaches and members of a Canadian university basketball team. Semi-structured interviews revealed that participants, while uniquely having their own narratives, demonstrate patterns in how they engage with the concept of black masculinity. The importance of educational advancement emerged as a key theme in their reflections on masculinity, basketball, and their futures. Findings of this study also have implications for how we think about varsity athletics and about basketball as a strategy for crime reduction.


title: Development, analysis and life cycle assessment of integrated systems for hydrogen production based on the copper-chlorine (Cu-Cl) cycle

contributor:
Dincer, Ibrahim
Rosen, Mark A.

subject:
Copper-chlorine cycle
Hydrogen production
Integrated systems

abstract:
The energy carrier hydrogen is expected to help solve many energy challenges we are facing today. Thermochemical water splitting using a Cu-Cl cycle, linked with renewable energy sources and/or the Generation IV nuclear super-critical water cooled reactor (SCWR), is a promising option for hydrogen production. The University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), Clean Energy Research Lab (CERL) has a research team working on the Cu-Cl hydrogen production cycle to demonstrate the process at the lab scale. This study aims to contribute to the development of hydrogen production using the Cu-Cl cycle by developing integrated multi-generation systems.
There are three key elements of the study. First, the Cu-Cl based integrated systems are developed for multi-generation. System I has a solar tower with molten salt energy storage integrated with a steam turbine, organic Rankine cycle and a LiBr-H2O absorption cooling system. System II consists of a Generation IV SCWR integrated with the Cu-Cl cycle and a LiBr-H2O absorption cooling system. System III has a solar tower with molten salt energy storage integrated with the Cu-Cl cycle, LiBr-H2O absorption cooling system and a gas steam combined cycle. All three systems discussed in this thesis produce hydrogen as the main output. All the systems also have the capability of generating electricity and providing cooling, hot water and drying air. A novel configuration of the four-step Cu-Cl cycle is modeled in order to better understand and improve system performance and efficiency.
Second, in the analysis section, the Aspen Plus process simulation package is used to evaluate the characteristics of the entire cycle in terms of energy, exergy and cost effectiveness, to support the ultimate development of a pilot plant. Alternative designs for the heat exchanger network using Aspen Energy Analyzer are studied for better thermal management. The Aspen Plus simulation results for the four-step Cu-Cl cycle illustrate that the steam to copper molar ratio can be reduced to 10 from an initial value of 16 by decreasing the pressure of the hydrolysis reactor. Thermodynamic, economic and environmental analyses are then conducted for the simulated four-step Cu-Cl cycle using various engineering tools: exergy, cost analyses, life cycle assessment and exergoenvironmental and exergoeconomic analyses. Based on the conducted research for
ii
the studied system under the baseline conditions, the total cost rate and environmental impact rate are determined to be 165 $/s and 37.6 Pt/s, respectively. Energy and exergy efficiencies of the four-step Cu-Cl cycle are also calculated to be 55.4% and 66.0%, respectively. Five optimization scenarios with the objective functions of exergy efficiency (single-objective), total cost rate (single-objective), environmental impact rate (single-objective), along with multi-objective exergoeconomic and exergoenvironmental optimizations are performed. Based on the single objective optimizations, it is determined that the exergy efficiency could be increased by up to 3.3% using exergy-based optimization, the cost can be reduced by up to 33% using cost-based optimization, and the environmental impact rate can be reduced by up to 39% using environmental impact-based optimization, at the expense of the nonoptimized objectives. In this regard, multi-objective optimization is conducted. Based on the exergoeconomic optimization, it is concluded that 0.80% higher exergy efficiency and 4.5% lower cost can be achieved, compared to baseline parameters. Furthermore, 0.46% higher exergy efficiency and 30% lower environmental impact rate can be achieved based on the exergoenvironmental optimization.
Third, the optimized four-step Cu-Cl cycle is integrated with the novel multi-generation systems. Exergy and exergoeconomic analyses and exergetic life cycle assessment are conducted for the multi-generation systems. Multi-objective optimizations of the present integrated systems are also performed. Multi-objective optimization results show that exergy efficiencies are 45.8%, 45.3% and 46.7% for the three integrated multi-generation systems for hydrogen production. Corresponding energy efficiencies are calculated to be 76.4%, 67.4% and 81.2%, respectively, considering that rejected heat from the systems are utilized as hot water and drying air.


title: Design and analysis of multiple input non-isolated DC-DC converter for fast charging station of electric vehicles

subject:
Electric vehicles
Multi-input DC/DC converter
Energy storage devices
Efficiency
EV Fast charging

abstract: In the last decade, multi-input DC-DC converters have been studied in various research areas related to plug-in vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and renewable energy applications. They have several advantages over conventional converters, such as reducing the number of components and the power conversion stages and centralizing the control. This research discusses a multi-input non-isolated converter in different operation modes to enhance the energy management of the fast-charging station of electric vehicles. The converter has a modular design with effective control functions. The converter was integrated into the proposed fast-charging station and simulated using MATLAB/Simulink in different operation modes, and the different losses of the converter and its efficiency are analyzed. The simulation results were verified by testing the converter at an experimental setup with a low power rate of 100 W. The results show an excellent performance of the proposed converter and verified the topology and the switching sequence of the converter.


title: Students’ perception of the online self-assessment support  tools/information on depressive related disorders.

subject:
Help-seekers
E-health
Emerging adults
Online mental health support tools
TAM-Mod

abstract:
Background: Mental health issues are prevalent among students; research has found that
university students experience significantly higher levels of psychological distress than
the general population. However, research on help seeking behavior has found that
distressed individuals are less likely to seek professional help. This study will examine
Attitudes toward online mental health resources and identify the effects of external
factors such as Social Influence and Online Tool Designs on its usage.
Results: We conducted a two-part survey about students’ perception of online mental
health resources. We modified the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM); an
information system theory that models how users come to accept and use a technology.
Conclusions: Results indicate TAM-Mod predicts a substantial proportion of Intention to
Use online mental health resources. Although not all external factors are significant,
research indicates that external variables are contributing factors in the individual
decision to access and utilize online mental health resources.


title: Development and analysis of alternative thermochemical cycles for hydrogen production

subject:
Hydrogen production
Efficiency
Optimization
Sustainability
Thermochemical cycles

abstract: Production of carbon-free fuels as alternatives for fossil fuels is a promising approach for controlling climate change and global warming. Hydrogen is considered as the key energy carrier of the future when it is produced from clean and renewable energy sources (so-called green hydrogen). Non-fossil material sources for green hydrogen production are renewables such as biomass and water. Water splitting is one of promising pathways for hydrogen production when enough energy is provided for the process from a clean energy source. More than 200 thermochemical cycles are named and proposed for hydrogen production. Some of them including chlorine family of cycles and sulfur family cycles are investigated in the last decade while some are recommended for further investigation by Argonne national laboratory (ANL) and other research institutes. In this PhD study, three of the potential cycles including iron-chlorine (Fe-Cl), vanadium-chlorine (V-Cl), and hybrid sulfur (HyS) cycles are thermodynamically assessed, and their energy and exergy efficiencies are obtained and compared. Also, an integrated system for hydrogen and power production running by biomass energy is proposed, analyzed and optimized to obtain the optimum operating condition. The novel biomass gasification based integrated system for hydrogen and power production is comprised of a V-Cl thermochemical cycle, a biomass gasification unit and a Brayton cycle for hydrogen and power generation. The proposed system is able to produce a 23.42 kg/h of hydrogen and a total of 885 kW power at the base case condition Furthermore, a Multi-objective optimization study via an evolutionary algorithms is carried out as an intelligent approach for determination of the optimum condition for higher exergy efficiency, lower cost and lower environmental impact of the integrated system. As a result, overall exergy efficiency, total cost and environmental impact are obtained as 60.45%, 6.36 $/GJ, and 14.46 g.CO2/kWh, respectively, where pressure ratio (for Brayton cycle) is 5.87, gasification temperature is 715 °C and biomass mass flow rate is 0.8 kg/s. Also, energy and exergy efficiency of V-Cl cycle in the base case condition are obtained as 42.1% and 74.5%, respectively.


title: Colour mismatch in compounding of plastics: processing issues and rheological effects

subject: Data Mining

subject: Neural network modeling

subject: Processing parameters (DOE)

subject: Polycarbonate blends and rheology

subject: Colour matching and morphological dispersion

abstract:
Demand for plastic products is continuously growing with population increase and higher living standards. Imparting colours to plastics is a combination of art and science and plays a key role in production of attractive products for a variety of consumer demands. It requires a good understanding of the processing parameters and formulation of compositions including colour pigments and their dispersion. This thesis presents experimental observations and statistical analysis to investigate scientific reasons for colour mismatches in compounded plastics. Material processing issues were investigated.
Six methods were used to study and improve the understanding of colour matching, colour stability, and consistency of compounded plastic materials in order to minimize wastage. The first was Data Mining, in which historical data was analyzed to select formulations, particularly for pigments and polycarbonate blends of compounded plastics that were known to suffer from colour mismatch. The second method involved the use of historical data and an artificial neural network (ANN) to predict the resultants colours based upon pigment formulations. In the third method, a parametric study was utilized to investigate issues in the dispersion of pigments due to the effects of processing conditions. Temperature and feed rate were found to have major effects on colour deviations. The fourth method involved studying the compounding process for blends of two polycarbonate resins (PC) of different melt flow index (MFI). It was also found that the PC composition of 30-70 wt.% was superior in terms of colour matching. The fifth method studied effects of rheology. The viscosity data collected allows predictions of viscosity changes with varying temperatures, which had a direct impact on polymer colour changes during processing of blends. The sixth method looked at the effects of processing parameters on dispersion, pigment size distribution (PSD), and the morphology of pigments in polycarbonate compounds. In general, the total colour difference decreased when processing parameters were increased. De-agglomeration occurred in zones of high shear and was found to significantly increase the number of particles and lower colour differences.
The results yield an optimum set of processing parameters for certain grades of plastic. The optimized measurements of processing conditions are typically in agreement with the minimum colour difference. Furthermore, many conclusions found here can be used to optimize compounding materials and generate an efficient dispersion process, and hence reduce colour mismatch so that wastage is minimized.


title: The Effects of 17α-Ethinylestradiol (EE2) and Hydroxypropyl-β-Cyclodextrin (HPβCD) on the heart rate and metabolism of Embryonic Japanese Medaka (Oryzias latipes)

subject:
Embryotoxicity
Estrogen
GPER
Heart rate
Cyclodextrin

abstract:
Estrogen toxicity has been an area of priority in aquatic toxicology over the last 20 years. The toxicity of a known estrogen mimic, 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), has been attributed to classical estrogen signaling within target and non-target organisms. Recent evidence has indicated that a rapid, non-genomic, non-classical estrogen signaling pathway also exists via the G protein coupled estrogen receptor (GPER). GPER is expressed ubiquitously and has many biological functions, including cardiovascular and metabolic function. Understanding the role of GPER at environmentally relevant concentrations of estrogens could aid addressing many knowledge gaps associated with estrogen toxicity in aquatic environments.
This thesis investigated the effects of EE2 on heart rate and metabolism, as well as EE2 uptake, and elimination in embryonic Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes). Bradycardia (reduced heart rate) was observed in embryos exposed to 10 ng/L of EE2. It was demonstrated that these effects were the result of GPER activation and not estrogen receptor (ER) α and β. A mixture of EE2 and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) was also investigated. HPβCD is a commonly used odour suppressant and excipient with the ability to include guest compounds. It was determined that the observed EE2 induced bradycardia was reduced with a 4:1 HPβCD : EE2 molar ratio. Uptake of 14C-EE2 followed a sigmoidal pattern, and chorion permeability increased as development progressed. Elimination of 14C-EE2, showed a pattern of exponential decay following exposure from 6-48 hours post fertilization. HPβCD did not impede uptake of 14C-EE2 across the chorion, suggesting that HPβCD may cross the chorion. Uptake of the HPβCD – EE2 mixture into the tissues of the developing embryo should be investigated. A conclusive link was not determined between EE2 induced bradycardia and embryonic oxygen consumption (metabolic rate). The absence of metabolic effects might be mitigated by cutaneous gas exchange by embryonic fish. This data suggests that embryonic heart rate may not be an ideal measure of metabolic rate in embryonic medaka.
This thesis is valuable to the field of aquatic toxicology as it highlights GPER as a novel mechanism of action for EE2 toxicity as well as the role of HPβCD in mixture toxicity. This work and future research into the role of GPER will aid in the overall understanding of estrogen toxicity to fish.


title: Synthesis and in vitro assessment of chemically modified siRNAs targeting BCL2 that contain 2'-ribose and triazole-linked backbone modifications

subject:
RNAi
siRNA
Chemical modification

abstract: Short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are biomolecules used for post-transcriptional gene regulation, and therefore hold promise as a future therapeutic by silencing gene expression of overexpressed deleterious genes. Chemically modifying the RNA structure is used to overcome the inherent limitations of the RNA structure. This project investigated the ability of a library of chemically modified siRNAs to target, the therapeutically relevant oncogene, BCL2, by combining 2'-ribose sugar modifications with a novel triazole-linked backbone modification. Solid support phosphoramidite chemistry was used to incorporate chemical modifications at various positions within anti-BCL2 siRNAs. In vitro effects were evaluated through qPCR, cell viability, nuclease stability, and an immunological ELISA assay.

abstract: University of Ontario Institute of Technology


title: Magic Pen: automatic pen-mode switching for document annotation

subject:
Digital pen interfaces
Mode switching
Machine learning
Transfer learning
Error mitigation

abstract: Traditional digital pen interfaces use menu buttons to change pen modes, resulting in time and cognitive load spent on round-trips and potential errors from tapping small mode selection buttons. This thesis presents Magic Pen, a technique that automatically switches between digital pen modes. The Magic Pen system is driven by a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model trained on pen data collected from nine participants and uses Transfer Learning (TL) to tune itself towards a user’s specific annotations iteratively. If Magic Pen chooses the incorrect mode, mitigation techniques incorporate flick gestures and screen taps to correct or remove a stroke. An annotation environment was also developed to rapidly prototype annotation systems with user-supplied documents. Magic Pen was originally evaluated with 18 participants and further evaluated with 8 participants. Magic Pen was preferred over a more conventional menu approach, and using TL allowed for greater model predictability and stability.


title: Campus sexual violence: exploring student perspectives on sexual violence and the effectiveness of university responses

subject:
Campus sexual violence
Consent
Rape myths
University responses

abstract: Sexual violence is a prevalent problem across North American universities. There is a lack of understanding of students’ sexually violent attitudes and behaviours and the effectiveness of university responses to sexual violence. In the first study, we explored students’ perspectives on and expressions of sexual violence, sexual consent, and rape myths. A number of students reported engaging in or a proclivity for sexual violence, endorsing victim-blaming attitudes and problematic expressions of sexual consent. In the second study, the effectiveness of university responses (e.g., watching a sexual violence prevention workshop, writing an essay on consent) to change problematic attitudes and behaviours was examined over time, in comparison to an unrelated task. University responses were relatively unsuccessful in positively changing students’ attitudes or behaviours. The results suggest the need to improve university responses to adequately address and change the problematic attitudes and behaviours of students, including perpetrators, on campus.


title: Nursing and policy: nurses perspectives on ending hallway healthcare in Ontario

subject:
Nursing
Policy
Hallway healthcare
Street-level bureaucrats
Qualitative

abstract: Drawing from elements of street-level bureaucracy this thesis examines the experiences and perspectives of six nurses (registered practical nurses and registered nurses) and their work with patients designated as alternate level of care (ALC) in an era within which policy initiatives include an end to hallway healthcare. Policies to end hallway healthcare focus on providing patients with the right care in the right location. Little attention has been focused on the impact of nursing on policy implementation. Using a descriptive qualitative approach, this study paid particular attention to the realities of everyday work in various hospitals throughout Ontario. The findings show that nurses have differing levels of awareness and understanding of policy. Further, they feel removed from policy planning and decision-making. This calls for attention of nursing institutions (education and workplace), professional associations, researchers and policymakers to help bridge this gap.


title: Healthcare providers perspectives of cognitive rehabilitation in the Central East Local Health Integration Network (LHIN)

subject:
Cognitive rehabilitation
Dementia
Capacity planning
Healthcare providers

abstract:
Aim: Explore healthcare practitioners’ capacity within the Central East LHIN to implement cognitive rehabilitation programs to those with dementia.
Methods: This study is designed as a multi-stage qualitative interpretive study utilizing thematic analysis with a maximum variation sampling design.
Results: Five integrated themes were developed over the course of the qualitative data. These themes included: 1. overcoming system challenges in cognitive rehabilitation, 2. debate between standardization and individualization, 3. paradigm shift from treatment to primary prevention, 4. raising awareness through accessible education and services, and 5. continuity and care coordination.
Conclusion: Healthcare providers do not have the capacity to implement cognitive rehabilitation across the Central East LHIN. This study adds to the growing knowledge base of cognitive rehabilitation and will allow for improved dementia capacity planning utilizing healthcare workers unique perspectives and insights.


title: Optimizing the role of the dermatology nurse

subject: Dermatology Nurse Optimization

abstract: According to the 2012 CSPA, wait times for dermatology care in Canada are becoming worse. Healthcare professionals other than Dermatologists can provide care. The purpose of this study is to understand how the dermatology nursing role can be optimized in Canada. An on-line survey of dermatology nurses and Dermatologists was completed to assess current and desired nurse activities. Barriers and views on enhancing the role of the nurse were explored. Results overall found that dermatology nurses in Canada are working at competent to proficient levels in most activities however wish for increased education and desire to be working at more proficient levels. Dermatologists had differing past experiences with nurses however desired for them to be working at expert levels in most activities. Areas for optimization were with teledermatology, having nurse-led clinics, prescribing, wound care, Moh’s surgery, and skin cancer screening. Recommendations for practice, education and, research are discussed.


title: Development of thermoplastic foams with heterogeneous cellular structures for acoustic applications

contributor:
Mohany, Atef
Rizvi, Ghaus

subject:
Thermoplastic foams
Sound absorption
Cellular structure
Development
Characterization

abstract:
Manufacture of heterogeneous thermoplastic foams is of great interest to damp low frequency noise in transportation and building industries. Most of the fabrication methods reported either use cumbersome batch processes or produce foams that are not appropriate for sound absorption. In this context, this work aimed at manufacturing of thermoplastic acoustic foams with double porosity and graded porosity by processes that can potentially be scaled up for mass production
Foams containing a combination of small cells and large cells were developed by foaming of a low melt strength polymer in presence of sodium bicarbonate and wollastonite. The same results were obtained by foaming a blend of a base polymer and a low melt strength polymer. Thermoplastic foams with graded porosity were fabricated by molding the samples under a temperature gradient before expanding them in a heating oven. For all these foams, sound absorption coefficient increased by about three times.


title: The effect of atlanto-occipital manipulation on neck and shoulder proprioception and range of motion: a randomized controlled trial

subject:
Proprioception
Atlanto-occipital dysfunction
Joint position sense

abstract: Long-term neck pain is associated to maladaptive neuroplastic alterations in the brain, that affect head and neck proprioception. The One to Zero (OTZ) tension technique aims to correct dysfunction between the occiput (C0) and first cervical vertebrae (C1). Due to the physiological location of the adjustment, and deep sensorimotor connections of the cervical spine, the treatment could have positive effect on shoulder range of motion, along with head and neck proprioception. Participants with atlanto-occipital dysfunction were randomly arranged into a control group (n=33) or treatment group (n=32). The rotation and joint position sense of the head and neck were measured using a Cervical Range of Motion (CROM™) device at baseline and following treatment or control period (2 to 3 weeks). Statistical results showed that shoulder range of motion, neck rotation and head joint position sense significantly improved.


title: A modular approach to image matting

subject:
Image matting
Foreground estimation
Trimap generation
Neural networks
Computational photography

abstract: Image matting is the art of creating an accurate alpha matte for the purpose of foreground separation in an image or video. Although there have been many methods which only require an input image, the best-performing image matting models continue to rely on additional inputs — mainly the trimap — for more accurate alpha matte estimations. We propose a modular image matting architecture which leverages advancements in semantic segmentation and our trimap generation network to allow for a trimap-free approach to some of the most popular trimap-based image matting methods. Our design delivers promising results, allowing users to take advantage of powerful trimap-based methods, without having to worry about additional inputs, all while granting them the freedom to swap different networks in and out for the different stages of the modular architecture.


title: Thermal aspects of using alternative nuclear fuels in supercritical water-cooled reactors

subject:
Thermal hydraulics
SCWR
AHFP
Alternative fuels

abstract: A SuperCritical Water-cooled Nuclear Reactor (SCWR) is a Generation IV concept currently being developed worldwide. Unique to this reactor type is the use of light-water coolant above its critical point. The current research presents a thermal-hydraulic analysis of a single fuel channel within a Pressure Tube (PT) - type SCWR with a single-reheat cycle. Since this reactor is in its early design phase many fuel-channel components are being investigated in various combinations. Analysis inputs are: steam cycle, Axial Heat Flux Profile (AHFP), fuel-bundle geometry, and thermophysical properties of reactor coolant, fuel sheath and fuel. Uniform and non-uniform AHFPs for average channel power were applied to a variety of alternative fuels (mixed oxide, thorium dioxide, uranium dicarbide, uranium nitride and uranium carbide) enclosed in an Inconel-600 43-element bundle. The results depict bulk-fluid, outer-sheath and fuel-centreline temperature profiles together with the Heat Transfer Coefficient (HTC) profiles along the heated length of fuel channel. The objective is to identify the best options in terms of fuel, sheath material and AHFPS in which the outer-sheath and fuel-centreline temperatures will be below the accepted temperature limits of 850°C and 1850°C respectively. The 43-element Inconel-600 fuel bundle is suitable for SCWR use as the sheath-temperature design limit of 850°C was maintained for all analyzed cases at average channel power. Thoria, UC2, UN and UC fuels for all AHFPs are acceptable since the maximum fuel-centreline temperature does not exceed the industry accepted limit of 1850°C. Conversely, the fuel-centreline temperature limit was exceeded for MOX at all AHFPs, and UO2 for both cosine and downstream-skewed cosine AHFPs. Therefore, fuel-bundle modifications are required for UO2 and MOX to be feasible nuclear fuels for SCWRs.


title: Cooperative localization based on received signal strength in wireless sensor network

subject:
Localization
MDS
Received signal strength
Wireless sensor network
Macro-diversity

abstract:
Localization accuracy based on RSS (Received Signal Strength) is notoriously inaccurate
in the application of wireless sensor networks. RSS is subject to shadowing effects, which is signal attenuation caused by stationary objects in the radio propagation. RSS are actually the result of decay over distances, and random attenuation over different directions. RSS measurement is also affected by antenna orientation. Starting from extracting the statistical orders in the function relationship between RSS and distance, this thesis first shows how non-metric MDS (Multi-Dimensional Scaling) is the suitable method for cooperative localization. Then, several issues are presented and discussed in
the application of non-metric MDS, including determining full connections to avoid flip
ambiguities, leveraging the proper initial estimation to avert from local minimum
solutions, and imposing structural information to bend the localization result to a priori knowledge. To evaluate the solution, data were acquired from different scenarios including accurate radio propagation model, indoor empirical test, and outside empirical test. Experiment results shows that non-metric MDS can only combat the small scale randomness in the shadowing effects. To combat the large scale ones, macro-diversity approaches are further presented including rotating the receiver’s antenna or collecting RSS from more than one mote in the same position. By averaging the measurements from these diversified receivers, simulation results and empirical tests show that shadowing effects can be greatly reduced. Also included in this thesis is how effective packet structures should be designed in the mote programming based on TinyOS to collect different sequences of RSS measurements and fuse them together.


title: Modeling and analysis of truck tire-terrain interaction

subject:
Tire-terrain interaction
Deformable terrains
Terramechanics
Moisturizing Technique

abstract:
One of the key factors for improving the mobility and operating efficiency of trucks is the understanding of the tire-terrain interaction characteristics. Due to the broad range of terrains that trucks may operate over, the understanding process of the tire-terrain interaction is necessary. The terrains for on-road operations are commonly dry or wet surfaces. For off-road operations, a more extensive range of deformable terrains exists, such as dense sand, clayey soil, and gravel. In some cases, vehicles may operate over terrains covered with snow or layers of mixed snow and ice. This research work focuses on modeling and investigating the tire-terrain interaction on several terrains to better predict off-road truck performance.
The truck tire used in this research is the off-road Regional Haul Drive (RHD) size 315/80R22.5 drive tire. The truck tire is built node-by-node using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) technique and is validated using different dynamic and static tests that are compared to the manufacturer's measured data. The terrains are modeled and calibrated using the Smoothed-Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) instead of the classical FEA technique. Furthermore, two soil moisturizing techniques are presented to model moist soils, the virtually calibrated moist sand is validated against physical measurements.
The in-plane and out-of-plane rigid ring tire model parameters are calculated for the off-road tire running on various terrains. The tire-terrain interaction is performed under several operating conditions and the effect of the operating conditions are investigated. Furthermore, a detailed study of the rolling resistance coefficient prediction over different terrains is presented.
In this research work, the hydroplaning phenomenon is investigated. The hydroplaning speed of the tire is computed under different operating conditions. A novel equation to predict the truck tire hydroplaning speed as a function of several tire operational parameters is developed and validated against an empirical equation.
In addition, the rigid ring tire model is integrated into a highly advanced full vehicle model to predict the truck on-road and off-road performance. Nonetheless, in order to validate the simulation results of the truck tire-terrain interaction obtained in this thesis physical testing was carried out in Gothenburg, Sweden by Volvo Groups Truck Technology.


title: Exploring the utility of crowdsourcing frameworks to inform the construction of a web-based 3D printing application (3DCrowdGo)

subject:
Simulation
Healthcare
3D printing
Crowdsourcing
Health professions education

abstract: Healthcare trainees learn hands-on skills using simulators before attempting them on patients. COVID-19 shifted in-person learning to online presenting unique challenges, as equipping large cohorts of learners with simulators is prohibitively expensive and often impractical. Using three-dimensional (3D) printing to create simulators allows for cost effective, accurate products that are easily customizable to learners’ needs. I aimed to discover how to construct a crowdsourced online application, 3DCrowdGo, to fill the “research-to-simulation lab” gap in health professions simulation training via community-based 3D printing. Phase 1 involved a literature review whose resulting theories were ranked by simulation stakeholders to determine which were suitable for 3DCrowdGo. Phase 2 was an exploratory trial that demonstrated piloting of the initial efficacy of the app. Results from these phases were aggregated to develop a responsive, flexible solution that incorporates current best practices and provides affordable and effective simulators for the decentralized simulation model by mobilizing community members.


title: Reducing operational cost of an autonomous robot using combined data-driven and navigational algorithms

contributor:
Lin, Xianke
Lang, Haoxiang

subject:
Mobile robot
Power consumption
MPC
Path-planning
Data-driven

abstract: Autonomous mobile robots have become an important presence in various fields of work, but are restricted by short operation times due to the limitations of their onboard energy sources. This factor bottlenecks applications of mobile robots in many situations. In this thesis, a data-driven power consumption model is developed based on the motion data of the robot. A path planning algorithm combining the rapid-exploring random tree and artificial potential field was developed for navigation. From this, a combined framework utilizing model predictive control as the control strategy to optimize motion and conserve power is proposed. The algorithm is implemented in a popular research platform, TurtleBot3, for validation in a dynamic environment. These tests were conducted on a flat surface using five different obstacle configurations, with obstacles being hidden from initial detection. The experimentation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm framework in reducing the required power and calculation time.


title: Development of an autonomous omnidirectional hazardous material handling robot

subject: Autonomous ROS Robotics Mechatronics Omnidirectional

abstract: This thesis describes the prototyping and testing of an autonomous omnidirectional robot, called the OmniMaxbot. The OmniMaxbot is designed to carry cans of uranium ash at Cameco Corporation's Port Hope Conversion Facility while minimizing worker exposure. The robot makes use of the Robot Operating System (ROS) to allow the individual components to communicate as well as control the movement. In the course of this work, the OmniMaxbot's power distribution system was redesigned. The software for much of the hardware was developed, in part or in whole, in order to ensure the safe autonomous functioning of the system. Due to the excessive wheel slip caused by the OmniMaxbot's Mecanum wheels, laser scan matching was implemented to generate odometry data, as opposed to using encoder data. Different Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) and autonomous navigation packages were tested, with the ROS hector_mapping, global_planner, and base_local_planner packages being selected for use. Configuration settings were determined that produced the best performance results. A variety of tests were performed to ensure that individual hardware, subsystems, and the full system worked as required. The results showed that the OmniMaxbot is capable of autonomously navigating to a pick-up location, picking up a mock ash can, navigating to a drop-off location, putting the can down, and returning to a standby location, all in an area with dynamic and static obstacles, without collisions.


title: Examining the affordances and constraints of using infographics in pre-service teacher education

contributor:
Hughes, Janette
Petrarca, Diana

subject:
Infographics
Pre-service teacher education
Digital literacies
Twenty-first century skills
Multimodality

abstract: Infographics are a communication tool that can be used to share large amounts of data in a more aesthetically pleasing and understandable way. The production and consumption of infographics encourages students to develop digital literacies, twenty-first century competencies, and multimodality skills. This study investigated how four students in a pre-service education program, perceived both the affordances and constraints of the use of infographics. Using a mixed methods approach, this research investigated whether or not infographics could help teacher candidates develop digital literacies, twenty-first century competencies, and multimodality skills. Teacher candidates explored their opinions about infographics and their potential use in their teaching practice. This study proposes a new Infographic Matrix for educators to better embed infographics in their classrooms. This research aimed to lessen the gap that exists in this area of education research, offering the participants pedagogically impactful approaches to literacy education for use with their future students.


title: Performance trade-off analysis in bidirectional network beamforming.

subject:
Beamforming
Ampllify-and-forward
Two-way relay networks

abstract:
This research examines a two-way relay network consisting of two transceivers and
multiple parallel relays, which are equipped with single antennas and operate in a halfduplex
mode. In this system, the two transceivers prefer to exchange their information via
relays. It is assumed that the relays have the full instantaneous channel state information
(CSI) and relay the signals using the amplify-and-forward (AF) method.
The performance of two AF bi-directional network beamforming schemes, namely
multiple access broadcast channel (MABC) strategy and time division broadcast channel
(TDBC) protocol, under joint optimal power control and beamforming design are
studied and compared. To do so, we first design a TDBC-based bi-directional network
beamformers, through minimization of the total power consumed in the whole network
subject to quality of service (QoS) constraints, for the case with a direct link between
the two transceivers. The corresponding power minimization problem is carried out over
the transceiver transmit powers as well as relay beamforming weights, thus resulting in a
jointly optimal power allocation and beamforming approach. We devise optimal secondorder
cone programming based solutions as well as fast gradient-based solutions to these
problems.
Then these solutions are exploited to compare the performance of the underlying
TDBC-based approach to that of the MABC-based technique developed in [1]. This
comparison is important because the TDBC approach appears to have certain advantages
which can be exploited towards improving the performance of two-way network
beamforming. These advantages include the additional degree of freedom as well as the
possibility of benefitting from the availability of a direct link between the two transceivers.
Interestingly, in the absence of a direct link between the two transceivers, we show that
when the QoS constraints are imposed to meet certain given probabilities of un-coded error
(or, equivalently, to meet certain signal-to-noise ratio constraints), these two schemes
perform closely in terms of the minimum total transmit power. However, when the QoS
iv
constraints are used to guarantee certain given rates, the MABC-based scheme outperforms
the TDBC counterpart. In the case when a direct link exists between the two
transceivers, the TDBC-based approach can outperform the MABC-based method provided
that the direct link is strong enough.


title: Enhancing the effectiveness of Stirling engine regenerators

subject:
Stirling engine
Efficiency
Regenerator
Effectiveness
Heat transfer

abstract:
A discrete heat transfer model is developed to determine which parameters influence the effectiveness of Stirling engine regenerators and quantify how they influence it. It is revealed that the regenerator thermal mass ratio and number of sub-regenerators are the two parameters that influence regenerator effectiveness, and these findings were extended to derive expressions for the regenerator effectiveness and Stirling engine efficiency. It is determined that a minimum of 19 sub-regenerators are required to attain a regenerator effectiveness of 95%. Experiments validated the heat transfer model, and demonstrated that stacking sub-regenerators, such as wire meshes, provides sufficient thermal resistance to generate a temperature distribution throughout the regenerator. This is the first study to determine how Stirling engine designers can attain a desired value for the regenerator effectiveness, and/or a desired value for
the Stirling engine efficiency by selecting appropriate values of regenerator thermal mass ratio and number of sub-regenerators.

abstract: University of Ontario Institute of Technology


title: Experimental and theoretical investigations of magnesium-chlorine cycle and its integrated systems

subject: Mg-Cl Hydrogen Thermochemical Energy Exergy

abstract: This study aims to investigate the feasibility of the Mg-Cl hybrid thermochemical cycle and to develop a more cost and energy effective cycle. There are five key elements of this study: (i) modeling and simulation of the Mg-Cl cycle considering both the ideal reference case and realistic operating conditions; (ii) novel configuration developments of the Mg-Cl cycle through literature review of experimental and theoretical studies on the intermediate reaction steps to identify potential cycle improvement options; (iii) experimental investigations to validate the proposed configurations of the Mg-Cl cycle; (iv) comprehensive thermodynamic and thermoeconomic assessments, and optimization of the Mg-Cl cycle; (v) cycle integration with sustainable energy systems and hydrogen storage options.


title: Early detection of cyber-physical attacks in electric vehicles fast charging stations using machine learning

subject:
Cross validation method
Cyber-physical attack
Denial of service attack
Decision tree
Early detection

abstract: In smart grids, the concept of “vehicle-to-grid” allows the electric vehicles to export power to the grid to support the electric utilities in the power distribution system’s operation. The implementation of such a concept dictates the integration of a set of communication networks, which leads to numerous cyber vulnerability issues. The work in this thesis investigates the development of a novel approach that uses machine learning to early detect such denial-of-service attacks to the fast-charging stations. The study investigated the effectiveness of the proposed approach when considering different time resolutions of the advanced metering infrastructure data including hourly, half-hourly and quarter hourly. The proposed approach has been tested through MATLAB simulation environment on a microgrid equipped with renewable energy resources as well as electric vehicles in vehicle-to-grid-mode. The results have shown that the proposed approach was successful in early detecting cyberattacks at an average accuracy of nearly 98%.


title: Changes in corticomotor plasticity induced by cardiovascular exercise and strength training in sedentary young adults

subject:
Motor cortex
Plasticity
Exercise
TMS
PAS

abstract: Recent studies have further elucidated the properties of cardiovascular and strength training-induced changes in motor cortex (M1) plasticity (i.e. the strengthening and reorganization of neural connections). However, the degree of change in M1 plasticity following the completion of an exercise prescription remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine global changes in M1 plasticity of a small hand muscle in sedentary young adults following a 10 week exercise program. Electromyographic recordings were taken from the right abductor pollicis brevis (APB) muscle of 12 young subjects (5 women, 7 men; range 19-23 yrs). Subjects completed a 10 week exercise prescription consisting of two weekly resistance training sessions with a shorter aerobic session at the end as well as a third aerobic session. Exercises were changed to avoid adaptation, and aerobic session workloads were determined by heart rate response. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the left hemisphere was used to assess changes in APB motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) and input-output curve (IO curve). Changes in neural plasticity were induced using paired-associative stimulation (PAS), which consisted of 90 paired stimuli (0.05 Hz for 30 min) of median nerve electrical stimulation at the wrist followed 25 ms later by TMS to the hand area of the left M1. VO2 increased by 24.9% (P ≤ 0.05; n = 13) and BDNF levels did not significantly change after 10 weeks of exercise (P = 0.623; n = 12). Resting motor threshold (RMT) taken 5 minutes (RMT5) and 30 minutes (RMT30) after PAS did not increase significantly in exercise participants. Control subjects showed a significant decrease in RMT30 MEP amplitude in response to repeating PAS after 10 weeks (P ≤ 0.05; n = 11) and a significant increase in BDNF levels (P ≤ 0.05; n = 8). Post-PAS IO curves in control subjects revealed a significant decrease in excitability of lower threshold motor neurons after 10 weeks. The longitudinal use of PAS appears to yield varying results and our findings indicate that exercise may induce protective benefits against the perhaps diminishing effect of PAS-induced LTP. Findings yielded different excitability levels in RMT5 and RMT30, suggesting that PAS may be used to measure capacity for early-phase and late-phase LTP distinctively in the M1. Future work examining chronic exercise and BDNF levels should aim to control confounding factors shown to influence BDNF production.


title: Using an ethnonarrative design within arts-based community research:  SKETCH Toronto and its ongoing social impact

subject:
Ethnonarrative
Arts-based research
Marginalized youth
Arts
Community-based research

abstract: This paper explores the experiences of youth and their interaction with the Toronto arts organization “SKETCH Working Arts” using an ethnonarrative design to examine levels of impact through the organization. Drawing on ethnographic research utilizing participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups, the data offers a narrative and descriptive understanding of the role the arts play in youths’ lives with respect to personal and social development. It qualifies their interactions in the areas of career, education, and community connections. This research will: 1) present a guide that qualifies types of marginalized youth that access community services, suggesting that other organizations utilize this guide to better serve youth populations, 2) demonstrate how ethnonarrative can serve as an ideal methodological framework for research in community settings that serve marginalized populations. This research contributes to the growing scholarship on arts-based research and the pursuit of social change in the lives of marginalized youth.


title: Transactive energy control of electric energy storage to mitigate the impact of transportation electrification in distribution systems

contributor:
Ibrahim, Walid Morsi
Sidhu, Tarlochan

subject:
Plug-in electric vehicles
Transactive energy
Cooperative control
Distributed energy resources

abstract:
The adoption of Plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) as a substitute to gasoline-based
internal combustion engine vehicles represent a major change in the transportation
sector. Typically, PEVs uses electricity to charge the on-board batteries instead of
gasoline which is used in internal combustion engines. The main advantage of
electrifying the transportation sector is to help lower fuel costs and reduce GreenHouse
Gases (GHGs). Despite being an environmentally friendly means of transportation, the
increased penetration of these electric vehicles may have negative impacts on the
electrical power distribution system components (e.g. distribution primary feeders,
transformers and secondary distribution lines), and as a result of these impacts,
modification and upgrading of the distribution system components may be required. This
can be achieved by increasing the distribution transformer sizes and adding new lines to
the existing system, which may be considered an expensive solution. Several studies
have been conducted to reduce the distribution system modification and upgrading costs,
by coordinating the charging behavior of these vehicles either using centralized or
decentralized control schemes. However, these methods limit the authority of vehicles’
owners regarding when to charge their vehicles which might be inconvenient for some.
On the other hand, electric utilities offer different incentive programs for their customers
to control their energy usage in order to reduce the probability of system failures and to
increase the system reliability while decreasing the costs of infrastructure upgrade.
However, most of these programs have not met the expected response from customers.
In this dissertation, a new strategy is proposed to accomplish self-healing for the electric
grid in order to reduce the negative impacts of PEVs charging demand. This novel
technique is based on applying the Transactive Energy (TE) control concept. The
proposed implementation of the TE concept in this work is based on the adoption of a
multi-agent system at different levels of the electric power distribution system (e.g.,
residential homes, neighborhood areas, and the Distribution System Operator (DSO)).
These agents work in a cooperative manner in order to reach a state of consensus
between the electric power distribution system resources owned by the electric utility
(e.g., distributed generation, community energy storage) and the resources owned by the
homeowners (e.g., rooftop solar photovoltaic, home battery energy storage). Moreover,
the multi-agent system will allow the customers to use their own resources in an optimal
way that can gain the maximum benefits offered through different incentive programs.
The results have shown that the negative impacts on the electric power distribution
system due to the plug-in electric vehicles charging demand can be mitigated by
applying the proposed TE control which requires at least 30% of customers to own
controllable battery energy storage unit.