title: CLINICAL SEVERITY OF RHINOVIRUS/ENTEROVIRUS COMPARED TO OTHER RESPIRATORY VIRUSES IN CHILDREN

contributor: Clinical Epidemiology/Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics

subject:
Human rhinovirus/enterovirus (HRV/ENT)
respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
influenza (FLU)
single viral infections
clinical disease severity
acute respiratory infections
upper respiratory tract infections
lower respiratory tract infections
community-acquired pneumonia
molecular assays
Infectious Disease
Medicine and Health Sciences
Pediatrics
Infectious Disease

abstract:
Background: Human rhinovirus/enterovirus (HRV/ENT) infections are commonly identified in children with acute respiratory infections (ARIs), but data on their clinical severity remains limited. We compared the clinical severity of HRV/ENT to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza A/B (FLU) and other common respiratory virus in children.

Methods: Retrospective study of children with ARIs and confirmed single positive viral infections on mid-turbinate swabs by molecular assays. Outcome measures included hospital admission and, for inpatients, a composite end-point consisting of intensive care admission, hospitalization greater than 5 days, oxygen requirements or death.

Results: A total of 116 HRV/ENT, 102 RSV, 99 FLU and 64 other common respiratory viruses were identified. Children with single HRV/ENT infections presented with significantly higher rates of underlying immunosuppressive conditions compared to those with RSV (37.9% vs 13.6%; p

Conclusions: Children with HRV/ENT had a more severe clinical course than those with RSV and FLUA/B infections and often had significant comorbidities. These findings emphasize the importance of considering HRV/ENT infection in children presenting with severe acute respiratory tract infections.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: ANALYSIS AND MITIGATION OF THE NONLINEAR IMPAIRMENTS IN FIBER-OPTIC COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

contributor: Max Wong, Steve Hranilovic, Xun Li, David Plant

subject:
Fiber-optic communication system
Fiber nonlinearity
WDM system
Multi-core fiber
Signal Processing
Systems and Communications
Signal Processing

abstract:
Fiber-optic communication systems have revolutionized the telecommunications industry and have played a major role in the advent of the Information Age. Thousands of kilometers of optical fiber are used by telecommunications companies to transmit telephone signals, Internet communication, and cable television signals throughout the world. So, working in this area has always been interesting. This thesis analyzes the nonlinearity of fiber-optic systems and proposes a system to mitigate fiber nonlinear e®ects. The topics of this thesis can be categorized into two parts. In the first part of thesis (Chapters 2, 3, and 4), analytical models are developed for fiber-optic nonlinear effects. It is important to have an accurate analytical model so that the impact of a specific system/signal parameter on the performance can be assessed quickly without doing time-consuming Monte-Carlo simulations. In the second part (Chapters 5, and 6), a multi-core/fiber architecture is proposed to reduce the nonlinear effects.

In Chapter 2, intrachannel nonlinear impairments are studied and an analytical model for the calculation of power spectral density (PSD) and variance of the non- linear distortion is obtained based on quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) signal. For QPSK signals, intrachannel four-wave mixing (IFWM) is the only stochastic non- linear distortion. To develop the analytical model, a first order perturbation theory is used. For a Gaussian pulse shape, a closed form formula is obtained for the PSD of IFWM. For non-Gaussian pulses, it is not possible to find the PSD analytically. However, using stationary phase approximation approach, convolutions become multiplications and a simple analytical expression for the PSD of the nonlinear distortion can be found. The total PSD is obtained by adding the PSD of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) PSD to that of the nonlinear distortion. Using the total PSD, bit error ratio (BER) can be obtained analytically for a QPSK system. The analytically estimated BER is found to be in good agreement with numerical simulations. Significant computational effort can be saved using the analytical model as compared to numerical simulations, without sacrificing much accuracy.

In Chapter 3, the same approach as that in Chapter 2 is used to find an analytical expression for the PSD of the intrachannel nonlinear distortion of a fiber-optic system based on quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) signal. Unlike the QPSK signal, intrachannel cross-phase modulation (IXPM) is a stochastic process for the QAM signal which leads to the increase of the nonlinear distortion variance. In this chapter, analytical expressions for the PSDs of self-phase modulation (SPM), IXPM, IFWM, and their correlations are obtained for the QAM signal. Simulation results show good agreement between the analytical model and numerical simulation.

In Chapter 4, inter-channel nonlinear impairment is studied. This time, a first order perturbation technique is used to develop an analytical model for SPM and cross-phase modulation (XPM) distortions in a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) system based on QAM. In this case, SPM distortion is deterministic and does not contribute to the nonlinear noise variance. On the other hand, XPM is stochastic and contributes to the noise variance. In this chapter, effects of input launch power, fiber dispersion, system reach, and channel spacing on the nonlinear noise variance are investigated as well.

In Chapter 5, a single-channel multi-core/fiber architecture is proposed to reduce intrachannel fiber nonlinear effects. Based on the analytical model obtained in the first part of thesis, the nonlinear distortion variance scales as P3, where P is the fiber input launch power, which suggests that decreasing the fiber input power can reduce the nonlinear distortion significantly. In this system, the input power is divided between multiple cores/fibers by a power splitter at the input of each span and a power combiner adds the output fields of multiple cores/fibers so that one amplifier can be used for each span. In this case, each core/fiber receives less power and hence adds less nonlinear distortion to the signal. In a practical system, individual fiber parameters are not identical; so the optical pulses propagating in the fibers undergo different amounts of phase shifts and timing delays due to the fluctuations of fibers' propagation constants and fibers' inverse group speeds. Optical and electrical equalizers are proposed to compensate for these inter-core/fiber dispersions. In the case of an optical equalizer, adaptive time shifters and phase shifters are adjusted such that the maximum power is obtained at the output of power combiner. Our numerical simulation results show that for unrepeatered systems, the performance (Q factor) is improved by 6.2 dB using 8-core/fiber configuration as compared to single- core fiber system. In addition, for multi-span system, the transmission reach at BER of 2.1*10-3 is quadrupled in 8-core/fiber configuration.

In Chapter 6, a multi-channel multi-core/fiber architecture is proposed to reduce the inter-channel nonlinear distortions. In this architecture, different channels of a WDM system are interleaved between multiple cores/fibers which increases the channel spacing in each core/fiber. Higher channel spacing decreases the inter-channel nonlinear impairments in each core/fiber which leads to system performance improvement. At the end of each span, a multiplexer adds the channels from different cores/fibers so that one amplifier can be used for all of the channels. Unlike the single-channel multi-core/fiber system, the WDM multi-core/fiber system does not require equalizers since different cores/fibers carry channels with different frequencies. Simulation results show that for a 39-span system, the 4-core/fiber system with negligible crosstalk outperforms the single-core system by 2.2 dBQ20. The impact of crosstalk between cores of a multi-core fiber (MCF) on the system performance is studied. The simulation results show that the performance of the multi-core WDM system is less sensitive to the crosstalk effect compared to conventional multi-core systems since the propagating channels in the cores are not correlated in frequency domain.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


contributor:
Gauvreau, Michael
History

subject: History History

abstract: "On Common Ground: Voluntary Associations and the Construction of Community in Central Canada, 1840-1900" examines the formulation of a clearly articulated ethos of community found in the Victorian voluntary association movement. Although forged in a crucible of intersecting value systems, beliefs and identities, certain ideological principles and assumptions about the meaning of "community" surfaced that were common to all social classes and intersects in the nineteenth century. While at times a rather vague ideology, the community ethos enabled a rather convoluted and unclassifiable occupational structure of early to mid-Victorian Canada to resemble a unified and harmonious whole. On the surface, it was the promotion of this community ethos within such organizations as Mechanics' Institutes, agricultural societies, fraternal orders and temperance societies that enabled a colonial society in a state of flux to achieve a sense of cultural identity. While largely successful in creating this aura of community within voluntary associations, in many respects the inclusive nature of these societies were simply illusory as they only camouflaged social, economic and political conflicts simmering just under the surface. Due to the proliferation of these associations in both the urban and the rural environment, the intersection of class, religious, political and gender issues made complete cultural consent over the nature of "community" simply impossible. Exposing the fissures in a society that had always barely concealed the class, gender and racial dissonance lurking underneath a consensual exterior, the resulting chaos in turn of the century Canada illustrates just how fragile was the "constructed" social order of the community in the Victorian age.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS OF MANGANESE, IRON AND ZINC IN A RODENT MODEL OF DYSMYELINATION

contributor:
Bock, Nicholas
David Chettle, Andrea Armstrong
David Chettle, Andrea Armstrong
Medical Physics

subject:
neutron activation analysis
manganese
iron
zinc
Long Evans Shaker rat
Long Evans rat

abstract:
Transition metals such as manganese (Mn), iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) are some of the essential metals for normal CNS development and function. Each must be present at specific levels to avoid deficiencies or toxic excess. The research in this thesis investigates the role of transition metals in diseases in which myelin is lost in the central nervous system (CNS). A loss of myelin is termed demyelination, and an example of a disease with prominent demyelination is multiple sclerosis. An incomplete formation of myelin sheaths is termed dysmyelination. This thesis focused on the measurements of manganese, iron and zinc concentrations in a rodent model of dysmyelination; the Long Evans Shaker (les) rat.

The Long Evans Shaker (les) rat is a fragile, severely dysmyelinated rodent model with body tremors at a young age and severe ataxia in older rats. The mutation causing the severe dysmyelination in these rats is transmitted as an autosomal recessive trait. With a lifespan of 4 to 5 months, the les rat is markedly deficient in myelin in the CNS, where most axons are entirely naked and the remaining ones are surrounded by a loosely woven, thin myelin sheath.

In this thesis we studied alterations in manganese, iron and zinc transition metal levels in 3 and 16-week-old les rats and their age-matched control counterparts. Using neutron activation analysis (NAA), manganese measurements were made in the brain, spinal cord and visceral organs using an existing protocol, while a new assay was developed for iron and zinc measurements that were made in the spinal cord tissues. The higher trend in manganese concentration observed within the 3 and 16 week old les rats in comparison to the controls, where there was a significant increase (ples cerebellum, supports evidence suggesting that manganese levels are associated with astrogliosis. Whereas for iron and zinc, which were measured in the spinal cord tissues, there was also an overall increase in the levels of these metals in the les mutant strain when compared to the controls; however, only significant increases in zinc concentration within the 16 week old les spinal cords were observed.

The characterization of the les rodent model mutation and its biochemical abnormality will advance our understanding of not only the process of myelination, but also diseases related to aberrant myelination or the maintenance of myelin sheaths.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: School Climate and Gay-Straight Alliances: Sexual Minorities in High School

contributor:
Fetner, Tina
Davies, Scott
Heath, Melanie
Sociology

subject: Gay-Straight Alliances

subject: Sexual Minority Youth

subject: High School Climate

subject: Bullying

subject: Status Hierarchies

subject: Social Networks

subject: Educational Sociology

subject: Gender and Sexuality

subject: Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies

subject: Educational Sociology

abstract: Although liberal attitudes toward homosexuality have been increasing in recent years, sexual minority youth continue to face bullying and isolation at school. Gay-straight alliances (GSAs) have recently emerged as a solution to this problem. While research demonstrates positive effects of GSAs, little is known about the specific processes through which GSAs work to improve the school climate. We must also consider that GSAs operate in high schools which function as their own bounded social worlds with unique sets of rules and social hierarchies. These hierarchies influence both gay and straight youth’s experiences, including who gets bullied, and who carries out the bullying. Using qualitative research methods, including semi-structured interviews with 50 students from 6 Windsor high schools, including 21 lesbian, gay, bisexual, bi-curious, pansexual and queer (LGBPQ) youth, this study explores these issues. I begin by examining how status hierarchies in high schools vary based on the size of the school and average parental income. In doing so, I argue that status hierarchies should be re-conceptualized from being thought of as simply vertical to accommodate multiple sources of status and varying competition. I then delve into an examination of how status and bullying are interconnected. Here, I find that for both gay and straight students, social networks work to prevent isolation as well as bullying. Bullying in high schools also takes on a situational nature, as bullying episodes often predominate in certain areas and in front of certain status group audiences. Finally, I explore how social networks intersect with gay-straight alliances in various social hierarchies, and how GSAs work as social networks that have a protective ability against bullying. I find that GSAs can work to improve school climate and challenge existing hierarchies, but this is tempered by the hierarchies in place. Implications for anti-bullying strategies are also discussed.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


contributor:
Brophy, Sarah
O`Connor, Mary
Nyers, Peter
English and Cultural Studies

subject:
Social Media
Youth
Digital Archives
Affect
Citizenship
Pedagogy
Film and Media Studies
Film and Media Studies

abstract: This dissertation, entitled “Digital Youth: How Social Media are Archiving, Engaging and Capturing the Lives of Young People,” examines how children and youth experience networked sociality in a historic moment that places growing economic value on the content users generate online. By conceptualizing the digital archive, I have laid out a comprehensive framework that accounts for the following issues: i) economic concerns, foregrounded in how user-generated content has become an integral source of surplus value for the networked economy; ii) privacy concerns, which relate to the privacy agreements to which young people must consent when they join social networks, to questions around the rearticulation of private and public spheres online, and finally to the growing importance placed on the computational power of algorithms required to process big data; iii) the extended and intensified sociality engendered by networked affective spaces which produce new ways for young people to engage with their peers and produce subjectivities; and, iv) the political possibilities circulating both discursively and as acts of civic engagement. In addition, given that more ubiquitous access does not necessarily equip young users to understand the myriad challenges accompanying a profoundly networked and mediated existence, I argue that more pedagogical techniques and practices are required. This dissertation concludes by outlining why educators need to integrate data literacy as opposed to media literacy in the classroom. By foregrounding the prevalent role that social networks play and will continue to play in the lives of young people I argue that educators and parents have a responsibility to not only help children and youth appreciate how their immaterial labour is being cultivated, but equally to provide them with valuable skills that will not only facilitate new forms of sociality but civic engagement.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Mechanism of Blood Maturation Induced by Hedgehog Inhibition in Pluripotent Sources

contributor:
Bhatia, Mick
Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences

subject:
human pluripotent stem cells
hematopoiesis
hedgehog signalling
epigenetics
Cell Biology
Cell Biology

abstract: The generation of hematopoietic progenitors from human pluripotent cell sources for use in personalized medicine is an attainable goal for the ease of clinical intervention using these cells. Furthermore, generated platelets and mature red blood cells are enucleated which allows for the use of induced pluripotent stem cells as a starting source or other sources of genetic manipulation. Generating these cells has proven difficult as the cells appear to be stuck in a primitive state of differentiation and do not mature into an adult phenotype. This thesis shows that inhibition of the hedgehog signaling pathway early in the differentiation of pluripotent stem cells induces a maturation towards definitive hematopoiesis. Generated erythroid cells were shown to express beta globin at the transcript as well as protein level. This maturation effect was confirmed to occur through central hedgehog repressor, Gli3R, through genetic manipulation. Further interrogation of this mechanism showed that globin regulation was not mediated by chromatin methylation by the polycomb repressive complex. Finally, Gli3R was also shown to not act as a transcription factor influencing globin expression directly and is therefore engaging separate regulatory mechanisms. This data provides great strides towards the generation of clinically relevant hematopoietic populations from pluripotent sources, however Gli3R’s direct mechanism of action remains to be determined.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: Profaning the Sacred and Sacralising the Profane: Transforming Objects and Bodies in Elie Wiesel’s Night and A. M. Klein’s The Second Scroll

contributor:
Hyman, Roger
Bruce, Iris
Donaldson, Jeffery
English

subject: Holocaust

subject: Judaism

subject: spirituality

subject: dehumanization

subject: sacred

subject: profane

subject: Jewish Studies

subject: Literature in English, Anglophone outside British Isles and North America

subject: Literature in English, North America

subject: Literature in English, North America, ethnic and minority

subject: Other English Language and Literature

subject: Jewish Studies

abstract: This thesis seeks to interrogate how Elie Wiesel’s Night and A. M. Klein’s The Second Scroll illustrate the spiritual journeys of their protagonists and depict dehumanization of the Jewish people. Through their interactions with sacred bodies, as well as profane, religious and sacred objects, both novels map the spiritual quests of the protagonists, revealing very different conclusions. Using Virginia Greene’s “‘Accessories of Holiness’: Defining Jewish Sacred Objects” as an analytic framework, I explore how both novels transform sacred bodies into profane “objects” to illustrate various forms of anti-Semitic subjugation and de-personification. I then interrogate how The Second Scroll “textualizes” these objectified bodies, as well as how Klein’s novel turns Israeli society into a sacred text. This “textualization” offers a space to re-affirm God’s providence in a post-Holocaust imagination—an imagination that strongly differs from the rejection of God in Night. Through this exploration of spirituality and dehumanization, both texts humanize those who have been dehumanized in the camps and re-face the victims whose personhood was stripped from them, inviting them to dwell in both the novels and the readers’ memory.

abstract: Master of English


title: Incorporating Physical Activity into the Rehabilitation Process after Spinal Cord Injury

contributor:
Hicks, Audrey L.
Kinesiology

subject:
exercise
spinal cord injury
rehabilitation
health promotion
disability
community
Exercise Physiology
Exercise Science
Health Psychology
Nervous System Diseases
Other Rehabilitation and Therapy
Exercise Physiology

abstract:
It is well established that physical activity can improve aspects of physical fitness in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Despite reports of declining health and fitness post-discharge from rehabilitation, there is a limited amount of research exploring exercise status or interventions during this period. The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the integration of structured exercise into the rehabilitation process following SCI, and to optimize the exercise prescription in the community setting. Findings from the first study indicated that exercise is well tolerated among individuals with sub-acute SCI; performance of a peak exercise test on an arm ergometer was feasible for all injury types. At this stage post-injury, interventions should be mindful of the greater risk of orthostatic intolerance in individuals with complete tetraplegia and focus on building task specific self-efficacy. The second study involved a direct referral and physical activity counselling intervention post-discharge. Adherence rates were excellent among those participants who received the intervention suggesting that this model of care can facilitate adherence to community exercise after discharge.

The final two studies took place in the community. Several modes of adapted exercise were compared and findings indicated that while there were no differences in measures of physiological intensity or enjoyment between the different modes, arm-only exercise was perceived as safer than passive hybrid (arm and leg) exercise. Further, the validity of using ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) to attain prescribed exercise intensity was established. The efficacy of the physical activity guidelines for improving fitness in adults with SCI were evaluated in a community-based randomized controlled trial and the results revealed that the guidelines were effective in improving both aerobic capacity and muscle strength. Taken together, this series of studies describes a model of care that links rehabilitation with community exercise and suggests options for sustained engagement.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: The Effect of Different Microglial Activation States on the Survival of Retinal Ganglion Cells

contributor:
Ball, Alexander K.
Judith West-Mays, Ram Mishra
Neuroscience

subject:
Microglia
Retinal Ganglion Cells
Neuroprotection
Neuroinflammation
Cell Migration
Cell Survival
Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience
Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience

abstract:
Purpose: Microglia are the innate immune cells of the central nervous system. Activated microglia release nitric oxide, glutamate, and superoxide radicals, which are harmful to retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). They may also benefit surviving cells by removing toxic cellular debris or by secretion of neurotrophic factors. The paradoxical role of microglia remains controversial because the nature and time-course of the injury that determines whether microglia acquire a neuroprotective or pro-inflammatory phenotype is unknown. HAPI cells are an immortalized microglial cell line, whose phenotype can be manipulated in vitro. It is my HYPOTHESIS that pharmacological manipulation of microglia to acquire either a pro-inflammatory or pro-survival phenotype will exacerbate neuronal cell death or enhance neuronal survival after injury, respectively.

Method: Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) were used to hyper-stimulate the HAPI cells and minocycline to maintain the HAPI cells in a quiescent state. Prior to the experiments, the HAPI cells were labelled with Wheat Germ Agglutinin conjugated to Texas Red. The HAPI cells were cultured and exposed to minocycline (10 µg/mL for 1 hour) or LPS (1 µg/mL for 24 hours). Sprague-Dawley rats then recieved intraocular (30,000 cells) or tail vein (5 million cells) injections of either the minocycline treated HAPI cells or the LPS treated HAPI cells and an optic nerve crush. Retinas were examined at 4-14 days later and the number of surviving RGCs will be determined by Brn3a labelling of RGCs. BM88 antibody labelling was done to determine the severity of the injury and to determine molecular changes after neuroinflammation.

Results: Injection of untreated HAPI cells resulted in the greater loss of RGCs early after ONC when injected into the vitreous and later after ONC when injected into the tail vein. LPS activated HAPI cells injected into the vitreous resulted in greater RGC loss with and without injury. When injected into the tail vein with ONC there was no loss of RGCs 4 days after ONC but later there was greater loss of RGCs. Minocycline treated HAPI cells injected into the vitreous resulted in greater RGC survival than when untreated HAPI cells were injected. However, when injected into the tail vein with ONC there was greater loss of RGCs. There was also BM88 down regulation after injury and this was more pronounced after HAPI cell injection.

Conclusion: Neuroprotection or cytotoxicity of microglia depends on the type of activation, time course of the injury, and if the microglia act on the axon or cell body of the retinal ganglion cell.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: INTERCHAIN SILICONE INTERACTIONS: STRUCTURING SILICONE ELASTOMERS USING PHYSICAL, COVALENT, AND INTERFACIAL CHEMISTRY

contributor:
Brook, Michael A.
Chemistry

subject:
Silicone
Polymer
Thermoplastic Elastomer
Elastomer
Foam
Photoresponsive Silicone
Materials Chemistry
Polymer Chemistry
Materials Chemistry

abstract:
Silicone polymers, particularly PDMS (poly(dimethylsiloxane)) exhibit a wide range of exceptional properties including optical transparency, biostability, hydrophobicity and excellent oxygen transmissibility that make them extremely useful in a wide range of applications, particularly as biomaterials. Current methods for the preparation of silicone elastomers have been well documented, however, silicone elastomers are thermoset materials and once cured, they cannot be reformed without chemical intervention. The properties of silicones that make them a popular material choice in a wide variety of industries also make them un-responsive and non-reusable often limiting their application to one primary purpose.

This thesis aims to further understand the mechanisms of silicone polymer chain interactions and how the chemistry of polymer modification can alter the mechanical and chemical properties of materials. The effects of distinctive functional groups (coumarin) on silicone chains to allow for both the formation of thermoplastic silicone elastomers and stimuli-responsive elastomers for reversible crosslinking are explored.

A companion study examined a different way to form silicone elastomers. The Piers- Rubinsztajn reaction was used to create elastomers and foams rapidly and under relatively mild conditions using very small quantities of the catalyst B(C6F5)3. The factors required to create – on demand – a foam or an elastomer, and the strategies to control physical properties, including bubble density and modulus, are explored.

Silicone foams that were structured in a completely different way are described. Allyl- modified PEG (poly(ethylene glycol)) was found to structure foam mixtures precure. The product foam after cure was amphiphilic, due to the presence of both silicone and PEG constituents. The origins of bubble stabilization and the ability to control foam properties are described.

abstract: Doctor of Science  (PhD)


title: The Fugitive Dead: Queer Temporality and the Project of Revisioning in Modern and Contemporary Fiction

contributor:
Brophy, Sarah
Attewell, Nadine
Dean, Amber
English and Cultural Studies

subject: Queer Temporality; Intertextuality; Virginia Woolf; Michael Cunningham; Alison Bechdel; Queer Archive

subject: Literature in English, British Isles

subject: Literature in English, North America

subject: Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

subject: Literature in English, British Isles

abstract:
Following from such theorists as Sara Ahmed, Lee Edelman and Heather Love, this thesis seeks to address current scholarship on queerness and temporality that conceptualizes queer subjects as complicating traditional notions of linear time, reproduction, and progress. Mobilizing theories of temporal disruption and disorientation, including backwardness and the queer moment, this thesis explores the association between such disruptions and a persistent impulse to reckon with and reconstruct what I refer to as “the fugitive dead,” understood here both as past events and as the ghostly figures of the dead and effaced. Such disruptions can, this project posits, foster queerly generative affinities between seemingly separate categories (e.g. between the present and the past or between the living and the dead), thereby providing alternatives and challenges to normative temporal trajectories.

My analysis considers literary representations of such temporal disruptions, drawing on Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, Michael Cunningham’s The Hours, and Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home to explore their treatments of temporal linearity, queer moments, affinity and connection, as well as haunting and spectrality. Furthermore, this thesis also addresses the capacity of literary texts to enact temporal disruption in the form of the revisioning project, which can be figured as the literary attempt to encounter the fugitive dead. Ultimately, this thesis explores the literary and intertextual dimensions of this complex approach to queer temporality, advocating for the generative possibilities of an attentiveness to the continued presence of the past and an engagement with the figures of the lost and disappeared.

abstract: Master of English


title: Regional and Farm Level Adjustments in Southern Ontario's Dairy Industry 1968-1974

contributor:
Reeds, Lloyd G.
Geography

subject: Geography Geography

abstract:
Through legislation introduced in 1965 a new institutional setting was established for the dairy industry in Ontario. This legislation, known as The Milk Act 1965, provided for the formation of the Milk Commission of Ontario and the Ontario Milk Marketing Board. Since its formation the Marketing Board has played an important role in restructuring the dairy industry and producing a shift in the location of fluid milk production in Southern Ontario.

The analysis of regional data showed that over the six year period from June 1968 to June 1974, the combination of high attrition rates among regular fluid milk producers and their replacement by new shippers in more outlying areas had increased the distance that fluid milk was being transported. High land values contributed to the rapid attrition of fluid milk producers in the more urbanized areas. At the same time the programmes of the Board such as price and transportation pooling, quota negotiability and the graduated entry of industrial producers into the fluid milk market were having an impact. The net effect of these economic and institutional factors was to produce a shift in fluid milk production to locations more distant from the primary Toronto market.

Because of the importance of the graduate entrant milk producer or new fluid milk shipper in this regional supply shift, attention focused on this group of producers. Based on the location of graduate entrant milk producers over the 1968 to 1972 period, two sample study areas were selected. A random sample of 200 graduate entrant milk producers in the two areas were selected for interviewing. The concentration of graduate entrant milk producers in Eastern and Western Ontario made some regional comparisons possible.

In terms of fluid milk quota holdings, dairy herd management levels and acres in corn in 1973, there were no significant differences. Eastern Ontario was characterized by significantly larger industrial milk quotas, milking herds, farms and percentage income derived from milk sales. On the other hand, Western Ontario was distinctive in having significantly larger milking herd averages and incomes from milk sales.

Herd enlargement behaviour among the random sample of graduate entrant milk producers was related to personal, management, and farm characteristics in a series of predictive multiple regression models. Throughout the analysis the economic variables, herd size and farm size in 1968, accounted for the greatest variation in the dependent variable. This was not entirely unexpected for in previous studies milking herd size was an important predictor variable. However, the inverse relationship between herd enlargement and milking herd size in 1968 was not evident in previous studies. The presence of fluid milk quota purchases in a number of the cases reflected the importance of the institutional factor in farm level adjustment. The positive relationship between herd enlargement and land additions reflects the importance of available land resources for dairy herd expansion. The role of immigrant Dutch dairymen was significant in accounting for herd expansion in Western Ontario.

The highest level of explanation was obtained in the Eastern Ontario cases indicating that the models were most suitable in an area where dairying was the dominant agricultural activity.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Be-Doping of MBE-Grown InP Nanowires

contributor:
LaPierre, Ray R.
Harold Haugen, Leyla Soleymani
Engineering Physics

subject:
Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

abstract:
Be-doped InP nanowires were grown by the gold-assisted vapour-liquid-solid mechanism in a gas source molecular beam epitaxy system. The nanowires were characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. With increased doping, the dependence of the length on diameter [L(D)] underwent an unusual transition from the diffusion-limited 1/D2 relationship to one that increased before saturating. Doping influences on crystal structure and radial growth have been reported previously, but in the absence of these effects it is speculated that the beryllium introduces an increase in the steady-state chemical potential of the catalyst, and a barrier to nucleation. A model is presented relating the diffusion- and nucleation-limited regimes.

Additionally, the progressive increase of dopant incorporation was verified by secondary ion mass spectrometry. Samples were transformed into a "bulk-like" material by spin-coating with cyclotene to enable depth profiling. Carrier concentrations were inferred through comparison with a thin film reference, and agreed in order of magnitude with the nominal doping values.

Dopant activation was investigated through micro-photoluminescence experiments, and showed peak emissions between 1.49 eV and 1.50 eV for undoped samples, transitioning with increased doping to 1.45-1.46 eV. The difference between the dominant peak energies was consistent with differences reported for comparable epitaxially-grown thin film samples. Bandgap narrowing was also observed at high levels of doping, and was consistent with theoretical predictions.

As a whole, the work presented here provides a different perspective on the effects of doping on nanowire growth, demonstrated through the specific system of Be-doped InP. The findings have implications for predictable and consistent nanowire device design, and suggestions for avenues of future research are provided.

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: “Real work for good pay and a community to belong to”: Creating Alternative Workplaces for People with Mental Illness

contributor:
Wilton, Rob
Geography and Earth Sciences

subject:
metal illness
mental health
social economy
social enterprises
employment
Human Geography
Inequality and Stratification
Other Geography
Other Mental and Social Health
Psychiatric and Mental Health
Social Policy
Human Geography

abstract: In recent years, paid work has taken on greater meaning for people living with mental illness. Paid work offers the chance to earn a wage, as well as opportunities for improved self- esteem, greater community participation and can reduce the chances of re-hospitalization. Although employment can offer many rewards, access to mainstream employment for people with mental illness remains been difficult as they often face discrimination and a lack of workplace accommodation. One response to these challenges has been the creation of social enterprises as ‘alternative spaces’ of employment for people with mental illness. Social enterprises are organizations with an entrepreneurial orientation whose focus is building social capacity rather than profit maximization. However, relatively little is known about the kinds of organizations that exist for people with mental illness in Ontario. This thesis uses data from key- informant interviews with organizations across Ontario to document the types of social enterprises that exist. The analysis also critically examines the strategies used by organizations to create jobs that are both suitable for people with mental illness, but also conducive to the ongoing success of the social enterprise.

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: A NEW ROLE FOR PAGP IN SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION

contributor:
Bishop, Russell E.
Richard Epand, Michael Surette
Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences

subject:
Biochemistry
Molecular Biology
Biochemistry

abstract: The outer membrane (OM) of Gram-negative bacteria is not a static structure; it can be remodeled in response to environmental conditions that allow bacteria to survive and function in hostile conditions. PagP, an OM enzyme, plays a crucial role in remodeling the OM by transferring a palmitate chain from a phospholipid to the proximal glucosamine unit of lipid A, which anchors lipopolysaccharides (LPS) to the external leaflet of the OM. PagP also affects cytoplasmic events of core biosynthesis in response to OM stress. A putative catalytic triad (Asp 61, His 67 and Tyr 87) at the periplasmic interface is hypothesized to play a role in transducing the signal to influence core biosynthesis. Mutations of a triad residue (Y87F), a catalytical residue (S77A) and wild-type pagP have all been transduced separately to the strains having PagP in inactive (imp+) and active states (imp4213). Correction and validation of all the strains designed for this project has been achieved. A quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) approach was applied to monitor the expression of candidate genes of PagP-mediated signalling. The decreased transcription of slyB in a strain containing pagP in comparison to the strain with deleted pagP indicates that PagP inhibits slyB transcription. The periplasmic catalytic triad of PagP appears to play a role in the repression of SlyB because the Y87F mutant also showed activated slyB transcription. The effect of PagP over the transcription of extracytoplasmic factor, σE, and glucosyl transferase encoded by waaG was analyzed and ruled out because of their stable transcription in both imp+ and imp4213 strains.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: Peer Support for Mental Health: Making It Standard Practice

contributor:
Shormans, Fudge A.
Social Work

subject:
Peer Support Benefits Barriers Policy
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Social Work
Social and Behavioral Sciences

abstract:
Peer support has been shown to benefit individuals with mental health challenges. Yet, peer support has failed to be translated into policy. This study investigates the organizational benefits of peer support, the profound significance to individuals receiving peer support, and the barriers that exist toward formalized implementation of peer support. It offers strategies for overcoming these barriers.

This study combines data from the lived experience of peer supporters and service providers thus offering a unique contribution to the knowledge of peer support. It uses critical disability theory as a lens to frame the research. Findings suggest that personal transformation occurs in the context of relationships in peer support that foster resiliency within individuals. Yet, peer support is undermined due to a lack of utilization in the mental health system.

abstract: Master of Social Work (MSW)


title: Distributed Space-Time Block Codes Achieving Optimal Diversity Function with Linear Receiver

contributor:
Wong, Kon Max
Electrical and Computer Engineering

subject:
Signal Processing
Signal Processing

abstract: The design and analyses of Space-Time Block Codes (STBC) for both single antenna and two-antenna distributed relay channels are considered in this thesis. Due to the fact that the equivalent channel gains for two-phase relay channels are the product of two channel coefficients, many current STBC designs for Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) channels cannot be implemented to distributed relay channels efficiently. The direct application of Orthogonal Space-Time Block Coding (OSTBC) for MIMO systems to distributed cooperative relay networks makes the equivalent channel matrix for maximum likelihood (ML) detection lose its orthogonality. Hence, a new design that makes the channel matrix be \textit{orthogonally distributed} (OD) for a suboptimal symbol-by-symbol detector (SBSD) is proposed in this thesis. With ODSTBC, an asymptotic symbol error probability (SEP) formula with SBSD is derived, showing the optimal diversity gain function for single antenna distributed relay channels $\frac{\ln^N\rho}{\rho^N}$ is achieved. In addition, two ODSTBC designs for the distributed relay networks are presented, which interestingly renders that SBSD is equivalent to the ML detector. The ODSTBC enjoys both optimal diversity function and low detection complexity. However, the symbol rate of ODSTBC is relatively low in order to maintain the orthogonal conditions. To address this problem, another Alamouti Based Toeplitz Space-Time Block Code (ABTSTBC) for two-antenna distributed relay channels is proposed. Both the code structure and the equivalent channel matrix has a block Toeplitz structure, whose blocks are the addition and product of two Alamouti matrices, respectively. With the linear SBSD, the optimal diversity function $\frac{\ln^N\rho}{\rho^{2N}}$ is achieved. At the same time, the advantages of low computational complexity and high symbol rate are maintained. Numerical results verify the diversity analyses and indicate competitive error performance to currently available distributed STBC designs with much lower complexity.

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CD8+ T CELL IMMUNITY AND AGING USING WEST NILE VIRUS INFECTION AS A MODEL

contributor:
Bramson, Jonathan
Ken Rosenthal, Zhou Xing
Medical Sciences

subject:
Hamilton
Immunosenescence
West Nile virus
Medical Immunology
Virus Diseases
Medical Immunology

abstract:
The incidence and severity of infectious diseases increases in elderly people (>60 years of age). It is believe that the age-associated changes in the immune system, termed immunosenescence, lead to diminished effectiveness of the immune system leaving the aged susceptible to infectious pathogens and associated diseases. The limited efficacy of the currently available vaccines in elderly populations contribute immensely to the frequency of infectious diseases in the globally growing aging population. As such, the demographic shift warrants the development of effective prophylactic vaccines for the elderly.

West Nile virus (WNV) became endemic in North America in 1999, and although it infects people of all ages, the incidence of severe neuroinvasive disease is more prevalent in the elderly. I hypothesized that the susceptibility of the elderly towards severe WNV disease is a consequence of aberrant immune function, and specifically lack of functional virus-specific CD8+ T cells. Contrary to my hypothesis, I found that the magnitude, breadth and functionality of WNV-specific CD8+ T cells were not different between the age cohorts. These results argue that advanced age does not limit the development of functional CD8+ T cell responses following primary infections with an acute virus. Furthermore, the aged members of our cohort maintained functional CD8+ T cells to cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), common persistent viruses.

Collectively, my results demonstrate that development of vaccines designed to elicit CD8+ T cell immunity may be warranted for elderly individuals and perhaps live vectors should be considered for this population.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (Medical Science)


title: A Bayesian Semi-parametric Model for Realized Volatility

contributor:
Maheu, John
Childs, Aaron
Statistics

subject:
Bayesian
Semi-parametric Model
Realized Volatility
HAR-RV
Dirichlet Process
Applied Statistics
Applied Statistics

abstract: Due to the advancements in computing power and the availability of high-frequency data, the analyses of the high frequency stock data and market microstructure has become more and more important in econometrics. In the high frequency data setting, volatility is a very important indicator on the movement of stock prices and measure of risk. It is a key input in pricing of assets, portfolio reallocation, and risk management. In this thesis, we use the Heterogeneous Autoregressive model of realized volatility, combined with Bayesian inference as well as Markov chain Monte Carlo method’s to estimate the innovation density of the daily realized volatility. A Dirichlet process is used as the prior in a countably infinite mixture model. The semi-parametric model provides a robust alternative to the models used in the literature. I find evidence of thick tails in the density of innovations to log-realized volatility.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: Quaternary landform and sediment analysis of the Alliston area (southern Simcoe County), Ontario, Canada

contributor:
Eyles, Carolyn H.
Geography and Earth Sciences

subject:
glacial geology
sedimentology
hydrogeology
glacial lakes
landsystems analysis
Geomorphology
Sedimentology
Geomorphology

abstract:
Urban expansion and agricultural growth are placing significant stresses on existing groundwater reserves hosted within Quaternary sediments in southern Ontario. Preserving the quality and quantity of groundwater resources requires a detailed knowledge of the three-dimensional distribution of subsurface geologic units. In this study, integrated analysis of surficial sediment exposures, geophysical and remotely-sensed data, and fully-cored boreholes in the Alliston region of southern Ontario has allowed for the identification of landform-sediment associations, or landsystems, which can be used to predict the nature of subsurface sediment types and to assist with the reconstruction of paleoenvironmental change in the region. The landsystems identified in the Alliston region can also be used as a foundation for the development of a stratigraphic framework for hydrogeological investigations.

Nine landsystems were identified in the study area and include: i) bedrock escarpment, ii) gravel bench, iii) V-shaped valleys and fills, iv) streamlined uplands, v) low-relief uplands, vi) upland plains and scarps, vii) erosional amphitheatres, viii) hummocky terrain, and ix) lowland plains. These landsystems record the changing distribution of glacial, ice-marginal, glaciofluvial, glaciolacustrine, and post-glacial depositional systems that affected the region during the late Quaternary. The landsystems analysis approach provides a useful framework for discerning the spatiotemporal relationship of a complex suite of depositional systems. Analysis of the distribution and internal composition of landsystems in the study area has allowed the development of a preliminary risk assessment map for aquifer vulnerability in the region.

Detailed analysis of 56 outcrop exposures in cutbanks along the Nottawasaga River within the former Lake Algonquin plain has led to the identification of six lithofacies associations (FA 1–6) that present a detailed record of environmental change during the deglacial period. The stratigraphy is floored by the Late Wisconsin Newmarket Till (FA 1) which is locally overlain by ice-proximal debris flows (FA 2). These glacial sediments are overlain by glaciolacustrine silt rhythmites (FA 3) that pass upwards into deltaic sand (FA 4) and channelized fluviodeltaic sand and gravel (FA 5). Lying above the fluvial deposits and capping the succession are widespread sand and silt rhythmites (FA 6), which coarsen up-section. These six facies associations provide a record of changing environmental conditions that existed during deglaciation of the region and give valuable insights into the nature of the evolution of glacial lakes Schomberg, Algonquin, and Nipissing. The deglacial environmental changes described from southern Simcoe County may be valuable analogues for the interpretation of regional-scale events that occurred in extensive lake basins in other formerly glaciated regions.

Qualitative observations of groundwater discharge from sediment facies at outcrop faces along the Nottawasaga River have yielded important data on the internal heterogeneity of subsurface units. These data can be used to identify possible preferential groundwater flow pathways through both aquifer and aquitard units in the region. Understanding the geometry and interconnectedness of these subsurface sediments is essential for planning future water supply for growing urban communities and agricultural irrigation needs in the region and for the prediction of contaminant migration pathways.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: Studies on the Formation of 12-Tungstophosphoric acid: Application to the Determination of Phosphate

contributor:
Corsini, A.
Chemistry

subject: Chemistry Chemistry

abstract:
A new extraction-spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination of phosphorus as orthophosphate. The method is based on the chemistry of the 12-tungstophosphoric acid, H3PW12)40 (TPA). In the method, the TPA is formed in aqueous solution from tungstate, phosphate and acid and is subsequently extracted into n-amyl alcohol. The formation of TPA was studied as a function of reagent concentration (e.g., tungstate and phosphate), pH, time and temperature. For particular molar ratios of tungstate and phosphate, quantitative formation of TPA occurred instantly when the pH was 1.3-1.9 and the solution heated to 60-100ºC. Under the conditions, Beer's law was found to be valid over the entire range of phosphate concentrations studied (0-25 ppm P). The method was successfully applied to a wide variety of phosphorus-containing materials and was found to be less prone to solution conditions and interfering species [especially As(V) and Si(IV)] than the widely used molybdenum-blue and molybdovanado-phosphate methods. The accuracy, precision and sensitivity of the TPA method is at least competitive with these methods.

Under similar conditions, TPA was found to form from paratungstate Z and freshly-precipitated white tungstic oxide. From the metatungstate, TPA could be formed only in very acidic solution. It was not formed at all from yellow tungstic oxide.

Since the formation of isopolytungstates is very relevant to the TPA method for the determination of phosphorus, appropriate studies of these species were made. These studies resulted in a re-interpretation of the point-titration curve of tungstate solutions, and in the discovery that a poorly-defined species called polytungstate Y is stable in n-amyl alcohol, from which it can perhaps be characterized. The extractability of isopoly species into n-amyl alcohol was studied as a function of pH. The results of this study were important with regard to the analytical application of TPA.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: POLITICS IN EXCESS OF LIFE: AUTOIMMUNITY, ANIMALITY, AND DERRIDA’S RESPONSES TO SEPTEMBER 11

contributor:
Clark, David L.
Hollander, Dana
Giroux, Susan Searls
English and Cultural Studies

subject:
Biopolitics
Autoimmunity
Animal Studies
English Language and Literature
English Language and Literature

abstract:
This thesis examines how the late work of Jacques Derrida challenges the efficacy of the concept of biopolitics to describe the relationship between life and politics. The central question that occupies this thesis is how life becomes part of the political, how it exits the putative spontaneity of nature and enters the calculation of sovereignty. In order to posit this question, my work is organized according to two horizons. The first horizon centers on the ways in which Derrida configures the relationship between life and politics. The second horizon is that the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center or what is now known as September 11 or 9/11 became an event around which Derrida bends this critique of life in politics.

My first chapter looks to Derrida’s concept of autoimmunity as a way to articulate the problematic conflation of life and politics by the term “biopolitics.” While Derrida does not explicitly state his complication of this term, I argue that “autoimmunity” positions life as an impossibly unstable concept, one that cannot and should not be confined to a single understanding. My second chapter turns to the first volume of Derrida’s final seminars The Beast and The Sovereign. This chapter continues many of the themes pursued in the first chapter, but changes the focus from an autoimmune critique of democracy toward a more generalized critique of human life as political and non-human life as apolitical. Ultimately I pursue the idea that Derrida sought to rethink a configuration of the political that apprehends life in excess of politics. Derrida imagines a politics that escapes being pulled into the political and contoured into so many configurations of death and subjugation.

abstract: Master of English


title: The Human Right to Water and the Responsibility to Protect

contributor:
Igneski, Violetta
Adeel, Zafar
Doubleday, Nancy
Philosophy

subject:
human rights
water
humanitarian intervention
Responsibility to Protect
R2P
Ethics and Political Philosophy
Human Rights Law
International Law
International Relations
Ethics and Political Philosophy

abstract: In this thesis I argue that it is an implication of the acceptance of the human right to water and the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) that violations of the human right to water can invoke the Responsibility to Protect. Extreme violations of the right to water can invoke the responsibility to react, and ultimately the responsibility to prevent and rebuild. Although this is the case, I argue that the human right to water is unlikely to invoke R2P on its own. Instead, water issues are more likely to compound with issues of poverty, weak political institutions, poor leadership and social tension to create situations that have the potential for mass atrocity. Furthermore, I provide an analysis of the actions that will need to be taken before, during and after an intervention to fulfill the responsibilities to prevent, react and rebuild and the actors that can and/or should take such action.

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL LUCIFERASE REPORTER TOOL FOR HIGH THROUGHPUT GENE EXPRESSION ANALYSIS IN STREPTOMYCES

contributor:
Nodwell, Justin
Elliot, Marie
Wright, Gerry
Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences

subject: Streptomyces

subject: gene expression

subject: luciferase

subject: reporter tool

subject: kijanimicin

subject: high throughput

subject: Bacteria

subject: Bacteriology

subject: Biochemistry

subject: Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology

subject: Medical Microbiology

subject: Medical Molecular Biology

subject: Molecular Biology

subject: Molecular genetics

subject: Bacteria

abstract: Streptomycetes biology and genetics encompasses a variety of interesting features including multicellular growth, rich secondary metabolite production, and extensive environmental sensory and response systems. The characteristically large genomes of streptomycetes makes studying the diverse external stimuli intricate and internal regulation of these gene systems a challenge. Currently, there does not exist an efficient, cost-effective method of high throughput gene expression analysis in streptomycetes. Luciferase reporters have been used successfully in Streptomyces coelicolor to measure select promoter activity, however, they have demonstrated limited success in other strains and are not favourable to gene expression studies on a larger scale. Here, I present pLHR, a novel luciferase-based reporter tool designed specifically for high throughput gene expression studies in streptomycetes as well as the preliminary results which support the further development of this tool for gene expression profiling in S. coelicolor. Once developed, pLHR may be used to generate libraries of Streptomyces reporter stains to measure promoter activity repeatedly under variable conditions for the duration of the organism’s complex lifecycle.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: LANGUAGE BROKERING: ‘EXPLORING PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP IN CHINESE FAMILIES’

contributor:
Carranza, Mirna
Gladstone, Jim
Dumbrill, Gary C.
Social Work

subject:
Language Brokering
Chinese Immigrants
Immigrant Famaily
Immigrant Youth
Mental Health
Social Work
Social Work

abstract: This thesis presents the research findings related to language brokering in Chinese immigrant families. Applying an interpretive theoretical framework, this study sought to capture the participants’ reality. This research was accomplished by interviewing four Chinese immigrant youth whose age ranged from 16 to 21 years. Three of the participants were female and one participant was male. The findings suggest Chinese immigrant youths perceive language brokering as an overall positive experience, yet it sometimes can bring forth negative emotions. In terms of the impact on the participants’ relationship with their parents, language brokering can also produce a more intimate relationship with parents because of its inherent emphasis on communication between the parents and their children. Nevertheless, one more effect emerging from the data was that in other situations the language brokers displayed a loss of respect for their parents. As language brokering is related to the mental health of immigrant youth and the healthy adjustment of the immigrant family to the country, social workers are expected to shed light on issues of language brokering practice in Chinese immigrant families. Accordingly, policy makers may be required to expand initiatives for programs that support Chinese immigrant youth.

abstract: Master of Social Work (MSW)


title: Characterizing Gas Exchange and Assessing Feasibility of a New Lung Assist Device for Pre-Term and Term Neonates with Respiratory Distress Failure

contributor:
Fusch, Christoph
Biomedical Engineering

subject:
artificial placenta
oxygenator
neonate
lung assist device
respiratory support
gas exchange

abstract:
Respiratory distress syndrome is a major cause of mortality among pre-term and term neonatal population. To overcome the limitations of current therapies, a new form of respiratory support termed the, “Artificial Placenta” has been proposed. The Artificial Placenta is a type of oxygenator that is attached postnatally via the umbilical vessels to provide pumpless respiratory support to pre-term and term neonates. To develop this concept, our group previously reported on a novel polycarbonate membrane lung assist device (LAD). To build upon its development, the objectives of this thesis are to determine the optimal interface for gas exchange, and characterize the gas exchange properties of the LAD under ambient and oxygen rich atmosphere. Subsequently, its feasibility was determined by studying the effects of extracorporeal flow rates on cardiovascular parameters and gas exchange performance was assessed in a newborn piglet model.

In vitro testing demonstrated that PDMS based membrane is the optimal interface for gas exchange in the LAD. In vitro testing of the LAD demonstrated 2.4 µL/min/cm² -3.8 µL/min/cm² and 6.4 µL/min/cm²- 10.1 µL/min/cm² of O2 and CO2 transfer respectively under ambient air and oxygen rich atmospheric conditions. Based on these results, the LAD theoretically could provide 6-11% of metabolic O2 while eliminating 18-26% of CO2 in a newborn healthy pre term infant. Experiments in newborn piglet models achieved pumpless configuration with flow rates up to 60.9ml/kg/min without presenting decompensation. Preliminary, in vivo gas exchange experiments demonstrated O2 transfer of 3ul/min/cm2, which matches closely to in vitro data.

A novel pumpless LAD is reported, which provides sufficient respiratory support. High extracorporeal flow rates with stable cardiovascular parameters demonstrate feasibility of the artificial placenta concept. This novel LAD could potentially serve as a rescue device when all other therapies such as nasal continuous positive airway and mechanical ventilation fail.

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: IDENTIFICATION OF PREFERENTIALLY EXPRESSED GENES IN ESCHERICHIA COLI CULTURES IN LATE STATIONARY PHASE

contributor:
Schellhorn, Herb E.
Gupta, Radhey
Kolasa, Jurek
Biology

subject:
E. coli
late stationary phase. gene expression
qPCR
microarray
RNA recovery
Biology
Biology

abstract: Escherichia coli cells undergo many morphological and physiological changes to survive in late stationary phase due, in part, to the exhaustion of nutrients and accumulation of inhibitory metabolites. Previous microarray data in our lab provided the general profile of gene expression from exponential phase to 48 h of incubation. The goal of this study is to use qPCR to validate the preferentially expressed genes in late stationary phase determined by the microarray data. The expression of three genes (hha, tomB and emrK) with increased expression levels from 24 h to 48 h of incubation and another two RpoS-dependent genes (bolA and osmY) with decreased expression from 24 h to 48 h of incubation were chosen as the target genes. RNA was first extracted from exponential phase, early stationary phase, 24 h and 48 h bacterial cultures. Hot phenol-chloroform and a commercial kit were used to isolate RNA. All these methods recovered low RNA in late stationary phase. qPCR partly confirmed the previous microarray data. The expression of hha, tomB and emrK was validated to increase from 24 h to 48 h of incubation. The discordant results between qPCR and microarray data may be due to the low transcript abundance of target genes and genomic DNA contamination in RNA extracted from 48 h bacterial cultures.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: Metabolic adaptation to high-intensity exercise: manipulation of training stimulus and nutritional support

contributor:
Gibala, Martin
Tarnopolsky, Mark
Spriet, Lawrence
Kinesiology

subject:
exercise
skeletal muscle
nutrition
mitochondria
high-intensity interval training
Exercise Physiology
Kinesiology
Exercise Physiology

abstract: This thesis investigated the acute and chronic responses of human skeletal muscle to high-intensity exercise, with a particular focus on markers of mitochondrial content, and the potential for nutrition to manipulate the adaptive response in recreationally active individuals. The acute response was primarily assessed via measurement of signalling proteins and mRNA species linked to exercise-induced mitochondrial biogenesis. The chronic response was determined via changes in the protein content or maximal activities of mitochondrial enzymes after training. Study 1 examined whether the manner in which a given amount of high-intensity cycling work was performed (i.e., in an intermittent or continuous fashion) altered the acute metabolic response to exercise, and whether the acute response was indicative of longer-term adaptations. Despite the similar acute activation of signalling proteins after the intermittent and continuous matched-work exercise protocols, 6 wk of training with the continuous protocol did not increase mitochondrial content, contrary to what we have previously shown after 6 wk training with the intermittent protocol. This suggests that the intermittent application of a low-volume, high-intensity stimulus is important to elicit training-induced increases in mitochondrial content. Furthermore, Study 1 showed that acute changes in specific signalling proteins did not necessarily predict chronic adaptations. Studies 2 and 3 examined whether specific nutritional interventions, previously shown to modulate acute exercise capacity or metabolic response, altered the mitochondrial adaptive response to several weeks of HIT. Neither manipulating carbohydrate availability between twice daily training sessions, or chronic ingestion of β-alanine, augmented skeletal muscle adaptations in response to 2-6 wk of HIT. It is possible that small influences of nutrition were overwhelmed by the potency of HIT, which stimulated marked increases in mitochondrial content in this population. Overall this thesis advances our basic understanding of the skeletal muscle adaptive response to HIT and the influence of nutrition.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: The Effects of Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL Expression on the Radiation Response of MCF-10A Cells

contributor:
Boreham, Douglas
Andrews, David W.
Parise, Gianni
Medical Physics

subject:
Radiation
Breast Cancer
Apoptosis
Mammography
Automation
Imaging

abstract: Ionizing radiation is used to screen for, diagnose, and treat breast cancer. Noncancerous breast cells are exposed to a range of doses as a result of these procedures in addition to the low levels of natural background radiation that they are always exposed to. With the consistent increase in medical radiation procedures, and the climbing rates of breast cancer in most populations, understanding the effects of these exposures is of interest and importance. Radiation exposure results in DNA double strand breaks which can trigger various cellular responses including cell cycle arrest, and cell death. Apoptosis is a form of highly regulated cell death that is controlled by the Bcl-2 family of proteins. Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL are anti-apoptotic proteins that are commonly overexpressed in human cancers including breast cancer. This thesis was focused on investigating the effects of Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL expression on the radiation response of human mammary epithelial cells. Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL were exogenously expressed in MCF-10A cells, and Bcl-XL expression was knocked down. Cytogenetic techniques were used to characterize the MCF-10A cells used. Automated image based assays were used to validate the anti-apoptotic effects of the exogenous proteins against known apoptotic stimuli, and to probe the effects of radiation exposure. The influence of Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL expression on the immediate and short term effects of radiation exposure was investigated using cell growth assays, flow cytometry, and

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Increased Substitution Rates in DNA Surrounding Low-Complexity Regions

contributor:
Golding, Brian
Evans, Ben
Biology

subject:
Low-complexity region
substitution
primate
selection
intron
Bioinformatics
Evolution
Bioinformatics

abstract:
Previous studies have found that DNA flanking low-complexity regions (LCRs) have an increased substitution rate. Here, the substitution rate was confirmed to increase in the vicinity of LCRs in several primate species, including humans. This effect was also found within human sequences from the 1000 Genomes Project. A strong correlation was found between average substitution rate per site and distance from the LCR, as well as between the proportion of genes with gaps in the alignment at each site and distance from the LCR. Along with substitution rates, dN/dS ratios were also determined for each site, and the proportion of sites undergoing negative selection was found to have a negative relationship with distance from the LCR.

Low-complexity regions in proteins often form and extend through the gain or loss of repeated units, a process that is dependent on the presence of a relatively pure string of repeats. Any interruption should disrupt the mechanisms of LCR extension and contraction, inhibiting LCR formation. Despite this, several examples have been found of LCR-coding DNA which are interrupted by introns. While many of these LCRs may be the result of two shorter LCRs forming on opposite sides of an intron, shuffling the order of exons showed that more intron-interrupted LCRs exist than would be expected to occur randomly. Another possible explanation for this phenomenon is the apparent movement of either the LCRs or introns, possibly through recombination or the appearance of new splice sites through the gain of repeat units.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: Microbial Sulfur Biogeochemistry of Oil Sands Composite Tailings with Depth

contributor:
Warren, Lesley
Geography and Earth Sciences

subject:
oil sands
composite tailings
sulfur biogeochemistry
metagenomics
Geochemistry
Geochemistry

abstract: Surface mining of Alberta’s oil sands has led to significant land disturbance, making reclamation and sustainable development of this resource one of the largest challenges facing the industry today. Syncrude Canada Ltd. has developed an innovative technique to reclaim composite tailings (CT) through constructed wetland landscapes and is currently investigating the viability of a pilot-scale freshwater fen built over sandcapped CT. Unpredicted by abiotic geochemical modelling of CT behaviour, a minor episode of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas release was encountered during the initial stages of fen construction indicating microbial activity was likely involved in H2S generation within CT. This thesis investigates the S geochemistry of CT with depth and employed 454 pyrosequencing and functional enrichments to characterize the associated microbial communities in the first S biogeochemical study of oil sands CT. Porewater H2S was detected extensively throughout the deposit with background levels ranging from 14 – 23 µM and a maximum of 301.5 µM detected at 22-24 m of depth. Reduced Fe (Fe2+) was also detected, but confined within surficial depths sampled, ranging from 1.2 – 38.5 µM. Mass balance calculations identify that the Fe2+ generated within the surficial zone of the CT deposit is sufficient to effectively sequester ambient concentrations H2S generated in this deposit through FeS precipitates. Results identifying (1) distinct zones of porewater Fe2+ and H2S, (2) co-occurrence of the highest [H2S] and lowest dissolved organic C (DOC) at 22-24 m consistent with heterotrophic sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) activity, and (3) the presence of mixed valence Fe biomineral, magnetite, throughout the deposit, are all consistent with microbially-mediated Fe and S cycling occurring within this CT deposit. The cultivation independent identification of several known iron reducing bacteria (IRB) and SRB within CT microbial communities, in conjunction with observed positive growth of IRB and SRB functional metabolic enrichments, demonstrates widespread capacity for microbial Fe and S activity throughout the CT deposit. Metagenomic characterization of CT microbial communities revealed high diversity (over 20 phyla) over the 5 depths examined. Multivariate statistical analyses (Unifrac) revealed that bacterial community composition and structure was driven by changed in DOC, ORP and salinity and that structuring corresponded with a surficial zone of Fe3+ reduction and an underlying zone of SO42- reduction. Despite the high organic carbon (OC) content of oil sands tailings, much of that C is not considered to be labile and accessible to microbes. Based on the results of this thesis, CT SRB appear to have a greater ability than IRB to utilize recalcitrant OC (e.g. bitumen, naphthenic acids) given the widespread occurrence of porewater [H2S] and surficially restricted [Fe2+] despite accessible pools of Fe3+  and OC with depth. This enhanced understanding of biogeochemical S cycling within CT newly establishes the importance of microbial activity in these processes, identifying the need to incorporate microbially based understanding into on-going development of reclamation strategies in order to manage these waste materials effectively.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: Design and Analysis of A Parallelized Electrically Controlled Droplet Generating Device

contributor:
Selvaganapathy, P.R.
Ching, C.Y.
Koshy, Phil
Mechanical Engineering

subject:
Microfluidics
Droplet Generation
Electrically Control
Parallelization
Other Mechanical Engineering
Other Mechanical Engineering

abstract:
Microdroplets find use in a variety of applications ranging from chemical synthesis to biological analysis. However, commercial use of microdroplets has been stymied in many applications, as current devices lack one or more of the critical features such as precise and dynamic control of the droplet size, high throughput and easy fabrication. This work involves design, fabrication and characterization of a microdroplet generating device that uses low cost fabrication, allows dynamic control of the droplet size and achieves parallelized droplet generation for high throughput.

Dynamic droplet size control by DC electric field has been demonstrated with the device. By varying the potential from 300 V to 1000 V, the droplet size can change from 140 microns to around 40 microns . The transition of the droplet size just takes few seconds. Parallelized droplet generation has also been demonstrated. The standard deviation of the droplet size is lower than 4% for the three-capillary device and lower than 6% for the five-capillary device under different operating conditions. Highest throughput of 0.75 mL/hour is achieved on the five-capillary device. It has been show that this proposed device has a better performance than the existing PDMS based parallel droplet generating devices. A theoretical model of the droplet generating process has also been developed which is able to predict the droplet size at various potentials. The theoretical results are in good agreement with experimental ones.

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: Adoption of Integrated Personal Health Record Systems: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective

contributor:
Hassanein, Khaled
Milena Head and Brian Detlor
Management Science/Information Systems

subject:
Personal Health Records
Adoption
Self-Determination Theory
PHR
Partial Least Squares
Conseumer-Based Health Care
Business
Business

abstract:
In spite of numerous benefits that are suggested for consumers’ utilizing integrated personal health record (PHR) systems, research has shown that these systems are not yet popular or well known to consumers. Therefore, research is needed to understand what would rise adoption rates for these systems. Hence, the main objective of this dissertation is to develop and empirically validate a theoretical model for explaining consumers’ intention to use integrated PHR systems.

In developing the theoretical model of this dissertation, theories of information systems adoption were integrated with Self-Determination Theory (SDT), which is a well established theory from the Psychology literature that explains the mechanism through which individuals become more self-determined, i.e., motivated to take more active (rather than passive) roles in undertaking different behaviours. Taking such an active role by consumers, in the context of personal health management, is suggested to be necessary for realizing the full benefits of integrated PHR systems.

The proposed theoretical model was validated using the PLS approach to structural equation modeling, on data collected from a cross-sectional survey involving 159 participants with no prior experience in using PHR systems. A stratified random sampling was employed to draw a representative sample of the Canadian population. The results show that consumers with higher levels of self-determination in managing their health are more likely to adopt integrated PHR systems since they have more positive perceptions regarding the use of such systems. Further, such self-determination is fueled by autonomy support from consumers’ physicians as well as consumers’ personality trait of autonomy orientation.

This study advances the theoretical understanding of integrated PHR system adoption, and it contributes to practice by providing insightful implications for designing, promotion, and facilitating the use of integrated PHR systems among consumers.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Amino Acid Synthesis in Meteoritic Parent Bodies of Carbonaceous Chondrites

contributor:
Pudritz, Ralph E.
Physics and Astronomy

subject:
meteorite
carbonaceous chondrite
amino acids
aqueous alteration
Strecker synthesis
astrobiology
Astrophysics and Astronomy
Biological and Chemical Physics
Cosmochemistry
Other Astrophysics and Astronomy
Astrophysics and Astronomy

abstract:
The class of meteorites called carbonaceous chondrites are examples of material from the solar system which have been relatively unchanged from the time of their initial formation. We investigate the carbonaceous chondrite subclasses CI, CM, CR, CV, and CO, which contain high levels of water and organic material, including amino acids. These subclasses span petrologic types 1 through 3, indicating the degree of internal chemistry undergone by the meteoritic parent body. The goal of this thesis is two-fold: to obtain a comprehensive view of amino acid abundances and relative frequencies in carbonaceous chondrites, and to recreate these patterns via thermodynamic computational models.

We collate available amino acid abundance data for a variety of meteorites to identify patterns in total abundance and relative frequencies. We consider only a set of 20 proteinogenic alpha-amino acids created via a specific chemical pathway called Strecker synthesis. We plot abundances of individual amino acids for each subclass, as well as total abundances across all subclasses. We see a predominance in abundance and variety of amino acids in the CM and CR subclasses, which contain concentrations of amino acids greater by several orders of magnitude than other carbonaceous subclasses. These subclasses correspond to an aqueous alteration temperature range of 200 deg. C to 400 deg. C. Within the CM2 and CR2 meteorites, we identify trends in the relative frequencies of amino acids in preparation for computational modeling.

Now having a baseline observed amino acid abundance plot, we recreate both the total amino acid abundance pattern as well as the relative frequency of amino acids within the CM2 chondrite subclass using computational models. We use thermodynamic theory of Gibbs free energies to calculate the output of amino acids in a meteoritic parent body assuming chemical equilibrium and some set of initial concentrations of organic material. Our model recreates abundance patterns in the temperature range 200 deg. C to 400 deg. C, ~105 parts-per billion (ppb), and the temperature range 400 deg. C to 500 deg. C, ~102 ppb. Our model does not fit well between temperatures of 150 deg. C to 200 deg. C. Our current model assumes a uniform composition of initial chemical reactants; likely an inhomogeneous composition would be a more accurate physical representation of a parent body. In addition, we match relative frequencies to observed frequencies for each amino acid in the CM2 subclass to well within an order of magnitude.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: High-resolution lake-based magnetic mapping and modelling of basement structures, with examples from Küçükçekmece Lagoon, Turkey and Charity Shoal, Lake Ontario

contributor:
Boyce, Joe
Geography and Earth Sciences

subject:
North Anatolian Fault Zone
magnetic survey
Marmara Sea
Charity Shoal
meteorite impact
geophysical survey
Geology
Geophysics and Seismology
Tectonics and Structure
Geology

abstract: Magnetic surveys are one of the principal geophysical methods employed to map the structure of basement rocks deeply buried below cover strata. In resource studies, aeromagnetic surveys are commonly acquired at regional scales (100-1000’s km2) while very few studies have attempted to resolve basement structures at site-scale (<10 >km2). In this study, high-resolution lake-based magnetic survey methods were evaluated for mapping of deeply-buried basement faults (Küçükçekmece Lagoon, Turkey; 6 km2) and a suspected meteorite impact crater (Charity Shoal, Lake Ontario; 9 km2). Total magnetic intensity (TMI) surveys were acquired using a single Overhauser magnetometer with 50-150 m line spacing. Interpretation of the magnetic data was aided by forward modelling of TMI data and depth to basement estimates using Euler and analytic signal methods. Total magnetic intensity (TMI) maps of Küçükçekmece Lagoon identify several north-northwest trending (340-350°) magnetic lineaments that are aligned with strike-slip faults mapped from offshore seismic data. The pattern of magnetic anomalies in the lagoon is consistent with extensional normal faulting of bedrock and lake sediments. Magnetic results from Charity Shoal reveal a large (>1400 nT) parabolic-shaped magnetic anomaly centered over the crater basin and an annular magnetic high (40-50 nT) corresponding with the basin rim. Modelling results exclude the origin of the CSS as a shallow glacial erosional or karst sinkhole feature and are most consistent with a pre-Paleozoic meteorite impact in the Precambrian basement.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: COMBINATORIAL OPTIMIZATION APPROACHES TO DISCRETE PROBLEMS

contributor: Alexander Rosa, Ryszard Janicki, Dalibor Froncek

subject:
Combinatorial optimization
Discrete Mathematics
Graph theory
Combinatorial framework
String
Heuristics
Discrete Mathematics and Combinatorics
Discrete Mathematics and Combinatorics

abstract:
As stressed by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM): Applied mathematics, in partnership with computational science, is essential in solving many real-world problems. Combinatorial optimization focuses on problems arising from discrete structures such as graphs and polyhedra. This thesis deals with extremal graphs and strings and focuses on two problems: the Erdos' problem on multiplicities of complete subgraphs and the maximum number of distinct squares in a string.
The first part of the thesis deals with strengthening the bounds for the minimum proportion of monochromatic t cliques and t cocliques for all 2-colourings of the edges of the complete graph on n vertices. Denote by k_t(G) the number of cliques of order t in a graph G. Let k_t(n) = min{k_t(G)+k_t(\overline{G})} where \overline{G} denotes the complement of G of order n. Let c_t(n) = {k_t(n)} / {\tbinom{n}{t}} and c_t be the limit of c_t(n) for n going to infinity. A 1962 conjecture of Erdos stating that c_t = 2^{1-\tbinom{t}{2}} was disproved by Thomason in 1989 for all t > 3. Tighter counterexamples have been constructed by Jagger, Stovicek and Thomason in 1996, by Thomason for t < 7 in 1997, and by Franek for t=6 in 2002. We present a computational framework to investigate tighter upper bounds for small t yielding the following improved upper bounds for t=6,7 and 8: c_6 \leq 0.7445 \times 2^{1- \tbinom{6}{2}}, c_7\leq 0.6869\times 2^{1- \tbinom{7}{2}}, and c_8 \leq 0.7002\times 2^{1- \tbinom{8}{2}}. The constructions are based on a large but highly regular variant of Cayley graphs for which the number of cliques and cocliques can be expressed in closed form. Considering the quantity e_t=2^{\tbinom{t}{2}-1} c_t, the new upper bound of 0.687 for e_7 is the first bound for any e_t smaller than the lower bound of 0.695 for e_4 due to Giraud in 1979.
The second part of the thesis deals with extremal periodicities in strings: we consider the problem of the maximum number of distinct squares in a string. The importance of considering as key variables both the length n and the size d of the alphabet is stressed. Let (d,n)-string denote a string of length n with exactly d distinct symbols. We investigate the function \sigma_d(n) = max {s(x) | x} where s(x) denotes the number of distinct primitively rooted squares in a (d,n)-string x. We discuss a computational framework for computing \sigma_d(n) based on the notion of density and exploiting the tightness of the available lower bound. The obtained computational results substantiate the hypothesized upper bound of n-d for \sigma_d(n). The structural similarities with the approach used for investigating the Hirsch bound for the diameter of a polytope of dimension d having n facets is underlined. For example, the role played by (d,2d)-polytope was presented in 1967 by Klee and Walkup who showed the equivalency between the Hirsch conjecture and the d-step conjecture.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: A Unifying Theory of Multi-Exit Programs

contributor:
Sekerinski, Emil
William M. Farmer and Ryszard Janicki
Computing and Software

subject:
Formalization
Multi-Exit
Exception Handling
Eiffel
Coroutine
Theory and Algorithms
Theory and Algorithms

abstract:
Programs have multiple exits in the presence of certain control structures, e.g., exception handling and coroutines. These control structures offer flexible manipulations of control flow. However, their formalizations are overall specialized, which hinders reasoning about combinations of these control structures.

In this thesis, we propose a unifying theory of multi-exit programs. We mechanically formalize the semantics of multi-exit programs as indexed predicate transformers, a generalization of predicate transformers by taking the tuple of postconditions on all exits as the parameter. We explore their algebraic properties and verification rules, then define a normal form for monotonic and for conjunctive indexed predicate transformers. We also propose a new notion of fail-safe correctness to model the category of programs that always maintain certain safe conditions when they fail, and a new notion of fail-safe refinement to express partiality in software development.

For the indexed predicate transformer formalization, we illustrate its applications in three models of multi-exit control structures: the termination model of exception handling, the retry model of exception handling, and a coroutine model. Additionally, for the fail-safe correctness notion and the fail-safe refinement notion, we illustrate their applications in the termination model. Six design patterns in the termination model and one in the retry model are studied. All the verification rules and design patterns in the thesis have been formally checked by a verification tool.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: When Paul's Desire and God's Will Collide: A Reading of Romans 9:1–18

contributor:
Westerholm, Stephen
Machiela, Daniel
Religious Studies

subject:
Romans
Paul
Scripture
Intertextuality
Biblical Studies
Biblical Studies

abstract: This thesis proposes a new reading of Romans 9:1–18. The history of biblical interpretation of the passage is explored with the purpose of mapping out the diversity of interpretations and noting points of agreement between these interpretations and that which is proposed. The main objective is the proposed reading of Rom 9:1–18. It is argued that when full weight is given to Rom 9:1–5 as Paul's fleshly desire, what follows in 9:6–18 is correctly understood as Paul's appropriation of Israel's Scripture to address his own desire and grief. This brings to the fore a recurrent theme in the pentateuchal passages that Paul evokes: the conflicting desire of significant figures in Israel's history – Abraham, Isaac, and Moses – with God's will. As Paul applies Scripture to his own situation, Paul's desire for the salvation of his fellow Israelites based on ethnic descent conflicts with God's will to harden Israel and call Gentiles. But in the end Paul's desire for Israel's salvation is granted (11:26).

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: CHANGE DETECTION OF A SCENE FOLLOWING A VIEWPOINT CHANGE: MECHANISMS FOR THE REDUCED PERFORMANCE COST WHEN THE VIEWPOINT CHANGE IS CAUSED BY VIEWER LOCOMOTION

contributor:
Sun, Hong-Jin
Bruce Milliken, Sue Becker
Psychology

subject:
change detection
proprioception
scene recognition
spatial reference direction
spatial updating
viewer locomotion
viewpoint change
Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive Psychology

abstract:
When an observer detects changes in a scene from a viewpoint that is different from the learned viewpoint, viewpoint change caused by observer’s locomotion would lead to better recognition performance compared to a situation where the viewpoint change is caused by equivalent movement of the scene. While such benefit of observer locomotion could be caused by spatial updating through body-based information (Simons and Wang 1998), or knowledge of change of reference direction gained through locomotion (Mou et al, 2009). The effect of such reference direction information have been demonstrated through the effect of a visual cue (e.g., a chopstick) presented during the testing phase indicating the original learning viewpoint (Mou et al, 2009).

In the current study, we re-examined the mechanisms of such benefit of observer locomotion. Six experiments were performed using a similar change detection paradigm. Experiment 1 & 2 adopted the design as that in Mou et al. (2009). The results were inconsistent with the results from Mou et al (2009) in that even with the visual indicator, the performance (accuracy and response time) in the table rotation condition was still significantly worse than that in the observer locomotion condition. In Experiments 3-5, we compared performance in the normal walking condition with conditions where the body-based information may not be reliable (disorientation or walking over a long path). The results again showed a lack of benefit with the visual indicator. Experiment 6 introduced a more salient and intrinsic reference direction: coherent object orientations. Unlike the previous experiments, performance in the scene rotation condition was similar to that in the observer locomotion condition.

Overall we showed that the body-based information in observer locomotion may be the most prominent information. The knowledge of the reference direction could be useful but might only be effective in limited scenarios such as a scene with a dominant orientation.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: LONELY AFFECTS AND QUEER SEXUALITIES: A POLITICS OF LONELINESS IN CONTEMPORARY WESTERN CULTURE

contributor:
Brophy, Sarah
Gough, Melinda
O`Connor, Mary
English and Cultural Studies

subject: loneliness

subject: sexuality

subject: queer

subject: lesbian

subject: affect

subject: politics

subject: Arts and Humanities

subject: Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

subject: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies

subject: Literature in English, British Isles

subject: Literature in English, North America

subject: Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

subject: Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures

subject: Women's Studies

subject: Arts and Humanities

abstract:
In this thesis, I explore the manner in which loneliness has been presented culturally, scientifically, politically, and academically as the asocial antithesis of happiness. I suggest lonely people are presented throughout these discourses as misfits, trapped by their lonely feelings and in danger of entrapping others. I further put forth that the impetus to understand and promote a conception of loneliness as depressive and alienating is politically inflected, strengthening neoliberal models of sociality that rely upon particular notions of good citizenship. As a consequence, Western scientific, academic, and cultural discourses continue to reinforce particular brands of “productive” intimacy (heterosexual, middle/upper class, able-bodied, white, monogamous partnerships), while strategically policing the lonely person’s presumed immaturity, negativity, and illegibility.

The thesis begins by considering how recent scientific studies are lodged in evolutionary models, with the implication that they position loneliness as an abnormal and dangerous setback to Western sociability and its progress. As a corollary, I demonstrate that contemporary cultural narratives such as Dan Savage's "It Gets Better Project" that have surfaced in order to address queer, teen suicide, bullying, and violence tend to frame loneliness as a degenerate feeling that warrants survivalist tactics and adaptations away from queerness. In scientific and cultural discourses alike, then, loneliness has become stuck onto queer subjects and can only be understood as a condition that infects a sub-set of weak and vulnerable subjects. Judged for their seeming narcissistic and unhappy tendencies, queer sexualities come to be considered dangerous and contagious, and lonely queer bodies are being represented in scientific, cultural, and social media narrativizations as the reason for a larger, Western failed happiness.

The body of the thesis deepens and extends these concerns by analyzing the marked tension between the figurative language that speaks of loneliness as a pathology and an (a)political desire for selfish individualism. I suggest that in light of the current failures of Western sociality what is needed is a space for an understanding of the everydayness of loneliness and its potential to be political. Drawing on critical work on affective politics, this thesis makes a space for the lonely queers among us. Focusing attention on four key areas— the science of loneliness, lesbian narcissism, childhood sexuality, and queer disability—I argue that loneliness is neither an exceptional trauma, nor is it extraordinary: rather, it is every subject’s inheritance. By envisioning loneliness as possibly pleasurable as much as it is traumatic, and by seeing the act of declaring oneself lonely as a political strategy, I argue that we may be encouraged to re-evaluate the ways in which we experience relationality, human empathy, and sociality. Moreover, our shared loneliness as Western subjects may actually have the potential to rupture the rigidity of societal paradigms (sexism, ableism, classism, racism, and homophobia) that are based upon exclusion, upward mobility, and capital gain.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: AN INQUIRY INTO THE APPLICABILITY OF KANTOROVICH'S APPROACH TO THE THERMODYNAMIC OPTIMIZATION

contributor:
Malakhov, Dmitri V.
Materials Science and Engineering

subject: Thermodynamic optimization

subject: CALPHAD technique

subject: Ag-Mg system

subject: Non-statistical approach

subject: Interval

subject: Computational Engineering

subject: Metallurgy

subject: Numerical Analysis and Scientific Computing

subject: Programming Languages and Compilers

subject: Thermodynamics

subject: Computational Engineering

abstract:
The purpose of this research has been to reassess the Ag-Mg system using the CALPHAD technique. Compared with previous assessments, we carry out the optimization by fitting calculations to the original data instead of second-hand information. Moreover, we use a two sub-lattice model and a four sub-lattice model based on compound energy formalism to simulate both first-order and second-order transformations between the FCC phase and the L12 phase. Undoubtedly, the CALPHAD technique has achieved a degree of maturity, but its deficiencies are regularly ignored.

In this thesis, we develop an interval method based on Kantorovich’s idea to overcome the shortcomings of the CALPHAD technique. Both advantages and disadvantages of the interval method are discussed. We also present an example of the interval approach on thermodynamic optimization of the Ag-Mg melt. The results suggest that this method would be helpful as a pre-optimization tool.

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: Learning effect, Time-dependent Processing Time and Bicriteria Scheduling Problems in a Supply Chain

contributor:
Steiner, George
Business

subject: Single-machine scheduling; learning effect; time-dependent

subject: deteriorating effect; due date assignment; positional penalties; polynomial-time algorithm

subject: Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods

abstract: This thesis contains two parts. In the first part, which contains Chapter 2 and Chapter 3, we consider scheduling problems with learning effect and time-dependent processing time on a single machine. In Chapter 2, we investigate the earliness-tardiness objective, as well as the objective without due date assignment consideration. By reducing them to a special linear assignment problem, we solve them in near-linear time. As a consequence, we improve the time complexity for some previous algorithms for scheduling problems with learning effect and/or time-dependent processing time. In Chapter 3, we investigate the total number of tardy jobs objective. By reducing them to a linear assignment problem, we solve them in polynomial time. For some important special cases, where there is only learning effect OR time-dependent processing time, we reduce the time complexity to quadratic time. In the second part, which contains Chapter 4 and Chapter 5, we investigate the bicriteria scheduling problems in a supply chain. We separate the objectives in two parts, where the delivery cost is one of them. We present efficient algorithms to identify all the Pareto-optimal solutions for various scenarios. In Chapter 4, we study the cases without due date assignment; while in Chapter 5 we study the cases with due date assignment consideration.