title: Moderator displacers for reducing coolant void reactivity in CANDU reactors: a neutronics scoping study.

subject:
CANDU
CVR
Moderator displacers

abstract: When the coolant is voided in a CANDU lattice, the net reactivity change is positive, due primarily to the fact that the coolant and moderator are separated and the coolant volume is much smaller than the moderator volume. The modest loss in moderation occurring when coolant is lost does not offset the positive reactivity contributions of increased fast fission rate and reduced epithermal absorption. A way to achieve a negative net reactivity effect on coolant voiding is to increase the importance of moderation in the coolant by decreasing the moderator-to-coolant volume ratio. This work proposes to reduce the moderator-to-coolant volume ratio in existing CANDU reactors by packing the moderator with displacers in the shape of close-packed hollow spheres. Results show that it is possible to reduce the coolant void reactivity through the use of spherical moderator displacers, albeit at a cost in discharge burn-up.


title: Semi-direct visual SLAM for stereo cameras: system design and validation

contributor:
Ren, Jing
Lang, Haoxiang

subject: Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM)

subject: Stereo vision

subject: Direct image alignment

subject: Bundle adjustment (BA)

abstract:
Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) requires an autonomous vehicle in an unknown environment to learn about the environment, generates a map and localize itself at the same time. To solve this problem, various types of sensors are equipped to gather information. Nowadays, with the development of computer vision, Visual-SLAM (VSLAM) that relies on cameras becomes a major topic. Specifically, stereo cameras can provide additional depth information along with regular RGB information.
In this thesis, state-of-the-art VSLAM methodologies are reviewed and evaluated over standard vision benchmarks. Then a novel semi-direct VSLAM system for stereo cameras is proposed. It utilizes direct image alignment for camera pose estimation, and indirect methods to optimize poses and landmarks. The system maintains a sparse point cloud map and allows loop closing and relocalization when tracking is lost. Further experiments validate that it can achieve competitive accuracy with higher efficiency comparing to other VSLAM methods.

abstract: University of Ontario Institute of Technology


title: Readiness for digital learning: examining self-reported and observed mobile competencies as steps toward more effective learner readiness assessment

subject:
Digital learning
Digital competency
Learner readiness
Higher education

abstract:
This mixed-methods study explores a digital-competencies survey tool for probing the readiness of higher-education students for digital learning, in three steps. First, it develops a methodology for capturing and analysing authentic, digital-learning activity, and relating this activity to reported digital competencies. Second, it explores situational factors shaping human-computer interactions through video-based, case-study analyses. Finally, it proposes a threshold approach to self-reported digital competencies, which may help identify students requiring greater preparedness for optimal functioning as digital learners.
Quantitative findings include generally strong, positive correlations between self-reported competencies and performance quality. Qualitative case-study analyses highlight four sets of situational factors influencing performance: (a) task/scenario difficulty; (b) comfort with device;
(c) engagement, frustration and fatigue; and (d) persistence and activity-completion strategy.
In the end, this study recommends the General Technology Competency and Use instrument as a promising tool for probing participant readiness for digital learning, and offers methodologies for future performance studies.


title: Development of energy compensated Geiger Muller detector based on the T2416A Canberra Co. GM detector

subject:
GM
Energy compensated
T2416A

abstract: Geiger Muller counters have been a fundamental device in radiation detection for decades due to their simplicity and low cost. Canberra Company has been designing and manufacturing Geiger Muller detectors in various designs for radiation monitoring and field characterization. However, these devices have a draw back when it comes to radiation activity measurements due to the over response of the detector in low energy range i.e., 20 - 250 keV. One of the widely used Geiger Muller counter in the industrial sector is the T2416A. This device is used not only as a survey meter in high intensity gamma radiation fields, but also as a detection device employed in different survey meters for calibration purposes. Among such instruments one can cite the Inspector 1000 and the RadiaGem system. The T2416A GM detector has an over response in the low energy region of about a factor of 6 to 40 relative to 137Cs energy (i.e. 662 keV). In an attempt to flatten this response, in this study, the counter has been redesigned to be an energy compensated Geiger Muller counter. To achieve this goal, a special filtering material has been designed with a composition of different materials and in different thicknesses. The work has been carried out by adopting an approach of simulating the response of the detector with different materials as well as measurements at different photon energies up to 250 keV with and without filtering materials. A series of experimental and simulation data has been analyzed and compared against each other.


title: User interface adaptability within an augmentative communication app for children with autism spectrum disorder

subject:
Autism spectrum disorder
Augmentative communication
Proloquo2Go
User interface design

abstract: Facilitating communication is considered the first step to developing learning interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. The introduction of tablets and augmentative communication apps is changing the way that communication is being approached. There is presently no clear set of criteria to identify which interface settings could work best for each individual. This study focused on the user interface of Proloquo2Go and specifically looks at the effect that button size and array size has on the usability of the app for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. It was found that 2 of 3 participants exhibited similar response rates and patterns of use with the app, showing low influence of button size and array size. Further research is needed in the area of user interface characteristics for individuals with autism spectrum disorder to draw solid conclusions about a relationship between button size/array size and usability for these individuals.


title: A comparison of three computational phantoms for calibration of a radiation portal monitor used for measurement of internal contamination.

subject:
Portal monitor
Internal contamination
Monte Carlo
MCNP
Phantom
Voxel
BOMAB
Stylized

abstract:
The goal of this research was to investigate if portal monitors could measure internally deposited radioisotopes over a short count time (1 second) with a detection limit sufficient to measure 1/10 of an annual limit on intake (ALI) of specific radionuclides. The goal was to determine if portal monitors in nuclear facilities were able to effectively screen workers for internal contamination knowing the counting efficiencies for measuring internally deposited radioisotopes is poorer than measuring the same activity of external contamination and that intakes of radioisotopes result in a committed lifetime dose that is greater than the dose expected from external contamination.
This research investigated the counting efficiency of the Thermo PM12 personnel portal monitor for the measurement of internal contamination localized to the lungs. A counting efficiency curve was calculated by Monte Carlo analysis using Monte Carlo N Particle (MCNP) software. The counting efficiencies were used to calculate the minimum detectable activity for 241Am, 57Co, 60Co, 137Cs and 40K as a function of sample (personnel) measurement time.
Three different computational phantoms were considered for this work: the adult male Bottle Mannequin Absorber (BOMAB) phantom, the University of Florida – Oak Ridge National Laboratories (UF-ORNL) stylized phantom, and the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) adult male voxel phantom. A percent difference ranging from 10-15% and 25-30% was observed at high energies (100-2000 keV) for the UF-ORNL and voxel computational
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phantoms respectively using the counting efficiency measurements calculated for the BOMAB as a baseline. At low energies (< 100 keV) the percent difference dropped 20% (e.g., 10% to -10%) within a span of 60 keV for both the UF-ORNL and ICRP computational phantoms.
The ICRP voxel and the UF-ORNL computational phantoms allowed for greater accuracy for the source distribution. The BOMAB computational phantom was limited in that the source distribution was limited to one or more bottles. The BOMAB phantom was necessary to compare physical measurements to simulated measurements to assess the validity of the PM12 computational model across a range of energies.
This work shows that the PM12, and other portal monitors of similar build, are able to achieve detection limits of 1/100 ALI for the beta/gamma radiation emitting radioisotopes assessed. In general, the PM12 was well suited to measure internally deposited radionuclides with gamma emissions greater than 100 keV and with an ALI greater than 105 Bq with a short measurement time. Applying this work to radioisotopes with gamma emissions below 100 keV or with low ALI values (less than 105 Bq), such as 241Am should be done with caution.


title: 404 not found error: searching for truth in privatized corrections through online material

contributor:
Perry, Barbara
Avi, Shahid

subject:
Corrections
Privatization
Correctional privatization
Online representation

abstract: In the last three decades private involvement in correctional service has transformed. Since the 1980s private interest in correctional service has evolved from the delivery of tertiary and secondary services such as transportation, food, and medical services toward the provision of primary services such as design, construction, and complete management of correctional facilities. In an attempt to fill a gap in the literature surrounding correctional privatization, I examine to what extent corporate published online material explores the issue of incarceration, underlying theoretical ideology of prison, and what general and specific information is presented to online readers. Using a content analysis, results indicate inaccurate and incomplete information is presented to online readers culminating with incarceration constructed as the only choice to combat crime. Results also indicate strong Neo-liberal doctrine underlining the material, specifically, strong support for continued privatization, offender commodification, continued deregulation of public service, belief in the free market, and the transfer of government to corporate control. Together, these themes highlight the extension of a new economy of the power to punish.


title: Achieving high efficiency thermoelectric heating and cooling with metal foam heat exchangers

subject:
Thermoelectrics
Compact heat exchanger
Reticulated metal foam
Battery thermal management

abstract:
This thesis examines the development of a high efficiency heat pump system using
thermoelectric (TE) and reticulated metal foam (RMF) technologies to power a vehicle`s
battery thermal management system. The focus is split into two areas: first a review of
TE’s sourcing or removing heat, second an examination of compact heat exchanger (HX)
design. Five TE suppliers were investigated to understand the performance and
limitations of their TE modules. Testing showed the Kyrotherm product to be superior so
it was used as a design basis. RMF’s are known to be an effective means to improve the
performance of compact heat exchangers, thus HX’s were evaluated with RMF foams
compressed to varying densities in order to understand their potential in conjunction with
thermoelectric devices. Experimental results showed performance was limited due to
adequate bonding, yet still on par with the highest efficiency technologies currently on the
market.


title: The effects of stereoscopic 3D on an incidence response training game

contributor:
Kapralos, Bill
Hogue, Andrew

subject:
Serious games
Incidence response
Training
Learning
Stereoscopic 3D

abstract:
A critical incident is defined as one of the most serious situations that
can occur at any institution. Among these critical incidents are fire
hazards, which resulted in 224 civilian deaths, and approximately 1.5$
billion dollars in direct property damage in Canada in 2011 alone. As
a result of these costs, much effort is currently being placed in both
fire safety prevention and fire safety evacuation. However, many current
training techniques come at a high cost, and remain ineffective for
real life fire situations, especially those which take place in large institutions.
An example of this can be seen in university chemical labs, which
hold many hazardous and flammable materials. In this thesis, the development
of an incidence response training game for chemical lab fires
is described. Serious games leverage the power of computer games to
captivate and engage players/learners for a specific purpose such as to
develop new knowledge or skills. Not only do serious games allow for
higher engagement rates, and easier distribution than current training
techniques, but by utilizing stereoscopic 3D (S3D) technologies it is
hypothesized by many researchers that even higher engagement rates
as well as knowledge retention levels can be reached. However, there is
a lack of research examining the effects of S3D within an incidence response
serious game. In this thesis, three experiments were conducted
to examine potential benefits of employing S3D within a serious game
for incidence response: i) engagement effects with S3D, ii) calibration
of S3D settings, and iii) knowledge retention levels with S3D.
The results of these experiments revealed that users were neither
more engaged, nor did they increase their knowledge retention with the
incorporation of S3D, contrary to prior research. Furthermore, allowing
a user to define their own S3D settings is critical, and the inability to
do so may create visual discomfort or an unnoticeable S3D effect.


title: Development of a light-weight manipulator system for an omni-directional multi-rotor platform

subject:
Manipulator
Omni-directional
UAV
Visual servoing

abstract: This thesis presents the development of a proof-of-concept physical prototype and control system for a six degree-of-freedom manipulator attached to an omni-directional multi-rotor system known as the OmniRaptor. This prototype was developed in order to provide the OmniRaptor with the ability to precisely position a sensor in environments where wind gusts are present. In addition to its ability to complete disturbance rejection using visual servoing, the manipulator system provides the potential for pick-and-place operations. Physical testing of the prototype verified its ability to detect and track objects in both stationary and moving configurations as well as operate in conjunction with the OmniRaptor while in manual and autonomous flight modes.


title: Analytical modeling and simulation of metal cutting forces for engineering alloys

subject:
Metal cutting
Chip formation
Simulation

abstract:
In the current research, an analytical chip formation model and the methodology to determine material flow data have been developed. The efforts have been made to address work hardening and thermal softening effects and allow the material to flow continuously through an opened-up deformation zone. Oxley's analysis of machining is extended to the application of various engineering materials. The basic model is extended to the simulation of end milling process and validated by comparing the predictions with experimental data for AISI1045 steel and three other materials (AL-6061, AL7075 and Ti-6Al-4V) from open literatures.
The thorough boundary conditions of the velocity field in the primary shear zone are further identified and analyzed. Based on the detailed analysis on the boundary conditions of the velocity and shear strain rate fields, the thick “equidistant parallel-sided” shear zone model was revisited. A more realistic nonlinear shear strain rate distribution has been proposed under the frame of non-equidistant primary shear zone configuration, so that all the boundary conditions can be satisfied.
Based on the developed model, inverse analysis in conjugation of genetic algorithm based searching scheme is developed to identify material flow stress data under the condition of metal cutting.
ii
On the chip-tool interface, The chip-tool interface is assumed to consist of the secondary shear zone and elastic friction zone(i.e. sticking zone and sliding zone). The normal stress distribution over the entire contact length is represented by a power law equation, in which the exponent is determined based on the force and moment equilibrium. The shear stress distribution for the entire contact length is assumed to be independent of the normal stress. The shear stress is assumed to be constant for the plastic contact region and exponentially distributed over the elastic contact region, with the maximum equal to the shear flow stress at the end of sticking zone and zero at the end of total contact. The total contact length is derived as a function governed by the shape of normal stress distribution. The length of the sticking zone is determined as the distance from the cutting edge to the location where the local coefficient of friction reaches a critical value that initiates the bulk yield of the chip. Considering the shape of the secondary shear zone, the length of the sticking zone can also be determined by angle relations. The maximum thickness of the secondary shear zone is determined by the equality of the sticking lengths calculated by two means. With an arbitrary input of the sliding friction coefficient, various processing parameters as well as contact stress distributions during orthogonal metal cutting can be obtained.


title: Response of salivary IL-8 to prolonged and interrupted sitting

subject:
Sedentary behaviour
Inflammation
Cytokines
Interleukin 8
Sitting

abstract:
The effect of prolonged sitting on inflammation, as determined by cytokine profiles, is relatively unexplored. The purpose of this work was to determine the reliability of salivary IL-8 (CXCL8) and the response of IL-8 to prolonged and interrupted sitting.
Participants completed two sessions in random order: prolonged sitting (4 hours of sitting) and interrupted sitting (prolonged sitting interrupted every 30 minutes by 3 minutes of walking). Saliva and capillary plasma samples were collected pre- and post-session. Weekly variability in salivary IL-8 and individual responses were also explored.
Prolonged sitting increased salivary IL-8 concentrations, while interrupted sitting attenuated this response. Among males, there was no increase in salivary IL-8 during interrupted sitting.
Prolonged sitting may serve as a pro-inflammatory stimulus, and movement interruptions may negate this response. Saliva sampling seems to be a reliable method in assessing IL-8 across timepoints within individuals; however, there is high variability across individuals.


title: Modeling, simulation, and design of hybrid EV-battery charger for optimum grid utilization

subject:
Electric vehicles
Energy
Solar energy
Bidirectional charger
Modeling

abstract: The rapid recent development of electric vehicles (EVs) charging system, is changing the future of the transportation sector. Thanks to Photovoltaics solar energy (PV), the EV charging operating cost is reduced, and an environmentally friendly EV is promoted to the public. In this thesis, an EV-PV-Grid charging system is modelled and simulated under PSIM software while considering and detailing the necessary control for each part in the system concerned to manage the energy coming from two different sources. The PSIM simulation and proof of concept prototype results of the developed model illustrate the performance of the realized model while indicating the battery charging state as well as the power flow between the grid, battery and PV for different irradiation.


title: Effects of prebiotic fibre diets on rat mucosal intestinal and systemic immunity and in vitro mechanistic analysis of anti-inflammatory effects of lactobacillus strains on rat and human intestinal epithelial cells

subject: Probiotics Prebiotics Microflora GALT Cytokines

abstract:
Probiotics and prebiotics are emerging household terms, whose claimed health benefits share commonality. Their attributed health benefits include the production or induction of short chain fatty acids, maintaining bowel function, building colonization resistance (against pathogens) and treating antibiotic-associated diarrhea as well as colitis. Although both probiotic and prebiotic effects on immune system have been studied, the mechanisms of their activity are still not clearly defined and the conclusions drawn are elusive. While probiotics can act to influence the host at the cellular level, prebiotics, by definition, exert their effects indirectly through their impact on gut microbes. One purpose of this study was to investigate effects of Lactobacillus rhamnosus R0011 on innate immune parameters at the intestinal epithelial cell level, examining effects on both human and rat IEC. A second purpose was to define the effects of a range of prebiotic dietary fibres on the immune system at the mucosal and systemic level, using Biobreeding rats.

L. rhamnosus demonstrated the ability to decrease proinflammatory cytokine and Toll-like receptor agonist-induced IL-8 and CINC-1 production from human and rat IEC, respectively. The timing of L. rhamnosus R0011 addition to HT-29 IEC, relative to proinflammatory challenge, influenced its ability to decrease IL-8 production. L. rhamnosus was more effective at decreasing production of IL-8 from human IEC when they were pre-incubated with this bacterium and subsequently challenged with proinflammatory stimuli. Certain effects of L. rhamnosus R011 were also observed in the absence of proinflammatory stimuli. Viable L. rhamnosus induced TNF-α production from rat IEC and heat-killed L. rhamnosus decreased constitutive TGF-β production from rat IEC and induced IL-8 or CINC-1 production from human and rat IEC, respectively. In Biobreeding rats, we demonstrated that oat dietary fibre significantly alters active TGF-β, CINC-1 and IL-6 levels in the colon in comparison to AIN-93G-fed rats. Wheat dietary fibre induced changes in active TGF-β, CINC-1 and IL-4 levels in the ileum in comparison to resistant starch-fed rats. Lastly, resistant starch exerted effects in the mesenteric lymph node, where changes in active TGF-β were observed in rats in comparison to AIN-93G-fed rats. Oat bran, wheat bran and resistant starch had no effects on cytokine levels in the serum or spleen of rats. Fructooligosaccharide-fed rats had a significant increase in active TGF-β levels in the colon and a significant decrease in active TGF-β levels in the spleen. Overall this suggests a FOS supplemented diet has both mucosal and systemic effects in rats, while wheat, oat and resistant starch supplemented diets had effects focused at the different locations at the mucosal level.
These results illustrate differences in the ability of different dietary fibres to target immune parameters in specific mucosal tissues along the gastrointestinal tract and differential ability to exert systemic effects. Understanding the mechanism of action of probiotics provides insight into the downstream effects of prebiotics, while investigating effects of prebiotics on the immune system provides a broader view of the outcome of changes in gut microbiota composition and activity at the host organism level.


title: The influence of surface tension on F2-Bubble Morphology at detachment from carbon electrodes in KF-2HF molten fluoride salt

subject:
Molten salts
Fluorine
Surface tension
Bubbles
Fluid dynamics

abstract: Molecular F2 and H2-bubbles were generated electrochemically on amorphous carbon electrodes in KF-2HF molten salt to study the effect of surface tension (ϒ) on the profile of a bubble. F2 is used for the purification and enrichment of fuel in the nuclear industry. Its generation is energy-intensive because of electrical resistances caused by the adhesion of F2-bubbles on the electrode surface. The dimensions and contact angles of generated F2-bubbles were measured and a relationship was developed to study how the profile changes with wetting conditions. F2 was also generated on a large (~4.0 cm2) carbon electrode to observe how the process of bubble formation changes when the size of bubbles at detachment are not restricted by the size of the electrode. The results from these studies revealed inconsistencies with the mixed-phase fluidized layer' model, which could not explain a spherical-to-lenticular transition in bubble shape that was observed. The fluid dynamics of rising bubbles in molten KF-2HF were characterized using the rise velocities (Vt) and aspect ratios (Eb) of F2 and H2-bubbles for a range of bubble sizes. Correlations for Vt, Eb, and drag coefficients (Cd) were evaluated for their accuracy in predicting bubble behavior in this molten salt. A range of -values were obtained by fitting the correlations to the F2 and H2-data sets. A numerical model based on a force balance calculation was developed to estimate the interfacial tension of spherical and lenticular F2-bubbles for different stages of electrode passivation. The calculated ϒGL-value for KF-2HF (0.11 N/m) fit into the trends for surface tension of simple 1:1 and 1:2 molten halide salts. In addition, the GL value was within the range obtained from the correlation fitting. This body of work is the first: 1) study of the effect of wetting on the shape and detachment of lenticular bubbles in a molten salt; 2) comprehensive study of bubble morphology and dynamics in a molten salt; and, 3) estimate of the surface tension of KF-2HF.


title: A study of password recall, perceived memorability, and strength using BCIs

subject:
Password memorability
Password memorability perception
Password strength

abstract:
Passwords are considered the most common method of authentication and studies are frequently conducted to understand users' password habits. In this thesis, we run two empirical studies that provide information to further our understanding of the trade-o_ between security and usability in passwords, using off-the-shelf brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). Initially, we conducted an experiment with 19 participants, where password recall was studied. We followed this with a second experiment with 77 participants, where perceived password memorability and recall were studied. In both experiments, the effect of password strength on user's behaviour was investigated.
Password memorability and strength were studied by collecting electroencephalogram (EEG) potentials upon presentation of different passwords to participants. After the presentation of passwords, participants were asked to perform either password recall or password memorability ranking based on the experiment. Features from the EEG signals were extracted in three domains: power spectrum from the frequency domain, statistics from the time domain, and wavelet coefficients from the time-frequency domain. Feature selection methods were used, and the selected parameters and feature subsets were submitted for classification based on the different tasks performed by participants.
Password recall, being the most established metric of password memorability, was investigated thoroughly in both experiments. An average accuracy of 85% was obtained when predicting password recall from short-term memory. Prediction of password recall from long-term memory was performed over 8-10 days period. On the first day, an accuracy of 81% was achieved, whereas a near-to-random guess results were found on the second and eighth days. Prediction of users' judgment of password memorability was performed with an 82% accuracy.
Password strength effect on password recall and perceived memorability was investigated, and a strong influence was found with an effect size of 6:8 on password recall from short-term memory, and 3:8 on memorability perception. The results present empirical data that may help explain the common practice of users selecting weak and memorable passwords, also suggesting users are able to sense password strength and make usability decisions based on that.


title: Special isotopes of the FUGEN nuclear reactor

subject: MCNP Decommissioning Pickering Fugen Isotopes

abstract: The Canadian and Japanese nuclear regulatory bodies have shown dissimilarities between the isotopes considered to be of interest in decommissioning similarly styled heavy water reactors. This research examines the quantity of the isotopes that are of interest to the decommissioning of both the FUGEN nuclear power plant in Japan and the Pickering nuclear power plant in Canada and makes a comparison between them. This comparison is accomplished by modeling the fuel assemblies of both reactors in MCNP and performing depletion calculations on them to calculate the type and quantity of the produced fission and activation products, after which ratio comparisons are made between reactors. The FUGEN fuel has shown a greater isotope production than Pickering when normalized to fuel volume, with isotopes in FUGEN showing up to forty-five times the concentration when compared per unit volume with many isotopes produced in FUGEN not appearing in Pickering at all.


title: Implementation of power electronics in nuclear power plants: DC electrical system conceptual design and its financial analysis

contributor:
McKellar, Jennifer
Harvel, Glenn

subject:
Power electronics
Nuclear power plant
Distribution system
Financial analysis

abstract: A Power Electronic (PE) device is a semiconductor-based device which enable many advanced conversion of electricity which have been used widely in many industries. Due to the recent development in both circuit design and switches, these devices have become more competitive to traditional AC technologies. The design section of this study demonstrates the feasibility of high-level implementation of PE technology to a Nuclear Power Plant electrical system by conceptually designing a DC electrical system and comparing it to a reference AC system. The DC system meets the same design requirements as the AC system does. Furthermore, results from the financial analysis illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of implementing PE technology. Overall, the DC electrical system is able to significantly reduce generating costs due to, mostly, the more efficient pumping control with Variable Speed Drive. Other design options such as systems with less PE device implementation are examined in this study, which shows similar result. Besides, the technological benefit and challenge is discussed along with possible application to other plants, regulatory impacts, and scaling of the system. Additionally, several sensitivity analyses regarding the equipment cost and O&M cost are also performed. In summary, the implementation of PE technology seems to have financial and technological benefits, but there are also challenges associated with the technology itself and the standardization.


title: Development and analysis of active rear axle steering for 8x8 combat vehicle

subject:
Vehicle dynamics
Linear Quadratic Regulator
Combat vehicle
Rear axle steering

abstract: This thesis proposes and compares multiple vehicle dynamics controllers using rear axle steering of an 8x8 combat vehicle. The controllers are assessed on ability to increase maneuverability at low speed, increase stability at higher speeds, avoiding rollover and ability to dampen the effects of external disturbances. The two controllers that are proposed to improve the lateral vehicle dynamics include a feed-forward Zero Side Slip (ZSS) controller which steers the rear axle based on the vehicle speed, and a Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) controller that monitors the steering angle and compares the vehicle yaw rate and sideslip angle to the desired values calculated at steady state. These controllers are evaluated by performing simulations using a previously validated 8x8 combat vehicle as a TruckSim© full vehicle model. The controllers are developed in MATLAB/Simulink and are applied in co-simulation with TruckSim©. The simulation events to evaluate the controller performance include a 15-meter constant step slalom, modified J-turn, FMVSS 126 ESC and NATO double lane-change. These simulations are performed in between 20 km/h and 80 km/h over low friction (μ =0.35) and high friction (μ=0.85) surfaces. The rollover prevention capabilities of the controllers are evaluated using a fishhook maneuver over a high friction surface and damping of external disturbances will be tested using a crosswind simulation. The ZSS controller is a very responsive controller that increases the maneuverability at low speed and increases the stability at higher speeds. The responsiveness results in oversteering at mid range speeds and low lateral displacement during FMVSS 126 ESC. The LQR controller, as designed, is not applicable to improve low speed maneuverability but improves the lateral stability at high speed while achieving a respectable lateral displacement during the FMVSS 126 ESC maneuver. Both the ZSS and LQR controllers reduce the lateral accelerations at high speeds. The LQR controller also dampens the external disturbances applied during a cross wind simulation.

abstract: University of Ontario Institute of Technology


title: Sensitizing the general public: experiential processing alters perceptions of confession evidence and minimization

contributor:
Clow, Kimberley
Eastwood, Joseph

subject:
False confessions
Confession evidence
Sensitizing jurors
Personal experience

abstract: False confessions are a leading cause of wrongful convictions in Canada, suggesting a lack of protection against false confessions. Moreover, minimization tactics can increase the chance of false confessions. Current educational efforts (i.e., cautionary instructions and expert testimony) do not sufficiently sensitize jurors to false confessions, increasing the chance that false confessions will result in a wrongful conviction. We hypothesized that experiential processing (via personal learning) would alter perceptions of confessions. In Study 1, participants read vignettes whereby minimization led to a confession, and provided perceptions of the confession. Veracity of the confession was manipulated. Learning that a seemingly appropriate interrogation lead to a false confession altered perceptions of that confession evidence. This change in perception carried over to a second, unrelated case. In Study 2, we replicated these findings using video clips of actual Canadian interrogations, strengthening ecological validity of the study. Implications for jury decision making are discussed.


title: Sum-rate maximization for two-way active channel with unequal subchannel noise powers

subject:
Wireless communication
Wireless channel
Two-way channel
Maximization
Signal processing

abstract:
Wireless parallel channels refer to certain wireless links, where the information is conveyed from a source to a destination through a set of parallel orthogonal subchannels. In such channels, the transmitted signals undergo path loss, phase shift, and can also be affected by multi-path propagation effects. In conventional wireless channel models, there is no control over the gain of each individual subchannel. We herein refer to these conventional channels as passive channels. In this thesis, we study the problem of joint power allocation and design of a parallel channel with orthogonal subchannels where not only the source transmit power(s) over subchannels can be adjusted, but also the powers of each subchannel can be carefully chosen for optimal performance. We herein refer to such wireless links as active channels. We study the problem of sum-rate maximization of a two-way active channel with unequal noise powers over the subchannels, conveying information between two sources (two transceivers that can transmit and receive signals), subject to three constraints. The first two constraints are on the sources’ total transmit powers and the last constraint is on the total active channel’s power. Although this maximization problem is not convex, we develop an analytical method with efficient computations for optimal sources and channel power allocation, by utilizing Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions. To do so, we first show that not all subchannels, but only a subset may receive transmit power from the sources and the active channel. We then use KKT conditions to determine
the necessary conditions for optimality. By searching through the solutions obtained by
KKT conditions, we find the number of subchannels which should be active in order for
the power constraints to be feasible. We subsequently obtain the optimal channel power
allocation for any feasible number of active subchannels. Hence, the optimal solution can be obtained by comparing a finite number of points in the feasible set and introducing the point which yields the best sum-rate performance, as the optimal point that represents the maximum sum-rate.


title: Thermal management of the copper-chlorine cycle for hydrogen production: analytical and experimental investigation of heat recovery from molten salt

contributor:
Naterer, Greg
Rosen, Marc

subject:
Copper-chlorine cycle
Hydrogen production
Experimental
Molten salt
Heat recovery

abstract:
Hydrogen is known as a clean energy carrier which has the potential to play a major role in addressing the climate change and global warming, and thermochemical water splitting via the copper-chlorine cycle is a promising method of hydrogen production. In this research, thermal management of the copper-chlorine cycle for hydrogen production is investigated by performing analytical and experimental analyses of selected heat recovery options. First, the heat requirement of the copper-chlorine cycle is estimated. The pinch analysis is used to determine the maximum recoverable heat within the cycle, and where in the cycle the recovered heat can be used efficiently. It is shown that a major part of the potential heat recovery can be achieved by cooling and solidifying molten copper(I) chloride exiting one step in the cycle: the oxygen reactor. Heat transfer from molten CuCl can be carried out through direct contact or indirect contact methods. Predictive analytical models are developed to analyze a direct contact heat recovery process (i.e. a spray column) and an indirect contact heat recovery process (i.e. a double-pipe heat exchanger).
Characteristics of a spray column, in which recovered heat from molten CuCl is used to produce superheated steam, are presented. Decreasing the droplet size may increase the heat transfer rate from the droplet, and hence decreases the required height of the heat exchanger. For a droplet of 1 mm, the height of the heat exchanger is predicted to be about 7 m. The effect of hydrogen production on the heat exchanger diameter was also shown. For a hydrogen production rate of 1000 kg/day, the diameter of the heat exchanger is about 3 m for a droplet size of 1 mm and 2.2 m for a droplet size of 2 mm.
The results for axial growth of the solid layer and variations of the coolant temperature and wall temperature of a double-pipe heat exchanger are also presented. It is shown that reducing the inner tube diameter will increase the heat exchanger length and increase the outlet temperature of air significantly. It is shown that the air temperature increases to 190oC in a heat exchanger with a length of 15 cm and inner tube radius of 10 cm. The length of a heat exchanger with the inner tube radius of 12 cm is predicted to be about 53 cm. The outlet temperature of air is about 380oC in this case. The length of a heat exchanger with an inner tube diameter of 24 cm is predicted to be about 53 cm and 91 cm for coolant flow rates of 3 g/s and 4 g/s, respectively. Increasing the mass flow rate of air will increase the total heat flux from the molten salt by increasing the length of the heat exchanger. Experimental studies are performed to validate the proposed methods and to further investigate their feasibility. The hazards involving copper(I) chloride are also investigated, as well as corresponding hazard reduction options. Using the reactant Cu2OCl2 in the oxygen production step to absorb CuCl vapor is the most preferable option compared to the alternatives, which include absorbing CuCl vapor with water or CuCl2 and building additional structures inside the oxygen production reactor.


title: The pediatric mechanical ventilation in Canada (PeMViC) study: A Delphi survey of pediatric mechanical ventilation practices by Canadian respiratory therapists

subject:
Pediatric mechanical ventilation
Pediatric intensive care
Respiratory therapists
Respiratory therapy
Consensus guideline

abstract:
The gap in knowledge for pediatric mechanical ventilation (MV) management makes practice standardization difficult. The European Society for Pediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care (ESPNIC) was the first to establish consensus recommendations on pediatric MV management. In Canada, respiratory therapists (RTs) have a large role in MV management, but do not exist in Europe. The purpose was to determine Canadian RTs’ recommendations on common pediatric MV management.
An e-Delphi study included n=56 participants from 15 Canadian pediatric facilities. All statements achieved consensus and this guideline consists of 59 recommendations, organized into 10 subsections: Non-invasive ventilation; tidal volumes and inspiratory pressures; respiratory rate and inspiratory time; PEEP and FiO2; Advanced Mechanical Ventilation; Weaning; Physiologic Targets; Monitoring; General MV practice and Equipment adjuncts.
These commonly practiced pediatric MV techniques by RTs may be used as a standard for future clinical practice and studies to understand their clinical impact in critically ill children.


title: Echo: reconstructing gameplay sessions for analysis

subject:
Game analytics
Reconstruction
Playtest
Game evaluation
Track

abstract: We created Echo, a tool designed to help bridge the gap between game analytics and video footage analysis. Echo reconstructs gameplay sessions from recorded data and presents them with their original graphics. A comparative evaluation to video footage analysis revealed that users preferred Echo overall and found it to be less frustrating. We later created Echo+, an expanded and improved version of the tool. A comparative evaluation of Echo+ across four popular genres - kart racing, first-person shooter (FPS), platformer, and tower defense – revealed that Echo+ was useful in them all to some degree, but there were no clear genres for which it was most or least useful. Echo+ was used differently across genres, with the camera features and visibility toggling being used most in the FPS game and tower defense game, respectively. User suggestions on how to improve Echo+ further included better representing player user interfaces within the visualization.


title: A modular interface framework for multimodal annotations and visualizations in Human-AI collaboration

subject:
Artificial intelligence
Interactive visualization
Machine learning
Knowledge representation
Human-computer interaction

abstract: Modular is a web-based annotation, visualization, and inference software plat-form for computational language and vision research. The platform enables researchers to set up an interface for efficiently annotating language and vision datasets, visualizing the predictions made by a machine learning model, and interacting with an intelligent system. Artificial intelligence (AI) research, including machine learning, computer vision, and natural language processing, requires large amounts of annotated data. The current research and development pipeline involves each group collecting their own datasets using an annotation tool tailored specifically to their needs, followed by a series of engineering efforts in loading other external datasets and developing their own interfaces, often mimicking some components of existing annotation tools. Extensible and customizable as required by individual projects, the framework has been successfully applied to a number of research efforts in human-AI collaboration, including commonsense grounding of language and vision data, conversational AI for collaboration with human users, and explainable AI in improving interpretability of the AI system. Facilitated by the aforementioned Modular framework, the dissertation ex-amines a notable set of opportunities that inspire the new, productive symbiosis between human users and AI agents, where the two parties can successfully complete a complex task together and mutually benefit in providing advantages missing from the other party. Finally, the dissertation sets out to evaluate whether human users can establish a level of appropriate trust and reliance through AI explanation.


title: Using detection in depth to counter SCADA-specific advanced persistent threats

subject:
Industrial control security
SCADA security
Advanced persistent threats
Intrusion detection
Intrusion prevention
Critical infrastructure security

abstract:
A heavy focus has recently been placed on the current state of each country’s critical
 infrastructure security.  Unfortunately, widely deployed supervisory control and data
acquisition (SCADA) protocols provide little to no inherent security controls while
traditional security mechanisms prove largely ineffective in industrial control
environments.  Moreover, the recent advent of advanced persistent threats (APTs) has
 highlighted the relative ineffectiveness of existing SCADA-centric security solutions.
In this thesis I will identify various algorithmic strategies for detecting and mitigating
common APT attack vectors impacting SCADA environments.  Primarily, the integration
of flow-based intrusion detection systems, passive device fingerprinting, low-
interaction honeypots, and traditional signature-
based intrusion detection technologies provides a highly effective capacity for detecting
common attack vectors used by APTs.  Finally I will show how the integration of these
technologies into a single security solution has provided a verifiably robust and effective
solution for the problem at hand.


title: Aiding the experts: how artificial intelligence can augment expert evaluation with PathOS+

subject:
Expert evaluation
Playtesting
Artificial Intelligence
Games user research
Video games

abstract: Within games user research (GUR) predictive methods like expert evaluation are good for getting easy insights on a game in development but may not accurately reflect the player experience. On the other hand, experimental methods like playtesting can accurately capture the player experience but are time consuming and resource intensive. AI agents have been able to mitigate the issues of playtesting, and the data generated from these agents can supplement expert evaluation. To that end we introduce PathOS+. This tool allows the simulations of agents and has features that allows users to conduct their evaluations in the same place as the game, and then export their findings. We ran a study to evaluate how PathOS+ fares as an expert evaluation tool with participants of varying levels of UR experience. The results show that it is viable to use AI to identify design problems and offer more validity to expert evaluation.


title: Integrated topology optimization design and process planning for additive manufacturing

subject:
Topology optimization
Additive manufacturing
Process planning

abstract: Industry 4.0 demands that the systems and processes in today’s product design and manufacturing not just be automated, but to be robust and containing many feedback mechanisms which enables it to be self-correcting. The hypothetical upcoming Industry 5.0 promises on demand and personalized products which this thesis aims to take a step in the direction of. It is proposed that an integrated and optimized process for structural topology optimization and subsequent additive manufacturing is possible for automated design and manufacturing starting from its problem definition. An improvement on the benchmarked topology optimization methods is shown which allows the user control over the optimization’s convergence characteristics which is then further studied to find a robust set of optimization parameters. The resulting topology of the structure is then analyzed for its optimal printing orientation based on a custom-made algorithm which minimizes manufacturing costs. Furthermore, the structure is then sliced for instruction generation of layer-based manufacturing techniques in a novel fashion which also serves to provide feedback of the manufacturing process planning to the topology optimization design stage.


title: A comparison of seated and room-scale virtual reality on medical-based serious games and virtual simulation

contributor:
Kapralos, Bill
Uribe-Quevedo, Alvaro

subject:
Anesthesia
Serious games
Simulations
Virtual reality

abstract:
Simulation-based training has been widely adopted by healthcare education as a
vital tool in the practice of skills within a safe environment. However, significant cost
and logistical challenges exist within traditional simulation practices. Serious games,
or games with a primary purpose other than entertainment, are virtual simulations
which can address many of these issues while remaining proven tools for effective
skills transfer to the real world. This thesis presents two serious games for anesthesia
training, one dealing with anesthesia crisis resource management skills and one
serving as an epidural procedure preparation tool. The work seeks to demonstrate
that the combination of serious games and consumer-grade virtual reality hardware
provide an interactive and engaging simulation environment for anesthesia training.
Through a set of usability tests, results indicate that both serious games offer a level
of game engagement while demonstrating the ability of room-scale virtual reality to
provide certain benefits applicable to serious games and simulations. From this, a set
of recommendations and guidelines for the designers and developers of serious games
and simulations are provided.


title: Motor training and cervical spine manipulation: effects on sensorimotor integration

subject:
Sensorimotor integration
Cerebellum
Motor learning
Subclinical neck pain
Somatosensory evoked potentials

abstract: Altered afferent input resulting from neck joint dysfunction has become a growing area of study. Cervical spine manipulation, specifically in individuals with subclinical neck pain (SNCP); induces neurological changes, suggesting it has a positive neuromodulatory effect on brain processing. The effects of manipulation on motor learning in individuals with SCNP have not been investigated until now. Studies in this thesis sought to develop and investigate a novel motor training task to be coupled with cervical spine manipulation to investigate its effects on individual’s ability to process new task information. The studies revealed significant changes in neural activity specific to the cerebellum and sensorimotor integration following a complex motor training task as compared to a simple repetitive task, suggesting that those specific regions are involved in processing of more complex motor skill learning tasks. This novel task was then coupled with manipulation which revealed significant activation increases in cortical and decreases in subcortical brain regions following manipulation. Regions specific to sensorimotor integration (SMI) showed increased activation in both the manipulation and passive head movement control groups, corroborating with the results from the first study. The use of a complex motor training task is a useful tool for determining intervention effects on neural processing in individuals with SCNP.


title: Design and development of a robotic crawler for CANDU fuel channel inspection

contributor:
Nokleby, Scott
Waller, Edward

subject: Robotic Crawler CANDU Inspection Design

abstract: For the design of a new robotic crawler drive unit for CANDU fuel channel inspection, a complete design and screening process was done in order to fulfil the objective of this research. A brief explanation of CANDU reactors is provided along with a discussion of the inspection systems that are currently in use. A study of some existing inspection systems is presented which was used for the development of the new robotic crawler design. A number of concepts were generated which underwent a screening process with the help of two design tools. With the help of these tools, a concept was chosen as the final design and details of it are presented. To demonstrate a proof-of-concept, the physical prototype of the robotic crawler was manufactured and assembled. A speed controller was implemented in the final design of the robotic crawler.


title: Development of novel energy systems for LNG locomotives

subject: Energy Exergy Efficiency LNG Locomotive

abstract: The use of diesel in the railway sector brings challenges to the engineers to meet the current emissions standards set by governments. This thesis addresses potential solutions to overcome the emissions problems in the current diesel fueled locomotives with economic benefits using liquefied natural gas (LNG) locomotives. Six novel energy systems for LNG locomotives are developed with different prime movers and fuel combinations. The systems are analyzed energetically and exergetically, and their performances are compared for evaluation purposes. The environmental impact and the fuel cost for each system are considered in the comparison. The current study investigates the use of the fuel combinations including LNG-ULSD, LNG-LPG, LNG- and LNG only to run the locomotive using different prime movers.


title: Development of an integrated inspection system for additive and subtractive hybrid manufacturing

subject:
Hybrid manufacturing
Coordinate metrology
Die/mould repair
Additive manufacturing

abstract: Using closed-loop inspection systems to modify coordinate metrology tasks for specific engineering applications has been a demanding research subject over the last decade. The objective of this thesis is to develop an Integrated Inspection System (IIS) that uses these tasks for applications in systems combining additive and subtractive manufacturing technologies, commonly referred to as hybrid manufacturing. Hybrid manufacturing has opened a new and innovative avenue in product development, and also in product repair and maintenance. One of the areas where it can excel is in the repair of dies and moulds. This is due to the ability to add material to worn out areas, then subtract the excess material to return to the ideal geometry without affecting a large area of the piece. Previously developed coordinate metrology techniques can be modified to aid in the minimization of the cost of repair. A method using skin modelling techniques and weighted total least squares was utilized to determine the geometry of the repaired zone. These methods were combined to create the developed system which minimizes the repair cost. The best result of this method was then used as an initial condition for an optimization algorithm resulting in the optimal solution. The developed system produced cost reductions in all tested circumstances, with the best results found in surfaces with large, non-uniform errors. The developed system can be implemented and customized for various hybrid manufacturing applications in the pursuit of lower repair costs.


title: Development of Non-covalent Chemical Probes for μ, δ and κ Opioid Receptors

subject:
Opioid
Codeine
Morphine
Chemical probes
Alkaloid

abstract:
Opioids are well-known pain relievers and one of several therapeutic options for pain management. Although opioids are very effective analgesics, continued use and abuse can lead to physical dependence and withdrawal symptoms. Their side effects, such as constipation, respiratory depression, and the development of tolerance, addiction liability and abuse, highlight the need for safer opioid prescribing practices. The development of new chemical probes will assist in further understanding opioid-receptor interactions and will serve to advance this field of research. As a part of a collaborative Ontario Tech University-Purdue Pharma program, the synthesis of opioid derivatives for use as chemical probes was undertaken to better understand the structure-activity relationships of opioid receptors.
The initial efforts were focused on the preparation of an essential building block 1-bromocodeine. The bromination of codeine affords an attractive platform for further functionalization and the synthesis of other opioid derivatives. Here we describe the development of a new methodology for the large-scale bromination of codeine under mild conditions, which was applied for the preparation of a broad range of codeine derivatives. The developed protocol is safer and has a higher yield than the commonly employed procedure for the bromination of codeine, which involves toxic HBr gas.
In addition, our efforts toward the synthesis of natural product Bismorphine A revealed that bismorphine and pseudomorphine have the same structure. Consequently, we successfully prepared a series of novel opioid derivatives, which appear to have a high affinity for MOR (Mu Opioid Receptor). The synthesis and biological activities of a series of opioid derivatives are reported.


title: Random Forest-based detection of cyber-attacks in substation automation systems in the context of IEC 61850 GOOSE communication protocol

subject:
IEC 61850 protocol
Intelligent electronic devices
Random Forest
Smart grid
Cybersecurity

abstract: The development of the Smart Grid aims to improve the operation of the traditional grid through the incorporation of information and communication technology. This is typically done through the integration of communication networks and a set of protocols that make the electricity grid prone to cyberattacks. Cyberattack threats such as data manipulation and replay attacks typically target substation automation systems and hence causing severe damage to the electricity grid assets leading to significant economic loss. In order to make the smart grid more resilient to such cyberattacks, it is critical to detect such cyberattacks accurately. The work presented in this thesis looks into machine learning techniques and in particular the Random Forest as an ensemble classifier to detect and classify the cyberattacks from other power quality disturbances and normal operation. Furthermore, the thesis addresses the issue of identifying the key features that effectively help in detecting such cyberattacks.


title: Modelling calcite dissolution in a rotating disc reaction vessel

subject:
Calcite dissolution
Rotating disc
Stefan Condition
Advection-diffusion reaction model
Natural scaling

abstract: The carbonate system is ubiquitous in nature, playing a role in many natural and industrial processes. For calcite dissolution, the kinetics and mass transport of the dissolved species reflect both the chemistry of the bulk, and the conditions at the dissolving interface. We formulate the dissolution problem as a set of coupled convection- reaction-diffusion equations that is not only consistent with the bulk chemistry, but is also connected with a Stefan condition for dissolution interface, treating it as a free boundary. The substantial difference in the order of magnitude of the various reaction rates decouples the system. The relatively slow speed of the moving interface allows for a quasi-steady solution. The model reproduces the experimentally observed behaviour without the need to introduce additional reactions occurring at the reacting surface.

abstract: University of Ontario Institute of Technology


title: Model predictive control of wheeled mobile robots

subject:
MPC
Mobile robots
Non-holonomic
Active set
Non-feasible

abstract:
The control of nonholonomic wheeled mobile robots (WMRs) has gained a lot of attention
in the field of robotics over the past few decades as WMRs provide an increased range of
motion resulting in a larger workspace. This research focuses on the application of Model
Predictive Control (MPC) for real-time trajectory tracking of a nonholonomic WMR. MPC
is a control strategy in which the control law is designed based on optimizing a cost function.
The input and output constraints that may arise in practical situations can be directly
incorporated into the control system using MPC. Computation time is the biggest hurdle in
adapting MPC strategies for trajectory tracking. This research applies a non-feasible active
set MPC algorithm developed in [1] which is faster than the traditional active set methods
(ASMs). A discrete-time linear model of a general WMR is used for the simulation. MATLAB
simulations are performed for tracking circular as well as square trajectories using
the discretized WMR model and the non-feasible ASM (NF-ASM). The performance of
NF-ASM is compared to two other well-known traditional algorithms, i.e. Fletcher’s ASM
and MATLAB’s Quadratic Programming algorithm. It is shown that, although all these
algorithms are capable of providing satisfactory trajectory tracking performance, NF-ASM
is a better choice in terms of the simulation time and required number of iterations for realtime
trajectory tracking of any type as long as the constraints on the inputs stay active for a
long period during the simulation.


title: A bidirectional battery-to-battery energy cycler for battery pack testing and validation

subject:
Battery test system
Battery certification
Energy cycler

abstract: Lithium-ion batteries are becoming popular not only in the Electric Vehicle (EV) market but also in other sectors because of their salient features like high terminal voltage, fast charge/discharge capabilities, and energy density to size ratio. Batteries are designed for applications depending upon their requirements. Testing and validation of batteries before they are deployed for usage is an essential step in the manufacturing process. Cycling battery energy involves charging using the grid and discharging into resistive loads repeatedly while motoring the test results. This method of cycling the batteries not only wastes energy but also limits the rate at which they can be discharged due to dissipation issues. A need for a test system capable of allowing higher charge/discharge rates while being able to conserve energy exists. This research work presents a battery tester capable of proving higher C-rate capabilities while conserving energy by cycling it between two batteries.


title: Willingness to help: how the portrayal and perception of a wrongfully convicted individual affects people’s willingness to help exonerees

contributor:
Clow, Kimberley
Zannella, Lesley

subject:
Exoneree
Angry
Sad
Empathic concern
Helping

abstract: Currently, in Canada there is no legal requirement to compensate exonerees (Roach, 2012), and despite research suggesting Canadians would be supportive of this government assistance for exonerees (Angus Reid, 1995; Clow, Blandisi, et al., 2012), Canada rarely compensates or provides them with reintegration services (Schuller et al., 2021). Two studies were conducted to examine how emotions and empathic concern might impact personal willingness to help exonerees. In both studies, participants watched a video of an exoneree discussing an angry or sad aspect of his wrongful conviction and then asked about helping exonerees (assessed with both self-report and behavioural measures). Emotions were manipulated and/or measured a few different ways in each study. Participants’ sadness about the exoneree’s story and empathic concern increased self-reported helping, yet video condition had little impact. Behavioural helping was less consistent across studies. The findings are discussed in the context of education and increasing support for exonerees.


title: Study of a 2 dimensional aggregation model with non-linear adaptations

contributor:
van Veen, Lennaert
Buono, Pietro-Luciano

subject: Aggregation PDE Symmetry

abstract: In this paper we will explore the impacts on collective animal motion of adding non-linearity to the animals’ turning rate in a 2-dimensional model of aggregation. The model in question was proposed by Fetecau and implements a dependence on an individual’s relation to neighbours’ position and the direction in which they are moving. By utilizing a turning rate formula similar to one proposed by Eftimie, we can retain many of the dependences of the original 2-dimensional model while ensuring that the turning rate is both bounded and non-linear. The group formations resulting from this introduction of non-linearity are explored.


title: An in-depth analysis of guesser behavior

contributor:
Thorpe, Julie
Abari, Amirali

subject:
Passwords
Computer security
User authentication

abstract: We propose a methodology to perform an in-depth analysis on different password guessers and their guessing abilities. We devise new metrics and statistics that directly compare the types of passwords each guesser generates, extending analysis beyond number of passwords guessed which is the primary form of analysis in literature currently. This approach allows for a _ne-grained analysis where we compare the guesses produced by each guesser when trained on varied real-world datasets and under different conditions (e.g., limited training data, limited number of guesses, or dissimilar training and testing data). We find that similarity of training to testing data is more important than dataset size, and that some guessers are better equipped to deal with dissimilarity than others. We demonstrate that guessers often produce dissimilar guesses, even when trained on the same training data. This result is leveraged to show how guessers with lower resource requirements can be combined to guess a comparable number of passwords as more resource intensive tools. Our methodology can be applied in the future to better compare new guessing tools, and our insights allow us to provide concrete advice for systems administrators performing reactive checking with modern tools.


title: Examining effects of milk ferment components on endothelial cell signaling in pro-inflammatory pathways

subject:
Atherosclerosis
Cardiovascular disease
Bioactive peptides
Fermented milk
Endothelial cells

abstract: Atherosclerosis is a complex, multifactorial, inflammatory disease involving cholesterol, endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, macrophages and platelets. Atherosclerosis, and the associated cardiovascular diseases it contributes to, has been a growing health care and economic concern over the last 50 years. Bioactive peptides found in fermented milk have been shown to have cardio and athero-protective effects, but their mechanism has not been fully elucidated. The objective of this study was to test individual components of milk fermentation and macrophage conditioning in order to determine how fermented milk bioactive peptides best exert their effects. This study shows that protein secretions from bacteria, whole and fermented milk ferments and supernatants from macrophages conditioned with fermented milk do not down-regulate inflammatory activity in cultured endothelial cells, however moderate anti-inflammatory nitric oxide (NO) production by cultured endothelial cells was seen with peptides derived from the milk β -casein sequence, warranting further study.


title: Identification and annotation of concurrency design patterns in Java source code using static analysis.

subject:
Design patterns
Concurrent software
Annotations
Static analysis
Java

abstract:
Concurrent software is quickly becoming a very important facet in Software Engineering due
to numerous advantages, one of which is increased processing speed. Despite it's importance,
concurrent software is fraught with very difficult to detect bugs, for example deadlocks and
data races. Concurrency design patterns were created to o er successfully tried and tested
means to design and develop concurrent software to, amongst other things, minimize the
occurrence of these hard to detect bugs. In this thesis we discuss our novel static analysis
technique to detect these concurrency design patterns in Java source code and identify them
using commented Java annotations. Using our technique the commented Java annotations
are inserted above Java constructs that are not only part of the Java source code but also
make up the various roles that comprise the concurrency design pattern. The identifying
of the concurrency design patterns in the Java source code can aid in their maintenance
later on, by matching the inserted Java annotations to the various Java constructs they are
annotating. Maintaining the concurrency design patterns within the Java source code in
effect aids in maintaining the Java source code error free.


title: Paper-based microfluidic device with a gold nanoparticle sensor for arsenic detection applied to groundwater in Bangladesh

subject:
Paper-based microfluidic devices
Arsenic
Gold nanosensor
Bangladesh
Groundwater

abstract:
This study demonstrates the development of a paper-based microfluidic
device (μPAD) with a gold nanosensor (Au-TA-TG) to detect arsenic
contamination in Bangladesh groundwater at the World Health
Organization (WHO) guideline level (10 μg/L). A method has also been
developed to prevent interference from alkaline metals (Ca, Mg, K and Na)
by altering the pH level on the μPADs. The heavy metals present in
groundwater (Mn, Pb, Ni, Cd, Fe III and Fe II) are also confirmed no
interference with the μPAD arsenic tests. Except for Fe III, which the
villagers already remove from their groundwater. The μPADs are also
tested with 24 groundwater samples collected from hand tubewells in
three different regions in Bangladesh: Shirajganj, Manikganj, and
Munshiganj, and the results agreed with the results obtained from
laboratory testing. The μPAD arsenic test can provide the first easy-to-read
test and capable of detecting arsenic at the WHO guideline level (10 μg/L).
Thus villagers can test their own water sources and be empowered to make
decisions about where to obtain the safest water.


title: The regulation of RANK and RANKL mRNA expression through activation of the JAK2/STAT5a pathway in human breast cancer cell lines ©

contributor:
Jones-Taggart, Holly
Sanchez, Otto

subject:
RANKL
STAT5
Breast cancer
Prolactin
Epidermal growth factor
Heregulin

abstract: The receptor activator of nuclear factor-kB  (RANK) and its ligand, RANKL has have been implicated as an important link between breast cancer and metastasis to bone because of their ability to activate intracellular signal cascades leading to altered cancer cell behaviour and bone breakdown.  The JAK/STAT5a cell signaling pathway is also crucial to breast biology and is involved in transcriptional regulation of many genes.  The objective of this study is to determine if RANKL mRNA expression is regulated through the JAK/STAT5a pathway by stimulating human breast cancer cell lines, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231, with prolactin (PRL), epidermal growth factor (EGF) and heregulin-beta1 (HRG-1), all known to activate STAT5a and play a role in breast cancer progression.  This study shows that RANKL expression is upregulated by PRL, EGF and HRG-1, and that PRL and HRG-1 regulate transcription through the JAK/STAT5a pathway.


title: Soft-switched, active-clamped DC/AC and AC/AC converters for IPT-based wireless charging applications

subject:
AC/AC converter
Active-clamped circuit
DC/AC inverter
EV charger
Inductive power transfer

abstract:
The acquisition of inductive power transfer (IPT) technology in commercial electric vehicles (EVs) alleviates the inherent burdens of high cost, limited driving range, and long charging time. In EV wireless charging systems using IPT technology, power electronic converters play a vital role to reduce the size and cost, as well as to maximize the efficiency of the overall system. Conventionally, the IPT systems utilize two power conversion stages to generate a high-frequency primary current/voltage from low-frequency utility supply, causing the lower power density and higher cost of the system. Recent research shows that the use of direct AC/AC converters in the IPT systems can mitigate these limitations. However, these topologies still have the drawbacks such as large switching component count, poor input current quality, or complex control schemes.
In this thesis, a novel direct AC/AC active-clamped half-bridge (HB) converter for the wireless EV IPT charging application is proposed and implemented. The proposed converter can overcome the aforementioned limitations of the existing power converter topologies. It offers several appealing features such as high efficiency, less component requirement, continuous sinusoidal input current, and zero voltage switching (ZVS) operation. Moreover, a new simple hybrid (nonlinear and linear) dual-loop control strategy for the AC/AC active-clamped HB converter based IPT charging system is developed. It enables the input current correction and charging current regulation in a single power conversion stage. The performance of the proposed charging system is verified by simulation and experimental results on a 1.0-kW prototype. The experimental verification shows that the proposed IPT system with a peak overall efficiency of 93.4 % is more efficient than the existing single-stage converter based IPT systems. In order to have a knowledge foundation for the successful analysis, design and implementation of the proposed AC/AC converter system, an active-clamped half-bridge boost inverter (HBBI) based IPT charging system is initially studied. The ZVS operation principles, mathematical model, design methodology, and control strategy of the active-clamped HBBI based system are derived and developed in detail. Simulation and experimental results are given to verify the theoretical analyses and system performance.


title: Peer evaluation with graph neural networks

contributor:
Salehi-Abari, Amirali
Thorpe, Julie

subject:
Peer assessment
Graph neural network

abstract: Peer assessment systems are rising in various social contexts, such as peer grading in large (online) classrooms, peer review in conferences, peer art evaluation, etc. However, peer assessments might not be as accurate as expert assessments, thus rendering these systems unreliable. Peer assessment systems’ reliability is influenced by factors such as peers’ assessment ability, manipulation and strategic assessment behaviors, and the peer assessment setup (e.g., peer assessing group work or individual work of others). In this work, we first model peer assessment as multi-relational weighted networks that can represent a variety of peer assessment setups, and capture conflicts of interest and strategic behaviors. Leveraging our peer assessment network model, we introduce a graph convolutional network which can learn assessment patterns and user behaviors to more accurately predict expert evaluations. Our extensive experiments on real and synthetic datasets demonstrate the efficacy of our proposed approach, which outperforms existing peer assessment methods.


title: Toward assessing and improving the protective efficacy of Canadians’ interrogation rights: misinformation and caution comprehension

subject:
Right to counsel
Right to silence
Police cautions
Comprehension
Interrogations

abstract:
The right to silence and right to counsel serve to protect detainees facing the power imbalance of police interrogation. Unfortunately, research indicates people are misinformed about their rights and struggle to comprehend the police cautions which explain them. This reduces the protective efficacy of rights in practice. Three inter-related studies sought to address these issues within a Canadian-specific context.
First, Canadians’ (N = 212) interrogation rights knowledge was assessed through open-ended, vignette, and true/false measures. Many Canadians (72-95%) were misinformed about important aspects, and limitations, of their interrogation rights.
Next, to improve knowledge and increase caution comprehension, a widely used Canadian police caution (RCMP) was modified to create a 1) “Simplified” caution with reworked wording, structure, and added explanations, and 2) an “Informative” (simplified) caution, with added content about rights limitations. Cautions were assessed for readability and complexity, then tested in a 4-condition low-stakes online experiment with Canadians (N = 200) using measures from Study 1. Despite most Canadians self-reporting caution comprehension (94-98%), and Informational condition participants demonstrating higher average scores, comprehension was low overall and group differences were not significant. However, average correct knowledge scores and key rights limitation scores were significantly higher for the Informative caution participants compared to those in the RCMP or no caution conditions.
Finally, to increase test validity of the modified cautions, Ontario Tech undergraduates (N = 90) participated in a 3-condition higher-stakes mock-interrogation, guised as a “convincing alibi” study. Students prepared an alibi, heard 1 of 3 cautions, provided their alibi under mild duress, and completed Study 2 measures. Results mirrored Study 2: all students self-reported caution understanding, but comprehension scores were low overall. Students hearing the Informative caution demonstrated higher average correct rights knowledge, followed by the Simplified, then RCMP caution, however, differences were only significant for the right to counsel.
This research indicates that - although Canadians are misinformed about their interrogation rights - knowledge of rights can be improved by altering the wording and structure of, and adding critical information to, Canadian police cautions. Through improving knowledge and comprehension, we can enhance the protective efficacy of interrogation rights for Canadians.


title: Analysis and optimization of fuel cell based integrated powering systems for clean rail applications

subject:
Clean railway
Cost
Efficiency
Energy
Environment

abstract:
In this thesis, proposals of novel integrated fuel cell powering systems for cleaner railway applications are presented and analyzed thermodynamically. Both energy and exergy analyses are conducted on these systems for such an application to evaluate and compare them thermodynamically, in terms of their power outputs capabilities and energetic and exergetic efficiencies. Next, parametric studies on each of the proposed integrated fuel cell systems are provided to have a deeper understanding of the operation of these systems under various conditions. This understanding can help us in the optimization of exergetic efficiency and packaging feasibility of the systems in a locomotive. A newly introduced method of multi-objective optimization is implemented to optimize the integrated systems in terms of exergetic efficiencies, power split for space reductions, and hydrogen production rate. Lastly, economic and environmental justifications are given through a case study of a duty cycle of a passenger train. Fuel costs and CO2 emissions of these proposed integrated systems are compared to the current technology of diesel-electric engines used in railways of Canada.
The thermodynamic analysis shows that these systems can reach high energetic and exergetic efficiencies of 80.06% and 77.55%, respectively for methane-based solid oxide fuel cell systems, while ammonia-based systems have the values of energetic and exergetic efficiencies of 61.20%, and 66.30%, respectively. Fuel costs of passenger train operation, using these proposed systems, are significantly reduced compared to diesel-electric engines. The most efficient system is system 3 and has a brake specific fuel consumption of 0.08902 kg kWh-1, whereas a typical diesel-electric engine has a value of 0.2318 kg kWh-1.


title: Design and evaluation of a novel convolutional neural network for short-term vehicle multi-traffic prediction

subject:
Intelligent transportation systems
Traffic forecasting
Deep learning
Congestion detection
Estimated travel time

abstract: Short-term vehicle traffic forecasting is about predicting how traffic indicators are going to be in the near future. The main traffic parameters are: traffic volume, traffic speed, and congestion state. In this thesis, we propose a convolutional neural net-work model that performs traffic forecasting for all three parameters, using historical integrated traffic data over a large area. The proposed model also predicts all three parameters for all 5-minute intervals from the initial time up to one hour into the future. Our proposed method was compared with the state of the art Stacked Long Short-Term Memory (S-LSTM) model, and showed 20% proportionally smaller percentage error and about 2% better recall. Our model also showed comparable results to Google Maps when employed for route travel time estimation, outperforming it in most scenarios. We concluded that our model is better than the current S-LSTM models and also its applications are comparable to established industry equivalents.


title: RoboBUG: a game-based approach to learning debugging techniques

subject:
Bugs
Debugging
Game-based learning
Education
Serious games

abstract: Debugging is the systematic process of finding and fixing errors in a computer program, and it is considered a critical skill that should be acquired early in a programmer's career. As an alternative to traditional approaches for learning debugging, we propose the use of a game-based approach for introducing debugging techniques. Specifically, we designed a game called RoboBUG in which a player assumes the role of a futuristic programmer trying to find “bugs" in a mechanical suit. We then conducted an evaluation to assess novice programmers playing the RoboBUG game and novices who instead completed a traditional written assignment. Our results found that study participants reported a positive attitude towards using games for learning, and those who played the RoboBUG game believed it to be more fun and engaging than written assignments.


title: The effects of anaerobic swim ergometer training on sprint performance in adolescent swimmers

subject: Physiology Intervention Swimming Power Youth

abstract: The effects of anaerobic training using a swim ergometer on sprint swimming performance have not been investigated in competitive adolescent swimmers. The purpose of this study was to compare 4-weeks of sprint interval training (SIT) with a similar ergometer training intervention on associated anaerobic performances. Fourteen competitive adolescent swimmers performed two pre and post intervention tests: 1) a 6 & 30 second maximal swim ergometer test, and 2) a maximal anaerobic lactate test (MANLT), (4 x 50 m short-course maximal swims with 10 second rest intervals). The results of this study demonstrated there was a significant improvement in 1) speed of the 4th 50m sprint, 2) mean power in 6 & 30-second maximal ergometer tests, and 3) 50m freestyle performance for both intervention groups after 4 weeks of SIT training respectively. As such, sprint ability may be improved through multiple modalities (pool and dryland) to elicit a positive training response.


title: Building an on-ball screen dataset using supervised and unsupervised learning

subject: Basketball

abstract:
Applications of statistics and machine learning in sports analytics have made significant advances since the early days of Bill James' publication, Baseball Analyst. In the publication, analysts and researchers would investigate matters such as how often a batter would reach first base to determine which players were the most optimal to acquire. This type of data that recorded when players reached bases was relatively simple and cheap to acquire. Over time, more complex data became available to different professional sporting leagues.
In the National Basketball Association (NBA), cameras were installed in arenas to track player and ball movements. Movement tracking data enabled analysts and researchers to explore locations of players during in-game events, instead of providing insights from box score summaries and play-by-play data. The new tracking data has enabled teams to create insights from focus points that teams find valuable, such as on-ball screens. Important, detailed annotations like on-ball screens are not recorded in standard data sets. In order to capture the time stamps of the different events that are not recorded in standard data, teams have to employ analysts to record these time stamps and provide additional labels to the data.
As available performance data expanded, the scientific methods and tools used to analyze the data expanded as well. Recent advances in machine learning have shown different applications of neural network layers to be able to create abstract information from large and complex data sets. With the advance in applications of neural networks, several complex problems in sports analytics have been approached with this new technology.
We propose using unsupervised learning methods to create detailed labels of identified on-ball screen instances. To create the initial set of on-ball screen instances and to assist in proposing new instances, we use convolutional neural networks to classify positive and negative screens. Once our model is trained, we develop a framework to propose new annotation times to expand the data set, at the same time minimizing the amount of time for analysts to view game footage when verifying new screens.
Using the established set of screens, we use several unsupervised learning methods to provide additional details to the screens identified. The new detailed labels provide additional insight into the screens identified as well establishing a framework to eliminate the costly process of creating multi-labelled instance of on-ball screens using human annotations.

abstract: University of Ontario Institute of Technology


title: Asynchronous bi-directional relay-assisted communication networks

subject:
Cooperative wireless communications
Two-way relay networks

abstract:
We consider an asynchronous bi-directional relay network, consisting of two singleantenna
transceivers and multiple single-antenna relays, where the transceiver-relay
paths are subject to different relaying and/or propagation delays. Such a network can
be viewed as a multipath channel which can cause inter-symbol-interference (ISI) in
the signals received by the two transceivers. Hence, we model such a communication
scheme as a frequency selective multipath channel which produces ISI at the two
transceivers, when the data rates are relatively high. We study both multi- and
single-carrier communication schemes in such networks.
In a multi-carrier communication scheme, to tackle ISI, the transceivers employ
an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) scheme to diagonalize the
end-to-end channel. The relays use simple amplify-and-forward relaying, thereby
materializing a distributed beamformer. For such a scheme, we propose two different
algorithms, based on the max-min fair design approach, to calculate the subcarrier
power loading at the transceivers as well as the relay beamforming weights.
In a single-carrier communication, assuming a block transmission/reception scheme,
block channel equalization is used at the both transceivers to combat the inter-blockinterference
(IBI). Assuming a limited total transmit power budget, we minimize
the total mean squared error (MSE) of the estimated received signals at the both
transceivers by optimally obtaining the transceivers’ powers and the relay beamforming
weight vector as well as the block channel equalizers at the two transceivers.


title: Exploring the participation pathways among high-performance varsity soccer players: is it as simple as specializing or sampling?

subject:
Soccer
Expertise
Development
Skill acquisition
Sport participation

abstract: Research on the sport participation patterns of youth athletes often contrasts two types of participation: early sport specialization (Ford & Williams, 2017) and sampling/ diversification (Coté et al., 2009). However, the definitions of each of these categories has been imprecise and inconsistent, which may impact conclusions about the appropriateness of different types of youth sport participation (Coté et al., 2009). In particular, the notion that youth can only fall into one of two categories of sport participation may be too simple and ecologically problematic (Baker et al., 2009; Bridge & Toms, 2013). The purpose of this study was to explore different participation patterns of youth soccer players, and to understand the impact of these patterns on athletes’ current level of play. A modified version of the Developmental History of Athletes Questionnaire (Hopwood, 2013) was used to collect retrospective participation and training data from Ontario Tech University varsity soccer players.


title: Design optimization of articulated vehicles with autonomous steering control

subject:
Autonomous articulated vehicles
MPC based tracking controller
Design synthesis approach
Numerical simulation
Lateral vehicle dynamics

abstract: Human driver errors cause about 94% of traffic collisions. To increase the safety of road vehicles, extensive studies have been conducted on developing autonomous driving technologies. However, little attention has been paid to exploring autonomous articulated vehicles (AVs). This thesis proposes an approach to the design synthesis of AVs with autonomous steering. A linear yaw-plane model is generated to represent the AV, and a model predictive control (MPC) based tracking controller is designed for steering control. A stochastic modeling technique is developed using Monte-Carlo method to evaluate the performance limitations of AV dynamics. For enhancing the performance of the selfsteering AV, the design synthesis is formulated as a bi-layer design optimization problem. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Differential Evolution (DE) are introduced and tested. Selected simulation results are presented and discussed, and the insightful findings may be used as guidelines for developing autonomous driving control systems of AVs.


title: Emerging online roles for academic librarians in Canada

subject:
Academic librarians
Technology
Blended librarian
Instructional design
Online pedagogy

abstract: The impact of digital technology on higher education is changing library services, spaces and roles. Academic librarians have a further transition with changing pedagogies for online learning. Less is known, however, about the preparation of academic librarians for these changing roles. This study employs an online survey of academic librarians’ perceptions and an analysis of job posting descriptions to capture current realities of academic librarians’ roles and their perceptions of how their new skills and competencies are acquired. The findings of the literature review indicate that librarian as teacher is an emergent role that intersects with technology. The survey findings reveal that academic librarians work across a wide range of library ecologies and that, presently, most librarians acquire significant technology and pedagogy competencies while in the role. The author proposes a competency framework for academic librarians in Canada that reflects present realities and recommends revisions to the instructional curriculum of preparatory programs for academic librarians.


title: A low-fidelity serious game authoring tool and educational network to facilitate medical-based cultural competence education

subject:
Serious games
Cultural competence
Dialogue authoring tool
Scenario editor
Fidelity

abstract: Here I present Fydlyty, a web-based, low-fidelity serious game for medical-based cultural competence education and training. Fydlyty includes a scenario editor and dialogue editor which has the ability to build conversations, interpret responses, and respond to questions/answers from the game player. These responses are based on predefined cultural characteristics of the virtual character (avatar), and on different moods that the avatar may express depending on the situation. In addition to its educational purposes, Fydlyty has been developed as a research tool to examine the role of graphical-based fidelity in the learning process. Furthermore, to facilitate debriefing through a community of learners, the OPEN educational network is introduced. OPEN is designed to provide the instructor with flexibility to frame a learning process, thereby teach, evaluate, and attain feedback from the students. The experiments conducted provide evidence that both these tools can be used for cultural competence training in health professions education.


title: A dynamic visual analytics framework for complex temporal environments

subject:
Dynamic visual analytics
Physiologic
Data streams
Temporal domains
Complex domain

abstract:
Introduction: Data streams are produced by sensors that sample an external system at a periodic interval. As the cost of developing sensors continues to fall, an increasing number of data stream acquisition systems have been deployed to take advantage of the volume and velocity of data streams. An overabundance of information in complex environments have been attributed to information overload, a state of exposure to overwhelming and excessive information. The use of visual analytics provides leverage over potential information overload challenges. Apart from automated online analysis, interactive visual tools provide significant leverage for human-driven trend analysis and pattern recognition. To facilitate analysis and knowledge discovery in the space of multidimensional big data, research is warranted for an online visual analytic framework that supports human-driven exploration and consumption of complex data streams.
Method: A novel framework was developed called the temporal Tri-event parameter based Dynamic Visual Analytics (TDVA). The TDVA framework was instantiated in two case studies, namely, a case study involving a hypothesis generation scenario, and a second case study involving a cohort-based hypothesis testing scenario. Two evaluations were conducted for each case study involving expert participants. This framework is demonstrated in a neonatal intensive care unit case study. The hypothesis generation phase of the pipeline is conducted through a multidimensional and in-depth one subject study using PhysioEx, a novel visual analytic tool for physiologic data stream analysis. The cohort-based hypothesis testing component of the analytic pipeline is validated through CoRAD, a visual analytic tool for performing case-controlled studies.
Results: The results of both evaluations show improved task performance, and subjective satisfaction with the use of PhysioEx and CoRAD. Results from the evaluation of PhysioEx reveals insight about current limitations for supporting single subject studies in complex environments, and areas for future research in that space. Results from CoRAD also support the need for additional research to explore complex multi-dimensional patterns across multiple observations. From an information systems approach, the efficacy and feasibility of the TDVA framework is demonstrated by the instantiation and evaluation of PhysioEx and CoRAD.
Conclusion: This research, introduces the TDVA framework and provides results to validate the deployment of online dynamic visual analytics in complex environments. The TDVA framework was instantiated in two case studies derived from an environment where dynamic and complex data streams were available. The first instantiation enabled the end-user to rapidly extract information from complex data streams to conduct in-depth analysis. The second allowed the end-user to test emerging patterns across multiple observations. To both ends, this thesis provides knowledge that can be used to improve the visual analytic pipeline in dynamic and complex environments.