title: ENHANCING SAFETY ON HORIZONTAL CURVES WITH LIMITED SIGHT DISTANCE: A MULTI-OBJECTIVE OPTIMIZATION FRAMEWORK

contributor:
Hussein, Mohamed
Civil Engineering

subject: Horizontal curves with limited sight distance, risk of collision, crash modification factors, multi-objective optimization, re-dimensioning of cross-section elements, reliability analysis.

abstract: This study introduces a multi-objective optimization framework for the re-dimensioning of the cross-section elements of rural horizontal curves with limited sight distance. The optimization aims at minimizing both the risk of collision associated with the limited sight distance and the expected collision frequency corresponding to the cross-section elements’ dimensions. The risk component was assessed using an index known as (Pnc), which is developed based on the reliability theory. The change in collision frequency corresponding to the change of the cross-section elements was extracted from the literature. The risk and the safety components were then combined into one measure (CMFcombined) to develop a direct measure of the safety impacts of the optimization. The proposed framework was applied to five restricted curves in British Columbia, Canada, considering various scenarios. The results showed a considerable reduction in the Pnc value (ranging from 12% to 73%) and the expected collision frequency (ranging from 10% to 31%) after optimization. The estimated combined reduction in collision frequency (CMFcombined) was estimated to vary between 48% and 76%. The results showed that the optimization of cross-section elements can improve the safety of horizontal curves significantly. The framework presented in this study would support transportation engineers in selecting optimal dimensions of cross-section elements of restricted horizontal curves, understanding the safety consequences of selecting a specific cross-section configuration, and assessing the economic viability of different design options.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: F-SAL: A Framework for Fusion Based Semi-automated Labeling With Feedback

contributor:
Kirubarajan, Thia
Electrical and Computer Engineering

subject:
Machine Learning
Decision Fusion
Computer Vision
Labeling

abstract: In almost all computer vision and perception based applications, particularly with camera and lidar; state-of-the-art algorithms are all based upon deep neural networks which require large amounts of data. Thus, the ability to label data accurately and quickly is of great importance. Approaches to semi-automated labeling (SAL) thus far have relied on using state-of-the-art object detectors to assist with labeling; however, these approaches still require a significant number of manual corrections. Surprisingly, none of these approaches have considered labeling from the perspective of multiple diverse algorithms. In this thesis a new framework for semi-automated labeling is presented, it is called F-SAL which stands for Fusion Based Semi-automated Labeling. Firstly, F-SAL extends on the idea of SAL through introducing multi-algorithm fusion with learning based feedback. Secondly, it incorporates new stages such as uncertainty evaluation and diversity evaluation. All the algorithms and design choices regarding localization fusion, label fusion, uncertainty and diversity evaluation are presented and discussed in significant detail. The biggest advantage of F-SAL is that through the fusion of algorithms, the number of true detections is either more or equivalent to the best single detector; while the false alarms are suppressed significantly. In the case of a single detector, to lower the false alarm rate, detector parameters must be adjusted, which trade lower false alarms for fewer detections. With F-SAL, a lower false alarm rate can be achieved without sacrificing any detections, as false alarms are suppressed during fusion, and true detections are maximized through diversity. Results on several datasets for image and lidar data show that F-SAL outperforms the single best detector in all scenarios.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: INVESTIGATING THE EFFECT OF FLUID SHEAR STRESS-INDUCED CALCIUM RELEASE ON MIGRATION-ASSOCIATED MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN HUMAN PERIPHERAL EOSINOPHILS

contributor: Medical Sciences (Division of Physiology/Pharmacology)

subject:
eosinophil
migration
shear stress
calcium
confocal microscopy
actin

abstract:
Elevated eosinophil counts in the circulation and/or tissues is considered a clinical feature and biomarker of several chronic airway diseases including asthma. As such, many therapeutic biologics for asthma developed within the past decade target eosinophil recruitment to and accumulation in the airways to mixed success. Although the nature of adhesive interactions and directional migration of eosinophils has been well studied, there remains a lack of comprehensive understanding regarding the components which modulate eosinophil movement from the blood into respiratory tissues that impacts the efficacy of these clinical studies; therefore, continued research in this area may reveal novel therapeutic targets and ultimately improve clinical outcomes of patients with eosinophilia-mediated diseases.
	The Janssen lab serendipitously discovered that the mere perfusion of standard media without pharmacological additives over human eosinophils in vitro induced the release of intracellular calcium (Ca2+) reminiscent of chemokine-induced Ca2+ release well documented in the literature. The central focus of my doctoral research was to characterize this novel phenomenon of the perfusion-induced calcium response (PICR), and to determine its physiological role in the eosinophil extravasation process to inflamed tissue sites.
	In our first research objective, we optimized a protocol of eosinophil isolation directly from whole blood with emphases on maximizing population purity and yield efficiency while minimizing cell activation that could potentially interfere with secondary functional assays. For our latter two studies, we utilized real-time fluorescent confocal microscopy and immunofluorescence staining to investigate the PICR. We observed that the latency to the PICR post-perfusion was significantly shorter in eosinophils subjected to physiological rates of shear stress, suggesting a temporal-regulatory function of eosinophil mechanosensitivity. Furthermore, the disruption of the PICR via pharmacological inhibitors significantly reduced eosinophil motility by increasing the latency to cytoskeletal rearrangements (flattening onto substrate-coated surfaces, formation of membrane protrusions that explore the environment) necessary for cell migration out of the vasculature. Detailing the role of eosinophil sensitivity to the mechanical trigger of fluid shear stress expands upon the current paradigm of eosinophil recruitment and will contribute to the development of clinical strategies.

abstract: Dissertation

abstract: Candidate in Philosophy


title: The Effect of Trust and Sense of belonging on Civic participation: a Comparative study between Korea and Canada

title: Comparing Civic participation Between Korea and Canada

contributor:
Cyril, Levitt
Sociology

subject:
civic participation
trust
sense of belonging
Korea

abstract: This research examines the difference in civic participation between Korean and Canadian citizens in two categories – social engagement (participation in general social groups) and political activity by using the Korea Social Integration Survey (SIS) and the Canadian General Social Survey (GSS). According to the results of this study, Canadians show higher social engagement than Koreans, while Koreans exhibit higher political activity, showing higher combined civic participation between individual citizens. This heightened civic participation by Koreans also reflects a stronger sense of collectivism. The results of the analysis on the effect of civic participation for each country show that, in Korea, both trust and sense of belonging were positively associated while in Canada, trust was negatively associated, and sense of belonging more positively associated than in Korea. The difference between the two countries can be attributed to the negative association found in institutional confidence as well. In Canada, active participation in politics implies that civic participation is part of more forward-looking action that shows greater individual preference and intention in comparison to civic participation of Korean citizens influenced more by collectivism. As such, this research implies that Korea needs to enhance individual civic identity in order to overcome collectivism.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: LANDFILL LEACHATE-AFFECTED GROUNDWATER DISCHARGING TO A POND

title: LEACHATE PLUME DISCHARGING TO A POND

contributor:
Smith, James
Roy, James
Earth and Environmental Sciences

subject: groundwater leachate pond PFAS

abstract: Groundwater contaminated by leachate from historic landfills, closed and typically without liners or leachate-collection systems, can potentially discharge to surrounding surface waters and impair their ecological communities. However, few studies have focused on emerging contaminants (e.g., per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)), inputs to non-flowing water bodies, and exposure across the various ecological zones. The objective of this study was to better understand the ecological risk posed by a historic landfill plume discharging to a nearby pond, and how the pond’s ecosystem may be affected by potential spatio-temporal variability in contaminant concentrations and contaminant discharge. The site contained an artificial pond 40m west of a historic sanitation landfill and was monitored for ~1 year. Seasonal samples of shallow groundwater analyzed for standard chemistry plus artificial sweeteners and PFAS revealed a large and seasonally stable plume footprint in the pond and relatively constant exposure to the endobenthic zone (within sediments), with some constituents at potentially toxic concentrations. Elevated electrical conductivity measured just above (~1 cm) the sediment bed indicated exposure to the epibenthic zone, with greater exposure associated with higher groundwater fluxes at night, after rain and melt events, and in winter. It is speculated that terrestrial evapotranspiration and pond evaporation play a role in these temporal patterns. Estimated contaminant mass fluxes into the pond using contaminant and temperature-based flux data showed spatial variability within the plume footprint and seasonal patterns. Concentrations in the pond water showed exposure to pelagic organisms was consistent for chloride and saccharin (and likely PFAS), but varied seasonally for nitrate and ammonium, with all at lower concentrations compared to the endobenthic and epibenthic zones. This study revealed significant and variable ecological exposure from a landfill leachate plume discharging to a pond and provides guidance to landfill operators on improved monitoring protocols for such sites.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)

abstract: Groundwater contaminated by historic landfills, closed and typically without liners or leachate-collection systems, can potentially discharge to surrounding surface waters, threatening their ecological communities. The objective of this study was to better understand the ecological risk posed by a historic landfill plume discharging to a nearby pond, and how this might vary spatially and temporally. The study site contained an artificial pond 40m west of a historic sanitation landfill and was monitored for contaminant concentrations and contaminant discharge for ~1 year. Elevated concentrations of leachate contaminants were relatively steady within the sediments (endobenthic zone) and similar across the contaminant discharge area but varied substantially in space and time (higher at night, after events, in the winter) at the pond bed (epibenthic zone), while the patterns differed by contaminant in the surface water above (pelagic zone). These findings can provide insights into improved monitoring and protection of ecosystems at landfill sites.


title: Investigating Immunotherapy Treatments and the Immunological Synapse in Triple Negative Breast Cancer

contributor:
Mossman, Karen
Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences

subject:
Immunotherapy
Breast Cancer

abstract:
Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype of the disease with dismal clinical outcome. Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB), which blocks inhibitory pathways on T cells, has surged to the forefront of cancer therapy with clinical success in a variety of cancer types. However, ICB for TNBC only benefits 10-20% of patients. Thus, a deeper understanding of the immune landscape in TNBC is required to develop efficacious therapies and delineate prognostic biomarkers of disease.
 	We have developed combination therapy platforms that sensitize TNBC tumors to ICB. Using a clinical chemotherapy (FEC) combined with oncolytic virotherapy (oHSV-1) we show enhanced tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), upregulation of B cell receptor signaling pathways, suppression of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and improved survival. In vivo depletion studies revealed that B cells were required to achieve cures with treatment. Furthermore, the absence of B cells resulted in the expansion of MDSCs. This crucial finding of the importance of B cells for mediation and downregulation of MDSCs is a novel and significant contribution to the field.
	RNA sequencing revealed that two of the top upregulated genes in mice treated with FEC + oHSV-1 were S100A8 and S100A9, calcium binding proteins highly expressed in myeloid cells. These genes have controversial findings in the literature with both pro- and antitumorigenic functions being reported. Investigation of data from the Cancer Genome Atlas revealed that high levels of S100A8 and S100A9 correlate with improved prognostic outcomes in breast cancer patients. In line with the clinical data, our data suggests that increased levels of S100A8 and S100A9 results in improved responses to immunotherapy treatments and that this increased expression is involved in macrophage-mediated epigenetic reprogramming of the tumor microenvironment.
	Our second therapeutic platform used a radiolabeled biomolecule containing the beta-emitting radioisotope, lutetium-177. We found that two doses of radiotherapy, combined with ICB improved overall survival in murine TNBC tumors, increased TILs and suppressed circulating MDSCs. These findings offer insight into the newly explored field of combination radioimmunotherapy and again highlight the importance of suppressing MDSCs to alleviate tumor immunosuppression.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

abstract: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has poor prognostic outcomes due to lack of expression of targets for therapy. As such, patients routinely undergo aggressive treatment regimens with many harsh side effects, including high levels of toxicity. Immunotherapy, a form of therapy that boosts the immune system to fight cancer cells, has gained increasing prominence largely due to its safety and low toxicity to the patient. In the work within this dissertation, we have developed therapeutic platforms and studied them in a murine model of TNBC. The completed studies show the use of clinical therapies, in combination with immunotherapy and investigate the fundamental biology associated with therapeutic outcomes. These findings contribute knowledge to progress clinical regimens for TNBC patients as well as to better identify patients that will respond to therapy. Although this proposal is specific to breast cancer, the underlying concepts can be applied to many other forms of cancer.


title: Development of an advanced gaseous neutron imaging system based on thick gas electron multipliers with 2d delay line readout

title: THGEM based neutron imaging system

contributor:
Byun, Soo Hyun
Physics and Astronomy

subject:
neutron
imaging
thgem
mpgd
boron
proportional counter
delay line

abstract:
Neutron imaging is a non-destructive technique with many applications in diverse
fields such as industrial quality assurance, archaeology, and border security. However
with the high cost of the standard fill gas 3He and the high cost of scaling conventional
digital imaging systems to large areas its applications are limited. Here is presented
the proof of concept for a gaseous neutron imaging system utilizing a 10B4C solid state
converter and THGEM technology and 2D passive delay line readout. THGEMs used
for signal amplification can be produced cost effectively and in large areas by PCB
manufacturers. This combined with the reduced channel processing requirements of
delay lines over individual pixel readouts results in a cost-effective and scalable system
when compared to similar designs using solid state multipliers such as silicon photomultipliers. Here is presented a proof of concept of this imaging system with data
acquisition accomplished by digitization and offline image reconstruction achieving
mean X and Y resolution of <sigma_x> = (1.37+-0.24) mm and <sigma_y> = (1.15+-0.13) mm respectively. Studied in parallel with this system is the effectiveness of gadolinium
oxide based paint as a thermal neutron shield and image contrast agent.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

abstract:
In this work is presented the development process of a novel and cost-effective neutron
imaging system capable of imaging soft biological and dense materials that X-rays are
unable to penetrate. Such a system may be scaled to large areas for many applications
including the study of large archeological objects or employed as a security measure
to monitor border checkpoints for transportation of controlled radioactive materials.


title: SL2SF: Refactoring Simulink to Stateflow

contributor:
Lawford, Mark
Computing and Software

abstract:
The adoption of Model-Based Design in the development of embedded control systems across industries has led to the widespread use of Matlab Simulink/Stateflow for modelling controller software.  Within the Simulink environment, component systems may be modelled as either Simulink block diagrams or as Stateflow state charts.  The choice of modelling formalism is informed by the nature of the system being modelled, with state charts being the recommended approach for systems which rely on stateful decision logic.  However, in practice, systems with stateful decision logic are often modelled with complex block diagrams instead, hindering their readability.

This thesis presents a methodology for improving the maintainability and understandability of embedded software models by refactoring component systems which use block diagrams to model stateful logic into functionally equivalent state charts that represent the intended behaviour more naturally.  This methodology establishes strategies for identifying such component systems within large industrial models, and for translating block diagrams into state charts.

The translation methodology uses Mealy machines as a semantic model for both block diagrams and state charts, and tabular expressions are used as an intermediate representation to bridge the syntactic gap between the two modelling languages.  Both identification and translation methodologies are designed to be automated.  A prototype translation tool was developed, implementing the strategy presented in this work.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: GIS AND REMOTE SENSING TECHNIQUES TO QUANTIFY VEGETATION RESPONSES TO  LANDSCAPE-LEVEL DISTURBANCES

title: GIS AND REMOTE SENSING OF  LANDSCAPE-LEVEL DISTURBANCES

contributor:
Chow-Fraser, Patricia
Biology

subject:
Remote Sensing
GIS
Ecosystems
Landscape
Disturbance
Phragmites australis
Wildfire
Image classification

abstract: Ecosystems respond to stress factors that may have a natural or anthropogenic origin. Natural stress factors include flood, wildfire, drought, insect infestations, etc. and anthropogenic stress factors include pollution, land cover changes, and the introduction of alien invasive species. These stressors can degrade ecosystems and result in biodiversity loss and lowered resilience. In this thesis, I investigate the spatial and temporal dynamics of ecosystem stress caused by natural and anthropogenic factors in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The large study areas and long-term changes in my research have mandated the use of Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques in ways that have not been previously considered in ecological studies. In the first two chapters, I developed new approaches to monitor Phragmites australis, one of the most aggressive alien plant species that has invaded wetland ecosystems throughout N. America, as well as roadside ditches where management is costly and logistically challenging. I have developed innovative methods to accurately map invasive Phragmites under two conditions: 1) when plant biomass and densities are high so that managers can evaluate the effectiveness of treatment methods and 2) when plant biomass and densities are small and sparse so that these stands can be quantified and eradicated. I found that freely available, low to moderate resolution satellite imagery (Landsat 7/8 and Sentinel 2), acquired in late July or early August, can be used to produce highly accurate maps of dense Phragmites populations. I also found that commercial satellite imagery (WorldView 2/3) can be used to map Phragmites in the early stages of invasion and when plants have regenerated following herbicide treatment. In the latter half of my thesis, I examined how pre-fire canopy species composition and forest health influence the response of boreal forests to wildfires in Alberta, Canada. Forest fires occur naturally in boreal forests and usually affect very large spatial extents that remove accumulated fire fuel from the system. Following these outbreaks, the forests will regenerate and eventually become restored to their initial state. Climate-change induced droughts and flooding may change the frequency and location of these forest fires. To quantify the burn severity of each fire, I used Landsat images to calculate the differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR); then combined dNBR for all affected areas to develop the Standardized Burn Impact Score (SBIS), which quantifies the average impact of each fire based on the size of the burned area and the mean burn severity per pixel. In general, pre-fire dominance of coniferous species (jack pine and spruce) led to higher SBIS values while pre-fire dominance of broad-leaved species (aspen, birch, and poplar) led to lower values.  Mean burn severity and SBIS values increased significantly when fire outbreaks occurred at a distance of 1 km or greater from water features (e.g. lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands).  I also investigated the post-fire recovery process using indices of vegetation health and accounting for the effect of distance from the water features with respect to different levels of human activity. My results show that the post-fire recovery patterns are altered due to human activities and can affect the long-term fire regimes in boreal forests of northern Alberta.  Overall, my thesis has advanced the use of novel remote-sensing techniques to study ecosystem stress factors on wetland and boreal ecosystems in Canada.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

abstract: Ecosystem stress is caused by natural or anthropogenic factors and results degradation of ecosystems. I investigated the spatial and temporal dynamics of ecosystem stress on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems using Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems techniques. I mapped Phragmites australis, a notorious invasive grass, in wetlands to aid the Phragmites management programs. My research shows that images collected in late summer or fall provide high Phragmites mapping accuracy. Furthermore, I successfully mapped small, low-density Phragmites stands in the early stages of invasions. I also investigated the pre-and post-fire vegetation dynamics in the boreal forests of Alberta. I show that the species composition and water features influence the burn severity. The human influence on these ecosystems alters the natural post-fire vegetation recovery processes. Overall, my thesis advances the use of novel remote-sensing techniques to investigate the ecosystem stress factors on wetland and boreal ecosystems in Canada.


title: A CYCLE-ACCURATE SIMULATION INFRASTRUCTURE FOR CACHE-COHERENT INTERCONNECT ARCHITECTURES

contributor:
Hassan, Mohamed
Electrical and Computer Engineering

abstract:
Maintaining exponential growth in performance of computing systems is no longer derived by the advancement in technological metrics such as clock speed and transistor scaling due to the saturation of Moore's law. Therefore, architectural innovations are a crucial solution in order to maintain this growth. However, these innovations highly demand for comprehensive simulation tools since they provide an infrastructure for evaluating and prototyping new design ideas. Thus, this thesis introduces CacheSim, an efficient, extensible, and cycle-accurate simulator for cache-coherent interconnect architecture. CacheSim enables researchers and computer architects to build reconfigurable simulation infrastructure for multi-core processor chips with a high degree of flexibility of controlling system's configuration parameters such as cache organization, coherence protocol models, and interconnect bus architecture as well as bus arbitration policies. The primary motivation behind developing CacheSim is to use it for architectural explorations, study new design ideas, and evaluate existing ones. Throughout this thesis, we make the following contributions. First, unlike existing state-of-art simulators, we develop a complete cache coherence solution for multi-level cache hierarchy memory systems that support modern interconnecting multi-core bus architectures. Second, CacheSim provides these capabilities to the end-user not only without the need to modify the source code, but also with a high degree of configuribility to control the simulator behaviour through a well-defined input interface.
Third, We use this tool to design a novel predictable and coherent bus architecture that provides a considerably tighter latency bound compared to the state-of-art predictable coherent solutions. Finally, we thoroughly validate the simulator features using directed and continuous regression testing plan and code coverage to ensure the functional correctness of the simulator. We release CacheSim as an open-source for the research community to extend and use. We expect CacheSim to significantly accelerate the design and testing of novel research ideas in cache coherency and predictable interconnect architectures used in real-time systems.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: Advanced Control of Regenerative Cascaded H-Bridge (CHB) Motor Drives

contributor:
Narimani, Mehdi
Electrical Engineering

subject:
Power Electronics
Medium-voltage (MV) motor drives
Advanced Controller

abstract:
Medium-voltage (MV) motor drives have found widespread applications in various heavy industries, such as in the oil and gas sectors, production plants, and process industries. Conventional cascaded H-bridge (CHB) multilevel inverters dominate the medium-voltage industrial drives domain due to their modularity, scalability, and reliability. The most prevalent CHB topology in the drive industry is based on the diodes-front-end (DFE) rectifier, which greatly limits the industrial application of the conventional CHB drives where the ability of handling regeneration is required. The main objective of this thesis is to develop a low-cost, high performance, reliable regenerative CHB drive. The thesis is concentrating on reducing the grid-tied filter size, shrinking the DC-link capacitors, improving the system’s performance and reliability through advanced control techniques.
First, to reduce the number of passive filter components, a new sideband harmonic active filtering strategy based on the carrier-shifting method is proposed for regenerative CHB drives. This proposed approach extends the carrier shifted PWM method for regenerative CHB drives to further reduce the required passive filter size significantly and thus improves the overall size, cost, and efficiency while complying with IEEE Std 519-2014 grid standard. Second, a novel voltage ripple controller is proposed to reduce the dc-link capacitance in the three-phase regenerative CHB drive without adding extra measurements. Third, to achieve a faster dynamic response and the multi-objective performance during the control of CHB drives, a novel high-performance predictive control with long prediction horizons is proposed to improve the control performance of the CHB multilevel inverters. The formulation of the proposed high-performance finite control set model predictive control (FCS-MPC) is explained in detail and analyzed to reduce the real-time computation burden. Last, when a fault is detected in the regenerative CHB drive system, the reliability and fault-tolerant ability are considered as the main issues. To improve the drive system reliability, a non-symmetrical selective harmonic elimination (SHE) formulation is proposed to extend the output voltage range with a good harmonic profile under post-fault conditions.
Experimental validation of the proposed algorithms is presented for the operation of a scaled-down seven-level regenerative CHB drive system. These proposed techniques make the regenerative CHB drive a promising solution for future medium-voltage regenerative drive applications in terms of cost, performance, and reliability.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Patient-reported outcomes in randomized controlled trials of heart failure: from inclusion to quality of reporting

contributor:
Van Spall, Harriette
Health Research Methodology

subject:
Patient-Reported Outcomes
Randomized Controlled Trials
Heart Failure

abstract:
Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) produce meaningful information about patient-perceived health status reported directly by patients. Routine collection of PROs data is particularly important in chronic conditions, such as heart failure (HF). Major cardiovascular societies and regulatory agencies encouraged PRO inclusion in randomized controlled trials (RCTs), but PROs remain underutilized as a key outcome in these studies.

In this systematic review, we aimed to evaluate temporal trends and explore trial characteristics associated with PRO inclusion in HF RCTs published in high-impact medical journals. We also assessed the quality of PRO reporting against the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials PRO extension.

We found that over half of HF RCTs included a PRO. The proportion of RCTs with PROs increased significantly since 2000. A number of RCT characteristics such as multicentre; medium-sized (n = 51-250 participants); trials coordinated in Central and South America; and that tested health services, devices or surgery, exercise and rehabilitation interventions were independently associated with higher odds of PRO inclusion. The quality of PRO reporting was modest, with better reporting in RCTs with PROs a primary or co-primary endpoint.

Consistent PRO inclusion and high-quality reporting are necessary to increase the utility of these findings by patients, clinicians, and health care policy makers.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: Development of Hybrid Inexact Optimization Models for Water Quality Management under Uncertainty

contributor:
Li, Zhong
Civil Engineering

subject:
water quality management
uncertainty
simulation and optimization
data-driven modeling

abstract: Water quality management (WQM) significantly affects water use and ecosystem health, which is helpful for achieving sustainability in environmental and economic aspects. However, the implementation of water quality management is still challenging in practice due to the uncertainty and nonlinearity existing in water systems, as well as the difficulty of the integration of simulation and optimization analyses. Therefore, effective optimization frameworks for handling nonlinearity, various uncertainties, and integrated complex water quality simulation models are highly desired. This dissertation tries to address such challenges by proposing new efficient hybrid inexact optimization models for water quality management under uncertainty through: i) developing an interval quadratic programming (IQP) model for handling both nonlinearity and uncertainty expressed as intervals for water quality management, and solving the developed model by three algorithms to compare and investigate the most effective and straightforward solution algorithm for IQP-WQM problems; ii) developing a simulation-based interval chance-constrained quadratic programming model, which is able to deal with nonlinearity and uncertainties with multiple formats, and implementing a real-world case study of phosphorus control in the central Grand River, Ontario, Canada; iii) proposing a data-driven interval credibility constrained quadratic programming model for water quality management by utilizing a data-driven surrogate model (i.e., inexact linear regression) to incorporate a complex water quality simulation model with the optimization framework to overcome challenges from the integrated simulation-optimization. The performance of the proposed frameworks/models was tested by different case studies and various mathematical techniques (e.g., sensitivity analysis). The results indicate the proposed models are capable of dealing with nonlinearity and various uncertainties, and significantly reducing the computational burden from simulation-optimization analysis. Coupling such efforts in developing efficient hybrid inexact optimization models for water quality management under uncertainty can provide useful tools to solve large-scale complex water quality management problems in a robust manner, and further provide reliable and effective decision supports for water quality planning and management.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

abstract: Water quality management plays a key role in facilitating environmental and economic sustainability. However, many challenges still exist in practical water quality management problems, such as various uncertainties and complexities, as well as complicated integrated simulation-optimization analysis. Therefore, the goal of this dissertation is to address such challenges by developing a set of efficient hybrid inexact optimization models for water quality management under uncertainty through: i) developing an interval quadratic programming model for water quality management, and investigating its effective and straightforward solution algorithms; ii) leveraging the power of data-driven modeling and proposing efficient data-driven optimization models based on hybrid inexact programming for water quality management. Robust and effective water quality planning schemes for large-scale water quality management problems can be obtained based on the proposed frameworks/models.


title: MOTHERING THROUGH SUBSTANCE USE: A Narrative Case Study Contextualizing One Woman’s Experience of Mothering While Engaging in Substance Use

contributor:
Ion, Dr. Allyson
Social Work

subject:
Mothering
Substance Use
Narrative Inquiry and Feminist Research
Dominant Motherhood Discourses

abstract: Motherhood has been set up as an institution of control over women by the patriarchy. Dominant ideas of motherhood and what constitutes being a good mother are steeped in patriarchal ideals and conceptual thoughts. What is absent from ideas of motherhood is the female lived experiences of mothering. Mothering, by contrast, is the conceptual understanding of what it means to be a mother from a women-centered perspective. Under the dominant discourse of motherhood, mothers are self-sacrificing, generous, calm, patient, and loving. Those mothers who do not meet these standards are constructed as "bad mothers," reinforcing a binary understanding of mothers. This paper challenges the good/bad mother binary by drawing on the lived experience of one mother who uses substances to demonstrate the judgmental road mothers are forced to walk. This thesis takes a feminist-based approach to explore Ruth's story: a mother who engages in substance use. This research is produced through a feminist ontology to add to a body of scholarship that works to create a counter-discourse for mothers from mothers against dominating patriarchal norms of motherhood. A Narrative case study methodology is applied to Ruth's story to extrapolate the complex realities Ruth faces as she attempts to make sense of her mothering identity within the patriarchal definition of the "good mother." While engaging in substance use, Ruth's mothering story produced four themes that facilitate understanding mothering from a holistic, women-centric lens. First, this research emphasizes the barriers Ruth experiences in building, understanding and maintaining her sense of self.  Second, Ruth's story illuminates the impact of the dominant "good" motherhood discourse on how women like Ruth conceptualize themselves as a mother. Third, Ruth's story enables the exploration of the intersectional identities of mothering and substance use in a way that creates space for both identities to work together rather than in opposition. Lastly, reflecting on the surveillance Ruth has endured in relation to her family and interactions with child welfare, her story reveals how discourses of risk are connected to and associated with substance use. Through the exploration of Ruth's mothering experiences, a narrative is produced to challenge and disrupt the oppressive institution of motherhood.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Social Work (MSW)


title: Virtual Resolutions of Points in Sufficiently General Position in P^1 × P^1

contributor:
Harada, Megumi
Van Tuyl, Adam
Mathematics and Statistics

abstract:
Minimal free resolutions are an important notion in algebraic geometry and commutative algebra. The minimal free resolution of a subvariety in projective spaces provides geometric properties of the subvariety. However, if the ambient space is the product of projective spaces, the minimal free resolution can be too long. On the other hand, virtual resolutions of a subvariety of products of projective spaces can be shorter and they still provide information about the subvariety. In this thesis, we investigate sets of points in
P^1 × P^1 with generic Hilbert function and in particular, points in a sufficiently general position. We find an explicit virtual resolution of ideals of a sufficiently general set of points in P^1 × P^1. Our proof depends upon computing some values of the mutigraded Castelnuovo-Mumford regularity and using a result of Berkesch, Erman and Smith. We also generalize one of the Berkesch, Erman and Smith’s result in a special case.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: Instability of peaked travelling wave solutions of the b-family of Camassa-Holm equations

contributor:
Pelinovsky, Dmitry
Mathematics and Statistics

abstract:
The aim of this work is to study instability of peaked travelling waves of the b-family of the generalized Camassa-Holm equations. This family includes the integrable Camassa-Holm and
Degasperis-Procesi equations for b = 2 and b = 3 respectively.
We  first review previous results on the existence and stability of
peaked travelling waves on the infinite line and in the periodic domain. Next, we prove instability of the peaked solitary waves under
suitable assumptions. The instability is obtained by the methods
of characteristics and comparison theory for differential equations.
We give some precise results on instability of the peaked periodic
waves in the Camassa-Holm equation. Finally, we review open
problems in the stability theory of peaked periodic waves in the
Degasperis-Procesi equation.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: Not completely Ukrainians: the experiences of internally displaced students in Ukraine

contributor:
Satzewich, Vic
Sociology

subject:
Ukraine
internal displacement
internally displaced people
IDPs
identity
Donbas
stigmatization
othering
alienation

abstract:
The integration of Ukrainian Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in host communities is as multi-dimensional as the political crisis of 2014 that led to the displacement. Having made a difficult choice to let go of their past lives to escape from the constant shelling and instability of the self-proclaimed republics, IDPs hoped to find shelter and be accepted by their fellow countrymen. While many surveys claim that Ukrainians generally seem to have tolerant attitudes towards IDPs, the findings of my study strongly indicate that quite often IDPs normalize stigmatization they face.

This study employed qualitative research methods and relied on twenty-eight semi-structured in-depth interviews with internally displaced students – a group not often studied by researchers. Each interview explored issues relating to the identities of IDPs and their juxtaposition (Ukrainian, resettler and regional identity). Similar to other studies based on qualitative strategies, this research has its limitations, stemming from difficulties to extract opinions that would not be tainted by the desire to fit into a particular narrative or match perceived expectations. While researchers can attempt to remain unbiased and be aware of their subconscious beliefs, we cannot be certain that what interviewees share with us is what they sincerely believe.

Nevertheless, taking into account these limitations, qualitative studies are essential for understanding the experiences of Ukrainian IDPs. While more research is needed to get to the roots of the issues surrounding the unique challenges of IDPs’ integration, this thesis makes a step to analyze what causes stigmatization of Ukrainian IDPs, how IDPs choose to respond to the stigma, what kind of strategies they use to manage it, how they interact with locals in the host communities and what are the consequences of such stigmatization.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: EVALUATING THE USABILITY OF A MOBILE APPLICATION (THROMBO-LINK) FOR PERIPROCEDURAL MANAGEMENT OF ANTICOAGULANT MEDICATION

title: USABILITY TESTING OF A MOBILE HEALTH APPLICATION (THROMBO-LINK)

contributor:
Vinai, Bhagirath
eHealth

subject: eHealth Usability

abstract:
BACKGROUND: Peri-operative anticoagulation management plans reduce the risk of bleeding and thrombotic events in patients who are on anticoagulation therapy and undergoing surgical procedures. A mobile application (Thrombo-Link) has been developed as a clinical decision support tool to aid healthcare professionals in providing these management plans. Little literature exists exploring the usability of such an application.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this thesis is to examine: 1) How Jakob Nielsen’s 10 Usability Heuristics can be used to identify usability shortfalls of the Thrombo-Link application to improve subsequent iterations, and 2) the role of end user testing in further identifying usability issues of the Thrombo-Link application in a clinical setting.
METHODS: This study included the participation of three usability experts and five staff from the Hamilton Health Sciences peri-operative anticoagulation management clinic. Usability experts utilized Jakob Nielsen’s 10 usability heuristics to identify usability shortfalls of Thrombo-Link which were conveyed to the software developer. Iterative changes were made to the application. During the end user testing, participants were asked to use the application as they would in the clinic and completed the system usability scale (SUS) to assess the overall usability of Thrombo-Link.
RESULTS: A total of 51 usability issues were identified by the heuristic evaluators and 7 usability issues were identified by the clinic staff. Clinic staff rated the application with a median answer of 5/5 on the SUS in terms of ease of use.
CONCLUSIONS: Both Nielsen’s heuristics and end user testing identified usability concerns within the Thrombo-Link application which were addresses by iterative software development. This furthers our understanding of the usability of this clinical decision support tool

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)

abstract: It is estimated that each year 10% of patients who use blood thinning therapy need to interrupt their medication to undergo surgery. This study focuses on how easy it is to use a mobile application (Thrombo-Link) that was designed to manage the process of interrupting these medications. We wanted to identify shortfalls of the application. This study used methods that made sure the application did what it was designed to do without risking patient safety. A team of usability experts did the heuristic evaluation using Jakob Nielsen’s methodology. The end user participants were staff from Hamilton General Hospital bridging clinic. Both testing approaches helped us find ways to make the application work better for the people who would be using it.


title: RAPIDLY SCALING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS

title: LEVERAGING CLOUD-BASED LOW-CODE DEVELOPMENT PLATFORMS WITH DEVSECOPS GUIDELINES TO RAPIDLY SCALE THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS

contributor:
Archer, Norm
eHealth

subject:
Cloud-based Healthcare
Digital Transformation
Application Development
Low-Code Application Development (LCDP)
DevSecOps
Software Development Methodology

abstract:
The job of healthcare professionals in the healthcare sector has never been more critical than now due to the current unprecedented rate of long-term IT infrastructural changes and digital transformation. The 2019/2020 COVID-19 pandemic has been a major driver of these changes. Cultivating a culture of digital innovation and transformation is now at the forefront of the healthcare value-chain. There is an increased need to optimize the operations of the healthcare system, improve collaboration among Health Teams and deliver more agile and secure applications to support both clinical and administrative processes in healthcare institutions. These driving forces require a vision and strategy for digital transformation in the healthcare system, involving a closer look at modern DevSecOps best practices in the application development process. The fast-growing popularity of Cloud Computing has driven the consideration of Low-Code Development Platforms (LCDP), built securely in the cloud infrastructure, to support the transformation of the healthcare system.
Low-Code Development Platforms are being considered by enterprises around the world to deliver rapid software development, continuous delivery, and continuous integration of their application systems. The William Osler Health System is recognized for its adoption of technological innovations for improved patient experience and satisfaction. Its innovations include the use of the Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare platforms; and Microsoft 365 and Power Platform services with embedded Low-Code technology to automate and optimize internal operational processes.
The aim of this master’s thesis is to demystify the concept of cloud-based Low-Code Application Development approaches to healthcare software development by using a case study of a healthcare application within the systems being built to support operational processes in the William Osler Health System. This study contrasts challenges of current internal tools and methods of operations, communication, and application development in the organization, with the potential benefits of using cloud-based Low-Code platforms to drive digital transformation.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: Numerical model study on polyhydroxyalkanoate production by Cupriavidus necator

contributor:
Kim, Younggy
Civil Engineering

subject:
Polyhydroxyalkanoates
Numerical model

abstract: Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are biodegradable plastic synthesized by microorganisms from renewable carbon resources and they are promising substitutes for conventional fossil-fuel-based plastics due to their similar physical properties. Pure cultures of particular microorganisms are commonly used for industrial PHA production but high production costs due to requirements of sterile conditions and refined substrates hinder the mass production of PHAs. Thus, model development for PHA production by microbes is essential to investigate the PHA formation and microbial metabolisms for enhanced productivity and PHA contents. In the present study, a comprehensive numerical model has been developed and calibrated for the non-growth associated PHA production process by Cupriavidus necator. The model parameters were calibrated with 8 selected experimental studies and the simulation results show good agreement with experimental data. Two methods were used to conduct sensitivity analysis: the simple method and the overall relative sensitivity analysis method. Maximum specific residual biomass growth rate was the most sensitive parameter. The calibrated model was used to investigate fed-batch feeding strategies that optimize PHA accumulation by limited nutrient feeding in the PHA production phase. The simulation results showed limited phosphorous feeding accumulated more PHA than limited nitrogen feeding. The optimal feeding strategy was determined to be limited phosphorous feeding at 5% of initial phosphorous during the PHB production phase, yielding simulated 226.0 g/L PHB at the end of the 168-hour operation.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: Investigating the role of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato biofilm formation during successful infections and the effect of PAMP-Triggered Immunity on biofilm formation in Arabidopsis

contributor:
Cameron, Robin
Biology

subject:
Pseudomonas syringae
Biofilm
PTI
Salicylic acid

abstract: Plants rely on innate immunity to perceive and respond to pathogenic microbes. Pathogenic microbes suppress and evade plant immune responses to obtain nutrients and multiply resulting in plant diseases and death. One battleground for the arms race between plants and microbial invaders is located in the leaf intercellular space, specifically between Pseudomonas bacteria and Arabidopsis. This thesis seeks to understand the virulence mechanisms that allow Pseudomonas bacteria to grow within the leaves of Arabidopsis and how the plant immune response reduces pathogen growth and reproduction. Some plant pathogens produce specific extracellular polysaccharides to potentially enhance pathogenicity during infection of plants. The objective of this thesis is to understand the importance of biofilms for Pseudomonas success and determine if Arabidopsis suppresses biofilm formation as part of the plant immune response. It was hypothesized that biofilm formation contributes to Pseudomonas success in planta and Arabidopsis suppresses biofilm formation during PAMP-Triggered Immunity (PTI) to reduce bacterial growth. Wild-type plants and defense mutants were infiltrated with flg22 or mock (water) treatments to induce or mock-induce PTI in plants, followed by observing GFP-expressing Pseudomonas via florescence microscopy to determine if biofilm-like aggregate formation was occurring. In vivo studies in this thesis indicate that biofilm-like aggregate formation contributes to bacterial success during Arabidopsis infection. Additionally, the phytohormone, salicylic acid (SA), accumulates in leaf intercellular spaces of resistant plants during PTI that suppresses biofilm formation, suggesting that SA acts as an anti-microbial and anti-biofilm agent that contributes to the suppression of pathogen growth during plant defense.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: Cognitive Structures of Differential Geometry and Their Implications on Undergraduate Mathematics Curriculum

contributor:
Lovric, Miroslav
Mathematics and Statistics

abstract: Based on similar studies using the FCI and CCI, this project aims to explore how effectively undergraduate courses prepare students for study in higher level mathematics courses. To investigate this, we choose to study the preparedness of Level III differential geometry students by developing and implementing a concept inventory that measures the cognitive structures of prerequisite undergraduate material. Using techniques in item analysis and concept mapping, we assess the cognitive structures of the incoming students, and identify areas for improvement within the  Calculus and Linear Algebra course sequences based on the current literature on concept inventories. We also investigate potential relationships between cognitive structure and academic success, and attempt to measure the development of cognitive structures as a result of instruction throughout the term.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: Concomitant Delivery of Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor, MS-275, Enhances the Therapeutic Efficacy of Adoptive T Cell Therapy in Advanced Stage Solid Tumours

contributor:
Wan, Yonghong
Medicine

subject:
Adoptive T cell Therapy
Oncolytic Virus
Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor
Solid Tumours

abstract: Despite the remarkable success of adoptive T cell therapy in the treatment of melanoma and hematological malignancies, therapeutic capacity in a broad range of solid tumours is impaired due to immunosuppressive events that render tumour-specific T cells unable to persist and kill transformed cells. To address some of the limitations of ACT in solid tumours, our laboratory has developed a therapeutic modality utilizing oncolytic virus, which expresses a tumour-associated antigen, known as an oncolytic viral vaccine (OVV), in combination with tumour specific central memory T cells. With this therapeutic approach (ACT), we can achieve robust in vivo expansion of transferred cells resulting in the complete and durable tumour regression in multiple solid murine tumour models. However, we demonstrate that the curative potential is lost when the tumour stage and burden increase as expanded transferred cells differentiate to a dysfunctional state resulting in the progressive decline in the tumour-specific CD8+ T cell response. Thus, we believe that restoring the T cell response in late-stage tumours will lead to enhanced curative potential of ACT in late-stage tumours. We have previously shown that HDACi, MS-275, can enhance the therapeutic capacity of a T cell-based therapy in an aggressive brain tumour model. In addition, concomitant delivery of MS-275 with ACT ensures durable cures through immunomodulatory mechanisms. Strikingly, concomitant delivery of MS-275, a class 1 histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi), with ACT in late-stage tumours completely restores the transferred T cell response to similar levels observed in early-stage tumours resulting in the complete regression of advance-stage tumours. Furthermore, MS-275 enhanced the proliferative capacity and tumour-specific cytotoxic function of transferred cells, independently of tumour stage, type and mouse strain. Interestingly, we did not observe a complete reversal of T cell dysfunction, but rather observed that MS-275 conferred unique properties to T cells as the expression of some markers typically associated with T cell dysfunction was enhanced in addition to persistence and proliferation capacity. Moreover, concomitant delivery of MS-275 also restored the therapeutic capacity of endogenously primed tumour-specific CD8+ T cells expanded by an OVV in late-stage tumours, demonstrating the potential for general use for MS-275 in T cell-based therapies. Our data suggests the use of HDACi may potentiate T cell-based immunotherapies to overcome tumour-mediated T cell dysfunction in advanced stage solid tumours.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Science in Medical Sciences (MSMS)


title: Ammonia Separation Using Bipolar Membrane Electrodialysis in Anaerobic Digestion of Organic Waste

subject:
Bipolar membrane electrodialysis
Organic waste
Anaerobic digestion
Wastewater treatment

abstract: Nitrogen pollution in the environment creates challenging problems globally and locally and can be effectively controlled by a significant reduction in nitrogen release into the natural water system. In addition, nutrients in high-strength wastewater can be recovered as valuable resources such as different types of ammonium solutions for industrial and agricultural utilizations. Selective ammonia separation from high-strength wastewater can be achieved by bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BMED), a relatively new ion exchange technology. A series of 8 bench-scale BMED experiments with bipolar membranes and cation exchange membranes were performed under various voltage applications. Ammonia in the wastewater was rapidly separated and recovered as a high purity ammonium hydroxide solution. BMED operation for 30 minutes at 5.0 V per cell pair was found to be ideal for high purity ammonium hydroxide production and low electrical energy consumption. Additionally, effective organic fouling control and low energy consumption were achieved. The experiments showed a decrease in the feed pH making it ideal for applications in solid-state anaerobic digestion with leachate recirculation. The application of leachate recirculation in solid-state anaerobic digestion (SSAD) has proven effective for mobilizing nutrients and diluting toxic byproducts to enhance biogas production. The leachate after recirculation contains accumulated ammonia and an increased pH and requires water and chemicals for dilution and pH adjustment prior to recirculation. The data from the experiments were used to construct a numerical model for a hypothetical lab-scale and pilot-scale bipolar membrane electrodialysis and solid-state anaerobic digestion with leachate recirculation (BMED-SSAD) system. A final ammonia concentration of less than 2000 mg-N/L in the reactor was found to be achievable by lab-scale (6 mA/cm2) and pilot-scale (12 mA/cm2) BMED-SSAD and low electric energy consumption. The results suggest that BMED is an attractive solution for ammonia separation from high-strength wastewater.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: Incommensurate Heteroepitaxy by van der Waals and Weak Chemical Interactions for Epitaxial Thin Film Transfer

contributor:
Preston, John
Engineering Physics

subject:
thin films
interfaces
layer transfer
van der Waals
heteroepitaxy

abstract:
High quality crystalline semiconductor films are a key component in the production of electronic and opto-electronic devices, however, the requirement of latticed-matched single crystal substrates for the epitaxy of a thin film limits the available material systems which can be developed commercially. This strict lattice matching requirement is relaxed for two-dimensional layered materials grown via van der Waals epitaxy. Unfortunately, the same low surface energies of these layered materials also suppress the growth of three-dimensional materials upon them, preventing direct large area single-crystal growth.
The work presented in this thesis will demonstrate and investigate the spontaneous van der Waals epitaxy, driven by weak chemical interaction, of a three-dimensional material on a three-dimensional material system. Despite a 3.7% lattice mismatch, high quality CdTe can be heteroepitaxially deposited on α-Al2O3 but with an incommensurate interface which demonstrates weak adhesion between the film/substrate.
This weak adhesion is exploited by developing a strain driven epitaxial thin film transfer and handling method, which causes deposited layers and structures to separate at the substrate interface for transfer to secondary carrier substrates without effecting the film properties and leaving the original substrate for subsequent use. Simple transferred thin film crystalline II-VI heterostructure devices on flexible substrates are demonstrated, without the need for selective chemical etch layers, ion-implantation or complex post-processes as required by conventional fabrication techniques. Following a growth study of GaAs on three oxide substrates, the phenomena of epitaxial registry with apparent weak interface adhesion is demonstrated for another system, GaAs/α-Al2O3, where a layer transferred heterostructure device on a flexible substrate is also demonstrated.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Coherent Coolant Delivery in Grinding

title: A Study of Coherent Jets and their Ability to Deliver Grinding Fluid

contributor:
Koshy, Philip
Tullis, Stephen
Mechanical Engineering

subject:
Grinding
manufacturing
coherent jet
grinding burn
grinding fluid
lubrication
laminar jet
hydraulic flip

abstract:
Coolant application is critically important in grinding, preventing workpiece damage and increasing the quality of manufactured components. However, delivery of grinding fluids is difficult to achieve, due to issues unique to grinding processes such as the air layer that surrounds the wheel. Coherent jets, which maintain their shape over a significant distance, are one of the most effective methods of coolant delivery and a significant amount of research has been devoted to developing them. Results of this work, which has largely focused on contoured nozzles, have been modest.

Inspired by laminar fountains and wind tunnel design, the present work focuses on the development of a coherent, laminar jet. The developed jet possesses extreme coherence, and appears to resemble a glass rod with its stability and clarity. Investigations were carried out, comparing the coherence and cooling ability of the developed system to that of a commercially available coherent nozzle. Models for the structure of the air layer and to predict the conditions necessary for a jet to penetrate the air layer were also developed.
The developed jet outperformed the commercial system both in terms of coherence and manufacturing productivity. The model was validated with experimental values, and appears to provide excellent agreement to those results.

This work details the background, design, and experimentation involved in creating these innovative systems.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: Stress, Dying, and Disease: Hair Cortisol Concentration in the Study of Stress at the End of Life in the Past and Present

title: HAIR CORTISOL CONCENTRATION ANALYSIS IN THE STUDY OF THE DEAD AND DYING

contributor:
Megan, Brickley
Anthropology

subject:
hair cortisol
dying
bioarchaeology
stress

abstract:
Dying produces human remains and is a unique period of human lives that remains poorly understood. The aims of this research were to validate the use of hair cortisol concentration (HCC) analysis in the study of stress at the end of life and to explore the effects of biocultural factors on stress experience in the last months of life. This study examined the dead from the 1st century CE Egypt, 19th-20th century Missouri, and 21st century Florida. A framework of embodiment and the good death was employed to interpret lived experience from HCC and examine the relationships between HCC, death, cause of death, duration of disease, and medical care and treatment.
      HCC in the dead is higher than in the living, varies considerably between individuals, and can fluctuate across the last months of life. High HCC at the end of life cannot be easily accounted for by medications, serious disease, or decomposition; are within possible biological ranges; and are dynamic. However, leaching of cortisol from the archaeological samples is likely. Duration of disease or presence of multiple medical conditions does not influence HCC. While modern medical advancements do not improve stress levels in the dead, a reduction in stress is observed following hospital entry in the past.
      HCC is a valid measure of stress at the end of life. The last months of life are periods of significant stress but dying is an inherently personal and dynamic experience that varies between individuals and over many months leading up to death due to the interaction of multiple biocultural factors. These findings contribute to the understanding of a unique period of individual lives, suggest that studies of HCC in bioarchaeology must focus on the dying period and be wary of leaching, and highlight the potential of HCC in palliative care research.

abstract: Dissertation

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

abstract:
Today, death is often regarded with uncertainty and even fear, yet little is known about the experience of dying, especially in the past. Dying is difficult to study in modern people because of communication challenges and the number of complex factors at play while studies of the past are limited because human remains do not reveal how individuals felt. A better understanding of the dying experience can help bioarchaeologists clarify the relationship between dying, death, and skeletal remains and could help improve the care of dying people today.
      This research evaluated a new method of stress assessment to study experiences in the last months of life in archaeological, historic, and modern samples. Hair cortisol concentration (HCC) analysis measures stress hormones in human hair to reconstruct stress experience at the time the hair was growing. High levels of HCC in dead individuals from 1st century AD Egypt, 19th-20th century Missouri, and 21st century Florida indicate that dying is stressful across time and place. HCC values from the Egyptian sample were higher than most living people but were lower than other archaeological samples which may be a result of cortisol leaching out of the hair shaft after death. Although higher than living people, HCC levels still differed between individuals and across individual hair shafts, indicating that stress experience can be different between individuals and change over an individual’s final months. These differences are not a result of biological factors such as duration of disease or the presence of certain preexisting conditions suggesting that stress at the end of life is complex. Despite advancements in medicine, the modern sample displayed similar HCC levels to those from earlier historic periods and for a number of individuals from the historic sample, hospital entry led to a temporary reduction in HCC levels. Together, these findings suggest that, while modern medical advancements have not improved stress levels at the end of life, some aspects of care could reduce stress.
      The results of this study indicate that dying is a stressful, complex, and dynamic phenomenon that modern medical treatment alone may not be able to improve. Furthermore, studies of HCC in archaeology must focus on the effects of dying and be wary of leaching. Ultimately, HCC analysis could contribute to a greater knowledge of the dying experience, the understanding of past peoples, and improvement of the experience of dying.


title: EXPLORING REFERENCE FRAME INTEGRATION USING THE CROSSED-HANDS DEFICIT

contributor:
Shore, David
Psychology

subject: Psychology Multisensory Touch Crossed-hands

abstract: You can only perceive the location of a touch when you know where your hands are in space. Locating a touch to the body requires the integration of internal (somatotopic) and external (spatial) reference frames. In order to explore the relative contribution of internal versus external information, this thesis employed a crossed-hands tactile temporal order judgment (TOJ) task. This task requires participants to indicate which of two vibrations, one to each hand, occurred first. The magnitude of the deficit observed when the hands are crossed over the midline provides an index into how internal and external reference frames are integrated. This thesis first showed that the crossed-hands tactile TOJ task is a reliable measure, supporting its use as a measure of reference frame integration. Next, this thesis applied a probabilistic model to theoretically estimate the weights placed on the internal and external reference frames. We showed that a bias towards external information results in a larger external weight and vice versa for internal information. Finally, using the model we showed that the crossed-hands deficit is reduced while lying down, supporting an influence of vestibular information on the external reference frame. Taken together, this thesis highlights that we are able to flexibly adapt the weighting of different spatial representations of touch.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Doctor of Science  (PhD)

abstract: Determining the boundary of our body requires we localize the touches to our body. When the body moves and interacts with the world this determination becomes more difficult. Integrating information from other senses can support the localization of touch, and thus knowledge of our body. For example, to locate a touch to your right hand, you must feel the touch on your right hand, but also determine where your right hand is located in space. This thesis shows that the contributions of each sense to locate a touch is consistent within an individual and remains consistent over time. Interestingly, based on the availability of each sense, we flexibly adapt their contributions to ensure that our ability to locate the touch remains unchanged. What we define as our body is constructed based on the information available in the present moment.


title: Passive Indoor Localization using Visible Light

contributor:
Hranilovic, Steve
Electrical and Computer Engineering

abstract: In this thesis a proof-of-concept of passive indoor localization system using visible light is proposed that does not require active participation of a user in the localization process.  The user neither holds any device nor do they have any sensor tags attached to their body.  The system can be implemented by employing existing lighting infrastructure that is used in visible light communication systems.  The sources and receivers can be arranged in any form in the room, but in this work they are considered co-located on the ceiling.  This arrangement is advantageous since it reduces installation complexity and is most commonly used in indoor environments.  The proposed approach measures impulse response (IR) between the source-receiver pairs in order to localize a localization object (LO) i.e., the user.  The presence of the LO inside the room alters the IR measurements between the source-receiver pairs that can be related to its position.  The changes in measured IRs are leveraged for position estimation.  The proposed research work can be divided into two main parts as follows.  In the first part, a single-bounce reflection model of light rays is considered and the room contains only LO inside it.  The fingerprinting method is used to estimate position of the LO and analytical expression of Cramer-Rao lower bound is derived on the positioning error.  In the second part, a realistic room model using reasonable parameters and multi-order reflections is considered where the furniture is also placed inside the room.  A deep learning framework is employed that learns changes in IRs corresponding to random locations of LO in the room in order to estimate its position from the unknown IR measurements.  Furthermore, a fall detection system is developed that classifies upright or prone states of the LO from single set of IR measurements.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Incentives, Rules, Power, and Discretion: A Comparative Analysis of Local Financial Autonomy Building in The Cities of Accra And Nairobi

contributor:
Huque, Shafiq
Political Science

abstract: This doctoral thesis attempts to answer the following questions: 1) Why do local governments fail to meet their revenue targets; 2) How do local actors mitigate the challenges of building strong financial autonomy through revenue mobilization activities? This study employs a qualitative comparative analysis of Accra, Ghana, and Nairobi, Kenya, to investigate these questions. Drawing on institutionalist theories and political economy studies, this thesis shows how institutional rules, powers, incentives and discretion structure the actions and strategies of local bureaucrats and local political elites. In turn, these actions and strategies shape revenue mobilization administration and outcomes. Additionally, the political context in which fiscal decentralization takes place conditions the willingness of local political elites to support or undermine the efforts to mobilize more revenue. These claims are supported by empirical data (interviews, primary source documents, and observations) gathered during two times four-month field research in Accra and Nairobi. Research findings show that from the period studied (2013 and 2017), revenue collection performance was low and did not allow Accra and Nairobi to achieve substantial financial autonomy. The revenue performance did not decrease the dependence of the two cities on external grants and revenue transfers. Poor revenue collection performance is caused by the ambiguity of fiscal decentralization rules, which opens up space for target adjustments and spending at source a portion of the revenue mobilized. Moreover, research findings show that revenue mobilization is administered by strong and weak bureaucratic capacity. In situations where the bureaucratic capacity is strong, it is not used optimally due to inadequate organizational capacity. Finally, research findings reveal that political elites use their institutional powers and discretion to undermine the implementation of strategies designed by bureaucrats to mobilize more revenue when these strategies threaten their interests. Ultimately, although local elected officials have been transferred the power to build financial autonomy, they fail to take ownership of this power because the political and institutional context in which they interact, compels them to resist innovative strategies that could enable the conditions for greater revenue mobilization in Accra and Nairobi.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

abstract: This doctoral thesis attempts to answer the following questions: 1) Why do local governments fail to meet their revenue targets; 2) How do local actors mitigate the challenges of building strong financial autonomy through revenue mobilization activities? This study employs a qualitative comparative analysis of the cities of Accra, Ghana, and Nairobi, Kenya, to investigate these questions. Drawing on institutionalist theories and political economy studies, this thesis shows how institutional rules, powers, incentives, discretion structure the actions and strategies of local bureaucrats and local political elites. In turn, these actions shape revenue mobilization administration and outcomes. Additionally, the political context in which fiscal decentralization takes place conditions the willingness of the political elites to support or undermine the efforts to mobilize more revenue. These claims are supported by empirical data (interviews, primary source documents, and observations) gathered during two times four-month field research in Accra and Nairobi.


title: Nanocomposite Electrodes For Electrochemical Supercapacitors

contributor:
Zhitomirsky, Igor
Materials Science and Engineering

subject: Energy Storage, Supercapacitors, Advanced Materials, Nanocomposites, Liquid-Liquid Extractions,

abstract: Supercapacitor electrodes were fabricated at a high active mass loading and exhibited enhanced electrochemical capacitance. A conceptually new salting-out extraction processing technique for the synthesis of dispersed Mn3O4-carbon nanotube (CNT) nanocomposites was developed, alleviating the need for hydrophobic solvents. The choice of isopropyl alcohol and NaCl for the extraction process offer advantages of an easy upscaling of this process. The salting out technique was shown to work with Octanohydroxyamic acid (OHA) and Lauryl Gallate (LG) as extractors and dispersants, critical to the success of the extraction. Mechanisms for surface adsorption on Mn3O4 and CNT for both OHA and LG are discussed. A secondary project was also undertaken, to investigate the use of chlorogenic acid and 3,4,5 – trihydroxybenzamide, as co-dispersing agents for MnO2 and CNTs. These molecules are used due to their unique structural properties, which are discussed. The electrodes fabricated using these co-dispersants showed significant increases in their specific capacitances and SEM imaging indicated improved mixing, compared to samples prepared without dispersants. A specific capacitance of 6.5 F g-1 was achieve at low electrical resistance, attributed to the microstructure of electrodes prepared with the co-dispersant molecules.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)

abstract: The ever-growing realization that our energy consumption as a civilization is not sustainable, has fueled people around the globe to imagine and design new methods of energy storage, in attempts to mitigate this issue. From the foundational works of scientists, it has become clear to see that there is not “one right answer”. Instead, the unique benefits and drawbacks of energy storage technologies should be balanced and applied in situations where their properties permit a high efficacy. The intention of this work is to assist in the development of new materials to be used for energy storage devices called electrochemical supercapacitors. Novel colloidal processing techniques were developed, leading to the fabrication of high-performance electrodes, and providing further insight to the structure-properties relationship of organic extractors and co-dispersing agents for the design of nanocomposites.


title: A Systematic Approach to Hazard and Operability Study (HAZOP)

contributor:
Wassyng, Alan
Lawford, Mark
Software Engineering

subject:
HAZOP
Assurance Case
Safety Case
Incremental Safety Assurance
Safety Assurance Case
Hazard and Operability Study
Safety Engineering Process
SEP
Workflow
Workflow+

abstract: A system safety assurance case aims to demonstrate that a system is reasonably safe within the parameters defined according to its intended use. A system safety assurance case involves the definition of a Safety Engineering Process and its execution for the particular system. An essential element in the Safety Engineering Process is hazard analysis. An often used version of hazard analysis is HAZOP. HAZOP identifies hazards and hazardous events in the system's design. Traditionally, HAZOP is performed based on the expertise of a multi-disciplinary team. This team uses a heuristic based approach that results in documented output that often does not include adequate traceability as to how the output results were obtained. This thesis proposes a systematic approach to HAZOP that was developed after performing detailed analysis on how traditional HAZOP is performed in industry. It aims to produce documented output in which the output results are traceable to interim steps in the process. We call this systematic approach HAZOP+, because it was designed to provide sufficient detail so that it can form the basis of a HAZOP metamodel created in Workflow+ - a relatively new model driven methodology for developing assurance cases. Workflow+ has well-defined semantics, and so we refer to HAZOP+ as formalizable. HAZOP+ has a number of benefits over traditional HAZOP, and these benefits are demonstrated by comparing a traditional application of HAZOP with the application of HAZOP+, both applied to a typical Lane Keeping Assist feature. A long term objective of system safety assurance is to be able to perform incremental safety assurance, for example, by updating the system safety assurance case after a modification to the system or its environment. Since the safety assurance case for a system depends on elements of the Safety Engineering Process, as well as the outputs of that process, the ability to perform an incremental hazard analysis after a modification to the system or environment can be a real benefit. This thesis further describes how HAZOP+ can be enhanced/extended to HAZOPdelta - an incremental version of HAZOP+.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: L'Anatomie de la mort : Une étude de l’effet-de-personnage de la mort dans les romans de Claude Simon

contributor:
Dr. Elzbieta Grodek
French

subject:
Claude Simon
20th century French Literature
death
literary character
character-effect
anatomy
physical body
speaking body
body composed of drives
affective body

abstract: This thesis, consisting of five chapters, studies descriptions and images in the novels of Claude Simon which show death as an “effect of character”, in other words, as a sort of character endowed with the same traits as actual literary characters. The first chapter examines how theoreticians define literary characters. Due to the fact that death materializes as a quasi-character during the act of reading since the reader needs to decipher textual clues in order to visualize death as an effect of character, I refer to Vincent Jouve’s theory of the character-effect. The chapters that follow seek therefore to demonstrate that death possesses an anatomy which resembles that of literary characters. The second chapter concentrates on images of the dying body which are reminiscent of themes in the artistic works of the Dance of Death, of Vanitas, and of the grotesque, and which produce in the reader the impression that death has a physical body. The third chapter also analyzes descriptions of the suffering body, as well as metaphorical language in order to show that death possesses a speaking body. The fourth chapter focuses on the presence of the life drive in the representation of death. It seems that death desires life in the same way as the other characters, therefore I envision death with a body composed of drives. The fifth and final chapter pursues the affective body of death by studying descriptions of intense bodily experiences. By accumulating all the images of the different bodies, one sees the sketch of a character that I identify by the designation “the effect of character of death”.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Application of Data-driven Techniques for Thermal Management in Data Centers

contributor:
Yan, Fengjun
Mechanical Engineering

subject:
Data centers
Machine learning
Thermal management
Control
Estimation
Data-driven modeling

abstract: This thesis mainly addresses the problems of thermal management in data centers (DCs) through data-driven techniques. For thermal management, a temperature prediction model in the facility is very important, while the thermal modeling based on first principles in DCs is quite difficult due to the complicated air flow and heat transfer. Therefore, we employ multiple data-driven techniques including statistical methods and deep neural networks (DNNs) to represent the thermal dynamics. Then based on such data-driven models, temperature estimation and control are implemented to optimize the thermal management in DCs.        The contributions of this study are summarized in the following four aspects: 1) A data-driven model constructed through multiple linear Autoregression exogenous (ARX) models is adopted to describe the thermal behaviors in DCs. On the basis of such data-driven model, an observer of adaptive Kalman filter is proposed to estimate the temperature distribution in DC. 2) Based on the data-driven model proposed in the first work, a data-driven fault tolerant predictive controller considering different actuator faults is developed to regulate the temperature in DC. 3) To improve the modeling accuracy, a deep input convex neural network (ICNN) is adopted to implement thermal modeling in DCs, which is also specifically designed for further control design. Besides, the algorithm of elastic weight consolidation (EWC) is employed to overcome the catastrophic forgetting in continual learning. 4) A novel example reweighting algorithm is utilized to enhance the robustness of ICNN against noisy data and avoid overfitting in the training process. Finally, all the proposed approaches are validated in real experiments or experimental-data-based simulations.

abstract: Dissertation

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

abstract: This thesis mainly investigates the applications of data-driven techniques for thermal management in data centers. The implementations of thermal modeling, temperature estimation and temperature control in data centers are the key contributions in this work. First, we design a data-driven statistical model to describe the complicated thermal dynamics of data center. Then based on the data-driven model, efficient observer and controller are developed respectively to optimize the thermal management in data centers. Moreover, to improve the nonlinear modeling performance in data centers, specific deep input convex neural networks capable of good representation capability and control tractability are adopted. This thesis also proposes two novel strategies to avoid the influence of catastrophic forgetting and noisy data respectively during the training processes. Finally, all the proposed techniques are validated in real experiments or experimental-data-based simulations.


title: Neural Correlates of Hazardous Alcohol Use Examined Via Structural and Functional Neuroimaging

contributor:
Amlung, Michael
Health Sciences

subject: alcohol, neuroscience, brain imaging

abstract:
Introduction: Substance use disorders are often associated with widespread structural and functional abnormalities in the brain. The primary aim of this thesis was to reduce existing ambiguity and explore novel topics in the field of addictions neuroscience by conducting three human neuroimaging studies.
Results: In the first study, individuals who used alcohol were found to have significant inverse associations between drinks in past week, frequency of heavy drinking, and cortical thickness in a majority of regions examined via MRI. These regions included the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the inferior frontal gyrus, and the precentral gyrus. In the second study, when we employed a novel MRI pulse sequence to examine intracortical myelin (ICM) in people with alcohol use disorder, we found that the alcohol use disorder group in fact had greater ICM signal than the control participants, leading us to hypothesize a potential inflammation response in the brain from the prolonged use of alcohol. Finally, in the third study, when we explored large-scale brain activity in a sample of people who use alcohol alone or in combination with other substances, we found that those who used three or more substances displayed the least amount of activation in the salience and temporal networks of the brain. A peculiar finding, however, was that dual users of alcohol and cannabis were found to have the most activation in these networks.
Conclusions: Results demonstrate that, indeed, alcohol use is associated with structural and functional abnormalities in the brain. These studies have demonstrated cortical thinning and increased ICM signal in relation to alcohol use broadly. As well, this work has shown that polysubstance use is associated with alterations in various large-scale resting state brain networks. Future research should seek to conduct longitudinal work in order to clarify whether structural and functional brain abnormalities are a cause or a consequence of substance use.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

abstract: The aim of this thesis was to add to the existing literature surrounding neuroimaging in alcohol use disorder. First, we sought to expand the structural neuroimaging literature by conducting a study with a large sample size and examining the cortical thickness of a variety of brain regions in relation to characteristics of alcohol use. Second, we aimed to add to the structural neuroimaging literature again by examining a particular brain tissue in chronic alcohol users via a novel MRI pulse sequence. Finally, we sought to add to the functional neuroimaging literature by examining large-scale resting state brain networks in a sample of people who use alcohol alone or in combination with tobacco or other drugs (i.e., polysubstance users). Together, these studies have contributed new findings to the addictions neuroscience literature by revealing anatomical and functional brain correlates of alcohol and other substance misuse.


title: Designing Factorial Clinical Trials: An Examination of Power

contributor:
Walter, Stephen
Statistics

abstract:
Investigators will sometimes consider clinical trials involving more than one treatment or intervention, as these trials allow for the simultaneous evaluation of the individual efficacy of multiple treatments. The most common design choice is a factorial trial, in which patients are randomized to all possible combinations of treatments, including control. Factorial trials are an attractive choice in examining individual treatment effects provided certain conditions are met, including the important assumption that no interaction exists between the treatments of interest.

However, even without interaction, the statistical power for a treatment can be substantially influenced by the effectiveness of the other treatment in the trial, an issue that has not been widely recognized. This issue is compounded by the fact that the impact on power depends on the scale on which interactions are defined.

In the current work, we evaluate how the power for a treatment in a binary outcome 2x2 factorial trial changes as a function of the effectiveness of a second treatment in the same trial, under a range of possible parameter conditions. We provide analytical results to describe the behavior of these functions on the additive, risk ratio, and odds ratio scales and attempt to determine where the maximum power occurs for each scale.

Sets of numerical evaluations were also implemented to support these analytic results, as well to evaluate how the minimum required sample size for the trial changes as a function of the first and second treatment effects. Controllable parameters within the evaluations include the event rate in the control group, sample size, treatment effect sizes, and Type-I error thresholds. Separate evaluations were created for scenarios where the treatments are assumed to not have an interaction on either the additive, risk ratio, or odds ratio scales. We also provide two examples of factorial trials using real data to illustrate our findings.

In general, we find that power for an individual treatment decreases as a function of the effectiveness of the other treatment if they do not interact on the risk ratio scale. A similar pattern is observed in the odds ratio case at low base rates, but at high base rates, power increases may occur if the first treatment is moderately more effective than its planned value. When treatments do not interact on the additive scale, power may either increase or decrease depending on the response rate in the control group.

Results from these analyses may benefit investigators in planning clinical trials. Assumptions about the anticipated effects of each treatment under study, even if there is no interaction between them, are critical in calculating a valid sample size that will yield sufficient power for individual treatments in the context of factorial studies.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: Performance Impact on Neural Network with Partitioned Convolution Implemented with GPU Programming

title: Partitioned Convolution in Neuron Network

contributor:
Wassyng, Alan
Lawford, Mark
Computing and Software

subject:
convolutional neural network
parallel programming
partitioned

abstract: For input data of homogenous type, the standard form of convolutional neural network is normally constructed with universally applied filters to identify global patterns. However, for certain datasets, there are identifiable trends and patterns within subgroups of input data. This research proposes a convolutional neural network that deliberately partitions input data into groups to be processed with unique sets of convolutional layers, thus identifying the underlying features of individual data groups. Training and testing data are built from historical prices of stock market and preprocessed so that the generated datasets are suitable for both standard and the proposed convolutional neural network. The author of this research also developed a software framework that can construct neural networks to perform necessary testing. The calculation logic was implemented using parallel programming and executed on a Nvidia graphic processing unit, thus allowing tests to be executed without expensive hardware. Tests were executed for 134 sets of datasets to benchmark the performance between standard and the proposed convolutional neural network. Test results show that the partitioned convolution method is capable of performance that rivals its standard counterpart. Further analysis indicates that more sophisticated method of building datasets, larger sets of training data, or more training epochs can further improve the performance of the partitioned neural network. For suitable datasets, the proposed method could be a viable replacement or supplement to the standard convolutional neural network structure.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)

abstract: A convolutional neural network is a machine learning tool that allows complex patterns in datasets to be identified and modelled. For datasets with input that consists of the same type of data, a convolutional neural network is often architected to identify global patterns. This research explores the viability of partitioning input data into groups and processing them with separate convolutional layers so unique patterns associated with individual subgroups of input data can be identified. The author of this research built suitable test datasets and developed a (parallel computation enabled) framework that can construct both standard and proposed convolutional neural networks. The test results show that the proposed structure is capable of performance that matches its standard counterpart. Further analysis indicates that there are potential methods to further improve the performance of partitioned convolution, making it a viable replacement or supplement to standard convolution.


title: Residential Low Impact Development Practices: Literature Review and Multicriteria Decision Analysis Framework for Detached Houses

contributor:
Hassini, Sonia
Civil Engineering

subject: Systematic Literature Review

subject: Text Mining

subject: Bibliometric Analysis

subject: Low Impact Development

subject: Urban Stormwater Management

subject: Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis

subject: Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)

subject: Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS)

subject: Stormwater Management Model (SWMM)

subject: Detached House

subject: Residential LID Practices

abstract: Low Impact Development (LID) is a sustainable stormwater management approach that aims to control runoff close to its source, mimicking the natural hydrological processes such as infiltration and storage. It is being adopted by many cities, where its implementation is rapidly evolving. The LID practices are small-scale measures; therefore, they need to be widely implemented to impact significantly. The selection of LIDs depends on the land use and characteristics of the area of interest. This study focuses on residential LIDs. First, a systematic and bibliometric literature review is conducted on the residential LIDs articles published up to the year 2020; a total of 94 papers were found in the Web of Science. This review resulted that LID implementation in residential areas still needs to be investigated. To assist the City, engineers, and policy-makers in implementing the suitable LIDs for detached houses, a multi-criteria decision analysis framework incorporating a hydrological model is developed in this study.  The commonly used LIDs were identified, which are rain gardens, permeable pavement, rain barrels, soakaways. Seven criteria were selected – runoff depth reduction rate, peak runoff reduction rate, installation cost, maintenance cost, retrofit cost, life cycle, and aesthetical view. For the properties of the single-detached house and LIDs, the standards of Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) and Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) were followed. The proposed decision-making framework also was applied to a case study. This framework is still in the preliminary stage, thus holds the potential to convert into a tool that will be handy enough for the homeowners and consume less time.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: Investigation of S34 in Nature and in the Laboratory

contributor:
Thode, H. G.
Chemistry

subject: S34 nature laboratory investigation

abstract:
The results of a survey on the relative abundance of sulfur isotopes are presented, together with a review of previous work on
the same subject. The possible causes of the variations found, and the biological and geological significance of these variations is discussed. In addition, the equilibrium constant for the isotopic exchange between hydrogen sulfide and hydrosulfide solution is determined experimentally and the results related to theoretical calculations based on partition functions.

abstract: Thesis

abstract: Master of Science (MS)