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Measurement of isometric hip strength in male ice hockey players: investigation of the within-day, betweend-day, and intertester reliability of the Activ5© handheld dynamometer
Get PDFIsometric strength testing involves assessing the maximum amount of force a
muscle group can produce when there is no change in its length and is typically measured using a
handheld dynamometer (HHD). Reliability is a measure of the consistency or repeatability of a
measure and is important when conducting isometric strength testing using HHDs. The Activ5©
is a small and inexpensive HHD which uploads the data immediately via Bluetooth to a
smartphone app. The reliability of the Activ5© as a clinical or research tool has not been
investigated. Purpose: To investigate the within-day and the between-day reliability of the
Activ5©, and to investigate the intertester reliability of the Activ5© in measuring isometric hip
strength in competitive male ice hockey players. Methods: Part One investigated the reliability
of the Activ5© in measuring mass both within-day and between-day. Testing took place on two
consecutive days with the same procedures being followed during each session. Standardized
weights ranging from 0.5 kg to 22.8 kg were placed on top of the Activ5© at 45-step increments
and in random order, with three measurements taken at each increment. Within-day reliability
was established using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) by comparing the force data at
each increment between trials one and two from session one. Between-day reliability was
established using the ICC by comparing the mean force among the three trials at each increment
between sessions one and two. Part Two investigated the intertester reliability of the Activ5©.
Twenty competitive male ice hockey players (age = 24.4 ± 2.9 years, mass = 89.3 ± 7.8 (kg),
and height = 181.6 ± 6.1 cm) performed three maximal isometric contractions in hip extension,
hip internal rotation, and hip abduction on their dominant leg. Two experienced female testers
performed the isometric testing with the isometric force being measured by the Activ5© against
the tester’s resistance. Intertester reliability was assessed using the ICC by comparing the mean
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isometric force of the three trials for each hip joint motion across participants between testers
one and two. Results. An excellent ICC (1.00) was found for both between-day and within-day
reliability. High intertester reliability was found for hip internal rotation (ICC=.664) and
abduction (ICC=.622), and very high reliability for hip extension (ICC=.786). Conclusion: The
results from this study suggested that the Activ5© had excellent within-day and between-day
reliability, and high intertester reliability. Future research assessing the reliability of the Activ5©
using different muscle groups would be of value to investigate if these results can be replicated
across other joints
Deconstructing Canada’s colonial narrative: creating space for Indigenous narratives in Canadian heritage
Get PDFCanada’s colonial legacy affects how heritage spaces are interpreted to emphasize nationbuilding at the expense of Indigenous narratives. This project explores how Canadians might
collaboratively deconstruct the dominant narrative and create a space for a more inclusive
heritage overviews of the country, while examining the power dynamics between European
settler history and Indigenous narratives that have been largely ignored. It will explore the effects
of colonial legacy by examining how heritage spaces (museums and parks) are interpreted to
emphasize Canadian nation-building at the expense of Indigenous narratives. Contemporary
heritage spaces provide an opportunity for Indigenous community members, museum
professionals, and researchers to collaboratively re-examine past and present narratives and to
authentically re-tell Canada’s history in a decolonized manner. The objectives of this research
were to: 1) aid in the deconstruction of Canada’s colonial historical narrative by examining how
Indigenous narratives are showcased in heritage spaces; 2) examine how Canada has represented
heritage diversity in the past and present, and to determine the success of these methods; and 3)
explore how heritage spaces have worked to integrate authentic Indigenous narratives into
Canadian heritage programming in a mindful, meaningful, inclusive, respectful, and
collaborative manner. [...
Texture recognition from robotic tactile surface reconstruction: a reinforcement learning approach
No full textThe ability to handle objects and recognize them and their properties by touch is a crucial
ability that humans have. Thanks to tactile sensing, robots can do something similar by
perceiving specific physical characteristics of the objects they are in contact with. However,
to do so in unstructured environments remains a challenge. The present work proposes a
novel method for blind texture classification on uneven surfaces, using data from a robotic
manipulator’s kinematic chain and a compliant tactile sensing module composed of MARG
and barometer sensors. The data from the manipulator’s kinematic chain and the deformation of the sensing module are used to estimate the contact position and the vector
normal to the surface. Contact points and normal vectors are then used to estimate control
points for splines used to generate patches of surfaces. The reconstructions were validated
in experiments with five surfaces, and a comparison with a vision system shows that it
can achieve slightly better estimates. These estimations are used to train a Reinforcement
Learning model for pressure-control, which adjusts the position of the manipulator’s end
effector based on barometer readings, allowing the tactile sensing module to keep in touch
with the surface without applying too much pressure on it. Trajectories for sliding motions
are created by selecting points from the reconstructions and adjusting their position. Tactile
data from trajectories with and without adjustment are collected and used for classification.
Results show that the adjustment leads to an improvement of up to 30% in top-1 accuracy,
reaching 90% on four textures. This work is a first proposal for texture classification on
uneven surfaces where the exploratory motions depend on the object pose and shape, and
could serve as a complementary system where vision is compromised
Uranio / Uranium
Get PDFDifícil es imaginar un elemento que la gran mayoría
nunca ha visto o tocado. Sin embargo, dicho elemento
mineral de la Madre Naturaleza se encuentra conectado
a la energía que consume nuestra civilización, a sus
comodidades y a algunas de las historias más terribles y
dolorosas del siglo XX y XXI.
La poesía de Juan Sánchez hace el Uranio visible no
como un objeto de estudio científico, sino mostrándonos
cómo es su relación con el ser humano. El poema “Uranio”
de este libro es un entretejido de historias, sentires
y hechos sobre la minería extractiva en los sagrados
territorios de las comunidades nativo americanas del
suroeste de los Estados Unidos. En este libro también hemos querido hacer visible una
conexión transpacífica, pues la industria extractiva del
uranio está ligada al desarrollo de la energía nuclear y las
armas nucleares (que utilizan el uranio como una de sus
materias primas). [...
Enhancing biomolecule production from Bacillus velezensis PhCL using low-cost agricultural residues as feedstock and improving biomass hydrolysis through enzyme mutagenesis
Get PDFBioproduction have been considered an alternative option for obtaining useful and
eco-friendly chemicals for industrial applications. Bacillus velezensis, a trending bacterium
first isolated in 2005, is well-known for its ability in producing various economic and
environmentally-friendly biomolecules, such as industrial enzymes, biosurfactants,
antioxidants, antibiotics, etc. However, most of the studies nowadays use edible sugar for
biomolecule production which increased the production cost meanwhile raises concerns
regarding hunger and food-energy competition. Meanwhile, several genomic sequencing
studies suggested that various strains of B. velezensis have the ability in producing various
lignocellulase, such as xylanase and CMCase. However, very few studies use agricultural
wastes as feedstock for producing biomolecules. Therefore, for advancing the utilization of
the lignocellulosic biomass, a newly isolated B. velezensis PhCL was characterized, and its
potential for bioremediation was evaluated. Furthermore, various agricultural wastes were
used as a fermentation feedstock for producing various biomolecules, and the amylase
production was optimized via response surface methodology. The remaining biomass residue
was also converted to biochar for further utilization. Moreover, for advancing the utilization
of agricultural waste, a GH 11 xylanase was in silico analyzed and several mutants were
constructed based on the analysis. The mutant showed better hydrolysis efficiency and
released more reducing sugar from wheat straw. This study explored another approach for
utilizing B. velezensis for value-added biomolecule production, which could be used for
bioremediation and various industrial applications, from low-cost agricultural waste.
Moreover, this study also contributed to the understanding of utilizing advanced computer programs for improving enzymatic performance meanwhile exploring the undermined
structure-function relationship of xylanase. [...
An efficient CNN-BiLSTM model for multi-class intracranial hemorrhage classification
Get PDFIntracranial hemorrhage (ICH) refers to a type of bleeding that occurs within the skull. ICH may be
caused by a wide range of pathology, including, trauma, hypertension, cerebral amyloid angiopa-
thy, and cerebral aneurysms. Different subtypes of ICH exist based on their location in the brain,
including epidural hemorrhage (EDH), subdural hemorrhage (SDH), subarachnoid hemorrhage
(SAH), intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), and intraparenchymal hemorrhage (IPH). Prompt de-
tection and management of ICH are crucial as it is a life-threatening medical emergency with high
morbidity and mortality rates. Despite accounting for only 10-15% of all strokes, ICH is respon-
sible for over 50% of stroke-related deaths. Therefore, the presence, type, and location of an ICH
must be immediately diagnosed so that the patients can receive medical intervention. However,
accurately identifying ICH in CT slices can be challenging due to the brain’s complex anatomy
and the variability in hemorrhage appearance. [...
Development of modulators targeting G proteincoupled receptors using a combination of conventional drug discovery methodologies and artificial intelligence techniques
Get PDFLysophosphatidic acid receptor 1 (LPA1) is one of six G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in
the LPA receptor family (LPA1-6) and is activated by lysophosphatidic acid (LPA). LPA1 is
involved in a wide range of cellular activities, including the regulation of cell proliferation,
migration, invasion, and apoptosis. Numerous studies have reported its implication in the
initiation, progression, and metastasis of breast cancer. Bioinformatic analysis has also revealed
the role of LPA1 in breast cancer. However, the current repertoire of LPA1 ligands targeting
cancer remains highly limited, and only one LPA1 radioligand for positron emission tomography
(PET) imaging of pulmonary fibrosis has been reported so far. Therefore, the objective of this
study is to develop novel LPA1 antagonists and LPA1 radioligands for breast cancer therapeutics
and diagnosis. [...
Fairness, engagement, and discourse analysis in AI-driven social media and healthcare
Get PDFThis thesis addresses the critical concerns of fairness, accountability, transparency, and
ethics (FATE) within the context of artificial intelligence (AI) systems applied to social media and healthcare domains. First, a comprehensive survey examines existing research on
FATE in AI, specifically focusing on the subdomains of social media and healthcare. The
survey evaluates current solutions, highlights their benefits, limitations, and potential
challenges, and charts out future research directions. Key findings emphasize the significance of statistical and intersectional fairness in ensuring equitable healthcare access
on social media platforms and highlight the pivotal role of transparency in AI systems
to foster accountability. Building upon the survey, this thesis delves into an analysis of
social media usage by healthcare organizations, with a specific emphasis on engagement
and sentiment forecasting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data collection from Twitter handles of pharmaceutical companies, public health agencies, and the World Health
Organization enables extensive analysis. Natural language processing (NLP)-based topic
modeling techniques are applied to identify health-related topics, while sentiment forecasting models are employed to gauge public sentiment. The results uncover the impact
of COVID-19-related topics on public engagement, highlighting the varying levels of engagement across diverse healthcare organizations. Notably, the World Health Organization exhibits dynamic engagement patterns over time, necessitating adaptable strategies.
The thesis further presents latest sentiment forecasting models, such as autoregressive
integrated moving average (ARIMA) and seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average with exogenous factors (SARIMAX), which enable organizations to optimize their
content strategies for maximum user engagement. Furthermore, discourse analysis is
conducted to unravel the factors that shape the content of tweets by healthcare organizations on Twitter. [...
Design, synthesis, and evaluation of novel lysophosphatidic acid receptor-targeting small molecules as therapeutic and diagnostic agents
No full textBreast cancer has the highest incidence rate of all cancers among Canadian women and
accounts for nearly 14% of all cancer-related deaths in Canada. This type of cancer is often
detected using medical imaging modalities such as mammography, breast ultrasound, and breast
MRI, but each of these modalities can face harsh limitations for the detection of certain types of
breast cancer. Positron emission tomography (PET) is another common imaging modality that is
reported to have the highest sensitivity among all medical imaging modalities, but it is underused
for breast cancer imaging due to the lack of a specific breast cancer-targeting PET
radiopharmaceutical. Current breast cancer therapy methods also face limitations and are
associated with negative effects. This leaves room for the development of a new PET
radiopharmaceutical that is more specific for breast tumours, and for a new breast cancer
chemotherapy agent. Lysophosphatidic acid receptor 1 (LPA1) has been identified as having
elevated expression in breast cancer, and activation of LPA1 has been shown to increase cell
migration and invasion. As such, the development of antagonists that target LPA1 would have
extensive clinical benefits.
This thesis focused on the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of a library of highly
potent and selective novel molecules targeting LPA1 that are derived from the previously reported
compound, RO6842262. A novel 3H-1,2,3-triazolo[4,5-d]pyrimidine scaffold was identified
through scaffold hopping and molecular docking studies. Based on the chemical structure of this
novel scaffold, a six-step synthetic scheme and a fluorine-18 radiolabeling scheme were proposed,
and one final compound was able to be synthesized. [...
Geology, geochemistry and alteration of the Eagle River Au-deposit near Wawa, Ontario
Get PDFThe Eagle River mine is a mesothermal orogenic gold deposit hosted within the Archean Mishibishu Lake
greenstone belt, approximately 50 km west of Wawa, Ontario. The underground mine has been in
constant production since 1995, mining multiple steeply dipping quartz-bearing, shear-hosted gold
horizons that dip to the north. As of the end of 2021 the Eagle River Mine has produced a total of 7.4 Mt
of ore averaging 9.86 g/t Au yielding 1.5 M oz of refined Au (SRK, 2022). The majority of the gold
mineralization is hosted within an ellipsoidal quartz diorite, with the remainder hosted within the
surrounding calc-alkaline to tholeiitic volcanic rocks. The Mishibishu Lake greenstone belt is surrounded
by granitic units which include the Bowman Lake batholith to the north-east, the Floating Heart
batholith to the south and the Central pluton to the northwest. The objective of the study was to
correlate veining in the chaotic unit to mineralization, investigate alteration geochemistry, and to
compare Eagle River to other Archean Au deposits. This was undertaken using a combination of
geochronology, petrography, and whole rock lithogeochemistry. The thesis focused on four zones within
the deposit, the 8, Falcon, Newt Lake, and Peek-a-Boo zones. [...