Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Geochemistry Of The Dome Mine Ankerite Veins: Insights Into The Multi-Stage Enrichment Of A World-Class Orogenic Gold Deposit, Jessica M. Stromberg

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Dome Mine in the world-class Timmins camp has produced over 16 Moz of gold during its 108 year production history. This gold endowment is the result of multistage enrichment of which the first stage is a set of ankerite veins that extend over 5,400 m in strike and 1,500 m vertically. A deposit wide geochemical study of the Dome ankerite veins was undertaken to characterize their genesis, geochemistry, and role in the deposit mineralization history. Samples and mapping from new and historic mine workings, bulk rock geochemistry, and stable isotope geochemistry were used to constrain the depositional context of …

Cytochrome C As A Peroxidase: Activation Of The Precatalytic Native State By H, Victor Yin, Gary S Shaw, Lars Konermann

Chemistry Publications

In addition to serving as respiratory electron shuttle, ferri-cytochrome c (cyt c) acts as a peroxidase; i.e., it catalyzes the oxidation of organic substrates by H₂O₂. This peroxidase function plays a key role during apoptosis. Typical peroxidases have a five-coordinate heme with a vacant distal coordination site that permits the iron center to interact with H₂O₂. In contrast, native cyt c is six-coordinate, as the distal coordination site is occupied by Met80. It thus seems counterintuitive that native cyt c would exhibit peroxidase activity. The current work scrutinizes the origin of this …

Paleogeography Of Early Paleozoic Laurentia And Meguma, Avalonia Terranes Via Paleomagnetism And Faunal Review, Halima S. Warsame

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Paleomagnetic assessment of 821 Cambrian to Silurian-aged rock specimens of igneous and sedimentary origin was used as a means to provide insight on the ancient geographies of the region in which these rocks are currently found. The Earth’s magnetic field direction can be recorded at the time of rock formation and/or at a later significant event by magnetic minerals, allowing these signatures to be used to track the past motions of the continents. Stepwise demagnetization of the Port au Port, St. George and Table Head Groups in western Newfoundland, and the Mavillette gabbro (426 +/- 2 Ma, U-Pb baddeleyite) of …

Data-Adaptive Kernel Support Vector Machine, Xin Liu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In this thesis, we propose the data-adaptive kernel Support Vector Machine (SVM), a new method with a data-driven scaling kernel function based on real data sets. This two-stage approach of kernel function scaling can enhance the accuracy of a support vector machine, especially when the data are imbalanced. Followed by the standard SVM procedure in the first stage, the proposed method locally adapts the kernel function to data locations based on the skewness of the class outcomes. In the second stage, the decision rule is constructed with the data-adaptive kernel function and is used as the classifier. This process enlarges …

Spatio-Temporal Variation Of Benthic Metabolism In A Large Regulated River, Craig Irwin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Spatio-temporal patterns of benthic metabolism were measured to determine associations with substrate (cobble vs sand), channel location (main vs side channel), flow regulation (medium-head vs low-head) and temporal variability during the summer months. Benthic metabolism was estimated in two reaches of the Saint John River in New Brunswick, Canada using benthic chambers. General linear models indicated gross primary production (GPP) and community respiration (CR) was greater in cobble substrate in June, but only GPP was greater in July. CR differed between channel locations in July with greater rates in the side channel. Assessment of flow regulation showed greater GPP in …

Would You Like To Motivate Software Testers? Ask Them How, Ronnie Santos, Cleyton Magalhaes, Jorge S. Correia-Neto, Fabio Q. B. Silva Dr., Luiz Fernando Capretz, Rodrigo E. C. Souza

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

Considering the importance of software testing to the development of high quality and reliable software systems, this paper aims to investigate how can work-related factors influence the motivation of software testers. Method. We applied a questionnaire that was developed using a previous theory of motivation and satisfaction of software engineers to conduct a survey-based study to explore and understand how professional software testers perceive and value work-related factors that could influence their motivation at work. Results. With a sample of 80 software testers we observed that software testers are strongly motivated by variety of work, creative tasks, recognition for their …

Dendritic Plasmonics For Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy, Francois Lagugne-Labarthet, Gregory Q. Wallace, Hayden C. Foy, Scott M. Rosendahl

Chemistry Publications

Metallic nanostructures that exhibit tailored optical resonances spanning from the near to mid-infrared spectral range are of particular interest for spectroscopic and optical measurements in these spectral domains that can benefit from localized surface-enhancement effects. Plasmon resonances shifted in the near or mid-infrared range could be used to further enhance the excitation and/or the emission of an optical process. Surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) is one of such processes and can particularly benefit from plasmon-enhanced local fields yielding an increase in sensitivity towards the detection of an analyte. Herein, we have fabricated a series of gold dendritic nanostructures, prepared by electron-beam …

Finding An Effective Classification Technique To Develop A Software Team Composition Model, Abdul Rehman Gilal, Jafrezal Jaafar, Luiz Fernando Capretz, Mazni Omar, Shuib Basri

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

Ineffective software team composition has become recognized as a prominent aspect of software project failures. Reports from results extracted from different theoretical personality models have produced contradicting fits, validity challenges, and missing guidance during software development personnel selection. It is also believed that the technique/s used while developing a model can impact the overall results. Thus, this study aims to: 1) discover an effective classification technique to solve the problem, and 2) develop a model for composition of the software development team. The model developed was composed of three predictors: team role, personality types, and gender variables; it also contained …

Metallogenic Setting Of High-Grade Gold Mineralization In The Neoarchean Hearne Craton, Kivalliq Region, Whale Cove, Nunavut, Canada, Mo Asmail

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Pistol Bay Gold Project is located on the northwestern shores of Hudson Bay, in the Tavani Segment of the Neoarchean Kaminak Greenstone Belt in the Hearne Craton of the Western Churchill Province. This project covers several gold prospects whose genesis is hotly debated. The primary objectives of this research are to answer critical questions regarding the nature and timing of gold mineralization. The investigation includes: (1) establish the absolute age of the felsic and mafic intrusions and the relative timing of gold mineralization; (2) document the nature of primary and hydrothermal mineral assemblages related to gold mineralization; and (3) …

New Gps Time Series Analysis And A Simplified Model To Compute An Accurate Seasonal Amplitude Of Tropospheric Delay, Hadis Samadi Alinia

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Horizontal and vertical deformation of the Earth’s crust is due to a variety of different geophysical processes that take place on various spatiotemporal scales. The quality of the observations from spaced-based geodesy instruments such as Global Positioning System (GPS) and differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR) data for monitoring these deformations are dependent on numerous error sources. Therefore, accurately identifying and eliminating the dominant sources of the error, such as troposphere error in GPS signals, is fundamental to obtain high quality, sub-centimeter accuracy levels in positioning results.

In this work, I present the results of double-differenced processing of five years …

A Comparison Of Ground Motion Characteristics From Induced Seismic Events In Alberta With Those In Oklahoma, Krista M. Kaski

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Ground motions from potentially-induced seismic events in Alberta of magnitude (M) > 3, recorded within 100 km, are empirically characterized in terms of their response spectral shapes and amplitudes. Ground motions are compared statistically to those from induced events in Oklahoma, as well as to three benchmark ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs), derived from natural events. Discrepancies between Alberta and Oklahoma events appear to be magnitude-dependent, and distance-independent. For events greater than M~4, the ground motions appear equivalent in the two regions. High-frequency motions from M< 3.5 events in Alberta are weaker than those of natural events, even those at shallow focal depths. For larger magnitudes, the residuals between the Alberta motions and benchmark GMPEs (Yenier and Atkinson, 2015; Atkinson, 2015; Abrahamson et al., 2014) suggest that observations are in reasonable accord with the models. These results provide a further understanding of ground motions from induced events in Alberta.

Thermo-Responsive Self-Immolative Nanoassemblies: Direct And Indirect Triggering, Bo Fan, John F. Trant, Gauvin Hemery, Olivier Sandre, Elizabeth R. Gillies

Chemistry Publications

A thermo-responsive end-cap based on a retro-Diels-Alder and subsequent furan elimination reaction was developed. It was used to cap poly(ethyl glyoxylate), allowing end-to-end depolymerization upon thermal triggering. Using block copolymers, thermo-responsive micelles and vesicles were prepared and shown to disassemble upon heating. Thermal degradation could also be triggered indirectly by magnetic field hyperthermia after incorporation of iron oxide nanoparticles into the assemblies.

Allostratigraphy, Paleogeographic Evolution And Accommodation Controls Of The Lower Colorado Allogroup In West-Central Alberta, Canada (Western Canada Foreland Basin), Steve Morrow

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Lower Colorado allogroup of the Western Canada Foreland Basin is a mud-dominated rock succession of marine, estuarine, and coastal plain depositional origin. Relative sea-level oscillations produced bounding discontinuities that allow the allogroup to be divided into four alloformations: the Joli Fou, Viking, Westgate, and Fish Scales.

Rocks of the Lower Colorado allogroup within the study area record marine depositional environments represented by 9 facies. The facies represent depositional environments ranging from offshore marine to lower shoreface through to upper shoreface and river mouth environments.

Geometric analysis of the isopach maps of the regional allomembers of the Lower Colorado allogroup …

Dynamic Studies Of Guest Molecules In Metal-Organic Frameworks And Zeolites Via Solid-State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Bowei Wu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are synthetic compounds with crystalline microporous structures, consisting of metal centres joined by organic linkers. Zeolites are a class of crystalline porous materials featuring negatively charged aluminosilicate frameworks and charge-balancing cations.

In this work, solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (SSNMR) is used to probe guest molecule locations and dynamics in MOFs and zeolites, yielding detailed informations of guest motion within these porous materials

Chapter 2 describes SSNMR dynamic studies of ¹³CO₂, ¹³CO and C₂D₄ adsorption behaviour in the α - zinc formate MOF, [Zn₃(HCOO)₆], which were performed …

On The Estimation Of Penetrance In The Presence Of Competing Risks With Family Data, Daniel Prawira

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In family studies, we are interested in estimating the penetrance function of the event of interest in the presence of competing risks. Failure to account for competing risks may lead to bias in the estimation of the penetrance function. In this thesis, three statistical challenges are addressed: clustering, missing data, and competing risks. We proposed the cause-specific model with shared frailty and ascertainment correction to account for clustering and competing risks along with ascertainment of families into study. Multiple imputation is used to account for missing data. The simulation study showed good performance of our proposed model in estimating the …

Assessment Of Earthquake Site Amplification And Application Of Passive Seismic Methods For Improved Site Classification In The Greater Vancouver Region, British Columbia, Frederick Andrew Jackson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

There is renewed interest to improve seismic microzonation mapping in Greater Vancouver, British Columbia (BC). We investigate local geology as the cause of observed variable ground shaking from the 2015 M 4.7 Vancouver Island earthquake. We observe high amplification at 4-6 Hz on thick sediment and the northern edge of the Fraser River delta, and disparities with current regional seismic microzonation mapping. Site amplification and shear-wave velocity (V_S) are assessed from the first borehole earthquake recordings in BC. We also perform ambient vibration analyses at 13 new locations in southwest BC to highlight suitability of passive seismic methods …

Petrophysical Investigations Of The Marathon Cu-Pge Deposit, Marathon, On, Hiruni Gunawardana

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Drill core samples obtained from four mineralized zones of the Marathon Cu-PGE deposit in the Coldwell igneous complex have been investigated for their petrophysical characteristics. Remanent magnetization was used as a possible tool to reorient core samples but a drilling induced overprint magnetization dominated the record. Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility was measured to provide a proxy for the petrofabric of samples obtained from oriented drill cores; a well-defined planar fabric was found to strike 177 and dip 25°W, with down-dip lineation, in excellent agreement with inferred magmatic flow direction based on 3D modeling of mineralized footwall troughs. Magnetite rich lithologies …

Aluminum Complexes Of N2o23‒ Formazanate Ligands Supported By Phosphine Oxide Donors, Ryan Maar, Amir Rabiee Kenaree, Ruizhong Zhang, Yichen Tao, Benjamin D. Katzman, Viktor N. Staroverov, Zhifeng Ding, Joe Gilroy

Chemistry Publications

The synthesis and characterization of a new family of phosphine-oxide-supported aluminum formazanate complexes (7a, 7b, 8a, 9a) are reported. X-ray diffraction studies revealed that the aluminum atoms in the complexes adopt an octahedral geometry in the solid state. The equatorial positions are occupied by an N₂O₂^3‒ formazanate ligand, and the axial positions are occupied by L-type phosphine oxide donors. UV-vis absorption spectroscopy revealed that the complexes were strongly absorbing (ε ~ 30,000 M^‒1 cm^‒1) between 500 and 700 nm. The absorption maxima in this region were simulated using …

Determining The Reactivity And Oxidation Intermediates Of An Allylnickel (N-Heterocyclic Carbene) Chloride Complex, Scott W. E. Hendriks

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The oxidation of C-H bonds to carbonyl functional groups using molecular oxygen (O₂) is a desirable process as O₂ is environmentally benign and inexpensive. However, oxidations that employ O₂ have lower product selectivity, making it industrially unappealing. The metal complexes NiCl(π-cinnamyl)(NHC) oxidize stoichiometrically with O₂ as the oxidant to selectively form the ketone and aldehyde products.

This thesis details the attempted catalysis with the NiCl(π-allyl)(NHC) complex and the stoichiometric reactivity of NiCl(π-allyl)(NHC) and NiCl(π-cinnamyl)(NHC) complexes upon O₂ exposure. An investigation of the intermediate and decomposition species of the NiCl(π-allyl)(NHC) complex was conducted. The complexes …

Linking Mining Wastewater Discharge To Methylmercury Production In A Sub-Arctic Peatland, Lauren E. Twible

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

It is well established that the addition of sulphate (SO₄^2-) to peatlands increases methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations in pore waters via microbial methylation. Less information exists about the effects of different concentrations and sources of SO₄^2- loading on MeHg production in remote, non- SO₄^2- impacted regions like Canada’s north, where increased SO₄^2- loadings come not from the atmosphere, but often from mining waste water and rock tailings. A three year field study (two years of loading; one year of recovery) examined the effects of simulated wastewater (containing 27.2 mg/L SO₄^{2- …}

Depositional And Environmental Controls On Oxygen And Carbon Isotope Compositions Of Late Pleistocene To Mid-Holocene Shelly Fauna From The Huron Basin, Ontario, Canada, Jane Wilson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C of aragonitic mollusc shells were analyzed from nine sites in the Huron Basin, Ontario, Canada. These sites represent three lake phases spanning the Late Pleistocene to the mid-Holocene (Algonquin, Transitional, and Nipissing) and three depositional environments (fluvial, estuarine, and lacustrine). Depositional environment controls mollusc δ¹⁸O more strongly than climate. The source of carbon and climate control the δ¹³C of the shelly fauna. Shells from fluvial sites are most depleted of ¹⁸O and exhibit the greatest antipathetic δ¹³C-δ¹⁸O covariation. This reflects the dynamic nature of this system. Lacustrine sites have …

The First Earthquake Site Assessments In Alberta, Canada, Joseph J. Farrugia

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

A thorough characterization of the site conditions at Alberta seismic stations is a vital component in assessing seismic hazard in the province. This thesis provides the first earthquake site characterizations in Alberta, including shear-wave velocity (V_S) depth profiles, estimates of the average shear-wave velocity in the upper 30 m (V_S30) and peak frequency (f_peak), and their validation for prediction of earthquake site amplification. National Building Code of Canada site classes are limited to C and D based on V_S30 estimates, with D being the predominant site class. Three …

Investigations Into The Role Of Conformational Dynamics In Protein Function: Insights From Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange-Mass Spectrometry, Courtney S. Fast

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Deciphering protein structure and dynamics is a key prerequisite for understanding biological function. The current work aims to apply HDX-MS to improve the understanding of protein structure and dynamics for systems that remain challenging for other techniques. Following a general overview of the field (Chapter 1), Chapter 2 investigates the relationship between enzyme dynamics and catalysis. By conducting comparative HDX-MS measurements on rM1-PK during substrate turnover and in the resting state, catalytically active rM1-PK undergoes significant rigidification of the active site. However, virtually the same rigidification was seen upon exposing rM1-PK to substrate or product in the …

Boron Difluoride Adducts Of A Flexidentate Pyridine-Substituted Formazanate Ligand: Property Modulation Via Protonation And Coordination Chemistry, Stephanie M. Barbon, Jasmine V. Buddingh, Ryan R. Maar, Joe Gilroy

Chemistry Publications

The synthesis and characterization of a flexidentate pyridine-substituted formazanate ligand and its boron difluoride adducts, formed via two different coordination modes of the title ligand, are described. The first adduct adopted a structure that was typical of other boron difluoride adducts of triarylformazanate ligands and contained a free pyridine subsituent, while the second was formed via chelation of nitrogen atoms from the formazanate backbone and the pyridine substituent. Stepwise protonation of the pydridine-functionalized adduct, which is essentially non-emissive, resulted in a significant increase in the fluorescence quantum yield up to a maximum of 18%, prompting study of this adduct as …

Fabrication And Characterization Of Cuins₂ And Cuinse₂ Light-Absorbing Thin Films For Use In Solar Cells, Amy R. Tapley

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Solar energy is free and globally abundant and harnessed cost-effectively, it has the potential to be the world’s main source of energy. CuInGa(S,Se)₂ solar cells have a very high efficiency of 20 %. However, gallium is a rare and expensive element. We have decided to work on its alternative CuInSe₂ (CISe) and CuInS₂ (CIS) by removing gallium or both gallium and selenium. The p-type CISe or CIS light-absorbing semiconducting layer is crucial for this type of solar cell. Preparation methods for CIS and CISe films were developed to reduce the costs and enhance the photoelectrochemical efficiency.

The …

Synthesis Of N-Heterocycles From Donor Acceptor Cyclopropanes And Progress Towards Flinderole A, B, And C, Joanne E. Curiel Tejeda

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The first chapter of this thesis describes two projects, one explores the novel reactivity of quaternary donor acceptor cyclopropanes and the second one involves progress toward the total synthesis of the flinderoles A, B, and C. The first project involves the Lewis acid catalyzed nucleophilic ring opening of quaternary donor acceptor cyclopropanes with indoline. It was found that the ring opening reaction worked well with either Sc(OTf)₃ or Yb(OTf)₃ as the Lewis acids. The ring opened products were also able to be converted into pyrroloindoles via a manganese (III) oxidative radical cyclization reaction. Cyclopropanes bearing alkynyl, vinyl, and …

Investigating Growth Of Metal-Organic Frameworks Via Atomic Force Microscopy, Zitong Wang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are crystalline microporous materials that have drawn much attention in recent years for their promising applications in many fields of chemistry. To design MOFs with desired properties, a better understanding of how these frameworks self-assemble during crystallization is required. A useful technique for investigating the crystallization process of MOFs is atomic force microscopy (AFM). We have conducted AFM studies on four different MOFs: the gallium analog of the MIL-53 MOF, which exhibits the "breathing effect," and three Lead, Calcium and Cadmium-based MOFs that uses 4,4-sulfonyldibenzoate (SDB) as the organic ligand. Hydrothermal methods were used to prepare those …

Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy Of Human Bladder Cancer (T24) Cells, Michelle S. M. Li

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) employs a biased ultramicroelectrode (few nm to 25 µm diameter) as a probe that is scanned over a sample to electrochemically characterize its physical properties and chemical reactivity with high temporal and spatial resolutions. In this dissertation, SECM was used to investigate the membrane responses of single live human bladder cancer (T24) cells to obtain insights into their topography, physiology and pathology.

First, the membrane-impermeable ferrocene carboxylate was used as the SECM redox mediator to investigate the geometry and topography of these cells along with 3D finite elemental analysis (FEA) simulations. The use of 3D simulation …

The Design Of Interactive Visualizations And Analytics For Public Health Data, Oluwakemi Ola

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Public health data plays a critical role in ensuring the health of the populace. Professionals use data as they engage in efforts to improve and protect the health of communities. For the public, data influences their ability to make health-related decisions. Health literacy, which is the ability of an individual to access, understand, and apply health data, is a key determinant of health. At present, people seeking to use public health data are confronted with a myriad of challenges some of which relate to the nature and structure of the data. Interactive visualizations are a category of computational tools that …

Photonic Band Structure Of Diamond Colloidal Crystals In A Cholesteric Liquid Crystal, Setarehalsadat Changizrezaei, Colin Denniston

Physics and Astronomy Publications

In this paper, we demonstrate the presence of a photonic band gap for a diamond lattice structure made of particles with normal anchoring inside a cholesteric liquid crystal. As is typical for liquid crystals (LCs), there is considerable contrast between the dielectric constant parallel ε∥ and perpendicular ε⊥ to the director, with ε∥/ε⊥∼4 here. It is shown that the size of the photonic band gap is directly related to the size of colloidal particles and the contrast between the dielectric constant in the particles and the extreme values of ε in the LC medium (one needs either ε in the …