Master's Theses (2009 - )

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/1807/9947

The School of Graduate Studies (SGS) requires doctoral and masters graduands to submit a thesis written as a required element of their degree program in electronic format.

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SGS intends to house all available digitized Doctoral and Masters theses by U of T graduate students on this site. The current collection is but a small sample of that scholarly work.

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The Characterization of wact-45, a Novel Small Molecule Tool that Likely Inhibits the Vesicular Acetylcholine Transporter
(2019-11) Pyche, Jacob; Roy, Peter J; Pharmacology
Small molecule modulators of nervous system function can have utility as therapeutics or as research tools. Thus, the discovery of novel neuromodulators can be of great benefit. Using C. elegans as a model to identify neuroactive compounds, we have uncovered 82 molecules that modulate the egg-laying rate of worms. To assist the characterization of their mechanism of action, I investigated the locomotor phenotypes induced by these compounds. This identified wact-45, a compound that induces a coiler phenotype in worms reminiscent of cholinergic reduction-of-function mutants. Several lines of evidence suggest that wact-45 inhibits the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT). Notably, wact-45 suppresses the paralysis induced by the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor aldicarb, and mutants that resist the effect of the VAChT inhibitor vesamicol also resist the effects of wact-45. Its potent activity in nematodes and zebrafish suggests that wact-45 has utility as a tool to probe VAChT function in a broad range of species.
The Characterization of Cellular and Animal Models of Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma
(2022-11) Huang, Richard; Ohh, Michael; Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology
Kidney cancer represents one of the most frequently diagnosed malignancies around the world. Most patients present with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), which is often highly resistant to conventional cancer therapeutics when metastatic. Targeted treatments have been developed in the recent decades. However, resistance to therapies, differences in patient responses, and low survival means that more models are required to better understand ccRCC pathogenesis and metastasis. As a result, we used mouse models and single-cell RNA-sequencing to characterize the transcriptional profiles of in vitro, orthotopic, and metastatic models of RCC243, which was recently established from a ccRCC primary tumour. Our findings show that these models form tumours of a clear cell histology in both orthotopic and metastatic settings, and that differential expression exists between the RCC243 models. This highlights the role of the cellular environment, which may influence experimental outcomes and help us better understand disease processes.
Developing a 3D Printed High-density Adherent Scaffold Architecture for Large-scale Cardiomyocyte Production
(2022-11) Montague Szakaly, Ethan Coulter; Laflamme, Michael A; Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology
The scalable production of human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hPSC-CMs) is a major barrier to their translation as a regenerative therapy for myocardial infarction. Bioreactors like the stirred-tank system are commonly used for large-scale hPSC-CM manufacturing; however these populations typically display an immature phenotype. While maturation can be improved on 2D substrates, conventional 2D formats are not readily amenable to producing billions of cardiomyocytes required for therapeutic applications. Here, we pursued the fabrication of a scalable 3D printed high-density adherent scaffold (HDAS) array for hPSC- CM production. We found that fusion deposition modelling could generate compact scaffolds using common 3D printing materials. 3D printed substrates were shown to support hPSC-CM attachment and the formation of uniform, contracting monolayers with high purity and viability. Successful attachment inside and retrieval of cells from the HDAS architecture also reveals the potential for 3D printed scaffolds to be applied in future large-scale 2D hPSC-CM manufacturing.
Towards a Quantitative Colorimetric Gold Nanoparticle-Based Assay for Measuring ppm and Sub-ppm Aqueous Nitrite Levels
(2019-11) Lin, Yuan-Kai; Ramchandran, Arun; Chemical Engineering Applied Chemistry
Prior publications and work from our group have demonstrated a colorimetric assay coupling the Griess reaction with gold nanoparticle aggregation to detect the concentration of nitrites. However, a major disadvantage of this assay is it is slow and needs to be conducted at 95oC. This project takes a closer look at the mechanism of aggregation and lower the reaction temperature. The modifications allow the colorimetric measurement of nitrite concentrations exceeding 230 M (10 ppm) at room temperature, greater than 3 M (130 ppb) at 50oC, and potentially as low as about 0.05 M (2 ppb) at 95oC. This work sets the foundation for the development of an accurate, precise, inexpensive and portable nitrite measurement kit.
Investigating PLOD2 as a Therapeutic Target to Overcome Metastasis in Radiorecurrent Prostate Cancer
(2024-11) Frame, Gavin; Liu, Stanley K; Medical Biophysics
Metastatic relapse of prostate cancer after radiotherapy is a significant cause of prostate cancer- related morbidity and mortality. PLOD2 is a mediator of invasion and metastasis that we identified as being upregulated in our highly aggressive radiorecurrent prostate cancer cell line. This dissertation investigates the role of PLOD2 in driving tumour progression and metastatic potential in radiorecurrent prostate cancer, with particular focus on identifying clinically feasible methods of inhibition. The work herein reveals PLOD2 as a negative prognostic factor associated with biochemical relapse and metastatic disease in prostate cancer patients, driving in vitro invasion, migration, and in vivo extravasation; treatment with the HIF1α inhibitor PX-478 effectively suppresses this metastatic phenotype in radiorecurrent prostate cancer cells. Together, these results demonstrate for the first time the role of PLOD2 in radiorecurrent prostate cancer invasiveness, and point towards its potential as a therapeutic target to reduce metastasis and improve survival outcomes in prostate cancer patients.
Online Non-preemptive Resource Constrained Scheduling
(2024-11) Fan, Donney; Liang, Ben; Electrical and Computer Engineering
Jobs in computing environments have diverse and heterogeneous resource requirements. This thesis presents a study of online, non-preemptive scheduling algorithms for multiple identical machines. In this environment, users send their job requests to be served by these machines, using their resources to satisfy the requests. With multiple requests to serve, the machines need an inherent scheduling objective to optimize. We study the scheduling objectives of the average weighted completion time, the maximum flow time (which is defined as job completion time minus their release time), and the maximum stretch (the ratio of job flow time and its processing time). The key challenge addressed is resource allocation to jobs with non-uniform demands across multiple resource types, such as CPU, memory, and storage. Further, as the thesis studies the online arrival of jobs, their parameters are not revealed to the schedulers until their arrival time. We use the popular competitive ratio to measure the performance of these algorithms. We first propose an online algorithm, termed Multi-Resource Interval Scheduling (MRIS) that achieves a competitive ratio of 8R(1+ϵ) for the average weighted completion time, where R is the number of resource types. To the best of the authors knowledge, this is the first theoretical competitive analysis under the considered system. We further show that the well-known priority queue algorithms can have arbitrarily bad competitive ratios in this setting. In numerical experiments using production workload traces from Microsoft Azure, the proposed algorithm is shown to significantly outperform priority queue algorithms and other state-of-the-art schedulers. Due to stronger lower bounds, we leverage resource augmentation to provide competitive ratio bounds for algorithms for the maximum flow and maximum stretch. In these relaxed models, our algorithms additional resources compared to the optimal algorithms. Using 10R speed augmentation, we provide an algorithm that obtains no greater maximum flow time than the optimal scheduler. We use the previous algorithm as a subroutine to present an approach that achieves a maximum stretch no greater than the optimal scheduler. These algorithms are enabled by interval scheduling paradigms, where the algorithm exercises patience to wait for additional knowledge of job arrivals before committing to scheduling decisions. Although this simple idea is not novel, we use it to obtain competitive ratios for the algorithms presented.
Thermoplastic Blends and Composites for High-temperature and High-pressure Applications
(2024-11) Cheng, Jackie; Naguib, Hani; Materials Science and Engineering
This thesis focuses on developing a Polyethylene (PE) and Polyamide (PA) blend tailored for high-temperature and high-pressure applications. Chapter 2 systematically investigated the impact of compatibilizer and weight percentage on blend miscibility and morphology. Mechanical and barrier properties of the blends were comprehensively characterized at elevated temperatures to assess their suitability for demanding thermal environments. Chapter 3 introduces an innovative method to enhance interfacial stress transfer in these blends by strategically localizing graphene nanoplatelets at the blend interface. This approach minimizes the required nanofiller content compared to traditional melt blending methods while achieving significant enhancements in mechanical performance. The findings underscore the effectiveness of this novel technique in improving the blend's mechanical strength and durability under extreme conditions. Overall, this research advances the development of PE/PA blends for industrial applications requiring robust performance in high-temperature and high-pressure settings.
Healthcare Providers’ Perspectives on the Use of Teledentistry in Supporting Oral Healthcare of First Nations Children in Northern Ontario
(2024-11) Arshat, Natalie; Lawrence, Herenia P; Dentistry
Healthcare Providers’ Perspectives on the Use of Teledentistry in Supporting Oral Healthcare of First Nations Children in Northern Ontario Natalie Arshat Master of ScienceFaculty of Dentistry University of Toronto 2024 AbstractObjective: Understand the perspectives of community-based healthcare workers in remote Indigenous (First Nations) communities in Northern Ontario on the potential benefits of teledentistry to improve access to pediatric dental care. Methods: A qualitative descriptive study design was used to elaborate on the experiences of community health providers who serve under the Weeneebayko Area Health Authority in Moose Factory, Ontario. Participants interviewed included healthcare providers and community health representatives. Semi-structured, one-on-one interviews were conducted virtually April and September of 2023. Thematic analysis was applied to interview transcripts which were then organized and categorized into recurring themes. Results: Participants interviewed included dental professionals (dentists, assistants, and hygienists), nurses, and a paramedic, all of whom had experience delivering care within the coastal communities of James and Hudson Bay, Ontario. Themes that emerged included: teledentistry as a means of communication between remote dental experts and community-based health providers, supporting more favourable connections between providers and patients, mitigating the use of resources and burden on staff and patients, and as a support mechanism for decision-making amongst nurses. The interviewees also described challenges associated with managing acute pediatric dental cases with intermittent access to dentists. The idea of teledentistry, particularly the store-and-forward vs. real-time examination form, was received favourably by all participants interviewed. Conclusion: The study findings suggest that teledentistry has a beneficial role to play in supporting healthcare providers serving remote First Nations communities where access to and sustainability of dental care is a current challenge. The favoured response to access to technology, whether in an asynchronous or synchronous manner, reflects that this innovative medium could aid in addressing the management of the considerable levels of oral disease among the pediatric population.
Investigating beta inducible growth hormone 3 (BIGH3) as a mediator of fibrosis in inflammatory bowel disease
(2024-11) Visser, Grace Victoria; Philpott, Dana J; Buechler, Matthew B; Immunology
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are characterized by chronic inflammation and development of fibrosis. Current therapeutics attempt to address inflammation, while fibrotic areas are surgically removed. Fibrosis is caused by excessive production of extracellular matrix (ECM) by activated fibroblasts. Fibroblast activation and ECM expression is mainly driven by transforming growth factor beta (TGFß) signaling. This project sought to identify a “co-factor” to TGFß, meaning a protein that acts synergistically in fibrosis with TGFß. One candidate is beta-inducible growth hormone 3 (BIGH3), which has been associated with increased collagen from lung fibroblasts and increased expression in patients with fibrotic IBD. BIGH3’s mechanistic role in colon fibrosis is previously unexplored. Following acute administration of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) in drinking water, mice lacking BIGH3 (Bigh3-/-) did not exhibit differences from wildtype in inflammatory indicators. To assess fibrosis during chronic disease, three cycles of DSS were administered. Bigh3-/- colons did not show differences from wildtype in fibrosis scoring, however they showed increased inflammatory indicators. This suggested that BIGH3 did not affect histological signs of fibrosis but might have regulate colon inflammation. Understanding how inflammation and fibrosis are regulated in the colon will inform development of “co-factor” therapeutics.
Code, Consciousness, and Composition: AI Ethics and Human-AI Co-Created Works
(2024-11) Bayoumi, Aziza; Ratto, Matt; Information Studies
The scope of current AI ethics discussions is limited, largely focusing on normative ethical codes rather than the ethical issues that arise in relationships between humans and specific kinds of AI. My research counters this trend by analysing writing co-created by LLMs and human authors. These pieces are “Ghosts” by Vauhini Vara and ChatGPT, “According to Alice” and “Hello World!” by Sheila Heti and a ChaiAI chatbot, and “Not the Only One” by Stephanie Dinkins, using a bot of her own making. By analyzing works of memoir and autofiction, my research presents distinct moments where the self is being constructed in collaboration with chatbots. I read these works through concepts from Critical Posthumanism and Narrative Ethics. These theoretical frameworks allow me to situate my work outside of human-centric ways of thinking about ethics, to better appreciate the agency that the chatbots are enacting in the conversation, and to explore the impact of this agency on the authors’ perceptions of themselves.
In Differential Privacy, There is Truth: Evaluating PATE with Monte Carlo Adversaries
(2024-11) Wang, Jiaqi; Papernot, Nicolas NP; Lie, David DL; Electrical and Computer Engineering
The shift from centralized to decentralized machine learning (ML) addresses privacy concerns associated with centralized data collection. A prominent approach for learning from decentralized data is the Private Aggregation of Teacher Ensembles, or PATE, which aggregates the predictions of a collection of teacher models. Aggregation is performed through a noised voting mechanism to reveal a collective prediction for the ensemble while providing differential privacy guarantees for the training data of each teacher model. PATE’s differential privacy guarantees protect only against adversaries that observe a bounded number of predictions. PATE provides virtually no privacy guarantees in the realistic setting where an adversary is allowed to query the system continuously. However, the prospects of such an attack have never been evaluated. We contribute to the first study on the confidentiality and privacy guarantees provided by PATE. We devise and implement an attack using Monte Carlo sampling to recover the votes submitted by participants of the PATE protocol, thus breaking PATE’s confidentiality guarantees. Surprisingly, we also show that our adversary is more successful in recovering voting information when the vote-aggregation mechanism introduces noise with a larger variance. Because differential privacy generally benefits from noise with greater variance, this reveals a tension between achieving confidentiality and differential privacy in collaborative learning settings. Next, we observe that PATE and its myriad variants assume that protocol participants, who contribute model votes, are honest. We evaluate scenarios where they can be corrupted by the attacker, and find that attacks become drastically more potent as the attacker is able to control more participants. Robustly defending against the attacks reported in this paper is non-trivial, and is likely to result in a significantly reduced utility of PATE.
A Comparison of Short-Term Treatment Outcomes with Non-extraction and Extraction Orthodontic Treatment Modalities in Borderline Class I and Mild Class II Malocclusions
(2024-11) Vu, Wendy; Daskalogiannakis, John; Posluns, James; Dentistry
Extraction (EX) and non-extraction (NEX) decisions impact various treatment outcomes, including soft tissue and incisor positions. Increasing desirability for more protrusive lips requires for an update in esthetic preferences. Borderline cases are critical when attempting to discern EX and NEX treatment effects. This retrospective study used Discriminant Analysis to identify 30 EX and 30 NEX borderline cases, analyzing soft tissue, incisor, and occlusal changes. Assessment of profile and incisor inclination preferences were conducted by 90 laypeople (LP), 40 orthodontists (OR), and 40 general dentists (GP). EX cases showed increased nasolabial angle, more ideal overbite, and lip and incisor retraction, with no significant differences in molar relationship and overjet. Linear regression of survey results indicated OR preference for EX profiles, GP preference for NEX profiles, and all groups favouring more upright incisors. LP’s preferences more aligned with GP. Conflicting GP preferences emerged, desiring protrusive lips and acute nasolabial angle (NEX-associated), yet more strongly preferring upright incisors (EX-associated).
Investigating the Impact of Genetics on the Effectiveness of Bupropion and Varenicline Treatment for Smoking Cessation
(2024-11) Saquilayan, Paulo; Zawertailo, Laurie LZ; Pharmacology
Genetics plays a significant role in smoking behaviours and abstinence. In this genetics sub-study,we evaluated treatment-seeking Caucasian smokers (n =374) receiving bupropion (n = 180) or varenicline (n = 194) for smoking cessation. Genetic variants involved in nicotine neurobiology (CHRNA4, CHRNA5, CHRNB4 ) and the dopamine reward pathway (DRD2, SLC6A3 ) displayed nominal associations with abstinence. Additionally, DRD2 and COMT variants were nominally associated with cigarettes per day and nicotine dependence in the whole sample (n =374). However, genome-wide variants showed no significant associations with abstinence, or baseline smoking behaviours. Polygenic risk scores for smoking cessation (current versus former smoker) derived from the GWAS and Sequencing Consortium of Alcohol and Nicotine Use (GSCAN) meta-analysis sample, significantly predicted abstinence at the end of treatment and explained 2.188% of the variance for abstinence. These findings highlight the influence of genetic variants on smoking and the potential for personalized cessation strategies.
An analysis of GC-content in vertebrate protein coding genes and its implications on nuclear export, recombination, transcription, and the birth of new genes
(2024-11) Kang, Yoon Mo; Palazzo, Alexander F; Biochemistry
The nucleus plays a critical role in segregating transcription from translation, ensuringthe quality control of gene expression. This compartmentalization allows mature mRNAs to be exported from the nucleus while undesired transcripts and misprocessed RNAs are retained and degraded. While intron splicing is known to recruit nuclear export factors, we and others have observed that high GC-content at the 5' ends of transcripts (~62%) also seems to direct efficient nuclear export. While the selective advantage of efficient nuclear export likely contributes to the elevation of GC-content at the 5' ends of protein-coding genes, our investigation suggests the involvement of non-adaptive forces as well. One of these forces is meiotic recombination. Due to the inherent GC-bias of the mismatch repair pathway, GC-alleles in heteroduplexes formed during meiotic recombination are more likely to spread than AT-alleles in a process called GC-biased gene conversion. When I compared the GC-contents of genes undergoing frequent recombination to genes with low rates of recombination, I observed that high GC-content positively correlates with higher rates of recombination. Furthermore, genes that do not undergo recombination on the hemizygous sex chromosomes (Y or W chromosomes) have a significant reduction in GC-content. However the 5’ peak in GC-content in these genes is not completely abolished, implicating the influence of other evolutionary forces other than selection and current recombination. Unexpectedly, measurements of substitution rates in primates and rodents revealed that the 5’ GC-peaks are currently in a state of decay. Comparisons with changes in GC-content in GC-matched intergenic sequences revealed that this decay is comparable to the decay rate expected by neutral evolution. My data, along with recently published work from other groups, suggest that the 5’ GC-peaks are decaying back to the genomic equilibrium of ~41% because recombination is currently directed away from transcription start sites in primates and rodents by the protein PRDM9. In support of this theory is the fact that in the canid lineage where PRDM9 became a pseudogene and recombination still occurs at transcriptional start sites, GC-content continues to increase at the 5’ end. Other processes such as transcription may also influence the way GC-content evolves. We observe positive correlations between expression levels of human protein coding genes (obtained by ordering FPKM values from ProteinAtlas), its RNA polymerase II occupancy (obtained through peak calling RNA polymerase II chip-seq data), and their GC-content. I suspect high GC-content at the 5’ ends of protein coding genes evolved largely due to recombination and transcription, and that the cell was able to co-opt this feature for functional purposes. High GC-content may be used as an mRNA identity feature for nuclear export. This is evident as when we depleted TPR, a component of the splicing-independent nuclear export pathway, we observed that mRNA transcripts whose nuclear export was affected by this depletion tended to be more GC-rich than unaffected mRNAs. GC-content may also be used to define exonic and intronic boundaries. While comparing introns that frequently experience premature cleavage and intronic polyadenylation, we noticed that frequently misprocessed introns on average had higher GC-content than introns that are generally properly processed. Additionally, we noticed that low GC-content may work to signal for transcription termination.
Delineating a miR Signature in Patients with End Stage Renal Disease to Mitigate Left Ventricular Hypertrophy
(2024-11) Alberga, Carmine Antonio; Billia, Filio (Phyllis); Physiology
Identifying the differential expression of microRNAs (miRs) in end-stage renal disease (ESRD)patients may be indispensable for advancing therapeutic targets in this patient population. The dysregulation of Fibroblast Growth Factor 23 (FGF23) and Klotho has been strongly linked to ESRD, particularly by contributing to left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). Nocturnal hemodialysis (NHD) offers notable physiological benefits over conventional hemodialysis (CHD) modalities, primarily by attenuating LVH. Therefore, it was hypothesized that the differential expression of miRs in patients transitioning from CHD to NHD may regulate LVH through modulating Klotho and FGF23 signaling. We identified six miRs in the serum of patients who transitioned to NHD, with downstream targets involved in the FGF23/Klotho signaling axis. Targeted inhibition of miR-200c-3p and FGF23 resulted in mitigation of LVH and attenuation of fibrosis by downregulating key signaling mediators in this axis. These findings present a novel therapeutic approach for addressing cardiac complications in ESRD patients.
Factors Affecting the Relationship between Physical Symptom Burden and Traumatic Stress Symptoms in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Acute Leukemia: A Multi-site Observational Study
(2024-11) Mathews, Angela; Rodin, Gary; Medical Science
Acute leukemia (AL) is a life-threatening hematologic malignancy that poses a significant threat to both the physical and psychological well-being of those affected. Traumatic stress symptoms, which encompass the immediate psychological and physiological response to a traumatic event, such as the diagnosis of AL, are a manifestation of the distress experienced by such individuals. It has been shown that physical suffering activates traumatic stress symptoms in patients with AL, but the potential influence of variables that may moderate the association between physical symptoms and traumatic stress symptoms in AL remains understudied. This study aims to investigate this relationship and thereby to identify potential targets for therapeutic intervention. The data for this study are drawn from 85 adult patients with newly diagnosed AL recruited from four cancer care centers in Ontario, Canada. Self-report questionnaires were used at baseline to assess traumatic stress symptoms, physical symptoms, attachment security, spiritual well-being, and patient satisfaction with care. Quantitative data analyses using descriptive statistics and cross-sectional techniques, including multivariate analyses to evaluate moderation effects, were conducted to determine: the frequency of traumatic stress symptoms; the presence, severity, and distress associated with physical symptoms; and the extent to which the relationship between physical symptom burden and traumatic stress symptoms is moderated by intervening variables. The results of this study provide preliminary evidence for a moderating effect of spiritual well-being on the positive association between physical symptom burden and traumatic stress symptoms. Future work should explore this relationship in a larger sample to guide the development and improvement of tailored interventions to alleviate traumatic stress in this patient population.
The Association Between Periarticular Knee Tissue Perfusion and Knee Pain, Physical Function among Non-Overweight Postmenopausal Females
(2024-11) Anwari, Vahid; Wong, Andy AKO; Rehabilitation Science
Objective: Examine the link between periarticular knee tissue perfusion and knee osteoarthritis symptoms, physical function in non-overweight postmenopausal females.Methods: Women (n=48, ages 50-85 years, BMI< 25 kg/m²) underwent knee dynamic contrast enhanced MRI. Pain scores (KOOS, ICOAP) and physical function (40m walk, 30s chair stand, 9-step stair climb) as outcomes were correlated with pharmacokinetic values (Ktrans) from the infrapatellar fat pad (IPFP) and nearby synovial areas. Results: Each standard deviation increase in IPFP Ktrans led to a 5.70 unit reduction in KOOS pain scores (more pain), a 4.6-fold increase in odds of constant pain, a 7.34 unit rise in ICOAP constant pain scores, a 5.75 unit drop in KOOS ADL scores, 2.1 seconds longer stair climb, and 22.64 seconds longer 40m walk. Conclusions Higher IPFP perfusion was associated with significantly increased OA symptoms (pain, physical function). Further longitudinal studies are recommended.
Racialization and Land Dispossession: Indigenous Trinidad
(2024-11) Brown, Kahlia; Goffe, Rachel; Geography
Indigenous identities and histories of the first people of Trinidad have been, from the point of contact with Europe on, under-represented in research, and primary sources are steeped in racism and contradictions. These sources lend to the myth of Indigenous extinction on the Island, which helps to perpetuate continued dispossession. Unchallenged, this myth limits discussions of Indigenous sovereignty and rights, discussion that could lead to political action and change. The following research aims to contextualize Indigenous histories and identities in Trinidad, including how they were formed, defined and their implications. An anti-colonial lens is applied to analyze Indigenous Trinidad’s societal response to the threat of colonialism from the time before European contact, up until the 20th century.
Just Do More Parsing: Structurizing Semi-Structured Log Data For High Compression and Fast Search
(2024-11) Gibson, Devin Kenneth; Yuan, Ding; Electrical and Computer Engineering
Application logs are important for debugging, alerting, and analytics workloads, making it critical to retain them and make them searchable. These logs are increasingly appearing in semi-structured formats, which allow developers to add arbitrary fields, and express queries on them. However, legacy applications still emit unstructured log-text which may contain fields that developers need to search on. From a certain perspective these are also a kind of semi-structured data, just in a non-standard format. Unfortunately, existing systems are not able to fully leverage the structure of these legacy application logs for both compression and search. Instead the opportunity is wasted, and they are mostly treated as unstructured. This thesis significantly improves µSlope, a semi-structured data management system for application logs, by proposing a custom parser interface that can structurize even non-standard semi-structured data, and capture these structures in concise schema metadata. The design and implementation choices that enable custom parser support are contrasted against an earlier version of µSlope (µSlopeV0) which could only handle a limited class of semi-structured data. In a one-to-one comparison with µSlopeV0, the ability to structurize previously unstructured data offers up to a 32% improvement in compression ratio, and 4.18x improvement to search speed.
A Career Human Agency Theory Perspective of Emotion Regulation in the Workplace
(2024-11) Han, Xuerui; Chen, Charles; Applied Psychology and Human Development
Emotion is an integral aspect of our personal and professional lives. Individuals engage in emotion regulation when they encounter emotional events in professional settings to maintain a level of professionalism and meet workplace norms and expectations. The framework of Career Human Agency Theory (CHAT) proposed by Charles P. Chen recognizes that individuals exercise agency through intention formation, goal setting, action and behaviour monitoring, and outcome reflection. This study positioned emotion regulation within CHAT, aiming to examine the underlying intentions driving individuals’ engagement in emotion regulation, recognize their goals and expected outcomes associated with the practice of emotion regulation, understand their reactions when encountering emotional workplace events, and explore the influence of such events on their self-perception and anticipation of future events. Using a phenomenological approach, 30 narratives were collected from fifteen employees in Canada to identify key themes of emotion regulation in relation to the pillar principles of CHAT.

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