Photocatalysis is an advanced oxidation process for the purification and remediation of contaminated waters and wastewaters, and is advantageous over conventional treatment technologies due to its ability to degrade emerging and recalcitrant pollutants. In addition, photocatalytic disinfection is less chemical-intensive than other methods such as chlorination, and can inactivate even highly resistant microorganisms with good efficacy. Process sustainability and cost-effectiveness may be improved by utilizing solar irradiation as the source of necessary photons for photocatalyst excitation. However, solar-induced activity of the traditionally-used titania is poor due to its inefficient visible light absorption, and recombination of photo-excited species is problematic. Additionally, mass transfer limitations and difficulties separating the catalyst from the post-treatment slurry hinder conversions and efficiencies obtainable in practice. In this research, various strategies were explored to address these issues using novel visible light active photocatalysts. Two classes of carbon-enhanced photocatalytic materials were studied: activated carbon adsorbent photocatalyst composites, and carbon-doped TiO2. Adsorbent photocatalyst composites based on activated carbon and plasmonic silver/silver chloride structures were synthesized, characterized, and experimentally investigated for their photocatalytic activity towards the degradation of model organic pollutants (methyl orange dye, phenol) and the inactivation of a model microorganism (Escherichia coli K-12) under visible light. The adsorptive behaviour of the composites towards methyl orange dye was also studied and described according to appropriate models. Photocatalytic bacterial inactivation induced by the prepared composites was investigated, and the inactivation mechanisms and roles of incorporated antimicrobial silver on disinfection were probed and discussed. These composites were extended towards magnetic removal strategies for post-use separation through the incorporation of magnetic nanoparticles to prepare Ag/AgCl-magnetic activated carbon composites, and the effect of nanoparticles addition on the properties and photoactivities of the resulting materials was explored. Another silver/silver halide adsorbent photocatalyst composite based on activated carbon and Ag/AgBr exhibiting visible light absorption due to both localized surface plasmon resonance and optical band gap absorption was synthesized and its photocatalytic activity towards organics degradation and microbial inactivation was studied. Carbon-doped mixed-phase titania was also prepared and experimentally investigated.

We consider the problem of extracting a specific feature from a noisy signal generated by a multi-channels Remote Field Eddy Current Sensor. The sensor is installed on a mobile robot whose mission is the detection of anomalous regions in metal pipelines. Given the presence of noise that characterizes the data series, anomaly signals could be masked by noise and therefore difficult to identify in some instances. In order to enhance signal peaks that potentially identify anomalies we consider an entropy filter built on a-posteriori probability density functions associated with data series. Thresholds based on the Neyman-Pearson criterion for hypothesis testing are derived. The algorithmic tool is applied to the analysis of data from a portion of pipeline with a set of anomalies introduced at predetermined locations. Critical areas identifying anomalies capture the set of damaged locations, demonstrating the effectiveness of the filter in detection with Remote Field Eddy Current Sensor.

This thesis presents a methodology for, and a case study of, the transformation of a social representation. The basis of the thesis is derived from an understanding of representations as a complex, dynamic, pluralistic phenomena that both exist in time and draw their form and meaning from past and present knowledge(s). We are guided by an interest in understanding how one might study a social representation that is already an entrenched social phenomena and how one might go about studying such an entity in a systematic fashion over time. We devised a method through which data can be aggregated over a bound, measurable unit of time and analyzed systematically into core and peripheral systems, allowing for the study of transformation of representation of long duration. Our methodology thus embeds social representations in particular historical, temporal moments in order to assess the structural formation of the representation. To assess the applicability of our methodology, we undertook a study of the social representation of physicians in televised medical dramas. The case of the physician was selected because of their existence as a known social phenomenon of long-duration with a prominent, continuous social presence. In our exploration of this case, we sought to answer two questions. The first asks, ‘what is the social representation of the physician as presented in televised medical dramas’, while the second queries is ‘if and how this social representation has changed over time’. We present thus not only the identification and transformation of a representation, that of the physician, but we also offer a methodology with which to do so. Our methodology demonstrates that exploring representations in the past as a way to study the transformation of social representation has potential to generate new knowledge about old things. While the study of newly emerging phenomena presents an ideal time to study social representations, the study of older representations offers the opportunity to better understand how knowledge is created, changed, and re-created.

From a fresh data science perspective, this thesis discusses the prediction of coronary artery disease based on Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) from the Ontario Heart Genomics Study (OHGS). First, the thesis explains the k-Nearest Neighbour (k-NN) and Random Forest learning algorithms, and includes a complete proof that k-NN is universally consistent in finite dimensional normed vector spaces. Second, the thesis introduces two dimensionality reduction techniques: Random Projections and a new method termed Mass Transportation Distance (MTD) Feature Selection. Then, this thesis compares the performance of Random Projections with k-NN against MTD Feature Selection and Random Forest for predicting artery disease. Results demonstrate that MTD Feature Selection with Random Forest is superior to Random Projections and k-NN. Random Forest is able to obtain an accuracy of 0.6660 and an area under the ROC curve of 0.8562 on the OHGS dataset, when 3335 SNPs are selected by MTD Feature Selection for classification. This area is considerably better than the previous high score of 0.608 obtained by Davies et al. in 2010 on the same dataset.

An isolated wing-tip vortex from a square-tipped NACA 0012 wing at an angle of attack of 5 degrees was studied in a water tunnel at a chord based Reynolds number of approximately 24000. Measurements were taken using stereo particle image velocimetry at three measurement planes downstream of the wing under each of three freestream turbulence conditions. The amplitude of wandering of the vortex axis increased with increasing distance downstream of the wing and with increasing freestream turbulence intensity. The magnitude of the peak azimuthal velocity decreased with increasing distance from the wing as well as with increases in the freestream turbulence intensity. The streamwise velocity in the vortex core was less than the freestream velocity in all cases. Time resolved histories of the instantaneous waveform shape and location of the vortex axis were determined from sequences of images of fluorescent dye released from the wing.

Contemporary scholars have been studying audiovisual translation for the past twenty years. However, health communication has never yet been included as a part of the audiovisual material under discussion. The goal of this thesis is to create Russian subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing from the original English version of The Three Amigos, a series of PSAs (Public service announcements) regarding the prevention of HIV/AIDS, and to analyse and discuss the theoretical and practical aspects of this work. After analysing the current situation on HIV/AIDS in Russia and Belarus, I use this series entitled The Three Amigos as an example of health communication that works, and therefore, should be accessible to more viewers. The thesis is organised into three chapters. Following a general introduction, Chapter 1 discusses health communication, presents statistics on HIV/AIDS in Russia and Belarus, and provides an example of health communication that fulfills its functions – public service announcements on HIV/AIDS prevention in the form of The Three Amigos. Chapter 2 discusses the necessity of subtitling for the target audience, and emphasises the fact that people with hearing impairment need special subtitles that differ from the ones that are suitable for viewers without hearing impairment. Chapter 3 contains the analysis of the subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing that I created for this project. Finally, the conclusion summarises the findings of this research, and addresses possible directions for future projects on this topic.

Current monitoring tools in the intensive care units focus on displaying physiologically monitored parameters (e.g. vital signs such as heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure) at the present moment. Added clinical utility can be found by analyzing how the conditions of a patient evolve with time, and automatically relating that dynamics to population trends. Variability analysis consists of monitoring patterns of variation over intervals in time of physiological signals such as heart rate and respiratory rate. Given that illness has been associated in multiple studies with altered variability, most commonly lack of variation, variability monitoring represents a tool whose contribution at the bedside still needs to be explored. With the long term objective of improving care, this thesis promotes the use of variability analysis through three distinct types of analysis: facing the technical challenges involved with the dimensionality of variability analysis, enhancing the physiological understanding of variability, and showing its utility in real world clinical applications. In particular, the contributions of this thesis include: the review and classification into domains of a large array of measures of variability; the design of system and methods to integrate multiple measures of variability into a unique score, called composite measure, bringing relevant information to specific clinical problems; the comparison of patterns of heart rate variability during exercise and sepsis development, showing the inability of single measures of variability to discriminate between the two kinds of stressors; the analysis of variability produced from a physiologically-based model of the cardiovascular system, showing that each single measure of variability is an unspecific sensor of the body, thereby promoting multivariate analysis to the only means of understanding the physiology underlying variability; the study of heart rate variability in a population at high risk of sepsis development, showing the ability of variability to predict the occurrence of sepsis more than 48 hours in advance respect to the time of diagnosis of the clinical team; the study of heart and respiratory rate variability in intubated intensive care unit patients, showing how variability can provide a better way of assessing extubation readiness respect to commonly used clinical parameters. Overall, it is hoped that these novel contributions will help promoting bedside applications of variability monitoring to improve patient care.

A pipe consisting of Inconel 600 welded to grade 106-B Carbon-Steel using Inconel 182 weld filler is used to transport heavy water in nuclear reactors. A confidential report concluded that cracking is one of the problems these pipes are currently facing. Before cracking can be fully understood the mechanical properties of the weld must be determined. This thesis analyzed the pipe at various length-scales using optical microscopy, micro-hardness testing, small and large scale tensile testing and digital image correlation (DIC). This thesis successfully achieved it goals of determining the mechanical properties and creating a model of the Inconel dissimilar metal weld. It partially met the goal of observing fracture mechanisms as it was able to observe fracture in tensile samples but was not able to successfully track crack growth.

A pivotal moment in machine learning research was the creation of an important new research area, known as Ensemble Learning. In this work, we argue that ensembles are a very general concept, and though they have been widely used, they can be applied in more situations than they have been to date. Rather than using them only to combine the output of an algorithm, we can apply them to decisions made inside the algorithm itself, during the learning step. We call this approach Inner Ensembles. The motivation to develop Inner Ensembles was the opportunity to produce models with the similar advantages as regular ensembles, accuracy and stability for example, plus additional advantages such as comprehensibility, simplicity, rapid classification and small memory footprint. The main contribution of this work is to demonstrate how broadly this idea can be applied, and highlight its potential impact on all types of algorithms. To support our claim, we first provide a general guideline for applying Inner Ensembles to different algorithms. Then, using this framework, we apply them to two categories of learning methods: supervised and un-supervised. For the former we chose Bayesian network, and for the latter K-Means clustering. Our results show that 1) the overall performance of Inner Ensembles is significantly better than the original methods, and 2) Inner Ensembles provide similar performance improvements as regular ensembles.

Of the maritime boundaries yet to be delimited between Canada and the United States, the Beaufort Sea might be the more pressing one, considering its strategic location in a rapidly developing Arctic region and its vast economic potential. In accordance with the Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS), maritime boundaries are to be delimited by agreement on the basis of international law as referred to in Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, in order to reach an equitable solution. When an agreement cannot be reached, parties can resort to third-party arbitration. While jurisprudence has determined that international law does not mandate a particular method of delimitation, it requires the consideration of equitable principles, also called special circumstances or factors. The notion of equity is therefore the foundation of boundary determination. But, what is equity and how is it applied? This thesis examines the various forms of equity, their origins in legal philosophy and domestic law and how they have been incorporated in international law. The main focus, however, is to analyse the differences between how international tribunals or courts have interpreted and applied equity in boundary determination and how States have applied it in negotiated agreements. While tribunals have tended to consider equitable principles as equivalent to geographical proportionality, States have considered those principles more in keeping with the notion of distributive justice and, more and more, are taking a globalised approach to boundary determination. On the basis of this analysis, this thesis evaluates the potential outcome of a third-party arbitration of the Beaufort Sea boundary dispute between Canada and the United States as well as the options for settlement negotiations between the Parties. In the Beaufort Sea area where hydrocarbon development is intrinsically linked not only to the development of the local population but also to the entire Arctic region, be it on issues related to the environment, navigation or security, the thesis concludes that a third-party adjudication would not serve the interests of the States. As delimiting boundaries nowadays is only one aspect of the management of oceans related issues, interests are best served when delimitation is understood as part of this global approach.