Master Theses & Projects
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Preliminary design of a social asymmetric virtual reality upper-limb exergame for individuals with dementia utilizing insights from caregivers
(2023-10-01)This thesis investigates the usability, task load, cooperative performance, and social presence effects of an asymmetric VR game for upper limb activity in the context of elderly care from the perspective of caregivers. ... -
Exploring volumetric video & VR on self-efficacy for first aid training - a pilot study
(2023-12-01)The health profession is currently in a global crisis due to the lack of health professionals, such as nurses and doctors. In response to this ongoing crisis, extended reality is being investigated as a potential modality ... -
The identification of novel cys-loop receptor genes in Dirofilaria immitis
(2023-10-01)Dirofilaria immitis is a parasitic nematode responsible for canine heartworm disease. Currently, heartworm treatments rely primarily on a single drug class – the macrocyclic lactones – but anthelmintic resistance is emerging. ... -
Silence of the fish: injection of photoswitchable short interfering RNA oligonucleotides into Japanese medaka embryos (oryzias latipes) to photochemically control gene silencing
(2023-12-01)The siRNA duplex functions by binding to and cleaving mRNA, a process known as the RNAi pathway. Existing siRNAs face challenges such as off-target effects and unpredictable prolonged gene-silencing. To address these issues, ... -
Comparing the effects of traditional, VR, and custom-made input devices on usability, cognitive load, and presence on virtual laparoscopic tasks : investigating the potential of low-cost, consumer-level VR technology for medical simulation and training through laparoscopy simulation
(2023-12-01)Digital simulators are essential in medical education, allowing to train procedures that are otherwise impossible or difficult to recreate in real life. Laparoscopy training, a procedure that allows a surgeon to access the ... -
Read, skim, scan: gaze -aware documents as implicit feedback for multimodal typographical cuing
(2023-12-01)Computer-based methods for displaying and formatting texts for speed reading, including the popular Rapid Serial Visual Presentation method, are increasingly popular in both research and commercial applications. However, ... -
Predicting multi-person dynamics
(2023-12-01)Humans unconsciously model the dynamics of the world around them; for example, we predict the movement of surrounding traffic and pedestrians while driving, or forecast player positions in a game of soccer. Our work builds ... -
Development and user experience assessment of a VR resource for lactation latching
(2023-12-01)Breastfeeding is essential for infants and mothers. However, low breastfeeding rates have become a major health problem despite the use of electronic health resources used in videos, websites, and online video calls that ... -
Free methionine sulfoxide reductase and its contributions to environmental stress response in Komagataeibacter hansenii
(2023-12-01)Komagataeibacter hansenii (ATCC 23769) is a non-virulent acetic acid bacterium that forms cellulosic biofilms at the air-liquid interface of liquid media, serving as a model for biofilm forming pathogenic bacteria. In this ... -
An investigation into the use of ConvNext within IICS/IIDS framework for person Re-ID
(2023-05-01)In this thesis, we explore the integration of ConvNeXt, a CNN-based network inspired by vision transformers, into the Intra and Inter Camera Similarity (IICS) and Intra and Inter Domain Similarity (IIDS) frameworks for ... -
Discovery of trend dependencies over time-series
(2023-11-01)We improve constraint-based data quality using trend dependency (TD) discovery, extending existing order dependencies (ODs) to allow variations and exceptions. Unlike ODs, TDs capture approximate functional mappings between ... -
Preferential proximal policy optimization in reinforcement learning
(2023-12-01)The Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO), a policy gradient method, excels in reinforcement learning with its ”surrogate” objective function and stochastic gradient ascent. However, PPO does not fully consider the significance ... -
Effects of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on the freshwater gastropod (Planorbella pilsbryi) in the laboratory and in situ integrating a multi-omic approach
(2023-09-01)Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are anthropogenic chemicals that are globally used in consumer and industrial applications. Specifically, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) has been under scrutiny due to its ... -
Investigating proteomic profiles of rainbow trout (oncorhynchus mykiss) kidney and liver tissues exposed to low concentrations of waterborne nickel
(2023-08-01)Nickel has become a component of natural freshwater that may pose serious ecological risks to aquatic wildlife. Due to Canada’s significant presence in producing and exporting nickel, the country has the opportunity to ... -
Gloss positioning for a gaze aware L2 reading aid
(2023-08-01)An important aspect of language learning is reading texts written in the learner’s second language (L2). However, reading can be a daunting task for language learners, as text may contain a large amount of unknown vocabulary. ... -
An inquiry into virtual materiality
(2023-08-01)“We shape our tools, and thereafter they shape us," this Mcluhanism demands that when we create, we do so thoughtfully. This thesis examines artists' relation to VR tools for 3D shape modelling and their needs regarding ... -
PiXi: an approach to nudge secure password creation
(2023-04-01)Passwords, a first line of defense against unauthorized access, must be secure and memorable. However, people often struggle to create secure passwords they can recall. To address this problem, we design Password inspiration ... -
Towards improving the usability of system-assigned PINs: can implicit learning techniques help?
(2023-08-01)Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) are widely used for automated teller machines (ATMs), computers, mobile devices, debit cards, and credit cards. People tend to choose easy-to-recall PINs that are related to important ... -
Developing an elevated temperature Pourbaix diagram for zirconium and multi-element Pourbaix diagram of Zircaloy-4
(2023-08-01)Zirconium and Zircaloy-4 are used in applications that require corrosion resistance under extreme conditions. For example, the fuel bundles in coolant systems of CANDU™ reactors operate between 533 to 583K (260 to 310 °C). ... -
Scalable subgraph representation learning through simplification
(2023-06-01)Link prediction on graphs is a fundamental problem. Subgraph representation learning approaches (SGRLs), by transforming link prediction to graph classification on the subgraphs around the links, have achieved state-of-the-art ...