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Controlling Ice Growth: From Nucleation to Recrystallization
(Université d'Ottawa | University of Ottawa, 2026-04-16) Diamante, Marcus; Ben, Robert
The growing demand for advanced cellular therapies has facilitated a substantial need for efficient cryopreservation methods for a wide range of biological materials. As a result, a wide range of novel cryoprotective agents (CPAs) have been investigated to supplement traditional cryopreservation protocols, with the aim to improve not just post-thaw recovery, but post-thaw viability and functional capacity (e.g. proliferation and differentiation). Controlling ice recrystallization is a strategy to improve the outcome of cryopreservation, and small molecule ice recrystallization inhibitors (IRIs) have proven effective for many complex and clinically relevant cell types. The Ben lab has spent over two decades characterizing a diverse library of IRI active CPAs, however the structural requirements for IRI activity are still not fully understood. The temperature of ice crystal nucleation is also a vital factor impacting cryopreservation outcomes. As an essential step of the cryopreservation process, ice nucleation is the phenomena of an ordered, solid ice embryo forming in supercooled water. Ice nucleation can be considered either homogeneous in pure water, or heterogeneous when a foreign body lowers the energy barrier required for ice nucleation. It has been established in cellular models that it is beneficial to induce controlled, heterogeneous ice nucleation prior to a sample spontaneously nucleating. Through induced nucleation, the degree of supercooling of the sample is limited. This in turn limits thermal shock generated by latent heat release through ice nucleation and can limit the degree of intracellular ice formation observed. The use of induced heterogeneous ice nucleation can also generate a more consistent cryopreservation protocol, as the temperature of spontaneous ice nucleation can be widely variable, even in identically prepared samples. The research described in this thesis leverages the decades of research from the Ben lab to further the understanding of IRI and ice nucleation activity (INA) of small molecules. This work implements an in-house assay for the characterization of ice nucleation activity. With an understanding of small molecule INA activity, the degree of interaction between small molecule INA and IRI activity is examined herein. In parallel, this work reports synthetically accessible scaffolds containing the structural components required for IRI activity in N-functionalized gluconamides. The structure activity relationship investigations elucidate not only a novel set of highly IRI active small molecules, but also an improved understanding of the functional tolerance for further derivatization. Collectively, the work described herein sets the groundwork for the targeted generation of not only specialized small molecule IRIs, but the first attempts to generate dual-action IRI / INA active small molecule CPAs.
The Impact of Chronic Kidney Disease on Outcomes in the Intensive Care Unit: Epidemiology and Performance of Common Predictive Scoring Systems
(Université d'Ottawa | University of Ottawa, 2026-04-16) El wadia, Hajar; Hundemer, Gregory; Knoll , Gregory
Purpose: This thesis investigated outcomes of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Methodology: A systematic review evaluated ICU scoring systems performance in CKD patients, and a cohort study assessed associations between CKD stages and outcomes. Results: The systematic review identified 12 heterogeneous studies. APACHE II/III, SAPS II, and SOFA showed good discrimination in end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients on dialysis but consistently overestimated mortality and performed poorly among kidney transplant recipients. The cohort study of 531,090 ICU admissions revealed one quarter had pre-existing CKD. Increasing CKD severity was independently associated with higher mortality and greater risk of kidney replacement therapy (KRT). Dialysis dependent stage 5 CKD showed lower mortality compared to non-dialysis dependent stage 5 CKD. Conclusion: CKD is highly prevalent among ICU patients and strongly associated with mortality and KRT dependence. The scoring systems overestimate mortality risk in this population, highlighting the need for CKD stratification specific studies.
Crowdfunding Platform Mechanisms: Mitigating Fraud and Enhancing Campaign Success
(Université d'Ottawa | University of Ottawa, 2026-04-16) Ben Najee, Abdussalam; Chkir, Imed; Branco, Paula
The purpose of this thesis is to explore the role of crowdfunding platforms in protecting investors by investigating the platform governance mechanisms (PGMs) they have implemented to determine their effectiveness in increasing campaign success and reducing fraudulent activities. The specific objectives are (i) to know the prevalence of governance mechanisms implemented by crowdfunding platforms, (ii) to evaluate the effectiveness of PGMs in protecting investors against suspended campaigns on crowdfunding platforms, and (iii) to compare the PGMS of different types of crowdfunding platforms to identify any differences and potential best practices. The data collection method consists of two types of platforms: reward-based crowdfunding that covers the years between 2009 and 2023, and equity-based crowdfunding platforms that cover the years between 2018 and 2021, as well as the PGMs applied to both types. Using a logistic regression model, the general findings suggest that mechanisms such as social media and Google Analytics have mixed effects. Social media positively influences campaign success on equity-based campaigns but negatively affects campaign success on reward-based campaigns. In contrast, google analytics substantially influence reward-based campaigns positively, while having a negative effect on equity-based campaigns. The third-party verification mechanism was ineffective in campaigns to succeed or reduce fraud. In addition, the number of funders and amount pledged can enhance the successful campaigns, while they cannot distinguish between fraudulent and non-fraudulent campaigns. The duration is mixed with longer duration enhancing campaign success and shorter duration reducing fraud for reward campaigns. However, for equity-based campaigns, a shorter duration enhances campaign success. The study contributes valuable research knowledge by showing the role of crowdfunding platforms in protecting investors and increasing campaign success. The results indicate the necessity for further economic research on PGMs to enhance the campaign's success and prevent fraud, as well as highlight other essential topics for future study.
Towards Real-World Quantum Machine Learning
(Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2026-04-15) Singh, Utkarsh; Heshami, Khabat
Quantum machine learning (QML) promises new representational and computational capabilities, yet practical deployment on near-term hardware is hampered by resource overheads, depth constraints, and fragile trainability. This thesis advances resource-aware QML by proposing architectures and kernels that retain expressivity while sharply reducing qubit counts, circuit depth, and entangling-gate budgets. The work is presented in an article-based format with three core contributions. First, I introduce a Coherent Feed-Forward Quantum Neural Network (CFF-QNN) that preserves quantum coherence across all layers, mirrors the flexibility of classical feed-forward networks (adjustable hidden layers and nodes), and decouples qubit requirements from input feature dimension. Compared to prevailing QNN baselines, the CFF-QNN reduces both depth and CNOT count by over 50% while achieving strong performance on standard benchmarks (e.g., 91% accuracy on Wisconsin breast cancer and 85% on credit-card fraud). This contribution is accompanied by an international patent filing (WO2025050205A1). Second, I develop a resource-efficient quantum kernel that enables high-dimensional embeddings with substantially fewer qubits and entanglers, achieving linear scaling of entangling gates in the number of qubits. Empirically, the kernel delivers competitive or superior performance to widely used classical kernels and to popular quantum feature maps (e.g., on the Parkinson's disease dataset), with noisy simulations and small-scale runs on superconducting hardware indicating suitability for near-term devices. This contribution is covered by a companion patent filing (WO2025073041A1). Third, I propose a quantum reservoir computing (QRC) scheme that reuses a fixed quantum feature-map circuit as the reservoir while injecting temporal memory via an explicit feedback loop. The register is recycled across time, so quantum resources remain constant, no quantum parameters are trained, and only a lightweight classical readout is fitted. Experiments on chaotic time series (e.g., Mackey-Glass) show competitive predictive accuracy with strict resource efficiency, and illuminate how feedback delay and entangling structure affect memory and error. Collectively, these results chart a path toward practical QML: coherent architectures and kernels that are trainable, scalable in input dimension, frugal in quantum resources, and viable on noisy intermediate-scale devices—while providing design guidelines for future, larger-scale implementations.
Neither Il nor Elle: A Study of Gender Non-Conforming Student Experience in Ontario Public French-Language Education
(Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2026-04-15) Barrett, Emma; Ng-A-Fook, Nicholas
This study explores the ways gender-neutral or gender-inclusive French language is making its way into Ontario public anglophone FSL classrooms. Ontario French curriculum, and Ontario public school board policies and guidelines were examined. Six gender nonconforming participants underwent semi-structured interviews, detailing their experiences in French classes as recent graduates from Ontario public anglophone schools. From these two lines of evidence, two articles are presented. The first highlights the curriculum and policy documents and their mentions (or lack-there-of) of inclusive or gender-neutral French. The second amplifies the individual voices of the six participants who share their experiences of (in)visibility, representation, and belonging in the French classroom. Suggested improvements for French education from participants are presented.