Biomass is a key feedstock for the production of renewable fuels and chemicals with potential zero carbon emissions and at low cost. State of the art conversion of biomass to bio-fuels focuses on the pyrolysis of the feedstock at high temperature in conventional reactors. However, current technologies face many challenges to achieve lower costs than fossil fuels, higher yields, improved energy efficiency and product quality. This project aims to evaluate the production of renewable fuels from biomass using a dual spinning-disc reactor.

In order to investigate proteins in their natural environment one can attach tiny reporter molecules to them that can be traced with appropriate instruments. However, these small reporter molecules may often cause strong perturbations to the functionality of the proteins, or cannot be seen due to experimental restrictions like low concentrations. Bioorthogonal chemistry aims to eliminate such experimental restrictions by using as inert molecules as possible to see how proteins really work.

The cellular clearance pathway autophagy is required for degrading toxic proteins and damaged organelles, but is disrupted in many neurodegenerative diseases. During induction many autophagy regulators quickly localise to membranes from the cytosol. The Martin lab has identified palmitoylation, which involves the addition of the fatty acid palmitate to cysteine residues, as a potential regulator to direct autophagy proteins to membranes.

The project will determine sliding wear behaviour of lightweight Al and Mg alloys for the continuously variable transmission (CVT) bore application and other engine applications. High temperature lubricated wear tests that simulate the actual operating conditions of CVT bore will be carried out. In addition, tests will be conducted at room temperature and under the dry conditions to benchmark wear resistances of different cast alloys and determine the wear mechanisms.

Stroke happens when a blood vessel in the brain, is blocked by a clot (ischemic stroke) or bleed due to a vessel rupture (hemorrhagic stroke). The dielectric properties of healthy brain tissue are different from the one that is affected by stroke. In this study, these properties are measured in rat’s brain by an electromagnetic probe at frequency range 0.5-10 GHz. Subsequently, the changes are related to the type and level of brain injuries.

Metabolomics is an emerging field of research that provides insight into health and disease by studying the levels of various small molecules (metabolites) in the body. In this project, we are developing new tools that will improve and standardize methods for collecting and stabilizing fecal samples for metabolomics studies based on the analysis of fecal samples. Ultimate goals of the project are improved workflows for analyzing fecal samples for metabolomics studies, and kits which will permit easy home-collection of samples. The kits will also stabilize the samples at room temperature.

Crenosoma vulpis (Fox Lungworm) is a metastrongyloid nematode parasite infecting the lungs of wild and domestic canids. It is a frequent cause of chronic respiratory disease in dogs in Atlantic Canada. Dogs and foxes acquire the infection from ingesting terrestrial gastropods which contain the infective third larval stage (L3) of the parasite. Nothing is known on which gastropod species serve as a source for natural infections.

The telecommunication industry is rapidly evolving towards providing faster services to accommodate the global surge in network demand. The next-generation (5G) network aims to increase the current network speed by more than twentyfold. This transition brings enormous benefits for the economy and society. A main challenge faced by network providers, however, is that the existing infrastructure cannot fulfill the new requirements of the 5G network. For example, the future 5G small cells need to be more powerful than the conventional 4G network architecture.

Polymer ferroelectrets are light weight and flexible materials that display piezoelectric behaviour. These properties make them ideal for use as transducers in the aerospace industry. However, the traditional methods used to prepare high performance polymer ferroelectrets cannot be used for large scale manufacturing due to poor reproducibility or high cost. Furthermore, these manufacturing techniques rely on commercially available materials that are not intended for use as ferroelectrets.

To design effective and patient-specific cancer therapy, sensitive detection of relapse and distant metastases by non-invasive medical imaging is essential, for which MRI offers tremendous potential due to wide availability of the equipment in clinic and avoidance of ionizing radiation. Although gadolinium-based contrast agents are the most frequently used for MRI, they are associated with nephrogenic systemic fibrosis and brain deposition. Thus, less toxic manganese ions (Mn 2+ ) are exploited as an alternative for tumor detection using MRI.