Projets novateurs réalisés

Multivariate random effects model for Integrated measurement of green veneer thickness and roughness

Thickness and surface roughness are the two main veneer quality criteria affecting material recovery, plywood glue bond quality, and glue consumption. At present, on-line green veneer thickness and surface roughness are generally not measured, which causes difficulty in assessing overall veneer quality for a better control of log conditioning and veneer peeling process. In this project, we will investigate the feasibility and operational conditions of a laser-based real-time approach in the pilot plant to jointly measure those two important quality criteria and subsequently develop a statistical model for accurately predicting such two dimensional measurements. A pilot plant test will be conducted at FPInnovations, followed by a production trial in an interior BC plywood mill. The pilot plant test is aimed to assess the operational conditions, gather samples for preliminary data analysis, and get correct sample size for the mill trial. The mill trial is aimed to collect real-time data on green veneer thickness and surface roughness in real production mode. Based on the data acquired, final phase of the project is to develop statistical models to predict overall veneer quality for a better process control. The models will be applicable to all other plywood mills in BC.

Validation of PeCOD in Strategic Applications, Freshwater and Wastewater

MANTECH’s has business strategy is to complete direct experimental validation of the PeCOD patented technology in strategic sites in the Western Provices, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. In Manitoba, this includes working with the University of Manitoba at the International Institute of Sustainable Development’s Experimental Lakes Area (IISD-ELA), in Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Research Council on the Protection of Freshwaters, in British Columbia, winery wastewater and in Alberta, multi-faceted work. In Alberta, compliance environmental testing is privatized which provides MANTECH the opportunity to experiment in two areas. 1. PeCOD as the new alternative Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) method and as a Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) estimator. The current method for COD requires 3 hours using mercury, dichromate and acid chemicals heated at 150 degrees Celsius for 2 hours. PeCOD compltes the test in 10 minutes utilizing a photocatalytic nanotechnology. The University of Waterloo Institutes of Nanotechnology is working with MANTECH to futher develop the PeCOD nanotechnology. BOD takes 5 days to comple, thus not useful for any impact.

This project will build upopn the University of Waterloo’s research by working with the western provincial and municipal Governments, and third part environmental and soil testing laboratories,to ensure the proposed green method meets their requirequirements for accreditation and reporting.

Sustainable Desktop Program Creation/Renewal

We are looking for two interns to help reproduce a sustainable desktop program intended to track and store client database. Our current program (CMP) will no longer be supported but the program creator is accessible and can assist in supervising/answering questions. The current program contains all the code for the features required for our business. There was discussion about creating a new program that is based off the current program which may involve “translating” the current code. Additionally, importing the information from the current program to the new program would be an additional task that we can provide.

Stratégies d’éthique proactives pour entreprise en I.A. et R.V.

Accompagnement du Beam Me Up pour bien définir, préciser, défendre et solidifier l’aspect éthique dans la gouvernance globale de son entreprise, mais aussi de ses projets dans le domaine de la gériatrie. dont son système intelligent d’assistance à la surveillance d’espaces communs des résidences pour personnes âgées : l’intelligence artificielle et les technologies de détection au service des aînés et du personnel, ainsi qu’évaluer et mettre en place l’accompagnement de ces projets gériatriques, en plus de suggérer pour l’entreprise et l’ensemble de ses projets des autres secteurs, des recommandations générales et évaluer les besoins éthiques généraux. Cela permettra de bien encadrer les inquiétudes éthiques envers l’intelligence artificielle, particulièrement dans les utilisations grands publics, pour en assurer la bienveillance et bonne utilisation avec des informations personnelles.

Fundamental Studies of Aerobic Membrane Bioreactor under Short Sludge Retention Time Conditions for Municipal wastewater treatment

Conventional wastewater treatment processes consume a large amount of energy and produce around 32% of
municipal greenhouse (GHG) emissions. Thus, advanced wastewater treatment technologies with low energy
consumption and GHG emissions are highly desirable for environmental protection. Aerobic membrane bioreactor
(AeMBR) has been widely used for municipal and industrial wastewater purification. However, the AeMBR
technology needs to compete with conventional biological wastewater treatment technologies. To develop an
optimization AeMBR process for full-scale application in wastewater treatment plants, some challenges need to
be overcome. Therefore, this study aims to design a modified AeMBR system with high treatment efficiency, low
energy consumption, and great stability. After this study, the partner organization (SUEZ) can develop a new
AeMBR design manual, expand the market of AeMBR technologies, and develop the next generation of AeMBR
technologies.

Regulation of N-type calcium channel activity by Opioid receptor-like receptor – a novel mechanism to eliminate morphine tolerance

Prolonged morphine treatment is known to cause an up-regulation of ORL1 receptors in the spinal cord (12, 13), which in turn is believed to contribute to the development of morphine tolerance by altering ?-opioid receptor mediate modulation of N-type calcium channels. Indeed, ORL1 antagonists can reverse the development of tolerance, and ORL1 knockout can mediate resistance to tolerance with no changes on the acute analgesic effects of morphine (14, 15). Our lab has shown that ORL1 receptors and Cav2.2 channels form a physical signaling complex that results in tonic G?? inhibition of the channel activity and that this modulation can happen simply by changes in ORL1 receptor density, in an agonist-independent way (16, 17). I hypothesize that the channels that are in a complex with ORL1 receptors, can no longer be inhibited by classical opioids and, thereby contributing to morphine tolerance. Under the Mitacs fellowship, I propose to develop strategies to selectively disrupt the channel-receptor interaction and examine how this will affect the transmission of pain and the tolerance to opioids. I expect to first identify the molecular details of the channel/ receptor interaction site and then, design cell-permeable Tat-peptides to disrupt the interaction in vitro and in vivo.

Assessing the impacts of climate change on insurance sectors, public safety, and economic sustainability in North America: A Market Intelligence Review and Meta-analysis

Climate change has been projected to increase the frequency and severity of extreme weather (wildfire) and increase the prevalence of vector-borne infectious diseases (such as West Nile Virus and Lyme disease), which will potentially affect the insurance sectors through increased claims, financial losses, and the development of uninsurable risks. This review will follow a rapid scoping review format to synthesize evidence efficiently.

Development of computer vision framework for different technology platforms

Implementation of low cost techniques for automation is critical for various industries. At Fourien, we are developing various types of analytical instruments and robotic solutions for a variety of clients. Instead of installing multiple sensors in our technologies, we can employ computer assisted image recognition to implement various levels of automation in our different platforms at a lower cost and higher efficiency. As the cost of high resolution cameras is coming down, computer vision and image processing is becoming more accessible. Therefore, we would like leverage this opportunity to introduce the image recognition capability in our technologies, in order to make our technologies more effective and affordable.

Software Programming

Currently, a gap exists between basic and applied research in Streamlined Health Care Delivery. Using AI, and QDoc software we would like to work closely in collaboration with the researchers to develop AI tools that work on Streamlining the Primary Care between Physician and Patient. To be able to do that, it requires access to large amounts of clinical data, which can be used to train and validate algorithms.

Implementation of a Balanced Scorecard for Organization-Level Performance Measurement for Family Services Ottawa

FSO (Family Services Ottawa) is a not-for-profit social service agency whose mission is to assist individuals, to build on their strengths and to improve their mental health. FSO does so by providing counselling, education, and advocacy within a context of working to foster systemic change. Although their programs are increasingly monitored and evaluated at the program level, FSO does not currently have a tool to assess and monitor their organization as a whole. This project will identify the most critical measures for monitoring and developing a strategic direction for the organization, balancing theories of strategy with the practical needs related to executing strategy. The intern will work with a working committee of relevant stakeholders and organization members and will consult with various internal organizational committees to create a balanced scorecard for organization-level performance measurement that the organization can use to demonstrate effectiveness to funders and improve organizational functioning.

Predictive microsimulation model for knee-OA progression and cost-effectiveness of earlynon-pharmacological therapies to improve long term patient outcomes

The proposed study has three objectives: Objective 1. Develop KOA microsimulation model: To develop and validate a Knee-OA population-based microsimulation model (POHEM-KOA) using the previously developed POHEM-OA model. Objective 2. Perform cost-effectiveness analysis of non-pharmacological therapies for KOA: To use POHEM-KOA in conducting a cost-effectiveness analysis of treatment strategies, including exercise therapy and weight reduction, targeted at obese and overweight early OA patients in Canada over the next 20 years [2013, 2033]. Objective 3. Develop simulation-based risk calculator software (knowledge transfer): To develop ‘Ko-Ask’, a clinical simulation-based risk calculator software that is capable of predicting OA progression outcomes for those diagnosed with early OA in Alberta, Canada. Methods and Study Design Below we describe the research plan corresponding to each study objective. Objective 1. Developing POHEM-KOA The evolution of several risk factors for OA, including BMI, physical activity (PA), Job type/length and OA incidence have already been implemented inside POHEM models (Appendix 1). We will adjust these for KOA estimates based on sex and age specific KOA proportions reported in (9). Once an incident KOA event is assigned, the patient will enter the “progression module”.

Développement d’algorithmes et de méthodes de visualisation automatique de données dans le cadre d’un outil d’aide à la décision en milieu scolaire

L’objectif général de ce projet de recherche est d’étudier des approches statistiques et computationnelles pour permettre l’analyse automatique des données structurées et non-structurées dans le contexte de décision péda-gogique et dans le cadre d’un outil tel que Reussito. Afin d’étudier la pertinence de ces approches, le projet se concentrera sur le développement des algorithmes d’analyse du langage naturel à partir des commentaires écrits concernant les apprentissages des étudiants ainsi que les notes de ceux-ci. Le projet consiste en l’étude des méthodes d’analyse du langage naturel ainsi que des méthodes de visualisation des données combinant les enjeux détectés dans les commentaires ainsi que les notes afin d’aider la prise de décision de la part du corps enseignant et de la direction