Projets novateurs réalisés

WP1.1.4 – Digital Compatible Modeling of Analog/RF/Optical Circuits

The intent of this project is to address the analog and silicon photonic modelling portion of a silicon photonic transceiver solution that will explore new and innovative metro reach terabit optical modems. In total there are five projects that combine to create the solution. These five project areas are silicon photonic design, high-speed electronic design, modelling, packaging, and test.
Optical transceiver simulation and verification is a challenging and time consuming task due to the complexity of models, diversity of simulators, and simulation intent.
The first part of the project is to address the problem of generation of a digital friendly library of analog models in system Verilog for Ciena’s analog IP to enable chip level verification. The models would provide different levels of abstraction and details tailored toward the intent of the simulation and verification. These models will be used for analog block level verification, chip level verification and test vector generation for production test and manufacturing.
The second part of the project intends to address the co-simulation of silicon photonic and electronic components and systems.

Handling of statistical heterogeneity in meta-analyses of observational studies on treatment comparative effectiveness

For some diseases, several treatments are available and it is therefore necessary to compare their effectiveness. When several studies have been published on such comparison, it is becoming common practice to combine the results through a method called meta-analysis. Combining results is however challenging owing to differences in populations and methodologies between studies. Not to consider such difference may invalidate the results. Although methods are available to take into consideration differences between individual studies included in the meta-analysis, they are not always followed when combining the results. The intern will review meta-analysis on the comparison between treatments that have been undertaken in the past 5 years and determine if differences between studies were handled appropriately. For the partner organization, this project will further the methodological expertise and know-how.

oN DuTy! – Innovative Program on NonDestructive Testing (NDT) – Part 2

NonDestructive Testing (NDT) is a key discipline in major industrial sectors to ensure quality and safety. Several methods are regularly employed in areas ranging from x-ray or ultrasound testing of metallic or composite components in the automotive and aerospace industries, to the inspection of petrochemical ducts using eddy currents or acoustical emissions. The present proposal combines different NDT-related subjects under the oN DuTy! training initiative supported by the NSERC CREATE, whose main objectives are of developing an enriched, unique and innovative Technical and Professional training experience in NDT for students and postdoctoral fellows through a network of leading NDT universities and industrial partners, thereby facilitating the transition of new researchers from trainees to productive employees in the Canadian workforce. The investigated subjects are at the forefront of current worldwide research efforts in NDT and deal with a variety of applications and challenges according to the actual needs of the partners.

Développement d’un essai multiplex pour l’étude de la signalisation intracellulaire de l’insuline sur la plateforme SnapChipMC.

Parallex BioAssays est une jeune biotech issue de travaux de recherche universitaire en génie biomédical. Au cours des dernières années, ils ont développé la SnapChipMC… un nouvel outil de laboratoire qui permettra d’accélérer la recherche biomédicale en mesurant plusieurs protéines à la fois, sans aucun compromis sur la qualité des résultats. Au cours de ce projet, le stagiaire postdoctoral participera très étroitement à la mise au point de nouveaux tests, de manière à rendre la SnapChipMC utile à tous les domaines de recherche. Parallex espère ainsi révolutionner la recherche, de l’idée jusqu’à la découverte de médicaments, et faire en sorte que les patients en bénéficient plus rapidement.

Succeed and Stay

The Greater Saint John area struggles. Too many people are leaving, not enough people are moving in. If this continues, governments will have great trouble. It will be hard to pay for road repairs, keeping schools open and so on. Likewise, employers already struggle to find people for the positions that do open up. Locals either cannot or will not take the several hundred jobs that do exist. The region does attract some immigrants from outside Canada, but only about 25 out of 100 decide to stay here. This research project aims to find out why this is the case, and what governments and organizations in Greater Saint John to encourage people to stay here once they have moved in. If we can improve connections to new jobs, make services better and make it easier to settle here, the region will become more attractive and the economy will improve.

Implementation of risk minimization measures and trends over time in the frequency of outcomes

Opioid-related harms such as abuse, misuse, addiction, diversion and overdose have been rising exponentially, a phenomenon referred to as the opioid epidemic. The current research will examine federal and provincial risk minimization measures (RMMs) regarding the opioid epidemic starting in 2016. We will develop a landscape of federal and provincial opioid RMMs, describe trends over time in the number and types of RMMs, assess the association between RMMs and public awareness and the association between RMMs and opioid-related harms. This research project will contribute to the methodological advancement of YOLARX Consultants. In addition, the project will lead to a conference abstract and publication. In Canada, opioid-related harm is a major public health issue, and multiple costly measures have been implemented as an attempt to curb the epidemic. The generation of evidence on the effectiveness of these measures would benefit the Canadian community.

Definitions of schizophrenia relapse as a study outcome and impact on the comparative effectiveness of oral versus injectable antipsychotics in the real-world setting

Schizophrenia is a devastating disease for which there is no cure. Available treatments aim at minimizing the symptoms. However, patients often stop taking their tablets, which leads to a worsening of their symptoms, referred to as relapse. In order to avoid the problems of discontinuation, some treatments are administered through an injection. Several studies have been conducted to compare the benefits of tablets versus injectable treatments on the risk of relapse. However, to combine those results is a challenge because relapse is not defined the same way across those studies. This project will be conducted to identify all the definitions of relapse that have been used and to determine whether combining the results is methodologically acceptable.

Understanding Stress Signaling in Childhood Cancers to Elucidate New Strategies for Therapy in Metastatic Childhood Cancers

The Sorensen laboratory-based Childhood Cancer Research Program is specifically focused

on elucidating the genetic and biological determinants of the metastatic process in childhood

cancer. Metastatic disease remains the single most dominant driver of adverse outcome in

most childhood cancers, particularly in childhood sarcomas. Research in the program is

dedicated to uncovering the mysteries of metastatic childhood cancer. This distinguishes the

Childhood Cancer Research Program from other international efforts, which are typically

focused on analysis of primary tumours. There are two basic strategies in the program for

studying metastatic disease in childhood cancers. The first is to focus on cell stress signaling.

Emerging evidence indicates that adaptation to prototypical forms of cell stress plays a major

role in tumor cell selection and metastasis. The second strategy is to perform next-generation

sequencing of childhood tumours in triplicate specimens (samples of the primary and

metastatic tumours and matching normal tissues). By sequencing both primary and

metastatic tumours from the same patients, and comparing them to….TOBECONTINUED

Production of synthesis gas via Dry Reforming of Methane: Fundamentals and Applications

The aim of this proposed research is the development of an efficient technology to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) via Dry Reforming of Methane (DRM) to produce value-added products. DRM, one the promising CO2 utilization technologies, has gained much attention as not only it reduces greenhouse gases (GHG), but also converts them to a valuable product, syngas. There are two main knowledge gaps associated with DRM process, which hinders the industrial application: 1. Catalyst deactivation, and 2. The high energy requirement for the CO2 conversion reaction. This proposed research is designed to bridge these gaps by using novel catalysts to mitigate coke formation, followed by high-level heat recovery and plant-wide optimization. These innovations will ensure that the technology will advance towards commercialization. This study will allow us to meet major milestones required to reduce GHGs emissions and transition to a lower carbon economic system.

Conservation de la cohérence physique inter-variable dans la correction de biais multivariée des simulations climatiques

Les scénarios climatiques utilisés dans les projets d’impact, de vulnérabilité et d’adaptation aux changements climatiques sont issus d’une combinaison des simulations numériques du climat avec des observations. Les méthodes impliquées dans cette combinaison visent à optimiser l’équivalence statistique avec les observations, et doivent garantir la cohérence physique entre les variables du scénario (p. ex., température, humidité, pression, etc.). L’objectif du projet est d’étudier comment certaines méthodes récemment développées et de type multivarié affectent la cohérence physique inter-variable. Les résultats permettront d’améliorer les stratégies de combinaison des séries temporelles (simulations et observations) dans les contextes climatologiques où les corrélations statistiques importent, et ce d’une manière qui préserve la cohérence physique contenue dans les simulations numériques. Ceci concerne notamment les risques liés à la santé des travailleurs en période de canicule, où la combinaison entre température et humidité importe, ainsi qu’aux feux de forêt, où de nombreuses variables entrent en jeu simultanément.

Sustainable concrete incorporating low-grade metakaolin

The production of cement and concrete is estimated to account for 5-8% of globally man-made carbon dioxide emissions. The use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) such as metakaolin to partially replace Portland cement in concrete is the most effective method to reduce the carbon footprint of cement industry. Pure metakaolin, however, is expensive and not widely available. This research focuses on exploring the potential of using low-grade and locally available metakaolin in Canada as SCMs in concrete. Synthetic calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) will be used to accelerate the hydration of cement and enhance the reactivity of low-grade metakaolin, ultimately improving the properties of concrete. The expected results will advance our knowledge in terms of the synergistic effects of low-grade metakaolin and C-S-H seeds. The successful study of this research will also promote wider application of low-grade metakaolin in concrete, which will contribute to the reduction of the carbon emissions associated with the construction industr

ELSTec : Efficient lightweight structures made by automated fiber placement (AFP) of thermoplastic composites

Led by Prof. Steve Tsai from Stanford University, Palo Alto, USA, new methods to efficiently design, analyze, optimize and manufacture high-performance light weight panels made of carbon fiber reinforced composites and thermoset resins have been developed by an international consortium. The ideas already available give indication to massively reduce cost, maximize light weight efficiency and increase the strength and stiffness of traditional (legacy) design of fiber reinforced composites. Ideas were presented in an overview at a conference organized by Concordia University in 2019 which has led to the idea to transfer this also to more environmentally-friendly materials made by automated manufacturing technique (i.e., thermoplastic composites made by automated fiber placement).

The planned project deals with the transfer of these ideas to sustainable materials, especially thermoplastic resins at a first step. Later, natural fibers might be added. Especially the simplified procurement of material data but also automated manufacturing of skin-grid structures should be investigated within the proposed project. There is a strong indication that environmentally-friendly high performance low cost lightweight structures can be obtained to be used by many industries, e.g. aerospace, railway, automotive, shipbuilding, wind turbines, investment goods and more.