Projets novateurs réalisés

Growing arrays of tapered ZnO nanorods using a hydrothermal method for optoelectronics and photoelectrochemical devices

ZnO is an important large bandgap semiconductor with good chemical, mechanical, and particularly, optoelectronic properties. Due to its unique properties, ZnO is one of the most promising materials as a novel type of emitting device, e.g. polariton lasers. ZnO nanostructure fabrication processes range from expensive, time consuming methods such as Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) to simple and affordable ones like wet-chemical synthesis. We propose to use a hydrothermal synthesis to grow ordered arrays of ZnO nanorods. We can identify two main objectives in the project, the growth of free-standing, bi-tapered, ZnO nanorods, and the wet-chemical growth of doped ZnO nanorods. Both of these objectives can be fulfilled through a simple chemical method which does not require any high temperature/pressure or vacuum. Light-mater interaction will be noticeably enhanced in the fabricated nano-structure. This could be due to the improvement in photon life time inside the nanorod because of its purpose-built geometry.

Pilot Study of the Safety and Efficacy of Different Potencies of Vaporized Marijuana Participants with Chronic, Treatment-Resistant Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

This study is among the first studies examining the effects of whole plant herbal cannabis on a variety of outcomes, including mental health conditions, anxiety, mood, and sleep quality. The interns will gain valuable experience in the field of medical cannabis, and will collect important data on the effects of varying strains of cannabis on anxiety, mood, sleep, and general well-being. The benefits of this
program of research are expected to be far-reaching, to both Canadians suffering from mental health conditions and to the partner organization. Indeed, as use and acceptance of medical cannabis increases, the public are hungry for basic research to help inform their decisions on whether the therapeutic effects of cannabis can help them. Moreover, Tilray will gain immense benefit from the results of this study to better market and recommend specific strains for specific conditions.

Injection molded bioprinter cartridges

Patients who suffer from severe burns require immediate wound closure to ensure survival and facilitate healing. The current gold standard in surgical practice is the use of split-surface autographs, allographs, or skin substitutes, but limitation range from the lack of layered tissue organization, the potential for immunological rejection, and the need for high quantities of donated tissue. At the Guenther laboratory, we aim to address these issues by designing a microfluid cartridge-based 3D bioprinter which allows the synthesis of cell-embedded, multilayered gels in a single, continuous process in contrast to traditional top-down assembly approaches. In close collaboration with engineers at SMT Americas, we will improve the design of existing microfluidic cartridges to enable scalable manufacturing of 3D bioprinting components.

An investigation on software quality measurement

Software failure may result in substantial damage, especially to human life and financial loss. High-quality software is recognized as a product that has been specified correctly, and that meets its expected specifications. It is important that the quality characteristics be specified, measured and evaluated. The primary objective of this investigation is to create the software quality deviation artifact through comparing the user expected quality against the final observed quality of a software product. In this way, the quality measurement process is focused. The rules and quality characteristics presented in ISO/IEC 250nn series of standard are applied to define a range of quality-related questions. The two major business processes in the partner company will be affected by the results of this project. “Certification” workflow will be enriched by the software quality aspects. The current criterion for getting the certification in TEC is only the “functionality”, which is necessary but not sufficient. This Mitacs project will also consider the quality aspects of the software product when it is reviewing by the experts. TO BE CONT’D

Development and validation of BRET-based biosensors for drug candidate profiling

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which are proteins normally found at the surface of cells, are involved in regulating virtually every physiological response. GPCRs activate numerous intracellular signaling mechanisms and are the targets of more than 30% of today’s prescribed drugs. These drugs have traditionally been thought to act as on/off switches to activate or inhibit GPCR activity, but recent findings indicate that they also promote alternative and sometimes deleterious responses. This notion opens avenues for the development of drugs with better efficacies and fewer side effects by selectively targeting the therapeutically relevant responses. However, tools to study the full spectrum of GPCR signaling are still lacking. Using a biophysical approach called BRET (bioluminescence resonance energy transfer) to measure the extent of GPCR activation, the project will establish novel experimental and analytical methods to probe the different modalities of GPCR signaling and to make better predictions about the efficacy and safety of new drugs targeting GPCRs. The post-doctoral fellows involved in the project will develop and validate these new tools under the co-supervision of industrial and academic mentors and the results of the project will be transferred to our industrial partner for inclusion in on
going drug discovery programs.

Exploring usability of an app environment to deliver transformative professional development

Professional development (PD) refers to an individual’s growth throughout a professional life cycle. Generally, the intent of PD is to deepen understanding and improve practice within a standardized professional life cycle. Given the personalized nature of PD, program evaluations are frequently based on participants’ satisfaction rather than evidence of professional learning or change in practice. At the same time, online programs provide more convenient and flexible PD opportunities without geographical barriers. Some PD programs are meant to disrupt current practices and potentially introduce new standards to a professional life cycle. Many of these programs are delivered in a classroom where facilitators may observe evidence of professional learning or change in practice. This study explores how to design an app environment for a PD program only available in a traditional face-to-face delivery.

A holistic assessment of the impacts of beef cattle production on ecosystem services in Alberta

This study examines the impacts of beef production on ecosystem service provision, focusing primarily on rangeland induced biodiversity and habitat provision and related services including recreation, water filtration, soil carbon and soil quality preservation provided to different beneficiaries in Alberta. Research on the impacts of beef production has focused on land use change and greenhouse gas emissions. We propose a holistic approach to evaluate the industry’s impact, positive and negative, on Alberta, with an opportunity to extrapolate conclusions to a global scale. This study contributes to sustainable management of the Alberta beef industry as per the objectives of the Canadian roundtable on sustainable beef production. The research will: 1) review national, provincial, and local data resources to identify assessable ecosystem services; 2) estimate trends in ecosystem services and biodiversity affected by Alberta beef production at local and provincial scales 1960-2014; and 3) identify data gaps and future research opportunities.

Modeling Low Impact Development Technologies and Their Integration for Improving Urban Stormwater Management

When natural pervious lands are replaced by impervious areas due to urbanization, rainfall – runoff processes are altered and in turn have negative impacts on urban water environment. Low Impact Development (LID) technologies such as permeable pavements and bio-retention systems offer a promising solution to urban stormwater management. In order to develop more efficient urban stormwater management, it would be necessary to integrate various LIDs. Therefore, this research aims to modeling stormwater quantity and quality performance of various LIDs with focus on the benefits of their integration in urban areas. Westhoff Engineering Resources Inc. (Westhoff) specializes in water resources engineering services especially in the field of stormwater system design. As the City of Calgary and many municipalities across Canada promote the uses of LIDs for enhancing stormwater management, this research will be beneficial to Westhoff’s future projects of urban stormwater drainage system design.

Behavioral Analysis of H1 Reconstruction in New Software Environments

The precise prediction of fluid behavior is required in many fields of engineering. Fluid flows are governed by a complex system of continuous partial differential equations (PDEs) which rarely have an exact analytical solution. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has emerged as a leading method of analyzing fluid flows, by numerically solving the respective PDEs. Current methods in finite volume schemes of CFD on unstructured meshes have two major sources of errors: noise in the reconstructed gradients and lack of cancellation during flux integration. Our new second-order “H1 reconstruction” scheme produces a smoother, more accurate gradient than traditional “Least-squares reconstruction” when applied to smooth solution data. We will be analyzing the behaviour of this new reconstruction when implemented in a different software environments. This would provide very valuable insights into the behaviour and adaptability of
the new scheme. Successful application of our proposed new scheme entails substantial improvement in the accuracy for the flow solver of ANSYS Ltd. (FLUENT), with an affordable increase in computational cost.

Discovering the mechanism of action of a novel immunotherapy, Cat-SPIRE, using a network analysis

Allergic rhinitis is an inflammatory condition of the nasal passages induced after allergen exposure in sensitized individuals. Approximately 20-25% of Canadians suffer from allergic rhinitis, with cat allergy affecting up to 15% of people with allergic rhinitis and/or asthma. Although existing immunotherapies have some effectiveness, these have safety problems and require long-term treatment. A novel immunotherapy, Cat-Synthetic Peptide Immuno-Regulatory Epitopes (Cat-SPIRE), composed of seven synthetic molecules related to cat allergen, acts on allergen-specific immune cells to induce subsequent clinical tolerance to cat allergen with

reduced side effects and a shorter treatment time. Its specific mechanism is not yet fully understood. Young Woong Kim will participate in a study to discover the mechanism using blood samples and clinical data obtained from research participants who have undertaken Cat-SPIRE clinical trials at Adiga Life Sciences, Inc. The investigation of the effects of Cat-SPIRE will allow us to find significant gene expression signatures for diagnosis and effectiveness of the treatments.

Stem cell-based regenerative therapeutics

Mesenchymal stromal / “stem” cells (MSCs) are found in adult tissues such as bone marrow and fat and also in neonatal tissues such as the placenta and umbilical cord. Among these sources, Human Umbilical Cord PeriVascular Cells (HUCPVCs) are the richest source of MSCs described. Importantly, they possess immunomodulatory and immuneprivileged properties which enable them to be delivered
from one donor to another, evading immune detection. Tissue Regeneration Therapeutics (TRT) Inc. is developing MSC products with prophylactic properties for use in biodefence and immunomodulation applications by genetically modifying the cells to secrete therapeutic antibodies, however we lack inhouse expertise in this area. This project will enable the laboratory of Dr. Bernhard Ganss, in
collaboration with TRT Inc., to carry out pilot collaborative work to address these and other challenges associated with designing, engineering, producing, and testing this novel class of MSC-based therapeutics in animal models of disease for use in biodefence.

Design and implementation of wideband and low-side-lobe-level antenna array in LTCC technology for automotive millimeter-wave radar sensor applications

This project is a collaboration between MMSENSE Technologies and the Centre for Intelligent Antenna and Radio Systems (CIARS) at the University of Waterloo to research, investigate, and design an integrated radar module at millimeter-waves. These sensors, which will be utilized in automotive applications such as forward collision alert, rear traffic crossing alert, blind spot detection, bike, motorbike, and pedestrian detection, require a wide field of view, operation from near range of 30 cm to about 300 m as well as high resolution in
distance and angle measurements with scanning of the traffic scene. To address these technical requirements, a planar wideband antenna array in LTCC will be designed to be utilized in the automotive radar sensor technology. MMSENSE Technologies is currently developing products in millimeter-wave band for sensing and communication markets and this project will resolve some of the challenges they have encountered in this area. It will help MMSENSE Technologies to stay competitive and develop efficient products for emerging automotive applications.