Projets novateurs réalisés

Mises en débat de projets d’aménagement à Nantes et Montréal

Dans ma thèse, je m’intéresse à l’apparition, l’évolution et la résolution de conflits entourant certains projets d’aménagement urbain. Je vise ainsi à comprendre les dynamiques conflictuelles qui surviennent dans la planification et la réalisation de projet d’aménagement. Je vais étudier les acteurs qui sont en conflits, la façon dont ils y prennent part et leurs revendications. Je cherche à savoir sur quelles dimensions repose le conflit. Par exemple, je souhaite savoir si le conflit porte sur les caractéristiques techniques du projet, sur le processus de consultation préalable, sur la légitimité de l’action publique en aménagement, sur un décalage entre les aspirations de la population habitante pour le territoire et celles proposées dans le projet, ou bien, s’il repose sur les effets négatifs anticipés par la mise en oeuvre du projet. Étudier les conflits permet de mieux comprendre les pratiques

Greener Routes to Value-Added Fluorocarbons by Metal-Catalyzed Reactions

The current production methods for new generation refrigerants (HFO-1234yf) used in cars, refrigerators, air-conditioners, etc. require energy intensive and sometimes corrosive conditions. The current project seeks to reduce or eliminate these two caveats. We propose, by using readily available feedstock or by-products from Teflon manufacturing, we could use our process to easily manufacture HFO-1234yf. Using our less energy intensive, heating to only 50 °C, and mild conditions could lead to significant cost reductions in plant equipment and energy demands. Thus, the reduction in energy demand will bring about lower production cost. This will also reduce CO2 emissions which could prove beneficial, in Ontario, with the current cap & trade program. These improvements would benefit our partner by allowing them to produce the same quality of product at lower-cost and includes the possibility of the development of new products.

Quality Assessment and Enhancement of Retinal Images – Part 2

Babies who are born prematurely are at risk of developing a condition called Retinopathy of Prematurity (RoP), which if left untreated, can lead to permanent blindness. RoP causes characteristic changes in the retinal vascu-lature, which can be seen when looking into the eye. Because the infants need to be monitored regularly for this condition, and certain traits need to be carefully identified, a special camera is used to take a picture of the retina. These pictures can then be studied for signs of RoP by an ophthalmologist. Unfortunately, a number of factors cause the quality of the images to suffer, including incomplete development of the eye structure, uneven illumina-tion, varying pigmentation of the retina, and simply, difficulty in taking the pictures. We propose to develop meth-ods to measure the quality of these images and identify any degradation issues. TO BE CONT’D

Role of Fluid Redistribution in the Pathogenesis of Sleep Apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common respiratory disorder in adult popUlation where it

increases the mortality risk. The main treatment of OSA is continuous positive airway

pressure and although it is effective in most cases, many cannot tolerate it. Therefore, it is

important to develop new treatments for sleep apnea. We have proposed that fluid which is

accumulated in the legs during day moves towards the head when lay down to sleep. The

consequent accumulation of fluid in the neck could be a major contributor to the development

of OSA. To test this hypothesis, we aim to determine whether intravenous fluid infusion

during sleep will cause fluid accumulation in the neck, narrow the throat and induce OSA. If

so, a new approach for the therapy of sleep apnea would be to prevent fluid accumulation in

the legs during the day and its displacement into the neck at night.

Stage de formation professionnelle en édition et recherche en archives

Le projet de recherche d’Olivier Séguin-Brault comporte trois volets : 1) un stage de formation en édition où il s’initiera et collaborera activement à toutes les étapes de la production, de l’impression et de la diffusion de la revue scientifique “L’Année rabelaisienne”; 2) un stage de recherche dans les archives de sept bibliothèques spécialisées de la grande région parisienne afin de se familiariser avec le travail en archivistique (identification et description bibliographique des imprimés français du XVIe siècle portant sur l’architecture et conservés dans les fonds patrimoniaux et à la Réserve des livres rares; 3) la présentation en anglais d’une communication scientifique lors du cinquième congrès international de l’European Architectural History Network. La combinaison de ces trois activités permettra à ce candidat de développer une expertise dans un secteur original et encore peu exploré des sciences humaines et sociales : les liens entre l’architecture et la littérature du XVIe siècle français.

Supporting Social Inclusion and Well-Being in Metro Vancouver

Social relationships are important for our physical and mental health. In 2012, the Vancouver Foundation conducted a survey to measure how connected and engaged residents are in Metro Vancouver. They found that 1 in 4 Metro Vancouver residents report being alone more often than they would like. Of even greater concern, 1 in 10 residents report they do not have someone they can depend on well enough to ask for help. The overarching objective of this study is to evaluate and support social inclusion, well-being and community involvement in neighbourhoods across Metro Vancouver. The findings from this study will identify neighbourhoods where United Way may want to focus their efforts and provide recommendations to support social inclusion in the communities in Metro Vancouver and across Canada.

Using Marine Technology to Develop a Gulf Islands Marine Biology Education and Outreach Program

With the increase of human impacts on the ocean, more effective and engaging environmental education is needed to inspire action. The Galiano Conservation Association (GCA) aims to educate the public about marine conservation issues around Galiano island. The intern will help GCA to understand how to improve their marine education program, using underwater video technology to bring an audience to otherwise inaccessible environments. Once new programs are implemented, a plan for testing the efficacy of new programs will be developed. This will allow GCA to regularly evaluate its marine education programs and incorporate marine technology in the most effective way.

A Framework for MBFC Big Data System

The Mercedes-Benz Fuel Cell Division (MBFC) in Burnaby, Canada develops and runs the manufacturing processes required for the assembly of Fuel Cell Stacks prototypes. MBFC uses the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) to collect and analyse data from the manufacturing lines to the database system. However, because the size of the collected data is very large, MBFC is not able to detect certain fuel cell defects in a timely manner and sometimes not at all. This Mitacs project aims to develop and evaluate a big data mechanism that improves the predictive power and reduces the time taken to search MBFC’s data and detect failures in the manufacturing process in a real-time fashion.

Pelvic floor kinematics – a potential indicator of pelvic floor strain induced by physical activity

More than half of all women suffer from some form of pelvic floor disorder over their lifetime, with pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence being the two most common presentations. High impact physical activity is one risk factor for the development of pelvic floor disorders, where it has been postulated that repeated impacts experienced chronically leads to strain in the pelvic floor muscles and connective tissues; however, exercise has also been shown to be protective of pelvic floor dysfunction. Thus, the role of physical activity on the development of pelvic floor dysfunction is unclear. Dr. Hitchcock, supervisor at the host institution, has recently developed an intravaginal device that measures and streams intra-abdominal pressure data while women perform physical activity in the field, and Drs. McLean and Hitchcock are currently collaborating on a study in which this sensor is being used to determine the acute effect of a single bout of running on pelvic floor muscle strain and fatigue in women with and without pelvic floor disorders. The first objective of this project is to integrate an on-board tri-axial accelerometer into the intra-abdominal pressure sensor and to validate acceleration data streamed through the device. “TO BE CONT’D”

Endocrine and Paracrine Control of Spermatogenesis

The proposed project will investigate fish spermatogenesis in the seminiferous tubules of the testis. Specifically, it will look at the underlying endocrine and paracrine mechanisms that control the different phases of spermatogenesis, with focus on the spermatogonial phase, including the spermatogonial stem cells. This would include studying the in vitro effect of androgens on the zebrafish testis using RNA sequencing, histological, and morphometrical analysis. This would also include identifying specific molecules that can be used as markers for specific spermatogonial stem cells. For example, bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) a synthetic thymidine analog nucleoside would be used for experiements. BrdU is frequently used to detect proliferating cells because it is incorporated into newly synthesized DNA. Furthermore, these experiments would include EdU (5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine), a novel alternative for BrdU that also measures DNA synthesis. EdU is also a nucleoside analog of thymidine and is incorporated into DNA during active DNA synthesis. These molecules, along with antibodies, will be used to investigate the spermatogonial phase.

Equity in learning opportunities: Reexamining issues of poverty

For the past fifteen years, People for Education has surveyed schools about measurable

resources in order to understand the impact of policy on schools, and to track changes in the

education system. Public education can and should play an important role in reducing the

extent to which students’ socio-economic background affects their performance in schools

and in creating equal learning opportunities for students to fully participate in society and

realize their potential. In order to ensure that it is fulfilling this commitment, it is important to

report on equities and inequities in the opportunities provided by the public school system.

This research aims to look at equity in the distribution of learning opportunities by examining

the impact of school-level poverty on special education, fundraising, and extended learning

opportunities using data from annual school surveys of People for Education, information

finder of Ministry of Education, and EQAO principal questionnaires.

Quantitative risk measurement techniques for insurers

This project will assist Sun Life Financial to build, implement and validate quantitatively sophisticated state-of-the-art models of its risk portfolio. This will result in a better quantitative and qualitative understanding of company’s risk, liability and capital profile, and thus in more effective risk management decision making process.