Projets novateurs réalisés

Recherche-création en « Storytelling immersif » : interfacetangible de réalité mixte pour environnements partagés (sharedenvironments)

Situé dans les domaines du Storytelling immersif et du design expérientiel cette recherche consiste en la transposition d’un projet artistique existant pour un environnement de réalité mixte. L’environnement sera partagé, plusieurs personnes participeront à l’expérience esthétique VR de l’oeuvre qui sera une nouvelle version du parcours créatif de Michel Lemieux et Victor Pilon. Dans ce contexte, cette recherche vise à mieux saisir le mouvement des individus ainsi que de donner aux participants des indices haptiques.

Modeling Oxygen Behaviour in Point-of-Care pO2 Devices

A mathematical model is to be developed that describes how oxygen can move in a point-of-care blood

gas sensor. The sensor measures the partial pressure of oxygen in a blood sample. Oxygen can move

throughout the cartridge by diffusing through the various materials that make up the cartridge. The

extent to which the oxygen can diffuse depends on the properties of the materials that make up the

cartridge. Porous materials will allow the oxygen to move more freely, whereas materials with little

porous structure will block the oxygen. The mathematical model will be developed using fundamental

concepts in chemical engineering, leading to a model that consists of a number of equations that

describe how concentrations change both in time, and by location. Special solution strategies will be

used to solve the equations, and we will also work to simplify the equations to make them easier to

solve and apply. In addition to developing a mathematical model, the project wil….

Valorisation de l’extrait de Camerise pour le secteur des cosmétiques

Le camerisier pousse naturellement dans les forêts boréales du nord de l’Europe et d’Asie. Importé récemment en Amérique du Nord il est relativement nouveau au Canada. Son fruit, la camerise est utilisée, au Japon en médecine traditionnelle pour ses propriétés anti-âge ou son rôle dans la prévention des maladies cardiaques et intestinales. Les études sur l’activité biologique de la camerise issues des variétés Russe et Japonaise ont démontré un potentiel anti-inflammatoire et antioxydant important. Ces activités peuvent être attribuées à sa composition riche en composés bioactifs. Toutefois, la majorité des travaux rapportés dans la littérature porte sur l’utilisation agroalimentaire et non cosmétique des extraits. Dans le cadre de ce projet, les partenaires souhaitent valoriser un extrait de camerise cultivé au Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean pour le secteur des cosmétiques. Le profil phytochimique des extraits ainsi que ses activités antioxydantes et anti-inflammatoires pour une application topique seront évaluer.

DNA Isolation, Stretching and Tethering from Whole-Blood for Super-Resolution Imaging

Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) are small chromosomal fragments found in trace amounts within our blood and are usually produced through various physiological processes such as cellular secretion, apoptosis or necrosis. Levels of cfDNA have been shown to significantly increase during the onset, growth and metastasis stages of various cancers, making them a potential biomarker in liquid biopsies for the evaluation of different treatments and prognosis of cancer patients. During my visit to Toulouse, France, I will learn how to use a technique recently developed by our collaborators for the simultaneous isolation, stretching and immobilization of cfDNA from whole blood. Through a combination of capillary forces and micro-contact printing, this simple two-step technique will allow me to pattern individual DNA molecules in a reproducible manner at McMaster University. TO BE CONT’D

Modeling the effect of environmental factors and animal-dispersed woody plants on the spatial distribution of new Iberian forests

Seed dispersal by vertebrates such as birds and rodents have been investigated extensively in Mediterranean vegetation over recent decades. Seed dispersal, at long and short distances, allow plants to colonize vacant habitats and trigger dynamic processes that increase new pioneer woody plants in the Mediterranean region. Despite that the seed dispersal by vertebrates has been studied for long in Mediterranean forests, the contribution to the assembly of these new forests by vertebrates is also still largely unknown. The main goal of my research internship is to help understand the association between environmental factors (e.g. climate, topography, and landscape) and the colonization of the new Iberian forests by animal-dispersed woody plants. Understanding this forest system (interaction between animal disperser – new Iberian forests) allows to improve strategies for the forest biodiversity conservation in Spain and to mitigate the problems of global and climate change.

Characterize structure and intracellular interactions within engineered human pseudoislets.

This proposed research builds on my current PhD thesis research, where I have characterized and validated a micro-tissue engineering platform that can be used to efficiently generate pancreatic islet-cell clusters (“pseudoislets”) that have significantly increased insulin secretion capacity, and superior capacity to reverse diabetes in animal studies. These findings have suggested a strong therapeutic prospect for my engineered pseudoislets in the treatment of type 1 diabetes through clinical islet transplantation. The proposed research focuses on characterizing my engineered pseudoislets structurally as well as physiologically, and comparing them to normal human islets. Taking advantage of state-of-the-art imaging technology at University of Oxford and my micro-tissue engineering expertise, I will reveal the cellular architecture of pseudoislets and their cell communication networks. TO BE CONT’D

Assessing the role of small-scale structures in controlling auriferous fluid flow: Nadaleen trend, Yukon.

Carlin-type gold deposits (CTGDs) are large, high-grade gold deposits named after the world renowned occurrences in Nevada. Despite their economic importance, agreement on how they formed is still lacking. We are undertaking an integrated geological and geochemical study of CTGDs in the Nadaleen trend, Yukon, to better define the hydrological regime that controlled their formation. The proposed Mitac internship will form part of the overall study – performing detailed analysis of small scale features that were potential fluid flow pathways for hot gold-bearing hydrothermal fluids. This work, combined with previous work studying the deposit geology and architecture, will be used as a framework to collect samples for future laboratory analysis. Ultimately, the data and samples collected by the intern will provide the partner organization with an improved understanding of how the deposits formed and this will benefit future exploration for CTGDs.

Night shift work and multiple cancer sites: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Shift work is an increasingly prevalent work pattern worldwide. It’s estimated that anywhere from 10-25% of workers are shift workers in European and North American countries. Within the past few decades, night shift work has been linked to an increased risk for numerous types of cancer, including breast, prostate, and ovarian cancer. However, due to differences in studies, the complete picture of how night work may increase cancer risk is still unclear, especially with less common types of cancer. The goal of this research project is to conduct a thorough review of the evidence, using advanced statistical techniques, to ascertain how night shift work is related to multiple types of cancer. This includes looking at differences in sex, quality of the studies, differences in countries, and commonality of the cancer type. TO BE CONT’D

Intégration et exploitation de la technologie LoRa pour les services de la Ville Intelligente

Le projet de recherche se propose de définir et de mettre en place les bases d’une architecture IoT basée sur la technologie LoRa et LoRaWan, qui sera utilisée pour la collecte et l’exploitation des données de diverses applications de la Ville intelligente, tout en garantissant la couverture du territoire, la sécurisation des données, et la fiabilité des services de collecte de données. On réalisera ensuite une étude pour déterminer un ensemble d’applications phares à développer pour la Ville Intelligente. Des prototypes fonctionnels de ces applications seront ensuite développés à unpour démontrer la fonctionnalité et les capacités de l’architecture. Ces prototypes serviront également comme précurseurs pour le déploiement à grand échelle des applications visées.

Analyse des impacts environnementaux et économiques du cycle de vie des voies de valorisation des résidus agroalimentaires dans une perspective d’économie circulaire : Cas des résidus de chocolat

L’enfouissement de matière organique mène à la production de méthane, un gaz à effet de serre bien plus puissant que le CO2. Pour pallier à cette problématique, le gouvernement québécois a ordonné le bannissement de la matière organique de tous les sites d’enfouissement dès 2020. C’est pourquoi plusieurs entreprises qui oeuvrent dans le secteur agroalimentaire devront s’adapter à cette exigence et ainsi trouver de nouvelles façons de valoriser leurs résidus organiques.
Ce projet, réalisé en collaboration avec l’entreprise Chocolat Lamontagne Inc., aura donc pour objectif d’identifier les voies de valorisation possibles pour des résidus comme le chocolat et d’évaluer la meilleure option d’un point de vue environnemental et économique. Cela permettra ainsi à l’organisme partenaire de réaliser des gains économiques significatifs, en plus de réduire ses impacts environnementaux.

Ergo4All : Comment informer et guider les utilisateurs au sujet des risques ergonomiques associés aux postes de travail?

L’objectif de ce projet de recherche est de déterminer la meilleure manière d’informer et de guider les utilisateurs d’un nouveau logiciel de modélisation numérique de l’humain face aux solutions ergonomiques que ce logiciel propose pour qu’ils comprennent ces solutions, se sentent en confiance vis-à-vis de celles-ci et décident de les appliquer plutôt de décider de consulter un expert en ergonomie.

Feasibility of a long-line flax fiber processing facility for Saskatchewan

This study will develop a business model for long-line flax production in Saskatchewan.

The business model under investigation will necessarily rely on European technology. A scutching facility in Saskatchewan would probably consist of an imported scutching line from Van Dommele Engineering in Belgium, or equivalent. Seeding and harvesting equipment, such as Noudet Gougis seeders and Dehondt pullers, turners, and balers, will also be imported.

A flax scutching facility with flax that has been harvested, retted and rolled up in the same way it is done in Europe can process approximately 2500 kg of straw per hour. While the cost of production line has been established at approximately 3,000,000 euros, author will request a complete budget proposal from a contact at Van Dommele Engineering, tentatively by January 31, 2012. Pricing and specifications for Noudet seeders and Dehondt flax pullers, turners, and balers will be established by the end of January 2012 through a….