Projets novateurs réalisés

Développement d’une méthode de mesure de l’exposition sonore effective intra-auriculaire pour une utilisation en milieu de travail

Malgré de nombreux efforts de réduction à la source, l’exposition à des bruits de forts niveaux en milieu de travail demeure un problème majeur au Québec et à travers le Monde. La mesure de l’exposition sonore est donc primordiale afin de déterminer et évaluer des solutions correctives à apporter pour bien protéger les travailleurs. Pour diverses raisons, les méthodes actuelles ne permettent cependant pas de rendre compte de façon précise des niveaux d’exposition reçus par un travailleur donné dans son milieu de travail. L’objectif principal du projet est de développer une méthode et des algorithmes de mesure des niveaux d’exposition sonore dans l’oreille ouverte ou occluse, pour ainsi permettre la mesure de la dose de bruit intra-auriculaire pour différentes conditions de bruit et de port de protecteurs auditifs. TO BE CONT’D

Human kinematic optimal control learning and wearable inertial measurement unit alignment for rehabilitation

Physiotherapy is a type of rehabilitation that aims to restore a patient’s quality of life after an injury, surgery, or stroke by improving their mobility. Through prescribed exercises and specialized equipment, physiotherapy helps the patient to regain their muscle strength, range of motion, and natural movement. Unfortunately, only rudimentary tools are available to the therapists for assessment and monitoring of patients. Our work focuses on developing wearable technologies that can help therapists with patient assessment and progress tracking. The proposed research will utilize the sensor data to learn a motion model for a patient. The learned motion model can be used to compare the patient’s performance to that of a healthy individual and to provide objective progress measures over long rehabilitation periods.

Prediction models for pain volatility and engagement patterns of mobile pain app users

Pain is among the top 3 most common reasons for seeking medical help. ManagingLife has developed a mobile-based app, called Manage My Pain, to help chronic-pain patients by providing a simplistic, customizable and comprehensive interface to track pain symptoms and pain experience at a frequency chosen by the users. ManagingLife is interested in understanding the benefits of the app use on its 27,000 and constantly growing user base by identifying user cohorts that ultimately experience improvement in pain experience given self-disclosure tracking behaviours. We plan to develop scientific methods that will help predict the change in pain ratings, i.e., pain volatility of the app users over time. We also aim to predict the level of user engagement in future based on the current usage behavior and users’ profile information such as gender and age. Through this research, Manage My Pain platform will have analytic capabilities that will enable targeted product development, drive retention and engagement for chronic pain patients.

Potentiel pesticide des liquides pyrolytiques

Le monde agricole québécois est à la recherche d’alternatives écologiques aux produits phytosanitaires conventionnels dont l’utilisation massive provoque des effets négatifs sur l’environnement et la santé humaine. Dans cette optique-là, le projet Mitacs propose d’étudier le potentiel antifongique et herbicide de liquides produits par pyrolyse de biomasse lignocellulosique. La pyrolyse est un procédé qui décompose thermiquement et chimiquement la biomasse en absence d’oxygène. Le liquide pyrolytique produit est constitué de molécules résultant de cette dégradation. Le liquide pyrolytique possèderait des propriétés antifongiques, et des capacités herbicides grâce à une ou plusieurs des molécules qu’il contient. Ce projet va permettre aux organismes partenaires (UQTR, CRIQ et IRDA) de se positionner dans un créneau innovant pour l’agriculture québécoise.

Multivariate analysis of neuroimaging and non–invasive brain stimulation data to assess functional and structural reorganization in the brain following stroke

The brain is a dynamically evolving structure. Rehabilitation interventions take advantage of the malleable properties of the brain that persist even after an injury from stroke. Various interventions are used in clinical practice at an attempt to restore normal neurological function. Non-invasive brain stimulation is a novel technique that may act as a facilitator of recovery. Due to the complexity of processes that occur within the brain, multiple measures of neurological function are needed to capture the benefits that non-invasive brain stimulation may have on individuals with stroke. To gain a complete picture of this recovery, these

measurements should be assessed in a unified framework. This project will use advanced statistical analysis to understand the story of the brain’s road to recovery during stroke rehabilitation.

Process Improvement for Plasma Transfer Arc Additive Manufacturing

Metal additive manufacturing (MAM) is newly developed manufacturing technology that is faster and more cost-effective compared to traditional methods. Although there are various types for AM, the product quality improvement in plasma transfer arc (PTA) and wire-feed AM processes will be the subject of this project. To achieve this goal, the intern will determine the key parameters of the existing PTA2M and wire-feed machines in InnoTech and then will select appropriate measuring technologies to obtain data from these AM processes. Then, the intern will develop a model for both processes based on either first-principles or system identification strategies. In order to improve the products’ quality, he will develop a process model to estimate the unmeasurable variables and then designs a closed-loop controller. The controller will be designed based on the model and then will be implemented for the actual systems in InnoTech. TO BE CONT’D

Evaluation Capacity Network: Aligning Evaluative Thinking and Practice among Early Childhood Stakeholders

This project aims to provide much needed evidence to non-profit organizations working with vulnerable children and their families in five inner city schools. The All in for Youth initiative is a collaboration of eight organizations offering integrated, multi-dimensional supports to improve academic outcomes and resiliency of vulnerable children, support family health and stability, get communities involved, and inform policy and systems change. Individual non-profit organizations do not always have the resources, expertise, time, or capacity to intentionally gather evidence to support critical reflection of their services. Balancing the needs of all organizational representatives into one evaluation will be challenging. This collaborative of organizations will provide a case study where the ECN research team can more closely examine how partners develop intersectoral relationships, create common governance models, navigate systems change, integrate programs and services, develop common client outcomes, and collect and analyze evidence to inform and improve organizational practices, programs, and policies.

Long-term response of boreal forest bird community to changes in habitat structure and configuration due to forestry and other land uses

There are both immediate and long-term effects of forestry on boreal birds. To minimize incidental take of birds and nests during harvest, foresters need accurate tools for predicting abundance of nesting birds in the peak breeding season, to time harvests year-round. Longer-term effects of harvest and other land uses on boreal birds are unknown, because most studies of forestry practices on boreal birds occur over short periods. I will analyze >20 years of forestry treatment and bird abundance data from Alberta to 1) predict nesting bird abundance in different forest stands within a forest harvest plan; and 2) under future land use scenarios created by timber supply and land use simulation software. These analyses will predict how boreal birds respond to changes in forest structure and enable the Mitacs partners (West Fraser, Al-Pac) to minimize incidental take and create long-term plans balancing forest harvest with maintenance of boreal bird habitat.

Hey Neighbour! Evaluation and Understanding Social Connections and Engagement

The Hey Neighbour! pilot program evaluation intends to draw conclusions about the potential of social policy interventions into urban neighbourhoods. First, we will review the multidisciplinary research trends and approaches related to the question of improving social quality in urban neighbourhoods and communities. This will include review of the terminology, definitions of related terminology, overlapping usages across disciplines, co-citations, and different methodological approaches in the past generation, in the scholarly literature. Secondly, we will engage in a formative evaluation of the Hey Neighbour! pilot, an initiative created by the Social Connections Table around which both the Vancouver Foundation and City of Vancouver sit. This pilot establishes a new role of “resident animator” in two participating multi-unit residential buildings, with the objective of increasing social cohesion and sense of community. Intended outcomes of this work will include a report and scholarly manuscript based upon the bibliometric analysis of social connections research, and pilot program reports for the intended audiences of local decision-makers, property management companies, and other Hey Neighbour! project stakeholders about this pilot initiative.

Keeping the Spark Alive: How Novelty and Responsiveness Can Enhance Intimate Relationship

Romantic relationships play a key role in happiness but keeping the spark alive over time in relationships is challenging. One route to maintaining passion and desire is to engage in self-expanding activities with a partner. Although novel, self-expanding experiences tend to promote desire and passion, introducing novelty into a relationship can be intimidating. In a recent study, we found that individuals who were asked to engage in exciting sexual activities over the course of two-weeks reported greater passion and sexual desire, though there was no influence on intimacy. It is possible that while novelty provides excitement and fosters passion, it is accompanied by uncertainty and the risk of being vulnerable with a partner. Having a partner who is responsive or is attuned to and motivated to meet a partner’s needs, may promote both intimacy and passion through novel experiences. TO BE CONT’D

Development and validation of blood-based biomarkers for improved heart failure management

Chronic heart failure (HF) is an epidemic affecting approximately 1.5-2% of Canada’s population (12% in patients over 80yrs) and the current one-year mortality rate after HF diagnosis remains disturbingly high at 25-40%. Even with treatment, many HF patients require hospitalizations during the course of their disease; in Canada HF is responsible for $3 billion in hospital costs annually. HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) are two phenotypes of heart failure with different underlying etiologies but similar clinical presentation, and mortality rates. The purpose of this research is to identify predictive blood-based biomarker signatures that can discriminate different heart failure phenotypes. In addition, prognostic biomarker panels of heart failure outcomes will be identified in subjects with advanced heart failure. Method development of integrative algorithms for big data will be utilized on heart failure datasets. TO BE CONT’D

Social Procurement Value Proposition

This project aims to develop a tool for cities and municipalities to use to negotiate and evaluate how large real estate development projects coming into communities, especially vulnerable neighbourhoods, can provide benefits back to that community. The specific focus of these benefits is on providing work and training opportunities for local residents, as well as purchasing from local small businesses (called social enterprises) already focused on employing local residents who face a variety of challenges to getting and keeping a traditional 9 to 5 job. This project will also gather academic research and local success stories to share existing knowledge on these agreements with developers, as well as on purchasing from social enterprises, with the broader public.