Total synthesis of anthocyanins for the prevention of cognitive decline

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disease affecting more than >45 million individuals worldwide with numbers expected to reach >135 million by 2050. The multifactorial nature of AD hinders the development of therapeutic treatments and, as such, several drug candidates have failed in clinical trials. Polyphenolic compounds have the ability to reach the brain […]

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Framework for assessing environmental threats to marine endangered species and creating shipping management scenarios

Marine species are threatened by a growing number of human activities occurring in our seas and oceans. Understanding the consequences of pollution, for instance, requires combining information relative to the distribution of pollutants in marine environments with information relative to the spatial distribution of marine species. Our project aims at creating a framework for the […]

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Mapping land-based renewable energy production opportunities: a systematic approach for integrated land-use and energy planning

The initiative is best described as two interwoven threads: mapping renewable energy potentials at the landscape scale, and using these maps to engage local stakeholders in a dialogue to identify acceptable locations for particular kinds of RE development. The Project Team will use the Town of Caledon, located in the Region of Peel, and the […]

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Clay Binding of Gravel Roads

Throughout much of northern and rural Canada roads are constructed of unpaved gravel aggregate. They are expensive to maintain, environmentally problematic and degrade quickly. We are developing a solution to this problem by using locally derived materials rich in reactive clays. With the addition of catalysts and polymeric agents, we cause the fine clay materials […]

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Integration of microbiological and geochemical tools for de-risking oil and gas exploration along the Scotian Margin

This Mitacs project will enable two MSc students the opportunity to work with the Offshore Energy Research Association and their partners with the Nova Scotia Department of Energy to produce an ArcGIS product and seismic-based model of seep architecture for petroleum exploration of the offshore Nova Scotia margin. These projects will relate newly created genomic […]

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Assessment of processes controlling naturally elevated uranium and arsenic concentrations in groundwater and surface water in the Dawson Range, Yukon, Canada

Northern Canada faces great changes from growing resource extraction and global warming, which make a timely understanding of baseline environmental conditions critical. In the Dawson Range, Yukon, naturally elevated concentrations of uranium and arsenic have recently been discovered in groundwater at levels that are susceptible to cause toxic effects in humans and wildlife. This region […]

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Characterizing wetlands of different restoration ages in central Alberta using drone-based information (an extension to current Mitacs project: IT10213)

Wetlands provide important ecosystem services to human communities, such as groundwater recharge, storing floodwater, and supplying fishery resources. In Alberta, wetlands cover ~21% of the province, forming one of the Canada’s largest wetlands reserves; however, many of these wetlands have been impacted or lost through human activities. Over the past 30 years, there have been […]

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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. […]

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Experimental testing of employing large grains as a bank erosion mitigation technique

Traditional engineering approaches to stabilizing stream’s (e.g. dams and cemented banks), typically alter a stream’s natural function and are expensive to maintain. Using large grains naturally found in a stream, could provide a way to stabilize the channel’s banks while still allowing natural system movement. To test if treatments of large grains could be used […]

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Geochemical analysis of low-sulphidation epithermal deposits on the La Victoria property in the Ancash Department of the Republic of Peru

This research project will focus on analytical techniques related to determining the gold geochemistry of the La Victoria property in the western Peruvian Andes. The La Victoria property is found along a major gold belt that is host to some world class deposits such as Yanacocha, Lagunas Norte, La Arena and Shahuindo. Based on initial […]

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Heavy Rare Earth Elements: New Insight into Mineralogical Parameters That Impact Mine Processing

Current Heavy Rare Earth Element (HREE) processing techniques are expensive, environmentally-challenging, and slow. Kinetic models predict that the rate of acid permeation of a mineral is the rate controlling step. Therefore, permeation rate controls the acid quantity and residency time of the mineral in the acid bath; impacting costs. Kinetic models are based on structural […]

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