Exploring the potential synergistic cooperation between cellulase enzymes and lignin biocatalysts screened from a proprietary environmental DNA platform for deconstructing lignocellulosic biomass

MetaMixis, Inc., is a Canadain company undertaking a global effort dedicated to decreasing our reliance on petrochemicals by transitioning to engineered microbial processes or biocatalysts for the production of sustainable products. In the past few years MetaMixis has successfully developed a functional screen to recover metagenomic scaffolds sourced from various proprietary bacterial communities. They have […]

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Visual Analytics for Financial Risk Year Two

The second project also relates to the application of VA to financial systemic risk analytics. The report on the NSF-funded workshop on Next-Generation Community for Financial Cyberinfrastructure for Managing Systemic Risk identifies the need to develop robust simulations and computational models in order to manage systemic risk. Many of these are in the form of […]

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Using Engaged Philosophical Inquiry in Drug Education

Research has shown that “no use” drug education programs, with the objective of scaring or shaming youth into abstinence, have not been effective in addressing problematic substance use. The ineffectiveness of such scare tactic approaches has led program developers to focus on prevention and harm reduction associated with drug use, or in general, health literacy […]

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The Role of Cannabinoid Receptors in Craniofacial Pain

Pain in the craniofacial region is one of the more complex and difficult to treat conditions for patients and clinicians. Current treatments are complicated by limited efficacy and considerable side effects. Many of these conditions show greater prevalence in women than men, but there is a lack of basic research utilizing female animals. Recent advances […]

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Capacity Building for Competitiveness in Aboriginal forestry Year Two

This project recognizes the significant business challenges First Nations forestry enterprises face which have the effect of limiting the benefits to First Nations from forests (Wellstead and Stedman 2010). There is limited awareness of the conditions that affect the success and failure of Aboriginal enterprises in the forest sector (Trosper et al 2008). Research on […]

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The management of socio-political risk arising from corporate transitions at mining projects

Changes in management and/or ownership at projects can cause regression in corporate-stakeholder relationships, as the changing faces and attitudes can lead to breakdowns in communication, misunderstandings, and conflict. Failure to maintain positive relationships with stakeholders can lead to significant costs for proponents, and is frequently cited as one of the most pressing issues facing the […]

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Visualizing Cultural Reproduction In Sikkim: A Material Culture Approach

Sikkim has preserved quite unique cultural artifacts of Tibetan Buddhism, and among those the most renowned is the thangka paintings. Through this project I would attempt to understand the cultural phenomenon of thangka paintings, how it has transformed in recent times. Thangka paintings portray the cosmology of Tibetan Buddhism, and it has captured the popular […]

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Seismic Risk Assessment of High-Speed Railway Bridge System in China

The proposed research project is to develop a robust performance-based earthquake engineering (PBEE) methodology to quantify the seismic risks of large network of infrastructure such as the high-speed railway system in China. The project is anticipated to accomplish many goals. First, it will develop accurate numerical model to predict the seismic behavior of standard-span length […]

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