SNP association study for immune and behavioral responses traits in turkeys

The major issues facing the turkey industry worldwide are (i) emerging and classic diseases, in response to a lack of effective strategies for treatment and prevention, and (ii) cannibalism resulting from antisocial/injurious-pecking behaviour. Genetic studies could explain the variance within, and association between, health, immunity and behavioural traits to help manage these issues. The objective […]

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TBIFinder : A new approach to identify and properly assess mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) is a common and devastating condition that severely affects millions of people around the world. Following an mTBI, also known as concussion, a medical professional performs standard neurological tests, however, these tests are very subjective, based on patient-reporting, and provide little to no insight on the severity of an mTBI. […]

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Development of a commercial protocol to differentiate human pluripotent stem cells into skeletal muscle progenitor cells (hPSC-SMPCs) with transplantation potential

Recent scientific breakthroughs have led to the development of methods to differentiate human PSCs (hPSCs) into skeletal muscle cells. This has allowed, for the first time, the development of cellular models to study muscle diseases such as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and the possibility to utilize these cells for cell therapy applications. However, the reliability, efficiency […]

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Predicting In-patient Discharges to Identify Bed Availability for Housekeeping During Emergency Department Surge Using Machine Learning Algorithms

Prolonged patient waiting times for an inpatient bed in the Emergency Department (ED) is considered a global crisis and most cited reason for the ED crowding. Inability to move admitted patients from the ED to an inpatient bed due to capacity shortage and inefficiencies in patient-flow affects patient care and patient experiences. Housekeeping is crucial […]

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Injection molding with laser-micromachined molds to fabricate biomimetic flow enhancing polymer parts

With this collaborative project we plan to proof that non-stick, self-emptying containers can be produced through molding the polymer with a laser-micromachined steel mold. Imparting a Nature-inspired functional microstructure through laser-machining onto metals is a well understood method developed in Prof. Kietzig’s lab. By using a laser-structured metal mold to form plastics, we will imprint […]

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Evaluating the Risk of Climate Change and Hydraulic Processes to Linear Infrastructure

Networks of linear Infrastructure, such as our roads and pipelines, allow us to move people, natural resources, and manufactured goods. Common practice has been to utilise historic climatic data to establish deterministic design guidelines for water course crossings. With climate change uncertainly, asset managers are in a position where they are questioning the guidelines and […]

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Occupancy and fine-scale habitat use of five meso-carnivore prey species in the sub-boreal forests of Central British Columbia

Many forest carnivores in British Columbia (BC) meet their nutritional requirements by preying on squirrels, hares and grouse. Although considerable effort has gone into studying the predator species, there is a substantial information gap on the habitat needs of their prey items. Knowledge of prey species habitat requirements provides another important dimension to our ability […]

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Health Information Interoperability with Bidirectional Transformation and Assurance (HealthBX)

The objective of the HealthBX project is to research and develop advanced software engineering methods for the purpose of increasing the interoperability of different clinical health information systems used in the province of British Columbia (BC). BC clinics use a variety of different health information systems to maintain electronic patient data. However, the abilities for […]

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Development of a calibration method for Mecademic’s Meca500 robot arm

Mecademic manufactures the smallest and most precise six-axis robot arm. The repeatability of this robot is better than 0.005 mm, but like any industrial robot, the robot’s accuracy is far worse. Although all robot parts are machined and assembled precisely, the only practical way of improving the robot’s accuracy is to calibrate each individual robot. […]

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The effect of a topical analgesic on neuromuscular endurance and pain

It has been shown that topically applied gels, which contain menthol, result in a cooling sensation and reduce the sensation of pain. Because neuromuscular endurance activity leads to sweating and muscle pain we seek to discover the effect of BioFreeze on various forms of neuromuscular endurance activity and muscle soreness. This discovery will require 3 […]

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LED Radiation Pattern Modelling

Display technology is ever improving; a current display technology being researched and created includes the use of LED arrays. One array could be used to produce a low quality image with minimal energy, while another more energy intensive array would be used for the sharper aspects of the image. Knowing exactly how these LED’s behave […]

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Strategic BC Salmon Health Initiative: effects of pathogens on the health and conservation of BC’s Pacific Salmon

B.C.’s Pacific salmon are in decline yet the causes are not clear. The role of disease in declining productivity is poorly understood but is potentially an important factor especially given recent controversies involving salmon farms and disease transmission to wild salmon. We have recently collected quantitative data on 47+ viral, bacterial, fungal, and protozoan pathogens […]

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