Steep creek hazards such as debris flows and debris floods pose a considerable risk to mountain communities and infrastructure. Relative to other geohazards, debris flows and debris floods are particularly hazardous because they travel rapidly, provide minimal warning and occur frequently. In Canada, professionals have little experience with debris-flow risk reduction due to limited development […]

Recent advances in applications of deep learning in natural language processing has provided potential opportunities in building robust information retrieval and conversational models that require far less hand-crafted features for understanding the intent of queries and ultimately building question-answering systems. In particular, there has been several advances in factoid question-answering systems and some recent attempts […]

Traditional silicon-based solar cells are harmful to the environment and costly to manufacture. Polymer-based (organic) solar cells on the other hand are thinner and more flexible electronic devices that are economically sustainable and have high cost saving potential due to the printable nature of their manufacturing process. This project involves cost estimation and analysis of […]

Drug-induced dyskinesia is a debilitating side effect induced by anti-parkinsonian and antipsychotic drugs. Frequency can reach 80% in Parkinson’ disease and around 50% in schizophrenia patients treated with typical antipsychotics. Treatments for dyskinesia currently available have a very limited impact and generate important side effects. We have identified a new pharmacological target that may offer […]

The prevalence of diabetes is growing rapidly and currently, over 60 million people worldwide use insulin treatment to manage their diabetes. However, insulin treatment can result in hypoglycemia or low blood sugar levels. To date only retroactive treatments are available to treat hypoglycemia, which affects an individual’s quality of life and increases the likelihood of […]

When light interacts with matter, different effects may take place, depending on the particular characteristics of both light and matter. The result of this interaction, typically a quantitative change in the characteristics of the light (i.e., intensity, wavelength, phase), can be used to measure the presence of a particular specimen of interest. Specifically, Surface-enhanced Raman […]

In this project we aim to generate simple assays similar to commercial pregnancy tests that can detect the presence of specific molecules (metabolites) related to disease conditions. We will use our knowledge and experience to generate easy-to-use strips that will allow specific detection of health-relevant metabolites that can be used in clinical or at-home settings […]

In this research, we propose a framework for performance management in virtual organizations (VOs) equipped with service oriented architecture (SOA). This framework enables networks of organizations to evaluate and manage their collaboration performance and also to align and coordinate their various goals and objectives. Distributed management of VO will be enhanced to reduce the necessity […]

The PC and console video game market have overtaken Hollywood movies as the number one source of entertainment dollars spent in North America. Very little work has been done to date on the effects that these games are having on (particularly young) players. This project will take well established rhetorical principles (Burke, Fahnestock, Perlman) that […]

By creating real-time and hardware porotypes, the proposed research provides opportunities for better investigation of these converters and for development of advanced and effective methods for their control. The three interns that will be trained during this research partnership will gain in-depth knowledge of modern power system equipment and knowledge of the latest developments in […]

To achieve the goal of commercializing striped bass aquaculture in Nova Scotia, the obstacle of high (up to 100%) overwinter mortality among young-of-year fish needs to be overcome. Mortality is restricted to fish that are under one year old (underyearlings, 500g) suffer negligible mortality. Potential factors for such low survival rates identified through four years […]

Natural fibres are abundant in Canada and have the potential to be used in a wide variety of biocomposites and industrial bioproducts. In order to develop a thriving biomaterials sector, the quality and consistency of this vast resource must be continually assessed and monitored to ensure a quality product can be delivered to end-users on […]