Innovative Projects Realized

Machine learning model development for blast furnaces

Iron and Steel are the backbone of major industrial sectors, like automobile, building and construction, heavy machine manufacturing etc. and Blast Furnace (BF) Ironmaking is the chief production route of iron throughout the world. The objective of this project is to develop novel models for blast furnaces to enhance their productivity in a sustainable way with no further pollution related risks. Industrial data has been collected from different steel plants. This project concentrates on using Artificial Neural Network and Support Vector Machine techniques to develop a novel model keeping those data as supporting reference. The model will be unique since it will consider the effect of almost all process variables in BF ironmaking and will indicate optimum values of the variables to cost effectively achieve maximum productivity of the BF. The enhanced sustainable productivity will positively affect the afore-mentioned giant industrial sectors and thereby, the outcome of this project can play a pivotal role in Industry 4.0.

Development of Cost-Effective Self-Consolidating Concrete ContainingSilica Breccia

The proposed project will focus on the development of low-cost, self-consolidating concrete

(SCC) mixtures containing a high volume of silica breccia. The workability, fresh properties

and local unit cost of SCC containing 0-70% silica breccia (as a partial replacement for

cement) will be investigated and compared with the control mixture and with other SCC

mixtures containing fly ash, slag and metakaolin.

Advanced Enterprise DRM on Phones and Tablets

Information security is of paramount importance to Canada and its enterprises. In this project,
the intern will research, design and implement components of an enterprise Digital Rights
Management (DRM) solution with iThinkSecurity Ltd. DRM allows for control over digital data
redistribution. The target platforms are phones and tablets, which are rapidly becoming a
main source of digital data consumption. The project is of value to iThinkSecurity, and more
broadly, to Canada

The Use of the Involvement Matrix as a Communication Tool: Experiences and Lessons Learned From Family-Researcher Partnerships

In the field of childhood disability research, there is an important shift towards engaging with patients and families who have the lived experience of a disability. To build authentic relationships with family partners, there should be clear communication throughout all study phases. To our knowledge, the Involvement Matrix is to the only tool to guide conversations about expectations and roles of family partners. This project aims to share the experiences of research teams in Canada and the Netherlands about when and how the Matrix was used. We will interview youth, parents, and researchers who have partnered together to ask about their experiences with the Matrix to design and conduct studies, and their reflections after the study was completed. We plan to share our findings through publications, oral presentations, and videos. We hope that the sharing of these experiences can guide others to use the Matrix to build researcher-family partnerships.

Scaling-up restorative assisted evolution on Anthropocene coral reefs

Global mass coral bleaching events caused by marine heatwaves are becoming ever more frequent under climate change. Without action, the socio-ecological services provided by coral reefs may be lost. Active management interventions may be required to support the resilience of future coral reefs. The CORALASSIST Lab (UK) is testing assisted evolution in Palau: selective breeding for heat-tolerance paired to restoration. What are the ecosystem benefits of such small-scale science? Alongside the CCE Lab (Canada) we aim to use a suite of global climate model projections from climate centres across the world, combined with historical temperature data from Palau to 1) develop a downscaled sea surface temperature projection for Palau, 2) predict coral bleaching and reef futures under different climate scenarios, and 3) simulate coral restoration efforts, providing useful management advice, such as “how soon and how many heat-tolerant corals are needed to benefit coral reef ecosystems in the long-term”.

Aortic arch haemodynamics in adult women with Turner syndrome: A numerical investigation into obesity-related factors

Girls with Turner syndrome (TS), a chromosomal condition in which a female has complete or partial absence of the second sex chromosome, present a unique group of patients, with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Since the mid 1900s extensive research has led to advancements in the treatment of Turner syndrome: growth hormone therapy can increase final adult height, and reproductive treatment can assist with infertility. However, cardiovascular diseases affecting girls and women with TS remain under-researched, and remains the leading cause of death. Our research aims to contribute to one of the key cardiovascular research priorities outlined in a scientific statement from the American Heart Association, which is to increase our understanding of the haemodynamic environment and, ultimately, flow-related cardiovascular disease markers in patients with Turner syndrome. We will do so by reconstructing 3D models of the aorta and performing blood flow simulations using computational fluid dynamic methods.

Sleep and circadian rhythms phenotyping in high-risk bipolar offspring

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic psychiatric disorder with peak age of onset between 15 and 25 years. In clinical practice it takes over a decade from initial symptom presentation to accurate diagnosis, with such delays being linked to a range of adverse consequences. Therefore, finding early markers of vulnerability is essential. Familial history (i.e. having a first degree relative with BD) is currently the strongest predictor of later development of BD, with sleep and circadian disruptions being the most well replicated markers of vulnerability in this population. Evidence suggests that children of a bipolar parent who are poor sleepers are twice more likely to be later diagnosed with BD later compared to children of a bipolar parent who are god sleepers. Our proposed research aims to comprehensively profile, via objective and subjective measures, the sleep and circadian disruptions in high-risk offspring who are currently within the ages of 15-25. The findings of this work could aid the accurate identification of BD risk factors and inform the development of targeted early interventions for at-risk individuals.

Screening of Adsorbents for Lithium Extraction from Saskatchewan Brine Deposits

With the growth in demand for electric vehicles and mobile devices powered by rechargeable lithium batteries, demand for lithium is expected to increase by over 200% in the next decade. Current lithium production comes primarily from Australia, South America and China. There are significant lithium reserves in the same Saskatchewan aquifers currently being exploited for their concomitant oil reserves. Although the lithium concentration in these aquifers is lower than in brines being mined elsewhere, new lithium selective extraction technologies show great promise for making extraction of lithium from these aquifers economical. Prairie Lithium is looking to develop the first lithium brine mine in Saskatchewan using produced water from oil and gas production. The project described here involves screening of potential lithium selective adsorbents to find the most promising candidate for Saskatchewan conditions. The selected material will then be used in a pilot system to demonstrate the economic viability of the entire process.

‘Assembling and investigating Tl-201 radiolabelled texaphyrin nanoparticles targeted to prostate cancer cells for Auger electron radiotherapy’

Thallium-201 (Tl-201) is mostly known to clinicians from its previous use in diagnostic imaging. However, this radionuclide is also a potent Auger electron emitter, releasing around 21 short range, low energy electrons per decay. Auger electron emitters have a potential in targeted treatment of small tumours due to localised energy transfer. So far, Tl-201 therapeutic effect remains unexplored mainly due to the lack of efficient, cancer-targeted delivery methods. In this UK-Canada collaboration project we will address the challenge of efficient binding and delivering Tl-201 to cancer cells by using targeted texaphyrin nanoparticles. These self-assembled nanoparticles have been already studied with radiometals, such as In-111, and present a great potential for radiotherapy and radionuclide imaging. Nonetheless, using texaphyrin compounds and texaphyrin nanoparticles to encapsulate thallium ions has not yet been investigated. This could provide an innovative approach to solving the challenge in selectively delivering Tl-201 into cancer cells for Auger electron radiotherapy.

Antimicrobial activity of Kisameet Clay

The problem to be addressed is if detailed laboratory studies can be designed out to confirm

and extend the historical, anecdotal information on the therapeutic/medicinal properties of

Kisameet clay (KC). There is much non-scientific information alleging the potent antimicrobial

activities of many clay products. In this research proposal we propose to carry out a detailed

microbiological analysis of the antibiotic activity of KC: the project will involve a full

investigation of the bactericidal and bacteriostatic activities of the clay, considering the

material as a potential antibiotic. Once confirmation of antimicrobial activity is confirmed we

will develop new methodologies and carry out further studies with a variety of pathogens,

including hospital isolates of antibiotic resistant strains. The company will benefit from the

research into the development of advanced methodology which will be used in ongoing

experimentation to gain a better understanding of the microbiological properties of Kisameet

clay

Wearable Technologies for Inferring and Enhancing Vestibular Balance Function

The vestibular organs detect head movement and are involved in the coordination of standing balance. With balance problems being a common and expensive healthcare cost internationally, there is a growing need for new diagnostic and therapeutic medical devices that target vestibular balance function. In particular, a wearable device that could be used outside the clinic could provide a convenient, low-cost alternative. Here we explore the feasibility of integrating Electrical Vestibular Stimulation (EVS) – a relatively new technique for probing vestibularspecific balance function – with the commercially available head motion sensor from PROTXX. The wearable technology we are co-developing will enable frequent, accurate, and mobile assessments of vestibular function, as well as provide a novel therapeutic approach for enhancing balance control in patients at risk of falling (analogous to a vestibular prosthetic).

Technologies of Self: The commercial pocket diary in Canada, c.1780-1890

The commercial pocket diary has been one of the most common ways in which people have recorded their lives over the past two and a half centuries. Yet as a hybrid genre it has often fallen through the net of our historical enquiries. My project will research the importation and production of pocket diaries in Ontario in the late eighteenth and nineteenth century, focusing on the development of the first Canadian brand of commercial diary, The Canadian Pocket Diary. I will also conduct case studies of individual users of the genre to examine how the pocket diary helped to shape their self-recording practices. This research will shed light on the role pocket diaries played in the growth of the print trade, the creation of emergent national identities in print, and the ways they acted as a technology of the self, helping people to track, manage and record their everyday lives.