Innovative Projects Realized

Gelatin coated self-made manganese dioxide as cathode material in aqueous rechargeable zinc-ion battery

Aqueous rechargeable zinc ion battery is a competitive candidate for the energy storage system. Compared to lithium ion battery, it has several advantages: high safety, high energy density, low cost and environmental friendliness. From many cathode materials, manganese dioxide (MnO2) has been widely used because of the low cost, abundant resource and environment friendly features. With the MnO2 cathode, the battery will have high discharging capacity. Furthermore, if MnO2 is coated with gelatin, which is a kind of non-toxic biological macromolecule, the battery will be further stabilized and have longer cycle life. In our study, we will try to figure out at what percentage of the gelatin, the battery will have the best performance. Outcomes of this research will enable the partner organization to reduce production costs, increase the company’s profits, increase the size of the market and further increase the compatibility of the company itself within the energy industry.

LE PLUMITIF ACCESSIBLE

La présente demande concerne le chantier de recherche sur le « plumitif accessible » lequel s’inscrit dans l’axe Connaissance et conscience du droit du projet ADAJ (Accès au droit et à la justice) financé par le Conseil de recherche en sciences humaines (CRSH) en partenariat. En effet comprendre le contenu des plumitifs est un défi important. Au Québec, toute personne peut obtenir accès aux plumitifs relatifs à une instance civile ou criminelle. Il s’agit d’informations à caractère public. L’information disponible dans les plumitifs est aride et fragmentaire. Encore aujourd’hui, les plumitifs sont essentiellement consultés par des professionnels du droit, des personnes travaillant à l’administration de la justice ou des personnes faisant de la vérification d’antécédents judiciaires. Or, dans le contexte où le nombre de parties non représentées ne cesse d’augmenter, et que celles-ci devront inévitablement consulter un plumitif, devrait-on se préoccuper de la compréhension qu’elles ont des informations rendues disponibles ? Le projet consiste à évaluer la compréhension moyenne des justiciables et des professionnels du droit à la lecture d’un plumitif et à proposer des améliorations pour favoriser la compréhension et la lisibilité de ce document juridique.

Valuation Analysis of Canada’s Privately-Held Technology Companies

The goal of this project is to develop a financial model which will be used to value privately-held
technology companies in Canada. The research for the summer will be conducted with CoreGen
Capital Partners. Market participants typically pay a liquidity premium when investing in the public
market. The objectives of this research will be to accurately measure how investors determine the
illiquidity discounts and to incorporate those factors into a valuation model for private technology
companies in Canada. Valuation tools learned from coursework in the Master of Financial Economics
program and previous research on private market valuation will be implemented to complete this
research. The end result of the project will be a detailed report and an accompanying financial model
which will be built in Microsoft Excel. This research will streamline CoreGen’s valuation processes
and will increase the accuracy of their financial analyses.

Investigating the role of the deubiquitylating enzyme USP25 in cell cycle control

Proteins are molecular machines that function inside cells to regulate processes such as cell growth, division and death. Protein function is modified by the attachment of regulatory proteins such as ubiquitin. Ubiquitin modification is important in targeting proteins for destruction in the cell during cell division. Dysregulation of protein destruction can lead to inappropriate cell growth and cancer. Understanding normal protein function by modification enhances our understanding of biological processes, and identifies drugs with therapeutic value. This project will investigate how ubiquitin modification regulates cell growth and division by depleting the protein USP25 from the cell. USP25 controls the extent of ubiquitin modifications on proteins. We will investigate how USP25 functions in modulating ubiquitin on UbcH10, another protein that is important in controlling cell growth and division. This project will provide new insights into the fundamental role of USP25 in cell growth and division to help identify therapeutic anti-cancer drugs.

Micro-level mapping: Understanding service hubs from service users’ perspectives

This research project seeks to explore the resilience of Edmonton’s service hub in the wake of Housing First, which was introduced in 2009. The aim of the proposed study is to explore Edmonton’s service hub from the perspectives of homeless individuals.

Methodologically, it will adopt a bottom-up approach to mapping the city, from service users’ perspectives. I will recruit participants on a convenience basis, using GPS technology to track their daily movements, creating an individual service hub map. This method will be combined with auto-photography and unstructured interviews. This study will locate individual narratives within the changing terrains homeless governance, in order to explore the resilience of Edmonton’s service hub.

These methods will be used to explore a number of questions: 1) What are the individual’s patterns of service use? 2) What are their experiences of service use? 3) Which places are important to the individual and why? 4) How does this relate to the wider context of homeless governance?

Synthesis and characterization of a new generation of bone targeting anabolic prodrugs – Year two

Prostaglandin E2 stimulates bone formation in vivo and exerts its effects through the EP4 receptor. Unfortunately prostaglandin E2 and agonists for the EP4 receptor also cause unacceptable systemic side effects which have limited their clinical use as anabolic agents. We developed novel bone-targeting prodrugs that can deliver EP4 agonists selectively to bone and liberate active drug slowly in situ to effect bone formation while avoiding the side effects. These prodrugs rely on enzyme activity in the bone to liberate the drug and it is not clear if active drug liberation will be replicated in humans.
The subject of this project will be to synthesize a new class of prodrugs designed to liberate the active EP4 drug spontaneously and thus do not require enzymes for hydrolysis. Preliminary studies identified several candidates and we will now scale up the synthesis (including radiolabelled prodrugs) and test these compounds to demonstrate that they bind to bones in vitro and in vivo, liberate the active drug in vivo with a predictable and consistent half-life and are effciacious. Several analogs will be tested and the optimal release rate of 200 hr (suitable for once-weekly dosing) will be the goal.

Synthesis and characterization of a new generation of bone targeting anabolic prodrugs

Prostaglandin E2 stimulates bone formation in vivo and exerts its effects through the EP4 receptor. Unfortunately prostaglandin E2 and agonists for the EP4 receptor also cause unacceptable systemic side effects which have limited their clinical use as anabolic agents. We developed novel bone-targeting prodrugs that can deliver EP4 agonists selectively to bone and liberate active drug slowly in situ to effect bone formation while avoiding the side effects. These prodrugs rely on enzyme activity in the bone to liberate the drug and it is not clear if active drug liberation will be replicated in humans.
The subject of this project will be to synthesize a new class of prodrugs designed to liberate the active EP4 drug spontaneously and thus do not require enzymes for hydrolysis. Preliminary studies identified several candidates and we will now scale up the synthesis (including radiolabelled prodrugs) and test these compounds to demonstrate that they bind to bones in vitro and in vivo, liberate the active drug in vivo with a predictable and consistent half-life and are effciacious. Several analogs will be tested and the optimal release rate of 200 hr (suitable for once-weekly dosing) will be the goal.

Evaluation, optimization and modeling of sequencing batch reactors (SBR) operation for treatment of municipal wastewater

Sequencing batch reactor (SBR) is an activated sludge process that has been used successfully in municipal and industrial wastewater treatment. SBR process is operated in a batch mode where different batch phases run successively in a single tank or several tanks operating in parallel. Many studies on real-time control strategies have been employed to check the effects of parameters on SBR operation. However, due to highly nonlinear nature and time variations, fluctuations in hydraulics and components and possible equipment unreliability, a single control strategy based on multiple indirect parameters may not be successful. Therefore, using model-based approaches represents an advantage when defining and evaluating the control strategies and consequently saving time and money. Intelligent control strategy (ICS) such as fuzzy logic, artificial neural network (ANN) and also Gaussian process (GP) model can be used as an advanced form of real-time control strategy to optimize the SBR process. Besides, mathematical models and model based optimization can be developed for an effective control of nutrient and other contaminants in combined biological processes like SBRs. This project will examine different modeling approaches to optimize different SBR systems. Effects of operational parameters, climate and other environmental changes will also be considered in the modeling.

Terahertz material characterization of organic semiconductors usingterahertz time-domain systems

stage of its product development project, which is collecting a complete set of measurement
data for an array of organic materials with different levels of purity and demonstrate the
capability of its proprietary terahertz sensing techniques to qualify and quantify purity and
integrity of OLED organic materials with the level of precision required in OLED deposition
and material purification processes. The results of this research project will be the first step
towards development of a compact in-line terahertz sensor system integrated into the OLED
production lines to enhance the quality and lifetime of OLED displays facilitating their
adoption in consumer mass market. There is currently no terahertz system on the market to
address this problem in the OLED market.

Water-based “Ink” Formulations for Metal 3D Printing

Rapidia has developed a water-based approach to metal 3D printing that is faster, simpler, and more cost effective than the current systems on the market. This novel approach enables printed parts to be sintered directly, eliminating the time- and chemically- intensive intermediate de-binding step required for other processes. In order to implement this technique, the formulation of the initial paste used for printing is an essential component to optimize. We will be studying how the chemical composition of the paste formulation impacts its performance in the printing and sintering steps, with the ultimate goal of developing advanced formulations to optimize the quality of the final metal parts. This research project could significantly advance Rapidia’s technology, accelerate their growth in the industry, and stimulate the Canadian economy.

Role of Wetlands in Carbon Export from Forested Watersheds

forWater Network researchers at Dalhousie University are working with Halifax Water and Westfor Management Inc. to determine how the Pockwock forested watershed can be managed to improve water treatability. A key issue here is the movement of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). DOC movement from the land to the water has increased in recent decades, and that increases the cost of treating drinking water to acceptable standards. The Halifax study centres on integrated simulation modelling to build and analyze long-term scenarios of forest management and climate change and their effects on DOC levels in Lake Pockwock. The modelling is supported by monitoring of water moving through the forested landscape as well as detailed measurements of the carbon stocks in the forests themselves. The work proposed herein is to make a thorough quantification of a critical but poorly understood component of ecosystem carbon – that of the wetlands. As part of the field program to characterize all major components of the terrestrial-ecosystem carbon pools, the student will take samples of wetland organic soils (to be analyzed for carbon in a commercial lab) and analyze those carbon pools for incorporation into the simulation models.

Catalytic Heavy Oil Upgrading Using Natural Gas – Year two

The proposed project aims at developing new catalytic processes and corresponding catalysts for heavy oil upgrading with the assistance of natural gas. Compared with traditional hydrotreating processes, these new processes provide alternative ways for heavy oil and natural gas utilization, which are economically and environmentally favorable in terms of higher profit margin, lower operating cost, energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission. A variety of catalysts with particular functions will be developed and a series of reaction evaluations in different forms of reactors will be carried out. Besides, mechanistic study will also be performed, which throws light upon the evolution of various fractions in petroleum during the upgrading process, accelerating the catalyst development and optimization process. After a promising lab-scale and small pilot scale operation is established, a stepwise scaling up practice toward industrial production will be launched based on the cooperation of the proposed supervisor and partner organization. The industrialization of this novel process will benefit both the petroleum and natural gas industries in Canada, where abundant heavy oil and bitumen extracted from oil sands are widely reserved. The corresponding investigation also provides guidance for the daily operation and long-term planning of the partner company regarding oil upgrading process.