Innovative Projects Realized

Comparative research on sustainable construction techniques of vernacular architectures in Ontario, Canada, and Jiangnan, China

The vernacular architectures in different areas exhibit strong cultural and technological similarities and differences simultaneously. The cultural and artistic value of these vernacular architectures highly depends on the relevant architectural tradition and applicable construction technics. In the process of construction, vernacular architectures have gradually formed a building model optimally adapted to the climatic and environmental features of the area, consuming less resources while creating a more comfortable indoor environment for the intended programs. The construction technics of these vernacular architectures are invaluable and inspiring for contemporary architectural practices, providing information to assist sustainable development. These are the reasons why conducting comparative research on sustainable structural techniques of vernacular architecture between countries that differ in their social, economic and environmental as well as cultural features is beneficial. Such a study can provide favorable technical insights into the sustainable development of modern architecture. Therefore, this project is aimed to conduct a comparative study on the Canadian and Chinese vernacular architecture with a focus on their environmental protection features.To produce a guidance document providing a recommendation of technologies adapted from these vernacular architectures for use in contemporary architectures. This is to be TO BE CON’T

Reserving space in the city: Critically approaching urban treaty-making in Australia and Canada

Over the last decade, reconciliation has become increasingly prominent in the mainstream consciousness of Canadians and Australians alike. In Canada, the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission Final Report famously articulated that ‘we are all treaty people.’ How do treaties affect the reconciliation process? In Australia, no historical treaties were ever made with Indigenous peoples. Now, after almost 200 years of settler occupation of Indigenous land in Australia, discussions are underway for the creation of the nation’s first treaty. And so, what would a treaty look like in Australia in the spirit of this so-called reconciliation? With this in mind, this project is both a case study and a call to action. As the issues inherent to the treaty process in Canada are well-documented, this project seeks to learn from Canada’s repeated and continued failures to live up to its treaty promises with Indigenous peoples. By conducting a close reading of the 2015 Federal Court of Appeal decision, Canada v. Long Plain First Nation, this project seeks to tangibly apply these findings and offer insights to Australia’s current treaty-making process. Australia has the opportunity to learn from Canada’s mistakes, and this project seeks to do just that.

Outils de diagnostic et de prévention de l’insatisfaction des employés

La rotation de personnel est un problème majeur dans l’industrie des soins de santé à domicile. Dans un contexte où le travail des intervenants est particulièrement basé sur une relation de confiance avec les patients, la prévention de la rotation est déterminante pour le continuum et la qualité des soins prodigués. Perdre un infirmier ou un préposé aux bénéficiaires cause donc des répercussions négatives pour l’ensemble des acteurs impliqués : la qualité des soins est affectée, les horaires sont chamboulés et il peut même arriver que certaines visites soient annulées par manque de personnel.
Dans ce projet, nous nous proposons de développer un outil qui vise au diagnostic et à la prévention de l’insatisfaction des employés. Cet outil permettra aux agences de soins de santé à domicile d’être proactifs dans la gestion de la rotation du personnel. Il leur permettra entre autres d’identifier les irritants dans le travail quotidien du personne

Decoupling of the structural connectome in the elderly

In 2010, approximately 35.6 million people suffered from dementia around the world and the number is expected to double every 20 years. These alarming predictions call for a better understanding of the mechanisms underpinning cognitive decline in aging. One of the key cardiovascular risk factors for cognitive decline is arterial stiffening. My project involves the use of advanced neuroimaging techniques to create a road map of the brain called the connectome. My ultimate goal is to compare the connectome of individuals with high stiff arteries against those with lower stiff arteries and highlight their differences. This will help understand which regions in the brain are more susceptible to be altered following vascular aging. Consequently, my work could help tailor future interventions in order to preserve cognitive performance throughout the lifespan.

Stochastic Programming and Decomposition in Energy System Modelling and Optimization

The design and operation of energy systems, specifically those driven by chemical processes such as gasification and coal combustion have long been associated with theoretical model-ling studies done within chemical engineering. However, with the rising need to face challenges brought upon by a warming climate and increased emissions from fossil fuel sources, there is significant interest in being able to design and operate systems that can harness the power of renewable energy sources while also providing economic benefits derived from operating them in a flexible manner. Mathematical model-ling of such systems will therefore need to borrow concepts from chemical process engineering as well as power systems engineering and energy economics. The main contribution from this project would be to look closely into the behaviour of polygeneration energy pathways and investigate how and to what extent the energy system can be made more flexible while also taking into account the aim to maximize profitability from the perspective of the operator. This project represents an intersection where process engineering and power systems concepts meet to better design and operate flexible polygeneration systems as we look to transition to future energy systems.

New Inhibitors of HIV Infection

A new target on HIV gp120 for interventive drug therapy has been discovered and a company,

ViroCarb, initiated to screen for small molecule inhibitors that bind in this site. Two structurally

related inhibitors have been isolated from chemical libraries. This internship is to determine the scope

of these inhibitors, whether they are able to inhibit all HIV strains including clinical strains and drug

resistant strains, the intern will also use a cell binding assay to confirm the mechanism of action which

should be via inhibition of the virus binding to the target cell. These assays will be used to determine

improvements in inhibition which result from chemical modification of the newly discovered

inhibitors.

Challenges and opportunities for conducting physical activity research in the Latin American context

The project “Challenges and opportunities for conducting physical activity research in the Latin American context” consists of a capacity building experience, in which an international PhD candidate in Epidemiology, member of the Healthy Active Living and Obesity research group, will spend 4 months in a research internship that will allow her to be involved in the different stages of conducting research projects in physical activity in the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico (INSP). The project will adjust to the current research projects developed at the Center for Nutrition and Health Research at the INSP and will include the participation in two important courses offered by the INSP: “Research and advocacy for policies in public health”, and “Physical Activity and Public Health”. The outcomes of the project will include protocols, reports, data collected, and one research manuscript.

Breakable mesoporous silica coated upconversion nanoparticles for the on-demand delivery of temozolomide

Controlling the location, timing and dosage of drug release is essential in increasing drug efficacy and protecting the body from side effects. Such on-demand, targeted drug delivery is especially important for diseases like cancer, because tumors vary widely patient to patient, and so, treatments should be personalized to suit the patient’s individual tumor characteristics and growth profile. As well, chemotherapy drugs are highly toxic, so we need targeted treatment to ensure they are delivered only to the tumor instead of releasing to other parts of the body.
My research investigates light as a stimulus to trigger chemotherapy release for an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme. In my system, a core nanoparticle converts safe, invisible, near-infrared light to a higher energy ultraviolet light. The nanoparticle is covered with a porous silica coating that disintegrates in response to the converted ultraviolet light. TO BE CONT’D

Speech Localization and Recognition for Humanoid Robotics

Robots and other autonomous machines currently have limited sound awareness and speech recognition capabilities, which limits their ability to interact with humans. Applying insights from cognitive neuroscience provides novel ways to improve these interactions. The primary objective of this proposal is to implement an auditory AI for robotics that finds human talkers in the environment and recognizes what they are saying. At the end of the project we anticipate a functioning speech localization and recognition system that will allow humanoid robots to understand and communicate verbally with humans. This expands on work done in a Canada-Italy Innovation award in 2017. This system will use state-of-the-art neural network approaches in machine learning, and will be tested on the iCub cognitive robotics platform.

Advanced Control Techniques for Power Electronics Interfaces in DC-Applications

Power electronics interfaces play a major role in the connection of various components in electrical power systems.
This project is focused on interfaces for energy storage systems (supercapacitors), and potentially hydrogen fuel cells.
A fast acting and flexible DC-DC converter topology is under-development at Concordia University. One problem is the lack of expertise in advanced control theory required for exploiting the full potential of this new topology. To address this issue, the plan is to have a PhD student in power electronics from Concordia University, working for three-months with Dr. Damm (Université Paris-Saclay), whom is an expert in advanced and non-linear control theory.
Among the main outcomes of this project, is the optimization of the control strategy of the power electronics interfaces to be used in net-zero DC Residential Nanogrids and Electric Vehicles. It is expected that it will enhance the power quality, reliability, operational/set-up costs and overall performance.

The morphogenetic effects of DNA damage on the filamentous bacterium Streptomyces

Binary fission, the process in which one bacterium divides into two identical cells, is the most common form of bacterial cell division. However, not all bacteria grow like this. The Streptomyces are a filamentous bacterium that undergo a lifecycle (similar to eukaryotic fungi) which culminates in sporulation. The Streptomyces are a biomedically important bacterium as they have been the source of many modern medicines, from antibiotics to immunosuppressants. The production of these molecules is linked with the Streptomyces’ ability to complete its lifecycle. It is well known that bacteria respond to DNA damage by stalling cell division. However, research groups have yet to directly address the ways in which Streptomyces responds to DNA damage. By using real-time fluorescence microscopy with fluorescently-tagged proteins, my project aims to discover how the Streptomyces regulates its cell division in response to DNA damage. TO BE CONT’D

Collective Organization and Legal Protection of Precarious and Informal Workers: Lessons from Canada and Brazil

Precarious employment is an increasingly common term used to highlight labour market insecurity (McCann and FUDGE, 2017). In Canada, precarious employment usually relates to atypical forms of work that can present all or some of those characteristics: limited or no social benefits and statutory entitlements, insecurity and low paid, high safety or/and health risks (Vosko, 2003). In developing countries, four out of five workers have no social protection and 2 billion work in in the informal sector (WBG, 2019). A more precarious labour market demands new ways to effectively protect people and to promote their capabilities (Kolben, 2016), regardless of their employment status (ILO, 2019). The objective of this proposal is to develop a comparative analysis on how Brazil and Canada guarantee acceptable working conditions to precarious workers, specifically by promoting and guaranteeing their right to organize collectively.