Innovative Projects Realized

Liquid Biopsy to Predict Progression and Metastasis in Uveal Melanoma: Potential Malignant Transformation from Nevus

Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common primary ocular tumor in adults. UM is treated by removing the eye (enucleation) or by local radiation therapy. Despite effective treatments for the ocular tumors, about 50% of patients develop metastasis, which are frequently lethal. Genetic profiling is used to study the molecular changes that occur and is done using tumor tissue from a biopsy.
Intraocular biopsies, however, pose risk to the eye structure and vision, and provide only one assessment of the tumor, but we know that the characteristics of tumors are constantly evolving. Therefore, a new method is needed to monitor UM without enucleation or biopsy.
Liquid biopsy has emerged as a non-invasive alternative to surgical biopsies that enables us to study a tumor through a simple blood sample. The aim of this project is to monitor UM disease course over time using liquid biopsy in a non-invasive manner.

Re-Establishing Affinity: Diaspora Engagement Policies in Central and Eastern Europe

The emigration of people across vast distances has undoubtedly fractured the direct relationship between the state and its populations. Yet, some countries have effectively adopted policies that aim to, not only re-establish a kinship foundation with their communities abroad, but to simultaneously encourage contributions back to the kin-state. Relatively new policy research in the field of Diaspora Engagement Policies (DEPs), has suggested that DEPs can be used to strategically curb portions of economic and social loss incurred by emigration (vis-à-vis easier remittance transfers and flexible policies related to business investment, donations, and the reintegration of nationals).

Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries provide a vital source of analysis yet remain relatively understudied. Despite challenges associated with large-scale emigration cycles and generally low fertility rates, CEE states have successfully acquired sizeable amount of monies through DEP transfers at various institutional levels. Noting the importance of economic growth generated by these policies in CEE, I will examine the variables that contribute to the implementation and durability of these policies. More specifically, by meeting with policy members in a number of CEE countries, TBC

Operationalizing conservation value through multi-species evaluation and implementation on forestlands certified as sustainably managed in Canada

Being certified as sustainable through a third-party organization, such as the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and the Forest Stewardship Council, gives forest products companies and organization a way to demonstrate to consumers that their management practices are ecologically sound. To understand the value of certification programs, it is important to be able to quantify the conservation benefits of certified forest lands in terms of important conservation outcomes. One way to do this is to measure the biodiversity value of certified forests, i.e. how sustainable forest management contributes to the maintenance of biodiversity. This research will provide a concrete way to measure the conservation impact of forest certification on biodiversity through the effect on regional bird community diversity. Bird communities are a reliable indicator of ecological conditions and overall biodiversity, and so provide an excellent species group for understanding how to manage forests sustainably. TO BE CONT’D

Insecure Cuteness: Performed Pamperedness (Sa Jiao) in Romantic Relationships – Experiences of Urban Chinese Youth

This research seeks to understand the motivations behind sa jiao behaviour, understood as performed pamperedness, among Chinese university students. Performed pamperedness is an act in which one party of a romantic relationship behaves in a child-like manner (pouting, throwing tantrums, engaging in ‘baby talk’) in hopes of attaining benefits from their partner (attention, concern, material items). This research uses a psychosocial methodology, combining Adult Attachment Theory with Social Capital Theory to examine the relationship between performed pamperedness and emotional insecurity. Attachment theory is a psychological model which seeks to explain dynamics in interpersonal relationships. Typically understood as beginning in childhood, based on the interaction of children with their caregivers, the attachments formed early in life carry on into adulthood. In romantic relationships attachment types should be able to explain certain behaviors within said relationships, including sa jiao behavior. The psychological factors alone are not enough to explain performed pamperedness. Myriad sociological factors exist which can explain this behavior. This research will focus on determining the social insecurity of the respondents. This will be done by ascertaining the amount of social capital, relative to their peers, a given student has. TBC

Making Stronger and Lighter Wallboard

The ultimate goal of this project is to produce stronger and lighter gypsum wallboards through more sustainable production procedure. The wallboard production plant is divided in three sections: upstream where the raw gypsum is received, midstream where the raw gypsum is processed to produce Calcium Sulfate Hemihydrate (stucco), and downstream where the final wallboard product is produced. The main focus of this internship will be on the downstream section. We will try to improve the wallboards through controlling their chemical composition and physical structure. Gypsum Lab at University of Alberta has been performing research on this topic in last three years and this internship will build up on out current knowledge. Both Continental Building Product Inc. and Gypsum Lab at University of Alberta will benefit from outcomes of this research.

BIM based automatic construction process monitoring

Image-based technology is effective for recording on-site data geospatially and chronologically. It has gained increasing attention in the construction field for progress monitoring, work space analysis and quality assurance. However, a notable downside of image processing is the light condition, particularly for noisy environments such as construction sites. Much research strives to reduce the level of errors in image-based monitoring methods but it still has remained a challenging technique. This project proposes an innovative approach based on thermal image analysis to overcome problems related to the image quality. Construction materials with various emissivity resulting in measurable temperature differences can be a crucial evidence to identify different material. In addition, the convolutional neural network (CNN) based semantic segmentation is used to semantically segment different components, such as column, beam, etc. Together with a camera-view image extracted from BIM model, a cross matching is applied to confirm the presence of different building elements with specific materials, which is the key step to estimate the construction process qualitatively.

Identification of chemical markers in tree sap for ‘Buddy’ maple syrup off-flavours

Near the end of every maple syrup harvest season, the syrup can acquire an unpalatable off-flavour called ‘buddy’. Buddy flavor cannot be tasted or detected in the tree sap prior to processing into syrup. This can loss of income, and unnecessary expenditure to produce the syrup that is unpalatable. This work seeks to identify chemical markers in maple sap which can inform producers on the likelihood that the syrup will buddy or not. This project will include comprehensive chemical analysis of maple sap samples from 11 regions of Ontario throughout the 2019 season. Identifying a strong chemical marker(s) of buddy syrup within tree sap is critical to allow future work on developing inexpensive on-site tests for buddy flavour to proceed.

Imaging and liquid biomarkers in preclinical Osteoarthritis models

The research’s aim for the first project is to identify early structural characteristics of osteoarthritis in cartilage and the aim for the second project is to test if these characteristics can be used to detect joint-protection effects from injectable polymers. For both projects, I will be using microcomputed tomography, to collect high resolution 3D images of cartilage. I will conduct analysis of selective areas on topographic images for quantitative analysis. As a reference, I will quantify metabolic markers for bone and cartilage from serum with ELISA. For the second study I will do tissue processing and participate in disease evaluation of the tissues.
Most of the osteoarthritis therapies are targeted for restoring and maintaining cartilage function. We will test if recently developed injectable polymer has these properties. In addition we will evaluate if structural changes are similar between osteoarthritis models and will provide validity on osteoarthritis therapy development.

Rétroactions vidéo ou exercice cognitif : quel outil favorise des conditions d’apprentissage optimales?

Le Club de Soccer de Trois-Rivières (CSTR) est responsable de promouvoir et développer le soccer dans la région de Trois-Rivières. Un enjeu important de cette mission est de continuellement offrir les meilleures conditions d’apprentissage à ses joueurs. Dans les habiletés enseignées par les entraîneurs, la prise de décisions est l’habileté phare qui permet aux joueurs de se démarquer dans la province. En participant à ce projet, le CSTR a l’opportunité de se doter d’une technologie novatrice sous forme d’application mobile pour améliorer la prise de décisions des joueurs. Développée dans une collaboration entre le stagiaire et les entraîneurs, l’application sera parfaitement adaptée et aux besoins du Club.

Effect of nanotube agglomeration on dynamics of carbon nanotube-reinforced piezocomposite shells

In this research project, firstly the effective material properties are estimated by an appropriate micromechanics model for a piezocomposite cylindrical shell reinforced with agglomerated CNTs, and then the corresponding constitutive equations and governing equations of motion are derived. Wave propagation characteristics are determined based on the first-order shear deformation shell theory in which the transverse shear effects and rotary inertia are included. Wave propagation behaviors for both partial and complete agglomerations of CNTs are obtained within various axial and circumferential wave numbers for different wave modes. Wave dispersion results of an agglomerated CNT-reinforced piezocomposite shell are compared with those of a piezocomposite shell reinforced with uniformly distributed CNTs. The methodology and modeling are verified with the available experimental data. The methodology and results of this project can be used for design of smart advanced composite structures required for structural health monitoring and energy harvesting applications.

Connecting Community Spaces with Mixed-Use Developments

When cities face development pressures and affordability concerns, community spaces—which contribute to the distinct knowledge, meaning, connection and identity of a community—are continuously lost. Community-minded spaces include churches, bike repair shops, makerspaces, coworking or studio spaces, community kitchens and venues. To ensure the preservation and enhancement of these types of spaces, developers can incorporate such spaces into new mixed-use developments. There are often financial or operational challenges to integrating these types of spaces into new developments. This research hopes to understand how developers, in the private and non-profit sector, can best incorporate community-minded spaces into new mixed-use developments.

Convergence of Agile and DevOps in ENCQOR 5G Software Development

This project develops a new project management method for software development targeting next-generation network providing unprecedented quality of cellular service to Canadians and small and medium businesses, stimulating innovations and improving the quality of life of our people. Relying on the ENCQOR infrastructure, which is the first 5G network in Canada supported by three governments (Quebec, Ontario, and Canada), the outcomes of this research project will contribute substantially to the progress of the Canadian information and communication technologies industry. The proposed research project used as the building blocks for a new class of Ciena’s network solutions, which will be offered to many world-class operators.