Innovative Projects Realized

Comparative Study of ‘systems of justification’ among Indian students of business/management institutions; Cases of study: Private and Public business/management institutions in province of Karnataka’

This thesis deals with how Indian students of business/management schools adapt themselves with neo-managerial and entrepreneurial discourses presented in such schools. More specifically, I study the ways by which the aforementioned students adapt their socio-cultural background with the discourses of justification presented to them during their MBA program. In other words, I analyze how Indian students appropriate neo-managerial and entrepreneurial discourses during their MBA program.
In order to fulfill my research, I will interview students of MBA programs of two prominent Indian business/management schools: IIM-Bangalore and AIMS Bangalore. I will conduct approximately twenty to thirty interviews of one hour in each school which mostly focus on the projections of the students of their courses of action in their future careers. Furthermore, I will record and analyze five to ten focus groups in these two schools in order to better understand the dynamics of group discussions and networking among the students.

The effect of physiotherapy on patellofemoral joint function with varying bone morphology.

The patellofemoral joint consists of the femur, patella (kneecap), and tibia in the knee. It is a complicated joint that causes pain in about one-quarter of the population, often due to faulty patella motion. Patellofemoral pain is often persistent, and difficult to treat. Various physiotherapy interventions are used to relieve pain, with the aim of correcting patella motion, but tend to only demonstrate short-term effects. The difficulty behind developing effective long-term treatment strategies is that patella motion is difficult to measure; however, the use of computer models and motion capture technology allows us to estimate the motion and muscle activation patterns of the patella. This study will investigate the effects of physiotherapy techniques on patella motion using computational musculoskeletal models for patients with patellofemoral pain and healthy individuals. We expect to determine that therapeutic interventions will reduce lateral patella motion with respect to the femur and influence muscle activations to improve congruence between the patella and the femur.

Antibiotic prescribing attributable to paediatric respiratory viruses: a population-based study of Scottish children

Antibiotic resistance is a major public health issue and antibiotic prescribing patterns are increasingly being recognized as the main cause of resistance. Antibiotic stewardship activities have highlighted the role of over- and inappropriate use of antibiotics in driving antibiotic resistance. Prior research has shown consistent temporal patterns in antibiotic prescribing, such that prescribing rates tend to be highest during influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) seasons; i.e., aligning with the winter months in the Northern hemisphere. Influenza and RSV are the most common causes of lower respiratory illness in children in the UK and globally. Most respiratory pathogens, including influenza and RSV, are viral in origin and cause self-limited illness in most children; thus, antibiotics are not recommended for use in these patients. While secondary bacterial infections, such as pneumonia, are a common complication of respiratory viral infections, prior studies have shown that antibiotics do not improve outcomes for these patients. In order to prevent the over- and inappropriate use of antibiotics, it is critical to understand antibiotic patterns and, particularly, how these patterns may relate to the activity of common childhood viral infections.TBC

Exporting Canada’s Private Sponsorship Refugee Model

Canada has an unique model called the private-sponsorship model where private citizens and organizations can come together and apply to sponsor a refugee. Canada has been quietly exporting this model to countries around the world who are adopting the private sponsorship model to address refugee issues in their countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom. My research will due a literature review to look at the history of Canada’s private sponsorship model and how it has faired in other countries, what are the lessons learned from the Canadian context and how can they be applied elsewhere. The expected outcomes of this project aim to showcase how Canada has been a leader in this field and the importance of a global knowledge sharing of ideas related to successful refugee policy and refugee integration in their new communities.

La matérialisation de l’éthique en intelligence artificielle : Enquête sur le processus de consentement par et pour un agent conversationnel en santé mentale

Comme de nombreux outils numériques utilisant des techniques d’analyse de données et d’apprentissage automatique (machine learning), les agents conversationnels (chatbots) collectent et traitent une grande quantité de données sur leurs utilisateurs. Quand le type de conversation suscitée par le chatbot porte sur des enjeux de santé mentale, ces données sont d’autant plus personnelles et confidentielles. Or, la plupart du temps, le processus de consentement pour l’utilisation de ces chatbots, et par interaction avec ceux-ci, ne permet pour l’instant pas d’obtenir un consentement valable, c’est-à-dire suffisamment informé, libre et continu. C’est le cas pour de nombreux outils utilisant de l’IA. Ce projet se concentre sur ce manque en observant et participant à la conception d’un processus d’expérience utilisateur qui permette d’obtenir un consentement valable par et pour l’utilisation d’un chatbot en santé mentale.

Post Concussive Symptoms amongst 5-12 year old children

A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) that causes short-lived impairment of neurological function caused either by a direct blow to the head, face, neck, or elsewhere on the body with an impulsive force transmitted to the head that may or may not involve loss of consciousness. These injuries are increasing both in diagnosis and reporting rates amongst all populations, with over 100,000 diagnoses in children coming from Emergency Department visits. However, children under 12 are understudied even though there are suggestions that they are different than adolescents. This project aims to characterize the post concussive symptoms of concussions experienced by children aged between 5 -12 at both specialized clinics and hospitals in the Buffalo area, with a focus on acute concussion (<10 days since injury). By figuring out a pattern of symptoms that characterize children’s concussions, more accurate research, diagnoses, treatments, legislations and interventions can be created.

Artificial selection of geneticially encoded TB drugs

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a causative agent of tuberculosis (TB) in humans. World Health Organization (WHO) conforms that, TB is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Mycobacterium cell wall is composed of a complex, formed by peptidoglycan, lipid mycolic acid, and polysaccharide arabinogalactan. Arabinogalactan (AG) is a heteropolysaccharide that comprises of arabinose and galactose sugars that are present in the furanoid ring form, D-galactofuranosyl (Galf) and D-arabinofuranosyl (Araf). UDP-Galactopyranose mutase (UGM) catalyzes the reversible conversion of UDP-galactopyranose (UDP-Galp) to UDP-galactofuranose (UDP-Galf). It plays a key role in the biosynthesis of the galactofuran. In this study, we will focus on UGM as our molecular target. The aim of this research project is to identify potent inhibitory molecules that restrict cell wall biosynthesis by binding to UGM and inhibiting its activity. mRNA display technique will be applied to identify inhibitory molecules from a library of non-standard macrocyclic peptides.

Bipolar Membranes for Electrochemical Technologies

The electrochemical splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen gas is a technology of growing importance in the clean energy sector. Emerging technologies are employing membranes to provide physical separation of the cathode and anode compartments, thereby separating the product gases, while allowing ions to flow between the compartments to maintain the electrochemical reactions taking place. Electrolyzers typically operate using acidic electrolytes, where proton exchange membranes are used to transport H+ ions formed at the anode across to the cathode, where they can be reduced to produce H2. Recently, anion exchange membranes have emerged as potential membrane candidates in electrolyzers, as the use of alkaline electolytes allows for use of inexpensive electrocatalysts as electrode materials. In the future, PEM and AEM based materials will be combined to form bipolar membranes, which will allow electrolyzers to operate under acidic conditions at the cathode and basic conditions at the anode. This will allow the use of tailored catalysts and offer opportunities to enhance efficiency, reduce energy consumption and reduce materials costs. This proposal expands on previous Mitacs projects (IT10706 and IT12984) and focuses on developing advanced bipolar membranes that incorporate novel PEM and AEM materials developed at SFU.

Software radios for highly integrated system architecture

The project aims to establish new design methods and digital signal processing techniques allowing

robust and efficient universal navigation and communication equipment in the fields of aeronautics

and aerospace. New avionic standards are under study and strong arguments exist for the adoption of

software defined radios at this point of time. The project anticipates the integration of multiple

navigation and communication systems in a single hardware element minimizing space, part count,

avionic weight that addresses more directly airspace management needs, thereby reducing

greenhouse gas emission in the framework of international environmental initiatives. The aeronautic

and aerospace industries strive for an approach using a single generic reprogrammable and universal

system allowing replacement of multiple and burdensome radios/antennas presently in use. The

proposed system will permit simultaneous functionalities of multiple systems accommodated on a

flexible integration platform suitable for future applications. The project will consist of: distance

measuring equipment (DME), Mode S transponder and wideband digital radio, including ADS-B, built

with………………………..

A Mitacs Applied Research Proposal for Teck Resources: Leveraging Non-Technical Risk (NTR) Evaluation Best Practices to Improve Decision Quality

This work aims to take the academic research one step further to customize recommendations based on academic research findings on the identification and valuation of non-technical risks. It aims to improve the operationalization of the corporate strategy in the investment decision criteria guideline that involves both risks to the projects and risks to the people.

Establishment of gut microbiota and impact on host immune function with early-probiotic supplementation in neonate calves

The neonatal and pre-weaned periods are the most challenging in dairy production, resulting in the highest mortality and morbidity rates, with diarrhea proving the most common cause of calf health problems. In order to treat and control this diarrhea, producers often rely on antibiotic therapy. An alternative is to provide living microorganisms (probiotics) that minimize pathogenic bacteria colonization of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), without producing drug residues, when directly fed to animals. The aim of the proposed project is to examine whether the addition of one specific yeast probiotic, Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii (SCB), impacts gastrointestinal microbiota and immune function in early-life calves. This will be the first study to explore the relationship between gut microbiota and host response with repeated measures. One part of the physiological mechanisms behind how probiotics affects gut health in calves will be potentially revealed.

Technology Advancement in existing AED

In Canada, approximately 40,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs) occur annually. Survival rates are under 15%, and the only treatment is immediate use of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), coupled with CPR. This project will focus on finding solutions to identified problems associated with locating and using an AED. Some of these solutions will focus on in-emergency technology that can increase the accessibility of publicly available AEDs, along with the ability for bystanders to locate and use these life-saving devices. A study will also be conducted during the research to identify environmental factors that can affect occurrence of cardiac arrests and inform strategic placement. The outcomes of this research will be used by the company to enhance its product line.