Innovative Projects Realized

Optical characterization of freshwater and its distribution in the Hudson Bay

Hudson Bay is a typical freshwater dominated ecosystem owing to voluminous freshwater flux from the rivers and sea ice growth-decay cycle. Climate forcing and hydroelectric regulation of the river waters potentially modifies the freshwater distribution in Hudson Bay, with implications on the physical, biological and biogeochemical processes. To understand the implication of the modifications on these processes, it is necessary to study the spatio-temporal pattern of the freshwater distribution. Terrestrial waters are characterized by the presence of high loads of color dissolved organic matter. Therefore, light-matter interaction in the water body would serve as an effective proxy to study the river runoff distribution. This project will take the advantage of satellite remote sensing complemented by in-situ optical measurements to develop a methodology to detect the river runoff domain in Hudson Bay. Thus allowing for spatio-temporal study of river runoff distribution. This project will help in decision-making abilities for the future hydroelectric projects by Manitoba Hydro.

Development of transparent near-eye display using a sparse microlens array and lightfield principles

Head-mounted displays (HMDs) allow a convenient delivery of visualized data to the user. HMDs in the form of glasses and goggles (otherwise known as smart glasses and goggles), such as Vuzix Blade and Epson Moverio [1-3], have been introduced but the public acceptance of these devices have been rather lackluster. Part of the sluggish acceptance may be attributed to the still-high device costs (>$1000) and a large form-factor, owning largely to the fact that these devices utilize unique and sophisticated optics on dedicated and non-retrofittable platforms. In this research, we want to design a universal HMD optics that can be placed in the line of sight of the user and is thin and compact enough to be retroffitable on conventional eyewear, using microlens arrays (MLAs) and the lightfield principles.

Strong-field Physics in Solids

The study of high-intensity laser-matter interaction is very promising in terms of extracting rich fundamental physics involved behind various phenomenon happening at the atomic level. Such studies have been made possible only due to the development of very sophisticated laser systems capable of delivering optical powers comparable to the strong inter-nuclear attractions holding together the electrons inside atoms or molecules constituting a given media. Generation of laser-like ultraviolet and soft X-ray radiation by utilizing lasers operating at near-infrared or mid-infrared laser wavelength is one such phenomenon we focus to study in this project. Many fundamental aspects of this phenomenon happening inside gases or low-density plasmas are well understood. However, the true mechanism of the similar phenomenon recently demonstrated by researchers in solids is yet to be confirmed. Our expertise currently lies in the study of laser-matter interaction inside low-density plasmas. We plan to study the similar laser interactions happening in specially fabricated thin films (i.e. in solids phase) of similar materials used to produce that plasma. The correlation between our previous understanding of the laser-plasma interactions and the experimental results we will obtain in our proposed experiments will be useful in extending our understanding of the less understood mechanism… (TBC)

Addressing obstetric violence in Brazil: Multi-stakeholder perspectives, empowerment, and care in the context of Brazil’s National Humanization of Labour and Childbirth Policy (Rio de Janeiro 2)

This research will explore the vision of professionals, women, partners, and decision –makers about the implementation of the Brazil national policy of humanization of childbirth. This research will review the specific roles of health promoters, nurses, physicians, social workers, psychologists and midwives in different health care organizations to educate women about their rights during the pregnancy, child delivery and post-partum. The research will promote a debate about the needed changes to improve the quality of care for those women and the collective level of awareness about the obstetric violence against women at their most vulnerable condition.

Addressing obstetric violence in Brazil: Multi-stakeholder perspectives, empowerment, and care in the context of Brazil’s National Humanization of Labour and Childbirth Policy (Brasília 3)

This research will explore the vision of professionals, women, partners, and decision –makers about the implementation of the Brazil national policy of humanization of childbirth. This research will review the specific roles of health promoters, nurses, physicians, social workers, psychologists and midwives in different health care organizations to educate women about their rights during the pregnancy, child delivery and post-partum. The research will promote a debate about the needed changes to improve the quality of care for those women and the collective level of awareness about the obstetric violence against women at their most vulnerable condition.

Addressing obstetric violence in Brazil: Multi-stakeholder perspectives, empowerment, and care in the context of Brazil’s National Humanization of Labour and Childbirth Policy (Beo Horizonte)

This research will explore the vision of professionals, women, partners, and decision –makers about the implementation of the Brazil national policy of humanization of childbirth. This research will review the specific roles of health promoters, nurses, physicians, social workers, psychologists and midwives in different health care organizations to educate women about their rights during the pregnancy, child delivery and post-partum. The research will promote a debate about the needed changes to improve the quality of care for those women and the collective level of awareness about the obstetric violence against women at their most vulnerable condition.

Addressing obstetric violence in Brazil: Multi-stakeholder perspectives, empowerment, and care in the context of Brazil’s National Humanization of Labour and Childbirth Policy (Joao Pessoa)

This research will explore the vision of professionals, women, partners, and decision –makers about the implementation of the Brazil national policy of humanization of childbirth. This research will review the specific roles of health promoters, nurses, physicians, social workers, psychologists and midwives in different health care organizations to educate women about their rights during the pregnancy, child delivery and post-partum. The research will promote a debate about the needed changes to improve the quality of care for those women and the collective level of awareness about the obstetric violence against women at their most vulnerable condition.

Genome Sequence Compression Algorithms Using Locally Consistent Parsing

The high throughput sequencing (HTS) platforms generate unprecedented amounts of data that introduce challenges in computational infrastructure. The requirement of large investments for this purpose almost signaled the end of the Sequence Read Archive hosted at the NCBI, which holds most of the sequence data generated worldwide.

Currently, most HTS data is compressed through general purpose algorithms such as gzip. These algorithms are not designed for compressing the data generated by the HTS platforms; for example they do not take advantage of the specific nature of the sequence data. Fast and efficient compression algorithms designed specifically for HTS data may be able to address some of the issues in data management, storage, and communication. Here we propose a “boosting” scheme based on Locally Consistent Parsing technique that reorganizes the reads in a way that results in a higher compression speed and compression rate, independent of the compression algorithm in use.

Nutrient balances (phosphorus and nitrogen) in Lake St. Charles, Quebec, and the evaluation of effectiveness of remediation scenarios for nutrient reductions on the lake’s water quality – Year two

Lake St. Charles is the primary drinking water reservoir of Quebec City, Canada, providing water to about 300,000 people. Over the past decade, several occurrences of blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) bloom have been recorded, affecting the quality of water in this strategic reservoir. Evaluation of observed data collected over the past decade indicates that the water quality of the lake is undergoing fast degradation due to anthropogenic activities around the lake and in the watershed. Further evaluation of field observations and their interpretation showed that the biweekly gaps between measurements, especially at high flow events, and lack of inclusion of all tributaries in previous studies produce uncertainties that decrease their suitability for making sound management decisions. Hence, to make better use of available data and to support decision making, this project aims to link water quality data from different sources with geomorphic, hydrometric and meteorological data through a comprehensive water quality model; providing a framework to assess the effect of various sources of nutrients on the water quality of Lake St. Charles. Model outcomes would help quantifying the relative amount of nutrients from each source to the lake.

Nutrient balances (phosphorus and nitrogen) in Lake St. Charles, Quebec, and the evaluation of effectiveness of remediation scenarios for nutrient reductions on the lake’s water quality

Lake St. Charles is the primary drinking water reservoir of Quebec City, Canada, providing water to about 300,000 people. Over the past decade, several occurrences of blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) bloom have been recorded, affecting the quality of water in this strategic reservoir. Evaluation of observed data collected over the past decade indicates that the water quality of the lake is undergoing fast degradation due to anthropogenic activities around the lake and in the watershed. Further evaluation of field observations and their interpretation showed that the biweekly gaps between measurements, especially at high flow events, and lack of inclusion of all tributaries in previous studies produce uncertainties that decrease their suitability for making sound management decisions. Hence, to make better use of available data and to support decision making, this project aims to link water quality data from different sources with geomorphic, hydrometric and meteorological data through a comprehensive water quality model; providing a framework to assess the effect of various sources of nutrients on the water quality of Lake St. Charles. Model outcomes would help quantifying the relative amount of nutrients from each source to the lake.

Development of a Novel Sustainable Adsorbent Unit for Indoor Air Purifiers – Year two

This project is with Airpura – a developer of indoor air purifiers. We plan to develop a prototype and upscale the technology of recyclable coated iron-oxide systems, incorporated in the design, from the laboratory-scale to final consumer product use. The newly introduced adsorbent system serves to increase the removal efficiency of the volatile pollutants less amenable to adsorption on activated carbon. The modules are intended to be recyclable following periods of use in the indoor air purifiers. The research will involve: 1) the efficiency and comparability experiments with other techniques, 2) testing of different configurations of the filtration/adsorption module assembly, and 3) recyclability tests of the prototype adsorption modules. Based on this project, Airpura is expected to have a new product with leading air purification efficiency for a wider range of pollutants and recyclable adsorption modules. Both features will provide an edge over the competition by introducting the technology to reduce the environmental impact of Airpura’s products and increase their marketability on the domestic and export markets as the ability to remove ketones and aldehydes and recyclability will be novel and unique characteristics setting Airpura’s products apart from the currently dominating products on the market.

Development of a Novel Sustainable Adsorbent Unit for Indoor Air Purifiers

This project is with Airpura – a developer of indoor air purifiers. We plan to develop a prototype and upscale the technology of recyclable coated iron-oxide systems, incorporated in the design, from the laboratory-scale to final consumer product use. The newly introduced adsorbent system serves to increase the removal efficiency of the volatile pollutants less amenable to adsorption on activated carbon. The modules are intended to be recyclable following periods of use in the indoor air purifiers. The research will involve: 1) the efficiency and comparability experiments with other techniques, 2) testing of different configurations of the filtration/adsorption module assembly, and 3) recyclability tests of the prototype adsorption modules. Based on this project, Airpura is expected to have a new product with leading air purification efficiency for a wider range of pollutants and recyclable adsorption modules. Both features will provide an edge over the competition by introducting the technology to reduce the environmental impact of Airpura’s products and increase their marketability on the domestic and export markets as the ability to remove ketones and aldehydes and recyclability will be novel and unique characteristics setting Airpura’s products apart from the currently dominating products on the market.