Innovative Projects Realized

The Right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent: Moving Towards its Implementation in Canada

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has established the right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) as an international standard. This right is especially important regarding the use of Indigenous peoples’ lands and resources by the extractive industry. Currently there is no common understanding about how this standard should be applied in a Canadian context and the policy gap is a barrier to its implementation. This research will contribute to creating coherence between the way FPIC is conceptualized and the way it is experienced by Indigenous communities in Canada. It will also help KAIROS Canada to meet the goals of their Indigenous rights action plan which aims, in part, to raise awareness amongst non-Indigenous Canadians about land rights issues. The research will be used to create educational resources that Indigenous communities, corporations, governments and community groups can use when embarking on projects that may involve FPIC.

Evaluating Natural Channel Design Performance in Southern Ontario

Natural channel design practices are continually evolving, but monitoring the performance and success of these urban river engineering projects is often limited to sparse point measurements of streamflow, stream morphology, and species inventories during the 2 – 5 years following construction. The result is relatively few data on the overall performance of natural channel design projects, both in terms of the original project goals and geomorphic function (no net erosion and deposition). Advances in survey technologies (e.g., Mobile Laser Scanning) allow high-resolution topographic data to be collected quickly in the field, which has the potential to improve both the quality of data collected as well as our overall understanding of how natural channel designs function geomorphically post-construction. TO BE CONT’D

Assessment of DNA Ministring technology in cell transfection and the treatment of Colorectal Cancer (CRC) – Year two

Despite the power of gene therapy, its successful application to medicine has been diminished due to: (i) high toxicities and potentially fatal adverse effects; (ii) poor transgene expression in target cells; and (iii) extensive vector degradation. While viral vectors greatly improve efficiency, they sometimes lead to cancers due to chromosomal integration and may suffer from a lack of desired tissue selectivity. In contrast, nonviral systems have proven safer, but less efficient. Developing highly effective and safe DNA vectors is essential.
The double-stranded DNA-minimal construct, called “DNA ministrings”, are miniaturized-DNA constructs carry only the expression cassette (promoter, gene of interest, intron, and nuclear translocation enhancing sequences). As such, DNA ministrings offer a much safer, yet highly effective alternative to current gene delivery vectors. TO BE CONT’D

Assessment of DNA Ministring technology in cell transfection and the treatment of Colorectal Cancer (CRC)

Despite the power of gene therapy, its successful application to medicine has been diminished due to: (i) high toxicities and potentially fatal adverse effects; (ii) poor transgene expression in target cells; and (iii) extensive vector degradation. While viral vectors greatly improve efficiency, they sometimes lead to cancers due to chromosomal integration and may suffer from a lack of desired tissue selectivity. In contrast, nonviral systems have proven safer, but less efficient. Developing highly effective and safe DNA vectors is essential.
The double-stranded DNA-minimal construct, called “DNA ministrings”, are miniaturized-DNA constructs carry only the expression cassette (promoter, gene of interest, intron, and nuclear translocation enhancing sequences). As such, DNA ministrings offer a much safer, yet highly effective alternative to current gene delivery vectors. TO BE CONT’D

Fruit Extract to Dyes – Elucidating the Mechanism of Dye Formation using Genipin to Unlock New Colours

Dyes which are either sourced directly or derived from naturally-occurring products are of growing interest in the cosmetics industry. Sourcing chemical dyes or their close precursors from natural products can significantly reduce the environmental impact of manufacture by reducing the number of derivatization and purification steps. The industrial partner, Inkbox Ink, currently uses genipin, a dye precursor derived primarily from extracts of the gardenia fruit, in their semi-permanent tattoo technologies. The general mechanism of action involves the reaction of genipin with primary amines, in this case amino acids in the skin. The mechanism by which a colourless fruit extract becomes a brilliant blue dye is poorly understood, with numerous reports providing contradictory hypotheses. The rare ability of genipin to rapidly form non-permanent skin dyes suggests a number of potential applications. In order to develop new target dyes and facilitating new dermal technologies, the mechanism of action must be better understood. This Elevate program endeavours to elucidate the mechanism through selective synthetic modifications and analytical experiments. The knowledge gained from these studies will be applied to the development of new dyes and skin-binding technologies for Inkbox to commercialize, allowing for rapid growth for a Canadian start-up company.

Iron battery: a safety, economic and environmentally friendly aqueous secondary battery – Year two

The past few decades have witnessed the unprecedented development of aqueous rechargeable batteries and there are many scientific groups focusing their interest on this energy technology research field. Ideal active electrode materials and plain economic considerations are the critical factors in the design of batteries. Among them, Fe//MnO2 aqueous battery is one of the best candidates because of lower cost, high safety and eco-friendliness. In addition, improved conductivity and better cycle performance can be obtained by carbon coating. This proposal mainly discusses the carbon coated Fe and MnO2 nanostructured materials for iron battery applications. Afterwards, this proposed iron battery will be used to light minor surgical lights on-site at our partner organization. Apparently, once the project is successful, our partner can reduce production costs, seize market share and maximize the company’s benefits.

Iron battery: a safety, economic and environmentally friendly aqueous secondary battery

The past few decades have witnessed the unprecedented development of aqueous rechargeable batteries and there are many scientific groups focusing their interest on this energy technology research field. Ideal active electrode materials and plain economic considerations are the critical factors in the design of batteries. Among them, Fe//MnO2 aqueous battery is one of the best candidates because of lower cost, high safety and eco-friendliness. In addition, improved conductivity and better cycle performance can be obtained by carbon coating. This proposal mainly discusses the carbon coated Fe and MnO2 nanostructured materials for iron battery applications. Afterwards, this proposed iron battery will be used to light minor surgical lights on-site at our partner organization. Apparently, once the project is successful, our partner can reduce production costs, seize market share and maximize the company’s benefits.

Evaluate and improve crop yield estimation models by assimilating UAV and satellite remote sensing data – Year two

It has been widely recognized that satellite remote sensing data have a great potential in retrieval of crop biophysical variable such as Leaf Area Index (LAI), vegetation canopy cover and fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (fAPAR), that are indicative of crop growth condition and yield formation. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) data are popular in precision agriculture applications, due to their advantage of flexibility, low cost and high spatial resolution.
This project proposes to (1) Calibrate and evaluate several crop yield models for corn and winter wheat in Southwestern Ontario through assimilating different remotely sensed datasets acquired by satellites and UAV. TO BE CONT’D

Evaluate and improve crop yield estimation models by assimilating UAV and satellite remote sensing data

It has been widely recognized that satellite remote sensing data have a great potential in retrieval of crop biophysical variable such as Leaf Area Index (LAI), vegetation canopy cover and fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (fAPAR), that are indicative of crop growth condition and yield formation. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) data are popular in precision agriculture applications, due to their advantage of flexibility, low cost and high spatial resolution.
This project proposes to (1) Calibrate and evaluate several crop yield models for corn and winter wheat in Southwestern Ontario through assimilating different remotely sensed datasets acquired by satellites and UAV. TO BE CONT’D

High Performance of Sulfide-based Electrolytes in All Solid-State Batteries for Safe Applications of Electric Vehicles – Year two

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have become a key player in the growing need for electric vehicles (EVs). State-of-the-art LIBs, using liquid electrolytes, still have significant challenges in their safety, lifespan, and energy density. Accordingly, solid-state lithium-ion batteries (SSLBs) have recently been attracting increasing research and industrial attention due to their ability to overcome intrinsic disadvantages of flammable liquid electrolytes used in current LIBs. The objective of this proposed research is to develop safe and high-performance SSLBs with sulfide-based electrolytes. The project includes two main directions: (1) synthesis of highly conductive and stable sulfide-based electrolytes; and (2) design of high-performance SSLBs with a stable interface between sulfide electrolytes and Li-ion cathode materials. GLABAT SOLID-STATE BATTERY INC. as an industrial partner will support and be involved in this project. The innovative research will help both GLABAT and Canada increase their global competitiveness and create new economic ventures.

Analyzing Gaps in Diversity Practices at The Scarborough Hospital using theDiversity Institute’s Diversity Audit Tool

This project is a systemic review and assessment of diversity strategies currently in place at The

Scarborough Hospital using the Diversity Institute’s Diversity Audit Tool (DAT). The DAT was

developed based on research into leading practices and offers a lens through which diversity

strategies can be analyzed; this will be the first time that it is applied to an organization within the

healthcare sector. The DAT will be used to measure the policies and practices aimed at increasing

diversity (in both its client base and the organization itself) currently in place at The Scarborough

Hospital by comparing them to the leading practices identified by the DAT. Special attention will be

paid in the subsequent analysis to the strengths and weaknesses of the tool to identify key areas

within this healthcare sector as well as to identify areas of improvement. Furthermore, the interpretive

framework for analysis will be informed by a targeted literature review, enabling the student to

recommend alternatives and…

High Performance of Sulfide-based Electrolytes in All Solid-State Batteries for Safe Applications of Electric Vehicles

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have become a key player in the growing need for electric vehicles (EVs). State-of-the-art LIBs, using liquid electrolytes, still have significant challenges in their safety, lifespan, and energy density. Accordingly, solid-state lithium-ion batteries (SSLBs) have recently been attracting increasing research and industrial attention due to their ability to overcome intrinsic disadvantages of flammable liquid electrolytes used in current LIBs. The objective of this proposed research is to develop safe and high-performance SSLBs with sulfide-based electrolytes. The project includes two main directions: (1) synthesis of highly conductive and stable sulfide-based electrolytes; and (2) design of high-performance SSLBs with a stable interface between sulfide electrolytes and Li-ion cathode materials. GLABAT SOLID-STATE BATTERY INC. as an industrial partner will support and be involved in this project. The innovative research will help both GLABAT and Canada increase their global competitiveness and create new economic ventures.