Innovative Projects Realized

Displacement-based Design of Hybrid Steel-timber Structures – Year two

Driven by heightened environmental awareness, the construction industry increasingly strives to utilize materials such as timber with a low-carbon footprint in their life cycle. High-strength mass-timber products, innovative ductile connections, and fast computer-numerically-controlled pre-fabrication, combined with changing legislation create better opportunities to also build tall timber structures. However, low ductility and limited tensile strength of timber are challenges for such buildings particularly in high seismic zones. By contrast, steel exhibits high ductility and tensile strength; the hybridization of steel and timber is an intriguing solution that offers new design opportunities. Current codes and standards, however, do not provide any design guidance for timber-steel hybrid structures. Displacement-based design (DBD) in which the seismic design problem is reduced to the evaluation of the allowed displacement and required strength that ensures all performance objectives are satisfied, has been identified as a promising approach. TO BE CONT’D

Displacement-based Design of Hybrid Steel-timber Structures

Driven by heightened environmental awareness, the construction industry increasingly strives to utilize materials such as timber with a low-carbon footprint in their life cycle. High-strength mass-timber products, innovative ductile connections, and fast computer-numerically-controlled pre-fabrication, combined with changing legislation create better opportunities to also build tall timber structures. However, low ductility and limited tensile strength of timber are challenges for such buildings particularly in high seismic zones. By contrast, steel exhibits high ductility and tensile strength; the hybridization of steel and timber is an intriguing solution that offers new design opportunities. Current codes and standards, however, do not provide any design guidance for timber-steel hybrid structures. Displacement-based design (DBD) in which the seismic design problem is reduced to the evaluation of the allowed displacement and required strength that ensures all performance objectives are satisfied, has been identified as a promising approach. TO BE CONT’D

Landscapes of Injustice, Curatorial Postdoctoral Fellowship – Year two

Amaratunga Railton’s proposed project is to take a leading role in curating the capstone public output of Landscapes of Injustice (LOI). LOI is a 7-year, intersectoral community-engaged research project exploring the dispossession of Japanese Canadians during the 1940s. LOI illustrates (1) the violation of human and civil rights at a time of perceived insecurity; (2) measures taken in the name of national defence; (3) the enduring harm of mass displacement, and loss of home and property; (4) human resilience. The travelling exhibit is one major research output of the project, culminating 4-years of intensive research by a national team. Under the direction of the Director/Curator of the Nikkei National Museum (NNM), the fellow will conduct research within the archives and scholarly outputs of LOI to create a major travelling exhibit to museums and institutions across Canada, with potential destinations abroad. TO BE CONT”D

Landscapes of Injustice, Curatorial Postdoctoral Fellowship

Amaratunga Railton’s proposed project is to take a leading role in curating the capstone public output of Landscapes of Injustice (LOI). LOI is a 7-year, intersectoral community-engaged research project exploring the dispossession of Japanese Canadians during the 1940s. LOI illustrates (1) the violation of human and civil rights at a time of perceived insecurity; (2) measures taken in the name of national defence; (3) the enduring harm of mass displacement, and loss of home and property; (4) human resilience. The travelling exhibit is one major research output of the project, culminating 4-years of intensive research by a national team. Under the direction of the Director/Curator of the Nikkei National Museum (NNM), the fellow will conduct research within the archives and scholarly outputs of LOI to create a major travelling exhibit to museums and institutions across Canada, with potential destinations abroad. TO BE CONT”D

Investigating the cell biology of cannabinoid synthesis in Cannabis sativa

Cannabis sativa is a plant well-known for its production of cannabinoids, which are lipids with unique pharmacological properties. These compounds are produced mainly in female floral buds in specialized epidermal outgrowths known as glandular trichomes. These structures consist of a long stalk supporting a disk of biosynthetically active cells that produce the cannabinoids. Cannabinoid biosynthesis begins inside specialized non-photosynthetic plastids and the later steps of the pathway are catalyzed by cytoplasmic enzymes, however there exists a paucity of information on how the highly lipidic cannabinoids move among the various intracellular organelles. Such high lipid levels are predicted to produce lipotoxicity, but the disk cells must have mechanisms for sequestering the lipid products to avoid disruption of cellular membranes. Thus, my objective is to elucidate how cannabinoids are compartmentalized and trafficked within trichome disk cells, particularly focusing on lipid droplets (LDs) as potential sites of lipid buffering, and to identify novel proteins involved in this process. I expect the execution of my research objective to produce new insights into the cell biology of cannabinoid synthesis that should be directly beneficial for the partner organization BioCan Technologies Inc., a cannabis company seeking to increase cannabinoid content while avoiding lipotoxicity.

Development of Advanced Smart Medical Bandage Using Memory Polymeric Film/Yarn Actuator – Year two

Bandages have been used to provide compression therapy to manage chronic venous disorders such as leg ulcers and other muscle related orthopedic issues. They have several major problems such as pressure loss over time, no external pressure control, and no massage benefit which make inefficient treatment. There is an imperious need of any innovation which could solve these practical issues. Based on the applicant’s research expertise, a stimulus responsive smart memory polymeric material is proposed to use as a film/yarn in the bandage to control the pressure externally. Memory polymer will be synthesized/engineered to actuate around human body-temperature. A novel stress-memory behavior will be systematically investigated, where the force can be externally modulated. The film/yarn will be integrated into textile bandage with nanofibrous sensor to prepare the medical device for real-time pressure monitoring. The performance evaluation will be carried out to ensure the practical feasibility. TO BE CONT’D

Development of Advanced Smart Medical Bandage Using Memory Polymeric Film/Yarn Actuator

Bandages have been used to provide compression therapy to manage chronic venous disorders such as leg ulcers and other muscle related orthopedic issues. They have several major problems such as pressure loss over time, no external pressure control, and no massage benefit which make inefficient treatment. There is an imperious need of any innovation which could solve these practical issues. Based on the applicant’s research expertise, a stimulus responsive smart memory polymeric material is proposed to use as a film/yarn in the bandage to control the pressure externally. Memory polymer will be synthesized/engineered to actuate around human body-temperature. A novel stress-memory behavior will be systematically investigated, where the force can be externally modulated. The film/yarn will be integrated into textile bandage with nanofibrous sensor to prepare the medical device for real-time pressure monitoring. The performance evaluation will be carried out to ensure the practical feasibility. TO BE CONT’D

Landscape-scale reconstruction of the spatio-temporal attributes and biophysical drivers of mixed-severity fire regimes in the Alberta Foothills – Year two

Ecosystem-based management (EBM) presumes that sustainability is a function of how well we understand ecosystem function and ecological dynamics. This includes understanding relationships among climate, disturbance, vegetation patterns, and ecological services. Recent research on the historical ecology of montane forests in western Canada has challenged the long-standing notion that stand-replacing fires characterized the landscape. Instead, a mixed-severity regime (MSFR) existed in portions of the montane forest. To evaluate the implications of these findings for EBM, new research is needed to quantify the prevalence of MSFRs and describe their ecological dynamics. TO BE CONT’D

Landscape-scale reconstruction of the spatio-temporal attributes and biophysical drivers of mixed-severity fire regimes in the Alberta Foothills

Ecosystem-based management (EBM) presumes that sustainability is a function of how well we understand ecosystem function and ecological dynamics. This includes understanding relationships among climate, disturbance, vegetation patterns, and ecological services. Recent research on the historical ecology of montane forests in western Canada has challenged the long-standing notion that stand-replacing fires characterized the landscape. Instead, a mixed-severity regime (MSFR) existed in portions of the montane forest. To evaluate the implications of these findings for EBM, new research is needed to quantify the prevalence of MSFRs and describe their ecological dynamics. TO BE CONT’D

Feasibility of Micro-scale Wind Turbines in Ontario.

My proposed research will investigate the feasibility of small scale wind turbines in Ontario in

adapting to a changing climate via alternative energy strategies. I shall also be working with

the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority to develop a standardized testing of these

small scale wind turbines which will be unique in Ontario. The TRCA will benefit from the

research in the hopes of establishing the research site at the Kortright Centre for

Conservation as the official testing site of these aerogenerators.

Development of Cerebral Perfusion Technology

Medtronic is a global medical device company and leader in patient monitoring technologies that has a key area of interest for developing technology to effectively monitor patients’ cerebral blood flow (i.e., perfusion) in relation to systemic blood pressure.
Maintaining a prescribed intra-operative blood pressure range for patients does not guarantee a healthy cerebral blood flow, as they are two independent feedback mechanisms. Studies have demonstrated that current intra-operative blood pressure ranges may lead to an unhealthy cerebral blood flow in some patients which indicates that a healthy blood pressure range is patient specific. As a patient’s blood pressure begins to increase or decrease outside of this healthy range, so does cerebral blood flow in commensurate fashion begin to move outside of a healthy blood flow range. Sub-optimal cerebral blood flow perfusion during surgery predisposes patients to a higher risk for delirium or stroke. TO BE CONT’D

Phase 1 of Enhanced Measurement-Based Care Effectiveness for Depression (EMBED): A Canada-China Implementation Project (Salary Support for Postdoctoral Research Fellow) – Year two

EMBED (Enhanced Measurement-Based Care Effectiveness for Depression) is a multistage collaboration between mental health researchers and advocates based in Canada, China, USA, and Australia. Jointly funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, this 5-year program is the first major research initiative of the APEC Digital Hub for Mental Health (http://mentalhealth.apec.org), which is hosted at the University of British Columbia in partnership with University of Alberta and the Mood Disorders Society of Canada, along with over 15 core partners from ministries of health and academic institutions across the Asia-Pacific region. This project will develop a novel, evidence-based implementation strategy for improving clinical care for depression in Shanghai, China, based on technology-enhanced measurement-based care (eMBC) tools developed by Canadian team members. TO BE CONT’D