Innovative Projects Realized

Evaluation of MICROXCAM 384-HS imaging spectroscopy for applications in the pharmaceutical sector

The partner organization in this project has recently developed a new imaging technology that is a potentially suitable platform for the development of miniaturized imaging spectrometer instruments that can provide rapid qualitative analysis of diverse types of samples without use of any chemicals. These instruments have numerous potential practical applications in the agricultural, food, clinical, and pharmaceutical sectors, among others. The aim of this project is to investigate the analytical performance of this technology for selected applications in pharmaceutical sector. This research will be conducted by an intern who will have a unique opportunity to work with the opto-mechanical design team at the partner organization and gain experience with this emerging technology. The results of the project will provide the partner organization with a basis for identifying directions for the further development of its technology.

Model-Based Detection of Emergent Behavior in Distributed Systems usingan ontology-based approach

Lack of central control makes the design of distributed software systems a challenging task because of possible

unwanted behavior at runtime, commonly known as emergent behavior. In fact many faults are introduced into

the system at this stage of the software development life cycle. Therefore discovering and removing design

validation of distributed software systems prior to the implementation phase is greatly desirable as it results in

huge savings in time and cost. Developing methodologies to detect emergent behavior prior to the

implementation stage of the system can lead to huge savings in time and cost. However manual review of

requirements and design documents for real-life systems is inefficient and error prone; thus automation of

analysis methodologies is considered greatly beneficial. This paper proposes the utilization of an ontologybased

approach to analyze system requirements expressed by a set of message sequence charts (MSC). This

methodology involves building a domain-specific ontology of the system, and examines the requirements based

on this ontology.

Genome sequencing and analysis of the Echinacea genome to unravel new natural products

Echinacea purpurea is a popular herbal medicine with a global market of ?$1 billion but there is tremendous variability yet limited distinction between the products on the market. Amway Canada is a leader in the production and distribution of Echinacea products, and now aims to leverage the company`s unique Echinacea resources by sequencing the plant`s genetic code and identifying new and improved traits related to both agriculture and natural health products. The proposed project builds on an ongoing Echinacea breeding collaboration between members of the Department of Biology (Cory Harris) by adding new expertise in genome acquisition and analysis (Nicolas Corradi). Through comparisons of the Echinacea genome with plant relatives, Amway Canada will identify putative new genes and biochemical pathways to guide development of new products with improved medicinal properties for Canadian consumers.

Instituting Composite Knowledge About Living Architectural Systems

This project seeks to accumulate information on several focused research initiatives, either recently completed or currently being conducted by partners of the Living Architectural Systems (LAS) group, and provide analysis of these with respects to their potential contribution to a paradigm of “living systems” in architecture. This project is embedded in the need to transcend the communication/methodological barriers seen in traditional interdisciplinary collaborations. A collection of research with accompanying synthesis, as is proposed, has the substantial prospect of laying the groundwork towards equipping a new generation of architectural designers with the skills they need to work with complex, far-from equilibrium systems. Seifert Architect Inc. stands to benefit from this internship by directly applying the techniques being developed by the LAS to their evolving projects, such as lightweight scaffolds, composite component assemblies, and the integration of dynamic systems and sustainability analysis. TO BE CONT’D

Using advanced analytics to develop a multimodal signature of concussion and post-concussive syndrome

Concussions are extremely common in deployment and in military and civilian activities (i.e. sports). Persisting symptoms that make up “post-concussive syndrome” (PCS) including headaches, balance difficulties, depression and anxiety can occur in 10-15% of cases. The diagnosis of concussion and PCS is currently based on a patient’s report of their symptoms and a physical exam. Research, including our own, has explored the value of specific tests including those that use eye movements, neuropsychological tests and MRI. Although useful in the research setting, we do not understand the value of these tests when used together and need to know what aspects of those tests are most valuable in developing future tools that distinguish those who are injured from those who are not. TO BE CONT’D

Municipal Biological Nutrient Removal Bioreactor Upgrade Using Membrane Aerated Biofilm Reactors (MABR): Pilot Scale Investigation

Nitrogen and phosphorus are sources of eutrophication (e.g., “blue-green algae bloom”) in rivers and lakes. The bloom of blue-green algae can significantly affect aquatic lives and human activities because of the toxins that they produce. Therefore, it is crucial to reduce the nitrogen and phosphorous concentrations in municipal wastewater discharges. Conventional treatment techniques using activated sludge (AS) based biological nutrient removal (BNR) process often experiences system deficiency at low temperature (winter) and under increased hydraulic loads (e.g., snow melting events). In this study, pilot-scale membrane aerated biofilm reactors (MABR) will be tested to for their efficiency in the BNR process. Comparing to the conventional AS setup, the MABR configuration is more robust to system shocking and more energy efficient. The success of this project is expected to provide technical support for the future full-scale implementation of the MABR-BNR process at EPCOR’s GoldBar Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Investigating wildlife-road interactions in the Chignecto Isthmus Region

Roads threaten wildlife throughout the world when animals experience increased collisions with vehicles and decreased access to important habitat and resources. This research will investigate where animals are crossing roads in the Chignecto Isthmus of Nova Scotia, a region highly impacted by human development. The results will provide evidence for hotspots of negative wildlife-road interactions, with the goal of recommending effective changes to road infrastructure for the benefit of both animals and humans. The results will also help the Nature Conservancy Canada to better understand where wildlife are moving through the isthmus as they disperse between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Open-domain Contextual Conversation Generation

The objective of the project is to design a system that is able to generate context-wise reasonable and meaningful responses to open-domain conversation queries. In open-domain conversation generation, the retrieval-based methods and neural network generative models are two main approaches; there are also some recent research about improving the context consistency of conversation generation. In this project, we try to use context resolution model to complete the queries to include more information from context, and use ranking models to rank the candidates from the combination of retrieval-based generation and generative model, based on their relevance to both queries and context. We will also try to use generative adversarial network and reinforcement learning in generative models to make responses with higher qualities.

Interoperative Performance Measurement of Surgeons using Deep Learning

Surgery is undoubtedly one of the most important events in a person’s life. It is thus imperative that a feedback system is in place to ensure that proper care is provided to patients during surgery. Currently, such systems involve experienced surgeons watching hours of surgery to determine how well the surgery was performed based on pre-defined criteria. This project aims to assign the surgeon’s performance rating based on data from their previous procedures. In doing so, surgeons will be assigned a technical competence rating based on their performance. A consistent rating will help differentiate surgeons that are very skilled at their craft and ones that require more training. It will also provide surgeons with additional incentive to hone their skills thereby increasing positive outcomes for their patients.

Characterizing use of the Vancouver public bike share system through 2018

Public bikeshares intend to provide an active, accessible, environmentally friendly and compact transportation alternative—particularly useful for travelling short distances and the “last mile” of a trips to and within a busy, dense urban core. In 2016 Vancouver launched a public bikeshare. Vancouver’s climate, culture, and bike route system provides a strong foundation for success, but there are concerns given the all-ages helmet legislation, long debated as a barrier to uptake of cycling and a threat to public bike share success worldwide. A major expansion of the program is planned for spring 2018, with growth from 150 stations and 1500 bikes to 200 stations and 2000 bikes. This partnership project will examine the impact of Vancouver’s bikeshare on travel and health outcomes, in the context of the expanding program. This work will help the partner organization better understand the impacts and opportunities of their program.

System-Level Performance Analysis of Shared Relaying Architecture withRealistic Channel Modeling

Future wireless networks call for seamless coverage and higher data rates at low

infrastructure cost. Cooperative relaying strategies are among the most promising of future

technological solutions toward achieving this goal. The proposed research project intends to

evaluate the system-level performance of a specific relaying architecture called the shared

relaying network. To quantify the benefit of this network, intelligent wireless resource

management schemes will be developed using efficient mathematical optimization tools.

Based on these schemes, simulation platform will be built for systematic performance

evaluation. In order to obtain accurate and reliable assessment results, realistic wireless

heterogeneous channel modeling software from SIRADEL will be used. The results are

expected to provide insights on the advantages of the shared relaying architecture as

compared to other solutions. These insights will be helpful in extending the capabilities of the

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SIRADEL’s software product for future advanced wireless solutions, which is of great interest

to SIRADEL’s customers.

Potential roads for recovery of Atlantic salmon in Nova Scotian rivers

Atlantic salmon and its associated fisheries have a rich and complicated history in Nova Scotia. Commercial and recreational overfishing, as well as habitat damage and environmental pollution have all contributed to the species’ decline. For a century, work on rebuilding populations has met with varied successes. This history, and relative successes of different measures, will be reviewed and synthesized in this project, with a specific focus on potential recovery options for the Margaree in Cape Breton. Primary and secondary literature, combined with field work and key informant interviews will be used to make management recommendations for salmon recovery. Wild Salmon Unlimited, the partner in this proposal, will use the recommendations to chart a path forward for Atlantic salmon enhancement and recovery in the short and long term.