Innovative Projects Realized

La concertation en faveur de la petite enfance : expériences municipales inspirantes et pistes d’action

Au sein des collectivités, la concertation entre acteurs locaux (municipalité, milieu scolaire, de la santé, associatif, etc.) constitue souvent une condition pour la réalisation d’actions effectives en faveur de groupes sociaux comme les enfants. Cette concertation peut se décliner de plusieurs manières (collaboration, partenariat, etc.) et faire face à différents obstacles et opportunités. Menée en partenariat avec le Carrefour action municipale et famille (CAMF), cette recherche vise à relever et à analyser des pratiques québécoises inspirantes en matière de concertation entre différents acteurs locaux en faveur des enfants âgés de 0 à 4 ans et de leurs familles. Sur la base de l’analyse de ces pratiques inspirantes, un guide pratique à l’intention des milieux locaux québécoi

Vers le remplacement des antibiotiques facteurs de croissance chez le poulet : approche par méta-analyse

Les antibiotiques facteurs de croissance ajoutés dans les aliments pour animaux seront interdits ou leur utilisation sera considérablement restreinte dans le futur. Ainsi, plutôt que de seulement contrôler les maladies entériques, des efforts doivent être faits pour améliorer la santé de l’écosystème intestinal. Il existe de nombreuses alternatives telles les immunostimulants, les bactériophages, les peptides antimicrobiens, les pro- et les pré- biotiques, les huiles essentielles, les extraits de plantes et les enzymes qui moduleraient l’écosystème intestinal. Le mode d’action de ces produits n’est pas bien connu et leurs impacts sur la croissance et la prévention des maladies digestives restent essentiellement variables malgré le grand nombre de publications sur les alternatives aux antibiotiques chez les poulets de chair. La méta-analyse a été choisie comme outil pour résumer et quantifier les connaissances acquises notamment les effets des antibiotiques et des alternatives. Les stratégies les plus pertinentes seront ainsi identifiées et éventuellement testées.

Study and Development of Energy-efficient Collaborative AI Technologies in Greenhouse Nursery Robotic Systems

The proposed project aims to address several challenges that the nursery robots made by AIS Inc. is grappling with. The project tasks are divided into two subprojects: 1) optimizing the electrical and control systems for the AIS robots, and 2) designing a multi-agent system to allow collaboration among the robots. The first subproject consists of estimating the state of charge of the robot’s battery, and designing and building appropriate self-tuning PID controller for the motor drives installed in robots. It will also modify and optimize the electrical boards which are currently used for supplying the electrical components towards an improved customer replacement unit for user’s convenience. The second subproject aims to design and implement a multi-agent artificial intelligence system in which robots can distribute their tasks among each other. It will decrease the task accomplishment time and energy consumption. TO BE CONT’D

Nonlinear mechanical (multiaxial) fatigue of polymers

Failure of a material under a repetitive load is called (mechanical) fatigue. Our goal is to substantially improve the understanding of the fatigue process by following continuously the material’s properties/response to a specific type of load during a test. We have developed some understanding for tests in torsion, allowing us to detect macroscopic cracks instantaneously from the materials response, with no need of external devices like a video recording or to predict the lifetime of a sample during the tests from its properties. The goal of our project is to show that our theories still work under more complex but more realistic conditions. For example in biaxial fatigue; i.e. when the sample is deformed in two ways at the same time, mainly by a combination of torsion and elongation. TO BE CONT’D

Impacts of once-through cooling on the aquatic environment

Many thermal power plants, including Bruce Power, rely on once-through cooling using water from the Great Lakes. The warmer water that is released back into the lake has the potential to impact temperature sensitive aquatic species that occupy the near shore water close to the discharges. The proposed research will investigate the genetic population structure of three fish species surrounding Bruce Power (lake whitefish, round whitefish, yellow perch), and study the impacts of varying water temperature on embryonic development and post-hatch fitness. This research will benefit the partner organization by furthering their understanding of the aquatic ecosystem surrounding Bruce Power and ensuring that current operations are not having a significant impact on fish survival and development.

Sediment Removal Frequency Optimization for Wet-Detention Stormwater Management Ponds

Sediment build-up in stormwater management ponds decreases their overall capacity to hold

water and reduces their efficiency, in terms of controlling pollution. For this reason, and in

order to comply with government regulations, municipalities must remove the sediment

periodically. Determining when maintenance is required is difficult because it depends on a

number of factors, and the actual cost of sediment removal from a wet pond is difficult to

predict. The results obtained from this internship will directly benefit the Town of Richmond

Hill in determining the schedule of maintenance activities for their wet ponds, potentially

providing cost-savings to the municipality. The Sernas Group will benefit from the developed

sediment loading model, which they will be able to utilize in future similar projects in Ontario.

Waste heat recovery in aluminium smelters: technical and economic analysis (part II)

Aluminium smelters are energy intensive and not particularly energy efficient, as most of the energy required to produce aluminium is lost along the production line. This is the reason why it is mandatory to perform a detailed analysis of the thermal wastes produced in these factories. The main objective of this project is to investigate the solutions to recover the thermal wastes and to convert them into useful power. The feasibility of these solutions is analysed by considering technological and economic aspects: in this way, a reliable solution to improve the energy efficiency in aluminium smelter is provided.

Versatile Systems-on-Chip Integration to Reduce Aircraft Weight and Gas Emission (VairCRAFT)

The aeronautic and aerospace industries are exploring new approached to reduce the mass of cables, bulky electronic systems. This rationally leads onto aircraft weight reduction as well as the amount of CO2 and greenhouse gas emitted by aircrafts. To reduce the mass of cables, merging/embedding different electronic systems in a single chip is an alternative. In this approach, massive electronic modules are miniaturized in a so-called SoC. Different SoCs can be embedded in a single package called SiP. Having had such techniques, it is anticipated to lower the number of bulky devices in an aircraft resulting in reduce amount of green house gass.

Effet des changements climatiques anticipés sur les bryophytes en forêt boréale mixte

Les changements climatiques influencent la distribution des espèces. Notre étude souhaite étudier cet effet en divisant le climat en deux périodes : climat passé (1950-1980) et actuel (1980-2010) sur la base du basculement des températures mondiales en 1980. Cette étude est réalisée en forêt boréale et se concentre sur les bryophytes (mousses, hépatiques et sphaigne) qui en sont des éléments structurants fondamentaux. Nous souhaitons étudier la distribution des bryophytes en réponse au climat et identifier des espèces bioindicatrices des variations climatiques. Une réponse préférentielle au climat passé ou actuel suggérera respectivement une adaptation « à retardement » ou « en temps réel » des bryophytes au climat et nous renseignera sur les capacités d’adaptations de la forêt boréale aux changements climatiques. La connaissance de cette relation permettra d’améliorer les outils de recherche sur de tels sujets et d’appréhender la réponse des écosystèmes et de la biodiversité aux variations climatiques futures.

Simulation and analysis of light scatter in head mounted display lens

Head-mounted display (HMD) lenses can include a high degree of scattering (ghosting) which reduces brightness and contrast, and is distracting to the user. This can directly impact the utility of the device, if for instance some of the display is illegible because of excess light scatter and blurring. In this research, we want to investigate ways to model sources of light scattering in a HMD with freeform lenses, using non-sequential raytracing software. From the results of the investigation, recommendations will be made with regards to the to the design of freeform lens to reduce the light scattering while maintaining image quality and brightness. Then, we will make freeform lenses with recommended design changes and compare their optical performances.

Designing quality control strategies to assess the self-assembly and biological stability of chitosan nanoparticles

In this grant, the consortium will develop new methods to characterize nanoparticles prepared with a proprietary polymer. This study will enable the fabrication and characterization of better performing nano-sized particles encapsulating therapeutic molecules, commonly called nanomedicines. This study will allow to monitor how the polymers self-assemble into nanoobjects under different conditions, and to study how the nanoparticles perform in various environments. The project will develop and validate methods to streamline the development of nanoparticles with a variety of characteristics. Eventually, this technology will translate into the development of a new generation of drugs to treat various important human ailments, notably cancer, antibiotic-resistance, and neurologic diseases.

Evaluation of probiotic bacterial strains for enhanced microbial biotransformation of polyphenol-rich potato extract

The proposed project searches to understand the effect of probiotic bacterial strains belonging to the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium genera on the degradation and bioavailability of phenolic compounds present in potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) after in vitro digestion. The more easily absorbed metabolites are associated with protective effects against cancer and diabetes mellitus type II. Additionally, the combination of probiotics with phenolic-rich potato extract may have beneficial effects on the human colonic bacterial composition. Lallemand Inc., the partner organization that produces the probiotics, will benefit from this study as its results will describe additional health benefits through the consumption of their products.