Innovative Projects Realized

Guide des matériaux récupérables pour le plex et la maison unifamiliale (Guide to reusable materials for plexes and single-family homes)

The intern will conduct an analysis of carbon and costs associated with different end of life scenarios for two common housing typologies, a single family house and a plex. This data for the different scenarios will be compiled into a diagram to help industry stakeholders easily understand the impact of different circular operations. The partner organization will include the diagram and use the analysis to propose different recommendations for contractors trying to implement circular operations when working in these two typologies. The results will be published in a guide the partner organization is creating to understand which materials have the potential to be recuperated and reused in single family houses and plexes, as well as their environmental and economic viability.

Implementing and Assessing the Pyramid Model for Promoting Socio-Emotional Competence in Early Childhood Educators: An Action Research Project in Prince Edward Island

This innovative project aims to implement and evaluate the Pyramid Model for Promoting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children framework (PM) for promoting social-emotional competence in the early learning and childcare sector (ELCC) in Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada. The project engages 18 Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) and 10 coaches across PEI over a two-year period. The initial year of the study has already secured funding. The present application seeks financial support exclusively for the final year. The implementation of this project is anticipated to lay the groundwork for a subsequent province-wide adoption of the PM framework. The partner organization, the PEI Early Childhood Development Association (ECDA), stands to gain significant benefits from this initiative. Firstly, the project will help ECDA with the implementation of a comprehensive, evidence-based professional development program for ECEs, addressing a critical gap in current practices. Moreover, the project will generate valuable data on the implementation fidelity and effectiveness of the PM framework within the PEI context. This information will be instrumental for ECDA in refining ECEs professional training programs and informing future policy decisions. Further, the participatory nature of the research will also foster a culture of continuous improvement and evidence-based practice within the organization. Additionally, the project’s focus on stakeholder dynamics and governance issues will provide ECDA with insights into systemic factors affecting early childhood education in PEI. This knowledge can guide strategic planning and resource allocation, enhancing ECDA’s overall effectiveness in supporting the ELCC sector of PEI.

Real-time Optimization Strategies for Swarms of Heterogeneous Drones

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Enhancement of eCB-MSC Cryorecovery

Our research project aims to preserve the post-thaw viability and functionality of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from equine cord blood (eCB-MSCs). The project addresses the challenge posed by asynchronous culture paired with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)-based cryopreservation, which may lead to cryoinjury, batch variability, and reduced therapeutic effectiveness. By investigating a novel DMSO-free cryoprotective agent in combination with cell-cycle synchronization via serum starvation, the research seeks to establish a more reliable cryopreservation protocol that better preserves the cells’ regenerative potential.

eQcell Inc. focuses on veterinary regenerative solutions while generating pre-clinical data to establish scientifically and economically efficient pathways for translating these advancements to human applications, utilizing a One Health approach. Through this research, eQcell aims to overcome the limitations of existing cryopreservation methods by improving the consistency, viability, and functionality of eCB-MSCs post-thaw. The successful development of a DMSO-free cryopreservation protocol could significantly enhance the therapeutic outcomes of MSC treatments, positioning eQcell at the forefront of equine regenerative medicine and potentially opening up new economic opportunities in the biotechnology sector.

HyMarine kit development, from parts to assembly

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Automatic Musical Classification for Intelligent Audio Tools

MixGenius works on automated musical production by real-time musical genre detection. High accuracy of genre detection for a variety of sub-genres is required for quality production and has yet to be achieved. The project involves researching available real-time high-accuracy musical genre detection methods and improving upon them, extracting each genre’s audio features, calibrating the algorithm with a database of songs of different genres, testing them with other songs of the same genres and repeating the process as needed to improve detection accuracy.
The partner organization will benefit from insight into academia and access to state of the art genre detection research, new software modeled and created, superior results from music engine product gained by knowledge of genre, and implementation that is reusable and expandable for future development.

Multi-criteria traffic danger assessment

Traffic danger is a serious consideration not only because it causes death and severe injury, but also as a barrier to independent travel by children. A key local destination that nearly all children attend are schools, which results in a concentration of children going to these places often when adults are heading out for work or other reasons. Cities have limited budgets to improve conditions and so they must prioritize where and what they will do. As well, not every department sees the problem in the same way. This collaboration will help the City of Westmount build a tool that takes into account the different considerations when making such decisions. The research will apply a multi-criteria decision aiding approach that allows for many considerations, requires concensus between the diverse participating members, allows for non-linear relationships, and allows for different criteria to more or less weight in the outcome.

3D Printing of Beta-Tricalcium Phosphate constructs for Post Cancer Maxillectomy Patients

The maxillectomy is a surgical procedure, involving the removal of parts of the maxillary bone due to either congenital defects, traumatic conditions, or osteogenic and non-osteogenic tumors. The current gold standard of treatment involves the auto-grafting of bone from a second surgical site such as the fibula, into the maxilla; a practice that increases the risk of site morbidity, graft failure, and infection. The goal of this study, is to investigate the potential and utility of beta-tricalcium phosphate (B-TCP), a novel biocompatible and bioresorbable ceramic, as a suitable bio-material for 3D printed prosthetics, set to replace bone grafting as the gold standard procedure in maxillofacial reconstructive surgeries. While closely resembling human bone, B-TCP provides a scaffold that promotes bone regeneration and can also resorb to create space for new bone tissue to take its place. While utilizing the innate properties of B-TCP, there will be additional doping of novel bone anabolic conjugate (MES 1007), to amplify the regeneration process. The application of 3D printing allows for grafts customized to the patient’s defect aiding in reconstruction and reducing surgical time. Increased biocompatibility limits the risk of graft failure and leads to shorter recovery times.

Enhancing Wastewater Management: Optimizing Water Quality Measurement in Treatment Processes

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Determining Optimal Study Design Utilizing Synthetic Data

Realistic data generation has become a hot topic in health research, especially to determine optimal randomized clinical trial design. A growing field of research is “virtual” trials, which are trials conducted through computer simulations to generate synthetic data such that the generated distribution mimics the original data distribution without simply copying the original observations. Especially in more complex trials with multiple treatment arms and treatments that can change over time, it would be of great benefit to study different iterations of study designs in a timely, efficient manner to determine which study design to implement in a full scale, real-life trial. However, there is a lack of consensus regarding how best to harness synthetic data to inform trial design, especially within the context of time-varying treatments that are commonplace in treating chronic illnesses. This project aims to develop a statistical framework for utilizing realistic synthetic trial data to inform optimal trial design. This work will be of value to both institutions, as governmental bodies in both places (North America and Europe) have recently provided guidelines to clinicians regarding implementing trials that utilize external (including synthetic) data.

Atlantic Coast Arboretum Catchment Area Ecosystem and Forest-focussed Cultural Heritage Survey

The project will identify and then collate information from a variety of ecological, arboreal, and forestry history sources which will provide foundational documentation about the Atlantic Coast Arboretum Catchment Area, that in turn will be used create an arcsGIS publicly accessible storymap, as well as providing a comprehensive guide to the species to be included in the creation of the Atlantic Coast Arboretum.

High-frequency monitoring of the start-up and temperature impacts of a biofilm-enhanced

Lagoons are the most popular wastewater treatment technology in Canada with hundreds of installations across the country. Most of these systems will require upgrades in order to increase their treatment capacity or to comply with new regulations such as the Wastewater Systems Effluent Regulations registered by the Government of Canada. Bionest is developing at the present time the BIONEST KAMAKTM technology to enhance lagoon capacity. Automated monitoring stations will be used in order to better understand the BIONEST KAMAKTM treatment capacity, especially during start-up of the system and under decreasing temperature conditions. As the quality of the data collected with monitoring stations is sometimes suffering, automated data quality assessment tools will be developed to ensure good water quality time series. This project will provide guidance to Bionest in making required changes to the technology to improve its wastewater treatment capacity and enhance its competitiveness on the national and international scene.