19614 research outputs found
Sort by
SecureBid: Sealed-Bid auctions on the blockchain
No full textOver the summer term, I conducted a hands-on exploration of blockchain technology. I surveyed the infrastructure of blockchain, its current and potential applications, as well as its benefits and drawbacks. I implemented a smart contract for secure online auctions using hash functions, to preserve bidder honesty and to prevent auctioneer corruption. I began my research by following an online course on blockchain technology, as well as attending ECE 406: Applied Cryptography, a UVic course taught by my supervisor, Dr. Riham AlTawy. Both these courses developed my understanding of the concepts and techniques necessary to build and understand a blockchain application. I also began studying existing decentralised apps (DApps), specifically an auction DApp similar to what I aimed to build. Whereas the auction DApp I studied used more advanced techniques including elliptic curve cryptography, I was able to implement the necessary cryptographic properties for my DApp using hash functions, one of the most fundamental cryptographic primitives.Valerie Kuehne Undergraduate Research Awards (VKURA)UndergraduateReviewe
Effects of transition from remote to in-person learning in university students: A longitudinal study
No full textPrevious studies have shown that the transition from the University environment to remote learning impacted student mental health. Our study aimed to investigate the effects of university environment on anxiety and depressive symptoms in health sciences students. Students at the Technical University of Manabí, Ecuador, with 6–10 in-person semesters, who shifted to remote learning and then returned to face-to-face learning were selected. Students responded to the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). In addition, questions regarding social interaction, physical exercise, mood and sleep habits were also asked. This longitudinal study tracked 323 students during the return to in-person classes and term end. The results showed similar rates of anxiety (GAD-7, p = 0.011-p = 0.002) and depression (PHQ-9 p = 0.001-p = 0.032) among students at week 1 and week 15. Previous diagnosis of depression (OR, 0.171; CI 0.050–0.579, p < 0.005) was shown to correlate with depression levels in week 1, with no changes seen at follow-up. Anxiety levels were shown to be associated with a previous diagnosis of the disorder at week 1, but not at follow-up (OR 0.233; CI 0.085–0.643, p < 0.005). The return to in-person learning among university students maintained levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms, underscoring ongoing vulnerabilities to mental health disorders in this group.FacultyReviewe
Development of Novel Palladacycles for Synthesis Optimization of Drug Candidates
Full text linkDirect alkenylation and arylation reactions have been developed as a simpler synthetic pathway to access alkenylarene derivatives as they are important scaffolds in biologically active compounds. The goal of this research is the development of functionalized tri-tert-butyl phosphine palladacycle catalysts to undergo C-H functionalization for the synthesis of drug scaffolds. In this research, we developed functionalized tri-tert-butyl phosphine palladacycles for three novel transformations. During the first project, we improved the synthetic pathway of an anti-cancer drug candidate by incorporating a pyridine derivative into the palladacycle structure. In the second project, those same catalysts were used in the regioselective alkenylation of thiazoles. There are multiple examples where thiazole cores are functionalized at different positions in drug candidates. We have also used High Throughput Experimentation (HTE) to study the versatility of our catalysts in the C-H functionalization of cyclopropanes. These are common scaffolds in anti-HIV and anti-RSV drugs.Jamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Awards (JCURA)UndergraduateReviewe
Tetradactyl theropod ichnotaxa and their trackmakers
Full text linkWhile most theropod dinosaurs would have left behind tridactyl (three-toed) footprints, there are rare occurrences of tetradactyl (four-toed) theropod footprints in the palaeoichnological record. Previously, diagnostic criteria between the tetradactyl theropod ichnogenera Saurexallopus and Ordexallopus were poorly defined. Systematic revision of ichnotaxonomy now separates these two ichnotaxa on the basis of digit I orientation. The trackmaker for Saurexallopus has been debated since the ichnogenus was first described. Arguments were split between Oviraptorosauria and Therizinosauria. Based on morphological observation and multivariate comparison of measurements for skeletal and footprint material, an Oviraptorosaurian affinity is preferable. The discovery of a novel ichnospecies of Saurexallopus, S. neesowatchiensis, from the Aptian-Albian Gething Formation of northeastern British Columbia, Canada has implications for an earlier appearance of gigantic oviraptorosaurs in North America and an earlier appearance of Oviraptorosauria in Canada.Graduate2025-08-0
On the multidisciplinary design of a hybrid rocket launcher with a composite overwrapped pressure vessel
No full textA multidisciplinary design optimisation (MDO) study of a hybrid rocket launcher is presented, with a focus on quantifying the impact of using composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs) as the oxidiser tank. The rocket hybrid propulsion system (RHPS) consists of a combination of solid fuel (paraffin) and liquid oxidiser (NOx). The oxidiser is conventionally stored in metallic vessels. Alternative design concepts involving composite-based pressure vessels are explored that could lead to significant improvements in the overall performance of the rocket. This design choice may potentially affect parameters such as total weight, thrust curve, and maximum altitude achieved. With this eventual impact in mind, structural considerations such as wall thickness for the COPV are integrated into an in-house MDO framework to conceptually optimise a hybrid rocket launcher.This research was funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), through IDMEC and INEGI, under LAETA, projects UIDB/50022/2020 and UIDP/50022/2020.FacultyReviewe
Labour and Love: Working-Class Lesbians in Vancouver, 1970-1983
Full text linkThe experiences of working-class lesbians in Canada after 1969 have not been adequately addressed in historical scholarship. This thesis addresses that gap, using oral history interviews conducted with six working-class lesbians who lived in Vancouver during the 1970s and early 1980s. Situating the interviewees in relation to other working-class lesbians, within the leftist political movements, and within lesbian feminist community, reveals complex trends around class, politics, education, and culture. The cohort of interviewees were found to be removed from some elements of working-class culture; however, they also did not neatly fit into the mixed and middle-class feminist spaces they frequented. Upward mobility resulting from political engagement and education is posited as a reason why interviewees may have experienced a level of removal from working-class culture. Examining interviewees’ relationships to working-class lesbian culture and upward mobility begins the work of connecting the disparate bodies of scholarship that examine pre- and post-1970 lesbian history. Examining interviewees’ relationships to lesbian feminist community indicates the ongoing significance of their class backgrounds as well as the central role feminism played in their lives. By detailing the interviewees’ experiences of love and classism within the lesbian feminist community, this thesis begins the work of including working-class lesbian experiences into historical scholarship after 1969.Graduate2025-12-2
Metal Enrichments During Magma-Carbonate Interactions in the Jurassic Bonanza Arc
Full text linkThe atmospheric carbon budget is dominated by the long-term (>1 Myr) carbon cycle and has great implications on Earth’s habitability. One potential source of degassed carbon can be derived from magma-wallrock interactions within the overlying continental plate. This thesis is focused on carbonate interactions with meter-scale dikes within the Jurassic Bonanza arc on Northern Vancouver Island. Two types of samples were investigated: (1) bulk rock samples and (2) micro-slice sampled from a single 25 cm cross-section of dike 79B. Major and trace element chemistry was collected using LA-ICP-MS. We discovered that the dikes show anomalous variations in concentration for Sr, U, MnO2, and Na2O along their profile. One explanation for the enriched Sr concentrations can be explained using binary mixing models which indicate that the dikes assimilated a primitive limestone source with up to 10,000 ppm Sr. Additionally, the reacted boundary melts are enriched in Ca and depleted in silica which increases their capacity to transport sulfur. Data suggests that the dike margins can solubilize three times more sulfur species compared to the dike interior which has important implications on ore metal deposition. Overall, shallow magma-carbonate interactions greatly affect dike geochemistry which leads to enhanced CO2 production and ore mineralization.Jamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Awards (JCURA)UndergraduateReviewe
PUF Evaluation Metrics on 7 Series FPGA: Comparative Analysis of Arbiter, XOR Arbiter, and Double Arbiter PUFs for Uniqueness, Randomness, and Stability
Full text linkHardware security modules play a crucial role in protecting and preserving technologically integrated systems that are used in daily life. They employ cryptographic protocols to secure a system against adversaries. Generally, cryptographic algorithms and security keys are essential for maintaining the security of a system. Cryptography uses a secret key to encipher and decipher the data. The confidential keys are stored in a non-volatile memory, making it easily accessible to potential attackers.The hardware security primitive, Physical Unclonable Function (PUF) is a promising alternative for enhancing the security of interconnected devices. Physical Unclonable Functions are specialized circuit components that exploit the subtle variations inherent in microchip fabrication. These variances enable the creation of unique "fingerprint" output sequences, or responses, in reaction to specific inputs or challenges. The random, device-specific nature of these variations and their replication difficulty - even by the original manufacturer using identical methods, tools, and parameters - make PUFs an excellent choice for cryptographic key generation. Moreover, these characteristics are designed to remain unchanged, reinforcing their suitability for this application.
The Arbiter-based Physically Unclonable Function (PUF) is a type of delay-based PUF that utilizes signal delay-line time differences. However, previous studies indicated that Arbiter PUF, when implemented on Xilinx Virtex-5 FPGAs, produced nearly identical responses by exhibiting low uniqueness. Other variants of Arbiter PUF, such as XOR Arbiter PUF and the Double Arbiter PUF, were introduced to address this issue. This novel technique generates highly unique responses from duplicated Arbiter PUFs on FPGAs at a comparable cost to the 2-XOR Arbiter PUF. The Double Arbiter PUF differs from the 2-XOR version in the mode of operation, particularly regarding wire assignment between the arbiter and the final selector output signals.
This study evaluates these PUFs for uniqueness, randomness, and stability on Xilinx 7-series FPGA Devices and seeks to identify a new Arbiter PUF operation mode that is feasible for FPGA implementation. We propose the 3-1 Double Arbiter PUF, which includes an extra duplicated Arbiter PUF, yielding three Arbiter PUFs that produce a 1-bit response. When compared with the 3-XOR Arbiter PUF, the 3-1 Double Arbiter PUF shows better response uniqueness and randomness estimated at 50%, indicating that the evaluation metrices of the PUF can be improved by using a new Arbiter PUF operation mode. We show that we can improve uniqueness and randomness using the new mode of operation for the Arbiter PUF performance characteristics for 16, 32, and 64-bit selector pairs for 65,536 responses.Graduat
Orbital stability and secular dynamics of the Proxima Centauri planetary system
Full text linkThe authors thank Gongjie Li, Hanno Rein, and Juliette Becker for valuable insights and discussion, and thank the anonymous referee whose thoughtful recommendations substantially improved this manuscript. This work was facilitated through the use of advanced computational, storage, and networking infrastructure provided by the Hyak supercomputer system and funded by the Student Technology Fund at the University of Washington.The two innermost planets of the Proxima Centauri system are separated by just 0.02 au, inducing strong gravitational interactions between them. We assess this interaction by leveraging fast orbital stability indicators and find that orbital stability is very likely if the initial eccentricities of planets b and d are less than ∼0.2, but cannot confirm stability at larger values. We find that stability is not strongly affected by the true masses of the planets or by the distant planet c. However, mutual inclinations between 95° and 142° often result in unstable motion. We further explore the long-term evolution of the orbits in these stable regions of parameter space and find that circularization can take over 5 Gyr. This tidal evolution could support surface energy fluxes in excess of 1 W m−2 for over 1 Gyr, possibly affecting planet b's habitability.J.R.L. gratefully acknowledges partial support from a Mary Gates Research Scholarship. R.B. acknowledges support from NASA grant No. 80NSSC20K0229 and the NASA Virtual Planetary Laboratory under grant No. 80NSSC18K0829.FacultyReviewe
Predicting regional cumulative effects of future development on coastal ecosystems to support Indigenous governance
Full text link1. To achieve better biodiversity outcomes and match local governance capacity, cumulative effects assessment frameworks that combine Indigenous and western knowledge to predict future development impacts on biodiversity are needed.
2. We developed a spatial future-focused model informed by inclusive elicitation and strategic foresight to assess the regional cumulative effects of development on ecosystem health across the land and sea. We collaborated with three First Nations on the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada, enabling Indigenous priorities, knowledge and values to drive the process, from the choice of priority ecosystem components (including salmon, herring, seabirds and bears), to identifying future development scenarios (based on forestry, energy/mining, tourism and salmon aquaculture sectors). Bayesian networks were populated with empirical data and expert judgement elicited from knowledge holders to predict the cumulative effects of current and future pressures on species and ecosystems.
3. Under current conditions, the lowest probability of persistence was predicted for Pacific salmon (37%), followed by Pacific herring (43%). Under future conditions, the greatest declines in species health were associated with the intense development of mining, tourism and forestry, with up to a 54% decline from the current baseline health estimates predicted for Marbled Murrelets and old-growth forest.
4. Future outcomes for overall ecosystem health were predicted to be worst in scenarios with high future forestry activities (>60% decline in some areas). The continuation or development of all four industries resulted in an 8% decline overall in ecosystem health across the Central Coast. In contrast, predicted ecosystem health in the tourism economy scenario increased up to 15% in some marine areas, primarily driven by the removal of salmon aquaculture and forestry activities.
5. Synthesis and applications. Our study demonstrates an inclusive, regional approach to assessing the cumulative effects of future development on coastal species. The novel participatory tools and predictive framework draw upon and interweave multiple forms of knowledge, enabling Indigenous values to drive the process, and appropriately integrate Indigenous knowledge into regional cumulative effects assessment. Our interactive web application provides First Nations partners access to all outputs, supporting Indigenous-led governance and in situ ecosystem-based management of their lands and water.This project was made possible through funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada's Wildlife and Landscape Science Directorate (Grants and Contributions), the NSERC Discovery Grant and the generous support of the Liber Ero Chair in Conservation and Reid and Laura Carter (TGM).FacultyReviewe