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Comparing the symmetry of walking in transtibial amputees: biomechanical differences of prosthetic heel lifts
Get PDFProsthetic devices provide an avenue to accommodate transtibial amputees and
mechanically restore some of their walking functionality. The loss of a lower limb results in
significant mobility changes for these individuals’ prosthetic gait patterns, which are commonly
characterized by asymmetry and changes in force distribution, leading to an increased risk of
secondary musculoskeletal injuries. Shock absorbing shoe materials seem to provide a potential
solution for improving functional outcomes in lower limb amputees to restore symmetrical
walking patterns. Based on this evidence, this study examined the effect of two different types of
shoe materials on restoring some of the symmetrical characteristics of a normal walking pattern
for transtibial amputees. The type of shoe materials included thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)
and a conventional foam heel lift commonly used with prosthetic devices, to observe changes in
symmetry of force, energy, and power. The researcher performed static compression tests to
observe changes in the properties of the material and identify its energy absorption capabilities.
Dynamic impact tests were also performed to examine the effect of heel lift types (TPU heel lift,
conventional heel lift, and no heel lift) on measures of force and energy absorption when
combined with a passive prosthetic foot and flat-soled shoe during a simulated heel-strike.
Finally, the researcher conducted dynamic human participant testing to examine the effect of the
shoe material in the symmetry of walking between the amputated and non-amputated limbs of
transtibial amputees during the braking and propulsion phases of gait for measures of ground
reaction force (GRF), energy, and power. The results of this study revealed that the TPU heel lift,
when compared to the conventional heel lift, had a significantly higher capacity for energy
absorption during both static compression testing and dynamic impact testing, and generated
significantly less force than the conventional heel lift during dynamic testing. This study also found that the TPU had a significantly increased symmetry ratio for measures of energy during
propulsion when compared a no heel condition. No other significant differences were found for
the TPU heel lift. The findings of this study may have implications for the design of footwear
and insoles that are used with lower limb prosthetic devices and suggest avenues for future
research
Energy-efficient electronic health monitoring system with wireless body area networks
Get PDFRecent evolution and technological advancement in wireless communications and micro electronics
have enabled enhanced research trends toward wireless body area networks (WBANs). This emerging new
field of research plays an important role in medical and healthcare services. An electronic health
(eHealth) monitoring system is one of the major applications of WBANs that in addition to saving
lives can provide cost-effective healthcare services by replacing the need for costly in-hospital
monitoring with wearable or implanted monitoring systems that help early detection and prevention
of any abnormal physiological activities that could risk the patients' lives. Such a system
continuously monitors the patient 's vital signs and helps patients to involve in their routine
activities of daily life without requiring intensive or specialized medical services all the
time, thus creating significant enhancement in the standard of living. One of the key
challenges that limit the widespread usage of eHealth solutions in practical healthcare facilities
is the limited battery life of sensor nodes (SNs) that are needed to be replaced/ recharged
manually once the energy is depleted. In most scenarios, battery replacement is not preferable, and
it becomes highly unsuitable and impractical, especially when the SNs are implanted inside the
human body. This limited battery capacity of SNs not only causes a performance bottleneck but is
also likely to disrupt the future operations of SNs, which may cause a life hazard. Therefore, in
order to have seamless and efficient implementation of an eHealth monitoring WBAN, improving the
SNs' lifetime or energy efficiency (EE) is of paramount importance. [...
Effects of Lalrise Vita. Bacillus velezensis on Pinus banksiana and Picea mariana
Get PDFJack pine, Pinus banksisana, and black spruce, Picea mariana, are the top two species
harvested and planted in the boreal forest of Canada. Sustainable forest management
incorporates greenhouses and artificial fertilizers that are used to produce high-quality seedlings
to regenerate the forest. The purpose of this thesis was to determine if the growth-promoting
rhizobacteria, Bacillus velezensis, would increase the height, root collar, shoot, and root mass of
these seedlings, and optimize artificial fertilizers uses in greenhouse production. Both tree
species had three treatments that were compared to each other to determine the growth
differences. Treatment one was comprised of the controls, treatment two had three applications
of the microbe, and treatment three had only two applications of the microbe. Each treatment had
four replicate trays randomly placed on the greenhouse bench. A one-way ANOVA was run for
each variable being measured with a statistical significance P-value <0.05 to determine if the
addition of Bacillus velezensis had significant differences from the control. The results showed
that there were no significant differences in the height, root collar, and mass of jack pine or black
spruce seedlings inoculated with the seedlings, and therefore, would not be a good alternative to
artificial fertilizers in greenhouse production. The Lakehead greenhouse, where this trial took
place, had other trials with a variety of plants along both sides of the bench. These plants were
greater in height and some carried diseases which could have affected the results. However, jack
pine and black spruce are tree species that are adapted to succeed well in nutrient-poor and
harsher conditions. They also evolved to be slow-growing species in the forest succession
process. These two mechanisms may contribute to why the Lalrise Vita did not significantly
increase the growth of the jack pine and black spruce over a five-month period
Labyrinth learning : a 360-degree community service digital ecology
Get PDFLabyrinth Learning – A 360 Degree Community Service Digital Ecology is a Master’s
Portfolio organized around the Lakehead Labyrinth Project at Lakehead University’s campus
between 2017-2022. With text, images, video, audio and 360-degree imagery centered around
the outdoor Wellness Path Labyrinth built on Lakehead’s Thunder Bay campus this 360-degree
digital ecology will eventually land as a QR code on a forthcoming interpretative plaque. The
text layer of Labyrinth Learning contains a literature synthesis, exploring the history of
Labyrinths and how human cultures have learned with them throughout the ages. The 360-degree
base images of the Labyrinth shares the story of the Lakehead Wellness Path Labyrinth outside
the Bora Laskin Faculty of Education through interactive educational portals. And to round out
the Portfolio, at the core of the 360-degree Digital Ecology, podcast links to the 12-episode pilot
of CILU Radio’s Labyrinth Learning program are arranged like the hour markers of a clock
around the centre of the Labyrinth. Labyrinth Learning is a campus and community radio show I
created and hosted which aired every Wednesday and Saturday at 1 pm through the fall of 2022
on 102.7fm. Professors across 11 different disciplines, from Education to English, Indigenous
Learning and Anthropology, Psychology to Philosophy, Social Work and Social Justice, Natural
Resource Management to History and Health Sciences speak on this show about their learning
journeys through the metaphor of the Labyrinth in these hour-long open-form educational
conversations. The intent is for both the 360-degree Labyrinth Learning Digital Ecology portal
and the CILU radio show to continue beyond the scope of this Master’s portfolio
Autonomous surface vehicle for mechanized bathymetric surveys
Get PDFThis study evaluates the efficacy of an Autonomous Surface Vehicle (ASV)
constructed from inexpensive consumer off the shelf components for suitability in
surface-based bathymetry of large-scale tailing impounds found in North Western
Ontario. The ASV model will be compared with the current human operated,
surfaced based model of conducting bathymetric surveys. The craft was field
tested in West Oliver Lake, a shallow, warm water lake with a soft bottom. Depth
data were collected at speeds of 2.5ms−1
, 3.0ms−1
, 4.0ms−1
, and 5.0ms−1 along
the same transects with comparisons made to historical data. Tailings impound
surveys when conducted by surface crews pose significant risk to human
operators through exposure to hazardous chemicals with both short and
long-term effects. Utilizing an autonomous survey vehicle would allow human
crews to maintain a safe distance from the tailings impound, potentially reducing
interactions with harmful substances present in and around the tailings
environment. A Mokai jet kayak was selected as the instrument platform after
consideration of its size, propulsion power, and robustness. [...
Critical assessment for transformative education: for people and the planet
Get PDFThe purpose of this portfolio is to review the relevant academic literature from
environmental and social justice education, as well as assessment and evaluation, to make the
case for critical assessment and evaluation practices for transformative education. As we grapple
with persisting social inequality, that was amplified by the impacts global COVID-19 pandemic,
and while we also move closer towards irreversible tipping points in the climate crisis, it is clear
that education for social reproduction is insufficient in addressing the challenges we collectively
face. Assessment and evaluation, although one of the most fundamental and ongoing duties of
classroom teachers and educators, has largely been left out of conversations about environmental
and social justice education. Thus, this portfolio makes the case for critical assessment practices
that can support teachers in the province of Ontario who wish to support environmental and
social justice education in their practice. The tasks included in this portfolio are: 1) a literature
review; 2) a guide to critical assessment; 3) an infographic summarizing the guide’s connection
to the academic literature; and 4) a personal reflection
A geospatial analysis and comparison of snow leopard and mountain lion habitat: implications for conservations and research
Get PDFBig cats form an integral part of landscape ecosystem management and are vital to the
persistence of natural habitats. Global change, alongside human interactions has severely harmed
populations of these predators, often to the point where many species are at risk of being, or
already are, extinct. Two examples of big cats affected by human development are the snow
leopard and the mountain lion, which each have their respective difficulties adapting to an
anthropogenic world. Examples of factors that have affected these species include habitat loss
and fragmentation, prosecution and poaching, and increased disturbance. The purpose of this
report is to employ GIS and remote sensing techniques to analyze sample habitat of these
animals and to determine how to best conserve the future of these big cats. The results of this
paper showed that mountain lion habitat was more stochastic than that of snow leopards,
however, both are changing. Future management projects directed towards these species will
need to consider how these species’ habitat is being affected, moving forward
Sustainability analysis of carbon dioxide emissions on combustion of biomass for electricity
Get PDFThe transition towards renewable, low-carbon energy is a fundamental element of climate
change mitigation. Many countries around the world have set their decarbonization strategies to
reduce emissions. The European Union has already declared bioenergy to be carbon-neutral,
which has prompted other countries to expand their production. Bioenergy can only reduce
atmospheric CO2 over time through post-harvest increases in net primary production (NPP),
defined as the rate at which all the autotrophs in an ecosystem produce net useful chemical
energy using inorganic substances, such as CO2. Therefore, the climate impact of bioenergy
depends on CO2 emissions from the combustion of biomass, the fate of the harvested land, and
the dynamics of NPP. This study uses the dynamic bioenergy lifecycle analysis model, which
tracks the carbon stocks and fluxes in the atmosphere, biomass, soils, and oceans. The model is
used to simulate the substitution of coal for wood in electric power generation, estimating the
parameters governing NPP and other fluxes using data for the Canadian boreal forest. Our
dynamic analysis revealed that the first impact of displacing coal with wood is an immediate
increase in the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. [...
The impact of environmental and ecological construction on the sustainable development of cities: a case study of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
Get PDFToday, urban development faces an ecological crisis. As a famous historical and cultural city in China, the contradiction between the morphological development of Nanjing and the ecological environment is becoming increasingly acute, and the city's ecological regulation function tends to be fragile. Because cities are not only the birthplace of human technological progress and social and economic development but also an important source of human-environmental problems and environmental crises, the problem of the urban ecological environment has aroused the widespread concern of governments and scientists of various countries. In this context, the sustainable development of urban morphology with Nanjing as an empirical study is undoubted of great significance to the sustainable development of cities in China and the world. It also provides a certain reference and ideas for the development of modern cities. [...
An economic analysis of the impact of the Bronze Birch Borer on birch trees in Thunder Bay, Ontario
Get PDFUrban street trees provide many ecosystem services, environmental and
economic benefits for residents, communities, cities, and municipalities. The economic
benefits of trees are not easily quantified as they have no market value. Since 2011, the
bronze birch borer, a specialist wood-boring beetle, has been a pest of birch trees in
northern Ontario. A street tree inventory of streets east of Vicker’s Park in Thunder Bay
was completed to determine the economic value and annual contributions of the birch
trees in this area. To determine the value of the trees, the basic method was used. To
calculate annual contributions the i-Tree MyTree benefits calculator was used. The cost
of removal and replacement were also determined. Using this data, and assuming all
trees would become infested and killed, an economic analysis was completed to
determine which of 100% treatment, partial treatment, or removal and replacement was
most economically feasible. None of the examined scenarios yielded positive results,
however, the most cost-effective solution was 100% treatment of the birch trees