30921 research outputs found
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Detecting energy dissipation in modulated vs. non-modulated motion waveforms emanating from vibrating systems recorded in videos
Get PDFThe research investigates the dynamics of motion energy dissipation in modulated versus non-modulated motion waveforms derived from vibrating systems as recorded in video formats, utilizing Hilbert transforms for signal analysis. By defining the critical motion attributes through the Hilbert spectral analysis, the study quantifies the energy dissipation in both modulated and non-modulated states, capturing the intricate oscillatory behavior of these systems. The essence of modulation in this context is demonstrated through the localized concentration of energy, observable in systems ranging from mechanical to human motion. In contrast, non-modulated signals exhibit dispersed energy profiles, leading to different implications for energy efficiency and system performance. Through meticulous frame-by-frame analysis, the research delineates how specific energy patterns can lead to smoother motion waveforms as well as resulting a decrease in system vibrations.February 202
A preliminary human rights-based analysis of Winnipeg's municipal budget
No full textEach year, the City of Winnipeg formulates an operating and capital budget for municipal-ran services, including Water and Waste, Fire Paramedic Services, Community Services, Property and Development, City clerks, and the Police Service. The two departments that receive the most money in the tax-supported operating budget are the police services and public works despite community demands in Winnipeg for more resources towards libraries, public washrooms, transit, and housing due to its declining conditions. The continued prioritization of these services poses a question: are economic, social, and cultural rights (ESCR) priorities of the City of Winnipeg? Article 2(1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) obliges States to use its maximum available resources to progressively realize ESCR. Using the ICESCR’s Article 2(1) framework, the study conducts a preliminary human rights-based budget analysis of Winnipeg’s municipal budget from 2020 to 2024. The findings reveal that, in addition to the disproportionate allocation of resources between services benefitting civil and political rights (CPR) and ESCR that prioritizes the former than the latter, the City of Winnipeg is failing to utilise its maximum available resources to progressively realize the ESCR under Community Services by underspending resources already adopted for the department.October 202
How religious and political affiliation influence belief in COVID-19 vaccine myths in Canada & the United States
No full textUsing survey data from the CIHR-funded three country project "COVID-19's Differential Impact on Indigenous Peoples and Newcomers: A Socioeconomic Analysis of Canada, USA and Mexico", this thesis explores two central questions: How are community connections affecting COVID-19 vaccination rates, and how are these connections affecting our belief in COVID-19 myths? The study's findings reveal that our social connections, political and religious affiliations, social media usage, trust in institutions, and our social circles, play a significant role in shaping perceptions of vaccines and myths regarding coronavirus. Although political divisions affect vaccine uptake and myth beliefs in both countries, this pattern is stronger in the USA. Social media has also polarized opinions and has influenced vaccine uptake in both countries. The thesis employs social constructionism to explain how social interactions and connections shape our perceptions of reality. Additionally, it draws on political culture theory to analyze how political beliefs influence various facets of our lives, including responses to public health crises. The thesis concludes by providing critical data and results that can assist government officials, epidemiologists and policymakers to bridge social divides and develop strategies to manage future pandemics better.The Canadian Institute for Health Research Grant# VS2-175571
The Canadian Research Chair Tier One Migrations Future
The University of Manitoba- Master’s Award for Indigenous Student and the John and Catherine Kelly Indigenous Post-Graduate Bursary
Indspire- Building Brighter Futures Award
NIB- Trust Fund Scholarship
The Manitoba Metis Federation Post-Secondary Education programOctober 202
Study on piezoelectric energy generation under high frequency excitation
No full textThe development of energy technology has stimulated the application of low-power wireless electronic devices. Batteries are commonly used to supply power for these devices, however, the limited lifespan and expensive replacement cost necessitate the development of generating electricity from waste energy. Energy generation, which collects wasted energy from external sources, has become a popular research topic. Over the past decades, the low cost and easy-to-apply characteristics of piezoelectric material have spurred various research endeavors aiming at developing piezoelectric energy generators based on different energy sources.
This thesis aims to develop piezoelectric energy generators (PEGs) under various working conditions using high frequency excitation, validate the accuracy of the corresponding models, investigate their dynamic behaviors, and evaluate their energy generation performance. A vehicle brake pad with embedded PEGs is developed by utilizing high-speed rotation of vehicle brake rotor. Charge dissipation from the measuring device is considered to accurately calculate the generated voltage from the piezoelectric patch during operation. Inspired by frictional contact during the braking process between the rotor and frictional layer, a shear mode PEG is proposed to explore its performance under self-excited friction-induced vibration (FIV). The dynamic voltage responses from experiment, closely matched with the analytical results, demonstrate the great performance from vibrations close to the resonant frequency of the system. A modified PEG employing bi-linear and impact techniques is then proposed, modeled, and tested through experiment to examine the improved performance and verify the continuous FIV under these conditions. To understand the mechanism and dynamic responses of nonlinear PEGs considering different connections between magnetic spring and piezoelectric element, mathematical models are proposed and solved through numerical iteration. The results from parameter studies demonstrate enhanced frequency bandwidth and operating velocity range using harmonic excitation and FIV, respectively. Furthermore, PEG using FIV has been extended to continuum structures, and a piezoelectric coupled continuum beam using FIV is modeled, described, and studied for the first time to characterize its dynamic response and energy generation performance. Following that, a piezoelectric coupled stepped beam is modeled using a modified method, tested through experiment, and utilized as a case study of geometric optimization.University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowship
University of Manitoba Graduate Enhancement of Tri-Council StipendsOctober 202
Impact of different processing methods on anti-nutritional factors, in vitro protein quality, and reactive lysine of yellow field peas and their derivatives
No full textBackground: Yellow field peas (Pisum sativum L.) are a highly promising source of plant-based proteins due to their affordability, high nutritional profile, low-fat content, lack of major allergens and environmental sustainability among pulses. However, their utilization in food products is constrained by anti-nutritional factors (ANFs), which, while beneficial for plant defense, impair the nutritional value, protein digestibility, and overall protein quality of plant-based food products. Processing methods may provide a means to reduce ANFs and improve protein quality, but lysine, an indispensable amino acid (IAA), remains highly susceptible to chemical modifications during processing, further diminishing the nutritional value of the processed products.
Methods: This study examined the effects of thermal (boiling, autoclaving, micronization, and baking) and non-thermal (high-hydrostatic pressure (HHP)) treatments on yellow field pea flour, as well as the impact of baking and HHP on pea protein derivatives (protein concentrate, 80% protein isolate, and 90% protein isolate). A starch-rich byproduct (coarse fraction) separated through air classification along with the protein-enriched fine fraction (protein concentrate) was also included in this study for evaluation. The focus was on assessing ANF contents including trypsin inhibitor activity (TIA), lectins, phytic acid (PA), polyphenols, and condensed tannins (CT), as well as amino acid profiles, in vitro protein digestibility, in vitro protein quality (via in vitro Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score, in vitro PDCAAS), and reactive lysine content (using an ortho-phthaldialdehyde (OPA) fluorometric assay).
Results: In terms of ANFs, thermal treatments (particularly boiling and baking) significantly reduced TIA, lectin, PA, and polyphenols, with boiling proving the most effective, decreasing lectin content by 99.88% and TIA by over 88.60% in the flour. HHP demonstrated moderate ANF reductions but led to substantial increases in lectin and CT contents, with the flour showing a substantial increase in CT of up to 521.57%. With respect to protein quality, tryptophan with amino acid scores (AAS) of 0.91 – 0.97, was the first limiting amino acid in untreated and treated flours and protein concentrates, as well as the coarse fraction, whereas sulfur-containing amino acids (AAS of 0.84 – 0.91) were most limiting in untreated and treated protein isolates and baked protein concentrate. The in vitro protein digestibility (determined by the true fecal protein digestibility, TPD1) of both protein isolate samples (95.77% – 97.33%) was higher than that of coarse fraction, flour, and protein concentrate samples (88.90% – 94.60%). Only boiled flour (91.57%) showed a significant increase in in vitro PDCAAS, while other processing methods gave no improvement or a decrease for yellow field pea samples. Furthermore, reactive lysine content was comparable to total lysine in untreated flour and protein concentrate, but decreased significantly following boiling and baking, with boiling causing a decrease of over 70% in the reactive lysine content of the flour. In contrast, HHP treatment preserved reactive lysine better than other treatments, with reductions of only up to 4.73% in both flour and 90% pea protein isolate.
Conclusion: In conclusion, boiling was the most effective method for reducing ANFs and improving the in vitro PDCAAS in yellow field pea flour. HHP-treated samples retained reactive lysine but unexpectedly increased the concentrations of lectins and condensed tannins in most pea samples.
Significance and Novelty: This study highlights the differential effects of thermal and non-thermal processing on yellow field pea samples, emphasizing the need for tailored processing strategies to minimize ANFs while maximizing nutritional quality. It also demonstrates the importance of using specialized assays for accurately assessing reactive lysine to fully capture the true nutritional value and quality of processed products. The outcomes provide insights for researchers and food processors in optimizing processing methods to enhance the utilization of yellow field pea proteins and develop more nutritious, and sustainable plant-based products.Manitoba Strategic Research Chair in Sustainable Protein;
NSERC-CREATE CAPTUREFebruary 202
Early childhood caries, climate change and the sustainable development goal 13: a scoping review
No full textBackground
Sustainable development goal 13 centres on calls for urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. The aim of this scoping review was to map the published literature for existing evidence on the association between the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 and early childhood caries (ECC).
Methods
The scoping review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. In August 2023, a search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus using search terms related to SDG13 and ECC. Only English language publications were extracted. There was no restriction on the type of publications included in the study. A summary of studies that met the inclusion criteria was conducted highlighting the countries where the studies were conducted, the study designs employed, the journals (dental/non-dental) in which the studies were published, and the findings. In addition, the SDG13 indicators to which the study findings were linked was reported.
Results
The initial search yielded 113 potential publications. After removing 57 duplicated papers, 56 publications underwent title and abstract screening, and two studies went through full paper review. Four additional papers were identified from websites and searching the references of the included studies. Two of the six retrieved articles were from India, and one was China, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom respectively. One paper was based on an intervention simulation study, two reported findings from archeologic populations and three papers that were commentaries/opinions. In addition, four studies were linked to SDG 13.1 and they suggested an increased risk for caries with climate change. Two studies were linked to SDG 13.2 and they suggested that the practice of pediatric dentistry contributes negatively to environmental degradation. One study provided evidence on caries prevention management strategies in children that can reduce environmental degradation.
Conclusion
The evidence on the links between SDG13 and ECC suggests that climate change may increase the risk for caries, and the management of ECC may increase environmental degradation. However, there are caries prevention strategies that can reduce the negative impact of ECC management on the environment. Context specific and inter-disciplinary research is needed to generate evidence for mitigating the negative bidirectional relationships between SDG13 and ECC
Top CEO awards and firm profitability
No full textIn this study, we present novel insights into the influence of CEO awards on firm performance, with a particular focus on Glassdoor's “Top CEOs Employees Choice Award.” By matching winning firms with similar non-winning counterparts and analyzing a pooled sample using an event study, we find compelling evidence that receiving such an award is associated with a significant increase in future firm performance, as measured by Return on Assets (ROA). This increase is primarily driven by improvements in profitability margins. Moreover, post-award announcements, firms with higher Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) scores demonstrate more substantial ROA growth, particularly attributed to enhanced corporate governance. This suggests that the ESG channel for ROA enhancement is primarily driven by the Governance Score. Additionally, CEOs holding company shares and receiving higher compensation relative to assets experience accelerated ROA growth. It contributes to the literature on management awards by exploring the dual impact of awards on both firm performance and CEO prestige, with a particular focus on channels.February 202
Studio collective: expression, collaboration and community through music and interiors
No full textStudio Collective is a practicum project that proposes a conceptual design for a Music hub in Downtown, Winnipeg that supports and fosters individuals need to connect with fellow musicians and express themselves. This hub will provide a dedicated space where musicians and enthusiasts can collaborate, perform, and create music. The project acknowledges the significance of a distinct space that allows for music-making, interaction, and collaboration while also recognizing that music is evolving in response to societal shifts, values, and technology. The Master of Interior Design practicum investigates the relationship between music, digital media, community, and individual expression. The goal is to create an interior environment that enables meaningful and dynamic experiences, catering to the contemporary needs of musicians and enthusiasts. The paper explores concepts and theories related to multi-sensory experiences, creative learning, and place to propose a design that supports creativity, expression, and community. Studio Collective proposes an inclusive space that invites both digital and traditional modes of music-making and listening. The proposed space will be designed to accommodate a hybrid environment that blends state-of-the-art technology with traditional instruments and techniques, creating a unique and immersive experience for music enthusiasts of all levels and backgrounds. At the same time, this space will allow for social and spatial opportunities to create, participate, learn, inspire, and connect through various spaces, outlets, and technology.October 202
Effectiveness of asfotase alfa for treatment of adults with hypophosphatasia: results from a global registry
No full textBackground
Hypophosphatasia (HPP) is a rare inherited disease caused by deficient activity of tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase. Many adults with HPP have a high burden of disease, experiencing chronic pain, fatigue, limited mobility, and dental issues, contributing to decreased health-related quality of life (HRQoL). HPP may be treated with the enzyme replacement therapy asfotase alfa though real-world data in adults are limited. This analysis was conducted to assess the clinical effectiveness of asfotase alfa among adults in the Global HPP Registry.
Methods
The Global HPP Registry is an observational, prospective, multinational study. Adults ≥ 18 years of age were included in this analysis if they had serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity below the age- and sex-adjusted reference ranges, and/or ALPL variant(s), and received asfotase alfa for ≥ 6 months. Mobility was assessed with the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT), and patient-reported outcomes tools were used to assess pain (Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form), quality of life (36-item Short Form Health Survey, version 2 [SF-36v2]), and disability (Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index) at multiple time points from baseline through Month 36. Data were collected as per usual standard of care; patients may not have contributed data at all time points.
Results
A total of 190 patients met the inclusion criteria. For patients with ≥ 1 follow-up measurement, the mean distance achieved on 6MWT increased from 404 m (range 60–632 m) at baseline (n = 31) to 484 m at Month 12 (range 240–739 m; n = 18) and remained above baseline through Month 36 (n = 7). Improvements in mean self-reported pain severity scores ranged from − 0.72 (95% CI: − 1.23, − 0.21; n = 38) to − 1.13 (95% CI: − 1.76, − 0.51; n = 26) and were observed at all time points. Improvements in the Physical Component Summary score of SF-36v2 were achieved by Month 6 and sustained throughout follow-up. There was a trend toward improvement in the Mental Component Summary score of SF-36v2 at most time points, with considerable fluctuations from Months 12 (n = 28) through 36 (n = 21). The most frequent adverse events were injection site reactions.
Conclusions
Adults with HPP who received asfotase alfa for ≥ 6 months experienced improvements in mobility, physical function, and HRQoL, which were maintained over 3 years of follow-up.
Registration: NCT02306720; EUPAS13514
From electrical signals to biological processes: unveiling the complexity of electroencephalographic epileptiform spikes across sleep-wake states
No full textThis thesis introduces a novel investigation into the morphological characteristics of epileptiform spikes across various sleep-wake states. A gold-standard database of spikes was created, offering insights into their variations across wakefulness, non-rapid-eye-movement (NREM) sleep stages 1-3, and particularly rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep, and hypothesizing on the dynamics regulating its suppressive ability towards spikes.
The study employed lab-developed software to categorize sleep states and validate spikes using data from 7 epilepsy monitoring unit patients. A computational pipeline was developed to assess nine morphological spike features throughout Laplacian, Referential, and Raw montages. Due to non-normal data distribution, statistical analysis was performed using the Kruskal-Wallis test, followed by Dunn's post-hoc testing and Bonferroni correction.
Results revealed that the spike features of REM sleep are significantly different from those of other sleep-wake states. In particular, spikes during REM sleep had the shallowest ascending and descending slopes by nearly 50% of the other states, which were nearly symmetrical, blunter peaks with roughly twice the angle of other states and exhibited lower peak amplitudes less than 50% of the voltage of other states. Wakefulness was the most different state concerning duration while being, on average, 15% shorter. Finally, the spike area during REM was roughly twice as small as all other states.
This study shows significant spike feature differences throughout sleep-wake states, with REM drastically different in most features. The driving factors for changes in spike morphology throughout the sleep-wake states are unknown. However, this thesis explores the effects of ionic, neurotransmitter, astrocytic and network dynamic processes to help shed light on these changes. Notably, this thesis provides glimpses into the roles of astrocytic involvement, orexinergic systems, and network dynamics as potential contributors to the observed morphological differences within REM. Further investigations are necessary to fully understand these complex electrobiological interactions, which may be responsible for the observed anti-epileptic properties during REM sleep. This study paves the way for future work to expose and leverage the unique anti-epileptic mechanisms of REM sleep, potentially leading to the development of REM-specific therapeutic strategies for epilepsy management.February 202