This thesis explored the opportunities to reduce energy demand and renewable energy feasibility at an off-grid science “community” called the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) in Ontario. Being off-grid, ELA is completely dependent on diesel and propane fuel supply for all its electrical and heating needs, which makes ELA vulnerable to fluctuating fuel prices. As a result ELA emits a large amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) for its size. Energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies can reduce energy consumption and consequently energy cost, as well as GHG. Energy efficiency was very important to ELA due to the elevated fuel costs at this remote location. Minor upgrades to lighting, equipment and building envelope were able to reduce energy costs and reduce load. Efficient energy saving measures were recommended that save on operating and maintenance costs, namely, changing to LED lights, replacing old equipment like refrigerators and downsizing of ice makers. This resulted in a 4.8% load reduction and subsequently reduced the initial capital cost for biomass by $27,000, by $49,500 for wind power and by $136,500 for solar power. Many alternative energies show promise as potential energy sources to reduce the diesel and propane consumption at ELA including wind energy, solar heating and bio-mass. A biomass based CHP system using the existing diesel generators as back-up has the shortest pay back period of the technologies modeled. The biomass based CHP system has a pay back period of 4.1 years at $0.80 per liter of diesel, as diesel price approaches $ 2.00 per liter the pay back period reduces to 0.9 years, 50% the generation cost compared to present generation costs. Biomass has been successfully tried and tested in many off-grid communities particularly in a small-scale off-grid setting in North America and internationally. Also, the site specific solar and wind data show that ELA has potential to harvest renewable resources and produce heat and power at competitive rates compared to diesel and propane.

This research investigates the travel paths of pedestrians along residential frontage roads in the immediate vicinity of bus stops. This investigation was performed to characterize association between seasonality, age, gender, physical impairments and travel path selection. For the purposes of this research, a pedestrian travel path is defined as the physical route chosen by transit users on their walking journey immediately before boarding or after alighting the transit bus, along residential frontage roads in the immediate vicinity of bus stops. A study site screening process that encompassed multiple site visits, Automated Passenger Counting / Automatic Vehicle Location and Geographic Information Systems data analyses identified four study sites (with two bus stops each). At these sites, unaware bus stop users were observed and their travel paths were classified into one of three categories: (a) pedestrian walking on the frontage road; (b) pedestrian walking on the outer separation; or (c) pedestrian walking on the main road. The required sample was collected during eight months, and was divided into ‘no-snow’ and ‘snow’ seasons. After performing statistical tests of association to the travel path selections of bus stop users, the research found that seasonal effects are statistically significant, indicating that there is a higher number of people walking on the main road during the ‘snow’ season. There was also a statistically significant difference in pedestrian path choices regarding site characteristics. When comparing the study sites, the only site that provided a splash strip was found to have a significantly higher amount of people walking along the outer separation, where the splash strip is provided, and which is used by pedestrians as a sidewalk. This finding indicates that if pedestrian facilities were provided along outer separations, they may have an impact on the path chosen by pedestrians when traversing frontage roads. There was not enough evidence to find a statistically significant relationship between pedestrian walking paths and gender, age or ambulatory capabilities.

Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) was adopted in Thailand in 2004 to encourage the efficient use of water in the agricultural sector. PIM refers to the participation of water users at all phases of irrigation management such as planning, operation, maintenance, monitoring, and evaluation. The purpose of this research was to understand the relationships between public participation, learning, and the implementation of more sustainable water practices through PIM in Thailand. Two integrated water user groups (IWUGs) were selected from the Krasiew Reservoir, Suphanburi Province. Data collection included document review, semi-structured telephone interviews, semi-structured face-to-face interviews, observation, and informal meetings. Case study data showed that after the water allocation and delivery schedule were developed and agreed on by the Joint Management Committee for Irrigation members, the final water delivery pattern at each canal was made by a majority vote among members at an IWUG general meeting. The final water allocation strategy at each canal was based on a discussion among IWUG committee members. Water user group (WUG) chiefs and WUG members were responsible for designing their own water allocation pattern and schedule for ditches. Results showed that participating in PIM activities fostered both instrumental and communicative learning among PIM participants. The instrumental learning outcomes included: new skills and information; the development of political, legal, economic, social, or administrative procedures; a determination of the cause-effect relationships; and task-oriented problem solving. The communicative learning outcomes involved: a better understanding of the issue at hand; a more critical understanding of themselves or situations; insight into the interests of others; communication strategies and methods; and comparative reflection. Findings also revealed that local farmers had begun implementing more sustainable water practices after receiving comprehensive water information through PIM. This helped develop an understanding of a reservoir as a finite water resource. As a result, water saving awareness was fostered among farmers in order to maintain a water supply for all crop seasons. In addition, communicating compassionately through participating in PIM activities could foster further social action. The 2005 water crisis in the irrigation area was another factor which triggered a sense of urgency about the need for water conservation.

Hypertension is accompanied by structural and mechanical abnormalities in resistance arteries. The effects of resveratrol, a phenolic phytoalexin found naturally in various foods, on systolic blood pressure and resistance artery structure and stiffness were assessed in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). Vascular geometry and mechanical properties of pressurized mesenteric resistance arteries were calculated from media and lumen dimensions measured using pressure myography. Compared to normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats, resistance arteries from SHRs displayed remodeling with narrowed lumen diameters (246.2±21.0 vs. 308.1±14.3 μm, p<0.05), thickened media widths (39.8±4.6 vs. 28.5±2.7 μm, p<0.05) and augmented media-to-lumen ratios (17.7±2.6 vs. 9.3±1.0, p<0.05). Calculations of remodeling and growth indices revealed that SHR vessels underwent mostly eutrophic remodeling. Systolic blood pressure was elevated in 20-week-old SHR versus WKY rats (219±6 vs. 155±6 mmHg, p<0.01) and was unaffected by resveratrol (2.5 mg/Kg/d). In SHRs, resveratrol treatment attenuated eutrophic remodeling and normalized increased vessel compliance (p<0.01) as determined by a restorative leftward shift in the stress-strain curve of SHR arteries (p<0.01). Resveratrol treatment restored stiffness in SHRs (4.2±0.4 vs. 6.6±0.5, p<0.05) through the normalization of vessel geometry. Immunoblotting revealed that resveratrol negated typical pronounced ERK1/2 signaling in SHR arteries. Thus, the results of this study suggest that resveratrol restores vascular mechanical properties in SHRs and attenuates remodeling. Furthermore the attenuation of remodeling in SHR arteries with resveratrol treatment is associated with the inhibition of ERK1/2 activity.

A common event during in vitro morphogenesis (either embryogenesis or shoot organogenesis) is the ability of somatic cells within the explants to de-differentiate and acquire “meristematic identity”. The developmental program of such meristematic cells can then be re-routed to form shoots or embryos depending on the imposed culture environment. The objective of this research is to investigate how the altered expression of Brassica genes regulating meristematic activity in vivo affects in vitro morphogenesis. It is predicted that ectopic expression of positive regulators of the shoot apical meristem, SHOOT MERISTEMLESS (STM) and ZWILLE (ZLL) which increase the pool of meristematic cells within the apical meristem, has a beneficial effect on somatic embryogenesis and shoot organogenesis. Conversely the over-expression of CLAVATA1 (CLV1), a negative regulator which depletes the pool of meristematic cells, should inhibit both processes. Over-expression of the Brassica STM in Arabidopsis enhanced the production of somatic embryos and shoots in vitro possibly by reducing the requirement of the tissue for exogenous auxin, which is the inductive signal for the production of embryogenic and organogenic cells. This was also accompanied by profound alterations in gene expression patterns affecting components of DNA methylation and glutathione metabolism, which are beneficial for embryo formation. The introduction of STM also enhanced Arabidopsis shoot organogenesis through profound transcriptional changes in cytokinin signalling. While the ectopic expression of the Brassica CLV1 inhibited both somatic embryogenesis and shoot organogenesis, the expression of ZLL had no effects on the production of somatic embryos but encouraged the formation of shoots. Taken together these results suggest the existence of similar genetic mechanisms regulating the formation of meristem cells in vivo and embryogenic/organogenic cells in vitro.

Electrospinning is a novel technique to fabricate non-woven fibers with sizes ranging from nano to micrometers. Polymers have been electrospun into nanofibers that can be developed into desirable materials with excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability for biomedical applications in wound healing and tissue regeneration. These nanofiber materials can be further functionalized to be loaded with bioactive molecules, including antibacterial agents, functional proteins that promote tissue reconstruction while protect host tissues from contamination. This study focuses on the development of multifunctional nanofibers that are incorporated with antibacterial drug(s) and immobilized with bioactive proteins. These nanofibers are potentially useful for wound care and tissue engineering scaffolding to provide both infection control and promotion of wound healing or tissue regenerations.

Recent transboundary disputes between the United States and Canada and in particular, the dispute concerning Devils Lake outlet, call for an improvement of the agreements between the two countries that govern North American international watercourses. One way to do so is by assimilating the cooperative spirit contained in the more recent 1997 U.N. International Watercourses Convention and incorporating its guidelines for balancing different principles and interests into the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty between the United States and Canada. This paper analyzes the different theories and main international legal instruments in the area of transboundary waters within the context of the issues arising out of Devils Lake and its outlet. It is proposed that the Boundary Waters Treaty be vastly improved by increasing the participation of both the Canadian provinces and the American states as well as renewing and enhancing the role of the International Joint Commission.

Oil and gas exploration in Northern Canada uses explosive-based seismic techniques to locate hydrocarbon reserves beneath waterbodies not frozen to the bottom. The use of explosives in, or near, waterbodies has the potential to harm fishes, primarily through instantaneous pressure changes (IPCs) generated from the detonations. These IPCs can damage soft tissues through the rapid compression and expansion of the swimbladder as the pressure wave passes. In Canada, a document entitled Guidelines for the Use of Explosives In or Near Canadian Fisheries Waters recommends that peak pressures not exceed 100 kPa for the protection of fish, however damage has been reported below this level. To simulate seismic exploration and examine potential pathological changes surrounding the current Guideline, fish across different developmental stages and with varying degrees of swimbladder presence were exposed to a variety of explosive based IPC levels in field experiments. Early life stages of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) including eyed eggs, sac fry, and juveniles were caged and exposed to discrete detonations from 0 to 280 kPa in the Mackenzie Delta, NWT. These fish were subsequently examined for both gross pathological and histological changes to cranial structures as well as swimbladder, kidney, liver and gill tissue. Results showed changes in both the area and circumference of the cranial region of eyed eggs, as well as swimbladder, ocular and kidney damage in juveniles. Additionally, caged adult swimbladder bearing lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and non-swimbladder bearing slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus) were exposed to explosive based IPCs ranging in peak pressure from 0 to 127 kPa at the Experimental Lakes Area, Ontario. Fish were later examined grossly and blood, liver, kidney, intestine, and spleen were examined to determine the presence of any traumatic based pathological changes. Results indicated the occurrence of swimbladder hemorrhage in lake trout exposed to IPCs near the current Guideline level. Finally, a risk assessment for lake trout of the Mackenzie Delta exposed to IPCs was undertaken; to examine the potential for adverse risk to individuals and populations, and the likelihood of populations being unable to recover. Based on the findings of the aforementioned studies, the recommended Guideline level is not protective of early life stages of rainbow trout and furthermore represents the threshold at which damage to the swimbladder in adult lake trout does not occur, as such, a re-examination of the recommended Guideline level is warranted.

This thesis explores the adversarial relationship between India and Pakistan which is rooted in historical animosities that resulted from the end of the British Raj in 1946. This relationship is further exacerbated by the fact that both countries have conducted nuclear tests. An examination of the development of India and Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program, specifically their nuclear doctrines and nuclear capabilities, is provided to determine the nature of their technical nuclear posture. A policy of sufficient deterrence is explained and adopted to keep the level of nuclear arsenals at a number adequate to deter successfully an adversary from initiating a nuclear attack, to reduce the potential for an arms race. A comparable nuclear capability is revealed, even though strategic asymmetry creates a larger Indian nuclear force. Finally, confidence-building measures taken by India and Pakistan in the direction of a more prospective peaceful nuclear relationship are highlighted.

The purpose of this study was to explore the referrals that were generated from one hospital emergency room to a community outreach team. This study used a specific geriatric program assessment team in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada as the community outreach team. Malcolm Payne’s description of Task Centered Casework and Crisis Intervention and Irene Pollin’s Medical Crisis Counseling served as the theoretical structure and design to gain an understanding of the reasons geriatric patients were referred to the GPAT on discharge. This study aimed to answer three research questions: 1) What is the emergency room medical team’s main reason for referral to a geriatric outreach team? 2) Are the referrals received from the emergency room medical team clearly identifying psychosocial issues as areas for examination by an outreach team? 3) Are psychosocial issues identified only after an outreach team clinician completed a comprehensive assessment? This study revealed that out of the 209 referrals to geriatric program assessment team, the highest number of times referred was for functional decline. It revealed that the emergency room medical team saw functional decline as a valid reason to have the geriatric program assessment team assess the individual in their home settings to ensure that any functional issue be addressed and possible adaptations made in a timely manner to avoid the reverberation that one ailment can set off. The second most common reason for referring to the geriatric program assessment team was for social issues. Forty percent of the referrals identified that there were concerns in relation to social issues which clearly identifies that the emergency room medical team identified psychosocial issues as an area for further examination. And finally, the findings show psychosocial issues were not identified only after an outreach team clinician completed a comprehensive assessment, but that both appear cognizant of the interplay between medical issues and social issues.