BCIT Citations Collection | BCIT Institutional Repository

BCIT Citations Collection

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Collection of published works from BCIT researchers, faculty, and instructors.

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The Reservist Re-Entry Program : an alternative approach prior learning assessment and advanced placement in academic and vocational programs for Canadian Soldiers
Prepared for the Atlantic Canada Economic Association Conference, October 19-20, 2012, Halifax Nova Scotia. Both the Canada and United States invest a great deal of resources in the training of their military personal. Many of the skills and experiences accumulated by soldiers are those that are highly valued by civilian employers. Further, these skills are often embodied in academic programs, suggesting soldiers would have a comparative advantage in such programs; however, despite the efforts of government agencies, many soldiers are unable to convert their skills and training into meaningful careers. This paper presents the findings from a pilot program at the BC institute of Technology 2009-2012. The program uses an alternative approach to assessing military training for advanced placement into post-secondary programs. By mapping learning outcomes rather than course equivalences, those from non-traditional education backgrounds are given advanced placement into post-secondary programs. During the pilot period, a cohort of reservists and veterans who have been given advanced placement are tracked and benchmarked against regular students in the same programs over time, measuring academic scores and testing for the development of skills, abilities, and qualities considered important for workplace success., Conference paper, Draft available.
Retroviral genetic algorithms
Proceedings of the 2011 International Conference on Evolutionary Computation Theory and Applications. Classical understandings of biological evolution inspired creation of the entire order of Evolutionary Computation (EC) heuristic optimization techniques. In turn, the development of EC has shown how living organisms use biomolecular implementations of these techniques to solve particular problems in survival and adaptation. An example of such a natural Genetic Algorithm (GA) is the way in which a higher organism's adaptive immune system selects antibodies and competes against its complement, the development of antigen variability by pathogenic organisms. In our approach, we use operators that implement the reproduction and diversification of genetic material in a manner inspired by retroviral reproduction and a genetic-engineering technique known as DNA shuffling. We call this approach Retroviral Genetic Algorithms, or retroGA (Spirov and Holloway, 2010). Here, we extend retroGA to include: (1) the utilization of tags in strings; (2) the capability of the Reproduction-Crossover operator to read these tags and interpret them as instructions; and (3), as a consequence, to use more than one reproductive strategy. We validated the efficacy of the extended retroGA technique with benchmark tests on concatenated trap functions and compared these with Royal Road and Royal Staircase functions., Conference paper, Published.
A review of the chemistry of the genus Crataegus
Since the 1800s, natural health products that contain hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) have been used in North America for the treatment of heart problems such as hypertension, angina, arrhythmia, and congestive heart failure. Traditionally, Native American tribes used hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) to treat gastrointestinal ailments and heart problems, and consumed the fruit as food. Hawthorn also has a long history of use in Europe and China for food, and in traditional medicine. Investigations of Crataegus spp. typically focus on the identification and quantification of flavonoids and anthocyanins, which have been shown to have pharmacological activity. The main flavonoids found in Crataegus spp. are hyperoside, vitexin, and additional glycosylated derivatives of these compounds. Reviewed herein are the botany, ethnobotany, and traditional use of hawthorn while focusing on the phytochemicals that have been reported in Crataegus species, and the variation in the described chemistry between individual species., Peer-reviewed article, Published. Received 4 July 2011; Revised 9 December 2011; Available online 17 May 2012.
Rho-kinase inhibition enhances axonal plasticity and attenuates cold hyperalgesia after dorsal rhizotomy
Dorsal rhizotomy results in primary deafferentation of the dorsal horn with concomitant sprouting of spared intraspinal monoaminergic axons. Because descending monoaminergic systems are thought to mitigate nociceptive transmission from the periphery and because dorsal rhizotomy can result in neuropathic pain, we sought to determine whether the rhizotomy-induced sprouting response could be further augmented. Because myelin-derived molecules mask endogenous plasticity of CNS axons and because myelin-inhibitory signaling occurs through the Rho-GTPase pathway, we inhibited Rho-pathway signaling after cervical dorsal rhizotomy in rats. An increase in the density of serotonergic- and tyrosine hydroxylase-positive fibers was seen in the dorsal horn 1 week after septuple rhizotomy, and axon density continued to increase for at least 1 month. One week after septuple rhizotomy, administration of intrathecal Y-27632, an antagonist of Rho-kinase (ROCK), increased the density of both fiber types over vehicle-treated controls. To examine behavioral effects of both cervical rhizotomy and ROCK inhibition, we examined responses to evoked pain: mechanical and thermal allodynia and cold hyperalgesia in the forepaw were examined after single, double, and quadruple rhizotomies of dorsal roots of the brachial plexus. The most notable behavioral outcome was the development of cold hyperalgesia in the affected forepaw after rhizotomies of the C7 and C8 dorsal roots. Application of Y-27632 both attenuated cold hyperalgesia and induced monoaminergic plasticity after C7/8 rhizotomy. Thus, inhibition of Rho-pathway signaling both promoted the sprouting of intact supraspinal monoaminergic fibers and alleviated pain after dorsal rhizotomy., Peer-reviewed article, Published. Received July 6, 2004; revised Oct. 3, 2004; accepted Oct. 18, 2004.
The rise of living architecture
"Gives voice to more than fifty extraordinary people who are currently engaged with this transformation. These individuals form a diverse community that cuts across professional disciplines, cultural, linguistic and gergraphical boundaries. They share a belief that they can make a difference through their varied efforts to expand living architectural approaches that result in biophilic, restorative buildings and healthier and more resilient communities." Profiles more than 50 of the hundreds of leaders that have created the base and molded the foundation of living architecture., Book, Published.
A roadmap to integration
Smart grid-related blogs, newsletters, and conferences have endured numerous debates and discussions around the issue of whether or not the smart grid integrated correctly. While most debates focus on approach, methodology, and the sequence of what to be done, there is insufficient discussion about actually meant by "smart grid integration." This article attempts to present a holistic view of integration and argues for the importance of developing system integration “maps” based on a utility's strategic smart grid road map., Article, Published
Schwann cells generated from neonatal skin-derived precursors or neonatal peripheral nerve improve functional recovery after acute transplantation into the partially injured cervical spinal cord of the rat
The transplantation of Schwann cells (SCs) holds considerable promise as a therapy for spinal cord injury, but the optimal source of these cells and the best timing for intervention remains debatable. Previously, we demonstrated that delayed transplantation of SCs generated from neonatal mouse skin-derived precursors (SKP-SCs) promoted repair and functional recovery in rats with thoracic contusions. Here, we conducted two experiments using neonatal rat cells and an incomplete cervical injury model to examine the efficacy of acute SKP-SC transplantation versus media control (Experiment 1) and versus nerve-derived SC or dermal fibroblast (Fibro) transplantation (Experiment 2). Despite limited graft survival, by 10 weeks after injury, rats that received SCs from either source showed improved functional recovery compared with media- or fibroblast-treated animals. Compared with media treatment, SKP-SC-transplanted rats showed enhanced rubrospinal tract (RST) sparing/plasticity in the gray matter (GM) rostral to injury, particularly in the absence of immunosuppression. The functional benefits of SC transplantations over fibroblast treatment correlated with the enhanced preservation of host tissue, reduced RST atrophy, and/or increased RST sparing/plasticity in the GM. In summary, our results indicate that: (1) early transplantation of neonatal SCs generated from skin or nerve promotes repair and functional recovery after incomplete cervical crush injury; (2) either of these cell types is preferable to Fibros for these purposes; and (3) age-matched SCs from these two sources do not differ in terms of their reparative effects or functional efficacy after transplantation into the injured cervical spinal cord., Peer-reviewed article, Published.Received March 17, 2014; revised March 18, 2015; accepted March 21, 2015.
A scoping review of data logger technologies used with manual wheelchairs
Proceedings of 2015 RESNA Annual Conference. In recent years, more and more studies are using data logger technologies to document driving and physiological characteristics of manual wheelchair users. However, the technologies used offer marked differences in characteristics such as measured outcomes, ease of use, burden, etc. The objective of this study is to examine the extent of research activity that relied on data logger technologies for manual wheelchair users. We undertook a scoping review of the scientific and gray literature. Five databases were searched from January 1979 to November 2014: Medline, Compendex, CINAHL, EMBASE and Google Scholar. This review retained 104 papers. The selected papers document a wide variety of systems and technologies, measuring a whole range of outcomes. Of all technologies combined, 16.8% were accelerometers installed on the user, 14.8% were magnetic odometers or odometers installed on the wheelchair, 10.2% were accelerometers installed on the wheelchair and 8.67% were heart monitors. So, it is not surprising that the most reported outcomes were distance, speed and acceleration of the wheelchair, and heart rate. In the future, it may be necessary to reach a consensus on what outcomes are important to measure and how. Technological improvements and access to less expensive devices will probably make it possible to easily measure many important outcomes at relatively low cost., Conference paper, Published.
Searching for early developmental activities leading to computational thinking skills
Proceedings from the 2017 ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education. Drawing on the long debate about whether computer science (CS) and computational thinking skills are innate or learnable, this working group is based on the following hypothesis: The apparent innate ability of some CS learners who succeed in CS courses despite no prior exposure to computing is a manifestation of early childhood experiences and learning outside formal education., Peer reviewed, Conference paper, Published., K-12 education, Computational thinking
Seasonal indoor humidity levels of apartment suites in a mild coastal climate
It is essential to design and operate buildings with good indoor air quality because people spend most of their time indoors, and their productivity, comfort, and health depend on the quality of the indoor air. In addition to other indoor-air-quality parameters, the indoor humidity and temperature need to be controlled and maintained within acceptable ranges. Elevated indoor humidity creates favorable conditions for mold growth and building-envelope damage. To minimize such problems, it is important that designers have insight into the level of indoor humidity that will be expected in a building operating under a set of conditions and weather variation. In this paper, the results of monitoring the indoor temperature and humidity of four apartment suites with different occupancy levels are reported. Along with the indoor-air conditions, the local outdoor temperature and relative humidity were continuously measured for 17 months. The indoor humidities in the suites were correlated with the outdoor air temperature and humidity and compared with the European indoor climate class model. Moreover, the indoor-temperature and relative-humidity ranges in the four suites during the winter, spring, summer, and fall seasons and the temperature and humidity distributions within the suites are reported., Technical papers, Published. Received: September 22, 2014. Accepted: February 03, 2015. Published online: April 21, 2015.
Security and trust for surveillance cameras
Proceedings of 2017 IEEE Conference on Communications and Network Security (CNS) in Las Vegas, NV, USA, USA on 9-11 Oct. 2017.We address security and trust in the context of a commercial IP camera. We take a hands-on approach, as we not only define abstract vulnerabilities, but we actually implement the attacks on a real camera. We then discuss the nature of the attacks and the root cause; we propose a formal model of trust that can be used to address the vulnerabilities by explicitly constraining compositionality for trust relationships., Conference paper, Published.
Sensitive homes
Conference proceedings from ASHRAE IAQ 2013: Environmental Health in Low Energy Buildings, October 15 - 18, 2013 in Vancouver, BC, Canada., Peer reviewed, Conference proceeding
Shaped 3D singular spectrum analysis for quantifying gene expression, with application to the early zebrafish embryo
Recent progress in microscopy technologies, biological markers, and automated processing methods is making possible the development of gene expression atlases at cellular-level resolution over whole embryos. Raw data on gene expression is usually very noisy. This noise comes from both experimental (technical/methodological) and true biological sources (from stochastic biochemical processes). In addition, the cells or nuclei being imaged are irregularly arranged in 3D space. This makes the processing, extraction, and study of expression signals and intrinsic biological noise a serious challenge for 3D data, requiring new computational approaches. Here, we present a new approach for studying gene expression in nuclei located in a thick layer around a spherical surface. The method includes depth equalization on the sphere, flattening, interpolation to a regular grid, pattern extraction by Shaped 3D singular spectrum analysis (SSA), and interpolation back to original nuclear positions. The approach is demonstrated on several examples of gene expression in the zebrafish egg (a model system in vertebrate development). The method is tested on several different data geometries (e.g., nuclear positions) and different forms of gene expression patterns. Fully 3D datasets for developmental gene expression are becoming increasingly available; we discuss the prospects of applying 3D-SSA to data processing and analysis in this growing field., Peer-reviewed article, Published. Received 8 February 2015; Accepted 1 May 2015.
Shaped singular spectrum analysis for quantifying gene expression, with application to the early drosophila embryo
In recent years, with the development of automated microscopy technologies, the volume and complexity of image data on gene expression have increased tremendously. The only way to analyze quantitatively and comprehensively such biological data is by developing and applying new sophisticated mathematical approaches. Here, we present extensions of 2D singular spectrum analysis (2D-SSA) for application to 2D and 3D datasets of embryo images. These extensions, circular and shaped 2D-SSA, are applied to gene expression in the nuclear layer just under the surface of the Drosophila (fruit fly) embryo. We consider the commonly used cylindrical projection of the ellipsoidal Drosophila embryo. We demonstrate how circular and shaped versions of 2D-SSA help to decompose expression data into identifiable components (such as trend and noise), as well as separating signals from different genes. Detection and improvement of under- and overcorrection in multichannel imaging is addressed, as well as the extraction and analysis of 3D features in 3D gene expression patterns., Peer-reviewed article, Published. Received 4 July 2014; Revised 10 September 2014; Accepted 10 September 2014.
Sharp borders from fuzzy gradients
Critical boundaries in the early Drosophila embryo are set by morphogenetic gradients. A new quantitative study shows that the placement of one such boundary is more accurate than the gradient thought to set it. Genetic analysis of the accuracy of the process implicates a gene not previously thought to be involved., Peer-reviewed article, Published.
Simulation of wind-driven rain effects on the performance of a stucco-clad wall
Thermal Performance of Exterior Envelopes of Whole Buildings X International Conference, Clearwater Beach, Florida, USA, December 02, 2007. This climate sensitivity study studied the effects of wind-driven rain on a stucco-clad wall using the advanced hygrothermal model, hygIRC. Simulations were made for a number of climatic conditions based on the moisture index (MI) and for amounts of water deposited inside a wall. The moisture index was based on the severity of a given climate in respect to wall assemblies and the degree of wetting and drying to which a wall could potentially be subjected. The failure criteria was the concurrent occurrence of temperature and relative humidity above thresholds of 10oC and 95% respectively, for ninety consecutive days at any location of wood-based material in the wall., Conference paper, Published. A version of this document is published in: Thermal Performance of Exterior Envelopes of Whole Buildings X International Conference, Clearwater Beach, FL., Dec. 2-7, 2007, pp. 1-15.

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