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BCIT Citations Collection

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An experimental study of the physicochemical properties of a cement matrix containing dredged materials
Recently, the amount of dredged soil material (DM) has been rapidly increasing in Korea due to four major river maintenance projects and new harbor construction. DM waste is mostly dumped into the ocean, while only a small part of it has been utilized for coastal reclaiming, or as filling and backfilling material. This study carried out physical and chemical tests to map out a specific plan for utilizing DM in a mortar mixture. The compressive strength tests and microstructure analysis using XRD and SEM of cement mortar contained DM were performed as a replacement for fine aggregate or as a filler material of mortar matrix. The study measured the impact of contaminants contained in DM and how silt and clay influenced the compressive strength of the mortar., Peer-reviewed article, Published. Received April 7th, 2011; revised May 16th, 2011; accepted June 1st, 2011.
Feasibility of sensory tongue stimulation combined with task-specific therapy in people with spinal cord injury
Background Previous evidence suggests the effects of task-specific therapy can be further enhanced when sensory stimulation is combined with motor practice. Sensory tongue stimulation is thought to facilitate activation of regions in the brain that are important for balance and gait. Improvements in balance and gait have significant implications for functional mobility for people with incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI). The aim of this case study was to evaluate the feasibility of a lab- and home-based program combining sensory tongue stimulation with balance and gait training on functional outcomes in people with iSCI. Methods Two male participants (S1 and S2) with chronic motor iSCI completed 12 weeks of balance and gait training (3 lab and 2 home based sessions per week) combined with sensory tongue stimulation using the Portable Neuromodulation Stimulator (PoNS). Laboratory based training involved 20 minutes of standing balance with eyes closed and 30 minutes of body-weight support treadmill walking. Home based sessions consisted of balancing with eyes open and walking with parallel bars or a walker for up to 20 minutes each. Subjects continued daily at-home training for an additional 12 weeks as follow-up. Results Both subjects were able to complete a minimum of 83% of the training sessions. Standing balance with eyes closed increased from 0.2 to 4.0 minutes and 0.0 to 0.2 minutes for S1 and S2, respectively. Balance confidence also improved at follow-up after the home-based program. Over ground walking speed improved by 0.14 m/s for S1 and 0.07 m/s for S2, and skilled walking function improved by 60% and 21% for S1 and S2, respectively. Conclusions Sensory tongue stimulation combined with task-specific training may be a feasible method for improving balance and gait in people with iSCI. Our findings warrant further controlled studies to determine the added benefits of sensory tongue stimulation to rehabilitation training., Peer-reviewed article, Published. Received: 10 July 2013 ; Accepted: 2 June 2014 ; Published: 6 June 2014.
Fibroblast growth factor treatment produces differential effects on survival and neurite outgrowth from identified bulbospinal neurons in vitro
The in vivo application of appropriate trophic factors may enhance regeneration of bulbospinal projections after spinal cord injury. Currently, little is known about the sensitivities of specific bulbospinal neuron populations to the many identified trophic factors. We devised novel in vitro assays to study trophic effects on the survival and neurite outgrowth of identified bulbospinal neurons. Carbocyanine dye crystals implanted into the cervical spinal cord of embryonic day (E)5 chick embryos retrogradely labeled developing bulbospinal neurons. On E8, dissociated cultures containing labeled bulbospinal neurons were prepared. Fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-2 (but not FGF-1) promoted the survival of bulbospinal neurons. FGF receptor expression was widespread in the E8 brainstem, but not detected in young bulbospinal neurons, suggesting that nonneuronal cells mediated the FGF-stimulated survival response. Astrocytes synthesize a variety of trophic factors, and astrocyte-conditioned medium (ACM) also promoted the survival of bulbospinal neurons. As might be expected, FGF-2 function blocking antibodies did not suppress ACM-promoted survival, nor did an ELISA detect FGF-2 in ACM. This suggests that nonneuronal cells synthesize other factors in response to exogenous FGF-2 which promote the survival of bulbospinal neurons. Focusing on vestibulospinal neurons, dissociated (survival assay) or explant (neurite outgrowth assay) cultures were prepared. FGF-2 promoted both survival and neurite outgrowth of identified vestibulospinal neurons. Interestingly, FGF-1 promoted neurite outgrowth but not survival; the converse was true of FGF-9. Thus, differential effects of specific growth factors on survival or neurite outgrowth of bulbospinal neurons were distinguished., Peer-reviewed article, Published. Received 10 September 1999; Accepted 18 January 2000; Available online 25 May 2002.
Functional level assessment of individuals with transtibial limb loss
The functional level (K level) of prosthetic users is used to choose appropriate prosthetic components, but ratings may highly subjective. A more objective and robust method to determine K level may be appealing. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between K level determined in the clinic to K level based on real world ambulatory activity data collected by StepWatch. Twelve individuals with transtibial limb loss gave informed consent to participate. K level assessments performed in the clinic by a single treating prosthetist were compared with a calculated estimate based on seven days of real world ambulatory activity patterns using linear regression. There was good agreement between the two methods of determining K level with R2 = 0.775 (p < 0.001). The calculated estimate of K level based on actual ambulatory activity in real world settings appears to be similar to the treating prosthetist’s assessment of K level based on gait observation and patient responses in the clinic. Clinic-based ambulatory capacity in transtibial prosthetic users appears to correlate with real world ambulatory behavior in this small cohort. Determining functional level based on real world ambulatory activity may supplement clinic-based tests of functional capacity., Peer-reviewed article, Published. Date received: 2 December 2015; Accepted: 20 January 2016; First Published March 9, 2016.
A functional task analysis and motion simulation for the development of a powered upper-limb orthosis
Describes research work directed towards the development and application of a design methodology to determine the optimal configuration of a powered upper-limb orthosis. The design objective was to minimize the orthosis complexity, defined as the number of degrees of freedom, while maintaining the ability to perform specific tasks. This objective was achieved in three stages. First, potential users of a powered orthosis were interviewed to determine their priority tasks. Secondly, the natural arm motions of able-bodied individuals performing the priority tasks were profiled using a video tracking system. Finally, a kinematic simulation algorithm was developed and employed in order to evaluate whether a proposed orthosis configuration could perform the priority tasks. The research results indicate that task functionality is overly compromised for orthosis configurations with less than five degrees of freedom, plus prehension. Acceptable task performance, based on the specific priority tasks considered, was achieved in the simulations of two different orthosis configurations with five degrees of freedom. In the first design option, elevation (rotation about a horizontal axis through the shoulder) and radial/ulnar deviation are fixed, while in the second option wrist flexion and radial/ulnar deviation are fixed. A prototype orthosis is currently being developed using the first design option., Peer-reviewed article, Published.
Gene expression noise in spatial patterning
Positional information in developing embryos is specified by spatial gradients of transcriptional regulators. One of the classic systems for studying this is the activation of the hunchback (hb) gene in early fruit fly (Drosophila) segmentation by the maternally-derived gradient of the Bicoid (Bcd) protein. Gene regulation is subject to intrinsic noise which can produce variable expression. This variability must be constrained in the highly reproducible and coordinated events of development. We identify means by which noise is controlled during gene expression by characterizing the dependence of hb mRNA and protein output noise on hb promoter structure and transcriptional dynamics. We use a stochastic model of the hb promoter in which the number and strength of Bcd and Hb (self-regulatory) binding sites can be varied. Model parameters are fit to data from WT embryos, the self-regulation mutant hb(14F), and lacZ reporter constructs using different portions of the hb promoter. We have corroborated model noise predictions experimentally. The results indicate that WT (self-regulatory) Hb output noise is predominantly dependent on the transcription and translation dynamics of its own expression, rather than on Bcd fluctuations. The constructs and mutant, which lack self-regulation, indicate that the multiple Bcd binding sites in the hb promoter (and their strengths) also play a role in buffering noise. The model is robust to the variation in Bcd binding site number across a number of fly species. This study identifies particular ways in which promoter structure and regulatory dynamics reduce hb output noise. Insofar as many of these are common features of genes (e.g. multiple regulatory sites, cooperativity, self-feedback), the current results contribute to the general understanding of the reproducibility and determinacy of spatial patterning in early development., Peer-reviewed article, Publisher. Received July 4, 2010; Accepted December 28, 2010; Published February 3, 2011.
A greenhouse gas emissions inventory and ecological footprint analysis of Metro Vancouver residents’ air travel
Ecological Footprint Analysis (EFA) at the city or regional scale does not typically include air travel due to a lack of readily available data. However, knowing the “load” placed on nature by various lifestyle choices, including air travel, is essential if we hope to enable society to live sustainably within ecological limits. This paper provides methods for including air travel in urban EFA, in a manner that is accessible to those that are interested in the complexities of urban sustainability. Our goal is to use the case of the Vancouver Metropolitan region to illustrate two methods in such a way that they can be replicated or adapted for use in other cities and regions. We found that the greenhouse gas emissions of air travel by Metro Vancouver residents for 2006 is between 1,191,070 and 1,402,420 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e). The resulting ecological footprint is between 287,030 and 337,980 global hectares (gha), or between 0.136 and 0.160 gha/capita. The dedicated carbon sink required to neutralize the carbon dioxide emissions from Metro Vancouver residents’ air travel alone is equivalent to twice the land area of the region (283,183 hectares)., Peer-reviewed article, Published. Received: July 15, 2013 ; Accepted: September 16, 2013 ; Online Published: September 27, 2013.
Heat, air and moisture transport properties of several North American bricks and mortar mixes
Hygrothermal models are emerging as practical building design tools. These models require a set of reliable inputs to provide results that are meaningful to the designers. One of these inputs is the set of heat, air and moisture transport properties of materials. For any given class of building materials the properties may vary within a broad range. This paper reports the porosity, density, matrix density, thermal conductivity, equilibrium moisture content, water vapor permeability, water absorption coefficient, liquid diffusivity and air permeability of six types of bricks and four mortar mixes that are commonly used in North America. The experimental and analytical procedures follow either international standards or well-established methodologies., Peer reviewed article, Published. Received 9 July 2003; accepted 17 March 2004.
Heat, air and moisture transport properties of three North American stuccos
Heat, air, and moisture transfer models that are used as practical building design tools require reliable inputs to provide meaningful results. One of these inputs is the set of heat, air, and moisture transport properties of materials. For any given class of building materials the properties may vary within a broad range. This paper reports the porosity, density, matrix density, thermal conductivity, equilibrium moisture content, water vapor permeability, water absorption coefficient, liquid diffusivity, and air permeability of regular lime stucco, regular Portland cement stucco, and acrylic stucco that are commonly used in North America. The experimental and analytical procedures follow either international standards or well-established methodologies., Peer reviewed article, Published. Received 9 January 2004; accepted 13 October 2005; published online 25 January 2006.
Identification of quantitative trait loci controlling fibre length and lignin content in Arabidopsis thaliana stems
Fibre properties and the biochemical composition of cell walls are important traits in many applications. For example, the lengths of fibres define the strength and quality of paper, and lignin content is a critical parameter for the use of biomass in biofuel production. Identifying genes controlling these traits is comparatively difficult in woody species, because of long generation times and limited amenability to high-resolution genetic mapping. To address this problem, this study mapped quantitative trait loci (QTLs) defining fibre length and lignin content in the Arabidopsis recombinant inbred line population Col-4×Ler-0. Adapting high-throughput phenotyping techniques for both traits for measurements in Arabidopsis inflorescence stems identified significant QTLs for fibre length on chromosomes 2 and 5, as well as one significant QTL affecting lignin content on chromosome 2. For fibre length, total variation within the population was 208% higher than between parental lines and the identified QTLs explained 50.58% of the observed variation. For lignin content, the values were 261 and 26.51%, respectively. Bioinformatics analysis of the associated intervals identified a number of candidate genes for fibre length and lignin content. This study demonstrates that molecular mapping of QTLs pertaining to wood and fibre properties is possible in Arabidopsis, which substantially broadens the use of Arabidopsis as a model species for the functional characterization of plant genes., Peer-reviewed article, Published. Received 3 April 2012; Revised 11 October 2012; Accepted 15 October 2012.
Impact of electrical intertie capacity on carbon policy effectiveness
This study investigates the potential cost and emissions reductions that result from an increase in electricity transmission capacity between Canada's two westernmost provinces: Alberta, a fossil fuel dominated jurisdiction, and British Columbia, a predominantly hydroelectric jurisdiction. A bottom-up model is used to find the least cost electricity generation mix in Alberta and British Columbia under different carbon policies. The long-term evolution of the electricity system is determined by minimizing net present cost of electricity generation for the time span of 2010–2060. Different levels of intertie capacity expansion are considered together with a variety of carbon tax and carbon cap scenarios. Results indicate that increased intertie capacity reduces the cost of electricity and emissions under carbon pricing policies. However, the expandable intertie does not encourage greater adoption of variable renewable generation. Instead, it is used to move low-cost energy from the United States to Alberta. The optimal intertie capacity and cost reduction of increased interconnectivity increases with more restrictive carbon policies., Peer-reviewed article, Published. Received 3 March 2016, Revised 23 September 2016, Accepted 12 October 2016, Available online 15 November 2016.
The impact of spinal cord injury on sexual function
Study Design: Secure, web-based survey. Objectives: Obtain information from the spinal cord injured (SCI) population regarding sexual dysfunctions, with the aim of developing new basic science and clinical research and eventual therapies targeting these issues. Setting: Worldwide web. Methods: Individuals 18 years or older living with SCI. Participants obtained a pass-code to enter a secure website and answered survey questions. A total of 286 subjects completed the survey. Results: The majority of participants stated that their SCI altered their sexual sense of self and that improving their sexual function would improve their quality of life (QoL). The primary reason for pursuing sexual activity was for intimacy need, not fertility. Bladder and bowel concerns during sexual activity were not strong enough to deter the majority of the population from engaging in sexual activity. However, in the subset of individuals concerned about bladder and/or bowel incontinence during sexual activity, this was a highly significant issue. In addition, the occurrence of autonomic dysreflexia (AD) during typical bladder or bowel care was a significant variable predicting the occurrence and distress of AD during sexual activity. Conclusion: Sexual function and its resultant impact on QoL is a major issue to an overwhelming majority of people living with SCI. This certainly constitutes the need for expanding research in multiple aspects to develop future therapeutic interventions for sexual health and SCI., Peer-reviewed article, Published.

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