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We propose a multiagent, large-scale, vehicle routing modeling framework for the simulation of transportation system. The goal of this paper is twofold. Firstly, we investigate how individual and social knowledge interact and ultimately influence the effectiveness of resulting traffic flow. Secondly, we evaluate how different discrete-event simulation designs (delays vs. queuing) affect conclusions within the model. We present a new agent-based model that combines the efficient discrete-event approach to modeling with the intelligent drivers who are capable to learn about their environment in the long-term perspective from both, individual experience, and widely available social knowledge. The approach is illustrated as practical application to modeling commuter behavior in the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. All simulations in the paper are fully reproducible as they have been carried out by utilizing a set of opensource libraries and tools that we have developed for the Julia programming language and that are openly available on GitHub. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines indigeneity and spatial production in the city of Winnipeg, home to the largest urban Indigenous population in Canada. Using data from semi‐structured interviews with Indigenous inhabitants, municipal officials, and Indigenous leaders, this paper argues that the right to the city and to difference are deradicalized for urban Indigenous communities. Indigenous engagement in processes of everyday urbanism occurs through broadly participatory public consultation and through mechanisms designed by City Hall to communicate with Indigenous communities about municipal initiatives. To arrive at a more robust and meaningful Indigenous urban visibility in Canadian cities, spatial production and programming mechanisms will need to be reconstituted. Guided by the perspectives of Indigenous participants, this paper considers some of what Indigenous urbanism might yet entail. Fulfilling coexistence and reconciliation is dependent on enabling Indigenous urbanism to guide the course taken in urban governance, spatial planning, and the built environment of Canadian cities. Key Messages: Contemporary planning and design does not recognize Indigenous social, cultural, and symbolic presence in cities and continues to marginalize Indigenous peoples from urban life.Indigenous peoples expect to play an unmediated role in shaping the sociality and spatiality of the city, building cultural density through its institutions and practices.Enabling Indigenous urbanism begins with creating a material and discursive sense of place for Indigenous inhabitants in the everyday lived experience of Canadian cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethical research practice within community-based research involves many dimensions, including a commitment to return results to participants in a timely and accessible fashion. Often, current Indigenous community-based research is driven by a partnership model; however, dissemination of findings may not always follow this approach. As a result, products may not be as useful to participants who were motivated to be involved in the research process. We conducted a seven-week workshop on three occasions with different First Nations and Metis women and girls (age 8-12) in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The workshop explored participants' perspectives around health, safety, and family wellbeing using a strength-based, participatory approach. Participants noted that a key challenge they face when interacting with researchers, policy makers, and program staff is the lack of tailored dissemination materials. Returning results in a format that meets the expressed desire of participants is an ethical necessity to ensure that research is not perpetuating past colonial practices. Doing so quickly and with meaningful content requires careful execution and consideration, especially when working within intergenerational contexts. We describe in this paper how results were returned to families in an accessible way outlining the role that integrated knowledge exchange can play in the process of healing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Physical salt attack (PSA) is a key damage mechanism of concrete in salt-bearing environments. • The current paper presents a case study analyzing the condition of repaired concrete piles in 47-year-old administrative building. • Deterioration of the concrete piles was observed above the ground level and repair zones. • Thermal, mineralogical and microscopy analyses showed that the underlying mechanism of damage was PSA. • The repair concrete could not stop the progress of PSA on the concrete above it. • Recommendations for future repair strategies are made. Physical salt attack (PSA) is a key damage mechanism of concrete in salt-bearing environments. Multiple case studies were reported throughout literature on PSA of concrete; yet, without any case on the performance of repaired concrete elements. The current paper presents a case study analyzing the condition of repaired concrete piles in 47-year-old administrative building in Winnipeg, MB, Canada, after 22 years from repair works. Deterioration of the concrete piles was visually observed above the ground level and repair zones, in the form of scaling, crumbling and reduction of cross section. In addition to fluid transport and pore structural features tests, mineralogical, thermal and microscopy analyses were performed on concrete chunks/cores extracted from the piles to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of damage. The repair concrete was capable of mitigating chemical and physical sulfate attacks; however, it could not stop the progress of PSA on the concrete above it, urging for careful design of repair strategies for elements subjected to PSA. Recommendations for future repair in this case are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of fiber-reinforced composite materials for the construction and rehabilitation of civil engineering structures is relatively new. Structural members are routinely joined by bolted connections. Bolted connections are relatively easy to assemble and maintain, and are capable of transferring the high loads that typically occur in civil engineering structures. Currently there is a serious lack of knowledge on the behavior and design of bolted connections for fiber-reinforced composites. In light of this, a comprehensive experimental and analytical investigation was conducted at the University of Manitoba to study the behavior of bolted connections in composite materials appropriate for civil engineering applications. A total of 102 single-bolt connections were tested up to failure. The various parameters investigated were the width of the structural member, the edge distance, the thickness, and the direction of the fibers with respect to the applied load. The experimental program also included comprehensive material testing to determine the various in-plane material properties. This paper discusses the experimental program, test results, and various modes of failure as affected by the foregoing parameters. From the test results an analytical model and design procedure were developed as proposed in a companion paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Please cite this paper as: Mahmud et al. (2012) Outbreaks of influenza-like illness in long-term care facilities in Winnipeg, Canada. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses 10.1111/irv.12052 Background Outbreaks of influenza-like illness (ILI) are common in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) and result in significant morbidity and mortality among residents. Objectives We describe patterns of reported ILI outbreaks in LTCFs in Winnipeg, Canada, and examine LTCF and outbreak characteristics that influence the clinical outcomes of these outbreaks. Methods We analyzed the electronic records of all ILI outbreaks reported by LTCFs in Winnipeg from 2003 to 2011. Outbreak duration, ILI attack rates among staff and residents, and residents' death rates were calculated by presumed viral etiology, staff vaccination rates, type of influenza chemoprophylaxis used, and time to notification to public health. Results Of a total of 154 reported outbreaks, most ( N = 80) were attributed to influenza, and these outbreaks tended to have higher attack and death rates among LTCF residents compared with outbreaks caused by other respiratory viruses (12) or those of unknown etiology (62). About 92% of residents and 38% of staff of the average LTCFs were vaccinated. Chemoprophylaxis was used in 57·5% of influenza outbreaks. Regardless of presumed viral etiology, outbreaks reported within 3 days of onset ended sooner and had lower attack and mortality rates among residents. Conclusions Influenza-like illness outbreaks still occur among highly immunized LTCF residents, so in addition to vaccination of staff and residents, it is important to maintain competent infection control practices. Early identification and notification to public health authorities and possibly early initiation of control measures could improve clinical outcomes of ILI outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An extensive research project is currently being carried out at the University of Manitoba, Canada, involving the development of glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) wind turbine towers. The towers consist of multi-cell segments, each segment constructed from eight filament wound cells jointed together with resin applied over their interface. The present paper mainly addresses the static and dynamic characteristics, such as failure static loads, modes of failure, fundamental frequencies and periods of such segmented composite towers. Both experimental and numerical results are presented. The experimental investigation involved the testing of two jointed scaled towers. These specimens had a total height of 4.88-m (16-ft) and were tested as cantilevers under static and dynamic loading. The testing was conducted at the W.R. McQuade Structural Engineering Laboratory of the University of Manitoba. Finally, finite element models were developed to analyze the structural behavior, static and dynamic, of single and multi-cell composite segments and towers. The results from the finite element models under static loading were validated through comparison with the experimental results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper reviews the flood frequency characteristics of the Red River at Winnipeg. The impacts of persistence in the flood series on estimates of flood quantiles and their associated confidence intervals are examined. This is done by generating a large number of data sequences using a mixed noise model that preserves the short-term and long-term correlation structures of the observed flood series. The results reveal that persistence in the data series can lead to a slight increase in the expected flood magnitude for a given return period. More importantly, persistence is shown to dramatically increase the uncertainty associated with estimated flood quantiles. The 117-year flood series for the Red River at Winnipeg is demonstrated to be equivalent to roughly 45 years of independent data.Key words: flood frequency, extreme events, simulation, historical data.Cet article examine les caractéristiques de la fréquence des crues de la rivière Rouge à Winnipeg. Les impacts de la persistance dans la série de débits sur les estimés des quantiles de crues et leurs intervalles de confiance associés sont examinés. Ceci est effectué en générant un large nombre de séquences de données en utilisant un modèle avec bruits mixtes qui préserve la structure de corrélation à court et à long terme de la série de débits observés. Les résultats révèlent que la persistance dans la série de données peut mener à une légère augmentation de la magnitude anticipée de la crue pour une certaine période de retour. Plus important encore, il a été montré que la persistance augmente dramatiquement l'incertitude associée avec l'estimation des quantiles de crues. La série de 117 ans de débits pour la rivière Rouge à Winnipeg a démontrée être équivalente à 45 ans de données indépendantes.Mots clés : fréquence de crues, événements extrêmes, simulation, données historiques.[Traduit par la Rédaction] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern wide-bandgap (WBG) devices, such as silicon carbide (SiC) or gallium nitride (GaN) based devices, have emerged and been increasingly used in power electronics (PE) applications due to their superior switching feature. The power losses of these devices become the key of system efficiency improvement, especially for high-frequency applications. In this paper, a generalized behavioral model of a switch-diode cell (SDC) is proposed for power loss estimation in the electromagnetic transient simulation. The proposed model is developed based on the circuit level switching process analysis, which considers the effects of parasitics, the operating temperature, and the interaction of diode and switch. In addition, the transient waveforms of the SDC are simulated by the proposed model using dependent voltage and current sources with passive components. Besides, the approaches of obtaining model parameters from the datasheets are given and the modelling method is applicable to various semiconductors such Si insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), Si/SiC metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET), and GaN devices. Further, a multi-dimensional power loss table in a wide range of operating conditions can be obtained with fast speed and reasonable accuracy. The proposed approach is implemented in PSCAD/ Electromagnetic Transients including DC, EMTDC, (v4.6, Winnipeg, MB, Canada) and further verified by the hardware setups including different daughter boards for different devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High temperature superconducting (HTS) power cables are a potential solution for the grid integration of offshore wind farms since the HTS cable can conduct bulk wind power at low voltage levels. However, the transient current through the HTS cable in cases of low voltage ride through (LVRT) operation has a negative impact on the HTS cable operation due to the quenching phenomenon. This paper analyzes the impact of LVRT control strategies on the HTS cable operation. In addition, a coordinated control of wind turbines for LVRT improvement of an offshore wind farm is proposed. The feasibility of the HTS cable application for the grid connection of offshore wind farms is also discussed in this study. The proposed controller is designed for the wind turbine generator based on a type-4 permanent magnet synchronous generator. In the proposed controller, the transient current through the HTS cable is reduced by regulating the machine side power during fault conditions. The feasibility of the proposed controller is validated in the PSCAD/EMTDC program (Manitoba Hydro International Ltd., Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, version 4.2.1). The effects of transient current on the cable temperatures and resistances are analyzed in this study. Simulation results show that the proposed control strategy could reduce the transient current and temperature rise of the HTS cable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new control scheme for the low frequency AC transmission (LFAC) system aiming at extending the point-to-point configuration to form a multi-terminal electrical energy network. The multi-terminal low frequency ac (MT-LFAC) system configuration is based on the use of modular multilevel matrix converters (M3Cs) and virtual synchronous generator (VSG) control. The M3C is the next ac/ac converter generation, which is used as an interface with the conventional AC network and the LFAC electrical energy system. Application of VSG control is proposed to enable proper power sharing, to provide synchronization of each terminal, and frequency stabilization, thus, to offer multiterminal forming capability. Two different operation modes are applied in the system to damp the frequency deviation after a dynamic perturbation, which provides additional stabilization feature to the VSG. Frequency restoration mode and commanded mode of power sharing are applied as dynamic states to validate the robustness of the VSG control system. Besides, to solve the negative impact of low X/R ratio in the LFAC electrical energy system, we enhance the VSG control by proposing a virtual-impedance-based solution, which increases the output total impedance on the low frequency side and prevents the coupling between P and Q. The operation of the proposed system is examined by simulation results with a precise model of M3Cs in the PSCAD/ EMTDC software environment (version 4.2.1, Winnipeg, MB, Canada). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]