HARVEST
University of Saskatchewan's Repository for Research, Scholarship, and Artistic Work
Welcome to HARVEST, the repository for research, scholarship, and artistic work created by the University of Saskatchewan community. Browse our collections below or find out more and submit your work.
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Recent Submissions
Novel PAPR Reduction Method for OFDM Signals with Tone Reservation and Index Modulation
(IEEE, 2026) Nguyen, Khai; Nguyen, Ha H.; Bedeer, Ebrahim; Salt, Eric; Howlett, Colin
This paper introduces a novel method to minimize the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) and at the same time enhance the data rates of orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) systems by combining tone reservation (TR) and index modulation (IM). Unlike conventional TR methods, in which a number of tones (or subcarriers) with fixed positions are reserved for canceling the peaks in OFDM signals, the TR-IM method treats the positions of the reserved tones (TR tones) as random and embeds extra information in their positions using IM. In the proposed system, the amplitudes of the TR tones are quantized with a novel quantization method, which not only helps the receiver distinguish between data tones and TR tones, but also enables the TR tones to carry data on their amplitudes. Based on that, we propose a novel forward error correction (FEC) structure to increase the reliability of detection without requiring extra overhead. The proposed FEC design encodes the IM activation pattern rather than the index data bits, and carries the resulting parity bits with a novel mechanism that exploits the extra bits carried on the amplitudes of the TR tones. Simulation results show that, not only does our proposed system have significantly higher data rates, but it can also achieve remarkable PAPR reduction performance as well as a lower bit error rate than the original OFDM systems under the influence of the non-linear distortion caused by power amplifiers.
The preferences of Lumbricus terrestris earthworms for weed seeds typical of the Northern Great Plains agroecosystems
(Cambridge University Press, 2025) Ji, Pengfei; Ali, Khaldoun A.; Willenbord, Christian J.
Earthworms are postdispersal seed predators that can influence weed communities in temperate agroecosystems. Recent studies have found that seed feeding by earthworms tends to be driven by the active selection of certain seed species rather than random encounter. Numerous seed traits are expected to affect seed selection by earthworms, including seed size, shape, coat hardness, and nutritional content. The impact of these traits on seed selection by earthworms tends to vary depending on seed species identity and earthworm species identity, rendering the outcome of earthworm–seed interactions hard to predict. We carried out laboratory experiments to investigate the impact of seed physical and chemical traits on seed choice by the common earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris). Seeds of six weed species typical of the Northern Great Plains agroecosystem, wild mustard (Sinapis arvensis L.), field pennycress (Thlaspi arvense L.), shepherd’s purse [Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medik.], catchweed bedstraw (Galium aparine L.), green foxtail [Setaria viridis (L.) P. Beauv.], and redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.), were offered to L. terrestris in multiple-choice feeding arenas. The results showed that seeds of S. arvensis and C. bursa-pastoris, both of which have high lipid content, were the most consumed. Seed ingestion was negatively influenced by irregular seed shapes and long seed length, but these physical traits did not override the strong preference for lipid-rich seeds. These findings suggest that seed selection by L. terrestris earthworms was strongly influenced by the lipid content of the seed when seed morphology (i.e., size and shape) varied within certain limits. Therefore, seed nutrients are likely to play an important role in weed seed choice by L. terrestris earthworms when seed physical traits do not impose major constraints on ingestion.
How Two Canadian Organizations Created a National Model for Diamond Open Access
(Annual Reviews, 2026-01-15) Friedman, Jason; Dallaire-Clark, Jessica; Duncan, Claire; Holmes, Amanda
Canadian organizations are known for their strong collaborations. Eleven years ago, our organizations—the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) (Canada’s national university library consortium) and Érudit (Canada’s foremost research dissemination platform)—launched the Partnership for Open Access (POA). In an era before the term diamond open access (OA) had entered our lexicon, the POA transformed a vendor-client relationship into a collaborative partnership to support OA without author-facing fees.
In this article, we will outline how the POA provides unique support for diamond OA in Canada and explore the challenges that libraries and consortia face when they support values-based initiatives.
Agricultural environmental ethics: an emerging way to understand and solve sustainability challenges
(Springer Nature, 2025) Congreves, Kate A.
The discipline of agricultural science must integrate with moral philosophy to understand and overcome barriers to sustainability. It is exceptionally rare that these fields are adjoined, but doing so reveals implicit assumptions that have shaped our agricultural system and offer opportunities for solutions. Here, I explore our agricultural system through the lens of moral philosophy and propose regenerative agriculture as an integrative framework for progress towards sustainability.
Improving Retrievals of Air Quality Parameters from Geostationary Measurements
(2026-02-06) Fehr, Lukas; Bourassa, Adam; Degenstein, Doug; Toohey, Matthew; Spiteri, Raymond; Yao, Yansun; Jones, Dylan; Tse, John
Satellite-based measurements of backscattered sunlight have made essential contributions to knowledge of atmospheric trace gas composition, and subsequently to the understanding of atmospheric chemistry and climate, since the Backscattered Ultraviolet Experiment (BUV) was launched in 1970. The modern generation of solar backscatter instruments have unprecedented spatial resolution, and instruments placed in geostationary orbits can capture diurnal variations previously inaccessible from space. This dissertation investigates improvements to algorithms for retrieving air quality parameters from measurements made by the solar backscatter instrument TEMPO (Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution) over Canada, with a focus on uncertainties created by snowy surfaces and measurement configurations at high latitudes. Rotational Raman scattering is implemented using the Monte Carlo method within SASKTRAN, a radiative transfer framework developed at the University of Saskatchewan. This work is motivated by the Ring effect, an atmospheric phenomenon resulting from rotational Raman scattering which interferes with TEMPO-like measurements. Air mass factors, which quantify the path history of the backscattered light captured by an instrument, are computed and compared across multiple radiative transfer methods, demonstrating their effectiveness for a range of measurement configurations. Horizontally resolved air mass factors are computed and used to quantify the error introduced by common approaches which neglect the horizontal variation of the surface and atmosphere. Two approaches to cloud characterization for correcting trace gas measurements are combined with the goal of reducing difficulties introduced by snowy surfaces. A proof of concept of the combined retrieval demonstrates the potential for extracting additional information content, and the applicability to TEMPO spectra is investigated.
A Study on Catalytic Sites Contiguity in Cu-ZnO-Based Catalysts for CO2 Hydrogenation to Methanol
(2026-02-06) Chen, Jingye; Shakouri, Mohsen; Wang, Hui; Dalai, Ajay K.; Zhang, Lifeng; Scott, Rob; Acharya, Bishnu; Wilson, Lee; De Klerk, Arno
Our group has proposed the concept of Catalytic Sites Contiguity (CSC) to describe how arrangements and proximity of catalytic sites affect the catalytic performance for carbon dioxide (CO2) conversion reactions. This work continues to investigate the CSC-performance relationship of CO2 hydrogenation to methanol (MeOH) in various Cu–ZnO systems. Three phases are formulated as follows.
Phase 1 studied the CSC of atomically-dispersed ZnO-Cu/SiO2 catalysts for improving MeOH formation. Using the atomic layer deposition (ALD), atomically dispersed ZnO (ADZn2+) sites were engineered on uncalcined and calcined Cu/SiO2 samples. Characterizations revealed that Cu+–Cu0 and ADZn2+–Cu0/+ sites contiguities were responsible for CO and MeOH production, respectively. In ALD ZnO-Cu/SiO2-C (ZnO deposited on the calcined Cu/SiO2), an optimal Cu–ZnO sites contiguity featuring isolated hydrogen (H2) activation sites enclosed by abundant CO2 adsorption sites, facilitated the MeOH space-time yield (STY) to 33 g·kgcatal-1·h-1 at 240 oC, three times the yield of its Cu-only counterpart.
Phase 2 investigated the enhancement of Cu–ZnO–basic sites contiguity for CO2 hydrogenation to MeOH, compared to Cu0–Cu+, Cu0/+–ADZn2+, and Cu0/+–basic sites contiguities. The MgAlOx- and SiO2-supported catalysts were prepared by the impregnation of Cu and ZnO ALD. MgAlOx-supported catalysts (Cu/MgAlOx and ZnO-Cu/MgAlOx) exhibited stronger basicity than SiO2-supported counterparts (Cu/SiO2 and ZnO-Cu/SiO2), enhancing CO2 adsorption. Results of catalytic evaluation and characterization revealed that Cu0/+–partially reduced ZnO (ZnO1-x)–basic sites contiguity greatly increased CO2 conversion, MeOH selectivity, and turnover frequency of MeOH formation, achieving 64 g·kgCatal-1·h-1 MeOH STY for ZnO-Cu/MgAlOx.
In phase 3, the atomic-level contiguity of Cu and ZnO sites was identified, and its impact on the catalytic performance was studied using ZnO/Cu model catalysts prepared by depositing ZnO via ALD (exposure times: 5, 60, and 720 s) onto Cu(OH)2 nanofibers. In situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy combined with density functional theory-assisted spectral simulations allowed identifying various active ZnO species on the Cu surface. Mechanism study indicated that the oxygen-defect ZnO single layers and ZnO nanoparticles on Cu favored MeOH synthesis. The extended ALD exposure time led to an increase in the number of MeOH-forming sites contiguity but did not change selectivity significantly.
THERE IS NO PLANET B(EE): AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING DRIVERS OF POTENTIAL DECLINES IN BUMBLEBEE COMMUNITIES
(2026-02-06) Bryan, Caleb; Prager, Sean; Sharbel, Tim; Links, Matt; Wood, Sarah; Parkin, Isobel; Phillips, Ian; Willenborg, Chris; McFredrick, Quinn
The abstract of this item is unavailable due to an embargo.
DEVELOPMENT OF BIOPOLYMER-BASED FLOCCULANT SYSTEMS TO ENHANCE THE REMOVAL OF WATERBORNE POLLUTANTS
(2026-02-05) Venegas Garcia, Deysi Julieta; Wilson, Lee D.; Neculita, Carmen M; Gravel, Michel; Nemati, Mehdi; Burges, Ian; Supratim, Ghosh
The abstract of this item is unavailable due to an embargo.
“We are Losing a Part of Us”: How Parents Navigate Parenting in the Context of Climate Change and Wildfire
(2026-02-05) Deleurme, Kendall; Cummings, Jorden; Wright, Laura; Buchanan, Carie; Gagnon, Michelle; Kulig, Judith
The climate crisis has devastatingly harmed natural systems, amplified extreme environmental disaster, and impacted human well-being in complex and interconnected ways. This includes intensifying wildfire activity at alarming rates. While the climate crisis will affect everyone in some form, parents carry the emotional, physical, and economical weight of caring for children in a changing climate. Given the complexity of parenting amidst climate change and the impact on well-being, it is imperative that families are adequately supported.
Previous researchers studying parenting and climate change have focused on how parental health and responses impact children and how parents should support children, family experiences post-disaster, and children’s functioning post-disaster. Further, previous researchers have focused on the influence of climate change on reproductive decisions, overlooking potential parents’ considerations about how to parent in the future. My dissertation aimed to help fill knowledge gaps about how parents intend to approach their parenting and what their parenting looks like in these contexts.
In Study 1, we qualitatively explored potential parents’ and current parents’ relationships with climate change and their thoughts about the influence of climate change on parenting. We used a story completion task with two story stems about speaking with a media outlet on how a changing climate impacts parenting. We collected 113 stories from undergraduate students; 12 participants were parents at the time of our study (included as incidental data generation) and 101 participants were interested in becoming parents. We used reflexive thematic analysis to analyze collected stories within an experientialist and a relativist/constructionist framework. We created five themes from the data: (1) We Might be Small, but We are Mighty; (2) Meeting Climate Change Thoughtfully, with Intention, and Purpose; (3) My [climate change] Actions are a Drop in a Bucket; (4) The Future is Not Bright; and (5) Ignorance is Bliss.
In Study 2, we qualitatively analyzed family vlogs about wildfire on YouTube. We used reflexive thematic analysis within an experientialist and a relativist/constructionist framework. We created three themes from the data: (1) Coping with Uncontrollable Stress and Uncertainty, with subthemes (1a) Trivializing our Wildfire Experience, (1b) Combatting Feeling Powerless, (1c) Sitting with Uncertainty and Discomfort, and (1d) Using our Values as our Compass; (2) Unprepared for the Unexpected; and (3) I Have a Lot to be Thinking About, with subtheme (3a) Parking our Processing for Later.
Overall, my dissertation highlighted the importance of psychological research on the climate crisis and that parental experiences should not be overlooked. We more broadly added to existing literature by finding that parents are not receiving the support they need (and have been asking for) with managing the uncertainty, stress, and challenges of climate instability and disaster threat. My dissertation also showcased the successful deflection of corporate and government blame, raised concerns about increasing parental pressure and stress, and echoed the importance of balancing individual and collective climate action.
My dissertation is an important step in understanding how parenting is impacted by climate change, the challenges that parents face, what potential parents’ considerations are, and how to better support families in a warming climate. Without this understanding, service providers and policymakers are left with little guidance for how to meaningfully support parents. In the fight for a liveable planet, continued work in this area is critical for helping to prepare current and future generations of families.
The Future Prairie Pothole Region: Scenarios of Change
(2026-02-05) Selby, Donald; Baulch, Helen; Loring, Philip; Watson, Andrew; Robson, James
The Canadian Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) confronts significant social-ecological challenges, including declining rural population, climate stressors affecting agriculture, widespread wetland drainage driven by agricultural expansion and areas of escalating rural conflicts. To address these complex issues and foster shared understanding, this research focused on developing realistic social-ecological scenarios for the future of prairie landscapes in southern Saskatchewan's PPR. The methodology involved a three-round Delphi survey, engaging key knowledge holders with expertise in fields such as agriculture, hydrology, ecology, policy, economics, and social sciences to elicit insights and build consensus on potential future trajectories. These scenarios were specifically designed to understand preferred futures, and pathways to change by functioning as boundary objects to facilitate ongoing dialogue for conflict management and collective action among diverse stakeholders.
The study resulted in the development of six possible future scenarios, framed by three drivers of change agricultural growth, regulatory environments, and climate change. The experts agreed that all of the scenarios were possible, though notably, only two scenarios, "Agriculture as Usual" and "Unmitigated Climate Change", achieved expert consensus (≥75% agreement) as credible and were also deemed the most probable. These credible scenarios are characterized by limited regulatory involvement and consistently predict outcomes such as continued rural population decline, biodiversity loss, wetland reduction, and increased flood risk. Eight key attributes were identified to define these future scenarios, including net farm income, land value, wetland extent, food security, flood risk, biodiversity, rural population, and social license to farm. By integrating structured frameworks like Multi-Attribute Utility Theory and “causal pathways” framing, this research translates theoretical scenarios into practical knowledge mobilization tools designed to bridge polarized perspectives and empower collaborative decision-making. These tools aim to expand collective mental models and uncover the common ground necessary for change.
