Development of negamycin, a novel class of antibiotic for Gram-negative bacterial infections

Antimicrobial resistance threatens effective prevention and treatment of microbial infections. Over two million hospitalized patients acquire infection from antimicrobial resistant microbes resulting in more than 23,000 deaths in North America. Therefore, development of a novel class of antimicrobials is in urgent need. The goal of our research project is to develop a novel antibiotic for […]

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Design and Characterization of Waste Plastics and Plastic Based Waste Materials as Supplementary Fuels for Cement Kilns

Unrecyclable Waste materials destined for landfills could be used as fuel for cement kilns with little to no pre-processing. The very high temperatures required in cement production make cheaper alternatives to coal as fuel, necessary to cut down on production costs. However a selected waste material replacing coal or petroleum coke must be suitable for […]

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Effects of Pulse Lighting Regimes on Microalgae Growth

Algae are microorganisms present in all aquatic environments with the ability to grow using sunlight as energy source. This ability can be harnessed to produce biomass for various purposes of industrial interests such as biofuel, animal feed, nutrients, etc. This project seeks to improve the productivity of an algal growth facility while reducing energy costs […]

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Synthesis of camelina biodiesel using heterogeneous catalysts

Currently in North America, biodiesel is mainly produced from vegetable oils such as soybean and canola using a homogenous catalyst, KOH or NaOH. Two associated challenges are: 1) using edible oils as feedstock may impact food and feed supply adversely; 2) a great amount of water is needed to wash off the homogeneous catalysts dissolved […]

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High efficient food drying by microwave

Commonly used hot air drying results in non-uniform shrinkage due to significant thermal gradients, especially at the last stage of drying. In this project we will study two-stage drying of apple slices with hot air at beginning and microwave at the end to minimize effect of non-uniform heat transfer. The goal of the project is […]

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Mental Health: Strategies for Resilience

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training is a 12 hour course that was developed in 2001 for health care workers to better support clinical patients in mental health crisis. Evaluations of the training indicate that individuals who take this training improve knowledge of mental health disorders (e.g., psychotic disorders) and are better able to provide […]

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Spatial pattern of wildlife habitat across heterogeneous landscapes in Atlantic rainforest near São Paulo, Brazil

Transitions between adjacent plant communities are important features of landscapes that might harbour greater diversity. However, forest edges created by human activities can have negative consequences for wildlife habitat. Both types of transitions dominate fragmented agricultural landscapes in tropical forests. Understanding the vegetation structure in such heterogeneous landscape could help predict animal movements across natural […]

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The Effects of Changing Sound Regimes in the Natural Environment on Marine Mammals in the Arctic: A Decision Support Tool

Marine Mammals depend on sound for survival, whether for communicating with each other or for hunting for food. Human produced (Anthropogenic) sound such as from shipping, military SONAR, coastal development and oil and gas exploration, development and extraction, can all interrupt and disturb marine mammals. As sea ice begins to melt sooner and for longer […]

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Benchmarking the Sustainability Performance of Clearwater Seafoods

Clearwater Seafoods Limited Partnership. (Clearwater) is a Nova Scotian company that has grown to be one of the global leaders in the market of seafood. it is dedicated to improving the sustainability of its operations in order to protect the valuable resource upon which it relies. In fisheries science and management, as well as food […]

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Understanding behaviour change regarding a decrease in resource use in the Halifax Peninsula, Nova Scotia

Behaviour change and the use of nudges are not new phenomenon within academia. However, the difficulty of measuring behaviour change hinders the development of a solid understanding of how behaviour change transpires. As such, the intern will use primary data to asses Thinkwell Shift and ENSC’s current and historical resource use reduction and hevaioural change […]

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