With increasingly more stringent emission standards as well as higher fuel economy requirements for modern vehicles, the need for improved or new catalytic converter technologies continues to grow. A new generation of catalytic converters, designed and patented by Vida Fresh Air Corp., offers improved thermal management of the converter over traditional catalytic converters resulting in […]

Sound barriers can be seen beside highways across Ontario and are designed to protect residents from the noise produced by traffic. However, these barriers do little in the way of protecting residents from the pollution produced by nearby vehicles. This project combines a novel sound barrier design with a new pollution control technology that will […]

“Functional foods and cosmetics contain physiologically active compounds. However, many active ingredients are susceptible to degradation and/or are not efficiently absorbed by the body. It is increasingly recognized that the composition and physical structures of the products, and interactions between ingredients in the matrix can impact the stability and availability of active ingredients. Encapsulation is […]

“Functional foods and cosmetics contain physiologically active compounds. However, many active ingredients are susceptible to degradation and/or are not efficiently absorbed by the body. It is increasingly recognized that the composition and physical structures of the products, and interactions between ingredients in the matrix can impact the stability and availability of active ingredients. Encapsulation is […]

The B vitamin requirements of cattle were traditionally satisfied via rumen microbial synthesis. However, the B vitamin demands of the modern high producing dairy cow now exceed the synthesis rate by rumen microbes, leading to sub-optimal milk production and efficiency. An increased understanding of dietary factors driving ruminal synthesis and use of B vitamins will […]

The B vitamin requirements of cattle were traditionally satisfied via rumen microbial synthesis. However, the B vitamin demands of the modern high producing dairy cow now exceed the synthesis rate by rumen microbes, leading to sub-optimal milk production and efficiency. An increased understanding of dietary factors driving ruminal synthesis and use of B vitamins will […]

A myriad of environmental stressors are threatening freshwater ecosystems. However, monitoring the impacts of these stressors on economically and culturally important native fish populations remains a challenge. Ontario is a large province with hundreds of thousands of lakes, yet knowledge of ecological structure across lakes is limited, particularly for remote lakes in the Far North. […]

The current wellbeing crisis in Canada is magnified in rural areas. Also, rural economies are negatively affected by lack of suitable youth lifeskill training. Rural communities lack financial capital to address these issues on their own. 4-H has been building rural youth skill for over 100 years, offering a variety of options, including physical activities […]

The goal of this research is to understand and develop techniques to improve flour performance in bread making, a low margin market which requires some of the tightest flour specifications across all bakery platforms. Standard flour quality testing methods will be compared to more recently developed quality tests as well as experimental methods. The end […]

Ontario’s chicken industry contributes $2.72 billion to Canadian economy, and supports 19,183 full-time equivalent jobs (Ontario Chicken Industry Report, 2013). To date, 2015 has seen 309 individual outbreaks of avian influenza (AI) reported to the World Organization for Animal Health, a 147% increase on outbreaks reported in 2014. In Ontario alone, 29 farms were quarantined […]

Obesity and diabetes are a significant global burden and there is an immediate need for novel treatments and management strategies. Our lab has shown that an avocadoderived lipid is a potent inhibitor of fatty acid oxidation (i.e., the cellular breakdown of fat for energy) which reduces mouse weight gain without toxicity. Inhibition of fatty acid […]

Lake Whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) are currently the subject of research to obtain Marine Stewardship Council certification for the fishery in Lake Erie. The declines of Lake Whitefish stocks in Lakes Huron, Erie and Ontario have drawn much concern from the fishing industry, regulators, and other stakeholders. Better estimates of the stock status are needed to […]