The generation of agricultural biomass is a key component of Ontario’s emerging bioeconomy. Miscanthus, a warm-season, perennial grass is being considered as a bioenergy crop due to its high yield potential and favourable combustion qualities. One of the primary obstacles to commercializing and establishing miscanthus in Ontario is the poor cold tolerance of some of the genotypes under consideration. Research […]

  AMCO requires improvements to the alternate energy systems that cannot be supported by operating profits alone. This project is essential to ensure the company remains viable and that the company does not shut down the Biomass Plant and absorb such debt in its current operations. The project will increase the amount of green energy […]

This project is designed to determine best management practices for a devastating disease of turfgrass that is currently controlled primarily by multiple fungicide applications. By assessing appropriate cultural practices aimed at reducing disease development it is our hope that we can reduce fungicide applications for this disease. In addition, the development of a rapid and simple diagnostic tool would […]

  The proposed research is directed at determining the effect of amino acid (AA) infusions on the milk synthetic regulatory proteins found in the mammary gland of the lactating dairy cow. Previous research in the area has shown that proteins called eukaryotic initiation factors (eIF), which synthesize proteins through mRNA translation, are a regulation point […]

  Supra – nutritional consumption of organic selenium (Se) reduces the incidence and progression of several types of cancer. The organic Se content of with cows’ milk can be increased by supplementing cow diets with organic Se. In vitro preliminary data suggest that Se supplementation of cows may improve the persistency of daily milk yield, […]

  Feather meal is an economical protein-rich feedstuffs produced from wastes generated by the poultry processing industry. The partner organization, a fish feed manufacturer based in Ontario, would greatly benefit from the accurate characterization of the nutritive value of feather meals for different fish species raised in Ontario. Inclusion of feather meal could significantly improve cost-effectiveness of fish feeds […]

  Traditional selection, based on phenotypes and pedigree, has gained success in genetic improvement of livestock. However, Genomic Selection (GS) is revolutionizing cattle breeding as genotyping cattle for 50,000 SNP is now feasible commercially. With GS, the values of markers discovered in a reference population are used as predictors in other populations, thus the persistence […]

  This proposal advances the development of effective power microconverters built in mainstream digital CMOS technologies without any modifications to the standard fabrication process. The study of high-voltage techniques for the co-integration of microconverters in low-voltage processes not only will avoid the fabrication complexity of high-voltage devices, it will also reduce the number of heterogeneous chips and discrete components. […]

Listeria monocytogenes is a common food-borne pathogen that is the causative agent of listeriosis, a severe and potentially fatal condition. Current methods for detection of L. monocytogenes in food samples require multiple days due to lengthy amplification steps to aid in microbe detection. Due to the recent emergence of nanoparticle technology, however, new options are […]

  There are growing trends of companies producing foods that are made from whole wheat because of their abundance in B vitamins, dietary fibre, and essential fatty acids. They also possess polyphenols that reportedly have effect against cancer and cardiovascular diseases. A drawback to using whole wheat in breads and pastas is a change in […]

  This proposal targets a fully-integrated power management circuit for a high efficiency class D audio amplifier in a standard CMOS process. The project will focus on optimizing efficiency, reducing cost, and enabling wide input voltage and load current handling well-suited for battery driven applications. The converter will operate directly from a battery to provide […]

Successful use of biological control agents for thrips control has been documented in greenhouse vegetables, such as sweet peppers, but thus far has provided inconsistent results for ornamentals. The proposed research will investigate how to improve the performance of the biological control agent – O. insidiosus biocontrol, against western flower thrips through the use of […]