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MSpace is the University of Manitoba’s Institutional Repository. The purpose of MSpace is to acquire, preserve and provide access to the scholarly works of University faculty and students within an open access environment.

 

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Unlocking the value of Canadian oats: evaluating oat starch by-product through starch noodle production
(2024-03-25) Alexander, Vanessa; Rosell, Cristina (Food and Human Nutritional Sciences); Bandara, Nandika (Food and Human Nutritional Sciences); Malunga, Lovemore; Beta, Trust
The growing plant protein industry necessitates innovative approaches to valorize starch by-products. Oats are garnering attention for protein extraction, which raises concerns about the sustainability of the industry as the majority of the oat kernel's starch remains underutilized. While oat starch demonstrates desirable properties for various applications, genetic and environmental variations pose challenges to its consistent utilization. Chemically modifying starch offers a potential solution to tailor its properties for specific end uses. The objective of the first study was to screen thirty oat cultivars and identify suitable genotypes for starch extraction. The objective of the second study was to analyze native oat starch and produce modified oat starch using citric acid cross-linking, elucidating physiochemical, pasting, and morphological differences. The objective of the last study was to optimize a method for oat starch noodle preparation and compare the quality characteristics of noodles made with native oat starch (NOS) to those substituted with varying levels of citrate-modified oat starch (COS). Subsequently, the digestibility implications of COS addition would be studied. The first study revealed significant effects of genotype, environment, and their interaction on protein, total starch, and amylose content. Cultivar CDC Morrison was selected for further analysis based on these findings. Study two identified significant differences in NOS and COS, particularly in resistant starch content and pasting properties. Notably, COS exhibited an inability to form a paste, while NOS displayed higher pasting temperature and final viscosity. Chemical modification altered crystalline peaks and morphology, providing insights into their potential application in noodle production. Study three optimized a method for oat starch noodle production and observed that the addition of COS altered cooking time, texture, and colour compared to NOS noodles. NOS noodles exhibited similarities to commercial rice noodles. In vitro digestibility results revealed that substituting 25% of NOS with COS reduced glucose release, indicating beneficial in slowing starch digestibility. The studies collectively offer valuable insights into the valorization of oat starch by-products in the plant protein industry. The successful production of oat starch noodles, including those with modified starch, underscores the potential of oat starch by-products for human consumption.
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Mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) in Thinopyrum intermedium for Fusarium graminearum tolerance and agronomic traits
(2024-03-26) Peterson, Alexa; McCartney, Curt (Plant Science); Bakker, Matthew (Microbiology); Cattani, Douglas
Despite the significant benefits that intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium) provides for soil health and carbon sequestration, its potential in Canada's commercial production landscape is yet to be fully realized. As a result, the University of Manitoba's perennial grains breeding program is focused on developing IWG cultivars with increased grain yields and greater resistance to Fusarium graminearum. Genetic analysis was performed to improve our understanding of these traits in IWG. A genetic map consisting of 865 markers covering 20 linkage groups was developed in R using the package OneMap (Margarido et al., 2007). The map was developed using genetic and phenotypic data from 150 F1 progeny and two parents (UM2014-0001 and UM2014-0044) from cycle two UMB selections. The JGI public access intermediate wheatgrass consensus map (v3.1) was used as a reference. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis was performed using composite interval mapping (CIM) in the R package fullsibQTL (Gazaffi et al., 2014) with a LOD threshold of 3. The results revealed 52 QTLs associated with Fusarium head blight (FHB) severity and incidence measurements and 52 QTLs associated with various agronomic traits. One large effect QTL for seed number and two large effect QTLs associated with FHB severity and incidence were identified. The future use of marker assisted selection in the UMB population is discussed in relation to 13 relevant QTLs. Broad-sense heritability estimates revealed plant height, thousand kernel weight, and seed number were highly heritable traits, while tiller number and crown diameter were largely controlled by environmental factors. Among this population, reciprocal crosses involving UM2014-0001 exhibited significantly larger seed masses, while UM2014-0002 parents produced 22.8% more seeds. UM2014-0044 parents displayed superiority in forage related traits (crown diameter and plant height). Trait relationships and genetic analysis of agronomic and FHB resistance traits has provided insights to advance future IWG breeding programs. This research enables marker-assisted selection to breed for IWG crops that meet the demands of our food system while addressing the environmental challenges this system has created.
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Advocating for labour mobility and permanent residency for Canada's Seasonal Agricultural Workers from an international human rights law perspective
(2024-03-19) Barzegarikhanghah, Lily (Faezeh); Anderson, Kjell (Law); Derejko, Nathan
This paper delves into the implications of Canada's Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) through the lens of international human rights law (IHRL), spotlighting the nuanced effects on migrant agricultural workers' rights. Originating in 1966, the SAWP has been pivotal in recruiting labour from Mexico and the Caribbean to bolster Canada's agricultural sector. The paper critiques the program's core policies, notably the restrictive employment system that ties workers to specific employers and the significant barriers to obtaining permanent residency (PR) and citizenship. These policies are scrutinized for their potential violation of fundamental human rights, including the rights to equality, liberty and security, and access to justice, under both Canadian and international legal frameworks. A comprehensive analysis is presented, underpinning Canada's obligations under IHRL and the apparent discrepancies within its treatment of SAWP participants. The study proposes substantial policy reforms aimed at rectifying these discrepancies, advocating for a transition towards open work permits, and establishing clear pathways to PR and citizenship for SAWP workers. The research underscores the necessity for Canada to reconcile its labour demands within the agricultural sector with its human rights obligations, ensuring a fair and humane treatment of migrant workers who play a crucial role in the country's economy.
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Design and fabrication of an inflation-activated FPCB MEMS-based electrode for bio-signal recording with an in-canal fixation capability
(2024-03-28) Ranjbar, Ehsan; Lithgow, Brian (Electrical and Computer Engineering); Morrison, Jason (Biosystems Engineering); Moussavi, Zahra; Shafai, Cyrus
This research aims to propose a design and fabrication process for a novel miniaturized electrode which can be potentially exploited to record EVestG signals and ear electrical activity from the middle inner parts, including semicircular canals and otolith organs, by an extra-tympanic electrode. This thesis covers EVestG signal recording, its currently used electrode, and the associated current challenges, followed by a review of micro-fabrication techniques, including Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) conventional fabrication techniques (sputtering), 3Dprinting micro-fabrication technologies (Stereo-lithography or SLA), and Bio-MEMS electrode fabrication for new electrodes design with their associated technical challenges. It also presents some methodologies to cope with the challenges in our design, studying their feasibility. Then, it adopts one of the presented methodologies, which seem more feasible regarding our accessible facilities and resources. The methodology was chosen for a new needle-electrode design (potentially for EVestG recording) and it was fabricated using various technologies such as air-actuation using medical balloons, Flexible Printed Circuit Board (FPCB), 3D-printing, and MEMS fabrication. The fabrication process, from basic steps to the latest developments, is reported illustratively. Finally, the performance of the designed and fabricated micro-needle electrodes from impedance against pressure variation is investigated via some in-vitro experiments. The experiments demonstrate impedance reduction of the fabricated plastic silver-sputtered SLA-3D-printed micro-needle electrodes as the pressure increases.
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Attitudes towards sports injury and injury prevention among university athletes.
(2024-04-23) Jimoh, Ruqoyyah; Peeler, Jason (Human Anatomy and Cell Science); Scribbans, Trisha (Kinesiology and Recreation Management); Strachan, Leisha; Leiter, Jeff
Background: Adherence to injury prevention strategies remains a major challenge in the sports community despite such strategies having been proven effective in reducing the occurrence of injury. This may be because the behavioural and contextual factors of injury and injury prevention are not fully understood. Purpose: The study aimed to examine university athletes' attitudes toward sports injury and injury prevention and their perceived facilitators and barriers to injury prevention implementation. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional design and a survey as the data collection mode. Basketball, football, volleyball, soccer, and ice hockey athletes were recruited from the University of Manitoba and York University teams. Results: This study revealed three key findings: 1) There was a significant association between athletes’ history of injury and their attitudes toward injury and injury prevention, 2) university athletes’ attitudes toward injury differ from their attitudes toward injury prevention, and 3) the majority of the university athletes perceive long training programs, match congestion, and time constraints as barriers, and perceive short training programs, injury prevention education, free and good equipment, trained medical staff, performance-enhanced injury prevention program, and athletes motivation as facilitators to the implementation of injury prevention measures. Conclusion: Behavioural and educational intervention is needed to improve university athletes (especially those with a history of injury) attitudes toward injury and injury prevention. Also, other stakeholders in university sports need to work together and consider the perceived facilitators and barriers to injury prevention implementation to ensure adherence to injury prevention programs in real sports settings.
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Seeing records: remediation in Canadian archival theory & practice
(2024-04-28) Schers, Ashley; Chen, Tina (History); Cossar, Roisin (History); Rekrut, Ala (Archives of Manitoba); Bak, Greg
This thesis explores the applicability of the media studies’ concept of hypermediacy in archival practices of reformatting – referred to here as remediation. Specifically, it provides a framework of practice which maintains the provenance of records, including the role of archival co-creators whose work impacts historical knowledge production in archives. The thesis grounds the practice of remediation in the history of archival practice in Canada, exploring the ingrained nature of this practice in Canadian archives and signals the need to re-conceptualize the practice in a way that maintains provenance acquired by records after they have arrived at an archive. The thesis analyzes two case studies of remediation through a framework of hypermediacy and demonstrates how thinking of remediation in terms of hypermediacy can inform a practice which maintains provenance and could additionally serve as a step in the right direction for institutional work on reconciliation.
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Life history of an endangered prairie butterfly: insights from an ex situ population of Poweshiek skipperling in Manitoba, Canada
(2024-03-27) Eckhardt, Kirstyn; Petersen, Stephen (Biological Sciences); Westwood, Richard (Entomology); Holliday, Neil (Entomology); Gibbs, Jason
Species recovery plans benefit from a complete understanding of an organism’s biology. The Poweshiek skipperling, Oarisma poweshiek (Parker) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae), is an endangered butterfly native to tallgrass prairies in North America. Following rapid, range-wide population crashes, Poweshiek are now reared ex situ in Manitoba, Canada to augment the remaining wild population. Although this species has been the focus of research since their “Endangered” listing in 2014, there are knowledge gaps regarding Poweshiek skipperling life history. I measured head capsule widths of larvae of two Poweshiek cohorts to determine the overwintering instar. I analysed six years of ex situ data to assess trends in the timing of flight period, degree day accumulations, and protandry. I estimated this species’ lower developmental threshold using dates for developmental milestones. Head capsule measurements showed that Poweshiek typically overwinter in the fourth instar. Peak flight period varied among years by up to three weeks, while degree day accumulations were similar between years. I found evidence that this species is protandrous. An information theoretical approach using Akaike Information Criterion was used to assess lower developmental thresholds. This approach indicated different lower developmental thresholds for larvae and pupae; the AICc scores also demonstrated that larvae enter winter dormancy at different stages of development. These findings will inform conservation decision-making and may allow for greater accuracy in predicting the adult flight period.
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Transportation policy: a neglected social policy domain and aspect of social well-being in social policy/welfare regime research
(2024-04-22) Harms, Chase; Hudson, Mark (Sociology); Hudson, Ian (Economics); Olsen, Gregg
Mobility plays a decidedly central role in the life of virtually every human in our world. Being able to move from one point to another is absolutely critical to meeting our most basic everyday needs. In the modern era, travel for work, school, leisure, and myriad other quotidian activities, including getting groceries, visiting with friends and relatives, and getting to medical appointments, are just a few of the central reasons for routine travel today. This study underscores the importance of transportation and mobility as a core aspect of human well-being, and as such, an important policy domain that should occupy a central position in the world of welfare and welfare state research. However, despite its import, transportation policy has been largely neglected in the research on well-being and welfare states. This is most strikingly evident in the research on welfare state models and typologies. This study focuses on three key dimensions of well-being, (1) inequality, (2) safety, and (3) environment, highlighting the many ways that transportation policy affects our lives, and makes a case for its inclusion as an important policy domain and component of modern welfare states. Employing Gøsta Esping- Andersen’s widely-embraced welfare state/worlds typology, it examines the character of transportation policy in three cities (Kansas City, MO, US; Stockholm, Sweden; and Luxembourg City, Luxembourg), representing each of his three welfare regimes (liberal, social democratic, and conservative, respectively). It focuses on a range of key indicators of these three dimensions, including fare provision, service availability, pedestrian infrastructure, and ticketing systems for the inequality dimension; programming in infrastructure safety and reduced road access, as well as legislation for driver training and consequences for illegal acts on the road for safety dimension; and provisions of green space, parking and urban access regulations, and environmental regulations on vehicles for the environmental dimension. Its central conclusion is that future discussion and research on welfare states should consider transportation policy as a central social policy domain.
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It’s a privilege to bleed: a human rights analysis of menstrual equity on Canadian university campuses
(2024-03-21) Vickar, Chloe; Smith, Julia (Labour Studies); McPhail, Deborah
Menstrual health is a necessary part of the majority of human lives. Menstrual equity refers to a spectrum of biologically necessitated needs, including access to period-management products, education, healthcare, financial resources, and barrier-free access to participation in all aspects of life. Therefore, menstruation is an equity and human rights issue on Canadian university campuses. This paper examines the state of menstrual equity at Canadian universities. This case study analyzes the top ten universities in Canada (according to Maclean’s Reputation Survey, focusing on quality and innovation), to determine which universities have policies, programs, and supports for menstruating students. This research will contribute to a growing field of human rights research advocating for equal access and resources for menstruating students, staff, and faculty alike. This research also prioritizes a gender-inclusive approach, challenging the norms of menstrual equity as female empowerment. The main findings of this research determine that most universities have some form of menstrual product pilot project or program in place, and at least one gender inclusive washroom on campus. Although these initiatives are a positive first step, universities are not doing enough to support their students. A human rights approach argues that until menstrual products are available in every washroom, of all gender identities, menstrual equity cannot be reached. Period supplies that are gate-kept behind a desk (security, student help-centre, etc.) are impractical for the logistics of menstruation, and further out menstruating students to their communities, creating safety challenges for gender diverse menstruators. Further challenges include disposal, considerations for reusable products, and time spent away from class looking for supplies and management strategies.
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Investigations into the behavior, detection, and mitigation of oil in a sea ice environment
(2024-03-27) Desmond, Durell; Collins, Eric (Environment and Geography); Schreckenbach, Georg (Chemistry); Zhang, Baiyu (Helen) (Memorial University of Newfoundland); Stern, Gary; Isleifson, Dustin
The Arctic is warming at a rate of three times the global average, and projections warn that the average surface Arctic Ocean temperature may increase by 3 °C by 2100. Due to this Arctic warming, there have been steady decreases in sea ice extent and thickness. In particular, the Arctic has lost much of its multi-year ice (MYI) (i.e., ice that survives multiple summers) and is dominated by first-year ice (FYI) (i.e., ice that grows in the winter but melts in the summer). FYI is more saline than MYI and therefore has a lower albedo, thereby increasing the input of solar radiation into the ice-ocean system by 50%. Further Arctic amplification is caused by the thinning and reduction of snow cover and the occurrence of a longer open water season. A direct consequence of this Arctic warming is an increased interest in oil exploration, extraction, and transport, owing to the greater feasibility, which increases the likelihood of a potential oil spill in the marine environment. Notably, spillage by either an oil tanker or an underwater pipeline poses the biggest threat to the Arctic environment and its inhabitants. In order to combat this threat, the establishment of viable oil detection and mitigation techniques suitable for Arctic environments are currently in development. This urgency has led to the conduction of several oil-in-ice experiments to study various aspects of oil spill preparedness. The research herein aims to build on past work with a focus on oil behavior (i.e., migration tendencies, encapsulation potential, partitioning within sea ice, evaporation, dissolution, photooxidation, biodegradation), detection (i.e., radar), and mitigation (i.e., bioremediation) in sea-ice environments. This research consists of data collected from two artificial oil-in-ice mesocosm experiments in which microbial analyses (community composition), physical analyses (X-ray, temperature, salinity, brine volume), chemical analyses (oil dielectrics, infrared spectroscopy, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry), and modeling/simulations (computational chemistry, sea ice dielectrics, and normalized radar cross-section) were undergone. This study helps to discern how oil influences the physical properties of sea ice and how, in turn, sea ice influences the chemical (and, therefore, the physical) properties of oil.