AG e-news June 7, 2017
News and events from the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences
UPCOMING EVENTS
Thursday, June 8 – The morning session of the 138th Annual Spring Convocation includes the graduands of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences including M.Sc. and Ph.D. programs. Graduating students and their families have been invited to attend a post-convocation celebration in the Agriculture Building Atrium. Faculty and staff are also invited to attend.
Thursday, June 8 – Women’s Soccer at Investors’ Group Field. Parking restrictions will be in effect for W lot starting at 6:00 p.m.
Friday, June 9 – There will be a Department of Soil Science M.Sc. Thesis Defense at 9:30 am in Room 346 Ellis Building. Magdalena Rogalsky will present “Phosphorus Beneficial Management Practices for Corn Production in Manitoba”.
June 18-22 – The Canadian Phytopathological Society and Canadian Society of Agronomy are holding a joint annual meeting in Winnipeg at the Delta HotelThree symposia will be held on the agronomy and pathology of Fusarium, soybean and pulse diseases, and strategies to extend the growing season. Conference participants can register for pre-conference workshops on experiment design and science writing, as well as a full day field tour to experience agronomy and pathology research at three research stations in Manitoba. Additional information is available at the conference website http://phytopath.ca/meetings/2017-joint-meeting-canadian-phytopathological-society-canadian-society-agronomy/.
June 25-28 – The 8th Canadian Barley Symposium and 22nd North American Barley Researchers Workshop will be held in Winnipeg, MB at the Fairmont Hotel. This joint conference will feature a range of presentations on barley breeding, agronomy, pathology and production use (functional foods, feed and beer). Conference website: http://www.barleycanada.com/canadian-barley-symposium/.
July 4-13 – Registration for the Crop Diagnostic School held at the Ian N. Morrison Research Farm is now open. The full day sessions will be offered from July 4 – 6 and July 11 – 13. There is a discounted fee ($50) for University of Manitoba staff and students for the session held on Tuesday, July 4. The fee for all the other dates is the full price of $175. For more information see http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/crop-diagnostic-services/pubs/crop-diagnostic-school-brochure.pdf.
July 8 – August 19 – Check out the summer family events Saturdays (10 am to 2 pm) at the Bruce D. Campbell Farm & Food Discovery Centre, beginning with an Ice Cream Party on Saturday, July 8. Cost: $5.00 per person over 5 years old. Call 204-883-2524 or email ffdc [at] umanitoba [dot] ca for more information. See the entire summer schedule at http://umanitoba.ca/faculties/afs/discovery_centre/summerevents.html.
August 6-8 – The Canadian Society for Bioengineering annual general meeting and conference themed “Food, Fuel and Fibre for a Sustainable Future” will be held at Canad Inns Polo Park, Winnipeg. The event will also host the national gathering of the CIGR Section VI Bioprocesses (Postharvest Technology and Process Engineering). For more details, see the conference website: www.csbe-scgab.ca/winnipeg2017
September 25-28 – The Agricultural Bioscience International Conference is coming to Winnipeg! Themed “Solutions Start Here”, ABIC 2017 is the premier global meeting which promotes innovation in bioscience to ensure sustainable food, feed, fibre and fuel security as the climate changes. Delegates from around the world will gather to promote the application of agricultural biotechnology. Program and keynotes can be explored at the conference webiste. Register today at http://www.abic.ca/abic2017.html – early bird rates end June 30!
STAFF AND STUDENT NEWS
At the University of Manitoba Spring Convocation tomorrow, 129 undergraduate students are eligible to receive their parchments from Dean Karin Wittenberg. Agribusiness student William Pallister will receive the University Gold Medal in Agricultural and Food Sciences as well as the Lieutenant Governor’s Gold Medal . Program medals will be presented to Megan Bourns (Agriculture), Michael Wilton (Agribusiness), Tony Britton (Agroecology), Janelle Courcelles (Food Science) and Qiming Tan (Human Nutritional Sciences). M.Sc. and Ph.D. students are also graduating at Thursday’s morning session. Livestream is available at http://umanitoba.ca/convocation/live/ beginning at 9:30 am.
Bell MTS announced a $500,000 contribution to the University of Manitoba’s Front and Centre campaign to launch a visionary new initiative: the Bell MTS Innovations in Agriculture Program, providing students at one of Canada’s leading post-secondary institutions with opportunities to develop Internet of Things (IoT) technologies for application in agriculture and food sciences. Read more – http://news.umanitoba.ca/bell-mts-and-university-of-manitoba-launch-iot-in-agriculture-initiative/.
The Hon. Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance, visited campus on May 24 to highlight federal funding that will help make Canada a world-leading centre for innovation in the agri-food sector. Peter Jones provided a tour of the Richardson Centre of Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, where they visited research projects with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canadian Grain Commission, Myera Group and TMPLR Mobile Research Unit. http://news.umanitoba.ca/minister-bill-morneau-makes-announcement-on-campus/
Usha Thiyam-Hollander, Semone Myrie, and Snehil Dua from the Department of Human Nutritional Sciences were the honored guests for a nutrition event (Husaini C, Winnipeg) comprising of lectures and discussions. The theme was “Nutrition around Ramadan”.
Joyce Slater, Human Nutritional Sciences, and May-Fong Yee, Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutracueticals, participated in the Food-EPI Expert Advisory Group, a national expert group for monitoring government policies and actions to create healthy food environments and reduce obesity, non-communicable diseases and their related inequalities in Canada, on May 24. Food-EPI is part of the International Network for Food and Obesity/non-communicable diseases (NCDs) Research, Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS).
Joyce Slater, Human Nutritional Sciences, presented a talk at the Canadian Nutrition Society on May 26 on “Food skills: Findings from the Canadian Community Health Survey”.
Several members of the Departments of Food Science and Human Nutritional Sciences attended the annual meeting of the Canadian Nutrition Society, held in Montreal, QC, May 25-27. The following reflect highlights from the meeting:
– Joyce Slater presented a paper entitled “Food Skills: Findings from the Canadian Community Health Survey”
– Harold Aukema presented in a session entitled “Can Dietary Linolenic Acid Provide Human Requirements For Long Chain N-3 Fatty Acids?”
– Peter Jones presented in a session entitled “Replacing Saturated Fats By Vegetable Oil Rich In Linoleic Acid: Revisiting The Traditional Diet-Heart Hypothesis”
– Sijo Joseph and Heather Blewett, both Adjunct Professors within the departments, presented their research findings in a session entitled “Understanding Oats: Role Of ?-Glucan In Glucose Metabolism And Beyond”
– Jim House co-chaired a session entitled “Trust and Private:Public Partnerships”
– The following trainees presented posters: Shatha Alattar, Elizabeth Babawale, Arif Islam, Xavier Louis, Dylan MacKay, Ruchira Nandasiri, Elaheh NosratMirshekarlou, Fatemeh Ramezani Kapourchali, Maryam Shamloo, Yongbo She, and Jyoti Sihag.
-At the AGM, Jim House (Food Science; Human Nutritional Sciences) was elected as Vice-President (Research) and President-Elect of CNS.
Peter Jones, Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, was a keynote speaker at the 7th Annual Functional Foods and Natural Health Products Graduate Research Symposium held at RCFFN on June 2. His presentation was titled “Manitoba Agri-Health Research Network: Facilitating Functional Foods of the Future”
Kris Dick, Biosystems Engineering, was an invited speaker for two presentations at the Timber Frame Engineering Council and the Timber Framers Guild Annual Conference in Madison Wisconsin May 18-22. He spoke on the use of natural materials in building and also research at the Alternative Village.
The Department of Food Science welcomes Daniela Denise Herrera Balandrano, Ph.D. student in Food Science, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, who is working on her thesis “Functional and antioxidant evaluation of feruloylated arabinoxylans from corn (Zea mays L.) bran obtained under different alkaline conditions”. Daniela’s thesis project is co-supervised by Drs. Guillermo Niño-Medina (Nuevo Leon, Mexico) and Trust Beta (Manitoba). Daniela’s one-year student exchange program is sponsored by the Mexican National Council of Science and Technology.
In an earlier AG e-news we had noted Manitoba School Science Symposium winner Rohan Sethi was moving on to the Canada-Wide Science Fair. We are pleased to report that Rohan won a bronze medal and earned himself a $1000 scholarship from Western University. He thanked his mentor Rebecca Mollard, Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, for her substantial contribution to his success.
IN THE NEWS
Jordan Bannerman, Entomology, was interviewed in the Winnipeg Free Press (June 7) article “Vehicle covered in sticky good? Fear not, it’s just aphid doodoo” – (login required) http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/vehicle-covered-in-sticky-goo-fear-not-its-just-aphid-doodoo-426852871.html
Derek Brewin, Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, was interviewed in the article “Western farmers benefit from grain-handling efficiency gains” in the Manitoba Co-operator (June 1) – https://www.manitobacooperator.ca/news-opinion/news/western-farmers-benefit-from-grain-handlingefficiency-gains/
The campus visit by Finance Minister Bill Morneau was highlighted in the story “Funding available to collaborative projects” in the Manitoba Co-operator (June 1) – https://www.manitobacooperator.ca/news-opinion/news/funding-available-to-collaborative-projects/
Rob Currie, Entomology, was quoted in the article “Training critical for new beekeepers to avoid disease woes” in the Manitoba Co-operator (June 1) – read it on page 12 at https://static.agcanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/MBC170601.pdf
Joanne Thiessen-Martens, Plant Science, was quoted in the article “‘ Farmscaping’ for profitability, sustainability” in Country Guide (May/June) – see page 40 at https://static.agcanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/CGW170531.pdf
Mario Tenuta, Soil Science, and Diploma students Carter McKinney, Bailey Sigvaldason and Jake Ayre were quoted in the article “The carbon tax” in Country Guide (May/June) – see page 49 at https://static.agcanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/CGW170531.pdf
Kristen MacMillan, Plant Science, was quoted in the article “U.S. study questions neonics for soybean aphid control” in the Manitoba Co-operator (May 25) – https://www.manitobacooperator.ca/crops/u-s-study-questions-neonics-for-soybean-aphid-control/
Rick Holley, professor emeritus in Food Science, was interviewed in a Canadian Press article “Advocate calls for chicken irradiation in Canada” that appeared in several media outlets (CTV, City) – http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/advocate-calls-for-chicken-irradiation-in-canada-1.3432769
Myrna Grahn, Farm and Food Discovery Centre, was interviewed on Farmscape in the story “Farm and Food Discovery Centre Steps up Focus on Media”. Read or listen online at http://www.farmscape.ca/f2ShowScript.aspx?i=26032&q=Farm+and+Food+Discovery+Centre+Steps+up+Focus+on+Media
PUBLICATIONS
Entz, M (daughter of the ‘other’ Entz, M), Desmarais, A, Slater, J. 2017. Student food insecurity at the University of Manitoba. Canadian Food Studies. 4(1):139-159 DOI: 10.15353/cfs-rcea.v4i1.204 http://canadianfoodstudies.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/cfs/article/view/204
Amarakoon, I., Farenhorst, A., Rose, K., Claeys, A., Ascef, B. (2016). 17 ß-Estradiol mineralization in human waste products and soil in the presence and the absence of antimicrobials. Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part B. 51(10), 655-660.
Malunga, L.N., Izydorczyk, M., and Beta, T. (2017) Effect of water-extractable arabinoxylans from wheat aleurone and bran on lipid peroxidation and factors influencing their antioxidant capacity. Bioactive Carbohydrates and Dietary Fibre 10:20-26.
Seven scientific abstracts from RCFFN members were published in May 2017 volume 42, number 5 of the Canadian Nutrition Society: Scientific Abstracts from the 8th Annual Scientific Meeting (Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 2017, 42(5 (Suppl. 1)): S1-S56, https://doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2017-0134)
-High oleic canola oil and olive oil result in similar plasma fatty acid and glucose levels as well as lipoprotein pro?le in golden Syrian hamsters fed atherogenic diets – authors Jyoti Sihag and Peter Jones
-Effect of dietary phytosterol and cholesterol concentration in infant formula on circulating lipid profiles – authors Elizabeth Babawale, Fabiana Joseph, and Peter Jones
-Comparing the impact of saturated fatty acids from different dairy sources on HDL subpopulations – Authors Daniela Bernic, Didier Brassard, Maude Tessier-Grenier, Ethendhar Rajendiran, Yongbo She, Vanu Ramprasath, Iris Gigleux, Émile Levy, Angelo Tremblay, Peter Jones, Patrick Couture, Bela Aztalos, and Benoît Lamarche
-N-Acyl phosphatidylethanolamine-specifc phospholipase D knockdown decreases mouse body weight and adipose mass independent of dietary fatty acids – Authors Lin Lin, Alex Kitson, Kathryn Hopperton, Marc-Olivier Trepanier, Shoug Alashmali, Peter Jones, and Richard Bazinet
-Hemp food product consumption for 4 weeks did not impact glucose metabolism, compared to a soybean and sesame control product, in free living participants who were overweight or obese – Authors Dylan MacKay, Adrianne Cardillo, Rebecca Mollard, and Peter Jones
-Inhibition of intestinal glucose absorption by phenolics extracted from whole wheat grown at different temperatures Authors – Maryam Shamloo, Peter J.H. Jones, and Peter K. Eck
-Effects of consuming dairy diets rich in saturated fatty acids from dairy, versus other oils on plasma and red blood cell (RBC) fatty acid profiles – Authors – Yongbo She, Ethendhar Rajendiran, Vanu Ramprasath, Maude Tessier-Grenier, Didier Brassard, Emile Levy, Patrick Couture, Benoit Lamarche, and Peter Jones
GENERAL NEWS
The Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals is seeking participants for the Non-Caloric Artificial Sweetener study. The study will investigate the changes that occur in your gut, and the changes that occur to your blood sugar regulation with regular consumption of non-caloric artificial sweeteners. Inclusion criteria is age 18-45 years, males or females, BMI between 20-25 (i.e., normal weight). Contact Dr Samar Ahmad at 204-999-9446 or ahmads34 [at] myumanitoba [dot] ca for more information.