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Combined paper mill biosolids (PB) and forest-derived liming by-products improve soil properties, but their residual effects following several years of application have hardly been investigated. A 13-year (2009–2021) field study was initiated at Yamachiche, QC, Canada, to assess the residual effects of PB and liming materials on the properties of a loamy soil. The PB was applied during nine consecutive years (2000–2008) at 0, 30, 60, and 90 Mg wet·ha−1, whereas the 30 Mg PB·ha−1 rate also received one of three liming materials (calcitic lime, lime mud, wood ash) at 3 Mg wet·ha−1. No amendment was applied during residual years. Past liming materials continued to increase soil pH but their effect decreased over time; meanwhile, past PB applications caused a low increase in residual soil NO3-N. Soil total C, which represented 40% of added organic C when PB applications ceased, stabilized to 15% after six years. Soil Mehlich-3-extractable contents declined over the thirteen residual years to be not significant for P, K, and Cu, while they reached half the values of the application years for Zn and Cd. Conversely, Mehlich-3 Ca was little affected by time. Therefore, land PB and liming material applications benefited soil properties several years after their cessation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of breast cancer amongst older adults in Canada is increasing. This patient population faces unique challenges in the management of breast cancer, as older adults often have distinct biological, psychosocial, and treatment-related considerations. This paper presents an expert consensus of the Canadian treatment landscape, focusing on key considerations for optimizing selection of systemic therapy for advanced breast cancer in older adults. This paper aims to provide evidence-based recommendations and practical guidance for healthcare professionals involved in the care of older adults with breast cancer. By recognizing and addressing the specific needs of older adults, healthcare providers can optimize treatment outcomes and improve the overall quality of care for this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The current approach to breast cancer screening, which is based on a person's age, overlooks individual-level differences in breast cancer risk. As a result, many people are over- or under-screened according to their actual risk of breast cancer. Risk-stratified breast screening may overcome the limitations of age-based screening, but there are still many knowledge gaps regarding how best to implement it in the population setting. This study will generate the first Canadian evidence on the adoption of breast cancer risk assessment in the population setting, to support the future implementation of risk-stratified breast cancer screening. This study demonstrated that, while risk assessment for risk-stratified screening at the population level is feasible, an equity lens must be considered in implementation to ensure cancer-screening disparities are not widened. Risk-stratified breast screening has been proposed as a strategy to overcome the limitations of age-based screening. A prospective cohort study was undertaken within the PERSPECTIVE I&I project, which will generate the first Canadian evidence on multifactorial breast cancer risk assessment in the population setting to inform the implementation of risk-stratified screening. Recruited females aged 40–69 unaffected by breast cancer, with a previous mammogram, underwent multifactorial breast cancer risk assessment. The adoption of multifactorial risk assessment, the effectiveness of methods for collecting risk factor information and the costs of risk assessment were examined. Associations between participant characteristics and study sites, as well as data collection methods, were assessed using logistic regression; all p-values are two-sided. Of the 4246 participants recruited, 88.4% completed a risk assessment, with 79.8%, 15.7% and 4.4% estimated at average, higher than average and high risk, respectively. The total per-participant cost for risk assessment was CAD 315. Participants who chose to provide risk factor information on paper/telephone (27.2%) vs. online were more likely to be older (p = 0.021), not born in Canada (p = 0.043), visible minorities (p = 0.01) and have a lower attained education (p < 0.0001) and perceived fair/poor health (p < 0.001). The 34.4% of participants requiring risk factor verification for missing/unusual values were more likely to be visible minorities (p = 0.009) and have a lower attained education (p ≤ 0.006). This study demonstrates the feasibility of risk assessment for risk-stratified screening at the population level. Implementation should incorporate an equity lens to ensure cancer-screening disparities are not widened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous improvement of shale oil and gas recovery technologies and achievements, a large amount of geological information and data have been accumulated for the description of shale reservoirs, and it has become possible to use machine learning methods for "sweet spots" prediction in shale oil and gas areas. Taking the Duvernay shale oil and gas field in Canada as an example, this paper attempts to build recoverable shale oil and gas reserve prediction models using machine learning methods and geological and development big data, to predict the distribution of recoverable shale oil and gas reserves and provide a basis for well location deployment and engineering modifications. The research results of the machine learning model in this study are as follows: ① Three machine learning methods were applied to build a prediction model and random forest showed the best performance. The R2 values of the built recoverable shale oil and gas reserves prediction models are 0.7894 and 0.8210, respectively, with an accuracy that meets the requirements of production applications; ② The geological main controlling factors for recoverable shale oil and gas reserves in this area are organic matter maturity and total organic carbon (TOC), followed by porosity and effective thickness; the main controlling factor for engineering modifications is the total proppant volume, followed by total stages and horizontal lateral length; ③ The abundance of recoverable shale oil and gas reserves in the central part of the study area is predicted to be relatively high, which makes it a favorable area for future well location deployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geothermal energy exploration, development, and research have been ongoing in Canada for several decades. The country's cold climate and the push to develop renewable energy sources have driven interest in geothermal energy. Despite this drive, regulatory complexities and competition with other relatively inexpensive energy sources with existing infrastructure have hindered development. As such, interest has grown and waned with changes in the energy economy over several decades, leaving many projects at a standstill. As of January 2023, there are currently no operational geothermal power projects in Canada. Many hot spring pool and spa complexes remain active, and Canada is a leading country in the installation of ground source heat pumps (GSHPs; also called geo-exchange systems). However, in the last decade, the interest in deep geothermal systems has renewed, with many new projects starting up across several provinces and territories. Moreover, projects that had shown limited progress for many years—such as Mount Meager in British Columbia—have begun to renew their development efforts. Research is also expanding within prominent research groups and universities. The areas of focus include both building upon previous studies (such as thermal gradients and the heat flow in sedimentary basins) and researching new methods and resources (such as GSHPs, closed-loop systems, integrated geothermal operations, and hybrid systems, including heat storage). The development is supported by federal, provincial, and territorial governments through grants and the development of regulatory frameworks. Although challenges still remain for Canada to develop its geothermal energy resources, several power, thermal, and co-production projects, ongoing research, funding, and regulatory acts are all moving forward to support geothermal development. This paper aims to study Canada's geothermal energy update in 2023 regarding the aspects mentioned above. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the findings of fifteen energy audits conducted on industrial sites in Canada's Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The audits covered a range of industries including food processing, packaged goods, and finishing processes (powder-coating). The primary focus of the audits was to analyze the natural gas consumption and the performance of major-gas-consuming equipment. The audits identified natural-gas-consuming equipment that could be optimized to yield energy and operational cost savings and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction opportunities. Food production plants' energy intensity ranges from 5.59 m3/ft2 to 17.73 m3/ft2. Therefore, there is a significant opportunity to improve energy consumption through better technology integration. The results of the audits indicate a trend of an increase in the percentage of non-productive consumption with non-productive time. The proposed energy-saving measures include reducing non-productive natural gas consumption, gas-fired equipment tune-up, optimizing boiler loads, and reducing oven exhaust by using variable frequency drives (VFDs). The findings of this study could be used to develop a demand-side management program specifically for small- and medium-sized industrial facilities in the Greater Toronto Area and other parts of Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 15–16 June 2023, healthcare professionals and breast cancer patients and advocates from across Canada met in Toronto, Ontario, for the 2023 Canadian Breast Cancer Symposium (CBSC.). The CBSC. is a national, multidisciplinary event that occurs every 2 years with the goal of developing a personalized approach to the management of breast cancer in Canada. Experts provided state-of-the-art information to help optimally manage breast cancer patients, including etiology, prevention, diagnosis, experimental biology, and therapy of breast cancer and premalignant breast disease. The symposium also had the objectives of increasing communication and collaboration among breast cancer healthcare providers nationwide and providing a comprehensive and real-life review of the many facets of breast cancer. The sessions covered the patient voice, the top breast cancer papers from different disciplines in 2022, artificial intelligence in breast cancer, systemic therapy updates, the management of central nervous system metastases, multidisciplinary management of ductal carcinoma in situ, special populations, optimization-based individual prognostic factors, toxicity management of novel therapeutics, survivorship, and updates in surgical oncology. The key takeaways of these sessions have been summarized in this conference report. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last two decades, patient engagement in cancer research has evolved significantly, especially in addressing the unique challenges faced by adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer populations. This paper introduces a framework for meaningful engagement with AYA cancer patient research partners, drawing insights from the "FUTURE" Study, a qualitative study that utilizes focus groups to explore the impact of cancer diagnosis and treatment on the sexual and reproductive health of AYA cancer patients in Canada. The framework's development integrates insights from prior works and addresses challenges with patient engagement in research specific to AYA cancer populations. The framework is guided by overarching principles (safety, flexibility, and sensitivity) and includes considerations that apply across all phases of a research study (collaboration; iteration; communication; and equity, diversity, and inclusion) and tasks that apply to specific phases of a research study (developing, conducting, and translating the study). The proposed framework seeks to increase patient engagement in AYA cancer research beyond a supplementary aspect to an integral component for conducting research with impact on patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mean square synchronization problem of the complex dynamical network (CDN) with the stochastic link dynamics is investigated. In contrast to previous literature, the CDN considered in this paper can be viewed as consisting of two subsystems coupled to each other. One subsystem consists of all nodes, referred to as the nodes subsystem, and the other consists of all links, referred to as the network topology subsystem, where the weighted values can quantitatively reflect changes in the network's topology. Based on the above understanding of CDN, two vector stochastic differential equations with Brownian motion are used to model the dynamic behaviors of nodes and links, respectively. The control strategy incorporates not only the controller in the nodes but also the coupling term in the links, through which the CDN is synchronized in the mean-square sense. Meanwhile, the dynamic stochastic signal is proposed in this paper, which is regarded as the auxiliary reference tracking target of links, such that the links can track the reference target asymptotically when synchronization occurs in nodes. This implies that the eventual topological structure of CDN is stochastic. Finally, a comparison simulation example confirms the superiority of the control strategy in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canada has one of the most complex and rigorous drug approval and public reimbursement processes and is, unfortunately, one of the countries with the longest delays in drug access. To assess the overall impact of systemic delays in access to cancer therapy, a targeted literature review (TLR) was performed to identify studies associated with the clinical, economic, and quality of life impacts of delayed access to oncology drugs. Using MEDLINE/PubMed databases and snowballing, four unique records met the eligibility criteria. Results revealed that clinical outcomes were the most impacted by systemic delays in access to oncology drugs (e.g., life years lost, overall survival, and progression-free survival). The four articles retrieved by the TLR specifically illustrated that a substantial number of life years could potentially be saved by increasing systemic efficiency regarding the development, approval, and reimbursement processes of new drugs for advanced malignancies. It is imperative that initiatives are put in place to improve the performance and speed of Canadian drug regulatory and health technology assessment (HTA) processes, especially for new cancer therapeutics. The proposed solutions in this paper include better coordination between HTA and Canadian payers to harmonize coverage decisions, international collaborations, information sharing, and national standards for timeliness in oncology drug access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a consensus-based Canadian guideline whose primary purpose is to standardize and facilitate the management of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGvHD) across the country. Creating uniform healthcare guidance in Canada is a challenge for a number of reasons including the differences in healthcare authority structure, funding and access to healthcare resources between provinces and territories, as well as the geographic size. These differences can lead to variable and unequal access to effective therapies for GvHD. This document will provide comprehensive and practical guidance that can be applied across Canada by healthcare professionals caring for patients with cGvHD. Hopefully, this guideline, based on input from GvHD treaters across the country, will aid in standardizing cGvHD care and facilitate access to much-needed novel therapies. This consensus paper aims to discuss the optimal approach to the initial assessment of cGvHD, review the severity scoring and global grading system, discuss systemic and topical treatments, as well as supportive therapies, and propose a therapeutic algorithm for frontline and subsequent lines of cGvHD treatment in adults and pediatric patients. Finally, we will make suggestions about the future direction of cGvHD treatment development such as (1) a mode-of-action-based cGvHD drug selection, according to the pathogenesis of cGvHD, (2) a combination strategy with the introduction of newer targeted drugs, (3) a steroid-free regimen, particularly for front line therapy for cGvHD treatment, and (4) a pre-emptive approach which can prevent the progression of cGvHD in high-risk patients destined to develop severe and highly morbid forms of cGvHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been widely used in image denoising, and their performance has been enhanced through residual learning. However, previous research mostly focused on optimizing the network architecture of CNNs, ignoring the limitations of the commonly used residual learning. This paper identifies two of its limitations, which are the neglect of image information and the lack of effective consideration of image self-similarity. To solve these limitations, this paper proposes a compositional denoising network (CDN), which contains two sub-paths, the image information path (IIP) and the noise estimation path (NEP), respectively. IIP is trained via an image-to-image method to extract image information. For NEP, it utilizes image self-similarity from the perspective of training. This similarity-based training method constrains NEP to output similar estimated noise distributions for different image patches with a specific kind of noise. Finally, image information and noise distribution information are comprehensively considered for image denoising. Experimental results indicate that CDN outperforms other CNN-based methods in both synthetic and real-world image denoising, achieving state-of-the-art performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Canada, Indigenous populations are disproportionately threatened by wildfire smoke and the associated adverse health impacts. This paper presents the results of a narrative review of 51 academic and related resources which explored protective action decision making during wildfire smoke events within Indigenous communities in Canada. A search of scholarly articles and other relevant sources yielded resources which were subject to thematic analysis and described in order to present a narrative review of current knowledge and gaps in research. A small and growing literature provides insights into protective actions taken by the general population during wildfire smoke events, but very little is known about protective actions taken by Indigenous peoples in Canada during wildfire smoke events. This lack of understanding hinders the capacity of decision makers to improve emergency management and minimize community health impacts of wildfire smoke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this Special Issue, "Featured Papers in Organometallic Chemistry", we report on the synthesis and characterization of [IPr#–PEPPSI], a new, well-defined, highly hindered Pd(II)–NHC precatalyst for cross-coupling reactions. This catalyst was commercialized in collaboration with MilliporeSigma, Burlington, ON, Canada (no. 925489) to provide academic and industrial researchers with broad access to reaction screening and optimization. The broad activity of [IPr#–PEPPSI] in cross-coupling reactions in a range of bond activations with C–N, C–O, C–Cl, C–Br, C–S and C–H cleavage is presented. A comprehensive evaluation of the steric and electronic properties is provided. Easy access to the [IPr#–PEPPSI] class of precatalysts based on modular pyridine ligands, together with the steric impact of the IPr# peralkylation framework, will facilitate the implementation of well-defined, air- and moisture-stable Pd(II)–NHC precatalysts in chemistry research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems play a crucial role in either increasing or decreasing the risk of airborne disease transmission. High ventilation, for instance, is a common method used to control and reduce the infection risk of airborne diseases such as COVID-19. On the other hand, high ventilation will increase energy consumption and cost. This paper proposes an optimal HVAC controller to assess the trade-off between energy consumption and indoor infection risk of COVID-19. To achieve this goal, a nonlinear model predictive controller (NMPC) is designed to control the HVAC systems of a university building to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission while reducing building energy consumption. The NMPC controller uses dynamic models to predict future outputs while meeting system constraints. To this end, a set of dynamic physics-based models are created to capture heat transfer and conservation of mass, which are used in the NMPC controller. Then, the developed models are experimentally validated by conducting experiments in the ETLC building at the University of Alberta, Canada. A classroom in the building is equipped with a number of sensors to measure indoor and outdoor environmental parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, and CO 2 concentration. The validation results show that the model can predict room temperature and CO 2 concentration by 0.8%, and 2.4% mean absolute average errors, respectively. Based on the validated models, the NMPC controller is designed to calculate the optimal airflow and supply air temperature for every 15 min. The results for real case studies show that the NMPC controller can reduce the infection risk of COVID-19 transmission below 1% while reducing energy consumption by 55% when compared to the existing building controller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unconventional oil and gas formations are abundant, have become an increasingly important part of the global energy supply, and are attracting increasing attention from the industry. Predicting key reservoir properties plays a significant role in both geological science and subsurface engineering workflows. With the advent of horizontal well drilling and multiple-stage hydraulic fracturing, the Montney Shale formation is one of the most promising and productive shale plays in Canada. However, very few academic papers discuss its in situ stress, reservoir pressure, and permeability, which are essential for the development of the Montney Shale. The objective of this study is to analyze the geo-stress, the pore pressure, and several key reservoir properties by using diagnostic fracture injection test (DFIT) data from the Montney Shale. One horizontal well from the Wapiti field has been analyzed with a set of DFIT data, and its results show that the general pressure and Gdp/dG responses from Well-A indicate a signature of height recession/transverse storage. In the study, the Tangent Line method, the Compliance method, and the Variable Compliance method have been applied to estimate the key reservoir properties. As a result, the Well-A DFIT analysis estimates that the closure pressure is ranging from 34.367 to 39.344 MPa, contributing to the stress gradient from 14.09 to 16.13 KPa/m for the formation. The pore pressure is ranging from 20.82 to 24.58 MPa, contributing to the pore pressure gradient from 8.54 to 10.07 KPa/m for the formation. The porosity is ranging from 3% to 6%. These reservoir properties are contoured cross the Montney Shale formation. Using the DFIT's numerical simulation and history matching, the reservoir permeability is 0.024 md, fracture length is 13.44 m, and fracture geometries are analyzed by different models. Moreover, the physics behind the DFIT are analyzed and discussed in detail. For the first time, three different analysis methods have been applied to estimate a series of key reservoir properties for the case wells in the Montney Shale formation. This approach can not only reduce the potential prediction error caused by a single method application but also increase the persuasiveness of the assessment and save time, ensuring the efficient implementation of engineering operations. Given the significance of quantifying in situ stress and reservoir pore pressure in unconventional hydrocarbon exploration and development, this study could help the operator to quickly understand the stress regimes, the fracture geometry, and the formation properties of the Montney Shale formation in the Wapiti field. Furthermore, the interpreted results demonstrated in this paper are adding substantial business value to the asset, especially in terms of improving the hydraulic fracturing design and, thus, accelerating the cashflow from production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: ADHD is recognized as one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders. The worldwide prevalence of ADHD is estimated at 5.3%; however, estimates vary as a function of a number of factors, including diagnostic methods, age, sex and geographical location. A review of studies is needed to clarify the epidemiology of ADHD in Canada. (2) Methods: A search strategy was created in PubMed and adapted for MEDLINE and PsycINFO. Papers were included if they examined diagnosed ADHD prevalence and/or incidence rates in any region of Canada, age group and gender. A snowball technique was used to identify additional papers from reference lists, and experts in the field were consulted. (3) Results: Ten papers included in this review reported on prevalence, and one reported on incidence. One study provided an overall prevalence estimate across provinces for adults of 2.9%, and one study provided an overall estimate across five provinces for children and youth of 8.6%. Across age groups (1 to 24 years), incidence estimates ranged from 0.4% to 1.2%, depending on province. Estimates varied by age, gender, province, region and time. (4) Conclusions: The overall Canadian ADHD prevalence estimate is similar to worldwide estimates for adults. Most studies reported on prevalence rather than incidence. Differences in estimates across provinces may reflect the varying number of practitioners available to diagnose and prescribe medication for ADHD across provinces. To achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the epidemiology of ADHD in Canada, a study is needed that includes all provinces and territories, and that considers estimates in relation to age, gender, ethnicity, geographical region, socioeconomic status and access to mental healthcare coverage. Incidence rates need further examination to be determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding landslide kinematics, their characteristics, and contributing factors is crucial for decision-making regarding mitigation strategies for infrastructure projects. These characteristics depend on the geomorphology of the area, climate, and proximity to water bodies and anthropogenic activity. Some geomorphological features are shared between some western Canadian regions, particularly within the Canadian Interior Plains (Interior Plains). This paper synthesizes the failure mechanisms, kinematics, triggering events, and contributing factors associated with 11 landslides in the Interior Plains, with detailed qualitative descriptions of two of them. The paper discusses the commonalities of bedrock formations that contain thin sub-horizontal and continuous deposits of weak materials as the main geomorphological predisposing factor for landslides in this region. The findings show commonalities in the effect of seasonal fluctuations in the characteristics of water bodies in contact with these landslides, driving episodes of landside reactivation, acceleration and deceleration. Importantly, anthropogenic activity as a trigger for the initiation of some of these landslides suggests a high susceptibility of certain slopes in the Interior Plains to instability resulting from relatively small changes in in-situ stresses. This information becomes critical for assessing the landslide susceptibility of valley slopes in this region for infrastructure planning, design, and operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since individual neural networks have limited deep expressiveness and effectiveness, many learning frameworks face difficulties in the availability and balance of sample selection. As a result, in change detection, it is difficult to upgrade the hit rate of a high-performance model on both positive and negative pixels. Therefore, supposing that the sacrificed components coincide perfectly with the important evaluation objectives, such as positives, it would lose more than gain. To address this issue, in this paper, we propose a multi-visual collaborative deep network (MV-CDN) served by three collaborative network members that consists of three subdivision approaches, the CDN with one collaborator (CDN-C), CDN with two collaborators (CDN-2C), and CDN with three collaborators (CDN-3C). The purpose of the collaborator is to re-evaluate the feature elements in the network transmission, and thus to translate the group-thinking into a more robust field of vision. We use three sets of public double-temporal hyperspectral images taken by the AVIRIS and HYPERION sensors to show the feasibility of the proposed schema. The comparison results have confirmed that our proposed schema outperforms the existing state-of-the-art algorithms on the three tested datasets, which demonstrates the broad adaptability and progressiveness of the proposal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When there is direct competition for a position of power (promotion, elected office, etc.), competitors are tempted to cheat to increase their chances of winning. If they do so successfully, then how they rationalize their cheating can determine how they treat the losers of the competition. In this paper, we explore how the winners of a promotion tournament treat the losers, using a two stage laboratory experiment run in Canada and the United Arab Emirates. In the first stage, subjects compete to earn the role of the dictator in a dictator game, which takes place in the second stage. We vary whether or not subjects can cheat during the competition. The results of the experiment can be summarized as follows: (1) cheating significantly increases altruism in some tournament winners, (2) winners who cheat the most are significantly less altruistic than winners who cheated only a little, (3) there are significant differences in cheating behavior across the two populations, and (4) cheating behavior can be at least partially attributed to differences in intelligence and beliefs across the two populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence-based guidance on the management of a positive human papilloma virus (HPV) test and to provide guidance around screening and HPV testing for specific patient populations. The guideline was developed by a working group in collaboration with the Gynecologic Oncology Society of Canada (GOC), Society of Colposcopists of Canada (SCC), and the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. The literature informing these guidelines was obtained through a systematic review of relevant literature by a multi-step search process led by an information specialist. The literature was reviewed up to July 2021 with manual searches of relevant national guidelines and more recent publications. The quality of the evidence and strength of recommendations were developed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) framework. The intended users of this guideline include primary care providers, gynecologists, colposcopists, screening programs, and healthcare facilities. The implementation of the recommendations will ensure an optimum implementation of HPV testing with a focus on the management of positive results. Recommendations for appropriate care for underserved and marginalized groups are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In August 2021, the United States withdrew from Afghanistan after 20 years. The fall of the Afghan government to the Taliban resulted in the displacement of some Afghans. Canada committed to welcoming thousands of refugees. Research suggests that refugees tend to have higher rates of post-traumatic stress, and Afghan refugees, in particular, have among the highest rates. Another body of literature suggests that religious coping has positive effects. This paper presents qualitative data from interviews with 11 Afghan refugees who arrived in Ontario after August 2021 with the intent to combine these two findings. In so doing, we sought to understand how Afghan refugees described their experiences of displacement and the extent to which those experiences were traumatic, but also how they relied on Islam to cope with the traumatic effects of displacement. The interviews we conducted suggested that our participants experienced exposure to death, exposure to threat of death and/or injury, and described some of symptoms of the criteria for PTSD. The interviews also suggested that the participants coped using Islamic concepts, beliefs, and rituals. The qualitative data we present provide rich descriptions of the experiences of trauma in the face of displacement and religious coping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming might be mitigated if emissions were interrupted through carbon capture technologies, as there is a significant amount of comprehensive studies on them. An outline of the main gaps and trends of a technology is critical for further development. In this context, this study provides an overview of calcium looping carbon capture processes that have proven their potential and commercial viability. A bibliometric analysis is conducted on both Scopus and Web of Science database by seeking the keywords "calcium looping", "co2 capture", and "fluidized bed" in titles, abstracts, and keywords. Word selection was based on a list of relevant papers on the topic. These items of data have been processed and analyzed based on the number of publications and citations by emphasizing recent publication evolution, journal influence, the use of specific keywords, and co-citation. Results reveal that the European Union (EU) leads the rankings on the topic, followed by Canada. Keyword choice might have affected the number of citations. Recent studies used limestone as a sorbent and a dual fluidized bed reactor with a calciner or resistance depending on its size. Most studies are focused on technology scale-up. Although scale-up seems to be a priority, multiple studies are designed to assess the effect of steam generation and SO 2 on the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Practices of creativity and compliance intersect in interaction when directing local dances remotely for people living with dementia and their carers in institutional settings. This ethnomethodological study focused on how artistic mechanisms are understood and structured by participants in response to on-screen instruction. Video data were collected from two long-term care facilities in Canada and Finland in a pilot study of a dance program that extended internationally from Canada to Finland at the onset of COVID-19. Fourteen hours of video data were analyzed using multimodal conversation analysis of initiation–response sequences. In this paper, we identify how creative instructed actions are produced in compliance with multimodal directives in interaction when mediated by technology and facilitated by copresent facilitators. We provide examples of how participants' variably compliant responses in relation to dance instruction, from following a lead to coordinating with others, produce different creative actions from embellishing to improvising. Our findings suggest that cocreativity may be realized at intersections of compliance and creativity toward reciprocity. This research contributes to interdisciplinary discussions about the potential of arts-based practices in social inclusion, health, and well-being by studying how dance instruction is understood and realized remotely and in copresence in embodied instructed action and interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote community initiatives for renewable energy are rapidly emerging across Canada but with varying numbers, success rates, and strategies. To meet low-carbon transition goals, the need to coordinate technology deployment and long-term policy to guide the adoption is critical. Renewable resources such as wind, solar, hydro, and biomass can provide energy at a subsidized cost, create sustainable infrastructure, and provide new economic viability in social value integration. The renewable energy transition is crucial to Canada in sustaining remote and indigenous communities by providing local, clean, and low-carbon-emission energy for heat, power, and possibly transportation. This paper identified 635 renewable resources projects deployed to improve and increase electricity supply. To an extent, balancing demand within the remote and indigenous communities of Canada and highlighting sustainable renewable energy development through ownership participation within the communities is achievable before 2050 and beyond through energy efficiency and the social value of energy. The article identifies clean energy targets as mandated by the different provinces in Canada to reach net-zero GHG emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What would it look like to honour differences in eating disorder recovery? Recoveries from eating disorders and eating distress are enacted in relation to discursive, material, and affective flows that open and constrain different possibilities for differently embodied people. Yet, the pull toward establishing consensus on "what recovery is" continues to dominate the landscape of both qualitative and quantitative eating disorder recovery work. While researchers from a variety of perspectives, disciplines, and methodological traditions have sought to establish consensus on what recovery "is", a singular definition remains elusive. Indeed, when researchers continue to adopt the same methodologies—which largely emphasize establishing patterns of sameness—the opportunity to dig into contradictions and tensions that enliven recoveries is missed. In this paper, we reflect on our experiences conducting creative, collaborative, generative research to re-write, re-design, re-draw, and otherwise re-imagine recoveries. The knowledge generated in our research is co-constructed with people with living experience of disordered/distressed eating/eating disorders who spoke back to mainstream recovery discourses (e.g., the idea that recovery is about perfection, that recovery is linear, that one is either recovered or not, that the word "recovered" encapsulates the experience, etc.). We engaged with 12 participants: four in an online group workshop and eight in individual online sessions. Participants held a variety of experiences and backgrounds from Canada, the United States, and Aotearoa New Zealand. We explored their journeys into this conversation with us, the meaning of recovery, and their thoughts on what makes recovery im/possible. Participants were offered several options for creative engagement and took up the idea of "creativity" in ways as different as the stories they shared. Participants created collages, short stories, poems, drawings, and told stories about their experiences. Here, we discuss methodological insights gained from asking participants to lead the creative process. We also explore how this project potentially enables different ways of thinking about and doing eating disorder recovery. Delving into the differences in both method and content opens up opportunities to take seriously the different relational, material, and affective constellations of participants' living experiences of eating distress/disorder "recovery". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conventional manufacturing methods for fabricating orthotic and prosthetic (O&P) devices have been in practice for a very long time. Recently, O&P service providers have started exploring different advanced manufacturing techniques. The objective of this paper is to perform a mini review on recent progress in the use of polymer-based additive manufacturing (AM) for O&P devices and to gather insights from the O&P professionals on the current practices and technologies and on the prospect of using AM techniques in this field. In our study, first, scientific articles on AM for O&P devices were studied. Then, twenty-two (22) interviews were conducted with O&P professionals from Canada. The primary focus was on five key areas: cost, material, design and fabrication efficiency, structural strength, functionality, and patient satisfaction. The cost of manufacturing the O&P devices using AM techniques is lower as compared to the conventional methods. O&P professionals expressed their concern over the materials and structural strength of the 3D-printed prosthetic devices. Published articles report comparable functionality and patient satisfaction for both O&P devices. AM also greatly improves design and fabrication efficiency. However, due to a lack of qualification standards for 3D printed O&P devices, 3D printing is being embraced more slowly in the O&P business than in other industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes a system and experimental procedure that use integrating passive detectors, such as thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs), for the measurement of ultra-low-level ambient dose equivalent rate values at the underground SNOLAB facility located in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Because these detectors are passive and can be exposed for relatively long periods of time, they can provide better sensitivity for measuring ultra-low activity levels. The final characterization of ultra-low-level ambient dose around water shielding for ongoing direct dark matter search experiments in Cube Hall at SNOLAB underground laboratory is given. The conclusion is that TLDs provide reliable results in the measurement of the ultra-low-level environmental radiation background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate warming at high latitudes has contributed to the growing interest in shrub tree-ring analysis. Shrub architecture presents new challenges for dendrochronology, such as the seemingly lower and inconsistent climatic sensitivity of stems vs. root collars. Shrub stems may thus be considered as sub-optimal to study climate–growth relationships. In this paper, we propose that the lower climatic sensitivity of stems could be caused by the use of unsuitable detrending methods for chronologies spanning decades rather than centuries. We hypothesize that the conversion of the ring width (RW) to basal area increment (BAI) is better suited than traditional detrending methods to removing age/size-related trends without removing multi-decadal climate signals. Using stem and root collar samples collected from three sites in the forest–tundra ecotone of eastern Canada, we compared the climate–growth relationships of these two approaches for stems and root collars using mixed-effects models. The climate sensitivity was, on average, 4.9 and 2.7 times higher with BAI than with detrended (mean-centered) RW chronologies for stems and root collars, respectively. The climatic drivers of radial growth were identical for stems and root collars when using BAI (July temperature and March precipitation), but were inconsistent when using detrended RW series (root collars: July temperature and March precipitation at all sites; stems: April and June temperature, depending on the site). Although the use of BAI showed promising results for studying long-term climate signals in shrub growth chronologies, further studies focusing on different species and locations are needed before the use of BAI can become broadly used in shrub dendrochronology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: This paper looks at changes in weight, physical activity, and food/dietary intake during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in undergraduate students enrolled in a Canadian university. The investigation used an online survey format to collect data at the end of the two lockdown periods over one year. Participants were recruited from universities across Canada. The results show a modest weight gain accompanied by a decrease in physical activity and an unhealthy change in diet. Specifically, students reported that their engagement in specific physical activities and overall activity levels decreased during the lockdowns. The number of calories also decreased over time, while the foods consumed decreased in nutritional value. Thus, the modest weight gain observed may have resulted from the decrease in physical activity and diet quality. In conclusion, Canadian food and physical activity recommendations were not met during the lockdowns caused by the pandemic, which highlights the physical and nutritional implications of confinement. This study examined changes in body mass and body mass index (BMI), physical activity, and dietary intake in Canadian university students during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two self-reported recall surveys were conducted: after the first lockdown in September 2020 (T1) and following the second lockdown in March 2021 (T2). Eligible participants were full-time undergraduate students attending a Canadian university and residing in Canada during the first year of the pandemic. At T1, 510 students (99 male, 411 female) completed the survey, and of those, 135 (32 males, 103 females) completed the survey at T2 (73% attrition). At both T1 and T2, most participants were 18–24 years of age (93% and 90%, respectively), Caucasian (73% and 78%, respectively), and resided in the province of Ontario (79% and 80%, respectively). Body mass increased from T1 to T2 (+0.91 ± 3.89 kg t(132) = −2.7, p = 0.008). BMI also increased from T1 to T2 (+0.30 ± 1.33 kg/m2 [t(130) = −2.5, p = 0.012), with a greater number of participants within the overweight range (19.8% versus 24.4%, respectively). At T1, 38% of the participants reported a decrease in physical activity, while the number of students reporting a decrease in activity increased to 56% at T2. Dietary energy intake decreased from 1678 ± 958 kcal/day at T1 to 1565 ± 842 kcal/day at T2 [c2(1) = 7.2, p = 0.007]. Diet quality also decreased, with participants not meeting the recommended daily allowance for essential macro and micronutrients. A decrease was observed in daily servings of fruits (−27%, p < 0.001), vegetables (−72%, p < 0.001), and grains (−68%, p < 0.001). In conclusion, despite a small decrease in dietary energy intake, a modest weight gain occurred during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in this cohort of Canadian university students, which was potentially related to decreased physical activity and diet quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a large amount of drilling core data in the Mackay River oil sands block in Canada, and the accurate identification of facies from the cores is important and necessary for the understanding of the subsurface reservoir. The traditional recognition method of facies from cores is by human work and is very time consuming. Furthermore, the results are different according to different geologists because of the subjective judgment criterion. An efficient and objective method is important to solve the above problem. In this paper, the deep learning image-recognition algorithm is used to automatically and intelligently recognize the facies type from the core image. Through a series of high-reliability preprocessing operations, such as cropping, segmentation, rotation transformation, and noise removal of the original core image, that have been manually identified, the key feature information in the images is extracted based on the ResNet50 convolutional neural network. On the dataset of about 200 core images from 13 facies, an intelligent identification system of facies from core images is constructed, which realizes automatic facies identification from core images. Comparing this method with traditional convolutional neural networks and support vector machines (SVM), the results show that the recognition accuracy of this model is as high as 91.12%, which is higher than the other two models. It is also shown that for a relatively special dataset, such as core images, it is necessary to rely on their global features in order to classify them, and, with a large similarity between some of the categories, it is extremely difficult to classify them. The selection of a suitable neural network model can have a great impact on the accuracy of recognition results. Then, the recognized facies are input as hard data to construct the three-dimensional facies model, which reveals the complex heterogeneity and distribution of the subsurface reservoir for further exploration and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper formulates and solves a new problem of the double model following adaptive control (MFAC) of nodes and links in a complex dynamical network (CDN). This is different from most existing studies on CDN and MFAC. Inspired by the concept of composite systems, the CDN with dynamic links is regarded as an interconnected system composed of an interconnected node group (NG) and link group (LG). Guided by the above-mentioned new idea of viewing a CDN from the perspective of composite systems, by means of Lyapunov theory and proposed related mathematical preliminaries, a new adaptive control scheme is proposed for NG. In addition, to remove the restriction that the states of links in a CDN are unavailable due to physical constraints, technical restraints, and expensive measurement costs, we synthesize the coupling term in LG with the proposed adaptive control scheme for NG, such that the problem of double MFAC of nodes and links in CDN is solved. Finally, a simulation example is presented to verify the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an improved model-based forest height inversion method for airborne L-band dual-baseline repeat-pass polarimetric synthetic aperture radar interferometry (PolInSAR) collections. A two-layer physical model with various volumetric scattering attenuation and dynamic motion properties is first designed based on the traditional Random Motion over Ground (RMoG) model. Related PolInSAR coherence functions with both volumetric and temporal decorrelations incorporated are derived, where the impacts of homogenous and heterogeneous attenuation and dynamic motion properties on the performance of forest height inversion were investigated by the Linear Volume Attenuation (LVA), Quadratic Volume Attenuation (QVA), Linear Volume Motion (LVM), and Quadratic Volume Motion (QVM) depictions in the volume layer. Dual-baseline PolInSAR data were acquired to increase the degree of freedom (DOF) of the coherence observations and thereby provide extra constraints on the forest parameters to address the underdetermined problem. The experiments were carried out on a boreal forest in Canada and a tropical one in Gabon, where physical models with LVA + QVM (RMSE: 3.56 m) and QVA + LVM (RMSE: 6.83 m) exhibited better performances on the forest height inversion over the boreal and tropical forest sites, respectively. To leverage the advantages of LVA, QVA, LVM, and QVM, a pixel-wise optimization strategy was used to obtain the best forest height inversion performance for the range of attenuation and motion profiles considered. This pixel-wise optimization surpasses the best-performing single model and achieves forest height inversion results with an RMSE of 3.21 m in the boreal forest site and an RMSE of 6.48 m in the tropical forest site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Thompson River valley is one of the most important transportation corridors in western Canada as it hosts two important railways. This valley has experienced several historical landslide events, many of them along a 10 km section south of the town of Ashcroft. Six of these landslides, showing varying states of activity, were selected for analysis in this paper, as these have the potential for the biggest impact on the railways. The subsurface interpretation of these landslides is combined with satellite InSAR data from May 2015 to May 2017 to enhance the current understanding of the landslide kinematics. Two InSAR orientations are combined geometrically with the assumption that the horizontal component of landslide movement is parallel to the slope azimuth, which provides a practicable approach to approximate landslide displacement vectors. The results classify these landslides as very slow-moving. The maximum velocities recorded are 29, 35, 26, 64, 18, and 52 mm/year for the Goddard, North, South, South extension, Barnard, and Redhill landslides, respectively. All landslides except the Redhill landslide show near-horizontal movements near the toe, with increasing vertical components as measurements approach the back scarp. This confirms that kinematics include rotational and compound mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the manners in which Indigenous and allied non-Indigenous researchers, medical directors, and knowledge-keepers (among others) extend the ethical precepts and social justice commitments that are inherent in community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches to genomics. By means of a genealogical analysis of bioethical discourses, I examine the problem in which genomic science claims to offer potentially beneficial genetic screening tools to Indigenous and racialized peoples who have and continue to struggle with historical health inequity, exploitation, and exclusion by the very biomedical institutions which would be charged with the task of ethically introducing these biomedical tools. This investigation focuses on Indigenous data sovereignty (IDS) as an approach established by Indigenous communities and scientists to gain access to the benefits of genomic health which, if the field's promises are true, aims to counter the historical neglect or exploitation by biomedical researchers and institutions. I chart the role of CBPR principals as it pertains to collective efforts by both Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous allies to create the social, biomedical, and institutional conditions to improve Indigenous health equity in the context of genomic science in two specific studies: the Silent Genome initiative (British Columbia) and the Aotearoa Variome (Aotearoa/New Zealand). This investigation contributes insights to social science literatures in health equity for racialized communities, biomedical ethics, Indigenous Science and Technology Studies, and decolonial biomedical and technoscience histories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies related to oil and gas wells have attracted worldwide interest due to the increasing energy shortfall and the requirement of sustainable development and environmental protection. However, the state of oil and gas wells in terms of research characteristics, technological megatrends, article-produced patterns, leading study items, hot topics, and frontiers is unclear. This work is aimed at filling the research gaps by performing a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of 6197 articles related to oil and gas wells published between 1900 and 2021. VOSviewer and CiteSpace software were used as the main data analysis and visualization tools. The analysis shows that the annual variation of article numbers, interdisciplinary numbers, and cumulative citations followed exponential growth. Oil and gas well research has promoted the expansion of research fields such as engineering, energy and fuels, geology, environmental sciences and ecology, materials science, and chemistry. The top 10 influential studies mainly focused on shale gas extraction and its impact on the environment. More studies were produced by larger author teams and inter-institution collaborations. Elkatatny and Guo have greatly contributed to the application of artificial intelligence in oil and gas wells. The two most contributing institutions were the Southwest Petr Univ and China Univ Petr from China. The People's Republic of China, the US, and Canada were the countries with the most contributions to the development of oil and gas wells. The authoritative journal in engineering technology was J Petrol Sci Eng, in environment technology was Environ Sci Technol, in geology was Aapg Bull, and in materials was Cement Concrete Res. The keyword co-occurrence network cluster analysis indicated that oil well cement, new energy development, machine learning, hydraulic fracturing, and natural gas and oil wells are the predominant research topics. The research frontiers were oil extraction and its harmful components (1992–2016), oil and gas wells (1997–2016), porous media (2007–2016), and hydrogen and shale gas (2012–2021). This paper comprehensively and quantitatively analyzes all aspects of oil and gas well research for the first time and presents valuable information about active and authoritative research entities, cooperation patterns, technology trends, hotspots, and frontiers. Therefore, it can help governments, policymakers, related companies, and the scientific community understand the global progress in oil and gas well research and provide a reference for technology development and application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors report findings from a 15-month project that focused on the experiences of sex workers who live and work in an Eastern Canadian province. As part of a larger multi-phased study, 15 adults who identified as women, transgender, or non-binary, and received money or goods for sexual services, participated in photo-elicitation interviews. Drawing on a critical framing analysis, findings indicated supports—as identified and experienced by sex workers—encompassed three categories of care: self, community, and collective. These categories are described, with a particular focus on the latter two. Continuing with the care-based framework, recommendations to structure interventions draw on the role of accountability care in identifying how best to operationalize policies that promote health, well-being, and dignity of Canadian sex workers. The paper begins with a brief overview of the Canadian context and the role of supports. It follows with a discussion on the materials and methods and the results. It concludes with recommendations, limitations, and future considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Short-term load forecasting (STLF)" is increasingly significant because of the extensive use of distributed energy resources, the incorporation of intermitted RES, and the implementation of DSM. This paper provides a novel ensemble forecasting model with wavelet transform for the STLF depending on the decomposition principle of load profiles. The model can effectively capture the portion of daily load profiles caused by seasonal variations. The results indicate that it is possible to improve STLF accuracy with the proposed method. The proposed approach is tested with the data taken from Ontario's electricity market in Canada. The results show that the proposed technique performs well in-terms of prediction when compared to existing traditional and cutting-edge methods. The performance of the model was validated with different datasets. Moreover, this approach can provide accurate load forecasting using ensemble models. Therefore, utilities and smart grid operators can use this approach as an additional decision-making tool to improve their real-time decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fire activity in 288 areas (2.5° N × 10° E) in the Arctic region (50°–70° N, 0°–360° E) was analyzed using about 4.4 million satellite hotspot (HS) data from 2002 to 2021. A total of 21 high fire density areas from eastern Europe to western Canada were selected, and their fire–weather conditions during each active fire period were analyzed using about 1820 various weather maps at the upper and the lower air level. Analysis results showed that the active fires in the Arctic region occurred under the fire–weather conditions associated with the northward movement of cut-off high (COH) and warm air masses detached from the south caused by large westerly meandering (LWM). LWM is a sign of the beginning of an active fire period. Very active fires on HS peak days occurred several days after the start of the northward movement of COHs and under mainly high-pressure conditions in the upper air and strong wind conditions in the lower air. The time lag of these several days suggests that we may be prepared for very active fires. The fire–weather analysis approach described in this paper has shown that future large-scale fire outbreaks are predictable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop identification and classification are of great significance to agricultural land use management. The physically constrained general model-based decomposition (PCGMD) has proven to be a promising method in comparison with the typical four-component decomposition methods in scattering mechanism interpretation and identifying vegetation types. However, the robustness of PCGMD requires further investigation from the perspective of final applications. This paper aims to validate the efficiency of the PCGMD method on crop classification for the first time. Seven C-band time-series RADARSAT-2 images were exploited, covering the entire growing season over an agricultural region near London, Ontario, Canada. Firstly, the response and temporal evolution of the four scattering components obtained by PCGMD were analyzed. Then, a forward selection approach was applied to achieve the highest classification accuracy by searching an optimum combination of multi-temporal SAR data with the random forest (RF) algorithm. For comparison, the general model-based decomposition method (GMD), the original and its three improved Yamaguchi four-component decomposition approaches (Y4O, Y4R, S4R, G4U), were used in all tests. The results reveal that the PCGMD method is highly sensitive to seasonal crop changes and matches well with the real physical characteristics of the crops. Among all test methods used, the PCGMD method using six images obtained the optimum classification performance, reaching an overall accuracy of 91.83%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Canada, many mines have adopted the sublevel stoping method, such a blasthole stoping (BHS), to extract steeply deposited minerals. Sill pillars are usually kept in place in this mining method to support the weight of the overburden in underground mining. To prolong the mine's life, sill pillars will be recovered, and sill pillar recovery could cause failures, fatality, and equipment loss in the stopes. In this paper, three sill pillar recovery schemes—SBS, SS1, and SS2—were proposed and conducted to assess the feasibility of recovering two sill pillars in a hard rock mine by developing a full-sized three-dimensional (3D) analysis model employing the finite element method (FEM). The numerical model was calibrated by comparing the model computed ground settlement with the in situ monitored ground settlement data. The rockburst tendency of the stope accesses caused by the sill pillar recovery was assessed by employing the tangential stress (Ts) criterion and burst potential index (BPI) criterion. All three proposed sill pillar recovery schemes were feasible and safe to recover the sill pillars in this hard rock mine, and the scheme SBS was the optimum one among the three schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Joseph Kerski has identified five converging global trends—geo-awareness, geo-enablement, geotechnologies, citizen science, and storytelling—which contribute to the increased relevance of geography for education and society. While these trends are discussed by Kerski in the context of the proliferating significance of geography in teaching and education, they also provide a useful lens for considering the increasing ubiquity of critical approaches to cartography both in general and in the context of teaching and education, where mapping can include participatory collaborations with individuals from a variety of knowledge communities and extend to the mapping of experiences, emotions, and Indigenous perspectives. In this paper, we consider these trends and related ideas such as Kerski's "geoliteracy" and metaliteracy in light of some relatively current examples and in light of the evolution of research and teaching linked with a series of interrelated map-based projects and courses that take a multidimensional approach to teaching and learning about the Residential Schools Legacy in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unexpected observations of strong radiowave scatter at a ~85–90 km altitude with very high frequency radars were explained in the early 1990s, when it was demonstrated that these were due to special turbulent and small-scale scatterers with high Schmidt number. Studies of these phenomena have primarily been concentrated in polar regions, and the events seem most prominent in regions of very cold air (below 140 K). Such radar echoes are referred to as polar mesosphere summer echoes (PMSE), and are rare at lower latitudes. In this paper we report observations of similar scatterers at sites below 50° latitude. The nature of these scatterers is discussed and results are compared to observations at the polar site of Eureka, Canada. Mid-latitude observations at frequencies of 48.92 and 45.47 MHz were made, respectively, at Abitibi Canyon (49.9° N latitude) and Markstay (46.5° N latitude) in Ontario, Canada. In particular, we look at the relationship of these scatterers to geophysical parameters, especially the Ap index. Our results suggest that mesospheric air with temperatures less than 140 K now exists below 50° latitude. This may be an indication of an equator-ward creep of global mesospheric cooling (which is associated with the well-known tropospheric global warming), but the scatterers at lower latitudes also demonstrate correlation with the Ap index. On the other hand, the polar scatterers at Eureka demonstrated no correlation of any significance with Ap. The importance of these results in regard to the global distribution of mesospheric temperatures is discussed, and comparisons to other measurements are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: In 2014, in response to evidence that Canada's tobacco use would lead, inexorably, to substantial morbidity and mortality for the foreseeable future, a group of experts convened to consider the development of a "Tobacco Endgame" for Canada. The "Tobacco Endgame" defines a time frame in which to eliminate structural, political, and social dynamics that sustain tobacco use, leading to improved population health. Strategies: A series of Background Papers describing possible measures that could contribute to the creation of a comprehensive endgame strategy for Canada was prepared in advance of the National Tobacco Endgame Summit hosted at Queen's University in 2016. At the summit, agreement was reached to work together to achieve <5% tobacco use by 2035 (<5 by '35). A report of the proceedings was shared widely. Achievements: Progress since 2016 has been mixed. The Summit report was followed by a national forum convened by Health Canada in March 2017, and in 2018, the Canadian Government adopted "<5 × '35" tobacco use target in a renewed Canadian tobacco reduction strategy. Tobacco use has declined in the last 5 years, but at a rate slower than that which will be needed to achieve the <5 by '35 goal. There remain > 5 million smokers in Canada, signaling that smoking-related diseases will continue to be an enormous health burden. Furthermore, the landscape of new products (e-cigarettes and cannabis) has created additional risks and opportunities. Future directions: A bold, reinvigorated tobacco control strategy is needed that significantly advances ongoing policy developments, including full implementation of the key demand-reduction policies of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Formidable, new disruptive policies and regulations will be needed to achieve Canada's Endgame goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer treatment has evolved significantly over the past decade with the emergence of a multitude of new treatments across cancer types. Alongside the pace of drug discovery, the cost of cancer drugs has also increased. In the face of this growth in development and spending, it is crucial to have an understanding of the processes and pressures new drugs navigate to get to the market in Canada. This paper is a review of the complex, multi-step regulatory and funding process undertaken by cancer drugs in Canada. It reviews the role of Health Canada, the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, the Health Technology Assessment, the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance, and finally, the provincial, territorial, and federal payers. Recent developments are highlighted. Strategies to minimize duplication of effort, improve timeliness, and increase efficiency are explored. The cancer drug regulatory and funding process in Canada is complex, and an understanding of the current system and ongoing evolution is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In this paper we argue that the current oversight system for animal-based science in Canada needs major reform to keep pace with progressive legislation in other nations and to prioritize the replacement of animals as best scientific practice. Canada's current non-legislated oversight system for animal-based science not only fails to adequately incentivize the replacement of sentient animals as best scientific practice in any meaningful way, but also fails to adequately protect those animals bred, harmed, and killed in the name of science. In this paper, we outline the various shortcomings of the Canadian Council on Animal Care, and we highlight the need for Canada to move towards national legislation akin to that seen in other jurisdictions like the U.K. We conclude that while legislation alone cannot ensure the replacement of sentient animals in science, it appears to be a precondition for significant progress in animal protection and for the development and adoption of non-animal methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large portion of Canada is covered by wetlands; mapping and monitoring them is of great importance for various applications. In this regard, Remote Sensing (RS) technology has been widely employed for wetland studies in Canada over the past 45 years. This study evaluates meta-data to investigate the status and trends of wetland studies in Canada using RS technology by reviewing the scientific papers published between 1976 and the end of 2020 (300 papers in total). Initially, a meta-analysis was conducted to analyze the status of RS-based wetland studies in terms of the wetland classification systems, methods, classes, RS data usage, publication details (e.g., authors, keywords, citations, and publications time), geographic information, and level of classification accuracies. The deep systematic review of 128 peer-reviewed articles illustrated the rising trend in using multi-source RS datasets along with advanced machine learning algorithms for wetland mapping in Canada. It was also observed that most of the studies were implemented over the province of Ontario. Pixel-based supervised classifiers were the most popular wetland classification algorithms. This review summarizes different RS systems and methodologies for wetland mapping in Canada to outline how RS has been utilized for the generation of wetland inventories. The results of this review paper provide the current state-of-the-art methods and datasets for wetland studies in Canada and will provide direction for future wetland mapping research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Increasing threats to wildlife have made assessing their populations, health, and adaptation to stressors ever more important. The use of environmental DNA to make these assessments is relatively new and offers many advantages, such as non-lethal sampling. How novel technologies such as these are framed in the news media is critically important because the general public gathers much of its information about scientific developments from the media, and public perceptions can impact use of technology, responses to data derived from its use, and ethical concerns. To date, media constructions of eDNA and perceptions among the general public have not been examined. The current paper begins to address this gap by undertaking an examination of media coverage of eDNA in Canada and the United States for the past approximately twenty years—likely a critical period in shaping understandings of and responses to eDNA. The findings indicate that eDNA is framed as a powerful tool, yet the social concerns that receive the most attention are those where there are financial interests at play, and these interests have to date eclipsed attending to relevant ethical considerations. Environmental DNA (eDNA) is an emerging technology used for understanding ecosystems, environmental change, and stressors. Cellular and extracellular DNA are collected from environmental samples instead of individual wildlife animals, and as such eDNA comes with associated logistical and ethical benefits. It is increasingly being used, yet to date public knowledge and perceptions of eDNA have not been explored. Given that most of the public gathers scientific information from news media sources, this is a logical first place to start. This paper reports on a framing and agenda-setting analysis of news media coverage of eDNA in Canada and the United States from 2000 to 2020. The findings indicate that eDNA is being framed as an emerging and powerful tool, although questions regarding its validity and reliability are raised vis-à-vis identifying the presence of invasive species. Less than half of the news articles analyzed address broader social or ethical issues in relation to eDNA, and the majority focus on the potential financial impacts of eDNA findings on development projects and business interests. The potential ethical advantages of non-lethal sampling methods used via eDNA sampling are not addressed, nor are the potential ethical issues raised by its potential use in bioprospecting, indicating that the current state of agenda setting regarding eDNA in these newspapers is focused on economic impacts, to the exclusion of potential ethical issues. This unfolding news coverage will likely be key to understanding public perceptions of this novel technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reference 1 Hanes C., Wotton M., Woolford D.G., Martell D.L., Flannigan M. Preceding Fall Drought Conditions and Overwinter Precipitation Effects on Spring Wildland Fire Activity in Canada. Preceding Fall Drought Conditions and Overwinter Precipitation Effects on Spring Wildland Fire Activity in Canada. The authors wish to make the following corrections to this paper [[1]]: Error in Figure The authors found an error in Figure 3. [Extracted from the article]

Introducing ionospheric information into a precise point positioning (PPP) solution enables faster ambiguity resolution and significantly improves positioning accuracy. To compute such corrections over wide areas, sparse networks with potentially irregular station distributions are often used. This aspect brings a new level of complexity as ionospheric corrections should be weighted appropriately in the PPP filter. This paper presents a possible implementation of grid-based wide-area slant ionospheric delay corrections, with a focus on the reported uncertainties. A balance is obtained between obtaining corrections with formal errors small enough to enable fast convergence, while large enough to overbound most errors. Based on least-squares collocation, the method uses satellite-specific variograms based on the 99th percentile values in each distance bin. Tested in southern Canada over a 53-week period in 2020, ionospheric grids allowed dual-frequency receivers to obtain around 5 cm accuracy in each horizontal component within 5 min of static data collection. For single-frequency solutions using data from geodetic receivers, positioning errors were reduced by over 60% for both static and kinematic processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]