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The use of biomonitoring data as an indicator of national levels of human exposure to environmental chemicals has grown in importance and prevalence. Nationally representative urinary bisphenol A (BPA) data are now available for Canada, the United States and Korea. Here we address the following questions: Are urinary BPA data from these countries comparable? What can be discerned regarding geographic and/or temporal similarities or differences? Are there generalizable lessons to be learned regarding comparison of biomonitoring results from different countries? We examined underlying methods and resultant urinary BPA data from national surveys of three countries: Canada (Canadian Health Measures Survey, CHMS, 2009-2015); United States (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, NHANES, 2009–2014); and Korea (Korean National Environmental Health Survey, KoNEHS, 2009–2014). We estimated BPA daily intakes on both a volume- and creatinine-adjusted basis. The three countries use similar methods for analyzing urine samples for BPA and participate in external proficiency testing with acceptable results. Field blanks are only used in the CHMS program. There were program-specific differences in fasting times of participants. Median urinary BPA levels in Canada remained relatively constant over the three cycles (1.1–1.2 ng/ml), while US levels decreased (from 1.9 to 1.3 ng/ml) and Korean levels increased (from 0.7 to 1.1 ng/ml) over similar time periods. The most recent survey year data indicate that levels do not differ substantially across countries. Canadian urinary BPA levels have been stable; the subtle, non-significant decrease in intakes may be due to higher body weight in the more recent Canadian surveys. In contrast, the decrease in intakes in the US appears to be due to decreases in urinary BPA as body weights in the US have been stable. Estimated 95th percentile intakes are over an order of magnitude below current health-based guidance values. Our assessment of urinary BPA data from Canada, the US and Korea indicates that methodological differences, methods for dilution adjustment, and population characteristics should be carefully considered when interpreting biomonitoring data. Despite the plethora of publications describing issues with use of creatinine levels for urinary dilution adjustment, there have been no major methodological advances that would assist in interpreting urinary chemical data. A combination of biomonitoring and traditional exposure assessment approaches may be needed to fully assess human exposures to BPA and other chemicals. National biomonitoring surveys provide important information on population levels of chemicals such as BPA and can assist in understanding temporal and geographic similarities, differences, and trends. However, caution must be exercised when using these data to draw anything but broad conclusions, due to both intercountry methodological differences and factors affecting urinary chemical levels that are still poorly understood. While the issues raised in this paper do not appear to be a major concern specifically for the national-scale monitoring of BPA described here, they must be considered when comparing data for other chemicals measured as part of both national and smaller-scale biomonitoring-based research as well as for BPA data from other studies. Image 1 • Urine BPA levels were compared for Canada, US, Korea populations with national data. • Geographic and temporal trends were explored for the 3 countries from 2009 to 2014. • Methodological differences and population characteristics were examined. • Similar BPA concentrations and intakes were observed among the three countries. • Estimated intakes are over an order of magnitude below health-based guidance values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Sustainable regional management (development) requires an understanding of interactions between the social, economic, and ecological systems within the boundaries of a region. In this paper, application of emergy (an environmental accounting method) for regional planning is discussed through a case study. Emergy (spelled with an “m”) methodology is an environmental accounting technique that evaluates the energy system for the thermodynamics of an open system. Major renewable and non-renewable resource fluxes to a region, including energy, matter, human activities, and money can be converted to emergy by using corresponding transformity functions. As a case study, this paper discusses the emergy accounting of Canada and its provinces with various emergy-based indicators. Moreover, emergy maps were generated in a form of emergy geography. These maps are multi-dimensional illustrations that show resource consumption, emergy per person, and emergy density across Canada under two parameters: (1) the quantities of resources consumed and (2) the location of consumption. Emergy analysis also highlights concentrations of renewable and natural resources in Canada and distinguishes the provinces with the highest resource consumption. Analysis of emergy indicator for Canadian provinces shows that Alberta with the highest EYR (7.35) provides energy to the economy of Canada. However, ELR value of Alberta (8.5) indicates that the province''s current economic approach is not sustainable as it relies mainly on non-renewable emergy inputs (mainly from fossil fuels). ELR of British Columbia and Manitoba indicates that these two provinces created a firm balance between emergy use of renewable and non-renewable resources. The characterizations of regions provided in this paper can be used for future land planning and management both in federal and provincial levels. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Canada's abundant and high-quality water resources support a growing human population, as well as thriving industrial and agricultural economies. However, recent intense drought conditions have raised concerns for current water resource availability. Patterns of long-term ground and surface water (GSW) changes, and their response to environmental conditions, land-use dynamics, and socioeconomic changes are not well-understood across this large and diverse country. To address this crucial gap, we identified regions of ground and surface water (GSW) changes in all the Provinces of Canada between 2002 and 2016 from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) datasets. We explored the relationships between GSW changes and environmental, socioeconomic, and land-use dynamics over time. We found that all the Provinces of Canada gained a net 4.46 mm Liquid Water Equivalent (LWE) per year, equivalent to a total increase of 66.9 mm LWE. GSW increases were significantly associated with the normalized difference vegetation index and evapotranspiration rates. In contrast, GSW declines were significantly related to deforestation rate, urban expansion, and economic development (median household income). Despite apparent widespread post-drought recovery detected from 2002 to 2016, the rapid GSW declines were also observed in almost all of Western Canada and part of Ontario, amounting to a net loss of 66.13 mm. This indicates that a pronounced drought had emerged. It is anticipated that Canada will be experiencing more frequent and severe droughts under ongoing climate change and increasing demand for water resources. • This paper presents patterns of long-term ground and surface water (GSW) changes. • GSW increases are significantly associated with improvements in environmental conditions. • The rapid GSW declines are observed in parts of Canada since 2013 indicating the presence of a pronounced drought. • Drought in Canada may become more frequent and severe in the future. • Policy makers should adopt sustainable water management strategies to response future challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many firms generate large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases when they burn fossil fuels in their production processes. In addition, production of raw materials and other inputs the firms procure for their operations also generates greenhouse gases indirectly. These direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions occur in many sectors of our economies. In this paper, we first present sector-specific estimates for such greenhouse gas emissions. We then show that estimates for such sector-specific greenhouse gas emissions are often required for various types of corporate as well as public policy analyses in both domestic and international contexts. Measuring greenhouse gas emissions resulting from firms’ multi-stage production processes in a multi-sector context is relevant for policies related to the Kyoto protocol, an international agreement to limit global greenhouse gas emissions. For example, since the protocol allows firms to engage in trading and offsetting of their greenhouse gas emissions across national borders, provided that emissions are correctly measured, the firms can take advantage of such trading schemes by placing their energy-intensive production facilities globally and strategically. We present several case studies which illustrate the importance of this and other aspects of greenhouse gas emissions in firms’ environmental management. We also argue that our modeling and estimation methods based on input–output analyses are suitable for the types of research goals we have in this paper. Our methods are applied to data for Canada and Japan in a variety of environmental management circumstances. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The dramatic decrease in international trade costs in the second half of the nineteenth century led to a global trade boom. In this paper, we examine the consequences of greater openness to international trade for regional economic activity in a small, open economy during the first era of globalization. Specifically, we provide a quantitative assessment of the role that exposure to globalization played in industrialization in Canada between 1871 and 1891. Greater exposure to globalization leads to faster growth of manufacturing and the greater concentration of industry around entrepôts of trade between Canada and the rest of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Using recent Canadian censuses, this paper examines how sexual orientation associates with the patterns of real estate wealth accumulation. • Prior to the legal recognition of same-sex marriage, same-sex households' homeownership rates were between the rates for married and common-law heterosexuals. • Post-legal recognition, a homeownership disadvantage is found for married same-sex couples, which is larger than the gap found for visible minorities. The homeownership disparities associated with sexual orientation have rarely been investigated. Using the Canadian censuses of 2001, 2006, 2016, and the National Household Survey of 2011, this paper examines how sexual orientation associates with the patterns of homeownership. Given the 2005 legal recognition of same-sex marriage in Canada, the data allow for comparing sexual minorities with heterosexuals of the same marital status. The analysis shows that prior to the legal recognition of same-sex marriage, same-sex households' homeownership rates were between the rates for married and common-law heterosexuals. Post-legal recognition, rather similar homeownership rates are found for common-law same-sex and common-law different-sex couples. But, married same-sex households, regardless of sex composition, are found largely less likely to own their residence than married heterosexuals. Non-negligible differences are also found regarding home values and the presence of mortgage. Various explanations are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the survey and geographic uses of high-altitude photographic images in Canada between the 1880s and the 1960s. While photographic surveying was practiced in the late nineteenth century, it was not until the 1920s that airplanes provided surveyors with a mobile vantage point from which to view and map the earth below, revolutionizing the production of geographical knowledge. Using aerial photographs, photogrammetrists were able to accurately map remote portions of the nation, while photo-interpreters deciphered human settlement patterns and located the resources previously impossible to locate from the ground, I argue that new forms of vision offered through aerial photographs were not only the result of technological development. In surveying at the close of the nineteenth century, between the photograph and the map lay an epistemological gulf: each testified to a different kind of knowledge, and each guaranteed representation by a different framing of objectivity. Combining the two into a new object, the aerial photograph, required new understandings of the relationships between photographic and cartographic ways of seeing, and between technologies, bodies, and truth. As modern Canada increasingly depended on aerial photographs to map and locate resources, geographers positioned themselves as expert readers of these images, thus forming important connections between the practice of geographical seeing and the aims of the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: The identification of spatial clusters of overweight and obesity can be a key indicator for targeting scarce public health resources. This paper examines sex-specific spatial patterns of overweight/obesity in Canada as well as investigates the presence of spatial clusters. Methods: Using data on Body Mass Index (BMI) from the 2005 Canadian Community Health Survey (20 years and older) cycle 3.1, a cross-sectional ecological-level study was conducted. Sex-specific prevalence of overweight and obesity were first mapped to explore spatial patterns. In order to assess the degree of spatial dependence, exploratory spatial data analysis was performed using the Moran''s I statistic and the Local Indicator of Spatial Association (LISA). Results: Results revealed marked geographical variation in overweight/obesity prevalence with higher values in the Northern and Atlantic health-regions and lower values in the Southern and Western health-regions of Canada. Significant positive spatial autocorrelation was found for both males and females, with significant clusters of high values or ‘hot spots’ of obesity in the Atlantic and Northern health-regions of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. Conclusions: Findings reveal overweight/obesity clusters and underscore the importance of geographically focused prevention strategies informed by population-specific needs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper applied conjoint analysis to elicit consumer preferences over attributes of functional foods and nutraceuticals using probiotics as the functional compound of interest. Data were gathered through a mall intercept survey in Guelph, Canada. Cluster analysis and chi-square tests were used to examine the relationship between respondents’ characteristics and preferences for product variants. On the basis of cluster analysis of the part-worth scores from the conjoint analysis, three clusters were identified. Clusters differed predominantly according to the preferred mode of delivery and source of health claims. The value attached to health claims related to probiotics was also explored. The results suggested that consumers place a strong premium on claims verified by government, but little value on ‘non-verified’ claims made by product manufacturers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The paper briefly describes Canada''s distinctive experience in the control of polio and offers some lessons for governments and health policy leaders in other jurisdictions, particularly as they consider immunization policies for the post-polio-eradication era. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper analyzes the introduction and development of irrigation agriculture in the lower Bow River region, Alberta, Canada. Sponsored by the Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) and the Canadian federal government, irrigation promised to transform semi-arid prairie into a densely settled countryside. After 1900, a mixture of policies and practices pioneered elsewhere were deployed to create the largest irrigation project of its kind in North America. Settlers faced difficult economic conditions, however, and fell into conflict with the CPR. The system as a whole experienced a range of environmental changes as irrigation water altered the land and produced new conditions for flora and fauna. By 1930, the irrigation project experienced high levels of settler abandonment and deep fiscal problems. The circumstances of the Bow River case suggest the particular qualities of social and environmental changes initiated by irrigation agriculture in the Canadian prairies, but they also provide the basis to consider comparatively the processes and difficulties attending irrigation expansion in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century world. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines self-employment in Canada at the beginning of the 20th century. Self-employment 100 years ago was associated with greater human capital and negatively related to earnings in employee occupations in the local district. We also find strong evidence of immigrant assimilation in self-employment and modest evidence of higher self-employment in enclaves with greater concentration of immigrants. An analysis of recent immigrants supports the hypothesis that liquidity constraints were an important determinant of self-employment. Christian affiliation had little impact on self-employment outcomes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper sought to examine chronic disease risk behaviour latent classes and their association with Body Mass Index (BMI), assessing for gender differences. Participants were youth (n = 116,086; grades 9-12) enrolled in the COMPASS study (Ontario, Canada) during 2013, 2014, 2015. Multilevel latent class analysis was used to identify underlying, homogenous classes of youths' engagement in physical activity, smoking, binge drinking and marijuana use. Adjusted multilevel models regressed BMI on the latent classes controlling for ethnicity and grade. Three latent classes were identified: active experimenters (ACE), inactive clean youth (INC) and inactive substance users (INSU). This study found that gender differences are apparent in chronic disease risk behaviour latent classes and their association with BMI. INC males (OR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.78, 0.93) were associated with a lower odds of overweight/obesity relative to active males who experimented with substance use. As for females, the class with the highest proportion of youth using substances were associated with higher odds (Females: OR = 1.2, 95% CI = 1.1, 1.4) of overweight/obesity relative to their active experimenting peers. As such, youth in latent classes with substance use are associated with higher BMI and weight status. Successful interventions may include school policies/programs that limit screen time use, as they were seen to have a positive effect on PA engagement and including social-influences approaches for substance use. Future research and interventions should be gender-specific as our results show that different latent classes are associated with obesity across genders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]