Search

Meteorological data are essential in precision agriculture in the Canadian Prairies and are often associated with spatiotemporal discontinuity and scarcity. Reanalysis data products aim to address this challenge and have recently gained popularity. The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts' ERA5, and its high-resolution land component, ERA5-Land, are two reanalysis datasets that provide hourly estimates of many climate variables globally. This paper focuses on evaluating the performance of ERA5 and ERA5-Land over the Canadian prairies, utilizing data from 109 weather stations situated in southern Manitoba, Canada. Various variables are investigated at daily, monthly, and annual aggregation periods, including air temperature, ground temperature, soil water content, wind speed, precipitation, and evaporation. The datasets are evaluated regarding seasonal bias and spatial distribution of errors over the study area. Regression parameters are also presented to address the biases. Among the investigated variables, air temperature and wind speed exhibit the lowest errors. The evaluation further reveals an overall tendency to overpredict ground temperatures and precipitation while underpredicting evaporation. Based on these findings, the ERA5 and ERA5-Land datasets hold significant potential in applications such as climate-smart agriculture, energy demand analysis, assessing renewable energy resources, and facilitating sustainable urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To identify the risk factors for optic nerve hypoplasia (ONH) and septo‐optic dysplasia (SOD). Method: A retrospective, population‐based study with case–control design was undertaken using the Population Research Data Repository at the Manitoba Center for Health Policy in Manitoba, Canada. Cases were 111 patients (63 males, 48 females; age range 1–35 years [mean 11 years 6 months, SD 7 years 2 months]) with ONH and SOD diagnosed from 1990 to 2019, matched to 555 unrelated population‐based controls (315 males, 240 females; age range 1–35 years [mean 11 years 6 months, SD 7 years 2 months]) on year of birth, sex, and area of residence. Additionally, 75 cases (46 males, 29 females; age range 2–35 years [mean 12 years 6 months, SD 7 years 2 months]) with ONH and SOD were matched one‐on‐one with sibling controls (40 males, 35 females; age range 0–33 years [mean 11 years 7 months, SD 7 years 10 months], the rest did not have siblings). Several antenatal maternal risk factors associated with ONH and SOD were tested for their association with case and control group membership using adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) from a multivariate conditional logistic regression model. The outcome was the risk of developing ONH and SOD. Results: Maternal age at conception (OR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.86–0.96), primigravida (OR = 3.39, 95% CI = 1.92–6.01), and smoking (OR = 2.86, 95% CI = 1.61–5.05) were independently associated with ONH and SOD in the cohort matched to unrelated controls (p < 0.001). In the sibling cohort, smoking was an important risk factor (OR = 3.65, 95% CI = 1.2–11.1, p = 0.02). Interpretation: Unmodifiable and modifiable antenatal maternal risk factors are associated with ONH and SOD. Our investigation suggests that several risk factors reported in previous studies may have been due to confounding bias and that maternal smoking during pregnancy is the main modifiable risk factor associated with ONH and SOD. What this paper adds: Historically, many antenatal risk factors have been associated with optic nerve hypoplasia (ONH) and septo‐optic dysplasia (SOD).Population‐based data with matched controls for potential confounding bias are lacking.Young maternal age at conception, primigravida, and smoking during pregnancy are the main risk factors for ONH and SOD using a population‐based, case–control design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing and disseminating system‐wide traffic volume data are critical objectives of traffic monitoring programs. Jurisdictions commonly use maps to disseminate traffic volume data and visualize spatial traffic patterns throughout a highway network. A linear referencing system is essential in this process, yet limited research is available on the methods of sequencing (segmenting) a highway network and attributing traffic volume data to those sequences. This paper aims to fill this knowledge gap by describing the development and application of a generic three‐phase methodology: (1) to subdivide a rural highway network into sequences assumed to have uniform or homogeneous traffic volume by applying objective criteria; (2) to attribute traffic volume data to the sequenced highway network based on a set of attribution principles; and (3) to evaluate and refine the results. Application of the methodology in Manitoba resulted in the development and attribution of a new linear referencing system comprising 2,164 sequences. This provided the foundation for mapping spatial fluctuations in traffic volume at the network level. More generally, it revealed the importance of periodically evaluating the data visualization and dissemination impacts that arise when changes are made to the sampling procedure within a traffic monitoring program and when physical modifications occur on the highway network. Key Messages: Methods to subdivide a highway network and attribute traffic volume data to those subdivisions (sequences) are not well‐documented.This paper describes the development and application of a transferrable methodology to sequence and attribute traffic volume to a linear‐referenced highway network.Application of the methodology improves practitioners' ability to accurately represent spatial fluctuations in traffic volume at a network scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Qanuinngitsiarutiksait study aimed to develop detailed profiles of Inuit health service utilization in Manitoba, by Inuit living in Manitoba (approximately 1,500) and by Inuit from the Kivalliq region of Nunavut who travel to Manitoba to access care not available in Nunavut (approximately 16,000 per year).Methods: We used health administrative data routinely collected in Manitoba for all services provided and developed an algorithm to identify Inuit in the dataset. This paper focused on health services used by Inuit from the Kivalliq for prenatal care and birthing.Results: Our study found that approximately 80 percent of births to women from the Kivalliq region occur in Manitoba, primarily in Winnipeg. When perinatal care and birthing are combined, they constitute one third of all consults happening by Kivalliq residents in Manitoba. For scale, hospitalizations for childbirths to Kivalliq women about to only 5 percent of all childbirth-related hospitalizations in Manitoba.Conclusions: The practice of evacuating women from the Kivalliq for perinatal care and birthing is rooted in colonialism, rationalized as ensuring that women whose pregnancy is at high risk have access to specialized care not available in Nunavut. While defendable, this practice is costly, and does not provide Inuit women a choice as to where to birth. Attempts at relocating birthing to the north have proven complex to operationalize. Given this, there is an urgent need to develop Inuit-centric and culturally appropriate perinatal and birthing care in Manitoba. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The collaborative federal–provincial Southern Indian Lake project in north-central Manitoba covered an area of more than 3500 km2 of the Trans-Hudson orogen. Regional-scale geological mapping, sampling, and lithogeochemical, isotopic, and geochronological studies resulted in the identification of distinct assemblages of supracrustal rocks and varied episodes of plutonism. A granodiorite gneiss dated at ca. 2520 Ma is interpreted to represent the basement of the Southern Indian domain and is considered a separate crustal domain, named the Partridge Breast block. The Churchill River assemblage is composed of juvenile pillow basalt with intervening clastic sedimentary rocks, possibly a reflection of plume magmatism related to initial rifting of the Hearne craton margin. The Pukatawakan Bay assemblage consists mainly of massive to pillowed, juvenile metabasaltic rocks and associated basinal metasedimentary rocks. The Partridge Breast Lake assemblage is dominated by continental-arc volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks associated with basinal metasedimentary rocks. The Strawberry Island assemblage, consisting of arenite and polymictic conglomerate, is interpreted to have been deposited in a foreland-basin basin or intra-orogen pull-apart basin environment. The Whyme Bay assemblage is characterized by fluvial-alluvial orogenic sediments and is temporally linked to the Sickle Group rocks in the Lynn Lake greenstone belt. Granitoid rocks, dominantly monzogranite and granodiorite, range in age from ca. 1890 to 1830 Ma and occur throughout the Southern Indian domain, and intermediate and mafic intrusions of similar ages are also present. In this paper, we integrate these new data into a tectonic framework for the Southern Indian domain of the Trans-Hudson orogen in Manitoba. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of e-waste collection and management trends across six Canadian provinces, focusing on e-waste collection rates, provincial stewardship model attributes, program strategies and budget allocations from 2013 to 2020. Temporal and regression analyses were conducted using data from Electronic Product Recycling Association reports. A group characterization based on geographical proximity is proposed, aiming to explore the potential outcomes of fostering collaboration among neighboring provinces. The analysis emphasizes the significant impact of stewardship model attributes on e-waste collection rates, with Quebec emerging as a standout case, showcasing a remarkable 61.5% surge in collection rates. Findings from group analysis reveal a positive correlation between per capita e-waste collection rate and the growth of businesses and collection sites in Western Canada (Group A - British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba). This highlights the potential benefits of a coordinated waste management approach, emphasizing the importance of shared resources and collaborative policies. Saskatchewan and Manitoba allocated only 6.6% and 7.0% of their respective budgets to e-waste transfer and storage. British Columbia's observed steady decrease of e-waste collection rate. In Group A, stewards handled 2.18–13.95 tonnes of e-waste during the study period. The cost per tonne of e-waste tended to be lower when more e-waste is managed per steward, suggesting the potential benefits of an integrated e-waste collection and management system. [Display omitted] • Six Canadian e-waste stewardship models from 2013 to 2020 were examined. • E-waste collection rates were gradually declining in Canada jurisdictions. • Collection site density, expenditure, efficiency may have affected collection rates. • Eastern and western stewardships had different operational characteristics. • Region-specific collaborative approach may improve stewardship effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship of COVID-19 rates to community infrastructure is explored through a literature review, mapping, and an ecological-level statistical analysis in this paper. The analysis was undertaken with data from Manitoba, Canada, for 23 of 63 First Nations and 67 non-First Nations communities. COVID-19 community-level per capita rates were estimated by dividing total cases, including active cases,--obtained from the COVID-19 Manitoba Open Data portal of the Public Health Information Monitoring System, PHIMS--for the community areas of Regional Health districts by the community 2021 Manitoba population report numbers. The geographical areas for COVID-19 data were identical to the census subdivision levels available from Statistics Canada, used for housing and other infrastructure data. COVID-19 per capita rates in Manitoba communities have a positive significant strong relationship with community rates for (a) overcrowded housing (r = 0.532, p < 0.05), (b) unsuitability of housing (r = 0.623, p < 0.05), (c) houses needing major repairs (r = 0.561, p < 0.05), (d) no access roads (t = 2.281, p <0.05), and (e) lack of hospitals (t= 2.024, p<0.047). The highest rates for COVID-19 and the worst infrastructure are located in First Nations, particularly in special access communities. This preliminary research signals a need to improve infrastructure in First Nations reserves to realize health equity. Further research on built environment conditions in all Manitoba communities with age- and sex-adjusted analysis of COVID-19 data is needed to comprehend the role of infrastructure more fully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]