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Background: Rhesus disease of a newborn baby results from the entrance of anti-D antibodies of the rhesus factor D (RhD)-negative mother into the RhD positive foetal bloodstream. This transfer might cause stillbirths, neonatal deaths, or severe hyperbilirubinemia, which can develop into irreversible brain damage. In current practice, anti-D immunoglobulin is administered to RhD-negative women within 72 h after the delivery of RhD-positive newborn babies. During the antepartum period, it is given in events associated with placental trauma or disruption of the feto-maternal interface. This review was conducted to analyse the cost-effectiveness of the introduction of worldwide guidelines for the administration of anti-D immunoglobulin at 28 weeks to all RhD negative mothers with RhD-positive spouses in Palestine.Methods: This was a cost-effective analysis and a literature review of the international guidelines about RhD alloimmunisation prophylaxis. The US, Australian, Canadian, UK, and WHO guidelines were reviewed. A cost-effective analysis was done, and the primary outcomes were the number needed to treat and the overall cost of the treatment. Estimations were done for the cost of prevention to every case.Findings: All reviewed guidelines recommend that the administration of anti-D immunoglobulin is given routinely to all RhD-negative non-sensitised women at 28 weeks gestation, when the fetal blood type is unknown or the father is known to be RhD-positive. This practice is cost-effective, hence the implementation of the new guideline will cost approximately US$700 000 in Palestine ($400 000 in the West Bank and $300 000 in the Gaza Strip). The implementation of this guideline will prevent 148 cases (85 in the West Bank and 63 in the Gaza Strip) from further RhD alloimmunisation. The net cost of prevention of every case is approximately $4750.Interpretation: Routine administration of anti-D immunoglobulin to all RhD-negative non-sensitised women at 28 weeks gestation, when the spouses are RhD-positive, is cost-effective. An implementation programme for RhD alloimmunisation prophylaxis will be of great value.Funding: None. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the role of snowpack in polar boundary layer chemistry, especially as a direct source of reactive bromine (BrOx = BrO + Br) and nitrogen (NOx = NO + NO2) in the Arctic springtime. Surface snow samples were collected daily from a Canadian high Arctic location at Eureka, Nunavut (80° N, 86° W) from the end of February to the end of March in 2018 and 2019. The snow was sampled at several sites representing distinct environments: sea ice, inland close to sea level, and a hilltop ∼ 600 m above sea level (a.s.l.). At the inland sites, surface snow salinity has a double-peak distribution with the first and lowest peak at 0.001–0.002 practical salinity unit (psu), which corresponds to the precipitation effect, and the second peak at 0.01–0.04 psu , which is likely related to the salt accumulation effect (due to loss of water vapour by sublimation). Snow salinity on sea ice has a triple-peak distribution; its first and second peaks overlap with the inland peaks, and the third peak at 0.2–0.4 psu is likely due to the sea water effect (a result of upward migration of brine). At all sites, snow sodium and chloride concentrations increase by almost 10-fold from the top 0.2 to ∼ 1.5 cm. Surface snow bromide at sea level is significantly enriched, indicating a net sink of atmospheric bromine. Moreover, surface snow bromide at sea level has an increasing trend over the measurement period, with mean slopes of 0.024 µMd-1 in the 0–0.2 cm layer and 0.016 µMd-1 in the 0.2–0.5 cm layer. Surface snow nitrate at sea level also shows a significant increasing trend, with mean slopes of 0.27, 0.20, and 0.07 µMd-1 in the top 0.2, 0.2–0.5, and 0.5–1.5 cm layers, respectively. Using these trends, an integrated net deposition flux of bromide of (1.01 ± 0.48) × 10 7 molec.cm-2s-1 and an integrated net deposition flux of nitrate of (2.6 ± 0.37) × 10 8 molec.cm-2s-1 were derived. In addition, the surface snow nitrate and bromide at inland sites were found to be significantly correlated (R = 0.48–0.76) with the [NO3-]/[Br-] ratio of 4–7 indicating a possible acceleration effect of reactive bromine in atmospheric NOx -to-nitrate conversion. This is the first time such an effect has been seen in snow chemistry data obtained with a sampling frequency as short as 1 d. BrO partial column (0–4 km) data measured by MAX-DOAS show a decreasing trend in early spring, which generally agrees with the derived surface snow bromide deposition flux indicating that bromine in Eureka atmosphere and surface snow did not reach a photochemical equilibrium state. Through mass balance analysis, we conclude that the average release flux of reactive bromine from snow over the campaign period must be smaller than the derived bromide deposition flux of ∼ 1 × 10 7 molec.cm-2s-1. Note that the net mean fluxes observed do not completely rule out larger bidirectional fluxes over shorter timescales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Domestic violence (DV) experienced by immigrant women is a global health concern. Precarious immigration status, language barriers, and discrimination can lead to reluctance in seeking support. Is a non-profit charitable organization and support center for immigrant women. Participants in this study were immigrant women who attended Changing Together. The aim of this study is to illustrate immigrant women's experiences of DV and identify the community services they access. Methods: The files of a social worker at Changing Together were audited for this project. There were 1,034 files available to audit. The six steps of thematic analysis were used to create themes from the notes of each file, specifically to answer the question: what are the experiences of immigrant women with domestic violence and what are the services they access through Changing Together? Results: Three themes were developed: Building Independence, Surviving Abuse, and Services to Support Surviving. Building Independence centres on women building solid foundations to start their lives in Canada to support themselves and their families. Surviving Abuse encompasses the hardships women endured for the perceived sake of their children until there was an event leading to the unavoidable need for change. Services to Support Surviving explores the services women accessed through the social worker at Changing Together. Conclusions: This study highlights the complexities of immigrant women enduring DV in a foreign country. The file notes described women's experiences of living with hardships and endurance of challenges. Further research should identify community resources for this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrological processes within the alpine tundra of the Taiga Cordillera ecozone in northwestern Canada are poorly understood, yet these areas receive more precipitation per unit area than lowlands and sustain late summer and winter flow in large river systems when contributions from other areas are reduced. The objective of this study was to quantify the spatial and temporal variability in streamflow and groundwater recharge within an alpine tundra basin with discontinuous permafrost and explore the potential impacts of climate change on the timing and intensity of these hydrological processes. Hydrometric and remote sensing methods were used to complete a water balance assessment of the study basin and compare spatial and seasonal differences in inputs, outputs, runoff ratio, and runoff–recharge partitioning during the 2019 open water season. During the freshet, the basin received large daily melt volumes and responded with highly efficient runoff. Evapotranspiration became the primary means of water loss in the early summer but declined as the summer progressed. During the summer, groundwater discharge exceeded precipitation inputs and sustained headwater subbasin streamflow. Groundwater recharge occurred primarily via glaciofluvial upland infiltration during the freshet and channel bed infiltration during the summer. The partitioning of basin outputs between runoff and groundwater recharge was highly seasonal, with a freshet ratio favoring runoff (0.83) while the early and late summer favored recharge (0.28 and 0.17, respectively). As climate change continues, higher air temperatures and greater precipitation are expected for the study basin. Longer open water seasons and declining permafrost extent within the study basin will result in a greater proportion of input water routed to storage and/or groundwater recharge instead of runoff. Shrubification and treeline expansion may also increase evaporative losses from alpine tundra areas, reducing both rapid runoff and delayed aquifer recharge contributions important for larger rivers at lower elevation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Burntwood River (BR) and Upper Nelson River (UNR) are regulated rivers in the subarctic region of Canada. They merge at Split Lake and then discharge into Hudson Bay via the Lower Nelson River (LNR). The BR water discharge was increased eight‐fold by a cross‐watershed diversion in 1976. The UNR drains the 11th largest lake in the world, Lake Winnipeg, which itself receives discharge from a large North American Interior Plains watershed. Sediment loads and the source fingerprinting approach in these rivers were used to: (a) identify the sediment sources; (b) examine the impact of climate change and flow regulation on the BR and UNR sediment loads; and (c) assess the influence of Split Lake on downstream delivery of sediment into the LNR. Lake Winnipeg effectively decouples the UNR from the sediment sources in its prairie watershed. Fluvial riverbank and reservoir shoreline erosion in the UNR increased in the late 1990s, in response to a multi‐decadal increase in discharge forced by climate change in the Lake Winnipeg watershed. The BR sediment load was increased seven‐fold by diversion. Since diversion, flow regulation near the licenced limit has muted the response to variability in local precipitation and runoff; however, erosion processes independent from discharge (bank failures and subaerial processes) add variability in the sediment load record. Based on sediment budgeting, Split Lake conveys almost 80% of the BR and UNR sediment load into the LNR. The greater sediment load in the UNR (~1100 Gg year−1, compared to ~530 Gg year−1 from the BR) reveals that the UNR is the primary sediment source into the LNR, so that downstream sediment transport dynamics are more sensitive to the environmental changes in the UNR than to disturbances in the BR. Whether this may change in the future depends on changes in climate and engineering responses to increasing demand for hydroelectric power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep learning has emerged as a useful tool across geoscience disciplines; however, there remain outstanding questions regarding the suitability of unexplored model architectures and how to interpret model learning for regional-scale hydrological modelling. Here we use a convolutional long short-term memory network, a deep learning approach for learning both spatial and temporal patterns, to predict streamflow at 226 stream gauges across southwestern Canada. The model is forced by gridded climate reanalysis data and trained to predict observed daily streamflow between 1980 and 2015. To interpret the model's learning of both spatial and temporal patterns, we introduce a set of experiments with evaluation metrics to track the model's response to perturbations in the input data. The model performs well in simulating daily streamflow over the testing period, with a median Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) of 0.68 and 35 % of stations having NSE>0.8. When predicting streamflow, the model is most sensitive to perturbations in the input data prescribed near and within the basins being predicted, demonstrating that the model is automatically learning to focus on physically realistic areas. When uniformly perturbing input temperature time series to obtain relatively warmer and colder input data, the modelled indicator of freshet timing and peak flow changes in accordance with the transition timing from below- to above-freezing temperatures. We also demonstrate that modelled August streamflow in partially glacierized basins is sensitive to perturbations in August temperature, and that this sensitivity increases with glacier cover. The results demonstrate the suitability of a convolutional long short-term memory network architecture for spatiotemporal hydrological modelling, making progress towards interpretable deep learning hydrological models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article tells the history of Kristallnacht commemorations in the small Jewish community of Victoria, British Columbia. From their founding in the 1980s, the ceremonies were intended to include members of the general public, in addition to the Jewish community, but the events changed over time, when organizers began to include indigenous people as active participants, and the history of colonialism became a key theme in Kristallnacht remembrance. Suggesting that this orientation positioned members of the local Jewish community as implicated in historical injustice, even on the occasion of Holocaust remembrance, the authors explore the history behind this development and consider its implications today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We synthesize the information available from the peer‐reviewed literature on the ecological status of lakes and rivers in the oil sands region (OSR) of Canada. The majority of the research from the OSR has been performed in or near the minable region and examines the concentrations, flux, or enrichment of contaminants of concern (CoCs). Proximity to oil sands facilities and the beginning of commercial activities tend to be associated with greater estimates of CoCs across studies. Research suggests the higher measurements of CoCs are typically associated with wind‐blown dust, but other sources also contribute. Exploratory analyses further suggest relationships with facility production and fuel use data. Exceedances of environmental quality guidelines for CoCs are also reported in lake sediments, but there are no indications of toxicity including those within the areas of the greatest atmospheric deposition. Instead, primary production has increased in most lakes over time. Spatial differences are observed in streams, but causal relationships with industrial activity are often confounded by substantial natural influences. Despite this, there may be signals associated with site preparation for new mines, potential persistent differences, and a potential effect of petroleum coke used as fuel on some indices of health in fish captured in the Steepbank River. There is also evidence of improvements in the ecological condition of some rivers. Despite the volume of material available, much of the work remains temporally, spatially, or technically isolated. Overcoming the isolation of studies would enhance the utility of information available for the region, but additional recommendations for improving monitoring can be made, such as a shift to site‐specific analyses in streams and further use of industry‐reported data. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2022;18:361–387. © 2021 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC). KEY POINTS: Contaminants of concern are often found at elevated concentrations adjacent to oil sands mines and some guidelines are occasionally exceeded in lakes and rivers. While site preparation and construction activities may influence streams, studies using upstream reference sites to detect change at the downstream exposure locations report differences but often cannot separate natural and anthropogenic causes. Paleolimnological reconstructions of biotic commuities from lake cores and contemporaneous collections of invertebrates from lakes do not show evidence of toxicity and instead often suggest increases in primary productivity or good ecological status. Preliminary analyses suggest relationships between on‐site industry practices with deposition of contaminants in snow, and with health of fish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ice-marginal lakes impact glacier mass balance, water resources, and ecosystem dynamics and can produce catastrophic glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) via sudden drainage. Multitemporal inventories of ice-marginal lakes are a critical first step in understanding the drivers of historic change, predicting future lake evolution, and assessing GLOF hazards. Here, we use Landsat-era satellite imagery and supervised classification to semi-automatically delineate lake outlines for four ∼5 -year time periods between 1984 and 2019 in Alaska and northwest Canada. Overall, ice-marginal lakes in the region have grown in total number (+183 lakes, 38 % increase) and area (+483 km 2 , 59 % increase) between the time periods of 1984–1988 and 2016–2019. However, changes in lake numbers and area were notably unsteady and nonuniform. We demonstrate that lake area changes are connected to dam type (moraine, bedrock, ice, or supraglacial) and topological position (proglacial, detached, unconnected, ice, or supraglacial), with important differences in lake behavior between the sub-groups. In strong contrast to all other dam types, ice-dammed lakes decreased in number (six fewer, 9 % decrease) and area (-51 km 2 , 40 % decrease), while moraine-dammed lakes increased (56 more, 26 % and +479 km 2 , 87 % increase for number and area, respectively) at a faster rate than the average when considering all dam types together. Proglacial lakes experienced the largest area changes and rate of change out of any lake position throughout the period of study and moraine-dammed lakes which experienced the largest increases are associated with clean-ice glaciers (<19 % debris cover). By tracking individual lakes through time and categorizing lakes by dam type, subregion, and topological position, we are able to parse trends that would otherwise be aliased if these characteristics were not considered. This work highlights the importance of such lake characterization when performing ice-marginal lake inventories and provides insight into the physical processes driving recent ice-marginal lake evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mountainous watersheds of western Canada are generally thought to be in a state of transition from snow‐dominated to hybrid regimes. In stream networks that are regulated, the effects of this transition on streamflow can have compelling operational consequences. Seasonal magnitude changes may impact spill‐risk management, while changes in the composition of summer runoff may increase its variability and reduce the forecasting capabilities of state variables like peak snow water equivalent. Though glacier loss can have a considerable impact on summer runoff, few studies explicitly model the ongoing glacier recession in conjunction with other primary hydrological processes. In this study, we incorporate glacier dynamics from a previous run of the Regional Glaciation Model into the University of British Columbia Watershed Model via the Raven modelling framework. We use this modelling system to explore potential changes under Representative Concentration Pathways 4.5 and 8.5 to the hydrology of the ∼20000km2 Mica Basin, a regulated watershed containing the headwaters of the Columbia River. Our results project statistically significant increases in spring flow in future eras, which may force lower reservoir drafting in late winter, creating potential for energy shortfalls in early spring. We project the coefficient of variation of summer runoff generally goes unchanged in future eras as does the summer runoff forecasting capability of April 1st SWE. Hence, despite modelled glacier loss and reduced snowmelt contribution, our study does not reject the null hypothesis that the predictability of the Mica Basin's summer runoff is unchanged in future eras. We explore these results in detail because they superficially appear to contrast the conventional conceptualization that reduced snowmelt negatively affects the predictive powers of snowpack and glacier loss increases the variability of runoff. We argue that our results' apparent discordance from convention displays the complexities inherent in isolating the effects of changes to a single water balance component when other components are also non‐stationary and highlights the benefits of using modelling to more explicitly explore such implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Persons with a developmental disability have the lowest rate of labour force participation relative to other disabilities. The widening gap between the labour force participation of persons with versus without disability has been an enduring concern for many governments across the globe, which has led to policy initiatives such as labour market activation programs, welfare reforms, and equality laws. Despite these policies, persistently poor labour force participation rates for persons with developmental disabilities suggest that this population experiences pervasive barriers to participating in the labour force. Materials and methods: In this study, a two-phase qualitative research design was used to systematically identify, explore and prioritize barriers to employment for persons with developmental disabilities, potential policy solutions and criteria for evaluating future policy initiatives. Incorporating diverse stakeholder perspectives, a Nominal Group Technique and a modified Delphi technique were used to collect and analyze data. Results: Findings indicate that barriers to employment for persons with developmental disabilities are multi-factorial and policy solutions to address these barriers require stakeholder engagement and collaboration from multiple sectors. Conclusions: Individual, environmental and societal factors all impact employment outcomes for persons with developmental disabilities. Policy and decision makers need to address barriers to employment for persons with developmental disabilities more holistically by designing policies considering employers and the workplace, persons with developmental disabilities and the broader society. Findings call for cross-sectoral collaboration using a Whole of Government approach. Persons with a developmental disability face lower levels of labour force participation than any other disability group. Individual, environmental and societal factors all impact employment outcomes for persons with developmental disabilities. Decision and policy makers need to address barriers to employment for persons with developmental disabilities holistically through policies guiding employers and broader societal behaviour in addition to those aimed at the individuals (such as skill development or training). Due to multi-factorial nature of barriers to employment for persons with developmental disabilities, policy solutions are wide-ranging and fall under the responsibility of multiple sectors for implementation. This calls for cross-sectoral collaboration using a "Whole of Government" approach, with shared goals and integrated responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canada's universal health-care system does not include dental care, which presents problems for both low- and middle-income families. According to the latest Statistics Canada data, out-of-pocket dental expenses are increasing steadily. Lower-income workers struggle with a disproportionate share of these costs, leading one in 4.5 Canadians to avoid visits to the dentist. With dental care becoming increasingly unaffordable and private insurance harder to obtain, it's time for Canada to consider bringing dental services into the public health system. Policy solutions have tended to fluctuate between a fill-in-the-gaps approach or comprehensive restructuring of dental care. This paper examines two new options: universal first-dollar coverage or denticare, and public dental insurance for all those without it or denticaid. Denticare would cover dental treatment with the same eligibility for public health insurance under the medicare system. Denticaid would only provide this to children under 12 and those lacking private insurance. Both denticare and denticaid would lower overall health-care costs, as improved oral hygiene would reduce rates of chronic and serious diseases. Integrating dentistry into the public health system would lead to increased patient contact, more efficient early screening and referrals. Direct clinical costs are estimated through micro-costing of expected annual dental services used. Indirect administrative costs are estimated through average costing based on existing per-patient administrative costs in the Canadian health-care system. Co-payments for both options are based on five household income brackets with the lowest bracket being exempt and the highest paying the maximum rate. The co-payment for advanced procedures would be 50 per cent and 20 per cent for all other services. Everyone over age 17 would have to pay an annual premium to be enrolled in the public plan; the lowest income brackets would be exempt and the highest would pay the maximum of $400. In denticare, public employees would no longer receive workplace dental benefits on the private market, while those same benefits would make them ineligible for denticaid. National clinical costs for a hypothetical denticare program in 2019, including administrative costs, are estimated at $27.50 billion ($737.09 per capita) with an upper estimate of $38.40 billion ($1,029.18 per capita) and a low estimate of $15.50 billion ($415.46 per capita). In all three scenarios, premiums paid by eligible individuals would generate $8.93 billion in annual revenues. After factoring in premiums, co-payments and the replacement of existing dental expenditures, the program's net cost would be $6.01 billion in 2019, with an upper estimate of $15.09 billion and a lower estimate of negative $3.82 billion. Denticaid's costs, including administrative costs, would be $15.09 billion ($404.49 per capita) in 2019, with a high scenario of $21.32 billion ($571.34 per capita) and a low scenario of $8.39 billion ($224.98 per capita). Denticaid's premiums would generate less revenue to offset costs. The program's net costs are estimated at $$7.47 billion in 2019, with a high estimate of $12.85 billion and a low estimate of $1.79 billion. There are additional challenges to consider, including dental office staffing levels in rural areas, dentists' operating costs and orthodontic treatments. But none of this should prevent Canada from committing to a denticare program, which out-performs denticaid in terms of efficiency. Both federal and provincial governments would need to be involved in the necessary modifications to the Canada Health Act, with decisions on premiums and co-pays left to individual provinces. After those offsets, the remaining taxbased costs would be a relatively small increase in Canada's public health spending and millions of Canadians would get access to good oral health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seven artificial neural network (ANN) models were developed to predict daytime actual evapotranspiration (ET) for Nissouri Creek in Oxford County, Canada, from April to July 2018, using the Bowen ratio energy balance method as target output for the first time. In total, 12 variations of each model were deployed using different combinations of model parameters, including the sigmoid and rectified linear unit (ReLU) activation functions, stochastic gradient descent (SGD), and root-mean-square-propagation (RMSprop) learning algorithms, three different network architectures, and 100 and 500 training epochs. This is the first time that ReLU has been used in ANNs that predict ET and it outperformed sigmoid in six of the seven models. This is particularly significant because until now the sigmoid activation function (or variations therein) had been exclusively employed in the ET literature. RMSprop was also used for the first time and typically demonstrated equivalent performance to that of SGD. The optimal model employs the ReLU activation function, consists of a 4-4-1 network architecture, includes the input parameters of net radiation, air temperature, soil heat flux, and wind speed, and is trained by the SGD learning algorithm for 500 training epochs. This model boasts a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.997, root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 0.39 mm/day, and mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.18 mm/day. Furthermore, all seven models developed adequately model the ET process, with R2 ranging from 0.988 to 0.997, RMSE from 0.39 to 0.78 mm/day, and MAE from 0.18 to 0.58 mm/day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals accept additional paid work, in terms of salary increase or more hours, with the expectation they will be financially better off than before. Unfortunately, for recipients of Income Assistance in the province of British Columbia, additional hours of employment or an increase in wages, such as an increase in minimum wage, in some circumstances may actually take money out of their pocket. This is due to the design of Income Assistance and its unintended interactions with other income and social support programs and the tax system. In this paper, we illustrate cases where B.C. residents receiving Disability Assistance or Temporary Assistance (the two main programs that comprise Income Assistance in B.C.) have less after-tax income after working additional hours of employment. In modelling after-tax income for recipients of Disability Assistance and Temporary Assistance as they increase their hours of paid work, we detail when and how additional income earned from paid work affects not only their income assistance levels, but also their eligibility and receipt of some general and health-related supplemental benefits. We show that, as Income Assistance recipients allocate more hours to paid work, the reductions in total after-tax income can be sizable. For example, if a single person receiving Disability Assistance (earning a wage of approximately $15 per hour) increases his or her paid work hours from 16 hours a week to 35 hours a week, it reduces his or her total after-tax income by $1,500 a year. This loss is not just limited to a decline in after-tax income. Access to some general and health-related supplemental benefits provided to Income Assistance recipients may also be lost from working these additional hours.1 By addressing these program-design elements of the current Income Assistance program, the B.C. government can improve the well-being of those receiving Income Assistance. Reforms may also decrease expenditures on Income Assistance in the long-run. Allowing recipients to increase their hours of work or earnings within the year, as their situation permits, without the risk of having their benefits reduced, may actually help more people transition from Income Assistance towards permanent employment, thus breaking the cycle of poverty and increasing social inclusion. Many recipients of Income Assistance already face numerous barriers to paid work, other than those analyzed here, as the result of disability-related employment constraints. After-tax income reductions like those described here create another barrier to employment for these populations that the B.C. government can and should address. Canada's commitment to improving social inclusion for specific populations, such as persons with disabilities, heighten the importance of identifying inequalities and poverty traps within our income assistance system. Institutional barriers to inclusive activities such as employment must be removed to meet these commitments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The North American badger (Taxidea taxus) is a nonhibernating carnivore that occurs in areas with highly seasonal climates, such as in Canada where the animal reaches its northern limits. There, winter climate is harsh and conventional habitat is limited and patchy, possibly leading to additional energetic constraints. Using radiotelemetry and remote cameras, we documented winter activities of 16 badgers (12 females, 4 males) between 2007 and 2011 in British Columbia, at the northwestern periphery of the species' range. In comparison to their summer ecology, the animals reduced home range sizes by up to 98% and showed fidelity to particular burrows. Burrow fidelity was variable (mean 27 days; range 0–108) and coincided with reduction in body temperatures, suggesting the onset of torpor. Despite lengthy use of the same burrow, badgers emerged frequently and conducted excursions that appeared to represent foraging behavior. Burrow emergence was not related to ambient temperature or snow depth; rather, it was best explained by the amount of days elapsed since the start of winter. Despite these trends, winter activity also was variable among individual badgers. It may be that limited fat reserves and higher energetic costs in northwestern ranges require winter foraging activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Psychache has been proposed to cause suicide when it becomes unbearable. However, existing measures of psychache do not directly target unbearable psychache. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to provide initial validation for a brief measure of unbearable psychache.Method: Three items were selected to create the Unbearable Psychache Scale (UP3). Psychometric properties were assessed in two populations: (1) an online sample composed of 1,006 adults (53% male) from various locations in the United States and (2) a sample of 190 psychiatric inpatient adults (47% male) from a hospital in Western Canada.Results: In both samples, the UP3 demonstrated excellent internal reliability, and strong convergent and predictive validity. Additionally, the UP3 predicted significant variance in suicidal ideation over and above documented correlates of suicidal ideation including general psychache, hopelessness, perceived burdensomeness, and low belongingness.Conclusions: The UP3 is a brief, psychometrically sound measure of unbearable psychache that may be well-suited for use in research protocols and clinical assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A set of hydrometeorological data is presented in this paper, which can be used to characterize the hydrometeorology and climate of a subarctic mountain basin and has proven particularly useful for forcing hydrological models and assessing their performance in capturing hydrological processes in subarctic alpine environments. The forcing dataset includes daily precipitation, hourly air temperature, humidity, wind, solar and net radiation, soil temperature, and geographical information system data. The model performance assessment data include snow depth and snow water equivalent, streamflow, soil moisture, and water level in a groundwater well. This dataset was recorded at different elevation bands in Wolf Creek Research Basin, near Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada, representing forest, shrub tundra, and alpine tundra biomes from 1993 through 2014. Measurements continue through 2018 and are planned for the future at this basin and will be updated to the data website. The database presented and described in this article is available for download at 10.20383/101.0113. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Malaria remains the most common specific cause of fever in returned travellers and can be life-threatening. We examined demographic and travel correlates of malaria among Canadian travellers and immigrants to identify groups for targeted pretravel intervention. Methods: Descriptive data on ill returned Canadian travellers and immigrants presenting to a CanTravNet site between 2004 and 2014 with a diagnosis of malaria were analyzed. Data were collected using the GeoSentinel data platform. This network comprises 63 specialized travel and tropical medicine clinics, including 7 Canadian sites (Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Montréal), that contribute anonymous, delinked, clinician- and questionnaire-based travel surveillance data on all ill travellers examined to a centralized Structure Query Language database. Results: During the study period, 20 345 travellers and immigrants were evaluated, and 93% had a travel-related diagnosis. Of these, 437 (2.1%) patients received 456 malaria diagnoses, the most common species being Plasmodium falciparum (n = 282, 61.8%). People travelling to visit friends and relatives were most well-represented (n = 169, 38.7%), followed by business travellers (n = 71, 16.2%). Sub-Saharan Africa was the most common source region, accounting for 341 (74.8%) malaria diagnoses, followed by South Central Asia (n = 55, 12%). Nigeria was the most well-represented source country, accounting for 41 cases (9.0%). India, a high-volume destination for Canadians, accounted for 40 cases (8.8%), 36 of which were caused by Plasmodium vivax. Of 456 malaria diagnoses, 26 (5.7%) were severe. Of 377 nonimmigrant travellers with malaria, 19.9% (n = 75) travelled for less than 2 weeks, and 7.2% (n = 27) travelled for less than 1 week. Interpretation: This analysis provides an epidemiologic framework for Canadian practitioners encountering prospective and returned travellers. It confirms the importance of preventive measures and surveillance associated with travel to sub-Saharan Africa and India, particularly by travellers visiting friends or relatives. Short-duration travel confers important malaria risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A database of difficult-to-forecast natural persistent deep slab avalanches was analyzed to determine thresholds for parameters that contribute to their release in western Canada. The database included avalanche observations and weather station data. The avalanches were grouped based on their primary cause-of-release, either precipitation loading, wind loading, solar warming or air temperature warming using a multivariate classification tree, which first split using a solar warming parameter. The precipitation group had a median 24 h snowfall of 15 cm and 3 d snowfall of 38 cm at weather stations, mostly at or below treeline. These amounts were likely closer between 20-30 and 50-80 cm at alpine start zones. The wind loading group experienced the most wind-transported snow potential. The solar warming group had predicted solar warming of 5.2°C, 10 cm into the snowpack, on the days of release. The air temperature warming group experienced the highest median maximum air temperature (5°C) on the days of release. These thresholds may be useful to forecast the likelihood of similar avalanches with experienced-based forecasting or with decision aids, although many false alarms are possible. A companion paper, Part II, relates weather model data to avalanche occurrences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article presents abstracts on medical education topics including diversity in medical schools, clinical practices, and teaching methods.

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Dimensioning and positioning structural beneficial management practices (BMPs) represent a “real life” challenge for soil conservation engineers, managers, planners and policy-makers. Different factors, such as trapping efficiency; implementation, management, and opportunity costs (resulting from cropland loss), and government policies and guidelines need to be weighed to meet this challenge. The trapping efficiency of structural BMPs may depend on many parameters, including: (1) characteristics of vegetated filters (VF) such as width and slope, vegetation height, vegetation density and species composition, (2) flow characteristics such as runoff velocity, discharge volume and water height, and (3) sediment characteristics such as particle size, aggregation and concentration. Government policies and guidelines may include dimension and location of VFs and/or a cropland percentage that needs to be converted into VF areas. The main objectives of this paper are to: (1) describe the development of the Vegetated Filter Dimensioning Model (VFDM), a mathematical model to determine the optimal dimensions of riparian vegetated filter strips (RVFSs) in agricultural watersheds, and (2) illustrate the potential use of the model on a pilot watershed, the Beaurivage watershed, in Quebec, Canada. The latter was done for the sole purpose of model testing with readily available input parameters and data. The model calculates the optimal width with respect to vegetation, topographical, hydrological and sedimentological characteristics. The results of this case study showed that the average recommended RVFS for the Beaurivage River watershed is about 3 m wide. Le dimensionnement et le positionnement de bandes riveraines (BR) représentent un défi important pour les ingénieurs, gestionnaires, planificateurs et les représentants politiques qui décident des régulations dans ce domaine. Plusieurs facteurs, tel que l’efficacité de captation des sédiments; l’implémentation, la gestion et les coûts d’opportunité (résultant de la perte de terres agricoles), et les politiques et régulations gouvernementales doivent être pris en compte pour relever ce défi. L’efficacité de captation dépend de plusieurs paramètres, incluant (1) les caractéristiques de la BR, tel que sa largeur et sa pente, la hauteur de la végétation, la densité de végétation et les espèces en présence; (2) les caractéristiques de l’écoulement, tel que la vitesse de ruissellement, le volume d’écoulement et la hauteur d’eau, et (3) les caractéristiques des sédiments, tel que la taille des particules, leur agrégation et leur concentration. Les politiques et régulations gouvernementales peuvent inclure la dimension et l’emplacement des BR et/ou un pourcentage de terres agricoles devant être converties en BR. Les objectifs principaux de cet article sont : (1) décrire le développement de VFDM (Vegetated Filter Dimensioning Model), un modèle mathématique pour déterminer les dimensions optimales des bandes riveraines dans des bassins versants agricoles, et (2) illustrer l’utilisation potentielle du modèle sur un bassin versant pilote, le bassin de la rivière Beaurivage, Québec, Canada. Ce dernier objectif a été fait dans le but de tester le modèle avec des paramètres et données d’entrées déjà disponibles. Le modèle calcule la largeur optimale en fonction des caractéristiques topographiques, hydrologiques, sédimentologiques et de la végétation. Les résultats de cette étude indiquent que les largeurs des bandes riveraines dans le bassin de la rivière Beaurivage devraient être de l’ordre de 3 m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Oral health is a fundamental component of overall health. All children and youth should have access to preventive and treatment-based dental care. Canadian children continue to have a high rate of dental disease, and this burden of illness is disproportionately represented by children of lower socioeconomic status, those in Aboriginal communities and new immigrants. In Canada, the proportion of public funding for dental care has been decreasing. This financial pressure has most affected low-income families, who are also less likely to have dental insurance. Publicly funded provincial/territorial dental plans for Canadian children are limited and show significant variability in their coverage. There is sound evidence that preventive dental visits improve oral health and reduce later costs, and good evidence that fluoridation therapy decreases the rate of dental caries, particularly in high-risk populations. Paediatricians and family physicians play an important role in identifying children at high risk for dental disease and in advocating for more comprehensive and universal dental care for children. La santé buccodentaire est un élément fondamental de la santé globale. Tous les enfants et les adolescents devraient avoir accès à des soins dentaires préventifs et thérapeutiques. Les enfants canadiens continuent de ptésenter un taux élevé de maladie dentaire, et ce fardeau est représenté de manière disproportionnée chez les enfants provenant de familles défavorises, de communautés autochtones ou de familles de nouveaux arrivants. Au Canada, la proportion du financement gouvernemental affectée aux soins dentaires est à la baisse. Cette pression financière touche surtout les familles à faible revenu, qui sont également moins susceptibles de disposer d'une assurance dentaire. Les régimes d'assurance dentaire financés par les gouvernements provinciaux et territoriaux à l'intention des enfants canadiens sont limités et offrent une protection très variable. Selon des données probantes solides, les visites préventives chez le dentiste améliorent la santé buccodentaire et réduisent les frais subséquents, et selon de bonnes données probantes, la fluorothérapie réduit le taux de caries dentaires, particulièrement dans les populations à haut risque. Les pédiatres et les médecins de famille contribuent énormément à détetminer quels enfants sont très vulnérables à une maladie dentaire et à prôner des soins dentaires plus complets et plus universels pour les enfants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper seeks to explore varied interrelated challenges and barriers experienced by immigrant seniors. Design/methodology/approach – Senior immigrants representing diverse ethnicities (Chinese, Afro Caribbean, Former Yugoslavian, Spanish) described their challenges, support needs, and barriers to service access. Service providers and policy makers from organizations serving immigrant seniors were interviewed to elicit their views on barriers to access and appropriateness of services for immigrant seniors. Qualitative methods were employed to enhance understanding of meanings, perceptions, beliefs, values, and behaviors of immigrant seniors, and investigate sensitive issues experienced by vulnerable groups. The qualitative data were subjected to thematic content analysis. Findings – Seniors reported financial and language difficulties, health problems, discrimination, family conflicts, and social isolation. Although most immigrant seniors appreciated the standard of living in Canada and the services provided to seniors, most believed that support received was inadequate. Seniors encountered systemic (e.g. government policies), institutional (e.g. culturally inappropriate programs), and personal (e.g. transportation, language problems) barriers to accessing social and health services. Service providers and policy makers faced high costs of programs, inadequate financial and human resources, inadequate information about needs of immigrant seniors, inadequate geographical coverage, and lack of inter-sectoral collaboration. Practical implications – The challenges experienced by immigrant seniors have implications for programs and policies and can inform the development of culturally sensitive and appropriate services. Social implications – The barriers encountered by service providers in assisting immigrant seniors point to the importance of inter-sectoral coordination, cultural sensitivity training, and expansion of service providers' mandates. Originality/value – This study revealed numerous unmet needs for successful acculturation of immigrant and refugee seniors in Canada. It also reveals that the most cogent and sustainable approach to close this chasm of support deficits, unattended challenges, and complex stressors is to implement a model that simultaneously addresses the three levels and use a multisectoral approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information related to the 1972 Planning Guidelines for Coast Logging Operations and the National Democratic Party (NDP) government's response to the forests and other natural resources in Canada. It relates the subject that Jeremy Wilson discussed regarding the necessity of understanding the environmental politics during the early 1970s period. It also highlights the response of the Guidelines, which represented the British Columbia Forest Service (BCFS) over the rising public discomfort over the ecological consequences of unrestrained clearcutting of trees.

This article discusses the mechanisms that lead to breakup of the ice cover and jamming within the delta reach of Peace River-Athabasca Delta region in Canada. According to the authors, the extremely flat lower Peace River does not generally allow long period waves caused by spring snowmelt to dislodge the winter ice cover. However, major ice jams do occur on occasion form in the middle section of the river and move to the delta via repeated stalls and releases. The releases cause steep waves which amplify the hydrodynamic forces acting on the ice cover and cause it to become dislodged.

The present extent of glacier ice on Bylot Island, Arctic Canada, is mapped using high-resolution Landsat 7 ETM+ satellite imagery. The island is 43% ice covered, with 4783 km² of ice. Most ice is centered on the northwest-southeast--trending Byam Martin Mountains, flowing outward as radial valley glaciers and piedmont lobes. The largest glacier is 49 km long and 6.5 km wide. The majority of glaciers terminate on land, but many have margins ending in lakes and two calve into the sea. The late summer snowline, mapped from satellite imagery, is highest along the southern and central parts of the island at about 1050 m, with lower values along the east-northeastern margin of the ice down to about 700 m. These snowline-elevation differences suggest a predominant moisture source from the northeast. Several valley glaciers and piedmont lobes have deformed medial moraines and ice-surface foliation suggesting past surge activity. Ten glaciers are interpreted to be of possible surgetype. The modern extent of glaciers is compared with that of two earlier time intervals. First, we have mapped glacier margins in several areas of Bylot Island from aerial photographs acquired in 1958 and 1961. Secondly, former positions of ice fronts are mapped from moraine systems deposited during the Neoglacial maximum and identified on satellite data. Glaciers have retreated from 0.9 to 1.8 km since the Neoglacial maximum about 120 years ago, with most retreat occurring between 1958/1961 and 2001. Approximately 253 km² or 5% of the 1958/1961 ice-covered area has been lost. Overall, marked glacier retreat has occurred, although a few glaciers, possibly of surge-type, show small readvances. This retreat is consistent with observed climate warming in the Canadian Arctic, especially since the 1960s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is dedicated to the application of uncertainty analysis on the EQeau model. EQeau is a semi‐empirical model that uses satellite C‐band SAR data to estimate Snow Water Equivalent. The uncertainty issues of this model's application have not yet been addressed. The uncertainty analysis permits the evaluation of the impact of input data and model parameters on the model outputs and the assessment of the implications and limitations of the model's application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A modified temperature index snowmelt model (SDSM-MTI), based on both near-surface soil temperature (Tg) and air temperature (Ta), was proposed and successfully tested at the Paddle River Basin (PRB) of Alberta. By using a weighted average of Tg and Ta and introducing a melt-rate adjustment factor Mrf, SDSM-MTI could simulate more accurate snowmelt runoff, snow water equivalent, and snow depth at PRB than the standard temperature index approach operated either under fixed or seasonally variable melt factor (Mr) independently calibrated with Ta only. This is partly because at PRB the primary energy fluxes responsible for snowmelt correlate more closely with Tg than Ta, especially at a daily time step, and partly because when Tg<0°C, Mrf of SDSM-MTI is much less than one that reduces Mr to a very small value, and hence we can more effectively control the timing of major snowmelt for PRB, which usually happens only when Tg>=0°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between intention, attitudes, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control related to smoking cessation in adults after initial coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). The theoretical framework for the study was derived from Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior. Intention, the global and belief-based measures of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control were measured with the Determinants of Adult Smoking Cessation (DOASC) Questionnaire developed by the investigator. Thirty-two adult smokers completed the questionnaire 2 to 3 weeks following hospital discharge. Four weeks after the questionnaire completion, a follow-up telephone call was used to determine the participants' current smoking status. The study results indicated that there was a statistically significant relationship between the intention to quit smoking after CABG and the global measure of attitude, and perceived behavioral control. This study highlights some of the beliefs about the outcomes of quitting smoking permanently after CABG which may underlie attitudes, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control in this population. Implications for theory, practice, and research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports the pretransplant findings of the first phase or a three-phase, longitudinal study examining relationships among personality traits and self-care abilities and behaviors of Ontario adults pre- and post-renal transplant. A consortium of Ontario nurse researchers representing three of Ontario ' s five renal transplant centers conducted this research. All adults on the cadaver transplant lists of 15 Ontario dialysis centers were invited to participate. One hundred ninety-eight adults awaiting renal transplant were enrolled in the study, representing a 70% response rate. A cross-sectional, correlational design was used for the pretransplant phase. Self-report measures with known psychometric properties were used; validity and reliability of the measures were supported by the sample. Data were analyzed using descriptive approaches, correlational analyses, multiple regression, and path analysis. Relationships were supported among selected personality traits, health state and self-care abilities and behaviors. Further research to examine personality traits and health state in relation to adult self-care is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Housing is a critical determinant of health and a basic human right. Historically, Canada's housing policies have not been grounded in a human rights-based approach. In the 1990s, a policy shift prioritized efficiency in government spending and deficit reductions over the provision of many social programs including affordable housing. With various levels of government now acknowledging and recognizing the need for more affordable housing, it is important to understand tenant experiences, perspectives, and needs to ensure policies and practices are supporting individuals appropriately. Methods: In total, 161 individuals participated in this study by completing online or in-person questionnaires. Results: Exploratory analysis of results revealed that although there were some positive benefits to affordable housing, many tenants continued to struggle financially, physically, mentally, and emotionally without adequate supports in place. Conclusions: These findings highlight the need for affordable housing to be part of a system of care that provides supports along a continuum. The results further reiterate that placing a person or family in affordable housing does not guarantee that their lives have improved. Without robust affordable housing models that prioritize the empowerment of individuals and families, housing policies may fail to fulfil the right to safe and affordable housing for Canadians, especially when considering historically marginalized populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased agricultural land use leads to accelerated erosion and deposition of fine sediment in surface water. Monitoring of suspended sediment yields has proven challenging due to the spatial and temporal variability of sediment loading. Reliable sediment yield calculations depend on accurate monitoring of these highly episodic sediment loading events. This study aims to quantify precipitation-induced loading of suspended sediments on Prince Edward Island, Canada. Turbidity is considered to be a reasonably accurate proxy for suspended sediment data. In this study, turbidity was used to monitor suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and was measured for 2 years (December 2012–2014) in three subwatersheds with varying degrees of agricultural land use ranging from 10 to 69 %. Comparison of three turbidity meter calibration methods, two using suspended streambed sediment and one using automated sampling during rainfall events, revealed that the use of SSC samples constructed from streambed sediment was not an accurate replacement for water column sampling during rainfall events for calibration. Different particle size distributions in the three rivers produced significant impacts on the calibration methods demonstrating the need for river-specific calibration. Rainfall-induced sediment loading was significantly greater in the most agriculturally impacted site only when the load per rainfall event was corrected for runoff volume (total flow minus baseflow), flow increase intensity (the slope between the start of a runoff event and the peak of the hydrograph), and season. Monitoring turbidity, in combination with sediment modeling, may offer the best option for management purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]