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Questions about the suitability of cognitively-oriented instructional approaches for students of different academic levels are frequently raised by teachers and researchers. This study examined student participation in knowledge-building discourse in two implementations of a short inquiry unit focusing on environmental problems. Participants in each implementation consisted of students taking a mainstream or an honours version of a tenth grade social studies course. We retrieved data about students' actions in Knowledge Forum[R] (e.g., the number of notes created and the percentage of notes with links), and conducted a content analysis of the discourse by each collaborative group. We suggest the findings provide cause for optimism about the use of knowledge-building discourse across academic levels: there was moderate to strong evidence of knowledge building in both classes by Implementation 2. We end with suggestions for focusing online work more directly on knowledge building. (Contains 4 tables.)

The aim of the present study was to explore the structural relationships between self-control, empathy, interpersonal trust, friendship quality, and mental well-being among Chinese (N = 3595) and Canadian (N = 2056) adolescents. A structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was adopted by means of a multi-group analysis. Within the aggregate sample, empathy and interpersonal trust were shown to be related to mental well-being both directly and indirectly, with friendship quality as the mediating variable, whereas self-control merely had a direct effect on mental well-being. The multiple-group analysis revealed a series of discrepancies, showing that empathy had a significant impact on the mental well-being of Chinese but not Canadian adolescents. Furthermore, empathy exerted a significantly stronger effect on friendship quality for Chinese than for Canadian adolescents, whereas interpersonal trust had a significantly stronger impact on friendship quality among Canadian than among Chinese adolescents. The differences were discussed from a cross-cultural perspective concerning collectivism versus individualism. The measures employed in the present study are closely related to social and emotional skills; the findings therefore may point to benefits for both Chinese and Canadian adolescents in terms of enhancement of their cultural-specific social and emotional skills as well as their well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders, for which some countries and organizations have developed guidelines. It is necessary to understand the quality of these guidelines.Methods: The relevant guidelines were searched systematically by five reviewers using Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) II and AGREE Recommendation Excellence (AGREE-REX) instruments. The scores in each domain were descriptively analyzed, and guidelines from different countries were compared.Results: Seventeen guidelines were included. The scores in the domains "rigor of development" and "applicability" were the lowest and ranged from 16% to 77% and 25% to 71%, respectively. The scores in the domains "implementability" and "values and preferences" were similar and ranged from 30% to 67% and 25% to 77%. In terms of the comparison among countries, the Canadian guidelines achieved the highest scores in many domains but only scored 43% in the domain of "values and preferences". The Indian guidelines scored less than 50% in many domains but achieved a high score of 83% in the domain "scope and purpose".Limitations: Language restrictions may cause selection bias. Besides, insufficient reports may lead to deviation of assessment results.Conclusions: There was no obvious advantage in guidelines from different countries. There was still a lot of room for improvement in some domains, especially "applicability", "implementability", "rigor of development" and "values and preferences". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Questions: The relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF) vary largely across natural ecosystems, with a unimodal, monotonous linear or no relationship. However, it remains unclear how BEF relationships vary under global change. Given future predicted changes in precipitation and nitrogen (N) deposition, it is crucial to determine how precipitation change and N deposition affect grassland biodiversity and productivity, and regulate their relationships. Location: A Dry Mixed-Grass Prairie of western Canada. Methods: We established a manipulative field experiment of increased precipitation (water addition with approximately 15% and 30% more monthly precipitation) and N addition (10 g/m² ) using a randomized complete block design, including six treatments, each replicated five times (30 plots). We conducted vegetation sampling with a 1 m × 1 m quadrat in each plot from 2016 to 2017, to examine the individual and interactive effects of water and N addition on plant diversity, functional group composition, above- and below-ground productivity, and the diversity–productivity relationships. Results: We found a positive linear diversity–above-ground biomass (AGB) relationship under increased precipitation, which was attributed to the water-induced increase in the abundance of forbs in the plant community, further promoting the positive effect of plant diversity on AGB. However, N addition caused a negative linear diversity–AGB relationship by increasing AGB and reducing plant diversity. The effects of N on diversity and productivity can be further strengthened under increased precipitation, which was due to the increase of C3 rhizomatous grasses with high above- and below-ground biomass and the decrease of forbs with high richness. Conclusions: Our results suggest that changes in functional group composition determine the plant species’ diversity, productivity, and their relationships under increasing precipitation and N deposition, which has significant implications for understanding and modelling ecosystem productivity in the context of global change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Radiology residents review information available on fellowship program websites for shortlisting programs and for applying for fellowships. The aim of this study was to evaluate the comprehensiveness of musculoskeletal (MSK) fellowship program websites. Methods: The content of US and Canadian MSK fellowship program websites was evaluated using 25 distinct criteria in the following domains: application, recruitment, research, clinical, education, clinical work, benefits. Programs without websites were excluded from analysis. Results: In Canada and the USA, there were 100 MSK fellowship programs, 90 of them having dedicated websites. The average score across all programs was 9.5/25 or 38%. The most comprehensive program included 18/25 items or 72%. The least comprehensive program included only 1/25 items or 4%. The median score across all programs was 9/25 or 36%.More programs included information on the application process (65.5/90, 72.8%; SD 24.7%) than in education/research (24/90, 26.7%; SD 17.3%) or incentives (12.5/90, 13.9%; SD 7.8%).Mean scores amongst US schools did not differ based on geographical distribution (p = 0.32), although they did by rank; schools ranked in the bottom tier scored lower than the unranked, middle, and top tier schools (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The majority of MSK fellowship program websites are not comprehensive. Areas that needed the most improvement include incentives, education/research, clinical teaching, and recruitment information. Addressing these insufficiencies can help programs in easing the application process for prospective fellows and enhance recruitment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Unsupervised domain adaptation (UDA) aims to build a classifier for the unlabeled target domain by transferring knowledge from a well-labeled source domain. Recently deep domain adaptation methods can not effectively integrate discriminability with transferability of features, and these methods can only reduce, but not remove, the cross-domain discrepancy. To this end, this paper proposes a new domain adaptation method called Joint Category-Level and Discriminative Feature Learning Network (CDN). CDN not only achieves domain adaptation by minimizing category-level distribution discrepancy between domains but also learns discriminative feature representations via maximizing inter-category distance and selecting transferability samples simultaneously. Moreover, we develop a Transferability Weighting Module (TWM), which is based on a constructed classifier, to further strengthen the discriminability of sample's features. The experimental results demonstrate that CDN can significantly decrease the cross-domain distribution inconsistency and further promote the classification performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aberrant activation of NLRP3 inflammasome has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diverse inflammation-related diseases, and pharmacological molecules targeting NLRP3 inflammasome are of considerable value to identifying potential therapeutic interventions. Cardamonin (CDN), the major active ingredient of the traditional Chinese medicinal herb Alpinia katsumadai , has exerted an excellent anti-inflammatory activity, but the mechanism underlying this role is not fully understood. Here, we show that CDN blocks canonical and noncanonical NLRP3 inflammasome activation triggered by multiple stimuli. Moreover, the suppression of CDN on inflammasome activation is specific to NLRP3, not to NLRC4 or AIM2 inflammasome. Besides, the inhibitory effect is not dependent on the expression of NF- κ B-mediated inflammasome precursor proteins. We also demonstrate that CDN suppresses the NLRP3 inflammasome through blocking ASC oligomerization and speckle formation in a dose-dependent manner. Importantly, CDN improves the survival of mice suffering from lethal septic shock and attenuates IL-1 β production induced by LPS in vivo , which is shown to be NLRP3 dependent. In conclusion, our results identify CDN as a broad-spectrum and specific inhibitor of NLRP3 inflammasome and a candidate therapeutic drug for treating NLRP3 inflammasome-driven diseases. Cardamonin is a broad-spectrum inhibitor of NLRP3 inflammasome triggered by multiple stimuli. Moreover, the suppression of cardamonin on inflammasome activation is specific to NLRP3, not to NLRC4 or AIM2 inflammasome. Importantly, cardamonin improves the survival of mice suffering from LPS-induced lethal endotoxic shock, which is shown to be NLRP3 dependent. fx1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate and other global environmental changes are major threats to ecosystem functioning and biodiversity. However, the importance of plant diversity in mitigating the responses of functioning of natural ecosystems to long‐term environmental change remains unclear. Using inventory data of boreal forests of western Canada from 1958 to 2011, we found that aboveground biomass growth increased over time in species‐rich forests but decreased in species‐poor forests, and importantly, aboveground biomass loss from tree mortality was smaller in species‐rich than species‐poor forests. A further analysis indicated that growth of species‐rich (but not species‐poor) forests was statistically positively associated with rising CO2, and that mortality in species‐poor forests increased more as climate moisture availability decreased than it did in species‐rich forests. In contrast, growth decreased and mortality increased as the climate warmed regardless of species diversity. Our results suggest that promoting high tree diversity may help reduce the climate and environmental change vulnerability of boreal forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hospitals play an important role in the care of patients with advanced cancer: nearly half of all cancer deaths occur in acute-care settings. The need for increasing access to palliative care and related support services for patients with cancer in acute-care hospitals is therefore growing. Here, we examine how often and how early in their illness patients with cancer might be receiving palliative care services in the 2 years before their death in an acute-care hospital in Canada. The palliative care code from inpatient administrative databases was used as a proxy for receiving, or being referred for, palliative care. Currently, the palliative care code is the only data element routinely collected from patient charts that allows for the tracking of palliative care activity at a pan-Canadian level. Our findings suggest that most patients with cancer who die in an acute-care hospital receive a palliative designation; however, many of those patients are identified as palliative only in their final admission before death. Of the patients who received a palliative designation before their final admission, nearly half were identified as palliative less than 2 months before death. Findings signal that delivery of services within and between jurisdictions is not consistent, that the palliative care needs of some patients are being missed by physicians, and that palliative care is still largely seen as end-of-life care and is not recognized as an integral component of cancer care. Measuring the provision of system-wide palliative care remains a challenge because comprehensive national data about palliative care are not currently reported from all sectors. To advance measurement and reporting of palliative care in Canada, attention should be focused on collecting comparable data from regional and provincial palliative care programs that individually capture data about palliative care delivery in all health care sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global demands for various grains, including durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. subsp. durum (Desf.) Husn.), are expected to increase substantially in the coming years, due to the ever-growing human population's needs for food, feed, and fuel. Thus, providing consistent or increased durum grain to the world market is one of the priorities for policy-makers, researchers, and farmers. What are the major achievements in agronomic advancement for durum wheat cultivation in recent decades? How might the current cropping systems be improved to increase crop yield and quality and improve resource use efficiencies while minimizing input costs and decreasing negative impact on the environment? Canada is one of the major durum wheat producers in the world, as Canada contributes about 50% to global trade of durum grain. Canada's research achievements in durum wheat might serve as a guide for advancing the cultivation of the crop in other regions/countries on the planet. This review summarizes the major Canadian research findings in the aspects of durum wheat agronomics during the period 2001 to 2017 years. It highlights the main advancements in seeding and tillage, crop rotation and diversification, and use of pulse-induced microbiomes to improve soil health and feedback mechanisms. The genetic gain and breeding for resistance against abiotic and biotic stresses are discussed. Finally, we identified the main constraints and suggested some near-term research priorities. The research findings highlighted in this review will be of use for other areas on the planet to increase durum wheat productivity, improve soil fertility and health, and enhance long-term sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute care hospitals have a role in managing the health care needs of people affected by cancer when they are at the end of life. However, there is a need to provide end-of-life care in other settings, including at home or in hospice, when such settings are more appropriate. Using data from 9 provinces, we examined indicators that describe the current landscape of acute care hospital use at the end of life for patients who died of cancer in hospital in Canada. Interprovincial variation was observed in acute care hospital deaths, length of stay in hospital, readmission to hospital, and intensive care unit use at the end of life. High rates of acute care hospital use near the end of life might suggest that community and home-based end-of-life care might not be suiting patient needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring and reporting on cancer survival provides a mechanism for understanding the effectiveness of Canada's cancer care system. Although 5-year relative survival for colorectal cancer and lung cancer has been previously reported, only recently has pan-Canadian relative survival by stage been analyzed using comprehensive registry data. This article presents a first look at 2-year relative survival by stage for colorectal and lung cancer across 9 provinces. As expected, 2-year age-standardized relative survival ratios (ARSRS) for colorectal cancer and lung cancer were higher when the cancer was diagnosed at an earlier stage. The ARSRS for stage I colorectal cancer ranged from 92.2% in Nova Scotia [95% confidence interval (CI): 88.6% to 95.1%] to 98.4% in British Columbia (95% CI: 96.2% to 99.3%); for stage IV, they ranged from 24.3% in Prince Edward Island (95% CI: 15.2% to 34.4%) to 38.8% in New Brunswick (95% CI: 33.3% to 44.2%). The ARSRS for stage I lung cancer ranged from 66.5% in Prince Edward Island (95% CI: 54.5% to 76.5%) to 84.8% in Ontario (95% CI: 83.5% to 86.0%). By contrast, ARSRS for stage IV lung cancer ranged from 7.6% in Manitoba (95% CI: 5.8% to 9.7%) to 13.2% in British Columbia (95% CI: 11.8% to 14.6%). The available stage data are too recent to allow for meaningful comparisons between provinces, but over time, analyzing relative survival by stage can provide further insight into the known differences in 5-year relative survival. As the data mature, they will enable an assessment of the extent to which interprovincial differences in relative survival are influenced by differences in stage distribution or treatment effectiveness (or both), permitting targeted measures to improve population health outcomes to be implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The activation of stimulator of interferon genes (STING) signaling pathways plays an important role in the innate immune response. Although several STING agonists have been developed recently, the majority of clinical CDN STING agonists are administered by intratumoral (IT) injection. Therefore, there remains a need to develop diverse non-CDN small-molecule STING agonists with systemic administration. Herein, by using a scaffold hopping strategy, we designed a series of thieno [2,3-d]imidazole derivatives as novel STING agonists. Further structure-activity relationship study and optimization led to the discovery of compound 45 as a highly potent human STING agonist with an EC 50 value of 1.2 nM. Compound 45 was found to bind to multiple human STING isoforms and accordingly activated the downstream TBK1/IRF3 and NF-κB signaling pathways in the reporter cells bearing with different STING isoforms. The activation on STING signaling pathway was abolished in the STING knock-out cells, indicating that it is a specific STING agonist. Compound 45 significantly inhibited the tumor growth in allograft 4T1 and CT26 tumor models by systemic administration, and more significantly, 45 was able to induce tumor regression in CT26 tumor model without inducing weight loss, suggesting that compound 45 is a highly promising candidate worthy for further development. [Display omitted] • A series of thieno [2,3-d]imidazole derivatives were designed as STING agonists. • 45 was able to activate h-STING isoforms and m-STING. • 45 was identified as a highly potent h-STING agonist with an EC 50 value of 1.2 nM. • Intravenous or intratumoral administration of 45 could inhibit tumor growth dramatically, without inducing weight loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the population-base study on the rectal cancer resection rate in Canada. Topics include the rate of colorectal cancer diagnosis, the methods used for determining the trends and circumferential margin rates of rectal cancer surgery, and surgical resection of state II or III rectal cancer. The results reportedly revealed interprovincial variation for rectal cancer resection rates.

The article focuses on the findings of the study which examines trust discrimination tendency (TDT) of trust circle size and composition in different levels of economic risk domains in China and Canada. The findings of the study indicate the potential of the size of the trust circle to decrease as the supposed economic risk increases. The study also found the highness of the rank of spouse/partner among Canadians than it is among Chinese.

The benthic boundary layer transport (bblt) model was widely used in the Atlantic Canadian offshore region to assess the potential impact zones from drilling wastes discharges from offshore oil and gas drilling. The current version of the bblt uses a single-class settling velocity scenario, which may affect its performance, as settling velocity is size, shape, and material dependent. In this study, the effects of settling velocity on bblt predictions were assessed by replacing this single-class settling velocity scenario with a multi-class size-dependent settling velocity scenario. The new scenario was used in a hypothetical study to simulate the dispersion of barite and fine-grained drilling cuttings. The study showed that the effects of settling velocity on bblt predictions are spatial, temporal, and material dependent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently a new super-genotype of oat has been developed in the Crop Development Center called CDC SO-I (‘SuperOat’: low lignin and high fat). In a previous study, we evaluated total metabolizable protein using a TDN-based model-NRC-2001 which is popular in North America. However, the TDN-based NRC model is not accepted universally. The objectives of this study were to use a complex non-TDN based model, the DVE/OEB system, to evaluate potential nutrient supply to ruminants from the SuperOat in comparison with two normal varieties of oats (CDC Dancer and Derby) in western Canada. The quantitative predictions were made in terms of: (i) truly absorbed rumen synthesized microbial proteins in the small intestine; (ii) truly absorbed rumen undegraded feed protein in the small intestine; (iii) endogenous protein in the digestive tract; (iv) total truly absorbed protein in the small intestine; and (v) protein degraded balance. Results showed that using the DVE/OEB system to predict the potential nutrient supply, it was found that the SuperOat had similar truly absorbed rumen synthesized microbial protein levels (61, 63, 59 g/kg DM, P > 0.05, for SuperOat, CDC Dancer and Derby, respectively), higher truly absorbed rumen undegraded feed protein than CDC Dancer (22 vs. 17 g/kg DM P < 0.05, for SuperOat, CDC Dancer, respectively), but similar to Derby (22 vs. 21 g/kg DM; P > 0.05), and similar endogenous protein (16, 16, 18 g/kg DM; P > 0.05). Total truly absorbed protein in the small intestine is only numerically higher in the SuperOat (67 vs. 65, 62 g/kg DM, P > 0.05, for CDC Dancer and Derby, respectively). However, the protein degraded balance was significantly different ( P < 0.05) with a positive value for the SuperOat (7.0 g/kg DM) and negative values for two normal varieties (−1.5, −6.8 g/kg DM for CDC Dancer and Derby, respectively). In conclusion, the model predicted significantly different protein degradation balance. The SuperOat had positive degradation balance but other two normal varieties had negative protein degraded balance However, the SuperOat had similar total absorbed protein value to the two normal varieties of oats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question/Issue: This paper examines the relationship between dual-class share structure and the purchase of nonaudit services, and the extent to which the market's valuation of accounting information is influenced by the perception of auditing compromise resulting from such purchases. Research Findings/Results: Using a sample of Canadian companies from 2003–2004, we find that dual-class firms pay a larger amount of nonaudit fees to the auditors, relative to single-class firms, both in the absolute dollar amount and as a ratio of total audit fees. In addition, the returns-earnings association is significantly lower for dual-class firms than for their counterparts, and there is a further valuation discount as dual-class firms increase nonaudit service purchases. Theoretical Implications: We argue that severe agency problems inherent from the deviation from the one-vote-per-share structure lead to greater demand for economic bonding with the auditors via the purchase of nonaudit services. This study contributes to the growing body of nonaudit service literature by documenting the empirical link between ownership of control and nonaudit purchases. Practical Implications: The results indicate that investors believe a larger amount of nonaudit services highlights the underlying agency problems and compromises auditor independence for firms with a separation of cash flow rights and voting rights. The findings suggest that regulators in Canada and in other developed countries, when revising their future regulations on audit committees, may need to emphasize the role of restricted-class shareholders in bolstering the audit committee function and the auditing process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GEM/POPs was developed to simulate the transport, deposition and partitioning of semi-volatile persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the atmosphere within the framework of Canadian weather forecasting model GEM. In addition to the general processes such as anthropogenic emissions, atmosphere/water and atmosphere/soil exchanges, GEM/POPs incorporates a dynamic aerosol module to provide the aerosol surface areas for the semi-volatile POPs to partition between gaseous and particle phases and a mechanism for particle-bound POPs to be removed. Simulation results of three PCBs (28, 153 and 180) for the year 2000 indicate that the model captured the main features of global atmospheric PCBs when compared with observations from EMEP, IADN and Alert stations. The annual averaged concentrations and the fractionation of the three PCBs as a function of latitudes agreed reasonably well with observations. The impacts of atmospheric aerosols on the transports and partitioning of the three PCBs are reasonably simulated. The ratio of particulate to gaseous PCBs in the atmospheric column ranges from less than 0.1 for PCB28 to as high as 100 for PCB180, increasing from the warm lower latitudes to the cold high latitudes. Application of GEM/POPs in a study of the global transports and budgets of various PCBs accompanies this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the results of [sup 13]C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and chemical analysis of coarse woody debris in coastal forests of Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Description of materials and methods used in the study; Species, size and decay class effects on density and element concentrations; Decay class, subzone and sere effects on density and chemistry of species.

The article presents an analysis on the impact of patient's geographic location on mastectomy and permanent colostomy in rectal resections in Canada. It notes that breast and rectal cancer surgery might be prone to equity differences. It says that the higher mastectomy rate among patients living in remote and rural areas might reflect limited access to radiation therapy, and the increase in colostomy rates in remote areas might reflect systematic differences in care.

The article offers information on a study conducted by the authors related to pancreatic cancer outcomes in Canada. It states that age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) of the cancer decreased for men in 2007 but remained stable for women. It mentions that survival rate was 9 percent inspite of advancement in treatment. It highlights that failure to register death certificates can lead to overestimation of survivors.

Bacteriophages, natural killers of bacteria, and plant secondary metabolites, such as condensed tannins, are potential agents for the control of foodborne pathogens. The first objective of this study evaluated the efficacy of a bacteriophage SA21RB in reducing pre-formed biofilms on stainless-steel produced by two Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains, one from South Africa and the other from Canada. The second objective examined the anti-bacterial and anti-biofilm activity of condensed tannin (CT) from purple prairie clover and phlorotannins (PT) from brown seaweed against these strains. For 24-h-old biofilms, (O113:H21; 6.2 log10 colony-forming units per square centimeter (CFU/cm2) and O154:H10; 5.4 log10 CFU/cm2), 3 h of exposure to phage (1013 plaque-forming units per milliliter (PFU/mL)) reduced (p ≤ 0.05) the number of viable cells attached to stainless-steel coupons by 2.5 and 2.1 log10 CFU/cm2 for O113:H21 and O154:H10, respectively. However, as biofilms matured, the ability of phage to control biofilm formation declined. In biofilms formed for 72 h (O113:H21; 5.4 log10 CFU/cm2 and O154:H10; 7 log10 CFU/cm2), reductions after the same duration of phage treatment were only 0.9 and 1.3 log10 CFU/cm2 for O113:H21 and O154:H10, respectively. Initial screening of CT and PT for anti-bacterial activity by a microplate assay indicated that both STEC strains were less sensitive (p ≤ 0.05) to CT than PT over a concentration range of 25–400 µg/mL. Based on the lower activity of CT (25–400 µg/mL), they were not further examined. Accordingly, PT (50 µg/mL) inhibited (p ≤ 0.05) biofilm formation for up to 24 h of incubation at 22 °C, but this inhibition progressively declined over 72 h for both O154:H10 and O113:H21. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that both SA21RB and PT eliminated 24 h biofilms, but that both strains were able to adhere and form biofilms on stainless-steel coupons at longer incubation times. These findings revealed that phage SA21RB is more effective at disrupting 24 than 72 h biofilms and that PT were able to inhibit biofilm formation of both E. coli O154:H10 and O113:H21 for up to 24 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Radiology trainees frequently use the Internet to research potential fellowship programs across all subspecialties. For a field like nuclear medicine, which has multiple training pathways, program websites can be an essential resource for potential applicants. This study aimed to analyze the online content of Canadian and American Nuclear Medicine fellowship websites. Materials and Methods: The content of all active Canadian and American Nuclear Medicine fellowship websites was evaluated using 26 criteria in the following subdivisions: application, recruitment, education, research, clinical work, and incentives. Fellowships without websites were excluded from the study. Scores were summed per program and compared by geographic region and ranking. Results: A total of 42 active Canadian and American Nuclear Medicine fellowship programs were identified, of which 39 fellowships had dedicated fellowship websites available for the analysis. On average, fellowship websites contained 34.4% (9 ± 3.3) of the 26 criteria. Programs did not score differently on the criteria by geographical distribution (P =.08) nor by ranking (P =.18). Conclusion: Most Canadian and American Nuclear Medicine fellowship websites are lacking content relevant to prospective fellows. Addressing inadequacies in online content may support programs to inform and recruit residents into fellowship programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continued consumption of alcohol after a cancer diagnosis is associated with poorer outcomes. We evaluated whether perceptions of the effects of continued alcohol use and receiving information on moderating alcohol reduced alcohol consumption in adult cancer survivors. A total of 509 cancer survivors were cross‐sectionally surveyed at follow‐up for their alcohol use before and after cancer diagnosis and perceptions of continued drinking. Multivariable logistic regression models evaluated factors associated with changes in alcohol consumption after diagnosis. Among 299 patients who were drinking alcohol at diagnosis (13% exceeding gender‐specific guidelines), 52% reduced/ceased alcohol consumption 1 year after diagnosis. Patients perceiving that alcohol worsened their own (a) quality of life, (b) cancer‐related fatigue or (c) overall survival were more likely (aORs = 2.43–3.35, p < 0.002) to reduce (moderating or quitting) their alcohol use 1 year after diagnosis. Only 14% of individuals currently drinking regularly recalled receiving information/counselling from healthcare providers on alcohol consumption (7% from oncologists). However, there was a significant fourfold to sixfold increase in cessation with such information/counselling (p < 0.01). Similar trends were observed in patients exceeding gender‐specific guidelines. Perception of negative effects of alcohol use on their health by cancer survivors was associated with reducing harmful alcohol consumption. Counselling, especially from the oncologist, may play a significant role for reducing consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide. There is wide geographic variation in incidence with rates varying ten-fold between high- and low-income countries. This heavy burden can be mitigated given previous research has estimated that nearly half of all colorectal cancer cases could have been prevented through healthier diets and physically active lifestyles. In Canada, there is considerable geographic variation in age-adjusted incidence rates for colorectal cancer between jurisdictions, greater than that seen for many other cancers. These wide variations likely reflect differences in the prevalence of risk factors across provinces and territories. Aim: To describe the extent of the variation in colorectal cancer incidence rates across Canada and the disparities in the prevalence of modifiable risk factors across jurisdictions known to contribute to this burden. Methods: Colorectal cancer incident cases were obtained from the Canadian Cancer Registry; 2014 was used for provinces (except Quebec where 2010 was the most recent year available) and years 2012 to 2014 were combined to achieve more stable rates for the territories, which are much smaller in population. Data on four known modifiable risk factors for colorectal cancer (excess weight, physical inactivity, alcohol intake and low fruit and vegetable consumption) were obtained from the 2015-16 combined Canadian Community Health Survey. Results: Findings suggest that there is a north-south and east-west gradient in colorectal cancer modifiable risk factors in Canada. For instance, the percentage of adults with excess body weight ranged from 56.8% in British Columbia (west) to 73.1% in New Brunswick (east) and the percentage of adults not meeting physical activity guidelines ranged from 31.8% in Yukon (north) to 50.3% in New Brunswick (east). Generally, this pattern also reflects colorectal cancer incidence rates. The highest prevalence of modifiable risk factors and rates of colorectal cancer are typically in the northern (territories) and eastern provinces of Canada. Conclusion: The global burden of colorectal cancer is expected to increase by nearly 60% by 2030; therefore, targeted interventions are needed to ensure there is not a widening gap in colorectal cancer burden worldwide. Based on current knowledge, the most effective approaches to reduce the burden of colorectal cancer include: 1) adopting public policies that make healthy choices easier and create healthier environments where people live, work and play, and 2) continuing emphasis on screening and early detection. Strategic approaches to addressing modifiable risk factors, as well as mechanisms for detecting colorectal cancer before it develops, have the potential to translate into positive effects on population health and less people developing and dying from cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acute-care hospitals have a role in managing the needs of people with cancer when they are at the end-of-life; however, overutilization of hospital care at the end-of-life results in poorer quality of life and can worsen the patient's experience. Early integration of comprehensive palliative care can greatly reduce unplanned visits to the emergency department, reduce avoidable admissions to hospital, shorten hospital stays, and increase the number of home deaths as well as improve the quality of life of patients with advanced cancer. Aim: To describe the current landscape of acute-care hospital utilization near the end-of-life across Canada and indirectly examine access to palliative care in cancer patients who die in hospital. Methods: Data were obtained from the Canadian Institute for Health Information. The analysis was restricted to adults aged 18+ who died in an acute care hospital in 2014/15 and 2015/16 for nine provinces and three territories. The Discharge Abstract Database was used to extract acute-care cancer death abstracts. Data on intensive care unit (ICU) admissions includes only facilities that report ICU data. Results: Acute care utilization at end-of-life remains commonplace. In Canada (excluding Québec), 43% (48,987) of deaths from cancer occurred in acute-care hospitals, with 70% admitted through the emergency department (ED). In the last six months of life, cancer patients dying in hospital had a median cumulative length of stay ranging from 17 to 25 days, depending on the province. Between 18.1% and 32.8% of patients experienced two or more admissions to the hospital in the last month of life. The proportion of cancer patients admitted to the ICU in the last 14 days of life ranged from 6.4% to 15.1%. Patient demographics (age, sex, place of residence) and clinical factors (cancer type) were often predictors of hospital utilization at end-of-life and likely point to inequities in access to palliative and end-of-life care. Conclusion: Despite previous patient surveys indicating that patients would prefer to receive care and spend their finals days at home or in a hospice, there appears to be overuse of and overreliance on acute care hospital services near the end-of-life in Canada. The high rates of hospital deaths and admissions through the ED at the end-of-life for cancer patients may signal a lack of planning for impeding death and inadequate availability of or access to community- and home-based palliative and end-of-life care services. Acute care hospitals may have a role in managing the health care needs of people affected by cancer; however, end-of-life care should be an option in other settings that align with patient preferences. Standards or practice guidelines to identify, assess and refer patients to palliative care services earlier in their cancer journey should be developed and implemented to ensure optimal quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used a combination of Finite-Time Lyapunov Exponent (FTLE) values, residual currents, and tidal excursion lengths to systematically investigate the effects of tidal dispersion on oil spill trajectories in Burrard Inlet, BC, Canada, which is a tidally dominated estuary. The FTLE analysis results showed that tidal type and tidal phase significantly influenced the FTLE fields because the flow structure and the location of saddle points varied as a function of the tidal type and tidal phase. Some transport barriers formed in the Inner Harbour, which blocked the water exchange between the western and eastern parts of the inlet. Moreover, tidal mixing in the wider regions of Burrard Inlet (i.e., the western Outer Harbour) was relatively weak than in the narrower areas (i.e., First Narrows and Second Narrows). The observations from the FTLE analysis agreed well with the residual currents and tidal excursion results. The drifter trajectories were consistent with the Lagrangian coherent structure lines extracted from the FTLE analysis. To verify the tidal dispersion impact on an oil spill trajectory in the inlet, the FTLE fields were compared with a real oil spill that occurred in Burrard Inlet in 2015 (the M/V Marathassa oil spill). The FTLE fields reasonably explained the spilled oil's trajectories from the real event. In addition, a set of stochastic oil spill models were run in this study and found that the FTLE analysis was a reliable tool for oil spill tracking. Overall, the FTLE method would be a valuable addition to practical oil spill response planning. [Display omitted] • Systematically investigating the effect of tidal dispersion on spilled oil trajectory. • Finite-Time Lyapunov Exponent (FTLE) fields were significantly influenced by the tidal type and tidal phase. • FTLE results were in good agreement with the residual currents and tidal excursion results. • A real oil spill event (M/V Marathassa) was reasonably explained by the FTLE field. • FTLE analysis is a reliable tool for tracking spilled oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal environment is one of the most important ecological and socioeconomic areas. However, increasing energy demand and economic development lead to a continuous gas and oil exploration, production, and traffics, which notably raise the risk of oil spill accidents in coastal areas. Sensitivity assessment aiming to determine the coastal features that would be severely impaired by spill incidents is a crucial part of the response planning. In this study, an innovative framework for coastal sensitivity mapping that incorporated ecosystem service (ES) valuation and multidimensional assessment was proposed. Sensitivity was computed by valuing physical, biological, and social-economical indicators from ES perspective and separating each indicator into specific coastal domains. For different ES typologies, provisioning services contributed most to the overall ES value followed by culture services, supporting services, and regulating services. For ES value in different coastal domains, the highest value was recorded in the water column followed by water surface, shoreline, and seabed. However, the shoreline ranked highest regarding the ES value per ha. Sensitivity assessment revealed that sensitive areas differed in different domains, both in distribution and extent. Compared with the scoring method, the ES valuation method showed more coincidence with Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSA), representing a more precise and practical approach for sensitivity assessment. A three-dimensional (3D) oil spill model was also applied to generate maps of oil contamination probability in shoreline, water surface, and water column. The obtained results highlighted the significance of incorporating different coastal domains into oil spill responses, and the urgent demand to broaden and deepen our understanding of ecological processes across the vertical coastal zones. [Display omitted] • An innovative framework for coastal sensitivity mapping was proposed. • ES valuation and multidimensional assessment were incorporated for analysis. • A case study was conducted to assess the sensitivity of Canada's Pacific coast. • ES valuation method is more precise and practical compared with the scoring method. • Sensitive areas differed in different domains, both in distribution and extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]