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During the COVID-19 pandemic, people across the globe have been exposed to large amounts of statistical data. Previous studies have shown that individuals' mathematical understanding of health-related information affects their attitudes and behaviours. Here, we investigate the relation between: (1) basic numeracy; (2) COVID-19 health numeracy; and (3) COVID-19 health-related attitudes and behaviours. An online survey measuring these three variables was distributed in Canada, the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) (n = 2032). In line with predictions, basic numeracy was positively related to COVID-19 health numeracy. However, predictions, neither basic numeracy nor COVID-19 health numeracy was related to COVID-19 health related attitudes and behaviours (e.g. follow experts' recommendations on social distancing, wearing masks etc.). Multi-group analysis was used to investigate mean differences and differences in the strength of the correlation across countries. Results indicate there were no between-country differences in the correlations between the main constructs but there were between-country differences in latent means. Overall, results suggest that while basic numeracy is related to one's understanding of data about COVID-19, better numeracy alone is not enough to influence a population's health-related attitudes about disease severity and to increase the likelihood of following public health advice.

This study investigates how final year pre-service teachers (PSTs) from several countries use social media to support their online professional learning network (PLN) activities. Adopting a mixed-methods approach, it uses a global survey and interview methods to generate fresh insights into PSTs' informally-developed online PLN practices and their perceived benefits of these self-initiated activities. Findings uncover new understandings of contemporary PSTs' patterns of use and configurations of their online PLNs and have implications for their effective transitioning into the teaching profession. Implications for practice or policy: (1) Teacher educators should encourage pre-service teachers to informally develop their own online professional learning networks to leverage a range of benefits, driven by the authentic, diverse and accessible nature of ideas and materials encountered in these spaces; and (2) Pre-service teachers need affirmation and support to be confident, active participants in their chosen online professional learning network spaces, especially in networks shared with more experienced, practising teachers.

Social medicine and health advocacy curricula are known to be uncommon in postgraduate medical education. As justice movements work to unveil the systemic barriers experienced by sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations, it is imperative that the emergency medicine (EM) community progress in its efforts to provide equitable, accessible, and competent care for these vulnerable groups. Given the paucity of literature on this subject in the context of EM in Canada, this commentary borrows evidence from other specialties across North America. Trainees across specialties and of all stages are caring for an increasing number of SGM patients. Lack of education at all levels of training is identified as a significant barrier to adequately caring for these populations, thereby precipitating significant health disparities. Cultural competency is often mistakenly attributed to a willingness to treat rather than the provision of quality care. However, positive attitudes do not necessarily correlate with trainee knowledge. Barriers to creating and implementing culturally competent curricula are plentiful, yet facilitating policies and resources are rare. While international bodies continuously publish position statements and calls to action, concrete change is seldom made. The scarcity of SGM curricula can be attributed to the universal absence of formal acknowledgment of SGM health as a required competency by accreditation boards and professional membership associations. This commentary synthesizes hand-picked literature in an attempt to inform healthcare professionals on their journey toward developing culturally competent postgraduate medical education. By thematically organizing evidence into a stepwise approach, the goal of this article is to borrow ideas across medical and surgical specialties to inform the creation of recommendations and make a case for an SGM curriculum for EM programs in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Aim: The aim of this systematic literature review was to describe treatment patterns in nonmetastatic non-small-cell lung cancer. Methods: A search was conducted in MEDLINE and EMBASE. Eligible studies were multicentered (>50 patients) and conducted after 2000 in North America, Europe and Asia. Results: Twenty studies met the eligibility criteria. Based on US and Canadian studies in the resectable population, the proportion of patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy/chemoradiotherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy/chemoradiotherapy increased with increasing stage (i.e., from <3% in stage I to about 40% in stage III and from 15% in stage I to 30% in stage III, respectively). Within the resectable population, the breakdown between bimodal and trimodal therapy was variable, suggesting that clinical practice is not uniform. Conclusion: Overall, studies were heterogeneous, precluding data extrapolation across regions. Despite heterogeneity and limited evidence, this review suggested an increase in neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy with increasing stage, generally in line with treatment guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Human Pathogens Act and the Human Pathogens and Toxins Regulations mandates laboratory incident reporting to the Public Health Agency of Canada's Laboratory Incident Notification Canada (LINC) surveillance system. The objective of this report is to describe laboratory incidents involving exposures that occurred in Canada during 2019 and individuals affected in these incidents. Methods: Laboratory incidents occurring in licensed Canadian laboratories in 2019 were analyzed. Exposure incident rate was calculated and descriptive statistics were performed. Exposure incidents were analyzed by sector, root cause, activity, occurrence type, and pathogen/toxin. Affected persons were analyzed by education, route of exposure, sector, role and laboratory experience. Results: Sixty exposure incidents involving 86 individuals were reported to LINC in 2019. The annual exposure rate was six incidents per 100 active licenses. Most exposure incidents involved microbiology (n=39; 65%) activities and/or were reported by the academic (n=22; 37%) sector. The public health sector had the highest proportion of exposure incidents while the private sector had the lowest. Procedural (n=18, 23%) was the most cited occurrence type. Over a third of exposed individuals had 0-5 years of laboratory experience (n=32; 37%) and were hospital technicians or technologists (n=31; 36%). Inhalation was the most common route of exposure (n=53, 62%). Human interaction (n=35; 24%) was the most cited root cause. Conclusion: Laboratory incidents were lower in 2019 than in 2018. The most common occurrence type was procedural while issues with human interaction was the most cited root cause. Most exposed individuals were hospital technicians or technologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In countries most impacted by coronavirus disease (COVID-19), such as Italy and China, surveillance reveals that the number of deaths differ by sex. Preliminary data suggest that while the distributions of cases vary by sex, men represent the larger proportion of deaths in these countries. Analyses of deaths can indicate differential disease progression between men and women more robustly than analyses of cases, as the former are less susceptible to biases of underreporting and bottlenecks in testing. Canada has an enormous opportunity to apply its sex-specific mortality data to conduct comprehensive health and medical research that captures sex-based differences in manifestation of the disease to improve outcomes and prevention methods. During the ongoing pandemic, it is difficult for complete and wholly accurate data of all COVID-19 deaths to be obtained when healthcare and public health personnel are operating at full capacity. However, it is crucial that efforts continue to be made to capture this information and make it accessible, as it can also be applied to inform implementation of more effective and equitable public health and clinical strategies, such as the dissemination of targeted health communication materials and therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to examine the association between meeting combinations of the Canadian 24-h movement guidelines and academic performance in adolescents. This cross-sectional study used the 2017 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey, a survey representative of Ontario students in grades 7–12 attending publicly funded schools. A total of 10,160 students were included in the analysis. Moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), screen time, sleep duration, and academic performance were self-reported. A multiple linear regression model was used to examine differences in academic performance between adolescents meeting and those not meeting the combinations of movement guidelines (≥60 min/day of MVPA; ≤2 h/day of screen time; 9–11 h/night of sleep for ages 11–13 years, 8–10 h/night for ages 14–17 years, and 7–9 h/night for ages 18 years or older). Covariates included age, sex, ethnicity, subjective socio-economic status, body mass index z-score, and substance use. We found that 5.1% of students met all three movement guidelines, whereas 39.0% did not meet any. Middle school students who met all three guidelines or either the screen time or sleep guideline displayed better academic performance than those who met none of the guidelines. High school students who met the screen time and sleep guidelines displayed better academic performance than those who did not meet any guidelines. Adhering to screen time and sleep duration recommendations is associated with better academic performance among adolescents. • Of all students, 5.1% met all three movement guidelines, whereas 39.0% did not meet any. • Sleep and screen time are more linked with academic achievement than physical activity. • Some differences were found between middle and high school students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macrocheles muscaedomesticae is a cosmopolitan macrochelid mite whose populations have likely diverged considering the many locations they inhabit, but most of the work published on this mite species has been on the basis of their association with the house fly, Musca domestica. Here, we studied several aspects of the biology of M. muscaedomesticae associated with drosophilid flies collected in Alberta, Canada. We assessed the degree of divergence of our populations from others, compared their life history to other published populations and experimentally tested whether M. muscaedomesticae feeds on Drosophila hydei hosts by comparing the body mass of mites that attached to hosts to those that did not. There was no strong phylogenetic differentiation among any of the M. muscaedomesticae specimens, suggesting multiple recent introductions of this species to Canada. Compared to other populations, our mites exhibited lower fecundity, which may have been a result of the temperature or nematode-only diet in which they were maintained. Finally, mites that attached to hosts for 4 h weighed significantly more than those that did not. Without direct evidence for host tissue transfer to the mites, it is difficult to determine whether the mites are indeed feeding on their hosts while attached. However, the existing evidence for the costs fly hosts endure at the expense of these mites makes this relationship antagonistic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Rural consumers may not benefit from uniform pricing. • Equitable service for consumers may not be guaranteed by a subsidy policy for high-cost areas. • A significant negative relationship exists between broadband contract prices among urban and rural residents. • Download speed is more important to consumers than the upload speed. • The key to addressing the current situation may be to set appropriate prices based on regional differences. This study highlights the importance of differentiating between urban and rural areas when exploring broadband issues that matter to consumers and statistically sampling accordingly. To test the effectiveness of rural broadband programmes in improving internet usage, this study is based on a selection of five geographically adjacent administrative districts with varying population densities. During a survey using the double-bounded dichotomous choice model to measure people's WTP, two research hypotheses were tested and verified through regression analysis. The results showed that consumers living in rural areas are significantly less willing to pay for broadband than those living in urban areas, which contradicts the findings of the study by Worden and Hambly (2022) conducted in Canada. Additionally, the significant t value test results found in this study showed that consumers are willing to pay more for download bandwidth than for upload bandwidth for every dollar spent. This result indicates that consumers have a clear preference for one over the other and highlights significant differences in their choices. In particular, the results of the willingness-to-pay survey revealed that the incumbent operator yield opposite results in the regression coefficients for their willingness to pay for each unit of download bandwidth and upload bandwidth. This result may be due to differences in the design of internet products offered by the two operators. Given the inevitable reality that income generated by service operators in rural areas is lower than that in urban areas, there is a need to study price differentials between urban and rural areas in order to promote greater use of broadband internet in rural areas in the context of the adoption of a single price throughout the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migratory birds have been implicated in the long-range spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A virus (H5N1) from Asia to Europe and Africa. Although sampling of healthy wild birds representing a large number of species has not identified possible carriers of influenza virus (H5N1) into Europe, surveillance of dead and sick birds has demonstrated mute (Cygnus olor) and whooper (C. cygnus) swans as potential sentinels. Because of concerns that migratory birds could spread H5N1 subtype to the Western Hemisphere and lead to its establishment within free-living avian populations, experimental studies have addressed the susceptibility of several indigenous North American duck and gull species. We examined the susceptibility of Canada geese (Branta canadensis) to HPAI virus (H5N1). Large populations of this species can be found in periagricultural and periurban settings and thus may be of potential epidemiologic importance if H5N1 subtype were to establish itself in North American wild bird populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Quitline outcome studies are used to maintain and improve the effectiveness of these evidence-based cessation services. Nonresponse has the potential to bias survey results and many US and Canadian quitlines are reporting survey response rates below 50%. This study examines the effect of nonresponse bias on quit rates in three state quitline populations. Results provide implications of nonresponse bias for quitline practice.Methods: Quit status, defined as abstinent for 30 days or more 7 months after registering for services, was collected from Minnesota, Hawaii, and Florida quitline participants that responded to a survey. We assigned each responder to a wave based on the number of contacts required to obtain a survey response.Results: The latest two responder groups had the lowest quit rates within each state, although results were not statistically significant. Quit rates in the latest responder wave (Wave 6) were between 4% and 13% points lower than the earliest responders (Wave 1). The cumulative quit rates show what the quit rate would have been had the study ended after the corresponding wave. In all four studies, the cumulative quit rate was lowest in Wave 6.Conclusion: To increase accuracy of quit rates, quitlines should focus on increasing survey response rates. Suggestions for improving survey response rates are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applications of pesticides in areas of agricultural production have been an environmental concern for the past several decades. Varying-sized watersheds draining regions of intense agriculture in the Maritime Provinces of Canada were monitored between 2003 and 2007 to determine the major in-use pesticides and to gain an understanding of the risks posed to aquatic ecosystems. A questionnaire collected from farmers in one watershed intensively cropped with potato indicated that 43 pesticides were applied with 18 of them being detected in that watershed. Our results across the Maritime region suggested that detection frequencies ranged from 0.0 to 22 % during the study period. Chlorothalonil, linuron, metalaxyl, and metribuzin were detected in 17-22 % of samples collected during rainfall events every year. Other pesticides, such as azinphos-methyl, atrazine, cypermethrin, permethrin, fonofos, and β-endosulfan were detected in ≤17 % of the samples during some years of the study. Concentrations of several pesticides were found to exceed their Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) aquatic life water-quality guidelines in pulses after rain events. The highest proportion of detections exceeding a CCME guideline was for chlorothalonil at 12.9 %, β-endosulfan at 6.0 %, and linuron at 3.4 %. Despite indications that remedial measures offer protection to aquatic environments, spatial and temporal gaps in the data prevented a full evaluation. A dedicated long-term multiple-watershed monitoring program for this region of Canada is therefore recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atlantic salmon of Eastern Canada were once of considerable importance to aboriginal, recreational, and commercial fisheries, yet many populations are now in decline, particularly those of the inner Bay of Fundy (iBoF), which were recently listed as endangered. We investigated whether nonneutral SNPs could be used to assign individual Atlantic salmon accurately to either the iBoF or the outer Bay of Fundy (oBoF) metapopulations because this has been difficult with existing neutral markers. We first searched for markers under diversifying selection by genotyping eight captively bred Bay of Fundy (BoF) populations for 320 SNP loci with the Sequenom MassARRAY™ system and then analysed the data set with four different F outlier detection programs. Three outlier loci were identified by both BayesFST and BayeScan whereas seven outlier loci, including the three previously mentioned, were identified by both Fdist and Arlequin. A subset of 14 nonneutral SNPs was more accurate (85% accuracy) than a subset of 67 neutral SNPs (75% accuracy) at assigning individual salmon back to their metapopulation. We then chose a subset of nine outlier SNP markers and used them to inexpensively genotype archived DNA samples from seven wild BoF populations using Invader™ chemistry. Hierarchical AMOVA of these independent wild samples corroborated our previous findings of significant genetic differentiation between iBoF and oBoF salmon metapopulations. Our research shows that identifying and using outlier loci is an important step towards achieving the goal of consistently and accurately distinguishing iBoF from oBoF Atlantic salmon, which will aid in their conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exceedance of water-quality standards is important in assessing water quality. The effectiveness of soil conservation Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) should be measured according to the BMPs' impact on exceedance frequencies. However, estimating exceedance frequencies for different management scenarios with field measurements is practically impossible due to difficulties in obtaining adequate data for analysing different combinations of BMPs. The objective of this modeling research was to analyse exceedance frequencies for different management strategies applied in the Black Brook Watershed (BBW). Daily concentrations of total suspended sediments (TSS) and soluble phosphorous (sol-P) were predicted with the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and assessed against water-quality standards from the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) and National Agri-Environmental Standards Initiative-Ideal Performance Standards (NAESI-IPS). The investigated BMPs included conservation tillage, reduced fertilizer application, crop rotation, flow diversion terraces (FDT) and the combination of all four BMPs. The results indicated that FDT was the most effective at reducing exceedance frequencies of TSS and sol-P. Under the different management scenarios, we calculated the annual exceedance frequencies of TSS and sol-P concentrations above the CCME (20-45% and 10-26%) and NAESI-IPS (32-55% and 20-38%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses research to investigate current dietary intakes of arachidonic acid (AA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in healthy children between 4-7 years of age using the three-day food record. Dietary sources of DHA include fish, shellfish, poultry and eggs, while dietary sources of AA can be found in liver, poultry, beef, pork, seafood and eggs. The study revealed that Canadian children between 4-7 years old and not living near a marine environment, have relatively low dietary intakes of AA and DHA.

Thirty-seven sightings, strandings and gear entrapments of White Whales (Delphinapterus leucas) made in Newfoundland and Labrador waters and the lower Gulf of St. Lawrence from 1979 to 1991 are reported. Most of these incidents occurred in the summer months with a mean rate of 2.6 records per year. Fourteen (38%) of the observed animals were dead when discovered; fates of the remaining animals were not recorded. Toxicological analysis of one animal indicates that it was from anArctic or Subarctic population. The stock affinities of the other animals were uncertain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Gap filling of flux data is necessary to assist with periodic interruptions in the measurement data stream. The gap-filling model (GFM), first described in Xing et al. [Xing, Z., Bourque, C.P.-A., Meng, F.-R., Zha, T.-S., Cox, R.M., Swift, E., 2007. A simple net ecosystem productivity model for gap filling of tower-based fluxes: an extension of Landsberg''s equation with modifications to the light interception term. Ecol. Model. 206, 250–262], was modified to account for the day-to-day control of net ecosystem productivity (NEP) by incorporating air and soil temperature as new controlling variables in the calculation of NEP. To account for the multiple-phase influences of air and soil temperature on plant growth we model ecosystem respiration as a function of soil and canopy respiration. The paper presents model development in an incremental fashion in order to quantify the contribution of individual model enhancements to the prediction of NEP during periods when air and soil temperature variations are important. Model efficiency (ME) was used to compare the performance of the various forms of the GFM under several combinations of weather conditions during a 34-day period. Results from model comparisons illustrated that the models displayed reasonable performance (ME=0.75–0.95), with the final GFM displaying the best overall performance. Further evaluation of the final GFM was conducted by comparing the NEP-model results with results generated with an alternative gap-filling approach espoused by Fluxnet-Canada Research Network (FCRN). These evaluations are based on the same 34-day dataset as used in the initial model comparison. Both gap-filling methodologies performed well, but some level of disagreement was present. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The safety of livestock feed is recognized worldwide as a prerequisite for the protection of animal and human health. In this context, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is developing an Establishment-based Risk Assessment model for livestock feed mills (ERA-Feed Mill) to assist in the allocation of inspection resources based on feed safety risk. The objectives of the present study were to identify and select animal health and food safety-related risk factors along with their assessment criteria, pertaining to Canadian feed mill practices, to be included in the ERA-Feed Mill model. To do so, a review of the scientific literature and consultations with feed experts were conducted. A final list of 34 risk factors was generated, 21 identified from the scientific literature and 13 from feed expert advice. Risk factors were grouped into three clusters: inherent risk factors, mitigation factors and compliance factors for which 4, 10 and 20 factors were identified, respectively. Criteria for quantitatively assessing each risk factor were defined based on common practices found in the Canadian feed industry. These findings contributed to the initial steps of the CFIA's ERA-Feed Mill model development. By assessing the feed safety risk factors related to feed mills in Canada, this tool will help inform the CFIA on the level of oversight required to manage these risks, and will contribute to the production and maintenance of healthy livestock and the production of safe food. • A risk assessment model for commercial and on-farm feed mills is being developed. • This model covers both animal health and food safety risks related to feed mills. • 34 risk factors were generated based on scientific literature and expert advice. • Assessment criteria were defined based on practices found in the feed industry. • Results will support the allocation of inspection resources based on risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]