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Nursing, dance and studio-based arts, engineering, and athletic therapy are viewed as practice-oriented professions in which the teaching and situated learning of practical skills are central. In order to succeed, students must perform a series of performance-based assessments, which seemingly require an "able" body to enact complex tasks in situated and/or simulation-based contexts (for example, "safe nursing practice"). Our interdisciplinary research seeks to intervene within the culture of professional learning by investigating what we know about the use of smartphone video recording for situated, practice-based learning, and for supporting interactive video-based assessment as a means of accommodation and extending access for students, including students with performance anxiety,mature students, ESL learners, students with disabilities, and students in remote communities. In this paper we employ a scoping review methodology to present our findings related to students' and instructors' perspectives on the use of smartphone video to demonstrate and document practical knowledge and practice-oriented competencies across fields in the arts and sciences. We also examine broader research, as well as the ethical and design implications for the development of our technology-based toolbox project -- an online resource created to advance pedagogies deploying smartphones as tools for practical skills acquisition -- and for accommodation -- within multidisciplinary practical learning environments.

While it is recognized that groundwater contaminant plumes can impact surface waters, there remains little information on the magnitude, spatial extent, and especially temporal variability of the resulting exposure to the variety of aquatic organisms, particularly for stagnant surface waters (e.g., ponds). The present study of a historic landfill plume discharging to a pond investigated contaminant exposure to multiple aquatic zones (endobenthic, epibenthic, pelagic) over approximately 1 year within a temperate climate. Landfill tracers included the artificial sweetener saccharin, ammonium, chloride, and specific conductance. Sampling of pond sediment porewater (upwelling groundwater) and continuous geophysical imaging of the subsurface showed a relatively stable plume footprint covering approximately 26% of the pond, although with spatially varying leachate composition, revealing year‐round exposure to endobenthic (within sediments) organisms. Substantial and variable contaminant exposure to epibenthic organisms within the plume footprint was shown by elevated specific conductance measured directly above the sediment interface. Exposure varied daily at times and increased through winter to values representing undiluted plume groundwater. Exposure to pelagic organisms (overlying water) covered a larger area (~50%) due to in‐pond circulation. The stream outlet concentrations were stable at approximately 10 times dilution for chloride and saccharin, but were substantially less in summer for ammonium due to in‐pond processes. Whereas groundwater contaminants are typically assumed elevated at base flows, the outlet stream contaminant mass discharges to downstream receptors were notably higher in winter than summer, following stream flow patterns. Insights from the present study into the timings and locations of contaminant plume exposure to multiple ecological zones of a pond can provide guidance to contaminated site and aquatic ecosystem managers on improved monitoring, assessment, and remediation protocols. Environ Toxicol Chem 2023;42:1667–1684. © 2023 His Majesty the King in Right of Canada and The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC. Reproduced with the permission of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We sought to compare the demographics and fertility characteristics of men presenting to reproductive urologists (RU) for evaluation in the United States (US) and Canada using data from the Andrology Research Consortium. A standardized patient questionnaire was used to prospectively evaluate men across fifteen North American male infertility practices between 2015 and 2018. Patient demographics, fertility histories, including female partner infertility testing and treatment, and referral data were assessed. Univariate analysis was used to determine geographical differences between the various patient characteristics and the geographical region. We sampled 6,462 men with a mean age of 36.6 ± 7.5 years. The average duration of infertility was significantly higher in US men (4.5 ± 7.2 years) compared to Canadian men (3.6 ± 4 years) (p = 0.007). Significantly more men in the US were obese (63% vs. 26%, p < 0.001) compared to Canada. Intrauterine insemination use among female partners was more common in Canada (13% vs. 7%, p < 0.001) while in vitro fertilization was less common (6% vs. 9%, p = 0.01) when compared to the US. Finasteride (3% vs. 0%) and testosterone usage (4% vs. 1) were more common among US men versus Canadians, respectively. In conclusion, geographical differences exist between North American males undergoing fertility evaluation. American men are older and more obese and have a longer average duration of infertility. Potentially reversible factors contributing to male infertility are more prevalent in the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autonomous in situ sensors are required to monitor high-frequency nutrient fluctuations in marine environments on a mass-scale. We present a submersible, dual-chemistry sensor that performs multiple colourimetric assays simultaneously on a fluid sample for multi-parameter in situ analysis. Based on a highly configurable architecture that has been successfully deployed for several multi-month periods, the sensor utilizes 10 solenoid valves, 4 syringes, 3 stepper motors, 2 LEDs, 4 photodiodes, and "inlaid" microfluidics to permit optical measurements of microliter fluid volumes. Fluid pathways are machined into a modular two-layer microfluidic lab-on-chip (LOC) fabricated from poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) with two parallel inlaid optical cells of 10.4 mm and 25.4 mm path lengths (1.7 µl and 4 μl, respectively). Different LOC designs can be used to implement a wide variety of colorimetric assays. We demonstrate application of our dual-chemistry sensor towards simultaneous measurement of nitrate and dissolved orthophosphate: two nutrients fundamental to primary production. The performance of the dual-species nitrate and phosphate "NP Sensor" is characterized first in a controlled laboratory environment. Combined nutrient standards containing nitrate and phosphate concentrations ranging from 2.5 µM--100 µM NO3- and 0.25 µM-10 µM PO3/4- were analyzed, reporting detection limits of 97 nM NO3- and 15 nM PO3/4-. Calibrations were repeated under 3 fixed temperature conditions, T = 5°C, 10°C, 15°C, to determine the temperature-dependent sensitivity relations for both species needed to calculate concentrations during field deployments. Finally, an 8-day field deployment in Fish Hatchery Park, NS, Canada followed, acquiring a total of 592 nitrate and dissolved orthophosphate measurements. An on-board combined nutrient standard was measured periodically to assess the in situ accuracy of the sensor, with an average relative uncertainty of 15% across the deployment. Measured nitrate and dissolved orthophosphate levels in the river reached as high as 10 µM and 3.6 µM, respectively. Fast Fourier transform analysis suggests a strong out-of-phase relationship between measured phosphate and water level, with a shared frequency peak in both data agreeing within a 3.2% difference. This trend is due to conventional mixing at the river mouth to neighboring Bedford Basin. A spike in the measured nitrate to phosphate (N:P) ratio was also observed, synchronized to a precipitation event and indicative of runoff. The novel sensor will enable high-frequency dual-nutrient monitoring in many aquatic environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lewis's Woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis) has experienced population declines in both Canada and the United States and in 2010 was assigned a national listing of threatened in Canada. We conducted a two-year study (2004-2005) of this species at its northern range limit, the South Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, Canada. Our main objective was to determine whether the habitat features that influenced nest-site selection also predicted nest success, or whether other factors (e.g. cavity dimensions, clutch initiation date or time of season) were more important. Nest tree decay class, density of suitable cavities and total basal area of large trees were the best predictors of nest-site selection, but these factors were unrelated to nesting success. Estimates of demographic parameters (mean ± SE) included daily nest survival rate (0.988±0.003, years combined), nest success (0.52±0.08), clutch size (5.00±0.14 eggs), female fledglings per successful nest (1.31±0.11), and annual productivity (0.68±0.12 female fledglings per nest per year). Although higher nest survival was associated with both early and late initiated clutches, early-initiated clutches allowed birds to gain the highest annual productivity as early clutches were larger. Nests in deep cavities with small entrances experienced lower predation risk especially during the peak period of nest predation. We concluded that nest-site selection can be predicted by a number of easily measured habitat variables, whereas nest success depended on complicated ecological interactions among nest predators, breeding behaviors, and cavity features. Thus, habitat-based conservation strategies should also consider ecological factors that may not be well predicted by habitat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conspecific brood parasitism (CBP) occurs in over 200 species of birds. Efforts to detect CBP have relied on either observational criteria, or more recently, on molecular methods. While molecular approaches are powerful, they are expensive, time consuming and may prove prohibitive for studies requiring estimates of CBP over large spatial and temporal scales involving hundreds of nests. We evaluated a series of observational methods that have been applied in previous studies to detect CBP, using two species of cavity-nesting ducks, the Barrow's goldeneye Bucephala islandica and common goldeneye B. clangula, as test species. We first describe a method based on differences in egg morphology and find it to be a reliable method to detect CBP in both species in British Columbia, Canada. The application of recursive partitioning analysis was especially effective in classifying parasitized and non-parasitized nests using differences in egg morphology. We then evaluated five additional observational criteria that have been used previously in several studies to detect CBP in birds. We show that considerable redundancy exists among all criteria, as expected, but no single method is effective at detecting all suspected cases of CBP. Subsets of criteria (2 or more eggs/d, eggs laid 2 or more days after incubation, and clutch sizes exceeding 12 eggs) were successful, in combination, in detecting 75% of parasitized nests for goldeneyes. Finally, we suggest that ecological and evolutionary analyses of the dynamics of CBP will require estimates of the frequency of the parasitic tactic in the population (rather than just the proportion of parasitized nests) and we provide a simple method to obtain such an estimate. Although our data are specific to goldeneyes, the techniques we used should have broad application to other studies of CBP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two types of analysis were conducted to examine the impacts of midcentury scenarios of anthropogenic climate change on flexible pavement infrastructure in southern Canada. An analysis of deterioration-relevant climate indicators at 17 southern Canadian sites revealed that over the next 50 years low temperature cracking will become less problematic, structures will freeze later and thaw earlier with correspondingly shorter freeze season lengths, and higher extreme in-service pavement temperatures will raise the potential for rutting. Pavement performance simulations conducted using the mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide and data from the Canadian long term pavement performance program for six of these sites also suggest that rutting issues will be exacerbated by climate change and that maintenance, rehabilitation, or reconstruction will be required earlier in the design life. While the simulated effect of climate change was found to be modest, both in absolute terms and relative to variability in pavement structure and baseline traffic loads, pavement engineers would benefit by incorporating longer time series of weather and climate in their designs. Although the analysis was conducted for southern Canada, many of the findings and impacts may be similar for the northern United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the morphological variation in Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) in the Okanagan Valley, southern British Columbia, Canada. Difference in the body measurement of the Okanagan Valley to the western subspecies, M. a. artemisiae and M.a. obscurus; What the pattern of the body measurements suggested; Findings of the investigation.

Offers a reinterpretation of the motives and forces behind the British decision to deploy imperial troops to end the Reil Rebellion in 1869. Withdrawal of British garrisons from Canada as the official policy at that time; Deployment as evidence for the nature of British imperialism.

The use of high-dose intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) plus anticoagulation is recommended for the treatment of vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), a rare side effect of adenoviral vector vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). We describe the response to IVIG therapy in three of the first patients in whom VITT was identified in Canada after the receipt of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine. The patients were between the ages of 63 and 72 years; one was female. At the time of this report, Canada had restricted the use of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine to persons who were 55 years of age or older on the basis of reports that VITT had occurred primarily in younger persons. Two of the patients in our study presented with limb-artery thrombosis; the third had cerebral venous and arterial thrombosis. Variable patterns of serum-induced platelet activation were observed in response to heparin and platelet factor 4 (PF4), indicating the heterogeneity of the manifestations of VITT in serum. After the initiation of IVIG, reduced antibody-induced platelet activation in serum was seen in all three patients. (Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the use of genetic technology, researchers have the potential to inform medical diagnoses and treatment in actionable ways. Accurate variant interpretation is a necessary condition for the utility of genetic technology to unfold. This relies on the ability to access large genomic datasets so that comparisons can be made between variants of interest. This can only be successful if DNA and medical data are donated by large numbers of people to 'research', including clinical, non-profit and for-profit research initiatives, in order to be accessed by scientists and clinicians worldwide. The objective of the 'Your DNA, Your Say' global survey is to explore public attitudes, values and opinions towards willingness to donate and concerns regarding the donation of one's personal data for use by others. Using a representative sample of 8967 English-speaking publics from the UK, the USA, Canada and Australia, we explore the characteristics of people who are unwilling (n = 1426) to donate their DNA and medical information, together with an exploration of their reasons. Understanding this perspective is important for making sense of the interaction between science and society. It also helps to focus engagement initiatives on the issues of concern to some publics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Male song sparrows sing repertoires of 4–13 distinct song types and have proved a valuable model for testing hypotheses concerning the function and evolution of song complexity. Captive female song sparrows solicit more copulations in response to playback of larger repertoires, yet it remains unclear whether male repertoire size influences female mate choice in natural situations. We used long-term data from free-living song sparrows inhabiting Mandarte Island, British Columbia, Canada, to investigate whether male song repertoire size predicted three components of reproductive performance during the first year: territory acquisition, mating success and laying date. Across males whose song was recorded, males with larger repertoires were not more likely to acquire a territory, to acquire a larger territory or to settle sooner. However, after we controlled for territory size and between-year variation in the population sex ratio, first-year males with larger repertoires were more likely to mate. This was because they were more likely to pair with newly settled females, not because they were more likely to acquire territories where older females were already resident. After we controlled for territory size and between-year variation in breeding date, newly settled females laid earlier when mated with males with larger repertoires. Together with the results of previous mate choice experiments, these patterns are consistent with the hypothesis that male song repertoire size is a sexually selected trait that influences female mate choice in song sparrows. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Public acceptance is critical for sharing of genomic data at scale. This paper examines how acceptance of data sharing pertains to the perceived similarities and differences between DNA and other forms of personal data. It explores the perceptions of representative publics from the USA, Canada, the UK and Australia (n = 8967) towards the donation of DNA and health data. Fifty-two percent of this public held 'exceptionalist' views about genetics (i.e., believed DNA is different or 'special' compared to other types of medical information). This group was more likely to be familiar with or have had personal experience with genomics and to perceive DNA information as having personal as well as clinical and scientific value. Those with personal experience with genetics and genetic exceptionalist views were nearly six times more likely to be willing to donate their anonymous DNA and medical information for research than other respondents. Perceived harms from re-identification did not appear to dissuade publics from being willing to participate in research. The interplay between exceptionalist views about genetics and the personal, scientific and clinical value attributed to data would be a valuable focus for future research.

Trust may be important in shaping public attitudes to genetics and intentions to participate in genomics research and big data initiatives. As such, we examined trust in data sharing among the general public. A cross-sectional online survey collected responses from representative publics in the USA, Canada, UK and Australia (n = 8967). Participants were most likely to trust their medical doctor and less likely to trust other entities named. Company researchers were least likely to be trusted. Low, Variable and High Trust classes were defined using latent class analysis. Members of the High Trust class were more likely to be under 50 years, male, with children, hold religious beliefs, have personal experience of genetics and be from the USA. They were most likely to be willing to donate their genomic and health data for clinical and research uses. The Low Trust class were less reassured than other respondents by laws preventing exploitation of donated information. Variation in trust, its relation to areas of concern about the use of genomic data and potential of legislation are considered. These findings have relevance for efforts to expand genomic medicine and data sharing beyond those with personal experience of genetics or research participants.

Purpose: To determine factors associated with students' comfort in addressing patients' sexuality in the clinical context., Method: The authors invited students enrolled in MD-degree-granting and osteopathic medical schools in the United States and Canada to participate in an anonymous Internet survey between February and July 2008. The survey assessed ethnodemographic factors and sexual history. Respondents also completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Male respondents completed the International Index of Erectile Function and the Premature Ejaculation Diagnostic Tool. Female respondents completed the Female Sexual Function Index and the Index of Sex Life. The authors used descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and multivariable logistic regression to analyze responses., Results: The authors' analyses included 2,261 completed survey responses: 910 from men, 1,343 from women, and 8 from individuals who self-identified as "other" gendered. Over 53% of respondents (n = 1,206) stated that they felt they had not received sufficient training in medical school to address sexual concerns clinically. Despite this, 81% of students (n = 1,827) reported feeling comfortable dealing with their patients' sexuality issues. Students with limited sexual experience, students at risk for sexual problems, and students who felt that they had not been trained adequately were less likely to report being comfortable talking to patients about sexual health issues., Conclusions: Perception of inadequate sexuality training in medical school and personal issues pertaining to sex may be associated with students' difficulty in addressing patients' sexuality. Adequate training is preeminently associated with feeling comfortable addressing patients' sexuality and should be a priority for medical education.