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Background: Despite early reports of social determinants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) burden, national Canadian reporting on COVID-19 inequalities has been limited. The objective of this study is to describe inequalities in COVID-19 mortality in Canada using preliminary data, as part of the Pan-Canadian Health Inequalities Reporting Initiative. Methods: Two provisional Canadian Vital Statistics Death Database integrations were used. Data concerning deaths between January 1 and July 4, 2020, among private-dwelling residents were linked to individual-level data from the 2016 short-form Census, and disaggregated by sex and low-income status, dwelling type, household type and size. Data concerning deaths between January 1 and August 31, 2020 linked to 2016 Census area data were disaggregated by sex and neighbourhood ethno-cultural composition quintiles (based on the proportion of residents who are recent immigrants, visible minorities, born outside of Canada, with no knowledge of English or French), income quintiles and urban residence. The COVID-19 age-standardized mortality rate (per 100,000 population) differences and ratios between groups were estimated. Results: As of July/August 2020, apartment dwellers, residents of urban centres, neighbourhoods with the highest ethno-cultural composition or lowest income experienced 14 to 30 more COVID-19-related deaths/100,000 compared with reference groups (residents of single-detached homes, outside of urban centres, with lowest ethno-cultural concentration or highest income, respectively). Per 100,000 population, sex/gender inequalities were also larger in these four groups (11 to 18 more male than female deaths) than in the reference groups (two to four more male than female deaths). Conclusion: These findings highlight how populations facing socioeconomic disadvantage have experienced a higher overall burden of deaths. Areas for future research are discussed to guide health equity-informed pandemic response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stemphylium blight (SB) (Stemphylium botryosum) is a major disease of lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) in many global production regions. In Canada, SB typically occurs after canopy closure in the second half of the growing season when weather conditions become warm and humid. Experiments were carried out to assess the impact of SB disease on milling qualities of lentil. In 2014, milling qualities of red lentils were compared between seed obtained from an uninfected site and those produced at a naturally SB-infected site. In 2016 and 2017, controlled field experiments were conducted by artificially inoculating the plots with SB conidia at the early flowering stage. Seed yield in the infected plots was reduced by 52, 22, and 30% compared with control plots in 2014, 2016, and 2017, respectively. The percentages of stained and deformed seeds were increased in infected plots in 2016 and 2017. Seeds infected with SB have reduced milling qualities. Dehulling efficiency was reduced by 25.3, 23.0, and 15.9%, and milling recovery was reduced by 23.7, 25.4, and 15.1% compared with the uninfected control plots, respectively, in 2014, 2016, and 2017. Stemphylium blight had minimal impact on football lentil recovery. These results suggest that SB is potentially the leading cause of the reported poor milling quality of Canadian red lentils that reduces the economic value in years when the growing season is favorable for development of SB. These results have major implications for agronomy, pathology, and breeding strategies of the lentil crop in temperate production regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) seeds are an excellent source of staple dietary protein that can be a viable plant‐based alternative protein source to food processing industries. Understanding of the basis of genotype × environment (G × E) interaction is fundamental knowledge for plant breeding. We explored genetic stability and G × E for seed protein content and protein yield for 34 lentil genotypes using AMMI (additive main effects and multiplicative interaction) and SREG (site regression) models. Genotypes were evaluated under field conditions in five locations at western Canada during 2017–2018. Protein content and protein yield were 21.6–26.9% of seed dry weight and 156.8–1113.0 kg ha−1, respectively, across 10 environments. Environment and G × E had fewer effects on protein content than protein yield. Higher seed protein content was observed in the extra‐small red market class. Based on both models, genotypes IBC 1235, 3923‐9, 3674‐17, IBC 929R, and 4371‐4 with stable protein productivity would be useful genetic resources for the development of protein‐rich varieties in lentil breeding programs. Our results suggest genetic improvement of protein and protein yield together is possible for lentil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The avoidable mortality rate is a key indicator of overall health and health care utilization. However, the avoidable mortality rate may differ by the relative remoteness of a community. Avoidable mortality rates specific to remote areas cannot be investigated unless there is a clear geographic classification of remoteness. Therefore, this research uses a newly developed remoteness index to explore the geographic variability of avoidable mortality in Canada. Data and methods: The remoteness index, Canadian Vital Statistics--Death Database (2011 to 2015), and the 2016 Census of Population are used to understand the geographic variability of preventable and treatable mortality rates in Canada. Descriptive and multivariate data analysis techniques are used to test the hypothesis that remoteness is one of the statistically significant predictors of avoidable mortality rates in Canada. Results: There is a clear gradient of preventable and treatable mortality rates by relative remoteness. The preventable and treatable mortality rates are significantly higher in more remote areas than in easily accessible areas. The remoteness index is a good predictor of both preventable and treatable causes of mortality for low-Aboriginal census subdivisions but not for high-Aboriginal census subdivisions in Canada. Interpretation: Both preventable and treatable mortality rates vary significantly by remoteness, despite Canada's universal health care system. The remoteness of Canadian communities may have affected health care delivery and utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant number of foreign-trained skilled immigrants are employed in low-skilled service sector jobs in major Canadian cities. However, there is no study to understand their physical and mental health status. We hypothesized that most of these immigrant workers have elevated physical and mental health problems because of lowered self-esteem, job dissatisfaction, and work-related stress. A survey questionnaire containing 49 questions was designed to collect quantitative data (n = 146) from skilled immigrants working as taxi drivers, convenience store workers, and gas station workers in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Analysis of the data involved the use of descriptive as well as inferential statistics to understand the predictors of self-reported health status. Skilled immigrants who are working in an occupation that underutilizes their knowledge, skills, and experience are found to have elevated levels of work-related stress, poor quality of life, and deteriorated physical and mental health. Ethnic origin of the participant, level of education, years spent on current occupation, degree of job satisfaction, level of work-related stress, Body Mass Index (BMI), and chronic health conditions are good predictors of self-reported health of skilled immigrants working in these occupations. Les immigrants hautement qualifiés et les emplois peu qualifiés : les défis de santé au quotidien Un nombre important d'immigrants qualifiés et formés à l'étranger occupent des emplois exigeant peu de qualifications dans le secteur tertiaire des grandes villes canadiennes. Cependant, aucune étude n'a été menée à ce jour qui aborde la question de leur état de santé physique et mentale. Nous émettons l'hypothèse selon laquelle la plupart de ces travailleurs immigrés souffrent de problèmes de santé physique et mentale sévères en raison de la baisse d'estime de soi, l'insatisfaction de l'emploi, et le stress lié au travail. La conception d'un questionnaire composé de 49 questions avait pour objectif de recueillir des données quantitatives (n = 146) auprès de travailleurs qualifiés issus de l'immigration et travaillant dans la ville d'Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, comme chauffeurs de taxi et préposés dans des dépanneurs ou dans des stations de service. L'analyse des données a reposé sur des statistiques descriptives et inférentielles pour comprendre les facteurs prédictifs de l'état de santé auto-déclaré. Il ressort que les immigrants qualifiés dont l'activité professionnelle valorise peu les connaissances, compétences et expériences ont des niveaux élevés de stress lié au travail, une mauvaise qualité de vie et un état de santé physique et mentale dégradé. L'origine ethnoculturelle, le niveau de scolarité, le nombre d'années à exercer cette activité professionnelle, le degré de satisfaction au travail, le niveau de stress lié au travail, l'indice de masse corporelle (IMC), et les problèmes de santé chroniques constituent des facteurs prédictifs de l'état de santé auto-déclaré des immigrants qualifiés qui exercent ces activités professionnelles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have shown that immigrants are normally in better health on arrival compared to their Canadian-born counterparts. However, the health conditions of new immigrants deteriorate after a few years of their arrival in Canada. This phenomenon is popularly termed the "healthy immigrant effect" (HIE) in the immigrant health literature. Although different hypotheses have been proposed to understand HIE, the causes are subject to ongoing discussion. Unlike previous studies, this study explored the possible causes behind the variations in the health status of recent and more established immigrants comparing 2001 and 2010 Canadian Community Health Surveys (CCHS). Four different hypotheses - namely lifestyle change, barriers to health care services, poor social determinants of health, and work related stress - were tested to understand variations in health status. The study concludes that there is a statistically significant difference in the socioeconomic characteristics and health outcomes of immigrants having less than and more than 10 years of residency in Canada. Logistic regression models show that the health conditions of immigrants are associated with age, sex, ethnic origin, smoking habit, Body Mass Index (BMI), total household income, number of consultations made with a family doctor per year and work related stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grain protein content is one of the most important quality constraints for bread wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) production in eastern Canada. A field experiment was conducted for two years (1999 and 2000) on the Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, Canada, to study whether split application of nitrogen (N) fertilizer improved grain protein content and nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE). Two cultivars (‘Celtic,’ as N-responsive and ‘Grandin’, as N-non-responsive) were grown using three different N doses and application methods: (1) 100 kg N ha -1 as NH 4 NO 3 , soil-applied at seeding with 15 N 2 -labeled NH 4 NO 3 to microplots, (2) 60 kg N ha -1 soil-applied at seeding plus 40 kg N ha -1 foliar-applied at the boot stage with 15 N 2 -labeled urea to microplots, and (3) 90 kg N ha -1 as soil-applied at seeding plus 10 kg N ha -1 foliar-applied at the boot stage with 15 N 2 -labeled urea to microplots. Plants were sampled at heading and maturity. While dry-matter production and grain yields were not affected by the treatments in either year, N application methods influenced tissue N concentration and NUE. In 1999, extended drought stress led to significant yield reduction; in 2000, foliar application of 10 kg N ha -1 at the boot stage significantly increased grain N concentration when grain protein was under the limit for bread quality, suggesting that later-applied N can contribute to grain protein content. At maturity, the average NUE was 22.3% in 1999 and 34.5% in 2000, but was always greater when all N was applied at seeding (42.5%) than when N was foliar-applied at the boot stage (18.5% to 24.5%). We conclude that application of a small amount of fertilizer N at the boot stage can improve the bread-making quality of spring wheat by increasing grain protein concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]