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Background: Breastfeeding is not recommended for women living with HIV (WLWH) in Canada. We described the prevalence of breastfeeding and explored experiences of care, support, and stigma related to infant feeding. Setting: Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia (Canada). Methods: Data were obtained from the HIV Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Cohort Study (CHIWOS) surveys, conducted between 2013 and 2018. Results: Breastfeeding was reported by 73.5% of the 786 women who delivered before HIV diagnosis and 7.3% of the 289 women who delivered after HIV diagnosis. Among them, earlier year of delivery, delivery outside of Canada, and African, Caribbean, Black ethnicity were independently associated with increased odds of breastfeeding. Among WLWH who had a live birth during the last year, 77% (40/52) felt that they had received support regarding infant feeding practices, and 77% (23/30) were concerned that not breastfeeding could lead to them being identified as WLWH. Among 71 women within one year postpartum at any one of the study waves, 89% reported having an undetectable viral load. Conclusion: Breastfeeding experiences were common among WLWH, most often prior to HIV diagnosis. Fear of unintentional HIV status disclosure when not breastfeeding and challenges to maintain an undetectable HIV viral load are important issues to address during postpartum care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the causes and consequences of alternative pathways flown by long‐distance migratory birds. Bobolinks (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) breed in grasslands across northern North America and migrate from their breeding grounds toward the eastern Atlantic Coast and then proceed through the Caribbean to South America. However, a small but regular number of Bobolinks have been recorded on the Galapagos Islands. We collected genetic samples from nine Galapagos Bobolinks and performed double‐digest restriction site‐associated sequencing. We compared them with samples from seven locations across their breeding distribution to determine their population of origin. Galapagos Bobolinks shared the genetic structure of a cluster in the eastern portion of the breeding range that includes New Brunswick and Ontario, Canada, and Vermont, United States. Genetic assignment tests largely corroborated this finding, although slightly different results were obtained for the two methods. All individuals were assigned to the Ontario breeding population using AssignPop, while Rubias assigned six of the migrants to Ontario and three to a Midwest breeding population. Low average relatedness among Galapagos individuals indicates that they are not more related to one another than to individuals within a breeding population and are therefore likely not from a single, small isolated population. Our results do not support the probability hypothesis—that Galapagos Bobolinks originated from the region that includes the greatest proportion of their breeding range (Great Plains)—or the vagrant hypothesis—that migrants are displaced onto Galapagos due to weather events. Instead, our findings support the proximity hypothesis, where migrants originate from the geographically closest‐breeding populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Significant COVID-19 transmission occurs from people not experiencing symptoms. We aimed to investigate whether rapid antigen testing among pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic healthcare workers along with symptom and exposure screening may help to identify COVID-19 cases. Methods: We invited staff on two inpatient geriatric mental health units to voluntarily undergo testing with the Abbott Panbio™ rapid antigen test kit on site, up to three times weekly for up to eight weeks per participant. We expanded the study to two more units due to low recruitment. Results: From March 30 to July 23, 2021, we tested 28 participants who underwent on average 16.5 tests participating for an average of 46 days. Of 462 rapid tests, one was positive, which was followed by a negative confirmatory polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. The participation rate among the initially targeted population was low (16.7%). Discussion: Our study occurred during initially moderate to high but dropping community incidence rates. The positive result occurred when community transmission was low. It was likely a false positive. There were no detected or reported cases of COVID-19 among staff participants. Conclusions: Rapid antigen testing did not identify cases when used in addition to symptom- and exposure-based screening in asymptomatic staff in our small study. Recruitment was low and we suspect repeated testing by appointment was perceived as onerous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With widespread ongoing urbanization and as climate change continues, the importance of protecting the water quality of streams and lakes is intensifying. However, while many water quality constituents in lakes and rivers are of overall interest, water temperature is a 'key' variable as temperature influences mixing within a waterbody, influences the acceptability of the habitat for flora and fauna, and serves as a guide to the general health of a stream. To enable the assessment, a physics-based, deterministic hydraulic and heat-balance modeling procedure using the combination of MIKE SHE, MIKE HYDRO and ECO Lab is described to assess heat transfer magnitudes in portions of the Credit River, Ontario. Changes in instream temperature regimes are examined, including both frequency and spatial extent, providing insights into the impacts of urbanization in terms of seasonal temperature shifts arising from land use changes. For flow and temperature regimes, Nash–Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient (NSE) values of 0.49 and 0.955 were achieved, respectively, for current threshold conditions. Durations of temperature increases from threshold levels indicate that land use changes from current agriculture conditions to urbanization may change stream water temperatures for 9% of the time by 1 °C, and 2% of the time by 2 °C for distances of 1000 m downstream, because of land use change from agriculture to low-density urbanization, and for 20% of the time by 1 °C, and 4% of the time by 2 °C at distances of 1000 m downstream with land use change to high-density urbanization. With climate change RCP 4.5 Scenario in 2050 (Base, for a Wet Year—2017), the continuous amount of time the stream water temperature remains at elevated temperatures of more than 3 °C (from 5000 m to 25,607 m from the most upstream point of Fletchers Creek) for a distance of 20,000 m is more than 13 h. These elevations in temperature may have serious implications for flora and fauna in the creek, particularly impacting the cold-water and mixed-water fish species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, is capable of infecting a variety of wildlife species. Wildlife living in close contact with humans are at an increased risk of SARSCoV- 2 exposure and, if infected, have the potential to become a reservoir for the pathogen, making control and management more difficult. The objective of this study is to conduct SARSCoV- 2 surveillance in urban wildlife from Ontario and Québec, increasing our knowledge of the epidemiology of the virus and our chances of detecting spillover from humans into wildlife. Methods: Using a One Health approach, we leveraged activities of existing research, surveillance and rehabilitation programs among multiple agencies to collect samples from 776 animals from 17 different wildlife species between June 2020 and May 2021. Samples from all animals were tested for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 viral ribonucleic acid, and a subset of samples from 219 animals across three species (raccoons, Procyon lotor; striped skunks, Mephitis mephitis; and mink, Neovison vison) were also tested for the presence of neutralizing antibodies. Results: No evidence of SARS-CoV-2 viral ribonucleic acid or neutralizing antibodies was detected in any of the tested samples. Conclusion: Although we were unable to identify positive SARS-CoV-2 cases in wildlife, continued research and surveillance activities are critical to better understand the rapidly changing landscape of susceptible animal species. Collaboration between academic, public and animal health sectors should include experts from relevant fields to build coordinated surveillance and response capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is limited research exploring the experiences of people living with HIV (PLWH) who have pursued/successfully adopted children. We aimed to gain a deeper understanding of such experiences by analyzing six interviews with PLWH using thematic analysis. In this paper, we highlight three themes: Understanding the Adoption Process, Desire for Caseworker-Client Transparency, and Framing Health and Wellbeing. While most of the findings are relevant for all people navigating the adoption system, there are clear complexities in the process due to HIV stigma. We consider the key takeaways and offer recommendations for adoption service providers, governing bodies, and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, is established in several regions of Ontario, Canada, and continues to spread into new geographic areas across the province at a rapid rate. This poses a significant public health risk since I. scapularis transmits the Lyme disease-causing bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, and other pathogens of potential public health concern. The objective of this study was to develop species distribution models for I. scapularis and B. burgdorferi to predict and compare the potential distributions of the tick vector and the Lyme disease pathogen as well as the ecological factors most important for species establishment. Ticks were collected via tick dragging at 120 sites across southern, central, and eastern Ontario between 2015 and 2018 and tested for tick-borne pathogens. A maximum entropy (Maxent) approach was used to model the potential distributions of I. scapularis and B. burgdorferi. Two independent datasets derived from tick dragging at 25 new sites in 2019 and ticks submitted by the public to local health units between 2015 and 2017 were used to validate the predictive accuracy of the models. The model for I. scapularis showed high suitability for blacklegged ticks in eastern Ontario and some regions along the shorelines of the Great Lakes, and moderate suitability near Algonquin Provincial Park and the Georgian Bay with good predictive accuracy (tick dragging 2019: AUC = 0.898; ticks from public: AUC = 0.727). The model for B. burgdorferi showed a similar predicted distribution but was more constrained to eastern Ontario, particularly between Ottawa and Kingston, and along Lake Ontario, with similarly good predictive accuracy (tick dragging 2019: AUC = 0.958; ticks from public: AUC = 0.863. The ecological variables most important for predicting the distributions of I. scapularis and B. burgdorferi included elevation, distance to deciduous and coniferous forest, proportions of agricultural land, water, and infrastructure, mean summer/spring temperature, and cumulative annual degree days above 0°C. Our study presents a novel application of species distribution modelling for I. scapularis and B. burgdorferi in Ontario, Canada, and provides an up to date projection of their potential distributions for public health knowledge users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Work has been underway to increase the availability of parenting options for people living with and affected by HIV. One option, adoption, has not yet been explored in the literature. The study aimed to gain a better understanding of the potential of adoption for individuals/couples living with HIV in Ontario, and to assess potential structural barriers or facilitators that may impact their experience navigating the adoption system by conducting an environmental scan of adoption service providers in Ontario. A list of adoption service providers was compiled using the Ontario government's website. Information relevant to the study's measures was collected using service providers' websites. Service providers without websites, or with websites that did not address all of the research measures, were contacted via telephone to complete a structured interview. Online data extraction was possible for 2 and telephone surveys were completed with 75 adoption service providers (total n = 77). Most service providers reported that HIV status is not an exclusion criterion for prospective parents (64%). However, more than one-fifth of the participants acknowledged they were not sure if people with HIV were eligible to adopt. Domestic service providers were the only providers who did not report knowledge of restrictions due to HIV status. Private domestic adoption presented social barriers as birth parent(s) of a child can access health records of a prospective parent and base their selection of an adoptive parent based on health status. Adoption practitioners and licensees involved in international adoptions reported the most structural barriers for prospective parent(s) living with HIV, attributed to the regulations established by the host country of the child(ren) eligible for adoption. Although international adoptions may present insurmountable barriers for individuals living with HIV, public and private domestic adoption appears to be a viable option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women living with HIV (WLWH) are increasingly having children yet face complex medical and psychosocial issues in the perinatal period. The HIV Mothering Study sought to understand the psychosocial experiences and needs of mothers living with HIV across Ontario, Canada. The present study was a sub-analysis of interviews conducted with WLWH during pregnancy (n = 67) and at 3 months postpartum (n = 65) and aimed to describe the health care experiences of WLWH during the perinatal period. Narrative analysis revealed positive and negative health care experiences of WLWH and highlighted how relationships with providers affected women’s experiences navigating care. Positive care experiences were characterized by effective communication, feeling a sense of belonging, being heard, and accessible care. Negative care experiences were characterized by a lack of communication, silencing of mothers’ voices and experiences, stigmatizing care, and disregard for HIV confidentiality. Implications for practice, policy, and research across individual, service, and macro systems are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Motherhood is personally, culturally, and historically rooted. Recent publications have focused on medical issues related to pregnancy and HIV, with attention on fetal well-being. There is limited literature on the importance of motherhood for HIV-positive women. Our study's purpose was to investigate the importance of motherhood among HIV-positive women of reproductive age in Ontario, Canada and to analyze the correlates thereof. We present our findings using a secondary analysis of cross-sectionally collected data from a study assessing fertility desires and intentions of HIV-positive women. The sub-analysis's outcome of interest was based on the question: “Being a mother is important to me” with a 5-point Likert scale that was dichotomized intostrongly agree/agreevs.neutral/disagree/strongly disagree. Logistic regression models were fit to calculate unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for significant correlates. Of the 497 respondents, median age was 38 (interquartile range [IQR] 32–43), 46% were African, 74% had given birth, and 57% intended to give birth. A total of 452 (91%) agreed (N= 75) or strongly agreed (N= 377) that being a mother was important to them. Age less than 40 years (OR 3.0; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.6–5.7, African ethnicity (OR 9.2; 95% CI 3.2–26.3), immigration within 10 years (OR 19.6, 95% CI 4.6–83.1), and partner or family desire for a pregnancy (OR 3.3; 95% CI 1.5–7.3) were significant correlates of the importance of motherhood in a univariate analysis. Importance of motherhood was associated with desire (OR 6.2, 95% CI 3.1–12.3) and intention to give birth (OR 6.9, 95% CI 3.1–15.2), and previous birth (OR 8.5, 95% CI 4.2–16.8). In the multivariable model, the significant correlates were of age less than 40 years (OR 3.9; 95% CI 1.8–8.4), immigration within 10 years (OR 14.1; 95% CI 3.2–61.5), and having previously given birth (OR 11.2; 95% CI 5.1–24.4). The majority of women felt strongly that motherhood was important to them particularly among younger women, recent immigrants, and women who were mothers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on research conducted to investigate the acute effects fluid intake had on specific gravity and fluid retention in a mildly dehydrated state in 10 recreational athletes. They found that mildly dehydrated subjects could reach euhydration within 45 minutes of the ingestion of 600 milileters of water or a combination of salt and carbohydrate-electrolyte solution.

This paper documents and discusses a rheological and spectroscopic investigation of the oxidative aging in asphalt cements from a 2003 northern Ontario pavement trial. Seven asphalt cements were aged according to standard methodology (rolling thin film oven test (RTFOT) and pressure aging vessel test (PAV)), as thin films at temperatures of 45, 65, and 85 °C and standard pressure (thin film oven test (TFOT)), and under modified PAV conditions (extended time of 40 hours). It was found that the current RTFOT/PAV protocol provided insufficient aging for the poor performing asphalt cements. Infrared analysis of the TFOT-aged samples for the formation of carbonyl groups could largely explain the performance ranking in service. The only significant outlier was modified with polymer and waste engine oil residue. Rheological investigations of the recovered and the TFOT-aged residues were able to show that such materials likely suffer from early gel formation. These findings illustrate the need for improved asphalt cement aging protocols. A preliminary example is provided that shows how simply doubling the PAV aging time to 40 hours can produce materials that more closely replicate those aged for 5-6 years in a northern Ontario climate. It was further confirmed that both chemical and physical hardening tendencies are closely correlated, likely because they involve similar asphalt constituents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A biography of Congregation of St. Basil priest Father James Ambrose Raftis is presented. He was born on August 24, 1922 to Irish immigrant parents in Arthur Ontario. He studied in Arthur High School, entered the Congreation of St. Basil, took honours course at the University of Toronto, finished his Master of Arts in economics and was ordained priest on June 29, 1948. His Cambridge professor Sir Michael Postan is known to have the most notable intellectual influence in Father Raftis. He has written some books including "The Estates of Ramsey Abbey."

BACKGROUND: Allogeneic blood transfusion is associated with transfusion reactions, infection transmission, and postoperative morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to develop and validate an accurate and simple clinical index to stratify cardiac surgery patients according to their blood transfusion needs. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data on consecutive adult patients who underwent cardiac surgery at Toronto General Hospital (n = 11,113) and Sunnybrook and Women’s College Health Sciences Center (n = 5316) between May 1999 and June 2004 were collected for the development, validation, and external validation of the index. Primary outcome was the exposure to blood transfusion in the operative and first postoperative days. Multivariable logistic regression modeling techniques were used to determine the relationship between each independent variable and the exposure to allogeneic blood transfusion. Score assignment for each predictor variable was based on its regression coefficient. The predicted probabilities at each total score were compared to the observed proportions of patients exposed to blood transfusion. The clinical tool consists of eight preoperative variables: preoperative hemoglobin, weight, female sex, age, nonelective procedure, preoperative creatinine, previous cardiac surgical procedure, and nonisolated procedure. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the standards of measurement in clinical research, a valid clinical tool was developed for predicting the need for blood transfusion in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The clinical tool was internally and externally validated, and the results suggest that it should perform well at other institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change that results from increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has the potential to increase temperature and alter rainfall patterns across the boreal forest region of Canada. Daily output from the Canadian Climate Centre coupled general circulation model (GCM) and the Hadley Centre's HadCM3 GCM provided simulated historic climate data and future climate scenarios for the forested area of the province of Ontario, Canada. These models project that in climates of increased greenhouse gases and aerosols, surface air temperatures will increase while seasonal precipitation amounts will remain relatively constant or increase slightly during the forest fire season. These projected changes in weather conditions are used to predict changes in the moisture content of forest fuel, which influences the incidence of people-caused forest fires. Poisson regression analysis methods are used to develop predictive models for the daily number of fires occurring in each of the ecoregions across the forest fire management region of Ontario. This people-caused fire prediction model, combined with GCM data, predicts the total number of people-caused fires in Ontario could increase by approximately 18% by 2020–2040 and 50% by the end of the 21st century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experience of selecting and implementing a nursing model appropriate to the nursing course in the first year of the generic baccalaureate programme of the University of Ottawa School of Nursing is described. Many challenges surfaced for the professors in year one as this curriculum change was implemented. Four challenges: (1) adapting the course to be congruent with the Roy model, (2) developing teaching tools suitable for student learning, (3) sequencing of content for student learning, and (4) obtaining competent role models, and how they were met, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To measure the prevalence and correlates of abnormal menstruation among women living with HIV (WLWH) in Canada. Methods: We used cross-sectional questionnaire data from the community-based Canadian HIV Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Cohort Study (CHIWOS), which enrolled WLWH aged ≥16 from British Columbia (BC), Ontario, and Quebec. For this analysis, we excluded women >45 years, who had primary amenorrhea, were pregnant, on hormonal contraception, or who reported history of endometrial cancer, last menstrual period >12 months ago, or premature ovarian failure. The primary outcome was abnormal menstruation (Yes vs No) based on responses to five questions about menstrual regularity, frequency, volume, duration, and intermenstrual bleeding in the six months prior to interview. An exploratory multivariable logistic regression analysis examined independent correlates of abnormal menstruation. Results: Of 1422 women enrolled, 521 (37%) met eligibility criteria. Overall, 55.9% (95% CI:52%-60%) reported abnormal menstruation. In adjusted analyses, abnormal menstruation was associated with having a biologic sister/mother who entered menopause before age 40 (AOR 5.01, 95%CI 1.39–18.03), Hepatitis B co-infection (AOR 6.97, 95%CI 1.52–31.88), current smoking (AOR 1.69, 95%CI 1.55–3.41); and currently taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) (AOR 2.36, 95%CI 1.25–4.45) compared to being ART-naïve. Women in BC had higher adjusted odds of abnormal menstruation (AOR 2.95, 95%CI 1.61–5.39), relative to women in Ontario and Quebec. Conclusions: Over half of WLWH in this analysis had abnormal menstruation. Correlates of abnormal menstruation include genetic, socio-behavioural factors (province of residence, smoking), Hepatitis B co-infection, and current ART use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To compare process-oriented treatment (PORx) with 'typical sensorimotor programmes' and with no treatment in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Design Randomized controlled trial. Setting Children referred to a home care school health support programme in Ontario. Patients Seventy-nine children aged 7-12 years were randomized to three groups by a research assistant not involved in the study. Inclusion criteria were: IQ ≥ 85 on WISC-R or equivalent, motor difficulty (≤ -ISD on fine or gross motor or composite scores on Bruininks-Oseretsky), deficient performance rating on the tasks of Ayres' clinical observations, normal hearing and vision, no specific neurological disorder and receiving no therapy. The number of families refusing randomization is not stated. Intervention Children in the PORx group received kinaesthetic training as described by Lazlo and Bairstow (1985), receiving 5-12 sessions per child over 5 weeks. Children in the standard group received occupational therapy programmes designed to meet their specific needs (24 sessions over 9 weeks) while the comparison group received no therapy for II weeks. Main outcome measures Children were assessed pre-treatment, on completion of treatment (5 weeks for PORx and no treatment groups, 9 weeks for traditional group) and 6 weeks after completion of treatment. Assessors were blind to allocation. The measures used were: the developmental test of visual-motor integration, the Stott test of motor impairment, the Southern California sensory integration test and the kinaesthetic sensitivity test. Main results Three children assigned to the no treatment group withdrew after randomization and two from the traditional group dropped out during treatment, leaving 27 in the PORx group and 24 in each of the others. A number of children missed various components of the assessment and sample size varied from 72-74 on different measures. In essence, no significant differences were found between groups or over time except on one subscale of the kinaesthetic sensitivity test where the PORx group showed significant improvement at both immediate and follow-up assessment. Conclusions ' Children with DCD treated with either a traditional approach using a mixture of sensory integrative, gross motor, fine motor and perceptual motor activities or with PORx showed no convincing benefit compared to those receiving no treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper is focused on predicting price signals for energy arbitrage of storage systems. • A methodology is presented based on feature selection tools and classification techniques. • A Li-Ion battery in the Ontario competitive electricity market is considered as a case study. • Results indicate that the proposed methodology outperforms alternative point forecasting models. When participating in a competitive electricity market, energy storage systems could deliver various services and stack multiple revenue streams. One potential venue for gaining profit is energy arbitrage, i.e., to harvest the price differential that might exist in some markets between the peak and off-peak hours. To take advantage of price arbitrage, however, it is necessary to have an insight into the price fluctuations of upcoming hours. In this paper, we propose a method for generating predictive electricity price signals to help storage operators make arbitrage decisions. The proposed method delivers signals that are integrated into an optimization platform to schedule the arbitrage operation of a storage system. We examine a Lithium-ion battery as the choice of storage system and the Ontario's competitive electricity market in Canada is considered as the case study. We compare the performance of the proposed approach against the cases that alternative point forecasts of the electricity price are used for self-scheduling of the storage system. The results show that the obtained arbitrage profit of the storage system can be increased significantly using the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]