How Do We Come to Know? Exploring Maple Syrup Production and Climate Change in Near North Ontario

This paper reports on a pilot project exploring the impacts of climate change on maple syrup production in understudied near north, Ontario spaces. Maple syrup is produced by settler, Métis and First Nations communities for commercial distribution and as part of a mixed subsistence economy. The focus on maple syrup is opportune, since syrup production and sugar maple trees (Acer saccharum) are extremely susceptible to climate change and the biophysical and social impacts of climate change on maple syrup production in the near north of Ontario have yet to be understood. Given that the process of developing research is under-reported and that this project has had the opportunity to undertake a funded development process, this paper describes and assesses our process of ‘coming to know’, which has been guided by the following objectives: 1) to undertake an exploratory investigation of the nature of available data about long-term syrup production and climate change in both settler and Indigenous communities, 2) to include and valorize marginalized Indigenous voices and ecologies, 3) to focus on collecting climate change data from understudied near north spaces, 4) to assess the availability and quality of ecological and quantitative data in order to enhance locally-relevant understandings of climate change, and 5) to work towards the development of a cross-cultural and transdisciplinary methodological framework within which to accomplish the first four objectives. We approach these objectives across disciplinary boundaries and cultural perspectives, and with growing relationships with community partners. We describe the rich sources of information found through the pilot study and discuss highlights of our on-going process of developing our research project

Are mothers less likely to breastfeed in harsh environments? Physical environmental quality and breastfeeding in the Born in Bradford study.

We use the United Kingdom's Born in Bradford study to investigate whether women in lower quality environments are less likely to breastfeed. We use measures of physical environmental quality (water disinfectant by-products [DBPs], air pollution, passive cigarette smoke, and household condition) alongside socio-economic indicators, to explore in detail how different exposures influence breastfeeding. Drawing on evolutionary life history theory, we predict that lower environmental quality will be associated with lower odds of initiating, and higher hazards of stopping, breastfeeding. As low physical environmental quality may increase the risk of adverse birth outcomes, which may in turn affect breastfeeding chances, we also test for mediation by gestational age, birthweight, head circumference, and abdominal circumference. Our sample is composed of mothers who gave birth at the Bradford Royal Infirmary in West Yorkshire between March 2007 and December 2010 for whom breastfeeding initiation data was available. Analyses were stratified by the two largest ethnic groups: White British (n = 3,951) and Pakistani-origin (n = 4,411) mothers. After controlling for socio-economic position, Pakistani-origin mothers had lower chances of initiating and higher chances of stopping breastfeeding with increased water DBP exposure (e.g., OR for 0.03-0.61 vs. <0.02 μg/day dibromochloromethane exposure 0.70 [0.58-0.83], HR 1.16 [0.99-1.36]), greater air pollution exposure predicted lower chances of initiation for both ethnic groups (e.g., OR for 10 μg/m3 increase in nitrogen dioxide 0.81 [0.66-0.99] for White British mothers and 0.79 [0.67-0.94] for Pakistani-origin mothers) but also a reduced hazard of stopping breastfeeding for White British mothers (HR 0.65 [0.52-0.80]), and exposure to household damp/mould predicted higher chances of breastfeeding initiation amongst White British mothers (OR 1.66 [1.11-2.47]). We found no evidence that physical environmental quality effects on breastfeeding were mediated through birth outcomes amongst Pakistani-origin mothers and only weak evidence (p < 0.10) amongst White British mothers (exposure to passive cigarette smoke was associated with having lower birthweight infants who were in turn less likely to be breastfed whereas greater air pollution exposure was associated with longer gestations and in turn reduced hazards of stopping breastfeeding). Overall, our findings suggest that there is differential susceptibility to environmental exposures according to ethnicity. Although the water DBP results for Pakistani-origin mothers and air pollution-initiation results for both ethnic groups support our hypothesis that mothers exhibit reduced breastfeeding in poorer quality environments, several physical environmental quality indicators showed null or positive associations with breastfeeding outcomes. We consider physiological explanations for our findings and their implications for life history theory and public health policy

Prediction of powder flow of pharmaceutical materials from physical particle properties using machine learning

Understanding powder flow and how it affects pharmaceutical manufacturing process performance remains a significant challenge for industry. This work aims to improve decision making for manufacturing route selection, achieving the key goal of digital design within Industry 4.0 of being able to better predict properties whilst minimizing the amount of material required and time to inform process selection during early-stage development. A Machine Learning model approach is proposed to predict the flow properties of new materials from their physical properties. The model’s implementation will enhance manufacturing quality by taking advantage of the data generated throughout the manufacturing process

How medical students screen for HIV with standardized patients establishing care.

How Medical Students Screen for HIV with Standardized Patients Establishing Care AUTHORS Christopher J. Brown, B.S., B.A. Candidate; Emily J Noonan, PhD, MA; Laura A. Weingartner, PhD, MS BACKGROUND Approximately 1.1 million people in the U.S. are living with HIV. The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends HIV testing for everyone 15-65 years old at least once regardless of sexual activity, with more frequent testing for those considered at risk. METHODS Rising third-year medical students were recorded taking health histories from standardized patients. These recordings were coded for HIV screening, including: risk factors such as unprotected sex, intravenous drug usage, multiple partners, patient/partner HIV status; contextualization by student as to how screening questions related to HIV; and discussion tone (accusatory, informative, or non-judgmental). RESULTS Of the 71 sampled encounters, students identified whether the patient knew their STI status without mentioning HIV status, and 10 students explicitly identified whether the patient knew their HIV status. Similarly, 13 students discussed the STI status of the patient’s partner(s) without mentioning HIV, while only 4 students discussed the HIV status of the patient’s partner(s). In total, only 7 out of 71 students recommended HIV testing to their patient. When discussing patient status, most students (34) were non-judgmental, but one used an accusatory tone while eight were informative. DISCUSSION The results show a lack of explicit HIV discussions and testing recommendations to patients despite USPSTF recommendations that all patients be tested. This study highlights that even when STI status is discussed, many students do not specify HIV status, an important distinction when providing preventive care. Future studies should address how perceived patient risk for HIV and patient identity impact HIV testing recommendations

Knowledge Mobilization, Citizen Science, and Education

While climate change project funders, community partners, and researchers are increasingly calling for robust knowledge mobilization plans, including knowledge translation and transfer, there are ongoing debates about how to design and measure the effectiveness of these efforts for specific target audiences. Climate Change S.O.S. – Save Our Syrup! is a knowledge mobilization program that brings high school students out to a working sugarbush in Ontario, Canada. This program was developed by drawing on the outdoor education expertise at the Mountsberg Conservation Area, forestry specialists’ consultation, and the project team’s work on previous community-based studies. Students also contribute to a citizen science project monitoring the health of the sugar maple ecosystem and learn about the impact of climate change on this ecosystem. Pretest and posttest surveys measured the knowledge mobilization program’s effectiveness on the students’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. With 600 grade 9–12 participants in this project, this is one of the largest studies that the team could find that measures climate change knowledge mobilization effectiveness on high school students. Results indicate short-term positive changes in knowledge of climate change and maple syrup, and positive changes in students’ attitudes regarding their ability to lessen their impact on climate change, but no statistically significant longer-term change to behavior. After highlighting some of the key issues and concerns around designing three projects and measuring effectiveness, the paper outlines how the program was developed, its key results and limitations and lessons learned. We argue that although single, targeted knowledge mobilization efforts can be effective, longer-term, multi-pronged approaches are likely necessary to contribute to sustained behavioral change

MECHANOMYOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF EXERCISE HYPERTROPHY - THE EFFECT ON MUSCLE CONTRACTILE PROPERTIES

This study investigated mechanomyographic (MMG) derived muscle changes during biceps brachii hypertrophy. Healthy participants (age: 23.73+- 2.67, n=19) performed unilateral biceps curls for 8 weeks (nondominant limb; treatment, dominant limb; control). Significant differences (

Examining Minority Youth Swimmers’ versus Non-Swimmers’ Perceptions of Swimming Involvement

Drowning is one of the leading causes of death in youth, especially among minority populations (Gilchrest & Parker, 2014). According to the World Health Organization (2014), every hour of every day approximately 42 people lose their lives to drowning. Additionally, African-Americans are 14 times more likely to drown in a pool than other racial or ethnic group members (Waller & Norwood, 2011). The purpose of this study was to examine survey results between swimming and non-swimming minority youth participants. Forty African American students between the ages of 5-17 from an after-school program completed the Swimming Involvement Survey. Results indicated that swimmers, independent of group or gender, would like to swim more than they currently do. These results can help structure more effective swimming programs targeting minority youth

Impacts of Upstream Drought and Water Withdrawals on the Health and Survival of Downstream Estuarine Oyster Populations

Increases in the frequency, duration, and severity of regional drought pose major threats to the health and integrity of downstream ecosystems. During 2007-2008, the U.S. southeast experienced one of the most severe droughts on record. Drought and water withdrawals in the upstream watershed led to decreased freshwater input to Apalachicola Bay, Florida, an estuary that is home to a diversity of commercially and ecologically important organisms. This study applied a combination of laboratory experiments and field observations to investigate the effects of reduced freshwater input on Apalachicola oysters. Oysters suffered significant disease-related mortality under high-salinity, drought conditions, particularly during the warm summer months. Mortality was size-specific, with large oysters of commercially harvestable size being more susceptible than small oysters. A potential salinity threshold was revealed between 17 and 25 ppt, where small oysters began to suffer mortality, and large oysters exhibited an increase in mortality. These findings have important implications for watershed management, because upstream freshwater releases could be carefully timed and allocated during stressful periods of the summer to reduce disease-related oyster mortality. Integrated, forward-looking water management is needed, particularly under future scenarios of climate change and human population growth, to sustain the valuable ecosystem services on which humans depend