From Sea to Sea: Canada's Three Oceans of Biodiversity

Evaluating and understanding biodiversity in marine ecosystems are both necessary and challenging for conservation. This paper compiles and summarizes current knowledge of the diversity of marine taxa in Canada's three oceans while recognizing that this compilation is incomplete and will change in the future. That Canada has the longest coastline in the world and incorporates distinctly different biogeographic provinces and ecoregions (e.g., temperate through ice-covered areas) constrains this analysis. The taxonomic groups presented here include microbes, phytoplankton, macroalgae, zooplankton, benthic infauna, fishes, and marine mammals. The minimum number of species or taxa compiled here is 15,988 for the three Canadian oceans. However, this number clearly underestimates in several ways the total number of taxa present. First, there are significant gaps in the published literature. Second, the diversity of many habitats has not been compiled for all taxonomic groups (e.g., intertidal rocky shores, deep sea), and data compilations are based on short-term, directed research programs or longer-term monitoring activities with limited spatial resolution. Third, the biodiversity of large organisms is well known, but this is not true of smaller organisms. Finally, the greatest constraint on this summary is the willingness and capacity of those who collected the data to make it available to those interested in biodiversity meta-analyses. Confirmation of identities and intercomparison of studies are also constrained by the disturbing rate of decline in the number of taxonomists and systematists specializing on marine taxa in Canada. This decline is mostly the result of retirements of current specialists and to a lack of training and employment opportunities for new ones. Considering the difficulties encountered in compiling an overview of biogeographic data and the diversity of species or taxa in Canada's three oceans, this synthesis is intended to serve as a biodiversity baseline for a new program on marine biodiversity, the Canadian Healthy Ocean Network. A major effort needs to be undertaken to establish a complete baseline of Canadian marine biodiversity of all taxonomic groups, especially if we are to understand and conserve this part of Canada's natural heritage

A Systematic Review of the Prevalence of Schizophrenia

BACKGROUND: Understanding the prevalence of schizophrenia has important implications for both health service planning and risk factor epidemiology. The aims of this review are to systematically identify and collate studies describing the prevalence of schizophrenia, to summarize the findings of these studies, and to explore selected factors that may influence prevalence estimates. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Studies with original data related to the prevalence of schizophrenia (published 1965–2002) were identified via searching electronic databases, reviewing citations, and writing to authors. These studies were divided into “core” studies, “migrant” studies, and studies based on “other special groups.” Between- and within-study filters were applied in order to identify discrete prevalence estimates. Cumulative plots of prevalence estimates were made and the distributions described when the underlying estimates were sorted according to prevalence type (point, period, lifetime, and lifetime morbid risk). Based on combined prevalence estimates, the influence of selected key variables was examined (sex, urbanicity, migrant status, country economic index, and study quality). A total of 1,721 prevalence estimates from 188 studies were identified. These estimates were drawn from 46 countries, and were based on an estimated 154,140 potentially overlapping prevalent cases. We identified 132 core studies, 15 migrant studies, and 41 studies based on other special groups. The median values per 1,000 persons (10%–90% quantiles) for the distributions for point, period, lifetime, and lifetime morbid risk were 4.6 (1.9–10.0), 3.3 (1.3–8.2), 4.0 (1.6–12.1), and 7.2 (3.1–27.1), respectively. Based on combined prevalence estimates, we found no significant difference (a) between males and females, or (b) between urban, rural, and mixed sites. The prevalence of schizophrenia in migrants was higher compared to native-born individuals: the migrant-to-native-born ratio median (10%–90% quantile) was 1.8 (0.9–6.4). When sites were grouped by economic status, prevalence estimates from “least developed” countries were significantly lower than those from both “emerging” and “developed” sites (p = 0.04). Studies that scored higher on a quality score had significantly higher prevalence estimates (p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: There is a wealth of data about the prevalence of schizophrenia. These gradients, and the variability found in prevalence estimate distributions, can provide direction for future hypothesis-driven research

A large displacement finite element analysis of a reinforced unpaved road

A series of finite element predictions of the behaviour of a reinforced unpaved road consisting of a layer of fill compacted on top of a clay subgrade with rough, thin reinforcement placed at the interface, is described in this thesis. These numerical solutions are obtained using a large strain finite element formulation that is based on the displacement method, and are restricted to the case of plane strain, monotonic loading. Separate elements are used to model the soil and reinforcement. In the finite element formulation, an Eulerian description of deformation is adopted and the Jaumann stress rate is used in the soil constitutive equations. Elastic perfectly-plastic soil models are used which are based on the von Mises yield function for cohesive soil and the Matsuoka criterion for frictional material. Emphasis is placed on obtaining new closed form solutions to parts of calculations that are performed numerically in many existing finite element formulations. The solution algorithm is based on a "Modified Euler Scheme". The computer implementation of the formulation is checked against an extensive series of test problems with known closed form solutions. These include the analysis of finite deformation of a single element of material and the calculation of small strain collapse loads. Finite cavity expansion is also studied. This numerical formulation is used to perform back analyses of a series of reinforced unpaved road model tests. The reinforcement tensions, and the stresses at the interface with the surrounding soil, are calculated using the numerical model and discussed with a view to identifying the mechanisms of reinforcement. Two existing analytical design models of the reinforced unpaved road are described and critically reviewed in the light of the finite element results

Cyclic Laterally Loaded Medium Scale Field Pile Testing for the PISA Project

The PISA project explored the development of improved design methods for offshore wind turbine monopile foundations. Medium scale field pile testing for the project took place at Cowden in the UK, where the soil consists of a heavily over-consolidated glacial till, and Dunkirk in France, where the soil consists of a dense marine sand. The main focus of the testing was on monotonic capacity. However, results were also obtained for cyclic loading tests on medium scale piles of two different diameters (0.762 m and 2.0 m), and a length to diameter (L/D) ratio of 5.25. The testing consisted of uniform one-way cycling on 7 separate piles across the two sites at different amplitudes, including tests of over 20000 cycles, as well as two-way cycling on one pile at each site at different amplitudes and frequencies. The one-way tests explored ratcheting phenomena and associated effects, whilst the two-way tests explored stiffness and damping at increasing load amplitudes. This paper presents a summary of the cyclic pile tests that were completed, illustrated by results from the Dunkirk site. Comparisons are made to the PISA monotonic test results, as well as to observations from model testing reported in the literature. These field measurements support the development of new cyclic modelling approaches for offshore monopile foundations.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Geo-engineerin

Boosterism as banishment:identifying the power function of local, business news and coverage of city spaces

This paper performs a qualitative critical discourse analysis of 52 local news articles from four Florida (United States) newspapers to identify and expand the notion of journalistic boosterism. In the paper, I argue that boosterism—everyday news that promotes mediatized notions of a community's dominant traditions, dominant identities, and potential for future prosperities—functions as a form of social control by performing, as banishment, an act that secludes particular social groups from participating in community spaces, social roles, and storytelling. This paper conceptualizes journalistic boosterism as operating via a duality of community building and social banishment, a practice that continues to spread across the globe