Effects of metal mine and municipal wastewater on growth and energy stores in juvenile fishes

The Sudbury, ON, Canada region has been the site of metal mining and processing operations for more than 100 years. The study site for my thesis, Junction Creek, flows southwest through the City of Greater Sudbury and receives cumulative inputs including from the Garson Mine wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), Nolin Creek WWTP (stormwater) and CVRD Inco Limited WWTP (process water) as well as effluent from municipal WWTPs and untreated urban runoff, aerial deposition and historical contamination from multiple sources. Elevated levels of ammonia, Ni, Cu, Co, Pb and As, as well as reduced benthic invertebrate community diversity and density have been observed in the Junction Creek system below certain mine inputs. In addition, the Sudbury region has cold winters, with average daily air temperatures below 0°C from November to March. The winter stress syndrome hypothesis proposes that the combination of winter conditions and contaminants (acting as physiological stressors) in the aquatic environment could reduce fish condition and deplete energy (lipid) reserves to the point of decreased survival, thus negatively impacting wild fish populations. However the winter stress syndrome hypothesis has rarely been tested in the field. I hypothesized that juvenile fish challenged with a physiological stressor (treated wastewater) in combination with winter conditions would have decreased growth and energy stores as a result of increased metabolism. The approach I used to examine the potential effects of treated metal mine and municipal wastewaters on bioenergetics and growth, as they related to overwinter survival potential and the winter stress syndrome, of juvenile fish was a combination of a field study and a laboratory experiment. The first objective was to test the winter stress syndrome hypothesis under field conditions. Juvenile fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas), creek chub (Semotilus atromaculatus) and white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) were collected in fall and the following spring from sites along Junction Creek, Sudbury, ON downstream of two metal mining wastewater treatment plants as well as a municipal wastewater treatment plant. The second objective was to test the winter stress syndrome hypothesis in the laboratory by determining the effect of diluted (45 percent) treated CVRD Inco Limited wastewater effluent (CCWWTP) on juvenile fathead minnow growth and energy storage under simulated summer and winter conditions of reduced temperature, photoperiod and food ration. The effect on growth and energy storage of exposure to environmentally relevant ammonia concentrations was also assessed. In both the field and laboratory portions of this study, overwinter survival potential was assessed indirectly through measurements of growth (length, weight, muscle RNA/DNA ratio, muscle proteins) and energy stores (whole body triglycerides). There were inconsistent effects between the field study and the laboratory experiment. In contrast to my hypothesis, fathead minnows in the field study were larger with greater triglyceride stores at exposure sites compared to the reference site. White suckers were smaller at exposure sites but did not differ in triglycerides among sites and creek chub had no clear trend. For the laboratory portion of this study, only fathead minnows were used. After a 90 day exposure to reference or diluted CCWWTP water under simulated winter or summer conditions, juvenile fathead minnows raised in winter CCWWTP water (4°C) had lower whole body triglyceride concentration than those raised in winter reference water. There was no difference in triglycerides in fathead minnows raised in diluted CCWWTP or reference water under summer conditions. This lends support to the winter stress syndrome hypothesis, but the traditional measures of growth showed no significant differences in any of the treatments. In a separate experiment, fathead minnows were exposed from 10-100 days post hatch to graded concentrations of ammonia (0.02 to 0.40 mg unionized NH3/L) under summer conditions only. There was no effect of ammonia exposure on growth parameters, but a significant increase in total body triglycerides at the highest exposure concentration (0.40 mg/L) was observed. The results of this study emphasize that laboratory-based hypotheses must be tested in the field to determine their environmental significance. The winter stress syndrome may not apply to northern fish adapted to living and feeding in colder climates and was not strongly supported by my study

Health Product Risk Communication: Is the message getting through?

Risk communication is an important component of improving the health and safety of Canadians. For numerous departments and agencies at all levels of government, as well as public and private organizations, effective risk communication can protect Canadians from preventable hazards. The Minister of Health, on behalf of Health Canada (the Sponsor), asked the Council of Canadian Academies (the Council) to provide an evidence-based and authoritative assessment of the state of knowledge on measurement and evaluation of health risk communication. This assessment focuses on identifying tools, evaluation methods, gaps in the literature, and barriers and facilitators to carrying out successful communication and evaluation activities. Specifically, this assessment examines the following questions: How can the effectiveness of health risk communications be measured and evaluated? • What types of instruments/tools are currently available for health risk communication? • What methodological best practices can be used to evaluate the reach, use and benefit of health risk communication? • What research could be done to inform the measurement of the effectiveness of risk communications? • What are the existing barriers to effective risk communications and what best practices exist to address these challenges? To address the charge, the Council assembled a multi-disciplinary panel of 11 experts (the Panel) from Canada and abroad. The Panel’s composition reflected a balance of expertise, experience, and demonstrated leadership in academic, clinical, and regulatory fields. Each member served as an informed individual, rather than as a representative of a particular discipline, patron, organization, or region

If you build it, they still may not come: outcomes and process of implementing a community-based integrated knowledge translation mapping innovation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Maps and mapping tools through geographic information systems (GIS) are highly valuable for turning data into useful information that can help inform decision-making and knowledge translation (KT) activities. However, there are several challenges involved in incorporating GIS applications into the decision-making process. We highlight the challenges and opportunities encountered in implementing a mapping innovation as a KT strategy within the non-profit (public) health sector, reflecting on the processes and outcomes related to our KT innovations.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A case study design, whereby the case is defined as the data analyst and manager dyad (a two-person team) in selected Ontario Early Year Centres (OEYCs), was used. Working with these paired individuals, we provided a series of interventions followed by one-on-one visits to ensure that our interventions were individually tailored to personal and local decision-making needs. Data analysis was conducted through a variety of qualitative assessments, including field notes, interview data, and maps created by participants. Data collection and data analysis have been guided by the Ottawa Model of Research Use (OMRU) conceptual framework.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Despite our efforts to remove all barriers associated with our KT innovation (maps), our results demonstrate that both individual level and systemic barriers pose significant challenges for participants. While we cannot claim a causal association between our project and increased mapping by participants, participants did report a moderate increase in the use of maps in their organization. Specifically, maps were being used in decision-making forums as a way to allocate resources, confirm tacit knowledge about community needs, make financially-sensitive decisions more transparent, evaluate programs, and work with community partners.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This project highlights the role that maps can play and the importance of communicating the importance of maps as a decision support tool. Further, it represents an integrated knowledge project in the community setting, calling to question the applicability of traditional KT approaches when community values, minimal resources, and partners play a large role in decision making. The study also takes a unique perspective--where research producers and users work as dyad-pairs in the same organization--that has been under-explored to date in KT studies.</p

Cryptosporidiosis Associated with Ozonated Apple Cider

We linked an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis to ozonated apple cider by using molecular and epidemiologic methods. Because ozonation was insufficient in preventing this outbreak, its use in rendering apple cider safe for drinking is questioned

Disability activism and the politics of scale

In this paper, we examine the role of spatial scale in mediating and shaping political struggles between disabled people and the state. Specifically, we draw on recent theoretical developments concerning the social construction of spatial scale to interpret two case studies of disability activism within Canada and Ireland. In particular, we provide an analysis of how successful the disability movement in each locale has been at 'jumping scale' and enacting change, as well as examining what the consequences of such scaling-up have been for the movement itself. We demonstrate that the political structures operating in each country markedly affect the scaled nature of disability issues and the effectiveness of political mobilization at different scales

Talk, trust and time: a longitudinal study evaluating knowledge translation and exchange processes for research on violence against women

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Violence against women (VAW) is a major public health problem. Translation of VAW research to policy and practice is an area that remains understudied, but provides the opportunity to examine knowledge translation and exchange (KTE) processes in a complex, multi-stakeholder context. In a series of studies including two randomized trials, the McMaster University VAW Research Program studied one key research gap: evidence about the effectiveness of screening women for exposure to intimate partner violence. This project developed and evaluated KTE strategies to share research findings with policymakers, health and community service providers, and women's advocates.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A longitudinal cross-sectional design, applying concurrent mixed data collection methods (surveys, interviews, and focus groups), was used to evaluate the utility of specific KTE strategies, including a series of workshops and a day-long Family Violence Knowledge Exchange Forum, on research sharing, uptake, and use.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Participants valued the opportunity to meet with researchers, provide feedback on key messages, and make personal connections with other stakeholders. A number of factors specific to the knowledge itself, stakeholders' contexts, and the nature of the knowledge gap being addressed influenced the uptake, sharing, and use of the research. The types of knowledge use changed across time, and were specifically related to both the types of decisions being made, and to stage of decision making; most reported use was conceptual or symbolic, with few examples of instrumental use. Participants did report actively sharing the research findings with their own networks. Further examination of these second-order knowledge-sharing processes is required, including development of appropriate methods and measures for its assessment. Some participants reported that they would not use the research evidence in their decision making when it contradicted professional experiences, while others used it to support apparently contradictory positions. The online wiki-based 'community of interest' requested by participants was not used.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Mobilizing knowledge in the area of VAW practice and policy is complex and resource-intensive, and must acknowledge and respect the values of identified knowledge users, while balancing the objectivity of the research and researchers. This paper provides important lessons learned about these processes, including attending to the potential unintended consequences of knowledge sharing.</p

The Achievement of a Decentralized Water Management Through Stakeholder Participation: An Example from the Drôme River Catchment Area in France (1981–2008)

International audienceDifferent water Acts (e.g., the European Water Framework Directive) and stakeholders involved in aquatic affairs have promoted integrated river basin management (IRBM) over recent decades. However, few studies have provided feedback on these policies. The aim of the current article is to fill this gap by exploring how local newspapers reflect the implementation of a broad public participation within a catchment of France known for its innovation with regard to this domain. The media coverage of a water management strategy in the Drôme watershed from 1981 to 2008 was investigated using a content analysis and a geographic information system (GIS). We sought to determine what public participation and decentralized decision-making can be in practice. The results showed that this policy was integrated because of its social perspective, the high number of involved stakeholders, the willingness to handle water issues, and the local scale suitable for participation. We emphasized the prominence of the watershed scale guaranteed by the local water authority. This area was also characterized by compromise, arrangements, and power dynamics on a fine scale. We examined the most politically engaged writings regarding water management, which topics each group emphasized, and how the groups agreed and disagreed on issues based on their values and context. The temporal pattern of participation implementation was progressive but worked by fits and starts