WELLNESS IN (WIN) THE ROCKIES - A COMMUNITY-BASED, HEALTH-CENTERED APPROACH TO OBESITY INTERVENTION

Health Economics and Policy,

Design and pedagogical practices of an Inuit-focused Bachelor of Education program in Labrador

Footnotes [1] Level V is the normal certification level for graduates entering the profession; higher certification levels (Level VI and VII) are acquired through advanced study, such as graduate certificates or degrees.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Trickster chases the tale of education

The research story is a narrative woven of [the author's] own self reflections, the voice of the co-researchers, and traditional Mi'kmaw story characters. The story follows a group of community members from Wildcat First Nation and staff members from the North Queens School as we collaborate and learn initially through a salmon project based in the community and then through the implementation of a native studies course in the school. Both initiatives reflect our efforts to center and legitimate Mi'kmaw knowledge in the school. As the work progressed, we were repairing and strengthening the threads of interconnectivity between people involved in the project and between people and other life of the land

Development studies on the globiferous pedicelleriae of the echinoid strongylocentrotus drobachiensis O.F. Muller with special emphasis on the skeleton

Developmental stages of the globiferous pedicrellariae of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus Drobachiensis O. F. Muller were investigated with a view to understanding the development and differentiation of the skeletal elements, muscles, sensory areas, nerves and venom glands. Specimens were studied using the light microscope, the transmission electron microscope, the scanning electron microscope, and the analytical electron microscope. -- A globiferous pedicellaria begins as a tiny finger-shaped projection on the test of the sea urchin. The tip gradually separates into three jaws which continue to merge with each other at their bases. The skeleton is one of the first components to develop in the appendage. A skeletal element is deposited in the three jaws and in the basal stalk region. The skeleton remains surrounded by a cluster of cells throughout development. These cells send out numerous projections which are continuous with thin areas of cytoplasm surrounding, or near the skeleton; mitochondria are numerous in the cytoplasmic projections. X-ray microprobe analysis with EMMA-4 showed significantly high amounts of calcium in the cells associated with the skeleton especially in the mitochondria, vehicular structures and nuclei. The term calcicyte (L. calx, lime) has been proposed to refer to this skeletogenic cell type. – The skeletal valves of the jaws develop from a tri-radiate spicule into a very elaborate ossicle with areas for articulation, muscle insertion and passage of nerve fibers. -- Unlike the mature appendage, the developing pedicellaria possesses an epithelium on the outer sides of the jaws that is several cell layers thick. This has been shown to develop into the venom glands. -- The sensory hillock appears as a thickening of the epithelium on the inner side of each jaw. Nerves from the sensory hillocks enter the skeletal valves through a foramen to innervate the muscles which insert on the skeleton

Nature-based solution to eliminate cyanotoxins in water using biologically enhanced biochar.

Climate change and high eutrophication levels of freshwater sources are increasing the occurrence and intensity of toxic cyanobacterial blooms in drinking water supplies. Conventional water treatment struggles to eliminate cyanobacteria/cyanotoxins and expensive tertiary treatments are needed. To address this, we have designed a sustainable, nature-based solution using biochar derived from waste coconut shells. This biochar provides a low-cost porous support for immobilising microbial communities forming biologically enhanced biochar (BEB). Highly toxic microcystin-LR (MC-LR) was used to influence microbial colonization of the biochar by natural lake water microbiome. Over 11 months, BEBs were exposed to microcystins, cyanobacterial extracts and live cyanobacterial cells, always resulting in rapid elimination of toxins and even a 1.6-1.9 log reduction in cyanobacterial cell numbers. After 48 hours incubation with our BEBs, the MC-LR concentrations dropped below the detection limit of 0.1 ng/ml. The accelerated degradation of cyanotoxins was attributed to enhanced species diversity and microcystin-degrading microbes colonising the biochar. To ensure scalability, we evaluated BEBs produced through batch-scale and continuous-scale pyrolysis, while also guaranteeing safety by maintaining toxic impurities in biochar within acceptable limits and monitoring degradation by-products. This study serves as a proof-of-concept for a sustainable, scalable and safe nature-based solution for combatting toxic algal blooms

Social Justice and the Inclusion of Indigenous Peoples in Canada

publishedVersio

Individualised pelvic floor muscle training in women with pelvic organ prolapse: a multicentre randomised controlled trial

<br>Background: Pelvic organ prolapse is common and is strongly associated with childbirth and increasing age. Women with prolapsed are often advised to do pelvic floor muscle exercises, but supporting evidence is limited. Our aim was to establish if one-to-one individualised pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is effective in reducing prolapse symptoms.</br> <br>Methods: A parallel‐group multicentre randomised controlled trial (ISRCTN35911035) in female outpatients with newly-diagnosed, symptomatic stage I, II or III prolapse, comparing five PFMT appointments over 16 weeks (n=225) versus a lifestyle advice leaflet (n=222). Treatment allocation was by remote computer allocation using minimisation. Our primary endpoint was participants’ self-report of prolapsed symptoms at 12 months. Group assignment was masked from outcome assessors. We compared outcomes between trial groups in an intention-to-treat analysis. The cost of PFMT and savings on subsequent treatments were calculated to estimate cost-effectiveness.</br> <br>Findings: Compared to the control group, the intervention group reported fewer prolapse symptoms at 12 months (mean difference between groups in change score 1.52, 95% CI [0.46, 2.59], p=0.0053); reported their prolapse to be “better” more often (57.2% versus 44.7%, difference 12.6%, 95% CI [1.1%, 24.1%], p=0.0336); and had an increased but non-significant odds of having less severe stage of prolapse at their 6-month clinical examination, (OR 1.47, 95% CI [0.97, 2.27], p=0.07). The control group had a greater uptake of other prolapse treatment (49.6% versus 24.1%, difference 25.5%, 95% CI [14.5%, 36.0%], p <0.0001). Findings were robust to missing data. The net cost of the 25 intervention was £131.61 per woman and the cost per one-point reduction in the symptom score was £86.59, 95% CI [£50.81, £286.11]. </br&gt

HIV infection is associated with elevated biomarkers of immune activation in Ugandan adults with pneumonia.

IntroductionPneumonia is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. How immune activation differs among HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected adults with pneumonia is unknown.MethodsThe Inflammation, Aging, Microbes, and Obstructive Lung Disease (I AM OLD) Cohort is a prospective cohort of adults with pneumonia in Uganda. In this cross-sectional analysis, plasma was collected at pneumonia presentation to measure the following 12 biomarkers: interleukin 6 (IL-6), soluble tumor necrosis factor receptors 1 and 2 (sTNFR-1 and sTNFR-2), high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), fibrinogen, D-dimer, soluble CD27 (sCD27), interferon gamma-inducible protein 10 (IP-10), soluble CD14 (sCD14), soluble CD163 (sCD163), hyaluronan, and intestinal fatty acid binding protein. We asked whether biomarker levels differed between HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected participants, and whether higher levels of these biomarkers were associated with mortality.ResultsOne hundred seventy-three participants were enrolled. Fifty-three percent were HIV-infected. Eight plasma biomarkers-sTNFR-1, sTNFR-2, hsCRP, D-dimer, sCD27, IP-10, sCD14, and hyaluronan-were higher among participants with HIV infection, after adjustment for pneumonia severity. Higher levels of 8 biomarkers-IL-6, sTNFR-1, sTNFR-2, hsCRP, IP-10, sCD14, sCD163, and hyaluronan-were associated with increased 2-month mortality.ConclusionsAs in other clinical contexts, HIV infection is associated with a greater degree of immune activation among Ugandan adults with pneumonia. Some of these are also associated with short-term mortality. Further study is needed to explore whether these biomarkers might predict poor long-term outcomes-such as the development of obstructive lung disease-in patients with HIV who have recovered from pneumonia