Translating Climate Change Impacts at the Community Level

It is well recognized that climate change will have considerable impact on the physical landscapes of northern Canada. How these impacts will be transmitted to the level of human activity is not clear, but it needs to be understood by governments and other decision makers to help them identify and implement appropriate approaches to ameliorate the effects of climate change. Translating physical changes into human impacts is not a simple task; communities are not passive players that will respond to changes in the physical environment in easily predictable ways. While many prognoses about change are made on a large scale, human activity is highly localized, and impacts and responses will be conditioned by local geography and a range of endogenous factors, including demographic trends, economic complexity, and experience with "change" in a broad sense. More and more studies are yielding important information about community-level experience, both past and current, with environmental shifts in the North, but research effort by social scientists falls short of what is required to reduce the level of uncertainty, and it compares unfavourably with the physical sciences' dedication to the climate change problem. A pan-northern research effort, building on a long legacy of social science research in the North, would go some way towards translating the promise of change into probable community impacts.Il est bien connu que le changement climatique va avoir un impact considérable sur le paysage physique du nord du Canada. La façon dont ces retombées vont se transmettre au niveau de l'activité humaine n'est pas claire, mais les gouvernements et d'autres décideurs doivent la comprendre afin de pouvoir cerner et mettre sur pied des approches visant à amortir ces retombées. Traduire des changements physiques en répercussions humaines relève plus que d'une simple tâche; les communautés ne sont pas des intervenants passifs qui vont réagir au changement de leur milieu physique de façon nettement prévisible. Si bien des pronostics au sujet du changement sont établis sur une grande échelle, l'activité humaine, elle, est très localisée, et les impacts et réactions seront conditionnés par la géographie locale et par une gamme de facteurs endogènes, y compris les tendances démographiques, la complexité économique et l'expérience du "changement" au sens large. De plus en plus d'études fournissent de l'information importante sur l'expérience - passée comme actuelle - qui se vit au niveau de la communauté en rapport avec les changements environnementaux dans le Nord. Les travaux de recherche des spécialistes en sciences sociales ne sont toutefois pas à la hauteur pour diminuer le niveau d'incertitude, et ils se comparent mal à la détermination des sciences physiques de s'attaquer au problème du changement climatique. Des travaux à l'échelle du Nord, qui s'appuieraient sur une longue tradition de recherche en sciences sociales dans le Nord, aideraient dans une certaine mesure à traduire la promesse de changements en retombées probables au niveau des communautés

A Critical Look at Sustainable Development in the Canadian North

The notion of sustainable development has considerable appeal in northern Canada, a reflection of traditional practices of indigenous populations and the region's experiences with the encroachment of industrial society. The lexicon of "sustainable development" has made the identification of appropriate economic activities a central issue. There is no standard approach to this problem although Weeden (1989) produced a useful framework for evaluation. Analysis of the evolution of the economic geography of the North provides some insights into both the current emphasis on the role of communities in sustainable development strategies and the origin of candidate activities. Review of possible candidate activities suggests that there is perhaps a tendency to confuse renewal with sustainability and that the appropriateness of activities may be called into doubt when viewed from the standpoint of relative energy consumption and global context. Sustenance harvesting is seen as perhaps the most viable sustainable activity, although some assessments of its value may be overstated. Non-renewable resource exploitation is a particular problem, yet the extraction of some non-renewable resources may contribute to a global goal of sustainability. A prerequisite for the development of a rational approach to sustainability lies in establishing the nature of the reciprocal relationship between urban centres and the northern periphery.Key words: sustainable, development, energy, harvesting, indigenous, resourceRÉSUMÉ. Le concept de développement durable jouit d’une grande popularité dans le Canada septentrional, ce qui reflète les pratiques traditionnelles des populations autochtones et l’expérience qu’a la région de l’empietement de la société industrielle. Le vocabulaire du développement durable a fait de l’identification des activités économiques appropriées une question centrale. Il n’existe pas d’approche standard à ce problème bien que Weeden (1989) ait produit un cadre utile d’évaluation. Une analyse de l’évolution de la géographie économique du Nord offre un éclairage à la fois sur l’importance actuellement mise sur le rôle des collectivités dans les stratégies de développement durable et sur l’origine d’activités potentielles. Une étude de ces dernibres suggère qu’on a peut-être tendance à confondre le renouvellement avec le développement durable et que la pertinence des activités pourrait être remise en question si on l’examinait du point de vue de la consommation relative d’énergie et du contexte global. Leprélèvement de subsistance est perçu comme l’activité durable peut-être la plus viable, bien que certains jugements sur sa valeur puissent être exagérés. L’exploitation des ressources non renouvelables constitue un problème particulier, encore que l’exploitation de certaines de ces ressources pourrait contribuer à un objectif global de développement durable. Une condition préalable à l’élaboration d’une approche rationnelle au développement durable consiste à déterminer le caractère de la relation réciproque entre les centres urbains et la périphérie nordique.Mots clés: durable, développement, énergie, prélèvement, autochtone, ressourc

Native socio-economic development in Canada : adaptation, accessibility and opportunity

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The Best of Both Worlds: Connecting Remote Sensing and Arctic Communities for Safe Sea Ice Travel

  Northern communities are increasingly interested in technology that provides information about the sea ice environment for travel purposes. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) remote sensing is widely used to observe sea ice independently of sunlight and cloud cover, however, access to SAR in northern communities has been limited. This study 1) defines the sea ice features that influence travel for two communities in the Western Canadian Arctic, 2) identifies the utility of SAR for enhancing mobility and safety while traversing environments with these features, and 3) describes methods for sharing SAR-based maps. Three field seasons (spring and fall 2017 and spring 2018) were used to engage residents in locally guided research, where applied outputs were evaluated by community members. We found that SAR image data inform and improve sea ice safety, trafficability, and education. Information from technology is desired to complement Inuit knowledge-based understanding of sea ice features, including surface roughness, thin sea ice, early and late season conditions, slush and water on sea ice, sea ice encountered by boats, and ice discontinuities. Floe edge information was not a priority. Sea ice surface roughness was identified as the main condition where benefits to trafficability from SAR-based mapping were regarded as substantial. Classified roughness maps are designed using thresholds representing domains of sea ice surface roughness (smooth ice/maniqtuk hiku, moderately rough ice/maniilrulik hiku, rough ice/maniittuq hiku; dialect is Inuinnaqtun). These maps show excellent agreement with local observations. Overall, SAR-based maps tailored for on-ice use are beneficial for and desired by northern community residents, and we recommend that high-resolution products be routinely made available in communities.  Les collectivités du Nord s’intéressent de plus en plus aux technologies qui leur fournissent de l’information au sujet de l’environnement de glace de mer à des fins de déplacements. La télédétection par radar à synthèse d’ouverture (SAR) est couramment utilisée pour observer la glace de mer, indépendamment de la lumière du soleil et de la nébulosité. Cependant, dans les collectivités du Nord, l’accès au SAR est restreint. Cette étude 1) définit les caractéristiques de la glace de mer qui exercent une influence sur les déplacements de deux collectivités dans l’ouest de l’Arctique canadien; 2) détermine l’utilité du SAR pour améliorer la mobilité et la sécurité quand vient le temps de traverser des environnements comportant ces caractéristiques; et 3) décrit les méthodes de partage de cartes établies à l’aide du SAR. Trois saisons sur le terrain (le printemps et l’automne de 2017, et le printemps de 2018) ont permis d’inciter les résidents à participer à une recherche locale guidée, là où les extrants appliqués ont été évalués par les membres de la collectivité. Nous avons trouvé que les données émanant des images du SAR éclairent et améliorent la sécurité de la glace de mer, l’aptitude à la circulation et l’éducation. L’information découlant de la technologie s’avère un complément désirable aux connaissances inuites en vue de la compréhension des caractéristiques de la glace de mer, dont la rugosité de la surface, la glace de mer mince, les conditions en début et en fin de saison, la bouillie de glace et la glace mouillée, la glace de mer rencontrée par les bateaux, et la discontinuité de la glace. Les données sur la glace de banc ne constituaient pas une priorité. La rugosité de la surface de la glace de mer était considérée comme la principale condition pour laquelle les avantages de la praticabilité déterminés au moyen des cartes établies à l’aide du SAR étaient substantiels. Les cartes indiquant la rugosité sont conçues en fonction de seuils représentant les caractéristiques de rugosité de la surface des glaces de mer (glace lisse/maniqtuk hiku, glace modérément rugueuse/maniilrulik hiku, glace rugueuse/maniittuq hiku; en dialecte inuinnaqtun). Ces cartes sont largement en accord avec les observations locales. Dans l’ensemble, les cartes établies à l’aide du SAR préparées en fonction des utilisations de la glace sont bénéfiques et désirées par les résidents des collectivités du Nord. Nous recommandons que des produits de haute résolution soient régulièrement mis à la disposition des collectivités

Early protein intake predicts functional connectivity and neurocognition in preterm born children

© 2021, The Author(s). Nutritional intake can promote early neonatal brain development in very preterm born neonates (\u3c 32 weeks’ gestation). In a group of 7-year-old very preterm born children followed since birth, we examined whether early nutrient intake in the first weeks of life would be associated with long-term brain function and neurocognitive skills at school age. Children underwent resting-state functional MRI (fMRI), intelligence testing (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 5th Ed) and visual-motor processing (Beery-Buktenica, 5th Ed) at 7 years. Relationships were assessed between neonatal macronutrient intakes, functional connectivity strength between thalamic and default mode networks (DMN), and neuro-cognitive function using multivariable regression. Greater functional connectivity strength between thalamic networks and DMN was associated with greater intake of protein in the first week (β = 0.17; 95% CI 0.11, 0.23, p \u3c 0.001) but lower intakes of fat (β = − 0.06; 95% CI − 0.09, − 0.02, p = 0.001) and carbohydrates (β = − 0.03; 95% CI − 0.04, − 0.01, p = 0.003). Connectivity strength was also associated with protein intake during the first month (β = 0.22; 95% CI 0.06, 0.37, p = 0.006). Importantly, greater thalamic-DMN connectivity strength was associated with higher processing speed indices (β = 26.9; 95% CI 4.21, 49.49, p = 0.02) and visual processing scores (β = 9.03; 95% CI 2.27, 15.79, p = 0.009). Optimizing early protein intake may contribute to promoting long-term brain health in preterm-born children

Prenatal methadone exposure is associated with altered neonatal brain development.

Methadone is used for medication-assisted treatment of heroin addiction during pregnancy. The neurodevelopmental outcome of children with prenatal methadone exposure can be sub-optimal. We tested the hypothesis that brain development is altered among newborn infants whose mothers were prescribed methadone. 20 methadone-exposed neonates born after 37 weeks' postmenstrual age (PMA) and 20 non-exposed controls underwent diffusion MRI at mean PMA of 39+ 2 and 41+ 1 weeks, respectively. An age-optimized Tract-based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) pipeline was used to perform voxel-wise statistical comparison of fractional anisotropy (FA) data between exposed and non-exposed neonates. Methadone-exposed neonates had decreased FA within the centrum semiovale, inferior longitudinal fasciculi (ILF) and the internal and external capsules after adjustment for GA at MRI (p < 0.05, TFCE corrected). Median FA across the white matter skeleton was 12% lower among methadone-exposed infants. Mean head circumference (HC) z-scores were lower in the methadone-exposed group (- 0.52 (0.99) vs 1.15 (0.84), p < 0.001); after adjustment for HC z-scores, differences in FA remained in the anterior and posterior limbs of the internal capsule and the ILF. Polydrug use among cases was common. Prenatal methadone exposure is associated with microstructural alteration in major white matter tracts, which is present at birth and is independent of head growth. Although the findings cannot be attributed to methadone per se, the data indicate that further research to determine optimal management of opioid use disorder during pregnancy is required. Future studies should evaluate childhood outcomes including infant brain development and long-term neurocognitive function

AMNIOTE PHYLOGENY AND THE IMPORTANCE OF FOSSILS

Several prominent cladists have questioned the importance of fossils in phylogenctic inference, and it is becoming increasingly popular to simply fit extinct forms, if they are considered at all, to a cladogram of Recent taxa. Gardiner's (1982) and LØvtrup's (1985) study of amniote phylogeny exemplifies this differential treatment, and we focused on that group of organisms to test the proposition that fossils cannot overturn a theory of relationships based only on the Recent biota. Our parsimony analysis of amniote phylogeny, special knowledge contributed by fossils being scrupulously avoided, led to the following best fitting classification, which is similar to the novel hypothesis Gardiner published: (lepidosaurs (turtles (mammals (birds, crocodiles)))). However, adding fossils resulted in a markedly different most parsimonious cladogram of the extant taxa: (mammals (turtles (lepidosaurs (birds, crocodiles)))). That classification is like the traditional hypothesis, and it provides a better fit to the stratigraphic record. To isolate the extinct taxa responsible for the latter classification, the data were successively partitioned with each phylogenetic analysis, and we concluded that: (1) the ingroup, not the outgroup, fossils were important; (2) synapsid, not reptile, fossils were pivotal; (3) certain synapsid fossils, not the earliest or latest, were responsible. The critical nature of the synapsid fossils seemed to lie in the particular combination of primitive and derived character slates they exhibited. Classifying those fossils, along with mammals, as the sister group to the lineage consisting of birds and crocodiles resulted in a relatively poor fit to data; one involving a 2—4 fold increase in evolutionary reversals! Thus, the importance of the critical fossils, collectively or individually, seems to reside in their relative primitive-ness, and the simplest explanation for their more conservative nature is that they have had less time to evolve. While fossils may be important in phylogenetic inference only under certain conditions, there is no compelling reason to prejudge their contribution. We urge systematists to evaluate fairly all of the available evidence.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73857/1/j.1096-0031.1988.tb00514.x.pd

Thermal Perceptual Thresholds are typical in Autism Spectrum Disorder but Strongly Related to Intra-individual Response Variability

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often reported to exhibit an apparent indifference to pain or temperature. Leading models suggest that this behavior is the result of elevated perceptual thresholds for thermal stimuli, but data to support these assertions are inconclusive. An alternative proposal suggests that the sensory features of ASD arise from increased intra-individual perceptual variability. In this study, we measured method-of-limits warm and cool detection thresholds in 142 individuals (83 with ASD, 59 with typical development [TD], aged 7–54 years), testing relationships with diagnostic group, demographics, and clinical measures. We also investigated the relationship between detection thresholds and a novel measure of intra-individual (trial-to-trial) threshold variability, a putative index of “perceptual noise.” This investigation found no differences in thermal detection thresholds between individuals with ASD and typical controls, despite large differences between groups in sensory reactivity questionnaires and modest group differences in intra-individual variability. Lower performance IQ, male sex, and higher intra-individual variability in threshold estimates were the most significant predictors of elevated detection thresholds. Although no psychophysical measure was significantly correlated with questionnaire measures of sensory hyporeactivity, large intra-individual variability may partially explain the elevated psychophysical thresholds seen in a subset of the ASD population