Implications of the Recommendations of the Expert Panel on Federal Support to Research and Development

Canada lags behind many of its First World counterparts when it comes to business innovation, and urgently needs to improve its performance if it is to remain competitive and attractive to investment. The Expert Panel Report on Federal Support to Research and Development has recommended several policy initiatives that governments need to enact to close the gap. This paper reviews all six major recommendations made by the Expert Panel and provides thorough assessments of each, with ample consideration given to their implications for the private sector. The two most promising are: (1) the consolidation of research and development spending programs at the federal level and (2) the adoption of smart procurement as a means of spurring innovation in the non-government sector. While some of the other recommendations need refinement and raise concerns about their impact on the economy, the message for government and business is clear: the former can and should facilitate Canadian business innovation by removing tax and regulatory burdens and facilitating better public-private cooperation, while the latter must make innovation a major part of corporate culture. This paper explains the consequences of the Panel’s recommendations for both sectors, identifies the deficiencies, and offers clear-eyed guidance for ameliorating them

Determining the Effect of a CBC-based Oxime on Cell Viability and Apoptosis in Sea Urchin Embryos

Natural products are an important source of existing and potential new anti-cancer drugs. We have previously shown that cannabichromene (CBC) oxime and several CBC oxime esters have potent anti-mitotic activity when used in bioassays with sea urchin embryos. In this study we explored the effect of the CBC oxime on cell viability and apoptosis in sea urchin embryos. Newly fertilized or gastrula stage embryos were combined with 10µM or 50uM CBC oxime as well as a DMSO only control. At various timepoints, samples of the embryos were removed from the cultures and stained with three different fluorescent dyes. NucBlue (ThermoFisher) was used to determine cell number, apoptotic effects were observed with CellEvent caspace3/7 (ThermoFisher), and cell viability was determined with Live-or-Dye (Biotium). As expected, there was a clear effect of the CBC oxime on the rate of cell division. The embryos exposed to both 10uM and 50uM CBC oxime showed a reduction in cell division compared to the controls, with an almost total inhibition in the higher concentration. Cell viability assays using the vital stain Live-or-Dye showed a concentration dependent effect of the CBC oxime on cell viability, with levels of cell death reaching almost 80% in the 50uM concentration by 3 hours after drug addition. Finally, staining with CellEvent caspace3/7, which indicates the presence of active caspase activity, demonstrated concentration dependent induction of apoptosis following exposure to the CBC oxime drug. Therefore, the loss of cell viability observed was due to apoptosis rather than necrosis. There are clear toxic effects seen when this drug is exposed to developing sea urchin embryos, suggesting that it might have potential use as a chemotherapy agent capable of inducing apoptosis in cancer cells. We plan to test this hypothesis on human cancer cell lines in the near future

Herbicide Effects on the Feeding Behavior of the Wolf Spider Pardosa milvina

Herbicides can potentially impact feeding behavior of beneficial predators in agricultural systems and subsequently compromise integrated pest management efficacy. We measured variation in feeding behaviors of an agriculturally abundant wolf spider, Pardosa milvina, when exposed to soil with field-relevant concentrations of five commonly used herbicides. Tested herbicides included atrazine, S-metolachlor, rimsulfuron, mesotrione, glyphosate, a mixture of all five herbicides, and a distilled water control. Spiders were housed individually in containers with topsoil previously sprayed with a recommended herbicide dosage or water control. Tested spiders were collected from two adjacent fields: one kept under continuous crop rotation for over twenty years and sprayed with various combinations of all these herbicides while the other was an alfalfa field with no pesticides applied for the last 12 years. Adult males and females from each plot were exposed to the seven treated soil substrates (N=1,214, n=43). Spiders were maintained on these treated substrates for 14 days and fed crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus). Their predatory behaviors toward an individual cricket were observed on untreated substrates. Individual spiders from each herbicide treatment were standardized for hunger then presented a cricket one week and two weeks after initial treatment exposure. We found no significant differences in prey capture latency for spiders across herbicide treatments during the first week of exposure, but large differences emerged by the second week. We also found large sex and collecting site differences in prey capture efficiency and weight change across treatments. Mesotrione and rimsulfuron-treated spiders showed the greatest weight loss between the first and second week of exposure while atrazine, glyphosate and s-metalachlor treated spiders gained more weight than the control group. Our results show that some herbicides can significantly reduce or increase feeding responses in this important agriculturally abundant predator and should be considered in integrated pest management decisions

Surface Roughness of CoCr and ZrO2 Femoral Heads with Metal Transfer: A Retrieval and Wear Simulator Study

Metal transfer to femoral heads may result from impingement against the metallic acetabular shell following subluxation/dislocation, or when metallic debris enters the articulation zone. Such transfers roughen the head surface, increasing polyethylene wear in total hip replacements. Presently, we examined the surface roughness of retrieved femoral heads with metallic transfer. Profilometry revealed roughness averages in regions of metal transfer averaging 0.380 μm for CoCr and 0.294 μm for ZrO2 which were one order of magnitude higher than those from non-implanted controls. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed adherent transfers on these retrievals, with titanium presence confirmed by electron dispersive spectroscopy. Due to the concern for increased wear, metal transfer was induced on non-implanted heads, which were then articulated against flat polyethylene discs in multidirectional sliding wear tests. Increased polyethylene wear was associated with these specimens as compared to unaltered controls. SEM imaging provided visual evidence that the transfers remained adherent following the wear tests. Pre- and post-test roughness averages exceeded 1 μm for both the CoCr and ZrO2 heads. Overall, these results suggest that metal transfer increases the surface roughness of CoCr and ZrO2 femoral heads and that the transfers may remain adherent following articulation against polyethylene, leading to increased polyethylene wear

Gaussian process models of potential energy surfaces with boundary optimization

A strategy is outlined to reduce the number of training points required to model intermolecular potentials using Gaussian processes, without reducing accuracy. An asymptotic function is used at a long range, and the crossover distance between this model and the Gaussian process is learnt from the training data. The results are presented for different implementations of this procedure, known as boundary optimization, across the following dimer systems: CO-Ne, HF-Ne, HF-Na+, CO2-Ne, and (CO2)2. The technique reduces the number of training points, at fixed accuracy, by up to ∼49%, compared to our previous work based on a sequential learning technique. The approach is readily transferable to other statistical methods of prediction or modeling problems

Working with bilingual children at risk of developmental language disorder:adapting assessment and intervention for the nursery-aged bilingual child

A proportion of all children (7.58%: RCSLT) have significant difficulty acquiring language, irrespective of whether this applies to their first and only language or to two or more languages acquired in a multilingual setting. These children have developmental language disorder (DLD) and once identified are supported in school by speech & language therapists working with SENDCOs and other school staff. The majority are slow to develop language in the preschool years and identification and intervention at that point is crucial for later education including literacy. This poses a problem for professionals if the child is bilingual; distinguishing overall language delay from lack of familiarity with the majority language and providing intervention in the home language are both problematic. This work is part of a larger project (LIVELY) investigating the effectiveness of an early language programme for 3-4 year olds who are at risk for DLD. The programme focuses on early word combinations and sentences of increasing complexity. We are conducting a number of case studies with children who are acquiring a home language and expected to learn English. For these children, the programme will be conducted in their home language. This involves adaptation of both language assessment and intervention material to this language, with the possibility of remote working with the child if dictated by the pandemic situation. In this presentation we describe the strategies used to make these adaptations to Polish and to Mirpuri (Pakistani Heritage language), both of which are spoken widely in the UK. While sentence structure differs across languages, the focus is on the unique events that can be communicated through early sentences, universal to all linguistic contexts. Specific issues that we have encountered in developing these adaptations will also be discussed. Language Intervention in the Early Years (LIVELY): https://research.ncl.ac.uk/lively/aboutlively/ Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists (RCSLT): https://www.rcslt.org

Adaptation and Formative Evaluation of Online Decision Support to Implement Evidence-Based Strategies to Increase HPV Vaccination Rates in Pediatric Clinics

Human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination rates remain below national goals in the United States despite the availability of evidence-based strategies to increase rates. The Adolescent Vaccination Program (AVP) is a multi-component intervention demonstrated to increase HPV vaccination rates in pediatric clinics through the implementation of six evidence-based strategies. The purpose of this study, conducted in Houston, Texas, from 2019-2021, was to adapt the AVP into an online decision support implementation tool for standalone use and to evaluate its feasibility for use in community clinics. Phase 1 (Adaptation) comprised clinic interviews