Recent publications
The discovery of new lithium resources is essential because lithium plays a vital role in the manufacturing of green technology. Along with brines and volcano–sedimentary deposits, approximately a one-third share of global lithium resources is associated with lithium-cesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatites, with Canada hosting numerous examples. This research applied generative adversarial networks, natural language processing, and convolutional neural networks to generate mineral prospectivity models and support exploration targeting for Canadian LCT pegmatites. Geoscientific text data included within public bedrock geology maps and natural language processing were used to convert conceptual targeting criteria into evidence layers that complement more traditional, geophysical and geochronological data used for mineral prospectivity modeling (MPM). A multilayer architecture of convolutional neural networks, including an attention mechanism, was designed for data modeling. This architecture was trained and validated using variable synthetically generated class labels, input image sizes, and hyperparameters, resulting in an ensemble of 1000 models. The uncertainty of the ensemble was analyzed using a risk–return analysis, yielding a bivariate choropleth risk–return plot that facilitates the interpretation of prospectivity models for downstream applications. This was further complemented by employing post hoc interpretability algorithms to translate the black-box nature of neural networks into comprehensible content. The low-risk and high return class of our prospectivity models reduces the search space for discovering LCT pegmatites by 88%, delineating 99% of known LCT pegmatites in Canada. The results of this study suggest that our workflow (i.e., combining synthetic data generation, natural language processing, convolutional neural networks, and uncertainty propagation for MPM) facilitates decision-making for regional-scale lithium exploration and could also be applied to other mineral systems.
Background/objectives
Mental health issues are prevalent among healthcare workers, but help-seeking behavior in this groups remains under-researched. The purpose of this study was to explore predictors of and barriers to mental health help-seeking among healthcare workers in Canada, compared to workers from other sectors.
Design
This quantitative study analyzed cross-sectional data from Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC) from October 2022 to January 2024.
Methods
The total sample consisted of 8,191 workers from various sectors, including 419 healthcare workers. We examined prevalence of help-seeking, barriers to accessing mental health support, and predictors of help seeking using descriptive and inferential statistics. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to explore the relationship between sociodemographic factors and help-seeking.
Results
Healthcare workers were more likely to seek mental help support compared to workers from other sectors (OR 1.73, 95% CI: 1.35, 2.20). Healthcare workers least likely to seek mental health support were male (OR 0.58, CI 0.52, 0.66), residing in Quebec (OR 0.49, 95% CI: 0.41, 0.59), or of older age (OR 0.40, 95% CI: 0.30, 0.52). Key barriers to mental health help-seeking identified among healthcare workers included concerns about exposure to COVID-19 (33%), preference for self-management (25%), concerns about the safety of care options (18%), and lack of knowledge on how or where to seek help (13%).
Conclusions
This study provides valuable insight into the barriers and predictors of mental help-seeking behavior among healthcare workers. Findings underscore the need for workplaces to foster safe, supportive, and inclusive environments to better support healthcare workers facing mental health challenges.
Background
Patient–provider language discordances can negatively affect the availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality (AAAQ) of pharmacy services as described by the AAAQ framework. With nearly 600,000 residents of Ontario identifying French as their mother tongue, the active offer (AO) of French language pharmacy services should be provided, yet little is known about pharmacists’ familiarity and use of AO.
Methods
Ontario pharmacists completed an online survey measuring their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours (KAB) regarding the AO for French language services (FLS). Demographics, including ability to converse in French, were collected. KAB AO scores were calculated and compared using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Results
A total of 360 pharmacists completed the survey. The majority (65.1%) practiced in a primary care setting, 21.1% spoke French, and 71.8% lived in an area where less than 10% of the population were Francophone. Overall, AO scores were highest for attitude (3.8/5) and lowest for behaviours (2/5) and knowledge (1.8/5). Most pharmacists (62.8%) indicated an interest in AO training.
Discussion
Gaps in KAB regarding AO for FLS by Ontario pharmacists resemble those observed throughout the health care system. Further training is suggested to address the lack of knowledge regarding AO, particularly its proactive nature, as well as strategies for its implementation.
Conclusion
Although most participating pharmacists demonstrated gaps in AO knowledge and behaviour, many had favourable attitudes toward the importance of AO in the pharmacy setting and agreed that further training would be needed to improve their KAB. Further, the AO can address all 4 elements of the AAAQ framework.
The knowledge of scintillation quenching of α -particles plays a paramount role in understanding α -induced backgrounds and improving the sensitivity of liquid argon-based direct detection of dark matter experiments. We performed a relative measurement of scintillation quenching in the MeV energy region using radioactive isotopes ( 222 Rn, 218 Po and 214 Po isotopes) present in trace amounts in the DEAP-3600 detector and quantified the uncertainty of extrapolating the quenching factor to the low-energy region.
Understanding how species adapt to environmental change is necessary to protect biodiversity and ecosystem services. Growing evidence suggests species can adapt rapidly to novel selection pressures like predation from invasive species, but the repeatability and predictability of selection remain poorly understood in wild populations. We tested how a keystone aquatic herbivore, Daphnia pulicaria, evolved in response to predation pressure by the introduced zooplanktivore Bythotrephes longimanus. Using high-resolution ²¹⁰Pb-dated sediment cores from 12 lakes in Ontario (Canada), which primarily differed in invasion status by Bythotrephes, we compared Daphnia population genetic structure over time using whole-genome sequencing of individual resting embryos. We found strong genetic differentiation between populations approximately 70 years before versus 30 years after reported Bythotrephes invasion, with no difference over this period in uninvaded lakes. Compared with uninvaded lakes, we identified, on average, 64 times more loci were putatively under selection in the invaded lakes. Differentiated loci were mainly associated with known reproductive and stress responses, and mean body size consistently increased by 14.1% over time in invaded lakes. These results suggest Daphnia populations were repeatedly acquiring heritable genetic adaptations to escape gape-limited predation. More generally, our results suggest some aspects of environmental change predictably shape genome evolution.
Purpose
This qualitative study investigated the needs, barriers, and facilitators that affect primary care providers’ involvement in supporting patients’ stay-at-work and return-to-work following injury or illness. It also aims to understand the lived experiences of primary care providers who participated in the Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes training program for Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ECHO OEM). By examining both the structural and experiential aspects of the program, this study seeks to provide insights into how ECHO OEM influences providers’ approaches to occupational health challenges.
Methods
Those who attended ECHO OEM sessions were invited to participate in the research study. Four focus groups and five one-on-one interviews were conducted with healthcare providers participating in ECHO OEM. Audio-recordings were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis approach. This study was structured according to the COREQ Checklist.
Results
We discussed six main themes: (1) Challenges with Engaging with Workers’ Compensation Boards; (2) Return to Work practices; (3) Health and Well-Being; (4) Communication is Important; (5) Perspective from the Workplace; and (6) Feedback on ECHO OEM.
Conclusion
ECHO OEM sessions contribute to and impact healthcare providers’ knowledge of supporting injured or ill workers. Topics that deserve further attention include incorporating comorbid physical and mental health conditions, navigating workers’ compensation systems, and supporting specific populations such as military veterans and emergency personnel.
Water energy sources play a crucial role, particularly in providing electrical energy through hydroelectric power. Both the water flow rate and the water head determine the potential energy available from water. The hydroelectric system's energy generation directly depends on the water flow rate. A lower flow rate means less water is available to generate energy, even if the head is high. It is essential to increase the potential of the water flow so that it can generate enough electricity. Traditionally, the flow rate is restricted due to the limited capacity of single penstock. This work addresses this issue by introducing multiple penstock-based water flow management systems. Also, conventional water flow monitoring systems often face limitations, like relying on manual measurement, as it only provides periodic data, making it difficult to respond quickly to changes in flow conditions. IoT-based flow sensors leverage IoT technology to monitor water flow and transmit flow data in real-time, enabling operators to detect fluctuating flow conditions and implement timely adjustments to processes, therefore enhancing the overall efficiency. This work aims to design and develop an IoT-enabled prototype hydroelectric power generation system using multiple water flows for enhancing power generation efficiency. The prototype indicates the use of multiple pipes as penstocks in a dam. Additionally, if generating a significant amount of electricity is not required, the water flow can be discontinued, thereby automatically closing each pipeline. This work uses flow sensors, Kitsware software, Arduino IoT Cloud, and an LCD display to generate flow measurement data every ten seconds from multiple pipelines. Moreover, the system automatically generates Excel data and graphically represents multiple water flows, enabling the user to compare the water flow data. The completed work resulted in a hydropower system demonstrating enhanced output and effective compatibility with IoT for remote access.
Smart home technologies have significantly enhanced comfort and convenience in our daily lives by facilitating several domestic tasks. Household robots utilized in smart homes are designed to maintain clean floor spaces. The manually operated floor cleaning machines are exceedingly labor-intensive and time-consuming. Furthermore, fuel-operated machinery is prohibitively expensive as well as detrimental to the environment. This paper presents the design and development of an automated floor cleaning robot that eliminates previous limitations, thereby conserving both time and financial resources by reducing human labor costs. Recently, several household robots, particularly floor-cleaning robots, have been developed. Nonetheless, only a limited number of advanced robots were dedicated to the wet cleaning of floors. This study presents an efficient automated vacuum cleaning robot that can perform both vacuuming and wet cleaning of floor surfaces while navigating the area. This eliminates the labor and necessity of designating separate time for cleaning the premises. The automated robot was initially designed, followed by the construction of an effective chassis. Subsequently, IR sensors, an Arduino Nano, motor drivers, and a motor shield were incorporated into the system. The economical and user-friendly robot is designed for autonomous cleaning of various surfaces in both household and industrial settings.
The SNO + + collaboration reports its first spectral analysis of long-baseline reactor antineutrino oscillation using 114 tonne-years of data. Fitting the neutrino oscillation probability to the observed energy spectrum yields constraints on the neutrino mass-squared difference Δ m 21 2 . In the ranges allowed by previous measurements, the best-fit Δ m 21 2 is ( 8 . 85 - 1.33 + 1.10 ) × 10 - 5 eV 2 . This measurement is continuing in the next phases of SNO+ and is expected to surpass the present global precision on Δ m 21 2 with about three years of data.
Background
Dementia is the seventh leading cause of death worldwide, impacting cognitive abilities and memory loss among aging populations. With the increasing prevalence of dementia, it is crucial to understand the distinct barriers and possibilities in providing care. Although there have been significant studies on dementia care, there is a lack of research that primarily focuses on the perspectives and worldviews of healthcare professionals, especially in the northern and rural regions of Ontario.
Objectives
The objective of this study is to identify the essential components required to support healthcare professionals in caring for people living with dementia (PLWD) in Northern Ontario.
Methods
Through an appreciative inquiry framework, data collection includes semi‐structured interviews with healthcare professionals caring for PLWD. A literature review was conducted to understand what has been published on the perspectives of health professionals in dementia care. A comprehensive search in Google Scholar, PubMed, and the National Library of Medicine was conducted through peer‐reviewed research articles published between 2014 and 2023 that focused on quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods.
Result
The peer‐reviewed articles serve as a basis for comprehending dementia care focusing on the experiences and perceptions of healthcare professionals on dementia care within a Canadian context. These articles address several aspects, such as the challenges, barriers, facilitators, and recommendations for enhancing the quality of care provided to PLWD. Furthermore, they discussed the possibility of enhancing the accessibility of healthcare facilities, researching to gain a deeper understanding of providing higher‐quality care and emphasizing the importance of ongoing support and training for healthcare workers specializing in dementia care.
Discussion
The worldview of health professionals in dementia care aims to reform and enhance health professionals for PLWD to improve care, support, and inform future practice in this area. The findings are broadly shared and contribute to informing future policymaking by including specialized educational materials, training programs designed to raise awareness and practice, encourage advocacy, improve comfort levels, and ultimately enhance patient care for those with dementia. Furthermore, it could explore the possibility of implementing community‐driven initiatives and assistance programs for PLWD and their families residing in rural regions.
Background
Studies across the extant literature suggest that less-experienced healthcare workers are more likely to experience adverse outcomes such as burnout, sick leaves, or intend to leave the profession. Thus, one’s readiness to practice is an important element that requires more attention. While extensive research exists on the readiness of certain professions like nurses, a notable gap remains concerning other healthcare workers.
Purpose
This study sought to explore studies examining readiness to practice among various underrepresented healthcare workers.
Methods
We conducted a scoping review to determine the available research related to clinical and nonclinical areas related to the readiness to practice of healthcare workers, excluding physicians and nurses. We examined three databases, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO, from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2023. Our search focused on readiness to practice among various healthcare professions, whether clinically focused or broadly related to professionalism.
Results
Our search identified 41 articles meeting the inclusion criteria from several professions, including but not limited to physiotherapists and occupational therapists, pharmacists, osteopaths/chiropractors, and social workers. Overall, studies differed in assessing readiness to practice with a broad range of identified clinical competencies that varied between professions and regions. Nonclinical skills, such as communication, conflict management, and cultural competence, were common barriers across professions.
Conclusion
Despite the heterogeneity in job roles, work settings, and geographical reasons, there is evidence to suggest that new healthcare professionals may be clinically adept but may be lacking in other nonclinical skills that could affect their work and well-being. With early-career healthcare workers particularly vulnerable to adverse outcomes in the workplace, future research should standardize core competencies, including nonclinical skills and well-being-related activities, as a prevention method across various health groups.
Biindigen families is a grassroots group in Sudbury that offers community programming that is culturally grounded with language, ceremonies, activities, crafts that focus on Indigenous resurgence of cultural knowledge in Sudbury for Indigenous parents, children and families. Led by two powerful matriarchs, Nicole Wemigwans and Paula Pelletier, and supported by an all Ikwewag- women (women) staff, Biindigen Families has made great strides in restoring traditional matriarchal leadership in community health and development through community programming. In Anishnabemowin (Ojibwe language), the word for old women (leader, clan leader, seed source/carrier), ‘mindimooyenh’, the one who carries, or holds it together. With great respect to the women that came before us, the goal of this paper is to illustrate lessons learned in the conception, growing and being stages of Biindigen families for social workers that are rooted in traditional Anishinaabe matriarchy.
In a recent paper presenting 30 new Hf isotope analyses for orthogneisses from the Grenvillian Central Gneiss Belt in Ontario, Slagstad et al. (Slagstad, T., Easton, R.M., Huyskens, M., and Culshaw, N. 2024. Complementarity of Hf isotopes from detrital and igneous zircon: an example from the Central Gneiss Belt, Grenville Province, Ontario. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 61: 19) suggested that these new data “may serve as a basis for some cautionary notes on the application of isotopic data alone to distinguish allochthonous from parautochthonous rocks”. These “cautionary notes” evidently arise from the poor fit of the new Hf isotope data to these authors’ expectations based on published work. However, we show that the new data are in complete agreement with our own published tectonic maps, based on Nd isotope mapping supported by other available geological evidence. Far from serving as the basis for “cautionary notes” about our use of Nd isotope mapping, the new data completely validate our approach. On the other hand, we show that the mantle model used by Slagstad et al. (2024) to calculate Hf crustal formation ages was based on erroneous old data, and does not yield realistic Hf model ages for Precambrian gneisses. Therefore, we propose a more robust model, based on applying the principles of DePaolo’s Nd isotope model to Hf mantle evolution. We term the resulting Hf ages TDP model ages and show that they yield realistic crustal formation ages for the Ontario Grenville Province.
Entertainment robotics has garnered significant attention in recent years, with researchers focusing on developing robots capable of performing a variety of tasks, including magic, drawing, dancing, and music. This article presents our research on forming a musical band that includes both humanoid robots and human musicians, with the goal of achieving natural synchronization and collaboration during musical performances. We utilized two of our humanoid robots for this project: Polaris, a mid-sized humanoid robot, as the drummer, and Oscar, a Robotis-OP3 humanoid robot, as the keyboardist. The technical implementation incorporated essential components such as visual servoing, human-robot interaction, and Robot Operating System (ROS), enabling seamless communication and coordination between the humanoid robots and the human musicians. The success of this collaborative effort can be both seen and heard through the following YouTube link: https://youtu.be/pFOyt1KKCfY?feature=shared .
Honey bee viruses are serious pathogens that can cause poor colony health and productivity. We analyzed a multi-year longitudinal dataset of abundances of nine honey bee viruses (deformed wing virus A, deformed wing virus B, black queen cell virus, sacbrood virus, Lake Sinai virus, Kashmir bee virus, acute bee paralysis virus, chronic bee paralysis virus, and Israeli acute paralysis virus) in colonies located across Canada to describe broad trends in virus intensity and occurrence among regions and years. We also tested climatic variables (temperature, wind speed, and precipitation) as predictors in an effort to understand possible drivers underlying seasonal patterns in viral prevalence. Temperature was a significant positive predictor of the total number of viruses per sample, which was highest in British Columbia (mean = 5.0). Lake Sinai virus (LSV) was the most prevalent overall (at 89%) and had the highest infection intensity, at an average of 3.9 × 10⁸ copies per bee. Acute bee paralysis virus was the least prevalent virus (at 4.7%) and had the lowest infection intensity (1.9 × 10⁵ copies per bee). Surprisingly, including Varroa abundance as a covariate did not significantly improve model fit for any virus. All viruses, except Kashmir bee virus, varied by region, and one or more climatic variables were significant predictors for six of the nine viruses. Although climatic effects were often inconsistent among individual viruses, we show that climatic variables can be better predictors of virus intensity and occurrence than Varroa mite abundance, at least when infestation rates are low.
The mining industry in the copper belt region of Africa was initiated in the early 1900s, with copper being the main ore extracted to date. The main objectives of the present study are (1) to characterize the microbial structure, abundance, and diversity in different ecological conditions in the cupriferous city of Lubumbashi and (2) to assess the metal phytoextraction potential of Leucaena leucocephala, a main plant species used in tailing. Four ecologically different sites were selected. They include a residential area (site 1), an agricultural dry field (site 2), and an agricultural wetland (site 3), all located within the vicinity of a copper/cobalt mining plant. A remediated tailing was also added as a highly stressed area (site 4). As expected, the highest levels of copper and cobalt among the sites studied were found at the remediated tailing, with 9447 mg/kg and 2228 mg/kg for copper and cobalt, respectively. The levels of these metals at the other sites were low, varying from 41 mg/kg to 579 mg/kg for copper and from 4 mg/kg to 110 mg/kg for cobalt. Interestingly, this study revealed that the Leucaena leucocephala grown on the remediated sites is a copper/cobalt excluder species as it accumulates soil bioavailable metals from the rhizosphere in its roots. Amplicon sequence analysis showed significant differences among the sites in bacterial and fungal composition and abundance. Site-specific genera were identified. Acidibacter was the most abundant bacterial genus in the residential and remediated tailing sites, with 11.1% and 4.4%, respectively. Bacillus was predominant in both dry (19.3%) and wet agricultural lands (4.8%). For fungi, Fusarium exhibited the highest proportion of the fungal genera at all the sites, with a relative abundance ranging from 15.6% to 20.3%. Shannon diversity entropy indices were high and similar, ranging from 8.3 to 9 for bacteria and 7.0 and 7.4 for fungi. Β diversity analysis confirmed the closeness of the four sites regardless of the environmental conditions. This lack of differences in the microbial community diversity and structures among the sites suggests microbial resilience and physiological adaptations.
This paper examines differences between Chinese and Canadian accounting students’ perceptions of academicexperiences and expectations. The emerging adults from Chinese (n=862) and Canadian (n=434) universitiesexpressed their opinions by responding to a survey including questions rating various aspects of their universityexperiences, academic expectations, preferences to work independently or collectively, and support fromprofessors. Results indicate there were marked differences in all four categories between the two samples. Thestudy aims to offer insight for educators and institutions in preparing tomorrow’s accounting professionals towork and compete on a global scale and abide by technical and ethical standards.
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