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A Data-Driven Framework for Transformer Health Monitoring in Distribution Networks
No full textThe abstract of this item is unavailable due to an embargo
Sensitivity of extreme streamflow to wetland drainage and restoration in the Canadian Prairies
No full textGlobal Water Future
Radiation Dose Assessment of Thorium-containing Gas Mantle in Consideration of Usage Status in Republic of Korea
No full textThe IAEA recommends various considerations for specific exemption regulation of consumer products containing radioactive isotopes. One of which is that the results of the dose assessment for all predicable scenarios arising from the use of the products should meet the criteria of 10 μSv/y for general cases and 1 mSv/y for low-probability scenarios. It is necessary to regularly review justification of the radiation regulation exemption considering the usage of consumer products and the latest technology status. In this study, we performed the radiation dose assessment on the exposure scenarios according to the life cycle of the thorium-containing gas mantles in consideration of the status in Republic of Korea. Description of the Work or Project The gas mantles are used as a wick for gas lanterns, and the maximum mass of the product currently produced is 3.5 g. According to Nuclear Safety Act in Republic of Korea, the maximum radioactivity of thorium in the gas mantle exempted from regulation is 700 Bq/g. Therefore, it was assumed that the radioactivity per unit product of the gas mantle is 2,450 Bq. We evaluated the radiation doses for all predictable exposure scenarios when using the gas mantles (i.e., transport, distribution, use, accident, and disposal). The majority of the gas mantles exceeding the generic exemption criteria are imported, so in the case of the transport scenarios, we assumed that gas mantles are distributed from the Incheon Import Logistics Center to retail stores via the parcel distribution centers. In addition, classification at the parcel distribution centers and display at the retail stores were considered as distribution scenarios. Currently, the gas lanterns are mostly used for camping in Republic of Korea; hence, we developed use scenarios related to camping. In the case of accident scenarios, not only traffic accidents during transport and fires at warehouses and houses, but also cases in which children handle a used mantle at campground were considered. Finally, the gas mantles are discarded as general waste, and the disposal methods of general waste are classified as incineration and landfill. So, the incineration and landfill are considered as disposal scenarios. Conclusions Although we assumed the maximum activity of the gas mantle for conservative evaluation, the results of the dose assessment for all scenarios under considerations were far below the IAEA recommendations (i.e., 10 μSv/y and 1 mSv/y). Our next step is to conduct dose assessment for other consumer products containing radioactive isotopes
“And by Publishing, to Preserve:” Envisioning Indigenous Futures in Anishinaabe Historical Writing, 1814–1893
Get PDFThis dissertation bridges intellectual history, biography, and ethnohistory to reveal how nineteenth-century Anishinaabeg used historical writing to historicize their past, speak to their colonial present, and offer future visions of a transformed colonial society. Historical writing was a key site of colonial struggle in which settler histories attempted to eliminate the Indigenous past and replace it with their own conception of the ‘Indian.’ Between 1814-1893, a remarkable body of Anishinaabe historical writing in English was produced by at least ten different writers, all of whom worked from the stories and knowledge of elders, family members, and knowledge keepers. Through a focus on the lives and writings of Jane Johnston Schoolcraft (Bamewawagezhikaquay), George Copway (Kahgegagahbowh), and Francis Assiginack, this dissertation analyzes expressions of Anishinaabe historical consciousness and the settler-colonial myths and ideas they engaged with. Their writings contended that elements of Anishinaabe ways of living and knowing were not only valid, but invaluable and had to be preserved in the face of permanent loss. In addition to producing immediate political and social change in Canada and the United States, these writers also sought to shape the development of future society. While their future visions called for Indigenous adoption of Euro-Canadian and Euro-American technology and religion, they also presented Anishinaabe knowledge as a gift that could potentially facilitate spiritual and moral renewal in settler society. Historical writing was a foundational aspect of this ‘envisioning process.’ By asserting an Anishinaabe understanding of history through this trans-cultural approach, these writers were able to challenge the historical and theological foundations of settler colonialism, argue for the value and historicity of Indigenous peoples, and posit visions of a settler colonial future that would transform both Indigenous and settler society
"I Can Tell You Now": Métis Kinship Narratives in Community History Volumes
Get PDFIn the late twentieth century, community history volumes flourished across the Prairies as small pioneer towns sought to document their histories by collecting written contributions from residents who had lived there over the years, including descendants of "original" homesteaders. Biographical narratives of my Anglo-Métis maternal great-great-grandparents, George Kirkness (1857-1932) and Caroline McNabb (1862-1954), were published in two such volumes, A Homesteader's Dream (1981) and Communities of Courage and Cordwood (1986). Although as a genre, these volumes contain the very performances of settler triumphalism that have dispossessed Métis families of our histories, the personal narratives therein can also offer insight into Métis kin and community structures, cultural knowledges, relational philosophies, and political agency. George and Caroline's biographies reflect a time of unprecedented upheavals in the social fabric of Métis society, including two armed resistances, a mass migration westward, the rapid expansion of the colonial state into the Northwest, and the breakdown of cultural cohesion after the Resistance conflicts of 1885. I examine their biographies through the lens of wāhkōhtowin (kinship, or being in relation), reframing Métis "identity" away from linear individualist models and toward integrative, expansive, community-oriented ones which recognize the vitality of our ongoing relational practices and ways of being. Ultimately, despite generations of social stigma and erasure, the Kirkness family narratives illuminate complex relational dynamics within Métis familial networks at the Red River Settlement, Red Deer Hill, SK, and Cookson, SK. I adopt a layered and relational reading approach, analyzing these texts alongside archival documents and other material to consider how our kinship practices and responsibilities adapt and persist despite longstanding rhetorics of erasure, dislocation, and division. Through these readings, the entries are made legible as sites of memory expressing Métis kinship writ large, with all the attendant continuities and contradictions, tensions and solidarities, which continue to make our communities so rich and dynamic
Crop rotation significantly influences the composition of soil, rhizosphere, and root microbiota in canola (Brassica napus L.)
No full text© Crown 2023.
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4. 0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.Canola Agronomic Research Program (CARP#2018.14)Peer ReviewedBackground: Crop rotation is an agronomic practice that is known to enhance productivity and yield, and decrease pest and disease pressure. Economic and other factors have increased the frequency of certain crops, including canola, with unknown effects on the below ground microbial communities that impact plant health and performance. This study investigated the effect of 12 years of crop rotation including canola-wheat; canola-pea-barley; and unrotated canola across three geographic sites in Western Canada with diverse soil types and environmental conditions. To provide data on mature, established crop rotation strategies, root exudate profiles, soil nutrient fluxes, and bacterial and fungal microbial community profiles were determined at the flowering stage in the final two (canola) years of the 12-year rotations.
Results: After 12 years of rotation, nutrient fluxes were affected in the soil in an inconsistent manner, with K, NO3, Mg, Ca, P, and Fe fluxes variably impacted by rotation depending on the year and site of sampling. As expected, rotation positively influenced yield and oil content, and decreased disease pressure from Leptosphaeria and Alternaria. In two of the three sites, root exudate profiles were significantly influenced by crop rotation. Bacterial soil, root, and rhizosphere communities were less impacted by crop rotation than the fungal communities. Fungal sequences that were associated with specific rotation strategies were identified in the bulk soil, and included known fungal pathogens in the canola-only strategy. Two closely related fungal sequences identified as Olpidium brassicae were extremely abundant at all sites in both years. One of these sequences was observed uniquely at a single site and was significantly associated with monocropped canola; moreover, its abundance correlated negatively with yield in both years.
Conclusions: Long-term canola monoculture affected root exudate profiles and soil nutrient fluxes differently in the three geographic locations. Bacterial communities were less impacted by rotation compared to the fungal communities, which consistently exhibited changes in composition in all ecological niches at all sites, in both years. Fungal sequences identified as O. brassicae were highly abundant at all sites, one of which was strongly associated with canola monoculture. Soil management decisions should include consideration of the effects on the microbial ecosystems associated with the plants in order to inform best management practices
Using Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves Method To Evaluate Small-Strain Stiffness of a Geogrid-Stabilised Base
No full textThe abstract of this item is unavailable due to an embargo
The effect of LED light flicker on the welfare, health, and production of layer pullets reared to 16 weeks
No full textThe objectives of this study were to determine the impacts of three light flicker frequencies (F) on the health, production, and welfare of two Lohmann strains (S). The tested F were 30, 90, and 250 Hz and the two S were Lohmann LSL-Lite pullets (LW) and Lohmann Brown-Lite pullets (LB). Pullets were reared in floor pens with perching systems from 0 to 16 weeks of age (wk). Each pen contained two tube feeders and a drinker line. Production data collected included body weight (BW), flock uniformity, feed disappearance (consumed and wasted feed), and mortality. Welfare data collected included behaviour, location within the pen, fear response in a novel object test (NOT), tonic immobility (TI), and response to observer (RtO) test, serum corticosterone concentration (CORT) and heterophil-to-lymphocyte (H/L) ratio, and aggressive damage through treated pecking damage, comb score, and plumage score. Data were analyzed using Proc Mixed (SAS 9.4) and behaviour and location within pen were analyzed as repeated measures. Tukey’s range test was used to separate means and differences were significant when P≤0.05. Pullets reared under 30 Hz spent a higher percentage of time (%t) at the feeder (P<0.01), lower %t object pecking (P=0.05), moved away from the observer less during RtO at 1 wk (P=0.05), and had a higher percentage of mortalities due to “other” causes (P=0.02) compared to those reared under 250 Hz. Pullets housed under 90 Hz had increased CORT when RIA analysis was used (P=0.02). Numerous interactions were noted. With respects to F and age, 30 Hz decreased the %t pullets spent environmental pecking and on the perch at 4 wk (P<0.01 and P=0.04). The two S responded differently to F. A higher %t spent gentle pecking was seen with LB reared under 30 Hz compared to other treatments (P<0.01). LB reared under 30 Hz spent the lowest %t on the perch (P<0.01) and the highest %t on the floor (P=0.05). LW spent less %t alternate perching compared to LB when reared under 250 Hz (P<0.01). In the NOT at 7 wk, LW reared under 90 Hz had a longer latency to peck at the novel object compared to those reared under 30 or 250 Hz, a difference not seen with the LB (P=0.03). At 8 and 16 wk, LB weighed more than LW under all treatments (P<0.01 at both ages). Feed disappearance during the 8-16 wk period was highest for LB reared under 30 Hz (P<0.01). Overall mortality was higher for LW reared under 30 Hz than LB reared under 30 or 250 Hz (P<0.01) and mortality due to dehydration was higher for LW reared under 250 Hz than LW reared under 30 or 90 Hz, or LB reared under 30 or 250 Hz (P<0.01; low incidence). Overall, the results suggest that 30 Hz can negatively impact pullet behaviour and fear responses at an early age and that 90 Hz negatively impacts fear response for LW and possibly CORT in the middle of the rearing phase. Effects of F on production were minimal and in some cases, S dependent
UNDERSTANDING THE PHENOMENON OF EARLY CHILDHOOD CARIES IN RURAL AND REMOTE CHILDREN IN NORTHERN SASKATCHEWAN: A REALIST SYNTHESIS
No full textEarly childhood caries in preschool children is a growing public health concern in Canada. Children in Northern Saskatchewan experience poor oral health outcomes compared to those in the southern regions of the province (Inam, 2021; Saskatchewan Health Authority Oral Health Program, n.d.). Despite various efforts by the government and non-governmental organizations to address this problem, the situation is still a major public health concern. This study aims to understand the phenomenon of early childhood caries in rural and remote children in Northern Saskatchewan. While initially appearing as a straightforward phenomenon, it is, in fact, a complex systemic phenomenon. Therefore, this study employs a systems approach to realism to understand its complexity. Based on realist philosophy, I used realist synthesis, a theory-driven process that synthesizes evidence and aims to create a generative explanation for causation ‐ that is, an outcome (O) of interest was generated by relevant mechanism(s) (M) being triggered in various contexts (C). This study followed six iterative steps, including 1. initial program theory, 2. search strategy, 3. the selection and appraisal of documents, 4. data extraction, 5. analysis and synthesis of data, and 6. the dissemination of results. Through the iterative process of searching and data analysis, this realist synthesis developed an initial program theory, identified some potential mechanisms (parents' perceived values, prioritization and beliefs, self-efficacy, stress, depression, trust, anxiety, fear of being judged, and losing their child to social service, perceived food value, effects of colonialism in their beliefs, confidence, and empowerment) at the individual and community levels, and designed a multilayer conceptual map showing a hierarchy of different level mechanisms, and their interactions with each other in influencing the existence of early childhood caries in rural and remote children in Northern Saskatchewan based on available data. The mechanisms identified and hypothesized in this realist synthesis are based on secondary data that will need to be tested with the community in future research aimed to refine or refute this initial program theory
Trends Surrounding Green Powders as a Dietary Supplement
No full textNon-Peer ReviewedVegetables and fruits are a vital part of a healthy diet. However, trends show that the general population is not consuming recommended daily amounts of these foods (1, 3). Approximately 40% of Canadians use vitamin and mineral supplements (4) meaning it is important for dietitians to be aware of the usage trends of emerging products on the market. Greens powder (GP) is a dietary supplement consisting of vegetables, fruits, and other nutraceutical components taken orally as a powder. Social media advertising for GP is aggressive and relies heavily on influencer anecdotes rather than evidence-based research to support health claims. GP manufacturers claim numerous benefits including: debloating, better gut health, and improved energy and cognition. There is a lack of research specific to GPs. The purpose of this research is to explore GP practices, as well as assess the exposure to supplement marketing on social media platforms that is specific to GPs.