30921 research outputs found
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Characterization of bacterial communities in soybean cultivated soils of Manitoba
No full textSoybean (Glycine max L.) is a legume plant that serves as a rich source of oil and protein. Soybean is well-known for its symbiotic relationship with the bacteria Bradyrhizobium japonicum, which supplies the plant with reduced nitrogen. Although the molecular aspects of this symbiotic relationship are well understood, the structure of bacterial communities in the root-associated soils and the factors influencing their composition have not been extensively studied. This study aims to characterize the bacterial communities of soybean grown in two different field experiments in Manitoba (Carman and Kelburn) with four different crop rotations: continuous soybean (CS), soybean-canola (SCa), soybean-corn (SCo), and soybean-wheat-canola-corn (SWCC) from 2017 to 2021. Soil samples were collected four times during the growing season; before planting (BP), emergence (VE), beginning of seed fill (R5), and full maturity (R8). DNA was extracted from the soil samples and subjected to 16S rRNA gene sequencing. In a separate experiment, subsamples were cultured to preserve a local culture collection and to isolate phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) through targeted culturing. 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that soil bacterial diversity was primarily influenced by soil type, with crop rotation inducing short-term changes. Despite environmental variability, crop rotations significantly affected bacterial diversity and composition. Culturing resulted in a total of 262 bacterial strains being added to a culture library. Eight strains, including Paraburkholderia strydomiana, Paraburkholderia graminis, and Burkholderia ambifaria, were identified for their ability to solubilize Ca3(PO4)2. Paraburkholderia strydomiana strains promoted seedling growth, whereas P. graminis and B. ambifaria had negative effects on soybean seedlings. These findings enhance our understanding of bacterial diversity in crop rotation systems and suggest directions for future synthetic community research.February 202
Actuarial study and statistical analysis of extreme wildfire insurance claims
No full textThe wildfire season of 2023 was one of the most devastating in Canadian history and caused significant losses to the insurance industry. This study focuses on the large wildfire losses exceeding CAD 25 million in the last 16 years (2008-2023).
For severity analysis, mainly due to the largest amount of wildfire losses reaching CAD 4 billion, heavy-tail distributions have been applied to find the best fit for the loss claims history. We also estimate loss amounts in different return periods.
Traditional actuarial ratemaking methods in non-life insurance are based on the assumption of the absence of correlation between the frequency and severity of claims. In this thesis, for frequency analysis, logistic regression is used to investigate the relationship between the maximum temperature and the probability of extreme wildfire losses. Consistent with common sense, the probability of a large wildfire occurring is found to increase with increasing temperature. According to the requirements of Solvency II, we derive the 99.5% confidence interval for the claim frequency.
Overall, there are not many published papers and available data on Canadian wildfire insurance losses. Therefore, this thesis lists some possible research directions in property and casualty insurance, reinsurance, and life insurance in the future research directions section.October 202
Associations between glucocorticoids and habitat selection reflect daily and seasonal energy requirements
No full textBackground
Glucocorticoids are often associated with stressful environments, but they are also thought to drive the best strategies to improve fitness in stressful environments. Glucocorticoids improve fitness in part by regulating foraging behaviours in response to daily and seasonal energy requirements. However, many studies demonstrating relationships between foraging behaviour and glucocorticoids are experimental, and few observational studies conducted under natural conditions have tested whether changing glucocorticoid levels are related to daily and seasonal changes in energy requirements.
Methods
We integrated glucocorticoids into habitat selection models to test for relationships between foraging behaviour and glucocorticoid levels in elk (Cervus canadensis) as their daily and seasonal energy requirements changed. Using integrated step selection analysis, we tested whether elevated glucocorticoid levels were related to foraging habitat selection on a daily scale and whether that relationship became stronger during lactation, one of the greatest seasonal periods of energy requirement for female mammals.
Results
We found stronger selection of foraging habitat by female elk with elevated glucocorticoids (eß = 1.44 95% CI 1.01, 2.04). We found no difference in overall glucocorticoid levels after calving, nor a significant change in the relationship between glucocorticoids and foraging habitat selection at the time of calving. However, we found a gradual increase in the relationship between glucocorticoids and habitat selection by female elk as their calves grew over the next few months (eß = 1.01, 95% CI 1.00, 1.02), suggesting a potentially stronger physiological effect of glucocorticoids for elk with increasing energy requirements.
Conclusions
We suggest glucocorticoid-integrated habitat selection models demonstrate the role of glucocorticoids in regulating foraging responses to daily and seasonal energy requirements. Ultimately, this integration will help elucidate the implications of elevated glucocorticoids under natural conditions
Survey and development of a molecular test for Soybean Cyst Nematode (Heterodera glycines Ichinohe) in Manitoba
No full textSoybean Cyst Nematode (SCN), Heterodera glycines (Ichinohe 1952), recognized as a major global soybean pest, is already established in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. This study anticipated its imminent presence in Manitoba, driven by its rapid spread from U.S. counties bordering the province. The research objectives were to a) survey SCN presence in Manitoba soybean fields, b) develop a molecular method for direct soil quantification of H. glycines, and c) identify native cyst nematodes in Manitoba Prairie Preserves. The survey of 30 commercial soybean fields in Manitoba revealed four positive fields for SCN using morphological characters of cysts, PCR with species-specific primers for H. glycines (COXIII and SCAR), and DNA sequencing of four regions of the genome, marking the first report of H. glycines in Manitoba. In 2021, an additional soybean field in Manitoba showed SCN symptoms and H. glycines females on the soybean roots. A molecular test employing a SYBR Green I-based real-time qPCR assay using species-specific primers for H. glycines (COXIII and SCAR) was developed, offering a reliable, sensitive and specific means to detect and quantify H. glycines eggs directly in soil DNA extracts of Manitoba and Ontario samples. This developed method eliminates the need for labour-intensive microscopic identification and egg counting of H. glycines in soils. Soil sampling in three Prairie Preserves of Manitoba revealed that, out of the prairies sampled, only one had nematode cysts. The cysts were extracted from the rhizosphere soil of Prairie Cordgrass located in the Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve. Using morphological and molecular analysis, which involved PCR amplification and sequencing of four regions of the genome (ITS rDNA, D2-D3 expansion segments of 28S rDNA; 18S rDNA, and a fragment of Mt-DNA (COI)), the recovered cyst nematodes were confirmed to be Punctodera stonei. This finding marks the first report of P. stonei in Manitoba and only the second in Canada. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into SCN presence in Manitoba, present a reliable molecular method for H. glycines quantification in soils, and unveil the presence of a cyst nematode species in a native prairie of Manitoba.October 202
A 3D vision framework for generalized workpiece localization in robotic manufacturing
No full textAutomated workpiece localization through CAD-based Point Cloud Registration (PCR) plays a key role in enabling adaptive robotic tasks, e.g., mapping toolpaths from a CAD model to the current workpiece location. However, existing approaches often lack the robustness required for full autonomy and need fine-tuning and operator intervention especially in the presence of corrupted data due to scene complexity, missing workpiece information, or sensor inaccuracies. These shortcomings are more evident when generalizing to the diversity of objects in highly variable scenarios such as in high-mix manufacturing. In this work, we address this problem by solving the CAD-to-workpiece alignment via a partial-to-partial PCR using 3D vision data from a deep learning and optimization standpoint. Our registration pipeline consists of three modules. First, we leverage pre-trained computer vision models to provide workpiece-agnostic segmentation. Then, a coarse imageguided alignment step is applied, followed by a novel registration architecture with joint global feature embedding and multi-head cross attention. Additionally, we introduce a novel gradient-based optimization method for fine point cloud registration. The quality of registration is primarily evaluated based on registration success rate, rotation, and translation accuracy via isotropic and anisotropic errors as well as runtime. The registration robustness is demonstrated through testing across three distinct datasets aimed to assess the proposed solution with 1) industrial object real-data, 2) diversity of industrial-looking objects through a proposed rule-based synthetic data generation engine with common point cloud corruptions, and 3) on an object-centric dataset standard for benchmarking in the point cloud research community. Our optimization-based method achieves a 99.8% success rate and significantly improves localization robustness compared to existing techniques, demonstrating its potential for real-world scenarios without parameter fine-tuning. Moreover, our proposed optimization-based strategy shows the ability to register partial overlapping point clouds from a coarse-to-fine manner without an initial guess. Our findings suggest that our pipeline, hybrid or purely optimization-based, shapes a step towards fully autonomous systems in manufacturing.October 202
A scoping review of the globally available tools for assessing health research partnership outcomes and impacts
No full textBackground
Health research partnership approaches have grown in popularity over the past decade, but the systematic evaluation of their outcomes and impacts has not kept equal pace. Identifying partnership assessment tools and key partnership characteristics is needed to advance partnerships, partnership measurement, and the assessment of their outcomes and impacts through systematic study.
Objective
To locate and identify globally available tools for assessing the outcomes and impacts of health research partnerships.
Methods
We searched four electronic databases (Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL + , PsychINFO) with an a priori strategy from inception to June 2021, without limits. We screened studies independently and in duplicate, keeping only those involving a health research partnership and the development, use and/or assessment of tools to evaluate partnership outcomes and impacts. Reviewer disagreements were resolved by consensus. Study, tool and partnership characteristics, and emerging research questions, gaps and key recommendations were synthesized using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis.
Results
We screened 36 027 de-duplicated citations, reviewed 2784 papers in full text, and kept 166 studies and three companion reports. Most studies originated in North America and were published in English after 2015. Most of the 205 tools we identified were questionnaires and surveys targeting researchers, patients and public/community members. While tools were comprehensive and usable, most were designed for single use and lacked validity or reliability evidence. Challenges associated with the interchange and definition of terms (i.e., outcomes, impacts, tool type) were common and may obscure partnership measurement and comparison. Very few of the tools identified in this study overlapped with tools identified by other, similar reviews. Partnership tool development, refinement and evaluation, including tool measurement and optimization, are key areas for future tools-related research.
Conclusion
This large scoping review identified numerous, single-use tools that require further development and testing to improve their psychometric and scientific qualities. The review also confirmed that the health partnership research domain and its measurement tools are still nascent and actively evolving. Dedicated efforts and resources are required to better understand health research partnerships, partnership optimization and partnership measurement and evaluation using valid, reliable and practical tools that meet partners’ needs
Conversations with caregivers: Indigenous perspectives on engagement with school psychologists
No full textThe impacts of residential schools on the wellbeing of Indigenous peoples and communities have generated mistrust with Western colonial education and mental health systems. This legacy of harm creates barriers to engagement for Indigenous caregivers, which may impact children’s positive social and academic outcomes. There is a gap in opportunities for positive Indigenous caregiver engagement with school psychologists as well as inadequate knowledge of the influences on this engagement. The present study aimed to address this by building knowledge on Indigenous caregivers’ experiences engaging with school psychologists through a qualitative study. Based in Manitoba, Canada, eight self-identifying Indigenous caregivers of children with past and/or current involvement with school psychologists shared their experiences with engagement to build insights on the perceived barriers and facilitators to involvement. Qualitative data from interviews was thematically analyzed and identified emergent themes of: relationships with school psychologists, caregiver perceptions of engagement, support accessibility, and systemic changes and connection to culture. The current research privileges Indigenous caregiver perspectives and experiences with school psychologists to help inform psychological service delivery in schools. Future research in this area should aim to include a broader range of Indigenous voices and viewpoints, as well as follow up with recommendations for positive engagement.October 202
Perceptual dogmatism and undercutting defeat
No full textPerceptual Dogmatism is committed to perceptual undercutting-the phenomenon whereby immediate, perception derived justification is undercut, but relatively little work has been done by perceptual dogmatists to account for this phenomenon. This thesis improves the theoretical standing of perceptual dogmatism by supplying an account of this phenomenon which centers on a certain kind of knowledge enabling explanatory connection. Competing accounts of perceptual undercutting are considered and found wanting. The standing of Perceptual Dogmatism is further bolstered by defending it against some more recent attacks.October 202
Two sides of the same COIN: a critical analysis of "winning hearts and minds" in counterinsurgency operations
No full textHearts and Minds Theory’ has been raised from the ashes of the 20th century and indiscriminately applied to conflicts in the 21st Century without sufficient critical analysis of the theory itself, the context of its origins, and modern applicability. This research investigates deficits in the application of HaM Theory protocols in counterinsurgency operations as well as its repeated use by the USA to combat counterinsurgencies across the world despite repeated military failures. In order to have a fuller understanding of HaM Theory and its aptitude for success, this research examines the insurgent origins of HaM Theory, the application of the theory’s core pillars in counterinsurgency (COIN) operations, as well as COIN operations that have employed HaM Theory. USA COIN operations continue to employ soft-power frameworks (such as HaM Theory) despite the Groundhog Day-like cycle that they perpetuate. This research analyzes why American Strategic Culture and Exceptionalist self-image leaves no alternative but to continue to repeat this pattern. This critical analysis of the HaM Theory and its attractiveness will provide a critical baseline for understanding future engagement in foreign intervention to support COIN operations and their consequences.UM Graduate Studies Bursary | 2023-24, University of Manitoba
MSBI Bursary Fund | 2023-24, University of Manitoba
Israel & Babs Asper Memorial Scholarship | 2022, Jewish Foundation of Manitoba
Patty & Jack Sherman Memorial Scholarship | 2022, Jewish Foundation of Manitoba
Rivke Fleisher Memorial Scholarship | 2022, Jewish Foundation of Manitoba
Canada Graduate Scholarships: Master's (CGS-M) | 2020-21, Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
Arts Endowment Fund Grant | 2020, University of Manitoba
Graduate Studies Funding | 2020, Manitoba Chair of Global Governance Studies (MCGGS)
Graduate Studies Funding | 2019, Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair: Modern History of the Middle East & North Africa
Rosemarie Schilling Finlay Fellowship for Graduate Studies | 2019, St. Paul's College, University of ManitobaOctober 202
UN/WIND UN/WOUND: Metaphor, embodiment, and meaning-making in the digital age
No full textIntegrating research on embodiment (Baber, 2022; Lakoff & Johnson, 2003; Shapiro, 2019), memory (Glenberg, 1997), trauma (Culbertson, 1995), new media (McLuhan, 1994), and multiliteracies (Cope & Kalantzis, 2009), this arts-based research explores the use of smartphone technology as a means of embodied artmaking. Using an adapted version of the methodology of artography (Irwin, 2013) based on the practice of paddling, I developed two research-supported artistic practices. The first involved recording myself enacting metaphors I had previously written in my poetry as a means of developing an embodied understanding of the metaphor. The second involved composing poetry orally while engaged physically (running, skating, etc.). The results of these practice came together through the creation of a 24-minute experimental film. I showed this film to a public audience in a classroom I converted into an immersive video installation that included three handmade screens and several atmospheric elements. In this thesis, I discuss the video/event and the artmaking process through four themes, (1) enacting metaphors to facilitate the development of an embodied understanding of those metaphors, (2) instances of the liminal during embodied creative practice, (3) the ways smartphone technology extends perception and memory outside the body, and (4) wonder and the spiritual in the context of embodied artmaking. Integrated through the discussion are propositions (Manning & Massumi, 2014) related to contemporary education and arts-based research.May 202