Northern Ontario Research Articles

Improvement of soil property mapping in the Great Clay Belt of northern Ontario using multi-source remotely sensed data

This study aimed to improve the accuracy in modelling the properties of forest soil by employing a variety of remotely sensed data. In addition to the commonly used multispectral satellite imagery, airborne LiDAR (light detection and ranging) data were exploited to derive detailed vegetation properties and topographic variables. Random forest (RF) and support vector machine (SVM) approaches were applied to classify soil types in terms of texture, calcareous substrate reaction to hydrochloric acid, and ELC (Ecological Land Classification) moisture regime. The developed methods were tested on data acquired over a boreal region (49° - 50° N, 81° - 84° W) with a combined area of 4,085 km2 in the Great Clay Belt (GCB) region, Ontario, Canada. Compared with the field-collected data, the overall accuracies and kappa coefficients of the retrieved soil properties were greater than 0.7 and 0.5, respectively. The accuracies attained between the RF and SVM approaches were similar, but in general the highest accuracies were achieved by the RF method. The models developed for the whole GCB regions generated accuracies comparable to those for the three sub-regions. The lowest modelling uncertainties occurred in areas dominated by peatland, whereas the highest modelling uncertainties existed in the regions with dry moisture regime or clayey soil at the surface. The results also showed that environmental covariates corresponding to vegetation were most important in the prediction of soil properties. Specifically, canopy height model (CHM) and gap fraction derived from LiDAR data, were among the most important variables.The inclusion of LiDAR-derived covariates demonstrated potential, applied in addition with topographic and climatic covariates and optical imagery. CHM pertains to the vertical dimension, and gap fraction relates to the density of the canopy layer, respectively; both covariates that offer supplemental detail that is not necessarily ascertained for the canopy by optical imagery.

Ammonia-Ca-K competitive ion-exchange on zeolites in mining wastewater treatment: batch regeneration and column performance

This manuscript addresses the treatment explosives-impacted mining wastewaters (EIMWW) using ion-exchange to remove elevated levels of ammonia. Repeated batch loading-regeneration cycles were conducted for two commercially available zeolite media used in the treatment of ammonia-ladenEIMWW to establish the effects of competing ions and regeneration solution composition. The Northern Ontario EIMWW tested contained 3.87 meq/L total ammonia (TA) as well as 2.85 meq/L Kþ and 3.9 meq/L Ca2þ.The media studied were a natural clinoptilolite and a modified clinoptilolite (SIR-600). Five regenerant solutions with different NaCl and KCl concentrations were evaluated. The presence of potassium in the regenerant was found to hinder the TA exchange capacity of both zeolites. The SIR-600 and the natural clinoptilolite used in conjunction with the 10% NaCl solution featured the best TA exchange capacities, 0.46 ± 0.02 meq TA/g and 0.36 ± 0.05 meq TA/g, respectively. The batch tests showed that both media had a slight preference for Kþ over TA. The continuous flow column tests performed using SIR-600 media greatly accentuated the selectivity of Kþ over TA. In reaching the same 0.55 meq TA/L breakthrough level, the same modified zeolite column was able to treat five time more volume of a synthetic TA solution than EIMWW.

Indigenous Peoples, settler colonialism, and access to health care in rural and northern Ontario.

In Canada rural and northern communities, particularly Indigenous communities, face challenges disproportionate to their urban counterparts in accessing health care services. Existing health research on rural communities has tended to emphasize and reinforce the rural/urban dichotomy in access to and delivery of services, leaving the notion of "rural" as an under-interrogated concept. Drawing on a qualitative study of health care providers, community members, and Indigenous Elders, we explore Indigenous people's beliefs about vaccination to complicate notions of rurality in order to illuminate the ways in which space and settler colonialism both shape and limit choices around health care access.

Comparison of Woodland Caribou Calving Areas Determined by Movement Patterns Across Northern Ontario

ABSTRACTAdult female survival and calf recruitment influence population dynamics, but there is limited information on calving and neonatal mortality of boreal woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou; caribou) in Ontario, Canada. We identified calf parturition sites and 5‐week neonatal mortality using a movement‐based approach across 3 northern Ontario study regions (Pickle Lake, Nakina, and Cochrane) that vary in their capacity to support caribou populations. In comparing 22 caribou‐years of video‐collar footage during 2010–2013 to predictions of the movement‐based approach, we found live parturition events were 100% correctly classified, date of parturition was within 1.08 ± 0.28 ( ± SE) days, and mortality events up to 5 weeks postpartum were 88% correctly classified. Across study regions, 87% of 186 caribou were pregnant and 76% of 107 caribou‐years indicated birth events with median parturition dates a week later in Cochrane (23 May) than in Pickle Lake (17 May) and Nakina (16 May). Based on selection ratios of caribou‐years with calves‐at‐heel (n = 80), caribou consistently selected for lowlands and closed‐canopied forests and mostly against early‐seral stands (<20 yrs old) and areas near linear features during the neonatal and the post‐neonatal period (up to 35 days postpartum). Based on the video footage and movement models, 30% of 81 caribou‐years that indicated live births also showed females lost their calf within the first 5 weeks postpartum, with higher risk of neonatal mortality associated with increased use of lowlands and greater postpartum movement rates. This study provides informative metrics of caribou reproduction across northern Ontario that will contribute to future population modeling and identifies important landscape features to be considered in future industrial development and land use planning for caribou conservation. © 2020 The Wildlife Society.

TCT CONNECT-182 Outcomes of Patients With Cardiogenic Shock Requiring Ventricular Assist Devices in Northern Ontario: Quality Improvement Project

TCT CONNECT-182 Outcomes of Patients With Cardiogenic Shock Requiring Ventricular Assist Devices in Northern Ontario: Quality Improvement Project

TCT CONNECT-105 The Safety of Early Discharge Following Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Among Patients in Northern Ontario and Rural Areas Utilizing the Vancouver 3M TAVR Study Clinical Pathway

TCT CONNECT-105 The Safety of Early Discharge Following Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Among Patients in Northern Ontario and Rural Areas Utilizing the Vancouver 3M TAVR Study Clinical Pathway

Up north there: Discourse-pragmatic deixis in Northern Ontario

In this paper we analyze the discourse-pragmatic use of the adverbs there/here, e.g., “So, our grandsonthereis a real mixture”, in four small northern Ontario towns. 1200 examples contrasted by type of reference, ambiguous locative or non-locative, were coded for social and linguistic factors and analysed using statistical modelling. The results reveal that the strongest predictor of discourse-pragmatic use is date of birth: middle-aged speakers use it most in each town, but no other social factors (e.g. perceived gender, education, job type) are significant. Importantly, the higher the proportion of Francophone populations in the community, the greater the use of there but not here. We argue that alignment between Francophones and Anglophones is a likely explanation. More generally this study highlights the value of discourse-pragmatic features for understanding styles of interaction and underscores the research potential for comparing these phenomena across communities.

Effect of Climate Change on a Monolithic Desulphurized Tailings Cover

A soil cover system can be viewed as a thin interface placed between the atmosphere and the underlying waste. Climate is a primary design variable in soil cover design; therefore, climate change poses a number of challenges to design, operation and long-term performance of covers. In this research climate change effects on the hydraulic behavior of soil covers at a Northern Ontario, Canada site were assessed. Covers were analyzed using historical and future climate datasets. Historical climate data were compiled from an Environment Canada weather station near the site. The future climate datasets were sourced for different Global Circulation Models (GCM) for various representative concentration pathways (RCP). The covers at the site were constructed with a single layer of desulphurized tailings. Soil covers were meant to limit oxygen ingress to the underlying reactive tailings by maintaining high water saturation in the covers. Oxygen flux through soil covers for current and future climates were predicted using variably saturated water flow and oxygen transport modeling using the finite element method. The results of this research indicate that the effect of climate change on soil cover depends on the hydraulic properties of the soil cover materials and that of the underlying tailings. The results of this study suggest that the effect of climate change on the coarse tailing covers could be marginal resulting in a maximum increase of 5% in oxygen flux at the cover surface for the future climates in comparison to the base climate. However, in the case of fine tailings covers, increases of up to 65% can be expected.

Northern Ontario School of Medicine.

Northern Ontario School of Medicine.

Evaluation of Alternate Patient Education Methods Regarding Treatment-Related Side Effects in Preparation for Radiation Therapy

The goal of this study was to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of the protocols for new patient education presently used by cancer centres in Northern Ontario, and to suggest improvements based on this information. Prior to their first radiation treatment, patients meet with many health care providers in order to receive information regarding potential side effects and coping mechanisms. It has been observed that many new patients are unable to recall the information delivered during these meetings.

Kidney Function and Potassium Monitoring After Initiation of Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System Blockade Therapy and Outcomes in 2 North American Populations

Clinical practice guidelines recommend routine kidney function and serum potassium testing within 30 days of initiating ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitor or angiotensin II receptor blocker therapy. However, evidence is lacking about whether follow-up testing reduces therapy-related adverse outcomes. We conducted 2 population-based retrospective cohort studies in Kaiser Permanente Northern California and Ontario, Canada. Patients with outpatient serum creatinine and potassium tests in the 30 days after starting ACE inhibitor or angiotensin II receptor blocker therapy were matched 1:1 to patients without follow-up tests. We evaluated the association of follow-up testing with 30-day all-cause mortality and hospitalization with acute kidney injury or hyperkalemia using Cox regression. We also developed and externally validated a risk score to identify patients at risk of having abnormally high serum creatinine and potassium values in follow-up. We identified 75 251 matched pairs initiating ACE inhibitor or angiotensin II receptor blocker therapy between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2017, in Kaiser Permanente Northern California. Follow-up testing was not significantly associated with 30-day all-cause mortality in Kaiser Permanente Northern California (hazard ratio, 0.75 [95% CI, 0.54-1.06]) and was associated with higher mortality in 84 905 matched pairs in Ontario (hazard ratio, 1.32 [95% CI, 1.07-1.62]). In Kaiser Permanente Northern California, follow-up testing was significantly associated with higher rates of hospitalization with acute kidney injury (hazard ratio, 1.66 [95% CI, 1.10-2.22]) and hyperkalemia (hazard ratio, 3.36 [95% CI, 1.08-10.41]), as was observed in Ontario. The risk score for abnormal potassium provided good discrimination (area under the curve [AUC], 0.75) and excellent calibration of predicted risks, while the risk score for abnormal serum creatinine provided moderate discrimination (AUC, 0.62) but excellent calibration. Routine laboratory monitoring after ACE inhibitor or angiotensin II receptor blocker initiation was not associated with a lower risk of 30-day mortality. We identified patient subgroups in which targeted testing may be effective in identifying therapy-related changes in serum potassium or kidney function.

Can a screening tool safely identify low risk cardiac patients to be transported with primary care flight paramedics?

We aimed to determine the rate of adverse events during interfacility transport of cardiac patients identified as low risk by a consensus-derived screening tool and transported by primary care flight paramedics (PCP(f)). We conducted a health records review of adult patients diagnosed with a cardiac condition who were identified as low risk by the screening tool and transported by PCP(f). We excluded patients transported by an advanced care crew, those accompanied by a clinical escort from hospital, and those transported from a scene call, by rotary wing or ground vehicle. We recorded patient and transportation parameters using a piloted-standardized collection tool. We defined adverse events during transport a priori. We report descriptive statistics using mean (standard deviation), [range], (percentage). We included 400 patients: mean age 66.9 years old, 66.5% male. Mean transport duration was 136.2 (74.9) minutes. Most common comorbidities were hypertension (50.3%) and coronary artery disease (39.5%). Most transports originated out of Northern Ontario and were for cardiac catheterization (61.8%) or coronary artery bypass grafting (26.8%). Overall, the adverse event rate was low (0.3%), with no serious event such as cardiac arrest, death, or airway intervention. A screening tool can identify cardiac patients at low risk for clinical deterioration during air-medical transport. We believe patients screened with this tool can be transported safely by a PCP(f) crew, leading to potentially significant resource savings.

Retaining graduates of non-metropolitan medical schools for practice in the local area: the importance of locally based postgraduate training pathways in Australia and Canada.

The objective of this study was to identify commonalities between one regionally based medical school in Australia and one in Canada regarding the association between postgraduate training location and a doctor's practice location once fully qualified in a medical specialty. Data were obtained using a cross-sectional survey of graduates of the James Cook University (JCU) medical school, Queensland, Australia, who had completed advanced training to become a specialist (a 'Fellow') in that field (response rate = 60%, 197 of 326). Medical education, postgraduate training and practice data were obtained for 400 of 409 (98%) fully licensed doctors who completed undergraduate medical education or postgraduate training or both at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), Ontario, Canada. Binary logistic regression used postgraduate training location to predict practice in the school's service region (northern Australia or northern Ontario). Separate analyses were conducted for medical discipline groupings of general/family practitioner, general specialist and subspecialist (JCU only). For JCU graduates, significant associations were found between training in a northern Australian hospital at least once during postgraduate training and current (2018) northern Australian practice for all three discipline subgroups: family practitioner (p<0.001; prevalence odds ratio (POR)=30.0; 95% confidence interval (CI): 6.7-135.0), general specialist (p=0.002; POR=30.3; 95%CI: 3.3-273.4) and subspecialist (p=0.027; POR=6.5; 95%CI: 1.2-34.0). Overall, 38% (56/149) of JCU graduates who had completed a Fellowship were currently practising in northern Australia. For NOSM-trained doctors, a significant positive effect of training location on practice location was detected for family practice doctors but not for general specialist doctors. Family practitioners who completed their undergraduate medical education at NOSM and their postgraduate training in northern Ontario had a statistically significant (p<0.001) POR of 36.6 (95%CI: 16.9-79.2) of practising in northern Ontario (115/125) versus other regions, whereas those who completed only their postgraduate training in northern Ontario (46/85) had a statistically significant (p<0.001) POR of 3.7 (95%CI: 2.1-6.8) relative to doctors who only completed their undergraduate medical education at NOSM (28/117). Overall, 30% (22/73) of NOSM's general speciality graduates currently practise in northern Ontario. The findings support increasing medical graduate training numbers in rural underserved regions, specifically locating full specialty training programs in regional and rural centres in a 'flipped training' model, whereby specialty trainees are based in rural or regional clinical settings with some rotations to the cities. In these circumstances, the doctors would see their regional or rural centre as 'home base' with the city rotations as necessary to complete their training requirements while preparing to practise near where they train.

Inter-comparison of lumped hydrological models in data-scarce watersheds using different precipitation forcing data sets: Case study of Northern Ontario, Canada

Study regionBig East River and Black River watersheds in Northern Ontario, Canada as snow-dominated, data-poor case studies. Study focusIn this study, seven lumped conceptual models were thoroughly compared in order to determine the best performing model for reproducing different components of the hydrograph, including low and high flows in data-poor catchments. All models were calibrated using five various objective functions for reducing the effects of calibration process on models’ performance. Additionally, the effects of precipitation, an important factor, particularly in data-scarce regions, were assessed by comparing two precipitation input scenarios: (1) low-density ground-based gauge data, and (2) the Canadian Precipitation Analysis (CaPA) data. The final goal of this study was to compare the effects of using either the Degree-Day or SNOW17 snowmelt estimation methods on the accuracy of streamflow simulation. New hydrological insightsThe results indicate that, in general, MACHBV is the best performing model at simulating daily streamflow in a data-poor watershed, and both SACSMA and GR4J can provide competitive results. Additionally, MACHBV and GR4J are superior to the other conceptual models regarding high flow simulation. Moreover, it was found that incorporating the more complex SNOW17 snowmelt estimation method did not always enhance the performance of the hydrologic models. Finally, the results also confirmed the reliability of the CaPA data as an alternative forcing precipitation in the case of low data availability.

Beliefs and Perspectives of Women and Obstetrical Providers in Northern Ontario on Water Births.

This study sought to understand the beliefs and perspectives of women in northern Ontario and their obstetrical providers with respect to water birthing as access to this service is limited in this region METHODS: All midwives, family physicians (FPs), and obstetricians providing labour and delivery services in northern Ontario were surveyed, as were a sample of labour and delivery nurses in the region and convenience samples of regional women. Of the 362 women who completed the survey (a 90.5% response rate), 81.8% (95% CI 77.5-85.4) believed water births to be safe, 40.9% (95% CI 35.9-46) were interested in having a water birth, and 76.5% (95% CI 71.8-80.5) wanted to have the option of a hospital-based water birth. Perceptions of water birth safety varied significantly by provider type (χ2P < 0.001) with 100% (95% CI 89.6-100) of midwives but 0% (95% CI 52.3-94.9) of obstetricians considering them to be safe. Perceptions of the specific risks and benefits of water birth also varied significantly by provider type, as did understanding of consumer interest. Reflecting these perceptions, 97.1% (95% CI 85.1-99.5) of midwives and 0% (95% CI 0-27.8) of obstetricians would consider assisting in or providing hospital-based water births. Women in northern Ontario are interested in water birth and in having this service available in hospitals. However, given the widely divergent views of the professional groups providing labour and delivery care in the region, hospitals should be strongly encouraged to explore interprofessional development opportunities to enable patient-centred care in this context.

Diatom assemblages are controlled by light attenuation in oligotrophic and mesotrophic lakes in northern Ontario (Canada)

Diatom communities are composed of three distinct water-depth-associated assemblages: a nearshore benthic assemblage, a deep-water benthic assemblage, and a primarily planktonic assemblage. Light attenuation with depth has been hypothesized to be the factor that controls benthic-to-planktonic (B:P) assemblage transitions. Previous studies, however, could not distinguish between the individual effects of light and temperature on diatom assemblage transition because the depth of the B:P transition occurred at or near the depth of the thermocline. This has caused confusion regarding which factor is the more influential variable on benthic-planktonic diatom assemblage transition in surface sediments along water-depth transects in lakes. Two boreal lakes in northeast Ontario were selected to examine this problem. The study lakes are sufficiently deep and clear (Secchi disk depths ~ 9–10 m; dissolved organic carbon ~ 3 mg/L), making it possible to distinguish between the depth of 1% light penetration and the depth of the thermocline. Surface sediment samples were collected along water-depth transects from these lakes to examine intra-lake diatom assemblage structure. In both lakes, the water depth of the diatom assemblage B:P transition was closely associated with the depth of the ~ 1% photosynthetically active radiation value, and was well below the depth of the thermocline, suggesting that light penetration has more influence on this transition than does the thermocline. Because temporal fluxes in nutrients and DOC concentrations can attenuate light, understanding how the light regime influences benthic diatoms in lakes can help inform interpretations of diatom assemblage changes in paleolimnological studies.

Social Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: Sparking Social Transformation

For over five years, Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship (SEE), a community partnership in Northern Ontario, has been developing a supportive ecosystem for social enterprise, entrepreneurship, and innovation. This article sheds light on how the SEE partnership has established a broad spectrum of supports and a healthy ecosystem for alternative economies in a northern, rural, and Indigenous region, from an initial focus on youth, with asset mapping and pop-up events, to its current emphasis on regional networking and train-the-trainer programs for economic development officers. This article argues that the partnership’s strong emphasis on community engagement and empowerment, and the cyclical nature of the community-based research methodology has enhanced the sustainability of the ecosystem and leads to systemic social innovation and transformation.

Sparking Social Transformation through Cycles of Community-Based Research

For over five years, Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship (SEE), a community partnership in Northern Ontario, has been developing a supportive ecosystem for social enterprise, entrepreneurship, and innovation. This article sheds light on how the SEE partnership has established a broad spectrum of supports and a healthy ecosystem for alternative economies in a northern, rural, and Indigenous region, from an initial focus on youth, with asset mapping and pop-up events, to its current emphasis on regional networking and train-the-trainer programs for economic development officers. This article argues that the partnership’s strong emphasis on community engagement and empowerment, and the cyclical nature of the community-based research methodology has enhanced the sustainability of the ecosystem and leads to systemic social innovation and transformation.

Spatio-temporal analysis of mental illness and the impact of marginalization-based factors: a case study of Ontario, Canada

ABSTRACT Mental illness is a predominant medical condition in Canada. Marginalized groups in the Canadian population such as those with low income, the poorly educated and ethnic minorities are susceptible to mental health disorders. Using mental health-related emergency department visits as an indicator of mental illness cases, we employ a Bayesian spatio-temporal regression model to estimate mental illness risk across the 35 public health units of Ontario, Canada from 2006 to 2017. The association between mental illness and the following marginalization-related factors: material deprivation, residential instability and ethnic concentration is also evaluated. Over the assessed period, the relative risk of mental illness ranged from 0.45 (95% CI: 0.44–0.46) to 3.29 (95% CI: 3.20–3.37). Health units with elevated levels of material deprivation and residential instability were positively associated with increased mental illness risk whilst areas with higher ethnic concentration were linked with lower risk. Findings showed that the temporal trend of risk continuously increased over the 11 year period, with health units in northern Ontario experiencing higher risk compared to southern units. The management of psychiatric disorders presents a significant challenge to the Canadian health-care system. An understanding of the geographic distribution of mental health risk across space and time can be useful for improved policy-making and public health monitoring.

Time‐Averaging Voles Match Density with Long‐Term Habitat Quality

Photo 1. The Lakehead University Habitron in northern Ontario, Canada. The Habitron consists of 24 interconnected rodent-proof enclosures, a small office, outdoor field laboratory, and three storage sheds. Enclosures have small gates that can be opened to enable dispersal among habitats. Field biologists control rodent densities, age distributions and sex ratios, and determine whether enclosures receive supplemental resources, and whether animals can move from one enclosure to others. Photo credit: Douglas Morris. Photo 2. Circular foraging trays used to calculate giving-up densities (GUDs) located under a clear polyethylene cover (risky foraging site) and a nearby plywood cover (safe foraging site). Trays are filled with 1.5 L of sieved silica sand thoroughly mixed with 8 g of whole oats and are foraged in by free-ranging meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus). The difference in GUD between paired risky and safe trays provides an estimate of predation risk. Photo credit: Douglas Morris. Photo 3. A risky open foraging tray with an automatic radio frequency identification (RFID) antenna attached to an event recorder. The recorder logs the entrance and departure times of all RFID-tagged rodents that forage in the tray. Total foraging time is a simple cumulation of the respective foraging intervals. Photo credit: Douglas Morris. Photo 4. A closed safe foraging station with an automated RFID antenna (hidden from view under the cover) and its event recorder. Covers are suspended on small wooden supports to allow entry by voles. The supports are located parallel to the RFID antenna in order to eliminate false recordings of animals that might be resting or moving adjacent to the antenna, rather than foraging in the sand-filled tray. Photo credit: Douglas Morris. Photo 5. Power and communication cables connect a series of electrical transformers and control units to eight data recorders (not in the photo) at the Lakehead University Habitron in northern Ontario, Canada. The middle platform serves as a field desk for a laptop computer used to download data on the identities and foraging activities of RFID-tagged meadow voles. Photo credit: Douglas Morris. These photographs illustrate the article “Time-averaging voles match density with long-term habitat quality” by Douglas W. Morris published in Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3036