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The goal of this project is to determine the effects of anesthetic agents (alfaxalone, dexmedetomidine, propofol, isoflurane, α-chloralose) on urodynamic and anesthetic parameters. Data within this project are part of a manuscript pending publication.

In early 2020, an international team of investigators, led by the Montreal Behavioural Medicine Centre (MBMC), launched a large survey-based project (the iCARE Study) aiming to track people’s experiences and behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic across the world. As part of this endeavor, several sampling strategies were employed to recruit participants, but could be classified into two large categories. The first category regroups efforts (e.g., online advertising, snowball sampling through word-of-mouth) that recruits a convenience-based sample of unpaid volunteers to take the survey. The second category involves efforts to recruit more representative samples for given countries (e.g., using a polling firm that makes use of a large panel selected to match the wider population on key demographic characteristics). The current project aims to examine the degree to which samples produced by these two types of methods produce effects that are comparable/different from each other using Canadian data from the iCARE Study. A detailed preregistration file has been uploaded with this registration. This file outlines our hypotheses, data, and analytic plans.

As a result of climate change, the world has seen an increase in the frequency and severity of wildfire events ​​(Flannigan et al., 2009). Simultaneously, human populations have continued to expand into what is known as the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI), an area of transition between the natural environment and land developed by human activity. Development into the WUI increases the number of properties and ecological,economic, and social values at risk of damage from wildfires. One solution that has been offered by various governments, in tandem with their wildfire response agencies, has been the creation of fire mitigation and education programs (McGee, 2007). A few examples of these programs include FireSmart (Canada), FireWise (USA), Community FireSafe (New Zealand), and Bushfire Ready Action Groups (Australia). These programs aim to educate residents on how they can mitigate the risk of wildfires on their property and minimize potential damage. However, uptake of these mitigation measures by residents living in the WUI has not been consistent; a phenomenon which has been the focus of many wildfire research studies (e.g., Brenkert-Smith et al., 2012). In an attempt to understand this lack of consistency, previous research has examined many factors that may affect wildfire mitigation behaviours, including political, social, economic, and psychological considerations. This scoping review will focus on the psychosocial factors that affect the implementation of mitigation measures by residents living within the WUI, and attempt to understand which factors are most significant. The term ‘factor’ is used to be inclusive of the wide range of variables that may affect the uptake of wildfire mitigation measures, including sociodemographics (e.g., age, gender, etc), attitudes (e.g., risk perceptions, trust, etc), barriers (e.g., financial, education), values (e.g., individualism, sense of responsibility, etc), and other dimensions. This preliminary list is flexible, as factors may be included or removed based on the reviewed literature. This scoping review aims to map the existing literature on factors affecting residential wildfire mitigation; examine the frequency in which factor(s) have (or have not) been examined in past research; and provide a foundation which could inform the development of future systematic reviews.

Throughout the United States there are millions of culverts that have exceeded their design life. Some of these antique structures were built by stone masons and craftsmen over 100 years ago, while others were installed using common materials that have rusted or crumbled over time. This presentation will address common drainage considerations, the factors that lead to culvert deterioration, and considerations for utilizing rehabilitation methods for long-term service and preservation.

Additional file 1: Table SM.1. Expected (based on population) versus actual count of households receiving postcards. Fig. SM.1. “COVID Specific” postcard design. Fig. SM.2. “General Health” postcard design. Table SM.2. Descriptive characteristics of study sample by postcard type. Table SM.3. Likelihood of Agreeing with the statement: “Getting sick with COVID-19 can be serious.” Table SM.4. Likelihood of Agreeing with the statement: “I will probably get COVID-19.” Table SM.5. Likelihood of Agreeing with the statement: “The threat posed by COVID-19 is exaggerated by the Canadian federal government.” Table SM.6. Likelihood of Agreeing with the statement: “COVID-19 will NOT affect many Canadians.”.

First in a series of working papers on the social impacts of the Coronavirus in Canada.

First in a series of working papers on the social impacts of the Coronavirus in Canada.

There are over 1.9 million eye injuries per year in the United States with over 30,000 patients left blind in at least one eye as a result of trauma. Some of the most severe eye injuries can occur in automobile accidents and from sports related impacts. Eye injuries in the military environment are even more prevalent and are generally more severe than eye injuries to civilians. The rate of eye injuries has dramatically increased in warfare in recent years, rising from 2% of all casualties during World War I and World War II to over 13% of all combat injuries in Operation Desert Storm. While many of the conflict-related eye injuries are caused by shrapnel and other debris, nearly 25% of the injuries are also caused by blunt trauma from motor vehicle and helicopter crashes, falling, and direct hits from blunt objects. In order to develop safety countermeasures effective at preventing these eye injuries, as well as evaluate the eye injury potential of different impacts, it is desirable to have the capability for distinguishing between injurious and non-injurious eye impacts. Current anthropometric test device (ATD) headforms lack instrumentation and facial features to allow detailed assessment of eye or discrete facial injuries. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation is to present the development and validation of the Facial and Ocular CountermeasUre Safety (FOCUS) headform's synthetic eye and orbit and corresponding eye injury risk criteria. Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to develop injury risk functions for dynamic bending of the human femur in the lateral-to-medial and posterior-to-anterior loading directions. A total of 45 experiments were performed on human cadaver femurs using a dynamic three-point drop test setup. All 45 tests resulted in mid-shaft femur fractures with comminuted wedge and oblique fractures as the most common fracture patterns. The reaction loads were used to develop the injury criteria given that they represent the inertially compensated bending strength of the femur that is more appropriate for dummy load cell application. In the lateral-to-medial bending tests the peak reaction bending moments were 352 ± 83 Nm. In the posterior-to-anterior bending tests the peak reaction bending moments were 348 ± 96 Nm. Regression analysis was used to identify significant parameters, and parametric survival analysis was used to estimate risk functions. Femur cross-sectional area, area moment of inertia (I), maximum distance to the neutral axis (c), I/c, occupant gender, and occupant mass are shown to be significant predictors of fracture tolerance, while no significant difference is shown for loading direction, bone mineral density, leg aspect and age. Risk functions are presented for femur cross-sectional area, I/c, and a combined occupant gender and mass. The risk function that utilizes the most highly correlated (R2 = 0.77) and significant (p = 0.0001) variable, cross-sectional area, predicts a 50 percent risk of femur fracture of 240 Nm, 395 Nm, and 562 Nm for equivalent cross-sectional area of the 5th percentile female, 50th percentile male, and 95th percentile male respectively. Master of Science