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Background: Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is influenced by seasonality, but there is limited understanding of how specific climatic variables contribute to disease spread. This information aids in understanding disease transmission dynamics and could potentially inform public health modeling. Methods: This retrospective cohort study analyzed public health data from Ontario, Canada, between 2012 and 2021, along with historical climate data from Environment Canada. We employed Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (S-ARIMA) models to assess how temperature and precipitation impact the incidence of STEC infections, measured per 10,000,000 population. Results: The study included 1658 confirmed STEC cases. A significant correlation was found between STEC incidence and climatic variables. Each degree Celsius increase in maximum temperature was associated with a rise of 3 STEC cases per 10,000,000 population (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024)). Additionally, each millimeter of increased precipitation correlated with an increase of 1.1 cases per 10,000,000 population. Conclusions: The findings demonstrate a significant impact of temperature and precipitation on STEC transmission, highlighting the importance of integrating meteorological data into public health surveillance. This integration may help inform public health responses and support healthcare systems in planning for future outbreaks. Further studies are needed to refine predictive models and develop effective early warning systems for clinical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid proliferation of cloud computing, the energy cost of datacenters and the impact of reactive power on the grid have become major concerns. This paper presents two energy management control schemes for distributed uninterruptible power supply (UPS) architectures utilizing lithium-ion ultracapacitors (LIC) for improved system efficiency and reactive power mitigation. One scheme is proposed for low-power servers with an internal dc bus, while another is proposed for medium-to-high-power server racks with an in-rack dc bus. The LIC and the dc bus interface with a bidirectional dc–dc converter, which allows the power supply unit to run in the optimal operating region for the improved system efficiency and power factor. The server-level UPS architecture is experimentally tested using a 200-kHz, bidirectional, multiphase dc–dc converter with hysteretic current-mode control, while achieving 33% reactive power mitigation. Based on the SciNet datacenter in Toronto, ON, Canada, a rack-level distributed UPS architecture is built in MATLAB, and system-level simulations indicate a 37% reduction in the reactive power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pregnancy is a time when optimization of nutrition is critically important, yet pregnant women with substance use disorders face unique nutritional challenges. The aim of this short communication is to summarize existing knowledge about nutritional interventions used in substance use disorders for pregnant and parenting women with opioid use disorder (OUD) and substance use disorders and to inform program development by maternity care and treatment providers. We conducted a narrative review of nutritional interventions for pregnant women with OUD and performed environmental scanning to explore current practice. To gain knowledge about the unique nutritional needs of pregnant women with OUD, we searched the medical literature using Medical Subject Headings terms and key words combining the concepts of nutrition, pregnancy, and substance use. To explore current practice, we interviewed staff of a geographically diverse sample of 35 programs treating women with substance use disorders across the United Stated and Canada on their approach to prenatal nutrition for clients. Literature review identified two studies evaluating the nutritional status of pregnant women with substance use disorders, but neither described nutritional interventions. Lower body mass index and folate, B12, and iron deficiencies were found in women with OUD compared with women without OUD. Two additional studies integrated nutritional interventions in substance use treatment for non-pregnant populations, resulting in significant improvements in dietary habits and psychological well-being for participants. Of 15 substance use treatment programs that responded to our query, only two incorporated longitudinal nutrition curricula for pregnant women. Pregnancy is a time when a healthy diet is critically important for maternal, fetal, and neonatal health; however, pregnant women with OUD are at significant risk of malnutrition. There is an urgent need to address food insecurity and develop targeted nutrition education programs for pregnant women in early recovery. • Perinatal opioid use disorder is a persistent public health problem. • Pregnant women are vulnerable to nutritional deficits related to chronic opioid use. • There is an urgent need for targeted nutrition interventions for this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The past decades have witnessed an increase of the proportion of firms created by women in Canada. However, despite the increasing number of female entrepreneurs, research in the field keeps reporting that women are twice less likely to start a business than men; when they do start a venture, it is smaller in size and shows a lower growth level than male-controlled firms. The purpose of this research was to examine how female and male entrepreneurs participating to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Canada survey compared in terms of their motives to start a business. Motivations were compared using the "push-pull" dichotomy among a sample of owners of recently created firms across Canada. In general, the results of this study show a relationship between success at launching a business and some characteristics of opportunistic entrepreneurs such as: level of education, skills, self-confidence, income and networking. As men tend to have acquired these characteristics in a higher proportion than women, it would not be surprising to see women obtaining on average lower results than men when these characteristics are measured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A one-dimensional variational (1DVAR) technique is applied to assimilate rain gauge precipitation data to extend the predictability of the Saguenay flood cyclone associated with a trough-merger event on 19–21 July 1996 in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada. Two 60-h simulations initialized at 0000 UTC 19 July were performed with the Canadian Mesoscale Compressible Community (MC2) model. The control (CTL) and NCEP simulations were initialized with the enhanced temperature and moisture profiles obtained from the 1DVAR scheme and the NCEP reanalysis data, respectively. Compared to observations, the CTL simulation reasonably reproduced the observed mass and wind fields and showed a marked improvement in the threat scores for heavy precipitation. The CTL run captured the observed spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation but overpredicted the area of precipitation. Sensitivity experiments showed that the threat (bias) scores are less (somewhat) sensitive to the specification of the observation error of the precipitation data. Of the four precipitation systems present at model initial time, the systems in the vicinity of the southern trough had the biggest impact on the threat score. Potential vorticity diagnostics of the CTL simulation suggested that the initial temperature and moisture field near the southern trough decreased the condensational heating relative to NCEP. This resulted in a stronger zonal wind component in the upper levels associated with the southern trough in CTL that retarded the eastward propagation of the northern trough, resulting in a correct placement of the surface precipitation and an improvement in the threat scores relative to NCEP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the results of the Kirby Panel Report and the Romanow Commisison Report on the extent of health care gap between urban and rural areas in Canada. Comparison on the approaches used by both researchers on the problem; Efforts of the federal government in managing health care issues.