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Although activity involvement has been linked to positive youth development, the value that adolescents place on these activities (i.e., how much they enjoy the activities, find them important, and spend time on them) has received less attention. The purpose of the present study was to examine the bidirectional longitudinal association between engagement in valued activities and adolescent positive adjustment (optimism, purpose in life, and self-esteem), as well as investigate a possible underlying mechanism for this link. High school students ( N = 2,270, 48.7 % female) from Ontario, Canada completed questionnaires annually in grades 10, 11, and 12. Auto-regressive cross-lagged path analyses were conducted over time, controlling for gender, parental education, and academic grades. Greater engagement in valued activities predicted higher optimism, purpose, and self-esteem over time. Importantly, the results did not support an alternate hypothesis of selection effects, in that adolescents who were better adjusted were not more likely than their peers to engage in valued activities over time. We also found that the longitudinal associations between valued activities and positive adjustment may be due partly to an underlying effect of increased positive mood. Thus, engagement in valued activities appears to be important for adolescent positive adjustment, and may help to foster thriving. Communities, educators, and parents should actively support and encourage adolescents to develop valued activities, and seek to ensure that there are ample opportunities and resources available for them to do so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors investigated past-tense morphology problems in children with dyslexia compared to those classically observed in children with oral language impairment (LI). Children were tested on a past-tense elicitation task involving regulars (look-looked), irregulars (take-took), and nonwords (murn-murned). Phonological skills were also assessed, using tests of nonsense word reading and phoneme elision. Analyses focused on whether children with dyslexia and LI showed overlapping patterns of morphological and phonological difficulties compared to controls with typical reading and language levels. Both the groups with LI and dyslexia had difficulty generating past tenses overall, although the deficit was less pronounced in dyslexia. Both groups also showed similar problems with phonological processing. The results have important implications for the theory that both language and reading problems involve oral language processing deficits. Specifically, our data support the theory that the phonological deficits observed in both dyslexia and LI are related to deficits in morphological processing. However, some important differences between dyslexia and LI are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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Potamilus alatus (Pink Heelsplitter) is a rare freshwater mussel in the Ottawa River drainage (Ontario/Quebec, Canada), at the northeastern limit of its distribution. There are few historical records, and one old specimen from an uncertain locality. The discovery of the Pink Heelsplitter in the Ottawa River drainage dates from 1863. A few specimens were reported up to 1901, but it was August 2001 before another specimen was found in the Ottawa River, as an empty shell at Upper Duck Island, near Ottawa. From 2001 to 2005, the authors found this freshwater mussel at four localities along the Ottawa River, and two in the tributary South Nation River. Records include 4 living specimens and 12 empty shells, of which 8 were in fresh condition. The Pink Heelsplitter seems to persist sparsely in the Ottawa River, but it may have been extirpated from one of its tributaries (South Nation River) before its discovery due to mortality associated with Dreissena polymorpha (Zebra Mussel). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a series of studies, the phenomenon of head-shaking nystagmus (HSN) was assessed in 50 control subjects and 1364 consecutive dizzy patients who underwent formal electronystagmography (ENG) at the Toronto Hospital Center for Advanced Hearing and Balance Testing. HSN was compared in a series of 30 patients who underwent conventional electro-oculography (EOG) vs magnetic (scleral) coil eye movement recordings. Clinical correlation of HSN to other parameters of the ENG test battery was performed in another sub-series of 300 patients with known diagnoses. HSN was identified in 31.7% of dizzy patients vs 24% of control subjects. No significant difference in its manifestation was noted between active vs passive head-shaking tests or on EOG vs magnetic (scleral) coil eye movement recordings. When compared to other aspects of the ENG test battery, HSN was neither specific nor sensitive for vestibular dysfunction. It nevertheless correlated well with the presence of a caloric reduction and with increasing R/L excitability differences on ENG testing. When present, HSN was characteristically monophasic in 76.8%, biphasic in 22.7% and triphasic in 0.5% of subjects. The initial direction of HSN generally obeyed Ewald's second law, but the reverse was noted in 27% with monophasic and 17.6% of patients with biphasic HSN. In the subseries of 300 patients with known diagnoses, the presence of HSN was statistically significant (p<0.05) in patients with peripheral vestibular dysfunction vs psychogenic dizziness. Its presence was also significant in well-documented peripheral vestibular disorders such as Meniere's disease (p<0.01), vestibular neuronitis (p<0.05) and acoustic neuroma (p<0.05). Localization of the disease involvement based on the initial direction of HSN was especially unpredictable in patients with Meniere's disease. The significance and usefulness of the head-shake test in the otoneurological evaluation of the dizzy patient is further commented on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of learning portfolios in health professions has been widely described and discussed as an important tool for promoting reflective practice and continuing professional development. Within pharmacy, there have been reports of the use of the learning portfolio in practice and education. The Ontario College of Pharmacists, as part of its maintenance of competency requirements, requires practicing pharmacists to maintain a learning portfolio as a written record of learning activities, resources used and outcomes. For this study, surveys were distributed to 1415 pharmacists in Ontario, Canada (representing approximately 20% of all pharmacists in the province) and data was collected related to use of the learning portfolio in practice. In addition, anecdotal feedback was collected and analyzed to identify the value of the portfolio in maintenance of competency activities for pharmacists. Results indicate that initially pharmacists may express misunderstanding or misapprehension regarding the role of the learning portfolio and optimal ways of documenting learning in practice. However, with additional support (including the use of facilitated, peer-based discussions), attitudes towards learning portfolios shift towards acceptance and understanding. Quantitative data indicates a wide variation in the number of learning objectives identified per pharmacist per year, the amount of time spent in continuous professional development activities, and the impact of these activities on changing practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) was established by Canada's nuclear energy generators (Ontario Power Generation, New Brunswick Power and Hydro Quebec) in 2002 as a requirement of the Federal Nuclear Fuel Waste Act. The NWMO's mission is to develop and implement collaboratively with Canadians, a management approach for the long-term care of Canada's used nuclear fuel that is socially acceptable, technically sound, environmentally responsible, and economically feasible. In 2005, after a multi-year dialogue with the public, the NWMO published the Adaptive Phased Management (APM) plan for managing Canada's used nuclear fuel which was accepted by the Government of Canada in 2007. The site selection process began in 2010 and 22 communities expressed interest in "Learning More" about the plan. The technical evaluation process occurs in three major phases: Initial Screenings, Preliminary Assessments and Detailed Site Characterization. These phases are part of a narrowing down process to ultimately select one site for Canada's used nuclear fuel. As of January 2019, there are five communities remaining in the process, including three in crystalline rock environments across northern Ontario and two in sedimentary rock environments in southern Ontario. The initial field work for Preliminary Assessments has been completed for all crystalline rock communities remaining in the site selection process. The work included the acquisition and interpretation of high-resolution airborne geophysics and geological mapping. Borehole drilling and testing is the current focus of work, and additional site-specific geoscientific field and laboratory studies, planned to be completed over the next several years, will complement these previous and on-going studies. Local Indigenous and non-Indigenous community members participate and interact with NWMO and its contractors in all stages of the field work including through attendance at information sharing meetings, cultural awareness training and Indigenous ceremonies. NWMO acknowledges that we all have a stewardship responsibility to protect and preserve the Earth for this and future generations and has committed that Indigenous Knowledge will inform the implementation of the site selection process. Together these activities highlight NWMO's transdisciplinary approach to the site selection process by developing partnerships with the local Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, while advancing a technically sound site characterization program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]