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This joint protocol describes two scoping reviews that will identify and describe evidence for climate sensitivity of companion animal zoonotic diseases in cat, dog, and human populations worldwide. Climate change is a driver for emerging and re-emerging zoonotic diseases of global health concern. Companion animals can transmit over 70 zoonotic pathogens, some of which are sensitive to changes in meteorological factors. There is disparate evidence in our understanding of climate-sensitive companion animal zoonotic diseases. Primary research articles that describe 1) an association or effect between meteorological factors and the risk of zoonotic disease, 2) the presence of spatiotemporal variations in disease incidence or prevalence, or 3) the projected impacts of climate emission scenarios on disease trends will be included. A comprehensive search strategy was developed using index terms and keywords for populations of interest, companion animal zoonotic diseases, and meteorological factors. Articles will be searched on MEDLINE (via Ovid), AGRICOLA (via ProQuest), and Web of Science. Additional articles will be identified using citation tracking. Independent reviewers will systematically apply a two-step study screening process based on defined eligibility criteria. Key study characteristics and findings will be collated and presented as a descriptive summary using graphical and tabular formats. Two separate protocols have been registered in Open Science Framework. The first review consolidates evidence in cat and dog populations (https://osf.io/ydgc2), while the second review is focused on human populations (https://osf.io/3cvx2).

Acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) remains a significant public health issue and differences in risk based on a comprehensive set of sociodemographic characteristics remain poorly understood. Thus, this retrospective cohort study was conducted to identify the risk of incurring an AGI-related emergency department (ED) visit or inpatient hospitalization based on various sociodemographic factors. Linked respondents of Canadian Community Health Survey cycles 2.1, 3.1, and 2007–2015 were followed from their interview date until 31 December 2017, using the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS) and the Discharge Abstract Database (DAD) to capture emergency ED visits and hospitalizations due to AGI, respectively. Effects of identified potential risk factors for the incidence of AGI-related ED visits or hospitalizations were estimated Cox proportional hazards regression to generate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). A total of 190,700 respondents were linked to NACRS and 470,700 were linked to DAD. Six per cent of respondents visited an ED and 2% were hospitalized for AGI. Fully-adjusted estimates revealed that high-risk groups with the strongest effects were people with poor self-perceived health (ED visits: HR 1.47 (95% CI 1.40–1.54), hospitalizations: HR 1.92 (95% CI 1.82–2.02)), and people living with at least one chronic condition (ED visits: HR 1.54 (95% CI 1.47–1.61), hospitalizations: HR 1.65 (95% CI 1.57–1.73)). This study identified risk factors for requiring hospital care for AGI in the Canadian context. Additional research is needed to investigate mechanisms for differential exposure to pathogens by sociodemographic characteristics that might lead to increased risks of AGI.

People respond more slowly in two-choice tasks when either a previous stimulus feature or the previous response repeats in partial repetition trials than when (a) both repeat in complete repetition trials or (b) both alternate in complete alternation trials. The binding account posits that such partial repetition costs index a memory-retrieval conflict, which occurs because partial repetition trials trigger the retrieval of a previous stimulus feature or response that conflicts with a current stimulus feature or response. However, such costs may additionally reflect a simple decision-making heuristic that uses the repetition or alternation of a previous stimulus feature as a “signal” to bias response selection toward a repetition or an alternation of the previous response. To determine whether signaling contributes to partial repetition costs, we employed a four-choice task. Here, a stimulus feature repetition still signals a response repetition, but a stimulus feature alternation does not signal which of the three remaining responses to make. Consistent with an influence of signaling, we sometimes observed complete repetition advantages without complete alternation advantages. Exploratory analyses further revealed that partial repetition costs measured more broadly were smaller in the four-choice task than in a matched two-choice task. These findings suggest that partial repetition costs index a mixture of binding and signaling.

Competencies ensure public health students and professionals have the necessary knowledge, skills, values, and behaviours to do their jobs effectively. Public health is a dynamic and complex field requiring robust competency statements and frameworks that are regularly renewed. Many countries have public health competencies, but there has been no evidence synthesis on how these are developed. Our research aim was to synthesize the extent and nature of the literature on approaches and best practices for competencies statement and framework development in the context of public health, including identifying the relevant literature on approaches for developing competency statements and frameworks for public health students and professionals using a scoping review; and, synthesizing and describing approaches and best practices for developing public health competency statements and frameworks using a thematic analysis of the literature identified by the scoping review. We conducted a scoping review and thematic analysis of the academic and grey literature to synthesize and describe approaches and best practices for developing public health competency statements and frameworks. A systematic search of six databases uncovered 13 articles for inclusion. To scope the literature, articles were assessed for characteristics including study aim, design, methods, key results, gaps, and future research recommendations. Most included articles were peer-reviewed journal articles, used qualitative or mixed method design, and were focused on general, rather than specialist, public health practitioners. Thematic analysis resulted in the generation of six analytical themes that describe the multi-method approaches utilized in developing competency statements and frameworks including literature reviews, expert consultation, and consensus-building. There was variability in the transparency of competency framework development, with challenges balancing foundational and discipline-specific competencies. Governance, and intersectoral and interdisciplinary competency, are needed to address complex public health issues. Understanding approaches and best practices for competency statement and framework development will support future evidence-informed iterations of public health competencies.

BackgroundFoodborne and waterborne illnesses affect over four million Canadians annually and pose a preventable burden on the nation’s healthcare system. Climate change can increase the risk of such illnesses by increasing the likelihood of exposure to contaminants. As climate change progresses, it is imperative to better understand its impact on the dissemination of foodborne and waterborne contaminants throughout the food system. Currently, there is limited, synthesised evidence for how future changes in Canada’s climate may affect the risk of contamination of preharvest foods. The aim of this research is to collate and describe available information on effects of climate variables on biological and chemical contamination of preharvest foods in Canada. This information will contribute to improved understanding of climate change impacts and potential adaptation and mitigation strategies to increase climate resiliency in Canada’s food system.MethodsA preliminary search of MEDLINE, Web of Science and Google was conducted to verify the absence of existing reviews and to inform the development of this review protocol. Information will be identified by searching four academic databases: MEDLINE via Ovid, AGRICultural OnLine Access (AGRICOLA), CAB International and Web of Science. This search will be supplemented by a targeted grey literature search. The search strategy includes index terms and keywords for Canada-relevant foodborne and waterborne pathogens and chemical contaminants, preharvest foods and climate change. Search results will be managed using Covidence during all phases of the review, conducted by two independent reviewers. Data will be extracted, synthesised and presented using graphical and tabular formats.This scoping review protocol describes the process for retrieving a comprehensive set of evidence for how climate change variables may increase risk of biological or chemical contamination of preharvest foods in Canada. This review will provide decision-makers with a detailed understanding of climate variable-preharvest food-contaminant combinations using the best available evidence.Ethics and disseminationEthical considerations are not applicable to this protocol as scoping reviews conduct secondary data analysis that synthesises data from publicly available sources. The results from this review will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication and conference presentation.

Objectives Since the publication of the Core Competencies for Public Health in Canada in 2008, the public health and communication landscape has changed dramatically. Digital media and infodemics have shifted how practitioners must communicate and respond to health information. The age of the current competency framework, which is relied on for workforce development, alongside emerging public health challenges, have prompted calls for modernized competency statements. This study aims to (i) measure self-reported communication competence in the public health workforce, (ii) measure agreement with new communication competency statements, (iii) identify variation in agreement between sub-groups of professionals, and (iv) explore current and needed communication training. Methods Using a mixed-methods online survey, a sample of 378 participants in various Canadian public health roles and regions were asked to rate their current communication competence and agreement with a modernized, evidence-based draft communication competency framework. The survey was distributed in both official languages through partner organizations and social media. Descriptive statistics were performed to assess agreement and variation was analyzed in relation to public health roles and experience. Results While most participants self-reported communication competence, specific areas were rated lower. All 21 proposed competency statements received high agreement with some variation observed between expertise and experience levels. Demand for communication training is high. Conclusion Strong agreement with statements indicates support for a modernized communication competency framework among sampled professionals. Research to gather more evidence surrounding the communication demands of the public health workforce and observed variation in strong agreement for the proposed statements is underway.

Electrophilic halogenation is a widely used tool employed by medicinal chemists to either pre-functionalize molecules for further diversity or incorporate a halogen atom into drugs or drug-like compounds to solve metabolic problems or modulate off-target effects. Current methods to increase the power of halogenation rely on either the invention of new reagents or activating commercially available reagents with various additives such as Lewis or Brønsted acids, Lewis bases and hydrogen-bonding activators. There is a high demand for new reagents that can halogenate otherwise unreactive compounds under mild conditions. Here we report the invention of a class of halogenating reagents based on anomeric amides, taking advantage of the energy stored in the pyramidalized nitrogen of N–X anomeric amides as a driving force. These robust halogenating methods are compatible with a variety of functional groups and heterocycles, as exemplified on over 50 compounds (including 13 gram-scale examples and 1 flow chemistry scale-up). Electrophilic halogenation approaches often suffer from low reactivity and chemoselectivity when it comes to complex compounds. Now a class of halogenating reagents based on anomeric amides that can halogenate complex bioactive molecules with diverse functional groups and heterocycles has been developed. The higher reactivity of these anomeric amide reagents is attributed to the energy stored in the pyramidalized nitrogen.

This paper argues that feminicidal and sexual gender-based violence faced by Indigenous women in Guatemala and Canada is a cause and consequence of these states’ failure to effectively guarantee Indigenous women’s intersecting socio-economic rights, namely their right to adequate housing. Exposing the historically-rooted, economic and political interests and investments of the two countries, this paper argues that Indigenous women’s rights have been co-opted by legal violence in both contexts. Revealing the complicity of settler democratic states and the international human rights regime in sustaining these rights violations, this paper evidences Indigenous women’s socio-economic marginalization, inadequate housing, and consequential feminicidal violence as the product of the gendered necropolitics of coloniality. Interrogating why and how these colonial genocidal structures sustain the subjugation of Indigenous women’s bodies, this paper exposes how colonial genocidal structures have rendered Indigenous women illegible for protection under international human rights law. Highlighting a range of performative1 attempts undertaken by the Guatemala and Canada to address the grave rights violations facing Indigenous women, this paper provides a feminist, decolonial framework that evidences why and how Indigenous women’s experiences of socioeconomic marginalization, inadequate and unsafe housing, and the alarming rates offeminicidal and sexual gender-based violence continue to persist unabated.

Introduction Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses are highly transmissible and lethal in wild and domestic birds and can infect other mammals. Effective avian influenza surveillance and response requires coordinated, cross-sectoral efforts involving many organizations and individuals. A detailed understanding of who is involved and their role in surveillance and response is necessary for optimizing efforts. However, a comprehensive map of stakeholders and their roles in AI surveillance and response is currently lacking in Canada. Purpose The aim of this study was to identify stakeholders and their roles in avian influenza surveillance to support effective surveillance and response in Canada. This map supplements existing information, including the Canadian Animal Health Surveillance System Poultry Surveillance Stakeholder Map, by comprehensively mapping specific sectors and organizations involved in avian influenza surveillance. Findings The final stakeholder list included 234 stakeholders involved in avian influenza surveillance (7 international, 60 national, 167 provincial/territorial). Stakeholders could have one role, multiple roles, or be involved in all steps of the surveillance cycle. The most common AI surveillance role was action and dissemination of information ( n =141; 60.3%). There were 66 stakeholders (28.2%) involved in all steps of the surveillance cycle. Significance This process identified and characterized stakeholders involved in surveillance and response to avian influenza outbreaks in Canada, improving awareness amongst stakeholders of who is involved and what their roles are. This map is intended to facilitate proactive communication and collaboration with the long-term goal of mitigating the impact of highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks in Canada.

The congruency effect in distractor-interference tasks is typically smaller after incongruent trials than after congruent trials. Current views posit that this congruency sequence effect (CSE) reflects control processes that come into play when an irrelevant distractor cues a different response than a relevant target. However, the CSE is counterintuitively larger in the prime-probe task when the prime is occasionally a second target than when the prime is more frequently a distractor. In the present study, we investigated whether this effect occurs because the appearance of an occasional prime target (a) constitutes a rare, unexpected event that triggers heightened control or (b) allows participants to use the same task set (i.e., stimulus-response mapping) for the prime and probe in each trial. Consistent with the latter hypothesis, we observed this effect in Experiment 1 even when the critical trial types appeared equally often. Further, in Experiment 2, we extended this finding while ruling out perceptual differences between conditions as an alternative account. These findings provide novel support for the task set hypothesis and reveal that the CSE reflects control processes that do more than minimize distraction from irrelevant stimuli.