PricewaterhouseCoopers (Canada)

<h3>Abstract</h3> As the threat of flooding intensifies, the need for policies that align with household preferences for addressing flood risk becomes increasingly important. We conducted a discrete choice experiment to elicit homeowner preferences for purchasing overland flood insurance and/or making risk-reducing home improvements. Results from a latent class logit model indicate the presence of four preference classes, characterized by their preferred response to flood risk: insurance, home improvements, insurance and home improvements, and neither insurance nor home improvements. We subsequently evaluate household responses to insurance and home-improvement subsidies, offering insights into the effectiveness of incentives for encouraging protective actions against flooding.

Calcium-based substances carrying different inorganic anions will lead to the generation of different phosphorus (P) compounds in sludge pyrolysis products (biochar), which will inevitably affect P release efficiency. The effects of CaO and CaCl2 (2.5%–20%) on P conversion during pyrolysis at 700 °C were studied. Simultaneously, the influence of three representative low-molecular-weight organic acids (LMWOAs: acetic acid (AA), oxalic acid (OA), and citric acid (CA)) on P release behavior was investigated. The results showed that when the addition amount of CaO and CaCl2 was 10%, the AP concentration reached the maximum values of 47.05 and 46.98 mg/g, respectively. The main Ca–P of CaO-modified biochar was Ca5(PO4)3OH, while CaCl2-modified biochar was mainly Ca–P (Ca5(PO4)3Cl and Ca2PO4Cl) containing Cl. The P release rate of CaCl2-modified biochar in LMWOA was faster than that of CaO-modified biochar. Additionally, the order of P release efficiency in biochar is: CA > OA > AA at low concentrations (0.5 and 1.0 mM), OA > CA > AA at high concentrations (2.0 and 5.0 mM). The environmental factors affecting P release were ranked by significance: pH > organic matter concentration > temperature. Heavy metals showed minimal mobility during P release, confirming biochar’s stabilization capacity. Moreover, CaO-modified biochar has good stability and a slow P rate, while CaCl2-modified biochar could quickly address P deficiency and may be suitable for a severe P deficiency environment.

Abstract Animal behavioural diversity ultimately stems from variation in neural circuitry, yet how central neural circuits evolve remains poorly understood. Studies of neural circuit evolution often focus on a few elements within a network. However, addressing fundamental questions in evolutionary neuroscience, such as whether some elements are more evolvable than others, requires a more global and unbiased approach. Here, we used synapse-level comparative connectomics to examine how an entire olfactory circuit evolves. We compared the full antennal lobe connectome of the larvae of two closely related Drosophila species, D. melanogaster and D. erecta , which differ in their ecological niches and odour-driven behaviours. We found that evolutionary change is unevenly distributed across the network. Some features, including neuron types, neuron numbers and interneuron-to-interneuron connectivity, are highly conserved. These conserved elements delineate a core circuit blueprint presumably required for fundamental olfactory processing. Superimposed on this scaffold, we find rewiring changes that mirror each species’ ecologies, including a systematic shift in the excitation-to-inhibition balance in the feedforward pathways. We further show that some neurons have changed more than others, and that even within individual neurons some synaptic elements remain conserved while others display major species-specific changes, suggesting evolutionary hot-spots within the circuit. Our findings reveal constrained and adaptable elements within olfactory networks, and establish a framework for identifying general principles in the evolution of neural circuits underlying behaviour.

Tres unidades para ocupar una parte llana del camping actual, en una zona próxima al río. Se plantean como viviendas temporales para vacaciones de unos 40 m2. La propiedad insiste en mantener su independencia de vistas, acceso y relación con el terreno, sirviendo de pauta para una ordenación que podría extenderse o trasladar a otras zonas con características similares. El diseño optimiza la construcción mediante la prefabricación y el uso, definiendo un rectángulo de 5x8 metros dividido por un eje central de acceso de 1,8 que es vestíbulo y cocina. Este espacio es una parte del camino de acceso a cada uno. Se cubre y desdibuja su interior-exterior mediante losas de suelo que se extienden como terrazas, carpinterías de vidrio y lucernario. A ambos lados se articulan dos piezas de estancia que son anillos de hormigón. Una, al oeste, contiene el salón-comedor-dormitorio, abierto al espacio central mediante correderas. La otra, al este, dormitorio principal y baño.

Transgender women experience significant health disparities and are at disproportionately high risk of violence, stigmatization, and discrimination. Stigma and discrimination are enacted by staff and leaders in multiple public and service sectors including housing, physical and behavioral health, criminal justice and law enforcement, workforce development, and education. Multisectoral approaches recognize that health involves coordination and cooperation across various sectors, government departments, and stakeholders. The purpose of this study was to assess readiness and capacity to provide gender-affirming services. The Division Director of Access to Prevention, Advocacy, Intervention and Treatment/Special Services for Groups a nonprofit organization recruited participants via email from the following 10 sectors: behavioral health, medical, disability, law enforcement, criminal justice, housing, workforce development, faith-based, legal aid, and education. In-depth interviews were conducted with 44 participants. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using a framework approach, a method of deductive analysis. Participants (n = 27) attended a follow-up meeting that included a presentation of the findings from the interview analysis and held small group discussions about sector capacity for gender-affirming services. Findings indicated that the capacity of providing training, leadership support, and policies varied. Gaps included a lack of funding for trainings and programs, the need for a more exclusive focus on transgender issues, and inclusion of transgender women participation to ensure the inclusion of their lived experiences. Results suggest that a multisectoral approach is feasible. Across participants, best practices included clear and explicit trans-affirming policies, establishment of safe spaces/physical indicators of allyship, and representation within organizations of members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and other sexual identities community (including employment and visible supportive images). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40617-024-01035-8.

Economic globalization is increasing, and an aspect of this trend is the increasing frequency of cross‐border mergers and acquisitions (M&amp;As). As the world has entered the era of digital development, the efficiency of information communication has doubled. However, whether digital development can help improve the performance of cross‐border M&amp;A remains to be verified. Based on the entropy method, we constructed an index system for national digital development and analyzed the cross‐border M&amp;A events of Chinese listed companies from 2010 to 2019. Through empirical analysis, the study finds that digital development in the host country improves the performance of cross‐border M&amp;A. This effect is especially pronounced when the knowledge complexity of the M&amp;A is inferior, or the M&amp;A occurs in the same industry. We then analyze the mechanism of the impact of the host country’s level of digital development on improving firms’ M&amp;A performance under Dunning’s OLI framework and the M&amp;A transaction cost perspective, respectively. These findings enrich the theory of international investment and offer practical value to enterprises engaged in cross‐border​ M&amp;A.

Integrating peer support for substance use treatment has been associated with multiple benefits for individuals who are in recovery. There is a high need for trained peer supporters in Singapore’s policy environment, particularly for LGBTQ[Formula: see text] individuals who require access to safe spaces for substance use recovery, of which there are insufficient trained professionals and minimal training in this intersection of substance use recovery for LGBTQ[Formula: see text] individuals. Peer support is thus essential to provide appropriate, safe, and evidence-based support. The article examines the indispensable nature of peer support in addiction recovery and the value of working with one’s traumatic experiences in the process of helping others. This is done through examining a continuing education (CE) programme, The Wounded Healer, developed and implemented for a peer support programme in a substance use recovery centre (The Greenhouse Community Services). A conceptual background on the wounded healer will be introduced, followed by a presentation of the three modules of the programme: (a) the gifts of wounded healers, (b) self-compassion for the wounded healer, and (c) safeguards for wounded healers. Discussions and reflections will cover peer support work as a healing process, the value of CE, and public health implications of peer support.