Public safety personnel (PSP) are regularly exposed to potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTEs) and face elevated rates of psychological distress and crisis. Despite this, many do not access formal mental health services due to stigma and systemic barriers. Nonformal interventions may be more accessible, including organizational and peer support and crisis lines, but remain underexamined. This scoping review synthesized empirical studies published until December 2024. Eligible studies examined nonformal interventions for PSP experiencing distress or crisis; inferred if participants had elevated mental health symptoms or were post-exposure to a PPTE and voluntarily sought support. Thirty-four studies met inclusion criteria. Interventions included trauma-focused (e.g., eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)-based, mindfulness, psychological first aid, debriefing, and psychosocial support. Most interventions demonstrated short-term symptom reduction, feasibility, and reduced barriers to care, however, results remain mixed. Common limitations included small samples, excluding PSP in crisis, and minimal long-term follow-up. This review highlights significant gaps in interventions targeting PSP in crisis. While trauma- and CBT-based approaches show promise, research remains limited and fragmented. Urgent efforts are needed to develop and evaluate tailored, accessible interventions, especially for high-risk and equity-deserving PSP, within a responsive, stepped-care framework.

This study aimed to (1) explore clinicians’ perspectives of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and risk management in female patients and (2) describe clinicians’ needs and desired features in AI-enabled tools for primary prevention and management of CVD among female patients. This work employed a qualitative description design. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 clinicians in Montreal, Canada. We used inductive thematic analysis to interpret the data. Seven themes emerged from the analysis. Three themes were related to the first objective: complexity in clinical decision-making, limitations of CVD risk assessment tools, and resources and health literacy. Four themes were related to the second objective: AI efficiency, multilingual design, electronic medical record integration, and ease of use. Clinicians reported challenges in supporting female patients at higher risk for CVD and expressed concerns about existing decision support tools. They showed openness to AI-enabled tools like Xi-Care and provided input on desired features to ensure their usability and effectiveness. There is a demand to support clinicians in the primary prevention and management of CVD among female patients. AI-enabled tools could effectively address this demand, provided their development prioritizes clinicians' needs and perspectives to ensure safe and effective implementation.

Spawning events can provide resource pulses that can fuel food webs when other resources are limited, yet their utilization by fish communities is poorly understood. We combined traditional visual examinations and qPCR analysis of stomach content DNA (scDNA) to evaluate consumption of Striped Bass ( Morone saxatilis) eggs and larvae by 21 fish species collected before and during the Striped Bass spawning period in the Northwest Miramichi River estuary. Striped Bass was present throughout the study, with higher catches coinciding with peak eggs and larvae densities, which was a better predictor of scDNA compared to catches of Striped Bass. Visual inspection revealed eggs in only one American Eel ( Anguilla rostrata), whereas scDNA showed widespread increases in detections during spawning compared to the pre-spawning period, suggesting that Striped Bass reproduction generated a detectable community-level resource pulse. This study reveals hidden pathways of energy flow not detectable through traditional methods, emphasizing the value of molecular tools for resolving cryptic trophic interactions. These findings advance understanding of the ecological role of Striped Bass spawning for the fish community of the lower Northwest Miramichi River and provide novel insights into the detection and understanding of resource pulses associated with spawning events in aquatic ecosystems.

The future of biodiversity conservation depends on balancing the needs of people and wildlife through collaborative, equitable approaches. While protected areas are essential, they often carry legacies of exclusion and injustice. Around the world, efforts to improve collaboration in protected areas vary in inclusivity and power-sharing—especially in cross-cultural contexts where shared decision-making is not legally mandated. Pacific Rim National Park Reserve’s (PRNPR) Wild About Wolves project exemplifies the promises and tensions of government-led collaboration. The initiative aimed to foster regional cooperation, research, and action around growing human–wolf conflict. We interviewed 32 individuals—including PRNPR staff, Nuu-chah-nulth citizens, local community members, and organization representatives—with current or past involvement in the project. Participants identified several challenges: cultural differences in views on wolf management, unclear project timelines and expectations, and concerns about managerial priorities. Yet they also highlighted opportunities: strong regional conservation values, the depth of Nuu-chah-nulth and local knowledge, and PRNPR’s growing capacity for collaboration. From these insights, we co-produced a framework to improve PRNPR-led collaboration, emphasizing institutional clarity, alignment of social and cultural priorities, and more durable models of leadership and governance. While grounded in PRNPR, the lessons offer valuable guidance for collaborative conservation worldwide.

Gaps in biodiversity protection occur in Canada due to limited jurisdiction of federal species-at-risk laws and the absence of dedicated legislation in many provinces, including British Columbia (B.C.). While lacking legal protection, B.C. maintains Red, Blue, and Yellow Lists of threatened, special-concern, and secure species, respectively, using a NatureServe ranking system. We compiled historical data on species status between 2008 and 2025 from the B.C. Conservation Data Centre. The province is currently home to 5521 Yellow, 1233 Blue, 493 Red-listed species, with a 25% rise in species at risk (Blue and Red) since 2008 due largely to the addition of species. Changes in status over this time period were reported for 1545 animal and 3775 plant species. While there was an even split in uplistings (more imperilled) and downlistings (less imperilled) for animals, plant species more often shifted to a lower risk category. Analyzing explanations for each change revealed that most were nongenuine (new information or methodology) rather than genuine (true changes in population size or threats), especially among downlistings. Genuine improvements in the status of species in B.C. have been exceedingly rare, indicating that current laws and regulations have been insufficient to recover species at risk within B.C.

Stream temperature is a key driver of physiological function in ectothermic fish, and fish have clear upper and lower limits to thermal habitat use. Stream temperature increases from climate change are a major threat to coldwater taxa like Athabasca Rainbow Trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss), listed as Endangered under Canada's Species at Risk Act. To better understand their vulnerability to climate change and prioritize recovery locations, Athabasca Rainbow Trout were collected in August 2021 from three streams in the upper Athabasca River, Alberta, Canada, across a gradient of thermal regimes ranging from cold to warm. Individual thermal tolerance was measured using two physiological metrics: agitation temperature ( Tag) and critical thermal maxima (CTmax) using a portable streamside laboratory. Tag is a behavioural indicator of a thermal avoidance threshold, whereas CTmax is a physiological response that can be interpreted as the upper thermal limit where long term survival is reduced. Results provide strong evidence that CTmax is a plastic metric in Athabasca Rainbow Trout; however, Tag is not. This suggests that Athabasca Rainbow Trout demonstrate some thermal plasticity in terms of CTmax, yet the lack of plasticity in Tag indicates potential limitations in their adaptability to warming stream temperatures.

In this retrospective study, we investigated the outcomes (funded/not funded) and factors related to the funding of resubmitted applications to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Open Operating Grants Competition and Project Grant Competition between 2010 and 2022. The primary outcome was the proportion of resubmissions and new applications that were funded. Using a random forest model, we explored the importance of variables related to the success of resubmissions. A higher proportion of resubmissions (∼23%) were funded compared to new submissions (∼12%). The most important variables related to resubmission success were the rank (%) and score (/5) given to the preceding application and the number of CIHR-funded grants where the Principal Investigator was a named team member. The least important factors were the language (English, French) of the application and whether the application was reviewed by the same reviewers or review committees. Resubmitting applications to the CIHR Project Grant Competition was beneficial, particularly for projects that were previously highly ranked and received high scores. These results may offer guidance for researchers who are deciding whether to resubmit rejected applications.

Some of the most authoritative science advice comes from groups of experts operating under systematic advisory methods. In this paper, we compiled publicly available information on 676 science advisory processes conducted over a 29-year period by five Canadian science advisory institutions (i.e., the Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat, the National Advisory Council on Immunization, the Canadian Council of Academies, the Royal Society of Canada, and the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada) and used these data to explore how these institutions operate. Despite common objectives, we found considerable variation among institutions, including in the number of experts involved in developing and reviewing advice, the length of resulting science advice documents, and the time required for individual science advisory processes to be completed. In general, the institutions have become more transparent over time, driven primarily by disclosing more information on the experts involved. Additionally, we found that science advice reports have become lengthier, and the delivery of science advice now takes considerably more time for most institutions. We discuss these findings in the context of recent criticisms of expert group-based science advisory processes and suggest there may be trade-offs associated with emphasizing different science advice principles.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming healthcare, but its rapid deployment raises concerns about equity, transparency, and accountability. Without proper oversight, these systems can reinforce biases, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities. Current regulations and policies fail to fully address these risks, making proactive safeguards essential to prevent systemic health inequities. To address these challenges, we organized the Health AI Systems Thinking for Community (HASTC) workshop at the University of Toronto (October 2024). This cross-disciplinary workshop convened 66 participants from post-secondary, healthcare, and nonprofit sectors to collaboratively discuss the management of AI harm in healthcare. Participants, guided by mentors, analyzed real-world cases of algorithmic bias, privacy risks, and unintended consequences of AI-assisted decision-making. Semi-structured discussions within groups focused on accountability, transparency, and fairness. Through structured discussions, participants identified worst-case scenarios and proposed safeguards at different levels, with implications toward government regulations, institutional policies, and healthcare practices. Key findings emphasized the need for adaptive, context-specific regulations and discussions to ensure responsible AI use in healthcare. There is a need for ongoing dialogue and reflection. By integrating community-driven advocacy and interactive learning, HASTC highlights the importance of creating AI systems that are fair, accountable, and transparent, to benefit all patients, not just a privileged few.

Brassica rapa (turnip) belongs to the Brassicaceae family. Due to the diseases caused by fungal pathogens such as Erysiphe cruciferarum, Alternaria japonica, and Alternaria brassicae, the yield of B. rapa was reduced in many Asian and European countries. Plant defensins (PDFs) are proteins that have antifungal properties. This research aimed to comprehend the key attributes of B. rapa PDF 1.1s by incorporating a wide range of in silico approaches. Initially, we explored orthologues of PDF 1.1 in B. rapa through Blastp in Phytozome v.13 which highlighted fourteen different orthologues. Afterward, by using Mega X, the homology of B. rapa PDF1.1 proteins with Arabidopsis thaliana PDF1.1 proteins was also inferred. While, the results of NCBI CD show that these proteins possessed a common domain, i.e., gamma-thionin. The major findings of this study included the crucial characteristics of PDF1.1 proteins that were explored by utilizing the PANZZER2 web server and BlastKOALA, which proposed that these proteins possessed degradation ability of pathogen’s cells and were also found to be involved in a mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway. Overall, this research provided a better understanding of the crucial contribution of B. rapa PDFs 1.1 under biotic stress specifically, the pathogenic fungal attack.