Regional patterns and climatic predictors of viruses in honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies over time.

Honey bee viruses are serious pathogens that can cause poor colony health and productivity. We analyzed a multi-year longitudinal dataset of abundances of nine honey bee viruses (deformed wing virus A, deformed wing virus B, black queen cell virus, sacbrood virus, Lake Sinai virus, Kashmir bee virus, acute bee paralysis virus, chronic bee paralysis virus, and Israeli acute paralysis virus) in colonies located across Canada to describe broad trends in virus intensity and occurrence among regions and years. We also tested climatic variables (temperature, wind speed, and precipitation) as predictors in an effort to understand possible drivers underlying seasonal patterns in viral prevalence.

Neonatology Staffing Practices: An In-Depth Exploration of Leaders' Perspectives.

Objective: To describe neonatology leaders' perspectives on ideal staffing practices, including clinical work, nonclinical roles, shift characteristics, and flexibility. Although the current state of neonatology staffing issues is reported in the literature, a description of ideal, recommended staffing practices is lacking.

Study Design: We performed a qualitative study, using purposive sampling to interview 26 neonatology leaders.

Following Regulation, Imidacloprid Persists and Flupyradifurone Increases in Nontarget Wildlife.

After regulation of pesticides, determination of their persistence in the environment is an important indicator of effectiveness of these measures. We quantified concentrations of two types of systemic insecticides, neonicotinoids (imidacloprid, acetamiprid, clothianidin, thiacloprid, and thiamethoxam) and butenolides (flupyradifurone), in off-crop nontarget media of hummingbird cloacal fluid, honey bee (Apis mellifera) nectar and honey, and wildflowers before and after regulation of imidacloprid on highbush blueberries in Canada in April 2021. We found that mean total pesticide load increased in hummingbird cloacal fluid, nectar, and flower samples following imidacloprid regulation.

Illuminating the Mysteries of the Smallest Birds: Hummingbird Population Health, Disease Ecology, and Genomics.

Hummingbirds share biologically distinctive traits: sustained hovering flight, the smallest bird body size, and high metabolic rates fueled partially by nectar feeding that provides pollination to plant species. Being insectivorous and sometimes serving as prey to larger birds, they fulfill additional important ecological roles. Hummingbird species evolved and radiated into nearly every habitat in the Americas, with a core of species diversity in South America.

Academic neonatologist-a species at the brink of extinction?

Neonatology is a field that is currently facing many challenges. These challenges include outdated work models in clinical environments with increasing acuity and patient workloads, physician burnout exacerbated by gender inequity and the recent COVID-19 pandemic, and inappropriate metrics to measure clinical productivity. Academic neonatologists have additional missions that include research, teaching, and scholarly productivity in the setting of an increasing clinical workload and reduced time and support for teaching and research.

Spatial variation in the association between agricultural activities and bird communities in Canada.

Agriculture is one the main drivers of bird decline in both Europe and North America. While it is clear that agricultural practices and changes in the rural landscape directly and indirectly affect bird communities, we still do not know the extent to which these impacts might change across broad spatial and temporal scales. To address this question, we combined information on agricultural activities with occurrence and abundance of 358 bird species across five time periods spanning 20 years in Canada.

Nursing Home Palliative Care During the Pandemic: Directions for the Future.

Background And Objectives: Palliative care addresses physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual suffering that accompanies serious illness. Emphasis on symptom management and goals of care is especially valuable for seriously ill nursing home residents. We investigated barriers to nursing home palliative care provision highlighted by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the solutions nursing home staff used to provide care in the face of those barriers.

Migration and non-breeding ecology of the Yellow-breasted Chat .

Unlabelled: Detailed information spanning the full annual cycle is lacking for most songbird populations. We examined breeding, migration, and non-breeding sites for the Yellow-breasted Chat ( chat). We deployed archival GPS tags and light-level geolocators on breeding chats in British Columbia and light-level geolocators in California from 2013 to 2017 to determine migration routes and non-breeding sites.

Bioaccumulation and effects of selenium from surface coal mining in an aquatic songbird.

Open-pit mining operations are hailed for safe working conditions for miners as well as economically and logistically favourable outcomes for mining companies. However, ecological impacts of these operations may persist for decades. Expansions of open-pit coal mining in British Columbia of Western Canada are planned.

Mercury toxicity risk and corticosterone levels across the breeding range of the Yellow-breasted Chat.

Mercury (Hg) is an environmental contaminant that can negatively impact human and wildlife health. For songbirds, Hg risk may be elevated near riparian habitats due to the transfer of methylmercury (MeHg) from aquatic to terrestrial food webs. We measured Hg levels in tail feathers sampled across the breeding range of the Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens), a riparian songbird species of conservation concern.

Continuing Persistence and Biomagnification of DDT and Metabolites in Northern Temperate Fruit Orchard Avian Food Chains.

Dichlorodiphenyldichlorethane (1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane) (DDT) is an organochlorine insecticide that was widely used from the late 1940s to the 1970s in fruit orchards in the Okanagan valley, British Columbia, Canada, and in the process, contaminated American robin (Turdus migratorius) food chains with the parent compound and metabolite dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethylene) (p,p'-DDE). In the present study, we examined the biological fate of these DDT-related (DDT-r) compounds at the same sites/region 26 years after a previous study by: (1) collecting soil, earthworms, and American robin eggs from apple, cherry, and pear orchards; (2) characterizing the diet and trophic positions of our biota using stable isotope analyses of δ C and δ N; and (3) estimating fugacity, biota-soil-accumulation factors (BSAFs), and biomagnification factors (BMFs). Mean p,p'-DDE concentrations (soil: 16.

Bluebirds Experience Impaired Hatching Success in Conventionally Sprayed Apple Orchard Habitats: A 31-Year Study.

We analyzed the reproductive success of eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) nesting in apple orchards and non-orchard nest-boxes in southern Ontario, Canada, from 1988 to 2018. Using data from 2397 nest-boxes monitored at 20 orchard sites and 52 non-orchard sites, we first modeled phenological parameters typically linked to climate change across both site types. We found that the first egg of each brood was laid significantly earlier in the season each year over our 31-year study.

Current contrasting population trends among North American hummingbirds.

As pollinators, hummingbirds play a critical role for both the function of ecological communities and in providing ecosystem services for people. To examine the conservation status of North American hummingbirds, we analyzed Breeding Bird Survey data for 8 species and 3 genera from 1970 to 2019 (long-term) and from 2009 to 2019 (short-term, approximately three generations). Among the Selasphorus genus, Allen's, rufous, and broad-tailed hummingbirds have declined since 1970, and the rate of decline increased from 2009 to 2019.

Simulation: an Innovative Approach to Engaging Preclinical Medical Students with Bioethics.

Background: Integrating bioethical concepts into preclinical medical school curriculum and engaging early medical learners in bioethics are a challenge.

Activity: A total of 140 medical students participated in a 2-h simulation activity consisting of a series of standardized patient (SP) encounters.

Results: A total of 41 of 140 students (29%) completed the learner evaluation survey.

Medical and surgical interventions and outcomes for infants with trisomy 18 (T18) or trisomy 13 (T13) at children's hospitals neonatal intensive care units (NICUs).

Objectives: To examine characteristics and outcomes of T18 and T13 infants receiving intensive surgical and medical treatment compared to those receiving non-intensive treatment in NICUs.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort of infants in the Children's Hospitals National Consortium (CHNC) from 2010 to 2016 categorized into three groups by treatment received: surgical, intensive medical, or non-intensive.

Results: Among 467 infants admitted, 62% received intensive medical treatment; 27% received surgical treatment.

Migration ecology of western gray catbirds.

Background: For many songbirds in North America, we lack movement details about the full annual cycle, notably outside the breeding season. Understanding how populations are linked spatially between breeding and overwintering periods (migratory connectivity) is crucial to songbird conservation and management. We assessed migratory connectivity for 2 breeding populations of Gray Catbirds (Dumetella carolinensis) west of and within the Rocky Mountains by determining migration routes, stopover sites, and overwintering locations.

Neonicotinoid pesticides exert metabolic effects on avian pollinators.

Neonicotinoids are neurotoxic systemic insecticides applied extensively worldwide. The impacts of common neonicotinoids like imidacloprid on non-target invertebrate pollinators have been widely studied, however effects on vertebrate pollinators have received little attention. Here, we describe the first study evaluating the effects of short-term (3 d) exposure to a range of environmentally relevant concentrations ([Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text]Body Weight) of imidacloprid on wild-caught ruby-throated hummingbirds.

Determination of neonicotinoids and butenolide residues in avian and insect pollinators and their ambient environment in Western Canada (2017, 2018).

To examine the spatial, and temporal variation and potential sources of pesticide concentrations, primarily neonicotinoid insecticides, in hummingbirds in western Canada, we sampled their cloacal fluid from sites in British Columbia and Saskatchewan, Canada in 2017-2018. At a sub-sample of those sites, we also measured pesticides in honey bee (Apis mellifera) nectar, water, and sediment. We collected cloacal fluid from 5 species of hummingbirds (n = 26 sites) in British Columbia (BC) and Saskatchewan, Canada, and nectar from honey bee hives (n = 4 sites), water and sediment (n = 18 sites) in the Fraser Valley, BC.