University of Saskatchewan

About: University of Saskatchewan is a education organization based out in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 25021 authors who have published 52579 publications receiving 1483049 citations. The organization is also known as: USask.

From LTER to LTSER: Conceptualizing the Socioeconomic Dimension of Long-term Socioecological Research

Abstract: Concerns about global environmental change challenge long term ecological research (LTER) to go beyond traditional disciplinary scientific research to produce knowledge that can guide society toward more sustainable development. Reporting the outcomes of a 2 d interdisciplinary workshop, this article proposes novel concepts to substantially expand LTER by including the human dimension. We feel that such an integration warrants the insertion of a new letter in the acronym, changing it from LTER to LTSER, "Long-Term Socioecological Research," with a focus on coupled socioecological systems. We discuss scientific challenges such as the necessity to link biophysical processes to governance and communication, the need to consider patterns and processes across several spatial and temporal scales, and the difficulties of combining data from in-situ measurements with statistical data, cadastral surveys, and soft knowledge from the humanities. We stress the importance of including prefossil fuel system baseline data as well as maintaining the often delicate balance between monitoring and predictive or explanatory modeling. Moreover, it is challenging to organize a continuous process of cross-fertilization between rich descriptive and causal-analytic local case studies and theory/modeling-oriented generalizations. Conceptual insights are used to derive conclusions for the design of infrastructures needed for long-term socioecological research.

Sequential Monte Carlo simulation for composite power system reliability analysis with time varying loads

Abstract: The paper illustrates the development and utilization of an annual chronological load curve for each load bus in a composite generation and transmission system and a sequential Monte Carlo simulation approach for composite system reliability assessment. Antithetic variates as a variance reduction technique has been applied to the simulation model to increase the efficiency of the simulation. An approximate method using a load duration curve of the system load and an enumeration process have been applied to the developed load model and the results are compared in this paper. >

Bio-oil valorization: A review

Abstract: Fuels from biomass (biofuels) are used to mitigate the greenhouse gases produced through the utilization of fossil fuels. Non-edible or waste biomass can be pyrolyzed to produce bio-oil. The oil, an unstable and low energy product, can be further upgraded through hydrodeoxygenation to produce gas and/or diesel range hydrocarbons and value added chemicals. The objective of this review is to explore upgrading techniques that are currently being researched and utilized. This review reveals several aspects that in turn will serve as an aid for bio oil valorization, such as, evaluating characterization techniques involved in understanding salient features of bio-oil, insight of bio-oil pretreatment methods for water removal to increase heating values and decrease risk of catalyst poisoning in subsequent hydroprocessing, studies regarding model compound upgrading, reaction mechanism and finally, provides brief review of common catalysts for hydrotreatment of bio-oil in order to yield value added chemicals and fuels.

Independent clinical validation of a Canadian FRAX tool: Fracture prediction and model calibration

Abstract: A FRAX model for Canada was constructed for prediction of osteoporotic and hip fracture risk using national hip fracture data with and without the use of femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD). Performance of this system was assessed independently in a large clinical cohort of 36,730 women and 2873 men from the Manitoba Bone Density Program database that tracks all clinical dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) test results for the Province of Manitoba, Canada. Linkage with other provincial health databases allowed for the direct comparison of fracture risk estimates from the Canadian FRAX model with observed fracture rates to 10 years (549 individuals with incident hip fractures and 2543 with incident osteoporotic fractures). The 10-year Kaplan-Meier estimate for hip fractures in women was 2.7% [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.1-3.4%] with a predicted value of 2.8% for FRAX with BMD, and in men the observed risk was 3.5% (95% CI 0.8-6.2%) with predicted value of 2.9%. The 10-year estimate of osteoporotic fracture risk for all women was 12.0% (95% CI 10.8-13.4%) with a predicted value of 11.1% for FRAX with BMD, and in men, the observed risk was 10.7% (95% CI 6.6-14.9%) with a predicted value of 8.4%. Discrepancies were observed within some subgroups but generally were small. Fracture discrimination based on receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was comparable with published meta-analyses with area under the curve for osteoporotic fracture prediction of 0.694 (95% CI 0.684-0.705) for FRAX with BMD and for hip fractures 0.830 (95% CI 0.815-0.846), both of which were better than FRAX without BMD or BMD alone. Individual risk factors considered by FRAX made significant independent contributions to fracture prediction in one or more of the models. In conclusion, a Canadian FRAX tool calibrated on national hip fracture data generates fracture risk predictions that generally are consistent with observed fracture rates across a wide range of risk categories.

C-reactive protein (CRP)-lowering agents.

Abstract: C-reactive protein (CRP) plays a role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. It is a marker and predictor of cardiovascular disease. CRP possesses numerous cardiovascular effects (clotting, generation of oxygen radicals, increase in the expression of adhesion molecules and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, plaque destabilization) that could result in cardiovascular disease. This review describes the effects of various cardiovascular drugs on the levels of CRP in health and disease. Cyclooxygenase inhibitors (aspirin, rofecoxib, celecoxib), platelet aggregation inhibitors (clopidogrel, abciximab), lipid lowering agents (statins, ezetimibe, fenofibrate, niacin, diets), beta-adrenoreceptor antagonists and antioxidants (vitamin E), as well as angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors (ramipril, captopril, fosinopril), reduce serum levels of CRP; while enalapril and trandolapril have not been shown to have the same effect. Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) (valsartan, irbesartan, olmesartan, telmisartan) markedly reduce serum levels of CRP. The findings with other ARBs (losartan and candesartan) were inconsistent. Antidiabetic agents (rosiglitazone and pioglitazone) reduce CRP levels, while insulin is ineffective. Calcium channel antagonists have variable effects on CRP levels. Hydrochlorothiazide and oral estrogen do not affect CRP. The CRP-lowering effect of statins is more pronounced than their lipid lowering effect and is not dependent on their hypolipemic activity. The effect of atorvastatin on CRP seems to be dose-dependent. CRP-lowering effect of statins is likely to contribute to the favorable outcome of statin therapy. The data suggest that lipid lowering agents, ACE inhibitors, ARBs, antidiabetic agents, antiinflammatory and antiplatelet agents, vitamin E, and beta-adrenoreceptor antagonists lower serum or plasma levels of CRP, while vitamin C, oral estrogen and hydrochlorothiazide do not affect CRP levels.