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Background: Viral respiratory infections represent a significant burden of illness with high morbidity and mortality, which has been further magnified in recent years by the emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Viruses including SARS-CoV-2, Influenza A Virus (Flu-A), and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) utilize the nasopharynx for viral entry, replication and infection. The nasopharynx epithelial cell mucous membrane harbors a diverse community of bacteria, called the nasal microbiota (NM). Flu-A can modulate changes in the NM community and lead to pathobiont enrichment. Therefore, here we aim to investigate the NM of individuals with SARS-CoV-2, Flu-A and RSV infection, and identify correlates between the NM community and viral load (VL) and SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC). Methods: Nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs were collected and tested for SARS-CoV-2, Flu-A, and RSV by validated real-time PCR (RT-PCR) assays. RNA extraction was performed using a Maxwell automatic nucleic acid extractor followed by 16S rRNA Illumina Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) library sample preparation for NGS on a MiSeq Sequencer. QIIME II, Microbiome Analyst and PRISM 9.0.0 were used for data analysis. Results: NP swabs from 118 SARS-CoV-2, 40 Flu-A, 26 RSV positive and 45 negative controls (NC) were included. An increase in alpha and beta bacterial diversity (p<0.001) was observed in the NM of SARS-CoV-2 patients and an enrichment in Streptococcus and Staphylococcus species and depletion of Bifidobacterium and Moraxella species compared to NC’s (p<0.001). Compared to Flu-A and RSV patients, SARS-CoV-2 positives showed enrichment in Streptococcus, and depletion in Haemophilus species (p<0.002). 73/118 SARS-CoV-2 specimens were further sequenced to identify VOC lineage and stratified by VL. No significance in bacterial richness, diversity, or abundance correlated to VL. Only a significant difference in beta diversity was observed between the alpha/delta and omicron cohorts (p<0.001). Conclusions: This study demonstrates that the NM community is different in individuals with respiratory illness and distinct between SARS-CoV-2, Flu-A and RSV infected individuals. This study also demonstrated that NM beta diversity was different between individuals with different SARS-CoV-2 lineages, suggesting virus-NM interplay that may be important in explaining differences in transmission potentials and pathogenesis between SARS-CoV-2 VOCs.

Un des principaux secteurs frappés par la COVID-19, l'industrie touristique du Québec a fait face à une crise sans précédent. L'absence des croisières internationales pour l'année 2020 et 2021 a particulièrement affecté les villes portuaires du Saint-Laurent et les nombreux acteurs qui bénéficiaient des retombées économiques de cette industrie. Les grossistes en voyage et les organisations issues de secteurs de l'industrie touristique à destination (ex. restauration, hébergement) ne pouvaient plus offrir des prestations aux croisiéristes. La période d'arrêt occasionné par la COVID-19 représente une opportunité de réflexion sur les enjeux de ce secteur touristique avant une reprise des activités en 2022. Ces enjeux se manifestent sur le plan social (ex. qualité de vie des communautés d'accueil), environnemental (ex. influence sur la faune et la flore du Saint-Laurent) et économique (ex. coûts nécessaires pour le développement de cette industrie). L'objectif général de cette recherche consiste à éclairer les acteurs touristiques de la région de Québec et du Saint-Laurent afin de leur permettre de développer un modèle d'affaires facilitant la relance et la durabilité du tourisme de croisière post-COVID-19. Pour y parvenir, 24 personnes, principalement issues d'organisations des croisières internationales du Saint-Laurent, ont participé à des entretiens individuels. Les données de ces entretiens ont été traitées à l'aide d'une démarche de nature qualitative. Les résultats de cette recherche nous ont permis d'identifier les principaux enjeux sous un angle pré et post-pandémique. La grande majorité des représentants, 75 %, affirme que les stratégies de développement des croisières demeurent bénéfiques pour le Québec. Cependant, 83% des représentants soulignent que ces stratégies contribuent ou peuvent contribuer à un phénomène de surfréquentation ou de surtourisme dans certaines zones touristiques du Québec. Les résultats permettent également d'identifier le manque de connaissances des représentants envers les composantes de l'écosystème de l'industrie des croisières internationales du Saint-Laurent. La présentation des résultats sera accompagnée de diagrammes, tableaux ou nuage de mots-clés afin d'illustrer les principaux résultats.

Strength, resilience, adaptability, and compassion - these are the building blocks of the Regina COVID-19 Volunteer Community Response Team, a community support network initiated by Dr. JoLee Sasakamoose, Associate Professor in Educational Psychology and Counselling at the University of Regina. Since a state of emergency was announced by the Government of Saskatchewan in March 2020, the Regina COVID Response team of five core members and numerous volunteers has been working day and night to support Elders and other vulnerable Indigenous people in Regina, who do not have a network of family or caregivers. Staff no

The Covid-19 Pandemic has highlighted how important the healthcare sector is as critical infrastructure. It has also revealed how vulnerable the healthcare critical infrastructure is to malicious cyber operations. The number of cyber operations against the healthcare sector has increased substantially since the onset of the pandemic, seemingly unregulated by international law, particularly jus ad bellum. This paper argues that cyber operations that target or intend to target healthcare critical infrastructure should be treated as a use of force and armed attack because any intentional disruption to business continuity can and will cause physical harm and potential loss of life. Using the 2017 WannaCry Ransomware attack on the United Kingdom as a case study, this paper analyzes four approaches to classifying a cyber operation as a use of force and armed attack. The first approach is the Instrument Based Approach, which emphasizes a textual reading of the United Nations Charter. The second approach is the Strict Liability Approach, which treats all cyber operations against critical infrastructure as an armed attack. Third, the Effects Based Approach endorsed by the Tallinn Manual 2.0 on the International Law Applicable to Cyberspace, which emphasizes the scale and effect of a cyber operation. Fourth, the Cyber Physical System Approach, which emphasizes the intent of the attack. Finding these approaches insufficient, this paper advocates for a Healthcare Based Approach which would consider any cyber operation rising above the level of espionage on healthcare critical infrastructure as an armed attack.

The devastating COVID-19 pandemic caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 continues to be prolonged by the ability of the virus to evolve into more transmissible and vaccine-resistant variants of concern (VOC). These fast-evolving VOC demonstrate the need for broad-acting antivirals against coronaviruses. As with several other human-infecting viruses, SARS-CoV-2 initiates attachment to host cells by binding to complex cell-surface carbohydrates known as glycans. These glycans are used by the virus to recognize and concentrate virions on the host cell surface and facilitate binding to less abundant entry receptors, like ACE2 for SARS-CoV-2. Due to most viruses using glycans to initiate infection, we therefore hypothesize that glycans are a worthy target for broad-acting antivirals. While monovalent carbohydrate-protein interactions are weak and have a low affinity, virions exploit multivalent interactions and the attachment of viruses to the cell is relatively strong. Therefore, one strategy in building a broad-based antiviral is to develop multivalent prophylactic antivirals that blocks this initial attachment of SARS-CoV-2 to glycans in the upper respiratory tract by targeting these carbohydrate-protein interactions. This thesis will describe an approach we are developing to synthesize multivalent carbohydrate-based antivirals for SARS-CoV-2 by targeting initial glycan-mediated interactions involved in viral attachment. Four preliminary targets for SARS-CoV-2 have been identified: mannose, galactose, N-acetylneuraminic acid, and gallic acid. These targets are functionalized with linkers bearing an azide functionality to facilitate conjugation to multivalent dendrimers scaffolds comprised of 3-24 alkyne moieties. The azide and alkyne functionalities allow for quick conjugation of the glycan mimetic derivatives through copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC), creating multivalent glycan-based dendrimers. The efficacy of these dendrimers as inhibitors will be tested using a SARS-CoV-2 viral entry assay using A549 epithelial cells with and without overexpression of the ACE2 receptor protein and lentivirus pseudo-typed with spike protein, with viral entry being measured by luciferase reporter activity.

The University of Manitoba’s science librarians developed a three-credit, second-year course entitled “Information Skills for the Sciences” that was delivered for the first time in the fall of 2020. The culminating project of the course was a scientific poster session where students shared their research project as a poster presentation with their instructors and classmates. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the course was moved to online synchronous delivery and all assignments needed to be adapted for the online format. We designed a virtual poster session simulating an in-person event, hosting the poster session on Zoom for a class of twenty students using breakout rooms to separate presentations. Our poster details the methods used to deliver an online in-class poster session in an undergraduate setting with visualizations to illustrate the experience. Despite the conditions of remote learning, the poster presentation session allowed students to engage meaningfully with the research of their classmates demonstrating that an exciting end-of-semester event like an in-person poster session was possible in an online environment. We discuss the challenges we encountered creating the poster session as well as our reflections on what worked and what might be improved in the future.

L’accessibilité des sites Web des bibliothèques universitaires est devenue de plus en plus importante à mesure que ceux-ci ont occupé davantage de place pour les communautés d’usagères et d’usagers. La pandémie de COVID-19 a permis de comprendre le caractère essentiel de l’accessibilité en ligne, puisque les contacts numériques sont devenus les seuls possibles pendant un temps. Malgré l’instauration de politiques dans les institutions et aux différents paliers de gouvernements, les recherches précédentes démontrent que les lacunes à ce niveau sont grandes. Ce travail, réalisé pendant le premier confinement au Canada, évalue l’accessibilité des sites Web des bibliothèques des 15 universités canadiennes les plus importantes en recherche (U15) grâce à une grille d’évaluation conçue à partir de la revue de littérature. Un système de pointage permet de réaliser que les bibliothèques dont les institutions ont des politiques d’accessibilité en ligne ont des sites Web répondant mieux aux critères d’accessibilité que les autres. Même s’il reste du travail à faire pour effacer les obstacles en ligne, l’augmentation du nombre de politiques institutionnelles à ce sujet semble démontrer que les bibliothèques universitaires sont sur la bonne voie pour améliorer l’accessibilité de leur site Web. Travail réalisé à l’EBSI, Université de Montréal, sous la direction de M. Jean-Sébastien Sauvé dans le cadre du cours SCI6772 - Séminaire : bibliothèques de recherche, à l'hiver 2020.

When Dr. Harold Riemer, Professor and Dean with the Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies (KHS), was looking at what the upcoming semesters in KHS would look like, he knew that he wanted to find a way to offer a classroom experience to students, while adhering to all COVID-19 restrictions. The faculty worked together and came up with creative solutions to have small, in-person classes in addition to an extensive amount of remote courses. Staff no

By May 2021, millions of people from around the world had already endured some 15 months of living with COVID-19. Like elsewhere, in Saskatchewan the effects of the pandemic were felt by everyone, everywhere. Friends, family and colleagues talked of amplified levels of anxiety, stress and depression. Some individuals upped their alcohol and drug use to cope with the pressures of isolation. But to what extent did COVID-19 play havoc on Saskatchewan residents’ mental well-being during the pandemic? Staff no

La pandemia en el contexto de una crisis cultural ¿que reto teológico?. Panel"Theology and the global crisis caused by COVID-19": Forum mondial théologie et libération. Evénement sur Zoom, Montréal, Canada