Professor emeritus Glen Norcliffe, 81, won the 80 to 84 age group of the male sprint distance race at the 2024 World Triathlon Championship Finals held in Spain on Oct. 17. says Norcliffe of his win. Next year, Norcliffe has qualified for a triathlon in Australia and a duathlon.

Professor Steven Tufts talks to CBC about the Canada Post workers' strike and whether a shift in Canada Post's business model is needed. Tufts says , but there's a bigger issue: What should the business model of a company that has lost money in the last six years look like in the future? CUPW has been pushing for expanding services, such as postal banking and seniors' wellness checks, but Tufts says they have not built the large-scale public campaign needed to pressure Canada Post into changing its business model.

Artist and PhD student Shannon Garden-Smith wants us to think more about a crucial building material we are running out of: sand. Her recent artworks were created using pigmented dust from sand she collected around the city. For this year's Nuit Blanche, she created an 2,500 square-foot interactive floor installation using vibrantly dyed sand to form marbled patterns. During the all-night event, attendees were invited to walk across the 'carpet', disrupting the sand patterns and muddying colours in the process. "," she tells CBC. "Their engagement becomes visible in the living, changing work as an index of movement."

Scientists who study the characteristics of inland fresh-water systems are confronting 鈥� and rushing to address 鈥� a serious knowledge gap on the role winter ice cover plays on lake cycles and functioning. Professor Sapna Sharma comments on new research into under-ice conditions that is challenging what limnologists thought they understood about lakes鈥� winter behaviour. Speaking to Inside Climate News Sharma says there was a during the 1960s and '70s. Then the work paused before slowly beginning again about a decade ago.

At the 6th Muskoka Summit on the Environment on Oct. 4 in Bracebridge, Professor Deborah McGregor shared simple truths that have guided Indigenous stewardship for thousands of years, reports MuskokaRegion.com. "We cannot manage water; we can only learn how to live with water," says McGregor, and "Water is a relative of ours. Wise stewards treat water with humility and respect."

Wise stewards treat water with humility and respect

McGregor at the Muskoka Summit on the Environment

Do you have a new research study or an academic achievement to share? Contact media@yorku.ca with details. For daily 91亚色 in the News highlights, follow on X.

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Africa says it needs an estimated  of mpox vaccine to control this public health emergency.

The situation is particularly concerning in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which  more than 27,000 suspected mpox cases and more than 1,300 deaths so far this year.

 and the  have promised to donate mpox vaccines. In an emergency, donations are welcome. But donations are a charity 鈥渂andaid鈥� solution that can鈥檛 be relied on.

Here鈥檚 what needs to happen next to ensure equitable access to mpox vaccines for this and the next health emergency.

How did we get here?

It鈥檚 been less than a month since the World Health Organization (WHO)  an international public heath emergency of international concern, after rising cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the potential for further spread.

Mpox, once known as monkeypox, has听听into countries that have never seen it before, possibly driven by a new, more infectious strain of the virus.

But the WHO has yet to approve mpox vaccines. This is necessary before groups such as  and  can begin to buy vaccines and start distributing them to affected countries that have not already independently approved them.

Once WHO has approved the vaccines, vaccine donations can also be distributed. These include  from the European Commission and another 40,000 from vaccine company Bavarian Nordic. The  50,000 doses from its national stockpile.

Even for countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which issued an emergency approval for the vaccines back in June, donated vaccines have only .

Other wealthy countries haven鈥檛 been so forthcoming with donating vaccines. Canada so far has  to sharing any of its several million doses. Australia has secured  for its population but hasn鈥檛 said anything about donations.

There are also  about how well the current vaccines will work against the new strain of the virus.

We鈥檝e seen this before

In 2022, the Democratic Republic of the Congo saw another . The US, Canada and the European Union were sufficiently worried that they  from Bavarian Nordic. But that left none for poorer countries.

If vaccines were available in Africa then, the current emergency could have been stopped in its tracks, said , acting director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Low-income countries, especially those in Africa, are always at the end of the line when it comes to accessing vaccines, diagnostics and treatments.

This is a story that has been  in the past few decades 鈥� with HIV/AIDS, Ebola and most recently COVID.

Within the first year COVID vaccines were available, 75-80% of people in high-income countries had been vaccinated  fewer than 10% in low-income countries.

This maldistribution is not inevitable. It is a legacy of rich countries鈥� exploitation of the colonised world鈥檚 natural resources, a practice that continues under听听that keep low-income countries poor and dependent on wealthier ones.

Here鈥檚 what happened with COVID products

One key example is the international system of intellectual property governed by the World Trade Organization鈥檚 (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). This agreement gives companies control over the manufacturing and pricing of their products 鈥� including COVID vaccines 鈥� until their patents expire. As a result, only rich countries can afford these vaccines.

In 2020, India and South Africa, eventually supported by more than 100 other low- and middle-income countries,  for COVID medical products for a limited time. This would have freed up scientific knowledge, technology and other intellectual property to allow for scaling up the manufacturing of vaccines, diagnostics, treatments and other products necessary to deal with the pandemic.

Less than two years later, the WTO approved a听听of the original proposal. The waiver, which lasts just five years, only made exporting COVID vaccines slightly easier. It did not include any other COVID medical products including treatments and diagnostics, or transfer of know-how and technology needed to safely and effectively scale-up production in the fastest way possible.

We must make sure this does not happen again

Mpox and future infectious disease outbreaks are sure to occur as climate change and environmental destruction increase the risk of animal-to-human disease transmission.

Such outbreaks will not be prevented and controlled by relying on charity, voluntary sharing by pharmaceutical companies or the goodwill of countries at the WTO.

African countries have recognised the need to听听of their public health systems. To address the current global imbalances, they have recognised they need to boost their collective voice on global health matters and become efficient in preparing and responding to disease threats. There is a framework for action.

But the global maldistribution of medicines for emergencies is not a problem Africa can solve on its own. A new set of  is also needed to ensure all countries work cooperatively to prevent, prepare for and respond to pandemics and to share vaccines and other needed medical products. This is vital so the global vaccine inequity experienced during COVID doesn鈥檛 happen again.

WHO member states  such an agreement in December 2021. But they missed the deadline they had set for themselves to conclude it by mid-2024.

While not a pandemic at this stage, the current mpox public health emergency reinforces the need for a concerted global effort to negotiate arrangements that ensure a fairer distribution of vaccines, medicines and diagnostic tests.

All countries should take note. Perhaps the upcoming negotiation for the WHO pandemic agreement 鈥� which sets out how the world manages pandemic prevention, preparedness and response 鈥� is the perfect opportunity.

Co-authored by Professor Emeritus, Joel Lexchin, Health Policy and Management,听91亚色.

This article is republished from听.

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91亚色 researchers examined the early and late life stages of small developing carpenter bees in the presence and absence of maternal care and were surprised by the results.

TORONTO, Sept. 14, 2023 鈥� Most wild bees are solitary, but one tiny species of carpenter bees fastidiously cares for and raises their offspring, an act that translates into huge benefits to the developing bee鈥檚 microbiome, development and health, found 91亚色 researchers.

Not unlike the positive effect human mothers can have on their offspring, the maternal care of these carpenter bees (Ceratina calcarata) staves off an overabundance of harmful fungi, bacteria, viruses and parasites in the earliest stage of development.

Without maternal care the pathogen load of these developing bees ballooned 鈥� 85 per cent of were fungi, while eight per cent were bacteria 鈥� which can impact their microbiome, a critical component of bee health, as well as their development, immune system and gene expression. This can lead, for example, to changes in brain and eye development, and even behaviour. The biggest single fungus found was Aspergillus, known to induce stonebrood disease in honey bees, which mummifies the offspring. In later stages, the lack of care can lead to a reduced microbiome, increasing susceptibility to diseases and poor overall health.

The researchers looked at four overall developmental stages in the life of these carpenter bees starting with the larvae stage both in the presence and absence of maternal care.

鈥淭here are fitness affects resulting from these fungal infections. We are documenting the shifts in development, the shifts in disease loads, and it is a big deal because in wild bees there is a lot less known about their disease loads. We are highlighting all of these factors for the first time,鈥� says senior author Sandra Rehan, a professor in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Science.

The developmental changes sparked by which genes were expressed or supressed, upregulated or downregulated, along with disease loads, depending on the presence or lack of maternal care, created knock-on effects on the microbiome and bee health. These single mothers build one nest a year in the pith of dead plant stems where they give birth and tend to their offspring from spring to as late as fall. Anything that prevents the mother from caring for her young, increases risks of nest predation and parasitism, including excessive pruning of spring and fall stems, and can have huge consequences on their young.

The paper, , was published today in the journal Communications Biology. Lead author Katherine Chau of 91亚色 is a Mitacs Elevate and Weston Family Foundation Microbiome Initiative postdoctoral fellow.

鈥淲e found really striking shifts in the earliest stages, which was surprising as we did not expect that stage to be the most significantly changed,鈥� says Chau. 鈥淟ooking at gene expression of these bees you can see how the slightest dysregulation early in development cascades through their whole formation. It is all interconnected and shows how vital maternal care is in early childhood development.鈥�

This study provides metatranscriptomic insights on the impact of maternal care on developing offspring and a foundational framework for tracking the development of the microbiome. 鈥淚t is a complex paper that provides layers of data and shows the power of genomics as a tool,鈥� says Rehan. 鈥淚t allows us to document the interactions between host and environment. I think that is the power of this approach and the new technologies and techniques that we are developing.鈥�

She also hopes it will give people more insight into the hidden life of bees and their vast differences, but also similarities. 鈥淥ften people see bees as a monolith, but when you understand the complexity of bees and that there are wild bees and managed bees, people are more likely to care about bee diversity,鈥� says Rehan.

Additional authors on the paper are Mariam Shamekh, a former honors thesis student and a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Undergrad Student Research Award recipient and Jesse Huisken, a PhD candidate and a NSERC Postgraduate scholarship recipient.

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Microvasculature is an under researched aspect of effect on cardiovascular system, say 91亚色 kinesiologists, who can give interviews in English and French 

TORONTO, August 23, 2023 鈥� As wildfires continue to have devastating impacts in communities around the world and here in Canada, a team of researchers from 91亚色 say our current understanding of potential long-term health risks from particulate matter (PM) exposure are limited and mostly ignore the microvascular system.

A network of tiny arterioles and capillaries, the microvascular system may be just as important as the heart, lungs and arteries when it comes to understanding the health dangers of PM resulting from forest fires.

and , professors with 91亚色鈥檚 School of Kinesiology and Health Science in the Faculty of Health, spent a portion of their summer on the French Island of Corsica in the Mediterranean, where summer wildfires are common. They have created a partnership with the CNRS Wildland Forest Unit at the University of Corsica Pasquale Paoli (UCPP) and Corsican fire authorities to further their research and outlining the challenges posed by this kind of study on a population level, calling for a rethink to how it's approached.

鈥淲hile it's understandable that initial attention focuses on the immediate impacts of losses and casualties after a wildfire, we know that there are also longer-term impacts from exposure to particulate matter pollution 鈥� but it鈥檚 a very challenging area of study when it comes to wildfires,鈥� says Roudier, who is leading the research project.

鈥淔irefighters think about lung cancer, because they breathe the smoke, but because the fires are getting higher in temperature, the particulate matter is getting really small, so small that some can reach the bloodstream. The PM are then in the cardiovascular system, they are traveling through our blood vessels. We are questioning whether we are using the right measurements to assess the risk posed to firefighters and the affected population. Having better tools, or additional tools, could hopefully lead to better solutions to mitigate risks.鈥�

The paper notes that in North America, the length of the wildfire season has increased by nearly a fifth in the last 35 years, making the need to answer these questions more pressing. Population growth and development has increased human exposure to wildfire areas, growing the likelihood of both accidental ignition and fire suppression policies that can lead to an accumulation of biomass fuels. While there is a clear link in the literature to PM pollution and cardiovascular disease, linking this to wildfires has been harder to show, given the complexities of studying this on a population level.

Birot, an associate professor who worked as a volunteer firefighter for seven years during his undergraduate and postgraduate studies, teaches a course at 91亚色 that looks at extreme environments and their effects on health, including PM exposure and exercise.

鈥淭his microcirculation is not only important for delivering oxygen and nutrients to our tissues 鈥� it is also key for communication exchanges between organs, for example between the working muscle and the brain. And it is also this microcirculation that鈥檚

key to dissipate excess body heat, moving heat for the core of the body to the peripheral skin. So think about wildland firefighters who are engaging in long periods of intense physical activity, in a context where they're going to produce heat because of their activity. And they are doing that in an environment that is polluted and extremely hot. So you鈥檙e combining a lot of stressors,鈥� he says.

The two have obtained samples of PM from wildland fires in Corsica and have started to analyze them back at their lab at 91亚色 to test their effect on human endothelial cells, which line the inner layer of blood vessels. They are looking for epigenetic biomarkers that could act as early warning systems for those who might be more vulnerable.

A delegation from UCPP will be coming to 91亚色 in October and Roudier and Birot will head back to Corsica in December to do field work where they鈥檒l collect new PM samples from controlled biomass burning and to expand their collaboration with Corsican fire authorities.

About 91亚色

91亚色 is a modern, multi-campus, urban university located in Toronto, Ontario. Backed by a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners, we bring a uniquely global perspective to help solve societal challenges, drive positive change, and prepare our students for success. 91亚色鈥檚 fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario鈥檚 Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. 91亚色鈥檚 campuses in Costa Rica and India offer students exceptional transnational learning opportunities and innovative programs. Together, we can make things right for our communities, our planet, and our future.

Media Contacts: Emina Gamulin, 91亚色 Media Relations and External Communications, 437-217-6362, egamulin@yorku.ca

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La microcirculation repr茅sente une part sous-茅tudi茅e du syst猫me cardiovasculaire dans le contexte des feux de for锚t selon des chercheurs en kin茅siologie de l'Universit茅 91亚色, qui sont disponibles pour des entretiens tant en anglais qu'en fran莽ais

TORONTO, 23 ao没t, 2023 鈥� Tandis que les feux de for锚t continuent d'avoir un impact d茅vastateur 脿 travers le monde et ici au Canada, une 茅quipe de chercheurs de l'Universit茅 91亚色 soulignent que notre compr茅hension de l'impact 脿 long terme des microparticules pr茅sentes dans les fum茅es reste encore limit茅e, et que dans ce contexte le r么le de la microcirculation est tr猫s sous-茅tudi茅.

La microcirculation englobe nos art茅rioles et capillaires sanguins et pourrait 锚tre tout aussi importante 脿 prendre en compte que nos poumons, notre c艙ur, ou nos art猫res dans le contexte de l'exposition aux fum茅es des feux de for锚t.

Emilie Roudier et Olivier Birot, professeurs 脿 la Facult茅 de la Sant茅 et au sein de l'脡cole de kin茅siologie et science de la sant茅, reviennent de Corse, une 卯le fran莽aise de M茅diterran茅e, o霉 les feux de for锚t peuvent 锚tre fr茅quents. Ils ont en effet engag茅 une collaboration scientifique avec une 茅quipe de recherche de l'Universit茅 de Corse Pasquale Paoli et du CNRS, sp茅cialis茅e dans l'茅tude des feux de for锚t. Ensemble, ils viennent de publier un article qui souligne justement les difficult茅s d'茅tudier l'impact sur la sant茅 des fum茅es de feux de for锚t et notamment le manque de connaissance sur la microcirculation. 

"Il est tout 脿 fait compr茅hensible que l'attention imm茅diate porte sur les pertes humaines, animales, environnementale et mat茅rielles lors des feux de for锚t, mais nous savons tr猫s bien que l'exposition aux microparticules pr茅sentes dans les fum茅es peuvent repr茅senter un risque certain que ce soit 脿 court-terme ou 脿 plus long terme. Ce domaine de recherche reste toutefois assez compliqu茅, particuli猫rement dans le contexte des feux de for锚t" selon professeure Roudier, pilot  du projet de recherche.

"Les pompiers engag茅s sur les feux de for锚t pensent par exemple au cancer du poumon car ils respirent bien 茅videmment les fum茅es. Certaines microparticules lib茅r茅es 脿 hautes temp茅ratures peuvent 锚tre suffisamment petites en taille pour passer dans la circulation sanguine. Elles sont alors libres de circuler dans l'ensemble de notre syst猫me cardiovasculaire. Avons-nous alors les bons outils pour 茅valuer un tel risque tant au niveau des pompiers que de la population? Peut-锚tre que de meilleurs outils, ou des outils compl茅mentaires, notamment l'茅valuation de la microcirculation, pourrait permettre de mieux cerner, voire de limiter, ces risques."

L'article indique qu'en Am茅rique du Nord la dur茅e des saisons de feux de for锚t a augment茅 par environs 20% au cours des 35 derni猫res ann茅es, rendant toutes ces interrogations plus pressantes. L'augmentation de la population et le d茅veloppement des zones habit茅es contribue 茅galement 脿 exposer plus fr茅quemment la population aux feux de for锚t, notamment via une augmentation du risque de feux accidentels mais aussi 脿 la suite des politiques de suppression des feux de friche qui peuvent conduire 脿 une accumulation de mati猫res combustibles. Si le lien entre microparticules et maladies cardiovasculaires est bien 茅tabli, celui avec les feux de for锚t reste toutefois plus difficile 脿 d茅montrer sur le plan scientifique notamment en raison de la complexit茅 d'茅tudier cela 脿 l'茅chelon de la population.

Professeur Birot, qui a travaill茅 comme pompier volontaire pendant 7 ans durant enseigne 茅galement un cours 脿 91亚色 traitant de la physiologie en environnements extr锚mes et notamment l'activit茅 physique en pr茅sence de pollution aux microparticules.

"La microcirculation n'est pas simplement importante pour approvisionner nos tissus en oxyg猫ne ou en nutriments. Elle est par exemple impliqu茅e dans la capacit茅 de communication entre diff茅rents tissus, comme le cerveau. C'est aussi cette microcirculation qui va jouer un r么le cl茅 pour dissiper la chaleur produite par l'organisme. Pensez aux pompiers forestiers qui sont engag茅s pendant de longues p茅riodes d'activit茅 physique soutenue, un contexte o霉 l'organisme va lib茅rer beaucoup de chaleur, et cela dans un environnement tr猫s chaud et pollu茅! On combine l脿 plusieurs stress physiologiques et environnementaux" dit-il.

Les deux chercheurs ont obtenu des microparticules isol茅es lors de br没lage v茅g茅taux en Corse et ils ont d茅but茅 脿 91亚色 une s茅rie d'exp茅riences afin d'茅valuer l'impact de ces microparticules sur des cultures de cellules endoth茅liales humaines, ces cellules qui composent principalement nos vaisseaux sanguins. Ils recherchent notamment des biomarqueurs 茅pig茅n茅tiques qui pourraient servir 脿 mieux prot茅ger les individus les plus vuln茅rables aux fum茅es.

Une d茅l茅gation de l'Universit茅 de Corse sera en visite 脿 91亚色 en octobre prochain. Quant 脿 Roudier et Birot, ils retourneront sur le terrain en Corse en d茅cembre afin de collecter de nouveaux 茅chantillons de microparticules et de renforcer leur collaboration avec le service incendie de Corse.

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TORONTO, Nov. 12, 2021听鈥� Today, 91亚色 and Oak Valley Heath announced a local health partnership aimed at advancing innovative medical education and research collaboration opportunities as well as improving the health and health care of citizens in Markham, Whitchurch-Stouffville, Uxbridge and beyond.

Earlier today, 91亚色 President Rhonda Lenton was joined by Jo-anne Marr, President and CEO, Oak Valley Health, and Frank Scarpitti, Mayor of Markham, at a virtual signing event to celebrate this partnership and discuss the shared vision for the future.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is a three-year agreement that sets out strategic areas of engagement and co-operation: future medical education partnerships; development of research capacity and opportunities between faculty and health care professionals and other hospital staff; clinical placements and experiential learning opportunities for students; continuing education and development for health care professionals and other hospital staff; health and wellness partnerships including clinics, community health initiatives, public and community education, global health initiatives and special events; information systems integration partnerships including learning management systems and test systems, and other mutually agreed educational or research programs including , to be housed at Markham Campus opening Fall 2023.

Watch video below:

QUOTES:

鈥淪ince establishing听its Faculty of Health in 2006,听91亚色听University has been steadily expanding its leadership in health education and听research offered through programs and organized research units that build on our distinct interprofessional and interdisciplinary approach to keeping more people healthier longer in their communities. We are pleased to partner with Oak Valley Health to further enhance the future of medical education and the training of the next generation of world-class health professionals as we work together to create healthier and more equitable communities. We also appreciate the ongoing support of Oak Valley Health and local government leaders as we continue to advance our plans for a听听that will build on our strong foundation and innovative community collaborations to drive positive change both locally and globally.鈥� 鈥� Rhonda Lenton, President and Vice-Chancellor, 91亚色

鈥淲e are thrilled to be partnering with 91亚色 and working towards a shared goal 鈥� providing meaningful learning opportunities to the future health care professionals and leaders in our region. By working together we will create even more opportunities for clinical placements, continuing education, information systems integration and many more initiatives. This partnership plays a foundational role in Oak Valley Health鈥檚 academic strategy. It is our goal to continue fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment where our people will continue to grow and never stop learning.鈥� 鈥� Jo-anne Marr, President and CEO, Oak Valley Health

鈥淭he City of Markham strived to attract 91亚色鈥檚 new Markham Campus to build on our community鈥檚 capacity for innovation and research. Now, more than ever, we appreciate the need for collaboration between healthcare providers and relevant partners. Oak Valley Health has demonstrated its strength in providing on-the-ground healthcare while advancing important clinical trials. Congratulations to both 91亚色 and Oak Valley Health on this agreement which further strengthens medical education and research in Ontario.鈥� 鈥� Frank Scarpitti, Mayor of Markham

QUICK FACTS

• 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Health includes one of Canada鈥檚 largest Nursing and Nurse Practitioner programs as well as outstanding bachelor and graduate degrees in psychology, kinesiology and health sciences, global health, health studies, health policy and management, health informatics, critical disability studies, and neuroscience.
• 91亚色 is home to centres of research excellence in antimicrobial resistance, disease modelling, data visualization, advanced robotics, global health, healthy aging, and muscle health, among others.
• 91亚色鈥檚 Centre for Vision Research is world-renowned and has an expansive network of global health partners.
• IP Osgoode provides thought leadership on the ownership, use and governance of data, including personal health data.
• 91亚色 is advancing health and healthcare in 91亚色 Region and across the GTA by building capacity in health research, education, innovation, and commercialization through the Vaughan Healthcare Centre Precinct (VHCP) 鈥� a ground-breaking public/private partnership between the University, the City of Vaughan, Mackenzie Health, and ventureLAB.

About 91亚色:

91亚色 is a modern, multi-campus, urban university located in Toronto, Ontario. Backed by a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners, we bring a uniquely global perspective to help solve societal challenges, drive positive change and prepare our students for success. 91亚色's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. 91亚色鈥檚 campuses in Costa Rica and India offer students exceptional transnational learning opportunities and innovative programs. Together, we can make things right for our communities, our planet, and our future.

About Oak Valley Health:

is one of Ontario鈥檚 leading community health systems. Across our two hospitals, Markham Stouffville Hospital (MSH) and Uxbridge Hospital (UXB), as well as our Reactivation Care Centre (RCC), we provide high quality, patient-centred care to more than 474,000 patients each year. We offer diagnostic and emergency services and deliver clinical programs in acute care medicine and surgery, addictions and mental health, and childbirth and children鈥檚 services. We are proud to be part of the Eastern 91亚色 Region North Durham Ontario Health Team (EYRND OHT).

Our 489 physicians, 28 midwives, over 2,900 staff and over 1,000 volunteers serve patients and families with an honoured to care mindset and are focused on delivering an extraordinary patient experience to the residents of Markham, Whitchurch-Stouffville, Uxbridge and beyond.

Media Contacts:

Kayla Lewis, 91亚色, 416-455-4710, lewiskay@yorku.ca

Melissa Londono, Oak Valley Health, 416-270-6009, mlondono@msh.on.ca

The post 91亚色 and Oak Valley Health to advance medical education and health research in 91亚色 and Durham regions appeared first on News@91亚色.

TORONTO, April 25, 2017鈥� An international research collaboration between Canada and Japan with 91亚色 Faculty of Health鈥檚 Professor Laurence Harris has discovered that our perception of self-motion has a previously unknown safety feature. Their discovery involves tactile flow, the tactile stimulation provided as you push through leaves in the undergrowth or rub your hands along a wall, and its predominant role in enhancing our sense of self-motion, overriding the information provided by vision and the balance-and-movement system contained within the inner ear.

鈥淲hen you move around you have visual information that tells you how you鈥檙e moving and when you walk around the information flows past you鈥�, says Harris. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e touching something stationary as you move, such as a wall or the bannisters then that information, that tactile information, will also flow over your skin."

Harris, who is the director of the Centre for Vision Research at 91亚色, was invited to the Tohoku Gakuin University (TKU) in Sendai, Japan. There he collaborated with TKU Professor Kenzo Sakurai and researcher William Beaudot. 鈥淚t was very unexpected,鈥� says Harris. 鈥淚nstead of simply combining with other sensory information about the movement in the same way as for example visual and acceleration cues combine, tactile flow actually dominated perceived self-motion."听 The addition of tactile information seems to provide a sort of emergency override, says Harris, making people feel they are going faster than they really are 鈥搒omething he says that may contribute to the "thrill of sliding down the banisters".

In their experiments they measured the perception of self-motion; how fast a person was going and how the perceived timing of the motion was impacted by the addition of tactile flow. Harris adds that there are special receptors in skin that are specialized to respond to something moving over the skin.

鈥淲e had people sitting on a swing that could move from side to side. Participants rested their fingertips on a flat piece of wood that was stationary. As they moved from side to side, they could feel the motion on their fingertips,鈥� says Harris. 鈥淲e discovered that this made them feel they were moving faster than when they were not feeling the tactile flow at the same time.鈥�

The importance of this newly discovered role of touch in our sense of self-motion may account for why we reach for something to stabilize ourselves to prevent a fall if we miss a step. Holding on to something provides stability and provides a tactile cue about what is happening, overriding other available cues. The discovery also has ramifications for designing systems to provide artificial tactile cues to motion to enhance the experience of virtual reality or to help pilots monitor the movement of their aircraft.

鈥淎rtificial tactile stimulation might be a powerful aid to provide self-motion information in virtual environments or in situations where accurate knowledge about self-motion is critical, such as when flying a high-performance plane,鈥� says Harris. 鈥淚n people who are at risk of balance problems, such as older or blind individuals, or people who have had damage to the vestibular system, this information could provide an additional motion cue for them to help create tools for them.鈥�

The researchers used TKU鈥檚 parallel swing, a specialized apparatus that moves a person from side to side. In their study, they had test subjects swing with and without tactile clues (created by running finger tips along a stationary surface).
The research Tactile flow overrides other cues to self-motion appears in the journal Scientific Reports and appears on nature.com.

Watch Prof. Laurence explain the findings here in this video:

91亚色 is known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91亚色 students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world鈥檚 most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91亚色 U is an internationally recognized research university 鈥� our 11 faculties and 26 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91亚色 is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 295,000 alumni. 91亚色 U's fully bilingual Glendon campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

Media Contacts:
Anjum Nayyar, 91亚色 Media Relations, 416-736-2100 ext. 44543 anayyar@yorku.ca

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TORONTO, March 29, 2017 鈥� If you are curious to know what worm poop can tell us about health food, or whether math homework is bad for your health, come chat with budding scientists eager to talk about their experiments, innovations and results at 91亚色, during the this Saturday, April 1.

For the second year in a row, 91亚色 is hosting the 91亚色 Region鈥檚 young scientists. The science fair submissions will be judged and the top projects will go on to represent the region at the national level at the , in Regina, Saskatchewan.

91亚色 Region science students in Grades 7 to 12 will display their research and results on topics ranging from the search for a cure for cancer, to a solution for wet winter mitts.

The April 1 fair will include activities such as a Science Immersion Adventures with 91亚色 U scientists, and Science Teacher Lunch and Learn events.

91亚色 Region District School Board and the 91亚色 Catholic District School Board are among the major sponsors of the fair, which is a partnership effort between 91亚色 and the 91亚色 Region Science and Technology Fair Organizing Committee.

WHO: 听听听听听Grades 7 to 12 high school students from 91亚色 Region
WHAT: 听听听91亚色 Region Science and Technology Fair
WHEN: 听听听April 1, 8:30am-4:30pm, followed by the Awards Ceremony at 4:30pm
WHERE: 听Vari Hall, 91亚色, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto (Building #30 on the )

Lead organizer of the YRSTF@91亚色 partnership Professor Rebecca Pillai Riddell and the YRSTF Committee President Natalie Rudner are available for media interviews.

is known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91亚色 students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world鈥檚 most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91亚色 U is an internationally recognized research university 鈥� our 11 faculties and 26 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91亚色 is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 295,000 alumni. 91亚色 U's fully bilingual Glendon campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

Media contact:
Gloria Suhasini, Media Relations, 416 736 2100 ext. 22094, suhasini@yorku.ca

The post 91亚色 U hosts 91亚色 Region science fair: bright young scientists in the spotlight appeared first on News@91亚色.

TORONTO, December 13, 2016听鈥� With all the shopping, meal planning and dinner planning, many families may feel excited about the holidays, but also overwhelmed. For individuals living with Alzheimer鈥檚 or dementia, visiting family can make this time challenging and bittersweet, and for their loved ones, the stress of caregiving responsibilities layered with holiday traditions can also take a toll.

Faculty of Health Professor in 91亚色鈥檚 School of Nursing has done research on transforming and growing with loss, with including with those families living with dementia. She is available for media interviews to discuss how families can prepare for the holidays and gatherings including:

• coping with loss during the holidays
• tips for managing holiday family gatherings with family members who may have dementia, Alzheimer's
• managing expectations
• factors to consider听when planning activities during the holidays

is known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91亚色 students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world鈥檚 most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91亚色 U is an internationally recognized research university 鈥� our 11 faculties and 26 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91亚色 is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 295,000 alumni. 91亚色 U's fully bilingual Glendon campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

Media Contact:
Anjum Nayyar, 91亚色 Media Relations, 416-736-2100 ext. 44543/anayyar@yorku.ca

The post MEDIA ADVISORY: 91亚色 U expert available to comment on managing holiday celebrations for families touched by Alzheimer鈥檚 appeared first on News@91亚色.