Perfluorinated carboxylates (PFCAs), sulfonates (PFSs) and perfluoroalkylsulfonamides (PFOSAs) have been detected in whole blood and serum of non-occupationally exposed humans, yet sources of exposure have not been fully elucidated. The objectives of this study were to estimate dietary exposure to perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), PFCAs (C7--C 11) and fluorotelomer unsaturated carboxylates (FTUCAs) for the general Canadian and Inuit populations prior to the phase-out of perfluorooctyl-sulfonyl production by 3M and voluntary reductions in PFOA emissions under the PFOA stewardship program. PFCs were measured in 65 archived composite food samples prepared for the 1998 Canadian Total Diet Study (TDS) and 68 archived traditional foods from Nunavut using a newly developed methanol extraction combined with a solid phase extraction clean up. Dietary exposure was estimated using food intake data available from studies carried out between 1997 and 1998 in southern Canada and Nunavut. / PFCs were detected in eight composite food samples from the Canadian TDS and in 61 traditional food samples. Elevated concentrations of PFCs were found in caribou liver (6.2+/-5.5 ng/g), ringed seal liver (7.7, 10.2 ng/g), polar bear meat (7.0 ng/g), beluga meat (7.0, 5.8 ng/g), luncheon meats (5.02 ng/g), cookies (2.7 ng/g), processed cheese (2.1 ng/g) and peppers (1.8 ng/g). Low levels of total PFCs (<1.5 ng/g) were measured in 41 traditional foods including: meat (caribou, ptarmigan, snow goose, bearded seal, walrus, black duck), berries, and fish (lake trout, arctic char). PFCs were not detected in beverages, unprocessed meats, breads, cereals and fruits from the TDS composite samples analyzed. / The ranges of estimated daily exposure to PFCs were between 2 and 59 ng-person-1 and 210 to 610 ng-person-1 for average Canadians and Inuit in Nunavut respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in mean PFC exposure levels for different age and gender groups in the general Canadian population. Inuit men in the 41 to 60 year old age group had statistically significantly higher estimated daily exposure to PFCs (p<0.05) than younger men and women from the same age group. This higher exposure was associated with the consumption of beluga muktuk, caribou liver and bearded seal intestine. / Traditional foods contributed a higher percentage to PFC exposure than market foods in all age and gender groups for the Inuit population. In general, caribou meat, arctic char meat and cookies contributed most to dietary exposure for Inuit, with caribou flesh contributing 43 to 75 percent to daily PFC dietary exposure. Dietary exposure for the general Canadian population was associated with the consumption of cakes and cookies, processed cheese, and regular cheese. / Levels of dietary exposure to PFCs estimated in these studies do not pose any significant health risk to either population based on current toxicological information.

A novel approach for screening metagenomic libraries by merging both metagenomic and microarray platforms was developed and optimized. This high-throughput screening strategy termed "metagenomic microarrays" involved the construction of two Arctic soil large-insert libraries and the high density arraying of the clone plasmid DNA (~50 kb) onto glass slides. A standard alkaline lysis technique used for the purification of plasmid DNA was adapted and optimized to function efficiently in a 96-well format, providing an economically viable means of producing sufficient high-quality plasmid DNA for direct printing onto microarrays. The amounts of printed material and probe, required for maximal clone detection, were optimized. To examine catabolic clone detection libraries were first screened by PCR for catabolic genes of interest. Two PCR-positive clones were printed onto microarrays, and detection of these specific clones in the printed libraries was achieved using labeled probes produced from PCR fragments of known sequence. Also, hybridizations were performed using labeled PCR fragments derived from the amplification of a catabolic gene from the total community DNA. The ability of selected probes to specifically target clones of interest was demonstrated. This merger of metagenomics and microarray technologies has shown great promise as a tool for screening the natural microbial community for catabolic potential and could also be used to profile microbial diversity in different environments.

A first approximation of ground ice volume for the area surrounding Eureka, Nunavut, indicates that it comprises 30.8% of the upper 5.9 m of permafrost. Volume depends on the type of ice examined, ranging from 1.8 to 69.0% in different regions of the study area. Excess ice makes up 17.7% of the total volume of frozen materials in the study area. Melt of ground ice in the past has produced thermokarst features which include ground subsidence of up to 3.2 m, formation of tundra ponds, degradation of ice wedges, thaw slumps greater than 50 m across, gullying, and numerous active layer detachment slides. With a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the rise in mean annual temperatures for the area is projected to be 4.9 to 6.6°C, which would lengthen the thaw season and increase thaw depths by up to 70 cm. The expected geomorphic changes to the landscape are discussed.

The search for extraterrestrial life begins with understanding how life developed and evolved on our own planet. Earth's polar regions provide a unique setting conducive to developing the methodologies and techniques that will be needed to find new life forms either as living organisms or as some biological signal in a sedimentary record. / The highest latitude perennial spring system in a region of thick, continuous permafrost resides in the Arctic archipelago of northern Canada. At Expedition Fiord on Axel Heiberg Island there are two sets of springs that provide useful analogs to liquid water habitats that may have existed on Mars. The springs occur in a region with a mean annual air temperature of -15.5° C. Spring flow rates and discharge temperatures are constant throughout the year. Filamentous bacteria, biofilms and mineral precipitates occur in association with the emergent, anoxic brine flowing from the springs. / Preliminary data on the microbial composition of the spring water has been obtained by applying the culture-independent approach. The majority (76%) of the fifty-five environtaxa showed high sequence similarity to Thiomicrospira species (sulfur-oxidizing organism). Other sequences show high similarity to sulfate-reducing members of the delta (Desulfocapsa sp.) and epsilon (Sulfurospirillum sp.) proteobacterium groups. A single sequence was found to have 99% sequence similarity to species of the genus Haloanaerobium a group of low G+C Gram positive, anaerobic, halophiles (Rainey et al. 1995). / A combined flow and thermal model of the Axel Heiberg springs has demonstrated how such springs are able to persist throughout the year despite temperatures that fall to below -50°C during the winter darkness. Dissolved gases emanating from the springs provide evidence of the origin of the water for the springs as well as placing constraints upon the residence time. The gas is composed primarily of N2 with relative concentrations of Ar, Kr, and Xe almost identical to air. No O2 is detectable and Ne is 60% of air values. We believe that ~50% of this gas originates from the direct release of air by nearby alpine glaciers and local ice sheets into groundwater that infiltrates sub-ice sedimentary deposits.

The goal of this thesis is to re-evaluate the origins of the Caribou Inuit. The thesis presents theories that have been proposed by Birket-Smith (1929), Burch (1978), and Clark (1978). Each theory represents a diverse perspective regarding Caribou Inuit origins that include, respectively, a proto-Eskimo origin, an immigration origin, and cultural change resulting from European contact. / The alternative theory being proposed in this thesis is that change in environmental conditions that resulted from the Little Ice Age caused the most favoured food resource, the ringed seal, to decline significantly in abundance because the necessary ice conditions that are required for these seals to inhabit a particular area no longer existed. The implications that are discussed and tested as a result of a decline in marine resources are there would have been a shift in focal resources, a corresponding change in regional territories, and a change in subsistence-settlement systems.

The main goal of this study was to evaluate the utility of physical activity (PA) measurement in an Inuit population with a self-administered questionnaire. The objective was to validate a culturally relevant physical activity questionnaire that measures Inuit PA levels. To do this, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was evaluated against the Caltrac accelerometer and anthropometric/physiologic measurements. / There were a number of compliance problems encountered when implementing the Caltrac in the pilot community which resulted in too few Caltrac scores available for analyses. However, IPAQ PA score (N=44) was significantly inversely related to Body Mass Index (p≤0.05) and positively related to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p≤0.03). / The results indicate that the IPAQ has potential but needs further refinements to be acceptable to Inuit populations and needs re-evaluation in a larger sample. The participants found it very difficult to remember the time spent performing each activity and, in general, the IPAQ was not well received.

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