Proconvulsant effects of high doses of venlafaxine in pentylenetetrazole-convulsive rats

Venlafaxine, an atypical antidepressant drug, has been used to treat several neurological disorders, presenting excellent efficacy and tolerability. Clinical seizures after venlafaxine treatment have occasionally been reported when the drug was used at very high doses or in combination with other medications. The aim of the present study was to investigate the convulsant effects of venlafaxine in rats under controlled laboratory conditions. Adult male Wistar rats (8 per group) receiving venlafaxine or saline at the doses of 25-150 mg/kg were subjected 30 min later to injections of pentylenetetrazole at the dose of 60 mg/kg. The animals receiving 75, 100 and 150 mg/kg venlafaxine presented increased severity of convulsion when compared to controls (P = 0.02, P = 0.04, and P = 0.0004, respectively). Indeed, an increased percentage of death was observed in these groups (50, 38, and 88%, respectively) when compared to the percentage of death in the controls (0%). The group receiving 150 mg/kg showed an reduction in death latency (999 ± 146 s) compared to controls (1800 ± 0 s; cut-off time). Indeed, in this group, all animals developed seizures prior to pentylenetetrazole administration. Surprisingly, the groups receiving venlafaxine at the doses of 25 and 50 mg/kg showed a tendency towards an increase in the latency to the first convulsion. These findings suggest that venlafaxine at doses of 25 and 50 mg/kg has some tendency to an anticonvulsant effect in the rat, whereas doses of 75, 100 and 150 mg/kg presented clear proconvulsant effects in rats submitted to the pentylenetetrazole injection. These findings are the first report in the literature concerning the role of venlafaxine in seizure genesis in the rat under controlled conditions.

Serum and cerebrospinal fluid S100B concentrations in patients with neurocysticercosis

The clinical manifestations of neurocysticercosis (NC) are varied and depend on the number and location of cysts, as well as on the host immune response. Symptoms usually occur in NC when cysticerci enter a degenerative course associated with an inflammatory response. The expression of brain damage markers may be expected to increase during this phase. S100B is a calcium-binding protein produced and released predominantly by astrocytes that has been used as a marker of reactive gliosis and astrocytic death in many pathological conditions. The aim of the present study was to investigate the levels of S100B in patients in different phases of NC evolution. Cerebrospinal fluid and serum S100B concentrations were measured in 25 patients with NC: 14 patients with degenerative cysts (D), 8 patients with viable cysts (V) and 3 patients with inactive cysts. All NC patients, except 1, had five or less cysts. In most of them, symptoms had been present for at least 1 month before sample collection. Samples from 8 normal controls (C) were also assayed. The albumin quotient was used to estimate the blood-brain barrier permeability. There were no significant differences in serum (P = 0.5) or cerebrospinal fluid (P = 0.91) S100B levels among the V, D, and C groups. These findings suggest that parenchymal changes associated with a relatively small number of degenerating cysts probably have a negligible impact on glial tissue.

Cortisol and 17-a-hydroxy-progesterone levels in infants with refractory hypotension born at 30 weeks of gestation or less

Refractory hypotension is frequent in very low-birth weight infants, whose hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis has been suggested to be immature. The objective of the present study was to evaluate basal cortisol and 17-a-OH-progesterone in the first 36 h of life in preterm infants with and without refractory hypotension (mean arterial blood pressure below the lower limit for gestational age throughout the study despite aggressive volume expansion and use of vasopressors). Thirty-five infants with £30 weeks of gestation and a birth weight £1250 g, with no postnatal use of corticosteroid or death in the first 48 h were studied. Mean arterial pressure was measured every 4 h during the first 48 h. Cortisol and 17-a-OH-progesterone were determined at 12 and 36 h and patients were divided into refractory hypotensive (N = 15) and control (N = 20) groups. The groups were not different regarding type of delivery, use of prenatal corticosteroid, requirement of mechanical ventilation, use of vasopressor drugs, morphine, fentanyl, prophylactic indomethacin, and mean sample timing. Although refractory hypotensive newborns were more immature, were smaller, suffered more deaths after 48 h of life and had a higher SNAPPE-2 score, their cortisol and 17-a-OH-progesterone levels were not different from controls at 12 h and at 36 h. The increase of cortisol in newborns with refractory hypotension 36 h after birth was significantly higher than in controls. Despite the fact that refractory hypotensive very low-birth weight neonates were submitted to a very stressful condition, their cortisol and 17-a-OH-progesterone levels were similar to controls.

Risk factors associated with the death of patients hospitalized for juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus

We assessed the risk factors associated with death in patients hospitalized for juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus (JSLE) and evaluated the autopsy reports. A total of 57,159 hospitalizations occurred in our institution from 1994 to 2003, 169 of them involving 71 patients with JSLE. The most recent hospitalization of these patients was evaluated. Patients were divided into two groups based on mortality during hospitalization: those who survived (N = 53) and those who died (N = 18). The main causes of hospitalization were JSLE activity associated with infection in 52% and isolated JSLE activity in 44%. Univariate analysis showed that a greater risk of death was due to severe sepsis (OR = 17.8, CI = 4.5-70.9), systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (SLEDAI) ³8 (OR = 7.6, CI = 1.1-53.8), general infections (OR = 6.1, CI = 1.5-25), fungal infections (OR = 5.4, CI = 3.2-9), acute renal failure (OR = 5.1, CI = 2.5-10.4), acute thrombocytopenia (OR = 3.9, CI = 1.9-8.4), and bacterial infections (OR = 2.3, CI = 1.2-7.5). Stratified analysis showed that severe sepsis and SLEDAI ³8 were not confounder variables. In the multivariate analysis, logistic regression showed that the only independent variable in death prediction was severe sepsis (OR = 98, CI = 16.3-586.2). Discordance between clinical diagnosis and autopsy was observed in 6/10 cases. Mortality of hospitalized JSLE patients was associated with severe sepsis. Autopsy was important to determine events not detected or doubtful in dead patients and should always be requested.

Immune cells and oxidative stress in the endotoxin tolerance mouse model

Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response that can lead to tissue damage and death. In order to increase our understanding of sepsis, experimental models are needed that produce relevant immune and inflammatory responses during a septic event. We describe a lipopolysaccharide tolerance mouse model to characterize the cellular and molecular alterations of immune cells during sepsis. The model presents a typical lipopolysaccharide tolerance pattern in which tolerance is related to decreased production and secretion of cytokines after a subsequent exposure to a lethal dose of lipopolysaccharide. The initial lipopolysaccharide exposure also altered the expression patterns of cytokines and was followed by an 8- and a 1.5-fold increase in the T helper 1 and 2 cell subpopulations. Behavioral data indicate a decrease in spontaneous activity and an increase in body temperature following exposure to lipopolysaccharide. In contrast, tolerant animals maintained production of reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide when terminally challenged by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Survival study after CLP showed protection in tolerant compared to naive animals. Spleen mass increased in tolerant animals followed by increases of B lymphocytes and subpopulation Th1 cells. An increase in the number of stem cells was found in spleen and bone marrow. We also showed that administration of spleen or bone marrow cells from tolerant to naive animals transfers the acquired resistance status. In conclusion, lipopolysaccharide tolerance is a natural reprogramming of the immune system that increases the number of immune cells, particularly T helper 1 cells, and does not reduce oxidative stress.

Caspase-8 and p38MAPK in DATS-induced apoptosis of human CNE2 cells

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a common malignancy in Southern China of uncertain etiologic origin. Diallyl trisulfide (DATS), one of the major components of garlic (Allium sativum), is highly bactericidal and fungicidal. In this study, we investigated the function of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and caspase-8 in DATS-induced apoptosis of human CNE2 cells using MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide], flow cytometry assay, and Western blotting. After CNE2 cells were treated with DATS (50, 100, or 150 μM) for 24 h, cell viability rates were 75.9, 63.4 and 39.6%, and apoptosis rates were 24.5, 36.9, and 62.4%, respectively. The data showed that DATS induced CNE2 cell death in a dose-dependent manner. After human CNE2 cells were treated with 100 μM DATS and inhibitors (10 μM SB203580 and Z-LETD-FMK for p38MAPK and caspase-8, respectively), changes in cell viability and apoptosis and in p38MAPK and caspase-8 activity were detected. Cell viability rates were 66.5 and 68.1% and decreased 9.9 and 11.5% compared with inhibitor treatment alone. Apoptosis rates were 31.53 and 29.98% and increased 9.1 and 10% compared with inhibitor treatment alone. The results indicated that DATS activates p38MAPK and caspase-8, but both inhibitors have an effect on P38MAPK and caspase-8 activity. In conclusion, our data indicate that p38MAPK and caspase-8 are involved in the process of DATS-induced apoptosis in human CNE2 cells and interact with each other.

Cell therapy in dilated cardiomyopathy: from animal models to clinical trials

Dilated cardiomyopathy can be the end-stage form and common denominator of several cardiac disorders of known cause, such as hypertensive, ischemic, diabetic and Chagasic diseases. However, some individuals have clinical findings, such as an increase in ventricular chamber size and impaired contractility (classical manifestations of dilated cardiomyopathy) even in the absence of a diagnosed primary disease. In these patients, dilated cardiomyopathy is classified as idiopathic since its etiology is obscure. Nevertheless, regardless of all of the advances in medical, pharmacological and surgical procedures, the fate of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (of idiopathic or of any other known cause) is linked to arrhythmic episodes, severe congestive heart failure and an increased risk of sudden cardiac death. In this review, we will summarize present data on the use of cell therapies in animal models of dilated cardiomyopathies and will discuss the few clinical trials that have been published so far involving patients affected by this disease. The animal models discussed here include those in which the cardiomyopathy is produced by genetic manipulation and those in which disease is induced by chemical or infectious agents. The specific model used clearly creates restrictions to translation of the proposed cell therapy to clinical practice, insofar as most of the clinical trials performed to date with cell therapy have used autologous cells. Thus, translation of genetic models of dilated cardiomyopathy may have to wait until the use of allogeneic cells becomes more widespread in clinical trials of cell therapies for cardiac diseases.

Remodeling in the ischemic heart: the stepwise progression for heart

Abstract Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death in the developed world and in developing countries. Acute mortality from acute myocardial infarction (MI) has decreased in the last decades. However, the incidence of heart failure (HF) in patients with healed infarcted areas is increasing. Therefore, HF prevention is a major challenge to the health system in order to reduce healthcare costs and to provide a better quality of life. Animal models of ischemia and infarction have been essential in providing precise information regarding cardiac remodeling. Several of these changes are maladaptive, and they progressively lead to ventricular dilatation and predispose to the development of arrhythmias, HF and death. These events depend on cell death due to necrosis and apoptosis and on activation of the inflammatory response soon after MI. Systemic and local neurohumoral activation has also been associated with maladaptive cardiac remodeling, predisposing to HF. In this review, we provide a timely description of the cardiovascular alterations that occur after MI at the cellular, neurohumoral and electrical level and discuss the repercussions of these alterations on electrical, mechanical and structural dysfunction of the heart. We also identify several areas where insufficient knowledge limits the adoption of better strategies to prevent HF development in chronically infarcted individuals.

Mortality rate after open Roux-in-Y gastric bypass: a 10-year follow-up

The prevalence of obesity has increased to epidemic status worldwide. Thousands of morbidly obese individuals undergo bariatric surgery for sustained weight loss; however, mid- and long-term outcomes of this surgery are still uncertain. Our objective was to estimate the 10-year mortality rate, and determine risk factors associated with death in young morbidly obese adults who underwent bariatric surgery. All patients who underwent open Roux-in-Y gastric bypass surgery between 2001 and 2010, covered by an insurance company, were analyzed to determine possible associations between risk factors present at the time of surgery and deaths related and unrelated to the surgery. Among the 4344 patients included in the study, 79% were female with a median age of 34.9 years and median body mass index (BMI) of 42 kg/m2. The 30-day and 10-year mortality rates were 0.55 and 3.34%, respectively, and 53.7% of deaths were related to early or late complications following bariatric surgery. Among these, 42.7% of the deaths were due to sepsis and 24.3% to cardiovascular complications. Male gender, age ≥50 years, BMI ≥50 kg/m2, and hypertension significantly increased the hazard for all deaths (P<0.001). Age ≥50 years, BMI ≥50 kg/m2, and surgeon inexperience elevated the hazard of death from causes related to surgery. Male gender and age ≥50 years were the factors associated with increased mortality from death not related to surgery. The overall risk of death after bariatric surgery was quite low, and half of the deaths were related to the surgery. Older patients and superobese patients were at greater risk of surgery-related deaths, as were patients operated on by less experienced surgeons.

The role of necroptosis in neurosurgical diseases

Programmed necrosis or necroptosis is an alternative form of cell death that is executed through a caspase-independent pathway. Necroptosis has been implicated in many pathological conditions. Genetic or pharmacological inhibition of necroptotic signaling has been shown to confer neuroprotection after traumatic and ischemic brain injury. Therefore, the necroptotic pathway represents a potential target for neurological diseases that are managed by neurosurgeons. In this review, we summarize recent advances in the understanding of necroptotic signaling pathways and explore the role of necroptotic cell death in craniocerebral trauma, brain tumors, and cerebrovascular diseases.

Involving employees in six sigma

Six sigma is a quality improvement philosophy with systematic and formal approach. In order to successfully implement and utilize six sigma the basic disciplines of it should be adopted by the entire organization. Furthermore, employee involvement is crucial in six sigma implementation. This thesis addresses the challenges of long-lasting involvement in the case company. It focuses on gaps of involving six sigma trained employees, Black Belts. Theoretical framework of the thesis illustrates different factors influencing employee involvement. Influencing factors can be divided into ten categories: organizational culture, managerial commitment, leadership style, employee empowerment, employees’ perceptions, communication, training, goals, performance measurement and incentives. Factors and categories overlap and are related to each other. The framework provides holistic view of employee involvement in six sigma context but can be used also with other quality management philosophies. This thesis was conducted as a case study and written on an assignment to a power and automation technology company. Due to the nature of research problem, the data collection was conducted by interviewing case company personnel. In order to study involvement from employees’ point of view interview questions were designed to be open-ended and to allow the interviewees to tell freely about the phenomenon. This thesis provides empirical support on previous studies in organizational support, management commitment and employee empowerment. In addition, it indicates the importance of separate function for Black Belts in the organization. The gaps in Black Belt involvement can be categorized under two categories: Management driven gaps are related to management commitment, organizational structure and culture and information systems. Black Belt driven gaps are related to practice and effort of using six sigma. This thesis finds solutions for bridging these gaps in the case company by applying findings from literature research and suggestions given by the interviewees. For each gap, actions are suggested for bridging the discrepancy between current and desired situations. The thesis states that in order to embed six sigma in the organization the most crucial gaps, lack of management commitment, six sigma vision and possibilities to use six sigma, should be diminished.

Involving employees in six sigma

Six sigma is a quality improvement philosophy with systematic and formal approach. In order to successfully implement and utilize six sigma the basic disciplines of it should be adopted by the entire organization. Furthermore, employee involvement is crucial in six sigma implementation. This thesis addresses the challenges of long-lasting involvement in the case company. It focuses on gaps of involving six sigma trained employees, Black Belts. Theoretical framework of the thesis illustrates different factors influencing employee involvement. Influencing factors can be divided into ten categories: organizational culture, managerial commitment, leadership style, employee empowerment, employees’ perceptions, communication, training, goals, performance measurement and incentives. Factors and categories overlap and are related to each other. The framework provides holistic view of employee involvement in six sigma context but can be used also with other quality management philosophies. This thesis was conducted as a case study and written on an assignment to a power and automation technology company. Due to the nature of research problem, the data collection was conducted by interviewing case company personnel. In order to study involvement from employees’ point of view interview questions were designed to be open-ended and to allow the interviewees to tell freely about the phenomenon. This thesis provides empirical support on previous studies in organizational support, management commitment and employee empowerment. In addition, it indicates the importance of separate function for Black Belts in the organization. The gaps in Black Belt involvement can be categorized under two categories: Management driven gaps are related to management commitment, organizational structure and culture and information systems. Black Belt driven gaps are related to practice and effort of using six sigma. This thesis finds solutions for bridging these gaps in the case company by applying findings from literature research and suggestions given by the interviewees. For each gap, actions are suggested for bridging the discrepancy between current and desired situations. The thesis states that in order to embed six sigma in the organization the most crucial gaps, lack of management commitment, six sigma vision and possibilities to use six sigma, should be diminished.

An investigation of sugar feeding by black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae)

Although much research has been conducted on blood-meal acquisition in adult female black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae), the same cannot be said for sugarmeals. Both sexes feed on sugar which provides energy for flight and it has been commonly held that nectar is the major carbohydrate source. This thesis addresses the question of whether a non-floral carbohydrate source, specifically homopteran honeydew, is ingested by male and female black flies. Black flies reared in the laboratory have been observed to readily ingest freshly excreted and older (dry) honeydew when presented with honeydew coated tamarack branches. Field work was conducted in Algonquin Park, Ontario in the spring and summer of 1993. Three separate studies were designed to test whether homopteran honeydew is an important carbohydrate source for black flies and whether flies from different habitats utilize different sugar sources. The sugars melezitose and / or stachyose are known to occur in a variety of homopteran honeydews and therefore were used as indicators of honeydew feeding by black flies. In the first study, black flies were collected with insect nets from a stand of Larix larcina heavily infested with honeydew - producing homopterans (Adelges lariciatus). Six black fly species were captured: Simulium venustum, S. rostra tum, S. vittatum, Stegopterna mutata, S. aureum and S. quebecense. Samples of honeydew and individual black flies were tested using thin layer chromatography (T. L. C.) with fructose, glucose, sucrose, turanose, melezitose, raffinose and stachyose as standards. All sugars except turanose and melezitose were found in the adelgid honeydew samples. Since the sugar melezitose was absent from ~ honeydew samples, stachyose was used to indicate that black flies were feeding from this particular honeydew source. Of the 201 black flies tested, 194 contained sugars which occurred in 16 combinations. Stachyose combinations excluding melezitose, present in 45.9 % of flies, were used to indicate that black flies had been feeding on the adelgid honeydew. In the second study, black flies were collected in the morning and evening on 8 collection dates, using a vehicle mounted insect net. The crops and midguts of 10 male and 10 female Simulium venustum were dissected on each sample date. In total the gut contents of 320 individual flies were analysed by T. L. C. The sugars identified from these flies were present in the following proportions: fructose (100.0%), glucose (100.0%), sucrose/turanose (50.4%), melezitose (30.3%), raffinose (18.8%) and stachyose (8.7%). These sugars occurred in fourteen different combinations. It is argued that the presence of melezitose and / or stachyose indicates that black flies had fed on homopteran honeydew. Significantly more female flies (40.0%) than male flies (27.5%) had fed on honeydew. In the third study, adult black flies were sampled by sweep netting vegetation in four habitats in the morning and evening on 8 collection dates. The habitats are as follows: (1) Davies Bog, (2) Abandoned Air Field (dominated by blueberries, Vaccinium spp.), (3) Deciduous Habitat and (4) Coniferous Habitat. Sugars in the crops and midguts of female flies were tested by T. L. C. and, for S. venustum, it was found that significantly fewer flies (18.8%) from the Air Field contained honeydew than from the other three sites (Davies Bog, 34.4%; Deciduous Habitat, 36.2%; Coniferous Habitat, 25.0%). Of the 1287 black flies tested individually by T. L. C. 441 (34.3%) contained melezitose and / or stachyose sugars indicating that this proportion of the population were feeding from Homopteran honeydew. It is therefore clear that floral (nectar) sugars are not the only source of carbohydrates available to black flies.

A black-focused school : black Canadian youth and the mainstream curriculum

ABSTRACT When asked about the proposal for a black-focused school, black youth from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) voiced their agreement with elements of the proposal, but resisted the idea of implementing the proposal by creating a separate school. Although media representations and Dei (1996, 2006) provide insight into what Torontonians' reactions are to the proposed blackfocused school there has been no such information documented on what black youth in the GTA think about the project. This is the first known study that attempts to fill that gap by providing a representation of black youths' voices obtained via focus groups. The study examines what black youth know and think about the proposal, and why they largely disagree with the blackfocused school proposal. While the findings of this study indicate that the participants saw many positive elements of the proposal, they did not support the implementation of a black-focused school as they saw the creation of a separate space for the school as a negative thing. The youth had trouble conceptualizing 'black-focused schooling' as an alternative approach to mainstream education, which had an impact on whether they choose to, or could, respond to questions that precisely related to the black-focused school project. The study concludes that the youth could not visualize what the school would look like and how it would operate because they draw on liberal racist discourses (e.g. colour-blindness, blaming the victim, and equal opportunity) when thinking about their educational experiences; however, there was a clear contradiction in the way the youths' voices reflected an awareness of the role of race in education experiences. It was evident when they talked about fear of stigmatization, but when using liberal discourses the youth discounted the role of race, and seemed not to be aware of its role in educational experiences. These findings pose important implications for educators, would-be educators, administrators, the TDSB and proponents of the black-focused school.

Rick Bell Family fonds, 1874-1875, 1879, 1884, 1886, 1888-1889, 1896, 1898, 1909-1910, 1939, 1945, n.d.

Lewis Tyrell married Jane Gains on August 31, 1849 in Culpeper Court House, Virginia. Jane Gains was a spinster. Lewis Tyrell died September 25, 1908 at his late residence, Vine St. and Welland Ave., St. Catharines, Ont. at the age of 81 years, 5 months. Jane Tyrell died March 1, 1886, age 64 years. Their son? William C. Tyrell died January 15, 1898, by accident in Albany, NY, age 33 years, 3 months. John William Taylor married Susan Jones were married in St. Catharines, Ont. on August 10, 1851 by William Wilkinson, a Baptist minister. On August 9, 1894 Charles Henry Bell (1871-1916), son of Stephen (1835?-1876) and Susan Bell, married Mary E. Tyrell (b. 1869?) daughter of Lewis and Alice Tyrell, in St. Catharines Ontario. By 1895 the Bell’s were living in Erie, Pennsylvania where children Delbert Otto (b. 1895) and Edna Beatrice (b. 1897) were born. By 1897 the family was back in St. Catharines where children Lewis Tyrell (b. 1899), Gertrude Cora (b. 1901), Bessie Jane (b. 1902), Charles Henry (b. 1906), Richard Nelson (b. 1911) and William Willoughby (b. 1912) were born. Charles Henry Bell operated a coal and ice business on Geneva Street. In the 1901 Census for St. Catharines, the Bell family includes the lodger Charles Henry Hall. Charles Henry Hall was born ca. 1824 in Maryland, he died in St. Catharines on November 11, 1916 at the age of 92. On October 24, 1889 Charles Hall married Susan Bell (1829-1898). The 1911 Census of Canada records Charles Henry Hall residing in the same household as Charles Henry and Mary Bell. The relationship to the householder is step-father. It is likely that after Stephen Bell’s death in 1876, his widow, Susan Bell married Hall. In 1939, Richard Nelson Bell, son of Charles Henry and Mary Tyrell Bell, married Iris Sloman. Iris (b. 22 May 1912 in Biddulph Township, Middlesex, Ontario) was the daughter of Albert (son of Joseph b. 1870 and Elizabeth Sloman, b. 1872) and Josie (Josephine Ellen) Butler Sloman of London, Ont. Josie (b. 1891) was the daughter of Everett Richard and Elizabeth McCarthy (or McCarty) Butler, of Lucan Village, Middlesex North. According to the 1911 Census of Canada, Albert, a Methodist, was a porter on the railroad. His wife, Josephine, was a Roman Catholic. Residing with Albert and Josie were Sanford and Sadie Butler and Sidney Sloman, likely siblings of Albert and Josephine. The Butler family is descended from Peter Butler, a former slave, who had settled in the Wilberforce Colony in the 1830s. Rick Bell b. 1949 in Niagara Falls, Ont. is the son of Richard Nelson Bell. In 1979, after working seven years as an orderly at the St. Catharines General Hospital while also attending night school at Niagara College, Rick Bell was hired by the Thorold Fire Dept. He became the first Black professional firefighter in Niagara. He is a founding member of the St. Catharines Junior Symphony; attended the Banff School of Fine Arts in 1966 and also performed with the Lincoln & Welland Regimental Band and several other popular local groups. Upon the discovery of this rich archive in his mothers’ attic he became passionate about sharing his Black ancestry and the contributions of fugitive slaves to the heritage Niagara with local school children. He currently resides in London, Ont.