Building engagement to support adoption of community-based substance use prevention initiatives.

Background: System-level approaches that target social determinants of health are promising strategies to support substance use prevention, holistic youth development and wellbeing. Yet, the youth services system is largely based on individual-focused programs that do not adequately account for social determinants of health and place the responsibility for wellness on the individual. There is a need to understand how to enhance adoption of complex system-level approaches that support comprehensive youth development.

Cannabis Use for Therapeutic Purposes by Children and Youth at a Tertiary Teaching Hospital in Canada: A Retrospective Chart Review.

Background: The study of the use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes in the pediatric population is increasing, yet data on efficacy and safety are limited. Characterization of pediatric cannabis use for therapeutic purposes will improve understanding of the circumstances under which it occurs and the associated outcomes.

Objective: To describe the use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes, regardless of authorization, in a pediatric tertiary teaching hospital.

Recall of Pharmaceutical Pictograms by Older Adults.

Background: Low health literacy and high medication burden in the older adult population are contributing factors to the misunderstanding of medication instructions, leading to an increased risk of poor adherence and adverse events in this group of patients.

Objective: To evaluate the ability of older adults to recall the meaning of 13 pharmaceutical pictograms 4 weeks after receipt of feedback on pictogram meaning.

Methods: Older adults (aged 65 or older) were recruited from one community pharmacy in Canada.

Incidence and Outcomes of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Using the New International Association of Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group Criteria in Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont.

Objectives: At 1 Canadian university hospital, pregnant women were routinely screened for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) with a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Diagnostic plasma glucose thresholds were as follows: fasting: ≥5.3 mmol/L, 1 h: ≥10.

Characterization and applications of auto-locked vacuum-sealed diode lasers for precision metrology.

We demonstrate the performance characteristics of a new class of vacuum-sealed, autolocking diode laser systems and their applications to precision metrology. The laser is based on adaptations of a design that uses optical feedback from an interference filter and it includes a vacuum-sealed cavity, an interchangeable base-plate, and an autolocking digital controller. A change of the base-plate allows operation at desired wavelengths in the visible and near infrared spectral range, whereas the autolocking ability allows the laser to be tuned and frequency stabilized with respect to atomic, molecular, and solid-state resonances without human intervention using a variety of control algorithms programmed into the same controller.