In vivo structure probing of RNA in : novel insights into the ribosome structure of .

Structure probing combined with next-generation sequencing (NGS) has provided novel insights into RNA structure-function relationships. To date, such studies have focused largely on bacteria and eukaryotes, with little attention given to the third domain of life, archaea. Furthermore, functional RNAs have not been extensively studied in archaea, leaving open questions about RNA structure and function within this domain of life.

Places of paid work and unpaid work: Caregiving and work-from-home during COVID-19.

Eldercare and places of eldercare have been radicalized with the advent of COVID-19. Growing concerns about the safety of long-term care homes, coupled with the continuation of stay-at-home orders, mean that carers are reconstructing new meanings and places of care provision. Increasingly for many Canadians, the home is rapidly becoming the nexus of one's domestic, work, and caregiving world.

Biological solution conditions and flanking sequence modulate LLPS of RNA G-quadruplex structures.

Guanine-rich regions of DNA or RNA can form structures with two or more consecutive G-quartets called G-quadruplexes (GQ). Recent studies reveal the potential for these structures to aggregate in vitro. Here, we report effects of in vivo concentrations of additives-amino acids, nucleotides, and crowding agents-on the structure and solution behavior of RNAs containing GQ-forming sequences.

Long Tracts of Guanines Drive Aggregation of RNA G-Quadruplexes in the Presence of Spermine.

G-Quadruplexes (GQs) are compact, stable structures in DNA and RNA comprised of two or more tiers of quartets whose G-rich motif of tracts of two or more G's occurs commonly within genomes and transcriptomes. While thermodynamically stable , these structures remain difficult to study . One approach to understanding GQ behavior is to test whether conditions and molecules found in cells facilitate their folding.

Education, Training, and Mentorship of Caregivers of Canadians Experiencing a Life-Limiting Illness.

Background: Research suggests that caregiver preparedness is essential to minimizing the negative impacts of caregiving. Not being prepared is associated with fear, anxiety, stress, and feelings of insufficiency/uncertainty specific to the caregiver role.

Objective: To determine what resources are required to ensure adequate education, training, and mentorship for caregivers of Canadians experiencing a life-limiting illness.

Evaluation of caregiver-friendly workplace policy (CFWPs) interventions on the health of full-time caregiver employees (CEs): implementation and cost-benefit analysis.

Background: Current Canadian evidence illustrating the health benefits and cost-effectiveness of caregiver-friendly workplace policies is needed if Canadian employers are to adopt and integrate caregiver-friendly workplace policies into their employment practices. The goal of this three-year, three study research project is to provide such evidence for the auto manufacturing and educational services sectors. The research questions being addressed are: What are the impacts for employers (economic) and workers (health) of caregiver-friendly workplace policy intervention(s) for full-time caregiver-employees? What are the impacts for employers, workers and society of the caregiver-friendly workplace policy intervention(s) in each participating workplace? What contextual factors impact the successful implementation of caregiver-friendly workplace policy intervention(s)?

Methods: Using a pre-post-test comparative case study design, Study A will determine the effectiveness of newly implemented caregiver-friendly workplace policy intervention(s) across two workplaces to determine impacts on caregiver-employee health.

Revisiting the use of 'place' as an analytic tool for elucidating geographic issues central to Canadian rural palliative care.

In 2010, Castleden and colleagues published a paper in this journal using the concept of 'place' as an analytic tool to understand the nature of palliative care provision in a rural region in British Columbia, Canada. This publication was based upon pilot data collected for a larger research project that has since been completed. With the addition of 40 semi-structured interviews with users and providers of palliative care in four other rural communities located across Canada, we revisit Castleden and colleagues' (2010) original framework.

Sense of belonging to local community in small-to-medium sized Canadian urban areas: a comparison of immigrant and Canadian-born residents.

Background: Sense of belonging is recognized as an important determinant of psychological and physical well-being. Research in Canada has shown that sense of belonging has increased in recent years although important variations exist between regions and among certain ethnic groups.

Methods: The objective of this paper is to examine differences in sense of belonging to local community between Canadian-born and immigrant residents in three small-to-medium sized urban areas using primary data collected in: 1) Charlottetown, PEI; 2) Hamilton, Ontario, and 3) Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Cultural influences on palliative family caregiving: service recommendations specific to the Vietnamese in Canada.

Background: Much of what is known about family caregiving at end-of-life in Canada has been studied within the context of various disease categories or across different care settings, rather than in relation to specific ethnic/cultural identities. Such homogeneity belies the impact of cultural and social factors on the experiences and outcomes of palliative and end-of-life (P/EOL) care. We know little about the end-of-life experiences of Vietnamese-Canadian families.

Impacts of care-giving and sources of support: a comparison of end-of-life and non-end-of-life caregivers in Canada.

This is the second in a series of papers that deal with care-giving in Canada, as based on data available from the Canadian General Social Survey (2007). Building on the first paper, which reviewed the differences between short-term, long-term and end-of-life (EOL) caregivers, this paper uniquely examines the caregiver supports employed by EOL caregivers when compared to non-EOL caregivers (short-term and long-term caregivers combined). Both papers employ data from Statistics Canada's General Social Survey (GSS Cycle 21: 2007).

Care-giving as a Canadian-Vietnamese tradition: 'it's like eating, you just do it'.

The objective of this study was to examine how Vietnamese family caregivers (FCGs) perceive, manage and experience end-of-life care-giving for seriously ill family members. Using an instrumental case study design, this longitudinal qualitative research employed the use of cultural brokers/language interpreters to help ensure that the research was conducted in a culturally-appropriate manner. Participants (n = 18) discussed their experiences of care-giving within the context of a traditional cultural framework, which was found to influence their motivations and approaches to care-giving, as well as their propensities towards the use of various supports and services.

Agenda-setting for Canadian caregivers: using media analysis of the maternity leave benefit to inform the compassionate care benefit.

The Compassionate Care Benefit was implemented in Canada in 2004 to support employed informal caregivers, the majority of which we know are women given the gendered nature of caregiving. In order to examine how this policy might evolve over time, we examine the evolution of a similar employment insurance program, Canada's Maternity Leave Benefit. National media articles were reviewed (n = 2,698) and, based on explicit criteria, were analyzed using content analysis.

Differential impacts of care-giving across three caregiver groups in Canada: end-of-life care, long-term care and short-term care.

Using data from Statistic Canada's General Social Survey Cycle 21 (GSS 2007), this study explores whether differences exist in the impacts of care-giving among three groups of caregivers providing informal care either in the caregiver's or recipient's home, or in other locations within the community: (i) those providing end-of-life (EOL) care (n = 471); (ii) those providing long-term care (more than 2 years) for someone with a chronic condition or long-term illness (n = 2722); and (iii) those providing short-term care (less than 2 years) for someone with a chronic condition or long-term illness (n = 2381). This study lays out the variation in sociodemographic characteristics across the three caregiver groups while also building on our understanding of the differential impacts of care-giving through an analysis of determinants. All three groups of caregivers shared a number of sociodemographic characteristics, including being female, married, employed and living in a Census Metropolitan Area (CMA).

A qualitative study examining the sustainability of shared care in the delivery of palliative care services in the community.

Background: This paper focuses on the sustainability of existing palliative care teams that provide home-based care in a shared care model. For the purposes of this study, following Evashwick and Ory (2003), sustainability is understood and approached as the ability to continue the program over time. Understanding factors that influence the sustainability of teams and ways to mitigate these factors is paramount to improving the longevity and quality of service delivery models of this kind.

Core aspects of "empowering" caregivers as articulated by leaders in home health care: palliative and chronic illness contexts.

Home-based family caregivers are often assisted by home care services founded upon principles of health promotion, such as empowerment. Using an interpretive approach and in-depth qualitative interviews, the authors examine descriptions of family empowerment by leaders and managers in the field of home health care in the province of British Columbia, Canada. In a culture of fiscal restraint, dying at home, and self-care, participants described how home care nurses empower family caregivers to meet these objectives.

Alternative health care consultations in Ontario, Canada: A geographic and socio-demographic analysis.

Background: An important but understudied component of Canada's health system is alternative care. The objective of this paper is to examine the geographic and socio-demographic characteristics of alternative care consultation in Ontario, Canada's largest province.

Methods: Data is drawn from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS Cycle 3.

Tracking the evolution of hospice palliative care in Canada: a comparative case study analysis of seven provinces.

Background: An aging population, rise in chronic illnesses, increase in life expectancy and shift towards care being provided at the community level are trends that are collectively creating an urgency to advance hospice palliative care (HPC) planning and provision in Canada. The purpose of this study was to analyze the evolution of HPC in seven provinces in Canada so as to inform such planning and provision elsewhere. We have endeavoured to undertake this research out of awareness that good future planning for health and social care, such as HPC, typically requires us to first look backwards before moving forward.

Living with hope: developing a psychosocial supportive program for rural women caregivers of persons with advanced cancer.

Background: Hope is defined by caregivers as the inner strength to achieve future good and to continue care giving. Pilot test findings of a Living with Hope Program (LWHP) suggested it is an acceptable and feasible intervention for use by family caregivers. Although it shows promise in potentially increasing hope and quality of life, further testing and development is needed.

Evaluating Canada's Compassionate Care Benefit using a utilization-focused evaluation framework: successful strategies and prerequisite conditions.

A utilization-focused evaluation (Patton, 1997) framework was used in 2004-2005 to conduct a pilot evaluation of Canada's newly unveiled Compassionate Care Benefit from a family caregivers' perspective. This paper presents a description of the successful utilization-focused evaluation process. Successful strategies are summarized in three main categories: (1) motivated leadership; (2) regular, planned communication; and (3) consistent and continued commitment of all parties involved.

The experience of hope for informal caregivers of palliative patients.

This study explored the experience of hope for informal caregivers of palliative patients. Interviews were conducted with 10 caregivers living with and providing care to a palliative patient. The interview data were analyzed using grounded theory qualitative methods.

Adaptation of Plasmodium vivax to growth in owl monkeys (Aotus nancymai).

The purpose of this study was reactivation and adaptation of a strain of Plasmodium vivax to Aotus nancymai monkeys. A need arose for malarial parasites for use in serologic and molecular studies and for teaching slides. This particular strain of parasite had been characterized previously as producing high-density parasitemia in splenectomized New World monkeys and therefore represented a good candidate for reactivation.