Colony stimulating factor-1 producing endothelial cells and mesenchymal stromal cells maintain monocytes within a perivascular bone marrow niche.

Macrophage colony stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1) plays a critical role in maintaining myeloid lineage cells. However, congenital global deficiency of CSF-1 (Csf1) causes severe musculoskeletal defects that may indirectly affect hematopoiesis. Indeed, we show here that osteolineage-derived Csf1 prevented developmental abnormalities but had no effect on monopoiesis in adulthood.

Factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 test positivity in long-term care homes: A population-based cohort analysis using machine learning.

Background: SARS-Cov-2 infection rates are high among residents of long-term care (LTC) homes. We used machine learning to identify resident and community characteristics predictive of SARS-Cov-2 infection.

Methods: We linked 26 population-based health and administrative databases to identify the population of all LTC residents tested for SARS-Cov-2 infection in Ontario, Canada.

Predictors of mortality among long-term care residents with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Background: While individuals living in long-term care (LTC) homes have experienced adverse outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection, few studies have examined a broad range of predictors of 30-day mortality in this population.

Methods: We studied residents living in LTC homes in Ontario, Canada, who underwent PCR testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection from January 1 to August 31, 2020, and examined predictors of all-cause death within 30 days after a positive test for SARS-CoV-2. We examined a broad range of risk factor categories including demographics, comorbidities, functional status, laboratory tests, and characteristics of the LTC facility and surrounding community were examined.

Ethical decision making during a healthcare crisis: a resource allocation framework and tool.

The COVID-19 pandemic has strained healthcare resources the world over, requiring healthcare providers to make resource allocation decisions under extraordinary pressures. A year later, our understanding of COVID-19 has advanced, but our process for making ethical decisions surrounding resource allocation has not. During the first wave of the pandemic, our institution uniformly ramped-down clinical activity to accommodate the anticipated demands of COVID-19, resulting in resource waste and inefficiency.

Long-term mortality risk stratification of liver transplant recipients: real-time application of deep learning algorithms on longitudinal data.

Background: Survival of liver transplant recipients beyond 1 year since transplantation is compromised by an increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular events, infection, and graft failure. Few clinical tools are available to identify patients at risk of these complications, which would flag them for screening tests and potentially life-saving interventions. In this retrospective analysis, we aimed to assess the ability of deep learning algorithms of longitudinal data from two prospective cohorts to predict complications resulting in death after liver transplantation over multiple timeframes, compared with logistic regression models.

The psychological burden of waiting for procedures and patient-centred strategies that could support the mental health of wait-listed patients and caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review.

Background: Waiting for procedures delayed by COVID-19 may cause anxiety and related adverse consequences.

Objective: To synthesize research on the mental health impact of waiting and patient-centred mitigation strategies that could be applied in the COVID-19 context.

Methods: Using a scoping review approach, we searched 9 databases for studies on waiting lists and mental health and reported study characteristics, impacts and intervention attributes and outcomes.

Burnout and distress among allied health care professionals in a cardiovascular centre of a quaternary hospital network: a cross-sectional survey.

Background: Burnout and distress negatively affect the well-being of health care professionals and the treatment they provide. Our aim was to measure the prevalence of burnout and distress among allied health care staff at a cardiovascular centre of a quaternary hospital network in Canada, and compare outcomes to those for nonphysician employees in the United States.

Methods: We conducted a survey of allied health care staff, including physical, respiratory and occupational therapists, pharmacists, social workers, dietitians and speech-language pathologists, in a cardiovascular centre at 2 quaternary referral hospitals in Toronto, Ontario, between Nov.

Burnout and distress among nurses in a cardiovascular centre of a quaternary hospital network: a cross-sectional survey.

Background: Burnout and distress have a negative impact on nurses and the treatment they provide. Our aim was to measure the prevalence of burnout and distress among nurses in a cardiovascular centre at 2 quaternary referral hospitals in Canada, and compare these outcomes to those for nurses at academic health science centres (AHSCs) in the United States.

Methods: We conducted a survey of nurses practising in a cardiovascular centre at 2 quaternary referral hospitals in Toronto, Ontario, between Nov.

Burnout and distress among physicians in a cardiovascular centre of a quaternary hospital network: a cross-sectional survey.

Background: Burnout and distress have a negative impact on physicians and the treatment they provide. Our aim was to measure the prevalence of burnout and distress among physicians in a cardiovascular centre of a quaternary hospital network in Canada, and compare these outcomes to those for physicians at academic health science centres (AHSCs) in the United States.

Methods: We conducted a survey of physicians practising in a cardiovascular centre at 2 quaternary referral hospitals in Toronto, Ontario, between Nov.

c-Myb Exacerbates Atherosclerosis through Regulation of Protective IgM-Producing Antibody-Secreting Cells.

Mechanisms that govern transcriptional regulation of inflammation in atherosclerosis remain largely unknown. Here, we identify the nuclear transcription factor c-Myb as an important mediator of atherosclerotic disease in mice. Atherosclerosis-prone animals fed a diet high in cholesterol exhibit increased levels of c-Myb in the bone marrow.

Comparison of cardiac surgery mortality reports using administrative and clinical data sources: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Outcomes for coronary artery bypass surgery are of broadening interest, but the impact of data type on quality reporting has not been fully examined. We compared the performance of administrative and clinical data-based risk adjustment models at a tertiary-quaternary care hospital.

Methods: We used a prospective study design to test two risk adjustment models, one from administrative (Canadian Institute for Health Information [CIHI] Cardiac Care Quality Indicator) and one from clinical data (Society of Thoracic Surgeons), on cardiac surgical procedures performed between 2013 and 2016 ( = 1635).

Self-renewing resident arterial macrophages arise from embryonic CX3CR1(+) precursors and circulating monocytes immediately after birth.

Resident macrophages densely populate the normal arterial wall, yet their origins and the mechanisms that sustain them are poorly understood. Here we use gene-expression profiling to show that arterial macrophages constitute a distinct population among macrophages. Using multiple fate-mapping approaches, we show that arterial macrophages arise embryonically from CX3CR1(+) precursors and postnatally from bone marrow-derived monocytes that colonize the tissue immediately after birth.

The in-hospital costs of treating high-risk patients with fenestrated and branched endografts.

Objective: This study determined the 30-day morbidity and mortality and in-hospital costs of elective fenestrated (fEVAR) and branched (bEVAR) endovascular aneurysm repairs at a single academic institution and determined factors that influence them.

Methods: All elective fEVAR or bEVAR patients treated between November 2007 and March 2014 in a Canadian academic hospital were included. Procedural details, 30-day morbidity and mortality rates, and cost of hospitalization were analyzed.

Pheochromocytoma in a Pregnant Woman With Prior Traumatic Aortic Injury.

Background: Pheochromocytoma, a catecholamine-producing tumor seldom encountered in pregnancy, is often heralded by nonspecific symptoms and undue mortality with delayed diagnosis. The presence of an aortic pseudoaneurysm poses a management challenge given the risk of aortic rupture amplified by hypertensive events.

Case: A 30-year-old woman, gravida 3 para 1, presented at 23 6/7 weeks of gestation with vomiting, chest pain, and severe hypertension.

Splenic metabolic activity predicts risk of future cardiovascular events: demonstration of a cardiosplenic axis in humans.

Objectives: This study sought to determine whether splenic activation after acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is linked to leukocyte proinflammatory remodeling and whether splenic activity independently predicts the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events.

Background: Pre-clinical data suggest the existence of a cardiosplenic axis, wherein activation of hematopoietic tissues (notably in the spleen) results in liberation of proinflammatory leukocytes and accelerated atherosclerotic inflammation. However, it is presently unknown whether a cardiosplenic axis exists in humans and whether splenic activation relates to CVD risk.

CXCL14 deficiency does not impact the outcome of influenza or Escherichia coli infections in mice.

Introduction: Chemokines are small proteins that regulate different cellular functions, such as leukocyte activation, chemoattraction and inflammation. The chemokine CXCL14 (BRAK) is a highly conserved gene among species and through evolution. It has been shown that CXCL14 is locally upregulated during viral infections, also, it has been found that this chemokine possesses direct antibacterial activities.

Lack of group X secreted phospholipase A₂ increases survival following pandemic H1N1 influenza infection.

The role of Group X secreted phospholipase A2 (GX-sPLA2) during influenza infection has not been previously investigated. We examined the role of GX-sPLA2 during H1N1 pandemic influenza infection in a GX-sPLA2 gene targeted mouse (GX(-/-)) model and found that survival after infection was significantly greater in GX(-/-) mice than in GX(+/+) mice. Downstream products of GX-sPLA2 activity, PGD2, PGE2, LTB4, cysteinyl leukotrienes and Lipoxin A4 were significantly lower in GX(-/-) mice BAL fluid.

Management of acute limb ischemia in the pediatric population.

Objective: Acute limb ischemia (ALI) in pediatric patients is rare but may lead to limb loss and life-long complications. This study reviewed the experience of a Canadian tertiary pediatric center with the medical and operative management of ALI.

Methods: The medical records of inpatients diagnosed with ALI of the upper or lower limb between 1999 and 2012 were reviewed.

Innate response activator B cells aggravate atherosclerosis by stimulating T helper-1 adaptive immunity.

Background: Atherosclerotic lesions grow via the accumulation of leukocytes and oxidized lipoproteins in the vessel wall. Leukocytes can attenuate or augment atherosclerosis through the release of cytokines, chemokines, and other mediators. Deciphering how leukocytes develop, oppose, and complement each other's function and shape the course of disease can illuminate our understanding of atherosclerosis.

Thoracic aortic endografting facilitates the resection of tumors infiltrating the aorta.

Objectives: We and others have reported the early experience with off-label use of thoracic aortic endografts to facilitate the resection of tumors infiltrating the aorta. We describe our extended experience and long-term outcome using this innovative approach.

Methods: Patients with preoperative suspected thoracic aortic infiltration who underwent endografting followed by en bloc tumor resection including the aortic wall were retrospectively reviewed and data were analyzed.