Resource Scarcity and Humanitarian Social Innovation: Observations from Hunger Relief in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Unlabelled: Humanitarian social enterprises (HSEs) are facing mounting pressure to incorporate social innovation into their practice. This study thus identifies how HSEs leverage organizational capabilities toward developing social innovation. Specifically, it considers how resource scarcity and operating circumstances affect the capabilities used by HSEs for developing social innovation, using a longitudinal case study approach with qualitative data from 12 hunger-relief HSEs operating in the United States.

Patient Safety Culture Bundle for CEOs and Senior Leaders.

Senior healthcare leaders are the difference makers as key influencers in ushering in an organizational culture committed to patient safety. Although leaders at all levels are champions of transformation, leaders at the "top" have a unique opportunity - and a responsibility - to foster a culture that supports an organization on its journey to zero harm. Through a literature review of more than 60 resources and validation with thought leaders, national and provincial partners have developed a patient safety culture bundle for CEOs and senior healthcare leaders.

Patient Engagement in a Large-Scale Change Initiative: "As Safe as Possible, as Soon as Possible".

Patients for Patient Safety Canada (PFPSC) member engagement has evolved from individual stories to having 27 patients and family members actively participating in the National Patient Safety Consortium. PFPSC collaborated with 270 other stakeholders in governance, leadership and action teams to design, implement and evaluate the National Patient Safety Consortium and Integrated Patient Safety Action Plan. There were several key outputs, including a patient engagement guide.

Integrating Palliative Care at the Point of Care: Development of Electronic Interdisciplinary Plans of Care for Oncology Inpatients.

Integration of palliative care (PC) in oncology requires changes in delivery and processes of care, such as implementation of comprehensive, evidence-based interdisciplinary plans of care (IPOCs). A multidisciplinary design team partnered with an electronic health record company and an information analytics company that specializes in online clinical practice guidelines. The team sought to develop electronic IPOCs that address the unique needs of oncology inpatients, attend to PC needs, and reflect the interdisciplinary team's contribution to quality patient outcomes.

Disparities in Health Care Coverage Among U.S. Born and Mexican/Central American Born Labor Workers in the U.S.

We examined health insurance coverage among U.S. and Mexican/Central American (M/CA) born labor workers living in the U.

Tolerability and Effectiveness of 17-α-Alkylated Androgen Therapy for Hereditary Angioedema: A Re-examination.

Background: Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is a genetic disorder clinically characterized by recurrent attacks of subcutaneous and mucosal swelling. 17-α-Alkylated androgens (AA) have been used prophylactically to reduce HAE severity, but there are many questions about the efficacy and tolerability of AA.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the tolerability and effectiveness of AA therapy in a large cohort of patients with HAE.

Mapping adipose and muscle tissue expression quantitative trait loci in African Americans to identify genes for type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Relative to European Americans, type 2 diabetes (T2D) is more prevalent in African Americans (AAs). Genetic variation may modulate transcript abundance in insulin-responsive tissues and contribute to risk; yet, published studies identifying expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) in African ancestry populations are restricted to blood cells. This study aims to develop a map of genetically regulated transcripts expressed in tissues important for glucose homeostasis in AAs, critical for identifying the genetic etiology of T2D and related traits.

Tissue-Specific and Genetic Regulation of Insulin Sensitivity-Associated Transcripts in African Americans.

Integrative multiomics analyses of adipose and muscle tissue transcripts, S, and genotypes revealed novel genetic regulatory mechanisms of insulin resistance in African Americans.

Pediatric Hereditary Angioedema: Onset, Diagnostic Delay, and Disease Severity.

Hereditary angioedema (HAE) typically presents in childhood. Large gaps remain in our understanding of the natural history of HAE during childhood. We examined age of onset, delay in diagnosis, androgen exposure, and their influence on ultimate disease severity in a large cohort of patients with HAE.

Improving safety: engaging with patients and families makes a difference!

Following a brief review of the history and context for patient and family member involvement in healthcare safety improvements, a variety of tools and mechanisms for patient engagement will be offered along with specific examples from Patients for Patient Safety Canada (a patient-led program of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute) to illustrate the impact of involving patients and family members in safety work. Barriers and facilitators to patient engagement in safety will also be examined.

Starting out - I reached out to a withdrawn patient by speaking her language.

During my second year, I was placed on a busy medical ward. There were some long-stay patients on the ward, one of whom remained in a side room with the curtains shut and without television, radio or visitors. Her notes indicated a recent diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

The epidemiology of falls in hospitalized children.

This study was conducted to validate the CHAMPS pediatric fall risk assessment tool for hospitalized children. At the time of this study, there was a lack of published evidence for a valid pediatric fall risk assessment tool for hospitalized children. Adult instruments were the only valid tools for fall risk assessment, and they were being used in populations where the validity had not been established.

Safety and efficacy of physician-supervised self-managed C1 inhibitor replacement therapy.

Background: C1 inhibitor (C1INH) has recently been approved in the USA for the treatment of acute attacks in hereditary angioedema (HAE) patients. The literature suggests that treatment with C1INH is most effective when administered early in an attack. Home infusion of C1INH allows for the earliest possible intervention since patients can initiate therapy at the first sign of symptoms.

Effect of simvastatin (80 mg) on coronary and abdominal aortic arterial calcium (from the coronary artery calcification treatment with zocor [CATZ] study).

We tested the hypothesis that, compared with placebo, simvastatin would reduce the progression of coronary artery calcium (CAC) and abdominal aortic calcium (AAC) levels in participants asymptomatic for vascular disease. Total CAC and AAC were measured with multidetector cardiac computed tomography. Inclusion criteria were a CAC score of >or=50 Agatston units, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levelor=2 other risk factors.

Nuclear distribution of Oct-4 transcription factor in transcriptionally active and inactive mouse oocytes and its relation to RNA polymerase II and splicing factors.

The intranuclear distribution of the transcription factor Oct-4, which is specifically expressed in totipotent mice stem and germ line cells, was studied in mouse oocytes using immunogold labeling/electron microscopy and immunofluorescence/confocal laser scanning microcopy. The localization of Oct-4 was studied in transcriptionally active (uni/bilaminar follicles) and inactive (antral follicles) oocytes. Additionally, the Oct-4 distribution was examined relative to that of the unphosphorylated form of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) and splicing factor (SC 35) in the intranuclear entities such as perichromatin fibrils (PFs), perichromatin granules (PGs), interchromatin granule clusters (IGCs), Cajal bodies (CBs), and nucleolus-like bodies (NLBs).

Pilot study of an HLA-A2 peptide vaccine using flt3 ligand as a systemic vaccine adjuvant.

A pilot vaccine study was conducted to test the safety and immunological efficacy of four monthly immunizations of an MHC class I peptide vaccine, the E75 HLA-A2 epitope from HER-2/neu, using flt3 ligand as a systemic vaccine adjuvant. Twenty HLA-A2-expressing subjects with advanced stage prostate cancer were randomly assigned to one of four immunization or treatment schedules: (a) Flt3 ligand (20 microg/kg per day) administered subcutaneously daily for 14 days on a 28-day cycle, monthly for four months; (b) flt3 ligand course as above with the E75 peptide vaccine administered on day 7 of each flt3 ligand cycle; (c) flt3 ligand course as above with the E75 peptide vaccine administered on day 14 of each flt3 ligand cycle; or (d) E75 peptide admixed with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and administered intradermally once every 28 days, as has previously been reported. The primary endpoints of the study were the determination of safety and immunological efficacy in generating E75-specific T cells as determined by peptide-specific interferon-gamma ELIspot.

Carotid arterial structure in patients with documented coronary artery disease and disease-free control subjects.

Background: Although atherosclerosis often leads to lumen narrowing and symptomatic cardiovascular disease, it is now recognized that arteries have the potential to compensate by enlarging in response to atherosclerosis. We tested the hypotheses that carotid arterial interadventitial (IA) and lumen diameters were related to wall thickness and that carotid arterial diameters of individuals with coronary artery disease (CAD) differed from those of CAD-free controls.

Methods And Results: We measured lumen diameter, IA diameter, and intima-media thickness (IMT) using B-mode ultrasound in the common and internal carotid arteries of 141 CAD case patients and 139 disease-free control subjects.

Generation of T-cell immunity to the HER-2/neu protein after active immunization with HER-2/neu peptide-based vaccines.

Purpose: The HER-2/neu protein is a nonmutated tumor antigen that is overexpressed in a variety of human malignancies, including breast and ovarian cancer. Many tumor antigens, such as MAGE and gp100, are self-proteins; therefore, effective vaccine strategies must circumvent tolerance. We hypothesized that immunizing patients with subdominant peptide epitopes derived from HER-2/neu, using an adjuvant known to recruit professional antigen-presenting cells, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, would result in the generation of T-cell immunity specific for the HER-2/neu protein.

Flt3 ligand as a vaccine adjuvant in association with HER-2/neu peptide-based vaccines in patients with HER-2/neu-overexpressing cancers.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are potent antigen-presenting cells and have shown promise to function as "natural" vaccine adjuvants. Currently, most cancer vaccine trials using DCs generate autologous DCs ex vivo for each patient. Systemic treatment with Flt3 ligand (FL) results in a marked increase of DCs in tissues such as spleen and lymph nodes in mice and in the peripheral blood and skin of humans.