Developing a harmonized heat warning and information system for Ontario: a case study in collaboration.

Background: Heat wave early warning systems help alert decision-makers and the public to prepare for hot weather and implement preventive actions to protect health. Prior to harmonization, public health units across Ontario either used independent systems with varying methodologies for triggering and issuing public heat warnings or did not use any system. The federal government also issued heat warnings based on different criteria.

Hemodilution with stroma-free [correction of stoma-free] hemoglobin at physiologically maintained viscosity delays the onset of vasoconstriction.

Solutions of modified cell-free hemoglobin, prepared from outdated red blood cells, have been developed during the past decade to circumvent the increasing need for allogeneic blood. Despite improvements in the safety and efficacy of these solutions, undesirable effects such as an increase in vascular tone leading to hypertension have not been fully resolved, which might hinder their clinical usefulness. To discriminate between the pharmacological and rheological effects of cell-free hemoglobin, we compared the effects of blood/cell-free hemoglobin mixtures of high versus low viscosity on hemodynamics and vascular hindrance, an index of vascular tone, which was normalized for blood viscosity.