Contribution of environmental determinants to the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus in a life-course perspective: a systematic review protocol.

Background: Prevention policies against type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) focus solely on individual healthy lifestyle behaviours, while an increasing body of research recognises the involvement of environmental determinants (ED) (cultural norms of land management and planning, local foodscape, built environment, pollution, and neighbourhood deprivation). Precise knowledge of this relationship is essential to proposing a prevention strategy integrating public health and spatial planning. Unfortunately, issues related to the consistency and synthesis of methods, and results in this field of research limit the development of preventive strategies.

Optimizing Fecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT) Colorectal Cancer Screening Using Gut Bacteriome as a Biomarker.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major cause of cancer mortality in the world. One of the most widely used screening tests for CRC is the immunochemical fecal occult blood test (iFOBT), which detects human hemoglobin from patient's stool sample. Although it is highly efficient in detecting blood from patients with gastro-intestinal lesions, such as polyps and cancers, the iFOBT has a high rate of false positive discovery.

Analysis of implementation outcomes of quality improvement initiatives in Haiti: the fingerprint initiative.

Objective: To assess the process and outcomes of the implementation of an electronic fingerprint initiative as part of quality improvement in three health facilities in the Northern Department of Haiti, in terms of its acceptability, adoption, feasibility, fidelity, and sustainability. In Haiti, poor attendance of the healthcare workforce is a nationwide problem, closely related to the quality of care. Three health institutions have tried to implement an electronic fingerprint system to monitor and improve attendance.

Interlaboratory bias of albuminuria and proteinuria in hypertensive pregnancy.

Background: Measurement of proteinuria in women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy is of major importance in the diagnosis and management of preeclampsia. Urinary protein/creatinine ratio, which is commonly used to detect kidney damage in preeclampsia, suffers from important analytical limitations, including poor harmonization of results between laboratories. Adoption of albuminuria could help reduce interlaboratory bias, since methods used to quantify it are better harmonized.

Patient-Provider Communication and Information, Motivation, and Behavioral Skills in HIV-Positive Adults Initiating Antiretroviral Therapy in Haiti.

While Haiti has scaled up use of antiretroviral therapy (ART), current studies suggest sub-optimal adherence threatens long-term viral suppression in this understudied setting. Patient-provider communication (PPC) and information, motivation, and behavioral skills (IMB) have been implicated in ART adherence globally. However, no studies have examined their relevance in Haiti.

An EMR-Based Alert with Brief Provider-Led ART Adherence Counseling: Promising Results of the InfoPlus Adherence Pilot Study Among Haitian Adults with HIV Initiating ART.

To promote HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART) outcomes in Haiti, we developed a culturally relevant intervention (InfoPlus Adherence) that combines an electronic medical record alert identifying patients at elevated risk of treatment failure and provider-delivered brief problem-solving counseling. We conducted a quasi-experimental mixed-methods study among 146 patients at two large ART clinics in Haiti with 728 historical controls. We conducted quantitative assessments of patients at baseline and intervention completion (6 months) as well as focus groups with health workers and exit interviews with patients.

Dataset related to the characteristics of the champion that influence the implementation of quality improvement programs in health facilities.

Analyses of the present data are reported in the article "What are the characteristics of the champion that influence the implementation of quality improvement programs?" [5]. Data were collected from April to September 2019 using a qualitative data collection tool, an interview guide (see Appendix 1). A total of 21 staff were interviewed from three different health facilities in the Northern Department of Haiti.

What are the characteristics of the champion that influence the implementation of quality improvement programs?

Background: Quality improvement in Healthcare is the new fashion actually. Rich countries and developing countries alike are trying to implement quality improvement initiatives to improve their performance and the quality of care. There is evidence in the scientific literature that the existence of a "champion" can play an important role in the successful implementation of quality improvement strategies.

Implication of hypocholesterolemia in autism spectrum disorder and its associated comorbidities: A retrospective case-control study.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been associated with low cholesterol levels in a limited number of studies. However, the prevalence of hypocholesterolemia as well as the degree of association with ASD remains to be elucidated. We therefore sought to investigate the lipid profiles of a group of French-Canadian ASD individuals.

Chlorination by-product levels in hot tap water: Significance and variability.

People are exposed to chlorinated by-products (CBPs) through the consumption of cold tap water (CTW) (ingestion, inhalation, dermal contact) but also through the use of hot tap water (HTW) in such activities as showering and bathing (inhalation, dermal contact). This study focuses on the impact of residential water heating on CBP levels in tap water. Trihalomethane (THM) and haloacetic acid (HAA) levels were measured in the CTW and HTW of 50 residences located in two distribution systems supplied by chlorinated surface water during summer and winter.

Establishment of reference intervals for the salivary cortisol circadian cycle, by electrochemiluminescence (ECLIA), in healthy adults.

Objectives: To determine salivary cortisol reference intervals in a healthy adult population, at 6 different time points during a 24-hour (h) period.

Methods: In a prospective study, salivary cortisol concentrations were measured upon waking, one-hour post-waking and at specific times of the day: at 12 h00, 16 h00, 20 h00 and midnight. Samples were analyzed by the first and second-generation electrochemiluminescence assays (ECLIA) from Roche Cobas Cortisol®.

Plasma Palmitoyl-Carnitine (AC16:0) Is a Marker of Increased Postprandial Nonesterified Incomplete Fatty Acid Oxidation Rate in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes.

Objectives: Enhanced mitochondrial fatty acid utilization is known to increase radical oxidative stress and induce insulin resistance. An increased level of plasma acylcarnitine (AC) has been proposed to indicate mitochondrial energy substrate overload, a possible mechanism leading to insulin resistance. The aim of our study was to determine fasting and postprandial plasma acetyl-carnitine (AC2:0), palmitoyl-carnitine (AC16:0), oleoyl-carnitine (AC18:1) and linoleoyl-carnitine (AC18:2) levels and their relationships with plasma nonesterified fatty acid appearance and oxidation rates and insulin sensitivity in participants with type 2 diabetes and normoglycemic offspring of 2 parents with type 2 diabetes (FH+) compared to healthy participants without family histories of type 2 diabetes (FH-).

New insights of altered lipid profile in Fragile X Syndrome.

Background: Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is the main genetic cause of autism and intellectual deficiency resulting the absence of the Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein (FMRP). Clinical picture is characterized by cognitive impairment associated with a broad spectrum of psychiatric comorbidities including autism spectrum disorders and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders. Some of these disorders have been associated with lipid abnormalities and lower cholesterol levels.

Evaluation of contractile phenotype in airway smooth muscle cells isolated from endobronchial biopsy and tissue specimens from horses.

OBJECTIVE To develop a method to maintain the initial phenotype of airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells isolated from equine endobronchial biopsy specimens in long-term cell culture. SAMPLE Endobronchial tissue specimens (8 to 10/horse) collected from the lungs of previously healthy horses at necropsy (n = 12) and endobronchial biopsy specimens collected from standing, sedated, heaves-affected horses in clinical remission of the disease (5) and control horses (4). PROCEDURES A sampling protocol was developed to recover and maintain a contractile phenotype in ASM cells from endobronchial specimens from freshly harvested equine lungs and from healthy and heaves-affected horses.

Progress in developing a living human tissue-engineered tri-leaflet heart valve assembled from tissue produced by the self-assembly approach.

The aortic heart valve is constantly subjected to pulsatile flow and pressure gradients which, associated with cardiovascular risk factors and abnormal hemodynamics (i.e. altered wall shear stress), can cause stenosis and calcification of the leaflets and result in valve malfunction and impaired circulation.

Electric Potential Across Epidermis and Its Role During Wound Healing Can Be Studied by Using an Reconstructed Human Skin.

Background: After human epidermis wounding, transepithelial potential (TEP) present in nonlesional epidermis decreases and induces an endogenous direct current epithelial electric field (EEF) that could be implicated in the wound re-epithelialization. Some studies suggest that exogenous electric stimulation of wounds can stimulate healing, although the mechanisms remain to be determined.

The Problem: Little is known concerning the exact action of the EEF during healing.

Regional variation in the modeling of donation frequency: the case of Héma-Québec, Canada.

Background: Many studies on factors that can affect the frequency of blood donation have shown the influence of several individual characteristics. However, few studies have analyzed regional variations in blood donation frequency. The objective of this article is to verify to what extent individual and geographic variables influence blood donation in the Province of Québec, Canada.

Human keratinocytes respond to direct current stimulation by increasing intracellular calcium: preferential response of poorly differentiated cells.

A direct current (DC) endogenous electric field (EF) is induced in the wound following skin injury. It is potentially implicated in the wound healing process by attracting cells and altering their phenotypes as indicated by the response to an EF of keratinocytes cultured as individual cells. To better define the signalization induced by a direct current electric field (DCEF) in human keratinocytes, we took advantage of an in vitro model more representative of the in vivo situation since it promotes cell-cell interactions and stratification.

Paving the way for invasive species: road type and the spread of common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia).

Roads function as prime habitats and corridors for invasive plant species. Yet despite the diversity of road types, there is little research on the influence of these types on the spread of invaders. Common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia), a plant producing large amounts of allergenic pollen, was selected as a species model for examining the impact of road type on the spread of invasive plants.

Production of an optimized tissue-engineered pig connective tissue for the reconstruction of the urinary tract.

Nonurological autologous tissues are used for urethral reconstruction to correct urinary tract disorders but are still leading to complications. Other substitutes have been studied on small animal models without great success. For preclinical tests, we selected the porcine model for its similarity to the human urinary tract.

Restoration of the transepithelial potential within tissue-engineered human skin in vitro and during the wound healing process in vivo.

Normal human epidermis possesses a transepithelial potential (TEP) that varies in different parts of the body (10–60mV). The role of TEP in normal epidermis is not yet identified; but after skin injury, TEP disruption induces an endogenous direct current electric field (100–200mV/mm) directed toward the middle of the wound. This endogenous electric field could be implicated in the wound healing process by attracting cells, thus facilitating reepithelialization.