Exploring the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Perceptions of Hospital Staff and Patients on Environmental Sustainability in the Operating Room: Quality Improvement Survey Study.

Background: In Canada, the health care system has been estimated to generate 33 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. Health care systems, specifically operating rooms (ORs), are significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, using 3 to 6 times more energy than the hospital's average unit.

Objective: This quality improvement study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of staff members and patients on sustainability in the OR, as well as identify opportunities for initiatives and barriers to implementation.

Differential and Synergistic Effects of Low Birth Weight and Western Diet on Skeletal Muscle Vasculature, Mitochondrial Lipid Metabolism and Insulin Signaling in Male Guinea Pigs.

Low birth weight (LBW) offspring are at increased risk for developing insulin resistance, a key precursor in metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Altered skeletal muscle vasculature, extracellular matrix, amino acid and mitochondrial lipid metabolism, and insulin signaling are implicated in this pathogenesis. Using uteroplacental insufficiency (UPI) to induce intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and LBW in the guinea pig, we investigated the relationship between UPI-induced IUGR/LBW and later life skeletal muscle arteriole density, fibrosis, amino acid and mitochondrial lipid metabolism, markers of insulin signaling and glucose uptake, and how a postnatal high-fat, high-sugar "Western" diet (WD) modulates these changes.