Oxidative Stress and Cataract Formation: Evaluating the Efficacy of Antioxidant Therapies.

This comprehensive review investigates the pivotal role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cataract formation and evaluates the potential of antioxidant therapies in mitigating this ocular condition. By elucidating the mechanisms of oxidative stress, the article examines how ROS contribute to the deterioration of lens proteins and lipids, leading to the characteristic aggregation, cross-linking, and light scattering observed in cataracts. The review provides a thorough assessment of various antioxidant strategies aimed at preventing and managing cataracts, such as dietary antioxidants (i.

Exploring the Potential of Nanoporous Materials for Advancing Ophthalmic Treatments.

The landscape of ophthalmology is undergoing significant transformations, driven by technological advancements and innovations in materials science. One of the advancements in this evolution is the application of nanoporous materials, endowed with unique physicochemical properties ideal for a variety of ophthalmological applications. Characterized by their high surface area, tunable porosity, and functional versatility, these materials have the potential to improve drug delivery systems and ocular devices.

A longitudinal analysis of temporal and spatial incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome in Ontario: 2003-2016.

Objective: This study describes the incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) in Ontario, Canada by year and health region from 2003 to 2016.

Design: The incidence of NAS diagnoses per 1,000 live births was calculated for the 36 local public health agency regions in Ontario from 2003 to 2016 using retrospective hospital admissions data. Infants with a diagnosis of NAS were identified using ICD-10 code P961.

Comparing Twitter data to routine data sources in public health surveillance for the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games: an ecological study.

Objectives: This study examined Twitter for public health surveillance during a mass gathering in Canada with two objectives: to explore the feasibility of acquiring, categorizing and using geolocated Twitter data and to compare Twitter data against other data sources used for Pan Parapan American Games (P/PAG) surveillance.

Methods: Syndrome definitions were created using keyword categorization to extract posts from Twitter. Categories were developed iteratively for four relevant syndromes: respiratory, gastrointestinal, heat-related illness, and influenza-like illness (ILI).

Risk Assessment During the Pan American and Parapan American Games, Toronto, 2015.

During the summer of 2015, the Pan American and Parapan American Games took place in the Greater Toronto area of Ontario, Canada, bringing together thousands of athletes and spectators from around the world. The Acute Care Enhanced Surveillance (ACES) system-a syndromic surveillance system that captures comprehensive hospital visit triage information from acute care hospitals across Ontario-monitored distinct syndromes throughout the games. We describe the creation and use of a risk assessment tool to evaluate alerts produced by ACES during this period.

Characterizing the Effects of Extreme Cold Using Real-time Syndromic Surveillance, Ontario, Canada, 2010-2016.

Morbidity and mortality from exposure to extreme cold highlight the need for meaningful temperature thresholds to activate public health alerts. We analyzed emergency department (ED) records for cold temperature-related visits collected by the Acute Care Enhanced Surveillance system-a syndromic surveillance system that captures data on ED visits from hospitals in Ontario-for geographic trends related to ambient winter temperature. We used 3 Early Aberration Reporting System algorithms of increasing sensitivity-C1, C2, and C3-to determine the temperature at which anomalous counts of cold temperature-related ED visits occurred in northern and southern Ontario from 2010 to 2016.

Utility of linking primary care electronic medical records with Canadian census data to study the determinants of chronic disease: an example based on socioeconomic status and obesity.

Background: Electronic medical records (EMRs) used in primary care contain a breadth of data that can be used in public health research. Patient data from EMRs could be linked with other data sources, such as a postal code linkage with Census data, to obtain additional information on environmental determinants of health. While promising, successful linkages between primary care EMRs with geographic measures is limited due to ethics review board concerns.

Microbial source tracking and spatial analysis of E. coli contaminated private well waters in southeastern Ontario.

Private water supplies, which are the primary source of drinking water for rural communities in developed countries, are at risk of becoming fecally contaminated. It is important to identify the source of contamination in order to better understand and address this human health risk. Microbial source tracking methods using human, bovine and general Bacteroidales markers were performed on 716 well water samples from southeastern Ontario, which had previously tested positive for Escherichia coli.

Socioeconomic status of emergency department users in Ontario, 2003 to 2009.

Objective: Emergency department (ED) overcrowding in Canada is an ongoing problem resulting in prolonged wait times, service declines, increased patient suffering, and adverse patient outcomes. We explored the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and ED use in Canada's universal health care system to improve our understanding of the nature of ED users to both improve health care to the most deprived populations and reduce ED patient input.

Methods: This retrospective study took information from the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS) database for all ED visits in Ontario between April 1, 2003, and March 31, 2010.

Socioeconomic composition of low-acuity emergency department users in Ontario.

Objective: To describe the associations between the socioeconomic status of emergency department (ED) users and age, sex, and acuity of medical conditions to better understand users' common characteristics, and to better meet primary and ambulatory health care needs.

Design: A retrospective, observational, population-based analysis. A rigorous proxy of socioeconomic status was applied using census-based methods to calculate a relative deprivation index.

Research agenda to support sodium reduction in Canada.

The Sodium Reduction Strategy for Canada includes an identification of priority areas for future research, based on a workshop convened by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and partners. A strong portfolio of research is essential to addressing current developments and controversies raised in relation to the health outcomes associated with dietary sodium. CIHR aims to provide leadership in working together with other funders and partners to catalyze a broad range of sodium research.

Association between socio-economic status and hemoglobin A1c levels in a Canadian primary care adult population without diabetes.

Background: Hgb A1c levels may be higher in persons without diabetes of lower socio-economic status (SES) but evidence about this association is limited; there is therefore uncertainty about the inclusion of SES in clinical decision support tools informing the provision and frequency of Hgb A1c tests to screen for diabetes. We studied the association between neighborhood-level SES and Hgb A1c in a primary care population without diabetes.

Methods: This is a retrospective study using data routinely collected in the electronic medical records (EMRs) of forty six community-based family physicians in Toronto, Ontario.

Evaluation of funding gastroenterology research in Canada illustrates the beneficial role of partnerships.

Background: Funders of health research in Canada seek to determine how their funding programs impact research capacity and knowledge creation.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of a focused grants and award program that was cofunded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes, and the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology; and to measure the impact of the Program on the career paths of funded researchers and assess the outcomes of research supported through the Program.

Methods: A survey of the recipients of grants and awards from 2000 to 2008 was conducted in 2012.

A spatial analysis of private well water Escherichia coli contamination in southern Ontario.

Research to date has provided limited insight into the complexity of water-borne pathogen transmission. Private well water supplies have been identified as a significant pathway in infectious disease transmission in both the industrialised and the developing world. Using over 90,000 private well water submission records representing approximately 30,000 unique well locations in south-eastern Ontario, Canada, a spatial analysis was performed in order to delineate clusters with elevated risk of E.

Workshop report: developing a pediatric inflammatory bowel diseases network and data platform in Canada.

The purpose of the workshop was to receive input from the Canadian pediatric inflammatory bowel diseases research community to develop a research funding opportunity for a Canadian pediatric inflammatory bowel diseases network and data platform supported by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, in partnership with the Foundation for Children with Intestinal and Liver Disorders. Leaders from across the country came together, with the objectives of identifying the scientific goals for a Canadian pediatric inflammatory bowel disease network, the required infrastructure, and an appropriate governance structure needed to achieve such a network and data platform, as well as other elements needed to ensure the successful implementation of a network.

Strategic plan of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism, and Diabetes.

The present document provides the new and updated strategic plan for the Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism, and Diabetes (INMD) of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. This plan provides an overarching map for the strategic activities of the INMD during the five years from 2010 to 2014. These strategic priorities will guide the way that the INMD uses its resources over this period of time, and will provide opportunities to build new partnerships and strategic alliances that enhance and leverage the capacity to fund targeted research initiatives.

The KRESCENT Program: an initiative to match supply and demand for kidney research in Canada.

Background: The prevalence of kidney disease is rising in Canada, and new approaches to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment are required. A kidney research training strategy, which enhances capacity while fostering collaboration and knowledge translation, may help to address this health care problem.

Purpose: This manuscript describes the Kidney Research Scientist Core Education and National Training (KRESCENT) Program that was launched in 2004 with a major goal to enhance kidney research capacity in Canada.

Endocytosis of Candida albicans by vascular endothelial cells is associated with tyrosine phosphorylation of specific host cell proteins.

Candida albicans escapes from the bloodstream by invading the endothelial cell lining of the vasculature. In vitro, C. albicans invades endothelial cells by inducing its own endocytosis.