The use of syndromic surveillance for decision-making during the H1N1 pandemic: a qualitative study.

Background: Although an increasing number of studies are documenting uses of syndromic surveillance by front line public health, few detail the value added from linking syndromic data to public health decision-making. This study seeks to understand how syndromic data informed specific public health actions during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.

Methods: Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with participants from Ontario's public health departments, the provincial ministry of health and federal public health agency to gather information about syndromic surveillance systems used and the role of syndromic data in informing specific public health actions taken during the pandemic.

Evaluating risk factors for endemic human Salmonella Enteritidis infections with different phage types in Ontario, Canada using multinomial logistic regression and a case-case study approach.

Background: Identifying risk factors for Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) infections in Ontario will assist public health authorities to design effective control and prevention programs to reduce the burden of SE infections. Our research objective was to identify risk factors for acquiring SE infections with various phage types (PT) in Ontario, Canada. We hypothesized that certain PTs (e.

Persistent infection with neurotropic herpes viruses and cognitive impairment.

Background: Herpes virus infections can cause cognitive impairment during and after acute encephalitis. Although chronic, latent/persistent infection is considered to be relatively benign, some studies have documented cognitive impairment in exposed persons that is untraceable to encephalitis. These studies were conducted among schizophrenia (SZ) patients or older community dwellers, among whom it is difficult to control for the effects of co-morbid illness and medications.

Evaluation of HLA polymorphisms in relation to schizophrenia risk and infectious exposure.

Background: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) implicate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on chromosome 6p21.3-22.1, the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region, as common risk factors for schizophrenia (SZ).

The relationship between maximal lifting capacity and maximum acceptable lift in strength-based soldiering tasks.

Psychophysical assessments, such as the maximum acceptable lift, have been used to establish worker capability and set safe load limits for manual handling tasks in occupational settings. However, in military settings, in which task demand is set and capable workers must be selected, subjective measurements are inadequate, and maximal capacity testing must be used to assess lifting capability. The aim of this study was to establish and compare the relationship between maximal lifting capacity and a self-determined tolerable lifting limit, maximum acceptable lift, across a range of military-relevant lifting tasks.

Heritability of functioning in families with schizophrenia in relation to neurocognition.

Unlabelled: The role of daily functioning is an integral part of the schizophrenia (SZ) phenotype and deficits in this trait appear to be present in both affected persons and some unaffected relatives; hence we have examined its heritability in our cohort of African American schizophrenia families. There is now ample evidence that deficits in cognitive function can impact family members who are not themselves diagnosed with SZ; there is some, but less evidence that role function behaves likewise. We evaluate whether role function tends to "run in families" who were ascertained because they contain an African American proband diagnosed with SZ.

Phase 1 dose-escalation trial evaluating the combination of the selective MET (mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor) inhibitor tivantinib (ARQ 197) plus erlotinib.

Background: Amplification of the mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (MET) gene can promote tumor resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibition. Dual EGFR-MET inhibition may overcome this resistance. Tivantinib (ARQ 197) is a selective, oral, non-ATP-competitive, small-molecule inhibitor of the MET receptor tyrosine kinase.

Stabilized high-power laser system for the gravitational wave detector advanced LIGO.

An ultra-stable, high-power cw Nd:YAG laser system, developed for the ground-based gravitational wave detector Advanced LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory), was comprehensively characterized. Laser power, frequency, beam pointing and beam quality were simultaneously stabilized using different active and passive schemes. The output beam, the performance of the stabilization, and the cross-coupling between different stabilization feedback control loops were characterized and found to fulfill most design requirements.

The epidemiology of travel-related Salmonella Enteritidis in Ontario, Canada, 2010-2011.

Background: Increases in the number of salmonellosis cases due to Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) in 2010 and 2011 prompted a public health investigation in Ontario, Canada. In this report, we describe the current epidemiology of travel-related (TR) SE, compare demographics, symptoms and phage types (PTs) of TR and domestically-acquired (DA) cases, and estimate the odds of acquiring SE by region of the world visited.

Methods: All incident cases of culture confirmed SE in Ontario obtained from isolates and specimens submitted to public health laboratories were included in this study.

Thermal effects in the Input Optics of the Enhanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory interferometers.

We present the design and performance of the LIGO Input Optics subsystem as implemented for the sixth science run of the LIGO interferometers. The Initial LIGO Input Optics experienced thermal side effects when operating with 7 W input power. We designed, built, and implemented improved versions of the Input Optics for Enhanced LIGO, an incremental upgrade to the Initial LIGO interferometers, designed to run with 30 W input power.

Charge transport in fibre-based perylene-diimide transistors: effect of the alkyl substitution and processing technique.

We report a comparative study on the self-assembly from solution and electrical characterization of n-type semiconducting fibres obtained from five different perylenebis(dicarboximide) (PDI) derivatives. In particular we investigated the role of the nature of the alkyl chain covalently linked to the N,N' sites of the PDI in modulating the molecular solubility and aggregation capacity. We explored the morphologies of the self-assembled architectures physisorbed on dielectric surfaces and in particular how they can be modified by tuning the deposition and post-deposition procedures, i.

A scoping literature review of collaboration between primary care and public health.

Aim: The purpose of this scoping literature review was to determine what is known about: 1) structures and processes required to build successful collaborations between primary care (PC) and public health (PH); 2) outcomes of such collaborations; and 3) markers of their success.

Background: Collaboration between PC and PH is believed to enable more effective individual and population services than what might be achieved by either alone.

Methods: The study followed established methods for a scoping literature review and was guided by a framework that identifies systemic, organizational and interactional determinants for collaboration.

Methods, strategies and technologies used to conduct a scoping literature review of collaboration between primary care and public health.

Aim: This paper describes the methods, strategies and technologies used to conduct a scoping literature review examining primary care (PC) and public health (PH) collaboration. It presents challenges encountered as well as recommendations and 'lessons learned' from conducting the review with a large geographically distributed team comprised of researchers and decision-makers using an integrated knowledge translation approach.

Background: Scoping studies comprehensively map literature in a specific area guided by general research questions.

The Alabama Coalition for a Healthier Black belt: a proof of concept project.

The Alabama Coalition for a Healthier Black was a demonstration of concept project. This paper is a descriptive and qualitative overview of this 2.5 year project.

Directional limits on persistent gravitational waves using LIGO S5 science data.

The gravitational-wave (GW) sky may include nearby pointlike sources as well as stochastic backgrounds. We perform two directional searches for persistent GWs using data from the LIGO S5 science run: one optimized for pointlike sources and one for arbitrary extended sources. Finding no evidence to support the detection of GWs, we present 90% confidence level (C.

Principal components of heritability from neurocognitive domains differ between families with schizophrenia and control subjects.

Objective: Various measures of neurocognitive function show mean differences among individuals with schizophrenia (SZ), their relatives, and population controls. We use eigenvector transformations that maximize heritability of multiple neurocognitive measures, namely principal components of heritability (PCH), and evaluate how they distribute in SZ families and controls.

Methods: African-Americans with SZ or schizoaffective disorder (SZA) (n = 514), their relatives (n = 1092), and adult controls (n = 300) completed diagnostic interviews and computerized neurocognitive tests.

Perceived usefulness of syndromic surveillance in Ontario during the H1N1 pandemic.

Background: Despite the growing popularity of syndromic surveillance, little is known about if or how these systems are accepted, utilized and valued by end users. This study seeks to describe the use of syndromic surveillance systems in Ontario and users' perceptions of the value of these systems within the context of other surveillance systems.

Methods: Ontario's 36 public health units, the provincial ministry of health and federal public health agency completed a web survey to identify traditional and syndromic surveillance systems used routinely and during the pandemic and to describe system attributes and utility in monitoring pandemic activity and informing decision-making.

Is a cerebellar deficit the underlying cause of reading disabilities?

This study investigated whether children with dyslexia differed in their performance on reading, phonological, rapid naming, motor, and cerebellar-related tasks and automaticity measures compared to reading age (RA)-matched and chronological age (CA)-matched control groups. Participants were 51 children attending mainstream English elementary schools in Quebec. All participants completed measures of IQ, word and nonword reading fluency, elision, nonword decoding, rapid naming, bead threading, peg moving, toe tapping, postural stability, and muscle tone.

Cardiovascular events in patients taking varenicline: a case series from intensive postmarketing surveillance in New Zealand.

Background: The smoking cessation medicine varenicline has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular adverse events compared with placebo in clinical trials. Cases of cardiovascular events, including myocardial infarction (MI) and cardiac dysrhythmias, have been noted from spontaneous reporting systems.

Objective: The aim of this study was to summarize and describe cardiovascular adverse reactions identified in a general population during intensive postmarketing surveillance of varenicline in New Zealand.

Functional adaptations in the forelimb muscles of non-human great apes.

The maximum capability of a muscle can be estimated from simple measurements of muscle architecture such as muscle belly mass, fascicle length and physiological cross-sectional area. While the hindlimb anatomy of the non-human apes has been studied in some detail, a comparative study of the forelimb architecture across a number of species has never been undertaken. Here we present data from chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and an orangutan to ascertain if, and where, there are functional differences relating to their different locomotor repertoires and habitat usage.

Patient-specific data fusion defines prognostic cancer subtypes.

Different data types can offer complementary perspectives on the same biological phenomenon. In cancer studies, for example, data on copy number alterations indicate losses and amplifications of genomic regions in tumours, while transcriptomic data point to the impact of genomic and environmental events on the internal wiring of the cell. Fusing different data provides a more comprehensive model of the cancer cell than that offered by any single type.

Bayesian hierarchical clustering for microarray time series data with replicates and outlier measurements.

Background: Post-genomic molecular biology has resulted in an explosion of data, providing measurements for large numbers of genes, proteins and metabolites. Time series experiments have become increasingly common, necessitating the development of novel analysis tools that capture the resulting data structure. Outlier measurements at one or more time points present a significant challenge, while potentially valuable replicate information is often ignored by existing techniques.