Publications by authors named "Shier R"

Article Synopsis
  • - For-profit cannabis companies in Canada have heavily invested in research, similar to industries like pharmaceuticals and tobacco, but these financial ties may influence research agendas and outcomes, leading to potential conflicts of interest.
  • - A study involving 38 interviews with researchers revealed that while Canadian cannabis researchers aim to produce quality work for public health benefits, they face ethical dilemmas regarding the influence of industry sponsorship.
  • - Researchers employed personal values and strategies like transparency and independence to manage their relationships with the cannabis industry, aiming to navigate the complexities of these affiliations while maintaining research integrity.
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Background: The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic catalysed a monumental shift in the field of continuing professional development (CPD). Prior to this, the majority of CPD group-learning activities were offered in-person. However, the pandemic forced the field to quickly pivot towards more novel methods of learning and teaching in view of social distancing regulations.

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Background: In the context of mental health research, co-production involves people with lived expertise, those with professional or academic expertise, and people with both of these perspectives collaborating to design and actualize research initiatives. In the literature, two dominant perspectives on co-production emerge. The first is in support of co-production, pointing to the transformative value of co-production for those involved, the quality of services developed through this process, as well as to broader system-level impacts (e.

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Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic positioned healthcare systems in North America at the epicentre of the crisis, placing inordinate stress on clinicians. Concurrently, discussions about structural racism, social justice and health inequities permeated the field of medicine, and society more broadly. The confluence of these phenomena required rapid action from continuing professional development (CPD) leaders to respond to emerging needs and challenges.

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Background: Recovery Colleges (RCs) are mental health and well-being education centres where people come together and learn skills that support their wellness. Co-production, co-learning and transformative education are fundamental to RCs. People with lived experience are recognized as experts who partner with health professionals in the design and actualization of educational programming.

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Background: Recovery Colleges (RCs) are education-based centres providing information, networking, and skills development for managing mental health, well-being, and daily living. A central principle is co-creation involving people with lived experience of mental health/illness and/or addictions (MHA). Identified gaps are RCs evaluations and information about whether such evaluations are co-created.

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To determine the prevalence of cervical human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and risk factors in young women from Brazil, Canada, and the USA. Cross-sectional study in 3204 healthy women, aged 15 to 25 years. Cervical samples were collected for cytology and for HPV DNA detection (SPF 10-LiPA 25 system).

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Background: Prophylactic human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines have to provide sustained protection. We assessed efficacy, immunogenicity, and safety of the HPV-16/18 AS04-adjuvanted vaccine up to 6.4 years.

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Background: Recalcitrant vaginal trichomoniasis is extremely distressing for patients and frustrating for physicians because there are no current guidelines for treatment. Numerous studies have shown that an increase in vaginal pH creates a better environment for the growth of Trichomonas vaginalis. We describe two patients with recalcitrant trichomoniasis who were successfully treated using vaginal acidification.

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Aim: To determine the relationship of birth weight to later glucose and insulin metabolism.

Methods: Systematic review of the published literature. Data sources were Medline and Embase.

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Background: Rates of coronary heart disease (CHD) in India are rising, and are now similar to those in Western countries. The prevalence of conventional CHD risk factors such as hypercholesterolaemia, hypertension, smoking and obesity, tend to be lower in Indian than Western populations, and fail to explain these high rates of disease. Increased left ventricular (LV) mass and decreased arterial compliance predict a higher risk of CHD in Western populations, but there are no published data from India.

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One third of the Indian babies are of low birth weight (<2.5 kg), and this is attributed to maternal undernutrition. We therefore examined the relationship between maternal nutrition and birth size in a prospective study of 797 rural Indian women, focusing on macronutrient intakes, dietary quality and micronutrient status.

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We compared HIV-1 RNA levels using the nucleic acid sequenced based amplification (NASBA) test kit in 2 samples taken one year apart from participants infected with env subtype A or D in a population-based cohort in Uganda. Fifty participants were infected with subtype A and 70 with subtype D. HIV-1 RNA levels were significantly higher in subtype D unadjusted (P=0.

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The World Health Organization suggested that the prevalence of Schistosoma mansoni among 7- to 14-year-olds be used to guide treatment strategies in endemic areas. This study explores how well the prevalence in that age group predicted the overall prevalence in the community in data from stool examinations (Kato-Katz method) from 180,000 people in 3 municipalities in Brazil in 1984 and 1985. The median prevalence was higher in 1984, before community treatment was introduced.

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Objective: To determine whether reduced fetal growth leads to raised blood pressure, reduced arterial compliance, and increased left ventricular mass in an Indian population.

Design: A retrospective cohort study of men and women (age range 40-61 years) whose weight, length, and head circumference at birth were recorded.

Setting: The Holdsworth Memorial Hospital, Mysore, South India.

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Aims: To assess the reproducibility and validity of a new instrument for grading nuclear cataract-the laser slit lamp, by comparison with an established method of lens grading-the Lens Opacities Classification System III (LOCS III).

Methods: 62 volunteers (113 eyes) were examined on two occasions. At each visit, a video image of the anterior segment was captured with the laser slit lamp and stored digitally.

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Background: Several million children are killed each year by diarrhoeal diseases; preventive strategies appropriate for developing countries are vital. Despite strong circumstantial evidence that flies are vectors of diarrhoeal diseases, no convincing studies of the impact of fly control on diarrhoea incidence in developing countries have been reported. We undertook a randomised study of the effect of insecticide spraying on diarrhoea incidence.

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In the Upper East Region of Ghana, considerable resources have been invested in the provision of boreholes. As part of the Ghana Vitamin A Supplementation Trials' Survival Study which was carried out in one of the districts of the Upper East Region between January 1989 and December 1991, data were collected over a period of one calendar year on the drinking water sources used by approximately 13,000 mothers/guardians of over 20,000 children and on the morbidity and mortality experiences of these children. These data were used to describe seasonal and geographical variations in drinking water sources; to look for other predictors of water source use; and to establish whether the drinking water source was associated with the risk of child death or the period prevalence of diarrhoea among young children.

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The effect of prophylactic vitamin A supplementation on child growth was studies in two randomized, placebo-controlled trials carried out in adjacent areas of northern Ghana between 1989 and 1991. In the Health Study, the midupper arm circumference (MUAC) and weight of the approximately 1500 children (aged 6-59 mo) in the trial were measured every 4 wk for up to 52 wk. In addition, MUAC, weight, and height were measured at each of the four potential vitamin A or placebo dosing times, which were at 4-mo intervals.

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Objectives: The impact of large-dose vitamin A supplementation given at intervals of 4 months on child mortality and morbidity was examined according to the time interval since dosing, number of doses received previously, and time of year.

Methods: Two double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trials of large doses of vitamin A administered at intervals of 4 months were conducted in adjacent populations in northern Ghana.

Results: While vitamin A supplementation significantly reduced the overall incidence of severe illnesses (especially diarrhea with dehydration), clinic attendances, hospital admissions, and mortality, there was no evidence that the impact of each dose of vitamin A was related to the number of doses the child had received previously.

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The colposcopy unit is the ideal setting for the triage of patients with lower genital tract disorders, particularly those who have been identified through screening tests to be at potential risk for developing cancer. This article has reviewed the colposcopic method, related instrumentation, and internationally approved colposcopic terminology. This will serve as a basis for the more detailed discussion of colposcopic diagnosis in the articles that follow.

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