Publications by authors named "Simard M"

Mitotic activity is an important feature for grading several cancer types. However, counting mitotic figures (cells in division) is a time-consuming and laborious task prone to inter-observer variation. Inaccurate recognition of MFs can lead to incorrect grading and hence potential suboptimal treatment.

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In this review, we provide an overview of food allergy genetics and epigenetics aimed at clinicians and researchers. This includes a brief review of the current understanding of genetic and epigenetic mechanisms, inheritance of food allergy, as well as a discussion of advantages and limitations of the different types of studies in genetic research. We specifically focus on the results of genome-wide association studies in food allergy, which have identified 16 genetic variants that reach genome-wide significance, many of which overlap with other allergic diseases, including asthma, atopic dermatitis, and allergic rhinitis.

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In 1909, 21-year-old Bernadette was hospitalized after the parish priest deemed her to be suffering from "puerperal insanity." She was committed to Saint-Jean-de-Dieu, separated from her newborn and husband, who would send dozens of letters inquiring about her health and longing for the day she could return home. Sadly, that return never happened.

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Production of specialized proresolving mediators (SPMs) during the resolution phase in the acute inflammatory response is key to orchestrating complete resolution. Here, we uncovered a trihydroxy resolvin in fresh human saliva. We identified and determined its complete stereochemistry as 7S,16R,17R-trihydroxy-4Z,8E,10Z,12E,14E,19Z-docosahexaenoic acid (17R-RvD2) using total organic synthesis and matching of physical properties.

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Background: Motion of lung tumors during radiotherapy leads to decreased accuracy of the delivered dose distribution. This is especially true for proton radiotherapy due to the finite range of the proton beam. Methods for mitigating motion rely on knowing the position of the tumor during treatment.

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MET inhibitors have demonstrated efficacy in treating patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring METex14 skipping alterations. Advancements in spatial profiling technologies have unveiled the complex dynamics of the tumor microenvironment (TME), a crucial factor in cancer progression and therapeutic response. This study uses spatial profiling to investigate the effects of the MET inhibitor tepotinib on the TME in a case of locally advanced NSCLC with a METex14 skipping alteration.

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Aim: Having a child with congenital heart disease (CHD) is stressful for parents, but research on the impact this stress can have on child development has been lacking. We investigated the associations between parenting stress when children were infants and neurodevelopmental outcomes in toddlers with CHD.

Methods: This study was carried out at the Neurocardiac Clinic at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital in Montréal, Canada.

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While the acute inflammatory response to harmful stimuli is protective, unrestrained neutrophil swarming drives collateral tissue damage and inflammation. Biosynthesized from omega-3 essential polyunsaturated fatty acids, resolvins are a family of signaling molecules produced by immune cells within the resolution phase to orchestrate return to homeostasis. Understanding the mechanisms that govern biosynthesis of these potent molecules gives insight into stimulating endogenous resolution and offers fresh opportunities for preventing and treating excessive inflammation.

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Fatty acids play many critical roles in brain function but have not been investigated in essential tremor (ET), a frequent movement disorder suspected to involve cerebellar dysfunction. Here, we report a postmortem comparative analysis of fatty acid profiles by gas chromatography in the cerebellar cortex from ET patients (n = 15), Parkinson's disease (PD) patients (n = 15) and Controls (n = 17). Phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylinositol (PI)/ phosphatidylserine (PS) were separated by thin-layer chromatography and analyzed separately.

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The emergence of inflammatory diseases is a heavy burden on modern societies. Cannabis has been used for several millennia to treat inflammatory disorders such as rheumatism or gout. Since the characterization of cannabinoid receptors, CB and CB, the potential of cannabinoid pharmacotherapy in inflammatory conditions has received great interest.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study investigates the application of machine learning in identifying potentially inappropriate medication use among older adults, particularly comparing its effectiveness against traditional methods.* -
  • It involves a large cohort of over 1 million older adults in Québec, analyzing various machine learning models and their ability to predict medication issues, with a focus on predictors like mental health conditions and socioeconomic factors.* -
  • The findings indicate that while no single modeling approach was superior, the results suggest that incorporating more diverse data types could enhance the prediction accuracy for potentially inappropriate medication use.*
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Purpose: To identify multimorbidity trajectories among older adults and to compare their health outcome predictive performance with that of cross-sectional multimorbidity thresholds (eg, ≥2 chronic conditions (CCs)).

Patients And Methods: We performed a population-based longitudinal study with a random sample of 99,411 individuals aged >65 years on April 1, 2019. Using health administrative data, we calculated for each individual the yearly CCs number from 2010 to 2019 and constructed the trajectories with latent class growth analysis.

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Background: The variety of methods for counting medications may lead to confusion when attempting to compare the extent of polypharmacy across different populations.

Objective: To compare the prevalence estimates of polypharmacy derived from medico-administrative databases, using different methods for counting medications.

Methods: Data were drawn from the Québec Integrated Chronic Disease Surveillance System.

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Background: Health administrative databases play a crucial role in population-level multimorbidity surveillance. Determining the appropriate retrospective or lookback period (LP) for observing prevalent and newly diagnosed diseases in administrative data presents challenge in estimating multimorbidity prevalence and predicting health outcome. The aim of this population-based study was to assess the impact of LP on multimorbidity prevalence and health outcomes prediction across three multimorbidity definitions, three lists of diseases used for multimorbidity assessment, and six health outcomes.

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Purpose: There is interest in using dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) to evaluate organ function before and after radiation therapy (RT). The purpose of this study (trial identifier: NCT04863027) is to assess longitudinal changes in lung perfusion using iodine maps derived from DECT in patients with lung cancer treated with conventional or stereotactic RT.

Methods And Materials: For 48 prospectively enrolled patients with lung cancer, a contrast-enhanced DECT using a dual-source CT simulator was acquired pretreatment and at 6 and 12 months posttreatment.

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MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are essential regulators of several biological processes. They are loaded onto Argonaute (AGO) proteins to achieve their repressive function, forming the microRNA-Induced Silencing Complex known as miRISC. While several AGO proteins are expressed in plants and animals, it is still unclear why specific AGOs are strictly binding miRNAs.

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Aim: Parents of children born preterm have identified outcomes to be measured for audit and research at 18-24 months of age: child well-being, quality of life/function, socio-emotional/behavioural outcomes, respiratory, feeding, sleeping, and caregiver mental health. The aim was to identify the best tools to measure these seven domains.

Methods: Seven working groups completed literature reviews and evaluated potential tools to measure these outcomes in children aged 18-24 months.

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Article Synopsis
  • Standardized medical photography is essential for patient documentation and clinical evaluation, leading to the development of the ImageAssist mobile app to streamline the process for healthcare providers.
  • The app integrates with the electronic medical record system, offering templates for standardized facial views and automated background deletion to enhance the quality of photographs taken during consultations.
  • Early user feedback shows positive experiences among a small group of medical professionals, with significant usage and engagement reflected in over 3400 photographs taken in various clinic encounters within two years.
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microRNAs regulate gene expression through interaction with an Argonaute protein. While some members of this protein family retain an enzymatic activity capable of cleaving RNA molecules complementary to Argonaute-bound small RNAs, the role of the slicer residues in the canonical microRNA pathway is still unclear in animals. To address this, we created Caenorhabditis elegans strains with mutated slicer residues in the endogenous ALG-1 and ALG-2, the only two slicing Argonautes essential for the miRNA pathway in this animal model.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The study aimed to examine brain activity related to language processing in 3-year-old children with CHD using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), comparing their results with healthy controls.
  • * Findings showed that children with CHD had significantly lower verbal and language acquisition scores and demonstrated reduced brain activation in areas crucial for language processing, correlating with poorer neurodevelopmental outcomes.
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Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is a recognized inhibitor of granulocyte functions. However, most of the data supporting this was obtained when available pharmacological tools mainly targeted the EP2 receptor. Herein, we revisited the inhibitory effect of PGE2 on reactive oxygen species production, leukotriene biosynthesis, and migration in human neutrophils.

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Article Synopsis
  • Integrated-mode proton radiography can effectively create water equivalent thickness (WET) maps, which are useful for managing patient motion and verifying treatment ranges in proton therapy.
  • The study introduces a novel reconstruction method that utilizes 2D information from two lateral view cameras, significantly enhancing image quality compared to traditional methods that use a single camera.
  • Experimental results show this new method achieves higher resolution and contrast in radiographs, leading to improved accuracy in WET measurements, which is crucial for optimizing clinical proton therapy applications.
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