Applying a diffusion of innovations framework to characterise diffusion groups and more effectively reach late adopters: a cross-sectional study on COVID-19 vaccinations in Canada in late 2021.

Background: Rogers' diffusion of innovation theory suggests innovations are adopted in stages by different groups (innovators/early adopters, early majority, late majority and late adopters). In healthcare, this could mean that there is the potential to worsen health disparities as later groups tend to also face more social and structural barriers. Determining the unique sociodemographic characteristics, beliefs and attitudes of those in each diffusion category could be useful for theorising how to reach later groups more effectively.

Predictors of overdose response hotline use for mental health and fatal overdose prevention.

Objectives: The overdose crisis remains one of the largest public health issues facing North America to date. Formalized virtual spotting services have gained popularity as a harm reduction intervention, proving early effectiveness in reducing overdose mortality. This study determined the characteristics of individuals who recurrently use one such service, Canada's National Overdose Response Service (NORS).

Predicting patent challenges for small-molecule drugs: A cross-sectional study.

Background: The high cost of prescription drugs in the United States is maintained by brand-name manufacturers' competition-free period made possible in part through patent protection, which generic competitors must challenge to enter the market early. Understanding the predictors of these challenges can inform policy development to encourage timely generic competition. Identifying categories of drugs systematically overlooked by challengers, such as those with low market size, highlights gaps where unchecked patent quality and high prices persist, and can help design policy interventions to help promote timely patient access to generic drugs including enhanced patent scrutiny or incentives for challenges.

Parallel gene expansions drive rapid dietary adaptation in herbivorous woodrats.

How mammalian herbivores evolve to feed on chemically defended plants remains poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the adaptation of two species of woodrats ( and ) to creosote bush (), a toxic shrub that expanded across the southwestern United States after the Last Glacial Maximum. We found that creosote-adapted woodrats have elevated gene dosage across multiple biotransformation enzyme families.