Use of linked data to assess the impact of including out-of-hospital deaths on 30-day in-hospital mortality indicators: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) annually reports on health system performance indicators, including various 30-day in-hospital mortality rates. We aimed to assess the impact of including out-of-hospital deaths on 3 CIHI indicators: 30-day acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in-hospital mortality, 30-day stroke in-hospital mortality and hospital deaths following major surgery.

Methods: We followed national cohorts of patients admitted to hospital in 1 of 9 Canadian provinces for AMI, stroke and major surgery for 30-day all-cause mortality in 2 fiscal years (2011/12 and 2016/17).

Modeling the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 under non-pharmaceutical interventions and testing.

Background And Objectives: Social and behavioral non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), such as mask-wearing, social distancing and travel restrictions, as well as diagnostic tests, have been broadly implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Epidemiological models and data analysis affirm that wide adoption of NPIs helps to control the pandemic. However, SARS-CoV-2 has extensively demonstrated its ability to evolve.

Transgenerational inheritance of sexual attractiveness via small RNAs enhances evolvability in C. elegans.

It is unknown whether transient transgenerational epigenetic responses to environmental challenges affect the process of evolution, which typically unfolds over many generations. Here, we show that in C. elegans, inherited small RNAs control genetic variation by regulating the crucial decision of whether to self-fertilize or outcross.

Development of Acute Myocardial Infarction Mortality and Readmission Models for Public Reporting on Hospital Performance in Canada.

Background: Given changes in the care and outcomes of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients over the past several decades, we sought to develop prediction models that could be used to generate accurate risk-adjusted mortality and readmission outcomes for hospitals in current practice across Canada.

Methods: A Canadian national expert panel was convened to define appropriate AMI patients for reporting and develop prediction models. Preliminary candidate variable evaluation was conducted using Ontario patients hospitalized with a most responsible diagnosis of AMI from April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2018.

The evolution of paternal care: a role for microbes?

Paternal care, particularly in cases of uncertain paternity, carries significant costs. Extensive research, both theoretical and experimental, has explored the conditions in which paternal care behaviour would be favoured. Common explanations include an adjustment of care with uncertainty in paternity and limited accuracy in parentage assessment.