Publications by authors named "Zuk A"

Article Synopsis
  • Supramolecular ECM networks, crucial for skin structure and function, include EMILIN proteins that interact with elastin and influence cellular signaling.
  • Our study mapped the distribution of EMILIN-1, -2, and -3 in human skin, revealing their role in elastic fibers and their connections with basal keratinocytes.
  • We found that in conditions like Marfan syndrome and scleroderma, the presence and localization of EMILINs change, indicating they can be used as markers for monitoring dermal ECM rearrangements due to aging and disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The autonomic nervous system (ANS) plays a significant role in atrial fibrillation (AF). Catheter ablation (CA) is a well-established treatment method for AF and significantly affects the ANS, including baroreceptor (BR) function. However, little is known about the changes in BR function caused by radiofrequency (RF) or cryoballoon energy (CB) and its impact on future AF recurrences.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Fort Albany First Nation (FAFN) created a buprenorphine-naloxone program to combat opioid use issues that worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, developed by local nurses and community leaders.
  • The study used qualitative methods and oral narratives, focusing on discussions with community leaders to highlight strengths and challenges through a holistic framework addressing well-being.
  • Key recommendations include hiring culturally competent staff, tailoring educational programs, increasing funding, and recognizing the importance of community leadership in implementing effective opioid crisis solutions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Geese harvesting is a longstanding cultural tradition deeply ingrained among the Omushkego Cree in Fort Albany First Nation, embodying a holistic approach to health that integrates Indigenous knowledge, community wellbeing, and resilience. Despite historical disruptions stemming from colonization and assimilation policies, women have played a pivotal role in preserving and passing down traditional practices. The significance of goose harvesting extends beyond providing a nutrient-rich and cost-effective food source; it serves as a vehicle for cultural preservation and education, particularly fostering language acquisition among children.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Vadadustat is an oral medication being researched for treating anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) by inhibiting a specific enzyme involved in oxygen regulation.
  • The studies involved healthy volunteers receiving varying doses of vadadustat to assess how the drug is processed in the body (pharmacokinetics), its effects (pharmacodynamics), and safety.
  • Results showed that vadadustat increased levels of erythropoietin (EPO), a hormone that stimulates red blood cell production, and had mild side effects, supporting its potential for treating CKD-related anemia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

People who report frequently using cognitive reappraisal to decrease the impact of potentially upsetting situations report better affective functioning than people who report using cognitive reappraisal less frequently. However, most work linking everyday reappraisal use to affective outcomes has been correlational, making causal inference difficult. In this study, we examined whether 2 weeks of daily practice of reappraising negatively valenced personally relevant events would improve affective functioning compared with a wait-list control.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Just culture supports learning, encourages transparency and minimizes harm following reported patient safety incidents. Healthcare leaders have a key role in establishing and maintaining a just culture to improve patient safety at the macro, meso and micro levels of the healthcare system. In this paper, we discuss the role of leaders at various levels in the healthcare system in fostering a just culture to support the reporting of and learning from patient safety incidents.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A direct oral anticoagulant rivaroxaban fails to prevent stroke and systemic embolism in one-to-several percent of patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF), but the reasons are unknown. The study used semi-mechanistic in vitro-in vivo prediction (IVIVP) modeling to explore the reasons for ineffective thrombosis prevention in NVAF patients. Steady-state drug concentrations in plasma were measured at 0 h (C), 3 h (C), and 12 h post-dosing in thirty-four patients treated with 20 mg rivaroxaban daily.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The autonomic nervous system (ANS) plays a significant role in atrial fibrillation (AF). Catheter ablation (CA) affects the ANS balance. The assessment of baroreceptor (BR) function is an established method to measure parasympathetic activity; however, it has been rarely used in patients undergoing CA of AF.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Indigenous peoples' perceptions of wellbeing differ from non-Indigenous constructs. Thus, it is imperative to recognize that Indigenous peoples will conceptualize wellbeing from their perspectives and set their own wellbeing priorities. In keeping with this viewpoint, the aims of the present study were to conceptualize wellbeing and determine what was (and is) important for wellbeing from Canadian Indigenous peoples' perspectives.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We report a case series of four patients with radial artery occlusion complicating vascular access who were scheduled for coronary angiography. We describe the challenges in selecting adequate vascular access in patients with a history of coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention, as well as the benefits of using preprocedural ultrasound examination of forearm arteries to detect radial artery occlusion. Our case series suggests that if the anterior interosseous artery provides partial blood supply to the hand as a collateral circulation of the occluded radial artery, the transulnar approach may be an alternative safe option for coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention in this population.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The COVID-19 pandemic posed numerous challenges experienced by healthcare organizations. Nursing professional practice plays a crucial leadership role in supporting nursing staff and leaders in developing policies, parameters and philosophical approaches for delivering safe patient care. The professional practice leadership at Humber River Hospital, a large Canadian community hospital, implemented three key interventions in this hospital-based case study: (1) proactive workforce planning, (2) increased nursing student placements and (3) novel "stretch model of care" in the intensive care unit (ICU).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Vadadustat is a small molecule that inhibits prolyl-4-hydroxylase (PHD) enzymes, stabilizing hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) which lead to increased production of erythropoietin (EPO) and subsequent red blood cell formation.
  • The drug successfully inhibits all three forms of the PHD enzyme, demonstrating its effectiveness in laboratory studies by increasing EPO levels and red blood cell indices in various animal models, including rats and dogs.
  • Vadadustat shows a short half-life and does not accumulate in the body, indicating a favorable pharmacological profile for continued development in treating anemia associated with chronic kidney disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Fluoroscopy-guided extracardiac vagal stimulation (ECVS) from the internal right and left jugular veins (RIJV and LIJV) is routinely used to document vagal response (sinus arrest and/or atrioventricular block) during cardioneuroablation. Ultrasound-guided ECVS allows direct visualization and selective stimulation of the vagus nerve (VN).

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to assess the feasibility of ultrasound-guided ECVS and to compare it with fluoroscopy-guided ECVS.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Indigenous populations are disproportionately affected by type 2 diabetes (T2DM) compared to non-Indigenous people. Of importance, the prevalence of T2DM is greater amongst females than males in First Nations communities, in contrast to higher male prevalence reported in non-Indigenous Canadians. Therefore, in this study we extend our previously published work with respect to females, and the potential association between environmental exposures to organochlorine pesticides, such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) to explain the greater prevalence of T2DM among Indigenous females compared to males.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Globally, mortality of Indigenous persons is greater than that of their non-Indigenous counterparts, which has been shown to be disproportionately attributable to non-communicable diseases. The historically subordinate position that Indigenous Knowledge (IK) held in comparison to Western science has shifted over the last several decades, with the credibility and importance of IK now being internationally recognized. Herein, we examine how Marsahall's (2014) Two-Eyed Seeing can foster collaborative and culturally relevant Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) studies for health and well-being by using '.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

For many Indigenous communities, decreased participation in traditional land-based activities has led to higher rates of chronic disease and a decrease in well-being. This systematic review explores how traditional land-based activities impact self-reported health and well-being of Indigenous adults, using Indigenous and Western perspectives. A search of three electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science) identified nine studies which explored the experiences and perspectives of Indigenous adults taking part in land-based subsistence and ceremonial activities.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Cardioneuroablation (CNA) has been recently proposed as a new therapy in patients with asystolic vasovagal syncope (VVS) caused by parasympathetic overactivity.

Objective: To assess the impact of CNA on the type of VV response during tilt testing (TT).

Methods: The study group consisted of 20 patients (7 males, mean age 38 ± 9).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Unlabelled: Blood pressure (BP) increase cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Indigenous Canadians experience slightly higher CVD compared with nonIndigenous Canadians. This study examined the role of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), other organic compound concentrations (OCs), and toxic metals on blood pressure measures among Indigenous Canadians.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - Vadadustat is a new drug that boosts erythropoietin production, helps combat anemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients, and lowers hepcidin levels, which improves iron availability for red blood cell production.
  • - Research using both wild type and ERFE knockout mice showed that treatment with vadadustat improved hemoglobin levels and iron metabolism similarly in both types, indicating its effectiveness does not rely on erythroferrone (ERFE).
  • - Vadadustat also positively impacted kidney function, reducing harmful substances in the blood and affecting FGF23 levels differently in CKD and non-CKD mice, suggesting it may help manage CKD progression in humans, but further studies are needed
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

(1) Background: The exact mechanism underlying hand strength reduction (HSR) after coronary angiography with transradial access (TRA) or transulnar access (TUA) remains unknown. (2) Methods: This study aimed to assess the impact of using a larger or smaller forearm artery access on the incidence of HSR at 30-day follow-up. This was a prospective randomized trial including patients referred for elective coronary angiography or percutaneous coronary intervention.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Participation in on-the-land programs that encourage traditional cultural activities may improve health and well-being. The Income Security Program (ISP) - a financial incentive-based on-the-land program - for Eeyouch (Cree) hunters and trappers in Eeyou Istchee was created as a result of the 1975 James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement to help mitigate the effects of hydroelectric development on the Cree people of northern Quebec, Canada. Beyond the ISP's financial incentives, little is known about the health measures of those who are eligible to participate in the ISP (i.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Worry is influenced by environmental pollution and affects individual health and well-being; however, little is known about this association in Indigenous communities. Using logistic regression models, we examined self-reported responses among Cree adults to the question "Are you worried about the pollution of the environment (land, water or air) in Iiyiyiu Aschii?" to assess if increased worry was associated with proximity to industrial and hydroelectric development, whether increased worry was associated with self-reported behavioural changes of water consumption type in the community or bush, and days spent on-the-land. Proximity to multiple industrial and hydroelectric development sites was associated with increased worry about pollution.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: High blood pressure (BP) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Examining the role of inflammatory mediators on BP is important since vitamin D (VD) is a modifiable risk factor, which possibly modulates inflammatory cytokines. This study simulated what are known as average 'controlled direct effects (CDE)' of inflammatory markers, C reactive protein (CRP), tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interlukin-6 (IL-6) on continuous BP measures, while fixing VD, an intermediate variable to specific level.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF