Critical illness among patients experiencing homelessness: a retrospective cohort study.

Purpose: To understand the epidemiology and healthcare use of critically ill patients experiencing homelessness compared to critically ill patients with stable housing.

Methods: This retrospective population-based cohort study included adults admitted to any ICU in Alberta, Canada, for a 3-year period. Administrative and clinical data from the hospital, ICU and emergency department were used to examine healthcare resource use (processes of care, ICU and hospital length of stay, hospital readmission and emergency room visits).

Nerve stimulator-guided mandibular block in an alpaca undergoing dental extraction.

General anesthesia of a 2-year-old castrated male alpaca undergoing mandibular tooth extraction was successfully managed a mandibular nerve block with bupivacaine, using nerve stimulation to confirm correct needle placement. The local block was effective, with no cardiovascular or respiratory responses to surgical stimulation observed. Key clinical message: Use of a locoregional technique in dentistry confers anesthetic stability, blocks nociceptive responses to surgery, and promotes a smooth recovery and comfortable postoperative period.

Can intake data inform on impacts of repeated subsidized onsite spay-neuter clinics for dogs?

Objective: Subsidized dog care and population management programs (DPM) are often implemented for dog population control where for-profit veterinary care is inaccessible. However, impacts of such programs are rarely assessed. The goal of this project was to determine if and how previously collected intake data from ongoing high-volume spay-neuter clinics could be used to measure impacts of such DPM programs.

Actin cytoskeleton remodeling disrupts physical barriers to infection and presents entry receptors to respiratory syncytial virus.

RSV is the leading cause of infant hospitalizations and a significant cause of paediatric and geriatric morbidity worldwide. Recently, we reported that insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R) was a receptor for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in airway epithelial cells and that activation of IGF1R recruited the coreceptor, nucleolin (NCL), to the cell surface. Cilia and mucus that line the airways pose a significant barrier to viral and bacterial infection.

Creation of a Métis-Specific Instrument for Cancer Screening: A Scoping Review of Cancer-Screening Programs and Instruments.

Understanding the barriers to and facilitators of cancer screening programs among Indigenous populations remains limited. In the spirit of mutual respect, this co-led, collaborative project was carried out between the Métis Nation of Alberta and Screening Programs from Alberta Health Services (AHS). This scoping review assessed the cancer screening literature for available questionnaires and then identified themes and suitable questions for a Métis-specific cancer screening questionnaire.

Transitions in health care settings for frequent and infrequent users of emergency departments: a population-based retrospective cohort study.

Background: Efforts to reduce emergency department (ED) volumes often target frequent users. We examined transitions in care across ED, hospital, and community settings, and in-hospital death, for high system users (HSUs) compared to controls.

Methods: Population-based databases provided ED visits and hospitalizations in Alberta and Ontario, Canada.

Variation in parental experiences with their child's hospitalization over the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Hospitals and healthcare workers have been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The potential impacts upon the patient experience have been less documented, particularly in the pediatric setting. Our aim was to examine how parental experiences with their child's hospitalization varied during the COVID-19 pandemic at two children's hospitals in Alberta, Canada.

Mental Health of Immigrant Children and Adolescents (6-17 Years) in Canada: Evidence from the Canadian Health Measures Survey.

Background: Studies indicate a higher prevalence of mental health problems among immigrants, but findings on immigrant children and adolescents are mixed. We sought to understand the magnitude of differences in mental health indicators between immigrant and non-immigrant children and adolescents in Canada and the influence of age, sex, household income, and household education.

Methods: We completed a secondary analysis of data from the Canadian Health Measures Survey, using a pooled estimate method to combine data from four survey cycles.

Training vs. racing: A comparison of arrhythmias and the repeatability of findings in Thoroughbred Chuckwagon racehorses.

Arrhythmias are commonly reported in exercising horses, however due to regulatory constraints electrocardiograms (ECGs) are acquired during training but not competition, raising questions about the repeatability of findings. The aims were (1) compare training and competition arrhythmias and (2) describe the repeatability of arrhythmias during maximal-intensity exercise. A convenience sample of 52 healthy Thoroughbreds (aged 8.

Sustainability, spread, and scale in trials using audit and feedback: a theory-informed, secondary analysis of a systematic review.

Background: Audit and feedback (A&F) is a widely used implementation strategy to influence health professionals' behavior that is often tested in implementation trials. This study examines how A&F trials describe sustainability, spread, and scale.

Methods: This is a theory-informed, descriptive, secondary analysis of an update of the Cochrane systematic review of A&F trials, including all trials published since 2011.

Lunapark deficiency leads to an autosomal recessive neurodevelopmental phenotype with a degenerative course, epilepsy and distinct brain anomalies.

encodes a conserved membrane protein that stabilizes the junctions of the tubular endoplasmic reticulum network playing crucial roles in diverse biological functions. Recently, homozygous variants in were shown to cause a neurodevelopmental disorder (OMIM#618090) in four patients displaying developmental delay, epilepsy and nonspecific brain malformations including corpus callosum hypoplasia and variable impairment of cerebellum. We sought to delineate the molecular and phenotypic spectrum of -related disorder.

Investigating associations between maternal stress, smoking and adverse birth outcomes: evidence from the All Our Families cohort.

Background: Independently, active maternal and environmental tobacco smoke exposure and maternal stress have been linked to an increased risk of preterm birth and low birth weight. An understudied relationship is the potential for interactive effects between these risk factors.

Methods: Data was obtained from the All Our Families cohort, a study of 3,388 pregnant women < 25 weeks gestation recruited from those receiving prenatal care in Calgary, Canada between May 2008 and December 2010.

An integrative and multi-indicator approach for wildlife health applied to an endangered caribou herd.

Assessing wildlife health in remote regions requires a multi-faceted approach, which commonly involves convenient samplings and the need of identifying and targeting relevant and informative indicators. We applied a novel wildlife health framework and critically assessed the value of different indicators for understanding the health status and trends of an endangered tundra caribou population. Samples and data from the Dolphin and Union caribou herd were obtained between 2015 and 2021, from community-based surveillance programs and from captured animals.

Results from the BETTER WISE trial: a pragmatic cluster two arm parallel randomized controlled trial for primary prevention and screening in primary care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Cancer and chronic diseases are a major cost to the healthcare system and multidisciplinary models with access to prevention and screening resources have demonstrated improvements in chronic disease management and prevention. Research demonstrated that a trained Prevention Practitioner (PP) in multidisciplinary team settings can improve achievement of patient level prevention and screening actions seven months after the intervention.

Methods: We tested the effectiveness of the PP intervention in a pragmatic two-arm cluster randomized controlled trial.

MUSKRATS (ONDATRA ZIBETHICUS) ARE COMPETENT INTERMEDIATE HOSTS OF ECHINOCOCCUS MULTILOCULARIS IN NORTH AMERICA.

The tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis is an emerging pathogen of significance to human and animal health in Canada, yet little is known about key rodent intermediate hosts in local urban ecosystems. In Europe, invasive muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) are an important indicator intermediate host species; however, the role of this semiaquatic rodent in the ecology of E. multilocularis is undetermined in the North American context.

Impact of preoperative insomnia on poor postoperative pain control after elective spine surgery and the modified Calgary postoperative pain after spine surgery (MCAPPS) score.

Background: Approximately 30% to 64% of patients experience inadequate pain control following spine surgery. The Calgary postoperative pain after spine surgery (CAPPS) score was developed to identify this subset of patients. The impact of preoperative insomnia on postoperative pain control is unknown.

Cost-Effectiveness of Surveillance after Metastasectomy of Stage IV Colorectal Cancer.

Surveillance of stage IV colorectal cancer (CRC) after curative-intent metastasectomy can be effective for detecting asymptomatic recurrence. Guidelines for various forms of surveillance exist but are supported by limited evidence. We aimed to determine the most cost-effective strategy for surveillance following curative-intent metastasectomy of stage IV CRC.

Cholesterol, Eukaryotic Lipid Domains, and an Evolutionary Perspective of Transmembrane Signaling.

Transmembrane signaling is essential for complex life forms. Communication across a bilayer lipid barrier is elaborately organized to convey precision and to fine-tune strength. Looking back, the steps that it has taken to enable this seemingly mundane errand are breathtaking, and with our survivorship bias, Darwinian.

Are We Capturing the Socioeconomic Burden of Rare Genetic Disease? A Scoping Review of Economic Evaluations and Cost-of-Illness Studies.

Background And Objectives: Rare diseases have a significant impact on patients, families, the health system, and society. Measuring the socioeconomic burden is crucial to valuing interventions for rare diseases. Healthcare system costs are significant, but so are costs to other government sectors, patients, families, and society.

Machine learning-based prediction of longitudinal cognitive decline in early Parkinson's disease using multimodal features.

Patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD) often suffer from cognitive decline. Accurate prediction of cognitive decline is essential for early treatment of at-risk patients. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a multimodal machine learning model for the prediction of continuous cognitive decline in patients with early PD.

The Role of the Neonatal Registered Dietitian Nutritionist: Past, Present, and Future.

Neonatal registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) are critical members of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) team due to their unique skillset of growth assessment, nutrition evaluation, and implementation of nutrition best practices. There is a paucity of data on appropriate staffing of neonatal RDNs in NICUs to promote improved patient outcomes. Here, the authors describe current neonatal RDN staffing and responsibilities in the US NICUs.