Decriminalization undone: Assessing the amendment to British Columbia's decriminalization of personal drug possession framework.

The Province of British Columbia (BC) is in the midst of an ongoing public health emergency, declared in 2016 in response to significant levels of drug poisonings/overdoses stemming from the unregulated drug supply. In response, BC implemented decriminalization in 2023, removing criminal sanctions for adults possessing up to 2.5 cumulative grams of opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine, and MDMA.

Comprehensive substance use services within primary care settings: The Safer Opioid Supply program at London InterCommunity Health Centre.

Setting: This paper describes the Safer Opioid Supply (SOS) program, a public health intervention in London, Ontario, in response to the toxic unregulated drug supply which is driving the overdose crisis in Canada.

Intervention: The London InterCommunity Health Centre (LIHC) SOS program provides comprehensive harm reduction and primary health care services to individuals at risk of overdose from the toxic drug supply. Clients are prescribed high-dose pharmaceutical opioids as replacement for unregulated toxic substances within a low-barrier primary care clinic, with wraparound interdisciplinary social services, embedded in the Ontario Community Health Centre model of care.

Assessing the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary health behavior outcomes of a community-based virtual group health coaching for cancer survivors program.

Purpose: The primary purpose was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a group health coaching (GHC) program with cancer patients and survivors; secondarily, to determine the preliminary effects of GHC on several behavioral lifestyle factors.

Methods: GHC was provided to people diagnosed with cancer via videoconference by trained health coaches across six GHC sessions over a 3-month period. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected.

Evaluating PREDICT and developing outcome prediction models in early-onset breast cancer using data from Alberta, Canada.

Introduction: Outcome prediction research in early-onset breast cancer (EoBC) is limited. This study evaluated the predictive performance of NHS PREDICT v2.1 and developed two prediction models for 5-year and 10-year all-cause mortality in a cohort of EoBC patients in Alberta, Canada.

Identification of effect modifiers using a stratified Mendelian randomization algorithmic framework.

Mendelian randomization (MR) is a technique which uses genetic data to uncover causal relationships between variables. With the growing availability of large-scale biobank data, there is increasing interest in elucidating nuances in these relationships using MR. Stratified MR techniques such as doubly-ranked MR (DRMR) and residual stratification MR have been developed to identify nonlinearity in causal relationships.

Pharmacological inhibition of the Janus Kinases enhances ASCL1 protein stability and transcriptional activity.

Background: Achaete-Scute complex homolog 1 (ASCL1) is a multi-faceted pro-neural transcription factor, playing a role in several processes during embryonic development and into adulthood, including neural progenitor proliferation and neuronal differentiation. This versatility is achieved through tightly controlled expression of ASCL1, either via integrating intracellular signalling cues or stabilisation at the protein level. The role of kinases in ASCL1-mediated neurogenesis is emerging, but to date few kinases have been attributed to act directly or indirectly on ASCL1.

Identification and Seasonal Abundance of Web- and Air-Borne Sex Pheromone Components of Western Black Widow Spiders, Latrodectus hesperus.

Sex pheromones mediate mate location in many animal taxa. Widow spider males are attracted to sex pheromones disseminating from female webs. Upon arrival on a web, males court in response to web-borne contact pheromone components.

Can prenatal conditions impact the effect of omega-3 on bronchopulmonary dysplasia in very preterm infants? A secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.

Unlabelled: To explore whether prenatal conditions (i.e. chorioamnionitis, preeclampsia or small-for-gestational age (SGA)) affect the very preterm infant's response to docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), according to mode of delivery, an independent factor shown to modulate this association.

An adaptive, continuous substrate feeding strategy based on evolved gas to improve fed-batch ethanol fermentation.

Advances in the ethanol fermentation process are essential to improving the performance of bioethanol production. Fed-batch fermentation is a promising approach to increase the final ethanol titer, which benefits the recovery in the bioethanol industry's downstream process. However, the development of feeding strategies, a crucial control variable in the fed-batch approach, is limited.

Primary Care Visit Rates Among Canadian Veterans in Ontario: A Retrospective Cohort Study of Sex- and Length of Service-stratified Comparisons With Nonveterans.

Introduction: Research comparing primary care (PC) use among veterans and nonveterans has not widely considered the impact of sex and length of service on the association between veteran status and PC use. We calculated relative differences in the rate of PC visits between Canadian Armed Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police veterans and nonveterans overall and by sex and length of service.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a matched, retrospective cohort study of Canadian veterans and nonveterans residing in Ontario, Canada between 1990 and 2019 using routinely collected linked administrative health care data held at ICES (formerly known as the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences).

IMproving Preclinical Assessment of Cardioprotective Therapies (IMPACT): a small animal acute myocardial infarction randomized-controlled multicenter study on the effect of ischemic preconditioning.

Although many cardioprotective interventions have been shown to limit infarct size (IS), in preclinical animal studies of acute myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI), their clinical translation to patient benefit has been largely disappointing. A major factor is the lack of rigor and reproducibility in the preclinical studies. To address this, we have established the IMproving Preclinical Assessment of Cardioprotective Therapies (IMPACT) small animal multisite acute myocardial infarction (AMI) network, with centralized randomization and blinded core laboratory IS analysis, and have validated the network using ischemic preconditioning (IPC).

Rapid MRI for acute pediatric MSK infections: survey of current utilization and procedural practices.

Background: Some institutions have implemented rapid MRI protocols for acute musculoskeletal (MSK) infections as an attempt to improve early diagnosis.

Objective: To assess current utilization of pediatric rapid MSK MRI protocols (abbreviated protocol, no IV (intravenous) contrast, and no sedation) using a survey.

Materials And Methods: A 10-question survey was sent to members of the Society for Pediatric Radiology (SPR) and the Society of Skeletal Radiology, which differed depending on whether a rapid protocol was used or not.

The Dermatologist is Out? Assessment of Dermatologists in Ontario Accepting Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) Referrals for Hair Loss Evaluation.

Background: The Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) insures appointments for the assessment and diagnosis of hair loss, or alopecia. Although anecdotal, discussion suggests that, increasingly, dermatologists decline to see referrals of this nature. There has been a lack of objective surveillance to determine the proportion of dermatologists in practice who accept referrals for this concern.

Hepatitis B prevention interventions during HIV post-exposure prophylaxis visits: A retrospective chart review.

BackgroundHepatitis B virus (HBV) disproportionately affects people at risk of HIV. Encounters for HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) create opportunities for HBV screening and prevention. We quantified HBV prevalence, susceptibility, and active/passive immunization use among patients seeking HIV PEP.

Patient Eczema Education Pictorial Study (PEEPS): A Pilot Investigation.

Background: For optimal control of atopic dermatitis (AD), patient education is essential to complement traditional therapy. Patient education has proven to benefit AD outcomes, but previous methods of delivery are costly and time-consuming.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of a one-page pictorial education tool at improving AD quality of life (QoL) and disease severity.

Should Calcium Supplementation be Abandoned in Patients With Calcinosis Cutis?

Calcinosis cutis, characterized by the pathological deposition of insoluble calcium salts in the skin, is associated with several disease entities, particularly autoimmune conditions such as scleroderma and dermatomyositis. Lesions of calcinosis are often painful, prone to ulceration, and significantly impair quality of life. Despite the clinical impact, no effective treatments have been established to date, making prevention of this condition a critical priority.

IL-15 complex enhances agonistic anti-CD40 + anti-PDL1 by correcting the T-bet to Tox ratio in CD8+ T cells infiltrating pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Agonistic anti-CD40 with anti-PD-1 can elicit objective responses in a small number of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA). Better understanding of their individual effects on the PDA tumor microenvironment will help inform new strategies to further improve outcomes. Herein, we map tumor-specific CD8+ T-cell differentiation following agonistic anti-CD40 and/or anti-PDL1 in PDA.

Evaluation of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 15 Palliative Care and the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Palliative in assessing the quality of life in patients with advanced cancer.

Purpose Of Review: Two widely validated health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) tools, specifically designed for patients with advanced cancer, are the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 15 Palliative Care (EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL) and the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Palliative (FACIT-Pal-14). This systematic review aims to evaluate the use of EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL and FACIT-Pal-14 in prospective studies in patients with advanced cancer, focusing on study types, clinical settings, additional HR-QoL tools used, and completion rates.

Recent Findings: Sixty studies were included in the analysis.

Risk Prediction Models for Sentinel Node Positivity in Melanoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Importance: There is a need to identify the best performing risk prediction model for sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) positivity in melanoma.

Objective: To comprehensively review the characteristics and discriminative performance of existing risk prediction models for SLNB positivity in melanoma.

Data Sources: Embase and MEDLINE were searched from inception to May 1, 2024, for English language articles.

Nicotine Exposure From Smoking Tobacco and Vaping Among Adolescents.

Importance: It remains unknown whether nicotine intake among youths who vape is lower, comparable, or higher than among youths who smoke.

Objective: To examine potential differences in biomarkers of exposure to nicotine (1) between adolescents who smoke tobacco, vape, both vape and smoke (dual use), or do not use; (2) between adolescents in 3 countries; and (3) by nicotine content and form in the vaping product last used among adolescents who exclusively vaped.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This population-based, observational cross-sectional study invited adolescents aged 16 to 19 years in Canada, England, and the US who had previously completed national surveys to participate in a biomarker study based on their vaping and smoking status.

Short-Term Safety and Effectiveness for Tenecteplase and Alteplase in Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Importance: Tenecteplase is an alternative to alteplase for emergency treatment of acute ischemic stroke. However, limited data are available comparing their clinical effectiveness in routine clinical practice.

Objective: To compare short-term effectiveness and safety outcomes for patients with ischemic stroke treated with intravenous tenecteplase vs alteplase.

Prognostic value of interictal epileptiform discharges on routine EEG in adults with epilepsy.

Objective: To determine whether interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) on routine electroencephalography (EEG) predict seizure recurrence in adults with established epilepsy.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective survival analysis of consecutive adults with epilepsy undergoing routine EEG at a tertiary center between 2018 and 2019. Using multivariate Cox proportional hazards models guided by a directed acyclic graph and adjusted for confounders including past seizure frequency and duration of epilepsy, we estimated the association between the presence of IEDs and time to next seizure, stratified by epilepsy type.