Newborn screening for common genetic variants associated with permanent hearing loss: Implementation in Ontario and a review of the first 3 years.

Purpose: Universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) programs using audiometric techniques alone are limited in ability to detect non-congenital childhood permanent hearing loss (PHL). In 2019, Ontario launched universal newborn screening (NBS) for PHL risk factors: congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) and 22 common variants in GJB2 and SLC26A4. Here we describe our experience with genetic risk factor screening.

Vertical Graphene Growth on LDH Nanosheets and Carbon Cloth Nanofibers with NiCo Nanoparticles as a Freestanding Host for High-Performance Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Lithium-sulfur batteries have been recognized as one of the excellent candidates for next-generation energy storage batteries because of their high energy density and low cost and low pollution. However, lithium-sulfur batteries have been challenged by low conductivity, low sulfur utilization, poor cycle life, and the shuttle effect of polysulfides. To address these problems, we report here an independent mixed sulfur host.

Placental Hypoxia-Induced Ferroptosis Drives Vascular Damage in Preeclampsia.

Background: Iron is an essential micronutrient for cell survival and growth; however, excess of this metal drives ferroptosis. Although maternal iron imbalance and placental hypoxia are independent contributors to the pathogenesis of preeclampsia, a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy, the mechanisms by which their interaction impinge on maternal and placental health remain elusive.

Methods: We used placentae from normotensive and preeclampsia pregnancy cohorts, human H9 embryonic stem cells differentiated into cytotrophoblast-like cells, and placenta-specific preeclamptic mice.

Time perception in bipolar disorder: a systematic review.

Objective: Time distortions characterise severe mental disorders, exhibiting different clinical and neurobiological manifestations. This systematic review aims to explore the existing literature encompassing experimental studies on time perception in patients with bipolar disorder (BD), considering psychopathological and cognitive correlates.

Methods: Studies using an experimental paradigm to objectively measure the capacity to judge time have been searched for.

Trends and Themes in the Study of Value in Orthopedic Surgery: A Systematic Review.

Background: The study of value in orthopedic surgery aims to maximize health outcomes gained per unit cost through various health economic tools but is fragmented across various subspecialties and geographies. Therefore, it is difficult to ascertain whether this research methodology is being used to its full potential across all orthopedic subspecialties and geographies.

Purpose: We sought to assess the distribution of prior health economics literature in orthopedic surgery across subspecialties and geographies.

Thomas precession, relativistic torque, and non-planar orbits.

We analyze the angular momentum balance for a particle undergoing Thomas precession. The relationships among relativistic torque, the center of mass, and the center of inertia for a spinning particle are clarified. We show that spin precession is accompanied by orbital angular momentum precession, and present examples of the resulting out-of-plane motion.

Bone imaging modality precision and agreement between DXA, pQCT, and HR-pQCT.

Quantifying precision error for DXA, peripheral QCT (pQCT), and HR-pQCT is crucial for monitoring longitudinal changes in body composition and musculoskeletal outcomes. Agreement and associations between bone variables assessed using pQCT and second-generation HR-pQCT are unclear. This study aimed to determine the precision of, and agreement and associations between, bone variables assessed via DXA, pQCT, and second-generation HR-pQCT.

Lymph node harvest as a predictor of survival for colon cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background And Objectives: The number of lymph nodes found harboring metastasis can be impacted by the extent of harvest. Guidelines recommend 12 lymph nodes for adequate lymphadenectomy to predict long-term oncologic outcomes, yet different cut-offs remain unevaluated. The aim of this review was to determine cut-offs that may predict survival outcomes.

Identify biological Alzheimer's disease using a novel nucleic acid-linked protein immunoassay.

Blood-based biomarkers have been revolutionizing the detection, diagnosis and screening of Alzheimer's disease. Specifically, phosphorylated-tau variants (p-tau, p-tau and p-tau) are promising biomarkers for identifying Alzheimer's disease pathology. Antibody-based assays such as single molecule arrays immunoassays are powerful tools to investigate pathological changes indicated by blood-based biomarkers and have been studied extensively in the Alzheimer's disease research field.

Birthing parent adverse childhood experiences and risk of atopic diseases in 5-year-old children.

Following up on previous findings from the All Our Families (AOF) cohort, the current study investigated the relationship between birthing parent history of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and child atopy, including asthma, allergy, and eczema, at five years of age. Potential indirect effects were explored. Participants completed the ACEs scale, validated questionnaires of anxiety and depression symptoms, and reported on their and their children's atopic disease history.

"A torch, a rope, a belly laugh": engaging with the multiple voices of support groups for people living with rare dementia.

Purpose: Rare forms of dementia bring unique difficulties related to age of onset, impact on family commitments, employment and finances, and also bring distinctive needs for support and care. The aim of the present study was to explore and better understand what the concept of support means for people living with different rare dementia (PLwRD) and their care-partners who attend ongoing support groups.

Methods: Representing seven types of rare dementia, source material was collected from 177 PLwRD and care-partners attending in-person support groups, with the goal of developing research-informed group poems, co-constructed by a facilitating poet.

Comorbidity between internalizing symptoms and disordered eating is primarily driven by genetic influences on emotion regulation in adult female twins.

Internalizing (e.g., anxiety, depression) and disordered eating (DE; e.

Standardized approach to median arcuate ligament syndrome and laparoscopic release: A case series.

Background: Median arcuate ligament syndrome (MALS) is a rare disorder characterized by compression of the celiac axis. Recently, laparoscopic approaches to median arcuate ligament release (MALR) have been described. The purpose of this study is to evaluate our institutional experience and outcomes with laparoscopic MALR.

Training healthcare workers and untrained interpreters in remote collaboration amidst COVID-19.

Objective: In the context of the public health emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec in 2020, remote public service interpreting has become, within a few days, an essential practice for maintaining services to migrants and allophone refugees, a particularly vulnerable population. This study aimed to measure the impact of two training courses on remote collaboration for mediated consultations developed for healthcare workers and untrained interpreters.

Methods: A total of 79 healthcare workers and 65 untrained interpreters from the province of Quebec were recruited.

Discovering topics and trends in biosecurity law research: A machine learning approach.

This study employed machine learning techniques, specifically Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), to analyze 559 articles on biosecurity legislation from 1996 to 2023. The LDA model identified nine key research topics, including Agricultural Management and Production, Biosafety and Environmental Impact, Biological Invasion and Regulation, Biosecurity Legislation and Prevention, Agriculture and Environmental Relations, Virus Infection and Governance, Health Risk Assessment and Detection, Disease Prevention and Biotechnology, and Policy Control and Research. The findings reveal significant trends: an increasing focus on Biosecurity Legislation and Prevention and a declining interest in Agricultural Management and Production.

Urethra-sparing prostate cancer radiotherapy: Current practices and future insights from an international survey.

Purpose: In prostate cancer patients, high radiation doses to the urethra have been associated with an increased risk of severe genitourinary toxicity following dose-escalated radiotherapy. Urethra-sparing techniques have emerged as a promising approach to reduce urinary toxicity. This international survey aims to evaluate current global practices in urethra-sparing and explore future directions for the implementation of this technique in external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) for prostate cancer.

Learning and fine-tuning a generic value-selection heuristic inside a constraint programming solver.

Constraint programming is known for being an efficient approach to solving combinatorial problems. Important design choices in a solver are the , designed to lead the search to the best solutions in a minimum amount of time. However, developing these heuristics is a time-consuming process that requires problem-specific expertise.

Achieving reliable patient reported outcomes collection to measure health care improvement in a learning health network: lessons from pediatric rheumatology care and outcomes improvement network.

Introduction: Data from the Pediatric Rheumatology Care and Outcomes Improvement Network (PR-COIN) registry suggests that reliable collection of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) varies across sites. The objective of this study was to better understand the practices of collecting PROs at PR-COIN sites.

Methods: A REDCap survey was sent to the lead representative for each PR-COIN site.

Caledonian reactivation and reworking of Timanian thrust systems and implications for latest Mesoproterozoic to mid-Paleozoic tectonics and magmatism in northern Baltica.

Background: The Trollfjorden-Komagelva Fault Zone is the southernmost thrust fault of the Timanian Orogen and extends for thousands of kilometers from northwestern Russia to northern Norway. Though there is little about its location onshore northeastern Norway, where it is mapped as a major fault system dominantly comprised of NNE-dipping thrust faults, its continuation to the west below Caledonian nappes and offshore post-Caledonian sedimentary basins remains a matter of debate.

Methods: The present study provides a more definitive answer about the continuation of Trollfjorden-Komagelva Fault Zone west of the Varanger Peninsula by using seismic reflection, bathymetric, topographic, and magnetic data onshore Finnmark and offshore on the Finnmark Platform.

Economic and equity evaluation of age restrictions on over-the-counter diet pills and muscle-building supplements.

Over-the-counter diet pills and muscle-building supplements are linked to increased eating disorder diagnoses, especially among youth. With limited regulatory oversight, minors may unknowingly consume harmful substances leading to other adverse effects. Massachusetts has proposed restricting sales to individuals under 18 years.

Laparoscopic versus open loop ileostomy reversal: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Loop ileostomies (LIs) are used for temporary fecal diversion to protect downstream colorectal anastomoses. Standard operative approach for LI reversal has been through an open technique. Recently, laparoscopic LI reversal has been employed and studied.

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on supervised consumption service delivery in Vancouver and Surrey, Canada from the perspective of service providers.

Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, an ever-increasing number of people have died from the toxic drug supply in Canada. Emerging evidence suggests that reduced access to harm reduction services has been a contributing factor. However, the precise impacts of the pandemic on supervised consumption service (SCS) delivery have not been well characterized.

Fluid balance following laparotomy for hollow viscus perforation: A study of morbidity and mortality.

Background: In critically unwell patients requiring emergency abdominal surgery, the relationship between the volume of intravenous fluid given, the subsequent fluid balance and morbidity or mortality is poorly delineated. This study aimed to elucidate this relationship.

Materials And Methods: Retrospective analysis of data from a single medical center.

pyDeid: an improved, fast, flexible, and generalizable rule-based approach for deidentification of free-text medical records.

Objectives: Deidentification of personally identifiable information in free-text clinical data is fundamental to making these data broadly available for research. However, there exist gaps in the deidentification landscape with regard to the functionality and flexibility of extant tools, as well as suboptimal tradeoffs between deidentification accuracy and speed. To address these gaps and tradeoffs, we develop a new Python-based deidentification software, pyDeid.