Timber harvesting was the most important factor driving changes in vegetation composition, as compared to climate and fire regime shifts, in the mixedwood temperate forests of Temiscamingue since AD 1830.

Context: The vegetation composition of northeastern North American forests has significantly changed since pre-settlement times, with a marked reduction in conifer-dominated stands, taxonomic and functional diversity. These changes have been attributed to fire regime shifts, logging, and climate change.

Methods: In this study, we disentangled the individual effects of these drivers on the forest composition in southwestern Quebec from 1830 to 2000 by conducting retrospective modelling using the LANDIS-II forest landscape model.

Social vulnerability index and firearms: How neighborhood health disparities affect trauma outcomes.

Background: Firearm injuries' association with individual-level socioeconomic risk is well described. Trauma research has suggested that neighborhood level risk factors may be associated with differences in firearm injury outcome. We analyzed the relationship between hospital length of stay (LOS), mortality and neighborhood level social markers from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) after firearm injury.

The prevalence and burden of musculoskeletal disorders amongst Indigenous people in Pimicikamak, northern Manitoba, Canada: A community health survey.

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of spine symptoms and spine disability, self-care and care seeking behaviors in a random sample of Indigenous adults residing in Cross Lake, northern Manitoba, Canada.

Study Design And Setting: Orally administered survey in Cree or English to a representative sample of Pimicikamak citizens from the treaty ( = 150/1931 houses) and non-treaty ( = 20/92 houses) land, between May and July 2023. Questions ( = 154) were derived from the 2018 First Nations Regional Health Survey, 2020 Canadian Community Health Survey, and 2021 The Global Burden of Disease study, covering demographics, spine symptoms, chronic conditions, activity limitations, general health, self-care, medication, and satisfaction with care.

A Comparison of Complication Rates in Flexor Tendon Repair Performed in Operating Rooms Versus Clinic-Based Procedure Rooms.

Wide-awake local anesthesia no tourniquet (WALANT) surgery has demonstrated its value in hand surgery allowing surgeons to safely operate patients in different settings outside of a formal operating room (OR). Flexor tendon lacerations have historically been repaired in the controlled setting of an OR. Plastic surgeons at our university-affiliated center have increasingly been performing flexor repairs in clinic-based procedure rooms (PRs).

Probiotic LV149 enhances gut repair, modulates microbiota, and alters transcriptome in DSS-induced colitis mice.

Purpose: Gut microbiota dysbiosis significantly impacts ulcerative colitis (UC) progression and exacerbation. Probiotics show promise in UC management. This study evaluated the effects of different doses of LV149, an aquatic-derived probiotic, on gut injury repair in male C57BL/6 mice with dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis (UC) and investigated the underlying mechanisms.

Ginkgolide B as a biopsychosocial treatment salvages repeated restraint stress-induced amygdalar anomalies in mice.

From preclinical and clinical findings, it has been shown that the amygdala is a critical mediator of stress and primary target for stress effects in the brain. We investigated the neuroprotective effect of Ginkgolide B (GB) in repeated restraint stress-induced behavioral deficit and amygdalar inflammation in mice. Mice were orally pre-treated with GB 20 mg/kg 1 h prior to 4 h restraint stress for 21 consecutive days.

oligosaccharides alleviate chronic unpredictable mild stress-induced depression through the BDNF/TrkB/CREB pathway and symptoms of sexual dysfunction in mice.

Background: In recent years, depression has become a global public health concern, and one of the common concomitant symptoms are diminished sexual motivation and impaired sexual performance. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential effects of oligosaccharides (MOO) on depression and its concomitant symptom, sexual dysfunction.

Methods: Chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS)-induced depression model was constructed, and the effects of MOO on depression and sexual abilities were evaluated.

Dynamics of coagulation proteins upon ICU admission and after one year of recovery from COVID-19: a preliminary study.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the association of baseline coagulation proteins with hospitalization variables in COVID-19 patients admitted to ICU, as well as coagulation system changes after one-year post-discharge, taking into account gender-specific bias in the coagulation profile.

Methods: We conducted a prospective longitudinal study on 49 ICU-admitted COVID-19 patients. Proteins were measured using a Luminex 200™.

Costs and benefits of maternal nest choice: Trade-offs between brood survival and thermal stress in bees.

Optimal nest site selection is crucial in animals whose offspring are completely dependent on the shelter of a nest. Parental decisions influencing nest thermal conditions are particularly important because temperature strongly influences juvenile activity, metabolism, growth, developmental rate, survival, and adult body size. In small ectotherms such as bees, maternal decisions to nest in sun-exposed or shady sites can lead to marked differences in thermal microenvironments inside nests.

The 2022 ADEA Climate Study in U.S. and Canadian Dental Schools and Allied Dental Programs: Methodological Considerations.

Objectives: From January 2020 to the end of August 2020, preliminary research gathered data about the need for and the feasibility of an ADEA-led joint Climate Study of dental schools and allied dental programs in the United States and Canada. Informed by these findings, the first ever ADEA-led joint Climate Study took place in 2022. The objectives of this manuscript were to describe the timeline of this climate study and provide information about its methodology, specifically about (a) who participated in this research, (b) what was assessed, (c) how the study was conducted, and (d) how the results were communicated.

Access to CARe: A Narrative of Real-World Medical Decision-Making to Access Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-Cell Therapy in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a potentially life-saving treatment for children with relapsed/refractory B-cell hematologic malignancies, and remains an important investigational therapy for other childhood cancers. Yet, access to this class of therapies remains suboptimal through both commercial use and clinical trials, especially in children, adolescents, and young adults. Using a series of case-based discussions, we outline guidance on real-world medical decision-making, and offer potential solutions to enhancing access to CAR T-cell therapy as a treatment modality.

Lymph Node Staging and Treatment in Pediatric Patients With Soft Tissue Sarcomas: A Consensus Opinion from the Children's Oncology Group, European paediatric Soft tissue sarcoma Study Group, and the Cooperative Weichteilsarkom Studiengruppe.

Accurate staging of nodal involvement in pediatric sarcoma patients is important to determine correct systemic and local therapy, with the goal to reduce subsequent recurrences. However, differences in lymph node staging strategies, definitions, and treatment protocols between the Children's Oncology Group (COG), European paediatric Soft tissue sarcoma Study Group (EpSSG), and the Cooperative Weichteilsarkom Studiengruppe (CWS) complicate comparisons. In this article, we aim to establish internationally recognized recommendations for lymph node assessment and treatment of children and adolescents diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) and non-rhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcoma (NRSTS) according to the Consensus Conference Standard Operating Procedure methodology.

Assessing Communication Competencies in Canadian MPH Program Curriculum: A Content Analysis of Communication Courses.

Objectives: Communication plays a pivotal role in addressing modern and complex public health challenges. Our study assessed the extent to which communication-related course outlines in Canadian master of public health (MPH) programs aligned with national and international public health competency frameworks in their coverage of communication competencies.

Methods: We conducted an environmental scan and content analysis of MPH courses relevant to public health communication in 2022 and 2023.

Continental Preferences in Reconstruction of Pharyngolaryngectomy Defects: A Multi-National Survey.

Objectives: Reconstruction of total pharyngolaryngectomy defects may restore pharyngeal function and enable tracheoesophageal speech after resection of locoregionally advanced malignancy. Little remains known about variations in the practices and preferences of surgeons across differing global regions.

Methods: A survey was sent to reconstructive head and neck surgeons across three continents with responses analyzed to evaluate trends.

Residual limb neuropathic pain association with neuroma, prosthetic, function, and participation outcomes in individuals living with a transtibial amputation: an exploratory study.

Objective: To determine the strength of the association between residual limb neuropathic pain intensity and the number of neuromas, prosthetic, functional, and participation outcomes, and assess whether ultrasound (US) biomarkers of neuromas differ between pain intensities.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Subjects: Twenty-two participants with a transtibial amputation for more than 12 months, with and without residual limb neuropathic pain.

The Role of Sirtuins in Diabetic Nephropathy: A Comprehensive Review.

Introduction: Diabetic nephropathy is characterized by elevated oxidative stress and chronic inflammation in the kidneys. A class of proteins called sirtuins is well-known to be important for a number of cellular functions, such as metabolism, stress tolerance, and ageing. Among them, SIRT1 is associated with the progression of diabetic nephropathy, a dangerous kidney-related consequence of diabetes mellitus.

Seagrass wasting disease prevalence and lesion area increase with invertebrate grazing across the northeastern Pacific.

Disease is a key driver of community and ecosystem structure, especially when it strikes foundation species. In the widespread marine foundation species eelgrass (Zostera marina), outbreaks of wasting disease have caused large-scale meadow collapse in the past, and the causative pathogen, Labyrinthula zosterae, is commonly found in meadows globally. Research to date has mainly focused on abiotic environmental drivers of seagrass wasting disease, but there is strong evidence from other systems that biotic interactions such as herbivory can facilitate plant diseases.

Conducting Pairwise and Network Meta-analyses in Updated and Living Systematic Reviews: a Scoping Review Protocol.

Objective: The objective of this scoping review will be to describe existing guidance documents or studies reporting on the conduct of meta-analyses in updated systematic reviews (USRs) or living systematic reviews (LSRs).

Introduction: The rapid increase in the medical literature poses a substantial challenge in keeping systematic reviews up to date. In LSRs, a review is updated with a pre-specified frequency or when some other signalling criterion is triggered.

Near-Infrared Fluorescence-Guided Segmentectomy: Added Benefit of Indocyanine Green Dye Diminishes With Surgeon Experience.

Background: Near-infrared fluorescence (NIF)-mapping with indocyanine green dye (ICG) facilitates the identification of the intersegmental plane during minimally invasive segmentectomy. Our pilot study showed that ICG is associated with an increase in oncological margin distance from the tumour, greater than the surgeon's best judgment. We hypothesized that, with greater experience, the surgeon's judgement will improve, and the benefit of ICG will diminish.

Efficacy and Safety Results With Rilzabrutinib, an Oral Bruton Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor, in Patients With Immune Thrombocytopenia: Phase 2 Part B Study.

Current treatments for persistent or chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) are limited by inadequate response, toxicity, and impaired quality of life. The Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor rilzabrutinib was evaluated to further characterize safety and durability of platelet response. LUNA2 Part B is a multicenter, phase 1/2 study in adults with ITP (≥ 3 months duration, platelet count < 30 × 10/L) who failed ≥ 1 ITP therapy (NCT03395210, EudraCT 2017-004012-19).

Three-dimensional complementary breast ultrasound (3D CBUS): Improving 3D spatial resolution uniformity with orthogonal images.

Background: With increasing evidence supporting three-dimensional (3D) automated breast (AB) ultrasound (US) for supplemental screening of breast cancer in increased-risk populations, including those with dense breasts and in limited-resource settings, there is an interest in developing more robust, cost-effective, and high-resolution 3DUS imaging techniques. Compared with specialized ABUS systems, our previously developed point-of-care 3D ABUS system addresses these needs and is compatible with any conventional US transducer, which offers a cost-effective solution and improved availability in clinical practice. While conventional US transducers have high in-plane resolution (axial and lateral), their out-of-plane resolution is constrained by the poor intrinsic elevational US resolution.