Advances in systematic conservation planning to meet global biodiversity goals.

Systematic conservation planning (SCP) involves the cost-effective placement and application of management actions to achieve biodiversity conservation objectives. Given the political momentum for greater global nature protection, restoration, and improved management of natural resources articulated in the targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework, assessing the state-of-the-art of SCP is timely. Recent advances in SCP include faster and more exact algorithms and software, inclusion of ecosystem services and multiple facets of biodiversity (e.

Crime Victim Compensation: We Can Do Better for Our Children.

Background: Interpersonal injury disproportionately impacts marginalized communities. Crime Victim Compensation (CVC) was developed in Canada and the United States to help individuals and their families following violent injury. In Illinois, the CVC program offers up to $27,000 per claim to assist with mental health, relocation, and burial expenses.

K1 channels enable myelinated axons to transmit spikes reliably without spiking ectopically.

Action potentials (spikes) are regenerated at each node of Ranvier during saltatory transmission along a myelinated axon. The high density of voltage-gated sodium channels required by nodes to reliably transmit spikes increases the risk of ectopic spike generation in the axon. Here we show that ectopic spiking is avoided because K1 channels prevent nodes from responding to slow depolarization; instead, axons respond selectively to rapid depolarization because K1 channels implement a high-pass filter.

Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and Hemodialysis: An International, Multicentric Registry.

Background: The net benefit of oral anticoagulation in patients with end-stage renal disease on hemodialysis (HD) is uncertain. In recent years, left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) has emerged as an alternative to oral anticoagulation; however, there is scant evidence of LAAC in patients on HD.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the feasibility and safety of LAAC in patients on HD.

Neurocognitive Functioning in Tourette Syndrome: From Research Findings to Clinical Implementation.

Individuals living with Tourette syndrome (TS) may benefit from cognitive assessment, as it may elucidate specific difficulties for which someone could receive accommodation and highlight relative strengths to build upon. Eventually, cognitive assessment could help predicting symptom trajectory or treatment outcome. However, the literature on cognition in TS is often equivocal, which may be at least partly attributed to small samples, inconsistent consideration of co-occurring conditions, psychotropic medication, and developmental influence.

Social inclusion programming for older adults living in age-friendly cities: a scoping review.

Objectives: Creating age-friendly cities (AFCs) is essential for supporting older adults' well-being. The WHO's 2007 guide outlines key features of AFCs, including social inclusion. Despite increasing numbers of AFC programmes, diverse experiences of ageing are often overlooked.

Investigating the implementation of a Trial of Labour After Caesarean (TOLAC) delivery bundle with respect to decreasing caesarean delivery rates: a multisite quality improvement initiative.

Objectives: To study the effect of implementing a Trial of Labour After Caesarean (TOLAC) delivery bundle with respect to decreasing caesarean delivery rates across five hospitals.

Design: Prospective quality improvement study.

Setting: Five Canadian hospital sites participated, two academic centres and three community hospitals, with annual delivery rates ranging from 2500 to 7500 per site.

Organisational factors associated with burnout among emergency and internal medicine physicians: a qualitative study.

Objective: To identify physician perspectives on factors associated with physician burnout, protective factors against burnout, and to seek potential solutions for this pervasive problem.

Design: A qualitative study with semistructured focus group interviews using a systematic framework analysis.

Setting And Participants: Physicians from general internal medicine (GIM) and the emergency department (ED) at two urban tertiary care hospitals in Vancouver, Canada, were recruited.

Descriptive retrospective cross-sectional study of rehabilitation care for poststroke users in Québec during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: During the COVID-19 pandemic, designated rehabilitation centres were established in the province of Québec, where strict sociosanitary measures such as isolation and mandatory personal protection equipment requirements were followed. This study aimed to describe the impact of the pandemic on rehabilitation care indicators for poststroke users with (COV+) and without (COV-) COVID-19 infection in designated rehabilitation centres compared with those admitted in the previous year (pre-COV).

Method: A retrospective analysis of 292 medical files was performed in 3 rehabilitation centres.

Understanding the impact of racism on surgical outcomes in settler nation-states USA and Canada: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: To improve surgical quality and safety, health systems must prioritise equitable care for surgical patients. Racialised patients experience worse postoperative outcomes when compared with non-racialised surgical patients in settler colonial nation-states. Identifying preventable adverse outcomes for equity-deserving patient populations is an important starting point to begin to address these gaps in care.

Efficacy of the Foodbot Factory digital curriculum-based nutrition education intervention in improving children's nutrition knowledge, attitudes and behaviours in elementary school classrooms: protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Schools are an important setting for supporting children's development of food literacy, but minimal research has assessed which strategies are most suitable for school nutrition education. The Foodbot Factory intervention, consisting of serious game (ie, a digital game designed for education) and curriculum-based lesson plans, was developed to support teachers and children ages 8-12 with nutrition education. Pilot data have demonstrated that Foodbot Factory can significantly improve children's nutrition knowledge, but it has not yet been evaluated in classrooms.

Latest revisions to the International Health Regulations will fail to prevent future travel chaos.

The poor management of public health risks associated with travel by most countries proved among the most contentious issue areas during the COVID-19 pandemic. Evidence from previous outbreaks suggested travel restrictions were largely unnecessary and counterproductive to timely reporting. This led to initial WHO recommendations against the use of travel restrictions.

Regional anesthesia in the patient receiving antithrombotic or thrombolytic therapy: American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine Evidence-Based Guidelines (fifth edition).

Hemorrhagic complications associated with regional anesthesia are extremely rare. The fifth edition of the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine's Evidence-Based Guidelines on regional anesthesia in the patient receiving antithrombotic or thrombolytic therapy reviews the published evidence since 2018 and provides guidance to help avoid this potentially catastrophic complication.The fifth edition of the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine's Evidence-Based Guidelines on regional anesthesia in the patient receiving antithrombotic or thrombolytic therapy uses similar methodology as previous editions but is reorganized and significantly condensed.

Antidepressants versus placebo for generalised anxiety disorder (GAD).

Background: Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) is a mental health condition characterised by excessive anxiety and worry about everyday events. GAD is a common disorder and generally affects women twice as often as men. Treatments include various psychological and pharmacological therapies.

Peripheral Artery Disease Centres of Excellence in Canada - A Call to Action.

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is responsible for a significant burden of morbidity and mortality in Canada. Despite the publication of recent guidelines outlining the diagnosis and management of PAD, delivery of care continues to be fragmented. With a growing number of medical and surgical techniques available, Centres of Excellence are a natural evolution in the advancement of care for patients living with PAD.

Anaphylaxis definition, overview, and clinical support tool: 2024 consensus report.

Background: The 2006 National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease/Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (NIAID/FAAN) anaphylaxis criteria are widely used in clinical care and research. In 2020, the World Allergy Organization (WAO) published modified criteria that have not been uniformly adopted. Different criteria contribute to inconsistent care and research outcomes.

Factor structure and measurement invariance of the GAD-7 across time, sex, and language in young adults.

Introduction: The Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 Scale (GAD-7) is widely used to measure anxiety symptom severity. One-factor, two-factor, and bifactor latent structures are supported by previous research. Yet, measurement invariance of the GAD-7 across sex and language (i.

Stabilised hyaluronic acid gel marker versus surgical clips for tumour bed delineation in breast cancer radiotherapy using MRI-simulation.

Background And Purpose: Compare breast cancer tumour bed (TB) delineation using stabilised hyaluronic acid (sHA) gel and MRI-simulation versus surgical clips and CT-simulation within same patient cohort.

Materials And Methods: Prospective single arm study of patients undergoing breast conserving surgery. Patients had both clips (≥5) and sHA gel markers inserted to define the TB and underwent MRI and CT simulation scans.

Alpha-1-Antitrypsin Deficiency Targeted Testing and Augmentation Therapy: A Canadian Thoracic Society Meta-analysis and Clinical Practice Guideline.

Alpha-1-Antitrypsin (A1AT) deficiency is a common hereditary disorder associated with increased risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Many individuals with severe A1AT deficiency go undiagnosed, or are diagnosed late, and fail to benefit from disease-specific counseling and modifying care. Since the 2012 Canadian Thoracic Society (CTS) A1AT deficiency clinical practice guideline, new approaches to optimal diagnosis using modern genetic testing and studies of A1AT augmentation therapy have been published.

Production and use of lignocellulosic wood vinegar and tar as organic pesticides to fight bacterial canker disease.

This study investigated the production and application of lignocellulosic wood vinegar and tar as organic pesticides to combat bacterial canker disease in trees, caused by pathogenic bacteria. Lignocellulosic wood vinegar and tar were produced from various lignocellulosic wastes through pyrolysis at different temperatures, with sawdust at 300 °C, 350 °C, and 400 °C yielding the highest quantity and quality of vinegar. Chemical analysis revealed that the lignocellulosic vinegar contained significant concentrations of acetic acid, methanol, and phenolic compounds, all known for their strong antimicrobial properties.

The neuroprotective effect of human umbilical cord MSCs-derived secretome against α-synuclein aggregates on the blood-brain barrier.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a specialized network that maintains central nervous system homeostasis. Disruption of the BBB can lead to neuronal damage and contribute to neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease (PD), characterized by alpha-synuclein (αSN) aggregation, which forms intracellular inclusions. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have shown promise in alleviating the severity of neurological diseases through their paracrine secretions.

Individual vocal identity may be obscured following colony assembly in captive black-capped chickadees.

Black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) vocalisations remain plastic throughout their lifespans. Although fledglings employ vocal plasticity to refine their vocalisations through the use of tutor mimicry, adults employ vocal plasticity to create unique population dialects. Vocal convergence is one mechanism by which flockmates' vocalisations become increasingly similar to each other and distinct from the calls of other flocks.

Evaluation of online videos and websites on inspiratory muscle training for individuals with chronic lung disease.

Background: Inspiratory muscle training (IMT) is an effective rehabilitation modality for individuals with chronic lung disease. IMT can improve dyspnea, exercise capacity, and health-related quality of life. Online resources are common sources of health information for individuals.