Early Versus Delayed Postoperative Feeding After Major Gynaecological Surgery and its Effects on Clinical Outcomes, Patient Satisfaction, and Length of Stay: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: To compare early versus delayed postoperative feeding in women undergoing major gynaecological surgery with regard to clinical outcomes, duration of postoperative stay, and patient satisfaction.

Methods: We conducted a parallel-randomized controlled trial at a tertiary care centre in Montreal, Quebec, between June 2000 and July 2001. Patients undergoing major gynaecological surgery were randomized following a 1:1 allocation ratio to receive either early postoperative feeding in which oral clear fluids were begun up to six hours after surgery followed by solid foods as tolerated, or delayed postoperative feeding, in which clear fluids were begun on the first postoperative day and solid foods on the second or third day as tolerated.

IL-15 functions as a danger signal to regulate tissue-resident T cells and tissue destruction.

In this Opinion article, we discuss the function of tissues as a crucial checkpoint for the regulation of effector T cell responses, and the notion that interleukin-15 (IL-15) functions as a danger molecule that communicates to the immune system that the tissue is under attack and poises it to mediate tissue destruction. More specifically, we propose that expression of IL-15 in tissues promotes T helper 1 cell-mediated immunity and provides co-stimulatory signals to effector cytotoxic T cells to exert their effector functions and drive tissue destruction. Therefore, we think that IL-15 contributes to tissue protection by promoting the elimination of infected cells but that when its expression is chronically dysregulated, it can promote the development of complex T cell-mediated disorders associated with tissue destruction, such as coeliac disease and type 1 diabetes.

SOCS3 in retinal neurons and glial cells suppresses VEGF signaling to prevent pathological neovascular growth.

Neurons and glial cells in the retina contribute to neovascularization, or the formation of abnormal new blood vessels, in proliferative retinopathy, a condition that can lead to vision loss or blindness. We identified a mechanism by which suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) in neurons and glial cells prevents neovascularization. We found that Socs3 expression was increased in the retinal ganglion cell and inner nuclear layers after oxygen-induced retinopathy.

Derivation and validation of a clinical decision rule to identify young children with skull fracture following isolated head trauma.

Background: There is no clear consensus regarding radiologic evaluation of head trauma in young children without traumatic brain injury. We conducted a study to develop and validate a clinical decision rule to identify skull fracture in young children with head trauma and no immediate need for head tomography.

Methods: We performed a prospective cohort study in 3 tertiary care emergency departments in the province of Quebec.

Global diversity, population stratification, and selection of human copy-number variation.

In order to explore the diversity and selective signatures of duplication and deletion human copy-number variants (CNVs), we sequenced 236 individuals from 125 distinct human populations. We observed that duplications exhibit fundamentally different population genetic and selective signatures than deletions and are more likely to be stratified between human populations. Through reconstruction of the ancestral human genome, we identify megabases of DNA lost in different human lineages and pinpoint large duplications that introgressed from the extinct Denisova lineage now found at high frequency exclusively in Oceanic populations.

Management and Outcome of Patients With Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis and Single-Bone CNS-Risk Lesions: A Multi-Institutional Retrospective Study.

Background: Children with Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) and single-bone CNS-risk lesions have been reported to be at increased risk of diabetes insipidus (DI), central nervous system neurodegeneration (CNS-ND), and recurrence of disease. However, it is unknown whether the addition of chemotherapy or radiotherapy changes outcomes in these patients.

Methods: Ten pediatric institutions across North America and Europe contributed data of their patients with LCH and single-bone CNS-risk lesions.

Blood Transfusions After Pediatric Cardiac Operations: A North American Multicenter Prospective Study.

Background: Red blood cell transfusion is an important supportive measure after pediatric cardiac operations. However, no clear hemoglobin threshold has been established. This study characterized anemia development and red blood cell transfusions in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) after cardiac operations.

Independent associations between child and parent perceived neighborhood safety, child screen time, physical activity and BMI: a structural equation modeling approach.

Objective: The main objective of this study was to investigate whether children's perceptions of neighborhood safety are associated with their weight status and weight-related behaviors, independently of their parents' perceptions.

Methods: Data were from the baseline wave (collected in 2005-2008) of the Quebec Adipose and Lifestyle Investigation in Youth (QUALITY), an ongoing prospective study of 630 children aged 8-10 years (from Quebec, Canada) at risk of obesity. Weight and height were measured, and World Health Organization age- and sex-specific body mass index (BMI) z-scores were computed.

Age of transfused blood in critically ill adults.

Background: Fresh red cells may improve outcomes in critically ill patients by enhancing oxygen delivery while minimizing the risks of toxic effects from cellular changes and the accumulation of bioactive materials in blood components during prolonged storage.

Methods: In this multicenter, randomized, blinded trial, we assigned critically ill adults to receive either red cells that had been stored for less than 8 days or standard-issue red cells (the oldest compatible units available in the blood bank). The primary outcome measure was 90-day mortality.

Parenting style and obesity risk in children.

Background: Parents play a critical role in their children's lifestyle habits. The objective was to assess the effect of parenting style on the risk of childhood obesity, and to determine whether poverty was a moderator of the association.

Methods: Participants were from the 1994-2008 cross-sectional samples of the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), a nationally representative survey of Canadian youth.

Subcellular localization of coagulation factor II receptor-like 1 in neurons governs angiogenesis.

Neurons have an important role in retinal vascular development. Here we show that the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) coagulation factor II receptor-like 1 (F2rl1, previously known as Par2) is abundant in retinal ganglion cells and is associated with new blood vessel formation during retinal development and in ischemic retinopathy. After stimulation, F2rl1 in retinal ganglion cells translocates from the plasma membrane to the cell nucleus using a microtubule-dependent shuttle that requires sorting nexin 11 (Snx11).

Persistent and occasional poverty and children's food consumption: evidence from a longitudinal Québec birth cohort.

Background: Childhood poverty is associated with poorer food consumption but longitudinal data are limited. The objective was to assess if food consumption differs depending on age (6, 7, 10 and 12 years) and pattern of poverty.

Methods: Participants were from the 1998-2010 'Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development' birth cohort.

Recurrent somatic mutations in ACVR1 in pediatric midline high-grade astrocytoma.

Pediatric midline high-grade astrocytomas (mHGAs) are incurable with few treatment targets identified. Most tumors harbor mutations encoding p.Lys27Met in histone H3 variants.

Does parental body mass index status modify the associations among birth weight, early growth and childhood adiposity?

Objectives: To examine the associations among birth weight, infant growth and childhood adiposity, and to test whether parental weight status modifies these associations.

Methods: The sample was comprised of 423 participants born at term who were an appropriate size for their gestational age from the Quebec Adipose and Lifestyle Investigation in Youth (QUALITY) study, a cohort of 630 children with a parental history of obesity. Infant growth velocity from zero to two years of age was estimated using slopes from simple linear regression for weight and body mass index (BMI) Z-scores.

Polychlorinated biphenyl exposures and cognition in older U.S. adults: NHANES (1999-2002).

Background: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are ubiquitously present in humans because of their resistance to degradation and accumulation in fatty tissues. Data on neurotoxic effects in older adults are limited.

Objective: We examined the cross-sectional association between serum PCB concentrations and cognitive function in older adults from the general U.

Cohort profile of the CARTaGENE study: Quebec's population-based biobank for public health and personalized genomics.

The CARTaGENE (CaG) study is both a population-based biobank and the largest ongoing prospective health study of men and women in Quebec. In population-based cohorts, participants are not recruited for a particular disease but represent a random selection among the population, minimizing the need to correct for bias in measured phenotypes. CaG targeted the segment of the population that is most at risk of developing chronic disorders, that is 40-69 years of age, from four metropolitan areas in Quebec.

Atypical febrile seizures, mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, and dual pathology.

Febrile seizures occurring in the neonatal period, especially when prolonged, are thought to be involved in the later development of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) in children. The presence of an often undetected, underlying cortical malformation has also been reported to be implicated in the epileptogenesis process following febrile seizures. This paper highlights some of the various animal models of febrile seizures and of cortical malformation and portrays a two-hit model that efficiently mimics these two insults and leads to spontaneous recurrent seizures in adult rats.

Cortical GABAergic interneurons in cross-modal plasticity following early blindness.

Early loss of a given sensory input in mammals causes anatomical and functional modifications in the brain via a process called cross-modal plasticity. In the past four decades, several animal models have illuminated our understanding of the biological substrates involved in cross-modal plasticity. Progressively, studies are now starting to emphasise on cell-specific mechanisms that may be responsible for this intermodal sensory plasticity.

Reliability of the visual analog scale in children with acute pain in the emergency department.

In children, many psychometric properties of the visual analogue scale (VAS) are known, including the minimum clinically significant difference (10mm on a 100-mm VAS). However, its imprecision or reliability is not well known. Thus, in order to determine the reliability of this scale, a prospective cohort study was performed in patients aged 8-17 years presenting to a pediatric emergency department with acute pain.

Pharmaceutical care in an inpatient pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplant service.

Introduction: Hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients represent a population at high risk for drug-related problems. Our objective is to describe pharmacist interventions in a hematopoietic stem cell transplant pediatric unit. METHODS AND PATIENTS.

Duration of antidepressant use during pregnancy and risk of major congenital malformations.

Background: Antidepressant use during the gestational period is a controversial topic.

Aims: To determine whether duration of antidepressant use during the first trimester increases the risk of major congenital malformations in offspring of women diagnosed with psychiatric disorders.

Method: A case-control study was performed among women who had been pregnant between January 1998 and December 2002.