Global Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Stroke Volumes and Cerebrovascular Events: A 1-Year Follow-up.

Background And Objectives: Declines in stroke admission, IV thrombolysis (IVT), and mechanical thrombectomy volumes were reported during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a paucity of data on the longer-term effect of the pandemic on stroke volumes over the course of a year and through the second wave of the pandemic. We sought to measure the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the volumes of stroke admissions, intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), IVT, and mechanical thrombectomy over a 1-year period at the onset of the pandemic (March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021) compared with the immediately preceding year (March 1, 2019, to February 29, 2020).

EFSUMB Clinical Practice Guidelines for Point-of-Care Ultrasound: Part One (Common Heart and Pulmonary Applications) SHORT VERSION.

Objective:  To evaluate the evidence and produce a summary and recommendations for the most common heart and lung point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS).

Methods:  We reviewed 10 clinical domains/questions related to common heart and lung applications of PoCUS. Following review of the evidence, a summary and recommendations were produced, including assigning levels of evidence (LoE) and grading of recommendation, assessment, development, and evaluation (GRADE).

Development and characterization of influenza M2 ectodomain and/or hemagglutinin stalk-based dendritic cell-targeting vaccines.

A universal influenza vaccine is required for broad protection against influenza infection. Here, we revealed the efficacy of novel influenza vaccine candidates based on Ebola glycoprotein dendritic cell (DC)-targeting domain (EΔM) fusion protein technology. The four copies of ectodomain matrix protein of influenza (tM2e) or M2e hemagglutinin stalk (HA stalk) peptides (HM2e) were fused with EΔM to generate EΔM-tM2e or EΔM-HM2e, respectively.

Predicting the presence of depressive symptoms in the HIV-HCV co-infected population in Canada using supervised machine learning.

Background: Depression is common in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infected population. Demographic, behavioural, and clinical data collected in research settings may be of help in identifying those at risk for clinical depression. We aimed to predict the presence of depressive symptoms indicative of a risk of depression and identify important classification predictors using supervised machine learning.

Review of Corneal Graft Registries.

Purpose: Corneal graft registries are organized systems that collect and analyze outcome data (such as long-term graft survival and visual outcomes) after keratoplasty procedures. The aim of this review was to identify existing corneal graft registries and to describe their characteristics.

Methods: A search of the PubMed database was performed on June 1, 2021, for articles pertaining to corneal graft registries.

Impact of Hepatitis C Virus Cure on Depressive Symptoms in the Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Hepatitis C Virus Coinfected Population in Canada.

Background: Depression is common in people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV), with biological and psychosocial mechanisms at play. Direct acting antivirals (DAA) result in high rates of sustained virologic response (SVR), with minimal side-effects. We assessed the impact of SVR on presence of depressive symptoms in the HIV-HCV coinfected population in Canada during the second-generation DAA era (2013-2020).

Pregnancy outcomes in antiphospholipid antibody positive patients: prospective results from the AntiPhospholipid Syndrome Alliance for Clinical Trials and InternatiOnal Networking (APS ACTION) Clinical Database and Repository ('Registry').

Objectives: To describe the outcomes of pregnancies in antiphospholipid antibody (aPL)-positive patients since the inception of the AntiPhospholipid Syndrome Alliance for Clinical Trials and InternatiOnal Networking Registry.

Methods: We identified persistently aPL-positive patients recorded as 'pregnant' during prospective follow-up, and defined as a composite of: (1) Preterm live delivery (PTLD) at or before 37th week due to pre-eclampsia (PEC), eclampsia, small-for-gestational age (SGA) and/or placental insufficiency (PI); or (2) Otherwise unexplained fetal death after the 10th week of gestation. The primary objective was to describe the characteristics of patients with and without aPL-related composite outcomes based on their first observed pregnancies following registry recruitment.

The Roles of RANK/RANKL/OPG in Cardiac, Skeletal, and Smooth Muscles in Health and Disease.

Although their physiology and functions are very different, bones, skeletal and smooth muscles, as well as the heart have the same embryonic origin. Skeletal muscles and bones interact with each other to enable breathing, kinesis, and the maintenance of posture. Often, muscle and bone tissues degenerate synchronously under various conditions such as cancers, space travel, aging, prolonged bed rest, and neuromuscular diseases.

Déjà-vu evoked by electrical stimulation of the insula: Stimulation-induced insular déjà-vu.

Objective: Déjà-vu is a mental phenomenon commonly experienced during temporal lobe seizures and can be evoked by electrical stimulation of the temporal lobe. We analyzed reproducible déjà-vu experiences evoked by stimulating the insula in two patients with pharmacoresistant temporal lobe epilepsy.

Methods: We reviewed video-electroencephalography (EEG) recordings from extraoperative electrical cortical stimulation sessions.

The REinfection in COVID-19 Estimation of Risk (RECOVER) study: Reinfection and serology dynamics in a cohort of Canadian healthcare workers.

Background: Understanding the immune response to natural infection by SARS-CoV-2 is key to pandemic management, especially in the current context of emerging variants. Uncertainty remains regarding the efficacy and duration of natural immunity against reinfection.

Methods: We conducted an observational prospective cohort study in Canadian healthcare workers (HCWs) with a history of PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection to (i) measure the average incidence rate of reinfection and (ii) describe the serological immune response to the primary infection.

Point of care ultrasound training in Canadian emergency medicine residency programs.

Objectives: Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) has been endorsed as an important clinical tool by the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP) and is a training objective of emergency medicine (EM) residency programs accredited by both the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) and the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC). Our objectives are to describe the national state of POCUS training in RCPSC-EM and CFPC-EM residency programs and to evaluate the implementation of the CAEP core POCUS curriculum in these programs.

Methods: This was an online survey study of all POCUS education leads for both RCPSC-EM and CFPC-EM programs.

Heterozygous Mutant Mice Have a Subtle Locomotor Phenotype.

Axon guidance receptors such as deleted in colorectal cancer (DCC) contribute to the normal formation of neural circuits, and their mutations can be associated with neural defects. In humans, heterozygous mutations in have been linked to congenital mirror movements, which are involuntary movements on one side of the body that mirror voluntary movements of the opposite side. In mice, obvious hopping phenotypes have been reported for bi-allelic mutations, while heterozygous mutants have not been closely examined.

Differentiating congenital ovarian cysts from other abdominal cystic lesions in female infants: A study by the Canadian Consortium for Research in Pediatric Surgery (CanCORPS).

Purpose: The origin of congenital abdominal cysts in the female fetus often dictates management. While most arise from the ovary and are often managed non-operatively, some are non-ovarian and are frequently removed. We analyzed a national sample of female infants with congenital abdominal cysts to elucidate prenatal and postnatal factors associated with the diagnosis of a non-ovarian cyst.

TBX2 controls a proproliferative gene expression program in melanoma.

Senescence shapes embryonic development, plays a key role in aging, and is a critical barrier to cancer initiation, yet how senescence is regulated remains incompletely understood. TBX2 is an antisenescence T-box family transcription repressor implicated in embryonic development and cancer. However, the repertoire of TBX2 target genes, its cooperating partners, and how TBX2 promotes proliferation and senescence bypass are poorly understood.

Is point-of-care ultrasound a reliable predictor of outcome during traumatic cardiac arrest? A systematic review and meta-analysis from the SHoC investigators.

Aim: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has been shown to assist in predicting outcomes in cardiac arrest. We evaluated the test characteristics of POCUS in predicting poor outcomes: failure of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), survival to hospital admission (SHA), survival to hospital discharge (SHD) and neurologically intact survival to hospital discharge (NISHD) in adult and paediatric patients with blunt and penetrating traumatic cardiac arrest (TCA) in out-of-hospital or emergency department settings.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis using the PRISMA guidelines.

Variation in surgical treatment of degenerative spondylolisthesis in Canada: surgeon assessment of stability and impact on treatment.

Introduction: Controversy exists regarding the optimal surgical treatment of degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis (DS). Not all DS patients are the same, and the degree to which inherent stability may dictate treatment is unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine the variability in surgical approach relative to surgeon classified stability.

Alternative to Body Surface Area as a Solution to Correct Systematic Bias in Pediatric Echocardiography z Scores.

Background: Z scores are the method of choice to report dimensions in pediatric echocardiography. Z scores based on body surface area (BSA) have been shown to cause systematic biases in overweight and obese children. Using aortic valve (AoV) diameters as a paradigm, the aims of this study were to assess the magnitude of z score underestimation in children with increased body mass index z score (BMI-z) and to determine if a predicting model with height and weight as independent predictors would minimise this bias.

Genetics of symptom remission in outpatients with COVID-19.

We conducted a genome-wide association study of time to remission of COVID-19 symptoms in 1723 outpatients with at least one risk factor for disease severity from the COLCORONA clinical trial. We found a significant association at 5p13.3 (rs1173773; P = 4.

RALDH Activity Induced by Bacterial/Fungal Pathogens in CD16 Monocyte-Derived Dendritic Cells Boosts HIV Infection and Outgrowth in CD4 T Cells.

HIV reservoirs persist in gut-homing CD4 T cells of people living with HIV and receiving antiretroviral therapy, but the antigenic specificity of such reservoirs remains poorly documented. The imprinting for gut homing is mediated by retinoic acid (RA), a vitamin A-derived metabolite produced by dendritic cells (DCs) exhibiting RA-synthesizing (RALDH) activity. RALDH activity in DCs can be induced by TLR2 ligands, such as bacterial peptidoglycans and fungal zymosan.

Polysomnography parameters as predictors of respiratory adverse events following adenotonsillectomy in children.

Study Objectives: The first-line treatment of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in children is adenotonsillectomy, but this may result in perioperative respiratory adverse events (PRAEs). The primary aim of this study is to examine whether the McGill oximetry score (MOS) and other polysomnography parameters can predict major PRAEs following adenotonsillectomy. We secondarily evaluated the MOS interrater reliability and correlation with other polysomnography parameters.