Speech outcomes in cochlear implant users depend on visual cross-modal cortical activity measured before or after implantation.

Cochlear implants can partially restore hearing function in deaf individuals, but long-term speech listening outcomes vary widely across cochlear implant users. Visual cross-modal plasticity, where auditory cortical neurons upregulate visual inputs to assist visual processing, is one factor proposed to worsen cochlear implant users' speech outcomes because it may limit auditory processing capability. However, evidence for this view is conflicting, and the relationship of cross-modal activity to speech perception may depend on other variables such as the type of visual activity and when it is assessed.

Alcohol Sales and Adverse Events during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Background: Alcohol sales increased at the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, while alcohol-related emergency department (ED) visits decreased. It is unknown whether these patterns of alcohol use persisted or led to delayed effects on health.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional time series analysis of alcohol sales and alcohol-related adverse events in Ontario, Canada.

Implementation of a Multi-Disciplinary Geriatric Oncology Clinic in Toronto, Canada.

Older adults with cancer tend to face more complex health needs than their younger counterparts. Patients > 65 years of age are recommended for comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) to capture and address age-related vulnerabilities. Access to geriatrics services is limited, and our baseline audit of geriatric referrals in 2019 from the cancer program revealed that only 30% of patients referred received a CGA.

Feasibility and reliability of an online version of the beat alignment test in neurotypical adults and people with stroke.

Background: Rhythm-based rehabilitation interventions are gaining attention and measuring their effects is critical. With more clinical care and research being conducted online, it is important to determine the feasibility of measuring rhythm abilities online. However, some tools used to measure rhythm abilities, in particular the beat alignment test (BAT), have not been validated for online delivery.

Cochlear implantation in adults with acquired single-sided deafness improves cortical processing and comprehension of speech presented to the non-implanted ears: a longitudinal EEG study.

Former studies have established that individuals with a cochlear implant (CI) for treating single-sided deafness experience improved speech processing after implantation. However, it is not clear how each ear contributes separately to improve speech perception over time at the behavioural and neural level. In this longitudinal EEG study with four different time points, we measured neural activity in response to various temporally and spectrally degraded spoken words presented monaurally to the CI and non-CI ears (5 left and 5 right ears) in 10 single-sided CI users and 10 age- and sex-matched individuals with normal hearing.

Concurrent validity and discriminative ability of force plate measures of balance during the sub-acute stage of stroke recovery.

Background: Many objective measures of balance control, including force plate measures of standing balance, lack sufficient validation for use in the stroke population.

Research Questions: Do force plate measures of quiet standing balance during the sub-acute stage of stroke recovery have concurrent validity (i.e.

Vitamin B12 concentrations vary greatly in milk donated to a large provincial milk bank, and are influenced by supplementation and parity.

Background & Aims: Feeding parent's milk with supplemental donor milk (DM) is the optimal way to feed very low birth weight (VLBW) infants instead of formula; however, suboptimal neurodevelopment persists. This is believed due, in part, to suboptimal nutrition. Given vitamin B12's role in neurodevelopment and increased adoption of plant-based diets among females of child-bearing age, we aimed to determine the adequacy of vitamin B12 in DM (n = 380 donors) and associated donor characteristics.

Interdisciplinary Operating Room Ergonomics Needs and Priorities: A Survey of Operating Room Staff.

Objective: To examine perceived OR ergonomics facilitators and barriers, with a focus on the interdisciplinary team.

Summary Background Data: Poor ergonomics causes musculoskeletal injuries affecting all operating room (OR) staff with repercussions on patient care, outcomes, and sustainability. Lack of ergonomic awareness and education are risk factors.

Analysis of Factors Associated With Pathological Complete Response in Patients With HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Receiving Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the impact of the level of HER2 overexpression on pathologic and clinical outcomes in HER2-positive breast cancer (BC) patients treated with neoadjuvant therapy (NAT).

Methods: Women with Stage II or III HER2-positive BC who received anthracycline-taxane-trastuzumab NAT regimens followed by curative-intent surgery were included. Patients were classified according to tumor HER2 expression into HER2-high (immunohistochemistry (IHC) 3+ or fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) HER2/CEP17 ratio ≥5 or HER2 copy number ≥10) and HER2-intermediate (IHC 2+ with HER2/CEP17 ratio ≥2 to <5 or copy number ≥4 to <10).

Post Hoc Bias in Treatment Decisions.

Importance: A goal of health care is to reduce symptoms and improve health status, whereas continuing dubious treatments can contribute to complacency, discourage the search for alternatives, and lead to shortfalls in care.

Objective: To test a potential bias in intuitive reasoning following a marginal improvement in symptoms after a dubious treatment (post hoc bias).

Design, Setting, And Participants: Surveys eliciting treatment recommendations for hypothetical patients were sent to community members throughout North America recruited via an online survey platform in the early winter months of 2023 and 2024 and presented to health care professionals (pharmacists who were approached in person using a secret shopper technique) in the summer months of 2023.

Effects of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome on cerebral white matter and emotional health among non-hospitalized individuals.

Introduction: Post-acute COVID syndrome (PACS) is a growing concern, given its impact on mental health and quality of life. However, its effects on cerebral white matter remain poorly understood, particularly in non-hospitalized cohorts. The goals of this cross-sectional, observational study were to examine (1) whether PACS was associated with distinct alterations in white matter microstructure, compared to symptom-matched non-COVID viral infection; and (2) whether microstructural alterations correlated with indices of post-COVID emotional health.

Seeing the Truth About Double Blinding.

Randomized clinical trials provide reassurances that confounding factors are balanced at baseline whereas blinding is essential to assure the balance of extraneous factors thereafter. This article provides a three-part taxonomy of pitfalls that can arise because of inadequate blinding in clinical trials. We introduce a cautionary framework for readers interpreting a blinded randomized trial for evidence-based medicine.

Transitioning Towards a Virtual Falls Prevention Program for Frail Seniors: Learning from the Experiences of Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: The literature to date is unable to clearly characterize the appropriateness of virtual care for falls prevention services from the patient perspective. In response to COVID-19, the Falls Prevention Program (FPP) at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre was modified to include virtual components. We set out to uncover the experiences of this unique older-adult patient population to inform FPP quality improvement and appropriate incorporation of technology post-pandemic.

Ultrasound-guided suprainguinal fascia iliaca compartment block and early postoperative analgesia after total hip arthroplasty: a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Hip replacement surgery can be painful; postoperative analgesia is crucial for comfort and to facilitate recovery. Regional anaesthesia can reduce pain and postoperative opioid requirements. The role of ultrasound-guided suprainguinal fascia iliaca block for analgesia after elective total hip arthroplasty is not well defined.

Persistent fatigue in post-acute COVID syndrome is associated with altered T1 MRI texture in subcortical structures: a preliminary investigation.

Post-acute COVID syndrome (PACS) is a global health concern and is often associated with debilitating symptoms. Post-COVID fatigue is a particularly frequent and troubling issue, and its underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. One potential contributor is micropathological injury of subcortical and brainstem structures, as has been identified in other patient populations.

The influence of depression and anxiety on cognition in people with multiple sclerosis: a cross-sectional analysis.

There are conflicting findings about the relationships between depression, anxiety, and cognitive dysfunction in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), and a paucity of research has examined the cumulative influence on cognition of depression plus anxiety. This study aimed to determine whether elevated symptoms of depression and anxiety alone or in combination are associated with worse cognition in people with MS. In this cross-sectional analysis, people with MS consecutively seen at a tertiary neuropsychiatry clinic completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale for symptoms of depression (HADS-D) and anxiety (HADS-A), and the Minimal Assessment of Cognitive Function in MS for cognitive indices.

Association Between Periprosthetic Joint Infection and Mortality Following Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty.

Background: Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) remains a dreaded and unpredictable complication after total hip arthroplasty (THA). In addition to causing substantial morbidity, PJI may contribute to long-term mortality risk. Our objective was to determine the long-term mortality risk associated with PJI following THA.

Diagnosis of systemic mastocytosis with cryptic deletion of TET2 and DNMT3A resulting from unbalanced translocation.

Systemic mastocytosis (SM) is a rare haematological neoplasm associated with the gain of function mutation KIT D816V in 90% of adult patients. Classically, cytogenetic aberrations are not common except in cases of SM associated with another haematological neoplasm. We highlight here an unusual clinical presentation of SM and demonstrate the utility of advanced cytogenetic analysis (optical genome mapping, OGM) in detecting a novel cytogenetic abnormality resulting in an unusual mechanism of DNMT3A and TET2 loss of function.