MicroRNA205: A Key Regulator of Cardiomyocyte Transition from Proliferative to Hypertrophic Growth in the Neonatal Heart.

The mammalian myocardium grows rapidly during early development due to cardiomyocyte proliferation, which later transitions to cell hypertrophy to sustain the heart's postnatal growth. Although this cell transition in the postnatal heart is consistently preserved in mammalian biology, little is known about the regulatory mechanisms that link proliferation suppression with hypertrophy induction. We reasoned that the production of a micro-RNA(s) could serve as a key bridge to permit changes in gene expression that control the changed cell fate of postnatal cardiomyocytes.

An Evaluation of the Impact of an OPEN Stewardship Generated Feedback Intervention on Antibiotic Prescribing among Primary Care Veterinarians in Canada and Israel.

An interrupted time-series study design was implemented to evaluate the impact of antibiotic stewardship interventions on antibiotic prescribing among veterinarians. A total of 41 veterinarians were enrolled in Canada and Israel and their prescribing data between 2019 and 2021 were obtained. As an intervention, veterinarians periodically received three feedback reports comprising feedback on the participants' antibiotic prescribing and prescribing guidelines.

Involvement of Palliative Care in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Patients and Associations with Survival and End-of-Life Outcomes.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rare, aggressive, and incurable cancer with a poor prognosis and high symptom burden. For these patients, little is known about the impact of palliative care consultation on outcomes such as mortality, hospital admissions, or emergency department visits. The aim of this study is to determine if referral to supportive and palliative care in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma is associated with survival and decreased hospital admissions and emergency department visits.

Homing and Engraftment of Hematopoietic Stem Cells Following Transplantation: A Pre-Clinical Perspective.

Hematopoietic stem-cell (HSC) transplantation (HSCT) is used to treat various hematologic disorders. Use of genetically modified mouse models of hematopoietic cell transplantation has been critical in our fundamental understanding of HSC biology and in developing approaches for human patients. Pre-clinical studies in animal models provide insight into the journey of transplanted HSCs from infusion to engraftment in bone-marrow (BM) niches.

Real-time evaluation of signal accuracy in wastewater surveillance of pathogens with high rates of mutation.

Wastewater surveillance of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) commonly applies reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) to quantify severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA concentrations in wastewater over time. In most applications worldwide, maximal sensitivity and specificity of RT-qPCR has been achieved, in part, by monitoring two or more genomic loci of SARS-CoV-2. In Ontario, Canada, the provincial Wastewater Surveillance Initiative reports the average copies of the CDC N1 and N2 loci normalized to the fecal biomarker pepper mild mottle virus.

Protocol for co-producing a framework and integrated resource platform for engaging patients in laboratory-based research.

Background: Patient engagement in research is the meaningful and collaborative interaction between patients and researchers throughout the research process. Patient engagement can help to ensure patient-oriented values and perspectives are incorporated into the development, conduct, and dissemination of research. While patient engagement is increasingly prevalent in clinical research, it remains relatively unrealized in preclinical laboratory research.

Design and Implementation of a National Program of Assessment Model - Integrating Entrustable Professional Activity Assessments in Canadian Specialist Postgraduate Medical Education.

Traditional approaches to assessment in health professions education systems, which have generally focused on the summative function of assessment through the development and episodic use of individual high-stakes examinations, may no longer be appropriate in an era of competency based medical education. Contemporary assessment programs should not only ensure collection of high-quality performance data to support robust decision-making on learners' achievement and competence development but also facilitate the provision of meaningful feedback to learners to support reflective practice and performance improvement. Programmatic assessment is a specific approach to designing assessment systems through the intentional selection and combination of a variety of assessment methods and activities embedded within an educational framework to simultaneously optimize the decision-making and learning function of assessment.

Comparison of statistical methods used to meta-analyse results from interrupted time series studies: an empirical study.

Background: The Interrupted Time Series (ITS) is a robust design for evaluating public health and policy interventions or exposures when randomisation may be infeasible. Several statistical methods are available for the analysis and meta-analysis of ITS studies. We sought to empirically compare available methods when applied to real-world ITS data.

Mapping an undergraduate medical education curriculum against national and international palliative care reference learning objectives.

Background: The teaching of palliative care competencies is an essential component of undergraduate medical education. There is significant variance in the palliative care content delivered in undergraduate medical curricula, revealing the utility of reference standards to guide curricular development and assessment. To evaluate our university's undergraduate palliative care teaching, we undertook a curriculum mapping exercise, comparing official learning objectives to the national Educating Future Physicians in Palliative and End-of-Life Care (EFPPEC) and the international Palliative Education Assessment Tool (PEAT) reference objectives.

HDAC1/2 inhibitor therapy improves multiple organ systems in aged mice.

Aging increases the risk of age-related diseases, imposing substantial healthcare and personal costs. Targeting fundamental aging mechanisms pharmacologically can promote healthy aging and reduce this disease susceptibility. In this work, we employed transcriptome-based drug screening to identify compounds emulating transcriptional signatures of long-lived genetic interventions.

Perioperative quality indicators specific to the practice of anesthesia in noncardiac surgery: an umbrella review.

Purpose: Improvement in delivery of perioperative care depends on the ability to measure outcomes that can direct meaningful changes in practice. We sought to identify and provide an overview of perioperative quality indicators specific to the practice of anesthesia in noncardiac surgery.

Source: We conducted an umbrella review (a systematic review of systematic reviews) according to Joanna Briggs Institute methodology.

Temperature-Dependent Relationship of Autophagy and Apoptotic Signaling During Cold-Water Immersion in Young and Older Males.

Autophagy is a crucial cytoprotective mechanism preventing the accumulation of cellular damage, especially during external stimuli such as cold exposure. Older adults poorly tolerate cold exposure and age-related impairments in autophagy may contribute to the associated reductions in cold tolerance. The purpose of this investigation is to evaluate the effect of different intensities of in vivo cold-water immersion and in vitro cold exposure on autophagic and apoptotic signaling in young and older males.

Shorter Durations of Anti-HER2 Therapy for Patients with Early-Stage, HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: The Physician Perspective.

Despite evidence from clinical trials showing the efficacy of shorter durations of therapy, most HER2-positive early breast cancer (EBC) patients receive a year of anti-HER2 therapy. A survey of Canadian oncologists was conducted online, with electronic data collection, and the analysis is reported descriptively. Measures collected included current practices with respect to the duration of adjuvant anti-HER2 therapy, perspectives on data regarding shorter durations of treatment, and interest in further trials on this subject.

Canadian Consensus Recommendations for the Management of Operable Stage II/III Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Results of a Modified Delphi Process.

The treatment paradigm for patients with stage II/III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is rapidly evolving. We performed a modified Delphi process culminating at the Early-stage Lung cancer International eXpert Retreat (ELIXR23) meeting held in Montreal, Canada, in June 2023. Participants included medical and radiation oncologists, thoracic surgeons and pathologists from across Quebec.

Cancer Center Staff Satisfaction: Descriptive Results of a Canadian Study.

Caring for cancer patients is generally considered very rewarding work, but it can also be stressful and demanding. Therefore, it is important for oncology healthcare professionals to feel satisfied with their work environment in order to provide the best care possible. An ethics-approved 61-item staff satisfaction survey was developed in-house to gain insights regarding workplace satisfaction among all staff at The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Center.

Bilateral Apogeotropic Lateral Canal BPPV: Role of Secondary Signs of Lateralization in Diagnosis.

Bilateral lateral canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is extremely uncommon because of difficulties in diagnosing such cases. We present first case of bilateral apogeotropic lateral canal BPPV. We want to stress that secondary signs of lateralization like bow lean test is of great help in diagnosing such cases.

Targeted Prostate Biopsies-What the Radiologist Needs to Know.

The emergence of multiparametric MR imaging has enabled a more reliable targeted approach to diagnosis of prostate cancer. Targeted biopsies are central to the MR imaging-dependent pathway to prostate cancer diagnosis and potentially improve the detection of clinically significant prostate cancers. In a targeted biopsy, tissue samples are obtained from suspicious regions identified on a prebiopsy diagnostic MR imaging.

Evaluation of a multiparametric renal CT algorithm for diagnosis of clear-cell renal cell carcinoma among small (≤ 4 cm) solid renal masses.

Objective: To evaluate a recently proposed CT-based algorithm for diagnosis of clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) among small (≤ 4 cm) solid renal masses diagnosed by renal mass biopsy.

Methods: This retrospective study included 51 small renal masses in 51 patients with renal-mass CT and biopsy between 2014 and 2021. Three radiologists independently evaluated corticomedullary phase CT for the following: heterogeneity and attenuation ratio (mass:renal cortex), which were used to inform the CT score (1-5).