Epidemiology of Hepatitis C over 28 years of monitoring Canadian blood donors: Insight into a low-risk undiagnosed population.

Background: Hepatitis C is a blood-borne infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that can progress to cirrhosis and liver cancer. About 70% (50-80%) of infections become chronic and exhibit anti-HCV and HCV nucleic acid (NAT) positivity. Direct acting oral pan genotypic antiviral treatment became available in 2014 and was free for most Canadians in 2018.

CoDesign of a digital intervention for parents with bipolar disorder informed by integrated knowledge translation principles.

Objectives: To provide detailed information on the codesign of a digital intervention to support parents with bipolar disorder (BD) who have young children. Each step of this process is reported, as well as a detailed description of the final version of the intervention in line with the TIDieR framework.

Methods: Clinical experience and lived experience experts participated in online workshops, meetings, and remote feedback requests, informed by Integrated Knowledge Translation (IKT) principles.

Accumulation of Parabens, Their Metabolites, and Halogenated Byproducts in Migratory Birds of Prey: A Comparative Study in Texas and North Carolina, USA.

Parabens are alkyl esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid that are commonly used as preservatives in personal care products such as cosmetics. Recent studies have revealed the presence of parabens in surface and tap water because of their use as disinfection products; however, little is known about their occurrence in biological samples and their bioaccumulation potential, particularly in raptor birds known as sentinels for pollutant detection. We examined the occurrence and tissue distribution of parabens, their metabolites, and halogenated byproducts in the liver, kidney, brain, and muscle of birds of prey from Texas and North Carolina (USA).

Assessing self-reported prolonged grief disorder with "clinical checks": A proof of principle study.

Psychological assessment is commonly conducted using either self-report measures or clinical interviews; the former are quick and easy to administer, and the latter are more time-consuming and require training. Self-report measures have been criticized for producing higher estimates of symptom and disorder presence relative to clinical interviews, with the assumption being that self-report measures are prone to Type 1 error. Here, we introduce the use of "clinical checks" within an existing self-report measure.

Identification of footstrike pattern using accelerometry and machine learning.

Recent reports have suggested that there may be a relationship between footstrike pattern and overuse injury incidence and type. With the recent increase in wearable sensors, it is important to identify paradigms where the footstrike pattern can be detected in real-time from minimal data. Machine learning was used to classify tibial acceleration data into three distinct footstrike patterns: rearfoot, midfoot, or forefoot.

Combining Gram stain and 16S qPCR improved diagnostic accuracy for suspected pneumonia and could become a new metric in the rapid diagnosis of lower respiratory tract infections.

The frequency of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) in hospitals and the risk of delaying effective treatment result in the culture of respiratory secretions for nearly all patients with suspected pneumonia. Culture delays contribute to over prescribing and use of broader spectrum antibiotics. The need for improved rapid diagnostics for early assessment of suspected hospital pneumonia.

Patients' Acceptance of Glaucoma Therapy in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Prcis: Patients' acceptance of glaucoma therapy was high overall in this study, but lower for surgery than for laser or medical therapy. Fear and cost were the leading reasons why patients declined recommended therapy and they were treatment-specific. Cost was the primary reason for declining medical and laser therapy, while fear was the most common reason for declining surgical therapy.

A randomised crossover trial of tezacaftor-ivacaftor for gut dysfunction in cystic fibrosis with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) outcomes: a pilot study.

Background: People with cystic fibrosis (CF) can experience recurrent chest infections, pancreatic exocrine insufficiency and gastrointestinal symptoms. New cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulator drugs improve lung function but gastrointestinal effects are unclear. We aimed to see if a CFTR modulator (tezacaftor-ivacaftor,TEZ/IVA) improves gastrointestinal outcomes in CF.

Patient Empowerment for Those Living with Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) poses a number of challenges for individuals, affecting them physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. The complex nature of PD necessitates empowering patients to address their unique needs and challenges, fostering improved health outcomes and a better quality of life. Patient empowerment is a multifaceted concept crucial to enhancing healthcare outcomes, particularly in chronic conditions such as PD.

Strengthening the Chain: A Continuing Medical Education Program for Test Results Follow-up.

Introduction: The Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA)'s Commitment to Change in Test-Results Follow-Up (CTC-TRFU) program aims to provide physicians with resources to enhance their test results follow-up systems for improved patient safety. Framed around the Transtheoretical Model, the program involves a 6-month multimodal educational intervention involving individual and group coaching sessions, action planning, and reflection surveys.

Methods: This study evaluates the CTC-TRFU program's impact by analyzing survey responses and course documents, focusing on three main outcomes: physicians' perceived barriers and challenges, changes in their confidence and commitment, and implemented practice changes with perceived impact on patient safety.

Patient and public involvement in international research: Perspectives of a team of researchers from six countries on collaborating with people with lived experiences of dementia and end-of-life.

Background: Patient and public involvement (PPI) is a critical priority in research, policy, academia and advocacy organizations. PPI in dementia research is gaining momentum. However, these efforts are missing in international projects aimed at those living with advanced dementia in long-term care (LTC) homes.

Topographic Clinical Insights From Deep Learning-Based Geographic Atrophy Progression Prediction.

Purpose: To explore the contributions of fundus autofluorescence (FAF) topographic imaging features to the performance of convolutional neural network-based deep learning (DL) algorithms in predicting geographic atrophy (GA) growth rate.

Methods: Retrospective study with data from study eyes from three clinical trials (NCT02247479, NCT02247531, NCT02479386) in GA. The algorithm was initially trained with full FAF images, and its performance was considered benchmark.

Quantification of 700 mycotoxins and other secondary metabolites of fungi and plants in grain products.

This work reports on the validation of a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric method for the simultaneous quantification of more than 700 mycotoxins and other secondary fungal metabolites and plant toxins in pasta, biscuits, crackers and musli. The "dilute and shoot" approach was found to be fully applicable to these complex matrices, as only 7-14% of the analytes exhibited significant matrix effects while recoveries of the extraction were outside the target range of 70-120% for only 26 compounds. Data on repeatability (based on 7 brands per matrix) and on intermediate precision was compliant to the related < 20% criterion for 95-98% and 99% of all analytes, respectively.

Macroscale brain states support the control of semantic cognition.

A crucial aim in neuroscience is to understand how the human brain adapts to varying cognitive demands. This study investigates network reconfiguration during controlled semantic retrieval in differing contexts. We analyze brain responses to two semantic tasks of varying difficulty - global association and feature matching judgments - which are contrasted with non-semantic tasks on the cortical surface and within a whole-brain state space.

School-Based Occupational Therapists' Roles Supporting Transitions Into and Throughout Kindergarten to Grade 12: A Scoping Review.

Importance: Large educational transitions occur when students enter and exit school or move between grades or divisions within the kindergarten to Grade 12 (K-12) school system. For students with disabilities, the quality of large educational transitions affects academic and postschool outcomes, which is germane to school-based occupational therapists.

Objective: To explore the school-based occupational therapy literature to describe the roles of occupational therapists in supporting large educational transitions and to identify relevant terminology.

The harms of promoting the lab leak hypothesis for SARS-CoV-2 origins without evidence.

Science is humanity's best insurance against threats from nature, but it is a fragile enterprise that must be nourished and protected. The preponderance of scientific evidence indicates a natural origin for SARS-CoV-2. Yet, the theory that SARS-CoV-2 was engineered in and escaped from a lab dominates media attention, even in the absence of strong evidence.

Cognitive predictors of response to interpersonal and social rhythm therapy in mood disorders.

Background: There has been increasing interest in examining the potential moderating effects that cognitive functioning has on treatment outcome in bipolar disorder (BD) and major depressive disorder (MDD). Therefore, the aim of this exploratory study was to examine the relationship between baseline cognitive function and treatment outcome in individuals with mood disorders who completed 12 months of interpersonal and social rhythm therapy (IPSRT), and were randomised to receive adjunctive cognitive remediation (CR) or no additional intervention.

Methods: Fifty-eight patients with mood disorders (BD, n = 36, MDD, n = 22), who were randomised to IPSRT-CR or IPSRT, underwent cognitive testing at baseline and completed follow-up mood measures after 12 months.

Ruthenium Drug BOLD-100 Regulates BRAFMT Colorectal Cancer Cell Apoptosis through AhR/ROS/ATR Signaling Axis Modulation.

Patients with class I V600EBRAF-mutant (MT) colorectal cancer exhibit a poor prognosis, and their response to combined anti-BRAF/EGFR inhibition remains limited. An unmet need exits for further understanding the biology of V600EBRAFMT colorectal cancer. We used differential gene expression of BRAFWT and MT colorectal cancer cells to identify pathways underpinning BRAFMT colorectal cancer.

Pathways to myeloproliferative neoplasm presentation and time to diagnosis: results from a cross-sectional study.

Background: Early cancer recognition is key to improving patient outcomes. Diagnosis is often delayed in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), putting them at risk of thromboembolic events and other complications pre-diagnosis. A clear understanding of the barriers to presentation and diagnosis is required.

How and when post intensive care syndrome-family is measured: A scoping review.

Objectives: Family members of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients can experience mental health difficulties. These are collectively described as Post Intensive Care Syndrome-Family (PICS-F). There are no standardised outcome measures to benchmark the impact of PICS-F.

A qualitative exploration of the impact of educational social fields on mental health help-seeking in post-primary schools in Northern Ireland.

In a study of post-primary students in Northern Ireland, Bourdieu's concepts of cultural capital, habitus and fields are used to explore attitudes towards help-seeking from general practitioners (GPs). Findings from Grammar and Secondary Modern School students are compared using the role of educational fields in influencing help-seeking behaviours for mental health problems. Focus groups were conducted of 54 students at 10 post-primary schools in Northern Ireland, each consisting of 5-7 pupils, stratified by age (13-17 years) and gender.