Long-Term Effectiveness of Scleral Lens Treatment in the Management of Keratoconus: A Systematic Review.

This systematic review evaluates the long-term effectiveness of scleral lenses in improving visual outcomes, patient satisfaction, and safety in patients with keratoconus. A systematic search of six databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and MEDLINE) was performed following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The inclusion criteria included studies with more than or equal to three months of follow-up, included a minimum of 20 keratoconus patients, published after year 2020 and outcomes reporting visual acuity, comfort or quality of life.

Summary of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) Statement-Updated guidance on Imvamune in the context of a routine immunization program.

Background: Mpox is a viral illness related to smallpox. It can cause flu-like symptoms and a rash, and in severe cases, can lead to hospitalization or death. The Imvamune® vaccine offers protection against mpox.

The prevalence of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (HIV-PrEP) use and HIV-PrEP-to-need ratio in nine Canadian provinces, 2018-2021.

Background: Measuring trends in HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (HIV-PrEP) uptake is important to inform planning for prevention programs and policies. The HIV-PrEP-to-need ratio (PnR) is a construct used by public health organizations to explore disparities in the provision of HIV-PrEP across geographic areas and demographic categories (e.g.

Using behavioural science to improve antibiotic stewardship in Canadian long-term care homes: Protocol for a multi-center cluster randomized quality improvement study.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is associated with significant human and financial costs, particularly among vulnerable populations like older adults living in long-term care homes (LTCHs). Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the leading indication for antibiotic use in this population, with some estimates suggesting that up to 70% of these prescriptions may be avoidable.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to develop and test novel behavioural science-informed antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) quality improvement strategies in Canadian LTCHs, which aim to decrease unnecessary testing and treatment for residents who lack the minimum clinical signs and symptoms of UTI.

Burden of disease of respiratory syncytial virus in older adults and adults considered at high risk of severe infection.

Background: Availability of new vaccines for adults has increased interest in understanding Canada's respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) burden in older adults and adults considered at high risk of severe infection.

Objective: To characterize the burden of RSV disease in Canada by joint analysis of the published literature and hospitalization data from a healthcare administrative database.

Methods: Electronic databases of published literature were searched to identify studies and systematic reviews reporting data on outpatient visits, hospitalizations, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions and deaths associated with RSV infection in adults.

Diet diversity score might be associated with reproductive health in women and infant outcomes: a systematic review.

Lifestyle and diet may affect the reproductive cycle. A dietary index called Diet Diversity Score (DDS) may be related to various reproductive outcomes. The present review aims to look over and conclude the prior studies on the relationship between the diversity of food ingredients and issues related to reproductive health and pregnancy.

Fertility journey of a patient with McCune-Albright syndrome associated with bilateral ovarian involvement.

Objective: To report a patient with McCune-Albright syndrome (MAS) with bilateral ovarian involvement who had achieved a pregnancy through in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Design: Case report.

Setting: Academic fertility center.

Changing or validating physician opioid prescribing behaviors through audit and feedback and academic detailing interventions in primary care.

Background: In Ontario, Canada, province-wide initiatives supporting safer opioid prescribing in primary care include voluntary audit and feedback reports and academic detailing. In this process evaluation, we aimed to determine the fidelity of delivery and receipt of the interventions, the observed change strategies used by physicians, potential mechanisms of action, and how complementary the initiatives can be to each other.

Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with academic detailers and with physicians who received both interventions.

Surgery versus surveillance for ascending aortic aneurysms in elderly patients.

Background: Whether elderly patients with aortic root or ascending aortic aneurysm (ATAA) would benefit from the new surgical size threshold of 5.0 cm is unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the natural history of ATAA in elderly patients and to compare long-term outcomes of those who underwent initial surveillance versus surgery.

Sex and gender in perioperative cardiovascular research: protocol for a scoping review.

Background: The inadequate inclusion of sex and gender in medical research has resulted in biased clinical guidance and disparities in knowledge and patient outcomes. Despite efforts by regulatory and funding agencies, opportunities to generate sex-specific knowledge are frequently overlooked. While certain disciplines in cardiovascular medicine have made notable progress, these advances have yet to permeate the literature on perioperative cardiovascular complications in non-cardiac surgery.

Low L3 skeletal muscle index and endometrial cancer: a statistic pooling analysis.

Objective: Sarcopenia, a condition characterized by the gradual decline of muscle mass, strength, and function, is a key indicator of malnutrition in cancer patients and has been linked to poor prognoses in oncology. Sarcopenia is commonly assessed by measuring the skeletal muscle index (SMI) of the third lumbar spine (L3) using computed tomography (CT). This meta-analysis aimed to explore the relationship between low SMI and clinicopathological features, as well as prognosis, in individuals with endometrial cancer (EC).

A park-based group mobility program for older adults with difficulty walking outdoors: a qualitative process evaluation of the Getting Older Adults Outdoors (GO-OUT) randomized controlled trial.

Background: The Getting Older Adults Outdoors (GO-OUT) randomized controlled trial showed that a workshop and 10-week park-based outdoor walk group (OWG) was superior to the workshop and 10 weekly reminders (WR) with increasing walking capacity, but not outdoor walking activity, health-promoting behavior, or successful aging, among older adults with difficulty walking outdoors. The objective of this planned process evaluation was to explore participants' perceptions of mechanisms of impact of and contextual factors influencing experiences with the interventions to help explain the observed intervention effects on study outcomes.

Methods: A qualitative descriptive study involving semi-structured interviews conducted at 6-months post-baseline was conducted.

DJK-5, an anti-biofilm peptide, increases Staphylococcus aureus sensitivity to colistin killing in co-biofilms with Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Chronic infections represent a significant global health and economic challenge. Biofilms, which are bacterial communities encased in an extracellular polysaccharide matrix, contribute to approximately 80% of these infections. In particular, pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus are frequently co-isolated from the sputum of patients with cystic fibrosis and are commonly found in chronic wound infections.

Ghrelin recruits the endocannabinoid system to modulate food reward.

Ghrelin enhances feeding by activating the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR). In the brain, GHSRs are expressed in regions responsible for regulating food motivation including the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Endogenous cannabinoids also promote food seeking behaviors through the cannabinoid receptor 1 type (CB-1Rs) in brain regions including the VTA.

Fish models to explore epigenetic determinants of hypoxia-tolerance.

The occurrence of environmental hypoxia in freshwater and marine aquatic systems has increased over the last century and is predicted to further increase with climate change. As members of the largest extant vertebrate group, freshwater fishes, and to a much lesser extent marine fishes, are vulnerable to increased occurrence of hypoxia. This is important as fishes render important ecosystem services and have important cultural and economic roles.

Characterizing the ideal patient for treatment with inotuzumab ozogamicin for relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a systematic literature review.

Introduction: Inotuzumab ozogamicin(InO) is indicated for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory(R/R) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). This systematic literature review (CRD42022330496) assessed outcomes bybaseline characteristics for patients with R/R ALL treated with InO to identifywhich patients may benefit most.

Methods: In adherencewith PRISMA guidelines, searches were run in Embase and MEDLINE.

Frequency of Missing TNM Stage Data for Adults With Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities in a Provincial Cancer Registry-A Brief Report.

Background: Adults with intellectual or developmental disability (IDD) are at higher risk for incomplete cancer staging.

Aim: To compare unknown stage data between those with and without IDD.

Materials And Methods: We used the Ontario Cancer Registry linked to administrative health data between 2007 and 2019.

A Realist Scoping Review of Community Nutrition Interventions in the UK: Implications for the 'Nutrition Skills for Life' Programme.

Background: Nutrition Skills for Life (NSFL) provides training and support for communities and organisations to implement Community Nutrition Interventions (CNIs) that meet identified needs. To inform future NSFL evaluation, this scoping review, using a realist approach sought to determine the underpinning initial programme theory (IPT) for how CNIs support socioeconomically disadvantaged (SED) communities to access a healthy diet, as detailed in the protocol doi.org/10.

Mental Health Care Utilization and Prescription Rates Among Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults in France.

Importance: Amid escalating mental health challenges among young individuals, intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic, analyzing postpandemic trends is critical.

Objective: To examine mental health care utilization and prescription rates for children, adolescents, and young adults before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This population-based time trend study used an interrupted time series analysis to examine mental health care and prescription patterns among the French population 25 years and younger.

Serum glial fibrillary acidic protein in acute stroke: feasibility to determine stroke-type, timeline and tissue-impact.

Background: Interest is emerging regarding the role of blood biomarkers in acute stroke. The aim of this pilot study was to determine the feasibility of biomarker acquisition in suspected acute stroke, using modern ultrasensitive immunoassay techniques, and explore their potential usefulness for stroke diagnosis and management.

Methods: In 62 patients with suspected acute stroke, blood samples were prospectively obtained upon arrival and prior to neuroimaging.

Adapting single-walled carbon nanotube-based thin-film transistors to flexible substrates with electrolyte-gated configurations using a versatile tri-layer polymer dielectric.

Flexibility has been a key selling point in the development of carbon-based electronics and sensors with the promise of further development into wearable devices. Semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) lend themselves well to applications requiring flexibility while achieving high-performance. Our previous work has demonstrated a tri-layer polymer dielectric composed of poly(lactic acid) (PLA), poly(vinyl alcohol) with cellulose nanocrystals (PVAc), and toluene diisocyanate-terminated poly(caprolactone) (TPCL), yielding an environmentally benign and solution-processable n-type thin-film transistor (TFT).

A color-coordinated approach to the flow synthesis of silver nanoparticles with custom morphologies.

In an effort to meet the high demand for silver nanostructures in both research and consumer applications, we devise a simple and readily scaleable photochemical method through which silver nanostructures of varying morphologies, sizes, and optical properties can be synthesized using batch and flow photochemical strategies. For the latter we build upon the application of a wrapped-lamp photochemical flow system recently developed by our group to enable sequential irradiation with several wavelengths of LEDs in series in an approach that we describe as "plasmon pushing". We find that this strategy can accelerate the conversion of silver nanoparticle seeds to decahedral and triangular nanostructures, and that with it we have control over the tuning of the size and optical properties of triangular nanostructures in the red and near-IR regions.

Efficacy of radiosurgery with and without angioembolization: A subgroup analysis of effectiveness in ruptured versus unruptured arteriovenous malformations - An updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Congenital arterial defects such as cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) increase brain bleeding risk. Conservative therapy, microsurgical removal, percutaneous embolization, stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), or a combination may treat this serious disease. This study compares angioembolization with SRS to SRS alone in ruptured or unruptured brain ateriovenous malformations (BAVM) patients.

Health recommender systems to facilitate collaborative decision-making in chronic disease management: A scoping review.

Objective: Health recommender systems (HRSs) are increasingly used to complement existing clinical decision-making processes, but their use for chronic diseases remains underexplored. Recognizing the importance of collaborative decision making (CDM) and patient engagement in chronic disease treatment, this review explored how HRSs support patients in managing their illness.

Methods: A scoping review was conducted using the framework proposed by Arksey and O'Malley, advanced by Levac et al.

Definitions of Hemodynamic Instability Related to Renal Replacement Therapy in Critically Ill Patients: A Systematic Review Protocol.

Background: Hemodynamic instability related to renal replacement therapy (HIRRT) is a common complication affecting critically ill patients that require renal replacement therapy (RRT). There is currently no consensus regarding the definition of HIRRT in critically ill patients. In this context, the impacts of HIRRT on clinical outcomes such as mortality or renal recovery in critically ill patients are unclear.