Estimating municipal life expectancy and health-adjusted life expectancy in Canada, 2019 and 2020.

Background: Data measuring life expectancy (LE) and health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE) in Canada are available for large geographical areas, such as provinces, territories, and health regions. However, to date, no study has analyzed LE and HALE at the municipal level.

Data And Methods: Death and population counts from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2020, were retrieved for 1,227 census subdivisions (CSDs) in Canada.

Exploring the local impacts of heat on mortality: A small-area spatial analysis of Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, Canada.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to quantify the small-area associations between heat and mortality and to characterize the spatial patterns of mortality risks at hot temperatures.

Methods: Daily mortality and temperature data were retrieved for the cities of Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver during the summer months between 2018 and 2022. Spatial distributed lag non-linear models quantified the associations between temperature and mortality at the small-area scale.

Understanding mortality differentials of Black adults in Canada.

Background: It is not clear whether the increased mortality pattern observed in a prior analysis of the Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohorts for HIV/AIDS, diabetes, prostate cancer, and uterine cancer among Black adults is reflected in incident hospitalization (a marker of severity) or the diagnosis of these diseases, nor is it clear whether disparities exist regarding early screening and survivability.

Methods: To understand the paths that contribute to differential mortality patterns, standard Cox proportional hazard models were used to assess the incidence risk of diagnosis (uterine and prostate cancer) and incident hospitalization (HIV and diabetes) among 161,520 Black adults, compared with 6,866,070 White adults. Competing risk regression was used to evaluate the cumulative risk of death for the four disease outcomes since diagnosis or hospitalization.

Impact of a 10-year shift in ambient air quality on mortality in Canada: a causal analysis of multiple pollutants.

Background: The impact of past air quality improvements on health and equity at low pollution levels near the revised WHO air quality guidelines remains largely unknown. Less is known about the influence of simultaneous reductions in multiple major pollutants. Leveraging real-world improvements in air quality across Canada, we sought to directly evaluate their health benefits by quantifying the impact of a joint shift in three criteria pollutants on mortality in a national cohort.

The impacts of extreme heat events on non-accidental, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality: An analysis of 12 Canadian cities from 2000 to 2020.

Background: Extreme heat has significant impacts on mortality. In Canada, past research has analyzed the degree to which non-accidental mortality increases during single extreme heat events; however, few studies have considered multiple causes of death and the impacts of extreme heat events on mortality over longer time periods.

Data And Methods: Daily death counts attributable to non-accidental, cardiovascular, and respiratory causes were retrieved for the 12 most populous cities in Canada from 2000 to 2020.

Inequality in the Distribution of Air Pollution Attributable Mortality Within Canadian Cities.

Recent studies have identified inequality in the distribution of air pollution attributable health impacts, but to our knowledge this has not been examined in Canadian cities. We evaluated the extent and sources of inequality in air pollution attributable mortality at the census tract (CT) level in seven of Canada's largest cities. We first regressed fine particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen dioxide (NO) attributable mortality against the neighborhood (CT) level prevalence of age 65 and older, low income, low educational attainment, and identification as an Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) or Black person, accounting for spatial autocorrelation.

The prevalence of household air conditioning in Canada.

Background: Household air conditioning is one of the most effective approaches for reducing the health impacts of heat exposure; however, few studies have measured the prevalence of household air conditioning in Canada.

Data And Methods: Data were obtained from the 2017 Canadian Community Health Survey and the 2017 Households and the Environment Survey. Statistics Canada linked the survey respondents and created survey weights.

Impact of lowering fine particulate matter from major emission sources on mortality in Canada: A nationwide causal analysis.

Emissions of fine particulate matter (PM) from human activities have been linked to substantial disease burdens, but evidence regarding how reducing PM at its sources would improve public health is sparse. We followed a population-based cohort of 2.7 million adults across Canada from 2007 through 2016.

Urban-rural variation in the association between social support availability and cognitive function in middle-aged and older adults: Results from the baseline Tracking Cohort of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

The purpose of this study was to investigate if and how the associations between social support availability (SSA) and cognitive function varied across urban, rural, and geographical regions in Canada. Data from a population-level sample of community-dwelling adults aged 45-85 years were obtained from the baseline Tracking Cohort of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. The associations between SSA and two domains of cognitive function, memory and executive function, were analyzed using multilevel regression models.

A Replication of DiMaggio et al. (2020) in Phoenix, AZ.

This research replicates in Phoenix, Arizona a study originally conducted by DiMaggio et al. (2020) that investigated the associations between positive COVID-19 tests and demographic, socioeconomic, and racial characteristics in New York City at the ZIP Code Tabulation Area level. We extend that work through a conceptual replication that introduces covariates appropriate to Phoenix, AZ.

Examining the Association between Community-Level Marginalization and Emergency Room Wait Time in Ontario, Canada.

Objective: This study examines the association between community-level marginalization and emergency room (ER) wait time in Ontario.

Methods: Data sources included ER wait time data and Ontario Marginalization Index scores. Linear regression models were used to quantify the association.

Directed Evolution of Heterologous tRNAs Leads to Reduced Dependence on Post-transcriptional Modifications.

Heterologous tRNA:aminoacyl tRNA synthetase pairs are often employed for noncanonical amino acid incorporation in the quest for an expanded genetic code. In this work, we investigated one possible mechanism by which directed evolution can improve orthogonal behavior for a suite of Methanocaldococcus jannaschii ( Mj) tRNA-derived amber suppressor tRNAs. Northern blotting demonstrated that reduced expression of heterologous tRNA variants correlated with improved orthogonality.

Identifying food deserts and swamps based on relative healthy food access: a spatio-temporal Bayesian approach.

Background: Obesity and other adverse health outcomes are influenced by individual- and neighbourhood-scale risk factors, including the food environment. At the small-area scale, past research has analysed spatial patterns of food environments for one time period, overlooking how food environments change over time. Further, past research has infrequently analysed relative healthy food access (RHFA), a measure that is more representative of food purchasing and consumption behaviours than absolute outlet density.

A phase I dose-escalation clinical trial of a peptide-based human papillomavirus therapeutic vaccine with skin test reagent as a novel vaccine adjuvant for treating women with biopsy-proven cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2/3.

: Non-surgical treatments for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2/3 (CIN2/3) are needed as surgical treatments have been shown to double preterm delivery rate. The goal of this study was to demonstrate safety of a human papillomavirus (HPV) therapeutic vaccine called PepCan, which consists of four current good-manufacturing production-grade peptides covering the HPV type 16 E6 protein and skin test reagent as a novel adjuvant. : The study was a single-arm, single-institution, dose-escalation phase I clinical trial, and the patients (n = 24) were women with biopsy-proven CIN2/3.

Microanatomy of the cervical and anorectal squamocolumnar junctions: a proposed model for anatomical differences in HPV-related cancer risk.

Human papilloma virus (HPV) infection causes cancers and their precursors (high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions) near cervical and anal squamocolumnar junctions. Recently described cervical squamocolumnar junction cells are putative residual embryonic cells near the cervical transformation zone. These cells appear multipotential and share an identical immunophenotype (strongly CK7-positive) with over 90% of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions and cervical carcinomas.

Fli-1 expression in mycosis fungoides.

Background: The Fli-1 transcription factor functions in cellular proliferation and tumorigenesis. Its role in various neoplasms and its presence in lymphocytes suggest a link between Fli-1 dysregulation and the pathogenesis of mycosis fungoides (MF). In this study, we further elucidate this possible link.