Four COVID-19 screening strategies for early case identification within the homeless shelter population: a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Background: To compare the effectiveness of four surveillance strategies for detecting SARS-CoV-2 within the homeless shelter population in Hamilton, ON and assess participant adherence over time for each surveillance method.

Methods: This was an open-label, cluster-randomized controlled trial conducted in eleven homeless shelters in Hamilton, Ontario, from April 2020 to January 2021. All participants who consented to the study and participated in the surveillance were eligible for testing by self-swabbing.

Clinical characteristics and prognostic factors among hospitalized patients with substance use disorders: Findings from a retrospective cohort study of a Canadian inpatient addiction medicine service.

Introduction: Inpatient addiction medicine services (AMS) were developed in response to the growing needs of hospitalized individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs). AMS aim to enable timely initiation of pharmacologic treatment, build hospital capacity to support patients who use substances, and facilitate transition to community services. As an emerging service being adopted in hospitals across North America, the model of care, populations served, substance use trends, and clinical trajectory has not been widely described.

"They forgot about us": experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic among people deprived of housing in an urban centre in Ontario, Canada.

Objectives: People deprived of housing have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the public health mitigation measures implemented in response. Emerging evidence has shown the adverse health outcomes experienced by these communities due to SARS-CoV-2 infection; however, the voices of community members themselves have not been widely amplified in the published literature.

Methods: We conducted an interpretive qualitative study.

'It's so simple' Lessons from the margins: a qualitative study of patient experiences of a mobile health clinic in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Objective: Our study explored the experiences of clients of HAMSMaRT (Hamilton Social Medicine Response Team), a mobile health service, in the context of their experiences of the overall healthcare system.

Design: We conducted a qualitative study with reflexive thematic analysis.

Setting: HAMSMaRT is a mobile health service in Hamilton, Ontario Canada providing primary care, internal and addiction medicine and infectious diseases services.

"They're causing more harm than good": a qualitative study exploring racism in harm reduction through the experiences of racialized people who use drugs.

Background: Increased opioid-related morbidity and mortality in racialized communities has highlighted the intersectional nature of the drug policy crisis. Given the racist evolution of the war on drugs and the harm reduction (HR) movement, the aim of this study is to explore racism within harm reduction services through the perspectives of our participants.

Methods: We conducted a qualitative descriptive study to explore the perspectives of racialized service users and providers on racism in the HR movement in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA).

Sex-Specific Risk Factors and Health Disparity Among Hepatitis C Positive Patients Receiving Pharmacotherapy for Opioid Use Disorder: Findings From a Propensity Matched Analysis.

Background: The incidence of opioid-related fatality has reached unparalleled levels across North America. Patients with comorbid hepatitis C virus (HCV) remain the most vulnerable and difficult to treat. Considering the unique challenges associated with this population, we aimed to re-examine the impact of HCV on response to medication assistant treatment for opioid use disorder and establish sex-specific risk factors affecting care.

The Second Heart Program-A multidisciplinary team supporting people who inject drugs with infective endocarditis: Protocol of a feasibility study.

Introduction: Infective endocarditis (IE) is a severe and highly prevalent infection among people who inject drugs (PWID). While short-term (30-day) outcomes are similar between PWID and non-PWID, the long-term outcomes among PWID after IE are poor, with 1-year mortality rates in excess of 25%. Novel clinical interventions are needed to address the unique needs of PWID with IE, including increasing access to substance use treatment and addressing structural barriers and social determinants of health.

Hospital policy as a harm reduction intervention for people who use drugs.

Hospitals are a critical touchpoint for people who use drugs (PWUD). However, hospital policies, both formal and informal, can have a detrimental impact on PWUD in acute care settings. Introducing new policies, or revising existing policies that inadvertently harm or stigmatize PWUD while hospitalized, could be an effective harm reduction intervention for this high-risk population.

Peer support workers as a bridge: a qualitative study exploring the role of peer support workers in the care of people who use drugs during and after hospitalization.

Background: To describe the key qualities and unique roles of peer support workers in the care of people who inject drugs during and after hospitalization.

Methods: We conducted a qualitative study. Key stakeholders were recruited including: people who use drugs who had been hospitalized, healthcare team members, peer support workers, and employers of peer support workers.

"When you first walk out the gates…where do [you] go?": Barriers and opportunities to achieving continuity of health care at the time of release from a provincial jail in Ontario.

We aimed to explore continuity of health care and health barriers, facilitators, and opportunities for people at the time of release from a provincial correctional facility in Ontario, Canada. We conducted focus groups in community-based organizations in a city in Ontario, Canada: a men's homeless shelter, a mental health service organization, and a social service agency with programs for people with substance use disorders. We included adults who spoke English well enough to participate in the discussion and who had been released from the provincial correctional facility in the previous year.

The effectiveness of substance use interventions for homeless and vulnerably housed persons: A systematic review of systematic reviews on supervised consumption facilities, managed alcohol programs, and pharmacological agents for opioid use disorder.

Background: Substance use is disproportionately high among people who are homeless or vulnerably housed. We performed a systematic overview of reviews examining the effects of selected harm reduction and pharmacological interventions on the health and social well-being of people who use substances, with a focus on homeless populations.

Methods And Findings: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Joanna Briggs Institute EBP, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and DARE for systematic reviews from inception to August 2019.

Thirty-day readmission after medical-surgical hospitalization for people who experience imprisonment in Ontario, Canada: A retrospective cohort study.

We aimed to compare 30-day readmission after medical-surgical hospitalization for people who experience imprisonment and matched people in the general population in Ontario, Canada. We used linked population-based correctional and health administrative data. Of people released from Ontario prisons in 2010, we identified those with at least one medical or surgical hospitalization between 2005 and 2015 while they were in prison or within 6 months after release.

"They Will Come to Understand": Supervisor Reflections on International Medical Electives.

: Increasing numbers of medical students from high-income countries are undertaking international medical electives (IMEs) during their training. Much has been written about the benefits of these experiences for the student, and concerns have been raised regarding the burden of IMEs on host communities. The voices of physicians from low- and middle-income countries who supervise IMEs have not been explored in depth.

Flow cytometric analysis of FSHR, BMRR1B, LHR and apoptosis in granulosa cells and ovulation rate in merino sheep.

The aim of the present study was to determine the direct cause of the mutation-induced, increased ovulation rate in Booroola Merino (BB) sheep. Granulosa cells were removed from antral follicles before ovulation and post-ovulation from BB (n=5) and WT (n=12) Merino ewes. Direct immunofluorescence measurement of mature cell surface receptors using flow cytometry demonstrated a significant up-regulation of FSH receptor (FSHR), transforming growth factor beta type 1, bone morphogenetic protein receptor (BMPR1B), and LH receptor (LHR) in BB sheep.

Reducing stigma in healthcare and law enforcement: a novel approach to service provision for street level sex workers.

Introduction: Providing services for street level sex workers requires a multidisciplinary approach, addressing both health and safety concerns typical of their age and gender and those that arise specific to their line of work. Despite being a diverse population, studies have identified some specific health needs for sex workers including addictions treatment, mental health. Additionally, studies have shown a higher risk of physical and sexual assault for this population.

Toward reciprocity: host supervisor perspectives on international medical electives.

Context: An increasing number of medical students are engaging in international medical electives, the majority of which involve travel from northern, higher-income countries to southern, lower-income countries. Existing research has identified benefits to students participating in these experiences. However, reports on the impacts on host communities are largely absent from the literature.

Insulinotrophic and insulin-like effects of a high molecular weight aqueous extract of Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb. hardwood.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb. (PM) is an Ayurvedic traditional medicine well known for its antidiabetic potential.

Aim: To fractionate the antidiabetic constituent(s) of the aqueous of extract of PM hardwood (PME).

Prevalence and morphological types of anaemia and hookworm infestation in the medical emergency ward, Mulago Hospital, Uganda.

Introduction: Anaemia is common worldwide, although the burden is highest in developing countries where nutrient deficiencies and chronic infections are prevalent.

Objective: To determine the prevalence and morphological types of anaemia and assess the hookworm burden among patients in the medical emergency ward at Mulago national referral hospital, Uganda.

Methods: In a cross-sectional descriptive study 395 patients were recruited by systematic random sampling and their socio-demographic characteristics and clinical details collected.

Ovarian follicle development in Booroola sheep exhibiting impaired bone morphogenetic protein signalling pathway.

The role of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) in the regulation of ovarian function has been extensively investigated but the mechanism of regulation is not well understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of mutation in the BMP receptor in Booroola sheep on the number of primordial follicles and rate of follicle recruitment in comparison with that in normal merino sheep in vivo. Whole sheep ovaries at the time of birth, 1.

Cost analysis of multiplex PCR testing for diagnosing respiratory virus infections.

We performed a cost analysis study using decision tree modeling to determine whether the use of multiplex PCR testing for respiratory viruses (xTAG RVP test) is a more or less costly strategy than the status quo testing methods used for the diagnosis of respiratory virus infections in pediatric patients. The decision tree model was constructed by using four testing strategies for respiratory virus detection, viz., direct fluorescent-antibody staining (DFA) alone, DFA plus shell vial culture (SVC), the xTAG RVP test alone, or DFA plus the xTAG RVP test.

Changes in concentrations of follistatin in maternal plasma and foetal fluids during pregnancy and parturition in sheep.

Studies have shown that follistatin may be involved in the regulation of ovarian development, pregnancy and parturition. The aim of the present study was to measure follistatin levels in maternal plasma and foetal fluids during pregnancy and parturition in sheep. Using a previously described follistatin radioimmunoassay, we found that follistatin in foetal plasma and allantoic fluid was higher in the female than in the male at days 50-75 of gestation.