Influence of microplastic colour on photodegradation of sorbed contaminants.

Microplastics are ubiquitous in the environment, accumulate hydrophobic organic contaminants, and suppress the photodegradative loss of these contaminants. Thus, they have the potential to act as vectors for contaminant uptake by organisms and transport to remote regions. Our current understanding of microplastic-sorbed contaminant photodegradation is drawn from experiments with unpigmented microplastics, but the interaction of pigments with light may alter the loss and corresponding persistence of sorbed contaminants.

Attitudes and perceptions of biomedical journal editors in chief towards the use of artificial intelligence chatbots in the scholarly publishing process: a cross-sectional survey.

Background: Artificial intelligence chatbots (AICs) are designed to mimic human conversations through text or speech, offering both opportunities and challenges in scholarly publishing. While journal policies of AICs are becoming more defined, there is still a limited understanding of how Editors in chief (EiCs) of biomedical journals' view these tools. This survey examined EiCs' attitudes and perceptions, highlighting positive aspects, such as language and grammar support, and concerns regarding setup time, training requirements, and ethical considerations towards the use of AICs in the scholarly publishing process.

Supporting decision making for individuals living with dementia and their care partners with knowledge translation: An umbrella review.

Living with dementia requires decision making about numerous topics including daily activities and advance care planning (ACP). Both individuals living with dementia and care partners require informed support for decision making. We conducted an umbrella review to assess knowledge translation (KT) interventions supporting decision making for individuals living with dementia and their informal care partners.

Surgical Reconstruction Techniques for Irreparable Subscapularis Tears Provide Functional Improvement but Variable Failure Rates: A Systematic Review.

Introduction/objectives: Irreparable subscapularis tears can cause severe functional impairment and present significant clinical challenges. Current treatment options include tendon transfers (TTs), anterior capsular reconstruction, and reverse shoulder arthroplasty. Each approach has distinct biomechanical advantages and limitations, but there remains no consensus regarding the optimal treatment.

Plasma transfusion practice: A five-year audit of plasma transfusion at 23 hospitals.

Background: There is limited high-quality evidence to guide plasma transfusion, and plasma transfusion practices remain variable.

Study Design And Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study that included adult medical and intensive care unit (ICU) inpatients (age ≥ 18 years) admitted to 23 hospitals in Canada between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2022, when both whole blood derived (~290 mL) and apheresis plasma (~250 mL) were available for transfusion. Nine additional hospital sites with missing plasma data or coagulation testing were excluded.

Predicting Treatment Response in Retinal Vein Occlusions Using Baseline Optical Coherence Tomography Biomarkers: A Systematic Review.

This systematic review examines the prognostic value of baseline optical coherence tomography (OCT) biomarkers in predicting visual acuity (VA) outcomes for eyes with macular edema secondary to retinal vein occlusions (RVO) treated with anti-VEGF therapies, steroids, laser photocoagulation, or combination treatments. VA predictions at 6, 12, and 24 months post-treatment were assessed using a narrative synthesis approach and vote counting based on effect direction relative to a minimal clinically important difference. Certainty of evidence was evaluated using GRADE guidelines.

Patient Roles and Patient Knowledge in Learning Health Systems.

Learning health systems collect and analyse data on an ongoing basis to make real-time, evidence-informed decisions. Patient involvement is central to learning health systems. In this perspective paper, we describe implications that LHSs' distinguishing features have for patient involvement.

Effective nutritional intervention improves the health-related quality of life (HRQL) of undernourished children with cancer: results of a randomized, controlled phase 3 trial.

Purpose: The association of nutritional intervention and health-related quality of life (HRQL) was examined in children with cancer.

Methods: Undernourished children with cancer (N = 260) were randomized 1:1 to standard nutritional therapy (SNT) or SNT + Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF). HRQL was assessed using the Health Utilities Index® (HUI) at study entry and 6 weeks later.

What Do We Think of Shy Adults? Influence of One's Own Shyness and Sociability.

Objective: Shyness is a ubiquitous personality characteristic present across historical time and cultures. Yet, little is known about perceptions of shy adults in Western society. We examined emerging adults' perceptions of shy and sociable women and whether one's own personality influenced their perceptions.

Polypill in heart failure: a pathway to simplified treatment and improved adherence and outcomes.

Heart failure (HF) remains a global health challenge that imposes significant clinical and economic burden. Treatment adherence to guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) remains a major challenge in the management of HF, despite the availability of guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT). Polypharmacy and regimen complexity contribute to poor adherence, particularly among older adults and in resource-limited settings.

Dosimetric Outcomes of SBRT to Ultra-central Lung Tumors: Lessons from the SUNSET trial.

Purpose / Introduction: The BLINDED FOR REVIEW trial investigated the maximum tolerated dose for ultracentral lung tumors treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). Here we report a spatial and dosimetric secondary analysis of the treatment plans and assess relationships between doses to targets, organs-at-risk (OARs) and clinical outcomes.

Material And Methods: Five institutions enrolled patients with ultracentral lung cancer, cT1-3N0M0, and all received 60 Gy in 8 fractions.

Reproductive and maternal child health experiences of Indigenous women in prison: A scoping review.

In the context of the over-representation of women who are Indigenous in prisons and historical and structural barriers to health, we undertook a scoping review to understand research regarding the reproductive and maternal health experiences of Indigenous women in prison in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the USA. We searched online databases in May 2022 since inception, as well as Google and governmental websites between December 2022 and March 2023. We identified 8 eligible articles.

Southern European Prospective Investigation Into Childhood Cancer and Nutrition (EPICkids): Study design and protocol.

The survival rates for children with cancer have increased appreciably over the last few decades; however, childhood cancer survivors continue to suffer from long-lasting sequelae. Studies have demonstrated that the presence of malnutrition, over- and under-nutrition, at diagnosis or the duration of malnutrition during treatment is associated with increased toxicity, infection, and inferior survival. Dietary habits, along with behavioral and socioeconomic status, are known factors that lead to obesity or undernutrition and can affect the prognosis and quality of life of children with cancer.

Metabolomics reveal distinct molecular pathways associated with future risk of Crohn's Disease.

Host - microbiome interactions are central to Crohn'sdisease (CD) pathogenesis; yet the early metabolic alterations that precededisease onset remain poorly defined. To explore preclinical metabolicsignatures of CD, we analyzed baseline serum metabolomic profiles in a nestedcase-control study within the Crohn's and Colitis Canada - Genetics, Environment, Microbiome (CCC-GEM) Project, a prospective cohort of 5,122 healthyfirst-degree relatives (FDRs) of CD patients. We included 78 individuals wholater developed CD and 311 matched FDRs who remained disease-free.

Functional differentiation of industrial hemp rhizosphere microbiome along environmental gradients.

The southwestern, central, and northeastern regions of China are the primary cultivation areas for industrial hemp. Microorganisms within the soil-root continuum play a crucial role in plant health. However, the mechanisms by which these microbial communities respond to environmental gradients remain unclear.

Cannabis Use Characteristics and Reasons for Product Choices Among Patients Accessing Treatment for Substance Use Disorders: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Objective: The diversity and potency of cannabis products have increased in recent years, underscoring the importance of understanding which products are being used and why. Patients with substance use disorders (SUDs) use have a high prevalence of risky cannabis use, making it especially important to understand use patterns in this group. We aimed to first describe cannabis product characteristics and then explore reasons for choosing products in our sample.

Rasch Analysis of Cannabis Use Disorder in an Adult Inpatient Sample.

Objective: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders version 5 (DSM-5) defines cannabis use disorder as a polythetic unidimensional diagnosis (>2 symptoms from up to 11), but few studies have empirically evaluated the latent structure of CUD. Rasch analysis is a psychometric technique that has previously been used to validate unidimensional scales, like DSM-5 CUD.

Method: In this study, the Rasch model was used to evaluate the DSM-5 CUD criteria in a clinical sample of adults receiving inpatient treatment for substance use disorder ( = 249) reporting active cannabis use at admission.

From greens to safety: Exploring the relationship between outdoor neighborhood conditions, neighborly bonds, and social integration among public housing residents.

This study aims to examine the relationship between outdoor environmental quality, trust in neighbors, and social integration among residents of public rental housing in Seoul, South Korea. It also investigates how neighborly relationships moderate this association. The study uses data from the 2016-2021 Seoul Public Rental Housing Panel Survey (SPRHPS) and applies individual fixed effects models to examine how outdoor environmental quality affects trust in neighbors.

Transforming healthcare: the PEACH Approach to reducing emissions and achieving net-zero.

The healthcare sector has recognised its significant emissions and climate impact, and is beginning to address emission hotspots. However, implementing necessary changes while working with current stressors in the sector such as high patient volumes, limited resources, and staffing shortages, remains a challenge. PEACH Health Ontario (Partnerships for Environmental Action by Communities within Health care systems) was launched in 2021 to address this and has grown to a national scope of work with some of our initiatives.

Prevalence, Age of Onset, Age at Diagnosis, and Family History of Hidradenitis Suppurativa in Pediatric Populations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Introduction: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory skin condition characterized by recurrent nodules and abscesses in intertriginous areas, ultimately resulting in scarring and formation of sinus tracts. HS significantly impacts quality of life and can also affect pediatric populations. We aimed to determine the prevalence, family history, age of onset, and age at diagnosis of HS in pediatric populations.

Efficacy of Stereotactic Ablative Body Radiotherapy (SABR) in uncommon subtypes of primary kidney cancer: An analysis from the International Radiosurgery Oncology Consortium of the Kidney.

Background: While stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR) is associated with excellent local control for primary renal cell carcinoma (RCC), outcomes based on clear-cell (ccRCC) and non-clear cell (nccRCC) histologies are not well defined.

Methods And Materials: Individual data of adult patient with biopsy confirmed primary RCC receiving SABR between 2007 and 2021 from 16 institutions in Australia, Canda, Germany, Japan and USA pooled. Patients with metastatic disease or upper tract urothelial carcinoma were excluded.

Importance of responder criteria for reporting health-related quality-of-life data in clinical trials for advanced cancer: recommendations of Common Sense Oncology and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer.

The goals of treatment for people with advanced cancer are to prolong survival and improve symptoms and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Although many phase 3 randomised clinical trials seek to evaluate HRQOL during treatment, informing individual patients about expected HRQOL outcomes is challenging, as the common method of analysis and reporting compares averages for randomised groups, and clinicians find these data difficult to apply in clinical practice. Symptomatic patients with advanced cancer would like to know the probability that a proposed treatment might improve their survival or their dominant symptoms, and the probability of having treatment-related side-effects.

Metastases-directed therapy in addition to standard systemic therapy in oligometastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer in Canada (GROUQ-PCS 9): a multicentre, open-label, randomised, phase 2 trial.

Background: The role of metastasis-directed therapy (MDT) in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) remains unclear. Prostate Cancer Study 9 (PCS-9) aimed to evaluate the benefits of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) in addition to standard systemic therapy in patients with oligometastatic CRPC.

Methods: This open-label, randomised, phase 2 trial was conducted across 13 Canadian academic and community oncology centres.