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Comparative effectiveness of total hip arthroplasty and hemiarthroplasty for femoral neck fracture: A Propensity-Score-Matched Cohort Study
No full textBackground:
The optimal treatment of older patients with a displaced femoral neck fracture remains a controversial topic. This study aimed to compare clinical outcomes across a matched group of patients with a femoral neck fracture treated with either hemiarthroplasty or total hip arthroplasty (THA).
Methods:
Routinely collected health-care databases were linked to create a population-based cohort of 49,597 patients ≥60 years old from Ontario, Canada, who underwent hemiarthroplasty or THA for a femoral neck fracture between 2002 and 2017. A propensity-score-matched cohort was created using relevant and available predictors of treatment assignment and outcomes of interest. Clinical outcomes consisting of hip dislocation, revision surgery, hospital readmission, and death were compared in the matched cohort using survival analysis.
Results:
Over 99% of THA patients (4,612) were adequately matched 1:1 to hemiarthroplasty patients (total matched cohort = 9,224). Patients treated with THA were at higher risk for hip dislocation at 30 days and 1 and 2 years postoperatively (2-year risk, 1.8% for THA versus 0.8% for hemiarthroplasty; p < 0.001). There was no difference in the short-term (30-day) or long-term (up to 10-year) risk of revision surgery between treatment groups. There was no significant difference in the risk of 30-day hospital readmission between groups. The risk of death at 1 year and 2 years postoperatively was lower for patients treated with THA.
Conclusions:
For patients with a hip fracture, shared decision-making should involve discussion of the potential higher risk of short-term hip dislocation after THA compared with hemiarthroplasty. The risk of revision surgery was similar between treatment groups at up to 10 years of follow-up.
Level of Evidence:
Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence
Recent advances in the production processes of hydrothermal liquefaction biocrude and aid-in investigation techniques
No full text91 Horse owners’ perspectives of horse weight management
No full textEquine obesity is a significant welfare issue in developed countries. As the main decision-maker for horses, owners are at the forefront of horse welfare, yet limited research has assessed owners’ role in horse weight management. This study aimed to: 1) compare horse owner assessments of their horses’ weight with a veterinarian assessment and, 2) identify how horse owners understand their horses’ weight and implement weight management strategies in practice. An on-farm horse care questionnaire was administered to 76 horse owners in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Owners indicated whether they thought their horse(s) were underweight, healthy, or overweight. Owner and veterinarian perception of horse weight was compared using a 3-by-3 table and kappa statistics (n = 411 horses). Of the 76 owners, 24 owners of overweight horses were purposively sampled to participate in in-depth qualitative interviews. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using template analysis, a qualitative research approach in which textual data are coded to identify patterns and develop overarching themes. There was fair agreement (kappa = 0.4) between the veterinarian's and owners’ weight assessment, but owners tended to underestimate (20%) versus overestimate (9%) their horses’ weight. Analysis of the in-depth interviews (a total of 24 h of conversation) revealed that horse owners discussed weight management in complex ways that incorporated aspects of their horses’welfare and background. Owners discussed trade-offs between managing horses in outdoor, group environments and maintaining their horse within a “healthy” weight. Further, emotional responses to managing under- versus overweight horses and societal norms influenced horse owners’ decisions toward managing their horses as slightly overweight compared with slightly underweight despite their belief that horses’ physical health is better when managed as slightly underweight. Owners took personal responsibility of weight management-related decisions for their horse(s) but sought knowledge from respected horse owners in their community. Owners constructed the veterinarians’ role as predominantly treatment-oriented and did not consider them resources for preventative care related to horse weight management. These findings suggest that owners place importance on managing their horses' weight yet face intrinsic and extrinsic barriers that require shifts in societal paradigms and enhancement of knowledge transfer. Emphasis for knowledge dissemination and translation may need to be placed on equestrian bodies outside of the veterinary community, given that horse owners consider their peers a primary knowledge source
Annotation of natural product compound families using molecular networking topology and structural similarity fingerprinting
No full textSpectral matching of MS2 fragmentation spectra has become a popular method for characterizing natural products libraries but identification remains challenging due to differences in MS2 fragmentation properties between instruments and the low coverage of current spectral reference libraries. To address this bottleneck we present Structural similarity Network Annotation Platform for Mass Spectrometry (SNAP-MS) which matches chemical similarity grouping in the Natural Products Atlas to grouping of mass spectrometry features from molecular networking. This approach assigns compound families to molecular networking subnetworks without the need for experimental or calculated reference spectra. We demonstrate SNAP-MS can accurately annotate subnetworks built from both reference spectra and an in-house microbial extract library, and correctly predict compound families from published molecular networks acquired on a range of MS instrumentation. Compound family annotations for the microbial extract library are validated by co-injection of standards or isolation and spectroscopic analysis. SNAP-MS is freely available at www.npatlas.org/discover/snapms
Caryophyllene sesquiterpenes from a chaetomium globosum endophyte of the Canadian medicinal plant empetrum nigrum
No full textPunctaporonins T (1) and U (2), new caryophyllene sesquiterpenes, were isolated with three known punctaporonins, A (3), B (4), and C (5), from the endophytic fungus Chaetomium globosum (TC2-041). The structures and relative configurations of punctaporonins T and U were elucidated based on a combination of HRESIMS, 1D/2D NMR spectroscopic analysis, and X-ray diffraction analysis, while their absolute configuration is presumed to be consistent with the co-isolated 3–5 on biogenetic arguments. Compound 1 showed weak inhibitory activity against both Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Staphylococcus aureus
Veterinarian burnout demographics and organizational impacts: A narrative review
No full textBurnout is a work-related syndrome of physical and emotional exhaustion secondary to prolonged, unresolvable occupational stress. Individuals of different demographic cohorts may have disparate experiences of workplace stressors and burnout impacts. Healthcare organizations are adversely affected by burnt out workers through decreased productivity, low morale, suboptimal teamwork, and potential impacts on the quality of patient care. In this second of two companion reviews, the demographics of veterinary burnout and the impacts of burnout on affected individuals and work environments are summarized, before discussing mitigation concepts and their extrapolation for targeted strategies within the veterinary workplace and profession
Assessing future climate change impacts on potato yields — A case study for Prince Edward Island, Canada
No full textCrop yields are adversely affected by climate change; therefore, it is crucial to develop climate adaptation strategies to mitigate the impacts of increasing climate variability on the agriculture system to ensure food security. As one of the largest potato-producing provinces in Canada, Prince Edward Island (PEI) has recently experienced significant instability in potato production. PEI’s local farmers and stakeholders are extremely concerned about the prospects for the future of potato farming industries in the context of climate change. This study aims to use the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) potato model to simulate future potato yields under the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) climate scenarios (including SSP1–1.9, SSP1–2.6, SSP2–4.5, SSP3–7.0, and SSP5–8.5). The study evaluates the combined effects of changing climatic conditions at local scales (i.e., warming temperature and changing precipitation patterns) and increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the atmosphere. The results indicate future significant declines in potato yield in PEI under the current farming practices. In particular, under the high-emission scenarios (e.g., SSP3–7.0 and SSP5–8.5), the potato yield in PEI would decline by 48% and 60% in the 2070s and by 63% and 80% by 2090s; even under the low-emission scenarios (i.e., SSP1–1.9 and SSP1–2.6), the potato yield in PEI would still decline by 6–10%. This implies that it is important to develop effective climate adaptation measures (e.g., adjusting farming practices and introducing supplemental irrigation plans) to ensure the long-term sustainability of potato production in PEI
Simulation of O2-blown co-gasification of wood chip and potato peel for producing syngas
No full textPotato is the fifth largest agricultural crop in Canada and contributes to the generation of an abundant amount of potato peel. However, disposal/recycling this peel remains a challenge due to the stringent environmental regulations. Consequently, there is a lack of an appropriate recycling and valorization methods of potato peel. Gasification is an effective technology for producing syngas and an ecofriendly waste disposal approach. Syngas is an important industrial intermediate to produce synthetic fuels and chemicals. To develop an ecofriendly and cost-effective valorization approach for potato peel, this study used a mixture of woody biomass (i.e., wood chips) and potato peel to produce syngas by co-gasification using O2 as the gasifying agent at a constant equivalence ratio of 0.3 using Aspen Plus simulation software. The influences of gasification temperature and wood chip/potato peel weight ratio on the carbon conversion efficiency (CCE), and product gas composition (molar fraction) and lower heating value (LHV) of product gas were investigated. This simulation indicated that a positive synergistic interaction occurs between wood chips and potato peel in co-gasification process in terms of an increase in CCE by comparing the arithmetic value and real value at all simulated wood chip to potato peel weight ratios (44.9% to 85.8%, 46.5% to 76.2%, and 48.1% to 78.6% at ratios of 25:75, 50:50, and 75:25, respectively, for wood chips to potato peel). While the molar fraction of H2 and CO decreased continuously with increase in the weight percentage of wood chips in the wood chip-potato peel mixture from 0 wt% to 100 wt% (H2, at 42.1 mol% to 41.4 mol%; and CO at 44.0 mol% to 40.4 mol%), accompanied by a decrease of the LHV of the product gas (10.3 to 9.78 MJ·Nm−3). The study concluded that co-gasification for producing syngas is feasible and environmental-friendly option to recycle and valorize potato peel
Surveillance for zoonotic pathogens and Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit of Ringed Seals (nattiit) (Pusa hispida) in Frobisher Bay and Eclipse Sound, Nunavut, Canada
No full textRinged seals (Pusa hispida) (nattiq (s.), nattiit (pl.) [Inuktut]) provide an important food staple for Nunavummiut (Indigenous residents of Nunavut). We studied the health of nattiit harvested by hunters from Baffin Island, Nunavut, via Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit and veterinary science. We conducted serological surveys and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for select zoonotic pathogens, including Brucella spp., Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, Leptospira interrogans, and Toxoplasma gondii, in 55 nattiit from Frobisher Bay (FB) and 58 nattiit from Eclipse Sound (ES). We used a digestion assay to determine the presence of Trichinella spp. larvae in muscle samples from these seals. We conducted interviews with nine Local Knowledge Holders (LKHs) from Iqaluit (FB) and nine from Pond Inlet (ES) to gather their observations about nattiq health. The hunters evaluated nattiq health through a combination of behavior, nutritional condition, and appearance of skin and organs. They rarely observed severely ill nattiit. Hunters from ES but not from FB observed declining nattiit population numbers. In both regions, they observed increased numbers of harp seals (Phoca groenlandica). Frequencies of natural exposure among nattiit from FB and ES, based on seroprevalence, were 20.5% and 37% for Brucella spp., 25% and 11% for E. rhusiopathiae, 93% and 100% for L. interrogans, and 10% and 27% for T. gondii, respectively; PCR was negative for these pathogens in organs and tissues of seropositive animals. We did not detect larvae of Trichinella spp. Knowledge and experience from the LKHs in assessing nattiq health, complemented by negative findings from direct detection methods, provide reassurance about the safety of nattiit as country food, despite their exposure to some zoonotic pathogens in their natural environment.Nunavut Wildlife Management BoardW. Garfield Weston Foundatio