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Enhancing Drug Safety: Designing Solutions To Meet Prescribers’ Information Needs
Get PDFBackground: Better integration of pharmacovigilance evidence into clinical practice may reduce preventable adverse drug events. Objectives: To describe prescribers' experiences seeking and using drug information; Design a web application to present drug safety information to prescribers.
Methods: We conducted a qualitative systematic literature review with thematic analysis to examine prescriber’s challenges in accessing and using drug safety information. These insights informed the development of a prototype application called DrugSafety. The Design Thinking approach guided the design of DrugSafety.
Results: Review of 15 studies highlighted prescribers’ need for accessible, valid, reliable, current, and credible sources, as they report difficulties in locating and applying the information. DrugSafety addresses these needs by offering summarized, clinically relevant information from medical journals, performing real-time data analysis, and displaying results via visualizations.
Conclusion: We identified barriers prescribers face and introduced an informatics solution to reduce the knowledge-to-practice gap. Future steps include iterative refinements and usability testing.M.H.Sc
Leveraging Liquid-Liquid Interfaces in a 3D-Printable Reactor to Form SubMicron Freestanding Membrane Selective Layers
No full textThis document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5c13451.Fabricating ultra-thin, defect-free polymer nanofilms on varying substrates remains a persistent challenge
in thin-film composite (TFC) membrane development, particularly when substrate interference, solution
intrusion, and film transfer limit reproducibility and performance. We introduce a modular, cost-effective,
solvent-compatible, 3D-printed reactor—FIPzR (Freestanding Interfacial Polymerization Reactor)—
designed to fabricate thin, defect-free polymer films at liquid–liquid interfaces. Using iterative CAD-based
design and additive manufacturing (AM), the device is engineered to decouple film formation from the
underlying substrate, enabling reproducible fabrication of high-quality films with controlled morphologies
and direct transfer onto both porous and non-porous substrates using a floating guide ring. The reactor
accommodates multiple fabrication strategies, demonstrated here through interfacial polymerization to
synthesize polyamide (PA) membranes of varying morphologies, drop casting of a pre-formed
polysulfone (PSU) solution, and curing of a reactive polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) mixture—with
thicknesses spanning ultra-thin (<20 nm) to sub-micron scales. The desalination performance of smooth
and rough PA membranes was evaluated in a custom-built crossflow setup under standard brackish water
reverse osmosis (RO) conditions, exhibiting water permeance and salt rejection characteristics in line
with standard RO membranes. PSU and PDMS membranes were tested in a custom-built gas separation
setup to verify structural integrity and defect-free film quality, showing CO₂/N₂ selectivity consistent with
reported literature benchmarks. The FIPzR offers a reproducible, and substrate-independent polymer
nanofilm fabrication, with potential utility in membrane separations, coatings, flexible electronics, and
sensing technologies.Funding for this work came from the University of Toronto WaterSeed Program and from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) through the Alliance Missions Program (ALLRP 570714-2021)
The Relation Between Post-Operative Surgical Site Infection and Time to Start Adjuvant Treatment in Ovarian and Uterine Cancers
Get PDFSurgical site infections (SSIs) occur in 10–15% of patients and are linked to up to 29% of delays in starting adjuvant treatment. This study assessed the association between SSIs in patients with ovarian and uterine cancer and their impact on time to adjuvant therapy and oncologic outcomes. Patients who underwent surgery from 1 January 2015 to 30 September 2017 were included, using institutional National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) data and chart reviews. Among 371 patients (median follow-up 4.1 years), 243 (65.5%) received adjuvant treatment. The median time to start was 39 days for chemotherapy, 61 days for radiotherapy, and 42 days for combined therapy (p < 0.001). Patients with ovarian cancer began treatment sooner than those with uterine cancer (39 vs. 52 days, p < 0.001), but no significant difference was observed between those with or without SSIs. In 238 patients with uterine cancer, those with SSIs had a twofold higher recurrence risk (HR 1.97, p = 0.022) and over threefold lower overall survival (HR 3.45, p = 0.018). Multivariable analysis showed that surgical route and disease stage were independent predictors; SSI was not an independent factor. No survival difference related to SSIs was found in patients with ovarian cancer. Further research is needed to clarify the impact of SSIs on treatment timing and recurrence
Variation in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii) and red alder (Alnus rubra) stem taper across varying stand conditions in the Pacific Northwest
Get PDFTree taper has been of interest for over a century, yet questions remain regarding the effects of stand conditions created by silvicultural treatments and forest health on recoverable volume. This work utilizes data from Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.)) (n=608) and red alder (Alnus rubra (Bong.)) (n=495) trees to assess the influences of fertilization, pruning, thinning, regeneration origin, and defoliation caused by Swiss Needle Cast (SNC; Nothophaeocryptopus gaeumannii), on stem taper in the Pacific Northwest. The Kozak (2004; For. Chor. 80: 507-515) variable-exponent equation was used to test the addition of treatment and crown variables as the model is widely regarded for its flexibility in application. Using a mixed effects framework, results reveal that thinning of Douglas-fir can result in a 3.5% increase in upper stem diameter inside bark, while pruning may lead to a 4.1% decrease. SNC-induced defoliation of Douglas-fir reduced mean diameter above-breast height by 11.5%. Total volume of naturally regenerated red alder was 16% greater than planted stems. Overall, thinning of healthy Douglas-fir and planting red alder may increase recoverable volume and C captured in long-term timber products in the region, and that the inclusion of crown variables can increase the predictive power of taper for some species.The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the pdf file of the accepted manuscript may differ slightly from what is displayed on the item page. The information in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript reflects the original submission by the author
Interspecific and spatial variation in muscle sulphur compositions and their relation to mercury concentrations for northern freshwater fishes
Get PDFWe explored patterns in muscle sulphur to nitrogen ratio (S:N) and sulphur stable isotope ratios (δThe presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the pdf file of the accepted manuscript may differ slightly from what is displayed on the item page. The information in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript reflects the original submission by the author
Correction: Muniz-Santos et al. The Influence of Competition Day Loads on the Metabolic and Immune Response of Olympic Female Beach Volleyball Athletes: A Sportomics Analysis. Nutrients 2025, 17, 1924
Get PDFFlavio Bachini was not included as an author in the original publication [...
An experimental test of food limitation and trophic interaction hypotheses on demographic parameters in a cyclic population of red-backed voles
Get PDFDetermining the factors that limit and regulate population density is a key problem in population ecology, but often difficult to test in practice. The northern red-backed vole (Clethrionomys rutilis Pallas, 1779 sec. Kryštufek et al. 2020) occurs throughout the boreal forests of the northern hemisphere and the factors influencing their populations are still being elucidated. A large-scale experiment was conducted in the Yukon from 1986-1996 in which food availability, nutrient availability, predation, and interspecific competition were experimentally manipulated. Paradoxically, there was no evidence that these experimental treatments altered vole population density. Here, we apply a capture-mark-recapture modeling framework to test for experimental treatment effects on recruitment and apparent survival. Experimental manipulations resulted in opposing effects on recruitment and apparent survival. These contrasting demographic effects meant that the population growth rate and density remained unaffected by experimental treatments, upholding the original results. We suggest that as some experimental areas became more saturated with voles, this forced higher levels of vole dispersal or attracted mustelid or avian predators, either of which could result in the contrasting effect on apparent survival. Our results highlight that manipulation of environmental factors can alter demographic parameters without substantially affecting overall abundance.The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the pdf file of the accepted manuscript may differ slightly from what is displayed on the item page. The information in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript reflects the original submission by the author
Integrating Dynamic Sensors and Weigh-in-Motion Systems for Pavement Performance Assessment
Get PDFIn July 2022, a newly instrumented test road was constructed in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, to monitor pavement conditions through embedded sensors in the asphalt layers. The test road, located on a high-traffic access road to the Edmonton Waste Management Center. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of pavement performance by integrating data from dynamic sensors and a Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) system, employing both direct sensor measurements and outputs from a Layered Elastic Analysis (LEA) to evaluate the pavement's response to traffic loads. The findings revealed that the outer wheels of vehicles predominantly affected the middle longitudinal row of strain sensors, validating the need for multiple sensor rows to capture accurate strain data. Furthermore, relative errors of 4.3% for the horizontal strains and 22.5% for the vertical strains were found in the comparison between the observed data from the sensors and the calculated results from the computer software.The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the pdf file of the accepted manuscript may differ slightly from what is displayed on the item page. The information in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript reflects the original submission by the author
Radiolabeled Gold Nanoparticles for the Treatment of Glioblastoma by Convection Enhanced Delivery
Get PDFGlioblastoma (GBM) remains one of the most difficult to treat cancers due to the failure to eliminate residual disease. A metal chelating polymer (MCP) was radiolabeled with the β-particle emitting radionuclide 177Lu and conjugated to gold nanoparticles (AuNP) forming a radiation nanomedicine ([177Lu]Lu-MCP-AuNP). In an orthotopic human xenograft model of GBM (U251-Luc), [177Lu]Lu-MCP-AuNP were infused directly to the tumour using convection enhanced delivery (CED). [177Lu]Lu-MCP-AuNP were retained largely in the tumour (225.2 ± 92.3 %ID/g, 14 d p.i.) and radiation absorbed doses were estimated to deliver 599±311 Gy to the tumour with <0.1 Gy absorbed in all other normal organs. Treatments did not induce normal-tissue toxicity. Tumour bioluminescent signal was eliminated by 21 d p.i. and tumours could not be identified by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) 28 d p.i. after CED of with [177Lu]Lu-MCP-AuNP (1.1±0.2 MBq, 4×1011 particles). Survival was significantly increased compared to unlabeled MCP-AuNP with 62.5% of mice reaching 150 d post-treatment. In an orthotopic syngeneic model of glioma (GL261), the combination of [177Lu]Lu-MCP-AuNP (0.8±0.09 MBq, 4×1011 particles) and anti-PD1 antibodies (3×200 μg), improved survival compared to treatment with [177Lu]Lu-MCP-AuNP alone. Higher doses of [177Lu]Lu-MCP-AuNP (2.7±0.43 MBq, 4×1011 particles) with anti-PD1 antibodies further improved survival up to 218 d post-tumour inoculation. Object location task (OLT) and novel object recognition task (NORT) behavioural tests revealed that CED of [177Lu]Lu-MCP-AuNP with anti-PD1 antibodies did not impact cognitive function or memory. These results suggest that CED of [177Lu]Lu-MCP-AuNP are a promising therapeutic intervention for the treatment of GBM.Ph.D