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Aim: There are several case reports describing patients with both optic nerve hypoplasia/septo‐optic‐pituitary dysplasia (ONH/SOD) and gastroschisis (GS). Our aim was to investigate whether ONH/SOD is associated with GS. Methods: A retrospective population‐based study was undertaken using the Population Research Data Repository at the Manitoba Center for Health Policy in Manitoba, Canada to investigate if any patient with ONH/SOD also had GS. In addition, Winnipeg's Surgical Database of Outcomes and Management (WiSDOM), a hospital‐based paediatric surgical database, was searched to ascertain if any of the patients with GS also have ONH/SOD. Results: Cases were 124 patients with ONH/SOD diagnosed during 1990–2019. None had GS. The surgical database had 188 patients from Manitoba with GS during 1991–2019. None had ONH/SOD. Conclusion: There does not appear to be an association between ONH/SOD and GS in our cohorts of patients with these two disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extracting body‐wave arrivals from ambient seismic recordings remains a challenging task, largely because ambient records are usually dominated by surface‐wave energy. Most ambient seismic data‐processing strategies aimed at enhancing body‐wave energy focus on a cross‐correlation plus stack methodology. While this approach is useful for interferometric investigations, it effectively squares the magnitude of unwanted coherent noise events (e.g. surface waves, burst‐like or strong monochromatic energy) that commonly overpower ambient body‐wave signal. Accordingly, coherent noise events are usually treated with a binary accept‐or‐reject decision of individual data windows based on root‐mean‐squared energy considerations. Applying a data‐processing workflow to uncorrelated ambient seismic data represents an alternate strategy for mitigating coherent noise. However, this pre‐stack methodology requires significant computational effort due to the often terabyte‐sized data volumes. To make this approach feasible, we outline an automated processing workflow to automatically identify and mitigate coherent noise events that otherwise does not severely degrade the remaining waveforms. After each processing step, we apply a number of quality control measures to monitor the convergence rate of cross‐correlation plus stack waveforms and for evidence of emerging body‐wave reflection events. We apply the processing flow to an ambient seismic data set acquired on a large‐N array at a mine site near Lalor Lake, Manitoba, Canada. Our quality control analyses suggest that automated preprocessing of uncorrelated ambient seismic recordings successfully mitigates unwanted impulsive and monochromatic coherent noise events. Accordingly, we assert that applying an automated data‐processing approach would be beneficial for body‐wave and other imaging and inversion analyses applied to ambient seismic recordings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Registered midwives, obstetricians/gynecologists, and general or family practice physicians (GPs) provide maternity care across Canada. Few North American studies have assessed whether maternity outcomes differ across these three groups. This study compared maternal and neonatal outcomes of low-risk pregnant women whose birth was attended by registered midwives, obstetricians/gynecologists, and family practice physicians in Winnipeg, Manitoba from 2001/02 to 2012/13. Methods Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used to examine differences in types of intervention, mode of delivery, and outcomes by provider type among low-risk women. Logistic regression models controlled for socio-demographic and birth-related covariates. Results Low-risk births comprised 83,774 (48.7%) of total births ( n = 171,910). The adjusted odds ratio ( aOR), (95% confidence interval) for midwife vs OB/ GYN showed women who had a midwife attend the birth had reduced odds of having an episiotomy 0.47 (0.40-0.54), epidural 0.25 (0.23-0.27), and cesarean delivery 0.13 (0.10-0.16) and their infants had less Neonatal Intensive Care Unit admissions 0.28 (0.18-0.43). The aOR for GP versus OB/ GYN showed women who had a GP had reduced odds of having an epidural/spinal 0.83 (0.79-0.88) and cesarean delivery 0.44 (0.40-0.48). Conclusions The effectiveness of Manitoba maternity services can be improved with increased use of integrated midwifery services. Future research should examine how midwifery and physician-led models of care differ, and the influence of these differences on birth outcomes and cost-effectiveness to the health care system. Improvement of data tracking systems is also needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information-rich environments, with access and funding provided by government, make it possible to organize longitudinal administrative data to support analyses of policy-relevant questions. This paper describes insights into children's well-being and social equity obtained from data available in Manitoba, Canada, and highlights findings that have engaged policymakers. Analyses draw on Manitoba-linked data providing information over time (going back to 1970 in some files) and across space (with residential location documented every six months) for each provincial resident. Routinely collected data from the Ministries of Health, Education, and Family Services and Consumer Affairs have been integrated with a population registry. Identifying risk factors and presenting outcomes by social groups and by local communities capture the attention of policymakers. Linking an individual's area of residence to census and health data has led to developing measures of population health status and socioeconomic status. These measures focus on whether delivery patterns track health and educational needs, and a population registry makes it possible to describe who is (and is not) served by each program. The nature of health and social research has been changed by the development of information-rich environments. Many findings in Manitoba could not be replicated without a population registry. Engaging decision makers through effective presentations can ensure continuing support for diverse efforts based on these environments, and this article suggests ways of better communicating with policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]