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The heat wave in late June of 2021 (PNW21) set new temperature records in the Pacific Northwest (PNW). In Lytton the highest temperature ever recorded in Canada was measured. Several studies have already explored this extreme event in detail, however, here we compare the atmospheric air mass transport and heating processes associated with this heat wave with the 34 other most extreme heat events in the same region during the period 1960–2021, using a long backtracking time of 25 days. We found significant differences in the heat waves. During PNW21 most of the air was coming from the Philippine Sea, with more than 40% of the air located south of 15°N, and anomalous advection of sensible and latent heat from the Tropics was the dominant cause of PNW21. The latent heat was efficiently converted into sensible heat by precipitation, which was unique, as most other extremes experienced net diabatic cooling. Plain Language Summary: At the end of June in 2021 a heat wave occurred over the Pacific Northwest (PNW) and led to catastrophic damage in the region, notably the destruction of the town of Lytton by a wild fire 1 day after a new temperature record for Canada was set there. Here we look at where the air during this event was coming from and compare the atmospheric mass transport to 34 other extreme heat events in this region. We found that during the heat wave in June 2021 most of the air was coming from the Philippine Sea where it took up large amounts of heat and moisture. This source region is deeper in the Tropics than for all other extreme events. At the same time, the Philippine Sea was anomalously warm. Thus, the air was warmer and moister than for all the other extreme events already 3 weeks before reaching the PNW. The energy associated with the high tropical moisture content was efficiently converted into heat by precipitation along the Meiyu‐Baiu front—a unique process not found for any other extreme heat event. Key Points: The air causing the heat wave in late June 2021 (PNW21) came from deep in the Tropics, more south and west compared to other eventsThree weeks prior to the event, the air was warmer and moister, indicating that advection of heat from the Tropics was an important driverCondensation in a warm conveyor belt caused heating for PNW21, while most other extreme events showed overall diabatic cooling [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the validity of the 10th Revision Canadian modification of International Statistical Classification of Disease and Related Health Problems (ICD-10-CA) diagnostic codes for surgery for benign gynaecologic conditions in the Canadian Institute for Health Information Discharge Abstract Database (CIHI-DAD), the main source of routinely collected data in Canada. Reabstracted data from patient charts was compared to ICD-10-CA codes and measures of validity were calculated with 95% confidence intervals. A total of 1068 procedures were identified. More objective, structural diagnoses (fibroids, prolapse) had higher sensitivity and near-perfect Kappa coefficients, while more subjective, symptomatic diagnoses (abnormal uterine bleeding, pelvic pain) had lower sensitivity and moderate-substantial Kappa coefficients. Specificity, positive predictive values, and negative predictive values were generally high for all diagnoses. These findings support the use of CIHI-DAD data for gynaecologic research., (Copyright © 2024 The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada/La Société des obstétriciens et gynécologues du Canada. All rights reserved.)

Empirical evidence suggests fishes meet the criteria for experiencing pain beyond a reasonable doubt and zebrafish are being increasingly used in studies of pain and nociception. Zebrafish are adopted across a wide range of experimental fields and their use is growing particularly in biomedical studies. Many laboratory procedures in zebrafish involve tissue damage and this may give rise to pain. Therefore, this FELASA Working Group reviewed the evidence for pain in zebrafish, the indicators used to assess pain and the impact of a range of drugs with pain-relieving properties. We report that there are several behavioural indicators that can be used to determine pain, including reduced activity, space use and distance travelled. Pain-relieving drugs prevent these responses, and we highlight the dose and administration route. To minimise or avoid pain, several refinements are suggested for common laboratory procedures. Finally, practical suggestions are made for the management and alleviation of pain in laboratory zebrafish, including recommendations for analgesia. Pain management is an important refinement in experimental animal use and so our report has the potential to improve zebrafish welfare during and after invasive procedures in laboratories across the globe., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Cognitive rigidity (CR) refers to inadequate executive adaptation in the face of changing circumstances. Increased CR is associated with a number of psychiatric disorders, for example, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and improving cognitive functioning by targeting CR in these conditions, may be fruitful. Levetiracetam (LEV), clinically used to treat epilepsy, may have pro-cognitive effects by restoring balance to neuronal signalling. To explore this possibility, we applied apomorphine (APO) exposure in an attempt to induce rigid cue-directed responses following a cue (visual pattern)-reward (social conspecifics) contingency learning phase and to assess the effects of LEV on such behaviours. Briefly, zebrafish were divided into four different 39-day-long exposure groups ( n  = 9-10) as follows: control (CTRL), APO (100 µg/L), LEV (750 µg/L) and APO + LEV (100 µg/L + 750 µg/L). The main findings of this experiment were that 1) all four exposure groups performed similarly with respect to reward- and cue-directed learning over the first two study phases, 2) compared to the CTRL group, all drug interventions, but notably the APO + LEV combination, lowered the degree of reward-directed behaviour during a dissociated presentation of the cue and reward, and 3) temporal and spatial factors influenced the manner in which zebrafish responded to the presentation of the reward. Future studies are needed to explore the relevance of these findings for our understanding of the potential cognitive effects of LEV., (Copyright © 2023 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Estimate the impact of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) time limit for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD) on SNAP participation, employment, and earnings., Design: A quasi-experimental study using state administrative SNAP and earnings data to compare outcomes for SNAP participants before and after the time limit went into effect., Participants: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants in the study cohorts in Colorado, Missouri, and Pennsylvania (N = 153,599)., Main Outcome Measures: Monthly SNAP participation, quarterly employment, annual earnings., Analysis: Logistic and ordinary least squares multivariate regression models., Results: Time limit reinstatement reduced SNAP participation by 7 to 32 percentage points in the 12th month of time limit reinstatement but did not generate evidence of improved employment or annual earnings (1 year after time limit reinstatement, employment decreased by 2 to 7 percentage points and annual earnings decreased by $247 to $1,230)., Conclusions and Implications: The ABAWD time limit reduced SNAP participation but did not improve employment and earnings. SNAP may provide helpful support to participants as they seek to enter or re-enter employment, and removing this support may be detrimental to their employment prospects. These findings can inform decisions about requesting waivers or pursuing changes to ABAWD legislation or regulations., (Copyright © 2023 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. All rights reserved.)

In pre-clinical and clinical settings, active immunization with a Her-2/neu vaccine (HerVaxx), comprising B-cell peptide from Trastuzumab binding site, has been shown to reduce primary tumor growth via induction of polyclonal anti-tumor immune responses and immunological memory. Here, we tested the combination of HerVaxx and the recently identified B-cell epitope/mimotope of Pertuzumab, i.e. a multi-peptide B-cell vaccine, for preventing Her-2/neu lung metastases formation in a mouse model. Active immunization with the multi-peptide vaccine was associated with decreased lung weights, and histological evaluation of the lungs showed that the significant reduction of lung metastases was associated with increased CD4 + and CD8 + T cell infiltration. Notably, along with the overall reduction of lungs weights and Her-2 positive metastases, a formation of Her-2/neu-negative tumors but with increased PD-L1 expression was observed. Our results might pave the way to a multi-peptide B-cell Her-2/neu vaccine serving as a secondary intervention in adjuvant settings to prevent tumor recurrence and spread. Moreover, combination therapy targeting PD-L1 may result in total remission of metastases. Such a therapy may be used clinically to alternately target Her-2/neu and PD-L1 in metastatic breast cancer., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: The Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI) Discharge Abstract Database (DAD) is the main source of routinely collected data for gynaecologic surgery in Canada and is increasingly used for research. These data are prone to error as they were originally collected for administrative purposes, and they therefore should be validated for clinical research. The objective of this study was to validate hysterectomy codes from the DAD at a single institution., Methods: This was a retrospective observational study using an existing hospital database. We obtained a consecutive sample of all gynaecologic procedures performed at The Ottawa Hospital from April 2016 to March 2017 using the DAD. Patient data, including diagnosis, procedure type, concomitant procedure, and surgical approach, were reabstracted from records. These data were compared with the DAD Canadian Classification of Health Interventions (CCI) codes using sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and κ coefficient with associated 95% confidence intervals (CIs)., Results: Of 1068 gynaecologic procedures, 639 hysterectomies were performed: 39.2% vaginally, 35.4% laparoscopically, and 25.4% abdominally. Median patient age was 46 years (IQR 41-54 y). The κ, sensitivity, specificity, and PPV for all hysterectomies were 0.92 (95% CI 0.90-0.95), 95.1% (95% CI 93.2-96.7), 97.9% (95% CI 96.6-99.3), and 98.5% (95% CI 97.6-99.5), respectively. The κ coefficients for vaginal, laparoscopic, and abdominal hysterectomy were 0.91 (95% CI 0.88-0.94), 0.92 (95% CI 0.89-0.95), and 0.92 (95% CI 0.89-0.95), respectively. Agreement for sub-total hysterectomy and bilateral salpingectomy with oophorectomy was excellent, with κ exceeding 0.80. The level of agreement for salpingectomy alone was poor, though specificity and PPV were high., Conclusions: Our study suggests that hysterectomy-associated CCI codes in CIHI's DAD have a high level of validity for clinical research purposes., (Copyright © 2021 The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada/La Société des obstétriciens et gynécologues du Canada. All rights reserved.)

American chestnut (Castanea dentata) is a susceptible host of the invasive necrotrophic fungus Cryphonectria parasitica, which causes chestnut blight disease. The fungal pathogen attacks chestnut stems by invading wounded tissue and secreting oxalate. This process leads to the death of infected host cells and the formation of cankers, eventually girdling stems and killing the tree above the infections. To reduce damage caused by fungal oxalate, American chestnut has been genetically engineered to express a wheat oxalate oxidase (OxO). This enzyme degrades the oxalate produced by the pathogen and confers elevated tolerance to Cryphonectria parasitica infection. We report new lines of transgenic American chestnut that have been developed with the win3.12 inducible promoter from poplar (Populus deltoides) driving OxO expression. This promoter is responsive to both wounding and pathogen infection, with a low level of baseline expression. Targeted expression of OxO to wounded and infected tissue is sought as an alternative to constitutive expression for potential metabolic resource conservation and transgene stability over the long lifetime of a tree and over successive generations of breeding. Transgenic Castanea dentata lines harbouring the win3.12-OxO construct were evaluated for transgene expression patterns and tolerance to chestnut blight infection. OxO transcript levels were low in uninfected plants, but robust infection-induced expression levels were observed, with one transgenic line reaching levels comparable to those of previously characterized CaMV35S-OxO lines. In chestnut blight infection bioassays, win3.12-OxO lines showed elevated disease tolerance similar to blight-resistant Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima) controls., (© 2021 The Authors. Molecular Plant Pathology published by British Society for Plant Pathology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the validity of laparoscopic visualization for the diagnosis of endometriosis compared with histopathology., Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review at a tertiary care hospital in Canada for the period of April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017. Of 1069 women, 96 were selected for having undergone laparoscopic visualization and concurrent histopathological biopsy for suspected endometriosis. Standard measures of validity for diagnostic tests (sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive and negative predictive values, accuracy) were used., Results: Mean age of the 96 women included was 40 ± 7.2 years, and median gravidity and parity were 1 (IQR 0-3) and 0 (IQR 0-2), respectively. Common symptoms were abdominal and pelvic pain (41.7%), menstrual bleeding concerns (34.4%), dysmenorrhea (29.2%), and infertility (8.3%). Approximately one-third of women had endometriomas (31.3%), while more than half had deep infiltrating endometriosis (59.4%). The diagnosis of endometriosis was made by surgeons at laparoscopic visualization in 82.3% of women and by histopathology in 74.0%. Using histopathology as the gold standard, sensitivity for laparoscopic visualization was 90.1% (95% CI 81.0-95.1), while specificity was 40.0% (95% CI 23.4-59.3). Positive and negative predictive values were 81.0% (95% CI 71.0-88.1) and 58.8% (95% CI 36.0-78.4), respectively; and the accuracy was 77.1% (95% CI 67.7-84.4)., Conclusion: Although laparoscopic visualization had relatively high sensitivity and positive predictive value, its specificity and negative predictive value were relatively low. These findings support the use of laparoscopic visualization with histopathological analysis for accurate diagnosis of endometriosis., (Copyright © 2021 The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada/La Société des obstétriciens et gynécologues du Canada. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)