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Purpose of Review: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death globally and is closely associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This review examines the interplay between obesity, T2DM, and CVD, highlighting the increasing prevalence and economic burden of these conditions., Recent Findings: Pharmacologic therapies, particularly glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, show promise in substantial weight loss and subsequent reduction of adverse cardiovascular events in obese individuals with and without diabetes. Obesity significantly contributes to the development of insulin resistance and T2DM, further escalating CVD risk. The common co-occurrence of these three conditions may involve several other pathophysiological mechanisms, such as chronic inflammation, increased visceral adiposity, and endothelial dysfunction. Until recently, lifestyle modifications and bariatric surgery had been the primary methods for weight loss and mitigating obesity-associated cardiovascular risk. Newer pharmacological options have led to a paradigm shift in our approach to obesity management as they provide substantial benefits in weight loss, glycemic control, and cardiovascular risk reduction., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Objective: To assess the desirability, feasibility, and sustainability of integrating a project-based capstone course with the course-based curriculum of an interdisciplinary MSc health informatics program guided with a student-partnered steering committee and student-centered approach., Methods: We conducted an online cross-sectional survey (n=87) and three semi-structured focus groups (n=18) of health informatics students and alumni. Survey data was analyzed descriptively. Focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim and then analyzed using a general inductive and classic analysis approach., Results: Most students were supportive of including a capstone project but desired an option to work independently or within a group. Students perceived several benefits to capstone courses while concerned over perceived challenges to capstone implementation, evaluation, and managing group processes. Themes identified were: 1) professional development, identity, and career advancement; 2) emulating the real world and learning beyond the classroom, 3) embracing new, full circle learning, 4) anticipated course structure, delivery, and preparation, 5) balancing student choice, interests, and priorities, and 6) concerns over group dynamics, limitations, and support., Conclusions: This study demonstrates the value of having students as partners at each stage in the process from methods conception to course curriculum design. With the steering committee and the curriculum developer, we codeveloped a student-centered course that integrates foundational digital health-related project knowledge acquisition with an inquiry-based project which can be completed independently or in small groups. This study demonstrates the potential benefits and challenges that health informatics educators may consider when (re)-designing capstone courses., Competing Interests: All of the authors have an affiliation with the MSc eHealth program. NW, CL , VM, NB (faculty members), and ML (internship coordinator) are employees of McMaster University and receive salary through program revenues. RJ, TB, EW, SZ, and JF are alumni of the program., (The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).)

Permitted Daily Exposure Limits (PDEs) are set for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) to control cross-contamination when manufacturing medicinal products in shared facilities. With the lack of official PDE lists for pharmaceuticals, PDEs have to be set by each company separately. Although general rules and guidelines for the setting of PDEs exist, inter-company variations in the setting of PDEs occur and are considered acceptable within a certain range. To evaluate the robustness of the PDE approach between different pharmaceutical companies, data on PDE setting of five marketed APIs (amlodipine, hydrochlorothiazide, metformin, morphine, and omeprazole) were collected and compared. Findings show that the variability between PDE values is within acceptable ranges (below 10-fold) for all compounds, with the highest difference for morphine due to different Point of Departures (PODs) and Adjustment Factors (AFs). Factors of PDE variability identified and further discussed are: (1) availability of data, (2) selection of POD, (3) assignment of AFs, (4) route-to-route extrapolation, and (5) expert judgement and differences in company policies. We conclude that the investigated PDE methods and calculations are robust and scientifically defensible. Additionally, we provide further recommendations to harmonize PDE calculation approaches across the pharmaceutical industry., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: The author and co-authors are employed by pharmaceutical companies., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To describe the development of the post-myopic laser vision correction (LVC) version of the PEARL-DGS intraocular lens (IOL) calculation formula and to evaluate its outcomes on an independent test set., Design: Retrospective, single-center case series., Methods: A modified lens position prediction algorithm was designed along with methods to predict the posterior corneal curvature radius and correct the corneal power measurement error. A different set of previously operated eyes that underwent LVC was used to evaluate the prediction precision of the post-LVC formula., Results: Post-LVC PEARL-DGS formula significantly reduced mean absolute error of prediction in comparison to Haigis-L, Shammas, and American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) average formulas (P < .001). It exhibited similar postoperative refractive precision as the Barrett True-K No History formula (P = .61)., Conclusion: The post-LVC formula development process described in this article performed as well as the state-of-the-art post-LVC formula on the present test set. Further studies are required to assess its efficacy in other independent sets., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Sex workers may use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a means to mitigate occupational health and safety (OHS) risks by exchanging harm reduction techniques (e.g., screening) on blogs and social media. ICTs can also assist sex workers in creating online communities, where community members can act as each other's safety check-ins, an additional harm reduction technique. In Canada, there is a paucity of research around ICT usage by sex workers for managing occupational health and safety. The objective of this study was to qualitatively examine the needs and preferences of Canadian sex workers when using ICTs in the delivery of strategies for occupational health and safety. Using a theoretical framework derived from a Social Ecological Model perspective, semi-structured interviews were conducted via phone, with a mixed gender sample (N = 22) of sex workers, between April and July 2020. OHS risks were found to be related to structural determinants, client behaviours, and lack of experience and knowledge when newly entering sex work. Participant accounts revealed a socially cohesive online community; however, sex workers reported difficulties in finding these communities, particularly when entering sex work. Such barriers to supportive communities were attributed to the criminalized, hidden nature of sex work that resulted in the fragmentation of harm reduction techniques across several online platforms, such as blogs, YouTube videos, closed electronic chat groups, and open online sex worker supportive communities. Moreover, these platforms and/or their content could potentially disappear without warning, either due to the platform provider seeking to evade possible prosecution, or because new legislation was introduced banning such content. Recommendations for further research include the co-design with sex workers of an innovative, secure, easily accessible, sex worker-only ICT OHS tool, utilizing a web hosting service located in a country where sex work has been either legalized or decriminalized., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.