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What will be the most important areas of research in biotech over the coming years? Which technologies will be most important to advance knowledge and applications in these areas? Nature Biotechnology reached out to a set of faculty doing outstanding work in research areas representative of the journal’s remit and asked them to contribute their vision of where their fields are going.

OBJECTIVE: Patient characteristics with exacerbation of asthma accessing care in the ED who are at risk of hospital admission have not been determined in subtropical climates. The objective of the study was to investigate the spatiotemporal burden of asthma hospital admissions across Queensland (QLD) and model risk factors for asthma hospital admission following an ED visit. METHODS: Six years of routinely collected data (2012-2017) from 28 QLD public hospitals were extracted from Queensland Health's Emergency Data Collection. The dataset contained individual, episode-level ED presentations having asthma-like diagnoses, and an indicator of hospital admission, including to short-stay unit (SSU). A generalised additive model was used to examine the risk of asthma hospital admission. RESULTS: Asthma hospital admissions increased from a weekly median of 79 (interquartile range [IQR] 66-99) in 2012 to 104 (IQR 81-135) in 2017. A higher incidence of asthma hospital admission was observed among males (median age 9, IQR 5-32) in childhood and females in adulthood (median age 32, IQR 11-51). Compared to the state capital Brisbane, the odds of asthma hospital admission ranged from 0.48 (95% CI 0.42-0.54) to 1.34 (95%CI 1.21-1.48) in other regions of QLD. CONCLUSION: Asthma hospital admissions appear to be increasing in QLD, largely driven by utilisation of the SSU admissions for asthma. With large variation in both incidence and proportion admitted across different regions, routinely collected data can in part be used to understand risk factors for asthma-related hospital admission following an ED presentation and further inform public health policy development.

IMPORTANCE: Surgeon-directed knowledge translation (KT) interventions for rectal cancer surgery are designed to improve patient measures, such as rates of permanent colostomy and in-hospital mortality, and to improve survival. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association of sustained, iterative, integrated KT rectal cancer surgery interventions directed at all surgeons with process and outcome measures among patients undergoing rectal cancer surgery in a geographic region. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This quality improvement study used administrative data from patients who underwent rectal cancer surgery from April 1, 2004, to March 31, 2015, in 14 health regions in Ontario, Canada. Follow-up was completed on March 31, 2020. EXPOSURES: Surgeons in 2 regions were offered intensive KT interventions, including annual workshops, audit and feedback sessions, and, in 1 of the 2 regions, operative demonstrations, from 2006 to 2012 (high-intensity KT group). Surgeons in the remaining 12 regions did not receive these interventions (low-intensity KT group). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Among patients undergoing rectal cancer surgery, proportions of preoperative pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), preoperative radiotherapy, and type of surgery were evaluated, as were in-hospital mortality and overall survival. Logistic regression models with an interaction term between group and year were used to assess whether process measures and in-hospital mortality differed between groups over time. RESULTS: A total of 15 683 patients were included in the analysis (10 052 [64.1%] male; mean [SD] age, 65.9 [12.1] years), of whom 3762 (24.0%) were in the high-intensity group (2459 [65.4%] male; mean [SD] age, 66.4 [12.0] years) and 11 921 (76.0%) were in the low-intensity KT group (7593 [63.7%] male; mean [SD] age, 65.7 [12.1] years). A total of 1624 patients (43.2%) in the high-intensity group and 4774 (40.0%) in the low-intensity KT group underwent preoperative MRI (P < .001); 1321 (

AIM: It is well established that (i) magnetic resonance imaging, (ii) multidisciplinary cancer conference (MCCs), (iii) preoperative radiotherapy, (iv) total mesorectal excision surgery and (v) pathological assessment as described by Quirke are key processes necessary for high quality, rectal cancer care. The objective was to select a set of multidisciplinary quality indicators to measure the uptake of these clinical processes in clinical practice. METHOD: A multidisciplinary panel was convened and a modified two-phase Delphi method was used to select a set of quality indicators. Phase 1 included a literature review with written feedback from the panel. Phase 2 included an in-person workshop with anonymous voting. The selection criteria for the indicators were strength of evidence, ease of capture and usability. Indicators for which ≥90% of the panel members voted 'to keep' were selected as the final set of indicators. RESULTS: During phase 1, 68 potential indicators were generated from the literature and an additional four indicators were recommended by the panel. During phase 2, these 72 indicators were discussed; 48 indicators met the 90% inclusion threshold and included eight pathology, five radiology, 11 surgical, six radiation oncology and 18 MCC indicators. CONCLUSION: A modified Delphi method was used to select 48 multidisciplinary quality indicators to specifically measure the uptake of key processes necessary for high quality care of patients with rectal cancer. These quality indicators will be used in future work to identify and address gaps in care in the uptake of these clinical processes.

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a popular non-invasive clinical tool for the diagnosis of ocular diseases that provides micron-scale images of ocular pathology in vivo and in real-time. The cross-sectional OCT B-scan of Temporal-Superior- Nasal-Inferior-Temporal (TSNIT) peripapillary retinal profile is widely used to diagnose and monitor glaucoma. However, raw OCT images can be marred by noise and artifacts, especially vitreoretinal interface opacity: this can lead to segmentation error, misinterpretation of retinal thickness measurements and possibly inappropriate glaucoma management. In this study, we designed and trained a U-Net model on OCT B-scans with artifacts, and their corresponding ‘artifact-free B-scans’. The U-Net was able to remove the artifacts successfully with better performance in terms of PSNR and SSIM values. The SNR of the OCT scans with speckle noise associated with artifacts has also been improved. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study where automated vitreous opacity artifact removal has been applied to the TSNIT profile. The performance of the U-net model on measures such as PSNR, SSIM, MAE, and MSE is compared with the state-of-the-art image denoising models. It is observed that the proposed U-Net model performs better as compared to the other models on both parametric and visual evaluations. In the future, this U-Net model could be used to solve automatic retinal layer segmentation errors and assist clinicians in interpreting OCT images in glaucoma diagnosis and monitoring.

BACKGROUND: Over the last 2 decades, the use of multimodal strategies, including total mesorectal excision (TME) surgery, preoperative chemotherapy, multidisciplinary case conference, pelvic magnetic resonance imaging, and pathologic assessment using Quirke method, has led to significant improvements in oncologic outcomes for patients with rectal cancer. Although the literature supports claims on the effectiveness of these multimodal strategies, the uptake of these multimodal strategies varies considerably among centers, suggesting that the best evidence is not always implemented into clinical practice. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to perform a quality improvement initiative to (1) identify existing gaps in care for these multimodal strategies and (2) implement knowledge translation (KT) interventions to close these gaps to optimize quality of care for patients with rectal cancer across high-volume centers in Canada. METHODS: Process indicators for the selected multimodal strategies to optimize rectal cancer care will be selected and prospectively collected for all patients with stages 1 to 3 rectal cancer undergoing TME surgery. KT interventions, including audit and feedback, opinion leaders, and community of practice, will be implemented to increase the uptake of these clinical strategies. RESULTS: The uptake of the process indicators over time and the effect of the uptake of the process indicators on short- and long-term oncologic outcomes will be evaluated for each multimodal strategy. CONCLUSIONS: This quality improvement initiative will identify existing gaps in care for the selected multimodal strategies and implement KT interventions to close these gaps. The results of this study will inform further efforts to optimize rectal cancer care. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/15535.

BACKGROUND: Across Ontario, since the year 2006 various knowledge translation (KT) interventions designed to improve the quality of rectal cancer surgery have been implemented by the provincial cancer agency or by individual researchers. Ontario is divided administratively into 14 health regions. We piloted a method to audit and score for each region of the province the KT interventions implemented to improve the quality of rectal cancer surgery. METHODS: We interviewed stakeholders to audit KT interventions used in respective regions over years 2006 to 2014. Results were summarized into narrative and visual forms. Using a modified Delphi approach, KT experts reviewed these data and then, for each region, scored implementation of KT interventions using a 20-item KT Signature Assessment Tool. Scores could range from 20 to 100 with higher scores commensurate with greater KT intervention implementation. RESULTS: There were thirty interviews. KT experts produced scores for each region that were bimodally distributed, with an average score for 2 regions of 78 (range 73-83) and for 12 regions of 30.5 (range 22-38). CONCLUSION: Our methods efficiently identified two groups with similar KT Signature scores. Two regions had relatively high scores reflecting numerous KT interventions and the use of sustained iterative approaches in addition to those encouraged by the provincial cancer agency, while 12 regions had relatively low scores reflecting minimal activities outside of those encouraged by the provincial cancer agency. These groupings will be used for future comparative quantitative analyses to help determine if higher KT signature scores correlate with improved measures for quality of rectal cancer surgery.

BACKGROUND: Presentation to multidisciplinary cancer conferences (MCCs) supports optimal treatment of young women with breast cancer (YWBC). However, research shows barriers to MCC practice, and variation in professional attendance and referral patterns. A checklist may help overcome these barriers and support MCC practice with YWBC. METHODS: We developed, piloted and evaluated an MCC checklist in sites participating in a pan-Canadian study (RUBY; Reducing the bUrden of Breast cancer in Young women). A survey assessed checklist processes and impacts, and checklist data were analysed for checklist uptake, MCC presentation rates and MCC processes including staff attendance. RESULTS: Fifteen RUBY sites used the checklist (~50%), mostly for data collection/tracking. Some positive effects on clinical practice such as increased presentation of YWBC at MCC were reported, but most survey participants indicated that MCC processes were sufficient without the checklist. Conversely, checklist data show that only 31% of patients were presented at MCC. Of those, 41% were recommended treatment change. CONCLUSION: Despite limited checklist uptake, there was evidence of its clinical practice benefit. Furthermore, it supported data collection/quality monitoring. Critically, checklist data showed gaps in MCC practice and low MCC presentation rates for YWBC. This contrasts with overall provider perceptions that MCCs are working well. Findings suggest that supports for MCC are needed but may best take the form of clear national practice recommendations and audit and feedback cycles to inform awareness of good MCC practice and outcomes. In this setting, tools like the MCC checklist may become helpful in supporting MCC practice.

© 2019, Springer Nature B.V. The Australian AusPollen Partnership provides respiratory allergy patients with accurate, relevant and localised pollen information via smartphone Apps. This study aims to evaluate public perceptions of need and benefit of providing local pollen information. Individuals aged 18 years and older were contacted through AusPollen Smartphone Apps (Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne), Australian Society for Clinical Immunology and Allergy, Asthma Australia and social media. A pilot questionnaire was developed in consultation with partner organisations, including select questions drawn from the National Young People and Asthma Survey. The questionnaire consisted of four sections: participant demographics, allergic rhinitis and asthma symptoms, symptom management and App utility. One hundred and twenty-seven people completed the survey, of whom 53% had access to local pollen information. Most (97%) participants without access to local pollen information indicated that they wanted such a service. Pollen information was most commonly perceived by participants to be useful for prevention and avoidance as well as preparation and planning. This preliminary study identified a public demand for local pollen information. Users identified practical ways in which pollen information assisted them. Publicised pollen concentrations and forecasts have the potential to improve awareness of allergy triggers and empower patient self-management, reducing symptoms and burden of disease.