British Columbia

PurposeWe describe the development and implementation of a comprehensive multidisciplinary vascular access (VA) program and describe its impact on VA distribution rates.MethodsA retrospective review of all incident and prevalent patients in our hemodialysis (HD) unit was conducted in September 2001 to determine baseline data including: type of VA along with patient characteristics and comorbidities. Similar data was extracted from the database in 2005 for incident and prevalent patients.ResultsThe VA program had a significant impact on arteriovenous fistulae (AVF) rates in both incident and prevalent HD patients: incident AVF rates increased from 14 to 39% (p=0.04) and prevalent AVF rates from 60 to 64% (p=0.015). Multivariate analysis revealed that male gender (OR 1.79 [CI 0.85–0.98, p=0.006]) and year of dialysis initiation 2005 vs. 2001 (OR 1.65 [CI 1.09–2.5, p=0.017]) were associated with AVF use among prevalent HD patients. Furthermore, age (per 5 years over 70) is associated w...

Thrombocytopenia is not widely recognized as a potential dialyzer-related complication. Following the observation of significant thrombocytopenia among 20 patients undergoing hemodialysis in a single dialysis unit after the introduction of dialyzers sterilized by electron beam (e-beam), a larger investigation was undertaken.

The primary goal of this study is to explore in vitro antibacterial activities of 3 homeopathic mother tinctures, Calendula Officinalis, Echinacea Augustifolia, and Vitex Negundo against antibioticresistant bacteria using adequate control. These mother tinctures have been used clinically in treating localized skin infections. Staphylococcus Aureus sample collected was resistant to Azithromycin, Clarithromycin and erythromycin. This experiment demonstrates anti-bacterial activity of Calendula, and Vitex against Azithromycin, Clarithromycin and Erythromycin resistant Staphylococcus. Introduction-Aim of this study's is to show that homeopathy can successfully treat bacterial infections, especially in cases when conventional antibiotics are ineffective owing to resistance. Antibiotic drug resistance is growing because of indiscriminate use of Antibiotics. Antimicrobial resistance(AMR)is among the top 10 global health threats (1). Very few antibiotics that represent novel chemical classes have been introduced in the past 30 years (2) More than 1.2 million peopleand potentially millions moredied in 2019 as a direct result of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. (3) Clinically homeopaths are already treating these infections with above medicines. This experiment is an In vitro Confirmation of the clinical use of Homeopathic drugs in antibiotic resistant infections. Infectious diseases are still one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in resource-limited settings, but epidemiological data on causative pathogens and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) distribution is scarce. (4). There is need for the implementation of integrated intervention approaches to address the gaps in reducing the emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. (5) There is evidence in the literature demonstrating that the use of Complementary and alternative medicine in general, and homeopathy in particular, can reduce recourse to antibiotics, with positive repercussions for strategies to combat antibiotic resistance. (6)

Historically, dozens of Native nations spanning the Pacific Northwest have altered trees, known as culturally modified trees (CMTs), for a variety of purposes. Red cedar was a popular tree chosen for modification, specifically for burial and funerary reasons. “Tree burials” proved popular in southern British Columbia and western Washington during the early colonial period, where this mortuary practice served a twofold purpose: to discourage non-Native grave interference and to reflect socio-economic stratification amongst the deceased. However, CMTs are diverse in their form and function, with some altered for use as trail markers, stripped for cedar bark, or utilized for wooden longhouse planks and artistic carvings. Despite the unique and intriguing occurrence of CMTs in western Canada and the United States, local legislation surrounding the protection of CMTs ranges from complex to nearly absent. In addition, real estate development, commercial logging, and numerous other threats exist. How can arborists, archaeologists, and cultural heritage specialists collaborate with tribal nations to locate, identify, and preserve CMTs? How can governmental policies improve to protect CMTs, and how have past and current efforts either failed or succeeded?

There are several reports of Sarcocystis sarcocysts in muscles of dogs, but these species have not been named. Additionally, there are two reports of Sarcocystis neurona in dogs. Here, we propose two new names, Sarcocystis caninum, and Sarcocystis svanai for sarcocysts associated with clinical muscular sarcocystosis in four domestic dogs (Canis familiaris), one each from Montana and Colorado in the USA, and two from British Columbia, Canada. Only the sarcocyst stage was identified. Most of the sarcocysts identified were S. caninum. Sarcocysts were studied using light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and polymerase chain reaction. Based on collective results two new species, S. caninum and S. svanai were designated. Sarcocystis caninum and S. svanai were structurally distinct. Sarcocystis caninum sarcocysts were up to 1.2 mm long and up to 75 μm wide. By light microscopy, the sarcocyst wall was relatively thin and smooth. By TEM, the sarcocyst wall was “type 9”, 1–...

To determine whether the risk of secondary breast cancer (SBC) is reduced in women with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) treated with smaller field radiation therapy (SFRT) versus mantle field radiation therapy (MRT). We used the BC Cancer Agency (BCCA) Lymphoid Cancer Database to identify female patients treated for HL between January 1961 and December 2009. Radiation therapy volumes were categorized as MRT or SFRT, which included involved field, involved site, or involved nodal radiation therapy. SBC risk estimates were compared using competing risk analysis and Fine and Gray multivariable model: MRT ± chemotherapy, SFRT ± chemotherapy, or chemotherapy-only. Of 734 eligible patients, 75% of the living patients have been followed up for more than 10 years, SBC has developed in 54, and 15 have died of breast cancer. The 20-year estimated risks (competing risk cumulative incidence) for SBC differed significantly: MRT 7.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.4%-11.5%), SFRT 3.1% (95% CI 1.0%-7.7%), ...

Predicting biodiversity responses to climate change remains a difficult challenge, especially in climatically complex regions where precipitation is a limiting factor. Though statistical climatic envelope models are frequently used to project future scenarios for species distributions under climate change, these models are rarely tested using empirical data. We used long‐term data on bird distributions and abundance covering five states in the western US and in the Canadian province of British Columbia to test the capacity of statistical models to predict temporal changes in bird populations over a 32‐year period. Using boosted regression trees, we built presence‐absence and abundance models that related the presence and abundance of 132 bird species to spatial variation in climatic conditions. Presence/absence models built using 1970–1974 data forecast the distributions of the majority of species in the later time period, 1998–2002 (mean AUC = 0.79 ± 0.01). Hindcast models performe...

Birth weight distributions differ according to the ethnic origin of the mother. We aimed to determine whether using ethnicity-specific growth distributions would identify newborns at risk for adverse infant outcomes associated with small for gestational age (SGA) birth better than population-based distributions. We examined 2647 singletons born to healthy non-smoking mothers at British Columbia Women's Hospital at 37 to 41 completed weeks' gestation. We compared the ability of ethnicity-specific growth distributions and population-based distributions to predict which infants were at increased risk of adverse outcomes associated with SGA, as well as extended length of stay in hospital, using crude and adjusted odds ratios. The ethnicity-specific growth distributions were associated with an increased risk of adverse infant outcomes while the population-based distributions were not (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.49 [95% CI 0.82 to 2.70] vs. aOR 0.88 [95% CI 0.48 to 1.64]). While ...

Through a Biomass Refining Consortium for Applied Fundamentals and Innovation among Auburn University, Dartmouth College, Michigan State University, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Purdue University, Texas A&M University, the University of British Columbia, and the University of California at Riverside, leading pretreatment technologies based on ammonia fiber expansion, aqueous ammonia recycle, dilute sulfuric acid, lime, neutral pH, and sulfur dioxide were applied to a single source of poplar wood, and the remaining solids from each technology were hydrolyzed to sugars using the same enzymes. Identical analytical methods and a consistent material balance methodology were employed to develop comparative performance data for each combination of pretreatment and enzymes. Overall, compared to data with corn stover employed previously, the results showed that poplar was more recalcitrant to conversion to sugars and that sugar yields from the combined operations of pretreatment...

Between December 2004 and January 2007, we studied the movements of six Black Rockfish (Sebastes melanops) that had been fitted with acoustic transmitters and reintroduced into a fjord environment at the edge of Vancouver Harbour, British Columbia. The Black Rockfish were released in December 2004 and April 2005 at a reef characterized by complex rocky structures and steep slopes; bottom depths at the site dropped from 10 to 55 m within a horizontal distance of only 30 m. The reef, however, is small (approximately 4500 m2) and is surrounded by soft bottom habitats used infrequently by Black Rockfish. VEMCO VR2 receivers were deployed at the release site and at outlying reefs located 1 and 4 km away. Acoustic data suggest that one individual emigrated from the reef after 11 months of residency and a second individual disappeared abruptly after 6 weeks on the reef, possibly due to fishing mortality or emigration. The four remaining individuals appear to have confined their movements t...

Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs has increased rapidly in the United States during the last decade, yet little is known about its effects on prescribing decisions in primary care. We compared prescribing decisions in a US setting with legal DTCA and a Canadian setting where DTCA of prescription drugs is illegal, but some cross-border exposure occurs. We recruited primary care physicians working in Sacramento, California, and Vancouver, British Columbia, and their group practice partners to participate in the study. On pre- selected days, patients aged 18 years or more completed a questionnaire before seeing their physician. We asked these patients' physicians to complete a brief questionnaire immediately following the selected patient visit. By pairing individual patient and physician responses, we determined how many patients had been exposed to some form of DTCA, the frequency of patients' requests for prescriptions for advertised medicines and t...