Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Development Of A Low Field Mri-Based Approach For Observation Of Water Penetration Into Clay: Preliminary Results, Shivam Gupta

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are considered one of the most efficient and non-invasive methods of observing water content in permeable substances. MRI can visualize and quantify the movement of water in real time. In this study, MRI was used to observe the water penetration through clay. Furthermore, MRI can acquire three-dimensional data due to its radio-frequency signals from any orientation. The contrast of the images produced by MRI is a display of the fluid concentration. As such, any change in the contrast intensity is interpreted as a regional change in the concentration of fluid. This report summarizes the preliminary results …

Simulating 129-Xe Hyperpolarization, Jacob F. Abiad

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Hyperpolarized 129-Xe is an important resource in many fields of medical physics and MRI research. The physics of the efficient production of hyperpolarized 129-Xe is therefore equally worth investigation. The main process of hyperpolarizing 129-Xe is Spin Exchange Optical Pumping (SEOP) and is dependent on several physical factors that can be difficult to constantly change in a lab setting. Physical modelling of 129-Xe hyperpolarization allows for the more efficient testing of hyperpolarization physics in a wide array of experimental setups to better determine the optimal values for hyperpolarization. This research project attempted to create a working model for 129-Xe hyperpolarization …

The Right To Repair: (Re)Building A Better Future, Jumana Labib

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The goal of this research project was to take a multi-faceted, interdisciplinary approach to research and examine the Right to Repair movement’s progress, current repair practices, impediments, and imperatives, and the various large-scale implications (environmental, economic, social, etc.) stemming from diminished consumer freedom as a result of increased corporate greed and lack of governmental regulations with regards to repair and the environment. This poster exhibits the highlights of my general research project on the Right to Repair movement over the course of this four month internship, and aims to disseminate information about the movement to the wider public in an …

Comparing Semi-Automated Segmentation Of Traditional-Resolution And High-Resolution Hyperpolarized 129xe Mri On Covid-19 Survivors, Tingting Wu

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Hyperpolarized gas MRI using inert gases like Xe is a valuable tool in visualizing lung ventilation in patients, and can be used as a longitudinal monitoring tool for patients with lung diseases. However, use of this method requires segmentation and quantification of parameters such as ventilation defect percentage (VDP), which is often very subjective depending on the observer. This study aimed to determine the accuracy and consistency of VDP calculation using the same MRI scans from COVID-19 patients, but with high resolution and low (traditional) resolution versions. Using a MATLAB script developed previously, it was found that in general, using …

Optimizing Hospital Capacity To Deal With Hallway Medicine, Megan Wismer

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

A model adapted from Hillier and Liebermann, 2017 that optimizes hospital capacity to deal with hallway medicine.

Nature, Nurture, Or Both? Study Of Sex And Gender And Their Effects On Pain, Maryam Ghodrati

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

As a pain researcher, in order to have a better understanding of pain, we should adopt a multidimensional view, such as the biopsychosocial (BPS) model and consider physical, psychological, and social elements altogether. The studies in this dissertation are part of the bigger project of SYMBIOME in which the aim is to help to create and develop a prognostic clinical phenotype in people post musculoskeletal (MSK) trauma. Chapter 2 presents a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) in order to assess the structural validity of the first section of the new Gender Pain and Expectation Scale (GPES). Our analysis indicated a 3-factor …

Mental Health Services Provision In Primary Care And Emergency Department Settings: Analysis Of Blended Fee-For-Service And Blended Capitation Models In Ontario, Canada., Thyna Vu, Kelly K Anderson, Nibene H Somé, Amardeep Thind, Sisira Sarma

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Publications

Treating mental illnesses in primary care is increasingly emphasized to improve access to mental health services. Although family physicians (FPs) or general practitioners are in an ideal position to provide the bulk of mental health care, it is unclear how best to remunerate FPs for the adequate provision of mental health services. We examined the quantity of mental health services provided in Ontario's blended fee-for-service and blended capitation models. We evaluated the impact of FPs switching from blended fee-for-service to blended capitation on the provision of mental health services in primary care and emergency department using longitudinal health administrative data …

Addressing Bias In Non-Experimental Studies Assessing Treatment Outcomes In Prostate Cancer, David E. Guy

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

We evaluated the ability of matching techniques to balance baseline characteristics between treatment groups using non-experimental data. We identified a set of balance diagnostics that assessed key differences in baseline covariates with potential for confounding. These diagnostics were used in a novel systematic approach to developing and evaluating models for use in propensity score matching that optimized balance and data retention. We then compared the performance of propensity score and coarsened exact matching strategies in optimizing balance and data retention, using non-experimental data from a pan-Canadian prostate cancer database. Both matching techniques balanced baseline covariates adequately and retained approximately 70% …

Quality Of Diabetes Care In Blended Fee-For-Service And Blended Capitation Payment Systems., Mary Aderayo Bamimore, Rose Anne Devlin, Gregory S Zaric, Amit X Garg, Sisira Sarma

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Publications

OBJECTIVES: In the middle to late 2000s, many family physicians switched from a Family Health Group (FHG; a blended fee-for-service model) to a Family Health Organization (FHO; a blended capitation model) in Ontario, Canada. The evidence on the link between physician remuneration schemes and quality of diabetes care is mixed in the literature. We examined whether physicians who switched from the FHG to FHO model provided better care for individuals living with diabetes relative to those who remained in the FHG model.

METHODS: Using longitudinal health administrative data from 2006 to 2016, we investigated the impact of physicians switching from …

Interplay Between Social Media Use, Sleep Quality, And Mental Health In Youth: A Systematic Review, Rea Alonzo, Junayd Hussain, Saverio Stranges, Kelly K. Anderson

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Publications

Social media applications are increasingly prominent among youth. This systematic review provides a comprehensive assessment of the literature on the relationship between active social media use, sleep quality, and common mental health outcomes (anxiety, depression, and psychological distress) among youth. MEDLINE, PsychINFO, EMBASE and Scopus were searched for observational studies investigating this relationship among youth (aged 16–25). Thirty-six cross-sectional studies and six prospective cohort studies met the inclusion criteria. Among cross-sectional studies, significant associations between excessive social media use with poor mental health outcomes (n = 33), poor sleep quality (n = 24), and significant associations between poor sleep quality …

Emergency Department Use Following Incentives To Provide After-Hours Primary Care: A Retrospective Cohort Study., Michael Hong, Amardeep Thind, Gregory S Zaric, Sisira Sarma

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Publications

BACKGROUND: Access to primary care outside of regular working hours is limited in many countries. This study investigates the relation between the after-hours premium, an incentive for primary care physicians to provide services after hours, and less-urgent visits to the emergency department in Ontario, Canada.

METHODS: We analyzed a retrospective cohort of a random sample of Ontario residents from April 2002 to March 2006, and a subcohort of patients followed from April 2005 to March 2016. We linked patient and primary care physician data with emergency department visit data. We used fixed-effects regression models to analyze the association between the …

Experimental And Computational Observations Of Immunogenic Cobalt Porphyrin Lipid Bilayers: Nanodomain-Enhanced Antigen Association., Jasmin Federizon, Conrard Giresse Tetsassi Feugmo, Wei-Chiao Huang, Xuedan He, Kazutoyo Miura, Aida Razi, Joaquin Ortega, Mikko Karttunen, Jonathan F Lovell

Chemistry Publications

Cobalt porphyrin phospholipid (CoPoP) can incorporate within bilayers to enable non-covalent surface-display of antigens on liposomes by mixing with proteins bearing a polyhistidine tag (his-tag); however, the mechanisms for how this occurs are poorly understood. These were investigated using the his-tagged model antigen Pfs25, a protein antigen candidate for malaria transmission-blocking vaccines. Pfs25 was found to associate with the small molecule aquocobalamin, a form of vitamin B12 and a cobalt-containing corrin macrocycle, but without particle formation, enabling comparative assessment. Relative to CoPoP liposomes, binding and serum stability studies indicated a weaker association of Pfs25 to aquocobalamin or cobalt nitrilotriacetic acid …

Physician Remuneration Schemes, Psychiatric Hospitalizations And Follow-Up Care: Evidence From Blended Fee-For-Service And Capitation Models., Thyna Vu, Kelly K Anderson, Rose Anne Devlin, Nibene H Somé, Sisira Sarma

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Publications

Psychiatric hospitalizations could be reduced if mental illnesses were detected and treated earlier in the primary care setting, leading to the World Health Organization recommendation that mental health services be integrated into primary care. The mental health services provided in primary care settings may vary based on how physicians are incentivized. Little is known about the link between physician remuneration and psychiatric hospitalizations. We contribute to this literature by studying the relationship between physician remuneration and psychiatric hospitalizations in Canada's most populous province, Ontario. Specifically, we study family physicians (FPs) who switched from blended fee-for-service (FFS) to blended capitation remuneration …

The Risk Of Physical Multimorbidity In People With Psychotic Disorders: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Myanca Rodrigues, Joshua C. Wiener, Saverio Stranges, Bridget L. Ryan, Kelly K. Anderson

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Publications

Background: The occurrence of multiple co-occurring chronic health conditions, known as multimorbidity, is associated with decreases in quality of life for patients and poses unique challenges for healthcare systems. Since people with psychotic disorders have an excess of physical health conditions compared to the general population, they may also be at a higher risk for multimorbidity. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to quantify the prevalence and excess risk of multimorbidity among people with psychotic disorders, relative to those without psychosis.

Methods: We searched the MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO databases, and conducted forward and backward citation tracing of included …