The Coast-to-Coast Seminar and Remote Mathematical Collaboration

(WestGrid) and Dalhousie (ACEnet) seminar series which is now two years old, and is gradually expanding to include other Canadian universities. More generally we discuss current and future uses of AccessGrid and related technology as a production environment. Index Terms—Remote collaboration, video conferencing, AccessGrid. I

Amazônia na Encruzilhada: Definindo a Agenda para Pesquisa Internacional Transdisciplinar de Consequência

On January 17, 2023, twenty-seven scientists, advocates, and policy leaders from throughout the Amazon River Basin gathered in Front Royal, Virginia, for an all-day Workshop focused on the future of transdisciplinary research in the region. Participants hailed from Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, and the United States, and represented academic disciplines as varied as conservation biology, anthropology, environmental economics, education, botany, political science, geography, geochemistry, and climate science. In addition to academic leaders–including several members from various national academies of science–the Workshop convened funding agencies, NGOs, and multilateral banks. Here we summarize the proceedings of the Workshop. The organizers hope that our findings will help inform the development of a transnational call for transdisciplinary research of consequence focused on the most urgent research-to-action priorities in the greater Amazonian region. The Belmont Forum is currently developing a “Collaborative Research Action” call, under the leadership of the São Paulo Research Foundation and the Interamerican Institute for Global Change Research, along just these lines.The workshop, "Amazonia at the Crossroads: Setting the Agenda for International Transdisciplinary Research of Consequence," was sponsored by the Belmont Forum, Future Earth, Interamerican Institute for Global Change Research, FAPESP – Sao Paolo Research Foundation, The Institute for a Sustainable Earth at George Mason University, and the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation

Elective Cancer Surgery in COVID-19–Free Surgical Pathways During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: An International, Multicenter, Comparative Cohort Study

PURPOSEAs cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19–free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway.PATIENTS AND METHODSThis international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19–free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation).RESULTSOf 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19–free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19–free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19–free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score–matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19–free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76).CONCLUSIONWithin available resources, dedicated COVID-19–free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks.</jats:sec

Delaying surgery for patients with a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection.

With at least 28 elective million operations delayed during the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of patients who will require surgery after a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection is likely to increase rapidly. Operating on patients with an active perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection is now known to carry a very high pulmonary complication and mortality rate. Urgent information is needed to guide whether postponing surgery in patients with a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to a clinical benefit, and the optimal length of delay.no abstract availabl