Does the Province have enough financial and statistical data available to execute a needs-based grant allocation to target municipal infrastructure investment instead of utilizing an application process to allocate funds?

Municipalities across the Province are grappling with infrastructure deficits. Small, northern, and rural municipality’s tax assessment base limits its ability to garner sufficient revenue to support operations as well as renew and replace infrastructure. Federal and Provincial governments must step in and assist. As a result, the province introduced the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF) as a permanent program to fund critical infrastructure projects for core assets—roads, bridges, water and wastewater. This paper analyzes provincially mandated municipal Financial Information Returns (FIRs) in conjunction with OCIF statistics to assess whether the Province can efficiently and effectively re-distribute revenue using existing financial and statistical data to local governments, and to investigate the effectiveness of an application-based, rather than formula-based, approach for infrastructure grants. I conclude that the distribution of grants was inequitable, and so did not efficiently target need, and recommend that the province increase transparency and predictability by adopting a formula-based granting model

Triumph Over Tragedy, Second Edition: A Curriculum for Extension Professionals Responding to Disasters and Terrorism

We describe Triumph Over Tragedy, Second Edition: A Community Response to Managing Trauma in Times of Disaster and Terrorism, a curriculum designed to assist Extension professionals and other community stakeholders in helping their communities prepare for, and respond to, trauma associated with natural and human-made disasters. In the post-September 11, 2001 environment, it is imperative that community professionals become involved in planning for the psychological impact of these events

Objective Assessment of Adherence to Inhalers by COPD Patients.

RATIONALE: Objective adherence to inhaled therapy by patients with COPD has not been reported. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to objectively quantify adherence to preventer DiskusTM inhaler therapy by patients with COPD with an electronic audio recording device (INCATM). METHODS: This was a prospective observational study. On discharge from hospital patients were given a salmeterol/fluticasone inhaler with an INCATM device attached. Analysis of this audio quantified the frequency and proficiency of inhaler use. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: COPD patients (n=265) were recruited. The mean age 71 years, mean Forced Expiratory Volume in 1-second 1.3 Litres, and 80% had evidence of mild/moderate cognitive impairment. By combining time of use, interval between doses and critical technique errors, thus incorporating both intentional and unintentional non-adherence, a measure \u22Actual Adherence\u22 was calculated. Mean Actual Adherence was 22.9% of that expected if the doses were taken correctly and on time. Seven percent had an Actual Adherence\u3e80%. Hierarchical clustering found three equally sized well-separated clusters corresponding to distinct patterns: Cluster 1 (34%) had low inhaler use and high error rates, Cluster 2 (31%) had high inhaler use and high error rates, and Cluster 3 (30%) had overall good adherence. Lung function and co-morbidities were predictive of poor technique, while age and cognition with poor lung function distinguished those with poor adherence and frequent errors in technique. CONCLUSION: These data may inform clinicians both in understanding why a prescribed inhaler is not effective and to devise strategies to promote adherence in COPD

ABA Criminal Justice Section Task Force on College Due Process Rights and Victim Protections: Recommendations for Colleges and Universities in Resolving Allegations of Campus Sexual Misconduct

The Executive Committee of the ABA Criminal Justice Section commissioned the Task Force on College Due Process Rights and Victim Protections in November 2016. Immediately after, extensive efforts were made to find members that represented all interested parties: victims, the accused, universities, other stakeholders, and national experts. The Task Force was fully constituted in the winter of 2017, and it ended up including two voting members who were originally liaisons from the ABA Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence and the ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice. This elevation was made in recognition of their significant contributions

Coherent diffraction of single Rice Dwarf virus particles using hard X-rays at the Linac Coherent Light Source

Single particle diffractive imaging data from Rice Dwarf Virus (RDV) were recorded using the Coherent X-ray Imaging (CXI) instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). RDV was chosen as it is a wellcharacterized model system, useful for proof-of-principle experiments, system optimization and algorithm development. RDV, an icosahedral virus of about 70 nm in diameter, was aerosolized and injected into the approximately 0.1 mu m diameter focused hard X-ray beam at the CXI instrument of LCLS. Diffraction patterns from RDV with signal to 5.9 angstrom ngstrom were recorded. The diffraction data are available through the Coherent X-ray Imaging Data Bank (CXIDB) as a resource for algorithm development, the contents of which are described here.11Ysciescopu

Corrigendum to “Randomized phase 2 trial and open-label extension of domagrozumab in Duchenne muscular dystrophy” [Neuromuscular Disorders, Vol. 30 (6) 2020, 492-502] (Neuromuscular Disorders (2020) 30(6) (492–502), (S0960896620301188), (10.1016/j.nmd.2020.05.002))

This article reported on the results from a phase 2 trial of domagrozumab and its open-label extension in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (Clinicaltrials.gov identifiers: NCT02310763 and NCT02907619). The manuscript also provided results on two secondary endpoints for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), muscle volume and muscle volume index. The authors regret that, following publication of the results and in preparation for a separate publication on MRI results from this trial, the MRI images were reviewed and segmentation errors were identified. As a result, the team worked to (1) Perform a rigorous quality inspection of all analysed data; (2) Identify cases where there were incorrect segmentations; (3) correct segmentation errors; (4) Re-analyse all data with correct segmentation. Using the updated MRI data, the MMRM analysis showed there was a change in the significance of secondary endpoints evaluating Thigh Muscle Volume and Muscle Volume Index. No significant differences between treatment groups in muscle volume measures were found in the original analysis. These results have not altered the overall interpretation of the study results but do necessitate revisions to the article. These data confirm that the trial design and execution adequately tested the hypothesis that myostatin inhibition would slow or delay the loss of function in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The increase in muscle volume observed by MRI in patients with DMD treated with domagrozumab is in accordance with mechanism of action for domagrozumab, which targets myostatin, a negative regulator of muscle growth. The increase in muscle volume did not lead to a clinical benefit in patients with DMD. The primary endpoint (4 stair climb) did not meet statistical significance, nor did the other functional tests. The study was terminated due to lack of efficacy. Full details of the needed revisions are as follows: 1. In the results section 3.6 (page 8, second paragraph), we reported no significant differences in mean percent change from baseline between domagrozumab and placebo for both muscle volume and muscle volume index. This paragraph was replaced with the following text: “There was a significant difference between domagrozumab and placebo in the mean percent change from baseline in thigh muscle volume at Week 17 (difference 2.945%, P=0.0087) and Week 49 (differences 4.087%, P=0.0298), and in muscle volume index at Week 33 (difference 2.612%, P=0.0376) and Week 49 (differences3.208%, P=0.0411).” 2. In the discussion (page 9), the following sentence, “Although neither muscle volume nor muscle volume index measures were statistically significant in this study, they are both consistent with a potential anabolic effect.” was replaced with, “The increase in muscle volume observed on MRI in patients with DMD treated with domagrozumab, is in accordance with mechanism of action for this compound which targets myostatin, a negative regulator of muscle growth. However, the increase in muscle volume did not lead to a clinical benefit (improved function) in patients with DMD.” 3. In view of the correction to the Results section, this is now reflected in the abstract which has changed to read: “There were no significant between-group differences in secondary clinical endpoints, except for the thigh muscle volume and muscle volume index measures (P\u3c0.05).” The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused

Genetic Testing for Early Detection of Individuals at Risk of Coronary Heart Disease and Monitoring Response to Therapy: Challenges and Promises

Coronary heart disease (CHD) often presents suddenly with little warning. Traditional risk factors are inadequate to identify the asymptomatic high-risk individuals. Early identification of patients with subclinical coronary artery disease using noninvasive imaging modalities would allow the early adoption of aggressive preventative interventions. Currently, it is impractical to screen the entire population with noninvasive coronary imaging tools. The use of relatively simple and inexpensive genetic markers of increased CHD risk can identify a population subgroup in which benefit of atherosclerotic imaging modalities would be increased despite nominal cost and radiation exposure. Additionally, genetic markers are fixed and need only be measured once in a patient’s lifetime, can help guide therapy selection, and may be of utility in family counseling