University of British Columbia

Design and development of AbortionCareTXT, a text message programme for individuals undergoing medication abortion

Abstract Background In Canada, medication abortion accounts for approximately 30% of the 100 000 annual abortions. Despite the advantages of privacy and autonomy, many individuals report feeling unprepared and uninformed about the medication abortion process. Mobile health (mHeal...

Multivariate analysis identifies distinct latent components and highlights the contribution of motor cortex neurochemistry to clinical variance in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Abstract Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is marked by substantial clinical heterogeneity across motor and extramotor domains, yet how different neuroimaging modalities jointly relate to this heterogeneity remains poorly understood. Prior ALS neuroimaging studies have largely...

Pheromone and morphometric features of honey bee (Apis mellifera) queens imported to Canada from around the globe

Canada imports approximately 300,000 honey bee queens annually to support the beekeeping industry, in addition to producing queens domestically during the short rearing season. Over 80% of imported queens come from the U.S., with additional contributions (~5% each) from Italy, Au...

Atrophic Papulosis: A Systematic Review of Pediatric Cases

BACKGROUND: Atrophic papulosis is a rare occlusive vasculopathy that can present with isolated cutaneous disease or with systemic involvement. Pediatric cases are uncommon, and existing reports are heterogeneous, limiting understanding of disease patterns, timing of organ involve...

Relative height and vertical status in buildings

Abstract Motivated by research that associates higher positioning with well‐being, we expand the vertical price‐gradient literature by estimating the value of within‐ and between‐building “vertical status”: one's relative vertical position compared to others in the same building...

Fetal microglia show region-specific and morphology-dependent sex differences in their responsiveness to prenatal maternal stress

The prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) has increased dramatically, with growing evidence linking prenatal maternal stress exposure to NDDs. Across diverse maternal stressors, immune dysregulation emerges as a common feature, suggesting that fetal microglia may dete...

Determinants of the continuum of maternal healthcare service utilization in Nigeria: Evidence from the 2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey

Background Maternal mortality remains a major public health challenge, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, with Sub-Saharan Africa bearing a disproportionate burden. Nigeria accounts for over one-quarter of all maternal deaths worldwide. This reflects gaps in access...

Sex differences in mortality risk profiles across the life course in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: a machine learning analysis of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

Abstract Background Prognostic models for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) are largely ‘one-size-fits-all’ and do not collectively account for sex differences and social determinants of health (SDoH). To address this gap, we trained and developed s...

Preliminary Evaluation of Synthetic Amanitin Analogs as Novel Payloads for Potent Antibody−Drug Conjugates

Abstract Alpha-amanitinthe principal toxin of Amanita phalloides, infamous for its hepatotoxicity and lethalityhas been receiving considerable attention as a candidate payload in antibody−drug conjugates (ADCs). Previously, we identified three synthetic amatoxins with heightene...

A global study of novel agents in paediatric and adolescent relapsed and refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (Glo-BNHL): protocol for an adaptive international platform clinical trial

The second Paediatric Strategy Forum of the international multi-stakeholder organisation, ACCELERATE (Nov-2017), concluded that an international approach to conducting clinical trials in relapsed and refractory paediatric B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (r/r B-NHL) was critical and t...

Reproducibility of Colloidal Lignin Particle Preparation: An Interlaboratory Evaluation

Abstract The reproducibility of the preparation of colloidal lignin particles (CLPs) was evaluated through a coordinated interlaboratory study involving seven independent research groups from around the world. The objective was to assess the robustness of the anti-solvent precipi...

DocPrism: Multi-lingual Detection of Incorrectness Inconsistencies between Code and Documentation

Code-documentation inconsistencies are common and undesirable: they can lead to developer misunderstandings and software defects. This paper introduces DocPrism, a lightweight multi-language, code-documentation inconsistency detection tool. DocPrism uses a standard large language...

Perceptions of Pharmacogenomic Testing Among People With Treatment Resistant Depression: Legitimization as a Facilitator of Acceptance.

Pharmacogenomic testing for psychiatric medications has been proposed as both an early intervention to optimize treatment response, and for use among patients who have tried multiple medications without symptom remission. Therefore, this testing may be particularly salient to the...

Mind the Gap: Disparities in Education on Organ Donation and Transplantation-Results of a Global Survey.

Background: Widely accessible education on organ donation and transplantation (ODT) is a tool to reduce waiting lists, as <10% of transplant needs are met (Global Observatory on Donation and Transplantation). We aimed to assess the current state of access to education on ODT worl...

Consensus-based clinical and research recommendations for use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists in the context of eating disorders: a modified Delphi study.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), initially developed for type 2 diabetes management and later expanded to obesity treatment, have shown preliminary efficacy in reducing binge eating episodes. However, the appetite-suppressing and weight-loss effects of GLP-1R...

Generalized Nonlinear Bayesian Pulsar Timing with ENTERPRISE

Abstract We use the Bayesian methods in the ENTERPRISE package to examine the fully general parameterization of pulsar timing models in tandem with noise. We investigate four pulsars, PSRs J1600–3053, J2043+1711, J0740+6620, and J1640+2224, through the lens of Bayesian timing. We...

Acceptance of Organs From Deceased Donors: Results of a Global Survey.

Background: With <10% of transplantation needs being met, one contributing factor may be the potential subjectivity in transplant specialists' acceptance of organs. Such decisions, if influenced by knowledge and/or comfort gaps, warrant intervention. We assessed knowledge and com...

Did Recent Inflation Reflect a Nonlinear Phillips Curve?

We also thank Carola Conces Binder

Integrated positioning and communication via LEO satellites: A contemporary overview

Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, as a prominent technology in the sixth generation non-terrestrial network, offer both positioning and communication capabilities. While these two applications have each been extensively studied and have achieved substantial progress in recent yea...

Single-cell profiling and genetic regulation of alternative polyadenylation in the human brain

Abstract Alternative polyadenylation (APA) has a central role in regulation of the fate of mRNA and exhibits high variability in the brain and in neurons. However, brain APA regulation has not been mapped at cell type resolution, and the genetic control of APA in brain cell types...