Background: Occult bacterial infection is a proposed etiology of low back pain (LBP). However, a causative link between LBP and bacteria remains unconfirmed. Herein, we determined the incidence of occult discitis in patients receiving surgery for LDH. Methods: Study Design: prospective cohort study. Inclusion criteria: consecutive adult patients undergoing discectomy for symptomatic LDH. Exclusion criteria: prior epidural steroid use, prior spinal surgery, and antibiotic use within 2 weeks of surgery. Tissue samples: Four nuclear tissue and ligamentum flavum (control) samples were obtained per patient using stringent aseptic protocol. Samples underwent 16S-PCR and culturing. Results: Eighty-one patients were enrolled (mean age 43.3±13.3 years). All (100%) of tissue samples were negative by 16S PCR and no virulent species were detected. Nuclear and ligament cultures were both negative in 51 (62.9%) cases. Cultures were positive for nuclear tissue only, ligament only, or both in 14.8%, 12.3%, and 9.9% of cases, respectively. Fifteen of 20 (75%) disc positive samples grew a single colony of an indolent species. Conclusions: The findings of this prospective cohort study of consecutive patients receiving surgery for LDH do not support the theory of occult discitis. All samples were 16S-PCR negative, and most cultures were negative or grew a single colony suggestive of contamination.

Background: Due to high risk of recurrence and complications associated with microsurgical resection or aspiration of enlarging cystic sellar lesions, stereotactic intracavitary irradiation with 90Yttrium (90Yt) has been proposed as an alternative to mitigate these challenges. Long-term efficacy data for this procedure is lacking. Methods: We conducted a Health Canada approved, single-centre, prospective cohort study to assess the effect of 90Yt therapy on cyst volume, visual field (VF) testing and endocrine function. All patients underwent right frontal stereotactic insertion of 90Yt colloid (200 Gy cyst wall). Results: 22 patients [mean age = 63.5 (± 15.4) years] received 90Yt therapy. Mean follow-up was 52 (5-113) months. Cysts included: craniopharyngioma (86%), Rathke’s cleft cyst (9%) and cystic prolactinoma (5%). Mean cyst volume reduction was 77% at 12-months (5.2 ± 4.5 cc to 1.2 ± 1.5 cc; p = 0.002). Rate of pre- and post-op hormonal dysfunction was 59% and 68%, respectively (p = 0.50). Pre-operative VF deficits were found in 68% of patients, of which 32% normalized and 36% remained stable (p = 0.180). Worsened vision was detected in 9% of patients post-operatively. Conclusions: 90Yttrium therapy significantly reduces sellar cyst size without having a deleterious effect on vision and endocrine function.

Background: Following craniotomy, there is widespread agreement that post-operative neurological impairments require specialized evaluation to evaluate fitness to drive. However, for patients who had a craniotomy and do not have neurological deficits or known seizures, there is less consensus as to when return to driving is safe. In this study, we aim to review existing guidelines regarding driving post-craniotomy and assess the current practices for post-craniotomy recommendations in Canada. Methods: Our study has three components: 1) systematic review of existing guidelines for return to driving after cranial procedure; 2) review of primary evidence (cohort studies) regarding seizure risk following a craniotomy, depending of the underlying pathology; 3) online questionnaire distributed to Canadian neurosurgeons by the Canadian Neurosurgery Collaborative (CNRC) network. Results: Our systematic review unveiled various sets of guidelines for driving after a craniotomy. For instance, UK Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency writes into law specific guidelines for return to driving varying based on underlying pathology. Their results were drawn from large cohort studies measuring the occurrence of post-operative seizures after craniotomy for a variety of conditions. The questionnaire is currently being distributed to Canadian neurosurgeons. Conclusions: Our study lays the first steps towards the development of Canadian guidelines for return to driving post-craniotomy.

Background: Lumbar disc herniation (LDH) is a risk factor for Modic change (MC) development on spinal MRI. MC has been associated with worse pre- and post-operative pain, disability, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). We examined the relationship between pre-operative MC and post-operative assessment scores for patients receiving discectomy (LD) or transforaminal interbody fusion (TLIF) for LDH. Methods: We reviewed 285 primary single-level surgeries. Pre-operative and 12-month post-operative assessment scores: Visual Analog Scale Leg-Pain (VAS-LP), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and Short-Form-36 Physical Component Summary (SF-36-PCS). MC subgroup on pre-operative MRI was recorded by a single neuroradiologist. Results: 179 patients were included. The sample prevalence of MC on pre-operative MRI was 62%; MC2 was most common (35%). No differences in pre-operative scores were identified, regardless of present or absent MC. For the overall cohort, improvement in assessment scores were observed: SF-36 improved an average of 8.2 points (95% CI: [5.8, 10.7]), ODI by 11.3 points (95% CI: [8.7, 14.0]), and VAS by 2.8 points (95% CI: [2.1, 3.5]). In nearly all cases, MCID values were met. Conclusions: Clinically significant improvement in post-operative pain, disability, and HRQoL was observed for both procedures. Modic change on pre-operative MRI was not associated with worse clinical assessment scores.

In recent years, a variety of efforts have been made in political science to enable, encourage, or require scholars to be more open and explicit about the bases of their empirical claims and, in turn, make those claims more readily evaluable by others. While qualitative scholars have long taken an interest in making their research open, reflexive, and systematic, the recent push for overarching transparency norms and requirements has provoked serious concern within qualitative research communities and raised fundamental questions about the meaning, value, costs, and intellectual relevance of transparency for qualitative inquiry. In this Perspectives Reflection, we crystallize the central findings of a three-year deliberative process—the Qualitative Transparency Deliberations (QTD)—involving hundreds of political scientists in a broad discussion of these issues. Following an overview of the process and the key insights that emerged, we present summaries of the QTD Working Groups’ final reports. Drawing on a series of public, online conversations that unfolded at www.qualtd.net, the reports unpack transparency’s promise, practicalities, risks, and limitations in relation to different qualitative methodologies, forms of evidence, and research contexts. Taken as a whole, these reports—the full versions of which can be found in the Supplementary Materials—offer practical guidance to scholars designing and implementing qualitative research, and to editors, reviewers, and funders seeking to develop criteria of evaluation that are appropriate—as understood by relevant research communities—to the forms of inquiry being assessed. We dedicate this Reflection to the memory of our coauthor and QTD working group leader Kendra Koivu.1

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: In patients with recurrent glioblastoma (GBM) who undergo a second surgery following standard chemoradiotherapy, histopathologic examination of the resected tissue often reveals a combination of viable tumor and treatment-related inflammatory changes. However, it remains unclear whether the degree of viable tumor Versus “treatment effect” in these specimens impacts prognosis. We sought to determine whether the percentage of viable tumor Versus “treatment effect” in recurrent GBM surgical samples, as assessed by a trained neuropathologist and quantified on a continuous scale, is associated with overall survival. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We reviewed the records of 47 patients with histopathologically confirmed GBM who underwent surgical resection as the first therapeutic modality for suspected radiographic progression following standard radiation therapy and temozolomide. The percentage of viable tumor Versus “treatment effect” in each specimen was estimated by one neuropathologist who was blinded to patient outcomes. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: After adjusting for other known prognostic factors in a multivariate Cox proportional hazards model, there was no association between the degree of viable tumor and overall survival (HR 0.83; 95% CI, 0.20–3.4; p=0.20). DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: These results suggest that, in patients who undergo resection for recurrent GBM following standard first-line chemoradiotherapy, histopathologic quantification of the degree of viable tumor Versus “treatment effect” present in the surgical specimen has limited prognostic influence and clinical utility.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, progressive, autoimmune, neurodegenerative disorder that can interfere with physical and psychological functioning, negatively affecting health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Fostering mindfulness may mitigate the negative consequences of MS on HRQoL. The relationship between mindfulness, mood and MS-related quality of life was investigated. In total, 52 individuals with MS completed questionnaires to examine the relationship between trait mindfulness and wellness. Higher levels of trait mindfulness were associated with better HRQoL, lower depression and anxiety, lower fatigue impact and fewer perceived cognitive deficits. Mindfulness interventions have the potential to enhance wellness in those living with MS.

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Obesity is a rapidly growing epidemic and long-term interventions aimed to reduce body weight are largely unsuccessful due to an increased drive to eat and a reduced metabolic rate established during weight loss. Previously, our lab demonstrated that exercise has beneficial effects on weight loss maintenance by increasing total energy expenditure above and beyond the cost of an exercise bout and reducing the drive to eat when allowed to eat ad libitum (relapse). We hypothesized that exercise’s ability to counter these obesogenic-impetuses are mediated via improvements in skeletal muscle oxidative capacity, and tested this using a mouse model with augmented oxidative capacity in skeletal muscle. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We recapitulated the exercise-induced improvements in oxidative capacity using FVB mice that overexpress lipoprotein lipase in skeletal muscle (mLPL). mLPL and wild type (WT) mice were put through a weight-loss-weight-regain paradigm consisting of a high fat diet challenge for 13 weeks, with a subsequent 1-week calorie-restricted medium fat diet to induce a ~15% weight loss. This newly established weight was maintained for 2 weeks and followed with a 24-hour relapse. Metabolic phenotype was characterized by indirect calorimetry during each phase. At the conclusion of the relapse day, mice were sacrificed and tissues were harvested for molecular analysis. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: During weight loss maintenance, mLPL mice had a higher metabolic rate (p=0.0256) that was predominantly evident in the dark cycle (p=0.0015). Furthermore, this increased metabolic rate was not due to differences in activity (p=0.2877) or resting metabolic rate (p=0.4881). During relapse, mLPL mice ingested less calories and were protected from rapid weight regain (p=0.0235), despite WT mice exhibiting higher metabolic rates during the light cycle (p=0.0421). DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: These results highlight the importance of muscular oxidative capacity in preventing a depression in total energy expenditure during weight loss maintenance, and in curbing overfeeding and weight regain during a relapse. Moreover, our data suggest that the thermic effect of food is responsible for the differences in metabolic rate, because no differences were found in activity or resting metabolic rate. Additional studies are warranted to determine the molecular mechanisms driving the ability of oxidative capacity to assist with weight loss maintenance.

Introduction: Situational Awareness is the ability to identify, process, and comprehend the critical elements of information about the patient condition, stability, the operational environment and an appropriate clinical course. The Situational Awareness Global Assessment Tool (SAGAT) is a validated tool for measuring situational awareness. The SAGAT tool was measured during a series of standardized high fidelity advanced airway management simulations in multidisciplinary teams in New Brunswick Emergency Departments delivered by two simulation programs Methods: Thirty eight simulated emergency airway cases were performed in situ in Emergency Departments and in learning centers in Southern New Brunswick from September 2015 to October 2017. Eight standardized cases were used whose educational objectives were to develop the optimization of critically ill patients prior to induction, to deliver patient-centered anesthesia and to choose an appropriate airway strategy. Learner profiles collected. Cases were divided into two groups; those that contained critical errors and those that did not based on video assessment. Critical errors were defined as failure of 1) Oxygenation 2) Shock correction 3) Induction dose estimation 4) Choice of airway management paradigm. The SAGAT has a maximum score of 13 and was assessed by research nurses after each case for all participants. SAGAT scores were non-normally distributed, so results were expressed as medians with interquartile ranges. Mann Whitney U tests were used to calculate statistical significance. Results: Results. Of the 38 cases, 14 contained one more critical errors. The median SAGAT score in the group that contained critical errors was 8 +/− 2 (IQR). The median SAGAT Score in the group that contained no critical errors was 11 +/− 2 (IQR). The median scores we significantly different with a p-value of 0.02. Conclusion: In this study in simulated emergency cases, higher SAGAT scores were associated with teams leaders that did not commit safety critical errors. This work is the initial analysis to develop standards for Simulated team performance in Emergency Department teams.

Introduction: Situational awareness (SA) is the team understanding patient stability, presenting illness and future clinical course. Losing SA has been shown to increase safety-critical events in multiple industries. SA can be measured by the previously validated Situational Awareness Global Assessment Tool (SAGAT). Checklists are used in many safety-critical industries to reduce errors of omission and commission. An RSI checklist was developed from case review and published evidence.The New Brunswick Trauma Program supports an inter-professional simulation-based medical education program Methods: Simulations were facilitated in three hospitals in New Brunswick from April 2017 to October 2017. Learner profiles were collected. The SAGAT tool was completed by a research nurse at the end of each scenario. SAGAT scores were non-normally distributed, so results were expressed as medians and interquartile ranges. Mann Whitney U tests were used to calculate statistical significance. To understand the effect of the of an RSI checklist a comparison was made between SAGAT scores at baseline in scenario 1, and the same first scenario completed after a washout period. A Poisson regression analysis will be used to account for the effect of confounding variables in further analyses. Results: The group was composed of Registered Nurses (8), Physicians (7), and Respiratory Therapists (2). Situational awareness increased significantly with the use of an RSI checklist after 1 day of 4 simulations. The washout period ranged between 5 weeks and 8 weeks. The baseline situational awareness of the whole group during scenario 1 was 9 +/− 0.5 (median, IQR), and with the RSI checklist was 12 +/−1 (median, IQR). The difference was highly statistically significant, p=< 0.001. This level of situational awareness using checklist is comparable to the SAGAT scores after 10 scenarios. Conclusion: In this provisional analysis, the use of an RSI checklist was associated with an increase in measured situational awareness. Higher levels of situational awareness are associated with greater patient safety. A Poisson regression model will be used to understand the confounding effects of user expertise and the likely interaction with simulation exposure.

In cattle early gastrulation-stage embryos (Stage 5), four tissues can be discerned: (i) the top layer of the embryonic disc consisting of embryonic ectoderm (EmE); (ii) the bottom layer of the disc consisting of mesoderm, endoderm and visceral hypoblast (MEH); (iii) the trophoblast (TB); and (iv) the parietal hypoblast. We performed microsurgery followed by RNA-seq to analyse the transcriptome of these four tissues as well as a developmentally earlier pre-gastrulation embryonic disc. The cattle EmE transcriptome was similar at Stages 4 and 5, characterised by the OCT4/SOX2/NANOG pluripotency network. Expression of genes associated with primordial germ cells suggest their presence in the EmE tissue at these stages. Anterior visceral hypoblast genes were transcribed in the Stage 4 disc, but no longer by Stage 5. The Stage 5 MEH layer was equally similar to mouse embryonic and extraembryonic visceral endoderm. Our data suggest that the first mesoderm to invaginate in cattle embryos is fated to become extraembryonic. TGFβ, FGF, VEGF, PDGFA, IGF2, IHH and WNT signals and receptors were expressed, however the representative members of the FGF families differed from that seen in equivalent tissues of mouse embryos. The TB transcriptome was unique and differed significantly from that of mice. FGF signalling in the TB may be autocrine with both FGFR2 and FGF2 expressed. Our data revealed a range of potential inter-tissue interactions, highlighted significant differences in early development between mice and cattle and yielded insight into the developmental events occurring at the start of gastrulation.