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Competing Interests: Funding Support and Author Disclosures The CIRCA-DOSE study was funded by a peer-reviewed grant from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (grant no. G-13-0003121), with additional financial support from Medtronic and Heart Rhythm Services at the University of British Columbia. The EARLY-AF study was funded by a peer-reviewed grant from the Cardiac Arrhythmia Network of Canada (grant no. SRG-15-P15-001), which is a Networks of Centres of Excellence program funded from a joint initiative of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Industry Canada, and Health Canada. In addition, the trial was supported by unrestricted grants from Medtronic and Baylis Medical, as well as in-kind support from Medtronic (implantable cardiac monitors) and the University of British Columbia. Dr Khairy is supported by the André Chagnon research chair in electrophysiology and congenital heart disease. Dr Deyell has received grants from Biosense-Webster. Dr Macle has received personal fees from Medtronic; and grants and personal fees from St. Jude Medical/Abbott and Biosense-Webster. Dr Andrade has received grants and personal fees from Medtronic; grants from Baylis; and personal fees from Biosense-Webster. All other authors have reported that they have no relationships relevant to the contents of this paper to disclose.

Background: Protein leverage (PL) is the phenomenon of consuming food until absolute intake of protein approaches a 'target value', such that total energy intake (TEI) varies passively with the ratio of protein: non-protein energy (fat + carbohydrate) in the diet. The PL hypothesis (PLH) suggests that the dilution of protein in energy-dense foods, particularly those rich in carbohydrates and fats, combines with protein leverage to contribute to the global obesity epidemic. Evidence for PL has been reported in younger adults, children and adolescents. This study aimed to test for PL and the protein leverage hypothesis (PLH) in a cohort of older adults., Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of dietary intake in a cohort of 1699 community-dwelling older adults aged 67-84 years from the NuAge cohort. We computed TEI and the energy contribution (EC) from each macronutrient. The strength of leverage of macronutrients was assessed through power functions ( TEI = μ * EC L ). Body mass index (BMI) was calculated, and mixture models were fitted to predict TEI and BMI from macronutrients' ECs., Results: In this cohort of older adults, 53% of individuals had obesity and 1.5% had severe cases. The mean TEI was 7673 kJ and macronutrients' ECs were 50.4%, 33.2% and 16.4%, respectively for carbohydrates, fat, and protein. There was a strong negative association (L = -0.37; p < 0.001) between the protein EC and TEI. Each percent of energy intake from protein reduced TEI by 77 kJ on average, ceteris paribus. However, BMI was unassociated with TEI in this cohort., Conclusions: Findings indicate clear evidence for PL on TEI, but not on BMI, likely because of aging, body composition, sarcopenia, or protein wasting., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

Background and Objectives: In this proof-of-concept study, which included blood donor samples, we aimed to demonstrate how Bayesian latent class models (BLCMs) could be used to estimate SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in the absence of a gold standard assay under a two-phase sampling design., Materials and Methods: To this end, 6810 plasma samples from blood donors who resided in Québec (Canada) were collected from May to July 2020 and tested for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies using seven serological assays (five commercial and two non-commercial)., Results: SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence was estimated at 0.71% (95% credible interval [CrI] = 0.53%-0.92%). The cPass assay had the lowest sensitivity estimate (88.7%; 95% CrI = 80.6%-94.7%), while the Héma-Québec assay had the highest (98.7%; 95% CrI = 97.0%-99.6%)., Conclusion: The estimated low seroprevalence (which indicates a relatively limited spread of SARS-CoV-2 in Quebec) might change rapidly-and this tool, developed using blood donors, could enable a rapid update of the prevalence estimate in the absence of a gold standard. Further, the present analysis illustrates how a two-stage BLCM sampling design, along with blood donor samples, can be used to estimate the performance of new diagnostic tests and inform public health decisions regarding a new or emerging disease for which a perfect reference standard does not exist., (© 2023 International Society of Blood Transfusion.)

The COVID-19 pandemic is currently causing several damages to the world, especially in the public health sector. Due to identifiability problems in parameters' estimation of complex compartmental models, this study considered a simple deterministic susceptible-infectious-recovered (SIR)-type model to characterize the first wave and predict the future course of the pandemic in the West African countries. We estimated some specific characteristics of the disease's dynamics, such as its initial conditions, reproduction numbers, true peak and peak of the reported cases, with their corresponding times, final epidemic size and time-varying attack ratio. Our findings revealed a relatively low proportion of susceptible individuals in the region and the different countries ( 1.2 % across West Africa). The detection rate of the disease was also relatively low ( 0.9 % for West Africa as a whole) and < 2 % for most countries, except for Gambia (12.5 %), Cape-Verde ( 9.5 % ), Mauritania ( 5.9 % ) and Ghana ( 4.4 % ). The reproduction number varied between 1.15 (Burkina-Faso) and 4.45 (Niger), and most countries' peak time of the first wave of the pandemic was between June and July. Generally, the peak time of the reported cases came a week (7-8 days) after the true peak time. The model predicted for the first wave, 222,100 actual active cases in the region at the peak time, while the final epidemic size accounted for 0.6 % of the West African population (2,526,700 individuals). The results showed that COVID-19 has not severely affected West Africa as in other regions. However, current control measures and standard operating procedures should be maintained over time to accelerate a decline in the observed trends of the pandemic., Competing Interests: We wish to confirm that there are no known conflicts of interest associated with this publication and there has been no significant financial support for this work that could have influenced its outcome., (© 2022 The Author(s).)

This paper reviews indigenous Beninese food resources as potential ingredients for complementary infant foods with the aim to develop affordable formulations for low-income households in each agro-ecological zone of the country. Potential ingredients were selected on their documented nutritional value. The selected foods encompass 347 food resources, namely 297 plant products from home gardens or collected from natural vegetation and 50 animals, either domesticated or from the wild. The compiled data reveal that the distribution of the available food resources was unbalanced between agro-ecological zones. Only a few animal ingredients are obtainable in northern Benin. Most resources are seasonal, but their availability may be extended. A high variation was observed in energy and nutrient contents. Antinutritional factors were identified in some resources, but processing techniques were reported to reduce their presence in meals. In general, ingredients from local tree foods (Adansonia digitata, Parkia biglobosa) were adequate as sources of nutrients for complementary infant foods. Based on this review, local foods for the development of complementary food formulas for Beninese infants and children may be selected for each agro-ecological zone. The approach used is exemplary for other sub-Saharan African countries in need of complementary infant foods. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.)