The aim of this study is to compare biomechanical walking parameters between patients with symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis and healthy elderly.

Many patients with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) have decreased plasma volume. Current POTS guidelines recommend \~10 g of salt and 2-3 L of fluid per day. Despite this recommendation, there is no long term data evaluating the use of salt in POTS. This randomized, placebo-controlled cross-over trial will evaluate a high salt diet, compared to a normal salt diet over a period of 3 months. Participants will complete 3 in lab evaluations including autonomic function testing, tilt table testing, blood volume and urine sodium evaluation, plasma catecholamine measurements and and cytokine measurements.

This study will use a form of intermittent fasting called time-restricted eating (TRE) where individuals consume ad libitum energy intake within a set window of time, commonly 8 hours, which induces a fasting window of 16 hours per day (i.e., 16:8 TRE). TRE could be an effective addition to cardiac rehabilitation as it has demonstrated cardiovascular health benefits and potential for synergy when combined with exercise training. This study will determine if TRE is a feasible and safe nutrition intervention during cardiac rehabilitation and if TRE improves the health benefits of cardiac rehabilitation compared to cardiac rehabilitation alone.

This study is designed to determine the minimal effective oxytocin maintenance infusion required in labouring women undergoing cesarean delivery to achieve the best effect. Oxytocin is a drug that is routinely used to help the uterus to contract and keep it contracted after delivery. Consequently, it will help to reduce blood loss after delivery. In order to determine the minimal effective dose, the investigators will conduct a dose-finding study. The first patient will receive a set oxytocin infusion. The next patient's infusion dose of oxytocin, will either increase or decrease, depending on how the previous patient responds in terms of uterine tone. If the response is satisfactory with the infusion dose used, the next patient will either receive the same infusion dose or it will be decreased depending on a probability of 1:9. If the response is not satisfactory, then the infusion dose will increase for the next patient. The dose for each patient will be determined based on the results of the uterine contraction of the previous patient. The investigators hypothesize that the ED90 of the oxytocin infusion rate to maintain adequate uterine tone in labouring women with induced or augmented labour undergoing cesarean delivery, following an initial effective bolus dose, would be lower than 0.74 IU/min (44 IU/h), which was found as the ED90 in a previous study, without an initial bolus dose prior to the infusion.

There is no consensus about the best bowel preparation prior to transanal endoscopic surgery TES). Cleanliness and visibility in the rectosigmoid and rectum are of utmost importance, possibly even more so than during colonoscopy, to facilitate safe, precise and efficient resection of the rectal lesion and potentially adequate closure of the defect. Both Fleet enemas and oral mechanical bowel preparation are considered standard of care in preparation for TES. This single center two arm single blinded randomized controlled trial will compare the effectiveness of Fleet enemas in comparison to Pico Salax oral mechanical bowel preparation in cleansing the rectum as measured by a modified version of the Ottawa Bowel Prep Scale.

Perinatal depression and anxiety (PDA) are the leading causes of maternal mortality in developed countries. Women with a history of depression have a 20 fold higher risk of PDA at subsequent pregnancies. The adverse outcomes extend beyond maternal well-being to long-term deficits in children and families. The gut-brain axis is a newly recognized key player in mental health disorders. Specifically, the microbial composition of the gut along with their metabolites are directly involved in disease onset and course. Recent clinical studies have identified diet as the most powerful environmental factor in manipulating gut microbiome. Given vulnerability and resistance of pregnant women to pharmacotherapy, particularly in those with a predisposition to mood disorders, as well as pregnant women's high motivation and commitment to improving gestational diet, a dietary/supplemental intervention to 'optimize' gut microbiome, is a favored approach in disease management. The study investigators aim to exploit microbial responsiveness to diet together with this maternal motivation, to alter the risk and severity of a universal public health concern that has dire and long-term consequences for new moms and their children. The investigators of this trial, will first study the challenges in pursuing a study aimed at changing the microbiome of pregnant women with a history of mood disorders. Pregnant women in their second trimester will be recruited. Each will be assigned or randomized to one of four groups that will use a combination of diet, supplementation with probiotics, fish oil or no intervention. Each participant will meet with the study team virtually every 3 months until 1 year after delivery. At each study visit participants will be required to complete some questionnaires about their food intake, mood, and other health related measures and will provide a stool sample using the stool collection kits provided. The findings from this study will help strategize for a larger study that will allow for comparison of the effects of diet, and/or supplementation with Omega-3 Fatty Acids (O3FA) and probiotics on the microbiome and the onset and severity of PDA.

After stroke, individuals must be assessed to determine if they can resume driving. Return to driving is very important to people who have experienced a stroke. Unfortunately, health care providers face challenges in addressing driving after stroke. Common issues include being unsure of the best screening practices, difficulty discussing driving with patients, and challenges making informed recommendations about driving that balance the risk of public safety along with supporting patient goals. Occupational Therapists (OTs) are health care providers that provide screening, assessment, and intervention for driving to individuals who have had a stroke. OTs working in stroke care have highlighted the urgency for evidence-based resources to support practice to address driving with patients. The Practice Resource for Driving After Stroke (PReDAS), is an evidenced-based resource to support the clinical practice of OTs in addressing driving in acute stroke settings. A previous pilot study has demonstrated that the PReDAS is considered useful by both health care providers and patients. Further study is needed to evaluate how the PReDAS can support OTs in addressing driving with patients. The current study proposes to provide the PReDAS as an intervention to OTs working in acute stroke settings to see if the intervention increases OT's self efficacy and clinical reasoning for addressing driving. The study will take repeated measures of self-efficacy and clinical reasoning among participating OTs to determine if the PReDAS intervention supports improved self-efficacy and clinical reasoning.

This is a multi-site Canadian, window of opportunity study to evaluate the immune activity of durvalumab and oleclumab in resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) when given prior to surgery.

Providing care to residents and patients significantly contributes to work-related injuries among healthcare personnel, particularly those responsible for transferring and handling residents, who face a higher risk of injury due to the physical demands of their work and other environmental factors. The purpose of this project is to better understand the daily work requirements, identify their physical demands, and assess injury risk of caregivers. Data will be collected using a new pen-and-paper-based ergonomic surveying tool, a series of questionnaires, and measurements of physiological demands such as heart rate and galvanic skin response. Collecting this data will enable the investigators and others to create new interventions better tailored to this working population, with a focus on injury prevention. These interventions may include warm-up routines, stretching exercises, training programs, and/or technological advancements.

Our objective in this study is to identify an optimal ultrasound spectroscopy parameter that can be used as an early predictor of pathological complete or partial response in men with prostate cancer and men and women with rectum and head and neck cancers receiving treatment radiotherapy. We have previously demonstrated that high-frequency ultrasound and spectroscopy, and recently conventional-frequency ultrasound and spectroscopy may be used to detect cell death in vitro, in situ and in vivo. The method can detect different forms of cell death and has been demonstrated to be sensitive to apoptotic, necrotic and mitotic cell death. The main goal, as described above, is to select the best ultrasound spectroscopy parameter to use as an early predictor of pathological complete response