Mark Ungrin

@mark-ungrin.bsky.social

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Parent. Interdisciplinary biomedical researcher. Hardline scientist, Professor, PhD. New platforms and real-world impact, emphasis on scientific rigour, reproducibility, integrity and efficiency. Diverse interests.

Authors Professor Sunetra Gupta; Professor of theoretical epidemiology, the University of Oxford Professor Carl Heneghan; Director, Centre for Evidence Based Medicine, the University of Oxford Professor Karol Sikora; Consultant oncologist and Professor of medicine, University of Buckingham Sam Williams; Director and co-founder of Economic Insight Signatories Professor Louise Allan; Professor of Geriatric Medicine, University of Exeter Francois Balloux; Professor of Computational Systems Biology, UCL Professor Sucharit Bhakdi MD; Emeritus Professor of Medical Microbiology, JG University of Main Dr Julii Brainard; Epidemiology and Public Health Research Group, UEA Professor Anthony J Brookes; Department of Genetics & Genome Biology, University of Leicester Professor Nick Colegrave; Chair in Experimental Evolution, University of Edinburgh 1
Annex 1. Members of the WHO COVID-19 IPC R&D Expert Group Member Affiliation Luciano Attard IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna Francesco Basoli University’ Campus Biomedico Roma, Italy Umberto Bracale University Federico II of Naples, Napoli, Italy Prof Michael Barer University of Leicester, United Kingdom John Conly (Chair) University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services, Canada Larry Chu School of Medicine, Stanford University, USA May Chu Colorado School of Public Health, USA Barry Cookson University College London, United Kingdom Brian Crook Health & Safety Laboratory, United Kingdom Jonathan Decker University of Leicester, United Kingdom David Evans University of Alberta Dale Fisher National University of Singapore & Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network Giorgia Gon London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom Belinda Heyne University of Calgary, Canada Alison Holmes Imperial College London, United Kingdom Seto Wing Hong WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control, University of Hong Kong, China Eric Haubruge University of Liège, Belgium Joost Hopman Radboud University Medical Center, Netherlands
The WHO’s position on prevention of COVID-19 up to early 2021 was based largely on advice from its Infection Prevention and Control Research and Development Expert Group for COVID-19 (IPCRDEG-C19). Most members of that committee are hospital clinicians with specialist training in infectious diseases; they were also strong adherents to the tenets of evidence-based medicine, which is based on empiricist assumptions and reluctant to consider types of evidence beyond randomised controlled trials, as its briefing document on guideline development attests (source A20, Table 1). As public health professor Raina MacIntyre described in a blog (source A15, Table 1), these committee members are experts in topics such as wound management—for which droplet spread is predominant and handwashing is an effective intervention. A leading member of the IPCRDEG’s Secretariat recently led an international handwashing campaign “to consistently improve hand hygiene practices as a whole-of-society approach to stop the spread of SARS-CoV-2” (source A18, Table 1 29 ).
Use of medical face masks versus particulate respirators as a component of personal protective equipment for health care workers in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic Commentary Open access Published: 06 August 2020 Volume 9, article number 126 (2020) Cite this article You have full access to this open access article Download PDF Save article View saved research Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control Aims and scope Submit manuscript John Conly, W. H. Seto, Didier Pittet, Alison Holmes, May Chu & Paul R. Hunter on behalf of the WHO Infection Prevention and Control Research and Development Expert Group for COVID-19
Even with the lower-than-expected respiratory infection rate, AFRI-c was adequately powered to detect the 50% reduction in respiratory infections per resident per winter advised as clinically important by our public contributors (the 95% CI for the primary incident rate ratio analysis was 0.64-1.33). However, the 95% CI includes smaller, potentially clinically and cost-important reductions (eg, 25%). Conclusions In this cluster randomized clinical trial, we found no evidence that HEPA filters reduced resident winter respiratory infection episodes, other infections, antibiotic use, or staff absenteeism. Care homes should continue to adhere to nationally recommended prevention measures to control respiratory and other infections.
Fourth, there were also insufficient CADRs. We used the manufacturer-recommended CADR based on room volume. An explanatory study might have used more sophisticated modeling, including frequency and proximity of staff, visitor, and resident interactions and room ventilation levels to determine more precise CADR requirements.29 However, we do not believe that a greater number of HEPA filters, or the increased cost, air cooling, and noise associated with higher CADR units, would have been acceptable.
Staff Absenteeism and Infection Outbreaks There was no evidence of a difference between intervention and control care homes in the number of staff working days lost to illness or infections (aIRR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.55-1.16; P = .24; eTable 11 in Supplement 2) or the number of microbiologically confirmed care home infection outbreaks (eTable 12 in Supplement 2).
Table 3 in main text at: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2852235
Third, there was low intervention adherence. However, staff reported that the HEPA filters were usually switched on and were correctly located. We considered and decided against conducting monitoring visits to check intervention compliance because the study was designed to be conducted remotely (during the pandemic), and because external compliance monitoring would have become part of the intervention, making the trial less pragmatic.
Portable high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, developed to remove pollutants and pollen, trap particles that are 20 nm or smaller. Bacteria and viruses, including influenza viruses and SARS-CoV-2, are all smaller than 20 nm, suggesting that HEPA filters could prevent long-range transmission.13 One HEPA filter manufacturer demonstrated that its product can remove more than 99% of virus particles from a room-sized test chamber in 20 minutes.14 However, there is a paucity of evidence regarding the health benefits for care home residents. We therefore conducted the Air Filters to Prevent Respiratory Infections (Including COVID-19) in Care Homes (AFRI-c) cluster randomized clinical trial to investigate whether portable HEPA filters are effective in reducing respiratory and other infections in residents, as well as reducing staff absenteeism.
Figure 2 from https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2852235
Air filters don’t stop you catching infectious respiratory diseases, landmark study indicates Published: July 28, 2026 11.25am EDT Who wants to get rid of the Hepa filter? Monkey Business Image/Shutterstock.com
Fluid-resistant medical or surgical masks with a structured design that does not collapse against the mouth are preferred (17). This is because medical masks tend to collapse when wet and fluids may then permeate. Availability of such masks tends to be only in the form of respirators, which are often dome-shaped, cupshaped, duckbill-shaped or flat-panelled. Some manufacturers are now providing medical masks with a vertical fold, which may be more rigid but still quite breathable. In some cases, due to the desirability of an offthe- face design, and not for protection from aerosols, respirators may be used instead of medical masks (113).
Justification The GDG considered the biology and mode of transmission of Ebola virus when developing this recommendation. The purpose of the medical or surgical mask is to protect the nasal and oral mucosa from splashes and droplets of infectious material. Since filoviruses are not transmitted via the airborne route, respiratory protection with a particulate respirator is not required, except during aerosolgenerating procedures. A strong recommendation is appropriate in view of the mode of transmission, lack of available treatment and high case–fatality rate of EBOD. In hot or humid conditions, masks may become wet through respiration. In these conditions, a structured (e.g. duckbill or cup shape) mask that does not collapse against the mouth is safer and more comfortable than other designs. Research needs Comparison of masks with respirators and other alternatives, cross-sectional studies in different settings to understand protective effects, compliance surveys, perceptions of barriers. Further research into modes of transmission of Orthoebolavirus; can Orthoebolavirus be transmitted via airborne particles?
Justification Protection of the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth is an integral part of standard and droplet precautions (19, 122, 123). Droplet precautions consist of IPC measures that aim to prevent infection with pathogens that can be transmitted by large-particle droplets (larger than 5 μm). Contamination of mucous membranes is probably the most important mode for filovirus transmission. Hence, PPE to protect mucosae is essential to prevent transmission. Because of the lack of effective viral-specific treatments and the high case-fatality rate, the GDG felt that a strong recommendation was warranted. Source: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240111332
Fluid-resistant medical or surgical masks with a structured design that does not collapse against the mouth are preferred (17). This is because medical masks tend to collapse when wet and fluids may then permeate. Availability of such masks tends to be only in the form of respirators, which are often dome-shaped, cupshaped, duckbill-shaped or flat-panelled. Some manufacturers are now providing medical masks with a vertical fold, which may be more rigid but still quite breathable. In some cases, due to the desirability of an offthe- face design, and not for protection from aerosols, respirators may be used instead of medical masks (113).
Justification Protection of the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth is an integral part of standard and droplet precautions (19, 122, 123). Droplet precautions consist of IPC measures that aim to prevent infection with pathogens that can be transmitted by large-particle droplets (larger than 5 μm). Contamination of mucous membranes is probably the most important mode for filovirus transmission. Hence, PPE to protect mucosae is essential to prevent transmission. Because of the lack of effective viral-specific treatments and the high case-fatality rate, the GDG felt that a strong recommendation was warranted.
Commander of the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces, Major Robert "Magyar" Brovdi, saying "They are fucked".
Feature Covid-19 Long covid: the doctors’ lives destroyed by an illness they caught while doing their jobs BMJ 2023; 382 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.p1983 (Published 20 September 2023) Cite this as: BMJ 2023;382:p1983 Linked Opinion As a doctor with long covid, I feel abandoned by the NHS Article Metrics Responses Adele Waters, freelance journalist Author affiliations adele.waters@me.com
Results: Among 399 381 patients with COVID-19, 558 were diagnosed with shingles. The IRR was significantly elevated during the first and second (5.1, 95% CI 3.9-6.6), third and fourth (1.7, 95% CI 1.2-2.5), and fifth and sixth weeks (1.5, 95% CI 1.0-2.3) compared with a control period. Conclusion: This study of a Japanese inpatient and outpatient database reveals a relationship between shingles and COVID-19, indicating that shingles may be a characteristic of the virus and highlighting the need for varicella-zoster vaccination alongside SARS-CoV-2 in the COVID-19 era.
Obama '28 That'll shut 'em up
Gilmore’s article is called “La Loche shows us it’s time to help people escape the north.” “The only way we can ever truly help the people of La Loche and hundreds of other remote communities like it, is to give those who want it a viable option to leave, to build lives in southern Canada, integrated into one of the world’s healthiest, safest, [and]most rewarding societies,” Gilmore stated in the piece.
Drawing of a beaver riding on a Canada goose above a banner reading "Canada". Original artist is Jennifer Borutski https://www.reddit.com/r/canada/comments/9wtzxi/we_had_an_ama_about_canadians_in_space_today/
My biggest fear for the future is that any new version of the Task Force will no longer be by primary care, for primary care. (Source: https://ebm.bmj.com/content/early/2026/07/13/bmjebm-2026-114670 )
Why is hand washing important? [MISINFORMATION]: As the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted, hands can be a vector for the spread of disease.
We present this medallion, symbolizing military valor, specifically to the parents. To the parents. Why? Because, for parents, there is nothing more
Martin Family Legacy Garden Canada’s First Dementia-Inclusive Park 20,000 Calgarians are living with dementia right now. By 2030, this number is expected to reach 34,000. Despite the large number of Calgarians impacted both directly and indirectly, there are no public outdoor spaces designed to meet the unique needs of those living with dementia and those who love them. Parks Foundation, in partnership with our donors and community members, has pioneered Canada’s first-ever dementia inclusive park, and it is setting a new standard for truly inclusive public spaces. Through a collaborative design process, we brought together leading researchers, healthcare professionals, community advocates, and families impacted by dementia.
The report said the growth in clean energy and technologies was "impressive". In 2020, one in 25 cars sold was electric. Just three years later this number has risen to one in five. "The transition to clean energy is happening worldwide and it's unstoppable. It's not a question of 'if', it's just a matter of 'how soon' - and the sooner the better for all of us," said International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol. The report recognised that oil and gas would continue to play a role in the world's economy and that maintaining investment was "essential". But it said at the moment, current levels of funding were double what they should be. "Governments, companies and investors need to get behind clean energy transitions rather than hindering them," Mr Birol said. In what appeared to be a criticism of the UK and other governments' decisions to open new oil fields, Mr Birol added: "claims that oil and gas represent safe or secure choices for the world's energy and climate future look weaker than ever."
1.85 Professor Noakes told the Inquiry in Module 2: Core decision-making and political governance that: “[T]here was just a tendency to assume the other transmission routes, and then require the evidence for airborne transmission.”141 Such a mindset was consistent with Ms Imrie’s defence of the initial position of infection prevention and control guidance, which was that “there wasn’t enough good evidence to say that we were uncertain”. 142 Members of the UK IPC Cell thus appeared to consider that it was necessary to disprove pre-existing beliefs rather than keeping an open mind to the potential risks of all plausible transmission routes.
Kids playing video games but the little one has a controller that is not plugged in.
Screening and diagnostic testing Challenges in accessing diagnostic testing Firefighters shared their frustration of knowing they are at higher risk of cancer but not feeling like their concerns are being heard by their physicians. Several firefighters shared personal stories about having to inform their physician about their increased cancer risks and not being able to access the cancer screening they felt was appropriate. They are concerned that this means their cancer could be detected at a later stage, leading to worse health outcomes. Firefighters and their organizations feel that medical professionals need to be made more aware of the cancer risks they face and how to adjust care in response to these risks. Firefighter organizations indicated that they have created resources to improve communication between firefighters and their medical providers, including a physician letter that highlights the elevated cancer risks firefighters face and suggests specific diagnostic tests. Some firefighters shared that they found such letters useful in gaining their physician's support and fostering understanding between patient and doctor. Ultimately, partners and stakeholders agreed that a strong relationship between a patient and their physician is a key factor in helping to improve patient health and that educating both patients and healthcare professionals can play a role in further strengthening this relationship. "There is a huge gap in medical care, especially with [General Practitioners] to make them aware of the connection between firefighters and cancer." – Consultation Participant Participants also raised larger systemic issues that make it difficult for firefighters to access diagnostic testing. For example, we heard that it may be difficult and costly for firefighters in remote communities to access certain diagnostic tests as the facilities are located outside of their community. We were told that many firefighters also do not have a primary care physi…
Your Input on the Canadian Guidelines for Cancer Detection in Firefighters Project Title: Canadian Guidelines and Resources for Cancer Detection in Firefighters (CAN-CDF) Principal Investigator: Dr. Robby Nieuwlaat, Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada, 905-525-9140 Co-Investigator: Dr. Wojtek Wiercioch, Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada, 905-525-9140 Funder: Health Canada Sponsor: McMaster University Introduction You are being invited to participate in a survey conducted by Dr. Robby Nieuwlaat and Dr. Wojtek Wiercioch, because: you are a health professional, firefighter, caregiver, or policymaker aged 16 and older you have an interest in cancer detection for firefighters. To decide whether you want to fill in this survey, you should understand what is involved and the potential risks and benefits. This page gives detailed information about the research survey. Once you understand the survey, you can fill it in if you want to participate. The co-investigators Dr. Robby Nieuwlaat and Dr. Wojtek Wiercioch are under contract with the sponsor of this survey and are receiving compensation to cover the costs of conducting the survey. The investigators have no conflicts of interest to declare related to this survey. Why is this research being done? The International Agency for Research on Cancers, part of the World Health Organization, has found that working as a firefighter can increase the risk of cancer. In response, the Government of Canada passed Bill C-224. This bill created a national plan to raise awareness about cancers linked to firefighting and to improve access to prevention, screening, and treatment. As part of this work, Health Canada selected McMaster University’s Cochrane Canada and GRADE Centre to develop guidelines for cancer detection in firefighters. We will develop about 20 recommendations, …
"Yes, the planet got destroyed. But for a beautiful moment in time we created a lot of value for shareholders."
Your blood pressure might get too high while you are using this medicine. This may cause headaches, dizziness, or blurred vision. You might need to measure your blood pressure at home. If you think your blood pressure is too high, call your doctor right away. This medicine may increase the risk of prostate cancer, especially in older men. Make sure your doctor knows if you have prostate cancer, or if anyone in your family has prostate cancer. This medicine may cause blood clotting problems. Tell your doctor right away if you have pain, redness, or swelling in the arm or leg, sharp pains in the chest, or trouble breathing. This medicine may increase your risk of having heart or blood vessel problems, including a heart attack or stroke. Tell your doctor right away if you have chest pain that may spread to your arms, jaw, back, or neck, faintness, headache, nausea, vomiting, trouble breathing, trouble seeing or speaking, or unusual sweating. Check with your doctor right away if you have pain or tenderness in the upper stomach, pale stools, dark urine, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, or yellow eyes or skin. These could be symptoms of a serious liver problem. This medicine may cause some people to be agitated, irritable, or display other abnormal behaviors. It may also cause some people to have suicidal thoughts and tendencies or to become more depressed. Also tell your doctor if you have sudden or strong feelings, such as feeling nervous, angry, restless, violent, or scared. If you or your caregiver notice any of these side effects, tell your doctor right away. This medicine may cause swelling of the breasts (gynecomastia) and breast pain in some patients. If you have questions about this, talk to your doctor.
We are very lucky that they are so f*cking stupid.
Around this time, an internal review of the TDU leadership yielded mixed results, before UHN called in an independent third-party investigator in response to fresh competing harassment complaints by Bogoch and Boggild in May 2021. Article content According to UHN, the investigator came down on Boggild’s side, concluding that her allegations against Bogoch were supported, with aspects of his behaviour found to be “unprofessional, harassing, and inappropriate,” amounting to “incivility under UHN’s Physician Code, and harassment under UHN’s Fostering Respect in the Workplace Policy.” Article content On the other hand, the report concluded that Bogoch’s allegations against Boggild were not supported, that she had not breached either of the UHN policies and that her conduct did not amount to workplace harassment, inappropriate treatment or incivility.
Police allege they seized 400 improperly stored firearms from Mark's Dauphin-area home during a July 7 search. (Manitoba RCMP) Mark is a former MP who represented a Dauphin-area constituency (now known as Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa) from 1997 until he resigned in 2010. He served as MP first with the Reform party, and later with the Canadian Alliance and finally as a Conservative.
I must remain close to power. Another sort of benefit, harder to measure, has kept many people who object to Trump’s policies or behavior from speaking out: the intoxicating experience of power, and the belief that proximity to a powerful person bestows higher status. This, too, is nothing new. In a 1968 article for The Atlantic, James Thomson, an American East Asia specialist, brilliantly explained how power functioned inside the U.S. bureaucracy in the Vietnam era. When the war in Vietnam was going badly, many people did not resign or speak out in public, because preserving their “effectiveness”—“a mysterious combination of training, style, and connections,” as Thomson defined it—was an all-consuming concern. He called this “the effectiveness trap”: The inclination to remain silent or to acquiesce in the presence of the great men—to live to fight another day, to give on this issue so that you can be “effective” on later issues—is overwhelming. Nor is it the tendency of youth alone; some of our most senior officials, men of wealth and fame, whose place in history is secure, have remained silent lest their connection with power be terminated.
Ninety-nine tankers of fuel on the sea, Ninety-nine tankers of fuel Drones come down, explosions abound ... Ninety-eight tankers of fuel on the sea!
A page from a cognitive function test asking you to identify the animals in a drawing.
The neighbor, who was not publicly identified by CNN, told the outlet that officers said there had been a “medical emergency” that morning but did not confirm it was the senator. The neighbor also told CNN that the emergency responders worked efficiently, but did not appear to be panicked and did not use sirens as they departed. “In a situation where perhaps time is of the essence, there seems to be a little bit more urgency, but there was no urgency here,” the neighbor told CNN, adding that in the brief moment they saw the person’s feet hanging out of a blanket, they were “not moving.” Last week, emergency services audio was published by multiple outlets that describes an “unconscious” person and “CPR in progress” for a “cardiac arrest” at McConnell’s D.C. address shortly before 9 a.m. local time on June 14.
Drawing of a beaver riding on a Canada goose above a banner reading "Canada". Original artist is Jennifer Borutski https://www.reddit.com/r/canada/comments/9wtzxi/we_had_an_ama_about_canadians_in_space_today/
Legionnaire’s is a type of pneumonia that spreads when people inhale tiny water droplets infected with legionella, a type of bacteria, which the city notes is likely caused by cooling towers on the top of buildings. Anyone who lives, works or has recently visited the impacted area should monitor for symptoms, city health officials said, including visitors to the East Side of Central Park between 76th Street and 97th Street. That span of Central Park includes a number of major attractions, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Central Park Reservoir, and the warning comes during the busy summer tourist season in New York and as more tourists have descended on the city for the World Cup.
"When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." - Maya Angelou.
UNIVERSITY SERVICE: A. University of Regina/University of Saskatchewan/University of Guelph/Dalhousie University 2018-present Chair, Scientific Committee, Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Dalhousie University.
2025 Statistics Canada numbers estimating 1,323,571 total census families in Alberta
A drawing of someone facepalming so hard they have pushed their palm all the way through their head and two more behind it.
A drawing of someone facepalming so hard they have pushed their palm all the way through their head.
A complex infographic highlighting that it is possible to reduce electricity use by using fans to blow air across your skin in combination with less use of air conditioners (e.g. raising the set-point etc).
1.56 Reliance on the historical misunderstanding that it was possible to clearly distinguish between aerosol and droplet transmission directly affected infection prevention and control guidance, as well as the precautions that were advised. As particles larger than five microns were seen as more likely to contain the virus, behaving ballistically and only travelling about 1.5 metres before falling to the ground (see Figure 4), fluid-resistant surgical masks were considered capable of acting as a boundary against inhalation of particles. Similarly, keeping beds two metres apart was considered sufficient to prevent particles from reaching patients in other beds.98 This did not account, however, for the possibility that an infectious particle more than five microns in size may not behave as a droplet but as an aerosol – which could remain airborne for some time, travel further than 1.5 metres and permeate a fluid-resistant surgical mask. 1.57 The failure to appreciate and guard against the risk posed by routes of transmission other than droplet or contact put healthcare workers and patients at unnecessary risk of When asked whether the Covid-19 infection prevention and control guidance took a sufficiently cautious approach to the risk of aerosol transmission outside of aerosol generating procedures, Laura Imrie (Clinical Lead for NHS Scotland Assure and Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection Scotland from 2018, and member of the UK IPC Cell) said: “I think the position we were in, it was very constrained by the dichotomy of describing something as ‘droplet’ or ‘airborne’.”99 1.58 It is no longer appropriate to rely on this dichotomy. References to cut-off points based on particle size and the belief that it was possible to distinguish clearly between droplet and aerosol transmission – and the precautions required as a result – were and are wrong. They should no longer be relied on in healthcare guidance.
An image of the "hierarchy of evidence" taught in many medical schools, taken from official WHO documents used to make COVID policy. It places all of human knowledge from outside medicine below even the opinions and editorials of insiders, explaining why WHO MDs operating on an understanding of science that was out of date as of 1934 felt entitled to shout down scientific experts in 2020, in the worst medical error in human history. More details are here: https://canadahealthwatch.ca/2025/04/18/trumps-cronies-arent-what-broke-public-health
Cutting edge Russian technology in the form of a combat donkey carrying an anti drone jamming device.
A humorous picture of Russian Orthodox priests blessing a gas pump
A humorous picture showing Russian Orthodox priests blessing a gas pump
The health ministry said it had identified "a first positive case of Ebola virus disease on national territory." The patient, who arrived in Paris on Tuesday, "boarded a commercial flight from Kinshasa and was almost asymptomatic – except for headaches," the ministry said.