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Listen (and Watch) to Real-Time Wikipedia Edits

Listen to Wikipedia is a fun visual & audio project that gives life to real-time edits on Wikipedia.

For the visualization, green circles are anonymous edits, purple circles are bots, and white circles are edits by registered users. The size of the circles represent the size (in bytes) of the edit made.

Fro the audio portion, bells are additions and string plucks are subtractions. Pitch changes according to the size of the edit; the larger the edit, the deeper the note.

Listen to Wikipedia was written by Stephen LaPorte and Mahmoud Hashemi, and is open-source. [Github link] This project was built using D3 and HowlerJS. You can read more about their project in their blog post.





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Benefits of End-To-End Testing That Will Match Company Expectations

    Software testing is a critical component of the software development process. It ensures that software is developed with the highest quality and reliability possible. It lets developers identify and fix bugs before software release.  A comprehensive test plan is an essential part of any software testing project. The test plan should include all […]

The post Benefits of End-To-End Testing That Will Match Company Expectations appeared first on 404 Tech Support.




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  • Clinical & Molecular DX

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Sarah Bryan Fask says the dispute over retired miners’ health benefits is notable because the decision "could impact whether unions could try to use a dispute resolution procedure within a collective bargaining agreement as a venue to dispute anticipated post-collective bargaining agreement changes."

Law360 

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Sarah Bryan Fask says a long-awaited final rule from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. describing interest rate assumption requirements for employers who pull out of multiemployer pension plans would be “very significant.”

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  • The Qualified Student Loan Payment (QSLP) match program allows an employer to match an employee’s student loan repayments by making matching contributions to the employer’s defined contribution plan, such as a 401(k) plan.
  • IRS Notice 2024-63 provides guidance for plan sponsors that offer (or wish to offer) a QSLP match program.




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Libby Henninger weighs in on several wage and hour bills that will be prevalent in the next six months.

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(August 15, 2024) – More than 240 lawyers  from Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, have been included in the 31st edition of The Best Lawyers in America® guide.




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Alex MacDonald says a California assembly bill unlawfully targets certain companies or groups of companies.

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Microsoft’s November 2024 Patch Tuesday Addresses 87 CVEs (CVE-2024-43451, CVE-2024-49039)

  1. 4Critical
  2. 82Important
  3. 1Moderate
  4. 0Low

Microsoft addresses 87 CVEs and one advisory (ADV240001) in its November 2024 Patch Tuesday release, with four critical vulnerabilities and four zero-day vulnerabilities, including two that were exploited in the wild.

Microsoft patched 87 CVEs in its November 2024 Patch Tuesday release, with four rated critical, 82 rated important and one rated moderate.

This month’s update includes patches for:

  • .NET and Visual Studio
  • Airlift.microsoft.com
  • Azure CycleCloud
  • Azure Database for PostgreSQL
  • LightGBM
  • Microsoft Exchange Server
  • Microsoft Graphics Component
  • Microsoft Office Excel
  • Microsoft Office Word
  • Microsoft PC Manager
  • Microsoft Virtual Hard Drive
  • Microsoft Windows DNS
  • Role: Windows Hyper-V
  • SQL Server
  • TorchGeo
  • Visual Studio
  • Visual Studio Code
  • Windows Active Directory Certificate Services
  • Windows CSC Service
  • Windows DWM Core Library
  • Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC)
  • Windows Kerberos
  • Windows Kernel
  • Windows NT OS Kernel
  • Windows NTLM
  • Windows Package Library Manager
  • Windows Registry
  • Windows SMB
  • Windows SMBv3 Client/Server
  • Windows Secure Kernel Mode
  • Windows Task Scheduler
  • Windows Telephony Service
  • Windows USB Video Driver
  • Windows Update Stack
  • Windows VMSwitch
  • Windows Win32 Kernel Subsystem

Remote code execution (RCE) vulnerabilities accounted for 58.6% of the vulnerabilities patched this month, followed by elevation of privilege (EoP) vulnerabilities at 29.9%.

Important

CVE-2024-43451 | NTLM Hash Disclosure Spoofing Vulnerability

CVE-2024-43451 is a NTLM hash spoofing vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. It was assigned a CVSSv3 score of 6.5 and is rated as important. An attacker could exploit this flaw by convincing a user to open a specially crafted file. Successful exploitation would lead to the unauthorized disclosure of a user’s NTLMv2 hash, which an attacker could then use to authenticate to the system as the user. According to Microsoft, CVE-2024-43451 was exploited in the wild as a zero-day. No further details about this vulnerability were available at the time this blog post was published.

This is the second NTLM spoofing vulnerability disclosed in 2024. Microsoft patched CVE-2024-30081 in its July Patch Tuesday release.

Important

CVE-2024-49039 | Windows Task Scheduler Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

CVE-2024-49039 is an EoP vulnerability in the Microsoft Windows Task Scheduler. It was assigned a CVSSv3 score of 8.8 and is rated as important. An attacker with local access to a vulnerable system could exploit this vulnerability by running a specially crafted application. Successful exploitation would allow an attacker to access resources that would otherwise be unavailable to them as well as execute code, such as remote procedure call (RPC) functions.

According to Microsoft, CVE-2024-49039 was exploited in the wild as a zero-day. It was disclosed to Microsoft by an anonymous researcher along with Vlad Stolyarov and Bahare Sabouri of Google's Threat Analysis Group. At the time this blog post was published, no further details about in-the-wild exploitation were available.

Important

CVE-2024-49019 | Active Directory Certificate Services Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

CVE-2024-49019 is an EoP vulnerability affecting Active Directory Certificate Services. It was assigned a CVSSv3 score of 7.8 and is rated as important. It was publicly disclosed prior to a patch being made available. According to Microsoft, successful exploitation would allow an attacker to gain administrator privileges. The advisory notes that “certificates created using a version 1 certificate template with Source of subject name set to ‘Supplied in the request’” are potentially impacted if the template has not been secured according to best practices. This vulnerability is assessed as “Exploitation More Likely” according to Microsoft’s Exploitability Index. Microsoft’s advisory also includes several mitigation steps for securing certificate templates which we highly recommend reviewing.

Important

CVE-2024-49040 | Microsoft Exchange Server Spoofing Vulnerability

CVE-2024-49040 is a spoofing vulnerability affecting Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 and 2019. It was assigned a CVSSv3 score of 7.5 and rated as important. According to Microsoft, this vulnerability was publicly disclosed prior to a patch being made available. After applying the update, administrators should review the support article Exchange Server non-RFC compliant P2 FROM header detection. The supplemental guide notes that as part of a “secure by default” approach, the Exchange Server update for November will flag suspicious emails which may contain “malicious patterns in the P2 FROM header.” While this feature can be disabled, Microsoft strongly recommends leaving it enabled to provide further protection from phishing attempts and malicious emails.

Critical

CVE-2024-43639 | Windows Kerberos Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CVE-2024-43639 is a critical RCE vulnerability affecting Windows Kerberos, an authentication protocol designed to verify user or host identities. It was assigned a CVSSv3 score of 9.8 and is rated as “Exploitation Less Likely.”

To exploit this vulnerability, an unauthenticated attacker needs to leverage a cryptographic protocol vulnerability in order to achieve RCE. No further details were provided by Microsoft about this vulnerability at the time this blog was published.

Important

29 CVEs | SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

This month's release included 29 CVEs for RCEs affecting SQL Server Native Client. All of these CVEs received CVSSv3 scores of 8.8 and were rated as “Exploitation Less Likely.” Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities can be achieved by convincing an authenticated user into connecting to a malicious SQL server database using an affected driver. A full list of the CVEs are included in the table below.

CVEDescriptionCVSSv3
CVE-2024-38255SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-43459SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-43462SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-48993SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-48994SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-48995SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-48996SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-48997SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-48998SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-48999SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-49000SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-49001SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-49002SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-49003SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-49004SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-49005SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-49006SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-49007SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-49008SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-49009SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-49010SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-49011SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-49012SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-49013SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-49014SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-49015SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-49016SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-49017SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
CVE-2024-49018SQL Server Native Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability8.8
Important

CVE-2024-43602 | Azure CycleCloud Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CVE-2024-43602 is a RCE vulnerability in Microsoft’s Azure CycleCloud, a tool that helps in managing and orchestrating High Performance Computing (HPC) environments in Azure. This flaw received the highest CVSSv3 score of the month, a 9.9 and was rated as important. A user with basic permissions could exploit CVE-2024-43602 by sending specially crafted requests to a vulnerable AzureCloud CycleCloud cluster to modify its configuration. Successful exploitation would result in the user gaining root permissions, which could then be used to execute commands on any cluster in the Azure CycleCloud as well as steal admin credentials.

Tenable Solutions

A list of all the plugins released for Microsoft’s November 2024 Patch Tuesday update can be found here. As always, we recommend patching systems as soon as possible and regularly scanning your environment to identify those systems yet to be patched.

For more specific guidance on best practices for vulnerability assessments, please refer to our blog post on How to Perform Efficient Vulnerability Assessments with Tenable.

Get more information

Join Tenable's Security Response Team on the Tenable Community.
Learn more about Tenable One, the Exposure Management Platform for the modern attack surface.




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Yo-kai watch. 17 / story and art by Noriyuki Konishi ; original concept and supervised by Level-5 Inc. ; translation, Tetsuichiro Miyaki ; English adaptation, Aubrey Sitterson ; lettering, John Hunt.

"Nate Adams is just an average kid until the mysterious Whisper gives him the Yo-kai Watch. Now he can see what others cannot: Yo-kai of all shapes and forms! … A mysterious door opens, causing Nate to run into weird and wacky Yo-kai from the past, present and future. Watch as they participate in a battle royale to decide which Yo-kai is the strongest!" -- Provided by publisher.




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Mr. putter & tabby catch the cold / Cynthia Rylant.

Newbery medal-winner and recipient of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award, Cynthia Rylant instills gentle humor into this cozy read. When Mr. Putter goes outside without a hat on, he catches a cold. Tabby tries to make Mr. Putter feel better, but "colds aren't so much fun when you're old." Yet his neighbor Mrs. Teaberry and her dog Zeke know just the thing to help Mr. Putter recover. "... will resonate with kids who know what it's like to feel dispirited when felled by a cold."-Booklist




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Dear lady / Robin Lee Hatcher.

Dear Mary, New Prospects, Montana, is nothing like England-so terrifying and beautiful at the same time, and much larger than I dared imagine when you and I first embarked on our adventures in the New World. I have had the good fortune of becoming the town's schoolmistress. Young Janie Steele is as precious as I imagined from her letters. As for her father, Garret Steele...Oh, I feel like such a fool! I've run halfway around the world to escape a man I loathed, only to discover I'm losing my heart to a man still in love with the wife he buried. The mayor, kind man, has been most attentive. But I wish he were someone else. I wish he were Garret. With affection, Your friend Beth Wellington In the big-sky country of Montana, the past doesn't always stay buried. Circumstances have a way of forcing secrets into the open, sometimes bringing hearts together in unlikely ways, and sometimes tearing them apart. Dear Lady is Book One in the Coming to America series about women who come to America to start new lives. Set in the late 1800's and early 1900's, these novels by best-selling author Robin Lee Hatcher craft intense chemistry and conflict between the characters, lit by a glowing faith and humanity that will win your heart. Look for other books in the series at your favorite Christian bookstore.




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Matt Horn persevered through the pandemic to open his West Oakland restaurant Horn Barbecue—to the delight of hungry crowds





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The band co-founded by Lowell George and led by Bill Payne has flourished with their gumbo approach to rock and roll.

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WATCH: Pixies plays songs from their new album, 'The Night the Zombies Came'

The alternative rock pioneers perform an exclusive set ahead of the release of their latest album.

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Watch: ‘L.A. Stories,’ UCLA Library’s new video series

The series, which highlights the city’s past through current library collections, kicks off with an episode on Los Angeles labor history.




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Students gathered at the Pauley Pavilion Club on the evening of Nov. 5 to talk, share opinions and watch the results of the 2024 elections roll in.




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Rotman Professor Named as Management Thinker to Watch by Thinkers50

Toronto, ON – A professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management who has become known for his research and teaching on catastrophes and risk management has been named to the 2017 Thinkers50 Radar list of the 30 management thinkers in the world most likely to shape the future of how organizations are managed […]




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Euro 2016: Violence, Weekend Matches

The following is a list of University of Toronto experts who can comment on a variety of issues related to Euro 2016. Anthony Capotosto, Manager of Operations and Head Coach Men’s Varsity Soccer Team Expertise: Weekend matches to watch, Strategy Tel: (416) 400‑4706 Email: a.capotosto@utoronto.ca Simon Darnell, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical […]



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TORONTO, ON — Media are invited to attend “International Criminal Law at the Crossroads,” an intimate conversation with Canadian James Stewart, Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, together with Richard Dicker, Director of International Justice for Human Rights Watch. More than 10 years after the ICC began hearing cases, two of the world’s most prominent […]




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Reed Switch Developments Corp. (RSD), a woman-owned manufacturer in Racine, WI, specializes in magnetic reed switches and sensors. Recognized as last year’s Quality Plant of the Year, RSD has achieved a 25% increase in sales year-to-date, leveraging in-house technical expertise and automation to manage growth amid rising costs and economic uncertainty.




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Perseverance and collaboration: How a new clinical trial aims to determine whether sex matters when matching blood products to patients

Perseverance and collaboration: How a new clinical trial aims to determine whether sex matters when matching blood products to patients


Thursday, October 31, 2024 Abby Wolfe

As the Principal Investigator for the SexMatters trial described in this blog, Dr. Mickey Zeller is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at McMaster University. She is also a Medical Officer at Canadian Blood Services. 

Around 2018, Dr. Mickey Zeller's grandmother asked her a question that she couldn’t fully answer at the time. It’s a question that Dr. Zeller continues to keep top-of-mind in her roles as an Associate Professor at McMaster University and a Medical Officer at Canadian Blood Services. Having sustained a pelvic fracture at the age of 94, she asked her granddaughter, “If I need a blood transfusion, could it come from a man... and if it does, would that be safe?”. As Dr. Zeller describes, “I looked at her and, in that moment, I said, ‘Grandma, no one knows! But it’s on my list to find out!’.” 

In fact, questions about whether selecting products based on the sex of donor and recipient could improve outcomes following blood transfusions have been around for years. However, there is not yet been enough evidence to definitively answer whether this strategy would help optimize hospital and blood operator practices.

After much perseverance, collaboration with researchers across Canadian Blood Services’ extended research network, and a successful bid for CIHR funding, a research team led by Dr. Zeller is embarking on a new research journey they hope will finally provide the evidence to answer questions about whether sex matters in red blood cell transfusion.

What will the study focus on and why is it needed?

When a patient requires a transfusion of red blood cells (RBCs), the matching of product to patient is based on compatibility testing that looks at whether the blood is group A, B, AB or O, whether it is Rh positive or negative, and what other antibodies are present. Canadian Blood Services’ Rare Blood Program also helps ensure patients with specific combinations of antigens – proteins that appear on the surface of red blood cells – can be matched with appropriate blood components. Laboratory studies on donor factors such as age and sex have looked at their impact on characteristics of RBCs in terms of hematocrit, cell volume, hemoglobin content, and deformability – that is, the flexibility or “squeeze-ability” of the cells. However, currently available evidence has not demonstrated a need for red blood cells for transfusion to be matched based on the sex of either donor or recipient. 

The principal research question being posed by this study is: In adults admitted to the ICU who require RBC transfusions, do donor-recipient sex-matched RBC transfusions result in improved 30-day mortality compared with sex-mismatched RBC transfusions? Answering this question has a large potential for impact because of the substantial number of blood transfusions that occur throughout Canada every year.  

“If there was a risk identified [from the sex of the donor and recipient], even moving the needle a little bit to improve the matching of blood product to recipient could add another layer of safety to current practices,” Dr. Zeller explains.  

What had to happen to make this study possible?

While it seems like a basic question to remain unanswered, Dr. Zeller acknowledges the investments of energy, expertise, and funding to get the study to this point.  

“Sometimes these basic questions remain for a long time because it is challenging to get the funding and infrastructure in place to be able to answer them in a scientifically rigorous way; even if they’re basic-level questions, it’s only by investing that you are able to gather the evidence to answer the question.” Dr. Zeller says.

That’s part of the reason why Canadian Blood Services’ investments in networks like CTTG are important. The Canadian Transfusion Trials Group (CTTG) is funded by Canadian Blood Services with the aim of supporting and accelerating clinical trials that can inform best practices in transfusion medicine in Canada. CTTG reviewed and endorsed this SexMatters study and provided support through its development, making it the second RCT since CTTG’s inception to earn CIHR funding following participation in their review process.

"I had the opportunity to present to CTTG twice and receive feedback that improved this study design and my application to CIHR for its funding. Having it reviewed by people like Dr. Donald Arnold, Dr. Jeannie Callum, Dr. Nadine Shehata – people with world-recognized expertise in this area – really led to the success of this application,” Dr. Zeller says. “We were able to have really rich discussions on tough questions about study design and impact, including details like how we would account for patients that are pre-transfused entering the study.”

Dr. Mickey Zeller, Principal Investigator for the SexMatters clinical trial, and Dr. Donald Arnold, Co-Director of the CTTG network, discuss aspects of the newly funded clinical trial. 

Says Dr. Zeller, “Each time the application went through reviews, I could present to these colleagues to essentially say, 'Here are the criticisms it has received and here’s how I’ve handled them.' And they would provide me advice and encouragement to resubmit. It is really valuable having people across the country who are cheering for you, and who are hand-in-hand with you to celebrate your success!”

“It’s an absolute privilege to do high quality research because you have to be surrounded by an incredible group of humans. Academic curiosity and commitment by those that have mentored me have enabled me to do this work. It’s out of a generosity of spirit that people have shared their expertise with me for this work, and it takes a lot of time and effort.”

Dr. Mickey Zeller, Principal Investigator for the SexMatters trial

What other research has informed this study? 

Before this study received CIHR support, the research team undertook an exploratory analysis, a systematic review and meta-analysis, and a pilot trial which took place in 2022 across five Ontario-based hospitals to establish feasibility of the randomized controlled trial. Findings of retrospective observational studies indicated potential association between sex-mismatched transfusions and mortality, but some aspects remained unclear due to low certainty of evidence, inconsistencies or contradictory subgroup analyses in the available literature.  

Much previous research involving Canadian Blood Services researchers has also supported the need for this randomized controlled trial. This includes: 

Read the Research Unit summarizing some of MCTR’s research on blood.ca (2019)Sex-mismatched red blood cell transfusions and mortality | Canadian Blood Services

Earlier publications involving these and other researchers have also investigated the impact that blood donor age and sex have on outcomes for transfusion recipients, summarized evidence related to sex-matched versus mismatched transfusions and mortality, and the biological mechanisms implicated in adverse outcomes of sex-mismatched transfusions. There is still room for more investigation to build on this previously completed research, and that aligns with Canadian Blood Services' emphasis on the importance of research that spans the continuum from bench-to-bedside to continuously improve our processes, products and services. As Dr. Zeller describes: “There are biological studies and retrospective data, but we only have one existing RCT. There’s a real importance to pursue a prospective, RCT so we can look forward as opposed to looking back.”

“As every blood donor is unique, the challenge we have is to understand which donor-specific factors can be better matched to improve patient outcomes.  Differences in the biology of blood cells from male and female blood donors are well defined, but what we do not understand is if these differences affect health outcomes in transfused patients.  This is very important question that the SexMatters clinical trial is proposing to address.”

Dr. Jason Acker, Co-Investigator in the SexMatters trial

How will the study work and why the focus on transfusions in the ICU?  

Focusing on transfusions in the ICU is a significant distinguishing feature of this study. The iTADS trial was completed as a multicentre, double-blind trial, but it looked at mortality rates across the whole hospital. This new trial will look at transfusions received by patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) specifically. 

“In the hospital, we know that mortality rate is much higher in a transfused ICU patient compared to a patient in another part of the hospital,” Dr. Zeller says. “We’ve chosen to focus this study on the sickest population of patients – those in the ICU – with the idea that any impact will be seen most prominently in this group. The analysis will include consideration to dosage so we can adjust for the specific number of units transfused to each patient.” 

The study is also designed so that participants will not know whether a blood transfusion is matched or mismatched based on the sex of donor or recipient – a method used to prevent potential bias in the trial. 

“At the hospital, you always get a list with each shipment of blood product that says what units you have received from the blood operator”, Dr. Zeller explains. “As part of this study’s protocol, participating hospitals will see an additional colour-coding noted on this inventory, and this is what will be used when it comes time for us to do our analysis.”  

Who could benefit from this knowledge and what are the next steps?  

Dr. Zeller is glad to have Canadian Blood Services involved in this research, acknowledging that changing policy related to matching of blood products would be a significant change for hospitals and blood suppliers, requiring strong evidence from RCTs like this one.  

“This study will help to inform health-care professionals who prescribe and administer blood products, along with patients, donors, and the blood operator, too. One of the important questions if it does turn out to have a significant difference is ‘Then what?’ We already divide our inventory by group (ABO) and by Rh status (+/-). Would the need to be matching by sex further impact inventory? We don’t know yet, but that’s why it’s important to have the blood supplier involved,” Dr. Zeller says. 

The study will require a total sample size of approximately 11,000 patients across an expected nine hospital sites in Ontario.  

“We’ve designed this study to be very efficient; it’s got components of what would be considered a pragmatic study design,” Dr. Zeller says. “In terms of the products, Canadian Blood Services does not have to provide anything different than they already do for this study (other than the colour-coded markers) and we will use electronic capture to pull data, so we don’t need to collect study information at bedside. These were processes leveraged from the earlier iTADS study as the iTADS research team was very supportive of us learning from what they did.”  

“Whether transfusions should be matched for donor sex is a question that has been percolating in people’s minds for many years. Dr. Zeller has had the courage and perseverance to tackle this important question, which could have important policy implications.  I’m excited for Dr. Zeller to embark on this journey and advance knowledge on best transfusion practices.”  

Dr. Donald Arnold, Co-Director of CTTG and Co-Investigator in the SexMatters trial 


Canadian Blood Services – Driving world-class innovation 

Through discovery, development and applied research, Canadian Blood Services drives world-class innovation in blood transfusion, cellular therapy and transplantation—bringing clarity and insight to an increasingly complex healthcare future. Our dedicated research team and extended network of partners engage in exploratory and applied research to create new knowledge, inform and enhance best practices, contribute to the development of new services and technologies, and build capacity through training and collaboration. Find out more about our research impact.   

The opinions reflected in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Canadian Blood Services nor do they reflect the views of Health Canada or any other funding agency.  

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Monday, December 23, 2019
Tricia Abe

When doctors select compatible red blood cell units for transfusion into a patient, they don’t consider the sex of the patient and whether the donor is the same (sex-matched) or opposite sex (sex-mismatched). But a study led by Dr. Michelle Zeller, Canadian Blood Services medical officer and assistant professor in the department of medicine at McMaster University, suggests that the role of donor sex in red blood cell compatibility may be worth a closer look.


Wednesday, October 04, 2017
Dr. Jeannie Callum

In this six-part series, Dr. Jeannie Callum, a hospital-based transfusion specialist, shares her real-life experience witnessing the impact of blood donation on patient lives. She provides some fascinating insight into blood transfusion, past and present, and emphasizes the need for male donors and why some donors may be safer for patients. Read the complete series here.


Tuesday, September 26, 2023
Dr. Travis Sztainert

Recent research involving Canadian Blood Services researchers highlights the relationship between donor age and the quality of blood products like red blood cells, while considering the complex interplay between storage conditions, oxidative stress, and genetic factors. Though the clinical implications remain uncertain, these findings underscore the importance of ongoing research in optimizing blood storage practices and continuing to improve the efficacy of blood transfusions for patients in need.




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