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A prominent gap exists in understanding stigma among racialized persons living with dementia, care partners, and community. A scoping review was conducted to explore stigmatizing perceptions of dementia among racialized groups living in Anglosphere countries. Eligible studies focused on dementia and stigma, and reported data on racialized groups (i.e., Black, Hispanic, South Asian, East Asian, Middle Eastern) living in Anglosphere countries (i.e., Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand). All publication dates were included. Eligible studies were published in English. Scopus, CINAHL, PubMed, PsycINFO, Medline(Ovid), EMBASE databases were searched in November 2022. Data extraction and thematic analysis was performed on eligible studies using Corrigan's Model of Stigma. Themes were categorized into stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination. Thirty-six studies were included. Themes aligning with stereotypes included derogatory and unpredictable labels, religious beliefs and mysticism toward dementia, and associating dementia with other diseases. Themes aligning with prejudices included shame or embarrassment of dementia. Themes aligning with discrimination included discouragement in help-seeking and isolation, and lack of social acceptance. Stigmatizing perceptions of dementia among racialized communities may delay diagnosis, treatment, and participation in support programs. Future studies must aim to educate and promote dementia awareness among racialized groups.

Owing to the increased availability of high-resolution satellite data and the rapid development of Geographic Information System (GIS) technology, the mapping of active faults and quantification of tectonic activity in inaccessible regions has exceedingly improved. We examined the tectonic activity in the Trans-Yamuna region of the NW Himalaya using geomorphic indices derived from a Digital Elevation Model (DEM). In addition, this study evaluates the sensitivity of four space-borne Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) with respect to TAN DEM-X (TerraSAR-X add-on for Digital Elevation Measurements). The Cartosat DEM, generated with a spatial resolution of 5 meters using state-of-the-art methods, demonstrated a reliable representation of topography. Geomorphic indices such as Asymmetry Factor (AF), Transverse Topography (TT), Hypsometric Integral (HI), Valley Floor width (Vf), Stream-length gradient index (SL), and Normalised steepness index (ksn) were computed for 41 sub-watersheds to determine the degree of tectonic activity. We infer that majority of the region is tectonically active, with upliftment continuing to occur in the north of the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT). Furthermore, the existence of mapped active faults north of the MBT further substantiates the fact that strain release is not only concentrated in the frontal Himalaya, but is distributed over a broader area above the decollement.

Our aim was to observe if there was any appreciable difference in the etiology and pattern of maxillofacial fractures during the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods in Central Kerala, South India. This retrospective study was conducted with data over a period of two years from the central database registry of our hospital. Age, sex, etiology, date of injury, and site of facial fractures were recorded and compared between both the time periods. Increase in facial fractures due to fall at home (p value

The Mw 9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquake that hit the mainland Japan on 11th March, 2011 had resulted a devastating Tsunami due to an active thrusting between the Pacific and the North American Plates. Static and kinematic offsets at the offshore epicentre of the Mw 9.0 event remain unanswered and being investigated along with their near and far field limiting distances from the epicentre. Accordingly, offset measurements from 60 continuously operating IGS and GEONET GNSS stations were radially classified from the epicentre and interpreted with analytical models to find their linear offset decay rates. Co- and post-seismic static positional anomaly offsets of sixty days show almost all near field stations had strong or appreciable eastward or south eastward static shifts. Near stations (1.5 m. Spatial models of projected N-S static and kinematic offsets show their asymmetrical distributions around the epicentre with maximum model offset of −1.84 m displaced towards south at ∼45 km north of the epicentre. The Tohoku-Oki earthquake produced a resultant kinematic offset of ∼10.2 m towards East at its offshore epicentre; while the estimated near field static offset is ∼9.82 m. However, both estimates are bigger than double the resultant offset measured value (∼4.3 m) in the Japanese mainland using GPS. The difference in the kinematic and static near field offsets highlight that the near surface had elastic or in-elastic kinematic strain dissipation as against the lithospheric level viscoelastic static response, which resulted rapid kinematic strain release (1.12 cm/km) within the limiting radius of ∼220 km from the Tohoku-Oki epicentre. Keywords: 2011 Tohoku earthquake, GPS time series, Near and far field, Static and kinematic offsets, Spatio-temporal model

BACKGROUND AND AIMS:Chronic liver disease (CLD) and cirrhosis are leading causes of death globally with the burden of disease rising significantly over the past several decades. Defining the etiology of liver disease is important for understanding liver disease epidemiology, healthcare planning, and outcomes. The aim of this study was to validate a hierarchical algorithm for CLD and cirrhosis etiology in administrative healthcare data. METHODS:Consecutive patients with CLD or cirrhosis attending an outpatient hepatology clinic in Ontario, Canada from 05/01/2013-08/31/2013 underwent detailed chart abstraction. Gold standard liver disease etiology was determined by an attending hepatologist as hepatitis C (HCV), hepatitis B (HBV), alcohol-related, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)/cryptogenic, autoimmune or hemochromatosis. Individual data was linked to routinely collected administrative healthcare data at ICES. Diagnostic accuracy of a hierarchical algorithm incorporating both laboratory and administrative codes to define etiology was evaluated by calculating sensitivity, specificity, positive (PPV) and negative predictive values (NPV), and kappa's agreement. RESULTS:442 individuals underwent chart abstraction (median age 53 years, 53% cirrhosis, 45% HCV, 26% NAFLD, 10% alcohol-related). In patients with cirrhosis, the algorithm had adequate sensitivity/PPV (>75%) and excellent specificity/NPV (>90%) for all etiologies. In those without cirrhosis, the algorithm was excellent for all etiologies except for hemochromatosis and autoimmune diseases. CONCLUSIONS:A hierarchical algorithm incorporating laboratory and administrative coding can accurately define cirrhosis etiology in routinely collected healthcare data. These results should facilitate health services research in this growing patient population.

Background: Suppressor of Tumorigenicity 2 (ST2) is an IL33 receptor detected in the mucosa and serum of ulcerative colitis (UC) patients. We evaluated soluble ST2 (sST2) as a surrogate biomarker of disease outcome and therapeutic response, in moderate-to-severe UC patients treated with golimumab. Methods: We conducted an open-label single-arm multicentre prospective study. At screening/baseline, week 6 (W6) and week 16 (W16), clinical and endoscopic activity (total Mayo score), histologic activity (Geboes index) and biomarkers were evaluated. Results: From 38 patients, 34 (89.5%) completed W6 and 29 (76.3%) completed W16. Mean age (±SD) was 34.6 ± 12.6 years; 55.9% were female. At W16, 62.1% achieved clinical response. Patients with endoscopic activity at W6 ( n = 20) had higher baseline sST2 (median, 24.5 versus 18.7 ng/ml, p = 0.026) and no decrease from baseline (median change, 0.8 versus −2.7, p = 0.029). At W6, sST2 levels correlated with endoscopic activity ( rs = 0.45, p = 0.007) but not with histological activity ( rs = 0.25, p = 0.151). The best cut-offs for endoscopic activity were sST2 = 16.9 ng/ml (sensitivity = 85%; specificity = 71%) and faecal calprotectin (FC) = 353 μg/g (sensitivity = 90%, specificity = 67%). Patients with histological activity at W6 ( n = 27) had higher baseline ST2 levels (median, 23.0 versus 13.7 ng/ml, p = 0.035). sST2 did not correlate with FC or serum C-reactive protein. FC levels correlated with histological activity and baseline FC were higher when Geboes ⩾3.1 at W6. Conclusions: sST2 may be a surrogate biomarker of UC activity and therapeutic response as it correlates with endoscopic and clinical activity at W6 of golimumab treatment, and subjects with endoscopic and histological activity at W6 had higher baseline ST2 levels.

Background This study evaluated the efficacy of montelukast in reducing seasonal allergic rhinitis symptoms in Japanese children with Japanese cedar (JC) pollinosis induced in an artificial exposure chamber (OHIO Chamber). Methods Pediatric patients aged 10 to 15 years sensitive to JC pollen entered a randomized, double-blind, single-site, crossover study. After confirmation of an allergic response to a JC pollen exposure for 3 hours in the OHIO Chamber during the screening period, subjects received either montelukast 5 mg chewable tablets or placebo for a 7-day treatment period, followed by a 3-hour pollen exposure in the chamber. After a 7-day washout period, subjects crossed over to the other treatment. Subjects were instructed to self-assess their nasal symptoms using 5-point scale for every 30 minutes. The primary end point was the change from baseline (just before entering the exposure chamber for each exposure) in total nasal symptom score (TNSS; the sum of nasal congestion, nasal discharge, and sneezing scores) over 3 hours of pollen exposure. Adverse events (AEs) were evaluated throughout the study. Results A total of 220 subjects (median age, 12 years) received treatment. For TNSS, the between-group difference in the change (95% confidence interval) was −0.01 (−0.11 to 0.10); the change between placebo and montelukast 5 mg was not significant. TNSS in the screening and treatment periods after receiving placebo for 7 days was 1.58 and 1.31, respectively, suggesting a placebo response. On account of high placebo response, a post hoc analysis was conducted. The analysis in a subgroup of subjects who did not show placebo response demonstrated a difference in the efficacy between montelukast and placebo (nominal P

George Philip LeBourdais discusses the work of painter and photographer William Bradford who explored the Arctic in 1869 and subsequently published his account of the journey in The Arctic Regions in 1873.

The aim of the research is to study the influence of plasma modification on nano calcium silicate/polypropylene composites. Polypropylene (PP) is considered for this study as it possesses high impact strength, toughness and availability. Calcium silicate is considered as reinforcement because of its high temperature resistance, high flexural strength and high strength to mass ratio. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results show that there is a change in the functional group on the surface of calcium silicate after modification. Thermo-Gravimetric Analysis (TGA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) results show that the decomposition temperature increased with increasing amount of filler particles. It is also observed that the modification has produced a marginal increase in the decomposition and glass transition temperature. Tensile test results also show a gradual increase in the tensile properties of composites when high ratio is reinforcement. Tensile test results also show that there is a marginal increase in the tensile strength when reinforced with modified calcium silicate when compared to non-modified. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) reveals that there is a enhanced dispersion of nano particles on modification. Based on the findings it can be concluded that plasma modification enhances the thermal and mechanical property marginally.

Abstract Single-cell DNA sequencing (scDNA-seq) enables decoding somatic cancer variation. Existing methods are hampered by low throughput or cannot be combined with transcriptome sequencing in the same cell. We propose HIPSD&R-seq (HIgh-throughPut Single-cell Dna and Rna-seq), a scalable yet simple and accessible assay to profile low-coverage DNA and RNA in thousands of cells in parallel. Our approach builds on a modification of the 10X Genomics platform for scATAC and multiome profiling. In applications to human cell models and primary tissue, we demonstrate the feasibility to detect rare clones and we combine the assay with combinatorial indexing to profile over 17,000 cells.

Abstract Chromothripsis is a frequent form of genome instability, whereby a presumably single catastrophic event generates extensive genomic rearrangements of one or multiple chromosome(s). However, little is known about the heterogeneity of chromothripsis across different clones from the same tumour, as well as changes in response to treatment. Here we analyse single-cell genomic and transcriptomic alterations linked with chromothripsis in human p53-deficient medulloblastoma and neural stem cells (n = 9). We reconstruct the order of somatic events, identify early alterations likely linked to chromothripsis and depict the contribution of chromothripsis to malignancy. We characterise subclonal variation of chromothripsis and its effects on extrachromosomal circular DNA, cancer drivers and putatively druggable targets. Furthermore, we highlight the causative role and the fitness consequences of specific rearrangements in neural progenitors.