Some reflections on the quality of administrative data for Indigenous Australians: The importance of knowing something about the unknown(s)

The Repeat Offenders Database, which has been collated by the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, offers a unique opportunity to analyse data quality issues for an important source of administrative data for Indigenous people. This paper provides several independent estimates of the population of Indigenous offenders by estimating the number of people with unknown Indigenous status who are likely to be identified as Indigenous in other circumstances. The main finding is that the Indigenous population of offenders are substantially undercounted in administrative data collections. The failure to account for this will understate the ‘gap’ between Indigenous and non-Indigenous outcomes

Optimizing Staggered Multigrid for Exascale performance

Adaptive multi-grid methods have proven very successful in dealing with critical slow down for the Wilson-Dirac solver in lattice gauge theory. Multi-grid algorithms developed for Staggered fermions using the K\"ahler-Dirac preconditioning~\cite{Brower:2018ymy} have shown remarkable success. In this work, we discuss the performance of this staggered multi-grid algorithm in four dimensions. We also demonstrate that offloading some components of a multi-shift solve to a multi-grid solver leads to a significant performance improvement in an existing MILC spectrum workflow on the Summit and Selene supercomputers.Comment: Submission to Proceedings of Lattice 2022: the 39th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, Bonn, German

Peak functional ability and age at loss of ambulation in Duchenne muscular dystrophy

AIM: To correlate the North Star Ambulatory Assessment (NSAA) and timed rise from floor (TRF) recorded at age of expected peak with age at loss of ambulation (LOA) in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). METHOD: Male children with DMD enrolled in the UK North Start Network database were included according to the following criteria: follow-up longer than 3 years, one NSAA record between 6 years and 7 years 6 months (baseline), at least one visit when older than 8 years. Data about corticosteroid treatment, LOA, genotype, NSAA, and TRF were analysed. Age at LOA among the different groups based on NSAA and TRF was determined by log-rank tests. Cox proportional hazard models were used for multivariable analysis. RESULTS: A total of 293 patients from 13 different centres were included. Mean (SD) age at first and last visit was 5 years 6 months (1 year 2 months) and 12 years 8 months (2 years 11 months) (median follow-up 7 years 4 months). Higher NSAA and lower TRF at baseline were associated with older age at LOA (p<0.001). Patients scoring NSAA 32 to 34 had a probability of 0.61 of being ambulant when older than 13 years compared with 0.34 for those scoring 26 to 31. In multivariable analysis, NSAA, TRF, and corticosteroid daily regimen (vs intermittent) were all independently associated with outcome (p=0.01). INTERPRETATION: Higher functional abilities at peak are associated with older age at LOA in DMD. This information is important for counselling families. These baseline measures should also be considered when designing clinical trials

Manufacturing and characterization of novel electrospun composite comprising polyurethane and mustard oil scaffold with enhanced blood compatibility

The objective of this work is to characterize and investigate the blood compatibility of polyurethane (PU)/mustard oil composites fabricated using electrospinning technique. The fabricated scaffold was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and contact angle measurements. The activated partial thromboplastin time (APPT), prothrombin time (PT) and the hemolytic assay were done to investigate the blood compatibility of the developed composites. The SEM results revealed that the fiber diameter of the composites (761±123 nm) was reduced compared to pristine PU control. The interaction between PU and mustard oil was confirmed by FTIR as evident through the shifting of peaks. The fabricated composites depicted hydrophobic behavior as insinuated by the increase in contact angle measurements. PU/mustard composites displayed improved crystallinity as confirmed by TGA. Atomic force micrographs suggested that developed PU/mustard oil composites showed an increase in the surface roughness (Ra) compared to pure PU. The Ra of pure PU was observed to be 723 nm but for the fabricated PU/mustard oil composite the Ra was found to be 1298 nm (Ra). The hemolytic index value for pure PU and fabricated composites was observed to be 2.73%and 1.15% indicating that developed composites showed a non-hemolytic behavior signifying the safety of the composites with red blood cells. Hence the newly developed composites with improved physicochemical and blood compatibility properties may be considered as a potential candidate for fabricating cardiac patches and grafts

Edrophonium test in Eaton-Lambert syndrome: Quantitative oculography

Article abstract-Accurate ocular motility recordings were made of the saccadic responses of five patients with Eaton Lambert syndrome (ELS). It was found that, contrary to common belief, the ocular motor system is affected. The sacca des of ELS patients mimicked those of patients with myasthenia gravis (MG). Both groups exhibited hypometria and multiple, closely spaced saccades. Two patients demonstrated both saccadic facilitation and positive edrophonium tests. The ELS patients had slow or normal saccadic velocities, not the &quot;super-fast&quot; velocities found in patients with ocular MG. NEUROLOGY (Cleveland) 1983;33:1157-63 Edrophonium test in Eaton-Lambert syndrome: Quantitative oculography The Eaton-Lambert syndrome (ELS)1 is attributed to impaired release of acetylcholine from nerve ter minals.2 Unlike myasthenia gravis (M G), the weak ness primarily involves proximal limb muscles, sparing cranial muscles.2•3 The response to edrophonium is slight or absent in most cases, but occasionally positive.4 Also, ELS shows facilitation both electronically and clinically, 5.6 in contrast to the decremental response of MG. We have reported oculographic studies of saccadic eye movements and the response to edrophonium in ocular myasthenia.7•8 Many of the abnormalities seemed due to increases in central ocular motor gain in com pensation for the peripheral defect. We now report quantitative oculographic studies of saccadic eye movements and the effect of edrophonium in five patients with ELS. None of the patients had obvious eye movement abnormalities when examined clinically by neuro-ophthalmolo gists. The study was prompted, in part, by reports of subclinical eye movement abnormalities uncovered by oculography in MS,9 amyotrophic lateral scle rosis,1O and Alzheimer&apos;s disease,u Case reports. Patient 1. For 6 months, this 66-year-old woman noted progressive weakness of all four limbs, dys phagia, and dry mouth, but no ptosis, diplopia, or dys arthria. The diagnosis of MG had been made by a neurologist after a &quot;positive edrophonium test.&quot; She was treated with pyridostigmine (120 mg, four times a day for 8 weeks) without benefit. Examination was normal except for proximal limb weakness. Few brief contractions of the proximal muscles appeared to result in transient improvement of strength. Tendon reflexes were absent. Intravenous administration of 10 milligrams of edrophonium did not improve muscle strength. AChR antibodies were not detected in serum by radio immunoassay. Neuromuscular transmission studies revealed markedly decreased amplitude of the compound muscle action poten tial (CMAP) of the abductor pollicis brevis (0.4 m V). After 10 seconds of maximal contraction, there was an increment ofl,OOO% in the amplitude of the CMAP. Two-per-second stimulation showed a decremental response of 25% in the same muscle. Similar findings were noted in other muscles. Nerve conduction studies were normal. On electromyogra phy, there was moment-to-moment variation in the ampli tude of the motor unit potentials, but the amplitudes and durations were normal. Roentgenogram of the chest revealed a large hilar and paratracheal mass on the right side. Biopsy of the lymph nodes during mediastinotomy revealed metastatic oat cell carcinoma. She was given guanidine hydrochloride, 15 mg/ kg body weight/day. Dysphagia, proximal muscle strength, and the neuromuscular transmission studies improved. She was started on chemotherapy and discharged on guanidine, with no side effects, and maintained improve ment. Patient 2. A 55-year-old man noted muscle soreness and weakness. He could walk only a few paces with difficulty. He had occasional transient diplopia for about 3 months before evaluation, but no cranial symptoms other than dry mouth. On examination, he could not rise from a bed or

Folic acid decorated chitosan nanoparticles and its derivatives for the delivery of drugs and genes to cancer cells

Nanotechnology offers a number of nanoscale implements for medicine. Among these, nanoparticles are revolutionizing the field of drug and gene delivery. Chitosan is a natural polymer which provides a profitable tool to an innovative delivery system due to its inherent physicochemical and biological characteristics. Chitosan nanoparticles are promising drug and gene delivery carriers because of small size, better stability, low toxicity, inexpensiveness, simplicity, easy fabrication and versatile means of administration. Chitosan can also be easily modified chemically due to the presence of reactive functional hydroxide and amine groups. Folic acid is commonly engaged as a ligand, for targeting cancer cells, as its receptor, that transports folic acid into the cells through endocytosis and is over-expressed on the surface of several human epithelial cancer cells. Integrating folic acid into chitosan-based drug delivery inventions directs the systems with a well-organized targeting ability. The present review outlines several illustrations of this versatile system based on folate decorated chitosan, which have shown potential as auspicious delivery systems published over the past few years. In addition, it is probable to formulate chitosan nanocarriers that exhibit manifold usage beyond targeted delivery, such as nanotheranostics and cancer stem cell therapy

Ciguatera Fish Poisoning: Treatment, Prevention and Management

Ciguatera Fish Poisoning (CFP) is the most frequently reported seafood-toxin illness in the world, and it causes substantial physical and functional impact. It produces a myriad of gastrointestinal, neurologic and/or cardiovascular symptoms which last days to weeks, or even months. Although there are reports of symptom amelioration with some interventions (e.g. IV mannitol), the appropriate treatment for CFP remains unclear to many physicians. We review the literature on the treatments for CFP, including randomized controlled studies and anecdotal reports. The article is intended to clarify treatment options, and provide information about management and prevention of CFP, for emergency room physicians, poison control information providers, other health care providers, and patients