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AimTau truncation (tr-tau) by active caspase-6 (aCasp-6) generates tau fragments that may be toxic. Yet the relationship between aCasp-6, different forms of tr-tau and hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau) accumulation in human brains with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other tauopathies remains unclear.MethodsWe generated two neoepitope monoclonal antibodies against tr-tau sites (D402 and D13) targeted by aCasp-6. Then, we used five-plex immunofluorescence to quantify the neuronal and astroglial burden of aCasp-6, tr-tau, p-tau and their co-occurrence in healthy controls, AD and primary tauopathies.ResultsCasp-6 activation was strongest in AD and Pick's disease (PiD) but almost absent in 4-repeat (4R) tauopathies. In neurons, the tr-tau burden was much more abundant in AD and PiD than in 4R tauopathies and disproportionally higher when normalising by p-tau pathology. Tr-tau astrogliopathy was detected in low numbers in 4R tauopathies. Unexpectedly, about half of tr-tau positive neurons in AD and PiD lacked p-tau aggregates, a finding we confirmed using several p-tau antibodies.ConclusionsEarly modulation of aCasp-6 to reduce tr-tau pathology is a promising therapeutic strategy for AD and PiD but is unlikely to benefit 4R tauopathies. The large percentage of tr-tau-positive neurons lacking p-tau suggests that many vulnerable neurons to tau pathology go undetected when using conventional p-tau antibodies. Therapeutic strategies against tr-tau pathology could be necessary to modulate the extent of tau abnormalities in AD. The disproportionally higher burden of tr-tau in AD and PiD supports the development of biofluid biomarkers against tr-tau to detect AD and PiD and differentiate them from 4R tauopathies at a patient level.

Introduction: Cardiac masses are a rare cause of chest pain. They can often be missed on a chest radiograph performed to evaluate non-specific chest pain and are not readily evaluated with traditional laboratory testing. However, these masses can be visualized with point-of-care ultrasound.Case Report: We present a case of a 19-year-old female presenting with intermittent chest pain, palpitations, and weakness present for two months. The patient had previously been evaluated at our emergency department one week earlier and was diagnosed with anxiety before being discharged. Besides a tachycardic and labile heart rate, physical examination and laboratory testing were unremarkable. Point-of-care cardiac echocardiography subsequently demonstrated findings concerning for a cardiac mass.Conclusion: Cardiac masses are a rare cause of chest pain and palpitations that are easily missed. The advent of point-of-care ultrasonography has afforded us the ability to rapidly assess for structural and functional cardiac abnormalities at bedside, and incorporation of this tool into the evaluation of patients with chest pain offers the ability to detect these rare pathologies.

This study evaluates the impact of Khan Academy (KA) video tutorials in a blended learning environment for ninth grade students in Sri Lanka. The 632 treatment group students followed KA during 2-3 out of 5 time slots assigned for mathematics teaching per week. Students in the control group followed the regular class room environment with a mathematics teacher during all 5 time slots. The impact of KA is evaluated based on students' mathematics achievements in raw, standardized, and Item Response Theory adjusted scaled test scores using propensity score matching. On average KA resulted in increasing students' raw and scaled test scores by 3.77 and 3.15 percentage points, respectively, and standardized test scores by 0.20 standard deviations above the mean test score. The evaluation provides initial evidence that the use of KA would help Sri Lankan students in mathematics. The findings are robust to alternative specifications, where school and teacher inputs are controlled for in addition to students' characteristics, and when estimation is limited to the subsample of students that had a common mathematics teacher across the treatment and the control groups.

This study analyzes data from a new Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance (UHDSS) in five slums in Dhaka (North and South) and Gazipur City Corporations to examine the relationship between migration status and maternal and child health service utilization. Migration status was determined by duration in urban slums (

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Social media use is associated with poor sleep outcomes. We aimed to extend previous research by examining how measures of social media use would affect two sleep characteristics: sleep quality and insomnia symptoms. In addition, we tested a serial mediation model linking social media use to sleep through increases in negative social comparison and pre-sleep cognitive arousal. Participants were 830 emerging adults (ages 18–30) who were recruited for an online survey study in February 2024. The sample was 63.1% female, with an average age of 24. We examined three measures of social media use: duration (minutes of daily use), frequency (number of weekly visits to social media platforms), and emotional investment (attachment to and integration of social media into daily life). Consistent with our hypothesis, greater emotional investment in social media and more frequent social media use were associated with poorer sleep quality and greater insomnia severity. We also found evidence supporting our hypothesized serial mediation model: emotional investment in social media and more frequent social media use were associated with increased negative social comparison, which subsequently increased pre-sleep cognitive arousal, which then led to poorer sleep outcomes. Our findings suggest that negative social comparison and pre-sleep cognitive arousal are important mechanisms linking social media use to poor sleep outcomes. Future studies should aim to test this serial mediation model using longitudinal data and experimental methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This observational study examined the relationships between age, vaccine conspiracy beliefs, and COVID-19 vaccine uptake in emerging adults (ages 20–30) and middle-aged adults (ages 50–60) residing in the United States. It also examined sociodemographic predictors of vaccine conspiracy beliefs and COVID-19 vaccine uptake—political conservativism, household income, and educational attainment. We recruited 198 emerging adults and 198 middle-aged adults to complete an online survey assessing vaccine conspiracy beliefs and COVID-19 vaccination status. First, we found that emerging adults reported stronger vaccine conspiracy beliefs than middle-aged adults (estimated mean difference = 0.43, 95CI = 0.08, 0.79, p = 0.017), but that emerging adults and middle-aged adults did not differ in their likelihood of being vaccinated with estimated rates of COVID-19 vaccination uptake of 63% in emerging adults and 64% in middle-aged adults. Political conservativism was associated with stronger vaccine conspiracy beliefs and lower COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Lower household income and lower educational attainment were associated with lower COVID-19 vaccine uptake but not associated with vaccine conspiracy beliefs. Second, we found that age moderated the relationship between vaccine conspiracy beliefs and COVID-19 vaccine uptake; stronger vaccine conspiracy beliefs predicted lower COVID-19 vaccine uptake among middle-aged adults (B = −0.63, 95CI = −0.90, −0.36, p < 0.001) but were not associated with COVID-19 vaccine uptake among emerging adults (B = −0.21, 95CI = −0.47, 0.05, p = 0.12). These results provide insight into the sociodemographic and psychological factors that influence COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Our findings can help to inform the design of targeted public health interventions to increase vaccine uptake in the ongoing fight against COVID-19. Given the crucial role of vaccination in controlling the spread of COVID-19, it is also imperative for future studies to continue investigating how age and vaccine conspiratorial beliefs intersect to impact vaccine uptake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a case study of Sri Lanka's ICT in education experiences, this paper discusses how countries in the Global South (developing and emerging countries) could take up the opportunities of ICT for access to quality education. Sri Lanka is used as a case study because it is at the emerging state of using ICT in education with a relatively high access to education and ranked high on achievements in education. The paper starts with an overview on the potential and current challenges of harnessing ICT for access to quality education in the Global South. By conducting a case study of Sri Lanka, we identify and analyse the key factors that facilitate or hinder the realisation of the opportunities. With the promising practices and lessons learnt, a total of six strategies that can help policymakers and education leaders of Global South countries are generalised; we believe that when these strategies are considered, ICT for access to quality education will be enhanced.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have had significant impacts on many sectors in today's knowledge economy. In developing and emerging countries, ICT have enhanced equity, quality, and efficiency in the education sector. However, the adoption of ICT in the South Asian countries' education sector has not been at scale and its impacts have been limited. There are several gaps and issues that are hindering the wider adoption of ICT and limiting its impacts in the education sector. Through the case studies of the adoption of ICT for education in Bangladesh and Nepal, this paper examines the gaps and issues to be addressed in order to better leverage ICT to enhance education equity, quality, and efficiency. This discussion is guided by the ICT in the education framework that has been developed by the authors, and could provide insights into the state of ICT in education and offer strategies to better leverage ICT for the education sector of other countries in South Asia and the region.

Background: This systematic review aims to evaluate and compare differences in clinical outcomes for adult patients diagnosed with ISSPE who were managed with anticoagulation vs clinical surveillance. Methods: PubMed, Embase, ProQuest, Cochrane, and Google Scholar were searched to identify studies evaluating the use of anticoagulation and/or clinical surveillance in patients diagnosed with ISSPE. The search included studies published up to August 3, 2023. Outcomes of interest included 90-day recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE), major bleeding, and all-cause mortality rates. Results: Ten studies were included with a total of 1224 patients. Of these patients, 791 were treated with anticoagulation and 433 underwent surveillance. Studies found no difference in recurrent VTE rates, with the majority of studies reporting no recurrence. Of the studies that reported VTE recurrence, rates were.5% to 1.4% for the anticoagulation groups and 3.1% to 3.2% for the surveillance groups. Major bleeding rates were also similar. In anticoagulated patients, major bleeding rates ranged from 1% to 10%. In clinical surveillance patients, the majority found no rate of major bleeding, with 2 studies reporting rates of.8% to 3.2%. Mortality rates ranged widely with no significant differences reported. Conclusion: Clinical surveillance appears to be a safe and effective alternative to anticoagulation in patients with ISSPE. Ninety-day rates of recurrent VTE, major bleeding, and mortality were comparable between groups. These findings highlight the need for updated practice management guidelines to improve patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To estimate the costs and mortality reductions of a package of essential health interventions for urban populations in Bangladesh and India. Methods We used population data from the countries'censuses and United Nations Population Division. For causes of mortality in India, we used the Indian Million Death Study. We obtained cost estimates of each intervention from the third edition of Disease control priorities. For estimating the mortality reductions expected with the package, we used the Disease control priorities model. We calculated the benefit-cost ratio for investing in the package, using an analysis based on the Copenhagen Consensus method. Findings Per urban inhabitant, total costs for the package would be 75.1 United States dollars (US$) in Bangladesh and US$ 105.0 in India. Of this, prevention and treatment of noncommunicable diseases account for US$ 36.5 in Bangladesh and U$ 51.7 in India. The incremental cost per urban inhabitant for all interventions would be US$ 50 in Bangladesh and US$ 75 in India. In 2030, the averted deaths among people younger than 70 years would constitute 30.5% (1027/3362) and 21.2% (828/3913) of the estimated baseline deaths in Bangladesh and India, respectively. The health benefits of investing in the package would return US$ 1.2 per dollar spent in Bangladesh and US$ 1.8 per dollar spent in India. Conclusion Investing in the package of essential health interventions, which address health-care needs of the growing urban population in Bangladesh and India, seems beneficial and could help the countries to achieve their 2030 sustainable development goals. Objectif Estimer les couts et les reductions de la mortalite lies a un ensemble d'interventions essentielles en sante pour les populations urbaines au Bangladesh et en Inde. Methodes Nous avons utilise des donnees demographiques provenant des recensements des pays et de la Division de la population des Nations Unies. Concernant les causes de la mortalite en Inde, nous avons utilise un document intitule << Indian Million Death Study >>. Nous avons obtenu des estimations du cout de chaque intervention a partir de la troisieme edition du rapport << Disease control priorities>>. Pour estimer les reductions de la mortalite attendues grace a l'ensemble des interventions, nous avons utilise le modele du projet Disease control priorities. Nous avons calcule le rapport avantages-couts de l'investissement dans cet ensemble d'interventions a l'aide d'une analyse fondee sur la methode du Consensus de Copenhague. Resultats Les couts totaux par habitant en milieu urbain pour l'ensemble des interventions seraient de 75,1 dollars des Etats-Unis (US$) au Bangladesh et 105,0 US$ en Inde. Sur ces sommes, la prevention et le traitement des maladies non transmissibles representent 36,5 US$ au Bangladesh et 51,7 US$ en Inde. Le surcout par habitant en milieu urbain pour toutes les interventions serait de 50 US$ au Bangladesh et 75 US$ en Inde. En 2030, les deces evites chez les personnes agees de moins de 70 ans representeraient 30,5% (1027/3362) et 21,2% (828/3913) du nombre de deces estime de reference au Bangladesh et en Inde, respectivement. Les effets benefiques pour la sante de l'investissement dans l'ensemble des interventions permettraient un rendement de 1,2 US$ par dollar depense au Bangladesh et 1,8 US$ par dollar depense en Inde. Conclusion L'investissement dans l'ensemble d'interventions essentielles en sante, qui repond aux besoins en soins de sante de la population urbaine croissante au Bangladesh et en Inde, semble benefique et pourrait aider les pays a atteindre leurs objectifs de developpement durable a l'horizon 2030. Objetivo Estimar los costos y las reducciones de la mortalidad de un conjunto de intervenciones sanitarias esenciales para las poblaciones urbanas de Bangladesh y la India. Metodos Se utilizaron datos de poblacion de los censos de los paises y de la Division de Poblacion de las Naciones Unidas. Para las causas de mortalidad en la India, se utilizo el Indian Million Death Study (Estudio del Millon de Muertes en la India). Se obtuvieron estimaciones de costos de cada intervencion a partir de la tercera edicion de Disease control priorities (Prioridad para el control de enfermedades). Para estimar las reducciones de mortalidad esperadas con el paquete, se utilizo el modelo de Disease control priorities. Se calculo la relacion costo-beneficio para invertir en el paquete, utilizando un analisis basado en el metodo del Consenso de Copenhague. Resultados Por habitante urbano, el costo total del paquete seria de 75,1 dolares estadounidenses (USD) en Bangladesh y 105,0 USD en la India. La prevencion y el tratamiento de las enfermedades no transmisibles representan 36,5 USD en Bangladesh y 51,7 USD en la India. El costo adicional por habitante urbano para todas las intervenciones seria de 50 USD en Bangladesh y 75 USD en la India. En 2030, las muertes que se evitarian entre las personas menores de 70 anos representarian el 30,5% (1 027/3 362) y el 21,2% (828/3 913) de las muertes estimadas de referencia en Bangladesh y la India, respectivamente. Los beneficios para la salud de invertir en el paquete devolverian 1,2 USD por cada dolar gastado en Bangladesh y 1,8 USD por cada dolar gastado en la India. Conclusion La inversion en el conjunto de intervenciones sanitarias esenciales, que abordan las necesidades de atencion de la salud de la creciente poblacion urbana de Bangladesh y la India, parece beneficiosa y podria ayudar a los paises a alcanzar sus objetivos de desarrollo sostenible para 2030., Introduction Cities promote national economic growth and prosperity, innovation and overall national welfare. The United Nations (UN) has pointed out that modern cities exhibit contrasts between wealth and poverty, opportunity [...]