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There is an unmet need for COVID-19 prevention in patient populations who have not mounted or are not expected to mount an adequate immune response to complete COVID-19 vaccination. We previously reported that a single subcutaneous 1200 mg dose of the monoclonal antibody combination casirivimab and imdevimab (CAS + IMD) prevented symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections by 81·4% in generally healthy household contacts of SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals over a 1-month efficacy assessment period. Here we present additional results, including the 7-month follow-up period (months 2-8), providing additional insights about the potential for efficacy in pre-exposure prophylaxis settings.This was a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial done in the USA, Romania, and Moldova in 2020-2021, before the emergence of omicron (B.1.1.529) and omicron-lineage variants. Uninfected and unvaccinated household contacts of infected individuals, judged by the investigator to be in good health, were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive 1200 mg CAS + IMD or placebo by subcutaneous injection according to a central randomisation scheme provided by an interactive web response system; randomisation was stratified per site by the test results of a local diagnostic assay for SARS-CoV-2 and age group at baseline. COVID-19 vaccines were prohibited before randomisation, but participants were allowed to receive COVID-19 vaccination during the follow-up period. Participants who developed COVID-19 symptoms during the follow-up period underwent RT-PCR testing. Prespecified endpoints included the proportion of previously uninfected and baseline-seronegative participants (seronegative-modified full analysis set) who had RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 in the follow-up period (post-hoc for the timepoints of months 2-5 and 6-8 only) and underwent seroconversion (ie, became seropositive, considered a proxy for any SARS-CoV-2 infections [symptomatic and asymptomatic]; prespecified up to day 57, post-hoc for all timepoints thereafter). We also assessed the incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04452318.From July 13, 2020, to Oct 4, 2021, 2317 participants who were RT-PCR-negative for SARS-CoV-2 were randomly assigned, of whom 1683 (841 assigned to CAS + IMD and 842 assigned to placebo) were seronegative at baseline. During the entirety of the 8-month study, CAS + IMD reduced the risk of COVID-19 by 81·2% (nominal plt;0·0001) versus placebo (prespecified analysis). During the 7-month follow-up period, protection was greatest during months 2-5, with a 100% relative risk reduction in COVID-19 (nominal plt;0·0001; post-hoc analysis). Efficacy waned during months 6-8 (post-hoc analysis). Seroconversion occurred in 38 (4·5%) of 841 participants in the CAS + IMD group and in 181 (21·5%) of 842 in the placebo group during the 8-month study (79·0% relative risk reduction vs placebo; nominal plt;0·0001). Six participants in the placebo group were hospitalised due to COVID-19 versus none who received CAS + IMD. Serious treatment-emergent adverse events (including COVID-19) were reported in 24 (1·7%) of 1439 participants receiving CAS + IMD and in 23 (1·6%) of 1428 receiving placebo. Five deaths were reported, none of which were due to COVID-19 or related to the study drugs.CAS + IMD is not authorised in any US region as of Jan 24, 2022, because data show that CAS + IMD is not active against omicron-lineage variants. In this study, done before the emergence of omicron-lineage variants, a single subcutaneous 1200 mg dose of CAS + IMD protected against COVID-19 for up to 5 months of community exposure to susceptible strains of SARS-CoV-2 in the pre-exposure prophylaxis setting, in addition to the post-exposure prophylaxis setting that was previously shown.Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, F Hoffmann-La Roche, US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, US National Institutes of Health.

Pornography is more accessible than ever before, which raises questions concerning its influence on adolescent sexual behaviours. Recent research has identified perceived realism of pornography—the extent to which an individual perceives pornographic content as being congruent with reality—to be a potentially significant individual difference variable in this domain. However, the strength of this relationship remains uncertain. Focus is placed on this association for adolescents as sexual curiosity and maturing sexual scripts may be more readily influenced by pornography. The present study addressed this association through a meta-analysis. Database searches identified k = 5 studies (N = 3846) from various countries with relevant associations.The meta-analysis indicated a significant, moderate, and positive relationship between frequency of pornography consumption and perceived realism (r = .39) which was not moderated by the sex of participants. Given these findings, future research may assess behavioural and attitudinal changes associated with pornography use. Findings could also inform novel approaches to sexual education that prioritise recontextualising programs in the context of technology and explore the role of digital sexual socialisation of adolescents.

[First para.]: "Psychological trauma can be defined, roughly, as the effect of an experience which the mind is unable to process, assimilate, and assign to the past. A traumatizing experience, therefore, is defined not by its intrinsic properties but by the mind’s response to it (Herman, 2001). Critical trauma studies takes this anti-essentialist insight one step further by examining how social relations and cultural meanings produce trauma, in two ways. First, relations of denigration and oppression entail traumatizing experiences for individuals and groups — through class, race, gender, sexuality, and so on. Second, the concept of trauma is, itself, socially constructed and performative."

By Dirichlet's Unit Theorem, under the log embedding the units in the ring of integers of a number field form a lattice, called the log-unit lattice. We investigate the geometry of these lattices when the number field is a biquadratic or cyclic cubic extension of $\mathbb{Q}$. In the biquadratic case, we determine when the log-unit lattice is orthogonal. In the cyclic cubic case, we show that the log-unit lattice is always equilateral triangular., Comment: 14 pages

Using a two-by-two vignette-based experimental design, this study aimed to examine the effects of women’s symbolic representation in sexual assault units and the arrest rate for interpersonal viole...

Introduction: Cardiovascular comorbidities may predispose to adverse outcomes in hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, across the USA, the burden of cardiovascular comorbidities varies significantly. Whether clinical outcomes of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 differ between regions has not yet been studied systematically. Here, we report differences in underlying cardiovascular comorbidities and clinical outcomes of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Texas and in New York state. Methods: We established a multicenter retrospective registry including patients hospitalized with COVID-19 between March 15 and July 12, 2020. Demographic and clinical data were manually retrieved from electronic medical records. We focused on the following outcomes: mortality, need for pharmacologic circulatory support, need for mechanical ventilation, and need for hemodialysis. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: Patients in the Texas cohort (n = 296) were younger (57 vs. 63 years, p value 2 vs. 28.5 kg/m2, p = 0.015), and they had higher rates of diabetes mellitus (41 vs. 30%; p = 0.014). In contrast, patients in the New York state cohort (n = 218) had higher rates of coronary artery disease (19 vs. 10%, p = 0.005) and atrial fibrillation (11 vs. 5%, p = 0.012). Pharmacologic circulatory support, mechanical ventilation, and hemodialysis were more frequent in the Texas cohort (21 vs. 13%, p = 0.020; 30 vs. 12%, p < 0.001; and 11 vs. 5%, p = 0.009, respectively). In-hospital mortality was similar between the 2 cohorts (16 vs. 18%, p = 0.469). After adjusting for differences in underlying comorbidities, only the use of mechanical ventilation remained significantly higher in the participating Texas hospitals (odds ratios [95% CI]: 3.88 [1.23, 12.24]). Median time to pharmacologic circulatory support was 8 days (interquartile range: 2, 13.8) in the Texas cohort compared to 1 day (0, 3) in the New York state cohort, while median time to in-hospital mortality was 16 days (10, 25.5) and 7 days (4, 14), respectively (both p < 0.001). In-hospital mortality was higher in the late versus the early study phase in the New York state cohort (24 vs. 14%, p = 0.050), while it was similar between the 2 phases in the Texas cohort (16 vs. 15%, p = 0.741). Conclusions: Geographical differences, including practice pattern variations and the impact of disease burden on provision of health care, are important for the evaluation of COVID-19 outcomes. Unadjusted data may cause bias affecting future regulatory policies and proper allocation of resources.

Introduction: Much less is known about brain volume abnormalities in patients with chronic mild or moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI) compared with patients with more severe injury. Commercially available software methods including NeuroQuant® are being used increasingly to assess MRI brain volume in patients with TBI.Methods: 50 patients with mild or moderate TBI were compared to the NeuroQuant® normal control database (n = thousands) with respect to MRI brain volume.Results: The patients had many areas of abnormal enlargement and fewer areas of atrophy, including abnormally small cerebral white matter (CWM) limited to the first 10 months after injury. Examination of correlations within the patient group between CWM volume and volumes of the abnormally enlarged regions showed multiple significant negative correlations, indicating that CWM atrophy correlated with enlargement of the other regions.Discussion: The finding of many regions of abnormal brain enlargement was relatively new, although a couple of previous studies of patients with mild TBI found similar but more limited findings. The cause of the abnormal enlargement was unknown, but possibilities included: (1) hyperactivity and hypertrophy; or (2) chronic neuro-inflammation and edema.Abbreviations: ADNI: Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative; CWM: cerebral white matter; GM: cerebral cortical gray matter; ICC: intraclass correlations coefficient; IFT: infratentorial; MRI: magnetic resonance imaging; mTBI: mild TBI; NQ: NeuroQuant®; SCN: subcortical nuclei; t0: time of injury; t1: time of first NeuroQuanted MRI scan after injury; t2: time of second NeuroQuanted MRI scan after injury; TBI: traumatic brain injury; VBR: ventricle-to-brain ratio; WBP: whole-brain parenchyma.

This study investigated the dispositional profile associated with hoarding symptoms by applying a personality and motivational trait perspective. A community sample oversampling high hoarding symptoms (N = 649, ages 18-74 years) completed an online questionnaire assessing hoarding, the five-factor model of personality, and general causality orientations drawn from self-determination theory. Personality aspects (10 traits), a level of measurement intermediate to factors (5 traits) and facets (30 traits), were assessed to provide greater specificity than a factor-level approach. Hoarding was correlated with neuroticism and conscientiousness. Aspects predicting hoarding were industriousness (C), orderliness (C), withdrawal (N), and assertiveness (E). Hoarding was significantly related to impersonal and control orientations, albeit with only slight (1.4%) incremental validity for general causality orientations above personality aspects in predicting hoarding. These findings may not generalize to a clinical treatment sample, and possible configurative interactions between traits were not assessed. This study extended the existing literature by reporting aspect-level personality and general causality orientation correlates of hoarding. These data may inform preventative monitoring and intervention programs, as well as predicting meaningful personality characteristics of hoarding clients.

The risk of rockfall due to previously mined deteriorating pit wall conditions above operational areas of open pit mines is ever present. This paper presents a case study documenting rockfall assessment and subsequent mitigation measures after a rockfall event onto an operational ramp at the Newmont Boddington Gold (NBG) open pit mine. NBG is located two hours south of Perth, in Western Australia, and extracts over 90 Mt per year from operational pits. The South Pit has a current planned depth of over 650 m with a 36 m high and 15.2 m wide batter/berm configuration for an inter-ramp angle of 60.8°. Information collected during unmanned aerial vehicle/rope access inspections and scaling works provided relevant data including block size and size distribution, enabling further assessment. Detailed rockfall assessment is undertaken using the 3D software Trajec3D™ to help gain a better understanding of how in situ pit conditions can influence the trajectory of falling rocks compared to 2D assessments. The work includes an assessment of object shape, assessment based on block size and size distribution, interpretation of rockfall source area, a step by step run through of modelling, and probabilistic interpretation of results including a sensitivity analysis based approach considering different potential particle size distributions. A Coefficient of Restitution is adopted from previous research. The paper also presents data assessment methodology used to interpret various aspects of model output data including gaining knowledge of linear and rotational energy and the interoperability and functionality of the Trajec3D and GEM4D™ software. The information is used to help assess the design criteria of a rock catch fence solution for this area of the pit. Rockfall assessment results are presented for both ‘fence’ and ‘no fence’ scenarios.

Introduction: Although primarily a respiratory illness, COVID-19 frequently involves the cardiovascular system. Hypothesis: Accordingly, we assessed whether abnormal electrocardiographic findings, including cardiac dysrhythmias, ST/T wave changes, and QTc interval prolongation, predict adverse outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Methods: A multi-center retrospective study of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 was performed across 4 hospitals in Texas and 1 in New York. Initial and subsequent ECG findings among patients with uncomplicated disease course, patients with adverse clinical outcomes (need for vasopressors, mechanical ventilation or renal replacement therapy) and patients who died were analyzed. Univariable and multivariable Cox analyses were performed. Results: We identified 297 consecutive patients with COVID-19. Of these patients, 91% had available ECGs. Median heart rate on initial ECG was 92 bpm (IQR: 27), and median QTc interval was 442 msec (IQR: 40). Longer QTc interval on initial ECG was associated with adverse clinical outcomes (443 msec, IQR: 43) and death (457 msec, IQR: 52, vs 441.5 msec, IQR: 36; p=0.033). Cardiac dysrhythmias or ST/T wave changes were noted in subsequent ECGs of 46% of patients and were associated with adverse clinical outcomes (58%) or death (68% vs 33%; HR: 2.2, 95% CI: 1.3-3.6; p=0.002). Sixty-four patients (23%) developed a QTc interval >500msec during their hospitalization. In multivariable Cox analysis, history of coronary artery disease was independently associated with development of QTc>500msec (HR 2.1, 95% CI 1.0-4.4; p=0.047) while other baseline comorbidities were not. Patients with QTc>500msec were more commonly treated with azithromycin (91% vs 77%; p=0.048); no other differences in COVID-19 treatment were identified. In-hospital mortality among patients with QTc>500msec was 37% versus 13% among patients with shorter QTc intervals (HR: 2.6, 95% CI 1.5-4.5; p=0.001). Conclusions: Prolonged QTc interval on initial ECG of COVID-19 patients predicted adverse outcomes and death. Azithromycin was associated with development of QTc>500msec. Patients with a QTc interval >500msec had a 2.6 times higher risk for in-hospital mortality compared to patients with shorter QTc intervals.

Introduction: In a time span of 6 months, COVID-19 has infected more than 7 million and cost the lives of more than 400,000 people worldwide. Cardiovascular involvement is associated with adverse clinical outcomes. Hypothesis: Increased plasma troponin and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) or NT-proB-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels are associated with the presence of underlying cardiovascular disease and predict increased in-hospital mortality. Methods: Here we present a multicenter observational study of patients diagnosed with COVID-19, who were hospitalized in 5 hospitals (4 in Texas and 1 in New York) between March 16 th and May 22 nd , 2020. Demographic and clinical characteristics were abstracted after patient’s discharge or death. To address the non-standard troponin and BNP/NT-proBNP assays across institutions we used the upper 99th percentile as the cut-off for abnormal on each test. Results: We identified 297 consecutive patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Troponin levels were available in 84% and BNP/NT-proBNP levels in 47% of patients. Troponin levels were increased in 14% and BNP/NT-proBNP in 46% of patients. In multivariate Cox analysis, history of coronary artery disease was independently associated with elevated troponin levels (Hazard Ratio [HR]: 5.24; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.37-19.97; p=0.015), while history of congestive heart failure was independently associated with elevated BNP/NT-proBNP levels (HR: 2.58; 95% CI: 1.05 6.31; p=0.038). Older age, history of hypertension, dyslipidemia, or stroke, were associated with elevated troponin or BNP/NT-proBNP levels only in the univariate analysis. Other demographic and clinical characteristics were not significantly associated with cardiac biomarker elevation. Collectively, elevated troponin or BNP/NT-proBNP were significantly associated with in-hospital mortality (HR: 3.47 95% CI: 1.90-6.35 and HR: 3.56; 95% CI: 1.44-8.77, respectively; both p Conclusions: Increased levels of cardiac biomarkers were associated with a 3-fold increase of in-hospital mortality among patients with COVID-19. Troponin or BNP/pro-BNP testing has a prognostic value and may guide treatment.

The Cockatoo Island iron ore mine located in the Kimberley of Western Australia has had a history of instability related to critical seawall infrastructure over the last 15 years. This is in part due to the challenging setting of excavating an open pit directly adjacent to the sea. Seawall infrastructure has been constructed over thick very soft marine sediments to enable mining to progress below sea level over the years. Following suspension of mining in 2016 the dewatering pumps were decommissioned and the pit was allowed to flood. Planned resumption of mining in 2017 required that the pit be dewatered and then cut-back and deepened. A critical factor in the planned resumption of mining was the impact of water and pore pressure on the stability of the pit slope during initial pit lake dewatering and then subsequent mine development. The earthen seawall structure is founded on 20 m of very soft coralline sediments and forms the crest of the hanging wall of the pit. The pit slope is formed in these sediments and underlying extremely weak saprolite. The pit lake had essentially recovered to sea level and the pit wall sediments were fully saturated. A carefully reasoned approach was required to dewater the pit (and depressurise the pit walls) to prevent failure of the slope and destabilisation of the seawall. An engineered approach was developed by the mining company’s geotechnical engineer in conjunction with a hydrogeological consultant to develop a practical hydro-geotechnical solution and implement a successful pit wall depressurisationscheme. This involved iterative numerical geotechnical slope stability modelling and groundwater modelling using data from several vertically stacked vibrating wire piezometers (VWP) to calibrate the models. Initial calibration was against longer-term (pseudo-steady state) data from the period of pit flooding and then against transient pore pressure responses as dewatering of the pit lake commenced. Calibrated models were then used to predict pore pressures and slope stability for various pit development scenarios assuming both natural pit wall drainage (seepage flow to pit faces) and enhanced drainage using sand drains. A life-of-mine pit development and pit wall depressurisationplan was developed that included pit lake dewatering and detailed monitoring of piezometers and slope performance (automated prism monitoring and slope radar surveillance) to provide ongoing validation and calibration of the pore pressure and slope stability models and to ensure that these remained within acceptable limits. The adopted approach resulted in successful controlled depressurisation and stable pit slopes. Unfortunately, despite the dewatering scheme being implemented successfully, other factors resulted in the project remaining in care and maintenance. The pit has since been allowed to flood.

The effectiveness of rotational atherectomy in the treatment of complex superficial femoral artery (SFA) lesions remains poorly defined. Outcomes of SFA lesions treated with rotational atherectomy were analyzed.This retrospective review assessed all patients who underwent rotational atherectomy of the SFA at a single institution between 2015 and 2018. The data of all patients were deidentified, and the study was approved by the Institutional Review Board. Informed consent was not obtained for this retrospective analysis. Main outcomes were Kaplan-Meier primary patency rate, freedom from major amputation, and 2-year survival rate. The effect of drug-coated balloon angioplasty (DCBA) on patency and time to death was investigated with univariate regression. The safety profile for atherectomy and DCBA was assessed by the 30-day incidence of major amputation and all-cause mortality.Fifty-three patients (mean age, 70.2 ± 9.8 years; 73% male; 65% critical limb-threatening ischemia; 47 [90%] current or former smokers; seven [13%] with prior failed ipsilateral endovascular intervention) underwent rotational atherectomy (Jetstream; Boston Scientific, Marlborough, Mass) with mean follow-up of 543 days. Forty-six (87%) patients underwent DCBA (Lutonix; BD Bard, Covington, Ga) after atherectomy. Mean lesion length was 13.2 ± 9.0 cm. Thirty-one (58%) lesions were TransAtlantic Inter-Society Consensus C or D class. At 1-month follow-up, 39 of 45 (87%) patients experienced improvement in symptoms and Rutherford class. An improvement in ankle-brachial index was also noted in 13% of patients without improvement of symptoms, with no patients progressing to surgical bypass or major amputation. Mean ankle-brachial index increased from 0.54 ± 0.035 to 0.90 ± 0.031 at 1 month after intervention (P .001) and remained constant out to 18 months. Mean toe pressure increased from 36 ± 3.8 mm Hg to 67 ± 4.5 mm Hg at 1 month after intervention (P .001) and remained constant out to 18 months. Kaplan-Meier primary patency rate was 75% (95% confidence interval, 61%-85%) at 12 months and 65% (51%-77%) at 24 months. There was a trend toward improved primary patency after adjunctive DCBA compared with plain balloon angioplasty at 1 year (75% vs 43%; P = .1082). There was no significant difference in mortality between adjunctive DCBA and plain balloon angioplasty at 2 years (11% vs 0%). The 2-year incidence of major amputation in critical limb-threatening ischemia patients was 3.9% (1.2%-6.5%). One patient died and none underwent amputation within 30 days.Rotational atherectomy with adjunctive DCBA of long SFA lesions has excellent long-term patency. Two-year major amputation and mortality rates are low, and the technique has an exceptional safety profile.

Intellectual curiosity is a topic of research interest and often predicts academic performance (AP). However, evidence for its incremental validity, which the present study aimed to assess, is mixed. Participants were 216 (52 males, 151 females, 13 not reported) third-year psychology students (age M = 23.0 yrs) who completed tests of fluid and crystallised intelligence, five-factor model (FFM) personality, intellectual curiosity, and confidence. AP was obtained from university transcripts. No incremental validity above intelligence and FFM personality was found for measures of curiosity or confidence. In all analyses, Conscientiousness was the most substantial predictor of AP. Future research may focus on the conditions in which curiosity or confidence predict AP.

Hematospermia is an uncommon presentation of prostate cancer. Following the introduction of MRI for patients with hematospermia we evaluated its use and effect on prostate biopsy and cancer detection rates.Analysis of patients attending our outpatient department over 2 years was undertaken. Diagnostic workup included digital rectal examination and PSA. Those with abnormal findings or persisting symptoms were offered prostate biopsy. In the second year MRI became available for patients with hematospermia. Abnormal MRI or persisting symptoms were offered biopsy. We compared the frequency of prostate biopsy and cancer detection in patients undergoing MRI and those not having imaging.Forty-seven patients were referred with hematospermia. Nineteen patients did not undergo MRI; four received prostate biopsy with one adenocarcinoma found. Twenty-four patients had an MRI with 17 biopsies undertaken. Three biopsies revealed adenocarcinoma. In the MRI group 71% of patients underwent prostate biopsy but only 21% from the non-MRI group (p0.05). Prostate cancer detection rate in the MRI group was 18% whilst in the non-MRI group was 25% (p = 0.7).Our findings indicate that caution should be used with MRI as it can lead to an increase in prostate biopsy with no change in cancer detection rate.

Scales of Need for Cognition (NFC), Typical Intellectual Engagement (TIE), and Epistemic Curiosity (EC) measure intellectual curiosity (IC). These scales correlate strongly and have been factor-analyzed individually but not together. Here N = 396 (143 males) undergraduates completed measures of NFC, TIE, and EC. Six factors, labeled Intellectual Avoidance, Deprivation, Problem Solving, Abstract Thinking, Reading, and Wide Interest, were identified. TIE is the broadest scale, measuring all factors except Deprivation; NFC measures Intellectual Avoidance and Problem Solving, plus Abstract Thinking and Deprivation to a lesser degree; and EC largely measures Deprivation. Moreover, Reading may not fit in the IC domain; higher-order factor analysis indicated that, whereas items measuring Reading loaded more strongly on their first-order factor, items measuring the other factors strongly loaded on a general factor of IC. These results are significant for understanding the contents of these scales, and for future scale development.

This paper uses the concepts of ethnosphere and ethnodiversity to frame the stakes of cultural genocide in the context of the emerging global society. We are in an era of rapid global ethnodiversity loss. Global ethnodiversity is important because different cultures produce different solutions to the subjective and objective problems of human society, and because cultures have an intrinsic value. Rapid ethnodiversity loss is a byproduct of the expansion of the modern world-system, and Lemkin’s invention of the concept of genocide can be understood as a dialectical reaction to this tendency. The current phase of globalization creates pressures towards global monoculture, but movements towards polyculture can be observed. Genocide scholars have an interest in three underdeveloped lines of inquiry: measuring ethnodiversity loss; constructing valid measures of the vitality and life or death of cultures; and developing techniques for resolving social differences without the need for cultural

Participants were 160 (50 males) young adults aged 17–32 years, predominantly first-year university undergraduates who completed online questionnaires measuring fluid ability (Gf: Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices-Short Form [APM-SF]), Conscientiousness, and four tests of intellectual curiosity (Openness to Ideas [OI], Need for Cognition [NFC], Typical Intellectual Engagement [TIE], Epistemic Curiosity [EC]). All study variables correlated substantially with final school grades (Tertiary Entrance Rank [TER] or Australian Tertiary Admission Rank [ATAR]), confirming that educational outcome may reflect fluid ability, Conscientiousness and intellectual curiosity. Exploratory factor analysis found a strong general intellectual curiosity factor but, after controlling for APM-SF and Conscientiousness, this did not improve prediction of TER/ATAR. TIE explained additional 1.8% of variance in TER/ATAR (p

Summary Introduction The last 20 years has seen a marked improvement in skin cancer awareness campaigns. We sought to establish whether this has affected the presenting Breslow thickness of malignant melanoma in the South West. Method This is a retrospective study looking at the first presentation of melanomas from 2003 to 2011. Data was accessed using the local online melanoma database. Results A total of 2001 new melanomas presented from 2003 to 2012 (Male:Female = 1:1.062). The average yearly number of melanomas was 200.1 (range = 138–312). The mean age was 62.5 years (range 12–99). Data was analysed using a Chi² test. For 0–1 mm melanomas, there is a significant difference in the observed versus expected values over the 10 years ( p = 0.0018). There is an increasing proportion of 0–1 mm (thin) melanomas presenting year on year, with a positive linear trend. This is very statistically significant ( p The 1–2 mm melanomas are decreasing in proportion with a negative linear trend ( p = 0.0013). The 2–4 mm are also decreasing in proportion ( p = 0.0253). There is no significant change in the thick >4 mm melanomas ( p = 0.1456). Conclusion The proportion of thin 0–1 mm melanomas presenting in South West England has significantly increased from 2003 to 2012. There is no significant change in the thick >4 mm melanomas. This may be a result of increased public awareness due to effective public health campaigns which has significant prognostic and financial implications.