Anterior thalamic dysfunction underlies cognitive deficits in a subset of neuropsychiatric disease models.

Neuropsychiatric disorders are often accompanied by cognitive impairments/intellectual disability (ID). It is not clear whether there are converging mechanisms underlying these debilitating impairments. We found that many autism and schizophrenia risk genes are expressed in the anterodorsal subdivision (AD) of anterior thalamic nuclei, which has reciprocal connectivity with learning and memory structures. CRISPR-Cas9 knockdown of multiple risk genes selectively in AD thalamus led to memory deficits. While the AD is necessary for contextual memory encoding, the neighboring anteroventral subdivision (AV) regulates memory specificity. These distinct functions of AD and AV are mediated through their projections to retrosplenial cortex, using differential mechanisms. Furthermore, knockdown of autism and schizophrenia risk genes PTCHD1, YWHAG, or HERC1 from AD led to neuronal hyperexcitability, and normalization of hyperexcitability rescued memory deficits in these models. This study identifies converging cellular to circuit mechanisms underlying cognitive deficits in a subset of neuropsychiatric disease models.

Novel Mangosteen-Leaves-Based Marker Ink: Color Lightness, Viscosity, Optimized Composition, and Microstructural Analysis.

Dry mangosteen leaves are one of the raw materials used to produce marker ink. However, research using this free and abundant resource is rather limited. The less efficient one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) approach was mostly used in past studies on plant-based marker ink. The use of statistical analysis and the regression coefficient model (mathematical model) was considered essential in predicting the best combination of factors in formulating mangosteen leaf-based marker ink. Ideally, ink should have maximum color lightness, minimum viscosity, and fast-drying speed. The objective of this study to study the effect of glycerol and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) on the color lightness and viscosity of mangosteen-leaves-based marker ink. The viscosity, color lightness, and drying properties of the ink were tested, the significant effect of glycerol and CMC (responses) on ink properties was identified and the prediction model on the optimum value of the responses was developed by using response surface methodology (RSM). The microstructure of mangosteen leaves was analyzed to study the surface morphology and cell structure during dye extraction. A low amount of glycerol used was found to increase the value of color lightness. A decrease in CMC amounts resulted in low viscosity of marker ink. The optimum formulation for the ink can be achieved when the weight percents of glycerol, benzalkonium chloride, ferrous sulphate, and CMC are set at 5, 5, 1, and 3, respectively. SEM micrographs showed the greatest amount of cell wall structure collapse on samples boiled with the lowest amount of glycerol.

Prevalence and predictors of medication non-adherence among older community-dwelling people with chronic disease in Singapore.

AIMS: To determine the prevalence and predictors of medication non-adherence among older community-dwelling people with at least one chronic disease in Singapore. DESIGN: A single-centre cross-sectional study. METHODS: The study was conducted in the largest tertiary public hospital in Singapore between May 2019 and December 2019. The community nurses of the hospital recruited a total of 400 community-dwelling older people aged ≥60 years old, who were diagnosed with at least one chronic disease and prescribed with at least one long-term medication. Medication non-adherence was assessed using the self-report 5-item Medication Adherence Report Scale, operationalized as a score of <25. A list of potential factors of medication non-adherence was structured based on the World Health Organization five-domain framework and collected using a self-report questionnaire. RESULTS: Sixty percent (n = 240) of our participants were non-adherent to their medication regime. Older people who smoked (OR 2.89, 95% CI 1.14-7.33), perceived their medication regime as being complicated (OR 2.54, 95% CI 1.26-5.13), felt dissatisfied with their regime (OR 2.50, 95% CI 1.17-5.31), did not know the purpose of all their medications (OR 2.56, 95% CI 1.42-4.63) and experienced side effects (OR 3.32, 95% CI 1.14-9.67) were found to be predictive of medication non-adherence. CONCLUSION: Medication adherence was found to be poor in community-dwelling older people in Singapore. The predictors identified in this study can help guide healthcare professionals in identifying older people who are at risk of medication non-adherence and inform the development of interventions to improve adherence. IMPACT: Medication non-adherence, especially in the older population with chronic diseases, constitutes a serious problem as it undermines the efforts to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with the underlying chronic diseases. To improve adherence, our findings propose the importance of assessing the older person's treatment satisfaction, which includes examining the aspects of side effects, effectiveness and convenience. Additionally, we highlight the need to address the older person's medication knowledge deficit.

Role of ethical beliefs and attitudes of dental students in providing care for HIV/AIDS patients.

INTRODUCTION: Dental care has remained as an unmet need for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs). Dental students are considered as future healthcare workforce and having beliefs which are discriminating may have negative attitudes towards providing care to these individuals (Azodo et al., 2010). The study aimed to assess the ethical beliefs and attitudes of dental students towards PLWHAs for providing care. METHODS: It is a descriptive correlational and cross sectional study. Nine public and private dental schools in Malaysia participated in the study. Data was collected using a validated self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 481 dental students participated in this study, yielding response rate of 78%. Majority of the participants (74%) believed that patients' HIV status should be disclosed to patients' sexual partner without permission. Approximately 60% of the participants reported that rooms/beds of HIV patients should be clearly marked. Regarding patient disease status 28% of the students reported that it is appropriate to test a patient for HIV/AIDS without patient's permission. Only Fifty five percent of the students expressed the willingness to treat HIV patients and 49% reported to held fear of getting infected while treating patients with HIV/AIDS. Sixty four percent of the participants reported to be more comfortable giving care to non-HIV patients than HIV-positive patients. CONCLUSION: Dental students' ethical beliefs about HIV/AIDS were not consistent with the ethical principles as stated in the code of ethics and they held negative attitudes towards PLWHAs. Ethical beliefs were found to be a determinant that may influence future attitudes of these students towards individuals with HIV/AIDS when providing care.