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Educational attainment is associated with reduced functional decline in Puerto Ricans with elevated pTau181
No full textBackground: Education promotes cognitive reserve (CR), potentially buffering Alzheimer's disease pathology (ADP). However, the education-CR relationship may differ by population and genetic background. Objective: To examine education, APOE epsilon 4, and functional scores in a Puerto Rican (PR) cohort with varying plasma pTau181, an ADP biomarker. Methods: A subset of 514 PR older adults with "high" (>mean+1SD) or "low" pTau181 ( 0) and (2) severity among impaired participants, adjusting for age and sex. Results: High EA was associated with better CDR-FUNC than low EA within the high pTau181 group (n = 80; Median(Low_)EA = 7, Median(High_)EA = 0; p = 0.011). The hurdle model similarly showed that each additional year of education reduced the odds of any functional impairment in the high-pTau181 group (OR = 0.89, 95% CI [0.79-0.99]). No significant education x APOE epsilon 4 interaction was observed, though a negative trend suggested that increasing education attenuated epsilon 4-related impairment. Conclusions: Greater education is linked to functional preservation in PR older adults, particularly in those with elevated ADP, suggesting potential CR-mediated resilience. APOE epsilon 4 may worsen outcomes with decreasing education, suggesting both educational and genetic factors should inform strategies to mitigate cognitive decline globally
Assessing the relationship between body mass index and substance craving among patients with substance use disorders
No full textThe aim of this study was to assess body mass index (BMI) category as a predictor of substance craving in people with substance use disorder (SUD) participating in 5 clinical trials.
BMI was categorized into 4 groups: underweight, healthy weight, overweight, and obesity. Craving assessments were harmonized to calculate comparable craving scores for each participant across trials. General linear mixed effects regression models were fit to final craving score where BMI was considered a main effect and clinical trials as a random effect while also controlling for demographic and clinical characteristics of the participants.
1,418 participants were included in the final sample. Participants were primarily male (68.97%), and mean age was 39.73 years (SD: 11.38). Obesity (β = 0.59; p = 0.73) and overweight (β = 1.65; p = 0.29) were not significantly associated with final craving score while controlling for covariates. Baseline depression, age, and concomitant SUD medications were significantly associated with final craving score.
Although results indicate participants with obesity and SUD do not experience significantly higher craving for substances, more research is needed to uncover how this varies across different patient populations. Future studies should seek to include more comprehensive measures of obesity and eating behaviors to assess how these may impact substance craving and other SUD treatment outcomes. Level of Evidence Level III (Evidence obtained from well-designed cohort or case-control analytic studies)
Enhanced Hi-C Capture Analysis reveals complex regulatory architecture at the PICALM_(E)ED locus for Alzheimer’s disease
Get PDFRacial Bias and False Beliefs Among Doctor of Physical Therapy Students and Their Impact on Pain Management Decisions
No full textPurpose/Hypothesis This study aimed to determine (1) if DPT students evaluate and approach the management of pain differently based on the race of hypothetical patients, and (2) the prevalence of false beliefs about biological differences between Blacks and Whites among DPT students. Methods All DPT program directors across the United States were asked to distribute the survey to currently enrolled students. The survey consisted of questions on (1) the estimated pain intensity and treatment parameters for patient cases with randomized race (one with an ankle sprain and another with low back pain), as well as (2) beliefs of biological differences between races. Results Of 472 respondents, from 47 states, 72% were female and 80% were White non-Hispanic. Differences favored higher pain appraisals and treatment intensity for Black patients, but these differences were below the minimal detectable change threshold for pain appraisal. 71% held at least one false belief, and endorsement of false beliefs did not moderate differences in pain appraisals and treatment. Conclusions While DPT students appraised and proposed management differently for Black and White patients, these differences did not reach clinical significance. A majority of students held misconceptions regarding biological differences between races, which were not associated with clinical decisions. Study limitations include the use of a non-validated survey and demographic imbalance.</p
Author Correction: Tree diversity is changing across tropical Andean and Amazonian forests in response to global change
No full textClinical Applications of Extracellular Vesicles: Promises and Pitfalls
No full textExtracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane-bound nanoparticles released by almost all cell types into the extracellular space, acting as important mediators of intercellular communication by transferring proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids horizontally. EVs are generally classified into small EVs (200 nm), microvesicles, and apoptotic bodies, with current classification methods focusing on physical properties, molecular composition, and cellular origin, as detailed in the MISEV2023 guidelines. EVs are highly promising for diagnostic and therapeutic applications due to their intrinsic biocompatibility, stability in biological fluids, capacity to carry diverse molecular cargo, and potential for drug delivery and functionalization to enable targeted delivery and tissue repair. This narrative review discusses the emerging roles of EVs across various medical fields, including obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology, urology, oncology, orthopedics, neurology, immunology, wound healing, chronic pain management, dermatology, and cardiology. In each discipline, EVs show potential as biomarkers for diagnosing physiological or pathological conditions and as carriers for targeted drug delivery and regenerative treatments. Exosomes, a major type of small EVs, have especially attracted attention as versatile nanocarriers for precision medicine. However, translation into clinical practice requires addressing key pitfalls, including the standardization of isolation and characterization protocols, dose definition, GMP-compliant large-scale production, and regulatory approval. Ongoing interdisciplinary collaboration across disciplines and thorough clinical testing will be essential to unlock the full biomedical potential of EVs and establish them as transformative tools in personalized healthcare.</p
Differential accumulation of enterococci and arsenic in pelagic Sargassum and seagrass wrack on South Florida beaches
No full textWrack, composed of organic debris like seagrass and the brown macroalga,Sargassum, accumulates on beaches and when present in overwhelming quantities can impact ecosystem function and public health through microbial contamination, trace element accumulation, and toxic gas emissions. Although studies have started to evaluate the impacts to the microbial quality from different types of wrack, few evaluate the impacts of trace elements. This study assessed enterococci and arsenic levels in beach environments across five South Florida beaches with varying wrack types (Sargassumvs. seagrass) and management practices. Enterococci levels did not significantly differ between wrack types (p = 0.30), with a maximum of 9,600 CFU/g. However,Sargassumexhibited significantly higher arsenic concentrations (up to 64.3 mg/kg) compared to seagrass (2.18 mg/kg) (p < 0.001). In sand, arsenic levels were statistically higher (4.92 mg/kg) whenSargassumwas managed through integration. These findings emphasize the need to consider wrack composition when assessing arsenic impacts and can inform beach management strategies to minimize environmental and public health risks associated with excessively largeSargassumstrandings
Digital technologies and the study of adaptation in small-scale fisheries
No full textEconomic experiments have led to important advances in our understanding of human adaptation in coupled social-environmental systems. However, these experiments may be costly, which limits their scale and even the external validity of their results. Digital technologies offer great potential to deploy economic experiments at scale, but this approach remains largely untested. Here, we evaluate the feasibility of using mobile computing platforms (smartphones, tablets, and computers) to deploy digital economic experiments that collect players’ response to environmental shocks. To do so, we developed a digital version of a well-studied natural resource harvesting game characterized by a renewable common-pool resource harvested in repeated iterations. We recorded a total of 3369 interactions with the outreach material, which led to a total of 740 rounds played; Only 11 players participated in the baseline and treatment games. We show that players’ behavior during digital experiments was qualitatively similar to responses observed during in-person games with fishers reported in the literature. Additionally, our exploratory analysis suggests that information about the risk of a shock is not enough to induce adaptation by players and that experiencing the shock is needed. Digital experiments provide an alternative path to study adaptation, but the approach presents its own limitations. Addressing the current limitations, particularly through strategies for engaging players, presents an opportunity for broad application of this approach to understand and inform adaptation to change.
•We leverage digital media platforms to deploy behavioral economic experiments.•“Digital experiments” elicit and capture responses similar to those recovered through in-person games.•Information about the risk of an environmental shock does not induce adaptation•Adaptation ensues only after a shock has occurred, and the effect dissipates quickly.•With its own drawbacks, digital experiments provide an alternative path to study adaptation.•Addressing current limitations presents an opportunity to understand and inform adaptation to change
Near surface generation, burial recrystallization, and structural overprinting of carbonate platform dolomites
No full textHyperspectral analysis of carbonate rocks provides a novel method to recognize not only calcite/dolomite alterations, but also to differentiate dolomite fabrics. Coupled with digital outcrop models, hyperspectral data provide an integrated representation of the geometric and mineralogical characteristics of exposed dolomite geobodies at sub-seismic resolution and over large (seismic-scale) extent. This facilitates the continuous, unbiased, and data-driven assessment of the spatial distribution of dolomites, dolomite types and properties. Here we integrate hyperspectral attributes, geochemical data, fracture analysis, tectonic, and thermal histories to constrain the process and timing of dolomitization and the compositional and textural heterogeneity at cm-scale. Our results suggest that the km-scale strata-bound dolomitized layers of the Arab-D member formed in an overall regressive system tract. near the surface (T ~ 30 °C) by refluxing of slightly evaporated seawater (-1.0 to 0‰ SMOW). With undolomitized shallow transgressive mudstone/wackestone layers forming baffles restricting downward fluid flow, the dolomitization process apparently was repetitive and linked to high frequency cycles with preferential dolomitization of cycle-top grainstone facies. Multiple reflux events during high-frequency cycle deposition led to the alternating dolomite/calcite layering. Thus, a classical one-time-dolomitize-all end-of-sequence reflux system is not indicated. The early-formed metastable dolomites were then recrystallized during burial and finally overprinted by a hot (80 °C or more) deep-seated fluid with a composition of up to 6.5‰ SMOW. This fluid was channeled by a NW-SE oriented regional fracture trend, which originated from a Late Cretaceous plate-wide structural event related to the Alpine I tectonic deformation. As the dolomite fabric was altered, porosity and permeability became enhanced. The temperatures derived from clumped isotope analysis, thermal history, and the Alpine I related fracture conduits consistently suggest a latest Cretaceous origin for the final burial dolomite maturation and textural overprinting
