Public Health.

Background: Weakened white matter (WM) integrity is highly associated with dementia risk. Still, not everyone with WM changes develops dementia, suggesting the important role modifiable lifestyle factors may have in reducing dementia risk. We investigated how social relationships in mid-life may modify the association between WM integrity and incident dementia risk within race and sex subgroups.

Alzheimer's Imaging Consortium.

Background: Weakened white matter (WM) integrity is highly associated with dementia risk. Still, not everyone with WM changes develops dementia, suggesting the important role modifiable lifestyle factors may have in reducing dementia risk. We investigated how social relationships in mid-life may modify the association between WM integrity and incident dementia risk within race and sex subgroups.

Excitation-dependent features and artifacts in 2-D terahertz spectroscopy.

Recently, two-dimensional terahertz spectroscopy (2DTS) has attracted increasing attention for studying complex solids. A number of recent studies have applied 2DTS either with long pulses or away from any material resonances, situations that yield unconventional 2DTS spectra that are often difficult to interpret. Here, we clarify the generic origins of observed spectral features by examining 2DTS spectra of ZnTe, a model system with a featureless optical susceptibility at low terahertz frequencies.

High Retention and Adherence with Rapid Long-Acting Injectable PrEP Implementation in an Urban Safety-Net Clinic Population.

In a low-barrier long-acting PrEP program in a safety-net setting, permitting same-day or next-day initiation, 85% of injections were on-time, and six-month retention was 83%, surpassing outcomes from most previously-reported oral PrEP studies. With drop-in, wrap-around services, similar retention among housing-insecure populations was seen. Long-acting PrEP expansion is urgently needed.

Ethylene oxide graft copolymers reduce the immunogenicity of lipid nanoparticles.

Lipid nanoparticle (LNP)/mRNA complexes have great therapeutic potential but their PEG chains can induce the production of anti-PEG antibodies. New LNPs that do not contain PEG are greatly needed. We demonstrate here that poly-glutamic acid-ethylene oxide graft copolymers can replace the PEG on LNPs and outperform PEG-LNPs after chronic administration.

Acceptability of an automated directly observed therapy (DOT) application for PrEP adherence support among young men who have sex with men: a qualitative exploration.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) adherence remains a challenge among young men who have sex with men (MSM). We developed and tested a smartphone application ("app"), "DOT Diary", which combines automated directly observed therapy (DOT) with information about PrEP protection levels, pill-taking reminders, a sexual behavior diary, and a PrEP dosing calendar. To contextualize trial results, we qualitatively explored participants' app experiences.

Assessing superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery anastomosis patency using FLOW 800 hemodynamics.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the use of indocyanine green videoangiography with FLOW 800 hemodynamic parameters intraoperatively during superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery (STA-MCA) bypass surgery to predict patency prior to anastomosis performance.

Methods: A retrospective and exploratory data analysis was conducted using FLOW 800 software prior to anastomosis to assess four regions of interest (ROIs; proximal and distal recipients and adjacent and remote gyri) for four hemodynamic parameters (speed, delay, rise time, and time to peak). Medical records were used to classify patients into flow and no-flow groups based on immediate or perioperative anastomosis patency.

CROI 2024: Global Epidemiology and Prevention of HIV and Other Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

At the 2024 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), investigators presented updates on the global HIV epidemic, focusing on ongoing disparities by race/ethnicity in the US, the ongoing concentration of new infections among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women in the Americas, and a shift to a greater total number of infections now in low versus high prevalence countries globally. HIV testing, the gateway to prevention and to treatment, has not fully rebounded from the substantial declines seen during the early COVID-19 pandemic in some settings, although innovative strategies including home testing and opt-out testing in clinical settings appear to be reaching populations in need of testing. Several investigators reported on the efficacy and effectiveness of doxycycline used as postexposure prophylaxis (doxy-PEP) to prevent bacterial sexual transmitted infections in MSM and transgender women in clinical trials and clinic settings; citywide rates of chlamydia and syphilis have decreased in San Francisco after the rollout of the first doxy-PEP guidelines in the US.

High energy density picoliter-scale zinc-air microbatteries for colloidal robotics.

The recent interest in microscopic autonomous systems, including microrobots, colloidal state machines, and smart dust, has created a need for microscale energy storage and harvesting. However, macroscopic materials for energy storage have noted incompatibilities with microfabrication techniques, creating substantial challenges to realizing microscale energy systems. Here, we photolithographically patterned a microscale zinc/platinum/SU-8 system to generate the highest energy density microbattery at the picoliter (10 liter) scale.

Metabolic dysfunctions predict the development of Alzheimer's disease: Statistical and machine learning analysis of EMR data.

Introduction: The incidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and obesity rise concomitantly. This study examined whether factors affecting metabolism, race/ethnicity, and sex are associated with AD development.

Methods: The analyses included patients ≥ 65 years with AD diagnosis in six University of California hospitals between January 2012 and October 2023.

Simple aneuploidy evades p53 surveillance and promotes niche factor-independent growth in human intestinal organoids.

Aneuploidy is nearly ubiquitous in tumor genomes, but the role of aneuploidy in the early stages of cancer evolution remains unclear. Here, by inducing heterogeneous aneuploidy in non-transformed human colon organoids (colonoids), we investigated how the effects of aneuploidy on cell growth and differentiation may promote malignant transformation. Previous work implicated p53 activation as a downstream response to aneuploidy induction.

Estimating the potential value of MSM-focused evidence-based implementation interventions in three Ending the HIV Epidemic jurisdictions in the United States: a model-based analysis.

Introduction: Improving the delivery of existing evidence-based interventions to prevent and diagnose HIV is key to Ending the HIV Epidemic in the United States. Structural barriers in the access and delivery of related health services require municipal or state-level policy changes; however, suboptimal implementation can be addressed directly through interventions designed to improve the reach, effectiveness, adoption or maintenance of available interventions. Our objective was to estimate the cost-effectiveness and potential epidemiological impact of six real-world implementation interventions designed to address these barriers and increase the scale of delivery of interventions for HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in three US metropolitan areas.

SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load in the Nasopharynx at Time of First Infection Among Unvaccinated Individuals: A Secondary Cross-Protocol Analysis of 4 Randomized Trials.

Importance: SARS-CoV-2 viral load (VL) in the nasopharynx is difficult to quantify and standardize across settings, but it may inform transmission potential and disease severity.

Objective: To characterize VL at COVID-19 diagnosis among previously uninfected and unvaccinated individuals by evaluating the association of demographic and clinical characteristics, viral variant, and trial with VL, as well as the ability of VL to predict severe disease.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This secondary cross-protocol analysis used individual-level data from placebo recipients from 4 harmonized, phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine efficacy trials sponsored by Moderna, AstraZeneca, Janssen, and Novavax.

Learning Curve of Robotic End-to-Side Microanastomoses.

Background And Objectives: Robotics are becoming increasingly widespread within various neurosurgical subspecialties, but data pertaining to their feasibility in vascular neurosurgery are limited. We present our novel attempt to evaluate the learning curve of a robotic platform for microvascular anastomoses.

Methods: One hundred and sixty one sutures were performed and assessed.

Disruption of epithelium integrity by inflammation-associated fibroblasts through prostaglandin signaling.

Inflammation-associated fibroblasts (IAFs) are associated with progression and drug resistance of chronic inflammatory diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but their direct impact on epithelial cells is unknown. Here, we developed an in vitro model whereby human colon fibroblasts are induced by specific cytokines and recapitulate key features of IAFs in vivo. When cocultured with patient-derived colon organoids (colonoids), IAFs induced rapid colonoid expansion and barrier disruption due to swelling and rupture of individual epithelial cells.

Adapting mHealth Interventions (PrEPmate and DOT Diary) to Support PrEP Retention in Care and Adherence Among English and Spanish-Speaking Men Who Have Sex With Men and Transgender Women in the United States: Formative Work and Pilot Randomized Trial.

Background: A growing number of mobile health (mHealth) technologies are being developed to support HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) adherence and persistence; however, most tools have focused on men who have sex with men (MSM), and few are available in Spanish. To maximize the potential impact of these tools in reducing gender and racial/ethnic disparities and promoting health equity, mHealth tools tailored to Spanish-speaking people and transgender women are critically needed.

Objective: The aim of this study is to adapt and tailor 2 mHealth technologies, PrEPmate and DOT Diary, to support daily PrEP adherence and persistence among Spanish-speaking MSM and English- and Spanish-speaking transgender women and to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of these tools.

Type 1 Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV-1) Incidence, Adherence, and Drug Resistance in Individuals Taking Daily Emtricitabine/Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate for HIV-1 Pre-exposure Prophylaxis: Pooled Analysis From 72 Global Studies.

Background: Oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (F/TDF) has high efficacy against HIV-1 acquisition. Seventy-two prospective studies of daily oral F/TDF PrEP were conducted to evaluate HIV-1 incidence, drug resistance, adherence, and bone and renal safety in diverse settings.

Methods: HIV-1 incidence was calculated from incident HIV-1 diagnoses after PrEP initiation and within 60 days of discontinuation.

Occupation, Retirement Age, and 20-Year Cognitive Decline: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Neurocognitive Study.

Introduction: We examined the association of both midlife occupation and age at retirement with cognitive decline in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) biracial community-based cohort.

Methods: Current or most recent occupation at ARIC baseline (1987-1989; aged 45-64 years) was categorized based on 1980 US Census major occupation groups and tertiles of the Nam-Powers-Boyd occupational status score (n = 14,090). Retirement status via annual follow-up questionnaires administered ascertained in 1999-2007 was classified as occurring before or after age 70 (n = 7,503).

Associations Between Mid-Life Psychosocial Measures and Estimated Late Life Amyloid Burden: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC)-PET Study.

Background: Psychosocial factors are modifiable risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD). One mechanism linking psychosocial factors to AD risk may be through biological measures of brain amyloid; however, this association has not been widely studied.

Objective: To determine if mid-life measures of social support and social isolation in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study cohort are associated with late life brain amyloid burden, measured using florbetapir positron emission tomography (PET).